rednoW Favorites 2009

Year-end "lists" are a funny thing.  They often say more about its contributor(s) than it does than the very thing it is hoping to promote.  We are okay with this.  It has been our mantra since the inception of rednoW to simply point others to experiences of wonder.  These two lists (music, film) are attempting to do nothing else.

Films

Few things cultivate wonder in us more than the marriage of story, images and song. If you are looking for a way to bring a little wonder into your rental queue, allow us to make a few recommendations. Compiled by the rednoW team, our Films of Wonder 2009 are listed by US release date rather than some ranking of 'greateness' - if they made the list, we think they are worth your time and money. Soon we will announce our rednoW film (and album) of the year.

Think we missed something? Tell us what and why....we're all ears.

"What does he know?"

This is, throughout the ravaged landscape of The Book of Eli, the unavoidable question we ask of the title character.  Denzel Washington plays Eli, a wanderer both desperate and serene, who trudges slowly and purposefully West.  Hidden in his satchel, along with the necessities for physical survival in post-apocalyptic America, is a Holy Book, Eli's spiritual sustenance in a world that- quite literally- would like nothing more than to devour him.  We are given only small clues of the brutalizing past that left the world coated in dust and misery, but the desperate and thirsty present proves no place for a lone traveler.  Unless, like Eli, that traveler possesses an otherworldly sixth sense and the ability to dispatch with anyone who threatens his journey.  What does Eli know about his book?  Is it madness or a spiritual quest that wakes him each morning, set for another day under the punishing sun?

rednoW Favorites 2009

Year-end "lists" are a funny thing.  They often say more about its contributor(s) than it does than the very thing it is hoping to promote.  We are okay with this.  It has been our mantra since the inception of rednoW to simply point others to experiences of wonder.  These two lists (music, film) are attempting to do nothing else.

Albums

Music has always possessed a certain transcendent quality about it.  Whether it be the captivating sounds or the thought-provoking lyrics, these albums have lured us in enough to hit repeat. If you are looking for a way to bring a little wonder into your ear buds, allow us to make a few recommendations from the year that has been.

Compiled by the rednoW team (and friends), our Albums of Wonder 2009 are listed by US release date rather than some ranking of 'greateness' - if they made the list, we think they are worth your time and money.

Think we missed something? Tell us what and why....we're all ears.

More often than not commentaries and interpretations tend to direct one to think about specific ideas and messages being conveyed through a movie. Or, we are forced to consider how well a mainstream (read that “POP”) commercial release covered the seriousness of a subject while maintaining a high level of entertainment value to keep the viewers attention, often at the cost of the “message”. I find that it is rare for a film to come along that one can engage with on a level that simply makes one feel good; to experience a visceral moment of happiness. My Date with Drew is that movie.