Random Film of the Day* It Came From Beneath the Sea

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

*For the next week or so, I’m going to add a random film the great Ray Harryhausen worked on. The legendary special effects MASTER passed away on May 7, 2013 at age 92 in London and yes, the film world owes him more than they can ever repay…

You can probably consider the 1955 film It Came From Beneath the Sea as (and I quote) “The ONLY six-tentacled giant octopus movie you’ll ever need” and call it a night, but this would be a pretty damn shorter than usual column. Actually, this was another fun Charles H. Schneer/Ray Harryhausen co-production put together to show off Ray’s stop motion animation brilliance and yes indeed, it succeeds quite well on that front.

Of course, it’s also another yet low budget atomic radiation created mutation run amok deal, so expect a chunk of military stock footage, a few jabs at scientific accuracy gone awry and the usual pairing of lantern-jawed hero with sexy researcher who’s all business at the proper moments…
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Man of Steel TV Spot #5: He’s Earning That Merit Badge, That’s For Sure…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

Well, the nice thing about these Man of Steel trailers and now, TV spots as they go on is you can see the quality in them from the very beginning. That initially vague first reveal is slowly but surely giving way to a film that’s looking to be a bit more mature than the previous Superman flicks and will hopefully be remembered for taking its subject matter outside the borders of the comics and making the character one people remember as less of a caricature and more of an actual person. Hey, as long as the comic relief is minimal and restricted to a handful of tossed off lines of dialogue (and not all from the lead). As usual, we shall see, but on their merits so far, the film is looking to do for Supes what Chris Nolan’s films did for the Batman (which is a good thing at the end of the day)…

Get (More) PSYCHO: Mezco Toyz Gets Mother And Marion All Dolled Up…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

Mezco PSYCHO Dolls Eeek! I don’t know what’s more frightening: the fact that there are actually dolls based on Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal horror classic now available for pre-order or the the fact that there are people making some more room on their shelves for both of them with big grins on their faces. Granted, Mezco’s Living Dead Dolls line continually sells out and has legions of fans, so this set will most definitely do well with that crowd.

On the other hand, it’s a damn good thing these weren’t available as Mother’s Day gifts, as I’m trying to think who’d be the person giving one or both to their mom in a nicely wrapped-up package with an even BIGGER (and more sinister) grin on his or her mug. Not me, folks… although I can safely say that “My hobby is… stuffing things…”. Hmmm. If I ever tell you “You eat like a bird…”, you may want to start running in the opposite direction (and fast)…

VGA 101: Your Free Game of the Day, Courtesy Google Image Search…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

OK, I normally hate gimmicks like this, but for once, Google actually gets it right, makes me laugh and yes, I get to pass this bit of fun your way. Go to Google Image Search and type the words Atari Breakout into that search box. Tap that search button and prepare yourself for a nice little (and free) surprise. Try not to lose that ball or you’ll need to load the search again. History and fun in one shot? Cool beans, I say – you get to see a classic game in action and take some more searches away from Bing in the process. Google wins again (damn them, as they own me a small amount of money, grrr…)…

Game of Thrones 3:7 Recap/3: Preview: Grim And Bear It…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

Well, now… episode 7 was certainly interesting and packed to the rafters with too much going on all over the place. At least it was a lot more clear that the last episode in settling a few things (temporarily) while also adding more questions into the mix. That bear fight had me cracking up, though – I guess the only way to get rid of one of the strongest female characters this season is to take her out of her armor, put her into a dress and drop her into a pit with a wooden sword to fight a really big and really pissed off ursine.

Well, it’s a good thing that didn’t quite work out, but those claw marks looked pretty nasty (and remember, at least one major character did drop dead as the results of wounds received during battle). Eh, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here – only three more episodes to go and the questions I need answers to haven’t even been touched on (gah!)…

I should be a little worried by now, but I’m not at all because I know those last three shows will knock me around the room with a few revelations and probably a bunch of demises I wasn’t expecting to see (or not see)…

Bundle Stars’ Dollar Deal Means Alien & Zombie Hunting Seasons Are Open…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

bundlestars_logo I’ve been a fan of Sigma Team’s “mindless” shooters for a few years going back to the original Alien Shooter, so this latest Bundle Stars deal is not only a must-buy for me at this stupidly insane price, YOU should pick it up because you probably need some practice for the upcoming fake Zombie Apocalypse that too many people seem to think is coming. Really. As in freakin’ AMAZON HAS A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE STORE THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY BUY SURVIVAL SUPPLIES FROM! Yeah, we’re that paranoid (and stupid) these days, but at least we’re well prepared, right? But I digress… One dollar (adjusted into UK currency, so it’s actually 65p there you”re paying), four full version games, loads of zombies and aliens to kill. All that and it’s only Monday? Count me in!

Even better, Bundle Stars has also re-listed its super-selling Indie Jam deal (TEN titles for a paltry $6.40!) and Indie Jam #2 is still live for nine more days (NINE titles for an even more paltry $5.04!). Check your system requirements to make sure you can run these, Grab them all (and a free STEAM account if you don’t have one yet) and figure out later how the hell you’re going to find time to PLAY all the games you just bought for less than you paid for a day’s meals. You’ll be hitting up Google looking for time machine plans that actually work, I bet…

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified – “Origin Declassified” Trailer: Agent Carter, I’m On YOUR Side…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

From the bits of gameplay shown, this origin story looks like a re-skinned version of last-year’s XCOM reboot, so you’d think it would shut the naysayers up a bit more. Nope. 2K Games is still getting not too much respect from those folks, but I say the company doesn’t need these people at all at this point. Let others who want to play the game do so and enjoy it while you keep your opinions to yourselves and sleep better clutching that old boxed copy of the Microprose classic you hold so dearly as the “best game ever” to your chests. Eh, whatever – I love that original game myself, but I’m at least more open-minded and can respect a new developer who wants (or WANTED, as far as the original design went) to do something outside the box. As always, we’ll see how the new game turns out when it hit s retail on August 20, 2013. Unless he and his team are complete klutzes, Agent Carter’s got nothing to worry about from me…

Indie Royale’s Mayhem Bundle: Spend A Little, Get A Lot of Bodies Dropping…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

MAYHEM_bundle This latest budget bundle from Indie Royale should give that crappy Monday you’re having a nice boot out the nearest window. Six great games are up for grabs and all look like a blast in one way or another. I’ve played Alien Shooter 2: Conscription a while back and it’s a great little shooter/RPG hybrid. The similar looking (but co-op/multiplayer focused) Primal Fears actually looks like one of the Hunter: The Reckoning games from a few years back and Burn Zombie Burn? Well, that title would make me buy it on general principal. Of the other games, Droplitz is a no-brainer for puzzle fanatics, Plain Sight looks pretty cool (despite your ninja/robot avatar needing to blow itself up for points all the time) and Lucius actually looks like someone took the original 1976 film The Omen and based the game around it (which means it’ll be nice and gory as you guide the little devil around and wipe out that mansion full of unfortunates).

Of course, the latter probably isn’t the game you want the babysitter to play at all, as it’ll give him or her nightmares and he or she’ll never drop by ever again. But, hey – what you do with your newly acquired cheap games is all up to you, right?

AMC’s The Killing Season 3: Getting Your Attention With Intention To Keep It Held…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

Let’s see now: a serial killer on the loose (meaning a higher body count this season) with the series’ focus on this one case and how it affects everyone on all sides should make for an intriguing story arc provided the show sticks to what made it work in the first place and doesn’t fall into the trap other crime shows have become victims of (changing too much to appeal to a certain base of short attention span viewers for rating’s sake). As with the first two seasons, I’ll be going in expecting nothing so I can actually be surprised when the writers and cast hit me over the head and toss me in a trunk…

Well, you know what I mean, right? I actually don’t advocate hitting anyone over the head and tossing them into a trunk unless they’re trying to do that to you and you manage to beat them to it…

CD Projekt RED Wants You To Make Your Own RPG Using Their Tools

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

REDKit_Mod_Screen In case you’ve never played it, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a really spectacular adult RPG with some great writing, visuals and gameplay. Developer CD Projekt RED has been cooking up a nice treat for the more creative fans of their work to play around with and the results are pretty damn impressive. Granted, you just can’t grab their REDKit beta and whip out a game in a day or two (and yes, you need to BUY a legal copy of The Witcher 2, which isn’t a bad thing to do at all, as the game is really inexpensive now and is a good way to spend about 60 to 80 hours or so), but as you can see above and on the official site, the results can be amazing.

Of course, given the game’s system requirements and what are bound to be some really complex mods, I’m gathering you’ll need a fairly powerful PC to run anything created using this toolkit. But for those gamers or artistic types with the time to play around with their own ideas in the world of The Witcher, this one’s a no-brainer to at least try out to see if it’s something you can use…