Archive for the ‘Best of 2017’ Category

21 Dec

Best of 2017: Top 5 Disappointments

Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2017, Lists. Tagged: , , , , , , .

As usual we’re kicking things off with a look at some of the less rosy parts of the year in entertainment media, but this time list number one is presented in an ever-so-slightly different way. Due to a list later on in my countdown series needing to be expanded, as well as the emerging patterns in 2017’s lamest entertainment news and trends allowing for some easy grouping, I’ve decided to reduce this Top 10 to a Top 5, meaning this time around I’m talking less about individually disappointing movies/games and more about the way history repeated itself in some of the least encouraging ways imaginable throughout the past year (as well as one deeply personal gaming-related frustration). These are my personal picks for the biggest entertainment media disappointments of 2017.

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VR BEST OF 2017 DISCLAIMER

This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s strange. Intriguing, but strange. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.

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5. Warner Bros Does Australia Dirty Again

Three years ago, Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. released two of the most talked-about films of the year, The LEGO Movie and John Wick. The former was a family movie and the latter most certainly wasn’t, but both flicks enjoyed a ton of critical praise for their fresh and surprising approaches to toy-spruiking animation and straightforward action respectively. But Australians who happened to take in the buzz online for the pair had to wait for their chance to watch them legally, and if piracy estimates were to be believed, many simply didn’t. Despite the fact that The LEGO Movie was largely produced in Australia, it had the greater of the two delays, and after its release the higher-ups at Aussie distributor Village Roadshow claimed their calculated lost income as a result meant it wouldn’t happen again. But alas, it happened again. The delay of The LEGO Batman Movie sucked, but John Wick Chapter 2 didn’t even have an Australian release date listed anywhere when the film hit the US in February. We ended up getting it in May, and that sure didn’t help its performance down under. Yay.

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20 Dec

Best of 2017 Intro

Posted by vagrantesque in Best of 2017, Lists. Tagged: , , , , .

Another year, another shameless reason to keep this blog alive. Countdown season is upon us and I intend to get stuck in.

2017 wasn’t the easiest year for me professionally or personally, but from my perspective the entertainment media categories I write about (occasionally) here had a showing worthy of celebration. Even if some might say the movies weren’t much better overall than last year, my friends and I enjoyed unprecedented easy access to the cinema in 2017, meaning I got to see more new films than the last two years combined. And hey, I did go by choice to all of those movies, so it at least feels like it’s been one hell of a strong year for celluloid. K-Pop broke into the mainstream again this year on the back of some key changes within important worldwide markets, seeing the power of three letters reign supreme: BTS. It also tried on some new trends and put out plenty of jams ranging from super-chilled to hyperactive and everything in between.

As for videogames, well boy howdy. No matter who you ask, it’s been a tremendous year for videogames. Some of the very best games of the generation hit in 2017, amongst an industry that is forging its way ahead in two directions – towards better support for the new generation of 4K displays and away from the TV altogether with the innovative Nintendo Switch. That latter machine has been responsible for the vast majority of the thousands of words I’ve put up on this site in 2017, so I owe it special thanks. And if you’ve read any of the long posts I’ve written this year, or are about to read any of these lists I take such strange pleasure in putting together, I also owe you the same thanks. Let’s do this again.

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VR BEST OF 2017 DISCLAIMER

This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s strange. Intriguing, but strange. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.

Some lists contain spoilers.

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