It truly does seem unbelievable to me - how has this website lasted so consistently over the past three years? Surely it has something to do with great intakes of booze and steady viewings of MacGruber (2010) and Hot Tub Time Machine (2010). Nevertheless, in our solitary annual moment of self-congratulation, let's look back at our greatest posts in the past year. In fact, we have some superlatives:
Best Look at Television:
Because it was on TV: The Strange Sitcom Reality of Two and a Half Men 22 Sep 2011
I still think this is fairly interesting and it's not really commented on by anyone else. Fictional Realities are really intriguing - that is, anything that conforms to a Show Bible that could be outlandish or outrageous in any other Reality. Two and a Half Men has one of the weirdest realities in all of television - the acceptable norm for the characters that occupy it are far and large away from anything conventional. It doesn't really make it a necessarily good show, but the post gets a shout out here because no one else comments on the fact.
Best in Humour:
Six Inappropriate Halloween Costumes Inspired by Movies 28 Oct 2011
Runner-Up:
The Long Halloween Special: LEAP DAY 29 Feb 2012
I thought the inappropriate Halloween Costumes was really funny, especially how wrong it would be going as Kevin Bacon's Woodsman out on All Hallow's Eve. C'mon, that's terrible. Another holiday post is a close second in its praise of all things Leap Day. May Leap Dave Williams come and bless all of you.
Best Character Study:
Profiles: Liam Neeson, A Clinic in Badass 28 Jan 2012
I always do a few Profiles of actors or sometimes just fictional characters each year, and in honour of The Grey (2012), Liam Neeson's Profile really stands out. From navigating the intricacies of his escalating badass and shifting, resurgent career, this post captured much of what we love about the man supposedly too old to play Lincoln, but just old enough to Fight Wolves and train Batman.
Most Accurate Impressions:
John Carter 11 Mar 2012, The Avengers, Part 1 07 May 2012 and Part 2 08 May 2012, and Prometheus, Part 1 13 Jun 2012, Part 2 14 Jun 2012, and Part 3 14 Jun 2012.
I included a lot of posts here, but only from three films. It's decently rare that I can encompass everything I want to say about a film. Needless to say, a movie's worth is beyond its narrative competency, actors, or even its box office draw. Films need to also be analysed for their marketing and cultural contributions as well as the trends they may adhere to, exhibit, or create. All of these posts truly envelope those ideas and proved the need for multiple posts to cover all the diverse kinds of reactions films can elicit. I really went off the board with this past week's Prometheus (2012), with an unprecedented three posts summing up all my feelings about that film. Actually, I think I have some more...
Most Comprehensive:
The Five Degrees of Superhero Films 31 May 2012
I get fed up with a lot of Internet opinions. I tried to justify and categorize some of the most divisive of the day with this post where I sorted and analysed every Comic Book Superhero film made in the current Millennium. I'm not really sure how successful I was, but if you're looking for an opinion on any and all films that fit the category (29 in all), this is the place to go.
Most Accurate Zeitgeist:
Trends: March is the New Summer 21 Mar 2012
This kind of post is sort of unusual - but I really summed up that one week in March where people were going crazy from the heat, Nicki Minaj, and The Hunger Games (2012). It's a classic time portal post and will stay that way FOREVER.
Most Intellectual Theory:
Because it was on TV: An Examination of Anglo-American Cultural Relations via Michael Bay's The Rock 30 Mar 2012
This is probably my favourite post of the year. It's a concept referenced to plenty of times before, but this really sank its teeth into the idea that Sean Connery's character in The Rock (1996) is an extension of his portrayl of James Bond in the 1960s. More importantly than that, though, was the subtext of Michael Bay stealing and repositioning a British National Icon into one of the most jingoistic American films of all time. And all from The Rock playing on Spike, I believe.
Onwards and Sidewards:
What's next you ask? Four posts chronicling The Dark Knight Rises (2012) perhaps? Let's keep it to three, but with the new Road to Blockbuster section, NMW has taken a bigger interest and investment in what makes movies tick financially and culturally. To me, that's the point of going to the movies and writing about them and their reaction and that's a path Norwegian Morning Wood is going to stay on.
Best Look at Television:
Because it was on TV: The Strange Sitcom Reality of Two and a Half Men 22 Sep 2011
I still think this is fairly interesting and it's not really commented on by anyone else. Fictional Realities are really intriguing - that is, anything that conforms to a Show Bible that could be outlandish or outrageous in any other Reality. Two and a Half Men has one of the weirdest realities in all of television - the acceptable norm for the characters that occupy it are far and large away from anything conventional. It doesn't really make it a necessarily good show, but the post gets a shout out here because no one else comments on the fact.
Best in Humour:
Six Inappropriate Halloween Costumes Inspired by Movies 28 Oct 2011
Runner-Up:
The Long Halloween Special: LEAP DAY 29 Feb 2012
I thought the inappropriate Halloween Costumes was really funny, especially how wrong it would be going as Kevin Bacon's Woodsman out on All Hallow's Eve. C'mon, that's terrible. Another holiday post is a close second in its praise of all things Leap Day. May Leap Dave Williams come and bless all of you.
Best Character Study:
Profiles: Liam Neeson, A Clinic in Badass 28 Jan 2012
I always do a few Profiles of actors or sometimes just fictional characters each year, and in honour of The Grey (2012), Liam Neeson's Profile really stands out. From navigating the intricacies of his escalating badass and shifting, resurgent career, this post captured much of what we love about the man supposedly too old to play Lincoln, but just old enough to Fight Wolves and train Batman.
Most Accurate Impressions:
John Carter 11 Mar 2012, The Avengers, Part 1 07 May 2012 and Part 2 08 May 2012, and Prometheus, Part 1 13 Jun 2012, Part 2 14 Jun 2012, and Part 3 14 Jun 2012.
I included a lot of posts here, but only from three films. It's decently rare that I can encompass everything I want to say about a film. Needless to say, a movie's worth is beyond its narrative competency, actors, or even its box office draw. Films need to also be analysed for their marketing and cultural contributions as well as the trends they may adhere to, exhibit, or create. All of these posts truly envelope those ideas and proved the need for multiple posts to cover all the diverse kinds of reactions films can elicit. I really went off the board with this past week's Prometheus (2012), with an unprecedented three posts summing up all my feelings about that film. Actually, I think I have some more...
Most Comprehensive:
The Five Degrees of Superhero Films 31 May 2012
I get fed up with a lot of Internet opinions. I tried to justify and categorize some of the most divisive of the day with this post where I sorted and analysed every Comic Book Superhero film made in the current Millennium. I'm not really sure how successful I was, but if you're looking for an opinion on any and all films that fit the category (29 in all), this is the place to go.
Most Accurate Zeitgeist:
Trends: March is the New Summer 21 Mar 2012
This kind of post is sort of unusual - but I really summed up that one week in March where people were going crazy from the heat, Nicki Minaj, and The Hunger Games (2012). It's a classic time portal post and will stay that way FOREVER.
Most Intellectual Theory:
Because it was on TV: An Examination of Anglo-American Cultural Relations via Michael Bay's The Rock 30 Mar 2012
This is probably my favourite post of the year. It's a concept referenced to plenty of times before, but this really sank its teeth into the idea that Sean Connery's character in The Rock (1996) is an extension of his portrayl of James Bond in the 1960s. More importantly than that, though, was the subtext of Michael Bay stealing and repositioning a British National Icon into one of the most jingoistic American films of all time. And all from The Rock playing on Spike, I believe.
Onwards and Sidewards:
What's next you ask? Four posts chronicling The Dark Knight Rises (2012) perhaps? Let's keep it to three, but with the new Road to Blockbuster section, NMW has taken a bigger interest and investment in what makes movies tick financially and culturally. To me, that's the point of going to the movies and writing about them and their reaction and that's a path Norwegian Morning Wood is going to stay on.
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