The First Annual pop*creep Year-End Best Of

Hello, this is your friendly neighborhood pop*creep dropping by for what has turned out to be one of my very rare visits. The rarity of said "visits" may in fact be a gift bestowed upon you, dear (and likely to be singular) reader by the Internet Gods.

Be that as it may, I have decided to crawl from beneath the protective covering of my favorite red hoodie, cuddle deep within the cushions of my couch, crack open some containers of delivery curry, and present to you the First Ever pop*creep Year End Best Of.

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Let's start this thing nice and easy with:

The Written Word

I didn't read many books in 2007, and the books that I did read were published before 2000. That said, there shall be no "best book" this year.

I did however read Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8 religiously this year. It may not have been the Snooty McSnooterson Best Comic EVER, but it has consistently been enjoyable, most notably a four issue series written by Y's Brian K. Vaughn (he also writes for Lost). The series may not be 100% enjoyable for non-Scoobies, but it is certainly worth a peek.


I spend a lot of time waiting for phones to ring at one of my jobs. This means I spent a lot of time on the internet reading blogs (which, unlike pop*creep are generally updated on a daily basis).

These were the blogs I visited most frequently in 2007

Jezebel
Go Fug Yourself
Defamer
The A.V. Club
Idolator


Yes Gawker Media, you win again.

Webcomics of Note

Married to the Sea
Questionable Content
American Elf

Best Tribute Video



Film

I see a lot of movies. I mean, a lot. Usually about two a week. The fact that 2007 was an exceptional year for film doesn't make narrowing things down all that simple.

Let's go by genre:

Drama

Atonement: This adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel is nothing short of haunting. It is sexy, gorgeous and brooding. Actually, no... that's just James McAvoy. Let's face it, no one could quite match his brood-osity this year (seriously, here he is in Becoming Jane ... I watched so you didn't have to). You've come a long way, Mr. Tumnus. I digress. I DID enjoy the film for non-McAvoy reasons. Joe Wright is able to turn a brief tryst in a library into the hottest love scene of the year - even though Mr. McAvoy has gone on record as saying it was the most uncomfortable sex scene he'd ever filmed. Ah, celluloid... how you make the lies so very pretty.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: Another adaptation done astoundingly well. The film stars Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck as the titular assassinated and assasin respectively. I actually saw this film twice - all 160 minutes of it. Everything is just spot on, and I really can't say enough about this film. You need to see it, if only because Nick Cave has a hilarious cameo...

Control: A fine film about Ian Curtis and Joy Division rendered in marvelous inky black and white. Heavy, poetic, and redolent of sorrow. Tough to watch if you've lost someone to such circumstances.

Comedy

Lars and the Real Girl: When I first read that this film was being made, my jaw hit the floor. I have a strange fascination with Real Dolls, and I have for a few years now. I couldn't believe that someone had written a screenplay on the topic, let alone that people seemed to be taking it SERIOUSLY. When the film finally opened in Boston in October what I saw was by far one of the most touching stories of the year. If Ryan Gosling isn't nominated for an Oscar for this film, it is a damn shame. His portrayal of Lars is nothing but sensitive and genuine.

Juno: A lot has already been made of Juno. I know that it will inevitably become dated and over-quoted, but for now let's just enjoy it for what it is: A great, hilarious comedy about what it is like to be 16, cynical, and knocked up. Finally, there's a teen girl in film I can relate to ( at least the cynical part) - too bad she popped up a decade too late. Yes, a lot of the film is "precious", but it is worth seeing just for how it portrays aging gen-Xers.

Documentary

SiCKO: Oh Micheal Moore... there you go again with the provocation and the selective fact-sharing. Except for this time you're doin' it for a good cause. We all know that the American healthcare system is nothing short of a joke, but you've made it more apparent, and more urgent. Good on you. Keep it up.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters: This is actually probably my favorite film of 2007. I don't really care about arcade games... but I care about Steve Wiebe. This film did not make the shortlist for the Oscars. Seriously, what is the Academy smoking?

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Sunshine: Danny Boyle is a genre-hopping genius. Some folk had bones to pick with this somewhat flawed film. Yeah, the science wasn't sound. There were plot holes. But fucking hell, what a gorgeous film. Underworld did a wonderful job with the score as well. I am looking forward to the DVD release so I can figure out how the hell the FX were pulled off.

The Golden Compass: You know what? It wasn't that great... but I loved every second of it. It is a shame that the Church had to go and get up in everyon'es grill about the God stuff... we all know they're just not down with Phillip Pullman's outspokenness on his atheism. Whatever, Fun movie. Will look great next to my Narnia special edition.

Bad FIlms
La Vie En Rose: Over-rated crap-fest of a movie. BORING.
Interview: Painful to watch, horrid characters. Let's hope Buscemi's next effort is more appealing.
I Am Legend: I got food poisoning and almost passed out half-way through the film. I chose to blame it and not the broccoli I consumed beforehand.
The Ten: Really just not that funny. I expected more from you, Paul Rudd and former cast members of the State.
Spider-Man 3: Oh, that one just hurt.
Evan Almighty: I saw this on a bus. 'Nuff said.

Music

Albums
1. Arcade Fire Neon Bible
2. Blonde Redhead 23
3. The National Boxer
4. Nine Inch Nails Year Zero and Year Zero Remixed
5. Patrick Wolf The Magic Position
6. Modest Mouse We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
7. PJ Harvey White Chalk

Live

Arcade Fire: Boston, Orpheum
Neil Young: Boston, Orpheum
Aqueduct: Cambridge, Middle East Upstairs
Modest Mouse/Man Man: Boston, Orpheum
Sxip's Hour of Charm (week two): Cambridge, Zero Arrow Theater
Mew: Boston, Paradise

And: I assume that the Decemberists would have been fucking incredible. I had tickets to both nights of the Long of it and Short of it tour, but it was canceled due to illness. I hope that whoever was ill is on the mend.

TV
I do not have cable - I have rent! I did however get some television viewing in before the WGA strike.
-Heroes sort of blew this year, but Tim Kring (creator) agrees, and he promises to try harder next time. Yay!
- PBS's The War was pretty awesome. Not that anything Ken Burn's does is short of awesome. Except for his hair. Seriously.
-Remember when Lost was on? You know, aside from that whole fertility plot line, it wasn't that wretched.
-You know what show was amazing? Andy Barker, P.I.. Obviously it was destined for cancellation from the get-go. Come on, anything produced by Conan O'Brien and starring Andy Richter is way too good to be true. Let's hope for a DVD release.



That, thankfully, is all I've got dear exhausted reader. Hopefully 2008 will bring me more time for writing projects like this one.