2024: Year of Film & TV In Review

Rather than getting into the weeds of things like “Best Of” or “Top 10,” I prefer just to share the media I loved over the course of the year straight from the heart. In that spirit, here are 5 Movies and 5 TV Episodes I Loved in 2024, listed in alphabetical order.

Visit my Instagram @JMWwrites for the full posts, including Honorable Mentions.

5 New Movies I Loved in 2024

alphabetical order

Alien: Romulus, dir. Fede Álvarez

While it has its eye-rolling nostalgic trappings, Alien: Romulus had too much fun being an Alien film for me NOT to enjoy it. The rehashing it did was balanced by the exact thing I was anticipating: for the film to do new and creative things with the Alien formula that I had never seen on screen before. Closest movie I’ve seen to an amusement park ride in a long time, and not just because I saw it in 4DX.

Challengers, dir. Luca Guadagnino

I was wary about this film to the point that I only sat down to watch it because I was promised a Reznor & Ross soundtrack. But screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes made an absolute meal out of that non-chronological structure to keep us constantly invested in the lives of these three tennis players. Luca Guadagnino filmed the central match with a sumptuous style beyond what I thought he was capable of.

Dune: Part Two, dir. Denis Villeneuve

Part Two takes its dense source material and repackages it with style, flair, and cleverness that shows what’s possible when a big studio throws their weight behind creators at the top of their game. This film did the impossible. It gave me the enthusiasm and momentum I needed to sit down and read a 600 page urtext that’s intimidated me for so long I thought I’d never pick it up, let alone finish it.

Inside Out 2, dir. Kelsey Mann

Pixar has been mired in an identity crisis for a while, one that’s involved far too many sequels and far too little of the storytelling power with which they made their name. I was thus skeptical of Inside Out 2. But I was entertained throughout by the film’s constant cleverness and wit, and the climactic anxiety attack sequence will be remembered as one of this year’s most powerful and heart-rending scenes.

Wicked, dir. Jon M. Chu

More than any of these films, Wicked battled expectations stacked against it. We’ve seen plenty of films fail to commit beloved stage musicals to the screen, and we’re in an era of cinema downright ashamed to embrace musicals. But if there’s a theme to this year’s favorite movies, it’s that they pulled off impossible feats. Defied gravity, if you will. Wicked has its detractors. But me and my musical theater friends are not among them.

5 New TV Episodes I Loved in 2024

alphabetical order, one per show

The Acolyte, 1.3: Destiny

The Star Wars fandom is broken into two factions: those of us who want to see something new when we sit down to watch, and the Evil Galactic Empire. Granted, new is not always good, but as of late, “same vs. different” hasn’t even been on the table when so much new Star Wars has felt so empty. The Acolyte was a mixed bag, but “Destiny” pulled rabbit after rabbit out of its hat with confidence, style, and daring.

The Bear, 3.6: Napkins

What “Forks” did for fan-favorite Richie in Season 2, “Napkins” does for another beloved character at the center of this show’s greasy heart. Tina gets her own quietly moving episode in the middle of the Season 3 chaos. Liza Colón-Zayas conjures tears for both Tina and her audience when she takes a bite of that sandwich, with the added delight that our Irish Queen, Ayo Edibiri, was directing the whole thing all along.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith, 1.8: A Breakup

The original Pitt/Jolie film is a mixed bag, but it absolutely nailed its concept. While Glover/Erskine didn’t bring the larger-than-life starpower of the original Mr. and Mrs. in their 2005 prime, the whole point this time was down-to-earth relatability. The fresh blood bring all of the brains and brilliance that the original was lacking, and they deliver a riveting finale that’s a masterclass in season-long setup and payoff. 

The Penguin, 1.8: A Great or Little Thing

For the longest time, Episode 4 was my choice on this list: Milioti’s brilliant character-driven revenge feature set in Arkham Asylum, if for no other reason than to counter the ratings over-inflation that happens to season finales. But Episode 8 knocks it out of the park in terms of fulfilling this show’s mission, giving Oz a series of choices to make that evolve him into a more despicable villain than we ever anticipated.

X-Men 97, 1.5: Remember It

It is a tragedy that this show has become mired in creator-related controversy after the fact, because its mid-season climax delivered the most powerful and affecting Marvel content we’ve seen since Black Panther 2. I mean jaw-on-the-floor powerful. Trust us, Remy. We’ll never forget it.