TE Movie Review: Basket Case

basketcaseI’ve been intending to watch Basket Case for over two years now, and only last night did I finally get around to it. Of course, I didn’t exactly watch the movie as I did watch bits of it while waiting for gold to accumulate in Clicker Heroes. Also I sat there with it paused for about 20 minutes at one point while I mulled over whether to go out and get a pizza or not.

I’m really bad at watching movies, is what I’m getting at.

Basket Case was a lot of fun, though. An early 80’s monster movie, it really should have been more engaging for me, as that’s precisely the kind of thing I love. Or, used to, anyway. I haven’t watched such a film since… I don’t know, Pumpkinhead, two Halloweens ago? I used to watch cheesy horror films all the damn time. I don’t know what happened to me…

But that’s besides the point. The first thing you’ll notice about Basket Case is that the acting is all over the place. A lot of it is perfectly competent; not good, really, but not so bad that you’d ding the movie. But then, every once in a while, there is a line (occasionally an entire scene) that is delivered so poorly that you can’t help but chuckle to yourself.

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Skool Dayz

So here’s something interesting that I haven’t touched on at all on this blog: I’ve gone back to school! Yep, I am now officially a college student, with all the prestige that the title brings. And only several years from now, I will (hopefully) be able to claim the coveted certificate of accounting.

Normally I wouldn’t bother trying to learn any marketable skills, and just continue to coast through life on slightly more than minimum wage, but since it relates to my chosen “profession,” my employer is paying for it all. Not a bad deal, by any means. And with any luck, it will keep me relevant in my position for a few more years to come.

The course I’m currently in has been fairly easy so far, but aside from the material, I’m learning some very important lessons about myself. First, and most importantly, I am absolutely terrible at remembering definitions. I mean, I know what things mean, and I can match them up if you give me a list, but if I had to write out definitions from memory, I would be 100% boned. Weird!

The other thing, which I kind of already knew, is that school eats up a lot of time, and apparently I freak out a little bit if I don’t get enough Ryan Time during the week. I think that’s something I’m just going to have to let go of though, and somehow figure out how to develop good study habits. That’s going to be the hardest part, because I have been living fairly care-free for quite a while now.

So yeah, it’s quite a shock to my system, but it’s a good thing overall. And I guess that as a little bonus, it’s something I can sort of use as a conversation piece. Accounting isn’t interesting in and of itself, but it’s a heck of a lot more than I usually have to talk about.

Thanks for indulging me briefly. We now return to our regularly scheduled babbling mindlessly about video games.

Dark Souls: I finally finished it!

After literally years of alternating between playing semi-obsessively and ignoring it for months, I have finally beaten Dark Souls. This grand achievement was a long time coming, and as it turns out, all you really need to beat Dark Souls is to be stubborn.

I don’t remember exactly when I bought it, but I think it must have been early 2013. Long enough after release that it had been marked down to a mere $20. That really doesn’t narrow it down, as these days games can be reduced to less than that mere weeks after release, but you get the point. I played up to the first real boss (Taurus Demon), got frustrated, threw up my hands, and called it a wash.

Months later, I related this experience to my younger brother, who had finished and enjoyed Dark Souls. He encouraged me to try some more, and even came over to serve as a sort of tour guide as I played. Normally I like to figure things out on my own, but I discovered that it was nice to get a helping hand in that early stage of the game where I was still coming to terms with how the game worked. From the Undead Parish on, I struck out on my own, though I kept the wiki just a bookmark away for those tough times.

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I can’t stop listening to Attitude City

I, like many internet folks, am a fan of Game Grumps. I didn’t like it at first, but then something happened and suddenly I found it significantly more entertaining. What changed was that Jon was replaced by Danny. And despite watching the show for years now, I had never even given thought to looking into Dan’s comedy band, Ninja Sex Party, until last week. Boy did I mess up.

I have had the songs from Attitude City stuck in my head nonstop since I first listened to it, and I think that’s a testament to just how good it is. This album has so infected me that while I don’t generally care about music videos, I watched the Dragon Slayer video like a dozen time over the weekend. Also, I have seriously considered learning the dragon dance.

It’s synthpop with a strong comedy bent, and most of the songs are about boning. The language, obviously, is fairly strong and very explicit. I absolutely recommend grabbing this one to support a really great duo. It’s not high-brow humour, but it’s still very funny.

attitudecity

#weirdbuttstuff

Lots of words about Hyrule Warriors Legends

I’ve been playing a lot of Hyrule Warriors Legends since it came out. While it is generally a fairly mindless sort of game, the original version is one of my most played Wii U titles, and the new 3DS remake is climbing the ranks very quickly. Legends contains everything available original, including all the DLC, and it also adds so much new content that you could almost convince someone (who isn’t overly cynical) that it’s a sequel.

In the base game alone, there are five new characters, two new stages, nine new story missions, two new bosses, a new item, a new weapon for Ganondorf, a new adventure map (with roughly 100 missions), the “My Fairy” feature, and God only knows how many new costumes. And that’s all before the new season of DLC that adds a buttload more of everything. It’s an awful lot of stuff crammed into a tiny little game card!

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Forgotten Film Round-Up #3 – Vacation Flicks

I was on vacation last week, and as per my usual, it was more of a “don’t go to work for a week” kind of vacation, as opposed to other people who generally do things when they take time off. I mean, I did things, but from the comfort of my own home. A lot of those things, surprisingly, were movies. I credit the How Did This Get Made? podcast almost completely for that, as it has encouraged me to watch a lot of movies lately. Like, I’ve gone from one or two a month to several each week.

These are not necessarily “forgotten films” in the usual context of movies I own but haven’t watched, but they’re all movies that I’ve wanted to see at some point. And it’s just nice to have another collection of films to throw under that umbrella. Two entries does not a proper series make.

#1 – Birdemic: Shock and Terror

A film about birds who attack people, much like Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Only, Birdemic was made on a shoestring budget by an actual crazy person. The acting is mostly terrible, the plot makes zero sense, and the birds don’t even show up until a good 45 minutes in. Oh, and also the birds are 2D clip art and explode like kamikaze fighter planes.

While the film is sold on the killer bird action, it’s actually billed as a “romantic thriller,” which is a gross overstatement on both counts. I mean, technically, there’s romance, but the main character is such a poor actor that he seems more like a robot or an alien than a man. And the thrills? Yeah, there aren’t any, really. The stakes are so low, and the characters so stupid, that you simply can’t be bothered to care. You don’t watch Birdemic for its artistic merits. You watch Bridemic because it’s one of the most staggering train wrecks ever committed to film.

It’s really a must-watch for anyone who likes bad movies. If nothing else, listen to the Birdemic episode of How Did This Get Made?, which is fantastic. It features Weird Al as a special guest, and they also managed to bring in Whitney Moore, who plays the female lead in Birdemic. It’s really, really worth your time to give it a listen.

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Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – March 2016

If February was defined by Pokémania, then March was defined by… also Pokémania (and to a lesser extent, Zelda mania). Eh, what can I say? I really love Pokémon, and there’s been a lot going on with the franchise these days.

~ Game Over ~

Pokémon Yellow Version (GB) – Playing through this one again was a very welcome blast of nostalgia, and also a little frustration at trying to remember how the mechanics used to work back in Gen 1. Running the game with a team of monsters I’d usually never use was a great way to make it feel fresh again. Hooray for Flareon!

Splatoon (WiiU) – Finally bothered to just hone my focus and complete the single-player mode. It was an absolute blast, and the final boss was something else entirely. I’m seriously hoping that they release another campaign some day, even if it’s just a little eShop title.

Jett Rocket II: The Wrath of Taikai (3DS) – Replayed the game in “mirror world” mode, which I guess is just the same levels you already played but reversed? While I may not be as hype for it as I was when it originally released, I still think it’s a solid little platformer.

Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (GC) – I was testing out some Gamecube games to see which save files on my giant memory card had been corrupted, and popped in Mega Man Anniversary Collection. The save was still good, and somehow I ended up playing through this one. I mean, just one story path as Bass, but that’s still a cleared game, right?

New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS) – I’ve been wanting to replay this for months now, but always had some other major 3DS game on the go. With Paper Jam and Pokémon Yellow done and dusted, there was no longer any reason not to jump into it. The twist is that this time I played about half the game in co-op mode, which is super fun.

Shovel Knight (3DS) – Do I really need to justify another Shovel Knight run to you? I think I’ve made it pretty clear already that it’s my favourite game.

Continue reading Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – March 2016

The Pokkén Dilemma: The Top Tier

There are only two days left until the worldwide launch of Pokkén Tournament, and I am still struggling to decide which of the sixteen playable pokémon I’m going to choose as my partner for the single-player campaign.

Over the last two days, I rand down the lists of which ones I’m not overly interested in, and which ones may make the cut if they’re fun enough to play. Today, it’s finally time to go over the five pokémon fighters that I am most likely to choose from.

BLAZIKEN

I knew from the moment that I first saw the starters in Pokémon Sapphire that Torchic was absolutely going to be my choice. The adorable little fire-type chick melted my heart, and I had no idea about the awe-inspiring powerhouse that it would eventually evolve into. Blaziken is another one of those pokémon that is considered to be overpowered, and it shows. Blaziken has incredible speed and strength, and its mega evolution only serves to amplify those traits even further.

Blaziken and I go way back. Like, way way back. I have a special attachment to this pokémon not only because it was super powerful in the game, but because I have a lot of really good memories tied to my first playthrough of Pokémon Sapphire. I purchased the game at a point in my life when I wasn’t really interested in Pokémon any more, but decided to play it because my brothers were playing and it was a great way for us to connect. Also, I bought it while on a trip to Disney World, and it was a great way to pass time in the hotel at the end of each day. Finally, it is one of those games that really floods me with memories of summer spent out at the cottage, so we’ve got a triple dose of strong sentimentality there.

But Blaziken doesn’t get by on nostalgia alone. No, I think that it’ll make for an incredibly solid fighter, what with it actually being a fighting-type pokémon and all. Plus, it’s just totally badass in every way, even though it’s a chicken. And you just can’t ignore that.

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The Pokkén Dilemma: The Maybes

Pokkén Tournament, the new Pokémon fighting game, launches this Friday, and I’m taking a look at each playable fighter in hopes of deciding who I’m going to choose as my go-to monster. Realistically, I’ll have to give each one a spin and then choose a favourite based on play style, but it’s fun to sort them out based on which ones I already like.

Yesterday I ran down the pokémon that I feel I’m least likely to play as, and today we’re going to take a look at the monsters that have me on the fence:

MEWTWO

Mewtwo is a psychic powerhouse, artificially created by cloning and messing around with the DNA of Mew. He is the original unstoppable force in Pokémon; a Pokémon that you can only find and capture after becoming the Champion in the original Red and Blue versions. I’m not too fond of the idea of psychic-types in a fighting game, but Mewtwo can be a physical threat as well, especially when it evolves into Mega Mewtwo X and gains a secondary fighting-type.

Mewtwo has shown that it is a capable fighter in Super Smash Bros, where it uses a combination of deadly psychic attacks and its powerful tail to pummel its opponents. However, while it is a large and somewhat slower, it’s actually a very light fighter, and can be launched fairly easily. I like playing as Mewtwo in Smash, but I don’t know if it will be as satisfying to play in Pokkén.

There is also a secret (and unlockable) boss character known as Shadow Mewtwo (pictured). I don’t know at all if the dark version plays differently from regular Mewtwo, but it hasn’t really pique my interest yet. Time will tell how I end up feeling about this non-canon form.

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The Pokkén Dilemma: The Unlikely

Guys, I don’t know what to do. Pokkén Tournement is just days away and I have no idea which monster I want to choose as my main. Sure, I could just try them all and then choose based on my findings, and that’s probably exactly what I’ll do. But I do think that it’s fun to go over the competitors and try to figure out which one I’d like the most, based on wild guesses and theories.

To be honest, I don’t scrutinize trailers and other promotional videos to try to figure out the attributes and abilities of each character before playing them. Most of my thoughts are just based on my existing thoughts about the Pokémon in question, how they perform in other games, and how their designs might affect their performance in a one-on-one fighting game.

Let’s look at the monsters that I’m least interested in first:

SCEPTILE

The final evolution of the grass-type starter from Ruby and Sapphire, Treecko. while it’s in a dire position because I don’t usually give a hot damn about grass-type starters, Sceptile is actually one of the cooler ones, at least in my opinion. A big ol’ lizardy guy with some manner of tree for a tail.

I would imagine that Sceptile would use that tail in the bulk of its attacks, because it’s got pretty puny little arms. It does have blades on those arms, but they still seem like more of a liability than a real asset  Plus, man, grass type. I am really not a big fan overall, even though I love the colour green. There are a few grass-types that I absolutely love (like Roserade and Gourgeist), but for the most part I just can’t be bothered with ’em.

Continue reading The Pokkén Dilemma: The Unlikely