A24, however, is anything but typical. Founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges, and named after an Italian motorway Katz was driving down, the independent movie studio has become one of the 21st century's most notable film tastemakers. It's a brand unto itself, a marker of a certain "type" of movie that indicates quality and intrigue. And even if some purists poo-poo their Instagram-friendly marketing apparatus, you can't deny their output of exceptional movies (even if their bad Rotten Tomatoes scores sometimes say otherwise).

To pay homage to this once-in-a-generation studio, here are the 15 best A24 movies, ranked — and know that there were at least 24 others that could've made the list.

The Daniels, Kwan and Scheinert, made their feature directorial debut with 2016's "Swiss Army Man," codifying their brand of absurdism, sincerity, and genre-hopping with startling and bold efficiency.

Hank (Paul Dano) is stranded on an island with only one man for company: A corpse, played fearlessly by Daniel Radcliffe (who had just one question before signing on)

Erotic thrillers used to be big business. Explorers of late-night cable TV in the late '80s and throughout the '90s likely recall the cavalcade of nudity-infused neo-noirs that filled entire blocks of programming. Many of them starred Shannon Tweed. Because sex and sexuality hadn't yet been moved to the internet, erotic thrillers were vital for a generation exploring adult themes and sexual ideas, even if they were always presented as prurient. Erotic thrillers also proved to be big hits in Hollywood. Adrian Lyne made "9½ Weeks" in 1986 and "Fatal Attraction" in 1987, each of them enormous financial successes. Paul Verhoeven kicked the doors open wide with "Basic Instinct" in 1992, a film that made $353 million on a $49 million budget. Sex became a commercial powerhouse. 

In 1993, Paramount continued the trend with "Indecent Proposal," also a Lyne film, which dealt with the intersection of money and infidelity. In the film, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson play Diana and David Murphy, a married pair of high school sweethearts who have fallen on tough times. In order to buy their dream house in Santa Monica, California, they take their scant savings to Las Vegas, hoping to win big gambling. Instead, they are met with, well, an indecent proposal. A wealthy gambler named John Gage (Robert Redfort) takes a shine to Diane, feeling she is both beautiful and lucky. He offers Diane and David one million dollars if John be allowed to spend the night with Diane. Sex is part of the deal. Diane decides to go through with it, but David isn't wholly comfortable.

While in Vegas, watching John at the baccarat table, Diane and David can be seen standing next to a shaggy, hippie-looking dude in a weird, paper-clip shirt.  In the credits, this character is credited only

Of all the 1980s properties to survive into the 20th century, "The Equalizer" has proven to be one of the most surprising. Edward Woodward embodied Robert McCall on the original CBS television series for four seasons, while Queen Latifah played a genderbent version named Robyn McCall on a reboot series that lasted five seasons on the same network. However, it's the legendary Denzel Washington who's had the longest tenure as McCall, having played the character for over a decade in Antoine Fuqua's "Equalizer" films. No single actor plays the role like the others either, with the only throughline being a central figure with a violent past using their skills to protect those that can't protect themselves. 

In terms of the McCall with the most brutal sensibilities, that honor goes to Washington without question. Fuqua's first two "Equalizer" films demonstrate just how ruthless he can be (especially with a nail gun), but it's "The Equalizer 3" that pushes the character into even darker territory. Released in 2023, the movie has the ex-Marine turned DIA paramilitary officer leaving his Boston abode to travel to Sicily and settle an affair with some Italian gangsters, only to catch a stray bullet that ensues he's not going anywhere anytime soon. This, in turn, forces  McCall to take a much-needed vacation to heal from his injuries in the town of Altamonte. Of course, as he gets to know the local people, he also starts witnessing the ruthless dealings of the Camorra mafia run by Vincent Quaranta (Andrea Scarduzio).

What follows is a string of, as /Film's Witney Seibold noted in his "Equalizer 3"