Top 10ish Movies I saw in 2024 (in theaters).

Did I see every movie that came out last year? No. But, I did see 36 in theaters. So, from what I saw here’s my top 10.

10: Bad Boys Ride or Die

For those who are surprised this movie made the top 10, you probably haven’t seen it. This movie is absolutely hilarious. Going into it, my expectations were low. On paper, it seemed like Will and Martin wanted another payday, so they made this. But, this was not a cash grab.

Bad Boys 4 was produced with intention and creativity. The action sequences, particularly in the final act, are on another level. I’m sure we’ve all seen the behind-the-scenes footage of Will Smith wrapped in a contraption that flips the camera around and follows his pistol. It was just a good mix of humor, creativity, and action. And while it may not be the most revolutionary movie from a story perspective, it was one of the most fun movies I watched last year.

9: Smile 2

This one I did not see coming. I did not watch the first ‘Smile’, so I didn’t know what to expect. Like BB: RoD, I thought this would be a lame attempt at a horror sequel. But, once again, I was wrong. 

Smile 2 was the most skin-crawling movie I watched in 2024. It put Skye, the protagonist, in some of the most awkward situations I have seen in a film. This character went through absolute hell, and the plot devices in the story made us wonder what was real and what was all in her head. I feel like having missed context from the first movie (which I still haven’t seen) allowed me to learn the rules of the demon and buy into the story in front of me.

It’s a very economical script with excellent tension and an ending that dropped my jaw. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

8: A Real Pain

The directorial debut of Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain was a rollercoaster of a film. It’s got an indie feel; while the characters traverse a lot of ground, the story feels condensed. We meet these two cousins, polar opposite personalities. One is stuck in the past, while the other is trying to get over it, but there are still things he needs to get off his chest. Hopefully, the trip can do that.

There’s a lot of comedy. Kieran’s quips, mixed with Jesse’s neurotic shuffling through life, are fantastic. The script keeps us on our toes, especially with Kieran’s character. He makes us laugh, so we like him. But his aggressive bluntness also makes him out to be a dick, which he is. He’s both our funny stranger and a total asshole. He’s got shit buried deep, and he’s got a weird way of getting it out. Through all this, Jesse wants to ensure his cousin is okay. And in the end, we still don’t know if he will be.

The scene at the Concentration Camp stood out to most in the theater. The scene was completely quiet, aside from Kieran, when he was overcome with emotion. Which is how I imagine a tour of a concentration camp would be. The entire theatre was quiet. Nobody grabbed popcorn; nobody got up to pee. We all were just stuck. That is filmmaking at its finest, impact.

Great debut for Jesse.

7: Sing Sing

I didn’t even know this movie existed until the projector started rolling. For context, Regal offers a Mystery Movie Monday. The MMMs fill up fast, but luckily, my friends and I were able to snag some seats. 

The film starts. We hadn’t seen a commercial, a trailer, or a social media post about this film. Colman Domingo pops up on the screen, and I recognize him. But more actors pop up, and I don’t think I’ve seen them before. It turns out that this movie is based on an actual prison program; essentially, it’s an acting class for inmates, and they put on plays. It was a newspaper story back in the day. It turns out the actors I didn’t recognize were the same actors from the original program. Which, in my opinion, is sick.

This movie provides a perspective that, as the whitest of white men, I don’t have. I got to see how hard prison can be and the little things that can help the incarcerated feel normal again.

Sing Sing was the biggest surprise of 2024, mostly because I didn’t know it was coming, but I’m glad it did.

6: Blink Twice

The directorial debut of Zoe Kravitz, Blink Twice, was a sensual “Who done it?” that quickly switches to dark. I don’t remember my expectations for this movie if I had any. My friends and I were watching movies weekly, and this one was inevitable. A down-on-their-luck pair of friends find themselves in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to party with a billionaire on his private island. Only it wasn’t just once.

Spoiler alert: she’s been there before. Which I did not see coming. The movie is constructed perfectly; it’s evident Zoe has been a student of the game all these years. The script is economical; everything serves a purpose, even the blunt they smoke. There’s a lot of imagery that subtly points us to the answers we’re looking for. My friends and I enjoyed the movie so much that we watched it a second time. The attention to detail is more evident in my second viewing.

Channing Tatum, brother, I didn’t know you had that in you. Well, I kinda did cuz Foxcatcher was fire. Anyway, Channing kills this role, as does Naomi Ackie. She is who we, the audience, see ourselves in. A regular person getting a taste of the good life, but she’s being used. Luckily for us, she gets hers in the end, and Channing gets his.

Another fantastic debut.

5: The Brutalist

I’ve never been to a movie with an intermission, until I saw the Brutalist.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Adrien Brody. I think I last saw him in the third season of Succession. But from the filmography, it seems there have been some stinkers (that I haven’t watched) along with his heartbreaking masterpieces. The Brutalist falls under the latter.

This movie is excellent. Visually, it’s fantastic; the dialogue is gripping, and it moves pretty fast for an almost four-hour-long movie. It doesn’t surprise me that Adrien won Best Actor; he transformed. You never hear him talk, watch him move, and think, “That’s Adrien Brody.” The supporting cast is fantastic, too. However, while I called this movie a masterpiece, it is imperfect.

My gripe with the movie is that the first half was better than the second half. I'm not saying the second half was terrible; I don’t think it matched the build. In a way, it feels like you’re watching two separate movies. The movie's second half feels like he, Laszlo, finally got what he wanted. He’s got his wife and niece and is working on his dream project. But it’s not enough, it’s not perfect, and there’s no ally in sight.

The second half also has a rape scene which kinda seemed unnecessary. It is the straw that breaks the camel’s back when it comes to the relationship between the two families, but still, you could’ve broken the relationship in many ways. It also feels like the movie wraps up very quickly. All of a sudden, we time jump, and Laszlo has gone on to be a wildly successful architect, and then it’s over.

Very good movie. Would I watch it again? Not any time soon, but, while I watched it I enjoyed it.

4: Dune: Part 2

This director needs no introduction, and neither does this movie. Denis Villeneuve puts on a masterclass in directing. The scale of this movie is sick. The journey Paul goes on is sick. This movie is sick.

There’s nothing I can say about this movie that hasn’t been said. What brings it to the middle of the list for me is probably recency bias. This movie came out in March, before my friends and I were in theaters on a weekly basis. I enjoyed this movie very much, but I haven’t had the urge to rewatch it, especially just in the house. Dune 2 is a big-screen movie, and my 30-inch smart TV won’t cut it.

3: Saturday Night

You can call it wish fulfillment bias, you can call it nostalgia bait, you can call it whatever you want, but I’m calling it one of the best movies of 2024.

Saturday night follows the hour and 30 minutes before the first live airing of Saturday Night Live. The movie feels like one continuous take following Lorne Michaels as he tries to wrangle his band of street rat comedians and appease the suits who have the power to take him off their air. 

We spend a little time with all the characters and name-drop a laundry list of legendary comedic talents: John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Chevy Chase, George Carlin, Andy Kaufman, etc. It is a perfectly casted movie with a lot of humor, tension, and great pacing. The studio didn’t make it easy on Lorne, and neither did his actors. We watch his optimism drop and rise again, and we see his willingness to give lesser-known comedic minds a voice. Other than Lorne we see the actors struggle with their place on the cast and if they’ll have enough time to fit their act in an already crowded show.

Is it wish fulfillment? Yeah, probably. But, is it good? Absolutely.

2: Anora

How would I describe this movie? For the first 40 minutes, horny. For the next 40, it was hilarious, and for the last 20, it was tragic.

It amazes me that Anora was produced on a six-million-dollar budget. I thought Sean Baker was blowing smoke when he called himself an Indie-lifer, but my brother was not kidding. For six million dollars, it doesn’t get much better than this. All the performances are excellent. 

The entire cast executes their roles to perfection. Mickey Madison transforms into Anora, the usually soft-spoken actress who turns into a bold, sharp-tongued sex worker from New York. Igor, Vonya, Torros, and Garnik all encapsulate their roles. It feels like the audience dropped in on a conversation strangers are having. Nothing feels phony; it all feels real. It feels like guerrilla filmmaking at its finest.

This move has changed the game. In an industry where every studio tries to push out their 200 million dollar box office bomb, it’s satisfying to see a 6 million dollar passion project almost sweep at the Oscars. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come in the film industry, and if you haven’t seen it, you should.

1A: A Complete Unknown

Again, you could call this wish fulfillment; although I don’t want to be a rockstar, I want to be an artist who can make an impact with his work. But, whatever you want to call it, this movie is fantastic. 

I’ve used this often, but Timmy has transformed into Bob Dylan. He’s got the walk, he’s got the talk, and he’s got the singing and guitar playing to go along with it. Monica Barbaro also sings and plays. They were both singing and playing when we saw them on screen; there were no dubs, no playing fake cords, and it was all real.

Then, you look at the rest of the supporting cast. You wouldn't have known it if you didn’t know that it was Ed Norton. Johnny Cash, being the drunken artistic enabler, is amazing. Elle Fanning shows the tragic realities of being with someone aiming for the stars. This movie is about honesty, and every character is honest about who they are.

This story stuck with me because, in my own way, I’ve felt what Bob felt. As a screenwriter, I’ve been pushed to write what sells; I’ve been pushed to stay between the lines of the hero’s journey and to keep it PG-13 so someone might distribute it. I’ve been told this won’t work and that won’t sell. But if I write anything else, then it isn’t honest. The artists should dictate the art they put out. I hope I keep that same mindset going forward.

“You’re pushing candles and he’s selling lightbulbs.” - Bob’s Manager

1B: Interstellar

This counts! I saw this in theater on the IMAX screen, this definitely counts.

Would you look at that? Timmy made the list again. Obviously, I’ve seen this movie before, but I had never seen it on the big screen in IMAX. So, while I was a PA on an independent project, my friend texted and asked if I wanted to go, and I did, but I was working. Sadly, I had missed my shot. Once the shoot was over, I went back home. Movie Monday came around, and I was looking at the options. To my surprise, there was another showing of Interstellar in IMAX. As they would say in Trailer Park Boys- BAM!

Interstellar is a cinematic masterpiece. There isn’t much unique to say, so I’ll speak from the heart. Interstellar has to be one of the most visually stunning movies ever made. The story is tragic; a father is given false promises of making the world a better place for his children, with a guarantee he would see them again. Luckily, he gets to see one of his kids again, but not how he had hoped. I know it's a meme, but Papa crying at the computer gets me every time.

I have one problem: what is everyone not getting? Yapping with my friends outside the theater, a man, who was almost certainly stoned to the bone, asked us what we watched. When we told him, he immediately asked, “Did you get it?” We all joked around because it’s common in the zeitgeist of culture to enjoy Interstellar but “not get it” after watching it. I genuinely don’t understand what’s not to get. It was the dad moving the books; he was the ghost. Are you asking if I know the science behind it? Of course, I don’t! But I understand that time moves differently on different planets, and since Papa went on this mission, he’s losing time with his daughter. So, when he falls into this dimension, he tries to signal himself that he should stay with her. But he doesn’t, so the story happens. WHAT IS THERE NOT TO GET?! Yes, I don’t know science, who does? But I followed along with the story, and I GET IT, and SO DO YOU! 

(exhale) Sorry, I had to get that off my chest.

Interstellar is the best movie I saw in 2024 (in theaters). Inception is still better.