T.J.'s Top 10 Films of 2024

 

10. Alien: Romulus- a thrilling if unoriginal return to form for the Alien universe that proves that Xenomorphs can still be scary. 

 9. My Old Ass (Prime Video)- A pleasant coming-of-age tale with a charming hook, universal message, and bittersweet ending. 

8. Music By John Williams (Disney+)- John Williams finally gets the spotlight in a documentary that's more of a celebration than a revealing deep dive but is nonetheless highly satisfying. 

7. Nosferatu- Hauntingly beautiful and well-crafted, if a bit over-long and self-indulgent near the end (full review coming soon). 

6. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga- Although much slower paced than Mad Max: Fury Road (which happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time), this film is just as unhinged and almost as fun thanks to some rad performances from Anya-Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth and some cool action scenes. 

5. The Fall Guy- A love letter to the film industry that is fun from start to finish, everything in this movie works well, from the central mystery to the love story to the comedy. 

4. Deadpool & Wolverine- It mostly runs on fan service, but it's excellent fan service. Fulfills all of the promises of its premise and offers a great, irreverently fun time. There's no way they didn't have fun making this and it shows. 

3. Wicked- Colorful, full of life, and everything a film based on a musical needs to be. I loved it. 

2. Will & Harper (Netflix)- Beautiful and life-affirming, this feels like the most important film I watched this year. It is one that isn't afraid to get uncomfortable and tackle hard subjects, and it's funny and heartwarming to boot. 

1. Dune: Part Two- Big, big, big, and somehow even better than Part One, it is the perfect reminder that even though we live in a world of streaming the big screen will always have its place.  

Update (1/12/25): I watched a Norwegian film last night called Number 24 that was released on Netflix in the US on 1/1/25 but originally came out in Norway in 2024. It was really good (see upcoming review) and would be #4 if I cared enough to update this list, but I don't. Sorry, Alien: Romulus, but you're cut. 

Nutcrackers (12.20.24)

 

I’ve never been interested in participating in the never-ending “is Die Hard a Christmas movie” discourse. It’s annoying, and when it comes down to it, who really cares? But for the purpose of this introduction I will put in my two cents by saying that I believe there are Christmas movies and there are Christmas-adjacent movies. The latter may take place during Christmas, they may have Christmas songs and yuletide imagery, but the spirit of the holidays isn’t present so they aren’t true Christmas movies. This might be because the main character is shooting up terrorists in Nakatomi Plaza, or it might be a result of Christmas being mostly incidental to the plot and themes. Nutcrackers is Christmas-adjacent, and it’s also probably the most predictable film I have ever seen. 

Let’s see if you can guess what happens when Ben Stiller’s character, an uptight big-city businessman who is obsessed with business-y things like business meetings and spreadsheets, is asked to temporarily take care of his freshly orphaned and highly rambunctious (yet lovable!) nephews while an attractive and single social worker tries to find them a permanent foster home. Two weeks or so before Christmas, mind you, as the film occasionally sees fit to remind you. If you have seen a movie before, or read a book, or experienced any kind of narrative at all in your life you probably sussed out the ending of Nutcrackers as quickly as I did just now. And I’m sorry to tell you that the journey to that ending is just as banal as the destination itself, with overplayed moments such as a party at the rich guy’s house gone bad to the oldest kid needing love advice from an uncomfortable adult. 

That all being said, Nutcrackers does have a sweetness to it thanks to some genuinely good performances from Stiller and the Janson brothers, the four real-life siblings who play the four brothers in the film. You can sometimes tell that this the Jansons’ first foray into film, but their mischievous cuteness is enough to make their freshman attempt at acting memorable. Stiller, for his part, is muted, solid, and effective. Their performances and chemistry generally keep things from becoming boring, even when things are at their most routine. 

But Nutcrackers isn’t really a Christmas movie. Sure, the final act of the film revolves around a performance of The Nutcracker ballet (pretty much Christmas-adjacent itself), but this is the only significant tie to the holiday, and it is one that could have easily been swapped out for any other production at any other time of the year with little to no effect on the plot. This, to me, makes it Christmas-adjacent at best, no matter how many Christmas songs they throw into the scene transitions or festive trees they place in the background. 

Overall Nutcrackers makes for an underwhelming experience, especially if one is looking for cheer that is specific to the holiday season. There’s just not enough deviation from formula, not enough meat on its bones, and not enough magic. 

Nutcrackers is now available on Hulu.

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on December 20^th, 2024. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/

Wicked (12.06.24)

 

As a wise frog once said, it’s not easy being green. The Hulk knows it, Shrek knows it. The Grinch had a pretty rough go of things even before the classic animated film colored him in, but the transformation surely didn’t help matters. Elphaba of all people should empathize with Kermit’s plight, but she should find solace in one fact—that the film she stars in is bringing in a very different kind of green. Wicked is, by all measurements both financial and critical, a huge hit, and after seeing it this last weekend I completely understand its success—Wicked is overlong, to be sure, but it is also magical, beautiful, and well-crafted from every angle.

At two hours and forty minutes in length, Wicked is just five minutes short of the entirety of its Broadway parent, which would be reasonable if not for the fact that the film is, in fact, Wicked: Part One. I actually understand and agree with the decision to split the adaptation into two halves, because although Wicked: Part One is not a complete story, it does at least feel like a complete journey for our characters. One could never bother with Part Two and still feel like Part One wrapped things up perfectly, at least as a prequel of sorts to the original Wizard of Oz. What I don’t agree with was the need to stretch the entire first act into something that is in desperate need of a trimming.

But to Wicked’s credit, the artificial bloating of the runtime is rarely annoying, as proceedings are, for the most part, very well paced. And then there’s the fact that the film is just very, very good.

I am not a musical aficionado by any means, but Elphaba, Galinda, and everyone else were still able to cast an extremely effective spell on me. The music is catchy, fun, and well-performed all around. The visuals are stunning and colorful, fitting the world that Frank Baum created all those years ago, and there were some interesting and cool bits in both the cinematography and choreography that simply could not have been done on stage. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande do wonderful jobs as Elphaba and Galinda, the eventual friendship between the two characters bringing an authentic warmth to the story thanks to the genuine chemistry between the two actors.  Wicked feels big, it feels joyful, and it feels fun. It's hard to fake fun like this, leading me to believe that the people who made this film genuinely had a good time doing so, which is always infectious for audience members. I should mention, however, that the family I saw Wicked with are much bigger fans of musical theater than I am and did not seem to like it quite as much as I did, so take that as you will. But for a cranky musical theater novice like myself Wicked: Part One was a uniquely enjoyable time at the movies.

Wicked: Part One is now playing in theaters.

 

This review was first published in the Keizertimes on December 6^th, 2024. Visit at www.keizertimes.com/