lastflowers
Banned
I definitely had to consult Wikipedia or some kind of timeline after I finished it. Quite a movie, to say the least!
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50 Books. 50 Movies. 1 Year (2014).
- Thread starter Tragicomedy
- Start date
- Status
I definitely had to consult Wikipedia or some kind of timeline after I finished it. Quite a movie, to say the least!
Updated List
lostxii - 0/50 books | 3/50 movies
Sonatine - I was pretty bored by this. Was also really tired, which didn't help
Inside Llewyn Davis - This was terrific. Loved the slow pace, the cold atmosphere, and the music was great.
Raging Bull - This was also a great film. I've honestly haven't been exposed to many Scorsese films, so I've been working my way through his filmography.
lostxii - 0/50 books | 3/50 movies
Sonatine - I was pretty bored by this. Was also really tired, which didn't help
Inside Llewyn Davis - This was terrific. Loved the slow pace, the cold atmosphere, and the music was great.
Raging Bull - This was also a great film. I've honestly haven't been exposed to many Scorsese films, so I've been working my way through his filmography.
killertofu
Member
Didn't particularly like Primer but loved his second movie, Upstream Color.
Actually, I just love Shane Carruth as a dude. The man directs, shoots, edits, composes, stars and distributed Upstream Color/Primer.
The man is awe inspiriing
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Update
The Abyss. I had this movie confused with Leviathan (another underwater sci fi movie from 1989) so I went in expecting something along the lines of Alien and The Thing but what I got instead was a tone deaf underwater romp with friendly aliens made out of water. I don't really know how I feel about the film. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either - just decent I guess.
It Came From Beneath the Sea. Old 'B' monster movie starring a Ray Harryhausen created giant octopus. Like most old monster movies it has a cool vibe to it but other than that I thought it was a weak film. The effects are cool but the characters and story are about as generic as they come. It barely held my attention and I probably wouldn't watch it again.
Lady of the Night (1925). A silent film starring the divine Norma Shearer as the two lead female roles - Florence, the daughter of a judge and Molly, the daughter of a criminal. The plot - two girls fall in love with the same man - is a pretty common one but it's done well here and Shearer gives an utterly captivating performance as Molly. Her look is ridiculously amazing and you can't take your eyes off her for a second.
The Abyss. I had this movie confused with Leviathan (another underwater sci fi movie from 1989) so I went in expecting something along the lines of Alien and The Thing but what I got instead was a tone deaf underwater romp with friendly aliens made out of water. I don't really know how I feel about the film. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either - just decent I guess.
It Came From Beneath the Sea. Old 'B' monster movie starring a Ray Harryhausen created giant octopus. Like most old monster movies it has a cool vibe to it but other than that I thought it was a weak film. The effects are cool but the characters and story are about as generic as they come. It barely held my attention and I probably wouldn't watch it again.
Lady of the Night (1925). A silent film starring the divine Norma Shearer as the two lead female roles - Florence, the daughter of a judge and Molly, the daughter of a criminal. The plot - two girls fall in love with the same man - is a pretty common one but it's done well here and Shearer gives an utterly captivating performance as Molly. Her look is ridiculously amazing and you can't take your eyes off her for a second.
I'm interested in doing this, though not sure how succesfull I'll be since I'm also attempting the 52 games challenge. I did have one question that I couldn't figure out from the wording of the FAQ, if we re-read something we've already read or re-watch a movie we've already seen does that not count?
lastflowers
Banned
does not count
The Storyteller
Member
I've read 200% more books than I have seen movies thus far this year, so I'm feeling pretty good about my chances! I'm also doing my own side challenge of seeing 52 movies at the movies this year (to break last years record of 50) and seeing all the Oscar Best Picture nominees before the broadcast.
The Storyteller - 2/50 Books / 0/50 Films
Books
- Embassytown by China Mieville
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Films
The Storyteller - 2/50 Books / 0/50 Films
Books
- Embassytown by China Mieville
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Films
Thanks, I re-read the FAQ and was about to edit my post as it made sense when i read it again.
Updated list.
Event Horizon ★★★
I've heard that this has become something of a cult movie since its release, so I was disappointed when it turned out to be just another entry in the now packed "sci-fi horro" genre. It's basically Doom 3 turned into a mid-90s blockbuster movie, and about as cheesy as that sounds. I like Sam Neill and Lawrence Fishburne, and they have some good lines between them, but it's not really a character piece. I did appreciate the visual design of the space stuff, though, despite (or because of) the constant cribbing of Alien. It was entertaining enough, but I guess I'm not sure why it's fondly remembered.
Event Horizon ★★★
I've heard that this has become something of a cult movie since its release, so I was disappointed when it turned out to be just another entry in the now packed "sci-fi horro" genre. It's basically Doom 3 turned into a mid-90s blockbuster movie, and about as cheesy as that sounds. I like Sam Neill and Lawrence Fishburne, and they have some good lines between them, but it's not really a character piece. I did appreciate the visual design of the space stuff, though, despite (or because of) the constant cribbing of Alien. It was entertaining enough, but I guess I'm not sure why it's fondly remembered.
markhimself46
Member
Markhimself46 - 33/50 Books | 81/50 Movies
Books:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Neil Gaiman) ★★★
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Bill Willingham)★★½
Wonder (R.J. Palacio) ★★★½
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid (Bill Bryson) ★★★★
Ready Player One (Ernest Cline) ★★★★
The Natural (Bernard Malamud) ★★★
The Colorado Kid (Stephen King) ★★★★
Moneyball (Michael Lewis) ★★★★
Watchmen (Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons) ★★★★★
Essex County (Jeff Lemire) ★★★★★
Sweet Tooth: Volumes 1-6 (Jeff Lemire) ★★★★★
The Cuckoo's Calling (Robert Galbraith) ★★★
Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers (Bill Willingham) ★★★★
Fables: The Mean Seasons (Bill Willingham) ★★★★
Eleanor & Park (Rainbow Rowell) ★★
Suddenly, A Knock on the Door: Stories (Etgar Keret) ★★½
Faithful (Stephen King, Stewart O'Nan) ★★★★★
Rasl (Jeff Smith) ★★★★
The Shining (Stephen King) ★★★★★
Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson (Mark Siegel) ★★★★
Story (Robert McKee) ★★★★
One More Thing (B.J. Novak) ★★★½
This One Summer (Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki) ★★★★
Avatar: The Search ( Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Gene Luen Yang, Dave Marshall, and Gurihiru) ★★★★½
Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter (Tom Bissell) ★★½
Seconds (Bryan Lee O'Malley) ★★★★★
Kill My Mother (Jules Feiffer) ★★
Beautiful You (Chuck Palahniuk) ★★★★
Nightmares! (Jason Segel, Kirsten Miller) ★★★★½
Here (Richard McGuire) ★★★★
Snow Piercer 1: The Escape (Jacques Lob, Jean-Marc Rochette) ★★½
Snow Piercer 2: The Explorers (Jacques Lob, Jean-Marc Rochette) ★★½
The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil (Stephen Collins) ★★★★
Movies:
The World's End ★★★★★
Man of Steel ★★
Much Ado About Nothing (2013) ★½
Drinking Buddies ★★★½
Sharknado ★★
The Imposter ★★★★★
Inside Llewyn Davis ★★★★
Don Jon ★★★½
her ★★★★½
Computer Chess ★★
Dealin' with Idiots ★★½
Sleepwalk with Me ★★★½
American Hustle ★★★★
The Bling Ring ★★½
Blue Jasmine ★★★★
You're Next ★★½
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone ★½
Enough Said ★★★½
Bronies ★★½
Watchmen ★★★★
Cleanflix ★★★★
Short Term 12 ★★★★★
42 ★★★★
I Am Not a Hipster ★★½
The Lego Movie ★★★★★
Frozen ★★★★½
Fruitvale Station ★★★½
Grounded: The Making of the Last of Us ★★★★★
Non-Stop ★★★
Kill Your Darlings ★★½
Mary and Max ★★★★½
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ★★★★½
American Reunion ★★★
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues ★★½
Bad Words ★★★★½
Mr. Nobody ★½
The Five-Year Engagement ★★★
Dear Zachary ★★★★★
Mud ★★★★
Insidious: Chapter 2 ★★
Dallas Buyers Club ★★★★
The Spectacular Now ★★½
Broadway Danny Rose ★★★★
Extract ★★★
Neighbors ★★½
The Way ★★
Submarine ★★½
The Monuments Men ★★★½
The Purge ★★½
A Million Ways to Die in the West ★★½
Escape from Tomorrow ★
The Grand Budapest Hotel ★★★★★
Men in Black III ★★★
Choke ★★
Room 237 ★★★★
Bernie ★★★½
Noah ★★★
Joe ★★
Kick-Ass 2 ★★★
Divergent ★★
Enemy ★★★½
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ★★½
Blue Ruin ★★★★★
Draft Day ★★
Before Midnight ★★★★½
Bad Grandpa ★★
Bad Grandpa .5 ★★★
We Are What We Are ★★
Jug Face ★★½
Miami Connection ★★★★★
Re-Animator ★★★★½
The Stuff ★★★
The Awakening ★★½
The Hole ★★★½
A Fantastic Fear of Everything ★★
Funny Games (1997) ★★★★
Snowpiercer ★★★★★
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ★★★½
Guardians of the Galaxy ★★★★
The Imitation Game ★★★★
Interstellar ★★★
SleazyC - 4/50 Books | 7/50 Movies
January: 4 books, 4 movies
February: 3 movies
Books:
- Liar's Poker ★★★★★
- Elantris ★★★★½
- Poor Man's Fight ★★★
- The Lies of Locke Lamora ★★★★★
- Man of Tai Chi ★★★
- Don Jon ★★★★
- Rush ★★★★★
- Mitt ★★★½
- 12 O'Clock Boys ★★★★★
- Escape Plan ★★★
- Captain Phillips ★★★★★
helloresolven
Member
I'll join; I've been bad lately about not using my Netflix sub, so I should use that more. Plus, reading is good...
(Sub goal: Make 5 of the 50 books in German).
Books:
In Progress:
-- The Emperor's Soul
Movies:
-- Barbara (2012, German film), ★★★, Decent film of an East German doctor looking for a way out, but of course it's never easy.
(Sub goal: Make 5 of the 50 books in German).
helloresolven - 0/50 Books | 0/50 Movies
Books:
In Progress:
-- The Emperor's Soul
Movies:
-- Barbara (2012, German film), ★★★, Decent film of an East German doctor looking for a way out, but of course it's never easy.
The Lone Courier
Member
Is it too late to sign up? I have 2 movies under my belt Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle. Just started reading the Fifth Assassin.
lastflowers
Banned
Watched Repo Man. What a bizarre movie.
killertofu
Member
I've been up for about 23 hours working on a quick turn around project for a client.
I can't wait to not get out of bed and read tomorrow.
I can't wait to not get out of bed and read tomorrow.
Updated list
So I finished my first book today. It was A Feast for Crows. No, I didn't read it all in 2014, but I read most of it over the past few days, so I'm going to count it. I've been reading A Song of Ice and Fire for a long time now. In fact, that's one of the reasons why I wanted to do this challenge: to get my reading backlog moving forward. I had been stuck on this one in particular for quite a while. I'm sure all of this has been said before, but I just found this book to be too slow in comparison to the other entries. It suffered from not having the full cast of characters and having to follow the ridiculously good A Storm of Swords. It had its moments to be sure but overall it just wasn't up to snuff. Still, bad ASOIAF is still good to me, so I'll give it ★★★★, a step down from the other three entries. Hopefully A Dance with Dragons will deliver.
I also watched another movie tonight, Secondhand Lions. We host a weekly movie night at our house for the neighbourhood and entertain people of all ages. It was a cute film, but it really left me with nothing. It tried too hard to get feelings out of you. I felt a little better about the whole thing after a pleasant ending, but it wasn't enough to save the movie as a whole. Nice family friendly movie I suppose, something you would catch on Sunday afternoon on TV or be shown in elementary school. Also, Michael Caine with a Texan accent is not right. ★★
So I finished my first book today. It was A Feast for Crows. No, I didn't read it all in 2014, but I read most of it over the past few days, so I'm going to count it. I've been reading A Song of Ice and Fire for a long time now. In fact, that's one of the reasons why I wanted to do this challenge: to get my reading backlog moving forward. I had been stuck on this one in particular for quite a while. I'm sure all of this has been said before, but I just found this book to be too slow in comparison to the other entries. It suffered from not having the full cast of characters and having to follow the ridiculously good A Storm of Swords. It had its moments to be sure but overall it just wasn't up to snuff. Still, bad ASOIAF is still good to me, so I'll give it ★★★★, a step down from the other three entries. Hopefully A Dance with Dragons will deliver.
I also watched another movie tonight, Secondhand Lions. We host a weekly movie night at our house for the neighbourhood and entertain people of all ages. It was a cute film, but it really left me with nothing. It tried too hard to get feelings out of you. I felt a little better about the whole thing after a pleasant ending, but it wasn't enough to save the movie as a whole. Nice family friendly movie I suppose, something you would catch on Sunday afternoon on TV or be shown in elementary school. Also, Michael Caine with a Texan accent is not right. ★★
Tragicomedy
Member
Of course not...welcome!
I had today off work and read off and on throughout the day followed by three straight hours tonight. As a result, I finished Dust by Hugh Howey. ★★★★. I really preferred this over part two, Shift, since it focused on the characters I'd grown to like from Wool. This was a fun read and really tied all the loose ends up nicely. If you're looking for a dark, apocalyptic series with an interesting setting and good characters, give Wool a shot.
Now that I've wrapped up the book club selection and the two books I had started the last week of 2013, it's time for me to dive down the Alistair MacLean rabbit hole. I'm starting with his first book, HMS Ulysses and hope to tackle all 31 of his novels this year. It's a daunting task, but in keeping with my 1950s spy/military thriller major I'm aiming to complete. I might alternate between these and James Bond books, or read one from each author concurrently.
Wish me luck!
lastflowers
Banned
Finished Catching Fire. I give it a whopping 3 stars.
The writing was still not quite what I was hoping it to be, but it second book gave me a little bit more oomph and historical background that the first one did not flesh out. Also it has a lot more in it than the film, which helps some.
I'll push on with the third while reading V. by pynchon next.
The writing was still not quite what I was hoping it to be, but it second book gave me a little bit more oomph and historical background that the first one did not flesh out. Also it has a lot more in it than the film, which helps some.
I'll push on with the third while reading V. by pynchon next.
My first book is done~
Books
Books
- Marriage, a History: from Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage, by Stephanie Coontz (413) [413]
Off to a pretty good start to the year quality wise:
Seven Psychopaths which i'd been saving as a treat for a rainy day and didn't disapoint - such a strong cast. The Walkmen on the soundtrack during the key scenes as background music was the icing on the cake.
Saw American Hustle last night which again was excellent, can't normally stand Bradley Cooper but his character was so over the top. Plot went a bit astray in the middle but it never felt like a 2+ hour film, fully engrossing throughout. Can see what the hype is over Jennifer Lawrence as an actress now, only previously seen her in Winters Bone which was the absolute polar opposite and she equally great in both.
Also read a couple of graphic novels which i'll note here but not count due to rules in the original post - Saga of the Swamp Thing vol 2 (Alan Moore run) and Deadbeats by Lackey / Fifer. The second was pretty poor but the Alan Moore run on Swamp Thing keeps continuing to impress me, some of the plot lines in this collection were just completely outrageous - when you consider how long ago it was written you can see why he's held in such high regard for his original ideas.
Seven Psychopaths which i'd been saving as a treat for a rainy day and didn't disapoint - such a strong cast. The Walkmen on the soundtrack during the key scenes as background music was the icing on the cake.
Saw American Hustle last night which again was excellent, can't normally stand Bradley Cooper but his character was so over the top. Plot went a bit astray in the middle but it never felt like a 2+ hour film, fully engrossing throughout. Can see what the hype is over Jennifer Lawrence as an actress now, only previously seen her in Winters Bone which was the absolute polar opposite and she equally great in both.
Also read a couple of graphic novels which i'll note here but not count due to rules in the original post - Saga of the Swamp Thing vol 2 (Alan Moore run) and Deadbeats by Lackey / Fifer. The second was pretty poor but the Alan Moore run on Swamp Thing keeps continuing to impress me, some of the plot lines in this collection were just completely outrageous - when you consider how long ago it was written you can see why he's held in such high regard for his original ideas.
breakfuss
Member
Awesome thread. The movies I'll easily manage, but I'm turrrrible with reading. I think using a kindle has actually made things worse since I sometimes feel overwhelmed. Here's to a year of improvement, though.
Also, do miniseries count? Just finished Top of the Lake on Thursday. I'll remove if not.
Breakfuss - 0/50 books | 4/50 movies
Books
Movies
Also, do miniseries count? Just finished Top of the Lake on Thursday. I'll remove if not.
Breakfuss - 0/50 books | 4/50 movies
Books
Movies
- Top of the Lake
- Vicky Christina Barcelona
- The Talented Mr. Ripley
- Blackfish
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Watched Spaceballs for the first time. Not Mel's finest product, to say the least. I'd give it about 2 stars. If it wasn't for John Candy's impeccable timing, the movie would've been largely devoid of laughs
Updated my Journal.
Paranorman (2012) ★★★
I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought I would, but it's still a solid effort from the team behind Coraline, with a tonne of incredibly witty moments and background art, some broadly great writing/subversions of zombie movie cliches, a powerful message and one hell of a finale sequence. It didn't really seem as cohesive throughout, given that Norman kind of switches 'groups' halfway through it, but it was still a blast to watch.
Boy, movies really are easier than books, huh?
I hope I at least get through a few this month... maybe I should give netflix a rest for a few days...
Paranorman (2012) ★★★
I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I thought I would, but it's still a solid effort from the team behind Coraline, with a tonne of incredibly witty moments and background art, some broadly great writing/subversions of zombie movie cliches, a powerful message and one hell of a finale sequence. It didn't really seem as cohesive throughout, given that Norman kind of switches 'groups' halfway through it, but it was still a blast to watch.
Boy, movies really are easier than books, huh?
I hope I at least get through a few this month... maybe I should give netflix a rest for a few days...WeaponJohnnyX
Member
I'm going to give this a try.
Updated as of 01/16/14
16/50 Movies | 0/50 Books
Movies:
Argo - ★★★★★
Jobs - ★★★
The Hangover III - ★★★
Grown Ups 2 - ★★½
We're The Millers - ★★★½
Fast & Furious 6 - ★★★½
Epic - ★★½
Despicable Me 2 - ★★★★
Planes - ★★★
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 - ★★★
The Lone Ranger - ★★★★
This Is The End - ★★★½
Mitt - ★★★
The Worlds End - ★★★★
Empire State - ★★
21 Jump Street - ★★★★
Books:
Updated as of 01/16/14
16/50 Movies | 0/50 Books
Movies:
Argo - ★★★★★
Jobs - ★★★
The Hangover III - ★★★
Grown Ups 2 - ★★½
We're The Millers - ★★★½
Fast & Furious 6 - ★★★½
Epic - ★★½
Despicable Me 2 - ★★★★
Planes - ★★★
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 - ★★★
The Lone Ranger - ★★★★
This Is The End - ★★★½
Mitt - ★★★
The Worlds End - ★★★★
Empire State - ★★
21 Jump Street - ★★★★
Books:
First book done...
The Silmarillion: What can I say? While it is an interesting read, and masterfully crafted, it is also difficult to follow the red thread and I am pretty sure most of the more subtle references went over my head. I was going to do Children of Hurin next but eh, after having just read the summary of that tale in the Silmarillion, I think I will pass for now. It wasn't exactly the most cheery piece of the book.
Movies:
12 Angry Men: This movie surprised me with how interesting it actually was, given its setting. Gives an insightful view on human psychology.
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto: Toshiro Mifune is just awesome. That is all.
The Silmarillion: What can I say? While it is an interesting read, and masterfully crafted, it is also difficult to follow the red thread and I am pretty sure most of the more subtle references went over my head. I was going to do Children of Hurin next but eh, after having just read the summary of that tale in the Silmarillion, I think I will pass for now. It wasn't exactly the most cheery piece of the book.
Movies:
12 Angry Men: This movie surprised me with how interesting it actually was, given its setting. Gives an insightful view on human psychology.
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto: Toshiro Mifune is just awesome. That is all.
Will you read Hugh Howey's Molly Fyde series? I love space operas, and that series seems to be well received and interesting.
Tragicomedy
Member
Which version? I love them both for different reasons, but the original gets my final nod.
I've...never heard of this. Off to the Batcave!
Master List.
Saw Wolf of Wall Street last night. This would have been my first film of the year, if it wasn't for me rewatching Wolf Children in its dub form on New Year's. Best film of last year.
Anyway, I expected Wolf to be insane after hearing people's comment, but it wasn't all that raunchy at all. Yeah there were tits, drugs, violence, and cursing, but it wasn't as constant (well okay, drugs are a constant element throughout) as people said it would be. I saw a few people walk out of the theater during my viewing.
The film had a lot of fat on it, it could have been trimmed by about 30 minutes. But you know what? I enjoyed the fat. It was fun to watch. I found everything involving stock broking and Wall Street insanely interesting. I fear I will never play the investment game with stock brokers after seeing this film.
The acting was top notch, no one gave a bad performance. At this point I consider Jonah Hill an A-list actor. He needs to be given the chance to carry a film now; he has earned that chance. Leo was at his best again; I still remember the olden days of Titanic and Leo sucking that up.
★★★★
Is Tolkien writing style for akin to Hobbit or to LotR for The Silmarillion? I had a difficult time getting into LotR Tolkien unlike Hobbit Tolkien.
Saw Wolf of Wall Street last night. This would have been my first film of the year, if it wasn't for me rewatching Wolf Children in its dub form on New Year's. Best film of last year.
Psssss, Cyan, since I saw a poor quality of Wolf Children last year, could I list it as a new film now, since it felt like a new experience?
Anyway, I expected Wolf to be insane after hearing people's comment, but it wasn't all that raunchy at all. Yeah there were tits, drugs, violence, and cursing, but it wasn't as constant (well okay, drugs are a constant element throughout) as people said it would be. I saw a few people walk out of the theater during my viewing.
The film had a lot of fat on it, it could have been trimmed by about 30 minutes. But you know what? I enjoyed the fat. It was fun to watch. I found everything involving stock broking and Wall Street insanely interesting. I fear I will never play the investment game with stock brokers after seeing this film.
The acting was top notch, no one gave a bad performance. At this point I consider Jonah Hill an A-list actor. He needs to be given the chance to carry a film now; he has earned that chance. Leo was at his best again; I still remember the olden days of Titanic and Leo sucking that up.
★★★★
Is Tolkien writing style for akin to Hobbit or to LotR for The Silmarillion? I had a difficult time getting into LotR Tolkien unlike Hobbit Tolkien.
Tragicomedy
Member
Not saying you're wrong, but I've literally never heard anyone share that opinion. Everything I've seen him in...he's been terrible. We're talking the reformed chubby guy from the Call of Duty commercials, right?
Brilliant cast of actors. Will probably watch the 1997 version later.
Neither. Its has its own style, though it is still Tolkien of course. I have read that it could be compared to the Eddas or the Bible in terms of 'writing style'. Very archaic style, even for Tolkien, and with it being a collection of briefly summarized stories it is hard to get a sense of an overarching narrative though the stories seem to come mostly in a chronological order from the beginning time to the third era ( with most focus on the first era or so. ) Also, expect many names to remember ( with some having more names in different languages etc. ) and references to locations that are completely absent or altered in third-era middle-earth.
I try my best to avoid television commercials, so I wouldn't know if he is in the CoD commercials. He was the chubby guy in SuperBad, This is the End, 21 Jumps Street, and Moneyball. I have truly enjoyed his acting over the past couple of years.
BrokenEchelon
Banned
Finally started with Rush and Elysium.
Elysium has confirmed to me that Blomkamp is still trying to make a Halo movie without calling it Halo. Elysium is a ringworld, there's pelican dropships, an enemy wielding a ridiculously stupid and unnecessary sword which makes them badass, etc.
The movie itself fell flat though. Upper vs. Lower class has been done to death at this point, and Sci-Fi has been tackling the issue since Metropolis. There was nothing new here, nothing of note, and the performances were honestly really flat from everyone. Jodie Foster sucked it up hard in this, but Matt Damon also seemed asleep. I like Sharlto Copley, but he turned it up to 12 as Kruger in a way that just felt weird. Overall it was pretty to look at, too long, and too heavy handed.
Rush on the other hand wasn't very deep at all but god damn was it fun to watch. The cinematography was god damn beautiful, Chris Hemsworth proved he can act. Daniel Brühl did a great job as well. My only real knock against the movie is that it felt rushed (pardon the pun) with the time cuts at some points. He was trying to squeeze so much in so quickly that some of the scenes seemed to be over before they began, which made me wonder why he didn't push the running time closer to three hours. I guess he had to ensure it would be accessible to a broader audience, but I figured he had the female demographic locked in with Chris Hemsworth's face.
I've also started reading The Count of Monte Cristo, but that will take a while as I've got a thousand things to do in these early months of the year.
Elysium has confirmed to me that Blomkamp is still trying to make a Halo movie without calling it Halo. Elysium is a ringworld, there's pelican dropships, an enemy wielding a ridiculously stupid and unnecessary sword which makes them badass, etc.
The movie itself fell flat though. Upper vs. Lower class has been done to death at this point, and Sci-Fi has been tackling the issue since Metropolis. There was nothing new here, nothing of note, and the performances were honestly really flat from everyone. Jodie Foster sucked it up hard in this, but Matt Damon also seemed asleep. I like Sharlto Copley, but he turned it up to 12 as Kruger in a way that just felt weird. Overall it was pretty to look at, too long, and too heavy handed.
Rush on the other hand wasn't very deep at all but god damn was it fun to watch. The cinematography was god damn beautiful, Chris Hemsworth proved he can act. Daniel Brühl did a great job as well. My only real knock against the movie is that it felt rushed (pardon the pun) with the time cuts at some points. He was trying to squeeze so much in so quickly that some of the scenes seemed to be over before they began, which made me wonder why he didn't push the running time closer to three hours. I guess he had to ensure it would be accessible to a broader audience, but I figured he had the female demographic locked in with Chris Hemsworth's face.
I've also started reading The Count of Monte Cristo, but that will take a while as I've got a thousand things to do in these early months of the year.
breakfuss
Member
Really? I thought he was pretty good in Moneyball. And Cyrus, too.
I agree with you. I'm not sure Foster and Damon are to blame though. The movie just didn't really give them a lot to work with.
Tragicomedy
Member
I haven't seen either of those, so chalk it up to my ignorance.
Haha! I'm planning on finishing the rest of the books from Brandon Sanderson, then I think I may dive into this series, especially if it's not very well known and therefore I could talk about it here, and hopefully recommend it.
Forsaken82
Member
He is decent in moneyball, but he was fantastic in Wolf of Wallstreet in my opinion.
Tragicomedy
Member
I checked them out and they seem especially YAish, which isn't necessarily bad but gives me room for pause. My backlog is so ridiculous right now that I may wait to hear your thoughts before jumping in.
I think I have Moneyball on my DVR, and a lot of movies to watch this year...
/themoreyouknow.jpeg
Updated the first post
This took longer than expected, but finally finished Dracula by Bram Stoker. It was an entertaining read, but certain parts seemed rushed, especially the ones concerning Dracula himself. Overall: ★★★★
Also watched Carrie ★★½ and Hours ★★★½. Carrie was...a lot of wasted potential, the whole movie felt rushed. The only good thing about it was Julianne Moore. On the other hand, I quite enjoyed watching Hours, one of Paul Walker's better performances. Would have loved to see what else he could do. May he rest in peace.
Saphirax - 1/50 Books | 2/50 Movies
This took longer than expected, but finally finished Dracula by Bram Stoker. It was an entertaining read, but certain parts seemed rushed, especially the ones concerning Dracula himself. Overall: ★★★★
Also watched Carrie ★★½ and Hours ★★★½. Carrie was...a lot of wasted potential, the whole movie felt rushed. The only good thing about it was Julianne Moore. On the other hand, I quite enjoyed watching Hours, one of Paul Walker's better performances. Would have loved to see what else he could do. May he rest in peace.
Forsaken82
Member
First update is up...
First new movie of the year... Carrie remake...
Was better than I thought it'd be in terms of a remake
First new movie of the year... Carrie remake...
Was better than I thought it'd be in terms of a remake
campfireweekend
Member
I just finished 2/3 of the Foundation Trilogy, Foundation, and Foundation and Empire, and I gotta say, I wish someone had made me read them when I was a teenager. Not because I consider them more palatable to younger minds, but because I could tell that what I read would have been incredibly formative to me at that time.
I'm an economics major, and describing foundation as a science fiction novel is a bit reductive. They're really social science fiction (a term I just made up). The two I've read have been about systems of governance, or imperialism, or conquest, and sure there's some fantastical technology. But the story's never about the tech, its about the evolution of a society. At its innermost elements, its just an allegory for western history.
Though somewhat inaccurate on that front, it is supremely entertaining. Would recommend to anyone, fans of science fiction, or not.
Also watched the Blue Exorcist Movie. Shonen trappings encapsulating a thoroughly shonen movie. What can I say, they went for something simple, and executed on it extremely well. Plus, it had beautiful animation.
I'm an economics major, and describing foundation as a science fiction novel is a bit reductive. They're really social science fiction (a term I just made up). The two I've read have been about systems of governance, or imperialism, or conquest, and sure there's some fantastical technology. But the story's never about the tech, its about the evolution of a society. At its innermost elements, its just an allegory for western history.
Though somewhat inaccurate on that front, it is supremely entertaining. Would recommend to anyone, fans of science fiction, or not.
Also watched the Blue Exorcist Movie. Shonen trappings encapsulating a thoroughly shonen movie. What can I say, they went for something simple, and executed on it extremely well. Plus, it had beautiful animation.
lastflowers
Banned
I've always wanted to read more Asimov, but never did the research to find out which ones sounded appealing. I'll have to get these and check them out later this year.
Aeronox - 10/50 Books | 12/50 Movies
Books:
Movies:
Books:
- Xenocide by Orson Scott Card (Jan. 4)
- Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card (Jan. 10)
- Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card (Jan. 15)
- Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card (Jan. 24)
- Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card (Jan. 31)
- Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card (Feb. 8)
- Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey (Feb. 16)
- Shift Omnibus by Hugh Howey (Mar. 2)
- Dust by Hugh Howey (Mar. 14)
- Foundation by Isaac Asimov (Mar. 21)
Movies:
- Saving Mr. Banks (Jan. 2)
- Castle in the Sky (Jan. 4)
- Olympus Has Fallen (Jan. 11)
- Monsters University (Feb. 2)
- Planes (Feb. 2)
- The Internship (Feb. 8)
- The Lego Movie (Feb. 22)
- Knights of Badassdom (Feb. 28)
- Blackfish (Mar. 1)
- The Guilt Trip (Mar. 1)
- Non-Stop (Mar. 15)
- The Muppets: Most Wanted (Mar. 29)
I read The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems today. It's quite short in terms of actual reading content, but I decided to count it. In spite of its brevity, it is more dense (and requires a lot more thought) than much of the reading I do.
You *must* read the Penguin classics translation by Robin Buss. If you aren't, you are reading a possibly abridged and almost surely bowdlerized version of the story.
You *must* read the Penguin classics translation by Robin Buss. If you aren't, you are reading a possibly abridged and almost surely bowdlerized version of the story.
Oh crap, really? The Count of Monte Cristo is on my reading list but I actually wanted to get the B&N leatherbound edition eventually.
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