Hi everyone and happy holidays! I’m sure you’ve noticed I’ve been taking a little holiday myself, so please pardon the long absence of posting. As we stand on the precipice of 2008 (wasn’t it just 2000? Good lord.), I thought I should do a little post here to mark the occasion. 2007 has not been the greatest year for media, in my opinion, especially the latter half. In fact, all but three of my top ten media offerings comes from the first half of the year, as this second half saw one of the worst box office slumps in history, the ascent of R&B/Hip Hop clones as the only music this country listens to, and a terrible new tv season. Nonetheless, there were some media gems in this sea of mediocrity, and it should come as no surprise that of these 10, I’ve already posted at length about 8 of them. This is a list of innovators, ground breakers and booty shakers that are second to none. Let’s count out em out:(A few notes. To read my original, more detailed post on an item, just click the item name. Also, I obviously am unable to include anything I haven’t yet seen or heard, like Atonement or There Will Be Blood, this season of The Sopranos or Rescue Me, or the new Foo Fighters album.)
10. Planet Earth – The Discovery Channel, original air date: March 25, 2007
This incredible program blows my mind every time I see it. As long as you’re watching on HD, you’re always guaranteed to become immediately and inescapably engrossed. What I love most about this show, aside from the stunning visuals, is that Planet Earth has harnessed the educational possibilities of television in a way that no other program ever has. Whether you’re a college professor or a village idiot, Planet Earth subtly hooks in to each person’s innate desire to know more about the world he/she lives in, whether one realizes it or not. I think this program will become a staple of science education, from pre-schools to universities, and we’re all going to be smarter and better off for it. Planet Earth isn’t just an educational mini-series: it’s the in-depth, up close tour around the world that you’d never be able to have otherwise.
9. Beowulf – Paramount, original release date: November 16, 2007
Let’s get one thing straight: I didn’t love this movie. I liked it a lot, especially the first half, but once Beowulf became king, it got pretty damn slow until he battled the dragon. But what I absolutely loved about this film, and what has landed it in my top ten here, is what this movie looked like and its implications for the future of cinema. Watching this movie in 3-D was unlike any experience I’ve ever had. Having the action unfold all around me, with the incredibly realistic animation developed by Robert Zemeckis and his team, was one of the most memorable and incredible moviegoing experiences of my life. After watching a movie like this in 3-D, why would you want to watch movies any other way? If you didn’t see this movie, you blew it because this isn’t something you can just rent on DVD or watch on-demand. You need the big screen, the digital projection, and the 3-D glasses to fully appreciate this work of art. Luckily, with movies like James Cameron’s Avator (2009) on the horizon, your opportunities to enjoy this groundbreaking form of cinema should begin to multiply.
8. Once – Fox Searchlight, original release date: May 16, 2007
The fact that one of the songs from this movie was stuck in my head yesterday, before I had even thought to write this post, is a testament to the power of this incredible film. The soundtrack alone is utterly marvelous, as is anything Glen Hansard does (check out his band, The Frames), but the emotional context of the film is what really elevates and enriches the beautiful songs. Being able to picture Hansard’s passionate performances, seeing his veins bulge and his face redden as he pours his soul into his songs– this is what makes each listen so remarkable. Also, as Lindsey commented on my original post of this film, Once is a movie that really stays with you. The more I think about it and listen to the music, the more I love it. If you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading this post and go get it. Snuggle up with someone special and have your computer handy– the second its over, you’ll be racing to buy the album, I promise. Easily one of my 3 favorite films of the years. Easily.
7. The Office – Season 3, Episode 12 – “Traveling Salesman” – NBC, original air date: January 11, 2007
The funniest episode of one of television’s funniest shows. While it’s not necessarily my favorite show, it is without a doubt the best written and most consistently funny comedy on tv. As someone with an invested interest in writing, I can’t go through an episode of The Office without shaking my head in awe at the brilliance of the dialogue. It’s just too damn funny. And this episode was BY FAR my favorite of the past year, as we got hilarious solo Michael Scott moments, plus a handful of incredible sales team pairings that we’d never had before. Simply brilliant. It doesn’t get any better than this.
6. La Scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) – Miramax, original release date: November 30, 2007
So I watched this movie yesterday (yes, I have Academy Awards screeners suckas) and it was just one of those movie watching experiences I’ll never forget. The last time I felt so moved and so touched by a film was when I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the first time, a film that I thought had a lot in common with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (aside from the fact that Eternal Sunshine is my all-time favorite movie). Both films are somehow able to capture a single man’s unique visual experience in a way that is both private to the character and a shared experience for the viewer at the same time. Director Julian Schnabel has created nothing short of a masterpiece, and I would not be surprised if he got an Oscar nod for this one-of-a-kind work. For those of you who have no clue what this movie is, it’s a French film about a man who has “locked-in syndrome,” meaning his body is completely paralyzed, but his mind is totally functional. The only way he can communicate is by blinking one eye, and yet he is able to have meaningful relationships and in fact, he becomes a famous author. This is a movie everyone MUST see. There’s so much popcorn-movie crap out there with no purpose other than to make as much money as possible. This is a film with an entirely unique artistic vision and an incredible story to tell. If I were reviewing it, I’d give it a flat out A. It’s so beautiful, in both its visual representations of this man’s rare condition, and its message on the importance of love and life.
5. South Park – Season 11, Episode 1 – “With Apologies to Jesse Jackson” – Comedy Central, original air date: March 7, 2007
The smartest, best comedy on television (sorry The Office). Watch this clip from the the Season 11 premiere (quality isn’t great, but Viacom had the clip taken down off YouTube just this morning) and I dare you to disagree. Freakin priceless. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is no longer the toilet humor, immature cartoon of the mid-90’s. This is razor sharp social commentary at its absolute best.
4. St. Vincent – “Marry Me” – Beggars Banquet, original release date: July 10, 2007
An incredible album by an incredible artist (real name: Annie Clark). Each song is so unpredictable and yet they always make perfect sense. You never know where she’ll go, but once she does, it’s like “of course! how could it be written any other way?!” Buy this album, buy this album, buy this album. Every song is a gem, from the lyrics to her sparkling voice, to the eclectic instrumentation to the stunning compositions. As a whole, it’s my favorite album of the year, even more so than the next one on my list…
3. The Bird and The Bee – “The Bird and The Bee” – Blue Note, original release date: January 23, 2007
It’s only fitting that the group about which I wrote my first music post of the year is also included in my last. The Bird and The Bee changed the way I listen to music, which is why they’re #3 even though I listen to the St. Vincent album more. Lead singer Inara George has the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard in my life. Her tone is so perfect that it blends with other instruments as if it were a first chair violin in a sea of string players. According to the zeitgeist, old is new, and no one does it better than The Bird and The Bee. With a vintage jazzy feel slammed together with an electronic and youthful flavor, TBATB is the perfect encapsulation of the spirit of our times. Fresh and bold, yet oddly familiar, this is one of the greatest debut albums of all time. I go on and on about this guys on the blog all the time. So just buy this album already so I don’t have to keep repeating myself!
2. Lost – Season 3, Episodes 22/23 – “Through The Looking Glass” – ABC, original air date: May 23, 2007
Seeing as my original post about this finale to end all finales is one of my longest and most viewed, I’m not going to say much here. What I will say is that in light of this fall’s lackluster tv season, we need Lost now more than ever. In terms of innovation in structure, style, tone and narrative, this series is LIGHT YEARS ahead of everything else on the air; nothing even comes close. Lost is the best show on television (well, it’s technically not on the air yet this season, so Dexter can hold the title for a few more weeks) and will continue to be until the series finale in 3 years. If you don’t watch this show yet, you’re absolutely crazy. Just watch the pilot and try not to get hooked. Lost, please come back on the air and save me from this island of tv mediocrity in which I’m currently mired. Thanks. See you in another life, brotha.
1. 300 – Warner Bros., original release date: March 9, 2007
Maybe the only movie to get a straight A on MMM, 300 was a breakthrough film for viewers and industry alike. In terms of the movie biz, there’s basically a before-300 and after-300 mentality. 300 proved a number of things: 1) March is no longer a dumping ground for bad films, as 300 raked in more coin than any March opening in history, and vaulted to the #3 biggest opening for an R-rated movie ever. 2) You can make a hit blockbuster film without busting the bank. 300 was shot in a quick 2 months without a single famous star to headline it. It was shot almost entirely using green screens and soundstages, yet captured ancient Greece as if it had been shot entirely on location. 3) R-rated movies with lots of blood and fighting do not scare viewers away. Audiences young and old flocked to this movie, despite its highly graphic violence.
As an audience member, I think you’ll agree with me when I say that we’ve never seen anything like this before. Sin City came close, as both films were based on and visually, closely modeled after Frank Miller graphic novels. But the dark, winding narrative of Sin City, despite its high profile cast, didn’t hold a candle to the power of King Leonidas and his men in their fight for freedom. There’s no better movie to watch in HD, no better movie to get your blood pumping, and no better snapshot of cinema’s future. Star-driven movies are becoming less and less viable (not across the board, as I Am Legend will attest), and studios are becoming less willing to write enormous checks for fancy stars and sets when no-name great acting and green screens will do. Add this to the perfectly realized artistic vision of director Zach Snyder and you’ve got the new formula for a great blockbuster movie. Snyder’s next film is going to be the screen adaptation of The Watchmen, the granddaddy of graphic novels. If 300 is any indication, don’t be surprised to see Watchmen at the top of this list in 2009.
(Some notable offerings that didn’t make the cut: The Simpsons Movie, Knocked Up, Battlestar Galactica Season 3, Spring Awakenings)
I’m sure many of you disagree with me on this list. Is there anything I totally forgot? Something crucial that’s missing? Tell me! And oh yeah: happy new year! See you in 2008!
24 Comments
December 31, 2007 at 7:23 pm
[...] Top Ten Media Offerings of 2007 [...]
January 1, 2008 at 1:07 am
[...] Top Ten Media Offerings of 2007 …slumps in history, the ascent of R&B/Hip Hop … first half, but once Beowulf became king, it got … Every song is a gem, from the lyrics to… [...]
January 1, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I haven’t yet bothered to watch ‘300,’ as it isn’t quite my cup of tea, but I would probably choose ‘Business School’ over ‘Traveling Salesmen’, and I think that ‘Company Man’ deserves greater recognition in spite of Heroes’ downfall.
That said, having watched Once recently, I couldn’t concur more: the film is incredibly effective and its soundtrack superb. If Falling Slowly is not nominated for an Oscar, I will send angry letters. Snail mail, even.
January 1, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Thanks for commenting, Myles. Always glad to hear your opinion. I definitely considered throwing “Company Man” in there. It was on my preliminary list before I whittled it down. Perhaps had I made this list last spring, when Heroes was in its glory days, I would’ve felt stronger about including the episode. But it just couldn’t beat out these other offerings in my mind now.
And “Business School” is a great episode to be sure. And you MUST watch 300, even if only from an academic perspective. It is certainly a grand sight to behold.
January 1, 2008 at 11:37 pm
two things to add: the blonde girl from chuck is british and I would’ve added the conchords to this list.
January 2, 2008 at 3:23 am
I had thought about Conchords as well, but had to eliminate them. Dang, I forgot to add Heroes and Conchords to the notable offerings. Oh well. Better late than never.
January 2, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Could not agree with you more on LOST. Could not disagree with you more on 300. I do regret not seeing Beowulf in 3D now.
January 2, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Thanks for the words, James. Appreciate your opinion– care to elaborate on 300?
January 2, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Sure.
Putting aside the visual style for a second, I found everything to be, (although technically proficient), very mundane and boring. The acting, the dialogue, the plotting – it wasn’t interesting on a small scale, and it wasn’t engaging on an epic scale. The action was fairly well-done, but like most of the movie, the same techniques were done to death until it just stopped being fun.
I think the only thing 300 brought to the cinematic table was its visual style. And for me, it became stale pretty quickly. I love visually stunning movies, like “A Very Long Engagement.” And movies that heavily use an artistic style like in “What Dreams May Come,” can create a really unique experience. But this film is so stylized, (meaning to me that the visual style is so far removed from the material), and so drenched in CG, that after a certain point it became gloss as opposed to visual feast.
Also, I have an aversion to the kind of, protagonism, I guess you could call it, that’s at the heart of the film. The way ultra-violence is inseparably married to heroism, family values, democracy, etc.
January 3, 2008 at 12:46 am
Fair enough, James. I can see how it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I LOVE that kind of heroism, violent stand for freedom type stuff.
I don’t agree with you though about the visual world created by the film. I think the visual style and the film are married– you can’t separate them from one another. How can you say the style is removed from the material, when one wouldn’t exist without the other? Imagine if this movie had been shot like Gladiator– it would be a completely different movie. The mystic, other-worldly tone of the movie, the larger than life feats of its heroes, the extreme violence– all of it is balanced by the incredible visual style.
January 3, 2008 at 12:55 am
god i love planet earth.
January 3, 2008 at 2:25 pm
No Dexter? Not even in the notable offerings.. just awful.
While I didn’t like the Season 2 Finale as much as the rest of the Season, it was top notch.
300 I’ve found is a strange movie… well that is, the reviews seems to be very oppositional, the folks either really love it, or really hate it. I think some folks watching 300 were expecting an accurate historical documentary (from Hollywood? LOL). I don’t think they realized it was based on a graphic novel. So, some folks are like “ZOMG, mutants in Greece?” and just decided it was not for them.
I’m with you on the movie though, the art direction IMO was fantastic. This is definitely a movie that can be enjoyed on HD media.
Beowulf, I would of liked to have seen it in 3D. I’m hopeful though for the home market. I noticed that my TV set came with a connector for 3D (a timing connector for the glasses I’d imagine). So perhaps we will at some point have the opportunity to enjoy this at home. It is nice to see the option included on my set, while not something I sought out. While home theater generally does not deliver the same experience as viewing movies in the theaters (massive screen, professional audio), I’ll take a comfortable chair, no sticky floors, and reasonably priced refreshments (ones bought at sane prices from the store) and the ability to pause a movie when in need of a bathroom or food break for less cost then going to the movies. Oh.. and sans seat kicking, crying babies, and badly angled seating choices on packed movies.
The theaters were great when I had a 19″ 4:3 TV set with weak 2 speaker audio.. but that is no longer the case.
The Office and Lost I’ve not watched yet.. but it seems like something I should look into. I noticed The Office seasons are available on Netflix’s streaming video service… so I can always make use of that. That and it sounds like I should probably add Once to my queue as well.
January 3, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Hey DexFan,
Warsh asked me the same thing about Dexter. If Season One had been in 2007, you can bet it would’ve been a top 3 pick. But when I was picking this list, I included tv shows if a specific episode stood out in my mind as brilliant, and with Season Two, I just couldn’t think of a singular offering worthy of this top ten. And to be honest, even as a whole, as good as the season was, I enjoyed all 10 of these other things more.
If you watch only one show on television, let it be Lost (though someone should make a comprehensive list of which episodes are skippable, cause some of them, especially in mid-season 3, are a bit of a drag).
Make it a new years resolution!
January 4, 2008 at 2:44 am
YOU’RE HOT!!!!!!!
and I love your opinions, your voice, your style and everything else about you,
MARRY ME!!!!
You’re the perfect specimen of a human being
January 4, 2008 at 5:40 am
Thanks for your comment, Anonymous! I appreciate your insight.
And just as a friendly reminder to all readers, my e-mail address is mediamavenmusings@gmail.com. Just reminding you.
January 4, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I think 300 has merit. Zach Snyder is much better and a more interesting director than Uwe Boll and Micheal Bay. But I just didn’t find the style too innovative or lastingly impressive, and the quasi-fascist drive of the movie left a bad taste in my mouth.
However, I really don’t Snyder’s up to the task of directing Watchmen. Honestly I think the point is moot, anyway. When the original creator (Alan Moore) vehemently opposes any adaptations of his work, and Zach Snyder comes along and says, ‘well I’m gonna do it anyway,’ I have to question his artistic integrity.
January 4, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Well, to be fair, Zach Snyder didn’t come along and snap up the script. Watchmen has been in development hell for 20 years, passing from director to director. After all this time, I’m happy to see it finally being made.
And what does doing one’s job have to do with poor artistic integrity? Alan Moore is an extreme personality who, as the comic shows, isn’t a huge fan of our society in general. Moreover, the rights to the film belong to the studio, not the director, and tapping Snyder to direct is an excellent move, both creatively and business-wise. With 300, Snyder has proven he can make an edgy, low-budget hit movie– I happen to think he’s a perfect man for the job.
January 4, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I understand the studios own the right, and I understand they’re desire to make the movie. I just don’t think the “job” needs to be done.
Alan Moore and Zach Snyder, I would assume, consider themselves artists, not people working on jobs. Alan Moore is an established legend who said that he believes what he created shouldn’t be made in to a movie, (I read a specific interview where he said he he wrote Watchmen to be specifically, and only, in comic format).
So what am I to think of Snyder, who, despite varying opinions, is unestablished – and decides that the movie needs to be made by his decision to make it. Snyder’s even said in interviews that doesn’t want to add or change anything to the Watchmen, to stay as faithful to it as possible, so what’s the point? If there’s nothing to add cinematically, and the original creator doesn’t want it adapted, why do it? I can’t help but think that Snyder wants his name attached to a very influential classic, for that sake alone.
I’m going to stop now, because I understand you’re a big fan of his, and I don’t think Snyder needs to be bashed unnecessarily. It’s just a point that’s been irking me.
January 4, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Don’t feel bad for sharing your opinions — its what I love!
Just because Snyder is going to stay true to the original doesn’t mean there’s nothing to add cinematically. Think about the Harry Potter films, or Sin City or 300. Each were very true to the material from which they were adapted, but each contributes something to the story that only the magic of a movie could.
If you were Zach Snyder, and you were offered a chance to direct one of the greatest untold comic book stories of all time, are you saying you would turn it down because the original author doesn’t want anyone adapting it? As a director or an artist, I would leap at the opportunity to tell such a terrific story– hell, its probably the artist in Snyder that’s jumping for joy as much as it is the businessman, if not more.
I’m not a huge Zach Snyder fan or anything. But I think its unreasonable to ask a director, someone who makes their living telling stories on the big screen, not to take on a one-of-a-kind tentpole project that dozens of people have unsuccesfully tried to tackle in the past, simply because the somewhat zany creator doesn’t want it adapted.
January 6, 2008 at 2:01 am
Jonah! I’m eager for you to see and review Atonement.
January 6, 2008 at 2:37 am
Thanks KG. I don’t think I’ll be posting about it, as I try not to be too behind on the times with my posts, but I’d certainly love to chat about it with you!
January 9, 2008 at 9:03 am
I LOVED Once for so many reasons, particularly the soundtrack and the emotional nuances. It simply doesn’t fall into the cookie-cutter template that every Hollywood offering bases its romances on and I found that extremely refreshing. I mean, at its core, it’s a simple love story, but it’s told in such a compelling way that steers clear of cliches. Oh, and the music just blows me away.
January 9, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Well said, JT. Well said.
September 10, 2008 at 11:19 am
Hold up a sec. 300 “captured ancient Greece as if it had been shot entirely on location” – c’mon… As for the handful of The Office reviews – how about a review of the original/better British version? I guess I understand if you’re not reviewing it because it’s not current…