Strider NYCC Trailer: Hiryu Go Again!

Posted on October 8, 2013 by geelw

Capcom and developer Double Helix are counting on a combination of classic old school hard gameplay and a fan base who actually remembers the arcade classic or other versions of Strider to make this reboot a big hit and I think they’re on the right track. So far, the combination of lush 2D and 3D visuals, familiar gameplay with some nice twists and what I’m hearing is a high level of challenge should propel this to some decent scores and sales on anything it’s released on. Sadly, there’s no Wii U version (yet), but hopefully this error will be rectified sooner than later. Those Wii U owners tend to get mighty cranky when they feel they’re being screwed over, that’s for sure…

Gallery: Hello Kitty Kruisers (Wii U)

Posted on October 8, 2013 by geelw

I’ve found that one of the big secrets to enjoying life is smiling more and anything Sanrio is usually quite good for getting a grin going, no matter what your mood is. Austin-based Scarab Entertainment knows this, so they’re cooking up a fun family friendly kart racer for the Wii U and mobile devices (with other platforms TBA) called Hello Kitty Kruisers, set for a Q4 2013 release from publisher Bergsala Lightweight.

Granted, I’m betting the bulk of you fist-pumping, caffeine swigging uber-core gamers are probably cringing from all the bright colors searing your eyeballs and rainbow juice splashing onto your keyboards scaring that mouse you were clicking under your seat. But, hey… I say everyone needs a too cute for words game in their libraries just to break up the monotony of grays, browns, greens and whatever color big explosions are.

Besides, EVERYONE loves Hello Kitty – they just don’t all admit it in public. For those of you immune to the charms of Miss Five Apples Tall (weight, three apples!), you’d better put on those sunglasses now if you dislike bright colors in super shiny HD, folks – things are about to get Kitty up in here:

Screens above, press release below the jump.

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Carrie “Get In Your Closet” Clip: Oh, We’ve ALL Been There Before, Right?

Posted on October 7, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, so… who HASN’T had to “go to the closet” at some point in their lives? Poor Carrie above only has those telekinetic powers and a nutso mommy to worry about. I know us folks in the real world need to toss ourselves in and shut the door for a while when we pull off those major boners and need a time out while the walls fall in. Say, did you know a nice clean closet with a few blankets tossed on the floor and lots of long coats and shirts and such makes a PERFECT nap spot? Bill collectors, pissed off parents and anyone else can look up and down and all around for you but that’s THE last place they’ll ever, ever look. Of course, if you have a pet at home, you’re screwed plus tax, as those cute little bums will always sniff you out. Hell, you could have the most stoned out, never ever fetched a darn thing in its life lazy ass Scooby-Don’t as a pet and as soon as you get into that closet, he’s nosing open the door to lay on top of those blankets you’re under. Bad dog! BAD!

Um, oh yeah… Carrie is in theaters October 18. I can’t see it because I have no movie theater near me now. Maybe I’ll go take a nap in the closet instead…

Oops. I Forgot Some Adventure Time 3DS Screens Last Month…

Posted on October 7, 2013 by geelw

OK, this is a sort of filler post, but I did forget to add these to that Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! screenshots for the Nintendo 3DS in that preview I wrote up not too long ago. I’m still flipping a coin about whether to buy a new 2DS or a bigger and more expensive 3DS XL to play this on.

On one hand, cheap is always good and that 2DS and its kid-friendly design (it’s targeted to 5 and 6 year olds!) will make me the envy of the playground parent set (er, not that I hang out at playgrounds or with parents, mind you). On the other hand, that more expensive XL is MUCH better for my eyesight thanks to the nice and big screen. Decisions, decisions… well, it’s not exactly earth-shaking in importance at all, so worry not your pretty little heads about me this time. I think I’ll work it out just fine…

Shout Factory’s The Vincent Price Collection: Timely, Indeed (Warts and All)…

Posted on October 7, 2013 by geelw

Someone hipped me to this upcoming Shout Factory box set of six classic horror flicks featuring the late, great Vincent Price (who’s also Star of the Month on TCM all October) and I had to give it a thumb and a three-quarters up just for that lovely cover art alone. Oh, alright, the six sick flicks here are all top picks (and on Blu-Ray for the first time, I believe). But I’d still have to gripe out a grape sized whine about the total lack of love for Doctor Phibes Rises Again, which SHOULD have been grafted into this sextet just because it’s the darn sequel to The Abominable Doctor Phibes and yes, I’m STILL waiting my ass off for Tim Burton to announce he’s remaking both Phibes philms at the same time like Peter Jackson did with his epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Granted, Phibes’ offbeat mix of camp and 70’s era gore “lite” isn’t anywhere on the same level as Tolkein’s works, folks. But hey, I grew up glued to the tube with many of Price’s films and those two hold a very special place in my still beating heart. Hey, it’s not as if I’m asking for Scream and Scream Again, right? RIGHT? If you ever see that one, you’ll understand, kids…

Anyway, if you’re too lazy to click links, that collection costs $55, features tons of special features and the six films are as follows:

THE PIT & THE PENDULUM

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH

THE HAUNTED PALACE

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES

WITCHFINDER GENERAL (aka THE CONQUEROR WORM)

Who needs to go out on Halloween and get a tummy ache from some lousy cheap candy bought at the dollar store? Get this Blu-Ray set, pop up that dried out corn display you’ve had on the table for years and sprinkle some chili powder on it, slap a few razor blades into a pomegranate (apples are SO last century!) pull up a chair and veg out! Friends optional, but go “borrow” some (have some rope and gags handy) so you can show them a good time before you kick them out in a more bewildered but appreciative state (like Maine or maybe California, ha ha)…

Stuff You Can’t Unsee: So Much For Good Star Wars Memories…

Posted on October 7, 2013 by geelw

Eep, Opp, Ork, Ugh. To quote a certain dark Jedi, NOOOOOOOOOO!

OK, I automatically shut down the thought of even looking at any images or reading up on a lot of info when George Lucas sold off Star Wars to Disney, but this picture popped up in an email I got the other day and it made me laugh and cringe simultaneously because a few years back it would have been someone really good with Photoshop who cooked this up and not the reality it’s turned out to be…

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106 Newly Found Doctor Who Episodes Prove Time Travel Exists. Sort Of.

Posted on October 7, 2013 by geelw

“Are we going to Addis Ababa, Mr. Luthor?”

OK, this is weird, folks. Hmmm. Remember that classic Doctor Who episode where they bury a box of mysterious and seemingly random stuff in the desert in Africa in the distant past and the Doc says (with a grin, of course) “Now, this will be REALLY important one day in the future!”?

Anyone? No?

Well, that’s probably because that episode is most likely in this set of 106 formerly “lost” Who shows found by fans in Ethiopia recently. Longtime fans know a good chunk of the 1960’s shows were ~~erased or taped over~~ “lost” by the BBC, but according to The Daily Mirror website, 106 shows from between 1964 to 1969 ended up being sold to the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency. Why? Ask the Doctor, I say. I’ll bet he knows. Anyway, I’m gathering BBC will no doubt be getting these cleaned up and re-aired (and sold on DVD) sooner than later, as the historical value on these is probably going to be ratings platinum for the network. I’m hoping they run them here in the US at the same time on BBC America, as it’ll be annoying hearing spoilers and such spill out from over the pond from overly giddy fans there.

Edit: Aha. the Beeb will be airing these shows starting this week. Yay and boo, as we BBC America viewers haven’t a clue as to when we’ll be seeing them. Still, I’m a happy and patient camper, so I’ll wait until these eventually make the trip over and stay away from forums discussing the new old shows.

“I wonder what they’re wearing in Addis Ababa?”

Looks like a burnous, Miss Tesmacher. Looks like a burnous.

(Hmmm, someone better tell Miss Tesmacher and Otis that not only are we NOT going to Addis Ababa, they’re completely in the wrong post…)

I, Frankenstein Trailer: Me, Annoyed To No End, Actually…

Posted on October 7, 2013 by geelw

I was going to to this whole post in a sort of Solomon Grundy/Chief Wild Eagle “voice”, but that would be SO incredibly non PC that I’d have comic fans AND native American protesters lined up outside the home office. Hey, MORE traffic is good for my site, folks… but not traffic that wants to run you over for real, (ha, ha, ouch!)… ANYWAY, yuk. I do not like this upcoming “horror”/action flick one bit because it reminds me on those increasingly harder to sit through Underworld movies and other so-called horror/action blockbusters that cater to the forgiving crowd that only knows traditional monsters from more modern film efforts. Granted, I could be wrong and this one could be a big surprise. But on the other hand and foot, all those CGI monsters, fiery spiral explosions and fast cuts don’t promise much other than a film that will make your brain feel as if it’s been forcefully removed from your head by a cockeyed hunchback and placed into the body of a person who just forgot what he or she spent that ticket money on an hour and a half ago.

Oh, great… now I have Underworld fans on my ass now. But that’s OK. I’ll fight them in the pouring rain (by not showing up and sending the pack of rabid raccoons and Go Go Gophers I keep in the spare room here), which will wash their goth mascara into their eyes and make the street slippery so they’ll fall on their asses in those cheap shoes they bought from Hot Topic with the no good for rain soles. Yeah, I’m a bad man… but you asked for it.

Thor: The Dark World Clip: Loki Pulls Joker Mode Off Fairly Well…

Posted on October 6, 2013 by geelw

Alright, for some reason I got a Dark Knight vibe from this clip, but that doesn’t mean this Thor sequel will rise to those heights at all. Granted, I’m also not too thrilled that all we seem to be getting out of Hollywood are more sequels, comic book movies, the same romantic comedies and dramas with different casts and overblown “based on/inspired by a true story” films that in most cases pale in comparison to classics and some foreign films. On one hand, I can just say “oh well, that’s showbiz!” as I stay home and wait for the home video and/or cable TV premiere dates to roll in (which are all sooner than later these days). On the other hand, given that people aren’t going to the movies as much in some spots, Hollywood seems to feel that the best way to get people lining up is to overheat that Xerox machine. Oh well, we almost all love beautiful-looking things (or so the suits who run things hope)…

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Trailer: Like It or Else, Life Goes On In the Clancyverse…

Posted on October 4, 2013 by geelw

Quite a number of years ago I was leaving a press event at a hotel here in NYC and on the elevator ride down there was a guy in the back of the car who looked like an older Patton Oswalt. That got me grinning and thinking comical thoughts to myself until the elevator stopped a few floors down, a man gets on and says a cheery “Hello Mr. Clancy!” before proceeding to discuss one of his books that had recently been turned into a film. Of course, I turned a few shades of red when I realized it was THAT Tom Clancy and fortunately I didn’t embarrass myself any further. Anyway, some people think Paramount Pictures is running this new Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit trailer in bad taste since Tom Clancy died earlier this week, but I’d have to say it’s business as usual on the entertainment scene front. Of course, if this was rolled out early as a result of Mr. Clancy’s sudden death in order to generate interest in the upcoming film… yeah, then it’s quite despicable from a few viewpoints.