Random Art: Killer Tree to Get A Makeover? Probably (It May Take a While, Though)…

I Want to Live Eh, I’ll need to do this piece over one day and probably as a normal drawing rather than a digital one. I just had the thought as I was looking at it a day ago that I needed to find a copy of From Hell it Came out in the wild on DVD just so I have my stiff wooden tree suit muse thing down pat.

What, you’ve NEVER seen From Hell it Came? Shame, shame, shame! Hell, it’s an awesomely cheesy but surprisingly watchable classic “B” horror flick from 1957. Yeah, yeah, yeah- it’s filled with quasi-Polynesian or whatever random exotic island stereotypes the producers want to make you think exist somewhere in the world, a sort of atomic radiation and voodoo-doodoo created monster and plenty of laughs I’m betting were unintended. I grew up with this one and cut it a LOT of slack because even as a kid it never scared me… but I think it may have started a healthy tree fetish.

Or maybe I’m just nice to them so if one ever does come to life, it’s not going to wobble down the street after me first… “Not ME! Get the guy with the poodle! The guy with the POODLE! Gyaaaaaah!

The World’s End: Doomsday With Drinks? I’ll Take A Ticket, Please…

the world's endNice. I just put myself down for a screening next week of The World’s End (there’s one tomorrow, but I’m not free to attend) for this upcoming Focus Features film featuring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (and a bunch of other talented and funny folks), so I’m probably going to review it here as well. OK, I’m absolutely going to review it, as it’s tough to get me out of the home office as it is, so I may as well let you all know if this one’s worth stepping outside and maybe having a meteor clobbering you on the skull. Or worse.

HOW much worse? Oh, I dunno… use your imagination (or just watch that trailer above a few times)…

KILLER IS DEAD Import Walkthroughs: Game Empire HD Does It Again…

I hadn’t realized that this had shipped out in Japan (well, it’s officially out tomorrow there… wait, it’s tomorrow there already, right? Oh, my head hurts…) until I poked around in my inbox and spotted these Game Empire HD play through videos. There are four so far, but I’ll only run two here so as to not ruin too much of the fun. I absolutely LOVE that the menus are in English, which means I can import this and play it (but I’ll hold out for the US version just to support Xseed Games here) and it certainly looks as if Suda 51 and grasshopper manufacture had a blast making this one, so strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. Er, this isn’t for the kiddies, kids – so break out the blindfolds or go put them in the broom closet with a flashlight, a box of Popsicles and a funny hat or two.

More in a bit…

Sluggy Connections And Roadblocks Galore Still Get You Something to Read…

Status

geelw's avatar

U-sually, I’m already updating the site with a banner (and recently, a background image), but it’ll be a day late (and a dollar short?) thanks to me being stuck on a low connection today. Boo. Well, at least I’m getting some more “productive” gaming done and I did see some cool under embargo stuff tech earlier today (some fun projectors and printers), so there’s that. OK, off to yell at something, as I just found out the intercom system is busted (thanks to it being “repaired” last week) and I just missed a package I rushed back home to get. Bleh.

New Elysium Trailer: The Grass Is Greener If You’re Not Living On The Planet…

While Elysium looks to be pretty grim in spots, as with Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, there’s probably going to be some humor found in the strangest places. D9 had plenty of irony going for it in a few areas and I think it would be pretty amusing to see references to that film here (as if, yes, it’s the same Earth those aliens visited getting an even more depressing future this time out). We’ll see, of course – but I hope this does well out of the game and better than the other future flicks that have crashed and burned at the box office. If anything, I’ll bet the Blu-Ray/DVD set will do pretty well, as it looks like one of those flicks that’s worth multiple views just to see the many layers of depth in the CG effects work (which is some of the best I’ve seen in a film like this).

Swamp Thing Headed to Blu-Ray/DVD August 6: Still A Coin Toss For This Fan…

hide n seek II

ST_BR-DVDI wasn’t the biggest supporter of either of the two Swamp Thing films as neither was as close to the comics as I’d have liked and even the 70+ episode TV series was hugely flawed (but the makeup and costume were superb by that time). Still, after recently watching a friend’s copy of the DVD (it’s the recalled 2000 version he lent me, by the way), I have to say I don’t dislike it as much as I did back in 1982. I definitely liked it a LOT more than the stupidly campy sequel (which has a grand total of ONE really funny line in it that was worth the ticket price) and inane kiddie cartoon series created primarily to sell toys to parents who probably would be shocked out of their skins by the darker tone of many of the first ten issues of the original comics by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson and especially Alan Moore’s later (and much darker) run on the series that featured some amazing scripts and still stunning artwork primarily from Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch.

Of course, those who were kids when the films, cartoon or TV show were new may feel otherwise, so there’s that to consider. Of course, I’ve always “gotten” the weirder elements of the character and for some kooky reason, he’s been one of my favorites to draw (so I guess that piece above can indeed be called “fan art”, whee). Anyway, I’m not sure just yet if I’ll buy this new Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack, but it’s nice to know it exists if I decide to take the plunge…

Walking With Dinosaurs Trailer: Jurassic Snark to Some Science Doubters…

I saw this trailer when I went to see Turbo at a press screening earlier this month (which was also open to a bunch of lucky kids and parents) and after it was over, I overheard from behind me a few rows back, some adult reassuring their kid or the kid they were in charge of for the day that the film wasn’t “real like it is in the Bible”, and that kind of got my goat a little. Granted, this film is more than a bit stupid in that it’s trying to be like an extended episode of Meerkat Manor or some other “reality” animal show that’s supposed to be dramatic and charming (blech) as it “tells it like it is” or whatever. But I just don’t like adults ill-equipped for actual facts outside what was beaten into them spreading ignorance onto kids who need to expand their minds, not contract them and think less outside the box they’re forced into. You can’t be part of the future if you grow up not expanding your knowledge of the past.

Of course, it’s also important to have an open mind as well, but one does need to get wiser with age. That said, I save that open-minded stuff mostly for appreciating junky films like this one that try to have it both ways with men and dinosaurs in the same place like it’s a more violent live-action version of The Flintstones

And don’t even get me started on Dinosaurus! and its crazy electricity-revived caveman and dinosaurs triple threat. Yikes. Granted, I could go further back and post clips from sillier films made before science caught up with Hollywood and its need to present every bit of human (and pre-human) history as “entertainment”, but I tend to give those classics a pass on their lack of accuracy because the filmmakers didn’t have much to work with and man, if you can hate Gertie the Dinosaur for any reason, you really have no soul. Little in-joke there, by the way.

You still can’t hate Gertie, though.

HBO’s Clear History: Should You Curb Your Enthusiasm Or Enjoy the Ride?

The first time I saw this promo, I almost thought it was a new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm (yay!)… but it’s not (boo!). Well, maybe not (boo!), as it’s another Larry David-led ensemble cast improv class in TV comedy that’s bound to be full of awkward moments and “Wait, did (s)he just say that?” dialogue. Of course, it’ll be tough to top that last season of Curb for cringe-worthy and fall off the couch funny bits, so hopefully this film is Larry testing the waters before maybe bringing himself back for one final season of his show. He can’t stay in Paris forever and I think the French would kick him out of the country even quicker than he had to leave New York City. Eh, we’ll see, I guess…

Games of Summer: Dragon’s Crown

Atlus may be struggling with its recent financial woes in Japan, but the company is still swinging for the fences hard and knocking it out of the park with some great titles on assorted platforms. Case in point, Dragon’s Crown, already a hit in Japan and headed to the PS3 and Vita in North America on August 6. George Kamitani and his team at Vanillaware have created an absolutely, outrageously gorgeous game that’s a throwback to classic side-scrolling arcade hits as well as a mighty challenging solo and online play experience. I know a few folks with the import and yes indeed, they’re very pleased with the game (and the AMAZING deluxe art book that came with it). Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on both versions, as I hear they’re different in a few key ways. Of course, I still want a proper Princess Crown remake or sequel one of these days, but at this point, Kamitani and company can make paper bag puppets and I’ll throw money their way…

KRONOS: 1957’s Alien Planet Eater Makes For An Interesting Muse…

KRONOS WT

(thanks, ScienceFictionFLIX!) 

KRONOS posterAnother favorite sci-fi flick from my younger days (OK, it still holds up today on a few fronts), Kurt Neumann’s 1957 film KRONOS is a really well-made and fun cheapie that benefits from some prescient scripting, pretty decent effects work (some nice for the era animation of the titular massive alien energy accumulator in a few quick shots), a snappy running time and a few unintentional chuckles from the usual overacting cast members emoting with relish about the over-sized and unstoppable alien threat of the week. Anyway, back in 2011 I was dinking around in MS Paint and had a sudden flash of inspiration to do a goofy tribute image and here you go. I guess it’s technically a piece of “fan art” although I have to chuckle at the “fan” part as it’s not exactly something I do on a regular basis. Yeah, I guess this gets added to the Random Film of the Week pile at some point. Feel free to check it out, as yep – it comes highly recommended.