Posted by Well that was another tumultuous year, were things ever boring and perfunctory? From the comic (nuns on the run in Austria and that drunk racoon) and the tragic (the California wildfires and the Bondi Beach attack), to the Trump. He was sworn in and unleashed tariff based havoc on the world, basically waged war against Venezuela, gave old allies an ear bashing and – try as he might – couldn’t quite shake off the Epstein story. He was rather fond of war mongering dictators as well, buddying up with Putin, offering him a very cosy peace deal and bashing Zelensky. Israel and Hamas struck a very fragile peace. France is mired in debt and stuck in a political quagmire. Starmer couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery, and is an expert at u-turns, high taxes and bad public relations.
England threw away the ashes in spectacular fashion but the lionesses were triumphant at the euros. Liverpool won the league and at the tender age of 17 Luke Littler became the world darts champion. Unfortunately France won the six nations. Lando Norris won the F1 world championship, after a concerted effort by himself, Mclaren and Verstappen to not make that happen.
In movies, the top film in the global box office was the Chinese animated flick Ne Zha 2 with an astonishing $2.2B in revenue – and I have still never heard of it. A film I have heard of topped the UK charts, A Minecraft Movie with £56.8M. Anora won the best picture at the oscars, with that film’s director Sean Baker nabbing the best director gong.
Below are my favourites from the past year, click the links to read more and find my 2024 list here.
5. Weapons
From Zach Cregger the director behind Barbarian comes Weapons, a horror film with maddening levels of suspense that will creep you out no end. An average American town wakes up to find that 17 children have disappeared and you slowly but surely find out the horrifying reasons why. Josh Brolin as anguished dad Archer, Julia Garner as tortured teacher Justine and Cary Christopher as the put upon child Alex all grab your attention. Not to mention Amy Madigans Aunt Gladys, an iconic character who will certainly live long in the memory.
4. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
The third in the series from director Rian Johnson, starring Daniel Craig’s infamous Southern gent Benoit Blanc. After the extravagant, elite bashing, paradise island retreat of Glass Onion comes a gothic whodunnit with strong religious imagery and a classic locked room mystery. Benoit is joined by Josh O’Connor’s priest Jud Duplenticy, a holy man with a violent past but a strong moral compass, who investigate the demise of Josh Brolin’s delightfully brusque, vitriolic and aggressive Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. This is a gripping murder mystery with a satisfying ending and a stellar cast, with Glenn Close’s devout churchgoer Martha, Jeremey Renners alcoholic Dr Nat Sharp and Kerry Washington’s increasingly acerbic lawyer Vera Draven a few of the many highlights.
3. Frankenstein
Since the age of seven Guillermo Del Toro‘s ambition has been to make a Frankenstein film. That has now been realised in a dark, gothic and very violent manner, mixing fantasy and horror to beautiful visuals. The story is told from two people’s perspectives, the first one being Oscar Isaacs tormented Victor Frankenstein, his neglected upbringing and his obsession with beating death. Then we get the monster’s side of things, with his confusion, inner turmoil and brute strength brought to life by Jacob Elordi (Saltburn). All coming together to make a dark and brutal tale which covers father and son relationships, capitalism, greed, religion, science and love.
2. One Battle After Another
An irresistible tour de force,Paul Thomas Anderson‘s One Battle After Another is a frenetic, action packed political thriller choc full of ideas and characters. We follow Leonardo DiCaprio’s Bob Ferguson, see his activist zeal in the left wing terror group the French 75 and all the powerful enemies they made. Cut to the present day and Bob is a constantly stoned slacker who finds himself thrust back into that world, trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter (Teyana Taylor) and face the consequences of his previous actions. The is a gripping movie with nerve-rending degree of tension and a multitude of good performances, one amongst them being Sean Penn’s wickedly demented Colonel Lockjaw.
1. 28 Years Later
Director and writer duo Danny Boyle and Alex Garland reunited for 28 Years Later, the third film in the series. The virus has been wiped out in all of Europe bar Britain, which is quarantined, isolated from the world and guarded by naval vessels. There is a small community on Holy Island and as part of a coming of age ritual, Spike and his dad Jamie (brilliantly played by Alfie Williams and Aaron Taylor-Johnson respectively) venture out into mainland Britain. Things quickly go wrong and the quest for answers begins in this traumatic drama of personal discovery, undercut with subtle humour. Whilst it is not an out and out horror, it is fantastic and builds upon the claustrophobia of the original. It also features a nice cameo from the Tellytubbies to boot.
Occupying places 6 to 10 are Heads of State, The Monkey, A House of Dynamite, Ballad of a Small Player and The Accountant 2.
Battling it out for the wooden spoon are the Netflix films The Electric State and Havoc. The former is a big sci-fi blockbuster from the Russo brothers, which looks pretty but is a mediocre rehash of Guardians of the Galaxy with clichéd characters and a bland story. The winner though is Havoc, this is a moody, convoluted and dull mess brought to you by the director behind the otherwise good Apostle and The Raid films. From its story down to its dodgy CGI, it is poor and best left alone.
As for TV shows, the worldwide phenomenon Adolescence deserved the praise heaped upon it. It is a one shot drama where 13 year old Jamie Miller, played superbly by Owen Cooper, gets accused of murder and we see the devastating fallout. An affecting look at knife crime, violence and toxic masculinity amongst young boys and teens. The new series of Black Mirror was a blessed improvement on series 6, the bittersweet Casablanca inspired Hotel Reverie, the maniacal thronglets in Plaything and the sequel to the USS Callister episode are all top drawer. Brenda Blethyn’s inimitable take on Ann Cleeves’ force of nature Vera sadly came to an end last year, in what will surely go down as one of the best 21st century detective dramas. As for documentaries, the BBC’s Once Upon a Time in Space is a riveting look at the space race from the ‘50s to the present day – introducing us to the astronauts and reflecting the wonder, sacrifices, personal costs and politics at play.
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