Random Film of the Week(end): Beneath the Planet of the Apes

BtPotAI usually avoid sticking my nose into other people’s conversations, but I had to poke and sniff lightly into a heated debate this week about Alien 3 being the “only” major sci-fi movie where a main character dies in a “really dumb” manner. For starters, warts and all, there’s a pretty decent (albeit as bleak as rollerskating all the rings of hell in a day) first film in David Fincher’s often negatively discussed sequel/”finale”. I did a RFotW on that a while ago (note that link above – go read it if you’re still one of those who despises the film and maybe it will help out a bit).

And second,Ted Post’s 1970 film, Beneath the Planet of the Apes definitely did its killing off of many major characters (and an entire planet) during the last reel in an even more shocking (and some would say, “really dumb”) manner. It’s actually not a bad film at all, but by upping the shock value of the original classic by obliterating the earth it was definitely a film you didn’t walk out of the theater feeling happy and bouncy after viewing…

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Hatchet III: If You Ducked, You Knew This One Was Coming…

Hatchet III Teaser PosterI found the first two Hatchet flicks pretty fun and funny because they’re so “old school slasher movie” that you can’t help but crack a smile at how well they work in presenting the requisite unstoppable big killer with PLENTY of victims to turn into assorted hash and that one character he’s after who won’t go down without a damn good fight. Granted, the films aren’t perfect at all, but that’s part of their charm, I say…

Speaking of charm, it looks as if the third time’s that with this upcoming sequel, Hatchet III as it’s basically a big carnival of chop with a lot of chasing thrown in for good measure. Not for the kiddies unless you want to have them sleeping under YOUR bed afterwards. That’s your Good Parenting Tip of the Week, by the way, so don’t say I’ve never done anything for you. Hmmm, perhaps I should start charging form my sage advice as some of my friends suggest? OK, fine – in the words of Lucy van Pelt, “That’ll be five cents, please!”

Gallery: Remember Me

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RM_PressTour2013__22Capcom and Dontnod Entertainment are about to bring gamers a new action heroine who could be yeat another really interesting female characters making her debut this year.  Remember Me, coming on June 4, 2013 will see the deadly and agile Nilin take to the streets of 2084 Neo-Paris as she attempts to discover why her former employers wiped her memory (leaving her very underemployed as a result) AND seems to have sent out a team of assassins to deal with her. Eeek… talk about NO job security!

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Anyway, the team at Dontnod is cooking up an absolutely beautiful game as you can see from the nice screenshot gallery below the jump, and the gameplay is also looking quite lovely (and innovative) as well. PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 owners can look forward to this one soon (as time is absolutely flying this year).

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BUY THIS! mimoco & Lucasfilm Say “May the 4th Be With You” With An R2-A6 Drive

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OK, so I’m a wee bit slow. It took me a while to figure out this whole May 4th thing and the Star Wars connection. All this time I thought it was because George Lucas had a speech impediment. There’s nothing wrong with a little lisp, mind you, but there’s probably something up with YOU if you miss out on this cool SUPER limited edition R2-A6 MIMOBOT, available NOW at mimoco’s online shop.
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Like other MIMOBOT USB drives, this one comes in a few storage sizes (this one’s available in 8 to 128GB models) and also comes LOADED with cool bonuses such as desktop icons, avatars, wallpapers and more. The only thing you won’t get are any Imperial battle station plans, as those are in another droid entirely. Um, I WOULD say “this isn’t the droid you’re looking for”, but mimoco’s really nice PR person would probably beat me up (or hire a bounty hunter to do the deed). I’ll stay on her good side, as I have a “No Blasters!” rule around here that’s strictly enforced by me staying out of trouble. Anyway, go get yourself a new (and VERY useful) droid. You look as if you could use a bit more organization in your life, I say…

Resident Evil Revelations Dev Diary 2: Infection & Repulsion (Not The Birds & The Bees Version)…

Well, I’m SURE Capcom’s Resident Evil team wasn’t thinking about YOUR weekend shenanigans when they were making this game for the Nintendo 3DS and remaking it for current-gen consoles and PC. Hmmmm, you do know that these games are a great deal better when enjoyed for what they are, right? No need to project everything onto your entertainment, now. Shh, there, there… it’s alright. You just need to go get scared half to death by playing a little game. May I suggest this one? How about Resident Evil Revelations, coming to PC, PS3, Wii U and Xbox 360 on May 21, 2013? You’ll get your fix in on a few fronts and have something to talk about around the water cooler at work that won’t make people think you’re a total creep. Well, unless they have a thing for zombies and other twisted creatures they’re not telling you about…

GOG.com’s 60% Off EA Games Sale: Yeah, You NEED These Classics…

gogEAsale Well, well, well… you look like you need something to do this weekend since I hear you’re planning on staying inside. Thankfully, gog.com is on the case (and how!) with their latest weekend sale. This time, it’s a ton of Electronic Arts classics from the 90’s and early 2000’s, all 60% off. Insane, this is, folks. First of all, getting ONE of these classics or classic collections for a measly $2.39 is completely ridiculous, but if you want to buy all 28 games on that list, you’ll ONLY pay about ten bucks more than it cost to buy ONE of these when they were initially released. Whaaaaat? $68.52 for about a year or more’s worth of gaming is jaw-dropping, ladies and gents. I actually have some of these on disc in the library (and yeah, I paid more back in the day), so I can safely say you’ll be pleased with whatever you buy (unless you hated Ultima IX the first time you played it – it’s still the same flawed epic it was back then). OK, let me shut up and let you get to poring over that long list of titles. The sale ends on May 7, so get something for yourself or someone else and you’ll both be pretty darn happy…

Random Film of the Week: FRENZY

FRENZY poster While the middle to late 1960’s weren’t too good for Alfred Hitchcock’s film output, his fantastic 1972 thriller, FRENZY saw the director return to fine form with a chilling blend of murder, “wrong man” plot, police procedural (of sorts) and black comedy. Between the solid casting of mostly imperfect-looking British actors, actual London locations blended perfectly with studio sets, a bit of nudity and one very unsettling (and lengthy) assault/murder scene that’s shocking but necessary to drive the plot, this is one of those films where you can feel the director’s complete confidence in himself, his cast and crew.

Right from the opening notes of Ron Goodwin’s somewhat regal (and intentionally pompous, I’ve always thought) main theme, the film doesn’t skip a beat before delivering its first corpse, a nude woman who washes up during a politician’s waterside speech about cleaning up the Thames River. Keep an eyeball peeled for Hitch’s requisite cameo and get your smile in, as things are going to get darker in Merry Olde London soon enough…
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Man of Steel TV Spot #2: More Half Minute Heroics To Make The Skeptics Fly…

That wasn’t a sonic boom you just heard, folks. It was all those skeptics leaping out the nearest window not because they lost that bet Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel wasn’t going to look like a REALLY awesome flick, but because they got so caught up in the flying bits that they grabbed the nearest sheet or bath towel and went for a short trip outside followed by a longer one to the nearest emergency room. It’s a good thing most of them were jumping from the basement window where they usually hole up with their message board denizen ways. Well, just be nice to them when this one arrives in theaters – they’ll be the ones on crutches or with an arm or two in a sling (or slings) from that sudden fall from their usual gracelessness.

Remember Me “Memory” Trailer: As If We’ll Forget You, Nilin? Not A Chance…

Capcom and developer Dontnod Games really have a unique one coming soon in Remember Me, so I’m hoping that this one gets a “shut up and play it!” treatment from those journalist types who seem to be hung up on the game for having a female character and being an all-new IP in a sequel-packed world. I’m definitely going to enjoy this one completely, as I happen to love it when I see a new developer doing something fresh and intriguing by creating a new game that looks as if it’ll be copied down the road by others once it succeeds. June 4, 2013 is when Nilin is let loose on the world – try to keep up with her and I’m betting you’ll be behind her all the way…

FUSE Villain Trailer: “Here Comes The Big Boss… Let’s Get It On!”

Insomniac’s been getting a bit of grief from some gamers about FUSE, but as this trailer shows, the developer still has it where it counts when it comes to cooking up some memorable action scenes and plenty of well-rendered destruction. Yeah, yeah – it’s not cartoony, and yeah, yeah, you can say it looks like some other shooters on the market all day long, but it’s when you PLAY this one that you see where it’s not quite what you’re expecting. Anyway, that May 28 release date is coming sooner than you think, so I hope you’re prepared for a little hardcore excitement (er, NO… not THAT kind, silly). Or at least a big sackful of black pepper to throw in the face of that ridiculously-sized boss that pops up in the game. That should be an interesting battle for solo players, I’d say…