Brody’s ‘The Brutalist’ ranks as top film of 2024

AP photo
This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody, left, and Felicity Jones in a scene from ‘The Brutalist.’
Can I help it if my favorite film of 2024 happens to take place in my own backyard? OK, so it’s an hour away from where I live near Philadelphia, but still…
When filmmakers Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold developed the script for “The Brutalist” – a fictional drama about the complicated relationship between an artist and patron that unfolds over decades – they zoomed in on Philadelphia and suburban Bucks County.
The story follows Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody), a Jewish Hungarian architect who immigrated to the U.S. in 1947 after surviving the Holocaust. He meets his cousin, who runs a furniture store in Philadelphia, and later shovels coal in the city before catching the attention of Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), a rich industrialist who owns a vast, lush estate in Doylestown. It’s in that beautiful, treacherous landscape where Toth embarks on Van Buren’s ambitious commission to construct a community center.
If you don’t believe me that this is the top film of 2024, just wait until awards season. “The Brutalist” has already racked up seven Golden Globe nominations, including best motion picture, best director, best screenplay and best cinematography. I’ve read it will be an Oscars darling, too.
2. Wicked
In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is forced to room with popular Glinda (Ariana Grande) at Shiz University, and the two’s unlikely friendship is tested as their destinies cross between good and evil.
3. The Wild Robot
After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot named Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive, Roz bonds with the island’s animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.
4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
This is the origin story of a renegade warrior before her team up with Mad Max. Young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) is snatched by a biker horde led by the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). A flop at the box office, but this film gave me flashbacks of Mel Gibson and Tina Turner in “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” (1985). Excuse me while I go listen to the soundtrack with Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero.”
5. Challengers
“Challengers” stars Zendaya as a former tennis prodigy turned coach who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist), her strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising twist when he faces off against his former best friend and her former boyfriend (Josh O’Connor).
6. Deadpool & Wolverine
Directed by Shawn Levy, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) returns to save the Marvel Universe with help from Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
7. Dune Part Two
Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.
8. A Complete Unknown
Set in the influential New York music scene of the early 1960s, “A Complete Unknown” chronicles 19-year-old musician Bob Dylan’s (Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts.
9. Conclave
“Conclave” details one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events – selecting a new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process, but he discovers a secret that could shake the very foundation of The Church.
10. Anora
“Anora” is a thrilling, comedic variation of a modern-day Cinderella. Ani (Mikey Madison) is a young sex worker from Brooklyn who impulsively marries the impetuous son (Mark Eydelshteyn) of a Russian billionaire. When his parents catch wind of their nuptials, they send henchmen to annul the marriage, setting off a crazy chase through the streets of New York.
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Greg Williams is a reporter and Weekend Editor for The Sentinel. A Mifflin County native, he has been writing for The Sentinel since 1991.