2016: The Year In Movies

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2016 saw a bit of an uptick in movie watching for me, with the vacation over the past 3 weeks of December helping to greatly boost my total to its highest level since 2011.  I managed to watch 88 movies last year, 19 more than last year, though my fifth consecutive year under 100.  Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching, the greater effort made towards going out for walks, and the awful amount of time I spend either at work or getting to and from work.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I did manage to watch last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

RU Awake? (2015)
A short film starring the lovely and talented Molly C. Quinn.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
A young kid tries to solve a mystery connected to his father who died in the 9/11 attacks.

The Pact (2012)
A bad horror film starring TV’s Caity Lotz.

Tell Tale (2010)
A short that I have no real recollection of.

Let’s Be Cops (2014)
Two Purdue alums find that impersonating cops is better than their normal lives.

John Wick (2014)
Keanu Reeves returns in a surprisingly good turn about a mourning hitman who returns to work after his former boss turns on him.

If I Stay (2014)
A teenage girl faces a choice to live or die after a car accident puts her in a coma.

Two Night Stand (2014)
A snow storm forces a hookup to last much longer than either participant anticipated.

Hot Pursuit (2015)
Reese Witherspoon is a no-nonsense cop who learns to bend the rules while trying to arrest Sofia Vergara.

Backcountry (2015)
A city couple gets lost in the woods while camping. Continue reading →

Book 26 (of 52) – Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling

After a 3 month break (thanks mostly to Angelina not giving me the next book), I returned to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth and penultimate entry in the series.  In this installment, Harry finds an old potions book with shortcuts and spells added by the so-called Half Blood Prince.  Meanwhile, Dumbledore tries to track down bits of Voldemort’s soul before falling to the Death Eaters.

The series takes a darker turn here, as Harry and his classmates come closer to adulthood and learn they will need to face the coming battles without their headmaster.  There is one more book in the series, which I hope to finish by the end of the year.  Assuming, of course, that Angelina cooperates.