10 For 10

I don't know about you (or maybe I do, it depends who you are really) but I am a HUGE fan of start of year and end of year lists. I scour all of the lists for books, films, games, music, events etc. and so, you guessed it folks, I'm going to lay down the ten things I'm most excited about/anticipating in 2010. There's some (should-be-let's-hope-it-is) awesome stuff to come this year, so let's crack on!

1. Toy Story 3
Start with a biggie! Who in their right mind ISN'T excited about this?! 1 and 2 are inarguably two of the most brilliant animated films of all time. We're all a bit worried about the third installment being a flop, like most sequels, but it's Pixar so if we're playing the odds, it's going to be legendary. Pixar are very aware that they've got a tough act to follow after Up And there's going to be a Spanish Buzz Lightyear. There's a whole lot of win already.

2. Laura Marling
If you haven't heard of Laura Marling, hang your head in the direction of iTunes. She released her stunning debut Alas I Cannot Swim in 2008 and since then, us devoted fans have been gagging for me. The tracks I've heard sound much more grown up than the (endearingly) juvenile debut. She released a single in December- Goodbye England (Covered In Snow) which has been knocking around for a while, and is a gem. Ryan Adams and Ethan Johns (responsible for the holy trinity of the first 3 Kings of Leon albums and the good Ryan Adams albums) are producing so, as far as I'm concerned, this one's watertight!

3. Iron Man 2
The Marvel films in the superhero revival of last decade were hit and miss, but Iron Man was undeniably head and shoulders above any of them. Sterling performance from Robert Downey Jr, propelling him to superstar status, and it didn't simply try to follow the 50% emotion, 50% action format of most of the other films. Now the sequel is packing Iron Man's ebonic sidekick War Machine and Mickey Rourke (who as we all know is back in the game) as classic baddie Whiplash. And instead of generic whips, he's repping up some nutty pulsating tesla coils which can slice a speeding F1 car in half. I'll be watching this one.

4. The UK General Election
It's heating up already, and it's going to be pretty intense. The television debates between the party leaders will definitely be a highlighy. My predictions are a new Conservative Government, but with Labour retaining more seats than we'd think, the Lib Dems taking more seats than before and the SNP doing very well over the border.

5. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
New book from Phillip Pullman, famous of course for his religion bashing secular fairytale His Dark Materials trilogy. The trilogy was an extremely gripping read and whilst Pullman's atheist stance is of course wrong, it was fascinating to see him present that in the way he did. I don't know much about this forthcoming title, but it looks set to be a controversial literary talking point!

6. The Road
Vigo Mortensen (Aragorn from Lord of the Rings to you and me) vanished from the popular radar after Return of the King. Now, the king has returned again. The apocalypse is in big time at the moment, and The Road, an adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy book, takes us to a post-apocalyptic world where an unamed man (Mortensen) is roaming a decimated America with his son, looking for food and trying not to be devoured by cannibals. It's been laded as the first great film of 2010 and this blogger is, as they say, "well up for it".

7. Skippy Dies
I love a bit of sci-fi I do. It's a bit of me is what it is. And as soon as I heard the premise for (little known) Paul Murray's new book Skippy Dies I was ready! An overweight genius attempts to open a portal to a parallel universe, but then his roomate Skippy falls in love and (!shock!horror!) dies and all sorts of secrets come out of the woodwork. Bring on the parallel dimensions yo.

8. Every Good Boy Desrves Favour
A little known play by Tom Stoppard with a huge orchestral score written by Andre Previn, it's the story of two men called Ivanov locked away in a mental asylum- one because he is mad and believes that he is surrounded by an orchestra and the other because he is a political dissenter. A revival is running at the National Theatre at the moment and is only on until 17th of February and has gotten rave reviews so I definitely want to go and see it before it vanishes.

9. Odd Blood
Sophomore album from psychadelic Brooklyn boys Yeasayer (dark horses to leap unexpectedly into the charts if you ask me) looks set to be brilliant. Their first was as lush and colourful as a Jackson Pollock painting of the rainforest. Then last year they gave away 'Ambling Alp' for free on their website- one of the best pop songs of the last ten years. Seriously, it's incredible. Listen to it. And it's gotten me quiveringly excited for the whole album (which has been leaked but I refuse to listen to, coz, y'know, I'm like that)

10. Rupture
A novel from unknown Simon Lelic, Rupture tells the story of a young police woman investigating a high school shooting committed by a gun toting teacher. Uncovering a traumatising picture of the months leading up to the attack, she finds that she has a lot in common with the murderer. Usually, I despise crime novels, it's a massively banal genre as far as I'm concerned. But something seems different here. Maybe because it's based on a bizzarre 21st century phenomena- high school shootings. I very much look forward to reading it anyhow. Not to sound morbid.

So there are my ten. I'm pretty excited. There's lots I've left out, albums mainly. There are a LOT of albums to get psyched about. A separate blog maybe? How about you? What are you excited about this year? Leave me comments and feedback!