Guardians of the Galaxy Teaser Trailer: In Space, Everyone Can See You Tease…

guardians_of_the_galaxy_ver2_xlg 

 
Well, I’ve changed my tune on this flick since I first heard it was being made, but yet… I worry a tiny bit about its future. I’m betting the fans will ABSOLUTELY eat it up and make it a box office champ for a bit, but I know the more curmudgeonly critics will not get this all that much. There will be whining about everything from the stunt casting, the snarky late 20th century jokes, maybe a knock on any visual effects they dislike, and yes, probably some complaints about James Gunn’s direction when stacked up to the other recent Marvel movies. Eh, whatever, I say.

Of course, I could be wrong (again!), but based on a few Godzilla reviews from folks who didn’t get that film, I’d say Guardians of the Galaxy is in for a rough ride in the mainstream newspapers and websites. Anyway, the real noise drops on Monday, so this teaser is just that. I hate these teasers for actual trailers, by the way… but it’s so common that there’s no way this practice will go away anytime soon because of all the interest each microsecond of new footage draws to movies that do this. Well, it seems to work, as I know I’ll be back here on Monday with another update on THAT trailer. Oh, and yes, that’s the new poster for the film. Nice, huh?

Orphan Black’s Helena: Love Her Or Hate Her, She’s Bad News In A Bottle (And That’s Good)…

 
I’m of the “love her!” camp, as Helena’s unpredictability, penchant for tightly focused violence when she’s doing her assassin thing and her somewhat weird sense of humor all work perfectly for the character. Of course, Tatiana Maslany’s dead-on performance makes the character work so well, especially when she’s playing in scenes with herself (as Sarah, another of the clones) and you see how spectacular she is as an actress. The interesting thing is although both characters tried to kill each other when they last crossed paths, it seems their reunion last week (creepy as it was) may mean some sort of teaming up against their common enemies. This could be really amazing with a twist, because Helena’s bound to snap at the drop of a hat.

 
Although, personally? I think she’s REALLY just in need of a BIG hug from someone who she sees as her twin of sorts…

IndieGala Friday Special Bundle: 7 Games, 1 Buck, 24 Hours. Math Is Fun, Isn’t It?

friday special bundle 

As with these other 24-hour and then the price goes up sales at IndieGala, after 24 hours… the price goes up! So, get this seven game deal while you can, cheapskates. Granted, you COULD be nicer and pay MORE so more of that more than a dollar goes to charity, but hey – I’ll never tell you how to operate your business so you don’t tell me to mind mine. Anyway, whip out that digital wallet and go shopping. IndieGala’s got a LOAD of stuff to check out on their Gala Store as well. Hmmmm… so much for ONLY spending a dollar, right?

Today’s Humble Daily Bundle Returns Some Modern Classics You May Have Missed

 
Humble Indie Bundle 8 was a great collection of games at a greater price when it was released a long while back and as part of the sites daily sales, it’s back for 24 hours. Grab it, I say, as you get the haunting Dear Esther, plenty of action in Capsized, Awesomenauts, Hotline Miami, and more. I’d also grab it JUST for Tiny and Big In: Grandpa’s Leftovers because it’s hilarious and strange and a funky learning experience in terms of the unique controls and game mechanics. And the music rocks, too!

 
Anyway, you know the deal – buy up at a fair price, your money goes to charity and you get to smile a lot as you play too many games and wonder what the outside world is up to on a really rainy day. You know… TODAY is a really rainy day here. Hmmm…

Wolfenstein ‘House of The Rising Sun’ Launch Trailer: Doing Up NSFW The Right Way

While the first-person shooter variants of Wolfenstein haven’t ever been geared towards kids, it’s been quite clear that Machine Games’ reboot of the series was going for a mature audience right from the moment that first teaser trailer popped up online. I want to play this just because the writing has been pretty adult and amusing in each video I’ve seen and while the game pulls no punches in its dialogue or extreme violence, both work in favor of the material because there’s enough humor here to keep one playing through the blood and bits you’ll see above and in the gloriously gory Stealth vs. Mayhem trailer from a few weeks back I missed. Yeah, it’s clearly not for the squeamish types, but I’d prefer a game that goes this far and makes me want to keep playing than one that’s just mean and stupid just to be so. May 20th on on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC, folks. “Be there, Aloha!”

Godzilla: Now Playing AND Coming (Back) To A Comic Shop Near You!

Godzilla Cataclysm CoverYep, it’s here and as I predicted, some of the older and fogey-er critics are knocking this about a wee bit too much, comparing it to the 1954 US dub with the inserted Raymond Burr scenes. Boo on those party poopers and their constant penchant for only art house films and other stuff that’s “dryly entertaining”, I say. Sometimes you NEED a good monster stomping up the joint, even if this film isn’t a big battle royale extravaganza like Pacific Rim was.

Anyway, the big guy is also making a big comeback to comics thanks to publisher IDW, writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dave Wachter. Godzilla: Cataclysm is headed to retailers this summer (actual date TBA), and while not tied in to the film at all, it’s probably going to be required reading for fans of that big ticked off lizard. I’ll need to dig up some pages from this to peek at soon, as that cover is rather nicely done.

Transistor Launch Trailer: Four More Days Until The Fix Is In…

transistor_postcardAnd here it is (well, almost). Transistor pops up on Steam and PSN May 20th, and Supergiant Games’ new trailer makes it even more intriguing and one of those games that’s a must play. And isn’t that music in the trailer great? Yes, Supergiant is selling the soundtrack as well in their online shop along with some other cool stuff.

I’m quite surprised that they didn’t cast the development net wider so PS3 owners could give this one a buy, as there are currently a lot MORE of them than PS4 owners. Of course, thinking ahead to PC and PS4 means the developer can concentrate on getting games out on platforms where they don’t have to compromise (although I’d bet the game would run fine on a PS3 or Vita if the latter version had scalable type so text could be more easily read). However, Xbox One owners aren’t getting the game (yet) because of some goofy Microsoft policies, but if you have that console in your home just keep your fingers and toes crossed that this can get to you at some point. Minor griping aside, if you CAN play this one, you SHOULD play this one.

Interstellar Trailer: Nolan’s Next Will Be Even More Of A Trip…

interstellar_xlgWhen I first heard that Chris Nolan was making an honest to goodness science fiction picture, I knew it would be packed with a fine cast and at the very least worth a look for its visual effects, I didn’t expect to be as impressed as I was with this first actual trailer. Interstellar poses some interesting questions that look as if they’re going to be answered in a few ways before those credits roll. That, or it’ll be one of those great and very re-watchable “debate” movies as to what it all means.

Interestingly enough, Matthew McConaughey was also in another sci-fi flick that posed some deep questions that got answered, Robert Zemeckis’ Contact, released in 1997 by Warner Bros. to primarily positive reviews. Nolan seems to be looking to go deeper in his film, but we’ll see how it all turns out on November 7, 2014.

Funko’s Hikari Friday Giveaway Continues (This Time, It’s A Double Shot Of Turtles!)

Hikari logoFunko is upping the chances to win one of their Hikari Japanese Vinyl figures this week with TWO Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vinyls up for grabs.

As you probably know (or in case you didn’t), Leonardo was the first figure they gave away two weeks back, so it only makes sense that Raphael and Donatello get gifted at some point, each to ONE lucky random winner. Remember, there will only be 500 of these made and you could win the first off the line for that collection of yours.

Hikari Raphael
Yeah, yeah, there’s one more Turtle to go, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Anyway, to enter, just hit up one of Funko’s facebook page and look for those grimacing Turtles glaring back at you, enter and keep those fingers crossed. A winner could be YOU! Or me, if I luck out. I don’t ask for much these days now, do I? Hmmm.. maybe they should give Michael Bay one of these so he knows what a Ninja Turtle SHOULD look like!

Hikari Donatello