Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
These Top Ten 5 films rose to the top of 2024’s mountain of excellent movies. Many will vie for Oscars. Join the fun, view these movies in theaters or on streaming services and watch great cinema.
#5 Monkey Man (***½)
“Every day, I’ve prayed for a way to protect the weak,” says the lead character Kid (Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire). And thus, his quest to stamp out corrupt leaders in his region of India. Patel, as the writer and director, crafts a revenge allegory that plunges audiences into India’s social issues and politics. They get a feel for the country’s mysticism and are introduced to Hanuman, the Monkey God. An ancient Hindu deity whose powers include strength, intelligence and compassion for the less fortunate. A crazed John Wick style of direction delivers a steady flow of fight-or-flight incidents in a very frenetic art film.
#4 Emilia Pérez (***½)
Gender ID transformations, crime, thrills and romance get mixed into a surprising cocktail of emotions in this musical/thriller. A successful defense lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldana) is pressured into heading the transition team for a Mexican drug cartel kingpin (Karla Sofía Gascón). Audiences, along with Rita, won’t be prepared for the transition that ensues. Director Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) and his co-screenwriters Thomas Bidegain and Nicolas Livecchi fathomed a crime story that thwarts any predictability. Stunning reveals, awkward upheavals and violent reactions snowball. Genre categories are defied. As intense as a shot of Tequila.
#3 Daughters (****)
Start with a humanizing premise and there’s nowhere to go but up. When a little girl shares her feelings, “My dad can’t come to the father/daughter dance because he’s in jail,” that becomes a catalyst. It initiates a conscious effort to bring little girls together with their incarcerated dads for a prom that could change their lives for the better. First-time documentary director Angela Patton, the CEO of Girls for Change, and video music director Natalie Rae (Leon Bridges: Bad Bad News) bring this bit of misty-eyed redemption and heaven to film fans with love. When a father says, “The streets don’t love us. Our kids love us,” you know this film bears witness to a wondrous metamorphosis.
#2 Conclave (****)
This riveting film adaption by director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Straughan is an extraordinary drama/thriller. An incisive religious parable about those who connive in the Vatican. No one, not even a detective or mystery film aficionado, could ever guess where the storyline is going. Evidently, choosing a new pope can be a fiendish and deliciously political process. Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Lucian Msamati, Carlos Diehz and Isabella Rossellini embody the meaning of ensemble acting. The final reveal is a shocker. A jolt.
#1 The Brutalist (****)
Hard to believe this entrancing bio/drama, which exhibits an artistry and craftsmanship usually rendered by foreign directors, was created by Arizona-born filmmaker Brady Corbet. Hard to believe that’s what’s on view is complete fiction! László Toth, a Jewish Hungarian architect, flees post-WWII Europe in 1947. He finds refuge in Pennsylvania, where he tries to rebuild his life and career. Exquisitely shot (Lol Crawley), produced and directed. Adrien Brody melts into the soul-torn lead character. Actors Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce and Isaac De Bankolé are stellar. A brilliant work of art.
