I won't go on about the worst as I'm just trying to forget them and it's boring.

FILMS
Dredd. Well cast, looks great, a lean story and a well wrought vision of Mega-City One. Loved it. The soundtrack is great as well.

The Avengers. More superhero films should be made like this, particularly when handling multiple characters. Better than any of the preceding films that built up to it.


GAMES
Far Cry 3. Haven't finished it but this is a wonderful open-world shooter/stalker/explore-em-up. A self-contained world that totally convinces.

X-Com. Great remake/reboot/whatever. This could have gone wrong so easily but speaking as a fan of the orginal 1994 classic, this got far more right than it got wrong.


BOOKS
Sadly, I don't recall reading much this year. In fact I may not have read a book at all. A friend is obsessed with Murakami so I may start there in 2013.


MUSIC
I'm accumulating music fairly organically and randomly from Youtube viewing, games and other sources. But I can't really recall any of the big releases this year. The one thing that made me smile though was Gangnam Style.

TV
Just Breaking Bad. TV is so bad in the UK right now I've long stopped watching it.

I'm always behind the curve by a few months, in some cases even years, but still, here's the short version:

My favorite MOVIE this year was "The Intouchables", hands down. Only the French can come up with such a captivating story.

As for GAMES, well, since I have played just two AAA titles this year, my favorite has to be an indie game, unsurprisingly. "FTL: Faster Than Light" was a blast. Perma death rarely works in favour of a game, but in this case, it became the foundation of the thrill FTL provides.
"Deadlight" was also fun, very stylish, but not extraordinary. And "X Rebirth" was postponed once again, so it'll be my game of the year 2013 instead.

TV was just the same ol', MUSIC as well.

BOOKS is a hard one. Or maybe not. A cursory check of my collection tells me I haven't read a single book that was published this year.

THE GREAT AMERICAN RAILROAD WAR: How Ambrose Bierce and Frank Norris Took on the Central Pacific Railroad-Dennis Drabelle, St. Martin’s Press

FDR: American Badass!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1811315/

Iron Sky
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034314/

Worldwide Entertainment Event: London Olympics Track and Field Events, (bird's-eye-view take-offs & Landings)

...watching people do the geekinest dance invention craze since the Wiggle or Watusi, Opa's White-man-style!

How's that rip-off of Madmen set in the 50's, thought bout watching that-I watch re-runs of Green Wing just to dig repeatedly the Hottest Scot to Trot, Sue White!-That show would be sheit without her powerhouse of sexual prescience...WOOOOF! and yes, I DO speaking of her capacity for sensuous omnipotence and succulence...fan Club Member!!

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Best Book: Wool. If you like your dystopian post-apocalyptic SF - this is the one.

Best Movie: I enjoyed Argo, Looper and Cloud Atlas - though in general I think this was a poor year for the kinds of films I like.

Best game: As a casual gamer, dare I say, Bad Piggies? ;-)

TV: Will second Breaking Bad - I've actually gotten in to the final season of Merlin with the kids. Also, Season 2 of Game of Thrones and season 3 of Downton. Poor Cousin Matthew!

Music: This year has been a year of nostalgia - I'm listening to almost no new music except the latest from Kate Havnevik.

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It's funny, I guess the grass is always greener - but I think UK TV is the best in the world:

Peep Show
Downton Abbey
Would I Lie to You
QI
Merlin
Sherlock

Now Australian TV on the other hand ... don't get me started.

The panel shows just feel very long in the tooth to me. Merlin and Sherlock are bloody awful in my opinion, the kind of ultra-safe shows that are getting commissioned.
Probably doesn't help that my writer friend who's written stuff many times better failed to get a show onto Channel 4. He's bitter about it and so am i on his behalf!

Honestly the top-rated show on Xmas here was that dross Miranda. Check out the clips, it's worse than dog mess.

I only have a TV for one reason.... So You Think You Can Dance. Eliana Girard won this year -- probably the best dancer they have ever had.

I can't put my finger on anything else -- my passions are big passions, and push all else from my head. I know I have gobbled up some books, and laughed and cried at the movies... but I can't remember any titles at present.

Except the documentaries Trash Dance and Chasing Ice. Yep.

Radio: My favorite discovery of 2012 is "Radio Lab", a story telling show reminiscent of another favorite, 'This American Life', but with a much more sophisticated sound design. All episodes are available for free in the podcast section of iTunes.

Music: I fell in love with the New Orleans second line scene after Issy and I paid a visit to the crescent city this year. We saw the 'Rebirth Brass Band' live and had a great time. We also had a mini-meetup at the show with @dotdude. New Orleans music culture is like no other.

Music: Louis Cole & Genevieve Artadi: Highly unique and energetic electro-acoustic music. Hard to explain.

Music: Austin Texas band 'The Black Angels' - Dark, bluesy rock obviously influenced by the Doors. To be honest, I'm not crazy about blues rock or the Doors, but 'The Black Angels' manage to meld these influences into something I really dig.

Music: UK band, 'Metronomy'. Their sound is eclectic, hooky and heavily influenced by all the cool British 80's bands I loved as a kid. Goes down easy. Works in the background as well as the fore.

Movies: Django and Looper were the two films that captivated me from start to finish. Both films by gifted auteurs, one at the top of his game, the other on the rise. Great writing. Great Directing. Great performances.

Horror movies: The Cabin in the Woods (A clever and absurd meta-horror mashup) and the The Lady in Black (A classic, classy ghost story) both satisfied. It's nice that there were a couple of diamonds in sea of Paranormal-Activity-esque-found-footage detritus.

TV: same stuff that everyone else likes - BB, GoT, DoAb and Sherlock. I also got into Always Sunny in Philadelphia this year - very dark, very funny.

Books: Started a bunch, finished very few. Nothing to recommend. "Checklist Manifesto" is pretty interesting so far - it's about how the brain functions (or fails to function) in the information-dense present.

Games: 'Xcom' was a worthy update of the original. Loved all the detailed micro/macro strategy. 'Journey' was beautiful and fairly moving for a videogame.