2024 Year in Review: Best Movies

This week I'll be doing my best of 2024 lists. I enjoy doing these and I like to do them right before the holidays. Just like years past, I'll do my top five movies, tv shows, music, sports moments and podcasts/podcast episodes. Let us tarry no longer. I'm going to start the week with my top five movies of the year. I have not seen every movie I intended to see in 2024. That means movies like "Anora" or "Y2K" are not on my list because I have yet to find the time to watch them. I also want to see many more movies that came out, but I forgot or the timing never really worked out for me. But, I think I paired my list down pretty well and the five movies I picked were the best, in my opinion, that I watched in 2024.

Coming in at number 5 I have "Self Reliance". This was a movie I watched by chance. I was listening to a podcast that Jake Johnson was on and he was promoting this movie. I like his work. He said that Anna Kendrick was involved, as was Andy Samberg, playing himself. Both of those added to my curiosity. It was streaming on hulu, and after the podcast episode I turned the movie on. I really enjoyed what I saw. "Self Reliance" is a movie where a guy has a chance to win a big sum of money if he can avoid being assasinated for a certain amount of time. All he has to do is constantly have someone by his side, and the people out to get him cannot go after him. Along the way there's twists and turns that make this movie even better. I found myself rooting for Johnson's character. I wanted to know more about why Anna Kendrick was so willing to help. I liked the whole Andy Samberg of it all. This was a cool, unique idea of a movie with a stellar cast. It was well written, only 90 minutes long and totally paid off. I think everyone should seek this movie out so more movies like this can be made in the future.

At number 4 I have "Deadpool and Wolverine". I have grown weary of timelines and superhero stuff, but this movie did it right. The right jokes were made. The right timeline was picked. It was a great vehicle for the superheroes involved. Ryan Reynolds understands Deadpool and knows how to write and play him onscreen. Hugh Jackman is Wolverine, and this version has been my absolute favorite to this point. To get X-23, Blade, Elektra and Gambit involved was perfect. I enjoyed Chris Evans in this movie. The villain was mean and nasty, but also understandable. I knew why she was doing what she was doing. It made sense to me. This movie is fun, vulgar, hyper violent and one of the bloodiest movies I've ever seen. It was also a blast to watch.

At number 3 I have "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga". RD and I debated about this movie to no end. I loved it, but said it wasn't as good as "Fury Road", which I personally think may be the best movie ever made. He consistently told me it was a totally different movie. I get that. Anyway, "Furiosa" is grimy and gritty in all the right ways. To see the world created that we all know from "Mad Max" was incredible. Chris Hemsworth played an excellent villain. Anya Taylor Joy was magnetic as Furiosa. I loved the origin story and getting to finally see why Furiosa was at Immortan Joe's camp. I found this movie enthralling and dynamic. George Miller made a colorful yet gritty movie work to perfection.

At number 2 I have "Dune:Part 2". Denis Villenuve knows how to make the seemingly unmakeable movie. He has adapted the "Dune" books into something that is not only watchable, but fantastic and easy to understand. Timothee Chalamet is wonderful as Paul Atriedes. Rebecca Ferguson has embodied his mom and preacher of what she considers the gospel. Zendaya is remarkable. She absolutely crushes her role. Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin bring mild comedic elements to this dreary world. The sandworms look real. The battle scenes are epic and beautifully shot. "Dune:Part 2" has one of the best shifts in tone and color when we see where the Harkonnens live and fight and plot. There are no notes for this movie. It is damn near perfect.

At number 1 I have "The Substance". I have not seen a movie this unique, this refreshing in years. There's no other movie out there right now, or in the past decade plus for that matter, that comes close to being what "The Substance" is. Demi Moore is simply amazing as Elisabeth Sparkle. She is perfect for the role of a superstar who other people think has aged out of her fame. Margaret Qualley is just as good as the younger version of Sparkle. She takes it all in stride and is more than game for what this movie is telling the audience. Collie Farageat had an idea and went for it, hitting an absolute homerun. This movie will make you queasy. It is meant to unnerve the viewer. There are some very disturbing images. But when you let it wash over you and you allow yourself to be in for the ride, you will end up thinking about this movie over and over and over again. I've already watched it three times, and I can't wait to watch it again. I want to see more and more of what I may have missed on my first three viewings. "The Substance" is a movie that needs to be seen and then talked about. It's so damn good.

That's it for my top movies in 2024. Come back tomorrow for my top music of the year. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Furiosa"

My wife and I saw "Furiosa" over the weekend. Let’s discuss.

This was a movie I was going to the theater to see no matter what. I have been looking forward to it since it was announced. Look, "Fury Road" may be the greatest action movie ever made. I think it is. It is full throttle, non stop action, and that is what I love about it. And it is not a "Fast and Furious" movie. Those have their place, but the whole "Mad Max" series has created a sci-fi world that absolutely fascinates me. It is the type of dystopic future movie that I am inclined to watch over and over again. And I have. I've seen the other "Mad Max" movies multiple times, with "Fury Road" leading the way, with at least a dozen viewings. So, giving me the backstory of Furiosa, Charlize Theron's character in "Fury Road", is all I want in a summer action blockbuster. We went out the day after it opened, we were in a relatively empty theater, and we sat back and watched.

My wife was not into the movie. These movies aren't for her. She likes her action movies to be superhero driven. But, I appreciate her wanting to go out and watch a movie series with me that I adore.

I loved this movie. Now, it is not on "Fury Road" level. That is a masterpiece. If "Furiosa" got to the level of "Fury Road", I don't think I'd have to watch any other action movie ever. But "Furiosa" has a place in my heart. I knew going in that this movie was going to be more of a story. George Miller told us that much during his interviews. And he and his crew told a great story. I loved getting to see where Furiosa came from and how she ended up where she did. Seeing her home, The Green Place, at its height, was pretty cool. It was also brutal because those of us that have seen "Fury Road" know the demise of The Green Place. And even in a movie that is more of a slow burn, we get a pretty dope chase scene right after Furiosa is captured. And the action sequences continue throughout the movie. There is a non-stop 15 minute action scene on a war rig that is one of the best things I've ever watched on any medium. It is a damn work of art. I also liked that we got to see Immortan Joe before he takes everything over. He is still evil as hell. We get to see The Bullet Farm and Gas Town before it all gets blown to hell. We see how some alliances started, and how some broke apart. We get to see early versions of the War Boys. We see the wasteland that has been created in this world. And it is bleak.

The performances in this movie are incredible. They bring back some of the people from the original movies. The actor who played Immortan Joe originally has since passed away, but his replacement did a damn fine job. The mothers in The Green Place are protective and totally badass. The first driver of the war rig may be one of the few people I have rooted for in this series. And then we have Anya Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth. Hemsworth is endlessly watchable as the main villain. He has no redeeming qualities. He is evil through and through. And I couldn't get enough of his work here. He really went for it and he definitely nailed it. I want to see him do more roles like this because he was truly foul and truly amazing here. Anya Taylor Joy did more than just justice to Theron's work. Joy embodied Furiosa. I read that she had to do a bunch of acting with only her eyes, she does not have a bunch of lines in the movie, and she hit a damn homerun with her eye acting. I know her story, yet I was endlessly surprised by what I was seeing. The final scene between her and Hemsworth is one of the best things I've ever watched. Joy was magnificent.

I loved "Furiosa". While speaking with a family member who also saw the movie on opening weekend, he said that, while not on the level of "Fury Road", he gave it an 11/10, he gave "Furiosa" an 8/10. I think that is fair. I'd probably go 8.5 or 9/10, but that is me. "Furiosa" is an achievement. I recommend this movie wholeheartedly. It will be on my best of 2024 list. I can already tell. Go see it now. I plan on going a few more times to see it in the theaters. Maybe I'll see you there. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches the Trailer for "Furiosa"

The trailer for "Furiosa" came out this morning and you better believe I watched it asap. We've made no secret about our love for "Fury Road" on this site and podcast. My review was given a title along the lines that I gave the movie "10 Thumbs Up". RD has said, and I find myself agreeing with him from time to time, that it may be the best movie ever made. So when they announced "Furiosa", we were both already in. Now with the trailer coming out, and watching it, I want to throw all of my money at this movie.

The trailer is amazing. It takes me right back to the feelings I had when I first saw the trailer for "Fury Road". This new movie is a prequel I guess. But we get to know the story of Furiosa now. We get to find out how she became the super badass that she was in "Fury Road". Charlize Theron is not reprising her role, and I do not think she even has a cameo. But that is what I'd expect from an origin story. This time Ana Taylor Joy is playing a young Furiosa, and she looks just as bad ass. There is a moment in the trailer where she smears oil on her head and it takes me right back to the first time we see Theron as Furiosa in "Fury Road". There are also shots of the world pre the economic collapse, to give us even more backstory. They do also show the mechanical arm in the trailer, so I am assuming we get to see how that all came about. We also get a very rugged and ravaged looking Chris Hemsworth. I didn't even know it was him at first glance. I thought it was the guy that played Tormund in "Game of Thrones". But it is Hemsworth with some shaggy hair and a very unkempt beard. He also has a funny way of speaking in this trailer, and he looks to be a real villain, which will be very cool to see him play a role like that in a George Miller action movie.

Going away from the main two actors, we get a lot of the world that we have all grown accustomed to in this "Mad Max" world. It is a dessert. There are crazily built cars everywhere. There are the albino soldiers. We see a young Immortan Joe. There are people that are going to help Furiosa. We got to see her family before everything went haywire. It looks like there is going to be a massive amount of car chases and things getting blown up. Taylor Joy has a pretty big body count from the trailer alone. There is one scene where she sets a trap for a car chasing her and the car gets ravaged by a pointy, sharp gate.

The movie looks amazing.

What I loved most about this trailer was the opening scene though. It starts with a crawl, giving us information. We then see Taylor Joy as Furiosa walking into a desert, away from her abandoned bike, and she looks hurt. She says a few words and then we are thrust into this chaotic world that Miller has created. Why do I love this so much you ask? Because this is how Miller starts all the good "Mad Max" movies. The formula works and I get an idea of what I am in for from the jump.

I can't wait to see this movie. That should be very clear. There is no official release date as of yet, but we do know that it will come out in 2024. The sooner the better for me. "Furiosa" is going to be one hell of a movie, and this trailer is pretty phenomenal. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.