Best Premiere Viewings of 2024 (Modern Cinema Edition)

Featuring everything but the kitchen sink of post-2000 cinema - predominantly 2023 and 2024 releases - that I was introduced to during this year, the following list encompasses a wide variety of genres and subgenres, ranging from f-rated body horror and cyberpunk animation, to an African folklore-inspired drama and martial arts extravaganzas, to boldly erotic queer flicks and the first adaptation of Bulgakov's masterpiece novel The Master and Margarita that I could sit through without any regrets. And let's not forget a deeply personal project of delightfully chaotic nature, a zero-fucks-given experiment in eye-popping visuals, and a triumphant return from the retirement by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. Mini-reviews for the great majority of these films can be read through monthly compilations - January / February / March / April / May / June / July / August / September / October / November / December.

1. The Substance (Coralie Fargeat, 2024)

2. Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2023)

3. Mami Wata (C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi, 2023)

4. Mars Express (Jérémie Périn, 2023)

5. The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer, 2023)

6. She Is Conann (Bertrand Mandico, 2023)

7. Chłopi / The Peasants (DK Welchman & Hugh Welchman, 2023)

8. La bête / The Beast (Bertrand Bonello, 2023)

9. The Return (Uberto Pasolini, 2024)
10. He bian de cuo wu / Only the River Flows (Wei Shujun, 2023)

11. Chime (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2024)
12. Jiu Long cheng zhai - Wei cheng / Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Soi Cheang, 2024)

13. Megalopolis (Francis Ford Coppola, 2024)

14. Someone from Nowhere (Prabda Yoon, 2017)

15. Kurak Günler / Burning Days (Emin Alper, 2022)

16. Banel e Adama / Banel & Adama (Ramata-Toulaye Sy, 2023)

17. The Girl with the Fork (Ignacio Maiso, 2024)

18. Rumours (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson, 2024)

19. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (George Miller, 2024)

20. Sirocco et le royaume des courants d'air / Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds (Benoît Chieux, 2023)

21. Vermiglio (Maura Delpero, 2024)

22. The Shadow Strays (Timo Tjahjanto, 2024)

23. La Chimera (Alice Rohrwacher, 2023)

24. All of Us Strangers (Andrew Haigh, 2023)

25. Once Within a Time (Godfrey Reggio & Jon Kane, 2022)

26. Aurora’s Sunrise (Inna Sahakyan, 2022)

27. Dead Whisper (Conor Soucy, 2024)

28. Eileen (William Oldroyd, 2023)

29. Sayyedat al-Bahr / Scales (Shahad Ameen, 2019)

30. Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka / The Boy and the Heron (Hayao Miyazaki, 2023)

31. AGGRO DR1FT (Harmony Korine, 2023)

32. Femme (Sam H. Freeman & Ng Choon Ping, 2023)

33. Caché / Hidden (Michael Haneke, 2005)

34. Sanctuary (Zachary Wigon, 2022)

35. Мастер и Маргарита (Михаил Локшин, 2024) / The Master and Margarita (Michael Lockshin, 2024)

36. Motel Destino (Karim Aïnouz, 2024)

37. Le règne animal / The Animal Kingdom (Thomas Cailley, 2023)

38. Le Vourdalak / The Vourdalak (Adrien Beau, 2023)

39. Lonesome (Craig Boreham, 2022)

40. Le coeur du masturbateur / The Masturbator’s Heart (Michael Salerno, 2023)

41. Stopmotion (Robert Morgan, 2023)

42. Terrifier 3 (Damien Leone, 2024)

43. Club Zero (Jessica Hausner, 2023)

44. Des Teufels Bad / The Devil’s Bath (Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala, 2024)

45. A Quiet Place: Day One (Michael Sarnoski, 2024)

46. City Hunter (Yūichi Satō, 2024)

47. Afterglows (Taichi Kimura, 2023)

48. Think at Night (Greg Hanec, 2024)

49. Jour de colère / Interstate (Jean Luc Herbulot, 2024)

50. To kalokairi tis Karmen / The Summer with Carmen (Zacharias Mavroeidis, 2023)