From what I have been reading, film critics have talked about how great a year it was for cinema. I know I have been guilty of that as well, but years like this really put things into perspective. For the past three years, I have made a serious effort to see as many movies as I can, not just as a film fan, but as a burgeoning critic with a podcast. I can say that 2024 has been the best of the years that I have been actively participating in this endeavor. Honestly, there were a good 17 films that I felt deserved to be in the top 10, and if you had told me before I made this list that films like Rebel Ridge, The Wild Robot, Dune: Part Two, and A Complete Unknown would not make my list, I would not have believed you. However, none of them have ended up in my top 10.
- Anora
Having won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, this brash and wild Cinderella-esque story had a very odd critical trajectory for me. What began as a hard-edged update of Pretty Woman, which I found to be too frank to be entertaining, eventually became what might be the funniest movie of the year. A whirlwind marriage between a young escort and the son of a Russian oligarch turns into a madcap farce when an attempt by outside forces to annul the marriage leads to the young husband going missing. The titular character must then team up with a group of goons, only slightly more threatening than the Three Stooges, to find him. Mikey Madison gives a fantastic breakout performance that should propel her to stardom, as well as a potential Oscar win. It is a testament to writer/director Sean Baker’s handle on the material that he took from a story that I did not care about to something that I found myself remarkably involved in.
- The Fall Guy
This was the movie I saw more times than any other this year, and that’s mostly because it’s so much fun! David Leitch came out with the most accomplished film he has done up to this point, adapting the 1980s television series of the same name into a scruffy and romantic private eye movie that is occasionally interrupted by a fantastic action movie. Ryan Gosling is absolutely hilarious in the lead role and Emily Blunt matches him at every turn, creating a wonderful chemistry together. The action scenes have the right amount of bombast whilst never being too big to distract from the story it is telling, which is essentially a 1930s-style comedy of remarriage. In addition to all of this, this has my favorite use of music of any movie this year, with Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” playing over a sequence that cuts back and forth between a car chase and a night of karaoke. I have watched this three times, and I cannot wait to keep watching it over the course of my life!
- Wicked
I am honestly still in disbelief at how well this movie turned out. All of the marketing of the film left me very skeptical of this adaptation, but by the time I left the theater, I was thoroughly impressed at what John M. Chu and his team had pulled off. Splitting the musical into two different movies ended up allowing for the story to breathe more and have a greater amount of time to establish the relationships, namely the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda, played by a fantastic Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The musical numbers are remarkable pieces of filmmaking, with “Popular” and “What is This Feeling” being my personal favorites. Just about every technical aspect from the sound to the production design to the costumes made me want to cheer. You might even say that I was…defying gravity by the time the movie finished, and I cannot wait for the second part of this story!
- (TIE) Sing Sing & Ghostlight
We got two great films about the power of theater this year! Sing Sing uses the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program as the backbone of a heartfelt story of a group of inmates who decide to create their own new play for their next production, even hiring people who are in the program to play themselves in the film. It is a shame that A24 buried this film during its summer release because I think this is the kind of inspiring film that could have been a decent hit, filled with great performances, not just from the RTA participants, but also from more established actors like Colman Domingo and Paul Raci, all to tell the story that reflects the best of what the human spirit has to offer.
Ghostlight somehow garnered even less attention, telling the story of a family who is falling apart at the seams after a tragedy befalls them before slowly being brought back together when the brusque construction worker father becomes involved in a community production of Romeo & Juliet. It is not as immediately crowd-pleasing as Sing Sing is, but it is just as rewarding, with an emotional effect that really sneaks up on you over the course of the film. Keith Kupferer, an actor I had not even heard of before watching this, gave one of my very favorite performances of the year as the father and ended up breaking me by the end of the film. Both of these are small films that could be easily skipped over, but they pack a punch and are well worth your time.
- Civil War
Having now seen this film twice, I can safely say that it has not lost any of its power on repeat viewing at home. This was another film that I already wrote a review for, so I will actually hand things over to another SNU student, Jacob Thornton, to talk about why this film works as well as it does, and if you want to know more about what I thought of the film, you can find it on The Echo’s website.
“In many ways, a film titled Civil War did not seem like a film that America needed in 2024. But in some ways, it may prove to be exactly what America needs at this critical moment. A bleak, gruesome depiction of a decaying society with an ending that I reflected on for days on end, I see this film as a cautionary tale for what may come if division and hatred continue to reign supreme in our current socio-political landscape. Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and Cailee Spaeny all give first-rate performances, the battle sequences (especially the climax) are some of the most intense in recent memory, and the scene where they encounter Jesse Plemons and his militia will go down as one of the most haunting movie scenes of the decade. He only has around 5 minutes of screen time, but Plemons takes charge and produces what is surely the film’s most iconic scene at this point. In short, Civil War succeeds in exciting audiences, but it accomplishes an even more impressive feat: inspiring conversation.”
- Challengers
This was a movie that was sold on one image, which is a bummer because the film as a whole is so much better and more interesting than that one image. Luca Guadagnino’s high-energy sports drama about three deeply flawed people uses the language of tennis, not just as a metaphor within the film but also in the filmmaking, with Justin Kurtizkes’ ingenious screenplay volleying back and forth in time to cover their relationships with each other. Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist give excellent performances in the film, but what really struck me was the filmmaking. From the crisp cinematography to the galloping editing, to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score (which was shamefully overlooked at the Oscars), this is a movie that is constantly moving, pulsating, and building tension to the point where by the end of the film, a low-level Challenger match becomes the most thrilling ending of the year. I would not call any of these people good people, but I was thoroughly entertained and fascinated by their journey.
- Nosferatu
I just wrote a separate article for the newspaper about this one, so I will not go into too much detail about it, other than to say that I think that Robert Eggers utilizes some of the most impressive filmmaking of the year in order to retell Bram Stoker’s Dracula, while also adding a few new wrinkles that really enhance this version of the story. Every performance is excellent, particularly Lily-Rose Depp as the conflicted Ellen, and Jarin Blaschke’s cinematography makes even the most grotesque images look beautiful. If you want to know a little more about what I think, you can look up my review!
- The Substance
This is my pick for the most successful tonal balance of the year, telling the story of Elizabeth Sparkle, a fading actress best known for a Jane Fonda-esque workout show, and her quest to create a younger, better version of herself with the assistance of a black market drug. What follows is a truly singular journey, as it runs the tonal gamut from Hollywood satire to tragedy to body horror to a salient commentary on beauty standards. Considering that this is only the second film from writer/director Coralie Fargeat, the fact that this is so assured and confident in its vision is all the more impressive, as it is a truly brilliant motion picture. Demi Moore gives a remarkable performance that grounds the film in real emotion, allowing for Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid to be bigger and more extreme. However, this is also the hardest film for me to recommend to everyone, as it is polarizing and aggressive, all building to an ending that will be shocking and off-putting for many people. This may be a “watch at your own risk” situation, but personally speaking, I loved just about everything about this film.
- A Real Pain
Compared to the assault on the senses that is The Substance, this feature from writer, director, and star Jesse Eisenberg feels like a warm hug. This tells the story of two mismatched cousins who travel to Poland in order to memorialize their favorite grandmother, making way for a wonderful story in which the two of them dig into their relationship and end up growing closer in the process. One of the biggest reasons I love this film, as well as why I believe it has the best screenplay of the year, is that Eisenberg has the cousins, played by himself and Kieran Culkin, start the film as another variation on their typical roles before gradually peeling the layers back to see the pain that each of them are going through, becoming fully rich characters as a result. We all know that one person who is so full of life and joy but cannot help but get in their own way and wallow in their own pain. Culkin expertly brings that character to life in a way that never feels anything less than genuine and profound. He will deservedly win Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars in a film that is honest, funny, raw, and ultimately healing. This is one that I would tell everyone to see.
- The Brutalist
When most people hear that a movie is 3.5 hours long, with an intermission, they roll their eyes and scoff, but in the case of The Brutalist, it is something truly special. In telling the story of a Hungarian architect who immigrated to the United States, the film is a dizzying and overwhelming experience that comments on the American dream and the difficulty of maintaining one’s personal vision, as well as being a truly towering character study. It is my favorite film of the year, and I am not alone in that thought. I will hand this review over to SNU student Zach Moore to talk about why this film is so, as the trailers say, “monumental.”
“I went to go see The Brutalist with absolutely no expectations nor idea what the movie was going to be about. Going into it, I figured that it would be about a Jewish man coming to America, but I didn’t realize how much of an amazing and eye-opening film it would be. Everything from the score, the editing, the pacing, and everything else about it was beautiful. The whole movie had this very unique style and atmosphere that I’ve never seen in any other movie before, and the story itself is very enticing, even though the movie was over 3 hours long. Adrien Brody was a knockout and Felicity Jones was very memorable, even though she only showed up halfway through the movie. The cinematography was beautiful as well, with every single scene almost like a painting. The plot is central to the idea of a Hungarian architect getting a job from a wealthy benefactor, who wants to use his unique architectural vision to build a building to commemorate the latter’s dead mother. The film is also incredibly poetic, with the architect’s inspiration for his style rooted in the times he spent in concentration camps, translating to the building he built and ending up becoming his own prison that he cannot escape. If anyone has the time to go out and watch this movie, I highly recommend it for this movie is not only one of the best movies of the year, but one of the movies that will stand the test of time for decades to come.”
As one can see, the year 2024 released an array of wonderful cinematic masterpieces that I would implore you to watch if ever given the chance.
Photo by: Jacob Mash