Hunter Friesen’s midyear ranking of 2024’s most compelling films, from quiet art-house dramas to ambitious genre experiments.
Author: Hunter Friesen
James Gunn takes a sprawling approach to ‘Superman,’ which puts the superhero do-gooder in conflict with a modern world where doing good isn’t so simple.
“Jurassic World: Rebirth” leans on nostalgia and spectacle but offers little evolution, originality or character in a tired franchise.
Brad Pitt stars as a veteran racer in “F1: The Movie,” a sleek, high-budget sports drama with familiar turns.
Danny Boyle returns for “28 Years Later,” a grim, artful sequel that reboots the franchise with bold themes and strong performances.
“Materialists” opens in the Paleolithic period of the Stone Age. A caveman brings tools and flowers to the woman he loves, hoping they’ll be enough to earn her affection. We may think love gets purer the further back in time you go, but there has always been a business angle. Dowries, negotiations and aligning kingdoms were the old ways of forming a union. Now there’s an algorithm for that, loaded with statistics like height, income and political views. And for those who are more serious (or desperate) and have the funds, there are services like Adore, which assign a personal…
Stylish and brutal, “Ballerina” falls short of John Wick’s high bar, but Ana de Armas keeps it watchable.
Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” blends slapstick and satire in a lavish tale of legacy, communication, and unlikely redemption.
Guy Ritchie’s “Fountain of Youth” squanders its premise, with John Krasinski and Natalie Portman adrift in a flat adventure.
Tom Cruise pushes limits in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” a high-stakes, visually explosive chapter in the action saga.