Movies and Books: 2010 So Far

[kalient]

Books...
1. B Is for Beer by Tom Robbins
   
2. The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore
   (I haven't decided how I feel about him yet. His books are funny, but they don't really grab me. I'm sure I'll read Blood Sucking Fiends, because Twilight has piqued my interest in non-traditional vampires. I keep expecting him to be more like Hiaasen, but he's just not. Or like Christopher Buckley, who I also love.)
   
3. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & The Olympians #1)
   
4. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & The Olympians #2)
   
5. Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
   (Because I had to. And then it went to Half-Priced Books.)
   
6. Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies by June Casagrande
   (This commentary on the English language was much more fun.)
   
7. How I Became Stupid by Martin Page
   
8. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
   
9. Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
   (I kept falling asleep within pages of picking these up. Which is weird, because they also required a fair bit of concentration...)
   
10. Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer
    
11. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
    (I guess I'm glad I finally got around to reading this, but I'm definitely not going to continue the series.)
    
12. And Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris (Started for a book club. Abandoned about halfway through.)
    
13. Greywalker by Kat Richardson
    (Lent to me by a fellow Twilight fan. I didn't like it. The magic structure was too complicated for my taste (too many kinds of magic), and apparently I wasn't reading between the lines. The protagonist would figure things out, and I wouldn't get it until she specifically explained it to another character. I guess I'm used to Twilight, where I often figured things out before Bella did. Anyway, this just didn't work for me. But it was set in Seattle, and I enjoyed recognizing place names.)
    
14. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Really liked it!)
    
15. Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen (Love Hiaasen!)
    
    Around the end of March, my Twilight fixation finally came to an end. Before that, there were still
    
16. a full reread of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
    
17. a full reread of New Moon (partly because I didn't have a copy at all for a few months, so when I got it I gobbled it)
    
18. a partial (maybe full) reread of Eclipse
    
19. and a partial reread of Breaking Dawn

In film... You can tell when I was housesitting or out of town, because I watch a LOT more movies those months. Presented in chronological order, with "HOW HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS BEFORE?!?!?!" in bold. (A * means I'd seen it before.)

January

1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon* (I'm embarrassed how many times I saw this in the theater. I've never paid so much on a movie in my life.)
   
2. Management (Odd.)
   
3. Premonition (2007) (I'd been wanting to see this for a while. I haven't decided whether or not I was disappointed.)
   
4. The Holiday* (I enjoy this movie every time.)
   
5. The Break-Up* (I like that this has a not-terribly-happy ending.)
   
6. Weeds, Season 1 (All in one day, a marathon while my friend was on call. It helped her stay awake, and we both enjoyed it. Good all around.)
   
7. Uncounted
   
8. Avatar (2009) (It was everything I expected it to be: pretty and slow.)
   
9. Daybreakers (I'm really not sure what I was thinking. Concept, yes. But I have a weak stomach when it comes to gory movies. An R-rated vampire flick? I really should've known better.)
   
10. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Johnny and Jude were great replacements. Colin was sort of hit-and-miss.)
    
11. Sling Blade (Sort of predictable, but it ended the way I wanted it to.)
    
12. Georgia Rule
    
13. The Gay Divorcee
    
    January highlights: Hrm... Nothing really stands out. Maybe Dr. Parnassus?
    
    February
    
14. The Girl Most Likely to...
    
15. Fracture (I've been wanting to see this for a while. I don't like Ryan Gosling, and Anthony Hopkins seems rather type-cast, but I think I liked it anyway.)
    
16. Man on Wire
    Nine Lives (2005) (I skipped some vignettes that weren't catching my attention, so I'm not sure it should count...)
    
17. Descent (2007) (Wow. That was a lot darker than I expected. Rosario's a damn good actress.)
    
18. This Is Spinal Tap*
    
19. The Girl Next Door (2004)
    
20. Girl with a Pearl Earring
    
21. The Couch Trip
    
22. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (I was expecting to like it more than the book. Silly me.) (And yet, I saw it a few times in the theater, so I guess I liked it enough.)
    
23. Twilight* (2008)
    
24. The Good Girl
    
25. The Good Night
    
26. Greg the Bunny, Complete Series
    
27. The Dog Problem
    
28. Ma vie en rose
    
    February highlights: Descent (though I'm not sure I'd recommend it), The Dog Problem
    
    March
    
29. Duckman, Season 3
    
30. Grey Matters (Cute. I'll admit it: I like Heather Graham.)
    
31. Pinky
    
32. Blame It on Rio
    
33. Nine (2009 musical)
    
34. Duckman, Season 4
    
35. Up (2009) (Yes, I cried. Quite a bit.)
    
36. Up in the Air (It ended with a mix of "yeah, I was waiting for that to happen" and "wait, what?" I liked it.)
    
37. Alice in Wonderland (2010) (It took me a while to get to this, but I'm glad I made the effort to read the books first. And the screen was a little out of focus, so that was pretty annoying.)
    
38. Mr. Accident (A random OnDemand selection. It was good for background viewing.)
    
39. Remember Me (2010) (I was not expecting the ending, and it had quite an emotional impact on me. I saw it alone, so I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. I promptly went to see a light-hearted distraction movie.)
    
40. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix* (It was on, and I always get sucked in when ABC Family has their little marathons.)
    
41. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* (Because after watching Order of the Phoenix, I was in the mood. Made me really wish I had a nice, high-def, widescreen TV.)
    
42. Gun Crazy (1949) (Not really sure why this ended up in my Netflix Queue...)
    
43. Deep Crimson (or Profundo carmesí) (This was disgusting. I'm really not sure why I watched it through to the end. And it's hard to think of it as an award-winning film. Ick.)
    
44. Welcome to Mooseport (This was a lot better than I expected.)
    
45. Just Married (2003) (Another movie I liked more than I thought I would.)
    
46. Swimfan (I've wanted to see this since it came out. Took long enough.)
    
47. Meet Bill* (After Percy Jackson, I developed a maybe-crush on Logan Lerman. He has a great smirk sometimes.)
    
48. After Sex (2007)
    
49. Hoot
    
    March highlights: Up, Up in the Air, Remember Me, Meet Bill
    
    April
    
50. Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
    
51. Highwaymen
    
52. Mona Lisa Smile
    
53. Everybody's Fine (2009) (Another tearjerker. I was warned, but I didn't expect to cry quite so much.)
    
54. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
    
55. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
    
56. To Sir, with Love (1967)
    
57. Godspell (Wow, that was so 1973. I was very distracted by the young Victor Garber.)
    
58. My One and Only
    
59. Hello, Dolly! (Goofy. I might've liked it more if it wasn't Barbra in the lead.)
    
60. Harvey (I thought I knew what to expect, but I was wrong. It was still cute, but in a different way.)
    
61. Gamer
    
62. The Squid and the Whale
    
63. What's the Worst That Could Happen?
    
64. Easy (2003)
    
65. Head (Wow, this was craptastic. But I suppose it was appropriate viewing on 4/20. I think the only reason I watched to the end was that I was too lazy to get up and change it.)
    
66. High Art
    
67. The Shawshank Redemption (I've seen so many spoofs that I actually didn't know how it was going to end. Guess that worked out okay. *grin* )
    
68. Above the Rim
    
69. Clash of the Titans (1981)* (One of the first things I watch on blu-ray on my HDTV. Obviously that's the only way to fully appreciate stop-motion animation.)
    
70. Clash of the Titans (2010) (I'm amused that they changed Perseus' origin story to eliminate Zeus taking the form of a golden shower.)
    
71. Date Night
    
72. Monsterthursday
    
73. W. (Feh. I think that wraps it up. Feh.)
    
74. Gosford Park (Interesting ending, but not worth the slow, long journey.)
    
    April highlights: Clash of the Titans was worth paying for. Shawshank, Easy. But nothing really grabbed me.
    
    May
    
75. Good Morning, Vietnam
    
76. Kramer vs. Kramer
    
77. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
    
78. Bright Star
    
79. Temple Grandin (I thought Claire Danes did a wonderful job.)
    
80. Key Largo
    
81. Bedtime Stories
    
82. Punch-Drunk Love (V. odd, but I think I liked it.)
    
83. O
    
84. Henry & June (Wow. That was hot. I was really frustrated that I was alone that night. Damn.)
    
85. The Third Man
    
86. I Love You, Man
    
87. The Avengers (Several WTF moments. Like the men in colorful bear suits. Srsly?)
    
88. How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
    
89. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
    
90. Robin Hood (2010)
    
91. I'm Not There
    
92. Jack & Bobby, Complete Series (Loved it!)
    
93. The Puffy Chair
    
94. Caveman
    
95. The Great Debaters
    
96. Deconstructing Harry (Why do I keep watching Woody Allen movies? I know I don't like them.)
    
97. Baghead
    
98. Help!
    
99. Original Sin
    
100. Layer Cake
     
101. Pineapple Express
     
102. You Don't Know Jack
     
103. Dim Sum Funeral
     
104. Igor
     
105. Land of the Lost
     
106. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (I enjoyed that a lot more than I thought I would -- and I already expected to like it!)
     
107. 8 Women (Wow that was goofy.)
     
108. Nim's Island
     
109. Marnie
     
110. The Last Dragon (ossum_pawesome was definitely the right person to see this with. Oh. My. Gawd.)
     
111. Flicka
     
     May highlights: Jack & Bobby, Help! (the Beatles's films are pretty cute), Zack and Miri
     
     June
     
112. Turn the River
     
113. Irina Palm
     
114. Penelope (2008)
     
115. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Good fun.)
     
116. Home Fries
     
117. War, Inc.
     
118. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
     
119. The Amateurs (2005)
     
120. Speed Racer
     
121. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Liked it a lot more than I thought I would.)
     
122. Riding in Cars with Boys (Did not care for it.)
     
123. Inkheart
     
124. Man on the Moon (I suppose Jim Carrey did a good job, but I did not like this.)
     
125. Iron Man 2 (Yes. Robert Downey, Jr. rocks my world.)
     
126. Nine to Five*
     
127. Life or Something Like It
     
128. Color Me Kubrick
     
129. The Forbidden Zone (Very strange. So very strange.)
     
130. The Ugly Truth
     
131. Choke
     
132. Who Was That Lady?
     
133. How to Save a Marriage (and Ruin Your Life)
     
134. Antitrust (A little predictable, but I actually liked it.)
     
135. Bender's Game
     
136. Camille (2007) (Very cute.)
     
137. The IT Crowd, Series 1
     
138. Killers (2010) (Katherine Heigl - typecast much?)
     
139. The Wedding Weekend
     
140. A Dirty Shame (I wish I'd seen the unedited version, but it was still John Waters fun.)
     
141. The A-Team
     
142. Cherish
     
143. Confessions of a Superhero
     
144. The Snake Pit
     
145. Astro Boy (2009)
     
146. Viva Cuba
     
147. The Butterfly Effect*
     
148. The Philadelphia Story
     
149. Dexter, Season 2 (It's amusing to realize that I expect my serial killer anti-hero to have certain ethics. I mean, he hardly even lies, so it really bothered me when he broke some other commandments.)
     
150. How to Irritate People
     
151. The Tudors, Season 1
     
152. Human Nature
     
153. The IT Crowd, Series 2
     
     June highlights: Penelope, War, Inc., Choke (Palahniuk!), Camille, The IT Crowd, Dexter