Going into every year, I gauge the future outlook by my experience at the Sundance Film Festival since it occurs in January. To say that this year’s festival was disappointing would be an understatement, and yeah, it turned out that for large chunks of time, it was pretty grim at the movies. Just ask Lionsgate. They had a run of flops in 2024 that would get any other studio shut down permanently. But things always level out if you give them enough time. Marvel only had one movie this year with Deadpool & Wolverine, and it was the rebound they desperately needed. We got a couple of fun studio spectacles that people refused to see for some reason, such as The Fall Guy and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. A tennis dramedy, Challengers, captured the audience’s passion for competitive sport and competitive love triangles, and movies led by Demi Moore and Pamela Anderson became critical darlings. What year is this again?
So 2024 didn’t turn out so bad in the end. I say it every year, but if you love movies then you’ll always come away happy when all is said and done. It wasn’t perfect, but there was enough that I had to leave some pretty awesome stuff off of my list of favorites. Films such as Sing Sing, The Promised Land, A Complete Unknown, Hit Man, Love Lies Bleeding, His Three Daughters, Piece by Piece, and more had to be left off.
In their place are the movies that stuck with me the most. Some appeal to me personally, like my love of cats. Others are straight-up action flicks because those are always my favorite. There are gigantic sci-fi spectacles, a couple of animated movies, a sicko comedy full of cartoon violence, a Cinderella story, and even my beloved Robots In Disguise.
As usual, this list comprises the films that had the biggest impact on me. You might’ve felt different. I’m sure you did, and you won’t hesitate to tell me how wrong I am. It’s probably more apt to say these are my favorite movies rather than the “best.” Just remember that just because a film isn’t on my list doesn’t mean I hated it. Well, except for Reagan because I definitely hated that one.
Once again, there will be only one favorite and the rest are in random order. Enjoy! And do let me know what some of your favorites of 2024 were!
