50 Books. 50 Movies. 1 Year (2014).

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ColtraineGF - 1/50 Books | 0/50 Movies​

Books
  1. [2013/01/16] Ben H. Winters - The Last Policeman (2013)
    [Summary] A detective investigates a suspicious suicide, but does it really matter when the world is going to end by asteroid in 6 months?

Movies
  1. *tumbleweed*

Manga
  1. [2013/01/20] Hirohiko Araki - Phantom Blood (1 - 47)
  2. [2013/01/20] Hirohiko Araki - Battle Tendency (48 - 114)
  3. [2013/01/20] Hirohiko Araki - Stardust Crusaders (115 - 265)
 
Three books thus far. Does anyone else feel like they ought to just grab some shitty looking books just to balance the number of two-star and five-star ratings? ;p

Anyhow:

Quiet - ★★★ - A great book for an introduction about intro-/extroversion, the differences between the two, and how the Western culture may falsely promote the other too much. However the book didn't really meet my expectations in its classification as a 'business book' and how an introvert like me is supposed to excel in my career and more. Well, a solid three-star book regardless just for the few interesting anecdotes and good research.

Breakfast of the Champions - ★★★★ - I love Vonnegut and this book wasn't an exception. His wit and style of writing is simply phenomenal and there is just an unexpected amount of depth found from his text. Perhaps a bit more all-over-the-place than his finest works hence, but still I really really liked it.

Clockwork Orange - ★★★★ - You have no idea how irritated I was with the book in the beginning. 'The fuck this is the worst shite I've ever read' was what came out of my mouth after the first 20-30 pages or so. You really get used to the 'nadsat' language later on though, and with the plot opening up a lot more, it really becomes a joy to read. I pretty much read the latter half in one sitting, and it is a classic case of progressive improvement, and one that evokes many questions in you post-reading.

But now the clock is hitting three am so fuck it I'm off to bed. Happy reading everyone! And watching films of course. : )
 
Update:

Saya - 4/50 books | 11/50 movies

Books:

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck - ★★★★★
Amazing book that deals with themes as loneliness, dreams and aspirations, and love and friendship. Very well written, somewhat sad and emotional, but also rewarding and a quick read. I read it in one sitting and I loved it. It's accessible and also quite funny at times.


Movies:

The Beach - Danny Boyle - ★½
I just recently finished reading the book, so I decided to check out the film adaptation. All in all, I think this was not very good. It's not faithful to the adaptation, and the changes it makes are for the worst. The theme and message from the book also didn't really carry over well and the characters are very different. As far as the film goes, it has a ton of problems too. Acting, script, and the story are weak elements. Best part of the film are the visuals, which are quite beautiful, especially if you love tropical islands and South-East Asia.

Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror - F.W. Murnau - ★★★½
As one of the first horror and vampire films ever made, the influence of F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent film cannot be overstated. It's quite a remarkable film, unofficially based on the story of Dracula. Dracula, however, is replaced by a vampire named Count Orlok, but overall the story hits about the same notes as the classic novel. Made in the era of German Expressionism it has a dark, brooding tone to it with some inspiring set building and lighting. Max Shreck is genuinely creepy as Orlok. One of the best qualities of the film is the eerie atmosphere it builds up throughout the film. Good pacing too. All in all, I'm glad I've finally seen this. At the beginning of the film, I couldn't read the text very well and though the main character's name was Butter instead of Hutter which made the film a bit more unintentionally hilarious.
 
Sounds fun! Recently got back into reading so I'll give it my best.

Sheik - 3/50 Books | 1/50 Movies

Books
  • George Orwell - 1984 ★★★★
  • Chuck Palahniuk - Diary ★★
  • John Green - The Fault in Our Stars ★★★½

Movies
  • The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ★★★½
 
I'm in! I'm taking several months off of work due to having surgery, so I have no excuse to not complete this.

Edit: Completed 8/18

Update: EverythingShiny - 55/50 Books, 55/50 Movies

Books:
  • Blackout by Mira Grant - ★★★★
  • The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - ★★★★ (counting this one as 2, as it's ~800 pages long)
  • The Black Echo by Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • The Black Ice by Michael Connelly - ★★★
  • Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton - ★★★ (counting this one as 2, over 900 pages long)
  • Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto - ★★★★½
  • Casino Royale by Ian Fleming - ★★
  • Blindness by Jose Saramago - ★★★½
  • The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein - ★★★★★
  • Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend - Matthew Dicks - ★★★★
  • When the Body Says No - Gabor Maté - ★★★★
  • The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire Series) - Craig Johnson - ★★★★
  • Death Without Company (Walt Longmire Series) - Craig Johnson - ★★★½
  • Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson - ★★★★ (counting this one as 2)
  • Mother Night - Kurt Vonnegut - ★★★★½
  • Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire Series) - Craig Johnson - ★★★
  • Shards of Honor - Lois Bujold McMaster - ★★★★
  • Barraryar - Lois Bujold McMaster - ★★★★
  • The Concrete Blonde - Michael Connelly - ★★★★½
  • The Last Coyote - Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • Trunk Music - Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • Angels Flight - Michael Connelly - ★★★★½
  • The Poet - Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • Blood Work - Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • A Darkness More Than Night - Michael Connelly - ★★★½
  • City of Bones - Michael Connelly - ★★★★½
  • Lost Light - Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • Mr. Mercedes - Stephen King - ★★★★
  • The Narrows - Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • The Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • The Closers - Michael Connelly - ★★★½
  • The Brass Verdict - Michael Connelly - ★★★½
  • Nine Dragons - Michael Connelly - ★★★
  • The Reversal - Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • The Fifth Witness - Michael Connelly - ★★★½
  • The Drop - Michael Connelly - ★★★
  • The Black Box - Michael Connelly - ★★★★
  • The Gods of Guilt - Michael Connelly - ★★★½
  • The Other End of the Leash - Patricia McConnell - ★★★★½
  • The Good Soldiers - David Finkel - ★★★★½
  • Preacher Vol. 1 - Garth Ennis/Steve Dillion - ★★★★
  • Preacher Vol. 2 - Garth Ennis/Steve Dillion - ★★★★
  • The Torment of Others - Val McDermid - ★★★★
  • Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer - ★★★½
  • Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn - ★★★★
  • Authority - Jeff VanderMeer - ★★★★
  • The Good Girl - Mary Kubica - ★★★½
  • The Last Policeman - Ben Winters - ★★★½
  • Pines - Blake Crouch - ★★★★
  • Acceptance - Jeff VanderMeer - ★★★★★
  • Flight of the Silvers - ★★★★½
  • Station Eleven - ★★★★½

Movies:
  • Elysium - ★★★
  • Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters - ★★
  • Equilibrium - ★★★½
  • Mud - ★★★★½
  • Dallas Buyers Club - ★★★★
  • Prisoners - ★★★
  • Magic Mike - ★★½
  • The Hunt - ★★★★
  • Thor: The Dark World - ★★★
  • Lone Star - ★★★★
  • The Lincoln Lawyer - ★★★★
  • Cave of Forgotten Dreams - ★★★½
  • Bernie - ★★★★
  • Reel Injun - ★★★★
  • Killer Joe - ★★★★½
  • The Act of Killing
  • Side Effects - ★★★
  • End of Watch - ★★★★
  • Flight - ★★★
  • The Fountain - ★★★½
  • Zombieland - ★★★★½
  • Frozen - ★★★★
  • In Fear - ★★★½
  • The Andromeda Strain - ★★★½
  • Short Term 12 - ★★★★½
  • The Station Agent - ★★★★★
  • X-Men: DOFP - ★★★★
  • Godzilla 2014 - ★★★½
  • World War Z - ★★★
  • The Host - ★★
  • Blackfish - ★★★★½
  • Masterpiece Mystery! Endeavour - ★★★★½
  • Star Trek Into Darkness - ★★★
  • Europa Report - ★★★
  • Sneakers - ★★★★
  • West of Memphis - ★★★★★
  • Robot & Frank - ★★★★
  • Headhunters - ★★★½
  • Blood Brother - ★★★½
  • Rise of Planet of the Apes - ★★★★
  • The Hunter - ★★★½
  • Before Sunrise - ★★★★
  • Before Sunset - ★★★★½
  • Annika Bengzton: Nobel's Last Will - ★★★½
  • Willow Creek - ★★★½
  • Particle Fever - ★★★★
  • The Fisher King - ★★★★½
  • Guardians of the Galaxy - ★★★★½
  • Annika Bengzton: Prime Time - ★★★½
  • Sharknado - ★½
  • Blue Ruin - ★★★½
  • Upstream Color - ★★★½
  • White Zombie - ★★½
  • Interstellar - ★★★★★
  • Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - ★★★½

TV Shows:
  • Sherlock Season 3
  • Longmire Season 1 - 2
  • House of Cards Season 2
  • Orphan Black Season 1
  • Bates Motel Season 1
  • The Returned Season 1
  • Rectify Season 1
  • Whitechapel Seasons 1 - 4
  • Deadwood Seasons 1 - 2
  • Person of Interest Seasons 1 - 3
  • Game of Thrones Seasons 3 - 4
  • Orange is the New Black Season 2
  • Fargo Season 1
  • True Blood Seasons 3-7
  • The Good Wife Seasons 1-4
 
ColtraineGF said:
ColtraineGF - 1/50 Books | 0/50 Movies​

Books
  1. [2013/01/16] Ben H. Winters - The Last Policeman (2013)
    [Summary] A detective investigates a suspicious suicide, but does it really matter when the world is going to end by asteroid in 6 months?

Movies
Click to expand...

What did you think of it? I read it last year and the detective plot was pretty forgettable but I thought the setting was amazing.

I'd definitely recommend the sequel just to see how that setting develops.
 
RedShift said:
What did you think of it? I read it last year and the detective plot was pretty forgettable but I thought the setting was amazing.

I'd definitely recommend the sequel just to see how that setting develops.
Click to expand...
I was interested in how the story turned out after
he essentially gave up
- the bait and switch set up by
both the author and the murderer
had me drawn in. I'll admit I was more intrigued by the concept though - that's what caused me to pick it up at random off the library shelf.

I'd have to spend some more time working out what I think of the setting (a bit depressing to think about for too long), but I'll def. see if I can get the sequel.
 
Ok i'm in!

Samvimes - 10/50 Books | 4/50 Movies

Books
  • Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson - Wheel of Time 10 to 14 + Prequel (sorry can't be arsed to look for all the titles, i read them in ebook format and didn't even bother) ★★★
  • Robert A. Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land ★★★★½
  • Joe Abercrombie - The Blade Itself ★★★★
  • Joe Abercrombie - Before They Are Hanged ★★★★
  • Joe Abercrombie - The Last Argument of Kings ★★★★½
  • Joe Abercrombie - Best Served Cold ★★★½

Movies
  • The World's End ★★★½
  • Wreck It Ralph ★★★
  • Dazed and Confused ★★★½
  • Capote ★★★★


Hopefully i'll remember to update this.
 

Books - 4/50
Author - Title - ★★★★★½
  1. [03/01/14] Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games - ★★★★
  2. [03/01/14] Suzanne Collins - Catching Fire - ★★★½
  3. [06/01/14] Suzanne Collins - Mockingjay - ★★½
  4. [09/01/14] Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game - ★★★½
Movies - 3/50
Title - Year of release - ★★★★★½
  1. [07/01/14] Argo - 2012 - ★★★½
  2. [10/01/14] Gravity - 2013 - ★★★★½
  3. [17/01/14] Good Will Hunting - 1997 - ★★★★
TV Series/Seasons - 1/??
Title - Year of release - ★★★★★½
  1. [12/01/14] Sherlock - Series 3 ★★★★

Gravity might be the best 'on the edge of your seat' action thriller I've ever seen. I loved Children of Men (and Prisoner of Azkaban), and I love space, so I guess it was inevitable I'd love it.

Good Will Hunting was great too, I don't know why I've never seen it before. I'm a maths student, I need to find more ways to use the line "A complicated theorem is like a symphony... it's quite erotic".

Dune is taking a long time to read, and I haven't had as much time for reading. It's pretty good though.
 
Books 2/50 Movies 11/50

Books

Stanley Kubrick: A Biography - John Baxter
Class: A Guide Through the American Status System - Peter Fussell

Movies

Wuthering Heights 2013
The Master
Le Passe 2013
There Will Be Blood
Blue Jasmine
Her
Charulata
The Wolf Of Wall Street
12 Years a Slave
Inside Llewyn Davis
Intouchables
 
Books:
Laini Taylor - Daughter of Smoke & Bone ★½ - Bah, typical YA drivel; TRULUV and the appropriate drama and angst with it. Only reason this gets half a star is because of Taylor's descriptions of Prague.

Isaac Asimov - I, Robot ★★★★ - I enjoyed this novel quite a bit and its philosophical nature. Shame my philosophy classes are rarely as interesting as some of the topics presented in the book.

Brandon Sanderson - The Way of Kings ★★★★★ - First Sanderson book I read and I LOVED it. I'm really glad I've waited this long to read it. March can't come soon enough. The last 10% of the book really kept me on edge.

Movies:
Her (No rate) - I find myself being unable to rate this movie. The movie did a wonderful job at portraying exactly what it set out to do, but these types of movies just aren't for me. The setting was lovely, but the relationship aspect of the movie, and in general, watching movies that deal with relationships/romance do not appeal to me.

Frozen ★★★½ - Typical Disney movie and an enjoyable watch. (Is it me or does the amount of singing in Disney movies keep increasing?)
 
I'm two days behind schedule but time for update 1 of 24

Maklershed - 2/50 books | 3/50 movies | 4 games

Books
1. The Black Company book 8: She is the Darkness
2. The Black Company book 9: Water Sleeps

Movies
1. The Third Man
2. Notorious
3. Lethal Weapon

Games
1. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
2. Hotline Miami
3. God of War: Ascension
4. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
 
Saphirax said:
Frozen ★★★½ - Typical Disney movie and an enjoyable watch. (Is it me or does the amount of singing in Disney movies keep increasing?)
Click to expand...

Man, Frozen didn't have enough singing in it! Last song was that terribly inappropriate troll song. Should've at least had a reprise and a villain song.
 
Guess the start of the weekend is a good time for an update.

Zoozilla - 2/50 Books | 9/50 Movies

The 400 Blows - Francois Truffaut's film is the first one of his I've seen, and part of my attempt to fill in the "French New Wave"- sized hole in my film-watching history. For the most part, I really liked it. The child actors are freakin' amazing, and I felt like Truffaut got the small rebellions of childhood just right. I admit I found some parts a little slow - the lack of "plot," so to speak, led me to crave some forward momentum - but it's definitely an insightful look into the world of a child and the adult world he finds himself in. ★★★★

The Secret World of Arrietty - A recent Ghibli film not directed by Miyazaki but by the (relatively) young Hiromasa Yonebayashi, I found Arrietty typically charming and visually beautiful. As always, Ghibli's animators fill every scene with humanity, even the small critters that to the tiny Borrowers seem as big as them. The story seemed a little simplistic, though - the film obviously goes for a small-scale approach compared to the epic breadth of something like Spirited Away, but I missed the more complex ideas about love, regeneration, and friendship that underlie Ghibli classics. Arrietty seemed more prone to cliches (especially Japanese drama tropes), which is disappointing coming from Ghibli. Still, this is an amazing animated feature compared to most of the stuff that comes out. ★★★★

Blue Velvet - The only Lynch film's I've seen thus far are Eraserhead and The Elephant Man. I knew I should expect something surreal, but not much else. Man. Blue Velvet is kind of amazing. I don't even know how to react to it, still - I just know that it'll stay with me. It's crazy how Lynch presents the surreal as unassumingly as he does the 50s white picket fence life. His even approach makes everything both natural and weird at the same time. And Dennis Hopper is amazing. I'm glad I finally saw this. ★★★★★
 
Maklershed said:
1. The Black Company book 8: She is the Darkness
2. The Black Company book 9: Water Sleeps
Click to expand...

I'm playing catch up to you, with Bleak Seasons being one of my current reads. The first few chapters were insanely frustrating until I realized what was going on. I'm all in again after that. Great series.
 
Tragicomedy said:
I'm playing catch up to you, with Bleak Seasons being one of my current reads. The first few chapters were insanely frustrating until I realized what was going on. I'm all in again after that. Great series.
Click to expand...

Agreed x 2. And I only have a few pages left to go in the final book. Almost done with the entire series. But I dont wanna be. :(
 
Maklershed said:
Agreed x 2. And I only have a few pages left to go in the final book. Almost done with the entire series. But I dont wanna be. :(
Click to expand...

Cook interview from 2005 said:
DM: What are you currently working on? Is there a future for the Black Company?

GC: Someday. I have two more, A Pitiless Rain and Port of Shadows, planned for the future, but I have a bunch of other stuff I have to do first that's under contract. It will be several years before a new Black Company novel comes out.
Click to expand...
Full interview.

Keep hope alive!
 
I just finished reading The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. This is apparently considered to be one of the best Batman comics, so I was excited to finally read it. I didn't much like it. There really isn't much of a plot, and what little there is is hard to follow and on top of that there is just way too much text (did we really need a million TV news broadcaster panels?).

Despite loving the design of Carrie Kelley's Robin, I felt that she was just shoehorned into the plot. I have no idea how or why Batman recruited her and she barely did anything of note. She was just sort of there. Superman's addition also felt very random to me, as well as
Green Arrow.

To date, Batman: Year One is the only Batman comic that I've read that I've actually enjoyed every aspect of. But to be fair, I've only read a handful of them.
 
Just read The Lies of Locke Lamora. What a refreshing read. Fantasy, without an goblin in sight, a world more based on Italy than ancient England, and a protagonist that's good at one or two things, but sucks at nearly everything else.

If you're sick of books that are trying to be the next Tolkien or the new Martin, check this out. It's refreshing, exciting and funny.

★★★★★
 
Watched 3 movies yesterday:

The Thing - Matthijs van Heijningen - ★
The Thing (2011) is the very definition of a unnecessary prequel/half-assed remake. Everything is a throwback to the original, and the movie is so reliant on gore and shock instead of suspense and tension. The only somewhat exciting moment of this film came at the very end. I believe the studio interfered with the making of the film, so perhaps one day when the director's cut is released I'll give it another chance.

Floating Weeds (Ukigusa) - Yasujirō Ozu - ★★★★★
Watching Floating Weeds for the first time was quite a revelation. This was my first Yasujirō Ozu film and I'm really looking forward to see more of his work. One of the first things I noticed while watching this is that has aged pretty well, the transfer and colors look crisp, warm and homely. I quite loved Ozu's filming technique in this, making use of only static shots and carefully composing the actors within the frame. The compositions are masterful and Ozu somehow managed to make the whole village feel so neighbourly and friendly. I wanted to live there. The unfolding of the story through various events is subtle and throughout the film Ozu keeps the drama and relationships realistic and light. I was surprised at this and very much enjoyed the development of one of the main characters in the story. Overall, I thought this was an excellent film that probably has a lot more to offer in repeat viewings.

Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock - ★★★★★
1. Alfred Hitchcock was the master of directing kiss scenes.
2. This film has aged extremely well. The cinematography is amazing and it looks absolutely gorgeous and oozes class. I have never seen opening scenes that grabbed me instantly like the ones in Vertigo when Scottie is chasing after a suspect on the roof. It's phenomenal and so well-executed. The direction by Hitchcock in the film is stylish and unmatched. The atmosphere of the film is another element I'd like to point out, because I thought it balances the "real world" with the dreamlike moments expertly and ultimately creates a surreal environment in which you don't know what's real or not. The music definitely helped with creating tension and emotion, which was great too. Great film!
 
Jintor said:
Man, Frozen didn't have enough singing in it! Last song was that terribly inappropriate troll song. Should've at least had a reprise and a villain song.
Click to expand...
Only two songs were actually memorable to me. The troll one I've completely forgotten. The one playing during the credits was nice though.
 
Updated my journal.

Lost in Translation (2003) ★★★★★

There was something ephemeral about this movie that I really enjoyed. The moments of cross-cultural awkwardness, the moments of cross-personal awkwardness, the contact between two people that was on the edge of something, but not quite over that line, but still meaningful, but... I felt like an outsider looking in for the entire movie, but I also felt like that was how I was supposed to feel. I don't know. But I liked it. A lot.
 
Query -

If I read a feature screenplay, would that count as reading a book?
(I think there might be some potential there, as screenplays are sometimes bound into book format after the cinematic release)
 
SaltyDoughnut said:
Query -

If I read a feature screenplay, would that count as reading a book?
(I think there might be some potential there, as screenplays are sometimes bound into book format after the cinematic release)
Click to expand...

That'd be nice, I read so many more screenplays than I do books.
 

Update! Internet is back and Netflix has returned to my life. Broken Age has been released and brought joy to my life. Soon two new books will be added to the list.

Movies​
  • Brave (2012, dir. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell) - ★★★ - As far as Pixar movies go this is good but not excellent. If I ever have a daugther I'll make sure she'll see it. Doesn't feel like a movie made for boys and man-children unlike the rest of Pixar's previous features.
  • All the Boy Love Mandy Lane (2006, dir. Jonathan Levine) - ★★ - Such a great title-name. For all its faults you can't help but look at this and see something of a diamond in the rough. Its basic premise is really good and at times it's really well done. In the end it's more fascinating than good.

Games​
  • Broken Age - Act 1 [PC] (2014, dev. Double Fine) - ★★★★ - Can't wait for the second act. The art-style, voice acting, music and everything else is just great. This is a product of love. The pacing was odd at first but now I long for a new point'n'click adventure.
 
 
Update: Mumei - 10/50 Books | 3/50 Movies

I finished up both of the books I was reading today (mostly yesterday); Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus and Mark P. Witton's Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomy. They were both fantabulous. Pterosaurs and The Complete Dinosaur are must-reads for fans of Mesozoic animals.

This now means I have no books currently going. I'm not sure what I'm going to start today.
 
Ashes1396 said:
My favourite film of all time. I love the music in this to bits. ;)
Click to expand...

Its certainly interesting. At first I had to check the description of the movie because it made me think I was watching a comedy. But after awhile I just got used to it and felt like it fit perfectly. And not only that, the one moment when its not used - the sewer chase - just seemed to make the tension that much more palpable due to the silence.

BTW, how great is the reveal of
Harry Lime
? I got chills during that scene.
 
Update time after two-and-a-bit weeks!

WJD - 1/50 Books | 14/50 Movies

Added Fargo (★★★★), 12 Years a Slave (★★★★★) and Wolf of Wall Street (★★★★★) to my list.

My thoughts on Fargo are pretty much the same as my initial thoughts after seeing any Coen Brothers film for the first time... It definitely needs a rewatch. I mean, I don't think I've ever really enjoyed any of their films other than NCFOM on a first watch, so it doesn't discount the movie in anyway at all. It was still wonderfully atmospheric and exceptionally shot and for that alone it sits pretty highly on my list. I just know it can go even higher once I get some time to take in the nuances.

With 12YAS and WoWS, I don't think I've ever seen two movies back to back of such exceptional quality, and both for entirely different reasons. 12YAS is just an absolutely harrowing, expertly crafted journey and WoWS is an exciting cocktail of everything that has ever made Scorsese great. Leo too for that matter. Just two fantastic films by directors at the absolute top of their game. Both must watches.

I really need to read a book that isn't about Law.
 
athevolunteer - 3/50 Books | 6/50 Movies

Read Divergent by Veronica Roth. It is a very fast read mostly because the chapters are short and the text on the pages is pretty big. The similarities to The Hunger Games are there but I feel like this series created a much more interesting world. The basic premise is that the city of Chicago, after some apocolypse, has split it self into factions: Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity, and Candor, each displaying the character trait they are named after This idea felt very interesting, more so than The Hunger Games, for me at least, and characters who don't fit into one city are called Divergent. It feels like the author had a good idea but didn't know where to take it because the ending was a bit disappoint for me, although, many people loved it, it just didn't work for me. I will definitely read the second book in the series because I'm curious to see where the author takes it, but I'm afraid it will just become another teen romance novel. I'm hopeful though.

I also saw Spike Jonze's Her which many others in this thread saw the past few weeks. I agree with what most people have been saying, that it is a remarkable film that you shouldn't miss out on. Definetly check it out if you haven't added it to your list for this year yet.
 
WanderingWind said:
Just read The Lies of Locke Lamora. What a refreshing read. Fantasy, without an goblin in sight, a world more based on Italy than ancient England, and a protagonist that's good at one or two things, but sucks at nearly everything else.

If you're sick of books that are trying to be the next Tolkien or the new Martin, check this out. It's refreshing, exciting and funny.

★★★★★
Click to expand...

I've had the first 2 books on my to read shelf for months now.
 
Watched a number of movies

The Great Gatsby (Redford)
I had never read the book or seen the movie. After watching it, it seems like a later version of Vanity Fair. It's a story with no appealing characters and i can't imagine ever wanting to see it again. I have seen the moral of the story acted out a bit in real life, though, so it may have value as a life lesson.

Xmen First Class
Apparently Kevin Bacon's character was changed a bit from the comics, and existing fans weren't thrilled? As a non comic reader, i found the character to be ineffective at using his own skills, and having no foresight. It makes him an entirely forgettable villain. But overall i liked the movie.

Downton Abbey S4E1
It is very hard that this show keeps all the hateable characters and removes the likeable ones so consistently. This episode removes one horrible character only to replace with a clone. Mom/Dad continue to be idiots about human beings. I guess i watch this for the bitterness and pointless drama.


Pacific Rim
Acceptable popcorn flick. Rather too much of monsters going "RAWR" and robot drivers wasting time pounding their fists together. Glad the main character is really very effective at his job, i like competence.

The Navigator (1924, Buster Keaton)
I don't know whether i've ever watched a silent film all the way through before. I'm using this challenge to encourage me to watch older films and remind myself how the technology has improved. I was surprised to see dozens of black actors in a film from 1924, but naturally unsurprised that they were all cast as cannibalistic savages. The increase of frame rates really affected the style of filmmaking.
 
Glaurungr - 9/50 Books | 14/50 Movies​

New update!

Books:


Films:

 
Glaurungr said:
Glaurungr - 9/50 Books | 14/50 Movies​

New update!

Books:


Films:

Click to expand...

You have never seen The Lion King before this year??
 
Update.

Verdre - 0/50 Books | 13/50 Movies

Revolutionary Road - ★★★ - I thought the acting was very good and it was nice to see Michael Shannon, but I can't really say I was a great fan of the movie itself.

Body Snatchers (1993) - ★½ - The only thing notable about this one is that Meg Tilly is unrecognizable.

Край/The Edge - ★★★½ - Broken Russian war hero exiled to a Soviet labor camp in Siberia finds himself through awesome trains and punching people. Or something like that. Sergey Garmash is barely in the movie, but he steals every scene that he's in. Some of this went over my head, maybe you need a greater knowledge of Russian history or I'm just dense as it didn't seem to be a terribly subtle movie at times.
 
athevolunteer said:
Read Divergent by Veronica Roth

It feels like the author had a good idea but didn't know where to take it because the ending was a bit disappoint for me, although, many people loved it, it just didn't work for me. I will definitely read the second book in the series because I'm curious to see where the author takes it, but I'm afraid it will just become another teen romance novel. I'm hopeful though
Click to expand...

Prepare for crushing disappointment, particularly part three.
 
athevolunteer said:
athevolunteer - 3/50 Books | 6/50 Movies

Read Divergent by Veronica Roth. It is a very fast read mostly because the chapters are short and the text on the pages is pretty big. The similarities to The Hunger Games are there but I feel like this series created a much more interesting world. The basic premise is that the city of Chicago, after some apocolypse, has split it self into factions: Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity, and Candor, each displaying the character trait they are named after This idea felt very interesting, more so than The Hunger Games, for me at least, and characters who don't fit into one city are called Divergent. It feels like the author had a good idea but didn't know where to take it because the ending was a bit disappoint for me, although, many people loved it, it just didn't work for me. I will definitely read the second book in the series because I'm curious to see where the author takes it, but I'm afraid it will just become another teen romance novel. I'm hopeful though.
.
Click to expand...

She wrote it in a month. What'd you expect?
 
campfireweekend - 7/50 Books | 9/50 Movies

I just finished The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov and probably the only thing I'd fault it for Is that the characters weren't fleshed out very well.

The characters were doing interesting things of course, so in that facet I'd say its similar to Foundation, its just that by focusing on singular characters, as opposed to the vast ensembles of the Foundation series, the lack of characterization was more pronounced.

I absolutely loved how it connected to his later works, and the story was incredibly compelling with a few great twists.

Wholeheartedly recommended, though really only after you've already read Foundation.
 
Strobli - 1/50 books | 6/50 movies

I've watched 3 new movies since I last posted, the first being the final episode of Sherlock for the season, His Last Vow. The first two episodes of the season had me worried but boy, did this one deliver. Instead of being a fan service-y mess, the last episode of the year came back to what makes Sherlock so good. It was a dark, fast-paced ride through a twisting and turning case. The villain was fantastic and the
bullet wound sequence was excellent
. Very excited for the new season
in a few years...
★★★★★

I also watched Jumanji. Not really much to say. It was entertaining, but nothing special. The little kid who played Allan was awful but the other two child actors were decent enough. A good time-kill I suppose. ★★★

Lastly, I saw 12 Years a Slave today. What a powerful film. It provides an unapologetic look at the kidnapping of a free black man to sell him into slavery. While the subject matter is very familiar, this one stands out from the crowd. The atmosphere is perfect and the performances of Fassbender and Ejiofor as excellent. The cinematography is beautiful. It traps you in and never lets you go. Definitely one of the best movies from 2013. ★★★★★
 

Books

Raymond Chandler - Trouble is My Buisness (1988) - ★★★ - After reading The Big Sleep a couple of years ago and enjoying it, I thought I would give this a shot. Only the last story, Red Wind, did anything for me. The other three were just too similar to one another.

Tina Fey - Bossypants (2011) - ★★★★ - I wasn't even planning on reading this. I was just going through my Kindle looking at books I don't remember buying, when I accidentally clicked on it. The next thing I knew it was almost 3 A.M. and I was on the last page.

Currently Reading: Ernest Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises

Movies

Edgar Wright - The World's End (2013) ★★★★ - The wait for Ant-Man is killing me.

Joel and Ethan Coen - A Serious Man (2009) ★★★★ - Much like Fargo, the more I think about it, the more I like this movie. Every scene and every piece of dialogue served a purpose, and after mulling it over, the ending is pretty much perfect.

Joel and Ethan Coen - O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - ★★★ - I wish John Goodman was in everything.

Leslie H. Martinson - Batman (1966) ★★★ - The middle dragged a bit, but it was nice watching a fun and goofy Batman movie.
 
athevolunteer said:
That's not surprising but still disappointing. Might wait a while to read the others :\

That's insane, I wasn't aware of that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was all in on that series last year after I heard it described as a "better Hunger Games." It all goes downhill after the first book, sadly.

SaltyDoughnut said:
Query - If I read a feature screenplay, would that count as reading a book?
(I think there might be some potential there, as screenplays are sometimes bound into book format after the cinematic release)
Click to expand...
WJD said:
That'd be nice, I read so many more screenplays than I do books.
Click to expand...
killertofu said:
I was wondering this as well
Click to expand...

Missed these. I say yes, given my understanding that most screenplays are ~100 pages, give or take.

----

Edit: Added new participants. Marking this as a "current as of" post.
 
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