Wednesday, January 1, 2025

The Best of 2024 Part 2: The Best of the Best (in no particular order)

AMERICAN STAR - Ian McShane gives a performance for the ages as a hit man on assignment  whose life and job go sideways when his target is delayed.  This should be in the Oscar Mix except that it was released in January.

DREAM CREEP - squirm inducing short film about a man trying to rescue his girlfriend from a nightmare and the horrible terrible thing he has to do to save her

ONE LIFE- Truly great film with the best Anthony Hopkins performance in years is a celebration is a man who did the right thing.

MARS EXPRESS -animated science fiction action tale is about what it means to be human and what do you do when some humans decide you aren’t 

WORLD ACCORDING TO ALLEE WILLIS- portrait of a woman who created some of the greatest songs of the last half century

EXHUMA – Frightening Korean folk horror film that will rattle your cage and have you wanting more.

FILM ABOUT THE BLACK KEYS- portrait of two guys who just want to make music

WE CAN BE HEROES – The story of a camp where kids can be kids and those on the fringe can find a family.

YOUNG HEARTS – wonderful romance of two boys in love

SHOUTING AT THE SEA – two friends meet after years and magic happens

PARVOLOUS – a chilling horror film about family

STEPPENWOLF – Dystopian tale of a mother looking for her missing child set after the fall that is profoundly wrong in all the right ways

KILLERS -  A portmanteau film about killers that is so good in the best parts you forgive the weaker bits (which would be fine on their own but suffer in this package)

INHERITANCE- this real-life BOYHOOD set in Appalachia is going to break your heart

KINGDOM: RETURN OF THE GENERAL- I know this a part in the middle of a series but this action masterpiece stands on its own and kicks ass as a huge scale action epic with heart.

OPERATION UNDEAD – a zombie war film that is a damning tale about the cost of war,

SEPTEMBER 5 – the behind the scenes story of ABC sports coverage of the 1972 Olympic terror attack is a great thriller and an eye opening look at how we get news

PATTAYA HEAT – a great thriller

HONGFU HOTEL – a magnificent look at family and the past. It has haunted me since I saw it

LOOK BACK – The course of two friends bound by comics reduced me to a sobbing mess

TIM BURTON – One of the best documentaries on a filmmaker and their work I’ve ever seen. They showed only the first episode at Tribeca but it was so good I saw it multiple times.

LIVING LARGE the animated tale of a fat kid that gets being fat right

WITCHES a look at how society sees women and witches via film...and so much more

RUTHLESS BLADE – this animated short is one of the greatest  martial arts film ever made - I'd love more except the nature of the story requires it to be short.

S/HE IS STILL HER/E – a look at Genesis P Oridge that is a wonderful look at life as an artist

CHECK POINT ZOO – the story of the zoo on the border between Ukranian and Russian forces will move you

SOCIAL MEDIA MONSTER – This film about an internet troll rocked not only my world but the world of everyone who has seen it. It’s can’t look away warning about the crazy people who are out there. I have been talking about it nonstop since I saw it (it's on You Tube) See it an you'll be talking about it for weeks

ABIGAIL is the story of a kidnapping that goes wrong...really wrong. Such bloody fun

DIDI – one of the best films about growing up ever made

SOUTHPAW THE LEGACY OF JIM ABBOT- glorious portrait of a man who has changed the lives of everyone he’s met

FLAVORS OF IRAQ – the animated tale of one man’s relationship with the country of his family says so much about the world today

GALLAGHER – warts and all look at man who was made famous smashing watermelons but had so much more to him

NO OTHER LAND – the crushing story of Israel’s attempts to drive out the Palestinians

SOUND TRACK FOR A COUP D'TATE – film as Jazz

THE OPERA! - a rethink of the Orpheus myth that shouldn’t work but does by crossing genre boundaries into new territory.

The DANCING THROUGH LIFE sequence in Wicked is one of the greatest dance numbers ever put on film

SHEPHERDS low key tale of man who becomes a shepherd and the peace he finds

HELL BOY: THE CROOKED MAN -one of the best horror films of 2024 is a low budget comics tale that does what it does perfectly.

 THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES TALE - the classic characters in a moving feature that expands their characters

FLOW – one of the greatest animated films ever made

KENSUKE'S KINGDOM – grossly under seen tale of a boy and his dog on an island and what he finds there.

SING SING - the life of a theater group in Sing Sing prison will move you to tears thanks to a great cast headed by Colman Domingo

I'M STILL HERE The true story of a family before and after their patriarch is spirited away by political forces

LATE GAME one of the great sports films of the last decade is a spot on film about a guy going to a midnight hockey league for the first time in years.

BETTER MAN- the Robbie Williams bio is one of a kind and brazen. Unafraid to have the lead be unlikable it transcends expectations to be adult, funny and deeply moving. Pieces will live in my heart forever.

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