Friends,

2024 was a crazy year for me.

I traveled the world, began my sophomore year of high school, performed in five plays or musicals, made too many new friends to count, and learned how to drive. But somewhere around the middle of October I suddenly became super busy as academic pressures and a stressful balance of extracurricular activities started to dominate all my time. 

There were prolonged periods, where film criticism sort of got forced on the backburner, a mere afterthought amidst everything else I had going on. There were weeks where I didn’t watch any movies, sometimes because I was just too busy and sometimes because I just couldn’t bring myself to hide my phone away and dedicate attention to something other than the world.

But enough about me. My pieces are about the movies, not about me. 

I didn’t review many of these movies (or have not yet). A lot of them simply got lost in the crossfire of a busy summer or holiday movie season and I didn’t catch them until months later at home. For those that I did write about, I’ve attached handy-dandy links to my full reviews. 

These are the films that made a significant impression on me in 2024. Whether they emotionally rocked me, held me on the edge of my seat, or made me see film in a new light, these are the cinematic experiences I’d like to remember for the year that was. I didn’t see these films. They saw me.

I hope they can see you, too.

Cheers,

Jonah

A few honorable mentions: "Sing Sing," "Civil War," "Inside Out 2," "Longlegs," "Conclave," and "A Complete Unknown."

10. Challengers

The sexiest movie of 2024 is Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers,” a sports film about a love triangle between two competing tennis players (Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor) and the woman they’re fighting over who’s ultimately playing with them too (Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan). Watching this quick-paced film often feels like watching a tennis match but then getting an inside look behind the scenes at the personal power dynamics of the players on the court. They’re not merely pawns in a game, they’re human beings with their own lives and struggles and relationships. The editing is pointedly precise while the score is electric, turning the sport into something of a ten-pace duel or some other life-or-death scenario. This is a wildly entertaining big studio movie unafraid of intimacy, and it delivers on all the teen fantasy you could ever want. But, more importantly, it’s also an expertly directed film about how far human beings are willing to go to be the best, combining tension and thrills in a delicious stew.

9. The Substance

Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” got under my skin like a parasite and ravaged all my guts from the inside. It’s a goopy, hideous and outright disgusting film and it’s [expletive] awesome. There’s not many movies that can shock me anymore, but this body horror tale of Demi Moore’s reckoning with her younger clone Margaret Qualley had my jaw on the floor throughout the entire (140-minute!) runtime. It has a completely bonkers and grotesque third act, as so many of these genre movies do, but it also has a crazy first act, and a ludicrous second act, too. It’s completely committed to the bit from the already iconic opening shot all the way to the end, a brilliant full-circle moment that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about celebrity culture. Both leading women give remarkable physical as well as emotional performances, enduring endless slime, sharp needles, blood and gore. Genre junkies bored to death by the cowardice of the modern studio horror movie will finally get the out-of-body experience they’ve been hoping for with this one. Tales of audience members vomiting upon leaving the theater give Fargeat’s movie exactly the popular buzz it wanted, building “The Substance” a reputation as a cinematic experience fit only for those who dare uncover their eyes. I can’t recommend it, but I also can’t recommend it enough.

8. Wicked

It gets better and better the more I think about it. Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” stands out as not only one of the best movies of the year but one of the very best musicals of the last few, second only to Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” and “Tick, Tick…BOOM!” Like “The Substance,” it’s anchored by two incredible female performances from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the beloved Elphaba and Galinda, respectively, but also completely unlike it, “Wicked” is a movie for everybody. Its whimsy comes from the world-building, which is derived from the spectacular set design and dedicated ensemble of actors. And it will appeal to just about anybody who likes good movies, musical fans or not. Being that it’s only one half of the “Wizard of Oz” prequel (its follow-up “Wicked: For Good” arrives in November of 2025), Chu excels at inspiring our intrigue about what’s to come even though we already know. The movie is so spectacular, visually and emotionally, that we’re not anticipating what will come next, necessarily, but how the filmmakers will execute it. If the magic of movies felt lost among the heavy hoard of flat sequels, remakes and adaptations this year, look no further.

7. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Building off the angry vibe of George Miller’s masterful “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Anya Taylor-Joy dominates the screen as a young Furiosa in what has quickly become one of the greatest prequels of all time. It’s the kind of movie that motivates you to get active; to run, to scream, to do something you’ve never dared before. There’s a fifteen-minute chase scene, smack in the middle of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” so incredible that it makes you want to give someone a whopping high-five on your way out of the theater. And that’s what this film is all about. The almost-eighty-year-old director has expertly crafted a high-octane, adrenaline-fueled epic of vehicular warfare that flies by with such extraordinary tenacity that it’s over before you can even process it. The film is anchored by two remarkable performances—one, of course, from Joy, and the other from a nearly unrecognizable Chris Hemsworth as Dementus who rules over this torturous wasteland of violence and rage. Despite all these fixings, there’s an arduous depth to “Furiosa” that’s transfixing, clear and precise in what it wants to say about the mad world we already live in. With his latest movie, Miller is reckoning with the past (it all takes place in the years before “Fury Road”) and the future (he’s suggesting this society to be the ultimate apocalypse for the next generation). As of right now, the legendary auteur still intends to live in the world of “Mad Max.” I hope he never leaves.

6. The Wild Robot

If your list doesn’t have an animated movie on it, then there’s something wrong with your list. “The Wild Robot” is the only film this year to make me cry, and one of only three, ever. A movie bursting with wonder and imagination, Chris Sanders has created a most charming and heartfelt world of creatures coming together as one big family. This tale of an outsider uniting a broken community holds more layers in its 102 minutes than most mega-blockbusters have in three hours. It’s a visually hilarious movie, setting up sight gags and physical pratfalls that are not merely fart jokes or mindless slapstick. They’re smart, connected together like a Rube Goldberg machine. All of the voice work is excellent, from a heartfelt Lupita Nyong’o who provides the sounds of Roz, the film’s title robot, to Kit Connor who voices Brightbill, the young gander Roz takes under her wing. This is a special kind of animated movie we don’t get very often, a film that entertains kids as well as providing them an important message to hold close to their hearts. But don’t only take that at face value. Adults will resonate with it just as much as their children, if not even more so. It’s a movie about parenthood, about letting go, about watching your kids grow their own wings and learn to fly by themselves. If you’ve avoided “The Wild Robot” all year for being “animated” or a “kids movie,” you’re missing out and also irrational.

5. A Real Pain

“A Real Pain” is a movie about real people in real situations in real time. Writer, director and star Jesse Eisenberg might have thought them all up, but I refuse to believe they’re fictional. A film about two cousins touring Poland in honor of their recently deceased grandmother, “A Real Pain” is one of those special movies so curiously simple on the surface that its underlying complexities surprise you like a blow to the face. These characters feel like people we know and love. Sometimes they feel like us. An early scene at a Polish hotel reads almost like a documentary as the movie’s handful of principal characters introduce themselves one by one and explain their own reason for taking the trip. David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) bring so much life into this story, polar opposites in their mannerisms, but still family nonetheless. Eisenberg is excellent both behind (“A Real Pain” is one of the best scripts of the year) and in front of the camera, but it’s Culkin whose unforgettable performance I’ll cherish for years. His moments of personality-overload, monologuing and personal change brought me to the verge of waterworks so many times. We don’t see many characters like Benji starring in movies very often. And yet, he’s a quintessential human being, poignantly representative of all the free-sailors, adventurers, and nomadic creatives in our crazy little world. His frenetic tendencies may seem initially hard to bear, but you learn to love him like a brother by the end.

4. Smile 2

I’m not kidding. Every once in a while, a special movie will come along that is just so ridiculously good at being a movie that it deserves recognition on a high pedestal among the very best of the year. Last year that film was “John Wick: Chapter 4.” The year before that it was “Top Gun: Maverick.” This year, “Smile 2” was the singular film that felt the most refreshing after two major blockbusters in a row—“Megalopolis” and “Joker: Folie à Deux”—fell spectacularly short of their major aspirations. It’s one of those unbelievable, cold-blooded, bruised forearm movies that you’re not positive exists outside of your dreams. Director Parker Finn’s sequel is smarter, bolder, and so much darker than the first, putting the “Smile” series on the map as one of the only modern horror franchises that truly knows world-building. Most crucially of all, “Smile 2” is truly, devastatingly terrifying. It rattles your bones like a roller coaster running through a haunted house. And Naomi Scott holds the whole fort down by turning in an insane, blood-curdling performance that will stand out for the rest of the decade. There’s gonna be so many doubters, but I’m not afraid to say that “Smile 2” is the most badass movie of the entire year.

3. Dune: Part Two

Seeing “Dune: Part Two” in full IMAX is one of those moviegoing experiences I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. It’s a massive movie, unable to be contained by the boundaries of the frame. My review barely encapsulates everything remarkable about it. Director Denis Villeneuve has crafted not only a better film than his first “Dune,” but simply one of the best science-fiction movies ever made. Of course, it’s technically and visually breathtaking; the harsh world of Arrakis has been rendered beautifully with all the best in 21st century technology, but it’s also remarkably suspenseful, a real feat for such a giant movie. A final duel between Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet, excellent as always) and Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler, giving the best villain performance of the year) is frayed with tension, while Butler’s first fight in a Harkonnen arena is better than anything in “Gladiator II.” There’s little that can be written about this movie that hasn’t already been trotted out and multiplied ad nauseam by this point. But the most important takeaway, above all else, is that “Dune: Part Two” not only enhances our appreciation of the first movie, but it also ends on a note that feels conclusive while still making us clamor for more. It’s some of the very best entertainment out there.

2. The Brutalist

A daunting movie to describe and rave about, my thoughts on Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” can best be summarized this way: It’s everything. This generational epic is a film about everything: the American dream, the immigrant experience, the Holocaust, love, happiness, loss, regret, privilege, wealth, architecture (obviously), family, innovation, and pride. I don’t think there’s any piece of writing that can fully encompass its incredible 215 minutes (a runtime complete with a full intermission!) without leaving something out or neglecting to touch on one of its layers. Call me lazy, but I’m not even gonna attempt it. The film played exclusively in New York and Los Angeles for a little while but is now finally expanding domestically to theaters near you. Setting an afternoon aside to go out and see the film may seem like a commitment, but I promise it’ll be worth the rewarding experience. Adrien Brody gives the best performance of the entire year as László Tóth, a man with big talents and ambitions who’s given a brand new life with opportunities aplenty. His journey throughout “The Brutalist” is a cinematic one for the ages, posing both literal and metaphorical implications about the power of the rich and their will to subjugate those who are vulnerable while following their dreams. Guy Pearce is superb as one of those highly privileged scoundrels who recognizes Tóth’s talent but will ultimately throw it all away in pursuit of capitalism. There’s so much to unpack here, and I need to see “The Brutalist” again. It’s so big and so epic and so emotional and so thought-provoking. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

1. Anora

The last scene in Sean Baker’s “Anora” left me physically shaking. When the movie ended, I did something I hadn’t done since “Aftersun” in 2022. I sat and I watched the credits, thinking about the movie I just saw. It’s a remarkable film of two worlds; a screwball farce with lots of characters shouting over one another, outlined by Baker’s excellent script that borders on “Uncut Gems” psychedelia and a scorching drama about subjugated people whose lives are spent serving more as “functions” than as human beings. I didn’t know performances were allowed to be as good as Mikey Madison is here. The intensity she brings to the role of Anora (or Ani, as she’s known for most of the movie) is something only a very special actress understands how to tap into. She handles everything the script throws at her with poise, articulating all her pent-up anger, firm intents, and sexual passions with an underlying virtuosity that gave me chills. There’s a thankless raunchy expectation you may have for “Anora” that will be satisfied in the first 45 minutes, no doubt. But once a character named Toros (Karren Karagulian) enters the picture, the main plot kicks into action and it’s the finest demonstration of quick-paced, gag-a-minute filmmaking I’ve ever seen. The best moments in “Anora” can’t be described any one way. They’re funny, but also stressful, exciting and painfully tragic all at once. You step away from it feeling like you’ve watched a million movies, and all of them were the peak of their genre. I love everything about it.

You can now find me on Letterboxd @JonahMoviess!