UP

Pixar continues their winning streak, this time with an unexpectedly sentimental tale about pursuing lost dreams (and family).

 

The Road

Bleak, heavy but infused with hope. Not for the faint of heart.

 

Where The Wild Things Are

A movie for adults about being a child and trying to understand and deal with life’s circumstances and emotions.

Ok folks, here are my picks for the tops of 2009. By way of explanation: I went with songs rather than albums because, well, I think the album format is almost dead.

Television:

• Community. For those of us who liked Joel McHale on E’s Talk Soup, this is a perfect venue for his humor. Good to see Chevy Chase on his game.
• The Office. Yes, I think the dual-manager plot is tiring. However, these characters are so darn loveable that I keep looking forward to Thursday nights.
• Curb Your Enthusiasm. Ok, so I have to watch these on video since I don’t have HBO. But, without a doubt, this is brilliant television.

Songs:

• Something Is Squeezing My Skull by Morrissey:

Moz is over 50 and still rocking. Jesse Tobias (briefly with Red Hot Chili Peppers and formerly with Alanis Morissette) provides some deafening guitar, and the songs frank discussion about the mind-numbing effect of anti-depressant drugs is powerful, culminating in the refrain “don’t give me anymore, please don’t give me anymore.” Also, Morrissey believes in miracles!

 

• I Am Weary With My Sighing by Doug Burr:

Denton’s own Doug Burr is the real deal. “Weary” is on Shawl, Burr’s 2009 album of Psalms. Yes, Psalms as in the Bible. What do you get when you add Burr’s twang, Bible verses, slide guitar, and great backing vocals? Brilliance.

 

• Wrong by Depeche Mode:

Ok, so Depeche Mode has been putting out mediocre albums for over a decade. Each album has 1 or 2 good songs, and thanks to iTunes, fans are no longer subjugated to the crap. 2009’s Sound of the Universe is no exception. It is mostly forgettable, except for this catchy song

 

• Crown on the Ground by Sleigh Bells:

A must-here song. It is loud and obnoxious but singer Alexis Krauss has an irresistible voice. This song has such a monstrous riff!

 

• Always Like This by The Bombay Bicycle Club:

This is a song that has grown on me. Lead singer Jack Steadman’s wobbling voice is intriguing and the song has a great hook.

 

• Island Is by Volcano Choir:

Justin Vernon gives us another great offering from his side project, Volcano Choir. Island, IS is an interesting combination of Vernon’s earthy tone and tripnotic beats.

 

Videos:

• I Love You Better by the Maccabees.

It’s a good song and the freeze frames are pretty cool:

 

Websites:

• Facebook, of course. There is no better social networking site. It is an internet party for the masses. But beware, new social site are first for the masses but quickly become elitist. We saw this with blogs. Remember when *everyone* had a blog? Well, I bet most of us did have now consolidated or stopped altogether. There is no way to monitor ALL those blogs. The same is true with Facebook friends, so be looking for some elitist level or jump to somehow distinguish popular face bookers with lollygaggers. It will be the internet version of Lettermen’s jackets.
• Urbanspoon. Where to eat!?! Wonder no longer. Urbanspoon will help find the right joint and save you from wasting your money on less-than-stellar meals. Why is it great? Customer reviews, neighborhood searches, connectivity with facebook and MySpace, and search-ability (you want Indian food in Gary, Indiana? Just go to Urbanspoon and vuala!) make this the end-all site for dining out.

Here is a promotional piece for the new movie Lord, Save Us From Your Followers. I have not seen the movie, but this piece looks very interesting. What do you think? Have you seen it?

• Visit the official movie website

In many ways, Where the Wild Things Are is a movie about being a child that you have to be an adult to grasp. Spike Jonze could have gone any number of directions with a screenplay. After all, the book is only ten lines and it couldn’t translate to the big screen without some liberties being taken. And Jonze has taken some liberties even though Maurice Sendak himself had final script approval. What’s so amazing is that the liberties Jonze, and co-writer Dave Eggers have taken add a depth to those original ten lines that will simply further endear the book to many.

Young Max is the product of a divorce. His Mother tries but is struggling to put her life back together after a divorce, holding her family together and pursuing a career. His older sister is outgrowing him and Max is struggling to make sense of his world and emotions. They seem too big for him, scary, like he can’t control them. After an outburst that bewilders his Mom and frightens himself, Max finds himself on an island with large beasts. Though they could eat him at any time, Max is left trying to make sense of the monsters and even reconcile them.

Speaking about the movie to Pitchfork, Jonze says:

Well, cinematic terms. I knew I wanted it to be live action; I wanted to build the wild things for real. I wanted to be on location. I wanted it to be a real boy with real creatures, in a dangerous, unpredictable environment, where you’re with wild animals. But that wasn’t enough to make a movie. It was more the idea that gave me confidence that there was a movie there was that the wild creatures were wild emotions, and Max was trying to understand things that were confusing and frightening, and made him anxious– things being out of control, and him being sort of emotionally wild himself.

What unfolds is a beautiful character study of a boy trying to make sense of love, fear, rejection, loneliness and everything in between, finding, in the words of one of the beasts, “It’s hard to be a family.” Max finds that even in his so-called “safe places,” life and all of its complications, finds a way of creeping in.

From a Christian viewpoint, there are many things we could take away from a story like this. For example, we could talk about the King who will never let us down. We could talk about the pervasive spread of the Fall. But, we could also talk about how love covers a multitude of wrongs (1 Peter 4:8). But sometimes it’s enough to recognize that some stories resonate with us all.

I hadn’t looked forward to a movie as much as this one in a long time. And it didn’t disappoint.

Have you seen it? What did you think?