Carving Mr. Banks (A New One): Mr. Ellison Gets Out The Proper Knives…

Posted on December 19, 2013 by geelw

Hoo boy, I do love Harlan Ellison. I haven’t read much by the man lately thanks to me reading less over time (something I’m slowly rectifying thanks to people around these parts), but everything I’ve EVER picked up by the man has been a fine read and has never failed to disappoint. We’ve actually met twice, but the last time was so long ago that Forbidden Planet here in NYC had a store uptown near the formerly 59th Street Bridge. Anyway, another Christmas gift for me today was that video above of the man himself poking an elbow in the eyeball of Disney’s new flick, Saving Mr. Banks. Yeah, it’s a long-ish rant if you’re of the short attention span crowd, but it’s ten minutes worth of fine and fair poking at the film, praising the acting while making sure you know that yes, Virginia, movies and particularly movies made with an agenda aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

Granted, those who read a good deal know exactly what he’s getting on about, but given that the film (like much of Hollywood’s output) is made for the casual viewing crowd that eats up the feel good follies week by week, I’m sure as hell sure that THOSE people don’t know the real deal.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Trailer: I Thought “Ape Shall Never Kill Ape!” Was A Golden Rule?

Posted on December 18, 2013 by geelw

So, not only will there be a sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it looks as if this time it’s (even more) war as ape versus ape action will fill theaters next July and get the CG fans screaming. Me? I’ll wait for the cable premiere, as all these computer-made flicks just get on my nerves after anything over five minutes of otherwise hard work that’s failing to keep my interest the more of these effects hit me over the head. I’m NOT getting jaded at all, mind you. I just miss the days of practical work looking better in some respects and not as “perfect” because every motion is animated to a “T” and overemphasized to the point that it looks TOO realistic or worse, you get those “impossible to capture with a real camera” moments piled one atop the other and it’s basically not the director directing any longer. Yeah, we’ll see… we’ll see. It looks interesting and all, but if it’s not as “kinda fun” as Rise was, I’ll be sending a box of rotten banana peels to Fox with a mildly nasty note…

Nintendo Direct 12/18/2013: Some Very Nice Surprises From Now ‘Til Thenever…

Posted on December 18, 2013 by geelw

I actually wasn’t expecting all that much from this new Nintendo Direct video, as it clocks in at just over 33 minutes and the last live reveal the company did outside their straight to the consumer YouTube series was underwhelming at best (or: I don’t give a rat’s banana about Cranky Kong!). That said, there were some nice surprises here in the form of NES Remix a cool mash-up mini-game series available today on the eShop and for me, Hyrule Warriors is going to be a go-to game for a while whenever it actually hits retail. Seeing a Legend of Zelda take on the supremely addictive long running “mindless” hack and slash Dynasty Warriors franchise (done by the folks who make those games, of course) made me a wee bit too giddy. I say this one should have been a launch or launch window game for the Wii U just because it’s one of those series that like it or not, anyone who can hold a controller can dive into and play without a single tutorial or hand-holding moment…
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503 Better Things To Do Than Be Caught Dead On Buzzfeed…

Posted on December 17, 2013 by geelw

That image to the left is the inside of my head after a few minutes on that so-called “hot” site, Buzzfeed. I generally avoid places like that on the internet because I can feel my intelligence draining away as soon as I start poking around to find anything that actually keeps my attention long enough to finish, but I’m trying to be less stuffy in my online reading choices.

Granted, I barely have time to write all that I want to and read what some of you folks on my too short list of semi-regular spots to visit cook up. But on occasion, a friend here and there will shoot over a link to something on one of those much bigger mainstream sites that generate millions of hits (and millions of ad bucks I sure don’t get) and I’m finding myself poking around because I’m trying to be a nice guy more than wanting to waste five minutes or so reading silly polls and other junk that aren’t actually informative.

(Thanks, MRJadedtom!)

At best, you’re “entertained” with a few chuckles before you remember you had something actually important to do. At worst, you’ll be reading things you don’t care about and wanting to chase the person around who sent you that link with a sharpened or blunt stick wanting your time and brain cells back. I don’t claim to be the smartest guy on the planet these days, but if I’m going to dawdle anywhere, I’d prefer to waste my time when I want to as opposed to because someone else finds a shiny object to dangle in my field of view.

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Fake Time Travel Takes a Big Step Backwards, But Nice Try, Flyonix!

Posted on December 16, 2013 by geelw

Well, I figured SOMEONE would try and make a life sized TARDIS that actually flew one of these days, but the guys at Flyonix did so and made a trio of really fun and funny professional quality videos documenting their process and the initial (and unfortunately first and only) flight of their blue boxy bird. As you can see, things didn’t exactly turn out as well as some of you would like. Well, at least they weren’t crazy enough to put a person inside, right? Of course, you Who purists might be a bit miffed that this version of the TARDIS wasn’t bigger on the inside and all that, but hey – you can only go SO far with actual reality, you know….

Of course, this probably won’t stop them from making a new attempt and yep, I want them to at LEAST get one up, flying and landing safely just so I can like to see an actual TARDIS ride pop up in an amusement park somewhere in the world. Heck, you’d think it would have happened already, but I guess since Disney or Universal hasn’t bought Doctor Who yet (and we certainly don’t want to see THAT happening, correct?) and slapped a themed section into one of their parks, it won’t be a “thing” to experience outside of some fan fiction (eek) or inventors with too much time on their hands and plenty of moxie. Wait… did I just use “moxie” in an sentence in the 21st century? Yes, I did. Time travel DOES exist!

Random Film of the Week(end): The Stunt Man

Posted on December 15, 2013 by geelw

It’s been a really sad year for film fans in terms of losing bits of history and memory as the months fly by too soon. Upon hearing that Peter O’Toole passed away, the first thing I thought of was that TCM is really going to need to update its TCM Remembers video to include the legendary actor (and perhaps Paul Walker, as he wasn’t included {not being a “classic” film actor and all} although Eleanor Parker, who died later, was).

The second thing I thought of was not the film he’s probably going to be most remembered for by many, David Lean’s masterful epic Lawrence of Arabia, but Richard Rush’s bawdy, bold 1980 film, The Stunt Man with the actor playing a madman of a director trying to make a bizarre World War I film with an on the lam drifter replacing the stunt man killed in a freak accident… Continue reading →

Interstellar Teaser Trailer: What You Do After You’ve Gone Batty Thrice…

Posted on December 14, 2013 by geelw

So, it’s about a year away (!), but Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Interstellar looks as if it will be one more intensely interesting film from one of the more prolifically creative mainstream directors working today. Granted, this SUPER tease may as well be a trailer for a Salvage One movie or a more serious version of Joe Dante’s EXPLORERS, but I like that vagueness going on here and the fact that we have to wait a whole year to see what’s coming. Naturally, there WILL be updates as more of the plot and cast are revealed, but with any new film, I prefer to stay the hell off the internet and far away from speculation and spoilers because it just makes for a better overall viewing experience. Try it sometime and see, I say…

Random Film of the Week: Friday the 13th

Posted on December 13, 2013 by geelw

Amusingly enough, I wasn’t planning on doing a RFotW at all (well, for a few days at least) until I was walking home and realized that it was indeed that day where superstitious people go out of their ways to avoid danger and paradoxically set themselves and others up for accidents. If you’ve ever spilled a hot or cold beverage on yourself or someone else or the ground because some idiot was jumping out of the way of a black cat, diving past a ladder, threw a handful salt over their shoulder into your eyes or anything else deemed to ward off bad luck, you probably know what I mean, correct?

Anyway, taking its cues from !950’s “B” horror and Italian giallo films and adding a few (for the time) modern twists Sean S. Cunningham’s 1980 horror flick is to many, a classic. Granted, back when it was released it was labeled as “misogynistic” (despite a girl being the last survivor and a plot twist I won’t spoil here for those who still haven’t seen this one) along with a bunch of other genre films that put BOTH male and female characters in peril and if you want to see it as such, I’m not going to change your mind. However, when you take into account the guys get it as badly as the gals here, I’d say the film is shocking because it actually doesn’t discriminate when it comes to who gets the axe, arrow, machete or other modes of mean-spirited dispatching… Continue reading →

Dungeon of the Endless Trailer: The Final Frontier Is Only About FOREVER Long…

Posted on December 13, 2013 by geelw

Endless Space was (and still is) a pretty amazing 4X strategy game that still draws in players thanks to a ton of depth and replay value plus a very healthy modding community. So, as one of a few follow up titles, developer Amplitude Studios is making… a dungeon crawler set in the same universe? Yes, this is Dungeon of the Endless, currently in development and coming soon to PC via Steam.

Well, that actually works very well for me, as I love that genre more than poking about amount the stars and hoping all my ships aren’t blown into space dust because I got lazy and forgot to do something twenty hours before that’s coming back to bite me in the butt. As you can see above in that teaser trailer, the game will feature randomly generated maps, loads of space beasties to dispatch or be dispatched by and is pretty much guaranteed to suck many, many hours of free time away from stuff you SHOULD be getting done except you were too busy being up too late at night not doing things like sleeping and dreaming of more productive endeavors…

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Age of Barbarian II On Indiegogo: Your NSFW “B” Game Guilty Pleasure Gets A Sequel…

Posted on December 12, 2013 by geelw

With strong influences ranging from Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories, the classic fantasy art of Frank Frazetta and other illustrators, PC games such as the Barbarian series, “B” games such as Sword of Sodan and many others, Crian Soft’s violent and nudity packed Age of Barbarian was one of those games that drew some controversy in some circles for its decidedly NSFW (and DEFINITELY not for the kiddies content). Granted, if you appreciated all of what the game was attempting in its gloriously macho over the top recreation of its fantasy world, you were grinning like a Cimmerian while playing through the bloody side-scrolling hack and slash action. Conversely, if you were a cranky prude who only saw a trailer or screenshots, you were probably shaking your fists at a monitor and letting your eyeballs and brain boil in your skull.

No matter how you felt about the game, creator Christian Fanucci is in the process of whipping up an even more polished sequel and yes, it’s crowdfunding time! Given that the goal is a pretty modest $12,000 and the funding campaign runs until February 2, 2014, I’d say Fanucci makes his target provided he’s got people who aren’t afraid to fly their flags proudly and say they loved the first game and want to see a second. Given the planned and promised changes to make it an even bigger sequel (Golden Axe style mounts, a bigger world map and many side quests to tackle), this is one of those games that I hope sees everything happen to get it out there and played by those who want more of Rahaan and Sheyna’s adventures on their computers. Forget about this one coming to consoles, as it would probably be an automatic AO for the near nudity and other scenes alone. That said, fans of Conan, the Sword and the Sorcerer and a ton of other 80’s flicks should get this on their plate and check out some of the higher-end rewards, as they’re pretty cool for those with the cash to spare.