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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones Movies

Mark’s Movie Milestones of the 21st Century: Intro

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.

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2 1/2 Stars Movies

Snow White (2025)

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.

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Movies

Mickey 17 (2025)

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.

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"Top Tens", and others

My Predictions for the 97th Academy Awards

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.

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2 Stars Movies

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

“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.

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4 Stars

DJ Ahmet (2025)

(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?

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"Top Tens", and others Movies

Top 10 Films of 2024

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.

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"Top Tens", and others

Top 10 Worst Movies of 2024

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).

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4 1/2 Stars

Nosferatu (2024)

Even over a century after it’s release, F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu is still considered by many (including me) as the best of all vampire movies.

Although a basic rip off of Dracula (Bram Stoker’s widow vowed to have all the copies destroyed and almost succeeded), it is a stark reminder that being a vampire seems appealing (mainly famous a while ago in the Twilight franchise, from what I heard), but that, in the long run, it can….well, suck.

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5 Stars Movies

Flow (2024)

After the memorably disappointing Moana 2, it seemed like the end of the line for animated films in 2024. While the leader of the pack was clearly The Wild Robot, there was not much else apart from the admirable Inside Out 2 and the humorously bizarre Memoirs of a Snail (it may be hard for me to listen to John Denver for some time now.) 

Then, as can only be described as a tsunami, entered Flow.

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