Films to Watch in the Year 2024 (Reviews)

9/10
While “Fury Road” was a stone cold classic, driven by straight up propulsive mayhem, Miller has quite wisely chosen to shift course with this prequel, still offering up several brilliant set-pieces of heart pounding action while also adding character development and plenty of world-building to his brutal and amazing dystopian universe.

I’m an absolute sucker for Anya Taylor-Joy, and therefore, wasn’t bothered in the slightest when news broke that she had taken over the titular role.
She does a remarkable job with the material, selling her emotions largely through facial expressions and those wonderful fawn-like eyes.

Also noteworthy is Chris Hemsworth as the swaggering war-lord Dementus, an highly charismatic villain, who shares sizzling chemistry with his co-star in the films beautifully crafted, western-like climax.

I, personally couldn’t be happier with how this movie turned out and as a die-hard fan of the franchise (especially “Fury Road) that’s saying something!

Hail George Miller.
May he ride for as long as his mortality allows.
Then ride forever on the warpath of Valhalla.

5/10
When Joker: Folie à Deux was first announced I was beyond excited, but when word leaked that it was going to be a musical, my level of enthusiasm dwindled considerably.
Then the Venice film festival happened and less than stellar reviews started to drop and suddenly I found myself in full blown crisis mode.
Well, now I’ve seen it with my own eyes and as a result ready to offer my assessment.

If the initial film represented the exciting creation of the mythology of Joker then this sequel acts as the monotonous deconstruction. Now I’d be willing to bet that it should be possible to engineer an equally powerful and effective story from that blueprint, to better match the effectiveness of the original, but Writer/Director Todd Phillips seems adamant instead, in crafting a narrative that is as dour and tedious as humanly possible.
I get that he’s trying to make a statement regarding the more extreme members of the audience, but some of us are in fact perfectly docile and just want to be entertained. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

Some viewers might get a kick out of the musical numbers and if that’s the case, more power to you, but for my money they were grating from the start and only got worse as the movie went along.

There are some positives though. First and foremost, the cast does an excellent job with the questionable material, the technical aspects are impeccable and even though it was a mostly a wearisome experience getting there, the ending held real power and offered some genuine pathos, even if it felt like too little too late.

So while there are some bright spots to enjoy, the fact remains that as a follow up to the zeitgeist capturing original, this high profile, mega-budgeted, prestige follow up, represents one of the biggest falls from grace I can recall seeing.

It’s ultimately one of the biggest disappointments of 2024.

7/10
Everyone should know the drill by now, regarding this particular Monsterverse.

The basic rule seems to dictate, that you simply have to accept the trade off of having to sit through a substantial amount of toe-curlingly awful expositional dialogue, delivered by bland stock characters in order to get to the good stuff; the monster mashups.
And while the movie might also be overdoing it in the schmaltzy melodramatic department, the Titans, fortunately more than hold up their end of the bargain.

The gigantic beasts are nicely fleshed out as characters. The effects work is topnotch and the fight scenes are both epic in scope and beautifully choreographed.
So, if you were a fan of any of the previous entries, you’ll probably have a good time with this, if not, this latest chapter will do nothing to change your mind.

10/10
In the Third Reich evil lost its distinctive characteristic by which most people had until then recognized it. The Nazis redefined it as a civil norm.

• Hannah Arendt. “Banality of Evil”

I won’t bother with my usual style of writing, simply because I’m at a loss for words. I’ll simply add this; this work represents the highest pantheon of originality and craftsmanship in regards to the art form that is filmmaking. It is a masterpiece, through and through and a viewing experience I suspect I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.

8/10
Another magnificent piece of filmmaking from auteur extraordinaire Yorgos Lanthimos, offers a regular smorgasbord of brilliant offbeat storytelling, performances to die for and a production team at the peak of its power to tie it all together, crafting a truly memorable and unique cinematic feast.
Special mention must also be bestowed upon the absolutely awe inspiring work of lead actress Emma Stone, who gifts the audience with one of the most distinguished performances I’ve ever had the privilege of experiencing.

If I were to nitpick, just a little bit, I would say that the film never really seemed all that challenging, at its core it is a (dare I say, safe) story about a woman’ odyssey, which slowly but surely, leads her onto the road of self discovery for the betterment of herself and her loved ones and as such it may ultimately lack a bit of the necessary ferocity and need for analysis, prevalent in the director’s earlier works.

With that said though, it’s still a hell of a ride, packed to the gills with glorious surrealism, hybrid animals and deliriously ruckus sex.
If that sounds like your kind of jam… dig right in.

5/10
Full disclosure; I regard “The Strangers” as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, due to its deceptive simplicity and unbridled nihilism.

Why anyone would basically remake it shot-for-shot, as an establishing entry in a new trilogy, while also removing any and all elements that made the original so memorable, is beyond my reach of comprehension.

If you’d never seen the initial installment, than sure, this is essentially a perfectly watchable fright film. But for the initiated, the baffled response towards its existence should be a resounding “why the hell was this even made”

7/10
If X was the homage to gritty independent filmmaking of the 70s and Pearl mimicked the wonders of the vivid technicolors of old Hollywood, Maxxxine’ style is smack dab in the middle of the glitzy yet sleazy 80s.

While this film is a ton of fun, it’s ultimately the least concise of the series.
West obviously has a bigger budget this time around, as well as a much larger cast of notable and talented character actors at his disposal, but something is sadly amiss.
The overall story is cluttered with needless detours to serve all the characters, many of whom, never leave much of a impression anyway.
Plus the “night stalker” serial killer feels almost completely redundant and the mystery so transparent that I just shrugged my shoulders and went “well, I figured as much, watching the first one”.

But, even though it is the weakest part of the trilogy I’d still deem it a very solid viewing experience.
Ti West is a great director and has a keen eye for detail, Mia Goth is her usual awesome self and there are some killer needle drops all throughout the film.

So if you’re a fan of the series and appreciates some 80s chic and gory killers, the movie comes recommended.

7/10
Imagine if Martin Scorsese made a Biker film.
If that’s within your grasp of ingenuity, then you should have no problems whatsoever, envisioning what kind of movie The Bikeriders represents in tone as well as aesthetics.

Don’t get me wrong. If you’re going to plagiarize, you may as well pick from the best, but I’m still somewhat astounded by director Jeff Nichols blatant lack of impulse control in structuring his motorcycle movie as if it was a feature molded by the master, himself.
Seriously, all the traits are present, from the rise and fall narrative structure to the back and forth between timeframes, from all knowing voiceover to the flashy editing, a parade of wacky characters, each one sporting a more outlandish accent than the last, and all this accompanied by rocktastic soundtrack presented via needle drops to tie it all, gloriously together.

So, yeah. Given the aforementioned qualities (because who the fuck dislikes classic Scorsese) the film, as you can probably tell, is a lot of fun, featuring some great thespian’ expertly plying their trade(Tom Hardy and Michael Shannon are especially awesome) while also offering some stunning work and effort to capture the milieu of late 60s early 70s Americana.

The script might, in fact be the film’s biggest weakness, as it is very predictable affair that offers very little in the way of surprises, but luckily the clichés are often offset by quite effective scenes between the characters, which are brimming with heart and humanity.
Long story short, the actors are what makes this movie.

So to summarize, this is very good film about the more innocent dawning of biker culture, just before it became wholly criminal enterprise.

6/10
Historical inaccuracies aside, you can’t deny that Ridley Scott has an impeccable eye when it comes to staging epic cinematic action scenes.

Unfortunately though, this biopic ultimately feels severely compromised by the decision to spend so much of its already substantial runtime on depicting the relationship between Napoleon and his one true love Josephine, at the cost of examining his brilliant strategic mind and military prowess, never mind his ruthless aggression and seemingly indifference towards the massive loss of human lives under his leadership.
We learn next to nothing about the hows and whys in regards to the mindset and mental capacity that made it possible for him to conquer the world.

Maybe this will change when/if Scott’ promised four hour cut sees the light of day.
But for now it’s frustrating portrait (with flashes of brilliance) of a truly iconic historical figure, that mostly omits exploring the biggest marks he left on our collective history.

7/10
I made the mistake of reading Lize Spit novel before I had a chance to see the movie which is basically always a mistake and the wrong order of doing things.
Having said that, I still think the movie works very well on its own terms and does a effective job at communicating the essence of the book.

When It Melts represents a brutal look at the dark side of adolescence at a time when children first begin to experience the dawning of their sexuality, something that can sadly lead to scars which the inflicted must than inevitably carry with them for the rest of their lives.

It’s by no means an easy watch, not that the film is particularly graphic but there’s a sense of ominous foreboding running through it, right up until the bleak and tragic climax.

Having said that, the novel is even less forgiving in its depiction of brutality while also upping the ante in the cruelty department by completely removing any potential for a cathartic redemption.
On those grounds and being the misanthrope I am, I sorta prefer the book, to be honest.
But having read a lot of the movies reviews I think it’s safe to say that most people would disagree and conclude that the movie is plenty cruel in of itself.

8/10
When one clown fails (Joker) another one must inevitable take his place.

Art the Clown has come a long way since his humble beginning as a character in DIY shorts and even his big breakthrough Terrifier 2 was only budgeted at $250,000. Now Writer/Director Damien Leone has been bestowed an astonishing $2 million and long story short, it’s very visible on screen.

The film looks and feels like a real honest to goodness movie, and even though I felt the exact same about the previous entire, the fact of the matter is that this sequel has just upped its game considerably.

Now I’ll get to a pet peeve of mine. Bloggers and YouTubes (hell, seasoned serious reviews are guilty of this shit too) are spouting nonsensical hyperbole surrounding the splatter and gore in a film like this.
Here my take. This series has always been extreme but there’s also a lot of camp and tar-black humor to take away from the carnage. Art is basically Freddy without a voice box so there’s a lot of charm and idiosyncratic nonsense to his brutal antics. And none of the violence here is much worse than what Terrifier 2 offered up.
Writing that you need to take a shower after watching this. Give me a fucking break.

I also think Lauren LaVera is coming in to her own. She was great in part 2 but here she’s really grown and feels completely authentic, displaying great chemistry with her fellow cast mates, while handling any scene of physicality with aplomb.

On the flip side, the movie is still too long. You don’t need 2+ hours to tell a story this threadbare.

Other than that I enjoy it immensely. I was going to give it a score of 7 but since it’s a Christmas movie I’ll bump it up to a 8. And I’ll be watching this sucker ever X-Mas from now on.

5/10
Throughout this series I’ve always gotten a kick out of the bumbling relationship between Eddie Brock and his symbiotic companion Venom (to me it’s reminiscent of a grumpy owner and his unruly dog) plus I could more or less watch Tom Hardy read aloud from the phone book (I’m old)
As a result I’ve been mildly entertained by what the movies had to offer so far.
But let’s not kid ourselves, the Venom franchise hardly represents high quality cinematic fare, this is strictly fast food filmmaking for the masses, served up in a slop bucket.

If you’re a fan of the previous installments you’ll be happy to know that this supposed final chapter basically just delivers more of the same, only it somehow manages to be even more scattershot and randomly plotted than before.
Things just sort of happen and you’ll be hard pressed to care much about anything, be it dumb side characters and multi tentacled adversaries (at least I did)

I still enjoy the banter between our heroes and the odd set piece did manage to raise a smile or two.
But this is most definitely a case of diminished returns from a trilogy that wasn’t even that hot to begin with.

7/10
As a complete neophyte in regards to the Dune mythology I ultimately found the initial chapter to be quite splendid on a visual level but utterly boring as a device for storytelling (it felt like endless table setting without a proper meal at the end)

Luckily for me, it seems that’s in the past and we’re now getting to the nitty gritty of the narrative.

Granted, if you’ve seen any mega-blockbuster à la “Star Wars” or Lord of the Rings” you know the basic construct of this kind of fare - all prophesies, chosen ones, warring factions, ultimate power corrupts and magical MacGuffin’s - is basic Greek mythology and the reason that these particular plot devices keep being cornerstones in fiction, then, now and in the future… they work.

So while this arguably bigger and better sequel, do suffer from some pacing issues, the movie still offers up plenty of epic sci-fi spectacles to enjoy, even for us novices.

9/10
An absolutely mesmerizing cinematic experience offers utter grit and heart pounding intensity.

Apolitical and all the better for it, the film plays out as an homage to journalistic integrity and objective (to the people on the front lines, putting their lives on the line to bring us the unvarnished truth) by way of a haunting, no holds barred, road-movie.

Every single aspect of the production represents a triumph. The cast is universally great, the dialogue spot on and the cinematography, editing and sound design out of this world.
Seriously the sound design is a work of art and necessitates that you make this a cinematic experience.

There’s a minute amount of forced elements in the films climax that prohibits it from reaching the elusive 10 rating but make no mistake about it, this is cinematic art of the highest order and one of the year’s best films.

7/10
For fans of the long running franchise, there is actually a lot to appreciate in this latest chapter, albeit with some caveats that naturally comes when you consider that the initial entry and its sequel were damn near perfect films.

On the plus side, it’s hard not to applaud the choices made in regards to production design of the spaceship, as it feels appropriately dirty and grimy just like in the 70/80s iterations.
Perhaps more importantly, the Xenomorph on screen are kept largely practical, and while CG is of course still used to fill in the blanks, it still worked rather seamlessly.
There’s also some very effective horror sequences and I personally enjoyed that the film tries to tie together the various film’s storylines into a more cohesive, clear cut mythology.

Now regarding the more dubious aspects. The characters, with the exception of our lead and her sidekick synthetic, are just bland two dimensional types straight out of a mid level slasher film. Furthermore, the filmmakers might be a tad too reliant on basic fan services and incorporating previously explored tropes at the expense of include more original material.

The finale act goes completely bonkers and in the ensuing chaos I found myself both annoyed - please cease with this insufferable trend of having your nothing characters recite iconic quotes from the classic dramatis personae - while also being strangely fascinated with the OOT nature of it all.
I think a second viewing might help me better clear up my thoughts on that particular sequence.

So to summarise, this was a fun watch and despite a few bumps here and there, I wouldn’t mind seeing another sequel sometime in the future.

8/10
Being a huge admirer of the previous “Caesar-trilogy” I felt a bit trepidatious about this new iteration in the long running Planet of the Apes series.

So did my worries come to pass?
Frankly, no. Not at all.

Andy Serkins is certainly not an easy act to follow, but the motion-capture and voice acting is pretty much on point and the overall special effects work is as glorious as ever.
And, even though the film starts out more lighthearted and adventurous than its rather dark and brooding predecessors, it’s still far from a kids movie with several intense and brutal battle scenes, and a general serious tone that’s pretty much consistent all throughout its runtime.
A fact that really helped endear me to the film and respect the filmmakers all the more because they seemed to have a very profound understanding of the material and what makes the franchise work as a whole.

I ultimately caught KOTPOTA. on streaming, because I couldn’t bare being disappointed in the cinema, but I can now happily conclude, that this was a truly great first chapter in what will hopefully its own wonderful series of films over the next several years.
The ending sure as hell sets us up for an epic confrontation in a potential sequel, and if that happens I’ll be the first person in line at my local multiplex.

7/10
At the very start of the movie, when Eddie Murphy comes cruising through the streets of disheveled, frostbitten yet soulful Detroit to the tune of “The Heat Is On”, I just knew that this was the kind of nostalgia driven 80s throwback I could get behind.

So, while the overall story might be a bit thin and the film’s set pieces seems mostly comprised by cannibalizing the greatest hits from the two initial entries, this film still manages to charm, with Murphy as charismatic as ever, while offering great detail to our beloved (now, much older) characters and the interpersonal connections they still share with one another.
Hell, even the new breed do a good job, and Kevin Bacon makes an interesting and effective baddie.

Yeah, the film might be coasting, and lacking originality, but there’s still ample amounts of action, laughs and great characters to enjoy.
Most importantly, the experience of watching the movie ultimately felt like a step back into childhood, a warm and comforting sensation that’s very hard to deny.

While the original (one of the greatest films ever made) and part ll will never be topped, for various reasons, I do think this film is definitely worthy of the canon and I really enjoyed it.

7/10
Farcical yet pitch-black comedy about a rocky family unit and the atrociously looking coffee table that will forever change it.

The film will be divisive due to its utterly tragic raison d'être and even I’ll admit I had some issues with its wild tonal shifts (the humor is very broad) and a few unnecessarily drawn out scenes of dialogue.

But I also admire the absolute audacity of going for broke in its effort to make its audience throughly uncomfortable, even if it doesn’t succeed completely, given the aforementioned issues.

Still, its undoubtedly an original and quite clever movie about the personal power struggles amongst couples which can seriously corrode relationships and is worth a watch, if you got the stomach for it.

6/10
Decent chamber piece has a lot going for it, despite the rather seesawed nature of the dialogue and a late addition of a character that feels more than a little shoehorned in.
But I did enjoy it and if you have a fondness for contained, snowbound low-budget horror, you might too.

6/10
So, it’s taken near a quarter of a century for this sequel to emerge.
The question is whether it has resulted in a worthwhile endeavour befitting the classic original?
I’m afraid the short answer is… No.

Gone are the initial entry’s elegantly simplistic plot structure, replaced by much more convoluted narrative that frantically jumps from scene to scene while introducing too many characters and storylines which, even with a generous runtime of two and half hours makes the movie feel rushed.
Our surrogate Maximus, played by Paul Mescal is also somewhat underwhelming when compared to Russel Crow’ towering performance, he simply lacks the ability to convey the emotions necessary to portray such a dynamic and brutish character (during one rah-rah speech, he sounds more like a junior executive giving a halfhearted PowerPoint presentation, than a worrier ready to die for his cause)

Luckily for potential viewers, there is still plenty of good things to enjoy during the feature presentation.
The epic fight scenes are plentiful and although some might implement a bit more obvious CG than I would have liked, they’re still expertly shot and edited.
We also get gloriously OTT performance from Denzel Washington as a slimy villain with great ambition.

So yeah, it might not be the glorious return to Rom many of us had envisioned, but I was nonetheless moderately entertained.

5/10
I really loved director Rose Glass’ “Saint Maud” so it gives me absolutely no pleasure to report, that I found her sophomore feature to be an utter mess.
The narrative feels choppy, incomplete and lacking in structure, it never truly seems to find its rhythm or momentum, while the characters are at best one dimensional caricatures, seemingly operating without purpose, drive and nuance.
You do still get to see some great actors ply their trade and the film is competently executed, but the screenplay just isn’t up to snuff, which grievously hampers the viewing experience.

If you want a lesbian crime thriller, go rewatch “Bound” instead.

8/10 (revisited, read below)
So here we go!
Ever since Neon kicked off their masterful marketing campaign for Longlegs on January 5 of this year, it’s been my most anticipated release of 2024.
Being completely enamored with the big two of 90s serial killer classics (Se7en is my favorite film of all time and Silence of the Lambs is right there, nipping at its heels) and just cinema in general that revolving around brutality, darkness and nihilistic storytelling, I couldn’t have been more on board with this movie if I tried.
Now the the wait is finally over and its time to experience just what this movie can do.

And Oh My God is this one for the ages.
The overall atmosphere is one of charcoal colored dread so oppressive I could hardly draw breath. The isn’t a sliver of light or anything even remotely humorous to hang on to, just an pervasive sense of destructive foreboding and complete despair.

The acting is off the charts, with both Nicolas Cage and especially Maika Monroe delivering career best performances.
The technical side is also immaculate, featuring stunning cinematography, lighting, effects work and a brooding yet effective understated score. Seriously Osgood Perkins has crafted a masterpiece by offering a painstakingly detailed mythology for a character that can only live in the absolute darkest corner of the human mind.

If you liked Perkins’ “The Blackcoat’s Daughter aka. February” than this film should be right up your alley, as it possesses the same kind of tempo and style, hell sometimes it feels as though the two movies takes place in the same universe.

This film checked so many boxes for me, personally, that in a weird way, it almost felt like it was made for me specifically. I can scarcely remember seeing a greater horror film this century and I really don’t care if that sounds like fawning hyperbole. This movie spoke to me like few other and now it’ll always have a place in me (I suspect, somewhere dark and moist).

Hail Satan!

Edit: in the interest of fairness I must admit I may have gotten a little carried away with my initial review. I still love the film but after rewatching it a third time it sadly lost a bit of its luster.
This is ultimately just a dumb list I mostly keep up for my own amusement. But I do see that other people check it out from time to time and as such I want to be as transparent and honest about my feelings about any given movie, should my opinion change. In this case it has, so here you go.

Still. Hail Satan!

7/10
This is one lean n’ mean post-apocalyptic survival horror, that manages to get its bloody points across in a scant 80 minutes, never once wasting anyone’s time, and while I understand that the basic lack of a story might be a turn off for some people, I can wholeheartedly appreciate a film that knows what it is and what storytelling devices are best employed to avoid unnecessary distractions and sub-plots cluttering up the proceedings and thereby securing a better yield when it comes viewer satisfaction.

But Scream Queen Samara Weaving undoubtedly represents the movies biggest asset, without dialogue, her performance is pure physicality and it’s truly commendable in its unbridled ferocity.
She also has a wonderful emoting face, a trait she already uses to Marvelous effect in the movie “Ready or Not”.

So yeah, this movie might not have the deepest story or the most well rounded of characters but not everything on screen needs to be worthy of a two hundred page essay, once in a while it’s sufficient to just bring forth some good ol’ vicious and gore entertainment and this movie certainly does an excellent job of that.

7/10
Whatever ills may plague the union you share with your significant other, it would seem that ingesting copious amount of the hallucinogenic drug known as peyote is not effective stabiliser you might have been led to believe, at least if the narrative of this particular motion picture is to be taken at face value.

In all seriousness, this is a great, pitch black “Holiday from Hell” film, where our corrosive newlyweds go on drug binge and subsequently give in to their latent cannibalistic urges. The result is a marvellous escalation of Grand Guignol grotesqueries.
The gender roles are unfortunately a little too aligned with the current trends of the 21st century which sadly dulls the overall impact a tad.
Still a great experience, that I thoroughly enjoyed.

6/10
There’s a lot to like about this anthology from an audio/visual standpoint, sadly it’s severely lacking in the narrative department.

It starts out well enough, with an amusing opening sequence portraying the immediate afterlife involving three, rightly confused people, but then delves into two completely unrelated stories, which seemed to have originated from completely unrelated movies without any connective tissue to either each other or the opening segment.

I might be worth a look for anthology enthusiasts, as every segment has at least some kind of qualities, just don’t expect much in the way of coherence.