Sunday, January 3, 2010

2009: A Year in Review, Insomniatic Style

Alright, so now that i have caught up reading other peoples year in review posts, its my turn to post my best, worsts and favourites for the past year. I havent listed all the same categories as last year, and have thrown in a couple of new categories, so bearing in mind that when i say "best " i mean " My favourite " not the technical best; and when i say " worst " i mean " totally poo " . Also, all items are listed in no particular order.....

BEST FILMS:
1. " Inglourious Basterds " - whats not to love ? Its vintage wacky Tarantino, its good vs evil and Eli Roth ? Hella gorgeous.
2. " The Boy In Striped Pyjamas " - ok, yes, another Nazi themed film, but this one is rather more poignant than it is violent. I alternated between sadness and anger during this film, but the performance of both little boys was what made this film really special.
3. " Grand Torino " - Mr Gil and i saw this on our second date, so that alone makes it memorable, however it makes the list simply because its Clint Eastwood at his absolute best. Director, actor, composer - his touch is all over it.
4. " Wolverine " - anyone who is deriding me for this choice can go jump in a lake. I love me a superhero film and i love me some Hugh Jackman, so why wouldnt this film make my list ?
5. " The Proposal " - i dont normally rate 'chick flicks ' so high but this one was suprisingly enjoyable. Ryan Reynolds could just be my new favourite cute/funny/goofy dude....

AND THE WORST ?
" The Hangover " - i've chosen this as my worst film for the year not because it was bad necessarily .... but because it was disappointing. So many people told me it was the new " The 40 Year Old Virgin "; that it was hilariously funny; the funniest movie they'd seen in years. And then Mr Gil and i watched it last week ( so it only just makes 2009 ... ) and it was just - meh. To be quite honest, I didnt see what all the fuss was about.
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BEST SONGS:
1. " Breakeven " by The Script - a soulful, sad, sexy pop song by some cute Irish lads. It got played to death on radio over here, but rather than grate on my nerves, i just liked it more and more.
2. " The Fixer " by Pearl Jam - yea, yea, yea! This has been my sing-along-song for the past few months ( not that i know all the words.... ). Its the one that comes on the car radio, i turn up the volume and rock out at the traffic lights. Every list needs one of these songs, and Eddie Vedder and the boys get that honor this year.
3. " Last Day On Earth " by Kate Miller-Hiedke - this is an exquisite, melancholy love song. It initially came to my attention because it was attached to an episode of my favourite soap ( hello, " Neighbours"! ) but then it gained radio airplay and i totally fell in love with it.
4. " Like It Loud " by Cassie Davis - another Australian artist, this time with a perfectly crafted party song. Not that i've done much partying this year, but this was my favourite song to get my happy face going....
5. " Burn Your Name " by Powderfinger - this is officially my song of the summer, and reminds me of both my fiance and now my beautiful son. It doesnt hurt that its by one of my favourite bands either.

AND THE WORST ?
" Pokerface " by Lady Gaga tied with " Down " by Jay Shawn - it is no secret that i just cant stand Lady Gaga, so its no suprise i'm going to choose one of her songs to be my least favourite of the year. " Pokerface " happens to be the one that annoys me the most ( pa-pa-pa-pa-pokerface! Pa-pa-pa-please! ). Tied for this incredible honor is " Down " - pretty much because its just been totally overplayed and its a weak Backstreet Boys impression to begin with ( seriously, check out the clip. Someone totally wants to be in a boy band ).
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BEST BOOK:
" Eat.Pray.Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert - ok, so i'm a little late jumping on this particular bandwagon - you know, seeing as Oprah had been praising the book in 2008 - but this was just a really great book. It might seem kind of hippy-dippy or hokey-spiritual to some, but when i was 8 months pregnant it was an inspiration ( woman divorces; falls into depression; decides to take a year off and visit Italy, India and Indonesia; ultimately finds redemption and happiness ). It was - is - nice to think that if we want something bad enough and strive to reach for it, we can have happiness, for ourselves and others.

FAVOURITE TV SHOW:
" The Big Bang Theory " - this was on last years list, and its still my favourite. Seriously, Leonard and Penny are my new Ross and Rachel - and Sheldon is just in a league of his own.

BEST MOMENT FOR ME, PERSONALLY:
27.12.2009, the birth of my son - the proposal of marriage by Mr Gil was pretty damn sweet, and had my son arrived on his due date, the engagement would have made the top spot. However, seeing as Flynn decided to arrive 2 weeks early, making him a 2009 baby and not 2010 like he was supposed to be, meeting my little man and the making of our little family gets to be #1.

And that be it. Last year i included a list of best albums, but i had to leave them off this year because, sadly, i havent purchased too many actual albums this year. I have 3 or 4 that i've been meaning to buy but just havent got around to it, and now that i'm going to be home quite a bit with a sleeping baby i'll have ample opportunity to sit down and actually LISTEN to a whole cd at a time, so look out for a " best albums " list in my 2010 countdown....

3 comments:

  1. David and I watched Inglourious Basterds a few days after Christmas, and I LOVED IT!! It was great. Totally a best of 2009. I really want to watch it again.

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  2. I felt similarly about "The Hangover" - finally watched it a few weeks ago after everyone RAVING about it and felt a little let down.

    In terms of years, I definitely think 2009 was a pretty good one for you, eh?

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  3. Between the baby (congrats, again) and the proposal (congrats, again), you've had an amazing year.

    I agree with you on The Proposal, which was much better than it probably should have been, given the premise. I finally watched The Hangover this weekend. It had some hilarious moments, but most of the best stuff I had seen in commercials, so it lacked the element of surprise. It was like, "Yeah, Mike Tyson and a tiger, I know, I know, you showed me already. What else?" Not a bad movie, just not an all-time great.

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