The Best Movies Of 2024 So Far
2023 was an incredible year for cinema. From interesting offbeat comedies like "Bottoms" to gorgeous romantic dramas like "Past Lives," it seems like there was something for everyone. 2024 has big shoes to fill, but even just a few months into the year we've seen plenty of fantastic, one-of-a-kind films that will no doubt delight, disturb, and dazzle moviegoers. Only time will tell if 2024 can bring as many incredible pictures to the big screen, but we have a good feeling about what's to come.
In crafting this list, we used multiple resources. Review aggregate websites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic were of course consulted, in addition to reviews from the top movie critics at Hollywood trades and respected publications across the globe. Our writers, all film and television experts in their own right, also chimed in with their opinions to make this list as rounded as possible. Lastly, we looked at box office returns and social media sites to get a sense of commercial success and fan reception. All these things considered, these are the best movies of 2024 so far.
Dune: Part Two
At this point, it should be obvious to anyone who pays attention to what's going on with movies that "Dune: Part Two" is one of the best films of 2024. Denis Villeneuve's much-anticipated sequel has been received well by fans and critics alike, with many comparing it to Peter Jackson's lauded "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy in terms of quality. "Dune: Part Two" also made a ton of money at the box office. But what makes it so great, exactly? A reviewer for Slate, Dana Stevens, explained that the "Dune" films "are movies as much about mass belief systems and political power struggles as they are about characters and relationships, without sacrificing the specificity of the human stories at their center," and it's this balance that helped the second installment become so popular.
Even setting aside the solid storytelling and impressive performances from everyone (especially Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica and Austin Butler as new villain Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen), the film itself is breathtaking. Villeneuve utilizes beautiful camera work to create a mesmerizing universe filled with incredible contrast and symmetry. The sequence showing a gladiatorial battle between Feyd-Rautha and a prisoner on the Harkonnen homeworld is particularly striking — as Polygon explained, the film's director of photography Greig Fraser "employed special infrared, or IR, cameras to capture non-visual wavelengths of light and convert them into grayscale." Everyone involved in "Dune: Part Two" went that extra mile, and it shows.
Drive-Away Dolls
Ethan Coen hasn't done much work as a stand-alone director since he and his brother Joel began pursuing solo projects. "Drive-Away Dolls" is a big step toward him establishing himself as an individual filmmaker. His solo debut is a road-trip caper that clocks in at a brisk 84 minutes (it's nice to see something quick in theaters after a 2023 full of bladder-busters like "Oppenheimer"). The film follows two lesbians: Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and her best friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), Philadelphia locals who decide to leave town for a bit.
Jamie wants to escape a recent break-up and Marian a general sense of dissatisfaction. After picking up a drive-away job, they find themselves caught in the middle of a zany blackmail conspiracy involving powerful men and dangerous gangsters. Jamie and Marian's story is only loosely related to that of the contraband they accidentally find in their possession and the subplot involving the relationship between two gangster henchmen (Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson) and their boss (Colman Domingo).
"Drive-Away Dolls" is a queer love story that was made with affection (Coen co-wrote it with his wife Tricia Cooke, who identifies as queer). The subplot involving the armed gangsters is a surprisingly rich piece of the film that poses important questions about violence and the endgame of toxic masculinity while still managing not to spoil the dreaminess of Marian and Jamie's story. "It's the writing, ultimately, that retains that signature Coen dazzle," critic Kevin Maher said in a review for The Times.
Orion and the Dark
2023 was a particularly great year for animation. Audiences got to enjoy both master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's "The Boy and the Heron" and Sony's "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," the highly anticipated sequel to "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." Hopefully, 2024 will provide even more incredible animation and whimsical storytelling from film studios — we're certainly off to a good start with "Orion and the Dark."
This film is a product of DreamWorks Animation and, as such, is designed to appeal to both children and their parents. The script, co-written by famed writer Charlie Kaufman, is about a boy named Orion who is dealing with anxiety on top of the regular stresses of growing up. One night, Orion is visited by the Dark, a personified entity that embodies his biggest fear. The Dark isn't cruel or monstrous, though. He invites Orion to watch his nocturnal colleagues (like Insomnia and Sweet Dreams) work their complicated and necessary magic.
"Orion and the Dark" is a really lovely story that captures the simultaneous comedy and seriousness of a child realizing just how complicated the world really is. Orion learns that being human means living with feelings that are good and bad and everything in between, and this movie tells a story that people of all ages can appreciate and learn from. The film has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing, with critics praising its artistry and ambition.
Good Grief
Dan Levy's film "Good Grief" actually had a limited theatrical release on December 29, 2023, but because it didn't start landing on most people's radars until it came to streaming in 2024, we've decided to include it on this list. The film follows an American expat in London named Marc (Levy) who is recovering from the loss of his husband, Oliver (Luke Evans), who died in a tragic car accident just a year prior. Marc has been grieving Oliver with the support of his close friends Thomas (Himesh Patel) and Sophie (Ruth Negga), but he doesn't tell them when he discovers that Oliver was having an affair before he died. Marc finds out that Oliver's ex-lover is in Paris and invites Thomas and Sophie to join him there, though they believe it's just a fun little getaway.
Throughout his time in Paris, Marc struggles to come to terms with his contrasting feelings of sadness and anger. He meets a new man named Theo (Arnaud Valois) who helps him work through both feelings, and later comes clean with Thomas and Sophie, who have their own struggles to admit. Levy's film is a grown-up, effective story about the hope that can ultimately spring from grief. "What elevates the picture is the crisp dialogue, which captures bonds of friendship that are loving, but at the same time stretched to breaking point," the Observer's Wendy Ide said in a review, one of many positive write-ups the film received.
The Taste of Things
"La Passion de Dodin Bouffant" dropped in its native France in 2023, but it didn't hit the United States until 2024, released under the title "The Taste of Things." It's a romantic drama directed by Trần Anh Hùng starring French cinema idols (and real-life ex-partners) Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel as romantic leads Eugénie and Dodin. The film is set in 1889 and follows Eugénie (Binoche), who is a cook for a food-lover named Dodin (Magimel). The two have enjoyed a long romantic relationship thanks, in large part, to their shared passion for food, but Eugénie has refused Dodin's marriage proposal more than once and continues to keep her own bedroom.
Unsurprisingly, the film is a critical darling — the words "French" and "period piece" tend to play well with a lot of film lovers. However, this particular French period piece is the real deal. Magimel and Binoche are both highly respected actors for a reason. The soft, warm imagery of the film provides a rich background for their nuanced performances as people entering the later years of their lives, and the food shines almost as brightly as Magimel and Binoche: "The Taste of Things" is a delightful reminder of France's appreciation for the culinary arts.
Self Reliance
Jake Johnson, a veteran comedic actor thanks to his work on popular projects like "New Girl," made his debut as a director with the release of Hulu's "Self Reliance." He stars as Tommy Walcott, a disillusioned 30-something who can't get out of the rut he's in following a painful breakup. Tommy's life gets weird when he's offered the chance to participate in a reality show that airs on the dark web by none other than Andy Samberg (playing himself).
Tommy has the chance to win a million bucks, but what's the catch? Hunters will attempt to kill him before the end of a 30-day period, though he cannot be attacked as long as he's in the presence of another person. He agrees to participate in the game and quickly discovers that remaining alone isn't as easy as he thought it would be. To avoid attempts on his life, Tommy builds new relationships with a homeless man named James (Biff Wiff) and another contestant named Maddy (Anna Kendrick).
Johnson's comedic background shines through in the script, as does his generational humor — there's a lot of post-ironic exposition, embodied especially by the AV "ninjas" who somehow ensure that everything Tommy does is on camera. Despite this, it's clear Johnson is trying to tell a story that's more substantial than anything he's done before. While a lot of critics wanted "Self Reliance" to lean into the absurdity of its premise a little harder, the majority admitted that this was a solid first effort from Johnson.
Problemista
A24 has garnered an incredible amount of prestige for a studio that's only been around since 2012. What's so great about it? Well, A24 has made many of the best films that have come out in the past ten years, including best picture winner "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once." It has another slate of exciting films ready for 2024, and it kicked off the year with the brilliant "Problemista," a new film from the mind of up-and-coming comedian Julio Torres. The film, which also stars Tilda Swinton, follows a young man named Alejandro (Torres). Alejandro grew up in El Salvador and moved to the United States, where he hoped to realize his dream of becoming a toy designer.
"Problemista" follows Alejandro as he deals with all of the struggles that come with immigration. He doesn't have enough money to make a good start at anything and loses his job sponsorship almost as quickly as he obtains it. An eccentric woman named Elizabeth (Swinton) decides to employ Alejandro, asking for his help in putting together a gallery to celebrate her artist husband. Thanks to a whimsical, surrealist tone, a happy ending, and a particularly nuanced performance from Swinton (who humanizes the "Karen" archetype without providing false hope that such a self-obsessed person will have a real change of heart), "Problemista" manages to capture the desperation of poverty and unstable documentation status without leaving its audience bereft of hope.
Love Lies Bleeding
"Love Lies Bleeding" is another homerun from A24. The film, directed by Rose Glass and starring Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian (the Comms Officer from "The Mandalorian"), and Ed Harris, follows the criminal happenings in a southwestern American town in 1989. Lou (Stewart) and Jackie (O'Brian), who meet at the gym where Lou works, begin a relationship that quickly becomes passionate and intense, especially because of Lou's creepy, criminal father Lou Sr. (Harris).
As the film goes on, Lou and Jackie find themselves facing deadlier trials as a couple, and Jackie — who is taking steroids and rigorously working out in preparation for a women's bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas — becomes increasingly muscular and mentally unstable. There's a lot of ordinary evil depicted here: Lou and Jackie are certainly the most sympathetic characters in the story, but they're definitely not bastions of morality.
The film has a neo-noir vibe and a steamy, dark tone that feels both like an homage to great films of decades past and something entirely new. In her review for The New York Times, film critic Manohla Dargis said that "Glass borrows liberally but not mindlessly. Instead, she takes familiar themes [...] and playfully bends them to her purposes." Unsurprisingly, "Love Lies Bleeding" has been a hit with critics and a solid success with audiences.