- Seasons 3 and 4 of Castle
- Series 2 of The Hour
- Fringe (season 5)
- The Walking Dead (season 3)
- The West Wing (season 1)
- The West Wing (season 2)
- Castle (season 5)
- Doctor Who (series 7.2)
- Game of Thrones (season 3)
- Orphan Black (series 1)
- Hannibal (season 1)
- The West Wing (season 3)
- Warehouse 13 (season 4)
- The West Wing (season 4)
- Gravity Falls (season 1)
- Under The Dome (season 1)
- The West Wing (season 5)
- Broadchurch (series 1)
- Luther (series 3)
- Breaking Bad (season 5)
- Avatar: The Legend of Korra - Spirits (Book/Season 2)
Something To Write Home About
Reviews, commentary, travel, photos, and the like.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
2013 in TV
What a year for TV ... or marathoning, especially when it came to Castle and The West Wing (which I'm still in the middle of. Genre TV (sci-fi overall) has certainly been making a comeback, as has BBC America programming other than Doctor Who. What's been on your DVR queue this year, and what are you looking forward to next year TV-wise (apart from the obvious, like the final short season of Warehouse 13, the return of Hannibal, and season 4 of Game of Thrones)?
2013 in Novels
NEW RECORD! When I set my Goodreads goal of 115 books, I was a little unsure if I'd meet the goal, what with daily job searching and eventual job/internship-related things, but thanks to keeping up with several (Okay, more than several) comic arcs, I was able to meet my goal. Next year, though, I might cut back a bit to, say, 100? How'd you do this year with your reading goal, if you had one? Did you pick anything worth recommending off the library/brick-and-mortar shelves? (P.S. The stars indicate definite recommendations, if you were wondering.)
- The Hangman’s Daughter - Oliver Potzsch *
- Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion
- The Underwater Welder - Jeff Lemire
- Aliens: Inhuman Condition - John Layman
- Who Could That Be At This Hour? - Lemony Snicket
- The Unwritten: Inside Man (Vol. 2) - Mike Carey
- The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling *
- The Unwritten: Dead Man’s Knock (Vol. 3) - Mike Carey
- The Unwritten: The Leviathan (Vol. 4) - Mike Carey
- Get Jiro! - Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose
- iZombie: Dead To The World (Vol. 1) - Chris Roberson
- Kick-Ass - Mark Millar
- Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon (Vol. 1) - Matt Fraction *
- Lot 13 - Steve Niles
- The Superior Spider-Man: My Own Worst Enemy (Vol. 1) - Dan Slott
- The Dark Monk - Oliver Potzsch *
- Fatale: Death Chases Me (Vol. 1) - Ed Brubaker *
- RIPD: City of the Damned - Patrick Thorpe
- The Manhattan Projects: Above Beyond (Vol. 2) - Jonathan Hickman *
- Tinker Tailor Solider Spy - John Le Carré
- Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
- Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time Vol. 1 - Scott Tipton
- Deadpool: Dead Presidents (Vol. 1) - Brian Posehn *
- Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search, Part 1 - Gene Yung
- Morning Glories: Truants (Vol. 4) - Nick Spencer
- Cold Days (Dresden Files, Book 14) - Jim Butcher
- Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King
- The Madness Underneath (Shades of London, Book 2) - Maureen Johnson
- Saga, Vol. 2 - Brian K. Vaughan *
- Star Trek: Countdown To Darkness - Mike Johnson
- R.I.P.D. - Peter Lenkov
- The Sandman: Endless Nights - Neil Gaiman
- Witch Doctor: Mal Practice (Vol. 2) - Brandon Seifert
- Doctor Who Series 3 Vol. 2 - Andy Diggle
- Iron Man: Believe (Marvel Now, Vol. 1) - Kieron Gillen
- Colder - Paul Tobin
- The Beggar King - Oliver Potzsch *
- Snapshot - Andy Diggle
- Great Pacific: Trashed (Vol. 1) - Joe Harris
- Fatale: The Devil’s Business (Vol. 2) - Ed Brubaker
- Fatale: West of Hell (Vol. 3) - Ed Brubaker
- NOS4A2 - Joe Hill *
- Pride of Baghdad - Brian K. Vaughan
- Gotham Central: In The Line of Duty (Vol. 1) - Ed Brubaker
- The Spectacular Now - Tim Tharp
- The Last Girlfriend on Earth - Simon Rich
- Young Avengers: Style & Substance (Vol. 1) - Kieron Gillen *
- The Superior Spider-Man: A Troubled Mind (Vol. 2) - Dan Slott
- Unnatural Creatures - Neil Gaiman
- The Darwin Awards: Countdown to Extinction - Wendy Northcutt
- Iron Man: The Secret Origin of Tony Stark (Vol. 2) - Kieron Gillen
- Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero - Travis Beacham
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Avengers (Vol. 1) - Brian Michael Bendis
- We Can Fix It - Jess Fink
- Hawkeye: Little Hits (Vol. 2) - Matt Fraction *
- Deadpool: Soul Hunter (Vol. 2) - Brian Posehn
- Secret Avengers: Reverie (Marvel Now, Vol. 1) - Nick Spencer *
- The New Ghostbusters (Vol. 1) - Erik Burnham *
- Nova: Origin (Vol. 1) - Jeph Loeb
- Revival: Live Like You Mean It (Vol. 2) - Tim Seeley
- Adulting - Kelly Williams Brown *
- Stiff - Mary Roach *
- Chew: Bad Apples (Vol. 7) - John Layman *
- Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search Part Two - Gene Yang
- The Shambling Guide to New York City - Mur Lafferty
- Wolverine: Hunting Season (Vol. 1) - Paul Cornell
- Joyland - Stephen King
- Doctor Who Series 3 Volume 3 - Andy Diggle
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Legends (Vol. 1) - Dan Abnett + Andy Lanning
- Guardians of the Galaxy: War of Kings Book 1 (Vol. 2) - “
- Guardians of the Galaxy: War of Kings Book 2 (Vol. 3) - “
- The Unwritten: On To Genesis (Vol. 5) - Mike Carey
- Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time Volume 2 - Scott and David Tipton
- The Walking Dead: The Best Defense (Vol. 5) - Robert Kirkman
- The Walking Dead: This Sorrowful Life (Vol. 6) - “
- The Walking Dead: The Calm Before (Vol. 7) - “
- The Walking Dead: Made To Suffer (Vol. 8) - “
- The Walking Dead: Here We Remain (Vol. 9) - “
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman *
- The Poisoned Pilgrim - Oliver Potzsch *
- Young Avengers: Alternative Cultures (Vol. 2) - Kieron Gillen *
- The Middleman: Volume 1 - Javier Grillo-Marxuach
- The Middleman: The Second Volume Inevitability - “
- The Middleman: The Third Volume Inescapability - “
- The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse - “
- The New Deadwardians - Dan Abnett
- Hoax Hunters - Michael Moreci
- The Unwritten: Tommy Taylor and the War of Words (Vol. 6) - Mike Carey
- The Unwritten: The Wound (Vol. 7) - “
- The Walking Dead: What We Become (Vol. 10) - Robert Kirkman
- The Walking Dead: Fear The Hunters (Vol. 11) - “
- The Walking Dead: Life Among Them (Vol. 12) - “
- Mara - Brian Wood *
- The Manhattan Projects: Building (Vol. 3) - Jonathan Hickman *
- Doctor Sleep - Stephen King
- Bonk - Mary Roach *
- Iron Man: The Secret Origin of Tony Stark, Book 2 (Vol. 3) - Kieron Gillen
- Deadpool Kills Deadpool - Cullen Bunn
- Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search Part 3 - Gene Luen Yang
- The Walking Dead: Too Far Gone (Vol. 13) - Robert Kirkman
- The Walking Dead: No Way Out (Vol. 14) - “
- Avengers AI: Human After All (Vol. 1) - Sam Humphries
- Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time Vol. 3 - Scott and David Tipton
- Secret Avengers: Iliad (Vol. 2) - Nick Spencer *
- When Did You See Her Last? (ATWQ #2) - Lemony Snicket *
- Thanos Rising - Jason Aaron
- Doctor Who: Dead Man’s Hand (Vol. 4) - Tony Lee
- Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight (Vol. 1) - Kelly Sue DeConnick *
- Captain Marvel: Down (Vol. 2) - “ *
- Avengers: The Enemy Within - “ *
- Locke & Key: Alpha and Omega (Vol. 6) - Joe Hill *
- S. - J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst *
- You - Austin Grossman
- The Walking Dead: We Find Ourselves (Vol. 15) - Robert Kirkman
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Angela (Vol. 2) - Brian Michael Bendis
2013 in Film
Not a bad year this year in terms of films, but then again, I wasn't trying the 365 Film Challenge this year. Just under half were theatrical releases and just over half were on DVD/TV. Reviews are linked where indicated. What'd you catch this year? How many grades/reviews do we agree upon? Let me know, and happy viewing into the new year!
- The Thin Man (dir. W.S. Van Dyke, 1934)
- Silver Linings Playbook (dir. David O. Russell, 2012) - A
- The Innkeepers (dir. Ti West, 2011) - B
- The Raid: Redemption (dir. Gareth Evans, 2012) - A-
- Live Free or Die Hard (dir. Len Wiseman, 2007) - C+
- Surrogates (dir. Jonathan Mostow, 2009) - C+
- Frankenweenie (dir. Tim Burton, 2012) - B
- Total Recall (dir. Len Wiseman, 2012) - B
- The A-Team (dir. Joe Carnahan, 2010) - B
- Dredd (dir. Pete Taylor, 2012) - B
- Kick-Ass (dir. Matthew Vaughan, 2010) - B+ (rewatch)
- Bronson (dir. Nicholas Winding Refn, 2008) - B
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi (dir. David Gelb, 2011) - A
- Evil Dead (dir. Fede Alvarez, 2013) - B+
- The Place Beyond The Pines (dir. Derek Cianfrance, 2013) - A-
- Trance (dir. Danny Boyle, 2013) - B+
- Murder By Decree (dir. Bob Clark, 1979) - B-
- Iron Man 3 (dir. Shane Black, 2013) - B/B+ (Review on Monday Morning Matinee)
- The Great Gatsby (dir. Baz Luhrmann, 2013) - D+/C- (Review on Monday Morning Matinee)
- Star Trek Into Darkness (dir. J.J. Abrams, 2013) - B/B+ (Review on Monday Morning Matinee)
- Sicko (dir. Michael Moore, 2006) - A-
- Man of Steel (dir. Zack Snyder, 2013) - B (Review on Monday Morning Matinee)
- Much Ado About Nothing (dir. Joss Whedon, 2013) - B+/A- (Review on Monday Morning Matinee)
- Pacific Rim (dir. Guillermo del Toro, 2013) (Review on Monday Morning Matinee)
- Despicable Me 2 (dir. Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, 2013) - B
- The Wolverine (dir. James Mangold, 2013) - B+
- Pitch Perfect (dir. Jason Moore, 2012) - B+
- The Man With The Iron Fists (dir. RZA, 2012) - C
- Shaun of the Dead (dir. Edgar Wright, 2004) - A (rewatch)
- Hot Fuzz (dir. Edgar Wright, 2007) - A (rewatch)
- The World’s End (dir. Edgar Wright, 2013) - A-
- Sin City (dir. Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, 2005) - C
- Hunger (dir. Steve McQueen, 2009) - A
- Doctor Who: The Movie (dir. Geoffrey Sax, 1996) - B-
- The Butler (dir. Lee Daniels, 2013) - B+/A-
- Fruitvale Station (dir. Ryan Coogler, 2013) - A-
- In A World (dir. Lake Bell, 2013) - A-
- Prisoners (dir. Denis Villeneuve, 2013) - B+/A- (Review on Monday Morning Matinee)
- Don Jon (dir. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 2013) - A-
- Gravity (dir. Alfonso Cuaron, 2013) - A+
- Smashed (dir. James Ponsoldt, 2012) - A-
- Burton and Taylor (dir. Richard Laxton, 2013) - B
- Fargo (dir. Joel Coen, 1996) (rewatch) - A-
- Justice League: Doom (dir. Lauren Montgomery, 2012) - A-
- Thor: The Dark World (dir. Alan Taylor, 2013) - B+
- Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (dir. Nick Hurran, 2013) - A
- An Adventure in Time and Space (dir. Terry McDonough, 2013) - A-
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (dir. Francis Lawrence, 2013) - A-
- Dallas Buyers Club (dir. Jean Marc-Vallée, 2013) - A
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (dir. Peter Jackson, 2013) - B+ (Review on Monday Morning Matinee)
- American Hustle (dir. David O. Russell, 2013) - A
- Inside Llewyn Davis (dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013) - B+/A-
- Her (dir. Spike Jonze, 2013) - A-
Sunday, October 06, 2013
Figuring Things Out
I've been wavering on the cusp of getting back into blogging - at least somewhat more regularly than before - for a while. It all started back when I went to one of Jenny Lawson/The Bloggess's nearby tour stops in March for the paperback of Let's Pretend This Never Happened ...
Or maybe earlier when I went to Neil Gaiman and Adam Rex's signing for Chu's Day in February ...
And then meeting Neil again at his Ocean at the End of the Lane tour stop at Symphony Space in June ...
Either way, I have been wanting to get back to blogging, but I've had this overwhelming inner conflict (yes, roughly eight months-worth of conflict) as to what to do with the blog. Should I turn this into a book blog, considering how much I read? But if I did so, how would I structure things, and what about book overload and the overwhelming feeling of book guilt? Or what if I turn this into a PR-ish blog? But what would I talk about then, having only 3 months of actual agency/firm experience that amounts to copying, pasting, formatting, researching, and generating Tweets and Facebook posts?
In the meantime, I went up to Boston for PAX East, interned with a small PR firm for three and a half months, went back to the grind of day camp counseling, met up with plenty of web friends in and around NYC, saw Amanda Palmer live once again, landed a position through networking/talking about books during commutes, continued work on The Anglerfish, and joined up with a friend's film blog. The latter two are where most of my writing has been going these days ... well, there and Tumblr. Also lists, too. I've been publishing monthly lists of whatever media I've been consuming (books, movies, TV shows, and comics) as a way of keeping track. And showing off, in a way, but isn't that what the web is partially for?
So that brings us to the big question: What's to come of this blog? Well ... it's going to continue. I've been mulling over some things after seeing Sleep No More (FINALLY!) ... a month ago, and I think I'm onto a way to coalesce said thoughts into a neat and tidy post, so expect that within a week. Maybe sooner, even.
Allons-y!
(Also got Jenny's Geek-A-Week card at this encounter.) |
(And yes, I got that issue signed (and learned that Neil was the model for the Corinthian on the cover).) |
Fox pin/brooch courtesy of Cat, an awesome cosplayer.
Or maybe it was a few months later in May when I saw Joe Hill talk about all things NOS4A2, Locke & Key, and more ...Mutual geek appreciation: Doctor Who pins (left), TARDIS charm (right). |
In the meantime, I went up to Boston for PAX East, interned with a small PR firm for three and a half months, went back to the grind of day camp counseling, met up with plenty of web friends in and around NYC, saw Amanda Palmer live once again, landed a position through networking/talking about books during commutes, continued work on The Anglerfish, and joined up with a friend's film blog. The latter two are where most of my writing has been going these days ... well, there and Tumblr. Also lists, too. I've been publishing monthly lists of whatever media I've been consuming (books, movies, TV shows, and comics) as a way of keeping track. And showing off, in a way, but isn't that what the web is partially for?
So that brings us to the big question: What's to come of this blog? Well ... it's going to continue. I've been mulling over some things after seeing Sleep No More (FINALLY!) ... a month ago, and I think I'm onto a way to coalesce said thoughts into a neat and tidy post, so expect that within a week. Maybe sooner, even.
Allons-y!
Labels:
2013,
book signings,
Jenny Lawson,
Joe Hill,
Life,
Neil Gaiman,
The Bloggess
Sunday, February 24, 2013
2013 Oscars picks
Let's dive right in and go top to bottom, shall we? My picks are in bold. Mind you, I was split on a number of the categories (the bigger ones ... and some of the technical/smaller ones), so I'd also be pleased with films/people other than my picks winning. Here's hoping I get at least 12 of the 24 categories right.
Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper
Daniel Day Lewis
Hugh Jackman
Joaquin Phoenix
Denzel Washington
Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin
Robert De Niro
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Tommy Lee Jones
Christoph Waltz
Best Actress
Jessica Chastain
Jennifer Lawrence
Emmanuelle Riva
Quevenzhané Wallis
Naomi Watts
Supporting Actress
Amy Adams
Sally Field
Anne Hathaway
Helen Hunt
Jacki Weaver
Directing
Amour
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Cinematography
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman
Animated Feature
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
Animated Short Film
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head Over Heels
The Longest Daycare
Paperman
Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Foreign Language Film
Amour
Kon-Tiki
No
A Royal Affair
War Witch
Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching For Sugar Man
Documentary Short
Inocente
Kings Ponit
Mondays at Rancine
Open Heart
Redemption
Live Action Short Film
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)
Henry
Film Editing
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Makeup and Hairstyling
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Original Score
Anna Karenina
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Original Song
"Before My Time"
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend"
"Pi's Lullaby"
"Skyfall"
"Suddenly"
Sound Editing
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Sound Mixing
Argo
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Visual Effects
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel's The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
Adapted Screenplay
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Original Screenplay
Amour
Django Unchained
Flight
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty
Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper
Daniel Day Lewis
Hugh Jackman
Joaquin Phoenix
Denzel Washington
Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin
Robert De Niro
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Tommy Lee Jones
Christoph Waltz
Best Actress
Jessica Chastain
Jennifer Lawrence
Emmanuelle Riva
Quevenzhané Wallis
Naomi Watts
Supporting Actress
Amy Adams
Sally Field
Anne Hathaway
Helen Hunt
Jacki Weaver
Directing
Amour
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Cinematography
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman
Animated Feature
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
Animated Short Film
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head Over Heels
The Longest Daycare
Paperman
Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Foreign Language Film
Amour
Kon-Tiki
No
A Royal Affair
War Witch
Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching For Sugar Man
Documentary Short
Inocente
Kings Ponit
Mondays at Rancine
Open Heart
Redemption
Live Action Short Film
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)
Henry
Film Editing
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Makeup and Hairstyling
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Original Score
Anna Karenina
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Original Song
"Before My Time"
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend"
"Pi's Lullaby"
"Skyfall"
"Suddenly"
Sound Editing
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Sound Mixing
Argo
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Visual Effects
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel's The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
Adapted Screenplay
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Original Screenplay
Amour
Django Unchained
Flight
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty
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