Big Dunc's Best of 2010

Last year I did my best movies of the decade. This year I will not be so grandiose, but I'll take a look back the year of 2010. As per usual, I will look at movies, sports, and a few other things and let you know my best of 2010.


Best Movies - as you will see, these are not necessarily movies that came out in 2010, as I don't often actually go to the movie theater, just movies I saw in 2010.

First a few honorable mentions:
Lawrence of Arabia - well this obviously is an old movie, and it wasn't even the first time I saw it, but upon re-viewing it, it is a pretty amazing movie. Check it out again or for the first time.
Couples Retreat - Yeah, I watched this movie as part of the free HBO preview. It wasn't too great, but not too bad either. I like Vince Vaughan and it had a pretty attractive female cast.
Dan in Real Life - This is one I saw randomly on TBS or something. It was one of those movies they play back to back and I saw the second half and then watched it again to see the first half. I couldn't change the channel. A great movie, check it out. Steve Carrell was brilliant.
Legion - I know lots of people hate this movie, and although it didn't really make any sense, I did enjoy watching it.


Now on to our Worst Movies of the Year

Valentines Day - Another HBO free preview film. Pretty weak, though the Ashton Kutcher/ Jennifer Garner storyline did rope me in.
The Other Guys - I think I legitimately laughed out loud once during this movie
Robin Hood - I had high hopes, but was disappointed
Angels and Demons - A great book (for the first 4/5), but a pretty disappointing movie.
The Hangover - Not a bad movie, but highly over-rated.



And the winner for Worst Movie of the Year:

The Other Guys - It looked bad from the previews, but I watched it anyways. Don't make the same mistake I did.



Best Movies of the Year

Up - Great from start to finish

Hurt Locker - Very intense throughout. Characterization was a little generic, but you could not take your eyes off the screen.

Near Dark - Finally saw this "vampire" movie strongly recommended from a friend. It was one of those movies that started pretty slow, but by the end, you are glued to the screen and do not want the movie to end.

Up in the Air - George Clooney at his best. This one was much funnier than expected and the serious side worked too. I actually liked Clooney's interplay with Anna Kendrick much better than Vera Farmiga.

Drag Me to Hell - Another HBO free preview movie, but his one was a quality surprise. Some really sick stuff, some kind of fun stuff, not super scary, but definitely entertaining.



And the Winner is:

Up in the Air - it is the only movie on the list I would recommend to everyone.



Best Books of 2010

Again, this is books I have read during 2010, not new books. I don't know if I've ever read a new book before. Also, I'm not a huge reader. I like to re-read old books. Of the 10 or so books I've read this year, I'd say 70% of them I have read before.

I've reread Timothy Zahn's Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy, a must for Star Wars fans. Harry Potter 7 was better the 2nd time I read it.

I've reread 100 years of Solitude and The Silmarillion, both of which now claim a place in my all-time top 10. I would love to have read 100 Years in Spanish (but I don't know Spanish). Garcia Marquez's work is so poetic (almost too much at times at expense of the actually momentum of the story) I can't imagine it in its original language. The Silmarillion to me, maybe because of my history background is better than the Lord of the Rings. It takes a while to get into, and through, but is worth it, much better after the second read.

Any my best new read of 2010:

A Canticle for Leibowitz - Not in my top 10, and not an easy read at first, but definitely entertaining and thought provoking. It's a post-apocalyptic tale of an abbey that preserves all history. If you like Sci-Fi, check it out.



Best Music of 2010:

Ok, some I'm pretty late on the music scene. My stereo got jacked over a year ago, not that KISSfm plays good music anyways. Well here are my picks for music I got into this year.

Regina Spector and from her to a slighter extend Nellie McKay just for this song

B.O.B. - great stuff with Bruno Mars, Rivers Cuomo, Hayley Williams, and his ESPN bowl song. Yes.

Adam Lambert - Ok, this might be odd, but his music is tight. No homo.



Best Sports Moments

Landon Donovan against Algeria

Michael Bradley and the US against Slovenia

Ghana/Uruguay ending

Badgers wins vs. OSU and Iowa

Favre's Int vs Saints

Everton's 2-goal injury time comeback vs. Man U



And the winner is:

Donovan vs Algeria - no doubt. This one should be the top moment of the decade.



Oh, and the Worst Sports Moment of the Year: Wisconsin vs. Cornell in the 2nd round of the NCAA, total torture watching that thing. Argghh.

Lastly, we'll take a look at the best 2010 post by Big Dunc. It wasn't necessarily a banner year for Big Dunc, but looking back it was pretty substantial - we had great World Cup Coverage, our Comic Book Bracket, Survivor Week, and awesome reviews of Lost seasons 1-4. It looks like going for quality over quantity paid off. So without further ado, here are my posts of 2010.

Star Wars Trilogy
World Cup Wrap Up - Definitely my best picture finds of the year. Check it out for a super hot Australian chick and Bill Clinton drinking a beer
Big Dunc's Survivor All-Stars - The definitive list of the best players and characters in Survivor History. This is a must see for Survivor fans and I think my best of the year, and also my Hottest Women of Survivor wasn't bad either.
Comic Book Bracket - I think this one of the Negative Zone region was the best of the bunch.
Best of Lost - Some great reviews of all the seasons, but I enjoy season 2 the best.



Enjoy, and look forward to more in 2011, or '11 as I will call it.

Who wants to go to Russia? How about Qatar?

Man, Big Dunc is slipping. A cross country trip and a new job and a boring Survivor season has prevented Big Dunc from writing anything new. My news, and this post, is definitely late breaking, as in late breaking, not breaking late. Got it?
Anyways, I figured I'd share my thoughts a few weeks late on the announcement of the World Cup Host for 2018 and 2022.

What? This more of a what??!! than a What: subcategory. This post is very stream of consciousness if you can't already guess. But as I'm sure you know, Russia has been awarded the 2018 World Cup and Qatar the 2022 World Cup. to the lay person, this doesn't make much sense. To the soccer insider, this doesn't make much sense. To the media, it is just plain odd.
The favorites a few months ago were UK for 2018 and USA for 2022. Then recently Russia and Qatar entered the fray. The day before the announcement I'm thinking Russia was a slight favorite and the USA was a slight favorite. Either way, the awarding to Qatar and Russia was perplexing.

Analysis: The decisions on their own make sense. There is no way FIFA would put the World Cup in the two most Western nations in the world, two English speaking countries as well. So it makes sense that UK and USA were not a pair. Russia is seen as an untapped market for soccer, a place where lots of people play, but the game hasn't really taken off economically as compared to Western Europe. It puts the Cup in a new place and "opens up" Eastern Europe to FIFA and the rest of the World. Qatar is in the Middle East. It has money. It is the most stable, safe place in the region. With this pick, FIFA is trying to be groundbreaking, trying to be proactive. I'm also thinking Qatar must have promised lots of profits.
But, together, they don't make sense. Why not have one in England or the US. This would be guaranteed to be a money maker and a successful World Cup with little or no money having to be spent before hand. Lots of things could go wrong in either place. Russia has vodka, the mob, cold weather. Qatar has sand, heat, oil. Both places will not be easy to get to or stay in. It will be an expensive trip for all.
So, as most, I can't make total sense of FIFA's World Cup host choices. Both selections have something to offer, something new, something political perhaps, but both also have huge potential flaws. 2018 and 2022 are a long time away, put I am still disappointed in those choices.
But then again, why not travel to Russia or Qatar. It would be quite fun.