The Social Network – The social networking site, Facebook, seems to dominate this current generation, so a film about the people behind it would seem like a perfect fit. In theory, it seems like one of the worst ideas, as Facebook seems to be what is negatively impacting this generation the most, but in practice, it happens to be one of the greatest ideas. This is not a film about Facebook, nor is it a film about the generation that it spawned. It is a film about an antisocial college student that creates a website that socially links friends together, while losing his only friend in the process. Every element fits together perfectly, much like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle, coming together to make one of the most compelling films in nearly a decade.

Machete – Machete is a love letter to the terrible B-cinema of the ’70s and ’80s. All conventions that are usually considered negative have been brought to the forefront. Every single thing in this film that is not of quality was probably done on purpose. For a film that is trying its hardest to be horrible, Machete does a great job. Everything is over the top, mostly unnecessary and just a total blast; it is one of the finest examples of the “So bad that it’s good” phenomena.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – This is a film most people will not enjoy, but I happened to enjoy it because it was pretty much about my people – Slackers that are obsessed with underground rock music and video games. Michael Cera might have taken most the life out of Brian O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim character, but that did not seem to be a major issue, it was just a minor annoyance that never got in the way of the actual storytelling.

Best video games:

Minecraft – This game’s greatest achievement is remaining accessible within such a deep and expansive world. You are given a world that is roughly eight times the surface area of Earth, you can explore this world at your own will, but you must be aware of the dangers, as monsters spawn in the dark. You must protect yourself with either weapons or a shelter; both must be made from materials that you gather. Some materials are better than others. Most can be crafted into an item that has a use. The world must be explored for resources.  There aren’t any rules. You, the player, can decide what you can and cannot do.

Super Meat Boy – Almost everything about this game is hard, but it is not impossible. Any game that tries to make the player angry usually would not be considered a game of quality, but Super Meat Boy manages to prevent most frustration by having some of the tightest movement controls in any game. It’s not the game’s fault if you die, it’s yours. Every single aspect of the game is possible, but it takes dedication and timing, loads of precise timing. If you can get through the game, the feeling of success will never be matched by anything you do afterwards.

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty – The gameplay differences between Starcraft 2 and its predecessor, Starcraft, are minimal, and it would be absolutely unnecessary to do so. Instead of adding new elements to the gameplay, Blizzard completely changed the front-end and online experience, taking it from a basic way to join and chat with other players to a series of online profiles with complete statistics, Leagues, Ladders and one of the best in-game chat systems. The combination of the online system and the refined gameplay creates what some may consider a complete package. That, strangely enough, happens to be what Starcraft 2 is.

Best Albums:

Crystal Castles by Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles’ second self-titled album took quite a turn from their first album, also titled Crystal Castles, which had an atmosphere that was claustrophobic, with the occasional noisy tantrum. Crystal Castles removes the claustrophobia and tantrums of the first album and replaces it with a cold, dark, dreamy soundscape, while retaining the electronic vibe of the first album, the most relaxing listening experience that one can have from this year.

Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus – After producing music for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block, Flying Lotus, great-nephew of jazz musicians John and Alice Coltrane, started releasing his music commercially. Cosmogramma is quite an evolution from the slightly ambient hip-hop beats that he used to make, but it still retains the style of his old music. Flying Lotus seamlessly blends a vast variety of musical genres together to form one cohesive, slightly futuristic form of music.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West – I have never really been a fan of West’s music, it usually was because he was just a generic pop, hip-hop musician with uninspired lyrics and composition. But there is just something about his latest effort that happened to be compelling. It may have been his sampling, his delivery, the lack of Auto-Tuning, or possibly the wide range of guests. It’s pretty hard to pinpoint why this album is so great ­– it just has some sort of hypnotic grasp that can’t be measured. For now, I guess I’ll just keep listening.