I have a dirty little secret: I hate most horror movies. There, I said it. I find myself laughing at pretty much any horror movie that is released; I’m not sure why, maybe I am just genetically incapable of enjoy all that others love about the genre. Of course, there are exceptions, older classics that defined the genre – many of which will get a review during our month of horror movie reviews – but really anything recent is just ridiculous to me; The Ring, laughable. The Exorcism of Emily Rose, puh-lease. The Grudge, no.

But I digress.

A while back I saw a preview for a film called Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, and immediately wanted to see it. A “horror” movie you’re actually supposed to laugh at?! Count me in. Luckily, it hit Netflix Instant pretty quickly and I was not disappointed. Fortunately for you, it is still on Netflix Instant for your viewing pleasure and you should definitely check it out during this month of ghosts and goblins and all that jazz.

Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, written and directed by Eli Graig, follows the story of two hapless rednecks, Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine). Tucker has just purchased a dilapidated cabin out in the woods and the two venture out to begin fixing it up. Unfortunately for them, a group of dimwitted college students have set up camp not too far away, and after an accident during a night of skinny-dipping and Tucker and Dale’s good intentions in trying to help, a series of unfortunate events leads to the death of just about every one of the college students – painting Tucker and Dale as your classic “murderous rednecks in the woods” characters.

The great thing about this film is we get to see things play out from two different points of view: Tucker and Dale’s, and the college students who have seen one too many horror movies. Tucker wants nothing more than to fix up his cabin in which he has dumped his life savings in, and Dale is his friend who has a heart the size of Venus (not sure why I picked that planet…). I really love the angle that the two villains are nothing more than well-meaning guys trying to fix up a cabin, and the college students overreact to the situation and convince themselves that things are playing out like a horror movie. From Dale trying to let the kids know that their injured friend is with them and is okay with a note carved into wood that reads “WE GOT YOUR FRIEND”, to a death involving one of the kids inadvertently throwing himself headlong into a wood-chipper and the others witnessing Tucker trying to pull him out, this film is full of gory laughs that doesn’t so much make fun of the horror genre as offer up a different, goofy perspective.

The comedic timing is really good, and the characters of Tucker and Dale are well done. Craig could have gone a different path with this film and make the two beloved hillbillies completely unaware of how things are playing out around them, but instead Tucker and Dale quickly become aware of how events appear to have happened and do everything they can to right the situation – at least in their well-meaning ways – and I think this adds far more comedic value to these characters. The college kids are one-dimensional characters that serve a single purpose: to die. No need to flesh these characters out, but they do nail the horror movie stereotypes (i.e. the black kid is concerned about dying quickly because he’s black and “that’s what happens” in horror films) for a lot of good laughs.

I really can’t recommend this movie enough, and with this being the month of October, what better time to watch it? Horror movie fans will appreciate what writer/director Eli Craig has done with this comedic homage to the genre, and folks looking for a good comedy will find themselves laughing throughout the tight 89-minute run-time. Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil is available now on Netflix Instant, so add it to your queue and give it a watch before the end of the month!

Check out our other horror movie revues we’ve done this month thus far:

•  A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
• Cape Fear (1991)
• Psycho
• The Shining

Spinner opens a can of worms when he opens an ancient box in Lost Tribe of the Sith – Spiral #3. Will he and Takara Hilts be able to put the dark Jedi back into the bag?

The rebellious Spinner might be getting himself in too deep when his plot to steal the Doomed’s secret weapon goes awry: it’s not a weapon in the box, exactly… but the dark Jedi, Lord Dreypa. In issue #3 of Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith – Spiral (Profile on DarkHorse.com), Lord Dreypa, awakened from stasis after thousands of years, reaches Kesh, with Spinner at his side, educating him on the current state of the Sith. The two land at Spinner’s hometown of Eorm, where Parlan Spinner’s kinsmen are slaves, punished for generations for the crimes of their forefather. While Dreypa’s memories are still hazy, he overthrows the local leader, Lord Galathos, and liberates the Spinners from the slums. As prisoners, Takara Hilts and Kaliska witness the destruction and recognize that Dreypa is a threat that both the Grand Lord and the Doomed need to contain. They escape on uvaks back to the Southern lands, while Dreypa and his army of former slaves seeking vengeance head onward to the capital. Will Iliana Hilts’ uvak squadrons be enough to protect the stability of the Sith on Kesh? or will the Doomed have to save the day? Spinner is getting his revenge — but is he still a slave? And why does Dreypa retreat to a dead end volcano? Trouble’s going to erupt in the last pages!

Using some back history to move the story slightly forward in time, the story jumps forward from where we left off at the end of the previous issue. We get caught up on the lost time, while Dreypa has Spinner give him some exposition. Though still recovering from being in the box, Dreypa is tremendously powerful, and sets his own goals, and manages to convince people to follow him, not as their leader, but by offering them a chance at revenge. While I like the introduction of this new villain, he just looks a little goofy – more like a comic supervillain than a Star Wars character – but he is a man out of time, so perhaps the suit and cape are just several millennia out of fashion.

Overall, the issue moves us from the tale of Spinner and Takara using different ways to achieve the same goal: following their own ambition to make something of themselves, to a larger battle for civilization. Takara’s mother is seen leading the Sith forces against the upstarts, while the Doomed mount up for war, knowing that Dreypa might be unstoppable once he regains his full power. In the end, Spinner is not sure about his boss’ sanity, but the there’s a method to the madness. With the change in scope, I felt that we didn’t really get enough of the two original starting characters, Takara and Spinner, as the camera is shared with Dreypa and Iliana. The winged spokeswoman of the Doomed, Kaliska has a pretty small role in this book as well. Hopefully the next issue with bring more focus back on Takara and Spinner as they deal with the dark Jedi and his allies. With John Jackson Miller increasing the scope on the story, some of the more personal bits for the characters and some of the humor seem to dip a bit. Maybe I just wanted more of Takara and Spinner butting heads, and it’s harder to do that when they go their separate ways.

Andrea Mutti’s art is fairly good throughout, though I feel that it is stronger in the front half of the issue, with more closeups of characters (or maybe a few less mid-range panels with not enough detail). There’s a great page of Dreypa confidently making landfall, but some of the shots of uvak flocks lacked detail. Some good action with some of the battles, but not quite a full taste of the combat in the final battles – it felt that the taking of Eorm is given more time and detail. I do like the style of the Sith on Kesh – the military men are a cross of feudal Japan and medieval Europe – although one soldier reminded me of Dallan Morvis from Knights of the Old Republic: War.

Dreypa’s raising the stakes by introducing something nasty – will Kesh survive? We’ll find out in issue #4!

This was originally written for The Huffington Post. (Link to be added when it goes live)

Reading Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s brand new issue of Batman, you’d think they’ve been doing this for the whole of their lives. They’ve created a look and feel for Batman that seems iconic and old, but all at once their own. From the opening pages of Batman #13, you get the feeling that something isn’t right, it has that unsettling gravitas that only one force in Gotham can conjure: The Joker.

Absent as a central villain in DC’s New 52, Batman #13 propels Joker into the spotlight once again. And it’s lethal, scary, and unsettling.

And it’s supposed to be.

This Joker is one so uniquely Scott that it’s not fair to compare it to others. It has the whimsy of Mark Hamill’s Joker (though Scott tells me it’s his secret fanboy dream to shake Mark Hamill’s hand, not just because of the fact that he’s Luke Skywalker, but because he created one of the best Jokers in Batman’s history.) Scott’s Joker has the calculated chaos of Heath Ledger’s Joker, and even some of the cool confidence of Jack Nicholson’s.

This Joker is incredibly fun to read, but nerve-wracking at the same time. What horror is going to befall my beloved heroes?

In an interview last week, Scott explained to me about how be became interested in the family Batman has accumulated and how, “as a sort of father, he’s vulnerable and frightened for their safety. And I thought to myself who would be the most frightening in that situation. That’s Joker. Joker is about that thing that looks at you and knows what you’re afraid of and knows how to exploit it.”

The last time I interviewed Scott about Joker, he told me something about his take on the Joker that I think still resonates: “I think Joker works best as a demon on Bruce’s shoulder. He’s bringing horrifying things to life for Bruce…”

And reading this issue, it’s true. Knowing that Snyder and his team seem to have carte blanche in the Bat universe, I’m starting to become very afraid for some of my favorite ancillary characters in the Bat-universe. I’m most terrified for Tim Drake, former Robin, current Red Robin, who isn’t headlining his own book. Reading this first issue, it feels clear that no one is safe, and Joker has a habit of taking out Robins. In fact, the title Death of the Family hearkens back to my favorite Batman story, Batman: Death in the Family, which is about the time Joker beat Jason Todd, the second Robin, to death with a crow bar and blew him up.

Bad things are going to happen and I’m not sure I can handle it. Even just thinking about it as I write this piece I’m getting uneasy.

But that’s really a testament to the team working on the book. Scott brings a tremendous literary quality to the writing, showing us what Batman is made of by doing the most horrible of things to him. Greg Capullo is giving us some of the best pencils in his career, and FCO Plascencia is doing the most atmospheric colors of his life. Speaking of the rest of his crew, Scott told me that he’s “honored to be working with this art team. Batman has never been as richly imagined.”

I agree with him.

This is a book you need to read. Whether you’re a fan of comics or not. If you’re a fan of good storytelling and can buy into the conceit that a man dressed as a bat can make a difference in the world, then there’s no better book for you than this one.

Batman #13 hits comic book stores on Wednesday.

Bryan Young is an author and the editor in chief of the geek news and review site Big Shiny Robot!

And then, Androidika, a fellow Big Shiny Robot!, offers his impressions of the issue:

The following review does touch upon a couple of story points which could be considered minor spoilers, but I don’t reveal anything major. You have been warned.

It isn’t often that you finish reading a comic and you immediately say to yourself “This is something special.” Well that was the case as soon as I finished reading Batman #13. Scott Snyder started writing in the bat-verse in Detective Comics (Pre New-52) with the much acclaimed story, The Black Mirror. He moved on to work with Greg Capullo on the highly praised Court of Owls story in Batman. Now we come to Batman #13, the first part in the “Death of the Family” story arc that sees the return of the Joker. The Joker’s return is something that has been anticipated since he cut off his face and disappeared.

This first issue sets the tone for the rest of the story. The Joker has some master plan for Batman and his family of characters. The Joker thinks that the bat-family is slowing down Batman. So he’s going to remove them from the equation. I can’t help but think of Zoom from the Flash comics and how he did horrible things to Wally West to “Make him a better hero.” We don’t know how the Joker will enact his plan yet, but what he does have planned is so horrible that it even frightens Harley Quinn, who is having mixed feelings because the Joker isn’t acting like her “Mr J” anymore. I would go so far as to say as readers this isn’t our “Mr J” anymore either. This is the most frightening version of the Joker I have read. He is more calculating and unpredictable than he’s ever been, and that is a scary thing! “Death of the Family” not only pays homage to, but seems like Snyder and Capullos love letter to “A Death in the Family” and “The Killing Joke.” This whole issue was suspenseful and thrilling all the way through, and has a last page cliffhanger that is just jaw dropping!

Now it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t bring up how beautiful the art is on this book! Until this point Greg Capullo had been doing the work of his life on this book, and this issue takes it to a whole new level! The dark tone of the city is just breathtaking and the way the Joker is drawn is flat out scary. From the pencils to the inks to the colors and even the lettering, this art team has hit their groove and is working like a well-oiled machine to put out some fantastic pages!

Most creative teams that are on a book for a fair amount of time have that one story that defines or solidifies their run as something people will remember forever. This very well could be that story for Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.

This issue hits stores this Wednesday, October 10th and will feature a special die cut cover. I would highly recommend adding it to your pull list or getting to your comic shop when it opens because this issue will definitely sell out! And for those of you looking for more “Death of the Family” story Batgirl #13 is also out this week, will also feature a die cut cover, and is labeled as a “prelude” to this story.

A good gaming headset can go a long way in adding to the enjoyment of any game you’re playing, not to mention prevent forcing others around you to listen to you playing the game (aside from you yelling obscenities into the microphone). I upgraded from the standard microphone “headset” that comes with the Xbox 360 to a pair of Turtle Beach x11’s and quite enjoyed them all the way up until they just flat out broke about 2 months ago. I treat my gadgets with a lot of care, so I was quite shocked after a night of gaming when I took my headset off and one of the ear cups just plain snapped. Not wanting to go drop more cash on another headset right away, I patched them up with duck tape and continued to use them. This worked okay, but of course now they didn’t fit right and frankly I was shocked that they had just broken like they did.

Luckily, Skullcandy just released their first product from their line of gaming headsets, the “SLYR”. Now, an audiophile I am not, but I own a pair of Skullcandy Aviators that I use to listen to music, podcast etc., and the sound quality sounds great to me – so I wasn’t the least bit hesitant to jump on another product from them. Being that the only other gaming headset I have owned were the Turtle Beach x11’s, there will be some comparisons and I’ll break down why these SLYR’s are a fine product.

First off, I want to note that the SLYR’s are wired headsets, which I don’t mind. I game a lot, but not enough to drop a few hundred dollars on a decent pair of wireless headsets. The cables don’t bother me at all. That said, the Skullcandy SLYR’s plug directly into the audio out channels of your television set, into the USB port of the Xbox 360 for power, run through their GMX In-Mixer to your controller and headset. Yes, it sounds like a lot of cable, but for anyone out there who has owned a non-wireless headset before this should all be pretty standard. The SLYR’s have plenty of cable length so you don’t feel so tethered and they are arranged in such away that your cables aren’t getting tangled up all the time.

The GMX In-Mixer is easy to use, and lit up by a blue light. Toggle up and down for master volume, left and right to adjust game audio and voice balance, press to mute which will turn the light from blue to red to indicate you are muted and it’s safe to talk to your significant other in your “cutesy voice” without being ridiculed by your teammates. Located on the side of the mixer are three presets for music, movies and games. My only gripe about the mixer is the position of it. It’s a bit far “down” on the cable and I found myself more than once having to reach down to grab it for a quick mute or volume adjustment. It’s a small gripe remedied by just pulling a little slack on the cable so it will rest next to me.

The stereo sound quality is great. With great sound and a rich bass the quality is much better than my old x11’s. My game of choice for my first run with the SLYR’s was Battlefield 3 and the game just sounded fantastic – explosions were jarring, directional sound allowed for me to pinpoint where gunfire was coming from and the entire hectic feel of the battlefield translated perfectly through the audio. Chatting with my teammate for the evening, Kill-Tacular-Tron, sounded much better as well, and after a few small adjustments on the mixer I had the game audio and voice mix exactly where I like it. The audio over all is superior quality, the only downside is that with my previous headset my own voice could be heard through the headset at a lower level to prevent talking too loud into the mic. With the SLYR’s, I couldn’t hear myself and found I had to watch the volume of my voice, but this is something I grew accustomed to quickly. As far as my microphone goes, Kill-Tacular-Tron noted that I sounded much clearer to him when talking and it lacked the slightly muffled effect experienced with the x11’s.

As far as design goes, the SLYR’s were far and away more comfortable than the x11’s. The ear cups fit of my ears that felt both snug and comfortable. With my previous headset I found myself having to adjust them a few times during extended game play, but with the SLYR’s I didn’t need to adjust them a single time once they were on my head. The boom mic position is great; it sits far enough from your face not to be a distraction, but close enough to pick up your voice very well. An added bonus is that you can fold the mic up into the headset (“EZ Stash”), so if you are watching a movie or decide to unhook the line from your Xbox to take these out for use with you MP3 player of choice you don’t have a microphone hovering by your cheek. It sounds silly, but I really found this to be a great feature as I took them for a movie-watching test drive later that evening. The design is very sturdy with limited moving parts and hinges, so I feel less likely to break these or wearing out any unnecessary joints from consistent use.

I am extremely pleased with the Skullcandy SLYR’s, and for those of you looking for a quality gaming headset in the less-than-a-hundred-dollar price range I don’t hesitate in recommending these. Even after trying out a pair of Turtle Beach x12’s (the usurper to the x11’s) prior to purchasing the Skullcandy SLYR’s, I can say the SLYR’s are the superior gaming headset in this price range. With superior sound, comfort and design I would say the SLYR’s don’t just rival other gaming headsets out there, but set the standard. If you’re in the market for a new gaming headset and are looking to spend less than $100, you should definitely pick up a pair of SLYR’s.

Summary: The Skullcandy SLYR’s offer fantastic stereo sound with rich bass along with superior comfort. The GMX In-Mixer is easy to use and allows for easy game audio and voice balance adjustments and the addition of the EZ Stash mic allows for this headset to be used for more than just gaming, offering more bang for your buck making it extremely easy to recommend this product for anyone in the market for a new gaming headset.

PROS:

• Fantastic stereo sound
• Superior comfort, especially over extended game play sessions
• EZ Stash mic that allows for other uses without having a mic visible
• GMX In-Mixer is user friendly
• Sturdy design

CONS:

• The mic does not allow you to hear your own voice at a lower level through the headset, a feature found on a few other products in this price range
• The GMX In-Mixer position could stand to be moved up that cable a bit for easier access

You can pick up a pair of the SLYR’s over at skullcandy.com, as well as check out the other two gaming headsets that are coming soon, the PLYR1 and PLYR2!

Tomorrow night, the CW will be airing a pilot for a brand new show based on The Green Arrow mythos. For the show’s title, they’ve dropped the “Green” so it’s just called “Arrow” which is kind of lame, but they must have had some reason or another for it.

Though it has some major departures in the existing DC Comics Green Arrow story, it sticks pretty closely to it where it should. Oliver Queen (played by Stephen Amell) is still a fabulously wealthy fellow, stranded on a desert island where he learns to become the Green Arrow and comes back to fight against injustice and corporate malevolence and greed.

When I saw the pilot, I’ll be honest: I wasn’t expecting anything. I assumed it would be a cheesy retread of how they did Smallville or a defecation on the characters (like Birds of Prey). Though Smallville was never my thing, it had a devoted audience who loved how they handled the comics material, so I assumed the CW would stick to their winning formula. For the sake of myself and comic fans everywhere, I’m glad they didn’t.

Arrow is relatively straightforward and puts Ollie in the costume right in the first episode. His origin is only barely hinted at in between very strong and well filmed action sequences. It also had some really surprising moments, particularly of scenes between Ollie and his father.

I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Perhaps it was because I was expecting so little that I really enjoyed what I saw.

Does it have problems? Yes. It does have some cheesy CW acting moments. Amell’s Ollie is played seriously and almost bored at this point. It has some incredibly hard to swallow leaps in logic as far as the story goes… like a bank-account hacking arrow no one seems to notice… But I digress.

The point is that I really enjoyed it despite its flaws and feel like it’ll grow as the show gets its sea legs. It has potential. If the writers and producers of the show keep at it and work on the quality and work on the kinks from their pilot, they’ve got a really good show on their hands that’ll be pleasing to both a regular CW audience and a comics fan like me.

And speaking of comics fans, there’s plenty of classic Green Arrow references to put a smile on your face, namely Speedy’s drug use. If they tackle that at some point and build toward it (as opposed to it just being a throwaway wink and nod), then I’ll be watching this show every week.

Seriously. I’m just as surprised as anyone.

Now I just need to figure out how to get CW shows after they air since I don’t have a DVR.

Arrow’s premiere is tomorrow, Wednesday, October 10, from 8-9pm. (Check your local listings though).

A War on Two Fronts might well be the start of something new for The Clone Wars. The episode starts with a compelling debate about the difference between terrorists and rebels. These are shades of gray in the argument and such nuance to an issue so hotly debated isn’t something you’d expect to see in a kids show. It’s to the credit of George Lucas, Filoni, and team that they’d bring elements like this into the show.

Onderon is a planet taken over by the Separatists, making it a target for the Republic, but there is a sizable guerilla force on the planet who isn’t happy that their leaders have rolled over and joined the enemy. They’re led by a fellow named Saw Gerrera, which sounds startlingly similar to another guerilla freedom fighter, Che Guevara… Anakin goes to the Jedi council and convinces them to support the rebels, which is so logical for his character. We’ve seen Anakin, through the prequels and this series, use the most stunning leaps in logic to support bending and breaking the rules, ultimately to his destruction. Justifying the use of terrorist tactics in areas populated by civilians seems to be the direction this episode is heading and we’ll see how that goes for the Jedi who are reluctantly going along with Anakin’s plan.

Anakin brings Obi-wan, Rex, Ahsoka to Onderon with him, giving them each a chance to put their mark on the training of the rebels. Rex sports a new, non-Republic uniform that I’d love to see some members of the 501st legion rocking.

It’s important to note that the Jedi are now wearing hooded robes in the course of the episode, something that hasn’t been done before except for quick moments. The animators are proving once again how far they’ve come since the start of the show.

One thing that’s been lost a little bit in the last couple of seasons but seems to be coming back are small touches I loved. First, the humour of the droids. I might have been the only one who thought the droids on this show, voiced by Matthew Wood, were a vital tension breaker, giving us much needed laughs, but they were back to being goofy in this episode. I appreciated it. Another thing I liked that others didn’t seem to (but hopefully they’re into it now) is Anakin calling Ahsoka “Snips.”

After the initial moral question of terrorism, the driving conflict of the episode seems to be Ahsoka’s “love triangle” with Lux Bonteri and one of the other rebels during their training. It’s subtle. Which is where this episode didn’t hit home for me as well as I would have liked. There were very few surprises in the episode. They train the rebels in all the tactics they’ll need to fight the droids when they attack later in the episode.

And it’s important to note how cool the probe droids are. We can add that to the list of classic trilogy characters that appear on the show, right?

This episode really feels like act one of a set up. Until I see the rest and what this builds to, I’m nto sure I can capably say much else about how I felt about it. As a stand-alone, it was gorgeous, but a little dry.

I discovered Red Dwarf back in my high school days and have been a loyal ‘Dwarfer’ ever since. I started watching Red Dwarf during the middle of the 4th series and, ever since, have waited in anticipation for every new series. The antics of Lister, Rimmer, Cat, and Kryten were some of the greatest I had seen. More series came, but the time between each grew longer. When series 8 finished, fans thought it was done with; all we had were the hopes of a long rumored movie. Years later we were treated to the 3 part mini-series Back to Earth. That series brought the Red Dwarf crew back to our universe’s Earth where Red Dwarf is an actual television show and the crew are actual characters from that show. Fan reaction was mixed; however, I enjoyed it, but wished there was something more to give the series an ending it deserved. Now, 3 years later, the Red Dwarf crew is back for a 10th series, which is quite a feat for a show that began 24 years ago.
 
The premiere episode for Red Dwarf X is called Trojan, which is the name of a derelict ship the crew comes across. The episode begins like any classic episode of Red Dwarf; Cat and Lister are sitting around watching infomercials wondering how people can buy the junk they try to sell. By the time the commercial is over they are both running for the phone trying to order a Stir Master. This leads to a great running joke throughout the episode that had me laughing quite a bit.

I will try not to give away too many spoilers, but the biggest revelation in the episode is the discovery of Arnold Rimmer’s brother, Howard. His ship is in distress and needs help, but Rimmer decides he can’t face his brother as a mere vending machine repair man. No, he needs to pass his exams to become a Captain before he can help his brother. The only problem is he has 17 hours before it’s too late for a rescue.
 
The 10th series is the first time in a long while that the show has been filmed in front of a live studio audience instead of the fake laugh track used in the last few series. It made the premiere episode feel all that more like a classic episode. I can’t wait to see the remaining 5 episodes of the series.
 
Unfortunately, as of yet, there is no release date set for the U.S., but you can go to Dave TV’s official website and watch it for free. I would highly advise you to go and enjoy the show. 
 

Some might argue Cape Fear is not really a horror movie but to that I would contend that a religious zealot hell bent on destroying your life and everyone you associate with is just as scary if not more so then monsters and ghosts. Zealots are scary as it is but then give them a reason to kill you and have it be within their self designed rights and you have someone who will not stop until “justice” has been served.

I had never watched Cape Fear before today but one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons was the Cape Feare episode in the fifth season which heavily parodies this movie. There were many iconic moments which I knew immediately because of The Simpsons. They even used the same music. I hadn’t realized how strongly they had parodied it until watching it now and I found myself anticipating each moment from the episode.

(Spoilers to follow)

So in that way I was spoiled to some of the more iconic moments but that didn’t make the movie any less creepy or shocking. Some of the more disturbing moments were not put into The Simpsons episode for obvious reasons, so moments such as Cady being lighted in Kerosene were exciting and terrifying and Cady being dressed as the maid, I did not see that coming at all.

(Spoilers ended)

I’m not much of a horror guy, I was exposed to one scene in “It” when I was young and it soured me to the entire joy of being scared. So thrillers such as this are in more of my alley then most other Horror. So for those who might want something thrilling but not something typically horror this is a good one to go back and watch. Plus it is directed by Martin Scorsese.

Fall marks the arrival of many things I love. Pumpkin Spice lattes, long sleeve plaid shirts, and the beginning of the NHL season. Well guess what jerks! You probably ain’t getting any hockey. So you I you want to be involved in the world’s fastest sport while drinking pumpkin spice lattes and wearing a sweet long sleeved plaid shirt you should march down to your local electronic game distribution house and pick up NHL 13. If no one else is going to win Lord Stanley’s Cup it might as well be you.

I have played ever incarnation of the EA NHL franchise since 1994. The systems on which I played them have all come and gone but the excitement for the new release has never left. I’ve had my hands on NHL 13 for about a week now and I have to admit that EA has set the bar insanely high with this release. I have made a quick write up concerning the bad, the good, and the indifferent of Electronic Art’s latest puck fueled offering.

The Bad

Heaven forbid EA release a title without one thing going wrong. Last year it was the near game breaking bug that caused NHL 12 to freeze at the beginning of every third period of an online versus match. This is an issue that to my knowledge, they NEVER addressed. Gamers were forced to do a manual install and deletion of certain files just to get the game to run properly.

This year, the major boner occurred with the Game Stop pre-order codes. These codes allowed you access to one Gold Pack of player’s cards every week, for 13 weeks. This is a huge deal. The Hockey Ultimate Team feature is very popular amongst online players and to not have your bases covered for such a huge incentive is just lame. It’s been out for nearly 8 days my STILL doesn’t work (white people problem). EA addressed the issue on their forums on launch day. No information other than “Yeah we know” has come to light.

A small glitch that’s affecting a few players is what’s being called the “Attack Glitch”. When a player is behind the net at the same time a player is within the crease, a small striped box appears in the attack zone. It’s nothing that stops the flow of play it’s just damn distracting. I’m going to wait until Friday to see if an update gets put out that fixes this. If not, I will return my copy for a new one and see if that solves the problem.

The Good

Last year’s game was all about puck control. Using your analog stick to direct all things stick handling, pushed the game to a whole new level. This year is all about speed. By pushing down on the left analog stick, you now control the speed of your skater. NOT ALL PLAYERS ARE CREATED EQUAL! If the opposing team’s attacker is a speed freak then he is going to blow past the slower defense. However, this also makes him susceptible to poke checks and being knocked off balance. You definitely sacrifice control for speed. If you give the analog stick a quick push your player will make a quick sprint and pick up the pace of his sprint for the first few strides. If you hold the stick down longer, the player hit’s a mad dash into the attack. There’s no more stopping on a dime and instead the player can make a quick turn back towards the play. Depending on your speed, prior to your change in direction, determines how sharp of a turn you can make. If you’re hauling ass and you try to pop a 90 degree cut, your player will mostly likely spin out and fall over like someone doing a dizzy bat relay. This goes for players with and without the puck. It’s a big step for the game to make and it does it very smooth and effectively.

Aside from the ability to sprint EA has raised the bar with how goalies react within the game. The franchise has always wanted their goalie animations to look fluid and realistic. Unfortunately the emphasis on appearance caused the goalies to be super predictable. It used to be very easy to skate the puck down one side, allow the goalie to make the move toward you, and then quickly fire it back across for a one-timer. NHL 13 offers goalies that are soo self aware that I now thoroughly believe SKYNET will be the death of us all. Goalies no longer appear to be on a track and instead seem to be making their own decisions based on where the puck is, how many attackers are in their line of site, and how is the puck being played in the attack zone. You can get a goalie out of position, but it’s going to take some time and creativity to really sneak one by them.

The puck is more alive now than it ever has been. Handling a piece of 1×3 rubber on a frozen plane of water isn’t easy in real life and it’s not easy here. The puck will take crazy bounces, hit dead spots in the boards, and get misdirected just like it would if you were really out there trying to beat Iceland in the Goodwill Junior Games. That’s a D2: The Mighty Ducks Are Back reference. Quack….Quack….Quack. Gordon Bombay. Charlie Conway.

My favorite addition to NHL 13 is the ability to play the puck off of the goalie’s pads. Previous games had the goalies giving up few rebounds. Most likely a shot would get caught with the glove, or directed off to the side of the net and away from the play. In NHL 13 you have the ability to take a hard, low shot directly at the goalies pads and because of the adjustments to how the puck moves, you can position yourself and your teammates to drive the rebound home. This works great in a 2 on 1 situation where you can’t make a pass. Direct a slap shot to the low, far side pad and hope your other attacker is there to get it. It doesn’t sound like a huge deal to people unfamiliar with hockey. To those in the know, this is a real strategy that teams utilize all the time and one that I always hoped EA would incorporate.

The Indifferent

The hits are more realistic. Unless your player is tearing ass across the rink and lands a blindside check, you’re not going to get the rag doll slams that you would have last year. Hitting is a big part of the game sure, but it’s more about gaining position than destroying a dude against the glass. NHL 13 does a good job of making sure not every check looks like a career ender. It doesn’t add or take away from the game play it’s just a neat adjustment.

I don’t know if it’s something I just never noticed or if it’s something the developers fixed but all the arenas look more true to life. I’ve spent many a nights in the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and when the game displays the arenas in in-game cut scenes you can definitely see the attention they paid to making the game as realistic as possible.

Like I mentioned before, these yearly installments are the only reason I own a console. Other games are merely time killers or things I play between long stints of me yelling at my TV because I out shot some 12 year old 35 – 10 and they still beat me 1-0. My neighbors have twice banged on the floor because they don’t seem to understand that I play for keeps. They have ZERO room to talk. Every time some first person shooter comes out my apartment building sounds like a Gaddafi sponsored BBQ. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go lace up.

Gamertag – Patrick 3009 . PLEASE add me and play me. All my friends play Madden or Call of Doodie.

You might think I’ve been watching nothing but Disney cartoons lately and, on some level, you might be right. But a lot have come out recently and they’re ALWAYS worth a rewatch.

I wasn’t looking forward to rewatching Cinderella as much as the others. It’s really never been my favorite of the Disney Princess movies…which I suppose is weird for a 32 year old man to say. Why should I have a favorite princess film?

I’m not sure I do, but Cinderella wouldn’t be it if I did.

Watching it again, though, I’m betrayed by my childhood feelings. This is a beautifully animated classic with an incredible aesthetic and design. It’s got all of the animation techniques hinted at in Snow White and delivered perfectly.

For my taste, though, it would have had more dragons and stuff, which is why I love Sleeping Beauty so much…. which, now that I think about it, is probably my favorite of the Princess movies.

Despite my personal lukewarm feelings about this movie, it holds up remarkably well. The Blu-ray transfer is very clean and the music is iconic. And the mice, Jaq and Gus, have some good Chip and Dale like bits. Cinderella has all the hallmarks of a current YA novel, though. You’ve got a girl in a horrible situation, living with a surrogate parent, mistreated to all hell but with a heart of gold. Then, when she overcomes, there’s reason to cheer. And I love the themes of rebellion against oppressive and revolution.

Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to get this disc is the inclusion of the Tangled short that premiered earlier in the year featuring the horse and chameleon from that film. Tangled was great and the short was just as good.

Though I enjoyed the documentary about “The Real Fairy Godmother,” I would have loved to see an making-of documentary, though. Perhaps next time.

There’s also an intro to Cinderella by Diane Disney Miller filmed at the Walt Disney Family museum. It puts the film in context, but it also reminds me to recommend you go to the Walt Disney Family museum. It’s at the Presidio and has one of the most impressive museum installations I’ve ever borne witness to. It was a bit pricey, but worth every penny.

Cinderella is out today and, like all the Disney Blu-rays, is worth picking up. You can snag it from Amazon. If you’re a fan of animation, a fan of Disney, a fan of classics, or a fan of Tangled, there’s compelling reasons to grab it ASAP.