Month: January 2025

The Best and Worst Movies of 2024

By Danny Minton

I will be the first to admit that my prediction of 2024 was completely off, in a very good way.  With the writers and actors strikes last year, I thought there would be a huge effect on the quality and amount of films we would see this year.  But alas, I was wrong, and we were fed a cornucopia of fantastic movies all year long, with many big surprises along the way.  One thing we did see, though, was a different kind of film experience in many cases, with low budget yet high quality pics with actors, writers and directors we’ve never heard of.  Anora, for example, is leading the Oscar race in many of the top categories, and yet very few people are familiar with its director or any of its cast.  Other films, such as The Brutalist and Conclave, both of which are major competitors for Best Picture this year, have relatively new directors who we will definitely hear from again.  Many films on my list will strike a chord with readers, but there are a few that you might not have heard of, but that you definitely need to check out when given the chance.  

1) Dune: Part Two (Streaming on MAX).  I’ve spoken to many people who just couldn’t get into Dune: Part One, and thusly never game Part Two a chance.  What a shame.  While I loved the first one, I also knew that it was only the first act of a larger vision.  Part two is much less of a sequel and much more the continuation and finale of the original book.  Telling the continued journey of Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and his rise to power within the Dune universe, the film proves to be absorbing, thrilling, and extremely powerful.  So many filmmakers have been trying to bring Dune to the big screen for decades but all we’ve gotten until now is the lousy 80’s David Lynch version, which, unfortunately caused several generations to give up on the idea that we would have a film to live up to its potential.  But Denis Villeneuve’s vision and masterful storytelling ability gave us not only the best picture of the year, but also one of the greatest sci-fi flicks of the twenty-first century.  

2) Wicked (In Theaters Now, Available for Home Purchase on December 31).  I fully expected to like Wicked when I walked into the theater to see it the first time, but I didn’t expect to love it.  Having seen the stage production a dozen times or so, I knew the story had potential, but I also knew that it could easily be mishandled and moreover difficult to adapt as a film.  But then Jon Chu (In the Heights) got his hands on it, and along with its fantastic production team and perfect casting, the movie absolutely blew me away.  Chu couldn’t have gotten a better pair of leads than Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande who have both proven themselves musically, but had very little in the way of a film resume.  But the gamble paid off and the potential has been fully realized in this incredibly cinematic retelling of the stage show.  Luckily, we will only have to wait less than a year to see the conclusion when “Wicked: For Good” will surely have us singing in our seats once again.  

3) Emilia Perez (Streaming on Netflix).  Netflix took a huge gamble with this daring musical about a Mexican cartel head (Karla Sofia Gascon) who hires a defense attorney (Zoe Saldana) to arrange a sex change operation for him so that he can disappear from his current world and maybe have a chance to live his authentic life.  Along with Selena Gomez playing the cartel leader’s wife who thinks her husband is dead, the film is entirely original, uncomfortable and completely crazy.  Directed by French auteur Jacques Audiard (A Prophet), the movie is perfectly executed in style and substance and will leave you surprised and shocked until the very end.  

4) Anora (Available for Home Purchase).  Writer/director Sean Baker (The Florida Project) tells the story here of a young exotic dancer (Mikey Madison) who decides to escort for the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch.  But when the young couple decides to get married, the family is none too happy and move in to set the situation straight.  I went into this one thinking it would be a violent and possibly scary romance with a lot of sexual content.  I was right about the sex, but completely wrong about the tone, which takes an unexpected turn that puts it more in the dark comedy arena than the crime drama expected.  I just loved everything about this film, including its cast which I’ve never seen before, and its riveting dialog.  Baker is perhaps the best new filmmaker in Hollywood and he very well could be walking away with an Oscar or two this season.  

5) The Wild Robot (Available for Home Purchase).  Christopher Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch) brings this magical tale to the big screen about a robot (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) who is lost in a crash in the Canadian wilderness and forced to rewrite its programing in order to communicate with the local wildlife living in the harsh conditions.  As the robot adapts to its new surroundings, the story develops into a beautiful tale of acceptance and perseverance.  The production itself is also a site to behold, with some of the best animation we have seen in years and a potentially Oscar-winning score by Kris Bowers.  

6) A Real Pain (Available for Home Purchase on December 31).  Zombieland’s Jessie Eisenberg takes on the roles of screenwriter, director and star of this terrific little indie about two cousins (he and Kieran Culkin) who travel to Poland to see the homeland of their grandmother who had just died and left them the money for the trip.  Full of great comedy and moving drama, the film takes us on a powerful and memorable journey through Poland while delivering two fantastic and authentic performances.  Culkin is expected to win for best supporting actor this year and you will quickly see why the second he comes on screen.  You would never want to travel with the guy, but you won’t be able to take your eyes off of him and his poorly-conceived but well-intentioned actions.  

7) Sing Sing (Coming Soon for Home Purchase).  I wasn’t sure what to think about this experimental drama when I first started watching.  The story follows an inmate at the Sing Sing prison (Coleman Domingo) who is the star actor in a drama troupe made up of prisoners for the purpose of rehabilitation through acting.  Most audiences know Domingo, but the other actors are all unknown and you almost get the sense that they are actually inmates.  And then you check the interwebs and find out that that’s because they actually used former inmates from this actual program in their cast.  It’s a remarkable story that will have you completely engaged and leave you with empathy for these men using this medium to try to put their lives back together again.  

8) Saturday Night (Streaming Free on Peacock and Available for Home Purchase).   I’ve always loved Saturday Night Live since I used to stay up late and watch (unbeknownst to my parents) in the late seventies until today as I watch and laugh my way through every new episode.  This new movie from Jason Reitman explores the hours that led up to the very first episode where Lorne Michaels (played here by Gabriel LaBelle from The Fablemans) puts everything on the line to give America The Not Ready for Primetime Players in all their glory.  It is a frenetic and disorganized mess of a story that comes off as too crazy to be made up.  It also happens to be the funniest film of the year, with witty dialog and hilarious physical comedy.  As the icing on the cake, make sure to watch the very first episode of SNL after your’e done to see how it all turns out!

9) My Old Ass (Streaming on Amazon Prime).  Maisy Stella plays Elliott, a young girl about to head off to college who just happens to do shrooms with her friends on a camping trip, only to find that she hallucinates a discussion with her older self (played by Aubrey Plaza) who gives her all kinds of advice, chiefly to stay away from a boy she hasn’t even met yet.  But then she meets him and her life is forever changed.  This little 90 minute comedy will have you laughing and crying in equal parts as you enjoy the conversations one can have with one’s self.  It’s just a lovable little Indie that I can’t recommend highly enough.  

10) The Substance (Steaming on MUBI and Available for Home Purchase or Rental).  Demi Moore has reentered the scene in this stunning horror film about a once-famous actress who is desperate to find her younger self again.  Upon a recommendation, she enlists the help of a secret company that sells a compound called The Substance, which promises the fountain of youth.  After taking the drug, a younger version of herself pops out of her body (in the form of actress Margaret Qualley) with one rule to follow, she must switch between her young and old body every other week.  This thing is dark and there is an extreme amount of nudity, so I wouldn’t recommend to most audiences, but if you are a little deranged like me, you will love it.  It’s also getting a lot of Oscar buzz given it is the best film directed by a woman this year, and there is still a lot of love for Demi out there.

The Next 10: Conclave, Flow, Hit Man, Will & Harper, A Complete Unknown, Heretic, Alien: Romulus, Monkey Man, Civil War, Thelma

The Worst:

1) Joker: Folie a Deux.  The first one I hated due to its glorification of senseless violence.  This one I hated because it was just plain stupid.  It almost feels like they made a bad movie on purpose.

2) Megalopolis.  We’ve seen Francis Ford Coppola make some magnificent art.  But this is a vision he should have wiped from his mind instead of spending hundreds of millions of his own money on making it. 

3) Argyle.  An incredible cast and typically talented director (along with a reported $200 Million dollar budget) couldn’t save this ridiculous miscalculation about a writer who discovers that she is a secret agent.  

4) Jackpot!  Director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy) butchers this story about what happens if winning the lottery requires that you stay alive long enough to claim the prize.  

5) Longlegs.  I have no clue how this cheesy horror flick attempting to be Silence of the Lambs got so many great reviews, as it feels more like one of the worst of Nicholas Cage’s more recent duds than one of his surprising successes.   

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of December 16, 2024

The Brutalist

Unrated but would be a hard R or worse

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

In Theaters

This epic historical drama tells the story of a Jewish immigrant (Adrien Brody) who survives the holocaust and comes to America, in the hopes that his wife (Felicity Jones) might someday be able to join him to live out their lives in safety and hope.  But life is hard for him as he has gone from being one of Budapest’s most noted architects to a traumatized day laborer in Pennsylvania.  But when an opportunity comes along to surprise a rich businessman (Guy Pearce) with a renovated library in his home, his talent is discovered and he is given the opportunity to design and create a massive project.  There is a lot to like here in this movie and at times it comes off like The Godfather with a There Will Be Blood vibe.  Writer/director Brady Corbet (Vox Lox) paints a rough but beautiful portrait of the immigrant experience, filled with the good, the bad, the lonely, the desperate and a host of other emotions that would have been natural in a character such as this.  And Adrien Brody is the perfect actor to play the part.  Tough and delicate at the same time, he moves through the film in a way that has us cheering for him while dreading his demons as he struggles through his journey.  The performances of the supporting cast, especially those from Pearce and Jones, are top of the line and all three should be favorites for awards nominations and possible wins.  Unfortunately, the film has some major flaws that detract from its ability to be consistent.  My biggest problem is the movie has some very graphic sexual scenes that really distract from the focus of the film.  These scenes frustrated me and took me out of the project, rather than the intended purpose of making the story clearer.  After all, I would only assume that Corbet would say these moments were the focus of the film and the nature of the flawed characters.  I had no problem with the frank sexual nature of other films this year such as Anora or The Substance, but here, I couldn’t help but think to myself “why is this even necessary?”  Also of note is a really hefty runtime, that could have been compressed.  At over three-and-a-half hours, the film does seem a little long at times.  I did love that he included an intermission, but a shave and haircut would have taken away that need.  I also thought the style of the epilogue was odd and completely out of place in such a project.  Maybe on a secondary viewing it might make sense, but here it had me scratching my head.  While it won’t top my list of films this year, it is already being touted as a potential Oscar winner.  Time will tell.  This film shows a lot of promise, but some strange and out of place choices from its creator causes it to get in its own way.  B+

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of December 23, 2024

The Fire Inside

Rated PG-13 for brief suggestive material, thematic elements and some strong language

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

In Theaters

This inspirational sports flick follows the true story of Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny), who fought against all odds to become one of the greatest female boxers of all time.  As a little girl, she demanded to be coached by Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry), in a male-only gym located in Flint, Michigan.  Moving up the ranks, she was able to qualify for the Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win a gold medal in boxing.  Many will already know much about this fighter before going in, and this film exists to both to tell her story but also to celebrate it.  Written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), the film is only slightly formulaic but goes against the grain by exploring what happens after victory as much as what it takes to get there.  This proves to be a smart way to tell Claressa’s story as it gives more than just your standard journey to getting the gold.  It also shows the good, the bad and the indifferent of what can happen after success.  Directed by noted cinematographer Rachel Morrison (Mudbound, Dope) the film has also has an exciting feel and pace that proves to be extremely entertaining.  Acting-wise, Henry is fantastic as coach Crutchfield and manages to elevate everyone around him as the pair work together for their common goal.  In a holiday season without a lot of family-friendly non-musical fare, this is a welcome addition that should play well, although it’s lack of star-power might hurt it’s chances of competing in a crowded field.  Hopefully, it won’t get lost in the shuffle enough to find a willing audience to give it a chance, as it is a sports pic that will having your cheering and leave you feeling upbeat as you walk out of the theater.  A-

Nosferatu

Rated R for graphic nudity, bloody violent content, and some sexual content

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

In Theaters

For the ultimate of Christmas experiences, try this graphic horror pic by famed dark filmmaker Robert Eggers (The Northman, The Lighthouse) which retells the 1922 German silent film of the same title.  Having never seen the silent film, I was completely unaware that this tale was a near copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, only with the characters renamed and with slight story differences throughout.  But here it is not the story that is most important but the style, and Eggars creates a wickedly disturbing canvas for this particular story.  As with all his films, this one is extremely violent and odd, which desires for you to be enthralled yet disgusted.  Cinematically, the film is so macabre that it is almost beautiful, with terrific production and many great performances.  Unfortunately, I was very put off by the look of Count Orlok, whose image was more confounding that horrifying.  Bill Skarsgård does a decent enough job playing him, but I wanted to look away every time he came on screen, more out of repulsion than fear.  I also wish that that there was a more compelling romantic narrative here, like there was in Dracula.  If you’re going to copy anything from Bram Stoker, that would be a major replication to include.  By the end, I could appreciate what Eggers had done, but I couldn’t find a way to really like it, and I absolutely wanted to.  B-

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of December 9, 2024

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Rated PG-13 for strong violence

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 62% at time of writing

In Theaters

From famed anime director Kenji Kamiyama comes this prequel to Lord of the Rings that is set 183 years before the events that occurred in the trilogy.  Telling the story of the legendary king of Rohan, Helm Hammerhead, the movie attempts to give us a nice lead up to saga we all know so well.  When Helm accidentally kills the father of a young man who wants to marry his daughter, the son seeks revenge, holding the citizens of Rohan trapped in what will later be known as Helm’s Deep.  Left to protect her people, the daughter, Héra, must summon the strength and wit to either lead or be left to die.  While I’m not sure if Executive Producers Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson (and original filmmakers of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies) lent their talents to the making of this project, the fact that they are even listed as creatives here definitely throws credibility to it.  So, I went in expecting a good story, decent animation and solid production, and I got just that.  The film is a well-crafted drama that seems enough like canon to engage and keep your attention.  Action-packed and full of tension, the script is focused and tight, with very little foreshadowing of events to come, but at least giving us a primer on where they might have come from.  I rather liked the ambition of the project and its ability to entertain from the start.  And while I’m not the biggest fan of this style of animation, its art is not lost on me, and the medium seems appropriate enough to help its audience follow the tale without distraction.  While it is animated, it most certainly is a film designed for older teens and young adults, and will carry little interest for kids, unless they are already fans of the franchise.  This might take a little away from the box office, but at least it never panders in order to try to broaden its audience.  It knows what it is and plows ahead full speed without apology.  B

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of December 2, 2024

Nightbitch

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 66%

In Theaters

Based on the novel by Rachael Yoder, Amy Adams plays a stay at home mother who has put her professional life as an artist on hold while she raises her infant son.  With her life full of regrets and her relationship with her husband (Scoot McNairy) strained to the limits, her world takes a surreal turn when she begins to discover that she might be turning into a dog, hunting at night with a pack of neighborhood canines.  You can tell that this strange little tale, which just happened to land a megastar in the leading role, was meant to draw attention to a very specific group of young women: stay at home moms who hate being stay at home moms, either some, or all of the time.  While the nightmarish pseudo-shapeshifting adds for a much needed comedic refocussing, the crux of the film centers around the mental illness parenting can cause, and some very unhealthy ways of dealing with it.  While the very subject matter is not enjoyable in the least, Amy Adams overcomes that with a roaring performance that makes the film at least a watchable and teachable event.  I don’t particularly like her character, and I felt as much empathy for the husband as I did the wife, but I can also appreciate its merits and its message.  So while the acting is great, the story could have used some work if they had any intention of widening its audience, which might not be what the filmmakers wanted at all.  In fact, it seems quite the opposite.  C+

Flow

Rated PG for peril and thematic elements

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

In Theaters

This Latvian-made animated film, which won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Award, tells the story of a cat who finds itself facing a flood at the end of the world which threatens its existence if it doesn’t make daring moves to somehow stay alive.  In order to survive, it is forced to make friends with an unlikely group of animals, including a dog, a lemur, a capybara and a secretary bird, all struggling to literally keep their head above water.  As land begins to disappear and they find themselves trapped in a row boat, they go on a beautiful but deadly journey, seeing a world that seems to have lost its humans long ago and which is now evolving into a new and strange planet.  All told without the use of animals talking amongst one another, the film uses natural animal actions, for the most part, for communication and action.  While there are some moments that feel more like a Miyazaki film, the overall story arch comes across as original and unique, always keeping you on your toes and never projecting its next move.  With beautiful animation and spectacular sound design, this experience becomes one heck of little movie that could land Oscar nominations for both animation and best foreign film, since it has been submitted as the Latvian qualifier for Best International Feature.  A-

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of November 18, 2024

Gladiator II

Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%

In Theaters

For years we have been promised a sequel to one of the great modern classics: 2000’s Gladiator.  As you may recall, Gladiator ended with a brutal fight to the death between its hero Maximus (Russell Crowe) and the evil emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), leaving Lucilla (Connie Nelson) and her son Lucius safe, for a bit.  In the time since that ending, evil emperors have come into power and the need to hide Lucius brought him to an African kingdom to live out his life in relative safety.  But when the Romans, led by a new and somewhat honorable general (Pedro Pascal) come to invade that African Kingdom, adult Lucius (Paul Mescal) is captured upon their defeat and brought as a slave to Rome.  That’s when a power-hungry slave-trader named Macrinus (Denzel Washington) purchases Lucius and puts him into the Gladiatorial games.  But Lucius, being the rightful heir to the throne, wants nothing but revenge and retribution for crimes both old and new.  Let me first say that I am a major Gladiator fan.  So much so that I have a son named Maximus.  So I was eager to see what director Ridley Scott had planned for this sequel that was more than 20 years in the making.  Story wise, I was okay with the plot and the revelations.  The screenplay is complex and fits in nicely with what came before it.  I also really loved the multiple actions sequences including the war in the beginning, the apes, rhino and eventually the huge set piece where they filled the Colosseum with water to reenact ship battles.  I’m pretty sure they couldn’t have had live sharks in those battles, but if you’ve been to the Colosseum, you would know that this was something that they did from time to time and the visuals here are stunning.  Unfortunately, this film has some serious problems, mainly in that it is overly-stuffed and clunky.  Just as in Scott’s last epic, Napoleon, the film feels like a four adventure shoved into two-and-a-half.  So rather than fluidity between beats, you get chunk after chunk thrown against each other, more like a video game than a movie.  This was not only distracting as you are trying to enjoy the journey, but it also takes vital focus off of important relationships and developments.  And because of this, it also removes the emotional weight it might have had.  There were several moments in the first Gladiator that had me in tears and then really rooting for the hero.  This one had none of that.  Maximus had a solid reason for vengeance, but here Lucius does not.  I feel as if they had a monumental story to tell, but just couldn’t find the proper way to tell it.  By the end, they manage to get it all out, but not in a way that equals the legacy left by the first.  B-

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of November 11, 2024

Heretic

Rated R for some bloody violence

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

In Theaters

Two young Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) make a stop at the home of an older gentleman (Hugh Grant) in the hopes of converting him to Mormonism.  Things start out innocent enough as they begin to have a riveting discussion about religion, but as the conversation moves forward, they become aware that they are not safe, and in fact snared, with no way of getting out a message to the outside world.  Nicely enough, he tries to convince them that their faith, and all faiths for that matter, are wrong, and that he can introduce them to the only faith that is real.  From the trailer, you are more than fully aware that this is a horror film and one that looks extremely creepy.  What you are not aware of is how intellectually challenging the movie is.  Much of this is due to Hugh Grant really getting into the role and while doing so, turning in one the best performances of his career.  He is wickedly funny and while maybe I should have been frightened, I found myself instead completely engaged.  But if this were a one-sided equation, the frights wouldn’t be that effective.  So thankfully the girls provide for thrilling game of chess, with their lives on the line.  They know they are in danger, but they are convinced that there is a way out of the mouse trap.  Definitely not for everyone, the film could be a tough watch for those who are weak in their own faith, and some might feel very much caught in the puzzle, along with the girls.  But for me, this is a true thinking-person’s horror film that is more exhilarating than scary.  A-

Anora

Rated R for graphic nudity, drug use, pervasive language and strong sexual content

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

In Theaters

If you follow the website Goldderby.com, which tracks the awards odds for films, this project tops the lists as the favorite to win this year’s Oscars for best picture and best actress.  The story follows an exotic dancer and escort (Mikey Madison) who finds herself becoming friends with a young and very rich kid (Mark Eydelshteyn), who happens to be the son of a Russian billionaire.  While he is paying for his plentiful amount of time with her, the two begin to hit it off, and in an impulse, they decide to marry in a Vegas chapel.  But when his handlers, and subsequently his parents, discover the marriage, they step in to try to end it.  I don’t want to give off spoilers here, so if that makes you nervous, you should quit reading.  But after seeing the trailer, and throughout the first act of the movie, I was convinced that there would be some extreme violence occurring, given the perception of Russian mafia presence.  So I was completely surprised that this film never treads those waters, but instead delivers one hell of an ambitious dark comedy with huge laughs, although accomplished in an authentic manner.  Since I didn’t know a soul in the film, it comes across as real.  Maybe not documentary real – but genuine nonetheless.  Winning this year’s prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival, this film is an audacious and thrilling tale, for the right audience.  Pay strict attention to the rating here.  If this one does win the Oscar, you probably won’t want to throw a family Oscar party as it is one of the most sexually adventurous films in recent memory.  But once again, writer/director Sean Baker churns out a remarkable piece of filmmaking that solidifies his reputation in Hollywood.  A

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of October 28, 2024

Emilia Pérez

Rated R for some violent content, sexual material and language

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%

In Select Theaters Now and Streaming on Netflix on November 13

From the brilliant mind of French auteur Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) comes this audacious musical which follows a young defense attorney in Mexico City (Zoe Saldana) whose success catches the attention of a cartel leader (Karla Sofia Gascon) who wishes to hire her to help him fake his death so that so that he can leave the criminal world and live his most authentic life.  But that loss comes with baggage in the form of his wife he must leave behind (Selena Gomez).  There’s a lot more to the story than this and if you don’t try to find out more, you will appreciate it, as you want to be surprised here.  The film is absolutely bonkers, but in a good way.  The true storyline is crazy yet extremely creative and it is pulled off with precision from an amazing international production team.  Because the musical numbers are largely in Spanish, it won’t be one most of us will leave the theater humming, but they are still effective and the choreography is both fascinating and fantastic.  With so many of these elements of this film working so well, the glue that makes it all stick are the amazing performances by its leading ladies.  At Cannes this year, they gave the best actress award to not one actress, but to the ensemble.  This has never happened before, but it is telling for how powerful these women are together.  The actresses work as one to weave a phenomenal tale where you never know what will happen next and frankly, you don’t try to guess because you are so intrigued by the journey.  It is scary, moving, weird, emotional, sad, and uplifting, putting you in so many different moods in so many different moments.  Will some folks find it to be a little too much for them?  Of course they will.  Especially considering today’s political climate and the vitriol being spewed by a large segment of the population.  But it doesn’t make this film any less important, and it will be that much more impactful when awards are being discussed about what could become a very controversial film.  But for now, I must just recommend that you go into it as empty as you can and take your open mind with you.  It will thank you later.  A