Well hello there, how are you today? Good, good. What's that you say? You'd be curious as to my thoughts on some of the best pop culture of '09? Well, that's just fantastic because, as fate would have it, I've assembled a short list. Join me in reviewing it, won't you?
Best Movie
I wasn't particularly "wowed" by any one movie this year, though there are a few that stood out for their particular strength in one area. I thought Watchmen was an impressive adaptation of the graphic novel, but suffers when judged on its own. District 9 gets full marks for the originality of its story, but the execution ended up leaving me a little dissappointed. Soooo, I'll give my 2009 nod to Taken. Though not high on originality, it nonetheless takes the conventions of the action/rescue flick, executes them extremely well, and does so unapologetically. I thought that Liam Neeson's performance was exceptional, and he made it clear that if the creators of FOX's 24 ever want to cast the role of Jack Bauer's meaner older brother, Neeson's their guy.
Best TV Show
Two young FOX series rocketed near the top of my list in 2009 as Fringe finished its dazzling first season and embarked on a solid second this year, while Glee is easily my favorite new show. That being said, it's an old favorite that maintains the top spot. Faced with a rapidly approaching series finale, Lost has undoubtedly recaptured the magic of its early episodes and continues to weave a wide variety of compelling interpersonal storylines within one giant brain-bender of a mystery. It remains to be seen if the show can deliver a finale that measures up to what it has already given us, but for 2009, I had no complaints.
Best TV Moment
I'd like to go with the moment that had both myself and my significant other laughing so hard it hurt, but unless you're a regular Mythbuster viewer, you wouldn't understand why a hung over Grant Imahara blowing chunks right before they turned on the motion sickness machine is so funny. Instead I'll declare a tie between the moments that their respective networks cancelled Eastwick and Jon and Kate Plus Eight. The former because it was awful television, and the latter because they seemed like awful people.
Best Advertising Campaign
Though it's been around for a couple of years, 2009 marked the year that Dos Equis' "Most Interesting Man In The World" campaign broke out of its niche, went wide and reached a sublime level of funny. I've actually never had a Dos Equis in my life (I prefer my brews from north, not south, of the border) but I may have to change that just to reward the company for spots like those below. Stay thirsty, my friends.
Best Sports Moment
While I particularly enjoyed my Oregon Football Ducks handing a monster loss to the men of Troy on national television a few weeks ago, I'll go back to February and Super Bowl XLIII for my pick. In the biggest sporting event of the national sports calendar, we were first treated to one of the best defensive players in the game delivering the longest interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl history. Then we witnessed a rollicking fourth quarter that saw the Arizona Cardinals roar back from a 13 point deficit on the arm of one of the NFL's most experienced QB's, only to have victory snatched away from them with under a minute to go on a fantastic two-toes barely in bounds catch by the Pittsburgh Steelers' Santonio Holmes.
Best Pop Culture Moment
Lots to choose from here, and the obvious pick is the Kanye West/Taylor Swift dust-up, but since that's been tagged by others already, I'll go in a different direction. Certainly one of the biggest stories of the year in entertainment was the death of Michael Jackson, and while a lot of stuff came out of that media imbroglio, my favorite bit was the brilliant "Hitler reacts" video. A truly odd combination that worked incredibly well.
Best Album
I'm definitely the outlier here in that I really don't pay much attention to current music, so for my pick I'll plug Marc Steyn's latest Christmas album. Why? Because he's my favorite writer. And yes, you are correct, that explanation makes no logical sense whatsoever.
Now, bring on 2010!
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