The (Welcome and Hopeful) Silence of the Spams…


 

Bleh. I’m trying to wind this year down on an interesting note, but my mind is elsewhere. Too much home improvement stuff, some new ventures creeping into my schedule, perhaps a business thing popping up in a weird place and so forth and so on. Meanwhile, the internet has ticked me off royally this year on a few fronts to the point I almost kicked myself off a few social sites. I hate predictions and forecasting, but I kind of feel that 2015 will be the year people want their privacy back. Nearly everywhere you look or dink around online, you’re tracked, hacked and cracked over the head continually by folks good, bad and ugly. That has to be dealt with not by so-called “security” services or outside elements telling you they’re “taking care” of the problems. It has to be dealt with by people wisely retreating from spilling all their beans to the world thinking it’s okay because a site says it’s “secure” or “values” your safety at the end of the day. I’d bet a penny that most of them don’t because they can make bad news into good and gain users from it when all is said and done by tossing stuff into the spin cycle.

Eh, I suppose being cranky like this has its merits. But I want to end this year on a high note. No, not THAT kind of high, you sillies. Just a little rest and popping up to see the sun rise on that new year before zipping out a few posts to welcome in 2015. Back in a bit…

Finally Friday: Let Cary Show You Some Moves For That New Year’s Party…


 

Other than a clip here and there over the years, I’d actually never seen all of Stanley Donen’s 1958 film Indiscreet until a few days back when I was up late stressing over some stuff. Yeah, the kitchen and other major repair jobs that are needed but seem to be hard to impress on the folks who run this place about how urgently they need to get taken care of. Bleh. Anyway, it’s an interesting and not quite perfect film about a woman (Ingrid Bergman) who thinks she’ll never find love who ends up falling for a man (Cary Grant) who she thinks is married. There’s more and a twist or three, but I’ll let you track this down and watch it if you’ve yet to, as it’s a fun film to wile away some time.

I’d have to say this dance sequence was the funniest thing I’d seen in a while at that hour of the morning, as I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t sleep afterwards thanks to the scene replaying itself in my head a few times. While I knew that Grant could hoof it like a maniac when he needed to in his earlier films, I didn’t think he did any fancy dancing this late in his career. That, and the scene is played entirely for laughs and gets them even when seen in that out of context clip above. Anyway, study those moves well and use them at that New Year’s party you’ve been invited to. I’d bet those steps work with any modern uptempo beat and I’d also bet that someone’s going to try and out-step you at some point on that dance floor. Of course, if they’re not in on the gag and have never seen this film, they’ll look a lot more foolish than you do, that’s for sure…

Random Film of the Week: To The Devil… A Daughter

To The Devil A Daughter MPSwiping bits from Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist while leaving a “Why the hell am I watching this again?” aftertaste, To The Devil… A Daughter manages to be a pretty bizarre and somewhat unintentionally 1976 funny horror film from Hammer Studios. From what I understand by poking around a few books and online, the UK film industry was in a bit of a mess when this mess was made and it shows in a few key areas. Granted, you do get Christopher Lee in a scenery-chewing performance for the ages (including a brief nude scene performed by a double!) and Richard Widmark making a payday and playing an occult writer turned cranky old action hero long before Liam Neeson.

Yes, you also get a too young Nastassia Kinski flailing about and screaming as if possessed (well, she kind of is) in her part as a fallen “nun” and trying too hard to keep up with the other more experienced cast doing their own screaming and flailing about. Yes, the film is also notorious for the infamous bloody baby demon hand puppet molestation and a shot near the finale of her fully nude. While some genre fans may groove on that little detail, for some new viewers those elements will just come off as creepy central.. and not in a good way, either. Continue reading

Random Film of the Week(end): Mister Freedom

Mr Freedom PosterAll this Sony madness surrounding The Interview made me think of a few films that either got some controversy upon their release in other countries, but I also thought of William Klein’s never released to the western public Mister Freedom, a masterpiece of absurdity that begs to be seen. Take the overall wackier bits from Dr. Strangelove, add in a jingoistic, xenophobic, sexist, quick to rile all-American superhero modeled after Superman and Captain America, add a ton of absurd visual elements and shake well.

For a film made in 1969, this one so far ahead of its time that some viewers may be shocked at what they see taking place. On the other hand, the film also shows that old adage “The more things change, the more they stay the same” is all too true in terms of politics and other targets ripe for satire. Klein, a famed fashion photographer and American expatriate living in France, made one of those films that will outrage some and make the rest laugh at as well as with it exactly as its director intended… Continue reading

Memo to Sony: make.believe You’ve Got Some Backbone.

The Interview (Sony Pictures 2014) (Custom) Hmmm. As stupid as this whole Sony hacking thing has been to try and avoid, now we’re at the stage where things get even weirder because it now has to be followed. Sony Pictures has decided to kill The Interview, pulling not only the film’s premiere this week, but the actual Christmas launch entirely. Of course, the company is being called out and called all sorts of names by other media companies. “Holy irony of ironies and if it were them, what would THEY do, Batman?” Answer: “Probably the same damn thing, old chum.” More on that in a second.

Anyway, things have gotten so wretched that even George R.R. Martin has chimed in with a LiveJournal post (wait, people STILL use LiveJournal?) chiding “Regal, AMC, and every other major theatre chain in the United States” along with Sony for caving hard over threats of potential violence and other protests had the film been screened anywhere in the U.S. of A. Good on you, George! Please don’t kill me off in a response, sir.

As for Sony, All I have to say is “Yikes!”... Continue reading

Alien Outpost: It’s Independent’s Day For This Sci-Fi Flick In January…

AlienOutpost_poster 

Gallery StillsJabbar Raisani’s upcoming Alien Outpost may not be doing anything new with the “evil space aliens invade Earth” storyline, but for an indie film, it sure has some nifty visual effects. Granted, the beefy alien “Heavies” almost look too videogame inspired, but the rest of the CGI work is fine enough to carry the illusion of all hell breaking loose on an Earth under-prepared  for such shenanigans. That said, it seems the story of Outpost 37 and its soldiers struggling to survive the alien threat will find an audience looking to cheer its high points and rally those troops during the low ones.

Will it be as fun to watch as Independence Day and its mix of dead seriousness and comedic elements were back in 1996? We shall see. But IFC Midnight is at least committed to bringing out these genre films on a regular basis that are usually worth a watch for genre fans looking for a fix. Check out the trailer, cast and plot description below:

 

ALIEN OUTPOST
In Select Theaters on January 30th, 2015

Two documentary cameramen embedded in an army unit in the most hostile place on earth, an outpost surrounded by the last remaining alien fighters (Heavies) of an invading attack force. The world may have forgotten about the Outposts, but the Heavies are planning the second invasion of Earth and the soldiers are the only ones who can stop it.

Cast: Adrian Paul, Rick Ravanello, Reiley McClendon, Douglas Tait, Joe Reegan & Matthew Holmes
Directed by: Jabbar Raisani
Written by: Blake Clifton, Jabbar Raisani
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Distributor: IFC Midnight

Review: The Marvellous Miss Take (PC)

The Marvellous Miss Take PosterPlatform: PC/Mac

Developer: Wonderstruck Games

Publisher: Rising Star Games

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: N/A

Official Site

Score: A- (90%)

Miss Take 1 The fun thing about having such a huge backlog of games to go through is it’s genuinely surprising to finally stumble across stuff in the digital stack that’s worth taking time to fully explore. Granted, this sometimes means later than usual reviews. But hey, at least they get done. Wonderstruck’s fantastic sneak and steal game, The Marvellous Miss Take is one of those excellent indie surprises you can’t gauge solely from ogling screenshots and movies at all. It’s a game that needs to be played even if you’re a stealth game veteran who thinks you’ve seen it all. Quirky visuals, snappy writing and mostly tight gameplay are all here for your enjoyment and the game excels at making you smile as you stylishly sneak back your stolen inheritance… Continue reading

Random Film of the Week(end): Camel Spiders

Camel Spiders DVD CoverOkay, I was bored, annoyed and in the mood for something stupid to waste about an hour and a half or so. That sort of opening line is usually reserved for someone confessing to a crime of some sort. But it was my excuse for sitting down last night to watch Camel Spiders, a 2011 direct to video “B” flick so laughable and intentionally awful that it made me forget about most of the stuff bugging me.

Initially, just seeing the title made me laugh enough to want to check it out and see if it was as cheesy as it sounded. But it wasn’t until about 2/3 of the way in that I remembered that “Camel Spiders” are real, really large and have a somewhat larger following. Well, I’m sure those so-called fans would run the other way (and right into a wall) if they came across one or more of these eight-legged freaks in real life. Unlike too many of the victims in this dopey film who just stand there and get attacked or approach those puppy-sized pests with curiosity that just gets them killed off quickly… Continue reading

Bundles Up, It’s Games Outside!

Batman Arkham Complete Bundle Stars

Well, I’ve been busy working on stuff and hoping I don’t blow a gasket because of the sloppy job going on this week in the kitchen. Anyway, here are some AMAZING game bundle deals for you bargain hounds out there. Let’s just say the first three games in the Batman: Arkham series for ten bucks over at Bundle Stars is SUCH a steal that you better not be at all surprised when Batman himself pops into a window and knocks you out for getting those games so cheap.

Humble Weekly Bundle Iceberg Games

Meanwhile, the Humble Weekly Sale features a nice mix of Iceberg Interactive games for a low price. Pay what you want for four games, make it $3.60 or more for seven games, and if you’re feeling generous, $25 gets you eight games including a few mighty and massive space simulations that will take you forever (and a day) to complete. All that and the Humble Store is blowing out a ton of games for low, low prices in its Humble Store Winter Sale. Remember, you’re not only filling up your hard drive, you’re helping out assorted charities in the process. Get busy so you can get busy, I say!

About Love, Hate and the other ones: Black Pants’ Mobile Puzzler Arrives on Steam

About Love Hate and the other ones logo
Black Pants Game Studios‘ formerly mobile-only title About Love, hate and the other ones is now on Steam for $6.99 and I’d say you should buy it for the title alone. I just completed downloading it but haven’t had the chance to play, but that title made me smile because I immediately thought of the great Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter delivering that classic speech:

(Thanks, TheOdusseus!)

However, the game has nothing to do with that should have been a classic when it was first released Charles Laughton film, folks. The press release and that video below should give you a better idea of what to expect:

Description

About Love, Hate and the other ones is a puzzle game, in which you influence your surroundings by the force of Hate and the power of Love. They shouldn’t have pushed the button! Life on the hill was just perfect for Love and Hate before that shiny red device appeared. Suddenly, they are trapped in a dark and spooky cave, far away from home. Now it is up to you to control the opposing forces of Love and Hate. They will soon meet a lot of Other Ones, wondering how they might react when Loved, or when Hated. Find a way through caves and ice, castles and factories, all by the might of your puzzling! If you ever return to that hill, life will be sweet again…

 

The game was developed by Tobias Bilgeri based on a short film series he did during university studies. Positive feedback on the game had him teaming up with indie developer brush&bear (two students at the University of Kassel) for the iPhone version, published by Black Pants on the App Store. A few screenshots for you? Of course!

AboutLaH_MainMenu AboutLaH_LevelMap AboutLaH_TheCastle AboutLaH_IceWorld AboutLaH_TheCave AboutLaH_MachineRobots

The quirky visual style and initially simple gameplay should appeal to you puzzle fans out there, but I also like the interesting love-hate dynamic. Now, to shut up, post this and try to get in a some game time at some point today. Back in a bit…