It's been a great year for art. Blockbuster movies like The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, and Skyfall dominated the box office while Oscar-worthy films like Lincoln, Argo, and Moonrise Kingdom wowed audiences. Things went similarly in the music industry. Critics loved new offerings from Lupe Fiasco and The Black Keys. With all this great content it's become quite the challenge narrowing things down to the best of the best, but regardless, we've done it. Here are our picks.
Best in Film
Before any of you overeager films critics jump down our throats let us explain. We saw Argo, we saw Flight, might have missed Lincoln, but there was only one movie that we found ourselves absolutely enthralled with this year, and that's Christopher Nolan's conclusion to the Batman trilogy. The Dark Knight Rises was not only an epic blockbuster but it was filled with a stellar cast and executed with absolute perfection. We know this film will probably receive no love at the 2013 Oscars, but that's ok, snubbing Christopher Nolan is not an uncommon academy trait.
Honorable Mentions: End of Watch, Flight, Rust and Bone, Moonrise Kingdom
Best in Television
Honorable Mentions: Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Justified
Best Short Film
This short film from Andreas Wannaerstedt captivated many of the writers here. The concept wasn't too unique but the execution was near flawless. The sci-fi nature of the film is just the tip of the iceberg. As it closes the true scope of the theme is realized and it's daunting. Watch it now if you have yet to.
Honorable Mentions: Mama, Golem, Where I'm From
Best in Music
Now the above song isn't necessarily the best song of the year, but it does come from the best album of the year. Kendrick Lamar's debut album Good Kid, m.A.A.d City was released in October to thunderous applause. A true concept album filled with some of the best storytelling in recent memory, Kendrick delivered in ways many didn't even realize possible. GKMC is being hailed as an instant classic, we couldn't agree more.
Honorable Mentions: Chromatics - Kill for Love, Lupe Fiasco - The Great American Rap Album, Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
Song of the Year
This needs no explaining. It's dominated airwaves and won its way into the hearts of love-sick teens everywhere. Catchy, soulful, and down-to-earth. We could listen to this song all day.
Honorable Mentions: Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice, Kanye West - Mercy, Jay-Z - Glory
Best Music Video
An easy pick. The video for No Church in the Wild from Jay-Z and Kanye West was absolutely brilliant. The artists didn't even have to show up for the video for it to be this damn good. Directed by Romain Gervais, this music video is filled with stunning visuals. Not only that, it excellently captures the theme of the song. We found this video so great it almost made it into the best short film category.
Honorable Mentions: Gotye - Somebody I used to Know, Alt-J - Breezelocks
Best in Visual Art
It's more than incredibly difficult to choose a "best" in visual arts. Such a topic is so subjective that many groups never reach an agreement - such is our dilemma. Instead, below are several of the year's best pieces, all great in their own right and all deserving of making this list.
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| David Hammons's "America the Beautiful" |
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| "Bombs over Aleppo" by Maysun |
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| Photograph by Philipp Levinger |
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| "The Division of Pleasure" Adam Martinakis |
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So those are our choices for this year's best in art. Let us know what you think of our picks or let us know your own by leaving a comment on this page or our Facebook.
