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#2026 Challenge – Watch a movie a day!

 

Lists of TOP 25 films in 2024 selected by various contributers: (..some I seen already)

 

Best Film  Nominees – OSCARS 2024

  1. Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross’s adaptation of the reform school horrors.
  2. Anora – Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning sex worker comedy.
  3. Conclave – Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller. – DONE
  4. The Brutalist – Brady Corbet’s epic immigrant architect saga.
  5. Sing Sing – Prison theater redemption drama.
  6. A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg’s cousin road trip. (predicted but noted in discussions)
  7. I’m Still Here – Brazilian docudrama on dictatorship resistance. – DONE
  8. Challengers – Luca Guadagnino’s tennis romance. (strong contender context)
  9. Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic.
  10. Wicked – Jon M. Chu’s musical adaptation

Best FOREIGN Film  Nominees – OSCARS 2024

  1. I’m Still Here (Brazil, dir. Walter Salles) – Docudrama on dictatorship-era resistance; also nominated for Best Picture. – DONE
  2. The Girl with the Needle (Denmark, dir. Magnus von Horn) – Post-WWI abortion drama.
  3. Emilia Pérez (France, dir. Jacques Audiard) – Trans cartel musical; also nominated for Best Picture and 11 other categories. – DONE
  4. The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany, dir. Mohammad Rasoulof) – Family thriller amid Iranian unrest.
  5. Flow (Latvia, dir. Gints Zilbalodis) – Dialogue-free animated animal survival adventure

 

Best Film  Nominees – BAFTAS  2024

  1. Anatomy of a Fall – Directed by Justine Triet.​ – DONE
  2. The Holdovers – Directed by Alexander Payne.​ – DONE
  3. Killers of the Flower Moon – Directed by Martin Scorsese.​
  4. Oppenheimer – Directed by Christopher Nolan (winner).​ – DONE
  5. Poor Things – Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.​ – DONE
  6. The Zone of Interest – Directed by Jonathan Glazer. – DONE

Best FOREIGN Film  Nominees – BAFTAS  2024

  1. The Zone of Interest (UK/Germany/Poland, dir. Jonathan Glazer) – Holocaust adjacent family drama; winner.​ – DONE
  2. 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine, dir. Mstyslav Chernov) – Wartime documentary.​
  3. Anatomy of a Fall (France, dir. Justine Triet) – Murder trial courtroom thriller.​ – DONE
  4. Past Lives (South Korea/US, dir. Celine Song) – Childhood sweethearts reunite.​
  5. Society of the Snow (Spain, dir. J.A. Bayona) – Andes plane crash survival. – DONE

 

Top IDMB films 2024

  1. Dune: Part Two (dir. Denis Villeneuve) – Paul Atreides battles for Arrakis.
  2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (dir. George Miller) – Young Furiosa’s survival quest
  3. Inside Out 2 (dir. Kelsey Mann) – Riley navigates teen emotions.
  4. Challengers (dir. Luca Guadagnino) – Tennis pros in a love triangle.
  5. Anora (dir. Sean Baker) – A stripper’s chaotic romance.
  6. The Fall Guy (dir. David Leitch) – Stuntman uncovers a conspiracy.
  7. Nosferatu (dir. Robert Eggers) – Gothic vampire obsession tale.
  8. Wicked (dir. Jon M. Chu) – Origins of Elphaba and Glinda.
  9. The Wild Robot (dir. Chris Sanders) – Robot adapts to island life.
  10. A Different Man (dir. Aaron Schimberg) – Identity after transformation.
  11. The Seed of the Sacred Fig (dir. Mohammad Rasoulof) – Family amid unrest.
  12. The People’s Joker (dir. Vera Drew) – Trans parody of Joker.
  13. The Room Next Door (dir. Pedro Almodóvar) – Friendship and mortality.
  14. The Count of Monte Cristo (dir. Matthieu Delaporte) – Revenge epic adaptation.
  15. Alien: Romulus (dir. Fede Álvarez) – Space horror return.
  16. Kraven the Hunter (dir. J.C. Chandor) – Origin of the Spider-Man foe.
  17. The Substance (mentioned in RT guide) – Body horror satire.
  18. Kneecap (IMDb underrated pick) – Irish rap group biopic.
  19. Flow (Reddit high rank) – Animated adventure.
  20. Love Lies Bleeding (Reddit favorite) – Intense romance thriller.
  21. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (dir. Tim Burton) – Sequel to the supernatural comedy.
  22. Deadpool & Wolverine (dir. Shawn Levy) – Merc with a mouth teams up.
  23. Joker: Folie à Deux (dir. Todd Phillips) – Musical sequel.
  24. Transformers One (dir. Josh Cooley) – Animated origin story.
  25. Smile 2 (horror entry) – Sequel to the grin-inducing terror

TOP New York Times films 2024

  1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Prequel praised for action and world-building.
  2. A Real Pain – Kieran Culkin’s comedic family road trip.
  3. Megalopolis – Coppola’s ambitious epic, divisive yet notable.
  4. Anora – Sean Baker’s raw Palme d’Or drama.
  5. Janet Planet – Intimate coming-of-age tale.
  6. Strange Darling – Twisty indie thriller.
  7. The Remarkable Life of Ibelin – Touching documentary.
  8. Good One – Nuanced family hiking drama.
  9. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World – Satirical odyssey.
  10. Challengers – Luca Guadagnino’s steamy tennis triangle.
  11. Last Stop in Yuma County – Tense noir standoff.
  12. Dune: Part Two – Epic sci-fi continuation.
  13. The Wild Robot – Emotional animated adventure.
  14. The Substance – Body horror with Demi Moore.
  15. Nickel Boys – Adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel.
  16. Sing Sing – Prison theater redemption story.
  17. Emilia Pérez – Musical crime drama. – DONE
  18. Conclave – Papal intrigue thriller.
  19. His Three Daughters – Sibling tensions at deathbed.
  20. A Different Man – Sebastian Stan’s identity satire.
  21. The Brutalist – Epic immigration saga.
  22. Flow – Animated survival tale.
  23. Monkey Man – Dev Patel’s action revenge flick.
  24. Love Lies Bleeding – Kristen Stewart’s gritty romance.
  25. Nosferatu – Robert Eggers’ gothic remake.

TOP The New Yorker films 2024

    1. Close Your Eyes (dir. Víctor Erice) – Reflective Spanish drama.
    2. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (dir. Radu Jude) – Satirical road trip.
    3. Evil Does Not Exist (dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi) – Eco-thriller in a village.
    4. Nickel Boys (dir. RaMell Ross) – Jim Crow-era reformatory tale.
    5. A Different Man (dir. Aaron Schimberg) – Identity transformation satire.
    6. La Chimera (dir. Alice Rohrwacher) – Tomb raider myth reimagined.
    7. Music (dir. Sia? – Wait, context suggests artistic narrative).
    8. No Other Land – Displacement documentary.
    9. Green Border (dir. Agnieszka Holland) – Refugee crisis portrayal.
    10. All We Imagine as Light (dir. Payal Kapadia) – Indian emotional drama.
    11. Hard Truths (dir. Mike Leigh) – Family emotional depths.
    12. Anora (dir. Sean Baker) – Gig-economy farce.
    13. Blitz (dir. Steve McQueen) – WWII child perspective.
    14. The Brutalist (dir. Brady Corbet) – Immigration epic.
    15. Dahomey (dir. Mati Diop) – Postcolonial repatriation doc.
    16. Janet Planet (dir. Annie Baker) – Mother-daughter drift.
    17. Megalopolis (dir. Francis Ford Coppola) – Futuristic Roman vision.
    18. Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point (dir. Tyler Taormina) – Holiday family mosaic.
    19. My First Film – Personal experimental work.
    20. Oh, Canada – Paul Schrader drama.
    21. Between the Temples (dir. Nathan Silver) – Quasi-romantic comedy.
    22. Juror #2 (dir. Clint Eastwood) – Courtroom moral thriller.
    23. Hit Man (dir. Richard Linklater) – Identity noir comedy.
    24. The Featherweight (dir. Robert Kolodny) – Boxer comeback docudrama.
    25. I Saw the TV Glow (dir. Jane Schoenbrun) – Trans identity via TV obsession.

TOP 25 films The Atlantic 2024

    1. Nickel Boys (dir. RaMell Ross) – Reform school horrors exposed.
    2. Hard Truths (dir. Mike Leigh) – Irritable Londoner’s emotional unraveling.
    3. Challengers (dir. Luca Guadagnino) – Tennis-fueled love rivalry.
    4. Janet Planet (dir. Annie Baker) – Mother-daughter bond in flux.
    5. Dune: Part Two (dir. Denis Villeneuve) – Epic planetary jihad.
    6. I Saw the TV Glow (dir. Jane Schoenbrun) – TV-fueled identity crisis.
    7. Anora (dir. Sean Baker) – Stripper’s oligarch marriage chaos.
    8. The Brutalist (dir. Brady Corbet) – Architect’s American dream saga.
    9. Trap (dir. M. Night Shyamalan) – Concert serial killer thriller.
    10. Sing Sing (dir. Greg Kwedar) – Prison theater redemption
    11. The Substance (dir. Coralie Fargeat) – Body horror satire.
    12. A Different Man (dir. Aaron Schimberg) – Facial transformation satire.
    13. His Three Daughters (dir. Azazel Jacobs) – Sibling deathbed clash.
    14. Conclave (dir. Edward Berger) – Vatican power struggle. – DONE
    15. Emilia Pérez (dir. Jacques Audiard) – Trans cartel musical. – DONE
    16. The Wild Robot (dir. Chris Sanders) – Robot’s island survival.
    17. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (dir. George Miller) – Vengeance in wasteland.
    18. Inside Out 2 (dir. Kelsey Mann) – Teen emotion turmoil.
    19. A Real Pain (dir. Jesse Eisenberg) – Cousins’ Holocaust tour.
    20. Flow (dir. Gints Zilbalodis) – Flood-surviving animal odyssey.
    21. Monkey Man (dir. Dev Patel) – Revenge against corrupt elite.
    22. Nosferatu (dir. Robert Eggers) – Vampire’s obsessive pursuit.
    23. Love Lies Bleeding (dir. Rose Glass) – Bodybuilder romance grit.
    24. Alien: Romulus (dir. Fede Álvarez) – Xenomorph colony terror.
    25. Longlegs (dir. Osgood Perkins) – Occult serial hunt.

NRC: TOP films 2024 (Dutch newspaper)

  1. 20. La Chimera
  2. 19. Moving
  3. 18. Robot Dreams
  4. 17. Samsara
  5. 16. Future Me
  6. 15. Anora
  7. 14. Dune: Part Two
  8. 13. Dahomey
  9. 12. Sometimes I Think About Dying
  10. 11. The Holdovers
  11. 10. Alreadymade
  12. 9. How to Have Sex
  13. 8. Linda wil kip!
  14. 7. Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
  15. 6. Poor Things – DONE
  16. 5. Love Lies Bleeding
  17. 4. Green Borderd
  18. 3. Sterben
  19. 2. All of Us Strangers]
  20. 1. The Zone of Interest – DONE

ROTTEN TOMATO-meter films 2024

    1. All We Imagine as Light (100%) – Mumbai women’s struggles.
    2. LaRoy, Texas (100%) – Hitman mistaken identity comedy.
    3. Girls Will Be Girls (100%) – Indian coming-of-age drama.
    4. Nowhere Special (100%) – Dying father’s guardianship quest.
    5. Ghostlight (99%) – Grief through Shakespeare performance.
    6. The Wild Robot (98%) – Robot bonds with wildlife.
    7. His Three Daughters (98%) – Sisters face family death.
    8. Sing Sing (98%) – Prison theater healing.
    9. Thelma (98%) – Elderly woman’s action revenge.
    10. Good One (98%) – Father-daughter camping tensions.
    11. Bad Boys: Ride or Die (97%) – Buddy cop action return.
    12. Wicked (96%) – Oz witches’ origin musical.
    13. Dune: Part Two (95%) – Fremen uprising epic.
    14. Inside Out 2 (95%) – New teen emotions chaos.
    15. Deadpool & Wolverine (94%) – Multiverse mercenary team-up.
    16. Robot Dreams (94%, late 2023 US but 2024 wide) – Dog-robot friendship.
    17. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (94%, 2023 but 2024 impact).
    18. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (94%, early 2024 count).
    19. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (94%).
    20. Conclave (high Certified Fresh) – Papal election thriller. – DONE
    21. The Substance (high score) – Aging horror satire.
    22. Anora (strong RT) – Chaotic sex worker romance.
    23. Challengers (Certified Fresh) – Tennis love triangle.
    24. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Certified Fresh) – Wasteland prequel.
    25. A Different Man (Certified Fresh) – Transformation dark comedy.