{"id":3959,"date":"2025-01-01T00:01:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T06:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/?p=3959"},"modified":"2025-01-01T13:14:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-01T19:14:46","slug":"the-10-best-movies-of-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/3959\/arts-entertainment\/the-10-best-movies-of-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Best Movies of 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s January once again, which means it\u2019s time for a ranking of the best movies last year had to offer (in my personal taste, of course; your ranking is just as valid)! 2024 was a year of cinematic extremes, filled with some new favorites alongside notable train wrecks, but I can positively say that I love every single movie on this list. I truly think there\u2019s a movie on here for everyone to enjoy, which is a great showcase of how wonderfully diverse a year it\u2019s been for the movies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SOME HONORABLE MENTIONS: Oddity, Love Lies Bleeding, The First Omen, Rebel Ridge, The Substance, Juror #2, Eephus<\/b><\/p>\n

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  1. Nosferatu – <\/b>Dir. Robert Eggers<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Robert Eggers started his career out with <\/span>The Witch<\/span><\/i>, a horror film wherein a woman in a puritanical family in 1600s America is haunted by and comes to be inextricably drawn to the dark recesses of the occult. 9 years later<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>Eggers has expanded that idea into his lifelong dream project adaptation of <\/span>Nosferatu, <\/span><\/i>the illicit 1922 German adaptation of Bram Stoker\u2019s <\/span>Dracula <\/span><\/i>and cornerstone of the German Expressionist movement in film. As with Eggers\u2019 previous films and most other adaptations of <\/span>Dracula, <\/span><\/i>this <\/span>Nosferatu<\/span><\/i> is supported by lavish production design, meticulous period detail, and a deep, foreboding sense of mood, which makes every scene feel like a nightmare moving ever towards an inevitable deathly end. However, Eggers\u2019 adaptation sets itself apart by focusing explicitly on the interplay between Count Orlok (the German adaptation of Dracula), a \u201cnight demon\u201d of horrible power and allure, and Ellen Hutter, a woman with an inexplicable link to the vampire that alternates between possessive desire and paralyzing fear. Lily Rose-Depp as Ellen is stunning, simultaneously a physical performance for the ages that emulates some of the best possession performances ever, and a deeply felt performance of a woman grappling with her inescapable pull towards the darkness at the center of the film. Some pacing issues hold <\/span>Nosferatu <\/span><\/i>back from being higher on this list or on my ranking of <\/span>Dracula <\/span><\/i>adaptations\u2013 I wish this was either 30 minutes longer or shorter\u2013 but no matter what, I really loved this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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    1. Hundreds of Beavers – <\/b>Dir. Mike Cheslik<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Some movies are just so overflowing with creativity and passion that it would be impossible not to love them, and <\/span>Hundreds of Beavers <\/span><\/i>is a prime example of that. It\u2019s just pure, manic live action Looney Tunes stuff from beginning to end, constructed on a shoestring budget but nevertheless filled with hilarious nonstop slapstick gags. This is a film that runs on pure absurd video game logic, with constant visual pop ups and gamey beaver capture sequences, escalating and heightening in scale and intricacy like video game levels to an incredible third act extravaganza; describing the plot feels inconsequential to describing the total commitment and earnest craft that clearly went into delivering it. Not to mention, it\u2019s just so, so funny.<\/span><\/p>\n

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      1. A Different Man – <\/b>Dir. Aaron Schimberg<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        You\u2019ve likely heard of <\/span>The Substance<\/span><\/i> by now<\/span>,<\/span><\/i> whether through TikTok clips or some other avenue, and though I think that film about an actor who undergoes a procedure to change their appearance to appeal to external eyes is certainly great and one of the best of the year, I think I prefer its brother film <\/span>A Different Man<\/span><\/i>, which has the same premise described above, but takes a much more grounded and acerbic approach to the idea. <\/span>A Different Man<\/span><\/i> is a deeply clever film, asking the question: \u201cwhat if, no matter how much you changed your appearance to appeal to others, there was always someone better at being you?\u201d and decidedly coming up with no easy answers. It\u2019s equal parts tragic and darkly hilarious, with a smart script and a great cast; Adam Pearson is electric, while Sebastian Stan proves his range to be far deeper and weirder than his movie star looks and Marvel movie appearances might lead you to believe.<\/span><\/p>\n

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        1. Dune: Part 2 – <\/b>Dir. Denis Villeneuve<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          As someone who read the first two <\/span>Dune <\/span><\/i>books over quarantine after learning Denis Villeneuve would be adapting them and later watched the first film multiple times in theaters, I was basically an easy mark for this grander, more action packed second part. Now that the complex political machinations of the first <\/span>Dune<\/span><\/i> have been set up, this second part has fuller freedom to dive into the individual journeys of characters, as well as the pure visual grandeur of the source material. <\/span>Dune: Part 2 <\/span><\/i>is some of the finest crafted spectacle this decade, with breathtaking image after breathtaking image in addition to multiple of the most impressive large-scale sequences I\u2019ve ever seen in a blockbuster. It\u2019s not just style over substance either, as Villeneuve uses his massive scale to tell a story of people dwarfed by and learning to wield the power of prophecy and religious fanaticism, arguably the most powerful theme in the original book. I have my own issues that keep this from being higher on this list, but I\u2019m still waiting with bated breath for <\/span>Dune: Messiah.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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          1. Trap – <\/b>Dir. M. Night Shyamalan<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Another year, another M. Night Shyamalan banger has been released and faced unfair malignment. Maybe I\u2019m just a sucker for his recent run of films, but Shyamalan\u2019s newest in <\/span>Trap <\/span><\/i>was just a real fun time for me, centering on a serial killer who has to try to escape a concert all the while the police slowly close in on him. If you come into something like this looking for airtight, grounded plot logistics, you\u2019re in the wrong place; what <\/span>Trap <\/span><\/i>does provide instead is a dark comedy of escalating absurdity and adaptation, essentially a live action <\/span>Hitman <\/span><\/i>level where one man has to scope out his environment on the fly, don disguises and interact with NPCs, and make split-second decisions for survival all while playing it cool. The film knows how silly it all is and revels in it intentionally, using it both for entertainment and to place us inside the protagonist Cooper\u2019s perspective, whereby every person and every place around him is merely an obstacle to overcome and a tool to be used. Shyamalan\u2019s usage of space and POV is as usual excellent and necessary to the film working as a whole, but possibly the most major element here is Josh Hartnett\u2019s performance as Cooper, a tightly cab wound sociopath of a man whose masquerade as a personable family man slowly exaggerates as it all begins to fall apart. The third act perhaps overstays its welcome, but I appreciate it all in the name of the absurd project Shyamalan put together here nonetheless.<\/span><\/p>\n

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            1. Cloud – <\/b>Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa first garnered international acclaim making films as part of the turn-of-the-century J-Horror boom, a wave which included soon-to-be staples of horror-pop-culture like <\/span>The Ring <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>The Grudge. <\/span><\/i>Kurosawa\u2019s additions to the genre, most notably 2003\u2019s <\/span>Pulse <\/span><\/i>and 1997\u2019s <\/span>Cure, <\/span><\/i>may not be amongst the cinematic wave\u2019s most prominent films, but they rank among some of my favorite films of all time, and I\u2019m lucky enough that Kurosawa is still making films nowadays with as much craft as his early masterpieces, which leads us to the best of his three(!) 2024 releases, <\/span>Cloud<\/span><\/i>. While Kurosawa\u2019s earlier horror magnum opus <\/span>Pulse <\/span><\/i>tackled the ways in which a burgeoning internet bred isolation and despair through the realm of the supernatural, Kurosawa\u2019s return to the genre of internet horror in the midst of the internet age takes a more grounded, yet subversive approach, centering on a dropshipper who begins to garner negative attention as a result of upselling fake luxury goods over the internet. That description may sound vague, but I just don\u2019t want to spoil the depths of plot-twistiness and genre bending within this incredible part-horror, part-action thriller, part dark comedy film, which takes the exploitative, harmful anonymity of modern internet capitalism to its most entertaining, yet subtly sickening extremes. If there\u2019s anything to take from this, it\u2019s to watch more movies by Kiyoshi Kurosawa; I totally get if they can be slow, but if you\u2019re willing to meet them where they\u2019re at, there\u2019s really nothing like them.<\/span><\/p>\n

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              1. Hard Truths – <\/b>Dir. Mike Leigh<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                A deceptively simple family drama premise, of an irritable woman named Pansy who is abrasive to everyone she comes across, from her family to retail workers to strangers in a parking lot, that reveals itself to be one of the most emotionally layered and affecting dramas I\u2019ve seen in years. There\u2019s little I can say about Mike Leigh\u2019s <\/span>Hard Truths<\/span><\/i> aside from the fact that it\u2019s simply one of the most human films I\u2019ve seen in years\u2013 there\u2019s no judgement in Leigh\u2019s camera, only careful observation of people, their actions, and their dynamics with others as they are. The word empathy is thrown around a lot in film criticism, especially by yours truly, but I really mean it when I say that this is a film overflowing with empathy for every person within. It\u2019s all anchored by an earth-shattering lead performance by Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who will almost certainly get snubbed at whatever major awards show you choose to tune into but delivers one of the best, most considered and human performances I\u2019ve seen in years.<\/span><\/p>\n

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                1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – <\/b>Dir. George Miller<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  As much as I love <\/span>Dune: Part 2, <\/span><\/i>between the two desert-set action sci-fi epics of the year,\u00a0<\/span>I prefer the juiced-up apocalyptic tragedy of <\/span>Furiosa.<\/span><\/i> 9 years after director George Miller\u2019s action magnum opus <\/span>Mad Max: Fury Road, <\/span><\/i>Miller has returned to the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland of the <\/span>Mad Max <\/span><\/i>films with new interests and aspirations, creating a film that adds new layers of narrative, thematic, and character depth to the saga whilst being as, if not more exciting than any blockbuster to come out this year. <\/span>Furiosa, <\/span><\/i>a prequel centered on <\/span>Fury Road<\/span><\/i>\u2019s stealth protagonist of the same name, totally expands on the mythos of the previous films, diving deeper not only into the factions and general word building of the Wasteland but also the tragedies of the characters within, constructing one of the most powerful revenge stories I\u2019ve seen in years. More than that, it\u2019s also just a visually extravagant adrenaline rush of a film, with some of the best action sequences I\u2019ve seen in any film this decade.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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                  1. Challengers – <\/b> Luca Guadagnino<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Furiosa<\/span><\/i> may be the best actual action movie of the year, but no movie has gotten the blood and serotonin pumping for me this year quite like <\/span>Challengers.<\/span><\/i> A part love triangle drama, part nonlinear tale of psychological warfare, part excellent sports movie, <\/span>Challengers <\/span><\/i>is pure exhilaration from top to bottom, bolstered by a brilliant script, an incredible central trio of performances, a thumping Nine Inch Nails club soundtrack, and top of the line bozo mode filmmaking by director Luca Guadagnino. <\/span>Challengers <\/span><\/i>may be the most blatantly enjoyable film released this year and this decade, whether you\u2019re getting invested in the twisty dynamics and interpersonal drama (played out incredibly by Josh O\u2019Connor, Mike Faist, and Zendaya, all of whom spar so well with one another it\u2019d be difficult to pick a favorite) or hooting and hollering as the camera is finding every ridiculous angle and athletic movement with which to capture the tennis scenes, or you\u2019re simply vibing out to the music (the official score has already made an appearance in my end of year most-played playlist). Watch it and just let it take you along for the ride\u2014 you won\u2019t regret it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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                    1. I Saw The TV Glow – <\/b>Dir. Jane Schoenbrun.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Back in 2021, Jane Schoenbrun immediately made a name for themself as a filmmaker who acutely understood the interplay between media and young identity in the internet age with their debut film, <\/span>We\u2019re All Going to the World\u2019s Fair.<\/span><\/i> With their sophomore film <\/span>I Saw The TV Glow, <\/span><\/i>Schoenbrun has already surpassed being a name to look out for and landed themself as a (if not the) quintessential Gen Z filmmaker, delivering a vivid, brilliantly crafted film that, despite its clear cinematic influences, creates an experience that feels genuinely revelatory in a way few modern films ever manage to be. <\/span>I Saw The TV Glow <\/span><\/i>isn\u2019t for everyone, and that\u2019s okay\u2014 Schoenbrun\u2019s film explicitly operates in a mode of symbiotic connection between queer identity and media, exploring how media can act as both a comfort space for queer people and a visceral reflection of subconscious truth that catalyzes both terrifying and necessary revelations, often in the same hazy moment. <\/span>TV Glow <\/span><\/i>knows it won\u2019t be for everyone, but Schoenbrun\u2019s skill and empathy with which they evoke an experience for the people it will connect with should not be overlooked\u2014 it certainly resonated deep with me, and for that, it\u2019s my favorite movie of the year.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      It\u2019s January once again, which means it\u2019s time for a ranking of the best movies last year had to offer (in my personal taste, of course; your ranking is just as valid)! 2024 was a year of cinematic extremes, filled with some new favorites alongside notable train wrecks, but I can positively say that I…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,136],"tags":[257],"staff_name":[166],"class_list":["post-3959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-movies","tag-january-25","staff_name-max-knight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3959"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3964,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3959\/revisions\/3964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3959"},{"taxonomy":"staff_name","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/staff_name?post=3959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}