A Year of Film in Review: The Good, the Bad and the 'Madame Web' of 2024

Well, moviegoers, we made it. Another hellish trip around the sun. Which, of course, means a whole new batch of movies. We’ve had some great films! We’ve also had some really, really awful films. We also had “Megalopolis.” That was weird. In case you missed every movie that came out in 2024, have a seat by the metaphorical fireplace as we reminisce on the epic highs and lows of the last year’s silver screen. 

'Dune: Part Two'

I’ve raved about "Dune: Part Two’s" proverbial Desert Power in a dedicated review I did of it for The DTH back when it released, but I wanted to throw it in here because I literally can’t rave about it enough. Then, I called it “the best movie of the 21st century.” I stand by that. Go watch "Dune: Part Two."

'I Saw the TV Glow'

If “Dune: Part Two” is my favorite film of the year, “I Saw the TV Glow” is probably the one that impressed me the most. It’s also my second favorite. I went into this one with reasonable expectations, having heard only that it was an experimental coming-of-age horror inspired by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” All of these things are true, but it’s so much more than that. 

Without spoiling too much, “I Saw the TV Glow” is a film like no other. Its wholly original visual style, commentary on the transgender experience, soundtrack and actors’ performances (especially Justice Smith’s — I feel bad for dismissing him for so long as “Detective Pikachu guy”) are all completely astounding.

If you’re transgender or queer, watch this film. If you’re a fan of horror, art cinema and the aesthetics of the 1990s, watch this film. I can definitely see this film becoming a “Midsommar”-style cult horror classic in the coming years. 

'Megalopolis'

Being deadly serious: I cannot overstate how awe-inspiring watching “Megalopolis” on the big screen was. It’s not “good,” per se, but it is, for lack of a better word, magical. I’m an atheist and I imagine the “Megalopolis” experience is what church is like for true believers. It’s awful. It’s an awful, awful movie in every single way a movie can be awful. It genuinely has no redeeming qualities. But it’s beautiful in its catastrophe.  

Some tidbits about “Megalopolis”: There is a scene with non-diegetic confetti. It’s edited like an Epic Rap Battle of History. They just never explain how the main character can control time. Jon Voight says “boner.” It was made by the same man who made “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now.” “Megalopolis” was one of the finest theatergoing experiences of my entire life. It’s out-of-body. If you haven’t seen “Megalopolis” yet, you’re missing out on both the worst sci-fi film of the year and the best comedy in decades. 

'Madame Web'

Oh, "Madame Web." "Madame Web" was wholly terrible in every way. It’s saved from being the worst film of the year only because it came out the same year “Megalopolis” came out. “Madame Web” is the endgame (pun intended) of years of big-screen superhero slop. It’s formula incarnate.

And that’s not to say I inherently dislike superhero movies! I have hundreds of comic books. I like Spider-Man more than I like most real people. However, the so-called Marvel formula has really worn me down. The cinematic universe model that once was so fresh and expansive has become reductive, convoluted and overplayed. “Madame Web” is like if a producer with no writing experience took this already-tired formula and shoved into its desecrated corpse a who’s-who of so-so actors, racial stereotypes, half-assed CGI and corporate tie-ins. While “Megalopolis” is so bad it’s perfect, “Madame Web” is just bad. Don’t watch “Madame Web.”

The franchise flicks

Besides the above mentioned high highs and astoundingly low lows, 2024 seemed to be the year of the legacy sequel (or prequel, or spinoff, or something). Movies like “Alien: Romulus,” “Deadpool and Wolverine,” “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Twisters,” and “Kung Fu Panda 4” all added on to franchises that began 15 or more years ago, some dormant for decades. While some of these films may be alright on their own, this trend speaks to Hollywood’s problematic obsession with hawking popular IPs. Though far from the truth, the inundation of the multiplex with big-name sequels has seemed almost wholly dominant this year. The success of 2023’s “Saltburn,” “Oppenheimer” (though I didn’t like it), “Killers of the Flower Moon” and others had given me hope that Hollywood might have been moving away from the franchise film. Now, I’m not so sure.

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