Posted by I will keep this short and sweet and get to the meat of the matter. Below is a list of my favourite films from 2024 – click here to see last year’s list.
5. The Fall Guy
Directed by David Leitch (Bullet Train) and based on an 80s American TV show is The Fall Guy. It is an action packed love letter to stuntmen everywhere that skips along at a brisk pace, with palpable chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. It might have a silly plot but it is such a hoot you will forget to care
4. Rebel Ridge
Playing out like a combination of First Blood and a Clint Eastwood western, Rebel Ridge is a gritty thriller meets western. Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson star as the put upon outsider and the oppressive sheriff respectively in this satisfying, slow burning thriller. A surprise treat, streaming on Netflix.
3. Late Night With The Devil
A supernatural horror set on an late night American chat show in the 70s, whose Halloween special goes awry after inviting on a little girl who is apparently possessed by the devil. Late Night With The Devil is a gripping movie with some great performances, growing tension and sense of unease all wrapped up in a warmly recreated era.
2. One Life
One Life is a heartwarming tale about the true story of Nicholas Winton, who saved 669 Czechoslovakian and mainly Jewish children from the Nazis just before world war II. A richly crafted biographical drama with some top notch performances, chief among them Johnny Flynn and Anthony Hopkins who play the old and young versions of Nicholas Winton.
1. Hit Man
Director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused) mixes together rom com, action and thriller elements in Hit Man. Resulting in one uproariously entertaining, and refreshingly old school, two hours that is fronted by the magnetic screen presence of the ubiquitous Glen Powell.
And occupying places six to ten is gritty western cum thriller In The Land of Saints and Sinners. The true crime thriller Woman of the Hour, available on Netflix, that plays out like a tense horror and is quite the directorial debut from lead star Anna Kendrick. Gruesome horror Smile 2. The fast paced, Christmas action flick Carry On – a sprightly, old fashioned movie heavily indebted to Die Hard starring an earnest goodie Taron Egerton and a one step ahead baddie Patrick Bateman (nothing to do with Sid James unfortunately). And in at ten is the stupid, almost universally panned, comedy Unfrosted.
The cartoonish and uninspired remake Road House runs it a close second but the worst film of the year by far was Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. Directed by Zack Snyder, the man responsible for the equally awful Army of the Dead, it is a big budget copy and paste job that may look impressive but it is wholly devoid of merit and charm.
As for telly I have a child so it has mainly been In The Night Garden, Teletubbies and Peppa Pig on repeat in my house. In between those I, as ever, watched the world’s fastest and most expensive soap opera in Drive To Survive – and as last years F1 season was a cracker look out for 2025s edition. The second series of Colin From Accounts was just as colourful and funny as the first, but with a greater emotive punch. I am midway through whodunnit Moonflower Murders, which is based on Anthony Horowitz’s book and the sequel to Magpie Murders, and it is another moreish slice of cosy crime.
The oft talked about Baby Reindeer was very shocking and I mostly watched it through my fingers, Jessica Gunning was excellent as the stalker Martha. Although Donny made an array of daft decisions and it is very harrowing so l will be in no rush to watch it again. If you prefer fact over fiction, then the traumatic yet interesting case of Victoria Cilliers in channel 4 docudrama The Fall: Skydive Murder Plot is for you. Out of all the shows I watched last year though, my favourite is the award winning and engrossing crime drama The Wire – from 2002 to 2008…
Lofty Music and Film 