Cheap games, scary movies, and the paranormal

I've got a bit of a mixed bag for you today. First off, let's talk about games!

I've been a game collector for over 10 years now (and a gamer for over 30). It's been my main hobby, and the focus of most of my spending money, for a long time. But sometimes in life you have to tighten that belt up a bit. So here lately I've been saying that my game collecting is on hiatus. Times are tough, money's tight, and I just can't necessarily afford to go spending anything on games I know are just going to sit on a shelf. That's why it's nice to see so many games right now dropping so low in price. Of course, it seems to happen at the end of every generation. Gen 7 is winding down, and many of its games are getting to be pretty cheap. But I've even noticed it with gen 8 already! Just the other day I found a number of Wii U games that had come down quite a bit in price. Not any of the really big titles, of course, but still some solid stuff.

If you own any of the gen 7 consoles, or a Wii U, now would be a great time for you to get out there and do some bargain hunting. Be sure to check your locally owned independent game stores first, as that helps your local economy and is just more fun, but if you don't find anything you like there you can always do Amazon. It's a good time to be on the look-out for cheap games! Oh, and by the way, I did manage to pick up that Mass Effect 3: Special Edition for Wii U that I talked about in a previous post, and I got it for very cheap.

Now on to movies! I'm a Netflix subscriber. I've had it for a number of years now. In fact, I no longer have cable in my house, and I don't even really miss it. Netflix and the internet give me pretty much everything I need. That said, I haven't used my Netflix much lately. I barely watched it at all for the past couple of months. I've been watching a ton of stuff on the net. But, the other day I got on Netflix just to see what was new, and wound up adding almost a dozen movies to my instant queue. Mostly horror flicks. Over the next few weeks I'll be checking them out. I've got some supernatural horror, ghost stories, monster movies, etc., as well as some suspense thrillers and that sort of thing. I've got a few Asian horror movies, a lot of Hollywood stuff, some independent movies also, it's a pretty good mix.

If I find anything in there that really stands out, I'll be sure to mention it here. If any of you have any recommendations, I'm always open to them! Let me know in the comments, or on Twitter.

Lastly, I'd like to promote one of my favorite podcasts. If you're into the paranormal at all, or even just like to be entertained while hearing about some really out-there stories, please check out Mysterious Universe! If you follow me on Twitter you might have seen me talking about them there last week. I've been listening to MU for a few years now. No one else I've ever listened to strikes just the right balance between being serious about the subject matter and being humorous and entertaining. These two guys, Ben and Aaron, are among the top in their field. They're funny and engaging, but also know when to let the creepy stories they talk about just be creepy. Far too many of the paranormal podcasts and radio shows I've come across feel the need to constantly joke about the subject matter in a way that makes me feel like the hosts aren't being respectful.

It's one thing to be a skeptic, skepticism is healthy, but why would I, as a listener, want to listen to a show where the host comes off like they're laughing at me for listening to their show? When I listen to Mysterious Universe, I always feel like they're laughing with me. I'm not sure how to put it any better than that. There are plenty of other paranormal shows on the internet, and I do listen to a number of them, but MU is always my first recommendation to people.

That's it for today! Thank you for reading! If you have any recommendations for me, be they movies, games, or paranormal podcasts, leave a comment here, or follow me on Twitter @RevLink_GI.

Movie review - Alice in Wonderland

Holy crap, is this my fourth post today? What's gotten into me?

I actually saw this movie a couple of weeks ago. Sorry for the delay in writing the review. I'm not sure if it's still in the theaters anymore. If it is, though, you should definitely go see it. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp strike gold once again.

This sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland (I wish they had changed the title so people could tell this wasn't a remake) is set something like ten or twelve years later. A now grown up Alice finds her way back to Wonderland with no memory of her first trip. The Red Queen, brilliantly played by Helena Bonham Carter, has everyone cowering in fear. It's up to the Mad Hatter (Depp) and the other familiar Wonderland characters to get Alice to help them fight back. There's a lot of great humor here that pretty much all ages can appreciate. It is Disney, after all. But there's also plenty of stuff that only the adults will catch.

I also want to add, I saw this movie in 3D. Now, with all the 3D movies coming out these days, I got kind of caught up in backlash. I pretty much thought the idea of 3D was a stupid gimmick. Not after actually seeing it, though. The glasses were nice, sturdy things, not the flimsy cardboard junk I expected, and they were big enough to actually fit over my regular glasses comfortably. And the effects were just awesome! Every time the Cheshire Cat was on screen, I wanted to reach up and pet him. He was right in your face! It was very cool, and I'm looking forward to seeing more movies in 3D in the future. **cough*StarWars*cough**

So, again, I apologize for the late review. It may be too late for you to see this in the theater now, and in 3D, but even without the added effects it's still a great movie. Anyone who's a fan of Tim Burton and/or Johnny Depp can't miss this!

Movie review - 28 Weeks Later

I like zombie movies, but I don't like it when zombies can run, so I never saw 28 Days Later. My buddy Shin DT wanted to watch the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, and he told me I didn't need to see the original to see this one, so I decided to check it out.

Overall it was a decent movie, but I have serious issues with any horror flick where the horror comes about due to sheer stupidity. Apparently the infection from 28 Days Later was wiped out, and London was safe to occupy again. Except that it wasn't really safe, and the government was bringing people back into the city before it was totally cleaned out. Why? Why in God's name would you bring people into a city that was infected with a zombie virus before you were absolutely sure it was totally clean? Why would you, as a civilian, want to move back into such a city?

And of course, the infection breaks out again when two kids sneak out of the military quarantine zone (again, stupid!). But once you get past the stupidity, it becomes a pretty decent zombie flick. Even though the zombies can run. I prefer Romero's shambling horde, but this was good enough that I'll try and check out the original 28 Days Later when I can.

Movie review: Legion

Hey, look, a review for a movie that's actually still in theaters! Cool. Okay, let's get to it.

As far as horror/action movies go, I can't say this movie was bad, but I certainly can't say it was great, either. The very premise of the movie, that God is sick of humanity and decides to kill us all off with angels, is out there at best. Apparently there's a baby about to be born, one that will somehow save mankind, and the angel Michael decides to defy God and come to earth to make sure that baby is born. The other angels, by possessing ordinary humans, are trying to kill the unborn baby, and anyone else who gets in the way. So Michael, the mother, and the people who just happen to be at the diner in the middle of nowhere the mother works at have to defend themselves from the angels until the baby is born. With guns. Lots and lots of guns.

The movie tries to flesh out the other characters, but ultimately fails. Why does the one guy have a hook for a hand? We don't know. Why is one guy going through custody issues, and why does he carry a gun? We never find out. There's a lot of stuff like this. We also never find out exactly what the significance of the baby is. Is he somehow holy? Well, that's doubtful, since the forces of Heaven are trying to kill him. But how, then, is he supposed to lead mankind out of the darkness? Wouldn't that be something God would be down for? At one point in the movie Michael tells another character to "find the prophets," and "learn to read the instructions". There's a brief reference later to the instructions being the angelic tattoos all over Michael's body (and that somehow manage to appear on a human for no apparent reason), but there is no mention at all of any prophets. None. They're not brought up again. Was this something the writers just forgot about? If I buy the inevitable extended director's cut DVD, will this be explained?

And on top of all of that, the dialogue was not great. A lot of unnecessary cursing. I'm not opposed to foul language in a movie, and this was rated R after all, but these lines sounded like they were written by an eight year old kid who just discovered swear words.

All of these problems aside, though, it was still worth a watch. But I wouldn't pay full price in the theater for it. If you can catch a matinee showing, go for it. Or maybe wait for it to hit second run theaters, it probably won't be long now. Or you could just wait for the DVD and rent it. There were some good actors in the movie, and they made the best of what they had to work with. The action scenes were decent, even if there weren't enough. Just don't expect it to be a riveting story. It's basically Terminator with a lot of underdeveloped characters and subplots. And a questionable religious angle.

Oh, I almost forgot. The one really awesome thing about this movie? I saw a trailer for the new A-Team movie in front of it! That looks awesome!

Movie review: Stan Helsing

Stan Helsing is a horror movie spoof, lampooning tons of recent and classic horror films. In the movie, Stan is a video store clerk trying to deliver some videos while on his way to a Halloween party with his friends. They get lost in the sticks and have to go up against parodies of such greats as Freddy, Jason, Pinhead, Chucky, and more. As spoofs go, it's a pretty good one. Lots of great laughs, and some hot women as well. There's one thing all truly great spoofs have in common, and this one is no different. That thing is Leslie Nielsen. His role in this movie is relatively small, but memorable.

If you spot this movie in a five dollar bin somewhere, it's definitely worth picking up. It may even be worth a bit more than that. Or if you are just bored and are looking for something funny to rent, this is a good choice.

Movie review: The Haunting of Molly Hartley

I like horror movies. That is to say, I try to like horror movies. So many of them simply don't live up to their expectations, and this one was no different. The basic premise of the movie was good. Molly's parents made a deal with the forces of evil to save her life as an infant. In return, she would be taken by the evil on her eighteenth birthday. This much I got just out of the commercial. Unfortunately, the movie itself never brought any of this up for at least the first half of the film! For all I knew, I could have been watching any teen drama, as all the movie dealt with was Molly moving to a new school. All of the scares were fairly cheap, people popping out from around corners and that sort of thing, and had nothing to do with the story.

Even when things started to get rolling, they still didn't make much sense. It was never explained what exactly was going to happen to Molly on her birthday, nor was it explained exactly who the people were that were behind it. Was it the devil? Was it witches? Demons? Some cult? You never find out. Even the ending, which I won't spoil for you, wasn't entirely clear.

It's movies like this one that re-enforce my rule when it comes to horror flicks. Always watch them before you buy them! They often turn out to suck.