Far Cry 4 Also Gets The Soundtrack Treatment…

Far Cry 4 OSTCliff Martinez, formerly a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and composer of some fine film scores (“Traffic,” “Drive, ” “Spring Breakers”) is also the main man behind the tunes to Ubisoft’s upcoming FPS, Far Cry 4. Working with Ubisoft Montreal’s Music Designer for the game, Jerome Angelot, Music Supervisor Simon Landry and Audio Director Tony Gronick, Martinez has created an original score meant to flow flawlessly with the game’s action and cinematic sequences. While the game’s soundtrack won’t be getting the big deluxe box treatment Rockstar is giving Grand Theft Auto V, it’s a more than solid enough set of tunes to add to your own music library (especially if you’re a soundtrack collector).

Of his collaboration on the soundtrack with Ubisoft, Martinez says:

“It was an honor to be asked to write the music for the Far Cry 4 game as my first full-length video game soundtrack,” said Cliff Martinez. “It was exciting for me to be asked to take my usual minimalistic cinematic approach to the immersive game world. Any game where you can ride on a rampaging elephant is a project you can’t turn down!”

Well, I’m listening to the music as I type this post and really feel as if I’m in some very dangerous foreign land about to go on some rather wild adventure. Granted, I’m typing this post in a public place, so the worst that can happen is some old guy bumbles by and drops a hot cup of coffee on my shoe. But hey, I’ll settle for that tiny bit of excitement over dodging digital bullets and rampaging elephants any day of the week. Anyway, the Far Cry 4 Original Game Soundtrack digital edition will release worldwide on November 4, the limited 2-CD edition will release on December 2 in North America and on December 9 in Europe, and the limited 3-LP edition will release in January 2015. Far Cry 4 will be available November 18 worldwide for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.

Velvetwire Powerslayer: It’s The Little Things You Don’t Think About That Make The Most Sense…

Powerslayer Charging Animation Until some of us see how much of it we actually use on a daily basis, we’re all energy hogs to some extent. Yep, I’ve bet you’ve bought plenty of devices in the past or plan to that require recharging and you probably don’t even think about how much energy you’re actually consuming and wasting when you’re charging (or overcharging) that new tech toy. Like it or not, all that wasted juice adds up on the cost front not only in your (increasing) electric bills, but in an overall effect on the environment. Yeah, yeah, you normally don’t think about that at all because your new device is SO cool that you can’t wait to show it off until it’s deemed “obsolete by the manufacturer and you rush out to replace it a year or so (or less) later. But the folks at Velvetwire want you to think outside a few boxes and get real about your power consumption and recharging needs… Continue reading

GetGeeked: Matter and Form Brings Affordable 3D Scanning to the Masses…

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With 3D scanning and printing being one of the latest new big tech things anyone who wants to do can do if they’ve the money, time, and patience, it’s still a somewhat expensive hobby to leap into for novices. Poke around online and you’ll see some scanners still run well over a thousand dollars and that’s out of the range of potential casual users or those who just want to experiment with 3D modeling techniques or maybe make a small amount of crafty goods as gifts or whatever using any number of 3D printers or printing services cropping up all over the place. Enter the folks at Matter and Form with a cool and affordable solution that does what the more expensive models do at a faction of the cost.

Matter and Form Educational Video from Mike Erskine-Kellie on Vimeo.

The company had a booth at the getgeeked tech show last week and I accidentally picked up the cute alien figure being scanned (oops) because I saw it and immediately thought up an ad for the company I think they should use with that cute little greenish guy. Of course, I put the figure back onto the turntable (heh, sorry!) and picked up some info about the scanner instead to peruse when I returned home… Continue reading

Guardians of the Galaxy Headed to Home Video in November and December. Talk About a Holiday “Surprise”!

I wish I were more of a betting man, as I predicted well before it was released Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy would be out for the holidays (as in Christmas) and yep, it’s making it out earlier than that as in before Thanksgiving on Digital 3D and HD Digital (November 18) and before Christmas on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand (December 9!). This new normal of movies shooting out on disc and legal download so soon after being released still drives me somewhat batty, as it’s almost not worth going to the movies because I prefer to see films in the comfort of my own home without worrying about nasty theater situations, screaming kids and now, Ebola (heh, I had to get that in because every news channel is screaming mad cow over this latest fear). Yaaaaaaah!

Er, anyway… I finally saw GotG in a pretty decent theater and a few kinks aside, in my opinion it’s one of the better recent Marvel Studios movies. Granted, I prefer the stuffier more noble Star-Lord from his second Marvel Preview appearance (issue 11 with that wonderful Byrne/Austin artwork), but the kids like that newer snarkier model just fine and Chris Pratt did a stellar job as the character. Well, this one goes on the gift to me list at some point. Damn list is getting longer by the second, but I need to stock up on entertainment for the Ebola-free bunker, right?

MEDICOM & Bear Model’s Swamp Thing Sofubi Gets Me Seeing Green All Over…

Swampy SofubiAs big a fan of DC Comics’ Swamp Thing as I am, I tend to only stick to reading the comics and doing the occasional bit of fan art when I have the time to tinker around with assorted art materials. Anyway, news of this limited edition figure popped into my inbox very early this morning (I happened to be up and working on an emergency proofreading job for a friend) and I allllllmost reconsidered making space somewhere for it before I came to my senses and realized that I really have no room for anything this nice and large.

The first over-sized DC Sofubi from MEDICOM and Bear Models stands just over 10 inches tall and weighs a hefty 24 ounces. hey, for tat size, 24 ounces IS hefty! Boxed, it’s a bit taller and a tiny bit heavier, of course 9and if I had one, it would stay in that box, folks!). Anyway, only 300 of these exist, they’re $99.99 ($50 off the retail price!) and they’re only available through GoHastings’ web store, so go grab one if you want a nice looking collectible for your shelf. Or MY shelf if you decide you want to get me something cool that will make me knock a hole in a wall here to store it in…

The Twilight Zone: The 5th Dimension Box Set: Throwback Thursday Gets The Ultimate Gift!

Twilight Zone Box Set 

55 years ago to-day, The Twilight Zone premiered on CBS and while it only ran for five years (1959-1964), it’s still one of the most memorable anthology series to this day. There was a revival in the 80’s that ran from 1985-1989, and while it wasn’t as great as the original series, there were a number of excellent episodes in that reboot that come to mind as worth tracking down. According to USA Today, the fine folks at Image Entertainment have decided to collect every episode from both series along with a wealth of special features and is going to release a very limited edition 41 DVD set called The Twilight Zone: The 5th Dimension on November 11, 2014.

Only 7500 of these must-have sets will be made and while that $349.98 price tag may seem steep to some of you who think anything old and in black and white isn’t worth that kind of money, old fogeys like me who grew up in the Zone are breaking out our knives and are getting ready to fight it out with other fans and collectors just to get our grubby mitts on this collection. I’d imagine the chances of Image shooting one of these over for review are absolute zero, I’d trade one of Alicia’s robot arms (from The Lonely), a bar of gold (from The Rip Van Winkle Caper), a family-sized can of chicken (from Two) or a Kanamit cookbook (from To Serve Man) for one of those babies. Okay, all I REA::Y have is an old tin can here, but I hear it’s quite magical once kicked around a few times…

STM Wants To Keep Your iPhone 6 Non-Bendy – Let Them, I Say…

STM Harbour 

Eh, you’d figure Apple would give a nice sturdy case away for free with that new expensive phone they sell, but we’ve been “trained” to pay out the nose for something protective that SHOULD come in that box. Yeah, yeah, I know people like to have variety in their first or third-party phone protection solutions, and in the words of one Apple-head I know who lemmings up for each new model “They’d probably just give you something cheap you’d want to throw away” (ouch!). But if you have to buy a case for that new every-phone, let me be the first to say STM will never steer you wrong. Their new Harbour case for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has a hardshell frame and soft rubberized lining along with a hinged base that doubles as a handy stand, allowing for easy removal. At a mere $24.99, it’s a must if you like your tech less bendy when it’s not supposed to budge. Yeah, you know what to do, right? I thought so.

Funko Unmasks Batman For The Masses (Well, Provided Those Masses Shop at Target)!

Funko Blue CrownWhat, was there a vinyl shortage or something, Funko? Not only did you reveal Batman’s secret identity to the world, you’re releasing this new Pop! Vinyl collectible exclusively through Target, one of the bigger retailers out there this week. EVIL! I can here that PA system now: “Attention Target shoppers! Get your Exclusive Unmasked Batman Pop! before they sell out!” EEEEEVIL!

Target Exclusive Unmasked Batman Pop 

Of course, me posting this along with that image above means I’m an accomplice to all this, but that’s the “news” business these days, folks. Show those pics – get those clicks!

Got A Camera? Get A Miggo. It’s That Simple.

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Logo_Miggo_circle_white_on_blueBecause I’m not a camera phone person, I sort of feel like a pariah when I see all those hip kids whipping out their phones, tablets and whatever else they have that they’ve overpaid for with a lens attached to it. granted, phone cameras HAVE indeed come a long way from their not so hot beginnings and yes, there are plenty of budding to pro shutterbugs that have taken many a classic shot with one of those things.

Me, I love the feeling of a CAMERA doing its thing in my hands or someone with a much better eye, so it’s great to see a product like Miggo around to make me want to carry my camera out into the wild and strut around proudly. Granted, you don’t have to even try to stand out with a Miggo wrapped around your camera. Just whipping out yours to take a photo is enough to get tongues wagging and maybe a few phone/phab/tab-only photogs glancing greenly in your direction… Continue reading

ALL THAT JAZZ & All That Jazz You Need To See, Thanks To The Criterion Collection!

Bob Fosse’s 1979 semi-autobiographical musical masterpiece finally gets the Criterion treatment and if you’ve not see it yet (or have and it’s been a while), NOW is, as they say… the TIME. This is one of those one of a kind films that while not exactly an autobiography, is about the director’s own struggles, vices and other issues, cutting very close to the truth of his wild life on many levels. Compare this to the formulaic pap most Hollywood biopics have turned into over the decades and it’s no wonder this one makes plenty of lists of people’s favorite films. Of course, it also made me never want to do more than five things at ones, kept me away from drugs and smoking, so it’s also kicking it as a cautionary tale. Yeah, I’ll get to writing up a Random Film of the Week on this one in a bit – I actually want to see this new transfer to check out how good a job was done on it first. To the backlog you go, Gideon!