Another year

[trinityvixen]

...another thousand movies I've watched. No, not really. Since I can't possibly capture your attention or wow any of you with my books-read-this-year total, time to do my annual recap of media I've consumed in 2008.

There seems to be a cap fast approaching, as I saw only three more movies in 2008 than I did in 2007. Television, however, fell off

Comments

[viridian]

I just watched Dan in Real Life last night. Something about Steve Carell is adorably charming -- I honestly can't dislike his character in The Office, either, despite how often I cringe at his antics.

[trinityvixen]

He is irresistibly charming generally, and it helps that he's sort of selfdepricating because he defuses some of the irritation I build up at people who are "charming." (Like Will Smith. He's pretty charming, too, and it takes a lot of effort on his part not to just fall back on that. When he doesn't, like in I am Legend, he's amazing.)

More than that, though, is his enthusiasm. Whether he's being manic like the squirrel in Over the Hedge or as Maxwell Smart in Get Smart, he does seem genuinely engaged by what he's doing. And you can play that for humor or not, and I liked that Dan in Real Life gave him a chance to play it bittersweet. It was really adorable and melty-making at the same time.

[arcane_the_sage]

...and feiran and I managed to kick the Saw tradition (wish we'd done it years ago, really).

Actually, you picked a bad time to do that. The last movie was on par with (or better) than the first. It also tied up all the loose ends from previous movies (it's almost like they planned it).

[trinityvixen]

No, that makes it a better idea to skip the theater. That way we can pause and go back if, as you say, it works to pick up plot ever again. Our real turn off was three--because that one was pointless--but four made no effort to really connect with the new Jigsaw disciple. I barely knew who he even was.

[arcane_the_sage]

Ok, I'm at a lost which number the last one was. But it dealt in depth about the disciple (turns out he wasn't all that new) and how and why he got mixed up in all of that. The movie-wide deathtrap(s) was also thought out to the Nth degree kind of like the first movie (complete with character OMGs). When it comes on cable I would recommend catching it.

[trinityvixen]

Puh-lease! You can't watch an R-rated film on cable. God invented Netflix for a reason, you know.

[moonlightalice]

Across the Universe got an honorable mention?! Are you serious?! That movie was unwatchable. Jeff and I saw an hour before we actually turned it off.

Re: Scalzi I don't want to get into spoilers, but you and I need to talk more about it.

[trinityvixen]

I think Across the Universe was visually pretty interesting and I really liked the song arrangements.

And let me finish Zoe's Tale before I get into any heavy Scalzi discussion. That way, there is no need to worry about spoilers.