I post short movie reviews online after watching movies. These are the reviews of the movies I saw in 2024. You can find previous year’s lists by clicking on this link. (you should be able to find earlier years by clicking on the movies tag above). These movies are not in order within each category.
Movies I am Sure You’ll Want to Watch
These are the best movies I saw this year for sure. The ones I am most sure you will like.
Bank of Dave
Very good. Such a positive movie. I can’t imagine anyone not liking this. Really. Watch it. Especially when you need to feel good. (my most highly recommended movie of the year, you’ll just feel good after watching it)
My Old Ass
Great movie. You’ll like this. Really.
Godzilla Minus One
I thought it was great. Julianne thought it was fine. She struggled with the stiff English dialogue. I thought it was a great movie about war, with Godzilla as metaphor. Plus, Godzilla is angry nature again, not trying to save us.
American Fiction
Loved it. Wow. But from a meta perspective, am I what the movie hated for liking it?
Dune 2
Very good movie! Definitely watch the first one if you haven’t before going. We saw it on the biggest screen in town, on a Sunday night, and it was sold out! Which, unreal. Really, very good movie. Pretty true to the books, even.
Queenpins
Good movie. Y’all will like it. Much better than the truth apparently.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever
Very good. Unreal this is based on a true story. Unreal. We definitely recommend this.
The Holdovers
Great movie. It got a little slow in the last act, but really great movie. (edit: one of the 2-3 best movies I saw in 2024)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Great, great movie. But it’s half a movie? Seriously, showing how hard to be a kid and a parent? Plus so much creativity? But, half a movie? Ugh. Still, watch it. (might be top 2-3 if it wasn’t half a movie, seriously good)
Music Box: Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary Film
It’s great! I feel vindicated, since it’s jazz inspired…. Really, you will like this and smile.
The Rom Coms I am confident you will like, even if you don’t love rom coms.
Falling for Figaro
A rom com with opera. Which, really, I totally liked. I don’t love opera, but this movie was good.
Long Shot
Was quite ridiculous and funny. The ending is not the best, but up until the speech, I liked this a lot. Definitely made us laugh. Recommended.
A Family Affair
Surprisingly very good. One of the better rom coms I’ve seen. They talked like real people! Great acting also.
Movies You Probably Want to Watch
Rom Coms We Liked
Players
I clearly liked this more than Julianne. Combo of Leverage and a rom com. Ok, not quite Leverage, but they acted like heist characters…. Julianne liked it, just not as much as I.
A Perfect Find
A rom com that doesn’t end when they get back together. Loved all the fashion and stuff. Pretty good for the genre.
Hot Frosty
Pretty much exactly what you’d expect. But we did enjoy the Easter eggs, and the seventies cop music. I’ll say this, that dude has a serious body. Otoh, the worst fake snow in the history of movies.
The Merry Gentleman
A rom com. I don’t think the writers are good at math. It was fine. Not the best, not awful. (edit: plenty of beefcake)
Other Movies We Liked
Damsel
Nice to have a badass dragon. Good fantasy movie. Recommend it.
Music By John Williams
Ok, documentary, but whatever. The documentary about John Williams the composer on Disney+ is really, really, really good. Plus, all that music!
Woman of the Hour
Not a fun movie, but quite good. You will need to cleanse your brain…
Rebel Ridge
Reacher with less killing. Good movie.
Hit Man
Entertaining. You probably know where it’s going… But it was good. (highly recommended for this section)
Beverly Hills Cop Axel F
Surprisingly very good. Really, you will like this most likely.
Killer Heat
Pretty good. Very noir. I mean, good, not great.
Will and Harper
Was quite good. (edit to add: We have a trans child. Watched this with them, and we got to ask some questions, so it was even better for us)
Sharper
Very good. You’ll like this movie.
The lift
I think you will like this. If you know heist shows, you’ll likely figure out some things. The crew was good….
Heart of the Hunter
It was pretty good, if filled with some stupid stuff you see in action movies.
Fast and Furious 6
I hate the type of dilemma presented at the end, but other than that, it was exactly what you expect until the end. Much better than John Wick.
Mission impossible and MI2
Watched these last night. Better then John wick, as the plot is more than murder, death, revenge porn. These two franchises and the furious movies are kind of the same movies? With different actors? I mean, MI and Furious are heist movies, for the most part. Furious seems to have more focus on not just Vin, than MI has on Ethan. I think I like the Furious movies more? But then I haven’t watched one in some time. The stunts are amazing in MI!
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
A bit silly or predictable, but not the worst movie? B-? We were mostly entertained.
A Haunting in Venice
Good, but not great? I was mostly entertained, but it might fall just short of recommended. Unsure?
The Apartment
That’s no Christmas movie. So depressing. Great, but not what I wanted tonight. (edit: this could be in the next session?)
The Marvels
Seriously, the hammer was lying on the floor. Just pick it up. Their tactics were so stupid, they knew their light helped the bad guy, they kept using their light. We liked the idea, and the tone. But the execution left more than a little to be desired. (edit: this could be in the next session?)
Foe
That was weird. We think we liked it. The ending is great, but you have to get thru a lot to get there. Still processing. I’m guessing about half of you would like it. As Julianne said, it’s a movie for a particular type of person. (edit: this could be in the next section?)
Movies I Don’t Know if You Should Watch or Not
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Wow. Terrible effects. Music stolen from John Williams. Stupid monster fights . Greedy government officials. Cliché after cliché. The ending is even dumber than the rest. I can’t recommend this enough if you love awful movies.
Operation Christmas Drop
Not one of the better rom coms. But, hey, they turned an evil congresswoman good, so it’s got that unrealistic part.
Ghostbusters Frozen something or other
I mean, the scary being that will destroy the world freezes all of NYC and no one is hurt. How scary is the being? If your stakes are the end of the world, maybe don’t show an entire city freezing and there’s no damage or injuries?
I actually enjoyed it until the stupid ending.
Role Play
Not the best movie, not the worst movie. If you accidentally watch it, you will likely not be mad you did so, but no need to search it out. Also, it’s not a comedy.
City Hunter
Extreme lows and highs. The gonzo beginning was fun, as were some other scenes. But, just not the best movie.
Wing women
A heist movie about three women friends..In French. Not bad, not great. Predictable…
The reeducation of Molly Singer
Pretty stupid. Mildly entertaining, but skippable.
The Great Wall
Mediocre movie. It really should have been more exciting, but, well, it wasn’t. I mean, there is spectacle and a couple monster flights, but it just didn’t achieve goodness. I would have liked more over the top stuff, and I’ve never loved the way these monsters can be defeated….
Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose
Lots of talking. So much talking. I think I liked this? But I can’t recommend it. The two lead actors were quite good! But not much happens. The reviews I just read are so accurate! Ponderous. Migraine inducing. Long boring stretches of dialogue. And yet, you keep watching. I don’t know if this should be here, or the next section…..so confused.
John Wick 2
Hmmm. Not as good as the first? Too much the same movie? Where are the police? What percent of the population is assassins? No one can shoot? I don’t know. It was fine.
Movies I am Warning You NOT to Watch
The Beekeeper
Pretty much John Wick. So if you like senseless killing and the ability of hundreds of bullets to miss the protagonist, you might like this. Meh.
Mission Impossible Dead reckoning
Really needed an editor. So much silly. Way too long. No need to watch.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
God awful. Kind of wish I’d have been home to watch this so I could comment throughout. Truly terrible. Do. Not. Watch.
Tramps
More time where nothing happens than they talk. No need to watch.
Icetastrphe
I mean, with a name like that! It’s not great….
John Wick 3
So stupid we turned it out off half way through.
Unforgettable Christmas
There are several minutes left, but this is one of the worst Christmas rom coms ever.