As the year comes to a close, film enthusiasts are looking for cinematic escapes. To help you find your next favorite movie, Jeffrey Brown spoke with Mike Sergeant, host of the podcast “Brown and Black” and co-president of the Black Film Critics Circle, and Linda Holmes, host of NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour”.
Mike Sargent highly recommends “Wicked”, an event that has captured audiences’ attention. He praises “Conclave” for its thrilling portrayal of the papal selection process. Linda Holmes suggests “The Fall Guy” as an action-comedy with a big-hearted twist.
Other standout films include “The Brutalist”, a three-and-a-half-hour epic about an artist’s post-Holocaust journey, and “Nickel Boys”, which tells the story of two boys’ harrowing experience in a school that existed for over 100 years. Mike Sargent also recommends “Anora” by Sean Baker, a film about a sex worker who gets a chance at a Cinderella story.
The group also highlights “Sing Sing”, a true-story-based film about the theater program for incarcerated people at Sing Sing Prison, and “His Three Daughters”, which explores complex sibling relationships through a story of aging parents.
Lastly, Mike Sargent recommends “Piece by Piece”, an animated documentary about Pharrell Williams told in Legos, while Linda Holmes suggests “Girls State”, which compares the Boys State program to the Girl State experience during a pivotal moment in reproductive rights history.
Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/the-best-movies-of-2024-according-to-these-critics