The Best of 2012 (so far): The Rest

So I pinpointed what I thought of what I thought were the best games, movies and TV series of the year. For some there were some surprising omissions and for others I didn't talk about other pieces of entertainment like literature, comics and music. So this for those people.

First off new albums that I loved this year, include Metric's Synthetica, Marilyn Manson's Born Villain, the new Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen and Beach Boys albums. In terms of comics, buy Saga. It is amazing, if a comic that combines Star Wars and Game of Thrones doesn't catch your interest nothing will . China Mieville's books are currently disliked by myself but his work on turning the formerly shitty 70s Dial H concept into a deeply bizarre piece of science fiction/fantasy blend. Also from DC Earth two is a fun book that is better than the actual Justice League book (I'm only buying until the Shazam backup becomes its own book). From Marvel the first issue of the new Hawkeye series caught my interest, and the new Captain Marvel series is another one to pick up as you pick up the Marvel NOW reload thing. Finally if you ever wanted a political drama mix with Close Encounters than buy Saucer County.

Books are a bit harder for me. Not because I don't read quite the opposite, I read much buts usually catch-up of reading recently critically acclaimed books from years past or reading/re-reading the classics for example I'm reading Ben Hur again instead of 50 Shades of Porn. But books I've read this year that I love include the fun Arabian influenced fantasy novel Throne of the Crescent Moon, the hilarious SF comedy Redshirts, the gripping thriller Gone Girl, Hilary Mantel's awesome new historical fantasy Bring Up the Bodies, and Martin Amis' wonderful new book Lionel Asbo.

Now on to why certain things didn't make my list first up being film. The Hunger Games isn't on my list because while I don't hate it, and I think its not a bad movie, it didn't really grab me perhaps because of the lack of violent detail the books certainly had. The Dictator was very funny at times, but nothing came close to Borat or even Bruno and it was full of painfully unfunny tropes. Men in Black 3 was a terrible, terrible movie and I hope and pray they don't try to make a fourth. Prometheus was a movie that I liked but definitely thinks its a lot smarter than it is and is plagued with plot holes. The Amazing Spider Man might actually the second best Spider Man movie but that doesn't raise it above being just good.

In terms of new TV shows obviously there wasn't a lot of great, but that's standard before the fall releases the deluge from the big 4 networks. A lot of friends of mine were disappointed with the death of Alcatraz, but I thought it was an awful idea and execution of a TV show with sub par writing and a terrible hook with prisoners popping up. Smash wasn't a bad show, its first season was mediocre at parts by I think it has the making of being a pretty good show. House of Lies seemed to go back and forth between episodes in being very funny and painfully unfunny, so I'm mixed or maybe that's just me wanting Don Cheadle to do more movies. Touch was good at showing how capable an actor Kiefer Sutherland is outside of Jack Bauer, but didn't really hook me so I stopped watching. Finally I was very excited with the return of Dallas, and I liked its return but it needs to bump up the writing because this show could be just as great as the original but for now is a sub-par imitation .

Finally video games and here only two need to be addressed Fez, Diablo III and Max Payne 3. First off Fez,  Fez is a good game however I don't think its a great game or the next Braid or Limbo. Its gameplay mechanic is fun and intriguing but its full of pretention of greatness. Like puzzles that involve morse code or barcode scanning. Still not bad just not a favorite. Max Payne 3 is fun but contains serious problems in the story and character department. First of all while nihilism is fine for a character its important to have moments of enjoyment to balance it something that Max Payne does not receive in 3. I'd actually like to get into this with more detail at a later date so more on this than. Diablo III isn't a bad game either but to put it bluntly I never had much fun with it. Maybe I'm simply bored of the dungeon crawler or the was annoyed by paper thin random dungeon mechanic. I don't know why I didn't like it as much as so many others but I definetly knew not to put it on my list.

The Best of 2012 (so Far): Video Games

Everyone knows that the games industry releases its best and brightest in the fall, leaving the months of January through August to have a couple of big hits, lots of indie games and sports simulators. So the games that end up on this list fall directly in to this camp, I mean I have 3 downloadable games on a best of the year (so far) list. You never see a downloadable game win best of the year. But I guess that's better to highlight them here before all the big sequel heavy fall season.

The Walking Dead
Yes, as of today not all the episodes have been released but each chapter can be bought as a separate game so shut up. Yes a point and click adventure game is one of the best I've played this year, but its been a while since I've played a branching story line in a game with choices this tough. Based on similarly grey TV series and excellent comic book series , this game has re invigorated my interest in the point and click genre and the concept of episodic games. This game has some of the best writing of the year and the most interesting characters. The puzzles sometimes leave a little to be desired in challenge but the story just sucks you in like water going down the plughole.

Spelunky
Funny how much XBLA kicked ass this year outside of the actual Summer of Arcade which was full of games that ranged from sadly mediocre (Deadlight), to annoying (Hybrid) and obvious cash grab (Tony Hawk). But right outside that lay the super fun but extremely difficult lay Spelunky, the XBLA version of Demon's Souls. Spelunky is like a retro throwback to the days of gem collection, cavern exploration and controller throwing difficulty. Yes Spelunky is a wonderful little game that will kill you as you try to survive but also search for treasures, although if you die its back to the beginning of the game although its almost always your fault not the game's. Its a game that rewards careful planning, exploration and patience.

Mass Effect 3
The only real blockbuster to be released so far this year, Mass Effect 3 is fantastic from start to finish. Yes I said to finish because the ending is good people, it fits perfectly. If you didn't like it fine but remember the whole game is the ending of the series not just the last five minutes. And what an ending it is. I can't yet call it the best game in the series because of the equally fantastic quality of the Mass Effect 2. But the shooting is tighter than its ever been, the story&writing are fantastic, it's full of tragic, exciting, and breathtaking moments. It's just a fantastic game that demands to be replayed by importing different saves just to see how much the story and moments can change.

Journey
So far this is my favorite game of the year, possibly one of my favorite games in a couple of years. Game after game, year after year Thatgamecompany has been pumping out some fine examples of artistic games that understand the importance of theme, beauty and fun. But if one problem had to picked from there previous games flOw and flower it was that it created an interesting and emotional narrative. Journey fixes this problem by revolutionizing co op, play in Joseph Campbell play-set, look better than dozens of 60 dollar games and cause myself to experience some of the broadest emotions a video game has ever done so. So yeah that's where the bars at for game of the year.

Spec Ops: The Line
I want to tell you what makes Spec Ops The Line one of the best games of the year (so far), but I can't. I can't because what makes this game a revolutionary experience I'd have to talk about the story, which would be spoiling one fucking emotionally deadening story. Lets say that I thought I knew this game when I started playing, that it would be a Gears/CoD rip off with sand. But no, no it is not. This game uses its narrative to really say something about war, PTSD and the nature of video games as a whole. Its multi layered, grim as hell, deeply thematic, the adjectives stretch on to the horizon. Its just a game that you must play if you care about the concept of games as an artistic statement, or you love games that care about melding gameplay with story. This and Journey are games that simply must be played.

Okay so this special recommendation goes to recent Sleeping Dogs. The game has problem in its story and shooting, but this is one fun open world game that mixes the best of GTA and Yakuza, with some solid graphics and writing thats definitely worth playing.

The Best of 2012 (so far): Television

At first this list was incredibly difficult to write because simply of the mass of good shows out there right now, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Mad Men, Community, The Borgias, Parks & Recreation all deserve a spot on here but a thought came to me at the last second, that people already know about those shows, and it would be more productive to point out instead the best new shows of 2012. Further note however is that this sadly omits British, Japanese and other foreign television because I simply haven't looked at some of there most recent critically acclaimed shows. So onward

Girls
Wow just wow. I heard about Girls, or more specifically the backlash against Girls when it premiered, and I have to say that in terms of marketing that's a great way to attract viewers. So I watched the first episode and I was hooked. Lena Durham knows how to make a funny TV show. But not just a funny show, a funny show with depth and insights into the female experience of the twenty-something years. Its been a long time since I've seen a TV comedy worth writing a university paper on, perhaps since Arrested Development. Girls really deserves to be viewed by even more people because without it, well be trapped in a world where the best female comedy representation will be 2 Broke Girls and Whitney.

Awake
The tragedy of the year so far for me is the excellent psychological cop drama Awake. I mean here's a show that plays with my head like a (good) Stephen King novel. But while the acting is amazing, the premise sucks you in immediately and the concept of solving crimes by jumping between a real and fake reality is just, for a lack of a better word awesome, the show must be looked at as a casualty. Awake is now gone, because not enough people watched it, meaning I blame you. No Awake just should never have been put on NBC, it should have been on Showtime or HBO, or its own feature film. Now the story is forever unfinished but the amazing first (and only) season still deserves to be watched. Lets make this a Firefly.

Veep
I'm a big, big fan of Armando Iannucci's British political comedy and swear-fest, The Thick of It so now that he's turning his eyes to the office of the vice president, you now have one more reason to watch his stuff. Veep is very, very funny. Not as funny or insightful as The Thick of It, but Julia Louise-Dreyfus and the rest of the cast makes this show infinitely watchable. Political comedies seem to be a rarity this side of the pond, and all the rarest examples need to be gobbled while we got them. Plus you'll never see another show where the Vice President shits herself. Veep is getting a second season and I'll definitely be tuning in to it just to hear all those amazingly creative swears. And Mike, because Mike is fucking hilarious.

Magic City
I don't actually love this show like how I love Veep or Girls but that doesn't mean Magic City is bad. Magic City probably was the easiest pitch ever, The Sopranos + Mad Men, and its first season is very much like Mad Men in many ways. However the show plays with the corruption and mafia intimidation in Miami circa 1959 in a novel way and the show has plenty of good actors playing good characters. But the show sometimes feels a little too much like a copycat of Mad Men, so I hope the second season carves out its own identity and tightens up the plotting. This could be a really great crime drama for Starz, so here's my tip of the hat to them as they head for there second season.

The Newsroom
Me and the Newsroom had a fun ride. I actually stopped watching after episode two because it started to show colors of extreme liberalism that occasionally turned me off the creator, Aaron Sorkin's previous show The West Wing. Now while I am in no way a conservative, extreme liberalism can turn me off because it thinks that its so fucking perfect for every situation. I was told however to keep watching. I did and now I'm in love with this show. The show actually used its liberalism as a plot point and apologize for it later on in the season. Yes the show is presenting the perfect news anchor and news show but it's a great show for revealing the ugly undercurrents of American tragedies, best done perhaps by actually talking about real events. I would recommend the show tune up in making me care about more than only the main players but that's really the only critique I have for the fantastic show. This has been a good year for HBO.

Special Mention: While I haven't seen every episode of Gravity falls I can tell you I hope this gets more of a following because this a funny show thanks to ever imaginative and clever writing and a great pair of performances by Jason Ritter and Kristen Schaal .

The Best of 2012 (so far): Cinema

Best of the year lists are always a good way of recognizing the shining pinnacles of the year, but one problem with them is that it doesn't recognize other good pieces that stood shoulder to shoulder with those fine films/games/shows. That's why I wanted to make a best of the 2012 so far list because I fear that certain excellent pieces of entertainment will fall by the wayside for higher polished pieces. Of course this is only my opinion not fact, I'm not the human embodiment of Encyclopedia Britannica.  So here we go...

First off film. 2012 has been a good year for movies but certainly not excellent (the summer schedule was packed with only a handful of really good movies).  That is at least from the standpoint of me being only able to see the certain films that play at a cinema that I can get to, so sorry Beasts of the Southern Wilds, Cosmopolis, Red Hook Summer, Robot & Frank and Moonrise Kingdom I did not see you when you came out but don't worry I will see you. Now on to the best

The Dark Knight Rises
I actually really didn't want to put this here. Its not that the film is bad, it wouldn't be here if it was, but I wanted to spotlight some more forgotten material. However in compiling down this list to the 5 best and one special mention, it inevitably rose above the rest. So a brief review, its good, its well made, acted, written etc. It's not perfect it has its flaws, namely that it diluted some of its laser focused realism for more comic book tropes to create a more epic finale, a tactic the previous masterpiece of the genre did not have to do. But it still deserves to be mentioned because its probably one of the smartest films of the summer, and its just a gripping ride from start to finish.

ParaNorman
If you saw Brave I think you might agree with me that it was seriously underwhelming. Again not bad, but it needed to be cooked longer before its presentation (it was nice to hear Kelly McDonald of Trainspotting fame though). ParaNorman is the more Pixary movie of the summer though, although what can you expect from the people that brought you Coraline. Many might underestimate ParaNorman, but in the storytelling department this film shines. It has one of the most engrossing and dark stories I've seen in a while, with a really serious message it wants to give to the audience, and I mean all the audience kids to adults. Not to mention that before all that the pure ghosts&ghouls adventure is just fun. Its still in theaters so go see it.

Avengers
Yes another film that will in no way be forgotten, and for good reason. Just the simple fact that the whole cinematic universe culminating in the ultimate team up movie actually worked is celebration enough really, but its worth remembering that the movie works for reasons other than that. Joss Whedon's direction and script just get the characters and how the they operate as a single unit so well, plus he understands that breathing room between action scenes is crucial in the big epic action films. That's why most of the film involves the team bickering on a flying aircraft carrier. I'm excited for the second wave of universe build up with the next couple of sequels and new movies.

Cabin in the Woods
The other kind of Joss Whedon movie (well okay its not really his movie he just co wrote the script and helped get it to screens) is one of the best examples of meta fiction in a long time on the silver screen. Its equal tones of parody, straight up and deconstruction of the camp killer genre really make this a gem I hope continues to be remembered as the years go by. Plus it's one of two movies I can admit to have seem more than once this year the other being the Avengers. It's just really, really funny and has one of my favorite endings in a long time, as well as just being full of great performances by everyone involved. So in other words BUY THIS, when it comes to blu ray and dvd.

Chronicle
While Cabin in the Woods is close, this is my favorite movie of the year (so far). Now its weird I like this at all because if you want me immediately dislike your movie you have one of two things: found footage and teenagers. Yes the Blair witch project was good (at the time), but come on people stop thinking this is the only way to make a story look "real". Chronicle however feels real, even if it does superpowered teenagers acting like assholes. Its script feels fresh, the acting is impeccable, its tell one of the best superhero stories since the Incredibles outside of simple adaptions. It just works in every way even in ways I didn't think could work. Go see this movie, like now. Its just really, really, really, really good.

So the special mention here goes to a movie that I can't say is great or should be on this list, but I want to make a recommendation of John Carter. Yes it has flaws, serious flaws that hurt it but this was an ambitious movie with serious love behind it and the result is a pretty well acted, good looking, fun movie. So please, please see it.

Oh the places they'll go

Mitt Romney's summer vacation was great didn't you here. He got universally hated by the entire country of Britain, and than Palestine. Not like those people would be important figures in any presidential administration. But to be fair to Willard Mitt Romney, he did try to look like an accomplished statesman (even if he's been universally criticized by both the left and right for having weak foreign policy chops). Its just he didn't learn from other great statesman like Churchill a very important rule, keep your mouth shut in public. As such he said really really really stupid things. And than the whole mess got capped off when his press agents, started verbally abusing and denying the facts from the only people who would let America know the facts and the governor's responses. 

But why did this man even go on this dumb trip when it really won't effect the election at all, and all he did was make him look like a buffoon to the entire world stage. Well its simple: because Obama did it. Yes Barrack Obama departed on a pilgrimage to Europe in 2008 to the Middle East and Europe in a buddy buddy road-trip with his BFF Hope. And unlike Mitt, and this is the sticking point here... everybody loved him. He gave a speech to 200 000 Germans and they loved it. He wasn't even the president and yet he could haul Kennedy size crowds with just the setting of his foot on soil. But why did Obama succeed and Romney fail? 

Well the answer is unfortunately simple in many ways. Obama was kind already known in 2008 internationally, and so drawing support and crowds. He made his flubs sure but the shear excitement of the participating countries outweighed any coverage of that. Because to the world he was no longer a politician, and he didn't become one again until after the financial crisis by the way, he was a celebrity and ask any major celebrity what happens when they travel abroad and they'll tell you they draw crowds. 

Mitt Romney was not assembling that kind of buzz before he went, in fact I would hazard a bet that less than 2% in the countries visited knew of him before coming. Mitt Romney's lack of celebrity killed him because it made him an unknown visitor who was deemed unimportant by the masses making him a blank slate, and than making his dumb regards to there countries affairs made him more reviled. There was no good to counteract the bad. 

Also Obama offered something to the world, which was he's not Bush. In 2008 Bush was hated by most of the world I think its fair to say (I disagree with much of it but that's for another time). Obama was not Bush and the world reveled in it. He was different in every way, he was black so he was a man who rose rather than be handed. He offered hope while Bush seemed to offer constant ill advised war. He was not Bush and the world wanted someone who could in there eyes wipe out the remnants of the anti US stigma much of the world had. 

Romney is coming in now when Barrack God-Child Obama is the president and he's attacking the worlds favorite man. Because unlike in the US, the world still kind of loves Barrack Obama. mainly because he's not Bush and because he has that celebrity charisma. Romney is viewed as the enemy of Obama and therefore the enemy of Obama's global defenders. 

So in the end Romney's trip was mostly doomed from the start its just that he made it worse by bashing the Olympics, encouraging war and telling his press officers to tell America eyes and ears to kiss his ass.

Were Not Laughing Anymore

I like all lovers of good satire and politics, have followed the big time Minnesota conservative congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Her many follies and slips ups have been funny to say the least. From small bits like her terrible Elvis birthday wish on the anniversary of his death to big ones like her belief in the ability to cure homosexuality. Every little bit of her political career is plagued with dumb, dumb things. She thinks global warming is a hoax, her outlandish, absurd description of the cost of a state visit to India, her belief in retracting from the global economy, connecting swine flu to democratic presidents etc.

See while these are crazy she was never in any position of power to enact any of this. Sure she was running for president but anybody who thought she had a serious shot at defeating Obama let alone win the nomination is almost as crazy as she is. She a congresswoman with four years experience and a crazy track record. I mean at least Romney is SANE.

But no I'm not laughing anymore because she's not doing wacky, outlandish routines anymore. She's going on a witch hunt. A witch hunt for Muslims in congress.

A Victim. Nothing More

Ms. Bachmann sent to several levels and branches of the US government including the Department of State and Defense claiming that the US government and the Obama administration in particular has been "infiltrated by Muslim Brotherhood terrorists". Specifically she attacks Huma Abedin, Hilary Clinton's assistant Chief of Staff, and a Muslim-American has been manipulating the actions of the State Department to support extremist Islamist causes like the Brotherhood. She claims that Ms. Abedin's father (who's been dead for twenty years) and two other relatives are deeply connected to violent, anti-american terrorist groups.

There is no proof of any of this at all. This is an extreme abuse of power and a clear act of defamation of a public American official. Michele Bachmann is launching an attack based completely on fear and distrust for a sector of Americans, Muslims. Ms. Bachmann is allowed to express her freedom of speech if she truly does distrust an entire faith, but to publicly claim that the Us government is infected and that long working public official is a "terrorist sympathizer" is an abuse of that right. These are not funny, and I will not kid about them. These words have already been beat down by many politicians of both the left and thankfully equally beat down by the high ranking members of the right including Majority Leader John Boehner and Senator John McCain. But certain members are starting to support her and attacking other officials.

This is McCarthyism plain and simple. Bachmann has left any sense of representation or public duty and is srpeading misinformation, paranoia and lies. She needs to be punished by the Congress for these remarks and I call upon the voters of her district: DO NOT re-elect this woman. At all. She does not deserve to hold public office. Please elect Jim Graves to the seat. I do not know him personally but he seems like a decent, rational and sane man. Or at the least if you do not want Jim Graves as your representative please, PLEASE have a public outcry against Michele Bachmann and DEMAND that she resign from the campaign so you can elect a better conservative.

Its been a fun and funny ride but this is serious and she needs to go.

She Who Must Not Be Named: David & Maggie

David Cameron's government has been criticized recently for its efforts to privatize the National Health System. When I heard this I was immediately shocked, not because there are efforts to wrongly privatize the NHS but because the concept of privatization is being implemented the David Cameron's government. This solidified a personal theory of mine that Cameron has been a Thatcherite for years but has cleverly hidden it by turning his party into a gray, neutral PR firm. Maybe he was inspired by lasts year's equally non partisan film the Iron Lady.

Thatcher was of course famous for her broad sales of state utilities into markets that were barely affected by them. She made millions doing it which along with her deregulation of the financial markets lead to economic prosperity, This of course backfired as the stock exchange eventually imploded and the revenue streams dried up. That and the fact she basically ruined the lives of thousands of working class people. Now you might think by all this I hate Thatcher but its quite the opposite I admire her in some ways. She was very intelligent, she did what she thought was right and she was vicious a trait which was her greatest asset and fatal flaw. It took down the Iron Curtain and the IRA She viciously defended the Falklands a good thing but escalated the conflict far further than needed. She took on the all powerful unions but again went to far and stripped them bare. Her viciousness eventually destroyed her own cabinet and divided the party over her poll tax and she was forced out.

Now a little personal theory of mine is the evolution of the British Conservative party in response to public hatred of the probably soon to be late Baroness Thatcher. Poll taxes aside (they only hated it because they knew it would be public cyanide pills in an already rough time). After Thatcher stepped away John Major took over for seven years in which he tried to stopped the inevitable Blair tide from coming in and washing his party out. Major was a pathetic PM who tried to appease the bloodthirsty public without bringing back public hangings for the lovely lady. So after the not so great appeaser was beaten down by Tony Blair, the Tories began what I call the Graying. It started under William Hague to a degree but was fully implemented by now PM David Cameron. The policy is simple: throw out all ideological ideas no matter what you think personally.

See because he was of the posh elite in the boom time under Thatcher its very obvious that someone like Cameron deeply admires the woman and her vicious political nature because he's nothing like her. He's a quiet Oxford type who doesn't like being yelled at. So when he got the leadership in 2005 he took the party in the direction of shredding ideology and purpose and do anything no matter how bizarre for power. Cameron headed a party that started bashing war, taking pro stances on gay rights. It was a party who's doctrine was mandated by whatever the public didn't like. And rule number one was never, ever bring up Thatcher no matter how many posters we've now got under are mattresses that we only take out in the middle of the night.

David Cameron just simply wanted to take his party in to power, he didn't have anything he wanted to do when he got there he just wanted to get from A to B. He has views sure, normal Tory views but he ignores them so he can become like PR company, just agreeing with the public so he could live in 10 Downing. This was most obviously shown in 2010 when he did something amazing. He formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrat party, a left leaner to his core right so he could rule. Thatcher would have decapitated her entire bench had someone even brought up that possibility but here's Cameron today with a bunch of weird liberal followers and a small annoying dog called Clegg.

So now maybe David Cameron is shedding his skin of neutralism, to show his I Love Thatcher shirt beneath. I've always thought he does agree with Thatcher policies, but the questions is does he have the balls to actually implement them. Personally I don't think your going to see it from little boy barely blue but maybe I'll be wrong and he'll be showing up to Question time in the pearls.