The best movies of 2024 as ranked by AP film writers

December 9, 2024

As much as theaters are humming right now, with “Wicked” and “Moana 2” bringing moviegoers by the droves, it’s been a fairly bruising movie year. In between the blockbusters, though, the challenge of not just capturing the attention of audiences but of simply getting to the screen feels more perilous than ever. The year was marked by filmmakers who wagered everything from a $120 million pile ( Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis”) to their life (the dissident Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”). Considering the paths of the “The ...

Though earnest and visually dazzling, ‘Moana 2’ is more dull than so shiny

December 2, 2024

The warm Polynesian spirit and open-sea sense of adventure is back in “Moana 2,” but little of the original’s humor or catchy songs finds its way into this heartfelt but lackluster sequel set three years after the original. “Moana 2,” which opened in theaters Wednesday, was ...

How to watch and stream the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

November 25, 2024

NEW YORK — The holiday season really kicks off when the massive helium balloons start floating through New York. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade — two years away from its 100th birthday — this year will feature 17 giant character balloons, 22 floats, 15 novelty and heritage ...

Martin Scorsese on ‘The Saints,’ faith in filmmaking and what his next movie might be

November 18, 2024

NEW YORK — When Martin Scorsese was a child growing up in New York’s Little Italy, he would gaze up at the figures he saw around St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. “Who are these people? What is a saint?” Scorsese recalls. “The minute I walk out the door of the cathedral and I don’t ...

Efforts of film club keeps Upper Peninsula’s last drive-in open

November 4, 2024

MANISTIQUE — The Upper Peninsula Film Union is a nonprofit organization that most recognizably runs Highway 2 Community Drive-in Theater with the help of its volunteers and local sponsors. The group also has its own film club, which meets monthly to watch and discuss movies. Donations to the ...

Tim Burton talks about his dread of AI as an exhibition of his work opens in London

October 28, 2024

LONDON — The imagination of Tim Burton has produced ghosts and ghouls, Martians, monsters and misfits — all on display at an exhibition that is opening in London just in time for Halloween. But you know what really scares him? Artificial intelligence. Burton said Wednesday that seeing a ...