Ten Games You Can Look Forward To
I love video games as much as the next person does and I think these ten (very closely resembles mine) coming out are going to be incredible. Personally I’m more excited about the new StarCraft game than any of the other ones. I’ve waited way too long for the sequel–and yes I will be standing in line to get it.
http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/games-of-summer-2010/games-of-summer-2010/1403552
Just to let you know, I will be seeing Eclipse (not on my own volition) this afternoon and will post a review of it when finished.
Green Hornet Trailer Now Out
This movie has potential, so don’t knock it just yet. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808411967/trailer
New Zelda Game, DS System Highlight of the E3 Conference
The E3 Convention recently ended and if you had the privilege to go (I was not because I was deathly ill), you saw the unveiling on the new Zelda game, Skyward Sword. The trailer is here. The game looks like a mix between Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time. It looks pretty awesome nonetheless. Metroid: Other M got some press, but not nearly as much as Zelda. And lastly, the announcement of the new gaming system for the Nintendo, the 3DS, got some massive applause. Sadly not much info came out for it, other than a snazzy trailer, which can be found here, but an extended trailer will be out in July. The Nintendo franchise is going to look good for years to come, and the next E3 conference is set for late May-early June in 2011. Hopefully if yours truly doesn’t suffer another ulcer, he’ll be there and cover it live and podcast it.
Haven: Looks Better than Average SyFy Fare
If you haven’t seen the previews for Haven, the Syfy Channel’s new original show, you can see the trailer for it here. It looks like a cross between Eureeka and X-Files. The premise of the show is that an investigator finds herself engulfed in a town that’s full of people with supernatural powers. Looks darker than X-Files in some regards and more serious than Eureeka. The Syfy Channel has had the dubious history of putting on some craptastic shows, but there are a few gems here and there. Warehouse 13 was okay, Stargate: Universe is awesome, but where does this one fall? If it can pick up some steam and going into the season, it might do well. Emily Rose is in the lead role and Eric Balfour (notorious for playing the role on some Syfy original movies) plays the co-star.
Horror Film Festivals Become More Edgy, Fun
You’ve probably heard of the AfterDark Horrorfest and while it’s been out for about 4 years, you know that the movies aren’t exactly the highest quality nor do they work with the best budget, but since 2006, there has been an influx of horror and science fiction movie festivals that are popping up. In fact, since 2006 there has been a 35 percent rise in the numbers of official horror film festivals all across the world. Horror and Science Fiction, for the most part, has taken on an edgier side. What wasn’t allowed in 2001 is allowed now. More graphic styles of kills (Saw), disturbing story lines (Deranged), and post-modernistic sadistically strange (Three Extemes), are a norm and other countries are catching on, if not exceeding the United States. Below is a list of some of the horror festivals for 2010 where you can find unique types of horror and creativity:
- October 10-18
- FREAK SHOW Horror Film Festival (Orlando, Florida, USA)
- October 15-17
- Big Bear Horror Film Festival (Big Bear Lake, CA, USA)
- October 19-23
- Terror Film Festival (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)
- October 30
- British Horror Film Festival (Poole, UK)
- October 30-31
- Horror UK´s 28 Hours Later (Farham, UK)
- November 5
- Shockfest Film Festival (Hollywood, California, USA)
You never know what kinds of nuggets you’ll find at these festivals, if any, but it wouldn’t hurt to check it out and see what direction some of the directors are taking. You’ll be pleasantly surprised, I think. Of course there are other festivals this year. If you want to find one near you, do a local search and book your tickets soon. These things have a way of selling out fast.
Prince of Persia: Finally a Video Game Adaptation You’ll Like
Price of Persia was surprisingly good for a video game-turned-movie. If you’re looking for an Alone in the Dark experience, you certainly won’t get that. PoP is probably the best video game-turned-movie ever made. The acting wasn’t bad. In fact, Jake Gyllenhaal does a great job as a Persian. His accent wasn’t bad and I think the trailers didn’t really do it any justice. The story arc is pretty compelling and it flowed. The movie does follow through some of the storylines of the games, but doesn’t directly reflect the storylines of any one particular game. You’ll have to pay attention to the direction of the movie. You might think it was done on purpose on the director’s part to divert your attention away from the fact that it’s a movie adapted from a video game. Either way, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how good it really was. Just think of it as an action movie and not a video game. PoP will impress. I give this an 8. If you made it in time for the movie, you probably saw the Predators trailer. More to come on my blog about that, but it looks pretty awesome.
Lost: The End of an Era
I’m not one to post spoilers of any kind, but I found that I had to in this case. Lost, one of the best TV shows to brace television in quite some time, will be reaired on Syfy Channel in the fall from the beginning. Beware, many of the shows will take place during the day. The ebb and flow of emotions that you got all the way back from season 1 was worth it. If you missed the finale, here’s what you missed:
1) Jack is now the island protector and in a series of flashbacks, we see Jack about to operate on Locke.
2) There is a confrontation that escalates between Jack and Locke. In another flashback, we see Locke had successful surgery.
3) Jack and Kate run into each other and they haven’t seen each other before.
4) They gather at a church and see everyone…mourning at their own deaths.
Close curtains. Jack closes his eyes for the final time and that’s that. The end of an era ends in a not-so-obvious-but-expected way.
It will be hard to duplicate the success of Lost, but you’re bound to see countless attempts. It was fun while it lasted. Catch it on Syfy in the fall or buy the DVD. If you haven’t seen the series from the beginning you’re going to be impressed.
J.J. Abrams at it Again
It didn’t take long for J.J. Abram’s name to come up again after the finale of Lost. (That episode still makes me mad.) Super 8, the newest Abram’s entry is set to come out in 2011, with a possibility to come out in late 2010 (don’t give up you hopes on that). You can see the trailer here and tell me what you think. It is quite veiled as was Cloverfield when it came out, and to quell rumors, this is not the sequel to Cloverfield. The trailer is overly ambiguous and furthermore, Abrams has said it was not the sequel.
Nightmare on Elm Street Review
The old Nightmare on Elm Street basically invented the slasher/horror genre. Though the CG and the writing wasn’t always the best, it was sufficient and good enough for the time. The new Nightmare on Elm Street had some flashes of brilliance in it that made it a lot better than the original. All the deaths in this movie are heightened to the point that some of them are just hard to watch, but it’s fun nonetheless. The story drove a little faster than I expected and it didn’t waste much time. (It’s different than the original in regards to plot.) I’ll admit, though, that it’s hard to envision Jackie Earl Haley as the new Krueger. It will take you a little getting used to, for sure. So as not to spoil anything, it does leave room for a sequel and I think, of all the other slasher remakes, this one could pull it off. If you like a character-driven slasher film (if there ever was one) this is it. It’s also plot driven where you can get a good feel of all angles of the movie. You can’t go wrong with this movie if you like the horror/slasher genre. It’s fun, very action driven, and the deaths are pretty awesome. I recommend it and I give this an 8.
San Diego Comic Con Guest List
An updated partial list of some of the people speaking or making appearances at this year’s comic con are:
Sergio Aragonés, Brian Michael Bendis, Berkeley Breathed, Chris Claremont, Mark Evanier, Matt Fraction, Keith Knight, Stan Lee, Paul Levitz, Larry Marder, Carla Speed McNeil, Robert M. Overstreet, Douglas E. Richards, James Sturm, Gabrielle Bell, Douglas E. Richards, Jerry Robinson, Steve Rude, J. Michael Straczynski, and Drew Struzan.
This is just a few of the hundreds of visitors, but because the final list doesn’t come out for another three weeks, it’s important to note that even after the list is finalized, guests can back out or go to other engagements. Such was the case last year when 15 guests backed out of commitments a week before the convention.