Observe & Report

Film #30 for me in '09 was Observe and Report.

My NetFlix rating: 2.5 stars
Jamie says: Amusing at times, but pretty much the same ol' film with a less likeable main character.
RIYL: Any of the slew of Seth Rogan films from the last couple years

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Doubt

Film #29 for me in '09 was Doubt.

My NetFlix rating: 4.5 stars
Jamie says: Another jewel in the crown of great movies I've seen so far this year. Loved it. How can it only have a 78 on Rotten Tomatoes? For shame.
RIYL: Great acting + a stirring script

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Old Joy

Film #28 for me in '09 was Old Joy.

My NetFlix rating: 4.5 stars
Jamie says: Fantabolous subtle goodness.
RIYL: Bonnie Prince Billy, Oregon, Raymond Carver

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Factotum

If you think I'm behind on my movie blogging, what 'til you see my book blogging. Sigh.

Film #27 for me in '09 was Factotum.

My NetFlix rating: 2.5 stars
Jamie says: Who knew you could make Bukowski boring?
RIYL: Lili Taylor, Matt Dillon

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

The Gits

Film #26 for me in '09 was The Gits.

My NetFlix rating: 3 stars
Jamie says: So-so documentary about an icon of the Seattle music scene.
RIYL: Hype

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Snow Angels

Film #25 for me in '09 was Snow Angels.

My NetFlix rating: 4 stars
Jamie says: Another stunning tragedy from David Gordon Green.
RIYL: Shotgun Stories, George Washington

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Milk

Film #24 for me in '09 was Milk.

My NetFlix rating: 4 stars
Jamie says: Still not convinced that Sean Penn should've beat out Mickey Rourke for the Oscar, but I'm at least more zen with it now.
RIYL: Malcolm X, Into the Wild

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Religulous

Film #23 for me in '09 was Religulous.

My NetFlix rating: 3 stars
Jamie says: At times hilarious, at times annoyingly self righteous. Basically exactly what you'd expect from a Bill Maher film.
RIYL: Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchins

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Rachel Getting Married

Film #22 for me in '09 was Rachel Getting Married.

My NetFlix rating: 4 stars
Jamie says: Dear Anne Hathaway, I am sorry I wrote you off based on The Princess Diaries. I now see the error of my ways.
RIYL: Girl Interrupted, Robyn Hitchcock, Neil Young

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Synecdoche, New York

Film #21 for me in '09 was Synecdoche, New York.

My NetFlix rating: 3.5 stars
Jamie says: Always good when your biggest complaint about a film is that it's too ambitious
RIYL: The Truman Show, Being John Malkovich

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Films #1-20

Here's a quick recap of the 20 films I've seen so far this year.

1. The Lives of Others*
2. Factory Girl
3. Brazil*
4. Pineapple Express
5. Notorious
6. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
7. Bright Lights, Big City
8. Vicky Cristina Barcelona*
9. The Wrestler*
10. Zack & Miri Make a Porno
11. Forgetting Sarah Marshall*
12. Man on Wire*
13. Choke
14. The Notorious Bettie Page
15. Slam
16. Shotgun Stories*
17. Shakespeare Was A Big George Jones Fan
18. The Watchmen*
19. The Visitor*
20. I Love You Man

* - Highly recommended

I Love You Man

Film #20 for me in '09 was I Love You Man.

My NetFlix rating: 3.75 stars
Jamie says: Paul Rudd & Jason Segal are some funny dudes.
RIYL: Role Models. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

The Visitor

Film #19 for me in '09 was The Visitor.

My NetFlix rating: 4.5 stars
Jamie says: This is going to be a strong contender for best film I see this year.
RIYL: Indie films, Richard Jenkins, Babel

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

The Watchmen

Film #18 for me in '09 was Watchmen.

My NetFlix rating: 3.75 stars
Jamie says: I waited far too long and was far too excited that this was coming out to be a fair judge. I do think that the movie did a reasonable job of adapting the book, but the book is still way better :-)
RIYL: Comics, The Dark Knight

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Shakespeare Was A Big George Jones Fan

Film #17 for me in '09 was Shakespeare Was A Big George Jones Fan.

My NetFlix rating: 3.75 stars
Jamie says: Like watching your Grandparents old home videos...if your Grandparents were June and Johnny Cash.
RIYL: Real country, Cowboy Jack Clement, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Dolly Parton...

Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Oblivion

Book #7 on my reading list this year was the short-story collection Oblivion by David Foster Wallace.

Very good throughout and sometimes spectacular. "The Soul Is Not a Smithy", "Oblivion", "Incarnations of Burned Children" and "Good Old Neon" stood out to me as the best of the bunch. The first story is both long and my least favorite, so if you're stymied by that one keep chugging.

Why I Read This One?
After thoroughly enjoying Consider The Lobster, I've resolved to work my way through all of DFW's catalog.

And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

Book #6 on my reading list this year was And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks, the so-called 'lost novel' from Jack Kerouac & William S. Burroughs.

The back-story on this one is unfortunately more interesting than the book itself. Kerouac and Burroughs alternate chapters, taking a thinly fictionalized spin on Lucien Carr's stabbing of David Kammerer. A very early work for both authors, the writing is definitely not matured to the styles they would later become known for. I actually found Burroughs chapters to be pretty painful reading, not that Kerouac's were much better. This one is really only for hard-core Beat fans. Gotta dig that title though.

Why I Read This One?
Do you really need to ask?

Excerpt

The Best American Non-Required Reading 2008

Book #5 on my reading list was The Best American Non-Required Reading 2008.

Last year's BANRR was a big hit for me, so I came into this year with pretty high expectations. Unfortunately I didn't find this one nearly as compelling as last year. There are still some winners sprinkled throughout, but the overall quality just isn't what I was hoping for. I guess all those non-required authors had a down year last year. The big winner for me by far was George Saunders' excellent, excellent, excellent "Bill Clinton, Public Citizen". Laura van den Berg's "Where We Must Be" also stood out.

Why I Read This One
I'm a big fan of the series so picking this one up was a no-brainer.

George Saunders interviews Bill Clinton

Pimp

I have fallen woefully behind on my book blogging again. Will attempt to remedy that with some quickfire reviews of what I've been reading.

Book #4 on my reading list this year was Iceberg Slim's Pimp: The Story of My Life. This is not surprisingly the "true" story of Iceberg's life as a pimp. Interesting factoid: did you know that Iceberg Slim has sold more books than any other African-American author except Alex Haley? Look it up.

Why I Read This One
Clearly because I'm big pimpin' spendin' G's. Actually picked this one up because it's often referenced as one of the classics of underground-lit.

Iceberg on Wikipedia

Shotgun Stories

Film #16 for me in '09 was Shotgun Stories.

My NetFlix rating: 4 stars
Jamie says: Shakespearean tragedy meets Faulkner
RIYL: Southern Gothic, Deliverance, George Washington, Lucero

Official Site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Slam

Film #15 for me in '09 was Slam.

My NetFlix rating: 3.75 stars
Jamie says: Saul Williams could just read his poems for the whole film and it'd still be awesome, but we get Saul and Sonja Sohn too?!
RIYL: Amethyst Rock Star

Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

The Notorious Bettie Page

Film #14 for me in '09 was The Notorious Bettie Page.

My NetFlix rating: 1.5 stars
Jamie says: Gouge your eyes out boring. The casting & acting save it from being a total wreck.
RIYL: The Notorious P-A-Ge.

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Choke

Film #13 for me in '09 was Choke.

My NetFlix rating: 3 stars
Jamie says: Really had a hard time not comparing this one to the book. Read it instead.
RIYL: Fight Club

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Man on Wire

Film #12 for me in '09 was Man on Wire.

My NetFlix rating: 4 stars
Jamie says: Excellent (now Academy Award winning) documentary of an amazing story
RIYL: Heist films, magic

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Cold Snap

Book #3 on my reading list this year was Thom Jones' short story collection Cold Snap.

Why I Read This One
Picked this one up because The Pugilist at Rest was one of the best books I read in 2007. Don't remember off hand when I first heard of Jones but he's one of the great NW writers so if you keep your ear out up here his name comes up a lot. If you like Harry Crews, Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah, or Larry Brown you'll dig Thom Jones.

Time Magazine review

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Film #11 for me in '09 was Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

My NetFlix rating: 4 stars
Jamie says: Was worried this would be a bad chick flick but turns out to be one of Apatow's best
RIYL: Superbad, Knocked Up

Official site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia