My Favorite Movies of 2024

 This was a banner year for horror films, and I think they deserve as much credence and relevance as "serious" films. It was especially encouraging to see The Substance earn a place at awards ceremonies. Too bad Demi didn't take home the Oscar. I loved Mikey Madison's performance in Anora, but I also think winning gold too early can be a curse for young actors. Still, every nominee for best actress turned in a mesmerizing performance. Also a shout-out to June Squibb, who wasn't nominated for Thelma, but rocked her role as the titular character at age 94. This is my list of non-horror films, please see my previous post for a ranking of those.

I had the amazing fortune to visit Riga, Latvia this past year at exactly the same time the animated film Straume (Flow) was playing in theaters there. I saw it and figured this gorgeous, moving piece of art would never see the light of American day. Lo and behold, it took home the Oscar and Golden Globe, beating Wild Robot, which was incredible in its own right.

 As a rule, my rankings are based upon whether I would watch the film again, and higher for those I'd see multiple times over ensuing years. I found the Brutalist, for instance, bleak and overlong, with joyless awkward sex scenes, clumsily edited, and misleading in its content--since Laszlo Toth never existed, and Brutalism is the architecture of fascism. Therefore, it didn't make my list despite its incredible cinematography and soundtrack.

MY FAVORITE MOVIES of 2024

1. Flow

2. A Complete Unknown

3. Furiosa

4. Anora

5. Love Lies Bleeding

6. Thelma

7. Wild Robot

8. A Real Pain

9. Last Showgirl

10. My Old Ass

11. Iron Claw

12. Conclave

13. Rebel Ridge

14. Sing Sing

15. Emilia Perez

16. Deadpool & Wolverine

Films I haven't seen yet, so list may change: Last Stop Yuma County, The Order, Piece By Piece, Better Man, Kneecap, Saturday Night, Super Man, The Abandon, I'm Still Here

Best Horror Films of 2024

For those of you who don't know, I self-published my first horror novel in both ebook and paperback on Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. It's a YA cosmic horror novel called Many Arms Unfold Us, and my pseudonym is Diavolo Ray. Please follow me on tiktok, instagram, bluesky, and Goodreads. You can buy my book here: https://www.amazon.com/Many-Arms-Enfold-Diavolo-Ray/dp/B0DDHDMLPK

This was a banner year for quality scary movies. Here's my ranking:

1. Late Night With The Devil

2. The Substance

3. Longlegs

4. The First Omen

5. Alien: Romulus

6. Heretic

7. Arcadian

8. Abigail

9. Blink Twice

10. Cuckoo

11. Nosferatu

12. A Quiet Place: Day One

13. Speak No Evil

14. Strange Darling

15. Immaculate

16. Presence

Summer Indie Music 2024

Tough putting this together. Maybe it'll get you through the winter months. I can't help gravitating toward retro sounds in new music, whether it's psych, new wave, glam, funk, disco, yacht, or classic rock. The most important think is it's happier and more danceable than the weepy crap most indie artists seem obsessed with. It's been a twenty-year navel gaze and so many boxes of tissue. They say the best art comes in times of suffering. Maybe the newly-elected chaos regime will wake artists up from their trauma porn and make them commit to bringing joy back into the world. Like Kamala's campaign. Sometimes you gotta be the only light.

1. Ginger Root - All Night

2. Mannequin Pussy - Nothing Like

3. Yard Act - Dream Job

4. Sheer Mag - All Lined Up

5. Modern English - I Know Your Soul

6. Allie X - John and Jonathan

7. Chromeo - BTS

8. Omni, Izzy Glaudini - Plastic Pyramid

9. Lime Garden - Floor

10. STRFKR - Armatron

11. St. Vincent - Big Time Nothing

12. Corridor - Jump Cut

13. Peel - In the Sedentary

14. Camera Obscura - Pop Goes Pop

15. Dehd - Don't Look Down

16. Psymon Spine - So Far Away

17. Paul Weller - Jumble Queen

18. Kim Deal - Crystal Breath

19. GIFT - Wish Me Away

20. BODEGA - City Is Taken

21. Kasabian - Coming Back To Me Good

My Favorite Movies Of 2023

Damn fine year for movies again. There seemed to be fewer forgettable one word titles. Maybe execs are finally learning that literally nobody will remember what a movie like "Vengeance" from 2022 was about, let alone that it was a great dark comedy. One thing I could do without is how many trailers feature a breathy slowed-down version of a retro hit used for dramatic effect. I hate it every time.

Anyway, I was so enthralled by the pink zeitgeist surrounding Greta Gerwig's amazing film at theaters all summer. It was fun, colorful, moving, profound, and a total Trojan Horse for feminism. I hope it has a ripple effect on our culture for years to come, but I see it's already being snubbed at award shows. Poor Things was also a feast for the eyes, and just as empowering in it's own shocking way. I couldn't decide which I loved more, so I gave a tie for first place, which I've never done before.

My criteria for ranking, and maybe I'm a weirdo, is: would I watch the movie again? Some of the films on this list I've already watched three times.

P.S.: I obviously have a soft spot for horror, fantasy, and sci-fi movies. 

BEST FILMS

1. Barbie/Poor Things (tie)

2. American Fiction

3. Killers of the Flower Moon

4. Dream Scenario

5. Past Lives

6. Anatomy of a Fall

7. No Hard Feelings

8. Wonka

9. Talk To Me

10. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

11. Moonage Daydream

12. Oppenheimer/Zone of Interest (tie)

13. Rustin

14. May December/Eileen

15. The Flash 

16. Godzilla Minus One

17. Jules

18. When Evil Lurks

19. The Holdovers/Dear God, It's Me, Margaret

20. TMNT: Mutant Mayhem

21. How To Blow Up A Pipeline

22. John Wick 4

23. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning

24. Cocaine Bear

25. Knock At The Cabin

26. No One Will Save You

27. Evil Dead Rise

28. Guardians of the Galaxy 3

29. Saltburn

30. You Hurt My Feelings

Movies I haven't seen yet: Eight Mountains, Little Richard: I Am Everything

And now...Summer Indie Music 2023!

 A little easier making this playlist. I guess some of the kids emerged from the pandemic ready to dance. There's still plenty of weepy insincere shit out there, but who cares? Activate. Motivate. Change the world.

1. Death Valley Girls - Magic Powers

2. Phoenix - Alpha Zulu

3. The Go! Team - Gemini

4. Temples - Afterlife

5. Miss Grit - Follow The Cyborg

6. CVC - Good Morning Vietnam (album version is better the single version)

7. Guerilla Toss, NEU! - Zum Herz

8. Spiral Drive - Space Train

9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fleez

10. Bass Drum Of Death - Everybody's Gonna Be There

11. Girl Ray - Everybody's Saying That

12. Tame Impala - Wings Of Time (Dungeons & Dragons ST)

13. Panic Shack - It's Good To Be Back (Metronomy cover)

14. Royal Otis - Oysters In My Park

15. Fazerdaze - Thick Of The Honey

16. Foals - 2001 (LCO session)

17. CIA - Impersonator

18. THUS LOVE - In tandem

19. Eggy, Traffik Island - Upon Reflection (remix)

20. JW Francis - Casino

21. Lime Garden - Bitter

22. Fujiya & Miyagi - Olympian Heights

23. Altin Gun - Ask

24. Hifi Sean - Beautiful

Summer Indie Music 2022 -- A Year Late

 Looks like I also forgot to post my annual playlist from last year of the happiest uptempo indie music. If you follow me at David Blanconada Ray on Spotify, you'll get all this shit well ahead of time. I don't blog much anymore, because what's the point? I'll try to do better. Below is the Spotify embed. Cheers.

1. Band Of Horses - Lights

2. Rolling Coastal Blackouts Fever - The Way It Shatters

3. Wet Leg - Chaise Lounge

4. Parquet Courts - Sympathy For Life

5. Spoon - Hardest Cut

6. Johnny Marr - Counter Clock World

7. Pip Blom - Keep It Together

8. Lazy Eyes - Fuzz Jam

9. Nation Of Language - Across That Fine Line

10. CMAT - No More Virgos

11. Andy Bell - Sidewinder

12. Superchunk - This Night

13. St. Paul & Broken Bones - Last dance

14. Arcade Fire - The Lightning II

15. Dehd - Bad Love

16. Johnny Marr - Sensory Street

17. Vinyl Williams - Exopalace

18. Destroyer - It's In Your Heart Now

Favorite Movies Of 2022

You should at least see the top-5 if you haven't already. My taste leans toward fantasy and horror, so apologies in advance. This marks the first year in my memory that I saw a film early in the year, instantly knew it was going to be my favorite film, and the Academy actually remembered and agreed with me.

1. Everything Everywhere All At Once

2. Barbarian

3. Neptune Frost

4. Tar

5. Moonage Daydream

6. Good Luck, Leo Grande

7. Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

8. Vesper

9. Stutz

10. Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent

11. Northman

12. You Won't Be Alone

13. Hatching

14. Nope

15. Knives Out

16. Prey

17. Windfall

18. Thirteen Lives

19. Vengeance

20. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

21. Avatar: Way of Water

22. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

23. Apollo 10 1/2

24. Black Phone

25. Lost City

26. Adam Project

27. Hustle

28. Emily The Criminal

29. Spirited

30. Innocents

31. Turning Red

32. Pearl

33. X

34. Fire Of Love

35. Banshees Of Inisherin