Honorable Mention (In Ranked Order): 

#20. Juror #2

#19. Longlegs

#18. Saturday Night

#17. Smile 2

#16. Sing Sing

#15. Nosferatu

#14. The Fall Guy

#13. A Complete Unknown

#12. Blink Twice

#11. A Real Pain

And now, my Top Ten Films of 2024:
 

JT Mollner's Strange Darling is one of the freshest reminders in years about the power of independent filmmaking. This taut, 97-minute thriller tells the story of a serial killer and their one-night-stand that devolves into an even larger murdering spree across the Pacific Northwest. Strange Darling brilliantly plays with themes of perspective and point of view, tightly tying them into everything from the film's overarching indirect narrative structure, down to the tiniest details of unsuspecting characters in countless scenes. Reacher's Willa Fitzgerald and Smile's Kyle Gallner deliver tremendous turns, and writer/director JT Mollner's sharp framing and camera motion elevates a truly minimalist indie endeavor into what feels like a major motion picture production. Strange Darling reminds us all of the brave new voices that can be found through the channels of independent film, and if this movie is any indicator, JT Mollner has a long and prosperous career ahead of himself. Kudos to all those involved in this massively overlooked indie gem.

#9. The Substance
 

Coralie Fargeat's The Substance remains the most unforettable viewing experience of the year. The first two hours of this 140-minute journey of insanity is one of the best stretches of 2024, but a pretty absurd horror movie decides to swing for the fences in its finale and I just couldn't completely get on board with where The Substance decides to go. Demi Moore is absolutely hypnotic as Elisabeth a Walk of Fame celebrity struggling to keep her career relevant as she turns 50 years old. But when she tests a black-market drug that promises to create "a younger, better version of yourself", body horror ensues and the movie introduces Sue (Margaret Qualley), and she's exactly what the drug promised. However, Sue isn't everything Elisabeth was expecting and these two alternate versions of the same person are forced to live within a set of boundaries that they struggle to accept. With a more tempered ending, The Substance easily could have landed as high as #2 on my list, so be warned. Yet, the film's first two hours are so masterful that the film's whiff of a finale can be overlooked.

If you never thought that a movie about the papacy could ever be thrilling, boy were you wrong. Edward Berger's Conclave has shown us that Catholism's throne and edge of your seek thrills can go hand in hand. After wrestling with his own faith, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with overseeing the election of a new pope following a fatal heart attack of the church's current leader. Respecting the job that he's been given, Cardinal Lawrence witnesses the nasty political game played by other Cardinals who are eager to overtake the papacy. Conclave is a taut and gripping thriller that's brilliantly paced and superbly acted. Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini are all magnificent in their roles and Edward Berger follows up his Oscar-winning effort, All Quiet on the Western Front, with this even more impressive feature.

#7. September 5
 

While it's never advised to make a film about a topic that's already been handled by Steven Spielberg, Tim Fehlbaum convinces us all that he's the exception to the rule with 2024's most intense offering, September 5. Like Spielberg's Munich, Fehlbaum's film centers around the infamous 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Germany. Yet, unlike Spielberg's hit movie, September 5 recaptures these horrific true events through a journalistic lens in the vein of Spotlight and All the President's Men. The film follows the ABC Sports Broadcasting team with Jim McKay and a young Peter Jennings, who unexpectedly find themselves thrust into real news journalism when a group of terrorists kidnap nine Israeli Olympic team members in a neighboring building. September 5 mixes the true intensity of the moment with an eye-opening examination of the focus and determination necessary to follow the story. Most notable, though, is the manner in which Fehlbaum's film looks and feels so vintage but also remains so timely with how we view and understand contemporary media. The movie works on so many levels!

Jane Schoenbrun's Sundance and SXSW entry, I Saw the TV Glow, proved to be one of the most dark and psychologically haunting movie experiences of the year. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu's Justice Smith stars as Owen, a lonely high schooler who forges his only friendship with Maddy (Atypical's Brigette Lundy-Paine) over their common obsession with a 90s televsision show called The Pink Opaque. Yet, when Maddy vanishes from town and The Pink Opaque is abruptly cancelled by its network, Owen mindlessly goes through life's motions as we (the audience) begin to see the deeper connection between his own life and the show he once loved. It's factual to say that I Saw the TV Glow serves as a transgender allegory for the internal horror of living a life trapped in a body that isn't yours, but to reduce the film to that premise is completely unfair. I Saw the TV Glow is as subtle as it is poignant, and it's as articulate as it is captivating. Channeling a dark and gritty Lynchian vibe, I Saw the TV Glow stayed with me long after my intial viewing.

#5. Anora
 

One of the most impressive, under-the-radar American filmmakers has to be Sean Baker. With works such as The Florida Project and Red Rocket already under his belt, indie film fans wondered what else he could have up his sleeves. Much to our surprise, he had one of the year's best movies swirling around his head. With Anora, Baker brings to life the most 2024-type of twist to the classic Cinderella story. It's beautiful and soul crushing all at the same time, a true testament to Baker's willingness "to go for it". This bold endeavor follows a New York sex worker named Ani (played by Mikey Madison), whose world changes in the blink of an eye when she becomes the desire of Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of an insanely wealthy Russian oligarch. Anora continues Baker's trend of shining a spotlight on America's poor and often forgotten demographic, and tackling a story based on characters that are already in his wheelhouse prove to be the perfect blend of ingredients. Whatever you do, don't give up on the film! It packs one of the most powerful closing scenes in recent memory.

Netflix had a really strong year when it comes to movie releases. Jeremy Saulnier's Rebel Ridge didn't disappoint and both of the next two entries on my Top Ten list were released on the streaming service. First up is Richard Linkater's Hit Man. The Dazed and Confused and Boyhood filmmaker has proven to be a director we can trust, and he keeps the successes coming with think bonkers Rom-Com. The script was loosely born from a random newspaper article about a man name Gary Johnson (played by Twisters' star Glen Powell) who was a local college professor moonlighting as a fake hitman for the police. Linklater and Powell wondered what would happen if the hitman were to fall for a wife hoping to have her husband killed? This sets up everything you need to know about Hit Man. Powell is an absolute revelation in the film, morphing from fake character to fake character, creating the perfect assassin for whomever is seeking his services. The laughs are endless and the romance is sizzling, both of which help elevate Hit Man into one of 2024's finest films.
 

After receiving a hyped premiere at Sundance, Greg Jardin's heady and wild thriller, It's What's Inside, was immediately purchased by Netflix for a whopping $17 million and shelved by the streaming service until its early October release. A lack of a theatrical release and zero marketeing ultimately buried this virtually unseen gem, so it's become a personal mission of mine to spread the word. Here, a group of college friends reconnect the night before a wedding 8 years after graduating and a unique party game turns their nights and lives inside out. It's What's Inside is a mysterious thrill ride that stirs greater panic and concern with each passing minute. It's like watching a train wreck and you can't look away. Couple that insane level of intrigue with a twisty and sleek style and you've got one of 2024's most complete packages. This is one ride that you don't want to miss.

Zendaya has quite an amazing year, but her finest showcase came in Luca Guadagnino's sexy and sporty Challengers. The film follows a trio of young, promising tennis stars whose rivalrous love triangle shifts from the bedroom to the tennis court over the course of many years. Guadagnino's Challengers finds as much eroticism in a tennis match as it does between the sheets. Each of the film's main trio (also including West Side Story's Mike Faist and The Crown's Josh O'Connor), have their own personal passions but it takes the heat of competition for these sexy athletes to fully understand theirs and each other's greatest desires. The film pulsates to the beat of a phenomenal soundtrack and remains as 2024's sexiest endeavor

 

I've long admired Denis Villeneuve's impressive slate of films that include Arrival, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, and Prisoners. Then, in 2021, the director welcomed us to Arrakis, the fictional world of Dune created by author Frank Herbert in the 1960s. It wasn't Villeneuve's finest offering, but Dune stood as yet another stellar example of his boldness as a visionary. Three years later, he delivered Dune: Part Two, and this masterclass in world expansion immediately catapulted to the top of Villeneuve's remarkable filmmaking catalog. The film picks up immediately where its predecessor ends and takes the audience on Paul Atreides' (Timothée Chalamet) difficult journey to become a part of the Fremin community in their quest at fighting for control of their home planet and its lucrative resource called "spice".  Dune: Part Two is action-packed, immensely engrossing, and superbly acted. Chalamet and co-stars Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler and Rebecca Ferguson deliver one of 2024's finest ensembles en route to the not only the year's best film, but the best movie I've seen in years.