The Indie Gala January Bundle Gets Deadly… And You’ll Get A Premonition When You Buy It…

Posted on January 17, 2014 by geelw

Ha! ANY chance to write more about one of my favorite games is a good thing, so here you go. Over at the Indie Gala site, their January bundle just got even more interesting, going from a must buy pack to “If you DON’T buy this bundle, you’re nuts!” deal. $5.19 got you seven games up until today when Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut was added to the deal and three more Steam games are coming soon. Nice.

The Steam version of DPTDC adds a ton of bonus content, Steam-specific achievements and (Xbox 360) controller support (sure you CAN play with a mouse and keyboard, but this is ONLY recommended if you already do so and are GREAT at it). As for the game proper, it’s a surprising throwback that won’t win any awards for visuals, but has a story that’s quite interesting on a few emotional layers. In addition, the game is a homage to all sorts of cool stuff and packs in movie trivia like a boss (just drive around and listen to the banter for some fun knowledge dropping). Sure, it won’t look amazing at all on that 50″ or three screen monitor setup and the game isn’t going to task your overclocked gaming rig at all. But good, quirky games like this don’t need fancy system defying visuals to be awesome, I say.

That, and the rest of the games in the bundle are all pretty unique in their own right. You’ll see soon enough. Now go spend a few spare bucks (part of it will be going to charity, so it’s okay!) and have a great(er) weekend!

Random Film of the Week: Body Parts

Posted on January 17, 2014 by geelw

While flawed, Eric Red’s 1991 horror film Body Parts works for about two-thirds of its running time until it goes to pieces and collapses into a heap. It’s a variation on The Hands of Orlac and other potentially possessed parts flicks that makes for a fairly freakish time thanks to Jeff Fahey’s committed performance, Red’s mostly solid direction and an outstanding score by Loek Dikker that drives the film right from the main title sequence.

Like Oliver Stone’s even more flawed horror flick THE HAND, there’s some good stuff in here, some bad stuff and some flat out crazy stuff. But Red’s film is a lot more compelling and even more interesting on the visual side of things up until the aforementioned belly flop into silly quasi-Frankenstein’s monster/evil scientist with a bizarre agenda territory…

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Random Film of the Week: The Thing

Posted on January 16, 2014 by geelw

So, it’s John Carpenter’s birthday and once more, I find myself writing about The Thing. The last time it was a dissection of that disappointing 2011 prequel and this time, it’s a little look back at what I think is one of the scariest mainstream sci-fi/horror films of the 80’s that still works today thanks to how well it was put together. The overall tone of relentless, deliberate dread the film sets up from the very beginning is claustrophobic and overpowering as you’re sucked into the story about the doomed men of Outpost #31.

I saw this back in 1982 and the film really pushed the envelope of what could be done with practical effects so much that even today most of Rob Bottin’s (and that brief slice of Stan Winston’s) groundbreaking work holds up as believable. Of course, the story and excellent cast also make this one such a killer film to curl up with that I’d even recommend it to those who hate horror movies just because everything clicks so well…
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Dark Souls II “CURSED” Trailer: More Like “CURSING” Once You Play This One…

Posted on January 14, 2014 by geelw

Dark Souls II is going to be the toughest thing many gamers will touch all this year and love. And hate, as the game’s relentless enemies and crushing difficulty will chew up and spit out all comers from seasoned veterans to new players who THINK they can survive unscathed. Nah, not gonna happen, people. You will die (well, your character will die) and you’ll be glaring at your controller with malicious intent when you should be holding up a mirror and heavy breathing into your fogged up reflection. Hey, what did you expect from a game with the tagline “Prepare to Die”, hmmmmm? On the other hand, to the victor go the spoils… but most of those spoils happen to be of the “Holy crap, I survived THIS long before I got stepped on/skewered/roasted/run over, et cetera…”

This one’s going to be a killer, people. Watch the skies for flying controllers and keep an ear out for banshee-like howls from above, I say…

Random Film of the Week: Sharky’s Machine

Posted on January 13, 2014 by geelw

Okay, I’ll admit it. I saw Sharky’s Machine with a few friends back in 1981 just so we could see a massive train-wreck in action. Of course, we were all surprised that the Burt Reynolds-directed film was not only quite good and well made, but actually a lot darker in tone than expected. There are also plenty of scenery-chewing funny bits in here as well, but none of them come at Burt’s expense and very few come from him (another surprise!).

Those bits of comic relief come primarily from the supporting cast made up of some of those “Where do I know HIM from?” actors (Bernie Casey, Brian Keith, John Fielder and Charles Durning among others) while Burt underplays Sharky as a moody and determined cop out to make the best of his earlier demotion who discovers love, death and dismemberment in a few strange places. Only two of those things actually happen TO him during the film, but I’ll keep you in suspense here (for the most part) just because I want you to check this one out at some point…

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Game of Thrones Season 4 Trailer: Liars And Dragons and Bares, Oh My!

Posted on January 12, 2014 by geelw

As we all know (well, those of us addicted to the HBO series, that is), last season saw the exit of quite a few Stark family members and a few other shocks to the system (unless one had already read the books years earlier and was suitably prepared). Of course, HBO isn’t going to rest until we all have gray hairs and they’re on the floor scattered around the TV room because we’ve gone and yanked them all out because of a few more earth shaking demises and other mind-blowing revelations. In English: Season 4 will kick some ass. April 6, 2014 is just around the corner, you know. Sort of. Well, the way time flies these days, it’s coming up sooner than you think. By the second, yet. Look at that clock go! Wooooo!

Okay, I’m calm now. Or calmer than I was a few seconds ago…

Alien Isolation “Transmission” and “Origins”: Puzzle Pieces Falling Where They Need To…

Posted on January 10, 2014 by geelw

Hmmmm… As predicted, with The Creative Assembly on the case this time out, Sega’s upcoming Alien Isolation is looking pretty impressive in this introductory teaser and developer diary. Hopefully, the story will work as intended, as I can see some folks not being all aboard the playing as Ellen Ripley’s daughter thing. Me, I’m a wait and see guy myself because I trust The CA to do their best and they’ve always done just that when they make their games. I do like that it’s turning out to be NOT a stupid shoot everything that moves experience and seems to be focusing on story and characters first and foremost.

The only major sticking point to some will be the lack of a Wii U version as the gameplay seems perfect for that GamePad, but such is life in this generation of consoles I suppose. Someone HAS to get a suitable Alien game out on that system one of these days, I say. I’m not sure who, but it would be nice to see one at some point…

RAZE Trailers 1 & 2: BAM! POW! Sisters Are Doin’ It To Themselves…

Posted on January 10, 2014 by geelw

OUCH! Look, Hollywood. As much as I like strong female characters in my movies, this is a wee bit much. Or at least the trailers are numbing past the point of a good shot of painocaine. I can see the recipe now: One part Caged, One part Fight Club, add a jigger of Prisoner: Cell Block H, a slice of SAW and some of that special Corman spicy stuff from the baggie in that old coffee can and it’s BEWM! a knuckle and booby sammich you better treat right (and take your time with) OR ELSE. Eh, I dunno. Not to be (even more) sexist or anything, but I just don’t like women getting the crap kicked out of each other even if it’s by other women. Don’t you all get enough of that rough stuff from men in these sorts of films? Granted, I’m not a MMA of UFC fan at all these days and nope, I don’t even like it when men beat the crap out of each of other unless it’s in a stupid action movie where I know that the violence isn’t real and usually, the guys getting beat down deserve that knee to the head that sends them off a balcony fifteen floors to land on their heads.

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On the other fist, I do love me some stupidly wild grindhouse films from across the spectrum from flat out funny to morally questionable by today’s standards. But I take those outrageous flicks in stride and not at all seriously because most are flat out hilarious under all their fake blood and gore. That said, I’m intrigued and may catch this when it pops up on cable at some point. I may not like all of what I see (the story BETTER be worth all that gal on gal violence), but I won’t be gleefully rubbing my mitts together like some people who see this and think waaaay too sexy thoughts about all that brutality being “hot” because women are getting beaten to death. Okay, ladies. Weigh in if you like. Um, that wasn’t a pun, by the way. Heh. Don’t hit me! I’m fragile! Ow! *Flinch*

Random Film of the Week: Across 110th Street

Posted on January 9, 2014 by geelw

No, it’s NOT “Blaxploitation Week” here at DAF because believe it or else, Across 110th Street isn’t really an exploitation film at all. Sure it’s got sudden (but VERY expected) bursts of violence, plenty of (way too brightly colored) blood spilled, swearing out the wazoo, hard drug usage, funky fashions and Afros all wrapped in very palpable sense of dread that lurks around from the moment the film gets underway until its inevitable conclusion. Oh, and that urban gangster theme, stereotypical I-tal-i-an mobsters getting needlessly brutal, an equally racist white cop (Anthony Quinn) and the fresh to the precinct black detective (Yaphet Kotto) who has to work with him on his first major case may all make you THINK you know what you’re getting into.

But then a funny thing happens after the title credits roll… the film surprises you with a surprisingly well shot and tense crime action/thriller with a deliberately relentless tone that escalates as things spiral out of control. Stealing drug money from the mob is a bad idea in any dramatic film, but this film lets you watch the doomed men pull off their dirty deed successfully while letting you see all too clearly that they’re not going far with their ill-gotten gains… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week: HIT MAN

Posted on January 8, 2014 by geelw

While watching 1972’s HIT MAN on TCM last week and in between bouts of nearly falling off the couch laughing a few times at the unintentional comedy gold, it hit me that I’d see this film’s story elsewhere. Granted, you get what you pay for with most “blaxploitation” flicks in the form of a reworking of older (and often, superior) films, but there was something here under all the massive afros, copious nudity and violence that seemed pretty familiar.

That something happened to be Get Carter, the classic 1971 British gangster film from director Mike Hodges that was an early showcase for Michael Caine as well as a pretty darn great and mature killer of a movie. A year later, director George Armitage pretty much piled on the T&A, beefing up the sexy time and violence to racier American levels of shameless acceptability and the cast here does a pretty awesome job at making this one of those absolutely memorable (but yes, gloriously bad on so many levels) “B” flicks that’s going to have your head shaking and spinning simultaneously… Continue reading →