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My Top 10 Films Of 2024

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My Top 10 Films Of 2024 #1 - The Brutalist Critics Score - 10 of 10 It was back in September when I first heard rumblings about a film called The Brutalist. So when I saw it was picked up by A24 and it would be at the Chicago International Film Festival in Oct., I booked a flight and went to see it. I saw a few films while I was there, but the trip was completely worth it just for this mid 20th century story about an immigrant architect. To say this film about the illusion of the “American Dream” is a marvel is an understatement. It is grandiose and epic filmmaking at its finest in the same vein as Lawrence Of Arabia and There Will Be Blood. Brady Corbet directs the hell out of an all star cast and finds something here that few filmmakers ever hope to achieve, a piece of perfect cinema. This film will take home Oscar gold, Best Picture is still TBD, but the quality of this film cannot be questioned. In virtually every way, the production design, score, sound cinematography, editing, I ...
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The Brutalist - Movie Review

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The Brutalist - Movie Review Critics Score - 10 of 10 General Audience Score - 8 of 10 Once in a while, a movie comes along that just feels different in terms of its scale. I don’t even mean scale in the way that Saving Private Ryan, Inception or Rocky hit different, all of which were genre defining films that have a grandeur to them that few films achieve. I’m taking about films like Lawrence Of Arabia or There Will Be Blood, movies that follow a characters journey over vast stretches of time and space. These films just have a different scope to them that puts them in a category almost unto themselves. Welcome to the party The Brutalist, an epic new film from A24 that feels as big and vast as any of the films I mentioned. The basic story consists of the immigrant architect László that gets in with an incredibly wealthy benefactor who hires him for a massive project. Brutalist covers quite a lengthy period of time that the two men have a mostly functional work relationship. Adrian Brod...
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The Girl With The Needle - Movie Review

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The Girl With The Needle - Movie Review Critics Score - 9 of 10 General Audience Score - 7 of 10 Back in the 1910’s, before and through The Great War, subsequently known as World War 1, a Danish woman named Dagmar Overbye became a notorious criminal. What she became notorious for, I will not speak about here, for the sake of spoilers. But know that her crimes got her the death penalty which was then reduced to life in prison. The new film from Mubi, The Girl With The Needle, is not about Dagmar, but it does have a character based on her in the film. Again, without spoiling anything, this film goes to some very dark and disturbing places, it will not be for everyone. With that being said, there is some incredible filmmaking on display here. I’ve seen some beautiful cinema in 2024 including Maria, Nosferatu and Nickelboys. This film surpasses them. There are so many shot compositions in this film that take your breath away, I probably sounded like an asthmatic while watching it with how ...
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Babygirl - Movie Review

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Babygirl - Movie Review Critics Score - 9 of 10 General Audience Score - 7 of 10 I’ve never seen any of the Fifty Shades Of Grey films, not that I’m opposed to them, it’s mainly because I’ve heard they’re not high caliber films, objectively speaking. However, if you generally enjoy films like Sanctuary and Fair Play from last year, that sexual tension combined with mind games and power dynamics, you’ll probably be down with the latest A24 release. On Christmas Day, Babygirl drops into theatres, and will probably eventually become known as the sexiest Christmas movie of all time. Not that there’s much Christmas stuff in the film, it just takes place around that time of year so we simply see decorated trees and snow outside. But Babygirl, from writer and director Halina Reijn, gives us an erotic thriller with unbelievable chemistry from the two amazing leads, Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson. Think of this as Fifty Shades, only this is a quality film with much better acting. Again, I’m...
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Nosferatu - Movie Review

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Nosferatu - Movie Review Critics Score - 9 of 10 General Audience Score - 8 of 10 There are some directors whose names alone make cinephiles and movie critics ears perk up. From the man behind the films The Witch, The Lighthouse and most recently The Northman, Robert Eggers is one of the directors thats name being attached to a project immediately calls attention to it. When word first dropped that Eggers was helming a vampire film, expectations went through the roof because those two things seemed like a match made in Heaven. Or maybe more like Hell. Nosferatu, the newest Eggers film from Focus Features, drops into theatres on Christmas Day as a bit of anti-programming, for those looking for something a bit different than the standard happy holiday fare. As per the usual, Eggers has this world crafted to near perfection, it’s tonally dark and moody, it’s as nightmarish as they come. But its crafts are just the beginning. Besides being incredibly stylish and immersive, the story is wel...
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Anora - Movie Review

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Anora - Movie Review Critics Score - 8 of 10 General Audience Score - 8 of 10 Somehow, for the last five years running, Neon studios has managed to get the top prize of the Palme D’Or at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France. Last year Anatomy Of A Fall won, the year before was Triange Of Sadness, in 2021 it was Titane. There was no festival in 2020 due to Covid 19 and the year prior Parasite took the top prize. A hot streak to be sure, but earlier this year Anora grabbed the award, the new film from Sean Baker, the filmmaker who previously directed Red Rocket and The Florida Project. If you’ve seen Red Rocket, you know that Baker isn’t modest when it comes to sex in his films. Without spoiling Anora, the film dives headlong into sex work and candidly depicts sex acts and mature themes associated with sexual exchanges for money. While this may stifle some viewers interest in the film, especially audiences with kids and those with a more stringent view of how sex acts are depic...
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Heretic - Movie Review

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Heretic - Movie Review Critics Score - 9 of 10 General Audience Score - 8 of 10 When it comes to modern “elevated” horror, any cinephile will tell you the genre is pretty much synonymous with A24, the studio known for smaller arthouse films. The studio gives up most of the old school slasher and blood flowing gore fests in favor of slower, unsettling, sometimes scratching your head brand of scary, as you try and figure out what exactly the film is trying to say. Well, the new A24 horror film to drop in theaters is Heretic, starring Hugh Grant, who utterly nails this creepy and unsettling performance. The former romcom headliner has taken the route of smaller character roles and slides right into this new film as a man of . . faith . . who has mysteriously requested more info from the local Mormon church. Two young women are dispatched to provide this curious soul with information on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Full disclosure, formerly being a person of faith and affiliated with ...
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Conclave - Movie Review

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Conclave - Movie Review Critics Score - 8 of 10 General Audience Score - 8 of 10 If you were raised Catholic, you’re probably more familiar with the papacy and the process of selecting a new Pope anytime the existing Pope passes away. For those of us that weren’t raised Catholic, that whole process is somewhat of a mystery unless you have a particular interest in studying different religions and things like that. The new movie Conclave from Focus Features stars Ralph Fiennes and is directed by Edward Berger, the same man who directed the incredible remake of the WW1 film, All Quiet On The Western Front. All Quiet got numerous Oscar nominations, his new movie Conclave will almost certainly get a Best Picture nomination along with some other technical notices. I say that simply as a general reference to the films quality. Conclave refers to the lockdown mode the Vatican essentially goes into where all the windows and doors are shut, none of the voting members go out until a new Pope is s...
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The Outrun - Movie Review

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The Outrun - Movie Review Critics Score - 8 of 10 General Audience Score - 7 of 10 I’ve never been much of a drinker, in fact I’ve only been intoxicated once in my entire life. Me and my friend Joel each did eighteen shots of Captain Morgan and other various flavored rums and vodkas until the inevitable occurred. My friend had the fortune of making it to the restroom that night, myself, I spent the following day cleaning vomit off of my couch and living room carpet. As much fun as that experience was, I’ve never drank like that again. The new film The Outrun explores the character Rona, played by the incredible Saoirse Ronan, who continues to prove her merit as one of the best young actresses working today. Based on the experiences of the writer/director Nora Fingscheidt, who was pulled headfirst into alcoholism, we observe its effects on the character Rona as she pushes through her struggles, periods of sobriety, relapses and the aftermath. The film is as haunting in its portrayal of ...
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