Thursday, February 6, 2025

24 BEST MOVIES OF 2024

 By José Alberto Hermosillo

The 2024 selected projects are films that inspire, uplift, and elevate the human spirit through self-motivation, struggle, and, most importantly, redemption. 

Who would have imagined that the most inspiring movie of 2024 would focus on Donald Trump’s early years? “The Apprentice,” directed by an Iranian filmmaker based in Denmark, Ali Abbasi. He surprised audiences with his previous two films, “Border” and “Holy Spider.” The director continues to showcase his extraordinary talent in this biopic, delivering a well-crafted and well-acted period piece about the President of the United States and his ascent to power. This movie is genuinely inspiring and uplifting.

In the stunning Robbie Williams biopic musical drama “Better Man,” directed by Michael Gracey (known for “The Greatest Showman” and “Rocketman”), AI-generated special effects replicate human gestures and the singer’s facial expressions on a chimpanzee’s face to perfection, adding new and diverse layers of meaning to the film. After the first five uncomfortable minutes, it brought me to tears. 

“September 5” provides a new perspective on the kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Village during the 1972 Olympic Games in Berlin. The narrative aligns with other notable works about this tragic event, including the acclaimed 1999 documentary “One Day in September,” narrated by Michael Douglas, and the 2005 historical drama “Munich.” “September 5” emphasizes how a team of professional sports journalists, instead of traditional news reporters, had to improvise and navigate technological and television network challenges in a foreign country to deliver the most comprehensive coverage during those difficult times.

“Conclave” is an exceptional film about the election of a new Pope. In addition to the outstanding acting, cinematography, and set design, the well-crafted script highlights how humans are divided by their kind, nationalities, race, and backgrounds, even in the holy land, where everyone aligns with their own.

The controversial French musical “Emilia Pérez” centers on a Mexican drug lord who decides to transition into a woman, leaving behind his children and wife. In turn, the wife becomes romantically involved with another younger and pretentious drug lord. More than just a backdrop, the gripping love triangle immerses the characters in self-destruction, loneliness, and abuse. The wasted potential of the players’ lives will resonate in the near future with a more open-minded generation. 

The remaining films are my favorites and the ones I consider The Best Movies of 2024:

1. The Apprentice

2. Better Man

3. September 5

4. Conclave

5. Emilia Pérez

6. Dune: Part Two

7. The Brutalist

8. Anora

9. A Complete Unknown

10. The Girl with the Needle

11. The Substance

12. Sing Sing

13. A Different Man

14. The Seed of a Sacred Fig

15. Challengers

16. Love Lies Bleeding

17. I’m Still Here

18. Kneecap

19. Flow

20. LaRoy, Texas

21. Queer

22. The Wild Robot

23. Last Stop in Yuma County

24. Late Night with the Devil

























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Festival in LA ©2025

Thursday, January 23, 2025

The Oscar Nominations 2025

 José Alberto Hermosillo 


Here is the list of the 2025 Nominees:

Best Picture

Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked



Directing

Jaques Audiard, Emilia Pérez

Sean Baker, Anora

Brady Corbet, The Brutalist

Coraline Fargeat, The Substance

James Mangold, A Complete Unkown

Actor in a Leading Role

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Actress in a Leading Role

Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Actor in a Supporting Role

Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Actress in a Supporting Role

Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

A Complete Unknown (Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks). 
Conclave (Screenplay by Peter Straughan).
Emilia Pérez (Screenplay by Jacques Audiard In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi). 
Nickel Boys (Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes).
Sing Sing (Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield).

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Anora (Written by Sean Baker).
The Brutalist (Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold).
A Real Pain (Written by Jesse Eisenberg).
September 5 (Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; Co-Written by Alex David).
The Substance (Written by Coralie Fargeat).

Animated Feature Film

Flow (Nominees to be determined)
Inside Out 2 (Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen)
Memoir of a Snail (Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Nominees to be determined)
The Wild Robot (Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann)

Animated Short Film

Beautiful Men (Nicolas Keppens and Brecht Van Elslande)
In the Shadow of the Cypress (Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi)
Magic Candies (Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio)
Wander to Wonder (Nina Gantz and Stienette Bosklopper)
Yuck! (Loïc Espuche and Juliette Marquet)

Cinematography

The Brutalist (Lol Crawley)
Dune: Part Two (Greig Fraser)
Emilia Pérez (Paul Guilhaume)
Maria (Ed Lachman)
Nosferatu (Jarin Blaschke)

Costume Design

A Complete Unknown (Arianne Phillips)
Conclave (Lisy Christl)
Gladiator II (Janty Yates and Dave Crossman)
Nosferatu (Linda Muir)
Wicked (Paul Tazewell)

Film Editing

Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked

Makeup and Hairstyling

A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked


Live-Action Short Film

A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Music (Original Score)

The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Music (Original Song)

“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
“Like A Bird” from Sing Sing
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight.

Documentary Feature Film

Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane

Documentary Short Film

Death by Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart

The Only Girl in the Orchestra

International Feature Film

Brazil, I’m Still Here
Denmark, The Girl With the Needle
France, Emilia Pérez
Germany, The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Latvia, Flow

Production Design

The Brutalist (Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia)
Conclave (Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter)
Dune: Part Two (Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau)
Nosferatu (Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová)
Wicked (Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)


Sound

A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Visual Effects

Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked

Film critic José Alberto Hermosillo www.FestivalinLA.com

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