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The 10 Most Rewatchable Films of 2024

By Dustin Rowles | Film | December 30, 2024 |

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Header Image Source: Universal

Every year, we run a best movies of the year list, and maybe a favorite horror list, and then we run a separate list that has fallen under a few different names over the years: The 10 Best Comfort Movies, or the 10 Most Entertaining Movies. My favorite catch-all is the Ten Most Rewatchable Films because while Love Lies Bleeding or Conclave may be two of the best movies of the year, they’re not the ones that viewers are going to watch multiple times.

I also love this list because — with all due respect to the amazing staff here — this list is mine. The critics and staff here have changed over the years, which is often reflected in our top ten, but I’m pretty consistent in my love for crowd pleasers, the kind of movies I see in theaters and watch again three months later at home with my family (I mean, not Challengers, obviously, although that movie is rapturous!). And because it is my list, the blurbs from the site’s reviews may not always reflect my opinion (Jason was not nearly the fan of Furiousa that I was, for instance). I’d also like to give a shout-out to The Wild Robot, which I didn’t see and which we didn’t review but that I know would’ve otherwise made the list if not for my animation antipathy.

Carry-On — Collet-Serra’s latest thriller may fall into the familiar trappings of thin characters, especially where the villain and his network are concerned, and VFX-heavy scenes — namely an over-the-top car crash scene with Danielle Deadwyler’s detective character in the passenger seat — may be hokey, but its focus is to perk us up during the holidays with some fun action and thrills. While the why of the film’s events is touched on so quickly with unimportance that it’s hard to care, this game of control is successfully gripping with the stakes rising at every minute. — Sara Clements

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Challengers — Sorry straight people—only gay people can make Sports Movies now. I know you thought Sports were your safe space. And honestly, this hapless limp-wrister with two left feet here was more than happy to let you have them. That is until Luca Guadagnino came along with his sweat-drenched sex ‘n tennis techno symphony Challengers anyway, and showed me the light. Specifically the light glimmering off of Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist’s court-side torsos as they deep-throat Gatorade bottles and bananas with sly winking gusto. Ohh, so this is what Sports are all about? Sign me up then! I guess I’m a jock now! — Jason Adams

WickedWicked is magical and epic. This version of Oz is different yet familiar at the same time. The familiarity also extends to this story, not so much as to mean familiarity with the musical but familiarity with the story of The Wicked Witch of the West and how it’s a reflection of the many women who are marginalized, excluded, and persecuted; stories of women set aflame for simply walking a different path. There’s a sense of bravery and a look of sadness as Elphaba steps away, but there’s also a fist-pumping sense of rebellion as she defies not only gravity but all of Oz. — Sara Clements

The Fall GuyThe Fall Guy is the kind of blockbuster action film we used to get before the superheroes invaded the box office. The action sequences are eye-popping, the chemistry between Gosling and Blunt is crackling, the jokes are clever, and the plot is meaningless. The plot exists only to set up epic action scenes and the clever banter between Gosling’s stunt-man character and the director of the movie (played by Blunt). Aaron-Taylor Johnson and the best and yet most insulting McConaughey impression I’ve ever heard are also along for the ride, as well as a producer, played by Hannah Waddingham, and a stunt coordinator, played by Winston Duke. — Dustin Rowles

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga — Miller had already written out Furiosa’s backstory in luxurious detail before filming a frame of Fury Road, though, and you can’t blame him for wanting to tell the story that this prequel tells—hell, you can’t blame any of us for wanting to head back out into the wasteland with Furiosa for two and a half hours into this mad mad mad world of Miller’s making. It’s one of a kind, and it remains so, and it seems criminal even as I skirt my way around it to complain about “more of the same” when Miller continues to be such a singular filmmaker. — Jason Adams

The Beekeeper — Fun is great and all, but because The Beekeeper is an action film, the question is whether the action itself holds up, and it does. Taken as a whole, there is not much particularly ground-breaking here. But we know Statham can fight the good fight, and Ayer offers a few solid action pieces, including a spectacular gas station showdown and not one but two tech bro call centers. All the fights are shot and paced well, and one scene includes a bit of action that led to this note I took: “Holy shit, he just used an elevator as a weapon!” If that doesn’t have you on board with this movie, it may not be the movie for you. Because all of this boils down to one simple statement — The Beekeeper knows exactly what it is. It’s the movie the trailer promised, i.e., it’s fun and it’s stupid and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Buzz buzz. — Seth Freilich

BabesBabes is a love letter to female friendship, and the one between Eden and Dawn is presented in such a heartwarming way. It’s the kind of friendship everyone should aspire to have. There are ample hilarious scenarios to keep the audience entertained but balanced with moments of emotion to keep us hooked on this friendship. And it’s really this emotional journey for both of them that is the film’s heart. — Sara Clements

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Hit Man — Wrapped around the romance is a story steeped in philosophy and psychology about becoming the person you want to be, and this serves to showcase what a smart filmmaker Linklater is (and presumably, Powell). Through Gary’s academic machinations on the elements of the self, Hit Man explores how a person can or can’t change who they really are. Be it with playful jokes about “Ron” and Madison’s bedroom roleplay, or his lectures on the id, ego, and superego, the movie starts to ask what makes us who we are, and whether we’re a collection of the experiences we’ve previously had. While certainly consequential, these themes are what raises this film above an otherwise shallow romance, but they don’t get in the way of what is ultimately a fantasy story about unlikely and star-crossed lovers. — Lindsay Traves

Saturday Night — Saturday Night asks its audience to watch everything that can go wrong simply not go wrong and to stick out its frantic and fumbling sprint to air until the last brick is literally laid. It’s an unflattering portrayal of the original cast and crew, but a flattering portrayal of their immense talents. It takes ninety minutes for Lorne to shove his cast into frame and onto NBC airwaves, and the same amount of time for Jason Reitman to try and show how an entire generation of comedians find their voices. — Lindsay Traves

Mean Girls — Anyone who has seen the original knows what to expect from the remake, and while the original cast is perfect, every actor here holds their own against them, in particular, Auli’i Cravalho and Reneé Rapp, both of whom improve on the 2004 versions. Jaquel Spivey is also a better Damian Hibbard, and Avantika is a better Karen than the originals. I was also pleasantly surprised that while the story is the same, and some of the original lines do return in one form or another, it’s also been updated with new jokes and even some lines that work on their own but also call back to the original. — Dustin Rowles