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Best and Worst Films from June 2024

Best Films from June 2024:

3. Johnny Belinda

Johnny Belinda was a groundbreaking movie for its period as it tackled the difficult subject of rape while also depicting a deaf-mute protagonist. It’s an unusually honest, dark and emotionally driven story that features strong characterization and great acting. Lew Ayres was wonderful as one of the kindest doctors in cinema history and Jane Wyman undeniably deserved her Oscar for what is pretty much a silent performance, one that relied heavily on her facial expressions to sell her emotions and the story at large. It’s an underappreciated gem.

2. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

I loved seeing this movie in the theater this month. As a huge Apes fan, I have to say that I was more than satisfied with this newest addition to this lovely franchise. It has its flaws, but it’s suitably epic, fun and thematically interesting. It’s gorgeous to look at due to superb VFX and it featured fine new characters. The movie’s heavy dialogue and strong characterization worked in tandem with impressive action set pieces to create a blockbuster that is appealing to everybody. It’s not quite as strong as the original film and the prequel trilogy, but it came awfully close.

1. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

And the best movie I saw all month hails from India. Yes, this movie is absolutely wonderful. Though familiar in its narrative trappings, the movie elevated those with its roster of lovable characters and performers, strong emotional engagement and fantastic humor. The lightweight road trip buddy comedy movie is something that Hollywood would do often back in the day, but now we have Bollywood to remind us of the many wonders that this type of film can offer. It’s an endearing crowd-pleaser that is almost impossible not to love.

Worst Films from June 2024:

3. Say Anything

Say Anything is another one of Cameron Crowe movies that I did not care for. It’s well acted and it does have a great soundtrack, but it also has an obnoxious protagonist played by the always annoying John Cusack, cringey dialogue and a typically implausible plot. It’s an iconic rom-com, but only for the fans of the genre.

2. The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy is a giant mediocrity. Ryan Gosling is as charismatic as ever, but Emily Blunt wasn’t as interesting here and the two lacked chemistry. The romance was poorly written and quite tedious. It’s an overrated movie that is strictly made for genre fans and Americans.

1. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare was at times was fun in its campiness, but most of the time it was way too over-the-top and ridiculous for its own sake. The plot is ludicrous and the characters uninteresting. It’s one of the stupidest and worst entries in the Elm Street franchise for sure.