It's the end of the year as we know it
and I feel fine?
Another year has come to a close, and just like every other news outlet, internet reactor, and literally anyone with an opinion, I have chosen to continue the trend of publishing the least original article of the year. So without further ado, here are my Favourite Films of 2024!
A little more ado
Just a quick caveat before we get into the list. 2024 was not my most active year, especially when it came to seeing new films in theaters. Last year I saw 13 films released in 2024, so if your favorite was Gladiator II, Wicked, Moana II, Inside Out II, Nosferatu, A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist1, or Red One (or any other films not on this list), it is most likely because I have not yet seen it. In a few years time maybe I will revise this will all the other films from the year, but as of today, I can only recap the films I’ve seen. So, without any additional fanfare, I present:
A complete ranking of the new films I watched in 2024
Unranked - ME Dir. Don Hertzfeldt
Me, the short film entry by experimental animator Don Hertzfeldt, screened at my local cinematheque as part of a double feature along with his first feature film, It’s Such a Beautiful Day. Now it’s not necessarily fair to omit this entry from my rankings, as a 20-minute short it accomplishes a lot and has a good amount to say about dedicating your life to craft and what you gain, and lose, in the process. The biggest reason I decided to omit this is the most memorable part of this screening was the musical interlude that itself seemed like an old-timey animation. Also, just found out this may have been created in collaboration with Arcade Fire, so feels weird to rank it. Definitely worth the watch if experimental animation or silent films are your thing.
12th Place - Y2K Dir. Kyle Mooney
Oh how it pains me to give this film the honor of the lowest spot in the list. Y2K, the directorial debut of Man on the Street legend and former SNL Cast Member Kyle Mooney, presents a unique premise to reframe the turn-of-the-century panic into a reality where the machines don’t only fail at midnight but are corrupted by a hivemind into overthrowing humanity. Unfortunately, the premise struggles to translate for the same reason as most horror-comedies that have come before it. The film, at the end of the day, does not know what it wants to be and it sacrifices the scares and the laughs for something that ends up only half working. My recommendation: only watch if you are prepared to get as baked as this guy.
11th Place - Longlegs Dir. Osgood Perkins
The horror hit of the summer and the “scariest movie of all time” according to its marketing, Longlegs picked up steam and ran away with the hearts of teenagers everywhere through its social media campaign and inclusion of admittedly a very good Nic Cage performance. Directed by the son of another horror movie staple, Osgood Perkins creates a tense atmosphere in his directorial debut. The first half of the film had me completely captivated, with direct homages to Silence of the Lambs along with nearly every serial killer film that has come before; the film lost me though when it decided to take the film firmly out of the world of realism. As a metaphor for the life of the director, there are some strong direct ties (parents hiding a secret for the betterment of the child), but the “twist” lost me by bringing in the supernatural. At least we will forever have the image of Longlegs himself with his smashed-in face to haunt our dreams.
10th Place - The Substance Dir. Coralie Fargeat
Put the pitchforks down, I know this is a controversial take. I found aspects of The Substance to be truly enthralling, but ultimately the film seemed to feel the same way I did: bored with the premise after about 80 minutes, yet still having another 60 to go. While this may seem like a harsh critique, I found a lot to enjoy about the film. The central premise of buying a “better” version of yourself could not be more prescient in the Ozempic/plastic surgery era, the bigger questions it is interrogating though often go unanswered, unaddressed, or forgotten about completely. Other than the bloodbath at the end, there are no repercussions to those who maintain the system or any attempts to address the underlying social pressures that created the insecurities the substance feeds on. Still, some of the better practical effects of the year.
9th Place - Deadpool & Wolverine Dir. Shawn Levy
I can basically hear you through whatever screen you’re using to read this, and your criticism and feedback is appreciated and will be considered in next year’s list, but I would be lying to say I had a worse time watching this than watching The Substance. I cannot say that any element of the craft or the story are better than the substance, but the joy of some of the jokes that hit and the cameos (gimme more of Snipes’ Blade & Johnny Storm) just make for a slightly better viewing experience than the other films so far. It also likely has to do with the low, low expectations I went into this with. This is far from a cinematic masterpiece but I had a good couple of hours of mindless entertainment.
8th Place - Challengers Dir. Luca Guadagnino
Now to be completely clear, there’s a decent-sized gulf between 9th and 8th. From here on out are films I at least admired some elements of, all of which felt like complete stories and something more than just an entertainment piece. This is not to say they are perfect, just that there is a distinct step up in quality for the remaining films. I don’t know if any other film this year had the cultural inroads amongst my social circle that Challengers did, but I do know no single person had the cultural impact Zendaya had this year (more on that later). This also was my personal introduction to Josh O’Connor, the world’s hungriest boy, and my second run-in with Mike Faist, the world’s most nasally boy. The peak of this film to me, better than the love triangle, the Stanford Campus, or the churros, was the Atticus Ross & Trent Reznor score. That shit bangs.
7th Place - Matt & Mara Dir. Kazik Radwanski
Matt and Mara is the first of the festival screenings this year’s VIFF. A little-seen film2 that was largely improvised, there is a certain charm brought by Deragh Campbell and her chemistry with Matt Johnson. The stories of the guerilla filmmaking used to shoot on the streets of downtown Toronto and at Niagara Falls added to the magic of the film. I hope to see more of what Radwanski creates in the coming years, hopefully achieving a similar level of success to Joanna Hogg, another filmmaker who utilizes the scriptless filmmaking technique.
6th Place - Dahomey Dir. Mati Diop
Easily the most unique film I’ve seen this year, along with the only new documentary, Dahomey was an intense investigation into the ethics surrounding the theft of ancient artifacts from the Dahomey Kingdom by French colonizers and their return to modern day Benin. Diop does a great job structuring this film with the inner monologue of one of the 26 pieces being returned with the film climaxing with a university debate that explores the intricacies of how to approach returning these artifacts. I think the film only finds itself this low due to the circumstances under which I saw this and it has the highest chance of improving after a rewatch.
5th Place - Dune: Part 2 Dir. Denis Villeneuve
If Dahomey was the most unique film of the year, then Dune: Part 2 was the most unique viewing experience of the year. I saw Dune: Part 2 on vacation in Milan at an English language screening (a rarity as most films in Italy are dubbed in theaters), yet the Fremen sequences were only subtitled in Italian. Even so, the film took the source material and manipulated it just enough to create both a strong allegory for the current era as well as a faithful adaptation with a resonant impact to the audience. The factor that truly lifted it over the edge was the moment fairly early on when the score swelled to the point it literally ripped the center of the screen. That will be the most memorable theater moment of the year.
4th Place - Bird Dir. Andrea Arnold
Although the remaining films all screened as a part of VIFF, Andrea Arnold’s Bird film felt like the least commercial of them all. A film full of magical realism, Bird leaves the audience wondering what is real and what is imagined. At the end of the day, none of that really matters as the journey that Bailey, the protagonist, embarks on transcends beyond the confines of a standard narrative. This is elevated by a magical performance by Franz Rogowski as the titular Bird, a vagabond who tangentially enters Bailey’s life until he changes it forever. Plus, it’s the only film in which Barry Keoghan tries to get a frog to secrete its venom with a performance of Coldplay’s Yellow (seriously, if you have Mubi, this is a must-watch, roughly the 70-minute mark).
3rd Place - Conclave Dir. Edward Berger
One of the Oscar frontrunners of the year, Conclave came out of the gates as this year’s Green Book, a crowd-pleaser with topical themes and some great performances. Stanley Tucci is at his absolute best, John Lithgow gives his best performance since Blow Out, and Ralph Fiennes is Ralph Fiennes. Did I forget someone? Oh yeah, the queen herself Isabella Rossellini shows up, gives 15 of the best minutes ever to be put to celluloid, and judges every single person in the process. It is probably the second-best Rossellini performance I saw this year, only behind her blonde cameo in Wild at Heart.
2nd Place - Pavements Dir. Alex Ross Perry
I’ve run out of superlatives at this point, but Pavements is an indescribable film about an indescribable band. Is it a biopic? A documentary? A concert film? A filmed stage play? Yes. All of the above. A frequent guest of both the Blank Check and Big Picture podcasts, Alex Ross Perry truly pushes the limits on what can be considered a documentary. I’ve never been a huge Joe Keery (of Djo and that Netflix show fame) but even I can't deny his star turn in the fake biopic as Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus. Other cameos from Jason Schwartzman (of Coconut Records and all the Wes Anderson films), Nat Wolff (of the Naked Brothers Band and Hereditary), Tim Heidecker (of Tim and Eric), and Griffin Newman (of The Tick and the Blank Check podcast) are well received throughout the film. But the best part of the film is the ongoing tension of whether or not Malkmus really ever wants any of this. His aloof nature has always been part of the appeal of Pavement and the songs reflect it. No matter what, it is essential to play it loud.
1st Place - Anora Dir. Sean Baker
Saving the best for last, Anora is Pretty Woman meets After Hours. Mikey Madison is brilliant in her portrayal of a stripper who meets the son of a Russian oligarch. He soon falls in love with her, proposes marriage, and changes her life forever, or so she thinks. This is until his parents catch wind and interrupt a Russian Orthodox baptism to force him to annul the marriage. From top to bottom, the film is as close to perfect as I saw this year. The characters are deep and have realistic motivations, the story arch has enough twists and turns to keep anyone invested, and even the throw away moments turn out to be important to the narrative arch of the film. The most interesting character in the film is barely revealed until over halfway in and is even slow played at that. Overall, I’d say this is a must see and easily the best film of the year.
A quick second list: Top 10 First Views of Older Films from 2024 (in no particular order)
Twin Peaks: The Return (aka A Limited Series Event) (2017) Dir. David Lynch
The King of Comedy (1982) Dir. Martin Scorsese
Night of the Hunter (1955) Dir. Charles Laughton
Z (1969) Dir. Costas-Gavras
Sorcerer (1977) Dir. William Friedkin
Mikey and Nicky (1976) Dir. Elaine May
A Brighter Summer’s Day (1991) Dir. Edward Yang
Paris is Burning (1990) Dir. Jennie Livingston
Hundreds of Beavers (2022) Dir. Mike Cheslik
Miller’s Crossing (1990) Dir. Joel Coen
Comment your favorites down below! Til next time.
Which STILL has not been released in my local theaters
I don’t think it even had wide distribution