10 Great Movies of 2024
Films that May Not Be on Your Radar
It’s been a good year for cinema. There are a number titles generating Oscar buzz, including The Brutalist, Nickel Boys, and A Complete Unknown, and they are certainly worth seeing. But what about all the other terrific films that may not be on your radar? It’s holiday season, and I’m guessing you’ll get a little extra screen time.
Here are 10 titles you should know about, most of them already streaming. A few are still in theaters. Below, you will find a brief synopsis, trailer and learn where to watch. Enjoy!
All We Imagine is Light
Nurse Prabha's daily life in Mumbai takes an unexpected turn when a surprise present arrives from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, faces frustration in her quest to secure a private spot in the city to be intimate with her partner.
See in limited theatrical release.
Blitz
Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.
See on AppleTV+.
Conclave
From director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), Conclave follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events – selecting the new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake, secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.
Emilia Pérez
A Mexican lawyer is offered an unusual job to help a notorious cartel boss retire and transition into living as a woman, fulfilling a long-held desire. This musical crime comedy is generating a lot of buzz!
See on Netflix.
Evil Does Not Exist
In the rural alpine hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo, Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a talent agency’s plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow up to his Academy Award®-winning Drive My Car is a foreboding fable on humanity's mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As sinister gunshots echo from the forest, both the locals and representatives confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.
See on Amazon, Vudu or with a subscription to The Criterion Collection.
His Three Daughters
From writer-director Azazel Jacobs (French Exit, The Lovers) comes this bittersweet and often funny story of an elderly patriarch and the three grown daughters who come to be with him in his final days. Katie (Carrie Coon) is a controlling Brooklyn mother dealing with a wayward teenage daughter; free-spirited Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) is a different kind of mom, separated from her offspring for the first time; and Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) is a sports-betting stoner who has never left her father's apartment -- much to the chagrin of her stepsisters, who share a different mother and worldview. Continuing his astute exploration of family dynamics in close-knit spaces, Jacobs follows the siblings over the course of three volatile days, as death looms, grievances erupt, and love seeps through the cracks of a fractured home.
See on Netflix.
The Piano Lesson
A family clash over an heirloom piano explodes. The battle between brother (John David Washington) and sister (Danielle Deadwyler) — one hopes to sell it, the other refuses to give it up — unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived and who defines a family legacy.
See on Netflix.
A Real Pain
Mismatched cousins David and Benji tour Poland to honor their grandmother. Their adventure becomes complicated as old tensions resurface while exploring their family history.
See in limited theatrical release.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Shot entirely in secret, Mohammad Rasoulof’s award-winning thriller, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, centers on a family thrust into the public eye when Iman is appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran. As political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realizes that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife Najmeh and daughters Sana and Rezvan.
See in limited theatrical release, or on AppleTV+.
The Substance
Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? You, only better in every way. You should try this new product, it's called The Substance. With The Substance, you can generate another you: younger, more beautiful, more perfect. You just have to share time - one week for one, one week for the other. A perfect balance of seven days each. Easy right? If you respect the balance. What could possibly go wrong?
See in limited theatrical release, online at Amazon, AppleTV or with subscription on Mubi.
So there you have it, 10 movies that may not be on your radar.
I hope you get a chance to mix a few in, along with your holiday classics.
Have a happy new year!