Everyone loves movies – they’re entertaining, they’re a good way to waste an afternoon and it sure beats the hell out of reading (hey, where are you going…?) But some movies are more than just a relaxing way to waste time. They become such a part of the public ]]>

Everyone loves movies – they’re entertaining, they’re a good way to waste an afternoon and it sure beats the hell out of reading (hey, where are you going…?) But some movies are more than just a relaxing way to waste time. They become such a part of the public consciousness that to not see them is to miss out on something. They become cultural touchstones. There are just some movies that every dude should see at least once in their lifetimes. Otherwise, they miss out on jokes, references and all those little things that serve as signifiers that a fellow dude is alright. Now, this list could probably be 50 movies long, but we’ve done our best to narrow it down to these eleven movies that every guy should see at least once in his life. Enjoy.

11 ‘Apocalypse Now’
Flight of the Valkyries, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning”, “The horror…”


There are so many things about this movie that every dude should know, and so many famous quotes and scenes, that it’s possible for two guys to have a whole conversation consisting of nothing but Apocalypse Now references. But beyond that, this movie is all about the dark side of war, about that insane plunge into the hidden madness of man’s soul, about the blurring of that razor thin line that separates reason from madness, that line that war obliterates. It’s ugly, raw, and it’s insane. And to top it all off, you have Marlon Brando at his charismatic, bizarre best, his own performance perfectly mirroring the theme and feel of the movie as a whole. It’s hypnotic and when it’s over, you feel like you just survived your own war. Plus, Martin Sheen is a badass (the dude had a heart attack during filming but still finished the damn movie) and in the newer, longer cut of the movie, he gets f**ked up on opium and bones a French chick in the middle of a swampy jungle. Can’t beat that.

10 ‘Back to the Future’
I reference this movie all the time. I’m always making jokes about stealing Doc Brown’s DeLorean or making sure your parents make out at the Under the Sea Dance. You need to watch this just so you know what in the hell I’m talking about half the time. And really, that’s kind of the point – this movie has become so ingrained in the public consciousness that people don’t think twice about referencing it. It’s assumed that everyone knows what those references mean and if you don’t, well… I’d suggest stealing Doc Brown’s DeLorean, going back in time and watching this movie so that all those little references that you’ve missed for the last 25 years will make sense to you.

9 ‘Die Hard’
Come on, do I really need to explain this one? Wait, that’s my job? Okay then. This movie is about a seemingly ordinary blue-collar dude (well, he’s a cop but it’s not like he’s the pride of the force, you know?) who kicks the shit out of an entire band of heavily trained professional German terrorists. What’s not to like? Bruce Willis’ hero is both awesome and all too human, which is a tough trick to pull off. And Alan Rickman plays one of the best bad-guys in movie history. He’s a sleazy asshole but he’s also charismatic and smart as hell. You both love him and hate his guts, another tough trick to pull off. Add it all together and you get a movie that every guy absolutely needs to see.

8 ‘Field of Dreams’
Yeah, yeah, it’s sappy as hell and it’s fashionable these days to snigger and smirk at anyone who says they like this movie but to hell with all that. This is a movie about fathers and sons. Oh, and baseball. Can’t forget baseball. Sure, it’s overly manipulative and the cheese factor gets high at times but there is something undeniably honest about the movie too, something American that belongs to a different time, to a different era. Maybe that’s why it’s so easily mocked today, but all I know is that when I was eleven or twelve years old, watching this at home with my mom because my dad and I didn’t see each other too much after they divorced, the room got a bit dusty and some strange water began welling up in my eyes because Kevin Costner just wanted to play catch with his dad. Maybe that’s a too personal story for many of you, but that’s just the thing – it’s an all too common story, that alienation between father and son. It’s what the film banks on, and it’s what makes it work. Sure, it’s corny, but so what? So is real life sometimes.

7 ‘The Wild Bunch’
This movie isn’t about fathers and sons or about easily quotable scenes or any of that other nonsense. Instead, this movie is just full of a bunch of hard, badass dudes who just want to steal shit and kill people they don’t like. That’s it. The movie is just cool as hell, about dudes who are too badass for a suddenly all too civil world. It’s also violent as hell – I’m pretty sure more people get shot in this movie than in all of the actual Wild West. This is about the last ride of the American outlaw, the violent death of the wild, wild West, all so a new world could be born, one in which you could sit at your cubicle and play Solitaire on your computer all day. This is about the last gasp of unrestrained, completely amoral freedom, about the gunslinger going out in a blaze of glory and nothing is more ingrained – or revered – in the American man’s self-image than that.

6 ‘Animal House’
Not only is this movie John Belushi at his unhinged finest, it’s the archetype for just about every popular R-rated comedy that’s followed in the last 35 years. It’s the ultimate celebration of the party animal and of banding together to stick it to a bunch of uptight jackoffs. This movie will make you want to go out and get smashed with your friends, maybe steal a car or two, bang a few chicks under false pretenses and revel in the freedom of just being young and without a care in the world. I mean, there’s a reason I use a picture from Animal House in just about every article I write about drunken debauchery. Plus, you get to see Donald Sutherland’s naked ass. Wait…

5 ‘Casablanca’
Is this movie a war movie? A chick flick masquerading as a war movie? An espionage movie? It doesn’t matter, because at its heart, Casablanca is just an awesome movie about a dude burned by love just trying to make his way in the world while still being a stand-up guy. Well, as much as a stand-up guy as you can be dealing with Nazis every day. But that’s why it’s so cool. Bogart is just a dude trying to run a kick-ass nightclub in the middle of hell. There are scheming Nazis everywhere, friends he can’t trust, and a hot chick who stole what was left of his withered heart who has come bombing back into his life at the worst time. The dude can’t win and he knows it, but he’s still the coolest son of a bitch in town. The movie is pitch-perfect – maybe the best movie ever made – and if you’re a guy, well, Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine is the archetype for every single one of those characters you idolized growing up. He was Han Solo before Han Solo was even a shadow of a thought in George Lucas’ Jar-Jar Binks addled mind. He was the original Harrison Ford and tell me, what could be more badass than that?

4 ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’
Perhaps not quite as iconic as the other movies on this list – I mean, you’re not going to hear too many pop culture references to this movie – The Bridge on the River Kwai is nevertheless a movie every guy should see, and that’s because it’s the ultimate movie about brotherhood, about sticking together when the shit has just gotten way too deep. That’s not to say that the movie isn’t iconic. It is. The men whistling while on their way into the camp – a symbol of defiance and pure ballsy fortitude – remains potent to this day. If you’ve seen the movie – hell, maybe even if you haven’t – I can just about guarantee that you have that whistling theme running through your head right now.

3 ‘Rocky’
Speaking of themes running through your head…


Rocky is the ultimate story of the underdog. It’s a movie that will push through all your jaded bullshit and have you rooting for a dumb Italian guy who sounds like he’s drunk every time he talks. And that’s because it hits every note perfectly. It appeals to that one in a million shot every guy dreams of in his heart, about rising beyond your own station to be somebody, about squeezing every last bit of life you can from this screwed up world. It’s about triumphing over yourself, about winning that battle between your dreams and the impulse to just give up and fade away into oblivion. I mean, there’s a reason why they play the theme song to this movie at just about every football stadium in America. It gets your blood pumping and your heart racing and it makes you feel like you can go out and fight the world. Call me crazy, but that sounds like a movie that guys would probably want to see.

2 ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’
Once again, if the theme song didn’t immediately run through your head, either you’re completely dead inside or you’ve never seen this movie. Which is a shame because this is not only the best Western ever made, it’s also the coolest. It’s got style on top of style. Sure, Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name is a total badass, but what really puts this movie over the top and separates it from every other iconic Western is Eli Wallach’s character, Tuco, who starts off the movie as the typical Clint antagonist and ends it as the character you’re rooting for to win. It’s just an awesome performance, a human performance, that blurs the lines between good and bad so effectively that in the end there’s only one word that can describe it: ugly. Along the way, thanks to Wallach’s performance, the movie manages to be a Western, a buddy movie, a revenge movie, a movie about a treasure hunt, a dark comedy, and just about anything else you can think of. But more than that, it’s just plain cool and if you don’t see this movie, well, you’re only cheating yourself.

1 ‘The Godfather’
Sure, this is a movie about family and loyalty and honor and blah, blah, blah but forget all that. The reason you have to see this movie is because it is loaded with so many scenes, so many quotes, that are part of the average dude’s cultural lexicon that to not see it is to risk looking like a complete doofus when other dudes start firing off lines or talking about their favorite scene. Plus, this is Marlon Brando at his most infamous, this is Al Pacino creating the legend of Al Pacino, this is James Caan being a crazy son of a bitch, this is… well, this is a cast full of legendary actors at their very best. Plus, a dude wakes up in bed next to a severed horse head, a bunch of guys get shot and a dude gets beaten half to death with a friggin’ trash can. What’s not to love?

Too bad there really isn’t a Retro City Rampage cereal, but at least the game, which is also supposed to be from the 80s, but actually isn’t, is in fact legit. Did that make any sense?

The video above could easily be considered another example of an April Fools ]]>

Too bad there really isn’t a Retro City Rampage cereal, but at least the game, which is also supposed to be from the 80s, but actually isn’t, is in fact legit. Did that make any sense?

The video above could easily be considered another example of an April Fools gag that actually works, since it came out on Sunday, but I’m viewing it as just further proof of the game makers’ ability to tap into the 80s brilliantly.

And thank God it’s almost here. I gave my first head’s up almost a year ago, and its been in development for way longer than that. Retro City Rampage finally arrives this May for the PC, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, and Vita.

We finally have a first look at how the video game based on the cult indie comic turned basic cable sensation The Walking Dead will be in motion. And it’s pretty decent. But there are a few things one must consider before getting too excited.

First, it’s an episodic game ]]>

We finally have a first look at how the video game based on the cult indie comic turned basic cable sensation The Walking Dead will be in motion. And it’s pretty decent. But there are a few things one must consider before getting too excited.

First, it’s an episodic game for XBLA, PSN, and PC, with each installment costing $5. A $25 “season pass” has been announced, which will cover the first five episodes with zero fuss or muss. If one is hopeful that the pass will cover a potential 6th episode might want to hold their breath, since there’s no guarantees on that (I’ll explain why in a bit).

For those looking to save some green, you can pre-order the pass for $22.50. Just, that’s a saving of $2.50. Yay. But here’s the biggest problem…

It’s being made by Telltale Games, the party responsible for both the Back To The Future and Jurassic Park games. And both sucked HARD. So there’s a very good chance that the same fate might befall The Walking Dead, killing any plan of a sixth or so forth episode. Fans of the comic and show: cross your fingers and hope that third time is a charm.

People in movies do things that the rest of us can’t do – they fly, they ride dragons, they travel back in time, they bang Megan Fox – and sometimes that even extends to the world of the law. Occasionally, a movie character will do something outrageously ]]>

People in movies do things that the rest of us can’t do – they fly, they ride dragons, they travel back in time, they bang Megan Fox – and sometimes that even extends to the world of the law. Occasionally, a movie character will do something outrageously illegal only to get away with it completely. It’s to these secretly degenerate characters that this list is devoted. Now, I’m not including characters who broke the law in obvious ways and then were chased by the cops. No, these are all characters who somehow got away with the things they did without anyone even bothering to call the cops. If any of us did any of the things on this list in the real world, we’d be shuffling along in leg-chains in front of a judge while our Public Defender begged for mercy. But these seven characters didn’t have to worry about judges or manacles or, well, anything really because somehow, someway, they all got away with not just breaking the law, but demolishing it.

7 Doc Brown – ‘Back to the Future’
Everyone loves Doc Brown. He’s smart, he’s goofy, and he’s always willing to help a friend travel through time in order to ensure that his parents bone at the Under the Sea Dance. Now that’s a good friend. But in real life, Doc Brown would probably be rotting in some dank cell in Gitmo. I mean, let’s just look at the facts. First of all, the dude experimented extensively with Plutonium, which you have to figure is a genuine national security risk. I’m guessing the feds wouldn’t be too cool with the idea of some crazy old man monkeying around with potentially nuclear components. But even worse than that, Doc Brown got his supply of Plutonium via illicit deals with Libyan terrorists. Uh… yeah. In real life, Doc Brown would be rounded up by a SWAT team, fitted with a black bag over his head and flown to some super-secret military tribunal. And I’m guessing the cops would also probably have some questions about the nature of Doc’s relationship with Marty McFly. I mean, come on, he’s an old man whose only meaningful relationship is with a teenage boy. Plus, he even admitted that his time traveling experiments had the potential to destroy the entire universe by disrupting the space-time continuum. Hell, he’s damn near a super-villain.

6 Joel Goodsen – ‘Risky Business’
Sure, it’s great that Joel was able to find the confidence to stand up for himself, and hey, everyone sure is proud of him for hooking up with that hot older lady, but generally people frown on the idea of a teenage boy running his own whorehouse. Usually that will get you at least a stern talking to from the fuzz. I’m sure it gave him a great story for his college application essay and I’m sure that he was able to talk himself into the idea that a women who’s probably slept with a thousand different dudes was capable of being satisfied by his virgin wang, and hey, I’ll even grant you the impossible and say that he was able to emotionally deal with a relationship with a hardened professional hooker, but none of that takes away from the fact that the dude was running whores out of his parents’ house. Admittedly, that’s some impressive entrepreneurial zeal, but the last time I checked, that’s pretty frowned upon. Even in the blue states.

5 John Hammond – ‘Jurassic Park’
According to Jurassic Park, it’s perfectly okay – legal, even – to buy your own private island and then conduct weird cloning experiments with the aim of resurrecting giant lizards capable of destroying humanity and then turning that island of terror into a friggin’ theme park. Hey, why not? In real life, I’m guessing that about a dozen different governments would have invaded John Hammond’s disturbing little kingdom and had him dragged away. Hell, forget about arresting him, they would have had the dude killed. I mean, you can’t ignore the facts – this crazy old dude was breeding monsters. Do you think the cops would be okay with you trying to breed dragons in your backyard? I’m guessing probably not. Oh well, at least no one got hurt. Oh wait…

4 Edward Cullen – ‘Twilight’
One of the greatest atrocities committed upon mankind by the Twilight films is that they have convinced a whole generation of girls (hell, women of all ages to be honest with you) that the Edward/Bella saga is the height of romance. But here are the facts – Edward, a near 100 year old vampire, falls in love with a high school chick and then proceeds to stalk the shit out of her. He follows her around everywhere, watching from the shadows and he even breaks into her bedroom every now and again like some sort of creepy weirdo and somehow everyone is cool with this, which uh… what the hell? Leaving aside the fact that Edward, you know, drinks blood and has the urge to eat Bella (and I do mean actually eat her, not, well, you know…), which I’m guessing the local authorities would frown upon, he’s still an obsessive stalker who worms his way into a teenage girl’s life and turns her into an emotional basket case. Even more ridiculous, her dad is the chief of police! In real life, he and his buddies would have dragged Edward down to the station, cuffed him to a chair and beat him with batons until he agreed to leave town. Oh well, I guess her dad is just thankful that she’s not off screwing the local wolf pack. Still, you’d think Edward would at least be the recipient of a restraining order or two.

3 The Entire Delta Tau Delta Fraternity – ‘Animal House’
Yeah, it was fun watching the Delta house get revenge on those smug assholes from Omega Theta Pi, but in real life every single one of those dudes would have ended up in prison. Why? My God, just watch the movie. At the very least, they would have all been charged with something like Mayhem just for what they pulled off during the parade at the end of the movie. (Quick side note: is there anything cooler sounding than being charged with “Mayhem”? That’ll get you some street cred for sure.) Shit, if that happened today they’d probably be charged with terrorism. Let’s not forget the various bouts of destruction of property, Bluto running around like a peeping Tom, blatant theft and impersonating dead people for the purposes of getting laid. (Not sure if that last one is technically a crime but it’s still pretty shady, right?) Special degenerate points go to young Pinto for trying to bone the underage daughter of the damn mayor. Sure, it was all in good fun and in the end, the good guys won, but in real life the bad guys from Omega are usually the guys in charge and I’m guessing they would have locked the whole Delta house up and thrown away the key.

2 Lewis Skolnick – ‘Revenge of the Nerds’
Lewis raped a lady in the moon room during the Homecoming carnival. Frame it however you want, but that’s what happened. If you don’t agree with me, look at like this – imagine what would happen if during a costume party, you saw a girl go into a room so you stole her boyfriend’s costume, pretended to be him and then had sex with her. As soon as you pulled your mask off, she’d be blowing the shit out of her rape whistle and screaming for help and you know it. And that’s just the worst thing he did. Let’s not forget that Lewis also organized an event which saw him and his fellow nerds storm a sorority, terrorize the hell out of the girls and then plant cameras all over the house so they could then violate the poor ladies’ privacy whenever they felt like it. In real life, Lewis would be all over all sorts of sex offender lists and he probably wouldn’t be able to live within 100 yards of a school or even allowed to interact with women without the presence of a social worker. Sure, Betty was kind of a bitch, but generally “Hey, she was a bitch, your honor and I wanted to have sex with her because she was pretty hot” doesn’t fly in court. And I haven’t even talked about how Lewis and the gang completely corrupted young Wormser, who looked like he was no more than twelve years old. They plied him with booze and weed, and… man, Lewis was kind of a complete degenerate, wasn’t he?

1 Luke Skywalker – ‘Star Wars’
Luke Skywalker was a terrorist. There. I said it. Deny it all you want, but search your feelings, you know it to be true. Really, the whole Rebel Alliance was one big terrorist network, dedicated to overthrowing the Empire at all costs. I mean, they were sending poor Bothan spies on suicide missions, they were bent on the assassination of all important imperial leaders and they even resorted to blowing up the Death Star not once, but twice, in the process killing thousands upon thousands of innocent support staff and, presumably, the wives and children of all those Storm Troopers. In real life, Luke and the gang would be hiding in caves. Then again, that’s basically what they did on Hoth. They hid out in caves while the U.S. government, er, I mean the Imperial Empire sent drones after them. I picked Luke specifically because he fits the profile of the young zealot who will do anything for “the cause” to a tee, doesn’t he? Some old priest finds him living in the desert, a poor, angry young man and then teaches him that the most important thing in the world is his religion, a mysterious thing called The Force. Luke then devotes his life to a jihad against all those who he sees to be the enemy of his new religion. Sure, sure, it would be easy to throw Han Solo on this list instead because, hell, he even admits that he’s a criminal, but at least he’s just along for the ride because he’s trying to get laid. Luke, on the other hand, is a true believer and if we’ve learned anything over the last decade or so, there’s nothing more dangerous than a true believer.

So what does one do in such a situation? You bitch about it on the internet, that’s what.

Here’s the story as reported by several sources by this point, though I’ll refer to Destructoid since they were one of the first to jump on it last ]]>

So what does one do in such a situation? You bitch about it on the internet, that’s what.

Here’s the story as reported by several sources by this point, though I’ll refer to Destructoid since they were one of the first to jump on it last night: to help promote their Jurassic Park video game (which comes out today, btw, but it totally sucked when I last played it, so proceed with caution), Telltale Games borrowed some dude’s jeep that’s modeled after the ones in the movie (apparently, his goal is to replicate all three from the flick, but thus far, he only has one).

Because the dude was pals with the guy who had his own replica DeLorean time machine from Back To The Future (makes sense that such folks would be friends, but it’s hilarious nonetheless), which Telltale also borrowed to promote that less than spectacular title and had been treated right, Kevin Henry, owner of the Jurassic Jeep, signed off without sweating the small stuff. Unfortunately, the transport company that Telltale hired did not deliver it via the method that was agreed upon (it was supposed to be covered the entire way, but apparently was not halfway through), hence why it arrived at PAX Prime covered in scruffs, dings, and dents of all kinds.

Now, instead of losing his sh*t, Henry played it cool and allowed the publisher to use it anyway, under the assumption that all would be taken care of after the fact. Well it wasn’t; Telltale’s response afterward was how it was the car carrier’s fault, not theirs. Furthermore… this is the best part… the Telltale’s rep who had inspected the jeep onsite, claimed that the fact that it was raining may have been reason why the aforementioned flaws were there in the first place, but were somehow missed. It’s worth noting that Henry took pictures of his vehicle on the day it was picked up, and there’s not a single drop on his vehicle. When Henry protested, they simply blew him off. Not cool

In response, Henry decided to state his case on Reddit, and naturally, the masses online sided with the pissed off dude. Which prompted the Telltales’ CTO and co-founder Kevin Bruner to respond by saying that they have, in fact, but in regular contact with Henry (not true supposedly) and the insurance process has been time consuming. Hence why, to nip this in the bud as soon as possible, he’ll be writing Henry a personal check to recover the damage, though there’s a definite air of “well, it’s honestly not our fault since we have no real responsibility with this mess, but just to shut him up” etc.

Basically, they blame some other third party, the aforementioned insurance company, but Telltale’s story has more than a few holes. Point being, whenever you lend anything… like a vehicle… ESPECIALLY one based upon Jurassic Park… make sure all the details in the contract is crystal clear.

Last weekend’s PAX wasn’t all about all the AAA titles (plus wannabes) that will be pushed later this holiday season and beyond. Just like in the film and music, often the best things are by the little guys that hardly anyone speaks of. So time now to earn your indie ]]>

Last weekend’s PAX wasn’t all about all the AAA titles (plus wannabes) that will be pushed later this holiday season and beyond. Just like in the film and music, often the best things are by the little guys that hardly anyone speaks of. So time now to earn your indie game cred.

First thing’s first is easily one of the most eagerly anticipated offerings from the indie set, something that’s been worked on for years and which is finally reaching the finish line…

Fez

As you can see, it’s your basic, garden variety old-school platformer… with one very major twist: you can rotate the environment, which is essentially three dimensions. But since it’s presented in two dimensions, you therefore interact with it in two dimensions. Sorta like how in Super Mario Bros, why you never think about simply walking around that large pipe, because the option is not there. So finally we have a game that directly address (and plays around with) such a gameplay convention that we’ve all taken for complete granted.

Aside from the concept being genius… and the game looking (and playing) hella awesome… it really does typify the indie gaming scene. Not only does it things genuinely differently, something the big boys generally fail at, since pushing a billion polygons at once taxes one’s mental capacity it would seem, Fez is also the product of just two dudes. Hence why it’s taken forever to get done. Hey, some of the best indie offerings never get finished, so the fact that it’s almost in our hands is a very big (and great) deal.

Joe Danger The Movie

Sorry, no footage of the game exists at the moment, so hope this totally out of context screenshot suffices.

Everyone out there familiar with Joe Danger? If not, download it on the PlayStation Network this very second. It’s essentially the perfect merging of Excitebike and Jackass. And the sequel takes it up twenty notches by not only having you pilot another bike but mine cart, jet pack, and more. The basic premise is how some big shot Hollywood director was impressed by Joe’s (and your) death defying maneuvers, so you’ve been cast in a movie that filled to brim with all sorts of spectacular action sequences. Which you’re in the thick of; as you race against robbers, or away from gigantic boulders, the director is every step of the way, barking orders.

The controls are spot on a totally fluid, which is most important in a game such as this. Sometimes you’ll just be concerned with landing jumps and ducking/not losing your head. But other times require you to choose the right path onto of everything else. The jet pack in particular has you being bounced around like a pinball, though one also has to be mindful of crashing in the right places. Points are award for taking risks and staying in one piece afterward. And because you are making a movie after-all, everything you do is saved, and can be pieced together afterward, to legit make a film that can be shared with others!

Snapshot

Snapshot is another game that has been taking its time, but will again be worth the wait. And once more, the idea is fairly simple: you control a robot that take pictures of stuff, and then overcome obstacles with the things you capture on film. It’s a primarily puzzle driven affair and allows for a ton of flexibility. I still recall the creator being amazed with one solution that I was using, which involved dropping a crate (that I took a picture of) onto a spring and trying to jump on that, as it went up and down, to take another picture of something else that was only in view for like 0.5 seconds.

Retro/Grade

If the footage above makes absolutely no sense, no worries, let me explain. It’s basically a space shoot ‘em up, but backwards. So instead of hitting a button to shoot a bullet that blows up an enemy, you have to hit a button to “receive” the bullet that destroyed the foe already. Not doing so will screw up the space time continuum, so hitting all the right buttons, and in the right order is key. Hey, sounds like a music game, right? Well, they share the same underlying philosophy, hence why the game came be played with both a regular Dual Shock 3 (so it’s for the PS3, obvi) and a Guitar Hero/Rock Band guitar controller!

Retro City Rampage

Imagine GTA 4 done on the NES. Also, fill it with a bunch of 80s references, and that’s Retro City Rampage in a nutshell. If all the games shown that’s taken seemingly forever to whip up (save for Joe Danger The Movie; that’s a relatively recent production), this one is the game I’ve been looking forward to the most. Thankfully they keep filling it with all sorts of awesome nods to the best decade ever; in addition to the Turtles van, you also have Doc Brown asking you fix crap that I’m assuming you messed up, just like Marty. Though instead of a flux capacitor, it’s a 72 pin connector that you have to fiddle with (which is the thing that allowed NES games to interface with the console… again, nothing but old-school references, jokes, and the like).

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And finally, without a doubt the biggest indie game of them all at the show was Minecraft. A game that I’ve touched upon countless times (and will continue to do so), so how about the latest from its creator, which was unveiled at the show? Not much is known at the moment, but that’s how teasers go I’m afraid…

As you may know, I love Back to the Future. Can you blame me? After all, Doc Brown and Marty McFly told us — eventually untrue, sadly — tales about the future where there would be flying cars powered by garbage, hoverboards, and different manners of transporting manure. ]]>

As you may know, I love Back to the Future. Can you blame me? After all, Doc Brown and Marty McFly told us — eventually untrue, sadly — tales about the future where there would be flying cars powered by garbage, hoverboards, and different manners of transporting manure. Plus, you know, I’m a American.

Thankfully, some geniuses are a little closer to making one of those things happen. Unfortunately, it’s not hoverboards. But, hey, tiny little cars powered by trash!

And let you think it’s not an homage to Dr. Emmett Brown, please feel free to check the name of the car.

dAlH2Orean H2 R/C Car powered by Aluminium from Aleix Llovet on Vimeo.

Of course, it would be much more helpful if this car was, you know, not tiny and remote controlled. Then we could grab our collective crotch in BP’s direction and stop paying $4.00/gallon for the same product that they’ve been dumping in the oceans for years.

But, hey, baby steps man. Baby steps.

RC car runs on soda can rings, Doc Brown approves (video) – [Engadget]

No other decade seems to represent teen comedies as well as the 1980s. Not that the actors or screenwriters were any more talented back then, but the teen comedy had come into its own and the ideas were fresh. Fast forward 25 years, and it all seems played out. ]]>

No other decade seems to represent teen comedies as well as the 1980s. Not that the actors or screenwriters were any more talented back then, but the teen comedy had come into its own and the ideas were fresh. Fast forward 25 years, and it all seems played out. Whether popular or not, the characters were sure to be guys you wanted to kick it with. Nothing important or groundbreaking here, just a retro flashback for your enjoyment.

7 Scott Howard – Teen Wolf, 1985
Scott fell into the same category in high school as probably a lot of people; not super popular but not a dork either — just right in the middle — average. Unlike most of us though, he had the power to transform into a werewolf and dunk on guys who were a foot taller than him. Which is a feat in itself considering Michael J. Fox is only 5’4″. Going all wolfman made him the pride of the school and everybody from the geeks to the head cheerleader were clawing to hang with the guy. Hanging with Teen Wolf meant you were sure to enjoy Saturdays van surfing and getting schooled on the court.

6 The guys of Lambda Lambda Lambda – Revenge of the Nerds, 1984
Upon first glance the guys in Tri-Lambda were probably not the group you’d want to spend your freshman year with if you planned on socializing with the opposite sex. They were the laughing stock of the Greek community and lived in a house constantly under attack by the jocks. However, any group of guys gutsy enough to go on sorority house panty raids with a member named Booger, must have had something going for them. By the end of the movie pretty much everybody on campus was clearing their schedules to make room for the next Lambda Lambda Lambda kegger.

5 Jeff Spicoli – Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 1982
Every high school in America has a guy that is molded in the form of Jeff Spicoli; it’s just a rule of the universe. He’s constantly late for class and oblivious to the rest of the world around him, but as long as he’s got a nice buzz and good tunes it’s all good. You might not want to spend every waking moment tagging along with Spicoli, but he’s good for a few laughs and come the weekend he’s your go to guy for a gnarly party. Just don’t invite the guy to your study group if you plan to graduate.

4 Edgar Fog/ Ricky Butler – The Lost Boys/The Burbs, 1987/ 1989
It’s been two decades since Corey Feldman played anybody in a movie that you’d remotely want to chill with, but in the 1980s he was THE teen when there was weirdness going down in the neighborhood. Got a vampire biker gang terrorizing your seaside town? Call Corey. Creepy neighbors who may be serial killers… call Corey. The guy new everybody’s back story long before Facebook stalking existed.

3 Gary Wallace & Wyatt Donnelly – Weird Science, 1985
It’s blatantly obvious why hanging with these two guys would clearly be an awesome time. A computer generated supermodel genie with the powers to alter time and space is going to be a definite advantage to your high school social life. So what if she’s a soulless computer generated sorceress, she’s a perfect 10, damn it! While just hanging out with a couple of guys because they happen to have a wish granting super model might be a bit shallow, it really beats a Saturday afternoon shopping for slacks at the mall with your mom.

2 Marty McFly – Back to the Future, 1985
Michael J. Fox plays a teen who’s not really popular, but not a total dork either… wait didn’t we already cover this? Oh wait a second, now he has a time traveling DeLorean and isn’t a werewolf. Having a friend with a DeLorean is pretty baller to begin with, but if it has the power to travel through time you really couldn’t ask for more. Sure Marty might have been kind of odd, not everybody hangs out with a mad scientist and making out with your mom is all kinds messed up. But then again, most people would probably overlook those red flags because of the time machine sitting in the dude’s garage. Not to mention his mom was pretty hot.

1 Ferris Bueller – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986
Basically, everyone in Ferris’ high school except for the principal and his sister were lining up to kiss his ass. And from the first 10 minutes of the movie it’s easy to see why. The guy knew he was cool, but wasn’t a dick about it, had a hot girlfriend on his arm and wasn’t afraid of taking risks. Not only did the guy successfully ditch school, visit Chicago landmarks and take over a parade, but he did it all while driving a Ferrari 250 GT California. Hanging out with Ferris might be stressful, but if you stopped resisting and just let him take you along for the ride, you were sure to have a hell of a lot more fun than attending Econ class.

When I found out on Saturday that Telltale had finally created a version of their popular “Back to the Future” game for the iPad, I downloaded it so fast that … I didn’t realize it was an “HD adventure.”

If you’re unsure exactly ]]>

When I found out on Saturday that Telltale had finally created a version of their popular “Back to the Future” game for the iPad, I downloaded it so fast that … I didn’t realize it was an “HD adventure.”

If you’re unsure exactly what that entails, it’s not precisely a “game” so much as a “graphic movie that sometimes requires your interaction.” Which is cool, but you need to know going in that you won’t be driving any DeLoreons.

You’ll ride in one, though, if you’re a fan of nostalgia, movies and high-quality interactive adventures that will take up a ton of your time (or any combination thereof), then this is the game for you.

See, “Back to the Future Episode 1″ is a collaboration between Telltale and Bob Gale, one of the original Back to the Future co-writers, and it’s not a re-creation of the movie. Instead, it’s a new spinoff of the trilogy, in which Doc Brown’s found himself in more trouble and therefor in need of Marty McFly’s help once again.

So you get to wander around different eras and figure out how to save Doc.

The upshot is that it IS nostalgic, even if you’re someone — like me — who prefers their games to be heavy on the action. The downshot is that the game costs $6.99 and can the HD video — which is the prominent feature of the game, really — can get pretty choppy at times

If you’re dead set on getting your McFly on, here’s a pair of recommendations. One, get the desktop game (they make it for both Mac and PC), unless you’re using this as something on your iPad that primarily kills time while you’re traveling, etc. And two, wait until next month to buy it if you can — there’ll be five monthly episodes released in total, and it would make sense that Telltale will either upgrade the app by the time or offer some kind of discount by the time No. 2 comes out.

Although good luck doing that if you make it through the trailer to the part where they blare “Back in Time.”

“Back to the Future” is one of those films that people really still obsess over even today. And if you doubt that claim, look no further than Corey Goldfeder, a man who proposed to his girlfriend by recreating a scene from the film and arranging a showing for her at ]]>

“Back to the Future” is one of those films that people really still obsess over even today. And if you doubt that claim, look no further than Corey Goldfeder, a man who proposed to his girlfriend by recreating a scene from the film and arranging a showing for her at a local movie theatre.

The couple had initially met at a costume party with Goldfeder dressed as Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly character. The film was a favorite of both Goldfeder and his future fiancee.

To craft the proposal, Goldfeder spent more than a dozen hours editing himself into a clip of “Back to the Future.” Goldfeder built a green screen made out of disposable napkins and used a 30-day trial of video editing software to put himself into a scene as Marty McFly with Doc Brown, asking if he should propose or not. You can see footage of the scene here.

Goldfeder then orchestrated a fake “Michael J. Fox Retrospective Film Festival” with a local theatre owner, brought along his girlfriend and, after twenty minutes of actual “Back to the Future” footage, she was floored with his video and proposal. The showing of love got Goldfeder’s proposal name one of the 10 Most Ultimate Proposals in a contest.

So hey, kudos to Cory for his creative proposal and congratulations to him and his lady. May they have beautiful children who don’t hang out with a creepy older man like Doc Brown. I mean, really, no way he wasn’t secretly trying to get into Marty’s pants. You can’t be a lonely older man who introduces a teenager to time travel without, at the very least, a light cupping of the balls.

Corey Goldfeder recreates Back to the Future for marriage proposal [News.com.au]
Corey Goldfeder’s Web site [Corey Goldfeder]

I was on Hulu the other day and ran across this clip from a show from the SPEED channel, where they were selling one of the cars used in one of my all-time favorite films “Ghostbusters.”

I can’t tell if Ernie Hudson comes with the car…or maybe drives ]]>

I was on Hulu the other day and ran across this clip from a show from the SPEED channel, where they were selling one of the cars used in one of my all-time favorite films “Ghostbusters.”

I can’t tell if Ernie Hudson comes with the car…or maybe drives it around to bust ghosts with you on the weekends–either way, if I had the disposable income, I would buy this car. And quickly start my own ghost busting business. It was awesome then and is awesome now. Which got me to thinking about all the toy cars I had when I was a kid during the 80s. Then that got me to thinking about the cars I would most like to purchase from 80s films and television series.

The list could go on and on, but here are the other 6 cars I think most children of the 80s wouldn’t mind cruising around in some 20-30 years later…

This is possibly the most beloved vehicle of every young man who grew up in the 80s. I pity the fool that wouldn’t want to take a ride in the A-Team van. Well, back in the day I would have. That was before Chris Hansen and the trend of child predators in black vans with no windows were not yet prevalent.

Who wouldn’t want to rock down the road in this beast? Imagine just blaring the theme song and scaring the hell out of everyone in the carpool lane. You’d obviously need to also buy a stockpile of weapons, a bunch of huge honking cigars, and wear enough gold chains to sink an aircraft carrier. You say you already have all that? I love it when a plan comes together. And if you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find it, maybe you can buy…The A-Team van.

This car f@*%ing talked! And I don’t care what anyone says, this car did not need Michael Knight. The Hoff may have been calling the shots (as he often does in Germany), but KITT had turbo boosters, an “Alpha Circuit” that enabled him to drive himself away from danger, and an onboard computer that enabled him to see, smell and torch his surroundings (onboard flamethrower, FTW). It even had an ejector seat in case anyone was “Hassling the Hoff.” It was basically a military grade tank that had everything a kid would want, but in talking car form. Go look at the wiki page and tell me this car isn’t the balls. I heard that the only reason Hasselhoff and KITT are no longer on speaking terms is because KITT drove out of the premiere of “Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.” But come on, who didn’t…

When I was little, I dreamed of one day growing a wicked mustache and starting my own private investigation company in Oahu. Obviously, my dreams have been crushed since then; I can’t even find my keys, much less a missing person and I can barely grow facial hair. That aside, I still may be able to afford the coolest car of any TV program of the decade. This car just kicked major ass. It was sleek, fast and when it revved its big red engine, it revved the engines of every lady within a two block radius. Damnit, I wish I could grow a mustache. Screw it, I’ll buy a fake one. Does anyone out there have a few extra Hawaiian shirts, a helicopter, and an inordinate amount of free time, and wants to start a private investigation business with me in Hawaii?

Look, I know that some people have qualms about this famous backwoods stuntmobile and for good reason. I don’t agree with the Confederate mindset, but I also don’t feel that was what the General Lee was all about. The GL wasn’t about separating white from black, it was about separating a couple good ol’ boys from a bumbling sheriff and his dog, Flash. It didn’t matter what car they drove, they had had trouble with the law since they day they were born. Let’s look at the positives and try and find something about the General that transcends race. Like jumping hay bails and backwoods trains in a 69’ Charger. I think we can all agree that’s awesome, right?

It looked cool (at the time), it had gullwing doors, and oh yeah, if you got it up to 88 mph it could travel through time. All you needed was a DeLorean with a few slight modifications to go back to the future; an electrical storm, a clock tower, and a plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor. You know, the usual things you need to rip the fabric of the space/time continuum. It turns out the only people who didn’t want to buy this car was the American public. Much like the hoverboard, this concept car never really got off the ground. Its disappointment is only rivaled by it’s mystique, which would have been enough for me to buy one when I was four. I REALLY wanted to see a dinosaur in person at that point, but couldn’t get a good line of credit.

Like the Kool Aid man would say, “Ohhhhhh, yeeeeeeaaaaah.” It was so plush that the coolest on-screen teenager of the decade highly recommended that everybody get one. When I asked my dad to get me one, he just laughed in my face. This would become a theme of my life. If I had this car, I don’t think things would have turned out that way. I doubt that anyone had a friend like Cameron with access to a set of wheels like this, but I imagine if you did you’d have taken more than your fair share of days off. Just cruising around and making middle aged folks wonder what sort of wrong decisions they had made in their lives when a 17-year-old kid has a car worth more than their house. Ahh, to be young again.

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