Top 10's for 2011

Should anyone care, here is a list of my top things in 2011.

Movies (in order)
1. Melancholia
2. Incendies
3. Contagion
4. Moneyball
5. Bridesmaids
6. The Interrupters
7. Terri
8. Weekend
8. The Skin I Live In
10. Sleeping Beauty

Album releases (in order)
1. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
2. Phantogram - Nightlife
3. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
4. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2
5. TV On The Radio - 9 Types of Light
6.Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones
7.EMA - Past Lives Martyred Saints
8.Lana Del Ray - Born To Die
9. The Weekend - House Of Balloons
10.tUnE-yArDs - Whokill
11. Wildflag - Wildflag

Books
1. The Leftovers - Tom Perrotta
2. Give Me Your Heart: Tales of Mystery and Suspense - Joyce Carol Oates
3. A Widows Story - Joyce Carol Oates
4. A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness - Nassir Ghaemi
5. Colonel Roosevelt - Edmund Morris
6. It Looked Different On The Model - Laurie Notaro
7. No Bullshit Social Media - Jason Falls
8. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
9. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - Mindy Kaling
10. A Game of Thrones: A Song of Fire and Ice Volume One - George R. R. Martin

Television (what I watched this year, not necessarily debuted this year)
1. Game of Thrones - Season 1 AMAZING show. Books are good also.
2. Boardwalk Empire - Seasons 1 & 2 Makes me want to go back in time to visit the era of Prohibition in NJ
3. The White Stripes - Under Great White Northern Lights. Yeah, I'm down for just about anything related to Jack White.
4. Downton Abbey - PBS Just another reason to support your public television provider
5. Homeland - Season 1 Love me some Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin and homeland security
6. American Horror Story - Season 1 A one-hour spookfest each week. Count me in!
7. Prime Suspect - Season 1 (and only, as this phenomenally-written, acted and produced show has been cancelled)
8. Appropriate Adult - BBC...Great two-hour made-for-television movie featuring starring Emily Watson and Dominic West

Places to run outside
1. Tower Grove Park
2. Forest Park
3. Holly Hills neighborhood
4. The Hill
5. Castlewood
6. Queeny Park

Places to road bike
1. Weekend mornings downtown STL
2. Big Bend
3. Forest Park
4. Riverfront Trail
5. Castlewood (MTB)
6. Carondelet/Holly Hills trail
7. River Des Peres
8. Grant's Trail

Breakfast/brunch
1. Nadoz, Galleria - yummy crepes
2. Crepery - delicious crepes
3. Olivette Diner - tiny diner, big on taste
4. Soulard Coffee House - tasty fare, great Chai
5. Picasso's - best Chai in St. Louis
6. Meshuggah's - Chai, toast
7. Cafe Ventana - steeped Chai tea, begneits
8. 3 Monkeys - brunch
9. Grand diner - hashbrowns
10. Original Pancake House, Chesterfield - yup. Pancakes.

Lunch
1. Central Cafe - cheapest, most authentic Middle Eastern fare in St. Louis. Try the lentil soup, lebnah or shishtawook.
2. Little Saigon - try the Bo Luc Lac with vermicelli noodles
3. Llewelns - chips are the best.
4. Mangia - super tasty buffet
5. Tortillaria - super tasty and quick Mexican fare
6. Flavor of India (Olive & 270) - best buffet in town
7. Kampai Sushi - best in STL for lunch


Dinner
1. Bridge - best damn service, food and beer selection in STL. I dare you to beat it. Their cheese selection alone should make you bow to them.
2. Kampai Sushi - best damn sushi in STL. This hidden gem in the Coronado in the CWE is for serious sushi lovers. Vegas Roll.
3. Al Waha - Afgan food to die for.
4. Meskerem - Ethiopian deliciousness.
5. Deweys Pizza - cleanest pizza in town. By clean, I mean just the right amount of sauce, cheese, seasoning and toppings. Perfection on a pie.
6. Yummies - soul food with soul.
7. Bocci Bar - new and tasty
8. Vino Nadoz - best food/wine pairing in my book
9. DeMun Oyster Bar - Oysters. Yeah!
10. Sydney Street - an old, tried & true favorite

Music Venue
1. Off Broadway - non-smoking, get-close-to-the-band kinda goodness.
2. Old Rockhouse - non-smoking, two-story optional venue with amazing sound system and laid-back atmosphere
3. Firebird - good bands come here.
4. The Pageant - for those national shows.
5. Way Out - dirty, familiar, loud
6. Lemmons - small, dirty, loud
7. Sheldon Concert Hall - great national acts, classic
8. Cranky Yellow (RIP)

Concerts
1. Colin Hay
2. We Were Promised Jetpacks
3. Cults
4. TV On The Radio (and everyone else at LouFest)
5. Matt & Kim
6. Lucinda Williams/Over The Rhine
7. Mates Of State
8. Pains of Being Pure At Heart
9. Cold Cave
10. Ted Leo
11. Sebadoh
12. Ravonettes
13. New York Dolls/Motley Crue

Movie Review - Melancholia

Melancholia is, by far, my favorite Von Trier film. And, by far, one of my favorite films of the year.

I'm a "light" fan of Kirsten Dunst, meaning I enjoy her acting but will not rush to see her in a film. There has to be more than just KiKi to get me excited.

After this film, I've changed my tune towards her acting. She was superb. Portraying a character who suffers from mental illness and has a major depressive episode is something she does deftly. There is no victim or hero in her character - she is who she is, and it's clearly evident in her portrayal. What I most loved about her in this film is how seamlessly she transitioned between scenes & showing the audience her feelings - she made a connection with the audience (me) that I search for from main characters in most films and am usually let down.

Supportive characters Kiefer Sutherland, Stellan Skarsgard, Alexander Skarsgard, John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling all give very good performances - they are woven into the story perfectly, and however short their face-time, they are definitive to the story. No fodder at all - very rich, tasty treats that pop up throughout.

Charlotte Gainsbourg as Kirsten's sister, did a fine job of playing a sister dealing with a broken family, while trying to keep her own afloat. If anyone is a victim here, it's her, by all counts - of herself, mostly. While Kirsten is the main play, Charlotte could be considered a second main - the film is broken down into two parts, "Justine" which is Kirsten's character, and "Claire", which is Charlotte's character.

The cinematography is breathtaking - I know this sounds corny but if there is a better word for how lush this entire movie feels, give it to me and I'll gladly use it. The opening scenes, however "artsy" you may categorize them, are like melted warm butter for your eyes. The music that permeates the film is fitting, like a warm onesy for the adult movie-goer. It's a combination that is intoxicating.

I gush. I know. But I truly liked this film.

It was filmed in Sweden, primarily at Tjolöholm Castle, which is on my list of places on earth I must visit. It's like a dream. Really. It is.

The plot is this - Kirsten's character getting married, and at the same time a planet called Melancholia "might" be hurtling towards a collision with earth. Angst, and more angst, horseback riding, marriage strife, meals on the terrace, a potential deadly world event, a couple baths, and the end. If you want more deets, go here.

I'm not going to spoil this for you by giving away the very surprising ending. What I will say is that this movie is a journey. It is spying inside the mind of mental illness. It is spying inside of failed and flawed marriages. It is peeking behind the curtain of a filmmaker's dreamscape. And I'm so glad that Von Trier decided to share this with us.

It is also a disaster film, but maybe not in the true meaning of the word.

Check it out.