2mo Eric J @ericj
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57 Favorite New-To-Me Films of 2024, and One Dud

58 movies  

At one point, this list was 65 titles long. I did a lot of hemming, hawing, and cutting to get it down to a "more manageable" 57.

Also, there's one movie I added sort of as a joke, but as I hemmed, hawed, and cut, I kept looking at it on my list and just could not bring myself to remove it, so that's here too.

With that said, here are the 57 new-to-me films I enjoyed in 2024, and one that I didn't, listed in chronological order of how they were viewed throughout the year.

Enjoy!

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The Conversation (1974)
The Conversation
★ 8.2 167 ratings
Francis Ford Coppola actor: Gene Hackman / 约翰·凯泽尔 …
other title: 窃听大阴谋 / 对话 …
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Eric J The first of three movies I'll've ended up watching last year where magnetic audio tape played a role. I loved them all, and this one is the most incredibly paranoid. So good!
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Witness (1985)
Witness WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
★ 6.9 30 ratings
彼得·威尔 actor: 哈里森·福特 / 凯莉·麦吉利斯 …
other title: 证人 / 目击者 …
A sheltered Amish child is the sole witness of a brutal murder in a restroom at a Philadelphia train station, and he must be protected. The assignment falls to a taciturn detective who goes undercover in a Pennsylvania Dutch community. On the farm, he slowly assimilates despite his urban grit, and forges a romantic bond with the child's beautiful mother.
Eric J Growing up I'd only ever seen this movie in pieces, so it was nice to finally see it all the way through from beginning to end and discover that it's a really great movie.
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The Alchemist Cookbook (2016)
The Alchemist Cookbook WikiData IMDb TMDB
Joel Potrykus actor: Ty Hickson / Amari Cheatom …
other title: 디 알케미스트 쿡북 / 料理煉金術 …
Self-made chemist Sean, a recluse living in an old trailer in the woods, suffers from pill-popping delusions of fortune. When his manic attempts at cracking the ancient secret of alchemy go awry he unleashes something far more sinister and dangerous.
Eric J It's not that this movie is great in the traditional sense, but it stuck with me for days. One of my goals this year was to write something about each movie I saw, and I could never find the right words for this one. Even now it still haunts me, so that's gotta account for something.
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Hard Target (1993)
Hard Target
★ 6.6 18 ratings
吴宇森 actor: 尚格·云顿 / 查克·费尔 …
other title: 终极标靶 / 하드 타겟 …
When a woman's father goes missing, she enlists a local to aid in her search. The pair soon discover that her father has died at the hands of a wealthy sportsman who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation.
Eric J There's a lot to love about this movie if you just give it a Chance.
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American Fiction (2023)
American Fiction
★ 7.5 177 ratings
柯德·杰弗森 actor: 杰弗里·怀特 / 翠西·艾利斯·罗斯 …
other title: 美国小说 / 擦除
失意的小说家兼教授塞隆尼斯·“蒙克”·埃里森（杰弗里·怀特 Jeffrey Wright 饰）出于怨恨，用开玩笑的方式写了一本小说，书中充斥着古怪刻板印象的黑人形象。不料这本书出版后大受好评，不仅获得文学大奖，还被拍成电影。
Eric J I enjoyed this movie alone when my wife was on a work trip, then again with her months later and liked it even more.
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Malcolm X (1992)
Malcolm X
★ 8.3 42 ratings
Spike Lee actor: Denzel Washington / Angela Bassett …
other title: 黑潮 / 马尔科姆 X …
A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.
Eric J Great biopic with an undeniable lead performance. Should've been nominated and won more awards.
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The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
★ 8.0 15 ratings
约瑟夫·萨金特 actor: 沃尔特·马修 / 罗伯特·肖 …
other title: Il colpo della metropolitana / Togkapring …
In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?
Eric J One of those movies where it just feels like a 5-star film the whole time, and then it ends on the best last shot of any movie. So good!
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The Zone of Interest (2023)
The Zone of Interest
★ 7.5 277 ratings
乔纳森·格雷泽 actor: 克里斯蒂安·弗里德尔 / 桑德拉·惠勒 …
other title: 利益区域 / 兴趣之地 …
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
Eric J The sound of unspeakable horror is just white noise no worse than city traffic when you're a terrible monster raising a family in an idyllic home in the country that you just don't want to give up.
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Heat (1995)
Heat
★ 8.3 486 ratings
Michael Mann actor: Al Pacino / Robert De Niro …
other title: 盗火线 / 烈火悍将（台） …
Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the other even though they are aware their cat-and-mouse game may end in violence.
Eric J <i>A Swiss watch of American crime cinema. </i>is how I'm choosing to write about this movie, not fully sure that I understand what it is that I'm writing, but it somehow feels accurate nonetheless.
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The Killing Violin (1989)
Paganini Horror WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
Luigi Cozzi actor: 达里亚·尼科洛迪 / Jasmine Maimone …
other title: 毛骨悚然的帕格尼尼 / Paganini Horror …
1989 film by Luigi Cozzi
Eric J If you couldn't tell by the rating, this one's the dud.

<a href="https://letterboxd.com/worldonwire/">My friend Jesse</a> and I watched it on a day I was a little tired and I could feel myself fading at points, but it's also only an 82 minute movie so how dare it be even a tad slow!

Then there I was, going through my <a href="https://letterboxd.com/YouLittleJerk/films/diary/">Diary</a> and adding movies to this list, knowing that I would eventually weed through them further to shorten it down, and I added this sort of as a joke. But with every pass through the list removing films that I thought more about and decided they weren't worthy, I for some reason couldn't cut this one. Maybe there's a positive feeling I have toward the memory of the night I watched this with my good friend, or maybe I'm trauma bonded to it - who can say for sure?! Either way, it's not a good movie. It's not even a good bad movie, and I can't really recommend watching it to anyone (though I'm morbidly curious about giving it a rewatch just to see if anything changes).

After all the hemming, hawing, weeding, and cutting, for whatever reason, <I>Paganini Horror</I> remains on the list.

I don't know! I can't explain it.
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Hardcore (1979)
Hardcore
★ 6.6 10 ratings
Paul Schrader actor: 乔治·C·斯科特 / Peter Boyle …
other title: 赤裸追凶 / 色情电影 …
A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the sordid underworld of pornography in search of his runaway teenage daughter who’s making hardcore films in the pits of Los Angeles.
Eric J Loved that it starts as a Christmas movie set in Grand Rapids and ends as a summertime sleaze in San Francisco.

Love that it sorta becomes a buddy film.

Love that there's always a little humor to be found in the most dour of places.
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The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
The Last of the Mohicans
★ 6.9 59 ratings
迈克尔·曼 actor: 丹尼尔·戴-刘易斯 / 玛德琳·斯托 …
other title: 라스트 모히칸 / ラスト・オブ・モヒカン …
In war-torn colonial America, in the midst of a bloody battle between British, the French and Native American allies, the aristocratic daughter of a British Colonel and her party are captured by a group of Huron warriors. Fortunately, a group of three Mohican trappers comes to their rescue.
Eric J Mann trades nighttime neon for painterly candlelight and the film is a delight.

KenTUHkee forever.
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
★ 7.0 308 ratings
乔治·米勒 actor: 安雅·泰勒-乔伊 / 克里斯·海姆斯沃斯 …
other title: Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga / Furiosa: Uma Saga Mad Max …
As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.
Eric J I don't think this was ever going to live up to <i>Fury Road</i>, but it really is quite spectacular in its own right.
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Godzilla Minus One (2023)
ゴジラ-1.0
★ 6.3 198 ratings
山崎贵 actor: 神木隆之介 / 滨边美波 …
other title: 哥斯拉-1.0 / ゴジラ-1.0 …
In postwar Japan, Godzilla brings new devastation to an already scorched landscape. With no military intervention or government help in sight, the survivors must join together in the face of despair and fight back against an unrelenting horror.
Eric J Really wish I would've seen this in theatres, either in color or minus color.
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Turkey Shoot (1982)
Turkey Shoot WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
布赖恩·特伦查德-史密斯 actor: 史蒂夫·雷尔斯巴克 / 奥丽维娅·赫西 …
other title: 集中营狩猎 / 土耳其射击 …
In the near future, after an unspecified holocaust, survivors are herded into prison camps. There, they are hunted for sport by the leaders of the camp. Paul, one of the newest prisoners, is determined not to go down as quietly as the others.
Eric J This was a fun watch!
Reply Quote July 21, 2026