A Man with No Authority on the Medium’s Top-10 Favorite Video Games of the Decade

After listing my favorite films of the decade, I began cutting down my favorite video games of the decade. Unlike many who will make a similar list, I am not a hardcore gamer by any stretch of the imagination. I’m that happy medium in between completely casual and hopelessly hooked, so don’t expect a knowledgeable list; just a countdown from a guy who, when it comes to video games, is the definition of individualistically-mainstream.

Obligatory “Favorite-Films-of-the-Decade” List

Though there is still bit over a month to go in this decade, I’ve decided to compile a list of my 15 favorite films from 2000 – 2009 (If, by happenstance, another film comes along in the next month that blows me away, I may edit the list).

These aren’t flilms that I think are the best-of-the-best, and most of them aren’t. These are the flicks I dig most; the flicks I can watch on a regular basis, and find something new to love each time, while not becoming tired of the experience… there’s a cheesy, half-assed sex-joke in there somewhere, I’m just too lazy to find it.

Joe Wilson; Your Preexisting Condition… Oh, and I also do a bit ranting on Mr. Beck

Sure, I’m quite late on this bit of news, but what the hell, I’ll blog about it anyway:

Joe Wilson in the midst of spewing his vile comment upon the world

Barack Obama: “The reforms I’m proposing will not apply to those who are here illegally.“

Rep. Joe Wilson: “You Lie!“

Um. . . no. Joe Wilson, you lie:

Sec. 246. No Federal payment for undocumented aliens.

“Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments
for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are
not lawfully present in the United States.”

Congratulations are in order for Joe. He has successfully squandered any possibility that Obama’s speech will be remembered for what the President said. Forevermore, this speech will be remembered for Joe and his obvious problems with anger management. . . the anger stemming from the possibility that this bill will cause a massive drop in the money he receives from his pals within the Health Sector.

“Watching Donny beat Nazis to death is the closest we ever get to going to the movies”

Brad Pitt (right) as Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds
Rated R (for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality.)
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Screenplay by: Quentin Tarantino
Running Time: 149 min

Cast:

The Allies:

-The Americans-
Brad Pitt as 1st Lieutenant Aldo Raine aka “Aldo the Apache”
Eli Roth as Staff Sergeant Donny Donowitz aka “The Bear Jew”
Til Schweiger as Hugo Stiglitz
Gedeon Burkhard as Wilhelm Wicki
B. J. Novak as Smithson Utivich aka “The Little Man”
Omar Doom as Omar Ulmer
Samm Levine as Gerold Hirschberg
Paul Rust as Andy Kagan
Michael Bacall as Michael Zimmerman
Carlos Fidel as Simon Sakowitz

-The British-
Michael Fassbender as Lt. Archie Hicox
Mike Myers as Gen. Ed Fenech
Rod Taylor as Winston Churchill

-The Jews-
Mélanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus
Cloris Leachman as Mrs. Himmelstein

The Axis Powers:

-The Nazis-
Christoph Waltz as Standartenführer Hans Landa aka “The Jew Hunter”
Daniel Brühl as Gefreiter Fredrick Zoller
August Diehl as Sturmbannführer Dieter Hellstrom
Sönke Möhring as Gefreiter Butz
Richard Sammel as Feldwebel Werner Rachtman
Sylvester Groth as Joseph Goebbels
Martin Wuttke as Adolf Hitler

Other Roles:

Samuel L. Jackson as The Raconteur (Narrator)
Diane Kruger as Bridget von Hammersmark
Ludger Pistor as Wolfgang
Christian Berkel as Eric
Denis Menochet as Perrier LaPadite
Jacky Ido as Marcel
Enzo G. Castellari as Obergruppenführer (though credited as himself in the film)
Bo Svenson as an American colonel (cameo)

Inglourious Basterds Trailer

Rating: A+

Quentin Tarantino is a filmmaking icon, and he has crafted a gritty, violent, entertaining spaghetti-western/WWII film that closely rivals his masterpiece; Pulp Fiction. There is nothing I can say about Inglourious Basterds (yes, the misspelling is intentional) that will do it justice, but I will try.

Basterds is a testament to Tarantino’s ability to right brilliant-fucking-dialogue. An easy 80% of the flick is in subtitles, and each line is just as uniquely-Tarantino as the last. The opening scene is a long conversation between a dairy-farm owner and Hans Landa (“The Jew Hunter”); it alone was worth my $7.75 ticket.

My Top 20 Movies Since 1992 (Tarantino did it, now everyone else is, so I will too)

You know how it works. Celebrity does something blog-esque, and within the next week or so (in this case a few days), blogs are lighting up with similar entries.

Recently,  Quentin Tarantino made a video listing his 20 favorite films since 1992 (the year he officially became a director). Now, I originally wasn’t going to make a list of my own. Then it dawned on me, 1992 is also a year of significance to me; it was the year I was born.

Tarantino’s List

I will construct the list as he did; one definitive favorite (favorite doesn’t necessarily mean best) followed by 19 more in no particular order. So, on to my top 20 movies since the year I was born. These are the films that made me love the medium; they have shaped my personality more than any person could:

“You don’t pass through fire to get to Heaven. I think he went to Hell.”

Author’s Note: Originally written on Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen in Funny People

Funny People
Rated R (for language and crude sexual humor throughout, and some sexuality)
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Screenplay by: Judd Apatow
Running Time: 146 min

Cast:
Adam Sandler as George Simmons
Seth Rogen as Ira Wright
Leslie Mann as Laura
Eric Bana as Clarke
Jonah Hill as Leo Koenig
Jason Schwartzman as Mark Taylor Jackson

Funny People Trailer

Rating: A-

Funny People, the third film written and directed by Judd Apatow, is Apatow’s most human, and most real film to date. It, more than The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up proves that one craft a film that is just as mature as it is raunchy.

“Was the founder of Hamas a chef?”

Author’s Note: Originally written on Monday, July 13th, 2009

Sacha Baron Cohen as Brüno

Brüno
Rated R (for pervasive strong and crude
sexual content, graphic nudity and language.)

Directed by: Larry Charles
Screenplay by: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines,
Dan Mazer, and Jeff Schaffer

Starring:
Sacha Baron Cohen as Brüno
Gustaf Hammarsten as Lutz

Rating: B

Brüno, Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest film to be based upon a character from his Da Ali G Show, is not for the fainthearted. This film makes his previous R-Rated outings seem like child’s play; and that is only the first 20 minutes. It is incredibly graphic; so much so that I am surprised that the omnipotent protectors of morals, the MPAA, didn’t slap this film with an NC-17. Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad it got an R, just be advised that this is one of the hardest Rs in recent memory.

“I can hit any bank I want, any time. They got to be at every bank, all the time.”

Author’s Note: Originally written on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Johnny Depp as John Dillinger in Public Enemies

Public Enemies
Adaptation of: Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave
and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34 by Bryan Burrough
Rated R (for gangster violence and some language.)

Directed by: Michael Mann
Screenplay by: Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman, and Michael Mann

Starring:
Johnny Depp as John Dillinger
Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis
Marion Cotillard as Billie Frechette
Channing Tatum as Pretty Boy Floyd
Stephen Dorff as Homer Van Meter
Giovanni Ribisi as Alvin Karpis
Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover

Rating: A-

John Dillinger was a bank robber. Period. Michael Mann’s latest film doesn’t romanticize this fact, and it is his best since 1999′s The Insider. Public Enemies is good, from beginning to end; something that is very, very rare in a summer flick not made by Pixar.

“I didn’t know they gave out rings at the Holocaust.”

Author’s Note: Originally written on Monday, June 8th, 2009

Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, and Bradley Cooper in The Hangover

Starring:
Bradley Cooper as Phil Wenneck
Ed Helms as Stu Price
Zach Galifianakis as Alan Garner
Heather Graham as Jade
Justin Bartha as Doug Billings
Jeffrey Tambor as Sid Garner
Sasha Barrese as Tracy Garner

Rating: B+

The Hangover is one helluva comedy. It isn’t perfect, but it is one fun time at the cinema. This is one of those rare comedies that is laugh-out-loud funny nonstop; from beginning to end. Most of this can be attributed to the brilliant writing, coupled with the fantastic performances.

Pixar once again crafts a magnificent piece of cinemati– SQUIRREL!

Author’s Note: Originally written on Saturday, May 30th, 2009

Russell and Carl wonder through the wilderness in UP.
Starring:
Edward Asner – Carl Fredricksen
Christopher Plummer – Charles F. Muntz
Jordan Nagai – Russell
Bob Peterson – Dug, also co-screenwriter

Rating: A

It must be rather grand to be a filmmaker working for Pixar. I mean, what other job can you get in the world where you aren’t going to be criticized? Why would you be? Pixar is as close to perfection as any film-studio could be, and they further prove this with their latest installment: UP.