The 45 Best Movies Of 2024 So Far

There is no such thing as a bad year for movies. And 2024 is already shaping up to be no exception. 

As we write this intro, it's still fairly early in the year, but we've already seen plenty of terrific films. Some of them are currently in theaters. Some of them are streaming or available for rental. A few of them have played film festivals and will find their way into some kind of release this year. But all of the entries on this list of the best movies of 2024 so far have one thing in common: they're worth your time. 

Comedies, science fiction epics, documentaries, action films, romances, animation — this list already has it all, and we're just getting started. Let's dive in. (Naturally, this list will be continuously updated throughout the year as we see more movies you need to have on your radar).

When I first caught "Abigail" out of the Overlook Film Festival, I headed back to my hotel to write my review and proudly gave the film my first 10 out of 10 perfect score for 2024. Over three months later, I still stand by my rating because I can't imagine changing any decision made. The latest original feature from the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence, "Abigail" directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett said farewell to the "Scream" franchise and returned to the style of "fun horror" that helped skyrocket them as genre favorites after their hit "Ready or Not" with a kidnapping gone wrong story about hired criminals who inadvertently hold a pint-sized ballerina vampire for ransom.

Although the marketing campaign had already revealed that Abigail (Alisha Weir) was a vampire and not just the daughter of a rich and powerful man, "Abigail" is still filled with so many explosively fun surprises you'll be standing up and cheering. Horror has been dominated by "trauma horror" the last few years, and while "Abigail" definitely has plenty to say with its main characters, this is also a movie you can watch 100 times and never tire of how much fun it is. Sometimes you just need a horror movie where you want someone to survive and for the killer to treat everyone like a walking blood bag. The fact the vampire is a little girl with a foul mouth that would make Freddy Krueger proud makes it even better. (BJ Colangelo)

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Cast: Melissa Barrera, Alisha Weir, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

"Babes" is an honest and slightly heartbreaking comedy about growing up, sisterhood, becoming a parent, and how we reshape our lives as our priorities evolve. It's also about poop. And piss. And every other bodily fluid, really. Director Pamela Adlon and star/co-writer Ilana Glazer are clearly obsessed with the grotesque stuff our bodies produce, and know that we can't wait to talk about it with the people we love and trust. There's very little onscreen grotesquery in "Babes," but its characters never hesitate to talk about it with a ribald honesty that will make you nod your head and go, "Yep."

There's a traditional rom-com heart beating in the middle of the film, which follows two best friends whose relationship finds itself crashing against the waves of a new pregnancy. But the romance is between two platonic BFFs, played by Glazer and Michelle Buteau, whose dynamic is fresh and funny and sincere. Anyone who's had a lifelong friend will relate to how these two push each other's buttons. And how they swap stories about the horrible, disgusting goos their bodies produce. (Jacob Hall)

Director: Pamela Adlon

Cast: Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau, Hisan Minaj, John Carroll Lynch 

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Jeff Nichols' "The Bikeriders" could easily be classified as "'GoodFellas' on motorcycles." And indeed, Nichols seems to be borrowing heavily from the cinematic language of Martin Scorsese's masterpiece, particularly in the way the film employs rapid-fire narration over quick, memorable moments created via snappy editing. But this isn't just a rip-off or a pastiche. It's a fascinating portrait of male loneliness and fragile masculinity; about "tough guys" who are essentially playing characters they picked up from movies and TV shows. There's even a moment when it's revealed that Johnny (Tom Hardy, doing yet another weird Tom Hardy voice), the leader of the Chicago motorcycle club the Vandals, got the idea to start the gang after seeing the Marlon Brando motorcycle movie "The Wild One."

Johnny forms the Vandals in Chicago in the '60s, and a bunch of lonely outcasts join up, swelling the club to the point where Johnny can't really control it anymore. It's like his Frankenstein monster, brought to life by Johnny but with a mind and will of its own. One of the club members is Benny (Austin Butler), a guy Johnny clearly reveres (and, yes, let's say it, loves) above all others. This causes a conflict with Benny's wife, Kathy (Jodie Comer, who is phenomenal here), who serves as the narrator of this tragic tale. 

Torn between his wife and his boys, Butler plays Benny as kind of a mystery; a guy who keeps his emotions closely guarded, tamping them down until they explode out of him in bursts of angry violence and dangerous bike riding. This is the ultimate "guys being dudes" movie, but there's also a melancholy heart beating at the center of it all; despite all their tough guy bravado, these characters really see themselves as losers, rejected by a society that has no use for them. (Chris Evangelista)

Director: Jeff Nichols

Cast: Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

Bold, sweaty, and sexy, Luca Guadagnino's "Challengers" is a provocative examination of a mercurial love triangle in which each point on that triangle is attracted to the other two. Zendaya ("Dune: Part Two"), Mike Faist ("West Side Story"), and Josh O'Connor ("The Crown") are all spectacular, and they're fully on board for Guadagnino's passionate, seductive brand of filmmaking. It's been a while since a film has come along in which each glance is so loaded with meaning, and it's rare for American movies to deal this directly with the sexuality of its characters — especially in 2024. (Although, I tend to agree with those who say the film could have gone even further in its depictions.) The churro scene alone will be memed for eternity.

Aside from being a fascinating character study, "Challengers" moves at the pace of a thriller as we bounce backward and forward in time, almost as if we're a tennis ball being bandied about by the film's leads. The pulse-pounding score, by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, adds a hypnotic quality to the film that drastically heightens its already smoldering intensity. All of this comes together into something totally electrifying, building to an absolutely unforgettable ending. Does that ending make literal sense? That's debatable! But there's a catharsis built into those final seconds that makes thematic sense and totally works for the story Guadganino and writer Justin Kuritzkes were trying to tell. What a movie. (Ben Pearson)

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Cast: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

"Civil War" is one of the most unsettling movies of 2024, a terrifying but sober-minded look at an alternate future where all of America's many divisions come home to roost. But it's also weirdly apolitical for a film about the United States split into a brutal, three-way armed conflict. Set near the end of the war, it follows characters who are straight-up tired of it all, folks who no longer think about why it all started and mostly just want to see how it ends. By obfuscating his film's politics, writer/director Alex Garland brings everything into crystal clear focus: When the bullets start flying and people start dying, the "why" of it all ceases to matter, and we're stuck in a fresh, horrible hell that we should've avoided at all costs. 

Like Garland's previous films (including "Annihilation" and "Ex Machina"), "Civil War" is a technical marvel that suggests scale beyond the frame and finds incredible beauty in the unusual and terror in the mundane. The first part of the film, an episodic road trip through a broken America, sets the stage for a violent, blistering third act that feels like an exacting recreation of a historical event that hasn't happened yet. You've never seen anything quite like it. (Jacob Hall)

Director: Alex Garland

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemmons, Stephen McKinley Henderson

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

"Damsel" is quite an odd film. Its main hook — that the titular damsel in distress (Millie Bobby Brown) isn't rescued from a dragon by a handsome prince, but instead rescues herself — feels a bit like someone bursting into the room and announcing that they've just invented disco. More than two decades have passed since "Shrek" put a stake in the heart of the traditional damsel/dragon dynamic, and even Disney movies have spent much of those two decades self-consciously subverting such stereotypes. As a result, the parts of "Damsel" that revolve around Brown posing dramatically and declaring that she's going to change the story fall a bit flat.

Fortunately, those parts are really just the bookends for a solid cat-and-mouse fantasy thriller. Brown's newly-crowned (before being rudely thrown into a chasm by her new husband) Princess Elodie finds herself trapped in a seemingly inescapable cave system, stumbling upon the bones of the sacrificial princesses who came before her, and using the hints they left behind to survive. In order to do so, she'll need to take on a dragon with the best dragon voice since Sean Connery's in "Dragonheart," courtesy of "The Expanse" star Shohreh Aghdashloo. At the risk of overhyping "Damsel," it's a bit like "The Descent" meets "Alien." If nothing else, it'll teach you some fun and creative ways to upcycle a wedding dress. (Hannah Shaw-Williams)

Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Ray Winstone, Shohreh Aghdashloo

Rating: PG-13

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 56%

Angela Patton and Natalie Rae's "Daughters" is one of the most devastating films you'll see this year. This documentary follows a group of young girls and their incarcerated fathers as they prepare for and participate in a daddy/daughter dance in the prison where their fathers are temporarily being held. As you can imagine, it's a highly emotional experience watching these little girls, many of whom are too young to fully even comprehend why their fathers aren't able to live with them at home, reunite with their dads ... sometimes after years apart from them. For the girls who are a little older and who do understand the dynamics at play, it's fascinating to watch them blame their fathers for the behavior that got them locked up in the first place, but still go on a roller coaster of emotions as they're able to spend face-to-face time with them at this dance (and sometimes even confront them about their actions).

Crucially, the doc never stops to moralize at you or preach anything from on high. The filmmakers know their most effective way to criticize the prison industrial complex is to take a topic that's often talked about in broad terms and boil it down to human beings — people with lives and histories and relationships and families. It's a smart approach, and a highly effective one; you come away from this movie heartbroken about the state of incarceration in this country, but also with a blueprint for rehabilitation. (Ben Pearson)

Director: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae

Cast: Aubrey, Santana, Raziah, Ja'Ana

Rating: N/A

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

I'm a firm believer that there's no such thing as a bad movie from the Coen brothers, but "Drive-Away Dolls" has the distinction of being not just a movie from Ethan Coen, but also the brainchild of punk-as-hell lesbian and longtime Coen brothers editor, Tricia Cooke. Whenever films feature queer characters, there's often this unspoken rule that the film must be "saying something important," or that the story needs to be intrinsically connected to what it's like to be a queer person in the world. Fortunately, "Drive-Away Dolls" has grabbed the baton from Emma Seligman's "Bottoms" and decided to tell a story about some messy lesbians just trying to live their lives who happen to wind up in the middle of a road-trip crime movie.

The script for the film was written in the 1990s, and the surreal campiness of the New Queer Cinema movement is well on display. Stars Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan deliver a feast of Cooke and Coen's dialogue, sex is abundant without ever feeling gratuitous, Colman Domingo and Pedro Pascal are absolute delights, and Matt Damon plays a Republican senator with a weird blonde family. This is a movie that isn't going to resonate with everyone (and has tragically been review-bombed by bigots on Google), but it feels like something truly special — a film that is less interested in trying to appease the status quo and would rather have a gay ol' time. (BJ Colangelo)

Director: Ethan Coen (and Tricia Cooke)

Cast: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63%

As if adapting Frank Herbert's beloved sci-fi epic "Dune" wasn't difficult enough, director Denis Villeneuve decided to really flex his filmmaking muscles in "Dune: Part Two" and improve upon the source material. This sequel brings forward thematic elements from Herbert's second novel in the series, "Dune Messiah," just to make sure no one in the audience can mistake this for a "yay, aren't messiahs great?" story. Zendaya's Chani, who was the characterization equivalent of a stick figure in the novel, becomes a true deuteragonist with a vital point of view. Rebecca Ferguson's Lady Jessica also has an expanded role, complete with face tattoos and an even creepier Voice.

On this robust framework of a story is laid a masterwork of filmmaking technique, with everything from sound design to the costumes to the real sand dunes coming together to bring the planet of Arrakis to life. Shooting on location in the desert may have left the entire cast and crew "sand-traumatized" (in Villeneuve's words), but it paid off. "Dune: Part Two" is a feast for the senses and food for thought. But even if it wasn't, it would be worth watching simply for Stilgar's (Javier Bardem) ecstatic reactions every time a "prophecy" about Lisan al Gaib gets fulfilled. (Hannah Shaw-Williams)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh

Rating: PG-13

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

What if movies were allowed to be fun?

That's the big question proposed by "The Fall Guy," director David Leitch's deliriously entertaining crowdpleaser that sets out with one goal and one goal only: to make you, the moviegoer, as happy as possible. A loose reimagining of the '80s TV show of the same name, the film blends big action with silly comedy and surprisingly deft romantic comedy elements to deliver one of the best times at the movies in recent memory. As a Hollywood stunt man tasked with tracking down a missing movie star and his embattled director, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt radiate that old school movie star charm we've been missing so much. And Leitch, himself a former stunt performer and coordinator, uses this massive platform to paint a loving tribute to the men and women who put their bodies on the line to make big moves like this possible in the first place. 

"The Fall Guy" is among the most purely entertaining films of 2024 before the adorable dog shows up to the steal the whole show from the humans. There truly is something for everyone here. (Jacob Hall)

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Rating: PG-13

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Lily Gladstone can say more with a single expression than many actors can with an overwrought monologue. In writer-director Erica Tremblay's "Fancy Dance," the "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "The Unknown Country" sensation plays Jax, a butch auntie whose taciturn manner belies the loving affection and kindness she showers on her teen niece Roki (Isabel DeRoy-Olson). The picture is ostensibly a road trip film about the pair of them searching for Roki's missing mother, lest Jax's white father, Frank (Shea Whingham), gain full legal custody of Roki. But anyone who knows anything about anything should know better than to expect a positive outcome when an Indigenous woman mysteriously vanishes.

"Fancy Dance" is about post-colonialism and how white intrusion wreaks havoc on Native lives, but it's not a work of trauma tourism. And while it can be manufactured in ways you'd expect from a filmmaker who's sitting in the saddle for the first time, it overcomes these contrivances (including a literal Chekhov's Gun) to deliver a poignant and, at times, even funny story of familial love grounded by Gladstone's remarkable turn. It's a film that affords strippers, drug traffickers, and other folks typically marginalized to the fringes of society the humanity they deserve, yet it's also not interested in painting its white antagonists in broad strokes (as painfully clueless as they can be about the ways they're complicit in the forced assimilation of Indigenous Americans and the erasure of their culture). That commitment to emotional complexity extends to its final, concluding shot, one of the most bittersweet moments we're bound to see on celluloid this year or any other. (Sandy Schaefer)

Director: Erica Tremblay

Cast: Lily Gladstone, Isabel DeRoy-Olson, Ryan Begay, Shea Whigham, Audrey Wasilewski

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

I'm not sure what deal director Arkasha Stevenson made with the devil to get Disney-owned 20th Century Studios to release "The First Omen," but I'm thrilled at the results. What easily could've been a cheap, lazy cash-grab trying to capitalize on a famous title (studios love brand IP!) turns out to be one of the best horror movies of the year; a creepy, gruesome, subversive story about the Catholic church gone haywire. This may be a prequel to "The Omen," but "The First Omen" is much more interested in doing its own thing (until the very last scene, which admittedly stumbles a bit — but not enough to hurt the film as a whole). 

It's the 1970s, and novitiate Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) is sent to Rome to work in an orphanage. Once there, she begins to experience terrifying visions. At the same time, Margaret suspects all is not well at the orphanage. Are there sinister, maybe even supernatural forces at work here? Or is it all in Margaret's troubled mind? If you've seen "The Omen" you of course know the answer, but that doesn't make "The First Omen" any less effective. Director Stevenson pulls out all the stops, unleashing horrifying imagery set against the backdrop of protests in the streets that are roiling Rome. 

Rather than rely on cheap jumpscares, "The First Omen" builds a sense of almost classical foreboding and dread as the story unfolds. There are otherworldly horrors at work here, aided by human intervention at the hands of a church that has lost control of itself as well as the society it used to command. This is scary stuff, and "The First Omen" deserved more than the ho-hum box office returns it ended up with. (Chris Evangelista)

Director: Arkasha Stevenson

Cast: Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, Bill Nighy

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

Most film directors would be lucky to craft one true masterpiece in their lifetimes. George Miller has delivered two in the space of a decade. "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" has a very different structure to 2015's glorious two-hour car chase "Mad Max: Fury Road," with Miller this time delivering an odyssey tale that spans more than a decade. And yet the two movies fit so seamlessly together that "Fury Road" now seems like it was always one half of a greater whole.

Anya Taylor-Joy takes over the titular role of Furiosa, who is taken from her home as a child (played by the endearingly fierce Alyla Browne) and forced to face the many grim perils of the post-apocalyptic Wasteland. This film is as much an ensemble piece as "Fury Road" was, and expands our vision of the Wasteland in delightful and fascinating ways. You can feel the love that was poured into every little detail by Miller's creative collaborators — from Oscar-winner Jenny Beavan's rugged, weathered costumes, to action designer Guy Norris's audacious "did that really just happen?" road war stunts.

Where a lot of action movies leave dialogue as an afterthought, in "Furiosa" it's lyrical and clings to the brain. There are quotable quips like "questioning my bossority" and heart-stoppingly romantic lines like "you have about you a purposeful savagery." Even the names are gems (the Octoboss, Scabrous Scrotus, Toe Jam, the Smeg, Big Jilly, Pissboy etc.) Yet despite their ridiculousness, every character in the movie feels like a living, breathing person with their own backstory that would be just as interesting to explore as Furiosa's.

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world. And it's good to be back. (Hannah Shaw-Williams)

Director: George Miller

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

Life-changing events rarely present themselves in a convenient and orderly fashion, preferring to instead come at you sideways when your guard's down. It's not just the bad life events like in Dan Levy's feature directing debut, "Good Grief"; his CBC Television sitcom "Schitt's Creek" was a modest cult hit before rapidly crossing over into the mainstream thanks to the Netflix "bump," thrusting its co-creator and star into the spotlight. "Good Grief" feels as much like Levy's way of showing there's more to him than (ew) David Rose as it does his attempt to process heartache from recent personal losses through his art. And just like a decent person struggling to move on from the end of a chapter in their life, the film stumbles at times yet is saved by Levy's earnest, considerate approach.

When we meet Marc (Levy) in "Good Grief," he's settled into a comfy existence illustrating his successful author-husband Oliver's (Luke Evans) books. However, when disaster strikes, it leads to Marc uncovering some painful truths about his life's choices and marriage, forcing him and his besties — free-spirited Sophie (Ruth Negga) and uptight Thomas (Himesh Patel) — to take a hard look at themselves as they all try to move forward. Even with its swanky European scenery and a cast of beautiful, well-to-do actors portraying beautiful, well-to-do, messy people, "Good Grief" avoids playing like a naval-gazing mopefest, becoming something much more thoughtful and emotionally mature. Levy may be a nepo baby, but he remains one of the finest nepo babies in the business. (Sandy Schaefer)

Director: Dan Levy

Cast: Dan Levy, Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel, Luke Evans, Celia Imrie, David Bradley, and Arnaud Valois

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%

Documentaries can sometimes run the risk of feeling a bit same-y. Talking heads, archival footage, revelations about a thing that are either already of interest to viewers or of the "so shocking you didn't know you needed to be interested in this" variety. But every once in a while, a documentary comes around that reminds us that this is more than just a valid medium for legitimate filmmaking; they can be some of the best damn movies you'll ever see. Such is the case with the utterly delightful "Grand Theft Hamlet." Directed by Pinny Grylls and Same Crane (who are also at the center of the action), this is arguably the best movie made to date that is about the pandemic, even if it's not explicitly about that. So, what is it about, exactly?

The movie is shot entirely in "Grand Theft Auto Online" and focuses on a couple of out-of-work actors who are bored at home during a pandemic lockdown in the U.K. While playing the typically violent and lawless video game, they hatch a plan to stage a production of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" inside the games. Yes, really. It's not only hilarious and absurd, but it's also a very human film, and one that extracts a stunning amount of emotion from its characters considering they're all represented through "GTA" avatars. Funny, moving, and downright inspiring, this is one of those films that truly earns the "must-see" label. Don't sleep on this one as I can honestly say you've truly never seen anything like it before. (Ryan Scott)

Director: Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane

Cast: Sam Crane, Mark Oorsterveen, Jen Cohn, and Pinny Grylls

Rating: N/A

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

In the before times — when America's multiplexes could spare a screen for an oddball genre hybrid from a director and star combo that, if we're lucky, is just hitting its quirkily relaxed stride — "Hit Man" would've been a sleeper box office hit. Based on Skip Hollandsworth's Texas Monthly profile of an unassuming college professor who moonlighted quite successfully as a fake hitman for Houston Police Department, Richard Linklater's film departs from the official story and asks what would happen if this skilled poser fell for the very wrong woman and was forced to walk the lethal walk to keep their torrid affair a-smolder.

Linklater gave Powell one of his first film roles in 2006's "Fast Food Nation," and directed him to a breakthrough performance as a screwy college baseball player in 2016's ensemble delight "Everybody Wants Some!!!," so it's only just that Linklater has taken Powell to full-fledged movie star status with "Hit Man." Powell is wildly appealing as Gary, a bookish milquetoast with a chameleon-like talent to tailor his killer portrayals to the needs of his would-be employers. We buy his Gary in every situation, but we fall hard for the guy as the slick liquidator Ron, who woos the desperately unhappy Madison (Adria Arjona) out of financing her husband's murder.

Powell's so seductively effective as the ladykiller that we, like him, forget it's all an act. When he's faced with actual danger, like the heated alleyway encounter with Madison's abusive ex, we're as terrified as she is (unknowingly) overconfident. A smart man would walk away, but Gary is stupid-in-love with Madison like a classic noir sap of a protagonist. He's going down, right? Fortunately, Linklater (who co-wrote the screenplay with Powell) knows the lay of this land. "Hit Man" knows what we're thinking, and goes where we do not expect it to go — save for proving once and for all that Powell is bound to be one of the biggest stars of his generation. (Jeremy Smith)

Director: Richard Linklater

Cast: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

Few films have captured the liminal emotional states that young people reside in the way "How to Have Sex" does. Writer-director Molly Manny Walker's crackling feature debut follows teen English girls Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce), Em (Enva Lewis), and Skye (Lara Peake) as they avoid dwelling on their uncertain futures by losing themselves in a weekend-long bender of drinking and partying in the resort town of Malia. The lines between euphoria and despair, jealousy and support, and even the consensual and non-consensual grow ever blurrier for the trio as they fraternize and flirt with a pack of vacationers their age, which includes the sweet, caring dirtbag Badger (Shaun Thomas) and his aggressive, alpha-male compadre Paddy (Shaun Bottomley). Tara, hoping to finally lose her virginity on this trip, takes a liking to Badger, and the pair share an undeniable chemistry.

Though this might've set the stage for a touching summer fling in another movie, "How to Have Sex" is too honest for that. It knows that young people can be thoughtless, uncaring, and even sabotage those closest to them without fully realizing what they're doing, and that the most formative events of our lives rarely unfold the way we'd fantasized. Yet, for all the vivid, sweaty images of intoxicated clubbing and poolside debauchery Walker washes over you (stunningly captured by her director of photography Nicolas Canniccioni), she also fills the film with softer moments of intimacy and kindness. Sex, as with life itself, can be cruel or tender, heartbreaking or joyful. That "How to Have Sex" has the wisdom to recognize this and treat its subject matter with the sensitivity and nuance it warrants suggests Walker the filmmaker has a decidedly bright future ahead of herself. (Sandy Schaefer)

Director: Molly Manning Walker

Cast: Mia McKenna-Bruce, Enva Lewis, Lara Peake, Shaun Thomas, Samuel Bottomley

Rating: Not Rated

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

Jane Shoenbrun's "I Saw the TV Glow" is not just one of the best films of the year, but is also one of the most important. It's finally time, "I Saw the TV Glow" seems to say, to turn the TV off. It takes place in a disturbing, media-dystopian present, warped by the media obsessions we had in our youths, finally recognizing that the TV shows we loved as teens — the TV shows that carried us on their backs through difficult times — ultimately didn't enrich us or offer us any kind of life other than a cul-de-sac dead end jobs, disconnection, and hollow anxiety. It's "Videodrome" for Millennials. 

Justice Smith plays a possibly asexual teen named Owen who has no friends, and whose home life is withering; his mother is sick and dying. He finds a distanced form of solace with Maddy, a young lesbian who is obsessed with a '90s-era "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" style TV show called "The Pink Opaque." The two teens don't talk very much about why they like "The Pink Opaque," but the obsessive sharing of VHS cassettes at least gives them something to live for. The two separate for years, and when they reconnect as adults, they are unhappy. Owen is working retail and Maddy seems to have gone mad, imagining "The Pink Opaque" to be real. 

As a media analysis, "TV Glow" is a punch in the face to media-obsessed Millennials. 

That, however, is merely my read of "TV Glow" as a cisgender critic obsessed with media analysis. Moreso, Shoenbrun has said "Glow" is an allegory for the "egg crack," that is: the moment when a trans person realizes what their actual gender is. The moment they begin to hatch and become their true selves. Maddy may not be mad when she reconnects with Owen, but offering an opportunity for him/her to be reborn. It's a bleak death-and-resurrection ritual which Owen either has to accept or reject. 

Both ways, it's a powerful film. (Witney Seibold)

Director: Jane Shoenbrun

Cast: Justice Smith, Bridgette Lundy-Paine

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%

Norwegian boy Mats Steen was born with a degenerative muscular disorder that killed him at the age of 25. Director Benjamin Ree (who previously directed the jaw-dropping documentary "The Painter and the Thief") returns to the documentary format with this film, which begins as a typical exploration of Mats' life from his family's perspective, full of home video footage and their observations and memories about him. Confined to his wheelchair and not able to easily participate in traditional sports or other social activities, Mats spent thousands of hours absorbed in his computer playing World of Warcraft. From his parents' POV, their son spending so much time playing a game seemed like a tragedy. They were saddened to think he would never experience love, heartbreak, friendship, community — all the things any parent would hope for their children.

But the film shifts perspective, and as we quickly learn, Mats was able to experience all of those things and more while playing this game. Using transcripts of his interactions with other gamers inside this fictional world and utilizing World of Warcraft character models (Mats' character's name is Ibelin), Ree is able to recreate this remarkable person's digital life and show both us and his parents just how meaningful Mats' life was, despite the hand fate dealt him at birth. It's a movie that will leave you weeping ... but in a good way. (Ben Pearson)

Director: Benjamin Ree

Cast: Mats Steen

Rating: N/A

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Do not let the words romantic comedy put you off of this movie even if you are not a rom-com person. Why? Because "The Idea of You" is so much more than your standard rom-com; it's truly one of the best movies of 2024 thus far. Hailing from director Michael Showalter, the filmmaker once again shows us that nobody does romance quite like him in Hollywood today. With a stellar anchoring performance by Anne Hathaway at her Oscar-winning best, for the right person, this is going to be one of those "watch it over and over again" movies. It stands a cut above much of the rest of this well-worn genre. You can read my 8 out of 10 review of the film from SXSW here.

The film centers on a 40-year-old single mom (Hathaway) who has a chance encounter with a member of a boy band (Nicholas Galitzine), with the two finding themselves in the midst of a whirlwind romance. They are years apart but, as the old saying goes, the heart wants what it wants. Showalter doesn't shy away from addressing the obvious questions, while also making them part of the love at the center of this story. When it's funny, it's really funny. When it's romantic, my word is it romantic. This movie nails both sides of the coin so well without sacrificing one for the other. Don't sleep on this one. (Ryan Scott)

Director: Michael Showalter

Cast: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, and Reid Scott

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

2024 has been the year of the imaginary friend movie, with the horror film "Imaginary," John Krasinski's "IF," and Netflix's "The Imaginary" all exploring the possibilities of a reality where imaginary friends weren't just figments of childhood creativity. The best of the bunch is "The Imaginary," the latest feature from Studio Ponoc, an adaptation of A.F. Harold and illustrator Emily Gravett's award-winning novel of the same name. Studio Ponoc is the phoenix that rose from the ashes of Studio Ghibli's temporary closing when founder Hayao Miyazaki had intended to retire, with lead producer Yoshiaki Nishimura and director Hiromasa Yonebayashi founding Studio Ponoc. Their first two films – "Mary and the Witch's Flower" and "Modest Heroes" – were moderate successes in Japan, but with Netflix handling much of the distribution for "The Imaginary," the largest audience possible can now see the studio's best film yet.

"The Imaginary" is a sweet, often scary, and heartwarming story about an imaginary friend named Rudger on his biggest adventure yet – getting back to his human after she's severely injured and risks forgetting him forever, all while trying to avoid being literally eaten by the evil Mr. Bunting and his imaginary friend that looks like a ghost from a J-horror movie. "The Imaginary" boasts stunning imagination and a story worth passing down from generation to generation. It's easily one of the best films for the year, and will no doubt be one of the frontrunners for the Best Animated Feature statue at the Academy Awards. (BJ Colangelo)

Director: Yoshiyuki Momose

Cast: Koko Terada, Rio Suzuki, Sakura Ando, Issey Ogata (English cast: Louie Rudge-Buchanan, Evie Kiszel, Hayley Atwell, Jeremy Swift)

Rating: PG

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

Some people fear monsters. Some people fear heights. Me? I fear organized religion (and lawn gnomes, but that's a whole different story). It's one thing to have faith in a higher being, a way to find comfort and provide answers to some of life's most uncomfortable mysteries. It's something else entirely to use that faith as a cudgel, a means to oppress, abuse, or even murder those in the name of your religion. And yet, there are still steadfast people who continue to insist that their belief system and lifestyle is mandatory for the betterment of the world, and will attempt to gain that supremacy by any means necessary.

"Immaculate," the Sydney Sweeney nunsploitation pic from director Michael Mohan and writer Andrew Lobel kicks this idea into overdrive, addressing the inherent horror of Catholicism by manipulating common religious horror tropes into something fresh and terrifying, without ever sacrificing the deeply thoughtful story. Sweeney shines as Sister Cecilia, a young American nun who has recently joined an isolated convent in Italy, one that harbors a disturbing, insidious secret. This isn't just one of the best horror movies of the year, it's one of the best movies of the year, period. Horror has often been one of the best genres to dissect our cultural anxieties and make broad statements creatively — and the last five minutes of this film are bursting with enough commentary to justify a semester-long academic dissection. (BJ Colangelo)

Director: Michael Mohan

Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Simona Tabasco, Benedetta Porcaroli

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%

Whatever you want to classify it as — be it slow-cinema horror or an ambient slasher movie — "In a Violent Nature" is a wonderful, gory surprise. Writer-director Chris Nash's indie horror pic has a unique approach: it's a slasher movie told from the point of view of the slasher. Rather than follow a group of horny youths meeting their grisly demises, "In a Violent Nature" shadows Johnny (Ry Barrett), a hulking, undead killer clearly inspired by Jason Voorhees. As "In a Violent Nature" begins, some partying college kids inadvertently summon Johnny from his grave somewhere in the Canadian wilderness. Johnny climbs out of the earth, dons a mask that kind of makes him look like one of the Minions, and then sets about his work.

That work includes long, silent walks in the woods. Some folks take issue with this — there are lengthy stretches of the movie that are little more than dialogue-free trips through the forest. While I completely understand not enjoying that, or even growing bored with it, I think it enhances the entire film. There's almost an ASMR quality at work here; hypnotic moments that lull you into a trance-like state as Johnny trudges along. And then, just when you're convinced nothing is going to actually happen, Johnny suddenly crosses path with an unlucky victim and dispatches them in a shocking, brutal manner. 

And yet, despite Johnny's bursts of violence, we have no choice but to sympathize with him. He's our guide through the film, and as such, our affections end up becoming attached to him. This clearly seems to be deliberate, because Nash makes the victims as annoying as possible, to the point where our horror movie bloodlust longs to see them bumped-off. It all culminates in a grand finale that's geninuely unnerving, as the final girl stumbles through the dark, noisy woods late at night, desperate to get the hell out of there before Johnny turns her into mincemeat. (Chris Evangelista)

Director: Chris Nash

Cast: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Lauren-Marie Taylor

Rating: N/A

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%

Pixar's brought human emotions to life in such a delightful and moving way with their original animated movie "Inside Out." By personifying Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust with the pitch perfect voices of (Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Bill Hader, and Mindy Kaling respectively), kids and adults alike watched as the mind of a young girl named Riley dealt with a major life change, forcing both she and her emotions to grow up a little bit. While a sequel following another chapter of Riley's life felt like a forgone conclusion, matching the beautiful, emotional story of the first movie was a tall order. Thankfully, "Inside Out 2" proved it was up to the task.

Now 13 years old, Riley suddenly finds herself dealing with puberty, with arrives along with the complicated new emotions of Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), not to mention Tony Hale and Liza Lapira stepping in to take over as Fear and Disgust. While "Inside Out 2" follows a similar trajectory of emotional growth and self-discovery, it's how director Kelsey Mann handles the emotion of Anxiety that makes the sequel another home run. Obsessed with making sure Riley's future is secure, Anxiety takes control of Riley's mind, which starts to wreak havoc on her personality and sense of self.

"Inside Out 2" manages to take a complex concept like anxiety and the destruction it can cause in our everyday life and make it relatable and understandable to children while also tapping into what makes it such a burden to adults to endure every single day. At one of the movie's most pivotal moments, Joy sadly realizes, "Maybe this is what happens when you grow up. You feel less joy." That's a hard truth to accept, and it's a difficult concept for kids to get a grasp on, but the movie reconciles those feelings magnificently and honestly while offering hope for those who struggle with anxiety, and you can't help but be moved to tears all over again. (Ethan Anderton)

Director: Kelsey Mann

Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, Kensington Tallman

Rating: PG

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

The less you know about "It's What's Inside" going into it, the better. This was the biggest surprise hit out of Sundance, and it's posed to become this year's "Talk to Me": a confident feature directorial debut that uses genre to tell a poignant story about living with social media. Greg Jardin's debut follows a group of college friends gathering for a pre-wedding party before one of their own gets hitched. Things change when a friend they haven't seen in years drops in at the last minute, and suggests they play a game.

Like the excellent "Bodies Bodies Bodies," this is a movie all about secrets, and about the image we project of ourselves to other people. The script is incredibly witty, taking advantage of a single location and a great cast to tell a simple yet complex story in a concise way that also provides plenty of laughs. This is a story all about exploiting personal relationships, showing the cracks in them and breaking them wide open as soon as the bodies start to drop. Part sci-fi movie, part hang-out comedy, all around existential nightmare, this is a movie you want to watch with as big a crowd as you can gather. (Rafael Motamayor)

Director: Greg Jardin

Cast: Brittany O'Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Devon Terrell, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden, David W. Thompson

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%

"Kinds of Kindness" offers everything that Yorgos Lanthimos fans (Fanthimos?) have come to love. Awkward yet strangely hypnotic dancing! Jealousy! Paraphilias! Sudden brutal violence! Cults! Bizarre dialogue! And dogs.

Even better, it's basically three Yorgos Lanthimos movies in one. "Kinds of Kindness" is a triptych tale that sees its core cast — which includes Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, and Hong Chau — switching up their roles for each of the three stories. The only constant is the enigmatic R.M.F. (played by Lanthimos' pal Yorgos Stefanakos), who is the subject of each story's title but only appears in the margins. Set in worlds that have just a shade of the supernatural and surreal, the film doesn't play by any of the usual narrative rules we've come to expect, and therefore it's quite impossible to guess where the stories will take you next. It's not as accessible to general audiences as last year's "Poor Things," but it's filled with a similar pool of pitch-black humor that draws laughter at the most seemingly inappropriate times.

As weird as it is (and it is weird) there's a truthiness to "Kinds of Kindness" that keeps it grounded. Whether it's Dafoe playing a pansexual dom who draws lost souls in need of direction to him like a magnet, or Stone as a woman so desperate to reconnect with her husband that she'll cut off body parts to please him, the characters are extreme, abstracted versions of ourselves at our most twisted and vulnerable. (Hannah Shaw-Williams)

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau, Margaret Qualley

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

After motion capture master and actor Andy Serkis starred in the powerful story of Caesar in a trilogy of films from filmmakers Rupert Wyatt ("Rise of the Planet of the Apes") and Matt Reeves ("Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and "War for the Planet of the Apes," bringing the classic sci-fi franchise back without the key simian revolutionary leader felt like quite the blockbuster challenge. But with a large stretch of time set between the modern trilogy and a new story, "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" manages to open a thrilling new era for the dazzling, visual-effects driven franchise that brings with it just as much heart and a compelling new roster of characters to bring us closer to the future promised in the original "Planet of the Apes."

Without any big name stars, "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" draws you in with both a long legacy and impeccable, state-of-the-art digital effects wizardry that brings the advanced apes and their picturesque world to life. That's also because the performances from actors like Owen Teague as the new protagonist Noa, Kevin Durand as the booming, villainous Proximus Caesar, and Peter Macon as the kind, wise Raka give such rich life to their digital ape alter egos, thanks to the magic of motion capture technology. On top of that, Freya Allen's performance as Mae, the rare intelligent human in these times, offers an intriguing mystery and a complicated dynamic for the future of apes and humans.

"Kingdom" is an enthralling adventure with a classic feel that takes a familiar world and makes it feel refreshing and thrilling all over again. It also kicks off a hopeful new franchise storyline that might circle back around to what could very well be an eventual remake of "Planet of the Apes," but for now, there's plenty more story to tell about Noa and his ape clan. (Ethan Anderton)

Director: Wes Ball

Cast: Owen Teague, Freya Allen, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, William H. Macy,

Rating: PG-13

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

Remember that era in the '90s when there was a proliferation of movies that were clearly inspired by the films of Quentin Tarantino? Broadly speaking, many of those homages (or outright rip-offs) that came out of that period were mocked or looked down on by cinephiles. But given the dearth of options in our current cinematic landscape, I think a lot of folks might be intrigued to know that there's a great version of one of those films that was released in theaters this year. That description sounds more derogatory than I'm intending, but it's useful shorthand to put you in the ballpark of what writer/director Francis Galluppi is working with in "The Last Stop in Yuma County," his small-scale crime thriller that, on the surface, shares some similarities with that post-Tarantino wave.

Jim Cummings plays a traveling knife salesman whose car is running low on gas in the middle of the desert, but the only gas station around has run dry. He waits for a fuel truck to arrive by killing time at the adjoining diner, and that's when two hot-headed bank robbers pull up, also on the hunt for gas. Tensions flare between the robbers and the diner customers, and there are some great moments, like when a doofus local deputy shows up but isn't smart enough to realize the patrons are quietly being held hostage. Part of what separates this movie from those '90s films is that its characters feel more fleshed out and less obnoxious than the type that typically populate these stories (they don't sit around having meta arguments about pop culture, for instance), and despite its small budget, this movie takes some big, unexpected swings that constantly had me guessing. Galluppi has been hired to make a new "Evil Dead" film, so get in on the ground floor, say you were with him from the start of his career, and don't let this one fall through the cracks. (Ben Pearson)

Director: Francis Galluppi

Cast: Jim Cummings, Jocelin Donahue, Richard Brake, Michael Abbott Jr.

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

The found footage/mockumentary horror subgenre gets a bad wrap. To be fair, there are a lot of lousy movies with shaky hand-held camera work and actors badly improv-ing lines in ways that make you want to tear your hair out. But there are also diamonds in the rough; films in the subgenre made with great skill and care that remind us that when employed correctly, horror mockumentaries can deliver. "Late Night with the Devil" is one of the best examples in recent memory — a clever, layered, well-constructed, and ultimately scary mockumentary that takes the form of footage from a late-night talk show from the 1970s. "Night Owls with Jack Delroy" is a "Tonight Show" clone hosted by Jack Delroy, played with skill by David Dastmalchian, one of those great character actors who finally gets a shot at being the lead. It's Halloween night, and Jack is desperate for a ratings win. His guests for the evening include a parapsychologist and her patient, a young girl who is the only survivor of a suicidal Satanic cult. Jack hopes to summon some sort of demonic force live on air — after all, that would be a hell of a show.

As you might guess, things go wrong — horribly wrong. But "Late Night with the Devil" takes its time, deftly setting a mood and atmosphere that almost lulls the audience into a false sense of safety. Things are played for laughs at first — until they aren't. It all culminates in a ghoulish grand finale that tips the film from "good" to "great" territory. Get ready to revisit this every Halloween, just like another classic horror mockumentary. (Chris Evangelista)

Director: Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes

Cast: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

"Lisa Frankenstein" is the rare bizarro '80s period piece that feels like it could've conceivably come out of the decade. Kathryn Newton shines as the film's namesake, a friendless goth higher schooler who earns money on the side sewing up clothes when she'd clearly be happier sewing up bodies. She gets her chance to do just that when Mother Nature intervenes, resurrecting the corpse of a Victorian gentleman (Cole Sprouse) whose grave Lisa likes to frequent and giving her a most welcome "project" to work on. What ensues is a delightful '80s pastiche that marries John Hughes' youthful romantic comedy with Tim Burton's ghoulish zaniness and writer Diablo Cody's feminist provocations.

As precisely as director Zelda Williams and Cody emulate the farcical aesthetic of '80s horror-comedies here, it's the way they capture their ethos that's truly impressive. The suburbs of "Lisa Frankenstein" aren't just preternaturally manicured, they're also legitimately dangerous thanks to the twisted people who live there (like Carla Gugino — having a ball — as Janet, Lisa's stepmom and the embodiment of Reaganite creepiness). Lisa herself is similarly a bonafide weirdo who takes way too quickly to murdering and stealing people's body parts to complete her beau (with Sprouse excelling as, essentially, a grosser, nastier Edward Scissorhands).

Ultimately, you're either willing to get on the same wavelength as "Lisa Frankenstein" or you're not. Fortunately, if Cody's experience with "Jennifer's Body" is anything to gauge by, this bloody, funny "coming of RAGE love story" will find its audience with time. (Sandy Schaefer)

Director: Zelda Williams

Cast: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Carla Gugino, Henry Eikenberry, and Joe Chrest

Rating: PG-13

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 51%

What happens when an underappreciated modern master of dread-based horror gets a hold of Neon's marketing budget and an extra down-for-anything Nicolas Cage? "Longlegs," a pop cultural phenomenon delivering hype and thrills on par with recent hits like "Talk To Me" and "Hereditary." The movie earned a reputation for scaring the pants off audiences long before it actually hit theaters, and followed through with a major box office haul — it's now the highest-grossing indie horror flick since "Insidious," according to /Film's Ryan Scott. With "Longlegs," director Osgood Perkins ("The Blackcoat's Daughter," "Gretel & Hansel") crafts a perfectly nightmarish, surreal world in just 101 minutes, trapping viewers in the thrall of his '90s serial killer saga just like — well, to say more would be to spoil the film's enjoyably uncanny twists.

"Longlegs" is as confident and ambitious as it is scary. It's part "Silence of the Lambs" and "Se7en" riff, part opaque occult horror story, part dream logic experiment, and the whole thing is anchored by a sturdy performance from "It Follows" star Maika Monroe. While Cage's funny-horrifying killer earns deserved kudos for creeping around the film's edges, the always-great Blair Underwood and Alicia Witt should also get some credit for their layered contributions to this fable about a semi-psychic FBI agent chasing down a mysterious killer. Every artistic choice in "Longlegs," from its perpetual dusk to its sinister sound design to its sharp, disorienting editing, ensures that audiences won't breathe easy until the moment the credits finally roll.

Director: Osgood Perkins

Cast: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

I can't speak for anyone else on the /Film staff, but it's going to be pretty difficult for any film in 2024 to surpass "Love Lies Bleeding" as my favorite film of the year. This sweaty, dusty, sun-soaked noir incorporates elements of body horror, queer romance, and second amendment worshipping America to create a gripping thriller hellbent on seducing the audience with sex and violent revenge. An in-her-element Kristen Stewart and a gorgeously formidable Katy O'Brian play Lou the gym manager and Jackie the bodybuilder, respectively, in their quest to escape their pasts, grip into their new relationship with all ten fingers, and pull no punches.

As /Film's Bill Bria wrote in his review out of Sundance, "Its core narrative may not be all that surprising or even shocking, but the depiction feels utterly unique and refreshingly progressive in a way that doesn't feel a need to call too much attention to itself. The enigmatic title (seemingly borrowed from one of a handful of pop songs to use the phrase) at first feels ominous, and certainly could refer to one of the corpses found in the film."

Equal parts pulp and eroticism, "Love Lies Bleeding" lures the audience in only to crack open skulls and dribble spit into the ridges of our brains. And we should all be thanking Rose Glass for the honor and pleasure. (BJ Colangelo)

Director: Rose Glass

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Ed Harris

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Horror franchises tend to be hit or miss, with the majority boasting a few stellar entries but weighed down by a handful of truly awful cash grabs or coasting by with perfectly acceptable "fine" films. This is to say that having a genuinely solid trilogy from the same director is not easy to come by, and yet Ti West pulled it off with "X," "Pearl," and the final entry, "MaXXXine." Another exercise in West capturing the tone, aesthetic, and storytelling approach of a time gone by – this time, the Satanic sleaze of 1980s Hollywood. Instead of resting on the familiar 1980s pastiche overdone in the wake of "Stranger Things," the 1980s of "MaXXXine" is flooded with the spirit of underground, independent cinema. The most biting satire yet of the entertainment industry, "MaXXXine" looks the Hollywood monster directly in the face and snorts up a huge line of cocaine cut with a SAG card.

Mia Goth once again stars but is given a playground of wild characters to play off of, with stand-out performances from Elizabeth Debecki, Giancarlo Esposito, and the always incredible Kevin Bacon. Six years removed from the events of "X," Maxine is now trying to make the pivot from adult entertainment into mainstream studio pictures, and she's not going to let anything or anyone get in her way. "MaXXXine" isn't just a great cap to a fantastic trilogy, it's also one of the best films of the year.(BJ Colangelo)

Director: Ti West

Cast: Mia Goth, Kevin Bacon, Giancarlo Esposito

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

"Monkey Man" is sometimes uneven, but it makes up for any shortcomings with an emotional and political audacity rarely seen in the action genre. Star Dev Patel steps behind the camera and directs like a man who is convinced he'll never get to make another movie — there is not a moment in this film that isn't filled to the point of bursting with visual flair, wild ideas, and bold statements. It's the work of a mind brimming with so much to say that one feature film can barely contain it all. 

But even if you ignore the film's messages of corruption and economic/class warfare, it delivers purely as an action movie. Patel's vengeful lead character sprints through the film like a Coen brothers character trapped in "The Raid," barely surviving as he punches, chops, shots, stabs, and bites his way through encounters gruesome enough to make even the most seasoned action buff wince. Patel has long-proven himself to be a capable and charismatic leading man, but it's clear that he has a long future as an action filmmaker, one who isn't afraid to push brutal brawling to the hilt. (Jacob Hall)

Director: Dev Patel

Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Sobhita Dhulipala

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

There was one glorious period when millions of movie lovers around the country had the chance to see nearly limitless movies for next to nothing. Anyone who lived through the heyday of MoviePass can surely attest to the insanely high highs of the movie ticket subscription service, followed by the unbelievably low lows. This is an experience so many of us shared, but "MoviePass, MovieCrash" is a documentary that shines a bright, ugly light on the company's meteoric rise and stunning downfall. As director Muta'Ali reveals in this illuminating film, it was all so much worse than any of us could have realized.

Using new interviews and archival footage, Muta'Ali kind of allows the story to speak for itself. There is a line from "Watchmen" where Rorschach says, "Funny story. Sounds unbelievable. Must be true." That's kind of how the story of MoviePass feels. It was a very good idea that was ruined by some guys with the wrong idea. Watching it unfold in documentary form? It's like watching newsreel footage of a car accident. It's hard to watch, but it's also hard to look away. For anyone who had an experience with this whole thing a few years ago, this is a treasure trove of information explaining what went wrong and why it went wrong. Maddening though it may be, it's a story that deserved to be told. (Ryan Scott)

Director: Muta'Ali

Cast: Stacy Spikes, Mitch Lowe, Hamet Watt, and Ted Farnsworth

Rating: N/A

Rotten Tomatoes Score: N/A

It feels like every year, there is a horror movie that flies just a little under the radar but becomes a real conversation piece for those who did see it. "Barbarian" in 2022 (even though that movie was a sizable hit), or "When Evil Lurks" in 2023. It feels very much like director Damien McCarthy's "Oddity" is destined to become that movie in 2024. Deceptively simple, darkly humorous, and scary as hell, this one is sure to be talked about an awful lot — and with good reason.

The movie focuses on a blind woman who discovers the terrible truth behind her twin sister's death. She then pays a visit to her sister's former husband at his house in the middle of nowhere where her sister died. Oh, and this blind woman happens to be a medium as well, adding an interesting wrinkle to the proceedings. McCarthy manages to make the majority of the runtime lousy with tension, broken only occasionally by one heck of a scare or a pitch-black moment of humor. There is also a character of sorts in the film that is destined to become A) nightmare fuel for anyone who sees it and B) a horror icon who will live on for years to come. If scary movies are your thing, this is a must-see. (Ryan Scott)

Director: Damien McCarthy

Cast: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Caroline Menton, and Steve Wall

Rating: N/A

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

The most powerful selling point for "Orion and the Dark" is that it features a voice cameo by Werner Herzog as the narrator of an experimental short film that was too avant-garde for Sundance and (later on in the movie) the narrator of a planetarium exhibit. Who doesn't want to hear Herzog talking about the stars?

Based on the book of the same name by Emma Yarlett, "Orion and the Dark" is the story of a little boy called Orion (Jacob Tremblay) who is scared of everything, from answering questions in class to flushing the toilet (what if it clogs and floods the whole school?!) to saying "good morning" (what if accidentally it comes out as "good dorning"?!). He's scared of monsters, bees, the ocean, mosquito bites ... but most of all he's scared of the dark. One night, the Dark (Paul Walter Hauser) gets sick of hearing about how much Orion hates him, and arrives in a friendly, anthropomorphic form with an offer to help the kid overcome his fears by facing them head-on.

With a script by the notoriously meta screenwriter Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malkovich"), "Orion and the Dark" goes in some strange and unexpected directions, but that beats the boring cookie-cutter approach to kids' movies. It's not perfect, but it's an enjoyably weird ride. (Hannah Shaw-Williams)

Director: Sean Charmatz

Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser

Rating: TV-Y7

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

I haven't been as transfixed watching someone tirelessly clean stuff the way Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) does in "Perfect Days" since that beguiling sweeping scene in "Twin Peaks: The Return." Director Wim Wenders' Oscar-nominated film, which he co-wrote with Takuma Takasaki, follows Yakusho's everyman as he spends his days maintaining Tokyo's upscale public restrooms, listening to '60s and '70s tunes on cassette tape in his shabby van, visiting the same bathhouse and shops, reading the works of authors like William Faulkner, and taking photos of the trees in the shrine where he prefers to have lunch. Is Hirayama trapped in the past or has he uncovered the secret to contentment? Thankfully, "Perfect Days" favors ambiguity, providing only hints about his backstory and what led to his (mostly) solitary life rather than trying to paint a reductive portrait of the character's psychology.

Likewise, the movie itself is an episodic minimalist drama that illustrates the virtues of familiar routines and getting the most out of a humble existence, even one where you might as well be invisible to most of the people you encounter on a regular basis (like Hirayama is). There's no happiness without sadness in life and for every funny exchange or tranquil image, "Perfect Days" counters them with a moment of sorrow or visual mundanity. We're all chasing fleeting moments of joy and to be fully alive is to sit on the perch between delight and despair — a sentiment this just-about-perfect film captures, well, perfectly. (Sandy Schaefer)

Director: Wim Wenders

Cast: Kōji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada, Yumi Asō, Sayuri Ishikawa, Tomokazu Miura, and Min Tanaka

Rating: PG

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

By the time the third installment of a popular franchise rolls around, you know the drill. But "A Quiet Place: Day One" surprised audiences by adding an entirely different dose of humanity to a prequel that reveals what happened on the first day of the alien invasion that would change the world. While John Krasinski's first two "A Quiet Place" movies focuses on how a family struggles to survive in a world overrun with deadly, sound-sensitive aliens that tear apart anything that makes a sound louder than a whisper, "Day One" takes us to the loud, bustling New York City, where the suddenly arrival of these creatures makes the Big Apple hauntingly dark and quiet. But we knew that was coming.

What we didn't know was how much we would love the beautiful friendship that blossoms between Sam, a melancholy cancer patient (Lupita Nyong'o, joined by a superb feline friend named Frodo) and a stranded, British law student named Eric (Joseph Quinn of "Stranger Things"). As Sam aims to spend the final moments of her life tracking down some delicious pizza that she has a great affinity for from her childhood, Eric feels lost amidst the chaos with his family halfway across the world, and he sparks a lovely friendship with Sam and Frodo, no matter how much the former tries to ditch him.

Suspenseful, moving, and better than any prequel has a right to be, "A Quiet Place: Day One" proves that a fresh set of filmmaker eyes can inject new life to a familiar franchise, and we should be thankful to "Pig" director Michael Sarnoski for his contribution. In fact, some argue it's the best "Quiet Place" movie. (Ethan Anderton)

Director: Michael Sarnoski

Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou, Nico and Schnitzel (as Frodo the cat)

Rated: PG-13

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

I'll be blunt: Jesse Eisenberg's directorial debut, the Sundance title "When You Finish Saving the World," was a disappointment. In fact, I'll just go ahead and call it a bad movie. So when Eisenberg returned to Sundance this year with a new film, "A Real Pain," I wasn't exactly champing at the bit to see it. But you know what? Eisenberg has grown as a filmmaker and delivered one of the best films of 2024. 

In "A Real Pain," Eisenberg plays David, a nervous, awkward guy who travels to Poland with his cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin) in the wake of their grandmother's death. Benji is the complete opposite of David — he's funny, he's charming, he's commanding. He can also be kind of a dick, but he still has a way of winning people over. The two cousins are part of a tour group traveling through sites in Poland, and while some of the spots end up being lighthearted, others are weighted with tragedy. Through it all, David struggles to understand his cousin, who seems to be in the midst of some kind of slow-motion nervous breakdown.

Culkin is the glue that binds the film together. His work as Benji is so raw and so unflinching that it's a wonder to behold. While some might see this as an extension of his smart-ass "Succession" character, the work Culkin is doing here is on a different level. It's a nuanced, heartbreaking performance that elevates the film to a whole other level. (Chris Evangelista)

Director: Jesse Eisenberg

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Jennifer Grey

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

After debuting at South by Southwest in 2023 (read our review here), "Scrambled" didn't arrive in theaters until February 2024. Without any big names attached to the cast, the movie has flown mostly under the radar, but don't let that keep you from taking a chance on Leah McKendrick, who not only leads this razor sharp comedy, but writes and directs with a wealth of confidence. 

"Scrambled" follows Nellie (McKendrick), a thirty-something who is the life of the party at all of the weddings that she's been a perpetual bridesmaid at over the years. But when an old friend gives her some sobering advice to freeze her eggs for a potential future pregnancy while her body is still willing, she gets anxious about her ticking clock and reaches back into her rolodex of former flings to see if any of them might be worth revisiting for a more permanent relationship. But where "Scrambled" shines is being not so concerned with actual romance and more invested in Nellie learning to love herself. McKendrick is superb in the lead role, as is her family (played by Andrew Santino, Clancy Brown, and Laura Ceró), and she offers both hilarious and thoughtful commentary on female fertility and all of the baggage that comes with it. On par with the likes of "Bridesmaids" and "Trainwreck," this is an uproarious comedy that packs an emotional punch and deserves your attention. (Ethan Anderton)

Director: Leah McKendrick

Cast: Leah McKendrick, Ego Nwodim, Andrew Santino, Adam Rodriguez, Laura Cerón, Clancy Brown, and June Diane Raphael

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

"Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces" is a magic trick in two parts. Its first half combines decades-old concert and home video footage of the banjo-strumming man, the myth, the legend that is standup comedy genius, iconic "Saturday Night Live" host, and movie star Steve Martin with voiceovers by Martin and others in the present as they look back at his life pre-Hollywood. Who is this natural-born performer, the film seems to ask — this maestro of absurdism and slapstick who can dazzle audiences yet feels the need to keep his personal life, his innermost thoughts and feelings locked away, even from those conceivably closest to him?

It's only then that director Morgan Neville, who has pulled back the curtain on other daunting public figures in docs like "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" and "Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain," reveals this is all an illusion. Part 2 switches out Part 1's format for an up-close-and-personal, observational style as we get to know Martin in the present. As we learn more about Martin the actor-auteur, we come to see just how much he's changed over time. The current Martin has a family and friends that he shares everything with; he's gone to therapy and is just as content going on a relaxed bike ride with Martin Short as he is preparing for their upcoming stage show. The difference in the portraits we get of Martin is staggering, yet it affords us a better understanding of him as both an artist and a human being that we simply wouldn't have without this unique structure. Even with a combined runtime clocking over three hours, it feels like this film could've rummaged further into his life. Instead, it leaves us wanting to know more, the way any good magic trick should. (Sandy Schaefer)

Director: Morgan Neville

Rating: TV-MA

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

With all apologies to the intro for MTV's "Diary" series: you may think you know the story of Christopher Reeve, but you have no idea. Even if you already have a working knowledge of the way Reeve became an internationally known (and beloved) movie star thanks to essaying the title role in 1978's "Superman," even if you know about (or, perhaps, lived through) the years following his tragic horseback riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down, even if you've heard of the ways Reeve subsequently advocated for funding and research into disability causes, "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" is an essential watch.

Far more than a rote documentary about a celebrity, Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui's film ingeniously conflates Reeve the man and Reeve the pop culture icon, the better to understand the sorrow and the eventual triumph of the Man of Steel having to suffer the hardship and indignity of the loss of his powers and, later, the regaining of his sense of self. While "Super/Man" is undeniably one of the biggest tearjerker docs ever made, it's also a breezy watch, infused with Reeve's indomitable spirit, his artistic curiosity, his family's resilience, and more. What's most delightful about "Super/Man" is that it's a film which, like its subject, isn't interested in wallowing in despair or questions of fairness; instead, it seeks to inspire, both in the hope that the differently abled in the world will be afforded more care and opportunity and in the idea that, with any of the hardships that all of us face, there is a way forward. (Bill Bria)

Directors: Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui

Cast: Christopher Reeve, Dana Reeve, Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels

Rating: N/A

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Set in France in the 1880s, director Tran Anh Hung's exquisite "The Taste of Things" follows a spectacular but humble country cook (played by Juliette Binoche) who has had a long working relationship with an equally excellent gourmet chef (Benoît Magimel, who was once in a real romantic relationship with Binoche) that slowly becomes a romantic relationship. This is one of the all-time best movies about food, not just because the food scenes are delectable, but because the cooking is used as a metaphor here: To watch these characters dance through the kitchen together is to witness the act of artistic creation — something that can stand in for any creative work in any field, not just cooking. And when one character cooks for another, all of the little details that go into crafting and preparing that meal become expressions of a deep and profound love that's extraordinarily moving. It's a truly sumptuous movie, with some of the best cinematography you'll see in 2024, and I cannot emphasize enough how amazingly and lovingly shot all of the food is here. "The Taste of Things" is the type of movie that will make you want to have dinner reservations locked and loaded immediately after the credits roll, and as someone who loves both food and movies, I can't pay it a higher compliment. (Ben Pearson)

Director: Trần Anh Hùng

Cast: Juliette Binoche, Benoît Magimel

Rating: PG-13

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

In a world where "Mission: Impossible" and "John Wick" deliver some of the best blockbuster action we've ever seen, you're not prepared for "Thelma." The official selection from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival follows June Squibb as the titular character, a widowed grandmother who gets conned by a phone scammer who poses as her grandson and convinces her to send $10,000 through the mail to bail him out of jail. When she realizes her mistake, she's not willing to accept the swindle, and she sets out across Los Angeles to track down those behind the deception. But in order to do that, she has to trick her grandson, steal her friend's motorized scooter, and get ahold of a gun. Thelma is not messing around, and you do not want to cross her. Unless she thinks she might recognize you from somewhere, in which case you're in for a charming little conversation, even if she realizes that she doesn't actually know you.

Josh Margolin makes his directorial debut with the action comedy that doesn't try to parody the genre, but plays everything straight and earnest, making for genuine laughs and stirring suspense. The movie is even based on a true story, inspired by Marglolin's own feisty grandmother's experience. Squibb is an utter delight, showing the kind of dedication and attitude that would make Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves proud, and you can't help but have a good time. (Ethan Anderton)

Director: Josh Margolin

Cast: June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg

Rating: N/A

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%