After the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, cinema took a hit. Theaters closed and film production shut down. While streaming services thrived, the movie business suffered. While 2021 and 2022 tried to claw their way out of the wasteland created by the shutdown, they will go down as the worst years for films since I have been alive. There were a few gems during those doldrum years, but making a “best of” list was difficult, as “pickins” were slim. 2023 was something of a savior, giving audiences a good deal of great films to choose from while 2024 proved to be even better.
This year, Hollywood gifted us with less comic book movie saturation and more character driven works. Studios focused more on getting good screenplays, even for many of their big budget action comedies. Films such as The Fall Guy, Deadpool & Wolverine, and even Twisters were unexpectedly entertaining.
Indie dramas found a bigger home than they had in a while, while horror films had their best year in decades. In just about every genre, this year made it clear that modern cinema is finding its mojo again.
For the first time in years, it was difficult to whittle my best list down to just 15. I am pleased to report that I experienced an abundance of great films to choose from.
Here are my choices for the 15 best films of 2024.
To read my reviews of the listed films, click on the highlighted titles.
1. SING SING– directed by Greg Kwedar
A testament to the men who desired to rise above it all and refused to let themselves be defined by their past.
Based on the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program (RTA) that began at New York’s maximum-security Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Kwedar’s film is a powerful and important piece of American cinema. Mixing professional actors with the actual men who benefited from their time in RTA, the film is a beautiful and sincere look at the humanity that truly defines one’s soul.
What the filmmakers and their cast have done is to create a picture rich in compassion, kindness, and brotherly love. This is an incredibly touching and profoundly moving experience of hope.
Sing Sing will find its way into your soul.
2. NOSFERATU– directed by Robert Eggers
An inescapable waking nightmare of pure horror, Eggers film takes charge of F.W. Murnau’s vampire classic, molding it into a darkly sexual tragedy of the macabre that takes its place as one of the great horror films of the past few decades.
With its supreme design, impeccable cast, and disarming intimacy to the terrors held within, horror cinema has found itself with a new modern classic.
Eggers has crafted an immersive cinematic experience and a ravenous bacchanal masterpiece of absolute terror.
3. FLOW- directed by Gints Zilbalodis
A poignant and incredibly profound film about survival and the search for a place to belong.
Full of beautiful imagery and supreme skill from its director and team of animators, this film holds moments of beauty (aural and internal) that will touch your heart.
The best animated film of the decade.
4. A COMPLETE UNKNOWN– directed by James Mangold
This incredible biopic captures the essence of Bob Dylan the man, his process, and the poetry of his music. The smartest decision Mangold and co-writer Jay Cocks make is to steer clear of psychoanalyzing Dylan. What their excellent screenplay does so well is to embrace the rapid changes in his personality while capturing his creative spark and the way his work sets the music world ablaze.
Timothée Chalamet more than rises to the occasion, exceeds expectations, and gives not only the finest performance of his career, but one of the finest of 2024.
5. THE BRUTALIST- directed by Brady Corbet
An old school epic character piece about one’s legacy and destiny.
Corbet’s screenplay is deeply personal, philosophical, and incredibly moving. Adrein Brody may find himself in competition for another acting Oscar in what I find to be his finest work.
Brilliantly ambitious, Corbet’s picture blends the powers of filmmaking and architecture to say so much. This is stunning, cinematic, and pure art, the likes of which is all too rare in today’s film world.
6. LONGLEGS- directed by Osgood Perkins
The horror genre got a jolt of originality with this creepy and well-constructed devil cult tale. Perkins defies expectations and masterfully manipulates his audience.
Maika Monroe did the best work of her young career while Nicolas Cage created one of the most terrifying horror villains in decades.
Constantly surprising, chilling, and absolutely riveting.
7. ANORA– directed by Sean Baker
The director continues his commendable quest to destigmatize sex work by crafting a stirring and profoundly affecting anti-fairy tale that should send him to the forefront of this year’s Oscar contenders.
Mikey Madison announces herself as one of the best actors of her generation. Madison’s performance is thrilling and alive with emotion. The actress will break your heart.
A masterwork of naturalistic emotion and sharp comic energy.
8. THE SUBSTANCE– directed by Coralie Fargeat
The real-world horrors of self hatred, the sexualization of women’s bodies, and how a misogynistic culture forces women to question their physical worth, take center stage in Fargeat’s darkly comedic and ultimately brilliant commentary/body horror experience.
Demi Moore gives the performance of her career as she accepts the director’s extreme physical and emotional challenges from scene to scene. Powering headfirst into the deepest character she has ever played, the actress is extraordinary.
Painting her film with a Kubrickian brush splattered with Cronenberg carnage, the director has something potent to say about fame, age, and how one values what is reflected in the mirror. One may not like how she does it, but audiences who settle in for this unique experience will see something daring and original.
9. A REAL PAIN– directed by Jesse Eisenberg
Pain, empathy, and naturalistic humor find potent symmetry in Eisenberg’s honest examination of existential despair that sidesteps pretentiousness and finds its lead characters in a place where time has not healed the wounds of generational trauma.
The writer-director gives a fantastic, multi-layered performance while Kieran Culkin is acting perfection, skillfully capturing the duality of the human condition.
This is a moving film about good people trying to exist through the unbearable weight of their collective generational pain.
10. THE BIKERIDERS– directed by Jeff Nichols
Telling the saga of a biker gang called the Vandals, Nichols’ latest is based on a 1968 photo book by photographer Danny Lyon, this episodic film oozes mood and authenticity.
Nichols’ goes beyond the mythology of motorcycle culture and creates a film about belonging.
Led by excellent performances from Jodi Comer, Tom Hardy, and an impeccably selected cast of performers, this is an involving cinematic paragon of rebellion and of men who realize their utopian vision of this country could never come to fruition.
11. LOVE LIES BLEEDING– directed by Rose Glass
A hyper-stylized, supremely involving, and erotic neo-noir with a queer edge.
Kristen Stewart gives a smoldering and energetic performance, Katy O’ Brian is completely intoxicating, and Ed Harris is intensely mesmerizing.
A visual and aural delicacy full of erotic heat that dances on the border between the realistic and the wild.
12. FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA– directed by George Miller
George Miller returns to the wasteland with the most balls-out and inventive action extravaganza since his own Mad Max: Fury Road from 2015.
A full-on, engine-roaring, madness that grabs the audience and takes no prisoners when crafting breathtaking action set pieces; each one absolutely jaw-dropping in their execution.
This is a propulsive and muscular action epic for the ages and a striking work of action film art.
13. SEPTEMBER 5– directed by Tim Fehlbaum
Uniquely examining the tragic hostage events during the 1972 Munich Olympics, Fehlbaum’s film traverses the unimaginable ethical questions combined with continuous technical roadblocks of covering such a situation.
An intense cinematic experience made stronger by its documentary-style realism.
Powerful in its tension and all too relevant in examining journalistic ethics, this is one of the best representations of warts-and-all American journalism.
14. THE WILD ROBOT- directed by Chris Sanders
A misfit robot amongst the creatures of nature becomes a heartwarming (and heartbreaking) cinematic experience.
The screenplay finds its soul in its brilliant depiction of parenting.
A loving and imaginative animated tale that gets straight to the heart.
15. HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA- CHAPTER 1– directed by Kevin Costner
Costner once again proves himself a disciple of the American Western with this sprawling well-written and directed tale that bleeds respect for old Hollywood and the directors that influenced him.
Costner directs the hell out of this piece and uses the beauty of the mesas and mountains to paint the backdrop of multiple destinies.
With this exciting, authentic, and beautifully crafted Western saga, Costner proves there is no one riding a harder trail to keep the Western alive.
And 5 Runners Up- (listed alphabetically)
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT- directed by Payal Kapadia
Emotion and culture in visual motifs.
A moving document of a country and its people.
DIDI- directed by Sean Wang
Writer-director Wang captures the final years of the privilege of youth in his warm, funny, and honest picture.
A deeply felt love letter to youth and the lasting bond between a mother and her children.
EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS- directed by Titus Kaphar
A Powerful emotional journey of a man haunted by his family’s past.
A film fueled by layers of color and emotion that examines the cost of forgiveness, but refuses to give us the easy answers.
NICKEL BOYS- directed by RaMell Ross
A harrowing and profound film reflecting intense life experiences.
A remarkable work of real power directed with a mesmerizing technique that cuts right to its emotional core.
PIECE BY PIECE– directed by
Full of inspiration, emotion, music, and fun, this unique documentary chronicles the life and career of musician Pharrell Williams using the style of LEGO animation.
An inventive burst of cinematic energy.