Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The best chefs. The best DJs. Get your SoundBites tickets now.

The best movies of 2024, featuring a Cinebuds reunion!

Ways To Subscribe

Every week, Kristopher Pollard from Milwaukee Film and Radio Milwaukee’s Dori Zori talk about movies — because that’s what you do when you’re Cinebuds.

There are certain blockbuster-y movie genres that look at character deaths as mere inconveniences rather than points of no return. “So-and-so’s hero’s journey ended with a noble sacrifice that moved millions to tears? Cool! He’s Dr. Doom now!”

For this episode of Cinebuds, we took a page from those … let’s say questionable decisions to perform our own metaphorical resurrection and welcome back one of the podcast’s original hosts: the one and only Justin Barney.

And what better reason to have the now-Nashville resident back in the Radio Milwaukee studios than for the Cinebuds list of 2024’s very best movies? It’s a massive undertaking, so having three sets of shoulders to share the load allows us to pile on even MORE films.

In their typical open-ended fashion, our trio of hosts sort-of-settled on sharing three to five selections each, all of which you can hear about in the full episode using the player on this page or your podcast platform of choice. The list below will also help you follow along and maybe add a couple of these titles to your watchlist.


Cinebuds best movies of 2024

  • A Different Man: An aspiring actor undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance, but his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare.
  • The Fall Guy: A stuntman, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job.
  • Y2K: Two high school nobodies make the decision to crash the last major celebration before the new millennium on New Year's Eve 1999. The night becomes even crazier than they could have ever dreamed when the clock strikes midnight.
  • Crossing: Lia, a retired teacher, has promised to find her long-lost niece, Tekla. Her search takes her to Istanbul where she meets Evrim, a lawyer fighting for trans rights, and Tekla starts to feel closer than ever.
  • Anora: A young escort from Brooklyn meets and impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.
  • Conclave: When Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with leading one of the world's most secretive and ancient events, selecting a new Pope, he finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could shake the very foundation of the Catholic Church.
  • Babygirl: A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much-younger intern.
  • A Complete Unknown: In 1961, an unknown 19-year-old Bob Dylan arrives in New York City with his guitar and forges relationships with music icons on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking performance that reverberates worldwide.
  • Wicked: Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Galinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads.
  • The Color Purple: A woman faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood (technically came out Dec. 25, 2023, but since most of its theatrical run happened in 2024, we made an exception).
  • I Saw the TV Glow: A teenager just trying to make it through life in the suburbs is introduced by a classmate to a mysterious late-night TV show.
  • The Substance: A fading celebrity takes a black-market drug — a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.
  • Sasquatch Sunset: A year in the life of a unique family. It captures the daily life of the Sasquatch with a level of detail and rigor that is simply unforgettable.
  • Sing Sing: Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn't commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art.
Director of Digital Content | Radio Milwaukee