Friday 31 December 2010

2010 Best Bits

I got incredibly lax towards the tail-end of 2010 (ok, the entire second half) but that will all change in the new year! Promise...

This post is a 'best of'... of sorts, summarising my favourite films watched and books read during 2010.
Films:

Kick-Ass: http://lelloyd.blogspot.com/2010/04/film-review-kick-ass.html

Cemetery Junction: http://lelloyd.blogspot.com/2010/05/film-review-cemetery-junction.html

The Social Network: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4
This was a surprise for me. Seeing as the film doesn't technically include any of the following: action, romance, comedy (there were moments but not enough to be able to call it one) The Social Network was still a stand-out film of 2010, and one that everyone (everyone that has a Facebook account at least) can appreciate. Showing the origins of how the website began made imagining life before Facebook was, well... almost umimaginable.

Disappointment of the year: The Lovely Bones: http://lelloyd.blogspot.com/2010/03/film-review-lovely-bones.html

Books:
(These aren't necessarily books that have been released this year, just ones that I have discovered during 2010.)
Uglies Trilogy - Scott Westerfeld: http://lelloyd.blogspot.com/2010/07/book-review-uglies-scott-westerfeld.html
Since writing that review, I have also read Pretties and Specials (books 2 and 3). I KNOW they are aimed at teenagers, but I really enjoyed them! The whole trilogy is crying out to be made into a screenplay.

One Day - David Nicholls: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6280118-one-day
This book has dominated the bestsellers charts all year, but it was only until the last 2 weeks of 2010 that I discovered it. The book is now set to be released as a film during 2011 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/sep/28/anne-hathaway-scherfig-one-day) and whilst I am a bit apprehensive by some of the casting, I will definitely be there during the first week of release.

Stephen Fry - In America: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2604700.Stephen_Fry_in_America
As a bit of an armchair traveller (only because I currently can't afford to go anywhere) I've always loved reading travel books to encourage my wanderlust. And, as my ultimate travelling ambition is to visit every state in the U.S.A (I've so far managed 2?) this was the perfect book for me, and of course, Stephen Fry didn't disappoint.

Awkward Situations for Men - Danny Wallace: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6949679-awkward-situations-for-men
I was introduced to the work of Danny Wallace by a good friend and now I can't get enough. Funny, but in an approachable way, the author of Yes Man returned this year with a collection of tales of awkward moments in his life. Easy to dip in and out of but yet also difficult to put down, you will find yourself laughing out loud at any one of these.


{Song of the year: Forget You - Cee-Lo Green}
{Album of the year: Progress - Take That}

Films I'm looking forward to in 2011:

Black Swan - http://www.empireonline.com/futurefilms/film.asp?id=136504
Paul - http://www.empireonline.com/futurefilms/film.asp?id=136467
Sucker Punch - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0978764/
The Hangover 2 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1411697/
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201607/ 
(Quite the HP Geek I'm afraid)
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0983193/

Happy New Year!