Random Film of the Week: The Black Hole

Posted on January 14, 2014 by geelw

I saw The Black Hole on the first day it was released and was pretty darn disappointed because I felt Disney blew an opportunity to make a more cerebral sci-fi film along the lines of a Forbidden Planet or a 2001: A Space Odyssey in favor of what was more or less a hobbled remake of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea with dashes of Star Wars, Moby Dick, and a few other bits borrowed from other classic and not so classic books and movies. It’s clearly NOT a “family film” despite the sci-fi/western shoot ’em up moments and two stupid trash can robots with big cartoon eyes that can’t be ignored as to how stupid they look mixed in with the more serious elements.

Thanks to the film not knowing which way to go tonally (and sorry, those robots never mesh with the dark mood and doom-filled dialog), what you have is an often grand looking, intentionally gloom-draped but sloppy sci-fi pastiche that’s too scary for the little kids those dopey robots were made for and too full of decent ideas better executed decades earlier to be a “great” movie. Not counting the awful “science” on display (it gets a pass from me because no one should go to a sci-fi flick expecting actual science!) I’d call it “adequate” at best. That said, there’s a niggling buzz in the back of my head that’s never left even after repeated re-viewings as recent as a few months ago. Then again, I was 17 when I first saw this and thanks to a tired ticket seller and a few early showings had already been exposed to Ridley Scott’s still brilliant ALIEN two years earlier, so my wider-eyed and more innocent eight-year old self was long buried by that point…

Continue reading →

From The Vaults, Slowly They Come (#1 of Who Knows How Many)…

Posted on January 14, 2014 by geelw

Thanks to years of writing for a few places, I have a LOT of press stuff here socked away in a few bins (I tend to keep just about everything I’ve gotten of importance). When I’m not doing my usual headless chicken thing, I keep plotting and planning to post a few galleries of the assorted discs and other material I’ve held on to, but I just haven’t had the time to pore through that mountain of materials. Anyway, thanks to these two press kits popping out of a box while I was digging up some old games someone wants to buy from me, I guess this is now one part of a many-part project I’ve launched. That’s one of the Sly 2: Band of Thieves press kit on the left and Killzone on the right. They’re about the size of a 12″ vinyl LP, by the way. I don’t think I have any more records here or I’d have done a size comparison. Or If I do have any records left around here they’re probably hiding out in a different bin I haven’t cracked open in a few years. Eek.

I’m not sure when another update is coming from the press vaults, as it’s a daunting task to dive in and not get lost going through things for hours and reminiscing. All that does is leave me with stacks of stuff to repack and no place to sleep if I don’t. Of course, a helper monkey who can make lists and take pictures would be a total help, but they don’t exist yet and any robot I want to think of buying can only vacuum my floor or dance (but not both? Come on technology, get with it already!). Ah well… I guess I’ll get this thing taken care of when I can…

Legionwood 2 Volume One Is Getting To The “All Done, Pay Up!” Part (This Is A Good Thing)…

Posted on January 13, 2014 by geelw

To me, five dollars isn’t a lot of money for almost any game I like. However (believe it or else), there are many people slaving away on assorted RPG Maker and other simple to complex to use game creation software titles who charge not a dime for all their hard work.

I’m one of those people who feel those who spend even a few spare hours a week working on games to give away should be compensated with funds over mere thanks and praises (and “Hey, where’s that next game? Hurry up already!” comments), so it’s actually great news to see Dark Gaia Productions (aka D. Robert Grixti) finally charging something for the upcoming Legionwood 2: Rise of the Eternal’s Realm. The first game (Legionwood: Tale of The Two Swords) was lengthy, challenging and very fun in that 16-bit manner. Meaning it was worth about $50 or so if it was to somehow appear in a game box between 1991 and 1995.

If you’re waxing on and off in a nostalgic manner, feel free to try the game out in beta form HERE and follow Dark Gaia Productions by clicking one of those two links in the previous paragraph. That was real simple, right? Mondays aren’t always so under-complicated, right? Good. Then my work here is done. Well, just HERE in this post. I think I have another one to three others left in me tonight… we’ll see.

Random Film of the Week: Sharky’s Machine

Posted on January 13, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I’ll admit it. I saw Sharky’s Machine with a few friends back in 1981 just so we could see a massive train-wreck in action. Of course, we were all surprised that the Burt Reynolds-directed film was not only quite good and well made, but actually a lot darker in tone than expected. There are also plenty of scenery-chewing funny bits in here as well, but none of them come at Burt’s expense and very few come from him (another surprise!).

Those bits of comic relief come primarily from the supporting cast made up of some of those “Where do I know HIM from?” actors (Bernie Casey, Brian Keith, John Fielder and Charles Durning among others) while Burt underplays Sharky as a moody and determined cop out to make the best of his earlier demotion who discovers love, death and dismemberment in a few strange places. Only two of those things actually happen TO him during the film, but I’ll keep you in suspense here (for the most part) just because I want you to check this one out at some point…

Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week: My Life to Live

Posted on January 13, 2014 by geelw

You know all those easily forgettable modern quasi-romantic melodramas that try so hard to pull at the emotions at every turn and only fool the easily manipulated thanks to the usual tired plot points repeated over and over again? Well, Jean-Luc Godard’s 1962 masterpiece Vivre Sa Vie: film en douze tableaux STILL spits all over their graves thanks to the director’s remarkable technique and the simple, powerful performance given by Anna Karina as a young woman trying and failing to achieve anything resembling a happy life.

Presented in twelve scenes, each one chock full of what looks like first take genius, this look at one woman’s life and fate isn’t at all your run of the mill tearjerker at all and in fact may almost seems like a documentary at times. Karina’s naturalistic acting is flawless as she plays a character who uproots her own life in the pursuit of some kind of evolving dream that devolves as the film progresses to its abrupt finale. This is one you’re not going to walk away smiling about, but it sure as heck makes for a greatly depressing conversation piece… Continue reading →

Game of Thrones Season 4 Trailer: Liars And Dragons and Bares, Oh My!

Posted on January 12, 2014 by geelw

As we all know (well, those of us addicted to the HBO series, that is), last season saw the exit of quite a few Stark family members and a few other shocks to the system (unless one had already read the books years earlier and was suitably prepared). Of course, HBO isn’t going to rest until we all have gray hairs and they’re on the floor scattered around the TV room because we’ve gone and yanked them all out because of a few more earth shaking demises and other mind-blowing revelations. In English: Season 4 will kick some ass. April 6, 2014 is just around the corner, you know. Sort of. Well, the way time flies these days, it’s coming up sooner than you think. By the second, yet. Look at that clock go! Wooooo!

Okay, I’m calm now. Or calmer than I was a few seconds ago…

A Modern Stone-Age Remedy…

Posted on January 12, 2014 by geelw

Blehhhh. Woke up to-day with what feels like someone stepping on my throat IN my throat. Slight headache, too… but that’s probably caffeine withdrawal kicking in because it’s what, 12:46pm (what, already?!) and I’m still buried under some blankets. Currently debating whether to roll over and get back to sleep, kick myself out of bed far enough across the room to lift an aspirin out of my bag, pop it and fall backwards hoping I land back in bed or just getting the heck up, splashing some water at the body and getting out for a walk in that howling wind I hear outside. Wait, what? It better NOT be back to being too cold again. (*DingDingDingDingDing!*). Stupid bell. Damn thing always goes off when I think of the right thing to do (*DING!*).

Oh, shut up bell.

Besides, there are dinosaurs out there and hot sticky tar pits and something that looks like a stegosaurus but it’s really a lawn mower that I haven’t fed since it turned up in the yard the other day. So I don’t feel like venturing out and getting stepped on, sucked down or eaten. (*Ding?*)… Okay, Okay, so I had a rather silly Flintstones related dream last night, bell. It was kinda scary and really stupid and I’m not quite awake yet.

(*Ding…DingDINGDingDingDING!!!*) Hmmm… yeah, yeah… easy for YOU to say, you’re just inside my head and man, that ringing? It’s getting annoying! That and yes, I now REALLY want to buy a case of Gold’s Horseradish now because of it (*Ding!*). Ha, ha and ha. Alright, it’s settled, bell. (*Ding!*) Door Number Three it is, bell (*DingDingDing!!*)… but if I trip on a fossil and bust my head open, you better hope I wake up and this is some really dumb dream.

Ugh… back in a bit. I need a vacation… (*DING! DingDingDingDingDing!*). Geez, “what’s with this bell ringing…”

Getting Pissy: It’s The Little Things… Always.

Posted on January 11, 2014 by geelw

So, I had to take a little detour on the way back from an event today, but it was a helpfully educational one. There’s a newly remodeled McDonald’s across the street from the library and while I don’t eat fast food on a regular basis (perhaps three or four times a year and that’s pushing it), I don’t mind a cup of inexpensive coffee for a buck if I happen to require one and don’t want to deal with the scent of Starbucks all over my clothes and body. Seriously, spend twenty minutes sitting in one and you’ll smell like Juan Valdez’ serape and saddle after a hard day in the fields gathering beans. Anyway, I had to use the bathroom there really quickly and fortunately, the redone McD’s restrooms have been redone to a more modern style. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell corporate that ONE stall and One urinal (and one sink) in the otherwise spacious men’s room means you’ll still have a restroom that at most only two can use at a time. Three if someone actually decides to wash their hands before eating.

Which is kind of very stupid, considering the place seats a heck of a lot MORE than that… Continue reading →

Men Aren’t Useless #103: Behold, The BRIEFCASE ARCADE!

Posted on January 11, 2014 by geelw

Hey, last week I heard some loud ladies on the street say that “Men are useless!” and while I do indeed agree we are on some fronts, sometimes we knock it out of the park big time. Er, at least as far as making cool as hell stuff goes. Well, cool stuff that doesn’t involve actual explosives, booze or some sort of automatic magazine pin-up dispenser as an all-in-one solution to multiple non-problems.

I don’t even know who Travis Reynolds is, but he’s my *new* best friend because he has created the (ta-dah!) Briefcase Arcade or Businesscade or Briefcade. Some call it the “Arcase”, but that sounds kinda lame (to me at least). Oh, it’s not built completely from scratch, mind you – that would be TOO genius and make him automatic King of the Known Universe… Continue reading →

Alien Isolation “Transmission” and “Origins”: Puzzle Pieces Falling Where They Need To…

Posted on January 10, 2014 by geelw

Hmmmm… As predicted, with The Creative Assembly on the case this time out, Sega’s upcoming Alien Isolation is looking pretty impressive in this introductory teaser and developer diary. Hopefully, the story will work as intended, as I can see some folks not being all aboard the playing as Ellen Ripley’s daughter thing. Me, I’m a wait and see guy myself because I trust The CA to do their best and they’ve always done just that when they make their games. I do like that it’s turning out to be NOT a stupid shoot everything that moves experience and seems to be focusing on story and characters first and foremost.

The only major sticking point to some will be the lack of a Wii U version as the gameplay seems perfect for that GamePad, but such is life in this generation of consoles I suppose. Someone HAS to get a suitable Alien game out on that system one of these days, I say. I’m not sure who, but it would be nice to see one at some point…