Skip to main content

Picks: May

Hello everyone! It's May now, which means like April and March, I am still reading the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. My themes for the last two months have been Nature and War based on the last two books in the series, the theme for this month is Gods and Kings.

Book: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Author: J.R.R Tolkien

Why I chose this theme: Alright since obviously I was going to read this book since it is the third book in the trilogy, let's talk about the theme itself. Obviously "Kings" makes sense since the book is literally titled "Return of the King", but why Gods? Well there are Gods in Lord of the Rings, and the game I wanted to play this month is about a God so I pulled some strings to be able to play it. Plus, "Gods and Kings" isn't a stretch, they do fit well together as a package deal.

Album: In the Court of the Crimson King

Artist: King Crimson


Why I chose this album: One of the most influential Prog-Rock albums of all time. It has Jazz and Classical influences, and carries along with it a title that relates it to the theme. (Especially considering its original title was "An Observation by the Crimson King"). It seems like a great pick theme-wise and will allow me to listen to another super famous, super influential album.

Film: The King's Speech

Director: Tim Hooper


Why I chose this Film: This is sort of the black sheep among my choices for this month. It doesn't exude the aesthetic that a lot of the other choices do, but what it lacks in aesthetic it makes up for in themeing. What it means to be a great leader is something that all of the choices seem to explore to some extent or another, and is something this film will likely explore to a greater extent than any of my other picks. As well this is a super popular and famous film that I have yet to check off my list of movies to watch.

Game: Okami

Studio: Capcom


Why I chose this game: I have been trying to play this game for sooooo long. I originally got the game for the Wii in 2014 but was not a big fan of the motion controls at the time. I then got a PS2 copy in 2015 that vanished before my eyes. I doubt anyone would have taken it from me, but then I am not sure of any other way it could disappear from my collection entirely. Now that it has been released for the Switch and I have been given a physical copy of it for Christmas, It seems like it's finally time to play this game. I was going to play it in March, but decided on playing Yoshi's Island instead to diversify the types of games I chose up until that point. Now it seems like it's fair enough to return to Action RPG genre, and what better month to play it than one where the theme is "Gods and Kings" (Not that I partially shaped the theme around this game or anything...) I have heard this game takes anywhere from 30 to 60 hours to complete, so you may not hear from me much this month until I have completed it.

...

And those are my picks for May! Join me next time where I will be sharing my thoughts on the metal album Neurosis, until then!

- Malachi Allen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Picks: June

Hello everyone! We are well into June which means it is time to divulge into my picks for June. The Lord of the Rings season is over which means everything is back to normal and the themes are no longer going to be centered around any series in general. The theme I have chosen for this month is  Space , let's get into the picks! Album: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust Why I chose this Album: An incredibly famous album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust is what launched David Bowie into stardom. I have never listened to any David Bowie album in its entirety before, and as he is one of the most culturally relevant figures in modern society it is a stain on my back to say the least. Therefore, I wanted to listen to one of David Bowie's albums this year and the theme of space was the perfect month to do so. Many of David Bowie's albums could have worked fine as his central character Ziggy Stardust acts as a messenger for extraterrestrials - but I chose this one ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Year of Critique?

What is Year of Critique? Listen to one album, read one book, watch one film, and complete one video game, and write an in depth critique on each one, every single month, for an entire year. This is the challenge I am setting for myself in 2019. Why Am I Doing This?       When looking back on my four years of university, it pains me how frequently critical analysis of media was at the back of my to-do list. Other things almost always took priority; however, it doesn't accurately reflect how important I think analyzing media is. It's something I've been slacking on, and I believe doing a year of critique will scratch an itch that's been left unscratched for quite some time. Really though I don't think you will understand how bad I have been slacking on consuming media unless I tell you. Music Music is the medium I feel I have the least experience in. To many music snobs I am but a wee little fly crossing over into the mortal world. I know this to be true,...
1 comment
Read more

Picks: April

Hello Everyone! March is over,  April is here , bring me the April Picks! For anyone who doesn't know, I decided to be selfish and read all of the Lord of The Rings books this year over the course of a three month span. Because of this I am shaping my themes for the months around the themes of each Lord of the Ring book. Last month's theme was nature , this months's theme... War . Book: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Author: J. R. R. Tolkien Why I chose this book: Since as I have said before I am reading this whole series over the course of three months I didn't really have too many options on this one. I spent a while deliberating but in the end I decided this is undeniably the best image to choose for the book of the month picture. Okay let's talk a bit about picking the theme of  war . To anyone who doesn't know, war is a huge part of this particular book as it exists in relation to the series as a whole. It is as well a war that obviously ...
2 comments
Read more