Here’s my take on 2008’s best movies and TV shows

Okay, I confess. I haven’t been the most dedicated cinephile this year.

Although I watched an amazing number of childhood classics, action movies, comedies, dramas and foreign films, I acknowledge a few major holes in my viewing habits in 2008.

I missed “Rachel Getting Married.” I’ve yet to see “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “Changeling” or “Slumdog Millionaire,” and Martin Scorsese’s supposedly brilliant Rolling Stones documentary, “Shine A Light,” is waiting patiently in my Netflix queue.

Meanwhile, I’ve got a few Oscar contenders to tackle — “Doubt” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” in particular. I might get some breathing room this weekend, as most of those serious, depressing dramas — such as “Frost/Nixon,” “The Wrestler” and “Revolution Road” — have yet to reach my home town here on California’s sunny Central Coast.

So here’s an incomplete list of the movies that made me gasp, chuckle or cry over the course of 2008. I promise to catch up soon.

BEST OF THE BIG SCREEN

“The Dark Knight”: Universally praised and feverishly anticipated, “The Dark Knight” was the movie that got everyone talking. Awesome special effects combined with a decidedly dark storyline and strong performances from Christopher Nolan, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart — heck, just about the entire cast.

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”: Mathieu Amalric (”Quantum of Solace”) wowed as a real-life Vogue editor whose perfect world is ripped asunder when he’s paralyzed in an auto accident. I dare you not to cry.

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”: Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro delivered another fun romp replete with mythical beasts, fantastic battles and the occasional Barry Manilow sing-along.

“In Bruges”: There may be hope for Colin Farrell yet. He provided the surprisingly sweet, sorrowful center in this dark comedy about two hitmen (Farrell and Brendan Gleason) vacationing in “the most boring city in Belgium.”

“Iron Man”: If “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” paved the way for brooding comic book dramas, director Jon Favreau’s smart, slick “Iron Man” made the world safe for more mainstream superhero flicks. Tons of fun.

“Man on Wire”: In 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit took a stroll between the World Trade Center towers in New York City. This well-crafted documentary told audiences how he did it and — more importantly — why.

(A side note: 2008 was a solid year for documentaries. We also welcomed Werner Herzog’s “Encounters at the End of the World,” Alex Gibney’s “Taxi to the Dark Side” and the Hurricane Katrina doc “Trouble the Water.”)

“Milk”: Operatic yet intimate, Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” featured yet another stunning performance by Sean Penn as gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

“Persepolis”: Mainstream audiences might have been intimidated by this film’s subject matter (life during the Islamic Revolution in Iran) or its style (black-and-white animation), but why? “Persepolis,” based on the graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, was oh-so-poignant.

“WALL-E”: Who knew 2008’s most memorable character would turn out to be a cute little robot with a fondness for “Hello Dolly”?

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BEST OF THE TUBE

“30 Rock” (NBC): Liz Lemon, the smart, single and hilariously screwy producer of a late-night sketch comedy show, cemented her reign this season as America’s sweetheart.

“Battlestar Galactica” (SciFi): Few science-fiction shows are this well-written, this compelling and this addictive. Riveting television at its best. (The rest of the fourth season kicks off Jan. 16.)

“Flight of the Conchords” (HBO): Oddball characters and ridiculous music videos made this comedy an offbeat charmer.

“Mad Men” (AMC): Chain-smoking, cocktail-swilling advertising execs with sordid personal lives? Tell me more!

“True Blood” (HBO): This steamy drama about Louisiana vampires and the humans who love them is as fun, sassy and delightfully trashy as any episode of “The Jerry Springer Show.”

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BEST ONLINE SENSATION

“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”: Fans of that famously musical “Buffy” episode, “Once More, With Feeling,” gave thanks this summer for “Dr. Horrible.” The three-part show proved, once again, why Neil Patrick Harris rocks, why supervillains deserve our love and why creator Joss Whedon is a geek’s best friend.

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BEST GUILTY PLEASURES

“Rock of Love” franchise: The appeal of Bret Michaels’ eternal search for true love stems from two factors: the trashy, nasty women who compete for his heart, and Michaels himself. How could anyone possibly find the vain, Botoxed former lead singer of Poison attractive? Spin-offs include “Rock of Love: Charm School,” “Trophy Wife,” “Daisy of Love” and “I Love Money,” which includes contestants from VH1 sister show “Flavor of Love.”

“Speed Racer”: How did the Wachowski siblings adapt this beloved Japanese cartoon for the big screen? With screamingly bright neon, adorable lead actors and quick-moving, CGI-heavy action, of course! “Speed Racer” cheerfully assaulted the senses.

“Wanted”: Yes, that’s right. I said “Wanted.” Although many of the plot points — such as curving bullets and flipping cars — would drive any physicist crazy, this gleefully ridiculous action flick provided 110 minutes of solid fun.

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MOST DISAPPOINTING BLOCKBUSTERS

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”: Everyone knows that Indy, the whip-cracking treasure hunter with the crooked grin, is at his best when he’s fighting Nazis and searching for religious relics. Why mess with a winning formula?

“The Day the Earth Stood Still”: Speaking of formulas, Hollywood should have checked its math before making this overblown blockbuster. Keanu Reeves + science fiction classic = disaster.

“Pineapple Express”: What looked like a surefire summer comedy turned out to be a dull, meddled mess. Although there were a few funny moments, the movie’s main saving grace was James Franco, playing a comically clueless pot dealer with unusual zest.

“Sex and the City: The Movie”: What happened to the sexy, sassy goddesses we watched on HBO? The women in this big-screen version were disappointingly tedious, trite and shallow.

“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”: George Lucas continued his campaign to tarnish our collective memories of “Star Wars” with a clunky, poorly animated flop. Ugh.

I could go on and on, but I’ll just list some other films that — while often entertaining — fell short of expectations: “The Happening,” “Hancock,” “Quantum of Solace,” “W.” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

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Photos courtesy of MovieWeb.com.

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The typical surfer probably only buys things at a surf shop roughly 23 percent of the time they actually visit the surf shop. That’s because most of the time, surfers visit surf shops just to look at boards.

In fact, the surfer will often touch the boards, almost in a caressing manner.

While the surfer visiting a surf shop usually doesn’t buy anything, eventually the surfer will get a board, even if the surfer already has a board. Or two. Or three.

“I need a small wave board,” the surfer might say, in an effort to justify a longboard purchase.

“I need a board for Central Coast waves,” another might say, just because he can’t think of a real reason to buy another board.

Eventually, the surfer will accumulate several boards, eliminating extra space in garages and sheds. And when the weather is crummy, the surfer will visit those boards, occasionally touching them. In some cases, an observor might make a comment like, “Why don’t you two get a room?” But that person just doesn’t understand.

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Mrs. Alfred Schmitz and daughter Sally Ann reaped prizes galore when the infant, born 12:23 a.m. Jan. 1 at the Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital, became the first baby of the new year in San Luis Obispo County.
January 1, 1965
Sally Ann Schmitz of Paso Robles was born a celebrity being the first 1965 arrival in the county; she arrived as the third daughter at seven pounds, six ounces.

The first baby story is a classic slow news day story but kind of a drag for the last baby of the year. They never get special attention. There were more phone calls to make in 1965 to find the first baby, north county hospitals have consolidated to the facility at Twin Cities in Templeton.

If you are out there Sally Ann, Happy Birthday!

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Follow the “Yellow Brick Road”: Captain Kirk sings “Rocket Man”

I know, I know. “Star Trek” doesn’t hit theaters until May 8, 2009.

That doesn’t stop me from getting giddy about the thought of my favorite space travelers returning to the big screen. Just think! Kirk, Spock, Bones and the gang boldly going where they’ve gone many, many times before!

To tide myself over until May, I’ve turned to the above video, created YouTube poster Chromafly.

Here’s William Shatner’s famous rendition of “Rocket Man” by Elton John, set to clips from the “Star Trek: The Animated Series.” Enjoy.

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Q: Why do they call certain surfers “goofy footers?”

                                                 – Made-up Question Poser

A: That’s a good question, Made-up – one I’ve often thought about myself.

The term applies to a surfer who puts his/her right foot forward while standing on a board. Since most people put their left foot forward, I thought maybe the name implies others are goofy in some way. Kind of like, I don’t know — someone who bats left handed.

A more obvious answer would seem to have something to do with Goofy, the Disney character. But then that seems too obvious, right?

So I did a little research, and when I typed in phrases like “Why is it called goofy foot?” and “where does the term goofy foot come from” into Google, I quickly discovered that know one else apparently cares. Because I couldn’t find any answer.

But then one day, I was watching DVD extras from some Disney movie, and I saw a clip from the 1937 animated short “Hawaiian Holiday,” where Goofy is seen surfing. And, sure enough, Goofy is a goofy footer.

And, presumably, that’s where the term derives.

So there you have it, Made-up Question Poser. Thanks for asking.

 By the way, check out that old school board Goofy is riding. Classic!

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Send your surf questions to ppemberton@thetribunenews.com, and I’ll try to answer them. Or just look it up on the Internet.

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From the left: Louis C. Drapeau, former district court of appeals judge, Thomas P. White, associate justice of the state supreme court and retired county superior court judge Ray B. Lyon.

January 5, 1963

The occasion was a Rotary Club retirement tribute to judge Ray B. Lyon. Lost to time are the names of the other two men in the photo, perhaps a court historian can help with a comment.
Fellow superior court judges Timothy O’Reilly and Richard Harris were among the many who attended as well.
Lyon was lauded for his shouldering a heavy caseload and the few appeals and fewer reversals of his decisions.

“I did not know retirement could bring such regards in the outpouring of friendship,” Judge Lyon, obviously moved, said at the conclusion of the tributes.
“When the heart speaks, no words can express my feelings.”

The only place in town with a large restaurant for a gathering was the Madonna Inn.
The older generation still wore hats but John F. Kennedy would usher in a new hatless style in this era.

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Deadline drawing near for filmmakers of the future  Attention, future Spielbergs, Scorseses and Soderberghs.The deadline is drawing near for the youth-only portion of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.Entries for the festival’s Filmmakers of Tomorrow Showcase are due Jan. 15, 2009.The short films can cover any subject or style. However, they must be G or PG-rated, less than 30 minutes in length and made by filmmakers ranging in age from kindergarten kid to high school senior.This year, entries will fall into three categories: primary (kindergarten through sixth grade), middle school (seventh and eighth grades) and high school (ninth through 12 grade). All ages are eligible for $50 cash prizes awarded to Best Short Feature, Best Short Film and Best SLO County Film. Sweet!All of the entries will be shown at the Filmmakers of Tomorrow Showcase – Sunday, March 8 in San Luis Obispo. The event will also feature short films made by the participants of summer filmmaking workshops sponsored by the film festival and the Holser Educational Fund for the Performing Arts. You can learn more about the youth film competition here or just fill out the entry form. Good luck! 

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Wow. That was a pretty good Christmas.

We had some great family time, nice weather and — not to sound materialistic – I cleaned up on presents.

Okay, yeah — that did sound materialistic. But check it out. I got a cool little amp, called the Micro Cube:

I have another, much larger amp, but it’s so big, I never bring it out of the closet. So this one will encourage me to play my electric geeetar more often. Maybe I’ll actually get halfway decent so my wife won’t have to hear me play “Breakdown” all the time.

And if the Cube isn’t inspirational enough, I got a Springsteen DVD — “Live in New York City.” For all they say about older acts being washed up, Bruce proves that wrong in this DVD. The performance on “Tenth Avenue Freezeout” is incredible. And best of all, you just know they’re having a blast onstage.

My brother-in-law and his wife got me this cool Big Lebowski T-shirt, which is a replica of the Dude’s bowling shirt. I like how the name above the pocket is “Art,” just like in the movie. On the back, it says, “Team Dude.”

I got the new Wally Lamb book, “The Hour I First Believed,”which I’ve been excited about for a while. Lamb, who was pretty much under the radar until Oprah publicized his first book, “She’s Come Undone,” is a terrific novelist., who takes about ten years to write each book. This one takes place at Columbine.

On a lighter note, I got two different “Simpsons” DVDs, seasons three and six, which is pretty much smack in Golden Era for “Simpsons.”

When I’m not goofing around with my new amp, I’ll be playing Beatles tunes on my ukulele. That’s because I got a ”Beatles for Ukulele” chord book.  Thumbing through this, I’m once again surprised by how complex some Beatles tunes are.

I also got a new fin for my longboard, several other shirts, and a basketball, to name a few things.

Whew. I feel like I did my part to help the economy. I hope President-elect Obama appreciates that. Which reminds me: One of those shirts I got has Obama on it.

But enough about me — what did you get? And, yeah, yeah — I know: Christmas isn’t all about getting stuff. I’ve heard that. But , you know what? Sometimes it’s just fun to get stuff.

So tell me what you got.

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There’s a sale going on right now on Valve Software’s Steam service — 10 percent to 75 percent off all games. You can get gems like “BioShock” for $, or just knock $10 off the price of “Fallout 3.”

The sale ends Saturday.

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May 6, 1894
There is nothing like the Sunday morning paper, fresh coffee, breakfast and a few quiet minutes to read without having to rush to work. (Condolences to those of you who work weekends, I work my share of them.)
The editor and proprietor Benjamin Brooks knew the value of a Sunday paper in 1894. You could get home delivery for fifteen cents a week or pick it up at the office on Chorro Street (between Higuera and Marsh) over the Chicago Brewery.
If you were offended by the brewery ad, with natural ice, you could take comfort in the Church Notices, which included listings for at least three in the same locations today. The Mission, St. Stephens and Presbyterian Church.
Somewhere along the way the Tribune stopped publishing on Sundays, perhaps about the time they combined with the Telegram. There was no Sunday paper in San Luis Obispo County for decades until Knight-Ridder bought the paper from Scripps. August 1999 marked the rebirth of the Sunday paper and the first 7-day-a-week publication in over 100 years.
Even in 1894 fashion news was hot and New York was the source. Included with a drawing of a woman wearing what must be a painfully tight corset was an article with the urgent headline:

NEW YORK FASHIONS
The Correct Thing to Wear and How to Wear It.
BEWARE OF SHAMS
Good times are coming, but after all that only means for a good many of us that we shall be able to pay up debts and “get square” and, pray, where comes in the summer wardrobe meantime, to say nothing of the gowns we used right off this minute! It means more planning, more work and more cheeriness but it all can be done. Remember, nothing will keep up father’s courage, or big John’s, as will seeing you look pretty and fresh for the new season. Besides that, it is good for his credit. As long as a man’s wife keeps tidy and dressy it gives an air of prosperity to his affairs.

The fashion was hot, as in unbearable and this was billed as summer wear.

In other news there were advertisements for several hotels, terms ranged from $1 to $2.50 a day. If you are in the market, the Barney Cole ranch is for sale, over 1,600 acres between Port Harford and the town of Morro. “It is fenced all around, except for the ocean frontage.”

The superintendent of the narrow gauge Pacific Coast Railway  was whining that the Southern Pacific would not change their timetable to suit his. Want to guess who won that battle?

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