I haven’t yet seen The Brutalist or Joker: Folie a Deux, and my fingers are crossed for A Complete Unknown…go, James Mangold and Timothee Chalamet!
But there’s no question that Anora, Conclave, All We Imagine As Light and A Real Pain are first-rate knockouts and likely Best Picture nominees.
So if you want to think hopefully or liberally that’s seven that appear likely to make the cut early next year. Okay, eight if you include the better-than-decent Emilia Perez, which has nonetheless been overpraised by the whoo-whoo brigade.
I’ve no faith in Gladiator II, certainly not with the dreaded Paul Mescal in the lead. It’s my humble opinion that Ridley Scott’s peak years are behind him.
Yes, I admired Dune: Part Two but let’s not get carried away.
A formidable cinema year always has at least 15 if not 20 films that qualify as very good to excellent. As I’ve just indicated, it’s a push to name more than ten 2024 films that make the grade.
Forget The Substance. It’s a passable Cronenbergian social-satire horror flick, but guys like David Ehrlich need to calm down.
2007 boasted 25 top-of-the-liners. 1971 saw the release of 27 grade-A releases, and 55 if you want to be gracious about it. Face it — ‘24 has proved to be a weak sister.
