2024: The Year In Movies

The return of my annual long December vacation helped push up a weak first eleven months of the year, giving me my lowest total since 2021.  I managed to watch 52 movies last year, my fourth consecutive year under 100, despite being home all day and not needing to bother with pesky things like a commute.  Or exercise.  Reading 62 books and watching game shows all day probably didn’t help either.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I watched last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

The Assistant (2019)
A day in the life of an assistant to a film producer, who quickly realizes that abuse is all around her.

The Holdovers (2023)
A tight-assed teacher and a troublesome student bond when they are left alone at their boarding school over winter break.

May December (2023)
An actress starts to come between a couple who, twenty years ago, had a notorious tabloid relationship.

The Equalizer 3 (2023)
The latest entry in the Denzel Washington series.

Wrong Turn (2021)
A group of friends hiking the Appalachian Trail come across a community none too happy to see them.

The Equalizer (2014)
When a young girl is kidnapped by Russian pimps, a former commando comes out of retirement to rescue her.

Plus One (2019)
Longtime friends agree to be each other’s plus one at the various weddings they get invited to.

Pearl (2022)
A young woman tries to become a star to escape from her overbearing parents and living on an isolated farm.

Thanksgiving (2023)
A killer attacks on Thanksgiving.

Upgraded (2024)
An intern at an auction house misrepresents herself to impress a man.

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The Academy Award Goes To

side_oscarAs they finish polishing up the statues for tonight’s ceremony, it’s time to finish up our predictions with the major categories for the 96th Academy Awards.  So, without further ado, we begin with:

Best Picture

American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

I’ve seen a grand total of two of these, but neither is likely to win so I’ll go with Oppenheimer, which seems like the type of movie to win these awards.

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

Paul Giamatti’s performance in The Holdovers is the best of the nominated work that I have seen.  Of course, it is also the only nominated performance that I have seen.

Best Actress

Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Emma Stone, Poor Things

I’ve seen none of these, so I’ll take a stab in the dark and pick Emma Stone.

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The Nominees Are

side_oscarThe 96th Academy Awards are going down next Sunday night and that means it is time for another go-around of my woeful predictions.  I don’t know that I’ve heard of many of these movies let alone seen them, so, with less basis in fact than most years, here’s my uneducated predictions for the non-acting awards.

Best Original Screenplay

Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall
David Hemingson, The Holdovers
Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, Maestro
Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik, May December
Celine Song, Past Lives

I’ve seen a whopping two of these films, so I’m going to pick my favorite of the two, The Holdovers.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Cord Jefferson, American Fiction
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Tony McNamara, Poor Things
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest

I’m assuming this will be the start of a big night for Nolan and Oppenheimer.

Best Animated Feature

The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Once again, I’ll go with the one I’ve seen.

Best Cinematography

Edward Lachman, El Conde
Rodrigo Prieto, Killers of the Flower Moon
Matthew Libatique, Maestro
Hoyte van Hoytema, Oppenheimer
Robbie Ryan, Poor Things

Seems like I’m going all in with the atomic bomb movie.

Best Costume Design

Jacqueline Durran, Barbie
Jacqueline West, Killers of the Flower Moon
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Napoleon
Ellen Mirojnick, Oppenheimer
Holly Waddington, Poor Things

This seems like as good a place as any for Barbie to get on the board.

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