I’m back with the 2024 Year in Review – Entertainment edition. We’ll start with the movie stats since Letterboxd has such good tracking capability. Check it out if you haven’t and follow me at tgrgolftraveler.
The 2024 numbers shook out to 295 “new to me” films and 44 limited series/specials/shorts. The rewatches took a dip from the previous year with a tally of 47 revisited films. For comparison, here is the 2023 version of this review.
Now it’s on to the TGT highlights and lowlights from 2024!
Favorite Movie of the Year
The race for this spot was more competitive than the previous year with eight films rated at five stars. Poor Things takes the top honors for me. It tended to be divisive but the story worked for me and Emma Stone’s performance was fearless. That said, Mark Ruffalo might have been the best part of the movie. Everything about this movie contributed to a very enjoyable movie experience.
Honorable Mentions: Babylon / The Holdovers / American Fiction / Challengers / Marcel the Shell with Shoes On / Dr. Strangelove / Kneecap
Worst Movie of the Year
The half-star ratings rose from 11 to 14 in 2024. No one can say I’m not doing the work out here! It’s always difficult to pick this recipient because I truly believe everyone is trying to do their best. Studio changes, budgets, and other extenuating circumstances can contribute to less-than-stellar films. All of that isn’t going to prevent me from choosing Uglies as the worst movie I saw in 2024.
It had Netflix money behind it and the premise was interesting. I can see why it worked in literature. The film, however, felt phoned in from start to finish.
Honorable Mentions: Buffalo ’66 / Havoc / Amy’s F**k It List / Untamed Heart / Cosmopolis / Fast X
Biggest Surprises
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On: I expected this to be a fun watch, but I was blown away by this movie. It was heartfelt, emotional, and affecting. It was so much more than I expected from a mockumentary about a talking shell.
Honorable Mentions: Snack Shack / Kneecap / My Old Ass / The Third Man / See How They Run / Bottoms / Incendies / The Last Detail / Woman of the Hour
Biggest Disappointments
Road House: I’m generally of the widely held opinion that great movies shouldn’t be remade. That’s the case here, but I still thought it had potential. The final 30 minutes was an abomination as was whatever Conor McGregor was trying to do. A movie that started with promise and ultimately devolved into garbage.
Dishonorable Mentions: Fast X / Unfrosted / Trigger Warning
General Stats and Lists
Movies By Star Rating
*Note – 2.0 stars is my baseline for saying something is worth watching. I am saddled with a compulsion to finish anything I start, so take that with a grain of salt before you start watching something! I don’t rate short films, specials, and documentaries.*
0.5 – 14
1.0 – 27
1.5 – 22
2.0 – 43
2.5 – 52
3.0 – 53
3.5 – 39
4.0 – 24
4.5 – 7
5.0 – 8
Movies Watched
Rogue Hostage / Saltburn / The Equalizer 3 / Poor Things / Feast of the Seven Fishes / The Family Plan / Babylon / Sharper / Noah / The Battery / Over Her Dead Body / Killers of the Flower Moon / Smallfoot / Begin Again / In the Line of Fire / Shotgun Wedding / Lift / X / Bros / See How They Run / National Champions / Maestro / Rustin / Ong-Bak / Whiteout / Strays / Indecent Proposal / Welcome to Collinwood / The Holdovers / Odd Thomas / Ong Bak 2 / Nyad / Eve’s Bayou / Respect / Flag Day / Mr. Nobody / Ondine / Stand by Me / Magic Mike’s Last Dance / The Super Mario Bros Movie / Flamin’ Hot / Captain Fantastic / No Good Deed / Bottoms / Sea of Love / The Package / Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 / Untamed Heart / Past Lives / The Contractor / Devil in a Blue Dress / The Station Agent / Mafia Mamma / Jack Reacher: Never Go Back / Anatomy of a Fall / Oppenheimer / American Fiction / The Zone of Interest / Greenberg / The Kitchen / Lover, Stalker, Killer / Asteroid City / The Promise / The Lords of Flatbush / Battleship Potemkin / Dune: Part Two / Puss in Boots: The Last Wish / Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore / Trees Lounge / Destroyer / Roger Dodger / The Sisters Brothers / In a World… / The Son of No One / Citizen Kane / Last Knights / Side Effects / The Killer Inside Me / Elvis & Anabelle / Road House / Deep in the Valley / Drive-Away Dolls / Damsel / The Glass Castle / Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom / The Beekeeper / The Postcard Killings / In a Relationship / Anyone But You / Shiva Baby / Parenthood / The Engineer / Zombeavers / Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny / The Great Wall / House of Gucci / Assassin Club / The Fall Guy / Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit / Challengers / Hypnotic / Minari / Daddy’s Little Girls / 360 / Humpday / The Vow / Hardcore / Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead / Argylle / Dream Scenario / I’m Thinking of Ending Things / An Officer and a Gentleman / Role Play / Ricky Stanicky / Incendies / Nebraska / Marcel the Shell with Shoes On / The American Society of Magical Negroes / Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom / Women in Trouble / Atlas / Atomic Blonde / Ong Bak 3 / Hit Man / The Great Escape / State and Main / No Small Affair / Calm with Horses / Permanent Midnight / Man About Town / The Confirmation / Trigger Warning / Champions / Fear / The Beanie Bubble / Dumb Money / Queenpins / Unfrosted / The Rebound / Memory / Our Friend / Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F / Vivarium / A Thousand and One / Zoe / Monkey Man / Freaky / Boogie / Civil War / Amy’s F**k It List / Love Lies Bleeding / Big Eyes / Abigail / The Burning Plain / Gods of Egypt / The Big Chill / Run Lola Run / To the Wonder / Snack Shack / Land of Bad / Thief / The Last Detail / Perrier’s Bounty / Charlie Countryman / Bone Tomahawk / The Order / The Bricklayer / Berlin Syndrome / Kajillionaire / Shortcomings / Renfield / All Good Things / Pearl / Elektra Luxx / R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned / The Long Game / Human Capital / Meet Cute / The Battered Bastards of Baseball / The Bikeriders / The Instigators / The Courier / Break Point / Jolt / A Family Affair / Frances Ferguson / The Union / The Discovery / Shadow in the Cloud / Toy Soldiers / The Little Hours / Rolling Thunder / Incoming / Bait / Interstellar / The Watchers / Jackpot! / Bodies Bodies Bodies / The Paper / Rebel Ridge / Igby Goes Down / Hellboy / Reminiscence / The Hudsucker Proxy / The Great Buck Howard / China Moon / The Devil’s Double / State of Grace / Miss Julie / The Only Living Boy in New York / Havoc / Assassin’s Creed / Five Easy Pieces / Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb / A Quiet Place: Day One / Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films / Polite Society / Let Go / They Came Together / Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga / Day of the Dead / The Killer / Watching the Detectives / Eye in the Sky / Gloria Bell / Killer Heat / Didi / Naked Singularity / No One Lives / Brothers / Rocket Science / Woman of the Hour / Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies / A Man Called Otto / My Blind Brother / The Bronze / All I See Is You / Blue Steel / Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire / Don’t Move / Wimbledon / The Sweeney / Fast X / The Squid and the Whale / Palo Alto / My Old Ass / Slippin’: Ten Years with the Bloods / Joshy / Welcome to Me / The Babymakers / Killshot / I Used to Be Funny / Panic / Swimming with Sharks / No Way Out / White Men Can’t Jump / Theater Camp / Pain & Gain / Deep Water / Nineteen Eighty-Four / Person to Person / C’mon C’mon / Frances Ha / Twisters / Uglies / Totally Killer / Blitz / Living / Future World / The Proposition / Judas and the Black Messiah / Two If By Sea / The Peanut Butter Falcon / London to Brighton / Trap / Slow West / Sweethearts / Conclave / Carry-On / Kneecap / Vacation Friends / Infinite / The Third Man / Crash Pad / One False Move / The Master / Before We Go / Friends with Kids / The Conspirator / The Accused / Arbitrage / All is Bright / Internal Affairs / Cosmopolis / Buffalo ’66
Movies Rewatched
Mad Max: Fury Road / The First Purge / Those Who Wish Me Dead / No Hard Feelings / The Delta Force / Trance / Trainwreck / High Plains Drifter / Goon: Last of the Enforcers / Drive Me Crazy / Doomsday / Lucky Number Slevin / Fled / True Romance / Pitch Perfect 3 / Dune / Payback / Superbad / Fletch / Shot Caller / Looper / Hustle / Sicario / Mortal Kombat / Bullet Train / 300: Rise of an Empire / The Gentlemen / The Town / Everybody Wants Some!! / World War Z / The Harder They Fall / SLC Punk / Eastern Promises / 10 Items or Less / Day Shift / Good Will Hunting / Edge of Tomorrow / Pretty Woman / Greenland / A Quiet Place Part II / Dave Chappelle: Killin’ Them Softly / Rounders / Pitch Perfect / Taken / Warrior / The Replacement Killers / National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Limited Series, Short Films, Stand-Up, and Event Specials Watched
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse / It’s Not Just You, Murray! / The Big Shave / What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? / The Red Balloon / Ninety-Five Senses / The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar / Island in Between / Black Bird / Taylor Tomlinson: Have It All / Nai Nai & Wai Po / Nate Bargatze: Full Time Magic / The Barber of Little Rock / The Last Repair Shop / Knight of Fortune / The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday / Jeanette Lee Vs. / Bo Burnham: Inside / The Roast of Tom Brady / Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs / Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli / Jim Jeffries: High n’ Dry / Masters of the Air / Mike Epps: Ready to Sell Out / Dave Attell: Hot Cross Buns / Hannah Berner: We Ride at Dawn / Sam Morrill: You’ve Changed / Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child / Untold: Crime & Penalties / Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only / Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer / Brian Simpson: Live from the Mothership / Untold: Hall of Shame / American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders / A Trip to the Moon / Ali Wong: Single Lady / The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox / Hasan Minhaj: Off With His Head / Untold: Swamp Kings / Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, & Reckoning / Neal Brennan: Crazy Good / Anthony Jeselnik: Bones and All / Untold: Breaking Point / Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It
TV Seasons Watched
Abbott Elementary S3 / Afterparty S1-2 / Archer S14 / Fear The Walking Dead S8 / Full Swing S2 / Gentlemen, The S1 / Invasion S1-2 / It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia S16 / Mo S1 / The Neighborhood S6 / Reacher S2 / Receiver S1 / Resident Alien S3 / Rich & Shameless S2 / Saturday Night Live S49 / Slow Horses S1-3 / Starting Five, The S1 / Tires S1 / Veep S1-2 / Vince Staples Show, The S1 / Walking Dead, The: Dead City S1
Books Read
3 Releases: The Short Game System (Dan Grieve) / Boston’s 100 Greatest Games (Rob Sneddon) / Killers Of The Flower Moon (David Grann)