*Actual quote from Street Fighter 4! It’s what Blanka says after he’s won a match. More on that in a bit!
Another week of playing games, watching movies, chillin’ with buds, getting dronk, getting stuck on trains when you’re dangerously close to shitting your pants, designing Facebook applications… so, another update!
What The Makers Of Rock Band DON’T Want You To Know!
Rock Band 2 comes out real soon, like in two weeks or something, though for the Xbox 360. PS3, PS2, and Wii owners will have to wait a bit longer. Anyhow, to mark the occasion, there was yet another press event in the city last week…
The day began with an early morning call (well, 10:30 in the morning, which is early for me, since these days I generally stay up till 5 working and get up around or a little past noon) from my editor stating that she had received a frantic voicemail from one of the dudes at Harmonix the night prior. Apparently his iPhone went missing during a demo with a guy supposedly on our end. And considering that I’m the only game writer at Nick Mag, she wanted to make sure that said dude wasn’t me; the real concern wasn’t that I was possibly some theft but a stranger was going around posing as a Nick Mag representative (hey, I remember being at something, and watching some dude trying to get in, and claiming to be from Kotaku, when he clearly was not). Though in end, it turned out to be some guy at Nick.com that neither my editor or myself knew, and things just got stuff mixed up, which is quite easy considering there’s like half a million Viacom employees, all working for sorta similar sounding departments. Though my editor’s joke about how she didn’t know whom that other person was, but how she does know someone around the office that sells iPhones for dirt-cheap didn’t get nearly as big a laugh as it should have.
Point being… there’s not too much to say about the game. I more or less covered everything previously, and given my familiarity with the product already, it was simply a chance to check out stuff that was only talked about before, such as the drum trainer. Also got to see more of the battles of the bands part of the game; basically you and your crew perform a song, which gets uploaded for others to challenge… anyone playing the same song also downloads your performance, for note by note comparisons. I guess the one thing I wanted to know more of was the importing of Rock Band 1′s content into 2. As you might recall, the plan was to simply rip tracks from the first game to be used in the second, and I asked, if a person was unscrupulous enough, could they simply rent the first disc as and not actually own the game to utilize this feature. Even my editor could hear the imaginary record scratching that brought the whole party down. And answer is…. yes. When part 2 comes out, there will be a software update for part 1 to bring forth this feature. Once the option is chosen, a special code that comes with part 2, to verify the purchase of that copy must be submitted. Players must also pay an additional five dollars to utilize the feature, with the reason being a licensing fee. And that’s more or less it… you really don’t need to own the first game, so I guess you can borrow it from a friend or rent it. I know they didn’t like talking about it, but I did have to point out that folks are gonna wonder about this.
Oh, so I’m supposed to get the new set when it becomes available, though I might ask for just the guitars, since I already have a drum set for the Wii, and I think Katie will kill me if I clutter the apartment with another one. Speaking of, I might also have to ask for just one guitar since I already have from RB1 along with one GH1 axe, and another for GH2. Plus, given how its been made official that all the instruments will be cross-compatible, I might want to have one RB2 guitar and one GH4 guitar, just because. There’s also another event, this one a party, on Wednesday, and I’m bring Dave Mauro and a few other peeps. Perhaps there might be some footage afterwards of us all playing as a band naturally, with me singing, since I apparently did such a good job with the Beastie Boy’s Sabotage last time I played with Katie, Joe Simko. and June (it helps I can scream nice and long and loud).
New Yorkers Clearly Do Not Like Gadgets And Video Games
I guess the big news around these parts is that DigitalLife, the big consumer electronics show that Ziff Davis has been throwing the past couple of years, had its plugged pulled last week. At least the 2008 edition. Reason cited? “Poor economic conditions.” Though pretty much everyone has also pointed out that there might be other factors, such as how fucking lame last year’s edition was. Though that’s to say that the one before it was actually decent, and they weren’t. Yet I’ve heard more than a few folks state that they had a good time previously, and even the last one was decently attended. It all goes to show how desperate New Yorkers are for some kind of consumer electronics show.
Hey, remember when DigitalLife was originally going to be the New York Cityequivalent of Electronic Entertainment Expo? It was called GameOn or something like that. But when things clearly weren’t coming together, the focus was shifted towards general consumer electronics. And the funny thing is, version 2008 was supposed to have some sort of renewed focus on gaming. Oh well!
Actually, part of the show this year would have been the New York Games Conference, so once DigitalLife was cancelled, it was believed to be dead as well. But shortly afterwards came word that things were being moved to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, which is an interesting choice to say the least. And it’ll be interesting to see how the event goes… perhaps its a smart choice to shift gears, and instead of trying to do some kind of enthusiasts event (since the audience here, as noted many times previously, is sadly not here) to a business affair. Yet, like all first editions, there’s sure to be some rough edges. Anyhow, I’ll be in attendance of course, plus I’m trying to see if they might be interested in having me speak. So if anything develops, this place will be the first to know.
BTW, last time I mentioned how I almost helmed a Shaolin Soccer video game, so this time I’ll mention how… I once almost helmed an entire games convention! Long story short, a group from the south that normally promotes country rocks shows wanted to get in on the “hey, let’s do an E3 in NYC!” action. They somehow found me via the miracle of the internet (primarily my review… and criticism… of DigitalLife early on) and figured I would be a good person to helm the project, since I seemed to be a person who maybe knew how to do it right. Numerous phone meetings resulted, with me giving my two cents as to what a gaming show should be and not be. I championed the idea of mixing large, well known companies with more smaller, independent studios and their games, since the latter was not getting as much recognition at E3 at the time, and certainly not at DigitalLife, which was crazy given where it was taking place. Plus the audience would certainly find it enlightening since many folks around here are dying to get into the industry yet have no idea of what their options are (most still feel that you have to move to the west coast to work in video games). I was also adamant about there being zero booth babes and stupid shit like that. And shortly afterwards, they decided to shelf the project! Guess I did not job a little too well?
A Cross Between Paul Newman and Pat Sajak?
On Friday night, Hilary came over with a big bottle of Duvel (which she doesn’t like, but I totally love) and a movie to watch… Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion. Those who might recall my extensive New York Asian Film Festival coverage that I saw and throughly enjoyed the remake Sasori. Well the original completely blows away the redux on every level. Its not nearly as bloody, but its still hella violent, plus even more artsy, and hundreds times more sexy!
Things are quite different this time around. It still stars a woman named Nami, but instead of being thrown into prison due to her cop boyfriend’s enemies framing her, this time she’s made a patsy by her man (the flashback sequences are all presented like some crazy play btw). Nami goes nuts and tries to kill her boyfriend, which lands her in jail (where everyone wears ultra stylish jail outfits, also btw). There’s a botched attempt at escape, which makes her the focus of abuse by the demented prison warden and his sadistic goons. She manages to become the target of the bad girls that run the joint (the head bitch has like the awesome hair ever), which leads to an all out war. There’s lots of fighting, as well as making out, basically all the staples of a fine chick prison flick. Though like I said, it’s also pretty arty; there’s a scene where she shoves one bad girls heads through a plate of glass… when she uncovers her face, not only do we see blood but a painted face, a la Kabuki theater. If there’s one word to describe this flick, its intensity…. whether it be rape scene shot from the below up, via a glass floor, to Nami’s punishment by her captors which is being buried alive by her fellow inmates, but foes and friends. There’s also a scene near the end where the lady prisoners have had enough and hold various guards hostage and then rape them! So its still a male fantasy at heart, like all movies of its kind. Anyhow, Hilary got all three movies for a steal at Otakon, so I guess we’ll be seeing parts two and three (it’s a trilogy) hopefully sooner than later.
Since it was Friday, I of course had to introduce her to the wonders of Manhattan cable access, and its always fun introducing a friend to this most wonderful of wonders (I actually did the same earlier in the week for Joe Salina). Flaccid Ego, that psychic with the red turban that’s barely seen on camera and who is always so damn surly was on, and because Hilary asked if I ever called the guy, I of course had to. And this time I got on! It’s always tough since everyone loves calling in and giving the guy grief (though 99% of the time, they never get a word in because the guy always cuts them off… since he is psychic after-all). We had another pleasant conversation, which culminating with him telling me that, because of my pleasant voice, I should get my own show! I also lightly made fun of Spinning Lights, which lead to plenty of Spinning Lights jokes/shout outs on the part of the psychic (which is this long running cable access program that Farel and I used to prank call back in the day).
After I had said my piece, I gave the phone to Hilary, who asked for her future. She was told that she has a secret admirer(!) and that she would meet him in the coming weeks, plus he’s supposed to be a mixture of Paul Newman and Pat Sajack. Okay.
Rumbo in Dumbo XI
Saturday Katie and I went to Brooklyn for another installment of the World of Unusual Wrestling’s Rumbo in Dumbo! But before that, we went to my former stomping grounds, Park Slope to indulge in some authentic British fish and chips, a place called Chipshop. It has it all: fine British food, as well as fine British beverages, plus a great ambiance…. that was completely ruined by an angry reminder why I’m so fucking glad I no longer live in that piece of shit neighborhood.
Anyone who?s familiar with Brooklyn can tell you why Park Slope has become hell on earth. The place has become the place where affluent and rich hipsters have decided to raise families. On any given morning during the weekend you’ll find power moms going down the street with double extra wide baby strollers, cussing at everyone to get the fuck out of the way, with their completely castrated husbands following about ten feet behind, with their heads buried in their Blackberries. For more information, simply click here.Anyhow, on this particular day, the atmosphere, mostly the great Brit music, was completely inaudible thanks to the family that was right next to us, with their kids playing music loudly on their cell phones. Were the parents doing anything about? Of course not! Why? Because their children are precious little snowflakes, and wouldn’t dare say a negative thing to their angels that are only expressing themselves, otherwise they might bruise their frail little karmas. The father I hae to point out had both a goatee and a mohawk. God I just wanted to punch the fucker in the face.
At least the food was, as always amazing. And then afterwards we took the train out to Dumbo to Gleason’s Gym for the big show! And how was it this time, compared to last month’s stellar effort? Ummm…. It was pretty weird. There were some stellar matches, in fact some of the best, pure wrestling bouts I’ve seen yet from the WUW. Yet, there were also a number of very strange, rather awkward moments that dragged the whole thing down.
Things got off to a decent, albeit a very late start… about thirty minutes late to be exact. But in addition to the loud, fat Italian guy, the old, quiet Jewish guy, and the lazy eyed, superfan Hispanic girl, that always sit together, and annoy the fuck out of the wrestlers and anyone sitting near them, there was some loud drunk dude that caused quite the scene. Unfortunately, he was clearly annoying the kids sitting behind us, who always spout the best zingers, so I really didn’t appreciate the guy ruining their shtick (too bad they were all too nice to tell the dude to get lost). Right off the back there were numerous additions and some changes to the formula; a curtain with the logo was set-up for the wrestlers to make their entrances, which was nice, or at least much better than just having them come out of the locker room (it should be noted that the men’s bathroom is also in the locker, and I’m always nervous about going inside, not because I’m afraid of seeing some wrestler naked, though there’s that too, but I just don’t want to come out in the middle of some big angle and get hit in the face by a chair). One of the first matches featured a wrestler with a priest gimmick, calling himself Pastor George…
Plus the Unknown Masks were back! Mooney (who joined us right around the first match) were just as surprised as I was that they had returned, considering how awful they were. Instead of dressing like Peruvian ninjas, they both had lucha masks on, but the best part was how they weren’t wearing capes but actual rugs….
… Too bad they were both still pretty awful, and did some stuff that almost seriously jeopardized the safety of their opponents (one of which just got back from an injury two or three shows ago)…
… Sadly, the hot as fuck secretary was absent. Though Katie is seriously interested in asking them if they need a new one! Also sorely missed was Brooklyn Jeff. I’m assuming he had to work an extra shift that night at the force, probably at some stakeout.
One of the earliest matches of the evening was easily the best of the night, again one of the best I’ve seen from the promotion period. It was a championship match between belt holder Pete Simmons (who normally is a heel, but played the face that night) against Tristan Spade, the big pimp from before. And this time he had another gaggle of women of the night, along with some rapping buddies…
Like I said, the match was pretty intense, which culminated with the ref (“I’ve never seen an Irish guy with a dew rag before.” noted Mooney regarding the guy) getting distracted by the ho’s, and Tristan getting a cheap shot for the win… now, one staple item in the world of professional wrestling is the big silver garbage pail that grapplers like to hit each over the head with. It?s nice and big and shiny and makes a great noise when you clobber someone over the head with it. Well, I guess they either couldn’t fit one under the ring (once again, the ceiling is extremely close, leaving little room for high flying moves) or they forgot it, because Tristan hit Pete with… a tiny plastic bucket covered in tin foil I’m afraid only wrestling fans will appreciate the absolute batshit level of insanity of that one.
Here we have an extra pic of Tristan, wearing his newly acquired belt, and yelling at some kids in the front row…
Our favorite, the Musketeer! He was in a tag match with this GIGANTIC Puerto Rican guy going by the moniker of Gorilla Dozu versus Reggadones (Mooney’s high school buddy) and Mark Viola, the WUW commissioner and heavyweight champ. I guess I should also mention another vitally important part of Rumbo in Dumbo that was missing; the match calling. During matches, the announcer would call the action, like you hear on television, but this time it was missing because he was instead doing it for tape exclusively. Now, they’re always filming matches, but I’ve never seen it anywhere, so I’m hoping this is at least some sign that something is finally being done to put the thing on television. Anyway, Reggadones had been the color guy from what I could tell up till that point.
Anyhow, things started off great (the Musketeer even told Mooney to shup up, which elicited a “Hey, I”m cheering for you, you jerk!!!” until Reggadones dove head first, between the ropes, into a concrete pillar next to the ring. Everything ground to a halt, and everyone became very quiet, almost grim. From our vantage point, it was clear that he had hit the wall hard, and was on the ground, not moving. Mooney was especially worried since the guy’s his friend in real life. Eventually he was taken to the back and action continued, but the energy was not there, audience-wise. Though the Musketeer, thanks mostly to Gorilla, was able to add some levity to the situation….
Eventually, Viola was not only double teamed, but triple teamed thanks to the crooked ref, but Viola got ahold of the weapon they were going to use against him, and then went crazy, taking everyone down with it. The Musketeer then started bleeding…. eventually Reggadones came out to witness what was going on, and to yell at his partner to calm down as everyone else was trying to subdue him. Mind, this was a good guy who had gone nuts and taken three bad guys out with an illegal object. It was just so… strange.
The three of us would later discover that the injury was indeed planned (say what you will about pro wrestling, but when you see it live, it seems a LOT more realistic). So with that in mind… what was the point? The WUW has always had an air of lightheartedness, and having a fake injury angle made little sense. (especially when there really was an injury a few shows ago, as previously mentioned, which was not funny stuff in the least)… as did the bloody rampage later on.
The night went on, but again, much of the energy and enthusiasm was not there. The wrestlers tried their best to get the audience back into things, though were not entirely successful, Still, there was still plenty of awesome action, which included the return of the clown!
He had a match with Steven Person (his slogan of “I’m Steven Person…. IN PERSON!” despite being so God damn corny, eventually won Katie over) who was his tag team partner last time, but turned on him.
The girls from before made multiple appearances. Here they are even sluttier than before, as the escorts of Mac Daddy Flexxx….
And here they are as the escorts of Joe So Delicious….
… The thing is, they played the part of girls speaking some indiscernible foreign language, hence why they were unsuccessful with warning Joe about the sneak attack from his opponent, Minion, who used to be this vaguely bad guy with silver face paint on, that would always flake off, but played the part of the good guy sans make-up. He’s also probably the best pure wrestler on the entire roster. Too bad I don’t have any pictures of the guy (sorry but my camera, as you can tell, is not up to snuff for action taken in the poor lighting).
Another not so great thing was how, near the end, one of the matches was officiated by a female ref, who flat out sucked. Aside from trying too hard to be sexy, she was just not good at it. Plus there was a point where a bad guy grabbed her by the hair out of anger and that was again pretty uncomfortable. It also made zero sense why she didn’t automatically disqualify him.
Here’s a pic of the aforementioned curtain with some bear-ish looking leather dude that was often seen with a large, captain’s pipe. Katie and I were dying to see him wrestle, but alas, nothing. Guess he’s some behind the scenes guy or something… God I need to find out more about this dude.
Things ran long, really long, thanks to the very late start and calamity of the Reggadones situation. Which might be why the last match ended super abruptly. But by this point, most of the audience had gone. Coupled with the fact that many of the wrestlers were also not there (again, where art though Brooklyn Jeff?), perhaps due to it being the summer, what you had was a rather subpar Rumbo In Dumbo. Though I would later find out that Kaiju was in town once again, and without even seeing it, I’m still pretty damn certain that I was at the superior wrestling event. Sorry, but Big Battle Kaiju is SO 1999 that it isn’t even funny. Long story short: it was cool when it was a bunch of drunk Boston kids stumbling around in big dumb outfits, but now that they have trained wrestler doing way too slick moves…. Plus, their arrogance scared off their core fans during their initial attempts at going mainstream, which they’ve never fully recovered from. Oh, that and how its a magnet for obnoxious hipsters and scenesters.
Oh, and I finally got a WUW shirt!
The printing is of such poor quality that I’m pretty sure all the letters are going to fall apart in the wash. Anyhow, afterward was a long belated return to Kenka (though both Mooney and Katie had been there the night before). God how I had missed that chicken and egg and ketchup on rice.
What Have I Played Lately…
I guess this is the part of my update in which I mention what I’ve been playing. Lots of stuff, as usual. Mostly XBLA titles, such as Bionic Commando Rearmed (was never that great with the original, but I am getting the hang of the revamp), Geometry Wars 2 (which I didn’t think offered that much new at first, but boy am I ever wrong), and Galaga Legions (which I loved the first time around, and am definitely digging now at the comfort of home, though I’m beginning to rethink my “it might actually be better than Pan Man Championship Edition!” stance).
Still going full steam ahead with Wii Fit. It’s going okay I suppose, though many of my beefs from before are still very much present. My biggest issues like with the inconsistency of the strength exercises. Some I’m able to achieve high scores on despite the fact that I know that my form sucks. I know it can’t do everything, but still… it would nice if it gave more insight or clearer instructions on how to achieve perfect forms, especially when it comes to the rowing squat thrusts, which no matter what I do, I can’t seem to do correctly. In fact, for my movements to be properly registered, I basically have to do it wrong, which is beside the point. Some exercises tell me after the fact that I have poor balance, which I’m well aware of, mostly when it comes to standing on one leg. Yet no real advice is given towards how to fix things, and just doing the balance mini-games is simply not enough. I also find the Wii Fit Age, which tells you what your physical age is and compares it to your actual age, somewhat broken. You have to do two random exercises out of whatever, so if you’re good at, say, balance, then it’ll be good, otherwise not. Meaning its fluctuates way too much; first I was 47, then all of a sudden 31 the next day, then 42, and today I’m 35. Granted, as Jason argues, if I’m in prime shape, I should be able to tackle anything and get a high score, but once again…. please refer to my earlier points about its inability to help pinpoint problems.
Also been messing around with my PSP a bit more than usual. I only recently discovered that the Dracula X port has Symphony of the Night as an unlockable… though I find the redux such an eye sore (like I do for many remakes for the PSP, including Mega Man Powered Up, Maverick Hunter X, and Ultimate Ghouls ‘N Ghosts) that I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. Also began playing this fan translated high school dating sim where you’re a vampire teen in a regular people high school for the PSone called Bloody Bride. Only started playing it late Sunday night, when I found myself both bored and extremely annoyed by the closing Olympics ceremony (was actually gonna write about it, but I think the forum thread more or less covers everything).
Plus yesterday, I finally checked out…
… Street Fighter 4, That’s What!
Joe Salina gave me the head’s up on Sunday regarding the machine’s presence in New York City (which was much sooner than expected… I was lead to believe that Tekken 6 would make it here before SF4, which in hindsight, was pretty silly) and asked if I wanted to check it out. But I had assumed that the crowd at Chinatown Fair would be a bit too much to handle, at least for a Sunday, and not long after, Joe discovered that the wait to play was indeed insane, involving putting one’s name down on a list and waiting for half an hour.
So after another lunchtime meeting with Jason, I decided to swing down to Chinatown to finally check it out. And, despite it being in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday, I still had to wait about half an hour to play. Foolish me to think that arcade rats have day jobs or something (in their defense, school is still out, though not for long).
There was a list that you had to put your name on, and its funny how half the names were not real names. Stuff like Hunter D, MUTANT, and other wacky stuff. There was about a crowd of twelve or so, and after a person would play, they would immediately put their name back on the list… So yeah, it’s basically the same people who have been playing the game, I’m assuming, non-stop, since they got the unit in this past weekend, as myself and Dave had guessed. And their expertise was immediately apparently as I watched them play; everyone appeared to know what they were doing, and I knew that I wouldn’t. I bet in addition to playing the game non-stop, they analyzed all the YouTube videos from Japan up and down, plus checked out the official move list online. I already knew that my time at the controls would not be a long one… I could only guess how badly I would perform.
I feel the need to point out the units themselves: they look kinda…. odd. Not like real dedicated arcade cabs. Basically (very nice) high end Samsung screen affixed to arcade dashboards. There are two screens, each with its own monitor, similar to how they have VF5 in Japan. Oh, and it was a dollar a play. Only bills were accepted. And while a dollar a game is pretty standard practice for most arcade games in their native land, its still a pretty big pill to swallow around here, at least anything that’s not a deluxe racing game.
Anyway, I almost left because the wait was far longer than I expected, plus the smell was getting to me. Half the crowd seemed like nice people, the other half reminded me why I avoid Chinatown Fair like the plague. Didn’t really try chit-chatting though. Not those kinds of folks. That or they might have found my attempts at conversation not up their alley. So I just watched the various games before me…
Visually speaking, the game is… very interesting to look at. I’m not gonna say that I totally LOVE the aesthetic, but I appreciate the attempt at being different. If anything, it kinda feels closer to what the original series looked like (SF2 proper) than all the anime-ish stuff that’s come after. I just think a slightly different, perhaps more muted tones might make the game look less… gaudy? Though the graphic quality of the models are quite nice and put to good use; when someone gets punched in the face, it twists and contorts in real-time, which is quite nice. And painterly effects are very nice handled, and most importantly, not over done.
Just as I was about to bolt (I heard it was going to rain soon and was totally without by umbrella, plus the clouds were beginning to darken), my name was called. There had been one dude who had been kicking everyone’s ass with Blanka, but I guess after a certain number of wins, you get booted off. I guess to insure that fresh faces (and bills) keep rolling in. That’s kind of a neat idea. So I faced off against some kid that was also fresh. Nice guy, very friendly!
We both ended up picking the lucha wrestler. Perhaps I should have chosen a character that I was a bit more familiar with, to compare how he or she plays to a previous iteration, but I was simply sick and tired of seeing Ken and Ryu. Also, I kinda had Mexican wrestling on the mind; in addition to the action at Rumbo in Dumbo earlier in the weekend, Jason and I during lunch discussed how awesome a porno starring luchadores would be. Plus, I knew I was gonna suck, so I figured I at least had a better excuse with a character I had never used before. He ended up controlling a lot like Skullomania from the Street Fighter EX series, if anyone’s ever played that. Lots of jumping around, quick jabs, and the like. The perfect button masher/newbie character.
Both of us did lots of jumping around and trying to hit each other, simply trying to feel the controls out. Thank God that we were both at the same basic skill-level; after all that waiting, I didn’t want to be annihilated in three seconds. I forget what I or the other guy did, but people in the crowd began grumbling. One or two kept saying “don’t be cheesy.” Again, I don’t know if it was him or me. It’s not like I was turtling, or using the same unblockable move over and over again. BTW, I’ve always found people who object to certain moves in games being used, by saying its “cheesy” or “unfair” kinda ridiculous. I mean, if its in the game, is it not a valid choice? I kinda understanding have some hidden code of honor in the real world, but a video game?
Anyhow, maybe I was the cheesy guy, because I ended up winning (though it was close). My opponent thanks me for a good match, even gave me respect knuckles. Next up was another young guy, but no smiles. All business. Totally surly. I knew what was next, especially when he chose Ryu. And I was beaten in three seconds. Afterwards I looked at the kid in the face again, and he had that look in his eyes that he had “taught me a lesson” or something. Oh well. All I can do is take solace that, despite not being a champion Street Fighter champ, never will, I at least…. have kissed a girl. And that counts for something, right?
So I honestly can’t tell if it is indeed the mix between SF2 and SF3 that everyone says it is, but I had fun with it, though the wait plus the steep price is a bit of a turn-off, as well as the place, which I’ve decided is not for me. Basically, can’t wait for the console versions!
Odds & Ends
- For those who might be interested, by very lovely and super talented was recently interviewed over at Sequart, who everyone should definitely check it out!
- I also finally introduced one of my most dearly beloved movies of all time, Death Race 2000, to Katie last night. It brought joy to my heart to hear Katie mutter to herself “This is the greatest movie of all time.” every five minutes. The need to show her the movie was naturally prompted by her interested in seeing the remake, which I think no longer exists, or at least strongly.
Just realized to mention another awesome flick I recently Netflixed; its by the guy who did The Shadow Spirits, that weird noir murder mystery/science fiction/assemble buddy flick that I went ga-gag for at the NYAFF. Anyway, its about a gangsta on the run and how he hooks up with a taxi driver that, despite being Japanese, is quite the stranger in a strange land (played by the always brilliant Koji Yakusho). Instead of me, once again, going on and on and on about how awesome said Japanese flick is, how about I simply pass along this excellent movie review courtesy of Midnight Eye?
- Been meaning to pass along another post with selected best of from the forum for a while now (just haven’t had the time). Till then, folks can simply mess around with the excellent, imho, YouTube videos I’ve highlight in the past by… combining them!
- While doing some research for a freelance project earlier this weekend, I had to remind myself that the official website for the awesome Korean romantic comedy, I’m A Cyborg But That’s Okay, has pretty much the awesomest website ever, at least one tied into a movie. Too bad its only viewable in Internet Explorer.
- And while fucking around the internet in general last night, I stumbled across new that Night Flight, one of my favorite shows of all time growing up, might be coming back!!!
- Finally, another blog to pass along, this time from a dude I used to work with, over at SVA. His name is Chad, and his sight is called EYEBURN and it’s pretty neat!
