For the past 13 years, I have kept a complete database of every movie I watch for the very first time in a year. While every year has a decent amount, I admit I went a little crazy in 2024. I watched a personal record of 506 covering a complete spectrum of genres. There are some terrific films and complete garbage, so I thought I would share some. These aren’t all movies that were released in 2024, as I like finding hidden gems that have sadly been forgotten.
Naturally, this is a personal list, and there will be differing opinions as you go down the list. That’s exactly what we are here for, to talk more about films and how we feel about them. So without further ado, here’s the full list:
Best Movies I Saw in 2024
The Instigators (2024)
Two career criminals with different motivations take on a job to rob the election celebration of their city’s corrupt mayor. After the job goes south, they end up with an item that influential people are desperate to get back, and they find themselves constantly on the run and forced to rely on each other.
This movie soars with the chemistry between longtime friends Matt Damon and Casey Affleck to the point where I don’t think anyone else could’ve done a better job. The humour level was exactly my speed, and I laughed throughout the whole movie. I am sure not nearly enough people caught this when it hit digital, so do yourself a favour and give this terrific comedy a shot.
Cover Versions (2018)
A band of four is about to play their biggest gig ever at an upcoming festival, but events the night they arrive get the group arrested and interrogated. Cover Versions is akin to Rashomon, where the cops listen to four separate (and quite different) tales of what happened on the night in question.
It took me roughly three-fourths of the movie to realize that everyone’s story has an entirely different colour grade. This sets the tone for each story and helps keep things separate. The main cast (Katie Cassidy, Austin Swift, Drake Bell, and Jerry Trainor) are incredible, and their performances are entirely believable. It’s a solid mystery movie that makes it fun to draw your own conclusions before the ending.
Knox Goes Away (2024)
A former hitman gets a late-night visit from his estranged son, who needs help after he accidentally committed a major crime. He immediately sets to work helping, but his methods seem off, as he’s currently battling oncoming dementia, so everything is starting to fall apart for him.
Michael Keaton gave a fantastic performance, and the movie was far different from what I expected from it. Having watched too many mindless action flicks, I definitely anticipated something that was only surface-level, but Knox Goes Away has some excellent depth. It might not have done so hot (at all) at the box office, but I rank it among my favourite Michael Keaton films.
South of Heaven (2021)
Jason Sudeikis (diverting from his usual funny-guy role) plays a convicted felon who is finally getting parole after 12 years in prison. His only goal is to give the (dying) love of his life the best year ever. However, a crooked parole officer and unfortunate circumstances make this a little more challenging than it sounds.
I’m not going to lie; this movie is a bit of a downer. However, the performances are top-notch. Jason Sudeikis does something entirely different, and there is a fantastic action scene that was one of the best I saw last year. I haven’t watched Ted Lasso, but this was a terrific showcase of his acting versatility. If you ever find yourself with the opportunity, this is a really good watch.
What You Wish For (2023)
Ryan (Nick Stahl) runs away to South America to escape gambling debts and hide out with his best friend Jack, who serves as a chef for wealthy elites. Ryan envies his friend’s success as he’s also an aspiring chef, but his life hasn’t gone quite how he wanted. After something happens to Jack, Ryan must take his place/identity and serve the clients who have arrived unexpectedly.
As a fan of Terminator 3 and Sin City, it was nice to see Nick Stahl in a role that he absolutely nails. The tense nature of the movie is perfectly done, and the atmosphere is impeccable. I watched this one entirely on a whim without really knowing what I was getting into, and it was a pleasant surprise.
Worst Movies I Saw in 2024
I will admit I’m not too picky when choosing movies to watch, but even with that in mind, there were still some pretty bad choices.
The Summer We Died (2024)
The Summer We Died is about a group of young adult skaters with their own personal struggles and issues in a town being stalked by a killer. It doesn’t go full slasher (likely due to budget), so the kills are rather underwhelming. There is a masked killer, but they show up only twice, and the twist ending renders them completely nonsensical.
The best thing I can say about The Summer We Died is that it’s only a little over 70 minutes long. I’m typically inclined to give smaller/indie films a break regarding quality level, but this one was just annoying in its presentation. It’s like the director gets bored watching movies because The Summer We Died constantly swaps through what I can only describe as Instagram filters. So, if you can only watch videos that play alongside Subway Surfers, I guess this movie is for you.
Mindcage (2022)
If you’ve seen Silence of the Lambs, you’ll be familiar with the plot of Mind Cage. After a copycat killer starts acting out, two detectives seek out the original killer in jail to find out what they know about the new criminal. It’s Martin Lawrence in a serious role, which is what drew me to this movie in the first place, but he is sadly underutilized.
I don’t want to give away the twist, but it had me audibly groaning due to how implausibly stupid it was. This whole movie is just what if someone really liked Hannibal but lacked the proper building blocks for what made it great. It’s a relatively nothing movie that I probably wouldn’t have included here if not for the incredibly stupid twist that made Mind Cage stick out in my brain as particularly bad.
Resurrection (2022)
Rebecca Hall plays Margaret, a single mother who works in a successful business. However, that comes crashing down as she comes face to face with her tormentor (Tim Roth) from when she was much younger. His presence starts to impact her once well-crafted life and turn it upside down.
The start of this movie was an interesting mystery, but from the second Margaret trauma-dumps to an unsuspecting coworker about her entire history with David, the movie immediately starts dropping off. I’m sure there’s a somewhat decent message about dealing with a past of being abused, but Resurrection does some nonsensical garbage that waters it down.
Road House (2024)
I know it feels rather cheap to include a 35-year-later remake of a beloved film, but this thing came out in March, and I had a whole year to reflect on how much I disliked it. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Elwood Dalton, an ex-UFC fighter whose last match ended in tragedy. Now, he’s got a new job as the head bouncer at ‘The Road House’ bar. However, a rich local guy wants to buy up the area, and The Road House is in his way.
There is very little similar to the terrific 1989 original. The frustrating thing is that the references are reduced to background dressing. The Double Deuce is just a storefront sign, and Dalton says “be nice” as a one-off joke while getting beaten up by Connor McGregor. Honestly, I could’ve probably overlooked that stuff if it weren’t for the multiple murders by Dalton because that defeats the whole point of the character.
The 4:30 Movie (2024)
Kevin Smith returns with a new semi-autobiographical film about a boy, Brian David, who is just trying to see a movie with the girl he likes. This might seem like a pretty straightforward plot. However, he has to contend with a power-hungry theatre manager and his friends’ pretty terrible antics. The movie feels like someone really wanted to make a Kevin Smith-esque movie, but it doesn’t even come close to Mallrats or Clerks.
I went in hoping I would like this, but it just feels like someone else is trying their hardest to be Kevin Smith, and it just no longer works. Also, way too much of the screen time is spent on the fake movie the characters are watching, but it’s awful and feels like it never ends. I wasn’t even aware of the auto-biographical links to this one, so the ending bit of the main character and his friends looking at the Quick Stop felt completely stupid, which didn’t help.
