Every year, we dive headfirst into the good, the bad, and the utterly bizarre in film and streaming so you don’t have to. But let’s be real—2024 was a tough year to find anything worth celebrating. Despite the challenge, we sifted through countless duds and hidden gems to narrow it down to the five best and five worst releases we actually managed to watch. Whether it’s cinematic brilliance or epic disasters posing as entertainment, you’ve landed in the right place.
Let’s dig into the hits and misses that defined this year, and yes, grab your popcorn.
The Five Best (aka Actually Worth it)
Am I Racist?
Documentary | Provocative, hilarious, and unflinchingly blunt, Matt Walsh dives headfirst into the divisive world of DEI initiatives with his signature dry wit. From exposing contradictions to leaving DEI advocates speechless, the film puts weak arguments on blast.
Why It’s Worth It: It’s sharp, unapologetic, and entertaining—though it may not flip your worldview, it’s a must-watch for the absurdity alone.
The Penguin
Series | Colin Farrell as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot might just be TV casting perfection. Gotham’s grimy underbelly has never been so captivating without the Bat, featuring a mobster story oozing with charm, menace, and raw grit.
Why It’s Worth It: Violent? At times, gratuitously so. But the psychological depth and jaw-dropping cinematography make this show rise above its shadows.
Shogun
Series | A visually stunning, historically rich adaptation of James Clavell’s classic novel. Hiroyuki Sanada steals the show alongside the intricate politics and cultural clash of 17th-century Japan.
Why It’s Worth It: Epic storytelling. Yes, it’s slow, but savor it like a fine sake.
Thelma
Film | Ninety-three-year-old June Squibb proves you’re never too old to bring the house down. Playing a feisty elderly woman on an adventure to reclaim scammed money, this film is equal parts laugh-out-loud funny and deeply touching.
Why It’s Worth It: Light, heartwarming, and unapologetically fun—perfect for those feel-good movie nights.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Film | Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are back, and it’s chaos. With gut-busting jokes, ultra-violent action, and fourth-wall-breaking absurdity, this movie is an all-out celebration of Deadpool meeting Wolverine—what more could you want?
Why It’s Worth It: Not deep, not exactly cerebral, but 100% fun.
The Five Worst (aka Burn and Salt Hollywood)
Megalopolis
Film | Francis Ford Coppola… what happened? A bloated, self-indulgent disaster packed with incoherence and “philosophy.” The visuals are ambitious but utterly hollow, like fancy wrapping paper on an empty box.
Why It Fails: Pretentious dialogue, absurdly bad plot twists, and a narrative mess—watch only if you need a clear example of how NOT to make a film.
Star Wars: The Acolyte
Series | What happens when you prioritize politics over plot? You get this entry to the Star Wars saga. Lifeless dialogue, a predictable story, and characters that fail to connect—it’s a galaxy far, far away from good.
Why It Fails: It preaches more than it entertains, making you question if this is even the same Star Wars once loved by fans.
Blink Twice
Film | Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut tries to be edgy and fails spectacularly. Overlong, predictable, and utterly lacking in depth, this wannabe thriller wastes Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum on a poorly-written plot.
Why It Fails: Familiar tropes stretched thin. It’s neither scary nor insightful—just forgettable.
Borderlands
Film | Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart couldn’t save this travesty of a video game adaptation. Unfunny jokes, generic visuals, and a script missing… well… everything that makes Borderlands fun.
Why It Fails: The essence of the game is lost, leaving behind what feels like a low-budget parody gone wrong.
Dear Santa
Film | A kid accidentally writes a letter to Satan instead of Santa, and the result is an absolute horror show (and not the good kind). Think crude jokes, dark themes, and way-too-adult content shoved into a “holiday film.”
Why It Fails: This isn’t just bad—it’s offensively bad. Someone greenlit this during a dare, right?
Honorable Mentions
Worth It
Dune Part 2 – Visually astonishing with gorgeous Arrakis landscapes, but falters by focusing too much on Zendaya’s character development, leaving the core narrative half-baked. Furthermore, it’s not a standalone story but a true second-half of a film. Spectacle? Yes. Cohesive story? Not as much.
Worst
The Rings of Power, Season 2 – Committed the cardinal sin of boring Tolkien fans. Departed from canon, lost inspired storytelling roots, and dragged itself to an uninspired finish.
Batman: Caped Crusader – Who missed Batman being in a Batman show? This series decided to swap iconic characters and focus on sermons rather than solid storytelling. A swing, a miss, and an epic fail.
What do you think?
2024 delivered its share of triumphs and trainwrecks—but do you agree? Disagree? Let us know your picks for the best and worst of the year in the comments below. We can’t catch everything, so tell us what we missed! And hey, sometimes, skipping a dud is the best decision of all.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.