A (very delayed) List of Our Favorite 2024 Movies
Although there have been better years, there have still been some notable releases in the past years. It was a good year for horror films. Animators are still pushing the envelope to deliver some incredible animated films. Smaller distributors such as A24, Neon, and Mubi are releasing original and daring works from today’s auteurs. There was always something to look forward to.
Unfortunately, an amateur blogger doesn’t have the backing or the time to see everything. There will be some missing acclaimed films I didn’t catch up with. Enjoy our top picks from this year, and let us know what we missed in the comments.
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The list of the 25 best films of the year is on our Letterboxd profile.
Honorable Mentions
- A Real Pain
- Janet Planet
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Evil Does Not Exist
- The Beast
10 La Chimera
Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera is a beautiful human story that’s even better without knowing the plot. The story remarkably moves forward as it slowly reveals more about the characters and their motives, scene by scene. Josh O’Connor delivers an outstanding performance. Definitely, the film is as rewarding as Rohrwacher’s other work.
9 Nosferatu
Nosferatu, Robert Eggers’ highly anticipated film, has finally been released and does not disappoint. Like his previous works, it’s eerie and atmospheric. It realistically displays the folk tale, which is the director’s specialty. Orlock does look like a dead count, and the rest of the characters look like they came right out of a book illustration. And that final scene is an unforgettable theater-shared experience.
8 Didi
Sean Wang’s coming-of-age film revolves around Chris, a 13-year-old kid’s summer of 2008. The most relatable thing about this comedy-drama is how this boy tries to impress anyone. The poor kid is a poser, which makes it so relatable. Cause we all were at his age. Don’t try to impress anyone by denying it. It’s a heartfelt yet honest story about the awkward age of 13 with some of the same cultural nuances from fellow Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang.
7 The Substance
This is a controversial picture, not because this smash hit is so contentious but because it’s so low on my list. The Substance has been talked about and analyzed over and over again. With its unique storytelling and editing style, this film is among the best of the year.
6 Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
Another weird film that blew my mind. A production assistant interviews injured workers for a safety video in Do Not Expect Too Much From The End of the World. So it’s an interesting film about someone who hates her work meeting people neglected at theirs. The first part constantly switches from grainy black and white to 4K in color, to TikTok videos, to Zoom. The second part is different, a single long take of the interview recording. The juxtaposition of styles is only one of the fascinating things in this satire. I can’t recommend it enough.
5 Hundreds of Beavers
Definitely, one of the most unique films released this year. It’s been playing in festivals for a few years and was released this year. If there are still films that get hyped by word of mouth, Beavers is this year’s best example. This black-and-white live-action cartoon follows a drunk salesman fighting the title hundreds of beavers. It’s cute, nutty, and weird, and like the silent-era heroes such as Chaplin and Keaton, it also has a heart of gold.
4 Challengers
One of today’s most prolific (and best) filmmakers working today, Luca Guadagnino, released two great movies this year. Though, Queer is an excellent adaptation of William S. Burroughs’s novel with Daniel Graig’s best post-Bond performance to date. There’s no doubt that Challengers is one of this year’s best films. We were all compelled by the love triangle centered around a tennis game. It’s a gripping story about love and betrayal with some new breathtaking cinematic techniques made even more stimulating with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score and concluding in one of the best abrupt endings ever.
3 Dune: Part Two
Over the past few years, mainstream Hollywood blockbusters have been pretty underwhelming. Superhero fatigue is still something that hasn’t recovered from, and the dozens of sequels, prequels, and reboots that fall short. Denis Villeneuve’s second part of the long-awaited Dune checks all the blockbuster boxes. It looks great, it’s well-paced, the characters are intriguing, and we all left wanting even more.
2 Anora
Sean Baker has been an indie darling of the film industry for the past decade. This is in part for their in-depth character study surrounding marginalized people, usually sex workers. There’s the postmodernism we expect from Sean Baker, but there’s also a surprising amount of comedy. Mikey Madison ranges from intense dramatic performance to absurd comedy, sometimes in the same scene. That’s why she’s arguably the best actress of the year. Also, stay for one of the best movie endings of the year.
1 Sing Sing
Starring Colman Domingo in the best performances of his career, he leads a group of fellow inmates in a theater group. Starring an ensemble cast of real unprofessional actors who found peace and happiness despite terrible circumstances. This is why we make movies and witness a group of men pursuing the art of acting for their moment of escapism. More than a movie, Sing Sing is a triumph.
