No, I have no real ambitions to replace Oprah Winfrey any time soon, but we are coming up on the end of the year. As such, I thought that I would take a moment to highlight some of my favorite things from 2010, mostly in the world of entertainment, but also amongst the realm of technology and gadgetry.
Movies
If you told me at the beginning of the year that one of my favorite films of the year would be the so-called “Facebook movie,” I would have laughed in your face. And I would have been wrong for doing so. The Social Network
Yes, the movie is about the founding of Facebook, but it really could have been about any Internet startup. Even though the movie is really little more than a lot of talk, the talk is positively riveting. I felt tense the entire time and the quick-paced dialogue had me positively intrigued. As much as it pains me, I also have to give some credit to Justin Timberlake for his portrayal of Napster founder Shawn Fanning. His performance was very good.
The geekier side of me also had a blast with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Kick-Ass, but Toy Story 3 and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are very much worth mentioning too. It turned out to be a rather good and diverse year for cinema.
Gadgets
A sizable portion of my freelance writing is in the realm of technology and gadgets, reviewing all sorts of different consumer electronics. For my part, my favorite gadget of the year is probably the Olympus PEN E-PL1. It was through rather unfortunate circumstances that I was forced to buy a new camera (my old Canon got stolen at a Canucks game), but I’m really digging the E-PL1. The Micro Four-Thirds format is great, but I realize I’ve also opened up a big can of worms when it comes to new lenses and other accessories.
Even though I’m surrounded by iPhone 4 evangelists, I very much enjoyed the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate with its positively brilliant 4-inch AMOLED display. The Cisco Valet Plus wireless router was also a pretty great product, making wireless networking so much easier for the techno-phobic. And despite some of its shortcomings, the Honda CR-Z sports hybrid is a great little (and affordable) car too.
Video Games
I don’t really have as much time to play video games as I once did, but Super Street Fighter IV was a big highlight of the year for me. Originally, I thought this was only going to be a mild update to the “original” Street Fighter IV, but with more moves, more characters, and other improvements, SSFIV is a must-buy for any fighting game fan. It’s really deep and positively addictive.
Since Vancouver is a hockey town, I also found myself clocking in more than a few hours with NHL 11. The new faceoff system is interesting and the “broken stick” feature adds a whole new dynamic to the gameplay. Rock Band 3 represents a huge leap for Harmonix and rhythm games too, and while it wasn’t really released in 2010, I had a great time with New Super Mario Bros. Wii too. I just wish I had more time to play games these days.
Other Entertainment
Going through the rest of the world of entertainment, my reading list is slowly growing and I’ll eventually get through all of Malcolm Gladwell’s books. Some tidbits are more useful than others, but his books are always an enjoyable read, whether he’s discussing the extraordinary circumstances of Bill Gates and what it takes to suddenly tip the scales.
While I’m not normally much of a manga person, I did find myself reading the Scott Pilgrim series, thanks largely to how much I enjoyed the movie. And a list of books wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Make Money Online: Roadmap of a Dot Com Mogul. We all know that’s the book of the year, right?
In the world of music, I discovered some older (but still in this millennium) music from Silversun Pickups and Metric that I really enjoyed. More recently, I’ve been impressed with Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
What about you? What were some of your favorite things of 2010?
My things of 2010 are basically family, but I did enjoy “Despicable Me”. I also enjoyed reading Make Money Online: Roadmap of a Dot Com Mogul.
My daughter starting Kindergarten and riding a bike were highlights for me. My son’s first word other than Mommy and Daddy was “Target” and it was very clear that he does a lot of shopping with Mommy and Grandmom.
Looking back, I traveled quite a bit in 2010, both for business and leisure. That is one good thing I hope to continue into 2011.
My favourite movie of 2010 is Toy Story 3. This movie had me laughing my ass off! I also like Kick-Ass for its out of this world geekiness!
2010 was also a great year for sports fan like me. Starting with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, followed by the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, and 2010 Asian Games in GuanZhou.
I’m really looking forward to the Rugby World Cup to be held in New Zealand in 2011.
You know, I forgot about Toy Story 3. The family loved it and I think it was the best of the 3.
It was definitely the best of the 3. My family thoroughly enjoyed it!
I agree, it’s been a great year for movies and games. The Social Network was really good, better than most of us expected, I’m sure.