that’s right, 13 movies. i was far too indecisive to pick just 10, so you’ll have to deal with. Create the assumption that 13-10 are actually all ranked relatively equally and that the order simply signifies my current mood. I’m actually sort of surprised by the amount of “geek/nerdy” seeming films are on the list compared to other years. It’s been a much better year for those films than the traditional top of the year style films. (and before it’s asked, Avatar, while visually INCREDIBLE and MIND BLOWING, I didn’t find the story lived up even CLOSE to the level of the effects…and this is coming from someone who had been a big defender on on the potential of the film as it was in production. I even went to Avatar Day)

13. Precious
The incredible performances by Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique are what really carry this film to the next level. I’m gonna say right now though, that all this Mariah Carey award talk is silly. It’s clearly coming out of the fact that people expected her performance to be terrible and instead she delivered good. But one of the standouts of the year? Laughable. Mo’Nique deserves significantly greater accolades for her supporting role.

12. World’s Greatest Dad
Can we please keep putting Robin Williams in dark comedies? What is he doing wasting his time in silly fluff all the time when clearly he excels above and beyond with darker fare. This is probably the most under-the-radar film on my list, and while granted it’s outside of my top 10, I just had to ensure it received some sort of mention.

11. A Serious Man
I’m gonna call it right now that A Serious Man might be one of the most depressing films of the year. Which is sort of funny when you consider it’s also a dark comedy (hey wait, now I get why they call it dark comedies. Okay fine, that wasn’t funny). There’s this strange ability that the Coen Brothers have when it comes to making characters, I always feel that they’re so other-wordly yet somehow so grounded in reality at the same time. There’s a ridiculousness to everything they do, yet at the same time you believe every minute of it – A Serious Man offers the more subtle side of that ability, yet I still find myself constantly thinking about this movie.

10. Star Trek
Can we please just have Star Trek 2 already? Talk about the perfect summer movie. This is the Iron Man of 2009. Sure, this movie has some awfully close similarities to Star Wars, but this isn’t Star Wars. As a matter of fact, I wish Star Wars was the 2009 version of Star Trek. This is the movie George Lucas should have wished he had made as opposed the abomination of those prequels. While I did expect to enjoy the movie, I didn’t think I would end up loving it. But goddamn I do. I think fun factor is more than enough to justify a place on my top 10.

09. An Education
I’m probably the only one who felt the ending sort of pushed its way through too fast, but I don’t even care. Carey Mulligan is spot on in every way and I expect to see her name at the very least in the form of a nomination this year.

08. A Single Man
It’s sort of unfair for Tom Ford to be good at both fashion design and filmmaking, but here he is, making the rest of us feel like slackers. The film just breathes styles, from score to cinematography to the production design – which was handled by the same people who work on Mad Men, so no surprise there – Ford just creates this atmosphere and constantly attacks your senses with it. Colin Firth is just as wonderful and stylish as the film itself is – and most importantly, Jon Hamm providing the voice over the phone at the beginning was an awesome touch.

07. District 9
Seriously now, this is one of the most creative Sci-Fi films to come out in YEARS. I think District 9 singlehandedly showed that action packed sci-fi can actually still be intelligent and wholly original. Some people hate it, most people seem to love it – and I will absolutely ride the majority train on this one. At the very least, you have to appreciate the films imagination and willingness to actually challenge the viewer.

06. Moon
Honestly, what is up with 2009? Is this just the best year ever for sci-fi? I’m pretty sure it is. At least, in a long long time anyways. While District 9 was one of the most wholly imaginative sci-fi films to come out in forever, Moon is probably the most intelligent. It took Sci Fi back to the time of when Sci Fi was more than just aliens and explosions in space but is instead about ideas and emotions. It almost sounds silly to even associate those words to Sci Fi anymore, but Moon proved it could. GERTY is the HAL for a new generation. Also, I know Sony has dropped the ball on Academy screeners for the film, but I’m going to say it now: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NOMINATE SAM ROCKWELL FOR BEST ACTOR, AND CLINT MANSELL FOR BEST COMPOSER/SCORE. Those two are pure magic.

05. Up
I hate Pixar. Now, WHY do I hate Pixar? Because how does one studio just so consistently release animated films that work on so many levels of maturity that it’s almost ridiculous. I watch their films and while I feel like I’m a kid again, I completely feel like it’s making me think like an adult. I just don’t understand how they got the science on that so so right. Maybe not as ballsy as WALL-E was, UP was nevertheless a beautiful film – my god the colours of those balloons, it’s just fantastic. That opening 5 minute montage was without dialogue, and animated, and yet somehow I felt just as emotionally attached as I would in any live action film. Also, on a more important note, Dug the Dog is my hero. Can I have him?

04. In the Loop
This movie is my out of left field film. Worlds Greatest Dad might have been under-the-radar (and I guess in some ways this one was too), but I never expected to love In the Loop as much as I did. As a matter of fact, I didn’t think it would rank this high until I started compiling my list. This was flat out, by far, the funniest movie of the year. It’s ridiculous, over the top, smart and no doubt it knows all of this better than even you do. I’m going to strongly urge that you see this film, because there’s a good chance that it may have slipped under your sights.

03. Inglorious Basterds
For the longest time, this movie was #1 of the year for me, without a doubt and question. So the fact that it’s now ranked at #3, is actually surprising to even me. I haven’t had as much fun watching a movie in a theatre as I have with Inglorious Basterds. I saw it there 3 times. I bought the film the day it was released and watched it twice more. That probably seems like overkill, considering how dialogue heavy the film is and how the pace is structured. But somehow, I just couldn’t get enough of this movie. I know it’s silly, and I know its sheerly based on overindulgence. But this film was Tarantino back at the top of his game. This is his best movie since Pulp Fiction, I don’t even have a doubt in my mind. It will never have as much of an impact as Pulp did, and it’s not as original, but this movie brought back his ingredients of equal parts fun, violence and tension. Oh, and if Christopher Waltz does NOT win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor this year, it will be the biggest upset since Sean Penn winning for Mystic River over Bill Murray in Lost in Translation (okay, MAYBE not as big. but it’s close).

02. Up in the Air
I admit, I can’t even describe why this film is #2. I think it’s just because I relate to the character so much, and this film just brings this feeling and imagination out of me that there was no way this film could be any lower than #2. Does anyone have any tips on what I could do so that I can become George Clooney when I’m older? Seriously though. Jason Reitman said that he cast Clooney in the film because even then his characters job was to fire people, he needed to be charming enough so you actually like him as a main character. Is there anyone else out there that’s a better fit for that exact purpose? I don’t think so. Also, if Clooney can win an Oscar for Syriana, he can win one for Up in the Air. Not saying he will, but it’d be nice.

01. The Hurt Locker
This is, without a doubt, the most intense movie I’ve ever seen. I have never seen a movie that actually makes you FEEL like you’re RIGHT THERE, IN THE WAR. It’s incredible. I struggled with juggling the idea of removing Inglorious Basterds from its long-standing #1 spot, but, it was ridiculous of me to actually believe that I found Basterds to be a better movie. There is a reason why this is the ONLY movie dealing with the Iraq war that was good, because it’s the only HONEST film about it. It doesn’t try to cover itself up with superficiality or some preachy message or silly music, this movie just bears itself to the audience, it lets you see and feel what it’s like to be part of the bomb squad. I’ve never actually had this feeling before, but this movie literally had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. It was one of the most draining film watching experiences of my life. There really can be no other number one of the year for me. I can do nothing more than to highly HIGHLY recommend seeing this film.

up next: Top 10 (i swear I’ll try my best to make it 10…maybe 20?!) Films of the Decade.

okay, in all honesty, this might be the most interesting photographic series i’ve ever seen. yes yes, i know, i proposed my love for abandoned spaces, because there’s something so intriguing about seeing how a place was left behind, if it felt rushed, or planned, what was worth leaving (forgetting?), etc…

but this series by James Reynolds is something else. i don’t think i’ve ever considered what i would want my last meal to be (but if I had to scramble an answer right now: medium/medium rare cooked steak – maybe if it’s my last mean we can make it 3 steaks? – with peppercorn sauce please), but there’s something so fascinating (and even strangely inspiring?) about the choices these people have made, so many questions about who they were, what they did and why those items? was it a favourite food, or merely a choice of expressing ones final words through their meal (the single grape?). 

my only gripe about this series is that i want to see more and more and MORE!!! view the full set here.

via swissmiss

have i ever mentioned my affinity for photographs of abandoned places? (pretty sure i have)

well, what’s better than an abandoned location photographed? how about MIKE TYSONS abandoned location photographed? just as I thought, totally awesome right? that’s what this series is about, Danny Wills went to Tysons empty abandoned home and basically made my day by it!

to view the full sets see here and here.

and with that in mind, i actually can post whatever it is i feel like. so, within a short amount of time – without having actually created a real format or anything for this blog anyways – i’ll just post whatever the hell i please.

whether it be a rant, a rave, fashion, design, news, or anything else. what is the point in my having this blog if i feel too contained by it? if i see something i like, want, hate, care for, find interesting, etc, i may as well just post it, right? glad you agree.

alright, time to do this…AGAIN.

and so here (finally after a long hiatus of my not posting – sorry, that whole ‘failed’ concept seems to be ringing true pretty quickly) is yet another entry of some of my absolute favourite book cover designers, Jonathan Gray (or often known as Gray318), hailing from London, England.

to make matters more interesting, it turned out that he actually designed the cover for Newsweek 2 weeks ago (which is when I was going to post this, to align with it, but then I have no idea what happened). Which is probably a good thing, because I know whatever idea I had for that issues cover wasn’t nearly as clever, and it’s fun when another designer is asked to take a shot at it (like the Chip Kidd “Books to Read Now” issue)

enough of that, on to the awesome covers! see more at his site here.

So, as I had said, I was going to do a few posts of my favourite book cover designers (not that they only do books though). While I was going to hold off on doing the next one for a few more days, I happened to end up meeting one of them yesterday!

Paul Sahre has a workshop he does with James Victore and Jan Wilker every summer for a week, and last night was their end of the week party at the Art Directors Club (where the workshop itself takes place), so I went, as my friend Mohamed was in the workshop. So, he introduced me to Paul! We, of course, barely spoke at all because I was a scared shit who didn’t know what to say beyond “nice to meet you!” and the shake of a hand. BUT WHATEVER, ENOUGH OF THAT EMBARRASSMENT.

Paul is probably one of the most innovative book cover designers working today – along with only a handful of others – he creates beautiful covers, that to me, often feel like posters that I wish I could hang on my wall. What’s so great about his work, much like Rodrigo, and most other fantastic cover designers, is he doesn’t have a specific style pinned down to him. He has great ideas, takes risks, and in the end his covers feel very much like their own entities (of course when doing covers for the same author, such as Rick Moody, he offers vastly different imagery, while still tying in the cover as being within the body of work of that author).

please check out the rest of his phenomenal work here.

a moment of geekdom will be when i take a moment out to praise a specific piece of design that i greatly adore – as opposed to something more general or a full series, etc.

the cover for “Obsession” by Lennard J. Davis, is designed by Isaac Tobin and illustrated by his wife, Lauren Nassef. the title of the book was punctured by hand with a small needle, showing an ‘obsessive’ behaviour. and the touch of the pin as a means of separating the title from the author? pure class.

i have to admit, this may totally be my favourite book cover from last year. granted i haven’t seen every cover or book jacket, but this cover just screams everything i love about design. it’s conceptual, it’s clean, there’s a handmade element, and it just screams out it’s title from the top of it’s lungs. in my eyes, it’s perfect, and it’s one of those moments where i wish it was something i had done myself.

here’s a close up:

edit: some would say my post about the Moon poster should have been a MoG…well…quiet you! I’m doing this all on the fly!

I have to admit, I have a really strange fascination with abandoned buildings and spaces. There was a period when I would spend hours at a time just looking through images and researching different ghost towns and abandoned institutions. It’s incredible how much of a story the objects left behind can tell about not only the people who lived there, but a strange sense of how they left as well.

So it’s no surprise that I totally love Nathan Kensingers blog of images, where he goes around New York and finds all the lost and forgotten gems of the city. I especially love his post about under the boardwalk in Coney Island, it’s some pretty intense stuff.

Do yourself a favour and check out some of his photographs and read some of his stories.

via core77

What you’re looking at above is a makeshift tattoo needle using a toothbrush, ballpoint pen and a small electric motor.

Marc Steinmetz has beautifully documented confiscated makeshift objects from inmates around German prisons. Some of these are disturbing, some brilliantly clever, but all are a fascinating look into the design ingenuity of these inmates. While the series is titled Escape Tools, I actually found the tattoo needle above and the grill/stove below to be my absolute favourites.

be sure to check out the rest of his series here.

I walk by this poster pretty much every day, and I absolutely love it. It’s totally trippy to your eyes when you see it in person, because from a distance it looks like a single solid colour moon, but then as you get closer it becomes more apparent that it’s just these lines creating an illusion for your eyes. Which is just totally fantastic when you think about it on the level of the films plot in itself.