Okay here we are. The last part of Looking Back at the Films of 2024. Let's do it. Let's end this year...hopefully with a bang.
Why Didn't I See Y2K?
This might sound ridiculous but I chose to skip Y2K because it's an A24. Now while I do believe a lot of their films insist upon themselves (looking at you Midsommar, God that movie was such a waste of time). I do know they've also made a lot of good stuff too. Some of which I've actually reviewed. But nine times out of ten I do find them to be overhyped. Although I do blame most of that hype because of social media then the studio itself.
What is Y2K?
Y2K is a horror comedy that was produced and distributed by A24, but production was also done by Strong Baby Productions and American Light & Fixture. Kyle Mooney directed and wrote the screenplay with Evan Winter.
The story is, in 1999 best friends Eli and Danny were discussing their plans for New Year's Eve while their parents are out, and they decided to crash party that just so happens to have Eli's crush there as well. But when midnight strikes technology doesn't go dark like everybody fears. It's becomes sentient and wants to kill humans. Now Eli, Danny, and the rest of their group must fight and survive.
My Thoughts
The Good: I do like the premise. From my experience whenever someone does these Y2K goes horribly wrong stories, it's usually tech shuts down forever, people go crazy, then apocalypse. But here, it's yes Y2K did go wrong, but instead of machines shutting down they want to kill us. It's a very fun concept.
The Bad: I've got nothing.
The Okay: There's a lot of just decent stuff going for this movie. For starters, sometimes the humor just didn't work. One example is Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit shows up and he does have a few good moments here and there, but because comedy isn't really strongest strength you'll get moments with him that felt more attempt then an actual funny moment. Another slight problem is the romance between Eli and Laura. It was fine, but there were scenes when Jaeden Martell and Rachel Zegler didn't have the strongest chemistry. And because of that aspect the romance between Eli and Laura just didn't fully work. The last thing I'll touch on is Kyle Mooney's directing. These was his directorial debut and you can tell. He was bad as a director, it's there were moments where this almost felt like a movie a bunch of friends made, and they just so happened to have a big budget for their little project.
Final Verdict: Okay.
Why Didn't I See The Last Showgirl
I honestly didn't know about this movie until I saw a commercial for it at the tail end of 2024. So because of that it was too late for me to review it on time. So I just saved it for this segment.
What is The Last Showgirl?
The Last Showgirl is a drama movie that adapts Kate Gersten's play Body of Work. It was produced by Utopia, Pinky Promise, High Frequency Entertainment, and Digital Ignition Entertainment with Roadside Attractions handling distribution. Gia Coppola directed while Kate Gersten wrote the story.
The story is, 57-year old show Shelly Gardner has been working at the Le Razzle Dazzle on the Las Vegas Strip for most of her life. Then one day her and the rest of the girls are given the sad news that the Razzle Dazzle is shutting down. Now Shelly needs to find out what to do with her life after spending most of it at the once successful revue. Along the way she'll need to repair her complicated relationship with her daughter.
My Thoughts
The Good: I know the first thing people praise first is Pamela Anderson's performance, and I'll get to that, but the first thing I want to praise is the pacing to this. It's top notch. I watched this on Hulu and I was surprised when I paused the movie for a bathroom break I was an hour and twenty-seconds in. Time just flew by. So nicely done Gia Coppola nicely done. Now about that Pamela Anderson performance, whatever good word you've been hearing, it's true. She was phenomenal in this. Which was probably the movie's biggest surprise. Because for the longest time while Anderson has been involved in acting before, she's never truly had the strongest performance. That's definitely not the case her. She brought a very raw, vulnerable, and quietly devastated role to this. But we also have great acting from Jamie Lee Curtis who brings a more brass voice to the movie. Even supporting cast members such as Brenda Song (a name I haven't heard of in a LONG time) brought a good dynamic to the film as well. The last thing I'll praise is the cinematography. It felt very dream like and almost nostalgic. Which makes sense. Shelly's story has her goin through a lot and reminiscing about the old days, so having cinematography to match makes her story even better.
The Bad: I've got nothing.
The Okay: It really comes down to the story. Now it's not bad not bad at all. There's great themes of aging, loss of purpose, regret, and Las Vegas' old glamour fading away. But the story also has some clichés, such as the daughter feeling as through the parent loved their career and not them. And sometimes the themes as ageism and sexism can be handled very heavily. A matter fact Shelly pretty much spelled that out during a dinner date with a co-worker. But I'd say for the most part the story is handling with a care in a lot of other spaces.
Final Verdict: Good.
Why Didn't I See Mufasa: The Lion King?
I like many others saw no point in this. Sure we've gotten origin stories about characters before, but I don't recall one single soul asking for a Mufasa movie. I don't even think the most hardcore Lion King fans were asking for that. So I decided to say no and save it for next time.
What is Mufasa: The Lion King?
Mufasa: The Lion King is a musical drama movie that serves as the prequel to the 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King. Produced was done by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The director was Barry Jenkins and the writer was Jeff Nathanson.
The story is, were taken back to the past to when both Mufasa and his brother Scar were very young. Through this tale we learn of the allies Mufasa made along the way, his brave fight against a rouge group of white lions, and the day he became the King of the Pride Lands. But sadly this is also the tale of how Scar fell down into darkness.
My Thoughts
The Good: Alright let's get into some positives. One going to the real star of the movie the CGI. There's some amazing CG on display here and I was loving every minute of it. Then we have the acting. It's pretty good. I don't think any specific performance is gonna blow anybody away, but guys like Aaron Pierre was really good as a more younger Mufasa. Because when I heard him I can see that voice being a young Mufasa before he becomes the powerful leader we see in the story we all know.
The Bad: There's plenty bad in this movie. One of them being the songs. I watched this movie last night and when I woke up in the morning I couldn't remember a single song. Actually I do remembered "I Always Wanted a Brother", but nobody remembers that song for the right reasons. Everybody only remembers it because of the way Taka (aka young Scar) says brother. Because it's not brother it's more like "Brothaaaa!", said in a way that made it sound like Taka was gurgling something while also trying to speak. Seriously, filmmakers, was there no other way to make that poor kid sound less ridiculous? I mean it, I feel bad for that kid. But then we have a the runtime and man do they pad that thing out. If it's not wasting time on how Mufasa meet other Lion King characters (which I'll get into later) then they're just wasting time by the story being interrupted by Timon and Pumbaa. Which we really didn't need. But yes, the other bad thing about the story is there's no balance. Sometimes we focus on how Mufasa became such as powerful king, then we focus on how he met this lovable Lion King character, or that classic Lion King character. Sure there was some meetings we'd like to know about, but we didn't need to know about every single one. Sometimes there's a story or two that doesn't need to be told.
The Okay: I've got nothing.
Final Verdict: Bad.
Well that's gonna wrap it up not only for this day but for my 2025 reason. Due come back on Thursday, Jan 1st, for my review of the final season of Stranger Things. Until then, enjoy the rest of 2025, have a very Happy New Year, and hopefully 2026 becomes a great year for all of us. 🎊🎉
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