Monthly Archives: January 2014

Stuff not from my 2013 goals

Sometimes it feels like I did more stuff outside of my goals list than inside.  It also feels like I might copy and paste text from other blog entries as a introduction, almost verbatim, so as not to have to come up with something new, fresh, hip, vapid.  Here is a reckoning of part of that, with some commentary as I deem a synonym for appropriate.  This list also doesn’t include movies from my 2013 favorites list.

Books

  • The Hunger Games trilogy

TV

Hadn’t seen before:

  • Arrested Development (season 4)
  • Big Love (seasons 1-5)
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine (the first part of season 1)
  • Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (the first part of season 1)
  • Star Trek (seasons 1-3)
  • Tiny Toon Adventures (seasons 1-3)

I’m not sure why I initially decided to watch Big Love, but I enjoyed watching it for the drama, and it affirmed my desire never ever to practice polygamy.

I also began what I assume will be a very long journey of watching all of the Star Trek TV series and films.  In 2013 I got through the original series and its successive films.  Some of the episodes were really good, some were really awful, and most were just okay, I guess.  In 2014 I plan to watch the The Next Generation TV series and its successive films.  I want to try and watch Deep Space Nine and Voyager, too, and intersperse the TNG films chronologically, but we’ll see if that actually happens or if the other TV series get pushed to 2015.

A big fan of Arrested Development, I eagerly awaited the new season 4.  It mostly did not disappoint, though the format was very different from the original seasons of some years past.  I do hope that Netflix produces a fifth season, and possibly more.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are the two new shows this season that I added to my watch-as-they-are-airing list (well, after they air, but during the season, anyway).  So far I’ve enjoyed them both.

Had seen before:

  • Angel (seasons 1-5)
  • Arrested Development (seasons 1-3)
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas
  • It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown

I wasn’t going to watch Angel along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer this year, but I did anyway.  When I first watched Buffy and Angel in 2010, it was alone as I slept on the couch while my wife was pregnant.  This time we watched them together, Buffy on DVD from the set I bought a couple of years ago, and Angel on Netflix.

Movies

Hadn’t seen before:

  • Atlantis: Milo’s Return
  • Argo
  • Beautiful Creatures
  • The Black Cauldron
  • Bolt
  • Brother Bear
  • Brother Bear 2
  • Done the Impossible
  • Enchanted
  • Hercules
  • The Fox and the Hound
  • The Fox and the Hound 2
  • Friends With Benefits
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
  • LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite
  • The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning
  • The Princess Diaries
  • The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
  • Super
  • Twilight
  • The Twilight Saga: New Moon
  • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
  • The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One
  • The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two

I joined the Disney Movie Club twice in 2013 to update and expand my Disney movie collection.  Due to Disney’s practice of packaging some of their “lesser” movies together with their direct-to-video sequels, I saw a few for the first time.  Some were absolutely terrible (Atlantis 2, Hunchback 2) and some were more tolerable (The Little Mermaid 3).  I also saw some Disney movies from the Animated Classics line for the first time, including The Black Cauldron, Hercules, The Fox and the Hound, and Bolt.  I thought I would like Hercules more than I did, but it was all right, I guess.  Bolt wasn’t too bad, but the other two I could take or leave.

Argo won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Picture, and I liked it well enough.  The LEGO Batman movie was lots of fun, expanding on the story of the second LEGO Batman video game.  Super was weird and quirky (and a bit too violent for me), but a good one-timer, I think.  Nathan Fillion was great as always.

I watched Twilight because I love my wife.  They were very silly, and there’s definitely a moment when Edward starts to sparkle in the sun and the score is quite reminiscent of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

Had seen before:

  • About a Boy
  • Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
  • Almost Heroes
  • Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
  • The Aristocats
  • Batman
  • Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1
  • 007: Skyfall
  • Elf
  • The Emperor’s New Groove
  • Ernest Goes to Camp
  • Ernest Goes to Jail
  • Ernest Saves Christmas
  • Ernest Scared Stupid
  • The Fugitive
  • Galaxy Quest
  • Gone in 60 Seconds
  • The Great Muppet Caper
  • Home Alone
  • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
  • Hot Rod
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  • Inception
  • The Island
  • Kronk’s New Groove
  • Lilo & Stitch
  • Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch
  • The Lion King
  • The Little Mermaid
  • Love Actually
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Meet the Robinsons
  • Mulan
  • The Muppet Christmas Carol
  • My Neighbor Totoro
  • Return to Never Land
  • Robin Hood
  • Shrek
  • Tarzan
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
  • Winnie the Pooh

Many of the films in the above list were due to purchases upgrading my DVDs to Blu-ray, from the Disney Movie Club, Black Friday sales, or otherwise.

Video Games

Replays:

  • New Super Mario Bros. Wii
  • Super Mario Bros. 3
  • Super Mario World

It seems that New Super Mario Bros. Wii is becoming at least an annual play in our house.  With the recent purchase of a Wii U, New Super Mario Bros. U and a few others may also join it.

2013 Goals Update

So how did I do on my goals for 2013?

Books to Read

I got through the remainder of The Wheel of Time books, Ender’s Game, and about two-thirds of The Hobbit with my kids.  The rest are pushed to 2014, and will be joined by some others.

TV Seasons to Watch

Haven’t seen before:

I watched the rest of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but didn’t get to The Super Hero Squad Show, which will probably be on my 2014 list.

Have seen before, but haven’t yet watched my DVDs:

2/5.  I didn’t get to The Closer season 7–the complete series will be on my 2014 list, nor did I get to Transformers, which I also plan to watch in 2014.  I got rid of my The Big Bang Theory sets, so they’re gone by default.  I did watch Buffy though (and Angel again), and I think that’s what really counts.

Currently airing/will air this year:

Watched them all.

Have seen before, to rewatch on DVD/Netflix:

Let’s go with 3.33 out of 8.  I watched Batman: The Animated Series, Superman, The Animated Series, and the Batman: TAS movies.  I also watched one volume of Animaniacs, pushing the rest of the list to 2014 (to be joined by some others, I think).

Movies to Watch

From last year [2012]:

Got them all.

From previous years, already seen or not (thanks, Netflix):

I watched the animated Marvel films from the list, but didn’t get to Eternal Sunshine or Good Will Hunting, and now I think they’re gone from Netflix streaming.

New this year [2013]:

13/14, only missing The Hobbit.

Movies/TV I [try to] watch at least once a year:

Got them all.

Unwatched DVDs/Blu-rays:

Got them all.

DVDs/Blu-rays I haven’t watched since 2010 or before:

48/65, 18% better than last year’s 41/74.  The rest will get rolled to 2014 and joined by several others, becoming since 2011 or before.

Video Games to Play

2/2.

Other

1/2.  Still no Facebook, still no poetism commentaries.

My favorite (and not) movies of 2013

Following: my favorite movies of 2013 (and 2012, where I didn’t catch them until 2013), in the order that I am typing them up in.  I haven’t seen the second Hobbit film yet, and am not surprised.

– My favorites –

Frozen

This was the annual daddy-daughter princess movie (plus we brought along Mom and one of the boys).  I think Disney has really been on a roll the last couple of years with their animated classics line, with the likes of The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, and now Frozen.  We’re all waiting for it to come to Blu-ray so we can buy it and watch it again.

Monsters University

Pixar, you can do little wrong.  This was just as enjoyable, though not quite as touching, as Monsters, Inc.  When Pixar has it, they really have it.

Much Ado About Nothing

Joss Whedon, you can do very little wrong.  This is easily my favorite adaptation, bar none.  (I have neither read the original play, that I can recall, nor have I seen any other adaptation.)  It took me maybe a half an hour to figure out what was going on and to process the language, but what a treat I found watching this to be.  The cast was spectacular (and having just recently rewatched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel it was a joy to see Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker together again).  I can only imagine the kind of fun Nathan Fillion must have been having with his role.

Star Trek Into Darkness

I don’t care what anyone says, I like the new Star Trek reboots.  I also watched the entire run of the original TV series on Netflix this fall, along with the six original series films, so I do have a reference point for comparison.  I think the new cast is fantastic (and in some cases better than the original actors); the stories a little silly at times, but fun; and exciting to watch.  The two newest films have entered my annual watch list.

Wreck-It Ralph

This is from 2012, but I didn’t see it until I bought it on Blu-ray in March.  It was very enjoyable, with a good voice cast and much nostalgia-inducement.

– Other movies I enjoyed –

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

I had higher hopes for Ron Burgundy’s second outing, and it would have been among my favorites if the second half had been as funny as the first.  It started off wonderfully but began to drag in the middle and had a couple of sub-plots that I think it could have done with out.  I rewatched the original film a few days later and was relieved to find that my taste for it had not, in fact, been mis-remembered.

Despicable Me 2

This was one we took the family to in the theater, and it was a fun follow-up.

From Up on Poppy Hill

I think this may technically be from 2011, but I first saw it when it came to Blu-ray a few months ago.  It was a charming, heart-warming story, as I’ve come to expect from Studio Ghibli.

The Heat

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this (and maybe a little ashamed?).  I found myself laughing consistently, and that seems to me a good thing.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

From 2012.  I wanted to like this so much more, but at least it didn’t stomp on my heart.  The Lord of the Rings films are among my very favorite films ever, warts and deviations from the books and all.  The Hobbit just didn’t quite do it for me, though it did grow on me with a second viewing on Blu-ray, and again with the extended edition when I watched it just recently.  I suspect that by the end of this new trilogy I shall enjoy it for what it is, any maybe by the end it will be dearer to me.

The Hunger Games

Also from (early) 2012.  I finally read The Hunger Games books a couple of months ago and liked them well enough.  I picked up the first movie from a Black Friday sale and enjoyed it well enough.

Iron Man 3

This was my second favorite of the Iron Man films.  Some silliness, some snark, some fun action sequences.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

I think this was the third of 2013’s direct-to-DVD DC films, and my favorite of the three.  It was rather more graphic than I expected, though.

Looper

I like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and I like Bruce Willis.  That’s enough for me.

Thor: The Dark World

I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the first Thor film was, and this one was a decent enough follow-up for me.

Warm Bodies

I’m not really a zombie movie fan, and neither is my wife, but the trailer for this looked interesting, so we watched it and found it nice and sweet.  Nicholas Hoult is always fun to watch–especially as a kid in About a Boy, which I just watched again recently.

The Way Way Back

I didn’t know Steve Carell could play such a jerk so well.  And Sam Rockwell was fantastic in this, a nice little coming-of-age story.  I seem to like those when they’re done well.

The Wolverine

Better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I think what kept this from being among my favorites of the year was the just-a-little-too-over-the-top finale.  I liked the more brooding and grounded approach to the character (I guess if he can be more brooding, that is).

– Movies that made me say “meh” –

The Bourne Legacy

I love the Matt Damon Bourne films, and (try to) watch them annually.  This one, while I enjoyed the cast and the action was serviceable, was just meh.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

I remember reading that this film was supposed to come out in the summer of 2012, and was delayed 8 months or so for a 3D conversion.  That sounded like bad news to me.  Indeed, the only thing I enjoyed was the side-of-the-mountains ninja fight, which was really pretty cool to watch.  The rest, meh.

A Good Day to Die Hard

I’ve more-or-less enjoyed the previous Die Hard films.  They’re great snarky, over-the-top action fun, but this was just a big pile of meh (and it didn’t feel like a Die Hard film).

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

I had hopes, given the cast.  Steve Carell? Check.  Steve Buscemi? Check.  Jim Carrey? Check.  Fun? Meh.

Oblivion

This was a nice movie to look at, with a cool premise, and really, who doesn’t like anything Morgan Freeman does?  I also enjoy Tom Cruise as an actor.  Not anything I care to see again, though.

Planes

About as good as Cars for me, which means meh.

R.I.P.D.

At the end of this movie, I think I actually said, “Meh,” out loud.

World War Z

For a zombie movie, which genre does not appeal to me, I guess this was okay.  Good cast, cool ideas.

– Movies that I really hoped would be good, but stomped on my heart so very, very much –

Ender’s Game

Why does everyone I know that also saw this movie like it?  Am I the only sane person left alive?  Ender’s Game is my favorite book ever.  EVER.  The film trailer left me cold, but I was still cautiously optimistic.  MY HEART WILL NEVER RECOVER.

I can accept that changes need to be made for a film adaptation.  I can accept even major deviations from the source material (see e.g. The Lord of the Rings).  Everything about this movie felt hollow to me.  There were so many things that seemed like they were inserted just so the filmmakers could say, “Look, we put in stuff from the book!”  Like pretty much every character except Graff and Ender.  Like Bonzo saying, “neh” one time.  Like some kid saying, “Mama Petra, she talking!”  (They didn’t even finish the joke!)  Even the Battleroom looked stupid.  Why were the walls transparent?  How were we supposed to tell what was going on against that kind of background?  Why did they have that awful spinning shot of Ender?  Why did he open his eyes at the end?  It was stupid in Avatar, too.

Ender’s Game is probably the most disappointing movie I’ve ever seen, because I can’t help but think of what could have been.  At least I still have my book.

Man of Steel

From the moment Johnathan Kent said, “Maybe,” I knew things were heading for a bad place.  I was so, so hopeful that Man of Steel would be good, or even good enough, and my heart was so, so broken.

– 2013 movies I haven’t seen yet that I hope are good, or at least not terrible –

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Media Update September – December 2013

September

Books

  • The Hunger Games

Movies

  • Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
  • The Lorax
  • Ernest Goes to Jail
  • Ernest Rides Again
  • From Up on Poppy Hill
  • The Fugitive
  • G.I. Joe: Retaliation
  • Mary Poppins
  • Oblivion
  • The Sword in the Stone

TV

  • Angel – 14 episodes
  • Batman: The Animated Series: 23 episodes
  • The Big Bang Theory – 1 episode
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 2 episodes
  • Castle – 1 episode
  • Dexter – 3 episodes
  • Firefly – 8 episodes
  • Major Crimes – 11 episodes
  • Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – 1 episode
  • The Mentalist – 1 episode
  • Star Trek – 30 episodes
  • Tiny Toon Adventures – 22 episodes

October

Books

  • Catching Fire
  • Mockingjay

Movies

  • The Avengers
  • Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero
  • The Bourne Identity
  • The Bourne Supremacy
  • The Bourne Ultimatum
  • Done the Impossible
  • Ernest in the Army
  • Ernest Scared Stupid
  • Iron Man
  • Iron Man 2
  • Iron Man 3
  • (500) Days of Summer
  • Groundhog Day
  • The Little Mermaid
  • The Man Who Knew Too Little
  • The Matrix
  • The Matrix Reloaded
  • The Matrix Revolutions
  • Much Ado About Nothing
  • Return to Never Land
  • Serenity
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • Superman
  • Superman II
  • Superman III
  • Superman Returns
  • What About Bob?
  • World War Z

TV

  • Batman: The Animated Series – 20 episodes
  • The Big Bang Theory – 5 episodes
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 4 episodes
  • Castle – 4 episodes
  • Firefly – 6 episodes
  • Homeland – 5 episodes
  • Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – 4 episodes
  • The Mentalist – 4 episodes
  • Star Trek – 5 episodes
  • Superman Famous Studios Shorts – 8 shorts
  • Superman Fleischer Shorts – 9 shorts
  • Tiny Toon Adventures – 20 episodes

November

Movies

  • Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
  • Almost Heroes
  • Batman Begins
  • Clear and Present Danger
  • The Dark Knight
  • The Dark Knight Rises
  • Ender’s Game
  • Ernest Goes to Camp
  • The Heat
  • Inception
  • The Invincible Iron Man
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  • Monsters, Inc.
  • Monsters University
  • Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
  • Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
  • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
  • Star Trek
  • Star Trek Into Darkness
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Thor: Tales of Asgard
  • Thor: The Dark World
  • Throw Momma From the Train
  • Transporter 2
  • UHF

TV

  • The Big Bang Theory – 3 episodes
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 4 episodes
  • Castle – 3 episodes
  • Homeland – 4 episodes
  • Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – 1 episode
  • The Mentalist – 3 episodes
  • Star Trek – 45 episodes
  • Tiny Toon Adventures – 40 episodes

Video Games

  • New Super Mario Bros. Wii
  • Super Mario Bros. 3
  • Super Mario World

December

Movies

  • About a Boy
  • Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
  • Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
  • Batman
  • Elf
  • Ernest Saves Christmas
  • Frozen
  • Galaxy Quest
  • Ghostbusters
  • Gone in 60 Seconds
  • The Great Muppet Caper
  • The Hobbit
  • The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
  • Home Alone
  • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
  • Hot Rod
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas
  • The Hunger Games
  • The Island
  • Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
  • LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite
  • Liar Liar
  • The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning
  • Live Free or Die Hard
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  • Love Actually
  • The Muppet Christmas Carol
  • Muppet Treasure Island
  • R.I.P.D.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time
  • The Way Way Back
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • The Wolverine

TV

  • Batman: The Animated Series – 24 episodes
  • The Big Bang Theory – 2 episodes
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 1 episode
  • Castle – 2 episodes
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas
  • Homeland – 3 episodes
  • It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown
  • Justice League – 1 episode
  • Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – 3 episodes
  • Major Crimes – 6 episodes
  • The Mentalist – 2 episodes
  • Superman: The Animated Series – 48 episodes