Comfort movies, comfort TV shows, comfort live performances, comfort recaps, here are our best rewatches of 2024.

The Thin Man (1934)

Merry Christmas! -Brandon Wetherbee

After the Thin Man (1936)

And Happy New Year! -Brandon Wetherbee

Cabaret (1972)

Unfortunately, it feels like the perfect time to rewatch a movie about the rise of fascism. -Afriti Bankwalla 

Staying Alive (1983)

If you’re not on board with a chiseled-and-oiled John Travolta modern-dancing his way through the Broadway musical “Satan’s Alley” to the songs of Frank Stallone (yes, Sly’s brother), well, there’s not much more I can say. -Jason Dick

Amadeus (1984) 

I had not seen this since the year it came out, when I saw it at the Movieola in Cottonwood, Ariz., as a kid. For me, it was one of those movies that existed more as a pop artifact than a work of art. But 40 years later, man it pops. I had my doubts that a longish movie about Mozart would be engaging, but man does it move. I should have remembered the short-sighted criticism of his music by the stuffy court advisers of Emperor Joseph II: “Too many notes.” In reality, there were the perfect amount of notes. -Jason Dick

They Live (1988)

We’ve been collectively tweeting “Idiocracy is a documentary” for a while now, but have you watched They Live recently? Come for one of the best fight scenes in any movie ever, stay the commentary on capitalism, mass media and public manipulation. Especially in the wake of the “anti-woke” movement, the subliminal messages to “Stay Asleep” lands particularly sharply. -Ian Graham 

X-Men (1992-1997)

I rewatched this classic cartoon series to gear up for X-Men ’97, and it’s just as good as I remembered. The storytelling, characters, and themes hold up incredibly well, making it a timeless favorite that’s still worth watching today. -Haywood Turnipseed Jr. 

Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006)

Malcom in the Middle holds up, y’all. And Bryan Cranston’s physical comedy should NOT be slept on! -Tyler Snodgrass

Band of Brothers (2001)

I rewatched Band of Brothers two weeks ago for I believe the third time in my life. It’s nice to check in with the Brothers from time to time. On this rewatch, a few things struck me: (1) it’s a Roy Williams coaching tree of white British actors – the other most recent rewatch must have been so long ago that I didn’t recognize, or outright forgot, about Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy; (2) the real-life veterans, who were mostly in their early 70s at the time of filming, now seem quite young – they could have run for President, am I right; (3) Ron Livingston’s response to “Hitler should have killed himself three years ago and saved everyone the trouble” with “yeah he should have – but he didn’t” is the line delivery I needed in 2024; and (4) the C47 scene in “Day of Days” is better than anything in Saving Private Ryan. -Tony Beasley

Mad Men (2007-2015)

Is it the prestige television series that has no bad seasons? Is it the most quotable prestige television series? Is Sally Draper doomed from the start? Is Ken Cosgrove the only character to aspire to, if you had to choose someone? Is Peggy too hard on Don? Is this the only reason we had AMC+ for two months? Yes. -Brandon Wetherbee

Lady Gaga’s VMAs performance of “Paparazzi” (2009)

It’s hard to believe that fall 2024 marked the 15 year anniversary of Gaga’s iconic “Paparazzi” performance at the 2009 VMAs because every time I hit replay on that YouTube video, it feels like I’m watching it in real time all over again: still just as full of shock and admiration for Gaga’s craft as not just a musician but also a real performance artist and storyteller. Side note: this was also the year Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift on stage, big year for the VMAs. -Afriti Bankwalla 

A Serious Man (2009)

I don’t love calling things underrated, but this is a movie that, in a perfect world, would have the cultural footprint of Lebowski. -Joe McAdam

The Trip (2010-2020)

We rewatched all seasons of the Steve Coogan/Rob Brydon vehicle The Trip, which was a blast. -Norman Quarrinton

Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared (both the 2011-2016 shorts, and the 2022 six episode series- available on YouTube)

There might be nothing I like more than existential horror mixed with puppets that are a bit curious, a bit dead, and a bit codependent. They recently launched a new streaming website for the full series, so hopes are high for more of my fav trio of roommates. -Jenny Cavallero

The Guest (2014)

I was lucky enough to attend this year’s Fantastic Fest, a massive film festival focused on horror, in Austin, Texas. Their programming is always perfect, obviously featuring the newest horror offerings while also spotlighting painstaking restorations of cult classics. One such screening at this year’s festival was Adam Wingard’s The Guest, which is celebrating its 10th release anniversary. In honor of the occasion, the festival showed an all-new cut with better color grading, and let me tell you, Dan Stevens’ baby blues were POPPING on the big screen. The packed theater was electric during the screening, cheering for Maika Monroe’s character, swooning over Stevens’ abs, and gasping at kills we’d all seen before. It didn’t matter that this was a ten-year-old movie; we all couldn’t get enough and to experience that for 90 minutes was reinvigorating as a horror fan. -Mary Beth McAndrews

Chappie (2015)

For the 9th year running. -Joe McAdam

The Righteous Gemstones (2019-?)

In anticipation of what I can only assume is Christ’s imminent return, I revisited this sprawling, satirical, scatological masterpiece. I’m from North Carolina, so if the funniest man in Hollywood makes an evangelical Succession shitting on South Carolinian megachurch nouveau riche, I’m here for it, sight unseen. Nevertheless, I’m still surprised by the wildly ambitious mix of broad character comedy, deft callbacks and storytelling, Coenesque slapstick-gothic, dazzling attention to detail, and painfully frequent full-body laughs. -Emerson Dameron

10 minute recaps of Chicago Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox games (2024) 

My kids are too young to stay up to watch most games so I put in the shortened recaps for the next day. Since I only play these when a Chicago team wins, they think the Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox are good. This might be cruel. -Brandon Wetherbee 

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