The Mosley Review: Worst Films of 2024
Ya know, its a skill that I have in avoiding the absolute scum that Hollywood produces each year. I can tell from the trailers or even the little reels on Instagram what type of film its gonna be. Once you see the cracks and over all tone of the film, you know the right time to clutch your wallet. Luckily, I've only had to suffer through 3 films this year and they range from overly bloated storylines that take you out of the film in just one sequence to just down right insulting the audience. If you want to read my complete review of each film, just click the title. So without anymore stalling, here's my picks for the worst films of the 2024.
Starting off......
Argylle: With a stellar cast like this and a great filmmaker, you would think that this sometimes zanny take on a spy story would be good fun. It started off that way and I was enjoying the spoofy nature of it and the many twists and turns it took me on. When it finally got to the point of all this, I realized that I've seen it a thousand times before and its execution was just not at the clever level of storytelling it tried to be. Bryce Dallas Howard is a magnificent actress, but I feel for the most part she was horribly miss cast as Elly Conway. I dug her emotional reactions and sometimes hilarious outburst as bullets started to fly around her, but towards the end during an impossible skating scene, the film completely lost me. I was more invested in the fictional story of Henry Cavill's Argylle than her. Sam Rockwell did the most heavy lifting with his immeasurable amount of charm as Aidan Wilde. This was just a lot of wasted potential that should've stayed in the fun spy spoof avenue it was in the start. Oh and Mr. Vaughn, stop trying mix everything into your Kingsman universe. It doesn't work!
Moana 2: It pains me to say this because I really enjoyed the first film. It was one of the best Disney animated films in a very long time. It was gorgeous to witness and had one of the best soundtracks since the Disney's Tarzan. The classic coming of age story was actually fun and explorative of not only the titular character, but of the sea and her people. That's why we loved the first film. Well, the quality of animation is still intact, but the story and soundtrack wasn't nearly at the level of excellence the original was. Halfway through I was already dreading hearing any of Moana's new crew speak or sing and the adventure this time was just not really worth it. It didn't feel earned by the end and the music suffered from not having Lin-Manuel Miranda at the writing helm. Beyond was the only true standout song performed by the amazing Auliʻi Cravalho who does another great job as Moana. After hearing the original idea of making this a streaming movie and not the quality of the first film, I hope whomever is in charge sees this and realizes the massive mistake this was and get us back to the greatness the first film was.
And now for the biggest turd Hollywood shat out into cinemas. My pick for the worst films of 2024 is none other than.....
Joker: Folie à Deux: There are many sayings that derive from the "Quit while you're ahead" qoute that should be heard more often. Its a shame that it wasn't screamed loud enough here. The first Joker was a brilliant deep dive into a version of the iconic Prince of Crime and delivered a more grounded and relatable story of pain, societal degradation and mental health. There were so many layers explored in Arthur's psyche and it was all done so well. He became what society has made him and he accepted it. This film unravels all of that and tries to re-wrap it in a torn and scrunched up version of a superior story we've already seen before. I enjoyed the musical aspect of the songs being in his head and how they express his feelings, but that's all. Everything else was truly pointless by the end of the film as we don't really get a payoff. Joaquin Phoenix still delivers an outstanding performance regardless of the material and I liked Lady Gaga's portrayal of the super fan that this Harley Quinn was. In the end, it was something that not only ripped away the brilliant legacy the first film created, but also was a massive stain on the good will that DC had (at the time) created. What an absolute abomination of a film.
That's it folks and thank Christ! That is my list of the worst films of 2024! Let's hope 2025 learns from the horrible mistakes that 2024 made and doesn't repeat them. Thanks for reading!
