It’s A Dog’s Life: All Bark and No Bite (With Wheels, Yet!)…

Posted on January 20, 2014 by geelw

So, I’m walking home last week from the library and about a block from my place, I hear what sounds like a small commotion and a bark followed by the sound of a supermarket shopping cart rolling towards where I’m about to stroll. I stop and take a step back figuring it’s one of the delivery guys from the nearby grocery store running into some dog trouble and the last thing yours truly needs to do is get plowed over by some guy with a big metal cart who may or may not be outrunning a pissed-off pooch.

As I stood there out of harm’s way (I hoped), the rolling cart sound gets closer and closer until it slows down and I see the cart slowly come into view from my right… with a pit bull sitting in it looking as if it’s smiling. What. The. What? As my brain is filing this bizarre scene under “Now I’ve Seen It All”, the cart comes to a stop about a foot from the big green relay mailbox on the corner. I look at the dog, who looks at me, then behind it. From my right I hear “Come on man, one more, one more!” as two young guys step into view.

Yeah, it was time to get nosy… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): Death By Invitation

Posted on January 19, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, Vinegar Syndrome Films!)

I’ve sat through no fewer than four films featuring witches and demons as a central theme over the past week and not all of them were good times, no siree, ma’am. Granted, 1971’s slow-moving sort of creepy Death By Invitation isn’t the best of the bunch and for modern horror fans with short attention spans or those looking for non-stop scares and CG blood gushing everywhere (blech!) this one may be Death By A Thousand Cuts.

That said, while it’s going to be more bore than gore to the younger ADD set, those who like slow-burning slightly cryptic fires should check this one out if only for Shelby Leverington, the sassy young thing playing the lead. Director David Friedman drags out this revenge tale that may only interest those who appreciate thinking a bit as they watch a film that pretty much sets up its entire plot during the opening moments and slowly gets to the point as it crawls along to the finish line…

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Random Film of the Week(end): It Should Happen To You!

Posted on January 19, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, KaninFamily!)

The lovely Judy Holliday soars as a sort of ditzy but shrewd former girdle model who ends up becoming an instant celebrity thanks to a few simple billboards with her name on them George Cukor’s 1954 gem that shows off some fantastic looks at the New York City of the era. This film is also famous for being the movie debut of Jack Lemmon and here, he’s perfectly cast as Pete Sheppard, a documentary maker who shoots Holliday’s Gladys Glover in Central Park and of course, falls in love with her after some amusing assorted ups and down.

There are plenty of laughs in this classic to spare, many at Gladys’ expense as her sudden celebrity goes other head and she thinks her new found fame means all that attention is positive. While some elements are dated, the film does a very good job at foreshadowing today’s fame-crazy celebrities who do a heck of a lot more than simply toss their names up on a billboard to get attention…

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Deception IV: Blood Ties Teaser: Tricks, Treats and Traps Make A Comeback!

Posted on January 19, 2014 by geelw

About fifteen years ago, Tecmo’s Deception became a cult classic on the original PlayStation and eventually spawned three sort of sequels (two on the PlayStation and one on the PlayStation 2). Eight years after the last game, Tecmo Koei is bringing the action/strategy (and formerly RPG at least for the first game) series back with Deception IV: Blood Ties, headed for the Vita and PS3 on March 25 (March 28 in Europe). This new game adds more playable characters and thematically, seems to go back to the first game’s more demonic themes. Granted, while the developers allow you to have fun creating and using traps to kill of a wide range of poor saps, there’s a very good bet that the series tradition of making you feel lousy for dispatching some of the people trying to hunt you down. On the other hand, the focus shift from somewhat timid and reluctant leads forced to do bad things seems to have changed to the “Bad Girls Go To Hell” version of Deception, so we’ll see how players take this shift. If anything, the grim humor the game is also know for will be intact (some of the kills here are pretty darn silly). We’ll see where this goes, but color me intrigued…

VOD Review: Hide and Seek

Posted on January 19, 2014 by geelw

Jung Huh’s excellent, unsettling thriller Hide and Seek (available now on VOD) is a solid and very well made first film that offers up some surprising twists and turns that sweep the film into a few genres during its tidy 107 minute running time. At first, it seems as if it’s just one more Asian horror flick with an urban legend come to life, an opening murder that seems to go unresolved and some strange hallucinatory moments that will give easily frightened viewers a nice case of the chills. But as the film progresses, things take a turn into the unexpected action thriller genre that may disappoint those looking for another Ring or Grudge-like clone. On the other hand, Huh’s assured direction keeps you on the edge of your seat as the film whips your expectations about on its wild ride to the finish…

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Random Film of the Week(end): North By Northwest

Posted on January 18, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, moviegoof!)

One of my favorite “perfect” films, North by Northwest is one of those films that stands the test of time thanks to everyone involved being at the top of their game and throwing themselves fully into their work. Everything clicks from the moment Bernard Herrmann’s famous score kicks off into that Saul Bass-designed title sequence (note the booming drums that out-roar Leo, the MGM lion) until the final nod and a wink sex joke the adults will snicker or laugh out loud over (while the kids wonder what they’re snickering or laughing or loud about about) closes things out. I’ve seen this countless times since the 80’s and it’s always entertained me to no end.

This is probably the best “wrong man” film made (yes, it’s even better than The Wrong Man) because it combines dramatic, comedic and action elements in Hitchcock’s inimitable style. Sure, there are some plot holes and silly stuff that don’t hold up to too much scrutiny if you’re the overly picky sort. But if this film doesn’t have you cracking a smile or hanging out near the edge of your seat by the time it’s through, you’re either too jaded or watch films with one or both eyes shut…

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BUY THIS GAME! Unepic Sneaks Onto Nintendo eShop

Posted on January 18, 2014 by geelw

Hey, you beleaguered Nintendo Wii U owners starved for original content, take heart. The indies are coming! The indies are coming! Sure, it’s been edited for content (gone are the profanity and more “adult” references), but Unepic is a wonderful and funny blend of old-school “Metroidvania” style action/RPG gameplay, a very funny story chock full of in-jokes and classic gaming references, and yes indeed, plenty of replay value. New exclusive to Wii U features and some great voice acting are all aboard and even if you have the PC version, this comes very highly recommended. And below (*ahem*), aquí tenéis el trailer oficial en castellano de Unepic para Wii U. Um, so buy it already! Ten years of Spanish waaaay back in school and a bunch of Spanish friends from all over the place and I’ve never used it (*sigh*). So I may as well pretend I can get by. Whee!

Random Film of the Week(end): A Shock to the System (1990)

Posted on January 18, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, FirstLookStudios!)

I’d bet anyone reading this who has held any sort of job where they felt (or feel) underutilized, under appreciated or have been passed over for some sort of award or reward has felt that certain twinge deep in the back of their minds. You want revenge for that wrong done to you and for the briefest of moments, a flash of some sort of violent or not so violent payback pops into your head and is gone like the wind before you can dwell on it. Or (in real life) you just make the rest of the day a complete pout-fest until you can slog it on home and bury your sorrows in a quart of Cherry Garcia with a few shots of Disaronno for good measure.

Well, dear reader, drop that spoon and stumble over here for a spell. I’ve got your back here. A Shock to the System is your movie selection for this evening. Director Jan Egleson’s great little 1990 black comedy is a showcase for Michael Caine’s laid back, brooding and maliciously dry portrayal of Graham Marshall, a NYC ad executive with time (and a few people) to kill after he’s passed over for a promotion. Oh, it’s not as grim as it sounds, ladies and gents. In fact, I bet this film will give a few of you all the wrong ideas…

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Random Film of the Week: THE DARK

Posted on January 17, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, AussieRoadshow!)

John “Bud” Cardos’ one hundred and ten percent wretched sci-fi horror flick The Dark is one of the best reasons for better movie theater security guards and well-caffeinated ticket booth clerks. I paid to see this R-rated waste of time when I was 15 and it was four bucks I still want back. This is one of those “so bad it’s worse” “cult” films that boggles the mind as to not only how it got made, but how it got into theaters. And this is coming from someone who loves crappy movies to death.

Allegedly, Tobe Hooper was in on this mess as the initial director before being replaced by Cardos, but I’d gather he split or was canned because whatever script was presented to him scared him off. Or he was merely killing time before *not* directing Poltergeist a few years later (*ziiiing!*). This won’t be a long and loving look back at this dopey flick, so don’t get too comfortable. In every way possible, this film reeks of people showing up to work just to collect whatever paycheck was promised them (and probably some drugs as well), and that’s a shame…

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The Indie Gala January Bundle Gets Deadly… And You’ll Get A Premonition When You Buy It…

Posted on January 17, 2014 by geelw

Ha! ANY chance to write more about one of my favorite games is a good thing, so here you go. Over at the Indie Gala site, their January bundle just got even more interesting, going from a must buy pack to “If you DON’T buy this bundle, you’re nuts!” deal. $5.19 got you seven games up until today when Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut was added to the deal and three more Steam games are coming soon. Nice.

The Steam version of DPTDC adds a ton of bonus content, Steam-specific achievements and (Xbox 360) controller support (sure you CAN play with a mouse and keyboard, but this is ONLY recommended if you already do so and are GREAT at it). As for the game proper, it’s a surprising throwback that won’t win any awards for visuals, but has a story that’s quite interesting on a few emotional layers. In addition, the game is a homage to all sorts of cool stuff and packs in movie trivia like a boss (just drive around and listen to the banter for some fun knowledge dropping). Sure, it won’t look amazing at all on that 50″ or three screen monitor setup and the game isn’t going to task your overclocked gaming rig at all. But good, quirky games like this don’t need fancy system defying visuals to be awesome, I say.

That, and the rest of the games in the bundle are all pretty unique in their own right. You’ll see soon enough. Now go spend a few spare bucks (part of it will be going to charity, so it’s okay!) and have a great(er) weekend!