Welcome to March: The Kentucky Derby Trail is Here!

Welcome to March! Most people think of "March Madness" and basketball; I think of the Kentucky Derby and the Derby Trail. The Derby is the first Saturday in May, which is May 6th this year.

March is a good time to jump on a bandwagon for a horse in the Kentucky Derby because there is, technically, only 2 preparatory ("prep") races left before the Kentucky Derby and most horses have raced several times for you to get an idea of who the "top horse" is for the Derby. The Kentucky Derby is the start of the Triple Crown* so if you're going to aim for the Triple Crown, a horse MUST start in the Derby. The Derby is only open to 3-year-old horses (male or female). A horse only has 1 chance to race in the Derby in his/her lifetime.

So what does it take to get a horse to the Kentucky Derby and why is it called the "Derby Trail?" Below, I'll give some explanation of what it takes to get into the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby.

THOUSANDS (more than 20k) of Thoroughbred horses are born every year and The Kentucky Derby allows, at max, 20 horses to start in the race (also known as a field size). This field size is the biggest in US racing and, probably, most of the world. Maximum field sizes of 12-16 are more common for races and there are talks every year that the Derby should be reduced in size. Field sizes in the past 1.5 decade or so have been been closer to 20 than not. The chart below only goes till 2012, but you can see the increase in field size as the decades get closer to the present. (20's was kind of a weird decade!)

 

Kentucky Derby 2012

No one knows for sure why these field sizes are so big nowadays, but it's most likely due to modernization (ease of travel, mass news outlets, prestige, etc). Everyone who enters a horse in the Derby always thinks they have a shot to win the Kentucky Derby. If you didn't, you wouldn't spend the necessary money and time to get your horse into the race.

Fields (the horses who are going to run) are determined by a "point system" that was revealed in 2012 and the 2013 Derby was the first Derby when it was used. ** The point system is called "The Road to the Kentucky Derby." Races for 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds are determined by the Kentucky Derby (Board? Association?) and assigned points for 1st through 4th place finishers. The race schedule is listed here. The 2yo races and the beginning of the 3yo races start at 10 points for 1st, 4 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd and 1 for 4th  (exception is the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (2yo race) is 20-8-4-2). The 2yo races are the top races for 2yos at the end of the year. The early 3yo races are like the very early prep races for 3yos and are not the top races. In March, the points move to 50-20-10-5. These races are usually the 2nd to last prep race on the circuit*** or region before the Kentucky Derby. Finally, the last set of races are the FINAL prep races before the Derby and command the highest points at 100-40-20-10. Many times, a horse can have as little as 40 points to make it into the Kentucky Derby, especially if one horse is continually winning. The Kentucky Derby webpage also keeps track of the top point earners here.

Not only do horses have to compete in prep races and win enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby field, but a horse has to be nominated into the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is the most prestigious of the Triple Crown races, but the Triple Crown does operate the nominations as a single "unit." If you pre-nominate your horse by mid-January, it is $600 to nominate your horse for all 3 Triple Crown races. If you miss that date, the next nomination fee is $6,000 and ends close to the end of March. After that, you can supplement your horse in at $200,000 (all 3 or $100,000 for Preakness and/or Belmont after the Derby). Several hundred horses get nominated to the Triple Crown in January because of the "cheaper" cost. Horses have been supplemented in at the $200k cost too. Last year it was famously done with Oscar Nominated who finished 17/20.

If you have enough points to start in the Derby, being nominated to the Triple Crown does not mean you are "entered" to start in the Kentucky Derby. All races require a horse to be "entered" into a race. Most races don't have an entry fee, but the Kentucky Derby does. The entry fee costs $25,000.  Nominations mostly express "interest" whereas the entry says a horse is committed to the race.**** I'm pretty sure your entry fee is not refunded if you don't run in the race, but entries determine the field size of the race. If the race is over subscribed (i.e., more than the max allowed field size is entered), the Kentucky Derby now has an "also-eligible" list (up to 4 horses) where if a horse in the 20-horse field pulls out of the race, an also-eligible can move into the 20-horse field. If a tie in points occur to see where a horse lands on the also-eligible list (you want to be the 21st horse and not the 24th horse), stakes earnings in non-restricted stakes will determine the order.

Once the horse is entered into the Kentucky Derby, the field is (90%) confirmed for the Derby! Typically, by the time the last prep race is finished, the field is already figured out due to the point system, but injuries happen. A field is never 100% until they're at the gate. After the entries are taken, it's waiting for the post position draw (Wednesday before the Derby) to figure out which gate the horses will start in.

As a side note, the entry fee might mean the field is determined, but it's NOT the end of the money road to start in the Derby. There is also a $25,000 starting fee that is paid for the Kentucky Derby. Starting fees are not unusual for races. If you subtract vets, training and jockey fees, general up-keep, etc, and focus just on the Derby fees, it'll cost you at MINIMUM $50,600 to race in the Derby. Owners are racing for the $1.24 million part of the $2 mil prize and prestige.

There is a lot of effort, money, and time that goes into getting a horse to the Kentucky Derby. How much time a fan wants to spend following the trail is up to the individual. I, personally, tend to ignore the early races of the 2yos and somewhat pay attention at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile race. Horse racing is a year-long sport so January and February I pay less attention, but keep an ear out for any big rumblings. March prep races (the 50 point ones) is when I start to pay attention and try to buckle down who I like. April, of course, is the last time for us to see the horses run before the Kentucky Derby. Training after that is always important to see how the horse trains up to the race. After that, it's mostly a manner of luck and some skill to win the Derby.

The Kentucky Oaks, run the day before the Derby, is a race for only 3yo females (or fillies). Think of it as the Derby equivalent, but for fillies. Fillies CAN race in the Kentucky Derby; however, they have to compete for the same points as the males (or colts) and race in the same races as them. The last filly to run in the Kentucky Derby was in 2010. Forty fillies have run in the Derby in 143 years (I'm counting this year too). The Kentucky Oaks also has a similar point system as the Derby, but the Oaks' prep races are for filly only races.

I'll next blog about race distances, race gradings, and the Triple Crown. Race day, post positions, etc will be a future post after the next one.

Happy 63 days till the Kentucky Derby!

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*The Triple Crown ("TC") is when a horse wins the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont. American Pharoah won it in 2015 after 37 years when Affirmed won it in 1978.

**The old system for determining the field size for the Kentucky Derby was based on non-restricted stakes earnings (i.e., the amount of money a horse had earned from winning prestigious races). It made sense to me (whoever had the most money went to the Derby), but seemed to be confusing to the lay-person and the reason the point system was created and specific races picked.

***Horse racing conducts its racing in "circuits." This means that racing will rotate from one track to another (like a circuit for electricity). In terms of the Derby Trail, circuits are regions where prep races are held that most horses follow to reach the Kentucky Derby. Southern California's tends to go Sham in January, Robert B. Lewis in February, San Felipe in March, and, finally, the Santa Anita Derby in April. There are circuits in CA, FL, NY, AR, LA, and KY. A horse can go to any state for any prep, but most horses stay in one state unless a trainer wants the timing of a race differently, doesn't want his/her horses to compete against each other before the Derby, or money offered.

****A horse can be "cross-entered" in races. This means a trainer has submitted a horse to multiple races on the same day. They do this sometimes to keep their options open if the weather looks bad coming up, if a trainer wants to see what horses are entered, if a horse doesn't make the field, travel issues, training, etc. The Breeders' Cup races are a perfect example of cross-entries. Many horses get cross-entered for the BC. Many times it's because a horse is in the field for a race that is the 2nd option for the trainer, but is on the "also-eligible" list for the 1st option. For BC races, there is a deadline for when trainers have to make their choice of which race they want to start in or "scratch" from (when a horse is removed from a race).

Apple AirPods: My Verdict

This is long and detailed, but I'm feeling a little love-hate for these AirPods. I mean, I like them and glad I have them, but they're unnecessary too. In all, I give the AirPods a 7/10. Unnecessary luxury, but not terrible.

If you are Mac integrated, the AirPods are worth it just for the ease of being able to use them with any device without having to reconnect your bluetooth headphones. After owning Plantronics BackBeat Fit, the ease of switching between devices is AMAZING! I hated having to reconnect my BackBeat Fit to whatever I wanted to use it with. Due to this lack of ease, I found I didn't use my BackBeat Fit much and mostly kept it to my phone to make it easier. With the AirPods, I have to do 3 motions and they're almost instantly connected to my Apple Watch, iPad, iPhone, or iMac. It's truly amazing and basically makes me wear my AirPods all the time when I'm home because I can switch between everything so easily. I even listen to music on my Watch now purely because it's so easy to connect the AirPods to the Watch. Seriously, I can't sing the praises of the ease of connectivity enough!

The extra battery is excellent too. I really like that I can get 24 hours of listening time in and the 15 min charge for 3 hours is also nice. I'm not constantly worrying about battery time and having to charge them every night. A complete plus. Also, the ease of finding out the battery life is nice too. My iPhone pops it up when the case is nearby and open and it's also in the "At a Glance" screen's battery widget (assuming you have it on). If you have one ear pod in the case, it'll give 3 individual charges, which is kind of cool. If the Pods are connected to your phone, my Watch also tells me the charge for them.

The sound quality is good. I am not a sound quality expert (nor do I really care as long as they sound good and that's subjective!), but I have no complaints. I really like how the buds switch from dual to mono sound easily when you remove one bud. The auto-pause is nice too (similar to disconnecting your headphones cable).

They are comfortable! The BackBeat Fit's earbuds were too big for my ears and my ears would ache after using them (the inside, not the outside). It was a slow growing ache that I would notice with prolonged use. I also found the "cable" that connects both ends a little too short for me, but not terrible. I mention the cord because no cord is really nice. It's not something you would appreciate till it's gone because it's a minor thing, but I appreciate not having a cable.

Which brings me to everyone's concern about losing them! Losing one isn't my concern because I take them out and immediately put them into their case. This makes it so you have less chance of losing one. Because the case is so small, there's no excuse not to toss the case into a pocket like you would your earbuds if you weren't wearing them. So, be a little proactive and you shouldn't lose one (unless it falls out of your ear or you drop it). My actual worry is losing the ENTIRE thing. It's small and in that Apple standard sleek case so it's slippery. Thank goodness it's bright white! I wish Apple made them so you can locate them. I imagine that's something they should be able to program into an app to find the bluetooth connection to it. Who knows, though. I'm not a programmer!

The buds fit very snuggley in the case as they're magnetically set in there, which is nice, but sometimes I find it's hard to get them out. I'm not sure if that's because I have long nails or it's them. I honestly have never liked the design of the actual buds and think they look weird when they're in your ear with the long stem...I could be the minority in that. Or not, considering the memes...

My BIGGEST complaint about them is no buttons at all! You don't realize how much you do quick motions to pause/play and volume control until that ease is gone. It's kind of annoying having to ask Siri to do it for you (and it interrupts whatever you're listening to). I know you can modify the double-tap motion to have it play/pause instead of activating Siri, but I didn't do that because I wanted the extra ease to access her for phone calls and such, not to mention volume control ("Hey Siri" always annoyingly doesn't work when I really need her 😂 ). I find I tend to go to my phone to pause/play/volume instead of asking Siri. If I wanted to pause, I guess I could remove one earbud and it'll pause too. Hm. Will think on that, but the volume thing is a pain and it's awkward asking Siri to raise or lower the volume by more than 1 bar.

So...I guess...In terms of integration with Apple, I give the AirPods a 10/10. My biggest complaint (no buttons!) only registers about a 3/10 with 10 being the most annoying, but it is annoying! Some people may find it even more annoying. In terms of price, they're not worth it if you don't really want them or if you're not Apple integrated. I would have made due with my BackBeat Fit perfectly fine if these weren't given to me. I do find, though, because of the ease of use, I use the AirPods 10xs more than I did my BackBeat Fit. Course, I am a person who uses my iPad a LOT for streaming while I cook, clean, etc and if I'm not doing either one of those things, I'm probably on a computer or have my phone nearby or in hand. So, I guess, I'm sort of getting my money's worth since I'm actually using them vs not using my BackBeat Fit as much at half the cost. In all, I'll keep them, thank you very much; however, I wouldn't recommend them to most people. It's like the Apple Watch. When you have one, it's cool and you're glad you have it, but it's not like you're missing anything with not having one too. Though, I'd probably say get a Watch over the AirPods. Maybe.

2015 Triple Crown Story

I wrote this for a fan story collection on Victor Espinoza's webpage. I thought I'd share it here too. Victor is the jockey for American Pharoah and his webpage was asking for people to post their stories about the Triple Crown.

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Ironically, I became a racing fan with Victor upon War Emblem. I got into the game a little late in that year's Triple Crown run, but I was rooting for him to win! I was crushed when War Emblem stumbled at the start and was basically no contention in the Belmont. It was my first real experience in horse racing and got me hooked on the game.

My family doesn't know why I got into horse racing. My family are all baseball fans, but I have a love of horses and fell in love with horse racing. I love the pageantry, the history, the breeding, the owners, the jockeys, the trainers, and, most of all, watching those wonderful athletes run. I'm not a gambler and have never gambled on horse racing. For me, it's a spectator sport, but it's one where I try to attend the race track as much as possible and try to stay up with all the latest and greatest news.

Since the years of War Emblem, I have seen many almost-TC winners. I've seen the heartache the sport can bring and also the amazing moments too. Some years I'm more involved with the 2yos than others and some years I start on the TC trail earlier than others. For the past 4 years, I've jumped on late (sometime around March) because, let's face it, most years the top contenders change so much I'm exhausted by the time the Kentucky Derby rolls around and most times the favorite doesn't win it.

Not sure what spurred me on this year, or I should say last year, but I've been enthralled with American Pharoah since his start at Del Mar. Was really disappointed when he skipped the Breeders' Cup, as I was in attendance, but was glad it wasn't anything serious. I think because of AP missing the BC, I jumped on the 2yo bandwagon at the end of the year and kept it rolling right into the New Year. January rolled around and...Happy Birthday! Everyone's a year older and, therefore, let the TC-trail begin!

Was super excited and nervous when AP started in the Rebel in March. First, it's raining? Second, his first race back. Should any of us have been worried? Nope. It was an amazing performance and got me all the more excited as the months progressed and Dortmund, Frosted, Upstart, Materiality, well, the list can go on, kept progressing in their respective areas. Not to mention AP showing his ability to rate in the Arkansas Derby (he can rate! Yes!).

When the Kentucky Derby rolled around, I was excited. I was nervous. In my gut, I really wanted AP to win it, but, as with most horse racing fans/bettors, I'm superstitious when it comes to "picking horses" and I didn't want to pick him as my "favorite" because I'd jinx him and he'd lose! So, reality, I would box him with Dortmund. I watched him in the post parade and wasn't surprised he looked jittery. That's a lot of people yelling, talking, etc, etc. Was a little nervous about that, but he looked mostly okay. When the gates sprang open, though, that's when I stop breathing...

I remember his homestretch run like it happened yesterday. I'm screaming and yelling and my boyfriend is telling me to calm down. It was a gut-wrenching win. It was not pretty looking, but he only had to win in front of everyone else. I was ecstatic! Here's Victor on his back-to-back Kentucky Derby wins (I'm a Chromie, not going to lie) and he won it on the horse I wanted to win. So exciting!

The Preakness with the rain...Wasn't really worried, but it was raining ridiculously hard that day. It's one thing to run in the slop, it's another to be running with the rain pelting you. I was nervous about the 1-slot and almost getting pinched by Dortmund. He barely made it past Dortmund. I didn't breath again, but I'm sure I exhaled when he got past and had the lead. AP skipped across that track and loved it. You could tell he was comfortable from the very beginning. It was a beautiful race on his part and showed that the Kentucky Derby was a gritty race, but he can still make it look effortless.

The 3 week wait between the Preakness and Belmont was both nerve-wracking and a good opportunity to "calm down" from the high of the previous 2 races. At this point, I'm highly emotionally invested in this horse. I've always liked Baffert (can you tell I'm a Cali-girl?) and part of that is because Silver Charm is one of my favorites (knew about him before I became a horse racing fan) and I started being a fan when he trained War Emblem. Kind of like it was meant to be for Baffert-Espinoza to win the TC together considering they were my first duo to almost win and the year I became a fan. Funny how things work out like that.

By the Belmont, I still wasn't sure if he could win it, but I hoped. I read an awful lot about the theories if he could win it or not. Some of them I skipped if I knew they'd be negative (emotionally invested!), but I still read a lot. I hoped he would win, but I've been down this path before and I thought he wouldn't. He had a lot of obstacles to get by. Well, it's a good thing having my doubts didn't come to fruition!

When he grabbed that lead and everyone let him run at his pace, the race was over. I was SO excited. At the top of the stretch, I vaguely remember saying, "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no." because I've been there when horses pass the front-runners. When Victor let the reins out and he widened his lead, the first thing out of my mouth was, "he's going to win!" Then I back-tracked immediately and said, "I think he's going to win. I think he's going to win!" My boyfriend, again, was telling me to calm down. When he crossed the finish line in front...I immediately started screaming, "HE WON! HE WON!" and then sat in shock for a few minutes. I couldn't believe it.

I never had doubts I would NEVER witness a TC winner. I'm young (late-20's). Hopefully, I'll be alive a lot longer, but I started wondering if I would see a TC winner with the current set-up. Belmont for the past few years keep making comments about shifting the spacing of the races. I was always opposed to it because the TC isn't supposed to be an easy feat. If it was easy, it'd lose its luster. I am so happy beyond the fact that I'm emotionally invested in AP because now we can put to rest this need to change the TC. It's now been proven a horse in this day-and-age CAN win the TC. Beyond that, as everyone keeps saying, it's great for the sport.

I still ride the high of AP winning. I ride the high as if I had anything personally to do with the horse. I am so excited he won the Triple Crown. I rewatch the Belmont about once a day still. Victor rode him to perfection that day. Sure, AP may have won by a wider margin or faster speed, but he didn't need it. He was in front and that's all that matters. AP still has the fastest last quarter, one of the fastest Belmont times ever and, I'm pretty sure, he still had something left. Something he'll need for his summer/fall campaign.

Who cares if his Kentucky Derby performance was "slow" and not pretty to watch. Who cares if his Preakness was slow and in the slop so "unfair advantage to the other horses." AP has shown that a TC winner can win in any condition. He rated in the Kentucky Derby and ran wide. He ran in the pelting rain in the Preakness. He ran over Big Sandy without a prior start over it. Maybe AP could have been a horse who didn't like the slop. Maybe he could have been a horse not able to rate well. The point is, he IS able to do all those things and STILL win. That is what makes him so great to watch and love.

I waited 12 years for a TC winner, which is shorter than the 37 years most people have waited, and I got it with a duo that started it all for me. I couldn't be happier for all the connections and I look forward to seeing AP finish out the rest of the year. My only wish is I get to see him race once before he retires and I'll always be rooting for Victor.

First movie post of 2015!

First movies to be watched in the new year! Just a handful, but I suspect this will increase quickly as the end of 2014 movies are being released in early 2015. My goal is not to write about 100+ movies in 2 movie posts like I did last year...LoL Yeah, I didn't realize that either until I was doing my recap for last year's movies. Whoops!

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, etc) - Just about what you'd expect from a Night at the Museum movie. I liked the end of the trilogy. I thought it worked well and wrapped some things. It was especially poignant with Williams in it. Hugh Jackman had a great scene and I'd see him in "Camelot"! Grade: B

Boyhood (Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette) - Had to see this after hearing about it and also hearing they filmed it over 12 years. It was pretty good. It sometimes took you a little bit to figure out it skipped to the next year, but it was an interesting look at someone growing up. I kind of liked how the movie was about him growing up, but it also was about everyone else growing up too (e.g., his mom). It was good. Grade: B/B+

Taken 3 (Liam Neeson) - Erm...I knew this was going to be bad when I heard/saw absolutely zero marketing for this! When Chris told me it was out, I seriously thought it was one of those spin-offs that no one hears about or straight to DVD...It's pretty bad and pretty predictable. The end action scene I didn't really enjoy, but I liked the other ones in the movie earlier on. It was too long, though. Grade: D

No Good Deed (Taraji P. Henson, Idris Elba) - Sometimes, there are reasons why you never hear about movies in theater...Yeah, this was one of them. It was really bad...I did like the twist, though. That I wasn't expecting. The movie definitely led you to believe it was a coincidence, but then you find out the true motive. So that was kind of interesting, but it really was bad. Grade: D

A Walk Among the Tombstones (Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens) - Kind of noir-ish or something? It was stylistic to say the least. It wasn't terrible. Wasn't great. It was predictable, but I liked Neeson's acting. Grade: C-

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell) - Wayyyy too long and wayyyy too slow in the first half of the movie. So glad I watched this on DVD. It was so boring the first hour. The last hour picked up, but the end battle scene was only okay. It didn't even hold my interest as much as I thought. I guess it you sat and thought about it, there was an interesting message in it. I liked some of the interactions of Cesar with Clarke and Russell. It could have been shorter, though. Grade: C-

This is Where I Leave You (Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, etc) - Your predictable kind of family drama (with a hint of comedy) with some romance thrown in. I wanted it to be BETTER with the cast it had. It's an excellent cast (Chris's comment: Who's NOT in this movie?) and the scenes they're in are good, but the story just wasn't the greatest. Grade: C/C-

American Sniper (Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller) - Had to see this given it's Cooper and up for an Oscar nom. Knew Chris wouldn't mind seeing it in theater (compared to Selma or Theory of Everything). It's a long movie (2:14 hours), but it needs the length to get you through 4 tours, his training/meeting his wife, and post-duty. The violence is, well, violent in it, but it's a war movie. He's a sniper. It tries its best to show you the difficulties he had while on duty and how hard it was to get back into a "normal life" when he'd come back. I completely forgot how Chris Kyle's story ends, though, so it was sad for me. I remembered after the movie about the headlines in 2013. I think Cooper did a fantastic job portraying Kyle and I think Miller did a good too. It's a good movie. Maybe not the greatest in the ways of story, but that wasn't the point as most biopics aren't about the story. They're about the people. The length...it's hard to say it should have been trimmed to be shorter, but it did feel long. Still good and will stick with me for a while. Grade: B+

Movie Recap, 2014 Edition

103 movies for last year! Can't compare my "wish list" to this year because I didn't actually post one, but I can still do a "best of" for the year. As usual, I will focus on movies released in 2014 rather than 2013 or earlier. I wrote this in January and tweaked the Oscar mention at the end, but this focuses on movies I watched last year and not last year's movies I watched this year.

Favorites of the year (no particular order):

• Edge of Tomorrow
• Big Hero 6
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Lego Movie
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Fury

A lot of action films last year were pretty good. Namely, way to go Marvel! Marvel certainly had a good year for movies. Guardians was a surprise favorite of mine. Didn't particularly like it in theater, but it's become a "staple" to watch and I've rented it several times now. There are still things I don't enjoy about it, but it was good. Winter Solider still remains in my top 2 favorite Marvel films. The first Iron Man is just good, but Winter Soldier is good too.

Must see movie of the year: The Grand Budapest Hotel and Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Runner-ups: Edge of Tomorrow and Fury

Favorite stupid comedy: 22 Jump Street
Runner-up: A Million Ways to Die in the West

Romantic/Romantic Comedy: Huh. Really nothing in way of favorites
Runner-ups: I guess They Came Together for it being different

Horror: N/A

Family film (non-animated): Muppets Most Wanted
Runner-up: Erm...I guess Maleficent

Family film (animated): Big Hero 6
Runner-up: Lego Movie, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Action-Adventure: Fury (kind of more of an action-drama)
Runner-up: The Equalizer and Veronica Mars (not really an action film, but I'm throwing it here)

Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Comic: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Edge of Tomorrow
Runner-ups: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (go for the action, not the story!), Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, The Maze Runner

Drama: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Runner-ups: Draft Day and The Fault in Our Stars

Worst of the year: Noah (by far the worst!), Walk of Shame, Transcendence

2014 Movies to See on DVD in 2015 (no order):

1. Birdman
2. The Imitation Game
3. Selma
4. The Theory of Everything
5. Whiplash
6. Gone Girl
7. Wild
8. Still Alice
9. The Judge
10. Foxcatcher
11. The Boxtrolls
12. Unbroken
13. Into the Woods
14. Interstellar
15. Inherent Vice (maybe...)
16. Annie
17. Penguins of Madagascar
18. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
19. Exodus: Gods and Kings (have to see how bad it is!)
20. Dracula Untold
21. John Wick

2015 Movies I Want to (Most Likely) See (release date order):

1. Blackhat
2. Paddington
3. The Wedding Ringer
4. Mortdecai (I'm looking for a punishment...LoL)
5. Black or White
6. Jupiter Ascending
7. Kingsman: The Secret Service (again, punishment!)
8. Focus
9. Chappie (...? I'm really on the fence about this one)
10. Unfinished Business (...?)
11. Cinderella
12. Run All Night (another Liam Neeson action film, duh)
13. The Divergent Series: Insurgent
14. Furious 7
15. Avengers: Age of Ultron (yes!)
16. Spy (...?)
17. Paper Towns
18. Jurassic World
19. Inside Out
20. Ted 2
21. Terminator: Genisys
22. Minions
23. Ant-Man
24. Pan
25. The Fantastic Four
26. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
27. Hotel Transylvania 2
28. The Peanuts Movie
29. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
30. The Good Dinosaur (probably DVD)
31. In the Heart of the Sea
32. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (!!)
33. Mission Impossible 5

Those movies I've listed, if I watch them all, that's about halfway to my normal 100-movie goal each year. :) We'll see...Never know what will happen.

As for the Oscar nominations, I've only seen 6 of the 8 Best Picture nominations to date. I really want to see the other 2, though. Do I think Birdman should have won? I'll comment on everything after I've seen everything (probably by the summer...LoL). I think Birdman was good, though (watched it this week). There are a lot of films in the best/supporting actors/actresses that I haven't seen too. Though, I have seen all 5 in Actor in a Supporting Role and JK Simmons was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Terrifying, but amazing. Norton would have been my runner-up pick. They like releasing all the Oscar films at the end of the year, but I will likely see them all eventually.

Favorite Recipes of 2014

Considering the amount of cooking I've been doing and since I am not an original cook at all, I've decided to post some of my favorite recipes I've cooked the past year. :) It wasn't a full year of cooking, but it was pretty darn close!

In a 7-day week, we do leftovers 2-3 times a week. I was on vacation 3 times this past year for about a week each time when I was regularly cooking. I've repeated a dozen to a dozen-and-a-half recipes at least twice, if not more. I cooked regularly in 2014 for about 44 weeks. So, yeah, it's been a LOT of recipes!

The list is going to seem rather long, but I estimate I've made something like 150-200 recipes this past year for dinner alone. I also baked pretty heavily off-and-on throughout the year too, but I'm not going to post those recipes.

Guess this makes my top 10% of recipes from 2014... :P They are in no particular order. You'll see I went through a quinoa, enchilada, and one pan/pot phases. :) Links to the recipes are there so you can also enjoy these!

Quick & Healthy Meal in Under 30 - Sausage & Veggies - Such an easy recipe and it's really good. I tend to pepper it pretty heavily and I used hot links to add some spice into it, but I like it and the boys do too. The pepper in it are amazing. We serve it as is with nothing else. Though, cornbread or dinner rolls wouldn't be bad to serve with it.

One pan Mexican quinoa - You start to really like some food bloggers and I like this blogger, but this meal is excellent. It's pretty quick and it's healthy. I add ground turkey to it, but it can be left as is for something vegetarian.

Italian sausage stew - One recipe I've made several times this past year. It's become my go-to easy recipe to freeze ahead when I go away and I cook the week's meals after I return the week before I leave. It's really easy to make and it's tasty. The thing I've changed, though, is I use hot links in it rather than sausage out of a casing. The hot links make it spicier and more flavorful. I quarter the hot link slices, though, and I do "brown" it. The quartering of the hot link makes it smaller pieces, which I liked more than just slicing it or slicing it into two pieces. Sausage out of a casing wasn't the same either...I also serve this with bread.

Skillet steak, onions, and mushrooms - Chris loves mushrooms and steak so when I found this recipe, it was perfect! It's really good. I pepper the heck out of it and add a fair amount of garlic powder, but the juices from everything at the bottom of the dish goes amazingly well over garlic mashed potatoes (I've learned for garlic mashed potatoes, you boil the garlic with your potatoes and then mash the garlic into the potatoes - so simple and so tasty!). We use it a like a gravy and none of the juices go to waste.

Chicken meatball and orzo soup - Oh man this was good. I made it the first time and immediately started thinking about making it again. The only thing you need to be careful about is how much orzo you put in and how "soup-y" you want it. I wanted mine more soup-y so I added more chicken broth at the end, but having it thicker is fine too. The orzo is small after all. :) I would definitely "taste test" this AFTER everything has simmered together. I tried immediately after I put everything in and I was disappointed by the flavor. I let it all sit and the flavors came out by the end and it was amazing. I used ground turkey instead of ground chicken and it was fine.

Slow cooker chili verde - This is so tasty, a co-worker of mine requested this at our potluck after I had let her try it the first time I made it. It's really easy to make and the slow cooker is important to meld and bring out all the flavors. With that said, the food on the stove top is pretty good right afterwards too! I use ground turkey instead of pork and I tend to add more chili powder in it to increase the spice level (I use mild salsa verde). Having it sit in the slow cooker means the chili powder gets amplified more than when you taste it on the stove top. I also don't prefer the strong taste of parsley so I kind of add however much looks good. You need the parsley in it (or something leafy, maybe cilantro next time), but too much parsley I don't enjoy.

Chicken enchilada quinoa - Basically, if it's Mexican food, I'm most likely going to like it. :) This was tasty, but the chili sauce always helps in that regard! I liked the texture the quinoa gave. This is a lot like having a healthier version of enchiladas.

Green chili enchilada soup - Tasty and easy to put together. I love enchilada soups so I was happy when I found this one! The salsa verde you use or the canned chilies do make a taste difference, though. The first time I made this, it had a slightly weird after taste. It wasn't bad, but it was interesting. The next time, I didn't have the problem. So I'm not sure.

Spicy Sriracha chicken and quinoa bowl - The cilantro on top is a must! With that said, be careful how much sriracha you put in this...LoL I wasn't paying attention and put the half cup and almost died. It was wayyyyy too spicy for me and I can tolerate pretty spicy things. The boys ate it better than I did. With that said, the quinoa on the bottom helps mute the spiciness, but be careful with the spice level!

Spicy orange tofu and peppers (caveat) - Honestly, I didn't like the tofu in this. I think it was because I used extra firm tofu and I should know better from previous experience. Extra firm tofu is disgusting! It's especially gross when you fry it. :P I got it, though, because it was already diced for me. Next time, I'd stick with firm tofu. With that said, the boys loved it and I gave my portion to Chris (he ate it happily) and Rob wanted seconds, but the recipe only made 3 portions for us (if I had read recipe, I'd have seen it said "serves 2"). The reason I'm posting this, though, is the spicy orange sauce was amazing. I would make the spicy orange sauce for something else like chicken or beef. It was really, really good. Good enough that I'm willing to try this again with firm tofu!

Easy one pan fettuccine alfredo - A really easy fettuccine alfredo to make and it was really tasty. Anytime I want fettucine alfredo, I go for this recipe. The ease of it would make it close to the top, but it's also tasty too!

Parmesan turkey meatloaf - I went through a meatloaf phase (just like the quinoa or enchilada phase) and I liked this one. It's pretty similar to any other meatloaf, but has the addition of marinara sauce and cheese. Honestly, anything "parmesan" I love too...LoL

One pot pasta: tomato, basil - Kind of like a pomodoro pasta, to be honest. I added chicken at the end and it was tasty and light! Really easy to make as it all cooks in the same pot at the same time.

Slow cooker Italian Meatballs or Baked meatball parmigiana - I went through a meatball phase too...LoL These were both good and similar. I'm telling you, if it has marinara sauce and cheese on it, I'm good to go!
 
One pan enchilada pasta - I've made this several times and I enjoy it. I probably put too much cheese into it too, but...it's tasty! Again, chili sauce makes things taste good. I add the olives on top too. I've learned to like them on my enchiladas, but I add the sliced ones and not whole ones.

Jalapeno popper chicken chili - One of the first recipes I made more than once. I haven't had this in a long time, but it's good. It is one you need to play with the spices to get it the way you like it. It was part of the reason I've made this twice. :)

Stuffed french bread pizza - This is really easy to adapt to whatever you want to put into yours, but I will make the stuffing ahead of time, freeze it, and then defrost it when I'm ready to make it. It makes for tasty food that's freezable. I've used different breads too. I don't prefer the ricotta cheese as much, so I cut back on the ricotta cheese in the recipe and I get everything "light." The breakfast sausage is a must, though! I use the spicier one.

One pan chicken Parmesan - The panko bread crumbs on top make this dish! This is easy to make, but I tend to make it in a big pot and then pour it into a baking dish at the end. So...mine is more like 2-pan chicken parmesan.

Fasolada -This is a Greek bean soup and I made it on a whim. The first day it was okay, but the next day it was super good. I loved this soup and it was great to be paired with the mozzarella, avocado, and bacon grilled sandwiches I made.

So, there you have it! My top recipes of the year. Not all of them are healthy and some of them are healthy. Regardless, I enjoy cooking new things so I don't tend to repeat too often. I've made SEVERAL different type of hamburger recipes (at least 5) too. I can't say anything stuck out as my favorites, but I've learned you can put just about anything into hamburger (beef or turkey) meat. I also baked a lot from cookies (like laceys and gingersnaps) to bread (like sourdough and peasant bread) to snacks (like bagels and pretzels). I also got into blended fruit drinks and green smoothies.

To say the least, I think I've tripled my food knowledge this past year, which isn't saying much since I didn't know a lot in the beginning past the basics. On the other hand, I think ANYONE can cook if they can follow a recipe. From there, it's simply trial and error to learn new techniques (Googling is my friend both in learning new terminology AND finding new recipes (Pinterest is great for recipes too)), your tastes, and being able to manipulate recipes. I still can't really manipulate recipes and don't really have the desire to, but cooking is kind of like a science experiment and that I can handle!

Rest of 2014 movie recaps

As promised from my "Happy 2015" post, here is the epic of epic movie posts! Most of these will be very short. Usually, I add the actors names in, but there are too many movies and I've already placed the empty parentheses for some of them. I'm just going to leave them blank. You can Google the movie if you want to know who is in it. :)

47 Ronin ( ) - The special effects for this movie were interesting. Unfortunately, the way the story was told, with the special effects, and the script, it was sometimes hard to take this movie seriously. I did NOT know this is actually based on a piece of Japanese legend till the very end. Knowing that, I was rather disappointed in the movie that it wasn't better. Grade: C-/D+

Labor Day ( ) - This wasn't too bad. I liked the story, overall. It was an interesting story about love and family. I liked Winslet too. I thought she did a good job. I thought they all did good jobs. It's your atypical feel good love story. It went a way I wasn't exactly expecting, but the end made it all work out. Grade: C+

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ( ) - I thought this was cute, gentle, feel good movie. There's nothing strenuous about the movie, but it's an interesting little adventure and it worked for me. The end of the movie was really touching. With that said, it's nothing earth shattering. Grade: C+

Ride Along ( ) - Typical comedy you'd expect. It wasn't terrible, but wasn't great. Grade: C-

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ( ) - I was expecting more, but it wasn't terrible either. I didn't think it was as good as the general populace, but it did its job. My complaints are it was too long and too many villains. The too many villains issue muddles the plot a little and there things in the plot that you went, "Why was that mentioned?". At the same time, they're trying to GO places in the Spider-Man-verse ala Avengers so I get that too. I didn't mind Foxx and the heartbreaking moment was done really, really well. It was tasteful and slightly less traumatic than what is actually in the comics. It's still mostly true to the comic, but changed just enough to make it less traumatic and still have the same impact, shock, and horror. I'll watch the 3rd one and any spin-offs. Grade: C/C+

The Monuments Men ( ) - I can see why this didn't do so great in the box office. With that SUPERB of a cast, you expect the movie to be spot on and good. The story just doesn't have the "oomph" you'd expect. It's lacking in conveying its message, I think. I liked the acting. I liked the concept. I liked what they tried to do with it, but it's just missing its heart, maybe? I don't know. It was lackluster for me and a disappointment. Grade: C-

Gambit ( ) - Cute film. I actually rather liked it. I liked Diaz and Firth wasn't bad either. It's got a nice little twist at the end I wasn't expecting. I will say, it's pretty sub-par for Firth and even for Diaz because it IS supposed to be silly and you're not supposed to take it seriously as anything. With that said, it was kind of fun to watch Diaz and Firth in the same film. LoL Grade: C

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit ( ) - Not my favorite Jack Ryan. They went younger, which isn't a problem, but this movie had 2.5 action scenes in it. Action scenes do not make a movie, but the non-action parts just didn't jive with me. They were kind of bland and boring. Grade: C-

Her ( ) - I thought this was cute, if slightly bizarre and rather slow paced. It's an interesting story about love and what counts as love or a relationship. Phoenix was really good. Let's be honest, he's mostly acting to a voice and no body around him. I thought he did a good job. I liked Johanssen as the voice too. Adams and everyone else in the film were very much there as a support cast to show different types of relationships and how it IS possible for him to have fallen in love with Samantha. Cute film, but it is slow and different. Grade: B

Maleficient ( ) - I must be one of the few who didn't enjoy the film as much as my friends. Not to say it was terrible, but I wanted more out of it. I didn't like Fanning. I didn't like the Prince. I sometimes didn't like Jolie either. With that said, mostly, I really liked Jolie. I thought she was a good Maleficient and was looking forward to that. I thought the King was well-done too. I liked the twist on the story too. Other than that, it was just okay for me. Grade: C-

Edge of Tomorrow ( ) - Oh wow. Now THIS was a good summer film! It's not doing well at the box office and that's a shame because it is a good movie. Considering the amount of movies I see and the fact I LOVE a good non-stop action film, this was really good. I don't even like Tom Cruise and if it wasn't for Chris who wanted to see it, I wouldn't have seen it. I have to say, I liked Cruise in the film, which is good because I didn't like him in Oblivion. I liked Blunt too. She was kick butt! You didn't learn a whole lot about her, but it wasn't necessary. I just liked having a strong female for once (*ahem* Michael Bay!). I liked how they handled the flashbacks. There was also some humor in the beginning, but there was also heart as you saw how hard it is to repeat everything. It was a good film. I own it on DVD now. Grade: A

X-Men Days of Future Past ( ) - Slightly disappointed, but I liked it more than Spider-Man 2. I think I didn't like it as much as Edge of Tomorrow, though. I think I was more excited for the end credit scene than anything else. I thought there were some really good action scenes, but I think I liked the "Future" story better than the "Past" story. The end was rather "fluffy" too. There were just too many things, in my opinion, that weren't needed. There were some really neat moments, though. Grade: C+/B-

A Million Ways to Die in the West ( ) - Disappointment. I liked it more than Ted, but it wasn't as funny as I wanted it to be. There were some "ha ha" moments, but they were chuckles rather than flat out laughs. I wanted a good belly laugh or something and you never got there. There were some funny and quotable moments, though. Grade: C

Gozilla ( ) - Not bad. I liked it. It was a little too long and they did some weird things with the plot that was both origin and continuation story so that was a little weird and confusing, but it wasn't bad. I liked the CG. The script did ruin some of the "suspense" about Godzilla in the very beginning and everyone I know who saw it had the same idea at the very end battle scene with the nuke, but, eh. I did wish there was more Godzilla fighting, though. Not enough Godzilla time! Who cares about the humans?! LoL The humans were okay. Olsen (not one of the twins) kept tripping me out, though, because that Olsen gene is VERY strong through all the girls! Grade: C+

How to Train Your Dragon 2 ( ) - Aww...I liked it! I don't think it's as good as the first one, but it'll be close. I do think the movie ran in chapters, though. Chapter 1, blah. Chapter 2, blah. So the movie was a little chunky and didn't flow very well, but other than that, I liked it! Plus...a glowing Toothless! I watched this in theater and DVD. Grade: B+

22 Jump Street ( ) - Cute sequel. Wasn't as good as the first, but it wasn't terrible. Grade: C+

Transformers: Age of Extinction ( ) - Too long. Wayyyy too long and I watched this in theater and on DVD. The dinosaurs were cool, though. That was about it. Oh, no, I liked how there wasn't a stupid male lead and female lead romance story! Not to say there wasn't a romance story (what's with the panicking females during the big fights?), but it wasn't like the others. Grade: C-

Saving Mr. Banks ( ) - I liked it! I thought it was well-done all around. Grade: B+

Walk of Shame ( ) - I read in some article about the most forgettable movies of 2014 and this one made the list. LoL It is rather forgettable and really tedious and not funny. Grade: D

3 Days to Kill ( ) - Could have been worse. Could have been better. Kind of your typical has-been spy movie, except this one has a terminally ill former spy. Grade: D

Robocop ( ) - Er...Let's hope the franchise ends with this movie or someone else tries for a different movie. I haven't seen the original and this movie wasn't good and since the original is iconic, this HAD to have been terrible in comparison! It's an okay sci-fi action movie, but I didn't enjoy the story. Grade: D+

Lone Survivor ( ) - As said by the name, everyone dies. LoL It's sad in the beginning because of that, but I liked the acting. The story was interesting too. Good modern war film, but not great. Grade: C+/B-

Divergent ( ) - I liked this more than the book. Not sure what that says about me since I normally like the book more than the movie, but maybe I liked the book just enough and the movie had enough in it for me to like the movie more. I know I'm in the minority. People who liked the book, thought the book was better. Eh. Either way, I liked it enough to make me want to read the next book, but I know how many people were upset with the 3rd book that I don't REALLY want to read it. We'll see. I'll watch the next movie on DVD like this one. Grade: C

Rio 2 ( ) - It was cute. Similar to the first one, but always with a different angle. I liked the music. Not much to say. Grade: C

Noah ( ) -What a terrible movie! I think one of the worst movies of the year. Even if you don't know the Biblical story of Noah, you'd STILL think it was terrible. That's how bad it is. Grade: F

The Other Woman ( ) - Kind of a fun, silly comedy. Nothing tough about it at all. Could have been more memorable or better? I don't know. It falls flat.  Grade: C-

Planes: Fire & Rescue ( ) - A lot like the original Planes. It's cute for a kid. Wasn't enamored of it, but I like the franchise. Grade: C

Muppets Most Wanted ( ) - Cute movie. Falls in line with the original well. I liked the Kermit and Ms. Piggy romance story. I liked the cast too. Grade: B-

Draft Day ( ) - The surprise shocker of the year for me. Not knowing almost anything about the football draft, I had no idea what I was going into watching this. It had a fun little twist at the end! I'm not sure if I think it's a twist because I have no idea what goes into a draft and someone who does might see it coming, but it was unexpected for me and I liked it. Garner has NO point in the movie, though. She's the "moral compass," but whatever. Other than that, I liked it. Grade: B

Transcendence ( ) - Oh Depp...what's happened to you? This movie was...not good. Grade: D

Guardians of the Galaxy ( ) - I've watched this twice on DVD (don't even own it on DVD) and in theater...'Nough said. Grade: A

They Came Together ( ) - I can't tell if I like this movie or not. LoL I can see why the reviews are mixed...It was really different than a normal rom-com and almost tongue-in-cheek...? I don't know. It's different, but I watched it fascinated by it and I liked Poehler's and Rudd's chemistry. Still a really weird rom-com... Grade: C/C+

Dom Hemingway ( ) - Not what I expected it to be...I like Jude Law, but that's just about it...It's rough to watch. Grade: D

Need for Speed ( ) - I should know better than to rent a racing movie that I hadn't heard of before...Car scenes were cool, I guess. Grade: D

The Railway Man ( ) - Rented this because it was Firth and Kidman in it. I had no idea what it was about, but I liked it. I thought it was a good acting job on everyone's part. It is a little slow and has some other small issues, but I liked it. Grade: B-

Non-Stop ( ) - You know it's a forgettable movie when I can't even remember who's IN this movie, let alone what it's about. I like Taken, but Neeson has got to stop these type of films! They keep getting worse the more he does...With that said, I still enjoy watching Neeson kick butt :P Grade: C

Snowpiercer ( ) - What a unique film...Not sure what to expect from it, but Chris wanted to see it and it was getting good reviews. It's like a dystopia movie for adults. It's good acting on Evans part and the story was interesting. It's an action film, but it works with what it has on the train (it takes place on a train). I'm still confused about what I really watched (I should rewatch it), but it's good...? I don't know. It's weird. Grade: C+

The Fault in Our Stars - D'awww...The book made me cry. The movie made me cry. I feel like I'm complete now with TFIOS. It does a good adaptation of the book. It has heart. Grade: B

Neighbors - Just what I expected it to be. There were funny scenes in it, but always ends up with some sort of "soft" message at the end. The scene at the end with Effron and Rogen modeling outside Abercrombie and Fitch (I think it was A&F) is hilarious... Grade: C

Sex Tape - Diaz needs to pick better rom-coms...I didn't even like Diaz's and Segel's chemistry... Grade: D

Chef -Wanted to watch this in theater, but Chris didn't want to. Got to watch it and it met my expectations. It's a cute film and I liked it from start to stop. My only problem with it is the heart-warming story is marred by the innuendos. They're not as bad as a comedy like Neighbors, but it's not entirely appropriate for this type of film. It feels a little awkward. With that said, I still immensely enjoyed the movie even with the cussing and innuendos. Grade: B

The Prince - This was another "What film was this?" Even after reading the synopsis, I still have troubles remembering it... Grade: D

Hercules - Well...it could have been worse, but it could have been lots better. I don't like Dwayne Johnson in these types of films... With that said, the story progression was a different take. Still...nope. Grade: D

Mr. Peabody and Sherman - Another good animation this year. New animations are just so much better than the sequels, though. I liked this. I thought it was fun. Grade: B

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Eh. Not as good as the first one, but I do enjoy watching the style of the movie. Grade: C-

Earth to Echo - A cuter version of E.T. Mostly. Pretty much. Basically, E.T. + kids filming the adventure themselves + growing up and moving away from your best friends. Other than that...it was slow and didn't hold my attention well. Grade: D

The Expendables 3 - What you'd expect. Grade: C

Tammy - Kind of a disappointment. I expected more from it. Tammy was rather unlikeable in the beginning so that didn't help things at all... Then the whole story was kind of like, "What?" Grade: D

The Giver - Didn't read the book so I can't compare to it or any other version, but...It was okay? My immediate thought was, "Is The Giver the original dystopia novel?!" Eh. Grade: D+

The Hundred-Foot Journey - I wanted to see all the food movies this year. LoL I knew this was a DVD rental, though. This was a good movie. It's predictable. It's not taxing. It's just a good, solid film. I liked the acting. I liked the story. I liked the cooking. It's cute. It might be a little slow, but it works for the way it's set-up. Grade: B

Let's Be Cops - Silly from start to stop, but I did like the end and where they ended up. Grade: C-

Jersey Boys - Basically the male version of Dreamgirls. I haven't seen the play. It was okay...I think Dreamgirls is better, though Grade: C

When the Game Stands Tall - It wasn't terrible, but I'm still not quite sure what the point of the movie was. Was it supposed to show the kids got through the loss, picked themselves up, and still triumphed? I don't know. Grade: D+/C-

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Er. It could have been worse? LoL Grade: D+

And So It Goes - Kind of a mind boggling film with good actors. Was this supposed to be a rom-com like As Good As it Gets? If so, it failed by a LOT. If not, I have no idea what this was supposed to be. It was too heavy of a film... Grade: D

The November Man - Not terrible, but I expected more from it considering it was sort of Bond-like... Grade: C-

Blended - This was listed in the "forgettable movies of 2014." Granted, it's forgettable. On the other hand, it was kind of cute too. It's quirky and kind of suffers from things here-and-there, but it was cute. It wasn't as bad as I thought it could have been. Grade: D+/C-

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn - Don't bother...LoL If you're going to watch a Robin Williams movie, don't watch this one... Grade: D

The Spectacular Now - Old movie from a few years ago that I wanted to watch, but never got to watch. It's a coming of age movie. Wasn't terrible. Wasn't great. Grade: C-

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Oh The Hobbit...At least you were better than the Desolation of Smaug. Unfortunately, you only had two cool scenes in you the entire time. And Legolas had the worst most memorable line in the movie. LoL I'll still buy you in extended DVD and watch you again, but LotR is much better and I'll keep watch the first one more instead. Grade: C+

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - I think the movies are good adaptations of the books. Catching Fire is still my favorite movie, though. This movie was good, but I don't like the place Katniss is in emotionally and mentally. It grates on my nerves. So this movie wasn't as enjoyable as I'd like, but I still liked it. Grade: C+/B-

Big Hero 6 - This is one of my favorite movies of the year. It's so cute! It's a good film. Good for older children, but also good for adults. I enjoyed it and I liked the heart in it. I'm clueless, though, because I had no idea it was a super hero movie till you got the "aha" for why it's called Big Hero 6. Derp on me. Grade: A

The Equalizer - Kind of like Taken in a different vein. It was an interesting watch. It is violent, but it is good. Grade: B

Fury - What a good film, but it was sad. It was good acting and the depiction of war was good. I thought everyone did a good job in this and I wasn't sure about some of the actors. Grade: B+

The Maze Runner - Didn't read the book, but I liked the movie. I thought they did a good job. The girl was kind of useless as the fact she was a girl (not as a body), but I'm sure she'll have a stronger role down the road. Grade: C+

Speed Racer - OLD movie, but I never watched it before! This is Chris's boss's favorite movie so he lent it to us. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The style of the movie was interesting too. Grade: C

Pitch Black - Now I'm really going back in time...I saw Riddick this year, which I highly enjoyed. I hadn't watched Pitch Black, though, which is the first Riddick film. So I watched it. I like it. The scene when he rotates his arms around is NUTS, though! Grade: C

The Interview - The last movie of 2014 I watched. Watched this Christmas Eve when it was available to rent digitally. It was what I expected it to be. It had some funny scenes and, of course, it has its "touching" side. It was mostly "eh." It met my expectations. Grade: C-

There it is! 103 movies! Movie year recap will be coming up...I will actually do one this year unlike last year where I drafted it and never posted it. :P

I've already watched 2 movies this year: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and Boyhood. I'll post those later.