Back in the old days of the Notes, I used to write a lot more about music, movies, and books, and I would every so often post updated lists of my absolute favorites of things. Not due to any pressing interest from the public, of course–mostly just because it’s fun for me, and also because having such a blog post can be quite handy during discussions online; I can just link someone to the entry to aid in a discussion of favorites.
Of course this is not to be confused with my annual “Favorite Music” list, where I detail my favorite music released in the previous calendar year; these lists detail my current all-time favorites, which are (like yours, of course) constantly changing.
Looking back at my entries, it appears as though I haven’t done a big posting of lists since 2012, so I’ll make this one fairly comprehensive. All of these lists have changed since 2012–some very little, some quite dramatically:
My top ten favorite poets
10. Jane Kenyon
9. Robert Creeley
8. William Carlos Williams
7. Sylvia Plath
6. Billy Collins
5. Denise Levertov
4. E.E. Cummings
3. Philip Levine
2. John Updike
1. Philip Larkin
My top 10 favorite film directors
10. Federico Fellini
9. Sidney Lumet
8. Alejandro Inarritu
7. Christopher Nolan
6. Paul Thomas Anderson
5. Alfonso Cuaron
4. Stanley Kubrick
3. Werner Herzog
2. Alfred Hitchcock
1. Terrence Malick
My top ten bands
10. This Will Destroy You
9. My Morning Jacket
8. Godspeed You! Black Emperor
7. Radiohead
6. Seven Mary Three
5. Hey Rosetta!
4. The National
3. Band of Horses
2. Modest Mouse
1. Arcade Fire
My top ten music solo artists
10. Tracy Chapman
9. Ray LaMontagne
8. Father John Misty
7. Leonard Cohen
6. Jim James
5. Nina Simone
4. Willis Earl Beal
3. Emily Wells
2. Paul Simon
1. Neil Young
My top ten favorite (non-documentary) movies
10. Citizen Kane
9. Night of the Hunter
8. Fitzcarraldo
7. Magnolia
6. The Trouble with Harry
5. Children of Men
4. Where the Wild Things Are
3. The Thin Red Line
2. I’m Still Here
1. The Tree of Life
My ten favorite novelists
10. Malcolm Lowry
9. John Steinbeck
8. Isaac Asimov
7. Ernest Hemingway
6. Oscar Wilde
5. Kurt Vonnegut
4. Mark Twain
3. David Mitchell
2. Don DeLillo
1. Dave Eggers
My top twenty favorite books (any genre, fiction or nonfiction)
20. “A Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole
19. “Slade House” by David Mitchell
18. “The Terror” by Dan Simmons
17. “You Shall Know Our Velocity” by Dave Eggers
16. “Point Omega” by Don DeLillo
15. “Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell
14. “Fallen Founder” by Nancy Isenberg
13. “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde
12. “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
11. “Under the Volcano” by Malcolm Lowry
10. “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” by Dave Eggers
9. “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway
8. “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut
7. “Dubliners” by James Joyce
6. “Letters From the Earth” by Mark Twain
5. “White Noise” by Don DeLillo
4. “Endurance” by Alfred Lansing
3. “Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever?” by Dave Eggers
2. “Into the Wild” by John Krakauer
1. “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
My top twenty favorite albums
20. “Funeral” by Arcade Fire
19. “Nobody Knows” by Willis Earl Beal
18. “High Violet” by The National
17. “The Battle of Los Angeles” by Rage Against the Machine
16. “Swamp Ophelia” by Indigo Girls
15. “Mirrorball” by Neil Young
14. “Dis/Location” by Seven Mary Three
13. “Abbey Road” by The Beatles
12. “Graceland” by Paul Simon
11. “Bitches Brew” by Miles Davis
10. “‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
9. “Kid A” by Radiohead
8. “Strangers to Ourselves” by Modest Mouse
7. “This Will Destroy You” by This Will Destroy You
6. “Time Out” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet
5. “Secret Samadhi” by LIVE
4. “Infinite Arms” by Band of Horses
3. “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire
2. “RockCrown” by Seven Mary Three
1. “Into Your Lungs (and Around in Your Heart and On Through Your Blood)” by Hey Rosetta!
My top five composers
5. Philip Glass
4. Cliff Martinez
3. Hans Zimmer
2. Felix Mendelssohn
1. Carl Nielsen
My top ten painters
10. Edgar Degas
9. George Bellows
8. Mark Rothko
7. Johannes Vermeer
6. Mary Cassatt
5. Maurice Prendergast
4. Thomas Eakins
3. Henri Rousseau
2. Andrew Wyeth
1. John Sloan
I fell in love with the band Arcade Fire via their debut album Funeral around 2007, a full two years before their song “Wake Up” (from the Funeral album) would be used to much ballyhoo in the trailer for the film “Where the Wild Things Are”, which would be my favorite movie of all-time from 2009-2011. My point here is, “Wake Up” has been a major force in my life even before that famous trailer (one of two trailers to be able to move me to tears by force of trailer alone…the other one was this one).
“Wake Up”‘s lyrics are, admittedly, a little sophomoric. They talk about how much it sucks to grow up (which it kinda does), and lyricist Win Butler may approach the subject just a bit too simply, but the emotion-drenched music and delivery transform the simple words into a towering screed of sorrow and triumph.
I have included only the live version, because it is all you need:
Well, it is finally time to announce my favorite movies of 2009. I have to do it today, because the Oscar nominations get announced tomorrow and I don’t want to be affected by that.
There are alot of movies I wish I’d gotten to see before making this list. They include: “Crazy Heart”, “A Single Man”, “The Last Station”, “The Messenger” and “The Lovely Bones”, among others. Even without having seen those, I still was unable to narrow my list down to 10 (I don’t know how those real critics do it!)—and remember, this is without any documentaries!
Stay tuned after the list for a brief list of I don’t understand why everyone loved these movies movies, as well as a run-down of every movie I saw in theaters this year. Without further ado, my list:
15. Lymelife
A nice melding of Ang Lee’s “The Ice Storm” and David Green’s “Snow Angels”, it would be easy to dismiss “Lymelife” as just another tart exploration of the American Dream gone bad. And that’s what it is, but I really am a sucker for this sub-genre.
14. Sunshine Cleaning
Three cheers for great roles for women, please! Funny, heartbreaking, multi-faceted, important roles for women!
13. Precious
I’ll tell ya, you gotta work really hard to make me identify with an obese, inner-city illiterate black girl. But “Precious” manages it. Quite a few times throughout the movie, I thought to myself–I’ve been there. Quite an accomplishment considering, in the literal sense, I’d been nowhere near there at all. Major kudos for using the micro to show the macro.
12. An Education
A lot of attention is being heaped on Carey Mulligan’s performance—and it IS great—but being mostly ignored is Peter Sarsgaard, who has the ungratifying role of the conflicted rogue. Unexpectedly, I ended up feeling as bad for him as I did for Mulligan. Here’s a good Sarsgaard clip. Watch how he acts with his face:
11. Up in the Air
George Clooney. Jason Reitman. Jason Bateman. Sam Eliot. Zack Galifinakis. Vera Farmiga. Danny McBride. Anna Kendrick. OK?
It would be possible to watch “Away We Go” and think that nothing much happens. And, to an extent, you’d be right. It’s a quiet little movie about the simple complexities of a romance—and part of the fun of watching it quietly unfold is the knowledge that the people behind the film are not who you’d have expected to make “Away We Go” (Sam Mendes and Dave Eggers), and that makes it all the more surprising in it’s simplicity.
8. Inglourious Basterds
Tarantino. Nazis. Fake history. Long dialogue patches followed by bursts of action and violence. Tasty.
7. Drag me to Hell
I know, I know—not exactly typical year-end best-of list material. But I can’t remember the last time I saw a horror movie that so perfectly balanced it’s tone, and knew precisely what it wanted to be. And the final scene—and the look on Justin Long’s face—won’t be leaving me any time soon. Harrowing, yet slightly…funny. (on purpose)
6. The Road
I read the book. I loved it. Then Mary read the book and hated it (for stylistic purposes, not plot). She convinced me. Now the book annoys me, too. But I still had great affection for the plot (plus Nick Cave did the soundtrack!), so I still eagerly attended the film. And it is amazing. Visually, aurally, emotionally, performancely. (<—haha) A tender, sweeping mini-epic. Watch some clips.
5. A Serious Man
The Coen brothers’ latest effort had me on unsure footing for most of the film. Was this good? What was this about? Was this a rejected episode of Freaks and Geeks? Then, the final two sequences (about 4 minutes of film) happened, the credits rolled, and I was left, jaw agape, until the theater lights came up. Those two sequences retroactively inform the entire film preceeding it in a way that is the indie drama equivalent to the twist ending of The Sixth Sense. Spellbinding.
As far as I’m concerned, this is the overlooked movie of the year. No one famous is attached to it, and not much happens—though what does happen, I really shouldn’t say. The main conceit of the film is, of itself, a considerable spoiler (and yes, this film has a release date in 2008, but it didn’t commercially release until 2009). If I were a member of the Academy (why aren’t I?), Red West and Souleymane Sy Savane would both be up for Best Actor awards. I implore you to watch it if the opportunity ever presents itself.
2. (500) Days of Summer
I avoided this one for quite some time. I thought it looked like Garden State but even quirkier (note: I like Garden State). When I finally Netflixed it after it’s DVD release, I was blown away. This is pretty much the ultimate “relationship” movie. It’s not cynical, but it is realistic; Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, this is not. And yet, it is a romantic comedy, just not for idiots. I felt, in turns, uplifted, dispirited, entertained, joyous, reassured, and knowing. It’s still an idealized version of a real romance, which is a lot better than an unreal version of an idealized romance. Once of the first movies I felt compelled to buy on BluRay at full price.
1. Where the Wild Things Are
Pretty much a game-changer for me. Now definitely my favorite movie, period. I really didn’t know movies could be like this, could affect me like this, could be so many different things all at the same time. It’s a polarizing movie—lots of people feel just like me, while an equal amount are just kinda like…”Meh.” Of course, it’s got to be that way. Nothing can hit everyone the same way (and thank goodness, or the world would have stopped the week WtWA was released, for I was a damned mess.) Also, please note that novelist Dave Eggers also wrote this screenplay (in addition to “Away We Go”), so he’d damn well better get recognized for something at this year’s Oscars. Watch the clip:
I Don’t Understand Why Everyone Loved These Movies
1. District 9—seriously, what are you guys watching? This movie is baaaad. It even has a serious—SERIOUS and GLARING—problem with it’s narrative style (switches from first to third person). And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Bad.
2. Avatar—it’s not horrible, but then again, it’s really nothing special. The story is a mish-mash rehash of countless other movies (I could predict the plot without trying, and it hit it’s action beats so predictably, 10 people got up to pee at the same time in the theater I was in), the special effects really aren’t that great, and all the alien-language subtitles are in puke yellow Papyrus font.
3. Julie and Julia—everyone is just loving the shit out of Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Julia Childs, but I found it so impressionist and comical I took the DVD out after 45 minutes.
Movies I Saw in the Theater
My buddy Kyle has been doing this thing for the past few years where he keeps track of every movie he sees in the theater, what the date was, where he saw it, and whether he give sit a thumb up or a thumb down. See Kyle’s 2009 theater movies here. This is another exercise like my 100 Favorite Bands where, you’re right—you have no compelling reason to care about this list, but I, naturally, find it quite compelling, and if you are a heavy theater-goer as I am, I think you’d find doing this quite interesting (and I’d love to read yours next year!) It’s interesting to see the trends (time periods where I favored certain theaters), and you ‘ll even see I go through times when I like to go see movies I know will be bad. Sometimes, I just like being in a movie theater!! These are just for calendar year 2009, so some of my above 15 Favorite movies, which I saw in early 2010, won’t see light of day until next year’s list. In a few instances, I forgot to record the date, so I left it blank rather than hazard a guess. Here it is:
1. Slumdog Millionaire, Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs up
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
3. Happy-Go-Lucky, Carlisle Independent, thumbs down
4. Valkyrie, Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
5. Defiance, Carlisle Regal, thumbs…eh…down, if I have to make a decision
5. Let the Right One In, (1/28), Carlisle Independent, thumbs up
6. Milk, (2/1), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs up
7. Frost/Nixon, (2/1), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs down
8. The Reader, (2/2), Harrisburg Midtown, thumbs up
9. The Wrestler, (2/8) Harrisburg Regal (Hoyts), thumbs up
10. Friday the 13th (2009 version), (2/16), Carlisle Regal, thumbs down
11. The International, (2/26), Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
12. Watchmen, Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
13. Wolverine, Colonial Park 4, thumbs up
14. Star Trek, (5/12), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs up
15. Terminator Salvation, (5/28), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs down
16. Forbidden Lie$, (5/28), Carlisle Independent, thumbs up
17. Night at the Museum 2, (6/1), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs down
18. Drag me to Hell, (6/4), Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
19. Land of the Lost, (6/14), Colonial Park 4, thumbs down
20. Bruno, (6/24), Colonial Park 4, thumbs down initially, recently changed to thumbs up
21. Year One, (7/20), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs down
22. Public Enemies, (7/27), Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
23. Funny People, (8/13), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs down
24. GI Joe, (8/16), Carlisle Regal, thumbs waaay down
25. Inglourious Basterds, (8/24), Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
26. The Hurt Locker, (9/17), Carlisle Independent, thumbs up
27. Zombieland, (10/3), Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
28. Il Divo, (10/4), Carlisle Independent, thumbs up
29. In the Loop, (10/10), Carlisle Independent, thumbs up
30. Surrogates, (10/13), Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
31. Where the Wild Things Are, (10/19), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs up
32. Where the Wild Things Are, (10/20), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs up
33. Capitalism: A Love Story, (10/25), Harrisburg Midtown, thumbs up
34. Where the Wild Things Are, (10/26), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs up
35. The Stepfather, (10/26), Carlisle Regal, thumbs down
36. Where the Wild Things Are, (10/28), Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
37. Paranormal Activity, (10/28), Carlisle Regal, thumbs up
38. The Fourth Kind, (11/9), Flagship Cinemas Mechanicsburg, thumbs down
39. The Box, (11/9), Flagship Cinemas Mechanicsburg, thumbs down
40. A Serious Man, (11/10), Harrisburg Midtown, thumbs up
41. Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, (11/13), Cinema Center of Camp Hill, thumbs up
42. Old Dogs, (12/8), Carlisle Regal, thumbs down
43. Invictus, (12/19), Carlisle Regal, thumbs down
44. The Road, (12/24), Harrisburg Regal (Hoyts), thumbs up
45. Avatar (12/25), Carlisle Regal, thumbs down
Over the past 18 hours, movies and television have taken me to extremes of three very different kinds of human emotions. I am about to just lay down and die! but rather than lay down and die, I thought maybe I’d blog about it.
First, I was laying down to sleep last night in the wee-early morning hours and I was flipping through the channels looking for something to fall asleep to. I came upon a show on MTV2 called “Silent Library”. Have any of you seen/heard of this? I don’t often pay attention to what’s going on on MTV, VH1, etc etc, so this could be old news for all I know. But if you don’t know, here’s the short version: this is a game show where a team of six (young, college-aged males, from the three episodes I watched) people endure humiliating things in a fake library, and get points if they are, as a team, able to endure these things in complete silence. It doesn’t sound like much (and it certainly won’t be hilarious to everybody), but to me, it was pretty much the funniest thing ever. It’s so simple, but so complex. Often, the humilations are funny, but more often than not the funniest thing is watching these guys try not to laugh. I can’t explain it much more than that. Seriously, I am not exaggerating: I laughed harder and longer at the three episodes I watched than any television program I have ever seen.
Please watch this clip. It is so strange! And this one isn’t all that funny, but there’s not alot of “Silent Library” available for streaming and embedding. The funniest part is by far the guys trying not to laugh or make noise…I could watch it all day!
Then, this morning, I went to an early screening of “Where the Wild Things Are”. I don’t want to go on and on about it. I’ll amost certainly be writing and saying much about it in the months to come. But I am fairly certain, after one viewing, it is my favorite movie of all time. That’s right, it is bumping “Magnolia” from its long-held top spot. This movie fucked. me. up. I was a damn mess. Every scene, every frame of this movie, every snippet of dialogue (save for one stupid line uttered by Mark Ruffalo) is dripping with genuine emotion, drenched with a simultaneous joy and sorrow without pretense or pomp. It exists naturally, organically, and it is pure of heart and not without genius. I spent 75% of the movie on the verge of tears, and when they finally came, I absolutely lost my shit. Please, please, do yourself a favor and see this movie in the theater. And forget that you “loved the book when you were a kid”–we all did, OK? The book is twelve sentences. This movie is pretty much a seperate, new piece of work. Please, I implore you, click on this link (embedding was disabled) and watch this short clip of the film.
Then, a few short hours later, I was back at the same theater for “Paranormal Activity”. This is one of the few horror movies that, for me, has survived being over-hyped and lived up to all the press. Even after everything I’ve read about it, and all the scares I already knew about, I found myself utterly engrossed, completely enmeshed in the world of this boyfriend and girlfriend who are experiencing “a haunting”. Now, this is very much in the vein of “Blair Witch”, so if you weren’t into “Blair Witch”, you might not be into “Paranormal Activity”. It is presented as being “real” footage. Hence, there is no music, no fancy editing, etc etc. But if you let yourself be pulled into this reality…holy crap. Trust me, you haven’t seen everything in the commercials and trailers. There are a few really good scares and creepy moments that they have saved for the theatrical experience. I’m pretty sure, as the final scene unfolded, I yelled out “Holy shit!”, but I can’t be sure, because the 20 or so other people I saw it with all yelled something as well. There are no clips available from the movie, but here is the trailer:
So, I’m kinda exhausted and emotionally spent. I never expected any of these three things to be so incredibly effective, but it’s been a great 18 hours! (I did lots of other stuff besides watch things, I swear!)
I’ll tell ya, you gotta work really hard to make me identify with an obese, inner-city illiterate black girl. But “Precious” manages it. Quite a few times throughout the movie, I thought to myself–I’ve been there. Quite an accomplishment considering, in the literal sense, I’d been nowhere near there at all. Major kudos for using the micro to show the macro.
The main conceit of the film is, of itself, a considerable spoiler (and yes, this film has a release date in 2008, but it didn’t commercially release until 2009). If I were a member of the Academy (why aren’t I?), Red West and Souleymane Sy Savane would both be up for Best Actor awards. I implore you to watch it if the opportunity ever presents itself.
Notes From the Fire 
