I just watched the trailer for the upcoming “Zero Charisma”, a comedy again about D&D. I’ll admit this movie looks like a damn good time, but after thinking about it for a little bit it kinda started to bug me. First check it out:
Looks good huh? Yeah, but really how many more comedies are we going to get about people who either A. LARP or B. Play RPG’s being socially awkward, yet lovable man-children? I think this stereo type had a bit of truth to it like 20 years ago! I know a lot of RPG-ers and none of them still live with their mom. Hell most of them are married or have hot girlfriends / boyfriends! Yeah I get it, it’s a nerdy game, because you’re using you imagination? I find it a lot more stimulating than sitting in front of a tv for hours on end playing X-Box. I think it’s funny too that the “new guy” to the game in the trailer brings a six pack like it’s a big deal! Geez everyone, get over it, these “nerds” have been drinking beer and smoking weed at D&D for decades now! D&D for me often feels like a party and I’ll have you know there’s not a Mountain Dew near anywhere near our battle grid.
So what I’m getting tired of is this continual stereotype in movies ect. about the modern day nerd. Most people that play RPG’s don’t even fit into this bracket. I get that it’s a fun and easy topic to poke at but come on it’s time to recognize that times have changed and you don’t need to be a socially awkward moron to enjoy this type of activity. I think today you find people of all races, social classes and genders enjoy a good game in the world of adult make believe, don’t you?
Hey ladies, you just have to check out this image of these custom made R2D2 heels! These are pretty much the coolest shoes ever, I mean looking at them make me wish I was a woman so I could properly do them justice by making myself a pair!
This is one of those “why didn’t I think of that moments” that happen to me so often. Well ladies if you are feeling crafty, men if you want to excite your nerd girl crush or hell nerd crossdressers go crazy! Check this here at Indestructables.com to get the directions to build your very own pair!
I had to take a second here just to say how pumped I am that starting with issue #6 of The Indestructible Hulk we will be getting an old school artist taking the reigns. Yep Walt Simonson will be doing a three issue arc of the book which is also going to feature his old buddy The Mighty Thor which Walt is most famous for! So there’ve been a few preview panels / covers on the web so I thought I’d post ’em here as well. I’m excited about this as Simonson has been a fave of mine since I was just a kid. I’ll admit that his most recent work on The Avengers with Bendis seemed pretty rushed and sloppy. This however is a three issue stint and hopefully he took his time with the art. So far so good I would say though, wouldn’t you?
Simonson used to do some Hulk artwork in the old days too, mainly for The Rampaging Hulk, a Hulk magazine comic book which was one of my all time favorite reads..
I just heard the news that Paul Giamatti is in talks to play The Rhino in the next Spider-man film! As odd as this sounds, as Giamatti doesn’t strike me as a particularly brawny dude I can oddly see this working. Partially working because of his sheer enthusiasm for the character which he has gone on record several times stating how much he loves the villain. Not to mention he’s a downright awesome actor.
This news thrills me as The Rhino is easily one of my fave Spider-man / Hulk villains of all time. As a kid also I was a HUGE Rhino fan. What’s not to love about a giant hulking guy in Rhino suit grafted to his body who smashes anything in his path? I can already imagine Giamatti’s face peeping out of the cut out face hole of the suit. Can you picture it?
So though I wasn’t totally floored by Spider-man this news makes me pretty excited for this flick to start filming in Feb. They had better keep with the original design of the character though and not simply make him a man who transforms into a humanoid rhino hybrid. This way too maybe they could bring Giamatti on board to take on The Hulk when they decide to give the green guy another movie of his own! This is exciting news and the kid in me just pee’d my pants!
Put The Leader & The Rhino up against The Incredible Hulk in the next film!
The Millenium Bug boasts “No CGI” was used in the making of this monster movie. It’s really is quite clear upon viewing this one that indeed no CGI was anywhere near this one & perhaps that’s what gives this little indie monster film it’s charm. It’s clearly meant to be a throwback to the creature features of yesterday in pretty much every way imaginable. Be fore warned though, don’t take this one too seriously as you’re not likely to get any realism from the plot or the special effects.
It follows a family escaping the city during the Y2K hysteria who get abducted by a family of evil hillbillies. But wait folks, before you pass this off as another Texas Chainsaw rip I might add that a giant monster erupts from the earth and is hellbent on destroying everything in it’s path. This gargantuan monster bug looks like a missing nemesis from an old classic Godzilla flick! The entire movie was filmed on a tiny soundstage so it really has that old school movie vibe going for it. There’s something charming and sweet about movies filmed this way that’s largely missing from movies today. When the monster attacks it destroys tiny small scale model homes, trees and people. The effects are done nicely too, but as I said before this one lacks any grounding in the real world in look and plot. This movie knows exactly what it wants to be: big dumb loud fun by some people who hate modern cg drenched cinema…
I recently checked out ‘John Dies at the End’ a flick which I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time now via VOD the other night for a whopping $9.99 viewing price. I’ve read the non stop hype on this one for a while now and I’ve been pumped for it, especially as it’s coming from Don Coscarelli, one of my all time favorite horror directors. Don’s most well known for his Phantasm films and more recently Bubba Ho-tep which has become a full on modern day cult classic. ‘John’ had all the ingredients of another horror hit, we even get Paul Giamatti in a spporting role along with a wild and crazy story that plays something like Bill and Ted’s meets The Matrix meets Evil Dead. I was hoping deep down inside this’d play like a companion peice to Phantasm II, my favorite of his films. So my question is why did I find myself a bored while watching it? Maybe I didn’t “get it”? Was it too quirky? I’m not entirely sure what about this movie didn’t work for me. It’s based on a book by David Wong, and the premise of it surely sounds like a winner. Check it and this truly “more awesome than the movie itself” poster:
A new killer drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit has been circulating the party scene. On the street they call it Soy Sauce, and users drift across time and dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is John and David, a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can these two stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can’t.
Now this certainly sounds like my kind of movie and it’s clear this was going to be a challenge to translate to film on a small budget. The acting was decent and Giamatti is always a pleasure to have on screen. However for me the two lead characters weren’t quite interesting enough and the movie just kinda rode this straight line with really nothing that leap out entirely at me to get my blood really pumping. The plot seemed a bit disjointed, confusing and the pacing seemed a bit off to me as well. The movie is basically our hero Dave is dicussing the unbelievable events that have transpired to a reporter (Giamatti) at a diner. His buddy John uses this new drug “soy sauce”, which is given to him by the most generic “jamaican guy” you’re likely to see onscreen and suddenly their worlds are turned upside down as they enter into a confusing quirky quest into other dimensions. For for me to really describe how the plot thickens would probably require me to be typing about this movie far, far longer than I’d like to be. But that’s not to say the movie doesn’t have some fun and unique moments within.
The special effects in this movie were well done for the most part, some decent but not incredible practical monster effects were employed. The scene with the freezer meat monster was probably my favorite use of them and is bound to be a memorable movie monster. The CG effects were a bit on the sub par side but passable and the action was kept at a slower moving pace than what I was hoping for. The movie has been described as “hilarious” but I’d say it was chuckle worthy at best. In the end I wish I had more to say about this one, at best for me upon first viewing it was a mediocre movie experience which left me less than a little less than satisfied. The more I think about it though I think it might be a movie that deserves a second viewing upon which I’m hoping the second time around I get it…..
Sometimes I just leave my queue on Netflix run it’s course, I still have a Dvd account by the way, meaning that I have like two hundred movies in waiting. Often I forget to move stuff around and I get those weird wild card flicks gracing my dvd player. Sometimes when bored I’ll load up my queue with a bunch of weird shit I have never heard of. Often upon viewing these I end up much a much more elightened movie buff while other times the movies suck so bad I don’t last fifteen minutes. However this week I hit the jackpot! “Deadbeat at Dawn” is easily one the most memorable “bad” movies I’ve seen in quite some time.
Filmed in 86′ and released in ’88 Deadbeat at Dawn was written & directed by Jim Van Bebber who also stars as the films main Character, anti-hero “Goose”. Bebber also did all the special effects and performs all of his own stunts, one of which Van Beeber jumps off a city bridge! This guy pretty much did anything it took to make this film as action packed with such a small budget. Nunchucks, ninja stars, gang fights, drugs, booze this one has got it all. It will make you think twice before joining a street gang that’s for sure! Goose however decides it’s time to quit the gang so that him and his girlfriend can start a legit life together. However when his girl is brutally murdered by gang members with golf clubs, he hits rock bottom and wants nothing more than to avenge her death, and boy does he get the damn job done!!
It’s been quite a while since I have seen a movie with an ending that kicked so much ass. It’s jam packed with so much hyperactive action it’s hard to keep your breath. Seriously, the last 30 minutes, which Bebber apparently filmed first to try and generate interest in this film from the industry back in ’86, is some of the most ridiculously awesome cinema I’ve seen in years. That’s not to say the film isn’t a bit on the nasty side as there’s not really one likable character in it. Nope, pretty much everyone is a mean spirited prick even the lead character Goose. Even when Goose is trying to be “nice” he still comes across as a total fucktard. We really only see glimmers of a good guy toward the films finale, what can you expect from a self proclaimed “Deadbeat” huh? Well all that aside it’s pretty inspiring filmaking by a guy who wanted to make a film you wouldn’t forget, I know I won’t forget this one anytime soon…
Daredevil to me has always been Marvel’s answer to Batman. He’s a vigilante searching the streets at night for whatever scum may be lurking in the shadows. He’s also had some pretty dark story lines over the years and this particular comic book cover drawn by John Romita Jr. is about as dark as it gets. This particular issue follows Matt Murdock during his “nomadic” spree where he wanders around the city after burning his belongings. He stays in a small bed and breakfast and helps a married couple in need sever their ties with their criminal family. During this period we get a very dark Daredevil indeed. This cover is a fave of mine…
Universal Dork 