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Thread: 50/50 Challenge - 50 Books & 50 Movies in One Year

  1. #1
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    50/50 Challenge - 50 Books & 50 Movies in One Year




    Some guidelines:

    1) Um…What happens if I don’t read 50 books and watch 50 movies this year?
    Just like last year this is a personal challenge, so all we ask is that you try. No matter what, you’ll probably consume more books/movies than you’ve ever done before.

    2) Why does it say and/or in the title?
    New for this year is that you don't have to do 50 of each - you can do 50 total. So if you don't think you can read that much or watch that much, go for the combined score of 50 total. Either way it's a win and you never know where you'll be at the end of the year.

    3) Do I have to read the books, or can I just skim?
    I can see how this would be confusing. Oh wait, no. C’mon people, it’s a reading challenge! Same as fast-forwarding through a movie isn’t the same as really watching one, this is about taking the time to really enjoy. For the avoidance of doubt, please read the book for it count.

    4) Do long books count as 2? What about movies?
    If your book is over 500 pages, you can count it as two books if you like. We still consider you an Overachiever. However, if the book is 2,000 pages, it’s still just two books — not four! We want to encourage you to read longer pieces. This answer has been posted for the benefit of all you Game of Thrones fanatics out there. Go forth and prosper or whatever it is. No matter the length, a movie is still just a (one, 1, “ONE”) movie. That said, installments in a movie series (example: the individual Godfather movies) would each snag an individual point. Go you.

    5) Can I rewatch/reread?
    Of course you can rewatch and reread! If it's been more than ten years since you last saw the movie, count it!

    5a) What if I'm a parent?
    If you're on the 25th viewing of Frozen, count them all! I've love to see those numbers.



    6) What should I read/watch?
    Anything you like! Fiction, nonfiction, documentaries, graphic novels, technical manuals, the back of a shampoo bottle...ok, maybe not the shampoo bottle.

    7) What if I want to watch television or play a game instead?
    Sure, throw them in the count. For games, use best judgement as to whether it's a book or movie and annotate the listing accordingly. Television is one season = one listing, unless it's released in two parts i.e. Breaking Bad part 1 and part 2.

    A brief summary/rundown of favorites or disappointments is suggested but not required. Recommendations based on someone else's list are also welcome, so everyone can pretend to be Amazon. (You like this, we think you'll like that)

    Suggested posting format:

    01/50 Books

    • sdfsdf
      sdfsdf



    01/50 Movies

    • sdfsdf
      sdfsdf



    https://www.goodreads.com/allegate

    Reading prompt:

    Last edited by allegate; 03-24-2020 at 10:17 AM.

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    2/50 Books

    1. Us Conductors by Sean Michaels (he of "Said the Gramophone" blogging fame) — a groovily dramatised fictional retelling of Léon Theremin/Lev Termen's life story and his doomed love affair with Clara Rockmore. Read most of it on a single plane ride, very nicely paced and rich in historical detail. Sappy ending, if you like that sort of thing. The brutal gulag scenes will be what stay with me, however. Highly recommended.

    2. Haddon Hall: When David invented Bowie by Néjib — another very quick read, and yet another fictionalised bio — this one a graphic novella narrated from the perspective of the titular home rented by the Bowies and hangers-on in the early 1970s. Once again, very entertaining and highly recommended.

    2/50 Movies

    1. The Trip to Spain — yep, the third in this bewilderingly ongoing but funny road trip saga of Steve Coogan + Rob Brydon trekking across the continent in a shuffly, irrelevant white Englishman kinda way. Not sure what other madcap misfortunes may yet sideline them from rote midlife meditations amid the usual trading of witty barbs over delicious looking local delicacies? Tune in! Very good Mick Jagger impersonations, too!

    2. My Brooklyn — pretty relevant to my interests, a documentary about the racist history of neighbourhood divisions and the economic factors underlying gentrification in American cities. A little heavy-handed with the superfluous personal backstory/narration on the filmmaker's part, but lots of compelling historical footage (I love watching me a juicy town hall meeting). Discovered this through the Kanopy app, which streams lots of great stuff for free via access to your local public library system.
    Last edited by botley; 03-19-2018 at 09:21 PM.

  3. #3
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    Shit, I'm already at 46 movies and I didn't even know about this!
    Last edited by GibbonBlack; 03-19-2018 at 11:58 PM. Reason: Clarity

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by GibbonBlack View Post
    Shit, I'm already at 46 movies and I didn't even know about this!
    List 'em!

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    01 01 18 Paterson
    01 01 18 The Meyerowitz Stories: New and Selected
    01 01 18 The Killing of a Sacred Deer
    01 01 18 Good Time
    01 01 18 Deep Water
    01 01 18 Freaks
    04 01 18 Lucky
    05 01 18 Alan Partridge: Why When Where How
    05 01 18 AlphaGo
    06 01 18 From Here to Eternity
    06 01 18 Canada's Original Vigilante Pedophile Hunter
    06 01 18 City of Ghosts
    06 01 18 Casting JonBenet
    08 01 18 Oklahoma City
    09 01 18 Best of Enemies
    10 01 18 The Cats of Mirikitani
    12 01 18 The Shape of Water
    12 01 18 Ingrid Goes West
    13 01 18 9 11
    13 01 18 LA 92
    20 01 18 Wings of Desire
    20 01 18 Molly's Game
    21 01 18 Thor: Ragnorak
    26 01 18 Darkest Hour
    26 01 18 The Post
    27 01 18 Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
    27 01 18 Mom and Dad
    06 02 18 Suburbicon
    08 02 18 Coco
    10 02 18 Fifty Shades Freed
    16 02 18 On The Waterfront
    17 02 18 First They Killed My Father
    19 02 18 The Snowman
    19 02 18 The Death of Stalin
    22 02 18 Phantom Thread
    22 02 18 Roman J. Israel ESQ.
    23 02 18 Justice League
    02 03 18 Murder on the Orient Express
    02 03 18 Mute
    02 03 18 Strong Island
    03 03 18 Marty
    03 03 18 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
    11 03 18 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
    17 03 18 Annihilation
    17 03 18 Downsizing
    18 03 18 Denial



    ^That's copied from my spreadsheet. Sorry I'm breaking the format

    There's a couple of shorts on there, I never know if it's fair to include them in the list. But whatever, it's my list

  6. #6
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    Wow! Any particular recommendations?

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    Quote Originally Posted by GibbonBlack View Post
    Shit, I'm already at 46 movies and I didn't even know about this!
    Because no one comes in here!

    Shit, now I have to update my list.

    Books

    1. Son of Retro Pulp Tales by Joe R. Lansdale
    2. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    3. The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
    4. A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson
    5. Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys: A Novel by Eric Garcia
    6. We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    7. William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher
    8. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
    9. Null States by Malka Ann Older
    10. Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Red Dwarf #1) by Grant Naylor
    11. Better than Life (Red Dwarf #2) by Grant Naylor
    12. Backwards (Red Dwarf #4) by Rob Grant
    13. Last Human (Red Dwarf #3) by Doug Naylor
    14. Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia


    While I was reading the Red Dwarf books I thought to myself, "I really should have watched at least one episode first." After reading the books and watching a few episodes, "Wow I'm glad I read the books first.

    The Null States book (and it's predecessor, Infomocracy) seem eerily prescient what with the release of the Cambridge Analytics information.

    Movies

    1. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
    2. The Dark Tower (2017)
    3. Kong: Skull Island (2017)
    4. Justice League (2017)
    5. Geostorm (2017)
    6. The Book of Henry (2017)
    7. Black Panther (2018)
    8. Being Canadian (2015)
    9. Willow (1988)
    10. Justice League Dark (2017)
    11. Despicable Me 3 (2017)
    12. Journey Through the Past (1974)
    13. Coco (2017)
    14. The Music of Strangers (2015)


    The Music of Strangers was also released on BBC this year with another title. Kind of weird. At any rate, the documentary was pretty good, highly recommended. I especially liked when they were discussing with reporters about how something like this cannot dilute a culture, but bring them closer together. I feel like that's a strong message for today.

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    Quote Originally Posted by botley View Post
    Wow! Any particular recommendations?
    On The Waterfront is the best from that list!

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    Quote Originally Posted by gibbonblack View Post
    01 01 18 paterson
    01 01 18 the meyerowitz stories: New and selected
    Hey, cool, what a weird coincidence. I also watched both Paterson and The Meyerowitz Stories back to back, and I thought that, even though they were both very different, they sort of complimented each other. They were both really interesting explorations of what it means to devote your life to being an artist, even when that doesn't mean becoming famous.

    There's a certain dignity to the way that Paterson just writes his poetry and keeps it to himself. I think he does it to feel connected to things and for the sincere joy of expression. There's something kind of pure about that, and it's interesting to contrast him with the Dustin Hoffman character in The Meyerowitz Stories, because he's like the exact opposite. He's consumed by own insecurity and bitterness about not being more famous for his art and it warps him and turns him into an emotionally abusive narcissist. His devotion to art is selfish and corrupting, but for Paterson, it's like a tonic, something to help him cope with the monotony of his life.

    I don't know if any of that makes sense, but I just thought it was interesting how there was a bit of thematic overlap between those two movies that I hadn't expected to find.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mantra View Post
    Hey, cool, what a weird coincidence. I also watched both Paterson and The Meyerowitz Stories back to back, and I thought that, even though they were both very different, they sort of complimented each other. They were both really interesting explorations of what it means to devote your life to being an artist, even when that doesn't mean becoming famous.

    There's a certain dignity to the way that Paterson just writes his poetry and keeps it to himself. I think he does it to feel connected to things and for the sincere joy of expression. There's something kind of pure about that, and it's interesting to contrast him with the Dustin Hoffman character in The Meyerowitz Stories, because he's like the exact opposite. He's consumed by own insecurity and bitterness about not being more famous for his art and it warps him and turns him into an emotionally abusive narcissist. His devotion to art is selfish and corrupting, but for Paterson, it's like a tonic, something to help him cope with the monotony of his life.

    I don't know if any of that makes sense, but I just thought it was interesting how there was a bit of thematic overlap between those two movies that I hadn't expected to find.

    I didn't really like Paterson whilst I was watching it, but I kept thinking about it for days and days and it really grew on me.

    I'd never thought about the connection between the two but you're right, there are some slight similarities.




    ....I've met Sigourney Weaver

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    3/50 Movies

    3. Eric Clapton — Life in 12 Bars ...ehhhhh it's okay, but I'm far from the world's biggest fan. Nice to see the Layla sessions explored in some depth.

    3/50 Books

    3. Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier by Mark Frost — Oh yes Mama! Fun little recap of all the twists and turns in the new series. A very dry wit, has ol' Frosty.

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    15/50 Books
    • Son of Retro Pulp Tales by Joe R. Lansdale
    • Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    • The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
    • A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson
    • Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys: A Novel by Eric Garcia
    • We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    • William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher
    • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
    • Null States by Malka Ann Older
    • Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Red Dwarf #1) by Grant Naylor
    • Better than Life (Red Dwarf #2) by Grant Naylor
    • Backwards (Red Dwarf #4) by Rob Grant
    • Last Human (Red Dwarf #3) by Doug Naylor
    • Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia
    • Shadow Moon (Chronicles of the Shadow War #1) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas


    I think I should have watched at least one episode of the show before reading that series. I read 4 before 3 because I saw a review that said it followed from book 2 a lot better and just sampling the intro to 3 I had to agree. Now that I've finished 3...yeah, I should have read these in order. I think Rob Grant had a much better grasp of the characters than Doug Naylor.

    Mike's book is, if you've seen any of his stand-ups, basically that but you have to read it instead of watch it. There's some other stuff but it's basically the same. Still hilarious though. I read it with my son and we were laughing at some parts so hard we were crying. It was fun.

    Gods , Shadow Moon was just bad. I put the second one on hold today at the library because maybe - just maybe - the story gets better. Also I hate giving up on books so I'm probably going to hate-read the next two books. I'm glad I've got two other books going at the same time so I can take breaks.


    15/50 Movies

    • Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
    • The Dark Tower (2017)
    • Kong: Skull Island (2017)
    • Justice League (2017)
    • Geostorm (2017)
    • The Book of Henry (2017)
    • Black Panther (2018)
    • Being Canadian (2015)
    • Willow (1988)
    • Justice League Dark (2017)
    • Despicable Me 3 (2017)
    • Journey Through the Past (1974)
    • Coco (2017)
    • The Music of Strangers (2015)
    • The Big Sick (2017)


    The Big Sick was OK, but also really good. I think I'm biased because of my wife's pain issue but it got me good. I liked how she woke up and was like, "Dude you're being creepy. Just because you were here doesn't mean I have to like you again." I think the resulting part of the movie was a little too movie-tropes but I guess it's hard to show how complex feelings can be when you only have 90 minutes.

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    I made it passed 50 movies today

    18 03 18 Denial
    24 03 18 The Cloverfield Paradox
    24 03 18 The Party
    25 03 18 The Greatest Showman
    31 03 18 Around the World in 80 Days
    31 03 18 Clowntown

  14. #14
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    Man...I could never commit to this 50/50 thing because I just don't have the time. God I hate being a grown up. I could probably pull of 25/25, but no way could I manage 50/50.

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    I've only just stumbled across this thread, so I've collated my list of watched films and read books I've finished this year so far:


    FILMS 53/50:


    1. Ratatouille
    2. Fantasia
    3. 2001: A Space Odyssey
    4. A Clockwork Orange
    5. Full Metal Jacket
    6. Wild At Heart
    7. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
    8. Morvern Callar
    9. Big Eyes
    10. Smashed
    11. 99 Homes
    12. Faults
    13. La La Land
    14. The Shape of Water
    15. Wonder Wheel
    16. You were never really here
    17. Thor Rangarok
    18. Coco
    19. Mother
    20. Three Billboards in Ebbing Missouri
    21. The Death of Stalin
    22. Murder On The Orient Express
    23. Mute
    24. Ladybird
    25. Annihilation
    26. Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle
    27. I Tonya
    28. Aaaaaaaaah!
    29. Brakes
    30. Ghost Stories
    31. Tragedy Girls
    32. LA92
    33. Paddington 2
    34. The Final Year
    35. Black Panther
    36. The Killing of A Sacred Deer
    37. Pyewacket
    38. Solo: A Star Wars Story
    39. How To Talk To Girls At Parties
    40. Avengers: Infinity War
    41. The Boy
    42. Thoroughbreds
    43. The Last Actor
    44. Rampage
    45. A Quiet Place
    46. Ready Player One
    47. Roman J. Esq
    48. Lucky
    49. Resolution
    50. Spring
    51. The Endless
    52. We Need To Talk About Kevin
    53. The Incredibles 2
    54. Journeyman




    Books: 47/50


    1. Martin Luther King Jr. - Letter from Birmingham Jail / The Three Dimensions Of A Complete Life
    2. Akutagawa & Others – Three Japanese Short Stories
    3. Ralph Ellison – The Black Ball (Short Stories)
    4. Nikolai Gogol – The Nose
    5. White Nights – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
    6. Emily Dickinson – My Life Had Stood A Loaded Gun
    7. Fyodor Dostoyevsky – The Meek One
    8. Gaito Gazdanov & Others – Four Russian Short Stories
    9. Franz Kafka – Investigations of a Dog
    10. Alan McGee – Creation Stories
    11. Mark Frost – Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier
    12. Patrick Ness – A Monster Calls
    13. Kevin Eldon – My Prefect Cousin
    14. Spike Millingan – The Bible According to Spike Milligan
    15. Nathan Filer – The Shock Of The Fall
    16. Jonathan Ames – Wake Up Sir!
    17. Henry Rollins – Smile You’re Travelling
    18. Henry Rollins – Do I Come Here Often?
    19. Rachel Cusk – Arlington Park
    20. Alissa Nutting – Tampa
    21. Miriam Toewes – All My Puny Sorrows
    22. Leila Johnston – Enemy Of Chaos
    23. John Dowie – The Freewheeling John Dowie
    24. Milan Kundera – Life Is Elsewhere
    25. Alex Garland – The Coma
    26. Alex Wade – The Pac-Man Principle: A Users Guide To Capitalism.
    27. Eldridge Cleaver – Post-Prison Writings & Speeches.
    28. Padraig Kenny – Tin
    29. David Lynch & Kristine Mckenna – Room To Dream
    30. Grow Up – Ben Brooks
    31. Simon Amstell – Help
    32. Han Kang – The White Book
    33. Han Kang – The Vegetarian
    34. Max Porter – Grief Is the Thing With Feathers
    35. Maya Angelou - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
    36. Mark Frost – The Secret History of Twin Peaks
    37. Richard Aoyade – The Grip of Film
    38. Peter Hook – The Hacienda, How Not To Run A Club
    39. Charles Bukowski – Post Office
    40. The School of Life – How To Find Love
    41. Matt Haig – The Possession of Mr. Cave
    42. Maya Angelou – Gather Together In My Name
    43. Ferdie Addis – The Good Samaritan Bites The Dust
    44. David Lynch – Catching The Big Fish
    45. Derren Brown – Happy
    46. Matt Haig – Notes From A Nervous Planet
    47. John Yorke – Into The Woods




    *editing as I go along.
    Last edited by lloyd_dhr; 08-11-2018 at 05:11 PM. Reason: Updated

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    17/50 Books

    • Son of Retro Pulp Tales by Joe R. Lansdale
    • Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    • The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
    • A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson
    • Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys: A Novel by Eric Garcia
    • We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    • William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher
    • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
    • Null States by Malka Ann Older
    • Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Red Dwarf #1) by Grant Naylor
    • Better than Life (Red Dwarf #2) by Grant Naylor
    • Backwards (Red Dwarf #4) by Rob Grant
    • Last Human (Red Dwarf #3) by Doug Naylor
    • Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia
    • Shadow Moon (Chronicles of the Shadow War #1) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas
    • Who Could That Be at This Hour? (All the Wrong Questions #1) by Lemony Snicket
    • You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words--and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras



    19/50 Movies

    • Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
    • The Dark Tower (2017)
    • Kong: Skull Island (2017)
    • Justice League (2017)
    • Geostorm (2017)
    • The Book of Henry (2017)
    • Black Panther (2018)
    • Being Canadian (2015)
    • Willow (1988)
    • Justice League Dark (2017)
    • Despicable Me 3 (2017)
    • Journey Through the Past (1974)
    • Coco (2017)
    • The Music of Strangers (2015)
    • The Big Sick (2017)
    • Chronicle (2012)
    • Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
    • Darkest Hour (2017)
    • The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)


    Chronicle was probably lightning in a bottle for Max Landis and Josh Trank as they've not done much since. The Last Knight wasn't worth the 0's and 1's on the disc. Darkest Hour was, without a doubt, a vehicle solely to get an Oscar for Gary Oldman.

    The Man Who Invented Christmas was an alright film, though there were a few pacing issues.

    Next up: "Their Finest" to complete the Dunkirk trilogy.

    Side note - was there something about Dunkirk/Churchill this past year that I missed? Three movies about the event, two about the man. Or is this a mega Armageddon/Deep Impact Antz/A Bug's Life thing?

  17. #17
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    @lloyd_dhr - what did you think about "Do I Come Here Often?"

    26/50 Books

    • Son of Retro Pulp Tales by Joe R. Lansdale
    • Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    • The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
    • A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson
    • Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys: A Novel by Eric Garcia
    • We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    • William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher
    • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
    • Null States by Malka Ann Older
    • Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Red Dwarf #1) by Grant Naylor
    • Better than Life (Red Dwarf #2) by Grant Naylor
    • Backwards (Red Dwarf #4) by Rob Grant
    • Last Human (Red Dwarf #3) by Doug Naylor
    • Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia
    • Shadow Moon (Chronicles of the Shadow War #1) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas
    • Who Could That Be at This Hour? (All the Wrong Questions #1) by Lemony Snicket
    • You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words--and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras
    • Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath
    • When Did You See Her Last? (All the Wrong Questions #2) by Lemony Snicket
    • Lord and Lady Bunny--Almost Royalty! by Polly Horvath
    • File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents (All the Wrong Questions, #2.5) by Lemony Snicket
    • Shadow Dawn (Chronicles of the Shadow War #2) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas
    • 1984 by George Orwell
    • Moone Boy: The Blunder Years by Chris O'Dowd
    • Dragonslayer by Wayland Drew
    • Willow (Chronicles of the Shadow War) by Wayland Drew


    25/50 Movies

    • Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
    • The Dark Tower (2017)
    • Kong: Skull Island (2017)
    • Justice League (2017)
    • Geostorm (2017)
    • The Book of Henry (2017)
    • Black Panther (2018)
    • Being Canadian (2015)
    • Willow (1988)
    • Justice League Dark (2017)
    • Despicable Me 3 (2017)
    • Journey Through the Past (1974)
    • Coco (2017)
    • The Music of Strangers (2015)
    • The Big Sick (2017)
    • Chronicle (2012)
    • Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
    • Darkest Hour (2017)
    • The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
    • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
    • Ready Player One (2018)
    • Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
    • Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
    • Peter Rabbit (2018)
    • Paddington 2 (2017)


    The Bunny books are great fun to read out loud and if you (or your audience) aren't giggling then you're doing something wrong.

    I actually read two Snicket books that make up the 2.5 book (confusing, I know) but for the sake of the contest I'm doing the combined version. If you like Encyclopedia Brown, these are way too easy for you. None of them were challenging, and one even stretched the boundaries of that a mystery actually is. Though if you like the characters from the Question series then you might like this too.

    Shadow Dawn was a lot better than the previous book, but still too much description. It's like Claremont feels restricted by comic book borders and decided to take on the lot.

    1984 is a gut punch, but the post script is heartening.

    Jumanji was a better film than it had any right to be. I'm not OK that they're making a 3rd one with the same cast (Rock, etc) because wtf could the movie be about? They are video game characters so they shouldn't remember anything, just be avatars for someone else. Not much of a continuation, really. Maybe they'll surprise again.
    Last edited by allegate; 05-11-2018 at 06:09 PM.

  18. #18
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    @allegate - I enjoyed it, but found his ranting to be a bit annoying, which I put down to me being twenty years older since the last time I approached his written work!

  19. #19
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    @lloyd_dhr - that's pretty much how I felt too. I read it last year and had to keep reminding myself that 20 years ago I was a douche canoe as well. Not as famous as some, sure, but still.

  20. #20
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    I've been on a Documentary binge today and went passed 100 movies

    04 04 18 Wild Wild Country
    06 04 18 The Florida Project
    06 04 18 Gerald's Game
    07 04 18 All the Money in the World
    08 04 18 Wonder
    08 04 18 You Were Never Really Here
    09 04 18 Paterno
    09 04 18 Byzantium
    09 04 18 The Babysitter
    14 04 18 The Immigration Game
    18 04 18 Society
    18 04 18 Police Story
    21 04 18 Only the Brave
    23 04 18 This Must Be the Place
    23 04 18 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
    23 04 18 The Maltese Falcon
    28 04 18 I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
    28 04 18 The Last Movie Star
    29 04 18 Super Troopers
    29 04 18 Bride Tripping
    29 04 18 The Avengers: Infinity War
    29 04 18 Lake Mungo
    30 04 18 Food Inc.
    30 04 18 Please Stand By
    30 04 18 Black Hawk Down
    30 04 18 Goodbye Christopher Robin
    30 04 18 20th Century Women
    05 05 18 The Bridge on the River Kwai
    05 05 18 Game Night
    05 05 18 Downfall
    12 05 18 All the President's Men
    14 05 18 The 15:17 to Paris
    14 05 18 Bonfire of the Vanities
    15 05 18 Red Sparrow
    15 05 18 Black Snake Moan
    15 05 18 I Kill Giants
    15 05 18 Millions
    16 05 18 Evil Genius
    20 05 18 Beyond Skyline
    20 05 18 Deadpool 2
    21 05 18 Sing Street
    28 05 18 Lost in London
    29 05 18 The Tale
    29 05 18 Suspiria
    30 05 18 Black Panther
    30 05 18 78/52
    30 05 18 The Work
    30 05 18 Voyeur

  21. #21
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    58/50 Books

    • Son of Retro Pulp Tales by Joe R. Lansdale
    • Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    • The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
    • A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson
    • Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys: A Novel by Eric Garcia
    • We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    • William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher
    • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
    • Null States by Malka Ann Older
    • Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Red Dwarf #1) by Grant Naylor
    • Better than Life (Red Dwarf #2) by Grant Naylor
    • Backwards (Red Dwarf #4) by Rob Grant
    • Last Human (Red Dwarf #3) by Doug Naylor
    • Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia
    • Shadow Moon (Chronicles of the Shadow War #1) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas
    • Who Could That Be at This Hour? (All the Wrong Questions #1) by Lemony Snicket
    • You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words--and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras
    • Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath
    • When Did You See Her Last? (All the Wrong Questions #2) by Lemony Snicket
    • Lord and Lady Bunny--Almost Royalty! by Polly Horvath
    • File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents (All the Wrong Questions, #2.5) by Lemony Snicket
    • Shadow Dawn (Chronicles of the Shadow War #2) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas
    • 1984 by George Orwell
    • Moone Boy: The Blunder Years by Chris O'Dowd
    • Dragonslayer by Wayland Drew
    • Willow (Chronicles of the Shadow War) by Wayland Drew
    • Moone Boy: The Fish Detective by Chris O'Dowd
    • The Last Jedi by Jason Fry (AB)
    • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (AB)
    • All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells (AB)
    • The Smartest Book in the World by Greg Proops (AB)
    • Only Human (Themis Files #3) by Sylvain Neuvel (AB)
    • Shadow Star (Chronicles of the Shadow War #3) by Chris Claremont
    • 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (AB)
    • Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
    • Shouldn't You Be in School? (All the Wrong Questions #3) by Lemony Snicket
    • Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
    • Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
    • Horns by Joe Hill (AB)
    • The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch
    • Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
    • Mustache Shenanigans: Making Super Troopers and Other Adventures in Comedy by Jay Chandrasekhar
    • Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? (All the Wrong Questions #4) by Lemony Snicket
    • Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka
    • FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
    • The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer
    • Savage Season (Hap and Leonard #1) by Joe R. Lansdale
    • The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne #1) by Mark Hodder
    • Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk
    • False Idols (The Dragon Lords #2) by Jon Hollins
    • Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
    • Night Shift by Stephen King
    • Blindsight (Firefall #1) by Peter Watts
    • The Blade Itself (The First Law #1) by Joe Abercrombie
    • Gideon's Sword (Gideon Crew #1) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • Gideon's Corpse (Gideon Crew #2) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • The Hatching (The Hatching #1) by Ezekiel Boone
    • The Lost Island (Gideon Crew #3) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • Beyond the Ice Limit (Gideon Crew #4) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child


    If you've seen the Moone Boy television series you have an idea of what the books are about. The first one is basically an extended version of the first episode whereas the second one combines episodes 2 and 3 with another 'extended' story.

    The Last Jedi was a good addendum to the film.

    Adjustment Day is a mid-tier book from Chuck. I liked the book, I just thought that there were too many stories that were largely ignored near the end. Oh and the cover is a huge problem for me: It says twice (once by the person who 'wrote' the book-within-the-book) that it's the left ear. What's on the cover? Right ears! Lazy art. (view spoiler)

    This book certainly is an exercise in radicalization. There were many times where I was thinking to myself, "This guy's saying what we're all thinking" and then I realized that he was a crazy person and I was agreeing with a crazy person. That's how it starts: you hear some of the arguments that sound like they were tailor made for you and it can make you disregard the other parts that don't and then suddenly you're driving a Dodge Charger in Charlottesville.

    False Idols was alright but you could probably cut 15% of the book out if you just had some characters talk to each other instead of doing the usual trope of "no, not my problem yet so I'm going to ignore it for now until it is my problem". Some funny bits though and the third one is out next month.

    Challenger Deep is hard to review because it's a product of time for me as the last two months or so have seen me hitting the deepest (hence the title) parts of my depression ever so reading this was like reading a book someone wrote to me. (I'm not schizophrenic though so that part missed me by).

    The part that stood out for me the most is where Caden realizes that while his mental illness is affecting him, it is also affecting his family. It's certainly possible to lose yourself in your illness to the point where you forget about what it's doing to the people around you. It's hard to force yourself to see outside of what is happening to you to see what is happening to them.

    I'm purchasing the hardcover so I can highlight parts and write in the margins.

    Summertime means shit books, right? Hence my re-read of the first four Gideon Crew books. They are not good, in case you're wondering.

    The Hatching was a pretty enjoyable romp though it ramps up to a point where you wonder how to pull two more books out of it, especially given some of the science used (and ignored, both) in the book.

    The Blade Itself was great. I can't wait to keep going in that series.

    43/50 Movies


    • Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
    • The Dark Tower (2017)
    • Kong: Skull Island (2017)
    • Justice League (2017)
    • Geostorm (2017)
    • The Book of Henry (2017)
    • Black Panther (2018)
    • Being Canadian (2015)
    • Willow (1988)
    • Justice League Dark (2017)
    • Despicable Me 3 (2017)
    • Journey Through the Past (1974)
    • Coco (2017)
    • The Music of Strangers (2015)
    • The Big Sick (2017)
    • Chronicle (2012)
    • Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
    • Darkest Hour (2017)
    • The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
    • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
    • Ready Player One (2018)
    • Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
    • Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
    • Peter Rabbit (2018)
    • Paddington 2 (2017)
    • The Greatest Showman (2017)
    • Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
    • Solo (2018)
    • Annihilation (2018)
    • The Shape of Water (2017)
    • Incredibles 2 (2018)
    • A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
    • Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
    • Sherlock Gnomes (2018)
    • CHiPS (2017)
    • The Equalizer (2014)
    • Bubble Boy (2001)
    • Beerfest (2006)
    • Best in Show (2000)
    • Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016)
    • Inside Man (2006)
    • Mission Impossible 2 (2000)
    • Downsizing (2017)


    Peter Rabbit/Paddington 2 were serviceable kids movies I guess. The Greatest Showman had some good moments in between some that were questionable. The one song "Never Enough" though was amazing. Just...wow.

    And watching The Shape of Water so soon after Paddington 2...probably not recommended! My wife actually wanted to watch that one as a family because our son is 13 and I had to tell her no. She didn't think it was that bad until we got to the end where Mrs. Paddington is naked and then describing via pantomime how Abe Sapiens performs.

    Chips was hilarious. I've only seen Michael Peña in the Ant-Man movie (and I guess Wrinkle but that was dumb) so it was great seeing how funny he was. The Equalizer was pretty good, though a little extended, if that makes sense? Bubble Boy was kind of dumb, though Zach Galifianakis was hilarious. The incredibly racist Chinese-guy scene was pretty awkward to be sure. And the weird poontang editing with the backfires? They could say poonanny but not poontang? Beerfest was just muddled.
    Keeping Up with the Joneses was better than I expected. It wasn't hilarious but it was funny enough. Best scene was at the end where Isla Fisher was talking to Gal Gadot about being in their underwear and Patton Oswalt interrupted and said, "wait, are you talking to her? Proceed."

    Inside Man was a re-watch with my wife. It's still a very good movie but there were some points that made me question the film logic instead of accept it. I think even a throwaway line about how they found out about the box would have been good. I saw some fan theories and they make sense but it's left open in the film.

    MI2 was a John Woo film, yup. I had heard it was the worst of the series and I have to say, having only seen 1 and now 2, that it's probably true. My son wanted to watch them all to get ready for the newest one and at the end he said, "let's just skip the rest, that was terrible." I convinced him to watch them by saying that I heard that 3 was the best in the series.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by allegate View Post
    MI2 was a John Woo film, yup. I had heard it was the worst of the series and I have to say, having only seen 1 and now 2, that it's probably true. My son wanted to watch them all to get ready for the newest one and at the end he said, "let's just skip the rest, that was terrible." I convinced him to watch them by saying that I heard that 3 was the best in the series.
    2 is by FAR the worst. 3 has a great villian. From then on they are just all darn good action movies.

    If you made it through 2 you'll be happy with the quality of the rest

  23. #23
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    The best thing I can say about 2 is that without it, we wouldn't have Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and probably wouldn't have a Fox Marvel series as good as what we got.
    Russell Crowe was Singer's first choice to play Wolverine, but he turned it down,[4] instead recommending his friend, actor Hugh Jackman for the part.[30] Jackman was an unknown actor at the time, while a number of more established actors offered their services for the role, with Singer casting Dougray Scott. Part of Scott's contract included a sequel, but backed out due to scheduling conflicts with Mission: Impossible 2 in early October 1999 and was injured in a motorbike accident.[31][32][33] Jackman was then cast three weeks into filming, based on a successful audition.[34] Glenn Danzig was invited by 20th Century Fox to audition for the role of Wolverine, as his height and build closely resemble that of the film's protagonist, as described in the original comic books. However, he declined due to scheduling conflicts with his band.[35]

  24. #24
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    Yeah, I remember reading that once. Also in 2 you have that amazing bit at the start with Cruise climbing those cliff faces. That's some great stunt work.

    From 3 onwards they really solidify Ethan as his own character too, so he becomes a better protagonist.

  25. #25
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    67/50 Books

    • Son of Retro Pulp Tales by Joe R. Lansdale
    • Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    • The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
    • A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson
    • Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys: A Novel by Eric Garcia
    • We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    • William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher
    • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
    • Null States by Malka Ann Older
    • Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Red Dwarf #1) by Grant Naylor
    • Better than Life (Red Dwarf #2) by Grant Naylor
    • Backwards (Red Dwarf #4) by Rob Grant
    • Last Human (Red Dwarf #3) by Doug Naylor
    • Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia
    • Shadow Moon (Chronicles of the Shadow War #1) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas
    • Who Could That Be at This Hour? (All the Wrong Questions #1) by Lemony Snicket
    • You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words--and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras
    • Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath
    • When Did You See Her Last? (All the Wrong Questions #2) by Lemony Snicket
    • Lord and Lady Bunny--Almost Royalty! by Polly Horvath
    • File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents (All the Wrong Questions, #2.5) by Lemony Snicket
    • Shadow Dawn (Chronicles of the Shadow War #2) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas
    • 1984 by George Orwell
    • Moone Boy: The Blunder Years by Chris O'Dowd
    • Dragonslayer by Wayland Drew
    • Willow (Chronicles of the Shadow War) by Wayland Drew
    • Moone Boy: The Fish Detective by Chris O'Dowd
    • The Last Jedi by Jason Fry (AB)
    • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (AB)
    • All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells (AB)
    • The Smartest Book in the World by Greg Proops (AB)
    • Only Human (Themis Files #3) by Sylvain Neuvel (AB)
    • Shadow Star (Chronicles of the Shadow War #3) by Chris Claremont
    • 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (AB)
    • Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
    • Shouldn't You Be in School? (All the Wrong Questions #3) by Lemony Snicket
    • Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
    • Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
    • Horns by Joe Hill (AB)
    • The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch
    • Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
    • Mustache Shenanigans: Making Super Troopers and Other Adventures in Comedy by Jay Chandrasekhar
    • Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? (All the Wrong Questions #4) by Lemony Snicket
    • Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka
    • FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
    • The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer
    • Savage Season (Hap and Leonard #1) by Joe R. Lansdale
    • The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne #1) by Mark Hodder
    • Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk
    • False Idols (The Dragon Lords #2) by Jon Hollins
    • Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
    • Night Shift by Stephen King
    • Blindsight (Firefall #1) by Peter Watts
    • The Blade Itself (The First Law #1) by Joe Abercrombie
    • Gideon's Sword (Gideon Crew #1) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • Gideon's Corpse (Gideon Crew #2) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • The Hatching (The Hatching #1) by Ezekiel Boone
    • The Lost Island (Gideon Crew #3) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • Beyond the Ice Limit (Gideon Crew #4) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • The Pharaoh Key (Gideon Crew #5) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • The Authorities™ by Scott Meyer
    • Frank Miller's RoboCop by Frank Miller (GN)
    • Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe (Deadpool Killogy #1) by Cullen Bunn (GN)
    • Deadpool Kills Deadpool (Deadpool Killogy #3) by Cullen Bunn (GN)
    • Deadpool vs. Carnage (Deadpool VS) by Cullen Bunn (GN)
    • Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: The Official Movie Novelization by Christie Golden (AB)
    • Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero


    Since I read the other four Gideon Crew books and got all caught up I read the fifth one. Not good either. They give the guy a death sentence in the first book, say they want to write 12, and then it just ends in 5 with him still alive but the story is effectively done because the in-story doctors say you have three months and the story takes 2 months and three weeks. They should have had him die as the final page, I would have been happier with that.

    The Authorities was a really fun book, and bonus if you live in Seattle it's set there and has some good local humor.

    The graphic novels were all fair to middling except for Robocop which was pretty bad and all over the place storywise. I just couldn't care for any character and the story was just too over the top in violence and sexualization. I don't know what Frank was going for but I think I figured out why they didn't use his story for the film.

    Deadpool was just OK. I assume the one-shots like these are not as well written as a longer storyline, maybe? They just seemed rote.

    Valerian was pretty terrible. First you have a pretty straight retelling of the movie, but then there's also little to no internal dialogue to help bring more life out of the characters. For as bad as the characters were in the film they are even flatter here.

    Meddling Kids was a standout. Imagine the last case of the Scooby gang was a real monster and they grew up and then 13 years later go back to find out what actually happened and then suddenly it's Cthulu-time, that's what you get here.
    There's some weird writing styles going on - it will switch the dialogue would change from standard quotation marks and dialogue tags to script style in the middle of a scene. There are multiple 4th wall references like "the monster blah blah blah and didn't even survive this paragraph" or another part where it's talking about monster Mu (as in the Greek letter) and then it says "getting back to Mu from four lines ago". There's even a part with a monster (as in monsters and the sheer size of the crowd) fight that is at least a page long and is one sentence. It gives it a frantic style that I could appreciate but I also skimmed because I don't care who punches who where or slices this or that appendage off when it's this frantic. It was a little busy in that regard.
    I think when I'm done with it - I'm right near the end - it'll probably be a 3.5 out of 5. It has some decent humor and the way he turns a phrase has me frequently re-reading sections just to enjoy them again. "The corner chaise lounge was for catatonics. The sofa was a sort of UN demilitarized zone, an upholstered Jerusalem that members of different creeds reluctantly shared during interbellum periods." Which leads me to this review I'm reading on Goodreads:
    From the beginning, the way that Cantero chose to describe or word particular scenes became bothersome. I began to feel rather unintelligent: 'sotto voce'd', 'perennial kawaii smile', 'Byronian face', 'Greenwich parallel of Eternia'. Umm, HUH? Maybe I should know what some of these mean, but without looking them up I simply passed right over them, not a clue.
    It's made funnier that she mentions in the previous paragraph that she liked She-Ra but then she doesn't get Greenwich parallel of Eternia. Also he's from Barcelona so English isn't even his first language.

    44/50 Movies


    • Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
    • The Dark Tower (2017)
    • Kong: Skull Island (2017)
    • Justice League (2017)
    • Geostorm (2017)
    • The Book of Henry (2017)
    • Black Panther (2018)
    • Being Canadian (2015)
    • Willow (1988)
    • Justice League Dark (2017)
    • Despicable Me 3 (2017)
    • Journey Through the Past (1974)
    • Coco (2017)
    • The Music of Strangers (2015)
    • The Big Sick (2017)
    • Chronicle (2012)
    • Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
    • Darkest Hour (2017)
    • The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
    • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
    • Ready Player One (2018)
    • Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
    • Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
    • Peter Rabbit (2018)
    • Paddington 2 (2017)
    • The Greatest Showman (2017)
    • Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
    • Solo (2018)
    • Annihilation (2018)
    • The Shape of Water (2017)
    • Incredibles 2 (2018)
    • A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
    • Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
    • Sherlock Gnomes (2018)
    • CHiPS (2017)
    • The Equalizer (2014)
    • Bubble Boy (2001)
    • Beerfest (2006)
    • Best in Show (2000)
    • Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016)
    • Inside Man (2006)
    • Mission Impossible 2 (2000)
    • Downsizing (2017)
    • Collateral Beauty (2016)
    • sdf


    Downsizing the Trailer had a pretty dumb premise - let's get little and drink! - but Downsizing the Movie was actually alright, for a bit. It just seemed to me to be all over the place with what it wanted to do. A few good ideas that were dropped too quickly and then a bummer (maybe?) of an ending.

    Collateral Beauty was just strange. I thought it was a serious movie but they kept having lots of funny comedic bits in weird places. It got to where I asked my wife and she said, "What's funny about it so far?" which made me wonder what's up with my humor. I called the last twist almost immediately when I saw it but the first one I didn't see coming until a few seconds before it happened. And holy cow...I just checked Wikipedia because I was going to complain about the one person being so much younger than Will Smith but she's only 8 years younger. She looks like she could be early 30s, that's amazing. The tech of removing a person from a scene like they did was just a little far-fetched, especially the one on the subway.

  26. #26
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    Right. Here we go. I somehow managed 68 books and 70 films. I clearly have too much time on my hands:


    Books:

    1. Martin Luther King Jr. - Letter from Birmingham Jail / The Three Dimensions Of A Complete Life
    2. Akutagawa & Others – Three Japanese Short Stories
    3. Ralph Ellison – The Black Ball (Short Stories)
    4. Nikolai Gogol – The Nose
    5. White Nights – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
    6. Emily Dickinson – My Life Had Stood A Loaded Gun
    7. Fyodor Dostoyevsky – The Meek One
    8. Gaito Gazdanov & Others – Four Russian Short Stories
    9. Franz Kafka – Investigations of a Dog
    10. Alan McGee – Creation Stories
    11. Mark Frost – Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier
    12. Patrick Ness – A Monster Calls
    13. Kevin Eldon – My Prefect Cousin
    14. Spike Millingan – The Bible According to Spike Milligan
    15. Nathan Filer – The Shock Of The Fall
    16. Jonathan Ames – Wake Up Sir!
    17. Henry Rollins – Smile You’re Travelling
    18. Henry Rollins – Do I Come Here Often?
    19. Rachel Cusk – Arlington Park
    20. Alissa Nutting – Tampa
    21. Miriam Toewes – All My Puny Sorrows
    22. Leila Johnston – Enemy Of Chaos
    23. John Dowie – The Freewheeling John Dowie
    24. Milan Kundera – Life Is Elsewhere
    25. Alex Garland – The Coma
    26. Alex Wade – The Pac-Man Principle: A Users Guide To Capitalism.
    27. Eldridge Cleaver – Post-Prison Writings & Speeches.
    28. Padraig Kenny – Tin
    29. David Lynch & Kristine Mckenna – Room To Dream
    30. Grow Up – Ben Brooks
    31. Simon Amstell – Help
    32. Han Kang – The White Book
    33. Han Kang – The Vegetarian
    34. Max Porter – Grief Is the Thing With Feathers
    35. Maya Angelou - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
    36. Mark Frost – The Secret History of Twin Peaks
    37. Richard Aoyade – The Grip of Film
    38. Peter Hook – The Hacienda, How Not To Run A Club
    39. Charles Bukowski – Post Office
    40. The School of Life – How To Find Love
    41. Matt Haig – The Possession of Mr. Cave
    42. Maya Angelou – Gather Together In My Name
    43. Ferdie Addis – The Good Samaritan Bites The Dust
    44. David Lynch – Catching The Big Fish
    45. Derren Brown – Happy
    46. Matt Haig – Notes From A Nervous Planet
    47. Haruki Murakami – Kafka On The Shore
    48. John Ajvide Lindqvist – I Am Behind You
    49. John Ajvide Lindqvist – I Will Always Find You
    50. Igort – 5 Is The Perfect Number
    51. Frederik Peeters - Pachyderme
    52. Patrick Ness – The Rest Of Us Just Live Here
    53. Haruki Murakami – Killing Commendatore
    54. Joe Lycett – Parsnips, Buttered.
    59. Bridgite Christie – A Book For Her
    60. Ryu Murakami – In The Miso Soup
    61. Jonathan Ames – I Pass Like Night
    62. Francoise Sagan – The Heart Keeper
    63. J.B. Smoove – Leon Black: The Book Of Leon
    64. F. Scott Fitzgerald – Magentism
    65. Bryan Lee O’Malley – Lost At Sea
    66. Michael Cunningham – A Wild Swan
    55. Matt Haig – A Boy Called Christmas
    56. Matt Haig – The Girl Who Saved Christmas
    57. Matt Haig – Father Christmas and Me
    58. Matt Haig – The Truth Pixie
    67. Beastie Boys – Beastie Boys Book
    68. Martin Amis – Einstein’s Monsters.


    FILMS:



    1. Demons
    2. Morvern Callar
    3. We Need To Talk About Kevin
    4. Smashed
    5. 99 Homes
    6. XX
    7. Faults
    8. Goodbye Solo
    9. A Glimpse Into The Mind Of Charles Swan III
    10. La La Land
    11. The Shape of Water
    12. Wonder Wheel
    13. You were never really here
    14. Thor Rangarok
    15. Coco
    16. Mother
    17. Three Billboards in Ebbing Missouri
    18. Murder On The Orient Express
    19. Mute
    20. Ladybird
    21. Annihilation
    22. Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle
    23. I Tonya
    24. Aaaaaaaaah!
    25. Brakes


    1. Ghost Stories
    2. Tragedy Girls
    3. LA92
    4. Paddington 2
    5. The Final Year
    6. Black Panther
    7. The Killing of A Sacred Deer
    8. Solo: A Star Wars Story
    9. How To Talk To Girls At Parties
    10. Avengers: Infinity War
    11. The Boy
    12. Thoroughbreds
    13. The Last Actor
    14. Rampage
    15. A Quiet Place
    16. Ready Player One
    17. Roman J. Esq
    18. Lucky
    19. Resolution
    20. Spring
    21. The Endless
    22. The Incredibles 2
    23. Journeyman
    24. Spiderman Homecoming
    25. Hereditary
    26. Ant Man and The Wasp
    27. Under The Shadow
    28. Isle Of Dogs
    29. Christopher Robin
    30. Mandy
    31. Climax
    32. Baskin
    33. Upgrade
    34. A Glimpse Into The Mind Of Charles Swan III
    35. The Devil and Father Amorth
    36. Possum
    37. Sorry To Bother You
    38. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
    39. Venom
    40. Three Identical Strangers
    41. Stan and Ollie
    42. Fahrenheit 11/9
    43. The Man From Mo’ Wax
    44. The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From A Mythical Man
    45. The House That Jack Built

  27. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by lloyd_dhr View Post
    12. Thoroughbreds
    Out of all of the new movies I've watched this year that's a real standout. What did you think?

  28. #28
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
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    98/50 Books

    • Son of Retro Pulp Tales by Joe R. Lansdale
    • Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    • The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
    • A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson
    • Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys: A Novel by Eric Garcia
    • We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    • William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher (AB)
    • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
    • Null States by Malka Ann Older
    • Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Red Dwarf #1) by Grant Naylor (AB)
    • Better than Life (Red Dwarf #2) by Grant Naylor (AB)
    • Backwards (Red Dwarf #4) by Rob Grant (AB)
    • Last Human (Red Dwarf #3) by Doug Naylor (AB)
    • Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia
    • Shadow Moon (Chronicles of the Shadow War #1) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas
    • Who Could That Be at This Hour? (All the Wrong Questions #1) by Lemony Snicket
    • You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras
    • Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath
    • When Did You See Her Last? (All the Wrong Questions #2) by Lemony Snicket
    • Lord and Lady Bunny--Almost Royalty! by Polly Horvath
    • File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents (All the Wrong Questions, #2.5) by Lemony Snicket
    • Shadow Dawn (Chronicles of the Shadow War #2) by Chris Claremont, George Lucas
    • 1984 by George Orwell (AB)
    • Moone Boy: The Blunder Years by Chris O'Dowd
    • Dragonslayer by Wayland Drew
    • Willow (Chronicles of the Shadow War) by Wayland Drew
    • Moone Boy: The Fish Detective by Chris O'Dowd
    • The Last Jedi by Jason Fry (AB)
    • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (AB)
    • All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells (AB)
    • The Smartest Book in the World by Greg Proops (AB)
    • Only Human (Themis Files #3) by Sylvain Neuvel (AB)
    • Shadow Star (Chronicles of the Shadow War #3) by Chris Claremont
    • 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (AB)
    • Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
    • Shouldn't You Be in School? (All the Wrong Questions #3) by Lemony Snicket
    • Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
    • Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
    • Horns by Joe Hill (AB)
    • The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch
    • Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
    • Mustache Shenanigans: Making Super Troopers and Other Adventures in Comedy by Jay Chandrasekhar
    • Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? (All the Wrong Questions #4) by Lemony Snicket
    • Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka
    • FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
    • The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer
    • Savage Season (Hap and Leonard #1) by Joe R. Lansdale
    • The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne #1) by Mark Hodder
    • Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk
    • False Idols (The Dragon Lords #2) by Jon Hollins
    • Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
    • Night Shift by Stephen King
    • Blindsight (Firefall #1) by Peter Watts (AB)
    • The Blade Itself (The First Law #1) by Joe Abercrombie
    • Gideon's Sword (Gideon Crew #1) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • Gideon's Corpse (Gideon Crew #2) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • The Hatching (The Hatching #1) by Ezekiel Boone
    • The Lost Island (Gideon Crew #3) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • Beyond the Ice Limit (Gideon Crew #4) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • The Pharaoh Key (Gideon Crew #5) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
    • The Authorities™ by Scott Meyer
    • Frank Miller's RoboCop by Frank Miller (GN)
    • Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe (Deadpool Killogy #1) by Cullen Bunn (GN)
    • Deadpool Kills Deadpool (Deadpool Killogy #3) by Cullen Bunn (GN)
    • Deadpool vs. Carnage (Deadpool VS) by Cullen Bunn (GN)
    • Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: The Official Movie Novelization by Christie Golden (AB)
    • Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
    • A-Force Presents Vol. 1 by Nathan Edmondson (GN)
    • Mechanical Failure (Epic Failure #1) by Joe Zieja (AB)
    • A-Force Presents Vol. 2 by Nathan Edmondson (GN)
    • A-Force Presents Vol. 3 by Nathan Edmondson (GN)
    • Run Program by Scott Meyer (AB)
    • Ghosts of Greenglass House (Greenglass House #2) by Kate Milford
    • The Elementals by Michael McDowell
    • The Circle by Dave Eggers
    • The Mysterious Howling (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #1) by Maryrose Wood
    • Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command by W. Haden Blackman (GN)
    • The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals by Aaron Mahnke
    • The X-Files: Cold Cases (The X-Files (Audible Original) #1) by Joe Harris (AB)
    • Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky (AB)
    • The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin
    • Year Zero by Rob Reid (AB)
    • The Hidden Gallery (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #2) by Maryrose Wood
    • Nightbooks by J.A. White
    • The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel) by Ellen Raskin
    • The Unseen Guest (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #3) by Maryrose Wood
    • The Interrupted Tale (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #4) by Maryrose Wood
    • Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge
    • The Unmapped Sea (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #5) by Maryrose Wood
    • The Long-Lost Home (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #6) by Maryrose Wood
    • The Thanos Quest (The Thanos Quest #1-2) by Jim Starlin (GN)
    • The Infinity Gauntlet (The Infinity Gauntlet #1-6) by Jim Starlin (GN)
    • The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street by Rob Nunn
    • Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
    • Sheets by Brenna Thummler (GN)
    • Semiosis by Sue Burke
    • Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover by David Liss
    • Bad Faith (The Dragon Lords #3) by Jon Hollins




    82/50 Movies

    • Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
    • The Dark Tower (2017)
    • Kong: Skull Island (2017)
    • Justice League (2017)
    • Geostorm (2017)
    • The Book of Henry (2017)
    • Black Panther (2018)
    • Being Canadian (2015)
    • Willow (1988)
    • Justice League Dark (2017)
    • Despicable Me 3 (2017)
    • Journey Through the Past (1974)
    • Coco (2017)
    • The Music of Strangers (2015)
    • The Big Sick (2017)
    • Chronicle (2012)
    • Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
    • Darkest Hour (2017)
    • The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
    • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
    • Ready Player One (2018)
    • Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
    • Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
    • Peter Rabbit (2018)
    • Paddington 2 (2017)
    • The Greatest Showman (2017)
    • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
    • Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
    • Solo (2018)
    • Annihilation (2018)
    • Incredibles 2 (2018)
    • The Shape of Water (2017)
    • A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
    • Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
    • Sherlock Gnomes (2018)
    • CHiPS (2017)
    • The Equalizer (2014)
    • Bubble Boy (2001)
    • Beerfest (2006)
    • Best in Show (2000)
    • Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016)
    • Inside Man (2006)
    • Mission Impossible 2 (2000)
    • Downsizing (2017)
    • Collateral Beauty (2016)
    • Mission Impossible 3 (2006)
    • Teen Wolf (1985)
    • Hellboy (2004)
    • Star Trek Beyond (2016)
    • The Monster Squad (1987)
    • Deadpool 2 (2018)
    • Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
    • Ant-Man & The Wasp (2018)
    • Weird Science (1985)
    • War on Everyone (2016)
    • Inherent Vice (2014)
    • It Follows (2014)
    • Atomic Blonde (2017)
    • Tomb Raider (2017)
    • The Stepford Wives (2004)
    • Death Becomes Her (1992)
    • 300: Rise of an Empire (2014)
    • Super Troopers 2 (2018)
    • The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016)
    • Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
    • Dragon Warriors (2015)
    • Lady in the Water (2006)
    • Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
    • The Mummy (2017)
    • Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
    • The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)
    • Apollo 18 (2011)
    • Ocean's Eight (2018)
    • Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
    • Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
    • Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
    • Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
    • In Bruges (2008)
    • Hotel Transylvania 3 (2018)
    • Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
    • Aquaman (2018)
    • Early Man (2018)



    War on Everyone was pretty good, you can find it on Netflix.

    Jurassic World was pretty straightforward and didn't show me anything new or exciting other than wondering how BD Wong keeps getting the nod.

    Ralph was well done and surprised me in a few spots.

    In Bruges was just brilliant. I mean, sure it was softened a bit with the memification of several key scenes but the only one that was played opposite intent was the scene in the art museum. I was so happy when I saw it as one of the options on the flight this morning. My wife was trying to sleep but I kept laughing and shaking her and the scenes on the screen were not at all helpful as to why I was laughing. I think my favorite parts were the scene when they were talking about the old lollipop man who knew karate and then the two callbacks later in the film where he punches that Canadian lady with the bottle ("Bottle!" *wham*) and when he karate chops the midget, "You don't know karate!"

    Oh and "You're an inanimate fucking object!" "I apologize for calling you an inanimate object."

    Crazy Rich Asians was just a travel brochure for Singapore.

    Aquaman was a fine middling film. Lots I liked, some parts I didn't, but it was a good start to a new DC era.

    In no particular order, the top ten books and movies of the year.

    • Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    • 1984 by George Orwell (AB)
    • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (AB)
    • Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk
    • Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
    • Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
    • The Elementals by Michael McDowell
    • The Circle by Dave Eggers
    • Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky (AB)
    • Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman



    • Black Panther (2018)
    • The Music of Strangers (2015)
    • Paddington 2 (2017)
    • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
    • Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
    • Annihilation (2018)
    • Inside Man (2006)
    • War on Everyone (2016)
    • Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
    • In Bruges (2008)


    EDIT: I'm working on the 2019 post. I'm going to make some changes to hopefully get more people interested.
    Last edited by allegate; 12-28-2018 at 07:39 PM.

  29. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by allegate View Post
    [*]You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras
    After I saw the above book on your list, I had to look it up because I love stuff like that; got it on Kindle, reading it now, LOVING it, thanks!

    Boatswain = BO-zun or BO-sun.


    I am reading way too many books at the same time (and not finishing some of them) and I did read a bunch this year but didn't list any; you guys are motivating, here!
    Last edited by allegro; 12-30-2018 at 12:50 PM.

  30. #30
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    Loved it. I knew nothing about it other than the poster grabbed me the second I saw it.

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