Now that I'm "into" Lord of the Rings Online (play almost nightly...) with a few friends and Chris, my life seems to comprise mostly of playing that and not much else! It's so bad that Chris has gotten me a gamer mouse (I "need" two thumb buttons) AND a gamer headset with a better mic. Hey, I thought my last headset was okay, but I can tell the quality difference. If anything, I actually have a bass now and my mic doesn't make me sound like a robot occasionally. For some reason everyone had problems with me sounding like a robot and not being able to understand me. :P I have also learned all sorts of complications of having a Mac and trying to game. The game client is a Mac one (when I first played LotRo back in 2009, it wasn't on the Mac, but now is), but finding a gamer mouse that works on a Mac was hard and then this mouse's drivers didn't work on the Mac with the game client so the thumb buttons were useless. I had to download a 3rd party client to get them to work. This is, technically, my 2nd new headset because the first one didn't work with a Mac since it needed a power source to get the mic to work (couldn't just plug it into the mouse jack, which is what it was and a converter is like $5-10). This one I have now (the 2nd set) is a USB one to get the mic to work. Who knew! It's been interesting, to say the least. And, no, I can't use the mic on the computer because when the fan turns on, you can hear the fan through the mic (learned that YEARS ago) and I do use the mic often and the game client makes my fan work a LOT.
I do manage to do my nails, but I'm doing them less than I used to (1-2 times a week now (occasional 3 if something chips horribly, but I go as long as possible within a week) instead of 2-3 (sometimes 4)). I'm still buying polishes, but at a MUCH slower rate (really good for my wallet and savings!) and I mostly avoid Facebook now to keep the temptation down. All those indies and new polishes coming out and all those bloggers on Facebook! I also have gone away from chunky glitters and back to holos and cremes. It's definitely a palette cleansing time. I think Christmas wore me out! I'm also doing more stamping, which I stopped doing in the latter half of last year so it's nice to get back to stamping. I also have stopped doing chunky glitters because it takes time to remove and I have to fit in nails in between LotRo times. :)
I do keep renting movies, though, but there's not a whole lot right now. It's starting to pick up, but it's been a sort of slump. Well, I guess it *feels* like a slump, even though in 2 months I've watched 12 movies. To be fair, I watched 2 of them this week. Still reading too. I fit it in between gaming and work times. It's been a slow start to the year on new books, though. Lots of my authors aren't coming out with books till summer or the latter half of the year. I have managed to read 10 or so books, though. Currently plowing through one and it's been one I've been waiting to read for 2 years! This author finished a spin-off so I haven't been with these main characters for 2 years and it's good to be back to them! My TV watching has plummeted. I never got back into watching TV shows after November. I guess it's not something I'm really missing. I think I'm really only watching the new season of Top Gear.
Anyway, the rest of life is okay. I'm in the homestretch of my contract with the Aquarium. I did my presentation this past Monday, which is sort of like my defense. It went well. Now I'm waiting on some written comments, final edits, and then I'll turn it in and I'll be finished! It'll go through copy-editing, but my job will be finished.
With that...On to movies! This is going to be short just because there are 12 movies...
Frankenweenie - It's cute. I enjoyed it. It's based on the Frankenstein story, but with a kid twist. It wouldn't appeal to all kids, but I liked it. I can see why people thought it was cute and fun, but it is a different Tim Burton film. I'm not a huge fan of Tim Burton, but I have managed to watch a few of his films and it has his style, but maybe not his normal storytelling. The animation was good, but fantastic. Grade: B- (maybe C+)
Hotel Transylvania - Another animation and I enjoyed it too. I enjoyed this about as much as Frankenweenie. Frankenweenie has the loss of a pet in the beginning and this one revolves around Dracula's daughter turning of age and the fact her mother died so he's a little protective of her. It's cute too, but not overly amazing either. Grade: B- (maybe C+)
The Paperboy (Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey) - Uhm. Wow. I definitely wasn't prepared for what I was going to see. It's a good cast and decent acting, but the story is definitely not what I was expecting and what an, uhm, ending. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone to see. I guess there's a morale somewhere at the end, but it's such a downer of a movie at the end that it's hard to figure out. A movie that is taking up precious memory space... Grade: D
The Cold Light of Day (Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver) - Think a Die Hard movie, but without Willis being the hero. It's a little Bourne-y too. Basically, Willis's character works for the CIA or something and while the family is on a vacation, everyone gets kidnapped except Cavill. He has to go out and save his family while avoiding misleading information from the government (i.e., Weaver) and being alone in Italy. The most upsetting thing about it is Willis is in the movie, but he ends up NOT being in the movie for it since he dies in the very beginning. When does Willis die in a movie like that?! It's an okay movie. I can see why it didn't do well. It's just okay and it's a "been there, done that" without anything truly new or interesting in it. I mean, I'm okay with the "been there, done that" type of movies, but it should at least be good and this one falls flat. Grade: C-
Seven Psychopaths (Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell) - The title says it all. It really a movie full of psychopaths, but it's kind of interesting to watch. It has a good cast too. I will say, the trailer does mislead you. Sure, the whole dognapping thing sort of centers the movie (at least Harrelson's role), but it's actually about the seven psychopaths and Farrell's character is writing a script about seven psychopaths. There were a few twists in the movie, which, if I had been watching more closely, I might have noticed, but it interesting. It does have a slightly depressing ending, but given this is done by the same people who did In Bruges, I'm not too surprised. It's good if you like movies like this, but it's not for everyone. Grade: C
Flight (Denzel Washington) - The first 20 minutes of this movie literally made me jittery for the WHOLE movie. I was so wound up after watching the flight scene. It's intense. It didn't scare me away from flying, but it's intense and definitely had me on the edge of my seat and I was watching the whole thing very intently. Washington's acting is good and I can see why he was nominated, but I also didn't feel like it was phenomenal too. He definitely plays an anti-hero, though. He drinks and takes drugs, but when that flight went all wrong, he really pulled it all together and kept his cool. If anything, that alone was impressive to see (even when you know it's acting) because the contrast between him and his co-pilot is pretty extreme in their attitudes during the ordeal. It was an interesting movie, even if it was a little frustrating with his character until the end. If you're interested in it, I'd recommend it, but it's not a "must watch." Grade: B
Hit & Run (Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard) - It's a silly movie and that's what I expected. I do really like Kristen Bell, though. I really wish they didn't cancel Veronica Mars and it always seems like Bell and Shepard are fun people. Anyway, it's pretty silly and it should at no time be taken seriously either. It's over the top too, but it works somehow. Grade: C
Playing for Keeps (Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel) - When I started watching this, I could have sworn I had already seen it. I had seen the trailer SO much, I had somehow convinced myself I had seen it when I saw the intro. I still somehow think I've seen it already, but I haven't. Either it's so predictable (your typical rom-com) or I really have seen that trailer too much. At any rate, it's pretty typical, but it's an okay cast. It's nothing special and not the greatest rom-com, though. Grade: C
A Good Day to Die Hard (Bruce Willis) - It's a Die Hard film. Expect lots of explosions, shooting, running, car scenes, and Willis saving the day at the very end. If you expect anything else, you have idea what this franchise is about. I will say that the trying to bond with his son again was "heavy" for a Die Hard film, but Willis does get some jokes in here-and-there, but it's your typical Die Hard. Grade: C
Robot and Frank (Frank Langella) - I liked this film up until the end. It was a little sad for an ending and the movie sort of left me wanting something else from it. It's a good cast, but something just doesn't quite jive with me. It was like it was too short or the "intense" part (running from the cops with the robot) was too short or whatever...But it was a cute film. I liked the premise and I liked the relationship between Frank and Robot. Maybe if it went a different way with the middle of the story it would have played out better. I wish it was better to make it great. As is, it's just good to okay. Grade: C+
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller) - A good film. I liked all the acting and the story is interesting. It's a good coming of age. Grade: B
The Intouchables (Francois Cluzet, Omar Sy) - I really liked this movie. It's a foreign film, but it's good. It's really touching and it's great to see how they both taught each other what's missing from each other's lives. It's nothing too intense as it's a movie mostly about their growing friendship, but it has humor and touching moments. I enjoyed it from start to finish and would recommend this. Sy is a great actor and Cluzet does a great job too. You definitely get involved with their friendship and enjoy it almost as much as they do. I would rewatch this on DVD and maybe will rewatch it sooner rather than later. Grade: A
Oscars...Well. I wasn't too surprised. I was a little surprised about Best Animation (Brave), but I also haven't seen Wreck-It Ralph, yet, so it's hard to say. I'll be seeing it sometime next week, I suspect. It is weird how Best Director and Best Picture weren't from the same movie. Sure, it can happen and has happened before, but the directing makes a big difference in how the movie turns out. To be fair, Affleck wasn't nominated for Best Director, which was weird too. I guess you can also have a Best Picture nom and no Best/Supporting Actor/Actress awards too, but then you can have an overall feel (e.g., Lord of the Rings). Was a little surprised about Waltz for Best Supporting Actor, but he did a really good job in Django. I was happy for Lawrence (Best Actress) and Hathaway (Best Supporting Actress). I think they both did good jobs and you gotta appreciate Lawrence's spirits after she tripped going up the stairs (saw the highlights). Adele for Skyfall (Best Song) wasn't a surprise. Will be interesting if she does the next Bond song (also starring Daniel Craig) because of Skyfall's popularity (rumors are she might). I haven't seen the opening piece for the Oscars in a while, but I liked a few pieces from Mcfarlane's. I did like the "losers" song at the end, which was kind of funny. That also took some amazingly quick memorization since they kept changing it all night! With that...Not much else to say. :)
Time to read and go to bed!
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