I can’t believe it’s been another year of ITISTFB (I Think I’ve Seen This Film Before… yeah, the acronym still sucks, I know). Year 2. The page has seen a lot of growth in 2024, particularly with the launch of the Instagram account (@ithinkiveseenthis_film_before if you’re not already following!). The Instagram has allowed me to share so much more content in a more direct and timely fashion. Going into year 3, I would love to continue to improve and expand the types of content I’m providing and how I’m delivering it. Like, for example, I posted my first album review this year when Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poet’s Department” came out and I just had to talk about it. I also do think it’s one of my better bits of writing, if I do say so myself (some of my favorite reviews I re-read months later and feel like someone else wrote them. Like it doesn’t feel like those words came out of me…) I kept the review to just the Instagram page because the blog is reserved for film and TV, but writing it was a fun challenge and exercise for me and I would love to see what else I feel compelled to write about in the coming year. I also started writing some Mini Reviews on Instagram for any movies and shows I wanted to discuss or recommend but didn’t have quite enough thoughts on for a full blown review. As always, one of my favorite things about doing this, and an opportunity that Instagram has really opened for me, is connecting and interacting with others about content. Please, please, please feel free to give me any notes, comments, suggestions, criticisms you have on anything I post and how I post it. I want these reviews to be a dialogue, a discussion, not just a one-sided rant. If you want specific recommendations or have questions about a movie or show, please DM me on Instagram or email me through the blog! Even if I haven’t watched something, I’m happy to share what I’ve read in reviews or heard on podcasts or what the chatter online is. Or if you disagree with my thoughts, I’d be thrilled to have a friendly debate. Or if you want to see more of something or less of something in my posts, I will take that into consideration! I spent some time this year thinking about what my dream job would be, if I could do anything in the world. And I think right now I realized it would be if I could do this full time and make the site and the social media pages everything I want them to be. But until I’m able to make that dream a reality, I just want to make everything the best I possibly can. So thank all of you for being a part of this journey! Truly means the world ❤️

Okay now to the content! Another year of feeling like there is never enough time to watch, see, listen to, read all the things I want. There is SO much content out there and I just can’t possibly get to all of it, even though I would like to. I can also watch much faster than I can write so I spent a lot of this year getting behind in my reviews. In 2025, I would definitely like to work on getting my posts out in a more timely manner. But, overall, my goal for this year was to watch more than I did last year. And I achieved that! I watched 14 more new movies and 10 more new seasons of television this year compared to my stats from last year. I’d like to consider each year a new benchmark to surpass for the following year. Always pushing to consume as much content as I can. 

Many people are saying it has been a weird or bad year for movies. Possibly due to fallout from last year’s strikes. I haven’t exactly felt that way but, if I really think about it, I do feel like maybe there have been more good movies this year, but less great ones compared to last year. As long as I’m enjoying watching movies, though, I’m happy. And this year has been no exception to that. A movie theater continues to be one of my favorite places to be. So here are my top 5 movies of 2024, where “top” means “favorite” and not necessarily the movies I think are the best. Just the few I personally enjoyed the most!

Top 5 Movies of 2024 (in chronological order of their release)

• Dune: Part 2
• Challengers
• Sing Sing
• Anora
• Wicked

It’s no secret on this page that I tend to favor movies over TV. I accomplished my goal of watching more shows this year than I did last year, but, in the coming year, I would really like to put a little more effort into my TV watching. I’ve started to judge how much I like a show based on how much I look forward to watching the next episode. Whether it’s a binge drop or week to week, if I jump immediately into the next episode, dying to know what happens next, that is obviously preferable to watching the next episode because I feel like I need to finish out the season. There weren’t many shows this year that kept me hooked and excited episode to episode but here are a few that did!

Top 5 Shows of 2024 (in chronological order of their release)

• Mr. & Mrs. Smith
• Hacks s3
• Nobody Wants This
• Agatha All Along
• Bad Sisters s2

I wanted to take some time to recommend some other sources of content and entertainment that I have really appreciated from this year. This means items other than movies and television because, while those are my main sources of entertainment, there is so much more content out there to be enjoyed! And I am never not consuming content in some form. (I hate silence, sue me.) I tried to limit myself to just one selection in each category but there are literally hundreds more I could talk about so if you want more recs just send me a message! 

• Podcast – The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast
  • They say that everyone’s favorite SNL cast or the cast they think is the best is the one that was on the show when they were in high school. The Lonely Island was right in that sweet spot for me. Their Digital Shorts are basically imprinted on the brains of most of my generation; the jokes have become shorthand for us. This podcast not only gives an interesting inside look into the creative process behind the group and the production process behind the show, but is also hysterically funny. If you’re a fan of SNL, The Lonely Island, comedy, or if you just like to laugh, definitely check this one out.
• Song – Girl, so confusing featuring lorde by Charli XCX and Lorde
  • There are so many songs I could have chosen from this year. 2024 was truly the year of the Pop Girl and I thrived in it. But I didn’t want to choose something that I would typically recommend (aka Taylor Swift). I know Charli has also been given her fair share of flowers this year (who among us didn’t have a Brat Summer?) but I had to call out this song. While I don’t necessarily think it’s the best song of the year, this song is more important than people are giving it credit for. It’s easy to dismiss it for its hyper-pop, party sound, but the lyrics are shockingly real and cutting. To me, this song is girlhood in a nutshell. It is a stream of consciousness confession from two women who both think the other is rude and bitchy when, in reality, they are both overcompensating for their own insecurities. Society loves to pit women against each other but this shows how many conflicts could be fixed and wounds could be healed just by having honest conversations. I would have never guessed that a song that sounded like this could make me cry. I think it’s powerful and authentic and, yeah, fun to dance to! Listen if you want to feel seen or get a window into the female psyche or if you want to party!
• App/Game – Happy Color
  • Thank you to Julia Gabay for introducing me to this app (but also curse you for getting me hooked on it). Sometimes we all need a break from the mindless scrolling on social media. Ideally that would involve a break from screens in general but let’s be realistic, that’s a tough ask. Happy Color is a digital paint-by-numbers with seemingly endless images to choose from. It’s like a less mentally-taxing puzzle. The app is surprisingly relaxing and peaceful and also more addicting than it has any right to be. My favorite new nighttime routine is to lie in bed while listening to a podcast and working on my pictures. For anyone looking for new ways to unwind!
• Stage Show – Romeo + Juliet
  • Romeo + Juliet, directed by Sam Gold and starring Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, is now playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre in Manhattan. It is unlike any live performance I’ve seen before. The production is essentially like a Gen Z version of Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film “Romeo + Juliet” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. That is to say, the aesthetic is modern while the dialogue is all the original Shakespeare. The show also includes 3 original songs (by mega pop producer Jack Antonoff) and is performed in the round. The actors really do use every single bit of space in the theater and are constantly running around everywhere. While the production design is fairly minimal, the aesthetic is pretty cool and visually interesting. The leads were supremely talented and getting to hear Rachel Zegler sing live is a magical experience. As a fan of Shakespeare (outing myself once again as a giant nerd), I enjoyed seeing a new take on this classic tale and I hope the youthful vibe will help expose younger audiences to Shakespeare in a positive way.
• TikToker – Tini
  • Tini is my new obsession. She’s been around as a chef for a while now but has been a more recent discovery for me. Tini (whose full name is Tineke Younger) finished 8th on Next Level Chef season 2 as a contestant and had a YouTube show on Gordon Ramsey’s channel. Now, she’s taken her talents to TikTok where she has over 10M followers. Her mac & cheese recipe has gone crazy viral and I’ve been dying to attempt to make it. Most of her other recipes are beyond my skill level, but I just enjoy watching her cook and bake. She’s really talented and entertaining and a good follow!
• Newsletter – The Table
  • This choice is kind of a smuggle because the girl behind The Table Newsletter, Jordan, is another TikToker that I’m a big fan of. But she does publish this newsletter with more in-depth info than she provides on her TikTok channel. Her content is based around recommendations for restaurants and nightlife and exercise classes and activities and more to do in and around NYC. My favorite series is her “What All the Hot Girls Are Currently Obsessed with in NYC” that she publishes every Sunday. I trust her opinion on everything trendy going on in the city. She’s @itisjor on TikTok and her newsletter has a free option but you can also pay to subscribe for even more content. Great if you want to stay in the know or if you feel like you never know where to go in this giant, ever-changing city (like me).
• Book – The Newcomer
  • Unfortunately I have had a down year of reading in 2 ways. 1) I didn’t get to read as much as I would have liked. 2) I didn’t read anything I truly loved (no 5-star ratings on Goodreads for 2024). However, if I had to choose a favorite book of the year, it would be “The Newcomer” by Mary Kay Andrews. It’s a great beach read but slightly more elevated than some other more trashy ones. The story is light and engaging with some mystery and some romance. It’s over 400 pages but I read it in a week on vacation because I was totally engrossed and it flew by. Definitely a great option for any trips you might be taking this time of year or any time coming up!

2024 – The Year in Numbers: 70 new movies, 40 new seasons of television/specials, 39 blog posts, 156 pages on my Google doc, 40 followers on Instagram