Testing the Waters: 10/27/13

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween from Oz!

I was going to write this in Orange, but there isn't a nice shade of orange in the options tab. All well. Anyway.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

It's already Halloween here in Aus, so I thought I'd dig through my pictures and unearth a jack-o-lantern I (or possibly Mom) carved a few years back. There IS a party going on tonight for Halloween, which I won't be going to because it's in a pub...

I don't drink.

I'm not fond of being around drunk people.

Therefore, I'm not going.

BUT

I will be watching a couple of scary movies while I write out my Japanese homework.

Hope you have a fun and safe Halloween

... if you celebrate it that is.

Reasons for Bleary Eyes the next day

Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey
Baker's Boy by J.V. Jones
Bangkok 8 by John Burdett
Beka Cooper: Terrier by Tamora Pierce
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
D. Gray-Man 1-? by Katsura Hoshino
Damage Control by Robert Dugoni
Devil You Know by Mike Carey
From Far Away 1-14 by Kyoko Hikawa
Half-Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer
Ice Hunt by James Rollins
Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross
Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk
Meg by Steve Alten
Only By Your Touch by Catherine Anderson
Plague Ship by Clive Cussler
Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Rurouni Kenshin 1-28 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Sensei by John Donohue
Something From the Nightside by Simon R Green
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
The Book of Honor by Ted Gup
The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
The Last Dragonlord by Joanne Bertin
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer
The Odyssey by Homer
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Unshapely Things by Mark del Franco
When Demons Walk by Patricia Briggs
Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

Here We Go to the Lobby...

300 - If you don't like CGI and have no imagination, don't pick this up. Personally though this was an excellent adaptation of historical fact. Minus a few key elements.
Arsenic and Old Lace - On a Halloween night a young man gains a marriage certificate, and the rather bracing knowledge of his sweet little old aunties secrets.
Big Trouble In Little China - An ego ridden truck driver with a good heart (think Daffy Duck) finds love and adventure in Chinatown.
Brick - Take the essence of Noir style film, and put it in a brooding high school setting. Basically that what you've got in Brick. Unique.
Burbs - A very normal man in a very normal if odd neighborhood falls to the suspicions of his paranoid neighbors when the new neighbors move in.
Clue - The movie based on the board game.
Disturbia - A home bound youth finds amusement with his neighbors antics. Until one of them turns out to be a serial killer.
Forbidden Planet - The movie that showed the world, that a Science Fiction movie when well done could be just as good as the more common place drama. It broke molds, and paved the way for others such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.
Frequency - The Northern lights swing lower one year allowing communication to take place through time, and the solving of a murder.
Hackers - Follow a group of hackers as they foil the plans of a bad guy that gives our hacker friends a bad name.
Hot Fuzz - A homage to every cop buddy movie ever made, in all its hilarity,
Iron Man - I don't care if you don't like super heroes. Get over it and go see it!
Kung Fu Hustle - This is hard to pigeon hole, but at its most basic level, bad guys try to take over living quarters and meet a great deal of resistance.
Lake Placid - Ignore the giant crocodile, and totally enjoy this quirky, witty, unique horror film for all its worth.
North to Alaska - A miner with the best of intentions goes to get a bride for his partner, and ends up with more than he bargined for.
Nothing to Lose - When a man who thought he was happily married gets his vision of life destroyed, he gets somewhat dispondent. And then the fun begins.
Operation Petticoat - Pink Submarines, Cast Away Nurses, and attempting to avoid the enemy fleet during WWII. What more could you ask for?
Oscar - A 1930s gangster attempts to follow the last wishes of his father, with hysterical results.
Pitch Black - A group of people on a deep space vessel crash land on a planet with three suns. If you think it'd never get dark, you'd be wrong.
Princess Bride - "Marriage. Marriage is what brings us together today. Marriage that blessed arrangement... That dream within a dream..."
Rear Window - The original person stuck at home finding amusements in his neighbors antics. Until one of them turns out to be a killer.
Rio Bravo - If you have no idea what this is, for the love of John Wayne, go rent it.
Serenity - (also check out Firefly the TV series) The BEST Sci-Fi movie to come out in -years-. A spaceship full of misfits save the universe. Go figure.
Shaun of the Dead - A mild mannered electronic store manager finds the stakes have risen higher when he awakes one morning amid a world over run with Zombies. Its funny as hell.
Shooter - A rarity among spy/thriller movies in that its fairly accurate when compared to reality. And its smart, which isn't always what the public is shrieking for.
Superman Returns - .... well, basically Superman returns.
The Bourne Trilogy - Identity, Supremecy, Ultimatum. Spy gets screwed over, then gets even.
Three to Tango - A young man is pegged as a homosexual right before he meets the girl of his dreams. Its a recipe for hysterical situations.
Two Towers - The best of the three in my book.
V for Vendetta - Basically the world goes to hell, and the Brittish get a little up tight about free will.

Bento Box of Manga...

Bleach - The Japanese version of the Grim Reaper takes on a whole new arena of trouble when a red headed human gains the powers of a Shinigami.
D Grey Man - A boy with a unique talent for demon banishment gets in over his head.
DramaCon - A young comic writer goes to her first Anime Convention, meets the guy of her dreams and learns some truths about who she is and what she wants to do with her life.
From Far Away - Girl gets whisked off to another world in which she is known as the harbringer of doom. Oh, and she also takes up with a demon.
Fruits Basket - A girl finds herself taken in by a family with an unusual secret.
Full Metal Panic - Strong willed high school girl, meets socially inept boy who knows nothing but war. It makes for some interesting scenes. Especially with the Mechs.
Hana Kimi - Cross dresser extraordinaire goes to an all boys school in Japan to be near the boy she's got a crush on.
Imadoki - A very enthusiastic country girl gets into an exclusive rich kid school and changes their lives forever.
MARS - A very shy girl gets noticed by the school screw up. But things are not always what they seem.
Naruto - Stop the eye rolling. The manga version of this is an excellent read. Best of all it dosen't have Naruto's voice to go along with it. Its a classic tale of misfit makes good.
One Piece - An extremely optimistic young man decides to become King of the Pirates, and gathers an unusual, but fantastic crew to join in his adventures. Awesome story!! Highly recommended.
Rurouni Kenshin - A former assasin for a faction of the Japanese government directly prior to the Meiji era, decides to make amends for his actions during war. Highly recommended.