Stew’s Top 10 First Time Watches Of 2024

And we are back to finish what we started!

When last we convened, I counted down the first half of my Top 20 movies I watched for the first time ever in 2024. That is a list 123 motion pictures long, and it didn’t count movies that came out in 2024… they are getting their own list later this month.

But out of 123 flicks, I saw some real gems this year as I powered through my cinematic blindspots. Are we ready to check out the top ten, the creme de la creme, of what I took in?

Let’s do it!

10. The Nightmare Before Christmas

I know, right? Who hasn’t seen The Nightmare Before Christmas? But hold on… things will get even more surprising in a little bit here.

Anyway, I chose to watch this for a guest appearance on the 2 Cents Critic podcast in December when the host, Arthur, was doing his month of Christmas movies. It turns out, this movie deserves all of its praise and more; it’s incredible.

Such a labor of love! The work that went into creating it is absurd, and the songs are fascinating. I was instantly enraptured with the whole thing. It’s just astounding and adorable and amazing.

It’s easily in my top ten Christmas movies of all time now, and it’s something I can see myself watching annually from here on out every holiday season.

9. Kill Bill Volume 1

Coming into 2024, there were three Quentin Tarantino movies I’d never seen: both Kill Bills and The Hateful Eight. Now I have seen all but The Hateful Eight, which I have little interest in visiting. But I’m sure I will someday, though. Where does Kill Bill Volume 2 fall, you ask? JUST outside the Top Twenty I am listing here; it is actually #21.

Some of the fight scenes are better than others, that’s for sure. The dialogue isn’t particularly inspired, especially for a QT movie. As a matter of fact, some bits of it come across like it’s trying to be clever, but just sound ludicrous instead (“Silly Rabbit”, “Tricks Are For Kids”). I think Quentin was more engaged in the action than he was the dialogue. Which is fine!

All of the score/soundtrack is phenomenal, though. Probably Tarantino’s best that I’ve seen so far in that department. And the shots/cinematography are brilliant. Just some fabulous quick shots or establishments and the way moments are framed… on a technical level, this was amazing. I was very impressed with the directing and the choices, especially bringing in The Rza to do the music.

The B&W and animated sequences are very “Your Mileage May Vary”, but they surprisingly worked for me when I didn’t think they should. I found them to be very entertaining. That said, the extended O-Ren Ishii backstory feels very filler-y. Like QT didn’t want to make a 90 minute or less movie, so he just padded one of the fight scenes out with unnecessary storylines.

So while this is an up-and-down effort in parts, I was so happy with the score/soundtrack and the shots that it all comes out to a Great rating for me.

8. Teeth

False advertising: The song “Teeth” by 5 Seconds Of Summer never plays during this movie.

This movie vacillates from wildly, unpleasantly uncomfortable to genuinely kind of funny at breakneck pace. It can be downright hard to watch, and at times, I was moving my hands over my face and going “No, come on, no”. Then I can be chuckling about a doctor yelling “IT’S TRUE! VAGINA DENTATA!”. Jess Weixler is great as the lead here, and how she goes from innocent and wide-eyed to horrified and guilt-ridden to… almost blase about everything going on.

What a nutso ride. I know this is kind of a strange outlier amidst everything else I chose to rate this highly, but I REALLY dug this flick, and it had a strong effect on me while I watched.

7. American Fiction

For my full review on American Fiction, click HERE.

This is one of those late 2023 movies I did not get to watch until 2024. I actually swear I thought this came out in theaters in 2024, but some Google-Fu refutes that claim, so… it makes this list instead of my Best Of The Year list. Oh well.

A movie where Jeffrey Wright just kills every single scene, this was a wonderful viewing that really hit me with its humor and insight.

6. I Kill Giants

For my full review of I Kill Giants, click HERE.

Do feel free to check out my full review of this one, because it was an absolute treat. I had never heard of this flick until getting to watch it for my show, and it blew me away with the young actors and the heartfelt story. You may never have heard of this either, but it’s available on Netflix (I believe) and Pluto.

5. Mission: Impossible – Fallout

The third act of this movie is everything. It’s silly and intense and silly and extreme and silly and action-packed and silly and insane and silly and amazing and silly and glorious and silly. I loved it. With all of my heart.

The whole third act of this movie was my yelling at the TV and laughing. Why does no one want to admit this M:I had more in common with M:I 2 than any other? The climax is just banana bonkers. But in the very best way. It was all so absurd. And silly. But good silly. I can’t stress that enough.

Aside from all that, you have a movie that gets progressively better with each act. This went from one I thought was definitely worse than Rogue Nation at least, to then becoming the best of the bunch by the end of it.

4. The Holdovers

For my full review of The Holdovers, click HERE.

If Nightmare Before Christmas is in my top ten Christmas films ever, then this is in my top five. Giamatti is impeccable here, and newcomer Dominic Sessa matches him every single scene. It’s a magnificent pairing of a young actor with a seasoned pro.

3. Jaws

Forget Nightmare Before Christmas, who has never seen JAWS, right? Well, me. I hadn’t. I mean… I think I did when I was a little kid, but I barely remembered anything about it. And good for me, too, because that meant I got to go into it in 2024 with pretty fresh eyes. I mean, I knew a few of the more famous beats (“Bigger boat”, etc), but I was pretty brand new to it all!

Anyway, it’s pretty exciting when a two hour movie has slow-down moments that are almost as good as the action. So yeah, this is as good as advertised, with [mostly] amazing score cues, at least 2 or 3 excellently timed jump scares, and three fantastic characters that get some solid development in their time together.

Not sure what else I can add that has not already been said about this classic ad nauseum. It’s very well made and engaging! Great flick.

2. Warrior

And just like that, I have a new favorite sports movie. Everything here is amazing. The depth of the story. The two protagonists. The heart. The fights. Everything works and works so damned well.

If I had to give it any knocks, Tommy’s reason for needing/wanting the money is never as strong as Brendan’s, so it’s hard to really root for him in the climax of the story. They should have built his relationship to Manny’s wife a little better. And the ending is VERY abrupt, and I want to know what happened after the fight. It feels like a movie from the 30’s or so in how it just ENDS as soon as the climax is over.

But aside from those little dings, this is an A outing all around.

1. La La Land

For my full review of La La Land, click HERE.

I almost never give a movie five stars on a first time watch. It’s a very rare thing for me to do.

And let’s be honest: I didn’t do it here.

But I was so damn close to doing it. And I know if I watch it again, it’s getting that five star mark. And going into my top 50 movies of all time.

*******

And that’s it, with the top five of this list–Fallout through La La Land–all earning a 4.5 from me on a scale of 5. And like I said in my synopsis of La La Land, a 5/5 for a one-time watch is very rare for me. So don’t lament Jaws not getting it; if I watch it again, I imagine it will get the 5.0. It’s as good as everyone says! A lot of times with classics like that, I’m terrified I won’t “appreciate them” enough. But luckily, that was not the case this time.

That said… gun to my head? I’d rather rewatch Warrior or La La Land, so they got slotted slightly higher.

But look at that list! Two Christmas classics. An all-timer for a Sports Movie. Two indie gems. The best entry in a storied franchise starring one of the true A-list actors. And a movie that won Best Picture for, like, 2 minutes before the Oscars realized they read the wrong card.

Good stuff.

So let me know in the comments: what did you watch for the first time in 2024, and what did you most enjoy?

Until next time… take care!