Best Soundtrack of 2005

Posted on 29th December 2005 in Uncategorized

Well, it turns out I had to wait until the last week of the year to find myself what I think is the best Soundtrack of 2005. Those of you who know me, know that I’m really a soundtrack junkie, as movie soundtracks comprise most of my collection. And I’m talking original scores, not assembled pop-song soundtracks, here.

I normally wouldn’t even mention this, but this score really is exceptional. I’m talking about the score from the The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. Original, moving, and a really pleasant surprise.

There have been plenty of good soundtracks out this year, but Gregson-Williams’ (Shrek, Metal Gear Solid, Man on Fire) gets my vote for the best, and it’s not just because I’m some rabid C.S. Lewis fan. In fact, track #2, “Evacuating London,” may be the best cue I’ve heard in 10 years. It’s that good, folks. I’ve been listening to this album repeatedly all week, and it’s been a long time since I’ve done something like that.

Maybe it’s because it evokes memories of the White Witch, who I think is hot. Is that wrong? :P

Anyway, do yourself a favor and pick this up, if for nothing more than the Alanis Morissette song.

Oh, as for best film of 2005? That one’s easy.

“I’m a leaf on the wind.”

comments: 5 » tags: ,

Don’t Get Near Me

Posted on 19th December 2005 in Uncategorized

Geez, what a crappy week it’s been. I’ve been sick as a dog, and am just now coming out of it. Went to the local Hollywood Video last night, which was my first time out of the house in like a week, heheh.

I’ve been living on NyQuil (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but have still been sleeping like crap. Ah, well. At least I can find things to do when I can’t sleep. Like write something here, what a thought.

Oh, what DVD’s did i rent? Well, I got a crapload to last me the rest of my sickness days. Let’s see:

  1. Christmas With the Kranks-Oh. My. God.
    Don’t rent or watch this, whatever you do!!! You’ll do yourself irrepairable harm, not to mention the shock you’ll undergo if you used to think Jamie Lee Curtis was hot. I think I’ll have to go rent True Lies now, just to repress the memory. Besides all that, the movie just plain isn’t funny. It’s lame, predictable and just dumb.
    Rent Christmas Vacation instead. Please. SCORE: 1 out of 10.
  2. Polar Express-Obligatory Christmas family fare. Actually, it was better than I expected, although having Tom Hanks play almost EVERY part seemed kind of pointless. Plus, he made a crappy Santa. SCORE: 6 out of 10.
  3. War of the Worlds-Obligatory opposite-of-Christmas flick, to cleanse the palette, so to speak. This is the only film I’d seen in the theater, but the family hadn’t. I actually really liked this movie a lot, despite the Spielberg cliches. SCORE: 8 out of 10.
  4. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy-Wow, what a pleasant surprise. I LOVED this! I don’t care what the naysayers said, I thought it was a visual feast, and I laughed my face off. Especially at the “Really Deleted Scenes” on the DVD. Score: 9 out of 10.
  5. Fantastic Four-Haven’t watched it, yet.
  6. March of the Penguins-Um, no. Personally, I won’t be watching it. It’s for the daughter to watch while the adults go out for Thai one night before due date.

Heh, sorry, I didn’t know this was gonna turn into Steve’s Holiday DVD Guide. For all two of you who read this, I hope you found it helpful.

Have a great week before Christmas. :)

comments: Comments Off tags: ,

DaVinci Code ARG!?

Posted on 14th December 2005 in Uncategorized

Settling into your theater seat, you grab your popcorn and raisinettes (alas, no more Flicks, but that’s another story [edit: wait! They ARE back!]) and watch as the trailers for upcoming films begin. Oooh! Another of those films is coming out that’s being touted as the blockbuster of the season!

What’s this? At the end of the trailer, over the credits, some weird stuff seemed to flash up on the screen. Too bad it was so fast that you couldn’t make it out, but it looked cool, whatever it was.

But never fear! That’s what the internet is for, isn’t it? As soon as you get home, you log on, do a search, and find that what you saw leads to a website that doesn’t quite make sense. Very mysterious. As you dig deeper, the WTF factor grows. Hidden messages, more websites, puzzles. You’ve stumbled down the rabbithole of a new Alternate Reality Game! Woohoo!

Today, Sony Pictures released the trailer for the upcoming Tom Hanks film, The DaVinci Code. Viewers are treated to the exact scenario detailed above…..sort of.

At the end of the trailer, certain phrases and letters glow. First, the word “Seek,” followed by the letters T, H, S, E, C, D, E, and O.

OMG, Seekthecodes.com!

It’s a…..it’s a……….fake blog with puzzles, riddles and links back to the movie site, ostensibly by some fan named Lisa S. Nice. Nothing like trying to jump on the bandwagon without knowing what the bandwagon is. Oh, I get it. Let’s do everything but actually produce an ARG, just make it look like we did. That way, we get all the same buzz with none of the extra cost! Brilliant!

So, let’s add seekthecodes.com to the list which includes my favorites ourcolony.net and origenxbox360.com, sites which promised something and never delivered, and gave Alternate Reality Games a bad name, to boot.

No ARG here, move along, people. But be sure to drink your Ovaltine before you go.

comments: Comments Off tags: , , , ,
Next »