8 Movies Like The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Some films struggle to balance style with substance, but Problemista isn’t one of them. It’s brandished with Torres’ unique brand of surrealist aesthetic, which is colorful, freakish, and fun, while also accurately relaying the pains of coming to and making it in America as an outsider. We see Alejandro accept increasingly debasing gigs as he runs out of time and money in the deep maze that is America’s immigration bureaucracy. And all the while, he’s being both genuinely funny and painfully incisive. Torres is not the first person to point out that in this day and age, the monsters we face are overbearing employers, greedy bankers, and exploitative companies, but he just might be one of the few to do it with such imaginative grace.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Amy Zimmer, Bardia Salimi, Brian Belovitch, Carlos E. Navedo, Catalina Saavedra, Charlene Incarnate, Eudora Peterson, Glo Tavarez, Greta Lee, Greta Titelman, Isabella Rossellini, Jack P. Raymond, James Scully, Jason Furlani, Jordan Mendoza, Julio Torres, Kelly McCormack, Laith Nakli, Larry Owens, Logan J. Alarcon-Poucel, Megan Stalter, Miles G. Jackson, Paul Cooper, Roman Maldonado, Ronald Peet, Ruba Thérèse Mansouri, RZA, Sandra Caldwell, Shakina Nayfack, Sheila Moikangoa, Spike Einbinder, Theo Maltz, Tilda Swinton

Director: Julio Torres

Rating: R

Nat Geo is still the champion of pristine nature documentaries: the skies, the seas, the snow, and the coloring everywhere is divine. But the serene seaside in Scotland, combined with the reflective, poetic musings about love from Billy and Susan isn’t just cutesy light viewing. I’m confident it can heal an exhausted person. This documentary is a mesmerizing meditation on love and connection, on the things that unite people and other creatures. It might feel like a chunky 77 minutes, especially in the latter half given the pace it goes by, but it’s a warm experience that you instantly know you’ll want to revisit.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Billy Mail, Susan Mail

Director: Charlie Hamilton James

Rating: G

The film starts with an atmosphere of almost peaceful defeat. We see a rather stealthy Godzilla, but it doesn’t last long until we’re back to regular programming with the metal-chewing monster. Time spent without Godzilla is spent on people trying to be heroes, armed with admirable optimism. The many scenes of wreckage turn this into a very human story about shared trauma. Godzilla vs other kaiju is usually an easy sell, but Godzilla vs people is a hard story to root for, just because of how unbalanced it gets. But the film finds a way to make it work—the final battle is epic, packed with a lot of heart and preparation.

Genre: Action, Horror, Science Fiction

Actor: Akio Nakadai, Eisuke Sasai, Etsuji Harada, Gohshuu, Hidemasa Mase, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Hirotaka Akatsuma, Hiroyuki Toritani, Ippei Sasaki, Keisuke Fujita, Kenji Anan, Kenji Mizuhashi, Kentaro Furuyama, Kisuke Iida, Kiyomi Aratani, Kota Kawabata, Kunihiro Suda, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Mami Tokuda, Masataka Matsubara, Michael Arias, Miki Mirai, Minami Hamabe, Mio Tanaka, Munetaka Aoki, Ozuno Nakamura, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Saki Nakatani, Sakura Andô, Saori, Seiji Okuda, Sentarou Kusakabe, Shinsuke Kasai, Sho Nishigaki, Shohei Abe, Shoji Omiya, Shota Taniguchi, Takato Yonemoto, Takumi Matsui, Tetsu Hirahara, Tetsunori Akira, Touta Tawaragi, Yosuke Minokawa, Yuji Komatsu, Yuki Takao, Yuki Yamada, Yukio Tsukamoto, Yuya Endo

Director: Takashi Yamazaki

Rating: PG-13

There is a lot to appreciate and learn from this work, which is a streamlined history of queer standup with so many enlightening stories. There is a LOT of standup footage and commentary from different eras, and different flavors between them evoking crass, feel-good, and revolutionary — which is reason enough to dive in. It’s got a self-assured tone to it, thanks to all the unapologetic and quick-witted figures telling their story and choosing to make it one of inspiration. In a word, it’s an informative celebration of queer standup comics, of tapping into empowered selves on and off-stage, reminding us that activism is always within reach.

Genre: Comedy, Documentary

Actor: Alec Mapa, Bill Clinton, Billy Eichner, Bob the Drag Queen, Bruce Vilanch, Carol Burnett, Cher, Conan O'Brien, Dave Holmes, David Letterman, Diane Sawyer, Eddie Izzard, Eddie Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres, Fortune Feimster, Gina Yashere, Guy Branum, Hannah Gadsby, James Adomian, Joel Kim Booster, Judy Gold, Lily Tomlin, Lucille Ball, Madonna, Mae Martin, Margaret Cho, Marsha Warfield, Matteo Lane, Patti Harrison, Richard Pryor, River Butcher, Ronald Reagan, Rosie O'Donnell, Sandra Bernhard, Scott Thompson, Sonny Bono, Susan Stryker, Tig Notaro, Todd Glass, Trixie Mattel, Wanda Sykes

Director: Page Hurwitz

Rating: R

There is a world where all of Little Wing's ideas make thematic sense, as a story about a young woman reeling from the difficulty of her home life. But as it is now, the film just isn't tightly woven enough, with various characters and subplots making little effect on the whole and major conflicts barely leaving consequences for the characters to deal with afterwards. It's definitely unique; you aren't likely to find many movies about pigeon racing anywhere. But even then, Little Wing doesn't allow us to get an insider look into pigeon racing as a sport, nor how this underground network is even supposed to operate. Without a strong enough setting to support this story, it becomes much harder to suspend one's disbelief and enjoy the strange things it shows us.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Brian Cox, Brooklynn Prince, Che Tafari, Hank Cartwright, Ina Chang, Jason Rouse, Jeanine Jackson, Jonathan Togo, Kelly Reilly, Lowell Deo, Melanie Nicholls-King, Parker Hall, Trinity Bliss

Director: Dean Israelite

Rating: PG-13