Top 11s of 2011

TELEVISION:
11. Pan Am
10. 2 Broke Girls & New Girl (My 2 new favorite guilty pleasures.)
09. Once Upon a Time & Grimm (or Fables the TV show)
08. Justified
07. Bob's Burgers
06. 30 Rock
05. Archer
04. Community
03. Friday Night Lights
02. Parks & Recreation
01. Louie

VIDEOGAMES:

11. Sonic Generations
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (also Halo CE and Gears of War 3)
09. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 & Mortal Kombat
08. Killzone 3
07. L.A. Noire
06. Infamous 2
05. Little Big Planet 2
04. Assasin's Creed: Revelations
03. Portal 2
02. Batman: Arkham City
01. Skyrim

MUSIC:
11. Cut Copy - Zonoscope
10. Feist - Metals or female singer songwriters in general with St. Vincent (Strange Mercy), Florence + The Machine (Ceremonials) and Lykke Li (Wounded Rhymes)
09. Kanye West and Jay-Z - Watch the Throne
08. Foster the People - Torches
07. Red Fang - Murder the Mountains
06. Childish Gambino - Camp
05. Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
04. Radiohead - King of Limbs
03. The Strokes - Angeles
02. Thursday - No Devolucion
01. Black Keys - El Camino

MOVIES:
11. Captain America (Green Hornet, Thor, X-men, Green Lantern)
10. Our Idiot Brother (Cedar Rapids, Hangover 2, Bad Teacher, 30 Minutes or Less)
09. Crazy Stupid Love
08. Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2
07. Attack the Block
06. Super
05. Young Adult
04. The Guard
03. 50/50
02. Bridesmaids
01. Drive

I did stand-up last week!

And it kind of looked like this:



Actually, it was exactly like that.

KILLZONE3 & BULLETSTORM

2011 has been off to a slow start. I've only been concerned with two other game releases, Little Big Planet 2 in January and Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 in February. Come to think of it, there was only one cd and movie I was interested in each month also. It doesn't help that I've been unemployed all this time and limiting my spending because of that. The good news is I got a new job the same week Killzone3 and Bulletstorm were released, and to celebrate I rented them both.

Bulletstorm was the first target of my celebration. It's not a cover based FPS like most recent games of the genre, but plays more similar to Halo. The big gameplay change that sets Bulletstorm apart is it's "skill kills," which involved using an electric leash and your foot to push and pull enemies in slow-mo and kill them in creative ways. I had fun playing the game but I wouldn't recommend it for more than a rental, unless you really love FPS or racking up highscores.

Killzone3 was more interesting for me as a Playstation Move owner, but on my first playthrough with a standard controller was oddly disappointing. I'm pretty good at most games and while I enjoyed most sections of Killzone3, there were a few major gun-fights that I found incredibly frustrating. Not to mention the story rang completely hollow, its supposed to be this huge inter-stellar war against this unstoppable enemy but you generally feel like there is little at stake. My favorite games balance being challenging and enjoyable, but Killzone3 was too hard for me to really enjoy. With the Move, amazingly, all that changed. Well not the story, but the gameplay and control mechanics make this a must own for anyone with a Move.

Bulletstorm: RENT
Killzone3: RENT w/Move: BUY
Read more about each after the break.

Read more »

Top 10 of 2k10: Music

So I know this is a bit late, 2010 is almost a month gone, but I really wanted to take my time and write out a finite list that I will be satisfied with for at least a few weeks. The year in music was ridiculous and the plethora of options makes it hard to write out a top 10 overall, If  could do like a top 5 for every genre that might seem more realistic. I'm only judging music I listen to, so no Janelle Monae or Robyn or The Tallest Man on Earth (they made some other bloggers lists) and even limiting it by that left me with near 30 awesome albums to consider. I managed to whittle that down to 20, and then put that 20 in order. So here's my top 10:

10. Sleigh Bells - Treats
09. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
08. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
07. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
06. MotionCity Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life
05. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalists Bricks
04. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
03. Black Keys - Brothers
02. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
01. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Instead of just writing excerpts with each album I thought it might be fun to make up some superlatives, and that way I can mention some of the other great albums that were in competition with these. Also, I'm just gonna make these up as I go along so sorry if any or redundant. And hey, maybe I'll use them next year.

Best Album of the Year: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy


Favorite Album of the Year: Broken Bells

Whoa, I'm Way Behind On This Award: Ted Leo, Black Keys

Guilty Pleasure (This Album Just Makes Me Feel Good): Sleigh Bells - Treats, Matt & Kim Sidewalks


Best Album to Party to: LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
Honorable Mention: Mark Ronson & The Record Collection - Record Collection, Ratatat - LP4


I didn't think I would Like This But then I totally did: Broken Social - Forgiveness Rock Record, Yeasayer - Odd Blood
Honorable Mention: Vampire Weekend - Contra, The National - High Violet, Marnie Stern - Marnie Stern


Best Hip-Hop Album - Kanye West - MBDTF
Honorable Mention: Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids, The Roots - How I got over, Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot


Best Punk/Emo Album - MotionCity Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life
Honorable Mention: Alkaline Trio - This Addiction, Against Me! - White Crosses


Best Soundtrack - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World


Best Mixtape - jj - Kills