The Best TV and Movies I saw in 2024
I suppose today everyone can be a full-time media critic, and I am no exception. A few years ago I downloaded Letterboxd to help me keep track of the movies I’ve watched. Early this year I downloaded Trakt which is another app to help rate and manage the TV shows I’ve watched.
With a full year of media consumption, I’ve seen a lot of good and bad stuff. Reviewing all of my notes and numbers, I’ve condensed it into the top movies and TV I’ve seen this year.
Top Movies
The Dungeons and Dragons movie has a lot of fun Easter eggs that I really appreciated. The plot was fun and sometimes a bit campy, reminding me of sessions I played in with friends in the past. A good adventure does have a bit of melodrama and fun combat. They did a good job with the visual effects as well.
The Hot Rock is in the same vein as most heist movies but with a number of moments which make it stand out. I am a fan of heists in general and thought the movie was thoroughly enjoyable.
I came back to the theater to see Dune Part 2 and it’s definitely the kind of movie you should see in the theater. The seats shook as the worms took control. The visuals were stunning and was a satisfying extension into the Dune world. It is a great film.
I saw that Godzilla Minus One won an Oscar for the best visual effects and it is absolutely deserved. The film begins with a deeply emotional portrayal of a post-war Tokyo and then slowly builds the tension. When I saw this in theaters I was surprised it was entirely in Japanese but it’s worth watching with subtitles. And it was all done on a budget an order of magnitude less than many Hollywood studios.
There is no musician biopic like this one about Weird Al. It’s truly zany and yet as a biopic it has to be true. It’s not high brow but I laughed throughout.
This classic movie was a lot of fun for me. It satirizes the concept of pastoralism, trying to build a cottage in the countryside instead of a place in the city. It brings up a number of short scenarios and I enjoyed watching it.
Top TV
Scavenger’s Reign is a short animated series that was deeply interesting. It’s about a group of people who crashed on this alien planet and the wildlife there is portrayed with a fascinating mysticism and ethereal feeling. The pacing is great and the characters are rich.
The Bear could be said to be about a person, but it’s really a show about the food as the main character. There’s a lot of care to portray the food and Chicago in a wonderful, enticing light. I don’t know if this is a comedy or a drama, as there’s a little of both, but it’s a good show.
I started Abbott Elementary last month and quickly caught up. I was a big fan of the Philadelphia references and the humor is hilarious and ofttimes absurd. It’s a good sitcom and I’m glad it’s still on the air.
Wrapping Up
I very quickly created a long watchlist in Trakt based on all the TV shows I keep meaning to watch. Sometimes my dreams are bigger than my time. And now that I have Trakt, it will be hard to not continue tracking my TV watching very carefully. I’ve watched over 242 days of TV in my lifetime, not including reruns, and I have much more to go.
Looking at the film lineup for next year, there seem to be a few big movies and a lot of sequels. I suppose we’re going to continue to see film franchises develop which may be a broader sign of cultural stagnation. Still, there are plenty of films around the world, old and new, that I hope to find time for in the new year.
