A proposed post topic has crossed over from Tumblr thanks to Jo’s Blog, then Sara suggested that, as a frequent participant to the IndieWeb Movie Club, I could be interested in it. The official topic is ‘Top 9 Films watched in 2024’, but since I have already posted my Top Ten of films released in 2024, I’ll adopt a variation on the theme and list my Top 9 films that I watched for the first time in 2024 but were released on a previous year.
In that same post, I also touched very briefly on that topic, but this is a welcome opportunity to expand on it.
The first two films below are the ones in this category that I’ve rated more than 4 stars; the following seven are the most interesting (according to my judgement today) among the 32 I rated with 4 stars.
I have also decided to limit a bit the number of horrors on the list for the sake of variety.

One Cut of the Dead/カメラを止めるな!, written and directed by Shinichiro Ueda, Japan, 2017

The revelation of my 2024, a hilarious comedy disguised as a horror film about a Japanese film crew trying to put together a horror film under… unusual circumstances. I have already said too much, but if you’ve never seen it, please don’t read anything about it, and watch it for forty minutes or so before dismissing it.
The English title is quite clunky and oversells the horror angle, while the original title should read something like Don’t Cut!, which highlights the filmmaking side of it.
I’ve watched it twice, then I’ve seen the sequel, the (lesser) French remake (Coupez!, which doesn’t make much sense as a title), even the Covid lockdown YouTube spin-off.
I love it probably much more than I reasonably should. But I love it nonetheless.

The Mist, written and directed by Frank Darabont, from Stephen King’s novella, US, 2007

This one is an actual horror film, a story about people trying to survive a monster invasion by barricading in a supermarket. The movie is notorious for its ending, but I think what really makes it resonate in today’s times is the attitude of the different characters in the most difficult moments. Admittedly, this might have been a lighter film to watch at the beginning of last year than it is now.

Polytechnique, directed by Denis Villeneuve, co-written with Jacques Davidts, Canada, 2009

Another quite serious movie, this is Denis Villeneuve’s third feature film and the one that launched his career, and it’s a chilling dramatisation of the 1989 shooting at the École Polytechnique in Montreal and its consequences. Again, maybe we don’t need to be reminded of the sorry state of the world, especially at a moment when society seems to go backwards rather than forward. But it’s a very good, if a little arthouse-indulgent, film. There are two versions because Villeneuve shot the dialogues twice, once in English and once in French; I think the French one feels more natural.

Kajillionaire, written and directed by Miranda July, US, 2020

Let’s take a break from misery with a lighter movie and a different kind of artsy. Miranda July’s quirky film takes a funny approach to tell the story of the emancipation of Old Domio: a 26-year-old woman, the daughter of a couple of con artists who never treated her as anything else but a tool to use in their machinations. Even her first name denotes child abuse.
It’s a much funnier story than this description would suggest, thanks to the comical script and the deadpan performances by Evan Rachel Wood, Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger.

Infinity Pool, written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, Canada/US, 2023

An exploration of what is left of people’s morals when they are certain that the consequences of their misdeeds will not affect them directly.
This might be the most challenging film on this list - a typically Cronenberg-ian movie (rated with an 18 certificate/R pretty much all over the world) filled with body horror, non-conformist sex (although if I recall correctly, very little is explicit), and a quite deranged performance by Mia Goth (even by her standards).

True Lies, written and directed by James Cameron, based on La totale! by Simon Michaël, Claude Zidi and Didier Kaminka, US, 1994

This action film from last century is a classic of its genre, but since I’m not a fan of James Cameron I had never seen it before. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis are a couple: she thinks he works for a software company, but he’s actually a top spy. Feeling neglected, she starts to drift away towards another man; the husband discovers the potential affair, but his attempts to prevent it lead to involving the wife in his secret activities.
This film - the remake of a French one just three years older - is a lot of fun, a bit too long in the final act, but otherwise a classic action/comedy (not so distant from today’s superhero movies).

How to Have Sex, written and directed by Molly Manning Walker, United Kingdom, 2023

Three sixteen-years-old British young women go on holiday in Crete, to dance, drink and hopefully meet boys. A story about friendship, coming of age and disillusionment. A film that introduces you to characters with whom you may have very little in common, but makes you care deeply for them, hoping nothing bad happens and that they will be ok.

Nine Days, written and directed by Edson Oda, US, 2020

Winston Duke and Benedict Wong are recruiters, running a selection process involving five souls, to determine - in the titular nine days - which one of them is the fittest to spend a lifetime on Earth. Not everybody liked this film, but I think it’s a touching exploration of humanity and compassion, that spurs a reflection on how we react to life’s challenges.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes/ドロステのはてで僕ら, written and directed by Junta Yamaguchi, Japan, 2020

With much love for symmetry, the last film on the list is another one-shot Japanese comedy, this time based on time travel: what happens when a group of friends finds that their TV can show what will happen two minutes into the future? They try to recursively amplify the scope of their snooping via the Droste effect (At the end of Droste is how Google translates the original title), but they end up attracting the attention of some dangerous characters.
A fun, well-executed, low-budget little film, written and acted by the members of the Kyoto theatre company ‘EUROPE KIKAKU’.