It’s time for me to present my list of my favourite films of the year. 

I managed to watch a lot of movies from 2024, 100 to be exact, and I think I’ve seen most of the movies I wanted to watch. That being said, I should note that I haven’t seen these movies yet:

• Better Man
• Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
• Hard Truths
• His Three Daughters
• Maria
• The Seed of the Sacred Fig
• The Shadow Strays
• Small Things Like These
• Thelma

25. Juror #2

Juror #2 is probably Clint Eastwood’s best movie in years. It’s an old-fashioned and straightforward courtroom drama that’s conventional, but makes the most of its simple premise and makes for a contemplative, layered, and gripping thriller about guilt and doing the right thing. Eastwood’s direction is simple yet effective, and the stacked cast are great, led by a fantastic Nicholas Hoult. Juror #2 is a compelling, well written and directed courtroom thriller, and a really good final film from Clint Eastwood, if this indeed ends up being his last movie.

24. Bird

As someone who isn’t generally into coming of age movies, I was immersed in the humane, emotionally rich and intimate Bird. It successfully blends different genres and tones together; rawness with social realism mixed with more spiritual and surreal elements, and having moments of calm and beauty. Andrea Arnold’s direction is stellar; the beautiful and stunning cinematography captures the raw and grounded world, while wonderfully conveying a dreamlike vibe. It’s made all the better by the authentic performances; Nykiya Adams is fantastic and believable in the lead role, and Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski are also amazing in their parts. Bird is a sincere, empathetic, earnest and powerful coming of age movie, and is one of the more underrated films from 2024.

23. Trap

M. Night Shyamalan’s latest is one of his most simple and straightforward movies. He takes its central premise of a serial killer trying to evade the police while taking his daughter to a concert and makes the absolute most of it. It is entertaining and thrilling throughout, surprisingly funny and self aware, and goes in some unexpected directions. Shyamalan’s craft is fantastic and is on full display here, with this being one of his best directed films. The cinematography is stunning and dynamic, and does an incredible job at making much of the film feel so claustrophobic. Josh Hartnett delivers a fantastic, believable and unpredictable performance, charismatic and likable, yet chilling and imposing.  While Trap might be one of M. Night Shyamalan’s more straightforward movies, it is still effectively tense, unpredictable and entertaining, and among his very best.

22. The People’s Joker

After all the controversies and legal troubles it’s gone through, The People’s Joker is now able to be seen widely, and it was worth the wait. While it is a parody that plays around with the Batman IP, writer/director Vera Drew also uses its mythology to tell her own personal and satirical story about self acceptance and exploring transgender identity. It is funny while being sincere; the comedy is woven in well and the satire is done out of love. Even the lower budget, visuals and editing akin to YouTube sketch comedy are charming. It’s creative and surreal with the visuals, and the great cast are on point. The People’s Joker is an original, creative, hilarious, satirical yet personal coming of age story.

21. Hit Man

Richard Linklater’s latest is a cleverly written, darkly funny and witty romantic comedy and crime thriller blend, entertaining from beginning to end. As well put together as the movie is, the amazing performances from Glen Powell and Adria Arjona are Hit Man’s biggest strengths. Both are charismatic and funny, their chemistry and dynamic are fantastic, and they are endlessly enjoyable to watch. It’s a shame that Hit Man was dumped unceremoniously on Netflix instead of getting a wide release in cinemas, because it honestly deserves a lot more attention than it has been receiving.

20. Sing Sing

Based on a true story, Sing Sing is a deeply human, vulnerable and powerful movie about community, friendship and not losing hope. It felt very authentic, down to the fact that most of the cast were real life former inmates from the arts rehabilitation prison programme that the movie focuses on. It is very well directed, visually beautiful, and the acting from everyone is fantastic, especially from a phenomenal Colman Domingo and a compelling Clarence Maclin. Sing Sing is a powerful, heartfelt, tender and beautiful film, and definitely worth watching.

19. The Beast

The Beast is a complex, unique and ambitious sci-fi film which requires some patience, but it is absolutely worth it. It’s compelling to watch and thought provoking with a lot to extract, loneliness, existentialism, and what makes us human, while having a real sense of chilling and unnerving dread throughout. It is made all the better with the acting from Lea Seydoux and George Mackey, with the former delivering quite possibly her best performance yet. The Beast is ambitious, strange, divisive and not for everyone, but certainly worth a watch. 

18. Nickel Boys

Nickel Boys is one of the year’s most unique and bold films. With its ambitious, inventive and experimental filmmaking style, we watch this deeply emotional, haunting, and harrowing film about systemic racism literally from the perspectives of the two main characters. It is immaculate on a technical level; Ramell Ross’s direction is excellent and is immersive and hard hitting through this first person approach, which enhances its already hard hitting story, along with the exceptional performances from Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Nickel Boys is visceral, powerful, harrowing and all around fantastic, more than deserving of its acclaim.

17. Love Lies Bleeding

Love Lies Bleeding is a wonderful throwback to exploitation and neo noir erotic thrillers from the 90s. Rose Glass’s bombastic style and direction is fantastic, visually striking, surreal and with a good amount of gnarly violence and body horror. It’s also suspenseful with a feeling of menace through, while also being sprinkled with some surprising dark comedy. It’s rounded out by an amazing cast in Ed Harris, Dave Franco and Jena Malone, and especially Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian who make for excellent and compelling leads. Love Lies Bleeding is a pulpy, stylish and grimy crime thriller about love and revenge that remains one of the most memorable cinema experiences I’ve had from the last year.

16. The Wild Robot

The last film to be made in-house by DreamWorks, The Wild Robot lived up to all the hype. It’s a simple yet effective, funny, warm and heartfelt story about moving on, and finding your place in the world. It’s easy to get emotionally invested, helped by the characters and fantastic voice work, especially from Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Kit Connor. The direction is top notch with beautiful and stylised animation, and is accompanied by an amazing score from Kris Bowers. Entertaining, beautifully animated, and emotionally poignant, The Wild Robot is truly a wonderful film.

15. Queer

Luca Guadagnino’s latest movie about loneliness, yearning, self loathing and desire to be loved is absolutely captivating. Queer is an emotionally intimate, hauntingly sad and melancholic tale which goes into the strange and surreal, especially benefitting under Guadagnino’s phenomenal and stylish direction. All the acting is great, but Daniel Craig particularly delivers a career best, excellent and vulnerable performance that is among the year’s best. Queer is a beautiful, melancholic, tender, visually gorgeous and truly exceptional film, and one that lingers in the mind long after watching.

14. Evil Does Not Exist

Evil Does Not Exist is the follow up film from Drive My Car director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and while it hasn’t been receiving nearly the same level of love, it’s nonetheless another incredible movie that deserves a lot more attention than it has been receiving. It’s a very patient, meditative, naturalistic and captivating movie about the conflict between nature and mankind and the environmental impact of capitalism and greed. Along with the stellar and believable performances, it is masterfully directed, with the stunning cinematography capturing the beauty of nature, serene atmosphere, great use of sound, and one of 2024’s very best film scores. While I can understand this dividing people, especially with its polarising ending, I consider Evil Does Not Exist to be an impactful and thought-provoking movie, and one well worth experiencing at least once.

13. I’m Still Here

I’m Still Here lived up to all the acclaim it had been receiving; an honest, raw, riveting and harrowing true story about a family’s strength and resilience as they live through a dictatorship in Brazil. It is well directed, with strong cinematography and editing, and the acting is incredible from everyone, especially from an extraordinary Fernanda Torres. I’m Still Here is an incredibly immersive, gripping and powerful cinematic experience.

12. Memoir of a Snail

Memoir of a Snail was one of the most surprising movies of the year. A claymation movie aimed at adults, dealing with upsetting subject matters and going to some dark places, it could be potentially alienating for people with how bleak, sad and depressing it is. However, it worked perfectly for me. It’s an affecting, emotionally heavy, devastating yet touching story about human struggle, self imprisonment and loneliness that I really connected with. Despite the melancholic tone and feelings of despair, it is offset by sprinkles of dark humour, and the voice performances are great, especially from an excellent Sarah Snook. It is also incredibly crafted by Adam Elliot, beautifully animated with such attention to detail. Memoir of a Snail was a remarkably made rollercoaster of emotions, and my favourite animated movie of the year.

11. A Different Man

A Different Man is one of the year’s most original movies, and deserves so much more attention and love than it has been receiving. Telling a bizarre interesting story about insecurity, identity, body image and perception of oneself, it is excellently directed and feels fresh with its incredibly clever screenplay. It balances being dark and emotional with being funny and leaning into absurdism. And of course, the performances are phenomenal too; Sebastian Stan is excellent and devastating, Renate Reinsive is great, and Adam Pearson is a charismatic scene stealer. A Different Man is definitely not to be missed. 

10. No Other Land

No Easy Land is an unflinching look at the plight of Palestinians under occupation along the West Bank in Masafer Yatta. It really does serve as a document of ethnic cleansing, with the footage of people being forced out of homes and villages being destroyed speaking for themselves and being impossible to deny. Considering recent events, it is an urgent and important reminder that these horrors existed long before October 7 2023. It is visceral, infuriating to watch and undeniably horrifying, while also highlighting the perseverance, resilience  and humanity of Palestinians as they attempt to survive under oppression and dehumanization. No Other Land is powerful, harrowing, and absolutely essential viewing.

9. Hundreds of Beavers

Hundreds of Beavers was one of the biggest surprises of the year; a unique and low budget comedy with so much visual and physical humour, with clear influences both old and new (from the silent era, to animated cartoons, to even internet sketch comedy). It maintains a constant stream of consistently hilarious gags and somehow doesn’t lose momentum once. Many of the jokes are silly yet smartly done, and manages to avoid falling into being predictable. It makes the absolute most out of its lower budget, with its black and white cinematography, excellent set designs, effects and costumes, along with its hilariously fantastic lead performance from Ryland Brickson Cole Tews. Hundreds of Beavers is an incredibly creative and enjoyably silly comedy, and shouldn’t be missed.

8. Red Rooms

People really weren’t underselling Red Rooms at all. While it begins as a courtroom drama about a serial killer, it’s really about the obsession over serial killers and real life murders. It’s frightening in a different way from what you expect; there are no killings taking place on screen. Instead, it’s uncomfortable for how close to reality it feels with the internet and people parasocially obsessed with true crime, and especially with the complete disregard for humanity. It builds up such an unpleasant feeling of dread, and you feel icky by the end (in the best way possible). Juliette Gariépy is amazing and chillingly haunting as her obsessed protagonist; she keeps you guessing as to who she is and what her intentions are, and seeing her continued alienation from humanity throughout her journey was riveting. The outstanding direction makes the experience even more uncomfortable, grounded and authentic, with the camerawork and sound making everything feel so oppressive and unnerving. Red Rooms is a captivating, unsettling and dread inducing psychological horror thriller, and one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve had watching a movie from the past year.

7. Challengers

This is the second movie from Luca Guadagnino released in 2024 to rank among the year’s best. This sharply written and nonlinear drama thriller following a love triangle between tennis players is intricately plotted and becomes more complicated and compelling as it progresses. Its three main characters are fleshed out well and the power struggle and relationship are captivating to watch, especially with the excellent performances from Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist. Guadagnino’s direction is amazing as usual, incredibly stylistic with stunning visuals, dynamic camerawork and editing, and creative and executive tennis scenes. It is also accompanied by an energetic and aggressive synth and techno score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross which is easily one of the best soundtracks from a 2024 film. There is a constant energy throughout which makes the movie entertaining from beginning to end, and it concludes with an absolutely thrilling and satisfying final act. Energetic, intricately crafted, and stylish, Challengers is one of Luca Guadagnino’s best.

6. I Saw the TV Glow

Jane Schoenbrun’s sophomore feature following We’re All Going to the World’s End is one of the year’s most impactful films. I Saw the TV Glow is a unique coming of age nightmare, both a quiet melancholic human drama and a psychological horror. It’s an existential, layered, hard hitting and moving experience that’s easy to connect with, culminating with a devastating, haunting and crushing final 15 minutes. It’s enhanced by and hits harder due to the fantastic direction with striking visuals and effective moments of horror, as well as the tremendous, layered, complex and deeply emotional performances from Justice Smith and Jack Haven. I Saw the TV Glow is an outstanding, spectacularly haunting, existential and melancholic coming of age horror, and captures many of the feelings that come from gender dysphoria and the transgender experience. It’s not surprising to see that this film has resonated with so many people.

5. Nosferatu

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu really delivered on what it set out to be, and it is wild to think that it nearly didn’t happen. While it is reminiscent of previous versions of Nosferatu and certainly has reverence for the original, the 2024 film has its own interpretation with its own fresh approach. It is a captivating and immersive gothic horror, and made for an atmospheric, claustrophobic and dread infused experience. It is so exceptionally crafted by Eggers, beautifully shot with amazing use of lighting and shadows, the production design and costumes are impressive, and there’s so much attention to detail in everything (as per Eggers). Every actor in its outstanding ensemble is fantastic too; Lily-Rose Depp delivers an incredible and raw performance (one of the year’s very best), and Bill Skarsgard is an unsettling and intriguing presence as the menacing title vampire. Nosferatu is an exceptional gothic horror, and a fantastic new take on a classic.

4. The Substance

My viewing of The Substance was a memorable experience. It was the last film at the NZIFF, closing out the festival, and I went in blind only knowing that it was a horror film. I really wasn’t prepared for it. The Substance is a truly unpredictable, over the top and unrestrained body horror, continuously escalating to such extreme degrees and culminating in an insane third act that has to be seen to be believed. Obvious in its satire and commentary, it leans into absurdism and camp to tell its story about obsession over beauty and self image. Coralie Fargeat’s direction is fantastic, it’s visually gorgeous with outstanding editing and sound design, and of course phenomenal practical effects and makeup, especially for the grotesque body horror. The acting from Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid is excellent, particularly Moore, who delivers a fearless, committed and empathetic performance and the best of her career. Stellar, gloriously unhinged and gnarly, The Substance is among the best horror films of recent years.

3. The Brutalist

All the declarations of The Brutalist being monumental and epic weren’t underselling it. It’s a grandiose film at 3.5 hours, including an intermission separating its two different yet equally compelling halves, but honestly it could’ve afforded to be 4 hours long with how engaging it was. The Brutalist is a grand yet intimate story about the immigrant experience of coming to America and trying to fit into a society that doesn’t want you, and the experience of being an artist struggling to express free will and creativity under capitalism. It is so incredibly put together by director Brady Corbet, helping to feel massive with its stunning cinematography, outstanding production design, and triumphant score. And of course, the performances are phenomenal, especially from Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce. The Brutalist is an ambitious and masterfully made epic that lived up to all the acclaim.

2. Dune: Part Two

Dune: Part One was great, but it was clear that much of the big payoff was yet to come in its second part, and Denis Villeneuve absolutely delivered on that. Picking up right where the last movie ended, Part Two expands on everything already established, from the characters to the setting, while remaining a character driven story. It’s a more interesting and captivating film, much larger in scale and stakes, especially seen in the action sequences. Once again the crafting from Denis Villeneuve is excellent; it’s a beautiful looking movie with outstanding visual effects and such attention to detail, especially in the costumes and production design. It’s made all the more compelling by the amazing performances, particularly from Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and Austin Butler. Dune: Part Two is a monumental, immense and tremendously crafted sci-fi epic, and I’m looking forward to seeing Villeneuve conclude this story with Dune: Messiah next year.

1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

It’s not easy following up a film like Mad Max: Fury Road, but 9 years later, George Miller has done just that with his prequel: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. He has created another epic; fantastic on a technical level, he’s made this post apocalyptic world feel fully realised on screen, and it’s on such a massive scale. The visuals are stunning and the action is spectacular with intense energy and amazing practical stunts. That being said, what I like most of all is that Furiosa is a very different movie from Fury World, operating on a completely different wavelength. Instead of having another fast paced car chase plot, Furiosa is relatively steady and takes its time building up its multi-chapter biblical revenge story. The title is certainly apt, it really is a Saga. As a prequel, Furiosa gets to lean further into worldbuilding, expanding on the settings and characters introduced in Fury Road, and adding further depth, emotion and weight to them all. It’s also a far darker and sadder movie too, adding a real tragedy element to both its own revenge tale and Fury Road. On top of that, the cast all do fantastic jobs. Anya Taylor-Joy (along with Alys Browne) excellently portrays a younger version of Charlize Theron’s iconic character from Fury Road. The title character is given more dimensions here, and Taylor-Joy conveys all of that excellently. Chris Hemsworth also delivers his best performance yet as main villain Dementus, larger than life, manic and funny, yet menacing and unforgettable. With Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, George Miller adds upon the foundation built by Mad Max: Fury Road, while also being its own excellent distinct film. It’s been my favourite film of 2024 since I first watched it, and nothing else I’ve seen since has been able to top it. 

What are your favourite movies of 2024?