The Shortlist: Best Of 2015

As the year of 2015 comes to an end, I am yet again faced with my annual task of compiling my favorite things of the year into a list, which always proves to be a very difficult and time-consuming but fun task. The past few years I've stuck to films only, but 2015 was a bit different. I found myself reading a lot of great books and listening to quite a bit of music in my spare time, so I wanted to include these elements on my shortlist as well. The only rules I gave myself before making this list is that every movie, book and song included had to be released or published sometime in 2015. I also made sure that I only selected one song per artist and one book per author, as I wanted my shortlist to be as diverse as possible. With these parameters set, I began the task of selecting my 2015 favorites, and here they are. Share your favorites for the year in the comments!

BEST MOVIES OF 2015:

Ex Machina

Alex Garland

★★★★☆ (Read my review)

Mad Max: Fury Road

George Miller

★★★☆☆

It Follows

David Robert Mitchell

★★★☆☆ (Read my review)

BEST BOOKS OF 2015:

Vanishing Girls

Lauren Oliver

★★★★☆ (Read my review)

The Girl On The Train

Paula Hawkins

★★★★☆ (Read my review)

It's What I Do

Lynsey Addario

★★★★☆ (Read my review)

BEST SONGS OF 2015:

Realiti (demo version)

Grimes

[Listen]

Down Side Of Me

CHVRCHES

[Listen]

Black Sun

Death Cab For Cutie

[Listen]

Warm Blood

Carly Rae Jepsen

[Listen]

Sorry

Meg Myers

[Listen]

Haunting

Halsey

[Listen]

Lifted Up

Passion Pit

[Listen]

Wasteland

VÉRITÉ

[Listen]

Circadian Rhythm

Silversun Pickups

[Listen]

Can't Deny My Love

Brandon Flowers

[Listen]

Album Review: Art Angels

Canadian musician Grimes recently released her newest album Art Angels, and I thought it would be a good time to give my opinion on it. I can say that overall, this is my favorite album from Grimes. Perhaps as an artist she is still a bit "out there" for many people to get on board with, but slowly and surely Grimes is begining to pave her way into the musical world. Art Angels is the perfect bridge that will undoubtedly start pulling more individuals toward becoming fans of Grimes' music.
Many of the songs on Art Angels are quite refreshing in the sense that they are very unique, blending distinct aural elements into a relatively cohesive package. However, I think that this is also somewhat of a blight on this album. For example, the overt aggression in the song "SCREAM" sharply contradicts the almost angelic, orchestral quality of the intro track "laughing and not being normal." It is these opposing sounds that make Art Angels a little confusing for the listener.
However, there are certainly elements of this album that shine and make the musical talent of Grimes clear. For one, I really enjoy how Art Angels makes Grimes' vocals more apparent than many of her previous songs. The lyrics can actually be mostly understood, but they still don't detract from the instrumental components of the tracks. This album also strikes me as being more accessible to a wider audience. Her upbeat tunes such as "Flesh without Blood," "World Princess Part II," and "Kill V. Maim" seem like they were made for the sole purpose of getting stuck in your head for days. It's this catchiness that will make Art Angels appeal to more people and become an album that many will listen to. I was also impressed with the way Grimes changed her demo version of "Realiti" to fit the sound of her whole album. Although I do still prefer the original, I think that the album version of the song fits into the framework of Art Angels much better.
Although falling short on a few aspects and having several songs that I personally don't love, overall Grimes' newest album is something refreshingly different and possesses a unique sound that the radio does not provide. Blending musical elements that few artists would dare attempt to mesh together, Grimes has largely succeeded in composing an enthralling sound with Art Angels. I will admit that it took me several listens of the album to really start enjoying some of the songs, but I think Art Angels is worth giving a chance. It might not be musical perfection, but it sure is musical creativity to the max.
Artist: Grimes

Genre: Art pop/Synthpop

Number of Songs: 14

Release Date: November 6, 2015

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Movie Review: Liberal Arts

One recent night I found myself caught in a movie trailer vortex on YouTube, a very dangerous place for myself to be. After watching the trailer for the 2012 film Liberal Arts, starring Josh Radnor and Elizabeth Olsen, I figured I would check Netflix to see if it was available there, and seeing that it was I opted to give it a watch.

This quirky comedy drama opens with Jesse, a college admissions officer living in New York City, traveling back to his liberal arts college in Ohio to attend his old professor's retirement ceremony. There he meets Zibby, a student attending the college, and they quickly form a strong friendship. Once he returns to New York, Jesse stays in contact with Zibby through exchanging letters with her. Zibby asks him to return to Ohio so she can see him, but upon arriving is apprehensive about continuing a relationship with Zibby who is 16 years younger than him. The two must help each other figure out the complexities surrounding their wide age gap and the feelings that they have for each other.

To put it simply, this movie was certainly odd. From "the hat guy" (you'll know exactly what I'm talking about if you watch Liberal Arts) to the awkward chemistry between Jesse and Zibby, I found this film to be somewhat uncomfortable to watch. Sure, there were some elements that did work and buried among all the awkwardness were several truly funny moments. But overall, I was pretty disappointed with Liberal Arts.

To begin, I thought the movie was slow to evolve and get to its point. The plot itself is pretty sparse; a guy travels to his college town and falls for a girl much younger than he is. That's pretty much it. I feel that to compensate, Liberal Arts just throws a bunch of unrelated stuff into the mix that just doesn't seem to mesh with the main storyline. This movie also bounced around between comedy and drama, never quite establishing what it is suppose to be. A last negative point I want to make about Liberal Arts is just how disjointed the characters all seem from each other. While I was watching the film none of the people in it seemed to really connect to the other actors. It's hard to explain, but the best way I can describe it is that the actors didn't seem authentic. There was an emptiness behind their words and actions in this movie.

As I said above, there are a few positive elements. Not only are there several comedic scenes that were pulled off pretty well, there were also some heartwarming moments. Ultimately, for me Liberal Arts was like a blank, dull canvas with a very unsubstantial plot punctuated by brief yet vivid moments that were done well. I certainly didn't love this movie, and found myself to be bored and sometimes a bit bemused by parts in it, but I also didn't hate it. Overall, Liberal Arts is not a movie that I would go out of my way to advocate watching, but if you are so inclined you may find it to be more enjoyable than I did.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Run Time: 97 minutes

Release Date: September 14, 2012

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆