Essential December '09

Essential viewing this December:
- No Country For Old Men (2007) turned out to be the Coen brothers’ biggest success, both with critics and audiences. And it was clear that after such a serious affair they wanted to turn things around a bit and return to their more off-beat comedy roots. And where last years flawed but entertaining Burn After Reading didn’t quite live up to our expectations, their latest effort A Serious Man most certainly does. Set in the 60’s Midwest, with not a single A-list star in sight, they are definitely returning home with this truly wonderful picture. Their dark humour, which has now become impossible to compare to anything other than their own, shines through in an otherwise sad story. A terrific turn from the unknown Michael Stuhlbarg leads the way through their delicious movie universe, resulting in a both moving and highly watchable fable. Always original, always enjoyable and with a final shot that will leave you gasping - who needs stars in front of the camera?
- Twelve years have passed since director James Cameron had his previous film in the theatres. All those years, and probably many more, have gone into preparing for this months Avatar. A film he himself says "would be impossible to make until now" and that certainly is worth the hype. The effects are of course state of the art and it is impressive to see how photo realistic nearly everything in here seems. The problem with CGI characters have always been the lack of emotion, but here all the great acting on display is shining well on through. It is not without flaws; the running time could certainly be pulled back, the second act moves a bit slow and in parts looses the story in order to show off the groundbreaking effects. Which is a shame because the story is both thrilling and at times very engaging. A feast for the eyes and there is definitely more to come now that the technical stage has been set. In fact, you have never seen anything like this before.
- I’ve already decided that one of my new year resolutions will be to watch more documentaries in 2010. I haven’t seen enough this year, but the finest one so far is easily The Cove, by Louie Psihoyos. Even though nothing comes easily when watching this gutwrenching movie about the illegal slaughter of dolphins in Japan. The message is clear and the film itself is an impressive piece of work. With an even mix of interviews, facts, set ups and amazing footage it is simply brilliantly put together. A must see for docu fans and also recommended for those who like to put their hearts and minds through something harder than just another night at the movies.

Essential listening this December:
- Thirty Seconds To Mars return with This Is War, their third album in seven years. In other words, they are not generous with material but they have managed to put out yet another impressive record. Keeping in style with their sophmore album A Beautiful Lie, they have simply grown bigger and smoother over the years, but not necessarily in a bad way. The arrangments lie thicker and the scale of each single song is bigger than ever, but it suits the band well. And despite being a great actor, lead singer Jared Leto should simply quit Hollywood all together. That way maybe we could get a Thirty Seconds album every year, wouldn’t that be something!
- One of the finest indie albums of the year so far might prove to be Lungs, the debut of british Florence & The Machine. Lead singer and writer Florence Welch provides a great voice to a wonderful mix of tracks, from upbeat pop to somber folk tunes. It is both original and interesting and is one of those records that sort of fit every occasion. Sounding like the love child of P.J. Harvey and Nick Cave it will be very exciting to see what Welch does next.
- In the spirit of the season, why not throw in a christmas album. An absolute favorite of mine has always been Aimee Mann, and her first and only christmas record One More Drifter In The Snow from last year is great. A few classics but also some of her own original music make a nice compilation that manages to move away from the traditional christmas album format, and even though you will hear both sleighbells and christmas harmonicas this is easily an album that could be enjoyed all year round. But to make the most of it, be sure to listen to it now! So baste the turkey, put another log on the fire, and come and be merry with Aimee.