My 10(ish) Favorite Movies of 2024
The only Top 10 list that matters, because I thought so long about it
I’m finally writing this, after some severe weather in Dallas plus some work stuff sidetracked me. As always, ranking art is a fool’s errand and all rankings are mostly full of crap. But I love end-of-year lists and seeing what everyone puts on them. These lists are windows into other peoples’ taste, and I use them as ways to learn about movies I otherwise might not have heard of. Hopefully that’s the case here.
As a bonus, I’m behind on the 4 Favorites series, so here’s a list of what made the cut for those (excluding the films I mention below): “Abigail,” “Late Night with the Devil,” “MaXXXine,” “Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire,” “The New Man in Charge,” “Absentia,” “Oculus,” “Conclave,” “Heretic,” “Smile 2,” “We Live in Time,” “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” “Totally Killer,” “An Almost Christmas Story,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Ikiru,” and “Riddle of Fire,”
Still need to see from 2024: “Anora,” “Juror #2,” “Sing Sing,” “Flow,” “Nickel Boys,” “Hundreds of Beavers,” “I Saw the TV Glow,” probably a lot more
Honorable Mentions for 2024: “Conclave,” “The Bikeriders,” “Monkey Man,” “The Beekeeper,” “The Fall Guy,” “Heretic,” “Problemista”
#10: “Here,” directed by Robert Zemeckis; “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1,” directed by Kevin Costner; and “Megalopolis,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola
I know, I know. A three-way tie right off the bat. My list, my rules. But it makes sense. All three of these films take big swings, all three are made by directors who are reaching the end of their careers, and all three explicitly deal with those directors’ main fascinations: Americana, nostalgia, and changes in technology (“Here”); the American West (“Horizon”); and the concept of America itself (“Megalopolis”).
I was fascinated (and quite moved) by the way “Here” focuses on one place as a way to examine how humanity’s actions have stayed the same throughout millenia (the graphic novel is beeautiful, too). I loved how Costner and Coppolla self-financed their projects, I love Costner’s penchant for old-time Westerns and sweeping vistas, and I love how “Megalopolis” is at the opposite end of the spectrum from “Here” with its optimism toward the future vs. regretful looking back.
The older I get, the more I disdain cynical or sarcastic films. It’s so much easier to make a “He’s standing right behind me, isn’t he?” joke or immediately play everything for laughs than it is to make something sincere.
My favorite movies of the last few years, things like “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.” or “Nine Days” or “Avatar: The Way of Water,” are earnest and sincere — sometimes, painfully so. But the vulnerability in that kind of filmmaking is something that will last longer than a quick quip, or a masturbatory comic book movie (hello, “Deadpool & Wolverine”). And all three of these movies, if nothing else, are deeply sincere.
“Here”: Available on VOD and coming soon to Netflix; “Horizon” available to stream on Netflix snd Max; “Megalopolis” available on VOD.
#9: “Challengers,” directed by Luca Guadagnino
The best score I’ve heard all year, the most propulsive cinematography I’ve seen all year, just an all-around entertaining Capital M-Movie. Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist should make 20 more movies together.
Available to stream on Prime Video.
#8: “The First Omen,” directed by Arkasha Stevenson; “Smile 2,” directed by Parker Finn; and “Trap,” directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Another three-way tie. Last year was a great year for horror, but these were the three that stood out to me. “The First Omen” is a gnarly look at harmful religious control, while “Smile 2” ups the ante on the original and features the wildest final scene I saw all year (also one of the wildest theatrical experiences I had all year — a horror film in a packed house is always a fun time), and “Trap” sees my man M. Night Shyamalan continue to reinvent himself with new story structures and camera tricks.
If you had to make a through-line for all of these, I guess it could be that all of them feature female protagonists who are foreced to make the most out of terrible situations (to mixed results). But two of them also feature protagonists who are also pop stars. If I had to pick, I’m going with Skye Riley.
“The First Omen”: Available to stream on Hulu; “Smile 2”: Available to stream on Paramount+; “Trap”: Available to stream on Max.
#7: “Dune: Part Two,” directed by Denis Villeneuve
An improvement on the first in every way, with some of the most awe-inspiring sequences you’ll ever see in IMAX. Maybe hero worship is a bad idea.
Available to stream on Max.
#6: “Twisters,” directed by Lee Isaac Chung
The most fun I’ve had in a movie theater all year. I have not been able to shut up about this movie since I saw it at a press screening in the spring. I saw it three times in the theater and will show it on streaming to anyone who asks. This is a throwback to summer blockbuster filmmaking of the highest order, starring hot people chasing bad weather, filmed by a director who gets what it’s like to live in the south. I hope they make five more.
Available to stream on Peacock.
#5: “Hit Man,” directed by Richard Linklater
Betweeen this and “Twisters,” it was #GlenPowellSummer. Linklater’s latest for Netflix stars Powell as a community college professor-turned-fake-hitman. The director manages to weave his trademark philosophical musings about the self into a neo-noir genre film that constanyl reinvents itself. It also features the hottest scene you will ever see featuring the iPhone’s Notes app.
Available to stream on Netflix.
#4: “Furiosa,” directed by George Miller
Hardly anyone saw Miller’s prequel to “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which is a pity, because this feaures a few sequences that are on par with, if not better than, scenes in “Fury Road,” and becasue this doubles down on Miller’s mode of fable storytelling. Watching this movie feels like listening to the village storyteller recite a Bible story over the campfire. And features Chris Hemsworth’s best performance so far by a mile.
Available to stream on Netflix and Max.
#3: “Snack Shack,” directed by Adam Rehmeier
This one was my biggest surprise of the year. I knew Gabriel LaBelle could play a young Pseudo-Spielberg, and I knew he could play a young Lorne Michaels, but playing a motormouthed scumbag teen just looking to earn a quick buck may be his best performance yet.
This is a fun and smart coming-of-age story set over one summer in the ‘90s that pulls no punches. Deserves to be in the conversation with films like “Superbad,” “The Way Way Back” and “Kings of Summer.”
Available to stream on Prime Video.
#2: “The Wild Robot,” directed by Chris Sanders
Did you cry at “Lilo & Stitch” and “How to Train Your Dragon”? Well then, get the Kleenex for this one too. This film’s blend of watercolor and hand-drawn animation with computer animation reflects its story of a robot stranded in the forest (and it is beautiful to look at) but the themes of found family and “it takes a village” will have you contemplating your own family. Plus it features Catherine O’Hara as a possum.
Available on VOD.
#1: “Perfect Days,” directed by Wim Wenders
This technically came out in 2023, but it didn’t hit wide release until 2024, so, it counts. I’ve though of this movie every day since I saw it, and I try to emualte its ethos of being present as much as possible. I am far from successful, but I have started looking up at treetops more oftne and have noticed more birds on my daily walks with Pudge.
“Next time is next time. Now is now.”
Available to stream on Hulu.