It’s that time again. That wonderful, magical time when all of us movie lovers get to put together a list of our favorite films from the last year. It’s always a challenge. But it’s also the kind of thing that we live for. Let’s take a look at what the best movies of 2024 have to offer.
There are, of course, movies that I thoroughly enjoyed that I couldn’t fit on the list but still deserve an honorable mention. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is epic and endlessly impressive, Megan Park’s My Old Ass and Adam Rehmeier’s Snack Shack are both really sweet coming-of-age stories, Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2 is a classic throwback to a kind of movie that doesn’t get made much these days, Wicked made my heart soar, and Josh Margolin’s Thelma was a lot of fun. I could go on. But we have a list to get to.
I also have to mention that I wasn’t able to see everything I wanted to this year. The Brutalist isn’t coming to a big screen near me for a couple of weeks, still, while Nickel Boys and Queer had such short theatrical runs that I missed them both. I’ll catch up with them as soon as I can, and I can’t wait.
Having said all that, here are the ten movies that came out in 2024 that I loved the most.
10. Strange Darling
I went into Strange Darling knowing next to nothing about the film. When I realized that this was going to be told in chapters, I groaned. When I realized these chapters were going to be told out of order, I groaned louder. But then I kept watching. While it might sound gimmicky, Strange Darling is a twisty thriller that constantly kept me guessing as to what was coming next — and I never could accurately predict any of it. It’s a whole lot of fun, it’s got some great performances, and some incredibly impressive cinematography by Giovanni Ribisi. I now can’t wait to see what director JT Mollner makes next.
9. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
When George Miller makes a new movie, you’ll find me in the theater opening weekend. When George Miller makes a new Mad Max movie, you won’t hear me shut up about it for the following two weeks after its release. Such was the case for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Yeah, it’s got some prequel-itis elements to it, but, like, did you see Chris Hemsworth in here? Or the 10-minute-long chase scene in the middle? There, quite simply, was no possible way this wasn’t going to make my list.
8. I Saw the TV Glow
What I love about I Saw the TV Glow — and I do love I Saw the TV Glow — is that there are so many different ways to watch this movie. You can watch it, view it one way, watch it again, and get something totally, completely different out of it. It’s the kind of movie that really invites conversation; it’s sad and heartbreaking, it’s mysterious and sometimes eerie, it’s an allegory for being transgender, and it’s about cultural obsession with media. There’s just so much in here! And it all works!
7. Challengers
If we’re handing out awards for the best final shot of a movie, it’d have to go to Challengers. If we’re handing out awards for the best score in a movie, it would also have to go to Challengers. And if we’re going to give awards for movies that you absolutely need to see in a packed theater, yup, it’s Challengers. So, so exciting to watch, such strong performances and interesting characters, and it’s all topped off with a third act that just makes you want to stand up and cheer.
6. Conclave
Another fun, twisty movie, Conclave is a hoot. I didn’t love Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front, so I went into this one with some hesitation. What I got was a riveting drama that has elements of both a serious drama and a pulp thriller. Ralph Fiennes is giving one of his best performances in a while in this movie, and that scene with Isabella Rossellini? Great stuff.
5. Anora
The Florida Project was my favorite movie of the year in 2017. I’m also a big fan of both Tangerine and Red Rocket. Along comes Sean Baker with a new one, Anora, that hits on every level. I’m in awe of how he can make a movie that can be simultaneously so poignant and sad while also being laugh-out-loud funny. Mikey Madison is getting all kinds of Oscar buzz for her performance in here, as she should, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of role.
4. A Real Pain
I tried to see A Real Pain in theaters. Then I got a flat tire on the way to the cinema on the last day it was playing in my city. I caught up with it at home and, yeah, this one did it for me. Jesse Eisenberg masterfully walks the line between comedy and drama; Kieran Culkin (who definitely needs to get an Oscar nom for this) will make you laugh-out-loud one moment, only to then really show you the sadness the character is hiding in the very next moment, all while Eisenberg plays the perfect straight-man. I want to watch it again and again and again.
3. Sing Sing
Speaking of once-in-a-lifetime kind of roles, Colman Domingo in Sing Sing left me speechless. It’s such a quiet, intimate kind of performance that also speaks volumes in its silence. The whole movie, really, does that, too. Quietly beautiful and full of a cast of first-time professional actors (all of whom NAIL it), Sing Sing is perhaps one of the most human motion pictures to come out of 2024.
2. Hundreds of Beavers
I do not care to disclose, at this moment, how many times I watched Hundreds of Beavers over the course of the past year. It’s a lot. This movie, like, I can’t even quite wrap my head around its existence. I laugh from start to finish every time I put it on, the Looney Tunes-like vibe mixed with the video game mechanics, and those two Sherlock Holmes beavers — none of this should work as well as it does, but they commit to the bit, and, golly gee whiz, they do it better than you could have ever imagined.
1. The Substance
I’d heard positive buzz about The Substance when walking into the theater to see it. However, like Strange Darling, I didn’t know too much about the actual plot. To say I was blown away would be an understatement. I mean, what more can you want from a movie? It’s got body horror, absurdist comedy, a career-defining performance from Demi Moore, themes of feminism, and what ageism in Hollywood looks like — one of the best parts of the whole year just simply involves Demi Moore standing in front of a mirror! I absolutely adore everything that Coralie Fargeat was able to accomplish here, this really feels like the kind of thing we’re going to be talking about for years and years to come.
