2024.12.31
Movie List 2024
Every year, I try to compile a list of games, books, and movies I experienced. For the complete list, check the Ratings. Here we go (sorted by rating, then alphabetically)!
NOTE: I believe this list is the one that is mostly incomplete. I will probably make additions to it, time to time.
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (): A timeless exploration of rebellion, freedom, and madness, with Nicholson delivering an unforgettable performance. A film that captures both hope and despair in one breath.
- Game Night (): A chaotic, clever, and hilarious rollercoaster where every twist lands perfectly. Surprisingly sharp and self-aware for a comedy.
- Leaving Las Vegas (): Raw, heartbreaking, and utterly devastating. Cage and Shue lay their souls bare in this tragic descent into addiction.
- Past Lives (): A delicate, melancholic meditation on love, fate, and missed chances. Quietly profound and achingly human.
- The Invisible Guest (): Our first movie entirely in Spanish since we moved to Peru. Twists and tension done right, keeping you guessing until the very end. A sleek, tightly-woven thriller.
- The Thing 1982 (): Paranoia, horror, and practical effects at their peak. Carpenter’s chilling masterpiece.
- The Whale (): A gut-wrenching portrait of redemption and regret, anchored by Fraser’s vulnerable and transformative performance.
- Tropic Thunder (): Hollywood satire dialed up to 11, skewering industry egos and excess with wild, unfiltered humor. Somehow both ridiculous and incisive.
- All The President's Men (): Journalism’s finest hour on film, unraveling a scandal with a relentless pursuit of truth.
- Bernie (): Dark humor meets small-town crime with charm. Jack Black shines in one of his most nuanced performances.
- Dune 2 (): A sci-fi epic of stunning scope and spectacle. Villeneuve balances grandiosity with intimate character moments.
- High and Low (): A Akira Kurosawa masterful moral thriller of ransom and class, showing the fine line between privilege and desperation.
- Palm Springs (): Groundhog Day meets millennial cynicism with a heart. A time-loop comedy that’s surprisingly existential. Better than I expected.
- Poor Things (): Surreal, inventive, and delightfully strange. Stone’s performance is fearless, and the world is bizarrely beautiful.
- Popstar Never Stop Never Stopping (): Satirical absurdity in perfect harmony, mercilessly mocking the music industry while delivering bangers.
- Seven Samurai (): Kurosawa’s blueprint for action epics, combining heart, strategy, and heroism.
- Silence (): A quiet descent into faith and suffering. Scorsese’s understated masterpiece asks hard questions with haunting beauty.
- A Most Violent Year (): Crime and integrity clash in a snow-covered 1980s New York. A slow-burning, tension-filled character study.
- Anatomy of a Fall (): A courtroom drama that dissects more than just a case. A slow-burn character study wrapped in ambiguity.
- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (): Stay classy, comedy fans. A ridiculous, quotable romp that never takes itself seriously.
- Colossus: The Forbin Project (): AI paranoia before it was cool. A chilling look at humanity’s hubris in the face of technology.
- Donnie Darko (): Disturbing, puzzling, and oh so cult-worthy. A time-twisting tale of teenage angst and existential dread.
- Metropolis (): The foundation of sci-fi cinema, a vision still ahead of its time. Note that today, only heavily edited versions of it exist.
- Take Shelter (): A slow-burn descent into anxiety and uncertainty.
- This Is the End (): Self-aware apocalypse, dripping with absurdity, with celebrities roast themselves while the world burns.
- Upstream Color (): A hypnotic puzzle only the boldest try to solve.
- Zone of Interest (): The horror lies in its mundane perspective. Oscar worthy of either “international movie” or “best picture”, but not both.
- Civil War (): A tense and unsettling exploration of a fractured, grim and plausible America.
- Primal Fear (): A gripping legal thriller with a twist that lingers. Norton’s breakout performance steals the show.
- Killers of the Flower Moon (): A tragic epic that loses its sharp edge. Brilliant performances can’t quite save the bloated runtime.
- The Thing 2011 (): Decent. A shadow of its predecessor’s brilliance.
- Mission Impossible 5 (): Tom Cruise runs; the thrill fades. 85% what they talk is one-liners.
- Mr. Nobody (): The concept is interesting, but the movie in boring.
- Waking Life (): Interesting visuals drags.
Documentaries
- RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop (): Super nostalgic documentary about the creation of the first movie.
- Period. End of Sentence (): A powerful, concise look at the fight for menstrual taboos.
- Nai Nai (): A tender and simple portrayal of family bonds across generations.
- The Last Repair Shop (): A heartfelt tribute to unsung heroes keeping music alive, one instrument at a time.
Animations
- Nimona (): Bold, vibrant, and full of rebellious energy. A dazzling blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and self-acceptance.
- Elemental (): I did not like even the visuals, over-saturated.
TV Shows
- Arcane S1 (): A stunning explosion of art, lore, and character depth.
- Shogun (): A masterclass in historical drama, rich and ruthless.
- Arcane S2 (): Continue to be stylish, but abuse of numerous character timelines with looong playoffs. In several episodes, you end up without knowing what you’ve just watched.
- House of the Dragon S2 (): Dragons characters are cool, but the humans ones are most lame.
- Severance S1 (): Clever, eerie, and just a bit too enigmatic.
- 3 Body Problem S1 (): Sci-fi that starts strong, then it becomes less than Lost or Heroes final seasons.
