MrNepathy's Blog

Once again it’s time for me to make picks that hold no meaning for the world, but might possibly make some of you a little irritated. Actually some of these even irritate me because I look back at them and think to myself, “Boy was I stupid.” Mostly this relates to my praise for Gears of War. As I type that I realize something. We don’t italicize the titles of games, which only adds to Roger Ebert’s statement that video games are not art. That is a statement with which I disagree.

At any rate here are my choices, feel free to disagree vehemently but not violently.

Movie of the year: The Hurt Locker. This is by no means a film for everyone. The audience for this movie is limited to the people that liked Black Hawk Down and Jarhead. It’s a tough movie to watch because it’s tense from the moment it starts to the moment it ends. The movie survives without major star power except in brief, almost cameo appearances. Mostly the film is about how various people deal with war. There’s the guy born to be a soldier, the guy who is afraid but willing to do his duty and last the “war junky.” It’s an amazing film and I wouldn’t be surprised if it received a nomination or two in minor categories just to give it a nod.

Runner Up: Star Trek. This will be the first Star Trek movie I have ever purchased, which is similar to the statement I had for Batman Begins. It’s a brilliant reinvention of the series. Gone are the council meetings and the moments Eddie Izzard would describe as, “Oh, yes, hello Sebastian, I’m just counting my matches.” This movie artfully balances character development and action. My only irritation is with the “Cloverfield” type monster on the ice planet. That just seems sort of thrown in there as if to prove Obi Wan right, “there’s always a bigger fish.”

Honorable Mention: Monsters Versus Aliens. It’s a cute, funny movie with an obvious but enjoyable message. There are a few fun nerd references thrown in for adults and dorks. Also Inglorious Basterds. If you like seeing Nazis get shot (and who doesn’t), then this is the film for you. It completely ignores history, but that’s okay by me. Like a lot of Tarantino films it’s broken up into small segments.

Note: I have not seen Up or The Road yet.

Best Comedy: The Hangover. The movie really starts when everyone wakes up. From that moment on everything is unbelievable, but also hysterical. Mike Tyson singing Phil Collins? Check. Naked guy in the trunk that hits people with a crowbar? Check. Crazy wedding singer? Check. One note, if you watch make sure you watch through the credits so you see the photos.

Runner Up: The Goods. At absolutely no point is this film believable and I’m fine with that. It features Jeremy Piven, which is always a step in the right direction, as a used car salesman mercenary. He meets with an outrageous group of salespeople in order to save a dealership. Basically this is like every “we have to win/raise money to save summer camp” movie you’ve seen, but with new laughs thrown in. I especially loved the singing foul-mouthed angels.

Television show: Rescue Me. From Garrity dance numbers to Michael J. Fox’s “seven minutes of pain” scene, the show proved it still has a lot in the tank. It deals with comedy and drama equally well. Watching the friendship between “Lou” and Tommy fluctuate was entertaining and often painful. Sheila still frightens me. The episodes where Tommy talked with various adult versions of Conner were brilliant. One episode also opens with Tommy able to handle a situation that makes the other firefighters blanch and they remark that he has no emotions, but the episode ends with the same firefighters staring at kids sick with cancer while Tommy is able to go in and entertain them.

Runner Up: It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. This show is wrong from the moment it starts to the moment it ends. I’m constantly ashamed that I watch it, but nothing makes me laugh like this show. Usually I don’t want to be laughing, but it happens nonetheless. The show also taught me a valuable lesson, which is never barbecue using wicker furniture while riding in the back of a U-Haul trailer.

Honorable Mention: Burn Notice. Every season Michael Weston ends up with a new person that wants to be his handler. This year was no different but his resolution this time was different. He shot the guy in a very un-Michael Weston-like moment. I’m entertained by this show and it gives me my weekly fix of heist/con entertainment. It does, however, always make me want yogurt.

Best New Show: White Collar. USA Network has a habit of making good shows. When they say “characters welcome” they stick to it. Like Monk and Burn Notice, White Collar is largely centered around a somewhat extreme concept, but it’s enjoyable because of the characters. I’m not crazy about the overall storyline so far, but the episodic content is good. The one drawback is that every time I watch the show, I feel like I should buy a vest to wear so I can look “dapper.”

Runner Up: Community. This show is silly and over-the-top like 30 Rock but it appeals to me largely because of the main character and the supporting cast. It makes me laugh on a regular basis and that’s something a lot of shows cannot do, including The Office this year.

Honorable Mention: V. It only had a few episodes before the “fall finale” but it was enough to get me interested. It should be noted that I haven’t seen the original series, so I don’t have a comparison. I plan on correcting that however. The story between the FBI agent and her son is a bit worn, but so far it hasn’t irritated me. It’s nice to have some science fiction on television to watch, especially since so many shows in the same genre have lost my interest.

Best album: Paper Empire by Better Than Ezra. From the happy, upbeat tunes of “Absolutely Still” and “All In” to the more mellow tracks like “Wounded” and what should be a wedding standard, “I Just Knew” the album covers what the group is good at. “Nightclubbing” is feel good, night on the town style song. It’s one of those albums that you can listen to all of the way through, assuming you like Better Than Ezra’s style. I think it’s their best album since Closer.

Runner Up: The Point of It All by Anthony Hamilton. I was not crazy about Ain’t Nobody Worryin’ and found a lot of the tracks skipable. But the follow up album has some solid tracks including the fun “Cool” and the mournful “Soul is on Fire.”

Honorable Mention: The Fray by The Fray and Day & Age by The Killers.

Favorite New Artists: Matt Nathanson and Jose Gonzalez. Matt Nathanson is great if you like acoustic music and Jose Gonzalez plays songs that you would expect to find on the soundtrack to Garden State. These might not be new artists, but they’re new to me and have gained fame in 2009.

Honorable Mention: Neko Case. She’s proof that those little free download cards from Starbucks work. I downloaded her track and then bought the album the next day.

Best Video Game: Modern Warfare 2. If you know me or follow games, or just the general news, this comes as no surprise. While I hate being predictable or going with the flow, in this case it’s undeniable. The campaign mode is solid, but brief. Sure, sometimes I did not know exactly what was going on, but I didn’t really care. I know some people took the White House and I had to take it back. The mention of Prince George’s County made me smile, though it was mentioned as a war zone. Clearly they haven’t done their research because that’s pretty much P.G. County on any day of the week. There was no bonus mission for finishing the game, which is disappointing, but the game already featured a stellar cooperative mode called Special Operations, so I’ll forgive them for not throwing in another one. Then there’s multiplayer with its addictive titles, emblems, challenges and ranks. The titles encouraged me to try new things like cooking a grenade to kill my enemy and myself at the same time, or getting the game-winning kill with a harrier.

Runner Up: Borderlands. Combining a first person shooter with RPG/loot elements is like combining chocolate and peanut butter. Setting it in a post-apocalyptic-like location means it’s dark chocolate. Adding a cooperative mode is taking the whole thing and putting it in the freezer for maximum enjoyment. It’s fun, goofy and pleasant to look at, like Olivia Munn.

Honorable Mention: Champions Online. Let me get this out of the way, this isn’t the best MMO of all time and it’s a game that has some flaws, including a lack of variety in terms of level progression. However, it lets me make superheroes. Unlike City of Heroes, made by the same company, this one lets players mix and match powers, plus create a nemesis. As heroes are defined by their villains, letting me make my villain is another layer of character creation. Mine is named the Blue Devyl (Devil isn’t allowed as a name) and he looks like the Duke mascot. Get to beat up the Duke mascot? Done.

Biggest Disappointment: Year One. I went into this movie expecting all manner of laughs. I believe I lightly chuckled once and I think that was just because the alternative was slamming my head into the armrest in hopes that the cup holder would incapacitate me. The coma that would have been induced would have been funnier. Or maybe I would have been married to Temperance Brennan in the coma, and really that’s better too. I wouldn’t recommend Year One even as a rental. If someone gives you a copy of this movie, don’t even use the disk as a coaster. Your beverages deserve better.

Runner Up: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. As someone who is a fan of the Marvel Civil War storyline and a fan of cooperative games I should have been an easy sell for this game. Still the developers managed to lose me. The Civil War plot on its own should have sufficed, but instead they threw in some crazy computer virus that forces the two sides of the Civil War to join forces. Hope you like fighting the same villains and heroes twice. My favorite thing is when a villain is at the top of the stairs and my character is at the bottom of the stairs. I will try to shoot the villain, but my shot hits the stairs. Games have featured intelligent programming for years to know that the player intends to shoot upward. This game skimped on that. It also skimped on costumes. Whereas the first featured three to unlock, this game only features one and when you unlock it you might wonder why that’s the alternative costume they picked. Most of them aren’t worth unlocking. Also why let me fly if I can only fly ten feet off of the ground? Sorry Iron Man, we know you have rocket boots but you can’t just fly up over this twenty foot wall. You’ll have to fight every enemy first. Sure, time is of the essence and you’re smart enough to have made a high tech suit capable of space flight, but door buttons confound you.

Honorable mention: Monk is in its last season. I’ve liked Monk from the beginning and it continues to entertain me. I’ll miss this one when it’s gone.

If you’ve seen a lot of the shows or comedies I’ve mentioned, you might notice a common element for some of them. Ken Jeong is in The Hangover, The Goods and is a regular on Community. He makes me laugh in everything he does. So if I picked a “best supporting comedy actor” for 2009, I’d pick him without question.