Our critic's best movies of 2024: 'Wicked,' 'Anora,' 'A Complete Unknown,' seven more

Congratulations, movie lovers — you’ve made it through one weird year.

First came “Mean Girls,” a musical remake that earned $100 million worldwide in the vacuum of January according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. Then came the prestige epic “Dune: Part Two,” a $714 million global hit released in … early March? All right, fine — but then came the dreaded Slow Summer, dragged down by nonhits that ranged from the disappointing (Ryan Gosling in “The Fall Guy”) to the universally loathed (“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”). Cue the usual cries of “game over” for Hollywood.

But the summer soon sped up, thanks to a post-slap Will Smith in “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” the lovably goofy “Twisters” and the Disney-Pixar megahit “Inside Out 2” (still the year’s top grosser at $1.7 billion). Nevertheless, some of the biggest stars in the business still couldn’t deliver: Scarlett Johansson in “Fly Me to the Moon,” Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans in “Red One” and even George Clooney and Brad Pitt in “Wolfs” all left viewers indifferent.

If you’re waiting for me to say the good stuff was in the art houses, well, that’s only partially true. Sean Baker’s edgy, low-budget comedy “Anora” rose quickly from festival darling to best picture contender. But “Emilia Pérez,” a movie that’s about as alt-culture as it gets (it’s a trans pop-rap opera), is a Netflix release. And while my Top Ten includes a couple of arty picks (who doesn’t love a sprawling drama about ‘70s architecture?), it also includes two pretty traditional genres: a big ol’ musical and a big-name biopic.

Is all of this just the lingering aftereffects of COVID-19 and last year’s massively disruptive actors' and writers' strikes? Or is weird the new normal? Either way, I’m coming back next year for more.

1. A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

Why so little buzz around this superb film about a young Bob Dylan (a note-perfect Timothée Chalamet), which opens Dec. 25? Maybe everyone finally got sick of musical biopics, especially one from a director who codified the genre (James Mangold, of “Walk the Line”). Nevertheless, this is an insightful, deep-reaching drama about an artist determined to move ever-forward — no matter who gets hurt. (Monica Barbaro plays Joan Baez, Edward Norton is Pete Seeger). Culminating in a thrilling recreation of Dylan’s electrified performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, “A Complete Unknown” beautifully captures the essence of an artist and his era.

2. ANORA

The latest sex-work comedy from writer-director Sean Baker (“Tangerine,” “Red Rocket”) follows an exotic dancer from Brighton Beach in Brooklyn who impulsively marries a Russian playboy. Think “Pretty Woman,” but wilder and woollier, with a layer of real-world grit. The two leads, Mikey Madison and Mark Edelshteyn, are bursting with raw talent and energy, while Baker’s shoot-from-the-hip style makes the whole movie feel fresh and unpredictable. It’s very possible that “Anora” will win the best picture Oscar, and Madison best actress. If so, justly deserved.

3. THE BRUTALIST

Originality, audacity and sheer cinematic vision usually can’t make up for jumbled ideas, but that hasn’t stopped filmmaker Brady Corbet (“Vox Lux”) from trying. With “The Brutalist,” he delivers a riveting three-and-a-half-hour epic about a headstrong European architect (Adrien Brody, surely bound for his second Oscar) who falls in with a wealthy American industrialist (Guy Pearce, strange and extraordinary). Themes of art, commerce and culture swirl headily. It’s all a bit more than the central narrative can handle, but just wait for the film’s furious, final line — it hits like a sledgehammer.

4. EMILIA PÉREZ

It almost sounds like a spoof of art-house cinema: A French-produced, Spanish-language musical about a transgender Mexican cartel leader (Karla Sofía Gascón). But Jacques Audiard’s singular film is as much pop (and rap) as it is opera, and its definition of identity is neither simple nor dogmatic. Zoe Saldaña (as a struggling lawyer) and Gascón are both up for Golden Globes; if the latter goes on to win an Oscar, she’ll be the first transgender actress to do so.

5. WICKED

Just when you thought Hollywood had lost its touch, it turns around and conjures up “Wicked.” Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Broadway musical is everything you could hope for: a big-budget, old-fashioned production, with sumptuous costumes, dazzling sets and sparkling choreography. And then there’s the cast: a moving Cynthia Erivo as the green-skinned Elphaba and a show-stealing Ariana Grande as the chirpy, perkified Glinda. Jeff Goldblum (as the Wizard) and Michelle Yeoh (as Madam Morrible) are the icing on the cake; surely we’ll see more of them in next year’s “Wicked Part Two.”

6. NICKEL BOYS

In RaMell Ross’s feature-film debut, two Black teenagers enter a Florida reform school during the Jim Crow era. The story (from Colson Whitehead’s novel) can be harrowing, but Ross isn’t here to present a parade of horrors. A singular filmmaker with an instantly recognizable style, Ross uses montage and free-associative imagery to show how racism seeps into the psyche and ripples into the future. Two films into his career (following the 2018 documentary “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” which earned an Oscar nomination), Ross is a director to watch. (The movie opens in wide release on Jan. 3.)

7. THE ORDER

Here’s a straightforward crime thriller, set in the 1980s, starring Jude Law as a small-town FBI agent who connects a string of brazen bank robberies to a local white supremacist militia. What sets “The Order” apart? Just that it’s really, really good. Law oozes rage and pain while barely saying a word, Nicholas Hoult (as real-life neo-Nazi Bob Mathews) turns in the best performance of his career and director Justin Kurzel stages some truly heart-pounding heist scenes. The topical theme provides some extra meat to chew on.

8. SEPTEMBER 5

The title date marks the deadly hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics, which riveted the world as ABC Sports — suddenly shifting to a breaking news desk — broadcast it around the world. Director Tim Fehlbaum’s journalism thriller mixes fictional characters (John Magaro plays a young producer) with real ones (Peter Sarsgaard is the legendary TV exec Roone Arledge) to enrich the story without teetering into melodrama. Original footage, vintage props and even old anamorphic lenses help transport you back to the moment. (The movie opens in wide release on Jan. 17.)

9. A REAL PAIN

Jesse Eisenberg’s second directorial effort is a small-scale drama that packs a major punch. It’s essentially a two-hander starring Eisenberg as a nebbishy New Yorker (what else?) and Kieran Culkin as his freewheeling but troubled cousin. They’re Jewish-Americans on a trip to visit their ancestral Poland, complete with a concentration-camp tour — a premise that combines road-trip comedy with themes of generational trauma and personal dysfunction. Culkin earned a Golden Globe nod for supporting actor here, but he’s really the star: charming, a little scary and ultimately heartbreaking.

10. BABYGIRL

Halina Reijn’s story of a hard-charging CEO (Nicole Kidman) who begins a kinky affair with her intern (Harris Dickinson) was inspired by the erotic thrillers of the ’90. This time, a woman is front and center, and guess what? She doesn’t behave any better than all those Michael Douglas characters did. Featuring fine performances by the two leads — and a pitiable Antonio Banderas as the husband — “Babygirl” puts a new twist on some old tropes. It opens on Dec. 25.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com@raferguzman