Before we pass through a door that will lead us into a new chapter of our lives, we often glance back to reflect on what we’re leaving behind. Last week, I gave an earnest overview of my time at Hollywood North Magazine as I announced I would be leaving the site at the end of the month. This week, I take care of the final bit of housekeeping by ranking my top 5 reviewed films of 2024.
Some family and friends may recall my griping about a string of subpar titles that came across my desk during the latter half of the calendar year. But as I began to put together the shortlist, I was reminded of just how many gems lit up screens both at home and in theatres. Narrowing down the final selection proved a daunting task as evidenced by several “9 out of 10” movies failing to make the final cut!
Re-visiting the following titles left me rather wistful of what I’ll be leaving behind beginning in 2025. But whatever comes my way on this future writing journey, I’ll be sure to have fun and enjoy the ride. It only lasts so long after all…
Now, without further ado, the Top 5:
5) Hey Viktor!
One recurring theme this year was several of my critical quotes being utilised as part of film promotional campaigns. I was rather surprised but delighted to see my remark about how Hey Viktor “wears its heart on its sleeve, and its mouth in the gutter” displayed with pride on the film’s Facebook page and the post being liked by the film’s creator Cody Lightning to boot!
Even if this turn of phrase doesn’t completely make sense, I meant every word as this meta-sequel to 1998’s landmark Indigenous film Smoke Signals proves disarming to the nth-degree, reveling in Lightning’s willingness to bare all for the camera and then some. Beneath all the rude raunchiness, it’s a brutally honest story about growing up and charting your true course despite the urge to see life only through rose-coloured nostalgia goggles.
That reminds me, I still haven’t seen Smoke Signals…
4) Young Werther
A welcome oasis from a sea of mediocre movies late in the year, this new adaptation of Young Werther invites you to indulge in its delectable flights of fancy while leaving you longing for more. Douglas Booth is perfectly cast as the titular Werther who swims against the current trying to woo Alison Pill, scoring her most appealing role in years as Charlotte.
Toronto is lovingly rendered as a postcard-perfect setting and has scarcely looked better on screen. A movie to sip wine to in your finest modern aristocratic attire, it’s a tasty package that you’ll be eager to revisit on repeat viewings. I know I will.
3) Saturday Night
There’s always at least one Hollywood production that makes its way onto this list, and this fly-on-the-wall thrill ride about a Torontonian (Lorne Michaels) played by a Vancouverite (Gabrielle LaBelle) directed by a Montrealer (Jason Reitman) works overtime to earn this slot.
A film I just so happened to screen on the 49th anniversary of the events it depicts, Night chronicles the backstage chaos of mounting the very first episode of Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975. It all seems an enterprise doomed to fail that subsequent history has deemed otherwise. Buoyed by whip-smart dialogue and populated by an uncanny cast (the younger versions of Aykroyd, Franklin and Crystal were surely transported from the past), it’s all a winning combo that deserved a far better reception than it received from the box office, even if it doesn’t always stick to the real-time conceit set up in the first act.
As SNL’s 50th anniversary approaches next year, I hope more folks give this a chance. Check out the first few minutes if you still need convincing.
2) Suze
Some of the finest drama and comedy is wrung from the unlikely pairing of completely mismatched people. Whether it’s Neal and Del in Planes, Trains and Automobiles or Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude, this plot device has produced some real winners over the years and I hope Suze attains its rightful place in the pantheon.
Portraying mother and daughter’s suicidal ex-boyfriend respectively, Michaela Watkins and Charlie Gillespie knock it out of the park as lost souls who end up stuck together at just the right time. The film is equal parts mirth and despair and is all the richer for it. The type of Canadian film you earnestly wish would break out beyond the small-city film festival circuit.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Clickbait: Unfollowed
A leaner and meaner Squid Game for the influencer set, Clickbait’s victims, I mean cast, are less sympathetic than the denizens of the smash-hit Korean streaming series. But the kills and side of biting social commentary are slickly delivered with directing duo Katherine Barrell and Melanie Scrofano seeming to relish their turns both in front and behind the camera. Proof positive that Tubi originals deserve more attention.
The Movie Man
If I wasn’t actively pursuing the art of filmmaking (with a side of film criticism and historical writing), I may have taken a page out of Keith Stata’s book and erected a shrine to movies in the form of Highlands Cinema: a multi-screen movie theatre/museum positively bursting at the seams with film reels, posters, and memorabilia.
That being said, I’m not sure I would have begun such an undertaking in the middle of the Ontario woods, but neither the elements, nor shifting audience tastes, nor emerging technology, nor even the COVID pandemic has been able to bring down Keith’s one-man movie palace. The magic of the moviegoing experience deserves to be kept alive in this age of neverending tech disruption and folks like Keith deserve to be celebrated for their herculean efforts to keep that flame lit. Watch the doc then visit the theatre.
1) Cold Road
Not long after I reviewed Kelvin Redver’s feature directorial debut, I was contacted by CIVR-FM, a french-language radio station in Yellowknife of all places, asking me to participate in a piece on the movie. It was the first time I was asked to verbally weigh in on something I had reviewed and I did my best to articulate and expand upon what I had previously written about Cold Road.
It was all positive remarks as Cold Road is an all-star winner of a thriller with blistering thrills, stellar stuntwork, and authentic location filming, all tied together by an award-worthy performance by Roseanne Supernault. Given that she carries much of the film solo as the antagonist remains barely-seen and ensconced in the big rig for the majority of the film, Supernault performs admirably as a woman playing against a stacked deck.
Interestingly, this is one of the rare films I’ve reviewed that I’ve had a second chance to see. I happened across it on the Crave cable channel whilst visiting family this Christmas and it still holds up. The film editor in me could sense some opportunities for tightening and tweaks, but for a feature debut shot in challenging conditions involving complex vehicle stunts and VFX, it’s a remarkable achievement.
In the end, Cold Road is a uniquely Canadian story, but one that travels well. It’s a more audience-friendly flavour of the Indigenous New Wave which I’ve written extensively about over the years (Stellar, Run Woman Run, Falls Around Her) and a herald to the unrealized potential of Canadian filmmakers.
I have been consistent during my time writing in this space in calling for Canadian filmmakers and content creators to be bolder in representing this country in their work. Despite decades of “Canadian Content”, there is still a palpable reluctance to set stories in Canada and tell stories about Canadians in favour of covering everything in a generic “North American” haze or worse, an American flag.
I’ve seen increasing efforts to chip away at this inferiority complex, including several of the titles on this list. Growing a Canadian film industry that need not function as a Hollywood backlot is a simple matter of willpower and courage. I have faith in the future generations to take up this challenge but in the meantime, I’ll put my writing where my mouth is and get started on that screenplay I’m always musing about. EXT. Canada – DAY…
It’s been a pleasure, Hollywood North Magazine. Farewell!
10/10
