Top 10 Best Movies Of 2024 (Redux)

 

So remember in my Wicked: For Good review, I mentioned that the first movie is no longer my favorite movie from last year? That’s because I finally saw several movies from last year that I either A; neglected to see, or B; was unable to see. Hopefully this will not become a habit, but here is a revamped version of my favorite movies of 2024.

#10: Smile 2

I finally watched both the Smiles for Halloween earlier this year. They are FREAKY! But in a good way. I do not know if I would say the second is better than the first, but it did a really good job expanding the story without feeling like a complete rehash of the first movie. Naomi Scott’s performance was fantastic. Due to clunkers like Aladdin and Charlie’s Angels, I’m quite surprised that she had that type of range in her. She really understood Sky’s anguish and portrayed her deterioration almost flawlessly. I hope she does more drama projects in the future. I also liked that the ending technically speaking is the same as the previous movie, but 10 times worse and now a buttload of people are cursed with this thing. How the living HELL is anyone going to fix this. I guess we’ll see in the next one. And if you ever see a creepy smile, RUN!

#9: Deadpool & Wolverine

I will admit that this movie has been relatively tainted due to the recent controversy of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. Talk about a real heartbreaker. But as much as this does bug me, Deadpool & Wolverine was still a fun watch. This film was pretty much iconic from start to finish as almost every scene in the movie was either hilarious, heartwarming, nostalgic (Those Freakin’ Cameos!), or just insane. Reynolds and Jackman really fed off each other’s energy and truly balanced each other out. Of all the movies on the original list, this is obviously the one that sank the most. The drama involving Reynolds is not the reason, but it sure as Hell does not help either. So with that being said, Reynolds Better Not Screw Up Avengers: Doomsday! I’m On To You Deadpool! ON TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#8: Hit Man

Hit Man does still stand strong even after a year mainly due to Glen Powell's natural charm (plus he’s HOT!), and the surprisingly sophisticated writing despite some sexual content. But if that’s the case, then why did I lower its placement? It has nothing to do with flaws as this movie barely has any flaws to be honest. I will admit that there were some lines I found slightly annoying, but I do not really consider that a flaw unless they completely consume the movie. The rest of the films on this list I just simply like more than this, both personally and critically. But regardless of this film’s relatively low placement on the previous list, I knew that it would not be in danger of being taken off the list as this movie is strong enough to keep a spot. Albeit lower, but only by 1 point. Actually, that’s the case for several movies on this list.

#7: Inside Out 2

One year later, and I still can’t believe Inside Out 2 was as good as it was. I even further can’t believe that it managed to make a billion dollars in the box-office. The first Inside Out in my opinion already had a perfect ending, there was nothing more they could do with Riley’s story. Only for the sequel to prove me DEAD WRONG and even make me cry multiple times. This film had NO RIGHT to be this good. It sucks that its placement was lowered by quite a few spots. But we have to remember that I directly said in the original list that this obviously was not the best animated movie of that year. That does not take away from this movie’s quality, but the 2 remaining new entries did outshine this to an extent. Also, I can’t help but wonder how Pixar went from this to Elio. To clarify, Elio’s not bad, just lackluster.

#6: The Brutalist

So I mentioned earlier this year how bad I wanted to see The Brutalist, but I unfortunately was unable to before the end of the year. I finally watched it via HBO Max. While I was not drawn into the movie as much as I would’ve liked, this movie was very good. What I liked the most about the movie was that it showed the dark side of the American dream. These are Holocaust survivors we’re talking about, and their journey got pretty ugly. The cinematography and performances are also strong points of this movie. I wish I could put it higher on the list, but unfortunately I could not get super attached to the movie. Plus it did have an intermission, which I find slightly pretentious. With that being said, the movie is very accomplished and I understand why it is acclaimed. Though I would not be surprised if Adrian Brody’s inability to shut up tainted its impact. And a real shame too.

#5: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

I don’t expect this movie to get more recognition, but it still remains one of my favorites from last year. There’s not much to say about this movie that has not already been said on this blog. It’s an incredibly sweet and silly Christmas film that understands the birth of Jesus and its meaning. Of all the movies on this list, this is the one I wanted to make sure it still had a high placement regardless of the new entries. Partially due to my faith and partially due to it being the most underrated movie on the list and one of the most underrated of that year. Again, more attention towards this movie is the last thing I expect from this. But it’s still a great movie and I highly encourage anyone reading this to give it a shot. Hopefully you will not be disappointed with the result, I sure as Hell wasn’t.

#4: The Wild Robot

Dreamworks really hit a homerun with The Wild Robot. Not just animation wise, but also with its writing, voice acting and score. The writing was a pleasant surprise for me. Its dark humor, the realistic portrayal of parenthood, the writing was so tight and was obviously handled with compassion and understanding. Also, shout out to Lupita Nyong’o, she killed it as Roz. I know I’ve said that several times, but she did a really good job. I am aware that this is getting a sequel, and I admit I’m curious what more the studio will do with Roz and her story. And I do hope they’ll show more of Vontra, that was my one flaw with the movie as I mentioned in the original review. I will admit to being overly confident with its chances at winning the Oscar. But in my defense, I did not see Flow at the time.

#3: Flow

Flow is currently available on HBO. Given all the love it received during award season, I finally decided to see what all the fuss is about. If the movie does not draw you in with its gorgeous animation, it will with the chemistry between the animals. If not with the animals, then with its score. If not with its score, then with the lack of dialogue. This is probably one of the most unique movies I have ever seen. This should’ve been boring, and in the wrong hands it probably would’ve been boring. But Mr. Zilbalodis (the film’s director and writer) and his team understood what they were going for and delivered it perfectly. The movie even surprisingly got a little bit intense at times. So I do understand the love for this movie. It strangely does not do much to try and gain attention, but it sure as Hell does just enough to earn attention. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

#2: Wicked

Going into 2025, I knew there was a strong possibility of Wicked losing its top spot. As good as it is, it does still glorify unlikable celebrities and I was well aware that there were movies from last year that are 10 times better than it. The movie is still gorgeous no doubt, otherwise It would not be this high on the list. But at the time that I had made it, the film did not have much competition. Wicked: For Good on the other hand does. I apologize if I sound like a petty hypocrite whenever I speak on Wicked. I do not mean to, and I’m still learning how to separate the art from the artists. Even a year later, I do still think highly of Wicked as a film and musical and we will discuss Wicked: For Good in future posts. But to my surprise (and slight disturbance), as a Broadway fan I did not expect a body horror film of all things to top this movie. But here we are.

Before anything else, here are the films that unfortunately lost their spot from the previous rendition of this list…………………………………

 The Bikeriders                  Gladiator 2

-Sorry Austin                                                                                    -Not surprised

 Twisters                           Alien: Romulus

-Little less Glen Powell                                                                       -Still gross 

#1: The Substance

So yeah, I finally watched The Substance. Slightly annoying, but very good. The concept of creating a younger, more appealing version of yourself is an interesting one. Moore actually had me concerned for her mental watching this. In other words, she did a good job. I wasn’t super blown away by her performance, but I see why she got a nomination. Her and Qualley are only in 1 scene together, yet somehow their dynamic throughout the entire movie is incredibly well done. I don’t know how those 2 pulled that off, but salute to them. The visuals were gross as HELL, I thought Alien: Romulus was bad but this was even worse. I could live without the constant nudity in this film, but even with that at least there was some context behind it. I’ve watched this movie about 6 times, and will probably watch it some more next year. I cannot believe I actually liked this, but The Substance was awesome.

Like always, the link to the Google slides is down below and 2025's list is coming soon. Thanks For Reading.

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