2008 Commentary on the Year

If you’re reading this, you have stumbled upon the very first This Blog has No Title Review of the Year. Okay, the first thing I should say is that it’s not really a review in the strictest sense. It's more of a commentary on the things I have in some way or another been privy to this year. Everything is divided into categories (how very organised) such as people, film and music. Without further ado, let the review/commentary begin.

Television

Six Feet Under
They’re like a family…with a funeral home
I think we all know that Six Feet Under didn’t begin in 2008, nor did it end in 2008. 2008 was however, the year I started (and technically finished) watching Six Feet Under. It amazes me how I never watched this gem of the silver screen earlier. Created by Alan Ball (of American Beauty fame), Six Feet Under tells the tale of the Fisher family who run an independent funeral home in Pasadena. Upon watching the first episode of Six Feet Under, one could guess that it came from the same mind of American Beauty. Aesthetically, they are similar and they both have a “behind the scenes in suburbia” theme. What I think is the strongest feature of Six Feet Under is how well developed each of the characters is. All of the characters are interesting and complex. They all have moments when they are likable and moments when they are not – like real human beings. Season 1 went into depth with each of the main characters and showed their relationship with the supporting characters. Season 2 however brought the supporting characters into the picture more telling us more about them and their motivation. Superb.

Arrested Development
You know, your average American male is in a perpetual state of adolescence, you know, arrested development.
Like Six Feet Under, 2008 was simply the year I watched Arrested Development. This mockumentary documents the life of the Bluth family. In the first episode Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), is called upon to look after him family and family business after his father is arrested and imprisoned. Arrested Development is a show that really suffers because of its timeslot. In the UK Arrested Development comes on in the very early hours of the morning on BBC2, it was only by chance that I came to watch it. Arrested Development is one of the funniest shows I have watched in a very long time; every episode can be quoted, the characters are the strangest and most abusing collection of people ever, the show is very well cast (Will Arnett, David Cross, Michael Cera) and the guest stars (Liza Minelli, Henry Winkler, Chalize Theron) are great.

Saturday Night Live
Causing “The SNL Effect” since 2007
This has to be one of the biggest years for Saturday Night Live. There are many who say it isn’t as good as it used to be, I wouldn’t know as I only started watching it this year. What I can say is that SNL has been in the spotlight more than usual in 2008. The SNL election coverage and political skits have attracted a large audience with good reason. They really did a good job. It has even been put forward that voters were influenced by Saturday Night Live. Hmmm, interesting.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Colbert’s got nothing on him
An increasing number of people watch The Daily Show as an alternative to the news. Why? Because it’s funny, informative and Jon Stewart is the definition of charisma. Unfortunately, if you’re in the UK, the Daily Show doesn’t provide much of your news and if you relied solely on it you’d know very little about current affairs. It’s sad that despite it’s awesomeness I have little more to say about the daily show. Oh well.

The Oscars
That was this year?
They came. They went. They were presented by Jon Stewart. More coverage is in the archives.

Honourable mentions: 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, Freaks and Geeks

People

Susan Beir
And they say there aren’t good female directors around
Susan Beir’s name is one that is often mentioned by the people of Simply Syndicated. They adore her; they think she’s a righteous dude. Susan Beir is the wonderful director of such films as Brothers and Open Hearts. This year Susan Beir made her English language debut with “Things we Lost in the Fire” starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro. This wasn’t considered to be her best and it was criticised by most critics familiar with herprevious work. This was my first foray into the cinema of Susan Bier and possibly because my eyes were unclouded by prior knowledge I thought it was great, largely because of Benico Del Toro’s performance. I later came to watch After the Wedding and Brothers, two breathtaking works, Brothers being the superior of the two.

Charlie Chaplin
The only tramp I wouldn’t flee from
I never thought I’d like silent films. I like good dialogue in films and this tends to be lacking from silent ones (obviously). One day I decided to watch City Lights, I can’t remember why, it’s possible that there was no identifiable reason. I watched City Lights, and it was surprisingly good, extremely good actually. But, what shocked me more than anything else was that it was hilarious. I never thought it would be anywhere near as entertaining was it was. A few days later I watched The Great Dictator, equally awesome. I then began a rather common course of action when something interests me. I began my quest to find out as much as possible about Charlie, instead of reading (like a sucker), I watched Chaplin (1992) starring Robert Downey Jr.; Charlie was a pretty cool guy.

Barack Obama
‘Cos I got a crush on Obama
There is no way I could write about the people of 2008 without mentioning the man of the year that is Barack Obama. Despite this, this paragraph will be quit brief. Barack is awesome, he is now the next president of the United States. The following video says more than I could.



Tina Fey
Like Sarah Palin, but superior in every way and not really like her
Tina Fey Tina Fey, what does one say? Previously the head writer on Saturday Night Live (yeah boi), Fey eventually went on to create her own TV series, 30 Rock. 30 Rock may or may not be based on her experiences at Saturday Night Live. In addition to this she wrote the screenplay for Mean Girls, arguably Lindsay Lohan’s best film to date, in 2004. Fey is a literary genius and I can only wait to see what 2009 has in store.

Joss Whedon
A cult king, well, not a cult cult
This guy is just amazing beyond belief. He co-wrote Toy Story, created Buffy the Vampire, Angel, Firefly and Serenity. He also had Dollhouse on the way which looks awesome. So, why the 2008 attention? Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. It’s exactly what it says on the tin, it’s a musical web series about one Dr Horrible. My watching Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog (more times than I’d care to mention) caused an overwhelming desire to watch “Once More with Feeling”, for the lay people, that is the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His resulted in me watching every single episode of Buffy and Angel. Upon doing this I realised what genius Buffy and Angel is, there are some things you don’t fully appreciate when you’re seven.

Music

Peggy Sue (and the Pirates/Pictures)
Oh Peggy Sue, I don’t know what to do
I first discovered Peggy Sue (going by Peggy Sue and the Pirates) at the London iTunes festival this summer. Three acts played, Peggy Sue, Ava Leigh and The Little Ones, out of the three Peggy Sue were the best. They hail from Brighton and they play in a sort of acoustic, anti-folk style. They are very original (you don’t hear enough melodeon in music nowadays) and generally fun to listen to. I recently downloaded some of their tracks from iTunes and ordered a CD of theirs. They make a new CD every month consisting of some of their old stuff, some of their new stuff and some things by other artists that they like.



Kimya Dawson
My Mom would say, I hope some day, you get paid for being Kimya Dawson
I found Kimya Dawson partially through Peggy Sue but primarily through the soundtrack to Juno. Kimya Dawson appears on 8 tracks on the Juno Soundtracks, 5 of which are solo tracks. Kimya Dawson is of the Anti-folk genre, a genre I had never heard of until I started listening to Kimya Dawson. Kimya Dawson doesn’t have the best vocals but what she makes is amazing. Her music is so very truthful and a joy to listen to.

Film

I’ve chosen not to speak about films of the year now as I have spent a great deal of blog space this year writing bout films I’ve seen.

Literature

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I’m finding it very difficult to remember the books I’ve read. A few weeks ago I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, it was a very good read. Written in epistolary form, The Perk of Being a Wallflower tells the tale of Charlie over the course of a year as he writes letters to an unknown person.

Technology

The IFC News Podcast
My Movie Podcast that isn’t Movies You Should See
This is the only podcast that I presently listen to that I started listening to this year. The IFC News Podcast is presented by Matt Singer of IFC News and Alison Wilmore of the IFC blog. Each podcast has a different topic based on an IFC news item, for instance, Mickey Rourke makes a comeback in the Wrester and they do a podcast on Notable Big Screen Comebacks.
It’s usually interesting and often funny, Matt’s moment at the end of “The Killer _____ Movie” has to be listened to.

LoveFilm
Yes…yes I do
[At this point 2009 came, happy new year]LoveFilm is quite wonderful. For £9.99 a month, I can get a relatively large amount of films. From LoveFilm I have managed to see many films that I’ve always wanted to see. Good times.

The Student Room
No caps, no trainers
The Student Room is a resource I wish I discovered earlier. It’s a forum for students of all ages. It’s been a while since I’ve been an active member of a forum. The Student Room has been very helpful during my leaving university and re-applying process (which I realise I have not mentioned yet), it’s simply great. There are really helpful articles and even more helpful people. There are also these personal statement helpers who help you edit your personal statement.

And now, about me

University
It came and went
I was a student at City University for 8 weeks. During this time I became increasingly aware that I chose the wrong university. It really was my worst decision of the last few years. I have now left my university and plan to start afresh in September. My intention is to work during the year and to do some voluntary work. I shall then start university happy, not poor and possibly a better person.

Here's to 2008