I've always found years to be an imperfect way in which to measure the passage of time. A full year seems like a substantial period and yet remembering that it was an exact year ago which I decided to write down and rank every film I watched for the upcoming year seems absurd to me. Meanwhile, emotions and events that happened seven years ago can be so consequential that they could as much have been that same day, as yesterday, as the full time.
I have ranked every one of these films on a ratio from 0-5 in 0.25 increments. Naturally, this all lends itself to being flawed; what separates these increments from each other? Why does a film have to be a 3.5 or a 3.25, but never a 3.3? These questions are all legitimate and have no substantive answer. The only real reason is that if I did have to rank every film I watched this past year on 0.1 increments from 0-5 then my head would have exploded. And that would not be conducive to the effort of watching films now, would it?
Obviously all of these are opinions. If you have questions about this list, my thoughts on any of these films or why they recieved the placement they did, feel free to message the Left Brain account on Instagram or my personal account @sammandigee. However, if your question is something along the lines of 'HOW COULD YOU GIVE /insert film here/ A THREE INSTEAD OF A FIVE?' may I recommend you consider having a restorative conversation with a loved one, perhaps, or a deep consideration of why I'd ever feel the need to respond.
In a ranking of 5, 2.5 would be a standard film. Not amazing, not terrible. A movie that exists and I didn't want to claw my eyes out watching. Anything under this diminishes with each touch and everything above is that bit more enjoyable. 2.25's could still be enjoyable. Don't deep it, is what I'm saying.
The films below are listed as: 'TITLE (YEAR RELEASED - DATE WATCHED) - RANKING'.
There are six films I watched this year that I consider to be perfect, or a 5/5. Only one I hadn't watched previously - that being Dr. Strangelove. Whilst I almost certainly could rank them above the other, that would defeat the purpose of the numerical scoring system, and as such all tied movies are just presented in chronological order in which I watched them. Don't read anything into that (although if you ask I probably would tell you).
The worst film I watched this year was The Deep House, a film in which Mick Jagger's son, James, plays an urban explorer who ventures into a cursed sunken suburbia. His performance is paramount to my own impression of Austin Powers, but not at all ironic. Don't watch it.
If you've made it this far, Happy New Year. Have a wonderful 2024 and consider ranking all of the films you watched. I found it to be quite cathartic and a nice reminder of moments from my past year - be they good, bad, placid or turbulent. And, of course, thank you to everyone who forced me to watch a film I didn't want to, suggested one when I had no ideas, and kept me company while we watched.
The List
Pride (2014 - 20/05/23) - 5/5
Dr. Strangelove (or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) (1964 - 02/08/23) - 5/5
Four Lions (2010 - 06/09/23) - 5/5
Everybody Wants Some!! (2016 - 28/09/23) - 5/5
Cars (2006 - 20/11/23) - 5/5
Die Hard (1988 - 09/12/23) - 5/5
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022 - 13/03/23) - 4.5/5
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975 - 05/05/23) - 4.5/5
Pulp Fiction (1994 - 23/11/23) - 4.5/5
The Mummy (1999 - 05/08/23) - 4.25/5
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 - 13/08/23) - 4.25/5
Inglorious Basterds (2009 - 04/12/23) - 4.25/5
Speed (1994 - 11/02/23) - 4/5
Aliens (1986 - 23/07/23) - 4/5
The Batman (2022 - 29/10/23) - 4/5
Red Dragon (2002 - 04/06/23) - 3.75/5
Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006 - 06/09/23) - 3.75/5
Predator (1987 - 07/02/23) - 3.5/5
The Raid 2 (2014 - 09/02/23) - 3.5/5
Event Horizon (1997 - 08/04/23) - 3.5/5
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023 - 14/06/23) - 3.5/5
Barbie (2023 - 28/07/23) - 3.5
M3GAN (2022 - 16/09/23) - 3.5/5
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2005 - 20/02/23) - 3.25/5
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013 - 17/03/23) - 3.25/5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010 - 19/03/23) - 3.25/5
Love Actually (2003 - 16/12/23) - 3.25/5
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007 - 27/02/23) - 3/5
Halloween (2018 - 18/03/23) - 3/5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011 - 20/03/23) - 3/5
See How They Run (2022 - 09/04/23) - 3/5
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014 - 12/05/23) - 3/5
Hannibal (2001 - 30/05/23) - 3/5
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015 - 12/05/23) - 3/5
The Forever Purge (2021 - 01/01/23) - 2.75/5
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009 - 15/03/23) - 2.75/5
The Harbinger (2022 - 21/08/23) - 2.75/5
The Uninvited (2009 - 23/09/23) - 2.75/5
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005 - 23/02/23) - 2.5/5
All the Old Knives (2022 - 11/09/23) - 2.5/5
The Mother (2023 - 21/12/23) - 2.5/5
AKA (2023 - 27/05/23) - 2.25/5
Violent Night (2022 - 23/12/23) - 2.25/5
Krampus (2015 - 30/12/23) - 2.25/5
Alien vs Predator (2004 - 16/02/23) - 2/5
The Mistletoe Promise (2016 - 20/12/23) - 2/5
The Deep House (2021 - 07/04/23) - 1.5/5
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