E3 2013: Sony’s “Greatness Awaits” Trailer: Welcome to Easter Egg Island!

Posted on June 17, 2013 by geelw

Throwing all their press conference antics aside, you have to admits that this new ad is pretty amusing and amazing because it throws a nice amount of overkill at you and makes your gamer eye start poking about for references to current or upcoming titles. Sony says there are a few here, so get your thinking cap on (or bug your favorite Sony fan). I haven’t had time to watch this more than twice, so don’t even get around to shooting me an email or post asking for assistance…

E3 2013: NMA World Takes On Microsoft & EA

Posted on June 7, 2013 by geelw

Ouch. This first video is actually from May 30, but leave it to the awesome Taiwanese animators toiling away mercilessly over at NMA to poke some of there incredibly mighty pointed stick in the eye fun at some recent gaming news. The Dragon Age 3: Inquisition video is also a total hoot and even funnier because I’d bet the folks doing the animation have gamers among them who probably wish the game would be as awesomely hilarious as they make it look here.

Off to dig up some lunch now – back in a bit. This stupid storm rolling through here is keeping me from a better connection, so updates will be less than I’d like by a lot today, grrr…

?able Humor: Bad Day Rising? Mr. O’Connor Will Set You Straight in 4:08…

Posted on June 6, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, ozabbavo77!)

I remember when I didn’t like musicals much at all, but I’d say that was because I didn’t watch too many of them. I started to fall for them gradually by way of their sneaky as hell way of cracking me up with their precise choreography, offbeat choice of locations or just the sheer number of performers hoofing it up with broad smiles and seemingly not breaking a sweat. I know I nearly fell off a chair laughing the first time I saw Busby Berkeley’s name in a film’s credits because it sounded exactly like the name of someone who’d throw a hundred women and a handful of men into a huge studio and make them dance on a big revolving tower cake staircase a few stories tall until they were doing it in their sleep (and perhaps wanted him a little bit dead for that kind of torture)…

Continue reading →

Corona’s Humorous “Summer Cooler” Ad Needs a Horror Remake…

Posted on June 5, 2013 by geelw

Not that I have a twisted sense of humor at the ready or anything (OK, it’s active at all times, folks!), but as soon as I saw this new Corona ad, I started laughing probably for reasons the company hadn’t planned. Yes indeed, I can see some YouTube genius re-editing this one with quick shots of plastic wrapped (and fake) body parts getting tossed into that dented cooler at one point. Yeah, those summer memories can really be fun… until you start remembering TOO much. And nope, it was drinking too much Corona that caused those blackouts and memory loss, either…

Random Film of the Day*: Mysterious Island

Posted on May 15, 2013 by geelw

(Thanks, bttfportugal!)
*For the next week or so, I’m going to add a random film the great Ray Harryhausen worked on. The legendary special effects MASTER passed away on May 7, 2013 at age 92 in London and yes, the film world has lost a true giant as well as a fine and talented gentleman…

Mysterious Island Poster Yet another Charles H. Schneer/Ray Harryhausen production featuring a brilliant Bernard Herrmann soundtrack, 1961’s Mysterious Island is another classic fans of the master stop motion animator cite as some of his best work of the decade as well as a pretty solid genre entry. It’s certainly got a nicely varied cast of creatures going for it from a giant crab, an very angry and huge prehistoric bird, a few huge bees in their cliffside hive and a majorly over-sized cephalopod near the end. You also get a nice balloon escape at the beginning that gets most of the cast to that titular island, a few ladies tossed into the mix courtesy of a shipwreck and a surprise appearance by Captain Nemo that adds another layer of the fantastic to the film…
Continue reading →

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Trailer 1: Your Tuesday Fix Is On The Way…

Posted on May 14, 2013 by geelw

Hmmm… I’d say this looks upcoming ABC series that’s drawing a ton of attention from Marvel maniacs looks a bit like a mash-up of Heroes meets the X-Files with a smidgen of a police or detective procedural show, but set in the Marvel Universe. That all of course means it has the potential to go a few ways under the right hands. Under the wrong hands it’s an expensive and painful to watch train wreck, but I think we’re over that stage when it comes to Marvel’s licensed properties. Then again, if Nicholas Cage needs some work, I can see him making a cameo as Ghost Rider just to scare fans into making sure they don’t skip the cameo he gets lest they drive the ratings down and get their show canned. Hell, I bet Marvel can use the show to foist all sorts of last-rate characters back into the Marvel Universe just to test the patience of the loyal Marvelites who won’t stop watching even if they see a glimpse of Howard the Duck’s shadow on a wall in a future show’s trailer or TV spot. OK, OK, I don’t think the show will go THAT low, but you never know what the “House of Ideas” has on that back burner…

CD Projekt RED Wants You To Make Your Own RPG Using Their Tools

Posted on May 13, 2013 by geelw

REDKit_Mod_Screen In case you’ve never played it, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a really spectacular adult RPG with some great writing, visuals and gameplay. Developer CD Projekt RED has been cooking up a nice treat for the more creative fans of their work to play around with and the results are pretty damn impressive. Granted, you just can’t grab their REDKit beta and whip out a game in a day or two (and yes, you need to BUY a legal copy of The Witcher 2, which isn’t a bad thing to do at all, as the game is really inexpensive now and is a good way to spend about 60 to 80 hours or so), but as you can see above and on the official site, the results can be amazing.

Of course, given the game’s system requirements and what are bound to be some really complex mods, I’m gathering you’ll need a fairly powerful PC to run anything created using this toolkit. But for those gamers or artistic types with the time to play around with their own ideas in the world of The Witcher, this one’s a no-brainer to at least try out to see if it’s something you can use…

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Promo: Seems Highly Interesting, Everything Looks Dynamic…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

Forget the first ten seconds of tease above, as I’m betting we don’t see any of the first-stringers from the Marvel movies on the show at all during Season One. This frees them up for the money-grabbing they’ll do in feature films and also helps lessen any potential continuity errors in future films. That said, a cameo or two would be cool from a certain group of Four Fantastic folks who should be getting a re-reboot attempt at a film soon enough. of course, I could be all wrong and we’ll see a hero of the week popping in just to get the fans glued to the TV for every episode in droves, but I think Joss Whedon can get it done without all the super-powered assistance. As usual, We. Shall. See. I’m still flipping a coin and deciding whether or not to watch the show or wait for the INEVITABLE home video version that packs in more features and less stupid pop-up ads for other shows, live feedback crawls or whatever other junk ABC and Marvel pack onto the screen that distracts from the action and storytelling…

As Long As YOUR Mother’s Day Wasn’t Like This, It Was An OK One…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

Hey, a little Bugs Bunny goes a long, loooooong way, folks. Of course, the next time you’re at your mother’s place or she’s with you and someone orders coffee or tea, I’m hoping this clip pops into your head at some point. She’ll understand perfectly if she remembers this old gem, but if not… well, you sure have some fast explaining to do, right?

Random Film of the Week(end): Reptilicus

Posted on May 12, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, horrormovieshows!)

After the successes of Godzilla and other Japanese and American giant monster movies in the 1950’s it seems that a few other countries wanted to get aboard the money train and come up with their own flicks featuring mutated reptiles or other gigantic beasts. Now, Denmark is the absolute last place I’d think of when I think “giant slimy lizard terrorizing the masses!”, but it seems that a combination of national pride and the over-eagerness of its Danish producers to make a big splash onto the scene brought the world Reptilicus … and TWO versions of it, to boot.

If you were a kid growing up in the US in the late 60’s and 70’s, this one was a staple on a few TV channels across the country, popping up either in the afternoon or evening and sometimes late at night to not scare you at all. In fact, I can recall seeing this as a kid and being baffled, then bored, then amazed at how bad and cheap the movie looked, but still watching it to the very end each time…
Continue reading →