Here We Go Again
Standard procedure here is to end the old year and bring in the new, not with a reflective meditation on the passage of that precious commodity, time, or the value of self-examination and improvement at arbitrary points along its journey, but with good old fashioned value judgments on mindless entertainment. So, for the second year running, I will be listing the books I saw and movies I read this year, and their objective worth to humanity, set in stone, absolute and unforgiving, in the form of a letter grade.
But before we get to that, I'm tempted to share a few reflections with you anyway, dear reader. You've been contemplating your own worth, I'm sure. You've rung in the New Year, partied with friends, cavorted with strangers, and if you're lucky, when the bell tolled midnight you were standing next to someone special enough that you could have another drink secure in the knowledge that they would at least try to pick you up if you fell down drunk.
And somewhere in all of it, you probably spent a few minutes pondering the year gone by, and thought about ways that you could be a better person in the year to come, and then you snorted with contemptuous laughter at yourself and said, "Yeah, right." And that was that.
That's what I usually do. But as last year drew to a close, I found myself in a conversation with Michelle in which she was asking me not to let her have her own way so much. I give in too easily; I'm easy-going and tend to yield my desires, if indeed I have any, to what she suggests. Although she is an eight, she really does not want to be in control of my life, and wants to know that I will push back when she exhibits that tendency.
So, finally I have a resolution I can actually get interested in. In 2008, I resolve to listen to my wife less and be more selfish.
Just as a disclaimer, this isn't something I'm recommending for other guys or anything. Just for me.
So anyway, here's the books and movies. For me it was a great year for books, as I sort of randomly stumbled into several excellent works. I discovered that, after he wrote Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk proceeded to write about ten more books which were all quite a bit better. I found Shantaram, which in certain ways is the best novel I have ever read. And I began Anne Rice's "Christ the Lord" series, which promises to be outstanding. As for movies, 2007 kinda sucked. What are you gonna do.
As always, these ratings are definitive and not open to debate. Justifications are available upon request.
Books:
1 - Be Cool, Elmore Leonard: B-
2 - Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts: A+
3 - Hegemony or Survival, Noam Chomsky: A-
4 - Teacher Man, Frank McCourt: B+
5 - The Echelon Vendetta, David Stone: B
6 - Christ the Lord, Anne Rice: A
7 - Survivor, Chuck Palahniuk: A
8 - Lullaby, Chuck Palahniuk: A-
9 - A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle: B
10 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling: B+
11 - Diary, Chuck Palahniuk: B
Movies:
1 - Thumbsucker: B
2 - Jackass Number Two: C+
3 - Ocean's Twelve: B
4 - Dark Days: B+
5 - Mission Impossible 3: B
6 - Pan's Labyrinth: A
7 - Broken Flowers: B+
8 - Rushmore: B+
9 - Little Miss Sunshine: A-
10 - An Inconvenient Truth: A
11 - Fight Club (again): A+
12 - Gattaca: B
13 - 300: A
14 - The Stepford Wives: D
15 - The Yes Men: B-
16 - Lady In the Water: A
17 - The Devil Wears Prada: C+
18 - Trainspotting (again): A-
19 - On the Waterfront: B
20 - Babel: B+
21 - Stranger Than Fiction: B
22 - Deja Vu: B
23 - Spiderman 3: C+
24 - Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - Dead Man's Chest: C
25 - Unknown White Male: B
26 - The Cooler: C+
27 - Tea with Mussolini: B+
28 - My Super Ex-Girlfriend: B-
29 - The Last King of Scotland: A
30 - Die Hard 4: A-
31 - Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That: C
32 - The Matrix (again): A+
33 - Ocean's Thirteen: B+
34 - Dirty Work: D+
35 - Primary Colors: B
36 - The Bourne Ultimatum: A
37 - The Good Shepherd: A-
38 - Talk To Her: A-
39 - Blood Diamond: A+
40 - Shallow Hal: C-
41 - Night at the Museum: B
42 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: B+
43 - Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: D+
44 - The Last Kiss: B
45 - American Gangster: A-
46 - Casino Royale: B
47 - Love in the Time of Cholera: B+
48 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind: B-
49 - Reign Over Me: A+
50 - Lucky Number Slevin: B
51 - Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag: F
posted by Josh Fuller @ 5:14 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Books you saw and movies you read. Interesting. Maybe Michelle should edit your blog before posting.
Happy New Year.
Kayla
Everything Josh says is true.
Everything Josh says is an accurate reflection of his opinion or understanding at a given point in time...
Unless he is being ironic, sarcastic or deceitful.
Hmm..... as always I assume you also want my opinion, so here are a few quick thoughts:
1. I agree totally with your ratings of Teacher Man and Harry Potter 7. And as Shantaram is on my bookshelf, next to be read, I'm delighted to see its high grade.
2.why did you not like The Stepford Wives or The Devil Wears Prada?
3. While I do love Trainspotting in a certain kind of way, I don't think I can ever watch it again because the dead baby haunts me.
Do you keep track or your ratings year-round, or do you remember it all at once while you sit blogging?
I'm so excited that you're going to read Shantaram! Make sure you don't have anything else you'll need to do in life once you crack the cover. Oh I loved that book! We do generally warn people that it's violent, but reassure them that all of the violence occurs between people who have chosen to live in that lifestyle. There's no violence against unsuspecting individuals. That's a big difference for me. Oh, enjoy!
Kira,
In reply to 2., for very different reasons.
The Stepford Wives is horrible in every way that a movie can be horrible. As usual, we can give thanks that Christopher Walken was able to save parts of it, but, oh dear. Just my opinion, of course.
The Devil Wears Prada was enjoyable enough in it's way. It made me laugh, but never once surprised or impressed me.
And since you asked, I rate movies when I see them and keep them in a Word doc until the end of the year.
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