There are the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards, but here at Ottawa Life Magazine, we have the OLA Movie Awards. You won’t find these awards anywhere else, so here it goes.
Guilty Pleasure Movie of the Year
The Beekeeper. Watching Jason Statham beat the pulp out of scammers brings me hope for the future.
WTF Movie Ending
The end of Immaculate. No one saw that coming, and it left theatre audiences in shock.
Best Movie to See in a Theatre
Dune: Part Two. With respect to anyone’s home theatre system, you aren’t going to replicate Denis Villeneuve’s vision in IMAX.
Best Movie to See in the 4DX Format
Twisters. Many times, when you see a film in 3D, IMAX, or any other format, it is a pure cash grab. Not this time. I’ve never seen a film that came anywhere close to replicating the 4DX experience that Twisters provided.
The ‘Don’t Mess with a Senior Award’
Thelma. June Squibb’s character is not to be trifled with.
Mediocre Prequel
A Quiet Place: Day One. After two strong John Krasinski-directed films, this series took a bit of a step back.
Amazing Sequel
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. 30 years since Beverly Hills Cop 3 and Eddie Murphy still has the stuff to entertain in a movie that was as much a love letter to the fans as it was a big summer hit for Netflix.
The ‘Larry David’ Curmudgeon Award
Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths
The ‘Where Did That Performance Come From?!?!’
Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl
Sexiest Movie of the Year
Hit Man. Glen Powell and Adria Arjona were by far the sexiest couple of the year in a movie that went under too many people’s radars.
Best Movie to Spark a Great Conversation on Religion
Heretic
Movies that Seem to Be Hated by Everyone But Me
Borderlands: It was based on a video game. What did you expect?
Red One. A sweet Christmas film that checked off a lot of boxes and is a great film to add to holiday viewing.
Mufasa: The Lion King. A very entertaining film that does a good job of character development and building suspense.
Movies that Seem to Be Loved by Everyone But Me
Nightbitch. I adore Amy Adams and she should have an Academy Award by now. This movie was an anthem for stay-at-home Moms. I wish the film had less absurdity (she’s turning into a dog) and more dialogue between the husband and wife.
Baby Girl: We basically took Nicole Kidman’s character from Eyes Wide Shut and had her continue her sexual odyssey. This isn’t a terrible movie, but it certainly isn’t her best work. You take the sex out of Fatal Attraction, and you have an incredible movie. The same can’t be said here.
Proof that Actors Can Be Great Directors
Going from in front of the camera to behind the camera is not always a seamless transition, but in 2024, these three actors had their directorial debut, and all three made very strong films.
Anna Kendrick for Woman of the Hour
Zoe Kravitz for Blink Twice
Dev Patel for Monkey Man
