Derrick Murray

Ushered in with shadows, obsession and a powerful beckoning, one of the most anticipated films of 2024 has finally arrived.

The awards season is upon us, which means every film from every studio is in full campaign mode.

"Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim" may be a middling return to middle earth, but it is better than most and better than most would expect, standing tall above its previous counter parts and only below the original trilogy.

“ Nickel Boys ” is a masterpiece unmatched and moving in ways that stir the soul, rips you apart and rather than put you back together again, leaves you with yourself to decide what you're going to do next. It doesn't get better than this, folks.

I know how we get about end of year lists, particularly those that highlight the not so great outings of the year. I get it, making movies is hard. But that doesn't automatically except bad movies from criticism, and not all “Worst of” or “Disappointing” lists are as cruel as the Razzies. If it's any consolation, it was much harder to find 10 films I really disliked this year enough to put on a naughty list.

Christmas Day is always a big release day for movies. There's always a prognosticated awards contender that shows up around this time, and theaters bank

During his Oscar acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay, writer/director Cord Jefferson said “I understand that this is a risk-averse industry, I get it, but $200 million movies are also a risk.

As the growing number of films I see each year grows, so does the challenge of creating a best of list. Even in years where it seems like there are a ton of 3.5 star films, it is still incredibly difficult to get the some 50+ films I really enjoyed down to 25. I was originally shooting for 20 films this year, a small increase over 2023, and decided to increase it even more for a few reasons. One, there were just too many films left on the honorable mentions list that it made more sense to just include them in the official rankings. and two, I'm not categorizing the lists by genre this year. Typically I'll do a Best Documentary and Best Horror or Best Animated feature, but I just don't have the time to do multiples so they're all getting included into one, big best of list!

While I remain a staunch advocate for the theatrical experience as the primary way to enjoy cinema, I've long missed a lot of these special screenings of

A genre stuck in a refusal to change its stripes at every turn, the music biopic is often eye rolling at best, grating at worst.