Happy New Year, Part II

So far I've seen exactly half of the 100 top-grossing movies released in 2009. But did I accomplish of any of my entertainment resolutions listed on my 1/1/09 post? Uh, no, not one of them: "shorter, more personal (blog) posts . . . switching to (digital comic subscriptions) . . . taking my time with just classic (movies) . . . return to Coachella . . . avoiding Showtime series." In my own defense, I have to say that I almost quit blogging a couple times this year, so the few long-winded posts I wrote must be better than no posts at all. Completely giving up new comics beats switching to digital. And while I didn't make it to Coachella, I did go to San Diego Street Scene for the first time. Here are my highlights from 2009, along with my New Year's resolutions for entertainment in 2010:

My Favorite Blog Post I Wrote - my movie review of Taken (5/14/09); second place goes to "My Defintion of Art" (2/2/09) and third place is "My Comics Timeline" (8/12/09)

My Blogging Resolution - include more family-related posts

My Favorite Non-New Release Book I Read for the First Time (for new releases, click on my "Books" label to the right to find lists of books I'd be interested in reading at some, any of which would make great gifts) - The Time-Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (2004; read my 7/20/09 review); second place goes to Education of a Wandering Man, by Louis L'amour (1990) and third place is Marvel Comics' Cloak and Dagger limited series (1983)

My Book-Reading Resolution - to not buy another book (or comic) until I've read all the ones I already own

My Favorite Non-New Release Movie I Saw for the First Time (for new releases, see my "Ten Best" and "Ten Worst" lists below) - Notting Hill (1999); second place goes to The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) and third place is And Then There Were None (1945; read my 2/17/09 review)

My Movie-Watching Resolution - cut back to two per week (my "31 Days of Halloween" movie review marathon almost killed me, but I had to see if I could do it)

My Favorite Non-New Release Songs I Rediscovered (for new releases, see my "Ten Best" list below) - "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby (1986); second place goes to "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" by Willie Nelson (1975) and third place is "Both Sides, Now" by Joni Mitchell (1969)

My Music-Listening Resolution - familiarizing myself with 20th-century classical composers (I got a Christmas gift to help with this: Alex Ross' book The Rest Is Noise, which has an accompanying website of the same name)

My Favorite TV Show I Continued Following - The Big Bang Theory (Season Two on DVD); second place goes to 30 Rock (Season Three on DVD) and third place is... a tie! Dexter and Weeds (both Season Three on DVD, I went back on my New Year's resolution because Comic-Con made them look so good)

My TV-Viewing Resolution - since I don't have cable or even HDTV, I'm going to switch this entertainment category from last year to physical exercise, as I've set a goal to cut my time running the mile in half

Ten Best New Movies I've Seen So Far from 2009 (in order of personal significance; I still look forward to watching Bandslam, An Education, Moon, The Road and Whip It!)

1. Star Trek - The Dark Knight of this year, in that it had everything: action, comedy, romance, special effects and star power; read my 5/7/09 review

2. Every Little Step - this year's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for having the most humanity of any release; read my 5/28/09 review

3. District 9 - as with Iron Man, I knew it was going to be more than a genre movie before I ever saw any marketing for it; read my 8/14/09 review

4. It Might Get Loud - this caps off a long line of excellent documentaries from this past decade: Michael Jordan to the Max (2000), Scratch (2001), Spellbound (2002), Winged Migration (2003), Riding Giants (2004), Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005), Who The #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? (2006), The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) and Religulous (2008); no, I'm not including Al Gore, Michael Moore or penguins

5. The Princess and the Frog - I was skeptical when I first saw the trailer, just like I was with Kung Fu Panda, but my wife loves both movies and now so do I; read my 12/11/09 review

6. Zombieland - this year's Gran Torino, for the odd couple factor, oh, and lots of profanity and black comedy; read my 10/3/09 review

7. The Hurt Locker - the Redbelt of this year, in that I missed both movies upon their theatrical releases but I always felt good about them, and both have the most suspense and tension; read my 12/18/09 review

8. Paranormal Activity - as with Let the Right One In, I read the press and knew I had to see it no matter what; yes, I participated in the grassroots bidding for it to be brought to my city; read my 10/23/09 review

9. Fast and Furious - just like with Quantum of Solace, I don't care what none of y'all say

10. The Blind Side - no, I haven't seen it yet but if the trailer can bring me to tears, how bad can the movie be?

Ten Worst New Movies I Actually Saw from 2009 (in order of offensiveness; keep in mind that I kinda liked Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Terminator: Salvation, Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail, The Last House on the Left and Where the Wild Things Are)

1. Coraline - granted, I didn't like the book it was based on, but I was hoping the movie adaptation was going to improve on things, not worsen them; I hated the look, the sound, the taste, the smell and the feel

2. Sunshine Cleaning - I used to like Amy Adams and Emily Blunt; they're the reasons I watched this depressing, depressing, depressing ripoff of Little Miss Sunshine; now they depress me

3. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - I went in with low expectations and they still weren't met; as a fan of the toys, I feel so betrayed by what they did with Cobra Commander, even more than I was about Deadpool on X-Men Origins: Wolverine

4. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 - the cheesiest effects and scene transitions; everyone's a bad guy; lame ending

5. Blood: The Last Vampire - despite blood that looked like coffee beans, this live-action remake of the progressive anime started out faithful; then the mythology got progressively cheesier till I considered walking out

6. Halloween II - I hate it on the Spider-Man movie series how they're always breaking one of his eyeholes to show the man under the mask; here they do the same but also try to explain his relationships with his mother, his sister, his shrink, himself, with dogs...; read my 10/29/09 review

7. The Soloist - unfortunately I watched a lot of boring movies this year (Watchmen, The Merry Gentleman, The International, The Brothers Bloom and even the Cannes Film Festival winner, The Class - there, I said it) but this most boring one made me realize that the number of times you reach for the remote control to fast-forward is a form of measurement; read my 8/7/09 review

8. The Proposal - only deserves one star for the beautiful Alaskan wilderness; worse than EVERY other romantic comedy this year: The Accidental Husband, He's Just Not That Into You, Management, New in Town, The Ugly Truth and while I didn't see them, I'm sure it was worse than either Bride Wars or Confessions of a Shopaholic; it settles for an interoffice relationship that requires total suspension of disbelief, random outbursts of singing, raunchy old folks, nude slapstick (plus a fat male stripper) and an unsuccessful final chase scene which delays the inevitable, yet still awkward "proposal"

9. Fanboys - not funny

10. (500) Days of Summer - yes, I gave it four stars but at the same time it REALLY bothers me

Ten Best New Songs I Heard from 2009

1. "Can't Stop Now (feat. Jovi Rockwell and Mr. Vegas)" - Major Lazer (June 16)
2. "Feel.Love.Thinking.Of. (Mexicans with Guns Remix)" - Faunts (March 10)
3. "Feel It All Around" - Washed Out (September 8)
4. "Day In - Day Out (Produced by Cut Chemist)" - Nat "King" Cole (March 10)
5. "Rose of Jericho" - BT (June 30)
6. "Look Into the Heart Now" - Clark (July 13)
7. "Slow Poison" - The Bravery (September 22)
8. "Burial" - Miike Snow (September 22)
9. "Sweet Disposition" - The Temper Trap (September 16)
10. "Kings and Queens" - 30 Seconds to Mars (October 13)