Almost Forgot This Place Existed...

...and now that I have remembered, I don't have anything to say, el oh el. I guess I'll just fill this blank in with some Pulp.

The Best Films of 2011...maybe?

2011 is now just another year that has been flushed into the oblivion that is the past, but the "Best of" lists have just started--wait...nope, sorry I messed that up. Those lists were already done with before the year even ended, I mean cmon just let the damn year end first jerkwads! You don't see people having a funeral when their grandma is in the hospital...unless that's their tradition or culture or something in which case that's cool. I dig.

Maybe I'm just trying to avoid admitting that I am late to this "Best of" party here, but whatever, I've got my reasons. I don't feel I have the authority to give a definitive Best List because, well, I have not seen/played/heard/experienced all that there was to be experienced for that particular section of 365 days. Maybe it's some inferiority complex that is buried within me that one of these days I'll have to grapple with, but if that is the case then let this be the first step to recovery. To be fully honest with you, I did not intend to even make a Best List but I'm currently stuck in a coffee shop where I have no choice but to whip out my laptop and start typing away, feeling self important as I drown my tongue in scorching hot--and not to mention mediocre--coffee. So here is my Best of List for 2011, best meaning this is what I had time to see and thought decent enough to be mentioned again. There is no particular order to all this, by the way.

MOVIES

- Drive: This one really surprised me. I knew I'd be seeing a visually stunning movie at least, but this one gets under your skin. I can think of only two other films this year that succeeded in creating a unique world with a very convincing atmosphere. The alienation of modern day Los Angeles is palpable I tell ya. Palpable! But seriously go see it now if you already haven't.

- Warrior: While Drive surprised me, this one floored me. I was not expecting a movie that focused on MMA to have so much heart and depth to it, especially considering how mediocre the advertisements were. Well, woe to me, never judge a movie by its trailer. I'll admit I'm not a big sports guy, but this film has something for everybody. It's the great performances full of raw emotion that really make this movie what it is. I highly recommend catching up with this one if you missed it in the theaters.

- Tree of Life: Terrence Malick makes great films that force you to look at your existence and spirituality. By spirituality I don't mean to say that this film is religious. I'm not a religious person, though I did have a religious upbringing, but Malick films have essentially become the equivalent of going to mass for me, and that's a good thing mind you! These films are like some of the best sermons that you will hear, though these ones do not specifically promise life after death or a salvation in whatever afterlife one might believe in. They have universal appeal. Tree of Life is no different in Malick's body of work when it comes to its meditative tone, in fact, it is the epitome of his working out the ideas of existence on the screen, bringing up questions and reconciling them with day-to-day existence rather than ramming down any sort of answers/agenda down the audiences' throats. We may draw our own conclusions, but there is not much difference when it comes to the essential questions that we ask about our life. If I had to narrow down my thoughts on existence I would cite Carl Sagan's indispensable series Cosmos in terms of the rational end of explanations and Malick's Tree of Life as the emotional end of the spectrum. I could go on about this film but I should save that for another post.

- Melancholia: Oh, Lars Von Trier your pessimism never ceases to amaze me! Compared to Antichrist, Von Trier's previous work, Melancholia is a rollicking comedy where the world is about to be destroyed. Kristen Dunst puts in her best performance to date as the depressed center of this spectacle, and does a great job of creating an atmosphere of unrelenting despair, a world Von Trier is no stranger to. This film has been quoted to be on the opposite end of the spectrum to Malick's Tree of Life, and I would have to agree with this.

- Shame: Similar to Drive and Melancholia, Shame is a film focused on creating the subjective experience of the main character. Michael Fassebender gives a great performance as a man with sex addiction. Despite all the nudity and sex scenes in this film--it definitely earned that NC-17 rating--the eroticism is not there, save for one scene though this is intentional. Similar to the portrayal of violence in movies, sex is difficult to be displayed in an honest, "real" way without it being exploited. Fassbender's performance along with director Steve McQueen's careful control of the subject makes sex seem like an addict shooting up heroin. This is the Requiem for a Dream for sex addicts.

- Martha Macy May Marlene: Another intense, atmospheric film superbly acted and directed, Martha Macy May Marlene creates a very claustrophobic and paranoid atmosphere for a woman who has escaped from an abusive cult. The film shifts between her present life and traumatic memories from her time at the nightmarish hippie commune, which no matter how far away she goes, these experiences follow her and control her decisions and reactions along the way. The Olson sister gives a very convincing performance and John Hawkes deserves the Best Supporting Actor Oscar this year. My pick for the best horror movie of the year.

- Rango - It very well might be the most visually-striking animated movie I have seen (I'm sure in part to consulting the modern day master of cinematography Roger Deakins) but it is also some of the most fun I have had at the movies this year. It is definitely not a film catering to kids, but rather plays off many genre conventions of the western, while dealing with the issue of one's identity--a rather heavy topic for children indeed. Funny, exhilarating, and touching, this film has it all and deserves to beat out Pixar this year for Best Animated Feature. I would also say this film is further proof that Gore Verbinski is one of the most reliable mainstream directors of today.

- Source Code: Probably not on a lot of top ten lists, but this one did it for me. It was the most entertaining live action movie that I saw last year. Duncan Jones is currently two for two with his sci-fi thriller films (this one preceded by his excellent Moon) and I will look forward to anything he will produce in the near future.

- 13 Assassins: Takashi Miike is one of the most proliferous directors of today, yet he still knows how to direct a solid movie. The audience was into this one for the whole ride. Best action movie of this year hands down.

- Captain America: Who knew a movie about a superhero who throws around a patriotic frisbee would be so much fun? This is my favorite Averngers movie only second to Iron Man.

Second Tier Movies

These aren't what I would consider to be Best of the year, but still enjoyable/interesting enough to be worth noting:

- Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen managed to pull off a blockbuster hit with this one, and I don't see that as too surprising. It is a very Pleasant movie (indeed, that is a pleasant with a capital P). Owen Wilson fits into the Allen persona quite well, in a role that is all about nostalgia and yearning for a world that only exists in one's imagination. It's lighthearted, fun, sugary-sweet, and it has Ernest Hemingway as a character. What more can you ask for?

- Hugo: Another Pleasant movie, directed by f*****g Martin Scorsese, that is an ode to the magic of cinema. While I enjoyed many parts of this film, and I would say it is entertaining enough for kids, I felt the first half of the film to be sort of dry, by-the-numbers sort of movie devoid of the childlike wonder that it should inspire. While this film might also be some of the best use of 3D I have seen, it is still not convincing enough for me to believe that movies need another dimension up in your face.

- Super 8: Another example of clever advertising from the master of promotion J.J. Abrams. The movie was fun enough but like a lot of sci-fi movies, once you see the monster it loses some of its initial attraction.

A Dangerous Method: Not the most Cronenbergian of Cronenberg's films, this film is a very straightforward, at-times engaging drama surrounding the formation of psychoanalysis between Jung, Freud, and Spielrein. It is a very character based drama--after all, it is based on a play--and Keira Knightly delivers her best performance to date, outdoing her performance from last year's Never Let Me Go. Fassbender, who along with Ryan Gosling and Tom Hardy is one of the best up-and-coming actors in Hollywood, delivers a solid performance along with Cronenberg's favorite Viggo Mortenson. This film is only hindered by the odd, uneven pacing of the script.

- The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo: Fincher is always a reliable director. If it is not a masterpiece, then it is at least a smart piece of entertainment.

- Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy: Similar to Dragon Tatoo in that they are both smart pieces of entertainment, though this one is a bit more difficult to follow.

Random notes:

- Crazy, Stupid Love: One of the more ridiculous plots of the year, but the genuinely entertaining exchanges and performances elevated this movie from ridiculous to entertaining.

- Colin Farrel's performance in Fright Night: Not as good as I would hope the remake to be, but Farrel's charismatic, restrained, but still insane performance as a vampire was good enough to keep the movie afloat. Maybe it was just nice to see Farrel ham it up like he did in In Bruges.

Worst Movies:

Only got two but they wasted my time a little too well.

- Dream House: Very, very, very disappointing, and not to mention, the house was also boring.

- Cowboys and Aliens: Jon Favereu had some pleasant surprises in the past, but this one did not cut it unfortunately. Unless you want to see Harrison Ford phone another one in.

Movies to See:

- Le Havre

- Moneyball

- The Artist

- A Separation

- Terri

- We Need to Talk About Kevin

- Margaret

- Take Shelter

Long-Term Commitments

As the new fall season of television approaches, we are all faced with the decision of choosing which shows are worth our precious time and which are better off left in the dust. This may not be so much a struggle concerning the new shows (after all, this digital age has made it much easier to catch up on shows we may have missed or not given a chance) but rather which shows you have stuck with and invested so much time in.

One of the main reasons for not keeping up with a television series typically is that the plot has become aimless, leaving the once consistent tone and consistent characters in its wreckage. What was once a drama is now a goofball-comedy-drama thing. Characters once so steadfast in their motivations are now just devices used to make sure the plot develops in the most convenient way possible. As is the nature with ongoing story narratives, the initial focus tends to be stretched out, and in most cases that results in some not-so-awesome plot developments until the whole show is half of what it used to be. The A.V. Club did a great write up of long narrative trends in fantasy epics, but the core problems are just as applicable to any other long-running series.

I just finished the FX drama series Rescue Me after a lot of ups and downs (the fourth, some of the fifth, sixth, and most of the seventh season were less than stellar) but despite it all I decided to stick with it; I enjoyed the characters, the amusing banter, the well done fire scenes, and how it all mixed with the themes of loss and redemption. After the first three seasons of pretty consistent quality, the problems started arising when plot threads were just left hanging or major developments were somehow forgotten about. For instance, the main character played by Dennis Leary is shot in a bar by his cousin Teddy and is left to die. Two seasons later, Teddy is walking Denis Leary's daughter down the aisle for her wedding because somehow a man who attempted murder is a more honorable person than a recovering alcoholic. Either the writers tried to ignore the shooting plot to make this one work, or maybe the shows characters are suffering from some form of Alzheimer's disease. It was moments like these that made me consider reaching for the remote and just calling it quits, but something kept me going. At some point I realized that the writers were going to play it safe, that they were not going to shake the foundations of the plot or of the characters, and if it looked like they were, it would all conveniently be undone in some way or another. After all, they found a formula that worked for a good three years, so why risk destroying everything they have built? Fortunately the comic exchanges in the show remained strong, but I tried to tune out the plot developments as much as I could. Once a show backs away from something it has built up for a whole season and then drops it like nothing, the audience feels cheated. This is the risk that we as audience members take. Will the creators be able to churn out a program while not sacrificing the integrity of everything they built their show on? More often than not, the answer is an unfortunate "no."

In the end, I'm glad I stuck with Rescue Me to see what to do and what not to do when it comes to an ongoing narrative. Would I give as much time to another series showing similar problems? Probably not. Television just takes so much more investment than, say, watching a movie. If I'm going to sit in front of a screen for thirteen hours of my life it better be worth it. And thanks once again to the internet I can usually have a pretty good idea of whether a show is worth watching or not. I have already decided to stop watching True Blood after the second season for this reason.

Television writers do seem to be getting better about putting an end date on their series so that they are better able to control the story and character arcs. It is for this reason that I stuck with Lost until the end after being tempted to stop midway through season three, when everything seemed to be stalled. I will stick by loyally to Mad Men and Breaking Bad for their decision to end the series after two more seasons. Let's hope this current trend becomes the norm for television dramas.

On my list of returning shows I've got: The Office, Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Parks and Recreation, The Walking Dead, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I do have some reservations about The Office since they got rid of the central character of the show last season and I'm not sure if the rest of the cast can hold up the show with a giant Steve Carell shaped hole in the middle of it. I hope this season of Dexter will be better than last year's disappointing finale. I can see the show running as long as possible so Showtime can milk the profits until the well dries up. I have faith that Boardwalk Empire will improve from its by-the-book first season. To be fair, they did have a lot of characters to introduce. There has been a lot of talk about the future of The Walking Dead with showrunner Frank Darabont leaving the production, which honestly worries me. There were already some signs that the show was idling as it tried to figure out the plot midway through the season, but I will still watch, being the horror junkie that I am. Parks and Rec and It's Always Sunny have remained reliably funny so there is no issue there.

The new shows premiering this year have shown some potential but I'll just wait for either outstanding word-of-mouth or for the Season 1 DVDs to be reviewed before I open up another possible Pandora's Box. There are only so many hours in a day and only so many hours of television I can watch before I don't have time for anything else.

Sometimes you just need to know when to call it quits.

GREETINGS and such

Welcome to The Life and Death of 9413: a Blog! To give you an idea of what I am trying to accomplish here and what it's all about...well, when it comes down to it I guess it's just another blog, really, but one that will all least be an entertaining and perhaps even an enlightening read.

A little bit of character development here: I am a fairly recent UC Santa Barbara grad with a BA in both Psychology and Film and Media Studies. Currently I am scrounging around for a job dealing with film, television, and/or digital media. I have been involved with the various roles in film production with the majority of my interest in screenwriting. In the meantime, this blog will serve as a way of convincing myself that my college education amounted to more than just an obscenely expensive four year vacation. So there's that....

Back to the bloggy part of this post. Mostly I will be writing entries--typically reviews--about movies, whether they be classics, cult, crap, Hollywood, Bollywood, or just plain indie. I have a pretty wide palate when it comes to watching movies, so I am definitely open to suggestions of movies to watch if any of you don't have the time or just want to torture me. I'm game. Being the Renaissance Man that I am, I will also write about television shows, music, video games (sorry Ebert, they are art), and other random musings. So there you have it my loyal followers, all zero of you. Til next time.

NOW CONSUMING

Movie: Rubber, 30 Minutes or Less

TV Show: Louie

Album: Watch the Throne - Jay Z & Kanye West

Video Game: Dead Island

Book: The Republic - Plato

The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra