This time last year, I had no idea how my Top 5 would shake out. Some of the movies weren’t quite on my radar yet. Some 2024 films I enjoyed more than I thought I would, some less. But it was another good year for movies. Here are my favourites.
Top 5 Overall
Nosferatu
Is this essentially custom made for me, a fan of Gothic horror, vampire tales, Robert Eggers films, and Willem Dafoe? Pretty much, yeah. Despite my bias, it’s still one of, if not the best film of the year. My favourite, anyway.
Every single shot is a hauntingly beautiful painting that I’d love to see hanging in a museum or my living room. One of my favourites comes early on with the carriage at a crossroads. It’s gorgeous.
Eggers plays with the familiar tropes of vampire films in the most fascinating way. He adds wonderful depth to this Dracula homage (to be charitable). The world he builds is equal parts terrifying and intriguing. You want to live in it, but can’t quite figure out why. Mostly because the world lives inside you, it crawls in your head.
The cast is fantastic. Knowing she replaced Anya Taylor-Joy, I was skeptical of Lily Rose Depp, but she delivered. She held her own against the great Bill Skarsgård’s Orlock. Nicholas Hault, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Emma Corrin, and Ralph Ineson were all superb. Willem Dafoe was delightfully acting in a slightly different movie than everyone else, but fit right in. He was a refreshing breath of levity without being relief. He had the lightest of touches to make it work against the heft of what was going on around him.
Strange Darling
Strange Darling is a subversive thriller masterpiece. It’s a tight script and exquisitely paced. Non-linear storytelling is a gamble, as it can quickly devolve into a gimmick that constrains the film. But JT Mollner leverages it to his advantage and keeps you fully dialed in to the action.
Kyle Gallner and Willa Fitzgerald are absolutely fantastic. Gallner brings a quiet intensity that explodes at exactly the right times. Fitzgerald is a wild ball of energy.
I’m keeping the review short and sweet because it’s really a film you need to experience knowing as little about as possible. Trust me when I say it’s great.
Wicked
I went in blind to Wicked. As in I’ve never seen the stage show. I’ve heard some songs, and I’m aware of the plot. And I’m familiar with overall Oz lore. But in general, I went in blind and was completely blown away.
It was visually stunning, to the point I wish I had seen it in 3D, as it feels like a fully immersive world. I was instantly reminded of watching How to Train Your Dragon or Avatar in that respect. The world John M. Chu and his team built is gorgeous. Its not as game-changing as the 1939 “Wizard Of Oz,” but as a technical achievement, deserves to be talked about just as much.
Before I get into the leads, everyone else was just great. Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh were stellar. Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, and Marissa Bode were delightful in their supporting roles. I could have used more of Peter Dinkage’s Dr. Dillamond, but what we got was fantastic.
But Ariana Grande crushed it as Galinda. There’s some physical comedy that comes with the role that she landed every single time. And it felt like she really got into her character and understood who Galinda was, and pulled that out of herself and really embodied the character. She was damn impressive.
But the story belongs to Elphaba, and Cynthia Erivo owns the film. She is a fantastic actress and amazing singer, but what she does in between those moments is just stunning. And every note, every emotion is conjured up from deep within her soul to fully explode on screen. Did I tear up at “Defying Gravity.” Yes. Yes I did. It was that damn beautifully executed. Normally I roll my eyes when people applaud at the end of the movie, but when the audience did when the credits rolled? Nah… Cynthia deserved it.
I don’t know how it differs from the stage show, but I am aware they pulled things from the novel that weren’t in the musical to flesh out characters and plot points. I think splitting it into two parts was the right move. It’s a 2hr41min movie that never feels its length and you want to sit for more. I eagerly await next year’s part 2.
Anora
All you need to know about Anora is that it starts off kind of average. It’s good, but nothing great. Mikey Madison is shining in an OK movie. But then there’s a shift. You’ll know it when it happens. That’s when the movie, and Madison’s performance, take a massive step up. It takes a bit, but it grows into this beautiful character piece that you don’t quite expect.
The Wild Robot
The Wild Robot features some of the most gorgeously animated geography I’ve seen since probably How to Train Your Dragon. It’s a beautiful film to watch. But beyond the visuals, you’re given an emotionally beautiful film. The arc of Roz brought me to tears. The voice cast is stellar with Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Conner, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, and Catherine O’hara
Most Surprisingly Good
The First Omen
I’m mostly ambivalent to ‘The Omen’ franchise. A lot of the Religious Trauma horror subgenre from that era, to be honest. I recognize The Omen, or The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby as good films, but they never really did it for me. So I was surprised by how much I did enjoy this year’s The First Omen. It was a film that just worked. Rather than playing ON certain fears like its predecessors, it played WITH the fears, and I think that elevated it a bit more for me.
Best Comedy
Best Drama
Best Action
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Best Horror
Best Animated
Best Superhero
The Rest
These films are worth a watch, but they didn’t quite land in any of the above categories, but I still wanted to give them a shoutout and recommendation.
The Empty Theatre 
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