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50 Movies. 50 Books. 1 year. - 2013 Edition

sammyCYBORG - 0/50 Books | 2/50 Movies

Movies
  • Heat - Michael Mann (1995)
  • Army of Darkness: Evil Dead III - Sam Raimi (1992)

Finally got around to completing the The Evil Dead trilogy. I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as the first two. Though the scene with Ash getting beaten by his smaller counterparts was definitely my highlight.

Heat is fantastic. I went in to it just expecting a lot of action and was presently surprised. Of course, the action was excellent, the shoot-out in the street was wonderfully paced and shot. Can anyone point me to more films like this?
 

War Peaceman

You're a big guy.
Vcassano1 - 1/50 Books | 0/50 Movies

Books
Blazed through 'The Hedgehog and the Fox' by Isiah Berlin. A very interesting read on War and Peace and the conflicted desires of Tolstoy. I think perhaps the analysis is quite dated and he doesn't go far enough, though perhaps that is understandable given how groundbreaking it was at publication.


I'll definitely bang out those books - probably reach close to ten in January to begin with.
 

Somnia

Member
Started off the year with a really good book and a really good movie. That's good.

Larsa- 1/50 Books | 1/50 Movies

Books
  • The Catcher in the Rye

Movies
  • Groundhog Day

You've never seen Groundhog Day?!?!?! Well this challenge has already won by getting you to watch it finally.
 

Somnia

Member
Well starting my first book of 2013, not the book I originally was going to read to start the year, but co-worker has bugged me nonstop for awhile to read it so I gave in. It's called The Perfect Game, sports/romance novel. She swears while it is a romance book that I will love the characters based off how close my past is to one of the main characters... we shall see.
 

Suairyu

Banned
Suairyu - 0/50 Books | 1/50 Movies

Books
  • Coming Soon

Movies
  • Michael Jackson's This Is It


Michael Jackson's This Is It

You can't really say a lot about this one. Is it a documentary? No. More like a WIP rough cut from available footage. It acts as an impression, a monument, to his dedication, but ultimately is just a tease as we sigh, "Boy, that would have been one hell of a show."
 

Socreges

Banned
Socreges - 0/50 Books | 0/50 Movies

Books
  • Coming Soon

Movies
  • Looper

Audio books are books as far as I'm concerned. I've seen a couple of people in the book threads really like them. As to the rules, this whole thread is a more democratic and honour based system. And not at all consistent, so in the last thread we left it for people to decide. People counted entire seasons of a TV show as a single entry {which is mind-blowing really). I'd only draw a line, if it were a short story. A short story does not a short novel make. But then again a short film, say a feature length documentary that is sixty minutes long, I would count, personally. Each to their own I'd say.

edit: As an example, what is the difference really between someone who consumed WAR and PEACE as an audio book and someone who read the damn thing? In terms of time they are both colossal entities and huge challenges.
*shrug* To each their own. I see the challenge as having a certain purpose behind it: new experiences and content (so no point in re-reads counting toward your tally), and setting aside the time to read. Audio books can be 'consumed' while doing many other activities, so it's a much easier feat. I also think the audio book experience is inferior to reading, but I know not everyone would agree (particularly those who find audio books to be convenient) and it's still obviously a good way to consume a book and shouldn't be discouraged. But I would put an asterisk next to the 50/50 ;)
 

Ovid

Member
Tarius1210 - 0/50 Books | 1/50 Movies

Movies

  • After Porn Ends

For those wondering, it's a documentary about the porn business. Also, Asia Carrera and Raylene both still look damn good.
 

kinoki

Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promise only; pain we obey.
kinoki - 0/50 Books | 1/50 Movies

Books
  • Coming Soon

Movies
  • Moonrise Kingdom - ★★★★ - The perfect boyhood adventure movie. Plus you get to see Harvey Kietel and Edward Norton in shorts. Wes Anderson continues his perfect streak.
 

noobasuar

Banned
I'm in. Didn't do this last year and wished I did. I think I could probably pull this off even though 50 books seems kinda hard since I like to read longer books normally, but we'll see!

Noobasuar- 0/50 Books | 0/50 Movies


Books
Coming Soon

Movies
Coming Soon
 
This seems like a pretty cool thing to try. I don't know how I'll be able to read 50 books with my other required readings for school, but I'll give it a shot.

TheSchwab_7 - 0/50 books | 0/50 movies
 

Ashes

Banned
I'm in. But I won't go for 50 books. In order to reach that, I would have to pad it up with lots of easily read fluff, and I don't want that. I know it sounds elitist and douchey, but I try to read mostly Very Good books, and many of them are long and/or complicated and don't lend themselves well to being read through quickly. So I'll go for 25 instead (read 22 in 2012).

When it comes to films, I don't watch them very often, so I'll settle for 10 (5 in 2012).

So far:

Books: 0
- (1.) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (just started)

Movies: 0

Lol. Tell that to litarary majors. ;p Most have to read a novel a week, analyse it in great depth, read associated books, write essays and a paper at the end of it. :p

As to pertaining to this challenge. I read some of the best novels in the English tongue last year. Have a look at my list from last year, in the previous thread, for some ideas... Length doesn't necessarily equate to quality. 40+ of the fifty books I read were >250 pages or less.

As to elitism, I personally don't look at it like that. To me it's about the pursuit of excellence. And to be frank, I think getting to the top of any mountain, is all kinds of awesome. Just requires a bit of dedication. That's all.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
RatskyWatsky - 0/20 TV | 0/25 Books | 3/50 Movies

TV

  • Coming Soon

Books

  • Coming Soon

Movies

  • How to Steal a Million
  • Crash
  • Terminator 2: Judgement Day
 

Kud Dukan

Member
Kud Dukan - 0/50 Books | 1/50 Movies​

Books:
  • Coming Soon

Movies:
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Holy shit, that was a great film. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Very moving story, and the casting was perfect. Maybe I'll grab the book at some point this year and read that as well.
 

LuffyZoro

Member
Alright, I'll give the movies a rest for today.

LuffyZoro - 0/50 Books | 6/50 Movies​

Books
  • Coming Soon

Movies
  • Brave
  • Bruce Almighty
  • Chronicle
  • Dr. Strangelove
  • Minority Report
  • Paranorman
 

iirate

Member
Alright, I'll give the movies a rest for today.

LuffyZoro - 0/50 Books | 6/50 Movies​

Books
  • Coming Soon

Movies
  • Brave
  • Bruce Almighty
  • Chronicle
    [*]Dr. Strangelove
  • Minority Report
  • Paranorman

What did you think of Dr. Strangelove? That was the movie that got me into movies.
 

Somnia

Member
Somnia - 1/50 Books | 1/50 Movies

Books

The Perfect Game

Movies

Haywire


Just read The Perfect Game. While not a book that I assume much of you would read as it is a "new adult" romance novel. Basically it follows 2 junior college students. Jack is a star baseball pitcher who is begged to be drafted high and Cassie is your normal college student, but with a lot of past problems.

I don't normally get into romance novels, but was told to read this by my co-worker and it really worked for me. The background for Jack is a lot like my childhood and I got hooked on both characters. To be honest if you like sports at all and are ok with the romance side the book is worth it for the characters alone.
 

LuffyZoro

Member
What did you think of Dr. Strangelove? That was the movie that got me into movies.

It was alright. There were some good bits (the coke machine, talking about water flouridation), and I now understand where Lionel Mandrake got his name and avvy from. I think that I might have grown up in the wrong time to fully appreciate it.
 

Caramello

Member
I'm going to give this a real go! I'll also give a star rating (out of 5) to each!

As of February 10th:

10/50 movies
- Labyrinth *
- Sleepless in Seattle ****
- Fight Club **
- The Hobbit ***
- Wreck it Ralph **
- Django Unchained *****
- Jackie Brown ****
- Reservoir Dogs ****
- Silver Linings Playbook *****
- Troy ***


0/50 books
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Well that was easy enough, and a pretty good book. I like seeing fanatsy worlds progress technolgically between entries.

Technomancer - 1/50 Books | /50 Movies

Books

  • The Alloy of Law

Movies
 
Ill give this thread a try especially since i expect to be reading a lot this year...


0/50 Books : 0/50 Movies

Books


Movies
 

Cartman86

Banned
Cartman86 - 0/50 Books | 2/50 Movies

Books
  • Coming Soon

Movies
  • Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (A-)
  • Les Misérables (B)

Les Misérables: There were some really off putting voices in the cast, and then there was Anne Hathaway. That one scene was amazing and it was the one where she didn't sing "pretty". In addition to some bum voices it did go on a little too much and had some weird editing choices. I haven't seen the musical, but I imagine the weird and quick transitions were a holdover from that. Anything with Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena B. Carter was fantastic. I cried quite a few times so I think it worked overall.
 
pete_townshend - 0/50 Books | 1/50 Movies

Books

Movies

Django Unchained (8.5 out of 10) - On the lower end of QT movies for me, but still really enjoyed it. Thought he could have hit a few points on slavery a little harder through his unmatched knack for dialog, rather than going for the easy joke/extreme violence. That said, there were LOTS of really funny parts and a few great musical moments. Sam Jackson and Leo stole the show. Jamie Foxx was good, but he was pretty stoic for a good part of the movie and really didn't have that many signature QT dialog moments.
 

percephone

Neo Member
Percephone - 0/50 Books | 1/50 Movies

Books


Movie

  1. United - Documentary about the 1958 plane crash that decimated the football club.
 

Leopold

Member
Just finished my first one, quite a long read. Opening the next one as I type this.

Leopold - 1/50 Books | 0/50 Movies


Books

- Governing the World - The Rise and Fall of an Idea 1815 to the Present by Mark Mazower.
 
Im going to have to drop out. If I plan on doing the 500 movies there is no way i can read 50 books. Sorry guys. I am on my 4th movie so far
 

Chuck

Still without luck
Chuck - 0/50 books 1/50 movies

Books

  • Coming Soon

Movies

  • Lincoln
Just got back from a fantastic way to start this off.
 

smiggyRT

Member
smiggyRT - 0/50 books 3/50 movies

Books
  • Coming Soon

Movies
  • Cloud Atlas (1st Jan)
  • Dredd (1st Jan)
  • Killing Them Softly (2nd Jan)

Don't really have space or a lot of time to sink into books until the summer, might pick up something like the Nexus 7 though since I spend a lot of time on trains and it's a perfect opportunity to read.

Edit - What are we thinking for the Sin City graphic novels, I saw a bit of discussion earlier about graphic novels being added?
 

Mastadon

Banned
Mastadon - 0/50 Books | 3/50 Movies​

Books
  • Coming Soon

Movies
  • Mary Poppins
  • Up
  • 300

Quite enjoyed 300. Stylistically it was very strong, and it had an absolute boatload of quotable lines and phrases. Thematically it was shallow and a bit off with the depictions of the Persians. Still pretty fun, but it wasn't particularly subtle and parts made me feel slightly uncomfortable.
 
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