My Top 20 Films of 2024

So far, in our awards, we have looked at Action, Cinematography, Costumes, Emotion, Fun, Music, Tension, Worldbuilding, Best Animation, Best of Australia & New Zealand & Best TV of 2024

However, in this last entry into our Best of 2024 awards, we crown our Best Film of 2024.

All films are subjective, so our list might look completely different from yours. Of the 116 films we reviewed last year, 110 had their Australian Theatrical/Streaming Release in 2024. This is the list from which we draw our entries, and you can see the complete list of movies HERE.

Much like last year’s list, we have had many staggered releases towards the end of the year in Australia. So we may have films here that were released in 2023 for you but 2024 for us, and there may be some omissions here because we won’t get those films until later in 2025.

Highly CommendedThe Beekeeper, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Deadpool & Wolverine, The Fall Guy, How to Make Gravy, Inside Out 2, The King of the Indies, The Kitchen, Rebel Ridge, The Rooster,  Transformers One, Turtles All the Way Down, Twisters & Wicked   

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The Costumes of 2024 That Made Us Say ‘Hot Damn’

You can use many techniques to help build your world, ground your setting, or give dimensions to your characters. You can use music and create elaborate sets, but one of the best ways is through the costumes you make.

People instantly judge a character within moments on the screen, and the outfits are essential to that first impression. More than this, you can also use costumes as a way of storytelling. What do they say about this world? What do they say about how a character is progressing? 

Costumes can build worlds and tell us details we can only see, but also, they can make us say, ‘Hot Damn’, look at that beading on that dress. That must have taken hours to do!

Our Highly Commended Films in 2024 are: Alien: Romulus, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Bikeriders, Challengers, Deadpool & Wolverine, Gladiator II, The Holdovers, Hundreds of Beavers & Monkey Man      

Our Highly Commended TV in 2024 are: The Diplomat, Doctor Who, Dune Prophecy, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Penguin, Star Trek: Discovery & Star Wars: The Acolyte    

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Hit Man – Movie Review

TL;DR – A wild film with commitment in the subtext, the literal text, and also a promise to the audience.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Gary just got promoted.

Hit Man Review

There has been a lot of talk about who is going to be the next leading man in Hollywood. Indeed, I think the last person to claim that honestly might have been Tom Cruise, maybe Robby Downer Jr., but then the question is always who is going to fill that role in the near future. When it came to raw power, we have seen that Glen Powell has that in spades, but does he have the range? Well, that is the question I think we will get an answer about today.   
So to set the scene, Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) is the epitome of a mild-mannered professor. Who spends the day teaching psychology and philosophy and nights feeding his cats. Oh, and he just shop happens to have a side hustle working undercover for the New Orleans Police Department. Traditionally, he stayed in the van working on all the tech stuff he installed. Still, one day, when the undercover officer Jasper (Austin Amelio) was not able to make it, his boss Claude (Retta) was out of options. In a moment, Gary was a hitman for hire. At least, that is what he pretends to be.  

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