Tag: Blog

Hey Somethings,

Back on November 4th of last year, I made a blog about some games I was looking forward to.  Well, since then, I’ve had a chance to play some of them and…   well..   I wanted to give my thoughts.

Need For Speed Unbound

Man,  I wanted to like this game.  The controls were solid, I did enjoy the mix of art styles, the customization was good…   so what went wrong?
To start, it was.. well.. how the game started.  You start by choosing one of three beat up cars to restore.  “Ok, cool” I thought.. I was down for that.  Except.. once you choose your car.. it’s restored!  Ok.. so.. moving on.  The controls of the first car you get are… in a word…SLOPPY.  You can’t control it… the turning is horrendous….  it’s just a hot mess.  It made me feel like when I tried to play the ported 2016 “Need for Speed” and the controller wouldn’t sync right.  After about an hour of trying to fight through it.. you find out (thanks to the story), that it’s SUPPOSED to be that way… oh.. joy.  Ok.  Bad taste in my mouth aside, let’s keep trying it.  It’s not that it’s bad.. it just gets super repetitive, and, regardless of the difficulty level, the cop chases are nearly insurmountable.  It also had this weird jump-cut mechanic at the end of a race… “Hey!  You win!  Freeze-frame-pan-around-your-car…  and then as soon as it unfreezes and you’re back in the game, there are 3-5 cops right behind you… even though there were none in the race.  It all felt very.. .forced.. and not fun.

Sons of the Forest

Man, I wanted to like this game…(sound familiar?)  The original “The Forest” was fun in a way that this one…   wasn’t?  Sure there are some new ‘things’ on the island to fight, but… it felt like the game knew that YOU knew you were going to see some shit.. so they turned that shit up to 11.  I can’t even say I didn’t like the game, more that I was just disappointed in the ending.  It was going along pretty well.. finding new gear… new things.. cool.. and then, just as it’s ramping up, it’s…..  CUTSCENE then ENDING and.. the cutscene was very… ‘bwahh?’  Was it an Early Access game?  Yes, and I suppose I should give it some slack for that.. but a game of that style shouldn’t have an ‘early access’.  It’s a narrative.  It should be completed before it’s released.  Instead, they were adding things as they went… and apparently still plan to do so.  Do they think the people who’ve already gotten the head-scratching ending will go back to see what extra exposition stuff they’ve added?  If so, they’ve guesses wrong with me.  Sons was very much a step back from the original.

What about you?  Have YOU played these games?  If so, let me know your thoughts over at the usual social media places you can find in the buttons up top!

Also, don’t forget, Livestream For The Cure VII starts May18th through the 20th.  Head to livestreamforthecure for info on how to watch and how to donate!

– PCR

Last week I got to go do something I haven’t done in a long time… go to the movies.

But what film did you go see Hatton? Was it that Dracula movie with Nicholas Cage? What about the new Pixar Disney Marvel Star Wars of the Rings?

Nope. I got together with old friends Wild Pig Chris & Bill and settle in to a journey to the planet Mongo to watch a football star save the universe behind the synth rocking track of one of the greatest bands of all time.  That’s right. Logan’s Run Flash Gordon.

I walked away from it feeling like I haven’t felt in years coming from a film, and I wondered if it was because I hadn’t sat in a big squooshy reclining seat with a THX sound system and a 20 foot screen since Mr. Stark turned into Dustbuster chow. I came to the realization that, where that all added to the moment, it was because Flash Gordon is one of the greatest pieces of trash ever made.

Please understand first that I hold the movie in high regard and that my usage of the term trash here in no way means the film is bad. It isn’t. It’s amazing, but there is not a single decision in that movie that doesn’t scream how cocaine fueled its era was. So, in a little history lesson, the movie was made by a mix of Italian and American/British folks. The Italian crew thought the movie was going to be a dark space opera. The english speakers thought it was a kitchy silly romp. This is why you have huge techno-color sets with exquisitely made high-fashion costumes. It’s why you get a scene where Ming’s right hand man’s face explodes out of its orifaces in one scene and Flash knocks out an army with a space watermelon with Looney Toon DONK noises.

Try and find another movie that feels like Flash Gordon and, importantly, doesn’t act like it knows it. Even the campiest Bolliwood mockbuster that plays its silliness as serious as possible still can’t hold a candle to Topal somehow pulling off being both Lex Luther and Otis simultaneously on one side, while the imposing presence of Max von Sydow puts on a sly smirking masterclass in evil vamping on the other.

I have seen Flash Gordon dozens of times as it was a staple of my teenage nonstop television diet, but until I saw it on the big screen… I don’t think I SAW Flash Gordon. You can listen to Jimi, but you can’t hear Jimi. Well, for the first time, I think I saw Flash Gordon in the brilliance it intended. It’s gaudy, it’s silly, it’s cheezy, and it’s a blended mess of ideas based on a dry sci-fi comic with a plot straight from a bad Dr. Who episode – and yet, somehow, it is an overly saturated rainbow of fun that doesn’t wink at its audience or apologize.

Ever have a movie experience that changed the way you looked at a film? Sound off in all of the places.

Send war rocket ajax… to breeeng back his boody…

Hey Somethings, PCR here!

It’s that time of the year again.  That time when we have the privilege.. nay.. the honor of being part of this year’s “Livestream For the Cure”!

Livestream For the Cure VII takes place May 18-20, from 2pm to midnight on the 18th, and noon to midnight the 19th and 20th.  Our goal this year is to raise $25,000 for The Cancer Research Institute for investments and research into Cancer Immunotherapy.  Over the previous 6 years, Livestream For the Cure has raised over $70,000, and this year, thanks to some generous folks who will match our raised funds, we have the potential to raise a total of $50,000 if we reach our goal.

When we started The Something Something ‘Cast 10 years ago, we always said, if we ever get a following, or an audience, or a platform from which to speak.. we had to use our powers for good.  Being lucky enough to become attached to this phenomenal cause and participate every year for the past 4, is something we look forward to each and every year, and we are once again humbled to be a part of this year’s event, on May 20th, at 2pm EST.

For those of you reading this (or, listening to this if you’re a member of our Patreon), we’ll be doing a 12 hour Twitch stream on Saturday, April 29th over at twitch.tv/somethingcast to help promote the event.  Early donations are welcome, and anyone who DOES donate early, take a screenshot of your donation confirmation and tweet it to us @STSTCast with the hashtag #CrushCancer and we’ll randomly pick 3 winners for some Something swag.

To keep up to date on all event news and happenings, check out www.livestreamforthecure.com!

Have you seen Cocaine Bear?

Let me tell you, because I don’t watch trailers and I avoid discussion of something until I’ve seen it… I had no idea what kind of movie it was going to be. Obviously, the premise is silly so comedy was likely, but it could have just as likely been a ‘Giant Squid vs Ice Spider’ Asylum Films situation.  It made me look back and think of some of my favorite comedy horror flicks…

Slither – Featuring a bunch of people you love a little bit before you loved them, this James Gunn ‘alien slugs’ movie is just silly. It knows what it is and leans deep into its premise.

Killer Klowns – A movie that is as much a soundtrack as it is a movie, Killer Klowns has no right being as fun as it is given how dumb its premise is. That said, I’ve watched the hell out of this movie over the years.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil – A movie that says ‘How do we take Army of Darkness’ and make it even sillier? Two hillbillies are mistaken as the traditional murdering crazy guys and it just goes from there.  It’s ‘what if Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a big misunderstanding?’ ..and that’s brilliant.

Now, there are a lot of other movies I could mention. Army of Darkness, but I don’t think its horror enough. Trick R Treat, but I don’t think its funny enough. An honorable mention goes out to National Lampoon’s Class Reunion, but I saw it as a kid and have no idea if it holds up. (It features a Smothers Brother for god’s sake). There was really only one winning pick.

Cabin In The Woods – I think it’s an obvious choice. It takes a great horror premise that could have been done and redone and just leaves you wanting so much more while telling a funny as hell story. It tweaks every horror trope and mocks everything it so clearly loves.  There is no way it couldn’t be my favorite.

So, what are yours? I do have expect Rob will see this and go ‘How come we didn’t do this as an episode’ — and the fact is I thought of that midway through writing it, hell I had to go check to make sure we didn’t already.  So, what are your favs? Let us know!

Hey all, PCR here.

The original The Crow movie is one of my favorite movies of all time.  That is not to say it is one of my favorite franchises of all time.  City of Angels was an understandable and noble attempt to continue on after Brandon Lee’s tragic death, but the movie was sloppy and misguided and, in my opinion, doomed from the start merely because it was trying to be made at all and continue on.  Every movie after that was cash grab…  Salvation.. Wicked Prayer… the TV series with Marc Dacascos was “ok”, but I can’t give it any more praise than that.

Needless to say, the arc of The Crow franchise is almost as bleak as the story of Eric in James O’Barr’s original comic.  Which brings us to the reboot.  Or the attempted reboot.  Or.. the ‘many-times-attempted’ reboot.  Numerous names have been attached to the project… Mark Wahlberg, Bradley Cooper, Luke Evans, Jason Momoa, and most recently Bill Skarsgard.  The Skarsgard version has been filming in Prague and wrapped production in September of ’22.

My biggest question is…

…is this film needed?

Other than Hollywood’s seemingly unending need to consistently lack original ideas and continue having to go back to the well.. who’s honestly asking for this?  Is the multitude of failed and false-starts for this project something that will doom it before it even (eventually) hits theaters?

I love the comics, and I love the original.. but perhaps this is one we just leave alone.  In closing, I leave you with a comment original director Alex Proyas made in a podcast interview in 2019.

“I personally tried to squash it every time I hear of one, not that I believe I’ve been able to. I think extenuating circumstances have stopped it being made because if Hollywood wants to make something that they don’t listen to schmucks like me who bring noble and moralistic issues. My point is that Brandon Lee made that movie what it is. He made that movie, he made that character. That character was not taken from a comic book, that was Brandon. And Brandon Lee died making that movie, he paid the worst price anyone could ever pay making a movie and it’s his legacy. The guy would have been a huge star after that movie. He wasn’t able to ever do that. That’s his final testimony to his talent and that’s why I finished the movie. I finished it for Brandon. After being devastated about what happened we shut down the production and I went back to Australia. Months later I went back and watched the movie and his family all the other actors, everyone involved, said ‘You’ve got to finish this movie because Brandon is so great in it’ and he was. I was able to watch it and see how great he was and I thought then the movie deserves to be completed because it’s his legacy. So that’s what the movie is, it’s not just a movie that can be remade. It’s one man’s legacy. And it should be treated with that level of respect.”

-PCR

Hey Somethings!

Way back in October of 2022, I wrote a blog article about “The Rise And Fall (again) of G4”.  In that blog, I mentioned how our podcast had gotten mentioned on an episode of Attack of the Show Vibe Check, but said the story would be for another day….

….well that day has arrived.

As I had mentioned before, I was super excited when G4 returned.  Not having cable, I do all of my viewing through streaming or Twitch, so I was a regular on their Twitch channel.  Due to work scheduling, the shows I watched the most were “Invitation to Party”, “Attack of the Show”, and “Attack of the Show : Vibe Check”.

I had gotten really good and really fast at screen-shotting things from Twitch to post on Twitter as I would make silly commentary about.. whatever it was they were talking about at the time.. but on this episode of Vibe Check, Kevin, Gina, and Will were playing a game of “Would You Rather”… and the question was, ‘Would you rather watch your parents have sex forever, or have sex with your parents once’.  As the discussion devolved even further (yes… further…), I believe it was Will who joked that the new G4 tag line had been changed from “We Never Stopped Playing” to “We Never Stopped Fucking”.  I immediately dug up a picture of G4’s tag line that they had in neon in their offices…

and turned it into this…..

which I tweeted out to them with the caption of “I like what you’ve done with the place….”.

The beauty of their twitch stream was that during a commercial break, the cameras were still on on the stream, so you could see them checking their phones and such.  Well, Gina checks her phone and starts laughing before turning her phone to show Kevin, who also starts laughing but… as she turned her phone I thought…”wait.. was that my twitter post?”  They come back from break.. and the rest… as they say.. is history.

I’m still sad to know G4 is gone, but I’m glad I got to see them return, and this clip will live on forever.

-PCR

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve watched a handful of newer gameshows. A couple of them are in the style of the studio game shows we know from being sick on a school day, and one reality show.  I didn’t hate any of them, but I most definitely didn’t like them, either. So let’s discuss the problems.

The first batch we’ll call the Modern gameshow. In a studio, with an audience, but each one of them is using the ‘So You Want To Be A Millionaire’ or ‘Deal or No Deal’ approach which is to slow down the content with tremendous amounts of hemming and hawing. The Box features challenges inside of a weird cube. Everything about this show I enjoyed except for the fact that a single question or challenge can last an entire segment between breaks. Cheat involves 4 people cheating on trivia questions, but each set of questions comes with a round of ‘Who was the cheater’ where the host vamps unendingly to stretch out that timeframe.

Why do they do it? Because if everyone is tense, the stakes must be important… but when you compare it to the cornball silliness of Price is Right or the spitfire trivia of Jeopardy, it all looks like the show is playing at 45 rpm.

The reality show was a newer NBC jam, The Traitors though.. this show.. it’s almost there.  The good is that it has over a dozen people in the house, there are Traitors who will ‘Murder’ every night and the object is to figureeout who they are and vote them out.  This should sound familiar to anyone who has played Werewolf or Mafia or Secret Hitler. Along the way there are challenges to increase the winnings and dramatic discussions about people acting weird.  The problem here is, in all of those listed games, there is a mechanism for the “good guys” to solve the mystery. In this show… there weren’t. The Traitors weren’t even incentivized to screw up tasks like The Mole (which is enjoyable as hell). If the traitors say nothing, they’re playing the same game as everyone else. Votes are arbitrary based on people over-reading each other.

These shows are all almost there, and I hope as we continue to move to a streaming, watch at 1.25x, fast forwarding world, we can get back to game shows that feel like there are stakes without big synthesizer breaks and lighting to signal us to be interested because until then… I’m not.

Hey Somethings!

So, I get in these weird music.. ruts?  Trenches?  Time Loops?  Not sure what you’d call them, but I inevitably end up stumbling across a song I enjoy that I haven’t heard in *years* and that leads me down this rabbit hole of stumbling across other songs in an amazingly frenetic headlong dash… much like a Tesla at a school crossing.  So without further ado, here’s what’s currently been playing in my ride…

Take On Me – Reel Big Fish

I don’t think I ever fell in ‘love’ with Ska as a musical type, there are just certain songs/bands I enjoy that happen to be Ska bands.  I first discovered my enjoyment of Reel Big Fish on the BASEketball soundtrack and this song immediately grew on me.  Great cover, great song.

Click Click Boom – Saliva

Probably the only song I could ever actually tell you Saliva did (I couldn’t name another Saliva song), this one was part of my karaoke repertoire back in the “Before Times”.  One day, I’ll get back to karaoke… and I’ll probably dust this song off.

Inside Out – Eve 6

Another karaoke staple of mine from days gone by, I forgot how much I love this song until it wormed it’s way into my YouTube “mix” randomly.  There’s just a certain drive in this song that I dig, and it’s one of my favorite songs to sing harmony to.

Butterfly – Crazy Town

I’m sensing a pattern here.. all these songs were released between ’98 and ’01.  Another band that I can only name one song from, this song takes me back to a time when you couldn’t beat The Wiz, Napster was brand new, and “I See Dead People” was blowing people’s minds.

How about you?  What’s been shuffling around on YOUR playlist?  Hit our socials and let us know!

– PCR

I recently recognized that I am falling behind on Marvel movies. When we look at the journey to the fight with Thanos, I was there. New movie – new me watching it. I was so invested in the joining of the Avengers and the big story to get there.

THen what happened.

They beat Thanos and nowwww… ok, look, I was similarly invested in Wandavision and I think it may be one of the best things DizMar ever did in terms of scope, visual style, and just plain weirdness. I was even invested in Falcon and Winter Soldier, albeit I had no problem waiting until the whole thing had been posted online to give it a glance.

But what of your Thors and AntMans and even your Wakanda Forevers?

I’ll get to them.

I know the great bubble we lived in messed up the release schedule and it is only now that we’re seeing the Marvel U try and get back to its big chapter 2, but … where’s the hype? Where’s the ‘oooooooooooooh’ moments that make us need to see the next installment? It feels like DizMarvel has lost them. The MCU feels lived in and you can show up in your pj’s if you want, but there is no urge to go running to the movies like I did for Captain America.

Then again, it may just be me burned out on comic movies until the X-Men comes… because the few glimpses that they are on their way as made my head pop up like an excited puppy.

Look.. let’s face it.. Hatton and I feed off each other’s creativity.  Hatton makes a blog last week referencing LOST.. and it sits in my brain until I have to let it out.  I’d make some pithy joke about it being like entering The Numbers into Desmond’s computer, but.. I liked Desmond, and this post is about the other side of things.

19 years later, these are my Top 5 Unanswered Mysteries from LOST

5 – What the hell was the Cork in the Pond in the Cave?

Out of all the things I WASN’T expecting to see in the ‘Heart of the Island’.. was a kiddie-sized wading pool carved out of rock with a big cork stopper in it.

I mean… what?

Was this an analogy for the writers being so pent up with unanswered BS from previous seasons is was akin to a stopper in the pool of their creative brain?  I mean, that would have been a better explanation than whatever they had for.. whatever that was.

4 – Annie

No, not the redheaded, pupil-less orphan, I’m talking about the only friend a young Ben Linus had while growing up in the Dharma Initiative.  Did you forget about her?  So did the show.  Lindelhoff and Cuse went so far on the DVD commentary for “The Man Behind the Curtain” to say that she was going to be a ‘huge part of upcoming storylines’…. SO big apparently, she was mentioned in one episode ever and then promptly never heard from again.

3 – Horace’s Cabin

I was convinced we were going to get some kind of answers about the island once the survivors found this… the circle of ash around it.. the person in the chair.. but, much like a lot of the rest of the show, it got ‘weird’ without ever being really explained.  Some of the biggest ‘huh?’s.. why could it move around the island?  What was the circle of ash keeping in (or out)? Who broke the circle?  Why… 19 years later do I care?

2 – Libby

I thought Libby overall as a character was great, and I enjoyed that she was a love interest for Hurley.  Hurley did keep mentioning that he felt like he knew her from somewhere, and it turns out they were both in Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute at the same time.  Why did they not remember each other?  Was it the same reason Ben Kenobi didn’t recognize R2?

1 – Walt being ‘Special’

The BIGGEST “wtf” letdown of the show in my opinion.  They tease up Walt being special, even show us him (apparently?) telekenisis-ing birds into a glass door… he ‘seems’ to be able to make things he thinks about happen, but we’re never given proof that it’s not more than coincidence.. I mean.. he MUST be right?  Why else would Hurley and Ben convince him to go back to the island to ‘help Michael’ even though Michael is dead?  According to Lindelhoff, Walt is special “because he is”.  Thanks Damon…

What about you?  What are some of YOUR biggest unsolved issues with LOST?  Let us know at all the usual places!

– PCR