Thursday, December 18, 2014

2014 nerdy views in Review


2014 went by so quickly! Now that nerdy views is a year and a month old, I wanted to see what stories you guys were interested in the most this year. So here are the top ten stories you looked at and interacted with most on nerdy views in 2014.

10. Indiana Jones Reboot/Recast?!?


Way back in March, a rumor circulated that Bradley Cooper was at the top of the list to replace Harrison Ford in a reboot of the Indiana Jones franchise. And just like a toddler who doesn't get what he wants, the Internet lost its mind. I took a very neutral approach to the rumor, and at this point it was still very much a rumor. Indy's last outing, Kingdom of the Crystal was not well received but it was still a money maker. Although I'm astonished to find out it carries a 78% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. I'm arguably a bigger fan of Star Trek than the Indiana Jones franchise and I didn't mind when that reboot hit theaters, so why should a new Indy incense me any more? Ultimately the rumors were debunked, while the studio still has interest in making a new Indy movie. Meanwhile Bradley Cooper stuck with Disney (they own LucasFilm & Marvel) and starred as the voice of Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy, and Harrison Ford will be seen in next year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 



It's the trial of Tyrion Lannister! Accused of poisoning his nephew, King Joffrey, the episode was kind of a mish-mash until the trial began. There was Davos and Stannis trying to get money for an army, the attempted rescue of Theon Greyjoy, and Dany trying to make reparations for her dragon's burnish behavior. But when it came time for the trial, the episode finally got moving. The testimony was damning, even though it was all lies. And then a surprise witness shattered Tyrion's core. When Peter Dinklage took the stand, (he was nominated for an Emmy for this episode) he was electric. He told off the courtroom and demanded a trial by combat. And we all know how well that went for his champion...


If the Internet is to be believed, the HIMYM finale was worse than Hitler. I, however think the finale was simply "not bad." I talked about how the season moved at a snail's pace, and how this last episode felt entirely rushed with Robin and Barney breaking up, Barney becoming a "legend-daddy," and Ted's wife dying. Ultimately it led to Ted and Aunt Robin getting together with his kids' blessings, a plot point the writers filmed in season 2 and adhered to despite the Internet's protests.


X-Men: Days of Future Past has grossed almost three-quarters of a billion dollars at the box office, and I still haven't seen it. My indifference to it was apparent on my site, but I still talked about it, and this particular clip which debuted at the MTV Movie Awards got a ton of your attention. My personal favorite part of the clip? Iceman icing out and doing the slides just like he did in the Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends cartoon.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy Top Ten


Guardians of the Galaxy was my favorite film this year (right ahead of Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and a lot of you agree that it was totally awesome. My top ten list highlighted some great moments in the film. From Drax's metaphor impairment, to a conversation about Kevin Bacon as a hero, to "We are Groot," But none could top the sight of a baby Groot dancing along to the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" during the end credits.

5. Mortal Kombat X



I'm not entirely sure why, but this trailer for Mortal Kombat X featuring Scorpion and Sub-Zero got a ton of hits on nerdy views. I didn't really write too much about it except for declaring myself more of a Street Fighter fan and liking the MK inspired Injustice game. If this brings anything to light, it's that I should probably write more about games. :)

4. Game of Thrones: The Children



The season 4 finale of Game of Thrones left all of us wanting more. Jon Snow and the Mountain were still alive, Dany chained her dragons up, the Hound and Brienne had an epic fight, and Arya was off to Braavos. But the big stunner of the episode which was incidentally broadcast on Father's day, was Tyrion's escape and murder of his father Tywin Lannister.

3. Whodunnit? Let's Play CSI Game of Thrones


When King Joffrey suffered a violent death, the world rejoiced! But at the time, to non-book readers, the culprit was still unidentified. We had to know who to thank for this, so I put together a list of suspects both obvious and not so obvious. From Lady Olenna and Margaery Tyrell to Stannis and Melisandre, and even little brother Tommen Baratheon. But I'll admit I completely flubbed by not including Petyr Baelish who turned out to be one half of the guilty party in cahoots with Lady Olenna. I'll give myself half a point for this one. But you guys liked the speculation so hopefully when season 5 rolls around, I'll look into doing more of that.

2. Weird Al's 8 Videos In 8 Days



It's been a few years since "Weird Al" Yankovic released an album, so to promote Mandatory Fun, Yankovic released a new song accompanied by a video to the media on a different site for eight straight days. All I did was gather those songs and tell you which ones I liked the most. While the lead track, Tacky is super fun, my favorite track has to be Word Crimes. It's just about as clever as you can get with wordplay, and Weird Al is the king at that.


You guys really like Game of Thrones, and apparently a lot of you read what I write about it as my recap of The Watchers on the Wall is the third episode and fourth overall post about Game of Thrones to make this list, and it's my most popular story ever on nerdy views.

The episode took place solely at the Wall, and featured the men of the Night's Watch fighting off the Wildling attack. It was an immense undertaking of an episode that reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings. I didn't do a typical recap and instead ran through my top moments of the episode which included giants, a huge scythe, and the death of Ygritte. The action and emotion ran super intense and by the end, Sam had stepped up big time, and Jon Snow lived to know nothing another day. But for me, one of the most impressive things was the long, continuous tracking shot which needed pinpoint accuracy and timing and seven tries to get right.

And those are the posts you read the most on nerdy views! Thank you so much for taking the time to read what I write and share! It's been a great year, and hopefully nerdy views will grow even more in 2015. If I take anything away from this, I should continue writing about Game of Thrones, probably start writing more about video games, and maybe do some more articles in list form.

Thanks again for your support and Happy Holidays!

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