My Top Ten Films of 2024 (and Some More)

In alphabetical order:
“The Brutalist” – Grand in scope but sensitive to the smallest moments, it has thoughtful looks at pride, art, trauma, and the places we create for home, worship, and work.
“Conclave” – An arresting combination of visual splendor, thrilling performances, the beats of a door-slamming farce, and serious, dramatic engagement with issues of honor, faith, and leadership.
“Inside Out 2”– There is so much wisdom about how even our most painful and fearful emotions can help keep us safe, and of course so much charm, with endearing characters and imaginative settings.
“Mountains” – This low-budget indie has sensitive performances, nuanced characters, gorgeous cinematography, and an insightful, layered story about gentrification, assimilation, and family.
“My Old Ass” – I was not expecting the emotional wallop at the end of a story about a teenager who meets her future self, but by the time it ended, it felt exactly right.
“A Real Pain” – Writer/director/star Jesse Eisenberg gave Kieran Culkin the showier role, and he gives one of the best performance of the year. But what stays with me is Eisenberg’s speech about Culkin’s character that is at the heart of a film about individual and generational pain and the connections that help us bear it.
“September 5” – Mr. Rogers told us to look for the helpers when tragedy strikes. This tightly scripted, superbly acted and edited story of sports journalists who never anticipated they would be covering a terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympics, is a welcome reminder of how lucky we are to have people of courage and integrity to report the news.
“Thelma” – The most lovable underdog story of the year is this heartwarming film about an elderly woman who takes on a scammer.
“Touch” – This is the tenderest of love stories, stretching over oceans and half a century, beautifully filmed.
“Wicked” – The biggest of Hollywood musical extravaganzas is wildly entertaining but keeps the focus where it belongs, on two characters who remind us that no one is all good or all bad.

Other movies I loved this year: “Deadpool and Wolverine,” “Emilia Perez,” “The Fall Guy,” “Flow,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Hard Truths,” “The Piano Lesson,” “Sing Sing,” “The Wild Robot,” “Wolfs”