We conclude our series of year end reviews of 2024 in cinema with our 10 favourite films of the year – let us know if you agree in the comments!

To see what we ranked between 20 and 11, and for all of our other year end reviews, you can find them HERE – click on the title links for the individual film reviews.

Thanks for reading and we’ll be back with more reviews in 2025!

20. The Promised Land
19. The Substance
18. Love Lies Bleeding
17. One Life
16. Society of the Snow
15. Hit Man
14. The Zone of Interest
13. The Iron Claw
12. Perfect Days
11. Speak No Evil

10. Monster

‘Monster‘, the latest movie from Hirokazu Kore-eda is a gripping movie about the relationship between two young boys, their teacher and one of the boys mothers who confronts the teacher when she notices some disturbing changes in her son’s behaviour. Unfolding with tenderness and care, this is a masterfully made drama about boyhood friendship, and the dangers of parents and teachers misinterpreting behaviour and intentions.

Where to watch: Monster

9. Challengers

A love triangle set in the world of tennis with a pounding score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross was not necessarily what I expected next from Luca Guadagnino, but it’s what we got and it is brilliantly entertaining. Starring Zendaya as the woman in the centre of two feuding tennis players and former friends, ‘Challengers‘ is dripping with sex appeal and intensity and the time jumping narrative keeps you on your toes throughout, and it is excellent entertainment.

Where to watch: Challengers

8. Anora

Sean Baker’s latest movie follows a Brooklyn stripper who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch and gets married, only for things to fall apart when his family find out and get involved. Starring relative newcomer Mikey Madison in the leading role of Anora in one of the year’s best performances, this is an electric, gripping and wildly unpredictable movie that will make you laugh, cry and feel every emotion in between. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and further cements Sean Baker as one of the most exciting voices in cinema today.

Where to watch: Anora

7. Io Capitano

From Italian director Matteo Garrone, ‘Io Capitano‘ is the story of a Senegalese teenager who sets off on a long journey to attempt to migrate to Europe in search of a better life. The movie portrays the journey as an odyssey, where Europe is seen through the boys eyes as this almost mythical place full of opportunity, with the hardships endured on the way there a price worth paying to reach their goal, and Garrone’s background in fantasy filmmaking give this a fable-esque quality that really sweeps you up in this deeply humane and moving drama.

Where to watch: Io Capitano

6. Emilia Pérez

It’s been a top year for original and ambitious filmmaking and there has been no movie that better fits that bill than Jacques Audiard’s wildly inventive and entertaining ‘Emilia Pérez’. It tells the story of a Mexican cartel leader who seeks the help of a female lawyer to help him disappear and realise his dream of transitioning into a women, and it’s a musical. Comedic, dark and violent, inventive (not least in the musical numbers), this is a truly unique movie and more importantly, it works!

Where to watch: Emilia Perez

5. Poor Things

All of my top 5 come from the first half of the year, and 4 of them from the first couple of months, demonstrating the strength of the movies released ahead of ‘awards’ season earlier this year. We’ll start off with ‘Poor Things‘, one of two Yorgos Lanthimos movies this year (less said about ‘Kinds of Kindness‘ the better), a hilarious adaptation of a Scottish novel about the sexual awakening of  a woman resurrected by a scientist after her suicide. Without a doubt the most I’ve laughed at the cinema in a long time, it features Emma Stone at her absolute best and it showcases the very best of Lanthimos as a director. It is an absolute blast.

Where to watch: Poor Things

4. American Fiction

‘American Fiction’ is the stellar debut movie from Cord Jefferson, based on a 2001 novel from Percival Everett called ‘Erasure’ that explores the inherent bias and baggage that people bring when reading African-American literature. It is an incredibly funny satire about a frustrated novelist who writes an intentionally over the top and stereotypical ‘black’ book as a ‘fuck you’ to the industry, only to see it get published and become wildly successful – both with critics and the general public. Jeffrey Wright is brilliant in the leading role and I laughed a hell of a lot througout at this terrific movie.

Where to watch: American Fiction

3. Civil War

Alex Garland’s latest movie is a dystopian thriller taking place in a version of the United States in the future that is going through a Second Civil War. Cleverly, Garland avoids getting into too much detail on the what and the why, and delves straight into the experiences of a group of photojournalists who are attempting to make it across the country and reach the president. It isn’t a movie that worked for everyone but I loved it, finding it to be a very powerful and thought provoking depiction of how events might unfold should a situation such as this ever arise.

Where to watch: Civil War

2. The Holdovers

‘The Holdovers’ is an old fashioned drama with good writing and believable characters, about a curmudgeonly school teacher at a New England boarding school who finds himself tasked with looking after one boy who is left behind at Christmas. The relationship that develops between the two men, as well as the school cook, is a joy to watch unfold, and I found myself really engrossed in these peoples lives. Alexander Payne has made a career of balancing comedy and drama to deliver real pathos, and ‘The Holdovers‘ is one of his finest movies yet.

Where to watch: The Holdovers

1. All of Us Strangers

Starring Andrew Scott as a lonely screenwriter, ‘All of Us Strangers‘ is a haunting ghost story about a man trying to reconnect with his deceased parents as he attempts to write about his childhood. From director Andrew Haigh and also starring Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell and Claire Foy, this is a movie that explores grief, romance and regrets through an emotionally powerful and at times overwhelming narrative that had me gripped from start to finish, underpinned by some brilliantly chosen musical choices. I’ve thought about it a lot since and I think it’s probably the best movie I saw this year.

Where to watch: All of Us Strangers

We’ll be back in 2025 with more reviews of the latest releases and more podcasts. Thanks for reading as always!