MIDNIGHT REVIEWS Most Anticipated Movies of 2024
Midnight Reviews features reviews and thought pieces written and edited by a parent, at night, after bedtime.
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Staring at the release schedule, my mouth drooling as I succumb to those feelings best known as anticipation and excitement, I am once again reminded that cinema is alive and well and ready for the upcoming year. There is a plethora of wonderful stories of all shapes and sizes to look forward to, and below is a selection that I am personally marking up on my 2024 calendar.
Let me know if you agree with the selection, or if I’ve missed any I should know about!
10. Civil War (dir. Alex Garland)
Release date: 26th April
Snipers, on top of the Statue of Liberty! The poster tells us everything we need to know about Civil War. It’s about modern times, but in an obvious way. Still, it’s directed by Alex Garland, the man behind the excellent Annihilation and Ex Machina. If it’s anything like these then it might have something interesting to say about the world and about human consciousness, though perhaps delivered with the subtlety of a brick, or indeed the title of his not-as-well-received Men.
Despite this hammer-style messaging, I’m still excited for anything Alex Garland and having the amazing Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons in the cast, especially together after their brilliance in The Power of the Dog, only adds to my anticipation.
The movie follows Dunst, who plays a journalist travelling across the United States as they become rather ununited due to the aforementioned civil war.
The discussion I’ve seen online seems to be centring on the logistical points of the movie, i.e. which states are on which side, though it’s safe to say that there’ll be more to it when the movie actually comes out in April.
9. Argylle (dir. Matthew Vaughn)
Release date: 2nd February
It always gives me cause for concern when a movie touts itself as being directed by ‘the twisted mind’ of its director. I picture Matthew Vaughn, mouth open as dribble slowly drips off his lips; I imagine him murdering an extra for standing on Superman’s shoes; I can’t help but wonder if he did something wacky like standing on his head.
And yet, beyond nonsense trailer introductions (directors are either twisted or visionary or masterminds), my interest is piqued. Matthew Vaughn has always been a director who I’ve seen as someone who can create mildly entertaining movies (Kick-Ass, Kingsman, X-Men: First Class) without bothering the greats too much.
However, after the typical spy movie is featured, the trailer for Argylle whisks us off to novelist Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) as she writes the next instalment of her own franchise. And it turns out the events in Argylle are possibly happening within her books as well, and so we’re introduced to this meta turn as assassins come after her. Fortunately for both her and us, Sam Rockwell is there to lend a hand. And Sam Rockwell is one of those actors that improves everything he’s in, making lacklustre movies bearable, okay movies turn into a good time and good gets turned into great.
The possible downside to this movie? There’s a cat featured prominently. A cat! Only from the twisted mind of Matthew Vaughn could we get a spy movie that features a cat!
8. Inside Out 2 (dir. Kelsey Mann)
Release date: 14th June
Due to the huge positive reaction to the first movie, when I first saw Inside Out I was expecting to touch God. After being a little let down, I realised how truly amazing it was on future viewings and to hear there’s more of the same coming gives me reason to jump for Joy.
Returning voice actors from the first include Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black who did wonderful jobs as Joy, Sadness and Anger. In a turn of events that leaves me unable to decide how I feel, Bill Hader is out, but Tony Hale is in as Fear. But the main inclusion everyone is talking about is Anxiety, a new emotion introduced as Riley grows older. Naming a character after one of the words of 2023 might seem like jumping on the bandwagon, but as we see Riley grow into adolescence, and possibly beyond, what emotion could possibly be best placed to represent the feelings we all had as teenagers?
7. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (dir. George Miller)
Release date: 24th May
In order to tie into the original batch of movies, we are told that this is a ‘Mad Max Saga’, despite Mental Maximillion not appearing in any marketing, or presumably the movie, whatsoever. Take the brand marketing away though and you’ve got the most interesting character from Mad Max: Fury Road truly taking centre stage.
This time played by Anya Taylor-Joy, she of the excellent The Queen’s Gambit and the compelling but flawed The Northman, Furiosa’s story this time is a prequel as she attempts to survive in the midst of a returning Immortan Joe and new character Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth in a prosthetic nose as ridiculous as the character’s name. We are promised a further look at Furiosa’s life before she encountered Max and how she fared under the despotism of these two warring rulers.
The ridiculousness was the joy of Fury Road though; this is truly a movie that could stick the word ‘twisted’ into its marketing and have it make sense. George Miller, director of Fury Road and Happy Feet (a combination of credits still to be bested) is back after his brief sojourn into the underrated 3000 Years of Longing to give us another indeed demented chapter in his saga.
When Fury Road first started brandishing its wares, I was unsure to say the least and was blown away by what the entire movie had in store for me, and I have been hungry for more ever since. For once, I don’t care that it’s a prequel telling us a story we didn’t ask for; I can’t wait to get into the passenger seat once again.
6. Love Lies Bleeding (dir. Rose Glass)
Release date: 19th April
Kristen Stewart gets a bad rap. Featuring in the frankly terrible and dull Twilight (a movie whose title I just had to look up) has set her up as the butt of all jokes involving emotionless performances and blank stares. “That board’s as blank as Kristen Stewart,” they’ll say. “That Tory government’s as emotionless and basely manipulative as the Twilight movies,” I’m sure others have bemoaned.
But her smaller movies have revealed a talent for understated performances that slowly make you realise what you’ve just been watching. Love Lies Bleeding could be another vehicle for a similar performance.
The film itself promises to be a romance-revenge thriller that takes in everything from daddy issues, bodybuilding and love, all under the umbrella of the American dream. Rose Glass has been steadily making a name for herself and this is her first feature after the generally well-received Saint Maud. For this, she’s paired Stewart’s Lou with Katy M. O’Brian as the gym-obsessed Jackie. But how will this blossoming romance do when Jackie gets involved with Lou’s father, a man wanted by the FBI?
Ed Harris makes the link between this movie and the darkly comic Pain & Gain, a movie with similar ambitions to comment and despair at what the American dream has become. A pairing to watch before a workout routine? Love Lies Bleeding promises to be a little more complicated than that.
5. The Iron Claw (dir. Sean Durkin)
Release date: 9th February
Similar to how Love Lies Bleeding also promises to be set in the now-more-mainstream but still enigmatic subculture of body building, The Iron Claw brings us a family wrestling with their own feelings, each other and of course other wrestlers in the ring. Yes, it’s selling point is that the characters are fighting both opponents and their own demons, but I hope there is more complexity purely from the presence of Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White, the latter of The Bear fame and the former completing his transformation from Disney poster boy to indie worker.
A film that purports to be a true story, and is yet focused on a business knee-deep in trickery and showmanship; could this perhaps be a commentary on this genre itself? Whilst I doubt this will be the case, the story seems compelling enough and seems to be focusing heavily on the role of masculinity within oneself. Especially with patriarch Fritz pitting his sons against each other with a well-defined ranking system and constant physical competition. One that could surprise and beat them all.
4. Mickey 17 (dir. Bong Joon Ho)
Release date: 29th March
There isn’t much we know about Mickey 17. There are snippets saying that it’s based on a graphic novel, with a protagonist (Robert Pattinson) that is cloned and sent away to colonise a faraway place called Niflheim. Each time one version of him dies, another is woken up.
But it has a director who by now has made himself known through greatness with Parasite and Snowpiercer, and a star that is unique among the Hollywood elite. Pattinson seems to be able to not just function but thrive inside a system designed (whether purposefully or not) to push against actors like him.
See it as him doing his time on the set of Twilight and receiving his dues or simply working the system to enable himself to make interesting choices, Robert Pattinson has quickly moved away from the sparkly vampire to become easily one of the most compelling actors around.
3. American Fiction (dir. Cord Jefferson)
Release date: 2nd February
American Fiction sees its protagonist rile against a system he disdains until he uses the tools of the enemy to propel himself into the inner circle. This is the concept of American Fiction, with a cast to die for. On the surface a commentary on race, but deep down possibly also asking questions about what someone would do to get what they want and get where they think they need to be.
I get the feeling this one will either be incredibly disappointing or a revelation. This is usually the way with the movies we have high hopes for.
2. The Book of Clarence (dir. Jeymes Samuel)
Release date: 19th January
Benedict Cumberbatch. Anna Diop. Omar Sy. James McAvoy. David Oyelowo. And LaKeith Stanfield, who is just great in everything. If American Fiction has a cast to die for, I don’t know how to describe The Book of Clarence. This one promises humour, drama and tension wrapped up in a plot that sounds sure to get people thinking.
Clarence (Stanfield) is taken with the idea of being a Messiah and tasks himself and his friends to work out how to replicate Jesus and his methods. Whilst it might remind some of Life of Brian, this strikes me as something unique. Parts from other places, sure, but something about it seems to suggest The Book of Clarence is going to feel completely individual. Again, details seem to be more under wraps than anything else, but it’s one I cannot wait for.
1. Poor Things (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)
Release date: 12th January
Speaking of wholly unique, we have the director of The Favourite, something hilarious, sad and different, with something else that promises to be hilarious, sad and different. Emma Stone reunites with Lanthimos to play Bella Baxter, brought back to life and struggling to fit in. As her autonomy becomes more apparent, it rubs the more powerful members of society (i.e. rich white men) up the wrong way.
It seems to be part-Frankenstein, part-fish out of water comedy with a deeper message about equality in society, and the inclusion of both Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe (I thought he already had a star on the walk of fame?) only makes me smile more.
This one promises to be full of energy with a potentially bizarre, purposefully off-kilter visual sensibility. Awards a-plenty so far only heighten my excitement.
All of these films, and more, are going to be available to watch on the big screen, hopefully at your local cinema. Did I miss any, or would you like to praise me for my choices? Feel free to leave comments or questions or gifts wherever appropriate.
