Here's the top MCS tags found for "star"

• Star Wars
• Star Trek
• Stargate
• Starcraft
• Star Wars: Episode 6: Return of the Jedi
• Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge Of The Sith
• LEGO Star Wars
• Star Trek: Into Darkness
• Starbucks
• Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Star Wars: Rebels
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• StarCraft II
• Star Trek: Nemesis
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Battle Beyond The Stars
• Dark Star
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• The Last Starfighter
• Star Wars: Episode 7: The Force Awakens
• Starship Troopers
• Fist of the North Star
• Homestar Runner
• StarTalk
• Star-Lord
• Stargate: Universe
• Star Wars: Battlefront
• Star Fox
• Men Who Stare At Goats
• The Star
• The Minnesota Starvation Experiment
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek: Beyond
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
• Star Citizen
• Star Wars: Celebration
• Starfire
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Star Trek: Discovery
• Starry Night
• Stargirl
• Star Trek: Voyager
• Star Wars: The Old Republic
• Starsky & Hutch
• Star Trek: Enterprise
• Krystle Starr
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Star Wars: Episode 8: The Last Jedi
• Star Trek: Axanar
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

muslim trust hug

crafty bastards

Chains of Command review

Amazon

I love what Marko Kloos is doing with this universe, and after a slow start to give the rest of the book a firm foundation and give the readers a chance to catch, the action really gets moving with some well written human on human action during a time when it’s the last thing that they need to be focusing on.  It has a satisfying resolution, but there’s clearly more books coming in this series, which is awesome.  It’s obvious Kloos doesn’t feel pressured to wrap everything up, or to tell the story in tiny little chunks (looking at you Scalzi!).

There’s four books in this series so far:

1. Terms of Enlistment
2. Lines of Departure
3. Angles of Attack
4. Chains of Command

Side note : All of these books are included in Amazon Kindle Unlimited, which is only $9.99 a month.  They’re currently doing a 30 day free trial, so you can actually read this entire series for free if you jump through a couple hoops : Join Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial

Tiki Asks : Have you known anyone that killed themselves?

This is the first entry in a monthly series that I’m starting, in which I ask you a question, and you tell me what you think.

The first one is a question that’s been on my mind for a while: Have you known anyone that killed themselves?  What was the circumstances and did you agree with their decision?

Twin Monitor Wallpapers – Sci-Fi

All these wallpapers are 3840×1080

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The LEGO Batman Movie

In the irreverent spirit of fun that made “The LEGO® Movie” a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – LEGO Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

from Movies – 2Queue

Discord Artwork

best guest star ever?

Ex-Isle review

“It is an easy thing to rule by fear.”

It’s been years since the tidal wave of ex-humans washed over the world. Since then, thanks to St George and his fellow heroes, the community known as the Mount has been the last known outpost of safety, sanity, and freedom left to humanity.

But even for the Mount, survival still balances on a razor’s edge—and after a disaster decimates the town’s food supply, the heroes must make a risky gamble to keep its citizens from starving.

And then the news arrives of a strange, man-made island in the middle of the Pacific. An island populated not just by survivors, but by people who seem to be farming, raising children, living—people who, like the heroes, have somehow managed to keep the spark of civilization alive.

Paying this place a visit should be a simple goodwill mission, but as the island reveals itself to be a sinister mirror-image of what the heroes have built at the Mount, the cost of their good intentions becomes dangerously high.

Source: Amazon.com

Author: Peter Clines

I’ve mentioned this series before and have loved every chapter of this one.  There were a few sad developments, but they were in line with the character development that I’ve come to expect.  Bottom line : if you like zombies and comic book level superheroes, this is a great series to pick up.

Top Of The Pops

Welcome to a 70’s childhood. These hybrid compilation albums are a cross between the Now albums, the compilation of chart hits of each year released annually, and local pub karaoke, average people with an ability to mimic the vocals of music stars perform the hits of the day. Usually with hilarious results.

Trumbo

Also just watched Trumbo. Another disappointment. While it’s a perfectly solid piece of work, it feels more like television than film, and Cranston gives a showy, mannered turn. This is most evident in his scenes with Louis C.K, whose relaxed naturalness is in stark contrast to Cranston’s grandstanding. It’s still a fascinating and ghastly story, but it made me wish I’d read the book it’s based on rather than watch the movie.

Equals

directed by Drake Doremus and starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult

from Movies – 2Queue

The Division Beta

I’m thinking about trying out The Division beta on PC.  Anyone want to join my fireteam?  I plan on playing most of the weekend and already have a TeamSpeak server set up for it.

Interested? You can sign up for the Beta here: tomclancy-thedivision.ubi.com/game/en-US/beta/index.aspx

Starts tomorrow at Noon I believe.  I’m going to be hard core policing idiots that I’m playing with in this game.

Neighbors 2 : Sorority Rising

Returning stars Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Rose Byrne are joined by Chloë Grace Moretz for Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, the follow-up to 2014’s most popular original comedy. Nicholas Stoller again directs in a film that follows what happens when the will of parenthood goes against the bonds of sisterhood.

Now that Mac (Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Byrne) have a second baby on the way, they are ready to make the final move into adulthood: the suburbs. But just as they thought they’d reclaimed the neighborhood and were safe to sell, they learn that the new occupants next door are a sorority even more out of control than Teddy (Efron) and his brothers ever dreamed of being.

Tired of their school’s sexist, restrictive system, the unorthodox ladies of Kappa Nu have decided to start a house where they can do whatever the hell they want. When Shelby (Moretz) and her sisters, Beth (Kiersey Clemons) and Nora (Beanie Feldstein), find the perfect place just off campus, they won’t let the fact that it’s located on a quiet street stand in their way of parties as epic as the guys throw.

Forced to turn to the one ex-neighbor with the skills to bring down the new Greeks next door, the Radners—alongside best friends Jimmy (Ike Barinholtz) and Paula (Carla Gallo)—bring in charismatic Teddy as their secret weapon. If he can infiltrate the sorority and charm his way through it, the thirtysomethings will shutter the Kappas’ home. But if they think that their neighbors are going down without a fight, they have severely underestimated the power of youthful ingenuity and straight-up crazy.

[youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2i9Zz_AqTg?feature=oembed&w=584&h=329%5D
from 2Queue » Movies

The World Without Us review

In The World Without Us, Alan Weisman offers an utterly original approach to questions of humanity’s impact on the planet: he asks us to envision our Earth, without us.In this far-reaching narrative, Weisman explains how our massive infrastructure would collapse and finally vanish without human presence; which everyday items may become immortalized as fossils; how copper pipes and wiring would be crushed into mere seams of reddish rock; why some of our earliest buildings might be the last architecture left; and how plastic, bronze sculpture, radio waves, and some man-made molecules may be our most lasting gifts to the universe.
The World Without Us reveals how, just days after humans disappear, floods in New York’s subways would start eroding the city’s foundations, and how, as the world’s cities crumble, asphalt jungles would give way to real ones. It describes the distinct ways that organic and chemically treated farms would revert to wild, how billions more birds would flourish, and how cockroaches in unheated cities would perish without us. Drawing on the expertise of engineers, atmospheric scientists, art conservators, zoologists, oil refiners, marine biologists, astrophysicists, religious leaders from rabbis to the Dali Lama, and paleontologists—who describe a prehuman world inhabited by megafauna like giant sloths that stood taller than mammoths—Weisman illustrates what the planet might be like today, if not for us.
From places already devoid of humans (a last fragment of primeval European forest; the Korean DMZ; Chernobyl), Weisman reveals Earth’s tremendous capacity for self-healing. As he shows which human devastations are indelible, and which examples of our highest art and culture would endure longest, Weisman’s narrative ultimately drives toward a radical but persuasive solution that needn’t depend on our demise. It is narrative nonfiction at its finest, and in posing an irresistible concept with both gravity and a highly readable touch, it looks deeply at our effects on the planet in a way that no other book has.

Source: Amazon.com
Author: Alan Weisman
A perfect read for a typical American consumerist laden holiday, he talks about the near future in relation to the far future and how the world will completely fall apart and do just fine without humanity.  What will survive the longest?  Hint, it’s plastics.

Also, word to the wise, in a short term apocalypse get the hell away from Texas where all the petroleum refineries are (miles and miles of interconnected systems full of flammable materials) and get as far away from all nuclear power plants as possible, cause it’s all going to blow up eventually.

I really enjoyed this read, but man was it depressing to thing about what we’re doing to ourselves.

Spectre review

Source: Amazon.com
Director: Sam Mendes

I’m not a big fan of the Daniel Craig reboot of the series, I’ve always been of the opinion that Bond is just a name that’s handed down from agent to agent. With this new series, they made James Bond a living person that was born as James Bond and will die as James Bond. I understand that they had to make a hard shift in tone in the movies after the Austin Powers series made such a mockery of it and Jason Bourne made a case for tight zoom action, but I still feel there’s room for laser watches or pens that explode if you click them too many times the wrong way.

All that being said, this is actually the best of the movies that Craig has done, due in no small part by Christoph Waltz, who’s taken me by surprise over the last 5 years, starting with Inglorious Basterds. He stole every scene he was in, and because I’m not too invested in the old villians of the old Bond films, this was a fresh take on the classic character that gave the series the proper amount of cheese that any Bond film rightly deserves.

I highly recommend seeing this one, it was a good film.

RIP David Bowie

Battle For The Planet of the Apes review

The fifth and last of the Planet of the Apes movies is the story of the ape civilization trying to live peacefully with human beings, who are atom bomb mutations.

Source: Amazon
Director: J. Lee Thompson

I started my ‘Planet of the Apes” movie series rewatch nearly a year ago now, with this last one sitting there taunting me.  Being hung over and ready to just zone out, I popped it on and watched it, and it’s about what I remember it being: a very low budget film with a heartfelt message that walks right up to the line of being too over the top, but never really crosses that line.  The budget is obvious in that they had about 3 different sets, one of which was a giant open field.  Being low budgets doesn’t necessarily mean it was a bad film though, I really did enjoy the movie, though it ended very quickly in terms of how they wrapped everything up.

Narcopolis review

In a near future city where drugs are decriminalized, a cop investigating a murder learns that mass legalization can be deadly. Co-stars Jonathan Pryce (Game of Thrones).

Source: Amazon.com
Director: Justin Trefgarne

The drugs story line is a red herring.  Telling you what the actual plot is would ruin what they’re trying to do, but let me tell you this much: I don’t like the genre and I wouldn’t have picked this film if I knew it was going to be in that genre.  They really pulled on the threads too hard and this was a bit of a mess at the end of the day.  I don’t much appreciate the ‘mind twist’ type of movies, but if that’s your bag, than this is for you.

2015 Game of the Year

(11 votes, average: 4.18 out of 5, rated)

(4 votes, average: 3.25 out of 5)

 

(5 votes, average: 3.20 out of 5, rated)

(5 votes, average: 3.20 out of 5, rated)

Tomorrowland review

X-wing Fighter

So here’s a photo of me December 25, 1980. So what was your best Christmas? And who’s pumped?! For Star Wars, I mean.

The Vintage Vault: Looking Back at Kenner’s X-wing Fighter

Cooties review

Teachers have the worst Monday ever when their students are turned into little killer savages in this horror comedy with unexpected laughs and unapologetic thrills.

Source: Amazon.com
Directed by Cary Murnion

A star studded cast fighting off zombie children, all with a funny script and great action?  Hell yes! It was nice to see Hurley from LOST back in the mix, lol

The LEGO Movie Videogame game review

The LEGO Movie Videogame puts LEGO kids into the role of Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. Players guide Emmet as he is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.

Source: Amazon.com
Published by Warner Home Video Games

I bought this back in June 2014 with every intent of playing it then and there, but the lack of video resolution settings meant that I would have had to play it in my office and not in my living room, which is bleh.  I really only do work in my office now days, so this one fell to the bottom of my ‘to play’ list.  I was drinking a couple weeks ago and installed it on a whim to see if they had changed it, and while they hadn’t changed the ability to set the video resolution, they had made it use the native resolution of the system, so that worked enough for me to get into the game and play it through.  I’m a huge fan of the Lego games from the last 5 years, they’ve really shown how Corporate Synergy can happen for the better, even if Star Wars was left out of the video game experience (they had cameos in the movie). There’s plenty of DC stuff in here though, which makes sense since WB owns DC, so this is really just a DC/Lego Movie Game.

If you’ve ever played a Lego game before, you know how what to expect.  I for one loved it.

American Ultra review

Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart star in this explosive action-adventure about a small-town slacker who discovers he’s a sleeper agent targeted by CIA operatives.
Source: Amazon.com
Director: Nimah Nourizadeh

I like the idea, it’s basically a stoner Jason Borne movie with a splash of ultra violence thrown in, but the execution is muddled, due in a large part by the comical genius that is Topher Grace. He’s amazing in this movie in that seems he was cast for a part that isn’t actually in the film, and then told to play a character that was completely made up on the set. The tone waffles from 420 Pineapple Express action to straight up blasts to the face by a shotgun with all the ensuing gore. Good actors were in this movie, but it was not a good film.  I’m really hoping this isn’t a portent of things to come with Jesse Eisenberg, as he’s the next Lex Luthor.

The universe through a book

I’m about to start another book, of which you’ll see a review up here soon.  do you read books? what are you currently reading?

I have three words for ya’

PC Master Race

I’ve been doing a ton of PC gaming lately, this console generation is just so god damn boring, Halo 5, Tomb Raider, bleh.  it’s all the same old crap with little to no innovation or backwards compatibility.

Don’t get me started on the prices either.  When I can spend $100 and get a year’s worth of quality games on steam or spend the same amount and get 2 games on the xbones, ugh.

The best thing ever.

time.com/4137685/carrie-fisher-star-wars-the-force-awakens-good-morning-america-interview/

Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition GOTY 2015

Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition – hands down the best RPG in years, made by true dungeon masters.  To anyone who enjoyed the Tolkien books more than the movies, played paper-based D&D, or knows what THAC0 is – this is for you.

BONUS REASON: You can get Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition on steam FREE if you help fund the sequel here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin-2

Now go open some goddamn chests!

My favorite tv couple – Cleary and Harriet

www.ibtimes.com/knick-season-2-star-chris-sullivan-cleary-sister-harriet-survival-those-wild-2158621%5B/caption%5D

WAR

what is it good for

Minions review

The Minions, breakout stars from “Despicable Me,” are presented in an origin story that showcases their unpredictable personality and physicality, and pairs them with equally memorable human characters. As it turns out, Minions have existed since the beginning of time. They have evolved from single (yellow) cell organisms into the familiar beings we know, and they live for a collective purpose: to seek out and serve the most despicable master they can find. Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock will lead the voice cast of the human characters as Scarlett Overkill, the world’s reigning super-villain of the 1960s.

Source: Amazon.com

Directed by: Kyle Balda

The Minions without Gru? Turns out that it’s not that good of an idea, kinda like a jam sandwich without any peanut butter, or a comedy without a straight man.  Too much saccharine over the top comedy and not enough down to Earth reactions that a normal person would relate with.  Also, Sandra Bullock does a fine job as Scarlett Overkill, but she’s famous enough to me that I was hearing Sandra Bullock and not the cartoon character she was playing.  A good film to have on in the background, but it’s not going to capture your attention if you’re over 8 years old.

Hunters in the Dark (HALO) review

It is 2555, more than two years after the Master Chief went missing-in-action following a decisive conflict on Installation 00—the massive, extragalactic Forerunner construct known as the Ark—as part of the final chapter in humanity’s bloody thirty-year struggle against the overwhelming forces of the Covenant. Now, as a tenuous peace exists between the humans and the Elites, a startling scientific discovery is made…and the riddle behind its Forerunner origins could very well seal the fate of the entire galaxy within a matter of weeks. In order to unravel these dangerous secrets, a heroic, hastily formed coalition of humans and Elites must attempt to overcome their differences as they embark on a covert mission back to the Ark—an astonishing, enigmatic place beyond comprehension from which few have returned and where mortal danger awaits them all…

Source: Amazon.com

Author: Peter David

I unfortunately read this after playing through Halo 5’s campaign, which I should have known better.  343 has decided for some inexplicable reason to have critical parts of their game’s campaign story included in the books with no indication that “hey you idiot, you should read this book before playing that game”. That’s not to say that the story here was bad in any way at all, I don’t think Peter David could ever write a bad story, it’s the corporate task masters that are at fault here.

The story is set primarily on the Ark that was last seen in Halo 3.  There’s some pretty crazy stuff that goes down, but David does a great job at fleshing out how difficult it was to shift focus for the ex-covenant and human soldiers from being mortal enemies to being wary compatriots.  I’m happy with it’s resolution, as it wraps up all the threads that anyone may care about, but at the same time, leaves it open for David to come back to the Halo universe, which I would welcome greatly.

Disney to remove feminist iconography from toy line up?

“Disney is already well on its way to wiping out the ‘slave’ outfit from any future products period. You will NOT see [any] future merchandising featuring the slave outfit ever again …. [Artists] can’t even draw Leia in a sexy pose at Marvel, let alone in that outfit … We also had a 3-D [Slave Leia] statue killed at a major manufacturer because there will no longer be any [Slave Leia] merchandise.” —blastr

If this is true, it’s a sad reminder that Disney doesn’t give a fuck about you or your childhood.  I remember seeing Leia in that outfit and being shown that sexy girls can get shit done too, and to not let my guard down around my slaves, least they rise up and choke me with their own chains.

Alan Tudyk Would Play BLUE BEETLE If It Meant Working With Nathan Fillion As BOOSTER GOLD

Speaking to Comicbook.com at NYCC, Tudyk expressed an interest in the movie, despite having heard nothing about it or Fillion’s interest. “Well that’s great. If it’s working with Nathan, I’m in,” he claimed, “Also, being a bug for me? I’d like that. Roly-poly is nice. I’d like to be one of them. That’s what we called them back in Texas, but they’re almost a beetle.”  via comicbookmovie

This has to happen. I would preorder tickets before they even started principle photography, oh god.

Sheep

Rock Band 4 game review

10 Years is a hell of a long time to keep a blog open!

10/21/2005, I was bored at work and decided to start a blog on blogger, (it’s still out there too!), then about 6 months later I got pissed that blogger didn’t support tags or categories so I tried out a couple other blogging systems and landed with wordpress.  Fast forward to today and there’s been so much that’s happened since then:

• 91,788 Posts
• 165,189 Image Attachements
• 418,323 Approved Comments
• over 100,000,000 Page Views

I’ve loved working on this site and have really enjoyed everything that it’s taught me. I’d like to think there’s a huge community of people out there that are still actively visiting and not commenting, but if I’m being truthful, the traffic and commenting on the site has been on a steady decline for a fair bit of time, it was right around when I finally got everything stable and didn’t have any significant downtime. Even with less traffic though, there’s still a good community here and I love each and every one of you!

So that being said, let’s talk about what my vision was, what it morphed into and what it’s going to change into in a relatively short time period:

When I first started: Shit son, I wanted to make me some money! That worked until the site was kicked out of Google’s Adsense program because of America’s Shame of the Female Body. We showed one too many boobs, nipples or butts and got kicked to the curb and the site’s struggled to pay for itself every god damn month. I have something in action that’s going to solve this, but that’s going to have to be vague and unspoken of until it actually goes through. End result though will be the removal of all third party ads and only loading ads that I’ve created myself for my own sites. Originally I was going to be the only one making posts and adding images and I was only adding like 4-5 a day.

What it turned into: Lots of people wanted to add pictures and it was easiest to just give everyone accounts and let them post them and I would approve them. It worked well until one of the image submission engines I was using got a bit too complicated and old and is now pretty much just a broken piece of shit that’s a security and convenience hassle. It’s impossible to move images/posts from the SFW side to the NSFW side and there’s always someone posting the wrong shit to the wrong side. The site isn’t making money, there’s god damn popup ads on mobile and I’m having to either delete quality submissions on both sfw/nsfw or post them and hope no one wonders why there’s some political cartoon wedged between a topless blonde and a topless brunett getting railed by a octopus.

What I’m working on (still?): plus.myconfinedpspace.com it’s going to have the image submissions, blog posts, forum entries, and everyone/anyone can post whatever the fuck they want to. Want to post a movie review? Awesome, go for it. Want to post a picture series of you and your wife trying out adult toys? Go for it! Want to just dump 100,000 images of ponies? bob’s your uncle. Obviously there’s going to have to be some things done to keep it a relatively sane area, but it’s going to be a mix of sfw and nsfw content that will then be moderated out to the two different parts of the site.

1. Forums
2. Blog Posts
3. Image Gallery

What’s the hold up?  The custom code it’s going to take to move images and shit from plus to other places.  I have it for the most part, but there’s still a couple niggling issues that are keeping me up at night.  Here’s where I have to give some mad props to Trello, without their system of task management with checklists and board I think I would have gone insane with what I’m trying to do with this.  With their help, I can actually see what’s on my plate and what it’s going to take to get it done.

God I love you guys, here’s to 10 more years of #blessed MCS time!

Lego Dimensions game review

What is LEGO Dimensions?

When a mysterious and powerful vortex suddenly appears in various LEGO worlds, different characters from DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings and The LEGO Movie are swept away. To save their friends, Batman, Gandalf and Wyldstyle bravely jump into the vortex and quickly find themselves fighting to save all of LEGO humanity.

Let creativity be the guide to a building and gaming adventure – journey through unexpected worlds and team-up with unlikely allies on the quest to defeat the evil Lord Vortech. Play with different minifigures from different worlds together in one LEGO videogame, and use each other’s vehicles and gadgets in a way never before possible. LEGO Bad Cop driving the DeLorean Time Machine…why not?! The LEGO Ninjago Masters of Spinjitsu fighting alongside Wonder Woman…yes, please! Get ready to break the rules, because the only rule with LEGO Dimensions is that there are no rules.

Source: Amazon.com
Addon tested: Lego Portal 2

Bought this last night and thought it’d be wise to get a write up on the first play experiences while the memory is fresh in my head. I was actually at Target last night to get a Rock Band 4 kit, but they were completely out of them at the time, and for half the price they had Lego Dimensions. This isn’t a final review mind you, just initial impressions, most of which were pretty mind blowing that no one from any of the associated companies tested themselves to see how crummy of an experience setting it up is. First, you get the game at the store, there’s no way around that, no way to get the game digitally, as there’s a physical toy component to the game. It’s $100 for the base kit, which comes with the game on a disk, three minifigs, one mini-batmobile and one massive portal device that plugs into your console’s (very limited in number) usb ports. With this game, all my usb ports are full, as the Xbone only comes with three of them. TV tuner, lego and rockband adapter are what’s in mine.

First serious let down of the game is when you put the disk in and you’re told that there’s a 4.1 gb upgrade that’s mandatory if you’re going to play online, and since this game requires an internet connection, you have to get that download out of the way before you can play. Microsoft has a notoriously slow download process for their games, and this was shown yet again when it took about 2 hours to download about 60% of the game update, just enough for the quick launch to start and give us access to the first level of the game. So now it’s 10pm and all I’ve done is watch some TV while the console took it’s sweet as time downloading god only knows what. I thought that I’d be able to take some of that time building the lego pieces that came with the game, but someone make the super exciting decision to have the instructions for all the items be in-game only, so you have to wait for that initial download before you can even see the instructions for the minifigs. Don’t get me wrong, I can figure out the minifigs, but it’s the Portal turrents or the batmobile that I didn’t know every detail for, and having all those pieces sitting there mocking me was very frustrating. All in all it took about 4 hours to get the entire game downloaded, but as I mentioned there’s an early launch option when it gets to around 60%.

Playing the gaming has some odd choices in it too. In the end, I enjoyed the first level but there were times that they required you to put your controller down, get off the couch, walk over to your tv and move one of the minifigs to a different square. One time, that wouldnt’ be bad. Twice, would be annoying. After the 10th time doing this, I was ready to just give up on the game, as there’s no reason for interrupting the gameflow with those types of shenanigans. I can only hope they’re going to introduce an option to disable that type of gameplay as it really took me out of the enjoyment of that first level (which I won’t be describing here, as it was a delightful surprise to see where your first mission took you). Another drawback is that when you’re playing couch co-op it makes some interesting choices in how the screen is split: it doesn’t split it at all until you’re far enough away from your partner to warrant it, and even then it only splits off a portion of the screen, not an equal 50/50. It sounds odd but it actually works for the most part, it’s just weird to have your field of view change so quickly.

The reason I was so excited about this game was the addons that they have for it all ready. If you were to buy just the level packs, you’d spend about $100 for the base game, and about $180 in the expansion levels:

I picked up the Portal expansion pack based on how much I loved the first two portal games and the fact there’s a new Portal song included. Sad part was that you can’t use Chell or any of the included turrets until the game is 100% installed, and you can’t build any of the units because all the instructions are in game…so I didn’t get to try it out in the first 5 hours I owned it. I’m an adult and can live with that, but if you bought your kids the Simpsons or Dr Who pack, they’d likely expect to be able to play those games as soon as you got home, afterall, isn’t the entire point of having a console system is that you can stick the disk in and just PLAY? Now it seems like there’s a several hour long process to install and download all sorts of bs for the game that’s on the disk. Ugh. I’m even more convinced now that the whole idea of consoles is pretty much dead and I should have just stayed a PC gamer.

But who am I kidding, I love me some Halo and Rock Band.

The Martian review

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Source: Amazon.com
Director: Ridley Scott

This is the movie based on the book, if you see the amazon links though, they don’t even have a preorder page up for the movie, which is hella weird and the first time I’ve run into this. That weirdness aside, the movie was very well done and absolutely gorgeous, but the story felt rushed and condensed too much for my tastes, which makes me think I might have had a different opinion on both the movie and the book if I consumed them in a different order. There was a fair bit of the story untold, but none of it was really important to the story. I’m going to wait with rapt attention for the blueray to get some of those glorious screenshots, it was that pretty of a movie.

The E

This might not be the E actually, but I bet it’s from Star Trek Online though, right?

Get your orders in before it’s too late!

I’m not affiliated with these guys in any way. I just thought it was amusing. It’s the next lightspeed leap from the Christmas jumper.

bay-57.net/collections/star-wars-xmas-jumpers

The Death Cure (Maze Runner, Book Three) review

It’s the end of the line.
 
WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.
 
Will anyone survive?

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

The truth will be terrifying.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.

The time for lies is over.

Source : Amazon

Author: James Dashner

This is the final book in the Maze Runner trilogy, with some rather definitive ends for the subjects of the story that was started in The Maze Runner and continued in the Scortch Trials. There’s a clear and noticeable in Dashner’s writing abilities from the first book to this third one, either stemming from the writing experience or just giving the entire world-building exercise some serious thought.  That may be an editorial choice though, as it seems he enjoys keeping the audience in the dark as much as the characters.  It was an enjoyable read, and I enjoyed the explanations of the Flare and how it effects it’s infected, though I wasn’t happy with any of the explanations of WICKD and what their intentions were, I just never really believed that they would be the group they purported to be.

the perfect road trip map

goes through my hometown, so yep.  if you ever start this lemme know when you’re passing through Tallahassee and I’ll buy you a beer!

ST:TOS infographic

Infini review

A search and rescue team are transported through deep space to a distant mining colony to save the sole survivor of a biological outbreak. During their mission, they find a lethal weapon which is set to arrive on Earth within the hour.

Source: Amazon.com

Directed by: Shane Abbess

I had no recommendation to watch this and had never heard of it, but while surfing Netflix, it popped up as a 5 star recommendation, which is odd: if a movie would be that good to me, surely I would have heard of it before it made it’s way to Netflix, right?  I’m happy to report though that this one completely went under my radar and it turned out to be an amazing film, though the movie cover art is somewhat misleading, as there are zero moment with starships in them, it’s all about the instantaneous transportation (or not so instantaneous in this case ;).

If you were to take Starship Troopers, mix it with Dredd, then add a healthy dash of Event Horizon, you’d get what this movie is trying to show, and does with an extremely satisfying result. My only quibble would be that the last 10 minutes of the film are absolutely rubbish in terms of what the rest of the film is attempting to make you feel, but I’m ok with the Americanized ending where…. well that would the spoilers, wouldn’t it.

Suffice to say, I enjoyed the film, but the last plot twist is a bit silly to me, but I enjoyed it none the less.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 review

In this unrated edition with bonus content, Lou, Nick, and Jacob fire up the hot tub time machine to get back to the past. But they land in the future now they have to alter the future to save the past… in the sequel to the original hit.

Source: Amazon.com
Directed by: Steve Pink

This was a good movie, but only if you’re a fan of both the original Hot Tub Time Machine and a fan of Rob Corddry or Craig Robinson, which I am. That being said, there are some horrible future predictions in this film (Jessica Williams as a host of the Daily Shot? puke, ugh.) and some hilarious moments of future zen, with surprise guest appearances. it’s a good film to watch immediately after the first one, just know that it’s a different type of film without some of the original’s star power (and without Jessica Pare’s amazing chest at all!).

Winnebago Man review

WINNEBAGO MAN reveals the story of Jack Rebney, an unlikely folk hero whose outrageously funny outbursts were caught on tape during the making of a Winnebago sales video in 1988. The outtakes reel mysteriously circulated on dubbed VHS tapes for years before turning into a full-blown Internet phenomenon on YouTube in 2005. Today, the “Winnebago Man” has been seen by more than 20 million people worldwide and is regarded as one of the first and funniest viral videos. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer sets out on the seemingly impossible task of tracking down Rebney, who has been living a hermit-like existence on a mountain top, and until recently, had no idea that the outtakes even existed. Rebney turns out to be more intelligent, sharp-tongued and charismatic than anyone could have imagined–in short, he’s a star. WINNEBAGO MAN is a smart, funny and unexpectedly poignant tale of one man’s response to unintended celebrity.

Source: Amazon.com

Directed by: Ben Steinbauer

I was amazed at how much of an emotional roller coaster this documentary was.  Much like many of you, I’ve seen the Winnebago Man video from 1989, on the youtubes, and again like many of you, I identified with his anger and situational responses.   They certainly set Jack Rebney up to be something of a hot head, then the script flipped a couple times and at the end of the film, yeah, he’s a damn prick of a man with anger issues, but it turns out that I agree with about 99% of what the guy says.

This was a good film with an excellent ending, though I wonder what’s happened to Jack since the end of the film.  According to Redding.com he lost his home in a huge regional fire back in 2012, so with nearly 3 years since then I hope he’s as cantankerous as ever.

off to school

seems like a good conversation starter!

Wet Hot American Summer review

Get ready for laughs with an all-star cast in the outrageous comedy Wet Hot American Summer. It’s the last day of Camp Firewood’s season, but there’s still time for the big talent show, a little romance… and for everyone to be wiped out by the piece of NASA’s Skylab that’s hurtling toward Earth. David Wain (Role Models) directs Paul Rudd (Knocked Up), Elizabeth Banks (The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Amy Poehler (Baby Mama), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live), Janeane Garofalo (Reality Bites), David Hyde Pierce (Frasier) and Michael Showalter in “the most delectable satire in years.” (Entertainment Weekly)

Source: Amazon
Directed by: David Wain

Not that great of a movie, and completely forgettable if not for the massive pile of talent that had parts. For a few of them (Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, et al), this was their FIRST film, which blows my mind:

1. how did the director win that lottery?
2. Bradley Cooper’s first film had a gay sexy scene in it? wtf.
3. Isn’t that the guy from Brooklyn 99?

Quatermass And The Pit

www.imdb.com/title/tt0062168/reviews?start=0

Professor Bernard Quatermass, embodied here by Scottish actor Andrew Keir is a scientist entirely composed of tweed and anger. And the more angry he becomes, the more Scottish he gets. Fascinatingly, the basic concept is the same as 2001: A Space Odyssey, except in the original short story The Sentinel there are no ancient astronauts messing about with early humanity and the course of civilization, but there are in the original tv series by Nigel Kneale, written before The Sentinel grew arms and legs and became something much, much bigger. A coincidence? I think not. Government conspiracies, the supernatural, alien invasion (and an alien autopsy!); no wonder Chris Carter approached Kneale to write for The X Files. Burned by Hollywood, he turned him down, but we can dream…