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50 books. 50 movies. 2015. (Follow Format in OP!)

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A

Ashes

Banned
cooltext155505703791291.png


8-9 days left.

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Ashes - 48/50 Books | 48/50 Films | 26/12 Seasons

Two films to go. Two books to go.
 
K

kinoki

Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promise only; pain we obey.
donny2112 said:
~210 hours left. 46 books. => ~4.5 hours per book ... while streaming videos in the background ... and no sleep ... through Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Click to expand...

That'd be a great feat. We believe in you Wok.
 
A

Atrophis

Member
Atrophis - 12/50 books | 44/50 movies

Probably going to fail on movies this year. With re-watches taken into account I have watched fifty two. Still I am going to try and fit in six more if I can.

As for books I only planned to read Malazan this year which I nearly completed. I could have done it easily but I wasted a few months over summer where I read nothing. On book nine at the moment which I am hoping to finish before the end of the year.
 
K

KillerBEA

Member
Probably my last update.

33 Movies / 2 Books

Ant Man ★★★★☆
Terminator Genisys ★★☆☆☆
 
A

Ashes

Banned
Final updates can be your entire list btw. Only time in the year it's perfectly alright so you might as well go all out. :p
 
W

Wensih

Member
I won't be hitting my personal extended goal of 24 books this year, but it's been a great year to get back into reading. I'm looking at finishing 2, possibly 3, books by the end of the year, so I will most likely hit 20 books for 2015. I'm hoping to continue this trend next year by reaching the 24th book mark although I received some hefty novels for christmas:

Moby Dick, or The Whale by Melville
Ulysses by Joyce
Underworld by DeLillo
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Chabon
House of Leaves by Danielewski

Looking forward to reading them in the new year.
 
A

Ashes

Banned
Was about to post challenge complete. But went through my list to see if I made a mistake, and I missed 25th spot in the film list. I probably have warched 50 films, but I can actually make sure 100%.
 
B

Ben Morales

Member
Ashes said:
Was about to post challenge complete. But went through my list to see if I made a mistake, and I missed 25th spot in the film list. I probably have warched 50 films, but I can actually make sure 100%.
Click to expand...

It's funny, this challenge gave me a reason to use my Facebook account a little more. I've been tracking my movies on there. I post a "now watching" status when I start a movie and it logs the date and time for me. Then at the end of the month I go to my About pave and see what I watched for the month.

Before I started doing that I was having a hell of a time keeping track.
 
D

donny2112

Member
Ashes said:
Was about to post challenge complete. But went through my list to see if I made a mistake, and I missed 25th spot in the film list. I probably have warched 50 films, but I can actually make sure 100%.
Click to expand...

Yeah! Al ... most ... there ...

Cyan said:
Possible I'll finish another book or two, but anyway, I've completed the book portion. The movie portion... lols.
Click to expand...

Books take concerted effort and time to carve out for both attention giving to the reading and focus to stay on task (easier for some than others). Movies can be an active experience but are mostly passive experiences. You don't have to worry about losing your place/literary train of thought for the plot, so it can be broken apart into smaller chunks much easier. You may not get as much out of it, but you can still get through the movie that way. As such, I just don't understand the problems watching movies
Pau's issue aside
. Is it a lack of streaming service(s) available making finding new stuff harder? Libraries not a reasonable option?

Time-wise, exercising on a stationary device also works great for watching something on a tablet, etc. while you're going. Helps pass the time easier, too.

I realize people are different, and obviously from this thread, movies are much harder for some. I just want to understand why, and I'm having a hard time coming up with general reasons. Any specific hindrances you're running into to help me understand this?
I feel like I've asked this before, somehow, but don't recall an answer. May be misremembering, though, or never actually posted the question?
 
O.DOGG

O.DOGG

Member
This is my final update for the year.

O.DOGG - 51/50 books | 87/50 movies

It is unlikely that I'll finish another book before the year's out and even if I watch another couple of movies, the 50 books was the real challenge for me.

I found I've acquired a taste for reading this past year with this challenge and it feels uncomfortable if even a day goes by without opening a book. I hope I can keep it up for next year. It's been a lot of fun.

Thanks to all who participated and were part of this thread. Even though I didn't post as much, I read it, and used your lists for inspiration. Good luck to everyone taking the challenge again next year!
 
C

Cyan

Banned
donny2112 said:
Books take concerted effort and time to carve out for both attention giving to the reading and focus to stay on task (easier for some than others). Movies can be an active experience but are mostly passive experiences. You don't have to worry about losing your place/literary train of thought for the plot, so it can be broken apart into smaller chunks much easier. You may not get as much out of it, but you can still get through the movie that way. As such, I just don't understand the problems watching movies
Pau's issue aside
. Is it a lack of streaming service(s) available making finding new stuff harder? Libraries not a reasonable option?

Time-wise, exercising on a stationary device also works great for watching something on a tablet, etc. while you're going. Helps pass the time easier, too.

I realize people are different, and obviously from this thread, movies are much harder for some. I just want to understand why, and I'm having a hard time coming up with general reasons. Any specific hindrances you're running into to help me understand this?
I feel like I've asked this before, somehow, but don't recall an answer. May be misremembering, though, or never actually posted the question?
Click to expand...

Hmm. Partly it's that I never feel like I have the time (it feels like I need a two hour block to watch a movie versus just being able to read for a half hour before I go to bed). Partly it's that I never feel like there are all that many movies available that I particularly want to watch, even with a nearby library, while my book backlog just grows longer and longer. Partly it's that I get easily distracted if I'm watching a movie on my own, and I don't have that much opportunity to watch with other people (usually it ends up being TV). I think the biggest thing is that I just don't enjoy movies nearly as much as I enjoy books. So I never really get the urge to watch one, I have to force myself.

For me the visual medium doesn't appeal to me in the same ways as the written. Maybe it's that I feel more in control over a book, or that the emotional impact isn't so sharp. Or just that I've loved reading books all my life and never really had that experience with movies. For whatever reason, it's takes great effort to get myself to watch a movie, and that's not the case for books.
 
S

Saad

Member
See you in the next thread

December Update
Saad - 30/50 books | 89/50 movies

Books
  • Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand ★★★☆☆
  • The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North ★★★☆☆
  • Red Rising - Pierce Brown ★★★☆☆

Movies
  • Bone Tomahawk (2015) ★★★★☆
  • Ant-Man (2015) ★★★☆☆
  • Star Wars (1977) ★★★★☆
  • Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) ★★★★☆
  • Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) ★★★☆☆
  • Trainwreck (2015) ★★☆☆☆
  • Mistress America (2015) ★★★★☆
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) ★★★★☆
  • Sicario (2015) ★★★★★
  • Four Lions (2010) ★★★★☆
  • Sleeping with Other People (2015) ★★★☆☆
  • The Walk (2015) ★★★★☆
  • The Little Prince (2015) ★★★★★
  • Steve Jobs (2015) ★★★★☆
 
M

Master Milk

Member
Failed miserably.

I may have made it to 50 movies. I definitely didn't make it to 50 books.

I forgot I was even supposed to be doing this for a few months, so I'll have to change my approach for next year. This will probably need to be an everyday thing for me to have a chance of completing it.
 
S

survivor

Banned
Yeah I don't think I can finish the movies part of this challenge. I had to watch about 25 movies in December and I only managed to watch 2 so far. Oh well, at least I managed to finish the books part.

Hopefully my 2016 attempt will be better.
 
D

donny2112

Member
Detailed writeups on Books 1-9 and Movies 1-9
Detailed writeups on Books 10-17 and Movies 10-17
Detailed writeups on Books 18-26 and Movies 18-26
Detailed writeups on Books 27-39 and Movies 27-49
Detailed writeups on Books 40-50 and Movies 50-60

Books
  1. Cast No Shadow (Star Trek: TOS, 360 pages) (2011) - ★★★★★ (Jan. 3, 2015)
  2. Hunger Games (374 pages) (2009) - ★★★★☆ (Jan. 6, 2015)
  3. Hunger Games: Catching Fire (389 pages) (2010) - ★★★★☆ (Jan. 9, 2015)
  4. Oliver Twist (264 pages) (1837) - ★★★★★ (Jan. 20, 2015)
  5. Artful: A Novel (277 pages) (2014) - ★★★★☆ (Jan. 27, 2015)
  6. Cold and Broken Hallelujah (Long Beach Homicide series) (283 pages) (2014) - ★★☆☆☆ (Jan. 31, 2015)
  7. The Klingon Art of War (qeS'a) (160 pages) (2014) - ★★★★★ (Feb. 3, 2015)
  8. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (309 pages) (1998) - ★★★★★ (Feb. 7, 2015)
  9. Star Trek Mirror Universe: Rise Like Lions (401 pages) (2011) - ★★★★★ (Feb. 10, 2015)
  10. Girl on a Wire (375 pages) (2014) - ★★★★★ (Feb. 17, 2015)
  11. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (341 pages) (1999) - ★★★★☆ (Feb. 25, 2015)
  12. Star Trek: Myriad Universe: Shattered Light (489 pages) (2010) - ★★★☆☆ (Mar. 2, 2015)
  13. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (435 pages) (1999) - ★★★★★ (Mar. 5, 2015)
  14. Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game (336 pages) (2010) - ★★★★★ (Mar. 8, 2015)
  15. Ticker (267 pages) (2014) - ★★☆☆☆ (Mar. 18, 2015)
  16. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (752 pages) (2002) - ★★★★★ (Mar. 24, 2015)
  17. Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Seize the Fire (488 pages) (2010) - ★☆☆☆☆ (Apr. 2, 2015)
  18. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (870 pages) (2003) - ★★★★★ (Apr. 22, 2015)
  19. Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire (387 pages) (2011) - ★★★★★ (Apr. 29, 2015)
  20. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (672 pages) (2005) - ★★★★★ (May 4, 2015)
  21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (791 pages) (2007) - ★★★★★ (May 14, 2015)
  22. Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Paths of Disharmony (455 pages) (2011) - ★★★★☆ (May 19, 2015)
  23. Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Plagues of Night (385 pages) (2012) - ★★★★★ (May 24, 2015)
  24. Guardians of the Night (A Gideon and Sirius Novel) (352 pages) (2015) - ★★★★★ (May 24, 2015)
  25. Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn (394 pages) (2012) - ★★★★★ (May 27, 2015)
  26. Death of a Chimney Sweep (A Hamish Macbeth Mystery) (228 pages) (2012) - ★★☆☆☆ (June 5, 2015)
  27. Death of a Kingfisher (A Hamish Macbeth Mystery) (274 pages) (2004) - ★★☆☆☆ (June 9, 2015)
  28. Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Brinkmanship (334 pages) (2012) - ★★★★☆ (June 12, 2015)
  29. Pulling up Stakes (113 pages) (2012) - ★★★★☆ (June 17, 2015)
  30. Pulling up Stakes, Part 2 (147 pages) (2012) - ★★★★☆ (June 20, 2015)
  31. Flirting with Felicity (237 pages) (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (June 26, 2015)
  32. Road to Samarcand (269 pages) (1955) - ★★★★☆ (July 8, 2015)
  33. Treasure Island (183 pages) (1883) - ★★★★★ (July 11, 2015)
  34. Star Trek: New Frontier: The Returned, Part 1 (164 pages) (2015) - ★★★★★ (July 12, 2015)
  35. Alice in Wonderland (122 pages) (1865) - ★★★☆☆ (July 21, 2015)
  36. The Martian: A Novel (369 pages) (2011) - ★★★★★ (July 29, 2015)
  37. Einstein Prophecy (327 pages) (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (August 12, 2015)
  38. Charlotte's Web (184 pages) (1952) - ★★★★☆ (August 16, 2015)
  39. The Mermaid's Sister (231 pages) (2014) - ★★★★☆ (August 28, 2015)
  40. Boundary Crossed (302 pages) (2015) - ★★★★★ (September 6, 2015)
  41. A Dark Lure (408 pages) (2015) - ★★★★★ (September 8, 2015)
  42. Dead Spots (287 pages) (2012) - ★★★★★ (September 9, 2015)
  43. Crow Hollow (335 pages) (2015) - ★★★★☆ (September 11, 2015)
  44. New Frontier: The Returned, Part II (161 pages) (2015) - ★★★★★ (September 12, 2015)
  45. New Frontier: The Returned, Part III (171 pages) (2015) - ★★★★★ (September 13, 2015)
  46. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (295 pages) (1870) - ★★★★☆ (September 22, 2015)
  47. Flee (247 pages) (2012) - ★★★☆☆ (October 4, 2015)
  48. Trail of Dead (299 pages) (2013) - ★★★★★ (October 6, 2015)
  49. Arena Mode, Book 1 (299 pages) (2013) - ★★★★☆ (October 8, 2015)
  50. Once Bitten (234 pages) (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (October 14, 2015)
  51. Disenchanted (Land of Dis) (221 pages) (2012) - ★★★★☆ (October 17, 2015)
    Just a fun, sarcastic romp. Turns around a few tropes from Lord of the Rings (this takes place in a medieval society with magic with Valhalla references) and includes great twists. Little crass at times, but a good read. (^_^)
  52. The Good Neighbor (205 pages) (2015) - ★★☆☆☆ (October 24, 2015)
    Nobody's really good in this one. Not just in terms of the manufactured good vs. bad of the novel, but even the "good" ones are shallow people who can't be bothered to invest something real of their lives in people they "care" about in the book. "Oh, we'll be in this together. Don't worry." (Abandons them at first opportunity and then gossips from their ivory tower of how they just keep making bad decision.) Really, really shallow people with trumped up problems, completely untrustworthy (e.g. "I'm telling you this secret that could get me in trouble because I think you need to know it to be safe." *They then tell everyone the secret*), all wrapped in affairs (suspected and otherwise), selfishness, lying (Oh, but it was for a good cause!), recycling, and sustainable materials. i.e. They care about image and not real people. Very sad book. Talk a good game, but they just don't follow it up with real action. (-_-)
  53. The Confession (417 pages) (2010) - ★★★☆☆ (October 31, 2015)
    This is my first John Grishham novel, and after all the buildup from hearing his name over the years, I'm very disappointed. (Never saw any of the movies on his books, either, so this is my first first-hand experience with his work.) Maybe this book was an exception, but it was incredibly slanted. It assumes malice and disregard for doing what's right by
    the judge, the prosecutor, the police, the star witness, basically the entire judiciary in Texas, and even the executive branch up to the governor
    . Nowhere, in 9 years, did anyone question the obviously problematic confession of Donte Drumm and the pure lack of evidence to warrant a conviction, much less sentence someone to death. I find this very hard to believe. Incompetence and malice at some levels? Absolutely. I now know that I cannot trust police to ever tell the truth in interrogations. No point in talking to someone not bound by the truth, then. Innocence won't get in the way of a determined liar with power. And the hero (?) is a lawyer also not bound by any real ethics (maybe the assumption is that lawyers are not supposed to be bound by ethics?) and maybe the pastor who really sucks as a man of God. Maybe it's intended to be a big propaganda for anti-death penalty legislation. Carcicature to expose the big problems? My preference is a more even-handed approach, but if you're writing to a mass audience, maybe you do need to stream and exaggerate to be heard. *shrugs* Wouldn't recommend it, but glad to have read a Grisham novel finally! (First physical book in a while, too! :lol)
  54. Hunter's Trail (376 pages) (2014) - ★★★★☆ (November 3, 2015)
    Another great book in the Scarlett Bernhard series, and it addresses my issue with her from the first book.
    She's opened up her powers more to become dangerous to the other Old World participants in L.A., and pushed her position to an equal footing on the leadership council.
    What a great transition from gopher in book one to important person in book three. Great transition, and looking forward to continuing the story when I get back into Boundary Line (though from the Colorado viewpoint).
  55. Q are Cordially Invited... (eBook, est. 91 pages) (2014) - ★★★☆☆ (Feb. 21, 2015)
    +
    Malediction (64 pages) (2014) - ★★★★☆ (November 5, 2015)
  56. Kissing Mr. Right (269 pages) (2015) - ★★☆☆☆ (November 23, 2015)
    Contrivances. Plot contrivances. Some of the relationship stuff was okay (way too much pendulum swinging, though), but the background storyline was all about contrivances that make no sense.
    Main reporter girl's love interest, who she met in a car accident, happens to be a landscaper, outdoorsy, handsome, Ph. D member of a rich family (that disowned him). Ph. D? Contrivance to throw off her assumptions and provide a reason for them to work on a story together. Oh, and the dude's dad? He's a millionaire real-estate dude trying to do a land deal on the very spot of land she's doing a report on. This is Star Wars Episodes 1-3 level of "everything's related," right here. He's also a crook that the son was ostracized from the family over, yet he's never been caught and fancy-pants reporter can't find anything suspicious until miracle Ph.D boy pulls out pictures of an endangered species on one of the previous land deals that got him fired. YET THERE WAS NO RECORD OF THE UPROAR FROM THAT!?! And then after *seeing* the picture, suddenly she's got all kinds of people willing to go on record about dude's underhanded practices, when she couldn't find anything before.
    I hate when stories are slovenly thrown together just to provide a frame for the relationship. PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO IT, PEOPLE! I think I need to stay away from romance-type books for a while. On the other hand, A Dark Lure was kind of in that area, and it was really good ...
  57. Killing Floor (Jack Reacher Book 1) (562 pages) (1997) - ★★★★☆ (December 29, 2015)
    Liked the Jack Reacher movie with Tom Cruise, so wanted to try out the books. Very different Jack Reacher here (at least physically)! Still a military cop released from the army to wander the U.S. and dealing with what comes his way. Physically, instead of the medium sized Tom Cruise that is possibly easy to underestimate, the book's Jack Reacher is a 6' 5" former football player who's going to take everyone down with his honed skills, intuitive understanding of battlefield decisions, and uncanny ability to predict actions. Think if Sherlock Holmes was an NFL lineman. Very interesting, to say the least. The story here was kind of throwaway with some very gruesome parts. At least those had appropriate reactions, though. Can't say you identify much with the main character (unless you're Sherlock Holmes in an NFL lineman's body), but it's fun to watch how things play out. Got it from a library e-loan, so that's pretty cool, too! (^_^)

Movies
  1. I, Frankenstein (2014) - ★★★☆☆ (Jan. 2, 2015)
  2. Chinese Zodiac (2012) - ★★★★☆ (Jan. 4, 2015)
  3. Great Expectations (2012) - ★★★★☆ (Jan. 8, 2015)
  4. Jane Eyre (2011) - ★★★☆☆ (Jan. 14, 2015)
  5. Blackhat (2015) - ★★★★☆ (Jan. 17, 2015)
  6. Selma (2015) - ★★★★★ (Jan. 19, 2015)
  7. The Interview (2014) - ★★★★☆ (Jan. 24, 2015)
  8. Black or White (2015) - ★★★★☆ (Jan. 31, 2015)
  9. The War of the Worlds (1953) - ★★☆☆☆ (Feb. 10, 2015)
  10. K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) - ★★★★☆ (Feb. 12, 2015)
  11. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (Feb. 14, 2015)
  12. Jupiter Ascending (2015) - ★★★★☆ (Feb. 16, 2015)
  13. Olympus Has Fallen (2013) - ★★★★☆ (Mar. 13, 2015)
  14. Frozen Fever w/ bonus Cinderella (2015) - ★★★★★ (Mar. 13, 2015)
  15. Emperor (2012) - ★★★★☆ (Mar. 15, 2015)
  16. Run All Night (2015) - ★★★★☆ (Mar. 22, 2015)
  17. Furious 7 (2015) - ★★★★☆ (Apr. 5, 2015)
  18. Insurgent (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (Apr. 11, 2015)
  19. Age of Adaline (2015) - ★★★★☆ (Apr. 25, 2015)
  20. Avengers: Age of Adaline Ultron (2015) - ★★★★☆ (May 2, 2015)
  21. Collateral Damage (2002) - ★★★☆☆ (May 6, 2015)
  22. Leon: The Professional (1994) - ★★★★☆ (May 12, 2015)
  23. Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) - ★★★★☆ (May 22, 2015)
  24. Tomorrowland (2015) - ★★★★☆ (May 25, 2015)
  25. Under the Skin (2013) - ★☆☆☆☆ (June 6, 2015)
  26. Inglorious Basterds (2009) - ★★★★☆ (June 7, 2015)
  27. Jurassic World (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (June 11, 2015)
  28. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) - ★★★★☆ (June 26, 2015)
  29. Agent Carter, Season 1 (2015) - ★★★★☆ (March 14, 2015)
  30. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Season 2 (2015) - ★★★★☆ (July 1, 2015)
  31. Terminator: Genisys (2015) - ★★★★☆ (July 3, 2015)
  32. Inside Out (2015) - ★★★★☆ (July 11, 2015)
  33. Expendables 3 (2014) - ★★★★☆ (July 15, 2015)
  34. Sabotage (2014) - ★★☆☆☆ (July 15, 2015)
  35. Minions (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (July 19, 2015)
  36. Sherlock, Season 1 (2010) - ★★★★★ (July 20, 2015)
  37. Parks and Recreation, Season 1 (2009) - ★★★☆☆ (July 21, 2015)
  38. Parks and Recreation, Season 2 (2010) - ★★★★☆ (July 25, 2015)
  39. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015) - ★★★★☆ (July 31, 2015)
  40. Parks and Recreation, Season 3 (2011) - ★★★★☆ (July 31, 2015)
  41. Earth to Echo (2014) - ★★★☆☆ (August 2, 2015)
  42. Ant-Man (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (August 2, 2015)
  43. Parks and Recreation, Season 4 (2012) - ★★★★★ (August 6, 2015)
  44. Sherlock, Season 2 (2012) - ★★★★★ (August 11, 2015)
  45. WWII from Space (2012) - ★★★☆☆ (August 13, 2015)
  46. Straight Outta Compton (2015) - ★★★★★ (August 15, 2015)
  47. Parks and Recreation, Season 5 (2013) - ★★★★★ (August 20, 2015)
  48. Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) - ★★★★☆ (August 25, 2015)
  49. Pixels (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (August 28, 2015)
  50. Shanghai Noon (2000) - ★★★★☆ (September 2, 2015)
  51. Parks and Recreation, Season 6 (2014) - ★★★★★ (September 3, 2015)
  52. Zatoichi (2003) - ★★★☆☆ (September 9, 2015)
  53. Legend of the Drunken Master (2000) - ★★★☆☆ (September 16, 2015)
  54. The Scorch Trials (2015) - ★★★☆☆ (September 17, 2015)
  55. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) - ★★★★☆ (September 25, 2015)
  56. The Martian (2015) - ★★★★★ (October 1, 2015)
  57. Goosebumps (2015) - ★★★★☆ (October 15, 2015)
  58. The Guild (2007-2012) - ★★★★★ (October 24, 2015)
  59. Bridge of Spies (2015) - ★★★★☆ (October 24, 2015)
  60. Dracula (1931) - ★★☆☆☆ (October 25, 2015)
  61. Dracula (Spanish-language version) (1931) - ★★★☆☆ (October 25, 2015)
    Legosi was the better Dracula, but this one was the better movie. More emotion with the actors, explained some confusing points in the first one, and some real comedy with the portrayals. would recommend seeing them both! (^_^)
  62. Peanuts Movie (2015) - ★★★★☆ (November 5, 2015)
    Just felt like an extended Peanuts episode. Not a bad thing, at all, though.
  63. Fantasia (1940) - ★★★☆☆ (November 15, 2015)
    Didn't realize this was a Classical music appreciation movie. Very interesting, and I like how it was presented!
  64. Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 (2015) - ★★★★★ (November 18, 2015)
    Loved the ending. I love endings
    that completely wrap up the story. There's no more question of what happens with Katniss in her life. Capitol? Sure, something could be made of that story. Katniss's tale is complete, and I like that. Like the appendix of LotR that tells what all happens with Aragorn and his descendents after RotK.
    Story itself was as contrived as the previous ones, but it still had some surprises/surprising shifts, even if Katniss's actions were pretty much all in-character. Good ending!
  65. Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (2015) - ★★★★★ (December 17, 2015)
    A great NEW Star Wars movie. Looking forward to seeing where it goes from here!
  66. Creed (2015) - ★★★★☆ (December 26, 2015)
    Never seen but snippets of the original Rocky's, but somewhate familiar with some of the major story lines. The main actor, I liked from his House M.D. episode as a blind kid looking gift horses in the mouth way too much. Put it together, and I think this movie was right up my alley. Didn't require in-depth knowledge of the past ones, and told a very interesting story(s) of fights in life. Looking forward to the next one (if there is one)!
 
D

donny2112

Member
donny2112 said:
donny2112 - 57/50 books | 66/50 movies​
Click to expand...

Final update for 2015. Didn't think I was going to finish another book (been dragging a little on Master & Commander series Book 1 to try to put it into 2016), but the Jack Reacher series got me interested for one more. Much better one to finish the year on, too! (^_^)

Cyan said:
Partly it's that I never feel like I have the time (it feels like I need a two hour block to watch a movie versus just being able to read for a half hour before I go to bed).
Click to expand...

Do you have a device to stream a movie while in bed? Don't need to watch the whole movie at once, either. Can do it in 10 minute chunks at a time before reading, if you want. Watching a movie while doing something that you don't need to pay attention to but you can't read a book during (e.g. exercise) is also a good way to double-up time usage.

Cyan said:
Partly it's that I never feel like there are all that many movies available that I particularly want to watch, even with a nearby library, while my book backlog just grows longer and longer.
Click to expand...

Do you watch many kids movies? That's a large section that some people (without kids) may not think about. The Kung Fu Panda movies are silly fun, Shreks, recent Peanuts movies, Hotel Transylvania, etc. All good movies that may not cross your mind, if you don't have kids.

You may also try some movies that you don't particularly want to watch and try to find something interesting in them. It doesn't have to be the main point of the movie. Maybe analyze the characters and see how "real" they act on the screen, even if the situation they're in is not reasonable (e.g. Hunger Games).

Cyan said:
Partly it's that I get easily distracted if I'm watching a movie on my own, and I don't have that much opportunity to watch with other people (usually it ends up being TV).
Click to expand...

Interesting. So you view movie watching as a social experience, and books as a solitary one, and thus aren't easily able to watch movies by yourself. Maybe find yourself being distracted by social interactions that you're missing while watching a movie by yourself? In that case, watching a movie by yourself is almost a punishment, since it's forcing you to cutoff interaction with others for the duration. If that's a reasonable description, it seems like finding a time that you're already mentally solitary (not necessarily physically) to watch movies in (e.g. in short spurts before falling to sleep) may help.

Frankly, this is all just a online forum thing, though. If you're happy not watching movies much except with others and just focusing on books, that's perfectly fine, too. Just trying to throw out some ideas to help if you want to integrate more movie watching into your life. :)
 
J

Jungleland

Neo Member
Final Update

Jungleland - 51/50 Books | 51/50 Movies

Finally made it with one movie and book to spare. Saw a lot of crappy movies this month to finish this challenge.


December Update

Books


Train Dreams - Denis Johnson - ★★★★
Jesus' Son - Denis Johnson - ★★★½
When I Stop Talking You'll Know I'm Dead - Jerry Weintraub - ★★★½
The Friends of Eddie Coyle - George V. Higgins - ★★★★½

Movies


Oz: The Great and Powerful - ★★½
Terminator Genisys - ★★½
The End of the Tour - ★★★
The Ties that Bind - ★★★
Rush - ★★★★
Fast & Furious 7 - ★★★
Lucy - ★½
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - ★★★★
 
L

lt519

Member
Looks like I'll be finishing at 32 books and 41 movies. It was a good effort, got 10000+ pages read which crushed my real goal! Figured I'd have done the movies no problem but I did play more games this year than usual.
 
A

Ashes

Banned
Ashes - 50/50 Books | 51/50 Films | 26/12 Seasons

Books

1. The Brothers Karamazov
2. The Science of Getting Rich
3. Around the World in 80 days
4. A Doll's House
5. Alice in Wonderland
6. As I Lay Dying
7. Down and Out in Paris and London
8. "Black and Blue" by Paul Canoville.
9. Tide of shadows and other stories
10. Three Men in a Boat
11. Junie B. Jones Is Captain Field Day
12. Barrayar
13. Junie B. Jones is (almost) a flower girl
14. Junie B. Jones has a monster under her bed
15. A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)
16. The Farthest Shore (Earthsea Cycle, #3)
17. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
18. The Communist Manifesto
19. The Symposium
20. Wuthering Heights
21. The Girl with the Golden Eyes
22. Utopia
23. Pnin
24. The Prince
25. The Art of War
26. Tao Te Ching
27. Oedipus Rex/ Oedipus the king
28. Oedipus at Colonus
29. Antigone
30. Common Sense
31. Euthyphron
32. Apology
33. Crito
34. Phaedo
35. Search Warrant
36. A room of one's own.
37. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
38. The Girl in the green raincoat
39. Do Android's dream of electric sheep
40. Darkness under the sun
41. The Phantom Tollbooth
42. From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler
43. The Westing Game
44. Because of Winn-Dixie
45. Maniac Magee
46. Tuck Everlasting
47. The Tale of Despereaux
48. Little House in the Big Woods
49. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
50. Goodbye Mr Chips

Films

1. Lucy
2. John Wick
3. P.K.
4. 50 shades of Grey
5. Insurgent
6. Captain America: the first Avenger
7. Birdman
8. Out of Sight
9. Kingsman: the secret service
10. True Romance
11. Dances with Wolves
12. Ex Machina
13. Mad Max
14. Big Hero Six
15. Piku
16. Tanu Weds Manu Return
17. Tanu weds Manu
18. Frank
19. Bajrangi Bhaijaan
20. Bombay Velvet
21. Ek Villian
22. Jurassic World
23. Inside Out
24. Mad Max: Fury Road
25. Nightcrawler
26. Sean the sheep
27. Kocan Kadar Konus
28. The Imitation Game
29. Boyhood
30. Court
31. Prisoner
32. The Walk
33. The Martian
34. The Lavender Hill Mob
35. Journey into Fear
36. Spectre
37. The Abominable Snowman
38. Vivah
39. Fear it self
40. The Edge
41. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
42. Brooklyn
43. Hunger Games Mockinjay Part 2
44. Bridge of Spies
45. Tamasha
46. Carol
47. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
48. Sisters
49. Sicario
50. Bajirao Mastani
51. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Seasons

1. Sharks ( 3 episodes)
2. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
3. Game of Thrones Season 5
4. True Detective Season 2
5. Fairy Tail Season 1
6. Fairy Tail Season 2
7. Fairy Tail Season 3
8. Fairy Tail Season 4
9. Fairy Tail Season 5
10. Fairy Tail Season 6
11. One Piece Season 1
12. One Piece Season 2
13. One Piece Season 3
14. One Piece Season 4
15. One Piece Season 5
16. One Piece Season 6
17. One Piece Season 7
18. One Piece Season 8
19. One Piece Season 9
20. One Piece Season 10
21. One Piece Season 11
22. One Piece Season 12
23. One Piece Season 13
24. One Piece Season 14
25. One Piece Season 15
26. One Piece Season 16
 
W

Wensih

Member
December Update; I finished two books today, so I'm done for the year, but what's underlined is the progress in December. I also tallyed up TV seasons; I'll keep better track of those next year.

20/50 books | 102/50 movies | 17/12 TV seasons

Books
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
5. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
6. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
7. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
8. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
9. Autobiography of Red by Ann Carson
10. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
11. Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me by Richard Farina
12. The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English Version With An Introduction Translated by N.K. Sanders
13. Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbet
14. Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers by Kwame Anthony Appiah
15. Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
16. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
17. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
18. White Noise by Don DeLillo
19. Where Europe Begins by Yoko Tawada
20. Watchmen written by Alan Moore and Illustrated by Dave Gibbons

Movies
1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) directed by Jonathan Liebesman
2. Godfather II (1974) directed by Francis Ford Coppola
3. Godfather III (1990) directed by Francis Ford Coppola
4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) directed by Terry Gilliam
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo
6. M*A*S*H* (1970) directed by Robert Altman
7. Inherent Vice (2015) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
8. Return of the Dragon (1972) directed by Joseph Koo
9. The Master (2012) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
10. Frank (2014) directed by Lenny Abrahamson
11. The Big Boss (1971) directed by Lo Wei
12. Mauvais Sang (2001) directed by Leos Carax
13. The Secret of Kells (2010) directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey
14. Boyhood (2014) directed by Richard Linklater
15. Bullhead (2012) directed by Michael R. Roskam
16. Nebraska (2013) directed by Alexander Payne
17. House on Haunted Hill (1959) directed by William Castle
18. The Dark Crystal (1982) directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz
19. The Interview (2014) directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
20. Galaxy Quest (1999) directed by Dean Parisot
21. Gidorah: The Three Headed Monster (1964) directed by Ishirō Honda
22. Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
23. Once Upon a Time in the West (1969) directed by Sergio Leone
24. Horns (2013) directed by Alexandre Aja
25. Beyond the Black Rainbow (2012) directed by Panos Cosmatos
26. The Elephant Man (1980) directed by David Lynch
27. The Long Hot Summer (1958) directed by Martin Ritt
28. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989) directed by Terry Gilliam
29. FoxCatcher (2015) directed by Bennett Miller
30. Big Hero 6 (2014) directed by Chris Williams and Don Hall
31. Office Space (1999) directed by Mike Judge (Rewatch)
32. Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2005) directed by Prachya Pinkaew
33. Tank Girl (1995) directed by Rachel Talalay
34. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies (2014) directed by Peter Jackson
35. God's Not Dead (2014) directed by Harold Cronk
36. Wolfcop (2014) directed by Lowell Dean
37. Young Ones (2014) directed by Jake Paltrow
38. Labyrinth (1986) directed by Jim Henson
39. RoboCop (2014) directed by José Padilha
40. Atari Game Over (2014) directed by Zak Penn
41. LUCY (2014) directed by Luc Besson
42. Godzilla vs Monster 0 (1965) directed by Ishirō Honda
43. Godzilla's Revenge (1969) directed by Ishirō Honda
44. WILD (2014) directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
45. Mulholland Drive (2001) directed by David Lynch
46. Peter and the Wolf (2006) directed by Suzie Templeton
47. Grizzly Man (2005) directed by Werner Herzog
48. Deepstar six (1989) directed by Sean S. Cunningham
49. Wetlands (2013) directed by David Wnendt
50. Natural Born Killers (1994) directed by Oliver Stone
51. The Animatrix (2003) directed by Koji Morimoto, Shinichiro Watanabe, Mahiro Maeda, Peter Chung, Andy Jones, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, andTakeshi Koike
52. Buffalo soldiers (2003) directed by Gregor Jordan
53. Battle Royale (2000) directed by Kinji Fukasaku
54. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
55. What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) directed by Lasse Hallström
56. Blue Velvet (1986) directed by David Lynch
57. Wet Hot American Summer (2001) directed by David Wain
58. The Babadook (2014) directed by Jennifer Kent
59. It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012) directed by Don Hertzfeldt
60. Locke (2014) directed by Steven Knight
61. Hot Girls Wanted (2015) directed by Ronna Gradus, Jill Bauer
62. The Machinist (2004) directed by Brad Anderson
63. Troll Hunter (2011) directed by André Øvredal
64. District 13 (2006) directed by Pierre Morel
65. Leon: The Professional (1994) directed by Luc Besson
66. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) directed by Clint Eastwood
67. Mad Max Fury Road (2015) directed by George Miller
68. Battleship Potemkin (1926) directed by Sergei Eisenstein
69. Joe (2014) directed by David Gordon Green
70. Avengers Age of Ultron (2015) directed by Joss Whedon
71. Detachment (2012) directed by Tony Kaye
72. Chinatown (1974) directed by Roman Polanski
73. Sex and Lucia (2002) directed by Julio Medem
74. (A)Sexual (2011) directed by Angela Tucker
75. Jurassic World (2015) directed by Colin Trevorrow
76. Monsters Dark Continent (2014) directed by Tom Green
77. Metropolis (1927) directed by Fritz Lang
78. Ex Machina (2015) directed by Alex Garland
79. Ant-Man (2015) directed by Peyton Reed
80. Rushmore (1998) directed by Wes Anderson
81. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) directed by Matthew Vaughn
82. Hercules (2014) directed by Brett Ratner
83. The Night Porter (1974) directed by Liliana Cavani
84. Alice (1988) directed by Jan Švankmajer
85. Dogtooth (2009) directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
86. Brazil (1985) directed by Terry Gilliam
87. Underworld (2003) directed by Len Wiseman
88. The Producers (1967) directed by Mel Brooks
89. Serpico (1973) directed by Sidney Lumet
90. Valhalla Rising (2009) directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
91. Rosewater (2014) directed by Jon Stewart
92. Boogie Nights(1997) directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
93. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre(1974) directed by Tobe Hooper
94. The Night of the Living Dead(1968) directed by George A. Romero
95. John Wick (2014) directed by David Leitch and Chad Stahelski
96. I'm Still Here (2010) directed by Casey Affleck
97. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) directed by Stanley Kubrick
98. Why Don't You Play in Hell? (2013) directed by Sion Sono
99. 12 Years A Slave (2013) directed by Steve McQueen
100. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) directed by George Lucas
101. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) directed by Irvin Kershner
102 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) directed by Richard Marquand

Television Seasons
1. Star Trek Next Generation Season 1
2. Star Trek Next Generation Season 2
3. Psycho-Pass
4. Jessica Jones Season 1
5. Dare Devil Season 1
6. The Office Season 1
7. The Office Season 2
8. The Office Season 3
9. The Office Season 4
10. The Office Season 5
11. The Office Season 6
12. The Office Season 7
13. The Office Season 8
14. Samurai Champloo
15. CowBoy Bebop
16. Deadman Wonderland
17. Fargo Season 2
 
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