April 2024 Movies Ranked

With April at an end, I wanted to share my thoughts on the 5 movies I saw this month. April didn't have any big blockbusters come out so instead I saw more smaller films with a couple being ones I don't normally watch. So far this year, the quality of films has been a bit lacking, and with one exception this month has looked to be the same. With that being said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the 5 new releases that I saw. 

5. Rebel Moon- Part Two: The Scargiver

Rebel Moon - Part Two is easily the worst movie of the month. This film had so much potential by being an original Sci-fi story but totally ruined it by being totally derivative and devoid of any compelling characters. Part 2 is the worst of the films, with no real story or arc. It takes the final act of The Magnificent Seven and just does that again. It doesn't give any sort of arc to any of the characters nor does it tell a complete or compelling story. It also feels like it only has about an hour's worth of material that was somehow stretched into two hours. Several of the characters are completely wasted as well. The main villain seems like he isn't given much of anything to do and I have no idea why the Anthony Hopkins robot is in this at all. Overall, I was very disappointed by this film. Hopefully, the R-rated cut will be better. 

Score: 4/10 Grade: D

4. Challengers

Challengers is probably the most mixed I have been in a movie in a while. To its credit, there was a lot that I thought worked quite well. The performances from the leads were great with lots of layers and emotion. I thought the whole Tashi plot line about her struggles with her career and coaching her husband was interesting. I wish the movie had focused more on that. I also thought the tennis sequences were great and well shot with some unique camera tricks. The ending was also well done with lots of payoff from events earlier in the film. The aspect that I didn't like as much was the whole love triangle- guy friendship plot line. That story didn't work for me and I wish it had been more of a secondary plot. I also had a hard time liking any of the characters. I thought all three were quite selfish and whiney. I went back and forth on all of these likes and issues which made this movie a real struggle to determine which rating to go with. 

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

3. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

This was one of the more fun movies I saw this month. It has the novelty of seeing Nazis get shot in the face and that's all you need for a movie like this. The characters are all a lot of fun. They all have unique personalities and a special skill that helps them get the job done. The movie also does a great job of nailing the tone. It makes the movie much lighter and a lot more entertaining instead of going for a super dark war movie. Henry Cavil was a lot of fun in this movie. It was cool to see him in a role different from the serious ones he has been playing. While the movie does shine when it has the action sequences, the in-between parts get to be a bit slow. There isn't enough substance to the movie to make a super compelling plot and character arc so it just goes all in with the Nazi kills. When those aren't there, the movie is just not as fun. Overall, this was a fun B movie. It wasn't going for a super sophisticated story. It just wanted to make for a fun time and that is what it did. 

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

2. Monkey Man

On the complete opposite end of the action spectrum, we have Monkey Man. While The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is light and fun, Monkey Man is dark and brooding. I thought the action in this movie was very well done. It is very grounded with a lot of gritty sequences. Instead of going all in and doing stylized sequences, the film opts for more grounded action sequences which I think work well for the story. I also liked how the main character goes through a bit of an arc. He realizes the political turmoil that is going on and decides to become more of a hero instead of just fighting for revenge. The movie also does a great job of showing us what motivates the character and the pain and struggles he is going through. The biggest reason this movie doesn't have a higher score is that you can feel the inexperience of the director at times. Some side characters are underdeveloped and some of the camera shots are not quite right. It also has a pretty small budget which you can feel as well. In the end, considering the resources it had, this is a pretty solid action movie and shows that director Dev Patel has potential. 

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

1. Civil War

Civil War is easily the best movie I saw this month. This is a very effective action thriller about a surprisingly non-divisive modern Civil War. This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end as you see our main characters getting themselves into more intense situations as they reach their end goal of trying to interview the president. All of the characters are solid aspects of the story. They all have unique views on what is going on and each has an effective character arc by the time the ending rolls around. This movie also makes the wise decision of not establishing what issues the Civil War is about. The only clues we get are that the President must be pretty terrible for Texas and California to put aside their political differences and work together to stop him. Instead of taking a side, the movie instead opts to hold up a mirror allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions about how this relates to today. I also really liked how this movie had such epic shots and scenes and was able to have a larger budget and still get to tell an original story. Overall, this was a very well-made movie that was not only the best of the month but is currently in my top 2 of the year. 

Score: 9/10 Grade: A