BONUS POST: RANKING MY 2024 FILMS
We have reached the end of the year so I figured a fun thing to do would be to rank every film I have seen that was released this year. Now, I want to be clear, this ranking is based on my favorites in order. It doesn’t necessarily mean that objectively one is better than the other (although in many cases that may be true). How I made this list:
I listed every film with a 2024 release date. If it had a technical release date of 2023 on Letterboxd (La chimera, Ferrari, Hit Man, The Bikeriders, His Three Daughters, Strange Darling) it was ineligible.
I typed out every movie I had seen with its star rating I gave it through Letterboxd alongside the date I saw it and reorganized it from there in a head to head format.
Usually, the criteria was how much the film stuck with me and how much I thought about it after, or still think about it now.
Sometimes, the criteria was which film I just had more fun viewing. Sometimes it was which one I would watch again.
There may be some recency bias, as is bound to happen.
So, in descending order, here are a ranking of all the 2024 films I have seen1.
CARRY-ON (2024) - 12/25/2024 - This was the last entry onto this list and it was a little bit of surprise. Firstly, that it is a Christmas movie; second that it is not that good. But just because I didn’t think it was that great doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a dumb, fun movie. What makes it truly funny is realizing how stupid Ethan (Taron Egerton) is. He made so many mistakes and could have gotten himself out of this situation so many times, but what can you expect from a man who failed the entrance examine to become a cop.
TRAP (2024) - 8/4/2024 - Trap is one of my lowest rated films on this list, but the absolutely dumb blast I had watching it in a packed theater puts it way higher on this list.
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT (2024) - 12/20/2024 - This Indian film that will be kept out of the Best International race because of the Indian selection committee was ranked as the best film on Sight and Sound’s 50 Best of 2024 list2. It’s definitely a very well shot film and provides a different look into parts of Mumbai that aren’t traditionally seen. I, for one, am not as high on this as everyone else seems to be. I just personally feel as if people are pulling a lot more out of this film than what is provided. And sure, subtly is a large part of it, as you don’t want to beat people over the head with messaging, but I personally think more context into the political and historical struggles within Mumbai in some way would have been more beneficial.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM (2024) - 12/17/2024 - I was pretty excited to revisit one of the best parts of the LOTR trilogy through this movie, so I tried to keep myself as guarded from everything as possible. However, what started out as something pretty cool seemed to absolutely fall flat. The animation was for sure impressive at points, but overall, the film just baited with fan service-y gimmicks. I get they just made this film quickly and on the cheap so they can maintain their rights over the LOTR property, but it just seemed like they strung together a bunch of stuff for an original film by trying to replay so many of the former hits. I have no idea why you would do this when there is a literal glut of stuff from the appendices and so much lore to pull from, but at least the score rips.
JUROR #2 (2024) - 12/23/2024 - Honestly, just an overall solid film. I am famously pretty out on Clint. His late period stuff is also pretty wild. However, this was just a solid head-to-toe thriller and Nicholas Hoult is having himself a year.
NOSFERATU (2024) - 12/22/2024 - I can’t tell you why this is so low on my list, but maybe in time this will change. I was lucky enough to get access to a screener of this film so I was able to watch it home on a TV, which might have affected my experience, but it still looked phenomenal. Eggers is incredible at curating images and there are several that are going to live with me for awhile (Hoult standing in the middle of back-lit cross road in Romania, Orlock’s shadow of a hand floating above the German town). I think part of it was my lack of fear and part of it is the general inexplicable mysticism that I’m assuming comes from the original Bram Stoker text, but it was at least a much more coherent version than Coppola’s.
While foreign films have gotten a lot easier to see in recent years, on top of the access I have to them by living in New York, it’s still hard to see all of them in a timely manner. Here are a few foreign films I’d still like to watch:
Universal Language
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Dahomey
I’m Still Here
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
The Beast
Evil Does Not Exist
No Other Land
QUEER (2024) - 12/19/2024 - For how much I recognize the importance of the beat generation and its influence on some of my favorite authors, I really cannot stand it. I don’t know Burroughs, but I do know he was a rich kid who decided to get hooked on heroin. With all of that being said, Queer was pretty phenomenal. Craig is taking swings post Bond and they are working. The entire time I was watching this I kept reminding myself, “Holy shit, that’s Daniel Craig doing some incredibly wild shit on screen.” Most actors of Craig’s stature would be terrified to be that gay on screen but not him. Luca crafts a gorgeous story, albeit maybe a bit too long. This film also made me want to move to Mexico and spend all of my time drinking.
A REAL PAIN (2024) - 12/18/2024 - A Real Pain is truly just a simple and affecting gem with great acting that is a perfect length. What Jesse accomplishes in acting, directing, and writing in this film is incredible. Having experienced a similar trip to that part of Europe this past summer3, the feeling resonated a lot. What hit even harder was the acceptance of becoming distant from someone you grew up with and were very close to. I highly recommend this interview with him about the film.
THE BRUTALIST (2024) - 12/24/2024 - This film is long (love an intermission), but I love how much of this is built on static imagery around architecture. I’m sure I can have a longer conversation on this when if/when I talk about Columbus, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed this film, given everything I heard about it. It’s monumental (no pun intended) and beautiful and Adrien Brody, once again, puts on an all-time performance, which will add to the excitement of this year’s race. Plus, Doylestown being the main setting (albeit shot in Hungary) definitely gives it some bonus points in my book.
There are still plenty of films I have not seen that have been widely praised. Either I missed the boat or again, accessibility is limited. These are some I’ve missed this year that I need to get around to finding:
Sing Sing
A Different Man
Red Rooms
Union
A Complete Unknown
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Babygirl
Maria
Will & Harper
Mufasa
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
The Apprentice4
FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (2024) - 5/24/2024 - This film has gotten so much flack this year for underperforming and/ not living up to its predecessor. I, however, strongly disagree. This film absolutely ruled. Did it go on for too long at some points? Probably. Are prequels a little overplayed and annoying at this point in time? Sure. But, I have seen things in this film I have not seen anywhere else. Whether it is the hunt down in the desert in the beginning, the siege on Bullet Farm, or, more impressively, when the desert raiders parasailed off the dirt bikes. I was floored at what George was still able to do. Combined with an all-time brilliant performance from Chris Hemsworth, this movie rules.
FLOW (2024) - 12/5/2024 - Technically, I have this rated lower on my Letterboxd than the previous three films, but I cannot stop thinking about how well-made, well-done, and brilliant this film was and is. I wish everyone had access to see this.
WE LIVE IN TIME (2024) - 11/19/2024 - My entry on this was very withheld, but I cannot think of a film that was more affecting to me this year alone. I cried in laughter, sadness, pride and was just reminded how great so many things are. This won’t end up on anybody’s year end lists, I’m sure, but I truly loved this film and thought it measured up to anything else I’ve seen this year.
NICKEL BOYS (2024) - 12/5/2024 - This is the actually the lowest rated film I have within my top 16 (4/5 on Letterboxd) and I’m sure that will change over time. I don’t know if I think this is a five star film, but this film has stuck with since its viewing. I didn’t know if it would pick up traction because of its experimental nature, but it seems to really be putting itself in a prime position for an awards bid. The beauty of this film lies in how it manipulates you and rewires your brain to accept the first person point of view this story is told in and is a true work of art. I highly recommend listening to this interview with RaMell Ross on The Big Picture.
ANORA (2024) - 10/18/2024 - I love how this has stayed as the front-runner for Best Picture for this long. I hope this wins. I loved everything about this movie, from its love story, to its slapstick comedy. It feels like the Best Actress race is getting tighter, but I really hope this can swing some huge wins.
DUNE: PART TWO (2024) - 3/1/2024 - Everything I said about Furiosa, I doubly mean that for Dune: Part Two. There are so many things in this film I have never seen before on screen and although I do know how they did it, I really don’t know how they did it. My jaw basically hung open from absolute bewilderment at riding the sandwort, or the mines popping from the sand, or the soldiers floating up the mountain, or the final battle. This is the best film of the year, once again, but I’m sure it won’t get recognized, because films like this never do. I’m just happy that we have this amazing piece of film in our lives.
For anything I have written about, I won’t add additional notes unless I feel otherwise.
This list also has Megalopolis at 17, which, sure.
This summer I was in Budapest walking through the plaza by the St. Stephen’s Basilica and was looking at the little kid walk by enjoying his ice cream with his parents. I looked up and saw the mom holding his hand and then looked over and it was, of course, Jessie Eisenberg. Now, the amount of times I’ve randomly ran into Jesse in the wild are becoming to common to be not normal.
Although I truly have no need to consume Trump content.