Finished Mass Effect 2 recently -- not totally done with the game, since I have a few side missions left over, but I'm mostly planning to do those when I'm bored. Plenty of time before Mass Effect 3 comes out, of course. For all intents and purposes, I'm done with the game. I need to stop being lazy and write about the Mass Effect games already (along with the new Professor Layton game), but suffice to say, if you have an Xbox 360, you really should play these games. Even if you're wary about them being third-person shooters, they're not really tough to get a grasp on. I don't consider myself any great shakes at shooters, but they're not difficult to handle. It really is worth it to play them, especially since the games give you such a great feeling of shaping the tone of the stories as they go along. Can't really say enough about these games.
The Dagger of Kamui (1985): This movie has a mixed reputation, much like most of the movies from its director, Rintaro, who really excels at making creative, unique animation, but not quite as much at coherent storytelling. However, I think this is one movie where his crazy style really works. The visuals make the movie into a surreal story of vengeance; the fight scenes are truly spectacular. What helps is that there is already a hint of weirdness to the story -- the main character meets several historical figures (including Mark fuckin' Twain), and this adds a layer of strangeness to the narrative thread. But somehow it doesn't fall apart.
Pitch Black (2000): Not a bad sci-fi horror flick. Vin Diesel, like a lot of action stars, gets a lot of shit thrown his way, but honestly, he's pretty damn effective in the right role. A guy who's calm, collected and intimidating? Perfect. Pitch Black doesn't really stray too far from the normal horror formula, but the setting and the way its used is effective enough for that to not be much of a problem.
Sherlock, Jr. (1924): My sister is a huge Buster Keaton fan, but somehow I have seen only two of his movies before this (Steamboat Bill, Jr. and The General, both of which are excellent). Obviously, this must be rectified. For anyone who wants to know what Buster Keaton is all about, this is a perfect place to start -- only 45 minutes, and it's one of the funniest, most original movies I've ever seen. The scene in the movie theater alone is one of the most creative, clever sequences I've ever seen. It really shows the depth of thought Buster Keaton put into his physical humor. I'm not one of those elitist assholes who rambles on about how movies were all better in the Golden Age of Hollywood, but honestly, nobody makes movies like Buster Keaton did, either back in his day or in any time since then. He was a true original. See this movie now -- it's on Netflix instant for those of you who have that. If you have any sense of humor at all, I guarantee you will love it.
Total Movies: 175 (Blazing Saddles, The Descent, Gundam 00 the Movie: Awakening of the Trailblazer, Village of the Damned, Children of the Damned, Trigun: Badlands Rumble, The Night of the Hunter, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie 1st, Dawn of the Dead, Black Swan, Clue, Scarface, Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, True Grit, Perfect Blue, The Quick and the Dead, High Sierra, Shutter Island, A Serious Man, Kite, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Broken Blade 3, Kite Liberator, Machete, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Heathers, The Prince of Tennis: The Two Samurai, The First Game, Notes on a Scandal, The American, King of Thorn), The Expendables, Sword of the Stranger, The Hangover, Welcome to the Space Show, Broken Blade 4, The Social Network, End of Evangelion, Neo Tokyo, Red, Dreamcatcher, Jason X, Wag the Dog, The Naked Gun, Dirty Work, 8mm, The Wicker Man (2006), Blood: The Last Vampire, Winter's Bone, The Road, Heartcatch Precure! Hana no To de Fashion Show ... Desu ka?!, Broadcast News, Bulletproof, Dead Leaves, Dirty Dancing, Hot Tub Time Machine, Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows, Cloverfield, Best in Show, Play Misty for Me, Paprika, The Cat Returns, Welcome to the Dollhouse, 12 Monkeys, The Killer, Metropolis, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, The Third Man, The King's Speech, Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, The Abyss, The Fighter, Mega Piranha, Dumb and Dumber, The Rebirth of Buddha, 127 Hours, The Kids Are All Right, The Town, Willow, Akira, Morning Glory, The Verdict, I Love You Phillip Morris, Phantasm II, American Splendor, Broken Blade 5, Tangled, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, The Rock, Wanted, Green Zone, Despicable Me, Waiting for Guffman, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, X-Men: First Class, X-Men, Hereafter, X2, Zatoichi, All About Eve, The Thing, Odin: Photon Space Sailer Starlight, City of God, Das Boot, Some Like it Hot, Downfall, X-Men: The Last Stand, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Winnie the Pooh, Bullitt, Hard Eight, Memories of Matsuko, Double Indemnity, Freaks, Break Blade 6, Key Largo, The Grand Illusion, The Seven Year Itch, Hermes: Winds of Love, To Catch a Thief, An American in Paris, Ninotchka, Interstella 5555, Hobo with a Shotgun, Dog Day Afternoon, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Steamboy, Little Norse Prince Valiant, Redline, Beat the Devil, Casablanca, The Girl Who Played with Fire, Easy Rider, Little Caesar, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Band of Outsiders, The Three Faces of Eve, Mardock Scramble: The First Compression, Clue, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Cabaret, Spaceballs, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rifftrax), If...., El Topo, Irresponsible Captain Tylor Movie 1+2, Gundress, Barefoot Gen, Santa Sangre, The Toxic Avenger, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, House on Haunted Hill, 3:10 to Yuma, Sexy Beast, Tom Jones, The Triplets of Belleville, The Illusionist, Time of Eve, ...And Justice for All, Rio Bravo, Kenya Boy, Good Bye, Lenin!, Macross Frontier: The Wings of Goodbye, Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Leprechaun: In the Hood, White Zombie, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, Halloween: H20, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, The Wasp Woman, Hellbound, Mimic, Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, The Dagger of Kamui, Pitch Black, Sherlock, Jr.)
