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2024 was a great year for movies. There were a multitude of genres ranging from biographical films such as “A Complete Unknown” to sequels of older movies such as “Gladiator II.”
My favorite movie of this past year was “A Complete Unknown.” This movie came out on December 25, 2024. It stars Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan and Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo.
Before I watched this movie, I had only heard of Bob Dylan from “Gilmore Girls.” To be honest, the only reason I went to this movie was because of Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning. But, I ended up loving it. The amount of detail and work put into it is astonishing. Not only are there multiple of Dylan’s songs covered by Chalamet that were sung live, but Chalamet spent five years preparing for this role. In preparation, he learned guitar and practiced with a vocal coach to sound almost identical to Dylan.
The movie is about an American folk singer, Bob Dylan. The movie begins with Dylan arriving at New York in order to visit Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who he looks up to. During his visit, he meets Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) who sees potential in him and helps him start his musical career. As Bob Dylan starts to gain popularity, he starts to drift away from typical folk music which angers the folk music community. Not only did his fame change his music, but it also affected his relationship with his girlfriend Sylvie Russo, and his friendship with Pete Seeger. The movie also features Dylan’s affair with another folk star, Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro).
It was tough seeing how Bob Dylan treated Russo during the movie. Even from the beginning of the film, Dylan was passive aggressive. But, as his love affair with Joan Baez unfolded, he treated Russo even worse. Elle Fanning did a great job at showing how Russo reacted to seeing the man she loved drift away from her and get caught up in himself.
There isn’t a lot leading up to the climax of the movie, but the portrayal of Dylan’s life makes up for it.
Picking a spot for second place was difficult but I think it had to be “Challengers.” “Challengers” is a sports drama that came out April 26, 2024. It stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, Josh O’Connor as Patrick Zweig, and Mike Faist as Art Donaldson.
This movie kept me at the edge of my seat with the amount of drama it had. The movie follows a love triangle between Tashi, Patrick, and Art. Tashi (Art’s coach) got an injury during college which ended her tennis career. Patrick (Tashi’s ex-boyfriend), and Art (Tashi’s husband who is a tennis champion) used to be best friends, but their friendship got destroyed since they were both in love with Tashi.
The movie goes through thirteen years of their life. It starts at the ATP Challengers tennis tour in 2019, but there are flashbacks to when they met and their college lives.
The ending of “Challengers” was incredible and completely unexpected. To understand the ending of the movie, you need to pay close attention to the interactions between Art and Patrick throughout the movie.
The reason this movie can’t be number one is because of Tashi Duncan. Tashi isn’t a likeable character. She is manipulative and ruins the friendship between Art and Patrick.
My third favorite movie of 2024 is “Dune 2”, which is another Timothée Chalamet film. “Dune 2” is the continuation of “Dune” and was released on March 1, 2024. It is a sequel but it is still based on the first book of the “Dune” series by Frank Herbert.
The movie is an excellent sequel to the first part. Unlike the first part, it was exciting and had more action. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) joins Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen to avenge his fallen friends and family. Atreides has to choose between what he wants and what is right for the people of Arrakis. While this is going on, Paul Atreides challenges Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler) to a fight for the throne of House Harkonnen and to marry Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh). His engagement to Princess Irulan creates tension with Chani. Paul’s mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) convinces the people of Arrakis that Paul is the Lisan al Gaib (which is a prophesied messiah by the Bene Gesserit) who will learn the ways of the Fremen and harness the power of the desert to save Arrakis.
“Dune” part one and two are the first sci-fi movies that I’ve taken an interest in. I like the way Frank Herbert portrays a sci-fi world without aliens. Instead, the real monsters in the story are the humans who manipulate the people and environment around them.
Next, my fourth pick is “Gladiator II.” This movie stars Paul Mescal as Lucius, Pedro Pascal as General Acacius, and Connie Nielsen as Lucilla. “Gladiator II” came out on November 22, 2024.
“Gladiator II” is a sequel to “Gladiator” which came out in the year 2000. It follows the story of Lucius who lives in Numidia with his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen) and gets taken after a battle with the Roman Legion. During the battle, Arishat gets shot by archers who were commanded by General Aracius. Lucius works his way up to be a gladiator in the colosseum and plans to avenge his wife by eliminating General Aracius. Throughout the movie, viewers learn about Lucius’ background.
My two complaints for this movie are the marketing and its historical inaccuracies. I had no idea that the movie was coming out and it felt like the marketing team failed to market the film as it deserved. Secondly, the historical inaccuracies include weird mutant-monkey-dogs and sharks in the Colosseum. Instead of fighting animals such as tigers or lions, the movie included Lucius fighting mutant-monkey-dogs which felt strange since they don’t actually exist. Next are the sharks in the Colosseum; we know that there's no way to transfer sharks into a Colosseum and have them eat the gladiators. I know it's a historical fiction movie but it felt very out of place.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the plot of the movie and seeing Lucius’ character development into a strong leader. I also read somewhere online that they recreated ancient Rome for the movie so it could feel authentic which I think is great.
Last but not least, my fifth favorite movie of 2024 is “Wicked.” I don’t usually watch musicals but everyone was saying it was incredible so I had to go watch it for myself. “Wicked” was also released on November 22, 2024.
The story is about two young women, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande). Elphaba is seen as an outcast because of her green skin and Glinda is seen as perfect and popular among her peers. They get paired as roommates at Shiz University and don’t get along at first, but Glinda learns that Elphaba is misunderstood and just like everyone else. Their friendship blooms and they become inseparable. Before the climax of the movie, Elphaba gets invited to meet the Wizard of Oz and brings Glinda with her.
I thought the production and dedication of the actors in this movie was phenomenal. But, it lacked a plot. Over half the movie is just Glinda and Elphaba not getting along and going to school. There were parts where I was bored and wanted it to end.
I interpreted the moral of this movie as no one is truly good or bad. For example, Glinda is known as the good witch, but this film gives us a first hand view at how Glinda really acts which is selfish and ignorant. Elphaba is seen as the Wicked Witch of the West, but in reality she is just misunderstood and is viewed as someone who can’t be trusted. Meanwhile, she’s the one with a good heart and wants to do good.
Two honorable mentions are “We Live in Time” and “Deadpool and Wolverine.” Even though these two movies weren’t featured on my list, I had to mention them. “We Live in Time" was the perfect romance/drama movie featuring two of my favorite actors, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. “Deadpool and Wolverine” brought back characters that hadn’t seen the big screen in a couple of years. Even though I enjoyed this movie, the plot wasn’t as interesting as I hoped it would be. Even though there are a lot of movies that didn’t make my list, there are other movies that I enjoyed throughout this year. As someone who loves going to the movies, I can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store.
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