Admittedly, they never really left.
Still, here we are back at the end of the year.
It was a good year for movies.
Here are our staffs collective picks for the best of em.
Consider it a superhero movie palate cleanser.
Its a little bit messy and inconsequential, but thats not really what this movie is for.
Disney / Marvel Studios
Rosie Fletcher
24.
Even better, that villain is played by Hugh Grant.
Joe George
23.
A24
(You thoughtGoodfellaswas dusted with white powder?
Those wise guys had nothing on these three Belfast rappers.)
Funny, sweary and energizing, its a joyride that deserves the fuss its getting.
Sony Pictures Classics
Louisa Mellor
22.
It also provides a wonderful showcase to Pearson who gives one of the most intelligent performances of 2024.
David Crow
21.
A24
Civil War
WhenCivil Warreleased in mid-March, it immediatelyreceived backlash for what it wasnt.
Writer/directorAlex Garlandhas no interest in taking a side for the viewer.
Instead his film turns its moral gaze back on the watchers.
A24
Nonetheless,Civil Warnever feels like a moral lesson thanks in part from the outstanding performances that ground it.
JG
20.
Furiosa
How do you follow up the greatest action movie of all time?
WB
That was the question facing septuagenarian filmmakerGeorge Millerwhen he returned to the Australian wasteland that launched his career.
JG
19.
My Old Ass
First of all, lets right a wrong.
It takes a well-rehearsed idea (what advice would you give your younger self?)
and moves it in an unexpectedly poignant direction.
Fun, emotional, and coming in at under 90 minutes, its one for your to-watch list.
Paramount Pictures
LM
18.
Gladiator II
Ridley Scott shows once againhes the old master with this epic piece of bravura cinema.
This film is spectacle on toast: bloody, sweaty, gory and manly.
Its worth every minute in the cinema.-RF
17.
DC
16.
Wicked
Big screen adaptations of Broadway musicals are hit or miss.
Universal Pictures
However, nothing has quite hit the Hollywood landscape like a tornado over the planes of Kansas likeWicked.
Elphabas best-frenemy, Glinda, is portrayed by pop megastar Ariana Grande.
Those doubts were immediately shattered as soon as Glinda floated down onscreen.
Amazon / MGM
Lee Parham
15.
Blink Twice
One of the years best might well have slipped under some peoples radar.
If thats you, get involved!
A24
All, as ever, is not what it seems.
This is a clever film with an excellent script by Kravitz and E.T.
They talk like real people and the peril is so much more meaningful for that.
Netflix
Tatum is great too, along with his sickening entourage of hangers-on.
RF
14.
He thinks even his wife (Felicity Jones) is dead.
Focus Features
DC
13.
And did we mention its a musical?
This is brazen filmmaking that happily transgresses across taboos and lines that are not supposed to be crossed.
Netflix
DC
12.
DC
11.
Hit Man
Armie Hammer.
A24
So it would make sense that some viewers would dismissGlen Powellas the latest in this ignoble line.
How little they were paying attention.
Hes also a pretty damn good writer since he co-wrote this film with his fellow Texan pal Linklater.
DreamWorks Animation
JG
10.
Mostly though,Love Lies Bleedingkeeps its feet on the grubby ground.
LM
9.
DCM
Can these natural born killers defy their programming to work together and survive the winter?
Can Roz defy hers to raise an orphaned goose chick to adulthood?
LM
8.
MGM
What a dreadful, narrow life!
Nothing of the sort.
LM
7.
NEON
It is challenging, interactive cinema.
It is also a masterpiece that will never leave you.
DC
6.
A24
Sean BakersAnorais none of those things.
But not for long.
DC
5.
Focus Features
Sing Sing
Sing Singis a joyous film.
JG
4.
Nosferatu
Robert Eggershas been trying to make his version ofNosferatufor at least a decade.
MUBI
But its so much more enthralling and lurid than that.
It is a new horror classic.
DC
3.
Other films scream their intent in bright neon lights with the fury of a thousand suns.
Coralie FargeatsThe Substanceis 100 percent the latter.
The Cronenbergian terrors that await both sides of the coin are ghastly.
Theyre also delightful as theyre sprayed like holy hell over all.
Challengers
What a film about tennisthat isnt really about tennis!
What a film about sex that doesnt actually have all that much sex in it!
MGM
RF
1.
Hollywood escapism has rarely been so foreboding.
WB
