My Favorite Movies of 2024
Now it's time to get into my favorite movies that were released in 2024. On IMDB they had a thing where you could create a list of your favorite movies and shows, which I did and had fun doing. I don't ever make a list of my favorite shows on this blog, but I did have more favorite shows than I did movies. I don't think I watched quite as many movies last year, but that's probably because of the writer's strike. I don't think as many movies were released. Nonetheless, I picked out seven that I considered favorites and here they are.
Dune: Part Two - The second part was at least just as good as the first film, and we got more worm action this time. I was happy with this adaptation. Whether or not they adapt the other books is the question because I've heard they decline in quality. I'm still kind of on the fence about reading the second book.
Inside Out 2 - Another great sequel. While I think I do prefer the first film slightly more, the way it handled anxiety was authentic, and hit a little close to home.
Deadpool & Wolverine - This was hilarious and full of easter eggs. I'm happy we got Logan in his Wolverine costume finally. While the fighting may have been a bit excessive, I still find it comical. There's a chance they could both appear in a future Avengers movie. I hope they do.
Alien: Romulus - A worthier entry to the Alien franchise. This was well done. Not so scary that it gave me nightmares, but still chilling. Especially in the final minutes.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - Sure the plot was all over the place and could have been better, but it was still really fun, and Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice is still just so good.
The Wild Robot - Man I love this movie. I just rewatched it recently, and I think I enjoyed it even more. It's one of the best animated films I've watched in a long time. It really pulls at the heartstrings. It's just amazing. I treasure it.
Wicked: Part One - I had read the book a long time ago, never saw the musical, but knew a couple of the songs. This was really really good. Love the music, love the themes, and Ariana Grande really stole the show as Glinda, but Cynthia Erivo is also great as Elphaba. Fantastic. It might be my number one pick, but it's tough between that and The Wild Robot. Maybe I can make it a tie.
Honorable Mentions
The Fall Guy - It was a fun movie for sure, and I loved that it had a Kelpie dog in it because it's the kind of dog Eva might be, but I never felt compelled to own it.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - Despite getting a new director, this was a solid entry to the series. I did enjoy the nods to the original film, and Noa works well as the new lead ape. Why isn't it in the favorites list? Because it simply isn't the best one of the reboot series, but it's still good.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Good, but not better than Fury Road. Surprisingly, Anya Taylor Joy seems to be great in every movie I think except this one. While she's still good in this movie, I don't think it's her best performance. Chris Hemsworth's character was really something though. He really transformed for his role. It's worth watching for that at least.
Twisters - This was good, but again, the first film is better. I'm finding myself saying that a lot about the movies in this category.
Transformers One - I liked it, and I enjoyed seeing Optimus and Megatron's origins as friends. It's only the first film on this list that features future frenemies. Do I want to own the movie? I don't know.
Woman of the Hour - Anna Kendrick's directorial debut and it's a pretty strong one at that. I think it's kind of underrated.
Conclave - Another one that's close to being a favorite. It was an intriguing plot about conspiracy and scandal at the Vatican. The cast was fantastic and I really liked the twist in the end. I'd just say it's not like an action driven kind of story, so it can be a tad slow.
Red One - Not a bad Christmas movie. I do think it takes itself a little too seriously sometimes though.
Moana 2 - I really enjoyed it a lot. I liked the new characters they introduced.
Carry-On - Netflix movies are rarely good, but this actually was if you can suspend your disbelief a bit. It was really entertaining and Jason Bateman made a great villain.
Mufasa: The Lion King - I did like this quite a bit more than the live-action Lion King. I liked the story. I just thought that Scar's turn to villainy could have been written better.
Dishonorable Mentions
Challengers - I could probably write a whole blog ranting about this movie lol. I know it seems like plenty of people liked it, but I did not. Many things did not work for me, technical and otherwise, but I'll just say the cast was fine, but what I hated the most was all the time jumping around without aging the characters at all. That's just one thing I couldn't stand among other filming decisions, but I'll leave it at that.
Hot Frosty - Every year I like to check out Christmas movies on Netflix no matter how bad they might be, but I think this one was a strong contender for one of the worst ones I've seen. It's dreadful, ridiculous, and I can't even put it into the “so bad it's good” category. The main male lead wasn't even that attractive in my opinion.
Our Little Secret - Another Netflix Christmas movie. I just hated the plot. I'm sorry.
And that's it for my 2024 movie list. Obviously I didn't see everything I would have liked to see, so they wouldn't have made the cut. There's still some films I want to watch some time. And I also avoided some movies that looked bad or got bad reviews, so there weren't too bad movies I saw. Then there's also movies I watched that didn't make the list for whatever reason. They were somewhere in the middle and didn't really fit anywhere or simply didn't make the cut for unknown reasons. Anyway, my last list will be about the movies coming out in 2025.
Dune: Part Two - The second part was at least just as good as the first film, and we got more worm action this time. I was happy with this adaptation. Whether or not they adapt the other books is the question because I've heard they decline in quality. I'm still kind of on the fence about reading the second book.
Inside Out 2 - Another great sequel. While I think I do prefer the first film slightly more, the way it handled anxiety was authentic, and hit a little close to home.
Deadpool & Wolverine - This was hilarious and full of easter eggs. I'm happy we got Logan in his Wolverine costume finally. While the fighting may have been a bit excessive, I still find it comical. There's a chance they could both appear in a future Avengers movie. I hope they do.
Alien: Romulus - A worthier entry to the Alien franchise. This was well done. Not so scary that it gave me nightmares, but still chilling. Especially in the final minutes.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - Sure the plot was all over the place and could have been better, but it was still really fun, and Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice is still just so good.
The Wild Robot - Man I love this movie. I just rewatched it recently, and I think I enjoyed it even more. It's one of the best animated films I've watched in a long time. It really pulls at the heartstrings. It's just amazing. I treasure it.
Wicked: Part One - I had read the book a long time ago, never saw the musical, but knew a couple of the songs. This was really really good. Love the music, love the themes, and Ariana Grande really stole the show as Glinda, but Cynthia Erivo is also great as Elphaba. Fantastic. It might be my number one pick, but it's tough between that and The Wild Robot. Maybe I can make it a tie.
Honorable Mentions
The Fall Guy - It was a fun movie for sure, and I loved that it had a Kelpie dog in it because it's the kind of dog Eva might be, but I never felt compelled to own it.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - Despite getting a new director, this was a solid entry to the series. I did enjoy the nods to the original film, and Noa works well as the new lead ape. Why isn't it in the favorites list? Because it simply isn't the best one of the reboot series, but it's still good.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Good, but not better than Fury Road. Surprisingly, Anya Taylor Joy seems to be great in every movie I think except this one. While she's still good in this movie, I don't think it's her best performance. Chris Hemsworth's character was really something though. He really transformed for his role. It's worth watching for that at least.
Twisters - This was good, but again, the first film is better. I'm finding myself saying that a lot about the movies in this category.
Transformers One - I liked it, and I enjoyed seeing Optimus and Megatron's origins as friends. It's only the first film on this list that features future frenemies. Do I want to own the movie? I don't know.
Woman of the Hour - Anna Kendrick's directorial debut and it's a pretty strong one at that. I think it's kind of underrated.
Conclave - Another one that's close to being a favorite. It was an intriguing plot about conspiracy and scandal at the Vatican. The cast was fantastic and I really liked the twist in the end. I'd just say it's not like an action driven kind of story, so it can be a tad slow.
Red One - Not a bad Christmas movie. I do think it takes itself a little too seriously sometimes though.
Moana 2 - I really enjoyed it a lot. I liked the new characters they introduced.
Carry-On - Netflix movies are rarely good, but this actually was if you can suspend your disbelief a bit. It was really entertaining and Jason Bateman made a great villain.
Mufasa: The Lion King - I did like this quite a bit more than the live-action Lion King. I liked the story. I just thought that Scar's turn to villainy could have been written better.
Dishonorable Mentions
Challengers - I could probably write a whole blog ranting about this movie lol. I know it seems like plenty of people liked it, but I did not. Many things did not work for me, technical and otherwise, but I'll just say the cast was fine, but what I hated the most was all the time jumping around without aging the characters at all. That's just one thing I couldn't stand among other filming decisions, but I'll leave it at that.
Hot Frosty - Every year I like to check out Christmas movies on Netflix no matter how bad they might be, but I think this one was a strong contender for one of the worst ones I've seen. It's dreadful, ridiculous, and I can't even put it into the “so bad it's good” category. The main male lead wasn't even that attractive in my opinion.
Our Little Secret - Another Netflix Christmas movie. I just hated the plot. I'm sorry.
And that's it for my 2024 movie list. Obviously I didn't see everything I would have liked to see, so they wouldn't have made the cut. There's still some films I want to watch some time. And I also avoided some movies that looked bad or got bad reviews, so there weren't too bad movies I saw. Then there's also movies I watched that didn't make the list for whatever reason. They were somewhere in the middle and didn't really fit anywhere or simply didn't make the cut for unknown reasons. Anyway, my last list will be about the movies coming out in 2025.