The SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strikes of 2023 have left the 2024 release calendar looking a little sparse. But there is more than enough exciting art coming to theaters in the coming year to get excited about, especially outside of major releases. Let's take a look.
10. The Fall Guy, directed by David Leitch
Stuntman turned director David Leitch returns this summer with The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling. It follows a stuntman who gets wrapped up in a conspiracy revolving around a missing movie star, while simultaneously trying to win back the love of his life. Outside of Atomic Blonde, I am admittedly not the biggest fan of Leitch's directorial efforts thus far. However, if the man knows nothing else, he knows how to choreograph exciting action, and this time the movie is starring my favorite actor. So count me in.
9. Nightbitch, directed by Marielle Heller
I'm not a big Marielle Heller guy. Can You Ever Forgive Me and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood both failed to click with me. However, I am a big Amy Adams guy, and I'm a sucker for an absolutely absurd premise. Nightbitch is about a mother disenchanted with the day-to-day of raising a toddler that is becoming increasingly aware of the fact that she is slowly turning into a dog. I can dig it.
8. Polaris, directed by Lynne Ramsay
Lynne Ramsay's previous film, You Were Never Really Here, was one of my favorite films of 2017. She is again teaming up with Joaquin Phoenix for Polaris, also starring Rooney Mara. Little is known about the film, except that it follows a photographer who meets the Devil in Alaska. It sounds dark and cold and right up my alley.
7. Love Lies Bleeding, directed by Rose Glass
Kristen Stewart is one of my favorite living actors. And this is not the last time she will be appearing on this list. But all of her post-Twilight work has been interesting, challenging, and somewhat bizarre. It's wonderful. After Rose Glass' previous film Saint Maud, Stewart apparently tracked down the director and begged to be involved in whatever she did next. And thus Love Lies Bleeding was born. It's a queer love story about a gym manager named Lou that falls for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder. Their romance takes a turn as they find themselves wrapped up in Lou's criminal family.
6. I Saw the TV Glow, directed by Jane Schoenbrun
At first viewing, I hated Jane Schoenbrun's first feature film We're All Going to the World's Fair. Upon giving it a second chance, I found it to be a deeply moving portrait of what it means to be lonely in the social media age. I am so on board for whatever she does next. I Saw the TV Glow follows Owen, whose grasp on reality starts to crack when a classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show.
5. Mickey 17, directed by Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho has a long and storied career of dazzling films. But Mickey 17, starring one of my favorites Robert Pattinson, is his follow-up to his Best Picture winning film Parasite. I am beyond excited to what Bong has in store for us next. Mickey 17 is about an "expendable," a disposable employee on an ice planet. Bong directing a treatise on being a disposable corporate machine? Yes, please.
4. Civil War, directed by Alex Garland
Alex Garland is perhaps my favorite writer/director working today. Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men are among my favorite films of their respective years. The same can be said of movies he has only written, like Dredd and Never Let Me Go. Garland's work always grapples with fear and existential dread that I find very relatable. In Civil War, he will be tackling the idea of a civil war in the near future of the United States, and I can't wait for Garland to bring his very particular flavor to that subject matter.
3. Love Me, directed by Sam Zuchero & Andrew Zuchero
I am a huge fan of a bizarre love story. Look at my Top 10 movies of 2020, and you'll find Zoe Wittock's Jumbo, a romance about a woman that falls in love with a amusement park ride. Love Me is a film about a satellite and a buoy who fall in love long after humanity's extinction. Pump that shit directly into my veins. Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun are two of the most exciting young talent out there right now. So much about this excites me.
2. Nosferatu, directed by Robert Eggers
Robert Eggers directing career is still in its infancy, but the man has already proven himself to be a master in art. His feature film debut The Witch is a total masterpiece of horror. His subsequent works, The Lighthouse and The Northman have also proven that Eggers is versatile in the space, and can handle changes in genre and tone deftly. His next film is a retelling of the 1922 F.W. Murnau film Nosferatu. I'm excited to see him return to the horror genre, and equally excited to see Bill Skarsgard's take on Count Orlok.
1. Furiosa, directed by George Miller
Mad Max: Fury Road is the best film of the last decade. It is a masterwork on every conceivable level. I have been waiting 9 long years to see George Miller to return to that world, and next year we will finally have that chance with Furiosa. The incomparable Anya Taylor-Joy plays the titular character, a younger version of the character played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road. Taylor-Joy has been amazing for a long while now, but has yet to really find an iconic role to call her own. I'm so excited to see her really put her experience to task, and play a character that is deserving of her skill.
