Top 10 Movies of 2024 (Sort of)

You'd think that creating these lists at the end of the year would mean that most picks would be from the last few months. But that's hardly the case. To the contrary, half of the films below were viewed during the first half of 2024. And if I were to pick a throughline, I'd say it was memorable performances that really made them stick, especially from cinematic stalwarts like Yoo Hae-jin, Ra Mi-ran, Song Kang-ho, Jo Min-soo, and Lee Byung-hun. I'd even go so far as to say there's not a single entry in this list (drawn from movies I watched during 2024) that lacks a star turn at its center. Some have more than one!

1. Past Lives (2023): Confronting the past (the dreams of youth; our earlier, less corrupt selves) isn't easy in Celine Song's exquisite drama about a Korean-American woman re-encountering a childhood crush from the homeland. Starring Greta Lee, John Magaro, and Teo Yoo.

2. Luck-Key (2016): The story of an amnesiac pseudo-assassin who after a knock to the head thinks he's a failed actor with a talent for carving vegetables, Lee Kae-byeok's comedy thriller showcases actor Yoo Hae-jin at the top of his game.

3. The Secret Mission (2019): Yoo stars again in Eom Yu-na's historical drama about the creation of the Korean-language dictionary — a stirring rally cry for cultural autonomy during Japan's oppressive, colonialist occupation.

4. Mist (1967): Writer-director Kim Soo-yong's keen awareness regarding the culpability of both parties (a teacher and a businessman) during their short-lived small-town affair is immortalized by Jang Seok-jun's marvelous black-and-white cinematography.

5. Citizen of a Kind (2024): A homeless mother (Ra Mi-ran, in rare form) with two children and no money for daycare or rent is scammed on her cell during a shift at the laundromat where she works (and sleeps illegally at night). Her gal-pal pursuit of justice is more than exciting.

6. Inside Men (2015): Woo Min-ho's crime pic may have enough plot twists for a Hallmark mystery miniseries, but the real pleasures come from seeing the many photo-ready looks and emotive depths of matinee idol Lee Byung-hun.

7. Escape from Mogadishu (2019): Internal political conflicts in Somalia, lead South and North Korean consulates to work in tandem in Ryoo Seung-wan's historical drama. As Toni Morrison once wrote: "The function of freedom is to free someone else."

8. Emergency Declaration: No Korean Top 10 list is complete without actor Song Kang-ho, even if the star of Han Jae-rim's disaster pic is the villain (Im Si-wan ) who stitches poison capsules in his body at the airport bathroom.

9. Jazzy Misfits (2019): Jo Min-soo chews up the scenery as a volatile alcoholic mother while co-star Cheetah (a.k.a. Kim Eun-young) more than holds her own via extended cuts of her crooning in the nightclub and at the studio, in Nam Yeon-woo's delicious screwball comedy.

10. My Paparotti (2013): Based on a true story, Lee Jong-chan's comedic, gender-reversed spin on the Cinderella story concerns a young gangster (Sung Yoo-bin) who finds a new life in the world of classical opera. Irresistible.

Honorable Mentions: Madame Freedom (1956), The General's Mustache (1968), Fabricated City (2017), and The Childe (2023).

Extreme Job: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Police Lineup

"Are we cops or a chicken joint," one of the characters asks in Lee Byeong-heon's ultra-silly Extreme Job. That's a false polarity though because clearly as the movie goes on, this deep-fried squad is actually both. Sure, they're collectively running a thriving business inspired by the ribs recipe of Detective Ma (Jin Seon-kyu). But they only ended up "pretending" as a cover for their real career as narcs, hoping to bust an operation that's set up shop across the street. None of them were expecting this sideline scheme to end-up being such a success. Least of all, Captain "Zombie" Ko (Ryu Seung-ryong). So what's to do when the cash starts flowing?

Sabotage their business model? They try, time and again yet no matter how limited the menu and how overpriced, this spicy sauce-up can't stop from being an internet sensation. And while Ko's new financial security has its charms, Extreme Job might wait a little too long before the martial arts kick in during this action comedy. Considering Detective Jang (Lee Hanee) and lead surveilance Young-ho (Lee Dong-hwi) have martial arts in their backgrounds, it seems a shame to wait until the very end to let the physical hijinks emerge. An earlier scene involving two shirtless male crews going head to head in a loft while sexily entertaining doesn't feel especially connected to the tale at hand. Not that you can ever have too much hot sauce.

Will You Be There?: With a Bloody Nose

I assume the bloody noses suffered by middle-aged Soo-hyeon (Kim Yoon-seok) are caused by his lung cancer and then exacerbated by those mysteriously acquired time-traveling pills. I'd also guess that his oncologist wouldn't recommend jumping across decades while undergoing any form of medical treatment. But his 20-something counterpart a.k.a. young Dr. Soo-hyeon (Byun Yo-han) doesn't particularly care about what side effects are going to be triggered for his older self by shuttling back and forth through the years. He wants to save his dolphin-training girlfriend (Chae Seo-jin), let his future self be damned. If that might mean sacrificing the daughter (Park Hye-soo) he hasn't met yet, so be it. Most people's allegiances are going to be with the living persons they know...

And life gets complicated when you break a cardinal rule of science fiction. Like "Never talk to the past version of yourself." That's a basic no-no. You know, the butterfly effect and all that! So what will be the ultimate sacrifice for love in Hong Ji-Yeong's Will You Be There? And might it involve a puppy named "Potato"? Or the ever-trustworthy Uncle Tae-ho (Kim Sang-ho)? Or his younger but just-as-reliable iteration (Ahn Se-ha)? I'm also curious whether the guy with the magic pills couldn't have provided a placebo so that all those involved only thought that everything had turned out for the better. After all, as that old guy put it: "Life is what happens when you can't sleep."

The Human Trap: Murder on the Orient Campsite

The conventional trope for horror movies that take place in the woods is to have a handful of young 20-somethings (with no cellphone service) terrorized by a deranged slasher driven by motives rooted in the past. But writer-director Lee Moon-young isn't adhering to the rules with his low-budget fright flick The Human Trap. The crazy guy roaming the woods? Not necessarily the killer. The two couples communing with nature? Neither romantic nor platonic. Oh sure, Ki-young (Kim Dong-ho) has known Jeong-ho (Park Yeon-woo) since the two men were in high school. But that doesn't make them friends. Similarly, Ji-ae (Kang Byeol) may be the boss of Chae-Rim (Kang Seung-hyun). But that doesn't mean these women are pals. To the contrary, the message of The Human Trap is this: Good friends are impossible to find!

You may guess that the camp guide (Song Young-kyu) is the villain. Or Doctor Ma (Moon Won-joo). Or the insane, unshowered guy (Kim Ki-nam) running around the forest and stealing supplies. And you wouldn't be wrong. But you wouldn't be right either. Not totally. Because The Human Trap is more misanthropic than your run-of-the-mill scary movie. Like those tricky Agatha Christie mysteries of yore: Everyone is suspect because everyone is base. The nicest person in The Human Trap isn't the hero. It's the one who survives. You'd be a fool to trust any of them! And watch out for the bear traps.

Intruder: Outside Insanity

How crazy do you like your thrillers? Do you like killers who infiltrate the lives of their victims' survivors? Serial childnappers with a troubled past? Secret religious cults with a base in the woods? Hallucinatory issues caused by prescription drugs doled out by a sketchy psychiatrist (Lee Yo-sung)? Police officers who are easily persuaded by the dark side? Because Sohn Won-pyung's Intruder has all that and more. When a creepy woman (So Hee-jung) reaches out claiming to be a family's long-lost daughter/sister/aunt, the good news comes at a cost. The loyal houseservant disappears; the parents (Choi Sang-hoon, Ye Soo-jung) turn into nosebleeding zombies; and their son (Kim Mu-yeol), a recently widowed architect, loses control of every aspect of his life, including his sulky daughter (Park Min-ha).

While it's pretty clear early on that this newest addition to one very rich family is up to no good, Intruder keeps you on the edge of your seat as you try to figure out the antagonist's motivations. Why this family? Why now? Is she out for revenge? Is she on the frontline of an alien invasion that's targeting humans weakened by grief? Is she engaged in devil worship? If so, how high up the ladder is she? Or has she taken evangelicalism taken too far? Maybe this is simply a case of pure insanity made worse by rampant complicity? I'd call this a pulp version of Parasite, focused on the plot twists more than the politics. Popcorn recommended.

A Man of Reason: Welcome Crimes Against Logic

Watching most contemporary action pics requires a tremendous suspension of disbelief. But if you can let go of particulars like how the combined blood loss from car accidents and bullet wounds would naturally prohibit a character from fighting and running at a physical peak then enjoyment may follow. I say "may" because sometimes these impossibilities are impossible to ignore. However, in actor Jung Woo-sung's directorial debut A Man of Reason such concerns did not trouble me. I was perfectly willing to accept such nonsense as a young girl (Ryu Jian) outrunning a trained dog in a dark house and the hero maneuvering through traffic as easily as a fleeing motorcyclist tossing bombs. A Man of Reason isn't concerned with keeping it real. It's focused on keeping it entertaining.

With that goal in mind (and a performance that feels like an invitation for Tom Cruise to remake), Jung packs his picture with visually stunning sequences: a gang of stuntmen (I mean thugs) fight to gain control of a spinning car in a fancy lobby; a pair of survivors dive into a giant birdbath as a building explodes into glorious fire. Would a recently beat-up second-banana of the underworld be able to survive multiple nails shot into his throat by a deranged assassin couple (Kim Nam-gil and Lee Elijah)? Could a single assailant take on an entire room of killers with only a flashlight and a glistening knife? If you're asking yourself such questions you're missing the point... and all of this movie's many pleasures.