We’re only halfway through 2024 — but boy, has it been a year for cinema up until now. We’ve been treated to all kinds of movie goodness over the past six months: epic sequels and prequels; wholly original, genre-blending flexes from some of our most exciting directorial auteurs; emotional animated adventures; heartbreaking historical biopics; industry-defining documentaries; and more.
As we move into the second half of 2024, Team Empire got together to vote on the best movies of the year so far — based on UK release dates, from 1 January to 30 June. The result is an eclectic, mostly non-franchise list of big-screen bangers that surprise and delight; that make you laugh, make you cry, and make you feel. 2024 is off to a fantastic start. Have a read of the full list, counting down from 20, below:
20. Kinds Of Kindness
Yorgos Lanthimos returns to his roots with this traumatic triptych, which feels more in line with his darker, bleaker early work (Dogtooth, The Lobster) than his last two extravagant features (The Favourite, Poor Things). The film trisects its near 3 hour runtime into stories linked by a rotating cast of A-listers (including Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Margaret Qualley and Willem Dafoe), the amusingly apathetic R.M.F (Yorgos Stefanakos, who remains the same character throughout), and obscure images: dogs, feet, cannibalism — the list goes on. Across each section, we see a fascination with power dynamics — the first between an employee and his hyper-controlling boss, the second between a woman and her paranoid police-officer husband, and the third between a cult follower and its revered leaders. Shot beautifully and acted as brilliantly awkwardly as its blunt dialogue demands, this experimental trilogy secures Lanthimos as one of the most unique voices in cinema today.
19. Priscilla
It may be following 2022’s Elvis — and obviously sharing its characters, setting, and plot —but Sofia Coppola’s dreamy biopic is a very different movie. Adapted from Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, it follows her journey as she is courted, then carted away from her family by The King. The focus on fine-fashion, decadent interiors, and an overwhelming amount of pink (seriously, it gives The Grand Budapest Hotel a run for its money) are shot as enticingly as they would have looked to Priscilla, and Cailee Spaeny in the lead role brings an innocent fish-out-of-water quality to the character that makes her manipulation even more uncomfortable to watch.
18. The Greatest Night In Pop
Some documentaries cover decades; others zero in on a specific moment in time. This is one of the latter, depicting in delightful detail that happened in 1985 when a horde of the decade’s biggest music stars walked into a room in LA for an all-night recording session, coming out the other side with charity single ‘We Are The World’. With such oversized personalities involved, there’s plenty of zesty detail: one highlight is Lionel Ritchie, one of the talking heads, recounting the time a song-writing session at Michael Jackson’s house was derailed by Jackson’s pet snake slithering towards Ritchie ('I’ve seen this horror movie, and it doesn’t end well for the brother'). And best of all is the footage from the night, as the eclectic likes of Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Kenny Loggins cope with tech gremlins, nerves and a no-show from Prince. A fever-dream of an evening becomes surely the most entertaining doc of 2024.
17. A Quiet Place: Day One
When A Quiet Place arrived back in 2018, its high-concept premise — you make sound, you die — was a breath of fresh air. This third film in the franchise — a prequel at that — can’t possibly hope to bring that same freshness, but instead replaces it with deeply engaging character work, as two lonely people stuck in New York City (Lupita Nyong’o’s Sam, and Joseph Quinn’s Eric) are thrust together amid an alien invasion. The result is undeniably a film by Pig director Michael Sarnoski — a tender and emotional character drama pepped with effective monster-movie sequences, all leading to one of the best endings of the year so far. Nyong’o and Quinn both excel, making the reluctant partnership of Sam and Eric sing, and finding light in some exceptionally dark places — but special mention must go to feline friend Frodo, played with aplomb by cats Schnitzel and Nico. Catnip Oscars for both, please.
16. La Chimera
When Greta Gerwig says that a film has made her 'euphorically happy', you’d better take note. Alice Rohrwacher’s sunbathed curio, set in ‘80s Tuscany, stars rakish man of the moment Josh O’Connor as a gifted tombaroli (tomb raider) who is mourning the loss of his girlfriend and lives hand to mouth, making money by stealing artefacts from neighbourhood land. It’s a delightful role for O’Connor, who, armed with just a filthy linen suit and a knack for speaking fluent Italian, showcases irresistible charm. Yet it’s Brazilian actor Carol Duarte as local mother Italia who gets the film’s defining moment — a dazzling, weird, freeing display of choreography that is truly captivating to behold. Around them, Rohrwacher builds a fantastical world full of off-kilter characters and strange, bucolic corners of rural Italy. Paired with one of the most sweet and sincere closing shots that you’ll see this year, you’ll find that La Chimera is simply unmissable.
15. Inside Out 2
Effortlessly slipping back inside the eye of a now-teenage Riley’s (Kensington Tallman) mind, Kelsey Mann’s Inside Out 2 offers a thoughtful continuation of Inside Out’s emotional journey as the onset of puberty and a whole host of new emotions take centre-stage. Chief amongst Headquarters’ latest additions is Anxiety (an outstanding Maya Hawke), whose calamitous efforts to prepare Riley for high-school life — aided by Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) — set her childhood emotions adrift. Sar-chasms, dark secrets, and a recurring bit involving a 2D toon from Riley’s favourite childhood show recall the first film’s zany visual sense and quick-witted humour. But it’s returning writers Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein’s new, nuanced takes on the complexities of our emotions — here, an empathetically lensed and profoundly relatable deconstruction of social anxiety and self-doubt — that invariably leaves you feeling all the feels.
14. The Iron Claw
Sean Durkin’s portrait of the Von Erich wrestling family goes deeper than your typical biopic. More than just dramatising the brothers’ careers as their father (Holt McCallany) slowly inducts them all into the ring, the film uses their tragic history to explore themes of toxic masculinity, brotherhood, success, and more. The Von Erich’s eponymous curse unfolds on-screen as Zac Efron’s Kevin wrestles (pun intended) with his past, and we spend the duration of the film waiting for him to realise that the family’s misfortune actually has nothing supernatural about it — that instead, the figure haunting them is their macho-man dad, and his strength-first worldview. The warm, grainy colour palette, some truly tragic haircuts and a nostalgic soundtrack immerse us in ‘80s and ‘90s rural Texas, as we’re guided through this tale of overcoming trauma cycles. Bring tissues for the final scene.
13. American Fiction
Cord Jefferson’s incredibly smart, highly entertaining drama stars Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison, an author struggling to find success who accidentally breaks through when he writes a parodical novel filled with offensive Black stereotypes. Based on Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure, Jefferson’s debut feature masterfully weaves together social satire, familial grief and gentle romance to paint a picture of a somewhat stubborn man learning to lean in to his vulnerability. Wright is in impeccable form, and he’s surrounded by stellar support including Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, John Ortiz, and a never-more-heartbreaking Sterling K. Brown. The clean, sharp, simple visuals let the excellent screenplay do the talking — and out of five Academy Award nominations, the script was the one gong American Fiction won, with Jefferson taking Best Adapted Screenplay.
12. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Every few years or so, George Miller decides to unleash a bommy-knocker on the world of cinema. So it is that, nine years after Fury Road, we finally got the long-awaited Furiosa origin story — a rare prequel that enriches and complements its cinematic sibling perfectly. With a different energy and distinct narrative structure, Furiosa sprawls outwards, unspooling hardscrabble chapters in the Wasteland to get under the skin of its title character in surprising and engaging ways — bolstered by excellent turns from Anya Taylor-Joy, and youngster Alyla Browne. Given that Miller is a mastermind director, there are astonishing sequences here — a War Rig raid to rival Fury Road’s greatest moments; a propulsive chase as Furiosa’s mother sets out to recapture her lost daughter; a pulse-pounding assault on the Bullet Farm gone horribly wrong. And thanks to Chris Hemsworth’s deranged Dementus, you don’t even miss Max that much. If it’s not quite up there with Fury Road, it’s still a mad, Miller miracle.
11. Hit Man
After putting in eye-catching performances in Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You, Glen Powell went full movie-star with his magnetic turn — or, more accurately, turns — in Richard Linklater’s true-story-inspired Hit Man, a smoking hot rom-com with an intoxicating noir edge. Here, Powell plays philosophy-lecturer-turned-fake-assassin Gary Johnson, whose unlikely side-hustle gets complicated when — whilst disguised as smooth talking contract killer Ron — he meets Madison (Adria Arjona), a woman trying to escape an abusive marriage, during a set-up. Sparks fly between the pair, the sting collapses, and a whirlwind romance ensues. From there, the heat turns up in every possible way as Gary attempts to keep up his double-life without rousing the suspicions of the feds — or his new girlfriend. Smart, sexy, slick and quick-witted, this is fiercely original filmmaking of a kind that feels increasingly rare. What else can we say? It’s a hit, man!
10. Robot Dreams
Based on Sara Varon’s wordless 2007 graphic novel, Pablo Berger’s virtuosic 2D animation Robot Dreams is so much more than the robot-and-his-dog buddy comedy audiences may have been expecting. Set in an anthropomorphised early ‘80s New York, Berger’s simply (but never simplistically) drawn movie introduces us to a lonely dog whose search for friendship leads him to order and build himself an ‘Amica 2000’ robot companion. But whilst a delightful Earth, Wind & Fire soundtracked montage revels in showing our inseparable bot-and-barker duo venturing out into the world together, tragedy strikes when a trip to Coney Island leaves a rusting Robot stranded on the beach. It’s from here that the film transcends itself, with Robot and Dog’s heartfelt yearning to be reunited — episodically chronicled in a series of gorgeously imaginative flights of fancy — augmenting a soulful exploration of the fragile beauty of our connections and the lasting, transformative power of love.
9. Perfect Days
There’s something indescribably rewarding about watching Wim Wenders’ ruminative study of a Tokyo toilet cleaner simply living out his days. The self-imposed stillness and moments of quiet reflection experienced by protagonist Hirayama, played with exquisite nuance by Kōji Yakusho, are bewitching against the lush, surprisingly stunning world of Japan’s outdoor public restrooms. To say that little happens in the film is a stretch; through interactions with strangers, colleagues and a visiting niece, we see glimpses of Hirayama’s psyche and past life. But it’s the private choices that he makes — the cassette he chooses for his drive to work, the perfect moment to photograph on his break, the way he organises his home — that help us get to know him best. A subtle symphony created from everyday events that will stay with you for a very long time.
8. Poor Things
We were all left holding onto our top hats by The Favourite provoc-auteur Yorgos Lanthimos’ multiple Oscar-winning adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s cult classic novel. Both a strangely beautiful coming-of-age tale and a truly wild steampunk feminist reframing of the Frankenstein myth, Poor Things sees a never-better Emma Stone lead an all-star ensemble (Mark Ruffalo! Willem Dafoe! Ramy Youssef!) as Bella Baxter, a young woman who undertakes an Odyssean journey of self-discovery after being resurrected by a mad scientist (Dafoe). With its Gilliam-esque acid trip visuals, bold embrace of female sexuality, and carefully executed high-wire balancing act between gonzo absurdism and emotionally precise introspection, Lanthimos’ sci-fi fable truly has to be seen to be believed. And even then, you’ll still probably be left wondering if the whole thing was just some weird, wonderful, unapologetically bawdy fever dream after all.
7. Civil War
A departure from his typical high-concept sci-fi flicks, Alex Garland’s Civil War is ostensibly a high-stakes road-trip movie. Following a cast of journalists (including Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny) as they travel through a divided America to try and interview the President (Nick Offerman), this is more a film about war films than a war film itself, exploring the ethics of war photography and caricaturing the political landscape of the US. Despite mixed opinions about its undefined worldbuilding, the film is undeniably immersive, with impressive set-pieces and some truly heart-palpitation-inducing action — it’s shot like a documentary, and punctuated by stunning still-images (supposedly taken by the characters). The use of soundtrack is notable too; headbanging to De La Soul while watching visuals of an organised execution may not have been on your 2024 bucket list, but it’s a great example of how Civil War muddies the morals of a scene. The whole thing serves to show us just how easily war can be portrayed as both exciting and horrific — it just depends what side you’re on.
6. Love Lies Bleeding
After her slow, unsettling debut Saint Maud, Rose Glass ups the ante with the riotous, pulpy, queer crime thriller Love Lies Bleeding. Kristen Stewart steps into a role she was born to play as gym manager Lou, who falls for bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian, also perfectly cast) when she rolls through town preparing for a competition — but as the pair become more entwined, so too does Lou’s family drama with her abused sister (Jena Malone) and menacing, gun-toting father (Ed Harris). Sex, drugs and violence are combined with Glass’ signature supernatural tinges and magical realism, all set in the sweaty, dusty Albuquerque desert of the ‘80s. Stewart and O’Brian’s chemistry is off the charts, the trippy sequence at Jackie’s bodybuilding contest is one for the ages, and there are enough twists, turns and shocks along the way to keep you on the edge of your seat. Might even encourage you to start doing some regular bicep curls.
5. Dune: Part Two
If you thought Denis Villeneuve’s first outing to Arrakis was epic in scale, then Dune: Part Two proved that actually, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Picking up where Dune left off, with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) part of the Fremen clan, the sequel charts his rise through the ranks, earning the Arrakis natives’ respect, and, eventually, the messianic title of Lisan al Gaib — all whilst dealing with his growing relationship with Chani (Zendaya), and war with the Emperor (Christopher Walken) and Harkonnens (including Austin Butler’s ferocious Feyd Rautha), closing in. More meandering than the first instalment, Dune: Part Two is no less spectacular, with Villeneuve delivering massive battles, stunning sandworm sequences, and the distinct black-and-white visuals of Giedi Prime. An incredible display of cinematic desert power.
4. The Zone Of Interest
Jonathan Glazer examines the mundanity of evil in the voyeuristic, stomach-churning The Zone Of Interest, which plants the audience in the walls of the home of Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Höss, him and his family living a charmed life as a horrifying genocide is enacted next door. Glazer sits the cameras inside the meticulously crafted set and lets them roll, capturing the day-to-activity of Höss (Christian Friedel), his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their kids, as they try on the spoils of their Jewish victims, chastise the help, and host a pool party, all soundtracked by gunshots and death. It’s truly chilling, quietly immersive, and endlessly upsetting, quite rightly winning the Oscar for Best International Feature Film at this year’s awards, with Glazer giving a spine-tingling speech about the continuing relevance of a film like this. The final few minutes with Höss looking to the camera, seemingly staring in the modern-day aftermath of his crimes, swallowed up by darkness and an atonal, swampy score, will stay with you forever.
3. All Of Us Strangers
Whether All Of Us Strangers is a ghost story, a romance, a fantasy spawned from the mind of its grief-stricken protagonist, or all of the above, remains very much up for debate. The great beauty of Andrew Haigh’s supernaturally-inflected piece, though, lies in the way its raw emotion more than sustains any interpretation. Andrew Scott is on career-best form as forty-something gay writer Adam, who — in between cathartic visits to his childhood home, where his dead parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy) somehow live on — finds himself falling for Harry (Paul Mescal), seemingly the only other soul in his purgatorial London high-rise. On the one hand an achingly romantic tale of queer longing and self-discovery, and on the other a searing exploration of the blood-deep ties that bind parents and their children, Strangers offers a love story for the ages on multiple levels. And that ending? Oh boy…
2. The Holdovers
That Alexander Payne’s story of Christmas-based alienation and eventual connection hit UK cinemas several weeks after the festive season ended is bonkers — but, in its own way, proved that his winter comedy-drama is a film for all seasons. Paul Giamatti is perhaps the best he’s ever been as curmudgeonly classics teacher Paul Dunham, forced to oversee the ‘Holdovers’ during the Christmas holidays — the kids who, for whatever reason, can’t go home. He’s matched perfectly by Dominic Sessa who, in his very first screen role, gives as good as he gets, snarling up a storm as disaffected teen Angus. But it’s Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s grieving cook Mary who steals the show — the trio’s individual frostiness melting away as the days pass, and they gain a better understanding of each other, and themselves too. Both appropriately chilly and wonderfully warm — and gut-bustingly funny to boot — it’s a sweet tale with little sentimentality. An instant Christmas classic.
1. Challengers
Luca Guadagnino serves up an absolute ace with his erotically-charged tennis thriller Challengers, which sees a trio of young tennis champs Tashi (Zendaya), Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor) enter into a toxic triangle of love, lust, and ruthless ambition. Spanning over a decade, with our leads meeting as teenagers before becoming friends, enemies, lovers and spouses, writer Justin Kuritzkes’ script perfectly weaves together the desires of all three characters, the power dynamics constantly shifting, the audience always kept guessing who’ll come out on top. All three actors are remarkable, the chemistry between every combination of them making their ongoing romantic chaos more than believable, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ synthy score keeps your pulse pounding. It’s sexy, it’s sweaty, and Guadagnino’s innovative cinematic treatment of the tennis itself has to be seen to be believed. Now, anyone for a churro?