Video Games
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
I’ll be honest. Wasn’t completely into this game at first, and started losing interest in part two when it started a completely new story I couldn’t care less about. This is probably because I hadn’t played the previous game first. Also, being my first real attempt at RPG, I couldn’t wrap my brain around hit points/might/etc.

Maybe it’s because it was my first RPG that I slowly, yet eventually, loved it. Between the emotional story line and the constant brain-work to make sure
everyone survives each level, it kept me playing for hours at a time. (I don’t
exaggerate.) And let’s face it, you team Ike & Shinon up against anyone and it’s instant win.

I originally planned to finish Wind Waker before starting the first game,
Path of Radiance, but… it didn’t happen that way. Needless to say, Link has kind of been set aside at the moment. If you know me, this says a lot.

Movies
Sherlock Holmes
It’s seldom that I go to the theatre anymore, because I’m a cheapskate. But for some reason, I had to see this. It was… good. I loved the setting, that old English/steampunk-ish atmosphere, and Jude Law is pretty much the best Watson ever. Though if it wasn’t for that, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. I can’t quite place why. Not like I’ve read the books to compare (don’t judge). Favorite movie ever? No. Will I see the sequel (You know there will be one)? Sure. I suppose that says something, at least.

Hollywoodland
Good ol’ Netflix rental. Again with the old times atmosphere. It’s a not-so-secret love of mine. The film goes back & forth between figuring out a mystery and the life of that deceased, and it took me about halfway through to realize this wasn’t happening simultaneously. Oops.

I may have gotten emotional when the detective thought he finally figured things out, but the movie dragged on longer than it should have. I lost focus through scenes, and not because it was 12:30 in the morning. Adrien Brody was the redeeming factor. He’s pretty much amazing. And I didn’t realize until the credits that Ben Affleck played George Reeves; he was that good. So the acting was pretty fantastic. It was the storyline that lacked.

Books
Because I simply do not have the desire to repeat myself, here are the books I completed this month with links to their respective reviews:
The Bean Trees; Barbara Kingsolver
This Boy’s Life; Tobias Wolff
Peter & the Shadow Thieves; Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Atlas Shrugged; Ayn Rand

Monday, 01 February 2010   ♦   books, games, movies