So I was going to just post my top 10 movies of 2011, but then realized that I reviewed every single movie I saw in theaters in 2011, so basically a top 10 list would just be sorting movies I've already rated according to score plus plugging in whatever flicks I didn't catch in theaters.. and that's kind of boring. So I decided to rate my top 10 media of 2011 instead, whether movies, albums, books, TV shows, or so on. I think it should be a little more interesting than just movies, and I think it sounds kind of fun. So let's take a look at the year that was, shall we?
Honorable Mentions: Game of Thrones, Season 1, Community, Seasons 2 and 3 (an uneven start to season 3 hurt this one), Childish Gambino, Camp, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Moneyball, Archer, Season 2.
10. A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5), George R. R. Martin - I didn't read any of the books prior to February 2011, but devoured the first 4 months before the release of the 5th installment in July. Everything the show (Game of Thrones) does well, the books do better, and George R. R. Martin must be an awesome kind of insane. That's the only explanation I can think of, for his interlocking webs of past, present, prophesy and multiple, often unreliable narrators create a dense, complex, engrossing and rewarding world that I and many, many others simply can't get enough of. Don't believe me? Check out the online fan communities, where you'll see fans as devoted and obsessive as any. Is the whole saga extremely nerdy? Sure. But at its root, it's not about magic or traditional fantasy.. it's about real, flawed characters struggling in a brutal world. In a bleak and brutal universe, the struggles that make us human become illuminated. It's not a merry ride, but it's certainly a fun one. At around 1000 pages of sprawling world building, interlocking narratives and ominous foreboding, the 5th installment is (hopefully) the darkest part of night, before the dawn. I would recommend the books to anyone with an adult mind and imagination. But consider yourself warned, at around 900 dense pages per book, these are not for the faint of heart.
9. Parks and Recreation, Seasons 3 and 4 -
So 2011 covered Season 3 and the first half of Season 4 of what just might be the best comedy on TV. Since Rob Lowe and Adam Scott became regulars on P&R the show has achieved what may be approaching hilarious perfection. Silly yet endearing, often outrageous and over the top yet still very human and very, very sweet, this show never fails to bring out the laughs and bring out genuine human emotion. You know, like the Office when it was good, only better. In 2011 Parks and Rec brought us the Harvest Festival (and 'Lil Sebastian), Flu Season, April and Andy's wedding, and more sweet zany craziness from the residents of Pawnee, Indiana. Any week with a new Parks and Rec is well on its way to being a good one (especially if immediately proceeded by a Community..). If you don't want to hang out with Leslie, Ron, Tom, April, Andy, Chris, Ben and maybe even Jerry.. well I don't trust you. Kudos, Parks and Rec.. you really brought the awesome sauce in '11.
8. Friday Night Lights, Season 5
Have there been better shows than Friday Night Lights? Absolutely. But I don't know that any show has been TRUER or more earnest, and there's certainly a lot of value in that. These characters that you grow to know and love over the life of the series are flawed human beings.. but they are undoubtedly human beings. I don't know that there's ever been a better and truer positive depiction of a marriage on television than Eric and Tammy Taylor. Is it about football? Sure.. but when it comes down to it it's about people, who have hopes and dreams and make mistakes but do the best that they can. FNL achieved something that many shows have tried and failed to do in Seasons 4 and 5, they turned over their cast and switched the setting, moving Coach to a new school and introducing new players, and pulled it off perfectly. Most FNL fans like the East Dillon crew more than the West Dillon crew.. who we love. So even though the show came to an end in 2011.. you can't help but be glad that the show lasted as long as it did, and gave us a pitch-perfect ending along the way. Also.. Billy Riggins is an American hero.
7. Louie, Season 2.
Season 2 is when Louis CK's one-man tour de force, "Louie" crossed over from "interesting" to "tremendous". Louie isn't just one of the best comedies on TV, but one of the best shows, period. Louis CK is responsible for every single element of this series, and his cynical yet hilarious mind often spawns greatness. Season 2 gave us some absolutely brilliant episodes.. including Louie's trip to Afghanistan and the long-overdue confrontation with the epic douche known as Dane Cook. (kudos to Mr. Cook for having the guts and the magnanimity to make the appearance) It cracked me up, it broke my heart, but no matter what, it always had something to say. Given Louis CK's brilliant comedic mind, consider me beyond excited for what Louie will bring in the future.
6. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Bon Iver's (still not 100% sure how to pronounce it..) 2009 debut, For Emma, Forever Ago was truly great. Melancholy, ethereal, gorgeous. Written and produced in a cabin in the woods, and you can certainly tell. Is this album an improvement? It's so completely different, I don't know that it's possible to make that determination. What I do know is that this album is also truly great. It doesn't have the same unity of purpose and form, but what it lacks in a holistic approach it makes up for in ambition and variety. Oh, and if I die anywhere in the next ten years, I want "Holocene" to be played at my funeral.. it's beautiful. A friend of mine called listening to Bon Iver like "being in heaven's waiting room".. and while I'm not sure I agree, there certainly is something nigh-spiritual about it. My favorite album of the year, and the one I don't skip any tracks on.
5. Warrior
So this one came out last fall, and I couldn't convince any of my deadbeat friends to catch it with me during the 3 weeks it was actually in theaters. Shame on them, shame on me, shame on everyone else that didn't catch this one (and there were many..), because it is truly great. All dramas contain an emotional journey of sorts, and in my experience, catharsis just may be the most heart-wrenching of them all. No, I don't particularly like UFC/MMA, but that doesn't really matter.. like most great dramas, it's not about the superficial setting, but rather about the journey of its characters. I'm a sucker for father/son stories.. and throw in a brother/brother story? Forget about it. So an MMA tournament brings together two brothers and their alcoholic father, long-estranged. One brother is a war hero and gifted fighter, the other a family man, high school teacher and serious underdog. Let me put it this way.. at the last fight I had full on tears running down my cheeks. Powerful, powerful stuff. Well worth a watch.
4. Justified, Season 2
It may not be the BEST show on TV, there are far too many "off" episodes for that, but at its strongest, which usually come during the last few episodes of the season, there isn't a better show, plain and simple. Justified focuses on US Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant in a star-making turn), based on an Elmore Leonard character who is a little too cowboy-esque and trigger happy for our modern world, but who happens to be very good at his job. A native of rough and rural Harlan County, Kentucky, Givens finds himself continuously sucked into the criminal world of his hometown, much of which is run by family, friends and acquaintances. Despite his better judgment and the pleadings of basically everyone who cares about him, Harlan County continues to pull Raylan in. Season 2 brings back Season 1's primary villain, Raylan's boyhood friend Boyd Crowder (a particularly charismatic Walton Goggins), and introduces a menacing and outstanding Margo Martindale as criminal matriarch Mags Bennett. Just watch, season 3 just started and has certainly not disappointed thus far.
3. Midnight in Paris
First thing's first.. I don't usually like Woody Allen. I find him to be self-absorbed and more than a little egotistical. Not that that's especially uncharacteristic of artists, or that he isn't undeniably talented and prolific as a filmmaker, but something about the man and his works has always irked me a little bit. So in light of that comes my love and appreciation for this flick. It certainly doesn't hurt that Owen Wilson plays Woody Allen better than Woody Allen does. This flick is sweet, funny, smart and an all-around good time. Gil is struggling through his first novel and uncertain in his relationship with his fiancee, Inez, and finds just what he needed on the magical streets of Paris. Is the "message" a little simplistic and obvious? Sure. Does it play to the egos of its audience by making references that make them feel cultured and well read? Absolutely. But none of that takes away from what this flick does well, which is capture an artful playfulness in a smart and worthwhile way. Eminently watchable, quotable and pretty damn fun, I don't know that I'll ever get tired of this one. Hemingway is an absolute treat.
2. Tree of Life
This one certainly brings out strong reactions in viewers. Despite its utter lack of what most would call a "plot", its esthetic, undeniable beauty, ambition and an ethereal sort of spirituality make it an absolutely gorgeous film. I look at it as an artful prayer, evaluation, or speculation on the nature of existence, on god and love and life and who we are and why we are. Unanswerable questions, to be sure, but at the same time, one of the most important functions of art is to ask these questions and search for the ever elusive answers. The beauty and greatness of this flick is rather difficult to put into words, much like a great painting or sculpture in that way.. where it's an almost instinctual reaction. But let me say that I'd completely understand why someone wouldn't like this one. I just happen to think it's the best film of 2011.
1. Breaking Bad, Season 4
Breaking Bad is, at this point of its run, the only series that even deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as "The Wire". Brian Cranston has been knocking the role of Walter White out of the park from day 1.. and Aaron Paul has more than held up his end of the bargain. By Season 4, what began as a deviation into criminality to make some side money has morphed into something lucrative, devious and horrible, with ripples that extend far beyond the intended consequences. At this point, it's impossible to deny that Walter White is a villain, but damn it if you can't stop rooting for the guy. Season 4 finds Walter and Jesse in a Mexican stand-off of sorts with chicken and methamphetamine kingpin Gus Fring, and the tension inherent in that employer-employee relationship is the dramatic drive for the entire season. Breaking Bad was, and remains, appointment television, and with 16 episodes remaining, I can't wait for what will undoubtedly be an amazing finish.
So that's 2011 in media, folks. Feel free to disagree, but know that I'm most likely right about pretty much all of this. Just something to consider.
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