My Meaningless Best of 2010 Lists

I thought why not put together a little best of 2010 list to emcompass all my interests.


MOVIES
** These are only the films I've watched which were released this year. Many of which I have yet to see.

Best Horror Movie: [REC 2]

Since I haven't seen many horror movies which come out in the final few months of the year, this is my pick. The sequel picks up where the first one ends. Except the story is completely different. There's a huge supernatural element involved. And lots of shaky camerwork and darkness.

Best Comedy: Hot Tub Time Machine

A group of friends try to relive old glory and take a weekend getaway to old party place, where they end up going back in time to their one big weekend where it all changed. A funny movie with a great cast and a heart.

Best Drama: Winter's Bone

Beautifull shot in this modern noir tale set in the Ozarks has a teenage girl searching for her missing father, who has jumped bail. Seedy characters of tweekers, cops, and mountain folk make the task all the more difficult. A damn fine movie.

Best Sci-Fi: Splice

A sci-fi/horror hybred but still. Even with the few faults I have with the movie, it is still a great tale about the horrors what could go wrong when splicing DNA.

Best Documentary: Cropsey

A disturbing documentary which makes forces you to look at prejudging alleged criminals based on their pasts. It all centers around an abandoned mental institution and a bunch of missing kids.

Movie Which I Should've Hated But Loved: MacGruber

Yes, this movie is utterly stupid. I had no business laughing my ass off as much as I did. But in the end, it was one of the better "shut off your brain and laugh" movies I've watched in a long time.

TELEVISION
** Since many shows start in the fall and end in the spring, I've based my decisions on programs either aired during that specific time frame or shown in it's entirity during 2010. And my choices come from only the programs I tend to watch.

Best Horror TV: Supernatural, Season 5

Season 5 ended an incredible five year story arc as Sam and Dean Winchester try to stop Earth from being ripped apart by Satan and Angels. A more satisfying conclusion to a story there has not been.
(And them came season 6)

Best New Series: Boardwalk Empire
This new HBO drama is packed with the stuff which makes a great crime drama - great actors, great writing, and a great story of the power of Atlantic City during Prohibition. Also includes plenty of bloodshed, nudity, & cursing.
Honorable Mention: The Walking Dead


Best Animated Series: The Venture Bros. Season 4

The antics of The Venture family keep getting better every year. Throw in all the side plots with other unique villians, heroes, and secret organizations and it's a stew of awesomeness. A funnier and more messed up cartoon, you will not find.

Best Comedy Series: Parks and Recreation, Season 2

The show really come into its own during this season as it become much more of an ensemble piece. Pawnee has never had more potential and with the additions of Rob Lowe and the highly under rated actor Adam Scott, this can only get better.


Best Drama Series: Fringe, Season 2

There is so much happening in this season it makes your head explode. The characters are great. They suck you in and make you feel for them. I love the storylines. The whole season epic conclusion in the alternate world couldn't leave it more wide open for a potential amazing season 3.

Series Which Should Never Had Been Canceled: (tie) Party Down

Starz canceled the hilarious this and yet very touching show after only two seasons. Terrible idea. This show about an LA Catering company full of wanna be actors was great stuff.


Terriers
FX hung this one out to dry after poor ratings. Too bad because this series had more layers than an onion. At the end of it all the entire season clicked together.


Cant Believe I Waited So Long To Start Watching This Series: Breaking Bad

For no other reason than not having the time, I put off this show. Over my recent vacation I started the short seven episode season one. I was hooked by the end of episode two. A unique show which runs the gammit of emotions, I am going to get through the next two seasons before number four begins. Guaranteed.


BOOKS
** I tend not to read books the year they are released, so these are the best books to cross my path all year.

Graphic Novels: Walking Dead vol. 1-5

This new to me comic, I started just before the TV series started. And I am glad. It is bleak, depressing, horrific, and nihilistic at every turn. It's chalked full of pure human emotions. This is nothing short of brilliant.

Novel: Devil in the White City by Eric Larson

Nothing like a fact based book combining the fascinating details of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and America's first serial killer A.A. Holmes. What's even more amazing is how these two subjects overlap.

Horror Novel: The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

A horrifying new take on vampires and a precise procedural drama based on the plague caused by the vamps makes this unique and entertaining read.
Runner Up: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter



MUSIC
Favorite albums released in 2010: I enjoyed all five these albums and listend to each a great deal.
The Black Keys Brothers


Eminem Recovery


Deftones Diamond Eyes


Jimmy Eat World Invented


Kings of Leon Come Around Sundown




WRESTLING
Best Event Attended: Ring of Honor's Final Battle 2010
I only attended about a half dozen live events this year. The fewest in a many years. This event sucked me in for the opening bell and had me clinching the guardrail the entire night. It's been awhile since I've been sucked into a show as hard as I was that night in Manhattan.

Favorite Matched Watched: Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker, Wrestlemania 26

The match of year? Probably. Two icons battled in a rematch of 2009 on the "biggest wrestling stage there is". It was an epic battle which put an end to the great HBK's career.



EVERYTHING ELSE
Biggest Disappointment: Indianapolis Colts losing the Superbowl.

Coolest New Place Traveled: San Diego
I didn't travel to many new places this year, for work or personally. San Diego barely beat out Key West.

Most Awesome Food I Never Ate Before: Pho
This Vietnamese noodle delight is heaven. So glad this cuisine has come to my hometown. Eat it now. Eat it often. Delicious!

Favorite Beer of the 2010: Aventinus
This is the year which I really got into craft brews. I've been leaning that way the last couple of years, but in 2010 I tried countless flavors from microbreweries all across the US. This is one I keep coming back to again and again. Old Rasputin and Dark Horse Perkulator Coffe Dopplebock are both a close second.

Horror Movies Watched & Books Read (Dec 2010)

MOVIES

Burning Bright (2010) **1/2
Better than I expected from a tiger hunting a girl down in a house movie.

# The Walking Dead, Season 1 (2010) ****1/2
Even with a few minor characters who ride the line of stereotype, this was a spectacular 6 episode debut for the series. It follows the comic fairly close and the additions dont take away from the orginal arc. And this is by far the gorest show on TV. I cant believe the network let some of this go. Thank you AMC.

Doghouse (2009) ***
A group of guys help their friend get over a divorce by taking a holiday to a small town. They dont know is that a virus has turned all the woman into mutated beasts with a thirst for man blood. A tongue in cheek British export, as all of director Jake West's movies are.

Splice (2010) ****

Two scientists create a new life form by splicing different animal & human DNA. This is an intense film as the scientists take on the roll of parents to this hybrid creature, which is constantly undergoing changes. A plausible storyline makes this all the more frightening.

Razorback (1984) **1/2
This Aussie import about a giant size wild hog is filled with all the usual B movie stuff. Some call it a classic. I call it merely alright.

#Millennium, Season 3 (1999) ****

The final season of this epic, short lived series has Frank Black returning to the FBI and raising his daughter after the betrayal by the Millennium group. He still finds his way into several strange cases.

Zombie High (1987) **
A misleading title, not really zombies here but a group of people who live forever by the means of black magic. I couldn't get into it.

The Vampire's Assistant (2009) **1/2
A teen agrees to become a vampire's apprentice in order to save his best friend from dying. Better than I had expected with a solid cast.

Night of the Demons (2010) **
Pointless remake. You betcha! Hardly worth the time.

I Drink Your Blood (1970) *
Terrible "cult classic" about a group of satanists who contract rabies and attack a small town. Horror movie or public service announcement...you be the judge.

Ahhh! Zombies aka Wasted Away (2009) **1/2
A group of friends are turned into zombies but dont realize they are zombies. A decent take on the ever popular zom-com flicks.

Coffin Rock (2009) **1/2
The Aussie version of Fatal Attraction with a disturbed young man stalking a married woman with whom he had an one night stand with. Above average tension and couple of twisted scenes in this highly familiar narrative.

Paranormal Entity (2010) **1/2
Not too bad for a blatant rip off of Paranormal Activity. The main drawback is the lack of compassion for the characters, except maybe the sister. But the mother and brother/cameramen grind my nerves with stupidity.

Behind the Wall (2007) *
A young woman returns to the home where her mother was murdered, only to find a ghost who likes to kill. Boring and more boring.

Demoniacs (1974) **1/2
An early one from director Jean Rollin. After being raped, beaten, and left for dead by pirates; the two girls come back as supernatural beings and want revenge.

One Dark Night (1983) **
An early 80's movies filled with bad acting and special effects. In order to pass a sorority's initiation, a pledge must spend the night in a haunted mausoleum. It just happens to be home to a psychic vampire.

High School Girl Rika: Zombie Killer (2008) **1/2
Japanese extreme splatter fills this zom-com where the title says it all.

Jacqueline Hyde (2005) *1/2
A horror erotic take on Jekyll & Hyde starring the lovely Gabrielle Hall. Really not worth watching.

Steel Trap (2007) **
A group of people get caught in a cat and mouse game with a killer after a party. I hated the characters and the reason why the killer is taking them out is rather stupid. It does have some style.

Kill Theory (2009) *
A group of kids are getting taken out by a killer. Horrible characters and a stupid plot.

Flesh & Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror () ****

A fine documentary on the British movie studio which produced many classic horror films over the years.

964 Pinocchio (1991) **
A bizarre film indeed. A cyborg sex slave is thrown out on the streets because he cant keep an erection. He befriends a whack job homeless chick and tries out run the Corporation who is out to assassination the malfunctioning cyborg. Not for everyone, but unique.

Shiver of the Vampires (1971) **
All the staples of director Jean Rollin: lots of blood, nude babes, and vampires. Not his best effort but not the worst either.

The Vampire Lovers (1970) ***
A Hammer Studios retelling of the classic tale Camilla starring the lovely Ingrid Pitt. Very fun stuff.

# Dexter, Season 5 (2010) ***1/2
I think this season might have slipped a bit. Part of the character seems to be going through the same paces as the previous two seasons, in regards to relationships with other serial killers. And while I enjoyed the storyline involving the serial killers, some of the execution lacked. Seeing Dexter cope as a now single father was interesting. Maybe this will be a lesser season as they rebound and amp up for season 6.

S&Man (2006) ***1/2
Part documentary and part faux documentary, this is a very unique movie. It examines underground extreme horror movies, which border on snuff films, and searches out the answer as to why people make and watch this types of horror movies. One of the interviews is with a film maker who's might just be the real thing.

2LDK (2003) ****

Two actress are sharing an apartment. They are the final choices to play a leading part in a major film. Over the course of one night, as they each wait for the producer's decisions, the two women torment each other with psychological games with turn violent. I highly enjoyed this unique movie.

Shock-o-rama (2005) *1/2
A bunch shorts from wrapped together in an attempt to make a semi-cohesive story, from director Brett Piper. The low budget horror comedy features his usual players Misty Mundae and Julian Welles. Not nearly as good as some of his other efforts.

Methodic (2007) *
2/3 of this movie comes off like a cheap Halloween rip off. A child kills his parents and get thrown in a mental institution. He escapes and goes after his sister. Then they throw in the "he's possessed by a demon" card. Skip it.

Cthulhu (2007) **
A man returns home for his mother's funeral to find the entire town is hiding a secret. It had potential, but doesn't pull it together.





BOOKS

The Howling by Gary Brandner ***
This is one case where I found the movie far superior to the novel. That doesn't mean the novel is bad, but I found myself more annoyed with the main character than sympathetic to here plight. The plot revolves around a woman who gets raped and decides to move out of the city to recoup and come to grips with what happened. Unfortunately the town has a werewolf problem.

By the Sword by F. Paul Wilson

The Repairman Jack saga is nearing its end with this ??? installment. This time Jack is hired to find a stolen sword and of course nothing anymore is coincidence.