Top 30 Films of 2024

 

30 Favourite
Films Of 2024

Okay... let me start off this highly dubious list with a big apology to Sean Baker because I really wanted to see Anora and just didn’t get the opportunity to do so before 2024 came to a close. I have a strong feeling it may well have taken my number one spot, to be honest but... yeah, the timing was wrong (and it didn’t help my local Cineworld, quite disgracefully, only showed it for one week). Other films that I didn’t get the time to see but which might well have made the list are Strange Darling, Werewolves and Monkey Man. I feel I’ve let myself down somewhat by not getting out to see any of those ones but, as always, it’s been a busy year and I just couldn’t get there at the right time. So apologies to all those listed there.

Of the 30 films listed here, there seems to be a very trashy/exploitation vibe dominating the list. I make no apologies and it probably says as much about the current climate in cinema (where low budget horror films seem to be the only thing doing well right now because they can turn a quick buck) as it does about my own tastes. That’s my excuse anyway. And, yeah, you won’t find any Marvel or DC films anywhere on this list for 2024. I was at least expecting to put the new Deadpool and Venom movies on there but, nope, they were extremely disappointing, somewhat cynical concoctions which didn’t give me the kind of consistent joy I was expecting from them, to be honest. I also think those two particular titles were the worst of their respective series.

Now, as with these lists, some of them may date from a year earlier in some countries and others might not be getting a proper release here until 2025. For instance, my number 7 spot is something I saw at the London Film Festival ahead of time and, well, I’d dearly have loved to have seen the new version of Nosferatu by now but, alas, it doesn’t come out until tomorrow in the UK (if it’s any good, it’ll probably appear on next year’s equivalent list on this blog). Heck, I’m still waiting for one of my favourite films of the 2023 London Film Festival to get a general release in this country (which I’m told will be early 2025 now) so, yeah, I hate not having simultaneous releases of everything in cinema but, what can I do?

Anyway, I’m sure most people will disagree with this list but, if we all agreed in these things there’d be nothing to talk about. As usual, it’s listed in reverse order, ascending to the number one spot and, if you click on the titles, they will take you to the full review for that title (except in the case of number 21, which is a short capsule review bundled in with others at the same screening).

30. Paddington in Peru
My least favourite of the titular bear’s screen adventures but it still has a lot going for it, I think.

29. Joker Folie å Deux
Ten times better than the first Joker movie, this one has ironically dive bombed at the box office for some reason.

28. Beeteljuice Beeteljuice
I liked this sequel a little better than the first and it’s certainly a much needed return to form for the somewhat erratic Tim Burton.

27. Borderlands
Not being familiar with the computer game it’s based on probably helped me see this film through less compromised lenses as I recognised a nice throwback to mid-1980s movie making when I saw it.

26. Gladiator II (aka GladIIator)
Again, a much better and somewhat welcomingly schlocky sequel to the gravitas burdened first film in this unlikely franchise.

25. The Well
Of the two 1980s style Italian exploitation films on this list, this is the one of the two which actually is Italian in origin and it’s a nice throwback to directors like Lamberto Bava (see number 4 for the other obvious throwback to this period of Italian cinema).

24. Hellboy - The Crooked Man
Much as I love Del Toro, I still loved the previous film in the franchise and this one above and beyond those first two. This one has no substance but is a nicely self contained horror fantasy, suitable for a Saturday night.

23. Trap
The latest movie from M. Night Shyamalan is a nicely executed ‘reverse serial killer thriller’, told through the eyes of the central antagonist. Can’t help but think this may turn out, later on down the line, to be part of the series of films which started with Unbreakable.

22. Beverly Hills Cop - Axel F
Eddie Murphy returns to the role that he was born to play... and it’s just almost as good as the first movie. This one really did need to get a cinema release rather than the shabby treatment it ended up with.

21. Animale
I’m hoping this wonderful ‘lady were-bull’ movie gets a release in the UK or the USA sometime in the next year or two, so I can pick up a nice Blu Ray.

20. Wallace And Gromit - Vengeance Most Fowl
Better than the last two TV shorts in the series at any rate and, that’s all it really needed to be. Not as good as the first two shorts, nor indeed the first cinema feature but, yeah, it’s an entertaining diversion for sure.

19. Dune Part Two
A nice continuation of the first of the recent Dune movies. A nice score on it.

18. The Beekeeper
Nice Jason Statham action movie. Why the heck this hasn’t got a proper domestic Blu Ray release is a puzzle. I’ll wait a little while longer and if nothing is forthcoming I’ll just get a Korean bootleg.

17. The Substance
Perhaps a little generic and a little less cutting edge than it thinks it is, this is still a nicely done and somewhat superior version of some of the 1980s films from which it seems to be taking its inspiration.

16. Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
We didn’t need yet another apes movie but this quite obvious set up for the start of a new trilogy goes down pretty well. Glad the franchise is not dead in the water.

15. Abigail
Such as shame that the trailer for this film, which is what got people into the cinemas to see it, necessarily gives away the film’s conceptual twist (much like Audition did when that film came out). A nice ‘kidnapping goes wrong’ movie which you are much better off going into with no idea of what is about to come.

14. Smile 2
A much better film than the original Smile and, if it suffers from hitting all the same beats as the first installment, at least it does it better and more competently, I feel.

13. Starve Acre
British folk horror which is actually a lot more watchable than many British folk horrors have been.

12. Blink Twice
Nicely directed take on the recent ‘me too’ phenomenon. Lovely colours and framing on this one.

11. A Quiet Place Day One
This prequel is nowhere near as interesting as the first two movies but still manages to pack a punch, along with a great central performance.

10. The First Omen
I liked this prequel much more than any of the sequels to the great original first entry, even though the film at my number four spot came out a couple of weeks earlier and has pretty much the exact same plot. Loved this too though.

9. Argylle
Not quite sure why the box office audience didn’t recognise that this is one of the great modern action movies of recent years but, well, I guess some movies are just ahead of their time. A nice Blu Ray release would be welcome please. And soon!

8.  Alien Romulus
Easily twenty times better than Ridley Scott’s own prequels, this movie, set 20 years after the very first film in the franchise (in terms of release date rather than chronologically) is what audiences were craving, despite the bad taste of a digitised performance from a long dead actor.

7. Santosh 
This police procedural showing the corruption rife in the Indian police force is something I think will get a release in the UK in 2025.

6. Cuckoo
Brilliant, quirky and surreal horror film. Not sure how anyone was persuaded to give the director the cash to make this but I’m glad they did.

5. Late Night With The Devil
Australia’s somewhat belated answer to the UK’s infamous Ghost Watch, this one takes place in real time and has a nice 1970s period feel to it.

4. Immaculate
Sydney Sweeney stars in and produces what I think must be the closest thing we’ve had to a 1980s Italian video nasty in this country for quite some time. I have a lot of love for this film.

3. Love Lies Bleeding
The second feature by Rose Glass is quirky, stylish and has a lot of good stuff going on for it. Lesbian film noir that goes into places you might not see coming at first.

2. Civil War
Easily Alex Garland’s best movie and one which should provide a lot of debate. It may be a little too close to real life at some point soon though.

1. Hundreds Of Beavers
A nicely put together throwback to the days of silent movie comedies with some clever ideas and brilliant sequences that you just don’t expect. Plus that pole dancing moment!