The Top Media of 2011.

So it's 2012.  Wild, right?  I'm pretty sure that 2012 is pretty universally supposed to have been the future.  I mean, based on what people thought from basically 1950 until 1990, by 2012 we'd have flying cars and jetpacks at the VERY least.. insterstellar travel on the optimistic side.

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. 

The Top Comedies on TV

So I'm planning a whole mini-series if you will of TV-related posts in the coming weeks. Because let's be honest, I'm not just a movie nerd, I'm pretty much an all-around media nerd. If it's media, and it can be watched/read/consumed, I'm probably interested in and at least moderately aware of what's going on there. It's about damn time I brought TV onto this blog, as I spend at least as much time there as I do with movies. It's time to bring in other media.

So here I'm going to rank the top comedies. As is usual with everything else here, this is 100% my opinion, so feel free to disagree... but know I'm probably right.

How does on rank a comedy? Humor is extremely subjective and individual, so no doubt we're going to differ on nuance, but let's be honest, if you're a big Two and a Half Men or How I Met Your Mother fan, with laugh tracks and what I call "misunderstanding" comedy, we probably don't really get along that well. So I'm going to rank comedies based on a mix of quality of writing, quality of characters, laughs produced and overall effectiveness. I'm not going to put forth any Simmons-esque faux statistical analysis and pretend that my evaluation has anything to do with anything other than just my opinion. To clarify further, this post is ranking my current excitement level for each of these shows. I recognize that all of them are at varying points in their lives as shows, with some being relatively new and coming into their own while others are winding down or in their prime. I'm basically ranking, if there was a new episode of each of these shows on tonight, my excitement level to watch each of these shows. Here, in countdown form, are the comedies I most enjoy.

Honorable Mentions: South Park, Wilfred, 30 Rock (two once bright stars at the end of their runs though still occasionally brilliant and a new promising premise that's still in its infancy)

7. Curb Your Enthusiasm
If you don't know (and if you don't, I wonder how you're able to read this successfully), Larry David was the co-creator of probably the greatest comedy in television history, Seinfeld. George Costanza is at least 85% based on him, and needless to say, he made himself a whole ridiculous boatload of cash from the whole experience. Curb, which recently started its 8th season on HBO, is basically a fictionalized version of Larry David's life, where the tremendously wealthy and moderately famous Larry David cavorts about Los Angeles interacting with his friends and famous acquaintances in awkward and often hilarious ways. Basically, it's Seinfeld, with an R-rating, and if everyone was rich and Jewish. Although almost always hilarious and a good 25 minutes, this one is all the way down at #7 simply because I know where its ceiling is going to be. And that's nothing against the show really, it's just that the whole "misunderstanding, awkwardness, hilarity" outline, even when done tremendously well (The Palestinian Chicken episode, on the whole, was probably the funniest half hour of television I've seen all year), can only get you so far. Curb is very, very funny, I'm just a little more excited about the other 6 entrants on the list at the moment. Season 8 is currently airing, Sundays at 10 PM on HBO.


6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

A few years ago, this one may have well been #1. Unfortunately, this one has fallen from the seasons 3 and 4 heights, where you knew definitively that every episode was going to be tremendous, offensive, hilarious and full of quotable material. I think 31% of my 3L year of law school was spent quoting Sunny in some fashion or another. Now don't get me wrong, I still get very excited for Sunny Episodes, its place on this list should assure you of that, I just feel that at some point over seasons 5 and 6 the limitations of the small group and world that is the focus of every single episode began to show up and the storylines and interactions began to feel strained. Really, considering that every episode features the same 5 people in the same bar and very few recurring characters, it's kind of remarkable it took that long. If Curb is Seinfeld with an R rating featuring rich Jewish people, Sunny is Seinfeld with a serious PG-13 rating featuring dumb drunk people. The show basically centers on the group tackling a subject by being as ridiculous, offensive and horrible as possible. While the show may not be as strong as it once was, it still contains moments of brilliance, and I'm hopeful that Season 7 will come back with a serious bang. (Fat Mac should be great) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Season 7 premiere is Thursday, Sept. 15 at 10 PM on FX.


5. The League

Ostensibly a show about a group of mid-30's longtime friends with a fanatical Fantasy Football league, this show became one of my favorites in Season 2 when it became less about Fantasy Football and more about the oddball shit that groups of guys that know each other intimately and have a weird hetero love going on get into. Like Sunny and several other entrants on this list, the League takes full advantage of FX's basic cable status to be a little raunchier than basic cable allows, and this really adds to the authenticity of the group's interactions. If I have a main problem with this show, it's that no one has an 8 team league... and any 8 team leagues that exist suck. Everyone's team is ridiculously stacked and it takes all the fun and nuance out of fantasy sports. But this show has a really strong ensemble cast with a great rapport between the cast members.. you really believe that these people get along and would be/are friends.. and I dig that. High school friends Pete, Kevin, Ruxin, Andre and Kevin's pothead brother Taco have the sort of chemistry that makes them being longtime friends utterly believable.. and the various supporting characters only add to the strength of the ensemble. When dudes who have known each other for a long time get together, it feels a lot like "the League". I feel like as I get older I may like this one more and more. The League returns for Season 3 on Thursday, October 6 at 10:30 (After Sunny) - happy birthday to me.


4. Archer

Archer is a delicious little spy cartoon comedy on FX (look at FX, just taking over this list). It's raunchy, it's filthy, it's nonsensical, but mostly, it's hilarious. Main character Sterling Archer (Code Name: Duchess) is a dense, egomaniacal, politically incorrect, womanizing international super spy who happens to tiptoe the line between constantly almost starting international incidents and being really, really good at his job. He's part James Bond, part Don Draper, and pretty much all asshole. He's also an amazing character, with deadpan witticisms, pickup lines and incredibly offensive one-liners for pretty much every situation. Oh, he also has some serious Mommy issues. The show, which appears to be set in some odd alternative world where they have cellphones in the '60s (The Cold War is in full-swing, and the computers at the spy agency are large boxy mainframes), focuses on super spy Archer as he selfishly and effectively solves problem after problem while belittling and harassing pretty much everyone he knows. Archer is full of pop-culture references, running gags, Burt Reynolds love, family feuds, sexual innuendo and awesomeness. His cast of supporting characters at ISIS are of varying competency levels, including Archer's mother, Mallory, who runs ISIS and may in fact be Lucille Bluth at a spy agency. I'd describe Archer as part James Bond, part Get Smart, part Family Guy, and all hilarious. Season 3 of Archer premieres on Thursday, September 15 at 10:30 (after Sunny), for a short 3 week run, before returning for the rest of the season in January, 2012.


3. Louie

Look at FX, just dominating this list. Kudos to one of the few networks on TV willing to take chances with their programming. They've really put together a comedy lineup that complements each other and feels like a cohesive voice. Louis CK is a top 3 stand-up for me (he, Patton Oswalt and the tragically deceased Greg Giraldo will have to fight it out in my mind for the top spot), and he has a show on FX that lets him do basically whatever the hell he wants. The first season was great... but the second season (currently airing) is one of the most bizarre, fascinating, and outstanding things I've ever seen. To be honest, I don't even know if it's a comedy anymore, or if it's just a great damn show - period, regardless of genre. The show appears to be set a few years ago, before Louis CK was one of the top stand-ups on the planet, but while he's still relatively well known, as he's playing small-ish clubs and worrying about money, but still obviously being connected enough to have friends in high places. Louis is recently divorced and his two daughters split time between his place and his ex's, and the show takes painful and yet hilarious glimpses into the man, his worldview, life, and bizarre little stories that happen to all of us and yet are amplified 10-fold by the mind of a brilliant comedian like Louis. The show features his bleak, often pathetic, often hilarious, mostly dark takes on life, family, love, sex, and parenting. There's no continuity between episodes (different actresses have played Louis' mother, for instance, and in one episode he has a brother while in another, a sister), and the show usually features short (8-10 minute) stories intercut with bits of Louis' standup, which are always, always hilarious. The stories typically have a surrealist bent to them, which make it clear that they are exaggerated or enhanced versions of things that have really happened in Louis' life. Last week's episode, which was set on a Louis CK USO trip to Afghanistan, was one of the top 2 or 3 hours of TV I've seen on any show all year. I hope FX continues to give Louis CK all the rope he needs, because by the time he's done, this may be #1 on the comedy list and close to that spot on the "all TV" list. Season 2 of Louie is currently airing, Thursdays at 10:30 on FX.


2. Parks and Recreation
Filmed in the style of the Office, and created by Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, two of the men behind the original/good American office, this show instead spun off into something different, separate, and superior to the Office, done in the same style. The show focuses on Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), the Deputy Director of the Pawnee, Indiana Parks and Recreation department. Leslie's coworkers, friends, and the outrageous citizenry of the city of Pawnee form the supporting characters, and as their chemistry grows, so does the quality of the show. In season 2 Parks and Rec really hit its stride, as Leslie's silly ditziness gave way to a manic competence and the bizarre cast of supporting characters was given more to do. Clearly influenced by the Simpsons, where the citizenry of Springfield was expansive and outrageous, the townspeople of Pawnee, as shown through the media and various town hall meetings are completely over-the-top and completely hilarious. Personal favorites: Nick Offerman's ridiculously manly libertarian Parks director Ron Swanson and Aziz Ansari's horndog would-be cool guy Tom Havingford. What makes this show transcendent of the typical comedy is the sincerity of the relationships between the characters. You (the viewer) truly get and feel the connections, relationships, ups and downs of these people, despite the often preposterousness of their surroundings, the emotions are and feel real. There's an underlying sweetness to Parks and Rec that helps make it great. Along with Ron's enthusiasm for meats, of course. Season 4 of Parks and Recreation premieres Thursday, September 22 at 8:30.

1. Community

Sometimes a piece of media and a particular fan/set of preferences overlap pretty much completely exactly. Let's see how this is true of "Community" and me: I am particularly amused by absurdist situations, I LOVE pop culture/nerdy references, get a big kick out of sarcasm/smart assery, and can't get enough of genre satire. So I'd say that for at least 1/2 of Community episodes, I feel like they are written especially for me. Community is set at fictional Greendale Community College, and features a diverse and ridiculous study group originally formed to allow Jeff (Joel McHale) to hit on Britta (Gillian Jacobs) but that over the course of the series becomes a close-knit group of people surviving the ridiculous situations and characters of Greendale Community College together. Community episodes often have a "theme" in which they brilliantly and succinctly send-up a genre or movie (season 2 featured a Star Wars episode, a Western episode, an Apollo 13/Right Stuff episode, a Zombie episode, and a claymation Christmas episode to name a few) and needless to say, that's right in my wheelhouse. Very much like Parks and Recreation, the actors and characters share a strong like for one another that really allows you to get invested in their relationships and the emotions of a particular episode despite the under/overlying preposterousness of what may be going on. The study group, consisting of Jeff, Britta, Annie, Shirley, Pierce, Abed and Troy, along with many recurring characters, get closer as the show progresses (well, Pierce takes a villain turn, but it works), and I feel that Community has gotten stronger through every episode. Every episode rather copiously references Popular Culture, particularly through Abed, and I can't get enough. Community may well be my favorite SHOW on tv, not just comedy. Season 3 of Community (I can't believe it's gotten a third season) premieres on Thursday, September 22 at 8 PM. If you're keeping track at home, that means that Community, Parks and Rec, Always Sunny and Archer will all be airing on Sept. 22nd. Somewhere, someone's singing "it's the most wonderful time of the year" and it may or may not be me.