The best movies, TV, music and more of 2024… so far
CNN
As we hurdle headlong into summer, we’re dully aware that the year is somehow already halfway over (meaning, we’re halfway to Christmas!), and six months’ worth of new content has already hit our streaming platforms and our feeds – and in some rare cases, even gotten us out of the house and into a movie theater.
As we hurdle headlong into summer, we’re dully aware six months’ worth of new content has already hit our streaming platforms and our feeds this year – and in some rare cases, even gotten us out of the house and into a movie theater. While consensus seems to be that a lot of what pop culture has brought forth thus far in 2024 has been a bit “meh,” there have also been standouts, triumphs and attention-getting titles worth of celebrating. Here’s our list of some the year’s best performances and content so far: MOVIES The Oscars “conversation” already includes “Kinds of Kindness” star Plemons delivering a brief performance so menacing, it calls to minds the scant 24 minutes Anthony Hopkins spent on screen before clinching an Academy Award for “Silence of the Lambs.” Plemons’ demented “soldier” in a crumbled and war-torn version of the near-future US, dispensing life and death with callous disdain, more than drives home the point filmmaker Alex Garland was trying to make with his latest movie. It’s anyone’s guess how “Civil War” star Kirsten Dunst – who is married to Plemons in real life – felt comfortable going home with him after shooting his scene. Writer, director and actor Julio Torres is an exceptional cinematic voice who has actually been around for awhile, creating excellent content for “Saturday Night Live” and series such as “Los Espookys” and the soon-to-be released “Fantasmas.” “Problemista,” which won acclaim at several festivals in 2023, features Torres as a toy designer from El Salvador trying to find opportunities to unleash his creative vision in the US, while also figuring out a way to stay in the country. He runs into both expected roadblocks as well as ones that are frustratingly inane, like a poorly designed grant website with a broken drop-down menu that makes it impossible for anyone located outside of country to apply. With artfully realized details like that, “Problemista” does the remarkable job of remaining universally engaging while exploring a very specific and individual experience. Plus, Tilda Swinton turns in one of her best idiosyncratic and delightfully deranged performances opposite the gifted Torres.
