Sometimes it feels like I did more stuff outside of my goals list than inside. It also feels like I might copy and paste text from other blog entries as a introduction, almost verbatim, so as not to have to come up with something new, fresh, hip, vapid. Here is a reckoning of part of that, with some commentary as I deem a synonym for appropriate. This list also doesn’t include movies from my 2013 favorites list.
Books
- The Hunger Games trilogy
TV
Hadn’t seen before:
- Arrested Development (season 4)
- Big Love (seasons 1-5)
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine (the first part of season 1)
- Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (the first part of season 1)
- Star Trek (seasons 1-3)
- Tiny Toon Adventures (seasons 1-3)
I’m not sure why I initially decided to watch Big Love, but I enjoyed watching it for the drama, and it affirmed my desire never ever to practice polygamy.
I also began what I assume will be a very long journey of watching all of the Star Trek TV series and films. In 2013 I got through the original series and its successive films. Some of the episodes were really good, some were really awful, and most were just okay, I guess. In 2014 I plan to watch the The Next Generation TV series and its successive films. I want to try and watch Deep Space Nine and Voyager, too, and intersperse the TNG films chronologically, but we’ll see if that actually happens or if the other TV series get pushed to 2015.
A big fan of Arrested Development, I eagerly awaited the new season 4. It mostly did not disappoint, though the format was very different from the original seasons of some years past. I do hope that Netflix produces a fifth season, and possibly more.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are the two new shows this season that I added to my watch-as-they-are-airing list (well, after they air, but during the season, anyway). So far I’ve enjoyed them both.
Had seen before:
- Angel (seasons 1-5)
- Arrested Development (seasons 1-3)
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown
I wasn’t going to watch Angel along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer this year, but I did anyway. When I first watched Buffy and Angel in 2010, it was alone as I slept on the couch while my wife was pregnant. This time we watched them together, Buffy on DVD from the set I bought a couple of years ago, and Angel on Netflix.
Movies
Hadn’t seen before:
- Atlantis: Milo’s Return
- Argo
- Beautiful Creatures
- The Black Cauldron
- Bolt
- Brother Bear
- Brother Bear 2
- Done the Impossible
- Enchanted
- Hercules
- The Fox and the Hound
- The Fox and the Hound 2
- Friends With Benefits
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
- LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning
- The Princess Diaries
- The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
- Super
- Twilight
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon
- The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two
I joined the Disney Movie Club twice in 2013 to update and expand my Disney movie collection. Due to Disney’s practice of packaging some of their “lesser” movies together with their direct-to-video sequels, I saw a few for the first time. Some were absolutely terrible (Atlantis 2, Hunchback 2) and some were more tolerable (The Little Mermaid 3). I also saw some Disney movies from the Animated Classics line for the first time, including The Black Cauldron, Hercules, The Fox and the Hound, and Bolt. I thought I would like Hercules more than I did, but it was all right, I guess. Bolt wasn’t too bad, but the other two I could take or leave.
Argo won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Picture, and I liked it well enough. The LEGO Batman movie was lots of fun, expanding on the story of the second LEGO Batman video game. Super was weird and quirky (and a bit too violent for me), but a good one-timer, I think. Nathan Fillion was great as always.
I watched Twilight because I love my wife. They were very silly, and there’s definitely a moment when Edward starts to sparkle in the sun and the score is quite reminiscent of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
Had seen before:
- About a Boy
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
- Almost Heroes
- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
- The Aristocats
- Batman
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1
- 007: Skyfall
- Elf
- The Emperor’s New Groove
- Ernest Goes to Camp
- Ernest Goes to Jail
- Ernest Saves Christmas
- Ernest Scared Stupid
- The Fugitive
- Galaxy Quest
- Gone in 60 Seconds
- The Great Muppet Caper
- Home Alone
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
- Hot Rod
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Inception
- The Island
- Kronk’s New Groove
- Lilo & Stitch
- Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch
- The Lion King
- The Little Mermaid
- Love Actually
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Meet the Robinsons
- Mulan
- The Muppet Christmas Carol
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Return to Never Land
- Robin Hood
- Shrek
- Tarzan
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
- Winnie the Pooh
Many of the films in the above list were due to purchases upgrading my DVDs to Blu-ray, from the Disney Movie Club, Black Friday sales, or otherwise.
Video Games
Replays:
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Super Mario World
It seems that New Super Mario Bros. Wii is becoming at least an annual play in our house. With the recent purchase of a Wii U, New Super Mario Bros. U and a few others may also join it.