1,000 Movies and Not a Thing to Watch – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

So… about watching twenty five movies this month.

I haven’t watched one.

I know, I know. I really shouldn’t have said I was going to do something, then go back on it. But really, I had all the plans to do it! The biggest problem is, I’m doing Blogmas, the 118 Advent, as well as applying for jobs, and handling so much here at home. Carving out writing time has been bad enough (I’m three days behind on Advent, which is something I hope to fix tomorrow), and something had to give.

I’m changing up what I’m planning in regards to the movies. It’s something that I’ll be addressing in my Goals for 2022 post. I still want to do something like watching a bunch of my backlog, but I need to do it in a better way. Hence, the change.

I will say that I do have some fun ones planned, and I plan to talk about them. It just needs to take a backseat for a bit.

So, yeah. Not the best little thing. But taking it off of the schedule has actually done some good for my mental health, so… progress.

Until next time!

Games I’m Going to Play in 2022 – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Back in February, I talked about the games that were on my backburner. By that, I mean the games that I’ve wanted to finish, but I haven’t yet for some reason.

When I was trying to get to 300 Platinums (which I got the other day), I really wanted to include a few of the games on that old list. And honestly? I didn’t. But I do have a goal for 2022, which is to finish at least one or two of those games, because of course.

These games are the ones I’d like to play and finish during 2022:

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – It’s sad that this has stayed on my list for so long. I bought it right after release day, played for about ten hours, then paused to work on Spider-Man. I never got back to it. That’s not to say that I wasn’t enjoying it, I really was! I just had promised someone that I’d finish Spider-Man, and you know how it goes. I’m hoping to spend at least a little time next year playing through and Platinuming it.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales – I’ve actually finished the story! I’m in the middle of cleaning up now. The problem is there’s a lot for me to do, especially since I’m going for the Platinum. I’ll get to it, probably in January. There’s also the issue of the second playthrough… It’s just going to be a bit of a time suck.

Erica – This is a FMV game, and it’s really boring. The only reason I want to play it is to get it off my list. I need to set aside about five hours, since you can’t skip scenes. I feel really bad saying that, but it is entirely boring to watch the same set of scenes over and over again, without giving the player the option to do something.

RiME – This was one of the first PS4 games I got. I played for a bit, got a couple of trophies, then set it aside. I still own it, and have every intention to play it again. I just need motivation. Well, that, and the drive to solve a bunch of puzzles with poorly written guides.

Life is Strange 2 and Life is Strange: True Colors – These are getting lumped together simply for space. I really felt burned out with this series after the first game, and then the prequel. I heard a lot of mixed feelings about LiS2, though TC has gotten better reviews. I’ll probably take a week for each of these, but don’t be surprised if I just sit back with a guide to get through them fast.

Lego Star Wars III and Lego Indiana Jones 2 – Again, lumped together for ease. These are the last two PS3 Lego games on my list, as I’m not including Lego Rock Band. I think my biggest problem with completing these two is that I like the modern games more. I need to set aside a good chunk of time to devote to the games, and just knock them out in a week or so.

Lego Ninjago Shadow of Ronin and Lego Ninjago Nindroids – Both the Ninjago vita games are on my 2022 list. These are actually the last two Lego vita games I’m planning on playing. Unfortunately the rest of the series are the games with strict time limits, or reset-upon-death types. I don’t like games like that in the first place, and these are Lego games! I’m not rushing these ones.

But of course, there are also games that I want to play that are scheduled to come out in 2022. Those games are automatically added to my list. They include:

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – I’ve only been impatiently waiting for this since 2019. Yes, I’m totally aware that the pandemic caused issues, as well as internal issues considering the scale of the game. But I have been waiting for this, and I honestly can’t wait to play it. Rumored Release Date: April 2022.

Digimon Survive – I’ll be that person. I’ve always wanted to play a Digimon game… when I’ve been in the mood. I’ve missed the last several, and I just haven’t had the will to sit down and know them out. This one looks cool, though it has been delayed multiple times. I’m hopeful, which is better than most. Rumored Release Date: 2022.

Hogwarts Legacy – Look, I can’t stand JKR. I really can’t. But I can’t let her destroy a major part of my growing up. And this game looks amazing. It’s an open world Harry Potter game! The closest we will ever get to actually attending Hogwarts. I won’t let her views ruin this one (especially because Warner Bros. has announced that she has no direct involvement with the game’s development.) Release Date: 2022.

There are, of course, more that I’m probably missing. And that’s okay. I already have a lot on my plate, and that’s not including the indie titles that will be releasing throughout the year. But I’m fine with that.

That’s life as a gamer. 

Until next time!

The Old Guard Won a Hugo Award! – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a minute since I’ve said much of anything regarding The Old Guard, mostly because I got so burned out. I’m not even participating in this month’s TOG Takeover on Twitter, because I just really can’t anymore. 

However, yesterday was the Hugo Awards.

If you don’t know what the Hugo Awards are, it’s okay. I didn’t for the longest time, until a few years ago. It’s a literary award for the best SciFi or Fantasy works of the year. They are always announced at Worldcon (formally known as the World Science Fiction Convention) in a special presentation. These awards go to the best Scifi/Fantasy Novel, Novella, Short Story, etc. They are considered very important awards to those in the literary world, or at least within the SciFi/Fantasy world.

The award I’m focusing on today is the Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. Or, in layman’s terms, best film screenplay. The nominees are by and large major motion pictures, from some of the biggest studios in the world. Previous winners include Good Omens, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Martian, Guardians of the Galaxy, Inception, Game of Thrones (Season One), Lord of the Rings (which swept all three years it was nominated), and much more. That’s not even including the nominees that didn’t win.

And this year, the competition was really stiff. Tenet, Soul, Palm Springs, Eurovision Song Contest, and Birds of Prey were all nominees, all of which would have absolutely deserved this win, because they are so well written and well received in the writing department. But there are six nominees, not just the five listed here.

And the sixth? The Old Guard.

Who won.

This honestly came as a surprise to see. Not that the screenplay isn’t good (it is!), but against Birds of Prey? I figured we didn’t stand a chance.

But the film won.

This is the second win for a Netflix property, the first being Jessica Jones’ “AKA The Smile” in 2016. In fact, Netflix has only received five nominations total thus far. (In contrast, Marvel Studios is at sixteen nominations with three wins. And Harry Potter received seven nominations out of their eight films (Half Blood Prince being the lone exception) with no wins.) 

Here’s the weird thing though. Normally, Netflix is all over announcing their various wins, regardless of the award. But this time, there hasn’t been a peep. It’s been over twenty four hours, and no post or tweet or reference. The writer and director have both made posts on Instagram regarding the win, but nothing from Netflix. Nor from Skydance, the producer of the film.

But who cares. The Old Guard won a major award. 

Wonder if we will win for the sequel? Only time will tell!

Until next time!

My Top (and Bottom) Media for 2021 – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the world of hyper focus.

This year I went from one fandom to another, with a third being started and paused. No really, I can flat out confirm that I really haven’t done much in way of media this year. But let’s break it down, because why not, right?

In terms of TV, my favorite is obviously 9-1-1. I discovered the show by way of Tumblr, when I was looking to get out of the TOG fandom community. While not the perfect show in any sense, I really have enjoyed it. What I really like is the feeling of family I’ve found thanks to discord. I love pretty much all of the characters in the show, and most of the storylines as well. Season Five may be a fever dream, but it’s still pretty good.

Following closely behind is of course the spinoff, 9-1-1 Lone Star. This one is a major surprise to me because I never figured I would enjoy it nearly as much as the OG. It features two of my favorite couples, #Tarlos (TK and Carlos) and the Ryders (Judd and his wife Grace). Honestly, the only reason this show isn’t tied with the OG show is because it have a problem with being the Owen Strand show. (And the fact that Owen keeps on forgetting that he has a son. It’s an issue I want to play with in the next few days.)

Also included on this list is One Chicago, which I’m grouping together because of the fact it is so intertwined. Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. are both really good shows that are more grounded in reality, especially when compared to 9-1-1 and Lone Star. But I do have some problems with certain characters and storylines, and honestly some of the choices the writers have made. I’ll be getting back to these two shows very soon.

I have also fallen for all the new Marvel content. WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye have all impressed me in various ways. All four shows had strong messages that really stood out. They’re not perfect (I’m looking at you Loki), but they are a lot of fun. I also include Black Widow and Shang-Chi on this list, as both were pretty great.

Before we get to the things I think weren’t worth my time, I want to highlight the two films that I think were okay. Not great, but not terrible. Step Up: Revolution was a fun little ride, but there was little substance to it. MindGamers was a literal mind fuck, but it had Oliver Stark, so it automatically is better than bad.

And now on to the negative.

One of the biggest disappointments I watched this year was Into the Badlands. I really really wanted to like it, but it was boring and unimaginative. I have a full review on why I wasn’t a fan, and why I DNFed the entire series midway through the first season. But it just… wasn’t worth it at all.

And then there’s Chicago Med. Now, I won’t say I hated it. I will just say it bored me. I don’t want to go into too much detail because I’m trying to finish off the first season, but I will just say that it’s a medical drama that just isn’t for me.

The new Animaniacs also debuted late last year, though I didn’t get to it until the beginning of this year. It did not live up to the original show in any way. I never thought I’d want to turn off the show I had loved all throughout my childhood.

And finally, the show that I DNFed, but that I’m returning to at some point. I watched part of the new S.W.A.T. series starring Shemar Moore and thought I’d really like it, but I just got stuck with it. It’s on my list of a show to catch up with once I finally finish One Chicago.

As you can see, it’s been a pretty light year. I stuck with the show that really got me hooked again (especially after leaving The Old Guard fandom behind). Hopefully next year things can get more back on track and I’ll be able to watch more.

Until next time!

My Top (and Bottom) Books of 2021 – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ 1 Comment

It’s an unfortunate fact that I really got burned this year by reader’s block. I just couldn’t really get into any books, and when I did, it almost felt like a chore. My book goal to read 52 books has been left by the wayside. There are so many books on my TBR shelves that I’m holding onto until I’m in a better place to delve into them.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. Today, I’m talking about a few of my favorite books that I read this year.

Yes, I only read about 20 books this year (not counting The Old Guard Tales Through Time comics). But that’s just the way it went.

So let’s break down some of my favorite books this year.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Lore blew me out of the water. I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into when I cracked this one open, but it came from both Owlcrate and Barnes and Noble’s YA Book club, so it couldn’t be terrible. THe premise was complex and worked well. The characters were dynamic and made mistakes with consequences. Yes, there was some suspension of disbelief, but I’m okay with that. It’s an urban fantasy that I highly recommend, especially if you had any love for the Percy Jackson books going up. The mythology alone was perfect.

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

I knew going into this book that I would really love it or really hate it. And I’m so happy to say that I loved it! Following up the amazing book that was Good Girls Guide to Murder was a tall order, but Ms. Jackson nailed it in every way. The characters have all grown up a little, and are still making mistakes that make sense. The choices they make hurt and have consequences, sometimes devastatingly. But it absolutely lived up to the hype. The third book is already out and I’m praying I get it for Chirsmtas, as my library has a waitlist until next year, ebook included. 

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

This year’s installment into the Wayward Children novella series was well worth the wait. This tale is the sixth (not counting the additional short story), and was written as a good entry point for anyone wanting to come into the series. I was mostly surprised by it, as I loved the characters from the first five entries, but this worked well. There were some minor issues I had with it, which I detailed in my review, but I’m okay with it and eagerly waiting for the seventh novella in January.

Considering that this year, my reading was down, I also want to touch on three disappointing reads. One was a highly anticipated sequel, one was a random “whim” book, and one just didn’t do it.

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

I saw the cover and wanted it. I read the summary and fell in love. Then I read it in one sitting… and walked away disappointed. I feel like it didn’t live up to the hype that it should have. The writing was passable, but the story just felt lost. I wasn’t a fan of most of the twists, and the ending didn’t do it for me. I gave it three stars, but that was a struggle.

City of Villains by Estelle Laure

I happened upon this book via Target, when I needed a few extra bucks for a delivery order. And honestly, I wish I’d left it on the digital shelves. This very much reminded me of a combination of Once Upon a Time and Descendents, but it missed the mark. The worldbuilding didn’t work, the characters felt very one note, the storyline was contrived at best, and honestly? It just wasn’t very good. And I’m sad about it, because it could have been.

Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin

I talked up Serpent & Dove when I read it. I’d loved that book and was excited to see where the sequel would take us. The writing had been amazing, the stakes rising with every misstep… It had it in the bag! And then Blood & Honey came out, and wow was I disappointed. Everything felt off. The writing wasn’t engaging anymore. The storyline dragged on. There was an unnecessary character death that was just there to bring tears to the eyes of readers, especially since said character had just had a short pivotal plot line over the back half of the novel. It was a complete betrayal. I have already decided to not read the finale of the series Gods & Monsters, because I feel like I can’t trust the author anymore. I didn’t recognize these characters from page one. Can I trust her to bring them back? No, not at all.

Wrap Up 

Those are my three favorite books of 2021, and my three most disappointing reads of 2021. I did read some others (and reread some more), but I’m not sure if I’m going to break them down or not. With me barely scratching the surface on my TBR list because of everything, I may push that until next year. Who knows, maybe I’ll do amazing then.

Until next time!

When Opinions Differ – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

I was sitting around watching some Booktok videos not that long ago when I came across some hot takes that honestly made me burst into laughter.

We Were Liars had an amazing twist that no one saw coming? Well, that’s not true because every plot point in the book was obvious to me.

Wilder Girls was absolutely wonderful and deserves to be read by all? Okay, well, if you like books that just dump you in the middle of the action and never really tell you what is going on, even when the characters know. It’s not that good thanks.

Ready Player One was completely non-controversial and was amazing, and the film leaving out so much was terrible. Well, there’s a scene that frankly was disgusting and was cut from the script. So, yeah. No. Wrong. Also, the changes to the plot streamlined the story in a way that works. Well, that and rights issues, thanks.

Anyway, this is just the tip of the iceberg of things that I’ve seen on Booktok that I just don’t agree with. And you know what? I’m not surprised.

The thing I always have to remind myself is that people can have their own opinions. Life experiences change people’s opinions. There are books on my shelves that I love and people think are terrible. A good example would be The Light Between Worlds, a YA novel that is Narnia inspired. I really enjoyed it, but there were a lot of people that really really didn’t.

And that’s okay! It happens.

Hell, let me think back to the in person YA Book Club meetings  I went to at Barnes and Nobel. There were a few times that we’d read a book and be completely split on opinions. It could just be the characters, or the world building, or even the plot. But that just happened to open up everything to a good conversation.

One of these days (probably in the new year), I’ll do a “hot takes based on Booktok” post. You know, talk about the books that Booktok says are great but I disagree with. Because why not? It’s fun.

Well, that’s all I have on this subject today. More book stuff will be coming soon.

Until next time!

Road to 300 – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ 1 Comment

But I noticed a few weeks ago that I was getting very close to 300 Platinum trophies, so that has been my current goal (among everything else I’ve been doing. But let me break down where I started this year, and how I finally got here.

For the most part, I played a lot of the same types of games. There were trophy-bait games, hidden picture games, puzzle games, some Lego games, and a game that blew my mind when I played it.

All told, I think I only had 48 Platinumed games this year. Which isn’t a lot, as one year I got 100. But considering that a majority of them were one sitting games, I can’t really complain.

I won’t go into the trophy bait games, but that would be at least half of what I played to full completion. I also played all but one of the Artefix Mundi games, the last one to be played soon. I caught up on every POWGI game (puzzle games), including the European versions, because trophies.

Bar none, my favorite game this year was Concrete Genie, which I had been sitting on for years. It’s a beautiful story game that broke my heart. It deals with bullying, but also finding common ground and building something. I played it twice, even if it only counted one, because I loved it that much. I’m keeping an eye out on this studio, because I really want to see what they end up doing next.

(I also replayed Bugsnax during the beginning of the year, but that didn’t count. If I’d played it three days later, it would have been a massive contender for GOTY for me)

The game that surprised me would be LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean. All told, it took me SIX YEARS and three months to complete this game. Yes, you read that right, six years. Technically. See, my PS3 decided it didn’t want to work for awhile, then my data was corrupted… In actual playtime, since I did end up restarting it, I think it was a week? Maybe a few days more? I didn’t play every day, but I played pretty quickly. Having the last level, the bonus level if you will, be based on the ride that the films were based on just about did me in. 

I also finally can say that I have completed every copy of Lego Dimensions that I possibly can currently. During the summer, I finally went back and did all of the DLC on the PS3, which means that I now have 100% completion on PS3, PS4, and Xbox One. I don’t own a WiiU or a XBox 360 (though I am looking for the latter), so I can’t be completely done yet. But this win didn’t come without a cost. Right after I finished playing, I tried to play again, but my Supergirl figure wouldn’t register with the game pad. Switching it out didn’t work. The game disc is dead, which is something that can happen. Considering she’s the rarest character, I probably won’t be able to get another for a long, long time.

I only played two other Lego games this year (well… you’ll see). I finally played and finished Lego Lord of the Rings, which earns the distinction of the first Lego game where I’ve gotten so frustrated that I’ve actually thrown my controller across the room. But it also wasn’t a terrible adaptation, though I did have some glitches.

I also finished Lego Hobbit for the third time. I was less annoyed with this one this time around, though I did have some graphical issues. Actually, I have a couple of those over on my tiktok, if you ever happen to find them…

And now that I think about it, I didn’t really play any big games that came out this year. Yes, I’m waiting for some to drop in price, but still. Nothing from this year at all. Not on Xbox, and especially not on Switch. Wow, I suck.

But as of now I’m sitting at 299, with about 18 days left until 2022 comes knocking. And I for one don’t want to end the year on an odd number. So back when I decided to try to get to 300 by the end of the year, I made a list of all the games I haven’t completed on my profile, and picked a few to focus on to get to that final Platinum.

And the one I picked isn’t on that list.

Okay, technically, I’d actually picked Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales to be my 300th. And I was working towards it, until I realized that I was going to have trouble. There are a few trophies that I’m already having issues with. I know that if I put in the time, I might make it, but I didn’t didn’t want to stress on a might. I debated also trying to finish Rime or Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, two games that I have been itching to finally pick up and finish… but it’s been so long since I’ve touched either one, I’d have to restart to be able to play them.

So… I kinda sat back and debated. I wanted to end on something special, like I said. I tossed around Lego Star Wars III or Lego Indiana Jones 2, but I wasn’t in love with the idea. Then I took a good, hard look at what I owned.

I hadn’t considered my Vita.

So I flipped through my games and picked one from a series I liked. My 300th Platinum will be in Lego Jurassic World.

I’ve been playing a bit every night. I finished the first film, which is nine very short levels (as it is the other three films). I’m hoping to take some time this evening to finish at least through the second film, if not start the third. It’s the first playthrough that always takes the longest, but I think I can be done with it by Wednesday. Then it’s the clean up, which won’t take long.

So yes, that is my road to 300 Platinums. I will probably do a post towards the end of the month with goals for 2022, which will include games that I want to play through. But that isn’t here nor there right this second.

Until next time!

Hair Cuts for the Holidays – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I got a hair cut.

Yes, that’s what this post is about, deal with it.

The last time I cut my hair was around June, when I finally got a hair cut for the first time in nearly a year. It had been a long time coming at that point, and I was desperate.

Yesterday, Mom and I decided it was time to get holiday cuts. I was starting to complain because the majority of my side swept bangs were ended up just settling into my eyes, and she was sick of the straight cut I gave her (out of desperation, because she’d been worried about the Delta variant at the time).

So we went. For context, this was me, before getting into the chair.

(Yes that is a .hack shirt. What of it?)

I really liked the style of the cut, I just needed it trimmed. And that’s what I asked for. Basically, what style I had was more… Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban style. Or, at least, just a shorter version of what I currently had.

This… this is what I have.

I look like a school boy.

Okay, for argument’s sake, it looks good on me! Especially in person. It’s just not what I wanted. I didn’t want to have my hair this short. It’s too short.

I’m not mad about it, but I am sad. I knew my hair would be shorter when I walked out of the salon, obviously. But this style isn’t something I wanted this time around. I wanted to keep my messy hair. This style being so short means that it basically just lies flat.

So, yeah. Short little update for you today. Tomorrow we shall return to our normal content, I hope.

Until next time!