Best of the Year/Decade: Part 1

Like many others, I’m making up a “best of the year/decade” list for movies, TV, and other geeky things. I realized halfway through that it was getting pretty massive, so I thought I’d better split it up. Here’s the first half, and the second will be on its way later.

MOVIES:
Best movie experience of the decade: The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was never big into the world of LOTR before the movies, and they did a wonderful job of allowing me to feel welcome in that world with little previous knowledge.

Best adaptation of a book series that made me run to the library to check out the books: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Again, I knew little about the series and the first movie made me a fan. Yes, I even stood in line at midnight once to get a book. No, I wasn’t the oldest person there.

Best thing to happen in the film industry: Pixar. They’ve been called the best animation studio, but by this point they’re the best film studio in the country, period. Not only do they create films that are hits with critics and viewers alike, they’re also pushing themselves to create stories with timeless themes and subversive plots. Who else would use a cooking rat to comment on the Disney “cheapquels,” or superpowered kids to get in a pointed jab about rewarding mediocrity? At the very least, Pixar has helped quash the notion of animation as a medium for children.

Worst movie of 2009 I’ll admit to watching: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. There may have been worse movies but only one of them was nothing but explosions and ugly CGI for the run of the film. Add the demeaning portrayal of women and the fact that it was two and a half hours (Fellowship of the Ring was a mere 20 minutes longer and was certified 100% Megan Fox-free), and suddenly we’re all nostalgic about the good old days when a Transformers movie meant killing off half the cast.

Most obvious movie gimmick of 2009: 3D. Ten years ago I saw Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3D, complete with the silly glasses. Nowadays the glasses are a little different, but they still look like something Luna Lovegood would wear. Up, the new Ice Age movie, and Coraline were all released in 3D, with the Toy Story movies re-released as 3D films. With the obvious exception of Avatar, most of the 3D movies released in 2009 used the extra dimension to add a little to the experience, but it was never anything essential or amazing. Rumor has it that Star Wars will be re-released (again) with 3D effects, allowing us to fully take in Jabba the Hut’s girth and the depths of the Sarlacc.

(By the way, did you know The Three Stooges did a few films in 3D? Yup. Moe slapping a mouse trap on Shemp’s tongue never truly connected with me before I saw this.)

Best Christian film of the decade: The Second Chance. Director Steve Taylor hesitated using the term “Christian Movie” for a few reasons, the most obvious being the cut-rate and utilitarian qualities of many other films that get saddled with the term. However, The Second Chance avoids most of the these trappings with the story of a white, privileged pastor’s son and a black pastor of a disheveled inner city church forced to work together. Other trappings, such as the “Magical Negro” and the Great White Hope are missing, too, as well as the men revealing themselves to both be Christ-like at times, jerks at other times. By the end, all of the endings aren’t happy, a prayer doesn’t make everything better in a few minutes, and we’re left with a story of reconciliation that may not save the day.

Worst movie I snuck out of in the 2000s to watch a far better film: I went to a discount theater a few years back to check and see if Fantastic Four was as bad as everyone was saying. After a few minutes of clunky exposition and stiff acting from Jessica Alba, I remembered that I could watch Batman Begins again just a theater over. Much better.

Most notable movie trend that seemed to end in the 2000s: Remember when network TV getting the rights to a movie was a huge deal? When’s the last time network TV showed a recent movie on television and hyped it endlessly? For that matter, what’s the last made-for-TV movie you saw on a major network? DVD and cable seem to have taken the surprise out of seeing a favorite movie on television these days.

Best place to find an old movie: Hulu and Crackle. Searching through their archives will bring you old Sherlock Holmes movies, new documentaries, a handful of classics, and a few other surprises.

TV:
Best TV show to get canceled (that isn’t Firefly): Pushing Daises. This wildly imaginative TV show never got a fair chance, thanks in part to the writer’s strike and a network that didn’t know how to promote it. In a nutshell: a man has the ability to bring things back to life with the touch of his hand. If he doesn’t touch them again within a minute (again killing the person) another nearby similar being dies. The only people who know this are a local PI who caught in him in the act and his love interest whom he revived after hearing of her death on the news. Visually, it’s a stunning series that Tim Burton would be proud of. Storywise, it was filled with over-the-top mysteries and the story of a couple in love who cannot touch each other. It was funny, touching, brilliant, and one of the best things to come out on TV in the past decade — and it didn’t last 20 episodes.

Favorite TV show of the decade: Veronica Mars. This critical darling came out of nowhere on the fading UPN network to present one of the best twists on an old standby in years: a teenage sleuth earning her money solving the problems of her peers. Unlike most other teen shows, Veronica Mars seems to be aimed at people much older, and likely that demographic that couldn’t wait for the melodrama and caste system of high school to end. The show’s first season centered around Veronica’s mission to find out who killed her best friend, and her PI father’s reluctance to see his little girl forced to grow up so jaded.

Unfortunately when the CW was formed, Veronica Mars got saddled as “teen drama,” and it was forced to make a number of chances to cater to a younger demographic. Even a group of teenage girls came out between breaks to talk about how much their lives were like Veronica’s. It didn’t work, and the series ended after 3 years.

Most enjoyable TV show that fell apart after one season: Heroes. You can blame the writer’s strike for the abrupt second season, but they have little excuse for wasting their subsequent seasons on meandering plots and making their characters unlikeable. It’s hard to believe that geekdom was genuinely excited about this show when it aired, since it took less than two years to lose the charm and wonder of the characters and situations. As it stands now, Heroes is “on the bubble” for a renewal for a fifth year, but with fan interest and ratings at a low point NBC may decide to pass.

Best TV show that I didn’t get around to watching: LOST. I know, I know. I’ve heard that I’m missing out. I’ll get to it someday, I’m sure.

TV show I got really excited about and then got bored during the first episode: AMC’s remake of The Prisoner. Sorry, but it just seemed so lackluster after the original. Whereas Patrick McGoohan was indignant, Jim Caviezel was just whiny. Ian McKellan was good as Number 2, but you never got the feeling that he felt Number 6 was an equal, if not someone who could be intimidating. In a decade filled with remakes, this would be one where it’s probably best to seek out the original.

Best trend in TV: Online viewing options. The 2000s were the decade when traditional media was dragged kicking and screaming onto the internet. It’s certainly not over yet (see below), but for the moment it’s never been easier to catch up on a favorite TV show or to discover a new one.

Worst trend in TV: Reality television taking over cable, networks, the internet, and the news. Remember the good old days when no one knew who Paris Hilton was, or who Kim Kardashian and her siblings were? As much as people like to think of the 2000s as the decade that brought us Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and Mad Men, it’s also the decade that brought us the show where people ate rats thrown in a blender. Andy Warhol’s comment about 15 minutes of fame seems to be more relevant every year.

Most foreboding trends in TV: Threatening to limit online viewing, and threatening to end over-the-air networks. As soon as Hulu was open to the public, those behind it have threatened to start charging. Others are threatening to pull programming from their own sites. Meanwhile, the entire over-the-air network TV structure may be falling apart. The claim is that one of the major networks may be cable-only sooner than later and if they can save money that way, expect others to take a chance.

That’ll do it for now, but stay tuned for part two. In the meantime, sound off about your choices and opinions in some of these categories, especially if you disagree with mine!