It was a bit of down year due to the strikes that lasted nearly half of 2023, and output on both the big and small screen suffered as a result. That’s not to say there wasn’t good work being done, but if a few prominent 2023 releases hadn’t been pushed into early 2024, it really would have felt bleak. That being said, there was still a lot of film and TV that I greatly enjoyed, but only a handful to enter into the all-timer club conversation. So what follows is probably the most top heavy list I’ve had since 2021 when we were still clawing our way of the pandemic. As they say, we really got to stop meeting like this but there’s still plenty to celebrate all the same. Onward…
Television…
The Honorable Mentions of 2024, but also want to call out La Chimera, a late 2023 release that I really enjoyed.
Special Awards
Best Lead Performances: Josh Hartnett, Trap / Willa Fitzgerald, Strange Darling
Best Supporting Performances: Chris Hemsworth, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga / Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Best Screenplay: Challengers
Best Cinematography: Nosferatu
Best Editing: Dune: Part Two
Best Production Design: Gladiator II
Best Score: The Wild Robot
Best Visual Effects: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Best Scenes:
Paul Rides the Worm, Dune: Part Two
Notes App Wiretap, Hit Man
What Kind of American Are You?, Civil War
Kiss the Sky, The Wild Robot
Opening Chase, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
The Carriage Ride, Nosferatu
The Times They Are A-Changing, A Complete Unknown
10. A Complete Unknown
Dir. James Mangold
James Mangold essentially molded the modern musical biopic with his 2005 hit Walk the Line, for better or for worse, and you could argue that Mangold returns to the scene of the crime with his telling of Bob Dylan’s early career from 1961-1965. Mangold avoids many of the pitfalls of the genre he helped create by casting a wider net on his story to more fully explore the 1960’s folk music scene rather than the man at its center. Due to both COVID and the 2023 Strikes, A Complete Unknown suffered years worth of delays, however it allowed star Timothee Chalamet to perform Dylan’s music live thanks to 5 years worth of training. This allows the movie to focus on the music first and foremost and every performance sequence is sensational. Chalamet wasn’t the only cast member that benefitted from a longer training opportunity, co-star Monica Barbaro is a revelation as Joan Baez. Edward Norton gives one of the best performances of his career as Pete Seeger, while Elle Fanning and Boyd Holbrook round the rest of a magnificent cast. A Complete Unknown doesn’t dig too deep into Dylan the man, but it’s hard not to be swept off your feet when Chalamet performs The Times They Are A-Changing.
9. Conclave
Dir. Edward Berger
Based on the bestselling the novel, this process drama attempts to illuminate the highly secretive selection of a new Pope. Edward Berger, director of the Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front update, brings enough seriousness to keep this tale from spiraling too far into camp and greatly succeeds in striking a difficult balancing act of making trashy fun carry a sense of gravitas. Conclave is a highly entertaining piece of adult drama as various contenders for the papacy try to scheme their way into being the next Holy Father. It’s filled with great performances, but at the center holding together is a tremendously contained performance by the great Ralph Fiennes. Fiennes is so good in so many forms, but his turn as the conclave’s manager who’s battling his own crisis of faith, is among his very best.
8. Anora
Dir. Sean Baker
Since his breakout feature Tangerine in 2015, writer-director Sean Baker has been one of the indie film world’s biggest darlings. His sensitivity for social outcasts, particularly sex workers, has been a recurring theme throughout his work and this year’s Anora, everything Baker has done coalesces into his most commercial project yet. The story of stripper/escort Ani subverts the entire notion of Pretty Woman as she gets swept up in a whirlwind romance with the son of a Russian oligarch. Mikey Madison (most notably from one of TV’s best shows — Better Things) is electrifying and gives a star-making performance. What’s most impressive is the extremely high level of energy Baker is able to maintain throughout the film’s running time and how deftly he shifts from the hilarious to the heartbreaking. It’s a wild yet deeply heartfelt ride and is Baker’s most successful film yet.
7. Civil War
Dir. Alex Garland
Acclaimed sci-fi writer-director Alex Garland’s imagining of a modern day civil war in the United States drew plenty of criticism for its apolitical approach. Ultimately a love letter to war photographers, Garland chooses not to get bogged down with ideology in the telling of his fable of a US President who goes to war with the unlikely alliance of Texas and California. Garland cares more about what a second American civil war would look like being experienced by normal everyday people on the ground. The film is packed with riveting sequences and an iconic encounter with Jesse Plemmons is arguably the most tense scene of the year. Meanwhile Kirsten Dunst is terrific as a world weary veteran war photographer, traveling through the countryside, trying to score a big story while also being an unlikely mentor to the young Cailee Spaney. Civil War is a tremendous piece of technical filmmaking whose impact holds long after the credits roll.
6. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Dir. George Miller
In this long-awaited prequel to the glory that is Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller shows once again that he is unrivaled in orchestrating on-screen mayhem. What’s most refreshing about Furiosa is how it doesn’t attempt to just replay the hits, it’s as different from Fury Road as can be while also sitting comfortably beside it. The story of young Furiosa takes a Dickensian approach as we move through several years of living in The Wasteland and her pivotal relationship with Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus. Hemsworth gives the performance of his career as the unhinged gang leader and runs away with the movie. Anya Taylor-Joy gives a strong physical, albeit reserved, performance that does justice to Charlize Theron’s iconic work. The action though takes center stage and Miller and his team of mad men and women once again craft several spectacular sequences that continue to set the bar for the genre. It doesn’t reach the cinematic heights of its predecessor but it doesn’t need to still be among the year’s best.
5. The Brutalist
Dir. Brady Corbet
Something I’ve always appreciated, more than most qualities in a film, is ambition. Brady Corbet’s $6 Million epic drama is one of the most ambitious films I’ve seen in quite a while. A 3 1/2 hour sprawling tale of an esteemed Hungarian architect living the immigrant experience throughout mid-late 20th century America aims to be counted amongst such classic fare as Citizen Kane, Once Upon a Time in America, and The Master and comes quite close to grasping its reach. Adrien Brody gives the performance of his career while Guy Pearce has never been better. Felicity Jones is also quite brilliant once she enters the movie at the midpoint. The Brutalist powerfully explores themes of power, corruption, sexuality, artistic integrity, classism, antisemitism, family, and the pursuit of the American dream throughout the course of its mammoth runtime. The first half of the film is undeniably its strongest, but what Corbet accomplishes on such a small budget is truly an extraordinary achievement.
4. Challengers
Dir. Luca Guadagnino
This kind of movie feels so rare these days — a steamy adult drama driven purely by the charisma of its three young stars. Set in the world of professional tennis, Challengers is a riveting story about competition on and off the court. Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist are all winning as they battle for supremacy of each other’s hearts and an invitation to the US Open. Special mention must be paid to the stirring electronic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that perfectly pairs with the wild abandon that director Luca Guadagnino shoots the tennis match sequences. This movie feels like a throwback to the star-driven studio movies of the 90’s but with completely modern sensibilities that make it feel both present and timeless. Above all, it’s just a blast to watch with actors at the very beginning of their prime and is one of the signature movies of the year.
3. The Wild Robot
Dir. Chris Sanders
With studios like Pixar having pushed computer animation to what seems like the best it can be, it’s been fun to watch other animation studios experiment with style to standout more — the Spider-Verse films from Sony being the most noteworthy example. DreamWorks Animation has developed their own house style, first utilized in 2022’s wonderful Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. Further refined in an adaptation of the children’s book of the same name, The Wild Robot is a towering achievement for the studio. Shrek is a beloved classic and I’ll ride with How To Train Your Dragon any day, but neither of those franchises reach the emotional heights of director Chris Sanders’ latest. Lupita Nyong’o gives a deeply soulful voice performance as the titular robot who’s marooned on an island and comes to care for an orphaned gosling. What follows is a gorgeously animated and incredibly moving tale about parenthood and community that will leave even the most cynical viewer weeping. It also clears an important hurdle in its rewatch-ability as I’ve watched it about 20 times with my 4 year old and have yet to tire of it. The Wild Robot is one of the best animated movies of the 21st century and truly soars.
2. Nosferatu
Dir. Robert Eggers
Ever since his debut with The Witch back in 2015, Robert Eggers hasn’t been just one of the most exciting filmmakers working in horror, but in all of cinema. He’s applied his unmistakable maximalist brand to an increasing list of fascinating lores and myths, but his remake of the 100 year old F.W. Marnau silent classic is as perfect of a marriage between a filmmaker’s style and material as yet I’ve seen. Eggers has shown to always be an incredibly strong technician and the craft on display in Nosferatu is a joy to experience from its gothic sets, to its beautifully hypnotic cinematography, and its gruesome makeup effects. It’s his most accessible movie yet but Eggers doesn’t pull any punches. This vampiric tale of sex and death goes full bore and is the kind of thrill ride that both genre fans and non-fans will have a blast taking. It has an impeccable cast with a wonderfully terrified Nicholas Hoult, a gleefully manic Willem Dafoe, a hilariously posh Aaron Taylor Johnson, and unforgettable performances from the beast and his prey in Bill Skarsgard and Lily-Rose Depp. My favorite trick the film pulls off is how it’s able to be both terrifying and fun. Nosferatu is a feast of macabre delights and is a horror masterpiece that’s destined to become a classic.
1. Dune: Part Two
Dir. Denis Villeneuve
There are moments in the history of cinema that are undeniable. When the arrival of a piece of pop filmmaking is so monumental, that it instantly takes its place in the pantheon of all-time greats. Star Wars, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight… Dune: Part 1 and 2. Denis Villeneuve’s second act in his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal and previously unfilmable novel, the grandfather of all science fiction, is an unqualified triumph whose only comparison is that of Peter Jackson and J.R.R. Tolkien. Villeneuve not only fulfills the promise of Part One, but takes Part Two to cinematic heights that were yet unimagined. I’d go through all of the terrific performances but it’d take too long. Assembled is one of the great all-time casts with a roster of the biggest young stars matched with the most formidable veteran performers the industry has to offer. The visual scale, design, and technical artistry is unrivaled in today’s blockbuster filmmaking landscape. Hans Zimmer further develops his already iconic score and cements it as arguably his greatest work. Dune is such a rich, dense, and complex work of storytelling that making a proper adaptation seemed impossible. Villeneuve not only has crafted a worthy adaptation of the most influential piece of science fiction ever made, but he’s delivered his own seminal cinematic event that stands with the very best the medium has to offer.
Pop Culture Mind 