It would be nice to have a "Best of 2007" list for movies and television shows, but I only saw three movies in the theatres: INLAND EMPIRE (actually a late 2006 release), Sicko and Zodiac (twice). There were many, many more that I wanted (and still hope) to see, but due to time and money, it's getting harder and harder to get to the theatres these days. But they'll be out on DVD before you know it.
Other than keeping up with Lost, I rarely watch television. When someone recommends something, I'll usually check it out on DVD. This year I watched Season Two of Battlestar Galactica (mostly good, but 2.0 was better than 2.5), Season One of Deadwood (very good) and Seasons Three, Four and Five of the highly addictive and sometimes pretty good 24.
I also watched the first two seasons (and am currently watching the third) of The Sopranos, quite possibly the best television show I've ever seen*. Yeah, I know that statement will offend some people. I know it's rated F and all that, but I can't think of a show that's consistently written, acted and produced at such a high level.
*I say some people will be offended at that statement. I've had discussions with several fellow Christians in and out of church as to what constitutes "good" entertainment. I'll talk about this more in the future, but I think you have to look at what's good in the arts (and yes, television can be art) regardless of the content. But if it offends, don't watch. Again, much more on this later.
I revisited some movies I hadn't seen in years, movies that were actually better than I'd remembered them:
All the President's Men (1976)
Network (1976)
Passion Fish (1992)
And some excellent foreign films:
Ikiru (1954)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
My Life to Live (1962)
Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Next year? I hope to get to the theaters at least once every two months. That is, if there's anything to see.
6 comments:
Deadwood is on my list for next year. Hopefully I'll see it before 2009.
We saw two non G-rated movies in the theater this year: Harry Potter and The Bourne Ultimatum. We'd like to get to more movies, but more than that we'd like there to be more movies worth paying a babysitter to see.
With the exception of the Food Network, I am completely ignorant of TV. Lera TiVos House and Bones, which I'll watch with her if I'm in the room.
Someday I'll get your copy of Battlestar Galactica Season One back to you.
I'd be interested in your reviews of the Sopranos as you get further into it. The first two seasons are unbelievably good and it's my opinion that it goes downhill from there. We were talking about TV series the other night because Amy has watched Lost, Entourage, and is working her way through Gray's Anatomy as she works out. We concluded that you're more forgiving of a show's flaws if you can watch them back-to-back on DVD instead of having to wait a week. The suspense of waiting can make just about any show disappointing.
And for my money, Deadwood (unlike The Sopranos) gets better season to season. Sopranos introduced characters from left field just to kill them off; in Deadwood, every character they added gave the show a new dimension. It's sad HBO killed the show because they had done such a good job building the storyline over three seasons.
I don't understand why people get so easily offended by art whether for religious reasons or political reasons. Art is supposed to offend.
Trent, I'm four episodes into Season Three of The Sopranos, which is still good, but hasn't advanced as quickly as the first two. I thought the first episode with the surveillance (sp) equipment was excellent, but the following three episodes---not so much, at least so far.
I'm eager to watch the rest of Deadwood. That stopped after three seasons, is that right?
Yes, Deadwood was yanked after three seasons because of some insider wrangling and the expense of shooting a period show. There were supposed to be two, 3-hour movie to wrap it up but whether that's actually going to happen is still a matter of some debate. Which sucks because season three ends with an imminent showdown between major players.
Sopranos starts losing cohesiveness in season three and never gets it back. Plots are started and then go nowhere. For the first two seasons, each episode had an arc but there were also season arcs and series arcs that tied it all together. They get away from that too much in the later seasons in favor of making social commentary. Many people love the whole series but many of my friends agree that it never gets as good as the first two seasons. yet even at its worst, it's still better than 90% of television out there.
HBO also left another good show Carnivale hanging out to dry after two seasons.
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