Finally back to reality after the chaos of 2024 in general and the holiday season in particular. The end of the year is actually one of my favourite times, because I get to sit and think about what I really enjoyed from throughout the year - the arts that made it distinctive and worthwhile.
Personally and for many people I know (and, you know, globally) 2024 was tough. Escapism was very, very necessary. Especially for me, because I had not one but two fairly prolonged periods of injury to kill on my couch.
Luckily, this was a great year for it. So let’s ignore the dumpster fire that is 2025 so far and look into the best best 2024 had to offer, shall we?
*Obvious disclaimer that I am only one person who, obviously, not having limitless free time (regrettably) and therefore has not seen/read/absorbed even close to everything on offer in any given category. Also please note that things on these lists didn’t necessarily come out in 2024, but 2024 is when I watched them.
Favourite Movies of 2024
1. The Zone of Interest
This was far and away my most memorable film experience of 2024. I watched it by myself on a night in and even though it’s actually quite a minimalist film experience, I was riveted the entire way through. The choice of subject matter (the domestic life of Rudolf Höss and his family in the special “zone of interest” next to Höss’ billet of Auschwitz-Birkenau where he serves as commandant) is unusual, as none of the story’s action actually takes place in the camp itself. Rather, it’s the spectre of the camp looming over the mundane daily lives of the Höss family that so brilliantly drives home the point - Arendt’s banality of evil, illustrated flawlessly. Jonathan Glazer also makes some incredible stylistic choices, particularly towards the end of the film that serve as an absolute gut-punch. It’s an incredibly well-executed film that you’ll be thinking about for a long time afterwards.
2. Dune Part 2
Can we just talk about how perfectly Denis Villeneuve has done Dune so far? I’m a huge science fiction lover, BUT I don’t actually like the books personally (unheard of for me, but true in this case - I actually vastly prefer the films). But this has absolutely nailed the brief - from the casting, to the gorgeous cinematography and world-building, to the pitch-perfect Hans Zimmer score, it’s all executed flawlessly. Honestly believe these will (once complete) go down as possibly the greatest sci-fi films ever made.
3. The Wild Robot
Sometime along the way, Dreamworks caught up with Pixar when it comes to making animated films that can compete with any live-action release in both style and substance. This is a visually gorgeous animated feature that is funny, sweet and touching. I totally cried (and so did David even though he will never admit it). Definitely my favourite animated feature of 2024.
4. Hit Man
This was a really solid comedy from Richard Linklater, based on a hilarious and bizarre true story about a college professor who moonlighted as a fake hitman for the Houston police department in the 80s and 90s. It hinges on a solidly madcap performance by Glen Powell (human capybara, who also wrote the screenplay) and was a lot more diverting and entertaining than I imagined it would be when I turned it on. That’s pretty much all I desire from a comedy these days and it hit the spot.
5. Civil War
A lot of people got very angry about this film. Ostensibly, it seems to be because they wanted the director, Alex Garland, to take a stance one way or the other in what was potentially the most globally politically charged year in history. I understood that going into it, but once I’d seen the movie, I was left a little baffled. His lack of emphasis on the political situation that led to the eponymous American civil war of the film makes sense because it’s not really about politics at all. It’s about the art and science of war reporting and photography - and that is made pretty clear throughout. The location of the civil war in question is actually fairly inconsequential to the narrative. Even despite all this, I think it’s absolutely a worthwhile film because of its unique subject matter, excellent cinematography and solid performances from Kirsten Dunst (who we really don’t see enough of anymore) and Wagner Moura.
Favourite Books of 2024
1. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
This has been on my “to-read” list for a long time - and it was so worth it. It’s a doorstopper of a novel, a Pulitzer-prize winner about a cattle drive in the closing days of the American wild west and honestly, I did not expect that subject matter to deliver as much of an emotional punch as it did. It is emotionally intelligent, surprisingly funny and often unexpectedly violent - but ultimately it’s a sweeping saga that tackles friendship, loss and what it means to live a meaningful life. Gorgeous read.
2. Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman
I loved Rutger Bregman’s book Utopia for Realists and enjoyed this every bit as much - it was a much-needed balm for an almost relentlessly dark year. The Dutch historian takes on popular culture’s most pervasive myth in this work - that humans are, by nature, inclined to favour our darkest impulses. In order to debunk this, he goes through examples of some of the most commonly-referred to examples of human nastiness - the Stanford Prison Experiment, the murder of Kitty Genovese and the bystander effect, and children’s Lord of the Flies impulses, just to name a few - and shows us just how fundamentally wrong these examples are. I was left feeling optimistic, which was a rare treat in 2024. Delighted to learn he has a new book coming out in 2025 and can’t wait to read it.
3. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
First of all, I love Barbara Kingsolver. Have ever since I read The Poisonwood Bible as a teenager. Second, I love Charles Dickens and was, for whatever reason, on a major Dickens kick last year. So I had been wanting to read Barbara Kingsolver’s take on David Copperfield, set in Appalachia during the opioid epidemic, for quite some time and finally had the opportunity over the Christmas break. God, what a gorgeous, devastating book. From its opening sentence, you know you are in for a treat as the indomitable Demon intones: “First, I got myself born.”
This was unputdownable. Expect incredible writing (as always with Kingsolver), unforgettable characters and heartbreaking truth. Cannot recommend highly enough.
4. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World - and Why Things are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
Hans Rosling was a physician and professor of international health at the Karolinska institute. He recounts that during his years of teaching around the globe, he began to realise that most people think the world is getting much, much worse, when in fact the opposite is true. To test his audiences, he surveyed 10,000 people on their understanding on the state of the world - and found out that 80% scored worse on an accurate understanding of the world than a chimp making completely random guesses would have.
Armed with this information and aware of the media’s attempt to keep us in an endless loop of despair and fear, he suggests ten rules of thumb to better understand global data and to apply these learnings to our arsenal of personal media literacy.
It’s an excellent and necessary read from a man who dedicated his life to making the world a better place and who died of pancreatic cancer in the middle of writing this book (his family finished the rest for him armed with the data he left for them), still an optimist.
5. Me by Elton John
This was a delight. Elton John is a delight. What an extraordinary life he’s led. He tells his story with so much humour, generosity and kindness - and a healthy dose of light bitchiness, which really is the icing on the cake. This felt like catching up for a boozy lunch with your most entertaining, snarkiest BFF. Highly recommend.
Favourite TV shows of 2024
1. Shogun
Literally nothing else came close to touching Shogun this year. I loved the book and was eagerly anticipating this when it dropped - and boy was it worth the wait. Gorgeously filmed, incredibly acted, impeccably paced - every episode was exceptional. It was literally everything I hoped it would be and more - they dialled down the white saviourism and dialled up the depth and complexity of the Japanese characters, making for an incredible viewing experience. No notes.
Bonus: it also filmed on my home island in Port Moody on Vancouver Island and getting to see my misty, murky rainforest home as feudal Japan was such a treat.
2. Slow Horses
This continues to be one of the best shows on television, with every season continuing to knock it out of the park. This season was especially fun, with Hugo Weaving dropping in as a deranged assassin Svengali and Gary Oldman continuing to deliver the performance of his life (which, for Gary Oldman, is saying something) as Jackson Lamb, a man who, as Time Out put it, “looks like he’s spent his entire life passed out on a Wetherspoon’s toilet.” Strange, dark, deliciously funny - it’s one of my favourite shows ever.
3. Say Nothing
I loved the book that this drama series for FX was based on (Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by The New Yorker’s Patrick Radden Keefe) but honestly wasn’t sure how they’d adapt the sprawling 30-year nonfiction saga into a drama series. They managed beautifully though, creating a show that makes no moral judgements on its subjects but shows the ambiguity of political conflict on all sides - and asks the viewer to decide who gets to be a hero or a terrorist. Excellently done, incredible performances (and a cracking soundtrack to boot).
4. A Man on the Inside
This was the cutest fucking show, guys. I needed something sweet, wholesome and gentle in a lot of my escapism this year, and this adorable little show delivered in spades. Written by Michael Schur (the brains behind one of my favourite shows of all time, The Good Place) and given incredible heart by Ted Danson’s performance, it’s an adorable tale of a mystery at a retirement home and the undercover man sent in by a PI firm to unravel it all. It has some really poignant moments and lots to say about family relationships, ageing, friendship and death - and I definitely cried more than once. Love, love, love.
5. Black Doves
I was big into the spy thrillers this year and I binged this (mostly while doing my nails) over about two days over the Christmas break. Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw put a fun twist on the “girl and her gay BFF” storyline by making both of them ruthless assassins - with a lot of heart. It was a blast to watch, at times incredibly funny, often extremely violent, but always entertaining (even if the storyline veered a little off the rails at times). If you’re looking for effective escapism, you’ve got it here.
Bits and Bobs
After five days over the Christmas and New Years period where I was able to unplug completely, so far this year I’ve been:
Reading: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. I have no idea where it’s going, but I am having so much fun getting there. It veers from wildly funny to incredibly poignant, sad and sharp, often in the space of a page or two.
Watching: The Day of the Jackal. I told you I was having a bit of a fling with spy thrillers. This is a lot of fun with a reptilian Eddie Redmayne as a clinical assassin and Lashana Lynch as his equally morally ambiguous Mi5 counterpoint.
Listening to: The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare, read by the incredible Adjoa Andoh. The story of a rural Nigerian 14-year-old who dreams of being a teacher, but is sold as a bride by her father to another man. It’s heartbreaking, beautiful and captivating. I’m really enjoying it.
That’s all for this week, friends. I’ll do my best to update bi-weekly but you know how that goes. If I have not seen you yet, I hope 2025 is a beautiful year around the sun for you and yours and all of us here on Earth.