#10- The Piano Lesson
[Watched on Netflix]
This one wasn't a particularly great
movie, the story itself would actually have it probably in the 16th or 17th spot if I was going just on that. Where
The Piano Lesson really soars and makes my top 10 are in the performances within. Performances from John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and especially Danielle Deadwyler absolutely steal this movie and carry it on their backs. The ending is also absolutely bonkers. But yeah, this movie is clearly based on a stage play because like a stage play, the story is whatever and the performances are what really count. It's worth the watch for those alone.
#09- Here
[Watched in theaters]
Here is a unique premise of following a family through the decades from a single fixed perspective and while I totally understand that this is a gimmick, that's always been Zemeckis's thing. I don't mind pushing technology and watching what can be done so long as the story itself is engaging and yeah, I enjoyed watching this one. It wasn't the most unique story in the world and yeah it has that gimmick at the center of it, but I like a sappy family story and
Here made for a solid one. That's on me being a Zemeckis truther I guess.
#08- Out of My Mind
[Watched on Disney+]
I expected nothing out of
Out of My Mind, I figured it'd be a sappy disability movie like
Wonder or that upcoming Zachary Levi autism movie
The Unbreakable Boy where they pander to the middle aged white mom and make sweeping generalizations about how disabilities should be coddled and not at all giving agency to the kids instead giving the agency to the parents.
Out of My Mind is the exact opposite of that and gives all of the agency to the girl with Cerebral Palsy (of which the actor actually has too, so nice representation there). Yeah it has familiar beats of people making fun of her and then coming to accept her, but there's never a moment where the whole school rallies behind her to win the academic decathlon like you'd see in a lesser movie of this style. Yeah, I'd actually recommend this one.
#07- Sweethearts
[Watched on MAX]
I watched this one last night and at the end I had to ask myself "did I have a blast with that?" and yeah, I actually did. After watching so many trivial contrived rom-coms this came as a really really refreshing anti rom-com. I love Kiernan Shipka and her and Nico Hariga had great chemistry here, I really believed them as co-dependent best friends and as characters overall. The best character was by far the one played by Caleb Hearon who was that one guy in
Jurassic World: Dominion and basically nothing else. He was hilarious and added a great B-plot to the movie that kept it from getting stale. I also really loved the ending which most people seem to not be a fan of, but it worked for me especially as a straight guy who does have platonic female friends. The whole myth that
When Harry Met Sally started that men and women can't be friends because they want to sleep with each other isn't necessarily true and this movie does a good job with that. I also do love a college party movie though so this one was more up my alley than some other peoples'. I do recommend checking it out though, I had a lot of fun with it.
#06- Gladiator II
[Watched in theaters]
I'm kind of a casual
Gladiator fan. I think the first movie is good, not necessarily a best picture winner in my book, but good.
Gladiator II is kind of the same with similar visual spectacle and epic sequences with less interesting character stuff in between. Despite the meme, Ancient Rome isn't really my thing, but
Gladiator II does enough with the games to make for an entertaining historical epic. The political drama was also pretty interesting for the most part though it goes on maybe a bit too long. Still, Denzel Washington showcases why he's one of the greatest of all time, Pedro Pascal continues to have a phenomenal year, Paul Mescal enters the lineup of pretty boys turned movie star alongside Timothee Chalamet and Austin Butler, and Ridley Scott makes a pretty good movie again which seems fewer and farther between nowadays. But yeah, good movie, not great.
#05- Juror #2
[Watched in theaters]
It’s absolute bullcrap what Warner Bros Discovery did to this movie, releasing only in 50 theaters. Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood icon and in his 90s still making movies, you’d think they’d want to celebrate what is allegedly his last movie by marketing it and putting it everywhere, but no.
The movie itself was a really solid legal thriller with some really good performances. Nicholas Hoult is the perfect amount of skeezy and pathetic to make this role work. Toni Collette also puts in the work here as the hopeful DA and I wouldn’t be disappointed to see a nomination for her even if it’s just a consolation prize for effing up so badly with
Hereditary. Shockingly, my favorite performances were from Chris Messina as the public defender and Zoey Deutch as Hoult’s wife who both brought humanity to the movie that it desperately needed. The whole ensemble is great though and when this hits MAX in December I recommend everyone give it a watch, it’s worth it.
#04- A Real Pain
[Watched in theaters]
I like Jesse Eisenberg but I don’t love Jesse Eisenberg, especially after his debut feature
When You Finish Saving the World which fell pretty flat for me. This time though he’s telling a much more personal story and I think it really works.
A Real Pain is a difficult watch, especially during an extended scene where the characters tour through a concentration camp. Throughout the movie you go on this rollercoaster ride with all of the characters but the standout is truly Kieran Culkin who gave what is, to me, the performance of the year. He’s hilarious and cringe and embarrassing and lovable and hateable and so many more complex contradictory emotions that it’s a miracle he managed to effectively do them all in one character without making him exhausting to deal with. I know Eisenberg is the “lead” but Culkin steals the show and I NEED to see him win an award this year.
#03- Wicked
[Watched in theaters]
I’ve already said where I stand on
Wicked, but yeah, this and the two above it all make their way into my top 10 of the year thus far and unless December hits unexpectedly hard, I feel all three will remain in that top 10 by year’s end. I’m predicting two new movies slide in but all three of these hang on.
But yeah, this movie was fantastic. Thinking on it over the week since I’ve seen it so many of the performances continue to stand out, especially Ariana Grande but also Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Peter Dinklage, and Jeff Goldblum who I loved all. The set design remains high up on my list too and the music has been on repeat in my car and will likely damage my Spotify wrapped this year. If you haven’t already, go see
Wicked!
#02- Anora
[Watched in theaters]
I thought I was going to sour on
Anora a bit, it’s one of those movies I don’t always expect to love and usually drop a few slots, but no, I’ve kept it in the same spot and still love it. All of the performances from the ensemble are great and my experience in the theater was truly amazing with the crowd that I had that it made driving through my enemy: Boston, completely worth it for that alone. It’s one of the movies I expect to get a lot of nominations this awards season and for good reason. Go see
Anora, it’s worth the time,
#01- Heretic
[Watched in theaters]
This may surprise people in a month of greatness like
Anora and
Wicked, but yeah,
Heretic takes the cake for me. Again, I was raised Catholic but as I’ve grown up I’ve fallen out of religion and while I don’t really know where I’d classify myself, I don’t take part in the organized aspect of it in any way. I do, however, love the idea of theology from a sociological perspective and in college I took a bunch of classes on theology dissecting multiple world religions. I love discussing faith and its role in humanity and how even if you don’t believe in a religion you can still connect with elements of different ones, so this movie was literally made for me.
I absolutely loved Hugh Grant here, he’s a second behind Kieran Culkin for my performance of the year. He’s menacing yet calm and personable and you can see why he was an 80s and 90s heartthrob because he really is charming. The girls here are also great and match his wit pretty readily despite his confidence.
What I loved about this movie most though is how it is neither an indictment nor endorsement of a religion. Both sides get ample time in the spotlight and the movie comes to a conclusion that is super fair and balanced and yet up to interpretation. I think a very religious person and a staunch Reddit atheist can both go into this movie and both come out feeling they were fairly represented and that the movie concluded in their favor. It’s really a masterclass of discussion. While I get why this may not be most people’s number one of the month, I truly loved every minute of it and highly highly recommend.
———————————————————————————————
We’ve got one more month and I’m at 300 movies, so can I cram 65 in? We’ll have to wait and see. December is looking alright with a few heavy hitters and a few probably misses for me.
Nosferatu tops my anticipated list as it has since the year began, I’m so excited we’re finally getting it! But
The Brutalist is also heavy on my radar as a contender for my top 10. I’m less excited about but still interested in
Nightb*tch, Babygirl, A Complete Unknown, Nickel Boys, Queer, and War of the Rohirim and while
Sonic 3 and
Mufasa are the big names for the month, they’re two I have no expectations about. I go into every movie hoping it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen, so who knows, maybe they’ll surprise me.
I’m glad November is over and I’m looking forward to another (final) month of 2024 movies!
) and my quick Epcot stopover to get the Cosmic Rewind credit and soak up World Showcase one last time during my Epic Universe trip in about a year will very much be the "last hurrah" for my run of going to the Disney parks. It's so painfully obvious Disney is JUST in Tom and Jerry Movie "we've got to have MONEY!!" mode and they literally just Do. Not. Care about doing anything that's actually creative or pushes the bar in any direction. 