Stubs - Mystery House

 

Mystery House (1938) Starring Dick Purcell, Ann Sheridan, Anne Nagel, William Hopper Directed by Noel Smith. Screenplay by Sherman L. Lowe, Robertson White Based on the novel Mystery of Hunting's End by Mignon G. Eberhart (New York, 1930). Produced by Jack L. Warner (Executive Producer), Hal B. Wallis (Executive Producer) Run time: 56 minutes USA Black and White Mystery

In 1935, Warner Bros. began marketing a series of films as Cine Club, aimed at increasing audiences attending WB mystery movies. The series was tied to Black Mask, a pulp magazine, and consisted of 12 films, the first The White Cockatoo (1935) and the last Mystery House. Filmed in only a couple of weeks in November 1937, the film wouldn’t be released until May 21, 1938.

Stubs - A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown (2024) starring Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, Scoot McNairy Directed by James Mangold. Screenplay by James Mangold, Jay Cocks Based on Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald. Produced by Fred Berger, James Mangold, Alex Heineman, Bob Bookman, Peter Jaysen, Alan Gasmer, Jeff Rosen, Timothée Chalamet Run time: 141 minutes. Color. USA. Biographical, Musical, Drama

Hollywood has been on a roll making film biographies of musicians of late. The current subject is Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. This is the second Dylan fictional biography; he was also the subject of I’m Not There (2007), an experimental biopic, which included Cate Blanchett representing one aspect of Dylan’s life.

2024 - The Highlights (EHeroFlareNeos)

Circumstances haven’t really changed much from last year, as we’ve only gone back into a theater when we think it might be worth the price of admission. If not, we may wait until it's on a streaming platform or home video if that isn’t the only way to watch it. While this policy has led to us wasting less money on terrible films, we have slipped up on occasion, as is the case with one of the Disappointments. As usual, only films and games that we’ve seen or played have a chance to end up on this list. If it’s a foreign film or a special version of it, we only take the US release date into consideration.

Top Movies of 2024

Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color

If any Godzilla film deserved awards recognition, it would be Godzilla Minus One. Its emotional human storyline makes spectacular use of Godzilla as a metaphor, both for the devastation of nuclear weapons and the protagonist’s internal journey. Despite its low budget, it also had visual effects that rivaled Hollywood blockbusters, an impressive feat in its own right. We hadn’t seen the original color version, but we did see the Minus Color version, which adds a nice documentary flair through stunning black and white. Although there are a couple nitpicks, I’ll never forget Minus One/Minus Color for how it made me feel terrified of Godzilla in a way no other film in the series came close to matching.

Deadpool & Wolverine

I won’t pretend that superhero films are peak cinema (unless they’re Logan or Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2), but I can’t deny that Deadpool & Wolverine provided some of the most fun I had in the theater this year. Although it falls into the trap of including numerous film and meta references that only hardcore Fox Marvel fans would recognize, the film worked well as a love letter to a now bygone era and laugh-out-loud commentary on the Disney/Fox merger. Plus, it had some inventive fight choreography, including the memorable opening scene set to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye”. If you love Deadpool, there’s really no reason not to watch this one.

Robot Dreams

This year saw the release of three incredible adaptations of robot stories, starting with the US release of Robot Dreams. Like Sara Varon’s original graphic novel, the film features no dialogue (unless you count song lyrics) and instead tells its story entirely through gorgeous visuals. The final film not only understands its source material, but takes advantage of the new medium to expand upon it and draw out more of its emotional core. It’s unfortunate that not may people saw it, so I highly recommend checking out this gem however you can.

Transformers One

Transformers films don’t necessarily have the best reputation, especially the divisive live-action Michael Bay films, but rather than a weak script, Transformers One was more a victim of bad marketing. A shame, really, considering how well it depicted the backstory of the Autobot/Decepticon war and the tragic falling out between Optimus Prime and Megatron. Not only did the film feature strong writing, enough that an expected event still elicits a gasp, but it also had some of the best animation in the franchise and had a surprisingly fitting voice cast who could disappear into their roles. If the marketing didn’t convince you to watch Transformers One, I would encourage you to reconsider and give it a fair chance.

The Wild Robot

Speaking of emotional robot stories, DreamWorks’ in-house animation went out with a bang with The Wild Robot. Not only does it faithfully adapt Peter Brown’s original novel, with some liberties for a new medium, naturally, but the watercolor visuals do an excellent job of highlighting the dynamic between nature and technology while the voice acting, especially Lupita Nyong’o’s performance as Roz, perfectly captures the emotion behind the themes of motherhood and survival. I don’t know if any future adaptations will live up to this one if they’re not done by the same team, but this is a can’t-miss feature, especially for fans of animation.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

It’s not often that a franchise continues improving with each installment, yet Sonic the Hedgehog 3 pulled it off. Not only does it present as faithful an adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2 as it can for a two-hour film, it builds off of the characters and themes of the previous films in a very satisfying way, both for diehard fans and casual filmgoers. Jim Carrey also shows off his talents as an actor portraying two characters who have a good amount of onscreen interaction. Even if Jim Carrey doesn’t return, I’m optimistic for the future of the film series and hope we can continue seeing the same drive and passion that brought it this far.

Top Games of 2024

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

After four years, the long-awaited follow-up to Final Fantasy VII Remake, Rebirth, finally released. Although I have my gripes with some aspects of the story and the sheer amount of padding, I can’t deny that it’s still a highlight of the year. The improved combat system allows for a good amount of experimentation and the amount of exploration possible within the open world blows the original game out of the water. Even the writing still respects the source material while also taking advantage of hindsight and even improving in certain areas, like Cait Sith’s likeability. The ending did make me morbidly curious how the final part will wrap everything up, especially with a rather famous moment losing its impact, but there’s no reason that Final Fantasy fans should necessarily skip this one.

Silent Hill 2 (2024)

After the divisive (free) game Silent Hill: The Short Message, Konami’s Silent Hill revival began in earnest with a remake of Silent Hill 2. Against all odds, Bloober Team’s take on perhaps the most celebrated entry lived up to the original game’s legacy and even improved upon it in several places. Although it’s not perfect, its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses and make for a game more than worthy of standing alongside the classic Team Silent entries of old. I now feel more confident about the revival going forward and wonder if perhaps the other Team Silent games can receive a similar treatment to this game.

Awaria

Four years ago, Łukasz “vanripper” Piskorz showcased some game development talents with Helltaker and has taken it up a notch with Awaria, in which you can kiss ghost girls instead of adding demon girls to a harem. While Awaria's world isn't as well-defined as Helltaker, vanripper still has a knack for creating unique and endearing characters with a nice visual style. His foray into time and resource management gets a bit difficult towards the end, but nonetheless fixes the issue where his first game didn't have much replay value apart from getting faster at solving block puzzles. Here's hoping that I won't have to wait as long for his next game.

Top Disappointments of 2024

Kung Fu Panda 4

When a franchise that already ended on a high note tries squeezing blood from a stone, you get Kung Fu Panda 4. While not completely without merit, just about everything falls short of its predecessors thanks to a much weaker script and villain, a strong emphasis on comedy over heart and just a bit too much Akwafina. Learning about the behind-the-scenes drama didn’t help much at all apart from realizing that it could still have been so much worse. Although it pains me to say this, perhaps it’s time this franchise goes to the spirit realm.

IF

While perhaps coming from a well-intentioned place, IF can’t quite decide what it wants. Apart from certain twists that you can see coming from a mile away, the film gets a bit too wrapped up in establishing the world of imaginary friends that it doesn’t bother explaining the real-world portion in enough detail, like what exactly the father is getting surgery for, that would help the audience connect with the human characters. Quality animation also can’t save the mixed bag of voice acting, which would have benefited more from using professional voice actors (but then they couldn’t get more big names on the poster, could they?). If you want a better execution of the “orphanage for imaginary friends” premise, consider watching Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends instead.

2024 - The Highlights (Tetris_King)

Although my movie viewing habits have shifted over the last few years, there were more this year that I ended up seeing in a theater. Many of these turned out to be well worth it, including a surprising number of well-made robot movies. That said, my gaming habits were affected by both interest and cost, resulting in a low number of major titles that I ended up playing. This is when I began looking into what was available on Steam, where I found a good amount of high-quality free titles on the platform based on personal interest, as well as some new indie developers to keep an eye on going forward.

Each list is presented in no particular order, with links to reviews where applicable.

Top Movies

Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color

I will admit I haven’t seen that many Godzilla films over the years, one of which was the original Gojira, but the reception to Godzilla Minus One caught my interest, enough to catch a screening of the Minus Color version released towards the end of its US run. Despite my inexperience with the kaiju icon, Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color had me genuinely invested from the onset, thanks to a gripping human story that uses Godzilla in a masterful form of symbolism for the protagonist. Godzilla’s appearances are few, but effective enough that I was actually terrified whenever the monster appeared. Although there were some storytelling quibbles, they ultimately were not enough to stop this film from making it on this list.

Robot Dreams

 

The premise and visual style of Robot Dreams not only got me interested enough to read the book beforehand, it also got me waiting eagerly for a US release, which wouldn’t come until a limited screening this year (hence its inclusion here). This film adaptation, for which an entire animation studio was formed for that specific purpose, takes the source material and elevates it in a number of creative ways, culminating in a very emotional climax, all told entirely visually. However you are able to see it, I would highly recommend it.

Transformers One

 

Although I have included many past Transformers films in this list before, I don’t agree with many of those decisions in hindsight. Transformers One, on the other hand, absolutely deserves a spot on this year’s list, thanks to fantastic and emotional storytelling with a fresh take on an old story, namely how Optimus Prime and Megatron went from friends to bitter enemies, as well as some excellent voice casting and animation. Although the film unfortunately didn’t fare well at the box office, for which poor marketing is likely to blame, I would hope that lessons can be taken from this film for any future Transformers media.

The Wild Robot

 

2024 turned out to be a great year for robot-themed animated films adapted from an existing property, and The Wild Robot is no exception. Similarly to Robot Dreams, the trailers for The Wild Robot compelled me to read the book out of curiosity and I was blown away by what director Chris Sanders was able to do with it. The unique visual style and emotional story made for a truly unforgettable experience and one of DreamWorks Animations’ best films in recent years. With the shift to outsourcing their animation to Sony, I’m grateful this was the studio’s final in-house feature.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

 

Maintaining consistent quality for three films is no easy task, yet somehow Sonic the Hedgehog 3 manages to pull it off in what is easily the best film in the franchise so far. In adapting Sonic Adventure 2 to the big screen, it puts much of the focus on Shadow the Hedgehog while offering a surprisingly emotional story mixed in with some clever shout-outs to the games. The mid- and post-credits scenes alone have me hyped for the next one, especially since this entry seems to prove that the series is in caring and capable hands.

Top Games

Little Kitty, Big City

 

I had not heard about this game until a trailer for it popped up in my YouTube Recommended, but it quickly drew my attention for its visual style and gameplay, enough for me to try out the demo and later buy it on release. While the story and gameplay are simple, the surprisingly clever use of the latter keeps it engaging, in addition to a colorful cast of characters. The game even includes a very subtle environmentalist message by rewarding you for recycling. It also proves to be a nice cat simulator on the side, which makes it perfect for fans of Stray in spite of having the opposite tone of that game.

Sheepy: A Short Adventure

 

The Free section on Steam has proven to have some great hidden gems in there, and this one is quite the diamond in the rough. Though short, Sheepy excels in visual storytelling and atmosphere, with minimal dialogue to help carry the plot, with a surprising amount of variety in its platforming mechanics that keep things fresh while somehow managing to not make any of its mechanics feel wasted. This being developer MrSuicideSheep’s debut game makes its quality especially impressive and leaves me wanting to see more from its world.

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed

 

As a fan of the original Epic Mickey on the Wii, the announcement of a remake for modern platforms immediately interested me, in part because it was my formal introduction to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who quickly became my favorite Disney character. Thankfully, this remake proved to be faithful to the original while adding in some much-needed updates to its gameplay and content, reminding me why I fell in love with both the game and Oswald in the first place. This not only gives me hope Epic Mickey 2 gets a similar treatment, I also hope this opens the door for more Oswald representation in the future outside of cameos.

Top Disappointments

Kung Fu Panda 4

 

While the original Kung Fu Panda trilogy represent some of the better part of DreamWorks Animations’ output, Kung Fu Panda 4 proves to be a major letdown in comparison. While the animation isn’t bad, the writing certainly is, with weak characters and motivations among other issues, which barely justify the film’s existence in the first place outside of what feels like a cash grab (behind-the-scenes issues explain these issues, but don’t excuse them). Thankfully, The Wild Robot proves the studio still has what it takes to make something exceptional, which is much more than I can say for this highly skippable installment.

IF

 

When I first saw trailers for IF, my brain immediately drew unfavorable comparisons with the Cartoon Network series Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, which I had grown up with as a child. Curiosity got the better of me when this film made its way to streaming through Paramount+, and while it does admittedly execute ideas from Foster’s a little differently with its interpretation of imaginary friends, I still found it to be an ultimately inferior story. IF does actually have some heart in it, albeit at the very end, but until then it sort of meanders its way there and doesn’t really feel earned.

2024 - The Highlights (lionsroar)

2024 - Highlights

Films watched, but not necessarily released, in 2024. In no particular order:

Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color

This version, Minus Color, was released in 2024. This is one of, if not the best, Godzilla/monster film ever made. Not only is Godzilla a real threat but this film has heart to it, something so often lacking in these kinds of films. The black and white only seems to add to the feeling of watching a classic.

The Holdovers

A holdover from 2023. The story of three people who are forced to spend the Christmas break together. Some very strong acting from Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Dominic Sessa.

American Fiction

Another 2023 leftover. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was a treat with a compelling story and strong performances for a cast that included Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, and Leslie Uggams.

Robot Dreams

The first of several animated films with robots on this list. I would call this a little film but it was highly effective. We’ve all been in relationships that for whatever reason didn’t work out they way we wanted but we all have to move on.

Transformers One

Not sure what happened here. The film was much better than the advertising and marketing, what little there was, would have led audiences to believe. A lot of celebrity voices but it still works, and was fun.

The Wild Robot

The best of the three animated films with robots, and perhaps the best animated film of the year. Shows there is still hope for DreamWorks. Lupita Nyong'o leads a voice cast which includes Pedro Pascal, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O’Hara.

Inside Out 2

Pixar has been known to make sequels with diminishing returns, so I was a little apprehensive about seeing Inside Out 2. I’m happy to report that the film exceeded my expectations and is a good companion to the original.

Deadpool & Wolverine

The third in the franchise and the infusion of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine was exactly what it needed. The film also pays homage to the Marvel films from 20^th Century Fox before Disney swallowed it whole.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

While not perhaps as good as The Wrong Trousers, the sequel shows that there is still life in this series. Ben Whitehead is a good replacement for the late Peter Sallis as Wallace.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3

You don’t need to be a gamer to appreciate the series of Sonic films. This one has everyone back, including Jim Carrey, who plays two roles, but also introduces Shadow, voiced by Keanu Reeves. The fourth in the series has already been announced and judging by the reaction of the audience I saw it with, it will no doubt be a hit as well.

The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland

As much of a misstep that Red One was (see below), this animated film manages to successfully blend Christmas with the Wonderland from Alice fame and become something that can be watched year after year.

2024 - Disappointments

Again, films seen in 2024, in no particular order:

The Boy and the Heron

This was far from the best animated film released in 2023 but still won the Academy Award on the reputation of its creator, Hayao Miyazaki. I’m not sure if the Academy doesn't take the category seriously or they wanted to honor Miyazaki for his past works. This is a little like John Wayne winning for True Grit; not his best work.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

I had to admit I wasn’t really looking to seeing this film and so I shouldn’t be surprised it wasn’t near as good as the original. Sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone. Here’s hoping there’s not a Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in anyone’s future.

Red One

Not sure who this film was aimed at but whoever it was, it seems to have missed the mark.

Kung Fu Panda 4

One sequel too far in the franchise from DreamWorks. It seems to indicate they didn’t know what they had created and when to stop.

Beatles ‘64

It hurts me to put this on the list but this could have been so much better. Basically, it’s the Mayles Brothers documentary The Beatles - The First U.S. Visit (1964) with added stuff that doesn’t always seem to fit. Love Smokey Robinson, but why his 1968 appearance on Ed Sullivan singing “Yesterday” in this documentary? And the “grownup” analysis doesn’t really add much either; the reaction at the time was visceral not cerebral. More Beatles performing would have made this better.