Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Clip #1: Now, THAT’S What I Call A “Lifestyle Lift!”

Posted on July 3, 2014 by geelw

Well, you’re certainly NOT going to tell a lady she can’t cut her own hair, right? RIGHT? I thought so. Anyway, this Sin City “sequel” looks pretty cool, although as a friend noted a few weeks back when he saw the trailers: “Everyone’s looking a wee bit long in the tooth even WITH all that makeup!” Of course, I laughed along with him because we’re no spring chickens either. But hey, neither of us is up there on the big screen chewing up the scenery for a well-earned paycheck. Hmmm… maybe we should consider a career move? I think he can play Marv without all that rubber goo on his face. Me, I guess I can be anything in a script like a table, wall or tree. I think I’m a bit wooden when it comes to the acting stuff, so playing an inanimate object is probably a better start…

Escape Dead Island Trailer: Live Men Tell Plenty of Tales…

Posted on July 1, 2014 by geelw

Is anyone else getting a distinct Telltale Games vibe from the art in this Dead Island spin-off game headed to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall? No? Well, okay, it’s not an EXACT lift from those excellent adventure games, but I’d bet a smelly coin from a zombie’s pocket that developer Fatshark Studios was inspired by that series when they were cooking up this one. That’s not necessarily a bad thing at all, as if it’s done right, I can see Dead Island appealing to gamers in a slightly different manner than it has previously. That and I wonder if those stylized visuals also mean this one’s Vita-bound as well? That would be pretty cool at the end of the day. Anyway, we’ll see what’s what soon enough, right?

MOEBIUS: Horror Fans, The Unkindest Cut of All Is Coming Your Way in August…

Posted on July 1, 2014 by geelw

Ouch. Just reading the description for RAM Releasing’s upcoming horror film MOEBIUS should get a few guys to slam their knees together like a bear trap with a hair trigger mechanism:

When she catches her husband having an affair, a woman attempts to castrate the cheater for his wrongdoing. Unsuccessful, she instead inflicts the unspeakable act on her own son, setting off a series of grotesque yet provocative events ranging from a hurried genital transplant to pain-inflicted orgasms that all merge in a continuous thread of delirious storytelling. With both husband and son damaged and living in grief, the wife returns as the family heads towards destruction even more horrific than before.

Kim Ki-Duk, whose signature style pushes the limits of challenging filmmaking and often blows right through them, won the Golden Lion with PIETA at the Venice Film Festival last year. The prolific director is set to shock audiences again with Moebius, his latest perverse statement on family tensions, sexual boundaries and society’s issues with each.

During August, the film will get a limited run release in North America at the following theaters:

Los Angeles – August 8 – The Cinefamily, 611 N. Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

New York – August 15 – Cinema Village, 22 E. 12th St, New York, NY 10003

Chicago – August 22 – Facets, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

before making its Video on Demand (VOD) debut on August 29 via all major providers (Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Verizon, etc.) and digital VOD at iTunes, Amazon Instant, Google Play, Vudu, Xbox, Playstation, Rovi and Samsung Hub.

Yeah, I’ll be reviewing this one in August – I have a screener on the way, but I may need a teddy bear, a blanket, a few bottles of wine and a noise-canceling room to block my screaming. My knees hurt already from slamming together, so I can’t wait to see what the actual film does… O__o

Alien: Isolation Is Calling Me (Let’s Hope Sega Is Listening As Well)…

Posted on June 30, 2014 by geelw

Okay, Sega. I wasn’t at E3 this year, so tell me you’re rolling into NYC with Alien: Isolation and a few others sometime soon. I have a few appointments in July, but I’ll clear out the better part of a day just to see this in action and play it a little. Not TOO much, as I don’t want to pee myself in public (ha, ha). Just enough so that I know it’s on the right track (and I already do, but hands-on is better than too much “journalistic overconfidence” any day of the week). Um… that is all for now. Oh yeah, Sonic the Hedgehog had a birthday recently. I baked a cake, but ate the whole thing because he needs to watch his weight with that new look and all…

Gallery: New Raven’s Cry Screenshots + A Little Shanty To Spice Up Your Monday (Arrrr!)

Posted on June 30, 2014 by geelw

Ahoy! My Monday’s running a wee bit late, but at least some things are working better than they were yesterday (and how!). The laptop isn’t rattling, there’s a nice strong wi-fi signal today (this past weekend was lousy!) and the fine folks at TopWare Interactive shot over a cannonball with four new Raven’s Cry screens that missed me by a mile, but there’s now a nice cannonball-shaped hole in the wall here. And you know what? I’m not even mad about that because I happen to think porthole windows are cool!

I just need to see if Home Depot has any in stock about the size of a ten-pound cannonball hole. I suppose I should let Dean over at Topware know that if he plans to shoot a review copy of the game over to aim for the roof, as I don’t think I need another hole in a wall here (or worse, through the porthole window I just installed.

Say, do ye fancy a shanty that’s not for the wee ones? Good! Topware has also dropped a second adults-only sea shanty called “Hangin’ Wille” that will make some of you laugh and others cringe accordingly. Like the other NSFW shanty “Sail With the Devil”, it’s got some VERY salty language that would make even a dead pirate blush. I’d post both videos here, but I’d probably get a second and better-aimed cannonball from the ladies out there. Hey, the life of a pirate wasn’t all TV series fodder and booze commercials, you know! Anyway, Raven’s Cry will be sailing into stores for PC/Mac, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 on October 14, 2014.

Back with more on this one soon – I should probably invest in a cannonball catcher or something…

Bundle Stars Wants You To Load Up On RPG Deals. I Say Oblige Them!

Posted on June 28, 2014 by geelw

So, Bundle Stars is having yet another sale. Well, ALL they have are sales, but this time, you can buy some fine RPGs for a dollar or two or spend a tiny bit more for a bundle with assorted games and get one of these titles below in that deal. Anyway, pick one or pick all – it’s your move!

While here in America, the two Two Worlds games get a lot of negativity thrown their way, if you like European-developed open world role playing games or want to experiment with a couple, there’s a lot to love in both. Two Worlds: Epic Edition for a dollar and Two Worlds II for two bucks? DEAL of the week, I say. In either game You’ll get some pretty visuals, very large worlds to explore packed with plenty of challenge, and while not exactly strong on story, both games share a slightly goofy sense of humor that for me, at least was a refreshing change from the darker doom and gloom games in the genre.

The second game is the better looking of the two, but turn off the motion blur effect and down any other visual effects that can make playing the game a queasy thrill ride at times. The story is a bit better in the sequel, but as noted, that oddball humor is still there. I find it amusing that some people who disliked the funny stuff here probably never played one of the later Might and Magic games 3DO made. At times, those were practically comedies wrapped into a dungeon crawling experience. Anyway, more suggestions below the jump…

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E3 2014: Focus Home Interactive Wants You To Focus On These Two Upcoming Games…

Posted on June 27, 2014 by geelw

Focus Home Interactive has two big games coming for PC and next-generation consoles and if this fourteen minutes of gameplay from the upcoming game STYX: Master of Shadows isn’t getting you grinning at the possibilities of just how cool it is to play that nasty little goblin assassin, I have not a clue what will get your interest piqued. This one’s coming later this summer and it’s great to see third party games like this and others filling up the PS4 and Xbox One library until the big first-party games roll out around the holidays and beyond.

On the even more intense front, fans of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 will be more than thrilled to see Space Hulk finally making a welcome return as a first-person shooter in the upcoming Space Hulk: Deathwing, coming from developer Streum On Studio. While all you get here is some in engine footage and not actual first-person gameplay with whatever HUD will (or won’t) be onscreen, Epic’s Unreal 4 engine is certainly making what you do see look pretty incredible and Streum On definitely has some talent Check out the handful of screenshots below for more of what to expect and keep an eye on both of these games, I say…

Sniper Elite III Launch Trailer: I’d Say If Mr. Fairburne Is Early… You’re Going To Be Quite Late.

Posted on June 26, 2014 by geelw

Rebellion’s newest installment in their Sniper Elite series smashes into stores tomorrow in Europe and July 1 here in North America and if my earlier preview impressions hold up in the final build, the game is guaranteed to be a bigger hit than the previous installments. Improvements all around to the visuals, map design and both solo and online gameplay mean this one’s going to eat up a chunk of time among genre fans looking for something new to keep them occupied for a bit. I’ll be lurking close to my mailbox to get the jump on the delivery guy so I can grab my copy of the game from him before he knows it’s gone. Or perhaps I should just let him do his job, as I don’t want to get into trouble for my over-excitement…

SIn City’s Marv Gets The Eric So Treatment (And Is Still Quite A Scary Guy)…

Posted on June 26, 2014 by geelw

WANTED!
Dark Horse Comics and toy design master Eric So want YOU to grab this very limited edition (950 pieces) and very cool stylized Marv vinyl figure, which is set for a September 10 release, not long after the August 22 premiere of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For at a theater near you. Each Marv is 13 inches tall, individually hand painted, has a removable cross and chain and in a neat touch, you get a bunch of sticky bandages you can apply to his handsome mug. Well, I think he’s handsome… in that his mother dropped him off a roof too many times but he never stopped breathing kind of way.

Anyway, go bug your comics shop guy or gal if you want one of these. You better find a nice place to put it, too. Nobody puts Marv in the corner. For long…

Random Film of the Week(end): Blow-Up

Posted on June 22, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, Cinedelica TV!)

“Nothing like a little disaster for sorting things out.”

Some people hate Michelangelo Antonioni’s groundbreaking 1966 film Blow-Up (or Blowup depending on how you prefer it spelled, I go with the poster myself) with a passion reserved for cruel dictators and people who drive vans full of puppies and baby rabbits into lakes. Me, I’ll admit to disliking and being frustrated with the film when I saw it as a not quite ready to see something so heady teenager thinking it was going to be something entirely different. However, as years have passed and I’ve seen it a few more times, I’ve come to truly appreciate the film for the things it nails while realizing most people who despise the film tend to over-analyze it to the point of making themselves confused as to exactly what the movie is about.

For all its swingin’ London scenery, excellent use of that great Herbie Hancock score, skinny exotic models posing for a seriously unlikable main character and seemingly “boring” stretches where seemingly, nothing important happens for some viewers looking for a proper narrative before something important DOES happen (that’s picked upon as important to those plot followers, naturally). The funny thing is, any attempts as locking in that golden “Aha!” moment are interrupted by a few distractions that intentionally take focus away from things unless you’ve clued into what’s actually going on here. With all that, Blow-Up is actually a surprisingly minimalist and easy to understand film, albeit an experience that demands your complete attention. Well, once you cut through the arty fat and get to the hidden in plain sight meat on the bone dangling in front of you, it’s a more fulfilling viewing experience. On the other hand, it’s also a film that while open to a few interpretations, still revolves around a central theme some continue to overlook. Continue reading →