2011 was a reasonable year for film. Whilst there were no Inception's or Animal Kingdom's this year, there was a Bridesmaids and a Drive that successfully blew enough people away. There was also a set of films that had no right to be good, or rather, as good as they turned out to be.
I neglected to do any lists for 2010 which is odd. I will one day create a list for the best films of the past decade, but one day never comes (it is, however, on my list for the best films of 2011).
I begin with the worst film of the year...
Norweigan Wood - I'm sure that there were worse films - Transformers 3, Pirates 4, Jack & Jill - but I didn't see them. I did, however, endure Norweigan Wood. I don't know what was worse, being a Haruki Murakami fan and sitting through the turgid mess that is Norweigan Wood, or forcing my wife to sit through such a morbid moody miasma. Visually, Norweigan Wood is beautiful. However beauty does not carry a film which struggles to convey the feeling of a great depression. It's odd that a film like Norweigan Wood should be such a failure given the source material is good - not Murakami's greatest though - and the director and cast have been promising in the past. Yet, unlike Melancholia, Norweigan Wood misunderstands depression. Long moody quiet silences and lingering shots do not show what depression really is. A failure on so many levels.
And now my top 20...
20. Fast Five/Final Destination 5 - How can I put these two films on a best of list and hate Norweigan Wood so much? Well, both of these films should not have been as good as they are. When films reach their fifth volume in a series, they're usually being prepared to go out to pasture. In the case of Final Destination 5, it's understandable that it could get a theatrical release as horror films are notoriously cheap and easy to make. Fast Five should have been a direct to video release. They both go against the stereotypes and blow the viewer away with exceeding expectations. Final Destination 5 is the best in the series since Final Destination 2, and its use of 3D is one of the best examples of the gimmick I've seen. It also fits perfectly with the mythology of the series (what mythology it has) and links up with the first film perfectly. Hilarious, over the top, and exactly what was required from the series. A great relief after the boring The Final Destination.
Fast Five on the other hand is just over the top fun. Casting Dwayne Johnson in the film was an inspired move. The charisma that both he and Vin Diesel have in this film is crazy - given that you don't expect them to have charisma in the first place - and the action is exactly what you want from a film. It's a believable yet over the top action. It's also real action. The lack of CGI stunts and effects in this film is a breath of fresh air. When the chase takes place at the end of the film, it's thrilling simply in the fact that you can see that this all actually happened.
These two films had no right being as good as they are - they should have been run of the mill D-List films (Final Destination 5 is D-List, but it's a horror film so that's expected) which go through the motions.
18. Hesher - Hesher was the first film I saw at the grand Alamo Drafthouse theatre in Austin. It's a grand little film which was co-written by the brilliant mind behind Animal Kingdom - David Michod. Joseph Gordon Levitt shows why he's one of the best actors around at the moment. His Hesher is offensive, insane and surprisingly loveable. The supporting cast are all enjoyable, and for the first time since he got his head cut off in House of 1000 Corpses, Rainn Wilson is tolerable again! Whilst the events of this film couldn't exist in any kind of reality, it shows why we go to movies. To see characters like Hesher.
17. Red Dog - The biggest Australian film of the year is actually a good Australian film. In a year where Australian films were mediocre at best, Red Dog was an enjoyable film which played on stereotypes and caricatures joyfully. Red Dog himself is such a great character that any foibles the film has - aformentioned stereotypes and the odd opening to the film - are forgotten when you have great little scenes like Red Dog VS Red Cat. Try not cry at the end.
16. One Day - I had low expectations for this film. I thought it would be an average romantic drama. I didn't expect to be brought to tears by the end. Yet, sure enough, when the supremely obvious finish to the film comes round I was a bubbling mess. Whether it's Anne Hathaway's supreme beauty that had me enthralled throughout the film, or the fact that it's not your typical romantic drama, who knows. It's films like One Day and Crazy, Stupid, Love that defy expectations that make film going so exciting.
15. The Eye of the Storm - It's a joy to see Fred Schepisi back in Australia with such a fine cast. Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis and Charlotte Rampling are pitch perfect as the remaining family members of this bitter family. The sexual hate in this film is seering, especially with the way Charlotte Rampling spits some of her lines out. You can tell how much fun all of the cast were having with such rich dialogue and grand over the top characters. It's a joy to see such a fine director coming back to his homeland and creating such a fine little film.
14. Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen's films of late have been very hit/miss. Maybe it's that our expectations have now been lowered when we see a new Woody Allen film, or maybe Midnight in Paris is actually a good movie, either way, Midnight in Paris is enjoyable. It's not a deep film, it's not going to rewrite history, or teach you anything about history. It's just one man who admires certain things about the history of France and made a little film about it. Right now it's an enjoyable film, in ten years time will we look back on it and feel the same way? Probably not.
13. Wasted on the Young - It's impressive that a film like Wasted on the Young is even able to be made in Perth. Whilst it's not a film that's going to set the world on fire, it is a very enjoyable little film none-the-less. A cast which is solely made up of teens - not an adult in sight - this is a great antidote to Gossip Girl. Ben C. Lucas is a young director with great talent. Lets just hope he sticks around in Australia and makes more films of this calibre.
12. 13 Assassins - Takashi Miike is an interesting director. His film output is unstoppable, so quality is not always his strong point. So it's a joy to see that his samurai film is actually good. It's as classic samurai tale that spends a long time setting up for the great battle at the end. Goro Inagaki's Lord Naritsugu is one of the best villains in recent memory. His actions are awful, yet he's such an interesting villain that you want him to stick around.
11. Source Code - I didn't care for Duncan Jones first film, Moon. It was an ok, but overrated, little science fiction film. Source Code is science fiction through and through, but it's science fiction with a heart. Jake Gyllenhaal is perfect as the cypher that moves the story along. On paper, a film where you rewatch the same event over and over sounds pretty darn boring, however Gyllenhaal's Colter Stevens is such a believable and human character that as the film moves along (and it moves quickly within its brisk 90 minute running time) you feel his pain. It also has one of the best freeze frame moments in film.
10. Burning Man - Burning Man showcases one of the best performances of the year. Matthew Goode is a revelation in this film. It's a film which reveals itself slowly, but once it takes you it doesn't let go. This is the finest Australian film of the year by far. Technically its perfect - the car crash scene is on par with Let Me In's car crash. If there's one quibble with it, is the films infatuation with breasts. Seriously, this film has more breasts in it than Russ Meyer on an off day. Usually that wouldn't be a problem, but it doesn't help the story in any way whatsoever.
9. Outrage - Ah, Takeshi Kitano. You're back! Outrage is so very violent and intense that its harking back to classic Kitano - Sonatine, Violent Cop - is a breath of fresh air. After doing his samurai flick, Kitano's been off form so when he released Outrage, fans were happy. And sure enough, they had many reasons to be very happy. Now please, Kitano, don't take too long to do another Yakuza flick!
8. Rise of the Planet of the Apes - This is another film that had no right to be as good as it is. A continuation of a long dead series that last appeared as a critically hated remake in 2001. Andy Serkis is pitch perfect as Caesar. So good in fact that he outshines his human counterparts. It's nice to see "big themes" being dealt with in a blockbuster film. This would make a great companion piece to Koko: The Talking Gorilla.
7. The Adventures of Tintin - Andy Serkis continues his brilliant mo-cap performance work here in Tintin as Captain Haddock. It's uncommon for kids films to deal with such big themes as alcoholism, but here it is getting a work through in Tintin. Tintin shows what has been missing in big budget action films for a long time - adventure. There's a one shot scene later in the film which is one of the most enjoyable chase scenes in a film ever. Snowy's pretty darn good in this too.
6. Rabbit Hole - Nicole Kidman seemed to have sailed her acting boat, and then she started her production company and showed us why John Cameron Mitchell is still relevant. Sure, she followed up Rabbit Hole with Monte Carlo, but they can't all be winners right? Rabbit Hole is an immensley powerful film dealing with grief. It appears every year there's one that deals with grief of some sort, and every year it gives actresses a chance to show that they can still cry under all that botox. Well, not only can Nicole Kidman still cry, she can still bloody well act. Aaron Eckhart shows that he's one of the finest actors working at the moment.
5. Black Swan - Ah, ballet horror. Aronofsky is such a brilliant director that he turns a possibly trite concept into high horror. There is not a dull shot in this pitch perfect film. The final shot as well is cathartic and glorious. It's hard to fault Aronofsky and his brilliant casting ability - as seen here with Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel delivering career best performances.
4. I Love You, Phillip Morris/Crazy, Stupid, Love - Glenn Ficarra and John Recqua almost came out of nowhere. Nowhere did take them two years to get their first film released, but it's still nowhere. Phillip Morris showcases the best performance Jim Carrey has done since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This is one of the finest black comedies around, and Carrey's relationship with Ewan McGregor is perfect. Fortunately it wasn't as long a wait for the follow up film from the pair (Ficarra/Recqua) as Crazy, Stupid, Love came out and blew my socks off.
Like One Day, I had low expectations for the film. I thought it might just be a routine rom-com with a good cast. I was happily wrong. Steve Carrell delivers his best performance yet. Ryan Gosling is downright perfect in a role which is a breeze, but he brings a humanity to it. There's a sweet little twist near the end of the film. It's saying something that when the high school kid gives a speech about love and life, you're not reaching for the bucket to vomit. Crazy, Stupid, Love has a fantastic cast that all deliver superbly. This was the film that changed my mind on Ryan Gosling. I wasn't sold on him before, but this and my number one film changed me.
3. Bridesmaids - I love Kristen Wiig. I used to feel that she was the lesser of the SNL girls, but then I realised that Tina Fey was a little one note and one trick pony, and Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig were where the talent lay. Wiig's ability to create characters who are hilarious, yet have a heap of heart is brilliant. Whilst Melissa McCarthy is getting all the praise for her supporting character, Wiig is the one who should be getting the acclaim. I've never loved a character as much as I've loved Wiig's Annie Walker. Sure, the films downright hilarious and has one hell of a relationship with Annie and Nathan Rhodes, but Wiig's Annie is one of the most fully realised characters in a comedy to date. Also, any film with Terry Crewes in it is fine by me.
2. Melancholia - Kirsten Dunst is an actress who I've grown up watching in various roles. She was about the same age as me when she started acting so I've always had some kind of affinity with her. So it's great to see her in such a fantastic film and giving her best performance. Melancholia is a beautifully shot film, but it's one hell of a hard watch. There have been many films made about depression, and why not, it's a fantastic source of material for drama. Yet I can honestly say that there's never been a film that depicts it as well as Melancholia. Lars Von Trier gets a lot of shit thrown his way for the way he acts in public and what he says, but one things for sure, he knows how to make a great movie.
I've never appreciated Charlotte Gainsbourg in films before, I always thought she looked a little too off and her acting has never hit the right chord with me, but after Melancholia I now get her. She delivers a perfect supporting performance. It's a performance that almost makes me want to revisit Antichrist just to see if I missed something.
I don't think I could ever recommend watching this film, but if you are at all curious about Von Trier's films then there's no better place to start than here. It's by far his best film - although Dancer in the Dark is no slouch either - and it's also a damn good sci-fi film too.
1. Drive - Oh man, I've never wanted to be a character in a movie so much more than Ryan Goslings nameless Driver in Drive. I wish I could exude so much cool just by walking down the street. I wish that I could be a getaway driver like he is. I wish I had his jacket. I wish I had his soundtrack - a soundtrack that follows you everywhere you go, like a real hero.
Every so often there's a film which you watch and weeks later you can recall the film almost ver batim, and for me Drive is one of those films. There is not a weak moment, performance, shot or story beat in the whole film. It's just downright perfect. Just don't watch it expecting Fast Five, y'know.
Honourable mentions:
The Human Centipede 2: The Full Sequence - For being one of the most enjoyable cinema events of the year. Gross, horrific, hardly scary, and also a little funny.
War Horse - Sure, the first hour is some of Spielbergs worst, but I challenge you not to be moved when it comes to the barbed wire sequence.
The Iron Lady - An average film with one of the best performances by Meryl Streep (when isn't she good?)
Griff The Invisible - I keep forgetting about this film. It's a good little movie, but I feel that it's too little to be memorable. Ryan Kwanten is damn good though.
Thor - For being a solid little action film.
Scream 4 - For being one of the most enjoyable cinema experiences of the year. "Somebody just kill the bitch already." "Take off your heels and ruuun bitch." "Oh no she didn't." These are direct quotes from the running commentary provided to us in Times Square whilst watching Scream 4.
Films that I haven't seen that could have made the list:
Attack the Block
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Contagion
The Guard
Hanna
Senna
Rango
Win Win
Rambling nonsense about films, music, games, books and sometimes it's just rambling nonsense.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Top 10 Mondo Posters - 2011.
2011 was a magnificent year. My wife and I got to go to America for our first time. One of my personal goals with going to America was to visit Dallas - a long (long) desired journey that I'd always wanted to make. As I grew up and realised that Dallas was probably not going to be as great as I had built it up to be - it was great, it was awesome, but not as great as Austin - I looked to Austin to be our central place to visit.
Not only is Austin the home of the best BBQ in the world, it is also the glorious home to the best cinema in the world - the Alamo Drafthouse. Alongside South Lamar's Alamo Drafthouse is Mondo. (Also, just a hundred or so metres away are some of the best donuts at Gourdoughs. I actually get a little choked up thinking about Austin it's that great). Mondo is the pillar of brilliance when it comes to film posters. They are the elite of the elite. To purchase a Mondo poster - a drop as it's called - you have to be quick, hope that your internet connection doesn't fail, make sure you're logged in, have all of your rabbits feet and four leaf clovers lined up, and just be downright lucky. These things sell super quick - sometimes within thirty seconds (the wooden True Grit poster was blink and gone) - and the runs are exceptionally limited (most runs have about 300 prints available).
The other way to get a Mondo print is to visit the Mondo store in Austin. You don't get a wide selection, but you do have a choice of a few prints. Usually they're a little damaged, or just ones that didn't sell as super quickly.
So, for the first time possible, I'm going to do my top 10 Mondo posters for 2011.
10. House By The Cemetary - Ok, so most Mondo posters sell out instantly. House By The Cemetary took three weeks to sell out. That's random and slow. Especially given the design of this poster. It's beautiful to look at - the lines are just glorious, the stark blood trail is horrifying, the type is fantastic. It's one of Lucio Fulci's better films - it's not Zombi 2 though.
9. The Invisible Man - there were a few series of posters this year that worked perfectly. Guillermo Del Toro's posters are grand. The Lucio Fulci posters were good. However, the Universal Monsters posters were just sublime. The Invisble Man's poster is another poster which shows how fantastic line work can really transform a brilliant poster. This is simple and stunning with its simplicity. You could almost expect to see this in a movie theatre when The Invisible Man was released.
8. The Mist - I'm a huge fan of Frank Darabont's The Mist. It's a chilling little horror film that has one hell of a sucker punch ending. This poster references that so perfectly, which is what makes the poster so beautiful. The snow flakes the litter the sky with the giant monster in the background. It's daunting, yet beautiful in its supreme-ness. This was one of Mondo's secret screening posters.
7. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - I love Hellboy 2. It's a great little film that is just crying for a sequel. This poster is fantastic. I'd literally kill to have this poster on my wall. Unfortunately this goes for about $500-$1000 on eBay when/if it ever appears.
6. Jurassic Park - I'm a huge Jurassic Park fan. Massive. The first film shook my childhood immensely. I constantly taunt my wife in saying that I am going to get a Jurassic Park tattoo. She keeps telling me she'll leave me if I do. So, nix that idea. This poster takes one of the weaker moments of the film and turns it into a moment of beauty. Another secret film poster, this one goes for big bucks on eBay.
5. Frankenstein - Drew Struzan is a God amongst film geeks. The guy created some of the finest film artwork ever. Even though I'm not a fan of the Indiana Jones films, his work on their posters is great. So, Struzan doing Mondo? Well, it's gold. This is one of those posters that didn't even get to breath the air of the internet before they were snaffled up. The design of this is beautiful.
4. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - I would absolutely love to have this poster. It's gory. It IS the Texas Chain Saw Massacre. You can feel the heat of Texas coming off this poster. The amount of detail in it is great. The only downside? The obvious typo of the title - one of the major things about the original film is that it's Chain Saw Massacre, not Chainsaw Massacre. It's not a big thing, but it's something which would have made it that touch better.
3. The Iron Giant (Variant) - Another secret film, and another one that goes for major money on eBay - on average, about $500. Mondo routinely do normal and variant varieties of their posters. Variant's are extremely limited (to usually about 50-75 prints) versions of the normal poster. They may have a different colour scheme, or a different touch. The variant version of The Iron Giant is definitely better than the normal version. It's a poster which any child in the 50's would have loved to have on their wall. Simply beautiful.
2. Gremlins - I love Gremlins. It's a film which I grew up with and can easily close my eyes and remember every moment of it. The sinister mayhem of the film is something which is lacking in kids films nowadays. This is also the only poster that I've managed to get at a drop - and it was gone within two minutes, so I do feel lucky, punk. I could have gotten the variant, but this is better. I love that they put Spike on the poster and not the cute Gizmo. Although I do wish that for Gremlins 2 (which is one of the few duds of the year, alongside the Once Upon A Time posters) they had put Rambo Gizmo on it.
1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - And this is my first (well, one of my first) Mondo posters. For the record, I also got the Scream poster (which is awesome in itself, and I really should have it on this list, but it's not), a Star Wars poster (Greedo), and Werewolves on Wheels (which is just cool). I think I wet myself when I bought Close Encounters. It's a perfect poster which references the original poster nicely. The design is amazingly detailed. The glow in the dark works so brilliantly - it's not tacky in any way. I still pinch myself that I have this framed. The man who framed it as well is exceptionally jealous.
And that's it... my top 10 Mondo posters of 2011. If you're at all interested, the website to see them is here...
http://www.mondoarchive.com/archive/2011/
Not only is Austin the home of the best BBQ in the world, it is also the glorious home to the best cinema in the world - the Alamo Drafthouse. Alongside South Lamar's Alamo Drafthouse is Mondo. (Also, just a hundred or so metres away are some of the best donuts at Gourdoughs. I actually get a little choked up thinking about Austin it's that great). Mondo is the pillar of brilliance when it comes to film posters. They are the elite of the elite. To purchase a Mondo poster - a drop as it's called - you have to be quick, hope that your internet connection doesn't fail, make sure you're logged in, have all of your rabbits feet and four leaf clovers lined up, and just be downright lucky. These things sell super quick - sometimes within thirty seconds (the wooden True Grit poster was blink and gone) - and the runs are exceptionally limited (most runs have about 300 prints available).
The other way to get a Mondo print is to visit the Mondo store in Austin. You don't get a wide selection, but you do have a choice of a few prints. Usually they're a little damaged, or just ones that didn't sell as super quickly.
So, for the first time possible, I'm going to do my top 10 Mondo posters for 2011.
10. House By The Cemetary - Ok, so most Mondo posters sell out instantly. House By The Cemetary took three weeks to sell out. That's random and slow. Especially given the design of this poster. It's beautiful to look at - the lines are just glorious, the stark blood trail is horrifying, the type is fantastic. It's one of Lucio Fulci's better films - it's not Zombi 2 though.
9. The Invisible Man - there were a few series of posters this year that worked perfectly. Guillermo Del Toro's posters are grand. The Lucio Fulci posters were good. However, the Universal Monsters posters were just sublime. The Invisble Man's poster is another poster which shows how fantastic line work can really transform a brilliant poster. This is simple and stunning with its simplicity. You could almost expect to see this in a movie theatre when The Invisible Man was released.
8. The Mist - I'm a huge fan of Frank Darabont's The Mist. It's a chilling little horror film that has one hell of a sucker punch ending. This poster references that so perfectly, which is what makes the poster so beautiful. The snow flakes the litter the sky with the giant monster in the background. It's daunting, yet beautiful in its supreme-ness. This was one of Mondo's secret screening posters.
7. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - I love Hellboy 2. It's a great little film that is just crying for a sequel. This poster is fantastic. I'd literally kill to have this poster on my wall. Unfortunately this goes for about $500-$1000 on eBay when/if it ever appears.
6. Jurassic Park - I'm a huge Jurassic Park fan. Massive. The first film shook my childhood immensely. I constantly taunt my wife in saying that I am going to get a Jurassic Park tattoo. She keeps telling me she'll leave me if I do. So, nix that idea. This poster takes one of the weaker moments of the film and turns it into a moment of beauty. Another secret film poster, this one goes for big bucks on eBay.
5. Frankenstein - Drew Struzan is a God amongst film geeks. The guy created some of the finest film artwork ever. Even though I'm not a fan of the Indiana Jones films, his work on their posters is great. So, Struzan doing Mondo? Well, it's gold. This is one of those posters that didn't even get to breath the air of the internet before they were snaffled up. The design of this is beautiful.
4. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - I would absolutely love to have this poster. It's gory. It IS the Texas Chain Saw Massacre. You can feel the heat of Texas coming off this poster. The amount of detail in it is great. The only downside? The obvious typo of the title - one of the major things about the original film is that it's Chain Saw Massacre, not Chainsaw Massacre. It's not a big thing, but it's something which would have made it that touch better.
3. The Iron Giant (Variant) - Another secret film, and another one that goes for major money on eBay - on average, about $500. Mondo routinely do normal and variant varieties of their posters. Variant's are extremely limited (to usually about 50-75 prints) versions of the normal poster. They may have a different colour scheme, or a different touch. The variant version of The Iron Giant is definitely better than the normal version. It's a poster which any child in the 50's would have loved to have on their wall. Simply beautiful.
2. Gremlins - I love Gremlins. It's a film which I grew up with and can easily close my eyes and remember every moment of it. The sinister mayhem of the film is something which is lacking in kids films nowadays. This is also the only poster that I've managed to get at a drop - and it was gone within two minutes, so I do feel lucky, punk. I could have gotten the variant, but this is better. I love that they put Spike on the poster and not the cute Gizmo. Although I do wish that for Gremlins 2 (which is one of the few duds of the year, alongside the Once Upon A Time posters) they had put Rambo Gizmo on it.
1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - And this is my first (well, one of my first) Mondo posters. For the record, I also got the Scream poster (which is awesome in itself, and I really should have it on this list, but it's not), a Star Wars poster (Greedo), and Werewolves on Wheels (which is just cool). I think I wet myself when I bought Close Encounters. It's a perfect poster which references the original poster nicely. The design is amazingly detailed. The glow in the dark works so brilliantly - it's not tacky in any way. I still pinch myself that I have this framed. The man who framed it as well is exceptionally jealous.
And that's it... my top 10 Mondo posters of 2011. If you're at all interested, the website to see them is here...
http://www.mondoarchive.com/archive/2011/
Friday, December 16, 2011
Top Five Games of 2011...
I haven't ever really done a Top x Games list before because, well, I've just never really gotten around to completing that many games that were released in one year to make a list. I always find myself getting onto the latest craze games a few months later, just when the next big thing has come out. This year though, I was able to jump on board - thanks to my lovely wife - two of the best games of the year straight away.
I would like to mention as well that I haven't played Skyrim yet.
1. Dead Space 2
I personally would have thought a game like Batman: Arkham City or Battlefield 3 would have been my number one game of the year, especially given the hours I've ploughed into the two games. However, whenever I think of the best single player story game of the year, I keep coming back to Dead Space 2. I liked the first Dead Space fair enough, it was a great corridor horror game which I could actually play (it's not to say I can't play Resident Evil, it's just the control system for that game is broken as fuck - I get building tension in games, but to make it so you can't run and gun, even without accuracy, is just pathetic).
There are too many times when a horror game is released and people claim it's just brilliant because it's so terrifying, well, that's all well and good, but usually they just aren't. Dead Space 2 on the other hand takes the terror of Dead Space and amplifies it perfectly. There really is no better game this year story wise, sound wise, visually and gameplay wise. Nothing makes you shit yourself more than the sound of necromorphs screaming in far off corridors, lights blinking and you've only got a couple of rounds left in your guns.
Games lately have started to feel a little ho-hum when it comes to storylines. Too often I'll be playing a game and realise that all I'm doing is going from point A-B and that's really all. The story happens in the background or during cutscenes. Dead Space 2 though takes the going from point A-B and makes you feel like you're the one progressing the story, not the game progressing the action just to get to another cut scene.
I've not really experienced a game which has dealt with religion so perfectly as Dead Space 2. It deals with the distinction between a religion and a cult and the delusions of people who believe that their cult is a religion. Rarely have I come away from a game and thought that I felt educated or that I've actually experienced something. The last game to do that was Red Dead Redemption, but hardly even goes as deep as Dead Space 2 when dealing with the same themes. Guilt, depression, religion.
Where Dead Space 2 is a better game than Dead Space is it takes away what happened in the first game and burdens Isaac Clarke with the such a level of pain and guilt that you can't help but feel for the poor guy. After losing his girlfriend and going through the events of the first game, Isaac shouldn't have had to go through this all over again, but he does, and we feel his pain every step of the way - especially when he gets killed because of your mistakes over and over again.
I haven't even mentioned the exemplary gameplay and fantastic new enemies - the velociraptor style necromorphs being a personal favourite, especially the trophy that comes with them - but I think that's what makes this such a great game. You can talk about the story and the themes it deals with at length without evening mentioning the intelligent level design and game play.
2. Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham Asylum was a good game. You felt like Batman, you kicked ass like Batman, and you got to glide like Batman. It made you feel good. It suffered a little from a boring boss fight at the end, but was memorable because it was Batman done right. Batman: Arkham City is great.
When they look back at games in the future (yep) and look at games that are turning points in quality and gameplay, Batman: Arkham City will be considered a classic. It'll be The Third Man of the game generation. Scratch that, it is The Third Man of the game generation. It's cool, it's smart, and most importantly, you feel like Batman.
The storyline is great, bouncing you from one villain to another, always moving. This is a semi-open world game, you're still confined by the walls of Arkham City, but you never feel like you're restricted from anything. Fighting is fluid with combo's becoming an absolute breeze.
The score though is something else, this is fantastic stuff. When you're gliding around the city the score hums along underneath and then just as you come on a group of thugs it knows to hit in with the violins and build the tension. It's an amazing achievement in sound design.
This is a game which could easily be played in a 24 hour session and you'd feel exhausted, naturally, but damn would you feel great. Batman: Arkham City does exactly what more games should do, and that's make you feel like the character you're playing. Too often you'll play a game and feel like you're just a cypher moving the plot along, yeah you get to shoot a few enemies, but if you didn't your teammates will. Batman on the other hand makes you feel like you can climb onto your roof, jump off and glide down the street.
3. Battlefield 3
This was my most anticipated game of the year. I honestly have never poured as much time into a game as I did Battlefield: Bad Company 2's multiplayer. A genius set up of team based antics where you fight against other teams to win. So, when Battlefield 3 was announced, naturally I got a little excited.
Where most games - like Dead Space 2 above - have multiplayer tacked on so you feel like you're getting your moneys worth, Battlefield 3 has a single player journey which is tacked on. So far I'm only halfway through this and I can safely say it's pretty darn boring. Battlefield 3 wasn't made for a single player game, that area is just the training grounds for the multiplayer. And the multiplayer does not disappoint.
The same game modes are back from BFBC2, but here they're tweaked a little to make it even more exciting. The maps have the right bottlenecks and have a true feel of a battlefield. Whilst on consoles you're limited to 24 players (on PC you have 62 player maps), you never feel like you're playing against just a couple of people. If you play against a proper team which is playing correctly, then strategies come into play and are necessary for a win.
This is what makes Battlefield 3 so great. It can be a one person army game where you attempt to take over the opposition - and you will most likely fail doing this - or a team based game. And if you have a team that works properly then it's like heaven. Sound design is perfect and visually this is one of the greatest looking multiplayer games available on PS3. To have such high graphic capabilities with 24 people moving around, shooting, driving tanks, flying jets, it's insane.
If the single player were as good as the multiplayer then it'd be game of the year material, but sadly it just can't take that place.
4. Limbo
Limbo came out on the XBox 360 last year and was met with great fanfare. It was a game that had cemented the games as art argument. Being a fairly solid disliker of the 360, I felt that I was never going to be able to play this game. Then fortunately the exclusivity of the game ended, and it became available to the Playstation users of the world.
Limbo is quite simply a one of a kind experience. It's black and white, there's minimal expressions of your little boy that you move around this dark and scary world. It's a daunting experience and one that you move through with great trepidation, because you never know what will kill you next.
It's definitely a game which needs to be played by anybody. Gamers, non-gamers, anybody. It's truly brilliant in its design and in the simplicity of the game you're forced to question why your little man is continually being killed. Why is he in Limbo? You never find out why he is in Limbo, but you do feel his pain whenever he's crunched, squashed, munched, or drowns. It's disturbing stuff, but it makes the experience all the more worthwhile.
I honestly don't think I'll ever play another game like Limbo and I love that.
5. Enslaved
Yeah, Enslaved came out last year, but oh well, it's on this list because it deserves to be. It's a game that should have done better than it did. The gameplay is perfect and the graphics are absolutely beautiful - it's set in a post apocalyptic world, but you wouldn't hardly know that given how green it is. It has great motion capture from the king of motion capture, Andy Serkis. Enslaved also works the Monkey: Journey to the West story perfectly. A must play.
Honourable mentions: Crysis 2 and Mortal Kombat.
I haven't ever really done a Top x Games list before because, well, I've just never really gotten around to completing that many games that were released in one year to make a list. I always find myself getting onto the latest craze games a few months later, just when the next big thing has come out. This year though, I was able to jump on board - thanks to my lovely wife - two of the best games of the year straight away.
I would like to mention as well that I haven't played Skyrim yet.
1. Dead Space 2
I personally would have thought a game like Batman: Arkham City or Battlefield 3 would have been my number one game of the year, especially given the hours I've ploughed into the two games. However, whenever I think of the best single player story game of the year, I keep coming back to Dead Space 2. I liked the first Dead Space fair enough, it was a great corridor horror game which I could actually play (it's not to say I can't play Resident Evil, it's just the control system for that game is broken as fuck - I get building tension in games, but to make it so you can't run and gun, even without accuracy, is just pathetic).
There are too many times when a horror game is released and people claim it's just brilliant because it's so terrifying, well, that's all well and good, but usually they just aren't. Dead Space 2 on the other hand takes the terror of Dead Space and amplifies it perfectly. There really is no better game this year story wise, sound wise, visually and gameplay wise. Nothing makes you shit yourself more than the sound of necromorphs screaming in far off corridors, lights blinking and you've only got a couple of rounds left in your guns.
Games lately have started to feel a little ho-hum when it comes to storylines. Too often I'll be playing a game and realise that all I'm doing is going from point A-B and that's really all. The story happens in the background or during cutscenes. Dead Space 2 though takes the going from point A-B and makes you feel like you're the one progressing the story, not the game progressing the action just to get to another cut scene.
I've not really experienced a game which has dealt with religion so perfectly as Dead Space 2. It deals with the distinction between a religion and a cult and the delusions of people who believe that their cult is a religion. Rarely have I come away from a game and thought that I felt educated or that I've actually experienced something. The last game to do that was Red Dead Redemption, but hardly even goes as deep as Dead Space 2 when dealing with the same themes. Guilt, depression, religion.
Where Dead Space 2 is a better game than Dead Space is it takes away what happened in the first game and burdens Isaac Clarke with the such a level of pain and guilt that you can't help but feel for the poor guy. After losing his girlfriend and going through the events of the first game, Isaac shouldn't have had to go through this all over again, but he does, and we feel his pain every step of the way - especially when he gets killed because of your mistakes over and over again.
I haven't even mentioned the exemplary gameplay and fantastic new enemies - the velociraptor style necromorphs being a personal favourite, especially the trophy that comes with them - but I think that's what makes this such a great game. You can talk about the story and the themes it deals with at length without evening mentioning the intelligent level design and game play.
2. Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham Asylum was a good game. You felt like Batman, you kicked ass like Batman, and you got to glide like Batman. It made you feel good. It suffered a little from a boring boss fight at the end, but was memorable because it was Batman done right. Batman: Arkham City is great.
When they look back at games in the future (yep) and look at games that are turning points in quality and gameplay, Batman: Arkham City will be considered a classic. It'll be The Third Man of the game generation. Scratch that, it is The Third Man of the game generation. It's cool, it's smart, and most importantly, you feel like Batman.
The storyline is great, bouncing you from one villain to another, always moving. This is a semi-open world game, you're still confined by the walls of Arkham City, but you never feel like you're restricted from anything. Fighting is fluid with combo's becoming an absolute breeze.
The score though is something else, this is fantastic stuff. When you're gliding around the city the score hums along underneath and then just as you come on a group of thugs it knows to hit in with the violins and build the tension. It's an amazing achievement in sound design.
This is a game which could easily be played in a 24 hour session and you'd feel exhausted, naturally, but damn would you feel great. Batman: Arkham City does exactly what more games should do, and that's make you feel like the character you're playing. Too often you'll play a game and feel like you're just a cypher moving the plot along, yeah you get to shoot a few enemies, but if you didn't your teammates will. Batman on the other hand makes you feel like you can climb onto your roof, jump off and glide down the street.
3. Battlefield 3
This was my most anticipated game of the year. I honestly have never poured as much time into a game as I did Battlefield: Bad Company 2's multiplayer. A genius set up of team based antics where you fight against other teams to win. So, when Battlefield 3 was announced, naturally I got a little excited.
Where most games - like Dead Space 2 above - have multiplayer tacked on so you feel like you're getting your moneys worth, Battlefield 3 has a single player journey which is tacked on. So far I'm only halfway through this and I can safely say it's pretty darn boring. Battlefield 3 wasn't made for a single player game, that area is just the training grounds for the multiplayer. And the multiplayer does not disappoint.
The same game modes are back from BFBC2, but here they're tweaked a little to make it even more exciting. The maps have the right bottlenecks and have a true feel of a battlefield. Whilst on consoles you're limited to 24 players (on PC you have 62 player maps), you never feel like you're playing against just a couple of people. If you play against a proper team which is playing correctly, then strategies come into play and are necessary for a win.
This is what makes Battlefield 3 so great. It can be a one person army game where you attempt to take over the opposition - and you will most likely fail doing this - or a team based game. And if you have a team that works properly then it's like heaven. Sound design is perfect and visually this is one of the greatest looking multiplayer games available on PS3. To have such high graphic capabilities with 24 people moving around, shooting, driving tanks, flying jets, it's insane.
If the single player were as good as the multiplayer then it'd be game of the year material, but sadly it just can't take that place.
4. Limbo
Limbo came out on the XBox 360 last year and was met with great fanfare. It was a game that had cemented the games as art argument. Being a fairly solid disliker of the 360, I felt that I was never going to be able to play this game. Then fortunately the exclusivity of the game ended, and it became available to the Playstation users of the world.
Limbo is quite simply a one of a kind experience. It's black and white, there's minimal expressions of your little boy that you move around this dark and scary world. It's a daunting experience and one that you move through with great trepidation, because you never know what will kill you next.
It's definitely a game which needs to be played by anybody. Gamers, non-gamers, anybody. It's truly brilliant in its design and in the simplicity of the game you're forced to question why your little man is continually being killed. Why is he in Limbo? You never find out why he is in Limbo, but you do feel his pain whenever he's crunched, squashed, munched, or drowns. It's disturbing stuff, but it makes the experience all the more worthwhile.
I honestly don't think I'll ever play another game like Limbo and I love that.
5. Enslaved
Yeah, Enslaved came out last year, but oh well, it's on this list because it deserves to be. It's a game that should have done better than it did. The gameplay is perfect and the graphics are absolutely beautiful - it's set in a post apocalyptic world, but you wouldn't hardly know that given how green it is. It has great motion capture from the king of motion capture, Andy Serkis. Enslaved also works the Monkey: Journey to the West story perfectly. A must play.
Honourable mentions: Crysis 2 and Mortal Kombat.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Top 10 Albums of 2011 - Really 11 Albums.
Top 10 Albums of 2011.
It's been well over a year since I've posted on this seemingly long forgotten blog. I intended to keep up with my blogging duties, but given that nobody actually reads this thing except for my wife when I pressure her into reading it, I felt no great need to write long diretribes about crap. Except when it comes to the most acceptable time of the year to write a list.
So, without any further ado (or adieu, or whatever), here's my top 10 albums of 2011.
1. El Camino - The Black Keys
Best track: Lonely Boy
It's no surprise that The Black Keys latest has insanely quickly become my favourite album of the year. In a year when there were two Gomez related albums, The Black Keys followed up with the absolutely sublime Brothers - which was my favourite album of last year, a year which I honestly cannot remember another album except the Inception soundtrack - with the brilliant El Camino. El Camino is clap rock at its finest. I'm not even sure if clap rock is a real term, but none the less, I'm using it now.
From almost the best song of the year, to the awesome Gold on the Ceiling, to the brilliant Mind Eraser (which I was hoping to be a Queens of the Stone Age cover, but no dice), it's hit after hit. I'm sure that The Black Keys have sold their souls to the devil, because no Black Keys albums have been as good (except for Rubber Factory) until these two. Every release has been a must buy, and every release has been adequate - good rock, but just not elevated to the greatness that it should have been.
El Camino will help burst The Black Keys into a stratosphere or something that they should be in. It's quite simply an amazing release.
2. Shapes & Shadows - Ben Ottewell
Best Track: All Brand New
I adore this album. It's nine tracks of bliss. Ben Ottewell has always been the best of the trio of voices in Gomez. It took me a few days to warm to Shapes & Shadows - as has been the case for all Gomez releases lately, but I don't love them any less. It's a sweet album which reveals itself over many listens - a problem which quick one listen reviewers wouldn't have given the time to as the album wasn't received as well as it should have been.
3. Moonfire - Boy & Bear
Best Track: Milk & Sticks
Boy & Bear reached a popularity that would have been the death of them if their debut album was to be no good. Anyone who has heard their cover of Fall at Your Feet will atest that this is an amazingly talented band and only a major misstep would have caused their album to be a failure. Moonfire is full of instant classics. Milk & Sticks is just about the best Australian song I've heard since 2020 by The Herd, Oh My by The Drones or Feeding the Birds and Hoping For Something in Return by Something For Kate. It's infectiousness is crazy.
My wife will kill me for making this comparison, but it is the equivalent to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. The layers of Milk & Sticks and its lyrical complexity is beautiful. But, one song alone does not a good album make, and with Feeding Line, Part Time Believer (a song that could easily have come off as trite, but Boy & Bear work that fade out superbly) and My Only One compliment each other perfectly. This is a debut album which will be looked back on in years to come as one of the finest Australian releases ever. And at a time when our Australian bands are disbanding after one album - The Middle East you fools - it's great to see these guys doing so damn well.
4. Whatever's On Your Mind - Gomez
Best Track: Whatever's On Your Mind
A New Tide is my personal favourite Gomez album. I love Liquid Skin and see that as the best album of all time, but A New Tide is something else. It's almost on the same level. It's an album which was hard to love at first - I called it the worst album Gomez had done when it was released - but it revealed itself over many listens (a common trait with Gomez lately). Whatever's On Your Mind on the other hand managed to be accessible and catchy straight away. That is its blessing and its curse.
WOYM is Gomez's most commercial album by far, but they've reached a point where that shouldn't matter. People are either fans or they're not, and converting people is a difficult thing. Whatever's On Your Mind (the song) is the albums highlight track, but it's what you bring to Gomez that makes them even better. What you read in a Gomez song may not be what the song is about, so whilst other fans love songs like Our Goodbye, I tend to find myself sticking with the bombastic Options, X-Rays and Equalize. It's still a good release, but in the ouevre of Gomez, it's pretty minor stuff.
5. Future Shade - The Herd
Best Track: Red Queen Theory/Spin Cycle
Oh boy, The Herd are fucking angry. I always wondered what the latest Herd album would be like after the debacle that the Labor party has become. The Herd do what they do best here, and that is be that outspoken political hip hop which Australia needs. I'm a huge supporter of Summerland - I consider it one of the best Australian albums ever made, and it has one of my top five songs on it, 2020 - so to say my anticipation for this album was high, well, it's an understatement.
Future Shade sees The Herd going in new directions, a little like Phrase's Babylon which mixes rock and hip hop superbly - I guess Bliss N Eso started this and they did it greatly with last years Running On Air. Future Shade's brilliance is with how angry its artists are - Ozi Batla spits his words out perfectly and makes his anger felt. For me though, the brilliance of this release is the move for Jane Tyrrell up to allow her to sing her own songs. Her presence has always made The Herd have a timeless quality to them, and here she's let loose and superbly so. Grandma's Song and Salary Cap are great examples of why this versatile group are essential to Australian hip-hop. Hilltop Hoods do what they do, and they do it well, but The Herd are something else entirely.
These top five albums have not really left my CD player at all this year, so whilst for the next six albums I've enjoyed them immensley, they've not gotten as much love as these top five. I'll write as much as I can about them though.
6. Design Desire - Abbe May
Best Track: Universes
Abbe May's first album was a breath of fresh air. Fresh, bourbounised air. It is one of the best albums to come out of Western Australia and Abbe May is one of the finest live acts we've got. Her follow up is not as great as Howl & Moan, and transcending the 70's is not really my thing, but Design Desire almost has it all. The first few tracks are great when played in a row, but seperately they're just a little less than brilliant. Design Desire, Mammalian Locomotion and Universes are catchy with simple lyrics and groovy guitar riffs. It's not what I would have ideally wanted from a follow up to Howl & Moan - I would have loved a proper Abby May & the Rockin' Pneumonia release instead of just an EP - but this is better than nothing. Much better than nothing.
7. Babylon - Phrase
Best Track: Faithful
Australian hip hop was insanely great this year. 360's latest album is just brilliant as well. But for me Phrase and The Herd did it best. This is one of the most accessible hip hop albums around, and the question could be asked if it really is true hip hop, but oh well. I just wish that Phrase and 360 would have gotten more publicity than the hack that is Drapht.
8. Drive Soundtrack - OST
Best Track: A Real Hero - College feat. Electric Youth
Drive is one of the years best films, but its soundtrack is something else. It's a thing of beauty. Like the film, it captures an era long gone and honours it perfectly. Whilst the somewhat lyrically cheesy A Real Hero is exactly that, cheesy, it's also one of the best theme songs for a film. I realise the song came out a couple of years ago, but in the context of the film it was almost as if it were written specifically for Drive. No doubt on these hot summer nights I will drive around with this blaring with the windows down.
9. Seeker Lover Keeper - Seeker Lover Keeper
Best Track: Even Though I'm A Woman
Seeker Lover Keeper should be trite. It should be the new Young Divas. On paper it sounds like it'd be a feminist dream where cycles are in sync and everyone dances in circles with flowers in their hair. And whilst the album at times comes across as that, it transcends these preconceived notions amazingly. It's a sweet album which soothes as you delve into it. Even Though I'm A Woman is one of the finest tracks that Sarah Blasko has ever been involved with. A must hear.
10. A Creature I Don't Know - Laura Marling
Best Track: The Muse
I love Laura Marling greatly. All of her albums have been a piece of jaw dropping brilliance. Lyrically the woman is amazing. Her voice is soothing and beyond her years. She sings about things that Australian female singers wish they could sing about with such truth and compassion. This is probably her finest release and one that I'm still finding lyrics which surprise me. Nobody should be this talented.
11. The King is Dead - The Decemberists
Best Track: Down By The Water
The Decemberists failed dismally with their last release. A sidestep into concept album territory which was just plain boring and awful. Thankfully they followed it up with this great concoction of a country album. I doubt that The Decemberists will ever be able to reach the heights they did with Picaresque and The Crane Wife - two of the best albums to listen to on vinyl - but they keep plugging along and that makes me happy. The King is Dead took a while for me to get into, but it's territory I can see that Colin Meloy is comfortable with and that's ok.
Let England Shake - PJ Harvey
Best Track: The Words That Maketh Murder
I'd be remiss without mentioning an album which surprised me. I've never really liked PJ Harvey, but this album surprised me with how great it is. I'm onboard with how many people love it. It gives me a want to get back into her earlier stuff. Slot in at a later stage Feist's latest album as well as I haven't had a chance to listen to that yet and I'm sure it's just as good as her other stuff.
Next week... top 20 movies of 2011.
It's been well over a year since I've posted on this seemingly long forgotten blog. I intended to keep up with my blogging duties, but given that nobody actually reads this thing except for my wife when I pressure her into reading it, I felt no great need to write long diretribes about crap. Except when it comes to the most acceptable time of the year to write a list.
So, without any further ado (or adieu, or whatever), here's my top 10 albums of 2011.
1. El Camino - The Black Keys
Best track: Lonely Boy
It's no surprise that The Black Keys latest has insanely quickly become my favourite album of the year. In a year when there were two Gomez related albums, The Black Keys followed up with the absolutely sublime Brothers - which was my favourite album of last year, a year which I honestly cannot remember another album except the Inception soundtrack - with the brilliant El Camino. El Camino is clap rock at its finest. I'm not even sure if clap rock is a real term, but none the less, I'm using it now.
From almost the best song of the year, to the awesome Gold on the Ceiling, to the brilliant Mind Eraser (which I was hoping to be a Queens of the Stone Age cover, but no dice), it's hit after hit. I'm sure that The Black Keys have sold their souls to the devil, because no Black Keys albums have been as good (except for Rubber Factory) until these two. Every release has been a must buy, and every release has been adequate - good rock, but just not elevated to the greatness that it should have been.
El Camino will help burst The Black Keys into a stratosphere or something that they should be in. It's quite simply an amazing release.
2. Shapes & Shadows - Ben Ottewell
Best Track: All Brand New
I adore this album. It's nine tracks of bliss. Ben Ottewell has always been the best of the trio of voices in Gomez. It took me a few days to warm to Shapes & Shadows - as has been the case for all Gomez releases lately, but I don't love them any less. It's a sweet album which reveals itself over many listens - a problem which quick one listen reviewers wouldn't have given the time to as the album wasn't received as well as it should have been.
3. Moonfire - Boy & Bear
Best Track: Milk & Sticks
Boy & Bear reached a popularity that would have been the death of them if their debut album was to be no good. Anyone who has heard their cover of Fall at Your Feet will atest that this is an amazingly talented band and only a major misstep would have caused their album to be a failure. Moonfire is full of instant classics. Milk & Sticks is just about the best Australian song I've heard since 2020 by The Herd, Oh My by The Drones or Feeding the Birds and Hoping For Something in Return by Something For Kate. It's infectiousness is crazy.
My wife will kill me for making this comparison, but it is the equivalent to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. The layers of Milk & Sticks and its lyrical complexity is beautiful. But, one song alone does not a good album make, and with Feeding Line, Part Time Believer (a song that could easily have come off as trite, but Boy & Bear work that fade out superbly) and My Only One compliment each other perfectly. This is a debut album which will be looked back on in years to come as one of the finest Australian releases ever. And at a time when our Australian bands are disbanding after one album - The Middle East you fools - it's great to see these guys doing so damn well.
4. Whatever's On Your Mind - Gomez
Best Track: Whatever's On Your Mind
A New Tide is my personal favourite Gomez album. I love Liquid Skin and see that as the best album of all time, but A New Tide is something else. It's almost on the same level. It's an album which was hard to love at first - I called it the worst album Gomez had done when it was released - but it revealed itself over many listens (a common trait with Gomez lately). Whatever's On Your Mind on the other hand managed to be accessible and catchy straight away. That is its blessing and its curse.
WOYM is Gomez's most commercial album by far, but they've reached a point where that shouldn't matter. People are either fans or they're not, and converting people is a difficult thing. Whatever's On Your Mind (the song) is the albums highlight track, but it's what you bring to Gomez that makes them even better. What you read in a Gomez song may not be what the song is about, so whilst other fans love songs like Our Goodbye, I tend to find myself sticking with the bombastic Options, X-Rays and Equalize. It's still a good release, but in the ouevre of Gomez, it's pretty minor stuff.
5. Future Shade - The Herd
Best Track: Red Queen Theory/Spin Cycle
Oh boy, The Herd are fucking angry. I always wondered what the latest Herd album would be like after the debacle that the Labor party has become. The Herd do what they do best here, and that is be that outspoken political hip hop which Australia needs. I'm a huge supporter of Summerland - I consider it one of the best Australian albums ever made, and it has one of my top five songs on it, 2020 - so to say my anticipation for this album was high, well, it's an understatement.
Future Shade sees The Herd going in new directions, a little like Phrase's Babylon which mixes rock and hip hop superbly - I guess Bliss N Eso started this and they did it greatly with last years Running On Air. Future Shade's brilliance is with how angry its artists are - Ozi Batla spits his words out perfectly and makes his anger felt. For me though, the brilliance of this release is the move for Jane Tyrrell up to allow her to sing her own songs. Her presence has always made The Herd have a timeless quality to them, and here she's let loose and superbly so. Grandma's Song and Salary Cap are great examples of why this versatile group are essential to Australian hip-hop. Hilltop Hoods do what they do, and they do it well, but The Herd are something else entirely.
These top five albums have not really left my CD player at all this year, so whilst for the next six albums I've enjoyed them immensley, they've not gotten as much love as these top five. I'll write as much as I can about them though.
6. Design Desire - Abbe May
Best Track: Universes
Abbe May's first album was a breath of fresh air. Fresh, bourbounised air. It is one of the best albums to come out of Western Australia and Abbe May is one of the finest live acts we've got. Her follow up is not as great as Howl & Moan, and transcending the 70's is not really my thing, but Design Desire almost has it all. The first few tracks are great when played in a row, but seperately they're just a little less than brilliant. Design Desire, Mammalian Locomotion and Universes are catchy with simple lyrics and groovy guitar riffs. It's not what I would have ideally wanted from a follow up to Howl & Moan - I would have loved a proper Abby May & the Rockin' Pneumonia release instead of just an EP - but this is better than nothing. Much better than nothing.
7. Babylon - Phrase
Best Track: Faithful
Australian hip hop was insanely great this year. 360's latest album is just brilliant as well. But for me Phrase and The Herd did it best. This is one of the most accessible hip hop albums around, and the question could be asked if it really is true hip hop, but oh well. I just wish that Phrase and 360 would have gotten more publicity than the hack that is Drapht.
8. Drive Soundtrack - OST
Best Track: A Real Hero - College feat. Electric Youth
Drive is one of the years best films, but its soundtrack is something else. It's a thing of beauty. Like the film, it captures an era long gone and honours it perfectly. Whilst the somewhat lyrically cheesy A Real Hero is exactly that, cheesy, it's also one of the best theme songs for a film. I realise the song came out a couple of years ago, but in the context of the film it was almost as if it were written specifically for Drive. No doubt on these hot summer nights I will drive around with this blaring with the windows down.
9. Seeker Lover Keeper - Seeker Lover Keeper
Best Track: Even Though I'm A Woman
Seeker Lover Keeper should be trite. It should be the new Young Divas. On paper it sounds like it'd be a feminist dream where cycles are in sync and everyone dances in circles with flowers in their hair. And whilst the album at times comes across as that, it transcends these preconceived notions amazingly. It's a sweet album which soothes as you delve into it. Even Though I'm A Woman is one of the finest tracks that Sarah Blasko has ever been involved with. A must hear.
10. A Creature I Don't Know - Laura Marling
Best Track: The Muse
I love Laura Marling greatly. All of her albums have been a piece of jaw dropping brilliance. Lyrically the woman is amazing. Her voice is soothing and beyond her years. She sings about things that Australian female singers wish they could sing about with such truth and compassion. This is probably her finest release and one that I'm still finding lyrics which surprise me. Nobody should be this talented.
11. The King is Dead - The Decemberists
Best Track: Down By The Water
The Decemberists failed dismally with their last release. A sidestep into concept album territory which was just plain boring and awful. Thankfully they followed it up with this great concoction of a country album. I doubt that The Decemberists will ever be able to reach the heights they did with Picaresque and The Crane Wife - two of the best albums to listen to on vinyl - but they keep plugging along and that makes me happy. The King is Dead took a while for me to get into, but it's territory I can see that Colin Meloy is comfortable with and that's ok.
Let England Shake - PJ Harvey
Best Track: The Words That Maketh Murder
I'd be remiss without mentioning an album which surprised me. I've never really liked PJ Harvey, but this album surprised me with how great it is. I'm onboard with how many people love it. It gives me a want to get back into her earlier stuff. Slot in at a later stage Feist's latest album as well as I haven't had a chance to listen to that yet and I'm sure it's just as good as her other stuff.
Next week... top 20 movies of 2011.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Is Inception The Greatest Film Of All Time?
Possibly. For me Magnolia still takes the cake, even though after viewing Inception twice I have the persistent feeling that maybe I'm wrong. It's been a good three months since I saw Inception for the second time and whilst I'm quietly convinced that Christopher Nolan is the best director working today, I have a niggling feeling that the majority of people who rushed to go and see Inception again and again aren't getting the entire picture.
In the press release articles that floated around weeks or months prior to the unveiling of Inception, there were cast interviews galore and whispers as to exactly what the hell the film was about. It's increasingly becoming impossible to go into a film without knowing what is going to occur in it as the pre-release material tends to spell out everything that occurs - first, second and third acts. And even if the previews are able to hide some of the most surprising parts of films, the odds that the film is just a rehash of whatever genre it is part of are quite high. Whether it be a horror film or a comedy or an action, they all follow the same paint by numbers approach and just use a different style of paint. It's refreshing to get a film like Inception come out and be floored by what it does.
Except when you get little hints as to exactly what the film is about. Tom Hardy called it "a heist dream film". Christopher Nolan called it "his Bond film". But Ellen Page said it best when saying what reference material Nolan gave the cast prior to embarking on this unique enterprise; "it's like being in a Haruki Murakami book."
It's no secret that I'm a huge Murakami fan. I've reached a point in my reading life where I've read the majority of Murakami books (bar a few of his hard to get books and the most recent releases), and fortunately enough a few months before Inception came out I read one of Murakami's best efforts - Hard Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World. Whilst my favourite book of his - and possibly that I've ever read - is Kafka On The Shore, Hard Boiled Wonderland is an immensely mesmerising book.
Is it a perfect book? Far from it. The first hundred pages or so are explanation and exposition and rules and explaining the explanation. Add that to the fact that there's a lot of talk of Calcutec's and unicorn skulls and a whole lot of confusion. Also the fact that the book swaps between a coherent universe that seems not dissimilar from our own and an old style village where not a lot happens. The fact that Murakami writes in such a matter of fact and easy fashion makes the book a fascinating read, and definitely helps get through the first hundred pages. If all this explanation and rules sounds familiar, its because the first hour of Inception is essentially explanation and rules.
All well and good, but why does this make for exciting reading/viewing? Is it because the establishment of a universe where once the rules and explanations are set up the characters are let run amok and create whatever story path they so desire? As far as I'm concerned, yes. In the case of Inception, you see a shorter version of the heist that creates the second half of the film. Then after this shorter version you are given an explanation of the rules and what can occur within the dreams or the dreamers. Then you are given the heist with the understood rules. The same goes with Hard Boiled Wonderland.
So why is it beneficial to read Hard Boiled Wonderland before watching Inception? Because of the decisions that the characters make and where their decisions lead them in the grand scheme of the story. In Hard Boiled Wonderland, the main character becomes aware that the second world in the story is in fact his dream consciousness. Then he is presented with the decision as to whether the person he may love but could very easily fall out of love with in the real world is the person he wants to live his life with and essentially die with, or whether he decides to remain in the dream state and know that the person he loves in his dream state will always love him and will always be with him - and he will essentially be able to continue living forever.
Inception poses the same idea in one of its rules - the deeper you go into the dream state of the dreamers, the longer the amount of time you stay in the dream state. One of the greatest complaints about Inception was that it lacked heart - and one of the other complaints was infuriatingly enough the lack of sexual elements given that dreams are apparently one of the main conduits for sexual imagination. The fact that people complained that Inception lacked heart or an emotional core were missing one of the main elements of Inception. The relationship that Cobb has with his wife, the beautiful and intense Marion Cotillard as Mol, is so overpowering with its longing for eternal life and creating that perfect world together. If you have found the one person you love, wouldn't you want to continue that life with them forever?
Upon first seeing Inception, once the spinning top never topples but waivers a little bit then the film cuts to black, there was the unmistakable groan and sigh from the audience believing they've been had. For me the end of Inception is quite simply inside Cobb's dream state. Even though Michael Caine has gone on record as saying that the finale is without a doubt in reality, I would hesitate to believe this. If I was in Cobb's situation there would be no doubt as the fact that he was still dreaming. As I've mentioned before, wouldn't you want to be in the place that you and your loved one has created for yourself forever?
You can still get a great experience with Inception, and it is still possibly one of the greatest films of all time, but know that if you want to enjoy it a little bit more - lets say, enhanced viewing - then read Murakami's Hard Boiled Wonderland and further your enjoyment of Inception.
Sidenote: Isn't it fantastic that a film like Inception does gangbusters at the box office and then not so long after the film comes out another (good, but not great) director comes out saying that he's had to change his script because it would look a little too much like an Inception rip-off? Usually Hollywood would jump on the dream within a dream plot train and ride it like a super-hero origin story marathon.
Until my third, fourth and fifth viewings of Inception, it takes the cake as the second best film of all time with Vertigo, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and A History Of Violence not too far below it.
Christopher Nolan for Best Director?
Possibly. For me Magnolia still takes the cake, even though after viewing Inception twice I have the persistent feeling that maybe I'm wrong. It's been a good three months since I saw Inception for the second time and whilst I'm quietly convinced that Christopher Nolan is the best director working today, I have a niggling feeling that the majority of people who rushed to go and see Inception again and again aren't getting the entire picture.
In the press release articles that floated around weeks or months prior to the unveiling of Inception, there were cast interviews galore and whispers as to exactly what the hell the film was about. It's increasingly becoming impossible to go into a film without knowing what is going to occur in it as the pre-release material tends to spell out everything that occurs - first, second and third acts. And even if the previews are able to hide some of the most surprising parts of films, the odds that the film is just a rehash of whatever genre it is part of are quite high. Whether it be a horror film or a comedy or an action, they all follow the same paint by numbers approach and just use a different style of paint. It's refreshing to get a film like Inception come out and be floored by what it does.
Except when you get little hints as to exactly what the film is about. Tom Hardy called it "a heist dream film". Christopher Nolan called it "his Bond film". But Ellen Page said it best when saying what reference material Nolan gave the cast prior to embarking on this unique enterprise; "it's like being in a Haruki Murakami book."
It's no secret that I'm a huge Murakami fan. I've reached a point in my reading life where I've read the majority of Murakami books (bar a few of his hard to get books and the most recent releases), and fortunately enough a few months before Inception came out I read one of Murakami's best efforts - Hard Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World. Whilst my favourite book of his - and possibly that I've ever read - is Kafka On The Shore, Hard Boiled Wonderland is an immensely mesmerising book.
Is it a perfect book? Far from it. The first hundred pages or so are explanation and exposition and rules and explaining the explanation. Add that to the fact that there's a lot of talk of Calcutec's and unicorn skulls and a whole lot of confusion. Also the fact that the book swaps between a coherent universe that seems not dissimilar from our own and an old style village where not a lot happens. The fact that Murakami writes in such a matter of fact and easy fashion makes the book a fascinating read, and definitely helps get through the first hundred pages. If all this explanation and rules sounds familiar, its because the first hour of Inception is essentially explanation and rules.
All well and good, but why does this make for exciting reading/viewing? Is it because the establishment of a universe where once the rules and explanations are set up the characters are let run amok and create whatever story path they so desire? As far as I'm concerned, yes. In the case of Inception, you see a shorter version of the heist that creates the second half of the film. Then after this shorter version you are given an explanation of the rules and what can occur within the dreams or the dreamers. Then you are given the heist with the understood rules. The same goes with Hard Boiled Wonderland.
So why is it beneficial to read Hard Boiled Wonderland before watching Inception? Because of the decisions that the characters make and where their decisions lead them in the grand scheme of the story. In Hard Boiled Wonderland, the main character becomes aware that the second world in the story is in fact his dream consciousness. Then he is presented with the decision as to whether the person he may love but could very easily fall out of love with in the real world is the person he wants to live his life with and essentially die with, or whether he decides to remain in the dream state and know that the person he loves in his dream state will always love him and will always be with him - and he will essentially be able to continue living forever.
Inception poses the same idea in one of its rules - the deeper you go into the dream state of the dreamers, the longer the amount of time you stay in the dream state. One of the greatest complaints about Inception was that it lacked heart - and one of the other complaints was infuriatingly enough the lack of sexual elements given that dreams are apparently one of the main conduits for sexual imagination. The fact that people complained that Inception lacked heart or an emotional core were missing one of the main elements of Inception. The relationship that Cobb has with his wife, the beautiful and intense Marion Cotillard as Mol, is so overpowering with its longing for eternal life and creating that perfect world together. If you have found the one person you love, wouldn't you want to continue that life with them forever?
Upon first seeing Inception, once the spinning top never topples but waivers a little bit then the film cuts to black, there was the unmistakable groan and sigh from the audience believing they've been had. For me the end of Inception is quite simply inside Cobb's dream state. Even though Michael Caine has gone on record as saying that the finale is without a doubt in reality, I would hesitate to believe this. If I was in Cobb's situation there would be no doubt as the fact that he was still dreaming. As I've mentioned before, wouldn't you want to be in the place that you and your loved one has created for yourself forever?
You can still get a great experience with Inception, and it is still possibly one of the greatest films of all time, but know that if you want to enjoy it a little bit more - lets say, enhanced viewing - then read Murakami's Hard Boiled Wonderland and further your enjoyment of Inception.
Sidenote: Isn't it fantastic that a film like Inception does gangbusters at the box office and then not so long after the film comes out another (good, but not great) director comes out saying that he's had to change his script because it would look a little too much like an Inception rip-off? Usually Hollywood would jump on the dream within a dream plot train and ride it like a super-hero origin story marathon.
Until my third, fourth and fifth viewings of Inception, it takes the cake as the second best film of all time with Vertigo, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and A History Of Violence not too far below it.
Christopher Nolan for Best Director?
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