The Comprehensive Sam Wieland Media Diary Idea He Stole From Director Steven Soderbergh-January 2015

For those of you who, for whatever reason, don't know Steven Soderbergh (director of your favorite movies like the Ocean's series, Out Of Sight, Traffic, Haywire, Contagion, Behind The Candelabra and so much friggin' more) releases a media diary at the end of every year. He makes note of everything he takes in from an entire year almost as if to shame those who think they take in a lot of content. It's not a competition, but Soderbergh's got you beat no matter what and his picks never cease to be interesting. Here's his respective lists: 2014, 2013, 2012.

This is a great idea, and because I know something like this would be so much more anticipated coming from someone like me, a student at an arts school, that I've been done the same over the last month. I used to do this with movies and I felt like I've lost my touch with it (though I respectfully did it as an end of the year thing, because that's what the social norm is) and I figure this is a good way for people to be repulsed about how much time I waste watching things. And, as you'll notice, how very little time I spend reading (I'll throw in a book once I finish it, but lets not kid ourselves, I don't read as much as I should; then again, if you want some insight into the amount of comics I'll read over Christmas break, I post the results victoriously on my Instagram every year).

So here's January of 2015:

January 1: Ocean's Twelve (runoff from New Year's Eve)-New Year's Eve is the worst. It's nothing to celebrate, but because you're expected to, just stay in. So I did, I stayed in with my parents and we ate baked ziti (like I was Father Phil from The Sopranos) and I talked 'em into watching the dark horse favorite Ocean's 12. People don't like this movie, historically, because people are dumb. Historically. Really, there's fewer fun ways to spend your time than with this series of movies (like with Ocean's 13 for instance). Twelve is a sequel that does take the original plot and dresses it up a little bit more and there's nothing wrong with that. If nothing else, it's the best kind of travel porn, because it's beautifully shot, the music is crazy infectious (God bless David Holmes) and it's not on HGTV. Matt Singer wrote a great defense of the movie almost two years ago and Soderbergh himself did an interview in December about why it's a good movie in December and if anyone would know, it's him. It also has one of my favorite jokes about greed in a movie (it's when Reuben asks them all who's on the hundred dollar bill and he gets pelted with names and none of them are Franklin). So if you have any negative pre-conceived notions about Ocean's 12 put 'em to bed, because you're wrong.

January 2: LOST-I've got something cooking on this and will write it within the next two weeks. This is not my first go at LOST and I haven't watched it since it left air waves. It holds up, but you definitely suffer from wanting to get to the fireworks factory in those first seasons.

January 5: American Hustle-Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan appropriately and affectionately nicknamed this movie "Coke Zero" on a podcast last January. The comment was probably more poignant at the time, because it was living in the shadow of Scorsese's much better Wolf Of Wall Street and always will. Or will it even be remembered? Like, if you bring up any of the people who were in the movie (Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner: a stacked movie) this is probably one of the last things that come to mind. It's barely memorable, but it's not entirely terrible either. Amy Adams has an English accent, because I'm convinced she wanted to prove that she can do an English accent (I'm also convinced she's the poor man's Jessica Chastain) and surprising no one it's pretty annoying. There's not enough Jennifer Lawrence in it and all the other performers were real good. Bradley Cooper does a Louis C.K. impression that is so spot on, that you just get happy thinking about it. It felt like it wanted so badly to be a P.T. Anderson movie or a Scorsese movie and I tried to eliminate that preconceived prejudice I went in with, but it's just so hard not to think of it while watching.

January 9: Inherent Vice-There's no denying that I'm in the bag for Paul Thomas Anderson and while I'm like the worst consumer of Thomas Pynchon, I really, really love his writing (no matter how many times I have to re-read pages, I'll admit it). And this movie is exactly what you'd want from this director adapting this author's work. It's in the pantheon of Anderson movies, obviously and it's one you just have to see twice. When I saw it the first time, opening night, I spent a lot of time trying to keep up, because I know how dense the story is and you miss the little things and you actually lose scope of the plots. Your mind is racing, piecing these wonderfully funny and albeit disturbing bits together and you start to kick yourself when you try to think of everything that happened in the scene previous. Anderson said in an interview he did with Marc Maron (which is actually really great if you obsess over Paul Thomas Anderson like I do or if you have faint interest in him) where he says that Pynchon just thinks on another level and just knows something that we don't. It's all I could think of while watching and while I read his work. So if you like really well written (it was nominated for best adapted screenplay, don'tcha know) but incredibly dense and convoluted stories about transitioning from the sixties to the seventies (not age) then....honestly if you haven't seen Vice yet, then you probably don't have intentions of seeing it and ya know what, that's okay. It's not for everyone, which is what makes it so special and great.

January 11: GIRLS & TOGETHERNESS-GIRLS is back and I'm generally very happy when it does come back. I'm also generally very happy when it ends. It lasts the perfect amount of time and comes on exactly when it needs to. The problem with GIRLS, is probably remembering to separate Hannah from Lena Dunham, but it's way easier for people to blend the two when they're quite different, though equally controversial, depending on who you ask (ya know, like your aunt). I'm not saying, nor will I ever say, that GIRLS is the end all-be all. It's not perfect and certain viewers seem to expect perfection from it day in and day out. GIRLS is GIRLS and sometimes it's something you wish you didn't see and then sometimes it's "Free Snacks" or other highlights from that show. TOGETHERNESS on the other hand is the callous-free show that lifts you up and seems sincerely interested in showing a nice story. Is it perfect? No, but it's a stroke of genius from the Duplass brothers, who invoke a presence like Alexander Payne. They're doing simple and not totally original storytelling, but it's not bogged down in the usual cynicism other shows seem to be into right now, if that makes sense. And all hail Steve Zissis who has escaped the prison that is husky best friend with generic personality disorder.

January 13: PARKS AND RECREATION-Few things make me sadder knowing that probably my favorite show or at the very least one that will fight for that title with the greats (The Simpsons, NewsRadio and Arrested Development) is ending this year. It's the best live action cartoon you'll ever watch with more personality, charisma, heart and genuine comedy in Leslie Knope's fingernail than anyone on a Big Bang Theory. Amy Poehler will probably never win an Emmy for Leslie Knope, but that's okay, because neither did Dominic West for Jimmy McNulty. Nick Offerman will never win an award for Ron Swanson, but that's okay because Idris Elba never did for Stringer Bell. Basically what I'm saying is that PARKS AND RECREATION is The Wire reincarnated for our pleasure. And while it's not time to say goodbye to our sweet prince just yet, the time comes sooner than I'd like. But at least they're going out on their terms and that's all you can ask sometimes.

January 17: Ocean's Eleven-Full disclosure: my parents wanted to watch this more than they did Twelve on New Year's Eve, but I didn't have my copy on me. There's not much to say about Ocean's Eleven that hasn't been thought of before, because it's crazy entertaining and on a level that Raider's Of The Lost Ark is on in flawlessness. Try finding someone that doesn't like Ocean's Eleven oh wait you can't because those people don't exist or we've shunned them all away. Either way, the world's a better place for it.

January 20: American Sniper-Oooh, hot button! That's why I'm letting Wesley Morris say it and same goes for Keith Phipps. All I'll say is Munich/Saving Private Ryan>American Sniper. Not that you should be comparing.

January 22: JUSTIFIED-I watched probably two or three episodes of last season's JUSTIFIED and walked into this new season with the barest understanding of what happened. I don't feel like I've lost anything in the long run because of that, and that's the really great thing about JUSTIFIED. I have no idea where it'll fall in the Great Sam Wieland Life Retrospective when I'm thinking about my favorite shows of all time, but it's one I enjoy so much. I'm both sad and glad that it's ending, because it hurts seeing a dog chase its tail over and over again, but this is a good old hound dog who deserves to catch it and I have no doubt that it will, victoriously.

January 23: Tootsie-That's right, I'd never seen Tootsie before. Missed opportunities all these years. It's great. It'd probably never get made today, or at least if it were, it'd be stripped of all its brilliant simplicity.

January 23: 30 ROCK-I've been re-watching 30 ROCK since December of 2013 and I'm almost done. I haven't been as consistent with watching as I probably should, but that's whats great about 30 ROCK: you can pick it up when you need something to lighten the mood. I used to be very critical of 30 ROCK, because when you're surrounded by self-appointed-Tina-Fey wannabes (myself included, sometimes) semester-in and semester-out you turn resentful. I'm glad I'm past that point of resentment, because when 30 ROCK hits, it's like an atom bomb being rode by Tracy Morgan saying things. Things like, my personal favorite, "Charles Whidmore."

January 24: The Interview-That's right, I saw the carrot and took a chomp at it. My life has not changed for better or worse after watching The Interview, but I will say that it was pretty funny. Is that wrong, have I entered a realm I can't return from now? Whatever man, it's okay to like This Is The End, but it's hogwash to like this one, which I think is actually better? They had more restraints with this one, causing them to be more focused, wheres This Is The End felt like a bunch of ideas thrown at the wall and seeing what stuck. But....The Interview didn't have Danny McBride in it....it's a tough call, but I enjoyed watching it. Screw me, I like rooting for Seth Rogen.

January 24: Whiplash-Alright, not that the two are comparable, but this was the better movie I watched that day. Holy God, Whiplash is something else. Like, this is a movie I'd love to hear David Fincher talk about, because it feels it'd be up his alley, visually (it's gorgeous) and the obsession of seeing a process. Though, it could use a better sense of time, but if Fincher had directed it, we'd undoubtedly have that. Whiplash is gonna be that dark horse that everyone's excited to pop-up again when best movies of the decade are being talked about in five years. At the very least it's fun to think and talk about in the moment and has hands down one of the funniest lines of dialogue I've heard said with such sarcastic resentment in a *long* time ("It's Division 3.") Really mad I didn't see it in a theater, but I'd be kicking myself if I hadn't seen it. Also, FWIW, Whiplash is more intense than American Sniper, or at least I thought so.

January 26: The One I Love-Did I watch this with my roommate? Yuppers, and it was fun. He seemed more mad about it or was more hesitant to go along with the ride for it. The number of times he made audible responses of outrage (I should say, he liked the movie, or I'm assuming he did) were fun to hear. It's best to go into this movie cold, but it makes you really appreciate and admire the work that Mark Duplass does. Dude's got range and as much as I like The League, it's nice to know that yeh, I'd probably like to be friends with him in real life. It's on Netflix, watch it if you want an interesting take on relationships and character studies.

January 27: Foxcatcher-A double feature of this and The Master would be an utterly depressing one, although fascinating at the same time. This is about the dangers of manipulation and the sadness of using another human being for your own personal stuff. The difference between Foxcatcher and The Master is that the story of Foxcatcher actually happened and happened for no reason. You will not feel upbeat after watching this movie, unless of course you're a twelve-year-old boy [*raises hand*] and start comparing Steve Carrell's John DuPont to Mr. Burns (in terms of eccentric millionaire status) or Scrooge McDuck (in terms of eccentric millionaires who ride in helicopters a lot). It's paced very slowly, especially if you're waiting for the other shoe to fall. But Foxcatcher isn't about John DuPont murdering Olympic gold medalist David Schultz-it's about how John DuPont uses Mark Shultz, who lives in his brother's shadow, and abuses him. The three leads, Steve Carrell (as DuPont), Channing Tatum (as Mark Shultz) and Mark Ruffalo (as David Schultz) are all really impeccable and this would definitely be a movie that will and has gotten lost in the shuffle. If this were a different year, like 2005, it'd be Best Picture most likely (or the one everyone knows should be). Ruffalo, per usual, reminds you that he's the best of his kind, so it's worth it just for that.

January 28: Inherent Vice-See above; I won't repeat myself. Other than saying, it's not for everyone, so don't be mad at me if you see it and don't enjoy yourself.

January 29: The Big Lebowski-So a good companion to Vice is Lebowski, or at least that was what the talk of the town was when Vice had first come out. That and The Long Goodbye (which I haven't watched yet). Lebowski is very much the movie for the everyday man who wants to experience something like Vice. That doesn't lessen this Coen Brothers movie, by any standard, but you also should take into account that the Coens made this, so it too is not going to be for everyone, but it is considerably more adaptable. Jeff Bridges is just great, really, everyone is-it'd been years since I watched it and holy moly is it really good. Stupendously funny in all the right Coen Brothers way, man. The world was robbed of Philip Seymour Hoffman, but we are very fortunate to have him in at least one Coen Brothers movie and there couldn't've been a better one for him.