2024, Box’d

By Sarah Jester

It’s been an interesting year! It’s been an interesting year. Some might say that it’s been an interesting year.

The most consistent part of my year was the act of sitting down to watch a movie. In January, I told myself that I would watch 200 films by December 31, 2024, and I’m well on my way to surpassing that number. Today is Monday, November 25, 2024, and I’ve watched 191 movies this year. I have several roommates and I know they’re thanking their lucky stars that they have their own TVs in their rooms, ‘cause I hogged the living room screen. 

What's the point of embarking on such a mission? Movies make my world go around. This has not always been the case. I have a Kaufman father and an equal parts Hitchcock/Hallmark mother. We would watch Vertigo, Raising Arizona, and The Sound of Music on a regular basis every year. And I hated it.

When I was around ten years old, my papa gave me an old Star Wars box set that included a "making-of" doc. And that was the end for me. I was hooked. I sat spellbound watching Lucas and company painstakingly construct miniature star destroyer set pieces. I rose to my feet in anger as 20th Century Fox looked down its proverbial nose at the auteur. What's funny is I'm way more into Star Trek.

So, I go to my couch for magic. I try to hit the theater at least once a week. The first time I watched Vertigo as an adult, I called my mom and apologized.

I've done a lot of passive viewing in my life. This year, I wanted to challenge myself to become a more active viewer. To break down why my favorites became my favorites over the years, and to avoid relying on them as a crutch. To seek out films I never would have known if not for the recommendations of others. To recognize both stunning & effective visual and audio patterns and incorporate them into my own work as a video and audio producer.

Those who know me know that I’m too stubborn to get on Letterboxd. So, what’s my personal breakdown of my year in movies? I’m glad you asked!

This year, I watched 42 movies released in 2024. I also watched 149 movies that were released prior to 2024. Out of all of these movies, I was watching 127 of them for the first time. The remaining 54 movies were rewatches.

I watched 5 movies twice this year. Those were Heat, Singing in the Rain, Vertigo, The Thing, and The Long Goodbye. As I’m writing this, I have plans to see Gladiator II, Wicked, and The Sound of Music Singalong this week, which will mark a second 2024 rewatch of the latter. Thanks, Music Box Theater; I love you. And I’m heading to an early screening of Nosferatu next week, which I suspect will creep up pretty high on my 2024 favorites list.

My favorite movies of the year, in no particular order, are as follows: 

Dune: Part Two

Conclave

I Saw the TV Glow

Passages

The First Omen

Ennio (2024 U.S. wide release)

I’m predicting a Dune: Part Two Oscars sweep.

My favorite first-time watches are as follows in chronological order:

A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Harakiri (1962)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967)

The Long Goodbye (1973)

After Hours (1985)

My favorite theatrical showings were Dune: Part Two (American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre), After Hours (Suns Cinema), The Thing (two viewings at Music Box + Suns Cinema), and, to no one’s surprise, Lawrence of Arabia (AFI Silver). Getting to see Lawrence of Arabia in 70mm on the (literal) silver screen at AFI definitely broke something in me. There’s no point in even reviewing it or it would read like this: 

Reviews of some of these to follow. Happy Thanksgiving!