November 2024 Movie Roundup: Ranking the New Releases I Saw

With November at an end, it is time for me to share my thoughts and ranking of the November new releases I saw this month. November was a pretty good month for movies with several that were up for Oscar contention and the box office success of "Glicked". All the movies I saw were pretty good with no movies having a negative rating. With all that said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the nine November releases that I saw.

9. Red One

Red One is easily the weakest movie I saw this month. It is pretty much a generic action blockbuster trying to appeal to a broad audience. I wouldn't call this movie terrible but it wasn't good either. It was just a lukewarm kind of film. There were some fun action sequences and a few moments that made me chuckle. Dwayne Johnson is always fun in whatever movie he is in as he just has this charm that he brings to his films. I also thought Chris Evans was fun enough. The two actors didn't have amazing chemistry together but it wasn't terrible either. If you have a family with kids, you'll have a good time with this film. It isn't going to make you bored but will probably be forgotten by the time you exit the theater. There are plenty of other better Christmas films but this one won't feel like a waste of money either. In the end, this is a fun enough yet forgettable Christmas blockbuster that would have probably worked better as a direct-to-streaming movie.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

8. Here

Here is the newest film from Robert Zemeckis and is a film that I appreciated the craft more than I thought was good. Here takes the unique approach of showing the entire movie from this single window viewpoint as time and families pass around it. It is an interesting idea and led to some fulfilling moments. The whole Tom Hanks storyline is easily the best part of the movie. Whenever that family was the focus, I thought the movie worked rather well. It was able to address the hardness of the passage of time, regret from lost time, and a desire to live a fulfilling life. The de-aging technology looked good but has the issue of the 20-year-old Tom Hanks still sounding and moving like a 70-year-old Tom Hanks. While I thought the whole premise of the movie was interesting. The plot had to "cheat" and take certain liberties to make the movies more effective. Too many life events had to conveniently happen in the living room otherwise the story just doesn't work. I also thought the movie loses a bit of steam when it jumps around to various other times in history. Some of the stories worked well but some just felt shoehorned in. Overall, while this movie does have its decent moments I'm not sure the gimmick worked enough to put it higher on the list.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

7. Moana 2

Moana 2 is this year's, Disney animated movie. As much as I wanted to like this movie, I found it quite disappointing. It was fun to return to the world of Moana and get to see her grow more in her leadership abilities. It was also fun to see Maui again and get a fresh villain and threat to the ocean. There isn't anything bad about the movie. The kids in the theater seemed to have a fun time which is who the movie was made for. The movie just never comes anywhere close to the first film. This movie was originally meant to be a TV show on Disney+ that they changed about a year ago and you can feel that in the film. There are clear points where each episode would have ended as well as obvious places where there was more with a certain character that was cut out from the film. The challenge is trying to get a 3-hour TV show into a 100-minute movie and that usually comes at the expense of the story. I also felt that the songs were just there to check off boxes from the first film with the original film's songs being significantly better. I'm curious to see if the TV show version of this would have worked any better. In the end, this was a fine enough sequel to Moana but you can feel that this was not meant to be a movie.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

6. Blitz

Blitz is the one streaming movie I saw this month. Blitz is streaming on Apple TV+ and follows a mother and her son as they are separated during the German bombing campaign of London in World War II. I thought this movie was a very solid World War II drama. While most movies focus on the fighting aspect of war, this movie shows the impact the world has on civilians. This movie is essentially a war drama with a little bit of Oliver Twist thrown in and both aspects work rather well. Saoirse Ronan is great as the mother character in the film. Her portion of the story is all about her trying to resume living after she has to send her son outside the city to be safe from the bombing. The movie does a good job of showing her struggles without her son while also trying to continue her life. The aspect with the son is arguably the more interesting of the two. That aspect shows the son, George, trying to make his way back to his mother. The movie does a good job here exposing George to many of the negative aspects of war. The main thing holding the movie back for me was that it did feel a bit episodic at times. We follow George as he moves from one place to the next encountering different characters and then moving on to the next place. I think this could have been a little smoother. In the end, this a solid war drama that just feels a little too episodic to allow it to be higher on this list.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

5. Heretic

Heretic was a movie that was not on my radar until a few weeks before it came out. Heretic is a self-contained religious horror thriller and follows these two Mormon missionaries as they attempt to escape from a mysterious man's house. Hugh Grant is great as this charismatic creep. The entire time, you can tell that something is off with him but he has just enough charm that he keeps you at ease until he traps the two missionaries. The movie takes on a lot of ideas about faith and the different sects of religion. It is really interesting to watch this debate between Hugh Grant and the missionaries. The movie turns into this big cat-and-mouse game where the two Mormons are attempting to outsmart Hugh Grant. The way the movie is done keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. I felt that the movie does lose a little bit of steam in the later half of the film. The payoff isn't as satisfying as the debate leading up to it. In the end, this movie does its job of keeping the audience engaged and is just a solid horror thriller.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

4. Anora

Anora is a bit of a cheat on this list. It technically came out in October but wasn't made available in the theater I go to until November which is why I put it on the list. Anora centers around "erotic dancer" Anora as she falls for and impulsively marries the son of a wealthy oligarch. Things soon get out of hand, when the parents hear of it and attempt to disband the marriage. This movie has a very good chance of being nominated for Best Picture which is the primary reason why I watched it. However, the movie ends up being a lot better than its premise would imply. The whole first half of the movie is what you would expect, two young adults doing drugs and each other, but then the second half is when the movie kicks into high gear and gets a lot more engaging. Mikey Madison is great in the lead role and is worthy of an Oscar nomination. The actor that plays the male lead is also great as this big man child. He is meant to be insufferable and the actor nails it. The whole whirlwind of a journey Anora goes on is so interesting and keeps you engaged until the very end as you hope something works out for her. There aren't too many issues with this movie. This just isn't a movie I get on board with. Overall, this is a very well-made movie and while it isn't the most uplifting thing in the world, I can see why it will probably get a best picture nomination.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

3. Music By John Williams

Music By John Williams is one of the first documentaries I've seen in a while. This documentary centers around the life of composer John Williams and takes the audience through the story of some of his major compositions. Of course, you can't go wrong with a documentary devoted to one of the greatest film composers of all time. I like how this documentary tells the story of the writing of various film scores from Star Wars to Jaws to Indiana Jones and so many others. Just being able to hear the story of some of the most iconic scores of all time just put a big grin on my face. My biggest complaint is that it wasn't longer so that it could go through more movies. A smaller issue is that I felt the second half was a little jumpy in its storytelling. I felt like bringing in some of his other life aspects such as the Philharmonic he conducted and the Hollywood Bowl could have been incorporated into the movie a bit more organically. In the end, this is a solid documentary that does a great job of showcasing the career of John Williams.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

2. Gladiator II

Gladiator II is a long long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott's Gladiator. I quite enjoyed this film. I thought the action was on par with that of the original film with some sequences being even better because of the advances in technology. I thought Paul Mescal was a great addition as the lead of the story. He pays tribute to Russel Crowe's character while still doing his own thing. The movie has some connections to the original film but is independent enough that you could watch this without watching the original. Denzel Washington was the standout performer in this movie. He can play some so likable while also very ambitious and dangerous. I also like how the movie manages to differentiate itself from its predecessor in the later half of the film. The first half is a bit derivative of the original movie but the second half finds its voice. The only thing holding this film back was that I felt that the final moments of the film were a bit anticlimactic. The big final battle was good but how the antagonist was handled just could have been a little more exciting considering everything else that was going on. Overall, this is a solid follow-up to a classic film that both pays homage to the original while also doing something new.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

1. Wicked

Wicked was easily the best movie I saw this month. For someone who has never seen the musical or read the book, I was a bit skeptical. However, this movie won me over. This is just a fantastic adaptation of a beloved musical. The story here is just so immersive with all of the world-building and huge-scale set pieces. It reminded me a lot of the first couple of Harry Potter films. I also thought the production design was amazing. All of the sets and colors looked so good like these characters were in Oz. Of course, being based on a top-tier musical, the songs were just amazing. I liked all of the big musical sequences and dance numbers and thought they were all done very well. The characters were all fantastically cast. Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum were both great as Madam Morrible and The Wizard but the stars of the show were Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Cynthia Erivo is great as the shy Elphaba and is an amazing singer. Ariana Grande is also a fantastic actress and I feel like may earn herself an Oscar nomination. Both of these actress were great together and pulled off their respective roles perfectly. Overall, this is a very well-done and very fun musical that exceeded my expectations. It is the best movie of the month and will also probably crack the top 10 best of the year.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-