Category Archives: 2024

2024 Year in Review: The Top 30 Best Movies of the Year

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And here it is. The Top 30 Best Films of 2024 according to EYG. Again, as I said with the Worst Movies list, this is my opinion and if I have left off a film you love or you hate one of my choices, that is okay. You have the right to your own opinion. Make your own list.

I do think that this year has had a lot of films that have been in the middle. A bunch of movies that I was excited about turned out to be fine, just not great. I did have thirty films on this list and I did have to cut a few to get to that number.

Once again, the star ratings are not the end all in this list. I use the star ratings to get a general idea, but film opinions can change over time and this is my list as of now. For an example of how things could change, two years ago Wakanda Forever was my #1 film of the year, but now I wish I had made Matilda the Musical my #1 instead. It ended at #2, but if I were to do that list again, Matilda would be on top.

Anyway… here is the Top 30

EYG’s Top 30 Best Movies of 2024

#30. Nightbitch. I saw this movie last night. I had no idea that it was available and I spotted it on Disney +. It was legit a surprise to see it there and it kicked out Skincare from this list. I thought I was finished with 2024 movies, and here it made the Top 30.

#29. Rebel Ridge. A Netflix film featured a thinking-man’s Rambo like character played by Aaron Pierre taking on the crooked sheriff played by Don Johnson. I liked this approach to an action film.

#28. Emilia Perez. The first musical on the list and a film featuring a ton of great performances from Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón. Another one available on Netflix.

#27. Kill. A violent, Indian Hindi-language film set on a train. It was brutal. It was vicious. It was exciting and filled with action. Worth every minute.

#26. Society of the Snow. Another version of the story of a rugby team that had crashed in the Andes and had to go to great lengths to survive the cold and brutal environment of the mountains. There is an avalanche that was astonishing.

#25. Civil War. Almost too realistic, this movie was difficult to watch at times. There was some real excitement involved here too as the cast does a solid job of showing the uncertainty of the world around them.

#24. Woman of the Hour. This is the true story of a serial killer who went on the Dating Game. Anna Kendrick excels as the woman who had to pick between the available bachelors unknowing that one of them is a real killer.

#23. We Live in Time. Emotional story told through amazing chemistry of Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. This is a tragedy and a love story all wrapped into one. Two powerful performances carry this through.

#22. A Quiet Place: Day One. The prequel to the successful franchise was one of those that succeeded when it should not have. Lupita Nyong’o took the place as the film’s protagonist and does a great job detailing the first arrival of the aliens.

#21. A Real Pain. Jesse Eisenberg wrote, directed and starred in this passion project seeing cousins Jesse and Kieron Culkin go on a Holocaust tour after their beloved grandmother died. A very emotional movie.

#20. Fly Me to the Moon. Channing Tatum and Scarlet Johansson star in a romantic comedy featuring the potential moon landing and how the government wanted to fake the landing to beat the Russians. I liked how this movie blended the reality and the conspiracy theory into a narrative that worked.

#19. Didi. Izaac Wang starred as Didi in this coming of age story. Zhang Li Hua, who played Didi’s grandmother stole every scene she was in. The film shows how social media can cause troubles for youth. This film is filled with angst and emotion and was a great showcase for the young actor.

#18. Strange Darling. One of the most original movies of the year. I actually loved how this movie told its narrative in an unorganized fashion, jumping around through chapters of the story. It allowed the filmmakers to create a different mind about what was going on. It shows you what you can do with story structure.

#17. Conclave. The process of choosing a new Pope is shrouded in secrecy, so why not make a mystery out of it? This has a bunch of sensational performances from Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and Carlos Diehz.

#16. Saturday Night. Live from New York… it’s Saturday Night! I had no idea how close it came to having those iconic words never uttered on TV. This movie is all about the first ever SNL show and the series of crises that nearly kept it off the air. Great performances.

#15. Anora. Just when you think you know how this film is going to go, the movie takes a swerve and you do not see it coming. Brilliant work from Mikey Madison as Anora and Mark Eydelshteyn as Vanya.

#14. The Fall Guy. One of the films this year that did not do well at the box office, but was extremely entertaining. Ryan Gosling was exceptional as the stunt man who gets injured and loses the girl and his confidence. Based on the early ’80s TV show, this was a lot of fun with sensational stunts (of course).

#13. The Last Stop in Yuma County. A small time film that surprised me with how fantastic it was. Brutal and violent, this movie saw some great interactions between actors and a truly shocking conclusion.

#12. Heretic. Another awesome film with an actor playing against type. I never would have seen Hugh Grant in this lead role, but he carries it off beautifully. Some of the best dialogue written in a horror/thriller this year.

#11. Dune: Part Two. I really thought this would wind up in the top ten, but it came just short. It had sensational special effects and some great performances in the continuation of the Dune story. One of two great performances of the year for Timothée Chalamet.

#10. Abigail. This was one that I thought would be higher on the list, which speaks well of the movies ahead of it. I loved this action/horror film and I just wish that they had been able to keep the secret that Abigail was a vampire secret. I understand why they thought they couldn’t but I can’t imagine what the moment would have been if I hadn’t known Alisha Weir was the antagonist. Oh well, still loved it.

#9. A Complete Unknown. The second Timothée Chalamet movie that featured a great performance. Chalamet played the icon Bob Dylan and he lost himself inside the singer/songwriter. Chalamet also did his own singing and guitar playing. This was a great movie.

#8. Late Night with the Devil. This film was on the top of this list early in the year and it stayed in the top ten. Another way to use the found footage subgenre for an original film. David Dastmalchian is great as a late night host that was having some surprising supernatural events.

#7. Alien: Romulus. I found this highly entertaining and filled with suspense and tension. The Alien franchise had not had a great movie in awhile. This is easily the best Alien movie since Aliens at least.

#6. The Wild Robot. Animation had a great year too as this original film was filled with emotion as the robot Roz finds and help raise a baby goose. The movie is beautiful and provides a sensational message.

#5. Transformers One. I never would have guessed that this movie would be number five on my Top 30 list, but it was so great. I did not think making Optimus and Megatron friends when they were younger was needed, yet it turned out to be just about perfect. This was full of action and goosebump moments. Excellent film.

#4. Inside Out 2. This is the third of the run of animated movies and I loved it. It may be a better overall story than the first one with a better use of characters. There is no villain in this movie. It is just emotions that may not take you in the right way. It was also the highest grossing film of 2024 at almost $1.7 billion.

#3. Wicked. This took a big risk and it paid off handsomely. Wicked Part One was engaging, hugely entertaining and filled with great music and amazing performances. The Some people doubted that they could adapt the Broadway musical into a successful movie, but those people had to eat their words.

#2. Nosferatu. Dark, brooding and violent. Nosferatu placed the character of Count Orlok into the basic story of Count Dracula and it created some of the best mood of the year. Robert Eggers gave us one of the best horror movies of the year.

#1. Deadpool and Wolverine. This was probably destined to be on the top of this list. Seeing Deadpool and Wolverine in an MCU movie together was awesome, as was the list of cameos that came along with them. This was a love letter to the FOX Marvel movies. One of the funniest movies of the year with amazing Deadpool action and emotional Logan moments. This reached every expectation I ever had.

So there it is. The Top 30 films of 2024. Happy New Year to everyone.

2024 Year in Review: Top 20 Worst Films of the Year

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We are up to the big year-end movie lists, and we start off with the Top 20 Worst Films of the Year. Of course, it would be a little more accurate for me to call this My Least Favorite Films because that is what it is. Film is subjective and what I think is the worst movie, you may love. That’s fine. You have the right to your opinion.

I have all the respect in the world for the movie makers but everybody has their failures. Even the films that I hate have my respect for their efforts. Some times effort just is not enough.

I should specify as well that the star ratings that I give when I review the movies through the year are basically used as a guide. This is not place in direct order via the star ratings. Plus, movie opinions can change over time.

This was the oddest Worst Film list of all time because literally, I was considering seven movies as the #1 Worst Film of 2024. I have never had that many films in real consideration.

2024 EYG Top 20 Worst Films of the Year

#20. Venom: The Last Dance. The final of the Venom trilogy is not a very good movie. It has a lot of silliness and a waste of Knull as a villain.

#19. Monster Summer. An eighties type of monster film with Mel Gibson that is just not very good. Mel Gibson really did not fit with this movie.

#18. Afraid. AI taking over one house at a time. Killer Alexa? This is a stupid movie and John Cho has been in much better movies that are similar to this one.

#17. Trap. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film is so full of dumb plots as a serial killer takes his daughter to a concert. The cops set up a sting operation at the concert. There are so many things that make no sense in this movie that it stretches credibility.

#16. Joker: Folie a Deux. What a step down from the first Joker. And I did not love that first film. This “musical” was such a waste of potential. This sequel seems to take a crap on the first movie too, throwing away most everything that was done well in the first one.

#15. Imaginary. There have been a ton of bad horror movies this year. This is one of them. Chauncy the Teddy Bear is causing trouble for the little kid. Terrible and not memorable.

#14. Immaculate. Sydney Sweeney did not have a good year in my opinion. She was a nun here going into an Italian convent. I did not like this one at all and it was not easy to watch, but not in the good way.

#13. The Exorcism. Russell Crowe also did not have the best year. Here, he is an actor playing a priest, dealing with an exorcism on set of a horror movie. I found this to be repetitive and boring.

#12. The Watchers. Another failed horror film. A bizarre situation that makes little sense and these characters are so unlikable that I want them to be gotten. M. Night’s daughter directed this mess.

#11. Lisa Frankenstein. I was looking forward to this comedy, but it was not funny, mean-spirited and had characters that I disliked. Cruel writing and a lack of humor does not make this worth seeing. It was quite a disappointment.

#10. The Strangers Ch. 1. Why did we need this movie? The original Strangers was a decent movie. This was just a wasted prequel with stupid characters and jump scares. And that ending…

#9. Night Swim. Here is the first film I watched in 2024. It was such a stupid movie about a haunted pool. A haunted pool? Yup. That’s what I said.

#8. The Crow. Another movie that has no reason to exist. This is such a bad idea and, what was even worse was, it was boring. The Crow did not need a reboot. This was a horrendous choice.

#7. Tarot. We are starting off with the seven films in competition for the worst film of the year. Tarot obviously deals with the deck of tarot and terrible characters that I couldn’t care less about. Completely forgettable.

#6. Kraven the Hunter. The most recent of the Sony Spider-Man without Spider-Man movies include a great cast in a terrible movie. Kraven is one of the greatest Spidey villains, but this is one of the worst super hero movies in years (although there may be a worse one upcoming).

#5. Borderline. I would have thought this was going to end up much higher than five, which tells you about the films ahead of it. Another great cast, including Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis, but no story, horrible dialogue and such a flop of an adaptation. Eli Roth directed this mess.

#4. Kinds of Kindness. I had a guy on X call me names because I hated this movie. I’m sorry dude, but at least it is not my least favorite movie of the year. I found the three basic stories that made up the film to be pretentious, obnoxious and misogynistic. I hated this film.

#3. Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver. I hated the first film of this series from Zack Snyder even more than Part One and I did not think that was possible. It was dull, boring and filled with characters whom I disliked. And I do not want to wait for the Director’s cut.

#2. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2. Last year’s worst movie was this film’s first in the franchise. There was some chatter that this one was supposed to be better. Spoiler alert…it wasn’t. Although this is only the second worst film of the year, so I guess it could be considered a little better.

#1. Madame Web. Here it is… the film that survived the gauntlet of the horrible movies. This one took a C-level (more likely D level) Spider-Man character and put her in a film with horrible writing, horrible special effects, horrible villain, horrible ADR.. I could go on. Madame Web was a ridiculous film and even film star Dakota Johnson was putting it down before it had been released. Madame Web is the worst movie of this year.

2024 Year in Review: In Memoriam Part 4

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President Jimmy Carter

Phil Donahue

Maggie Smith

Rickey Henderson

Ron Ely

Akebono

Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau

Alec Musser

Alice Stewart

Chris Gauthier

David Emge

Frank Fritz

John Cassaday

John Ashton

Glynis Johns

Lou Dobbs

Marla Adams

Martin Mull

Shannon Doherty

Bernard Hill

Thom Christopher

Joe Lieberman

Hudson Meek

Greg Gumbel

Rey Misterio Sr.

“The Butcher” Paul Vachon

Bela Karolyi

2024 Year in Review: The Strangelove

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The Strangelove (Best Actor in Movie)

Previous Winners:  James McAvoy (Split), Denzel Washington (Fences), Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker), Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick…Boom), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)

We are up to Best Actor, which in EYG land means we are giving out The Strangelove, in honor, of course, of EYG Hall of Famer, Peter Sellers.

Honorable Mentions: Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain), Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice), John David Washington (Piano Lessons), Glen Powell (Hit Man), Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow), Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling), Channing Tatum (Fly Me to the Moon)

#10. Gabriel LaBelle (Saturday Night)

#9. Bill Skarsgård (Nosferatu)

#8. Sebastian Stan (A Different Man)

#7. Nicholas Hoult (Nosferatu)

#6. Andrew Garfield (We Live in Time)

#5. David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil)

#4. Ray Fiennes (Conclave)

#3. Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool & Wolverine)

#2. Hugh Grant (Heretic)

#1. Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)

Timothée Chalamet was masterful as Bob Dylan, with his voice and his singing. He also played the guitar. An overall amazing performance. Hugh Grant played opposite his type in the awesome horror flick Heretic. Ryan Reynolds is now in the MCU with his brazen performance as Deadpool. Ray Fiennes is always awesome and Conclave is no exception. David Dastmalchian is perfect in his found footage horror film Late Night with the Devil. Andrew Garfield is a former winner of this award and is back with Florence Pugh in We Live in Time. Nicholas Hoult and Bill Skarsgård came out of Nosferatu. Sebastian Stan made this list and in honorable mention. Gabriel LaBelle played Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night!

2024 Year in Review: The Liz

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The Liz Award

Previous Winners:  Frances McDormand (3 Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri), Viola Davis (Fences), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road), Rosemund Pike (Gone Girl), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn),  Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), Renee Zellweger (Judy), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), Emma Stone (Poor Things)

It is time for The Liz Award, given to the best actress from 2024. There are a bunch of excellent performances and I’ll kick this off with some honorable mentions and then go into the Top 10.

Honorable Mentions: Kirsten Dunst (Civil War), Jodie Comer (The Bikeriders), Lupita Nyong’o (The Wild Robot, A Quiet Place: Day One)

#10. Scarlet Johansson, (Fly Me to the Moon)

#9. Anna Kendrick (Woman of the Hour)

#8. Willa Fitzgerald (Strange Darling)

#7. Florence Pugh (We Live in Time)

#6. Lily-Rose Depp (Nosferatu)

#5. Alisha Weir (Abigail)

#4. June Squibb (Thelma)

#3. Demi Moore (The Substance)

And we have a tie for #1… just could not decide which one to give it to…so decided to give it to both…

#1. Cynthia Erivo (Wicked)

#1. Mikey Madison (Anora)

Just could not decide between these two. Both performances were spectacular and absolutely key for their movies. So we have a tie for The Liz Award. Demi Moore was a solid number three and really seemed to revitalized her career with this ballsy performance. Love the fact that 90+ actress June Squibb led her own movie this year, and she was great in it. Alisha Weir is our first ever two-time I See Kid Actor Award winner and she makes this list because Abigail simply would not work without her. Lily-Rose Depp has a huge role in Nosferatu and carries plenty of the drama. Strange Darling was a weird movie with a great lead performance form Willa Fitzgerald. Florence Pugh, Anna Kendrick and Scarlet Johansson always do expert work.

2024 Year in Review: The Joker/Hannibal Lecter/Mister Miyagi Award for Best Supporting Actor

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The Joker/Hannibal Lecter/Mister Miyagi Award for Best  Supporting Actor

Previous Winners:  Patrick Stewart (Logan), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals), Sylvester Stallone (Creed), Edward Norton (Birdman), Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Richard Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Robert Downey Jr (Avengers: Endgame), Sasha Baron Cohen (Trial of the Chicago 7), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ke Huy Quen (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)

I have a much larger list of supporting actors than I did for the actresses, but I am sticking with a list of Top Ten. I will add a Honorable Mention for this category.

Honorable Mention: Samuel L. Jackson (Piano Lessons), Jeff Goldblum (Wicked), Paul Bettany (Here), and Richard Roundtree (Thelma).

#10. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nosferatu)

#9. JK Simmons (Saturday Night)

#8. Stanley Tucci (Conclave)

#7. Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown)

#6. Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

#5. Cory Michael Smith (Saturday Night)

#4. Boyd Holbrook (A Complete Unknown)

#3. Chris Hemsworth (Furiosa)

#2. Hugh Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine)

#1. Mark Eydelshteyn (Anora)

Mark Eydelshteyn does a remarkable job in Anora. The first half of the movie, you love him, root for him and relate with him. The second half of the movie, you hate him. He completely turns away any goodwill you had for him, and he doesn’t really change his character. It is a great performance. Hugh Jackman does not get award respect but he is excellent as Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine. He has some emotional scenes that give you specifics on the character that only Jackman can deliver. Saturday Night has a couple of actors here, including Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase and JK Simmons as Milton Berle. A Complete Unknown as a couple of real life characters too with Johnny Cash, as brought to life by Boyd Holbrook and Edward Norton’s Pete Seeger. Aaron Taylor-Johnson does not get anything for Kraven the Hunter, but he showed what a great actor he is in Nosferatu. Kieran Culkin has been excellent for a long time, and his role in A Real Pain is one of his most complex yet. Stanley Tucci brings some great work in Conclave too.

2024 Year in Review: The Hermione Granger/Furiosa/Rita Moreno Award for Best Supporting Actress

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The Hermione Granger/Furiosa/Rita Moreno Award for Best  Supporting Actress

Previous Winners:  Dafne Keene (Logan), Tilda Swinton (Dr. Strange), Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), Emma Stone (Birdman), Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Sally Field (Lincoln), Jennifer Aniston (Horrible Bosses), Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place), Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Margo Martindale (Blow the Man Down), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

Supporting Actress is up first among the acting awards here at EYG Year in Review. This is the top ten recipients for Best Supporting Actress. Honestly, a bunch of these potential Oscar roles are from movies that I have yet to see, so they will not appear on my list. Maybe the June Swoon will be really good this year.

#10. Isabella Rossellini, Conclave.

#9. Joan Chen, Didi.

#8. Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown

#7. Karla Sofia Gascon, Emilia Perez.

#6. Zendaya, Dune: Part Two

#5. Emma Corrin, Nosferatu

#4. Danielle Deadwyler, Piano Lessons

#3. Selena Gomez, Emilia Perez

#2. Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez

#1. Ariana Grande, Wicked

Ariana Grande was a revelation in Wicked. No one expected her to steal the movie, but she nearly did in almost every scene she was in. Of course, her voice was amazing as she blasted out her songs. The trio of actresses from Emilia Perez were powerful in the film and all of them made a spot on this list. Danielle Deadwyler is showing herself to be a master actor as she gives tremendous performances every time.

2024 Year in Review: MORE TV

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So I did the Best series in four separate categories for 2024. Now I am going to do some more individual awards for TV in general.

Best Actor Drama: Colin Farrell (The Penguin)

Best Actress Drama: Anna Sawai (Shogun)

Best Supporting Actor Drama: Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game 2)

Best Supporting Actress Drama: Cristin Milioti (The Penguin)

Best Actor Comedy: Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building)

Best Actress Comedy: Kathryn Hahn (Agatha All Along)

Best Supporting Actor Comedy: Harrison Ford (Shrinking)

Best Supporting Actress Comedy: Patti LuPone (Agatha All Along)

Best Actor Genre: Antony Starr (The Boys)

Best Actress Genre: Danai Gurira (Walking Dead: The Ones that Lived)

Best Supporting Actor Genre: Tim Robbins (Silo)

Best Supporting Actress Genre: Tanya Moodie (Silo)

Best Song: The Ballad of the Witches’ Road (Agatha All Along)

Best Makeup: The Penguin

Best Episode Drama: “A Great or Little Thing,” The Penguin

Best Episode Comedy: “Death’s Hand in Mine,” Agatha All Along

Best Episode Genre: “The Insider,” The Boys

Best Episode Animated: “Remember It,” X-Men ’97

2024 Year in Review: TV

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2024 saw me watch a lot of TV. Not only did I watch the active shows, I was doing rewatches or first time watches of classics such as The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, Bates Motel, The Greatest American Hero, Moonlighting, Yellowjackets, and Picket Fences.

But we are not looking at those series. These are lists of the best series of the year. I decided to split them into four categories: Drama, Comedy, Genre, Animated.

Some of the categories were really difficult to rank and, of course, only feature those series that I watch. There is so much on TV these days that it is impossible to watch everything.

Let’s kick it off with:

Drama.

Drama had a top six list and featured some of the best shows of the year.

6. Bodkin (Netflix)

5. True Detective: Night Country (MAX)

4. Baby Reindeer (Netflix)

3. Squid Game 2 (Netflix)

2. The Penguin (MAX)

  1. Shogun (Hulu)

Shogun was so good that it just out distanced The Penguin, which had an amazing run on HBO Max. I just finished Squid Game 2 in time for this list.

Comedy

4. The Bear (Hulu)

3. Shrinking (Apple TV +)

2. Agatha All Along (Disney +)

  1. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

This was probably the hardest one to judge. When I split these categories apart, I thought that Agatha All Along would be a shoo-in for Comedy winner, because I loved that show so much. However, Looking over the list of comedies, Only Murders in the Building jumped out at me and regulated Agatha into the second slot. This was an outstanding season of OMitB too with Steve Martin doing some excellent work with his grief over the death of his friend and stunt double Sazz. Number three is Shrinking and that is a genius show too. Harrison Ford is perhaps the biggest scene stealer on this list. The Bear is here because the Emmys list it as a comedy, but it is a stretch to call it that in my opinion.

Genre

#6. Walking Dead: The Ones Who Lived (AMC +)

#5. Echo (Disney +)

#4. Silo (Apple TV +)

#3. Fallout (Prime)

#2. Skeleton Crew (Disney +)

#1. The Boys (Prime)

The Boys had another great season with Butcher on the edge of death, Homelander in full revenge mode and everyone else trying to survive. Skeleton Crew has been extremely fun so far giving us some of the best Star Wars TV we have had in years. Fallout was a fantastic video game adaptation and Silo is top notch sci-fi on Apple TV +. Echo was better than a lot of people gave it credit for and it was nice seeing Rick and Michonne reunite.

Animated

#5. Masters of the Universe: Revolution (Netflix)

#4. Creature Commandos (MAX)

#3. What If…? (Disney +)

#2. Batman: Caped Crusader (Prime)

#1. X-Men’97 (Disney +)

X-Men ’97 was an amazing surprise. It had no right to be as good as it was. The old X-Men series was okay, but this took everything great about it and mixed it with amazing characterization and storytelling. And “Remember It” is one of the best episodes of TV this year, not just animated TV. Batman: Caped Crusader was another great series on Amazon with a new take on Batman and his rogue’s gallery. What If was a bit of a step down but still fairly entertaining and had a great Agatha/Kingo episode. Creature Commandos has been okay for me as some of the humor does not work for me. Masters was a good follow up from Kevin Smith.

2024 Year in Review: “All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director

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“All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director

Previous Winners:  A.G. Inarritu (Birdman), Tim McCarthy (Spotlight), Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame), Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), Jon Watt (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

The role of the director is a vital one in any movie. I have chosen the top ten directors of 2024 to present here. Some of these will be considered for Oscars, others on my list will have to settle for recognition from EYG as I will look at the genre films with a fairer view than Academy voters.

“All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director Top Ten

#10. Francis Galluppi, The Last Stop in Yuma County. This was an outstanding independent film that I found on Vudu and was completely enthralled by. This was Galluppi’s first feature film.

#9. Coraline Fargeat, The Substance. What a tremendous job done by Fargeat on The Substance, the shocking, body-horror film that brought Demi Moore back into conversation for Oscar.

#8. Jess Eisenberg, A Real Pain. Eisenberg wrote and directed this film about two cousins on a Holocaust tour. Jesse is the only director on this list who also starred in the film which has to make this even more challenging.

#7. Fede Alvarez, Alien: Romulus. Alvarez brought the Alien franchise back to its roots with this outstanding film. It was tense and frightening and beautifully shot.

#6. Sean Baker, Anora. The way this film was shot really highlighted the strengths of each of the characters and switched paths about half way through. Baker is exceptional.

#5. Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two. A gigantic sci-fi epic is not going to be easy to direct and Villeneuve does it spotlessly. His work with the CGI is some of the best you will ever see.

#4. James Mangold, A Complete Unknown. This Bob Dylan biopic was such a great film, with the use of music being front and center, Mangold has had a career of cranking out some excellent movies and this was one more.

#3. Shawn Levy, Deadpool and Wolverine. Shawn Levy has a real bond with Ryan Reynolds and you have to be able to manage that to give us one of the biggest hits of the year. He deserves more credit than he receives for this movie.

#2. Jon M. Chu, Wicked. Another epic film, this time an adaptation of the iconic stage musical. It was a rousing success and Chu’s handiwork is one of the main reasons why.

And the #1 Director and winner of the “All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award…

Robert Eggers, Nosferatu

One of the great young directors in the horror genre released his most recent film Nosferatu at Christmas this year and it is completely stylish and gorgeously shot. He is able to get amazing performances from his cast and his visual storytelling is on par with the bests around. Nosferatu is a stunning movie and he deserves this award.

2024 Year in Review: The Batman and Robin Award for Rottenness

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The Batman and Robin Award for Rottenness are the annual look at films that just were not good. Some even bad. Yes, I know that it is very difficult to make a movie, and it is something that I have never done. Nobody sets out to make a bad movie (probably) and I have all respect for the men and women who do this job.

Still there are times when the film is just rotten. These awards look at those times. They receive the coveted Batman and Robin.

Worst Movie: See the list at the end of the year. Honestly, there are about six movies competing for this title yet.

Worst Actor: Scott Chambers, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2. Not much anyone can do when this is your script.

Worst Actress: Sofia Boutella, Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver. She never had a chance. This was worse than the last one.

Worst Director: Eli Roth, Borderlands. He clearly had no idea about this video game. This film is easily one of the worst of the year and Roth had a great cast that he did nothing with.

Worst Sequel: Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver. If only we got to see the Director’s edition first. I’m joking. I do not want to watch a longer version of this.

Worst CGI: Madame Web. There was not much about Madame Web that was good. CGI was no exception.

Favorite Rotten Movie: If. Ryan Reynolds’ first hit of the year wound up with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 50% making it rotten. It is a much better film than that. I liked it. I’d even recommend it.

Worst Movie I did not see: Megalopolis. It’s on the list for 2025 June Swoon.

Cashing a Paycheck: Russell Crowe, Kraven the Hunter. Fun little accent he was playing with. Not sure where he was suppsoed to be from. This guy won an Oscar.

Worst Reboot/Remake: The Crow. Why would you do this? The Crow did not need to be rebooted, and this movie did the original dirty.

Most Successful Bad Movie: Despicable Me 4. This made a ton of money dumbing down the youth of our country even more.

Worst Movie Based on a TV Show/Video Game: Borderlands. One of the worst films of the year, setting back video game adaptations just as they were making some progress.

Worst Superhero Movie: Madame Web. Why Sony why? Madame Web is, at best, a C or D level hero in the Spider-Man universe, and that is when she is with Spdier-Man.

Worst Trailer: Transformers One. Already mentioned this in the Logan “Hurt” Award. Almost made me not see the movie.

WTF: Kinds of Kindness. In risk of offending that guy on X who called me names after my review of this movie, I found this a mess.

Worst Performance by an Oscar Winner: Ariana DeBose, Kraven the Hunter. She was truly terrible in that movie after being brilliant in West Side Story.

Worst ADR: Madame Web. The villain in this movie barely moved his mouth. The voice over is noticeably bad and that should never happen.

Worst TV Show that I Watched: American Horror Story: Delicate. The second half of this season is some of the worst TV I have seen. I couldn’t wait for this one to be done.

Worst TV Finale: Grotesquerie. The final episode of this show for its first season was a jumbled mess and was simply unsatisfying.

2024 Year in Review: Best Documentary

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I do enjoy a good documentary. I am going to have a list of top ten documentaries for the year. Nine of them are movie format and one is a weekly series. There were a lot of weekly series that intrigued me, but it is harder to fit those into the schedule than straight movies.

I am also going to officially announce here that in January, for the annual Genre-ary DailyView, where I watch a movie that I have not seen in a certain genre every day for the whole month. This is the third year for the Genre-ary (we have had sci-fi and musicals) and in 2025, the topic for Genre-ary is Documentaries. This starts on Wednesday, January 1st.

Best Documentary

Previous Winners:  Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, My Scientology Movie, Tickled, Finding Neverland, Tiger King, The Beatles: Get Back, Lights & Magic, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Here are the top 10 docs of 2024.

#10. Elton John: Never Too Late. A look at Elton John’s life and his music. Found on Disney +.

#9. Blink. An emotional story of a family who had 3 out of 4 of their children who had a genetic disorder that would eventual lead them to lose their sight. Their family went on a trip across the planet to give the kids experiences they could always remember.

#8. Brats. I saw this on Hulu this year and it was all about the group of young actors from the 1980s called the Brat Pack and how that nomenclature affected their careers.

#7. Music by John Williams. Another Disney + doc on a famous figure, looking at the life of the iconic composer John Williams and all his amazing movie music.

#6. Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal. The WWE documentary on Bray Wyatt, who just passed away. The emotional doc spoke to his friends and his family, including brother Bo Dallas.

#5. Beatles ’64. Another Disney + doc, this time looking at the Beatles from 1964, the year they arrived in the United States.

#4. The Greatest Night in Pop. A Netflix doc that details the events of the night where the song “We Are the World” was recorded. Amazing footage from the actual night.

#3. The Jinx: Part Two. The one series on this list, and one that I considered to make the winner. I enjoyed this weekly series on MAX that followed the rest of the story of killer Robert Durst.

#2. Jim Henson Idea Man. This is the fifth doc from Disney + on this list. Ron Howard directed this documentary on the Muppet creator Jim Henson. Very emotional and a great look on one of the most creative men in entertainment.

#1. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. The doc on Christopher Reeve is powerful, emotional, and shows us what a hero Chris Reeve was, before and after he played Superman.

2024 Year in Review: EYG Frame Award- Best and Worst Animation

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Animation has had a big year. However, it seems as if I did not see as many animated movies as I should have. I was starting to look at the list of films from 2024 that would be in the June Swoon in 2025 and there were several animated movies that I had not seen.

Still, I have five animated films for the best and three for the worst. We’ll do this one as a list.

Best Animated Movies of 2024

#5. Kung Fu Panda 4. This one was nowhere near as good as the other films in this franchise, but was still an enjoyable watch. Jack Black is always fun as Po.

#4. Robot Dreams. Watched this during the 4F and it was decent. It received Oscar award nomination last year, but I counted it this year.

#3. Transformers One. A film that I really loved and a film that I almost skipped because of a trailer. This worked so much better than I thought it would.

#2. The Wild Robot. A beautiful story of a robot and a baby goose. Many believe this is the current favorite to win an Oscar this year. Could be, and it would be well deserving.

#1.

Inside Out 2

Pixar’s huge hit this year, Inside Out 2 may be just a step behind the original, but it was every bit as great of a story. Great CGI. Greta emotional storytelling. Great characterization. Inside Out 2 was the highest grossing movie of 2024. It is a massive success and I loved this movie.

Worst Animated Movie of 2024

#3. Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 3. Such a classic comic event turned into a dull and flat animated movie. Part 2 was just about as bad.

#2. Despicable Me 4. Minions and their adventures. Boring. This one is not for adults in any way.

#1.

The Garfield Movie

This movie went ahead and took the character of Garfield and made him an action star. Forget about the choice of having Chris Pratt voicing Garfield, this film did not have any idea of what the character of Garfield was and that is the biggest sin you could have.

2024 Year in Review: Best and Worst Horror Movies of 2024

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Unlike sci-fi, there has been a ton of horror movies. There are plenty to choose from for the best and worst this year.

Best Horror Movie

Previous Winners:  A Quiet Place, It, Don’t Breathe, It Follows, The Conjuring, As Above So Below, Cabin in the Woods, Doctor Sleep, Black Box, Fear Street trilogy, The Menu, A Haunting in Venice

Best Horror Movie of 2024

Runners-Up: There are some great horror movies and several of these are going to wind up in the top 10 of the Best Movies list coming soon. I was hoping to give this award to a couple of these along the way. Such as Abigail, which when I first saw it, I figured this was the winner of this award. Heck, for awhile, this had a shot to be at #1 overall on the year (Spoiler alert: It will not be). I had loved Late Night with the Devil with David Dastmalchian. I found that to be completely original and reengaged the old found footage subgenre. I placed Alien: Romulus in this category instead of Sci-Fi and it was one of my favorites of the year. Another surprise film was Heretic with Hugh Grant. That movie was another huge hit and one that I loved.

However, I just recently saw the film that needed to win this award. It will be somewhere in the top 5 of the year on the final list.

Nosferatu

This vampire movie was such an amazing feat. It was basically the story of Count Dracula, but with Count Orlok in his place. And it was beautifully shot, acted and presented. It was creepy and scary as could be. A master class of visual storytelling as well as creation of a mood.

Worst Horror Movie of 2024

Runners-Up: There were an excess of poor horror films this year. The year kicked off with one of the worst with Night Swim. Imaginary I saw plenty of trailers for, but it was terrible. Dumb bear. Tarot is in contention for one of the worst films of the year, not just horror-wise. The Strangers Ch. 1 was a unnecessary reboot that ruined the franchise immediately. The Watchers… honestly I do not remember anything about that one. The Exorcism was one more bad movie starring Russell Crowe. Not his best year ever. Immaculate was another flopper among these horror flicks.

The worst horror movie of 2024 is from the same franchise that had the worst horror movie of 2023… a sequel!

Winner: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2

This one fooled me. I went in thinking this would be better. I had seen a couple of positive reviews and I thought it would be good campy fun. Nope. Just the same horrendous acting, violence for no reason and just lackluster storytelling. The worst horror film back to back years… has to be a record!

2024 Year in Review: Best and Worst Sc-Fi Movie

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I have not seen much science fiction this year. That made this award very easy.

In this category, even though I could, i do not include any sort of superhero movie. I eliminate those from this category. They have their own award. I also decided that Alien: Romulus would not be in consideration for this because it is more of a monster movie than anything else. Same would go for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

After that, there just was not much remaining.

Best Horror Movie

Previous Winners:  A Quiet Place, It, Don’t Breathe, It Follows, The Conjuring, As Above So Below, Cabin in the Woods, Doctor Sleep, Black Box, Fear Street trilogy, The Menu, A Haunting in Venice

Best Sci-Fi Movie of 2024

Runners-Up: Spaceman, Code 8: Part II, The Substance

Winner:

Dune: Part II.

I liked this more than the first one, and the special effects are absolutely killing it. It is also one of the most sci-fi-ish movies of the year.

Worst Sci-Fi Movie of the 2024

Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver

Scargiver took the really bad Rebel Moon and made it even worse. Who could have guessed? I suppose we just have to wait for the four hour director’s cut…