Pop Culture Likes/Gripes 2009

By Michael Aushenker, Staff Writer

2009-12-31
What a year, 2009! Anchored by the Chris Brown/Rihanna incident, the death of Michael Jackson, the unraveling of Tiger Woods and the untimely death of Brittany Murphy, it's been a year to remember (or forget!) in the pop culture-o-sphere. Here's a sift through the rubble at some highlights, disappointments, and things in-between.

HIGHLIGHTS

Admittedly, I have not run out to see as many films as I would have liked to in 2009. But among the ones I caught, 'Inglourious Basterds' stood out as my hands-down favorite of the year''maybe even the last few years''to my total surprise, as I've never been much of a fan of Quentin Tarantino's films.

Despite Tarantino's gift of gab and directorial flair, I've always found his work derivative; more homage to his DVD collection than original contributions to the cinematic conversation. But 'Basterds' I enjoyed, and my theory is that the World War II period backdrop forced the filmmaker to dispense with his dubious pop-culture observations and hip hit-man prattle (that I found grating) and invest in his characters and their epoch. Star Brad Pitt is electric here, channeling Clark Gable via Warren Oates, while Christopher Waltz should definitely be nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. 'Inglourious' is a fun, pulpy thrill ride.

'Fantastic Mr. Fox' lived up to the superlative in its title, although it's no mystery why it's tanking at the box office. While the stop-motion animation may suggest a children's movie, 'Fantastic' is something older viewers will appreciate more, in the spirit of director Wes Anderson's previous work ('The Royal Tenenbaums,' 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'), down to the eccentric characters, witty banter and dysfunctional-family dynamic.

'Away We Go,' a character-sketch piece by Sam Mendes that got lost in the summer blockbuster shuffle, would have probably fared better coming out this month. This offbeat road-trip film''which takes viewers from Tuscon to Montreal and the South''was produced by Pacific Palisades resident Edward Saxon.

On television, the single-camera, mockumentary device has become the situation comedy clich' of the moment, but all of these shows are (so far) funny.

Contrary to most long-running sitcoms, NBC's 'The Office' keeps getting better, its fifth and sixth (and present) season outshining many earlier episodes. The season debut (in which Steve Carell's idiot office manager Michael Scott tries to undo a rumor he has spread) and subsequent episodes (such as Michael causing havoc at a shareholders meeting) were hilarious. Interestingly, half of the Emmy-worthy ensemble cast has written, directed and produced episodes of the show.

After a wobbly first season, newbie 'Parks and Recreation,' a companion show by the creators of 'The Office,' has taken flight. An episode with Fred Armisen leading a Venezuelan delegation through the department run by Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), and in which Tom (the always entertaining Aziz Ansari) gets a divorce party, were standouts.

'Modern Family,' an 'Office' rip-off on ABC not produced by the creators of 'The Office,' follows three households of a related family. It's pretty good comedy, despite its shortcomings, which includes not being as well-cast as 'Office' and 'Parks.' Actors such as Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen, often too obvious, are not fluid comic actors. Yet one-third of the show''the household featuring Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara and Rico Rodriguez''always delivers. Rodriguez, as a tubby, 11-year-old Romeo named Manny, is often flat-out hilarious (a Colombian-American answer to Bobby from 'King of the Hill').

In music, N.A.S.A.'s 'The Spirit of Apollo' was my favorite album. N.A.S.A. ('North America/South America') is a hip-hop project spearheaded by producers Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon. Released in March, 'Apollo' gathered the pair's musician friends and musical heroes under one big collective. On this funk-flavored CD, Talking Heads' singer David Byrne shows up on two tracks, including one in which he and Public Enemy front man Chuck D. expound on the evils of 'Money.' My favorite tracks are 'N.A.S.A. Music' (featuring Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man) and the torch song 'Way Down' (with Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante on guitar). Kanye West, Tom Waits, Parliament Funkadelic's George Clinton, Seu Jorge and Yeah Yeah Yeahs' singer Karen O. also pepper this amazing party album.

'Blackout 2,' the sequel CD to Method Man and Redman's 1999 rap masterpiece, finds the duo a decade older and commercially not as potent, but no less funny or fun.

GUILTY PLEASURES

Whether you listened to rock radio or rap stations, anthems dominated the dial.

The Black Eyed Peas (featuring Palisades High grad will.i.am) created ear worms that will burrow in skulls for months with futureshock club bangers 'Boom Boom Pow' and 'I Gotta Feeling' (earning the group six Grammy nominations). The Drake tune 'Forever,' co-starring Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Eminem, was hard to escape or resist. With such songs as 'Hard' and 'Run This Town,' Rihanna is quickly putting Beyonc' out of the Beyonc' business. Meanwhile, Beyonc's husband, Jay-Z, and Alicia Keys crafted one of the greatest musical tributes to New York City with 'Empire State of Mind.' And 'Uprising,' the first single from Muse's 'The Resistance,' continued the British rock band's tradition of epic, over-the-top declarations of rebellion and survival.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

Summer 2009 was almost universally lousy for popcorn films. The 'Star Trek' re-imagining aside (directed by Pacific Palisades native J.J. Abrams), there was little to rejoice over. When low-budget, no-star sleeper 'The Hangover' toppled its expensive, big-star comedy counterpart''the kiddie show-inspired 'Land of the Lost'''it served as a fitting metaphor during the no-school season. Hollywood will probably remember this case of economy and originality slaying bloated excess about as long as it will take for Warner Bros. to overpay the 'Hangover' cast for a big-budget sequel.

Elsewhere, 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' took the slow train to a finale that was too little too late. 'Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen' conquered the box office but did not improve on the fun original and reminded me why I do not enjoy most Michael Bay films (MTV editing,'vertiginous 'quiet scenes,' and layers of faux-Spielberg varnish). And 'Funny People,' by erstwhile Palisadian Judd Apatow, was not.

'Watchmen,' a summer-flavored film that came out in March, had inspired moments, but this glib, nihilistic superhero parody was bogged down by too much back story.

On television, Ken Burns' documentary 'National Parks: America's Best Idea,' may have been too snoozy and overreaching to sustain more than a single-night special.

In music, Weezer's latest, 'Raditude,' failed to top its 2008 release while Wilco continued its freefall into middle-age with yet another yeoman album that, while solid, does not measure up to the Chicago-based rock band's peak output from the early 2000s. And the Beastie Boys postponed the September release of their new album (and accompanying Hollywood Bowl concert) after member Adam Yauch was diagnosed with throat cancer. While Yauch has since recovered, the release date for their follow-up to 2004's raucous 'To The Five Boroughs' remains in limbo.

VERDICT

  The year 2009: not the best, not the worst, and definitely interesting.