Random Film of the Week(end): Zardoz

Posted on March 22, 2014 by geelw

How amusing that I had a dream about Zardoz and TCM (Turner Classic Movies) just so happens to be showing it this evening (EDIT: Okay, at 2am Sunday). John Boorman’s wonderfully gorgeous and ~~somewhat~~, okay, EXTREMELY bizarre follow up to the 1972 smash Deliverance was and is a weird mix of science fiction, black comedy and violence that baffled many critics and moviegoers of the time and while it’s a more popular cult film today with a loyal following, still has a polarizing effect on a few fronts. If anything, the film’s oddball mix of impressive and cheap visual effects and some stunning cinematography go a long way in holding one’s interest as the plot zooms all over the landscape.

From the killer opening sequence with a floating stone head issuing marching orders (“The GUN is GOOD! The PENIS is EVIL!”) to some well-armed men (well, the stone head is the one arming them with PILES of firearms), to one of those well-armed men (Sean Connery!) sneaking aboard that head to do a bit of surprising disposal work (how do you kill a “god”? Here’s one way if you need a hint!), Zardoz continually surprises, even when it’s getting too meta for its own good. Then again, that seems to be what Boorman wanted to do with this film. This is one of those experimental flicks that does an excellent job of making you pay attention right from the start and slowly draws you deeper into its odd characters and world. Granted, your suspension of disbelief is being kidney punched the entire way through, but such is art and films such as this one… Continue reading →

Spring Cleaning: I Want(ed) My MTV. Good Thing I Didn’t Get It, I Suppose…

Posted on March 22, 2014 by geelw

A ha ha and ha. I’d forgotten all about my failed attempt to get my 15 minutes of fame way back then. I actually don’t recall exactly what the introduction I sent to MTV was, but I do remember it was partially illustrated, which probably got me this response. Not only did I forget my to put my phone number on that intro, I do believe I forgot to include the hand-drawn business card I’d made (which had my number on it). Oops. The handwriting below that was done well after the show had been cast when I was piling up all the rejection letters I’d ever gotten (most from assorted comic companies) at that point. think that was in 1996 or so, but it’s been a while since I poked through all that stuff. This popped up while going through and old portfolio, but I may dig up the rest one of these days and do a post on that.

Game of Thrones S4 Trailer #4: The “Devil” Is In The Details…

Posted on March 22, 2014 by geelw

Getting warmer in here, isn’t it? Not because it’s spring, mind you (hell, next week we’re supposed to get a little late surprise from winter’s dying grasp, it seems), but because it’s alllllmost time for Season 4 of Game of Thrones to kick off. I’m still avoiding spoilers, but man was I ticked off to hear that a bunch of fans got to see the season premiere this week (boo!) and blab all about how lucky they were. Gee thanks, HBO. Oh well. One day they’ll take notice of me and send me an invite (name of my blog aside that SCREAMS that I might not be interested, har har)…

Turner Classic Movies Finally Gets With The Program on YouTube

Posted on March 21, 2014 by geelw

Like many of you out there, I love Turner Classic Movies quite a lot, although the popular classic movie site isn’t without its issues. I’m still waiting to see more imports (where are Cul De Sac, {The Mad Adventures of} Rabbi Jacob, The Tall Blonde Man With One Black Shoe and other intriguing foreign films that deserve a wider American audience?) and a more stable Underground (I can be the host, as I have a LOAD of ideas to make it better and more accessible to new viewers to the weird and strange!), but overall I’m happy with most of what they do. That said, they’re finally using YouTube a lot more effectively, posting videos for current programming for the day during the week, which goes a long way towards making folks like me see what’s coming on during the day without having to check the cable guide or just turn the channel on when we crawl home and hope we’ll see something we haven’t yet. Yeah, the frequent rebroadcasts need to be worked on a bit, but for now, I have one LESS thing to gripe about…

Random Art: Okay, I Missed A Day Or Week, Or Something. Have A Tree Anyway!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by geelw

Meh, I’ve been a bit busy working on some stuff and riding out these last miserable days of winter, but here you go. This didn’t take me too long to do at all and in fact, like most of my trees, isn’t really “complete.” I just stop when I think I’m about to destroy something with another few lines and that’s that. Well, that’s it for this week. I may get another sketch up sooner. Or later. Depending on work I need to get done versus time I have to sketch up something.

The X-Files is BACK (…As A Board Game This July)!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by geelw

I think I only fooled two people with half that headline, but that’s fine by me. Anyway, this July, IDW Games will be getting fans of the show a new BIG box board game based on the first three (and some would say the best) seasons thanks to Pandasaurus Games, designer Kevin Wilson (Arkham Horror, Descent, Civilization) and comic book artist menton3 (Memory Collectors, The X-Files: Season 10).

That box art is sure mighty pretty (and pretty simple) and if the game INSIDE the box is like that art, it’ll keep anyone with even a passing interest in the show back in deep where they should be. Of course, chain smoking as you play like that Cigarette Smoking Man isn’t required, but if you DO get that far into character, make sure you ask your tabletop buddies if it’s OK. No one likes to get kicked out their friend’s place (or even their own home) even if they bought the game with them.

Sacred 3 Gameplay Trailer: I See Iso In Your Future…

Posted on March 19, 2014 by geelw

As I happen to love isometric views in my games (not for everything, mind you) and am no stranger to the action or turn-based role playing game experience, Sacred 3 is going to be right up my alley. Of course, I loved the first two games quite a lot for their large open maps, ridiculous amount of side quests to take and and surprises to stumble upon. Some would say the games are far too open and allow for wandering into death traps off the beaten path, but those people would be wrong, as no one asked them to get nosy and follow that trail of bones or gold coins into that pack of much higher leveled enemies or dark place with the nasty surprise or way too large and powerful dragon (and so forth and so on)…

Anyway, Sacred 3 hits PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this summer. If it’s too quiet around here during that time, you know where I’ll be.

Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes: Demo As A “Luxury” (For Better Or Worse)…

Posted on March 18, 2014 by geelw

So, it’s here and even though it’s been known for a while it was going to be what amounts to nothing but a brief demo with a $30 price tag (and similar to Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in its cost versus brevity factor), some critics have been punching away hard on poor Big Boss/Solid Snake. As I’m not made of money, I’m going to wait for a used copy or trade from a friend to pop up, but I really want to play this just to see that Fox Engine in action, how Kiefer Sutherland works as the voice for Snake (taking over from David Hayter) and the ability to tackle that single (and large) map as many ways as possible. Granted, the one to two hours maximum play time I’m hearing about IS a bit pesky, but I’m gathering most reviewers played through just to complete their posts and aren’t fully appreciating that demo for all its worth. On the other hand, this is a Hideo Kojima game, so perhaps that and the Metal Gear name are carrying that price point into “Hmmmmm…” territory for some writers and players.

That said, the full game (Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain) is still underway as far as development goes, so I do hope the cost of this slice is offset in some manner, be it some exclusive content available to those with save files (on-disc and not DLC so EVERYONE who bought in can see/play it) or something else Kojima and publisher Konami can think up to keep the angrier folks down off their soapboxes. Eh, we’ll see, I suppose. I’m just glad to see a new MGS on a home console after all this time…

Godzilla International Trailer: All You Need From Me On A Tuedsay Is A Big, Mad Lizard…

Posted on March 18, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, I’m kind of taking the day off to rest because my overtaxed brain has needed it for a bit and I didn’t listen to the signals for a few weeks, so here you go. Of course, after that toy reveal yesterday, I figured we’d HAVE to see a new trailer that shows the big radioactive lug doing his stuff. Nice, huh? I’m tempted to break my travel almost 24 miles both ways boycott to check this out, but we shall see. At this point, seeing new movies when they land in theaters is low on the totem pole unless I get preview passes. I’m not at all averse to holding out for the soon to be released home video version (which as I’ve noted previously, takes less than eight months for most films these days).

Karate Master Knock Down Blow 2: Old And New Hit The Mats In This Upcoming Sequel…

Posted on March 17, 2014 by geelw

Okay, so the title is a bit unwieldy in that manner some import games are, and sure, to some of you this looks straight out of 1989 or so. However, there’s a lot going on here in Crian Soft’s in progress fighter that’s worthy of attention, especially if you like your fighting games attempting at least a little “realism.” It seems that the developer is focusing on actual moves and save for the bear fight (!) and car jumping (Okay, I’ve seen it done, but it’s NOT for your average karate student), this one might be a solid little sleeper when it’s finally let loose upon the world.

There also seems to be Steam Greenlight status being gone for with this one and I really hope it makes it as this one’s got sleeper hit all over it if the controls are flawless and the action is thrilling. Granted, the game won’t appeal to everyone, but that’s fine by me as every niche has its fans who will appreciate what’s here far more than those who dismiss what they see without even picking up a controller (as usual)…