My movie ratings are just rating how much I enjoy the movies, not how good they are as art or political commentary or anything else. I will rate movies that are badly written, acted, filmed, etc a good rating if I enjoy them, and the opposite is also true. I also reserve the right to up the rating of a movie I like more after multiple viewings. As of now I'm saying there is no lowering ratings though (I might change my rules later on).

Tags: movie rating

North by Northwest (1959): This is a thriller directed by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock about a man who gets mistaken for a government agent. I really enjoyed it, and I liked it more than The Birds, but not as much as Psycho or Vertigo. 4 out of 5 stars.

Them! (1954): This was a very good movie about giant irradiated ants. One interesting thing about this movie is that, while most of the movie was in black and white, the opening title was in color (red against a black and white background). I really enjoyed it overall, though I wish there was some character development. All of the characters were very generic. 4 out of 5 stars.

Tags: movie rating

I picked up Metroid: Other M yesterday. I'm really enjoying it so far. It does have some really goofy story flaws to it involving how you get your upgrades. That is a minor problem that I can live with easily though. I do have 2 major problems with the game. The first is that enemies don't drop health. Truthfully that just makes it more of a challenge, but it's an annoyance. The other problem is a lot bigger, and is almost game breaking. I refer to the fact that you have to point the Wiimote at the screen and go into first person mode to shoot missiles. Half of the time I have trouble getting the Wiimote into the sensor bar's area. And when I do, it is never aimed right, so I have to struggle with moving the camera around to find my target. The lock on button that activates the missiles also is the button that moves the camera, which makes it even worse. The missile system can really screw you up during the boss battles, where you have to be fast.

While I am annoyed at those 2 problems, I do really like the game. I think it is a nearly perfect example of how a 3d Metroid game should be done.

Tags: metroid, wii

I beat the main game (original Super Mario Bros) of Super Mario Bros Deluxe today from beginning to end using warps. I got to world 8 using my first set of lives, and then I used many continues on each level in world 8. World 8-2 I had the most trouble with. World 8-3 took a long time, but once I was finally able to get a fire flower I had an easy time of the level. The only trouble I had with 8-4 was the hammer brother that was right before King Koopa.

With my level of education, even the simplified explanation of string theory given in Nova's The Elegant Universe is confusing. I'm mostly by the "extra dimensions". I guess its about time that I get to work on learning my math and then physics. :P

I just got my friend code for Soul Silver. It is 1376 9393 3041. Reply or PM me with your friend code if you want to play or trade.

I watched the first parts of The Invasion from Doctor Who today. Parts 1 and 4 were the missing episodes that were reconstructed using animation (cartoons). They were fairly cheap looking, but they were nice to have the episodes in a motion format, not just the audio or the audio with photos. The animation was done by the same studio that did Count Duckula: Cosgrove Hill. I hope that they end up reconstructing more of the missing episodes using animation after they finish releasing the extant serials. I especially want to see them animate the missing episodes from some of the important serials like the first serial with the Cybermen and the first serial with the second doctor.

Yesterday I watched The Last Starfighter and today I watched Planet Hulk. Neither movie was exactly "good", but both movies were "fun". I say they aren't exactly "good" because they are both action movies with little character development and little story. They are both really fun to watch though.

On Friday, January 29, 2010 I beat Castlevaia Order of Ecclesia. I got the "good" ending. I had been working on the final boss for a few days before I was finally able to beat it. I had gotten it's pattern down fairly well by the end. :)

Tags: game beat