I look forward to the Academy Awards every year. It is the Superbowl for Movie Buffs, as someone put it ever so nicely on Twitter. However, I do think this particular award's show - and many awards shows in general - are quite predictable. After months of back-room talk about whose nominated (and isn't in Nolan's case), conclusions start to be drawn far before the award's show as to who will take home the little golden man.
For the most part, I guessed most of the winners. Only a couple of categories surprised me and only two winners absolutely made me cheer in my seat. Even still, I love this awards show. It may not be as outlandish as other shows (i'm looking at you MTV movie Awards) but it is still a great way to celebrate film.
Here are the winners:
Best Picture - The King's Speech *predictable win in my opinion...and not the film i would have personally chosen
Actor in a Leading Role - Colin Firth "The King's Speech" *again, quite predictable. I was rooting for Esienberg or Franco, however.
Actor in a Supporting Role - Christan Bale "The Fighter" *congrats, Bale! Well deserved!
Actress in a Leading Role - Natalie Portman "Black Swan" *predictable win, but very deserved! I loved her in that role. Also, she looked amazing pregnant despite what a lot of people are saying. The dress was great for her baby bump.
Actress in a Supporting Role - Melissa Leo "The Fighter" *her acceptance was a wee bit wacky...
Animated Feature Film - Toy Story 3 *I loved this movie. It made me cry and think about my childhood. But...I was secretly rooting for How To Train Your Dragon in hopes of the biggest upset in all of Oscar history to happen. Alas, it did not.
Art Direction - Alice in Wonderland *I was not even aware that Harry Potter had been nominated. Now i am wishing it would have AT LEAST gotten this award just because i'm a fan. Alice is quite deserving, however.
Cinematography - Inception *DAMN RIGHT!
Costume Design - Alice in Wonderland *DAMN RIGHT AGAIN
Directing - Tom Hooper "The King's Speech" *There is a certain lack of Nolan in this category...Anyway, I am not surprised by the winner, but still a little taken aback considering the others that were nominated (oh, and the lack of Nolan. That's surprising...Did i mention that already?) Certainly the Coen Brothers are fantastic and even though i am not the biggest fan of The Social Network, Fincer did a great job with it. AND ARONOSKY IS JUST WOW. Oh, and Nolan. Wait, he wasn't nominated...
Documentary Feature - Inside Job *The only one I had heard of prior to the show was Exit Through the Gift Shop and only because I used to have a graffiti phobia
Documentary Short Budget - Stranger's No More *I need to see this...
Film Editing - The Social Network *meh, I can't argue with this one
Foreign Language Film - In a Better World *I didn't guess this one correctly, but now i want to see this movie!
Makeup - Wolfman *CALLED IT! When I saw this movie I thought the makeup was spectacular. I loved the look of the wolf. Best Wolf I have seen.
Music Original Score - The Social Network *I was shocked by this at first. Inception score was phenomenal (and I promise I'm not just saying that because i am a huge fan...) Now that the show is over, I can somewhat see the reasoning behind choosing The Social Network.
Music Original Song - Toy Story 3 "We Belong Together" *I was actually rooting for Country Strong's "Coming Home". I was not rooting AGAINST Toy Story 3 at this awards show, as it may seem, but I just felt like it and The King's Speech were such obvious winners of..well..everything.
Short Film (Animated) - The Lost Thing *NO! WHY NOT DAY AND NIGHT!? WHY! NOT!
Short Film (Live Action) - God of Love *Note to self: Watch all of the nominations.
Sound Editing - Inception *ahem...DAMN RIGHT.
Sound Mixing - Inception *oooo Salt was nominated! Too bad it had to go against THE JUGGERNAUT THAT OWNS MY SOUL. I LOVE INCEPTION.
Visual Effects - Inception *to be honest, I totally did not call this one. BUT, DAMN RIGHT
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - The Social Network *duh, duh, duh
Writing (original screenplay) - The King's Speech *I DISAGREE, SIR.
Anyway, amazing show. I wonder what will be nominated for next year. Since I feel like 2011 is not that great of a year for movies (at all) there really is nothing I feel is Oscar worthy. I'm sure I could be potentially just missing some movies and that there has to be something that will be great for that show, but I feel that the few movies that I do think are worthy are too soon in the year to be considered [i.e. Water For Elephants] Its incredibly difficult for live action films to be considered if they are not from the summer to the end of the year. Water for Elephants is in April if i'm not mistaken.
The animated movies this year do not compare to How To Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3. Rango seems like it will be hilarious as does Rio. I am thinking that Disney will probably take that award again next year with Winnie the Pooh.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Is Pokemon animal cruelty?
My short answer would be no.
My long answer is this:
Animal cruelty is a horrible act of not caring for an animal, specifically pets. Especially intentionally doing something to harm these animals. I have seen cases whether on the news or via other sources of animals nearly starved to death or chains so tight around their neck that its digging into their skin - ripping apart their fur and meat. I've seen cases of animals with sores covering their bodies. Cases where their ribs were showing due to starvation.
Comparing Pokemon to cases like this is not only ludicrous, but down right insulting and undermining the very REAL cases of people not caring for their pets or viciously harming animals. Pokemon is a fun, fictional game where the Pokemon are meant to be trained and battled. Trainers can do this any way they please, but there really is not a way to intentionally harm these pokemon.
If a person does not want a Pokemon, they can trade it or even release it into the wild. Pokemon are not necessarily tamed creatures: they're wild animals. They can get released into the wild and pretty much take care of theirselves. (what super powered dog, cat, or other realistic animal do you see shooting fire or calling down lightning?)
My training method does seem a bit harsh. I will take my lead Pokemon and train him until the PP of all his/her moves are out or until he/she faints. Then I switch to the next. I continue until my last Pokemon before going to the Pokemon Center.
But this is the game. This is the gameplay. This is how you train and get better. If you don't then the game does not progress. So how can it be compared to animal cruelty? It's quite ridiculous.
I never really agree when people have one Pokemon as an HM slave, however.
I honestly and genuinely love some of my Pokemon. I really miss my former Articuno, Dialga, and Jirachi. And its not some virtual love loss either. It's the loss of having cultivated these Pokemon to be what they were and having actually grown close to them over the course of the respective games they were in. I wish I still had each of those games (im really bad at keeping up with my Gameboy and DS games...) so I could visit those former Pokemon for awhile. I'm very excited about forming bonds with my new Pokemon in Black/White and really wish I hadn't lost my copy of SoulSilver so I can trade them over. I am also playing Platinum right now and can not wait to watch the pokemon in this game grow as well.
As a Pokemon trainer (yep, I totally call myself that), I know that training my Pokemon is what I must do in order to watch them grow and that its not cruel for me to do this.
My long answer is this:
Animal cruelty is a horrible act of not caring for an animal, specifically pets. Especially intentionally doing something to harm these animals. I have seen cases whether on the news or via other sources of animals nearly starved to death or chains so tight around their neck that its digging into their skin - ripping apart their fur and meat. I've seen cases of animals with sores covering their bodies. Cases where their ribs were showing due to starvation.
Comparing Pokemon to cases like this is not only ludicrous, but down right insulting and undermining the very REAL cases of people not caring for their pets or viciously harming animals. Pokemon is a fun, fictional game where the Pokemon are meant to be trained and battled. Trainers can do this any way they please, but there really is not a way to intentionally harm these pokemon.
If a person does not want a Pokemon, they can trade it or even release it into the wild. Pokemon are not necessarily tamed creatures: they're wild animals. They can get released into the wild and pretty much take care of theirselves. (what super powered dog, cat, or other realistic animal do you see shooting fire or calling down lightning?)
My training method does seem a bit harsh. I will take my lead Pokemon and train him until the PP of all his/her moves are out or until he/she faints. Then I switch to the next. I continue until my last Pokemon before going to the Pokemon Center.
But this is the game. This is the gameplay. This is how you train and get better. If you don't then the game does not progress. So how can it be compared to animal cruelty? It's quite ridiculous.
I never really agree when people have one Pokemon as an HM slave, however.
I honestly and genuinely love some of my Pokemon. I really miss my former Articuno, Dialga, and Jirachi. And its not some virtual love loss either. It's the loss of having cultivated these Pokemon to be what they were and having actually grown close to them over the course of the respective games they were in. I wish I still had each of those games (im really bad at keeping up with my Gameboy and DS games...) so I could visit those former Pokemon for awhile. I'm very excited about forming bonds with my new Pokemon in Black/White and really wish I hadn't lost my copy of SoulSilver so I can trade them over. I am also playing Platinum right now and can not wait to watch the pokemon in this game grow as well.
As a Pokemon trainer (yep, I totally call myself that), I know that training my Pokemon is what I must do in order to watch them grow and that its not cruel for me to do this.
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Friday, February 25, 2011
protect your network: Summer Wars reaction!
Watching this movie was something of an accident, atleast the way I found it was.
It doesn't take much to atleast interest me to check something out. I saw someone cosplay from this movie while looking at Katsucon pictures and then a friend tweeted that he had brought the movie at a convention. Then, my coworker asked someone to go buy his copy of the movie. By the time I got to Best Buy to buy a copy for myself, there was only one left. I was intrigued.
I am SO glad I brought this movie.
Summer Wars is about a girl, Natsuki, hiring Keiji to be her pretend fiance at what appears to be a family celebration for the 90th birthday of her grandmother. There is a large, virtual world called Oz which is pretty much runs everything since everyone is online and connected to it in some way. To not spoil too much, Oz goes haywire and cause many MANY problems.
I am quite unnerved that the review I happened upon while preparing to write this reviewed the movie a bit.negatively. the movie was STUNNING - a visual symphony. Especially Oz, but even the real world was animated very well in my opinion. The story had me captivated from beginning to end as it begin to evolve besides its preliminary simple plot. It begin to encompass more then just Keiji and showed the dire situation they were in. The movie rarely left the house or Oz, but the two settings provided enough to keep me interested the entire time.
Many think Keiji took a backseat as the main character. I feel like this is true, but also that it evolved into something far greater then him. It's also such an assumption that Keiji was the "main" character. Sure the movie followed him a bit more then others, but even the DVD boxart doesn't have Keiji front and center. It has him standing with the others and off to the side. This movie is more then just main characters and sub characters. It's about embracing unity and working together.
I can not wait to watch this film over and over - also can't wait to get mg paws on the special features. I'm so happy that I watched this movie!
It doesn't take much to atleast interest me to check something out. I saw someone cosplay from this movie while looking at Katsucon pictures and then a friend tweeted that he had brought the movie at a convention. Then, my coworker asked someone to go buy his copy of the movie. By the time I got to Best Buy to buy a copy for myself, there was only one left. I was intrigued.
I am SO glad I brought this movie.
Summer Wars is about a girl, Natsuki, hiring Keiji to be her pretend fiance at what appears to be a family celebration for the 90th birthday of her grandmother. There is a large, virtual world called Oz which is pretty much runs everything since everyone is online and connected to it in some way. To not spoil too much, Oz goes haywire and cause many MANY problems.
I am quite unnerved that the review I happened upon while preparing to write this reviewed the movie a bit.negatively. the movie was STUNNING - a visual symphony. Especially Oz, but even the real world was animated very well in my opinion. The story had me captivated from beginning to end as it begin to evolve besides its preliminary simple plot. It begin to encompass more then just Keiji and showed the dire situation they were in. The movie rarely left the house or Oz, but the two settings provided enough to keep me interested the entire time.
Many think Keiji took a backseat as the main character. I feel like this is true, but also that it evolved into something far greater then him. It's also such an assumption that Keiji was the "main" character. Sure the movie followed him a bit more then others, but even the DVD boxart doesn't have Keiji front and center. It has him standing with the others and off to the side. This movie is more then just main characters and sub characters. It's about embracing unity and working together.
I can not wait to watch this film over and over - also can't wait to get mg paws on the special features. I'm so happy that I watched this movie!
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
dangerous shopping - browsing DVD section at Best Buy
Before I started my dreaded hours of retail work, I popped into Best Buy to see what DVDs or Blu Rays they got on the shelves. I'm still one of those people that enjoy hard copies of...pretty much anything. It this digital age a lot of people house to download everything that they want or need. I still love to peruse the shelves, excitedly grabbing something and rushing it off to the cash register.
There were several DVDs that I will be attempting to get in the next few weeks. I tend to only buy movies that I have already seen - as to not waste money as I have done in the past. Sometimes i'll grab something I havent seen based on reviews.
Even though my focus should be on Disney movies for my upcoming marathon, I think I need these
-All Star Superman which looks absolutely amazing.
-Summer Wars, an anime movie that seems intriguing to me
-Let Me In which is on sale for 9 bucks! I reviewed this movie and I enjoyed it so much!
So, I hope to grab those soon. I also have wanted the Ouran High School Host Club boxset since I saw the series years ago. Hopefully i'll find it somewhere cheap one day.
There were several DVDs that I will be attempting to get in the next few weeks. I tend to only buy movies that I have already seen - as to not waste money as I have done in the past. Sometimes i'll grab something I havent seen based on reviews.
Even though my focus should be on Disney movies for my upcoming marathon, I think I need these
-All Star Superman which looks absolutely amazing.
-Summer Wars, an anime movie that seems intriguing to me
-Let Me In which is on sale for 9 bucks! I reviewed this movie and I enjoyed it so much!
So, I hope to grab those soon. I also have wanted the Ouran High School Host Club boxset since I saw the series years ago. Hopefully i'll find it somewhere cheap one day.
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Monday, February 21, 2011
i Am Number Four - review with slight spoilers
With all the remakes and reimaginings and sequels and prequels, the industry is becoming saturated with original content that has existed in some form or another.
And with that, I recently saw I Am Number Four, a movie adapted from a book written by Pittacus Lore. I went into this movie blind as sometimes I do on purpose, having not read its source material.
Number Four was, in short, a well-rounded movie that could potentially appeal to all different age groups - as many young adult movies and novels tend to do.
The story is quite simple. John Smith (played by Alex Pettyfer who also stars in next months Beastly as, er, the "Beast") moves around a lot with his guardian Henri who is played by The Crazies Timothy Olyphant. Basically, hunky John is an alien. Him and nine others are being hunted down by an alien species and being murdered, in order. John is, obviously, number four.
There was not much that bothered me at all about the movie as it was highly enjoyable and kept me invested the entire time. There was something for everyone whether it be John without his shirt on (which happened very often and could have happened way more in my opinion) or the crazy action sequences that were intense. The movie had its heartwarming moments that made you Aww and the heartwrenching moments that made you cringe.
The one fault in the movie, despite how rounded it indeed was, was how apparent it seemed that the book needed to read. The movie glosses over something that were probably expanded on in book form. The key thing that bugged me was the reconciliation of John and his rival, football star Mark. Out of nowhere, at the end of the movie, Mark helps John and it was so jarring and made no sense, especially where we last saw Mark. Anything that can pull me out of a movie that I had been so into for the entire running time is certainly not good. Apparently, from what I know of the book, there was something that led to them making amends, but the movie did not even hint at that.
Despite that, the movie was pretty good and has me excited to read the book. It is definently worth checking out if you like young adult action mixed with drama but there was a certain lack of "sci fi" in it except for the glossed over alien parts. Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
And with that, I recently saw I Am Number Four, a movie adapted from a book written by Pittacus Lore. I went into this movie blind as sometimes I do on purpose, having not read its source material.
Number Four was, in short, a well-rounded movie that could potentially appeal to all different age groups - as many young adult movies and novels tend to do.
The story is quite simple. John Smith (played by Alex Pettyfer who also stars in next months Beastly as, er, the "Beast") moves around a lot with his guardian Henri who is played by The Crazies Timothy Olyphant. Basically, hunky John is an alien. Him and nine others are being hunted down by an alien species and being murdered, in order. John is, obviously, number four.
There was not much that bothered me at all about the movie as it was highly enjoyable and kept me invested the entire time. There was something for everyone whether it be John without his shirt on (which happened very often and could have happened way more in my opinion) or the crazy action sequences that were intense. The movie had its heartwarming moments that made you Aww and the heartwrenching moments that made you cringe.
The one fault in the movie, despite how rounded it indeed was, was how apparent it seemed that the book needed to read. The movie glosses over something that were probably expanded on in book form. The key thing that bugged me was the reconciliation of John and his rival, football star Mark. Out of nowhere, at the end of the movie, Mark helps John and it was so jarring and made no sense, especially where we last saw Mark. Anything that can pull me out of a movie that I had been so into for the entire running time is certainly not good. Apparently, from what I know of the book, there was something that led to them making amends, but the movie did not even hint at that.
Despite that, the movie was pretty good and has me excited to read the book. It is definently worth checking out if you like young adult action mixed with drama but there was a certain lack of "sci fi" in it except for the glossed over alien parts. Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
how important *is* that gamerscore
-so, what's you're gamerscore?
-...around 500
-*blank stare*
So, yeah, my Xbox gamerscore is "low". I find myself launching into reasons as to why its low when people ask about it. I've had my Xbox Elite for about a year. Before that I had an Xbox that I "lost" in a breakup (i got the Wii instead). I play my Wii, DS, and PSP way more then my Xbox because the games are a bit cheaper and I'm on a budget.
I just recently got PS3 and I do not feel some immense pressure to get trophies. But I feel like I need to get achievements...
This is probably starting to make games a little less fun for me. I rather like playing my other consoles and don't want to ditch playing them or buying games for then because I opt to get a 360 game. I'm sure noone else does this, however, and I'm just being overdramatic as usual.
The next games I probably get will not even be on the 360. Pokemon Black/White is for the DS and Dissidia 012 is for the PSP.
Personally, I don't think your gamerscore is an accurate account of whether you're a "good" gamer or even a dedicated one. Across the web some people say they won't play with someone that has a low gamerscore but you don't really know the backstory to why its that way...and you don't NEED to know. It's not important.
Your high score could mean a lack of a social life, but I don't judge you on that now do I ;)
-...around 500
-*blank stare*
So, yeah, my Xbox gamerscore is "low". I find myself launching into reasons as to why its low when people ask about it. I've had my Xbox Elite for about a year. Before that I had an Xbox that I "lost" in a breakup (i got the Wii instead). I play my Wii, DS, and PSP way more then my Xbox because the games are a bit cheaper and I'm on a budget.
I just recently got PS3 and I do not feel some immense pressure to get trophies. But I feel like I need to get achievements...
This is probably starting to make games a little less fun for me. I rather like playing my other consoles and don't want to ditch playing them or buying games for then because I opt to get a 360 game. I'm sure noone else does this, however, and I'm just being overdramatic as usual.
The next games I probably get will not even be on the 360. Pokemon Black/White is for the DS and Dissidia 012 is for the PSP.
Personally, I don't think your gamerscore is an accurate account of whether you're a "good" gamer or even a dedicated one. Across the web some people say they won't play with someone that has a low gamerscore but you don't really know the backstory to why its that way...and you don't NEED to know. It's not important.
Your high score could mean a lack of a social life, but I don't judge you on that now do I ;)
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Sunday, February 13, 2011
Disney troubles D:
It's going to be a bit harder to do my Disney marathon then I thought. I'm glad I started planning rather early so that I can figure it all out.
After going through our dvds, VHS and Blu Rays, I see that we own only 20 out of 50 movies. My initial plans were to buy all the movies, but that would be incredible expensive.
Second plan was to buy atleast 10 that I actually do want to own and then rent the other 20 via Netflix and my local rental store. This is still my plan although i canceled Netflix for the time being. I will restart my Netflix when I get some decent internet in my own house, but for the time being it will be remain cancelled.
I may resign up just for this Disney marathon if it becomes too difficult to get the other movies. There are some that I would absolutely love to own and then others that I - honestly - do not care to own. So I do not see owning something like Fantasia (unfortunately) but would LOVE Oliver and Company.
I'm glad we have atleast 20 out of 50 (our of 49 really since Tangeled is not out yet). I priced some at Best Buy and most of them still go for $20. I definently need to find a cheaper way of owning them that does not mean downloading them. No way would I download my beloved Disney films!
The marathon WILL HAPPEN. I am too excited about it to not go through with it.
After going through our dvds, VHS and Blu Rays, I see that we own only 20 out of 50 movies. My initial plans were to buy all the movies, but that would be incredible expensive.
Second plan was to buy atleast 10 that I actually do want to own and then rent the other 20 via Netflix and my local rental store. This is still my plan although i canceled Netflix for the time being. I will restart my Netflix when I get some decent internet in my own house, but for the time being it will be remain cancelled.
I may resign up just for this Disney marathon if it becomes too difficult to get the other movies. There are some that I would absolutely love to own and then others that I - honestly - do not care to own. So I do not see owning something like Fantasia (unfortunately) but would LOVE Oliver and Company.
I'm glad we have atleast 20 out of 50 (our of 49 really since Tangeled is not out yet). I priced some at Best Buy and most of them still go for $20. I definently need to find a cheaper way of owning them that does not mean downloading them. No way would I download my beloved Disney films!
The marathon WILL HAPPEN. I am too excited about it to not go through with it.
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Monday, February 7, 2011
50 Disney Movies in a Month
My family goes to Disney as much as we can. Last time we visited the happiest place on Earth (and, might I add, one of my personal favorite places on this planet) was in 2007. Our next scheduled trip is in April of this year. I'm excited and can't wait to return there.
I'm a Disney fan through and through. Grew up watching all the movies and love every bit of it. We still have home movies of past Disney trips that we watch, remembering the times when we were young and enjoying what the park had to offer us.
Tangled was the 50th animated movie for Disney to release (not counting any sequeals and such). I'm amazed at this feat and very happy about it. This is just a testament to one of my true fandoms. the dvd for Tangled comes out March 29th and I've came up with this rather fanatic idea, to watch all 50 movies in a month. Now I could actually start this in March and celebrate watching the 50th on the 29th when I buy Tangled. But I think I want to allow our Disney vacation in April to be the crowning star on my marathon. Or perhaps maybe do a 50 day marathon if I can time it to end the day before our vacation. I would blog about the movies every day. This just seems like its going to be so fun!
My only thing is getting all the movies. We have A LOT of Disney movies on dvd and Blu-ray, but we unfortunately do not own all 50. I am going to start buying some that we don't have in preparation for the marathon, but some may be difficult to get or have been returned to the vault meaning they are uber expensive on eBay or such.
I'll make a list of the Disney movies we own tomorrow to better prepare myself on my hunt for the movies. Some may have to be rented from various sources (Netflix, movie rental store) so I'm able to have them for the marathon.
VERY EXCITED! It's an easy marathon to have, especially if I only have to watch a movie a day and the movies average about 90 minutes or shorter. I'm ready to start this, but certainly must collect the movies first and want Disney to be the end result! Maybe I should do a video as well. A brief sentence or two about the movie I watched.
I have a lot on my plate already but would love to do this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gqg3-5srs4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I'm a Disney fan through and through. Grew up watching all the movies and love every bit of it. We still have home movies of past Disney trips that we watch, remembering the times when we were young and enjoying what the park had to offer us.
Tangled was the 50th animated movie for Disney to release (not counting any sequeals and such). I'm amazed at this feat and very happy about it. This is just a testament to one of my true fandoms. the dvd for Tangled comes out March 29th and I've came up with this rather fanatic idea, to watch all 50 movies in a month. Now I could actually start this in March and celebrate watching the 50th on the 29th when I buy Tangled. But I think I want to allow our Disney vacation in April to be the crowning star on my marathon. Or perhaps maybe do a 50 day marathon if I can time it to end the day before our vacation. I would blog about the movies every day. This just seems like its going to be so fun!
My only thing is getting all the movies. We have A LOT of Disney movies on dvd and Blu-ray, but we unfortunately do not own all 50. I am going to start buying some that we don't have in preparation for the marathon, but some may be difficult to get or have been returned to the vault meaning they are uber expensive on eBay or such.
I'll make a list of the Disney movies we own tomorrow to better prepare myself on my hunt for the movies. Some may have to be rented from various sources (Netflix, movie rental store) so I'm able to have them for the marathon.
VERY EXCITED! It's an easy marathon to have, especially if I only have to watch a movie a day and the movies average about 90 minutes or shorter. I'm ready to start this, but certainly must collect the movies first and want Disney to be the end result! Maybe I should do a video as well. A brief sentence or two about the movie I watched.
I have a lot on my plate already but would love to do this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gqg3-5srs4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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Best (and worse?) of Superbowl 2011
To say I'm not interested in the game and just watch the commercials to appease those who hate football is not truth at all. I LOVE FOOTBALL. This was a really good game - too many turn overs however. Neither of the teams are any I am a fan of so congratulations Green Bay on the win!
The halftime show was the best I've seen in awhile despite Fergie's performance. I absolutely loved Usher, but didn't like the Tron vibe of the entire thing. Where were the light cycles when you needed them?!
But this is a movie-ish blog so let's talk about the commercials and trailers that were shown.
As far as commercials, I did not really enjoy any of them. None sticks in my mind at all and I keep feeling like I missed something as people talk about the commercials. The Volkswagen Star Wars commercial was one I already saw and has been making the rounds on the internet before the Bowl so it did not wow me last night.
I watched a Pepsi commercial about a Black couple with the woman semi-abusing her significant other who then checks out a white woman at the end. The Black Woman then throws a Pepsi can that knocks the woman out. (commercial is named Love Hurts on YouTube). This one seemed to have some subliminal messages that I didn't care for.
The Chrysler commercial with Eminen caught my attention. 1. I love Chrysler. 2. I love Eminen. 3. I LOVE "LOSE YOURSELF"
I remember every trailer that was played of course. They were basically what I waited around on commercial break for. I was surprised and excited to see a Super 8 trailer that was a little more then a teaser. I love monster movies and Super 8 seems like its shaping up to be a great movie to watch.
Thor continued to not impress me while Captain America was only So-so. I want to see both, but Marvel needs to step their marketing game up to get me hype it seems. I still want a dose of Green Lantern in my summer movies moreso then the Marvel properties.
Cowboys and Aliens looked even MORE fantastic. But, what can I say, I love alien movies (except Skyline...) Pirates 4 is just So-so to me as well. I never wanted my beloved movies to get a fourth movie but since Disney wants to continue with it i'll watch it like a loyal fan.
All in all, slightly disappointed by the commercials and the trailers were only ok with Super 8 being my only surprise. The game, despite what people say, was way better then the commercials. Commercials are meant to sell and perhaps be entertaining. There was just a lot of poorly thought out ideas that did not grab my attention.
...although I do seem to desire a new car after last night...
The halftime show was the best I've seen in awhile despite Fergie's performance. I absolutely loved Usher, but didn't like the Tron vibe of the entire thing. Where were the light cycles when you needed them?!
But this is a movie-ish blog so let's talk about the commercials and trailers that were shown.
As far as commercials, I did not really enjoy any of them. None sticks in my mind at all and I keep feeling like I missed something as people talk about the commercials. The Volkswagen Star Wars commercial was one I already saw and has been making the rounds on the internet before the Bowl so it did not wow me last night.
I watched a Pepsi commercial about a Black couple with the woman semi-abusing her significant other who then checks out a white woman at the end. The Black Woman then throws a Pepsi can that knocks the woman out. (commercial is named Love Hurts on YouTube). This one seemed to have some subliminal messages that I didn't care for.
The Chrysler commercial with Eminen caught my attention. 1. I love Chrysler. 2. I love Eminen. 3. I LOVE "LOSE YOURSELF"
I remember every trailer that was played of course. They were basically what I waited around on commercial break for. I was surprised and excited to see a Super 8 trailer that was a little more then a teaser. I love monster movies and Super 8 seems like its shaping up to be a great movie to watch.
Thor continued to not impress me while Captain America was only So-so. I want to see both, but Marvel needs to step their marketing game up to get me hype it seems. I still want a dose of Green Lantern in my summer movies moreso then the Marvel properties.
Cowboys and Aliens looked even MORE fantastic. But, what can I say, I love alien movies (except Skyline...) Pirates 4 is just So-so to me as well. I never wanted my beloved movies to get a fourth movie but since Disney wants to continue with it i'll watch it like a loyal fan.
All in all, slightly disappointed by the commercials and the trailers were only ok with Super 8 being my only surprise. The game, despite what people say, was way better then the commercials. Commercials are meant to sell and perhaps be entertaining. There was just a lot of poorly thought out ideas that did not grab my attention.
...although I do seem to desire a new car after last night...
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Exorcism never looked so real: The Rite
I had the choice of seeing two movies this past weekend and chose The Rite without really researching what i was getting myself into.
Inspired by true events, The Rite follows Michael Kovac (Colin O'Donoghue), a seminary student and son of a mortician who reluctantly attends Exorcism school at The Vatican. At this school he questions everything and anything holy and is eventually sent to watch Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) perform unorthodox methods of Exorcism.
The first thing I noticed about this movie is quick ironic for the subject matter - the movie was beautiful. The scenery - from the prestine Vatican to Lucas' slum house - was just magnificent and captivating. Every camera angle caught something brilliant.
But, most importantly, was the fact that this movie scared the Crap out of me. Whether you are a true believer or not, the movie makes everything seem so real. The possessions are some of the most realistic I have ever seen in a movie. You do not get heads spinning or projectile vomiting, but that just makes it all the more powerful and real. Because of this the movie was scary regardless of your faith.
Kovac has us questioning everything right along with him and at the penultimate moment we are right there for him, believing. I did not feel it necessary the way we arrived at that moment, with Kovac experiencing hallucinations, because i felt it contradicted some of the other 'facts' the movie put out there, but the actor was so superb that i can ignore that.
I'm glad I saw The Rite despite cringing in my seat and grabbing my date's hand. It was an excellent movie.
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Top 10 Lists
A user on a thread I frequent asked what our favorite fandoms are. Everyone started naming their favorite of all time which had be feeling a tad left out - mainly because I named the series I was into right now. So I decided to make a list here of my favorite anime, favorite manga, favorite movies, and favorite video game franchises.
FAVORITE ANIME
I have been into anime since elementary school, roughly fifteen years at this point. My favorites rarely change except to possibly add a new one. I attempt to put them in order, but I am only REALLY sure of my absolute favorite anime, while the others are equally get my love.
1. Rurouni Kenshin
2. Fullmetal Alchemist (+ Brotherhood)
3. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
4. Cowboy Bebop
5. Outlaw Star
6. Ouran High School Host Club
7. Gundam 00
8. Samurai Champloo
9. Paradise Kiss
10. Soul Eater
It's really hard to just choose 10. But I'm satisfied with this list right now. I wish I could name all the anime I love since just 10 is not really accurate, but this will have to do.
FAVORITE MANGA
I do not read manga as much as I probably should so its much easier to choose my favorites.
1. Tsubasa reservoir chronicles
2. Katekyo Hitman Reborn
3. Trinity Blood
4. Naruto
5. Bleach
6. Death Note
7. Vampire Knight
8. Fushigi Yugi
9. Dear S
10. Hikaru no Go
FAVORITE MOVIES
movies are my thing. I've always loved them and always will.
1. The Prestige
2. The Dark Knight
3. Inception
4. Edward Scissorhands
5. The Fifth Element
6. Disney's Aladdin
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
8. Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End
9. Watchmen
10. Starship Troopers
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME FRANCHISES
gaming. My life. The industry I want to work in the most.
1. Mario
2. Kingdom Hearts
3. Pokemon
4. Guilty Gear
5. Assassin's Creed
6. Gears of War
7. Street Fighter
8. the Legend of Zelda
9. Blazblue
10. DDR
FAVORITE ANIME
I have been into anime since elementary school, roughly fifteen years at this point. My favorites rarely change except to possibly add a new one. I attempt to put them in order, but I am only REALLY sure of my absolute favorite anime, while the others are equally get my love.
1. Rurouni Kenshin
2. Fullmetal Alchemist (+ Brotherhood)
3. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
4. Cowboy Bebop
5. Outlaw Star
6. Ouran High School Host Club
7. Gundam 00
8. Samurai Champloo
9. Paradise Kiss
10. Soul Eater
It's really hard to just choose 10. But I'm satisfied with this list right now. I wish I could name all the anime I love since just 10 is not really accurate, but this will have to do.
FAVORITE MANGA
I do not read manga as much as I probably should so its much easier to choose my favorites.
1. Tsubasa reservoir chronicles
2. Katekyo Hitman Reborn
3. Trinity Blood
4. Naruto
5. Bleach
6. Death Note
7. Vampire Knight
8. Fushigi Yugi
9. Dear S
10. Hikaru no Go
FAVORITE MOVIES
movies are my thing. I've always loved them and always will.
1. The Prestige
2. The Dark Knight
3. Inception
4. Edward Scissorhands
5. The Fifth Element
6. Disney's Aladdin
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
8. Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End
9. Watchmen
10. Starship Troopers
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME FRANCHISES
gaming. My life. The industry I want to work in the most.
1. Mario
2. Kingdom Hearts
3. Pokemon
4. Guilty Gear
5. Assassin's Creed
6. Gears of War
7. Street Fighter
8. the Legend of Zelda
9. Blazblue
10. DDR
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it works! MAGIC!
This morning i was painting a staff for a costume (Litchi from Blazblue) and I washed the paintbrushes in the bathtub. Of course this was blatant stupidity on my part but i wanted a large rush of water to quickly wash the paint as I needed the brush for another color.
And, yep, it stained the bathtub. Horribly.
In a panic, I turned to Twitter - my favorite tool for quickly solving problems. And my followers helped immensely.
One suggested I used 90% rubbing alcohol but, alas, we only had 70% in the house. Another suggested Mr Clean Magic Eraser. I had never used this product, but decided that I would run to a local store and pick it up quickly.
For two eraser it was about $2.43 at Family Dollar. I rushed back home and begin to use it on the tub. I IMMEDIATELY saw results.
It was awesome.
It only took about 5-10 minutes to clean the tub. I am so psyched that I just needed to write about this! My only problem is that it seems I am going to need to throw this particular eraser away despite the product saying it can be used multiple times. I think I was rubbing a bit hard though.
So, yeah, this thing is amazing. Going to use it for cleaning more often.
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Freezing - Winter 2011 anime
I decided to check out two anime: Level E and Freezing. Also, still waiting for Supernatural anime.
I watched Freezing episode one last night. It seems I have some mysterious power to choose fanservice anime. And I rather like that power thank you very much.
Freezing is typical fanservice on its first layer. Lots of panty shots with clothes being ripped out women to the point where even their breasts are out (and not censored). Of course the ladies act embarrassed whenever a guy sees all their goodies.
The second layer of Freezing tries to pretend the fanservice isn't going on. The first episode sets up a very complex, serious story. The women are called Pandora and, with the help of a younger male called a Limiter, they fight giant creatures called Nova. Someone always seems to die during these fights, or so a character says while explaining everything. As characters explain every single aspect of this anime it is paired with action.
The third layer seems to be some sadistic tournament called Carnival between the Pandora girls in the school. It's...really graphic and bloody.
There are more layers in this anime and that's what makes me want to keep watching. Don't get me wrong, Freezing is pretty standard for an anime trying to have quite a bit of fanservice with a story staged, but that's one of the genres that keep me watching.
If you're not put off by excessive fanservice and violence then Freezing is worth checking out.
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