Tag: action

Walking Dead Weekly: Season 3, Episode 2 – Sick

by Derek Kraneveldt

Welcome to Walking Dead Weekly! As the title implies, each week (bearing a new episode of course), we’ll be taking a look at the latest episode of the AMC series. I’ll let you know how I felt about each weekly offering, and will also compare it to what Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard were doing with the comic at the same time.

Last week’s premiere was an action-packed introduction to the venerable prison setting from the ongoing comic. That ~42 minutes must have had more zombie-slaying in it than the entirety of the second season, and I think I can speak for most of us when I say that it was a welcome deviation from what we had grown to expect.

Ratings fell slightly (13%) from the 10+ million viewer premiere, though the 9.5 million of you that tuned in still made The Walking Dead the most watched show all week. Sounds to me like you’re all infected with some sort of zombie-fever (let’s just hope it’s not the same one from the show!). I’d also like to welcome DISH subscribers back to the apocalypse, as this week AMC and DISH seemed to settle their dispute, and the network has already returned to the provider’s roster.

As usual, there will be plenty of spoilers below, so consider yourself warned!

Episode Thoughts – “Sick”

The closing moments of Seed were among the most intense that the show has offered thus far. Hershel receives an unexpected bite in a walker heavy area, which forces the group to push forward without the quiet calm they would typically progress with. Drastic times of course, call for drastic measures, and Rick (likely thinking only of the baby on the way) decided to remove Hershel’s leg in an attempt to save his life. The final seconds of the episode would shockingly (or not) reveal that the groups new home was not as empty as they had initially thought, as five of its previous inhabitants still resided there.

I wonder how this will turn out.

Sick thankfully opens right where last week’s cliffhanger left off. Each group looks confused at the presence of the other as Hershel bleeds-out all over the floor. Rick and friends rush to get Hershel back to the others, while the former inmates follow close behind, eager to see the other side of their newfound freedom. The scene closes with a close-up of Hershel’s now missing leg before cutting to the opening credits. Awesome.

First they wreck his farm, then they take his leg.

Rick, Darryl, and T-Dog try to reason with the inmates (who state that it’s their prison since they were there first) while the others try to tend to a quickly fading Hershel. A very cool realization in this scene is the fact that none of the inmates have any idea what is going on in the outside world. While Rick’s gang has lost all hope for any sort of rescue,  the inmates still speak of hospitals and police. The realization wasn’t as effective as it could have been however: upon Rick explaining that everything was gone, that nearly everyone was (un)dead, none of the inmates seemed particularly bothered by it. Shouldn’t they be shitting their pants at the fact that the world they once knew is gone forever?

Things eventually cool down, and an agreement is established between the groups. The inmates would give half their remaining food to the hungry survivors, and Rick & friends would help clear out another cell block for the inmates to stay in. After that point they agreed to leave each other alone.

He didn’t last long, but he was creepy as hell.

I feel like I need to talk about Tomas for a second. He quickly establishes himself as the leader of the prison inmates, and while his performance seems sometimes exaggerated, the dude is freaky as hell! He starts off simply looking intense, but when one of the other inmates is bitten, Tomas goes batshit crazy, furiously stabbing and beating his former friend, over and over until he dies. The look in his eyes here seems as though he’s thoroughly enjoying the experience too, like he’s been just waiting for an excuse to kill again.

I was very interested to see where the writers would take this character, but Tomas doesn’t end up lasting long. When Rick appears to be the source of Tomas’ aggression, Rick feels the need to kill Tomas before the same is done to him. While I was sad that we wouldn’t get to see more of the character, it really showed just how much Rick has changed during the course of the series: he definitely isn’t as soft as he used to be and is not willing to risk another Shane-like descent into madness. Rick kills another inmate before the interaction is over, showing that maybe he’s starting to lose it himself.

Hershie’s not looking so hot.

The rest of the episode largely revolves around Hershel, who appears to be ready to pass. Maggie seems to lose hope rather quickly that her father can pull through, while surprisingly Beth (who was ready to end it all just a short time ago) remains hopeful that her father could survive. A much more mature looking Carl puts it on himself to find medical supplies (in turn, likely saving the man that saved him last season), much to the dismay of fan-favorite (not) Lori, who scolds him for trying to go alone. It appears as though Hershel will pull through thanks to the mother and son, which is definitely good for the survivors (plus, they now know that if a bite can be removed quickly enough, survival is possible).

So gross, yet so satisfying.

Sick does have a scene that definitely lives up to the episode’s title. In short, Carol doesn’t think that Hershel is going to make it, and that helping Lori give birth will fall to her. She has never performed a caesarean before, and would like to practice before the real thing. What happens next was absolutely disgusting (in the best way possible), and will definitely stick with me for some time.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy Sick as much as I did the previous episode. After a strong opening and a few other great scenes, this chapter’s purpose leaned more towards setting up things to come. I still had a blast with it however, and of course we’re still so early in the season that an episode to set things up was likely very necessary. It looks like shit is definitely about to go down based on the preview of next weeks episode. Again, I’m very glad to call myself a fan of The Walking Dead again, and the new season at this point is exponentially better than the last one.

Have a look at the preview for next weeks episode, and make sure to let us know what you think!

Comic Comparison

While last week’s premiere fit in very nicely with Issue 13 of The Walking Dead, Sick seems more like a loose amalgamation of the next few. Both media begin with an introduction to the inmates, but present them in a much different manner: while the shows inmate’s are introduced during a time of extreme crisis, the comic starts them off in a much friendlier way.

Series’ prisoners come with guns drawn, while the comic begins with an offering of food.

While the end of the episode would see three inmates dead, the comic took much longer for any of them to perish. Fittingly, Rick would do the deed both on paper and on the screen (though the comic would give him a much better reason to do so).

Both by Rick, but for very different reasons.

I wondered just how close the show would be able to follow at this point: Kirkman’s work featured a much larger group when the survivors arrived at the prison, and more than one of them would find themselves dead before many more issues passed. The subject matter in the comics is also much more disturbing at the start of the prison arc: it deals with a suicide pact between two young lovers and the brutal murder of two children. As much as TV viewers may love seeing zombies get blown to bits, I’m sure AMC would be receiving a few angry letters if young kids were thrown into the fold.

Issue 14 would also see Hershel, Glenn, and family return to the book due to Rick’s belief that the Prison would be a safe haven. While the show has him physically broken due to the bite on his leg, the comic has two of his children be the murder victims, an outcome that should be much harder on a man than a missing leg. Rick is the reason that Hershel came in the first place, and feels personally responsible for the children’s deaths.

Lori and Rick also don’t hate each other in the comic, something that definitely can’t be said for the series.

Again, the episode overall strayed from what Robert Kirkman was doing with his storyline, but due to the book’s extremely graphic nature, I’m not sure that it could have been done any other way.

The book is fantastic at this point, as was the episode, and I’m happy.

Hopefully with the introduction of The Governor and Michonne’s continuing storyline, the fork that has been created will come together once more. In any case, if the rest of season 3 retains the quality of the first two episodes, it will by far be the best season yet!

See you next week!

Side note: if you’re not yet into the book, but want to be, take a look at the collector’s edition of Telltale’s adventure game version of The Walking Dead. It comes with the first 48 issues, as well as a game that is the best version of TWD yet!

 

Isaac Florentine And Scott Adkins Teaming Up For Sequel To ‘Ninja’

by Shawn Madden

The movie Ninja, starring Scott Adkins (The Expendables 2) is definitely one of those movies on peoples guilty pleasures list. It’s far from good but had fantastic action and choreography. And while the movie wasn’t some massive financial success it appears to be getting the sequel treatment. Hopefully Nu Image gives them a bigger budget this time around because I would love to see Scott Adkins do more big budget action flicks. Actually, they should get Adkins on board as Sub-Zero for the Mortal Kombat reboot. Just sayin’.

The original movie was about an American orphan who is adopted into a martial arts dojo in Japan, trained in Ninjitsu, and sent to New York to retrieve a legendary armored chest containing the weapons of the last Kōga ninja. Scott Adkins played the lead, and Moviehole reports that he will be reunited with original director Isaac Florentine for the sequel.

NINJA 2, is due to start filming early 2013.

A Third ‘Taken’ Is In The Works

by Derek Kraneveldt

Just a few days after Taken star Liam Neeson (and director Oliver Megaton) said that Taken 3 wouldn’t happen, the studio has decided otherwise (the franchise did pull in nearly 50 million in that time, so the announcement is not too surprising).

Neeson recently spoke to Empire, and stated the following about a third film:

“I don’t see it,” came his reply. “I don’t think it’s going to happen. I really don’t. I can’t see a possible scenario where audiences wouldn’t go, ‘Oh, come on…! She’s taken again?'”

This is exactly how I’m feeling about the announcement. I’ve yet to see Taken 2 (that comes tonight, against my better judgement), but even a second film seems a little too far from realism.

Writer Robert Mark Kamen says to expect something new however. He today spoke to hollywood.com about the Taken franchise, and the newly greenlit third film:

“We didn’t start talking about [Taken 3] until we saw the numbers,” says Kamen. “But then we said, ‘Oh, okay. I think we should do a third one.’ And Fox wants us to do a third one.”

In the first Taken, Neeson’s character Bryan Mills’ daughter was taken. In Taken 2, he and his wife were taken. In Taken 3…. “We’ve taken everyone we can take — it’s going to go in another direction. Should be interesting.”

What did you think of Taken 2? Are you interested in a third film?

Female ‘Expendables’ Gets Its Second Star!

by Derek Kraneveldt

We reported last month that the upcoming female Expendables had found its first star in MMA fighter Gina Carano. Today Variety broke the news, and it’s another addition that very few had likely expected.

Katee Sackhoff has been cast in an as of yet unknown role in the film, which of course still has no official title (or even a director).

Katee is of course best known for her character in 2004’s Battlestar Galactica reimagining. She also spent some time on 24 and is set to appear in the upcoming Riddick sequel.

When we reported on Gina Carano’s casting, we wondered if the film would be filled with newer stars instead of older ones, and it seems (at this point) like that’s the way the film is going.

Are you still excited for it? Who would you love to see get cast? Let us know below!

Check Out The Teaser Trailer For ‘A Good Day To Die Hard’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Seems like just yesterday we were showing you the first still from A Good Day to Die Hard (it was yesterday actually). Now not even 24 hours later,  here’s a teaser trailer!

The trailer doesn’t really show anything in terms of plot or what the movie may be about, but it does show Bruce Willis kicking some ass, so what more can you ask for really.

Take a look at the trailer, and let us know what you think! A Good Day to Die Hard is set to hit theatres on February 14th, 2013.

Watch 17 Minutes of Gameplay From ‘Dead Space 3’

by Derek Kraneveldt

Dead Space is a fantastic series. I picked up the first title from a bargain bin not knowing much about it, but upon popping it into my PS3, I quickly learned that I was in for a huge treat.

The game is more action than survival horror (definitely not in the same style as the Silent Hill series). Even with the action heavy gameplay, it still manages to be creepy as hell.Dead Space has excellent visuals (even today) and great a soundtrack. The plot is also very strong, featuring a deep story revolving around religion and corruption.

Dead Space 2 also received much praise. I’ve had that one on my shelf since launch day, but have yet to open it up. I do plan to play the hell out of it, but that time simply hasn’t come. It also had a fantastic ad campaign with the extremely memorable “You Mom Hates Dead Space 2″ series of videos.

I hope to get to the second title soon, as the release of Dead Space 3 is fast approaching! The game is set to hit shelves in February 2013. Developer Visceral games teased us today with a long look at what to expect from the third game. Check it out below and let us know what you think!

Female ‘Expendables’ Gets Its First Star!

by Derek Kraneveldt

The film still doesn’t have an official title, but today it got its first star. Variety was first to break the news today that Gina Carano, MMA fighter and star of 2011’s Haywire is the first name attached to the film.

Carano is now attached to a few titles currently in production. She’s set to appear in the upcoming Fast and the Furious 6 as well as something called In the Blood.

It sounds like producer Adi Shankar was set on Carano pretty early on:

I don’t know how I’m supposed to make a movie that is supposed to be the female version of ‘The Expendables’ without Gina Carano in it. It would be like making Twix without caramel or Jamba Juice without jamba.

I wonder who else we’ll see attached. Carano is much younger than a lot of people were anticipating. Will the film be a mix of younger and older stars, or will we miss out on the classic action heroines completely? Whatever the case is, we’ve got our eyes on this one!

 

An All Female ‘Expendables’ Already Exists! Well, In XXX Form… and 3D!

by Derek Kraneveldt

We just got word a few hours ago that Cynthia Rothrock was in talks to appear in the all-female Expendables. It looks like Hustler Entertainment got the jump on this one however, as their XXX parody is set to release later this month!

Geekscape friend Axel Braun produced and directed This Ain’t The Expendables XXX, set to release on September 30th. It features a variety of adult actresses (as seen below), including Tera Patrick in her first role in over six years.

The film will also be in 3D! Now we’ve just got to ask… “where was our set invite on this one, Axel!?!”

This Ain't The Expendables

An All-Female Version Of ‘The Expendables’ Is On Its Way

by Shawn Madden

Yes, you read that correctly. What has been fan-cast on many sites this week and been joked about is happening. An all-female version of the hit franchise The Expendables is in the works. The film will officially be backed by The Grey producer Adi Shankar who has tapped Dutch Southern to write the script and it also seems that the company is already in talks with several actresses to fill the roles. Who the actresses are? No one knows currently but you can probably expect names such as Gina Carano (Haywire) and Michelle Rodriguez (Resident Evil) among many others. I’m actually placing my bets that Carano will definitely be in this film right now. We will be sure to keep you updated as more details leak out. But in the meantime…who would YOU want to see in this?

Source: Variety

Watch The First Trailer For ‘Bullet To The Head’ Starring Sylvester Stallone!

by Shawn Madden

Thanks to the folks over at IGN we have the first look at the upcoming Bullet To The Head starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hours)! Based on the graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tete, Bullet To The Head tells the story of a New Orleans hitman (Stallone) and a New York City cop who form an alliance to bring down the killers of their respective partners.

The film  also stars Jason Momoa, Christian Slater, Sarah Shahi, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Sung Kang!

Bullet To The Head is in theaters February 1st, 2013!

Geekscape Games Reviews: Lollipop Chainsaw

by Josh Jackson

Zombies are all the rage lately, especially in gaming. Sure, you’ve got your Left 4 Dead’s, your Dead Rising’s, you have plants fighting zombies… Michael Jackson even danced with them once upon a time at the local arcade. So when making a video game surrounding the new, exciting idea of fighting off the undead, what does one have to do to make it stand out? The answer is to apparently make it as ridiculous and over the top as possible. With Suda 51 attached to the project, this goal seems sure to be effortless.

Enter Lollipop Chainsaw, the story of high school cheerleader, Juliet Starling, who is secretly part of a family of zombie hunters. Carrying itself with a grindhouse comic book style and storytelling reminiscent of a much more vulgar version of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, the the spunky teen’s school gets overrun with flesh eating monsters –it’s time to whip out the chainsaw and make them wish they were never reborn.

Zombie Slaying Never Looked So Cute.

This hack and slash adventure constantly throws waves of enemies at you, many of which have different attack patterns and strategies if you want to take them down quickly. Mixing in pom pom attacks that stun enemies and more powerful chainsaw attacks that dismember or kill dazed foes, using a variety of moves based on who you’re fighting is essential for any successful hunter. Of course, as with cheerleading, style is just as important as execution, which is why dispatching multiple enemies with one strike achieves a sparkle bonus, earning Juliet extra zombie medals, including rare platinum ones that can be used to buy new outfits, music, unlockables and techniques.

Aside from the game play, when you see Grasshopper Studios or Suda 51 attached to a project, you know you’re going to be mind raped with some of the most surreal content you’ll find in a video game. Lollipop Chainsaw is no exception. I don’t know if it’s her boyfriend, Nick’s, living decapitated head on her hip, using it as a weapon using power ups called “Nick Tickets,” having a decapitated head for a boyfriend to begin with, having lights and rainbows litter the screen instead of blood when enemies are killed, or fighting off a group of bosses called Zombie Rock Gods who each do battle using different musical themes, but everything I experienced was so damn memorable. From psychadelic to punk to auto tuned, these bosses just has to be seen to be believed. Not to mention the soundtrack itself is full of great tunes mixed in with some hilarious choices. Come on, I dare you not to sing along with the 80’s pop hit “Mickey” every time her sparkle power is activated.

One of the Many Zombie Rock Gods.

Hack and slash titles usually fail at keeping me engaged for long, running out of new tricks early into the game and becoming a redundant pile of boring a few hours in. Somehow, this zombie hunting tale seems to be the opposite, which is its only glaring flaw. A few stages in, having so many abilities and attacks unlocked, I had the flexibility to handle fights with many different approaches that made the game feel exciting, especially when trying to rack up those sparkle kills. But in the hour long prologue? You can hardly do anything, with most of the attacks at this point being slow, repetitive mash fests. The prologue actually left me feeling like the game could possibly be… dare I say, a disappointment. But man, am I glad I stuck with it. Once Juliet hits her stride, there’s nothing stopping her and her adventure from being one of the most memorable I’ve experienced this year. Or it would have been if the final chapter didn’t fall flat like a missed catch during a cheer meet, but it’s still pretty damn good.

Brings new meaning to talking out of your ass…

Technical problems like pop-in aside, the game remains fast paced, action packed and completely insane throughout with few problems past the prologue and ending. By the time I was done, I still hadn’t had enough of this universe, and I really hope we see more of this world where lollipops are a legitimate source of nutrition and zombies are all rock gods. Lollipop Chainsaw is easily one of the best hack and slash titles I’ve played in years, is a refreshing take on the zombie sub genre and gives you achievements/trophies for going for the upskirt. Yep, sounds like its catered to gamers to me.

Terry Crews Ties You To A Chair, Makes You Watch ‘The Expendables 2: The Video Game’ Trailer

by MoreLikeAndy

Some of us at Geekscape have already written off The Expendables 2: The Video Game when it was first announced. From the screenshots alone, we passed judgement on Ubisoft for even thinking of publishing this game. With the gameplay trailer released today, the naysayers might just have to eat some crow.

 

The Expendables 2: The Video Game will launch July 31st for $14.99 (or $11.99 if you’re a PS+ member) on PSN since it’s part of the Playstation Play promotion that Sony is running from July 24th to August 27th. XBLA and PC versions will launch August 17th when The Expendables 2 premieres in theaters.

Check Out the First Clip From ‘The Expendables 2’

by Shawn Madden

When I heard that we wouldn’t see much blood in this movie (thanks Chuck!) I became worried. But this clip right here has calmed my doubts because there definitely is some blood getting splattered.

“The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross, Lee Christmas, Yin Yang, Gunnar Jensen, Toll Road and Hale Caesar — with newest members Billy the Kid and Maggie aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time – six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way….”

‘The Expendables 2’ hits theaters August 17th.

Source: AintItCoolNews

Geekscape Reviews Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

by Eric Diaz

The minute I first saw the trailer for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I thought “this is either going to be the best movie ever made, or the worst.” Well, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter isn’t really quite either… and kind of both. But despite my better judgement, I enjoyed the hell outta this over the top cheese fest of a movie. Based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel of the same name, ALVH is just ridiculous, schlocky fun from start to finish. The movie’s tone is painfully serious, which in a way made it all the more campy  fun for me, if that makes any sense. The filmmakers, in going out of their way to play everything so seriously, it just made it all sillier. For me though, this was a good thing.

The movie starts in 1818, when Abe Lincoln is nine years old. His father is working off a debt (we never find out for what) to a cruel slave owner named William Barts,who is beating Abe’s best friend Will Johnson, an African American boy about Abe’s age. The real William Johnson was a free person of color, as they were then called, but the movie suggests that he was a slave that belonged to William Barts. The Lincoln family (minus Abe’s sister Sarah, who seemingly doesn’t exist in this movie) stand up to Barts and defend Will Johnson, and in retaliation Barts kills Nancy Lincoln, Abe’s mother. Abe vows vengeance, and cut to several years later, and our now adult Abe (Benjamin Walker) is ready to do just that. Except Abe doesn’t know that Barts is really a vampire, and has his ass handed to him when he tries to exact his sweet revenge.

Abe is saved by a man named Henry Sturges, played by the always charming Dominic Cooper (Howard Stark in Captain America) a professional vampire hunter. Sturges agrees to train Abe to be a proficient vampire killer, and gives him the low down on vampire history. See, vamps have been coming to America for centuries it seems, and the slave trade has given them an endless supply of disposable humans to use and then feed on. Its actually kind of clever. These vampires have overcome their aversion to sunlight, can turn invisible, and have a serious aversion to silver. There are also some other twists to vampire lore (some which come from actual bits of folklore Hollywood usually ignores) but none are as insulting as sparkling in the sun or anything like that. There are a few other twists and turns that I won’t give away, but none that will surprise anyone who has seen a movie before.

And so begins what amounts to as the main plot of the movie, which follows Abraham Lincoln from young adulthood to President, all the while killing as many vamps as he can on the side. But at least he does so in fun, creatively bloody ways (it should be noted that vampire blood in this movie is black, not red, probably so as much can be spilled as possible while avoiding the dreaded NC-17 rating. A creative solution I’d say) Abe also woos and marries Mary Todd (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in a pretty boring romantic subplot that clearly also bored the director, who only spends as much time on that aspect as he has to, then gets along to some more slo-mo acrobatics and more killing. I’m ok with this. It turns out that vampires are backing the South due to their stance on slavery (remember, endless food supply) The vampire leader is named Adam (Rufus Sewell) and it is implied that he’s not only the oldest bloodsucker in America, but the first vampire period. Sewell does a good enough job, but he’s never quite as bad ass I want him to be. But like a lot of things in this movie, he’s good enough.

Russian director Timur Bekmambetov has only made one other English language film before this one, 2008’s Wanted. Like Wanted, ALVH has tons of slow-mo action scenes, and it is again clear that action, action and more action is all he really cares about. Again, this is not a complaint. Some of the action is spectacular, and some is just exhausting. A lot of the movie is dumb, but fun dumb. Unlike some other movies this summer that are equally dumb, this one doesn’t pretend to be about anything grander. Tim Burton’s a producer on this movie, but I think it is in name only; none of this movie has the Burton feel to it (probably for the best) Having seen not only Wanted, but Bekmambetov’s Russian movies Night Watch and Day Watch, this movie is clearly all him from start to finish.

So much of this movie makes no sense at all– for instance, Abe learns how to be this amazing  killing machine in one quick 80’s style montage scene (I was half expecting some hair metal power chords to kick in)  Abe has no powers to speak of–he’s not super strong like Buffy or half vampire like Blade, so he shouldn’t be able to do or survive half the shit this movie puts him through. Every action scene bends the laws of logic and sometimes even physics. And yet…the ridiculousness of it all just makes the whole thing more enjoyable to me. It just seems everyone involved just wanted to make a B movie with an actual budget, and they succeeded at this. ALVH is almost never boring and always fun, and I just can’t help but think that all the badness was intentional. Benjamin Walker plays Abraham Lincoln with such a straight face, that it actually ends up makes everything more campy….and I kinda dug that. Winking at the camera constantly would have been too easy, doing it this way just made me chuckle more. I should note, there are a few nods to previous vampire films here as well…the vampire’s look when in “kill mode” is to have this giant elongated jaw, kind of like the original Fright Night, and main vampire baddie Adam’s lair is the same plantation where Louis and Lestat lived in Interview with the Vampire (Oak Alley in Louisiana) And the way that vampires avoid sunlight is a lift from the original Blade. None of these tidbits will win most people over, but they put enough of a smile on my face for me to give this flick a few extra brownie points.

Despite the oodles of dumb in this flick, I had a blast watching it. This is the kind of movie where you’re either gonna be on board with it from the get go, or you’re just not. I imagine a lot of people reading this will fall under the “not” category. Right now as I write this review, the Rotten Tomatoes score stands at 32%. But I find so many of these reviews somewhat baffling…one major newspaper says “Oh, what it could have been. The film dances around solid themes: racism, nationhood, the embodiment of evil vs. the spirit of good.” Another even bigger paper’s review says “In general, the movie’s attitude toward recorded history is that of a pimp toward a hooker.” Does anyone really want “solid themes” and a reverent attitude towards history in a movie called Abraham Licoln, Vampire Hunter? I sure as Hell didn’t, I just wanted overly bloody cheestastic fun. Sure, occasionally a silly title holds content with suprisingly more depth (Buffy the Vampire Slayer anyone?) but sometimes it’s okay to just get exactly what you’re expecting, and just enjoy it for what it is. And I did. And if you go in with the right mind set, you might too.

The Netflix Instant You Might Have Missed: ‘Boy Wonder’

by Shawn Madden

So I chose this week to do a recommendation for the fellow Netflix junkies. I had seen this film awhile back myself but it recently just popped up on Netflix and I figured I would share it with the rest of you.

About Boy Wonder:

A young Brooklyn boy witnesses the brutal murder of his mother and grows up obsessed with finding her killer. Thus begins his life as a quiet, straight-A student by day and a self-appointed hero at night. As the boundaries blur, Sean’s dual life wears on his psyche and his two worlds careen dangerously close to colliding. Boy Wonder challenges morality, distorting perceptions of what is right and what is justified, as it races to its shocking conclusion.

Like I said above I am not going to give much about this movie away because I really want you to check it out. This is no visual blockbuster but a movie really driven by the plot and the acting. It does suffer from some weak points but I believe the strong points outweight them.

I recently recommended it to Scott Alminiana and we both gave the film a solid 3.5/5.

‘The Raid: Redemption’ Gets A DVD Release Date

by Shawn Madden

Mark your calenders. On August 14, 2012 ‘The Raid: Redemption’ comes to DVD and Blu-ray. Now whether you never heard of this film (where have you been…in a cave?), want to relive the action over and over again or just missed its limited theatrical run… this is a must-have DVD in any collection. One of the greatest action films ever made.

“Deep in the heart of Jakarta’s slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world’s most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the run-down apartment block has been considered untouchable to even the bravest of police. Cloaked under the cover of pre-dawn darkness and silence, an elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house in order to take down the notorious drug lord that runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, the building’s lights are cut and all the exits blocked. Stranded on the sixth floor with no way out, the unit must fight their way through the city’s worst to survive their mission. Starring Indonesian martial arts sensation Iko Uwais.”

Source: DVD Releases

Geekscape Games Reviews “Game of Thrones”

by MoreLikeAndy

As with most people, I have only experienced Game of Thrones through the HBO series and not the books. The political turmoil, crazy plot twists and yes, boobs, makes the show entertaining to watch. And of course, with every great series, we sooner or later get a video game (remember the Lost game?). The first try for Cyanide (Montreal) was with Game of Thrones: Genesis, a turn-based strategy game that was ill received. This time around, Cyanide (Paris) takes a stab at Game of Thrones with an Action RPG.

Instead of following the original story, Cyanide crafted a new one, a tale that takes place before and during the first season of the HBO series. The story revolves around 2 different characters. One is Mors Westford, a Night Watch ranger that has to go on a mission to find a woman that Jon Arryn, the hand of the king, wants protected. The other is Alester Sarwyck, a red priest who comes home after many years to pay his respects to his dead father as well as to rightfully claim the throne of his home, Riverspring.

With the help of George R.R. Martin, Cyanide has created a fantastic story that is a joy to experience. Just be prepared to sit through a lot of text and dialogue. Game of Thrones has so much exposition in the beginning that it almost wore me down. So much information passed before me through my 25 hour play-through that I was wishing that I had the Cliff Notes in front of me by the end (because without complication, it’s not Game of Thrones!)

Speaking of the end, Game of Thrones just doesn’t seem to want to end when you want it to. Multiple times I thought I was at the end of the game when it just kicks into another chapter. It’s kind of frustrating when you are up at 4am thinking that you are at the end and you end up with 3 more chapters to go. Choices that you make in the game are supposed to change the outcome as you progress yet I felt that the changes were minor and never had the impact Cyanide intended them to have. The only choices that seemed to matter where the ones near the end which decided which of the 4 endings I received.

Thankfully, the story is worth it due to some good voice actors. Only two, unfortunately, are the actual actors from the HBO series. James Cosmo (Lord Commander Jeor Mormont) and Conleth Hill (Lord Varys the Spider) had me seeing them as they are in the HBO series while talking to me in the game. Of course it helps that the characters were also modeled after their HBO counterparts. I had a hard time with Alester’s voice acting. There are times when he nailed it. Too bad there are many other times where the delivery of the lines were awful. Mors, on the other hand, was amazing throughout the game. With the low, gravelly voice, you knew that he was a man best left alone.

Combat ended up being quite boring at first. Having to queue up 3 actions at any given time was unsatisfying. It only got a little better when you had more than 1 person to control to switch between and manage their attacks. I appreciated how the action slows down when you bring up the radial skills wheel. I had a few close calls with drinking a potion to stave off death. Just like the story, the good combat takes some time to get to. Once you learn that enemies with different armor types are susceptible to certain weapon proficiencies, you try to set the weapons in your 2 separate load-outs to accommodate that. You can get by with just using weapons with the proficiencies of cutting and perforating. I rarely ran across enemies that blunt weapons had a bonus effect on.

The absolute, best thing about the combat is using Mors’ skinchanger ability. With this ability, you can control your mangy mutt of a bulldog. Doing so lets you run around in first-person view as the dog! I became more wrapped up in the sneaking around, stealthily killing soldiers by ripping their throats out. It reminded me that someone needs to make a Milo & Otis game. You can sniff around for hidden treasure too but thinning out the ranks by leaping at enemies throats is really, really fun.

I see where Cyanide was going with the customization for each of your characters. Having the option to pick between 3 different battle stances for Mors or Alester will have an effect on what skills you can learn and what weapons you will be more proficient using. Late in the game you can add a second stance to add more abilities to your arsenal. None of this seems to really make an impact since most will settle on the 2 or 3 skills that are the most useful and spam them over and over ad nauseum. One thing I did find surprising is being able to pick your strengths and weaknesses. For instance, I can pick leadership as a strength and to balance that out, I would have to pick something to offset that like a weakness to fire. I would like to see this implemented in more RPG’s. More customization is not a bad thing, as long as it’s done right.

With such a vast world to use, it’s a shame to not have anything really to do in it. There are side quests to be found albeit very few of them. I wanted more to do than just the main quest and lazily exploring the world and found myself disappointed when there wasn’t a reason to do anything but the main story quests.

Still, the Music in Game of Thrones is pure bliss and worth wandering around listening to. Again, having HBO on their side helps out with some licensing and Cyanide was able to use the theme song from the TV series. I spent the whole week humming the very infectious theme. The visuals of the world and characters could have been cleaned up a bit as they are not pretty to see at times and some clipping issues are bothersome but none of it should take you out of the game as you play.

With George R.R. Martin helping craft the story, fans of the books and TV series will find enjoyment in the intertwining stories between Mors and Alester. People that love a good story in their RPG but don’t follow the book or HBO series will still find Game of Thrones interesting enough to sit through the dull moments in combat as well as the world feeling a little empty. Everyone else coming to this game on the assumptions that it will be “Game of Boobs” will be sorely unsatisfied. After 25 hours with the game, my quest to find some boobs was still unfinished.

Check Out These New “Expendables 2” Character Posters! Willis! JCVD! Arnold!

by Jonathan

Last night, Dolph Lundgren posted some new Expendables 2 posters to his Facebook fan page (and you know I’m a member of that group). I hadn’t seen these anywhere, except for the Stallone and Arnold shots, so I thought I’d make up a gallery and share with you these bad ass character posters for each actor who’s part of the most kick ass action ensemble this summer!

What, you thought it was The Avengers?!? The Avengers don’t have JCVD! That enough puts The Expendables over the top! Now check these out!

 

Mass Effect 3 and The Story of Privileged Gamers.

by Shane O'Hare

Just the other day Bioware and EA announced that they will be offering FREE DLC to owners of Mass Effect 3. This DLC addresses the complaints gamers had with the milquetoast ending. The DLC will include new cinematics for the end that are said to offer more closure and context. What does this decisions mean for gamers and other developers?

CAUTION SPOILERS AHEAD

First off let me just say this. Fuck you (not you, I like your hair), all you privileged spoiled brats. The people that got together and complained to the BBB on Bioware and EA because the story didn’t go the way you wanted. Fuck you guys that ordered $1000 worth of cupcakes and sent them to Bioware, forcing them to pay the COD charge because you felt the choices were “vanilla”. Fuck you guys that voted EA the worst company in America, beating out BofA, a corporation that was a key factor in the US housing crisis. Worst of all fuck you Bioware, get a god damned backbone. This series of events is NOT ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR!

How is going to a story creator and demanding they change their work to suit your taste even remotely ok? You don’t go up to George R. R. Martin and demand he put out a new ending chapter to one of his books because you didn’t like how it ended. Go up to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and ORDER them to put out a new ending verse to Californiacation because you didn’t like how it ended.

This thought process is absurd and shocking to me. We live in the time where the ability to talk to some important people is terribly easy. Your favorite drummer on Twitter? Fucking tweet him. The creators of Mass Effect 3 on Twitter? Tweet them.  So this pseudo friendship or bond is created, and we (well not me, you) get this sense of entitlement. We think “Hey, Larry really made a bad ending to Mass Effect, lemme give him a call and ask him to change it for me”, AND THAT IS NOT OK.

What happened to the days where if you bought a game and it had a shitty ending you dealt with it? Unless it was a PC game that had proper patch releases or expansion packs, you never saw narrative changes in a game. The only time I could EVER think of anything like this happening before is Turok Rage Wars. Acclaim offered a cartridge exchange for one that was fixed, but that was only because the game had a giant non ending bug in it, not because the ending wasn’t fulfilling.

I find the Mega64 guys offer the best explanation on the actions taken by certain gamers.

 

People keep forgetting the fact that its a FREAKING VIDEO GAME! The people getting upset are demanding this real world sense of accomplishment, something to show around to people saying “MY CHOICES AFFECT A GAME”. It is completely childish and asinine. The reasoning behind the “protesters” is the ending doesn’t give them their sense of closure. They feel like they didn’t change anything. It. Is. A. Video. Game. I am disgusted to be apart of a community that made these choices, that bullied a videogame company into changing their story. Changing their work of art. So let me say it one last time.

YOU THAT DEMANDED THIS CHANGE. YOU ARE ALL ACTING LIKE BABIES AND IT IS EMBARRASSING WHAT HAS COME OF YOUR ACTIONS. IF YOU KEEP THIS SHIT UP THEN WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER LUCAS AND HIS SPECIAL EDITION TRILOGY.

I am a very upset and angry man, so for now I am going to turn it over to my friend and fellow Geekscapist, Steven Kunz. His take on all this Mass Effect 3 business is far more level headed.

I think this Extended Cut DLC is really a combination of a few things. 1) It is my personal belief (And my personal belief alone at the time of writing this editorial) that Bioware simply did not have time to finish the ending as they truly intended, so this DLC is simply going to fill the gaps that Bioware wanted to initially fill but ran of time to do so. 2) I think that all this is going to amount to, in the end, is additional cutscenes in the final battle against Earth that show more variety with the species that you recruited as well as possibly show more results of the war assets. (Ships destroying more reapers for high EMS, reapers dominating Earth for low EMS) as well as show an epilogue of where the species end up after Mass Effect 3, and how your decisions do impact the epilogue. 3) I feel that this does address at least ONE of the fans’ major concerns with the ending, so Bioware is moving in the right direction, especially since the DLC IS free.

However, Bioware is only addressing ONE major concern with the ending whereas the other major concerns still range from the sudden appearance of the Starchild, why Shepard chooses to simply believe what the Starchild says, why Joker was seemingly running away from the final battle, amid other criticisms about the ending. If Bioware chooses to stick to it’s guns and not update or add to the ending further, and I make this statement as an extremely broad assumption, but I have a strong feeling that this could negatively impact future DLC for the game to the point where it no longer becomes profitable to create DLC to further generate revenue, which could also lead to all potential development of extra Mass Effect 3 content to a complete stop and that also means no guaranteed ending changes.

This is all opinion based on what was said from Bioware and EA, and until the DLC is released, we can only judge from what we have, and what we have regarding the ending isn’t much. Hopefully, at least some of the major concerns are addressed in some manner while new ones aren’t added.

And as for my personal thoughtrs on the ending, the ending didn’t fully register until 2 weeks later, mainly because I thought Garrus and Tali died in the last section of the game. When I replayed the ending after seeing they were not dead, I did see the sudden introduction of the Starchild and the limited endings as major dissapointments, but not dealbreakers to me, as I know that this is NOT the end of the Mass Effect series. I do hope that more changes occur to offer more ending variety, and I do hope that additional DLC will be just as fulfilling as most of the series has been, but overall, I’m not holding my breath for any drastic changes. Lastly, despite the last 10 minutes of the game, I would STILL give this a recommendation to play, as well as a recommendation to get into the series, as Mass Effect is still a great franchise in my opinion. The ending of the Shepard Saga of Mass Effect should not deter any gamers from experiencing the universe, nor should it also invalidate the time and memories players have invested in the series.

That’s my take, what about yours? Any opinions on the DLC ending?

SXSW 2012 Review: The Raid

by Brent Moore

The action movie genre has been stagnant for quite some time. Sure, we get plenty of “action” movies full of posturing and special effects, but films like Taken or The Losers are lazy, sad excuses for action. We’re far from the golden days of Jackie Chan and John Woo, left with only the occasional Tony Jaa or Jason Statham movie to sate our appetite. Nothing makes this lack of quality more apparent than a movie like The Raid.

The Raid drops like an atomic bomb on the genre, completely destroying the competition. It’s simple and to the point. This is a movie about shooting and punching, and how cool those things are. We don’t get special effects laden video game cutscenes that lack any real thrill. We get real stuntmen doing real stunts, and doing them with an intensity and inventiveness that I haven’t seen since Jackie Chan was in his prime. You’ll absolutely see things here that will make you want to stand up and cheer.

One of the best things about the raid is how direct it is. The plot synopsis is the whole plot. Police officers need to “raid” a criminal owned apartment building. The movie starts as they begin the raid, and ends when the raid is over. There is no build-up, no bullshit. This is nearly two hours of non-stop action.

There is also a fun transition from a guns and explosions film to a martial arts film. The first half of The Raid is all intense firefights and has a frantic warzone feel. As the numbers and ammunition dwindle though, we start getting into the incredible hand to hand fights, all building up to one of the best fights ever committed to screen.

Most of these martial arts displays are courtesy of Iko Uwais, a new face to the action scene and the most exciting thing since Tony Jaa. Unlike Jaa, however, Uwais actually has charisma. You like the guy as a character, not just as a stunt machine.

Uwais is pitted against some of the best villains in recent memory. The main crime lord has a wonderful easy-going confidence with just the right amount of sleaze, and his diminutive henchman proves to be an equal match to Uwais’ fighting skills.

If I was forced to find fault here, I would say that the action peaks a bit too early. While the last half hour or so is a nonstop brawl, the individual moments within fights become less memorable as time goes on. You could also criticize the lack of depth in both the characters and the story, but that would be stupid. Character and depth are not why you are here. You get just enough to know who you are supporting and to possibly care about them enough that you’d want to see what happens in the sequel, of which two are planned.

If director Gareth Evans, who also directed Uwais in the film Merantau, can keep up the same level of insane action for the entire Raid trilogy, action fans have something to be very excited for indeed.

The Coolest Thing You’ll See Today: The Action Hero’s Guide to Saving Lives!

by Jonathan

I found this awesome short thanks to Joel McHale’s twitter. Starring The Tick and Seinfeld‘s Patrick Warburton, The Action Hero’s Guide to Saving Lives can best be described as Groundhog Day meets an 80’s Super Action Cop Movie. Director Justin Lutsky knocked this thing out of the park, helped in part by a pretty damn funny script from Brett Simmons and Opie Cooper.

Super Action Man would definitely be proud (as would Jean Claude Van Damme). Check it out in full and tell us what you think!

The Action Hero’s Guide to Saving Lives from Justin Lutsky – Epic Image Ent. on Vimeo.

The Aquabats Post a Promo Video for their Super Show

by Saintmort

After a great appearance on the Geekscape Podcast the Aquabats released a promo of their upcoming TV series. As a huge Aquabats fan I’m stoked for this show but even if I didn’t enjoy the band this show would still be right up my alley!

The Aquabats Super Show premieres March 3rd in the U.S. on The Hub!