2024 may be viewed as a really weak year for movies. An absence of some bigger blockbusters and sweeping dramas has allowed for more exploration of some deviations into future cult classics. This year in film has presented me with movies that lean into their genre in the biggest ways. I’ve listed the strange genres of each alongside each title listed below. All that said, here’s my list of favorite films and flicks that were released in a very random cinematic year.
10 – The Substance
(Body Horror)
The Substance is a movie that seemingly came out of nowhere. Relative newcomer writer/director Coralie Fargeat’s body horror and social commentary comes to us from the random streaming platform, Mubi. This movie has managed to capture the horror world’s hearts. In The Substance, Demi Moore plays a fading celebrity who is aging out of her former glory. She is offered a black-market drug: a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself. She’s once again able to have the body of herself as a 20 year old, and be adored by Hollywood. However, if any of the rules of the Substance are broken, it will permanently affect her body.
This movie is so singularly focused on Moore and Margaret Qualley dealing with the benefits and repercussions of the substance that it stays tight and doesn’t give you time to consider plot holes. The experience leans into the themes of how Hollywood treats aging women and soon gets into the Faustian bargains of what it takes to stay young in appearance. This is a movie where it only gets more insane as it goes. Each transformative scene feels like that’s what the movie is building up to, but each scene is then topped. And if you’ve seen the movie, you won’t be able to unsee that final scene. While the movie feels like a product of style over substance (sorry), it’s one that has crept back into my head a ton since first seeing it.
9 – Better Man
(The Unapologetic Musical)
Expectations are a crazy thing. Sometimes regardless of the actual quality of a movie, expectations can dictate our feelings about it. Better Man shouldn’t and doesn’t make sense on paper. Have I ever cared to see a musical bio pic about Robbie Williams? No. But what if he was a CG monkey? Also no. Wait, is there a plot-based reason he’s an ape? No. But, hold on… why is this movie a bop?
Robbie Williams’ story is nothing unique to what audiences have seen before. He was picked on as a kid and came from a rough home, found success at an immature age, which lead to an inflated ego and drug issues, all before reaching a moment of redemption. Yet, Michael Gracey (director of The Greatest Showman) delivers such a fun and visually dynamic movie. I now may picture Robbie Williams being the reason that apes take over the planet. I was impressed by Fox/Disney’s attempt to extend the apes franchise with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, but this is the monkey movie that I’ll go back to.
8 – Hundreds of Beavers
(Slapstick Silent Comedy)
You may be asking, what’s Hundreds of Beavers about? I’ll just assure you that the title is not a lie. This silent film is a throwback to an cinematic era built on physical comedy. Essentially, it’s Buster Keaton on LSD. A applejack salesman seeks to earn the hand of a woman, but must become a skilled hunter to do so. Though, he has the worst luck and is constantly outsmarted by rabbits, fish, wolves, and of course beavers. Oh, and I should mention, each animal in the movie is a person in a ridiculous animal costume.
This is a movie that demands your full attention. Every scene of mayhem is humorously crafted and is as brilliant as it is silly. Truly, my only issue with this movie is that being 1 hour and 48 minutes means the mayhem is a bit overwhelming. But as soon as you get tired of the joke, there’s a quirky new visual treat that compels you to smile. Hundreds of Beavers feels like a cultural experience just as much as it feels like a dorm room midnight movie where everything feels funny.
7 – Boy Kills World
(Martial Arts Flick)
This selection may be the “worst objective movie” on the list, but there’s something about it that appeals to me. Bill Skarsgård makes his first appearance on this list as a mute weapon of vengeance that has the inner voice of a Street Fighter-esque arcade game. He has trained his young life to take down the ruling class family, who just happens to publicly execute their rivals in a show of power.
The forced voiceover, the contrived plot, and the hammy acting should convince me that it’s a bad movie. Yet, there’s so much that I enjoy about it. First, the fight choreography is the spiritual successor to the John Wick franchise. Every impact is felt and seen. The camera becomes part of the action and puts the viewer in the motion of every punch, kick, and slash. This felt so reminiscent of Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim movie in terms of frenetic action, humor, and music. I’ve seen this a few times now and it’s still just as enjoyable to watch.
6 – The Wild Robot
(New Animated Classic)
I think I’m getting spoiled by animated films. My standards of enjoyment are beyond that of quirky jokes that both parents and children can enjoy. I now demand resonating themes, genuine characters, and unique methods of animation for an animated movie to be an all-timer. Following in the unique visual footsteps of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Dreamworks’ The Wild Robot fits my criteria perfectly. After a wreck, an intelligent robot called Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) is stranded on a forested island. She quickly wants to return back to her factory, but literally stumbles into being a pivotal figure for a baby goose. While Roz is built to serve all life, she is not programmed to care for or raise a child.
The Wild Robot has all the calling cards of modern animated favorites with a celebrity voice cast and funny animals. Thankfully, it has a whole lot more. This complete package has the benefit of an amazing score (by composer Kris Bowers) that punctuates the big moments and brought me to tears twice. This story of motherhood, finding your place in the world, and letting go is something I enjoyed more than my kids.
5 – Alien: Romulus
(Sci-fi action horror throwback)
I resisted the Disney takeover of Fox given that it would mean they would water down classic franchises. However, the reveal of Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) as the director gave me hope and then delivered. This iteration of the series takes place between the first and second Alien movies. A young group of prison planet workers escapes to a derelict ship for a chance at freedom. Yet, this ship is full of extraterrestrial horrors.
For better and worse, this is a greatest hits of the franchise. Romulus is at its best when it feels like a video game. By that, I mean it’s inventive in its horror. It feels dangerous, but somehow fun at the same time. The action is thrilling, the set design is perfect, the horror (even jump scares) is effective. It may never be Alien or Aliens, but in this case, third place is still really good.
4 – Furiosa
(Post-apocalyptic action flick)
2015’s Fury Road feels like a movie that shouldn’t exist, nor be as great as it is. It’s fun every single time I watch it, and I’ve always wanted more of it. The prequel follows Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy taking over for Charlize Theron) from the time she was a child and how she ended up as a captive of Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Throughout the story, she suffers great tragedies and she vows to survive long enough to get revenge on Dementus for what he’s taken away from her.
What Fury Road lacked in story, Furiosa fills in those blanks. This movie pulls off the world-building and the uneasy compromise that those in power must maintain to keep their people alive and dependent on their rule. With one or two more action set pieces, this would have been closer to the top of my list, but the scenes of mayhem are as fantastic as ever.
3 – Nosferatu
(Gothic Horror)
Director Robert Eggers is an uncompromising auteur with some bizarre sensibilities. His filmography between The VVitch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman aren’t forgettable in any way. He seems to make the films he wants to see, with only slight regard to general audiences. His take on Nosferatu is the closest he gets to a streamlined story that fiction lovers know all too well, yet he paints it with a very unique brush filled with dread and gloom.
This latest riff on the Dracula story oozes with atmosphere and is completely absorbing. It put a spell on me, especially in the first half. Whether it’s an unrecognizable Bill Skarsgård, an impressive Lily Rose Depp, the score, or the cinematography; each moving piece comes together to present dark magic and has become my favorite version of Dracula.
2 – Late Night With the Devil
(Indie/Experimental Horror)
Clearly I’m a fan of the horror genre, and this year has been a surprisingly great year for it. Late Night with the Devil tops my list among them all because I was so wrapped up in the formatting and creativity of this project. The aforementioned Late Night is a found footage horror that shows the full episode of a struggling late night show. The twist is, it’s a Halloween episode and certain boundaries are pushed in an effort to beat Johnny Carson in the ratings.
David Dastmalchian is sensational in this lead role. He is sympathetic and charismatic, yet holds so much pain in his eyes. This is not an outright scary movie, but is so creative in its delivery of being careful what you wish for. I’ll happily rewatch this every Halloween season.
Honorable Mentions
Smile 2, Flow, Civil War, Oddity, Hit Man, One Life, Super/Man, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Gladiator II, Juror #2
1 – Dune: Part Two
(Sci-Fi Religious Epic)
If the first Dune film didn’t swoon you, this installment won’t exactly charm you either. It takes all the expository politics of the first movie and doubles down by adding religion and prophecies. The story could be boiled down to a freedom fighter leading a resistance to take down a greedy monarchy, but the complications of each character add several layers to the adventure.
Each actor brings their A-game to Dune Part Two, and the amazing ensemble of Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler and so many more make material that could feel detached into a defining character piece. Technically, I consider this to be masterclass. Cinematographer Greg Frazier captures a near lifeless planet but it feels so immersive and threatening at the same time. Add the booming and resonant score by Hans Zimmer and you’ll be swept up in a big screen feast. Dune may never be as accessible as other sci-fi action movies, and honestly, that fact helps it from being watered down. Please never water down the spice!
Comments are closed.