The 2024 Half Oscars™: Lots of Good Stuff

By Larry Lee

The Fourth of July has come and gone, meaning it is time for my annual Half Oscars™ awards.  While I know so many of you, dear readers, refrain from seeing movies in theaters and instead prefer to stream movies at home (no judgment here), I assure you that all of the movies herein considered and appearing on the list below, I saw in the theaters.  Perhaps one day I will by necessity include streaming-only movies; seeing them at home is, after all, better than not seeing them at all.   But for now, I am including only those movies I actually saw in theaters, old school fashion.  Were the rule otherwise, it would be but a short step to including TV series.  Nothing wrong with that, but this list is about movies, not TV shows.  [In fact, all of the films in my top 10 are now available for at-home viewing and, for your convenience, I note at least one streaming platform (although there may be others as well) after the title of each picture on the list.]

Rather randomly, I have declined to include movies originally released last year (2023) that were submitted in the International Film category for consideration in this year’s Oscars, although only released into U.S. theaters or for streaming in 2024.  These include the very worthy Io Capatani (from Italy), The Taste of Things (from France, starring Juliette Binoche), Shayda (from Australia).  I strongly recommend all three movies.  All can be rented on Amazon Prime. [Note: highlighted titles provide a link to film reviews previously posted on NotesOnFilms.]

The first six months of 2024 produced many interesting and engaging movies, suggesting the movie industry is thriving.  Despite all the gloom and doom in the mainstream press about the movie business, and even aside from Pixar’s Inside Out 2 ($1.5 billion as of this writing), to find a movie that entertains, uplifts, or opens a door to our understanding of ourselves or the world is not at all hard.  Although they didn’t make my top ten, movies such as Challengers (about professional tennis, starring Zendaya), Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (the latest installment in the long-running series), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (ditto, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Helmsworth) and The Dead Don’t Hurt (a western starring Viggo Mortensen and Vicky Krieps) were all quite entertaining in an old-fashioned sort of way.  Similarly, I enjoyed being transported to another time in Young Woman and the Sea (New York, around 1920), Firebrand (Tudor England), The Bikeriders (Chicago, 1960), and The Boys in the Boat (1936 Berlin Olympics).  And I enjoyed having my brain challenged by such odd and offbeat movies like Problemista, I Saw the TV Glow, Tuesday (with Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and—yes—even the very odd Sasquatch Sunset.  You will definitely see some things you have never seen on film if you watch these movies.  

But on to the Top Ten:

10.  Driving Madeleine  (Amazon Prime rental)  (released in Belgium in 2022, but released in the USA in 2024)  This one flew under the radar but was a thoroughly enjoyable look back on a life well-lived.  The film introduces us to Madeleine, played by famous French actress Line Renaud, on the cusp of an important transition point in her life:  she must move from the home she has occupied for decades and move to an assisted living facility.  As her taxi driver, played by Danny Boon, drives her across Paris, the memories come flooding back and the flashbacks tell the story of her complicated life.  A special kind of relationship grows between cabbie and rider, as each gains an appreciation of the other.  Emotionally satisfying, and the most unexpected use of a blowtorch ever seen in a movie. 

9.  Bob Marley:  One Love  (Paramount+, Amazon Prime rental)  Music biopics are notoriously difficult to get right, no doubt because, for those artists who were famous sometime in the last 75 years or so, many of us have our own memories of them, remember what they looked like and how they sounded.  (I’ve always thought this was the secret sauce of 1984’s Amadeus; after all, we don’t know what Mozart was really like.)  The upcoming movie about Bob Dylan, A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet in the lead role, looks promising from its trailer but will surely test the patience of Baby Boomers (and Chalamet haters).  Similarly, the recent Amy Winehouse biopic (Back to Black) was just so-so.  In some ways, it is better if the lead doesn’t look too much like the real person, like when Paul Dano and Edward Norton both played Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys in 2014’s Love and Mercy.  Admittedly Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles (Ray, 2004), Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash (Walk the Line, 2005) and Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison (The Doors, 1991) were fabulous.  So too Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley is terrific in Bob Marley: One Love, communicating the talent, commitment, and charisma of the reggae superstar.  The film elides some of the more unsavory aspects of Marley’s life, such as his serial philandering, but admirably communicates his personal charm and the excitement of his live performances.  The film also fairly portrays the time with fashion, hairstyles, and Jamaican patois all ringing true.  A nice look back.

8.  Golden Years (currently streaming on Amazon Prime)  This Swiss movie, made in 2022 but released in the U.S. in 2024, is another worthy film that has flown far, far under the radar.  Although likely designed for oldsters, this is no 80 For Brady-type farce (though it is quite funny), and there is potential interest here for all ages.  The movie asks whether we are willing to set aside Western society’s expectation and preference for traditional intimate relationships in order to live a happy life?  Funny, unpredictable, and full of detours, this entertaining movie begins as a comedy based on the foibles of old people, but then takes some twists and turns leading the viewer to ask some deeper questions.  Such as:  When you feel closer to the end of the race rather than the beginning, what fundamental changes to your life are you willing to make in order that your final years will be happy and fulfilling.  Gentle and funny.  In German. 

7.  Hit Man (Netflix)  This movie was the beneficiary of a good degree of pre-release publicity, based on its lead, the new next-big-thing Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, the just-released Twisters) and the movie’s director, Richard Linklater (Boyhood, the Before Sunrise trilogy, School of Rock).  As it turns out, the publicity was not empty hype: the movie is a blast:  quirky, funny, fresh, snappy, with appealing leads (Powell and newcomer Adria Arjona).  Powell plays Gary Johnson, a college philosophy professor recruited by police to play a hitman in order to gather evidence in murder-for-hire cases.  It is a funny enough premise, as we see the variety of lowlife losers he encounters who are willing to pony up to have their partners whacked.  But pay attention when he gets back to his real job, as his philosophical lectures about the true nature of self and whether actions or intentions define a person dovetail perfectly into the plot of the movie.  Powell makes a slow but steady conversion from nerd to hottie, and Arjona’s Madison Figueroa is a twist on the traditional femme fatale.  Is she guilty of killing her husband, or just a babe in the woods?  The movie keeps us just a little off balance, to the point where I doubt you will be able to predict how Linklater resolves the intricate puzzle of a movie plot.  

6.  Dune: Part Two (Max, Amazon Prime rental)  It may be hard to recall the details of this epic movie, both because it was released so much earlier this year (March 1, 2024), but also because it was so full of detail.  But this sequel to (really just the second part of ) 2021’s Dune, Part One completes the epic Dune saga, at least for now.  (The author, Frank Herbert, wrote five sequels to his original novel, and his son wrote two final novels based on his father’s notes, as well as some prequel novels.)  Timothée Chalamet plays the surviving scion of the historic House of Atreides, and continues his long journey from double-crossed heir-apparent to revenge-inspired resistance fighter to corrupted and false religious messiah.  Chalamet is terrific as he navigates the various (and seemingly never-ending) perils that stand in his way.  If science fiction is not your bag, then perhaps give this a miss, but as the movie is based on the most famous and decorated novel of this major literary genre, consider giving it a chance.  Against the odds, director Denis Villeneuve has brought this epic story to the screen, and does it with intelligence, nuance, and verve.  Quite an accomplishment.  Moreover, the various themes in the story—fighting over scarce resources, elites who are not to be trusted, a lucrative extractive industry, manipulating the masses by appealing to their religious beliefs and sense of grievance—are not so far from the problems we have today.  Indeed, one might argue they are spot on.  And this is the only movie this year with giant sand worms.

5.  Wicked Little Letters (Amazon Prime rental)  If you are not yet a Jessie Buckley fan (Wild Rose, Judy, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, The Lost Daughter, Men, Women Talking), well, now is the time to join the bandwagon.  Here she reunites with her The Lost Daughter co-star, Oscar winner Olivia Coleman (2018’s The Favourite), to produce the type of polished gem of a historical movie that the British seem to churn out with regularity.  Prim, religious, and mousy Edith Swan (Coleman) has been receiving anonymous letters full of, well, filthy and wicked language.  (What was considered filthy in those olden days is rather funny to our ears today.)  Evidence seems to point to her noisy, uninhibited neighbor, Rose Gooding (Buckley), who clearly is no stranger to such vulgar language, judging by her interactions around town.  She also seems to have a beef with Swan.  But is that enough evidence to send Rose to prison?  Where is the due process?  Although you might be able to suss out the mystery, getting there is more than half the fun.  And watching Buckley and Coleman inhabit their characters is quite satisfying.  

4.  The Old Oak (Amazon Prime rental)  Nothing artificial here, just a timely story told in a realistic manner, by veteran director Ken Loach (I, Daniel Blake; Sorry We Missed You), who announced this would be his final film.  (He’s 88 years old.)  As in his other films, Loach is acutely sensitive to the problems of the abused and abandoned working class in England.  Here, as in many other films, a coal mine (or colliery) was vitally important to a local village and when it closed down, the entire area became financially and even culturally impoverished.  The town is just getting by, people are moving away if they can, and the one solace for the locals is The Old Oak, the neighborhood pub.  Hard feelings are produced, however, when the British government decides to move some Syrian refugees into town.  Sure, there’s racism, xenophobia, and widespread class issues, but Loach handles it all with sensitivity and a huge dose of realism.  As Rodney King said, seemingly so long ago (it was 1992), “can’t we all get along?”    

3.  One Life  (Amazon Prime rental)  This one starts small and then hits like a sledgehammer.  Based on a true story, the movie tells the story of a seemingly ordinary yet utterly remarkable man, whose achievements during WWII, while he was still a young man and just starting out in his career as a stockbroker, were lost to the mists of time for many years.  Until, suddenly, they weren’t.  And then, like a tsunami, the truth comes rushing in and the emotions overflow.  By the end, your eyes will fill, your upper lip may quiver, and you may be left wondering what you have accomplished in your own life.  No spoilers here, but this one is well worth your time.  

2. Origin  (stream on Hulu, Amazon Prime rental)  Director Ava DuVernay was justly celebrated for her 2014 breakout movie Selma, a moving depiction of Dr. King’s efforts in 1965 to organize the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.  Her career arc has meandered a bit since then, with the admirable but somewhat unfocused 13th in 2016, and the disappointing A Wrinkle in Time (2018) for Disney.  But she comes all the way back (for me, at least) with Origin, a thoughtful, creative adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s best-selling 2020 book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.  Although it sometimes feels like a documentary (and that’s part of the point here), DuVernay expertly weaves together the ideas from the book with Wilkerson’s own life, producing a hybrid piece of filmmaking that feels part narrative, part documentary.  Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who appeared in the recent musical version of The Color Purple and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2021’s King Richard (playing Venus and Serena Williams’ mother), is wonderful as author Wilkerson.  The movie was released in January, suggesting the studio (Neon) had little faith in it.  The January release also made it easy for viewers to overlook it.  Whether you agree with Wilkerson’s premise or not (e.g., that racism in American is better understood in the context of caste—social stratification—that occurs all over the world and throughout human history), the movie will likely lead you to examine your own views on the subject, as well as admire Wilkerson’s (and DuVernay’s) willingness to set aside their own preconceptions and search for a greater truth in the world.  

1.  Civil War (Amazon Prime rental)  How should we react if a president doesn’t leave office, suppresses civil dissent, co-opts the Department of Justice, the judiciary, and the U.S. Military?  How would you react?  In this amazing (and, hopefully, not prescient) movie, director Alex Garland (Men, Annihilation, Ex Machina) gives us an idea of what our world would look like in those circumstances.  Many of the critical background facts of the story are revealed only obliquely or even not at all, so we don’t really know why California and Texas seceded from the United States and joined together to form an army called The Western Forces to fight the rest of the country.  But it is enough to learn that it happened.  The story instead focuses on Lee (Kirsten Dunst), a war photographer, and Joel (Wagner Moura), a journalist, as they attempt to make their way from New York City to Washington D.C. to interview and photograph the President (Nick Offerman), who we learn is in his third term.  But the Interstate 95 corridor has been decimated by war, requiring them to detour into Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where they get an up close and personal look at how the civil war has affected people in the country.  But as we all found out in other times of disaster and unrest, the beast that lives inside many of us can easily escape if we are not diligent in maintaining respect for all people and do the hard work to ensure peace and prosperity in our country.  Witness Hurricane Katrina.  The Watts Riots.  Kent State.  Central High School in Little Rock.  And more recently, Charlottesville.  And January 6th at the Capitol.  This movie is sometimes hard to watch, contains violence of a very real sort (i.e., not cartoon or superhero violence), but is important and fascinating.  And it is destined to become a classic.  Recommended.

Also worth a look:

Aside from these top ten movies, and assuming you are not in the mood for talking apes or George Miller’s post-apocalyptic maniacal craziness, these three small movies are worthy of your time.  They were mostly released in June 2024, were just recently in theaters, and some are expensive to stream as of this writing, but look for the rental price to drop in a few weeks,   

Ghostlight  (Amazon rental).  Tired of Shakespeare?  I know, I know!  I mean, how many more times in our life will we have to deal with the output of The Bard of Avon?  Well, maybe just one more time, for this touching movie shows how acting (and Shakespeare) can have an amazingly therapeutic, even life-changing effect on even the most well-defended psyche.  And sometimes, we just need some help getting past the trauma we have experienced in our life.  So maybe, just maybe, Romeo and Juliet can help with that.   

Touch  (AppleTV)  I don’t know what the title means here, but how many Icelandic-Japanese love stories have you seen?  The movie asks this question:  If you truly and deeply loved someone 50 years ago, and then they suddenly disappeared from your life with no explanation, is it too late to try and find her?  Can you ever get closure? 

Daddio  (Amazon, AppleTV) This one, unlike the previous two, has recognizable stars.  Two, exactly, because Sean Penn (as the cab driver) and Dakota Johnson (as the rider) are the only two in the movie.  We have not seen Penn in awhile, so readers may be forgiven if they have forgotten that he is one of our country’s most decorated actors, having won Oscars for Milk (2008) and Mystic River(2003).  He was also nominated for I Am Sam (2001), Sweet and Lowdown (2000), and Dead Man Walking (1996).  He hasn’t been in anything commensurate with this impressive resumé since Milk, so perhaps he should find a new agent.  In Daddio, we have peak Sean Penn, with his impressive acting chops on full display.  Dakota Johnson, by contrast, has worked diligently to rise about her Fifty Shades career start, with creditable recent performances in smaller profile movies, such as Bad Times at the El Royale (2018), The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019), and The Lost Daughter (2012), all of which I recommend.  She surprises in Daddio, persuasively conveying the brittle bravado of a person who has carved out a life for herself after suffering a difficult upbringing.  But she still has some life lessons to learn.  Is a random cab driver a good teacher?