And so another cinema year is in the books. This year had quite a lot of strong films released. As of this writing, One Battle After Another is getting much superlative talk, and for good reason. I enjoyed that film, and do think it deserves its accolade, though I have to admit that the similarly paranoid Eddington stayed in my mind much longer. Hamnet has fantastic performances, but I found the last act to be somewhat pedantic. I am looking forward to Sentimental Journey, and Marty Supreme.
2025 Releases
There are still a number I need to watch, but I am confident these will remain high on my best of list.
Sinners and Weapons
The horror genre had a great one-two punch this year with both Sinners and Weapons. Both films go beyond the genre to tackle large, and very American, themes. Sinners with its look at colonialism, the Black experience in the South, among other themes; and Weapons with its look at gun violence and how Americans are about their children. I admit that I am a bigger fan of horror than most, but I feel audiences not generally inclined to the genre will find a lot to admire.
Left-Handed Girl
Co-written by Anora’s Sean Baker. Set in Taiwan, it is the story of a small family, a mother and two daughters as they struggle to make ends meet. The mother opens a noodle shop in one of the night markets. I-Jing, the titular girl, is adjusting to the changes. Her grandfather tells her that left-handedness is of the devil and soon she allows her devil hand to commit small thefts in the market. Gloriously shot on an I-Phone, Baker fans will no doubt notice some shared DNA with The Florida Project. Thankfully is this less depressing.
New Discoveries
The Great Waldo Pepper
With the death of Robert Redford this year, it only made sense to watch some of his movies. Waldo Pepper reteams Redford with Sting director George Roy Hill, and it is quite the marvel. Redford plays the titular Pepper, a barn-storming Flying Ace in the era before we regulated the air. In a lot of ways it is an example of those 70s drift flicks I love so much, but this has a lot more spectacle. The flying footage is exciting and wonderous. All the more impressive, that unlike today, this had to be shot for real.
Hard Times
I no longer have cable and I often bemoan the lack of access to TCM. While staying in a hotel on a trip I tuned in to see what was on. I only got to watch the first 40 minutes of this depression era fighting drama during my visit, so I watched all of it as soon as I could. I would not call myself a fan of Charles Bronson, but I did have an appreciation. I tended to think of him as this action oriented star, so it was fascinating to see him as this drifting bare-knuckle fighter in 1930s New Orleans. James Coburn is his manager. This is a more in-keeping with the 70s drift genre, unlike Waldo Pepper. It is a smaller, less grand film, but still just as engrossing.
Skeletons
Movies I somehow had not yet gotten around to watching and feel a little bad about it.
Phantom Lady
I have been a noir fan for over 20 years and I am quite familiar with director Robert Siomak. This year, I realized that he had made 4 movies with actress Ella Raines and that I had not seen any of them. Phantom Lady is a fairly well known title in Noir, but for some reason I had not gotten around to it. I was missing out. Raines plays the secretary of a man who is arrested for a murder her did not commit. His only alibi, however, is the titular woman whom no one can seem to locate. Raines investigates on her own to find her bosses only hope. A great atmosphere and an interesting story, with a great performance by Elisha Cook Jr, Noir’s favorite side-cat.
Three Days of the Condor
Another Redford classic celebrating a 50th anniversary. In New York, an entire field office of CIA researchers is killed. Only one member survives, Redford, because he was out picking up lunch. For three days he is on the run from those responsible for the murders. In that time he uncovers a conspiracy, and becomes entangled with a woman who he forces to help him. A very 70s thriller that is a classic for a reason.
Final Thoughts
At this moment I would likely pick Sinners as my top film. I see One Battle After Another probably doing quite well once the dust has settled. But a lot can change in the coming weeks. I am grateful for all the great films we got this year.
Top 25 Best Films of the 21st Century
This probably ought to merit its own article, but there are so many of these lists out there right now that I am unsure what more I could contribute. I’m just going to give you a list that I purposely didn’t allow myself to over think. I will say that for sure I feel that the best film of the 21st century so far is Mulholland Drive. I’ve written about that before (click HERE). A close second would be Parasite. Anyway, here’s my alphabetical list.
Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, 2022)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitan, 2012)
Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2021)
Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002)
Get Out (Jorden Peele, 2017)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)
Hereditary (Ari Aster, 2018)
I Saw the TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun, 2024)
In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, 2008)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
Knives Out (Rian Johnson, 2019)
Little Children (Todd Field, 2006)
Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hittman, 2020)
No Country for Old Men (Ethan & Joel Coen, 2007)
Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)
Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, 2019)
Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023)
Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007)
Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar, 2002)
Just for the fun of it, if I expanded to 30, the additions would be: Before Sunset (Linklater, 2004), In the Mood for Love (Kar-wai, 2000), Little Miss Sunshine (Faris & Dayton, 2006), Promising Young Woman (Fennell, 2020), and Perfect Days (Wenders, 2023)
~Andrew