Who could move on from 2024 so fast? It was such a good year for movies! I already made a little list about my favorites — which you can read here, including Longlegs, Dune, The Bikeriders, and more! — but I keep finding more to add, so this is my bonus list! It’s a mix of Netflix originals, blockbuster films, and everything in between. And most of them are pretty good!

By my count, I’ve seen more 2024 movies than any “new year” before it. When the movies in a year are this good, it’s hard not to! If you haven’t already, I encourage you to dive into 2024 and experience some of these or others you’ve been thinking about. There’s something about a good or even great “new” movie which is hard to match. (I’ve seen, in order of watch: Dune, Miller’s Girl, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Challengers, Bikeriders, Hit Man, Ricky Stanicky, Beatlejuice x2, Maxxxine, Longlegs, Night Swim, Drive-Away Dolls, The Substance, It’s What’s Inside, Nosferatu, We Live In Time, Y2K, and Flow.

It’s What’s inside

This is a Netflix original and at first, it gives off Blumhouse vibes, so I wasn’t expecting much. Just some cheap entertainment. And while it’s certainly entertaining, it also managed to do something Blumhouse rarely achieves: To make you think. In a similar genre as Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, this movie overcomes the typical traps and ends on a high note.

While there are still some pitfalls of a cheap pop-horror movie, this movies manages to overcome those with a good plot and some legitimately terrific acting. Each actor is asked to do 2 or 3 things with every role, with a runtime of less than 2 hours, and everyone pulls their weight, making this a really exciting watch.

The plot is interesting, and I won’t give anything away, but it manages to keep your attention for almost an hour before the big shakeup — which is pretty easy to see coming, but it’s still impactful. While the ending is a little strange, it does throw one final twist into the mix, and it filled in a lot of missing puzzle pieces.

I really enjoyed it! Give it a try for yourself and let me know what you think. Overall, I’d give this movie an 8/10.

Nosferatu

Everybody has words about Nosferatu, so I’m going to keep mine relatively short. First, it’s a good movie! I enjoyed it. I think my expectations were too high going in, especially to watch it in theaters. I’ve had a few theater experiences blow me away recently, such as Dune: Part 2, and I was hoping Nosferatu could reach those heights. Well… not quite.

First, the costumes and set designs are gorgeous, all of them. From that aspect, this movie is a 10/10 every time. The acting is pretty good, and I thought they cast each character perfectly. It’s not a big cast, either, so you have a lot of screentime for some very talented performers.

However, this movie lacked a couple things for me. First, the story falls through in the middle. While I appreciate the symbolism of vampires, I’ve found that vampire stories themselves tend to drag at times, and Nosferatu couldn’t escape this curse. I had hoped for some unique twists, some big theatrical moments, but this movie basically follows the same plot you would expect. It just does so in a very pretty way.

Finally, the character of Willem Dafeo. I was super excited for this, specifically, because he was so ridiculously good in The Lighthouse and blew me away. I’m not sure if it was the script or the lack of screentime, but his character in this movie didn’t move the needle, and in fact, he felt like a convenient plot-director rather than a full-fledged character.

To summarize, it was good but not great, and it didn’t stick with me very long. Overall, I’d give this movie a 7.5/10.

We Live In Time

This is one I really wasn’t planning to watch, but my wife and I found it one night while looking for something romantic or funny, and it ended up being extremely sad. It’s totally different than either of the other movies, and I’m going to rate it higher than Nosferatu, but don’t kill me. It’s a different genre!

I only knew about the hilarious horse memes going in — if you know, you know– but this movie offers a lot more than it appears at first.

The film is pretty much a tear-jerker from the start, although it has plenty of comedic moments sprinkled throughout. Florence Pugh is exceptional as always, and Andrew Garfield puts together a really solid performance beside her. The cast of characters is pretty small for this one, but I was impressed still by the way they carried this movie for ninety minutes.

My favorite aspect of this movie was the dialogue. Florence Pugh especially had line after line which sounded like something from a well-written modern novel, with all the cadence and meter you could hope for. I almost felt at times like I was watching her and Andrew Garfield on stage in a Broadway performance, rather than through Netflix. Both of them are seriously great actors, and they used this vehicle to show off their prowess.

While the last thirty minutes are absolutely guaranteed to make you cry, the film is very powerful, and it sticks with you for a day or two after watching. It was definitely a chance-of-pace from most of the movies I watched this year, but it was a welcome change, and I absolutely recommend this movie! I’m going to give it a 7.7/10.

Y2k

I had high hopes going into this one, which is usually a sign I won’t enjoy it. And I didn’t enjoy parts of this movie, but the good moments made up for the bad, I’d say. The humor and comedy was better than I expected, and overall it’s just an absurd movie.

The beginning was as-expected, but it hit all the right notes and I was excited to see how things turned chaotic. This movie wastes no time getting to the big stuff, both big-good and big-bad. It probably boils down to what you think of the robots, and really, I can just leave this review on that note.

Technically, this is a horror movie, and technically, it has a lot of flaws. Acting (at times), the script, the ending, and maybe the robots. They’re the best and worst thing about it. I’m going to stop talking about them now, and also give this movie a 6.3/10

Flow

The last one I watched is called Flow. This movie is very different from all the others. All the characters are animals, so it plays out almost like a fable at first, except there’s no dialogue. The only sounds through this whole movie come from nature or from the animals barking/meowing/chirping at each other (and all the other types of animal noises.)

The story is pretty good and it’s not too hard to follow. There are some really powerful moments, which I didn’t expect. Don’t anticipate any solid resolutions, though. This film leaves a lot of questions unanswered. However, it looks so, so gorgeous. It’s really not like any movie I’ve seen before. It’s short, too, with a runtime of less than 90 minutes. I highly recommend watching it if you’re someone fond of cats, dogs, or other random animals that get stuck together on a boat. Overall, I give this a 8/10.

Parting THoughts: 2024 and The Lighthouse

I have two very different thoughts to leave you with as I wrap up and move past 2024. First, one final word on Nosferatu, and secondly, the future.

So I enjoyed Nosferatu, but of Robert Eggers’ movies, I have to say it was probably my least favorite. The Witch is a pretty terrifying movie at times, and the small cast really drives the film to new heights. The Lighthouse, a more recent release, has an even smaller cast — basically two people — and is unsettling the entire time. Both of those movies are period pieces, in the same way Nosferatu is, but they have more of a story to back up the cinematography and they make you feel for and connect with the characters on a deeper level than I felt Nosferatu did. All this to say: If you haven’t watched The Lighthouse, do it! It’s one of my favorite movies, maybe ever.

And finally: the future. I’m not sure there’s been a year with better movies than 2024 since I really started paying attention to this stuff. At the same time, I’ve seen more new movies from 2024 than probably any other year, and perhaps the two ideas are linked. The best years in any art are the ones where you’re most connected. Right now, Lord knows we all need art more than ever, and if there’s one thing 2024 reminded me about, it’s this: Art is humanity, and you cannot separate the two. To take away art, whatever form, is to take away a key part of being human. So find new art to enjoy, whether it’s movies, songs, books, or theater. And make room in your daily schedule for it. We all need it more than we know.