Erika's Favorites of 2024

by Erika Bromley

You think we need one more? You think we need one more. All right, we'll get one more.

Top 5 “Yes, MOVIES!”

1. The Substance
2. The Brutalist
3. Love Lies Bleeding
4. Dune II
5. Anora

This was the start of my proper “Top Ten” until… I started having a million ties, changing my mind, and moving Yacht Rock documentaries in to the top 5. Maybe. Maybe not. Long time readers and friends, did I ever mention how indecisive I can be? I think the only thing I really know for sure is that we should get pizza tonight. And I love my family.

Top 5 “Yes, Nostalgia meets ‘This is SO fascinating and/or just good’ Movies”: Documentary category

1. Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary
2. The Greatest Night in Pop
3. Steve (Martin) a documentary in 2 pieces
4. Jim Henson: Idea Man
5. Will & Harper*

*Not really nostalgia, but I loved this film, it’s a documentary, and I’m nostalgic for the genuine empathy that is bubbling over from every frame. This empathy does exist in ‘the real world,’ so why would I be ‘nostalgic’ for it? Because it doesn’t seem to exist without someone or something trying to pummel the life out of it; someone or something right up alongside it, trying to outrun it in the race. In Will & Harper, empathy is not just ahead in the race, it emphatically and deservedly wins the whole thing.

Top 2 “They talk a lot, and I love it: Movies that showcase the human condition and human spirit just by featuring characters dealing with real life family drama or personal pain. And talking a lot.”

1. His 3 Daughters
2. A Real Pain

Best Movie I am right about and most others are wrong about (if they did not like it):

1. The Fall Guy

Gosling love aside, it was super fun, the leads had a ton of chemistry, and it made for a great night at the theater. (Even if it came out at a time when every family I knew -- and I know that is only a certain part of the population -- was quadruple booked with family and school events and could barely find time to shower, so all of the discourse about “people don’t want to go to the theater” was just insane to me… busy people need more than ONE WEEKEND to have a chance to go to a theater!)

Other movies I liked more than the other movies I saw:

1. Juror #2
2. Inside Out 2
3. Wicked
4. Longlegs

Movies I did not see, but a bunch of smart people liked:

1. Civil War
3. Amelia Perez
4. Maria (wait, did people like this?)
5. What am I missing?