318 Best Movies & Shows Released in 2024 (Page 21)

Nobody should doubt Tatiana Suarez's place in the world of mixed martial arts, and it goes without saying how inspirational she can be to young girls who feel they don't fit a traditionally feminine mold. But a documentary really should do more than just reiterate facts, farm motivational soundbites, and refuse to ask follow-up questions to the most interesting ideas revealed. By the end of The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez, it feels as if the film has repeated the same few talking points over and over, which doesn't actually make Suarez herself look better, but makes her look more like a product to be endorsed. Any potential discussion that can be had about the dangerous nature of wrestling and MMA—or on how this kind of controlled, organized violence interacts with real domestic violence experienced by Suarez—is quietly dismissed.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Tatiana Suarez

Director: Cassius Corrigan

Rating: PG-13

Ricky Stanicky has all the ingredients of a zany romp: an insane premise, a cast of well-oiled comedians, and most notably, a veteran of the game, Peter Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary), at the helm of it all. And yet Ricky Stanicky falls unbelievably flat. For starters, there is zero chemistry between the trio who we’re supposed to believe are lifelong friends. And despite his Rolodex of disguises, John Cena is a one-trick pony here who can’t carry this film on his own. The joke is that he’s big and scary but can act pretty soft, but it gets tiring eventually. If I were you, I’d save myself some time and watch this SNL skit where Emma Stone plays a serious actress hoping to make her big break in a porn video instead. It captures the essence of what Ricky Stanicky wants to be, but the difference is, it’s actually funny.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Andrew Santino, Anja Savcic, Jermaine Fowler, John Cena, Lex Scott Davis, William H. Macy, Zac Efron

Director: Peter Farrelly

Rating: R

If you’re looking at posters and stills of this film thinking, “I know exactly what will happen here,” you’re right. Whatever it is, you’re right. Mother of the Bride is the type of vacation-wedding movie that’s been done a thousand times better before. But a generic premise is one thing; it’s easy to forgive cliches when you’re doing it right and giving the audience something else to look forward to, be it hilarity or romance. Being generic and lazy, however, is a different and less forgivable thing. Brooke Shields is the only one who feels like she’s truly acting here as she physically and emotionally throws herself into a character who is, sadly, too thinly written to deserve this much effort. If you’re still wondering whether the movie’s worth playing for the sake of Mother’s Day, just know that you’re better off reading Hallmark cards—they’re way less sappy and require only half the effort to go through.

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Actor: Benjamin Bratt, Brooke Shields, Miranda Cosgrove, Rachael Harris, Sean Teale

Director: Mark Waters

Rating: PG

It's admirable how A Taste of Love keeps to the gentle pace of a slice-of-life story instead of blowing things up with unnecessary drama, but it's ultimately just too thinly drawn for any of its moments to become charming in their simplicity. There's nothing particularly wrong with any of its plot threads—emotionally they're all pretty level-headed and easy to understand—they just don't seem to coexist for any reason, or within any larger framework. As a result, spending time with this film doesn't just feel like hanging out with total strangers, but hanging out with people who are strangers to each other as well.

Genre: Comedy, Romance, TV Movie

Actor: Adam Hose, Ashley Dulaney, Darla Delgado, Demi Castro, Erin Cahill, Gina Yeena Salas, Jeremy King, Jesse Kove, Jim R. Coleman, Jody Pucello, Lily Jane, Martin Kove, Meghan Colleen Moroney, Rod Grant, Sasha Andreev, Steve Heinz, Susan Gallagher, Tymberlee Hill

Director: Conrad de la Torres III, Michael E. Brown

Rating: G

Though it'll likely have more to offer for those who enjoyed the original Nickelodeon series that ran from 2014 to 2018, The Thundermans Return still does mournfully little with its feature length. There are some promising ideas here relating to what one's responsibility should be as members of a family, but any heart in the story is buried underneath weak attempts at action and painfully stilted humor—which is only made worse by the laugh track running through much of the film. Even in the oversaturated arena of American superhero movies, this one doesn't have relatable enough characters for teenagers and older kids to relate to, nor does it have enough mindless, poorly shot action for the younger kids.

Genre: Action, Action & Adventure, Comedy, Family, Kids, Science Fiction, TV Movie

Actor: Adam Kulbersh, Addison Riecke, Anushka Rani, Aubrey K. Miller, Audrey Whitby, Brady Amaya, Brandon Papo, Brittany Bardwell, Chevonne Hughes, Chris Tallman, Christina Correll, Christina Offley, Dana Snyder, Daniele Gaither, Diego Velázquez, Fletcher Sheridan, Guy Moon, Harvey Guillén, Helen Hong, Jack Griffo, Jake Borelli, James Hong, Jamie Kaler, Jamieson Price, Jeff Meacham, Jennifer Hale, John Sanders, Kenny Ridwan, Kira Kosarin, Laura Louise, Malcolm Foster Smith, Maya Le Clark, Michael Wayne Foster, Paul F. Tompkins, Robin Atkin Downes, Rosa Blasi, Tanner Stine, Valerie Loo

Director: Trevor Kirschner

This was an uncomfortable, unnecessary mess of a movie—it’d be a lot faster to just go to Literotica or something. It’s got rough romance dialogue; everyone’s faces are always pressed so close together; and worst of all is even the fight scenes are awkward. Outside of storylines, music from Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish were made to be associated with this movie which mucks up their good name for people that haven't discovered them in neutral conditions. Caterina Ferioli’s performance as the film’s muse Nica, along with Nica’s warm girl-friendships, carries the entire thing to a semblance of watchability. But I'm not trying to give you hope, I'm saying just open your Incognito tab if you're here "for the plot."

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Alessandro Bedetti, Anna Cianca, Caterina Ferioli, Eco Andriolo Ranzi, Eugenio Krauss, Juju Di Domenico, Laura Baldi, Matteo Capraro, Nicky Passarella, Orlando Cinque, Roberta Rovelli, Sabrina Paravicini, Simone Baldasseroni, Sveva Romano Candelletta

Director: Alessandro Genovesi

Rating: R

With actual, real life married couples killing each other after lottery wins, the premise of Kill Me If You Dare had plenty of potential. The situation alone makes people wonder why that unexpected windfall kills the love between a married couple. The film instead is less interested in examining that journey, and more interested in using the premise as a way to contrive ungrounded, pointless suspicion towards each other, when they could have easily talked about things, like adults. But even with the silly suspicion, there’s no charm, comedy, or chemistry to find endearing in the couple– all we’re given is that they’re married, Piotr aggressively skimps for the mortgage, and Natalie has a dream for a café that doesn’t make sense considering we never see her make coffee. Kill Me If You Dare just feels lazily assembled, with no interest in being romantic or comedic.

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Actor: Agnieszka Więdłocha, Bartłomiej Firlet, Dorota Pomykała, Małgorzata Mikołajczak, Mateusz Banasiuk, Mikołaj Roznerski, Mirosław Baka, Paulina Gałązka, Paweł Ławrynowicz, Piotr Gąsowski, Piotr Nerlewski, Piotr Nowak, Piotr Rogucki, Sebastian Perdek, Weronika Książkiewicz

Director: Filip Zylber

It’s got a main character, 10-year-old Tochtli (Miguel Valverde Uribe), with the most unforgettably forgettable idiosyncrasies. The emotional anchor of this whole thing is entirely dependent on our inclination to be protective of children, but it gives surface level characterization of both the young boy and his father Yolcaut (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). The most interesting thing it almost pulls off is the father trying to reconcile his commitment to his son and to being macho, but it’s barely a chapter in this 2-hour story. It has some potential with the teachings and aphorisms, but it never really leans into it. It fails four different times, never with fireworks.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Alfredo Gatica, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Debi Mazar, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Mercedes Hernández, Miguel Valverde, Pierre Louis, Raúl Briones, Teresa Ruiz

Director: Manolo Caro

Rating: R

Hallmark movies aren't automatically bad if they're cheesy and on the cheaper side; there are ways to make these characteristics work, of course. But these qualities definitely don't help if the story they're telling is uninteresting and if the actors in front of the camera couldn't be compelled to deliver convincing emotions if their lives depended on it. Watching Gilded Newport Mysteries: Murder at the Breakers kind of feels like watching people rehearse a family-produced parody of an Agatha Christie novel, or like visiting Westworld and seeing the robots play-act a fictional scenario. Every line over-explains everything that happens on screen, and the mystery elements just aren't coherent enough for them to lead to a satisfying conclusion or interesting statement about the characters and their world.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, TV Movie

Actor: Aisling Goodman, Alissa Skovbye, Amira Anderson, April Telek, Ava Telek, Cesare Scarpone, Danny Griffin, David Beairsto, Geoff Gustafson, Gillian Barber, James Drew Dean, John Prowse, Katherine Evans, Madeleine Kelders, Mark Humphrey, Nathan Witte, Sebastian Greaves

Director: Terry Ingram

Rating: PG

If it's been said about one American stand-up comedian, it's been said about a dozen of them: just because a joke is edgy doesn't mean it's brave, nor does it mean it's actually a well-written joke. Throughout this hour-long special, Mike Epps rambles from one topic to another with little sense of direction, usually resorting to making fun of a vulnerable group, or making dull "observations" about relationships and everyday life when he hits a wall. There's no real perspective to what he says here, not even an attempt to criticize more progressive points of view. It's hard to see what's so funny about somebody stating the obvious loudly and arrogantly.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Mike Epps

Director: Royale Watkins

Rating: R

From the Ashes is based on the real life fire tragedy, but upon searching, Netflix hasn’t mentioned which exact fire it was talking about. It’s possibly inspired by the 2002 Mecca girls' school fire, with the strict all-girl’s school, the closed gates and unattended cigarette, but the film starts off with a disclaimer saying that the characters and certain aspects of the story are fictional. One would think, with the freedom the film granted itself through fiction, the film would dare to critique certain controversial aspects of the tragedy that needs to be talked about – like the implications of emergency services being hindered due to modesty, or whether the media speculation was fair, or even the lack of safety regulations that the school administration failed to implement. Instead, most of the film plays out like an investigation, seemingly placing blame on fictional students, you know, the victims, for being the reason one fictional student wasn’t able to escape. Sure, it’s all fiction, but this is just not right.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Actor: Adwaa Fahad, Aisha Al Rifaie, Alshaima'a Tayeb, Darin Al Bayed, Khairia Abu Laban

Director: Khalid Fahad