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With numerous prominent TV broadcasts and films Competing for viewers’ attention in 2024 through expensive advertising campaigns, inventive marketing efforts, ubiquitous trailers that invite analysis, and countless hours of “content” to sift through and differ online, it’s easy to some media to slip between the fingers. Whether it’s a word-of-mouth recommendation from a friend who insists a show is a hidden gem or a year-end article selling a quietly released movie as “cutting-edge fiction,” 2024 had plenty to offer that he never received his moment in 2024. spotlight. This article aims to correct that oversight.
In that spirit, here’s the io9 staff’s list of deep film and TV recommendations that flew under the radar this year — and are worth taking the time to seek out.
A Shop for Killers
Korean dramas are immensely popular, and A Shop for Killers is no exception. If you wonder what happens if a John WickA similar character had to raise his niece and suddenly disappears when a group of unfortunate killers besiege his house, leaving his apparently modest little one to defend himself with the skills that his uncle imparted and a cache of weapons of high quality, this show provides that hyper- specific response. If you are not captivated by the premiere episode of A Shop for Killers— which features the niece outsmarting a sniper on a drive miles away from her home — you don’t have a pulse.
Beetlejuice (the animated series)
This vintage cartoon is reborn in tandem Beetlejuice Beetlejuice mania, with Tubi growing to accommodate the series previously difficult to stream. It’s so cheeky, deliciously dirty and catchy for a show that’s 30 years old. It still holds up and is so easily binge-able.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Okay, we’re going to cheat here just for a second because Beverly Hills Cop It’s not an io9 movie. But it is is it a legacy sequel to a beloved franchise that brings back the star while passing the baton to a new generation. Which we see – a lot – in sci-fi and genre films. We’re putting this on this list because out of all those movies you’re thinking of right now (Star Wars, Scream, Ghostbustersetc.) Beverly Hills Cop 4– let’s just call it what it is – it’s among the best. It’s everything you’ve come to love about the franchise, but updated in smart and exciting ways. It’s streaming on Netflix.
The host of the camp
Remember during the pandemic, when people stayed indoors so much that nature started claiming their turf? A twisted interpretation of that idea propels this Tubi release, which follows a couple on a camping trip – their first outing after covid fears have left them with cabin fever – who discover that not everyone is thrilled with the ending of social distance. Also, the fact that it’s set in a campground is a big hint, but…slasher rules apply!
Destroy all neighbors
We all know what it’s like to have a nasty neighbor. But most of us don’t end up becoming best friends with that neighbor’s severed head, or embarking on an odyssey that balances dizzying horror comedy with…a deep and abiding love for prog rock. Destroy all neighbors he starts with a familiar idea, expands it into an outrageous premise, and pulls it off with sky-high energy. There would be more splattery joy in the world if more people looked for it.
Size 20: Junior Year
Dropout is one of the best streaming services to have on your subscription list, and its Actual Play series Size 20 is a big part of why. The third part in their Fantasy High sub-series is as fun and wild as the previous seasons, and after years away from them, it’s nice to see the Bad Kids once again as they literally and metaphorically get together level up against new enemies. To quote a character late in the season: blimemy!
The first Slam Dunk
Anime is cool. Competitive sports like basketball are cool. The first Slam Dunkdirected by manga creator Takehiko Inoue, it is one of the best sports anime movies to grace the silver screen. Not only does this film prove once again that CG anime can be a look, but it also encapsulates one of the best basketball anime in a way that you don’t have. need to have watched it so many years ago, to have his story make you want to pump your fist in the air and shout: “Hell yes!”
Invincible Hit Girl
In many ways, the professional wrestling show resembles a redneck anime soap opera. By embracing this notion, Adult Swim’s animated sleeper series has been successful Invincible fighting girl captures the guts of professional wrestling and features an inspiring story of a girl named Andy who quits her monotonous desk job to become the world’s greatest wrestler. For all anime lovers, this show evokes nostalgia reminiscent of Cartoon Network classics like A lot of struggle while delivering the stunning animation quality of your favorite anime fight scenes. Take a look to help secure a second season, why wouldn’t you?
That’s what’s inside
It’s a shame that one of the best genre films of the year was mostly buried on Netflix, but that’s the world we live in. That’s what’s inside it’s one of those intense, twisty thrillers that you’ll want to watch again the second the credits start rolling. Which is a benefit of being on Netflix, we suppose. The movie has a super unique and surprising premise that’s almost a spoiler sin, so let’s just say it’s kind of Freaky Friday meets Clue. Yes. That works. It’s amazing.
Kaiju no. 8
Sometimes we all just need a TV show about a sweet himbo of a man who turns into a superpowered man-monster and punches the eternal bejesus out of even bigger monsters. Good news then, why Kaiju no. 8The manga’s over-the-top animated adaptation is worth every second of a binge-watch. The action is as fun and wild as you’d hope, but it’s really the sincere charm of its protagonist, the aforementioned Himbo Kafka Hibino, that makes it such a pleasure to watch.
Chaos
Jeff Goldblum as Zeus, king of the gods? Enough said. The fun and chaotically dark Netflix show is very much for mythology nerds, as well as an unmissable modern adaptation of the lore. Unfortunately it wasn’t renewed for a second season, but the first season is at least a solid standalone story.
Look back
It was a difficult task trying to capture this incredible adaptation of Chainsaw Man Creator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s one-shot manga in theaters this year, which might just mean you missed out on what could have been one of the best animated movies of all time 2024. A wonderfully bittersweet and human meditation on art, and how it brings people together, Look back uses the magic of making comics to deliver a short, sharp and infinitely emotional celebration of the form, even as it excels at transforming the medium in its adaptive leap to big-screen animation.
Mrs. Web
Mrs. Web It’s not a movie that one might consider an all-time classic, but it certainly is a field one in the making. A weird, messy, hilarious (more in a way of how it comes together rather than maybe completely intentional) ode to a different era of superhero cinema, it’s a perfectly silly thing to at least try to give it a watch once. Who’s to say his web doesn’t connect with you now if you missed it in theaters?
Music by John Williams
For decades, seeing the name “John Williams“Everywhere near a movie he immediately got better. And this documentary, streaming on Disney +, is like all those combined in one. It not only gives you the context of where Williams came from and his career, but break through so many of his iconic scores Films like Males, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Parkand many others. Think of it as a greatest hits album, but like a movie.
Weirdness
Irish writer-director Damien McCarthy’s indie horror won an Audience Award at South by Southwest, but it flew under the radar even when it hit Shudder in late September with the tag-along word-of-mouth as one of the scariest movies of the year. It’s not just empty hype. Weirdness centers on a blind psychic who runs a curio shop filled with cursed objects – and who draws on all of his available resources to shake off his twin sister’s killer. Are you jump scared? Yes. Afraid of slow burn? Yes. Can’t see the image? Hell yes.
PBS Retro
Launched in 2024, the PBS Retro channel has quickly become a hidden gem on various TV and streaming devices. It is presented as favorites Mister Rogers’ neighborhood and Reading the rainbow. Like Bob Ross’ channel also on these platforms, he plays marathons of nostalgic educational content if you want to divert or show your children more thoughtful programming than the idiot that it is. Cocomelon. We discovered this channel in the free programming on Vizio, but if you go to PBS.org or the free PBS app you can find a way to access the original shows on your smartphone, tablets and televisions.
The Shadow Strays
Director Timo Tjajahnto has been making films at a consistent clip since 2012, and his newest release was this year. Shadow Strays. With an incredible physical turn from Aurora Ribero in the lead role and one crisp action scene after another, it’s absolutely worth taking the time to watch on Netflix. By the end of it, you want more, which is fine too, since Tjajahnto clearly wants to to do no longer.
Ultraman Rising
There aren’t many superhero movies explicitly about parents, which Netflix has given Ultraman Rising a unique way to stand out from the crowd. It reproduces all the parenting successes extremely well, but it is all renewed by the invention of its hero Ken Sato using his powers to parent a monster monster – and by how incredible it looks. It might have been a streaming movie, but you’d rather have seen it on a big screen.
Want more io9 news? Check when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Warsand Star Trek free, what is next for the DC Universe in film and TVand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
