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 17 (of 52) – Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling

The fifth installment of the Harry Potter series sees our intrepid heroes fighting against a wizarding world that does not believe them that Voldemort has returned.  As the Ministry of Magic attempts to take over Hogwarts and control the actions of Harry and crew, the young wizards look to do battle against the Death Eaters while preparing for their testing.

In a twist of fate that had more to do with things going on in my world as I read this, I found myself relating to Harry’s feelings of disillusion as the things that brought him joy at Hogwarts are taken away from him by Dolores Umbridge.  This was, I’m lead to believe, the longest book of the series and seems to be setting up the end game as the forces of good prepare to do their final battle against the forces of evil.