2024 Movie Roundup
When we moved to San Diego, Courtney and I subscribed to AMC A-List. This allowed us to see up to 3 movies per week for “free”. Since then, we’ve seen over 40 movies in theaters this year in lieu of having a rich social calendar and lots of friends to see frequently. At the bottom of this post, we have our individual tier lists for movies.
Since there’s so many in each list, we’re just going to highlight:
- The best movies we saw
- The worst movies we saw
- Our guilty pleasures
- The movies that made us angry
- Our individual top picks
- Our most memorable theater experience
The best movies we saw this year
The Substance
Zach
I haven’t watched any body horror before, so this was an all new experience. The sound and prop design is gorgeous and horrific, and Demi Moore does an excellent job portraying somebody wracked with wretched self-loathing. The movie moves at a rocketing pace without being overly plot-heavy. It made me feel icky, sad, proud, angry, disgusted.
Courtney
I’ve become a fan of Margaret Qualley this year, and I think this movie had a big part in that. Her and Demi Moore’s acting played their parts beautifully and the two of them casted for this felt iconic. I, too, have never seen many body horror films, but it did a great job of wanting to look away and feelings very uncomfortable and disgusted, while also not being able to look away.
Anora
Zach
Anora wears its three acts on its sleeve, and has an incredible tone shift between each that blends so naturally. The beginning is so fun, lighthearted, youthful - and as the movie goes on, you watch the characters take on a jaded, defeated atmosphere that parallels many of our own painful lessons learned on the way to becoming adults.
One key interest I had in this movie is Mikey Madison. We watched her in Better Things and loved how she portrayed nuanced familial relationships. Mikey gave such a performance in Anora. Her character’s arrogance and bravado is undermined through the film, and reminds you over and over that she’s just a 23 year old woman thrust into a complicated, messy situation.
Courtney
I love Mikey Madison, and this movie made me love her more. She brought so much sass, spunk, and humor to this film. I also can’t stop thinking about the filmography and the style this movie was shot. The shots choice of focus were so thought provoking. But really, the last 5 minutes of the movie did it for me… also can’t stop thinking about that. Makes want to watch the Florida Project, again, that Sean Baker directed.
The worst movies we saw this year
Trap
Zach
I knew that watching an M Night Shyamalan movie is a dicey move, but this was an utter trainwreck that became painful to watch by the end. A bad movie made worse by Shyamalan nepo-babying his daughter into a role of fictional popstar and then somehow the main character in the third act of the film.
Courtney
This movie just made me mad. I love scary movies and know its a classic trope to have the killer be soooo close to being caught.. and in some moments, like in Halloween, its pulled off well. But… this just made me mad. It’s like the movie just wanted to keep going and growing worse when it could have ended at least 5 times.. which made the ending fall suuuper flat.
Speak No Evil
Zach
This movie makes you frustrated at its lead characters for being passive, ignorant pushovers, and then asks you to accept that as the central theme of the movie.
Courtney
Just straight humorous (in a bad way) of a thriller… no more notes.
Our guilty pleasures
Zach - Alien Romulus
I watched the original Alien movie a day before seeing this one. I loved some of the elements from the original that were brought back and explored further - like the aliens’ sensitivity to temperature, or its full lifecycle. The dread and atmosphere of the first act was so wonderful. The darkness and loneliness in space is palpable in those scenes. I really enjoyed David Jonsson’s performance and the character he played.
That said, there were some frustrating and cheap thrills, scares, and nostalgia-grabs throughout the movie. I don’t need any more shitty CGI of dead actors, please. The last act was a tedious, predictable slog.
I’m a sucker for the Alien franchise, so I really enjoyed this despite it not being my proudest recommendation.
Courtney - Small Things Like These
This was the first time I’ve been to a movie theater by myself. I went in pretty blind, I didn’t read the book, nor know what it was going to be about. I went for one reason only: Cillian Murphy. It was a good wintery watch, and Cillian did not disappoint. I had never heard of the Magdalene laundries in Ireland, which is a heartbreaking and horroring story of how “sinning” women were abused and confined in these Catholic institutions. Another movie where the last 10% of the movie really made it for me, but the movie overall didn’t wow me.
The movies that made us angry
Zach - Gladiator II
We watched the original Gladiator a week before this came out. There’s so many great moments in the original: A lengthy introduction to Maximus, his strengths and his weaknesses, a camraderie between Maximus and his soldiers that is reflected in his leadership in the pits. None of this exists in Gladiator II.
Hanno’s introduction is compressed into brevity, basically into oblivion, and thus builds no sympathy from the audience. Hanno’s motivations and key target flips dramatically during the midpoint of the movie, and is completely unearned. The political edge of this movie is dull from overuse. Pedro Pascal and Connie Nielsen are cardboard.
That said, Joseph Quinn really puts his all into his role. I was excited with the stop-motion painted quality of the intro, but that’s about the most artistically inspired component of this sequel. The first movie may not be a masterpiece, but it’s an excellent film now sullied by an incompetent sequel.
Courtney - It Ends With Us
This movie made me mad, one because of how it was marketed. I had never read the book, so all I picked up for the marking was that it was a perfect ladies night out rom com. Which was the mode I went into seeing it: a fun ladies night out. And two, because there were no trigger warnings. I’m still shook of how that movie has no warning at the beginning or ANYWHERE in its cute little marketing campaign. In the same week, I saw Blink Twice and that movie from right at the beginning had not only a trigger warning, but call lines and websites for help. And Blink Twice was equally as graphic in abuse as It Ends With Us. Sure it had a happy ending.. but the whole thing just made me really anxious and worried for the many underaged girls watching that movie without a parent to debrief the topics in the movie with them afterward. Which.. excuse me.. HOW is that movie only PG-13?! No. Just no.
Our individual top picks
Zach - Janet Planet
I watched Janet Planet on a tiny airplane seatback monitor and despite that, this film struck me powerfully.
This is a coming-of-age story not for the main character, 11 year old Lacey, but her mother. Long drawn-out shots evoke a powerful sense of loneliness. There are so many crushing moments where Lacey manages her own schedule, cooks her own food, goes to get ice cream alone, and waits and watches quietly while Janet has exclusive conversations with other adults.
The movie is slow, even plodding. That said, the natural beauty of the setting in Western Massachusetts and the composition of the shots themselves buttress the movie despite the pace. The speed is reminiscent of childhood, where summers can last forever.
In reading reviews online, I was surprised to find that difficult-to-watch moments between Janet and Lacey flew over some people’s heads. To relate to this movie might take a level of lived experience - namely the experience of parental enmeshment and how it affects childhood. Heart-breaking moments abound, such as one where Lacey expresses how she’s confused why she doesn’t have any friends. In childhood, you can feel those missing pieces but not quite place why they’re missing. In adulthood, as an outside observer, the reasons are painfully obvious. For Lacey, her lack of friends comes from lack of time spent in spaces designed for children. Her social growth has already been stunted because she’s been trusted to exist in adult spaces much younger than she should.
Many, if not most, coming-of-age stories feel distant and unrelatable to me, but this one hit the nail on the head with quite a bit of subtlety and nuance. Beautiful but miserable to watch.
Courtney - Babes
I was so excited to see this film knowing that the director was Pamela Adlon— my queen, from her series Better Things. I also have become obsessed with Ilana Glazer (which, side note: I did start watching Broad City right after watching this movie this past Spring), who also wrote and produced this film. So, with both of my icons together.. they created my favorite movie, not only of this year..but possibly of all time.
I saw this movie in theater twice, and I already could go for watching it again. First was with Zach, and the second was with my good friend who had just given birth a month prior. It was her first moms night out, in fact. Which, if you don’t know the plot of the movie— Babes is about lifelong friends, one who at the start of the movie is giving birth to her second child, and the other who has been single and childless, becomes pregnant with her first. When I saw this movie the first time with Zach, we both were laughing hysterically.
Ilana is magnetic, captivating, and enthralling. Their humor comes with so much ease, it’s addicting. That alone will make you not want to take your eyes off the screen.
Most Positive Movie Watching Moment
We saw Thelma with most of our family that lives in San Diego this summer. It’s rare that we go out with all of them: Courtney’s Grandma, Mom, Stepdad, and Zach’s Dad.
Zach
I went into this movie expecting a predictable, humdrum comedy with more than a few jokes about new fangled technology. The story is a bit predictable in the end, sure, but wonderfully executed with many poignant moments scattered throughout.
Watching it with the rest of the family was a special experience, because we all had lost somebody close to us in the last year. We all cried during the movie at least once, and almost all at separate parts. There’s so many angles to grief, struggle, and pain throughout the movie without feeling overly dour or gloomy. It ends with hope and triumph while still coming to grips with inevitable loss.
It touches on themes of balancing helping others vs giving them independence, being afraid to ask for help when you really need it, and being afraid to let others risk their health and safety in order to accomplish their own goals. It’s hard not to coddle everybody around us, as we want them to be safe and also do what’s best for them.
This movie hit especially hard after saying goodbye for the last time to my Nana this year. The relationship between Thelma and her grandson spoke to some emotional conversations that I had, and also wished I had, with my own nana.
Overall, it felt like this movie came out at just the right time in our lives. Had I seen it in 2023, I don’t know if it would have struck me in just the same way. I’m so grateful to have seen it and the themes have been deeply imprinted on my mind.
Courtney
From the trailer of this movie I was prepared for this to fully be a comedy.. which it still was, but it left me with sooo much more. I didn’t look up anything else about the movie prior, and so I thought, “sure what a great fun family movie to go watch all together!” … till the first 10 minutes of the movie start and I realize… oh boy… the relationship this grandson and grandmother have is gunna open up the gates for Zach… having just lost his grandmother, annnnnd, we learn that the old woman has just become a widow… while my grandmother who also just became a widow was also sitting next to me… yikes. I started sweating for us all. But it was beautiful. We all were laughing, we all were crying, but all in joy of life and hope.
Besides having a good relationship with my grandma for my whole life, I’ve become protective of her over the last year of her becoming a widow. I still think about this movie and how much to step-in to help my grandma, but also let her have her independence. The woman in the movie reminded me a lot of her— her spunk and stubbornness. I’m grateful to have watched it with her, and all of us together!
I couldn’t stop recommending this movie to people, and they all have loved it and recommend it to everyone now too.. it’s just such a funny wholesome watch.
Full List of Rankings
Zach’s Tier List
Inside a tier, the movies are not strictly ranked.
- S tier (i still think about these):
- Robot Dreams
- The Substance
- Inside Out 2
- Anora
- Janet Planet
- A tier (wonderfully executed):
- Thelma
- A Real Pain
- Babes
- The Thing
- Will and Harper
- B tier (compelling):
- Longlegs
- Didi
- Civil War
- Kinds of Kindness
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Cuckoo
- Nosferatu
- Queer
- C tier (brought a lil somethin different):
- Alien Romulus
- Wicked Little Letters
- Challengers
- My Old Ass
- Dune pt II
- Deadpool and Wolverine
- Fall Guy
- The Bikeriders
- Furiosa
- A Complete Unknown
- D tier (nothing new):
- Transformers One
- A Quiet Place: Day One
- Maxxxine
- Twisters
- Blink Twice
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Y2K
- Wicked
- Hit Man
- F tier (only watch to rant about it with me):
- Heretic
- Gladiator II
- Speak No Evil
- Trap
- Mufasa
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Courtney’s Tier List
- S tier (couldn’t stop recommending):
- Babes
- Thelma
- The Substance
- Anora
- Longlegs
- A tier (excited me and stuck with me to keep thinking about):
- My Old Ass
- Robot Dreams
- Cuckoo
- Will and Harper
- Nosferatu
- Queer
- B tier (thought provoking, compelling watches. wouldn’t be mad paying for these movie tix):
- A Real Pain
- Saturday Night
- Civil War
- Close to You
- Didi
- Inside Out 2
- A Complete Unknown
- Janet Planet
- C tier (good, but didn’t wow):
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Blink Twice
- Challengers
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Wicked Little Letters
- Dune pt II
- Small Things Like These
- Kinds of Kindness
- D tier (would watch on an airplane to kill time):
- Gladiator II
- Heretic
- Maxxxine
- A Quiet Place: Day One
- Fall Guy
- Y2K
- Wicked
- F tier (big no. would never pay to watch..):
- Speak No Evil
- Trap
- It Ends With Us
- Twisters
- Mufasa