By Kyle Flynn

Note I have not seen many critically acclaimed films, but one or more of them could have made this list: The Room Next Door dir. Pedro Almodovar, Nickel Boys dir. RaMell Ross, Red Rooms dir. Pascal Plante, Close Your Eyes dir. Victor Erice, The Seed of the Sacred Fig dir. Mohammad Rasoulof, His Three Daughters dir. Azazel Jacobs, Evil Does Not Exist dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Dahomey dir. Mati Diop, Nosferatu dir. Robert Eggers, Hard Truths dir. Mike Leigh, and I’m Still Here dir. Walter Salles

I have seen over 125 films this year, which puts me on pace to hit 150+ by the time the Oscars roll around in March. I want to briefly mention My 10 Honorable Mentions Unranked: Flow, I Saw The TV Glow, A Different Man, Between The Temples, Ghostlight, Dune Part Two, Juror #2, The Wild Robot, The Order, All We Imagine As Light. 

10: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Director George Miller

How can you even describe the experience of watching Furiosa? Miller operates on a level like no one else, constantly elevating each moment upon each other, leading to a truly epic conclusion. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth deliver amazing performances and carry the entire movie on their back. 

Snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers, young Furiosa gets caught in the crossfire of two tyrannical warlords; as the tyrants fight for dominance, Furiosa soon finds herself in a nonstop battle to make her way home.

7.5/10 IMDB 90% Rotten Tomatoes

9: Sing Sing, Director Greg Kwedar

Films like Sing Sing remind me of the power that worthwhile filmmaking can have. Magnetizing performances from the entire ensemble. A heartfelt conclusion to a story that is both equally empowering and heart-wrenching. One of my favorite moments in the cinema this year was watching this with Skip at our Central Florida AMC. 

Imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, Divine G finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men, including a wary newcomer.

4.2/5 Letterboxd 98% Rotten Tomatoes

8: No Other Land, directors Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra

The footage captured of the West Bank in this movie is truthfully insane. Showcases the horrific treatment many Palestinians are forced to endure at the hands of Israel and the IDF. Extremely timely with the ongoing war raging in Gaza. I have many more thoughts on this, but I know it would not do justice to the film..

This film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.

8.4/10 IMDB 100% Rotten Tomatoes

7: Challengers, Director Luca Guadagino

Desire and Passion may be the topics that Luca Guadgino knows best. Challengers captured that so perfectly. I was broken by the end of this film. Josh O’Connor is likely still my favorite supporting actor of the year. Reznor and Ross are deserving of a third Oscar for this score. 

Tashi, a tennis player turned coach, has transformed her husband from a mediocre player into a world-famous grand slam champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a challenger event — close to the lowest level of tournament on the pro tour. Tensions soon run high when he finds himself standing across the net from the once-promising, now burnt-out Patrick, his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend.

7.1/10 IMDB 88% Rotten Tomatoes

6: La Chimera, director Alice Rohrwacher

Speaking of Josh O’Connor, what a year he has had. Giving two of the best performances this year in two of the best films this year. The narrative woven by Alice Rohrwacher is played to perfection. Neither Conclave nor Problemista made this list, but Isabella Rossellini had such an amazing year, and if you think she is good in Conclave, please watch her in La Chimera. Very thankful for this movie. 

Everyone has their own Chimera, something they try to achieve but can never find. For Arthur, the Chimera is the woman he lost, Beniamina.

7.3/10 IMDB 94% Rotten Tomatoes

5: Memoir of a Snail, director Adam Elliot

Ruined my life. It is perhaps a little overwrought with sad moments, but it all comes together very nicely. I love it. The animation is glorious. I might even enjoy it more than Mary and Max.

After a series of misfortunes, a snail-collecting, melancholic misfit learns how to find confidence within herself amid the clutter of everyday life.

8.9/10 IMDB 94% Rotten Tomatoes

4: Hundreds of Beavers, director Mike Cheslik

An absolute triumph of independent filmmaking. Slapstick humor is reminiscent of some of the all-time great silent comedies. 

A drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

7.7/10 IMDB 97% Rotten Tomatoes

3: Anora, director Sean Baker

Entering the year Anora was my most anticipated of 2024. Sean Baker’s previous three features (Red Rocket, The Florida Project, and Tangerine) made my top 10 of their respective years, with The Florida Project being my favorite film of 2021. Anora was everything I wanted and more, a wild ride from start to finish. Mikey Madison gives the performance of the year. Anora is worthy of every accolade it receives.

Anora, a sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

4.1/5 Letterboxd 96% Rotten Tomatoes

2: The Beast, director Bertrand Bonello

When I saw this at the Florida Film Festival, I remember immediately telling Skip that I loved it so much and he seemed much cooler on the film than I. Undeniably the most interesting movie you see this year. Every period showcased in the movie is just as interesting as the last. I have thought about this movie more than any other film this year.

As artificial intelligence reigns, emotions have become a threat; to get rid of it, Gabrielle must purify her DNA by diving back into her past lives; she finds a great love there as well as a bad feeling.

3.7/5 Letterboxd 86% Rotten Tomatoes

1: The Brutalist, director Brady Corbet

BEST PICTURE BITCH. Everything works. Watching this in 70MM will forever remain a Top 10 Cinema Experience for me. A once in a lifetime experience.

Escaping postwar Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his career, and his marriage. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent.

8.1/10 IMDB 95% Rotten Tomatoes

(These are Kyle Flynn’s Picks they don’t reflect the owner, or editors opinions in any way. Also if a film came out in a previous year and it’s on this list it’s because he saw it this year)