Films and Documentaries in 2024

Some of my favorites from this year.... 10 feature films and 10 documentaries.

DUNE PART TWO: On 70mm 1:43 IMAX this was an awe inspiring vision of another world. Villeneuve is making high art on the largest canvas possible and he’s absolutely nailing it. The best movie of the year.

NOSFERATU: Under the spell of demon dreams: Robert Eggers cements his place as the modern master of horrific gothic folk tales - artful, detailed, studied filmmaking of the highest order. Can't wait to see what he does next.

AMERICAN FICTION: A writer navigates intellectual minefields and the burdens of existence in this hysterical, nuanced look at cultural sensitivity. Sterling K Brown deserved the Oscar. This was released last year but I only got to it over the summer... one of the best movies I've seen in a long time.

CIVIL WAR: Alex Garland's work always gets me thinking. A powerful (almost) de-politicized vision of the US as failed state and a brilliant love letter to the perils of photojournalism. Stylized & enthralling. The end sequence was powerful.

LOVE LIES BLEEDING: A ‘roid raging bodybuilder wreaks havoc in the lives of a criminal family in this unique crime period piece featuring a deep cut 80s soundtrack. Kristin Stewart is absolutely phenomenal as usual and writer/director Rose Glass is a serious talent.

SOMEWHERE QUIET: A suffering woman confronts her demons, within and without, in this excellent psychological study of the after effects of extreme trauma. Thoughtful, moody, mysterious. A very strong debut from Olivia West Lloyd.

FIREBRAND: Extremely well done arthouse costume drama about Catherine Parr’s relationship with Henry VIII starring Alicia Vikander and Jude Law as the leads. Fascinating stuff.

LA CHIMERA: A grave robbing dowser confronts the past in another magical tale from the Italian countryside by the always intangibly mystic Alice Rohrwacher. Definitely the best looking film of the year.

SCOOP: A dramatization of the events around the Newsnight team getting the infamous Prince Andrew interview. I love movies like this.

PRISCILLA: A man-child rocker keeps a high school girl psychologically imprisoned in his mansion. Clean, tight, artful storytelling from Sofia Coppola as usual.

I actually think it was a stronger year for documentaries. Netflix and HBO released a lot of mind warping, twisted tales of outright human insanity that need to be seen to be believed.

AMERICAN NIGHTMARE: The victim of a kidnapping comes up against a crew of corrupt, misogynist law enforcement scumbags in this gripping three part Netflix documentary series. I think FBI agent Sesna may have orchestrated the crime.

BREATH OF FIRE: Excellent deep dive into the spiritual fuckery of the Kundalini yoga scene. Yogi Bhajan was clearly an evil lunatic but i didn't think Guru Jagat was *that* bad, just another lost soul caught up in some bullshit. HBO.

ESCAPING TWIN FLAMES: A toxic low-rent Keith Raniere wannabe abuses New Age language on Youtube in order to control weak hearted victims so they will sell his MLM “classes.” Twisted stuff. Netflix.

I AM NOT A MONSTER THE LOIS RIESS MURDERS: A mother’s life unravels through a series of inexplicable killings in the latest documentary from the always excellent Erin Lee Carr. HBO.

WHO KILLED JONBENÉT RAMSEY: Pioneering true crime master Joe Berlinger takes on the infamous case for Netflix and puts forth a convincing argument for the intruder theory. My only complaint is they rushed the Burke theory - likely due to the litigious nature of his team - but this is a top tier crime series.

CRIME SCENE BERLIN NIGHTLIFE KILLER: A sick maniac roams the city's underworld killing people with GHB in this mysterious and bleak documentary on Netflix.

THE FIRE THAT TOOK HER: Very, very dark and upsetting story of domestic violence that ends in the most brutal way imaginable. Tough watch, only for hardened true crime fans. On Paramount +.

TELL THEM YOU LOVE ME: A woman with a white savior complex and an ableist fetish uses a debunked pseudo science to project her crazy self perpetuating bias onto the mind of a severely developmentally disabled man. Quite a story. Netflix.

THE OCTOPUS MURDERS: Through the looking glass, deep dive real life conspiracy about a group of corrupt intelligence officials and one investigators maddening search for answers. Netflix.

THE GREATEST NIGHT IN POP: Fascinating documentary on the recording of We Are The World. The Dylan/Wonder moments were magic and Huey is funny. I love Diana Ross. Essential viewing for music heads.

And for TV series, I really enjoyed the great Eddie Redmayne as a brooding corporate assassin in THE DAY OF THE JACKAL on Paramount and the IRA drama SAY NOTHING on Hulu. Lots of good Britbox titles this year too including (another) GHB serial killer story THE BARKING MURDERS and the Belfast peeler drama BLUE LIGHTS. For a chuckle or two I recommend THE FRANCHISE and CUNK ON LIFE.

Films in 2023

Here are my favorite movies, documentaries and mini-series that I watched in 2023.

Eanna Hardwicke as lunatic narcissist Ben Field in The Sixth Commandment

OUTCRY: American criminal justice dissected through an objectively humanist lens: A truly incredible document showcasing corruption at every single level of the modern legal system - all within a single case. Apparently this came out a few years ago but only hit my radar in September. Regardless, (besides the final season of Succession), this was my favorite piece of content I watched all year: fascinating, shocking, disheartening and powerful. One of the best ‘true crime’ documentary series you will see.

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT: This is a phenomenal four part BBC miniseries about an extraordinarily twisted series of recent crimes in the UK. Clean, tight, gripping - as good as it gets. (For anyone interested in psychedelics that watches this: in real life, the drug Ben was giving them was 2CB). Mental.

THE OLD OAK: Syrian refugees find their way in an economically depressed North England town in master Ken Loach's final film, built on another righteous script from Paul Laverty. A beautiful testament to the power of community. Pure soul. “Solidarity not charity”.

TALK TO ME: A bad trip to the other side of underneath. A legitimately creepy Australian twist on supernatural teen horror featuring a great cast of young actors. In my mind this doubles as an anti drug movie.

LOVE HAS WON THE CULT OF MOTHER GOD: Peacecreeps, broken souls and lost hippies adapt and distort New Age language in order to find meaning and money in this brilliant three part deep dive into drug and alcohol fueled madness. I think her downfall has everything to do with the guilt she was likely harboring for leaving her kids. This is the best short form cult documentary since Heaven's Gate.

Amy Carlson is Mother God in Love Has Won.

PALM TREES AND POWER LINES: This drawn out, slow burn study of grooming makes for quietly intense, occasionally difficult viewing - and ends on a refreshingly downcast note. A very strong debut from Jamie Dack.

R.M.N.: Cristian Mungiu is one of the finest filmmakers alive, a new movie from him is always something to celebrate. In this bleak new realist drama on the social condition, as xenophobia spreads like wildfire, he explores fear and othering in a small town in Romania. The final scene was wild - I did not see that coming.

SICK OF MYSELF: A woman gives herself a skin disease in order to compete for attention with her grifter artist boyfriend. Intelligently observed, brilliantly acted and the funniest movie I have seen in a long time.

THE ROYAL HOTEL: Two women tend bar in the outback as they navigate the gaze of dysfunctional males in this tense and menacing gem from emerging talent Kitty Green. Features a phenomenal cast of familiar Australian character actors from classics like Snowtown and Animal Kingdom.

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: A group of immoral men engage in a dastardly plan to steal money from the Osage. Loved the final shot and that bold Marty cameo at the end.

NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU: The best alien invasion movie in years. Focused, well executed, no bullshit storytelling made by someone who understands the language of cinema. Looks amazing too. Fun movie.

"Strength, solidarity, resistance": a still from The Old Oak.

Also worthy of note was Jonathan Glazer’s low-key study of complacency and complicity in the face of industrialized death THE ZONE OF INTEREST, the brutal Danish horror SPEAK NO EVIL, the extremely sad Hulu documentary NEVER LET HIM GO, the tough-watch Swedish series about crippling misogyny and abuse RIDING IN DARKNESS, the UK crime procedurals THE LONG SHADOW and THE HUNT FOR RAOUL MOTE, and the home-spun HBO doc TELEMARKETERS. I also recommend the documentary about families escaping North Korea BEYOND UTOPIA, French legal drama ANATOMY OF A FALL, study of neighbor disputes in the hills of Galica THE BEASTS, and the dystopian trip zone study of identity and decadence INFINITY POOL.

Greg Kelley, the subject of Outcry.