Generation Jak 0

Technically this title was used in association with a [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday post. One of which has garnished enough views to become one of the top/popular posts for my blog over the past couple weeks (as dictated by the sidebar display). As I was rifling through possible blog series titles — Cryton Critique, Chronicles Critique, Cryton Critic, Jak’s Janky Joint (and old blog title idea) to name a few — Generation Jak kept tugging at me.

For some time I wanted separate blogs with specific focuses. The Cryton Chronicles would be about my thoughts, opinions, life experiences, etc etc. Jak’s Janky Joint was going to focus on the entertainment side: Movie, music, and gaming reviews. Meta Magic (untouched at this time) focusing solely on Magic: The Gathering collectible card game. And last, but not least, Dreams in the Shade of Ink would be where I post my fiction.

In the end, I believe that trying to manage so many blogs, without a central hub (read: website), would be a bit too much. Given how random some of the postings would be, a lot of the time these blogs wouldn’t be updated for weeks (or months, as with my fiction blog), which means the best place to host my reviews would be my main blog. That way their sporadic nature can be camouflaged by my other entries.

And the Title Goes To...

As hinting above (and by the title) I decided to stick with Generation Jak as the header title for review posts. This doesn’t necessarily mean I will only stick to the movies of my generation, but has dual meaning when critiquing an older movie through the eyes of someone outside that film’s original generation (as a friend pointed out). Maybe I can still use a tagline like “A Cryton Critique” if wanting to. I’m just going to test the waters, and adapt as I go along. I hope to create a badge for the reviews and use a rating system, whether a 4-5 star rating;1-10 numbered rating; or some other variant. That’s all still in the works and if evolving down the road I can always go back and adjust/update the older reviews accordingly.

I’ve done a little researching on writing/giving reviews. Many forums and comments from people seem to lean towards avoiding spoilers citing it’s a sign of laziness and shows a lack of consideration for readers who may have yet to watch the movie, read the book, play the game (even if an older/classic/etc). It’s best not to assume everyone has experienced it, which makes sense to me, and if following along you know I’m not a fan of them. So, this wraps up a back and forth internal debate I was having since deciding to delve into reviewing. I can still give a warning if I feel something may be informational for the review, but could be considered a possible spoiler.

Coming Soon

Yesterday was meant to be my review of 2 Guns, but circumstances dictated instead I would have to deal with my car finally completely crapping out on me (It’s dead dead). Thankfully it wasn’t on the highway, or on the ramp where it died the first time. It was the beginning of a series of unfortunate events last night, so I can’t lie... I’m looking forward to reflecting on the positives this past week had to offer.

So currently 2 Guns, and Man of Steel are two movie reviews in the works. If all goes according to plan (which hasn’t been the case lately) I’ll be seeing Elysium tomorrow morning. If so, that review will also be in the pipeline.

Bookwise, I have to buy Fireseed One to read it and then it’s sequel. Also, I have two Neiko’s Five Land Adventure books to read and plan reviewing them all. There are also a handful of people I’ve met while blogging with books that I want to purchase and review as well!

And if we can dredge up an evening we shared over a month ago with some decent accuracy, my friend and I could still attempt a review of Unrinetown: The Musical!

Any opinion on the chosen title for the review blog series? Any avid readers of movie, game, music, and/or book reviews know of any reliable sites to read some?

TGIF