Review of 2015

The 
TENTH 
Annual Review of a Year in the life of Ben Thompson.

2015

Thoughts on 2015:

I know I'm 31 but I finally feel like an adult.  2015 has broken me, not that anything particularly bad happened, it's just the year in which my priorities changed and some things of yesteryear drifted away from me.  Downside of getting older are that parties and large gatherings of friends are in short supply now that everyone has their own individual responsibilities.  Upside of getting older is that I am feeling more positive about myself, I am more confident and care less what people think.  I leave 2015 feeling a little healthier and wealthier than I ever have.

In general 2015 was a bit of a filler year for me which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  It's a year where I have been able to take stock and look to the future.  I have made a conscience effort to rid myself of the debt I have accumulated since I first got a credit card at the age of 18 and also to begin saving in the hopes of buying our first house in the next year or two.  However to achieve this I have had to be frugal in some areas which has resulted in quite a dull year with not much in the way of adventure. There has certainly been memorable days but no major holidays.  This has been the first year in memory that I have never even left Scotland.  So now that I've really sold what an exciting year I've had - now on with the review!

Favourite Day of the year: August 17th:

During the summer quiet time of work I had taken a day's holiday from work in the hopes of going on a venture with Clare.  Luckily I struck it gold with the weather, we visited North Berwick for the first time which had a brilliant atmosphere due to the sunny weather, the beach was packed with people enjoying the sun.  A visit to Tantallon castle earlier in the day secured what was to be; for me the most pleasant day of the year.

Worst Day of the year: October 17th.

 It was to be the day of my good friend Murray Lothian's stag which I had looked forward to for some time.  However on the morning I noticed the first symptoms of a dreaded migraine (see bad times), the migraine resulted in 2-3 days of bed rest and reduced to an annoying headache for a good month after the first attack.  Needless to say I was unable to attend Murray's stag which made me feel like a shit friend.  I visited him in Glasgow a few weeks later to make up for it.

The Good Times

Becoming an uncle
On December 6th I became an uncle.  My brother Iain's wife Kathlyn gave birth to a girl named Holly.  I look forward to showing her the world outside of Doune.

Completion and premier of 'Paradox Knocks'.
Early in 2015 I completed the short film that I directed from a script written by Adam Pidgeon.  We shot it in October 2014 but premiered it in March 2015 to a mixed response.  The film was a great learning experience but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed by the response.  You can view the full thing below:

 

I got a bike!
I've been wanting a bike for a few years now and thanks to some dodgy scheming through the cycle to work program I finally have one!  I have been cycling 9 miles every day to and from work since April (unless its exceptionally pissing down).  Quite proud of myself as I even feel semi-fit!  Don't know how I managed without it, it is now my favourite method of getting to work as it eliminates the tiresome waiting in traffic that comes with driving - getting a bike means you cut out all that shit!.  Also went on a few excursions at the weekend on the bike, hope to do more next year.

Got bossed about by acclaimed cinematographer
In June, acclaimed cinematographers Seamus McGarvey (The Avengers) and Haskell Wexler (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) came into Screen Academy Scotland, the place of my work to interview each other for a documentary. I assisted in the setup of the interview so I had Seamus bossing me around which was a privilege.  I also pinched Haskell's whiskey as he doesn't drink.
Haskell sadly passed away yesterday (27th December).

Saving
Every bloody year I mention on these that I am trying to save and failing well this year I was semi-successful at saving!  Started the year off with £3500 of debt on the credit card, I managed to pay half of that off during the course of the year.  I have also made a start on an ISA with the hopes of buying a house in the near future.  So go me!

The weddings
Attended some cracking weddings this year in the chronological order of:
Tom and Sarah Simpson,
Niall and Sharon McGuiness
Murray and Ailie Lothian.

Trip to the Highlands
Started the year off with the only real excursion away from home to Dingwall just north of Inverness. It was the first week in January, the weather was awful but we got to stay in a haunted castle so it was quite a cool wee trip.  Also loved a wee visit to Ulquhart castle on Loch Ness.

No more back problems!
You've probably heard me moan about back problems in previous reviews of the year, however this year they have almost become non-existant thanks mostly to a new bed and riding the bike.  I still get a twinge of pain from time to time but it is a problem that is thankfully in the past and I hope it stays there!

Back to the Future with concert
In June I had front row seats to see Back to the Future at the Festival Theatre with an orchestra performing the soundtrack.  It was a fantastic experience and would recommend it to anybody who wishes to experience a classic film with an outstanding soundtrack.

Movies, music and Video Games
Anyone who knows me knows that my favourite hobbies are films, music and video games, basically anything that involves sitting on my arse.  Well my 3 favourite things from those categories are Star Wars, Brand New and Shenmue.  And this year was a pretty big year for all 3.

- Star Wars:  The Force Awakens did not disappoint, here are my mostly spoiler free thoughts on the film.
For expectations as high as they were I believe the film delivered though I admit I was left wanting more.  However we Star Wars geeks now have new ground  to go over, we can now look forward to the multiple books and comics that will fill in the gaps.  The film whizzes by, it is constantly entertaining, it is certainly the fastest paced Star Wars film so far.  Some things are glanced over that I would've liked some more information on but hopefully answers will come in Episode 8 & 9.  The story is a little reminiscent of A New Hope but I don't have much of a problem with that, after the prequels I think we needed a 'back to basics' storyline to get us going again, though I wont be pleased if episode 8 is an Empire Strikes Back copy.  The characters new and old are strong and I look forward to seeing more films featuring Rey, Finn and Poe.  Regardless of it being a Star Wars film it is an exceptionally made blockbuster with solid direction, writing and acting with little in the way of the convoluted storytelling that most modern blockbusters suffer from.  It has just the right ammount of Star Wars cheese.  The wait for Rogue One (Dec 2016) and Episode 8 (May 2017) start now.

Current rankings of the Star Wars films:

1 - The Empire Strikes Back
2 - A New Hope
3 - Return of the Jedi
4 - The Force Awakens
5 - Revenge of the Sith
6 - Attack of the Clones
7 - The Phantom Menace



- Shenmue 3:  After 14 years of silence, I was just about to give up hope that we would ever return to the universe of the Dreamcast classic and complete the story, however it was announced at E3 that Shenmue 3 was in development for Playstation 4 by original creator Yu Suzuki, albeit with help from a Kickstarter (which I gladly donated towards) which makes me concerned it won't be a top tier title.  If they can keep the same feel as the first 2 games I'll be happy.  It's due for release in December 2017.


- Brand New:  Brand New have probably been my favourite band for about 10 years now, but they have been mostly silent for the last 6 years with intermittent touring.  However they started to break the silence this year, still no album sadly but the release of a short but damn good song -'Mene'.  They officially released remasters of the demos that were leaked in 2006 albeit on cassette.  They also finally played Edinburgh in September after me travelling the world to see them.  There they played my favourite album in full unannounced, needless to say it was probably the best gig I've ever been to.



The Bad Times

Migraines
During my teenage years I experienced some god awful migraines that would result in me spending 2 days in bed trying to get past the pain, they disappeared around about the time I turned 18.  Unfortunately they returned with vengeance this year, I have no idea why.  I only had 3 in the year but 2 of them were absolutely horrible, taking about a month after each to for my head to return to normal.  They suck.  One of them also made me miss Murray's stag party.

House getting torn apart
Some rising damp in our downstairs bathroom was much worse than anticipated.  It had spread to much of upstairs resulting in a damp-proofing company having to tear the house apart with floorboard lifting and wall breaking causing much dust and disruption,  Much of our things are still covered in dust despite constant cleaning.

World politics and terror mongering
Not sure if it has been world events or I'm just getting older but I can't help but feeling the world is fucked.  The November attacks on Paris occured the day before my birthday which is a terror event that deeply unnerved me,  Clare and I were due to fly to Paris that weekend for my birthday and attend a Deftones concert at the Bataclan venue where the attacks took place on the Saturday (the attack took place on the Friday).  I know atrocities such as these are known to take place regularly in Syria and other unfortunate countries but this especially hit close to home, the people attacked were just enjoying a night out at a concert as I often do.

Terminator Genysis
I was never that excited at the thought at a new Terminator film but the endorsement from James Cameron peaked my interest so I decided to check it out.  Big mistake, my soul died after viewing this monstrosity.  I have no idea why big Jim Cameron signed off on it as it pisses all over the the first 2 almost perfect films.  The casting is atrocious, the acting from the 2 leads is appaling (despite Emilia Clarke being pretty good in Game of Thrones).  The plot is a bit like it was written on toilet paper and then someone threw spaghetti on it.  This is the worst Terminator film and this is from a franchise that has Terminator 3 and Terminator Salvation in it.   Please don't make more.


MY FAVOURITE FILMS OF 2015

My Favourite 10 Films of 2015:

10 - It Follows
09 - Ex Machina
08 - The Salvation
07 - Bridge of Spies
06 - Crimson Peak
05 - Inside Out
04 - Wild Tales
03 - Mad Max: Fury Road
02 - Whiplash
01 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Least Favourite film of 2015: Terminator Genysis

Biggest disappointment of 2015: Spectre

Some critically acclaimed films I have yet to see:  Brooklyn, Creed, 45 Years, Amy

Underrated: Everest
Overrated: Steve Jobs


MY FAVOURITE MUSIC OF 2015

10: Death Cab for Cutie - Kintsugi


09: Refused - Freedom


08 - Fightstar - Behind the Devil's Back

07: The Wonder Years - No Closer to Heaven

06: Creeper - The Callous Heart EP

05 - Bring Me the Horizon - That's the Spirit

04: Dustin Kensrue - Carry the Fire

03: The Dear Hunter - Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise

02 - The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die - Harmlessness

01: Coheed and Cambria - The Color Before the Sun


Favourite Song of 2015:


Concerts I have attended in 2015, ranked:

22 - Circa Survice / RX Bandits - ABC 2, Glasgow 21st May
21 - Dan Andriano - Stereo, Glasgow 14th November
20 - Lonely the Brave - King Tuts, Glasgow 12th March
19 - Finch - G2, Glasgow 27th May
18 - Alkaline Trio (playing From Here to Infirmary in full) - ABC, Glasgow 7th July

17 - Skindred - ABC, Glasgow 10th November

16 - Foo Fighters - Murrayfield, Edinburgh 8th September
15 - Fightstar - ABC, Glasgow 24th February
14 - Dustin Kensrue - Oran Mor, Glasgow 5th May

13 - Jim Adkins - Cottiers, Glasgow 3rd September

12 - The Dear Hunter - King Tuts, Glasgow 30th August

11 - Dropkick Murphys - Barrowlands, Glasgow 18th March
10 - Four Year Strong - The Arches, Glasgow 21st March
09 - Twin Atlantic - Hogmanay street party, Edinburgh 1st January
08 - Slipknot / Korn - Hydro, Glasgow 18th January
07 - The Xcerts - Mash House, Edinburgh 17th April
06 - AC/DC - Hampden Park, Glasgow 28th June
05 - Bring Me The Horizon - Corn Exchange, Edinburgh 25th November
04 - Edinburgh Metal Party (Skindred headlining) - Studio 24, Edinburgh 22nd August
03 - Brand New - Art School, Glasgow 2nd June
02 - The Hotelier - Bar Bloc, Glasgow 19th May
01 - Brand New (playing Deja Entendu in full) - Usher Hall, Edinburgh 21st September

Most anticipated movies, music, books and video games of 2016:

(in the following order)

Brand New - TBC (album)
Star Wars: Rogue One (film)
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Playstation 4 video game)
The Last Guardian (Playstation 4 video game)
Game of Thrones Season 6 (HBO tv series)
Deftones - TBC (album)
Daredevil Season 2 (tv series)
The Winds of Winter (book)
Rick and Morty Season 3 (tv series)
The Hateful Eight (film)
X-Files Season 10 (tv series)
Westworld Season 1 (tv series)
Vinyl Season 1 (HBO tv series)
The Revenant (film)
Biffy Clyro - TBC (album)
Passengers (film)
Hail, Ceasar! (film)
A bunch of superhero movies, from most to least anticipated - X-Men: Apocalypse, Captain America: Civil War, Suicide Squad, Doctor Strange, Deadpool, Batman Vs. Superman.
Independence Day: Resurgence (film) It will probably be pretty poor but the 90s nostalgia is strong.
Blink 182 - TBC (album)

Plans for 2016

Holiday - Hoping to go for a small Germany/Switzerland road trip in summer to see Craig and Carina.

Star Wars Celebration - 2016 will be my first visit to a Star Wars celebration, 2016's edition takes place in London in July.  If it's half as good as the LA one which was webcast the year it'll be a joy.  I already have our costumes planned.

Hopes and goals for 2016

Keep on perfecting the balance between saving money, having fun, creating memories and spending time with people.

Stop counting the days and start enjoying them.

Make a film.

Clear debt.  If all goes to plan I will be finally debt free February 2017 (student loan doesn't count). But when does shit ever go to plan?

Wishing you all the best for 2016!
Ben
xxxxxxx