(Thanks, Audiovisualchannel!)
Okay, okay… I’ve been too busy this week, but I needed to go see all those toys and games this week because that’s part of my Cure for Everything (TM) treatment when I start to feel aged and creaky. Hey, better fun stuff than draining the blood of “wer-gins” any day of the week, right? RIGHT? Anyway, enjoy the movie, people. I’m going to go have a small dinner and pass out for a spell after that…
I didn’t think I’d be interested in this one at all, but this trailer got me turned around and a bit more hopeful that this actually works. The cast is out there and full of interesting choices, there’s a lot of humor and despite the Marvel logo and immediate knee jerk response that this is yet another super hero flick, there are nice signs that this one may be more than it seems. Of course, you don’t get what you expect with a James Gunn film, so it’s also great that this trailer really doesn’t do anything in giving away any major plot points (which should make this a nice surprise to see in a theater). Fan reaction seems quite positive overall, but as usual the trolls are out holding up under bridges and waiting for the saps that always get caught up in their toll traps. I pay them no heed and no fee, folks. I just roll over their flat heads with the heavy cart, hobnailed wheels and all…
Ha. On the way back from Toy Fair, I spied not one, but TWO different UPS trucks a few blocks from my place. That means ONE of them has my copy of Earth Defense Force 2025, but neither truck will arrive here for about an hour (booo!), meaning I’ll be sitting here waiting to pounce on the driver as soon as he rings the doorbell downstairs. I think I SHOULD just go down and wait for him, but that’s bad to do because it looks as if I’m stalking him or am some sort of addict lurking around waiting for the man (cue The Velvet Underground in the background). And if that game isn’t in today’s delivery? Well, I guess I’ll live… but the rest of that ice cream in the freezer is going to have a pretty bad evening… (Dun-Dun-DUNNNNN!)
Back in a bit…
Wow. Just as I was typing that “Back in a bit”, the doorbell DID ring and yes indeed, I got my bugs in a box! Okay, so much for productivity tonight, but I am going to set an alarm to let me know when I need to stop playing and get some sleep. I do have a few meetings tomorrow that I can’t be late for and nope, they won’t believe me when I say I was killing giant bugs all night!
Hey, that’s news to me and as I still play DS games (more often than 3DS games, to tell you the truth), I’m intertested in giving this one a go at some point. It’s odd that this is shipping out now, as the Vita and 3DS versions came out late last year. On the other hand, I’m sure that the DS version was a bit low on the totem pole as far as getting done thanks to there not being a huge demand for games for that handheld these days.
Now, does a late launch mean lesser quality? Well, I guess I’ll discover that news soon enough, right? Okay, back to prowling the floor at Toy Fair. I’m overwhelmed with all this cool stuff everywhere I look. Gyah! That and I have a package or three coming today with some games in it and I’m actually dying to get out of here and go play some stuff. We’ll have to see about getting a helper monkey for these press events, so don’t be surprised if I start walking around with an accordion and a tin cup in my bag.
And in the East? Silence. North (Look up!) and South (and down!)? Yup? Tumbleweeds and a chilly wind because you looked down first, then up (Oops. Pay attention next time!). Anyway, as noted previously, I took today off to do some personal stuff, so there’s nothing thrilling to report because I was not near much tech/game/movie/toy stuff online to keep me otherwise occupied. I’m back now, but won’t fire up the brain box now because I need to be fresh and toasty for the return to Toy Fair and it’s happy madness on Tuesday. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to curl up with a bad movie and pass out in front of the TV. Back tomorrow with actual interesting words…
The clock is ticking away as Season 4 is headed to HBO and fans prepare their brains and bodies for what’s coming. I can’t keep more than one eye open at the moment thanks to my long day, so I’ll just let out a squeaky “Yaaay!” from the back of the room and fall over in a heap to sleep. Good night, people. I’ll be back and in better shape tomorrow… I think. Zzzzzz.
Ay carumba! Me bones are weary bones, arrrr! Or something like that. “My neck, My back, My ass.”* Wow, I’m pooped after waking up too early (5am) and getting to Toy Fair too early, but at least they had coffee and some stuff to snack on. Anyway, updates will be slower than usual for a few days. I’m taking Monday off to do take care of some personal stuff and then it’s back to Toy Fair Tuesday and Wednesday. Now, if you’ll excuse me… I’m going to keel over and sleep for a virtual week… Zzzzz.
*(yeah, that line’s stolen/paraphrased from Matt Groening’s awesome Life in Hell collection)
We interrupt me about to keel over at Toy Fair from exhaustion for a special message: IndieGala has gone rogue, REPEAT: IndieGala has gone ROGUE! Actually, they’re conducting a little experiment in the form of a stress test that’s a bundle sale on seven games, six from Sigma Team and one from Ice Pick Lodge:
Yes, it’s a pay what you want deal, but the recommended amount is a measly six bucks (ten times less that what this bundle is work if it were purchased separately. Sigma Team’s simple, bloody shooters are fun run & gun Action/RPG-like hybrids that allow for what looks like hundreds of enemies on screen (of the space bug and undead varieties) and Ice Pick Lodge’s Pathologic is a bizarre adventure/RPG with three playable characters, a very unusual plot and some pretty creative character designs. Not a bad deal, the money goes to charity and you get o feel good about yourself after you spend that money. OK, back to my crazy day… I’m wiped out!
While I’m a huge fan of the classics, I don’t like most modern Hollywood musicals or biopics because they try to hard to be entertaining and just feel as if they’re baked from the same stale mold. I can’t put my finger on anything other than a certain soullessness thanks to a few factors seen as “necessary” to whatever formula makes a “hit” these days.
Anyway, moving on. Despite some fine acting and singing, primo Oscar bait like Dreamworks’ big 9and massively hyped) 2006 film Dreamgirls didn’t do a thing for me either. Still, I’ve watched it in its entirety twice and one part at least two dozen or so times because it made me fall off the couch laughing the first time and stuck with me to the point that whenever the film pops up on cable, I will turn to it just for that single scene.
If you know what I’m talking about, then good for you and you’re chuckling already. If you don’t, well here you go. Mister Jimmy Early… do your stuff! Um… you may want to have a seat there, kiddo. Oh, and don’t drink anything while watching this clip if you’ve yet to see the movie (spoiler alert? I guess so):
I had to leave the room for a few minutes, as if I have to see this clip again, I might pop something inside. Heh. Gets me every time. As for the rest of the film? Meh. I have my Motown and Stax memories and the actual music from that era to keep my ears, brain and (if I feel like shaking a tail feather) hips occupied. So I don’t need any expensive (but nice looking and well intentioned) films that want me to “feel” something for the people in it when all I care about are the old tunes and memories those classic songs bring forth. That said, Eddie Murphy kills it dead here. “Jimmy got soul” indeed. Heee.
I haven’t even played Coilworks’ incredible looking Cloudbuilt yet, but between that very descriptive game trailer above and the lovely screens below, I’m getting a serious Gunvalkyrie meets Mirror’s Edge meets Mega Man vibe – and that’s a damn good thing.
Man, I wish this game was on consoles on a disc so MORE people could play it. The sense of speed and what looks like solid controls only add to the fun, and given the levels seem to be open to each player’s skills, I’m expecting this to be one of those games that’s not played and put away (or deleted) any time soon (unless you’re a total loser who despises a decent challenge). Now I just need to find time to actually play that demo I’m being teased with, as Toy Fair is going to take up a huge chunk of my time for the next four days and afterward as I write up a few articles. Eh, it’ll all work out soon enough. It always does. Back in a bit.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 