Moments when a piece of entertainment completely rocked you.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 4:51 pm

I visited a cousin and ended up borrowing Rurouni Kenshin boxed sets (well, I say borrowed. I had to swap about half the games in my stack).

I'm on episode 31 or so.

The series varies between 'meh' and 'OMGTHATWASSOCOOL!'. A lot of episodes resolve too neatly (or maybe it's just that without commercial interruption, each episode is, like, 20 minutes long). Some of the fights are 'meh'.

But, when the series really wants to, the animation quality bumps up and they do some very nifty stylistic/symbolic things. The arc I just finished (Saito's introduction) had some really thoughtful camera work--like focusing on his feet when he's crossing the threshold into the dojo. As my old Study of Film teacher would say, there's a lot of really good and interesting shots and images happening in those three episodes.

Also, every now and then someone pops up with a really awesome voice.

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:03 am

I rented Hot Fuzz and Ghostbusters. The former is the first thing to make me physically laugh in months, and the latter may have convinced me to try picking up Inspectres.

Hot Fuzz: The standout moment for me was... well, there were a number, but the big reveal near the end was enormously entertaining.

TOZ · Post by **TOZ** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:30 am

Simon Pegg makes everything better. Probably the best point of the new Star Trek. (I enjoyed it, no offense to those who didn't.)

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 7:12 am

So I just read the 1st 3 issues of North 40. It's a new vertigo comic. Best way to describe it is Lovecraft meets Mark Twain meets the deep south.

It's fucking dynamite. Funny, scarry, and all the things that I most hate and love about Hicktowns well plus Lovecraftian monsters and Junkyard Robots. :-D

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:14 am

Have I mentioned that the entire ending sequence of Kingdom Hearts 2 is one of the coolest fucking things I have ever had the privilege to play?

TOZ · Post by **TOZ** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 5:54 pm

angelfromanotherpin wrote:Heart is the greatest power the Planeteers have access to. It includes precognition, telepathy, and goddamn mind control. However, like the rest of those stupid kids, Ma-Ti simply doesn't use his powers to their fullest for no good reason.

It also is a vital component in forming Captain Planet.

CatharzGodfoot · Post by **CatharzGodfoot** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 6:17 am

Let the Right One In is a truly great movie about young love and the travails of growing up; it's the best movie I've seen in years. If you can, see it on a date or with your significant other.

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:22 am

I've really been digging the Angry Video Game Nerd lately. With the exception of the Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle review (I despise the character and those he spawned, especially Slappy Squirrel) I have gotten great enjoyment from nearly every video he's done in 2009.

I'd say 2009 is actually his best year so far, but it's going to be really hard to top having the CD-i reviews and Bible Games 2 back-to-back. Here's hoping that he'll bust out the big guns for Christmas.

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 6:31 am

I wouldn't normally call this rocking, but Bleach has genuinely entertained me--as opposed to its usual faire of So Bad It's Good entertainment--for three chapters in a row which post-SS has to be some kind of goddamn record.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 6:37 am

Lago PARANOIA wrote:I wouldn't normally call this rocking, but Bleach has genuinely entertained me--as opposed to its usual faire of So Bad It's Good entertainment--for three chapters in a row which post-SS has to be some kind of goddamn record.

Much the same here.

From a character standpoint, I like how Zaraki and Byakuya actually have similar codes of behavior and points of pride.

Naruto got my hopes up for a while. I was really digging Kisame starting to kick ass.

Then, nope, there that went. In such a way that his metaphorical balls fell off, too.

TOZ · Post by **TOZ** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 7:01 am

Kisame had to job to the Raikage to build up his cred. I'm meh over the whole thing.

And Bleach has been pretty engaging lately. I wanted them to get on with Shinji vs. Aizen tho. Even as I read it I knew a cut away was coming.

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 9:56 am

TOZ wrote:Kisame had to job to the Raikage to build up his cred. I'm meh over the whole thing.

I haven't read the chapters yet (I haven't read any of it since that retarded chapter 449, though I listen to people who do read it) but here are my thoughts based on what I've heard.

The problem with this is that Kisame had more relevance and backstory than the other Akatsuki members but he went down like fodder; I mean, he outlived Itachi so you think that there would be something special about him. But nope. It feels like a sucker punch.

The other problem I have with this is that it makes Akatsuki look like a complete joke right now. All they have on their team is a man who failed spectacularly twice, a non-fighting guy, and a team of stupid kids. Which wouldn't be so bad but they're the only villains left in the manga.

I really think that making Madara the actual villain of the story was the second-worst idea that the manga had, next to making Sasuke the actual main character. Madara is just not a threatening villain. He had an underwhelming introduction, an infuriating reveal (introducing the fucking character in the middle of the resolution of the biggest mystery of the manga completely killed the fucking drama), and is responsible for making Sasuke a blithering retard and erasing Itachi's balls-to-the-wall villainy. Everything about this character is awful; I held out hope that Nagato would take out this moron and replace him as the REAL villain, but nope. We get this loser.

What the fuck was the mangaka thinking? If you have an action-adventure story the antagonist needs to be credible otherwise there's no tension. Orochimaru = Good Villlain. Akatsuki = Good Villains up until the Zombie Arc, where they became jokes. Seriously, I haven't seen a series wrecked more by a failure of a villain since Voldemort.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:29 am

The lines in Jeffree Star songs that don't completely loose me... (and some that do...)

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:43 pm

I'm reading Digger, a webcomic by Ursula Vernon.

It has some very creepy stuff I wish I'd thought of first.

Highly recommended. Also, give Ursula some of your money if you can afford it.

*back to reading*

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:12 am

Four chapters in a row.

Isn't that goddamn sad? When a series gets so bad that not making you facepalm or feel like you wasted your time feels like getting a promotion? But anyway, four chapters and counting now.

TOZ · Post by **TOZ** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:28 am

We'd better switch threads Lago, this is the rocking thread. But yeah, I'm WTF over the cliffhanger this week too.

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:34 pm

I decided to follow Maxus' advice and read Digger ( http://www.diggercomic.com/ ). It is good. I am tempted to special order one of her books as a Christmas present for someone now.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 5:47 am

Sweet. Glad I could put money in Ursula's pocket (I've been keeping up with her stuff for years, and buy her books to support her. And they're good.)

I have to re-recommend the Dresden books. There hasn't been just one moment that's rocked me. There's been many, many moments.

Maybe I'm just reading too much tabletop RPG writing, but the Dresden universe keeps striking me as similar to World of Darkness. Less depressing, but...It's interesting.

I might do a Tome of Trees writeup for fey based on this to a degree (which, itself, adheres pretty close to the original folklore/legends). Also, I took a stab at writing a PrC for a Master of the Hunt based on something in one of the books. Ten levels, entry level is 11...

But if anyone swings by the library, check for Storm Front, by Jim Butcher. It's the first one, and I'd appreciate someone checking it out and giving it a shot and seeing what they think.

In order, the rest are...

Fool Moon
Grave Peril
Summer Knight
Death Masks
Blood Rites
Dead Beat
Proven Guilty
White Night
Small Favor
Turn Coat

/shameless plugging

Jacob_Orlove · Post by **Jacob_Orlove** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 6:40 am

I used to read digger, back when the current updates were free but you had to pay for access to the archives. I would check every few days to stay current. Then I went on vacation and lost my place. Nice to see that it's completely free now.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 7:34 am

I think Butcher really hits the nail on White hat morality with Summer Knight and the latter books which have the Paladin in it. I don't think I"ve seen it done that well in any other entertainment.

That rocked my socks.

Another thing to recommend.

I just watched 'Slumdog Millionaire' (I know, the Indian is the last to check it out and in a dubbed-to-english version --geez) and while the movie is okay in itself, there's a scene in there that just blew my mind away.

A n'er do well turned good character sits in a bathtub of money waiting for a gangster to come through the door. The gangster is obviously going to kill him but, no, the n'er do well picks up his revolver while sitting in a bathtub of money and shoots him. Of course, a few seconds later, the minions kill him.

But, seriously, sitting in a tub of money and shooting a person is, dare i say it, gangsta!

It fucks "say hello to my little friend" in the ass.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 7:40 am

Cynic wrote:I think Butcher really hits the nail on White hat morality with Summer Knight and the latter books which have the Paladin in it. I don't think I"ve seen it done that well in any other entertainment.

That rocked my socks.

.

Grave Peril, Death Masks, and, eh, Small Favor, I think. Summer Knight is about the Faeries.

Yeah, those books should be required reading for people who want to play a Paladin as something other than Lawful Dickhead. Michael and the other two Knights are really, really awesome characters.

Parthenon · Post by **Parthenon** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:10 am

The Dresden Files is pretty rocking, but the Alera Codex by the same author is where its at if you want to be rocked out.

Just some of the stuff that happens, like the Earth furies raising the walls or him bringing back the sheep in Furies of Calderon, to the swimming underwater past leviathans and coming up through the hull of the ship in Captain's Fury, to the motherfucking boats Tavi uses to evacuate everyone in Princep's Fury. I damn near came when I realised how they were going to get back to Alera.

Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration.

I wait with bated breath for the next in the series to be published in England, and damn the fact that its already out in America. Fucking Americans. At least its cheaper here.

Maybe I should wank over it in the thread about books, but I really think the series is full of fucking awesome scenes.

Jilocasin · Post by **Jilocasin** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:57 am

If you have any love for the Gundam franchise then the Gundam ROCK album that Andrew W.K. did is so incredibly entertaining. It's really hokey, but that just sort of makes it better.

Also, the Venture Brothers, all the time.

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 5:10 am

I watched Toy Story and Toy Story 2 again. I forgot just how awesome those movies were. And as good as Toy Story is, the second one manages to eclipse it in awesomeness.

CatharzGodfoot · Post by **CatharzGodfoot** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:34 pm

Chocolate, a Thai martial arts film, is absolutely amazing. It starts slow, but then it has a series of really amazing fight scenes. As great as they are, to get the full impact of the movie you really have to stick around and watch the outtakes. Apparently Thai actors are hardcore.