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As 2024 comes to a close, studios large and small are releasing their final batch of titles: a nice mix of award-seeking dramas, offbeat comedies, and a surprising number of action thrillers.
Here are just a few of the more interesting looking titles coming out next month. Please note: all opening dates are subject to change.
Dec. 6
‘Flow’
The second animated feature from Latvian visionary Gints Zilbalodis (“Away”) is something of a throwback to the early days of Pixar, before Disney took it over and wrecked it. Looking like a retouched live-action film, “Flow” is an “Odyssey”-inspired story of four animals trying to survive after an unspecified future apocalyptic event. The animals don’t speak (which is great) and actually look and behave like … well, animals. It’s thoroughly amazing. (Sideshow/Janus)
‘The Six Triple Eight’
Every once in a while, Tyler Perry abandons his stock-in-trade slapstick humor in favor of thoughtful drama. The eight previous times he’s tried this, it always results in a commercial and critical bust. This film is based on the first all-black, all-female World War II U.S. Army battalion, the U.S. Women’s Army Corps led by Maj. Charity Adams (Kerry Washington). (Netflix)
‘The Order’
Based on a true story, “The Order” stars Jude Law as a composite FBI character transferred to Washington State to go after a prominent, highly organized white supremacist faction fronted by Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult in one of his four 2024 features). Sporting superb performances, understated pyrotechnics, and a lean running time of one hour 54 minutes, it’s a thinking person’s action thriller. (Vertical)
‘The Return’
Directed and co-written by Uberto Pasolini, this literary drama is based on Homer’s “Odyssey” and stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, who worked together previously in “Wuthering Heights” and “The English Patient.” Returning to his home in Ithaca after 20 years of battle in the Trojan War, King Odysseus (Fiennes) must defend his throne, his wife Penelope (Binoche), and their son Telemachus (Charlie Plummer). (Bleecker Street)
‘Mary’
After more than two dozen previous portrayals in film and on TV, saying something new and different about the Virgin Mary will be challenging. Given that this Biblical epic is directed by action-thriller veteran D.J. Caruso, it could be quite interesting. It stars Israeli model Noa Cohen as the title character and Sir Anthony Hopkins as King Herod. (Netflix)
Dec. 13
‘Carry-On’
Spanish action-adventure veteran Jaume Collet-Serra is known mostly because of the four movies he’s directed that starred Liam Neeson. Collet-Serra’s best effort thus far was the 2016 survival thriller “The Shallows,” starring Blake Lively. In “Carry-On,” TSA agent Ethan (Taron Egerton) is blackmailed by a nameless stranger (Jason Bateman) into letting a potentially dangerous package board a plane on Christmas Day. (Netflix)
‘Oh, Canada’
This drama marks the second collaboration between writer-director Paul Schrader and lead Richard Gere (“American Gigolo”). Gere and Jacob Elordi play older and younger versions of Leonard, an American filmmaker who expresses regret after leaving the United States for Canada in the 1970s in order to escape the draft. Co-stars include Uma Thurman and Michael Imperioli. (Kino Lorber)
‘September 5’
A bookend of sorts to Steven Spielberg’s 2005 “Munich,” Swiss director Tim Fehlbaum’s docuthriller covers the events leading up to and the fallout of the 1972 Munich Olympic hostage crisis. We see it from the perspectives of the ABC staff covering the event. Adding to the authenticity factor is Fehlbaum’s choice to include stock footage of the ABC News and “Wide World of Sports” reporting. (Paramount)
‘Dirty Angels’
Former Bond girl Eva Green (“Casino Royale”) stars in this action thriller where she leads a group of female soldiers in Afghanistan. Their mission is to rescue a group of kidnapped children caught between ISIS and the Taliban. Given that the movie is helmed by two-time Bond director Martin Campbell, expect lots of pyrotechnic-heavy action sequences and chase scenes. (Lionsgate)
Dec. 20
‘Homestead’
The final Angel Studios release of 2024, this post-apocalyptic action-drama stars Neal McDonough (“Yellowstone,” “The Shift,” “Tulsa King”). McDonough is Ian Ross, a wealthy Colorado landowner who welcomes survivors onto his property to start their lives over. Much like last month’s “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.,” “Homestead” finds Angel Studios stretching artistically beyond its comfortable faith and family wheelhouse. (Angel Studios)
Dec. 25
‘A Complete Unknown’
Director and co-writer James Mangold’s (“Walk the Line”) not-quite biography of Bob Dylan examines the tiny sliver of the folk songwriter-singer’s career, such as when he transitioned from acoustic to electric performances. Timothee Chalamet stars as Dylan, Elle Fanning plays his girlfriend Sylvie Russo, Edward Norton shows up as Pete Seeger, and Boyd Holbrook appears as Johnny Cash. (Searchlight)
What to Watch For
Unlike most years when the studios top-load December with depressing, overlong dramas, those are few this year. In their stead are titles one might associate with crowd-pleasing summertime fare.
I’ve already seen four of the above titles (“Flow,” “The Order,” “The Return,” and “September 5”) and all of them are hands-down winners. From what I’ve heard from some of my colleagues, the same can be said about “Dirty Angels,” and “A Complete Unknown.” We shall see.
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