9.04.2008

reviews { round-up, what I've been reading/watching/playing, Sept 08 edition

Summer's over. It went by with a whimper. Summer usually makes me restless and want to do things like read more books, see more movies, and such. So here's a quick run down of what I've watched/read/played this summer and a short review.

TV
We've not had full network or cable TV since 2004. Not much worth watching but thanks to the Internet I've kept up on a few shows:


  • South Park - this summer the guys doing South Park put all their seasons and all their episodes online, for free. Its awesome. I caught up the on the last few seasons I've missed. Overall they're still funny, but they are starting to show their age. They've been around only a few years less than the Simpsons, who haven't aged well at all.
  • Battlestar Galactica - Sci-fi has started putting the BSG full episodes on line to view. Still good. This season (the last one by the way) is better than last season.
  • Grey's Anatomy - Nerdwife got me hooked. Beautiful people, everyone sleeping with everyone. Predictable plots. Don't go to Seattle Grace Hospital, everyone gets tumors there.

Movies - DVD

  • 300 - what the fuck was I thinking? Why did I torture myself with this again?
  • Cloverfield - still like it.
  • The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - 1960s French comedy, funny, bizarre, oui.
  • Red Road - drama about a Scotish police officer and her past. Recommended.
  • The Terror of Mechagodzilla - what can I say? I'm a sucker for old Godzilla movies. Lay back and enjoy.
  • Mulholland Drive - David Lynch, nuff said.
  • There Will Be Blood - Creepy but good.
  • Starcrash - spectacularly bad. I recommend it to anyone who loves watching cheesy sci-fi from the late 70s.
  • Alone in the Dark - I can see why people now don't like Uwe Boll.

Movies - Theater

  • Kung-Fu Panada - liked it, a lot.
  • Wall-E - beautiful but sad.
  • Dark Knight - kind of a flat plot. However Heath Ledger is the best Joker, ever. Worth seeing for his performances alone.
  • Wanted - meh.
  • Star Wars - Clone Wars - great animation...but the cartoon shorts by Gennedy Tartakovsky were better.
  • Tropic Thunder - was funny, could have been funnier.
  • Iron Man - liked it, but not ga-ga over it.

Books

  • 26 Lies, 1 Truth by Ben Peek - Quick and easy read. Was interesting. Had to keep reminding myself this book is fiction.
  • Wormwood by Ben Templesmith - graphic novel. I enjoy the characters, the art, the plot, the genre.
  • Aliens Omnibus by various - collection of Aliens comics.
  • Predator Omnibus by various - same as Aliens, but starring the Predator.
  • Star Wars, Rogue Squadron Omnibus by various - majority of the story is done by Michael Stackpole, an author I enjoy from his Battletech works. I like the Omnibus, its like 30 comics in one and gives a complete story arc.
  • the complete set of Patrick O'Brian - I'm up to the third book, H.M.S. Surprise
  • Bass Guitar for Dummies - yep, get my learnin on. Its actually a pretty good book. I'm learning the basics and starting to make noise. I'm supplementing this with some how-to videos I found on YouTube.

Music

  • various, my current playlist has a lot of Feist, Death Cab for Cutie, The Ting Tings, Postal Service, Lily Allen

Podcasts

  • Outlandish
  • SModCast
  • WoWcast
  • Evil Genius Chronicles
  • TWiT
  • Security Now
  • Off the Hook
  • This American Life

Games

  • World of Warcraft - this has become my TV time, our raid group is up to Black Temple
  • Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas - popping caps/getting paid
  • Dawn of War: Soulstorm - Sisters of Battle yo!
  • Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos/The Frozen Throne - its still a great game
  • Starcraft - getting ready for Starcraft 2
  • X3: The Reunion - my poor mercantile empire with super awesome HQ and warships was left neglected since 2006, my employees wanted to be paid. Plus I had a few more empty sectors to turn into vital trade hubs.

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