Best and worst of 2011

Time again for our list of the best and worst of 2011!

 Best movie: While I laughed out loud watching "Ang babae sa septic tank," I was enchanted by "Nino," an indie movie about a proud family whose fortunes have faded. The movie is held together by the tour de force performance of Fides Cuyugan Ascencio. My mom who also loves opera would love this.

Best and worst of 2010

As we welcome 2011, we cheer and jeer the best and worst of the year that was
Best Movie Here come the Bride 
From the writer of 2009's Kimmy Dora comes Chris Martinez's hilarious body-switching comedy with Angelica Panganiban finding her true calling and upstaging comediennes Eugene Domingo and Tuesday Vargas as a gay beautician merrily trapped in a woman's body. It won't make any festival lists but it's the best stress-reliever!

Honorable mention goes to The Social Network, Toy Story 3 and Ip Man.
Worst Movie: The Expendables
I did not watch The Last Airbender or Jonah Hex so this may change but The Expendables was such a letdown because they got all these 80s action stars and they couldn't come up with a better/current story?

Best TV show: Big Bang Theory
Any show that frequently references comics is tops in my book. Funny, smart  writing, a great ensemble and
hats off to Jim Parsons for making an annoying character like Sheldon lovable.



Also noteworthy were Grazilda (the first few weeks) Magkaribal for the camp, the botox and for Angel Aquino's acting.

Worst TV: Willieng Willie
Of course anything with Willie Revillame back on the boob tube is disgusting as he pretends to help the poor but he's really exploiting them for ratings.
Sadly, there were other disappointments like M3(Malay mo ma-develop), Diva and 1dol, which tried to cash in on the Glee love but failed so badly they had to end it earlier than planned.

Best Song: Ako'y isang Mabuting Pilipino

No matter who you voted for, this song should be our mantra. We should BE the change we want to see.


Worst Song: Justin Bieber's Baby, Baby oh
Cringe-inducing! I guess all the hoopla about this kid  and his hair has created a backlash.

Best Book: "Sarap" and "Tikim" by Doreen Fernandez
How embarrassing that I only read this now. It was published 25 years ago and Doreen has passed on but the content is remarkable! One of the most fascinating is how patis is a Tagalog seasoning...the Bisayas use toyo, which they call patis. A cebuano uncle calls patis tagalog "Rufina"!

Honorable mention: Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco. I didn't always get it but it is a mind-bending tale.

Best children's book: Araw sa Palengke by May Tobias and illustrated by Isabel Roxas

A charming story with lovely, lovely illustrations of a sleepy little girl who goes to the market with her mom.

Worst Book: Hmmm...can't think of any but I was disappointed by Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay which I read before I got to read The Hunger Games, which was much better.

Best Trend: Free online contests. I've already won one and an officemate has also been inspired to become a professional contest joiner!

Worst trend:  Jejemon!!! I hate those hats just placed on top of their head it made me do this Crazy Jhenny strip

 Best gadget: ipad
Definitely the most desired gadget all over because it looked so cool with the touchscreen which launched numerous imitations. Most of the contests I've joined now dangle this as their first prize.

Worst gadget: ipad
No, it doesn't/won't support flash videos (youtube!)out of the box, can't do multitasking, and you know it didn't include a camera so that the Mac devotees will also buy the next version. The ipad is basically a big ipod touch.  An expensive, hyped- up  toy for big boys and girls.
And yes, I still want one.

That's it! If you know of any best or worst I might have missed, tell me in the comments section!

Best and worst of 2009

The committee: Me, myself and I ...plus Sasha the dog

As we welcome the year of the Tiger, we look back at the year that was and present a very personal, very biased Best and Worst list of 2009

Best movie of the year: Kimmy Dora

Hands down the funniest movie of the year because of Eugene Domingo's talent and Joyce Bernal's crazy ideas.

Honorable mention: Up

From the opening montage to that furry talking dog, I was hooked.

Worst movie of the year: Transformers 2

"I rise...you fall" seriously?!?

Dishonored: Shake, rattle & roll 11

I didn't see it but my sister strongly recommended it. Ruffa Gutierrez acting is scary enough.

Best TV show: Glee

The one show I just had to watch as soon as possible. I love the evil coach Sue Sylvester and her adidas jackets.

Honorable mention: Adik sa'yo

Not many people saw this but I just preferred laughing over crying on primetime

Worst TV show of the year: Rosalinda

It could've been the next Marimar but whoever casted the leads should be fired. Carla Abellana and Geoff Eigenmann were painful to watch and Sheryl Cruz is a pathetic villain.

Also sucked: Lovers in Paris

My mom said it was awful.

Best song of the year: Bayan ko (as sung by Lea Salonga)

Tita Cory's death and the events that followed brought back memories for a tired nation. Lea's mvoing tribute lit a fire our collective spirits and gave us hope again.

Notable: Nobody by the Wonder girls, Poker face by Lady Gaga

Catchy tunes that made us want to dance but hearing them over and over again almost made them unbearable.

Worst song of the year: Ikaw na nga by Willie Revillame

Ugh, Rico J. Puno wondered if it was a finished song or just a demo.

Best trend of the year: Going green, SM's mall-wide "Bring your own bag day"

SM finally recognized that their plastic bags were the leading polluters of our time and made a very impressive first step by making Wednesdays a no plastic bag day to force people to go green.

Honorable mention: RP flag, 3 stars and sun design on shirts

From OFWs to Noynoy Aquino, there's a new sense of pride that has swelled up and while some of it may just be fake nationalism, I cannot discount the power of these symbols .

Worst trend of the year: Emo

I just don't like it.

Also yucky: the excess h's in text and internet language like "hello poh"

Best gadget of the year: USB portable drive. Greater capacity and function has made storing content a breeze and now, it can be used for wireless internet, too!

Worst gadget: Gadgets that conked out

Don't you just hate stuff that just stop working? Jon's phone, Papa's phone, our office phone...I jsut wish everything works in 2010!

Speaking of the year of the tiger, look what my parents dug up from our tambak: a cat puppet I made in college for our play. I don't remember its name but I will call her Catty 'coz she's fierce in a bad way.