10 of the More Popular Movies of 2024

Bob Marley: One Love  2024/ 6.7 / 104 min  This movie was kind of a downer mostly. I liked the musical parts and I like his lyrics but the pessimist in me doesn’t see a concert end a civil war. Just like “We Are The World” didn’t end starvation in Africa. In fact the only thing I really got out of this movie was Bob liked to play soccer and he should have let the doctor cut his toe off.  I give it a 6.2

Heavier Trip   2024/ 6.9/ 96 min   The Blues Brothers meets every old Beatles movie, set to heavy metal.  This was a good movie, even if not a fan of Death Metal. The band, Impaled Rectum, must escape prison, and play a show that makes enough money to save the family farm. The plot is old, as the evil manager only wants the lead singer. Downside of this movie is it is in many different languages, although a lot of English. Subtitles are provided, but that means this movie can’t be a background movie while you do other things. I give this movie a 7.9

Maxxxine     2024/ 6.4 /104 min  Why would I watch this? It’s the third in a trilogy  that started with X.  Now X was a really messed up movie, but it was at least different. I hoped for something different from this movie, but it didn’t deliver.  No unexpected twists. Nothing to see here folks. Not sure why it even got a 6.4.  I give it a 5.0 at best.

Boy Kills World   2024 / 6.8 / 110 min     Evil villain kills his family, check.  Boy hides in jungle and meets a martial arts shaman, check. Fifteen minute montage of training, check.  Boy heads off in search of vengeance, check.  Throw in some humor and you have yourself a movie. It gets a little weird at the end but the boss battle at the end is worth waiting for. I give this an enthusiastic 7.8

The Dead Don’t Hurt    2024/ 6.4/ 130 min     My token western, and I wanted it to be good. But alas, it was terrible.  Most of the  movie is a flashback. Some of it is in French with no subtitles. There is very little action. Town is run by a rich guy, whose son is a dick, and throw in a crooked mayor.  Stop me if you’ve heard that before. But at least it’s long and the end sucks. I give this a 4.8

Noah’s Ark   2024/ 6.8/ 96 min  This was a cute movie musical that wasn’t so geared to little kids that an adult couldn’t enjoy it. No surprises or plot twists cause we all know how it’s going to end. The movie focuses on how lions are dicks and mice are cute. Almost makes me feel guilty about how many I’ve emptied out of mouse traps. Almost.  I give this one its rating of 6.8

Venom: The Last Dance  2024/ 6.8/ 109 min The Venom comic books must have come out at the end of my comic book phase so I wasn’t already pre-familiar with the character.  I wasn’t a fan of the first Venom movie, but the franchise has grown on me. The addition of the hippie family added to this one. This one also helped with my confusion about the previous movies.  Of course, nearly everyone dies hence the title but they had a good run. I gave this one a 7.2

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga   2024/ 7.6/  149 min   I’ve seen every Mad Max movie since an unknown Mel Gibson starred in the first one.  They never disappoint, and this one was as good as any of them. This one relies more on the story and less on the machinery.  I did miss the guitar player and the bendy pole dudes from the last one, but the addition of flying dudes helped make up for it. I did have trouble believing Hemsworth as a bad guy because he’s always a good guy. I give it the 7.6 that the masses did.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes  2024/ 7.1/ 145 min   I’ve seen them all, clear back to Charlton Heston’s “ Damn dirty apes!”.  The apes in rubber masks were pretty hokey back then compared to the CGI apes of today.  The Ape movies with Caesar were the best, and I was sad when they killed him off in the last one.  This one starts off with Caesar’s funeral, then jumps ahead several generations to where apes are the dominant species, right back to where Heston started.  A peaceful band of chimps are captured by damn dirty apes and then they escape. Roll credits. Nothing to see here. 6.3

Monkey Man   2024/ 7.0/ 121 min    I thought this was a movie about fighting but that was very little of it. It is a revenge movie that starts with a botched attempt. As a bonus, this is an Indian movie, so although done in English, some subtitle reading is required. We then get a full training montage as he prepares to try again. Turns out, his training turns him into John Wick, with expected results. A little too much Indian culture in this one drops it to 6.3 for me.