Looking Back On 2K7

With only a few hours left until 2007 officially ends here on the east coast of the United States, I just wanted to take the time to ruminate on the past year.

My theme for the year was to move forward. There are a few big changes in my life that should have been made years ago, so I put those forth back in January as a personal goal I wanted to achieve this year. I wanted to make those changes, or at least get as close as I could. I didn't actually accomplish all that I'd hoped for, unfortunately, but I did get the ball rolling in the right direction. There's a bit of work left for me to do, but I don't see a problem with carrying the "move forward" theme into the new year.

Other than that, it's been a weird year in general for yours truly.I don't really talk a whole lot about my personal life, because there's certain readers of this blog that I'd like to keep in the dark about certain things. But 2007 was a peculiar year for me, thanks to some troubles I had with a few people. (Have you noticed that I didn't make any references to my friends from Lawrenceburg like I did in 2006?) Things have been smoothed over for the most part, however, so my 2007 really ended on a good note.

Parts of the year did suck, that sort of thing cannot be avoided. But I still think that it was a fun year. Though looking back, I believe I spent more time watching movies than I did doing anything else. But oh, do I love my movies.

Anyway, I guess that wasn't a very in-depth at the year that was. But hey, why go into detail here when you can just read the archives? That's just as good, except they weren't written with a few months of perspective.

So happy new year, everybody. Thanks to all of you who visited this humble corner of cyberspace over the last twelve months. I know there's only four or five regulars, but you guys make writing this thing worth it. Now let's see what 2008 brings, hm?

I Want AVP3 Now

Just got back from what may or may not be my last visit to a movie theater this year. Unfortunately, no theater within fifty miles is showing Sweeney Todd or Juno, so we caught Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem instead. And in summary, it was some of the most fun I've had at the movies all year.

The truth is the characters are pretty bad and the actors aren't much better, but I didn't pay to see any human cast. I paid to see Aliens fight Predators, and the movie delivered. Though the lighting was a bit too dark for some parts of the movie, what I could make out through the darkness was some of the wildest, most insane stuff I've seen in a while. Every second spent in the hospital location during the movie is gold. Gold, Jerry!

Yeah, okay, the movie is most assuredly not going to win any awards and probably won't be remembered as an all-time classic, but I am most certainly not going to argue with a movie with balls as big as this one's. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem gets three and a half stars from yours truly, and it's most certainly an improvement upon the first Alien vs. Predator movie.

Hooray For Santy Claus

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Me, I think I've had a pretty good one. I scored an Xbox 360, the first video game console I've ever owned that wasn't created by Nintendo, so I'm pretty excited with that. And I'm also excited to finally post my two new reviews: Bob Clark's 1974 horror cult classic Black Christmas, and Glen Morgan's remake from last year. I think it's fun that for two Christmases in a row, I've posted a review of a holiday-themed movie directed by Bob Clark. Too bad he only did Black Christmas and A Christmas Story, otherwise I'd do another one next year.

So have fun reading those, and once again, I hope you and yours have a very merry Christmas.

Only Hours Away

Yep, tonight is Christmas Eve. As a big fan of the holiday season, the anticipation here at Casa de Sutton is at a fever pitch. Tomorrow is going to be a fun day, I just know it. And I hope it'll be a fun day for you readers too, even the ones who don't celebrate Christmas. Who am I to discriminate when it comes to fun and goodwill?

I also hope that you guys will be back here tomorrow to check out my new Christmas-themed reviews. I've got them completed and I'll have them up sometime tomorrow, so be sure to read them if you get a free moment. Believe it or not, I've actually started thinking up ideas for next year's holiday review(s). I'm currently leaning towards one of three movies: either Santa Slay, Silent Night, Deadly Night, or one of the all-time holiday classics, Santa Claus Conquers The Martians. There's another twelve months until I actually have to start working on that, but it never hurts to start preparing early.

So anyway, everybody be good for goodness' sake. I'll be back tomorrow with another post. See you then.

Preparing For The Jolly Fat Man

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last month or so, then you've probably noticed that Christmas is in a couple of days. We here at Casa de Sutton are big fans of Christmas, and we're eagerly anticipating the big day. And while I have the opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Meanwhile, my preparations for a Christmas celebration here at the MSX are going well. Those two new reviews I'm working on are coming along swimmingly. I've got one finished already, and I'm about halfway through the second one. I'll hopefully have them all done and ready for your reading pleasure in time for the 25th. Consider them a little Christmas present from me to you, my dear readers.

So start counting the days until Christmas, if you celebrate it. I know I am.

I've Got Mail... And Comics

Those three comic books I ordered online a week and a half ago came in this afternoon, so yeah, I guess you could say I'm in a good mood. In case you missed my earlier post about it, I wrote that I'd purchased Batman Annual #14, Daredevil: Yellow #1, and a comic adaptation of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace online in order to bolstered my very, very meager comic book collection. My order arrived on my doorstep today, and the three comics are all in really great shape. A good buy on my part, I believe.

The comics unfortunately didn't come with bags or boards, so I had to improvise for now with cut-up cardboard boxes and and some protective plastic sleeves that would usually go in a three-ring binder. They aren't exactly perfect, but eh, it'll do until I can go acquire some proper bags and boards. I'd probably buy some of those oblong storage boxes too, but with only eight issues in my collection, I don't really need them right now. Maybe I will if and when my collection really gets deep.

Wow... I've become even dorkier than I used to be. Awesome.

That Title's A Pretty Bold Statement

I managed to get out and catch I Am Legend last night, and I was impressed. There were a few things I'd have liked to have seen explored more deeply, but I really don't have much else to complain about. The CGI is convincing, the action scenes are exciting, the cinematography is gorgeous, and Will Smith puts forth a great performance. Since he spends nearly the entire movie by himself, a lot is asked of him. And I thought he did a fantastic job, balancing between a grizzled survivor and a guy that's gone absolutely stir crazy. So thumbs up to Will Smith and four stars on the patent-pending Sutton Scale for I Am Legend.

Best part of the movie? Seeing the full trailer for The Dark Knight in front of it. I was already excited to see it, then I got even more excited after seeing pictures of Heath Ledger as the Joker online. But after seeing this trailer, July 18th can't get here any faster. Anticipation has hit critical, folks.

Sutton At The Arcade

I've been hyping it for months now, and yesterday afternoon, I think I got it pretty much finished. So without further ado, I present "Sutton At The Arcade," ten new reviews, all of which are either video game adaptations or movies that feature games as an important plot device. These new reviews are...

1. Super Mario Bros.
2. Street Fighter
3. Mortal Kombat
4. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
5. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
6. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
7. Resident Evil: Extinction
8. The Wizard
9. Brainscan
10. Stay Alive

And while you're at it check out my older reviews of video game adaptations...

1. House of the Dead
2. Alone in the Dark
3. BloodRayne
4. Doom
5. Silent Hill
6. Resident Evil
7. Resident Evil: Apocalypse

I really wanted to add Hitman to the list of new reviews, but a decent download of it apparently won't be released online until after Christmas. And I really didn't want to wait another two or three weeks to get this thing posted. I'll probably do Hitman some other time.

Now I believe I can move on to the two Black Christmas reviews I wanted to get posted on the 25th. Depending on how quickly Netflix works and how quickly I can write them, I'll hopefully be able to get at least one of them done in time for the big day. I've also got another review I finished a month ago, and I've been holding onto it for a special occasion. I think I might hang onto it for a few more weeks and use it to kick off the new year.

So if you'll excuse me, I've got to start preparing for the Black Christmas reviews. Have fun enjoying "Sutton At The Arcade," because I certainly had fun writing the new reviews.

Getting Some Reading Done

Man, it's hard to believe that we're already a full week into the month of December. Seems like yesterday that 2007 was just beginning, and now it's almost over. Where does all the time go?

Anyway, I'm not posting because I wanted to talk about the calendar. I actually wanted to do a little more talking about comic books. Remember two weeks ago when I said I'd bought issues two through six of Daredevil: Yellow? I tracked down a supposedly near mint copy of the first issue on MyComicShop.com for only $1.49, so I went ahead and bought it. I also found a pair of comics on the site that I just had to have: near mint copies of Batman Annual #14 (for only 98 cents, no less) and - get this - an adaptation of Superman IV. I've gone on record saying that Superman IV is one of the worst movies I've ever seen, but I had to have a comic book version just to prove that such a thing exists. And for $7.54 after shipping, I think I got a pretty good deal on these three comics. They'll be shipping to me on Wednesday, so I'll probably do another post about them in a week or two, whenever they arrive in my mailbox.

And I've been going through that site like crazy, marking all the stuff I'd eventually like to get one day. I did save the individual issues of Watchmen to my want list, but I think I might be better off getting the graphic novel. I only say that because getting all twelve issues off that website would set me back over 210 bucks, and that's a little rich for my blood.

While we're talking about comics, I found a few at the local library that I just had to check out. The ones I found are Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, Superman: President Lex, and a hardback edition of issues 14 through 27 of Ultimate Spider-Man. I haven't gotten around to reading any of the DC stuff yet, but I've been flipping through the Spider-Man book, and what I've read is so good. I wish the library had the first thirteen issues too, but I don't have a problem hunting them down online or on Amazon.

So yeah, I've got myself plenty of stuff to read.