Bwaaaaaaah! Remember when I said Ubisoft’s goofy-looking Rabbids were nothing but trouble? Well, they’re STILL trouble and thanks to McFarlane Toys, you can take that trouble from the hit Nickelodeon TV show (and a bunch of fun games) and bring it home with you. But… should you? You KNOW what happens when Rabbids get loose, right? RIGHT? No? Hmmm… apparently, someone did not get the mem-o, I see. Well, FINE then. Hey, I did warn you, so I’m not responsible for the mayhem that will ensue when you allow yourself to bring Rabbids into your lives.
Below the jump is a short list of rather cool stuff (available this month at your favorite toy retailer) you can spend that hard earned money on so you can fill up your space with too much Bwaaaaaaah:
Yeah, I figured that would work. Actually, I’d bet that watch this under any stressful situation, you’ll just feel less stressed. Maybe. Unless you’re actually sitting in that dentist’s chair, he strolls up as you’re grinning like a loon, is NO fan of old musical numbers and thinks you’re making fun of his profession. You’d better hope that he doesn’t “accidentally” extract the good teeth you have left and leave the bad ones is all I’m saying…
Wait. Horrible Bosses 2? Well, there’s no accounting for taste, I suppose. Now, I didn’t “hate” Horrible Bosses, when I finally caught it on cable but it certainly wasn’t a film I’d thought I’d see a sequel for. The again, it seems that ANY major Hollywood comedy that rakes in some bucks takes the easy money route to Sequeltown, offering bigger paychecks to the returning cast while adding more names into the pot to get those who liked the original to go rushing into theaters for that big weekend or four before slowly to quickly declining returns push the feature down the other road to the inevitable “Own it on Blu-Ray/DVD” commercials that kick off without fail in under six months these days before the film is either bought or not bought on it’s next road to that cable premiere.
I’m not at all interested in Horrible Bosses 2, in case you didn’t guess. Nice try though, Warner Bros. (and that’s all I’ll say about that). Still, I bet there’s a Horrible Bosses 3 next year…
While I’m dealing with some rather dopey computer issues today, here’s one of the best things that happened from last week. As a big fan of Mr. Watterson and his work a d a sort of recent convert to Pastis’ hilarious strip, this is one of those “Can’t believe it happened, but SO glad it did!” events that made me smile a lot. I know people want Bill back in comics on a more regular basis, but I say take this moment and three days worth of strips and savor it. If he wants to do more at some point, it’s ALL up to him. I don’t think Calvin & Hobbes is coming back because he stopped it when he ran out of things to say with those characters and I think anything new would be forced and fan-driven, which always turns out badly in the end for some creators. On the other hand, if wants to do *NEW* material, I’m more than fine with that! Okay, get readin’, people! I need to fix some stuff and figure out what’s mucked up on the site.
Yikes. Depending on your tastes, Norman’s Panama’s 1966 Sex comedy Not With My Wife, You Don’t! is going to be a very funny film or one you can’t stand. That’s because this sort of humor is SO dated that some will consider the film extremely sexist to a fault (it is) while others who can slip into the mood of the era comfortably will find it a rollicking good time with a nice all-star cast, some lovely Technicolor photography and a fun Saul Bass title sequence that’s one of his quirkiest (see below).
Me, I kind of straddled the fence before falling into the latter yard. While it has its moments and yes, some wonderful shots of Air Force jets in action that make it a must see, the film hasn’t aged well at all as it flops and flails about in too many attempts to be a slapstick comedy while tossing around its questionable content with the hope it always lands on its feet…
…Or a good movie or book. Or some bad ones from any of the three choices (plus a few other forms of entertainment). As I’ve gotten older (and fartier, ha ha), I’ve slowly come to the realization that the best way to handle any bumps in the road of this thing called life is to have a hobby or hobbies that can ease the travel (and in some cases, the travel time) down the creepier and less well lit pathways we all drive into. Sometimes, it’s just good to vanish into a bit of harmless fantasy just to ease out of a stressful situation for a few hours and chill for a bit.
Yep, even it a completely off the walls horror flick like this one can get the blues chased down and considerably maimed into submission!
I’ve also found sleeping on some problems doesn’t work as well as it did years back because the whole “waking up to that problem overcooking on the stove” thing is worse when you’re older, wiser and able to do more about stuff than you could when you were younger (and a lot less smart). Interestingly enough, watching a film can actually HELP in some cases when that film happens to show a usable (and hopefully, legal) means to tackling at least part of that thing that’s plaguing you.
In other words, a damn great laugh can really help ease some types of physical or mental pain. I’ve had a few aching body parts soothed temporarily by laughing my ass off or being otherwise distracted by a movie (when it was too hard to concentrate on reading) or game (during times when I could hold a controller while something was hurting up a storm). That said, “Laughter is the best medicine” isn’t a miracle cure at all, folks – just a well-known old adage that’s true because the distraction of a solid belly laugh or giggle-snort gets your brain off the pain and onto the laugh track where it belongs. A good joke can also make for a clear head once you’re upright from that doubling over, I say.
Anyway, pay no mind to the old man – I’m just in a bit of a thoughtful mood lately…
From the moment Dimitri Tiomkin’s bouncy western theme music kicks things off and “The Ballad of The War Wagon” plays out with its bouncier western lyrics (sing along, now!), you just KNOW you’re in for a good time. Directed by Burt Kennedy (Return of the Seven, Support Your Local Sheriff), this 1967 western paired John Wayne and Kirk Douglas as a pair of adversaries who team up to take down the titular gold-loaded, four-wheeled, well-armored horse-drawn vehicle (say that five times fast!) with the help of some friends is light and airy fun for an afternoon that’s worth a watch even if you don’t like westerns at all.
If your eyebrow is arching up a bit, fear not pardner! Just think of this gem as a variation on The Adventures of Robin Hood or a more modern heist flick with some of your favorite stars and that’s all you need to know to know you’ll come away from this one grinning. In fact, this is one of those films that works brilliantly because it’s supposed to be funny while also delivering plenty of action and dramatic moments to please genre fans… Continue reading →
I’ll do a proper RFToW for Who Framed Roger Rabbit? this coming weekend, but here’s a clip to remind me (and you, and you and you and you!) of how the late Bob Hoskins nailed it but good in playing his cheap detective so well against all those ping pong balls on sticks and other stuff on set, probably wondering what the hell he was doing while hoping the animators and tech folks could make the movie work. They did and it’s a classic for the ages.
I’d also recommend Hoskins in Mona Lisa, The Long Good Friday, and Hook for starters. Anyway, I think I’ll have a drink later as a toast to one more great actor lost to time…
Decisions, decisions with this week’s Humble Weekly Sale featuring games picked out be the folks at TSG TV! Do you pay what you want for five classic indie games, jump up to six bucks or more for an additional six games or try your luck and pay ten or more for an even baker’s dozen? Did I mention you also get soundtracks for a bunch of these games too? Even better, if you decide to empty your wallet and go for a $40 or $100 purchase, you get some really sweet swag sent your way.
Oh, I can’t help you here at all, folks… other than to say a percentage of what you pay goes to charity (this time, it’s Direct Relief) and you’ll get some really great games here to dive into.
Like many of you out there, I love Turner Classic Movies quite a lot, although the popular classic movie site isn’t without its issues. I’m still waiting to see more imports (where are Cul De Sac, {The Mad Adventures of} Rabbi Jacob, The Tall Blonde Man With One Black Shoe and other intriguing foreign films that deserve a wider American audience?) and a more stable Underground (I can be the host, as I have a LOAD of ideas to make it better and more accessible to new viewers to the weird and strange!), but overall I’m happy with most of what they do. That said, they’re finally using YouTube a lot more effectively, posting videos for current programming for the day during the week, which goes a long way towards making folks like me see what’s coming on during the day without having to check the cable guide or just turn the channel on when we crawl home and hope we’ll see something we haven’t yet. Yeah, the frequent rebroadcasts need to be worked on a bit, but for now, I have one LESS thing to gripe about…
Bwaaaaaaah! Remember when I said Ubisoft’s goofy-looking Rabbids were nothing but trouble? Well, they’re STILL trouble and thanks to McFarlane Toys, you can take that trouble from the hit Nickelodeon TV show (and a bunch of fun games) and bring it home with you. But… should you? You KNOW what happens when Rabbids get loose, right? RIGHT? No? Hmmm… apparently, someone did not get the mem-o, I see. Well, FINE then. Hey, I did warn you, so I’m not responsible for the mayhem that will ensue when you allow yourself to bring Rabbids into your lives.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 