These are the best films I saw in a theatre this past year. Some of these were released late in 2023, but didn’t play in Vancouver until January or February of 2024.
For me, Zone of Interest was one of the great films of the past few years. The way Jonathan Glazer used the medium, especially the sound track, to evoke a place in history and the ways humans can acclimatize to evil was extraordinary. Sing Sing was my favourite film that came out in 2024. An extraordinarily beautiful film with a truly amazing cast.
Sebastian Stan’s performances in both A Different Man and The Apprentice were a mind-blowing combination, and elevated them both onto this list.
- Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer
- Sing Sing, Greg Kwedar
- Dune 2, Denis Villeneuve
- A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg
- American Fiction, Cord Jefferson
- Anora, Sean Baker
- A Complete Unknown, James Mangold
- A Different Man, Aaron Schimberg
- Democracy Noir, Connie Field
- The Apprentice, Ali Abbasi
- Who Can See Forever: A Portrait of Iron & Wine, Josh Sliffe
In addition to these films which I saw in a theatre, I have to give a shout-out to three truly excellent shows: Ripley, Say Nothing and Shogun. All are cinematic and top-notch.
I also read many good books and saw many amazing shows in 2024.