And Fin! (or Of the Years)

This may or may not be my final post of the year, I haven't decided. But, there's no time like the present, especially when you know how terrible you are with keeping up with blog deadlines. NOT ME, YOU.

Anyway, I've decided to do my own Year End Awards! In deference to tradition, I've decided not to do a "best things RELEASED in 2011" but "best things I FIRST EXPERIENCED in 2011". The reason for this is that I felt like it. Plus, I've never done one of these things before, and I didn't do much this year, so not restricting it to things experienced in 2011 is better.

I know the first comment here might be be, "YOU FORGOT/INCLUDED THIS MOVIE WHICH SUCKS AND YOU MUST BE GAY AND STUPID AND I BANGED YOUR MOTHER"

Says something about the collective intelligence of the internet. This is an opinion. If you disagree, good for you! Comment in a respectful way. Or don't.


MOVIES


Best Animated Movie
Toy Story 3- Somehow the Toy Story series managed not to jump the shark after over a ten year wait for the third installment, which I find incredible. 3D definitely wasn't worth it (like it ever is), but that didn't hamper the experience too much. I didn't cry at the end, but I sure as hell came close.

Honorably Mention
How to Train Your Dragon- I really liked this. Not much more to say then.

Worst Animated Movie
Despicable Me- so, so disappointing to me. I'm not a huge fan of Steve Carrel, but it didn't seem like his thing. Just goes to show that the Pixar art style doesn't guarantee a good movie.

Best Comedy
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World- So so so sad that this movie didn't do well fiscally. Really funny, really inventive, and has some of my favorite scenes in all of my movie-going history.

Honorable Mention
Breaking Dawn Part 1- Wait, that wasn't a comedy? Well, I laughed a lot...

Real Honorable Mention
Airplane!- Released in the 1980, this ridiculous movie mocks both horror films and comedy films, as well as itself quite a bit. Hilarious, hilarious film. And don't call him Shirley (Wow, a joke 31 years late)

Worst Comedy:
Break-Up Artist- My sister hijacked the television and put this on. Stale acting with really, phenomenally bad writing, it really impressed me in how terrible it was. At least you've never seen it, and probably never will.

Best Action/Adventure (For Lack of A Better Word)
Pulp Fiction- I really don't know why I love this movie so much. All I can say is I've watched this movie a bunch of times, and I took a while to memorize Samuel L. Jackson's Bible line because I loved it so much.
*MOVIE OF THE YEAR*

Honorable Mention
Die Hard- Alan Rickman as a villain? No movie like that could possibly be bad! Even if in the end he is revealed to have loved Bruce Willis's mother and his father was a muggle and- Wait, Die Hard: Really actiony, classic for a reason.

Worst Action/Adventure
The Last Airbender- In all honesty, I can't be sure how bad this movie is as a movie. As an adaptation of a beloved cartoon, it was tripe on a bike. Terrible, terrible, terrible. I could go on... so I will. They took over a fun-loving, youthful kid and stripped him down to a Keanu-Reeves-Level bland character. And the pronunciation of names? This isn't the adaptation of a book, these names were pronounced literally hundreds of times in the course of the series! How do they still get it wrong!?! Whatever, whatever.

Best Horror
Paranormal Activity- Became really popular for a reason. Slow building, oppressive horror rather than "OOH LOOK OVER THERE SOMETHING JUMPED OUT IT WAS SCARY ARE YOU SCARED"

Honorable Mention
I've seen only two really, so nothing goes here except filler text. So here's a link to a random forum post from a website I like ( I SWEAR THAT THIS IS COMPLETELY RANDOM. ON MY LIFE. WHATEVER, YOU WON'T BELIEVE ME. I HATE YOU.) http://tinyurl.com/cr59by7

Worst Horror
Piranha 3D- So bad that it was funny. Which is good in its own right, but still, not an ounce of scary.

TELEVISION


Best Comedy
Community- It's really sad that nobody watches this show. The funniest show on television, and has been for over a year. If this show gets cancelled and Whitney remains on the air, there will be blood.
*TELEVISION SHOW OF THE YEAR*

Honorable Mention
Bored To Death- This one was cancelled. This show was a peculiar funny, where I did laugh during the show, but when I thought about it later, it really made me crack up. This show made incest both funny and sweet, and I'm not sure I'll ever say that exact clause again.

Worst Comedy
Whitney- This one was really hard to choose, with a lot of really bad pilots this television season. But no show was quite as tiring and just flat out boring as Whitney. This is actually a shame, because Whitney seems like she might be a funny person, but the show is stifling her. Which is weird, because SHE writes it.

Best Drama
Game of Thrones- The pilot of this show made me run to the computer and finds out what happens next.  This show is ballsy, and even after reading the books, is really interesting and extremely compelling. Check it out.

Honorable Mention
Unfortunately, I really haven't been keeping up to date with TV. I guess I'll put Mentalist here, because I genuinely enjoy that show.

Worst Drama
Friend Zone- As I type this list, this show is playing in the background. The same thing, show after show, of friends feeling "something more." Might be interesting if they tried to make it- well interesting.

Video Games


Finally, an area that I actually know things about! All right, let's get down to it!

Best Shooter
Infamous 2- Although not specifically a "shooter", the tight mechanics and interesting upgrades make this game really really awesome.
*GAME OF THE YEAR*

Honorable Mention
Team Fortress 2- Although also a first-person action game, there is a reason this game is still in the top 5 games played on steam daily, after almost 8 years.

Worst Shooter
I honestly can't think of one. Fundamentally, you point at things and they die. Kinda hard to mess up. I haven't played too many this year, but they've all been fundamentally sound. I think I'll drop Gears of War 3 here, not because it's bad, but because it felt kinda clunky. I only played for about 6 seconds though, so take that with a grain of salt.

Best Action/Adventure 
Psychonauts- Really, really funny. Gameplay is fine, but the story is what you go for, and it is presented so well with so many funny characters, that it is hard to dislike.

Honorable Mention
Uncharted 3- So could have been perfect, but the story isn't as tight as Uncharted 2. By no no NO means bad, but a little disappointing.

Worst Action/Adventure
Minecraft- I know people love it, and I know that people build incredible things with it, but I don't really see it as a game. The complete lack of a tutorial is crippling for new players, and frankly, I felt little incentive to come back.

Best Platformer
Rayman Origins- Buy this game. Seriously. Right Now. If you own a console, click on this link, and buy the game right now. I'm serious! This game will sell virtually no copies besides being one of the most imaginative games of the year. Come on, I'll like you if you do!
 (http://www.amazon.com/Rayman-Origins-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B0050SVFB0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325122051&sr=8-1)

Honorable Mention
Limbo- Would have been my game of the year in 2010, but unfortunately the Year of the Playstation dominated in. Still a great, great game. A little short for $10, but unforgettable

Worst Platformer
And Yet it Moves- Felt really clunky and uninteresting, even if it was visually cool.

Best Puzzle Game
Portal 2- Get. This. Game. But get Rayman Origins first. This game is like several barrels of monkeys. Co-op is a delight and some of the best writing in video games today.

Honorable Mention
Braid- Tricksy little beast that does clever things with time manipulation. Although the developer is extremely preconscious, the ending makes it worth it. Play the game just for the ending.

Worst Puzzle Game
Can't really think of one. Sorry!

Best RPG
Witcher 2- This one was really hard for me. If this was last year, Dragon Age: Origins would have come flying out of my mouth at the speed of light. I don't feel like I've played an RPG of that caliber this year, but the Witcher 2 was really fun, even if it was way too difficult at the start.

Honorable Mention
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim- Ah, Skyrim. Very good game, but the bugs and unplayability of PS3 is 100% unacceptable. It works for me, but Bethesda are being real jags about refusing to fix it.

Worst RPG
Dragon Age II: If you had asked me before I played it, this was to be my game of the year. Sequel to an amazing game, developed by an amazing developer, released soon after an amazing game. Alas, the game was totally rushed to get some money for Star Wars: The Old Republic (Which I've been hearing good things about, but I'd rather have a real Dragon Age Sequel). This game was really a huge disappointment, and I can't believe a developer as respected as Bioware would do this.

And that's it! Those are my 'Of the year's. I've decided this wasn't substantial enough to really count as a post, so you'll be seeing another one before years end. Cheers, and see you all soon.

Thanks for reading and considering,
-J.Valett