Wrapping Up 2010 - From My Point Of View

Yeah, I know some of you hate top ten lists. I get that, especially when there seems to be an accepted group of films, or books, or whatever, that everyone seems to draw from. It's a groupthink reaction, but I also have people out there who's opinion I really do respect and admire, and I'm always happy to see what they really dug in the previous year.

Also, this is also the best of 2010 that I have actually seen/listened to/etc. There's plenty of stuff out there that I didn't get to. The Fighter, Shutter Island and 127 Hours come immediately to mind. Much like last year, where I missed The Hurt Locker until after January first, and that would've definitely cracked the top ten last year, I reserve the right to adjust accordingly.

Also warning you, this blog turned out to be HUGE.

MOVIES

The Best

I am a cinephile, and movies are really where my heart lies in this sort of exercise. Anyway, here's the ten movies I really, really liked in 2010.

10 - The Town

As I've said before, I am a Ben Affleck booster. The guy has proven to be far more adept as a filmmaker than anyone really wants to give him credit for. Gone, Baby, Gone was a solid, well-made thriller, and he's only gotten better with The Town. He's got a native's (Yes, native...that's his hometown boy accent) eye for Boston, and he stages the action to use the locations in interesting and exciting ways. Plus, the characters do not get lost in the heists. Affleck isn't Scorcese, but he's getting better with each film he makes.





9 - The Ghost Writer
OK, yeah...Roman Polanski is a questionable human being.

But he still made a hell of a thriller. The cast is spot on, from Pierce Brosnan's psudo-Tony Blair, to Ewan MacGregor's too-smart-for-his-own-good writer. It's also handsomely shot and brilliantly paced. It's exciting, and never makes you feel stupid to get it's thrills.





8 - The King's Speech

Eddie Izzard does this bit about Brittish films;

"What are you doing Lieutenant Sebasitan?"

"I'm arranging Matches."

I was somewhat frightened that The King's Speech would end up like that, a handsomely shot, well-acted snoozefest with an air of "good for you" importance. I'm happy to say that it's probably one of the funniest films I saw all year, and not funny in a "fall down, go boom!" moronic sense. No this is humor of character and emotion and feeling. It's great.

7- True Grit

Everyone, I think, expected some sort of re-working of the western from the Coen Brothers. They defies expectations, again, by making one of the straightest westerns in years. Bridges blows The Duke right out of my mind, and Matt Damon puts Glenn Campbell to shame by just walking on screen.Top that off with truly touched-by-the-divine beautiful cinematography by Roger Deakins. (Just give him the damn Oscar)





6- Solitary Man

I thought a lot about Michael Douglas' Ben Kalman. He represents not what I would call the worst of the American male, but the weakest. What the film really hits on is the idea that all of his failings, his poor choices, are driven by fear, more than anything else. He's scared of death, sacred of growing old, scared of becoming useless. The tragic thing is that the things he does to fight off those fears only bring them on more powerfully. With Douglas' tabloid history, it's a brave, naked performance in a worthy movie.




5- The Kids Are All Right

This is a film with a message about homosexuals, and homosexual family units. It's a message that's important, and quite obvious, but also seems to become lost in the shuffle. The message is that a family based around a gay couple is EXACTLY the same as one based around a straight one. The same foibles, the same petty arguments, squabbles over how to raise the kids, and the fear/danger of infidelity. However, a message isn't a movie, it's a sermon, and this film transcends that with a fistful of really winning and beautiful performances. Five actors, and director/co-writer Lisa Colodenko, that take a story and a situation that, without care, could become wrote and preachy and ALWAYS take the human and interesting choice. Lovely, lovely film.

4- Toy Story 3

This was almost destined to be great. Ever since I saw an early production painting of Woody looking out over the late-teenager, grown-up trappings of Andy's room, I knew that Pixar had hit on exactly the right way to end the story of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and friends. That painting was in my mind as I watched the film, the melancholy, the loss of meaning that seemed part and parcel of what that image was about. The film lived up to that in every way, while never allowing the proceedings to get bogged down in the sadness, and it earns, in every way, the tears of joy as the final reel closes. It's a cliche, but it's absolutely fitting...You'll laugh, you'll cry.


 3- The Social Network

It was sometime in college when I first read A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin's absolutely brilliant play about the military code of conduct, and code of silence. I was a fan right off the bat, that admiration only deepened when I actually did the play. There are few writers with such a command of language, yet never let themselves lose the thread of the plot, the nature of the characters. Couple that with David Fincher's immediate and compelling visual storytelling, and a whole cadre of young actors doing marvelous work, and you have a film that's more of a statement about where our society is right now than anything else in the theaters. All of those people who talked about "that stupid Facebook movie" before it opened can rap themselves across the knuckles for me.

2- Inception

Visual audacity. It's sorta become tied to the whole 3-D thing, these days, and really, James Cameron is the only one who's made it work as promised. Yet, over there, in the "just say no to 3-D" realm is Christopher Nolan, whipping up visual marvels that not only pop your eyes out of your head, but weave deeply into the very fabric of the story he's telling. Yeah, sure, there's not a lot "new" in Inception, but that's not the point. It's how those visuals are executed, and tie into the story that takes my breath away. Top that off with a filmmaker that is making big, crowd-pleasing, widescreen epics that challenge you on an idea level, which seemed like a lost art. God bless you, Chris Nolan.

1 - Black Swan

This film was out of left field, for me. A ballet movie? I have some slight connection to the ballet world, but films about it have always left me cold. Yet, from the first frames of Darren Aronofsky's wonderful movie, it was clear that the ideas weren't just about dance, but performance, in general. That was a hook, and a deeply personal one, for me. As I watched Natalie Portman's Nina Sayers walk the line between perfection and obsession, I was thinking of performers and artists I have known, have worked with, and how truthful the core of this film is. Aronofsky couples that with stunning camerawork, and well-executed visual metaphors. A real work of compelling, and disturbing, art. So, Darren, what are you going to do with Wolverine, now?

The Worst

One of the strangest things as I looked over the release dates this year, was the creeping knowledge that I'd just not gone to the movies as much as I usually do. So many people would say, "oh, it's so expensive," or something like that, but frankly, it just came down to the fact that, on many weekends, there wasn't anything that looked good enough to get up and go to.

Long story short, I don't feel like I saw a "bad" movie this year. Disappointing, sure (TRON: Legacy, The Expendables), but I fail to see anything fair about calling a movie that is competent, but doesn't exploit every opportunity, the "worst." I failed to see "bad" movies mainly because there were plenty of films that just drove me away, so I never saw them. So, I present you, in no particular order, the moves that looked so God-awful, they kept me out of the theatres this year;

Extraordinary Measures 

 - Oh, lord, Harrison...

Alice in Wonderland

- Depp and Burton need to take a long break from each other, and Burton needs to...find some inspiration.

The Bounty Hunter

- I actually like Gerard Butler, but...For God's sake, stop with this trash.

Furry Vengeance

- Did anyone else wonder if the end times were upon us, just by looking at the billboards for this nightmare?

Shrek Forever After

- More like, Shrek: Give it a Rest.

Killers

- If we put the two most annoying actors, nay, human beings, in the world into the same film, will anyone come?

Grown Ups

- An all-star comedy cast...and I hate them all when they play to the lowest common denominator like this.

Life As We Know It

- Katherine Heigl, I cannot, for the life of me, fathom how you continue to convince studios that people want to watch you do anything, other than apologize for your mouth and bad attitude.

Little Fockers

- I enjoyed Meet The Parents. I really did. Analyze This!, too. It was fun to watch DeNiro poke fun at his image...a decade ago. Now, after ten years of increasingly less inspired versions of the same thing, you can see the paycheck held on a fishing line, just out of shot.

Best Leading Male Performance

A pretty easy choice, for me. Michael Douglas is just fan-freakin'-tastic in Solitary Man. It's the kind of performance that makes it obvious that the actor is wrestling with some personal issues. In mush the same way that Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler felt like the culmination of, and a positive outcome for, years of personal embarrassments, so Solitary Man seems to reflect many of the sordid tabloid stories that have swirled around Michael Douglas. There are moments in this film where I looked away from the screen, not because of anything blatantly, visually horrible, but because I was watching a man who seemed incapable of  making the proper choices.

Best Leading Female Performance

This is actually a tough one, but I'm going to give it to Natalie Portman for Black Swan. There was a true sense of watching a person push themselves further and further to achieve something incomparable, but not being able to realize that sort of perfection lies beyond technique, a thing that can only be reached by throwing away the idea of any art as a process that involves a "correct" path. She embraced the idea of performance as "being," and how liberating, and dangerous, that can be. It's something I've thought about Portman, herself, in other films, but here...she reaches something special.

Best Supporting Male Performance

Oh, Mark Ruffalo, how I admire what you can do without really doing anything. You just...are, and it is so unaffected, so true to yourself, and honest. Your Paul in The Kids Are All Right is such a wonderful creation. There was a point during the film when I had started to have expectations about how your character would react and resolve the conflicts in the film, and I was always surprised by how you played the scenes out. It's terrific work. I love that you took a character with some rough edges and and questionable choices, and made him feel like a guy I could meet on the street, and one that I would immediately see the warmth and humanity in.

Best Supporting Female Performance

Did I say lead female was difficult? As it is, I'm going to take an Oscar cheat here. Mattie Ross is the lead character in True Grit, but I fully expect Hailee Steinfeld to receive a nomination as Best Supporting Actress. It really is a amazing performance in a demanding role, for such a young performer. She absolutely kills Kim Darby's portrayal in the 1969 version. Not only that, she personifies the character as developed in Charles Portis' novel. It really is remarkable work, and I find it sad that Chloe Moretz (though she was good in Kick-Ass, no denying it) has received far more attention in a much less demanding role, simply because she represents a fanboy sexual fantasy.

Best Director

This is a two-horse race. There's two directors who, this year, best represented the total exploitation of film as a visual medium, while still embracing the emotional core of storytelling as the paramount reason to make a film, at all.This year we had two directors who really nailed it. But I hate to pull a "tie"....

I'm picking Christopher Nolan for Inception. The film is a tour de force of directing styles and tonal shifts. It's all over the place from gritty urban realism, to eastern mysticism, to Bond-style high-concept action, with a heaping helping of truly engaging emotional connection wrapping it all together. The man is a master in the sense that Spielberg and Hitchcock were masters, he can craft thought provoking, yet populist entertainment. That is no small skill.

The closest competitor, FYI,  is Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan.

Best Screenplay

Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network. That's just a no-brainer. Very, very few writers could take that story and make it exciting and compelling, without jumping to complete flights of fancy. Maybe it's not all 100% accurate, but, really, who gives a shit? It's a work of fiction, based on real events, not a documentary. There is no compact to give you only the God's honest truth, only to create a compelling entertainment. That's what The Social Network does.

MUSIC

This year was about discovering the joys of digital music. Yeah, yeah, I always forswore the idea of downloading music (and I still do with illegal downloads), but the ease of being able to download albums from Amazon really won me over. Especially since actually finding stuff I want is getting harder and harder. The end of record stores is just a crime in that regard.

I could hear some buzz about an album or group, check out the samples, and download the album within minutes. Saving a trip in a fruitless search for the albums I want. Hell, Best Buy doesn't even really carry music anymore, and the local music shops we're all supposed to support...I find they're so tied into the hipster wavelength, guys like me are just left out in the cold..

My seven favorite new records this year:

7 - AB III - Alter Bridge

Sometimes you just have to enjoy a good, solid rock album. Yeah, it's nothing revelatory, and many would simply call it "corporate." Still, this takes me back to days when there were great bands making hard rock, where are the Van Halens in the sea of processed sounds coming from Beiber and Lady Gaga? (Not taking a swipe at Gaga, who is interesting, but some of us like BANDS, where the entire sound isn't created on a synth.) Well, Alter Bridge are keeping that alive, and Myles Kennedy is a very, very talented vocalist.

6 - Croweology - The Black Crowes

 Acoustic versions of many classic Black Crowes songs. That might sound like a cheap, uninspired cash grab, but the songs really get a second life with this set. The band sounds fantastic, and the acoustic setting really brings out many of their strengths. Chris Robinson, for example, hasn't sounded this good, or comfortable, in years. It looks like the band will be taking another extended hiatus now, and this was a fine way to send them off.

 5 -  Midnight Souvenirs - Peter Wolf

So. Much. Fun.

Truly cements Peter Wolf as one of the great, under-appreciated vocalists. The album is full of life, and humor. "Overnight Lows" is probably the funniest track you'll hear anytime soon. Sheer joy.



4 -  Wilderness Heart - Black Mountain
This one totally blindsided me. Never saw it coming. Got recommended by Amazon, because I liked The Sword so much. Reached out on Twitter to see if anyone had heard it, and one of the guys from The Sword wrote back to tell me it was awesome. Right from the horse's mouth, I figured. The first chords of "The Hair Song" had me hooked, and it rolled right in to "Old Fangs." Great stuff.


3 - Live Love in London - King's X
Anyone who knows me knows I love King's X. This is the perennial underdog band that I love. Three guys from Texas with a huge, groove-oriented sound. This is, really, their first respectable live release. (Live All Over the Place just seemed so random and the quality wasn't happening.) No new material here, but solid live versions of these tracks are totally worth it. Also love the "Deluxe" version, with a DVD, too.

  
2 - Caravan - Rush

Yeah, yeah...It's only 2 songs. Still as a preview of the upcoming Clockwork Angels album, I am beside myself. These two tracks, "Caravan" and "BU2B," are astonishingly good for a band that's been together for over 30 years. Of course, that's what I always say about new Rush music.

Unfortunately, it also looks like you can't buy this anymore.

1 - Warp Riders - The Sword

I had picked up the first couple of Sword records. Enjoyed them, but wasn't blown away. Saw them open for Metallica, and they put a veteran act like Machine Head, who also opened, to shame. Still, there was a monotony to the first two records. Lots of power and skill, but a certain "Black Sabbath wannabe" vibe that just sorta plodded along, even with a number of really impressive tracks.

Then I heard Warp Riders. Good God, what a great album. The band may lose some fans moving from the heaving pounding/Norse Mythology vibe of Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth into a much more melodic and hooky style on this album, but it was the right thing to do. I still think "Black Sabbath meets Thin Lizzy" is the most concise and accurate description of this new direction I have encountered. Excellent stuff.


Most disappointing album of the year:

Black Country Communion - Black Country Communion

I really wanted to like this one. I really did. You can't argue with the pedigree, four musicians of consummate skill, and a top-notch, renowned producer. I don't know, maybe it was the mercenary way it all SEEMED to come together, with Producer Kevin Shirley creating a "supergroup." Now, that may not be the actual case, I am willing to give everyone involved the benefit of the doubt, but the album, for me, feels pretty lifeless. Well played, well produced, and generally well executed, but not exciting.

It could also be bringing up Led Zeppelin a bit too much. That may not seem fair to Jason Bonham, but then again..."Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience?" That's not exactly the classiest move, either.

BOOKS

GRAPHIC NOVELS

COMICS

(Y'know, Reading Material)

Favorite Book of the Year

As often is the case, I didn't read a lot of new books this year, but I really, really enjoyed Life by Keith Richards. I've heard a lot of after-the fact bitching about it, but I can't get into that. Y'know, the fact that it does kinda ramble a bit, and that some really interesting moments get the short shrift, doesn't bother me. Why? Because it feels like an honest-to-goodness memoir, like a conversation with Keith Richards where he entertains you with stories of his life, and the stories are pretty damn good. So, I loved it. Your mileage may vary.



Best Graphic Novel

Easy. The Outfit, adapted by Darwyn Cooke from the Parker novles by Richard Stark. Cooke, time and again, is proving himself a master of the illustrated story. This new Parker adaptation gets even more outside the box than the last, with very cartoony sections illustrating how a numbers racket works, for example, and outlining out the titular Outfit is organized. Plus, his standard style is so very, very cool, and so well suited to 1960's crime thrillers, as a genre. My only complaint is that I just found out he's only doing 4 of the Parker novels...Which makes me very sad.



Best Ongoing Comic Series

This is really a matter of consistency, Yes, there have been single issues where this series has fallen down, but month in, month out, there are more great reads in Jonah Hex by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray than any other series on the market. Especially when Jordi Bernet jumps in on art duties. Even at that, this series has become a draw for some of the great artists working in comics. The aforementioned Darwyn Cooke has done a couple of issues (including the 50th - from which I am blessed to have a page of original art). They also managed to churn out a really, really great graphic novel with the character entitled No Way Back, this year, featuring art by Hex co-creator Tony Dezuniga (It was my second pick for Best Graphic Novel). Yeah, the movie sucked, but that's because no one involved got it, except maybe Josh Brolin (Who I hear was good, I haven't got the nerve to sit down and watch it, yet). This isn't a property that needs super-powers and special effects. It's a dark, twisted spaghetti western, and that's the template Palmiotti and Gray use, month after month. This comic series deserves to be at the top of the sales chart, and I will not stop singing it's praises until it is.

Best Crossover Event

I'm going to give it to Blackest Night. It had problems, but I was invested the whole way, and cared about the outcome. Plus, the Black Lanterns versions of the dead DC heroes were pretty damn cool. Mainly, however, I pick this because there wasn't any other crossover that worked for me, at all. Siege, The Red Hulk stuff, the Batman mess (even if I liked parts of it) all just completely fell apart at one point, or another.





Best New Creative Team

I am so overjoyed by what  Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis did with Booster Gold this year. This is the series that allowed me to get over losing Conner and crew on Power Girl. God bless you guys, I'm so happy to have this little bit of Justice League International-style fun to roll around in every month.I give you a huge BWA-HA-HA-HA!!! Just because I love you.







Worst New Series

Oh. My. God. How can you screw up Doc Savage so much in only one issue? I mean, the whole Next wave thing ended up a big "meh," with the exception of The Spirit, but...Jesus, this was supposed to be a professionally published comic book, and it came off worse, and more amateurish, than the self-published issue Zach Bosteel and I put out. I couldn't bear to read any more.






Most Disappointing Loss of a Creative Team.

I almost wept when Palmiotti, Gray, and the uber-wonderful Amanda Conner left Power Girl. What had been a crown jewel for DC Comics just...vanished. This team did twelve amazing, entertaining issues featuring a strong, sexy, compelling heroine in Karen Starr and her alter-ego, the psudo-Supergirl of an alternate Earth that no longer exists. There was a spark, and a personality they gave Power Girl that I miss so much.

Plus, you didn't feel so creepy about the huge boobs when a woman was the artist.



Worst Crossover Event

It pains me, because I'm still reading it, but Brightest Day is dwindling down into a inconsequential mess. It's confusing, overlong, and with no clear direction. I understand not wanting everything to be obvious from the first page, but, by halfway through the story, I really think I ought to understand A) what's and stake, and B) why. We're well past the halfway point, and it still feels like random crap happening. Geoff Johns, you're better than this.





Most Botched Character Reboot

I love Wally West, let's get that out of the way. Wally West is MY Flash, but I'm also fundamentally in favor of change that begets new story options. The return of Barry Allen seemed like something to open doors, and it still may be. However, the execution of Barry's return has been scattershot and weak. fundamentally, this is not an issue with story. I've been pretty happy with the issues as I've got them, but the scheduling has been awful. The series feels bogged down and slow, which is death for a character like the Flash.

To be fair, this isn't just a 2010 issue, it started with the abysmal 2009 delays in Flash: Rebirth. However, the ongoing has never found it's footing, or hit a regular schedule, either. Now, what? We're building to yet another Goddamn crossover, "Flashpoint," and I find myself saying "who cares?"

DC, if you want me to invest in Barry Allen, how about we spend some time just getting to know him in day-to-day adventures. His series has been branded with the Brightest Day stuff since day one (though I've yet to figure out why...because Captain Boomerang came back to life in Blackest Night, and is in Flash's Rogues Gallery? WEAK.), and from there right into this "Flashpoint." The Flash is a flagship character, not in the "big 3," no, but he is in the "big 5" just under them. He started the Silver Age, for God's sake! If you're so certain we won't accept Barry back unless he's connected to one lame crossover after another, why did you bring him back? I think he's a strong enough character to carry a series on his own. You let Hal grown as Green Lantern for several years before The Sinestro Corps War, so we were invested in him when the crap hit the fan for a big crossover...

Yes, I'm still reading. I love the Flash, but, again, Geoff, you can do better than this.

TELEVISION

Most of my television viewing is via DVD. I have relatively few shows I watch on a weekly basis, or "appointment viewing." I also DETEST watching TV on my computer. So, I am about a year behind on several shows.

Best TV Series

Mad Men is just top notch. No, I haven't seen any of season four, yet...and I've remained pretty much spoiler-free. SO DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING. I am in awe of what Jon Hamm does on this show, and the indelible character he and the writers have formed. It's a show that will go down as a classic.







Still Freakin' Funny Award

Kudos to Tina Fay and her team for keeping 30 Rock fresh and amusing at a point when other shows start to coast. I'm actually looking forward to Steve Carell leaving The Office, because I think it might shake things up in a good way. Honestly, I think 30 Rock has a advantage in the utterly bizarre world they've created, and the cast that is game to roll around in absurdity, all while being fairly despicable. Five years ago, if you told me I would treasure Tracy Morgan as a performer, I would've laughed at you. Yet, he's genius here. I also can't get enough of how Fay seems to revel in making her Liz Lemon doppelganger possible the most sweetly disgusting character on television.


How Did I Miss This Show Before? Award

Well, I know how. The Big Bang Theory, on paper, sounds like a show I wouldn't be able to stomach. Yeah, yeah...nerd jokes. Joy. Plus, from the people who bring you Two and A Half Men? Just hand me the rat poison, OK? Thing is, there's heart here. The cast is really stellar, and just refuses to let their characters become lifeless one-joke ponies (Get off the hooker, and listen up, Charlie Sheen). Plus, as my friend Ken has pointed out, they get the nerd stuff right. Yes, they are extreme characters, but I have known people who were nearly there (OK, not the neigh-autistic Sheldon). I admire that in a show that could've become a lifeless parade of easy jokes about the dorks.


The Guilty Pleasure Award

Castle is not a great show. It's formulaic, obvious, and has some huge weaknesses in the cast. However, it's anchored by a great TV star. For all of it's weaknesses, it's offered a solid spotlight role to Nathan Fillion, and actor who needed one. I tune in because I enjoy watching him work, even when he's not getting the best to work with (I'm leaving it at that.) So, yeah, as long as Fillion is on hand, I'll be watching, and enjoying. That said...you could get a ton of mileage if you just threw your formula out the window and really, truly surprised us, guys.


The "Please, Bill, Just Stop" Award

S#*! My Dad Says...'Nuff Said.

You won Emmys, for God's sake.







Frankly, at this point...I've probably overstayed my welcome with this blog entry, so I'm gonna leave it at that.

I do think, overall, it was a very strong year for media. Yeah, there was a LOT of garbage, but the good stuff was very, very good. That's something to be celebrated, when the cream rises so far you simply forget about the sour crap. Maybe you'll want to check out some of my favorites, or even some of the things that I found repellent. Good! This list is, by it very nature, merely my opinion, and I am wrong all the time.

And...hopefully the formatting doesn't get too screwed up when I post this....