Highlights from 2007

Movies

The following are movies I watched for the first time this year that really stood out. These are roughly in order of the magnitude of the impression they made on me.

• Cool Hand Luke. I am not totally sure what to get out of this, but for some reason it has stuck with me.
• Nashville. Ditto.
• Mean Girls. I was expecting this to be kidsy and unappealing, but it's actually really clever and entertaining.
• Batman Begins. The best superhero adaptation, and right alongside Unbreakable for the best superhero movie. The Dark Knight indeed.
• Man on Fire. The plot is ok, but the centerpiece here is the styling---the editing, sound, and visual effects. The recurring funky bass line is awesome, and I love the way subtitles are handled.

Books

The following are books I read for the first time this year that really stood out. These are roughly in order of the magnitude of the impression they made on me, though the differences between first, second, and third place are slim. Further notes in my reading list.

Honorable Mentions

• The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation. Jacobson, Colon. Graphic novel. Non-fiction. More gripping than most fiction, and manages to covey a lot of facts and information.
• To The Edge of the World. Thompson. A really interesting take on Darwin, evolution, and the meeting of science and religion, from the perspective of the Beagle's captain.
• Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town. Doctorow. A bizarre tale mixing ad hoc networking, fairies, and a guy with a washing machine and a mountain for a mother and father. It's way out there, and worth reading just for the trip.

Third Place: From Hell. Moore. The best graphic novel I've ever read, and clearly surpassing traditional boundaries of the medium and moving into valid literature. The artwork fits excellently, the plot is intriguing, and the execution's tight all around. The denouement as Gull's work reaches fruition is very powerful.

Second Place: Ilium. Simmons. Richly ridiculous science fiction. Through the first two thirds I was convinced this was the most imaginative novel ever. The ending is a bit of a let down, as is the second novel Olympos, but it remains a very bright and fanciful story.

First Place: A Grey Moon Over China. Day. Gritty, hard science fiction but in a hazy, dusty fashion that reads like a faded World War 2 movie mashed together with The Matrix and an Honor Harrington novel. Physics, artificial intelligence, economics, strong personalities, and bitter realities all come together in this one. This blew my mind.