FREE CINEMA NOW

"You know what my problem is with every fanatic fundamentalist, from the Catholics, to the Orthodox, to the KKK? The one thing you all have in common is, and you're too ignorant to see it, is that you're too inept to get by in the world, so your only recourse is to try and curtail the enjoyment of others." Those are some of the first words we hear at the start of Justin Kurzel 's The Order , the best film of 2024. They are spoken by Alan Berg (played by Marc Maron ), a Jewish talk radio host was murdered by members of a white supremacist group (known as The Order) in 1984.  It's an arresting piece of voiceover, paired with a haunting God's eye view of a dark winding road in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. In a lot of ways, that winding road imagery was the perfect epilogue to 2024: there was unease, uncertainty and an overall devastation felt from the fascist figures taking power in the U.S. government.  I first saw The Order at AFI Fes...

Better late than never. Special Citation Award : Beau Is Afraid Directed by  Ari Aster 20. Elemental Directed by Peter Sohn 19 . Napoleon Directed by Ridley Scott 18. Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig 17. Priscilla Directed by Sofia Coppola 16. Knock at the Cabin Directed by M. Night Shyamalan 15. The Holdovers Directed by Alexander Payne 14. Oppenheimer Directed by Christopher Nolan 13. The Iron Claw Directed by Sean Durkin 12. Monster Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda 11. E arth Mama Directed by Savanah Leaf 10. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie Directed by Davis Guggenheim 9. Society of the Snow Directed by J.A. Bayona 8. Killers of the Flower Moon Directed by Martin Scorsese 7. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Directed by Christopher McQuarrie 6. A Thousand and One Directed by A.V. Rockwell 5. Ferrari Directed by Michael Mann 4. Anatomy of a Fall Directed by Justine Triet 3. Past Lives Directed by Celine Song 2. The Zone of Interest...

Now that the Oscars are over, here go my picks for the Best Films of 2022. Todd Field 's Tár towers over all others at number one. This is Cate Blanchett 's There Will Be Blood,  an American epic -- but set largely overseas -- brimming with filmmaking bravado on Field's side and ferocious tragicomedy for its antihero Lydia Tár. By the time we get to its final shot, we've reached the cinematic mashup of Jordan Belfort asking an eager audience to "Sell me this pen" and Daniel Planview, drained, saying "I'm finished!" Tár Vortex Aftersun Bones and All To Leslie Decision to Leave Broker The Batman EO Cyrano Happening Athena Ali & Ava Thirteen Lives Dos Estaciones Memoria Armageddon Time Nope Women Talking Top Gun: Maverick Other films that I thought were enjoyable (even if only for some stretches of their running time): Smile, Emily the Criminal, Barbarian, Avatar: The Way of Water, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Hustle, All Quiet on the Wes...

Will movie theaters ever back to what they once were? The ongoing (and seemingly never-ending) pandemic tore a hole into the fabric of theatrical exhibition. I streamed more movies this year than any other. A lot of people did. The one constant is this: Whether you watch them on the big screen or on your phone, good films rise to the top. Here go my picks for the best films of 2021. (And some other notes too.) Biggest Disappointments: The Matrix Resurrections Candyman (2021) Don't Look Up Special Citation : Kanye with Special Guest Drake: Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert Seanne Farmer (director) // Niklas Bildstein Zaar (creative director) Kanye West Free Larry Hoover Concert GIF from Kanye West GIFs Best Needle Drop: "Light House" by Future Islands in Titane Best Supporting Actress : Olga Merediz, In The Heights Best Supporting Actor : Simon Helberg, Annette Best Actress : Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza Best Actor : Alessandro Nivola, The Many Saints of Newark Before w...