Category: Opinion

Our Favorites, Day 2. The Exorcist.

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The Exorcist (movie) Here was are for day 2. This movie is a classic and has had a million and one stories around its filming. But only one holds a special memory for me. Years ago when I was a kid I wanted to watch this when it was on television  and my mom said no. My brother and I being not so good at the listening watched it anyway. By this time we had seen a ton of horror movies. See my mom as a little kid had been scared by this movie. Years later watching it wasn’t scared, changed her mind and told us to watch it. I remember because when we yelled “too late” she was a bit pissed at us.

Well for about 5 minutes. See the movie is a classic, and when it was made was terrifying for a lot of people. Now, despite being allegedly based off a true story we have seen far scarier movies. This one however, is still great. Just don’t eat pea soup while you watch. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Batman Begins

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My dream in life has been to always create a superhero story as well as good horror story. As a kid, I looked up to superheroes but none of there movies ever sparked my soul. I almost gave up on my dream, that was until Batman Begins.

Bruce Wayne, young, angry, and self destructive after watching his parents murdered in front of him as a child. Gotham City is rotting from the corruption within, the streets desperate. Caught in his own pain, he abandons his wealth and ventures to the other side of the world , trying to lose himself and learn how to stop injustice with nothing at all. In a jail cell, a man named Ducard offers him a choice- keep wasting his life or push himself farther than he ever could and become a member of the League of Shadows. He gives his all in training but something is missing. Their leader, the mysterious Ras Al Ghul, commands Wayne to take a life to prove he is ready for there movement to put an end to Gotham’s decadence as to make the world a better place. After a epic battle that seemingly destroys the League, Bruce returns home to his last remaining family, his butler Alfred and a plan to use his skills and the technology from his family’s company to become the hero Gotham needs and the symbol criminals fear. Here is how Batman Begins…

Until Batman Begins, I never felt a superhero’s story could feel like a real story. There had been greats before like X- Men and Spider- man 2 and even Tim  Burton’s Batman was classic but none of them resonated with me like Begins. Christian Bale is perfect as all 3 aspects of the character in this movie. I loved how the movie is grounded but mythic by the philosophy of Batman and the foes he faces. The supporting characters are damn great and are very well written. The movie’s writing, score and cinematography are stunning and the story and pacing flow wonderfully. I have little grips here and there like I think Scarecrow could have had more threat to him and more could have been done with the fear images. Many argue how great the movie was, many more say the sequel was far superior but it will always hold a special place in my heart. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Are They Really Horror Movies?

There are certain movies that always sort of get called horror movies, but aren’t really horror movies but people discuss them as if they were or weren’t horror movies. For example Alien. There really isn’t much to call this a horror movie. It takes place in space, involves a literal alien species that takes over a space ship. This is all typical and known sci-fi territory in every sense of the genre. Many times however it gets tossed into the horror section. Here for example Nerdist list as a space horror movie. I have had this argument with @torstenvblog for years actually. But realistically aside from “it scared some people” I have never gotten a real answer on how its a horror movie.

Another one I have heard, and made a list of 70 best horror movies is Jaws (1975) A thriller about a man-eating shark somehow quite often gets tossed into the horror movie category because simply, it scared people. What we really need is some sort of check list to decide this on. Is something being scary simply what decides it? Because plenty of horror movies didn’t scare me so are they no longer horror movies? Clearly being scary isn’t enough imply on the grounds of that being subjective. I also am not sure that simply having a monster won’t do it. Godzilla is a monster and nobody would call those monster movies.

Realistically I think we need to have a few things in place, for example there needs to be some sort of otherworldly or super force in play. Think werewolf or vampire or maybe Freddie/Jason sort of deal. A natural entity such as a shark or Alien alone doesn’t seem to be enough.

On the other side of things, a movie should also be making the attempt to be scary on some level, obvious exceptions are when something is trying to be funny or is clearly setting up something for later. Nobody expects horror movies to be scary constantly. Jaws was a suspenseful movie and had some jump scares, but the movie was never really designed to truly make you scared the same way most horror movies are.

Now I am not pretending to be an expect or to by any means simply dismiss new variations of the horror genre. In fact I love them, but this idea that anything that is scary equals horror movie makes very little sense to me. It is like saying anything that has a funny moment is a comedy which is something nobody ever says.

Anyway, I truly think it is time we recognize that movies like Jaws and Alien are great and classic movies, they simply are not horror movies. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Our Favorites Day 1, Nightmare On Elm Street.

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Nightmare on Elm Street Anyone that has followed the blog long-term knows how much I love the nightmare on else street Movies. This one is on the list because honestly not only did it start the whole thing, it is also one of my first horror movies. I don’t even remember who I saw it with. I just remember that first time seeing Fred Kruger and those claws, and the things he did in people’s dreams. Now I can’t recall if I was scared or not, but considering I laughed when Bambi’s mom got shot I doubt I was, but this movie sent me on a life long love of the genre. It isn’t the best horror movie, and it isn’t even the best movie you will see on the list this month, but it is quite possibly the reason this list even exist. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

October is Here

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October is here, and as you know this is kind of like  Savior Gaming Christmas for @torstenvblog and myself. Last year we focused on horror movies and books and such. This year we are doing something slightly different. For 31 days we will be talking about our 31 favorite horror movies. From the 1st though the 15th will be 15 of my favorites and from the 16th though the 30th will be @torstenvblog favorites, and Halloween night we will both discuss a movie that is Special to us both as a team. So as always thank you for joining us, may the gaming gods bring you glory, and let the scares begin.

Chanel Zero Season 4 trailer

First I have to say I’m big fan of Creepypastas and I’ve heard really good things about the Chanel Zero series to date. I’m glad that there is a show that’s putting these creative ideas to use. This season, The Dream Door, looks intriguing and actually pretty creepy. If I found it streaming, I’d be glad to check it out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers

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Expected to arrive in October of 2019, the movie of Mr. Rogers starring Tom Hanks and this is the first look. I won’t lie, as I was scrolling around and saw this I actually thought it was just an old picture of the man himself. Granted it isn’t perfect but just scrolling though it’s a close match. I don’t know much about the biopic, but Rolling Stone has more. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods be your neighbor.

Fortnite Season 6

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Fortnite Season 6 is upon us, and as always it has brought a whole host of new things. The verge  has a more complete list, but this one includes many Halloween style items. It is also aptly named Darkness Rises. The new season also brings a haunted castle.

It is actually kind of strange, I first played Fortnite when it was free to play and well before it really took off. I didn’t much care for it then and I am not a huge fan now, it is just odd to see how huge it has become after these 6 seasons. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Fallout 76 official intro

Unlike many of my friends, I wasn’t getting on the Fallout 76 hype bandwagon, despite being a Bethesda fanboy. After watching the actual intro to the game, the hype hit me like a tidal wave. The intro is powerful and looks beautiful. I want to visit the wastelands again and I’ll rethink visiting Vault 76. May the gaming gods bring you glory.