Rhonda's Favourite Movies

I go to the theatre far less often than I used to since we got a 46 inch TV. So even though I LOVE movies, I often wait until I can get them on DVD and watch them in the comfort of my own living room. This means that my favourite movies of this year may not have been released in 2009, but these are the best movies I watched in 2009:


1. Star Trek – This was a perfect movie in my opinion. The comedic timing, the one-liners, the action, John Cho…loved it all.
2. The Hangover – So, uproarious actually does describe this movie. And the Mike Tyson punch…awesome.
3. Whip It – So I love fringe sports and strong female characters and Ellen Page. I also loved the soundtrack.
4. 500 Days of Summer – Cute, slightly unconventional, Joseph Gordon Levitt is hot now…oops, did I actually write that.
5. The Watchmen – Not what everyone expected, but those were the people who hadn’t read the comic/graphic novel. I did think a lot of what was in the comic was missing, but I still loved the cinematography, the acting, and the characters.
6. Taken – This was an excellent action movie. ‘Nuff said
7. Fired Up – Pure fluff, but funny! And I love cheerleading.
8. Green Lantern: First Flight – This was a great animated movie. It was a great introduction to the Green Lantern world but still drew comic fans in with the action as well.
9. Wall-E – Loved everything about it!
10. Role Models – My gosh, I think I snorted I laughed so much at this movie and I love Paul Rudd.
11. P.S I Love you – Gerard Butler. Geoffrey Dean Morgan. Ireland. A tale about following your dreams and little adventures. This movie was sad and romantic and inspiring.

Tanya, our lists were more different than I thought…but I still see some similarities…

A Year in Music

So, I took a look at your list Rhonda, and came up with my own. Here’s what was playing in heavy rotation in my car and on my iPod this year. While not all of them came out in 2009, they were the ones I was listening to.

Albums
13. New Moon Soundtrack
12. The Pipettes – We are the Pipettes
11. The Donnas – Bitchin’
10. Billy Talent – III
9. Head Automatica – Decadence
8. Jack Johnson – Sleep Through the Static
7. Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
6. Hawksley Workman – Between the Beautifuls
5. The Kooks – Konk
4. Arkells – Jackson Square
3. The Wet Secrets – Rock Fantasy
2. Hawksley Workman – Los Manlicious
1. The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing

Songs (in no particular order)
We Walk – The Ting Tings
Ballad of Hugo Chavez – Arkells
Heads Will Roll – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Battleflag – Lo-Fidelity Allstars
Baby’s Got a Temper – Prodigy
Good Feeling – Violent Femmes
Closer – Kings of Leon
Ulysses – Franz Ferdinand
Bad Boyfriend – Garbage
Wrong – Depeche Mode
All The Trees are Hers – Hawksley Workman
Pins & Needles – Billy Talent
Body of Years – Mother Mother
It’s Been So Long – Horrorpops
Back in your Head – Tegan and Sara
Cross My Heart – Marianas Trench
Blue Light – Bloc Party
Veronica – Elvis Costello
Banshee Song – Gob
Gold Medal – The Donnas
Feathers – Coheed & Cambria
Sway – The Kooks
Sour Cherry – The Kills
The Show – The Surgents
To Lose My Life – White Lies
Something is Not Right With Me – Cold War Kids
Salute Your Solution - The Raconteurs
Another Way to Die - Jack White & Alicia Keys
Love is a First - The Tragically Hip

10 on Tuesday: New Years Resolutions

10 on Tuesday this week is to list your 2010 resolutions. I don't normally have 10 resolutions but I do have some goals that I want to focus on this year and they are:

1. Spend less money on things I don’t need
2. Exercise more often
3. Finish what I start
4. Stop procrastinating
5. Complain less
6. Take a photo every day
7. Get rid of 1/5 of my belongings
8. Don’t accrue any library fines
9. Read 60 or more books (managed 53 last year)
10. Read more non-fiction (at least 10 this year)

Do you have any resolutions?

Year End Lists Continue

I always find it easier to pick my favourite movies than my favourite songs. So, while I try to come up with that list, here is my list of my favourite movies that came out this year.

10. Fast & Furious - just as horrible as the very first one, and that makes it awesome.

9. My Bloody Valentine - while the movie wasn't really great, it was the first one I saw in the new all 3D format. And it has Jensen Ackles - therefore, it has a special place in my heart.

8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - it had its faults (the entire way they dealt with the Harry/Ginny relationship) but on the whole, I liked it.

7. Whip It - I love roller derby!

6. Julie & Julia - Amy Adams, you've come a long way since your one episode of Buffy.

5. District 9 - Not at all what I expected. I normally avoid movies involving aliens, but this was such a huge social commentary, specifically related to apartheid, that we were talking about it for weeks after seeing it.

4. Up (3D) –I wasn’t actually that interested in watching this movie, but having nothing to do one afternoon I went with a group of friends. Not only did we all love it, pretty much everyone ended up close to tears at some point during the movie. And then there was Doug – I slept under your porch because I love you.

3. Pirate Radio – An amazing cast. The best soundtrack of the year. Ridiculously great costuming. I loved everything about this movie.

2. 500 Days of Summer – Quirky, funny, a little too self-knowingly hip, but completely endearing.

Star Trek – Everything about this movie was awesome. Everything!


Honorable Mention goes to New Moon. Mostly because it was so much better than I expected, and has an amazing soundtrack. I feel shame over how much I liked this movie. A lot of shame – specifically related to Taylor Lautner’s 16-year-old abs.

A personal highlight of the year was getting to finally see Nightmare Before Christmas on the big screen in 3D. I’ve been trying to see this for years, but good shit just never comes to Edmonton.

Movies that didn’t live up to my expectation – 9, Where the Wild Things Are, and Coraline.

Year End Lists Start Now! My Favourite Songs in 2009

So I have been ruminating on the past year and have already started my year end lists. Let's start with songs. These are the songs that I enjoyed most this year. Maybe they were not released in this year, but I discovered them and listened the hell out of them in 2009:

1. Best I Ever Had – Drake
2. Zero – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3. I’m an Animal – Neko Case
4. Bulletproof - La Roux
5. Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
6. Ego – Beyonce
7. Sweet Dreams – Beyonce
8. Sarah – Bat for Lashes
9. Daniel – Bat for Lashes
10. Poker Face – Lady Gaga
11. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
12. Help I’m Alive – Metric
13. Knock You Down – Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Neyo
14. Life in Marvelous Times – Mos Def
15. Blue Skies – Noah and the Whale
16. Panic Switch – Silversun Pickups
17. Oh My God – Ida Maria
18. Day and Night – Kid Cudi
19. Make Her Say – Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common
20. Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
21. Saviour – Rise Against
22. Dead and Gone – T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake
23. My Life Would Suck Without you – Kelly Clarkson
24. Love Story – Taylor Swift
25. Hell – Tegan and Sara
26. Alligator – Tegan and Sara
27. I Run to you – Ladu Antebellum
28. You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift
29. Boys Wanna Be Her – Peaches
30. Last Dance – The Raveonettes
31. Young Pilgrims – The Shins
32. I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman - K-Os
33. Fino + Bleed – Die Mannequin
34. Auditorium – Mos Def
35. I Am Not the Sun – The Arkells

What did you enjoy listening to this year?

Songs titled "Wake Up"

I feel like my mind is in a perpetual state of drowsiness or at least not cooperating with my desire for it to function on a higher level. In a nice bit of synchronicity, my iPhone playlist decided to play "Wake Up" by The Arcade Fire and then immediately play "wake Up" by Rage Against the Machine. That got me thinking about how often a song title is used by different bands and so I wrote this list of bands / musicians that have songs titled "Wake Up". I'm sure this is not an exhaustive list and I certainly am not commenting on the quality of these songs, but off the top of my head this is a lot.

1. The Arcade Fire
2. Rage Against the Machine
3. Coheed and Cambria
4. Hillary Duff
5. Three Days Grace
6. Slapshock
7. Korn
8. Fergie
9. Tavares
10. Alanis Morrissette
11. Run DMC
12. The Doors
13. Merle Haggard
14. Missy Elliot
15. Alicia Keyes
16. The Replacements
17. Story of the Year
18. The Living End
19. Sarah Slean
20. Orbit
21. Hanson
22. Alphaville
23. XTC
24. Powerman 5000

What am I missing?

10 on Tuesday: Thankful

This week, 10 on Tuesday suggests we list 10 things we are thankful for. These are the first 10 things that popped into my mind and I felt really good after writing this!

1. My partner – He untangles my tangles and carries the heavy stuff and hugs me just when I need it
2. My best friend – She’s known me for 15 years and hasn’t run away scared yet. That is dedication!
3. My family – They entertain me with their drama and they love me unconditionally
4. Living in Canada (no explanation necessary)
5. My job – It is challenging and offers a lot of learning opportunities even though I complain about it sometimes…okay, often
6. My Macs (G5 upstairs Mac Mini downstairs) – No silly Windows problems for me!
7. My iPhone – Can you tell I’m a Mac person? I really have no idea how I lived without this little gadget all my life
8. Libraries – I can get almost any book delivered to a library near me and take at least 3 weeks to read it!
9. All the nature parks around southern Ontario – they are beautiful and I love nature!
10. My camera! – I’ve always been a visually stimulated person yet my camera has helped me pay attention to the beauty around me more

So, what are you thankful for?