movies i loved, movies i want to see: 2009

while vainly compiling my best of music lists has been a tradition for at least one year, throwing together a bunch of movie titles is a new one for me. so cut me some slack.

it's telling that my list of movies to-see is way longer than those i did watch in 2009. i probably should just go ahead and delete this post altogether. luckily for you, i've got some time to kill.

movies i loved, '09:

district 9--i can't get over how awesome this movie is. no, it wasn't the first to pair a plot with visually stunning science fiction and exploding pigs, but it might be the best.

up--yes, we all cried in the opening scene. damn you, pixar. this is a children's movie! it maybe one of pixar's best. which is saying quite a bit.

where the wild things are--beautiful and sad. jonze captures childhood in all it's adventure, loneliness, confusion, and imagination. watching it can be wrenching and joyful often in the same minute.

avatar--yes, you've read/seen this story arch about billion times, and it was probably delivered better than cameron in avatar. but you can't get past how much fun this movie is to watch. seriously, it's worth seeing. and in 3d.

julie and julia--whoa, left field. my wife made me watch and it was fantastic. both the ladies are excellent. the food looks pretty good, too.

coraline--a dark children's movie? was tim burton involved? as far as i know, no. but coraline is fantastic. visually stunning, scary, and with a compelling story. who knew a kids movie could deal with mother/daughter relationships so well? nothing is more visually arresting than the mother-spider threatening to consume her child. excellent, weird stuff.

movies i want to see, '09:

up in the air--the book left something to be desired, but i think the story will translate well into a movie. as an added plus, apparently every critic is in love with it.

the informant--this american life did an actual episode on this guy a few years ago. they replayed it around the release of the movie and i was sold. sounds like an awesome character study and bit of corporate history.

fabulous mr. fox--wes anderson and stop motion? i feel like he should have been doing this long ago. it's a shame i haven't seen this yet.

sherlock holmes--guilty pleasure. i'm banking on the fact that it's been several years since i got obsessed with conan doyle, so hopefully i won't mind as much that downey jr. is butchering the character as well as the bad guys.

invictus--i love clint eastwood. gran torino was easily the best movie of '08. though i'm intsted to see how he'll do "feel good," i recently heard a friend complain that it was "too historical." that made me really excited.

moon--again, a shame that i haven't seen this yet. it has all the earmarks of great science fiction.

the road--the book rocked my world. i'm preparing for a let-down, but hoping for something that gets in the ball park of what made the story so amazing--love and despair amidst chaos and death.

a serious man--this is mainly on the principle that the cohen brothers make good movies. even if burn after reading was disappointing, i've heard some good stuff about this one.

the hurt locker--a good war movie about iraq? judging from about every other non-documentary film that referenced the war, i didn't think it possible.

zombieland--the only surprise here is that i haven't seen it yet.

my musical 2009

last year, i started my best-of post with the realization that 2008 had a dearth of excellent music. 2009 was almost the exact opposite for me. when i started compiling this list, i probably had a good 20 albums that could have easily gone on the list. for everyone's sake, i trimmed the list down and added a few notables in addition to my top ten (none of this top 15 bs, will).

listen while you read.

2009

deep breath, here we go:

in no particular order, the albums that didn't make the top 10 list:

neko case, middle cyclone

not as good as fox confessor brings the flood, but still an excellent album. her voice alone would be enough to recommend the album, but song writing takes it to a new level. there's an entire novel in the line, "this tornado loves you."

tokyo police club, elephant shell/a lesson in crime/smith ep

we all have guilty pleasures. we can admit our musical ones, but leave them off the "best of" lists. i'm using the runner up section to get tokyo police club in there. the music is fun, rowdy, and yet with a tight delivery. plus there's a song about the future robot take over. what's not to love?

bear in heaven, beast rest forth mouth

this one is hard not to put on the top 10. if i'd had more time to digest the album in it's entirety, it probably would be on there. i had the singles "wholehearted mess" and

"lovesick teenagers" on repeat for a few months.

dirty projectors, bitte orca

the dirty projectors were a slow development for me. i bought the album because of will atkins and then couldn't really get into it. after roughly a dozen times through, the album just clicked for me and i couldn't get enough. listen to it in it's entirety.

top 10, because i'm too

lame too order them and don't have the wherewithal to do it, you choose the rating.

the mountain goats, the life of the world to come

like will said, the is great songwriting pretty much at it's peak. heavy material, excellent music, though if you've never heard them before, the lo-fi style will take getting used to (this album is a step up, production wise). he/they are quickly becoming some of my favorite songwriters. david dark has an excellent article on the mountain goats here.

japandroids, post nothing

i've said most of what i think about this band already. loud and fast garage rock at it's best. just play the first song, "the boys are leaving town" and you're in. i'm really disappointed i missed them live.

camera obscura, my maudlin career

camera obscura continues to define excellent pop music for me--somewhat sentimental, derivative of a classic style in good way, and extremely easy to play.

jj, jj no. 2

i listened to a lot of electronically leaning music this year. while jj doesn't easily fall into the category of electronic, i can't help but think of them that way. at the same time the music is pretty and accessible. check out their rip of lil' wayne's "lollipop" on "ecstacy."

until the avalanches release another album, this is my pseudo tropical, electronic album of the year.

m. ward, hold time

m. ward is an old favorite of mine. hold time does not disappoint. he continues his brand of pleasant folk. it makes me want to learn an instrument to play while i sit on the porch. if it's possible, i mean that in the least sentimental way. this is music to be heard and played in community. which is probably why he has so many collaborators.

bibio, ambivalence avenue

speaking of the avalanches, i think they had a lot of influence on the bands i loved this year. bibio has a unique mix of sampled sounds (if not recognizable samples, they at least sound like they're pulling clips from somewhere), beats, and instruments sound well aged. it's as if they sat down with a portable record player, a drum machine and a guitar and took the best tracks they could churn out in one sitting. sometimes esoteric, not quite dance-able, but still very accessible. right up my alley. check out "sugarette" or the title track.

passion pit, manners

previous contributors have already said what should be about passion pit. it's fun, like a block party. i serious can't stop listening to this album. against he will, my wife knows all their songs (i think she grudgingly likes them now). the only thing i'll add is that their ep chuck of change is an absolute must, and has a cool remix of "sleepy head."

so i kind of lied, i'll add "top 3" to the following, they are interchangeable.

the antlers, hospice

i posted about this album, so i won't say much more. this is could be the best dramatic/depressing rock album of th decade. i don't really know what that means, but i love this album. you should only listen to this album in it's entirety, but "two," "antophy," "bear," and "wake" are some of my favorites. beautiful and sad art at it's best. check out their takeaway show. amazing (many thanks to ben for the link).

The Antlers - Two / Epilogue - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

the xx, xx

again, so much has already been said, i don't have much to add. i can find almost any occasion to play this album. it surprises me now that it took me a little while to get into it. subtle and almost dance-able (i really need another descriptor). in a word this album is sexy. which is probably appropriate given much of the lyrical content. again, i can't get enough. the spoken/whispered word delivery is beautiful. if you haven't, listen now.

phoenix, wolfgang amadeus phoenix

the pop album of the year, easily. all i'll say is that i was afraid i'd serious overplayed this album, but kept on playing it and never got tired. seriously, this is why pop music exists. well delivered, tight music.