With the end of 2024 comes a flurry of year-end lists. This month, the Star’s arts and culture critics weighed in with their picks of the best movies, music, theatre, TV and books from a busy year of entertainment.
Here’s a roundup of their lists.
Film
In 2024, movie critics often turned to the lingo of baseball writers as they described directors’ “big swings.” The term wasn’t always meant as flattery in a year of major hits and whiffs and a real but erratic post-pandemic return to theatres.
Francis Ford Coppola’s corpulent and confused New Rome misfire, “Megalopolis,” was a swing that missed. So was Kevin Costner’s proposed four-part western, “Horizon: An American Saga,” which struck out with chapter one and seems destined to be benched.
But some cinematic swats really connected, among them many of the films on my annual Top 10 list. — Peter Howell
Television
I have this occasional fantasy of having a week off and nothing to do but catch up on television shows I have missed.
The reality, however, is that even if I did nothing but watch TV for the next six months I would never catch up on everything that’s out there — nor, to be honest, would I want to.
This year saw an increased dismantling of the logjam caused by the 2023 actors’ and writers’ strikes but also a preponderance of new series that were just OK. Despite some glorious exceptions — like my show of the year, the thoroughly absorbing “Shogun” — prestige TV seems to mainly be behind us. — Debra Yeo
Theatre
The 2024 theatre season will offer a fascinating case study for future historians. What we witnessed this year was a clear divergence of artistic approaches, as companies continued to grapple with how to chart their post-pandemic recoveries. Some arts leaders relied on the tried-and-true, programming shows that, though safe, appealed to the masses and, to put it crudely, brought those lucrative bums back into seats. Others, meanwhile, struck out on a far riskier course.
Not all of these endeavours succeeded. (Remember Tim Hortons’ shameless and disastrous foray into musical theatre?) But most of the plays and musicals that made this year-end list were elevated because of bold choices. High risk, after all, begets high reward.
These were productions crafted through innovation and experimentation, classic works reinvented through a stroke of directorial genius, and new plays that challenged preconceived notions of the theatre, pushing the boundaries of form and structure. — Joshua Chong
Music
The Star’s roster of music writers shared their favourite albums of the year, including those by Charli xcx, Cindy Lee, the Cure and, yes, Taylor Swift.
Books
The Star’s contributing literary critics picked their favourite books of the year across five genres, including literary fiction, thrillers and sci-fi.
