Just for the hell of it, I thought I'd put together my Best and Worst of 2009.
Best Book: Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Worst Book: Angels and Demons
I actually can't remember all the books I read this year, I really should keep a better record. Dexter came as a surprise. The free flowing, uncomplicated style made it a very enjoyable read. Angels and Demons probably doesn't need much comment. Maybe it's a little unfair to add it here, since I knew it was going to be bad even before I started.
Best Film: Up
Worst Film: Terminator Salvation
Honourable Mentions: District 9, Star Trek, Drag Me to Hell
Terminator was just utterly trite. The last five minutes nearly made me scream at the screen because it was so bad. Though I watched it I didn't include Angels and Demons because, again, I knew it was going to be shit. Choosing a best film was tough, since there were many good films that I saw this year. District 9 was hugely entertaining, Star Trek was a pleasant surprise, and Drag Me To Hell was one of the best horror films I've seen in years. In the end, though, I went with Up. It's one of those films that manages to draw out a range of emotions: original, heart warming and very funny.
Best Album: Lungs - Florence and the Machine, Invaders Must Die - The Prodigy
Worst Album: Tonight - Franz Ferdinand
After Always Outnumbered, I think a lot of people probably approached this album with caution. I, myself, held off from buying it for a few months. Then the singles began to show up and that's what convinced me that the album was a return to form. It's easily as good as Fat of the Land and definitely worth a look. Florence and the Machine was another nice surprise. Appropriately named Lungs, the voice on that girl is incredible. As for worst album: Tonight wasn't a bad album, but sadly wasn't a good one either. I'm always careful with what albums I buy, so this one just came out last.
Best Single: The Day I Died - Just Jack
Worst Single: Bad Boys - Alexandra Burke, Happy - Leona Lewis
Best single was going to be a little hard, since I just tend to buy something I've maybe heard on the radio and enjoyed. The Day I Died was one that stuck with me a little more than others, though, and I always looked forward to hearing it. Worst single wasn't too hard: with the manufactured crap that Burke and Lewis churn out, it's rather like shooting very big fish in a very small barrel.
Best TV Show: Chuck
Worst TV Show: Heroes / X-Factor
Honourable Mention: Merlin
Chuck was one of those TV shows that I just stumbled on and became a regular fixture in my TV watching. I'm very much looking forward to the 3rd series. Heroes is something of a shame. After an absolutely brilliant first series, the show completely lost the plot and my interest. It felt unnecessarily drawn out and seemed to lack any deal forward momentum. Merlin was another show that I stumbled across, this time via the BBC iPlayer. I was actually using it to test my broadband speed. About half an hour later I found myself somewhat hooked. The show has again become a regular in my viewing schedule. X-Factor? Some people will tell you it's no longer about music. They're wrong: it was never about music. Simon Cowell might think he's knowledgeable about music, but really he only knows how to exploit teenage girls with mobile phones.
Best Game: Fallout 3
Worst Game: Overlord 2
Honourable Mention: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Fallout 3 was always going to walk away with this one. Little else to say, really. Perhaps it would have been Modern Warfare 2 if I had played that this year. The first game was absolutely incredible, but I'm not planning on picking up MW2 until next year sometime, since it's that far down the list. Picking a bad game was always going to be hard, too, since I'm very careful about what I choose to play. For the same reason as my worst album, I plumped for Overlord 2 because it simply wasn't as good as the rest. And, to be fair, I did stop playing it 3/4 of the way through, since I got bored of it.