Robert Horton is a Scarecrow board member and a longtime film critic. This series of "critic's notes" is chance to highlight worthy films playing locally and connect them to the riches of Scarecrow's collection.
This is my least-informed Ten Best list in a few decades, thanks to a somewhat nomadic lifestyle this year, which resulted in fewer movies watched. In years past I've been able to highlight obscure gems during the year-end accounting, and I take pleasure in finding those titles. But it couldn't happen this time.
I've seen some terrific movies, though, especially in the last month. This list is on probation, and I'll check back in the future to see if something else needs to be here.
The 2024 good ones, in a few tiers.
Top tier:
Nickel Boys (RaMell Ross)
Last Summer (Catherine Breillat)
Green Border (Agnieska Holland)
All We Imagine as Light (Payal Kapadia)
His Three Daughters (Azazel Jacobs)
Veteran Virtuosity tier:
Hard Truths (Mike Leigh)
Juror #2 (Clint Eastwood)
Hit Man (Richard Linklater)
Trap (M. Night Shyamalan)
Wild + Crazy Virtuosity tier:
Emilia Pérez (Jacques Audiard)
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Radu Jude)
Anora (Sean Baker)
The Substance (Coralie Fargeat)
The Brutalist (Brady Corbet)
Strong Enough to Honor tier:
A Complete Unknown (James Mangold)
Kinds of Kindness (Yorgos Lanthimos)
Sing Sing (Greg Kweder)
Nightbitch (Marielle Heller)
January 3, 2025
