My Top Ten Movies of 2024

This past year, I watched a good variety of new movies, from football movies to war movies to romantic comedies. (I also watched a couple scientific "save the world" movies; you may notice that neither of those made it onto my top 10 list. 😅) Following the example of my friend E. G. Runyan, I decided to list my top ten movies of 2024. While all of them were good, the top four or five stood out to me as excellent.

10. The Princess Bride (6/10)

    
    

A fantastical romance, The Princess Bride is perfect when you're in the mood for action, comedy, romance and a high dash of swashbuckling airs. Unless you're in the mood for it, though, I think you may find it just a bit too cheesy. For instance, I wouldn't pick it to be the next thing watched after finishing The Lord of the Rings trilogy. 😂

9. Midway (8/10)

I'll be honest: I didn't watch this whole movie. My brother, sister and dad decided to watch it this holiday season, and I was informed that I was free to join. While I did watch a good deal of it---enough to understand what was going on and the excellence of the movie---I can't place it any higher in my list with a good conscience. It was exciting and gripping and also portrayed the pilots in the movie as real people with real, relatable struggles.

8. I Heard the Bells (8/10)

Sight and Sounds debut film, I Heard the Bells is based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's life and family struggles. As an aspiring author, I related with the man in the movie and his struggles to put his pen to paper when life was difficult. It was a beautiful, clean film with strong elements of Christianity and wholesome family values. I really enjoyed it, and not just as a Christmas movie.

7. Remember the Titans (8/10)

This year, I was introduced to something huge. Something so huge that it hardly seems to fit under the single word it is given. Football. And surprisingly enough, I've enjoyed it for the most part. As an introduction into this overwhelming world, my dad decided to share two football movies with my family. The first one, Remember the Titans, was a wholesome, hilarious movie that I enjoyed far more than I thought I would. The characters were relatable and enjoyable, and the struggles they faced made the movie so much more than just football.

6. The Blind Side (9/10)

This movie, quickly following Remember the Titans in my football viewing streak, was even better. The characters were amazing, and Sandra Bullock played an amazing character. I also enjoyed the themes of family and loyalty, and, just like Remember the Titans, felt that this movie was so much bigger than football.

5. Sherlock Holmes 2009 (8/10)

I really enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes duology starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Though Holmes' character in the movie differed vastly from the man in the books, changing Doyle's cool collected detective into a scattered individual, both storylines, especially the first, were very intriguing. Downey Jr. is a very good, amusing actor, and the movies were entertaining. (My family and I skipped several scenes in both movies, however)

4. We Bought a Zoo (9/10)

This movie was the perfect mix of fun and struggles, and it had a great cast of actors. Once again, as in several of the other movies listed, I enjoyed the emphasis on family and relationships. I would definitely recommend this movie to any animal lover as well, as the animals aren't just a background, but a key part of the movie.

3. Letters to Juliet (9/10)

As you can probably tell at first glance, this movie is a romcom (a romantic comedy). I watched it for the first time about two months ago and have already seen it twice. I love this movie for its humor, characters and romance. I enjoy prose probably more than the average person, and the way that the sarcasm is worded in this movie is epic. I enjoyed almost every single line that was said and probably walked away with some new ones to use in my writing.

2. Interstellar (10/10)

This sci-fi movie was nothing like the two sci-fi "save the world" movies I mentioned at the beginning of this post. (Those were 2012, and The Core.) This movie was so poignant and deep, so much more than a mere quest into the unknown of space and time. The actors were amazing, and the plot was complex. There was a perfect mix of thrilling and tear-jerking scenes. It was the first movie that I've watched in quite a while that brought tears to my eyes at the end.

1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (10/10)

   
   

This movie was absolutely incredible. The plot was incredible, and Ben Stiller was incredible. The movie genre is hard to describe because I've never seen anything quite like it before. The storyline follows an insecure businessman, Walter Mitty, who is on the brink of losing his job. Then, through a series of unforeseeable events, he finds himself battling incredible odds, doing things he's only ever dreamed of doing. And eventually, he finds that the courage he's only ever dreamed of having has actually become his. There was something so deep about Walter Mitty's character, and I found myself relating to him right away.

And that wraps up my top ten list of new movies that I watched in 2024. Are any of these your favorites? Or are you now interested in trying some of them out? Were there any that you would have ranked higher than I did? I'd be interested in knowing.

And Happy New Year!