Final Post for 2013

Well, so much for getting around to some of the stuff in my inbox. I decided to get better about it, then I just went on being every bit as bad as I was before. It has become painfully obvious that if I get back on track with writing reviews, it isn't going to happen this year. I'm only in Las Vegas for a couple more days (which will be busy ones) before I head to Ohio for Christmas, and I'll be gone until around the start of January. Since I'm not going to spend my Christmas vacation with my family reviewing albums that I couldn't be arsed to review so far, what puny amount of output I've generated so far is going to be it for 2013.

I'm not even going to write any end-of-year lists, because frankly I've been so horrible about keeping up with new releases this year that even a simple top 10 would be utterly meaningless. I will say, however, that my favorite metal album of the year, almost by default, is Vexovoid  by Portal.

In 2013 this blog hit two milestones. Firstly, I reached 25,000 views. I'm sure a big chunk of that is referral spam, but I'm going to pretend like I don't know that. Secondly, I recently made my 500th post. That's not a terribly impressive amount of output compared with some people, but it does show that I've spent a pretty good amount of time producing content for this blog over the past almost-three-years.

Anyway, that's it for me in 2013. I haven't posted much, but that is largely because it's been a very eventful year for me in real life. I won't sit here making excuses, though. See you on the other side.

My Top 50 Favorite Movies Part 5 (The Top 10)

Okay, time for the 5th and final installment, where I finally reveal my 10 favorite films. Pretty exciting, huh? I know it's not, but I'm going to act like it is anyway.

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#10. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Yes, the gay cowboy movie. I don't care what anybody says, as much as I hate cowboys I still think this is a great romance. Brokeback Mountain's reputation has taken on a life of its own, one which has largely overshadowed the film itself. Sadly, this has tended to distract people from the fact that this is a touching human drama filled with top-notch performances by a strong cast. This is one of those movies that has been subjected to tons of analysis from film schools, so I'm not going to heap more onto that pile. The simple truth is that I have loved this movie since the first time I saw it, and that's all that matters to me.





 
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My Top 50 Favorite Movies Part 4

Part 4 is here now, bringing you numbers 11-20 on the list of my all-time favorite movies. Hooray!

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#20. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

England's notorious street artist Banksy is just about the only contemporary painter who I give a crap about on any level. In large part, that's because he so thoroughly recognizes the absurdly pretentious train wreck of today's art scene for what it is, and he never fails to cut through the crap. Enter Exit Through the Gift Shop, a maybe-it's-real documentary about street art that centers on the rise of a figure known as Mr. Brainwash. It dissects the hollow, bloated, trend-happy art world with brutal precision, and it does so with a story that may or may not even be true. If it's real, this is one of the most brilliant documentaries I've ever seen. If it's a hoax, then it's equally brilliant and even more elaborate. Imagine having to seriously debate whether or not This is Spinal Tap was fictional. In other words, the simple fact that nobody seems to know for sure speaks volumes about the subject matter all by itself.

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My Top 50 Favorite Movies Part 3

Part 3. Movies 21-30. Yay!

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#30. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Like I said, I really enjoy found footage horror films. This may not have been the first entry into the genre, but it blew the doors open and changed the face of horror in a way that few films ever have. More importantly, it's a movie that demonstrated an understanding of subtlety. So many horror films try to smash you in the face with buckets of blood and gore and monsters, ignoring the power of the unknown. I've heard a few people complain that they don't really go out and "show anything" in this movie, but if I'm being honest I tend to think of that as a very simple-minded complaint. Maybe I'm just being mean to people who disagree with me, but that's what I think.





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My Top 50 Favorite Movies Part 2

Alright, this post will cover numbers 31-40 of my 50 favorite films. Enjoy.

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#40. Rubber (2010)

I've often said that, for better or for worse, if I were to write and direct a full-length film it would probably be a lot like Rubber. This off-beat French comedy-horror about a killer tire with psychic powers is weird, disjointed, and really kind of stupid. Many elements don't make much sense at all, but it's pretty apparent that this detachment from reality is deliberate (I mean, how seriously can a movie about a killer tire really take itself). This isn't the same kind of unrealistic twist you get in a lot of comedies where things are just comically exaggerated, it's something else entirely. Anyhow, it's a wonderfully original effort, which is something I really prize in a movie. I feel like this is one that most people wouldn't like, but I thoroughly enjoy it. Besides, it's my list and I don't care what people say about it. So yeah, take that, imaginary critics.
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My Top 50 Favorite Movies Part 1

Inspired by a series my brother has been posting on his blog, I've decided to copy him and post a list of my 50 favorite films of all time. Also like him, I'm going to post them 10 at a time. So this, the first installment, will cover numbers 41-50. I'd also like to briefly list off the names that I honestly thought would make the list (or that I really wanted to include) but which just didn't make the cut.

Honorable Mentions:

Cloverfield - Annie Hall - The Trip - Napolean Dynamite - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Until the Light Takes Us -
Midnight in Paris - Jaws - Training Day - Hannah and Her Sisters - The Avengers - Finding Nemo -
Scream - Bronson - The Graduate - The Swimmer - City Lights - It's a Wonderful Life - Ink -
Gangs of New York - The Truman Show - Evil Dead II - A Clockwork Orange - American Beauty

I would also like to give extra special mention to Citizen Kane and The Godfather, because while both are great movies that I genuinely enjoy, I decided to leave them off the list. This isn't a "greatest movies of all time" post, and those two don't need me to help promote them.

Okay, with those names out of the way, it's time for the actual list.