2024 Favorites
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
A little late with my post for it, but I wanted to be sure to really consider everything I watched this year. These are my top five TV shows and movies that I watched for the first time in 2024. When the end of the year arrived, I found that these were the things I was still thinking of even months later that really directed my taste for the year. The order isn’t strictly linear, but I do save my favorites for last in both parts of the list.
In terms of more general reflections, I’ve really enjoyed taking the time to write these responses with everything I watch. I think going forward I want to prioritize first watches over rewatches in terms of the responses, just because I find them a bit more fun that way. This process has really helped me to engage thoroughly with what I’m watching—these thoughts have / this process has always been on my mind, but perhaps in a more nebulous form than when I take them time to write it down. It definitely has made me more annoying about movies and TV, but in a way I appreciate. I’m excited to continue them in the new year, even though I think I’ll have to slow down on output, at least when schoolwork becomes more demanding.
Television
The Gilded Age
This show really got me into period dramas, a genre I’ve always been interested in but I took it to new heights this year. Most of all I love the costumes of this show; I think they are utterly gorgeous. Season two fell off a bit in terms of both writing and costuming--it was still gorgeous but I felt was less true to the characters, in some instances. I am excited to see what else is coming.
The Decameron
I had not read The Decameron when I watched the show, but now having read (some of!) it, I can honestly say the fact that they made me interested in this plot is incredible. I love this sort of raunchy period piece, and I think what they chose to do with their source material is so fun. It’s funny, it’s heartfelt, and it really kept me engaged. Read my full review for it here.
Severance
This show is so captivating in plot and I’m excited to see where it goes. I love the little bells on the cinematography, the worldbuilding, and the characters. It feels like a poignant critique on how people exist in the workforce, from a variety of angles; I appreciate the thoroughness with which they consider these critiques. It really considers the implications of the lore it introduces in a fully realized way, even when there is clearly so much left to unpack or discover.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
This is a brilliant example of adaptation. The pacing and tone are not at all what I expected but are so engaging. They bring a new perspective to the world, and it really does feel like a literary analysis of the books. The writing works for me (so much so that I’ve sought out the writers’ other projects) and so do most of the other aspects of the production. I couldn’t have asked for a better adaptation of these books. Read my full review for it here.
Fantasmas
Earlier this year I decided to watch everything written by Julio Torres that I could get my hands on. Basically I think he is an incredible writer and this is my favorite project of his. The world is so imaginative and fantastical, the commentary feels current and lived. The style of performance is captivating and strange and it’s funny in an understated way. The long stretches of episodes that go into these tangents make the show’s very structure exciting and engaging. I feel so fortunate to have seen this show.
Movies
I Saw The TV Glow
This is a brilliant, gorgeous movie that stands the test of multiple rewatches. The way it comes about its allegory so fully and meaningfully and yet so subtly, is genuinely refreshing and exciting. It has stunning visuals, an amazing soundtrack, a stellar cast--the list goes on. It really feels like an example of literary fiction brought to screen, and I love that for it. Read my full review for it here.
Challengers
The drama of this movie, the subtlety, the cinematography--it all works so well together. It is so complex, it demands that its characters be complex and that its audience treat them as such. I don’t know exactly how to explain it--it feels so different from other popular movies that have come out in the last few years in terms of how it engages with its own subject matter. It is such a solid drama and it utterly captivated me. Read my full review for it here.
Malignant
My honest reaction to this movie was just overwhelming joy that you can still make movies like this. It’s not the only film I’ve seen this year based on giallo films, and the comparison makes this one all the more successful. It was strange and off-putting and just so fun. I love that even if you have an idea of what is going to happen, it’s so difficult to put your finger on exactly what that means in the end.
The Fall
Another film that is just so gorgeous. I love a movie about movies, however tangentially, and about storytelling. That storytelling structure really makes this movie for me, as it adds such a dynamic quality to the world of the film. The extravagance behind the project really shows in every element, and the love for stories is palpable. That you see the artistry in both the real and fantasy worlds speaks to all the reasons I loved this film. Read my full review for it here.
Poor Things
Mainly I created this list so I could link further reading on my thoughts in Verity Ritchie’s video on patreon. This video considers several perspectives on the film I hadn’t seen elsewhere and articulated some of the feelings I was having trouble giving name to on my own. Not only that, but it goes into further explanation of the structure of the book in a way that was enlightening and more transparent with how the film adapts its structure, especially where those choices feel very pointed. As I mentioned in my response, I love a movie that makes you think and demands conversation, and this film definitely did that. Once again, the visuals are amazing, the performances superb, and the plot and writing are captivating. Read my full review for it here.