A Year In Review - Insomniatic Style

So here it is, as previously mentioned - my year in review post. To clarify, these are my favourites of the year, not necessarily the technical " best ". I think ranking things as " best " is, well, best left to the experts. Favourites however, are completely subjective. Also, please note that this list is comprised only of things i have seen, heard, bought or experienced for myself. ( Side note - anything that may have been released in the US as of late 2007, but not released here til 2008, obviously counts as 2008 Footnote - the listed items are not in an particular or signficant order ). You may not agree- hell you may not even have heard of some stuff, let alone liked it. Its all about me, me, me - that being said, i formulated this list for all you people, so have at!

Films:
1. The Dark Knight - two words: Heath Ledger. Wait, two more: posthumous Oscar. I went into this hoping it wasnt all hype, and it wasnt. Heaths performance is so brilliantly dark that even minor plot holes or that horrid accent Christian Bale uses as Batman could sink this ship.
2. Juno - this just had the quirky, kind of dark, not-everybody-is-gonna-get-it kind of humour that i love. Ellen Paige just does the biting wit so well, and she has just the right amount of freckles to be believable as the odd girl ( rather than the gorgeously pretty popular girl ). I kind of loved the whole mature storyline as played out by kids thing aswell. Total winner.
3. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - who doesnt love Hellboy? He's big, he'd red and he's grumpy but he's just trying to keep the world safe. Lets face it, he's really just a romantic at heart - the whole Hellboy/Liz thing, despite being a a mixed species romance, is totally gorgeous. Ooh, and also, lots of stuff blows up and there's tonnes of fighting and cool stuff like that.
4.There Will Be Blood - sure this movie is long, but Daniel Day-Lewis is so mesmirising that you never once look at the clock. Its no wonder he won the Oscar for this film - everything he does is just so unbelievably watchable. Paul Dano is kind of a revelation too.

And my least favourite?
Tropic Thunder - I know this one is going to be a controversial pick, but i couldnt even watch all the way to the end of this. I understand what they were aiming for, but it just fell flat for me. Plus, I think i'm kind of over Ben Stiller. He has no range: he's either the sweet, goofy romantic or aq gung-ho idiot. I'd love to see him do something closer to his work in " Reality Bites ". I just think he needs to moves past the crazy faces and dicks in zippers.
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TV Shows
1. How I Met Your Mother - i really got into this show this year. I totally want to date Ted and Barney ? Barney is the shit-funniest character on TV. Don't judge me, but i would totally have a one stand with Barney.
2. The Amazing Race - yep, I am still in love with this show. I know their are about a thousand other reality shows i could be watching, but The Amazing Race lets me indulge my travel fantasys ( oh, and the fantasy of winning a million dollars ).
3. Big Bang Theory - aww, Leonard is just so darn cute. I'm just hoping that at some point Penny is going to realise it, rip off his glasses and drag him to her bedroom. And Raj has all the potential in the world ( as realised when he volunteered for that drug trial ). But its Sheldon - man Sheldon cracks me up. He's just so weird....
4. So You Think You Can Dance Australia - loved this show! So vibrant, and sexy and stylish and fun. I sooooooo wanna go and take dance lessons, except i'm kind of likely to trip over my own feet and sprain an ankle or something. I'll just keep my dancing on the pub dancefloor and far, far away from a national, television stage.
5. Greys Anatomy - the season of Izzy and George ( which was kind of awkward ), Alex and Rebecca ( which was kind of sad ) and Callie turning lesbian ( or has she ? ). McDreamy was still hot, McSteamy was still waaaay hot although, unfortunately, Meredith was still mopey. Will that change in the new season ? Doubtful - but as long as the boys stay hot and the romance and gossip stays scandalous, i'll keep watching.

And my least favourite?
The Moment of Truth - O.M.G. This is just trainwreck TV. I cant understand why anyone would want to watch this program. Its basically just repulsive people admitting to scandalous and hurtful things in a bid to make money. I'm all for the trailer park trash of shows like " Jerry Springer " but this ? This is just nasty. Much like the " contestants " on the show....
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Songs:
1. " My People " by The Presets - the ultimate dancefloor anthem for this year. For all of you not in the know, The Presets are an Australian dance/electronic outfit and this is the song that had me dancing everytime i heard it. " I'm here with all of my people! "
2. " Use Somebody " by Kings of Leon - my favourite love song of the year. And by love i mean i could totally use somebody like Caleb Followhill... love me Caleb, I'll love you back!
3. " Thats Not My Name " by The Ting Tings - this song is just so catchy! And, despite the fact my local radio station played it about a million times a day, i'm not sick of yet. Its different and fresh and.... its just so damn catchy! Its my loungeroom/car sing-along-song. You know, the way you sing at the top of your lungs and pretend like your a total rock star ? Yep, you have one of those too.
4. " Kids " by MGMT - totally loving the trippy, psuedo-psychedelic pop by these guys. And " Kids " is getting a lot of airplay right now, and its my favourite song off " Oracular Spectacular ". It may just be my anthem for the summer and, therefore, makes this list.
5. " Leave Out All The Rest " by Linkin Park - ah, my emo song of the year. Everybody needs a soft/loud/soft.loud rock song that they can play when they are feeling either melancholy ( I wanna die right now... boo hoo hoo ) or angry ( You are all going to regret this when i'm gone, bitches ! ). Linkin Park usually fits the bill for that kind of song, and this song falls into that category. Ah, Linkin Park - with me since Year 12.

And my least favourite?
" I Kissed A Girl " by Katy Perry - Puh-lease Katy Perry: you did not kiss a girl and even if you did it was only to impresf the horny drunk boys. I cannot stand songs like this. Firstly, Katy cant sing all that well but that doesnt matter so much in these days of slick production. The issue here is the song is a complete novelty, just sung to titillate and shock. So its gets a little controversy and then radio starts playing the crap out of it. Which only makes me hate it more. I just find it so sad that people are able to build a ( brief ) career out of such an annoying, and utterly crap, song.
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Albums:
1. " Pretty.Odd " by Panic At The Disco - sweet, sweet pop music, with an old-school Beatlesque twist. " Nine In The Afternoon " very narrowly missed out on a place in my favourite songs - its just pure, sweet, sunshiney pop at its best. And so is the rest of the album.
2. " Duets " by Reba McEntire - I know what your thinking: a country album. But Reba is like the queen of country and she's an all round brilliant artist, which is why she inspires artists like Carole King, Kelly Clarkson, Don Henley and Justin Timberlake to sing with her. The song she does with Justin - which he wrote for mind you - is just gorgeous, and the duet on " Because of You " with Kelly is near about as good as the original.
3. " Only By The Night " by Kings of Leon - hello, best rock album of the year. If you havent already bought it/heard it/ heard OF it, then what the hell is wrong with you ? Seriously, yoiu cannot escape the genius of " Sex On Fire " and the aforementioned " Use Somebody " so why try ? Just go and buy the album and love it. Now.
4. " Across the Universe " soundtrack by the cast of the film - if you dont know the film, its a musical using the songs of The Beatles so, thusly, this is a collection of Beatles songs sung by the cast ( who include Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess and a cameo by Bono ). My pick for the best is " Hey Jude " which, with its " Naaa, naaa, naaa, na na na na! " has been the song i turn to for a pick me up and Evan Rachel Wood singing " Blackbird ". Gorgeous song such by a gorgeous girl in a gorgeous, pure voice.
5. " The Odd Couple " by Gnarls Barkley - alternatley, the album i've found myself either playing with windows rolled down in my car, or choosing to dance around the house to while i do housework. " Run! " is a great song for vacuum dancing AND cruising the streets and " Blind Mary " is just too cute. Need to get your party ( or housework, whatever takes your fancy ... ) started ? Choose Gnarls Barkley.

And my least favourite ?
Note, that there is no entry for this one. I'm not in the habit of buying music i dont like and, although it is possible to misjudge the strength of an album ( by buying ti based on one song or the strength of previous albums by that artist ), that didnt happen this year. Hell, i wasnt even forced to listen to a crappy CD by a friend - you know, whilst chilling out, or on a roadtrip - so, consequently there is no one album i can choose as my least favourite this year. Yay for my ears!
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And that be all. The years pop culture as rated by me is now over. Leave a comment, tell me what you agrred/disagreed with, how mad you think i am for a particular choice, or even just leave your own choices for favourite. Peace out yo!