ByJared Rasic
Because I don’t live in L.A., New York, or some larger market like that, I don’t get to see a lot of the big releases before they open wide in theaters. This usually means that by the end of the year, many of the big awards contenders haven’t opened near me, so I have to build a list without having watched everything buzz-worthy.
I’m happy with the movies I have seen. Still, this list might look completely different in February. How we view art changes constantly, and when we compile these lists, it’s not so much a marker of what movies are objectively better than others but a look at the people we were at this specific time in history and the art shaping our social moment.
It was another powerful year for television, with streaming services dominating the landscape again.
“The Bear” Season 3 may have been its weakest season so far, but it was still better than most shows. Netflix’s adaptation of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” is sumptuous and gorgeous, finding the novel’s soul and expanding it in surprising and inevitable ways.
“Shogun” was intense and epic, yet it also managed to be fun and exciting in ways many shows forget to be. Nothing felt dragged out. It moved like a sword through grass. “Black Doves” and “Slow Horses” were both handily the best spy shows on television, proving once again that the United Kingdom has that genre on lock.
My favorite new shows in 2024 were MAX’s “The Penguin,” which basically set “The Sopranos” in the world of “Batman” (more fun than it sounds), and “Say Nothing,” Hulu’s uncompromising and electric limited series set in Belfast during The Troubles. If “Say Nothing” was a movie, it would be my favorite film of the year.
Here are my Top 15 movies of 2024:
15. “Inside Out 2” —Any animated movie that tries to teach children how to deal with low self-worth and anxiety is a classic in my book.
14) “Strange Darling”—A fractured cat and mouse chase told non-chronologically featuring an all-time great performance by Willa Fitzgerald and gorgeous, grimy cinematography from Giovanni Ribisi. Insane.
13) “The Outrun”—Saoirse Ronan has long been an actress of limitless depth and empathy, but her turn as an alcoholic rediscovering herself on the Orkney Islands while searching for a rare bird was an absolutely soaring achievement.
12) “Rebel Ridge”—With an instant movie star performance from Aaron Pierre, “Rebel Ridge” turns what could have been a dull retread of “First Blood” into an action-packed, blisteringly angry social commentary about police corruption and the power of family.
11) “Sing Sing” —This prison movie treats the bars like walls to a human soul more than the outside world. The movie refuses to wallow in po-faced pity, instead filling every frame with hope.
10) “Anora” —This drama is simultaneously a meet-cute romantic comedy and a deeply humane unpacking of the toll sex work can take on a soul.
9) “Challengers”—Sexy, fun, and genuinely surprising, “Challengers” is not just the best movie I’ve ever seen about tennis, but it beautifully carries the best love triangle since “The Notebook.”
8) “The Substance”—Deliriously disgusting body horror is held in check by a boldly fearless script that acts as a primal scream for a new kind of feminism that protects all women. It’s genuinely stunning.
7) “Do Not Expect too Much From the End of the World” —A pitch black Hungarian comedy that takes the piss out of late-stage capitalism while it spits in the face of the corporations that grind the working class to death, it’s both hilarious and devastating.
6) “Queer”—This film takes the drug-addled loneliness of “Naked Lunch” and plops it down in 1950s Mexico City, with seminal work from Daniel Craig and a scene-stealing Jason Schwartzman.
5) “Ghostlight” —This truly exceptional work of humanity ruminates on the healing power of artistic expression with grace, beauty, and breathtaking empathy. Remarkable.
4) “Conclave” — Who knew a bunch of old men voting for a new pope would feel like a glossy Hollywood thriller? Ralph Fiennes gives career-best work here, and that’s saying something.
3) “I Saw the TV Glow”—Still a movie I think about at least once a day, this dark and dreamlike fairy tale opens a young man’s lonely spirit and searches for ways to help him heal. Every viewing changes what I think this film means.
2) “The Beast” —This 3-hour French mind-bender only makes sense in your dreams. Bertrand Bonello is a master filmmaker, and this might be his best film yet.
1) “His Three Daughters”— Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olson play three estranged sisters who reconnect in their father’s small New York City apartment to take care of him across his final days. Perfect in every way, it deals with grief so honestly that I found myself crying without really knowing why.
While I am looking forward to seeing several more 2024 offerings, I can’t wait to uncover what films 2025 brings.
