Why He Loves Breaking Bad
Stephen King on Torture and TV
The Trouble with Earworms
10 Greatest Evildoers in Fiction
The Future of Your Tube
Memories of Michael Jackson
My Screen Addiction
Stephen King's Reliable Rentals
The One That Got Away
What's Next for Pop Culture?
The Secret to Pop Culture Snacking
Best TV of 2009
Stephen King's Ultimate Playlist
*Originally published on 11/20/09
King's latest column was posted online today. The page says that it was written last week, and it most likely appeared in that week's issue of Entertainment Weekly, but as far as the site goes, this is hot off the presses. I've been going on a daily basis to go through all of his old columns and I would've definitely seen it had it been posted earlier.
If this list is any indication, than my theoretical four hour Stephen King playlist was way, way off.
Given how I haven't heard of a vast majority of those artists, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he's trying to give some mainstream exposure to some lesser known bands or that he has a multitude of playlists, but that could just very well be rationalization on my part.
I'd comment and put in my two cents on the songs he's chosen, but I haven't heard any of them. Heck, the only two artists whose names I recognized were AC/DC and Springsteen.
Maybe you guys are more familiar with some of these artists because I'm honestly drawing a complete blank. The Rockin' Rebels? The Tractors? Langhorne Slim? Are these modern artists? I don't really listen to the radio, and my Itunes library on both my laptop and desktop are pretty well stocked so I'm out of touch with what the young whippersnappers are listening to nowadays, The fact that King states that he's not doing a "best of 2009" music article suggests that these are just general tracks, but either way I have no idea who a vast majority of those people are.
7 Great Books for Summer
Top 10 Books of 2009
*Originally published on 12/29/09
With 2009 coming to a close, Uncle Stevie has taken it upon himself to give us his ten favorite reads for the past year.
10. Rough Country by John Sandford
9. Ravens by George Dawes Green
8. Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child
7. Drood by Dan Simmons
6. Shatter by Michael Robotham
5. 2666 by Roberto Bolano
4. Midnight Children by Salman Rushdie
3. Hollywood Moon by Joseph Wambaugh
2. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
1. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
The holidays may be over, but you can still beef up your 2010 reading queue with a few titles recommended by King himself.
You can see the full list with a slideshow as well as King's thoughts on each book at http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20317203_20331246,00.html
Top 10 Films of 2009
King opens the new year with a new column. Following in the tradition of previous years he brings us his top 10 list for best movies of the year. King opens saying that overall he'd give the overall year a B. Surprisingly, he says that this year was better than last. There were some good movies to come out, but 2008 was a banner year for film. King also says that he didn't see a film that deserved an F. That surprised me a little I have to say as there were some stinkers to be sure. One title in particular comes to mind, but that's neither here nor there. Well, on to the list!
10. 2012 Yes, I know the whole Mayan doomsday thing is a load of hooey, but it does amuse me. While I didn't get a chance to catch this in theaters, I have heard that it is a rather enjoyable popcorn flick. That sentiment even comes from some of the more caustic critics out nowadays. People seem to hate on Emmerich and crew almost as much as Michael Bay. Their latest ventures were pretty bad (10,000 BC in particular) but I found Stargate and Independence Day to be very entertaining. From what I've heard this movie seems to be more in line with those as opposed to say Godzilla
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox I lost interest in seeing this movie after hearing that it was done by the guy who directed Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as I really hated that movie. I've heard nothing but universal acclaim from a wide variety of sources.
8. The Taking of Pelham 123 While many film goers are sick of the never ending stream of remakes, the presence of Denzel Washington does lend some weight to this as he always does solid work. King also gives credit to Travolta for his "balls to the wall star turn" as the villain of the piece.
7. Law Abiding Citizen It's a simple enough story, but it's effectively done and both of the leads do a good job in their roles.
6. District 9 This was sort of the sleeper hit of the summer. A low budget movie that has the look of a major sci-fi blockbuster. It basically takes Apartheid and does it with aliens. Like X-Menor Alien Nation it showcases humans potential for racial prejudice by putting humanity in contact with some other form of life, whether it be alien or mutant, that we're not ready for. Definitely a film that pushes the "Humans are Bastards" trope.
5. The Reader Technically, this is a 2008 film, but King states that his lists cover December to December so it gets in on a technicality.
4. Disgrace
3. The Road This is one of those movies that everybody seems to talk about, and yet you rarely see it advertised. I think I saw like, one trailer for it. It's a bit surprising considering the success and acclaim of No Country for Old Men. This is based on a book written by the same guy, you think they'd push that a little.
2. The Last House on the Left A friend of mine from college once wondered why Hollywood keeps remaking classics that don't need to be updated as opposed to taking subpar movies and trying to improve upon them. It seems that they tried it here. King states that this is the most brilliant remake of the decade (not a light statement considering the number we've gotten over the years). He even goes so far as to compare it toSilence of the Lambs.
1. The Hurt Locker Like The Road this is one of those movies that got minimal marketing, but still manages to create a buzz in movie going circles.
You can see King's slideshow at http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20333816,00.html
No comments:
Post a Comment