The Weekend Warrior’s Top 25 Movies of 2024
Check out Ed’s favorite movies of the year, as well as some of his favorite music albums
Tomorrow marks the actual last day of 2025, and I think I’ve watched all the movies I’m going to watch, which is a lot. Sure, there are a few things I was hoping to rewatch, mostly movies that have been hyped so heavily all year round that I thought were just okay. I think some of my colleagues may be more surprised by what is *NOT* on my list i.e. some very prominent movies that seemingly have been on every single critics list and winning every single critics awards. I reviewed most of those films this year, too, and if they’re not on the list, they just didn’t make the cut. I decided not to link to the reviews since many were hard to find, but I reviewed roughly 225 movies this year, and you can find all those reviews on the suitably-named Rotten Tomatoes.
Be aware that nothing in this list received less than an 8.5 out of 10 rating from me, and this might be the first year EVER when I had three movies that received a 10 out of 10, which is why there is a three-way tie for first place.
Anyway, enjoy the list and hopefully you’ll find some movies worth seeking out that you may have missed.
25. Bird (MUBI)
Andrea Arnold’s return to the type of coming-of-age films that really made me a fan, notably her 2009 movie Fish Tank, with this coming-of-age film involving magic realism that introduced the world to Nykiya Adams, a troubled Irish pre-teen who has to deal with a rowdy father (Barry Keoghan) and criminal-minded brother. She finds her savior in the enigmatic Bird, played by Franz Rogowski (Passages), who helps her overcome all the societal and familial problems surrounding her.
24. Babes (MGM Amazon)
Although I’ve never seen Pamela Adlon’s series “Better Things,” I was already a massive fan of Broad City’s Ilana Glazer, who cowrote this pregnancy comedy with Josh Rabinowitz. Putting her into a female-centric version of Knocked Up with the equally-funny Michelle Buteau as her life-long friend helping her get through a pregnancy without a partner made this one of the year’s funniest comedies.
23. Better Man (Paramount)
I’ve been a Robbie Williams fan as long as I’ve had an iPod, which is since that much-missed Apple tech was introduced in 2001. Even so, I was shocked by how little I knew about him, going by this musical biopic directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman). Working in a similar way as the Elton John biopic Rocketman (produced by Gracey), it found a fascinating way of shaking up the biopic format by having Williams portrayed as a photo-realistic ape, which the viewer quickly forgets about as they’re pulled into this entertaining film featuring only a handful of Williams’ greatest songs. Hopefully, those who enjoy this movie will check out some of Williams’ great records to convince him to do another U.S. tour, because shockingly, I’ve never see him live.
22. Nosferatu (Focus Features)
I definitely was a fan of Robert Eggers’ long-time passion project as it took the promise of earlier films, The VVitch and The Lighthouse, to create a gothic horror film for the ages. This took Bram Stoker’s Dracula mythos and what made the earlier versions of this story so memorable and upped the ante with gorgeous visuals, horrifying gore, and a subtle message on gender politics that convinced me to watch this three times. Bill Skarsgård’s take on Count Orlok is so haunting that every word that came out of my mouth made my skin crawl, and yeah, Lily Rose-Depp’s character has very bad taste in “men.”
21. Civil War (A24)
Ex Machina filmmaker Alex Garland took on the current political situation in our country head-on through the eyes of a veteran war photographer, played by Kirsten Dunst, and Cailee Spaeny as her young mentee, along with journalists played by Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson. (Both Spaeny and Henderson reunite with Garland from his underrated mini-series “Devs.”) They travel across the war-torn divided country to interview the President (Nick Offerman) at the White House, experiencing political infidels on both sides in a film that seemed like an eerie premonition of our near future.
20. The Graduates (The Future of Film is Female)
Hannah Peterson’s drama about the lives of several young people after a school shooting is one of the great current-day films I saw at the Metrograph this year, an amazing drama that features such great performances that made this a suitable follow-up to Fran Kranz’s Mass. John Cho gives another fantastic performance as the father of Tyler, a beloved student that was killed in the attack, with Alex Hibbert from Moonlight and Peterson’s biggest discovery, Mina Sundwall, as Tyler’s best friend and girlfriend, respectively. This is one of the movies this year that few film critics talked about, but that EVERYONE should seek out.
19. Memoir of a Snail (IFC Films)
The first of FOUR animated movies that made my list, this one being a stop-motion animated film from Oscar-winning Australian animator and filmmaker Adam Elliot (Harvey Krumpet) that follows the journey of a young outcast girl named Grace (voiced by Sarah Snook) who is separated from her brother and does whatever she can to be reunited while dealing with all sorts of growing pains. This was quirky and strange, and I loved it so much.
18. The Last Showgirl (Roadside Attractions)
I was surprised how hard I was hit by Gia Coppola’s latest directorial effort, starring Pamela Anderson as Shelly, the star of a long-running Vegas cabaret show that is being shuttered. Anderson’s career best performance is surrounded by an amazing cast including Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka as two of Shelly’s colleagues, Billie Lourd as her estranged daughter Hannah, Jamie Lee Curtis as an even older retired showgirl, and shockingly, Dave Bautista in a fantastic dramatic role as the show’s manager who wants to reignite his relationship with Shelly. This film really went hard on the premise of women getting older and potentially not being able to do what they love anymore. Anderson really deserves an Oscar nomination for her performance, as does previous Oscar-winner Curtis.
17. Gladiator II (Paramount)
Yup, the world’s #1 Ridley Scott apologist had a grand old time at his sequel to his one movie that won Best Picture and put him on a different path to being considered in the same breath as other Oscar-winning directors (Note: Scott hasn’t won despite four nominations). Although there was some silliness in the film’s gladiator battles with rhinos and sharks and rabid drug-fueled CG monkeys, I loved what they did with the story and how it follows Paul Mescal as the song of Russell Crowe’s Maximus from the first movie. Great performances from Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington, but I was most impressed with Connie Nielsen, who has just improved so much as an actor in the past 25 years.
16. The Old Oak (Kino Lorber)
What is likely to be Ken Loach’s final feature is this terrific human story about pub owner (Dave Turner) who befriends a young Syrian refugee woman named Yara (Ebla Mari) when they move into a building into the small village, dealing mostly with racism and hatred from the locals who don’t want them there. I’m a long-time fan of Loach’s down-to-earth human character studies, and if this is his last movie, he is going out on a high note for sure.
15. Inside Out 2 (Disney/Pixar)
Many have complained about Disney and Pixar’s proclivity for making sequels rather than original films, but this was a welcome return to a premise pioneered by Pete Docter, who won one of his three Oscar for the original 2015 movie. I only saw this one once, but I enjoyed the new emotions, voiced by Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, and even Adèle Exarchopoulos. I also liked how this story split its time between the emotions and Riley as she’s getting older and dealing with puberty and other things that girls deal with. I didn’t even mind that Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling were replaced by new voices, as I found this to be another great offer from Pixar.
14. Green Border (Kino Lorber)
Agnieszka Holland’s stark immigrant black-and-white drama probably should have been Poland’s Oscar submission with its look at refugees trying to cross the border between Poland and Belarus and being treated horribly by the border guards. At 2 ½ hours long, it pulls you in and then keeps you there as it changes perspectives to show how different parties are affected by the situation. A stunning take on the experiences of refugees from an unexpected but deservedly-respected international filmmaker.
13. I’m Still Here (Sony Pictures Classics)
Brazil’s Oscar selection was one of the nicest surprises from this year’s New York Film Festival since I hadn’t realized that Walter Salles had returned to making films in his native country (where I used to live and still have a huge portion of my family). Fernanda Torres – who I was not familiar with before this film – gives a superb performance as the wife of a politico that’s taken by government men and then vanishes for months and then years. Watching her struggle and determination to either find him or learned what happened to him made this one of Salles’ most compelling films since Central Station, and shone a spotlight on the politics of a country that’s had a harder time than the U.S. even.
12. Challengers (MGM Amazon)
Not the first time that Luca Guadagnino has made my end of the year list and probably not the last, but of his two 2025 releases, this one, which was delayed due to the actors strike, was the one that I just found myself returning to over and over. Maybe the energetic electronic Reznor-Ross score helped, but it was all about the performances and characterizations by Zendaya, Josh O’Connor (maybe the first time I really liked him in something), and Mike Faist that drove this three-way romance story set in the fascinating world of tennis. The screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes was genius-level, and Guadagnino proved once again that given the right script, he can make a great movie.
11. YOLO (Alibaba Pictures)
Another international feature that sadly didn’t get much traction this year among critics is this terrific film by Chinese filmmaker, Jia Ling, who starred in her own film as an overweight woman who makes drastic changes to her life by taking up boxing. When you get to the end of the film and see how Ms. Ling spent a year losing the weight to play this role makes this the most inspirational sports drama of the year. (And I’m saying that, even having been a fan of The Fire Inside.) I’m guessing that someday this movie will be remade in English, but in the meantime, it’s worth seeking out and watching. (Thanks to my good friend and bonafide spirit human, Olive Hui, for recommending it!)
10. Sing Sing (A24)
I missed this stirring prison-based film at Toronto last year, but Greg Kwedar’s feature which mixed real Sing Sing convicted men with Oscar-nominated actors like Colman Domingo and Paul Raci really hit me hard, maybe because I’d spent eight years with a pen pal in prison. This really was a special film, since it shone the spotlight on the “Rehabilitation through the Arts” program at Sing Sing with Domingo playing the real-life John “Divine G” Whitfield, one of the main people that inspired this film along with former Sing Sing inmate Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, playing a version of himself – a performance so impressive that many have felt he is on his way to an Oscar nomination himself. Either way, this film (which sadly never got a wide release) goes a long way to give humanity to the men convicted (sometimes wrongly) of crimes and put into prisons where they languish without programs like the one shown in the film.
ADDENDUM: I’m an idiot, because I completely forgot to include a movie in my list that definitely would be in my top 10, and that’s…
10a. September 5 (Paramount)
Co-written and directed by Swiss filmmaker Tim Fehlbaum, this ensemble piece featuring John Magaro, Peter Sarsgaard, Leonie Benesch (from The Teacher’s Lounge), and Ben Chaplin took a look at the horrifying incident that took place at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany when terrorists kidnapped the Israeli athletic team. The story is told fully by the ABC Sports team that found themselves having to pivot to cover the horrifying events since they are the closest ones on the ground when it takes place. It has a terrific screenplay, and it’s a great acting piece, almost like a play, which delivers an ending that hits you like a gut punch even if you already know the story.
9. The Brutalist (A24)
I went into Brady Corbet’s third film not knowing what to expect, even though the buzz for the movie from earlier fall festivals was palpable, especially the fact that it would be projected on 70mm film, which is not something you normally see for a movie with a relatively independent distributor. (When I first saw the movie at the New York Film Festival, A24 had just come aboard to distribute the film.) The movie stars Adrien Brody in another performance that shows why he won an Oscar for The Pianist, Guy Pearce playing a role that might get him his first Oscar nomination, and my beloved Felicity Jones, who doesn’t even show up until the second half of the 3 ½ hour movie and who throws a spanner into the works in a fantastic way. I saw this movie twice and will probably watch it a third time soon.
8. June Zero (Cohen Media Group)
Another international feature that so few other critics bothered to watch or write about – sadly, I’m guilty of this as well since I didn’t write a column that week – is Jake Paltrow’s Israel-based look into a little-known part of history, looking at the trial and execution of Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann, from a unique point-of-view – the manufacturers of the stove that would be used to cremate his remains similar to how Jews were cremated at Auschwitz and other concentration camps. I really wish I had a chance to speak to Spaltrow about his amazing film and had another chance to watch it, but it had such a brief run at the Quad Cinema, not giving much of a chance for it to be fully discovered.
7. Didi (Focus Features)
Easily one of my favorite movies from this year’s Sundance Film Festival is Sean Wang’s personal coming-of-age film starring newcomer Izaac Wang, as Chris, a typical teenager trying to make friends, trying to kiss his first girl, and dealing with an overbearing mother, played by the luminous Joan Chen in another performance that will sadly get overlooked for an Oscar nomination. The movie was funny and poignant while taking a very specific look at the mid-aughts, that anyone who loved Eighth Grade and Book Smart should enjoy this equally with the added bonus of Chinese culture that permeates Chris’ journey. (I loved his Nai Nia and the family dynamics, especially.)
6. Robot Dreams (Neon)
Okay, okay, some might see this on the list and say, “Hey, wasn’t this nominated for an Animated Feature Oscar for *last* year aka 2023?” Yes, it was indeed, and I knew that Neon had included it in their year-end DVD box, which is one of the BEST perks of being a film critic, but I never got around to watching it until right before its eventual release in May. And I absolutely loved Pablo Berger’s mostly dialogue-free look at the friendship between a dog and the robot he acquired to be his companion. This is a movie that can be watched by anyone at any time that will bring a smile to their face, and isn’t that why we go to movies in the first place?
5. Dune Chapter 2 (Warner Bros.)
Considering how “meh” I was on Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune movies a few years back, no one was more surprised to find that the second chapter (of a trilogy, apparently) was just head and shoulders better and more exciting, as the story of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides shifts to his time with Zendaya’s Chani and the Fremen, as they fight back against the oppressive invasions of the Harkonnen empire. The film had such impressive battle sequences that must be seen in IMAX, as well as a pointed commentary on the current world politics that Frank Herbert could never have seen coming.
4. A Complete Unknown (Searchlight)
Another massive surprise for someone who was actively not a Bob Dylan fan to see that the great James Mangold proved once again why he’s one of America’s top directors, getting “THAT GUY!” Timothée Chalamet to play Dylan during his early years, arriving in Greenwich Village as a “complete unknown,” becoming hugely famous and popular in the folk music scene, and then turning his back on it to take on a sound that’s more electric and blues-driven. And through all that and even sixty years later, Dylan still remains that complete unknown. I loved how Dylan’s words and music and attitude were presented with some fine supporting performances from Edward Norton, Monica Barbero, and especially Elle Fanning, but Mangold just put together one of the best casts for what might be one of the best biopics in years.
3. Eno
Those who have regularly read my year-end lists know that I tend to put my favorite documentaries in a separate list, because if I didn’t, my entire top 10 could be made up of docs, but I did squeeze one extra doc into this year’s list, and that’s the Gary Huswit-directed portrait of electronic and ambient music pioneer and mega-producer Brian Eno. Eno has been involved with making some of my favorite records of all time, whether it was with Roxy Music or Robert Fripp or producing Devo, Talking Heads, and U2. What made the film so unique and rewatchable was that every single viewing of the movie would be different with Huswit using a randomizer, and I wished I had a chance to see more iterations of it, because I loved the one press screening I watched at Film Forum. This might be this year’s 32 Sounds in terms of being a doc experience unlike any other.
2. Anora (Neon)
In any other year, this might have been my #1 movie, and Sean Baker’s terrific take on the Cinderella/Pretty Woman mythos with a potty-mouthed Brighton Beach stripper of Russian descent, perfectly played by Mikey Madison, was another one of the films that I saw three times without thinking twice about it. Watching “Ani” connecting with the hard-partying son of a Russian oligarch and then what happens when his parents discover they got married in Vegas, made this one of the most rousingly entertaining movies of the year. It fully deserves its Palme d’Or at Cannes and any awards love it gets, and I especially loved Russian actor Yura Borisov, as a very different Russian “goon,” who bonds with Anora during their night-long search for her husband. If that ending doesn’t make you tear up, you’re probably AI.
But as we get to my #1 movie, there’s a big caveat, actually a couple, because I have three this year, and it was the only three movies that I gave 10/10 to…
1C. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (CNN Films/Warner Bros.)
As mentioned earlier, I tend to separate my docs out of my top 15 or 25 or whatever I decide to do, yet there’s always a top doc on this list, and Eno came so very close. Instead, it’s this biographical doc by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, which was also one of the big winners at this year’s CCDAs (Critics Choice Documentary Awards). I couldn’t even consider myself a huge fan of Reeve or his Superman movies, but the way his story is told using archival footage, cutting between his rise to stardom in his career, to how it was cut short after a horseriding accent that left him a paraplegic. It was even more fascinating to see how he and his entire family persevered while helping to boost awareness of the world’s disabled community. Those are just to things that made this a brilliant film from start to finish, and I’m disappointed in the Academy’s documentary branch that this wasn’t even shortlisted. Shame on them.
1B. Flow (Janus Films/Sideshow)
This is one case where I fully agree with other critics, and I hope that Gints Zilbalodis’ film pulls out a surprise win at the Oscars, since it’s a lovely (also dialogue-free) tale of disparate animals pulling together to help each other when a flood hits their home. Zilbalodis’ animation style might seem primitive to those used to computer-generated everything, but it had a painted style with gorgeous backgrounds that kept the viewer invested without really knowing where or when this might be taking place. The animals end up being so well-crafted that you fully are along for the (boat) ride to see where it leads them. I’ll be secretly rooting for this to beat all the studio animated movies to win the Oscar – fingers crossed!
1A. The Taste of Things (IFC Films)
And another major caveat for my third and final #1 movie of the year (which also received a 10/10) is that though this was France’s Oscar selection for 2023 and it received a few other awards nominations (including my own group, the Critics Choice Association), I only first received an Email and invite to screenings in early January, and that’s when I saw it before its February release. I’ve been so reticent about films starting Juliette Binoche, since she’s been very hit-or-miss in my books, but this foodlovers’ period film directed by Anh Hung Tran (Norwegian Wood) is one of the most supremely gorgeous and romantic films I may have seen in many years. It’s about the relationship between a reknowned haute cuisine chef Dodin (Benoît Magimel, Binoche’s former Baby Daddy, in fact!) and his long-time relationship with his even more-talented second Eugénie (Binoche) that drives the story. Watch out for Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire’s Pauline as a young girl that Dodin takes under his wing whose very expressions while tasting the food is the equivalent of John Waters’ Odorama for Polyester. You’ll be craving for food as delicious as this (and someone you love to eat it with) after watching this.
ED’S TOP ALBUMS OF THE YEAR!
As an added bonus, I’m sharing my Top 3 albums of the year. You might notice that there are a lot of women singers in my line-up this year, and mainly that’s because 2024 was also the year where I got sick and tired of dude bands. Even so, you won’t find any Chapelle Roam (not a fan) or Charlie XCX (who I do like) anywhere on this list.
The Warning - Keep Me Fed
My discovery for the year was this Mexican rock band featuring three sisters aged 19 to 24 who have actually been playing together for ten years with Keep Me Fed being their 4th album, and it’s a banger, with one great song after another. I also saw the band twice in Brooklyn, both nights they played, which is not something I’ve ever really done, but that’s how much I love their music, as well as the fan community surrounding them. I’m hoping they’ll take a break from their non-stop touring to work on another album because I think they’re so close to really breaking out and becoming huge in the States to match their success in Mexico and overseas. Maybe the band’s roots are in metal, but this is just really driving melodic hard rock that showcases three amazingly-talented musicians.
Nadine Shah - Filthy Underneath
I discovered the British and half-Pakestani Nadine Shah through Tim’s Twitter Listening Party during the pandemic, and instantly became a fan, although as far as I know, she has never played a gig in New York or toured the States. Her intimately personal songs and jazz-influenced music are riveting to listen to, and I’m equally surprised that she hasn’t gotten bigger over here yet, especially with the success of similar-minded artists like St.Vincent.
Lauren Mayberry - Vicious Creature
I also became a Chvrches fan thanks to Tim’s Listening Party and a lot of my love for their records is that Lauren Mayberry has one of the most gorgeous voices I’ve ever heard. No joke, but hearing her sing often makes me well up in tears, and this past year, she went off on her own for a solo record that was nothing like anyone could have ever expected. (Sadly, it was released so late in the year that few of the big music outlets had a chance to listen to it to include in their own year-end lists.) But this is a fantastic album with many of the songs being released in advance (kinda like the Warning album) so I knew it would be a great listen even before it was released, and it was/is.
And some other great new 2024 albums worth checking out:
Pom Pom Squad - Mirror Starts Moving Without Me
The The - Ensoulment
Kula Shaker - Natural Magick
The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
Ist Ist - Light A Bigger Fire
Jack White - No Name
The Mysterines - Afraid of Tomorrows
+/- - Further Afield
St. Vincent - All Born Screaming
Valley Lodge - Shadows in Paradise
Lo Moon - I Wish You Way More Than Luck
Kate Nash - 9 Sad Symphonies
Kim Gordon - The Collective
Odetta Hartman - Swansong
Nada Surf - Moon Mirror
Blushing - Sugarcoat
Jane Weaver - Love in Constant Spectacle
I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to write a worst-of-the-year list. To be honest, most of those movies I’d rather just forget about, and I do still want to write some Oscar stuff and about my anticipated movies of 2025 instead. Either way, until then… Happy New Year!
Nice lists! Also, I didn’t know you had a prison pen pal!
Really enjoyed this list, Edward. Seeing the year’s films grouped like this, I was struck by how many of them seem to be in quiet conversation with one another. It’s interesting how different directors can land on similar ideas at the same time, each reflecting the mood of the moment in their own way. FWIW, I’d strongly advocate for The Wild Robot to be on this list.