By Mark Pukalo
It's Joe Lunardi Time again for the NCAA Tournament, and my Best of the Year movie blogs.
The ESPN NCAA basketball bracketology guru has been a sort of "mascot" for the category of films that just missed my top 25 for 10 years now. ... and the expert on which teams will make and nearly miss the Big Dance for longer than that.
I have decided to retire the Lunardi moniker after a decade. By this time next year, I will figure out a new name. Thanks for the memories Joe!
"He Named Me Malala," was one of Lunardi's first 5 out in 2015 when I posted my first extensive year-end blog. Two years later, it was first 7 out because I saw the stunning documentary "Icarus" well after the Oscars and added it.
It has settled at 6 for a few years now and this half dozen movies might be the best and most diverse group. There's two well-written comedies, a stirring international film, another in the Apes trilogy, a gutting story of racism in the South and Zendaya driving men crazy.
Game, Set, Tashi!
All six of these films are worthy of the top 25, even the top 20. But this year was so deep with strong movies that made an impression on me in some way, or entertained me, that there had to be some difficult choices.
I can say there's a good chance one movie on this list - Nickel Boys - would move up on second and third viewings. It is the kind of film you need to examine closer. One time in a theater is not enough because it was so uniquely shot.
Whatever you are in the mood for, these movies provide it. Four of the six are available to stream on Hulu (Babes, Apes), Prime (Challengers) or Netflix (Wicked Little Letters).
In addition, below is a special honor for the Boss and a list of 2024 movies I would still like to see and add to a record list of more than 340 films I viewed over the past 14 months.
Enjoy.
Joe Lunardi's First Six Out for 2024
Babes - A hilarious, sometimes crude, and sweet comedy about a pair of long-time friends dealing with different child birth issues. Comedian Ilana Glazer is especially good in this under-rated film. John Carroll Lynch is also very funny as Glazer's baby doctor.
Challengers - Zendaya tries to navigate a Love triangle with two fellow tennis players, which takes you on a wild ride. I appreciated it more on second and third viewings after getting over the fact the Josh O'Connor character reminded me of college classmates.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - Another strong chapter in the series with a new hero standing up named Noa. It was more of a set up for the next film, but an entertaining journey. I hope Freya Allan reprises her role as the human spy in the next film.
Nickel Boys - Based on a true story, two friends try to survive an illegally-run reform school in Florida during the 1960s. It is uniquely shot and very affecting. I expect I will appreciate it even more on multiple viewings.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig - Powerful Iranian film about a family torn apart by local pressures and unrest, the father's new job, religion and generational differences in Tehran. One of the best scenes of the year happened at the family's dinner table. The two young girls were amazingly brave.
Wicked Little Letters - Rose (Jesse Buckley), an uninhibited Irish immigrant,, is accused by a prominent local woman (Olivia Colman) of sending crude letters to her. The cheeky, black comedy is based on a true story in Littlehampton, England and is loads of fun.
Special Category
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - It can technically be called a movie, but the Boss deserves his own category for this Hulu special the gave you a great inside look at the maestro. Bruce is a hero and the greatest performer of my lifetime.
Still Have On List To Potentially See: All We Imagine As Light, Apolonia, Apolonia, The Beast, Bird, Christmas Eve at Miller's Point, Close Your Eyes, Dahomey, Disciples in the Moonlight, Eagle, East Bay, Evil Does Not Exist, Flipside, Free Time, Green Border, The Hypnosis, Inside the Yellow Cocoon, LaRoy, Texas, Milk & Serial, Mountains, No Other Land, No Promised Land, Notice to Quit, Porcelain War, Rap World, The Return, River, Secret Mall Apartment, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, Venom: The Last Dance, Veselka, 1992.
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