I must admit that although I had been wanting to write this post for several days, I was held back a bit by the fact that I felt like I hadn't seen that many movies from 2024, especially movies that I really liked... In fact, taking into account my Letterboxd diary, during those 366 days I only saw 81 movies, a number considerably lower than the almost 200 I accumulated in 2000.
Taken from my Letterboxd account.
The reasons are many: work, personal commitments and honestly a growing apathy for most modern cinema.
However, I still think it's important to highlight what I think were the best movies of the year, either because they had an undeniable quality, or because they simply fit easily into my tastes.
And, although I have spoken out against forced sequels and the need to produce an absurd amount of superhero movies on several occasions, I appreciate that this time the box office leaders were a little more varied, and, although it is inevitable for the major studios not to take advantage of the most recognized intellectual properties within popular culture, I feel that there was plenty of room for experimentation.
In fact, two of my favorite movies of the entire year were sequels/prequels: Dune - Part Two and Furiosa, the spin off of Mad Max Fury Road. Both films with solid production and captivating universes.
On the other hand, we have the case of films like Longlegs and Challengers, which, although they had very clear influences ("Y tu mamá también" and "The Silence of the lambs", respectively), had refreshing stories and brutal artistic direction. Thematically dense and characterized by a consistent rhythm.
Overall, I feel like it was a year where experimental concepts triumphed, and cases like the irreverent The Substance or M. Night Shyamalan's Trap are perfect examples of this.
And although the release of the final sequel to Into The Spider-Verse is missed, animation also had solid proposals like Transformers One or Piece By Piece, additions that reaffirm that animation as a medium is in a golden age, and we will probably continue to see more brilliant films.
The point is that while good films were a bit scarce, there were several options for various types of tastes; horror, drama, action, science fiction, comedy, etc... The important thing is that despite the limitations we continue to enjoy good cinema, and I can't help but feel excited about all the films that are coming.
My goal for 2025? Not worrying so much about the numbers, focusing on watching good cinema and of course always sharing my opinions on it.
Twitter/Instagram/Letterbox: Alxxssss
