Nothing else to say
From what I remember, it was a mix of the kids at my church, my little brother Jackson, and (mainly) my cousin Cooper that introduced me to the world of Minecraft.
There was something about the game that just made digging and building so refreshing. Had I stuck with it, I am sure I would have made many a great thing. Then, of course, Cooper poured lava over the movie theater I constructed in the sky that took me an hour and a half. Sigh.
For many a reason, I avoided a lot of horror films during the first decade of the century.
This is not to say because I was fearful, but mainly because all the films I heard I had heard of ended up being lousy (it was only until much later that I would finally go back and see the likes of the first Saw film, Let the Right One In, and some of The Conjuring films).
In the 1988 classic Cinema Paradiso, one of the last pieces of advice that Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) gives to young Salvatore (Marco Lenardi) is not to give in to nostalgia.
When one sees that movie (and one should), one realizes a sense of irony, so much of the film is about nostalgia (pumped up by an immaculate musical score by Ennio Morricone). It is this type of sentimentality that drove me to an idea of sorts as I approached 2025: my top 25 movie milestones from the first 25 years of the century.
In the last decade of Disney Live Action Remakes, there was a time where I thought remaking Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was forbidden.
The House of Mouse would not even exist today if the 1937 classic (the first of its kind) did not prevail the expectations, so naturally one would suspect that all of Disney knows that some form of respect is due it.
I never thought I would say this, but I am now steadily considering watching the Twilight series.
The casting of Robert Pattinson of Edward Cullen (as well as his relationship with co-star Kristen Stewart) was thankfully not the first I had seen or heard of him (he of course was Cedric Diggory in the Potterverse), but it was not until the last few years in films like The Lighthouse (2019), The Batman (2022), and (in voice over) The Boy and the Heron (2023), that I realized the obvious truth: he is a rather proficient actor.
Looking back, I realize it is a plus that I became aware of the Oscars around the age of 10, because, at that age, I did not think of the Academy Awards as being something political.
While I can clearly see the political aspects nowadays, there is still a little bit of that naivety I have held on to that translates into this being the best night of the year for movies, even if the “best” never really comes out on top.
That said, I’ve been doing my predictions since I was 13, so I have no intention of stopping now.
“Don’t die. Copy that.”
This is more than a repeated piece of dialogue that Joaquin Torres’ Falcon says to Sam Wilson’s Captain America. It could also be reflective of the MCU offices these days, making sure their movies (and TV shows, for that matter) are not being sent out without a thought of survival.
(This is the first of two films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival I got virtual tickets for.)
Am I alone in saying that the majority of what I learn about other cultures is from art?
Before I could finalize this list, it was rather fitting that the last movie I caught up with was Hundreds of Beavers.
While it did not make the list (despite being hilarious), it summed up the 2024 movie year with one word: Ambition.
My good friend Kenneth is a worthy cinephile, but since the release of Megalopolis, we have been fervently discussing our differences over the film: I was genuinely disappointed (yet still eager to try it again), and he (like many) truly hated it.
Yes, the film does not work, but I could at least see (somewhat) the idea Coppola was going for as he went for a big swing (in a year full of big swings in the cinema). If he is reading this, Kenneth should know I did see more than ten films worse than Megalopolis…and not one of them are Hot Frosty. (I did thankfully dodge a bullet by not seeing films I have heard are trash such as Borderlands, Harold and the Purple Crayon, The Crow, and Kraven the Hunter).
That said, here are the 10 worst films of 2024 that are totally worse than Megalopolis (not including that one movie I saw for free on Twitter by someone I refuse to say makes movies: Kenneth knows who I am talking about).
Nothing else to say