Today begins my traditional six-week focus on the previous year’s best movies. In a couple of weeks, I’ll name my personal picks for the top Oscar categories and count down my favorite movies of the year.

But first, I’ll spend two weeks honoring some of my favorite musical moments in the films of 2024. I stayed away from actual musicals, though four of my selections (including today’s) come from movies about musicians.

Smile 2 follows pop star Skye Riley (a wonderful Naomi Scott) as she wrestles with the pressures of fame, an overbearing momager, and — oh yeah — the Entity (or Smile Monster, if you prefer).

One of this movie’s great pleasures is the realism with which its showbiz world is depicted. That starts with casting Scott, a skilled singer and dancer who commits fully to her character’s time in rehearsals and onstage.

Skye Riley’s songs, written by singer-songwriter Idarose (and sometimes co-written by Scott), are better than half of the year-end Top 40 I just covered. The music, and her look, are very Lady Gaga.

Today’s scene is a dress rehearsal for Riley’s upcoming tour, an endeavor for which she is mentally unprepared even before she’s infected by the Entity. I love the use of color and light, and how authentic it all feels. I remember thinking “hell yeah!” after the cut to this scene in the theater.