The Best 2024 Movies I Saw This Year
Gonna preface all of this here by saying I am only ranking the movies I saw that were released in 2024. In early January of this year I got a gift of a month of AMC’s A-List and I never looked back. When all is said and done I will have seen 155 movies in theaters this year, of course some of these were re-releases, or 2023 Oscar films early in the year, most, but not all were at an AMC theater, though I did get over to MSPIFF for the first time in many, many years, and one very fun screening of a movie with my kids.
This is 111 new films in theaters in 2024. “But,” you’ll say, “David, this list is more movies than that!” To which I’d respond, of course, because of streamers and not living in either NY or LA, there are some films I just couldn’t get to see in a theater. Also since most of these movie-going experiences are after my kids go to bed and with all of my other commitments I just can’t get to every movie, even if it has a very limited release here in the Twin Cities.
This post is gonna be a long one, so I’d suggest clicking through and reading it in a browser, or, like a good elder millennial, copy/paste it into a word doc that you can print out on the office printer and read while you take your daily office shit! But make sure to get to that communal printer before anyone else. There will be some swears and possibly graphic pictures. Also I will note if the movie was not seen in theaters.
One final note: I’m going to try and keep my remarks to a line or two for each movie, but some will require a bit more than and honestly it is not limited to the best movies of the year. I have some very visceral reactions to the movies released in 2024. Also Spoiler Alert, of note one of my best movies of the year, which is technically a horror movie probably wouldn’t crack my Top Ten Horror movies of the year I wrote a couple of months ago, all that means is that this was a really, really good year for Horror movies.
A final, final note, if it is not noted the movie was seen in a theater.
118 - Reagan - Have you ever wondered how you might punch a movie screen?
117 - It Ends With Us - Walked out, would have been last, but for Dennis Quaid and the aforementioned president who got shot but didn’t die.
116 - The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - I had very high hopes for this Guy Ritchie WWII film, readers, it was very, very bad.
115 - Werewolves - This was the second part of a wolf movie back-to-to-back. I think I might have scarred the 17 year-old taking my ticket when I asked her to scan my ticket for Nightbitch and then this movie.
114 - Red One - Jacked Santa. Terrible Hemsworth.
113 - Argylle - It is kinda sad that this wasn’t the worst movie of the year, it was in the running for a long fucking time!
112 - Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. - I got suckered into this Jesus movie, never again, get behind me Jesus.
111 - Arcadian - The second best Cage horror movie of the year.
110 - Sasquatch Sunset - My friends, friends who I trust, really wanted me to go see this movie. I’m not sure I have friends anymore.
109 - Villians Inc. - Great premise, terrible execution, Colin Mochrie as a terrible henchmen was a bit fun.
108 - Ghostbusters Frozen Empire - KILL IT KILLIT ALL!!!!!
107 - Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - There are a lot of good Godzilla movies, this is not one of them.
106 - Bob Marley: One Love - A bad Biopic.
105 - Mean Girls (The Musical) - The worst film adaptation of a musical.
104 - Back to Black - Not the worst biopic of the year.
103 - Firebrand - My memories of this movie are Elizabethan England.
102 - Mufasa: The Lion King - Why, Barry Jenkins, why?
101 - Daddio - A two-hander with Sean Penn being kind of a weirdo, when has that ever been weird?
100 - Fly Me to the Moon - ScarJo deserves better than this delightful movie that should have just been an AppleTV+ thing.
99 - Borderlands - Blanchett was practicing for Tar while this monstrosity was being filmed. Jack Black was fun.
98 - The Crow - This could have been so good. Bill Skarsgård is perfect. The execution was just so bad.
97 - The Outrun - Okay, Saoirse Ronan, okay.
96 - The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim - I had high expectations for this, mostly because I love the LOTR trilogy, but watching it I realized I like the original trilogy for a reason.
95 - Venom: The Last Dance - A fitting finale for the best part of the non-Marvel Spiderman Universe.
94 - Moana 2 - Clearly this was meant to be a 6 episode series, they should’ve made this a 6 episode series.
93 - Joker: Folie a Deux - Todd Phillips stole $200 million from Warner Brothers, at some point you gotta respect the grift!
92 - Never Let Go - In most years this would’ve been a top ten horror film, but this year, we had so many good horror films, and Halle Berry would also generally have lifted this higher, but the films plot loses the strand, literally and metaphorically.
91 - The Killer's Game - This movie was, the 91st best movie of the year.
90 - Y2K - Paul Mooney is a highly underrated comedian. This movie is not very good.
89 - Boy Kills World - Speaking of Bill Skarsgård being perfect. H. Jon Benjamin as well.
88 - IF - (the imaginary IF is me giving the finger to this movie)
87 - Bad Boys: Ride or Die - An alligator eats a guy, it is highly alluded to, it is still one of the best parts of the film.
86 - The Watchers - Ishana Night Shyamalan’s directorial debut, based on an Irish story (honestly, the Irish are fucked up man). There is so much good here and then it just fails!
85 - The Fire Inside - The story of an Olympian getting to the podium, but it doesn’t end there, it gives her the breadth to vent frustrations for her not getting endorsements, fully due to racism and sexism.
84 - Treasure - The worst of the Jewish people going back to Europe movies, which isn’t to say this was bad.
83 - Piece By Piece - Not the hugest fan of biopics, but this was at least interesting.
82 - Monkey Man - I need Dev Patel to make more movies.
81 - Thelma - June Squibb was fucking amazing in this. I had the pleasure of seeing this at an early screening, just before she passed away. Fucking legend.
80- Blitz- (Apple TV) - A Steve McQueen movie I had a lot of high expectations for. Saoirse Ronan was okay. This movie was okay.
79 - In the Land of Saints and Sinners - Liam Neeson as an Northern Irishman named Finbar, sign me the fuck up yesterday!
78 - Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - This is the 4th best of the Apes reboot films
77 - The Bikeriders - I am very much here for a Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Jodi Comer polycule, if I am involved. The accents are ridiculous and wonderful.
76 - Sonic The Hedgehog 3 - There are rings.
75 - Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 - I just need to see the rest of this movie. Three hours of just blue balls, please Cos, give me the rest of this!
74 - A Quiet Place: Day One - A really good origin story.
73 - Twisters - Fuck Steven Spielberg for denying us the kiss!
72 -Hitman (Netflix) - Glen Powell wearing all of the disguises, that seems like a fun time!
71 - The Fall Guy - Aaron Taylor-Johnson had a helluva year this year!
70 - Wicked - I know that this is very low, but honestly, I’m not a musical theater person, and when I heard (before going to the movie) that this was part one and that it was longer than the actual musical, despite just being the first half of the musical, well, it was fine.
69 - Trailer Park Boys: Standing on the Shoulders of Kitties - Fun. Weird. Canadian.
68 - Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (Netflix) - Not the worst Legacy Sequel of the year
67 - Smile 2 - Much better than the original Smile. Giving the disease to a pop artist was an interesting move.
66 - Madame Webb - Just the funniest movie I’ve seen all year.
65- We Live in Time - I really did not want to like this movie especially after the move that Saoirse Ronan makes near the end, but it was moving and relatable.
64 - Trap -M Night Shyamalan’s other daughter gets her star turn in probably the best Shyamalan movie in 15 years? I actually enjoyed Trap the first 2/3rds of the movie was fantastic, the last third left a bit to be desired but that’s a decent movie.
63 - Transformers One - This is the best Transformers movie I have seen since 1986. No questions will be answered.
62 - Tuesday - Julia Louis-Dreyfuss absolutely kills it in this very intense drama. I told my aunt to watch this movie and i’d suggest anyone dealing with death to give Tuesday a spin.
61 - The Order - Jude Law, hot as fuck. Nichola Hoult is also hot but a Nazi.
60 - Small Things Like These - Cillian Murphy busts up some Roman Catholic fuckery, yes and yes!
59 - Emilia Perez (Netflix) - An audacious and wonderful film that is doing to much. I love the idea of this musical but it doesn’t quite hit for me.
- Wolfs (Apple +) - Yep. No.
57 - Kraven the Hunter - This Sony SpiderMan Universe movie should not have been this good. We will never know since they (Sony) are pulling the plug on the Sony Universe.
56 - Didi - Coming-of-age movies, especially those in the early 2000’s will always hit well.
55 - Babes - A fuckabout getting pregnant and then getting her shit together. I’m a sucker for that movie all of the time!
54 - Wicked Little Letters - British comedy is still my favorite, the snarkier the better, and if it can be at Olivia Coleman’s expense, well…
53 - Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - This would’ve been a ten-movie but for Burton and his goddamn girlfriend.
52 - Oddity - Irish people are fucking fucked, man.
51 - Kneecap - See above!
50 - Speak No Evil - The other version is better, though this is good, just dumbed down for Americans.
49 - Saturday Night - A fun idea about how people interpreted one event 50 years ago.
48 - Immaculate - A nun gets pregnant, births (anti)christ? smashes them with a rock. What’s not to love.
47 - Deadpool & Wolverine - Memes.
46 - Maria - (Netflix) The best thing Angelina Jolie has done in… 15 years. The film itself is not great, but Jolie is fucking phenomenal in it.
45 - Amelia's Children - This one is for me and Tim Erkel.
44 - Inside Out 2 - Third best-animated film of the year.
43 - Cuckoo - I just need Dan Stevens being a fucking weirdo all of the time!
42 - Lisa Frankenstein - Diablo Cody deserves more respect you assholes!
41 - Gladiator II - Imagine just watching Gladiator but Denzel is just doing his shit.
40 - The Return - This is the best Ralph Fiennes performance but not his best movie, also just doing the last part of the Odyssey is a fucking choice.
39- Woman of the Hour (Netflix) -
38 -MaXXXine - I am glad that Ti and Mia got to finish their trilogy. I hope they both do other things independently of one another.
37 - Rumours - This movie could’ve been so much better. Too much Canada.
36 - All of Us Strangers - The better Mescal movie
35 - Queer - Daniel Craig is great, but also the worst Luca movie of the year. Jason Schwartzman is quite good.
34 - Abigail - Oh, hey Dan Stevens, also, why the fuck did the advertising for this movie wreck its premise?
33 - Drive-Away Dolls - Lesbians on a mission, and a road trip. Sign me up.
32 - Sing Sing - A stunning film about becoming better selves.
31 - Heretic - Hugh Grant is striking and nefarious like he is meant to be, in a film that asks questions.
30 - Juror #2 - Nic Hoult was very busy this year, and this is his second-best film of the year, but it is his best performance of the year.
29 - Blink Twice - Holy fuck, Zoë Kravitz, holy fuck.
28 - Civil War - Alex Garland doesn’t deserve to be this high, but for Kiki Dunst, who absolutely kills it.
27 - Megalopolis - We all have passions, let’s begrudge an old-ass-man his passion, but I will say Aubrey Plaza knew the fucking assignment, Shia Leboeuf too probably, but not sure anyone else did.
26 - A Real Pain - Of the rest of the movies on the list this is the one I would be most willing to watch with anyone, without caveats.
25 - The Apprentice - This is actually a good movie but, fuck Roy Chon and watch Angels in America instead
24 Copa '71 (MSPIFF) - Got to see this with a friend at MSPIFF and this documentary is fucking amazing.
23 - Between the Temples - The slightly better Schwartzman performance of the year. The dinner scene might be my highlight of my movie going.
22 - Problemista - Julio Torres is a goddamn genius.
21 -Wild Robot - Best Animated movie of the year, Lupita Nyong'o is amazing. Some good other guys too
20 - Love Lies Bleeding - Be Gay Do Crimes.
19 -The Beekeeper - THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR FIGHT ME FIGHT ME , FIGHT ME ( Editor: David, please settle down, we’ll keep it in the top 20)
18 - Hundreds of Beavers (Prime Video) - Buster Keaton fans rejoice. Black and White, is ridiculous. Also no talking.
17 - A Complete Unknown - This is a very decent Dylan movie, especially compared to Mangold’s last music biopic.
16 - Longlegs. Here we go. A decent horror film.
15 - Robot Dreams (Hulu) - The last movie I watched this year. I was trying to see it in the theater, but even at my house it was heartbreaking, frustrating and I cried several times.
14 - Babygirl - Sometimes you get to be in charge, but should you?
13 - Conclave - A much better Dan Brown novel that shits the bed at the end.
12 - Challengers - The much better Luca movie. It's possibly the best movie to ever capture sports action.
11 - My Old Ass - This should probably be higher. What would you do if you could talk to your 30-year-old ass?
10 - Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Anya Taylor Joy is a badass and this is a really good film
9 - Alien: Romulus - Get past the Easter eggs. One of the best haunted house movies of the year. Choices were made.
8 - Dune: Part Two - Villenenuve, you sonuvabitch!
7 - Kinds of Kindness - A triptych of a great film. Yorgos!
6 - Strange Darling - Not saying anything.
5 - Nightbitch - Not saying anything.
4 - Nosferatu - This has a very good idea about being the best movie of the year, but it is not.
3 - I Saw the TV Glow - Some Xennial acknowledgment and a trans story!
2 - The Substance - The best movie i’ve seen this year
1 - Anora - This is the funniest movie i’ve seen in years.