The Best of the First Half of 2024

Feels like this maniac is running most of our control panels right now.

These are stressful times. Not just at the box office, where it's panic 24/7 - either because of the latest flop or because the "wrong" movie (a sequel, usually) broke through, suggesting we can kiss originality goodbye or whatever. It's also the upcoming U.S. presidential election, where the fate of democracy will lie in the hands of one of two very old white men (where there's a clearly superior choice whose win still wouldn't reassure me too much*). It's also work. And the heat. And the state of the world. And the fact that I'm just not drinking enough water.

So when I tell you I have bounced off of 2024's biggest titles, largely due to how they skew a little too thematically close to the bombastic internal and external conflicts of our world (I'm talking about the year's top two commercial successes, Inside Out 2 and Dune: Part 2... But, inexplicably, not Civil War?) and have spent a great deal of my downtime building an audio/visual pillow fort around myself out of semi-niche feel-good entertainment like Taskmaster and Eurovision and the Savannah Bananas, I need you to know that things aren't normal. I'm still seeing a lot of movies (as my Letterboxd can attest), but I don't always have the bandwidth to deal with the larger spectacles (Sorry Godzilla x Ghostbusters: The [Insert Adjective Here] Empire) or the emotionally resonant second chapters. That won't necessarily be clear from my picks for the best (so far) of the year. But stick with me. I'll try to put my madness into words. And be a little more cheery. (Apologies again, it's probably the dehydration.)

Here are my picks, in alphabetical order, for the best films of the first half of 2024:

The Bikeriders

When Austin Butler is doing the most normal accent in the movie, you know you're in for a treat! Based on the Vandals motorcycle club's rise and fall, this is a tone piece more than anything else. And the tone is Michael Shanon covered in grease and muttering drunken monologues about not being able to join the military. (That's a good tone.) Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy commit to some very specific voices. It's got some thin messaging about belonging and tribalism. But the aesthetics are the thing here. There's not a lot going on under the - do motorcycles have hoods? - uh, casing(?) here, but it's got character and the paint-job is exquisite.

Civil War

The backlash to this seems to largely be the lack of answers to why the U.S. has shattered into factions in Alex Garland's latest film. And to those multitudes I say, "Look around, bud!" Not giving a clear answer allows the audience to interject whatever fear they're harboring to be the reason. It's a smart move, because either you're going to fill in the blank or you're going to invest in the characters, or ideally both! This is more a movie about journalism and personal drive, and it's plenty critical of both. The cast is incredible. Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, and Stephen McKinley Henderson are all dialed in, but the MVP here is Kirsten Dunst as a hardened photojournalist who may be starting to crack. It's the best work she's ever done and Civil War is worth the watch just for her.

The Fall Guy

I cannot believe this one flopped. Maybe it was the romcom marketing. Maybe it was a premature summer release. Either way, more people should have shown up. It has Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, two of the most charismatic performers in the world (and both nominated this year for their parts in the Barbenheimer phenomenon), turning it up to eleven. It's a love letter to practical stunts and movie making. There's karaoke. Winston Duke screams Daniel Day-Lewis's name as he charges into a fight. There's truly something for everyone here.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

They were never going to top Fury Road. Get over it. That was The Dark Knight, this is Batman Begins; less focused, more expositional, enhancing the experience of the other and having a blast along the way. Just because we're attempting to check off every major event in the life of Furiosa (played equally well as a child by Ayla Browne and Anya Taylor-Joy as an adult) in one decades-spanning film doesn't mean there isn't time for some of the most dazzling set pieces you've ever seen, including high-speed chases, turf wars at the Bullet Farm and Gastown, and Chris Hemsworth riding a chariot made of motorcycles while rocking the most bonkers nose this side of a Tim Burton movie. Plenty doubted we'd ever be back in the Wasteland, but George Miller still has it in him to make it epic.

Hundreds of Beavers

I don't want to say much about this one. I don't even want you to watch the trailer first. So I'll just drop a list some of its influences here and let you decide if this is a path you want to go down: Chaplin, Keaton, Guy Maddin, video games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, A Town Called Panic, Shaun the Sheep, and the After Effects pioneers of YouTube. It's low-budget, slap-happy mania at its finest. I guarantee you won't see anything else like it this year.

Jim Henson: Idea Man

I try not to put people on pedestals. But there are a handful of creators whose vision seems so pure that I can't help it. These include Jesse Cole (the inventor of Banana Ball, whose book I am currently reading and highly recommend), Dr. Seuss, and of course Jim Henson. This isn't the greatest documentary out there, but director Ron Howard clearly has great love for the man - and enough understanding about genius to also highlight his faults. He manages to get many of Henson's family members and long-time collaborators to open up about the challenges of working and living with him and the unfulfilled dreams he left behind after his sudden death in 1990. The Muppets are one of the few things I have real nostalgia for, so I'll take any opportunity I can to learn more about their history and the mind behind them.

I Saw the TV Glow

Nothing has made me think more this year. Partially because it made me feel stupid. (In a good way, I promise.) Technically a horror film, Jane Schoenbrun's second feature (following We're All Going to the World's Fair) is really an existential cautionary tale that challenges you to live as your true self - and a celebration of the therapeutic qualities of escapism. It's about two young people (Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine) who form a friendship around a made-up (how I wish it was real though!) supernatural TV show called The Pink Opaque. The more obsessed they become with the show, the more they begin to question reality. It's weird. And wonderful. And it has the most inspired color pallet - all 90s and neon - of any film this year. Oh, and Smith, who's nearing 30, convincingly plays a 9th grader at one point. Astonishing stuff! 

Love Lies Bleeding

Speaking if the 90s, here's one that radiates with the grimy, sexy energy of so many thrillers from that decade. Another sophomore effort, Rose Glass's romantic thriller stars Kristen Stewart as a gym manager who falls for a body-builder (played by Katy O'Brian) who has drifted into town on her way to a competition. Sparks fly. Mistakes are made. Crimes are committed. And Ed Harris shows up with a very specific style you must see for yourself. It's a taut, lean adrenaline ride that has maybe the most A24 vibes of any on this list (and there are three strong contenders on here) - especially as it nears its climax. My favorite question when discussing this with others is, "How about that ending?"

Thelma

This maybe hasn't been the most accessible collection of movies. But that changes with Thelma! This is the film I will be recommending to everyone for the foreseeable future. June Squibb plays(/is) a feisty 93-year-old who is scammed over the phone and sets out to get her money back. She acquires a gun, steals a scooter, and finds a reluctant sidekick (Shaft himself, Richard Roundtree, outstanding in his final screen role). It's a funny enough set-up (inspired by first-time writer-director Josh Margolin's actual grandmother Thelma), and the way these two incorporate hearing aids and life alert bracelets into the action is inspired, but the film also has a huge heart. It has enormous respect for the elderly and a crystal clear message about how we need to do better to support them. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll want to take your grandma (and everyone else you know) to see it.

We Grown Now

Being a kid is hard. Many movies have addressed that. But rarely is their perspective presented as clearly and empathetically as it is here. Taking place in the Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing complex of the early 90s, we follow best friends Malik (Blake Cameron James, 10, future Oscar winner) and Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez, 10, future Oscar winner) as the neighborhood changes and one's family prepares to move away. Impeccably shot by Pat Scola and poetically written and directed by Minhal Baig, the film amplifies and reminds us of both the beauty and brutality of life and how it is imperative that we do better for our children.

And that's where we're at so far. Realistically, I have only seen a small sampling of the year's films. I'm an amateur. I don't go to Sundance. I don't have access to - nor the time for - everything. Heck, I'm still trying to catch up with last year's best flicks! Some of my inclusions are technically from 2023 (or 2022, when Hundreds of Beavers was doing the circuit), but didn't get released here until recently. But I put them on this list because when doesn't really matter and because they prove that - despite what others may try to tell you - there are good movies coming out every week. Be adventurous. Get off the beaten path. Go to a mystery screening. (That's where I got two of my picks!) All but two of these I saw in a cinema, and each was improved by the large-format, distraction-free experience. The movies aren't dead. We just have to slow down enough to give something new a chance.

And, for the love of God, don't forget to hydrate.

*It's Biden, obviously. But we're here to talk about movies, not the razors edge our democracy is currently walking.