Random Film of the Day*: Sinbad and The Eye of The Tiger

Posted on May 21, 2013 by geelw

*For the next few days, I’m going to add a random film the great Ray Harryhausen worked on. The legendary special effects MASTER passed away on May 7, 2013 at age 92 in London and yes, the film world has lost a true giant as well as a fine and talented gentleman…

Sinbad & The Eye of the Tiger When I was much younger, I wondered why Ray Harryhausen didn’t make more films until I found out how long it took him to design all those characters from drawing and painting some outstanding concept art to the construction and creation the visual effects. Let’s just say the man gained all the respect I had after that. That said, 1977’s Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is an example of what happens when a movie studio decides to rush things a bit too quickly, as it’s not his best work of the decade on display.

Yes, there are some major showpiece moments, but between some awful matte shots and a few creatures missing Harryhausen’s trademark expressionism, the film suffers a bit from a “by the numbers” look that’s noticeable to the point of distraction. Then again, that the film arrived in theaters a few months after Star Wars opened and was still generating a huge amount of money. I’m sure to many viewers blown away by George Lucas’ epic, Sinbad seemed almost like a relic from another decade…
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Man of Steel “Fate of Your Planet” Trailer: (Even More) Seriously, Now…

Posted on May 21, 2013 by geelw

Well, well, well… THAT’S how you blow an audience away. Taking Superman’s former camp value from those old films away and giving fans a serious to the point of “yeah, I need to see this twice on the first day” status is a damn good thing. I was thinking we wouldn’t see a more dynamic trailer like this one for a few more weeks closer to the film’s launch, but the gloves have come off (as in Warner Bros. and DC yelling “Take that, Marvel!” POW!!) and it looks like this one will be the Superman flick that gets remembered this generation. Well, provided it has a solid finale that sets up something without leaving a ton of plot holes open or feeling like it needed ten more minutes to make a scene or five better. As usual… we shall see…

Now Playing: Resident Evil Revelations – Jill Valentine’s In Ship Shape, That’s For Sure…

Posted on May 21, 2013 by geelw

I got a review copy of Resident Evil Revelations on Friday evening, but just got around to firing it up on Sunday night thanks to me needing to get my Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut review up and some other stuff. Anyway, so far, so good – Capcom has done a great job with this (DO NOT call it a simple “port”, as that cheapens the effort that went into this game) and it’s really fun to play, as they kept the short maps from the 3DS game, meaning you can dive in for 15 to 30 or so minute chunks, hop out to do something else and come back to the game without having to figure out where you left off. OK, shutting up and going back home to play more – expect a review later in the week…

Quantum Break Trailer: Remedy’s Xbox One Mystery Trailer Leaves A Lot Hanging…

Posted on May 21, 2013 by geelw

Xbox One

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more “meh…” gaming press conference than the one Microsoft had for the new Xbox One console. Sure, they did the ABSOLUTE smartest thing of all three major game companies by ACTUALLY showing their console (+110 points!), but every reveal after that was either predictable (EA Sports is making their games and DLC exclusive to the One first, we’re getting all new game engines for their core sports titles, there was no actual gameplay footage shown… -40 points!) or underwhelming (Forza Motorsport 5 looks like the last Forza unless you slow it waaaay down and see stuff you’d expect like better lighting and more textures in a game series that already looks fine, thank you. – 15 points!).

Not to mention the first 25 or so minutes being saddled down by talk about too many features core gamers could care less about (well, the more servers thing adds 20 points because without them, Xbox Live would turn into rush hour traffic on the L.I.E. every day. Hmmm… making me sleepy and not care about the new Kinect functions that SHOULD have worked like that in the first model? Yeah, that’s a nope. (and -30 points!). Oh, and Call of Duty: Ghosts getting a new graphics overahaul is a no-branier (but only worth +5 because it has a dog in the game who’s an active squad member {woof!} and the fish in the water move out of your way… but you’ll be too busy to notice that, I bet). As for the interactivity and character customization now possible in Ghosts’ multiplayer? Um… Whee? Other non-FPS games have done both for a while, but whatever (annnd that’s a -10 for trying to pass off those new features as innovations)…

(Trailer from HDPLAYR)

The only highlight for me was the announcement of a new Remedy game, Quantum Break (+20 points!), but the trailer was disappointing because it used live-action footage that switched unconvincingly to in-game visuals that, while impressive, really didn’t show off much other than the game has a big sea tanker smash into a bridge and cause a hell of a lot of chaos. Um, OK? I guess E3 will be the big reveal for the actual games they want to show off, because what they DID show at this reveal wasn’t very revealing for actual gamers that I know… Well, with that “later this year” release “date,” we’ll all see soon enough, right?

Random Film of the Day*: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

the golden voyage of sinbad Ha! Motivation-killer flu, you can’t keep me from posting! Anyway, onward! It took Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen fifteen years to follow up their classic fantasy film The 7th Voyage of Sinbad with the second of three movies starring the fabled sailor and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad both looks and feels almost as timeless as that first adventure.

Much better casting for some of the principals in this “sequel” meant more engaging characters, Ray’s animation and effects work were mostly superb and composer Miklós Rózsa contributed a truly outstanding and memorable score that’s one of his best works of that era. As with the other Schneer/Harryhausen family films, this one’s not just for the kids and it’ll bring a nice Saturday morning smile to your face if you haven’t seen it before…
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Game of Thrones Could Use a Little More Chuck Barris, I Say…

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

Around an hour or so after last night’s episode, I had a really good laugh when out of the blue, I thought up a weird hybrid of GoT and that great old Chuck Barris game show (and one of the beginnings of what became modern “reality” TV, The Newlywed Game. Given the marriage fever going around this season, I think it would be hilarious to see all the couples (and potential couples) pop up in a video that pokes fun at both shows for what they’ve brought to pop culture. Of course, the chances of this happening are slim to none unless someone animates it or does some other cleverly creative interpretation (break out that old Renaissance Fair costume from the mothballs and do some quick refitting!). But I’ll leave that to those of you who have time and money to play around with.

As for questions on that fake game show, well… geez, there are PLENTY you can think up if you’re a GoT fan or know the Newlywed Game inside and out. So get on it and get back to me at some point. Hey, if you become world famous because I’ve inspired you, I only take 6% of the profits (it’s in that contract you signed the other week at the bar)…

Pacific Rim TV Spot 1: Maybe Mayhem Isn’t Such A Good Thing In Some Cases…

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

Can you imagine the insanely higher insurance premiums in the future if we DO end up with giant robots, big sea monsters and all sorts of unplanned property damage that comes from them duking it out on the streets of any major (or minor) city? Well, considering that we probably don’t have flying cars because of the potential for humans causing MORE damage than any giant monster (although, all that texting/doing makeup/eating/et cetera while flying will clean up the gene pool rather quickly), this is probably a blessing in disguise or something.

Yes, ladies and gents… just forget about applying ANY rules of reality or actual science to these films (I mean, who in their right minds goes to a science FICTION film to complain about the SCIENCE afterwards anyway?). In reality, unless those robots were made of super-light materials (yet could still back a punch) your heroes and those monsters would go tumbling into the huge hole they created when they tried to walk on some of those tunnel-filled streets certain cities have. Well, maybe they’d do better in Vegas, what with that desert nearby and no big sewer system or subway to worry about crushing tourists and citizens in…

Anyway, just sit back, try not to go into a sugar and salt-induced coma from that half-gallon of soda and way too salty and greasy popcorn (that’s NOT butter on it, by the way – butter isn’t highly combustible or that overly golden orange in color, last I checked) and enjoy the show. Or not, if you’re worried about some big wet foot stomping on the theater while you’re watching this epic… eek.

Gallery: Batman Arkham Origins

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

This recently announced prequel to the hugely successful Arkham series looks quite nice in that CG trailer and really gorgeous screens below, but I see that some fans are concerned that no Rocksteady at the wheel means the game won’t have the same quality. I say give this one a shot, as it’s from the same WB Games Montreal team that converted Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition to the Wii U (and did a stellar job, at that) and I seriously doubt that they’ll deviate much from what made the first two games work so well.

In fact, I’ll predict a few tweaks and improvements to the formula that make Origins an equal or better game (as it should be), simply because going backwards is NOT an option at all. Anyway, BAO is set to launch Oct. 25, 2013 for PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 along with Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate for Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita. Nope, I don’t have screens or video on that just yet – WB Games just sent one batarang through my window with these images and trailer for the console game, so I guess the other one will come crashing through as soon as I get the window replaced.

Oh, by the way… Deathstroke IS indeed going to be playable in the game’s Challenge Mode and fans who pre-order the game for PS3, Xbox 360 or PC version of Batman Arkham Origins will receive exclusive early access to the Deathstroke pack (sorry, Wii U owners… unless you get yours some other way that hasn’t been revealed yet).

Well, I guess it’s better than getting a strange box from the Joker with who knows what sort of surprise inside, right?

Orc Attack Gets Slightly Retitled (In Fact, It’s A Gas)…

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

OrcAttack_BoxArt This actually cracks me up more than a little because I remember the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Game from Interplay called Boogerman that actually had censored text in the manual and actual game (“Frrt”) because the use of the word “Fart” was deemed offensive or something silly like that. My, how times have changed (and juvenile humor just hasn’t, right?).

As you can see (and probably smell)m above, the newly rechristened Orc Attack: Flatulent Rebellion, set to hit PC, PSN and XBLA later this year. I’ll keep an eyeball peeled for this one, as it looks like fun, but I want a gas mask before I play it (and maybe some earplugs so those assorted gassy noises don’t distract me)…

Oh, you may as well meet playable character Friar Krap since you’ve read this far. Er, enjoy? Amusingly enough, I was planning on cooking up some cabbage or sauteed broccoli with garlic to go with my chicken soup for dinner later this evening, but these videos have made me change my dining plans a bit. Maybe I’ll stick to the water and water on the rocks tonight…

Sony Gets In A PS4 Tease Ahead of Microsoft’s Big Reveal Tomorrow…

Posted on May 20, 2013 by geelw

I seriously don’t give a hoot about this whole “console wars” nonsense (and haven’t for years), as all I care about are good games on any platform (with a decent controller – sorry, tablet and mobile games!). Still, I knew Sony wasn’t going to let Microsoft rule the week (well, the week starting tomorrow when they show off their new console), so here you go. I actually laughed a bit because this teaser reminded me of a Gran Turismo intro for some reason. Speaking of, as I was a bit out of action last week and missed posting this, yes, we’re getting a Gran Turismo 6 this holiday season as well. PS3 and probably PS4. 1200+ cars (yikes!), all new visuals (yum!) and a ton of features to make fans keel over (again), provided they all work out of the box (grrr!). Anyway, I’ll run some of those lovely screenshots in a separate post. They’re massive and I’m studying each one carefully