We are already halfway through the year, and despite the discussions about disappointing box office numbers and a lack of gigantic summer movies, 2024 has turned out to be a great year for movies so far. Already in these first six months, we’ve gotten new films from George Miller, Yorgos Lanthimos, Richard Linklater, Denis Villeneuve, AliceRohrwacher, Luca Guadagnino, Jane Schoenbrun, Alex Garland, and many more. Pixar has broken box-office records, we survived Madame Web, and Jesse Eisenberg became a sasquatch. What a year already!

At this halfway point, we’ve decided to take a look at our 25 favorite movies so far this year, and even six months into the year, it was already hard to keep it down to just 25. As we get ready to hit the second-half of 2024, here are our favorite films of 2024 so far.

‘The Beast’
Directed by Bertrand Bonello
Image via Janus Films

Related ‘The Beast’ Review: Léa Seydoux Astounds in Stunning Sci-Fi Epic Bertrand Bonello’s audacious and increasingly terrifying melodrama is his best film yet.

Even across many lifetimes, there is no film you’ll see quite like Bertrand Bonello’s monumental and menacing sci-fi vision The Beast. Starring George MacKay and Léa Seydoux as two souls whose multiple lives are connected across time, it’s loosely based on Henry James’ 1903 novella “The Beast in the Jungle” though becomes something haunting all its own. No matter where and when we get dropped into, Bonello creates a sense of looming dread in every frame. You’ve likely heard the fact that its credits are a QR code, a notable provocation that speaks to much of what the film is getting at, but it’s everything that comes before this that also proves to be absolutely mesmerizing. As we dance from the fleeting yet false peace of the past to the aftermath of a catastrophe in the far future and the coldness of our present existence, all comes together into something as spectacular as it is sinister. When Seydoux lets out a final scream, it will echo through your very soul. — Chase Hutchinson

The Beast (2024) In a near future artificial intelligence is in control of everyone’s lives and human emotions are perceived as a threat.Release Date February 7, 2024 Director Bertrand Bonello Cast Lea Seydoux , George MacKay , Guslagie Malanda , Dasha Nekrasova , Martin Scali , Elina Löwensohn , Marta Hoskins , Julia Faure Runtime 146 Minutes

Rent on Amazon

‘Challengers’
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Image via MGM

Related ‘Challengers’ Review: Zendaya Is at Her Best in This Ridiculously Horny Delight Luca Guadagnino’s latest film is a compelling love triangle story set in the world of tennis, led by a great Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor.

Who would’ve thought that the horniest film of the year would largely take place at The New Rochelle Challenger Presented by Phil’s Tiretown? After such remarkable work as Call Me by Your Name and vastly underrated films like the Suspiria remake and Bones and All, director Luca Guadagnino made his most mainstream film by far, and it might also be his best. With Challengers, Guadagnino and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes turn this story of three young tennis players (played to perfection by Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor) into one of the most intense, twisty, and sexually charged films of the year. Each scene further complicates these entanglements, each tennis match a fight for love and the future, each interaction full of undertones and ulterior motives. Even having a snack of churros with a friend becomes about so much more. Watching how Guadagnino and Kuritzkes unfurl this story scene-by-scene, culminating in an intense tennis match, scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross no less, is an absolute delight, in this unusual romance that will have you on the edge of your seat. — Ross Bonaime

Challengers Follows three players who knew each other when they were teenagers as they compete in a tennis tournament to be the world-famous grand slam winner, and reignite old rivalries on and off the court.Release Date April 26, 2024 Cast Zendaya , Josh O’Connor , Mike Faist

Buy on Amazon

‘Civil War’
Directed by Alex Garland
Image via A24

Related ‘Civil War’ Review: Forget ‘Ex Machina,’ This Is Alex Garland’s Best Film Yet Garland’s exploration of a future where conflict has broken out in the United States is nothing like you would expect and all the better for it.

Civil War is not only one of the biggest movies of the year thus far but also one of the biggest surprises — for me, at least. I went in fearing it was going to be a brutal action flick insistent upon causing tedious discourse and controversy for controversy’s sake, but instead, what I found was a nuanced meditation on the ethics of war journalism. It challenged the way I think and raised questions I had never pondered, not only about the career itself, but also about how I personally interact with photographs taken in unimaginably harrowing conflicts. I wouldn’t be shocked if Jesse Plemons’ heart-pounding scene turns out to be the most suspenseful thing I see all year. While this film is full of memorable moments that have been living in my head rent-free since I saw it two months ago, what still stands out most to me is the care Alex Garland takes to establish the complex mentorship dynamic between Kirsten Dunst’s Lee and Cailee Spaeny’s Jessie — something that feels rare in media and even rarer in a genre like this. Dunst proves herself a living legend once again, while Spaeny solidifies her status as one of the most talented young stars working today as the two quietly embody one of the most compelling relationships I’ve seen in 2024 — with one of the most poetic conclusions to boot. — Taylor Gates

Civil War A journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.Release Date April 26, 2024 Director Alex Garland

Rent on Apple TV+

‘Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World’
Directed by Radu Jude
Image via MUBI

Related ‘Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World’ Review: Work Sucks, I Know Good thing films about workers being exploited by companies who couldn’t care less about them is only the stuff of fiction.

The film with the longest title of the year is also one of its most scathing satires. That’s right, Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World not only absolutely rips, but it’s also the sharpest, most incisive portrait of modern exploitation of the decade. The driving force of the film is Angela, played by a pitch-perfect Ilinca Manolache, who works as an assistant in Bucharest and is being slowly ground down as she drives all over to put together a workplace safety video. Really, this is just a way for the company she works for to cover its ass and place the blame on the very employees who have been getting injured on the job. As Jude takes us into all this, he creates something that juxtaposes the dark joys of Angela making vulgar videos to get through her day with the casual indignities that she must bear alone. There is never a moment where it makes a wrong step, down to the fantastic final uninterrupted scene that slows everything down just as it lands one more devastating blow. — Chase Hutchinson

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World An overworked and underpaid production assistant has to shoot a workplace safety video commissioned by a multinational company. But an interviewee makes a statement that forces him to re-invent his story to suit the company’s narrative.Release Date September 27, 2023 Director Radu Jude Cast Ilinca Manolache , Ovidiu Pîrsan , Nina Hoss , Dorina Lazar , László Miske , Katia Pascariu , Sofia Nicolaescu , Costel Lepadatu Runtime 163 Minutes

Rent on Amazon

‘Dune: Part Two’
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Image via Warner Bros.

Related ‘Dune: Part Two’ Review: Timothée Chalamet’s Sci-Fi Epic Is Bigger Than Ever — and That’s Not Always a Good Thing Denis Villeneuve completes the first part of his epic based on Frank Herbert’s series.

Denis Villeneuve takes us back to Arrakis in Dune: Part Two, and while Frank Herbert’s revolutionary sci-fi novel has been adapted numerous times, none before this could ever capture what makes this story so special. Like all of Villeneuve’s films, Dune: Part Two is visually stunning. From the massive sandworms to the black-and-white aesthetic of Gaidi Prime, the film is a technical masterpiece. However, the visuals play a small part in what makes the film one of this year’s best.

The rise of Paul Atreides makes us question the concepts of destiny, morality, and faith. Timothée Chalamet delivers a chilling performance as we watch Paul transform from a bright-eyed boy to a man willing to do whatever it takes to gain power. Dune is about the morally grey characters who inhabit the world as they claw and fight for power, making it one of the more complex narratives we’ve seen in modern blockbusters. Villeneuve managed to not only honor the tale of Herbert’s original novel, but also improves it by adding new layers of depth to characters like Zendaya’s Chani or Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha. Dune: Part Two will likely be remembered as one of the best sci-fi epics ever made. — Mike Thomas

Dune: Part Two Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.Release Date March 1, 2024 Director Denis Villeneuve Runtime 166 minutes

Watch on Max

‘Evil Does Not Exist’
Directed by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi

Related ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ Review: ‘Drive My Car’s Ryusuke Hamaguchi Gets Reflective With Eco-Drama ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ takes a contemplative, silent approach to the ecological drama in a way that only Ryusuke Hamaguchi could do.

Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist takes its time to unravel the story of a small village outside Tokyo that is about to have its way of life upended by a luxury campsite. As Hamaguchi shows us this area, we follow along on quiet walks through the snow-covered woods, minutes of cutting wood, and other mundane tasks that showcase the quiet beauty of the area. By the time a pair working for the campsite team comes to disrupt this village, Hamaguchi gives us what is at risk here, so that we understand the outrage from the village—a righteous anger that hits us as well. Hamaguchi’s latest is an unhurried, deliberate tale, punctuated with the rare jarring moments that jolt us to attention. For example, when the village has a meeting with those behind the campsite, the back-and-forth between these two groups is one of the most frustrating scenes this year, as we watch the villagers fighting for their way of life against a company simply going through the motions. While Drive My Car might still be Hamaguchi’s masterpiece, Evil Does Not Exist shows a measured hand from the filmmaker, a care that few directors can balance this beautifully, and a story that we soak in, rather than rushing through. — Ross Bonaime

Evil Does Not Exist (2024) A thought-provoking film weaves together the lives of several individuals facing moral dilemmas in a conflict-ridden region. As each person confronts the darkness within and the societal pressures around them, the story challenges the notion of inherent evil, questioning whether bad actions or circumstances dictate one’s fate.Release Date April 26, 2024 Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi Cast Hitoshi Omika , Ryô Nishikawa , Ryûji Kosaka , Ayaka Shibutani , Hazuki Kikuchi , Hiroyuki Miura , Yoshinori Miyata , Taijirô Tamura Runtime 106 Minutes

‘The Fall Guy’
Directed by David Leitch
Image via Universal Pictures

Related ‘The Fall Guy’ Review: Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt Lead a Moviemaking Lover’s Dream Get ready as this action ride is here to kick off the summer blockbuster season early.

Going to the movies, getting popcorn and a slushy, and sitting in the dark for two hours to be dazzled by a piece of cinema is a sacred ritual for a lot of us. This year, The Fall Guy reminded me why I love going to the movies so much. While it may not have lit the summer box office on fire the way it should have, anyone who saw The Fall Guy on the big screen will tell you it was an absolute blast. David Leitch’s homage to stunt performers is full of action, comedy, and romance, and for me, harkened back to the type of movies I grew up loving like Twister and Jurassic Park. Its grand in scale and scope, yet the relationships and the characters are deliciously messy and engagingly intimate. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt have such excellent chemistry, that I would happily watch the two of them in a dozen more rom-coms. Hannah Waddingham is fabulously ridiculous as the producer to Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s unhinged action star, and Winston Duke and Stephanie Hsu bring their own richness and humor to their supporting roles. The Fall Guy is a movie I could watch over and over, in fact, I’m gonna go do that right now, bye! — Samantha Coley

The Fall Guy Colt Seavers is a stuntman who left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health. He’s drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie, which is being directed by his ex, goes missing.Release Date May 3, 2024 Runtime 114 minutes

Rent on Amazon

‘Fancy Dance’
Directed by Erica Tremblay
Image via Apple TV+

Related ‘Fancy Dance’ Review: Lily Gladstone’s Post-‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Movie Deserves the World This road trip drama about an Indigenous family in crisis is sharply written, beautifully directed, and well-acted by all involved.

Fancy Dance is Lily Gladstone at her best — and considering she’s won several dozen awards (or, as she recently iconically referred to them in an interview with The Independent, “just heavy little statues”) for her performances in films like Killers of the Flower Moon, Certain Women, and The Unknown Country, that’s not a statement to take lightly. Erica Tremblay’s powerful debut feature is special — the kind of character-driven, genre-bending gem we’re not treated to nearly often enough. The film centers around Jax (Gladstone) and Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson), an aunt-and-niece duo who attempt to find out what happened to Roki’s mother, all while being forced to navigate a broken, colonized system intent on keeping them apart and setting them up for failure.

Despite the high stakes and heavy subject matter, Fancy Dance is grounded in authenticity and hope, with Tremblay seamlessly blending a crime story and a coming-of-age tale to create a moving drama. Gladstone is undeniable, but Deroy-Olson more than holds her own alongside her, acting as the film’s beating heart as she infuses Roki with vulnerability and confidence in equal measure. Their gorgeous dynamic is the core of the film, but Tremblay impressively manages to make even the smallest roles in the ensemble feel like fully fleshed-out people, each with their own dreams, values, and humanity. A series of small, breathtaking moments that culminate in a perfect conclusion that is guaranteed to make you cry, Fancy Dance is simply stunning. — Taylor Gates

Fancy Dance Following her sister’s disappearance, a Native American hustler kidnaps her niece from the child’s white grandparents and sets out for the state powwow in hopes of keeping what is left of their family intact.Release Date January 21, 2023 Director Erica Tremblay Cast Lily Gladstone , Isabel Delroy-Olson , Ryan Begay , Shea Whigham , Audrey Wasilewski Runtime 90 minutes

Watch on Apple TV+

‘The First Omen’
Directed by Arkasha Stevenson
Image via 20th Century Studios

Related ‘The First Omen’ Review: A Smart, Unsettling Revamp of the Classic Horror Franchise Arkasha Stevenson’s prequel gets under your skin with uncomfortable scenes that won’t leave you any time soon.

Whatever your feelings about prequels are, there’s no moviegoing experience quite like the dread induced by watching ArkashaStevenson’s The First Omen. Whether you’re intimately familiar with Damien and the chaos he brings to the Earth or are simply in for yet another religious horror film, Stevenson’s rumination on bodily autonomy and how much we’re willing to put into our own faith makes this precursor to the 1976 original an absolute standout. Even more astounding is NellTigerFree’s performance as Margaret, echoing shades of both IsabelleAdjani in Possession and something completely new and disturbing, bringing to light yet another modern scream queen to join the ranks of those like MaikaMonroe and MiaGoth. — Maggie Boccella

The First Omen A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.Release Date April 5, 2024 Director Arkasha Stevenson

Watch on Hulu

‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’
Directed by George Miller
Image via Warner Bros. 

Related ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ Review: George Miller Attempts the Impossible We shouldn’t be comparing it to ‘Fury Road,’ but we can’t help it either.

As any hardened fan of the Mad Max saga can tell you, what actually happened isn’t important. No, what counts is how a story gets told and passed down through time. So we remain convinced that while tales of box-office disappointment will eventually fade into history, the legacy of George Miller’s darkest of angels, the fifth rider of the apocalypse, will only grow stronger. Those who might have dismissed Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga as an unnecessary prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road will come to learn that this film is a very different and indispensable beast, sprawling where its predecessor was contained and moving past short-term concerns of survival and rescue to examine a need for justice and/or revenge that burns for days, months, years, maybe eons. Miller’s Wasteland remains the most inhospitable universe we can’t wait to be welcomed back into.Anya Taylor-Joy brings her own wide-eyed potency to a character she now co-owns. And, in a series known for its striking villains, Chris Hemsworth creates perhaps its most indelible – a chatty, spoiled, and endlessly cruel showman who has no idea what he’s awakened inside a young girl. Long live Furiosa! – Robert Brian Taylor

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and team-up with Mad Max.Release Date May 24, 2024 Director George Miller Runtime 148 minutes

Rent on Amazon

‘Hit Man’
Directed by Richard Linklater
Image via Netflix

Related ‘Hit Man’ Review: Richard Linklater’s Netflix Noir Is a Hilarious, Sexy Gem Glen Powell is having a ball in one of the most thoroughly entertaining films of Linklater’s career.

HitMan marks the fourth collaboration between Richard Linklater and Glen Powell, and it might also be the pair’s best. Powell stars and co-wrote this based on a true story about a fake hitman who gets in trouble when he falls for a client (played by Adria Arjona). For Linklater, it’s one of his most flat-out charming films, a delightful crime comedy that shows his excellent ability to make a crowd-pleasing film full of charm. Powell, beyond showing his talents as a writer, has never been more amusing, as the film asks him to play dozens of different hitmen. But together, Linklater and Powell make a film bursting with charm, humor, and sexiness and shows that Linklater might’ve found another collaborator as great as Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy, Matthew McConaughey, or Jack Black. — Ross Bonaime

Hit Man Inspired by an unbelievable true story, a strait-laced professor discovers his hidden talent as a fake hit man. He meets his match in a client who steals his heart and ignites a powder keg of deception, delight, and mixed-up identities.Release Date June 7, 2024 Director Richard Linklater Runtime 113 minutes

Watch on Netflix

‘I Saw the TV Glow’
Directed by Jane Schoenbrun
Image via A24

Related ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ Review: You’ll Be Talking About This A24 Horror Film All Year Jane Schoenbrun’s follow-up to ‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ is an ambitious and compelling feature that is made to be dissected.

No matter who you are, you need to see Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow. Ever since it premiered back at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, it’s become one of the most talked about and exciting visions you could ever hope to experience. Even as Schoenbrun already made themselves an essential new voice with their already astounding debut We’re All Going to the World’s Fair just a couple of years ago, it is their latest that feels just as bold as that while expanding into unexpected yet completely enthralling new directions. Centered on two young high school friends who become obsessed with a show known as The Pink Opaque, which poses a problem when it is subsequently canceled, sending both of them in opposite directions. The film is an explicit trans allegory, capturing the pains of finding yourself and the terror of what happens when you attempt to bury it away as the years pass. When we look back on the cinema of 2024 decades from now, it is the way Schoenbrun brings this to vibrant and visceral life that will ensure it will remain at the pinnacle. — Chase Hutchinson

I Saw the TV Glow Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.Release Date May 3, 2024 Director Jane Schoenbrun Runtime 100 minutes

Rent on Amazon

‘The Idea of You’
Directed by Michael Showalter
Related ‘The Idea of You’ Review: Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine Rom-Com Goes Down Smooth The ‘Princess Diaries’ alum plays a single mother falling for a pop star in this charming age-gap romance.

There simply are not enough romantic movies being made in the 21st century. Thankfully, 2024 has reignited the rom-com craze with an utterly delightful and oft-nonsensical film starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine that had audiences swooning and falling head-over-heels, just as we deserved. Based on the novel by the same name (that was definitely not a self-insert Harry Styles/Reader fanfiction), Prime Video’s The Idea of You centers around single mom Solène (Hathaway), a fashionable and savvy art dealer, who falls in love with Hayes (Galitzine), the lead singer of the popular boy band August Moon that her daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) used to be obsessed with. They have a chance encounter at Coachella that jettisons them into an unexpected and torrid love affair that forces them to reconsider a lot of aspects of their lives.

There are a lot of moving pieces that threaten to tear the couple apart, and shockingly, it’s not just their completely believable May/December relationship. Hathaway and Galitzine have a sizzling chemistry that hooks audiences from the very first look and keeps them fully engaged until the credits roll. The Idea of You is the ultimate wish-fulfillment, but then again, who wouldn’t fall in love with Anne Hathaway? — Maggie Lovitt

The Idea of You (2024) Solène, a 40-year-old single mom, begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.Release Date May 2, 2024 Cast Anne Hathaway Nicholas Galitzine , Ella Rubin , Annie Mumolo , Reid Scott , Perry Mattfeld , Jordan Aaron Hall , Mathilda Gianopoulos Runtime 115 Minutes

Watch on Prime

‘Immaculate’
Directed by Michael Mohan
Image via NEON

Related ‘Immaculate’ Review: Sydney Sweeney’s Horror Isn’t Afraid to Sin | SXSW 2024 What’s a bad miracle?

Fresh off the success of Anyone but You (and the non-success of Madame Web), Sydney Sweeney continued her domination over Hollywood and flexed her scream queen muscles in Immaculate. Michael Mohan’s nunsploitation horror film has Sweeney playing Cecilia, an American nun who has recently joined a remote convent in Italy. This being a horror movie, things aren’t what they seem, and soon the innocent young woman gets caught in the middle of a shocking plot that unveils the convent’s true intentions.

For most of the runtime, Immaculate plays out like your average horror movie, barring some gnarly twists. It is shot beautifully and Sweeney is clearly having the time of her life in this role. However, it isn’t until the movie’s final act that everything finally comes together. The final five minutes of Immaculate are a bold and effective swing by Mohan, one that elevates Immaculate into being one of the most memorable and creative movies of the year so far. — Nate Richard

Immaculate Cecilia, a woman of devout faith, is warmly welcomed to the picture-perfect Italian countryside where she is offered a new role at an illustrious convent. But it becomes clear to Cecilia that her new home harbors dark and horrifying secrets.Release Date March 22, 2024 Director michael mohan Cast Sydney Sweeney , Simona Tabasco , Álvaro Morte , Benedetta Porcaroli Runtime 89 minutes

Rent on Amazon

‘Inside Out 2’
Directed by Kelsey Mann
Image via Disney

Related ‘Inside Out 2’ Review: Pixar’s Best Since ‘Soul’ Is a Joyfully Emotional Roller Coaster Joy, Sadness, and the other emotions have to deal with the onslaught of puberty in this charming and delightful Pixar sequel.

Inside Out 2 is one of the rare sequels that manages to not only match, but outdo its predecessor, achieving the coveted balance of humor and depth that Pixar does so well. Smartly shifting the focus from Riley’s (Kensington Tallman) relationship with her parents to her relationships with her friends, Inside Out 2 tackles growing pains and introduces four new emotions — Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos). As Riley struggles to figure herself out, her newfound feelings inadvertently wreak havoc on her psyche on their quest to get her on the high school hockey team and prepare her for whatever life throws her way (a job which Anxiety, expectedly, takes much too seriously).

While the movie has some laugh-out-loud moments, Inside Out 2 is an incredibly powerful story about the internal battles we all face, be it while we wrestle with adolescence, watch our children do the same, or simply remember a time when our mom barging unexpectedly into our bedroom was grounds for a total meltdown. While the movie flaunts a variety of unique animation styles — shoutout to James Austin Johnson’s Pouchy — the heart of the film lies in its energetic performances and moving story, never trivializing Riley’s problems but rather immersing us in them. Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith continue to perfectly embody their roles as the juxtaposing duo of Joy and Sadness, and Tony Hale, Lewis Black, and Liza Lapira lovingly round out the chaotic ensemble. Another feather in Pixar’s brimming cap, Inside Out 2 reminds us to embrace every complicated part of ourselves, and that every time our anxiety leaves us paralyzed, we can take comfort in the fact that it’s just a zany orange tyrant in a striped sweater, trying its damnedest to keep us alive. — Shaina Weatherhead

Inside Out 2 Follow Riley, in her teenage years, encountering new emotions.Release Date June 14, 2024 Director Kelsey Mann

Get tickets

‘Janet Planet’
Directed by Annie Baker
Image via A24

Related ‘Janet Planet’ Review: This Spectacular A24 Debut Is One of the Year’s Best This is more than just a coming-of-age story.

If there is one movie on this list that will hit you hardest if you wander into it without knowing about it, it would be Annie Baker’s outstanding feature debut Janet Planet. Honestly, if you haven’t yet experienced it for yourself, best just go see it right now, then come back. In the event you need more convincing, continue on. Telling the story of a mother and daughter as they each grow over the course of a summer, this film is so beautifully calibrated that it feels like you’ve been taken back in time to a childhood you never had. Central to this is the best duo of central actors you’ll ever be lucky enough to see. The titular Janet is played to perfection by Julianne Nicholson, while the young Lacy is brought to life by the brilliant newcomer Zoe Ziegler and each bounce off each other with an authenticity that lays you flat. As the film plays out with a measured yet no less melancholic rhythm, it becomes completely devastating as we feel every inch of the distance as a daughter drifts out of the orbit of her mother. — Chase Hutchinson

Janet Planet (2024) In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet.Release Date June 21, 2024 Director Annie Baker Runtime 113 Minutes

Get tickets

‘Kinds of Kindness’
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Image via Searchlight Pictures

Related ‘Kinds of Kindness’ Review: Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone Are Killer Good Will the real Yorgos Lanthimos please stand up?

While Yorgos Lanthimos has made some of the best films of his career recently, with last year’s Poor Things and The Favourite, they haven’t quite had the same level of haunting weirdness that his earlier works had. But with his latest film, Kinds of Kindness, Lanthimos has reteamed with his Dogtooth and The Lobster (amongst others) co-writer Efthymis Filippou, and that dark humor and inherently unsettling vibe is back, baby! In telling three short stories, Lanthimos has enlisted some of his favorite actors, including Emma Stone, Margaret Qualley, and Willem Dafoe, yet he might have found his latest muse in the brilliant Jesse Plemons, who absolutely steals the show. Each story is delightfully wild and goes in directions you could never expect, as Lanthimos and Filippou explore ideas of personal independence and dependence on others. Kinds of Kindness is the type of bold, strange film that takes big swings and makes you happy movies can still show you stories you’ve never seen before. — Ross Bonaime

Kinds of Kindness (2024) A man seeks to break free from his predetermined path, a cop questions his wife’s demeanor after her return from a supposed drowning and a woman’s quest to locate an extraordinary individual prophesied to become a renowned spiritual guide.Release Date June 21, 2024

Get tickets

‘La Chimera’
Directed by Alice Rohrwacher
Image via Neon

Related ‘La Chimera’ Review: An Absolute Treasure of a Movie Is Finally Uncovered Instead of untold riches, this film uncovers far greater treasures.

Sorry Indiana Jones, but there is a new film about searching for treasure that’s here to steal your soul. Though Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera was supposedly inspired by that classic film, it’s something that stands on its own as one of the most unexpectedly magical and spellbinding movies of recent memory. Accompanying the troubled Arthur, played by Josh O’Connor at his very best, it takes us into the places of sublime beauty that are hidden out of sight before they are uncovered. However, it is a film where this isn’t a triumph, but a gentle, growing tragedy. It asks big questions about art, beauty, and loss with a subtle grace, never once falling out of balance even as it takes us into the lives of those existing on the margins. The less that is known about how this all unfolds the better, but the important thing is that it ends up uncovering something absolutely wondrous just before it all fades away. — Chase Hutchinson

La Chimera A group of archaeologists and the black market of historical artifacts.Release Date March 29, 2024 Director Alice Rohrwacher Runtime 130 Minutes

Rent on Amazon

‘Late Night With the Devil’
Directed by Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes
Image via IFC

Related ‘Late Night with the Devil’ Review: David Dastmalchian Commands the Stage in Found Footage Horror Romp Darkness looms under the bright lights of a seemingly haunted television set in a film that is best when it dives headfirst into the unknown.

While a lot of you might think that found footage horror movies are a thing of the past, 2024 gave us one of the best twists on the subgenre. Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ Late Night With the Devil takes the format back all the way to the 1960s. Late-night talk show host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), in a desperate attempt to increase viewership, plans a Halloween special like no other. The movie starts off by telling us that we are about to see the actual footage from this recording, which has not been viewed since that fateful night. What ensues is a blurring of the line between showbiz facade and sinister forces beyond our control.

Late Night With the Devil is one of the most fun, fresh, and creative horror films of recent years. It may not be doing anything groundbreaking plotwise, but it’s a clever combination of found footage and straightforward storytelling that brings the much-maligned subgenre to be appreciated by a wider audience. It’s also a stellar star vehicle for David Dastmalchian. Right from the beginning, Dastmalchian has you in the palm of his hand, and as the movie progresses, you slowly realize that you may have put your trust in the wrong person. It’s a wildly entertaining and exhilarating ride that has a few tricks up its sleeve until its jaw-dropper of an ending. — Emma Kiely

Late Night With the Devil A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.Release Date March 22, 2024 Director Cameron Cairnes , Colin Cairnes Cast David Dastmalchian , Laura Gordon , Ian Bliss , Fayssal Bazzi , Ingrid Torelli , Rhys Auteri , Josh Quong Tart , Georgina Haig Runtime 86 Minutes

Watch on Shudder

‘Lisa Frankenstein’
Directed by Zelda Williams
Image via Focus Features

Related ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ Review: Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse Are a Bloody Good Time Diablo Cody’s script seamlessly blends the funny, frightening, and fluffy in a tale of a girl who falls in love with a zombie.

If you like camp, ’80s music, and a little bit of blood, there’s no better movie for you than Lisa Frankenstein. Zelda Williams’ directorial debut is Heathers by way of Mary Shelley, with a romance at its heart that’s arguably better than any rom-com that’s come out this year. Its aesthetic is perfectly matched to the era, from the shoulder pads to the dusty pink wallpaper to the sheer amount of awful workout gear sported by CarlaGugino. Add to that a scene-stealing performance from an entirely silent Cole Sprouse (though horror queen KathrynNewton is nothing to scoff at either) and you’ve got a film that somehow perfectly emulates the horror comedies of the era, the story of a lonely girl just looking for a little love and appreciation. — Maggie Boccella

Lisa Frankenstein (2024) A coming of RAGE love story about a teenager and her crush, who happens to be a corpse. After a set of horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a journey to find love, happiness – and a few missing body parts.Release Date February 9, 2024 Director Zelda Williams

Watch on Peacock