It’s been a busy, brutal, but surprisingly quick year so far. I’ve done tons and tons of stuff, most notably graduating from college (finally!) but also I feel like I’ve seen a lot more movies this year than usual. I even read a book! Here’s my quick rundown.

• Rango: Saw it over Spring Break and enjoyed it. Recommend seeing it.
• Tron: Legacy: It has been a super long time since I saw the original. It probably would have been better had I done a fast rewatching of the first movie but it was ok. I think most people are right in saying that it’s basically a 2 hour long Daft Punk music video and there’s nothing wrong with that.
• Baki the Grappler: Suggestion from a friend. Fighting style anime. Entertaining but I feel like the show loses focus and direction. The second season seems like a totally different show.
• Rurouni Kenshin Jinchuu Arc: I finally got around to buying the manga, so to present this as new is slightly deceiving. If you’ve only seen the anime, you’ll know that after Shishio it all goes downhill. If you read this, you’ll realize how amazing that series was.
• 5 Centimeters Per Second: I had just been dumped and was looking to drown my sorrows in something and this popped up on a top 10 list of shows to watch somewhere. I find the parallel between the plot/moral of the story and the time in my life incredibly coincidental which might bias my opinion. However the animation is incredible if you can find it on blu-ray. Out of anything on this list of stuff to watch, this is probably the highest of recommendations.
• Whisper of the Heart: I’m going through the Studio Ghibli collection so this was on the list. At this point it seems like the themes of all their movies is very familiar. It was an ok flick but I wouldn’t recommend anyone go out of their way to watch it.
• The Name of the Wind: A book! For the first time in forever was I pressured into reading something again and it was pretty great. It has a Harry Potter kind of feel although that is a poor description since it is basically totally different. I was very hesitant to read this finding out that it is part of an unfinished trilogy, but now I’m stuck having read the first and beginning the second to be waiting for the final book to come out. The measure of how much I enjoy a book is based on how quickly I read it I’ve discovered. Once I got to a certain point I was just tearing through it trying to figure out what would happen next.
• Nausicaa Valley of the Wind: Again, going through Studio Ghibli movies, and again feeling very familiar. However unlike Whispers, this was was more entertaining. This one I think I watched in English for some reason which was interesting because it has Patrick Stewart in it. It was also just ok though.
• Thor: This year is the year of super hero movies and this was the movie that kicks them off. This is also the year of much more fantastical heroes which will be very tricky to deal with. However I’d say Kenneth Branagh did awesome. Anthony Hopkins is totally amazing and it just seemed to work out well. I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did! It’s cool because unlike most origin stories, Thor always knows who he is, he’s just put in a weird situation that he has to deal with, so you don’t have to see how he becomes who he becomes exactly.
• X-Men First Class: I wasn’t excited in the slightest for this movie until about a week or so before it came out. I rewatched Inglorious Basterds just before this and found out Michael Fassbender was going to be Magneto. Then after seeing it, I basically realize he’s one of the greatest actors of this time period. He made Magneto a total badass. They were not afraid of using their powers in this flick which it seemed like was true in the other X-Men movies. I dunno if that’s a budget thing or what. Anyway, it turned out totally awesome.
• Green Lantern Emerald Knights: In order to psyche myself up for the live action movie I picked this up. The execution of what they’re going for with the multiple short story format kind of didn’t work well on the whole. It was entertaining but I think it may have been made for hardcore fans rather than casual ones.
• Green Lantern: I love the Green Lantern so I was so excited to see this finally come out. However it was probably the weakest of the super hero movies all summer I hate to say. It wasn’t bad though, but they jammed too much into this movie. Blake Lively is hot, Sinestro was well done, but it falls short on various other points. I think First Flight was a much better movie in terms of telling the origin story.
• Community Seasons 1 and 2: This show is super hilarious. You should be watching it. Alison Brie is super hot.
• Horrible Bosses: Hilarious. Recommend watching.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2: Watched it back to back. Overall a good ending to the movie version.
• Captain America: The First Avenger: I actually thought this would be the worst of all the super hero movies but it ended up being pretty great. The end is unpredictable which is odd because it should be super predictable. I rank this probably after X-Men, then Thor then Green Lantern.
• Cowboys and Aliens: It was entertaining. Not a must watch but not as bad as people make it out to be. I mean you shouldn’t expect Shakespeare or anything, the name alone should set you up for the absurdity of what’s going to happen.
• Thundercats: io9 or some reader share I linked put it best. It’s totally awesome. A great reboot for a super campy and silly 80’s cartoon.
• Plants vs Zombies: I was addicted for a good while. I appreciate games that can run in small windows while I do other things.
• Marvel vs Capcom 3: I was also addicted to this for a good while after it came out. While the roster lacks some of my more favorite characters from the older games, it’s still incredibly fun and deep. Watching it played at EVO was incredibly entertaining as well.
• Bastion: I really and honestly can’t say enough good things about this game. It is totally killer and delivers for it’s price point. The music, the delivery of the story, it’s just excellent.
• Tiny Tower: This now currently what I spend any free gaming time doing. It’s not even a game so much as a diversion which is a point of contention between people that enjoy it and people that think it’s dumb. I’m addicted for practically no reason though.

Traveling

• Spring Break: Dallas – Went to visit a now ex-girlfriend. Had a total blast and met a lot of cool new people. I ate great food too.
• San Francisco/Irvine – Took a tour of the Google campus and the Blizzard campus. Pictures are up on Picasa. I hung out with old friends and ate some of the most amazing food.

I’ve gone to a classmate’s wedding and a friend’s wedding is coming up. So many people getting married, I’m practically a professional wedding attender. I’ve been told my time is coming up soon and it probably is, but I’m still a child I guess when it comes to such things. I learned  an incredible amount of things dating someone for the first time in forever this year. I even undid some things I thought I knew about myself from the past. My perspective of things had gone from stale to clean slate nearly.

And finally I graduated from college. I’m not proud of taking so long, it’s almost quite embarrassing. However I can close the door on that chapter of my life and move forward. My parents bought me an iPad 2 for graduation and I’ve been on that thing non-stop. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I actually do, but the battery on that thing is amazing. I’ll probably have a separate post talking about what apps I use and recommend.

I joked that this year is the year I have to grow up and become an adult and it felt like I did so much this year that despite it taking as long as it has to graduate, it was only the last few months where I learned what it  meant to have to take up the responsibilities of being an adult or at least make adult like decisions.

Now I’m basically applying to jobs, finishing my current job, and packing up for my unknowable move. Hopefully I find something soon but you never know with how things are. That’s how my life has been these last 7 months, hopefully the final 5 months finishes strong.