Yesterday was the Music List.  Today it’s time to rhyme off my favourite flicks of 2009.

10.  Sherlock Holmes    Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law were great and I love the fact that this updated version of the insightful detective has a lot more action and humour, but I came away from this film a little disappointed.  Still, it was good enough to make my list.

9.    Defiance    Daniel Craig proves he can play more than just James Bond and Liev Schrieber is brilliant as always.  A great story of overcoming the odds in Nazi Germany.

8.    Funny People    This has to be one of my favourite Adam Sandler movies.  He’s not doing schtick – instead he plays a man facing his mortality with a little help from his undertstudy, played quite well by Seth Rogan.  The stand-up bits alone are worth seeing this movie.

7.    I Love You, Man   Jason Segel is hilarious and as usual, Paul Rudd plays a great straight man.  This is a buddy movie with some crazy laughs.

6.    Taken    Liam Neeson kicks ass as an action star.

5.    X-Men Origins: Wolverine   We get to see the back story of one of the most popular X-Men characters.  Lots of action and Wolverine is Canadian to boot!

4.    The Hangover    Zach Galifianakis steals the show in this movie that mines the bachelor party scenario without all the usual cliches.

3.    Star Trek    J.J. Abrams revives the franchise by taking us back to trace the origins of Kirk, Spock and the gang.  The special effects are killer and the casting is perfect.  This crew makes you want to see more of the franchise.  This is now my second favourite Trek flick next to only Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan.

2.    Avatar    James Cameron blows us away with CGI effects that will influence the movies for years to come.  I would call this Dances With Wolves with a sci-fi twist.  Simply great movie-making!

1.    Inglourious Basterds   Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of Tarantino, so this selection should come as no surprise.  As usual the dialogue is brilliant, particulary the opening cat and mouse scene between the Colonel and a French dairy farmer.  Brad Pitt is good, but Christoph Waltz and Melanie Laurent steal the show as Colonel Hans Landa and Shosanna Dreyfus.  If Waltz does not get the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor it will be a crying shame.

Movies I did not see this year that I would have liked to – The Road, Up, Law Abiding Citizen and The Blind Side.

Blockbuster crap that I saw but did not make my list – Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe.

After much thought and lots of hemming and hawing I have finally come up with my list of the Top 10 Albums of 2009.

10.  Three Days Grace – Life Starts Now   One of Canada’s best bands released their 3rd album this year and it’s got a ton of whallop from the first single “Break” on through to other killer cuts like “Bitter Taste” and the title song.

9.  Kiss – Sonic Boom  Gene and Paul missed the call for the Rock Hall this year but put out a solid new disc.

8.  Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue   I never thought an Alice album without the late Layne Staley could ever be anything but weak, but Jerry Cantrell delivered.  Key cuts include “Check My Brain” and “Private Hell”.

7.  Collective Soul – Collective Soul  These guys have sold out the Capitol Centre twice and let’s hope they come back in the new year to support this solid effort.  Ed Roland still knows how to write songs with killer hooks!

 6.  Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix  These guys made everyone’s list this year.  A breakthrough from the French rockers who’ve been around since 1999.

5.  Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown  Call it what it is – American Idiot II – but Billy Joe and company continue to deliver solid songs like “East Jesus Nowhere” and “The Static Age”.

4.  Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg  Who thought that Wolmother could rock harder than they did on their debut?  Not me, but Andrew Stockdale and the boys get it done.  Key tracks include “New Moon Rising” and “California Queen”.

3.  Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures  The term supergroup is thrown around way too much, but here’s a band that deserves the title.  Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones delivered the crunchiest jams you’ve heard in some time.  Key tracks include “Scumbag Blues” and “Elephants”.

2.  Pearl Jam – Backspacer  Pearl Jam put out their ninth studio album this year and they brought producer Brendan O’Brien back to the fold for one of their best discs in years.  “The Fixer” was one of the best tracks of the year, and “Just Breathe” sounds like a holdover from Eddie Vedder’s 2007 solo disc.

1.  U2 – No Line On The Horizon  U2 brought it in 2009 with an album that had more melody than anything they’ve put out in years.  These guys aren’t just going through the motions some 30 years on.  “Get On Your Boots” I could have done without, but gems on this album include “Moment of Surrender” and “Magnificent”.

A local boy is hoping to win a big prize, but not for himself. Quintin Elson is a 9 year old who is set to live in a Habitat for Humanity built home and is now entered into a writing contest about what home means to him. The contest is run by Genworth Financial and Elson is representing the North Bay and Blue Sky Region Habitat for Humanity with his poem. The winner gets a free computer and 60 Thousand Dollars to go towards he building of a new Habitat home and you can vote at www.themeaningofhome.ca

This past summer, North Bay had the honour of hosting Kids In the Hall as they shot their new 8-part series, “Death Comes To Town”.  North Bay felt like Hollywood North for a couple of months as the hilarious Kids shot scenes for the series all over town.  Our own Ken Anderson from the Fox got to be an extra and a bunch of people I know also had bit parts.  It should be alot of fun to watch the series and pick out faces and landmarks from around North Bay and area. 

Although I’ve scoured the internet looking for air dates, all I can see is that “Death Comes To Town” is still expected to air on CBC some time in early 2010. 

Check out the very funny trailer for “Death Comes to Town” here.

Robert Downey Jr. kicked ass in the first Iron Man movie and now he’s ready to give us some more.  Iron Man 2 hits the big screen in 2010 with Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle and Samuel L. Jackson along for the ride.  If you’re as stoked about this new movie as I am check out the trailer here.

One thing I love this time of year is receiving Christmas cards from friends and family.  It’s always a pleasant surprise to receive something in the mail other than bills and flyers.  If you have not sent your Chrismas cards and parcels, you are sure cutting it close!  Only 9 days left until Christmas!

I’m not here to judge though, I’m here to hook you up with a bonus code!!!  To pick up 200 Rock Star points, head to foxradio.ca and enter:  mail

It’s that time of year again.  Kids all over North Bay and area are gearing up for school Christmas concerts over the next couple of weeks.  The kids will perform and parents will take pictures and maybe even tear up a little at the sight of their munchkins spreading the Christmas spirit.  I think most of us have either performed in a school Christmas concert(whether willingly or not) or watched our children sing their hearts out at this time of year.

Vicki and I got to talking about her daughter’s upcoming Christmas concert performance this morning and I was reminded of a concert I was involved in back in grade 3.  I don’t know why I remember this, but my class took the stage to sing a song called “Suzy Snowflake”.  I had not heard that song since – that was until I searched for it on Youtube today.  Have a listen here, and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

What a great day!  Ken Anderson and I had the chance on Tuesday to join Bob Chisholm of McDonalds in delivering the 1034 toys that were raised during the Fox / McDonalds 2009 Toy Drive.  We took a little road trip to LIPI, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, The North Bay Hospital and toys were also given to the Jordan Foundation. 

On Christmas morning there will be smiles all around.  Thanks again to everyone that came out to support our toy drive! 

The Morning After with Mitch and Vicki made a big announcement today.  Our Lady Peace will rock the North Bay Capitol Centre on March 24th, performing the “Clumsy” album from start to finish.  Tickets are $49.50 plus service charges and go on sale Saturday, December 12th at 12 noon at the Capitol Centre box office.  You can also order online at www.capitolcentre.ca or www.livenation.com

If you’re a Fox Rock Star you could win tickets with our Rock Raffle at www.foxradio.ca Just go to the Rock Raffle section and use your points to get as many ballots as you like.  We’ll draw a name each morning from Tuesday to Friday and that person will win a pair of tickets to the show.  You can also get to the front of the line to buy tickets before anyone else this Friday.  Look for the special pre-sale bonus code on Friday at www.foxradio.ca

Our Lady Peace are coming back to the north, and this time it’s an intimate performance at the Capitol Centre.  See you there!

Thanks to everyone that took part in the Fox/McDonalds Christmas Toy Drive.  This year we received 1034 toys that will be distributed to various organizations in our community. 

Every child deserves a special Christmas, and this year in North Bay kids in need will have a reason to smile because of you!