Keeping this simple, we know why we’re here:
Movie of 2009
Disclaimer
(*************************I have not yet seen Avatar!!************************)
The Contenders
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Winner – Up
Althought not quite in the league of Finding Nemo or Toy Story, Up was a brilliant film that only lost a little momentum towards the end after an All-Time great first half hour.
Well worth your time whether you have kids or not.
Worthy Mentions
Perhaps not as technically stellar, these 5 films are worth a look.
2009 in film summary: I thought 2008 was a crappy year for films, I ended up buying only 5 DVDs last year through the entire year (The Dark Knight / Forgetting Sarah Marshall / Iron Man / Tropic Thunder / Wall-E) and I thought Iron Man, while a good movie, was still a pretty middling movie of the year. At this stage 2009 doesn’t look much better, mebbe I might grab Drag me to Hell on sale, and possibly District 9 and Cloudy Balls, but as of now only Up is on my DVD radar.
I’ll include Avatar in 2010, and with that and the usual line up of “this’ll be great” stuff that usually disappoints we must wait and see.
(And the WORST films of the year? The Invention of Lying was most disappointing given the fact that it took a potentially great concept and an incredibly strong comedic class headlined by Ricky Gervais and took it nowhere. But The Spirit takes the cake for suckiness, hands down the biggest piece of crap to disgrace cinemas in 2009.)
Album of 2009
The Contenders
David Gray – Draw the Line
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Winner – People Under the Stairs – Carried Away
I thought Fun DMC was a really good album in 2008 so I was worried when I heard they had another album coming out so soon. Needn’t have worried, this is a great album and even though it is only around 2 months old I must have already listened to it a dozen times with no sign of it becoming tedious.
There best album since 2002’s masterful O.S.T. (More to come on that one in future days.)
If it wasn’t for PUTS and The Roots I might cancel my subscription to hip hop music, there isn’t much new stuff coming out and the former greats have all gone (A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy), slipped a little (Beasties, Beatnuts, Busta, Common), lost the fucking plot (Ugly Duckiling, Black Eyed Peas – everything since and including Elephunk), or release albums so occasionally that they might as well be retired (De La Soul, Outkast).
I am old in music terms, as annoying as it is I couldn’t name a number 1 song this year off the top of my head. I hear about new groups and singers all the time but scarcely pay attention, and as I NEVER listen to the radio it is only rarely that I even come into contact new music. This means that 99% of albums that I buy nowadays are by groups or artists that I am already aware of and usually a fan of, I don’t buy based upon critical acclaim, as I think most critics are just as out of touch as me, only they aren’t even man enough to admit it.
Song of 2009
This one is easy, there is really only one standout for me. In fact, only one song grabbed the much sought after ***** rating on my ipod, and here it is.
Winner – Paul Dempsey – Out the Airlock