Random Film of the Week(end): Antichrist

 

“A grieving couple retreat to ’Eden’, their isolated cabin in the woods, where they hope to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse…”

antichrist dafoeOh, that’s Antichrist in a nutshell for you, but that’s not Antichrist at all if you’re expecting some weepy blockbuster weekend grossing drama straight out of the Hollywood genre playbook (silver linings version). Then again, if you know Lars von Trier’s work, you know you’re not getting anything you “expect” and in fact, going in blind is the best way to enjoy any of his films. That said (and speaking of blind), after watching this one, you’ll probably want to remove your eyes and boil them for a few minutes. That said, if you happen to see this one with people who tend to over-think too much about movies or relationships you can expect have a hell of a conversation afterwards about all sorts of things…

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God of War: Ascension Collector’s Edition: “What’s In The Box?” (Or: Another Lesson In Excess)…

 

Hmmm… Allow me to get into trouble (again) as I break this down for you and possibly help Sony and other game companies save some money in the future (hopefully).  While these Collector’s Editions are indeed really cool, they also present a telling case against themselves (as well as make people like me wish for the older, wiser days). For example, sure, it’s fine and dandy to get a demo of the eagerly anticipated The Last of Us as well as additional God of War content, but why not stick those onto a separate DISC and put it in the box as opposed to creating paper vouchers that end up getting tossed or lost? This way, gamers without PSN access could play the demo and access that bonus content which wouldn’t be initially available to those with the standard edition. That soundtrack CD is a good idea, but it’s too bad games aren’t using Redbook audio these days, as it would have been super to just hear the soundtrack alone by accessing it off the game disc (just like the “old days”)… Continue reading

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Trailer: Captain Morgan vs Cap’n Crunch Time…

 

Man, these “leaks” are getting worse, but this video may not be up long. So I’m posting it now for posterity’s sake (if Ubisoft kills it on YouTube, I’ll replace it with an official one in a new post). Well, Ubisoft sure knows how to rock the boat, as this upcoming installment seems to have nothing to do with the last (shocking!) and makes you realize that those naval combat sections in Assassin’s Creed III were only the tip of the iceberg. Yes, I know a LOT of nautically themed puns, ladies and gents, but I’m sparing you all because I want to keep at least PART of my readership.

Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (2): More Minions, More Problems!

Action Figure Golfer Action Figure Ninja Action Figure Rockstar

Three more minions here and a new poor rhyme,
despite my bad verse, they’re well worth your time.
A golfer, a ninja, and rocker that’s punk
(it’s best to look upwards than read my old junk!)

But if you’re not green yet, then keep reading on
(and be glad that I’m not writing your favorite song)
those Minions will pop up in stores really soon
about a month before the film lands in June!

Pictured, three more Collectible Action Figures from the upcoming Despicable Me 2 toy line (2”-3.5”), Age: 4+; Approximate Retail Price: $4.99 – Available starting in May at a retailer near you.

I Got Invited To The Opening Of A Garage: Dude, Where’s My Car?!

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Pango OK, this is either good sign or a sign that my career as a writer is OVER. I got invited to a garage opening. Seriously. I don’t even own or drive a car. Maybe the invite came from someone who saw me move a friend’s van a few times VERY carefully around the block when he was moving and an overeager traffic agent was lurking about? Eh, whatever. I won’t worry about this too much… hell, I may even show up for the free refreshments. I’ll get there by subway, of course…

Cultchah! MoMA’s Applied Design Show Brings Gaming to the Masses (Huddled and Unhuddled)…

 

Hokay, I’m sort of on an extended road trip today (and as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions), so this will be brief (with much more to come later). The Museum of Modern Art held a press event to show off one of their new exhibits, Applied Design (in case you didn’t see the video above). In addition to some amazingly practical objects formed from the alteration of nature into things such as furniture, tools and a rather innovative mine sweeping device, a number of important video games were on display, many of them playable. I’ll post a bunch of videos later (and some may even have ME in them – oh noes!), but if you’re in the NYC area from March 2 (tomorrow!) to January 31, 2014, it’s worth checking this exhibit out.

Aha! Smarter Folks Than I Have Figured Apple’s Tactics Out, Too…

Hey, I’ve been saying this for a few years to anyone within earshot (and sometimes out of earshot if you’ve seen my soapbox rants live in Times Square – the closest I’m allowed to an Apple store these days), but now it’s “official” (well, sort of). Apple is really a sneaky mercenary front after all (dun dun dunnnnn!). The fine and dandy (and smarter than I ever will be) people over at Egghead Central have posted this interesting look at just how the Cupertino camp cooks up its new products and all that “innovation” they bring. Yeah, yeah, you Apple-heads out there won’t like some of their findings, but that’s “satire” for you, isn’t it?

Toy Fair 2013: Chains to Champions: Brick Warriors Go Board Game (And You Certainly Won’t Be Bored At All)…

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Chains n Champions 1OK, I’ll admit it. I’d never heard of Brick Warriors until a few days before Toy Fair when a friend with a bigger ear to the playground who collects and tweaks his collection of miniatures asked me to check out the upcoming Chains to Champions board game the company was working on. It’s a good thing I decided to be a nice guy and drop on down to meet Ryan Hauge, Amanda Taylor and Rhonda Denny (the game’s lead playtester and most likely the company’s ringer if you ever end up playing against her for money), as the game is looking to be a ton of fun for minifigure fans across the globe. C to C is a gladiatorial combat game for two to six players (or one player with multiple personalities who wants to beat himself senseless at a board game) that’s easy to pick up, yet also highly challenging as you complete in card-based clashes for coin and customization upgrades.

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If The World Goes to Crap, Outerra Makes Going Outside Quite Optional…

 

When I have the free time and (a drool cup), I’ve been occasionally looking at these insane videos from Outerra, the Slovakian company (well, three REALLY talented Slovakians) cooking up this amazing tech that according to Wikipedia, “renders high-quality terrain, terrain texturing, flora and water flow normal maps using relatively sparse and highly compressed data through fractal processing and calculations.” and yeah, it does just that. And very well as you can see. if you happen to have a beefy enough PC and want your mind to blow itself out of a nostril, feel free to download the Outerra Anteworld Alpha and prepare to lose yourself for a wee bit too long in what’s there. It’s a bit buggy and still a work in progress, but that’s what an Alpha version of an engine usually is, folks. I can see some creative game developer out there taking this and running with in (right into one of those lovely trees you’re ogling)…

Retro City Rampage on PC and WiiWare Is Full of Surprises (Well, One More Awesome Surprise)…

Not content with a simple port of an already hilarious game, creator Brian Provinciano decided to take it to the next level (or more precisely, back to the roots) by cooking up an “8-bit” version of the game for the WiiWare and PC releases (out now!). Even if you’re terminally rusty at games, if you’ve a brain with a dusty old file cabinet filled with memories of 80’s and 90’s pop culture references, Retro City Rampage is fun and funny enough to get you cracking up within a few seconds of playing it. Anyway, some neck exercises for you to practice, as you look a bit tired and you don’t want to have to pay for that Lifestyle Lift (at least for a few MORE years,right?): Look up and click! Look down and click! Repeat as required until you figure out you need a Wii or PC to get the game (or a PS3, Vita or Xbox 360)…