The summer is upon us, and with it comes a time to reflect on the best cinema 2024 has had to offer so far.
Sure, there's been some flashy big releases, like the action-packed Fall Guy, the monster-stuffed Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and George Miller's spectacle-rich Fury Road prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. But bonkers action alone isn't enough to make the cut, not when this year has also brought boldly outrageous reimaginings of superhero stories, daring animated features, provocative horror stories, awe-inspiring sandworm sequences, and queer cinema that's already won praise from the iconic John Waters.
At the halfway mark of 2024, what movies did make the cut for Mashable's top ten? Take a look.
Here's the 10 best movies of the year so far, and where you can watch them.
10. Chicken for Linda!
Who would have thought that a movie about making a chicken dinner would make me sob?
Such is the case with Chicken for Linda!, a vibrantly animated French film from directors Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach. The film follows eight-year-old Linda (voiced by Mélinée Leclerc) and her mother Paulette (voiced by Clotilde Hesme) on their quest to make chicken with peppers — but there's so much more to it than the deceptively simple premise might suggest. Here is a story about a mother trying to atone for hurting her daughter, a daughter trying to reconnect with her late father through the power of food, and the many madcap characters they meet along the way. Tying it all together is the film's color-blocked, hand-painted animation, a perfect representation of Linda's own childlike wonder. So tuck into Chicken for Linda!, and prepare yourself for a comforting, heartbreaking watch unlike any other animated film you'll see this year. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Chicken for Linda! will be available on demand July 2. Pre-order on Apple TV now.
9. Late Night with the Devil
If you like your horror lean and mean, you must see this '70s-set indie from writers/directors Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes (aka the Cairnes Brothers).
David Dastmalchian, a character actor who's unnerved us in The Boogeyman and Prisoners, headlines here as Jack Delroy, a talk show host who is so determined to best Johnny Carson's ratings that he invites an allegedly possessed girl to be a guest on his Halloween special. Part showbiz satire, part found-footage horror, Late Night with the Devil uses a low-fi look and keenly creepy effects to create a throwback tale of terror that is rank with fresh blood. While the film's been criticized for its use of AI, its scares are so satisfying that it earned praise from none other than the master of horror himself, Stephen King. So, take a cue from our review: "Tune in and hang on. Dastmalchian and his demon are coming for you." —Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor
How to watch: Late Night with the Devil is now streaming on AMC+, and available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
8. The People's Joker
There are some movies so bizarre and daring that their very existence feels like a miracle. The People's Joker is one such miracle.
Co-writer/director/star Vera Drew channels her personal trans coming-of-age story into a supervillain narrative set in a funhouse mirror version of Batman's Gotham. There, Joker the Harlequin (Drew) seeks to make a mark on a corrupted comedy scene, ruled by a literally cartoony version of Saturday Night Live's Lorne Michaels. With a production design crowdsourced from across the internet, The People's Joker plays like an explosive kaleidoscope of references to every Batman movie and beyond. There's a deep love of all things DC, but without the suffocating reverence that has brought on superhero fatigue. With her biting sense of humor and raw emotional revelations, Drew has constructed a supervillain tale that is as jarring as it is compelling, as peculiar as it is profound. And considering Warner Bros.' litigious looming, that she got to release this movie at all is a victory for every weirdo with an idea for fanfic greatness. — K.P.
How to watch: The People's Joker is now in theaters.
7. La Chimera
The past and present collide in La Chimera, director Alice Rohrwacher's playful, melancholic tomb-raiding fantasy.
La Chimera stars Josh O'Connor (who's had a banner spring, between this and Challengers) as Arthur, the leader of a group of Tuscan tomb raiders (or tombaroli). Arthur has a mysterious knack for finding lost artifacts, a process Rohrwacher and cinematographer Hélène Louvart bring to life with a heavy dose of magical realism. Yet while the other tombaroli pillage tombs for money and glory, Arthur, haunted by visions of his lost love Beniamina (Yile Yara Vianello), seeks something less tangible. His quest plays out like something out of a fairy tale, filled with dreamy memories, tentative romance, and an aching longing that buries itself deep in your heart. — B.E.
How to watch: La Chimera is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
6. Hit Man
Richard Linklater and Glen Powell reunite for Hit Man, a rom-com that is killer in all sense of the word.
Powell plays Gary Johnson, a college professor whose side gig as an undercover hit man leads to an unexpected meet-cute with would-be client Madison (Andor's Adria Arjona). The pair's connection (and electrifying chemistry) sparks a delightful game of false identities, reinvention, and twisted love that toggles between hilarious, thrilling, and sexy at a moment's notice. Oh, who am I kidding; sometimes it's all three at once! — B.E.
How to watch: Hit Man is now streaming on Netflix.
5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller, you've done it again! The director's return to the Mad Max wasteland is nothing short of spectacular, a blistering revenge epic and work of mythology that pushes its lead character Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne, both spectacular) — and action filmmaking as a whole! — to new heights.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a prequel done right, deepening Furiosa's story from Mad Max: Fury Road without stooping to fan service-y lore bombs. Here, we'll meet new players in the wasteland, like warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth, killing it in villain mode) and stoic driver Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), with whom Furiosa shares a compelling, if understated, romance. It's also some of the best onscreen action since Fury Road itself. Miller kicks us off with a taut chase between Furiosa's formidable mother (Charlee Fraser) and the raiders who stole Furiosa, teaching us the rules of wasteland survival and attrition with keen visual storytelling. That's just a teaser for the real showstopper: a massive attack on Immortan Joe's (Lachy Hulme) war rig, complete with aerial warfare, real-time engine repair, and a character simply known as Piss Boy. Witness him, but more importantly, witness the brilliance that is Furiosa. — B.E.
How to watch: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is now in theaters.
4. Problemista
Saturday Night Live writer turned filmmaker Julio Torres came out swinging with his weirdly brilliant feature directorial debut, Problemista. Inspired by his own experiences as an immigrant finding New York City a place of promise, problems, and glittering trash, he wrote, directed, and starred opposite Tilda Swinton in one of the most sensational comedies of the last decade.
The story centers on Alejandro (Torres), an aspiring toymaker whose desperately seeking a sponsor for his visa when he meets art-scene critic/menace Elizabeth (Swinton). A modern fairy tale of a noble young knight and a dragon who might help him or swallow him whole, Problemista is a movie filled with surreal and wonderful imagery, imaginative jokes, and quirky performances from the likes of Isabella Rossellini, Past Lives' Greta Lee, A League of Their Own's Kelly McCormack, Hacks' Meg Stalter, Abbott Elementary's Larry Owens, and Wu-Tang Clan's RZA. This deeply humane and humorous comedy is a bizarre balm, sure to have you howling with laughter between its most biting barbs. —K.P.
How to watch: Problemista is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
3. Dune: Part Two
With 2021's Dune, director Denis Villeneuve proved he could do justice to Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterwork. Three years later, he topped himself with Dune: Part Two, a sobering epic which will surely go down in history as one of the greatest sci-fi films and sequels ever made.
Dune: Part Two continues the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), who finds himself among the planet Arrakis's indigenous Fremen. There he becomes entangled in the impossible position of hoping to avenge the Harkonnens' attack on his house, while also trying to avoid a future in which he unleashes holy war upon the universe. As Dune: Part Two moves closer and closer to that violent inevitability, Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts don't shy away from the darkness of Paul's story. They build his relationship with Chani (an extraordinary Zendaya) and the Fremen into an immaculate tragedy, pitting faith against manipulation with explosive results.
On top of all this, Villeneuve fills the screen with sci-fi strangeness and wonders galore. Who can forget the H.R. Giger-esque fever dream that is Giedi Prime, or the sense of levitation that hits when Harkonnen soldiers fly across the desert? Armies of sandworms and Austin Butler's gleefully evil Feyd-Rautha only add to Dune: Part Two's excellence — now bring on Dune Messiah!* — B.E.
How to watch: Dune: Part Two is now streaming on Max.
2. Love Lies Bleeding
Rose Glass, the writer/director who awed critics in 2020 with her stunning religious horror film Saint Maud, has blessed us with a follow-up that is as scorchingly sexy as it is deeply unsettling.
Set against a merciless desert town, Love Lies Bleeding stars Kristen Stewart as a surly loner who runs a rundown gym. Things begin to look up when a perfectly permed and righteously ripped bodybuilder (Katy O'Brian) rolls into her squalid realm. Their attraction is instant, their loyalty potentially lethal. So when they run afoul of a local kingpin (Ed Harris, wearing a mangy skullet), this noir thriller veers into a place of jaw-dropping violence and grievous vengeance, with a climax that is as outrageous as it is exhilarating. As I wrote in our review, "There are movies that grab you by the throat. There are movies that punch you in the gut. Love Lies Bleeding is both, and I fucking love it." — K.P.
How to watch: Love Lies Bleeding is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
1. Challengers
The alluring ad campaign for Luca Guadagnino's sports drama teased a love triangle between stars Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist, and Zendaya. Yet not even the clip of that three-way kiss could prepare us for the cinematic force of nature that is Challengers.
Written by Justin Kuritzkes, Challengers centers on a dynamic love triangle between two childhood friends and a female tennis phenom whose drive to win is catching. Incredibly, the film has no actual sex scenes, though it oozes with sensuality in every tennis match, slick with sweat and adrenaline pumping thanks to Academy Award-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The result is a movie that toys with its audience just as its leading lady does her boys. And — as all best-of-year-movies ought to be — Challengers only gets better and richer with every rewatch. Do as Zendaya says: See it again and then again. Challengers is a winner that'll leave you ragged and yet wanting more. — K.P.
How to watch: Challengers is now available for rent on Prime Video.
Want more of the best of 2024 (so far)? Join Mashable as we look back at all the viral TikTok songs, internet slang, memes, hyped up hardware, scientific discoveries, dating trends, social media apps, and more that have delighted and amazed us so far this year.
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