Top 20 Films of 2024
I've been meaning to do this since early January, but I've found a million other things to do—99% of which involve nothing even remotely productive. In fact, I paid more attention to the health and well-being of my mustache.
I love watching movies, but I need to be in a certain mood to write about them—which is code for procrastination. And for reasons unbeknownst to me, on a random Friday in Austin, the mood presented itself.
To make it on the list is simple: I had to have seen it for the first time in 2024, regardless of when it was originally released.
Out of the 232 films I saw in 2024, 65 were rewatches—35 of which were Christmas films I revisit every year. In fact, starting November 1st, I watch holiday movies almost exclusively.
The movie I saw the most in 2024 was (not surprisingly) The Royal Tenenbaums by Wes Anderson—which I watched five times.
I’ve ranked them in order of how much I enjoyed them, but keep in mind that these are the top 20 out of 232—so they constitute the top ten percent—meaning they're all spectacular.
Without further ado, here are the top 20 films I watched in 2024:
#1 To Leslie – 2022
#2 Seconds – 1966
#3 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – 2004
#4 Day of the Jackal – 1973
#5 Momma's Man – 2008
#6 Down by Law – 1986
#7 Hannah and Her Sisters – 1986
#8 Godland – 2022
#9 Dead Man – 1995
#10 Baldwin's Nigger – 1969
#11 Husbands and Wives – 1992
#12 Chop Shop – 2007
#13 Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb – 2022
#14 The Iceman Cometh – 1973
#15 Cléo from 5 to 7 – 1962
#16 Once Upon a Time in America – 1984
#17 The Zone of Interest – 2023
#18 Terri – 2011
#19 Sense and Sensibility – 1995
#20 Point Blank – 1967
Now, unless you're a cinephile, my guess is you're not familiar with most of these. Nor would I have been five years ago, before I dove headfirst into the cinematic rabbit hole.
This list includes documentaries, science fiction, crime, French New Wave, comedies, political thrillers, independent films, Icelandic drama, period drama, historical drama, and (if you can believe it) a surrealist science fiction romantic drama.
I rarely go to the theater for new releases (independent theaters are another story). I’m perfectly content losing myself in Criterion flicks — and even at one a day, I’d still die with hundreds left on my “to see” list.
So there you go—my top 20 films of 2024 (even though not one was released in 2024).
*Composed, Edited, and Published in Austin, TX
