Favorite Discoveries and Rewatches of 2024

The Philadelphia Story (1940) dir. George Cukor Watched December 7

An all-time great rom-com, and one that would still play today, 84 (!) years later. Jimmy Stewart’s always been my favorite of this era and this is testament to why. Just so much sauce here, and some of the best drunk acting I've ever seen.

Rope (1948) dir. Alfred Hitchcock Watched May 11

Perhaps a bit too beholden to its craft to reach the uppermost tier of Hitchcock, though it's hard to blame a film for fawning over its construction when it's made this well. Frame-to-frame, this is one of the coolest things I've ever seen, and though you can see exactly what Hitchcock is doing with his chess pieces, watching the series of moves pay off is no less satisfying.

Jimmy Stewart is mythic, of course, but what I love about his performance here is that the film feels aware of his aura. The way he makes his entrance, the smash cut, how he lurks in the background—it's an almost winking actor showcase that feels way ahead of its time.

Under The Skin (2013) dir. Jonathan Glazer Rewatched February 6

Now that I've versed myself in Glazer amidst the Zone of Interest release, I think I'm most in love with him for the icy sterility he imposes on his films. What results looks very naturalistic but exists in an emotional vacuum, creating a negative space that will swallow you whole. When films craft an expansive, detailed world, we call that immersive. But what Glazer is gunning for is probably better described as consuming. These are films that feel like reality is being sucked back toward some uncanny valley. It's like we've caught a brief glimpse of something we're familiar with but at a new angle. There are several sequences here that are among the most striking, gripping passages I've seen on screen in months—something you quickly learn to cherish when you watch way too many movies.

Anyway, this is why you rewatch movies. All the stuff I initially read as dull and pretentious was just drilling me straight between the eyes.

Apocalypse Now (1973) dir. Francis Ford Coppola Rewatched September 1

Quite possibly the most desperate, harrowing movie of all time, and a heroic feat to shoot this—blind—in hell and return with something that still feels impossibly beautiful in its own way. Like hallucinating the end of the world.

Coppola's one of those directors where, every time I return to his work, I'm baffled that he's not the consensus Greatest of All Time. To create this and only have it be a fraction of your legacy blows my mind.

The Deer Hunter (1978) dir. Michael Cimino Watched May 30

It's impossible not to compare this to Apocalypse Now. While that film finds itself tangled up in Coppola's mysticism (and beautifully so) The Deer Hunter is a working man's story—a few regular guys getting their regular lives regular ruined.

This doesn't make it any less vital among the tapestry of American war cinema. It's easy to wonder what Cimino is after when he spends his first hour aimlessly floating through a friend group in a midwest steel town, but within a few minutes, you find yourself in a boiling pot that doesn't cool off, and it's here Cimino reveals something true about the ravages of war—or at least this one. The idea that war produces far more victims than heroes isn't a novel one, but it tends to be in cinema.

And just because Cimino is more concerned with the immediate humanity at stake in his story doesn't mean he's discarded form. This lens finds tremendous beauty when it isn't trained upon some of the most depressing and tense stuff I've ever seen.

The Hitcher (1986) dir. Robert Harmon Watched July 30

One of my favorite kinds of movies because they're typically so screenplay-forward as cat-and-mouse logic puzzles between a protagonist and an antagonist. Can the former outsmart the latter and gain the upper hand in time?

The Hitcher separates itself by eschewing down-in-the-dirt reality for a kind of nightmare logic. Our villain has no discernible motive and moves through this world almost supernaturally. I've never seen a film so successfully throw believability to the wind. This would be absolutely eviscerated by the Rotten Tomatoes crowd in 2024.

More cynical thrillers set on the open roads of the American West, please!

Rosemary’s Baby (1968) dir. Roman Polanski Watched October 6

Simply ageless—a classic that still feels fresh and radical. And I think that's as much in the filmmaking as it is in the performances. So many older films have a particular outdated acting style but you could drop Farrow or Cassavetes into an A24 movie and not miss a beat.

This is as much a movie about pregnancy as it is a movie about being a woman. Or being in a marriage. Or seeking fame (or being married to someone who is). Certainly, a lot to unpack about the fact that Roman Polanski directed this!

The Last Detail (1973) dir. Hal Ashby Watched November 24

As one who's of the belief that the only true "Is this a Christmas movie?" metric is simply looking at when the studio chose to release the film, this one (December 12) delights me. As I get older I find the best holiday movies manage to be cozy and compassionate amidst nuclear-grade nihilism, so The Last Detail is a banger—a forefather of stuff like The Holdovers. Killer script, killer cast, scuzzy and grainy as hell. Profane and empathetic. I love it.

Rolling Thunder (1977) dir. John Flynn Watched March 26

All-time great climax, my goodness.

It's amazing that you can watch this movie for zero dollars on Tubi, the internet's #1 streaming service.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) dir. Vincente Minnelli Watched December 6

Just infinitely charming and yet I'd give anything if the entire movie were just the winter chapter, which is far and away the best. One of the great "the director is clearly in love with the lead actress" movies. One of my favorite phenomena is watching something old and stumbling across a cultural tentpole. Here it’s learning that Judy Garland’s performance of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was the song’s debut. Imagine hearing that in a movie theater for the first time.

Days of Being Wild (1990) dir. Wong Kar-wai Rewatched January 2

The beginning of the greater Wong Kar-wai Project. Rainy desperation, scalding chemistry, a constellation of characters trapped inside a purgatory of unrequited love—all the while occupying films that are, themselves, part of an abstract but exhilarating interconnected galaxy of their own.

This isn't WKW's best, but a lot here is pretty gobsmacking regardless (gutsy but deeply satisfying narrative twists, a handful of images that feel spiritually ordained). One of the man's many superpowers is that, if you return to his films enough, eventually they all start to look like miracles.

(Leslie Cheung's wardrobe in this is absolutely phenomenal.)

The Iron Giant (1999) dir. Brad Bird Rewatched September 7

I definitely didn't understand this as a kid, although how could I have? It's a simple story about friendship and, concurrently, a full-throated rebuke of xenophobia and militarism—a crazy weight to place upon a children's film.

Brad Bird pulls it off. Between this, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles, he's got three entries in the modern childhood film canon, more than any other director, surely. He also, for some reason, made the second-worst Mission: Impossible film. (Sorry.)

Pickpocket (1959) dir. Robert Bresson Watched August 28

Having seen Paul Schrader do several riffs on Pickpocket, I felt it was time to watch the thing. His obsession makes sense. There’s a reason what’s practically an entire subgenre has descended from this. I’ve seen those movies too many times to be surprised by a single move in the originator.

And yet that doesn’t soften Pickpocket’s blow or make its central ideas any less enthralling. In the end, we’re all just dirtbags who feel we should get crushed by what we deserve and yet hold out hope we’ll be saved by what we don’t—and the beauty of life is that while the former sometimes comes for us, the latter always does.

Y Tu Mamá También (2001) dir. Alfonso Cuarón Watched January 22

Legacy-making stuff from Cuarón here. It has the kind of exotic, freewheeling nature you can only really get with young filmmakers but also the steady, delicate hand you typically only find from directors who've been around the block. This blend of youthful energy and expert judgment is super rare and worth watching 100 bad movies to find.

I cannot believe someone watched this and said, "Let's give this guy a Harry Potter movie." And I cannot believe it worked. (Great movie!)

Affliction (1997) dir. Paul Schrader Watched June 4

One of the most upsetting movies I've seen this year—an extremely run-of-the-mill, small-town murder mystery pitched so funereally from the first moment that I had to remind myself that it's currently June and not a snow-bound New England winter. Only Schrader could make something so objectively boring and domestic feel this apocalyptic, with a meandering, festering tone that will play out as a kind of horror movie to a certain type of viewer. Even before this story fully goes sideways, the vibes are downright sinister.

Sunset Boulevard (1950) dir. Billy Wilder Watched May 11

I undyingly adore anything this self-cynical, especially when the subject of that cynicism has persisted successfully 75 years after the fact. After all, many of the best things (Hollywood, America, baseball) have died a million deaths and haven't really gone anywhere.

Very nice to meet another member of the Mulholland Drive-Babylon family tree.

Return to Seoul (2022) dir. Davy Chou Watched January 14

From the premise alone, this might seem like a heartwarming story of a young person reconnecting with their roots, but it doesn't take long to realize you've actually been dropped into the center of a minefield. This is wildly daring and unpredictable, slithering in upon itself at every turn. I came for convention and left in admiration of how thorny and unchained it was willing to be.

And I feel like I'm still not great at judging non-English performances, but I was blown away by Ji-Min Park, only learning after the film ended that this is her first role. Rare stuff.

Taste of Cherry (1997) dir. Abbas Kiarostami Watched August 17

Like every Kiarostami film, just completely cracked me in two. Watching his movies makes me feel like I’m falling out of an airplane.

The Color of Money (1986) dir. Martin Scorsese Watched March 2

Yes … ha ha ha … YES!