"The Tall Man" a Surprisingly Good Thriller

Based on the cover of this movie, the advertising, and the description on the DVD case, I was pretty sure I had this movie pegged, but because I love movies that base their plots on these sort of folksy, urban legend style characters, I finally gave this film a shot. Man, am I glad I did.

It is hard to say exactly why I liked this movie so much without spoiling everything I liked about it. Leave it be said, that what I like is that this movie is not a simple "boogey man" story.

-Eli

AmericasFightingDinosaur: Mission Update: The Road to Victory

As you all know, I have been following this project since it first popped out of Steve's mad, crazy creative mind. Well, it looks like Sammy is one the move. He's made the beachhead and is stomping his way to victory! Follow the link below to get an update and another cool video from Steve Snoey himself

"AmericasFightingDinosaur: Mission Update: The Road to Victory: Hello Troops, Today Steve announced the $20k stretch goal rewards in a new campaign video. Here is the map showing the current campaig..."

Sammy Is On His Way

Alright folks,

America's Fighting Dinosaur (AFD) has reached its funding goal on Kickstarter in six days! That said, he can still get a lot better. At the $20K level, we can get four times as much Sammy with the running time of the short film extending from 10min to 40min.

Like any good Kickstarter campaign, America's Fighting Dinosaur promises to add more and more booty to the pile as the goal stretches further and further. T-shirts, posters, and digital downloads of the soundtrack have already been mentioned.

Inspired by Steve's work, I modified a real world war effort poster into one for AFD...

Let's see what you all can do!

-Eli

Iron Skies is Pure Gold

The guys at the local game store (Yes! Finally have one!) were awesome enough to invite some folks to an after business hours screening of this film. Store was closed for business and it was a pizza and beer sort of an affair. 

If you haven't seen this independent film, or haven't because you thought it would be awful, let me say it is bad, but only in the best possible ways. What amazed and surprised me was the level of polish to the movie. It didn't feel like a low budget movie. the acting was campy, but seemed almost intentionally so, as if the whole point was to made a really GOOD version of a BAD movie.

It is clear that there are some messages to be had in the movie, but really there is so much fun going on they may get lost in their own packaging. This, of course, is only magnified by a few beers and a room full of geeky viewers who are not afraid to hoot and holler mid-film.

In the end, this movie left me satisfied and happy and really wanting to own a copy.

What can you not love about Nazis from the moon.

-Eli

Abraham Lincoln - 19th Century Superhero

What can I say? I really, thoroughly enjoyed this film.

As it's so new I won't give a lot of info for fear of spoilers, but this film manages to be a nice period piece, a fun bit of alternate pulp history and a great superhero flick all at the same time.

From costuming, to sets, to effects, it's an over the top ride through a period of history that is compelling, full of political and social tension - just the right setting for a good superhero tale.

I think as a gamer, I could not watch something like this and find myself taking notes and inspiration away from it. After the movie, I began thinking of what other historical figures could be blended with the supernatural for an entertaining ride through untold history. It's been done before both with historical characters and classic literary characters.

Some ideas I had -

1) Davy Crockett: Werewolf Fighter

Davy finds himself forging into a wilderness populated not just with the dangers of the wild and indigenous people, but also with the unspoken unknown of the unexplored in the form of a savage pack of shape-shifters. Unhappy with settlers invading their traditional hunting grounds, these furry fiends assault the newcomers with Davy defending them with his bear-wrestling talents.

2) Lewis and Clark: Explorers into the Unknown

This one would make a great ongoing series or campaign. Drawing on similar themes as the Davy Crockett idea, this story would have the explorers and their retinue moving throughout early America encountering one supernatural mystery and threat after another. This might make for a pretty cool series of connected miniatures scenarios.

3) John Henry: Man vs Machine

In an age of burgeoning industrialism, the unbeatable John Henry must take up his hammer to beat back the less savory side of increasing technological advancement. In a bold fight against an almost Steampunk back drop, the former railroad worker will bash his way through one mad scientist and evil robber baron after another.

4) The Hidden Adventures of Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison uses his fortune and scientific know-how to fight off evil forces threatening to plunge America back into the darkness of myth and terror. Science versus the supernatural prevails as the Wizard of Menlo Park is nothing short of just that, using his secret gizmos and gadgets to bust ghosts, battle demons, and slay the undead.

There are likely dozens more iterations of such stories. Take a historical figure, find their angle and go from there. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter really is a crafty piece because it really doesn't tie directly into anything the character was known for. It subtly weaves its tale around the real world elements of his life.

-Eli

I Like Avatar - Unobtainium

People love to hate "Avatar". Whatever their reasons for hating it I could care less because for me movies are not about hitting lofty goals and predetermined expectations. They are about having fun, seeing cool stuff and enjoying myself.  I am not snooty enough to try to tear this movie down over criticism based on depth, plot, or even political undertones. It's a movie. I see it for what I want to see in it.

I remember coming out of a showing of "5th Element" and some dude complaining about the lack of plot and story and really just wanting to turn around and bark something to the tune of, "If you wanted plot you should have seen 'The English Patient'". I mean come out it was a movie about a guy in a flying cab trying to stop an evil planet from destroying the Earth with the help of half naked genetic super weapon and an androgynous media star.

Avatar is like that too. The plot's not deep and the characters aren't bubbling pools of stunning characterization. It is cool visuals, fancy toys, neat monsters and a lot of action. Sure it has some thinly veiled political and social comments made in the movie, but is that all that new for science fiction? 

Anyhow, rant over. Let's have a look at one of the most griped about bits from the movie - Unobtainium.

Now, I am not an expert on the movie, but it seems to me that these reactions are a bit knee-jerk. From my recollection, the actual word "Unobtainium" is only used once in the entire movie and that is during the angry tirade by some corporate VP with a point to make. If you think about it, there is nothing in the entire movie to lead you to believe that the mineral's actual name is Unobtainium.

Isn't it just as likely that this jerk of a corporate stooge is just hand-waving the real name of the mineral because he can't be bothered to use it's real name. How often do you use the technical name for everything in your job? Seriously, I know I don't!

Somewhere this thing has a real name. Maybe it's something like "pyrolitic carbon"? Check this blog post out for a look at the relation between pyrolitic carbon and Unobtainium.

Take care,

-Eli

Conan The Barbarian (2011)

So much has been said about this movie leading up to its release and since that I absolutely had to make sure I saw it before it left the theatres. I figured, with no real attachment to the literary version of the character and having grown up on a healthy diet of Arnie the Barbarian and "Savage Sword of Conan", that I might actually be able to enjoy it for what it was and not find myself jaded by prior expectations.

I did.

When it comes down to it, this movie really had a lot to like. Though it jazzed me as a kid, as I grew older I found the origin story portrayed in the movie much more entertaining and believable than the original Arnie film. It never quite sat right with me that "The Riddle of Steel" was so elusive as to drive a man to conquest. The overall visual of the movie is epic and both fanciful and familiar.

What it really comes down to for me is a basic check list of what this kind of movie should include -

• Muscle bound noble barbarian
• Pretty girls
• Exotic places
• Derring-do
• A little magic
• A big monster
• Cool bad guys
• Lots of sword fighting

All of the above are a big check if you ask me. When it comes to Conan plots you generally have the big guy racing around trying to stop some wicked person from unleashing some sort of unspeakable horror on Hyboria and we see that in this movie. Along the way, he makes some friends and falls for a girl. We also have that. In the end, the evil plot is undone, Conan is victorious but is in the end left where he began - alone and driven. Once again, we have that in this movie.

Couldn't find a lot wrong with the movie from where I was sitting even though I did let the mostly empty theatre open up the MS3TK spigot that can be let loose on any movie.

-Eli

[Edit: It was pointed out that I mistakenly used the incorrect "daring-do" instead of "derring-do". Well, to the anonymous poster who pointed that out, you are correct but I'll hardly be damned for writing it how it should have been. It is only because the originally incorrect spelling has become the correct spellingthat it is correct at all.]

Tangoing With Rango

Alright, I may be a little late to this parade, but I recently bought the DVD and have to say I absolutely loved Rango. Johnny Depp offers us another great oddball characterization among a cast of other oddballs. The presentation of a cracked version of the Wild West is as memorable as the character design and the animation in this movie.

Rango's fish out of water journey from faux hero to true grit western type is quite entertaining to watch. Familiar western tropes are handled with style and agility throughout the movie. Cameos of familiar faces or homages paid to classic movie characters are also sprinkled through the entire picture. In many ways it sort of plays like an offbeat Wind in the Willows from an American point of view.

The picture below shows many of the memorable character designs. So taken with them am I that I am tempted to try to give them the same treatment that the fellow over at Mutton Chop Miniatures did with the characters from The Wind in the Willows, transforming classic animal characters into their human counterparts.

From a gaming perspective there is a lot to borrow here. From interesting Old West characters to an inspiration for a post apocalyptic mutant animal community.

Give Rango a peep and enjoy!

-Eli

Avatar

I am sure that by now you have read a dozen reviews of this movie, but I feel the need to share my opinions of it. I saw the movie and loved it. What more can I really say. Well, quite a bit more but I don't want to spoil much and I'd rather try to dispell some negativity that I've seen thrown around about this movie.

First off, the movie isn't all that unfriendly for kids. I took both my six and ten year old daughters to see it and we had no really serious issues with the movie. There are a few emotional and tense moments that required a ready hand to hold for my youngest, but she got so excited at other points she was bouncing in her seat.

Visually, the movie is amazing. Cameron has outdone himself here, if you ask me. From the tech to the forest environments to the creatures that fill the world, the attention to detail is everything we have come to expect from Cameron. I really got a sense that I could take a shuttle to Pandora and interact with the sets there. The visual display is everything that I think Lucas hoped he could achieve with digital effect but didn't.

Plot-wise, the movie isn't the strongest, but it's not bad either. A lot of people have wanted to pan this movie for its plot which, though not unique is a nice classic story with some nice changes. This would not be the first good movie to use this plotline. A classic tale is a classic tale.

There is a lot of nitpicking and detail I could point out but I don't want to ruin things. The pace is good, the acting is good (not stellar, but who cares). When you see it, pay attention to the little things. Look at the displays and how Cameron uses the tech in his world. Watch the details of the world and how the interiors of the sets and machines look right. There are fire extinguishers and emergency kits inside the gyros!

Anyhow, bottom line, it was a good fun movie. I loved it as did my wife and kids. As a gamer it gave me serious geek fuel and as an artistic soule and somebody who occasional paints his minis, it gave me some good visual inspiration.

My two cents,

-Eli