—Thursday night, Ridley Scott released the first teaser for his next movie, Prometheus, which, let's be honest, is a prequel of sorts to his 1979 masterpiece, Alien. You know the drill (but I'll repeat it anyways): Watch it so we can discuss it:
Wow, is this tinged with elements of the Alien trailer. The title, the beats, that giant chair, the horse-shoe ship...It all looks grandiose. It looks like it belongs in the world of the xenomorph. It doesn't feel nearly as claustrophobic as the Alien trailer, but instead more open. Which would make sense, as in Alien, the threat was inside, while in Prometheus, it may well be from outside. After this trailer (and working my way through the Alien Anthology on blu-ray), I'm keeping an eye on this one, with hopes it turns out better than Robin Hood.
—Well, I made the switch to Sprint last week. Got myself an iPhone 4S and my own cell plan/bill. It's about time, frankly. I'm like a small child, diving into this world of smartphones. The simplest things make me giddy. Words with Friends sucks, because "qi" is not a word and I refuse to accept that any of these words should count. So if I'm taking forever to respond to your game, it's because I'm being petulant about it. Other than that, and the far-too-often-occurrence of the phone forgetting I'm authenticated, this thing rocks. Oh, the future. So crazy.
—Since work has decided to treat us like high schoolers during "training," I've decided to act like a high schooler and ignore the "training" and read instead. I blew through The Hunger Games on Wednesday and Thursday, and have started book two, Catching Fire. I definitely enjoyed it, as it was a captivating, easy read. My one complaint is that a lot of the descriptions felt more like the author, Suzanne Collins, telling me how everything looks than Katniss seeing all of this for the first time. Which I'm willing to forgive because first-person present is a bitch to write in. And Catching Fire already seems better in that regard. I still question the naiveté of Katniss, since she seems an incredibly observant girl in the woods. I want to know what happens next, which is something I've only been getting from TV lately.
—Speaking of TV (not that again), NBC can suck it. Community, regardless of its ratings, is one of the best comedies on the boobtube. Put them on a hiatus for Chelsea fucking Handler? Really? Really? REALLY?! I just...I don't understand. This season has been a little back-and-forth from my eyes, but it's also provided some of the best of the series in Remedial Chaos Theory (who wouldn't love Evil Troy and Evil Abed?) and Regional Holiday Music (I love spoofs, kinda hate on Glee a lot now, and a horror Christmas story? Heck yes). This show grabbed me by my cajones two years ago and hasn't let up for 2 and a half seasons. Everything about it rocks. Support it however you can, friends, because it may well go the way of Firefly, Arrested Development, and the freshly cancelled and forever awesome Bored to Death.
—For those of you I'm friends with on facebook, you saw that I lost a dear companion right before Christmas:
It's a cliché, but they really don't make them like they used to. That Game Boy lasted twenty-two years. My first generation Xbox 360 lasted...four? Five? That's a badass piece of gaming history I don't intend on tossing out, even if it is gone. Worst of all, I'd just bought a few games on ebay and was so very excited to play them. For the curious, they're two Jurassic Park games I never got the chance to play as a child. Now I'm a child with money, so it only makes sense that I'd spend it on childish things.
—Wondering what movies I loved this year? Me too! I don't remember all the movies I saw, but I know only a few stuck out. Maybe more than a few, but we'll see. Of what I've seen, the best of the year can be nothing but Drive. Words cannot express how much I loved this movie. Such a shock, as it was marketed as another heisty, driving type of movie. What we got was a noir, plain and simple. A long look at a character and his interactions. Brillant.
—Rango was also a ton of fun. Excellent animation, a fun, if classic, story, and great voice acting. For all the hate it may garner, Fast Five was good, too. It wasn't a racing movie as much as it was a heist/action movie. It delivered and managed to not take itself too seriously.
—Hugo was the sort of film you want to see again and again, but probably sans 3D. I had a bad headache by the end of the movie, which was a first for me and 3D. That kept me from fully loving it, but there was a lot to appreciate: it was a child's story, but at no point did it feel childish. As a hater of children in movies, I realized it was the lack of respect for children in films I hate. In Hugo's case, the children were treated with the utmost respect and I didn't think twice about it.
—What music did I like this year? blink-182's Neighborhoods. "Ghost on the Dance Floor" gets me excited and pumped up (I put it on my cardio mix). Florence + The Machine's Ceremonials has some amazing pieces of music on there. Absolutely worth a listen. So is Drive's soundtrack, now that I think about it. I listened to and enjoyed a lot of Johnny Cash's American Recordings albums. The man only got better as he aged.
—Remember how I told you I was in the middle of reading Catching Fire? Well, between the time I wrote that and now, I finished it. My criticisms stand: the descriptions don't impress me and either does Katniss's obliviousness. This was definitely a stronger book, but it felt much more like a piece of a story than a stand-alone. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just wish it didn't end as it did, relying on the reader to get Mockingjay to have a complete tale. Still worth checking out.
—Brock Lesnar retired from the UFC. He had a short career there, with more ups and downs than most athletes see in a lifetime. He went from UFC Heavyweight Champion to getting diagnosed with a nasty bit of diverticulitis, to pummeling opponents in no time to getting pummeled in no time. Let the pro wrestling fans among us (myself included) begin speculating on a potential return to the WWE.
—I got my hair flat-iron straightened today. It feels weird. Really strange...like it lacks volume. I don't know that I like it, but I don't think I dislike it, either. My hair is an odd thing for me: I love it long, and want it under a bit of control, but don't want to do anything to it. Doesn't really make sense, does it? Either way, I've entered a new chapter in my hairs existence, and we'll see how it goes.
—Sooooo, what are you guys doing tonight? Something baller, I hope. Me? I'm heading to a classy place with some classy folk to drink all night and eat delicious food. Even my little sister will be there! Unfortunately, I've gone and screwed up the trimming of my beard (I blame the trimmer), so I'm going to have to do something to distract from it. Maybe face paint. Probably nipple clamps. We'll see. Sometimes, dressing to the nines, getting shitty, and distracting from a poorly trimmed beard is just what you have to do. And whatever you do, be safe and have fun. I expect all of you to make it to the new year, if only so we can face the impending Mayan apocalypse together.
I don't think there's anything else I wanted to mention. As such, enjoy tonight, tomorrow, and forever on until I blog again!
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