Ben 's 5th Annual Review of the year
2010
2010 was a good year. Best in a long time in fact. But that's not saying much considering recent years have ranged from dire to god-awful.
But there's been nothing majorly bad that's happened in 2010. So it gets the thumbs up from me.
Great things about 2010:
Bad things about 2010:
Here are my goals for 2010, written in 2009.
The majority of films in 2010 were fairly shite, but if you looked for them there was many gems to be found. It was a great year for animation (with 4 of my top 10 being animated). Swedish thriller Girl with the Dragon Tattoo kicked the year off despite lackluster sequels, really looking forward to the Fincher remake.
How to Train Your Dragon was a real surprise; having never been a huge fan of Dreamworks animations, but How to Train Your Dragon had the heart and soul all the previous Dreamworks animations had been lacking, gutted I missed it at the cinema.
Films like The Illusionist and Mary and Max proved that hand drawn animation and claymation was very much alive. I think I was the only person that saw Mary and Max but it truly is a delightful animation featuring the voice of Philip Seymour Hoffman as a reclusive wierdo from New York that strikes up a remarkable friendship with a girl from Australia. I urge you to catch it when its out early next year on DVD/Blu-ray.
Ben Affleck proved once again that he is a much better director than actor with The Town, the 2nd best action/thriller of the year.
Toy Story 3 and Inception were battling it out for the number 1 spot for ages but having watched them both for a 2nd time recently Inception wins out with an amazing soundtrack and the best last shot of a film for quite some time.
But there's been nothing majorly bad that's happened in 2010. So it gets the thumbs up from me.
Great things about 2010:
- Finally... I've made it, I have my own Imdb.
- Molly and Sam having 7 puppies - kept 1, Harry.
- Keeping a job for a whole year!
- Finished short film 'Dreamer' which had a brilliant premiere.
- Two brilliant London trips and a mediocre trip to Belfast.
- Sitting online for 3 hours and finally obtaining a free Rage Against the Machine ticket.
- Best year ever for gigs, seen 8 1/2 of my top 10 bands (Slash counts as 1/2 of GNR)
- Best birthday I've ever had. (drunk bender to Studio 24)
- Owning a car again after 18 months of not having one.
- Guy's camping trip to Glencoe.
- Ross Ritchie coming in drunk from pub on said trip above, devouring an entire bag of Revels in 20 seconds then passing out on his face.
- Beginning my art career with my first painting entitled 'The Trampa Wanka'.
- Clare and I deciding on our big holiday road trip of 2012. West coast tour of America taking in Comic-con, Warped tour, San Diego, Los Angeles, Disneyland, Monument Valley, Las Vegas and San Fransisco and hopefully a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises on 12th July 2012.
- Lots of friends getting engaged (Liam & Nic, Stu & Kerry) and married (Lucas & Erika, Gemma & Neil). This also makes me feel old.
- Celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday.
- The best Halloween costume ever made by a human being.
Bad things about 2010:
- Chicken Pox, man it sucks getting that as a 25 year old. My beautiful face is ravaged for the rest of my life :(
- Drunken ned tries to kick our front door in. Called 999 for first time ever.
- Harry (puppy) close to death after eating golf ball.
- Getting fatter and unfit.
- Missing Circa Surive (chicken pox) and Gaslight Anthem (first time clashed with Pearl Jam, second time clashed with Jimmy Eat World).
- Car breaking down at a really awkward junction and costing £400 to repair right in time for Christmas.
- Realising I will be completely grey by age 30.
- The Death of Leslie Nielson :(
Here are my goals for 2010, written in 2009.
- Keep a job. - Yes!
- Buy a new car. - Yes!
- Finish first draft for feature-length screenplay. - 1/2 yes, wrote a short, pretty proud of it.
- Get into my cooking a bit more. - - Kind of.
- Not to be tempted at going to any festivals so I can go on holiday. - Yes and no, never went to any festivals but didn't go on holiday either.
- Begin filming or at least complete all preparations for filming new short film 'The Balance'.
- Become a bit fitter, having a better diet.
- Save a lot more. Bye gigs, blu-rays and video games!
- Stop chewing the inside of my face. Seriously, this has become a major problem.
Films
The majority of films in 2010 were fairly shite, but if you looked for them there was many gems to be found. It was a great year for animation (with 4 of my top 10 being animated). Swedish thriller Girl with the Dragon Tattoo kicked the year off despite lackluster sequels, really looking forward to the Fincher remake.
How to Train Your Dragon was a real surprise; having never been a huge fan of Dreamworks animations, but How to Train Your Dragon had the heart and soul all the previous Dreamworks animations had been lacking, gutted I missed it at the cinema.
Films like The Illusionist and Mary and Max proved that hand drawn animation and claymation was very much alive. I think I was the only person that saw Mary and Max but it truly is a delightful animation featuring the voice of Philip Seymour Hoffman as a reclusive wierdo from New York that strikes up a remarkable friendship with a girl from Australia. I urge you to catch it when its out early next year on DVD/Blu-ray.
Ben Affleck proved once again that he is a much better director than actor with The Town, the 2nd best action/thriller of the year.
Toy Story 3 and Inception were battling it out for the number 1 spot for ages but having watched them both for a 2nd time recently Inception wins out with an amazing soundtrack and the best last shot of a film for quite some time.
My Favourite 10 films of 2010
10 - Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
09 - How to Train Your Dragon
08 - The Illusionist
07 - Kick Ass
06 - The Town
05 - Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
04 - The Social Network
03 - Mary and Max
02 - Toy Story 3
01 - Inception
Honourable mentions:
Shutter Island, Un Prophete, Cemetery Junction, The Road, The Ghost, Buried, Monsters, The Secrets of Kells, Let Me In (best remake since the Departed).
Bad:
Alice in Wonderland. (Didn't see any of the notoriously bad films like The Last Airbender or Jonah Hex).
Disappointing:
The Lovely Bones, Iron Man 2, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, The Expendables.
Films I was looking forward to in 2010 and how they turned out:
Inception - 9/10
Iron Man 2 - 6/10
Lovely Bones - 5/10
The Road - 7/10
Kick Ass - 8/10
The Expendables - 5/10
Clash of the Titans - 4/10
Toy Story 3 - 9/10
Harry Potter Part 7 part 1 - 7/10
Tron: Legacy - 6/10
Most anticipated films of 2011:
1 - Black Swan
2 - Tree of Life
3 - Super 8
4 - Source Code
5 - X-Men: The First Class
6 - The Borrowers (Studio Ghibli)
7 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
8 - Cowboys Versus Aliens
9 - Scream 4
10 - Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher)
Also True Grit and 127 Hours but they are out pretty soon so don't really count.
Music
Amazing year for music, wish I was sad enough to do a top 100. Alkaline Trio returned to form with 'This Addiction' (though I would argue they never left form). Slash returned with a great, if a little patchy solo record. A part of me wishes he would just release a 2nd album instead of another Velvet Revolver album.
Not a band I've been into for a long period of time but Gaslight Anthem released another belter of an album, such a shame I missed seeing them live twice this year as I'm sure they are brilliant live.
Controversial choice having Linkin Park in my top 10 I know, but you know me I court controversy and I'll just go ahead and say that it's their best since Hybrid Theory. Its not instantly accessible and shouldn't be regarded as a collection of songs but rather one long piece of music. Put on some headphones and let it win you over.
2 Scottish band choices this year with The Xcerts and Frightened Rabbit - gaining a most impressive no.2 slot. The Xcerts massively improve on their already brilliant first album with an astounding sophomore record with Brand New producer Mike Sapone. Sombre Indie/folk/rock band Frightened Rabbit proved themselves a Biffy Clyro beater as my favourite Scottish band after their third release 'Winter of Mixed Drinks'
But since the first time I heard it I know we had our number 1 of the year back in April. Deftones confront tragedy with their most confident album yet. 'Diamond Eyes' proved to be their 2nd masterpiece and a remarkable comeback... that is if they needed a comeback at all.
it should be noted it was also a great year for movie soundtracks. Clint Mansell's score for 'Black Swan', Han Zimmer's score for 'Inception', Daft Punk's 'Tron:Legacy' and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' pulsing score for 'The Social Network' all deserve a listen and have been on as much rotation as the 10 albums mentioned below.
My Favourite 10 albums of 2010
10 - Alkaline Trio - This Addiction
09 - Slash - S/T
08 - Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
07 - Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns
06 - The Xcerts - Scatterbrain
05 - Circa Survive - Blue Sky Noise
04 - Jimmy Eat World - Invented
03 - Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow
02 - Frightened Rabbit - Winter of Mixed Drinks
01 - Deftones - Diamond Eyes
Song of the year: Jimmy Eat World - Invented
My Favourite 10 gigs of 2010
The best year ever for gigs. Saw 8 1/2 of my top 10 favourite bands. The fact that a Pearl Jam gig is at number 4 proves just what a year it was for gigs.
10 - Jimmy Eat World, Glasgow Barrowlands, November
09 - Twin Atlantic, Glasgow King Tuts, February
08 - Green Day, Glasgow SECC, 21st June
07 - Bon Jovi, London o2 Arena, 6th June
06 - Slash, Edinburgh Picturehouse, 4th August
05 - Limp Bizkit, Glasgow o2 Academy, 26th August
04 - Pearl Jam, Belfast Odyssey Arena, 23rd June
03 - Brand New, London Wembley Arena, 23rd January
(It was a true 'can't hear the band for the audience singing' gig - see below:)
02 - Rage Against the Machine, London Finsbury Park, 6th June
(Watch the intro to Killing in the Name, still gives me goosebumps)
01 - Deftones, Glasgow o2 Academy, 12th November
Honourable mentions:
Frightened Rabbit, AFI, Thrice, Glassjaw, Alkaline Trio, Coheed and Cambria, Skindred, Alexisonfire
Albums I was looking forward to in 2010 and how they turned out:
Deftones - Diamond Eyes 10/10
Alkaline Trio - This Addiciton - 8/10
Jimmy Eat World - Invented - 8/10
Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow - 9/10
Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks - 9/10
Most anticipated albums of 2011
01 - Rage Against the Machine (heavily rumoured)
02 - Thrice
03 - Explosions in the Sky
04 - Manchester Orchestra
05 - Glassjaw EP
06 - Death Cab for Cutie
07 - Foo Fighters
08 - Alkaline Trio acoustic album
09 - Mogwai
10 - Rival Schools
Amazing year for music, wish I was sad enough to do a top 100. Alkaline Trio returned to form with 'This Addiction' (though I would argue they never left form). Slash returned with a great, if a little patchy solo record. A part of me wishes he would just release a 2nd album instead of another Velvet Revolver album.
Not a band I've been into for a long period of time but Gaslight Anthem released another belter of an album, such a shame I missed seeing them live twice this year as I'm sure they are brilliant live.
Controversial choice having Linkin Park in my top 10 I know, but you know me I court controversy and I'll just go ahead and say that it's their best since Hybrid Theory. Its not instantly accessible and shouldn't be regarded as a collection of songs but rather one long piece of music. Put on some headphones and let it win you over.
2 Scottish band choices this year with The Xcerts and Frightened Rabbit - gaining a most impressive no.2 slot. The Xcerts massively improve on their already brilliant first album with an astounding sophomore record with Brand New producer Mike Sapone. Sombre Indie/folk/rock band Frightened Rabbit proved themselves a Biffy Clyro beater as my favourite Scottish band after their third release 'Winter of Mixed Drinks'
But since the first time I heard it I know we had our number 1 of the year back in April. Deftones confront tragedy with their most confident album yet. 'Diamond Eyes' proved to be their 2nd masterpiece and a remarkable comeback... that is if they needed a comeback at all.
it should be noted it was also a great year for movie soundtracks. Clint Mansell's score for 'Black Swan', Han Zimmer's score for 'Inception', Daft Punk's 'Tron:Legacy' and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' pulsing score for 'The Social Network' all deserve a listen and have been on as much rotation as the 10 albums mentioned below.
My Favourite 10 albums of 2010
10 - Alkaline Trio - This Addiction
09 - Slash - S/T
08 - Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
07 - Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns
06 - The Xcerts - Scatterbrain
05 - Circa Survive - Blue Sky Noise
04 - Jimmy Eat World - Invented
03 - Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow
02 - Frightened Rabbit - Winter of Mixed Drinks
01 - Deftones - Diamond Eyes
Song of the year: Jimmy Eat World - Invented
My Favourite 10 gigs of 2010
The best year ever for gigs. Saw 8 1/2 of my top 10 favourite bands. The fact that a Pearl Jam gig is at number 4 proves just what a year it was for gigs.
10 - Jimmy Eat World, Glasgow Barrowlands, November
09 - Twin Atlantic, Glasgow King Tuts, February
08 - Green Day, Glasgow SECC, 21st June
07 - Bon Jovi, London o2 Arena, 6th June
06 - Slash, Edinburgh Picturehouse, 4th August
05 - Limp Bizkit, Glasgow o2 Academy, 26th August
04 - Pearl Jam, Belfast Odyssey Arena, 23rd June
03 - Brand New, London Wembley Arena, 23rd January
(It was a true 'can't hear the band for the audience singing' gig - see below:)
02 - Rage Against the Machine, London Finsbury Park, 6th June
(Watch the intro to Killing in the Name, still gives me goosebumps)
01 - Deftones, Glasgow o2 Academy, 12th November
Honourable mentions:
Frightened Rabbit, AFI, Thrice, Glassjaw, Alkaline Trio, Coheed and Cambria, Skindred, Alexisonfire
Albums I was looking forward to in 2010 and how they turned out:
Deftones - Diamond Eyes 10/10
Alkaline Trio - This Addiciton - 8/10
Jimmy Eat World - Invented - 8/10
Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow - 9/10
Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks - 9/10
Most anticipated albums of 2011
01 - Rage Against the Machine (heavily rumoured)
02 - Thrice
03 - Explosions in the Sky
04 - Manchester Orchestra
05 - Glassjaw EP
06 - Death Cab for Cutie
07 - Foo Fighters
08 - Alkaline Trio acoustic album
09 - Mogwai
10 - Rival Schools
TV Top 5 series
05 - The Walking Dead
04 -Boardwalk Empire
03 -Mad Men
02 -Lost
01 - Breaking Bad
Video Games Top 5
05 -God of War III (PS3)
04 -Heavy Rain (PS3)
03 -Call of Duty: Black Ops (X-Box 360, PS3)
02 - Mass Effect 2 (X-Box 360)
01 - Red Dead Redemption (X-Box 360/PS3)
(note: not played Rock Band 3 or Gran Turismo 5 yet)
What I'm looking forward to in 2011:
- HBO series 'Game of Thrones', which I was a location assistant on the pilot, but would be looking forward to it anyway, premieres in April.
- Being (2nd) best man at Stewart Ritchie's wedding in September. Pretty sure my speech will be awesome.
- The Stag party for the above mentioned wedding.
- Planning and booking of Clare and I's huge American roadtrip in 2012.
- Return of the guys trip to Glencoe?
- 2011, hopefully will be a very boring year with no spending, no music festivals, not many gigs as I hope to save like mad... I doubt any of that will happen.
- 2 Very anticipated video games - Gears of War 3 (X-Box 360) and The Last Guardian (PS3)
HIGHLIGHT OF 2010:
Standing in tube carriage in London, it is rammed after the Rage Against the Machine gig in Finsbury Park. A man next to me decides to stick his head out the door just as the door is closing. His head becomes stuck between the two doors, after 10 seconds the doors opens again, the man stumbles back slightly stunned now sporting a black line across his cheek. Pissed myself.
That's it for the review of the best year I've had since 2002 folks.
Merry Christmas and all the best for 2011. See you this time next year!
Ben
Merry Christmas and all the best for 2011. See you this time next year!
Ben
Hugs, Kisses and Truffles Shuffles.
xxx
xxx
