2024 was a weird year, especially in the world of cinema. Gone are the big event movies that dominate the box office and the awards circuit. The only real chance of that was Dune Part Two and Wicked. While Wicked still has that opportunity, Denis Villenueve’s space epic seems dead in the water, in that regard. It just goes to show that release dates and schedules have much too large of an impact on the way we think of movies and awards. And, of course, it’s all subjective and ridiculous. Is this a top 10 List? Of course. Could you convince me that ten other films are even more deserving? Probably!
And this is where the strength of 2024 lies. Were the highs as high as the Barbenheimer year? Certainly not. No matter how hard they tried to make Glicked a thing (it’s not, please stop this But I would argue that if you search, there is greatness to be found. Step outside of the major releases and do a deep dive. There is tremendous talent and art to be found. Now, some of this is deeply out of your control, of course. This is an unprecedented year, in terms of poor access.
I am both lucky and deeply grateful. As a person who was granted acceptance into a few critics groups this year, I was able to have access to the holy grail known as screeners. Without that, I would not have been able to see many of my top films this year. I say this not to brag, but to show understanding of the frustration of not being able to see the best that 2024 has to offer. In that mindset, when I talk about a few of those movies, I will aim to not spoil anything important, but to focus on the emotions evoked in my experience.
Before we get to the official Top 10, here are some films that just missed out this year. And honestly, ask me tomorrow, and they might make it in!
Sing Sing
Babygirl
All We Imagine As Light
Challengers
Love Lies Bleeding
Hard Truths
The Bikeriders
I’m Still Here
Red Rooms
Immaculate
All of these movies (and the ones below, of course) are well worth your time and effort. As always, watch more movies! Now, on to the actual Top 10!
10. The Substance

The Substance was one of the most visceral, enjoyable, disgusting experiences that cinema had to offer in 2024. Obviously, it was a pleasure to see Demi Moore be on top of the film world again, and Margaret Qualley continues her absolute assault on Hollywood. The Substance really fits the mold of some of my favorites. A genre movie that is not afraid to both go for broke in the visuals and also has a point, or two, to make. It is deeply unsubtle (a trait it shares with a few other movies to come) but it handles that blunt force well. A movie about the hideousness of being a woman who ages, both in Hollywood and the real world, but deals with that problem through both a horror and a science-fiction lens. Does the science of taking The Substance make a lot of sense? Did Margaret Qualley make that room up to code? If you are asking these questions, you have lost the plot, both literally and figuratively. Director Coralie Fargeat deserves many awards, not only for the creation of the core, but for some of the funniest (and oddly touching) moments with MonstroElisaSue. If you can’t laugh at her straightening her remaining hair and jangling that one earring, I honestly feel sorry for you.
9. My Old Ass

This was maybe my biggest surprise of the year. And what a happy, moving, emotional surprise it was. I had no connection with the writer/director, Megan Park, or its lead, Maisy Stella. The only reason I even had interest was due to the presence of Aubrey Plaza, who has a smallish role as the older self of the lead, Elliott. We have heard a thousand times that the journey is more important than the destination, and here is the perfect example. If you could meet your future self, what would you ask? My Old Ass posits instead, should you even ask? Yes, our lives are filled with pain and strife. But what if those moments are what build us into the best possible versions of ourselves? This might be the sweetest, most lovely romance of the year. A nearly perfect coming-of-age story that you absolutely will not see coming. This is a film that will transport you back to that all important first love. The rush. The fear. The exploration. Don’t be scared off by the title. My Old Ass is truly great (pause for laugh track).
8. A Different Man

Sebastian Stan has had one hell of a year. He has now cemented himself as the one to watch when it comes to stars built through the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He continually makes interesting choices instead of going for the pure romantic lead. This one is no different. Stan plays a struggling actor with a facial deformity (kudos to the makeup team, by the way). He is given an opportunity to undergo an experimental treatment to make him “normal” and he takes it with little hesitation. He, like many of us, assumes that if we can just change that one thing about ourselves, all of our personal anxieties and foibles will go away. Stan, paired with a stunner of a supporting performance from Adam Pearson, shows us that yes, what is inside is what really matters. If we don’t actually take a look at what we are doing internally, no amount of surgery, pills, and outside acceptance will heal us on their own. A Different Man offers a challenge. Become a different man through work, or the world will chew you up and spit you out.
7. The Beast

This is probably the most difficult movie on my list to try to speak about. Set in a future where emotions are seen as a net negative, it focuses on one relationship, between Gabrielle Monnier (Léa Seydoux) and Louis Lewanski (George MacKay). The world is actively trying to heal these two of their emotions and, by extension, their innate connection. Now, in a world where they tell you that it is bad to feel, one must find how willing they are to fight. Or will they give in to the beast, will they give in to fear. Both Seydoux and MacKay are excellent here, to no one’s surprise. The film takes big swings and they may not all work for all audiences, but you really have to admire the attempt regardless. Whether these people are in the future, the distant past, or a disturbing present (to us), we find ourselves actively rooting for them to finally find each other. Given the distance that the film purposefully creates, that makes The Beast a success already. But if you fully get on its wavelength, this is a film that will stick with you well past the credits.
6. No Other Land

This is the only documentary on my list this year (but what a year for non-narrative films!). I would term this as the most important movie to watch in 2024. In Hollywood’s ultimate symbol of cowardice, not a single studio has picked this up for distribution, so I would not be surprised if most readers had not seen this. Once that happens (please!), I urge you to watch this beyond any film on my list or any other list. It tells the story of two passionate friends, one Israeli and one Palestinian, fighting through artistic means to put a halt to the disgusting behavior of Israel’s government as they literally bulldoze homes, leaving people with no place to go. This story of friendship, brotherhood, and a willingness to stand for what is moral and right is desperately important. There are moments of bloodshed that are difficult to watch, but these are acts that from our American privileged position, we have avoided for far too long.
5. I Saw The TV Glow

I want to make this clear. Anyone. I mean, anyone can benefit from this movie and find something to engage with. I say this because one of the main criticisms is that it was solely a Trans story. Now of course, there is a very clear Trans allegory happening here, but we are lost, we are all scared. Jane Schoenbrun calls us to find a way, any way, to be ourselves. Our very best selves. Both Justice Smith and Bridgette Lundy-Paine absolutely own the screen here and dare us to not feel. The monologue under the parachute is a top tier moment of the year for me. It was the moment I knew I was watching something powerful, something different. But it is not just a moment. I Saw The TV Glow resonated so strongly with me that I could not shake it for days. It is not too late. It is never too late. As long as you are breathing, you have at least one more chance to be your self. Take that chance. It won’t be easy, but it will be genuine.
4. Ghostlight

Ghostlight is one of two movies this year that harness the power of theatre to inspire growth and change (I see you, Sing Sing). Keith Kupferer gives the best male performance of the year as a man struggling to hold himself and his family together after an indescribable loss. The film somehow enables us to miss a character we have never met purely through the broken connections on screen. Yes, the metaphor on stage is on the nose to what our characters are suffering through in the real world. But life is like that sometimes. No matter our beliefs, life will inexplicably line up to connect us, to teach us. The film shows us that no, we cannot go backwards. But that cannot stop us from growing, changing, expanding. We are more than the sum of our parts. We are more than our pain. We are more than our loss. We can still find our loved ones, even beyond the grave. They live on in us, and what a powerful and beautiful message to be left with this year.
3. Nickel Boys

Everything from here on could be my best movie of the year, if I am being completely honest. If you have heard anything about Nickel Boys (since most haven’t seen the actual movie) it is encapsulated by the word “gimmick.” Do not be fooled. Yes, the movie is mostly filmed from a first-person perspective, but this is done not simply to perform a trick. Nickel Boys is an exercise in forced empathy. One cannot help but be pulled along on the journey of the main characters and experience it as close to firsthand as possible. RaMell Ross is easily the director of the year; and hand-in-hand with cinematographer Jomo Fray, he creates something brand new. And how exciting is that? To see hundreds of movies over your lifetime, to be introduced to something radical and awe-inspiring. I hope we all get to see this film on the biggest screen possible, as it deserves to be seen.
2. The Brutalist

Some of us have been in on Brady Corbet for longer than others. Some of us love Vox Lux. It’s me, I am some of us. It pleases me greatly that he not only created a great film, but managed to build a nearly perfect metaphor on the creative process. Remember how I talked about movies being unsubtle this year? Yeah, The Brutalist is not subtle at all. And yes, that shot of Lady Liberty is incredible, but what I love about this movie is that this shot, while striking, is a signal for what you, and the lead character, is going to experience. So close to accessing the dream, we are constantly met with problems with the power elite. But how can we get our message across without them? Brody, Pearce, Jones. All absolutely at the top of their prospective games and we are all the better for experiencing The Brutalist. Yes, it’s long. Yes, it’s worth it.
1. Nosferatu

It is not a coincidence that this is the movie I have seen the most this year (Don’t ask how many times, it’s embarrassing). Robert Eggers, one of our best working directors, decided to finally take on vampires. Unsurprisingly, he made decisions that made things harder on himself. Not a Nosferatu remake, not a Dracula adaptation, not an original story. Somehow, he threaded a needle between all three of these options. It should not work at all. It should fail spectacularly. Instead, he manages this particular trick thanks to his script and direction, impeccable casting, and the work of numerous craftspeople working at their absolute best. You can sit around and argue all day about what it is actually about (there is plenty of this on Twitter), but this is the real joy of Nosferatu. It is about all of these things. Consent, desire, repression, darkness. One could writer thousands of words on all of these topics and never scratch the surface at everything bubbling underneath the surface. Nosferatu is Eggers’ best work and, for my money, the best 2024 has to offer. Succumb to his darkness.

Special Mention: Close Your Eyes
I watched this movie very late in the game (after our recording, hence its separate inclusion), but what an incredible experience. Close Your Eyes is an achingly emotional and beautiful meditation on art, life, connection, and most of all, aging. If I watched this when I was 20, well, I don’t want to think about what I would say about it at that age. As someone who has seen a bit of life, the film, as it opens up, reveals something about all of us. On its face, it is about a missing actor featured on an “Unsolved Mysteries” like television program. But plot feels irrelevant here. Director Victor Erice seems basically unconcerned with your reading of the film, but instead focuses on the emotion of loss, regaining ourselves, and our connection to art. This is a film that feels like it deserves thousands of words, and yet, none of them are enough.
You can also hear me talk about these movies and why they resonated with me on this year’s InSession Film Awards.
https://youtu.be/qCW3QMTMPy4
https://youtu.be/fByw_jlotSU