alexandral: (Pink Panther - Shocking)
alexandral ([personal profile] alexandral) wrote2011-09-15 04:40 pm
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Reading/Watching habits +Thor (2011)

Finally! I found a way to read more! Audiobooks! I used to read an awful lot when I was younger and my vision was better (my vision used to be perfect once). Now my vision is not perfect anymore and I find that reading anything after a day spent on computer (I work as a software programmer) makes my eyes terribly tired. I can only read in big volumes during holidays, when my eyes aren't strained as much.

I was unhappy with the fact that I don't read as much as I used to, and I think I finally found a solution - AUDIOBOOKS. I started listening to them when I drive (at least 1.5-2 hours a day), before going to bed and even sometimes when I work as I can easily multitask if I am not doing anything too difficult. I finished "A Dance with Dragons" and now I am quickly sailing through one of the series I liked when I was younger, "Black Company" (Glen Cook). I am almost at the end of the book 2, "Shadows Linger". Once I finish "Black Company", or at least get bored with it as I am told that the later books aren't all that good, I am going to properly listen to The Vorkosigan Saga. I have read several books from these series, but never the whole thing.

I FEEL SO LIBERATED.

I have also decided that I should watch at least 1 film per week, and won't allow myself to rely on TV series only. :D I started this week but I didn't have a particular good start:

Thor (2011)

Films like this are better watched in a movies theater, where any thoughts in your brain can be successfully blown away by fabulousness of CGI special effects. When watching at home, on your TV set, it is unlikely that you will be able to reach the stunned enough state to not notice the lack of everything else. Well, apart from the gratuitous shiftlessness and the extreme length of Chris Hemsworth's eyelashes. So, in short: Thor is made of : 3/4 of special effects, 1/12 of shirtlessness, 1/12 of Chris Hemsworth's eyelashes, and 1/12 of strange horned helmets that definitely must get in the way of lighting-striking as their horns are long enough to act as lightning rods.
Or, I have almost forgotten, the dialogue is really deep. Thor says "I will return" at least once.

Just because any post should include some positivity: Idris Elba in the strange horned helmet.



Not for the first time, IMDB's ratings are making me me raise my eyebrows (7.2 for Thor). The site is obviously populated by large numbers of people I don't see eye-to-eye with.

[identity profile] roboticduck.livejournal.com 2011-09-15 04:30 pm (UTC)(link)
I've slowed down on the reading since my youth-- I do hear audiobooks are a good alternative, except my commute is on trains that can be very loud (and thus I don't even listen to new music because I wouldn't be able to really listen). I do think it seems really cool when they have talented actors reading the books aloud :)

I regret not seeing Thor in theatres, not only because of the CGI effects and details, but IDRIS!! I didn't know he was in it! And I didn't realize Thor was tied into the whole Avengers universe, WHOOPS, I am a bad comics nerd!

[identity profile] alexandral.livejournal.com 2011-09-15 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, loud trains sound awful! So far the books I have listened to had really good narrators - I loved , absolutely loved the ASOIAF narrator (Roy Dotrice) and the guy that is doing "Black Company " is also great.

What is Avengers? See - I am a total non-geek as far as comic books are concerned.
Edited 2011-09-15 16:51 (UTC)

[identity profile] roboticduck.livejournal.com 2011-09-15 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I haven't read any of the Marvel comics, but have seen all the other movies that are going to be tied in. Have you seen Iron Man or Captain America? Was there a scene at the end of Thor where Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows up? He appears in each of movies because he is recruiting them all, for the Avengers movie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Avengers_%282012_film%29) that comes out next spring. As you can imagine, the comic book fans are really excited!

[identity profile] alexandral.livejournal.com 2011-09-15 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I see! I haven't seen "captain America" (for some reason this is not calling me) , but I liked "Iron man", this was a rare superhero film that was somewhat different. May be because Robert Downey Jr. is a good actor.

Oh, that must be a really good thing for the fans! Me -I am not that excited. :D But thank you so much for the explanation!