The best movies of 2024, according to these critics

On By Littum

Looking for a cinematic escape as the year draws to a close? For a list of some of the year’s biggest and best movies—and a few hidden gems you might have missed—Jeffrey Brown spoke with Mike Sergeant, host of the Brown and Black podcast and co-president of the Black Film Critics Circle, and Linda Holmes, host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour.

“Evil”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6COMYeLsz4c
“I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to (‘Wicked,’) but I was very impressed… It’s definitely a movie you should see in theaters… with as big an audience as you can. It was absolutely something. It’s an event and there’s a reason it’s doing so well.”

– Mike Sargent

“Conclave”


“It’s basically about finding the next pope and what the whole process is. It’s quite a ride and it brings you into how it all happens. There are so many twists and such great achievements from literally counted three Oscar nominees, Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow.”

– Mike Sargent

“The Fall Guy”


“My action movie heart this year went out to ‘The Fall Guy,’ which has Ryan Gosling as a stuntman working on a movie being made by his ex, played by Emily Blunt. It’s an action comedy, a bit of a rom-com. I thought it was so big that it also has a lot of good stunts.”

– Linda Holmes

“The Brutalist”


“The Brutalist, which stars Adrien Brody, is a big, long, heavy film of three and a half hours. It is a beautiful story about a post-Holocaust artist who made his way and tries to realize his art. It is a fantastic film about art and artists.”

– Linda Holmes

“Nickel Boys”


“It is based on a school that has actually existed for over 100 years. And it’s really centered around two boys who go through, let’s just say, all the horrible things they did at this school… It’s really an interesting way of telling in terms of what the director does. Everything you see is from the point of view of the two young boys, and it’s a very, very powerful story.”

– Mike Sargent

“Anora”


“Sean Baker is a director who always does interesting work. He focuses on the people who are often ignored in our society. ‘Anora’ is about a sex worker from Brooklyn who gets a chance at what she really thinks is a Cinderella story… This is a film that takes many twists and turns… It is very, very compelling, and you won’t be bored for a minute.”

– Mike Sargent

“Sing Sing”


“’Sing Sing’ is a story about the inmate theater program at Sing Sing Prison, and it is based on a true story. Not only that, but a lot of the people who are in the film are ex-incarcerated people from Sing Sing who were in this program, who are obviously trained in theater and have some background.”

– Linda Holmes

“His Three Daughters”


“This one was sold to me on the cast, which is Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen, three just hugely different but hugely reliable actors. It’s about these three sisters who come together in their father’s apartment because he’s nearing the end of his life. It’s a wonderful story about how aging parents complicate sibling relationships and can bring people closer together, but can also really bring up a lot of family stuff.”

– Linda Holmes

“Piece by Piece”


“It’s a documentary about Pharrell Williams, and it’s animated, but not just animated, it’s made in Legos, and it’s such an interesting and original way to approach a documentary. It works perfectly for how the story is told because there are many aspects of his life that are amazing, but you also have to visualize what he’s visualizing.”

– Mike Sargent

“Girls State”


“There was a movie a few years ago called ‘Boys State,’ which is about the Boys State program where high school boys get together and they create a fake government and they have elections. This year they did Girl State. This was filmed , just as the Supreme Court considered reproductive rights, and the girls are very focused on that. How different it is for girls to be in such a program, at least for these girls, is being explored.”

– Linda Holmes