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Featuring exclusive film previews, interviews and much more, this is the place for anyone slightly obsessed with cinema.
Featuring exclusive film previews, interviews and much more, this is the place for anyone slightly obsessed with cinema.
18 Dec 24
Another year in film has come to a close, and, at long last, it's List-mas! Now an annual tradition, we rounded up hundreds of our most loyal movie-going – and movie-loving – Members to tell us which film captured their heart this year.
Together, they've given us a wonderfully diverse list of films, ranging from the most intimate of dramas to the most sweeping blockbuster spectacles – in a nutshell, the kind of thrilling variety that makes your local Picturehouse a Picturehouse. So strap in: here's what our Members think are the best films of 2024. (Spoiler alert: they're all brilliant.)
The cry heard around the world this summer was, surely, 'Lisan al gaib'! It's enough of a miracle that director Denis Villeneuve got pure big-screen sci-fi magic out of Frank Herbert's legendary (and legendarily plotty) tomes once with his first Dune film, but to do it twice – and let's be real, probably a third time come 2026 – is ridiculous. But he did, and Dune: Part Two conquered the cinematic galaxy just as Timothée Chalamet's maybe-messiah Paul Atreides seems set to do. (Not bad for, ahem, A Complete Unknown.)
Dune: Part Two was "definitely the best cinematic experience I've had this year," says Kyle, a Member at Picturehouse Central who praised the truly epic world-building on show. "It builds upon the first part in such an expansive and compelling way." Or, as one Member from Liverpool's FACT succinctly and compellingly puts it: "space worm". (LP)
All eyes were on visionary homegrown auteur Jonathan Glazer this February (ours included, with our aptly-named Double Glazer season at the top of the year) as he made his return to the big screen after exactly a decade away. On paper, The Zone of Interest is an account of the atrocities of the Holocaust told from the family home of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss. But in its total reinvention of the form, it tells a prescient and universal story of the human capacity for evil that left an impression on our audiences, to say the least. "I've watched a lot of great cinema this year," recounts Cameo Member Al, "but [The Zone of Interest] demonstrated the power of film to affect you in ways that other art forms don't."
Aided by an astonishing original score by Mica Levi and Oscar-winning sound design by Johnnie Burn, Glazer presents a stark reminder of one of the darkest chapters in our history by appealing first to our most visceral senses, making us stare directly down the dinner table at evil. Never has a plain red screen, or score reverberating over the credits, been so captivating – or more of a reminder of the uniquely arresting might of cinema. (HH)
It's a good year for Bella Baxter! The first of two Lanthimosian outings in 2024 arrived in January in the shape of the weird and wonderful Poor Things. From the moment its fish-eyed lens focused, we were placed firmly in the brain of Bella, which, as it turned out, was itself taken from Bella's unborn baby and placed back into a then-deceased Bella's head by the unconventional Dr. Godwin Baxter (played by friend of the podcast Willem Dafoe) — are you keeping up? What transpires is a wide-eyed and big-hearted story of self-determination, as she learns to make sense of her identity, those around her, and all the world has to explore.
"There's been nothing like it for years, maybe ever!" declared Stephanie from Brighton, describing it as "somehow utterly alien and equally human." At least partly responsible for this is Emma Stone's transformative turn as Bella, her lack of inhibition winning her a second Oscar (one of Poor Things' four!) and the favour of our Members. In all its world-building, furious jumping and pastel de natas, we were certainly not the poor things for having a film as audacious and brilliant as this on our screens this year. (HH)
Guess what? I can't…hear….your guesses..because this…is…a blog. So I'll just tell you.
Blockbuster musical Wicked has been inching its way to big screen glory since early announcements of a film adaptation way back in 2012 - and to the delight of fans worldwide, In The Heights director Jon M. Chu defied gravity in delivering a cinematic spectacular. In the words of Penny at Greenwich (Green Witch?) Picturehouse: "Absolute perfection, best musical film adaptation I've ever seen".
Our Members had plenty to praise-ify about this big-screen epic, with the most used terms being 'fantastic', 'glorious', 'perfect', and, very aptly, 'pure magic'. Dudlei from Cinema City notes the emphasis on practical sets over CGI "gives the film a sense of genuine fantasy", and Lou from Picturehouse Central revels in the pitch-perfect casting: "Cynthia Erivo IS that girl." If only we could do it all again this time next year! Oh, wait… (LFE)
No stranger to playing a brightly-tressed young woman trying to make right with the world around her, Saoirse Ronan gave us yet more proof that she's one of the best in the game this year in Nora Fingscheidt's Sundance hit. Adapted from the Wainwright-winning memoir by Amy Liptrot (who, along with Saoirse and co., joined us at numerous Picturehouses for Q&As this year!), The Outrun offers a deeply felt tale of one woman's relationship with addiction as she trades her city life for the furthest corners of Orkney, to attune with the healing thrills of the natural world.
Breathing refreshing humanity and levity into a notoriously knotty subject matter, its impact extends far beyond the time spent with it on screen. Our Members made this no secret in their ballots declaring it as a standout of the year – a testament to The Outrun's staying power. "The magical sequence showing her flame-haired and 'conducting' the incoming ocean waves made me want to cheer and weep at the same time," says Thomas from Hackney, and so say we all. (HH)
Two words: Demi. Moore. Or, as Crouch End member Robin puts it, "What Moore do you want?" Coralie Fargeat's hot Cannes commodity is "a fully loaded, unapologetic fever dream [of a] cinema experience" (according to Kate, a Member in Brighton), but at its big bloody heart lies an absolute show-stopper of a performance from its leading lady.
As waning workout video star Elisabeth Sparkle, Moore throws everything at the wall – including co-star/younger self Margaret Qualley – in aid of an audacious thrill ride of a genre movie, melding body horror, lurid satire and gonzo dark comedy. But it's Fargeat, whose breakout film Revenge showed many a glimpse of the feminist underpinnings here, that's in control the whole time, leading her cast through countless twists and turns to perhaps the year's most unforgettable crescendo. Expect shocks, laughs, gore, shellfish, lycra, and some impeccable sans-serif branding. Long story short, there's never been a better time to try The Substance – just remember, you are one. (LP)
Last year's Palme d'Or winner (and Picturehouse Entertainment release!) Anatomy of a Fall was a close second in our best of the year poll. It should come as no surprise that plenty of Members had their Greatest Day with this year's champion: Sean Baker's Anora. Fans of Baker's previous films have come to expect the filmmaker's energetic blend of comedy and empathy. However, as Will from Arts Picturehouse suggests, this not-quite Cinderella story might be his "best work yet".
Awards favourite Mikey Madison anchors the action as fierce 23-year-old sex worker Ani, whose spontaneous marriage to the son of an oligarch (a lovably insubstantial Mark Eydelshteyn) sets off a breathless, bonkers chase through Brooklyn with a pack of henchmen - among them, a soulful, silent Yuri Borisov. Electric, hilarious, and gut-punchingly effective, Chelsea from Central and James from Cinema City summarise its greatness best: "Stayed in my head long after it finished". (LFE)
Few films this year were as vulnerable as All of Us Strangers. An emotionally rich, supernaturally moving story of love, loss and memory from director Andrew Haigh – who's been clear about the film's autobiographical roots, and whose heart you feel in its every frame – it's a big, open-hearted cry of a movie, and one left many of our Members doing exactly that: having a big old cry.
'Emotional' is the word that showed up most in these particular ballots, but another common theme was praise for its ensemble, led by a never-better Andrew Scott (who gets the Oscar for Best Actor from Kath, a Member at Cinema City, and plenty of others we're sure). "Beautifully acted by four actors at the top of their game… a film that has me thinking about it for days afterwards is always a winner," says Epsom Member, Clare. In tribute to the many shimmering '80s hits on its soundtrack, you could say this one's always on our minds. (LP)
Praise be to the papal procedural! Luckily our Members aren't sequestered in the Vatican, because they had plenty of votes to cast for Edward Berger's immaculate thriller. Equal parts involving and intelligent, Conclave's tale of the machinations behind the election of a new Pope goes well beyond its paperback roots without denying us any pulpy pleasures. As Barbara, a Member at Brixton's The Ritzy sums it up, it's "totally absorbing, hugely entertaining, and has you guessing right to the end".
With a sharp script, ravishing visuals (those reds!), riveting plotting, and an ensemble dreams are made of, from Ralph Fiennes's brilliantly beleaguered Cardinal-in-charge – Father figure? – to Isabella Rosellini's scene-stealing Sister, you're guaranteed to leave this one breathless (and hopefully not because you're sat next to a vaping clergyman). Hallelujah. (LP)
We've seen gravity-defying witches, feuding cardinals and one reluctant messiah climb the ranks this year, but taking home the gold is none other than a blue-jumpsuited, cassette-collecting, plant-propagating toilet cleaner from Tokyo. Master filmmaker Wim Wenders gave us a gift this February with Perfect Days: a meditative rumination on the profound magic of the everyday. With an award-winning, almost silent central performance from Koji Yakusho, its dedication to finding something cinematic in life's smallest moments makes it the perfect pick to capture the hearts of our most dedicated cinemagoers.
"Never before has a film made me want to live so intentionally in my day-to-day life," remarked Picturehouse Central member Lindsay. "Perfect Days revolutionised my approach to not just each day but each moment, in the name of looking for beauty and joy where I may otherwise miss it." Between its unimpeachable soundtrack, dreamlike cinematography, and attention given to the unbelievably beautiful public toilets of Tokyo (we're taking notes,) it really is such a perfect film — we're glad you watched it with us. (HH)
There's still time to make a date with our winners! Find some of the best films of the year – and maybe the best films of next year – at a Picturehouse near you.
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