The Winners And Losers Of 2009

This list is nothing major, nothing special. A bunch of stuff which peaked my interest in 2009 (whether in a positive or negative light) can be found here. Nothing more noteworthy than that. And so, let's get this over and done with. Just to show hastily done this is, improper and unstable formatting is in place... and also this is a partial list for the most part.

(2011 Update: I never got around to posting the updated list, despite adding a few more things to the original text. So here it is; the complete 2009 in Review list!)



THE YEAR'S WINNERS
Some good stuff has happened to or involving these particular targets during 2009.

STAR TREK
Trekkies will debate the temporal peculiars until the end of time, but there's no doubt in my mind that this is one of the best Star Trek flicks I've seen in recent memory. Hell, even my brother thought it was excellent. Everything about this movie, from the visuals to the casting to the overall story, seems to be pretty spot on and has earned multiple views on my part. Good job, JJ. Here's hoping all of this good will I've placed on you won't be flushed down with the sequel.

(2011 Update: A shame that I didn't include the comic prequel, Countdown. An excellent miniseries, by the way.)

TERMINATOR: SALVATION
I gotta be honest. After people had trashed this movie, I had some reservations. But after watching the movie, I gotta say that this one is actually not too bad. Let's be honest: no Terminator movie is going to compare to the first two, but drop those expectations and what you'll get is a fairly servicable action flick that does a good job of entertaining the audience. And for that alone, it's on this side of the list.

AVATAR
Best viewed in 3D... probably my first 3D movie experience. Not an amazing movie by any means, but is certainly better than Titanic... yeah, that's right. The Avatar has sank the Titanic. THAT alone earns it a spot on my list.

CLASSIC GAME ROOM HD
A spin-off of the old-school Game Room webshow that originally aired in 1999-2000, this HD incarnation actually started in 2008, but I only caught wind of it this year, so it's on the list now. In fact, what a great review show this. Aside from being able to watch the old-school stuff from the earlier incarnations (which are really good), the new HD series is also good, calm, and informative with some witty moments. A top-notch show that I recommend for all your gaming reviews.

PLAYSTATION 3
What a change of fortune for the Playstation Triple, huh? It's got a new model, a new lower price, and a selection of pretty good games that can't be found on the other system (yet)... not to mention that they've got the prepaid PSN cards out, which I've used to buy some online PS1 classics for my PSP. Okay, Sony. You've sold me on your PS3 - this one actually looks nice. I'll probably pick one up... next year... for Christmas... or something. First, I'm going to invest in some Wii games that seem like they're worth the money, like...

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII
A bit premature since I don't have the game yet, but having sampled it for a bit and judging from the positive praise it's been getting, I'd have to say that it's well earned its spot on this list early on. Besides, it's classic 2D Mario at its finest and you can play four players, so that's a win-win right there.

BATMAN AND ROBIN
Honestly? I dig the series. I dig the new dynamic between Dick Grayson's Batman and Damian's Robin. While it's a no-brainer that Bruce Wayne will eventually return to reclaim the mantle he created, right now, I'm just enjoying the ride that is Batman and Robin... good stuff.

THE YEAR'S LOSERS
Quite a few losers this year...

MARVEL
A black hole of creativity - there's about one or two series that's actually worth my time at the moment and you're almost left wondering when the Powers That Be will fuck those up as well.

POWER RANGERS
2009 will be the last year that new PR will produced and that's a bit of a shame. While I've seen very little of RPM - mainly the first couple episodes and some tidbits afterwards - what I have seen is very good and perhaps fitting that it should end on a fairly high note. This is one that I was debating putting on here at all, but the fact that new episodes are being cancelled and replaced with reruns of the original MMPR, however, is enough justification to make it on the Losers side of the list.

WOLVERINE
Your movie was a giant MEH. All I can say is that at least it's better than X-Men 3, but that isn't saying much. This one is just... MEH.

(2011 Update: Sorry, 2006 self. I have to disagree. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is almost on par if not WORSE than X-Men 3. Look what they did to Deadpool! Revolting!)

TRANSFORMERS
Your movie sucked even more.

STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI
Oh, for fuck's sake... YOUR MOVIE SUCKED MOST! Just terrible.

TWILIGHT
Haven't seen the movies or read any of the books. But according to MovieBob, they suck. Neither the trailers for the two flicks or any of the excerpts I've read online have convinced me otherwise. Not likely to read the books or see either movies, because they look so BLAND.

(2011 Update: That didn't last long. I actually tried to read the first book in the Twilight saga and fell asleep seven pages in. Just rubbishly boring.)

THE MIDDLE GROUNDERS
Only a couple this year...

NICOTINEALIEN/ARMAKE21/BOXED ENTERTAINMENT/WHATEVER HIS NAME IS NOW
He's started up another account and towards the end of the year began uploading some of his older stuff, some of which I still find entertaining despite them just being mindless screaming matches. Of course, it'll be a matter of time before some schmuck decides to heckle him and he takes the videos down again, which makes me want to reiterate my plea from last year to find a suitable site to host his videos at. I hear Blip isn't too bad for your needs, dude. Think about it.

(2011 Update: Closed his BoxedEntertainment page and opened yet ANOTHER one... but on the other hand, there's a YT page hosting most of his old vids.)

GERALD TREMBLAY
Managed to stick around as mayor of Montreal for a third term. Too bad he sucks, but by default compared to the other candidates in the recent urban election, he was the best choice. So congrats, Mr. Mayor. Now please, please, PLEASE give us snow removal services that doesn't suck... because that's most important at the moment.

TMNT
Ended their 25th anniversary with a decent (if disappointing) video game for Wii (and PS2) as well as a surprise sale of the franchise to Nickelodeon. Not sure what to make of this, but for the most part, the Turtles are still (somewhat) marketable. So Middle Ground for you guys.

Anyway, that's it for 2009. Here's to a more-than-average 2010. Happy New Year, kids.