It seems that, nowadays, everybody on Film Twitter likes to say it was a bad year for movies. To that I say: there’s no such thing. 2024 is no different. There was such an eclectic range of cinema to be found regardless of where your tastes might lie, from indie darlings and mega-blockbusters to midnight genre films. On a personal note, 2024 was the year I attended several film festivals for the first time. Sundance, TIFF, Fantastic Fest, and NYFF. Attending these festivals for the first time presented me with the opportunity to discover even more exciting films. So with that being said, there’s nothing more exciting than gushing over film. Let’s get into what I believe are the best films of 2024. As a slight disclaimer, I will be holding any films off this list that didn’t have an official 2024 release. Two films in my Top 10 (Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cloud, both seen at festivals) did not officially release in 2024, so they are the only outliers in my personal top 10 films of 2024.
10. Dìdi (弟弟) – Directed by Sean Wang
What a special film Wang gave to the world. In 2008, I was 12 years old. Chris (Izaac Wang) plays a 13-year-old in 2008, and in his character, I was instantly whisked back to a period in my life that has been long dormant. It’s the power of cinema working its magic. There are moments in life which feel so specific, and yet, Dìdi is a testament to many of these moments actually being rather universal. It’s a brutally honest film about what it meant to grow up in a time where the Internet was deeply ingraining itself in the behaviors, decision-making, and everyday lives of youth culture. I can so vividly recall the moments in this film that echoed my real-life experiences: friends stealing cell phones to text a crush embarrassing messages. The thrill of making absurd YouTube videos for personal enjoyment and the hopes of capturing a viral hit. The anxieties and worries that come with not understanding how we fit into the world around us. Bolstered by a great lead performance in Wang and a deeply touching supporting turn from Joan Chen as Chris’ mother, Dìdi is a special film that allows us to look back at our own lives with plenty of fond laughs to go alongside the retrospective thoughts. My original review from Sundance 2024 can be found right here.
9. Nickel Boys – Directed by RaMell Ross
Upon the premiere of Nickel Boys, there were a lot of extravagant statements being thrown around about the magnificent quality of the film. And I have to be as frank as possible when discussing Ross’ film: believe them all. Nickel Boys is a staggering achievement any way you look at it. Adapted from the Colson Whitehead novel, Ross and Joslyn Barnes’ script soars with a humanity that few films this year could hope to achieve. Some may hear about the film being shot in a first-person POV and think it’s nothing more than a gimmick. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In a just world, cinematographer Jomo Fray would be a lock for the Best Cinematography Oscar. The visual language of this film is otherworldly, capturing the beauty to be found around us despite such horror and ugliness perpetrated by prejudiced systems of power. There is a moment where Fray and Ross pivot from their style, and it’s equal parts exhilarating and devastating. It is a marvel of a film and a massive achievement. My Chasing the Gold piece highlighting Fray’s cinematography from NYFF 2024 can be found right here.
8. Queer – Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Going into Queer, the second Guadagnino film we received in 2024, I think many people had some preconceived notions about what it was going to be. Many suspected it to have certain links, either stylistically or thematically, to Call Me By Your Name. And while there are similarities, I was beyond thrilled to walk out of my screening feeling as if it had much more in common with Guadagnino’s 2018 take on Suspiria. This film was so excellent it even made me want to revisit Bones and All with the intent of a possible reassessment. Never taking the easy way out, Guadagnino and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes’ adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ novella is a surreal look at the pain and longing that comes with love. This isn’t just a story about love. It’s instead about what the lack of love can do to us. So much of Daniel Craig’s performance, paired with the beautifully haunting score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, make Queer feel more like a ghost story than anything else. And by the time its soul-crushing finale rolls around, Guadagnino will have once again proven himself as one of the most exciting filmmakers currently working today. My original review from NYFF 2024 can be found right here.
7. Hit Man – Directed by Richard Linklater
Hit Man quickly became a comfort film of mine. It’s no surprise that Linklater has provided the world with yet another breezy and entertaining film to bask in. And of course, there’s the Glen Powell of it all. Anybody who knows me personally knows the love I hold for Powell at this point. He brings a truly dynamite presence and charisma to the big screen that is simply unmatched. And Hit Man, which he co-wrote alongside Linklater, almost operates solely as a vehicle to allow him the opportunity to shine bright. There are two sequences in this film that are worth the price of admission alone. The first is one that proves Powell can practically do anything on screen, and you can wholeheartedly buy into his performance. It’s hysterical and exciting and fully solidifies his status as a movie star in the making (as if he’s not already one). The second scene comes late in the film, and it’s just a potent example of the chemistry Powell can share with his co-stars (in this case, Adria Arjona). It’s explosive and tense, building to a crescendo that was justifiably talked about for months online. Glen Powell forever, I’ll watch Hit Man many more times in my life whenever I need a pick-me-up.
6. Anora – Directed by Sean Baker
Baker’s film is much more than the bubblegum pop visuals it initially lets on. It’s more than the modern-fairytale logline audiences sat down for. Beyond being a brilliant comedy inspired by screwball comedies and classic slapstick antics, Anora is a film about America. It’s a film about how America is the land of excess. It’s about how capitalism can distract us with enough bright lights, extravagant parties, and reckless spending in the name of vanity, while all the while bleeding us dry emotionally. It traps individuals, especially those in marginalized communities, in vicious cycles. All of this is funneled through Anora, a character that feels destined to be remembered as one of the greats of the decade. Certainly of the year. She’s hilarious, ferocious, layered, headstrong, and confident. It’s an unbelievable performance from Mikey Madison that’s more than deserving of all the acclaim. And while this film, or rather its antagonistic family of characters, seems determined to knock Anora back down to her Brighton Beach home quietly, audiences will instantly latch onto the battle of seeing her trying to desperately hold onto the life she feels she deserves. And best believe she puts up a fight that’s both wildly entertaining and moving. It’s cruel to show somebody the upper crust of life and then snatch it away from them due to boredom or immaturity. That shouldn’t be a criticism of how Baker treats his character. It should be understood as Baker criticizing the very systems that encourage this type of behavior.
5. Challengers – Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Guadagnino decided he was coming to take over 2024 from very early on in the year. A trio of lead performances with unreal chemistry, visuals from the great Sayombhu Mukdeeprom that electrify anybody who lays eyes on them, and a Reznor & Ross score designed to break speakers in movie theaters and nightclubs alike. Challengers literally has it all. Alongside Brat (my personal album of the year, but let’s not get into ranking albums right now), Challengers captured the zeitgeist in a way few modern films have the ability to. It reaffirmed the notion that audiences still want to see exciting films and stories play out on the big screen, and they want to see movie stars being energized off one another in the process! It’s a film riddled with sexual tension that bubbles and bubbles until reaching one of the great climaxes of the decade thus far. The extended final sequence is guaranteed to raise your heart rate based simply off pure tension and release alone. It’s an electrifying piece of cinema, and I adore it deeply. My Chasing the Gold piece highlighting Mukdeeprom’s cinematography can be found right here.
4. I Saw The TV Glow – Directed by Jane Schoenbrun
I briefly met Schoenbrun when walking to grab lunch at TIFF this year. They were incredibly kind throughout the conversation. When we got to discussing films, I had to mention how I Saw the TV Glow has remained in my top 5 since I’d seen it at its premiere at Sundance. Schoenbrun replied very humbly and mentioned how many great films were at the festival that might possibly surpass it. I politely replied with something I had been telling friends and colleagues since I first saw the film. That it’s unlikely, for I Saw the TV Glow is a once-in-a-generation film. Beyond the quality of its filmmaking (which is stellar) or all the ideas bouncing around throughout its runtime (which are poignant and moving), it is an astonishing film that feels like it will define this generation. Upon watching it, you can imagine all the artists it will inspire. More importantly, it will possibly help countless individuals examine parts of their lives they may have repressed or felt worried about living in truthfully. This is a film that will help and inspire change, while also piercing you with a true dread that many horror films wish to achieve. That it can do both, serve as a vital piece of art and an exciting piece of entertainment, makes this one of the best films of the year. My original review from Sundance 2024 can be found right here.
3. Dune: Part Two – Directed by Denis Villeneuve
There was obviously no reason any of us had to doubt Villeneuve when settling in for the second half of his Dune adaptation. But of course, the bar has been set incredibly high. Even if we ignore his stellar run of films which has few rivals, if any, he still would have to match quite a lot of expectations set by his first chapter of Dune. Lo and behold, from the first moments of this second half, many sighs of relief were likely taken as Villeneuve whisked us right back to Arrakis in one of the most cinematic moments of the year. From there, Dune: Part Two is a treasure trove for fans of hard sci-fi, thrilling adventures, and above all, a twisted morality tale about the ways in which absolute power can corrupt even the most noble of individuals. As somebody who is not a fan of the source material, I find this film to be quite the miracle. It effectively condenses so much of the dense novel, while also expanding upon its ideas in fascinating ways. It certainly helps that its visuals are perhaps some of the most impressive we’ve ever seen in blockbuster filmmaking. In a just world, the look of this film and the care that was put into it would be the template for any big-budget spectacle moving forward.
2. The Brutalist – Directed by Brady Corbet
Perhaps the most dense film of the year, Corbet’s The Brutalist has so much for audiences to chew on. And it’s one of the great films where, upon rewatch, its ideas continue to layer atop one another to perfection. For every revelation you might have about its plot, or characters, or setting, countless more fascinations pop up. It’s a film that you want to revisit again and again, yet also savor for understanding how special it is. As soon as that 70mm projection begins rolling, and the beautiful brass of Daniel Blumberg’s score kicks in, you feel as if you’re being whisked away to a time where films like this would still announce themselves on a regular basis. The Brutalist is a deeply special film, with Adrien Brody turning in an undeniably profound performance that will likely be one of the defining roles of his career. I’ll never forget when the intermission card first popped up, and the air of bewilderment swept around my audience as if we’d never seen anything like it before. My Chasing the Gold piece highlighting Lol Crawley’s cinematography from NYFF 2024 can be found right here.
1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Directed by George Miller
There’s a moment in Furiosa which basically caused me to ascend out of my seat. I found myself in that rare situation so few films pull out of me nowadays. I was truly breathless, and the only thing I could do was begin making noises to myself quietly. Of course, I’m referring to the extended “Stowaway” sequence that arrives around halfway through this film. At 79 years old, Miller is serving up some of the best action and best uses of VFX and digital-heavy filmmaking we’re likely to see all decade. There’s an energy that pulses throughout Furiosa where you feel like absolutely anything can happen. And I can almost assure you that it will, though you may not expect what it hides up its sleeve. This is a film set just before the world seems to have completely lost its mind in Mad Max: Fury Road. With that, there comes a sense of hope. The entire thematic battle taking place between Furiosa and an astonishing Chris Hemsworth as Dementus is the opportunity to pull back from the cliff’s edge we’re racing towards. In a current society that feels discordant and frightening, where it feels like people amongst us and those in power are actually losing their minds, the final act of Furiosa is beyond powerful. If we fight for the chance to move forward peacefully and it still fails, perhaps there’s some hope in knowing that we remained true to ourselves along the way. And holding onto that, if not for the immediate future but for the future that is still on the horizon, is essential. Furiosa is an absolutely wild film any way you look at it. And Miller certainly “made it epic.” But he also made it very beautiful, fun, and moving. May he be allowed to return to the Wasteland whenever he likes, and we’ll be all the better off for it as a movie-going audience.
