The Best (and Worst) of 2008

The Best (and Worst) of 2008 (12)

December 23, 2008

There’s no better way to say hello to a new year than with lists. But in lieu of having anything important to document, we decided to take the next best route and award absolutely nothing to our favorite bands and films of 2008.

So, without further delay, here’s the best (and some of the worst) music and cinema of 2008, as decided by someone who is not you.

The Best (and Worst) of 2008

Recent Film + TV Reviews

Observe and Report (0)

Observe and Report

Ronnie Barnhardt is one angry dude, and angry dudes aren’t usually the sort of guys you want in any sort of position of authority (even if that authority is limited to a shopping mall). That is unless you’re looking for a reason to laugh your ass off at someone else’s expense.

Adventureland (1)

Adventureland

It’s easy to forget that life in the 80s wasn’t all cocaine, hookers, and haircuts inspired by A Flock of Seagulls. Luckily for moviegoers, writer/director Greg Mottola still remembers all those lovelorn days spent standing teary eyed by the Donkey Kong cabinet.

Fanboys (0)

Fanboys

This description was going to feature a hilarious Star Wars joke in it, but that seemed unfair to this movie. So instead we’ve decided to make fun of Stargate Atlantis, but we’ll have to get back to you after we’ve actually seen an episode of that.

Watchmen (7)

Watchmen

Zack Snyder pulls off the impossible, creating one of the finest superhero films ever to hit the silver screen in the process. We’ll probably see Alan Moore clean-shaven before we’ll ever catch him watching this adaptation, but it’s truly his loss.

Recent Music Reviews

Surf City - S/t EP (1)

Surf City - S/t EP

With Die! Die! Die! starting to gain recognition in the American punk scene and the recent North American release of Cut Off Your Hands’ You and I, buzz has been slowly growing around that boot-shaped island near Australia. Surf City’s self-titled EP is just another piece of evidence that The Forces That Be are trying to make New Zealand the New Sweden.

Cut City - Narcissus Can Wait (0)

Cut City - Narcissus Can Wait

With the indie rock power brokers and hype men hailing Sweden as the New Capital of Cool, Cut City’s brand of post-punk cannot really be dismissed as being a little late to the dance. They get to make the rules now, and Cut City have decided that, all evidence to the contrary, post-punk is not dead.

Timo Räisänen - …And Then There Was Timo (5)

Timo Räisänen - …And Then There Was Timo

Timo Räisänen’s cover album finds him using his quirky, trademark style to revamp the work of musicians as disparate as …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and Whitney Houston, and damn it if the man doesn’t make it work!

White Lies - To Lose My Life (4)

White Lies - To Lose My Life

If you’ve been looking for a good reason to crimp your hair, or put that Corey Hart poster back up on the wall (mine will never come down), the White Lies debut album, To Lose My Life, just might do the trick.