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One artificial intelligence (AI) stock that has received a lot of buzz is SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) . While the reasons for the hype are numerous, they don't overshadow the fact that SoundHound AI is growing rapidly with a bullish outlook in 2025. Are You Missing The Morning Scoop? Breakfast News delivers it all in a quick, Foolish, and free daily newsletter. Sign Up For Free » As a result, the stock could continue to record serious gains, and investors may want to keep this stock on their radar heading into 2025. SoundHound is improving voice recognition in multiple industries SoundHound AI does pretty much what its name suggests: It incorporates AI with audio recognition. Integrating AI models with voice prompts has long been done; just take a look at the various car, home, or phone assistants. However, the recognition of voice inputs has always been OK at best, and the response quality also varied. The company's platform delivers strong advancements in this technology, and it has already seen widespread adoption in some fields. One area it has seen success in is restaurant order automation. Whether it's over the phone or in a drive-thru, SoundHound has a product that can outperform humans in terms of speed and accuracy. Another area SoundHound has seen growth is the automobile market. Specifically, through its partnership with Stellantis , SoundHound has rolled out generative AI-powered chatbots that are far more capable than the run-of-the-mill vehicle assistants most vehicles were previously equipped with. This technology hasn't made it to the U.S. yet, but it has been integrated into newer Stellantis vehicles in Europe and Japan. There are countless more uses for SoundHound's technology, and the opportunities form the foundation of an attractive investment. 2025 is set to be an amazing year In the third quarter, SoundHound's revenue rose an impressive 89% year over year to $25.1 million. A year ago, 90% of revenue came from the automotive industry, but in the latest quarter, the largest sector was only 25% as restaurants, financial services, insurance, and healthcare have all increased their share. SoundHound isn't profitable as it's still in the early stages of growth. Still, investors should know its operating loss was $33.8 million for the quarter, meaning expenses more than doubled what the company generated in revenue. That said, unless SoundHound's growth falls off substantially, this loss is not yet a major concern. Fortunately, management is guiding for full-year 2024 revenue of $82 million to $85 million, up more than 75% from the previous year. And in 2025, management expects revenue to land between $155 million and $175 million, thanks in part to its acquisition of Amelia, an enterprise voice AI company. As a cherry on top, management expects to deliver positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by the end of 2025. I have little doubt the stock will soar if management can deliver on that bullish guidance. Because SoundHound AI is unprofitable, a popular valuation metric to consider is the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. The stock trades at a pricey 29 times sales. However, that valuation is not completely out of the ordinary, especially for the market's top AI stocks. Palantir , one of the S&P 500 's best performers in 2024, trades at more than 55 times sales while growing revenue at a less impressive pace than SoundHound AI. That said, Palantir is also a much larger and more profitable business. In the end, investors should be aware of the risk that comes with SoundHound's premium valuation. Shareholders' expectations are sky high. Meanwhile, many of its business relationships are rather new and still susceptible to disruption. As a result, investors need to ensure their position sizing is representative of the risk associated with a volatile growth stock. If SoundHound can meet its financial targets, continue to grow its customer base, and further expand into new industries, it has the potential to extend its winning streak. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if SoundHound AI proves to be one of 2025's best-performing stocks . Should you invest $1,000 in SoundHound AI right now? Before you buy stock in SoundHound AI, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and SoundHound AI wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,885 !* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of November 18, 2024 Keithen Drury has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Stellantis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . Prediction: SoundHound AI Stock Will Soar in 2025 was originally published by The Motley Fool
UK announces new £108m climate finance programme
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold tossed aside his stoic demeanor for a moment after realizing he was on the videoboard, aggressively twirling a towel to further stoke the crowd's fire after the Minnesota Vikings had pulled away from Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons late in the game. “I just felt the buzz. That was pure passion, pure joy, man,” Darnold said. Darnold added yet another highlight to his brilliant first season with the Vikings, passing for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, in a 42-21 victory over the foundering Falcons on Sunday to stretch their winning streak to six games. “It just felt like it was one of those days to keep the gas pedal down,” said coach Kevin O'Connell, who enjoyed his team's first 40-point game in three seasons on the job. Darnold passed for 250 yards after halftime to help the Vikings (11-2) break a 21-all tie early in the fourth quarter and stay one game behind NFC North-leading Detroit with a final-week matchup looming with the Lions. Jordan Addison had eight catches for 133 yards and three scores and Justin Jefferson racked up seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns after going the past six games without scoring. “This is something that we want to do and we can do every single week,” Jefferson said. Cousins, whose departure in free agency for Atlanta prompted Minnesota to sign Darnold as a bridge to currently injured rookie J.J. McCarthy, threw two more interceptions without a touchdown in this unhappy homecoming following a mixed six-year run with the Vikings. Booed as he took the field, Cousins and the Falcons (6-7) left with a fourth consecutive loss to tumble out of first place in the NFC South and fall one game behind Tampa Bay. “When you’re playing well you usually aren’t as good as people are telling you when they’re patting you on the back, and if you’re in a rut you’re usually not as bad as people kind of leaving you for dead,” Cousins said. “The reality’s usually somewhere in the middle. You just have to keep playing and see where the dust settles in January.” Cousins went 23 for 37 for 344 yards for the Falcons, who crossed midfield on all nine of their possessions and finished with 496 total yards. He overthrew Ray-Ray McCloud III on fourth down in the first quarter, and the Falcons settled for short field goals just before and right after halftime. Their fate was sealed when McCloud fumbled the kickoff at the 32 after the Vikings went 70 yards in six plays for the go-ahead touchdown pass to Addison, who scored again seven plays later. The Falcons handed the Vikings an earlier touchdown when Kentavious Street was called for defensive holding during a field-goal attempt late in the second quarter, giving Darnold a fresh set of downs before a 12-yard laser to Jefferson on a post route on third-and-6. “You just can’t have the self-inflicted wounds and expect to win football games like we had today,” coach Raheem Morris said. Bijan Robinson had 22 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Allgeier rushed nine times for 63 yards and a score for the Falcons against the NFL’s leading run defense. Cousins, who was picked off four times last week, hesitated as he wound up to throw on first down from the Minnesota 47 in a tie game early in the second quarter and then inexplicably fired a pass straight to Josh Metellus as he sat in a zone in front of Drake London. Cousins has a NFL -most 15 interceptions. Byron Murphy snagged an overthrow for the second one near the goal line with a 35-21 lead and 6:26 left. Darnold, who went 22 for 28 without a turnover-worthy play despite heavy first-half pressure, then directed a seven-play, 98-yard drive to seal it. “I think we grew up a lot today offensively,” O'Connell said. Addison and Jefferson became the first duo in Vikings history to each have 100-plus receiving yards and two-plus touchdown catches in the same game. Addison also became the first Vikings player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Stefon Diggs caught three from Cousins in 2019. Murphy has six interceptions this season, the most for the Vikings since Jimmy Hitchcock had seven in 1998. Falcons: CB Mike Hughes (knee) was back in the lineup after missing two games. Minnesota's 2018 first-round draft pick returned an interception for a touchdown against Atlanta in his NFL debut here. Vikings: CB Stephon Gilmore (hamstring) and backup OLB Patrick Jones (knee) were out. TE Josh Oliver (wrist/ankle) returned from a two-game absence, and LS Andrew DePaola (hand) and PK Will Reichard (quadriceps) were back from four-game injured reserve stints. Both teams play next Monday night, Dec. 16: Atlanta visits Las Vegas, and Minnesota hosts Chicago. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLPep Guardiola admitted he was 'relieved' as Man City got back to winning ways
S&P/TSX composite rises Thursday, U.S. markets downMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold tossed aside his stoic demeanor for a moment after realizing he was on the videoboard, aggressively twirling a towel to further stoke the crowd's fire after the Minnesota Vikings had pulled away from Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons late in the game. “I just felt the buzz. That was pure passion, pure joy, man,” Darnold said. Darnold added yet another highlight to his brilliant first season with the Vikings, passing for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, in a 42-21 victory over the foundering Falcons on Sunday to stretch their winning streak to six games. “It just felt like it was one of those days to keep the gas pedal down,” said coach Kevin O'Connell, who enjoyed his team's first 40-point game in three seasons on the job. Darnold passed for 250 yards after halftime to help the Vikings (11-2) break a 21-all tie early in the fourth quarter and stay one game behind NFC North-leading Detroit with a final-week matchup looming with the Lions. Jordan Addison had eight catches for 133 yards and three scores and Justin Jefferson racked up seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns after going the past six games without scoring. “This is something that we want to do and we can do every single week,” Jefferson said. Cousins, whose departure in free agency for Atlanta prompted Minnesota to sign Darnold as a bridge to currently injured rookie J.J. McCarthy, threw two more interceptions without a touchdown in this unhappy homecoming following a mixed six-year run with the Vikings. Booed as he took the field, Cousins and the Falcons (6-7) left with a fourth consecutive loss to tumble out of first place in the NFC South and fall one game behind Tampa Bay. “When you’re playing well you usually aren’t as good as people are telling you when they’re patting you on the back, and if you’re in a rut you’re usually not as bad as people kind of leaving you for dead,” Cousins said. “The reality’s usually somewhere in the middle. You just have to keep playing and see where the dust settles in January.” Cousins went 23 for 37 for 344 yards for the Falcons, who crossed midfield on all nine of their possessions and finished with 496 total yards. He overthrew Ray-Ray McCloud III on fourth down in the first quarter, and the Falcons settled for short field goals just before and right after halftime. Their fate was sealed when McCloud fumbled the kickoff at the 32 after the Vikings went 70 yards in six plays for the go-ahead touchdown pass to Addison, who scored again seven plays later. The Falcons handed the Vikings an earlier touchdown when Kentavious Street was called for defensive holding during a field-goal attempt late in the second quarter, giving Darnold a fresh set of downs before a 12-yard laser to Jefferson on a post route on third-and-6. “You just can’t have the self-inflicted wounds and expect to win football games like we had today,” coach Raheem Morris said. Bijan Robinson had 22 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Allgeier rushed nine times for 63 yards and a score for the Falcons against the NFL’s leading run defense. Cousins, who was picked off four times last week, hesitated as he wound up to throw on first down from the Minnesota 47 in a tie game early in the second quarter and then inexplicably fired a pass straight to Josh Metellus as he sat in a zone in front of Drake London. Cousins has a NFL -most 15 interceptions. Byron Murphy snagged an overthrow for the second one near the goal line with a 35-21 lead and 6:26 left. Darnold, who went 22 for 28 without a turnover-worthy play despite heavy first-half pressure, then directed a seven-play, 98-yard drive to seal it. “I think we grew up a lot today offensively,” O'Connell said. Addison and Jefferson became the first duo in Vikings history to each have 100-plus receiving yards and two-plus touchdown catches in the same game. Addison also became the first Vikings player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Stefon Diggs caught three from Cousins in 2019. Murphy has six interceptions this season, the most for the Vikings since Jimmy Hitchcock had seven in 1998. Falcons: CB Mike Hughes (knee) was back in the lineup after missing two games. Minnesota's 2018 first-round draft pick returned an interception for a touchdown against Atlanta in his NFL debut here. Vikings: CB Stephon Gilmore (hamstring) and backup OLB Patrick Jones (knee) were out. TE Josh Oliver (wrist/ankle) returned from a two-game absence, and LS Andrew DePaola (hand) and PK Will Reichard (quadriceps) were back from four-game injured reserve stints. Both teams play next Monday night, Dec. 16: Atlanta visits Las Vegas, and Minnesota hosts Chicago. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
S&P Global Inc. stock rises Wednesday, still underperforms marketUnai Emery feels confidence returning after Aston Villa end winless run
Bennett scores 23 as Quinnipiac defeats Sacred Heart 83-73None
Kylian Mbappe’s spot-kick woe goes on as Real Madrid lose at Athletic BilbaoRethinking Infrastructure Scaling With Context And FlexibilityAdvertisement Dollar Tree "pressured" shoppers are looking for more ways to save money while celebrating. Interim CEO Michael Creedon said people are cutting back on parties and delaying purchases. The remarks follow recent Target comments that shoppers are waiting until "the last moment of need." If your holiday gathering seems to have fewer guests this year, you're not alone. Dollar Tree interim CEO Michael Creedon said a shift is taking place, and not just among the "pressured" lower-income shoppers who represent the company's core customer base. Related Video Marketing leaders have to help their companies keep pace with the rapidly changing worlds of their customers, says Elizabeth Rutledge, CMO of American Express "When you look at a year ago, they were cutting out big purchases — TVs, things like that," he said during the company's quarterly earnings call Wednesday. "If you look at the early part of this year, they started eating more at home and cutting going out." "Now they're reducing some parties, and we see that — or the party is not as big, they don't invite as many people as they did — so we're seeing that throughout," he added. The company is also seeing the shift among middle- and upper- income households who have sought out dollar stores for the combination of convenience and price. Advertisement It's one of a few new shopping patterns emerging as US shoppers try to make the most of their ever-tightening budgets. Creedon also said shoppers are holding off on purchases until right before they plan to use them. The trend has made for some unusual year-over-year sales comparisons for particular days and weeks, but he said quarterly totals are holding up well so far. Advertisement "We saw it with Thanksgiving," he said. "I always take the foil pans, which are such a key component of Thanksgiving for us. The last week was just incredible." Creedon said the company's outlook for the holiday quarter accounts for shoppers "buying for need and then buying closer to the need," as compared with a higher share of non-essential purchases made more steadily throughout the period. The remarks follow recent comments from Target CEO Brian Cornell that shoppers are "waiting to buy until the last moment of need, focusing on deals , and then stocking up when they find them." Advertisement Cornell said these "resourceful" shoppers still spend, but they're getting more choosy about waiting for discounts, special occasions, or a change in the weather .
SAN ANTONIO — Nikola Vucevic had a season-high 39 points, Ayo Dosunmu had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls beat the San Antonio Spurs 139-124 on Thursday night with Victor Wembanyama sidelined with a back injury. Dosunmu had season highs in points, assists and rebounds in collecting the first triple-double of his four-year career. Keldon Johnson had a season-high 28 points and Devin Vassell added 17 points for San Antonio, which lost for the third time in its last four games. Wembanyama is day-to-day with a sore lower back he suffered in Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix. Chicago never trailed and had a season-high point total. Chicago matched a season-high with 73 points in the first half in taking a 73-57 lead. Talen Horton-Tucker had 13 points for Chicago, which had six players score in double figures. Chris Paul had 12 points and nine assists for San Antonio. Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) reacts after a play against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. Credit: AP/Eric Gay Takeaways Bulls: Chicago rookie Matas Buzelis had 11 points after scoring a career-high 20 points against Brooklyn in his previous game. Three of Buzelis' four games in double figures have come in his past six games. Spurs: Jeremy Sochan had 16 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup after missing 13 games following thumb surgery. Sochan made his first career start at center in place of Wembanyama. Key moment Zach LaVine drained a 3-pointer on the game's opening possession to set the tone for Chicago's most prolific outing this season. Key stat Chicago shot 57.8% from the field, surpassing its previous season best of 57% set against Atlanta on Nov. 22. Chicago Bulls forward Talen Horton-Tucker (22) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs center Charles Bassey (28) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. Credit: AP/Eric Gay Up next Bulls: Play host to Indiana on Friday night. Spurs: Host New Orleans on Friday night.
S&P/TSX composite rises Thursday, U.S. markets downLondon, Dec. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pixalate, the market-leading ad fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform, today released the Brazil Programmatic Ad Seller Quality Rankings Q3 2024 for Web and Mobile to rank programmatic ad sellers across desktop and mobile web and mobile apps . The first-of-its-kind rankings, using SupplyChain Object (SCO) data, offer a comprehensive global view of programmatic ad sellers based on quality across the advertising supply chain, as measured by Pixalate. Pixalate’s Seller Trust Indexes feature country-level seller ratings in 140+ countries for 580+ sellers. The rankings are based on an analysis of over 50 billion monthly programmatic advertising impressions from Q3 2024. Top Programmatic Web Ad Sellers in Brazil (Q3 2024) See more in the Web Seller Trust Index . Top Programmatic Mobile Ad Sellers in Brazil (Q3 2024) See more in the Mobile Seller Trust Index . Pixalate’s Seller Trust Indexes provide a full view of the ad supply chain ecosystem. In doing so, the Indexes aim to foster economic fairness, encourage competition, and highlight the full range of sellers available to buyers, including each sellers’ relative strengths and weaknesses in each country. Explore all of Pixalate’s Seller Trust Indexes: Web Seller Trust Index Mobile Seller Trust Index CTV Seller Trust Index About Pixalate Pixalate is a global platform specializing in privacy compliance, ad fraud prevention, and digital ad supply chain data intelligence. Founded in 2012, Pixalate is trusted by regulators, data researchers, advertisers, publishers, ad tech platforms, and financial analysts across the Connected TV (CTV), mobile app, and website ecosystems. Pixalate is accredited by the MRC for the detection and filtration of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT). pixalate.com Disclaimer The content of this press release, and the Seller Trust Indexes (collectively, the "Indexes"), reflect Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes may be useful to the digital media industry. As cited in the Indexes, the ratings and rankings in the Indexes are based on a number of metrics and Pixalate's opinions regarding the relative performance of each seller with respect to the metrics. The data is derived from buy-side, predominantly open auction, programmatic advertising transactions, as measured by Pixalate. The Indexes examine global advertising activity. Any insights shared are grounded in Pixalate's proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources in the Indexes and herein should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate's opinions are just that, opinions, which means that they are neither facts nor guarantees; and neither this press release nor the Indexes are intended to impugn the standing or reputation of any person, entity or app. Per the MRC , “'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes. Also per the MRC , “‘Invalid Traffic’ is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. Among the reasons why ad traffic may be deemed invalid is it is a result of non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.), or activity designed to produce fraudulent traffic.”None
An early Sunday shootout at a bar in southeast Mexico has left six people dead and at least five injured. Local media in Villahermosa, Tabasco, report that attackers opened fire, igniting fear amid an area grappling with increased violence. The Public Safety Secretary, Omar García Harfuch, announced on social media platform X that federal authorities are collaborating with local officials to resolve the crime. However, motivations for the attack are yet unclear, and no arrests have been announced. Footage circulating online shows patrons fleeing the chaos, while others remain with victims as police respond. This incident continues a surge of violence as a new president faces a troubled landscape, following another deadly bar shooting earlier this month in Querétaro's historic center. (With inputs from agencies.)NXP Semiconductors Announces Quarterly DividendMoment missing dog is rescued by brave volunteers just metres from the edge of deadly cliffs
B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in PG&E Co. ( NYSE:PCG – Free Report ) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 43,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $855,000. Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in PG&E in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of PG&E by 84.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of PG&E by 77.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in PG&E by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. PG&E Price Performance PG&E stock opened at $21.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market cap of $55.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.00. PG&E Co. has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $21.51. PG&E Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.13%. Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities research analysts have commented on PCG shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PG&E in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PG&E presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.80. View Our Latest Research Report on PG&E PG&E Profile ( Free Report ) PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, engages in the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers in northern and central California, the United States. It generates electricity using nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired, fuel cell, and photovoltaic sources. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PCG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for PG&E Co. ( NYSE:PCG – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for PG&E Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PG&E and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .ONE Gas Issues 2025 Financial GuidanceMutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 2,596 Shares of The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR)
My love of movie scoundrels has been sorely tested this year. When I was young, I daydreamed of exotic heists, slick con artists and lovable crooks I’d seen on screen. For most of my moviegoing life, I’ve been a sucker for larceny done well. Most of us are, probably. But now it’s late 2024. Mood is wrong. In the real world, in America, it’s scoundrel time all the time. Maybe Charles Dickens was right. In “American Notes for General Circulation” (1842), the English literary superstar chronicled his travels and detected a widespread, peculiarly American “love of ‘smart’ dealing” across the land. In business and in politics, Dickens observed, slavish admiration of the con men among them “gilds over many a swindle and gross breach of trust.” And here we are. It’ll pass, this scoundrel reprieve of mine. In fact it just did. All it took was thinking about the conspicuous, roguish outlier on my best-of-2024 list: “Challengers.” It’s what this year needed and didn’t know it: a tricky story of lying, duplicitous weasels on and off the court. The best films this year showed me things I hadn’t seen, following familiar character dynamics into fresh territory. Some were more visually distinctive than others; all made eloquent cases for how, and where, their stories unfolded. “All We Imagine as Light,” recently at the Gene Siskel Film Center, works like a poem, or a sustained exhalation of breath, in its simply designed narrative of three Mumbai hospital workers. Fluid, subtly political, filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s achievement is very nearly perfect. So is cowriter-director RaMell Ross’ adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel “The Nickel Boys,” arriving in Chicago-area theaters on Jan. 3, 2025. “Nickel Boys,” the film, loses the “the” in Whitehead’s title but gains an astonishingly realized visual perspective. If Ross never makes another movie, he’ll have an American masterpiece to his credit. The following top 10 movies of 2024 are in alphabetical order. “All We Imagine as Light” Both a mosaic of urban ebb and flow, and a delicate revelation of character, director and writer Payal Kapadia’s Mumbai story is hypnotic, patient and in its more traditional story progression, a second feature every bit as good as Kapadia’s first, 2021’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing.” “Anora” Mikey Madison gives one of the year’s funniest, saddest, truest performances as a Brooklyn exotic dancer who takes a shine to the gangly son of a Russian oligarch, and he to her. Their transactional courtship and dizzying Vegas marriage, followed by violently escalating complications, add up to filmmaker Sean Baker’s triumph, capped by an ending full of exquisite mysteries of the human heart. “The Brutalist” As played by Adrien Brody, the title character is a visionary architect and Hungarian Jewish emigre arriving in America in 1947 after the Holocaust. (That said, the title refers to more than one character.) His patron, and his nemesis, is the Philadelphia blueblood industrialist played by Guy Pearce. Director/co-writer Brady Corbet’s thrillingly ambitious epic, imperfect but loaded with rewarding risks, was shot mostly in widescreen VistaVision. Worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find. Opens in Chicago-area theaters on Jan. 10, 2025. “Challengers” Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor play games with each other, on the tennis court and in beds, while director Luca Guadagnino builds to a match-point climax that can’t possibly work, and doesn’t quite — but I saw the thing twice anyway. “Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World” In Bucharest, production assistant Angela zigzags around the city interviewing people for her employer’s workplace safety video. If that sounds less than promising, even for a deadpan Romanian slice-of-life tragicomedy, go ahead and make the mistake of skipping this one. llinca Manolache is terrific as Angela. “Green Border” Like “Do Not Expect Too Much,” director Agnieszka Holland’s harrowing slice of recent history was a 2023 release, making it to Chicago in early 2024. Set along the densely forested Poland/Belarus border, this is a model of well-dramatized fiction honoring what refugees have always known: the fully justified, ever-present fear of the unknown. “Janet Planet” A quiet marvel of a feature debut from writer-director Annie Baker, this is a mother/daughter tale rich in ambiguities and wry humor, set in a lovely, slightly forlorn corner of rural Massachusetts. Julianne Nicholson, never better; Zoe Ziegler as young, hawk-eyed Lacy, equally memorable. “My Old Ass” I love this year’s nicest surprise. The premise: A teenager’s future 39-year-old self appears to her, magically, via a strong dose of mushrooms. The surprise: Writer-director Megan Park gradually deepens her scenario and sticks a powerfully emotional landing. Wonderful work from Aubrey Plaza, Maisy Stella, Maria Dizzia and everybody, really. “Nickel Boys” From the horrific true story of a Florida reform school and its decades of abuse, neglect and enraging injustice toward its Black residents, novelist Colson Whitehead’s fictionalized novel makes a remarkable jump to the screen thanks to co-writer/director RaMell Ross’s feature debut. “A Real Pain” Cousins, not as close as they once were, reunite for a Holocaust heritage tour in Poland and their own search for their late grandmother’s childhood home. They’re the rootless Benji (Kieran Culkin) and tightly sprung David (Jesse Eisenberg, who wrote and directed). Small but very sure, this movie’s themes of genocidal trauma and Jewish legacy support the narrative every step of the way. Culkin is marvelous; so is the perpetually undervalued Eisenberg. To the above, I’ll add 10 more runners-up, again in alphabetical order: “Blink Twice,” directed by Zoe Kravitz. “Conclave,” directed by Edward Berger. “Dune: Part Two ,” directed by Denis Villeneuve. “Good One ,” directed by India Donaldson. “Hit Man,” directed by Richard Linklater. “Joker: Folie a Deux,” directed by Todd Phillips. “Nosferatu,” directed by Robert Eggers, opens in Chicago-area theaters on Dec. 25. “The Outrun,” directed by Nora Fingscheidt. “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat,” directed by Johan Grimonprez. “Tuesday,” directed by Daina O. Pusić. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
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