Every year since 2009, Kees van Dijkhuizen makes one of these movie montages capturing sequences from every movie released that year. They’re regularly among my favorite end of the year compilations and I anticipate each one greatly. Enjoy yet another fantastic compilation: Cinema 2011.

Giga Gaia is one of the harder bosses in the game, but Ryan and Patrick always seem to find a way. Will they be able to hold on in the face of its power and fury?

How did I never think to name “The Wings of Time” 2poch? It’s so obvious!

We’ll see if Ryan and Patrick can figure out that they’re supposed to be in the sewers in this update. I’ll tell you, this is not made very clear by the game and it’s tough to figure out.

The story begins to take further shape. Who is the mysterious prophet? How will the gang get back to 12kBC?

The gang heads to my favorite time period, 12,000 BC to visit the magical kingdom of Zeal! It only gets cooler from here, folks.

Azala and the Reptites face meet their doom. What secrets will the gang discover about Lavos’ origins?

It’s Man vs. Reptite in this episode of the Endurance Run. Will Brono, Byla, and Bobo come out on top?

I wonder if Brono and the gang will manage to take down Magus on their first try. He is pretty tough.

Stay calm everyone, but the Bounty Hunter class quest deals with an albino wookiee!

This is suuuper delayed, but I’ve been traveling and enjoying the holidays and recovering from sickness and that all takes time, you know?

Movies

Bridesmaids – Viewing number 4ish. I love the flip out scene where Kristin Wiig and Maya Rudolph have it out. Great scene.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (US) – My favorite game to play while watching this movie is to count how many walkouts from people who didn’t realize there would be violent rape scenes in the movie. I was a huge fan of the remake’s casting. Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig did fantastic jobs in their roles. Some people prefer the original Swedish, but I think these actors have more sizzle. Also, Rooney Mara’s got a fantastic body. Just sayin, guys.

TV

Mad Men – Watched the first episode again with my parents, Dave, and Kendra. Guess what, Dave, you’re wrong. We are all born alone and we do all die alone. Don and Rachel’s interactions were so amazing in season 1. I don’t think any other person challenges Don in the same way the rest of the series. It’s quite interesting to watch it again.

How I Met Your Mother – So great to just be able to pull this up and watch it anytime I need to with Netflix now. I definitely like pulling one up right before bed.

Music

Have I ever mentioned that I don’t like Christmas music? I don’t like Christmas music, guys. Thank god I’m not home anymore, I almost strangled someone.

Books

1Q84 – Got about two chapters into this bulky Murakami epic. Seems very intriguing. The part about the literary prize stuff especially makes me wonder where the story is going. Could be lots of fun.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) – Turned out to be a light, but funny read. Ultimately it’s a women’s book, but I found it to be appropriately funny and fun.

Video Games

Chrono Trigger DS – Inspired by the Giant Bomb Endurance Run, I revisited CTDS on my plane ride home. Lots of fun, but it’s weird to see the name changes and translation changes. Good stuff.

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Man, the class quests continue to be awesome! Turns out that Darth Zash wasn’t trying to kill me, per se. She only wanted to take over my body with her spirit. Then Khem Val went and interfered and, whoops, now they both inhabit his body. It’s pretty awesome.