The Fallout: Dolving Leaves The Haunted [Again]

Dolving truly was a mad man, it's going to be a tough pair of shoes to fill.

Fans of The Haunted on Facebook woke up to some very distressing news this morning. Peter Dolving, long time vocalist for swedish thrash-metallers The Haunted, has left the band permanently… again.

Netflix Pick: “Mary and Max” Will Break Your Damn Heart

If there’s any place better known for availability of quirky independent films than the eclectic library of titles available on Netflix’s instant streaming service, it’s the Sundance Film Festival. Held annually in Park City, Utah, the festival is the premier location for a wide and varied selection of independent films. In 2009, the festival opened with a strange, Australian stop-motion film called “Mary and Max.” Often, the opening film is not one of the strongest of the festival, but I remembered hearing how surprisingly fantastic this one managed to be. Did this weird little film deserve such praise? Find out after the break!

Mass Effect 3 Demo: First Impressions

With the release of Mass Effect 3 just around the corner, I’ve gotten the opportunity to get my filthy mitts on the ME3 demo. My early impressions of the demo? Disappointment. Maybe I’m old school, but I used to think that the next game in a series is supposed to provide something, well…different.

Mass Effect 3, so far, feels like the exact same game as Mass Effect 2. I was never really a fan of the combat/action portions of the game. The reason I play it is for the story.  For the record, I thought ME2 was a disappointment. It seemed like the game developers “dumbed down” the RPG elements of the game, and it seems that trend continues in ME3. With that said, let’s get right into the demo.

Netflix Pick: UHF Will Rot Your Brain

This week, I crossed a movie off of my comedy nerd list of shame. I was aware of the cult following of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s absurdist sketch film, “UHF,” and I’d been a fan of his parody songs since I was a kid. For some reason, however, I’d just never gotten around to seeing the movie. Thanks to Netflix, I was recently able to right that wrong.

Netflix Pick: Pontypool

As you are probably aware, today is not just any Tuesday. Today is Valentine’s Day. I could very easily have found some sappy, romantic, love-conquers-all drama or inane rom-com, but that wouldn’t be very Wrecked. Instead, my weekly Netflix Pick is an exercise in counter-programming. How about a movie that simply takes place on Valentine’s Day, but in place of cards, chocolates, and kissing in the rain is a small-town zombie outbreak? Got your attention? Read on after the jump.

Chronicle OR: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Telekinesis

Though the style may be running rampant recently, I must admit that I am a fan of the “found footage” gimmick. Something about the whole let’s-all-pretend-just-for-like-an-hour-and-a-half-that-this-is-actually-happening shtick makes for some creative (if contrived) uses of camera and sound that often have the effect of making the ridiculous seem tangible. With the debatable exception of “Cloverfield,” most found footage films thus far have been of the horror persuasion. “Chronicle,” the latest release to utilize the style, is more of a high-school-set action/dramedy. Is this where found footage films jump the proverbial shark, or does this gimmicky style still have some battery life left in its camera?

New Spider-Man Trailer Looks Well… Amazing

Sony is finally starting to pull the curtains back on the new iteration of our favorite red and blue web-slinger, and I couldn’t be more stoked. The new “Amazing Spider-Man” looks awesome, and I can’t wait ’til the movie hits this July. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Netflix Pick: 13 Assassins

I’m about to admit something that may lose me a few points of modern film geek cred… I have never seen a film by Takashi Miike. Everything I’ve heard about “Audition” and “Ichi the Killer” has caused me a bit of hesitation on account of the modicum of squeamishness that still sits within my hardened, grown-up sensibilities. The descriptions of Miike’s “13 Assassins” seemed free of such warnings for the weak of stomach, so I figured that its addition to the Netflix catalog was the perfect opportunity to right that wrong.

I Was Stabbed by Sweet Tooth and All I Got Were These Stupid Pictures!

Living in the Bay Area is pretty nice.  We’re very close to three major cities, meaning there is ALWAYS some sort of event going on at any given time.  You can also make the case that the Bay is the Mecca of video games.  With such studios as Sony Computer Entertainment America, Visceral Games, 2K Marin, and Capcom (to name a few) taking residence here, you can pretty much guarantee that there will be some awesome events put on by these companies.  One such event took place on February 2nd, and was put on by Sony.  It was a public and media party/tournament for the highly anticipated reboot of the bestselling car-combat franchise Twisted Metal.  I’ve been a fan of the series since I was a young lad, so you bet your ass I went.  It was a ton of fun, and it only made me want the game even more.

February Underground Update

It’s February! You know what that means: Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day, Black History Month, and most important of all…another edition of the Underground Update!

Ever Seen “Batteries Not Included?” …Well These Are Way Cooler.

Its like they're staring into my soul with those blue lights.

Every time I walk through one of our local malls, there’s always a kiosk or a store that is demoing those Quadricopters that you link and control with your iPhone or iPad, and every time I think how cool it would be to have one but it would never do the things I want it to do. But these things…oh man, the childish things I would do with these things would embarrass even myself.