Fave Five of 2016

Because who doesn’t love lists.

First of many? I’ve got a kid due in March so…probably not :)

Welcome to my 1st annual Fave Five list! Because everyone loves year end lists, right?!

Since I do this totally for fun, my list won’t be nearly as complete as others that watch TV and movies for, you know, a living. So we’re just talking about things I’ve had times to see. Which is primarily TV. Unfortunately my current movie list is weak, as I only go see the big spectacles in theater and wait for the rest to hit Netflix or HBO the next year. There’s like a hundred movies and books that I wish I’ve seen or read, but alas, life beckons.

Anyways, let’s get down to it!

Honorable Mention: Doctor Strange, Captain America: Civil War, Jungle Book

5. Star Trek Beyond

Popcorn fun without being dumb, visually exciting.

4. Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience

Transcendental beauty.

3. Swiss Army Man

Hilarious but also moving.

2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The best Star Wars movie since Empire Strikes Back. Lots of fun coupled with the first “dark” take on Star Wars. Finally someone is taking creative risks with the franchise.

Amy Adams might as well write Oscar.

1. Arrival

Arrival is easily the best movie I saw this year. As much as I loved Rogue One, Arrival bests it with a strikingly original take on alien first contact, coupled with a standout performance from star Amy Adams. Smart in a way that is often missing from movies with aliens, it’s nearly flawlessly directed by Denis Villeneuve (I’m officially hyped out of my mind for his Blade Runner reboot next year). Don’t be surprised if it makes a strong showing at the Oscars this year.

Haven’t Seen Yet: Sooo many. Hail! Caesar, Manchester by the Sea, Hacksaw Ridge, Fantastic Beasts, Hell or High Water, The Lobster, Fences, Silence, Moana, The Nice Guys, La La Land, Zootopia

Honorable Mentions: Narcos, Silicon Valley, Veep, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, BoJack Horseman (This was easily the hardest list to cut down, so consider these all 5b, especially Narcos.)

5. The People v. O.J. Simpson (FX)

Gripping, not too ridiculous, career making performances.

4. Westworld (HBO)

Hot new kid on the block, gorgeous and smart (mostly).

3. The Americans (FX)

Continues its reign of greatness.

2. Atlanta (FX)

Best new show of the year, and a remarkable achievement for Donald Glover in a year full of them (see: Fave Five Album).

It will be a crime against TV humanity if Aden Young doesn’t at least get nominated for an Emmy. It will also be a slightly lesser crime if he doesn’t win (he won’t).

1. Rectify (Sundance)

Rectify is one of my favorite shows of all time, so of course it’s my favorite show of the year, especially since it was its final season. I can’t add anything that I didn’t already say in my long Rectify post from a few weeks ago, but I’ll say it again: you have to watch this show. It only has 30 episodes, so if you don’t mind losing your faith in humanity and then regaining it within the same episode, do yourself a huge favor and check it out.

Haven’t Seen Yet: Luke Cage, Halt and Catch Fire, The Crown, Fleabag, You’re The Worst, Better Call Saul, O.J. Made In America

Honorable Mentions: David Bowie, Blackstar; Palmistry, ;Chance the Rapper, Coloring Book; Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool; Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth; Beyonce, Lemonade; Kanye West, The Life of Pablo (Tough leaving off Kanye, but it was sort of a weak record for him. Ultralight Beams is the best song of the year, though.)

5. Tie: Hiss Golden Messenger, Heart Like a Levee / Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

Don’t make me choose!

4. Childish Gambino, “Awaken! My Love”

Way different, way cool.

3. Run the Jewels, Run the Jewels 3

Stellar, as expected.

2. Anderson .Paak, Malibu

Best breakout artist, fresh breath of air for hip hop.

I know it says blond, but it’s actually blonde. Trust me.

1. Frank Ocean, Blonde

I’m not exactly going out on a limb with this pick. Frank topped many lists with his acclaimed follow up to Channel Orange, but I can’t not put him up here myself. The album has been on heavy rotation ever since it released, and I haven’t grown tired of it yet. In fact, all of the praise I gave it when it first came out has only grown. It’s very close to masterpiece status and its legend will only grow as the years go on.

Haven’t listened to yet: Leonard Cohen, You Want it Darker. Too many others to count. There’s a ton of awesome music out there.

And here’s a few categories of things that I didn’t do enough of to have five favorites.

Fave Game

That rank 9 was hard earned from many, many hours of playing on my iPad. Hoping to crack the top 5 in the new year #squadgoals

Hearthstone

Not technically a 2016 game, but I played the everloving mess out of it this year. Easily over a hundred hours. It helps that I can play it almost every device I own. Consider it Candy Crush for nerds.

Fave Book

Hillbilly Elegy

In the year of Trump and the revenge of the flyover states, books that look to understand why middle America flipped to Trump are all the rage. This one is at the top of many people’s year end lists because, unlike many other such books, this one is told from the perspective of someone who grew up there; specifically as the son of poor Kentucky hill people, growing up in blue collar Ohio. It’s a brisk read with both criticism and sympathy. As someone who grew up in the South, I can appreciate looking at rural problems with nuance instead of total condemnation.

Fave Concert

Just incredible

Alabama Shakes

Brittany Howard has a voice unlike anyone else I’ve ever heard, and it was on full display earlier this year at Uptown Ampitheatre. Piercing, soulful, and powerful, it was incredible to hear her live. I’m very thankful that they didn’t pull out in the fallout after HB2, as it was a Top 5 all-time concert for me.

Fave Classic Movie

I love me some old movies. I have a lot of holes in my movie knowledge, so I watched a lot this year to try and fix that. My parents got me a subscription to classic movie service FilmStruck for Christmas, so I’ll be watching even more this year. If you’re ever so generous to get me a gift for something, just throw a dart at the Criterion Collection website and I’ll be a happy camper. Anyways, on to my pick.

What’s in the box? What’s in the boooxxx??!

Rope (1948)

I picked up an Alfred Hitchcock collection this year that I’ve been slowly working my way through it. I loved this technical tour-de-force, which is shot almost entirely like it’s one take, much like the Oscar winning Birdman did a few years ago, but without the benefit of robotic camera rigs and CG. They had to literally run around reshaping the set and furniture as the camera moved about. The basic story is that two buddies from college decide to kill one of their friends to see what it felt like. Then to prove their “superiority” they invite their dead friend’s fiance and parents over for a party, while they serve food on top of the trunk his body is hidden in. Twisted and a fascinating piece of technical achievement.

Fave Blog Post

I’m old and I too like yelling at things.

Those Darn Kids: Snapchat

This was easily the most fun I had writing a post all year (though trolling with Colin Kapernick was also pretty fun), and the one I spent the most time on. I hope to write another Those Darn Kids soon.

Speaking of the blog, if this post gets good traction, I might start doing Fave Five posts throughout the year with different topics. Gotta get my listicle game going.