It's the end of the year which means that everyone and their mother are coming out with lists about what they liked best about the year. However mine is different since I don't have the media's luxury of being to see every movie, play every video game, watch every run of every TV show. These are my personal favorites from the year 2013 and nobody else's. Sure, there will be a couple of things that anybody could see coming but this is a list of things that I experienced. Everybody got it? Alright, let's go.
Favorite Movie of 2013: Silver Linings Playbook
Oh, so Silver Linings Playbook came out in 2012? Ok yea sure it did but I didn't see it until March of 2013 which is a testament to how good it is considering that it came out in November of 2012. This film didn't hit it's stride until 2013 so let's count it as that. No movie before this one has given me the same feeling of upliftedness (yes a new word) that this one did. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence have incredible on-screen chemistry and it's impossible not to love Lawrence after this movie. Excellently filmed, well written comedy about how enough crazy can actually help people heal. Really unique film that you really need to check out.
Favorite Video Game of 2013: Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V is the most ambitious game of all time. It boasts a massive map, loads and loads of things to do, and three engaging main characters. What you ask from a sequel is that it moves the franchise forward and refines the gameplay from previous games. GTA V is an improvement over GTA IV in every way possible; from gameplay, to user interface, to the missions. It is quite simply a classic and landmark game.
Favorite International Athlete of the Year: Gareth Bale
It's here where once again I feel the need to remind people that this is my list and just because Americans are ignorant of soccer doesn't mean I can't place a soccer player on this list. Also, let's be honest here, did any other athlete in the world have a better year than Gareth Bale? For the better part of 2013, Bale was a highlight machine, scoring highlight goals for fun. Sure, his team didn't win anything, but individually Bale was a defining athlete in the world of sports this year. This also includes one of the highest profile transfer sagas in the world ending with Bale departing Tottenham for Real Madrid for a record fee of over 100 million. Sure, Bale won't win the Ballon D'Or, but there's no denying that 2013 was the year of Gareth Bale.
Favorite Domestic Athlete of 2013: David Ortiz
2004 was a cool year and I'll always remember David Ortiz's contribution to that team. However, this year really was the year of Big Papi. From his giant F-bomb following the Boston Marathon bombings to his postseason heroics en route to his third World Series title. Ortiz went from being a Boston great to being a Boston legend. As Bill Simmons put it, there's a special club where only the most special of Boston athletes are let in. Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Bobby Orr, Ted Williams all sit there together and have drinks together and now they're joined by another; David Ortiz
Favorite Album of 2013: The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake
Sometimes I joke that Justin Timberlake could sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and still sell millions of albums. That's probably true but that would be disrespectful to the fact that The 20/20 Experience is a fantastic album, Timberlake's best yet. There's way more to this album than "Mirrors" or "Suit & Tie". It's a great album that you can listen to over and over again without getting bored. I found this album before the summer and still listen to it regularly. Also, nobody else is better at appearing out of nowhere than Timberlake. Sure glad he did with this one.
Favorite Song of 2013: "Blurred Lines", Robin Thicke
Say what you want about the video for the song or what you think of the lyrics but Robin Thicke had the song of the summer. It's an excellent party song and let's be honest, it's really well produced and you really do like it don't you?
Favorite Breakout Artist of 2013: Ylvis
"What The Fox Say?" was the year's most catchy song and everyone's guilty pleasure. Whether or not you understood it or not was irrelevant, it's just too much fun to sing a long to. However, it's a disservice to the Ylvis to only point out one song from their hilarious catalogue of songs. Check out "Stonehenge" or "Jane Egeland" and get lost in the zaniness.
Favorite Music Video of 2013: "Hopeless Wanderer", Mumford & Sons
Jason Sudeikis, Ed Helms, Will Forte, and Jason Bateman might be even more entertaining than the actual Mumford & Sons.
Favorite "Old" Anime of 2013: Steins;Gate
I am not ignorant to the fact that Steins;Gate came out in 2011. However, it took me until this past summer to watch it and it really deserves all the hype it gets. It's an anime that anyone could enjoy. Awesome time travel storyline? Check. Excellent characters? Check. Creative writing? Check. It really is the perfect anime; finding a flaw with it is nearly impossible. If you are like me and it's taken you until now to watch the show: WATCH IT NOW!!!!
Favorite "New" Anime of 2013: RWBY
RWBY is what it is. It doesn't try to subvert any tropes that we've already seen and it doesn't really do much different from most anime series. But did it ever have to? Because it's damn good at what it does. The first season of RWBY received a lot of hype this year for something created by a YouTube group. For what it is though, it's very impressive with lovable characters and fantastic animation. You can really tell that Rooster Teeth put in a great deal of effort to make RWBY awesome and for that I'm certainly grateful.
Favorite Can't Miss Late Thing in 2013: American Hustle
Does this really need any explanation other than that the cast above is in it? No, didn't think so
Favorite Sports Team of 2013: The World Champion Red Sox
The late Nelson Mandela believed that sports have the power to unite and heal wounds after tragedies. There are few better examples than the improbably Boston Red Sox. Following a tragedy that nobody saw coming, the Boston Bombings, the city rallied behind a rag-tag group of bearded men who defied all the odds and prevailed. Sometimes it's a mistake to place such faith in athletes because they tend to let us down from time to time. However, the Boston Red Sox of this calendar year were something different altogether, we may never see anything like it again.
Favorite TV Event of 2013: The Roast of James Franco
Say what you want about the typical nature of Comedy Central roasts. They've grabbed some pretty cheap celebrities over the year that, let's be honest, nobody really cares about. In James Franco however, Comedy Central had a gold mind. They were able to gather some hilarious talent on the stage for a relevant celebrity who is nearly impossible to dislike. Whether roasts are your thing or not, The Roast of James Franco succeeded because it was what we always wanted from a roast; a celebrity we actually cared about. Not to mention that the thing was hysterical and features some highly quotable material which, for this sort of thing, is a marker of how good it was.
Favorite TV Episode of 2013: "The Rehearsal Dinner", How I Met Your Mother
I'll just disclaim that maybe this is a bit of a spoiler and all you Breaking Bad fans can shut up about your overrated show. I love me some HIMYM. Anyways, I have been pretty mum in my thoughts about the final season of the show on this blog for good reason. On the whole, the season has been pretty average with a couple highlights thrown in there. A few weeks ago, the season hit a huge high with this episode. The whole thing finally felt like the classic HIMYM that seemed to be missing in the previous episodes. Not to mention that the end of the episode is absolutely adorable for Barney and Robin. Also, Ted dresses up as Liberace during this whole thing, that alone is worth five stars.
Favorite Thing to Look Forward to 2014 For of 2013: The Third Season of Sherlock
TV's best show is coming back bitches...
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