Best Films I Watched This Year - 2024
From a wordless experimental doc to an intimately epic three hour nightmare.
You've read about my favorite new releases of the year (right?), but what about everything else? That majority of movies I watch every year is at home, and they tend to be higher quality: I'll catch anything in the theater to construct an informed view of the year's offerings, but am much more discerning outside of it. So for the past few years, I've put together a list of my favorite films, new or old. They were just Letterboxd lists in 2021 and 2022, but I had a full blog post in 2023.
My Letterboxd diary tells me I watched 393 feature length films this year. Of those, 188 were new releases, meaning nearly half of my activity came from 2024 released films. As such, it shouldn't be surprising there are more new releases in the following list than there were last year. They're still underrepresented for the reason mentioned above, just by less.
That list contains sixty-three rewatches, far more than ever before (as an adult, that is; ask my parents about my The Lion King viewing habits as a child). This bump was largely driven by December, which contained almost a quarter as I rewatched a bunch of new releases in preparation for my year-end wrap-up. I also had the opportunity to catch a handful on the big screen for the first time, adding a new dimension to the experience.
The result is 361 distinct features, covering a bunch of years and genres and countries.
That's enough diving into the numbers, let's get to the list!
The List
This list is more straightforward than the year end wrap-up list. It’s just a top 25, with five runners up. No need to go negative here: we’ve too much ground to cover! For each one, I link a review (Letterboxd or blog), and also put some thoughts here, too.
Note that most Letterboxd reviews include spoilers. I’ve marked all of them as such, so the site will automatically hide them when you visit (although you can click a link to unhide it). I recommend not reading them if you have any intention of watching the film.
Runners Up
Five films falling just outside the top 25. Not every film can make the cut, so there are some absolutely incredible films here. But I’ll only write a sentence or two, so I can focus on the ones which did get top honors.
30. The Lighthouse (2019)
A rewatch on the big screen convinced me this thing is a masterpiece of atmosphere and aggression, of madness and masculinity, of accents and attitude. It's gorgeously shot, beautifully acted, and a unique folk tale.
29. Inland Empire (2006)
In what will likely be David Lynch's final feature (no, Twin Peaks: The Return isn't a movie), he investigates and honors the process his actors go through to inhabit a role, contorting their psyche into a variety of shapes and fracturing it into its constituent parts to access the emotions required of them. It's a profound work, deliberate in every way despite its many impenetrable choices, and plays incredibly well on a huge screen.
28. Mulholland Drive (2001)
Probably Lynch's most revered work, it's remarkable that he was able to craft it out of a pilot ABC passed on. A woman newly arrived in LA encounters another suffering from amnesia, and both contend with the surreal and unsettling power brokers of Hollywood as they attempt to find their respective identities, leading to a revelation neither of them is prepared for.
27. Taxi Driver (1978)
Scorsese's investigation of the impotent and entitled psyche of an angry and bitter young man, so untethered from society that he simply ceases holding back his worst impulses. It concludes with a scathing critique of the media environment, sensationalism, and the way our fascination with the criminal underworld plays a role in bolstering it.
26. The Brutalist (2024)
A titanic work from a director who appears elsewhere on this list as an actor. The first of eight films in my top ten to appear on this list.
Top 25
It's the moment you've been waiting for!
Only six are not in English, which is a huge drop from last year. And while the five from before the year 2000 is better than last year's four, it's still shockingly low: I really need to do a better job digging into film history. That said, well over half of them I saw for the first time this year, and a couple I saw for the first time last year, so "new to me" movies are well represented.
And of course, all are worthy of your time.
25. Vital (2004)
I had a few goals for my October viewings, and one was to complete the excellent Arrow box set Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto, which I purchased to acquire Tetsuo: The Iron Man. But it was Vital which spoke to me most deeply. Tsukamoto crafts a sort of fable of a man adrift after the death of his girlfriend. He eventually goes back to medical school, where chance has him perform an autopsy on her, and leads to them reuniting in some bizarre and surreal liminal spaces as he attempts to gain closure while deepening his attachment, to the exclusion of everything else in his life. A story of loss and mourning and connection and raw emotion, for my money it's the perfect combination of Tsukamoto's stylization and color tinting with his ability to render unique and powerful tales of humanity laid bare.
24. Four Daughters (2023)
How best to process and understand decisions made by two of your children which have led to them being absent from the family? If you're Tunisian single mother Olfa Hamrouni and her daughters Eya and Tayssir, you hire actors to play them and re-enact some of the key moments and memories from their childhoods that influenced the family dynamics and development. As a documentary in conversation with itself, we witness the family discussing who these girls were, who they became, offer thoughts on rationale and interpretations of how certain events impacted them. Most fascinating is watching the actors push back as they start to inhabit the girls' minds, forcing the family to dig deeper for Truth. Maybe the most profound moments come from Olfa's interactions with Hend Sabry, whom she hired to play herself in scenes in which she cannot bear. Sabry is unafraid to grill Olfa about who she was and is, interrogating her beliefs and sense of morality, and culpability in the fate of her daughters.
23. Anora (2024)
A whirlwind romance between an exotic dancer and the son of a Russian oligarch turns into a nightmare when his parents learn about it, although it's hilarious for the audience from start to finish. I've already said a bunch about this movie, and you've likely been hearing about it regarding its awards chances. Watch it!
22. The Red Shoes (1948)
A remarkably realized tale of ambition at all levels, of people using each other (or trying to) in order to get ahead, and of the demands of artistic performance, all of which can lead to destruction. The cinematography is stunning, and the decision to show us nearly twenty minutes of the titular ballet, itself based on an Andersen fairy tale, really drives home the themes of the story, while giving the movie a chance to show off some imaginative and beautiful compositions.
21. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
I'm not the first to say this amongst the best action movies of the 2010s, nor will I be the last. It's the best Mad Max movie by a mile. Miller managed to fill a two hour car chase with shocking amount of depth and character development and world building, while never losing sight of making it exciting. In fact, his gentle touch with the story ensured that the more he added, the more the stakes raised in a very natural way, making us feel even more tense. His instinct to refrain from providing the backstories of everyone and everything is a real boon, as you get just enough to become curious, but little enough that it stays wondrous (a lesson he forgot for Furiosa...). And it has some of the best action set pieces...maybe ever?
20. Challengers (2024)
My #6 new movie of the year is also my #20 movie overall! It's electric, it's fun, it's sexy, it's intense, what are you waiting for?
19. Rebel Ridge (2024)
This film has finally gotten Jeremy Saulnier some well-deserved mainstream recognition for a decade of superb work. Go read more about it on my year-end wrap-up.
18. The Elephant Man (1980)
Somehow, the least Lynch-y David Lynch movie (okay, second least: The Straight Story is the least) is the best? This was my second watch, and it was the raw empathy he and John Hurt have for the character that bled through. Merrick is portrayed with such humanity, and it never feels like anybody's tears for him are condescending. Rather, it stems from contemplating the tragedy his life much have been, events that we see in microcosm when he's cornered in the train station. It's emotionally powerful, and looks incredible to boot.
17. Border (2018)
An intense and bitter film about finding your people and realizing that all the ways in which you thought you were a freak were due to society and people deliberately ostracizing you for who you are. It has the tenor of a coming out film: Tina is quite depressed as she drifts listlessly through life, so when Vore helps her discover who she is and where she comes from, we share in the joy of watching her blossom into her true self for the firs time. It's more directly positioning itself as a story of the isolation that can result from being perceived as "The Other", especially when being raised apart from your culture also renders you alienated from your supposed homeland. And to what lengths will you go to claw your way back to where you believe you belong?
16. National Anthem (2024)
There's so much to love about this film, from its gorgeous landscapes to its sense of exuberance about discovering who you are in a society that looks down on such people to the way it breaks down tropes. So much so that it's my #4 on the year: go read about it in my end of year wrap-up from last week!
15. Mysterious Skin (2004)
I went on a Gregg Araki kick in June, devouring his Teen Apocalypse Trilogy, absolutely falling in love with how unabashedly aggro and queer and unconcerned with the "rules" of filmmaking he was. Yet somehow, this film from a few years later hit me even harder. It's still as confrontational as his 90s work, but it's more formally restrained. Which maybe makes it less exciting, while doing a better job allowing you to connect and truly feel what the characters are going through. I adore the construction of the main characters: both are incredibly well written in isolation, but their contrasting outlooks and approaches to their lives and response to huge life events makes them even better foils. All of which is heightened even further by the masterful performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet. They even make their respective voice-over parts work, somehow never feeling cheesy or disconnected, always adding depth of understanding. It's a heart-wrenching tale, but one of bottomless empathy for both characters which grabs you and refuses to let go.
14. Red Rocket (2021)
I've been a fan of Sean Baker's for a few years now, but I somehow missed Red Rocket. I finally came back around to it as Anora was lighting up Cannes, and I'm glad I did. More than most, Baker is incredibly capable of crafting characters who are confident and full of bluster, but are very obviously a mess at the same time. Nowhere is that more clear than in Mikey, a washed up porn star who's managed to grovel enough to crash with his ex-wife (and former scene partner) back in their hometown. He talks a big game, boasting about all sorts of dubious achievements, and charms the pants off Strawberry, a teenager working at the local donut shop. Just like that, we watch him vacillate over whether to accept where he is and fix his family, or take one last shot at fame by "discovering" a starlet. His quick talking and audacity makes him eminently watchable, even as we know not to trust a single word out of his mouth, and despite not knowing whether we should be on his side or not.
13. UP (2009)
I'm the exact right age for Pixar: the first movie I saw in theaters was Toy Story, and their subsequent magical run extended until around the time I graduated from college. UP has long been my favorite, immediately demonstrating its incredible narrative power by emotionally destroying you with it perfect opening love story in which our protagonist never speaks. The best part, is it doesn't end there: the most moving moment (to me, at least) doesn't come until much later, and I can barely think about it without tearing up (the chairs). Of course, it doesn't end there. The rousing adventure, sharp and clever dialogue, all wrapped around a fairly basic plot with fantastical elements and CGI which largely holds up makes it an incredibly thrilling time, even as I reach double digit watches.
12. Paterson (2016)
Slow cinema is a style I've gotten into more and more over the years. Which probably says a lot about how my mind is always racing, thus drawing me towards a style of storytelling which requires you take a deep breath and meet the story where it is. It's also an extension of my love of character pieces, since in the absence of a big story you're mostly left to focus on people (or occasionally, places). Such is the case here, as Jarmusch locks in on Adam Driver as a simple but content bus driver whose name matches the town in which he drives. Whenever he has a moment, he works on poems in a little notebook he always has by his side. And that's kind of it: we hang with him throughout his week, on his bus routes, overhearing conversations and taking part in few, all while supporting his far more frantic and anxious partner as she prepares to sell pastries at a farmers market. It's a lovely mediation on the beauty and mundanity of the world, of how every single person you mean has a whole inner life you likely know nothing about, and maybe wouldn't even car if you did, but the important thing is it exists.
11. The Matrix (1999)
It's The Matrix. Come on!
I got to see it on the big screen for the first time, which was a hell of an experience. Especially since it's been almost five years since I last watched it. That opening scene, with Trinity fighting off then running from the agents, complete with the scorpion kick, might be the best opening to a movie ever? It's at least in the conversation. And you can see the effect the movie as a whole had into the 2000s: on actions movies, on fashion, generally on what we thought was cool. It ruled then, and it rules now. 'Nuff said.
10. 20 Days in Mariupol (2023)
There's a reason this won the Oscar for Best Documentary.
The footage is absolutely harrowing, like nothing I've ever seen. With additional context added in later voice over by journalist and director Mstyslav Chernov, we ride along with him and his crew in the first days of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. As they received news of Russian troops lining up to march into Mariupol, they rushed against the crowd to capture the first, raw images, ensuring the historical record couldn't be denied in the face of Russia lies. Their only protection was embedding with soldiers and the body armor they wore which read "PRESS", not that they had much reason to believe Russian troops would respect the Geneva Conventions. The footage they captured is unreal. They even use its juxtaposition with its presentation is news reports to help make the argument for this stand-alone film: to comply with broadcast standards, the extent of the violence and brutality must be censored, and they can't spend enough time on the report to truly capture the horrors enacted in those first days.
Some day, this film will hopefully aid in convicting Russia and Putin of their War Crimes.
9. Jaws (1975)
It had been a few years since I watched Jaws, which made it easy to take for granted. I remembered quite enjoying it, of course, but my impression was that of a really good movie which had stood the test of time pretty well.
I'd forgotten just how impeccably crafted it is, how tightly scripted, how perfectly paced. So much time is spent establishing the characters while slowly building the unseen threat of the shark that when the town erupts into chaos, you're immediately invested. Even though we've no connection to the first few deaths, we still feel them in our bones because we've come to care about this community...and because we blame the mayor for not listening to Brody. The first half is hilarious, coming from the dialog and the performances and just the behavior of the masses, with shades of the terror that is to come. And the second half is super tense, building up minor peaks before releasing, leaving our protagonists just a little more on edge than before, all building to the thrilling climax.
Oh, and I should mention I finally got to see it on the big screen, courtesy of my friends at Red River Theaters. It was magical.
8. The Zone of Interest (2024)
Director Jonathan Glazer pulls off a tight rope act in crafting one of the most sickening films of the year, and one of the most deserving Oscar wins in history for Best Sound. The movie opens with about three minutes of a solid black screen as the sounds of the movie fades in, just to teach you how to watch it. But I just wrote about it last week, so I'll refrain from repeating myself further.
7. Perfect Days (2023)
I was fortunate enough to catch this at NHFF last year, where it was easily my favorite feature, and made my 2023 top ten. This year, it released in the US, and I was fortunate enough to see it on the big screen, where my love of it was reinforced.
It's a slow, contemplative film about a man who takes pleasure in his daily routine, with no real ambition, but also a firmness that commands respect and refutes any attempts to take advantage of him. His days are spent diligently cleaning the public toilets in Tokyo's Shibuya district, rendering himself invisible to the world while having a hugely positive impact, both through sanitation and a faceless but meaningful game of tic tac toe. He is thus not quite of our world, while remaining undeniably connected to it: his personal library endears him to his niece, his confusion about Spotify baffles Takashi and charms Maya, and his unshakable routine makes him a beloved fixture in the community.
I found myself comparing it to Jeanne Dielman: in both, we watch someone repeatedly going about their routine, which the film makes clear they've been doing the same exact way for ages, lulling us into a sense of comfort. The major difference is that Jeanne Dielman's inciting incident never occurs in Perfect Days, instead leaving us to ruminate on his life as it is, how it got here, and what it all means to him.
6. Dìdi (弟弟) (2024)
It's hard to overstate how much I loved this movie. I may have cried more the second time I saw it in theaters. Chris's story is just such a powerful experience, especially given the hyper-specific time period in which it takes place, which overlaps perfectly with my own coming-of-age. But you already know that, because I was just telling you about it last week.
5. Nickel Boys (2024)
It should come as no surprise that my favorite new movie of the year is also high on my overall list. It's such an astounding story, whose form breaks all convention with such incredible confidence from RaMell Ross in just his second film. It's a little surprising to me that while there's definitely been buzz around it up until this point, it's been nowhere near the tenor of The Brutalist or Anora or even A Real Pain. Maybe that will change as it expands to more cities?
4. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
That Koyaanisqatsi works at all is remarkable. It's a feature-length video collage with a modern classical score over it, in which the only image manipulation is occasionally speeding up or slowing down the footage. It's just that director Godfrey Reggio did a fantastic job selecting that footage.
What emerges is an arc which spans millennia, unfolding on a geological time scale. We see Earth in all its splendor, stunning landscapes, even evidence of early humans. Slowly, human societies form and the planet begins to change. The score matches the pace we're seeing on screen, both of the images themselves as well as the changes in editing. The final shots mirror the opening shots, and are some of the best purely visual depictions of the hubris of humanity I've ever seen.
Regardless of your thoughts on experimental documentaries, Reggio crafts such a visceral object that I can barely imagine anyone leaving the experience without being fundamentally changed.
3. Moonlight (2016)
Director Barry Jenkins demonstrated an amount of confidence in his sophomore feature which is absent from most of Hollywood. Not only are many of his individual shots incredibly long, most of them feature minimal dialog. I think of the shot of Chiron and Kev on the beach. I think of Little sitting at the table with Teresa and Juan. I think of the perfect final shot, as well as the scene which came just before, all delicate and haunting mixtures of beauty and tragedy. It also centers your focus on the facial acting, which is impeccable throughout. All the performers are capable of conveying eons of meaning through eye movements, or the slightest twitch of the corner of the mouth, or even more often through no motion at all.
My focus on cinematography isn't to denigrate the rest of the film. The story is heartbreaking and raw, and does an incredible job demonstrating the difficulty inherent in escaping your circumstances, especially when the world is screaming at you to be ashamed of who you are. What it means to be "masculine" is unpacked, including all the contradictions and self-harm that goes into it. I can't do the film's themes justice in this small blurb, so do yourself a favor and watch it. Just be prepared for a gut-wrenching story.
2. We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021)
I've written a lot about this film. I wrote an essay about its connection to how we experience life in the digital age. It made my top five last year. I made my first ever podcast appearance to defend it (I don't recommend listening, but it's there anyways).
In short, the way director Jane Schoenbrun captures suburban horror is like nothing else. Especially given that the story plays out mostly through a webcam and videos uploaded to the internet, the texture you get from the world and characters within it is astounding. It's kept ambiguous just how fully Casey is bought in, where the line is for her between playing a game and escaping reality and being taken in by modern folklore. The way Schoenbrun draws upon creepypasta and ARGs and malaise and the strange experience of being a teenager to craft such an effective horror movie while utilizing slow cinema tactics is nothing shy of a revelation. The score is perfectly scuzzy and low-fi, and Anna Cobb turns in a perfectly low-key performance in her debut role.
This is one of my favorite films of all time.
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Another of my favorite films of all time. This features Jim Carey is his best non-comedy performance, was my personal introduction to Charlie Kaufman's writing, and is a perfect encapsulation and exploration of my long-held belief that there's no such thing as an all bad relationship. Even if all that remains at the end is the pain, that doesn't erase the good times, nor remove the experience from being an integral part of who you are. Imbued with Kaufman's trademark off-kilter humor and deep earnestness, and a protagonist with deep seeded insecurities and fear, the whole experience is exhilarating from start to finish.
Additionally, it's wicked cool I'm still finding new angles to the script. To be fair, some of that is just how long it's been since my last watch: my newest takeaways aren't super deep, just reflective of my growth as a film fan and human being. For example, being aware of the manic pixie dream girl trope meant I noticed how sharply and directly Clementine is a critique of it: Joel's idea that she'd be the one to save him and pull him out of his depression and self-pity without needing to do any of the work himself is what led them to break up in the first place. The other is just that the final scene (which has echoed around my head for the last twenty years) is designed to play like the climax of a romcom, despite emphatically not being that.
The craft on display is amazing, the score is wonderfully suited to the movie, and the filming adapts to the needs of the scene. Its frequent rendering of dreams/memory is off-putting in the kind of way that dream-logic so often is, and their visual style clearly sets them apart from the real world. They even use forced-perspective and a few other in camera effects which don't quite work in order to further sell the unreality of the mind.
This is an unassailable masterpiece from top to bottom.