KV’s Picks for 2008

Quickie: Paramore is featured in CSI Las Vegas, Episode 9 of Season 9!

It’s that time of the year again! The time to reflect on the ups & downs & rights & lefts of the past 12 months, while looking forward to, & taking advantage of, the start of an incoming new year to make inconcrete resolutions in the hope of prematurely reducing our hopeless guilt. Well, this bloke here is immersed in a current mood to come up with completely biased lists to summon up the best of what the year has offered from the entertainment scene. Of course I’m no insider when it comes to the La-la Land industry, so do kindly receive this as something coming from an average everyday dude that just happens to enjoy indulging in movies, music, idiot-box-offerings, & of course (just like any other hot-blooded male species) mighty hot women. Let us not deprive ourselves further of this pleasure, let’s roll out my list of heavily-biased favourite picks from whatever I have seen, listened, enjoyed & been repulsed by for the year 2008.

FILM

Movies of the Year: The Dark Knight, Juno & Iron Man

These 3 (in a particular order) sprang into mind without even the slightest of hesitation. The Dark Knight boasted a great cast performance & an even impossibly greater plot, Juno was the surprise of the year with its cleverly witty take on teenage pregnancy, & Iron Man was supremely satisfying.

Edge-of-your-seat Action Movie: Cloverfield

Love it, or hate it. I don’t care how many people across the globe puked while watching this, because my 2 times in the cinema in the shaky hands of Hud were easily the most mind-blowing, cardiac-arrest-inducing, ball-busting sessions I had this year.

Romance Movie: Definitely, Maybe

With supremely hot gorgeous leading ladies & a darling Abigail Breslin, not even a wimpy Ryan Reynolds could dampen this sweet warm tale narrated with a clever twist.

Comedic Movies: Charlie Wilson’s War, Tropic Thunder & Be Kind Rewind

Since I’ve already mentioned Juno in an earlier category, these 3 stood out most. Charlie Wilson’s War delighted in its light-heart political storyline enthused by hilarious dialogues, it was fun to see the stars making a fool of themselves in Tropic Thunder, & Be Kind Rewind was an amusingly heart-warming ride all the way.

Saddest Cry-your-heart-out Movie: Grace Is Gone

The performance of his life from John Cusack along with an impressive Shélan O’Keefe. This movie’s poignant beauty will stay with you for a long, long time.

Animation Movie: WALL-E

Unique, richly entertaining, touching & big-hearted, along with glorious detailed animations, WALL-E rises above the rest to end up as an animation masterpiece. Everybody together now, Eeevvveee-aaaahh.

Musical Movie: Once

I quote: “Captures the rare chemistry & unforced artistry of two people finding music as well as personal harmony together & we are lucky enough to be there to watch it.” Couldn’t have summed this untraditional musical up better.

Most Over-hyped Movie: Twilight

So-so movie with sizzling chemistry from the leads but horribly laughable special effects.

Most Under-rated Movie: Traitor

A well-paced & extremely complex thriller that leaves viewers with a subjective but realistic afterthought.

Biggest Disappointment Movie: The X-Files: I Want To Believe

The only positive thing about this anti-climatic pancit-ter is seeing Mulder & Scully together onscreen again, making us believe that their legacy (& only that) lives on.

Most Impressive Performance in a Movie: Amy Adams

Adams was the perfect choice for Giselle in Enchanted, & gave her trademark cheerful, sunny, all-round performance that probably saved the entire movie. No easy feat to make a real-life Disney princess convincing!

Hottest Movie Chicks: Anne Hathaway (Agent 99, Get Smart), Camila Belle (Evolet, 10,000 BC) & Mila Kunis (Rachel Jansen, Forgetting Sarah Marshall)

A super-hot super-agent, blue eyes to kill, & a very sexy raspy voice.

Film Soundtrack: The Dark Knight, Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard

Simply stunning, gloriously dark & really, quite spectacular.

Song from a Movie: “Falling Slowly” from Once, Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová

It was beautiful from the moment they sang in the movie first time, & for its simple melody with powerful raw emotion, it sure deserved the Oscar it won.

TELEVISION

Series of the Year: Bones

Very enjoyable, & a great relief sometimes when you don’t have to strain your brain too much while watching a series. The strength lies in the chemistry & performance of the 2 leads, Booth & Brennan, as well as a very entertaining supporting cast.

Most Disappointing Series: Heroes Season 3

The story is going down the jamban, & almost every character (especially Suresh, Hiro & Claire) are getting seriously annoying.

Hottest TV Characters: Lily van der Woodsen (Gossip Girl) & Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Bones)

1 hot mama who is hotter than her hot daughter, & 1 hot female  forensic anthropologist who is obsessed with skeletal remains. Whoa.

MUSIC

Single of the Year: “That’s What You Get”, Paramore

I can’t stop playing this song! Lo-o-ove it!

Album of the Year: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay

Some fresh & more muscular musical arrangements but still with a little of the old Coldplay shine soaring through those anthemic stadium-rock rhythms make this album an undisputed winner.

Video of the Year: “Hallelujah”, Paramore

I told you this list was biased, *grin*. But seriously, this is the perfect Paramore video, furiously interweaving various live & behind-the-scenes clips of the band doing what they do best, performing live.

Surprising Hey-that’s-pretty-darn-good Songs: “Stay”, Estrella & “Gravity”, Sara Bareilles

Estrella deserves their radio success, “Stay” is catchy & simply brilliant (a big hurrah for local music!), & Bareilles’ vocals & musical astuteness shine through in that last track of her album.

Favourite Live Concerts on DVD: Hillsong Live – Saviour King, Avril Lavigne – Live from the Roxy Theatre, &  freaking anything from Paramore live

Brooke Fraser is spectacular in Saviour King Live, Avril was surprisingly good in her subtle Roxy Theatre acoustic concert, & all I want for Christmas is The Final Riot! DVD from Paramore.

Favourite New Artists: Katy Perry & Kate Nash

Katy Perry’s flair & confidence blazes through her sassy & feisty songs, while Kate Nash deserves her skyrocketing success for her exuberant & refreshing beats, charming melodies & that cockney accent.

Over-rated Artists: The Jonas Brothers

I can’t stand their vocals. Enough! I give up.

Most Played Songs on My iTunes: A tie between “Live Your Life”, T.I. feat. Rihanna & “Decode”, Paramore

The official count recorded on iTunes is 48 each. Rihanna’s vocals give that extra oomph to “Live Your Life”, & Paramore, with incredibly outstanding vocals from Hayley, has written a soundtrack song that Twilight is unworthy of.

Most Annoying Replays on Radio: “Soulja Boy”, Crank Dat & “Bubbly”, Colbie Caillat

All those damned “Ohhhhhh!”s from “Soulja Boy” just make me wanna crash my car, & frankly, anything from the ridiculously sugary Caillat is getting on my nerves.

& FINALLY…

Women of the Year: Hayley Nichole Williams & Zooey Claire Deschanel

Yes, I made up this last category for pointless fun. Let’s face it, it is Hayley’s awesome vocals & her bubbly & energetic personality (oh, her flaming hair too) that give Paramore that extra edge, making her an awesome lead vocalist without completely overshadowing her band-mates, instead sharing with them excellent musical & onstage chemistry. Zooey, whom I love for her endearing deadpan onscreen acting & slightly eccentric fashion sense, continues to display her soaring talent through the debut album of She & Him, lending her distinctively charming voice as one half of the duo, that same voice some of us fell in love with in the movie Elf. & really, could you resist those pair of eyes?

Thus come to an end this list, that really serves to please the author himself only, & the year 2008, which began with our former Health Minister ejaculating in humping in a DVD & ending with our Prime Minister announcing his  scheduled premature ejection retirement from the government of this country in 2009. Cheery new year everyone!

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