Best of 2024
Tracking What Media I Consume
In 2020, I started tracking all shows/movies/books/games I consume in a simple text file.
I rate everything using a rough 5-star scale. For the scale, I value “entertainment” and how well it captures my attention over “quality”. For example, if a movie is entertaining enough that I fully focus on the movie without browsing the web on a second screen, I might rate it 5 stars even when the movie is not perfect. As a result, I consciously “overrate” some media but I use more of the scale. The scale is rough in that it uses just five stars, I have not fully defined what each rating means. This focus on my attention might not be entirely fair to all movies: I’ll underrate some and overrate others.
Rough idea:
Games 2024
★★★★★ Gets me hooked; I play it frequently; also during the week; I choose it over TV
★★★★ Good to great game that does not get me hooked; might not value my time enough
★★★
★★
★
1 ... ★★★★★
2 ... ★★★★
...
Books – Fiction 2024
★★★★★ Unputdownable
★★★★
★★★
★★
★
1 ... ★★★★★
2 ... ★★★★
...
Books – Non-fiction 2024
★★★★★ Immediately helps me improve at my job
★★★★ Leaves me with new skills/insights; does not drag
★★★
★★
★
1 ... ★★★★★
2 ... ★★★★
...
Movies 2024
★★★★★ Engrossing
★★★★ Good to great movie
★★★ Doesn't fully capture my attention; doing something else on the second screen
★★
★
1 ... ★★★★★
2 ... ★★★★
...
TV 2024
★★★★★ Would binge in a few sittings; have to watch the next episode before any other shows
★★★★ Good to great show
★★★ Doesn't fully capture my attention; doing something else on the second screen
★★
★
1 ... ★★★★★
2 ... ★★★★
...Note: not everything I consumed in 2024 was released in 2024. I will include older content in my best-of lists when I consumed it in 2024.
Best Games 2024
I played six games this year; mostly single player games. I finally returned to Cyberpunk 2077 (v2.1) put around 80 hours into it. I directly jumped into Phantom Liberty and got hooked enough to finish the main story and lots of side quests.
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty ★★★★★ – Great setting, story and meaningful player choices
- Cyberpunk 2077 ★★★★★ – There is so much to do in the game and even the side quests are great.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Multiplayer ★★★★★ – Great multiplayer game
- Residen Evil 4 (Remake) ★★★★+ – Impressive remake almost 20 years after I played the original on the Gamecube
- Hogwarts Legacy ★★★★+ – They did a great job re-creating Hogwarts
- Hellblade 2 ★★★★ – The visuals and atmosphere are incredible at time
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Campaign ★★★★ – My first CoD campaign since the 2007 Modern Warfare; surprisingly varied with some good missions
Best Books 2024 – Fiction
I completed four fiction books this year. I mainly read books 4–6 of the Red Rising series; now I’m eagerly awaiting the final entry in the series.
- Light Bringer ★★★★★ – Epic; the book has a 4.75 on goodreads and it deserves it
- Dark Age ★★★★★ – As bleak and dark as it gets; imagine an extended “red wedding”
- Iron Gold ★★★★+ – Fantastic setup for the remainder of the series
- The Poppy War ★★★★ – Nice setting
I enjoyed the first three books in the series a lot and thought the third book, Morning Star, was a great conclusion of the trilogy. I had no immediate intention of reading the rest of the series but this year I picked it up again.
Iron Gold was great, but when I started Dark Age and Light Bringer I could barely stop myself. I read most of Dark Age (~800 pages) and Light Bringer (~700 pages) in my three week summer vacation (instead of reading some non-fiction books I had planned to start).
I am ready to proclaim Red God, the seventh and final book in the Red Rising saga, my book of the year 2025 (assuming it doesn’t get delayed).
Best Books 2024 – Non-fiction
I read a grand total of one non-fiction books this year. I blame the Red Rising books.
- Relevant Search ★★★★★ – Great introduction to search
Best Movies 2024
I watched 55 movies this year; only four of them “at the movies”.
My top 5 movies in the order that I watched them:
- Guardians of the Galaxy 3 ★★★★★ – Still great on my second watch (after I watched it in German at the movies last year)
- All of Us Strangers ★★★★+ – Weird in a good way; I might have to watch this again
- Dune: Part Two (at the movies) ★★★★★ – Great movie theater experience
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (extended) ★★★★+ – Still good on my second watch (first time in English; first time extended)
- Deadpool & Wolverine (at the movies, 3D) ★★★★★ – Good movie theater experience; I had a great time even if the movie is not quite “great”
Best Shows 2024
2024 was my year of the rewatch. I don’t rewatch a lot of shows – there’s always so much new stuff I want to see. But 20 years after House premiered I decided to rewatch all 8 seasons, 176 episodes, 129h 48m of the show. And then I watched the mini series Generation Kill for the third time. I’ll exclude the shows from my 2024 list.
Best shows this year – roughly ordered without overthinking it:
- Shogun S1 ★★★★★+ – Great setting, production, cast, …
- Shrinking S2 ★★★★★ – Good mix of funny and emotional with a delightful cast of characters
- The Bear S3 ★★★★★ – Still good with some really high highs
- Fallout S1 ★★★★★ – Turns out you can make a great video game adaptation
- House of the Dragon S2 ★★★★★ – Who was that again? Woah, dragons!
- The Boys S4 ★★★★★ – Bold, unhinged, always entertaining
- The Diplomat S2 ★★★★★ – Consistently high quality
- Nobody Wants This ★★★★★ – Easy-to-binge rom-com
- Only Murders in the Building S4 ★★★★★ – Still delightful
- English Teacher ★★★★★ – Funniest new comedy this year
Honorable mentions:
- Agatha All Along ★★★★★
- Ted S1 ★★★★★
- Halo S2 ★★★★★
- Industry S3 ★★★★+
- Tokyo Vice S2 ★★★★+
- For All Mankind S4 ★★★★+
- Supacell S1 ★★★★+
- The Good Doctor S7 ★★★★+
- A Man on the Inside S1 ★★★★+
- Black Doves ★★★★+
Best episodes of the year:
- The Bear S3 E6 – Napkins (9.1/10 on imdb with 8k ratings)
- Shrinking S2 E12 – The Last Thanksgiving (9.3/10 on imdb with 1.1k ratings)
- Superman & Lois S4 E10 – It Went by So Fast (9.5/10 on imdb with 1.7k ratings)
- Agatha All Along E7 – Death’s Hand in Mine (9.1/10 on imdb with 15k ratings)
- House of the Dragon S2 E4 – The Red Dragon and the Gold (9.4/10 on imdb with 58k ratings)
- House of the Dragon S2 E7 – The Red Sowing (8.8/10 on imdb with 37k ratings)
- The Acolyte E5 – Night (6.5/10 on imdb with 18k ratings)
I’m probably missing some really great episodes; I should probably track them better.
Best shows I rewatched this year:
- Generation Kill (3rd time) ★★★★★+
- House S1 ★★★★★
- House S2 ★★★★★
- House S3 ★★★★★
- House S4 ★★★★★+
- House S5 ★★★★★
- House S6 ★★★★★
- House S7 ★★★★★
- House S8 ★★★★★
The character House is consistently fun to watch. Initially I wondered whether I should watch only the good episodes again. Turns out they are all pretty good1:
The Raw Data
It’s best you stop reading here (or don’t judge me).
Games 2024
★★★★★ Gets me hooked; I play it frequently; also during the week; I choose it over TV
★★★★ Good to great game that does not get me hooked; might not value my time enough
★★★
★★
★
1 Hogwarts Legacy ★★★★+
2 Residen Evil 4 (Remake) ★★★★+
3 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty ★★★★★
4 Cyberpunk 2077 ★★★★★
5 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Campaign ★★★★
6 Hellblade 2 ★★★★
7 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Multiplayer ★★★★★
Books – Fiction 2024
★★★★★ Unputdownable
★★★★
★★★
★★
★
1 Iron Gold ★★★★+
2 Dark Age ★★★★★
3 Light Bringer ★★★★★
4 The Poppy War ★★★★
Books – Non-fiction 2024
★★★★★ Immediately helps me improve at my job
★★★★ Leaves me with new, skills/insights; does not drag
★★★
★★
★
1 Relevant Search ★★★★★
Movies 2024
★★★★★ Engrossing
★★★★ Good to great movie
★★★ Doesn't fully capture my attention; doing something else on the second screen
★★
★
1 Past Lives ★★★
2 Asteroid City ★★★-
3 Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (en) ★★★★★
4 Killers of the Flower Moon ★★★-
5 As Good as It Gets ★★★★
6 Barbie ★★★+
7 All of Us Strangers ★★★★+
8 The Marvels ★★★★
9 Saltburn ★★★★
10 Society of the Snow ★★★
11 Old Henry ★★★★
12 Anyone But You ★★★★
13 The Killer – Someone Deserves to Die ★★★★-
14 Damsel ★★★★
15 Dune 2 (en, Kino) ★★★★★
16 Roter Himmel ★★★
17 Madame Web ★★★
18 Spider-Man: No Way Home (en, extended) ★★★★+
19 Road House ★★★★+
20 The Beekeeper ★★★★
21 Next Goal Wins ★★★-
22 Land of Bad ★★★★
23 The Idea of You ★★★★+
24 50/50 ★★★
25 Blade ★★★★
26 Anatomie eines Falls ★★★
27 Furiosa ★★★★ (Kino)
28 Godzilla Minus One ★★★
29 The Hill ★★★+
30 Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F ★★★+
31 The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare ★★★★
32 Set it up ★★★★
33 Deadpool & Wolverine (Kino, 3D) ★★★★★
34 The Sound of Freedom ★★+
35 Twisters (2024) ★★★★
36 The Union (2024) ★★★★
37 Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ★★★★
38 Rebel Ridge ★★★★-
39 Dream Scenario ★★★★
40 Falling Into Place ★★★★
41 Challengers ★★★★-
42 Wolfs ★★★★+
43 Alien: Romulus ★★★★+
44 Venom: The Last Dance (Kino, en) ★★★
45 Lonely Planet ★★★★
46 The Substance ★★★★
47 Late Night with the Devil ★★★★-
49 Carry-on ★★★★+
50 Bad Boys: Ride or Die ★★★★
51 Hit Man ★★★★
52 Wicked Little Letters ★★★
53 Red One ★★★★
54 Civil War ★★★★+
55 Boiling Point ★★★★
TV 2024
★★★★★ Would binge in a few sittings; have to watch the next episode before any other shows
★★★★ Good to great show
★★★ Doesn't fully capture my attention; doing something else on the second screen
★★
★
1 Culprits S1 ★★★★
2 The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special ★★★
3 The Americans S1 ★★★★
4 The Americans S2 ★★★★
5 Echo S1 ★★★
6 Monarch: Legacy of Monsters S1 ★★★★
7 For All Mankind S4 ★★★★+
8 The Americans S3 ★★★★
9 Reacher S2 ★★★★
10 The Americans S4 ★★★★
11 Transplant S4 ★★★★
12 Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 ★★★★+
13 The Americans S5 ★★★★
14 The Americans S6 ★★★★+
15 The Brothers Sun S1 ★★★★
16 House of Ninja S1 ★★★
17 True Detective: Night Country ★★★★
18 Criminal Record S1 ★★★★
19 One Day ★★★★
20 Sanctuary: A Witch's Tale ★★★★
21 Ted S1 ★★★★★
22 Masters of the Air ★★★★
23 The Gentlemen S1 ★★★★+
24 Halo S2 ★★★★★
25 3 Body Problem S1 ★★★★
26 Constellation S1 ★★★★
27 Renegade Nell S1 ★★★★
28 Fallout S1 ★★★★★
29 Extraordinary S2 ★★★★
30 Tokyo Vice S2 ★★★★+
31 Invincible S2 ★★★★
32 Shogun ★★★★★+
33 Dead Boy Detectives S1 ★★★★+
34 Ghosts S3 ★★★★
35 Shardlake S1 ★★★★
36 The Clone Wars S4 (the good parts; 16 Folgen) ★★★
37 X-Men 97 S1 ★★★
38 Animal Control S2 ★★★
39 Sugar S1 ★★★★
40 Bodkin S1 ★★★★
41 The Tracker S1 ★★★+
42 Elsbeth S1 ★★★-
43 Generation Kill (3rd time) ★★★★★+
44 Chicago Fire S12 ★★★★
45 House S1 ★★★★★
46 Grey's Anatomy S20 ★★★★
47 House S2 ★★★★★
48 Sullivan's Crossing S2 ★★★+
49 House S3 ★★★★★
50 House S4 ★★★★★+
51 House S5 ★★★★★
52 Supacell S1 ★★★★+
53 Under the Bridge ★★★
54 All American S6 ★★★+
55 The Acolyte ★★★★+
56 The Boys S4 ★★★★★
57 Dark Matter ★★★★
58 Presumed Innocent ★★★★+
59 Those About to Die ★★★★
60 House of the Dragon S2 ★★★★★
61 House S6 ★★★★★
62 House S7 ★★★★★
63 House S8 ★★★★★
64 The Bear S3 ★★★★★
65 My Lady Jane S1 ★★★★
66 The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live ★★★
67 Batman: Caped Crusader S1 ★★★
68 Foundation S2 ★★★+
69 Evil S4 ★★★+
70 Acapulco S3 ★★★★
71 The Good Doctor S7 ★★★★+
72 Interview with the Vampire S2 ★★★★
73 Terminator Zero ★★★+
74 The Perfect Couple ★★★★
75 Nobody Wants This ★★★★★
76 Industry S3 ★★★★+
77 Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power S2 ★★★★
78 Seal Team S7 ★★★★
79 Slow Horses S4 ★★★★
80 Bad Monkey S1 ★★★★
81 English Teacher S1 ★★★★★
82 Lincoln Lawyer S3 ★★★★
83 Only Murders in the Building S4 ★★★★★
84 Agatha All Along ★★★★★
85 The Diplomat S2 ★★★★★
86 The Penguin S1 ★★★★
87 Cross S1 ★★★★-
88 Paris Has Fallen ★★★★-
89 Superman & Lois S4 ★★★★
90 The Old Man S2 ★★★★
91 Special Ops: Lioness S2 ★★★★
92 The Day of the Jackal S1 ★★★★
93 Sweatpea S1 ★★★★
94 Shrinking S2 ★★★★★+
95 Like Water for Chocolate S1 ★★★
96 Black Doves S1 ★★★★+
97 A Man on the Inside S1 ★★★★+
98 Based on a True Story S2 ★★★★
99 Colin from Accounts S1 ★★★★+
100 Say Nothing ★★★★
101 Interior Chinatown ★★★★+