Right off the bat, 2024 has been a great year for film so far. Films such as The Iron Claw (Sean Durkin), The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer) and Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos) have been widely viewed and critically acclaimed, but others have slipped through the cracks.

All of Us Strangers (dir. Andrew Haigh)

While this received some recognition upon its release, it is one of those that was forgotten when awards season came around. This quiet and emotional film features breathtaking and heartbreaking performances by Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal as Scott’s character, Adam, explores his queerness and relationship with his deceased parents while visiting a time-capsuled version of his childhood home. The entire narrative is perfectly tied up in two equally emotional endings, which cement it as one of 2024’s best.

Problemista (dir. Julio Torres)

Though highly anticipated prior to its original release date, Problemista was severely delayed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, hurting its cinematic release. A surrealist A24 comedy set in NYC, Problemista follows Alejandro (Torres), an aspiring toy designer desperate to find a visa sponsor to stay in the US. He starts working for the eccentric Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), whose artist husband’s cryogenically frozen body Alejandro must care for. Cleverly written and brilliantly directed, Problemista pokes fun at the ridiculous number of hoops immigrants need to jump through in order to stay in the US.

Lisa Frankenstein (dir. Zelda Williams)

A love letter to 1980s cheesy horror, screenwriter Diablo Cody’s latest film, set in the same universe as her popular Jennifer’s Body, is quirky, gory, and all-around fun. Lisa (Kathryn Newton) is a high school outcast until the corpse of her graveyard crush (Cole Sprouse) comes to life, and together, they go on a murderous rampage. From Lisa’s obsession with The Cure to ‘On the Wings of Love’, which plays during the final kill, Lisa Frankenstein encapsulates the kitschy comedy of cult classics that few successfully attain nowadays.

The Holdovers (dir. Alexander Payne)

Considering Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Mary Lamb, it would be inaccurate to label The Holdovers as entirely forgotten. However, the excellence of this movie is something that cannot go without mention. In this soon-to-be Christmas staple, a grumpy teacher, Paul (Paul Giamatti), in New England is tasked to stay at school over winter break to supervise the students who aren’t going home. The heart and soul of this film lies in the relationship between the teacher and one of the students, Angus (Dominic Sessa). The New England backdrop is accentuated by the cinematography, which genuinely encapsulates the 1970s.

With only a few months left in the year, 2024 has proven time and time again that there is a space in the industry for fresh, creative, and original ideas at a time of constant reboots, sequels, and spinoffs, and the release schedule for the next few years shows that this new era is far from over.

In a time of constant reboots, sequels, and spinoffs, the release schedule for the next few years shows that this new era is far from over. Yet, with only a few months left in the year, 2024 has proven time and time again that there is space in the industry for fresh, creative, and original ideas.                  

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