If you want to see my past lists, I've got ten years' worth at the bottom of this page. Meanwhile, here are my favorite ten new-to-me movies that I watched last year!
1. Horizon: An American Saga, Chapter One (2024) A variety of people have experiences in the Old West, many of them in or around the fictional town of Horizon. It's a sprawling epic with lots of storylines and little or no closure to any of them, and I'm somewhat obsessed with it. So much of it pleases me, from the authentic historical details to the filmography to the storytelling. (I could do without the scene with nudity or the implied sex scene, though. It's not a family friendly movie.)
2. The Train (1964) A bitter and disillusioned member of the French Resistance (Burt Lancaster) helps sabotage a train filled with precious pieces of French artwork that an equally bitter Nazi officer (Paul Scofield) is desperately trying to steal away from Paris before the Allies arrive. My son is particularly pleased with all the very real train-related details, and I'm pleased by all the cool stunts Lancaster does.
3. Murder on the Orient Express (1974) Even though Hercule Poirot is not played by Peter Ustinov or Kenneth Branagh (my two favorite Poirots), but instead by Albert Finney (who gets a bit shouty), this is still such a fun time. That's mainly thanks to the amazing cast: Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, John Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Perkins, Richard Widmark, Michael York... are you drooling yet? What a lineup, huh?
4. The Man from the Alamo (1953) A Texan (Glenn Ford) is elected to leave the Alamo to warn the people of his town that something bad is about to befall them. By the time he reaches the town, it's too late, and everyone assumes he ran away from the Alamo because he's a coward. This makes him angry and vengeful, and the storyline took a few turns that surprised me, which I enjoyed.
5. Emma (1996 -- Kate Beckinsale) Yes, it took me this long to finally see this adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel. I was surprised how much I liked it -- it's never going to rival the other 1996 version that stars Gwyneth Paltrow, but I liked it a lot better than the 2009 and 2020 versions.
6. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) A bunch of military misfits are brought together to stop the Nazis during WWII. Yes, that premise has been used oodles of times. But this movie brings some fresh fun to it -- and it's based on a real people and real incidents, which bumps the whole thing up a notch. I'm particularly fond of how Henry Cavill keeps trading up for better and cooler coats.
7. Love Crazy (1941) A woman (Myrna Loy) suspects her husband (William Powell) is cheating on her and decides to get a divorce. Her husband pretends to be mentally ill so she can't divorce him. I'm not usually a big fan of screwball comedies, but I love Loy and Powell together, and this one never gets daffy enough to annoy me.
8. Anastasia (1956) A con artist (Yul Brynner) uses a mentally unstable young woman (Ingrid Bergman) to try to convince the world that the Russian princess Anastasia is still alive. It's acerbic and twisted and melodramatic... and a lot more like the animated movie Anastasia (1997) than I'd expected.
9. Christmas in the Air (2017) A widower (Eric Close) who designs and makes toys hires a professional planner (Catherine Bell) to help him juggle his Christmastime family activities and work commitments so he won't disappoint his kids by forgetting anything important, but will also be able to help his brother land a big contract for their family-owned toy company. Yes, it's a Hallmark movie. Yes, I will willingly watch it again.
10. My Cousin Rachel (1952) A wealthy young man (Richard Burton) becomes obsessed with his cousin's widow (Olivia de Havilland) because he's convinced she killed his cousin. And then he's convinced she didn't. And he loves her. But he hates her. But she loves him. But she might be trying to kill him. Come on, it's a very young and toothsome Richard Burton growling at a middle-aged and gorgeous Olivia de Havilland -- that's all you really need to know.
Of these I've only seen Murder on the Orient Express! While I don't love it as much as the 2017 version, my favorite parts here were Ingrid Bergman's scenes. <3
ReplyDeleteI saw part of Anastasia and remember not liking it but Ingrid Bergman was lovely. Maybe this is a common theme... But I have been curious to see the end!
Love Crazy and My Cousin Rachel sound so much like my type of cinema! Really, all I'm looking for in movies are Myrna Loy and Olivia de Havilland. ^_^
Here was my list for the year! (it takes a bit of scrolling, but my top ten are at the bottom):
https://moviesmeetmatch.blogspot.com/2025/01/movies-i-watched-in-2024-how-many-times.html
Chloe, agreed. The 2017 Orient Express is magnificent. But this one is fun! And man, Ingrid Bergman absolutely deserved her Oscar for this one.
DeleteOkay, yeah. This Anastasia is not a likeable movie. No one in it is likeable. And yet, by the end, I kinda don't hate anyone?
You should totally see Love Crazy and My Cousin Rachel!!! Also, I think you would love The Train.
Thanks for the link! Off to see what you picked...
The 1974 Murder on the Orient Express is really excellent. It was also my first introduction to young(er?) Sean Connery, and I was like hmmm... hmmmmmmmmm... I must say... very much so, sir...
ReplyDelete;)
Katie, why, yes. Young(ish) Sean Connery there is quite the eye candy :-D
DeleteThe Train is an absolutely amazing movie. It was my top new to me movie back in 2021.
ReplyDeleteNitrate Glow, yes, The Train is pure magnificence. Would have been my top this year if I hadn't gotten all obsessed with Horizon.
DeleteAha, you watched my favorite Emma! Really, my only critique of it is that I wish it was longer. :) I admit that Mark Strong's Mr. Knightley could have been a bit less stern sometimes (and had a better hairstyle), but I feel that this version really nails all the supporting characters in a way none of the others do.
ReplyDeleteElisabeth, I particularly liked the ending of this Emma.
DeleteIt was very weird to see Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley because I'm so used to him as the creepy baddie in Sherlock Holmes (2009), but I eventually warmed to him.
We've had that before, but I so much prefer the 1974 all star version of Murder on the Orient Express. Albert Finney is perhaps not what I see before my inner eye whenever I read or think of Poirot, but that film had class, and a wonderful score. I can't stand Branagh's antics (rolling in the snow like James Bond and upstaging everyone with that ridiculous mustache) and what he did to Dame Agatha's "Death on the Nile" was almost criminal. - Must get that "Cousin Rachel" version with Burton and deHavilland, though. Usually I like Daphne du Maurier and think she's underrated as a writer, but while I liked Rebecca (book and film), The King's General (about the English Civil War), The Glassblowers (set in revolutionary France) and many of her short stories, I totally disliked "Jamaica Inn" as a book (and haven't seen the Hitchcock film version).
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I like both versions, but then I am a Branagh fan already. And it was Branagh who got me to try reading Agatha Christie again after swearing off her in my teens because her Miss Marple stories almost never play fair with the readers, and I got vexed and ditched Christie entirely. So, while I didn't like Branagh's Death on the Nile, it wasn't his performance that bugged me, heh.
DeleteBurton and de Havilland are magnificent in My Cousin Rachel. Both note-perfect. I do like du Maurier, sometimes -- I love Rebecca and really liked The Scapegoat and The Flight of the Falcon, liked The King's General and My Cousin Rachel okay... but, like you, I pretty much detested Jamaica Inn :-b
This a really funny list to me, because it's got a movie I really like on it (The Train - I'm also a big fan of real trains in films and it's a good film anyway) but also one of the most disappointing-to-me watches of the year - (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - I spent the entire movie wondering how the heck they managed to make it so terrible - but obviously mileage varies and not everyone had the same reaction!)
ReplyDeleteVT, well, I have a tendency to very much enjoy Guy Ritchie's film style, so that might be part of it? Granted, I've only seen six of the movies he's directed, but I have bought all six of them on DVD for rewatching purposes, and his The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is one of my top ten favorite movies, so... there's that.
DeleteYes, I understand, I'm usually a fan of Guy Ritchie's films, which is what made this one extra disappointing! I also watched The Man from UNCLE this year and liked it more. Maybe I was just having a really cranky day!
DeleteVT, I did hit a point when I was watching it in the theater where I was like, "I'm not even caring how many people they are killing anymore. It's like it's gotten pointless." And then I thought, "Maybe that's the point -- maybe the filmmakers are trying to point out how what these people had to do slowly stripped their humanity away, until killing a person felt like swatting a fly or shoving away an obstacle. Maybe this is a warning about what we make people do, or what we can be made to do." I need to watch it again to decide if I really think that's a point they're making, but I feel like it could be.
DeleteI admire your willingness to give them the benefit of the doubt!
DeleteThanks, VT! That's something I consciously make an effort to do.
DeleteYou've got some good ones on your list! I saw Anastasia YEARS ago. I don't really remember it much, but since I've always been fascinated by that legend (though I've never researched her life), I do think it'd be fun to see a good production company make a miniseries today. :) Grew up on A&E's Emma as well as the 1996 version. (I'll confess that I do like the 2009 miniseries but didn't love the more recent adaptation.) 'Warfare' is one I think looks really fun so I need to see that yet. :)
ReplyDeleteRissi, the whole Anastasia legend is pretty fascinating.
DeleteI like the 2009 Emma too, but not as well as this one or the Paltrow. And the 2020... well... I loved Bill Nighy as Mr. Woodhouse :-D The rest was all right, but he was awesome.