The 2024 Ben Hecht 500, Part III

Including 'Twisters,' 'Godzilla x Kong,' 'Better Man,' 'No One Died: The Wing Bowl Story,' and more.

The Wing Bowl crew at the Philadelphia Film Festival

This is part III of my annual countdown of every 2024 movie I saw this year, ranked from worst to best. Thank you for reading so far; here’s my ranking of the year’s worst movies, and here are Part I and Part II of the main countdown.

A couple of notes: I’m listing each film’s streaming availability, mostly going by what JustWatch says as of this writing; those are all subject to change. Also, the ranking comes from my personal running Letterboxd list of the movies I saw in 2024.

And once again, if a film has a plausible claim as a 2024 release, it’s included. It’s movies that got 2024 releases and were part of 2024 awards campaigns, and also movies I saw at film festivals and through other early-access channels, which may not have releases set in 2024. There are also some movies I saw at festivals in 2023 and earlier, that finally came out this year.

Here we go with Part III…

300. Here to Climb

Dir. Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg, streaming on Max

Documentary about professional mountain climber Sasha DiGiulian, who went from child star to professional, while dealing with various forms of adversity. Some beautiful mountain vistas, and the camera loves DiGiulian.

299. ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!

Dir. Arthur Bradford, streaming on Paramount+, review here.

Documentary about the time South Park co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone bought the beloved Colorado restaurant and spent millions reviving it. Fun, but made me wonder how such a business could be viable.

298. No One Died: The Wing Bowl Story

Dir. Pat Taggart, not streaming, review here.

A documentary examination of the notorious Philadelphia chicken-wing eating contest, the local characters who competed in it, and why it ultimately had to go away. The world premiere at the Philadelphia Film Festival was among my favorite nights of the year.

297. Mean Girls

Dir. Samantha Jayne, Arturo Perez Jr., streaming on Prime Video, review here.

Remake of the 2004 sleeper hit, actually based on its own Broadway adaptation. Renee Rapp, the new Regina George, is a star, but the other casting is hit-or-miss.

296. Caddo Lake

Dir. Celine Held, Logan George, streaming on Max.

Twisty thriller owes so much to M. Night Shyamalan’s early work that he’s even a producer. I will admit that I didn’t see that ending coming.

295. The Contestant

Dir. Clair Titley, streaming on Netflix.

A British documentary about the time in the late 1990s when a Japanese man was unwittingly on a televised reality show- naked, most of the time. An insane story, even if it doesn’t go that deep.

294. Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics

Dir. Andre Gaines, streaming on Hoopla and the History Channel.

History Channel documentary about Owens’ wins at the 1936 Olympics in front of Hitler. Nothing new here, but the humiliation of Hitler is always a crowd-pleasing thing.

293. Dude Perfect: A Very Long Shot

Dir. Oliver Anderson and Louis Burgdorf, streaming on Disney+, review here.

My kids are huge fans of these guys, who I like to refer to as “Jackass for kids.” I’ve always found them somewhat annoying, but this documentary made them appear more interesting than I thought.

292. The New York Sack Exchange

Dir. Ken Rodgers and James Weiner, streaming on Disney+.

An ESPN 30 for 30 that’s an examination of the famous New York Jets defensive line, in which one big thing is clear: These guys hate each other, or rather, the other three aren’t very fond of the antics of Mark Gastineau. When it comes to documentaries about Jets history that arrived in December, this was way better than the Aaron Rodgers one.

291. Daytime Revolution

Dir. Erik Nelson, streaming on Hoopla

Documentary about a week in the late 1970s when John Lennon and Yoko Ono hosted The Mike Douglas Show in Philadelphia. A buoyant examination of an underexplored bit of history.

290. Backspot

Dir. D. W. Waterson, not streaming

Drama about competitive cheerleading. featuring a strong lead performance from Devery Jacobs, the talented star of Reservation Dogs.

289. All Happy Families

Dir. Haroula Rose, streaming on Hoopla

Another film about a family reuniting and clashing about long-simmering resentments. This one has a winning lead performance from How I Met Your Mother veteran Josh Radnor.

288. Chronicles of a Wandering Saint

Dir. Tomás Gómez Bustillo, streaming on VOD

Argentinian film about strange things that happen when an ancient religious statue is discovered. Has interested if muddled things to say about religious faith.

287. Kiss the Future

Dir. Nenad Cicin-Sain, streaming on Paramount+, review here.

Documentary about U2’s concert in Sarajevo in the early 1990s, as well as “live look-ins” to the war-torn land during the Zoo TV tour. The former Yugoslavia parts, throughout, are more intresting than the U2 parts.

286. Sweet Dreams

Dir. Lije Sarki, streaming on VOD, review here.

Softball and addiction drama starring Johnny Knoxville in a rare but successful dramatic role, as a recovering alcoholic put in charge of a softball team. Yes, it’s cliched, up to and including the needing to win the game to win money to save the sober living house, but I was won over.

285. Shirley

Dir. John Ridley, streaming on Netflix, review here.

Drama about trailblazing presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm, played here by Regina King. I liked this more than most, considering a better version of Rustin, which landed on Netflix a few months earlier.

284. MadS

Dir. David Moreau, streaming on AMC+.

This horror movie finds new and creative things to do with both the zombie genre and the real-time/single-take gimmick. Not really any appreciably worse than 2017.

283. I Used to Be Funny

Dir. Ally Pankiw, streaming on Netflix

Drama starring the always-welcome Rachel Sennott as a struggling comedian and a strong supporting cast. It’s all sort of undone by a gimmicky nonlinear storytelling device.

282. June Zero

Dir. Jake Paltrow, streaming on VOD, feature here.

Somewhat complex drama, built around different aspects of the trial of Adolf Eichmann. The director (brother of Gwyneth) told me they had the good fortune of filming in both Ukraine and Israel, but were done before either war started.

281. Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution

Dir. Page Hurwitz, streaming on Netflix

Entertaining historical overview of the history of gay people in comedy. It has a political story to tell, sure, but it doesn’t forget that these are comedians and there’s plenty of funny stuff too.

280. Suncoast

Dir. Laura Chinn, streaming on Hulu

Coming-of-age drama about a young woman (Nico Parker) who befriends an older activist (Woody Harrelson) while her brother is dying. The time of story so specific that it can only be autobiographical.

279. Gaga Chromatica Ball

Dir. Lady Gaga, streaming on Max

A concert film, at Dodger Stadium, by Lady Gaga, who somehow directed her own concert film herself. Edges out Joker: Folie a Deux as the best movie Lady Gaga made this year.

278. Just a Bit Outside: The Story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers

Dir. Sean Hanish, not streaming, review here.

Documentary about the Milwaukee Brewers’ lone World Series appearance, in 1982, featuring appearances from all the relevant Brewers. And yes, their mustaches remain impressive.

277. Knox Goes Away

Dir. Michael Keaton, streaming on Max

Successful directorial effort for Keaton, in which he plays a hitman battling dementia. The resolution of the plot, especially, is a great idea.

276. Stripped For Parts: American Journalism on the Brink

Dir. Rick Goldsmith, not streaming

Documentary about how private equity companies, especially Alden Global Capital, have purchased newspapers and gutted them. A worthy subject, but one that I’m not sure a documentary can solve.

275. Savoy

Dir. Zohar Wagner, not streaming.

Fact-based Israeli thriller, on the Jewish film festival circuit this year. It tells the story of a woman who stumbled into a hostage situation- and was later disgraced when it turned out she was there to have an extramarital affair.

274. High & Low: John Galliano

Dir. Kevin Macdonald, streaming on Tubi

Documentary about high-flying fashion designer Galliano, whose career was derailed after he made antisemitic comments. As is usually the case for big shots like him, cancel culture is usually temporary.

273. Bad Shabbos

Dir. Daniel Robbins, not streaming

A door-slamming farce about everything going to hell at a Shabbat dinner on the Upper West Side, with David Paymer and Kyra Sedgwick as the parents. Certainly funny, although I was put off by the characters’ callousness about somebody dying.

272. Cabrini

Dir. Alejandro Monteverde, streaming on VOD, feature here.

Historical drama about Mother Cabrini, the famous nun who was canonized as the patron saint of immigrants by the Catholic Church. John Lithgow continues to be all over the year’s most Catholic movies, this time as a corrupt mayor.

271. Finding the Money

Dir. Maren Poitras, streaming on the Roku Channel, review here.

Documentary about Stephanie Kelton and Modern Monetary Theory, which argues that everything you know about taxes, spending, and the economy is wrong. Doesn’t lay out the arguments quite as well as Kelton’s book did.

270. The Line

Dir. Ethan Berger, streaming on VOD, review here.

College drama about bad acts at a fraternity, including an exceptionally evil version of Bluto Blutarsky. Finally arrived after I saw it at a festival a year or two ago.

269. The Feeling That the Time For Doing Something Has Passed

Dir. Joanna Arnow, streaming on Hulu

An indie debut by a young female filmmaker who stars in the movie herself and is frequently naked. But this isn’t exactly like Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture.

268. It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football

Dir. Joanna Pardos, streaming on Netflix

Documentary about the incident in which the head of the Spanish football federation nonconsensually kissed a female player after Spain won the World Cup. This story has way more to it than you thought.

267. DAAAAAALÍ!

Dir. Quentin Dupieux, streaming on VOD, review here.

Strange, unconventional biopic of Salvador Dali, featuring multiple Dalis, none of whom as memorable as Ben Kingsley in Daliland or Adrien Brody in Midnight in Paris. Yes, I had to look up the number of “a’s” in “DAAAAAALÍ!.”

266. Girls State

Dir. Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, streaming on Apple TV+, review here.

A four-years-later update of the same filmmakers’ documentary Boys State. Better than the first film, since it’s more anchored in a specific time.

265. Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal

Dir. Steve Conoscenti, streaming on Peacock

This WWE-produced documentary tells the story of, and pays tribute to, Windham Rotunda, who wrestled in WWE as Bray Wyatt until his passing in 2023 at the age of just 36. Succeeds in showing that Bray Wyatt was way more fascinating than I ever realized.

264. Ricky Stanicky

Dir. Peter Farrelly, streaming on Prime Video, review here.

Raunchy comedy, seemingly straight from the mid-1990s, albeit one with a funny hook: John Cena plays an actor hired to be Ricky, the fictitious, unseen friend a group of male bodies has often blamed for their own mistakes and misdeeds.

263. Ahead of the Curve

Dir. Jen Rainin, Rivkah Beth Medow, streaming on Netflix.

This documentary about a major lesbian magazine was kicking around the festival circuit as early as 2020 but finally landed on Netflix this summer. I was fascinated by it, even though I’d never heard of the magazine or any of the principals.

262. Stormy

Dir. Sarah Gibson, streaming on Peacock, review here.

Documentary about Stormy Daniels, long a famous adult film star, whose affair with the former and future president led to his lone criminal conviction. She’s a compelling documentary subject, even if there’s not much here that’s new.

261. Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?

Dir. Joe Piscatella, streaming on PBS

Documentary about Hong Kong’s uprising of a few years ago. It mostly focuses on Law, who has emerged as the protest’s most prominent dissident.

260. Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid

Dir. Matt Tyrnauer, streaming on Max, review here.

Documentary about Carville, who masterminded the 1992 presidential victory of Bill Clinton, and has been hanging around since. Half the time you’ll consider him a wise sage, and other times a cranky old man, waving his cane at the modern Democratic party.

259. Hinckley

Dir. Neil McGregor, not streaming, review here.

Documentary featuring interviews with John Hinckley, who shot Ronald Reagan in 1981, served decades in a mental facility and has reemerged as a YouTube singer-songwriter. Not really a groundbreaking documentary, but it was released on the same day as the new fawning Reagan biopic.

258. A Woman on the Outside

Dir. Zara Katz, Lisa Riordan Seville, streaming on PBS

Compelling documentary about a Philadelphia woman who keeps incarcerated people in touch with the women in their lives, on the outside of prison. Landed on PBS this year after a festival run.

257. Cora Bora

Dir. Hannah Pearl Utt, streaming on VOD, review here.

Hacks actress Megan Stalter goes to L.A., tries to make it as a musician, and essentially acts out the plot of Inside Llewyn Davis.

256. How Music Got Free

Dir. Alex Stapleton, streaming on Paramount+, review here.

A streaming documentary about the revolution of illegal music downloading in the early 2000s, although with a different-than-usual angle. Instead of about the Napster Wars, this covers how specific albums were leaked in advance- with the help of a guy who worked at a CD plant.

255. Abigail

Dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, streaming on Prime Video, review here.

A horror movie about a group of criminals kidnapping a little girl. It later takes a turn, and once you know the source material, you’ll now exactly what that turn is.

254. MaXXXine

Dir. Ti West, streaming on Max, review here.

The third, and probably the worst, of the three movies directed by Ti West about the characters played by Mia Goth. This one is a 1980s pastiche that’s all style but not enough substance.

253. Piece by Piece

Dir. Morgan Neville, streaming on premium VOD

A documentary about musician Pharrell Williams, told entirely with LEGOs, in the tradition of The LEGO Movie. The colors are cool, although I’m not sure the gimmick does enough to justify itself.

252. The Stranger

Dir. Veena Sud, streaming on Hulu

Thriller about a rideshare driver (Maika Monroe), this film was adapted from a TV series that was originally created for Quibi (remember Quibi?) Not to be confused with other movies this year called Strangers and The Stranger: Chapter 1 (I saw neither.)

251. Satisfied

Dir. Chris Bolan, Melissa Haizlip, not streaming yet, review here.

Documentary from the Tribeca Film Festival about Broadway star Renee Elise Goldsberry, covering the years when she starred in Hamilton. Not sure when this is coming out, but it’s a must for my fellow Hamilton fans.