Doug's Favorite Movies of 2024

Hit Man

Deadpool & Wolverine

The Wild Robot

Nightbitch 

Damsel 

Furiosa

Dream Scenario

¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!

Emilia Perez

There’s really nothing else like it (Evita, maybe?). Zoe Saldana, who is neither green nor blue in this, is the anchor and guide. She acts, sings, and dances our way through the story, which without giving too much away, involves a drug cartel, a kingpin, a hampered trophy wife, and some light-hearted show-stoppers. It’s twisty and original, and it just FEELS risky. I wish we lived in a world where artistic risks were daily and common, and we the public didn’t feel obligated to shout from the rooftops that everyone should rush out and see a movie just because it isn’t the next Lion King thing or whatever. But we don’t. So it is risky and refreshing and original. It’s also part of a trend this year that all of the good movies are about women and their problems and their inner lives, which has been interesting. So while it’s not for everybody, it’s worth a look.

Nightbitch

What a weird, exciting, emotional journey from Amy Adams, et al. This is one of my favorites of the year. Amy Adams is superb, as always. It’s a low-budget, low-key parable. The production value won’t knock your socks off. But it’s ORIGINAL. It swings for the fences in its emotional aspirations and for that it deserves a bevy of scooby snacks. It’s been a down year for movies. A lot of lifeless misses. A lot of unmemorable, run-of-the-mill stuff. But in the middle of it all there’ve been several, edgy, risky movies about women and their identities, which has been a treat. This is one of those – a low-budget, indie feast for the intellectually hungry and emotionally primed.

Nosferatu

Fantastic and serious, it’s a treat to see the old horror legends regarded so highly. Filmmakers sink their teeth into beautiful sets and costumes, the acting is first-class, and the plot unfolds expertly. It’s a remake of a knock off. So it’s not like we haven’t seen bits of this before, but it’s a fun night at the movies.

A Complete Unknown

James Mangold knows how to deliver a musical biopic. The quality of the filmmaking is first-rate. And maybe this says more about Robert Zimmerman than it does about the film, but in dramatizing the life of the influential songwriter, one would hope to learn or reveal more about Dylan’s inner life, or motives, or hopes and dreams, or pizza preferences. But one doesn’t. There are elaborate music numbers encompassing crucial moments in music history, and these are revelatory and amazing. But you don’t get a window into the dude himself. You see more into the soul of his downtrodden girlfriend Sylvie, beautifully and emotionally rendered by Elle Fanning, than you do about Bob. Maybe that’s the point. He’s meant to stay unknown, like the title says. A terrific night at the movies, albeit emotionally superficial.

Violent Night

A rewatch of the Santa/Die Hard yarn. After several viewings, the little kernel of an idea that stays interesting is that Santa was a marauding Viking a thousand years ago. Will the expected sequel expand on this?

They Live

It's been a LOOOONG time since I first saw this, if ever. There’s good social satire here, but the plot and the action is old fashioned and clunky. Doesn’t really stand the test of time and is nowhere NEAR the quality of Carpenter’s classics, i.e. The Thing.

Hot Frosty

A satire of a Hallmark Christmas movie which also tries to function as a Hallmark Christmas movie. Checks a lot of revisionist Frank Capra boxes. Ultimately, this is weird. Yes, there are some “wink, wink” laughs, but trying to ride the fence and have it both ways leaves a WTF feeling at the end. Netflix is smart to try and seize some of the Christmas movie business. There’s more opportunities to binge there without commercials, which is what I assume the demo would want. And perhaps efforts to distinguish itself from the tropes of the Hallmarks will feature more goofiness and originality. Is this movie bad? Yes. But it’s an interesting failure.

Heretic

I’m normally not impressed when filmmakers play with ambiguity. I often think it’s a pretentious crutch allowing creators to hobble along because they don’t know what story they’re telling. Here, though, I think it’s justified. This story is about faith and religion and what could be MORE ambiguous. Conversations between the co-leads, naïve missionaries, tackle Mormon inconsistencies right away. The young women are awash with doubt, unlike their over-confident kidnapper, who relishes winning arguments to the point where he reveals himself (spoiler alert) to be a psycho. Acting is first-rate. Hugh Grant crushes the talkative, befuddled scoundrel. Suspension of disbelief is required. Abduction logistics are sketchy and filmmakers finesse the timing and the location for maximum suspense. I wish the end was a little clearer, but otherwise, it’s a small and neat horror yarn with things to say about the testaments.