(This article is part of our Best of 2024 series.)
2025 is here! It’s time for me to try to remember the films I saw in 2024, as soon as I can remember what I was looking for in the kitchen. Anyway, after careful analysis (I barely remember what I ate for breakfast), I have compiled my list. A list that I have dubbed “Ralph’s Top 5 Movies That Didn’t Entirely Suck.” Do you have any idea how hard it is to do this while trying to catch up on What If…? and Skeleton Crew, binge Squid Game, AND find a way out of the catacombs below the Vatican in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle?
5. It Ends with Us
Honestly, this isn’t my typical movie. My wife started watching it and I got sucked into the drama. After all, I’m a huge fan of Blake Lively’s body… of work. Now a film that delves into the cycle of domestic abuse is pretty heavy stuff for me, but this film was done well. Please pay attention to the film, because it tends to jump around; don’t try to watch and fold towels. All the sideshow stuff between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni aside, it’s a decent film.
4. The Beekeeper
Fluff, mindless movie fluff. Jason Statham killing people in the most unbelievable ways. A Beekeeper is some kind of military assassin badass and guess what? It’s Jason Statham. Well, ok, he’s a retired Beekeeper. Lots of fights and killing people, though no fights with bees. Not even killer bees or even murder hornets. As my Public Service Announcement for the year, never EVER shoot a gun at or near a gas station. As a former Pork Product (I can joke), there are two places you never shoot a gun- a gas station (gas goes boom) and a hospital (oxygen goes boom). When you see the movie, you’ll know, or don’t see the movie and just take my word.
3. A Quiet Place: Day One
I loved the first A Quiet Place. This prequel has the perfect amount of tension in a suspense/drama film, just like the original. The film takes place at the onset of the alien invasion and follows a terminal cancer patient named Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) and her cat as they try to escape New York. You already know how it’s going to end, and you are right…. Kurt Russell gets dropped in and rescues her before his neck bomb goes off. I joke, but It’s a tear-jerker ending.
2. The Strangers: Chapter 1
Again, this is a movie my wife picked out… she’s more of a slasher film fan than me. Typical plot; couple wanders into a strange town, car trouble (how original), they’ve got to spend the night, and hilarity slashing ensues. I spent the majority of the film trying to guess who the “slashers” are since they are all masked and yelling at the screen. “NOOOOO! Don’t open THAT door!” Yeah, I’m becoming THAT person. One of my pet peeves for slasher movies is trying to find that sweet spot between a movie that makes you wince and a movie that makes you gag. I think this fits the bill; no thank you, Art the Clown.
1. Deadpool & Wolverine
A no-brainer for me and quite possibly one of the best Marvel films in years. This movie had me feeling like I was 14 years old again. So much fun, so much low-brow potty humor and action. It was extra sweet for me as a Dad to tote two of my three boys with me… willingly. Don’t worry. They are both over 18 and haven’t had a bit of therapy. Given the downer the “Multiverse Saga” has become (GIVE ME MY KANG BACK!!!!), this film is a more than welcome addition to the MCU. Of course, surprise cameos galore and Easter eggs throughout. Hugh Jackman is back baby!!! He’ll be playing Wolverine ‘till he’s 90!!
What are your thoughts on the movies that made my top five? Share them down below!
