Eric Hughes's 2009 Calvins Ballot

By Eric Hughes

March 2, 2010

It was difficult for me to pick my favorite film of 2009. So, what did I do? I picked two. Not purposefully, though. In fact, about a week after I noticed the error, I felt pretty stupid about it.

In a December edition of How to Spend $20, I said (and I quote): "My favorite movie (so far) of 2009 is Inglourious Basterds..." A few weeks go by, and I make a similar statement about Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. Today, you're reading a column about my Calvins ballot, which lists my favorite movies, actors, TV and other goodies from 2009. Which movie did I stick on top? Inglourious Basterds.

Does this mean my BOP writing privileges get taken away? In the immortal words of Michael Bluth, let's hope it doesn't come to that. To even things out, my favorite movie of 2009 is Inglourious Basterds. And The Hurt Locker. Water board me if you want; I'm sticking with a tie.

Other favorites from 2009 are Avatar (obviously), Fantastic Mr. Fox (also my favorite animated movie) and the virtually unseen Paper Heart, which had Charlyne Yi faux falling in love with Michael Cera. It's a sweet piece of docufiction that I can only hope you make time for now that it's on the home market. One more notable release is Whip It, Drew Barrymore's directorial debut about a societal outcast (Ellen Page) who excels at women's roller derby. It's a fun ride.

Alternatively, my picks for the year's worst include titles that were god awful (The Other Man), over hyped (Paranormal Activity) and disappointing (Funny People).

You probably haven't heard of The Other Man, and that's spectacular. It stars Liam Neeson as a man who discovers his wife (Laura Linney) is also a friend of Antonio Banderas. I would never ever ever watch it again. Ever. Ugh, look at me. I've spent too much time thinking and writing about The Other Man. Moving on.

As for Paranormal Activity, it's a poor man's Blair Witch. Though I'm glad I experienced it with everyone else on the weekend it finally hit #1, I do wish someone else had paid for my ticket. It's sloppy, hysterical in parts it shouldn't and not scary. Props to Paranormal's marketing team, however. Taking down Saw was a huge accomplishment.

Finally, it was with great sorrow that I included Judd Apatow's Funny People as one of my least favorite movies of 2009. Next to The 40 Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, Funny People is an easy third. The conversational comedy that worked so well in Apatow's earlier movies falls flat in Funny People. And the movie's structure is uneven. You begin in one film and end in another. That works sometimes. This time it didn't.

Now's when I decide to jump to Best Use of Music. I figure it probably won't get much coverage on the other individualized ballots.

Hands down, the award goes to Sherlock Holmes. Its score was the best I've heard since Atonement. Dramatic scenes benefited greatly from hysteric violins cued by Hans Zimmer, the composer. Prior to Sherlock Holmes, Zimmer scored movies like Frost/Nixon, The Last Samurai and The Thin Red Line. He's won the Oscar once (The Lion King), the Golden Globe twice (The Lion King, Gladiator) and has collected at least a nomination for either award 16 times in the past 16 years. The man's incredible.

Other movies that made my list include Whip It (for its rock anthems), Away We Go (for its soft and folksy rhythms – in particular, Alexi Murdoch's "All My Days") and Adventureland (for being an ‘80s period piece with jams by Lou Reed, David Bowie, The Cure and Violent Femmes).

Speaking of music, it'd be criminal of me to withhold my favorite albums of 2009. My top spot belongs to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Though It's Blitz! is just 40 minutes of new material spread over ten tracks, the band manages to mix manic ("Heads Will Roll," "Dull Life") and leisure ("Skeletons," "Little Shadow") with what could only be considerable ease. It's tough to put one song on without wanting to hear the rest.

Lily Allen proved she's a fan of commas when she followed up Alright, Still with It's Not Me, It's You. She also proved she's a talent who I have missed considerably since taking a hiatus from singing to pursue other interests. I respect Lily because she's bold in a song like "Fuck You," then extremely sentimental in the album's best track, "Chinese." In addition to the lyrics, which Lily co-authors, It's Not Me, It's You's beats are fun and super catchy.

Finally, a little TV talk feels appropriate before I stick a fork in this column.

It's remarkable how much my likes and dislikes in television have changed from just a year ago. My 2009 Calvins ballot, my first, included six shows that I neglected to put on this year's list. They were left off for one of two reasons (or both): a) I don't watch them anymore or b) they turned sour.

But what really jumbled my list this year is that a number of new shows reached creative success very quickly. Typically, it takes a writing staff a full season or more to firmly grasp the characters and story. Even a show like Seinfeld didn't hit its stride until season four. But Modern Family? Funny since the pilot. Community? Funny since the seventh episode, when Abed does an impeccable Bruce Wayne impression. And Parks and Recreation, which had a six-episode seasonette last spring, came back funnier than anything else this season. It's the gem of NBC's Thursday night comedy block.

As for drama, Mad Men is my favorite series on television. It's magic. Excellent actors play characters you can't help but care about. The plot moves slowly, but rewards those who pay attention.

Dexter, benefiting from an injection of John Lithgow, is a pretty close second. Lithgow did wonders for the Showtime series as one of the creepiest characters ever to "grace" the small screen. His Golden Globe was well deserved. I'd expect him to take the stage at the Emmys as well.

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