559 Best Movies & Shows Released in 2024 (Page 35)

Compared to recently released age-gap romances The Idea of You and A Family Affair, Lonely Planet feels more mature. Liam Hemsworth’s Owen is a capable financier without any manchild tendencies, and his attraction to Laura Dern’s Katherine has nothing to do, at least explicitly, with age. They like each other simply because they do. They look good, banter well, and are fresh out of long-term relationships. The film should’ve been smart, sexy, and breezy, especially with Susannah Grant (Ever After, Erin Brockovich) writing the script. Instead, Lonely Planet feels forced and clunky. Katherine is an author on a mission to publish, but we only ever get vague notions of what she’s trying so hard to write. A couple of lines feel AI-generated. Then there’s the wasted opportunity to explore Morocco beyond the beautiful but impersonal montage. Owen and Katherine have lofty conversations about the meaning of travel but fail to befriend at least one local. Their generous host doesn’t even get a proper introduction. Everything there is just theirs for the taking. Overall, this film feels like the first draft of a potentially tender romance. It’s entertaining enough, but nothing you’d fly for.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Adriano Giannini, Bellina Logan, Ben Youcef, Diana Silvers, Guo Tao, Gustav Dyekjær Giese, Heeba Shah, Herbert Russell, Laura Dern, Liam Hemsworth, Michelle Greenidge, Rachida Brakni, Sami Fekkak, Shosha Goren, Sundra Oakley

Director: Susannah Grant

Rating: R

Murder mysteries don’t have to be full of twists to be worthwhile, but if you’re going the predictable route, you might as well make it an exciting one. Killer Heat, despite its name, feels cold and dragging. Gordon-Levitt’s Bali shoots for mysterious and debonair, like the detectives of noir past, but instead, he feels more like a parody of those characters. He never seems to ground Bali into something real, no matter how many flashbacks we get of his tragic family life. Madden similarly feels more like a trope than anything, and it’s beyond frustrating to watch him waste the opportunity to play identical twins. Where other actors seemed to have a blast at this (see: Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers or even Lindsay Lohan in Parent Trap), Madden is just plain indistinguishable. Woodley is the film’s sole believable character, but her affecting performance isn’t enough to save the film.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance

Actor: Abbey Lee, Argyris Gaganis, Babou Ceesay, Clare Holman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Manos Gavras, Richard Madden, Shailene Woodley

Director: Philippe Lacôte

Rating: R

Amid energetic lights and obnoxious airhorns, Katt Williams makes his way to the stage and quickly greets you with the gospel of crass. His descriptions and premises aren’t anything to write home about as his style is more a boisterous NSFW style that resembles a night of gossip. But for most of this set, you’ll just be thinking about how his performer voice sounds like a cartoon grandma, a southern Spongebob, and “Macho Man” Randy Savage preaching to you all at once. The set had a touchy mental health bit that sucked the life out the room for a moment, but would take an empowering turn in its final third as Williams talks about racism in 2024. It’s a mess, but it finishes strong, at least.

Genre: Comedy, Documentary, TV Movie

Actor: Katt Williams

Director: Troy Miller

Rating: R

The inheritance murder mystery concept is played out, especially in recent years. You only really bother with it if you enjoy the formula, which is essentially all we’re getting here. It begins with character introductions and a heavy dose of didacticism, and the crazy family soap opera turns into a whodunnit with all the interviews and the jumping timelines and the red herrings that get no rise out of you. You know how it goes, you know where the twists come in. Some plot points do hit the mark by their sheer ridiculousness alone, but for the most part, getting from trope A to trope B is terribly corny and dragging. Ultimately nothing outstanding, nothing new.

Genre: Comedy, Mystery

Actor: Adam Ferency, Franciszek Słomiński, Gabriela Muskała, Jan Peszek, Joanna Trzepiecinska, Józefina Karnkowska, Maciej Stuhr, Mateusz Król, Piotr Pacek, Piotr Polak, Piotr Żurawski

Director: Sylwester Jakimow

There’s no doubt that pro climber Sasha DiGiulian is a fiercely brave and talented woman. And between her early entry into the sport and multiple first female ascents, her journey warrants an equally impressive film. Unfortunately, Here To Climb isn’t that film. It fails to capture DiGiulian’s spark and instead shows us a canned version of the athlete, one who may look appealing in inspirational clips and sponsored commercials, but here looks too guarded and rehearsed to seem authentic. The directors also don’t seem keen on appealing on a non-climbing audience since it doesn’t care to explain much of the jargon used, nor does it take its time to contextualize DiGiulian’s sport and success. The rare time it looks back, like when it introduced Lynn Hill and the major impact she had on rock climbing, is when it actually shines.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Alex Honnold, Cedar Wright, Sasha DiGiulian

Director: Anne Sundberg, Ricki Stern

In TV and cinema, meeting your partner’s parents is a tried-and-tested formula that’s bound to generate relatable laughs. Meet the Parents, The Proposal, and Happiest Season are some modern classics that come to mind. Yet, French Girl fumbles this opportunity by peddling cliche after cliche with zero charm. Braff’s character is supposed to possess at least an inkling of likeability for us to root for him, but he can’t even manage that. His rival Ruby (Vanessa Hudgens) is so much more inviting that the film has to create a whole new evil arc for her in the third act to convince us to turn on her. This is all too bad because, beneath the rubble that is the film’s characters and plot lines, there is something true and endearing in the form of Sophie’s family. I wish we had more of those scenes because their interactions feel real and intimate. Unrestricted by formula and pressures to be funny, they soar.

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Actor: Alex Woods, Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Catherine De Sève, Chanelle Ouellette, Charlotte Aubin, Christian Paul, Ed Weeks, Evelyne Brochu, Georges St-Pierre, Isabelle Vincent, Jeanne Roux-Coté, Karl Farah, Luc Picard, Luc-Martial Dagenais, Marc Larrivée, Melia Charlotte Cressaty, Muriel Dutil, Olivier Gervais-Courchesne, Ralph Prosper, Rémi Goulet, Sylvie Potvin, Vanessa Hudgens, William Fichtner, Zach Braff

Director: James A. Woods, Nicolas Wright

Rating: R

Five Blind Dates is a squeaky clean, hopelessly boring film pretending to be a raunchy romcom. Despite Lia (Shuang Hu) going on five (or four, really) dates, she doesn’t find real chemistry with any one of them. There’s no heat, no passion, no inane fun to be had, or reckless experimentation. It’s clear that what she’s after isn’t really love but a partner who accepts her traditional whims, which I guess counts as a happy ending if this were airing on Hallmark or any other wholesome TV channel. But it isn’t, and instead of embracing its true form—that is, family drama—it instead postures as a modern and exciting romcom, even though it contains zero spice. To be fair, the film has its funny moments, and I do think the first date’s premise, while played for laughs, has the potential to spark an interesting discussion about our generation’s willingness to sacrifice intimacy for financial security. But the film doesn’t really go there, nor anywhere, and remains as stale and safe as can be.

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Actor: Belinda Jombwe, Desmond Chiam, Gabrielle Chan, Ilai Swindells, Jon Prasida, Joshua McElroy, Melanie Jarnson, Renee Lim, Rob Collins, Sara West, Scott Lee, Shuang Hu, Tzi Ma, Yoson An

Director: Shawn Seet