By Mark Pukalo
This was no doubt the toughest year for me to rate movies. One reason is, I have never seen this many in a 12-14 month span. The other is that there were so many films with wide-ranging strengths and weaknesses.
Was it Margaret Qualley's day or Demi Moore's? What body were the annoying young adults in this round of the game? Is Gilbert Alive? What is in Hugh Grant's basement?
Those are just some of the many questions to answer in my 94-strong Medium Honorable Mention list for 2024. It is kind of a dumping ground for the films that were either just shy of fully recommended or interesting and entertaining enough to be worth a watch for big move fans.
There are the top films falling just short of High Honorable Mention such as the cute animated film "Memoir of a Snail," the visually haunting "In a Violent Nature," the emotional "One Life," or the well acted "Hard Truths" and "Good One."
There are the disappointing, but still intriguing, films such as "Bob Marley: One Love," Kevin Costner's Western "Horizon: An American Saga," and Francis Ford Coppola's much-maligned "Megalopolis," along with The Joker" and "Gladiator" sequels.
There are the (in my opinion) over-rated films that still deserve a watch like "Didi," the unique, body-switching game film "It's What's Inside," and Demi's Oscar-worthy effort in "The Substance."
There are the quirky odd ball films such as the Romanian "Don't Expect Too Much From the End of the World," the deadpan "The Feeling that the Time for Doing Something Has Passed," and Daniel Craig's amazing performance in "Queer."
There were some great documentaries that could be rated even higher like "Girls State" or the maddening "Sugarcane." The music documentaries on Elton John, Cyndi Lauper, The Beatles and the Indigo Girls were also welcome to see.
Then there is a group of films that were just kind of harmless fun, such as the raucous "Road House," John Cena and Zac Efron in the silly "Ricky Stanicky." "Your Monster," "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice," and the hilarious "The Gutter."
They all land here, basically 85 for the year to about 175 in my rankings. You might find diamonds in the rough on this list that shine for you. Most of them had just a few things that held them back just a bit for me.
Some of these movies were loved by critics I really respect (The Substance, It's What's Inside). I'm not going to knock any of them. I might have to apologize to some for putting "Megalopolis" this high as well. I just think there is a lot to talk about when you review a movie like that one, "Gladiator II" or "Joker: Folie a' Deux." Most of these 92 films give you something to talk about.
Movies are obviously in the eye of the beholder. I'm not steering you away from any on this big list. If you see them on your streaming service and have time, give them a watch.
Looking at my current High Honorable Mention list, I would say the bottom seven are extremely close to the top seven here.
However, in my opinion, the best is yet to come.
The In-Betweens: Medium Honorable Mention
*closest to high honorable mention list
Abigail - Better than expected. A group of fuck-ups take a job kidnapping a kid only to find out they have been set up by a demon. There's enough humor to make it different.
Alien: Romulus - Another in the series of stories about the gruesome monsters. A group of young people aim to take needed materials out of decommissioned space craft and, surprise, they should not have. Cailee Spaeny always makes movies better (see my top 10 later).
The American Society of Magical Negroes - A young man is recruited to work for a secret agency formed to make white people happy. It doesn't quite make the mark, but An-Li Bogan is very appealing and there is a really neat twist at the end.
Apollo 13 Survival - Documentary about the mission that was both a monumental failure and an amazing accomplishment for NASA.
Arthur The King - The heartwarming story of a street dog in Santo Domingo who is adopted by an adventure racing team. Arthur is cool, but the film lacks a little depth through the first half.
Bad Faith - Documentary about the scourge of Christian Nationalism, which is ruining the country that we all love. There is nothing more hateful than fake Christians.
The Beach Boys - Disney Channel documentary on the historic group. It was a good watch, but seemed a bit incomplete.
*Beatles 64 - Fascinating documentary with some unseen film of the Fab Four when they first visited America.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice - Long-awaited sequel to the charming original with Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton reprising their roles. It starts slow and gets more entertaining as it goes on. More Keaton would have been better, but you had to love the Bobs.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Listen, I had a problem with the timeline of the pageant (did it start in the 20s?), but it was a nice story about the Christmas spirit.
Between the Temples - A cantor going through depression after his wife's death reconnects with his boyhood music teacher, who wants to have a bat mitzvah. I was mildly disappointed.
Blue Angels - Some terrific visuals in this documentary about the amazing precision flying team. Informative, but not exciting enough.
Bob Marley: One Love - Disappointing film about the reggae legend. It is too intent on being stylish that it loses any story it could have had. Liked it a little more on second viewing.
Boy Kills World - Some humor in this revenge film for a deaf boy who trains with a Shaman to kill the evil ruling family. It was better than expected.
*Casa Bonita Mi Amor! - Documentary about South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone purchasing and restoring a beloved restaurant/theme park in Lakewood, Colorado.
*Cabrini - The true story of catholic missionary Francesca Cabrini, who fights to set up an orphanage for immigrant youths in New York. The amazing journey showed her incredible strength, and she will always be known as the Patron Saint of Immigrants. Some powerful lines in this one.
*Chasing Chasing Amy - An interesting documentary from a trans film maker who was influenced by Kevin Smith's classic film. The interviews are great.
Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing - Interesting documentary on the sometimes forgotten talent of the great singer. I was disappointed there wasn't anything about her role with USA for Africa.
*Dandelion - A down on her luck young black singer/songwriter (Kiki Layne) travels to a South Dakota bikers festival to perform and her talent emerges with the help of a Scottish man. The story and the acting are excellent, but the writing and directing came up a little short. A near miss.
Didi - A coming-of-age film for a young Asian boy as he tries to find his place while continually making poor decisions. It has a decent scene late, but was somewhat disappointing for me.
*Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World - Romanian black comedy about a woman traveling around Bucharest interviewing workers who have been injured on the job for a corporate video. It is ultimately a jab at mindless companies who treat workers horribly.
Drive-Away Dolls - Two friends needing a break from life take a road trip and run into several obstacles along the way. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan make a sometimes funny, but crude, script work. Few could.
Elton John: Never Too Late - Interesting documentary about the musical genius. As with most music docs, I just wanted a little more than it gave.
Elevation - Passable dystopian drama. A father journeys with two friends below a line where monsters lurk to get medication for his son. Anthony Mackie and Morena Baccarin star in the survival film.
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Teagan and Sara - Interesting documentary about the catfishing of the musical duo. The sisters never solve the fascinating mystery, which was a little disappointing.
The Feeling That The Time for Doing Something Has Passed - A quirky comedy about a woman who jumps from relationship to relationship, including BDSM. It has it's moments of ridiculous, funny stuff. Joanna Arnow is very good as the lead.
Ghostbusters: The Frozen Empire - The new crew, joined by a few of the originals, encounters another sinister threat. Not as entertaining as the last one and devoid of much humor. Probably should be lower, but I'm giving the series a break.
Girl Haunts Boy - Likable Netflix love story between a depressed young man and a beautiful ghost from 100 years ago. Peyton List is sweet as the ghost.
*Girls State - The follow up to Boys State where kids travel for a summer camp to examine leadership issues and who they want to be. Some of the girls are very interesting case studies.
*Gladiator II - The long-awaited sequel to the original finds the young son of a former queen returning to Rome as a captured slave. There are some holes in the script, but Denzel Washington steals the movie as a conniving former slave thirsty for power.
God & Country - Another documentary about Christian Nationalism that is educational and chilling. Fake Christians may be the most dangerous people in the country right now.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - A decent story that gets a little muddled at the end. I didn't get why Kong and Godzilla were fighting for so long before joining forces.
*Good One - Lily Collias plays a teenager on a hiking trip with her dad and his recently-divorced friend. It is a film about relationships and how people interact in uncomfortable spaces. Collias is a very good young actress. She is the star of this story.
*The Gutter - Humorous film about a guy - who likes threesomes and does not like wearing shirts - finding out he is a championship-caliber bowler after getting a job at an alley. The modern day "Kingpin." Enough laughs to get recognition.
*Hard Truths - Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays a depressed older woman who takes out her frustrations on everyone with some comical consequences. Jean-Baptiste is tremendous in the role, but I had hopes for a little more closure to the story in some way - not necessarily a happy ending.
*Heretic - Hugh Grant lures two young Mormon girls to his home and tries to give them an evil education about religion. The first half is better than the second, which is more about horror.
Here - Director Robert Zemeckis brings Tom Hanks and Robin Wright together in a tale about the families that lived in a house that has been around for 100 years. Hanks and Wright's story is the centerpiece about dreams and life. It was fine, just not special.
Horizon: An American Saga Part 1 - Kevin Costner's first part of an epic series has some value, but it a little too long (3-plus hours) and bounces around a bit too much.
*Incoming - Four freshmen try to get used to high school life in this fun, adolescent jaunt. Young actors provide very believable characters.
Joker: Folie a' Deux - The sequel to "The Joker" finds Arthur in jail and going on trial for the murders he committed. Meanwhile, he has become a celebrity and Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) has professed her love for him. It is chaos and somewhat compelling, but the musical numbers were a mistake.
*Joy - The story of a journey that was taken by doctors to create the first test-tube baby. The Netflix film gets emotional at the end. Thomasin McKenzie is brilliant as usual, playing research scientist Jean Purdy.
Killer Heat - Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Shailene Woodley in a murder mystery (on Prime) around a rich family in Greece. Those two make it work to barely make this list.
Lee - The story of model, turned war photographer Lee Miller. It is interesting and Kate Winslet provides her normal standout performance, but it is not moving enough for a higher level.
Longlegs - A sometimes fascinating, sometimes ordinary, horror film about a strange-looking man who wreaks havoc. The ending is predictable, but it works.
*Love Lies Bleeding - Kristen Stewart stars as a gym manager - with an estranged criminal father - who builds a relationship with a female bodybuilder. It is filled with action and is fine, but just didn't get to a higher level for me.
Lowlifes - A crazy, slasher, horror film that is so off the rails that it keeps your interest. Won't give away the plot, but it has a lot of blood and plenty of surprises.
*In a Violent Nature - I'm still not sure what value these movies have, but this one was constructed and shot extremely well. A locket unearths a marauding killer.
The Instigators - Matt Damon and Casey Afleck are two down-on-their luck local boys who try to pull off a robbery to make some cash and it goes wrong. There is some charm to it at times.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners - A retiring contract killer (Liam Neeson) tries to save his little Irish town from evil IRA scum hiding out there. It holds your interest, but is kind of thin.
It Ends With Us - Blake Lively plays a woman who falls for a seemingly normal man who ends up beating her. Her past love re-appears and complicates the story that is pretty average. The ending saves the movie a bit, but the controversy around it hurts.
It's Only Life After All, - Terrific documentary about the amazing Indigo Girls, who have provided so much great acoustic music as a lesbian duo. It's a real in-depth study.
*It's What's Inside - A group of friends gather before a wedding and play a sci-fi game that transports each into another's body. It is inventive, and somewhat intriguing, but got a bit too confusing for me.
The Killer's Game - An imperfect comedy-action-drama with Dave Bautista as a hitman who contracts a hit on himself after he finds out he's terminal. However, his tests were switched. Oops. It's entertaining enough and Sofia Boutella makes it look better.
*Kiss the Future - Documentary about U2's Zoo TV Tour and how it began the groundswell to help the Bosnian people in Sarajevo from ethnic cleansing. It all ended with an emotional concert in 1997.
Mary - The story of the birth of Jesus is told from the beginnings of heaven-sent Mary Magdalene. Noa Cohen is an absolutely gorgeous Mary and does an admirable job.
Megalopolis - Too much of a mess to be considered good, but there was an interesting story that could have been told. It was so grand and loud to be one of year's worst and Nathalie Emmanuel looks amazing. It was either here or on the worst of the year list.
*Memoir of a Snail - Well-made stop-motion animated film that is quite unique. The story of twins Grace and Gilbert, separated when their mother and father die. Very nice ending.
My Spy: The Eternal City - Follow up to the 2020 film My Spy with Dave Bautista as an undercover agent on a trip with his adopted daughter to Italy where chaos occurs. It's harmless fun with cute Chloe Coleman.
Nightbitch - Amy Adams plays a young woman trying to deal with motherhood after leaving the job she loved. Amy's performance is good, but the story is not very strong. The sing-along to a Weird Al Yankovic song in the car is very funny, though.
Omni Loop - Zoya (Mary-Louise Parker) is a former quantum physicist caught in a time loop where she lives the final days of her life over and over. She tries to figure out a way to change history, but it gets a little confusing with the help of a young science student (Ayo Edebiri).
*One Life - Anthony Hopkins stars as Sir Nicholas Winton, a broker who helped get 600 Jewish children out of Czechoslovakia. It is chilling at times, but a wonderful story of triumph and good citizenship that is lacking in this country.
Parachute - Riley (Courtney Eaton) is just out of rehab for several disorders when she meets Ethan (Thomas Mann) and the two have an on-again, off-again relationship. Riley can't beat her problems and Ethan has family issues. It's an interesting, unique story.
Piece by Piece - The bio story of Pharrell Williams' rise to stardom, told with Legos. It's kind of neat the way they did it. The Legos make you focus. Love the song "Happy."
*Queer - Daniel Craig provides a strong award-worthy performance as a gay man who lives in Mexico with drug addictions. It's high on the weird meter, but somewhat interesting, mysterious and stylish.
The Re-Education of Molly Singer - Britt Robertson can do no wrong for me. She goes back to school to help the son of her boss become cool.
*Ricky Stanicky - John Cena is hilarious as an actor who is hired by childhood friends to play the imaginary person they have told their parents and wives about throughout the years.
*Road House - The fight scenes were over the top, but Jake Gyllenhaal does a good job as a former UFC fighter starting over as a bouncer in Key West. Would have liked a little better ending.
The Room Next Door - Martha (Tilda Swinton) has terminal cancer and asks an old friend (Julianne Moore) to be with her for the final days on a trip before taking a euthanasia pill. It is certainly unique and thought provoking, but does not reach a higher level.
Scoop - Decent retelling of the work the BBC did to get an interview with Prince Andrew about Jeffrey Epstein.
Scrambled - Leah McKendrick plays a 30-something woman who is at a crossroads after breaking up with the love of her life. It is a decent story with some laughs as she tries to grow eggs to be able to have a child.
The Shadow Strays - Action film about a young woman who is part of an assassination team, but is put on the shelf after a partially-botched job. She dives into protecting a boy, whose mother is murdered next door and it gets bloody. But the action and the lead character "13" (Aurora Ribero) are appealing.
Sleep - Interesting, unique South Korean film about a young couple dealing with a sleep disorder - or is it a ghost - during the night.
Slingshot - Sci-fi psychological thriller about a manned space flight to Saturn's moon Titan, but the lead character (Casey Afleck) experiences hallucinations before a twist at the end. Barely makes this level.
*Small Things Like These - Cillian Murphy stars as the hard-working father of several young daughters, who delivers goods to a convent and sees disturbing things. But his wife and the people in the small town are scared of the nuns. It is a bit too slow moving.
Someone Like You - God Squad film with the very likable Sara Fisher playing the roles of two twin sisters separated when they are embryos. One dies and the friend/lover goes out to try and find her sister.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3; The lovable and powerful Hedgehog saves the world again and teaches a lesson. Thought Jim Carrey might be a little more funny, but it was entertaining enough.
Stress Positions - This film is both high on the weirdness meter and strangely entertaining. A motley crew, including an estranged gay couple, a mouthy trans girl, his/her girlfriend and a young male model from Morocco hang out in early Covid times.
*The Substance - Demi Moore is a famous workout show celebrity who is pushed out when they deem her too old, and she tries an off-the-market substance to try to regain her youth. There is a good story there, but it devolves into gratuitous violence and over the top body horror.
*Sugarcane - Gripping, sad documentary about abuse by catholic priests and government indifference at a school for indigenous youths in Canada. Just horrible stuff.
Suncoast - The cute Nico Parker and Laura Linney star in this semi-autobiographical drama based in Florida around the Terri Schiavo debate. Parker is coming of age while her brother is dying.
Touch - An aging man in Iceland travels across continents to find his first love, who he lost as a young man going to school in London. It is emotional at the end.
Transformers One - A sort of prequel to the other Transformers movies which explores the origins of Optimus Prime and Megatron. It is very good visually and holds your interest.
Trap - An M. Night Shyamalan film that starts slow and does not give you the normal big surprise at the end. A serial killer (Josh Hartnett) is "trapped" at a concert he is attending with his daughter.
Treasure - A young journalist (Lena Durham) travels to Poland with her Jewish father to see the place he grew up and visit Auschwitz, where he survived the Holocaust. It has a few heartwarming moments.
Turtles All The Way Down - High school drama about Aza (Isabela Merced), who is struggling with a form of OCD. It is a decent story and Merced is always good.
Under Paris - Crazy horror film about a shark community living under Paris. Some compelling stuff and real horror near the end. The final scene is one of the most stunning of the year.
*War Game - Documentary follows the workings of government officials during a simulation of another coup after an election. In this one, the sitting President is the victor.
We Grown Now - Two young boys who are best friends live through the hardships and fun growing up in the infamous Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago.
We Live In Time - Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star in the tragic love story, which is told in a non-linear fashion. It pulls at the heartstrings and has some good moments, but is well short of the above category. However, I did learn the best way to crack an egg.
Which Brings Me To You - Rom-com with two likable actors (Nat Wolf and Lucy Hale), who meet at a wedding and tell their sad relationship stories. It gets a little complicated, but it's harmless fun.
White Bird - The story of a romance between a young Jewish girl and a disabled French boy who saves her during German occupation. Helen Mirren tells the tale to her grandson, named after her former love Julian. Ariella Glaser is adorable as the young Jewish girl.
Winner - Another film on the life of Reality Winner, who was jailed four years for outing a classified report on Russian hacking into the 2016 election. Emilia Jones (CODA) stars as Reality in a decent watch.
*Young Woman and the Sea - The story of Gertrude Eberle's quest to become the first woman to swim the English Channel. Thought it would be like "The Boys in the Boat" at first, but it had way, way more heart with Daisy Ridley in the lead role.
Your Monster - A down on her luck actress finds happiness again after meeting a charismatic monster from her youth, hiding in the apartment. Yeah, really.
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