Another summer at the movies is in the books and this one was rather mixed.
Top tier films, both in terms of blockbusters and smaller releases, were not in high supply. Instead, most of the flicks out there over the last several months were just about average.
However, there were still some gems worth praising out there, and a few films had qualities warranting merit. As usual, I’m here to give those pictures their due.
I think it’s pretty safe to say Summer 2024 is in the rearview.
OK, maybe not technically, as the official date to start fall is closer to Sept. 21. However, Starbuck’s is out with Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Oktoberfest beer is on the shelves and football is on the TV. More importantly, all of Hollywood’s big releases for the summer have been rolled out, marking the end of the season.
It turned out to be a pretty good one too when it comes to the movies. No, this year didn’t have a total gem like “Past Lives,” but it had plenty of other good cinematic experiences. So, it’s time to hand out awards celebrating the best movies had to offer in Summer 2024.
For well over a decade, the summer movie season has been mostly held up by several film series.
It had a start in the 2000s with the rise of comic book movies, but really took off in the 2010s as the MCU became fully established. It hit overdrive in the last 10 years. Since 2014, there have been 41 movies released in the following movie series:
Summer 2023 is in the rearview and looking back, it was a pretty good one. The season was largely bolstered by the releases of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” but there were quite a few other good flicks out there.
Just a note, I did miss a few of the blockbusters, namely ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” and “The Flash.” However, from what I’ve read, I didn’t miss much.
Based on what I did see, I’m ready to give out my personal awards to the best this summer had to offer.
Sometimes the summer provides some of the best movie moments of the year, but they often go overlooked during award season. So, to make up for it, I’ve come up with the Summer Movie Awards, giving credit to flicks that come out in the warmest months.
It was a good summer for science fiction, with “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “Edge of Tomorrow” both having a lot of success. “Edge” earned three awards while “Dawn” won six, including Best Movie.
The best movie of the summer ended up being the one that premiered at Cannes. “Midnight in Paris” earned four awards, while “X-Men: First Class” won three.
Quentin Tarantino’s World War II flick “Inglorious Basterds” led the number of award wins with six. However, it was the action sci-fi drama “District 9” winning the top prize, along with three other awards.
“The Dark Knight” may be the movie of the year. It certainly is the movie of the summer. It won nine awards, including Best Movie.
“Iron Man,” meanwhile, finished with two awards and several runner-up selections behind Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” picture.
Matthew Liedke on Film 