I saw 35 movies [in the theater] in 2011 which is exactly my average over the past 12 years, which means it's not as many as I wanted to see, but still a fair amount considering what the last year of life has entailed time-commitment wise.
I've been thinking about it and thinking about and it turns out my very favorite movie in 2011 was The Guard. I know I said in that review it was probably top 5 or 2 but yeah. I was wrong.
Here's the list of my favorites with links to Snip reviews and very brief commentary. [Although be warned, a bunch of them got reviewed in the same Snip post so they're quite succinct. Heh.]
1. The Guard - black humor, yet heartfelt.
2. Tree of Life - throw out that 30-minute visual creation OH HAI dinosaurs in the middle and this would have been #1. The family stuff was super compelling.
3. Red State - Kevin Smith's masterpiece.
4. The King's Speech - technically a 2010 movie for many people I'm sure. Quite lovely.
5. Beginners - the previews were so twee, I was leery of it. It was so sweet and really touching.
6. Midnight in Paris - really a movie about the joy of movies and art and connections. quite good.
7. Take Shelter - paranoia. discomfort. anxiety. but good movie making. [email me if you need the password for that review. it's the same pword that was formerly used to leave comments on Snip.]
8. Haunters - one of the most original movies you could ever possibly see. Spooky but sometimes sooooo funny.
9. True Grit - another one others saw in 2010. Really great. Gritty in the best possible way.
10. Somewhere - a slow (SLOW) but lovely exploration of how celebrity steals away one's real life.
Unfortunately movies can be a little harder to choose than books and I also saw some real doozies in 2011. The WORST movies I saw were Hanna (the dialogue was horrible, the plot had so many holes), The Green Hornet in 3D (overdone, dumb--heh, sounds like I didn't quite dislike it as much in my original review as in my memory. I guess it got worse with time!), Bridesmaids (I HATE THAT MOVIE. I'm SO SICK of people talking about how it's finally the movie that shows how girls are. NO IT IS NOT) and The Company Men a ridiculous movie that misread its possible audience in such a huge way.
Biggest tearjerker: Buck
Most nostalgia creating: Super 8
Cleverest dialogue: Young Adult
Most ridiculous scenario: Cowboys & Aliens
Best house lived in by main character: The Mechanic
Made me feel most voyeuristic and icky: Blue Valentine
Felt most like 89 movies I'd seen before: The Fighter
Made me super mad: Black Swan
Movie I really liked that no one else in the world saw: Somewhere
Possibly the best EVER use of 3D with some of the world's most annoying voiceovers: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Best action movie: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Best song sung by lead actor: Martha Marcy May Marlene
Also best introduction of a new actor: Martha Marcy May Marlene
And that's it for 2011. I have my first two flicks of 2012 lined up for today and tomorrow (VERY LATE for me, last year I saw 7 movies in the first 7 days of January) and I can't wait to see them!
]]>I read more non-fiction than usual (a lot of memoirs!) but no short stories at all. What? (I did start 2012 off with some though!)
It's always hard to pin these things down, but...
My top six very favorite books read during 2011 were (not in any order) "Wonderstruck" by Brian Selznick, Love Is the Higher Law, by David Levithan, "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett, "36 Arguments for the Existence of God", by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein (that's fiction, despite its non-fiction-like sounding title), "Mother's Milk" by Edward St. Aubyn and "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter" by Tom Franklin.
I also really really loved two of the last books I read in December: "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness (not at all Twilight for adults, as I keep seeing it called--the quirks of the publishing industry's advertising could really drive one to madness, couldn't they?) and "Falling Together" by Marisa de los Santos.
I do read a ton of both adult and YA fantasy/sci fi, as you might know heh, and my favorites in 2011 were "Divergent" by Veronica Roth, "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss, "Aftertime" by Sophie Littlefield, "Across the Universe" by Beth Revis and "Hunger" by Jackie Morse Kessler.
Other YA, but not fantasy, or not really, books I loved were "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and both "Okay for Now" and "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt. And I particularly loved a novel in verse "Inside Out & Back Again" by Thanhha Lai.
I enjoyed Rosanne Cash and Keith Richards' memoirs, I loved both the fiction and non-fiction I read by David H. Hackworth, widely known as one of America's most decorated soldiers (now deceased), I would recommend absolutely any and everything (romance and memoir) written by my good friend Rachael Herron and if you want to revisit my favorite fantasy books of all time as I did this year I recommend The Tornor Chronicles by Elizabeth A. Lynn (book 1 is "Watchtower") and The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander (book 1 is "The Book of Three").
I read a LOT of stuff I loved this year, a lot of stuff that was good and fun and only a very few things I wish I hadn't wasted time on and most of those woudn't wind up appearing on the read list anyway! :) I grew out of that whole "I HAVE to finish every book I start!" baloney in my late 30s. There just isn't time for bad books. And there are SO many good ones out there!!
]]>(with links to Snip commentary. sometimes.)
Favorite Albums:
Matt Costa "Unfamiliar Faces" Quirky and unexpected. Fave songs: "Mr. Pitiful" and "Miss Magnolia"
Bon Iver "For Emma, Forever Ago" Swoon. I know all the cool kids had this album in 2007. I ain't that cool, yo. Love the album, love him in concert (see Favorite Gigs category down at the bottom). Love love love. Fave song: Re: Stacks
Jesse Malin "Glitter in the Gutter" Rockin'. Can't even pick a fave song, just love the entire thing.
Fleet Foxes Listening to FF is like sitting in a field of daisies in 1973 while people around you kiss and weave each other bracelets. May be a bit 'twee for some. (But it's so pretty!) Fave Songs: "White Winter Hymnal" "He Doesn't Know Why" "Your Protector" "Oliver James"
Earlimart "Hymn & Her" With every album they just get better and better. Pretty and intimate. Fave songs: "Time for Yourself" "For the Birds" "Town Where You Belong"
My Morning Jacket "Evil Urges" I lovelovelove this album. But I did NOT like "Z". At all. If you peruse le Internet, you may find that everyone who liked this album was not much of an MMJ fan before, and those who were, were greatly disappointed. Ah well. Fave song: "I'm amazed"
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin "Pershing" I didn't even listen to this album until months after I bought it. Which is just so wrong 'cuz it's so good. Fave song: "Heers"
Carla Bruni "Comme si de rien n'etait" Her french albums just take my breath away. Why do I even pretend to try to learn this language? I'll never sound like this when I speak. Fave song: "Tu Es Ma Came"
The Submarines "Honeysuckle Weeks" Has the same intimate boy/girl vibe of Earlimart but more poppy, more upbeat. It just grew on me more and more as the year went by. Fave songs: "Swimming Pool" "You, Me and the Bourgeoisie"
Keane "Perfect Symmetry" This one totally took me by surprise. Fave songs: "Better than This" "Time to Go" "The Lovers Are Losing"
Runners Up
Favorite 2008 Artist Not Mentioned Anywhere Above:
Joseph Arthur who put out FOUR EPs ("Crazy Rain" "Could We Survive" "Vagabond Skies" and "Foreign Girls") as well as joining with the Lonely Astronauts for a full album ("Temporary Peple"). Which puts him at ridiculous output levels, along the lines of Ryan Adams and Joe Purdy. I really loved all the EPs; the full album is good, just not quite at their level. Fave songs: "Slow Me Down" "Lovely Cost" "Radio Euphoria"
Guilty Pleasure: Shwayze
Violent-Femme reminiscent: Wave Pictures "Instant Coffee Baby"
Dance, dance, dance: Cut Copy "In Ghost Colours"; Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip "Angles"
Favorite Singles: (not on any of the aforementioned albums)
Favorite Covers:
Favorite Gigs:
So I sorta went to 70 shows in 2008. I'd totally say that next time I wonder how I'm wasting all my time away, you could just yell "Concerts!" except I seem to have SERIOUSLY turned this trend around in 2009 (three months in and I've only been to two shows. What?!?). Anywho... 10 of those 70 were openers, so it was really only 60 shows. And 6 were at Monolith, 5 at Lollapalooza and 13(!) at Pitchfork, so you know, that's really like seeing 24 sets at three shows so... Anyway, my favorites were: