The Best Movies of 2024, According to These Critics

Looking for a cinematic break as the year comes to a close? For a list of some of the biggest and best films of the year – and some hidden gems you may 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”

“I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to ‘Wicked,’ but I was very impressed… It’s definitely a movie that should be seen in theaters… with as wide an audience as possible. It was absolutely something. It’s an event and there’s a reason why it’s going so well.”

—Mike Sargent

“Conclave”

“It’s essentially about finding the next pope and how that whole process works. It’s quite a ride and you get an insight into the whole thing. There are so many twists and such great performances from literally three Oscar nominees: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow.”

—Mike Sargent

“The Scapegoat”

“My action movie heart was this year with ‘The Fall Guy’, in which Ryan Gosling works as a stuntman in a film directed by his ex, played by Emily Blunt. It’s an action comedy, a bit of a romantic comedy. I thought it was so big-hearted, it also has a lot of great stunts.”

–Linda Holmes

“The Brutalist”

The Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody, is a big, long, heavy three and a half hour film. It’s a beautiful story about an artist who sets out after the Holocaust and tries to realize his art. It’s a great film about art and artists.”

–Linda Holmes

“Nickel Boys”

“It’s based on a school that actually existed for over 100 years. And it’s really about two boys who are, let’s say, going through all the horrible things that they did at this school… It’s really an interesting kind of storytelling in terms of what the director does. Everything you see is from the two boys’ point of view, 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 shot at what she thinks is essentially a Cinderella story… This is a film with lots of twists and turns… It’s very, very captivating and you won’t boring minute.”

—Mike Sargent

“Sing Sing”

“’Sing Sing’ is a story about the theater program for inmates at Sing Sing Prison and is based on a true story. “In addition, many of the people who are in the film are former Sing Sing inmates who participated in this program, who obviously have theater training and some background.”

–Linda Holmes

“His three daughters”

“This cast convinced me: Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen, three simply enormously different but extremely reliable actors. It’s about these three sisters who come together in their father’s apartment because he is at the end of his life. It’s a wonderful story about how aging parents complicates sibling relationships and can bring people closer together, but can also really bring up a lot of family issues.”

–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 that’s such an interesting and original approach to a documentary.” It fits perfectly with how the story is told, because there are many aspects of his life that are fantastic, but you also have to visualize what he visualizes.”

—Mike Sargent

“Girl State”

“There was a movie a few years ago called ‘Boys State,’ which was about the Boys State program where high school boys get together, form a fake government and hold elections. This year they did Girl State. This was filmed just as the Supreme Court was considering reproductive rights, and the girls are very focused on that. It looks at how different it is for girls to participate in a program like this, at least for these girls.”

–Linda Holmes