It looks like after only 25 years someone at Hasbro decided that a 12” action figure based on Indiana Jones would be a good idea. Of course it probably has a lot to do with the fact that Indy4 is currently filming and this latest film will probably be the last one in the series starring Harrison Ford. The figure doesn’t look too bad. Of course dedicated kit bashers wont be able to leave well enough alone I foresee keeping the head sculpt, hat and maybe the satchel and replacing the rest with better looking gear. But still it’s something to work with and it’s in 1/6th scale so I’m happy!
Well the DVD release of the 300 is coming out Tuesday, but I don’t know about snapping it up so quick. It seems nowadays when you buy a new movie they wait 6 months and then come out with a "Double secret extended version" or a "extra special directors cut version". It happened to me with the first Lord of the Rings movie and again with the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" which has like 40 minutes worth of additional scenes, and made the confusing theatrical release crystal clear and wholly enjoyable as a directors cut edition. And although far from a great movie, the directors cut of Daredevil at least filled in some huge gaping plot holes. It seems to have become standard marketing operating procedure to hold back certain key elements of even the lamest films and then and re-release them in subsequent editions in the expectation that DVD nerds like me will buy the new edition just to have the coolest version of the movie. So bottom line- I will be getting 300…eventually, but I waited this long, I might have to wait a bit longer just to be safe.
With all the stupidity that “Civil War” has caused, culminating in the “death” of Captain America -(Yeah right), I’ve decided to distance myself from the “House of ideas” for a while. Marvel comics it seems, has just been determined to piss me off with this latest marketing gimmick and I’m determined not to play along, especially when I can still get my fanboy fix quite nicely over at DC comics. The JSA has always been a favorite and continues to shine. And a re-launch of the classic Brave and the Bold, featuring the legendary art of George Perez, has made the bitter pill of Marvel’s lack of consideration for their fans, a bit easier to swallow. Oh well, this too shall pass. Eventually the bean counters at Marvel will need a sales spike which will initiate the “Resurrection of Captain America” mini series crossover extravaganza.
A buddy of mine and fellow Joe collector Hutt W. just posted a little 1/6 scale animation. It was part of a school project for an animation class. Cool stuff!
"Indeed, It was a school project (Yes, I got 3.5 units of college credit just for playing with GI Joes!) I shot the whole thing in my garage with a digital camera, a tripod, two 60-watt lamps and edited the whole thing on my laptop using PhotoShop and Flash 8. If you include building the models, shooting it and editing it took, I think I have about 60 hours tied up in creating the whole thing. As it stands, I should get about a 98% (A) for my final grade!"
One of my oldest online pals, Mike Crawford has a great action figure review site. MWCtoys.com. This time a round he gives his thoughts on the new Conan figure popping up at a Meijers and Walmart near you!
On Saturday evening "She who must be obeyed" and I loaded up the minions and headed to the Bay area to hook up with my brother in law and his family who flew in from Hawaii. His daughters were competing in a Tae Kwon Do tournament in San Jose. After the tournament we spent a couple of days in San Francisco and The Six Flags amusement park in Vallejo. A grand time was had by all. San Francisco never fails to enchant. My wife took the above photo of Alcatraz and the city.
I enjoy a good horror tale from time to time. Although, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, my tastes tend to run more to Boris Karloff and Steven King that they do to Freddy Kruger and Anne Rice. Brian B. has a Blog called “Spectral Highway” where he shares his thoughts on horror in cinema and literature. The Blog is new, it began in June I believe, but there are already a few choice pieces to read. Brian is a net friend and a player in one of my famous failed PBEM games. He’s a good Joe with some keen observations on his favorite genre.
Spectral Highway has made it to my Blog reading list. I hope you stop by as well.
When I first heard about EBay I went totally EBay crazy. A misstep or two involving our checking account, and "She who must be obeyed" put an end to my free wheeling EBay days big time.
Now I have my own little EBay checking account and a monthly stipend to go with it. I'm now Mr. Budget EBayer. I rarely go over the $40.00 mark, most of my purchases lie in the $5.00-$10.00 range. I still get that nerdgasmic thrill from sniping an auction with just 3 seconds to go and snatching a trinket out of some newbies hands for just .25 cents more. Every once in awhile I still find a treasure that was listed incorrectly or a diamond hidden in a "lot" of junk items. I have a personal quest to collect all the Mongoose Conan RPG books without paying full price. I'm doing pretty good on that one, I have yet to spend over $11.00 on any of the Conan books I've won.
Yesterday I picked up these little gems for .99cents each.
I have a couple of the Demonwars comics around here somewhere. I never got around to reading them.
I don't particularly care for D20.
Chances are I'll never even play this game. But there might be a few ideas amongst these pages that I could "borrow." And at less than a buck each (Actually around $4.00 with shipping) what self respecting gamer could pass these by?
If any of you guys are familiar with the Demonwars setting,drop me a line and tell me about it.
Braveheart-1995 I had watched a ton of war movies up to the point when I sat in the theater watching Braveheart for the first time. But I had never, NEVER seen melee combat that looked so damn realistic. There is one part where Wallace just *CHUNKS* a pick into some guys head. My buddy and I stayed in the theater and watched it again just for the battles.
The Last of the Mohicans-1992 Another movie with some kick butt fight scenes. But as a gamer what “Wowed” me were the characters of Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook. From the way they tracked, moved through the wooded hillsides, fought (Hawkeye used a tomahawk in one hand and a hunting knife in the other) these guys were the epitome of what a Ranger in AD&D should be.
Blade Runner-1982 (is it really that old?) The cityscape shots from the movie Blade Runner make it into my “Wow” book. Unfortunately this moment may be lost to many of you, because unless you are able to see Blade Runner on the big screen you just won’t feel it. The movie does make its way to “art house” movie theaters from time to time. You might get lucky.
Reservoir dogs-1992 Reservoir Dogs is another movie that I applied to gaming. This flick should be required viewing for every gamer that wants to come in your campaign and ruin it by trying to play an evil character. A skill that few gamers can do competently. All the Evil alignments are represented. Lawful Evil- Mr. White Neutral Evil- Mr. Pink Chaotic Evil- Mr. Blonde If you allow Mr. Blonde in you campaign, its your own damn fault.
And finally for this round: three great charges.
Gettysburg-1993 Wow moment-The rendition of Lawrence’s…er, uh… Colonel Chamberlain’s defense and subsequent charge on little round top.
The Lighthorsemen-1987 When they charged the wells at Beersheba. Totally kick ass.
Wind & Lion-1975 The climax battle, where the Berbers charge the Sultans “Advisors”.
“The world will never love us. They respect us - they might even grow to fear us. But they will never love us, for we have too much audacity! And, we're a bit blind and reckless at times too.” Teddy Roosevelt- the Wind & the Lion
I’ve watched a lot of movies in my life. I’m not a student of film or a connoisseur of the cinema but I know what I like. There are good films, great films, and films that contain what I call a “wow” moment. A wow moment is when you see something in a film that mesmerizes you, affects you, changes your perspective, or opens you up to a new world of thought. It could also just be something that is so cool it just makes you stop and go "wow".
In no particular order here are a few of my favorite “wow” film moments.
Saving Private Ryan-1998 Two wow moments. First was the beach landing. Man, what can you say? The terror, chaos, guys dying left and right. You could hear a pin drop in the theater after that scene. Second, when Cpl Upham is frozen in terror and wont go to PVT Mellish’s aid. I called that little cowardly SOB every name in the book. But somewhere inside me I wondered if I would do the same thing. You want to say “Hell no”. But unless you’ve been in combat you’ll really never know.
Platoon-1986 Another battle. This one was the final battle where the platoon were all in prepared positions waiting for the enemy. When they came, they came from all over, swarming over positions. It was a total adrenaline rush.
Enter the Dragon-1973 Who the hell moves like that? Bruce Lee was amazing! None of my friends or I had ever seen anything like that. He made all the other action stars of the day look slow and plodding. The guy was like water. Can you just imagine if he would have been given the part in the TV Series Kung Fu (which he developed, by the way)? After Enter the Dragon, the action hero bar was set much higher. I wasn’t awed by a martial arts performance in a movie until I saw Steven Seagal snap peoples arms off in “Above the Law” 15 years later.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail-1975 It was British humor- I was 11 years old, and I got it. I credit my intense Three Stooges training regimen (every day after school from 3-3:30pm on channel 40).
The Usual Suspects-1995 It stumped me. Kaiser Soeze you bastard! I’ll get you, if it’s the last thing I ever do!!
The Sixth Sense-1999 This one stumped me too. And if you say it didn’t stump you, you’re a lying sack of shit. This movie stumped everybody.
From Dusk till Dawn-1996 When Salma Hayek took the stage with that big snake, I was floored. That girl was lust personified-that is, until she turned into a snake demon and ripped your throat out.
Planet of the Apes-1968 The Statue of Liberty.
Sahara-1943 When Sgt. Major Tambul and Waco are sitting in the well having a talk about women, this was one of the first times that I remember seeing a movie of that period where a person of color was treated as something more than just a caricature.
The Magnificent Seven-1960 Of course there is always the snooty guy who’s going to pop up and say “Actually, I prefer Kurosawa’s original “The Seven Samurai.” Yeah? Well bite me, I not talking about plodding, B&W samurai movies with crappy soundtracks. I’m talking about a fast paced, action packed, full color, western starring a collection of badass dudes the likes of which has never been seen on the screen together before or since. And don’t even get me started on the kick ass musical score.
Ok, by show of hands-How many people know who played the seven Samurai in the “Seven Samurai”? …….ok, now how many people know who was in “The Magnificent Seven”? That’s correct- Yul Brynner, Steve Mc Queen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Napoleon Solo, and those other two guys. Thank you.
My buddy and fellow Jeff, Jeff Rients has created a new adventure module for the Encounter Critical game by S. John Ross. Congratulations Jeff! I shall be ordering a copy shortly. Check out his most excellent website for more details.
