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Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
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2:00 am - Best of 2011
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2011 movie list here: http://mikey-von-kang.dreamwidth.org/27293.html
Best of 2008 here: http://kenshin-iv.livejournal.com/120300.html
Best of 2009 and 2010 here: http://mikey-von-kang.dreamwidth.org/20170.html
The Best:
1. The Apartment (1960)
2. Network
3. The Third Man
4. Goodfellas
5. Blood Simple
6. Sunset Boulevard
7. The Deer Hunter
8. Cool Hand Luke
9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
10. Paths of Glory
11. Annie Hall
12. American Graffiti
13. On the Waterfront
14. Pulp Fiction
15. Moon
16. Metropolis (1927)
17. Mildred Pierce (1945)
18. Tangled (Rapunzel)
19. Zodiac
20. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Worst (Number 1 being the worst):
20. Knights of the Round Table
19. Get Smart
18. A Christmas Carol (2009)
17. The Moguls (The Amateurs)
16. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
15. Natural Born Killers
14. Midnight Cowboy
13. The Transporter
12. Psycho III
11. The Wolfman
10. More American Graffiti
9. Plan 9 from Outer Space
8. Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1958)
7. The Blob (1958)
6. Eraserhead
5. The Dead (1987)
4. MacGruber
3. Clash of the Titans (2010)
2. Beverly Hills Cop III
1. Catwoman
Pleasant Surprises (In alphabetical order):
2012
Addams Family Values
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
Beverly Hills Cop
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Captain America: The First Avenger
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Despicable Me
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
First Blood
Forbidden Planet
Gattaca
Green Zone
The Hangover: Part II
Hannah and Her Sisters
How to Train Your Dragon
The Informant!
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
The Manhattan Project
Midnight Express
Moon
Mulholland Drive
Panic Room
Pieces of April
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Slap Shot
Source Code
Super 8
Tangled (Rapunzel)
WarGames
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| Sunday, January 1st, 2012
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3:28 am - My 2011 Movie Viewings
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So, 2011 was the year where I watched movies... And did basically nothing else (as you can see). I took a gigantic chunk out of my back log, and you'll see some very surprising films in there that I saw for the first time (e.g. Goodfellas,Pulp Fiction). Usual rules apply with the stars, but I will note that while anything under 3 stars means I did not like the movie, a 2-and-a-half star film does not necessarily mean it was a terrible movie. I cannot sit here and tell you that I truly believe that 2012 was a better movie than The Ice Storm or Bad Lieutenant, but 2012 worked for me for what it set out to do, while I felt The Ice Storm and Bad Lieutenant fell short of the bar those films set. The standards were set higher, and this is another reason why you really should not pay too close attention to the star ratings.
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| Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
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12:43 am - The Bestest Games EVAR!!!1
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If I happened to miss any, feel free to let me know (and, no, I did not forget Grand Theft Auto, Gears of War, World of Warcraft, or Halo -- those games just don't belong on here).
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| Thursday, September 15th, 2011
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12:08 am - The Song I'd Want to Hear on My Death Bed
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| Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
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9:43 pm - HAAAAA!
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4:25 pm - Old Mutant Ninja Turtles
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Scrolling through channels and I noticed that the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie from 1990 was on. So, of course I'm like "fuck, yeah! I have my next hour and a half set." I must have been around 6 years old when I saw that in the theater with my cousins Janine and David. Oh, hey, just did the math in my head, and I was right -- 6 years old. Anyway, I IMDbededed the movie and I noticed that the actress who plays April O'Neil in this one, who at the time when I was sitting in the theater I thought could've been old enough to be my mother, was 22 years old when the film got released. Her birthday is one day after mine, too. So, anyway, she was FIVE years YOUNGER than I am right now when she made this movie. Where has my life gone, and when and where did it all go so wrong?
Another thing that made me el-oh-el was seeing Sam Rockwell show up for, like, two scenes. He was more or less in it to be all "Hi, I'm Sam Rockwell, and I'm going to be an established actor in, oh, say 10 years." http://youtu.be/OTQO9cfs9uw?t=52s
I also saw the film, The Third Man last night for the first time. Excellent movie -- I would recommend it to anyone regardless of personal taste. I think anyone can enjoy it. Without giving anything away, I especially like how it was about a guy who did the right thing and got shit in the face for it. He lost out on what he wanted most because he did what was right, but had he done nothing he would have gotten what he wanted. He didn't get any medals, no rewards, no congratulations, and certainly no girl outta doing what was right. Now THAT'S reality for you. If they had used the requisite happy ending like one of the producers wanted, it would not have been anywhere near as effective an ending.
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| Friday, June 10th, 2011
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3:14 pm - E3 2011
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| Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
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4:53 am
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Been up all night with a severe coughing fit. Totally awesome times I tells ya wot.
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| Thursday, May 12th, 2011
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11:14 pm - My Hero
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| Saturday, January 22nd, 2011
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2:12 pm - Most Anticipated of 2011
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There are a ton of games coming out in 2011 that are worth getting excited for. It has the potential to be the biggest year for games since 1998 (Ocarina of Time, Xenogears, Final Fantasy Tactics, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2). I easily could've made this list 20 games long as I didn't even include games like Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, Dragon Age II, Infamous 2, the new Deus Ex, Ghost Trick (which I've played, and is great) or even the game that took 12 years to make, Duke Nukem Forever. Heck, there's even a new Legend of Zelda coming out (though, I admittedly do not like the direction they're taking that game -- all motion controlled). The reason I didn't is because I'm curious to see how different my top 10 will be at the end of the year.).
My "Best of 2010" list can be found here.
- The Last Guardian
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
- Mass Effect 3
- Batman: Arkham City
- Dead Space 2
- Okamiden
- Catherine
- Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
- The 3rd Birthday
- L.A. Noire
And, just to see if I'll be right, my expectations are Gears of War 3 will be the most overrated game of 2011... With Resistance 3 not being too far off. Though, Id's Rage is another title that's looking like it will get all kinds of undeserved accolades. I had to throw that last bit in there, because if I'm wrong about that one I'll be the first to admit it.
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12:58 am - Game of the Year 2010
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A few notes first -- for one, I tried making it look a lot less messy than last year's list. Doubtful it worked, but oh well, I tried. Also, this was the year of the downloadable game. Almost every category is filled with downloadable titles, and there was a ton of quality on both XBLA and PSN. The final note is that after taking two steps forward last year, the PlayStation 3 took a step back this year. Not only did they release very few exclusives, but the runner up for the PS3 exclusive of the year also happened to take the top spot for my biggest letdown, as well as find a place in my "most overrated" category. On the other hand, the Wii had by far its best year, though I still do not own one and therefor was not able to really include any Wii titles again in here.
The "Runners Up" are not in any particular order unless otherwise noted.
2007's list can be found here. 2008's list can be found here, and 2009's can be found here.
The Top 10 Games of 2010:
- Mass Effect 2
- Red Dead Redemption
- Bayonetta
- Heavy Rain
- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent
- Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
Best Multiplatform Game: Red Dead Redemption -- Runner Up: Bayonetta
Best Xbox 360 Game: Mass Effect 2 -- Runner Up: Alan Wake
Best PlayStation 3 Game: Heavy Rain -- Runner Up: God of War III
Best PSP Game: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep -- Runner Up: Valkyria Chronicles II
Best DS Game: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth -- Runners Up: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
Possible (But Not Definite) Wii Games Worth Looking Into (in alphabetical order): Best Downloadable Game: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
Runners Up (in alphabetical order):
Best Level Design: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Runners Up:
- Ilomilo
- Mega Man 10
- Limbo
- Super Meat Boy
- Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
- Raskulls
- (Possible Wii Mentions: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Epic Yarn)
Best Multiplayer Game: Rock Band 3
Runners Up: Best Story: Mass Effect 2
Runners Up:- Heavy Rain
- Red Dead Redemption
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
- Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
- Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
- (Possible Wii Mention: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon)
Best Graphics: God of War III
Runners Up:Best Wii Graphics: Kirby's Epic Yarn Runners Up: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Red Steel 2, Fragile Dreams
Best Portable Graphics: God of War: Ghost of Sparta Runners Up: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Best Boss Battles (SPOILERS!): Bayonetta
Runners Up:
Best Expansion: Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
Runners Up: Best Remake: Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge Special Edition
Runners Up: Most Innovative Game: Heavy Rain
Runners Up: Top 10 Original Scores (NOTE: This category is based on each soundtrack as a whole -- not on any individual tracks):
- Red Dead Redemption by Bill Elm & Woody Jackson
- Mass Effect 2 by Jack Wall
- Heavy Rain by Normand Corbeil
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth by Noriyuki Iwadare & Yasuko Yamada
- Final Fantasy XIV by Nobuo Uematsu
- Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World by Anamanaguchi
- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow by Óscar Araujo
- Valkyria Chronicles II by Hitoshi Sakimoto
- Final Fantasy XIII by Masashi Hamauzu
- Alan Wake by Petri Alanko
Best Original Songs (Three-way Tie/ In Alphabetical Order): Most Improved Sequel: Red Dead Redemption
Runners Up: - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
- Mass Effect 2
- Just Cause 2
- Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
- Rock Band 3
- Super Scribblenauts
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
- Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
- (Possible Wii Mentions: Red Steel 2, Sonic Colors)
Best Trailer for an Upcoming Game (NOTE: Trailers MUST show gameplay): Catherine
Runners Up (in alphabetical order):Most Pleasant Surprise: Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Runners Up: Biggest Letdown: God of War III
Runners Up: Most Underrated Game: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Runners Up: - Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
- Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
- Costume Quest
- Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
- 3D Dot Game Heroes
- Vanquish
- Darksiders
- (Possible Wii Mentions: Epic Mickey, Fragile Dreams, Metroid: Other M, Arc Rise Fantasia)
Most Overrated Game: Call of Duty: Black Ops
Runners Up: Worst Game of the Year: Dead or Alive Paradise
Runners Up:Top Five Best Covers (NOTE: Collector's Edition covers do NOT count): - Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
- Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
- Epic Mickey
- Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
- Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
Top Five Worst Covers:
- God of War III
- MAG
- Heavy Rain
- Mass Effect 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Most Unnecessarily Long and Obnoxious Title: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon Runner Up: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
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| Sunday, January 16th, 2011
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2:28 am - 2009 and 2010 Movie Viewings Recap
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A funny thing happened as I looked over the movie lists I made in the past three years. I saw exactly one less film in both 2009 and 2010 (59) as I did in all of 2008 (60... for those who can't count). Of course, there's a personal reason why I've been skimping on the movies since, oh, late May of 2009. However, that's not what this is about. Since I made a recap list of the movies I saw in 2008, I figured I would do the same for the combined years of 2009 and 2010.
Yes, I am aware that 6 of the 10 best films I saw in the past two years are animated -- just how it happened. They're unquestionable great films and deserving of their places. I only had two animated films (WALL-E and Toy Story 2 -- both Pixar specialities) on my list in 2008. I also didn't see enough "really" bad movies to make a full list of 10 "worst films." Sure I saw more than seven bad movies, but no more than seven I would put on any "worst of" list.
It should also be noted that these films are not exclusively films that came out in 2009 and 2010, but films from any year that I happened to see in 2009 and 2010.
My best of 2008 can be found here: http://kenshin-iv.livejournal.com/120300.html
My 2009 movie list can be found here: http://mikey-von-kang.dreamwidth.org/13586.html
My 2010 movie list can be found -- yes, you guessed it -- here: http://mikey-von-kang.dreamwidth.org/19254.html
The Best 10 Films I Saw in 2009 and 2010:
1. Toy Story 3
2. The Iron Giant
3. Inception
4. Summer Wars
5. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
6. Coraline
7. Up
8. Slumdog Millionaire
9. Rachel Getting Married
10. Rob Roy
The Worst 7 Films I Saw in 2009 and 2010 (number "1" being the worst):
7. Jaws 2
6. The Next Karate Kid
5. Dragonball Evolution
4. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
3. 10,000 B.C.
2. Jaws 3-D
1. Jaws: The Revenge
Pleasant Surprises (in alphabetical order):
Changeling
Coraline
The Darjeeling Limited
The Hangover
The Mist
Rob Roy
Waitress
Zombieland
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| Sunday, January 2nd, 2011
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4:34 pm - My 2010 Movie Viewings
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| Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
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3:46 pm - E3 2010
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E3 sucked this year, so just a quick summary (hit F5 to quickly skip ads, and apologies for having to use IGN video's for the game demonstrations):
Game of Show: Dead Space 2
Runner Up #1: Portal 2
Runner Up #2: Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Runner Up #3: Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Wii Game of Show: Epic Mickey
Wii Runner Up #1: Donkey Kong Country Returns
Wii Runner Up #2: Kirby's Epic Yarn
DS Game of Show: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky
DS Runner Up: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
PSP Game of Show: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
PSP Runner Up: The 3rd Birthday
Best New Announcement: Silent Hill 8
Best Trailer: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Best Game That Now Has a Keyboard Peripheral: Rock Band 3
Best Game That Finally Has a Sequel: Kid Icarus: Uprising
Best Monkey Island: Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge Special Edition
Best Game That Will Probably Be Ruined By Motion Controls: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Best Game That I Was Most Looking Forward to, but Didn't Show Up At E3: The Last Guardian
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| Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
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9:33 pm
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| Thursday, March 25th, 2010
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7:25 am - Final Fantasy XIII -- Better Than Expected
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I just finished Final Fantasy XIII. I will talk a bit about it, but avoid all spoilers, since John and Moon haven't played it yet I don't think. I will start off by saying that I went in expecting absolutely nothing from this one (which was the opposite of how I went into Final Fantasy XII -- which I had massive expectations for since it was the first numbered Final Fantasy made by the Final Fantasy Tactics team). Early looks at the game from the demo released last year, some truly terrible character names (Hope, Snow, Lightning, Yaag, etc.), as well as mixed early word out of Japan did not lend me to expect much. However, the game exceeded all expectations as is a terrific, though not "great", entry in the series.
Story (Spoiler Free):
The first thing people go for in an RPG (and Final Fantasy games in particular) is the story. Eh, it's interesting from beginning to end, but nothing really jaw-dropping. That is, until the end. The game's payoff is the highlight of its story, and easily the best ending in the main the series since Final Fantasy IX's. Though, if I were to compare the story as a whole it to it's most recent entries I would say that Final Fantasy X's is better, and Final Fantasy XII has a more interesting plot and setting -- though the story in FF12 is not well paced at all, and -- unlike FF13 -- has a truly anti-climatic and somewhat unfinished ending. The dialogue is what you'd expect from a Final Fantasy. Which is, to say, terrible and cheesy. It's easier to get away with this when you're just reading text, but with voices attached, it can get REAL bad at times.
Characters:
The characters have awful names. There is no way around it. However, the cast as a whole is not bad. As a whole, that is.
Lightning Farron: Lightning is the game's central protagonist and one of the better characters in the story. Thankfully, her name is only an alias, and her real name is actually a "real" name. When you hear it, you'll get Resident Evil deja vu. She was made from ground up to be "cool" and is designed sort of like a female Cloud. She is the "coolest" main character in the immediate series since Cloud, though Zidane had a few more dimensions to him.
Snow Villiers: Snow, unlike Lightning, is his real name. I went into the game expecting to hate this character, and the demo from last year didn't help his cause when every other thing he said is "we're real heroes!" He isn't as bad as I expected, but he has his moments where you want to punch him the face (Lightning does that for us -- another reason why we like her). The voice cast throughout the game is exceptional, and Snow's is one of the best. The actor, who also played the infinitely cooler Yuri Lowell from Tales of Vesperia, is probably one of the reasons I didn't hate him quite as much as I thought.
Oerba Dia Vanille: Vanille is FF13's Yuffie/ Selphie/ Eiko/ Rikku/ Penelo and is actually one of the better ones. She's overly perky in the beginning, and that can wear on you a bit, but her story arc is by far the most interesting and they made the right choice by telling the overall story through her point of view.
Sazh Katzroy: All I have to say about Sazh is that they completely missed the boat by not making Sazh the series first playable "Cid" since Cid Highwind from Final Fantasy VII. Not only is one the best, and most real characters in the entire game, but he's an old airship pilot! C'mon! Cid in a nutshell! And waaaaaaay cooler than the game's actual "Cid." Oh, and a baby chocobo lives in his afro. This character is awesome.
Hope Esthiem: The worst named character in any Final Fantasy is right up there with some of the worst Final Fantasy characters ever. Quina, Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Amarant, and now Hope. He makes Vaan from FF12 look cool. Like Snow, I went in expecting to hate him, and boy I hated him. Every time he spoke I wanted someone to punch him.
Oerba Yun Fang: Fang is by FAR the best character in the game. She's a lot like a female Balthier from FF12 (that game's best character). The writing isn't as good for her as it was for him, but she does what she can with the poor script. Her story, like Vanille's, is also one of the more interesting in the game.
Battle System:
Like Final Fantasy XII before it, the real reason to play this game is the gameplay. Yes, the first 20-30 hours of the game are a straight line, and yes it takes about 10 hours into the game for them to give you all you can do with the battle system, but the system is fun, challenging, and rewarding. Late in the game when the world opens up to you, the game turns into a mini-FF12 with clan hunts and all. This is the best part of the game. In a way, it's a lot like Final Fantasy X. A straight line up until the end, when they finally give you your side questings. Unlike FF10, the side quests are basically clan hunts from FF12 instead of...well, dodging lightning bolts. Another way to put is, unlike FF10, the side quests are GOOD. FF10's biggest faults were how linear it was, how boring the mini-games and side quests were, and how uninteresting the battle system was. FF12 was the exact opposite of that, and FF13 is a lot more like FF12 in that regard than I expected. It IS linear -- even more so than FF10 -- but when you finally get to the hunts, the game takes off.
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| Saturday, February 13th, 2010
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2:16 am - Summer Wars: Or, "The Movie I Still Loved Despite a Character Wearing a Red Sox Jersey"
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There is more imagination, creativity, and (especially) originality in a single frame of director Mamoru Hosoda and writer Satoko Okudera's Summer Wars than in the the entire two hours and forty-plus minutes of James Cameron's Avatar. Cameron, an anime fan himself, is more interested in the latest special effects and action in his latest film than merging it with an original story, as well as characters with personality.
Summer Wars does just that.
This is a true science fiction film that takes place in a very near future. The internet plays a huge role in the film, but it is a vastly superior internet than the one we're all accustomed to. Everything (from banking, to sporting events, to gaming, etc.) is done through a system called "Oz," which allows users to log into a virtual reality world through their computers, cell phones, and (as a slight joke) the Nintendo DS. Each user creates his or her own avatar -- which is usually depicted as a cartoony version of ones self -- which acts in the virtual world the same way we would go out to store and shop (on a side note, the mascots of Oz are two giant whales named "John" and "Yoko." I chuckled). Therefor, there is a huge reliance on Oz. Naturally, something will go wrong in the system, and without Oz working properly, everything turns chaotic. This is about as far as the social commentary goes in this film, as it is more about one (rather large) family's story than Oz itself. One rather humorous scene depicts a woman who is stuck in traffic going miles out of her way because her GPS (which is now on the fritz) told her so.
As I said, the story is really about one family, and the wonderful visuals and creative setting only serve to tell their story. Having said that, the film does play out very much like a summer blockbuster, despite not being one. This is (as the film's title would imply) done intentionally, as the movie never takes conventional "movie cliche's" seriously. That each character is connected with Oz's break down in such a convenient and coincidental way can only happen in the movies. However, the film goes out of its way to tell us that it's aware of this, and even pokes fun at itself from time to time. It also features the most epic game of "Go Fish" ever filmed.
The film does derive from its light tone when it needs to be, and at times surprisingly can hit close to the heart. Is is a sign that the film is doing something right with it's characters when you've started caring about them before you even realize it.
This is a terrific film, and I recommend it (as well as Hosoda and Okudera's previous, and equally as brilliant, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) to any film fan. You don't need to be a fan of animation or Japanese culture to enjoy this one.
NOTE: I should add that I did not, in fact, dislike Cameron's Avatar. It is a good, albeit long and drawn out, popcorn movie with a lot of great visuals and action. The first 30-45 minutes of the film even border on great. However, the rest of the film has been done numerous times before, and done MUCH better. Not only is Avatar not one of Cameron's best, it is also nowhere near one of the year's best. And that's saying a lot, because I have yet to see most of what's considered this year's best films so far.
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| Sunday, January 17th, 2010
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8:28 pm - Game of the Year 2009
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My third annual "Game of the Year" awards. 2007 and 2008 can be found in their respective links. Some notes beforehand: This was overall a fairly down year for gaming (having said that, the number 1 pick is more than worthy of being the number 1 pick). Mostly because half of the big holiday games were pushed back out of fear of Modern Warfare 2, which broke record sales. Therefor I have a new list at the end showing off the huge amount of games coming in 2010 that are worth a chance.
Also, I am no longer an owner of a Wii, which is a shame because it seemed to have by far it's best year this year. This after a horrendous 2008 for Nintendo. Because of this, I was not able to play any of the big titles on the system and therefor can give no opinion on them. Instead, I gave it it's own list compiled of titles that have received good word from both critics and consumers. The list was included for two reasons: One being a list of probable quality titles that may have put a dent in my finalized "top 10" list, and two being that quality does not sell well on the Wii. Nor does it get marketed well. So if all of the two people who will read this happens to have a Wii, those are some choices to consider. I also added "possible Wii mentions" to all necessary minor categories.
There is no "best downloaded game" category this year because I haven't played many, and the ones I have aren't good enough to be considered "best" anything. One final note is that due to being annoyed by seeing the abundance of unnecessarily long and obnoxious titles for both games and movies, I included it's own category! And now here's the big list compiled because of not much else to do:
The Top 10 Games of the Year:- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Assassin's Creed II
- Street Fighter IV
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
- Tales of Monkey Island
- Demon's Souls
- Torchlight
- Infamous
Possibly Good Games on the Wii (in alphabetical order):Best Story: Uncharted 2 Runners Up: Dragon Age: Origins, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, Tales of Monkey Island, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, Assassin's Creed II (Possible Wii Mention: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories)
Best Level Design (SPOILERS!): Uncharted 2 Runners Up: Assassin's Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Trials HD, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Little Big Planet PSP (Possible Wii Mention: New Super Mario Bros. Wii)
Best Multiplayer: Left 4 Dead 2 Runners Up: Borderlands, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, The Beatles: Rock Band, Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, Uncharted 2 (Possible Wii Mention: New Super Mario Bros. Wii)
Best Graphics: Uncharted 2 Runners Up: Killzone 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Resident Evil 5, The King of Fighters XII
Best Wii Graphics: Muramasa: The Demon Blade Runners Up: Dead Space Extraction, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Best Original Score: Dragon Age: Origins by Inon Zur Runners Up: WET by Brian LeBarton, Borderlands by Jesper Kyd, Demon's Souls by Shunsuke Kida, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor by Takami Asano, Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica by Akira Tsuchiya, Ken Nakagawa, and Daisuke Achiwa
Best Original Song: "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" from Borderlands Runners Up: "When You're Gone" from Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, "The Donut Song" from 'Splosion Man
Best Remake: The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition Runners Up: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Star Ocean: Second Evolution, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (Possilbe Wii Mention: Excitebike: World Rally)
Best Boss Battles (SPOILERS!): Demon's Souls Runner Up: Resident Evil 5
Most Innovative Game: Demon's Souls Runners Up: Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, Scribblenauts (Possible Wii Mention: Little King's Story)
Most Improved Sequel: Assassin's Creed II Runners Up: Killzone 2, Uncharted 2
Best Cover: Dragon Age: Origins Runners Up: Street Fighter IV, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, The King of Fighters XII, Borderlands
Worst Cover: Dragonball Evolution Runner Up: Dead Space Extraction, James Cameron's Avatar: The Game
Most Pleasant Surprise: Demon's Souls Runners Up: Batman: Arkham Asylum, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Torchlight, Trials HD, Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, WET (Possible Wii Mention: Little King's Story)
Biggest Letdown: The King of Fighters XII Runners Up: Brutal Legend, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, Scribblenauts, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (Possible Wii Mentions: The Conduit, FFCC: The Crystal Bearers)
Most Overrated Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Runners Up: Shadow Complex, UFC 2009 Undisputed, Fight Night Round 4, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Worst Game of the Year: Tony Hawk: Ride Runners Up: Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust, Dragonball Evolution, Jurassic: The Hunted
Most Unnecessarily Long and Obnoxious Title: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers Runners Up: James Cameron's Avatar: The Game, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Best Trailer for an Upcoming Release: The Last Guardian Runners Up: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
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| Thursday, December 31st, 2009
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10:19 pm - My 2009 Movie Viewings
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Posting my annual movie list early tonight since I won't be watching any movies before midnight. This is the year where I didn't watch any movies, as you can see. And, for the record, John paid for my Dragonball Evolution ticket because I wouldn't be caught dead actually going out to see that otherwise. That and 10,000 B.C. were the worst movies I saw this year, and the best was The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Anything under three stars I didn't like. However, don't take the stars literally -- I just use them as a quick way to say if I liked, hated, or really liked a movie. Four stars is the max.
1/02: Slumdog Millionaire ****
1/03: District B13 **
1/07: Waitress ***
1/17: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button **1/2
1/22: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back **
3/06: Watchmen ***
3/13: 10,000 B.C. 1/2
4/07: Oldboy ***1/2
4/08: I Love You, Man ***
4/16: Dragonball Evolution 1/2
4/30: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time ****
5/02: Changeling ***
5/14: Star Trek **
5/28: Up ****
6/14: The Hangover ****
8/01: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ***1/2
9/06: The Mist ***
10/03: The Darjeeling Limited ***1/2
10/18: Where the Wild Things Are ***
10/24: Men in Black II ***
10/31: Drag Me to Hell ***
11/07: Coraline ****
11/07: Sunshine Cleaning ***
January: 5
February: 0
March: 2
April: 4
May: 3
June: 1
July: 0
August: 1
September: 1
October: 5
November: 2
December: 0
Total: 23
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| Monday, August 24th, 2009
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1:13 pm - Class Schtuffs
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This poor girl in class, she's obviously not doing well and came out of a personal conversation with the teacher almost in tears. Second time I stayed after class to help her rewrite her entire paper, so I just got home. Took about two hours, but I think she's doing better. Also, I have to critique two other guy's papers tomorrow as well as edit one, and today I still have to revise my restaurant review and finish up my final.
In other news, my puppies is bein' specially cute today!<3
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