So, yeah. We’re in uncharted yet somehow all too predictable waters at the moment. I’m seeing those history and philosopy books I read or scanned and documentaries I watched as a kid up coming to life in rapid succession and nope, that’s not a good seaworthy feeling in the guts that’s happening. Diversions, diversions are required in this case, but I prefer focused ones that fit the climate over ones that beg me to continually forget it. Anyway, a few recommends to see for you if you’re so inclined, have an open mind and don’t want to be left behind.
No commentary needed on these, but trailers are added to get your eyes and brain to get your fingers clicking on getting these added to that ‘must-see’ queue. Four for today should be enough – there are a load more I’ll get to over time. Distractions about disruption over participation in destruction, I say.
Hoooo… boy. Yep, I love my quirky Japanese games and all, but this trailer for developer Tamsoft’s upcoming Japanese PS4 action game SGZH: School Girl Zombie Hunter is destined to get a lot of people’s heads aflame for some pretty obvious reasons. If you’re one of those creaky, cranky humorless sorts who’ve disliked (or have never even heard of) their Onechanbara games for their outright M-rated combo of splashy cartoon gore and copious amounts of exposed near (but never totally)-nude female flesh (although, to be fair, some of the hideous undead enemies in these games wear less), SGZH will have your eyeballs fly right from their sockets as the trailer below the jump goes from sassy to sewer level if you watch it all the way to the end.
Um, don’t let little kids or anyone easily outraged by what their brain will tell them to think when they see this, watch unless you’re into defending your potential entertainment options, mmmmkay?
I kind of wish I had amnesia right about now, but it’s more important to stay frosty an alert out in the real world. That said, I still wish I had Amnesia, but this desire is actually in the form of Amnesia Collection on the PS4. It’s not on the PSN Store as I type this, but trust me, it’s going to be at some point today. If I’m in the mood to camp out under the covers later, perhaps a buy and play will be made. The first game and it’s shorter sequel, Justine, may have aged visually over the last five years, but my money says those old Lovecraftian shivers will still work perfectly.
So. I forgot I was awake too long since yesterday including what time I passed out this morning, just woke up and remembered something about Rip Van Winkle coming home ad tripping over an ottoman in front of his family. It was a Morey Amsterdam good time, laugh track and all. Then I realized I was awake, but having an American Nightmare. Four years is too long to nap, right? Someone call (and bring me) a Guinness. It’s going to be a long nap, and dreaming all that thunder I hear while I rest is the sound of bowling pins falling hard and drowning out the droning of happy goat-like bleating from a particular direction.
I do have work to do on site related stuff, so normal operations will resume shortly, abby-normal conditions outside the window and all that stuff.
So. A big fat resounding YES booms out here to the upcoming Amnesia Collection for PlayStation 4, set for a November 22, 2016 release. Featuring all three entries in the “series” (Amnesia The Dark Descent, Amnesia: Justine and Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs), I’m going to dive on this set of scares like a thousand dollar bill scooting down an empty street on a slightly windy day. On the other hand… that trailer above gets a sore thumb in the eye for going the pesky paid YouTube screamer/streamer route when something a lot less… annoying would have been perfect.
Effective? Yep. Disorienting? Definitely. I’m not sure who put this new trailer together, but it just makes a truly frightening game experience into another jump-scare game that are literally a dime a dozen (or free) on Steam. Now, I’m not one of those off the wall gamers screaming for a boycott or spewing bile over a not so hot (and at the end of the day, minor) decision made by whomever. It’s just that I like having one game that’s actually unnerving to remain so without the possibly fake or overplayed reactions you can see dozens of on YouTube on a daily basis.
Um, Warp Factor ZERO on CBS for what seems to be a great idea on one hand, but a LOUSY one for people who don’t like to or can’t stream content to their homes. Apparently, the premiere episode will indeed be shown on your local CBS affiliate here in the U.S. of A., but after that, the show will ONLY going to appear as a part of CBS All Access, a paid channel similar to HBO GO. Ugh. As you can imagine, some are quite cranky about this. Me, I kind of hope the realization that the MORE people who can watch this show from the get-go means it finds an audience WITHOUT piracy to get more people watching than actually paying to see this. Yeah, yeah, I know the excuses for the pro-piracy crowd and how that activity can drive up viewership in some cases.
But in this particular case? I don’t think it’s a good idea to try and get more money from people just because you have a hot new show and a showrunner who’s done great things in the past. For many who want to see this legally and on what they already use, they may all be singing this little ditty (just roll with it. I know full well the old crew isn’t in this new show!):
That and I’d bet Gene Roddenberry would want his stellar trekking vision free to all interested parties within eyesight of ANY sort of viewing device. Then again, the teaser promising among other things, “New Villains” along with that slow-motion planet cracking stuff may mean (SPECULATION ALERT!) that the new Trek will be more action-oriented for the shorter, easily bored attention spans these days.
So join me for a drink boys
We’re gonna make a big noise
So don’t worry about tomorrow
Take it today
Forget about the check
We’ll get hell to pay
According to a few sources including the director himself, William Friedkin fired blanks off-camera into the air in order to get an actor to react with fright during a key moment in The Exorcist. I’m betting the 1936 penny sitting mysteriously atop my too-small entertainment center (seriously, it just appeared one day and I have NO clue as to how it got there!) that Friedkin maybe shot a computing device of some sort when he found out Fox as making a series based (kind of?) on the classic horror film that freaked out millions back in 1973 and is still influential to this very day.
Me? I had NO idea this was a thing until the always on point Written in Blood pointed out that trailer above. The power of crap compelled my jaw to drop because WHY? There’s really no use or need for a modern take on The Exorcist because the film did what it did so well and is still an effective horror film to this day. Like the upcoming Lethal Weapon TV series (yeah, WHY?), this trend to dig up otherwise fine and dandy entertainment and drag it kicking and screaming into this decade’s short attention span theater audience that will drop a new show they don’t like like a hot rock after one or two episodes. My reaction to that trailer above was somewhat NSFW, and went something like this:
Don’t believe me? Well, how’s that Rush Hour TV series doing, ladies and gents? Uh-huh. Sure, there are a bunch of devil shows on the air already and Fox does have a “hit” with Lucifer, which I’ve yet to see because I’m not at all interested in it. But I just can’t see The Exorcistbeing a series with legs once the story the film tells (now rewritten for TV) plays itself out. Well, unless it turns into some sort of possession anthology series with a demon of the week (ugh), which would kill off the scare factor faster than a vampire eating a loaf of garlic bread as the sun rose.
Meh, maybe I’m too cranky and wrong on this… but I don’t think so. If this show ends up being a surprise hit like Bates Motel and goes on for a few seasons, I’ll look into making my own deal with the devil. Oh, don’t worry about me, folks… I know how to trick Old Scratch into letting me keep my soul:
I have a box of turtles and dinosaurs here plus some other stuff on the way and that makes me giddy. Yep, NY Toy Fair is here and is going to be fun, but I’m also thinking of stuff outside the box that makes me think things aren’t all rosy and pastel framed goggles. The economy is weird at the moment and anecdotally I know people who just aren’t spending as much money as they used to for a few reasons. Some parents with less disposable income are choosing to give smaller, less expensive gifts or will go for one or two pricier gift meant to last a while (usually something tech-like). Others are going for more educational gifts with an eyeball towards their wee ones doing something else with their futures than becoming future sports or music stars (which is a good thing in my book).
Toy companies catering to collectors with primarily or only high dollar items are probably feeling the pinch even more but need to keep pushing out their premium product because competition for certain big licenses is huge and NOT being there with that hot new collectible means losing money to the other guy or gal who got their goods on the floor. Of course, collectors with space and funds only are about getting that new item first and fast, so that market is more than safe as long as their passion (and shelf space) hold out. Of course, superheroes are hot stuff and will be for a while. But between the retro trend that keeps bringing back older collectibles and the newer licensed goods that command attention of young and old collectors alike, something’s going to give eventually… Continue reading →
So, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water has been out for a little while and I’ve yet to play it. Not because I don’t want to, mind you. It’s just that Nintendo of America with Tecmo/Koei have made getting the actual game a bit of a chore unless you have a zippy fast broadband connection and about 10GB of hard drive space on your Wii U or a USB drive attached to the console. The game has a “Free to Start” demo that consists of the prologue and first two chapters and if you like what you’ve played, you then pony up $49.99 to download the rest of the game. That’s fine and dandy for those who can access that, but once again, gamers who want a legal physical release have to settle for nothing unless they can speak Japanese, own an import Wii U and buy a physical copy from one of the many import shops online.
Here are your heroes and villains on a crowded poster. Whee. I’m going to go see this, but more as a curious former super-fan who just wants to see how well director J.J. Abrams is going to try and nail the same feeling the first film had and to check out what the writing is like. The original Star Wars came at a crucial time where Hollywood movies were getting great, glum and gloomy (Taxi Driver, anyone?) to the point where something like George Lucas’ inspired sci-fantasy pastiche with its groundbreaking visual effects (for the time) made suddenly happier audiences rush back to theaters multiple times, buy up every bit of merchandise as it was announced and add more fuel to Hollywood’s now common sequel frenzy.
I’m not much of a big merch guy these days, but I do feel a tiny bit sorry for some Star Wars fans who want every freebie out there these theaters are going to hand out. Good Luck, pal. Seeing the list of different items on the official Star Wars site made me a bit annoyed because it’s going to be nearly physically impossible for ONE person to grab each of these items unless they’re willing to do a LOT of traveling, have family or friends in the movie theater business who don’t mind setting aside goodies, other friends and family who will be getting trampled by Grabby the Hutt during the handout phase or maybe they’ll just luck out on eBay after the fact. Of course, watch me proven VERY wrong by some fans who not only manage to get one or more of all those freebies legitimately, but post all about it for the world to see.
Eh, whatever happened to just enjoying a movie and maybe going to see it again with a friend. These days, it’s all a cash grab roundup that shuts less than enthused moviegoers out of the loop. Well,no complaints about the movie here – just a mild trip down the ventilation shaft with s side track into the compactor room. Heh, maybe I’ll just hold out for the inevitable Blu-Ray release in what… February or March? I don’t want to get Greedo-ed on the way to the theater because some irate SW fan-person in full regalia decides to bump me off because they didn’t like what I said.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 