As the year draws to a close, I wanted to do something to encapsulate my 2024, but I didn’t want to get too into stories that involved other people without their permission, or go back into my weird cross-country move at the end of 2023. But then I remembered that I ended up at the movies a few times this year, so I thought, hey, let’s take a look at what I saw!
The Iron Claw (seen January 8th): Fritz Von Erich, master of the Iron Claw finishing maneuver, raised all of his sons to be wrestlers in his promotion, World Class Championship Wrestling, from the Dallas, Texas area. Throughout the 1980s, the brothers ruled the ring. But tragedy struck each of the brothers, one by one. This movie is a depressing look at the real-life tolls that the world of professional wrestling can take on people and families. In truth, the real-life story is actually MORE depressing than the film, as the filmmakers intentionally LEFT OUT some of the details and one of the brothers, so that the movie could be palatable for general audiences. The movie is great, but you won’t feel happy coming out of it.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (seen January 28th): Honestly, I don’t remember a lot about this movie. I remember having a good time, but thinking maybe the entire film was rather pointless as James Gunn had already announced his plans for the future of DC Comics-based movies by the time I saw this, and I knew their wouldn’t be another one. Unmemorable, but it was a fun afternoon!
Lisa Frankenstein (seen February 10th): I couldn’t NOT see a movie with that title, and while I’m glad I saw it, I remember thinking that I just wanted MORE from it, y’know? It was funny, but not quite funny enough. It was sexy, but not quite sexy enough. It was gross, but not quite gross enough. Speaking on the movie to a friend later in the year, he suggested that it was made to feel like an 80s comedy, and he felt that it nailed that feeling and aesthetic. I’d have to watch it again, but I think he might be on to something. It wasn’t a BAD movie by any means, and I hope Zelda Williams gets to make more movies in this vein.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (seen March 22nd): I grew up on The Real Ghostbuster animated series, and I always imagined there just being a ton of live-action GB movies similar in tone to the cartoon. Unfortunately, the original cast never really made that happen. But the excellent Ghostbusters: Afterlife breathed — pardon the pun — new life into this franchise, and really opened the doors for more. This movie was like an extended episode of the cartoon, and exactly what I wanted.
‘Til All Are One: The Transformers 40th Anniversary Event (seen May 15th): So, anyone who’s been visiting my sites for any amount of time knows that I grew up watching and still love the original Transformers cartoon. This was an opportunity to see the first four episodes on the big screen for the first time. As a bonus, as many original cast members as possible returned (some have since passed away), and some other voice actors from the 40 years of Transformers cartoons stepped up and re-dubbed the entire first episode. It was a show I’d seen countless times before, but given a new metaphorical coat of paint. A lot of fun, but really only for the nerdiest of fans.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (seen May 25th): Look, this movie was awesome. Serving as a prequel to 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, and the Furiosa character introduced there, this movie hits on everything you would want out of that character. But was nine years too long of a wait between Fury Road and Furiosa? Maybe. Either way, Anya Taylor-Joy is building quite a nice career for herself, and even though I’m a bit over Chris Hemsworth, he was also great in this. Additionally: I generally kind of irrationally hate shows and movies with too much sand? Didn’t bother me in this. Or Fury Road for that matter. So they did something right.
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (seen June 23rd): This was originally released in 2004, so the screening I went to was a 20th anniversary event with limited shows. Still, Ghost in the Shell is one of my favorite anime/manga properties, and this movie is no exception. Absolutely beautiful animation, and a story that will mess with your head are the two reasons to see this masterpiece. Also, Batou’s dog is rather delightful.
Deadpool & Wolverine (seen July 25th and September 02): Highest-grossing R-Rated movie of all time. Even my mom saw this one. You probably saw this, and even if you didn’t, it’s Deadpool and Wolverine. You should know what to expect. The montage at the end of all the 20th Century Fox Marvel-based films set to Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of your Life)” was a nice touch. It almost made me nostalgic for those awful Fantastic Four films. Instead, I just saw this movie again.
Alien: Romulus (Seen August 18th): I’m not a horror movie guy by any stretch of the imagination, but I can get down with sci-fi horror, a lot of the time. This movie was like a strange remake of the original 1979 Alien, but also not at all that? It celebrates a lot of the fun bits of the franchise’s history, while also adding its own twists. I feel that I should give a trigger warning for pregnancy body horror before recommending anyone see this movie, though. Like, significantly more so than the Alien movies usually have.
Transformers One (seen August 21st & September 22): I told you I liked Transformers. I was VERY on the fence about this movie after the very kid-focused trailers, but I knew I was probably gonna end up seeing it anyways. Then I managed to get into a sneak preview screening for free, and liked it so much that I ended up seeing it again and happily paying for it the second time. It wasn’t perfect, and I’m not sure that Hemsworth was the right voice for Optimus Prime, but overall, I really enjoyed myself both times. I’m a little sad Hasbro have said they won’t be producing any more films, because this is a solid re-introduction to the franchise for its 40th anniversary, and I was kinda looking forward to a potential Transformers Two.
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (seen December 14th): Another limited re-release, this “movie” was created by Japanese manga & anime legend Leiji Matsumoto and the French dance band, Daft Punk in 2003. It’s essentially a music video to Daft Punk’s entire 2001 album, Discovery. Unfortunately, the version screened in theaters had some A.I. upscaling that maybe wasn’t entirely necessary, except there seemed to be some issues in tracking down the original masters for a proper 4K transfer. That was a shame, but I’m glad I got to see this feature on the big screen. As a bonus, they included several of Daft Punk’s other music videos as well, which were also fun to see in theaters.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Seen December 21st): How in the world do we live in a future where there are THREE Sonic movies, and they’re all pretty good? This particular one takes most of its cues from the 2001 video game, Sonic Adventure 2, and introduces us to Shadow the Hedgehog, voiced by… Keanu Reeves? Seriously? Everybody was excellent in their roles, although maybe having Jim Carrey act as two over-the-top mad scientists in the same scenes was a little too much. Still, if you liked the other two Sonic movies, you’ll probably like this one, too.
Nosferatu (seen December 25th): The original Nosferatu was a 1922 silent movie from Germany, that basically re-told Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel, but changed enough to get around copyright law, as the story had yet to enter public domain. This update released OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS LATER was really its own thing: Not quite Nosferatu, not quite Dracula, but definitely a 2024 interpretation of that basic story. Also, it was kinda gross, but in all the ways it should have been. Nothing like a vampire movie on Christmas Day, huh?
And there you have it! My 2024 in cinemas! I ended up seeing more sequels and remakes than I usually like to, but since this was basically a rebuilding year for my life, I think I just needed more “comfort food” in my entertainment than anything else.
Did you see anything that I saw this year? What are you planning on seeing in 2025? Sound off in the comments!