Weekend Watch - July and August 2024 Recap
Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week, we’re back after an extended hiatus with a look back at the best films released in July and August of this year. We’ll highlight the films that critics and audiences liked most in these months, categorizing them by their likelihood of making the year’s 25 best films – Long Shots, Possible Things, and Sure Things. The latter two-thirds of summer 2024 brought us a decent mix of films, some overhyped, some underappreciated, and others fully delivering on their promises, resulting in an acceptable if not overly noteworthy couple of months. Let’s get into it.
Long Shots:
MaXXXine: The highly anticipated conclusion to Ti West’s homage horror trilogy fell far short of the standard set by the first two in both the acting and horror department. It still stands a cut above many of the year’s horror offerings, but don’t expect it to suddenly break into the all-time greats conversation any time soon.
The Imaginary: Netflix’s new animated offering takes a look at the world of imaginary friends, a surprisingly popular theme this year, and the anime film seems to be passable but nowhere near the conversation for the film’s best animated films. If you enjoy the style or the concept, it’s probably worth checking out. Otherwise, it’s safe to say you can miss it.
Faye: Max’s documentary about Faye Dunaway is another in a long line of celebrity bio-docs that do great things for their subjects’ fans and little for the overall genre of documentary. If you love the illustrious star or would like to hear about her life from her own lips, it’s worth checking out, but don’t expect it to be called for any major awards at the end of the year.
Twisters: The “sequel” to the 90s disaster film delivered exactly as promised – a fun, hot, exhilarating look at storm chasers that mostly lives up to the legacy of the original and delivers some solid star power from Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. It’s not much beyond that, but it’s definitely worth watching even if it won’t perhaps stand the test of time like the original has.
Skywalkers: A Love Story: The Netflix documentary about stunt acrobats climbing Malaysia’s tallest skyscraper to rekindle their career and relationship feels like it could make some noise as the year progresses, but its problematic protagonists and odd promotion of NFTs have held it back from achieving as highly as it could have.
Deadpool & Wolverine: Marvel Studios’ only theatrical release this year has had major box office and fan success, delivering on its promise of bringing R-rated superhero action to the MCU. Its excess of fan-service and shortness on plot have definitely held it back from reaching the highs of the former MCU, but it’s still a solid outing that bodes well for the upcoming slate.
Cuckoo: The psychological horror film starring Hunter Schafer that was highly anticipated by the internet, particularly Ayo Edebiri, has delivered on its promise of a fun, twisty, if not always incredibly scary indie horror film. It takes some big swings that not every audience has loved equally, but it might be your cup of tea.
War Game: It’s a documentary about US officials simulating a response to a coup, which might hit a bit too close to home in this year’s political climate with January 6, 2021, still very much in the public’s mind, but it seems to be well-made and interesting. Its subject matter might be too divisive to be an immediate great, but it might find the right audience and last for a while.
Alien: Romulus: Director Fede Alvarez’s take on the iconic sci-fi/horror series has brought it back to its more grounded roots and found a strong audience with critics and fans alike. Though its lack of truly original ideas and controversial inclusion of a highly altered version of deceased actor Ian Holm have held it back from the heights of the originals.
My Penguin Friend: A feel-good, indie, based-on-a-true-story film about a fisherman who rescues a penguin from an oil spill will obviously fly well under the radar. Nevertheless, those who have seen it have been generally positive about it, and it’s always fun to get to see Jean Reno in a film even if it’s one that few people will watch.
Blink Twice: Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut has outperformed most expectations for it with praise for her directorial vision and the performances of leads Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum. It’s nowhere near perfect, and some heavy comparisons to other films (Get Out and Saltburn especially) have held it back in the story department, but it’s still a fun intro for Kravitz to directing.
Between the Temples: The Bat Mitzvah indie comedy starring Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane has some serious Golden Globe potential, especially with its strong critical reception. It sounds like the humor might be a bit more niche, resulting in some mixed audience reviews, but it might be a film worth checking out if that sounds up your alley.
Possible Things:
Longlegs: A serial killer/supernatural horror film from Osgood Perkins (son of Anthony Perkins of Psycho) starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage has been the breakout hit of the summer. Its convoluted third act has left some viewers less than thrilled, but its story and star power might get it into the conversation at the end of the year.
Didi: A 2000s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story about a Taiwanese American boy sounds like the ideal film for indie film fans, and it certainly sounds like its found that target audience. Many have it sitting on the cusp of Oscar nominations for screenplay and for the supporting performance of Joan Chen as Chris’s mom. It sounds like it might be one of the best films of the year if audiences keep loving it like they have.
Kneecap: The first official submission for Best International Feature to get a wide release in the U.S. has come from Ireland this year with Rich Peppiatt’s film about Irish-language rappers working to revive the use of the language in the wide sphere. Audiences and critics alike agree that it’s a real hit, and most expect it to be on the list of Oscar nominees at the end of the year.
Daughters: Netflix’s legitimate Oscar contender in the documentary category is Daughters, which looks at a father-daughter dance between incarcerated men and their daughters in Washington, D.C. It lives in a topical space and has been a hit with those who have watched it so far. If it’s a topic that interests you, I’d definitely recommend giving it a shot.
Strange Darling: The serial killer indie thriller from J.T. Mollner ends up being the biggest surprise of August, opening to near-unanimous critical acclaim and similar takes from fans. Some have taken issue with the potentially problematic interpretations of the film’s themes, especially seeing as it was written by a man, taking on issues of gender norms, but it sounds like a relatively unique film worth checking out if the genre is up your alley.
Sure Things:
Sing Sing: The current frontrunner for Best Picture finally expanded its theatrical run this past month and continues to hit the right mark with audiences. Anyone who doesn’t categorize this as one of the best films of the year (and possibly of all time) must have watched a different film than I did because it is phenomenal and certainly lives up to the hype.
