If you guys are anything like me, you head into an evening – or even into a long weekend – wondering, “What can we watch?” Because there is an overabundance of content available on the best streaming services out there, we can dive into dramas, comedies, thrillers, historical epics, television shows, movies… whatever whets our whistle, But because we have so much new stuff that’s arriving on a weekly basis, we easily lose track of things we’ve circled as “Want To See,” and then they have come and gone.
With that in mind, I wanted to zero in on the movies that have lobbied for our attention in 2024, hoping to put five off-the-radar hits back in your eye sight – and save you time on ones that I thought were a disaster. Because I found more gems than anticipated out of the 75 films I’ve seen so far this year, I’m leaving off obvious sequels such as Dune: Part 2 and Inside Out 2. If you liked the other movies in that series, you should watch those sequels. But here are five great movies you might have missed, and I think they are worth circling back to, to check out.
Civil War
I’m not concerned with anyone’s politics. On a purely technical level, ALex Garland’s Civil War deserves to be seen for the way that the director stages large-scale combat sequences on American soil – something we don’t get to see very often (if ever) on the big screen. The final act of Civil War might as well be called Call of Duty: The Movie, as Garland puts us in the POV of soldiers and journalists storming a devastated and war-torn Washington, DC to reach their ultimate goal. I also appreciated all that the movie said about the importance of capturing history in the moment, and I thought both Cailee Spaeny and Kirsten Dunst were spectacular.
Alien: Romulus
This has been a killer year for Spaeny, who excelled as a fledgling war photographer in Civil War, then blasted into the stratosphere as a working-class grunt embarking on a heist in the latest Alien thriller. It’s hard to be a tougher-than-normal female in an Alien movie and not trigger comparisons to Sigourney Weaver. But I thought Spaeny carved her own niche in an intelligent action flick that boasts some incredible set pieces… tough to do in a franchise that has been around as long as this one has.
Strange Darling
The less you know about Strange Darling, the better. Imagine a serial killer story, told through the lens of Quentin Tarantino. And then press play on the movie, and enjoy the ride. Director JT Mollner does everything in his power to keep us off balance as his unexpected story unfolds. And I think the lead performance by Willa Fitzgerald deserves awards consideration… if the Oscars bothered to truly recognize genre filmmaking, and not just when it’s convenient, or fits their narrative. You’ll have a tough time figuring out where Strange Darling is going, and that’s the bulk of the reason why it’s so fun.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
If you read me at all, you know I love superhero movies. I also grew up on Christopher Reeve’s Superman, and I stand by the fact that Reeve embodied the persona of Superman better than any actor since has occupied a comic role. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine comes close. But when you watch this staggering documentary about the strength of Reeve’s spirit, you will better understand that he IS Superman, as well as a super man. This documentary follows Reeve’s journey in the wake of a devastating horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed. But it’s infused with hope, with heart, with humor, and with love. It’s an inspiration jolt, and a love letter to the power of endurance. You will believe a man can live.
Woman of the Hour
I’m a huge fan of Anna Kendrick, and I frequently admire when she drifts outside of easy hits like Trolls or Pitch Perfect to explore dramatic material in Alice, Darling, The Accountant, The Last Five Years, and more. Then, there is the delicious hook of this film’s plot, which details the time in real life when a serial killer who had been terrorizing the Western states appeared as a contestant on the game show The Dating Game. Within those confines, Kendrick – making her directorial debut – finds rich soil to till with regard to gender politics, the shallowness of the entertainment industry, and the ability of a killer to slip through the cracks of society. This one is a must watch.
Now that you have five movies that I highly recommend, you don’t have time to waste watching hot garbage. And believe me, the next five movies are hot garbage. This list was a little harder to put together, mainly because I don’t go out of my way to watch bad movies. But here are five movies I went to see this year that I thought had a chance to be good, and I don’t think you need to make the same mistake.
Madame Web
The movie that proves Sony really doesn’t know what it’s doing with its Spider-Man universe, primarily because there’s absolutely no reason for this movie to exist. It’s a prequel, which means Peter Parker is a literal baby in the story. It’s based on a character no one knows… including Dakota Johnson, who played her. And it features zero hero work, save for an appearance of three possible superheroes in a closing shot. What a disaster.
IF
This one hurts, because I like John Krasinski (who directed the film), and Ryan Reynolds tends to be funny and charming, even in fantastical drivel. But this story about Imaginary Friends who have been forgotten by their grown ups seems flawed in its concept, and nothing attempted by Krasinski or his main actress, Cailey Fleming, can help capture the awe and wonderment that is supposed to be in the script. IF ultimately felt manipulative to me, failing to earn any of the sentiment it thought it was peddling. I thought this was a flop.
The Crow
We didn’t need another adaptation of The Crow. And watching Rupert Sanders trying to restage this material only cemented the fact that The Crow remains a relic of a specific time, when gothic themes and techno-metal fueled a generation of Hot Topic shoppers. But the biggest ding against this take on The Crow is the leading couple Bill Skarsgard and FKA Twigs have less-than-no chemistry together, so we never buy into their ill-fated love, or his desire for revenge that propels his journey. Hollywood struggled for years to get a new take on The Crow into theaters. They should have left it alone.
Horizon: An America Saga - Part One
Another one that completely bums me out. Believe it or not, film critics go into almost every movie hoping to love what we see. We don’t do this to seek out duds. And if you tell me that Kevin Costner is self-financing a new Western because he believes in the story, I’m going to get excited! Sadly, Horizon feels like the first 100 pages of a much longer novel, and so the entire film just sets up stories that don’t pay off – at least, not in this film. Costner has gone on to say that he envisions four Horizon movies, but he won’t get to make any more of them unless he makes them entertaining. And this one is not.
Venom: The Last Dance
Back to the Sony Spider-Man universe, just to kick the Venom franchise to the curb. Listen, Tom Hardy seems to enjoy what he’s doing in these films. And yes, the visual effects to create the symbiote have drastically improved since the first movie. But no real story ever evolved over the course of these three, and I’ve instantly forgotten anything that happened in this uneven attempt at being a movie. Forever, I will wonder how Sony made three Venom films, and never got close to actually including Spider-Man. That seems like a huge middle finger to fans. Not the best approach.
We still have a number of weeks left in 2024, and movies like Wicked, A Complete Unknown, and The Brutalist will be angling for a spot on one of these lists. Best? Worst? We’ll know soon enough.
