Lights, camera, action! We're diving into the most spectacular cinematic experiences of 2024 that redefined storytelling on the big screen. From epic sci-fi to intimate character studies, these films pushed boundaries and captured our imaginations in ways we never expected.
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00:00Hi everybody, I'm Pouchy!
00:02Wait, no!
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 2024's cinematic experiences
00:08that made us fall in love with the art form all over again.
00:11Some of these technically premiered in 2023,
00:14but didn't receive general releases until this year.
00:16Let's give the people what they came for!
00:20Number 10.
00:21Wicked.
00:21What is this feeling so sudden and new?
00:24I felt the moment I laid eyes on you.
00:27My pulse is rushing.
00:29My head is reeling.
00:30Well, my face is flushing.
00:32It's certainly not loathing,
00:33as this long-anticipated adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon
00:36rose above our expectations, even if it's only part one.
00:40Wicked doesn't feel like half a movie though,
00:42leaving the audience on a high as they exit the theater
00:44with the songs playing on an endless loop in your head.
00:52Whether or not Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
00:55were your dream casting choices,
00:56they instantly become Elphaba and Galinda without a shadow of a doubt.
01:00Come with me.
01:01What?
01:01To meet the wizard.
01:02Why couldn't it possibly?
01:03This is your moment.
01:04I'm coming.
01:06The pitch-perfect casting is matched by John M. Chu's direction,
01:09transporting us to a version of Oz that's familiar,
01:12yet over a very different rainbow.
01:14Blending pop entertainment with timely political overtones,
01:17Wicked spoke and sang to many in 2024.
01:26Sing Sing explores the hardships of prison,
01:31but it's also about finding purpose in a bleak environment.
01:34This is a clemency hearing for your conviction, 25 to life.
01:39Since you've been in custody, you've been involved in the theater.
01:42For the wrongfully convicted Divine G and several fellow inmates,
01:46the stage provides an outlet for friendship, escapism, and hope.
01:50Although the cast features Oscar nominees Coleman Domingo and Paul Racey,
01:54many alumni of Sing Sing's rehabilitation through the arts program play themselves,
01:58a standout being Clarence Macklin.
02:00You don't get to tell me what I need in prison.
02:02You don't get to do that.
02:03And don't bring me in those dark corners no more.
02:05In addition to former prisoners,
02:07Greg Cuidar's deeply personal film will resonate with anyone
02:10who's turned to theater in search of a safe haven.
02:12Are you with somebody?
02:17Are you outside?
02:18Hold that feeling.
02:24While the characters put on a highly amusing show,
02:27the relationships formed behind the scenes is where the film shines the most.
02:31It is funny, devastating, and life-affirming,
02:34stressing the importance of giving people a second act.
02:37You gotta admit that I murdered that Hamlet.
02:42Shakespeare is in his grave right now.
02:44He rolled over.
02:45You did your thing.
02:47Number 8. Nosferatu
02:48With a film as iconic and influential as the original Nosferatu,
02:52Robert Eggers is perhaps the only director who could craft a worthy successor.
03:00Eggers' Nosferatu more than lives up to its potential.
03:03The film is a marvel of sight and sound,
03:06although what Eggers nails above all else is the atmosphere.
03:10It is like a dream.
03:13It was our wedding.
03:18When we turned around, everyone was dead.
03:24The audience not only feels as if they've been transported to this gothic hellscape,
03:28but we're practically possessed along with Lily-Rose Depp in an arresting performance.
03:33Bill Skarsgård is equally sensational as Count Orlok,
03:36who casts a lingering shadow over the movie that extends into the theater,
03:40wrapping the viewer in a blanket of dread.
03:42Like its predecessor, Nosferatu is best described as a symphony of horror.
03:53Number 7. Conclave
03:55Whether you're electing the next president or pope,
03:57politics are bound to impede the road to progress.
04:00This is a conclave, Aldo. It's not a war.
04:02It is a war, and you have to commit to a side.
04:08In Conclave, Ralph Fiennes' Cardinal Lawrence traverses a path lined with backstabbing,
04:12scandals, and secrets, attempting to steer the Catholic Church in the right direction.
04:17This adaptation of Robert Harris' novel is full of twists and turns
04:20that could have come off as melodramatic in lesser hands.
04:23I'm sorry, but I cannot vote for a man unless I deem him the most worthy to be pope.
04:28And for me, that is not Tremblay. It's you.
04:33I don't want your vote!
04:36Nevertheless, you have it.
04:39With an A-list cast, Peter Strachan's tightly-paced script,
04:42and Edward Berger's all-encompassing direction, though,
04:45Conclave is an intense thriller that mirrors 2024 in unexpected ways.
04:50Is this what we're reduced to, considering the least worst option?
04:56But the field has narrowed. If we don't change our vote, we will be here for weeks.
05:01And that's exactly what Tedesco wants.
05:03The audience hangs on to every line,
05:06making each conversation feel like a bomb is about to go off.
05:09Just when it appears the biggest bombshell has been dropped,
05:12Conclave tops itself with an ending we'll never forget.
05:29On a budget that reportedly didn't exceed $10 million,
05:32Brady Corbet delivers a modern epic for the ages with The Brutalist.
05:43Adrian Brody gives what might be a career-best performance as Laszlo Toth,
05:48a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant pursuing the American Dream.
05:51Of course, the American Dream isn't always what it's cracked up to be.
05:55Working as an architect, Laszlo receives the opportunity
05:58to construct his masterpiece and a better life for his family.
06:01In doing so, Laszlo becomes lost in the labyrinth of his creation,
06:05as if he's traded one prison for another.
06:07Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones are also exquisite in a film that towers over us
06:12with its length, scope, and ambition.
06:14Yet the destination is worth the journey.
06:25I promise.
06:28Some might describe the central relationship of Challengers as a love triangle.
06:32A love square might be more accurate as one thing drives every character, tennis.
06:40For Zendaya's Tashi, it doesn't matter if she ends up
06:43with Josh O'Connor's Patrick or Mike Feist's Art.
06:46As long as she gets to experience a good game, she'll be satisfied.
06:49Whether using tennis as an allegory for sex or being more literal,
06:52Luca Guadagnino has made the steamiest movie of the year.
06:55Challengers is just as much a character study about people striving to be the best,
07:00not just on the court.
07:01Although it is the domain that matters most.
07:03Does Art know about Atlanta?
07:08He can't.
07:09He's not in Atlanta.
07:10He's not in Atlanta.
07:11He's not in Atlanta.
07:12He's not in Atlanta.
07:13He's not in Atlanta.
07:15He keeps saying you came here because Art needed matches.
07:19I think you came for something else.
07:21As gripping as the tennis matches are,
07:23the internal conflict between these three is what makes Challengers a winner.
07:27You don't know what tennis is?
07:30What is it?
07:32It's a relationship.
07:36In another stellar year for animation,
07:38no film overflowed with more humanity than The Wild Robot.
07:42Congratulations on your purchase of a universal dynamics robot.
07:46I am Rosam7134.
07:49A Rosam always completes its task.
07:52Just ask.
07:53That might sound strange in a cast comprised of animals and artificial intelligence.
07:57Yet the audience can sense the personal touch brought to every frame
08:01and the passion the voice actors sink into their performances.
08:04The events that led to this situation were unintended.
08:07Tell that to my sisters, my brothers, my real mom.
08:11They were my chance to be normal.
08:13They were my chance to swim, to fly.
08:15What even am I?
08:16You swam satisfactorily today.
08:18And if you keep practicing-
08:20I still won't belong.
08:22Chris Sanders' wonderful film is a love letter to dedicated parents,
08:26and a relevant commentary on using AI responsibly.
08:29Above all else, The Wild Robot is about survival.
08:33That doesn't always mean looking out for yourself.
08:35Rather, the unbreakable bonds we form help us to endure as individuals
08:39and as a community.
08:40Not that it matters, but who says you need to leave?
08:45I am not sure.
08:47Them, I guess.
08:49Your programming?
08:51With the support of others, a runty bird may touch a sky,
08:55and a robot designed to serve may discover their soul.
08:58You really think we can do this?
09:01A Rosam always completes its task.
09:04Number 3.
09:04The Substance.
09:05The Substance is a satire so spot on that it makes our skin crawl.
09:10I'd like to order.
09:15Address?
09:181057 Beverly Canyon.
09:22Write this down.
09:23Some might describe the film as over the top.
09:25It is, but so are the lengths people go to preserve youth and beauty,
09:29especially in showbiz.
09:30At 50, well, it stops.
09:37What stops?
09:38Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley masterfully play two sides of the same coin
09:42in the fruitless pursuit of perfection.
09:44I'm Sue.
09:47Director Coralie Fargeat turns in a tour de force of visual storytelling
09:51with haunting production design that can turn a location
09:54as common as a bathroom into a cell.
09:56The makeup design is also god-tier,
09:58emphasizing the true price of fame.
10:00The balance just needs to be respected.
10:03So respect it.
10:04Sometimes, the more you try to fix,
10:06the more you take away until the person staring back in the mirror
10:10is unrecognizable.
10:11Not always in flattering ways.
10:19Imagine Pretty Woman if it got hit with a reality bomb.
10:29That is one way of describing Sean Baker's Enora,
10:32a film where the titular character experiences the most excessive of highs
10:37followed by a sharp turn into rock bottom.
10:44Like Julia Roberts,
10:45Mikey Madison deserves to become an overnight household name
10:48with her brave, hilarious, and empathetic performance.
10:59For a film that goes to some chaotic places,
11:01Enora sneaks up on you with its screwball charm and romance.
11:05Yes, there is a sincere love story blooming beneath the surface,
11:08although the main character struggles to recognize love
11:11when it looks her in the face.
11:12Madison and Baker have given us one of the 21st century's
11:15most compelling protagonists in any medium.
11:25Before we unveil our top pick,
11:27here are some honorable mentions.
11:29Memoir of a Snail
11:30Heartbreaking and hilarious,
11:32often at the same time.
11:44A Real Pain
11:45You won't find a better duo this year than Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin.
12:00Benji, maybe she wants to be alone.
12:05All We Imagine as Light
12:06Payal Kapati's powerful story of sisterhood.
12:16Juror No. 2
12:18Whether or not his character is guilty,
12:19Nicholas Hoult can do no wrong.
12:28Nickel Boys
12:28An unnerving evaluation of injustice told from multiple perspectives.
12:36Transformers 1
12:37A franchise in its prime.
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13:04For years,
13:05people said it was impossible to faithfully adapt
13:08Frank Herbert's groundbreaking sci-fi novel into a feature.
13:11They were right,
13:12which is why Denis Villeneuve split his version into two.
13:19While the first half was one of the most enthralling cinematic experiences
13:22of recent years,
13:23Dune Part 2 is where the real meat of the story lies.
13:26It's also where Villeneuve improves upon the source material in some respects.
13:38Although he never strays from Herbert's original vision,
13:40Villeneuve makes it clearer than ever that Paul Atreides isn't a conventional hero.
13:45That won't stop others from championing him as their leader,
13:48leaving us to question if the film's final note
13:51is one of triumph or impending disaster.
13:59Either way,
13:59Dune Messiah cannot come soon enough.
14:09What's your favorite movie of 2024?
14:11Let us know in the comments.
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