Another year's worth of movies have come and gone, and so naturally at this time of year I often get asked the question: "what was your favorite movies of 2024?" It's a good question for sure, but certainly not an easy one to answer. But I'll try my best as I share my top 10 movies of 2024 right here.
From the slate of 2024 new movies, I've watched just about 100 movies (98 as of publication, though I'll probably try to squeeze in a couple more before the calendar officially flips to 2025!). There are always a couple that circumstances just don't allow me to see (Nickel Boys, The Room Next Door are ones I hope to catch up on when they premiere in DC), but still, I'm happy with my picks.
But before we get to the official top 10, some honorable mentions from the year (in alphabetical order): Anora, A Complete Unknown, The Fall Guy, Inside Out 2, Kneecap, My Old Ass, Twisters, We Live in Time, The Wild Robot. All right, now onto the main event.
10. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Guy Ritchie is still perhaps best known for his frenetic movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. While I enjoy those movies, the director took a more measured approach in depicting the action of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare that absolutely worked for me. It is still as violent and often as funny as many of Ritchie’s most recognizable movies, but it also has a suave style to it that fits as its main character, Gus March-Phillips (played by Henry Cavill), who was the supposed inspiration for James Bond. It’s one of the better World War Two adventure movies in recent memory.
9. Problemista
I was not overly familiar with Julio Torres before I sat down to watch his directorial debut, Problemista, but as soon as the lights went down I became utterly transfixed by his unique sensibilities. Pulling triple duty as writer, director and star, Torres plays an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador who takes a job with a demanding and eccentric member of the art world, played by Tilda Swinton, to ensure his legal status in the US. Torres’ wistful world manages to both entertain and also share the point of view of those hoping to make a better life for themselves in this country, while Swinton is as brilliant as always. Problemista is one of the hidden gems of the year.
8. Hit Man
Glen Powell is on a hot streak like we’ve seen only rarely in Hollywood. But it’s not just in front of the camera, as he co-wrote the wonderfully fun script for Hit Man along with director Richard Linklater. Hit Man is a showcase for Powell, who proves his range as he dons disguises and acts out different personalities as a fake hit man working to entrap criminals for the police. But the movie overall is a creative crime comedy that is immensely enjoyable to watch, with Linklater and co-star Adria Arjona in peak form alongside Powell.
7. Emilia Perez
While some people could be turned off by hearing a movie is either a musical or in a foreign language, I heard that Emilia Perez was both a musical and in Spanish and eagerly said “sign me up.” I’m glad I did to as this story of the titular Mexican cartel boss (Karla Sofía Gascón) who fakes their death to live as her true self as a transwoman is such a unique entry from this year. It is a gritty, realistic musical (though they still break out into song), as it deals with drugs, violence and corruption. But at its heart are the stories of the main group of women who are trying to find love and purpose, both with themselves and others. There’s little like Emilia Perez in this or any other year.
6. September 5
Maybe it’s because I’m a writer, but I’m a sucker for a good journalism movie, and September 5 is perhaps the best I’ve seen since the Best Picture-winning Spotlight. The movie chronicles how the ABC Sports production team was forced to cover the tragic events of the 1972 Munich Olympics. It takes place almost entirely in the broadcast studio, which just adds to the tension, and expertly uses archival footage to help recreate the unfolding of events. Even though we know how the story ends, September 5 masterfully builds the tension to a gut punch conclusion.
5. Will & Harper
Will Ferrell is widely considered one of the funniest movie stars of the century (and possibly going back even further than that), but he helped bring us one of the most emotionally resonating movies of the year in Will & Harper. This documentary follows Ferrell and a friend who he’s known since his days on Saturday Night Live following her transition to a woman, Harper Steele. Together they travel across the country to explore their feelings and those they come in contact with. Filled with some expected lows but incredibly more surprising highs, there may not be a better movie this year to make you feel reassured about people.
4. Dune: Part Two
Lest we forget about a movie that was released all the way back in March, because Dune: Part Two is one of the most incredible visual spectacles of this year (or any). Denis Villeneuve’s ambitious adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi novel not only meets the promise of the first part of Dune, but crafts the most enrapturing and jaw-dropping sci-fi story probably since The Matrix. Dune: Part Two manages to stand on its own while also setting the table for an expansion of the story, and is quickly becoming the defining sci-fi franchise for a new generation.
3. The Substance
Body horror is not typically a genre that I rave about, but The Substance is on another level. Writer/director Coralie Fargeat has crafted a Hollywood satire that is as funny as it is wonderfully disgusting (though for me the hardest thing was the movie’s brilliantly brutal sound design). Demi Moore gives the performance of her career as an aging actress that attempts to have a second act by taking a substance that creates a younger, “more perfect” version of her (played by Margaret Qualley). It all builds to an unforgettable final act that, in fairness, will probably either delight you or turn you off completely from the movie. But for me it was sheer delight.
2. Sing Sing
The power of art is at the heart of Sing Sing, which portrays a real-life program where inmates at the titular prison work on their rehabilitation through putting on plays. In fact, a number of the actors in the movie are themselves former participants in the program, including Clarence Maclin, whose acclaimed work has been garnering awards attention. But the movie also features what for my money is the best performance of the year from Colman Domingo as one of the inmates and a veteran of the program. Domingo is astounding and the movie overall is an incredible creation of independent cinema.
1. Wicked
On the other end of the spectrum, my favorite movie of the year is Wicked, as big an example of a studio movie as you can get, but one that is executed to perfection, resulting in an incredible cinematic achievement. Though the adaptation of the first act of the Broadway musical is practically as long as both acts of the stage production, Wicked never feels drawn out, buoyed by its two incredible leading ladies, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. The pair expertly deliver the musical’s signature songs, not only carrying the tune but the emotional weight behind them. Wicked is a worthy addition to the cinematic legacy of The Wizard of Oz, and a story I can’t wait to see concluded next year with Wicked: For Good.
