This past decade I realized how much I love post-apocalyptic and dystopian stories, which surprised me. I did not grow up on Mad Max movies, nor did my parents read 1984 to me as a child, which is a good thing. In some Christian circles, these genres are extremely popular, but I have never held the eschatological views that led to the Left Behind novels. I have not really explored why I love these kinds of stories, yet I find myself drawn to them. Perhaps it is the cautionary aspect of these tales or that they play on my more bleak and cynical views of humanity and remind me that hope is often a hard-won battle. Whatever the reason, I spent a good portion of the decade catching up on some of the classics of the genres like A Canticle for Leibowitz, 12 Monkeys, Brazil, Fahrenheit 451, The City of Lost Children, etc. It may seem like a cheat to include both genres, but they often bleed into one another. Sometimes dystopias emerge after an apocalyptic event, such as the case in Children of Men, or dystopian societies precede the apocalyptic event like in Fahrenheit 451.

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy—By far the most harrowing post-apocalyptic story I have ever encountered. It is especially frightening because it feels like it could happen, even though we do not find out with certainty what caused the world to be cold and covered in ash. I had not previously considered how many of the stories in this genre play it safe. McCarthy, in his usual fashion, does not flinch from the totality of violence. Danger lurks everywhere from people not finding food to eat to hiding from other people so that they will not be eaten. And yet, at the heart of this novel is a love story between a father and son. I recently reread the novel and was again blown away by its power and yes, its beauty.


2. WALL-E directed by Andrew Stanton—I never thought that the apocalypse could be heartwarming, but this film reminds us of the gift of wonder even in the midst of devastation. It also reminds us to turn off the machines once in a while, go outside, and enjoy the trees, the grass, and the pizza plants.


3. Children of Men directed by Alfonso Cuarón—What would drive people to despair? How about no hope for a future. What would a future devoid of a future look like? One without children. Cuarón’s film adapted from the novel—which I have not read—shows humanity struggling to hang on in the midst of a global infertility epidemic. In the midst of panic, an authoritarian dystopia emerges on the isle of Britain that is afraid of all foreigners. A powerful critique of fear, nihilism, and xenophobia using some of the most subtle and technically proficient special effects used in contemporary cinema.


4. Hot Fuzz directed by Edgar Wright—Dystopias can be funny. Really funny. Wright’s genre-bending homage and parody of cop, buddy, and detective films shows us that dystopias can look clean and ordered—it is all about an authoritarian power afraid of outside influence. There may not be billboards telling us that Big Brother is watching, but we know that we had better keep our lawns mowed.


5. District 9 directed by Neill Blomkamp—Another xenophobic dystopia wrapped in an original science-fiction drama. A really well-crafted film especially when one considers the budgetary restraints on it.

This one is for Timbo, as per his request for a Top-5 list of Coldplay songs from this decade. (I suppose this list could just be called, “Top-5 Coldplay Songs, Period,” since their first album debuted in 2000.) These are actually ordered according to my tastes.

1. “Viva la Vida” from Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends—I could imagine the conversation around this song in the studio. The band comes in with a four chord progression piano piece with full accompaniment and producer Brian Eno says, “Nope, we’re throwing out the piano and cutting away most of the band. It’s just strings, bells, and one big drum, lads.” Incredible sound from their best album.


2. “Clocks” from A Rush of Blood to the Head—The first song to really feature the descending piano arpeggios, which became the distinctive Coldplay sound and one they milked too much (e.g., “Speed of Sound”).


3. “Lovers in Japan” from Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends—Love the driving beat, which makes for a good song during commutes.


4. “Shiver” from Parachutes—Coldplay came out during a time when I hated nearly everything on mainstream radio and I took pride in that hatred. Chris Martin’s smooth transitions into his falsetto in the energetic chorus was one of the reasons I had to begrudgingly admit I actually liked Coldplay’s music despite the fact they were all over radio stations in 2000.


5. “Fix You” from X&Y—I’m a sucker for simple guitar lines over a crescendo. Check out this cover from the documentary Young@Heart.

Something returned to films in this decade that had been missing for a while: the villain as a purely evil character. The 1990’s had maybe one or two memorable movie villains—Hannibal Lector comes to mind—but that decade was marked more by the ironic anti-hero. Films such as Pulp Fiction and The Usual Suspects presented criminals in such a way that we as audiences were almost cheering for them, hoping they would be successful in their often illegal endeavors. Those characters were cool. The 2000’s on the other hand, brought back villains who, while being captivating, were truly terrifying and who did nothing to garner our sympathies. We didn’t want to see them escape or succeed, we wanted to see them stopped and caught. Perhaps this resurgence of villains has to do with the fact that after September 11, many around the world, and Americans especially, were once again awake to terror and evil and the films of the decade reflected that awareness.

Top-5 Movie Villains, in no particular order:

Gollum, The Lord of the Rings—A portrait of a life decimated by sin and idolatry, willing to kill for what he wants, ruled by his addiction. His lusts are so powerful that he loses his name to them. All the more frightening because we see how others could easily become like him.
Anton Chigur, No Country For Old Men—The unstoppable force of death hunting down people no matter their good intentions or ignorance. He actually gave me nightmares.
Daniel Plainview, There Will Be Blood—Unfettered greed wrapped in a deep-seated misanthropy. The one villain whose views and actions strike such a chord in me that I am drawn to reflection and prayer.
The Joker, The Dark Knight—A villain with no back story, but who is utterly developed. An absolute. He is the embodiment of anarchy and chaos. The scary thing is that all the killing he does is not as frightening as his menace, his understanding that we rely on rules, but those rules rely on fallible people to keep them.
Li’l Ze, City of God—The kid who loves violence and power from an early age. Take the animalistic rage and urges of Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) from Goodfellas, make him ten years old, and you start to get a picture of Li’l Ze.

Did I miss one of your favorites?

Once again, it’s time for my year-end(ish) picks. You’re probably saying, “It’s a new year already.” I say, “Meh” (which is in the dictionary now, by the way). As per the previous lists, this is a list of arts and entertainment I encountered for the first time in 2008, not necessarily stuff that was released in 2008. It is more autobiographical. You’ll notice a lot of 2007 films on the list since I got to watching most of them after 2007 was over. 2007 was arguably the strongest year for movies in a long time—perhaps since 1999? Well, here are my picks, in no particular order. And oh yeah, happy New Year.

For 2007, I decided to keep the same year-end picks format that I did last year. That is, I differ from magazines and websites whose year-end picks rate media produced that year. My picks are those items I read, watched, or listened to during the year and were new to me, regardless of the year they were produced or released. And since there’s still time left in the year, the list is subject to change. Without further ado…

First of all, happy new year to everyone. Now on to business. This is my 2006 Year-End(ish) Picks List. Meaning, my favorites in books, movies, and music. The twist is that not all of the material I’m picking came from 2006, but it’s more of a reflection of what I read, watched, and listened to last year. Got it? These lists are in no particular order and they only cover items I experienced for the first time.