VGA 101: Running the Gauntlet to Get Gauntlet IV Running…

Posted on February 4, 2014 by geelw

Sometimes, the simplest things can take way too long but the payoff is well worth it. I was recently in the mood to dig up a classic and had Gauntlet on the brain. Not just ANY Gauntlet, mind you, but Gauntlet IV on the Sega Genesis. That version of the game is not only four players, but has a few game modes not in the original arcade hit including a story-based RPG mode with a bunch of element themed levels and an ending that’s a total corker. Imagine my surprise when I went to my bookshelf full of Genesis and Mega Drive games and… there was no copy of Gauntlet to be found.

Eeek. Just when my eyebrow was shooting up over my forehead, I recalled that I’d traded my cardboard box version of the game for a second manual-less copy of Shadowrun (which I still need a manual for) and something else I needed a cart of that I had a box and manual for. Oops. So, I now needed a replacement and thanks to a bit of quick hunting around, I found a plastic-boxed version in really nice shape for $16 shipped. NOW, I could get playing…

Or not, as I soon found out… Continue reading →

What’s In the Box? I’m Just Saiyan You’ll Not Need To Guess…

Posted on February 4, 2014 by geelw

Mystery sol-ved! Namco Bandai very kindly sent me a copy of Dragonball Z: Battle of Z to review, so that’s going to get done soon. It’s funny that this shows up because I still feel like punching a hole in a wall over those idiots who installed that crappier shower head earlier and left me with a wobbly pipe, so this is a little stress relief for me. Okay, off to see how this one plays. It was pretty fun to see in action last year at that press preview I went to. I’m not sure where to put that rather large Super Saiyan figure, as all my available space is stocked up with games, but I’ll figure something out soon enough…

Okay, back in a bit (again) – I’ve also been going through some bins of doom and then some here and dug up some interesting stuff I need to scan and maybe sock away on a hard drive for later use. It’s not spring yet, but I’m slowly cleaning. I must be feeling masochistic today or something. Eh, it’s a living…

If I Had A Hammer…

Posted on February 4, 2014 by geelw

I’d probably use it on the heads of a few people today and not feel bad about it. I’d forgotten that today was the day we were supposed to have the kitchen and bathroom fixtures inspected and possibly replaced, but it’s a good thing I was awake and poking around in the kitchen when the inspectors popped up around 9am. Had I been up and well caffeinated earlier, I’d have been out at the post office picking up a box that probably has a game or book in it I need to review.

Anyway, the guys show up and say they’ll be about ten minutes, one gives the kitchen a quick once over as I’m signing a sheet of paper that the other guy is holding that says the place a was inspected before he asks how to spell my last name as he types it out in a tablet. Next up, they both hit the bathroom and as I’m in my room doing a bit of early spring cleaning, I suddenly hear something bang-bang-banging from the bathroom followed by the sound of stuff falling behind the wall. Yikes… Continue reading →

“V” For Vitros: Dark Horse’s Pariah Almost Had Me Fooled…

Posted on February 3, 2014 by geelw

For a hot second there I thought that cover was telling me that there was a new comic coming from Dark Horse based on the “V” television series from the 1980’s and the later reboot. Nope, it’s the first issue of Pariah that cover represents, a sci-fi themed comic mini-series by Aron Warner, Philip Gelatt, Brett Weldele set for a February 26, 2014 release. “If you’re now all “Ooh, what’s it about?”, I’ll refer you to the press release which says as follows:

Trapped in space, the genetically engineered geniuses known as “vitros” must band together and create a plan to get back to Earth before their failing satellite turns into a deathtrap!

The cover’s above and with six pages from the issue below the jump. Oh, that final image is the cover to the second issue. Not sure why it’s there other than Valentine’s Day is coming up too quickly, but hey – free is free, so enjoy the read. Continue reading →

Okay, I Need The Last Match On Blu-Ray/DVD. You Need It Too.

Posted on February 3, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, bigdumbgoon!)

Thanks to the one two punch of The League of Dead Films‘ Professor Mortis (or maestro of daily ceremonies T.A. Gerolami) and a hilarious review over at Good Efficient Butchery, I now have a new “must-have” crap movie to track down. Hey, Martin Balsam and Ernest Borgnine are in it so how bad could it be, right? Those clips from The Last Match made my eyes check with my brain to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating and nope, I wasn’t). Granted, this won’t replace an ACTUAL good football movie, but I know what I’d be watching instead of the Super Bowl next year, that’s for sure…

I’ll admit now that it’s a sad passion of mine, these junky, badly made Grade-Z action flicks. But hell – they’re only a tiny part of what I watch, they keep me off the streets and they’re perfectly legal to own (well, provided they’re not bootlegged), so leave me alone or else I’ll bite ya. Besides, overdosing every so often on really bad films isn’t a harmful thing at all… unless you decide to use them as templates for a career (which would NOT be a very good thing). Anyway, the chances of this klunker getting a Criterion release are ZERO, but I bet the fine folks Shout! Factory just might be able to negotiate something and get this on a disc at some point. I’m not into online petitions, but I’ll sign one if someone goes to the trouble of whipping it up to get interest in this stinker.

Bottomless Bucket List #1: Ennio Morricone US Tour 2014

Posted on February 3, 2014 by geelw

When I was much younger, I really didn’t appreciate Ennio Morricone’s work until I started listening to movies as background noise while doing homework. Sure there were the famous spaghetti western themes that were favorite from the first time the were heard, but I didn’t bother putting a name to those tunes and others until I started collecting soundtracks back when I was around 14 or 15. As I broadened my cinematic horizons, I started to see Morricone’s name pop up even more frequently than some of my more favorite composers and when I dug up more information on the man’s output, I was floored at just how many film and TV soundtracks the man wrote, composed and conducted (it’s currently over 500 since 1959)… Continue reading →

Snow Daze Like Mondays… And Wednesdays… And Saturdays…

Status

Hey, so it’s SNOWING again. There’s about four inches or so of PERFECT snowball grade mix on the ground (although it looks like more if you look at the lovely coating on the trees and normally grassy areas here) and it looks as if we'[ll get an inch or so more before is stops (the weather report says around 4PM). All that and we’re expecting to get hit twice more this week (Wednesday and Saturday say the weather genie), so I’m gathering I’ll be updating a bit less than normal. Daily posts will be incoming, but if for some reason I’m stuck indoors with my slow home connection, you’ll probably see one to three posts (if that) instead of the bunch more I’d rather run. Damn groundhogs and their shadow-seeing ways (not really, as that hoax makes less sense by the year). Anyway, enough with the weather reportage – I have more important stuff to do…

Random Film of the Week(end): Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead

Posted on February 2, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, THINKFilmNY!)
The late, great director Sidney Lumet’s final motion picture, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead is a brilliantly made film that hits harder today thanks to the death (allegedly by heroin overdose) of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. While the film got a somewhat limited theatrical release in North America and was completely ignored at the Academy Awards, it’s a mesmerizing, must-see crime drama that shouldn’t be missed. Its non-linear structure and use of flashback scenes presented from different characters’ perspectives adds a layer of tension to an already compelling story and every single actor here more than earns their keep, perfectly playing their roles.

If you’ve never seen this before, I’ll not reveal very much of the story, as the film rolls it out for you from a few angles and watching these characters roll fate’s dice and lose to varying degrees makes the movie. Hoffman and Ethan Hawke play brothers desperate for money for assorted reasons. An armed theft planned by one brother goes wrong in the worst possible manner and the consequences spiral out of the control of just about everyone affected by it. Just when you think things are bad enough, they manage to get worse and those awful ripples reach pretty far before heading back to their source…

Continue reading →

RoboCop Update: “Crime” Doesn’t Pay, But A Good Reboot Will…

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

Under two weeks to go before the RoboCop reboot rolls into theaters and I think it’ll hold its own against the original at least as far as the story goes. Granted, I don’t think that the film is even trying to copy anything directly from the original, so some die-hards will slam it for that. I’ll take it in as a new start and see what happens, as I usually do with these remakes/reboots. Of course, if the film falls into the “too much CG, pointless plot” trap other franchise friendly films frequently fall into, then I break out the knives (which I bought for a dollar, by the way. Seriously, the dollar store nearby sells kitchen knives starting at a dollar) and start chopping away.

Random Film of the Weekend: Under Fire

Posted on February 1, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, robatsea2009!)

If it were released today, Roger Spottiswoode’s excellent drama Under Fire would probably carry an unfortunate “inspired by a true story” label it really didn’t require. While the film is a fine work on its own right, it’s at least partly inspired by the 1979 killing of ABC News journalist Bill Stewart and his translator by Nicaraguan National Guard forces, a tragic event that was shot on the sly by his cameraman from a nearby van and televised worldwide.

In the film, this moment comes fairly late in its running time, is staged differently and happens to one of the three American reporters we get to see go through hell as they try to survive the upsurge in violence that sweeps the country and eventually targets them…

Continue reading →