2024 in films - according to Film Excess

The Top 6 of the Year

 

 

1. Rom - Niclas Bendixen + Best Danish Movie of the Year + Best Romcom of the Year + Best Rome Movie of the Year

 

2. The Apprentice - Ali Abbasi + Best Biopic of the Year + Breakthrough of the Year: Sebastian Stan + Best New York Movie of the Year

3. Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 - Kevin Costner + Best Arizona Movie of the Year + Best Epic of the Year + Best Western of the Year

 

4. Gladiator II - Ridley Scott + Best Action Adventure of the Year 

 

5. The Beekeeper - David Ayer + Best Revenge Movie of the Year

6. Vogter - Gustav Möller + Best Prison Movie of the Year

The Bottom 3 of the Year

1. Mørkeland - Mikkel Serup

 

2. Jagtsæson 2 - I Medgang og Modgang - Peter Molde-Amelung 

 

3. Longlegs - Osgood Perkins + Most Overrated Movie of the Year

[9 titles in total]

Notes:

The first edition of the lists of 2024 in films are based on a very small batch of reviewed titles and is therefore bound to likely completely change in future updates.

The best reviewed film of the year is Niclas Bendixen's funny and wise marriage-analyzing romcom Rom. Silver goes to Ali Abbasi's unflattering Trump biopic The Apprentice; and bronze to Kevin Costner's ill-fated western epic Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1. The list goes on with Ridley Scott's tunic escapade Gladiator II; David Ayer's exploitation revenge actioner The Beekeeper; and with Gustav Möller's prison drama Vogter rounding off the list. 

The worst film of the year found so far is Mikkel Serup's nonsensical political thriller Mørkeland; with Peter Molde-Amelung's harebrained crude comedy sequel Jagtsæson 2 - I Medgang og Modgang taking silver, and Osgood Perkins' overly celebrated satanical horror Longlegs bronze.

Many more movies and TV-series will follow in future updates.

 

2024 titles currently on the watch-list:

Never Let Go, Bird, Kung Fu Panda 4, Monsters - season 2, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, The End, Hard Truths, Civil War, Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2, Terrifier 3, MaXXXine, Nosferatu, Nightbitch, Queer, I'm Still Here, Beauty Is Not a Sin, The Thicket, How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness, The Brutalist, Saturday Night, Smile 2, We Live in Time

 

Previous annual lists: 

    
2023 in films - according to Film Excess 

2022 in films - according to Film Excess 

2021 in films - according to Film Excess 

2020 in films - according to Film Excess 

2019 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2019 in films - according to Film Excess 
2018 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2018 in films - according to Film Excess  
2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2017 in films - according to Film Excess

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2016 in films - according to Film Excess

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV] 
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V] 
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2014 in films - according to Film Excess

2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI] 
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2013 in films - according to Film Excess    
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V] 
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV] 
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess   

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess
2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess   

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  

2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

2000 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

1995 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

1994 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

1992 in films - according to Film Excess

1991 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

1990 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess   

 

What do you think of the 2024 lists?
What movies of the year would make it to your Top and Bottom 10 lists?
What essential title/s are missing on the watch-list?

Rom (2024) - Bendixen and terrific trio win with great romcom

♥♥♥♥♥

 

A beloved trio of seasoned actors in one of the world's most beloved cities tease on this poster for Niclas Bendixen's Rom

Gerda and Kristoffer have been married for 40 years and have been gifted a vacation in Rome by their daughter. But when they happen upon Gerda's old Swedish art teacher there, the stay gets thrown on its head, and old secrets and truths start to seep out.

Rom is written by co-writer/co-star Kristian Halken (A Funny Man/Dirch (2011)), co-writer/executive producer Christian Torpe (Rita (2012-20)) and co-writer/director, great Danish filmmaker Niclas Bendixen (Ditte & Louise (2018)). The original Danish title translates to 'Rome'.

The film's motor is first and foremost its star trio: Halken as the delightfully frank and ordinary man Kristoffer; Bodil Jørgensen (Hvide Sande (2011, TV-series)) as the more vivacious Gerda, whose buried passions are unearthed by Rolf Lassgård (Min Pappa Marianne (2020)) as the expat hedonist. They all three give delightful performances in a film that bursts with a sense of spontaneous fun and lightness.

Manuel Alberto Claro's (The Pact/Pagten (2021)) cinematography imbues the Roman holiday that encompasses the entire film with this sense of 'real-life' and spontaneity. The plot and lines are funny, filled with fine little details and unpretentious but charming turns. Underlying the misadventure rests a keen wisdom about love and marriage, and Bendixen and his stars capture this very well in a genuinely funny, very successful romcom that also wins on lots of lovely local Italian flavors in the guise of performances, locations and vocabulary.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 2.592 mil. €, approximately 2.8 mil. $

Box office: 1.01 mil. $ and counting

= Uncertain

[Rom premiered 3 February (Göteborg Film Festival, Sweden) and runs 98 minutes. 1.347 mil. € of the film's budget came from a DFI subsidy. Shooting took place in Rome, Italy. Bendixen's mother passed away suddenly during shooting. The film opened #1 in Denmark, where it has sold 90k tickets to date and plays in the Biografklub Danmark/Cinema Club Denmark, meaning that a large portion of its patrons pay only half prize. It is set to release in Sweden on 5 April. Bendixen does not have his next film announced yet. Jørgensen returns in Seaside Hotel/Badehotellet (2013-) and theatrically in B.O.Y - Bruises of Yesterday; Lassgård in Whiskey on the Rocks (2024, miniseries), with no theatrical return announced yet; and Halken's return is not announced yet. 67 IMDb users have given Rom a 7.4/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Rom?