Like last year, here are my top 25 film recommendations out of all the feature films I watched during 2024. In total I watched 143 (including 2 rewatches), up from 91 last year. My target is generally 104- which is two (new to me) watches a week. As a filmmaker, I appreciate the importance of watching feature films and look at them not only as entertainment, but also material to study.
As ever, it was a very hard list to compile- there are just a lot of good films aren’t there?! I feel this list is a nice overview of the films I have enjoyed during the year, so there’s a mix of live action, animation, documentary, bigger budget, smaller budget, British cinema, World cinema and so on. Which actually reflects my taste anyway- I’m up for watching a whole plethora of films.
This year I also did something unprecedented: I delved into the world of unlimited cinema! For a several reasons I have never looked into this (financial and not having a local cinema which would justify the cost- only screened the very mainstream/ high budget films), though since moving to Sheffield and being blessed with a choice of 6 cinemas (plus several alternative cinema offerings in the form of Kelham Film Club and Film Unit Sheffield), as well as being in a better financial situation, I decided to dive right in.
The first (yes, I did this more than once) cinema I chose was The Light. I selected this cinema because of it’s dedication towards supporting independent film, plus the chain hosts film festivals (Sheff Doc Fest and Bolton Film Fest- maybe more as well), I wanted to put my money towards something good. The viewing experience is great: large screens, decent audio, as well as comfortable, spacious seats. It was also very reasonably priced at just £15.99 a month for as many films as you like- and I really did indulge! I watched 45 with the 6 month membership, justifying the price and then some. Because I could see what I wanted, it made me pick several films I likely would not have seen without the pass, so it really opened me up to watching films I might not have picked to watch otherwise. Top marks!
Despite enjoying the pass immensely (as well as The Light cinema itself), once the 6 months was up, I decided not to renew the membership. The main reason: I live 3 miles from the cinema and to just watch a film, I was taking a whole afternoon out my day- an hours walk each way, plus the duration of the film. It also meant evening screenings were a little difficult and it felt like I wasn’t just paying for the cinema pass, but often bus fares to/ from home. Which added up cost-wise. If I lived nearer, I’d snap up the membership again in a flash.
After a couple months off, I was definitely craving cinema visits again, plus with it heading to ‘awards season’ it meant there would be loads of good new releases. The closest cinema to me offering a pass is Cineworld- it’s literally a 20 minute walk from my house, so super convenient. It’s slightly more expensive and the cinema experience isn’t quite as nice as The Light, plus it’s a much bigger corporation, meaning I don’t feel my money is going to something quite as ‘good’. But I am grateful to have a cinema so close to me offer an unlimited deal. It also shows a lot of the films I want to see, which is obviously a positive! When this pass runs out, I am likely to renew, because I love watching films in a cinema environment, and as I said, it’s so convenient with it being so close.
Wow, that was a bit of an essay, wasn’t it?! Right, back to why we’re here: the list…
These are listed in no particular order. The title of the film is in bold, followed by the the date which it was made according to IMDb (in brackets) and then the name of the director(s).
1. Last Resort (2000) Pawlikowski, Pawel
2. How to Have Sex (2023) Manning Walker, Molly
3. Hello My Beautiful Creatures (2024) Bernhagen, Eric; Haver, Joel
4. The Holdovers (2023) Payne, Alexander
5. All of Us Strangers (2023) Haigh, Andrew
6. The Zone of Interest (2023) Glazer, Jonathan
7. Perfect Days (2023) Wenders, Wim
8. Robot Dreams (2023) Berger, Pablo
9. Copa 71 (2023) Erskine, James; Ramsay, Rachel
10. Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023) Lambert, Rachel
11. Monkey Man (2024) Patel, Dev
12. Blue Giant (2023) Tachikawa, Yuzuru
13. Reality (2023) Satter, Tina
14. Anatomy of a Fall (2023) Triet, Justine
15. Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (2024) Mabott, Michale; Rosenberg-Lee, Lucah
16. We Can Be Heroes (2024) Mia Wong, Carina; Simmons, Alex
17. Fancy Dance (2023) Tremblay, Erica
18. Strike: An Uncivil War (2024) Gordon, Daniel
19. Wilding (2023) Allen, David
20. Silver Haze (2023) Polak, Sacha
21. Sky Peals (2023) Hussain, Moin
22. The Outrun (2024) Fingscheidt, Nora
23. Threads (1984) Jackson, Mick
24. A Different Man (2024) Schimberg, Aaron
25. Memoir of a Snail (2024) Elliot, Adam
Hope you enjoy and I’m always open to any watch recommendations, so write ‘em in the comments! xo
