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ian to the max · Jan 3, 2014

First three movies done and added to my list.

ian to the max - 0/50 Books | 3/50 Movies

Sons of Perdition - Interesting documentary about teenagers who have left a polygamist compound, either of their own free will or forced. Not a very good doc in terms of editing, pacing, and overall delivery, but the subject matter really endears you to some of the kids. ★★½

Man of Steel - Gotta admit, I'm not a huge Superman fan and this movie didn't help that much. Michael Shannon was one of the very few bright spots. ★★

Elysium - Really enjoyed this one. Sharlto Copley was terrifying. ★★★½

Ashes · Jan 3, 2014

ian to the max said:
First two movies done and added to my list.

Sons of Perdition - Interesting documentary about teenagers who have left a polygamist compound, either of their own free will or forced. Not a very good doc in terms of editing, pacing, and overall delivery, but the subject matter really endears you to some of the kids. ★★½

Man of Steel - Gotta admit, I'm not a huge Superman fan and this movie didn't help that much. Michael Shannon was one of the very few bright spots. ★★

ian to the max - 0/50 Books | 2/50 Movies | 0/25 Games | 0/10 Anime

ian to the max · Jan 3, 2014

Ashes1396 said:
ian to the max - 0/50 Books | 2/50 Movies | 0/25 Games | 0/10 Anime

Sorry, didn't know I needed to include a running tally in my update posts. Fixed!

Grand Optimist · Jan 3, 2014

Grand Optimist - 1/50 Books | 15/50 Movies

Books:

1) Heavier Than Heaven - Charles R. Cross ★★★★★

Movies:

1) The Wolf on Wall Street (2013) ★★★★
2) Sherlock: A Study in Pink (2010) ★★★★½
3) Sherlock: The Blind Banker (2010) ★★★½
4) Sherlock: The Great Game (2010) ★★★★½
5) Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (2012) ★★★★★
6) Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville (2012) ★★★½
7) Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall (2012) ★★★★★
8) Pulp Fiction (1994) ★★★★★
9) Accepted (2006) ★
10) Sherlock: The Empty Hearse (2014) ★★★★½
11) The Lego Movie (2014) ★★★★
12) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) ★★★★½
13) Super High Me (2007) ★★½
14) Shaun of the Dead (2004) ★★★★★
15) MacGruber (2010) ★★★½

Beeblebrox · Jan 3, 2014

My first update! I'd say it's a book "surprisingly", but since I haven't properly read one in a long time, I'd say it's not surprising at all. And the the honour to be the first one in 2014 goes to:

Marko Šelić - Malterego: Rubikova stolica - this one's not available in English as far as I know. First part of the title is a word-play with words 'alter ego' and Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian word for 'mortar'/'plaster' ('malter'), while the second part would translate to "Rubik's Chair". And, just as its title, the book itself is quite interesting, especially if you know a thing or two about Marko's music career (he's better known as Marčelo around these parts) - it follows the story of a young musician and his problems with a fucked up modern-day society in Serbia. But, just to mix things up a bit, there's his unusual notebook where he lets his anger out, writing about killing and/or hurting all those terrible people that he can't stand anymore, until, one day, one of his imaginary kills happens in real life, and he has no idea what (and how) just happened. And just as I thought it's gonna be one of those slightly out-of-ordinary crime stories or a Death Note clone, it turned out to be quite different book. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes his music (it's interesting to draw parallels between fiction and his life), and to others who know Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian language and want to read something different. Second part of the trilogy should be out sometime soon I heard, so here's hoping it really does come out soonish.

My original post with 50/50 list updated!

P.S. Thanks for organizing all this Tragicomedy! I certainly appreciate this push to try and read as much as I can again.
P.P.S. I skipped ratings altogether, I hate that part when I review games, so I'll gladly grab onto any chance of not doing it when I'm not reviewing something for my job.
P.P.P.S. Gotta work on my English a bit, I hope you won't mind if there were any weird sentences up there.

Electrichapel · Jan 3, 2014

Electrichapel - 14/50 Books | 19/50 Movies ★★★★★½

Books:
1.F. Scott Fitzgerald- The Great Gatsby ★★★★
2. Lisa M. Bitel [2/11/14]- The Land of Women- ★★
3. Maria Edgeworth Castle Rackrent-★★ ½
4. Maria Edgeworth Ennui-★★★
5. Colm Toibin Brooklyn- ★★★½
6. Phyllis T. Smith: I am Livia-★★★
7.Sam Sisavath: The Purge of Babylon-★★★½
8. Jonathon Stone: Moving Day A Thriller- ★★★
9. Sam Sisavath: The Gates of Byzantium- ★★★
10. Sam Sisavath: The Stones of Angkor-★★★½
11. Christian Cantrell: Containment ★★★★
12. Vince Papale, Janet Cantwell-Papale, and Tim Vandehey: Be Invincible A Playbook on Reaching Your Full Potential ★★
13. Issac Asimov: Foundation ★★★★★
14. Issac Asimov: Foundation and Empire ★★★★½
15. James Browning: The Fracking King: A Novel ★★½
16. Christine Kling: Circle of Bones ★★½
17. Issac Asimov: Second Foundation★★★★½
Movies:
1. American Hustle (2013) [1/1/14]- ★★★★
2. Saving Mr. Banks (2013) [1/15/14]-★★★ ½
3. Lee Daniel's The Butler (2013) [1/19/14]- ★★★
4. Crazy in Alabama(1999) [1/20/14]-★★ ½
5. My Awkward Sexual Adventure (2012) [1/22/14]-★★ ½
6. A Good Old Fashion Orgy (2011) [1/22/14]- ★★
7. Spring Breakers (2013) [2/3/14] - ★★★
8. Pompei (2014) [2/25/15]-★★
9.Sydney White (2007)- ★★
10. American Psycho- ★★★★
11. Divergent (2014) [3/20/14]- ★★ ½
12. Bruno (2009) [3/24/14]-★★★
13. Far and Away (1992) [4/7/14]-★★ ½
14. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) [4/8/14]- ★★★ ½
15. Hellbent (2004)-★★
16. Non-Stop (2014)-★★★ ½
17. Blended (2014)- ★ ½
18. Son of God (2014)- ★★★
19. A Million Ways to Die in the West(2014)-★★★ ½
20. Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit (2014)-★★★
21. After the Dark(2014)-★★★★

Tragicomedy · Jan 3, 2014

Everyone prior to this post has been added to the master list, and I've fixed the mistakes that folks have PM'd to me.

Now back to reading!

Strobli · Jan 3, 2014

So I watched my first "film" of the year last night: Sherlock: The Empty Hearse (2014). I wanted to let it sink in before I commented on it. While I didn't find it to be as good as some of the other entries in the series, it was still entertaining as hell. It focused less on an actual mystery and more on character drama this time around. While I understand why this was necessary given how season two ended, I hope Sherlock and Waston will return to a more meaty case next Sunday. Still, Cumberbatch and Freeman as are excellent as ever, as are the supporting cast. Overall, I have no reason to expect a decline in quality from the last two seasons. A pretty solid four stars out of five.

kswiston · Jan 3, 2014

I am going to fail miserably at this, but what the hell: <- EDIT: Not failing as miserably as I thought I would.

kswiston - 54/50 Books | 50/50 Movies

Books:

1) Before They are Hanged (First Law Trilogy - Book 2) ★★★★
2) Last Argument of Kings (First Law Trilogy - Book 3) ★★★★
3) Best Served Cold ★★★½
4) The Ocean at the End of the Lane ★★★★
5) Steelheart ★★★
6) The Black Company (Books of the North Pt 1) ★★★½
7) Shadows Linger (Books of the North Pt 2) ★★★★
8) The White Rose (Books of the North Pt 3) ★★★★
9) Gardens of the Moon ★★★★½
10) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ★★★
11) Prince of Thorns ★★★★
12) The Emperor's Soul ★★★★
13) No Country for Old Men ★★★★½
14) I Am Legend ★★★★
15) Deadhouse Gates ★★★★★
16) Blood Meridian ★★★★½
17) Legion ★★★★
18) Hyperion ★★★★★
19) The Sworn Sword ★★★½
20) The Mystery Knight ★★★½
21) Ender's Game ★★★★
22) The Princess and the Queen - ★★★★
23) Quicksilver ★★★★
24) Redshirts ★★★
25) Ancient Warfare - A Very Short Introduction ★★★
26) The Ascent of Money ★★★½
27) Rogues (short story anthology) ★★★★
28) The Heroes ★★★★★
29) Red Country ★★★★
30) King of Thorns ★★★★
31) The Way of Kings ★★★★★
32) Words of Radiance ★★★★★
33) Agent to the Stars ★★★½
34) The Name of the Wind ★★★★
35) 2001: A Space Odyssey ★★★★
36) The Pluto Files ★★★½
37) Jhereq ★★★★
38) The King of the Vagabonds ★★★★
39) Odalisque ★★★★
40) The Remains of the Day ★★★★½
41) The Death of Ivan Ilyich ★★★★
42) Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes ★★★★
43) Yendi ★★★★
44) Shards of Honor ★★★★
45) Naruto - Vol 1-27 ★★★½
46) Across the Nightingale Floor ★★★½
47) Teckla ★★★½
48) The Stranger ★★★★
49) Fool's Moon ★★★★
50) Falling Free ★★★★½
51) Fall of Hyperion ★★★★★
52) Naruto - Vol 28-55 ★★★★
53) Legion: Skin Deep ★★★½
54) The Rithmatist ★★★½

Movies:

1) American Hustle ★★★★
2) The Net (1995) ★★
3) Eagle Eye ★★
4) Her ★★★★★
5) Frozen ★★★½
6) Sneakers ★★★
7) Sherlock: The Empty Hearse ★★★
8) Invictus ★★★½
9) Journey of Man - ★★★★
10) The Raid: Redemption ★★★½
11) Food Inc ★★★
12) The Lorax ★★★
13) Kimjongilia ★★★
14) Captain America: The Winter Soldier ★★★½
15) The Expendibles 2 ★★
16) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ★★★½
17) Easy A ★★★½
18) Zombieland ★★½
19) Don Jon - ★★★★
20) X-Men: Days of Future Past ★★★½
21) The Edge of Tomorrow ★★★★
22) Hansel and Gretel - Witch Hunters ★★
23) Grand Budapest Hotel ★★★★★
24) Rushmore ★★★★
25) The Life Aquatic ★★★½
26) The Fantastic Mr Fox ★★★★½
27) Ghost World ★★★½
28) 12 Years a Slave ★★★★
29) Inside Llewyn Davis ★★★½
30) The World's End ★★★½
31) The Heat ★★
32) Guardians of the Galaxy ★★★½
33) Amazing Spider-man 2 ★★
34) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ★★★
35) The Punisher: Warzone ★★½
36) The Other Guys ★★½
37) Justice League: Flash Point ★★★
38) Son of Batman ★★★
39) Superman: Doomsday ★★½
40) Batman: Year One ★★½
41) Galaxy Quest ★★★
42) Snowpiercer ★★½
43) End of Watch ★★★★
44) Nebraska ★★★★
45) Chelsea Peretti: One of the Greats ★★★
46) Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths ★★★
47) Gross Pointe Blank ★★★
48) Elite Squad ★★★★
49) Elite Squad: Enemy Within ★★★½
50) Epic ★★½

faceless007 · Jan 3, 2014

How the hell do you people have 3+ movies or books done already?

I'm a little confused about what we're supposed to do for updating: is it edit the linked master post with the new count and title, and then post any comments or review in a new reply?

If so, I also watched Sherlock: The Empty Hearse. I'll just copy a piece of what I wrote in the OT: I was kind of disappointed. Not much Sherlock detecting or an actual mystery driving the episode, it was more a series of scenes about people interacting with Sherlock. Kind of interesting but not what I expected.

lastflowers · Jan 3, 2014

faceless007 said:
How the hell do you people have 3+ movies or books done already?

I'm a little confused about what we're supposed to do for updating: is it edit the linked master post with the new count and title, and then post any comments or review in a new reply?

If so, I also watched Sherlock: The Empty Hearse. I'll just copy a piece of what I wrote in the OT: I was kind of disappointed. Not much Sherlock detecting or an actual mystery driving the episode, it was more a series of scenes about people interacting with Sherlock. Kind of interesting but not what I expected.

If you prefer to stay in, then it's pretty easy.

Mumei · Jan 3, 2014

faceless007 said:
How the hell do you people have 3+ movies or books done already?

I'm a little confused about what we're supposed to do for updating: is it edit the linked master post with the new count and title, and then post any comments or review in a new reply?

If you want, you can do an update post with just the new things, but you should always update your 'master' list that is linked in one of the first few posts. In the previous topics, people reposted their entire lists every single time, and it got really unwieldy to read.

So yes, basically that. And I had the day off on New Year's Day, so I watched a few movies.

TestMonkey · Jan 3, 2014

Update
TestMonkey - 0/50 Books | 2/50 Movies

Just watched a couple of movies from my Netflix queue so that I could get some points on the board. Am steadily working my way through the second half of Reamde.

KageZero · Jan 3, 2014

KageZero - Books 0/50 | Movies 1/50

Books:

Movies
Star Trek: Into darkness 7/10 - more action oriented but it's should be expected from a movie, the ending was bad but expected if they plan to make sequels i guess. But then again i'm a sci-fi and star trek fan so it's fine by me

Professor Chaos · Jan 3, 2014

First update.

Professor Chaos - 1/50 Books | 1/50 Movies |

Cormac Mcarthy - All the Pretty Horses. This was not bad by any means, although I was a bit underwhelmed considering some of the praise this book has received. I found Mcarthy's prose often hard work. Reading entire unpunctuated paragraphs of the Mexican desert does not make for effective writing imo. But apart from some niggles with his stylistic choices, the story was often touching. I will read the rest of the Border trilogy, but for now I need a small break from Mcarthy.

The Princess and the Frog. Some nice scenes in New Orleans, but I found it mostly pretty forgettable.

killertofu · Jan 3, 2014

Just finished the first Sherlock episode...it was kinda hokey, idk maybe it's because I'm tired as hell but I didn't enjoy it so much.

First Update

killertofu - 1/50 Movies l 0/50 Books

I'm trying to read a lot of technical books for film-making and stuff. Wouldn't that be a bit odd to review? Oh well, really enjoying this Screenplay book so far. Only 50 pages in... but going on a roadtrip from Florida to Colorado next week...plenty of time to read in the car

Kurtofan · Jan 3, 2014

Interesting, right now I'm reading Equal Rites by Terry Prttchett.

EvaristeG · Jan 3, 2014

First update, watched Sherlock Holmes : Empty Hearse last night. As many, I thought the "main plot" was disappointing, but all the rest was great.

Master post edited. Books : 0, Movies : 1. Going out to watch Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Koreeda with friends right now. And I'll probably finish Midsummer night's dream tonight. So I'll check in for another update!

Jintor · Jan 3, 2014

Updated my Journal.

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) ★★★★★

It took a while to start to keep track of all the various characters together, but once I did, it was completely worth it. Astounding cinematography for so many moments - the poker scene in particular was a deep fave - and the way the plot tied every single thing together was bloody amazing.

God damn. Astounding.

WanderingWind · Jan 3, 2014

Jintor said:
Updated my Journal.

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) ★★★★★

It took a while to start to keep track of all the various characters together, but once I did, it was completely worth it. Astounding cinematography for so many moments - the poker scene in particular was a deep fave - and the way the plot tied every single thing together was bloody amazing.

God damn. Astounding.

I see what you did there, deader

Jintor · Jan 3, 2014

I should've waited until New Year's Day to watch Rashomon

RedShift · Jan 3, 2014

Accidentally stayed up until after 2am reading and ended up finishing my first book of the year about 16 hours after I started it, which included a night's sleep.

It was the first Hunger Games book. Never seen any of the films or knew much about the books at all, but I really enjoyed it. I wish I'd read it when I was about 14, it's the sort of book I'd have loved then. Looking forward to the next two, hopefully I'll finish them in the next week or so and get a good headstart on keeping up with the challenge. After that I'll either try Dune or having a proper go at the Ender's Game books.

I feel kind of like I'm cheating reading young adult literature, I promise I'll make up for it by reading Ulysses or Atlas Shrugged or something later.

So we just update our original posts right? Or do we put a progress summary here as well? Like,

RedShift - 1/50 Books | 0/50 Movies

X-Frame · Jan 3, 2014

Can someone explain Majors & Minors to me a bit more?

For example, for Brandon Sanderson I have The Way of Kings (just finished), The Emperor's Soul, The Rithmatist, Legion, Elantris, and Warbreaker still left to read. That is 6.

I already read Steelheart & the 4 Mistborn books in Nov/December.

Does that still work for him with the 6 left of his for 2014?

shanshan310 · Jan 3, 2014

I'll give it a shot! No idea how many I'll be able to get through as I'm going on exchange for most of the year, but I'll cram as many books in before April as I can

I only got through six or seven books last year (goddamn clash of kings took me all semester because I was so busy) so anything more than that will make me happy.

Shanshan310 - 11/50 Books | 14/50 Movies

Books:
A Feast For Crows - George RR Martin (2005)
Fukushima - Mark Willacy (2013)
A Dance With Dragons - George RR Martin (2011)
I am Malala - Malala Yousafzai (2013)
The Hedge Knight - George RR Martin
The Sworn Sword - George RR Martin
Divergent - Veronica Roth
Ender's game - Orson Scott Card
Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
Seconds - Bryan Lee O'Malley
Sailor Moon Vol 1 - Naoko Takeuchi

Films:
Frozen (2013)
The Birdcage (1996)
Redline (2009)
The Wolf of Wall St (2013)
Sherlock: A Study in Pink (2010)
Sherlock: The Blind Banker (2010)
Sherlock: The Great Game (2010)
Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (2012) (aaaand I think I'm done with Sherlock. What a disaster that episode was.)
Up On Poppy Hill (2011)
The Wind Rises (2013)
Robocop (1987)
Man of Steel (2013)
Philomena (2013)
Change my race (2013) (documentary)
REC - the Spanish Version (2007)
When Marnie was there (2014)
The Hobbit 2 (2013)
Spiderman 2 (2013)
Captain America 2 (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Cats Don't Dance
Inspector Montalbano
Big Hero 6 (2014)
Monsters (2010)

EDIT: forgot to update while I was in Japan, but added what I could remember.

Saya · Jan 3, 2014

First update of the year.

I just finished reading Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha (★★★★½), the story of childhood friends finding spiritual enlightenment through different ways. Loved the writing style and the lyrical and poetic feel of the novel.

Wondering what to read next. Looking for something under 200 pages. Recommendations are very welcome.

_Ryo_ · Jan 3, 2014

Updated List

Shiv47 · Jan 3, 2014

Maklershed said:
No prob. My question is though - why are your buttons doing such crazy things? Haha

I use a Mac and Firefox, and for whatever reason, the tab key is set like that. It hadn't come up as a problem before this, oddly enough.

Arsenic Yellow · Jan 3, 2014

Arsenic Yellow- 3/50 books | 15/50 Movies

Books: 3/50

1. Escape from Camp 14
2. Female Chauvenistic Pig
3. Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl

Movies: 15/50
1. Wold Children Ami and Yuki. (2013)1/2
2. Midori (1992) 1/5 What a mistake......
3. The Brandon Teena Story (1999) 1/18
4. It's a Girl (2013) 1/18
5. We Are What We Are (2012) 1/19
6. Vamp 1/20 (1986) 1/20
7. After Porn Ends (2010) 1/22
8. The Elephants in the Living Room (2011) 1/25
9. The Collection (2012) 1/26
10. The Devil's Carnival (2012) 1/27
11. Anti Christ (2009) 1/27
12. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) 1/27
13. Stoker
14. Banshee Chapter
15. Cry Baby

Deleted member 98878 · Jan 3, 2014

Flips360 - 13/50 books | 35/50 movies

Books:

01. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon - 2 Jan
02. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - 12 Jan
03. The Walking Dead Compendium One by Robert Kirkman, Cliff Rathburn, Charlie Adlard - 22 Jan
04. Mind Hunter by John Douglas, Mark Olshaker - 21 Feb
05. Homo Faber by Max Frisch - 30 March
06. Das Jahr des Greifen: Der Sturm by Bernhard Hennen - 19 June
07. Das Jahr des Greifen: Die Entdeckung by Bernhard Hennen - 29 June
08. Das Jahr des Greifen: Die Amazone by Bernhard Hennen - 9 July
09. Ulldart - Die dunkle Zeit 1 by Markus Heitz - 21 July
10. Ulldart - Die dunkle Zeit 2 by Markus Heitz - 29 July
11. Ulldart - Die dunkle Zeit 3 by Markus Heitz - 7 August
12. Ulldart - Die dunkle Zeit 4 by Markus Heitz - 21 August
13. Ulldart - Die dunkle Zeit 5 by Markus Heitz - 1 Sep

Movies:

01. Hooligans Around The World (2013) - 1 Jan
02. Sherlock: A Study in Pink (2010) - 2 Jan
03. Sherlock: The Blind Banker (2010) - 3 Jan
04. Sherlock: The Great Game (2010) - 3 Jan
05. The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (2013) - 4 Jan
06. Argo (2012) - 4 Jan
07. World War Z (2013) - 5 Jan
08. The Wolverine (2013) - 6 Jan
09. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) - 10 Jan
10. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) - 10 Jan
11. The Smurfs 2 (2013) - 11 Jan
12. One in the Chamber (2012) - 11 Jan
13. Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (2012) - 14 Jan
14. Drive (2011) - 15 Jan
15. Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville (2012) - 18 Jan
16. Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall (2012) - 19 Jan
17. The Wolf of Wallstreet (2013) - 20 Jan
18. 12 Years a Slave (2013) - 25 Jan
19. Contact High (2009) - 22 Feb
20. Killing Season (2013) - 25 Feb
21. The Avengers (2012) - 6 March
22. Lincoln (2012) - 6 March
23. The Monuments Men (2014) - 9 March
24. Lone Survivor (2013) - 17 April
25. Flags of Our Fathers (2006) - 28 April
26. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) - 29 April
27. The Firm (2009) - 18 May
28. Windtalkers (2002) - 21 May
29. The Football Factory (2004) - 26 May
30. Kill the Boss (2011) - 26 May
31. The LEGO Movie (2014) - 28 May
32. 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) - 7 June
33. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - 11 June
34. Indie Game: The Movie (2012) - 19 June
35. Godzilla (2014) - 11 July

Bonus

TV:

01. Sons of Anarchy (Season 1) - 11 Jan [rewatch]
02. Sons of Anarchy (Season 2) - 13 Jan [rewatch]
03. Sons of Anarchy (Season 3) - 14 Jan [rewatch]
04. Hell on Wheels (Season 1) - 16 Jan
05. South Park (Season 17) - 10 March
06. The Walking Dead (Season 3) - 17 March
07. American Horror Story: Coven - 23 March
08. The Walking Dead (Season 4) - 31 March
09. The Pacific - 23 April
10. Vikings (Season 1) - 27 April
11. Band of Brothers - 2 May [rewatch]
12. Lost (Season 4) - 3 May
13. Lost (Season 5) - 4 May
14. Lost (Season 6) - 7 May
15. Rome (Season 1) - 11 May
16. Rome (Season 2) - 16 May
17. Supernatural (Season 9) - 6 June
18. Die Deutschen (Season 1) - 28 June
19. Die Deutschen (Season 2) - 16 July
20. Vikings (Season 2) - 18 July
21. Game of Thrones (Season 4) - 6 Aug
22. Sons of Anarchy (Season 4) - 3 Sep [rewatch]

Games:

01. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - 24 Jan
02. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition - 14 April
03. Spec Ops: The Line - 2 May
04. Sniper Elite V2 - 10 June
05. Murdered: Soul Suspect - 14 June
06. Gunpoint - 20 June
07. Valiant Hearts: The Great War - 30 June
08. The Wolf Among Us - 8 July
09. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - 18 August
10. Jazzpunk - 23 August
11. The Walking Dead S02 - 26 August

lastflowers · Jan 3, 2014

Professor Chaos said:
First update.

Professor Chaos - 1/50 Books | 1/50 Movies |

Cormac Mcarthy - All the Pretty Horses. This was not bad by any means, although I was a bit underwhelmed considering some of the praise this book has received. I found Mcarthy's prose often hard work. Reading entire unpunctuated paragraphs of the Mexican desert does not make for effective writing imo. But apart from some niggles with his stylistic choices, the story was often touching. I will read the rest of the Border trilogy, but for now I need a small break from Mcarthy.

The Princess and the Frog. Some nice scenes in New Orleans, but I found it mostly pretty forgettable.

The Crossing is probably my favorite McCarthy novel....but going off of your hesitant approval of all the pretty horses you probably won't love it like I do.

sestrugen · Jan 3, 2014

I will join you this year, although I will probably fail on the book front since I am a pretty slow reader. Movies should be pretty easy.

sestrugen - 0/50 Books | 11/50 Movies

Books

None

Currently reading: A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson

Movies

Don Jon (2013)★★★
Shame (2011) ★★★★
Frozen (2013) ★★★
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2013) ★★
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) ★★★
The Family AKA Malavita (2013) ★
The girl with the dragon tattoo (2009) ★★★
The girl who played with fire (2009) ★★★
Philomena (2013) ★★★
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) ★★
The Kid (1921) ★★★

.GqueB. · Jan 3, 2014

Gonna try this again, didn't do so well last year. And not that this matters but I don't think my progress was tracked correctly. I kept updating my original post but kept showing up nil in the updates. Enough about that!

.GqueB. - 1/50 Books | 2/50 Movies

Books

Meaty: Essays by Samantha Kirby ★★★

Movies

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ★★★★
Her ★★★★★

pokeystaples · Jan 3, 2014

I'm totally in for this!

pokeystaples - 1/50 books, 2/50 movies

Books

N0S4A2 by Joe Hill - A man who kidnaps children and takes them off to Christmasland meets his match in the only girl to ever get away. This books was a page turner. I ended up finishing 500 pages of it in a day. There is a little bit of Christine in there, a little bit of The Shining. Overall, worth picking up. ★★★★

Movies

Newlyweeds - A stoner love story of the indie variety. I wouldn't call it a fun watch, although I got some giggles, but it was definitely worth watching. If that makes sense. ★★★
Gimme the Loot - Another indie flick. 2 graffiti artists working their butts off to tag the Mets home run apple. ★★★½
Girl Most Likely - Kristen Wigg and Annette Benning shine in a film about the girl most likely to succeed who couldn't even succeed at a suicide attempt. Film was a bit rough, but Wigg and Benning were amazing. ★★★
Country Cottage - I don't know why Tyler Labine movies are a must rent for me, but I HAD to grab this one. Uptight guy and his uptight girlfriend go to the family lake house. Then Uptight guy's brother shows up. Reminded me a lot of Tucker and Dale without the satire. It's reviewing poorly because it isn't very good, but if you're a fan of shlocky horror and twist endings I would go for it. ★★★

Professor Chaos · Jan 3, 2014

lastflowers said:
The Crossing is probably my favorite McCarthy novel....but going off of your hesitant approval of all the pretty horses you probably won't love it like I do.

Hopefully I'll look more favorably on the rest of the trilogy. All the Pretty Horses was my first book by McCarthy and it took me probably quarter of the novel to really get comfortable with his style. Strangely, the thing that affected me most about the whole book was

the death of Belvins

.

lastflowers · Jan 3, 2014

Professor Chaos said:
Hopefully I'll look more favorably on the rest of the trilogy. All the Pretty Horses was my first book by McCarthy and it took me probably quarter of the novel to really get comfortable with his style. Strangely, the thing that affected me most about the whole book was

the death of Belvins

.

ahh. Yes, his writing is different from most writers. No Country For Old Men, The Road, Child of God, and AtPH are probably his most welcoming books--though I haven't read his debut.

Be prepared for an onslaught of metaphysical and spiritual themes in The Crossing. It's a fantastic tale, but a much more challenging read than AtPH.

If anything, I'd suggest reading Blood Meridian first. It's simpler. The Crossing is only tangentially related through theme with AtPH. All of his western works operate under this theme of lost frontier and slippage of time and place of the protagonist, so they work very well when read with each other. The third book in the border trilogy is generally considered the weakest, I believe, but it unites some protagonists.

krpiper · Jan 3, 2014

First Update

If I like Connelly any other writers you suggest? Is Grisham a good place to go if I liked the Laywer/court room drama? As Connelly is the first author I have read of the genre

Tragicomedy · Jan 3, 2014

Tragicomedy - 2/50 Books | 2/50 Movies

I just finished reading The Quiet American by Graham Greene for the book club. ★★★★ Very highly recommended. It's set in 1950s Vietnam, and while the basic premise of the book involves a live triangle, there are many undertones involving colonialism, foreign policy interventionism, and the justness of spreading democracy to "uncivilized children" that remain pertinent today. Very likable characters and quite a unique writing style.

Edit:

Adding Casino Royale by Ian Fleming as my second book of the year. ★★★½ Started off a bit too slowly, with Fleming describing even the most minute things with an absurd amount of detail. The second half was spectacular, right up to the stellar ending. Fun read! Holds up very well considering it was written in 1953. I'm surprised they waited so long for a proper film adaptation.

lastflowers · Jan 3, 2014

Tragicomedy said:
Tragicomedy - 1/50 Books | 2/50 Movies

I just finished reading The Quiet American by Graham Greene for the book club. ★★★★ Very highly recommended. It's set in 1950s Vietnam, and while the basic premise of the book involves a live triangle, there are many undertones involving colonialism, foreign policy interventionism, and the justness of spreading democracy to "uncivilized children" that remain pertinent today. Very likable characters and quite a unique writing style.

sounds pretty good. I might pick it up at the library and read it alongside V. and the rest of the Hunger Games trilogy.

I finished Bleeding Edge by Pynchon early this morning. I'm absolutely floored by how a 75 year old man writes a novel that is so in-tune with the early dotcom technology scene. It's a detective novel surrounding the time leading up to the September 11th attacks. A fraud investigator named Maxine is the protagonist, and she weaves in and out of russian gangsters, potential Mossad family members, FBI agents, startup technonerds, stripclubs, her ex-husband in a tale that is so utterly fantastical that I need to read it again.

'Security through Immaturity' is one of the best off-the-cuff one-liners I've read in a long time. It comes and passes with no special regard to it, but the novel is packed full one incredibly insightful banter. Many of the puns and insights into the digital era are probably lost on me as I was around 10ish at the time of the attacks and of the dotcom bubble, but working in technology security helps with many of the puns and concepts brandied around as sidetalk.

It truly is a fantastic novel, and an accessible Pynchon piece if you're interested in reading Pynchon.

Flying Toaster · Jan 3, 2014

Finished Simply Complexity: a clear guide to complexity theory. Fast read, easy intro to the basics of complexity theory. All the examples are simple and the math is easy so it is a pretty open and approachable book on the subject.

I give it 3 out of 5 Sharks.

I have a fear that 2014 is going to be year of the light reading when it comes to science and math not that it is a bad thing but just a major change from my usual reading material.

bigcheese · Jan 3, 2014

I started watching my first movie of the year and chose Computer Chess, against my better judgement. I usually enjoy dry, subtle humor, and the premise sounded great, but this is just shit. I had to turn it off after a half-hour.

Tantalus · Jan 3, 2014

Updated my list.

Watched Amelie, thought it was a fun and quirky little movie. Couple of laugh out loud moments here and there. Audrey Tautou is very pretty. ★★★★

Followed this up with something much more depressing; 1984. Enjoyed it more for the story it told than it's political commentary, although I guess I should have known what I was getting into.

The ending made me very sad.

★★★★

Mumei · Jan 3, 2014

lastflowers said:
It truly is a fantastic novel, and an accessible Pynchon piece if you're interested in reading Pynchon.

Accessible Pynchon, you say? I read (muddled through) Gravity's Rainbow last year, so that sounds interesting.

lastflowers · Jan 3, 2014

Mumei said:
Accessible Pynchon, you say? I read (muddled through) Gravity's Rainbow last year, so that sounds interesting.

I rumbled through it quite easily compared to my read of Mason and Dixon last year and my, um, attempt at GR many years ago.

RedShift · Jan 3, 2014

Just finished the second Hunger Games book almost exactly 24 hours after I started the first one. I think that might be a personal record for me.

Also I might have too much free time on my hands...

Gentle Rodriguez · Jan 3, 2014

Watched Primer....fuck, that movie is confusing. I kind of got it by the end but still didn't figure out what happened when. Everything was clearer after reading a chart on it. I don't know if I can even rate that movie, enjoyed it though.

Updated list, 0/50 books 1/50 movies.

lastflowers · Jan 3, 2014

RedShift said:
Just finished the second Hunger Games book almost exactly 24 hours after I started the first one. I think that might be a personal record for me.

Also I might have too much free time on my hands...

it's much better than the first one, thus far at least. I'm a little over halfway through it.

daffy · Jan 3, 2014

RedShift said:
Just finished the second Hunger Games book almost exactly 24 hours after I started the first one. I think that might be a personal record for me.

Also I might have too much free time on my hands...

They're so addicting to read. Page turners for sure.

edit: you're the one reading ya novels. Have you read Gone Girl? It's a page turner as well.

Jintor · Jan 3, 2014

I know graphic novels are generally discouraged, but I finally got my hands on another copy of the penultimate book of The Sandman (and the climax of the series' narrative arc) and if it weren't for the fact that it's a re-read I'd relog it on my list. It's so damn good. The book is The Kindly Ones.

Tragicomedy · Jan 3, 2014

Gentle Rodriguez said:
Watched Primer....fuck, that movie is confusing. I kind of got it by the end but still didn't figure out what happened when. Everything was clearer after reading a chart on it. I don't know if I can even rate that movie, enjoyed it though.

Updated list, 0/50 books 1/50 movies.

The fact that I had to consult the timeline chart shows how utterly confused I was upon my first viewing. The second viewing...pure magic. That movie is top ten for me, and the best "hard" science fiction movie I've seen. It scrambles my mind.

Gentle Rodriguez · Jan 3, 2014

Tragicomedy said:
The fact that I had to consult the timeline chart shows how utterly confused I was upon my first viewing. The second viewing...pure magic. That movie is top ten for me, and the best "hard" science fiction movie I've seen. It scrambles my mind.

Right, I forgot to mention that I will be watching it again, just not right now. I think it's #1 for me on the list of "Movies you need to see at least twice to get".

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