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5 books that scared the s$it out of me

monster book

People underestimate the raw power of books sometimes. I once did until I found one that scared the shit out of me. It was a different feeling than getting scared by a movie, more intimate somehow. here’s a list of books that genuinely creeped the shit out of me and made me want to bring the joy to others, in no particular order, lets dive in with…

cujo book 1. Cujo by Stephen King- ok, this was a tough call because many of King’s stories freaked the hell out of me but Cujo left a weird impact on me. I’m nervous around dogs as it is, so the idea of being at the mercy of a massive, rabid, death tank of a dog just…no, hell no. Cujo

let me in bk Let the Right One In (aka Let Me in) by John Ajvide Lindqvist- besides being a freaky ass vampire story with interesting lore and characters behind it, it’s a deep tale of friendship and vulnerability that I will cover after I watch the film, but I can tell you it won’t let you down if you’re scared of vampires.

good happy child 3. A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans- I’ve never been religious or brought up with strong religious beliefs but this possession story caught me off guard. Rather than heavy theatrics we get a much more quiet and more unsettling series of mind games through the 1st person perspective of someone possessed by the devil. If you like smart, thoughtful horror, this is for you.

Hbh1 4. The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker- if you loved the movie Hellraiser, this is the book that Barker directly turned into the film but his master of giving the diabolical Cenobites a presence the movie can’t match, this novella is worth a hit for the true fans of the movie. The Hellbound Heart Hellraiser Movie review

1984 5. 1984 by George Orwell- this book is debatable as horror but once you read it and take a look at the world around us in 2017 where we always have eyes on us and Big Brother is everywhere, you may feel differently. Before reading 1984 however, I recommend reading Animal Farm first, to which here’s yet another link to check out my review. Animal Farm

This has just been a small list of books that scared the shit out of me, but there are more but those are for another time. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ready Player One trailer

ready player one

I’m sorry it took me a while to talk about what we’ve seen for Spielberg’s highly anticipated Sci fi epic based of the highly acclaimed book. I can’t say I have any experience with it, never having read the book. From the trailer I gather it’s about a young man in a broken down world where virtual reality is the only real escape, The Oasis. The creator of which is dying and fortune and control of the Oasis lies in the one who can find the Easter Egg inside of the Oasis.

My first impression is this going to be a beautiful looking movie. The special effects look like the greatest of video game cut scenes and the sets look impressive. I’m really intrigued by the world itself and I think it’s going to be a huge lure for many. I can’t get a feel for the characters yet but the opening monologue was solid. I’ll be keeping an eye on it and I’m sure Savior and I will go see it in theaters when the time comes. Until then were just some thoughts and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

5 characters I wanted in injustice 2

injustice 2-1

Normally I’m not a huge fighting game fan but I do love a good old fashioned ass kicking from time to time. That being said, I love Injustice 2 and I’m stoked for the release of release of the third fighter pack characters but I can’t help being kinda bummed by some characters I was really hoping for. In no particular order, lets dive in with…

mera 1. Mera- don’t get me wrong, I was tickled pink when Black Manta was revealed but I think Mera could have brought something unique to the table with her hydro abilities.

beastboy 2. Beast boy- being able to shape shift into animals during a fight would kick so much ass, whether it’s changing into a bear for a epic maul attack or a hawk for a last minute escape- not to mention finishing a ultimate attack as a T-rex. How can you go wrong?

capt boomerang 3. Captain Boomerang- we had Cold, leader of the Rogues but he ain’t my favorite Captain of the group. I always had a thing for Boomerang and with his assortment of weaponized boomerangs could make for some sweet combos and plus you fill the quota of movie tie in character.

4. Larfleeze- Agent Orange himself, holding the entirety of the Orange Lantern Corps in his lantern, making for some really sweet possibilities for combos.

smoke 5. Smoke- I think Smoke would have been a sweet choice with his arsenal of smoke attacks that famously wreck people in Mortal Kombat. Also it didn’t make much sense to have two electric and two ice characters when someone like Smoke could add some variety.

May the gaming gods bring you glory and happy ass kicking.

Deadman Wonderland

deadman wonderland

I love anime but sadly I don’t watch nowhere near as much as I would like to. My third favorite of all time is a very short, sadly cut short anime called Deadman Wonderland. It was shocking, raw, and made me rethink my own passion project, so it can be something different than most so I owe it a lot.

Deadman Wonderland is the story of young Ganta Igarashi, a ordinary middle school who’s life goes nightmarish when a mysterious figure known as the Wretched Egg appears and slaughters Ganta’s friends and entire class with a strange power, leaving Ganta the sole survivor. Camera footage is found framing Ganta for the brutal murders and he is sentenced to life in the newest prison/ tourist attraction called Deadman Wonderland. To the public, prison’s risk there lives in deadly games in exchange for antidote to a poison there are injected with via collar they are forced to wear around there necks. Security is tight and Ganta is pushed to his breaking point by the sick inmates and horrible sights, but he finds a old forgotten friend in Shiro, a strange girl always following Ganta. During a brief encounter with a Wretched Egg, Ganta discovers the key to his salvation and damnation, his Branch of Sin- his blood is a weapon, when he bleeds he can gather it and fire it as a hard projectile. Suddenly he is taken from the general populace and introduced to Carnival Corpse, an underground fighting arena dedicated to others inflicted with the Branch of Sin like The Crow who can form long, curved blades from his slashed wrists or Hummingbird who fuses the blood from her ears into her hair like living razor wire. When things look at there worst, Ganta, now called Woodpecker, discovers a resistance of Deadmen inside the prison, readying to plot there escape, can they escape all the horrors Deadman Wonderland holds inside?

Deadman Wonderland is a sad case. The series was prematurely cut because of legal bullshit so it feels messy at the end of it’s 12 main episodes. I say this because there is a bonus 13th episode that is a Crow origin episode. You can tell if it had 12 or 14 more episodes it could have ended more more tightly but they did ok regardless. Artistically the show is beautiful and the characters are compelling. I love the Branch of Sin; my favorite is Owl’s, leader of the resistance, who can form his blood into grenades. The opening song, One reason- Fade, is probably one of my favorite anime songs of all time. I warn the faint of heart, don’t watch if you can’t handle blood, torture, images of rape, vulgar language or dismemberment. If you can get past all that, there is a lot to be said inside of it’s short narrative and I highly recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

5 games I have to finish

game pile

The picture above represents my gaming situation perfectly, dozens and dozens of games I either haven’t finished or even touched yet. In no particular order, here’s 5 games I started playing this year that I won’t finish by the end of it.

1. Darksiders 2- this was a case of both loving the hell out of it and hating it at the same time. Usually the times I hated slowed it down hard for me until the other games choked it down.

2. Dark Souls 2- of the 32 total bosses of Souls 2, I did manage to vanquish 21 or 22 of them so I got into pretty damn far. In fact, I actually got lost in the game, with no way to figure out where the hell to go. Oops.

ffx 3. Final Fantasy 10- I love and adore FFX. It’s beautiful, intriguing, and fun full of great characters and a huge, epic story… then I hit a boss battle. I have witnesses that watched me get my ass get dropped over and over again for 2 hours on the same boss and 8 other games later, poop.

download (11) 4. Resident Evil 7- Savior let me borrow it shortly after it came out and while I found it refreshing and creepy, I got stuck trying to find the damn shotgun. Seriously, that’s it.

prey preview 5. Prey- for the final spot, it was a close call between Fallout 4 or Prey but Prey I haven’t touched since the day one preview I wrote. Problem is it’s an involved game I have to devote a lot more time to it.

May the gaming gods bring you glory and shrink your own game piles.

Destroy all humans

destroy all humans

I love old time sci fi movies so being able to play in one was kinda great, the raunchy humor and cool weapons and powers just so happened to be icing on the cake. The game is simple really. We play as Cypto, an alien from the planet Furon who comes to 1950s America to kill humanity after a botched incident involving Area 51. Armed with a array of alien weapons, a flying saucer, and the power to use telepathy, hologram disguises, and telekinesis we set off against the cops, military, and Majestic Agents that want to take you down.

First I’m going to say this game is fun. There’s a lot of variety in you’re methods of destruction. Disguise yourself and start throwing cars with telekinesis? Sure. Run through the suburbs of brainless men and scandalous housewives guns blazing while shooting people with you handy dandy anal probe- yes you actually get a anal probe and it is amazing. Guns and powers work really good and fluid for there time. A favorite pastime I have is simply reading the minds of the people around me and hearing the crazy or just plain hilarious and often politically incorrect they are thinking. The spoof of 50’s culture is perhaps my favorite aspect of the game. Realistically though I do have problems. I feel you die awfully easy in either on foot or in your ship; actually weirdly enough I feel you can take more damage on foot than you can in your ship. The saucer I feel could have have used a bit more agility to help avoid damage; the controls for it do feel a bit clunky. It aged decently well from its PS2 era release and it’s definitely a good pick up on the current generation. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ted 2

ted 2

I will never think of Trix cereal or John William’s iconic Jurassic Park theme the same ever again. And because of this movie, Savior and I will get kicked out of a Improv house someday.

So we begin on Ted’s wedding day to Tammi Lyn as we see John saddened by his divorce from now ex wife Lori. Ted urges him to get back in the dating game while soon Ted’s marriage is in jeopardy. But they find a solution: just have a baby. This however isn’t a easy task since Ted is a toy and not capable of reproducing, leading to adoption and the core dilemma of the film: the government cracks down on Ted for being essentially a stuffed animal, not alive, and soon his rights are being systematically taken away. So it’s up to John and Ted to team up with a fresh young, cute lawyer named Sam L. Jackson and prove to the world Ted is alive. Oh and that creepy ass weirdo from the first movie is back too.

I’m going to call this movie subjective: you’ll either love it or hate it. In fact I think it’s funnier than the first. There’s a lot more outrageous humor and crazier cameos in this movie. The performances are great all around and the story is actually pretty deep. I know comedy sequels especially have a reputation for sucking but I recommend checking it out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ted

ted

Ya ever just need a feel good movie when life sucks ass? Two of my favorites are the Ted movies. For my thunder buddy Savior, I figured why not…

Ted is the story of a kid named John Bennett whose teddy bear comes to life after making a wish on a star. The world freaks out and overnight Ted becomes famous for a time, but through fame and fall, twenty years later him and John are still best friends, mainly cracking jokes and getting high together, but there is a problem. John’s girlfriend Lori wants John to grow up and make Ted move out. Now Ted has to get a job and a place and avoid the creepy son of a bitch following him in the background of this strange, outrageous tale narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart because…reasons.

It’s quite rare a movie makes me almost piss myself laughing but also bring on the feels. Ted achieves this extremely well. Speaking of which, the effects on Ted himself are really damn good and Seth McFarlene brings this A game here as writer, directer, and as a voice actor.Him and Mark Wahlberg have a great chemistry together. I will say, if you aren’t a fan of Family Guy or that type of humor, this movie isn’t for you but I had a awesome time with it. May the gaming gods bring you glory and a thunder buddy.

Happy Birthday Savior

ted bday shot

I told Savior for his birthday I’d review the Ted movies not just because they’re amazing but because at the end of the day, Savior is my thunder buddy. We hang out, eat pizza, go on adventures, and fight with toy lightsabers in my living room even though were getting too old for that shit. He’s there for the good, for the bad, and for those random times I get drunk and need to tell someone Fuck the Man at 3 o clock in the morning. He taught me how to drive, how to throw knives and tell your landlord those scratches came with the cabinet, and how to do half this blog stuff…ok most of it…ok all of it, and that streaming Elite Dangerous for 14 hours is hard as hell. Most of all, he is a good, honest loyal friend I’m gad to call a battle buddy, a boss, and a brother. Oh by the way, if you follow him on Twitch on Savior699, don’t say the phase “Meat Paste” on the chat. That being said, love ya bro, and thank all of you guys reading our stuff for the love and support.

A sincere and sappy message from Torsten V

The Last Jedi (second opinion)

last jedi

For Savior’s birthday, he had a dream: he wanted to see a debut of a Star Wars movie and well, dreams come true. I have thing if anyone hasn’t noticed that I don’t include the episodes in the title, frankly I save that for the ugh films in the series, and by the title of this blog, this is one of the greats.

Directly after Awakens, the Resistance is in some pretty deep shit as the First Order barrels down on them. The bulk of both sides find themselves at all out war in space and the Resistance forces are dying off quickly and with Leia out of commission, against the will of her replacement and time ticking down before all will be lost, its up to Finn, Poe, BB-8, and a technician named Rose to carry out a secret mission to save the Resistance. We also join Rey as she finds a very gruff and broken Luke Skywalker in his self imposed isolation. Through time and persistence he agrees to teach her the ways of the force, but also why the Jedi deserve to be gone. In this journey as Rey’s power grows she begins forming a connection with the last person she would have ever expected…Kylo Ren, who is still dealing with the conflict of light and dark burning inside him, and with that comes the horrible truth of why Ben Solo turned to the dark side.

The Last Jedi was a movie that took chances and I have a lot of respect for that. It makes us ask a lot of questions about what we knew before as well as answers many of what we were left with in Awakens. There is a lot of bold choices and may I say this maybe the darkest Star Wars movie to date, but it was balanced with some funny moments. Luke and Leia were amazing, R.I.P Carrie Fischer, and Rey and Kylo stepped up there game a lot but overall the performances were great. It is a beautiful movie visually as well and holy shit there is a lot of really epic scenes. One scene in particular near the end maybe in my top 3 favorite Star Wars fights. There are pacing issues with the Finn and Rose side plot and sometimes the movie did feel longer than it should have but overall since I rated the others, I’ll give it a solid A. Here are links for the rest of my reviews for the series I’ve covered and may the force be with you.

Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi The Force Awakens

Star wars: Rogue One