HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS FOR THE WIN!!!

PLUS THE REST OF MY TOP 10 FAVORITE MOVIES OF THE YEAR

The other night, I saw the best and most perfect double-bill I could possibly have prayed for. Both new films. Both set in the grueling 1800’s. One black and white, the other trying its damndest to be, while still delivering lush blues, silvers, and reds. Both involving swarms of crazed fur-bearin’ critters.

And that’s probably where the similarity ends.

Because one was Nosferatu, currently staking its claim as the last great horror movie of 2024. And the other was Earth’s reigning indie champion of the year, if not all of history itself: an intrepid little gem out of wintry Wisconsin called Hundreds of Beavers, now hopefully streaming its way into your hearts!

Now is Hundreds of Beavers really the best film of the year? Honestly, I’d have to give that honor to Alex Garland’s Civil War, which I previously wrote about here. Or, perhaps, to the stupifyingly cunning and brilliant Strange Darling, a mind-fucking thrillride by J.T. Mollner, with by far my favorite performance of the year (Willa Fitzgerald), and quite possibly the greatest death scene ever filmed. (I am not making this up.)

But is Hundreds of Beavers my personal fave (not counting, of course, The Great Divide)? Why, yes, indeed! Why? I’ll TELL ya why!

Because this plucky little trillion-laffs-a-minute masterpiece was made for a whopping $150,000 by a couple of thoroughly unknown geniuses – writer/director/ AfterEffects wizard Mike Cheslik and writer/star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews – with the help of some hilarious friends, all of whom are now my heroes. Add a couple of ridiculous animal costumes, a whoooooole lotta hard work, and you have the most inspiring success story this side of Rocky Balboa.

And if that glorious trailer (complete with ecstatic fans!) doesn’t manage to persuade you, then I suggest you take a peek at this stunningly meticulous case study by indie champion Jon Reiss, where he and producer Kurt Ravenwood lay out the brilliant promotional strategies behind their self-driven theatrical run, creating a cult of delirious joy of which I am now proudly a part.

The fact that they took this film from outta nowhere and landed it on the front page of Amazon Prime, earning out roughly $900,000 to date, is almost too good to believe. But the fact is that it’s also totally fucking HILARIOUS: a non-stop rocket of bonkers invention, equal parts Tex Avery, Buster Keaton, Cannibal: The Musical and Forbidden Zone, that winds up whittling a place in comedy history all its own. I seriously cannot recommend it more highly. It’s THE MOST FUN YOU’LL HAVE HAD ALL YEAR!!!

Which leads me to the rest of my 2024 faves, who won’t get nearly as much digital ink in this column. But all of which I adored. They are:

The Substance

Maxxxine

Furiosa

Love Lies Bleeding

In a Violent Nature

Don’t Move

I’d love to hang out and discuss all day, but it’s New Year’s Eve, and my friend’s flyin’ in! I hope you all have a night to remember, and that you actually can!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, MY FRIENDS!!!