Best of 2009

Yes, I realize that we are almost a month into 2010, and everyone else ran their Best of 2009 analyses in December, but I figured I should wait until the year is over to assess things and share my opinions.  So here it is, my Best of '09 entertainment picks.

 

Movies

I managed to see five movies in the theater that were released in 2009.  Not too bad, considering we just had a child last January.  Gotta love when the grandparents come to visit and will babysit.  Fortunately, none of the movies turned out to be a dud.

 

The animated movie Up by Pixar hits you with the following topics in the first twenty minutes: youthful ambition, love, commitment, miscarriage, aging, forgotten dreams, and death.  Pretty heavy topics for a children's movie, but it handles this in a manner understandable and touching to both children and adults.  And like all Pixar movies, Up reminds you of what the imagination is capable of creating. 

The Hangover was hilarious.  After watching it, I had an overwhelming urge to go to Vegas, and to call up all my dental friends and say, "Paging Dr. Faggot".  One of the best comedies of the decade.

 

Up in the Air is the perfect movie for George Clooney.  It is almost too easy of a role for him, but no one else could have played the role as well as he did.  He excellently portrays the vulnerability of the lead after brilliantly portraying him as a indelicate, arrogant, and selfish individual.  

 

I grew up watching Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on PBS. This definitely wasn't the same Sherlock Holmes, but that doesn't mean necessarily mean it was worse.  It sticks with the basis of Sherlock Holmes' methods - deductive reasoning, observation, and forensic skills, while updating the action to satisfy today's movie going public.  A good popcorn flick.

 

My parents recommended that we go and see It's Complicated.  I figured that is was meant for middle age woman, and I wasn't too far off based on the demographic at the theater.  My wife and I were definitely the youngest there, and I was one of two men.  But don't let that put you off the movie.  It was pretty funny and much better that most chick flicks.  Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep, and Steve Martin all give outstanding performances.

 

Music

Every year, there are one or two albums that become my personal addictions.  They typically take a few listens to grow on me, but then I have to stop myself from putting them on replay.  This year, those two albums were No Line On the Horizon by U2 and xx by The xx.  What? You aren't surprised that I picked No Line?  Yes, my obsequious devotion to U2 may lead you to think that I cannot be impartial, but I truly think this is one of the best albums of the past decade.  The tracks, Moment of Surrender and Breathe are amazing, and the album reveals itself with repeated listens. 

 

The first time I listened to The xx, I wasn't all that impressed, and I actually forgot that I had bought the album after a couple weeks.  I am so glad I gave it a second chance.  The album is nuanced, delicate yet driving, and damn sexy.   Romy Croft and Oliver Sims' vocals play off each other perfectly.  An amazing debut album. 

 

Other albums from '09 you may want to check out are Middle Cyclone by Neko Case, I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers, Wolfang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix, and White Lies for Dark Times by Ben Harper and the Relentless 7. 

 

TV

The best new TV show last year was Modern Family.  It uses a faux documentary style, a la The Office, to tell the story of a multi cultural, multi sexual, modern day family.  This isn't the Cleavers. 

 

Books

The best book is the Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons aka The Sports Guy.  If you like the NBA or reading The Sports Guy on ESPN.com, you will enjoy this book.  Extremely in depth and entertaining analysis of the NBA's history and its players.