GeeksHaveGame

July 17, 2023
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HASBRO 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION [SDCC 2023] – Panel & Booth Stuff!

San Diego Comic-Con International

Revealing an Amazing Brand Lineup Through Dazzling New Products, Experiences, Programming and More Surrounding Fan-Favorite Brands: TRANSFORMERS, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, NERF, G.I. JOE, Power Rangers and Premier Collaboration Brands: Star Wars™, Indiana Jones™ and Marvel

Visit Hasbro Booth #3213 for Talent Meet & Greets, Signings, Product Showcases, Photo Opportunities, Contests, and Giveaways, Among Other Fun-Filled Branded Activities

Select Hasbro Pulse Products and Convention Exclusives Will Be Available to Purchase at The VAULT: A Hasbro Pulse Store in Downtown San Diego, CA

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — July 17, 2023 — Celebrating its centennial anniversary this year, Hasbro, Inc., a toy and game company, is returning to San Diego Comic-Con International, showcasing an incredible lineup of branded activities based on fan favorites, including TRANSFORMERS, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, NERF, G.I. JOE and Power Rangers, as well as products from premier collaboration brands, Star Wars™, Indiana Jones™ and Marvel from The Walt Disney Company.

“We are absolutely thrilled to celebrate our 100th anniversary with our fans at San Diego Comic-Con,” said Kim Boyd, Head of Toy at Hasbro. “With ten decades of unforgettable history, Hasbro has been instrumental in enabling generations of families to create lasting memories through imaginative play and storytelling. Along with new product launches at San Diego Comic-Con, fans can expect to experience their favorite products and entertainment in innovative ways, featuring iconic brands like TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, and NERF.”

HASBRO BOOTH #3213

Convention Exclusives – Hasbro is offering the following four San Diego Comic-Con 2023 exclusive products: Transformers: Legacy Evolution – Deluxe Class War Dawn 2-Pack, Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Krrsantan action figure, Marvel Legends Series Deadpool and Bob, Agent of Hydra and G.I. JOE Classified Series Philip “Chuckles” Provost. Attendees can visit the Hasbro Pulse Desk at the Hasbro Booth (#3213) to receive a one-time use code, which can be scanned to pre-order. One code, per product, per customer. Limited quantities will be available to pre-order on HasbroPulse.com after the convention. While supplies last. Additional product information and photos can be found here.

Programming – In addition to hosting several insightful brand panels at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), Hasbro has a powerhouse programming schedule planned at its booth to help attendees have a memorable convention experience. Fans can look forward to a variety of activities, brand displays, and giveaways across the multi-day event, such as signing opportunities with Larry Hama (G.I. JOE), Gregg Berger (TRANSFORMERS), Marcelo Matere (TRANSFORMERS), Daniel Warren Johnson (TRANSFORMERS), David Nakayama (Marvel), and Harry Moore (Marvel). Other highlights include the Hasbro 100th Archive Product Displays, Robosen Product Demostrations, Transformers: EarthSpark – Expedition video game panel with Outright Games, and Transformers: EarthSpark 1-Step Flip Toy Challenge to win awesome themed prizes and much more.

Transformers: EarthSpark – Expedition Video Game Demo Station – Fans young and old can walk up and play a brief demo of the single-player action-adventure game starring Bumblebee. The game, produced by partner Outright Games, officially releases globally this Fall across PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The announcement trailer can be viewed here.

NERF Pro Gelfire Demo Station – NERF is also returning to SDCC to bring back its popular NERF Pro Gelfire blaster booth so competitive, active play fans can demo the hottest blaster drops from the line: NERF Pro Gelfire Ghost, Raid and Dual Wield Pack.

Hasbro Selfie Series – Convention attendees will have the opportunity to digitally re-imagine themselves and become a premium one-of-a-kind action figure based on characters from G.I. JOE, Ghostbusters, Power Rangers, and more. The Selfie Series team will be unveiling an updated version of the Selfie Series App that now includes more ways to customize. The updates include eyeglasses, sculpted beards and mustaches as well as several new hairstyles. Fans at SDCC will have the opportunity to become an action figure using the updated app at the Selfie Series booth. They will also receive a unique package sleeve commemorating the convention, and a branded figure stand as a gift with purchase. The stand and sleeve are exclusive to purchases made at the SDCC booth.

TRANSFORMERS MIRAGE Porsche 911 Photo Opp – In celebration of the home entertainment debut of the hit film TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS, fans will have the opportunity to pose for a photo with the MIRAGE Porsche 911, receive a free, limited-edition poster designed by Orlando Arocena aka “Mexifunk” (while supplies last), and win digital codes to watch the adrenaline-fueled blockbuster at home! At the Hasbro booth on Saturday, July 22, from 6-7PM, “Mexifunk” will also be signing a select number of the exclusive Comic-Con posters.

In celebration of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 30th Anniversary, visit our partners at the Entertainment Earth booth (#2343) for a morphinomenal time! We are excited to share that the Power Rangers Lightning Collection Remastered Mighty Morphin Black Ranger will begin pre-orders exclusively at Entertainment Earth and Hasbro Pulse for the duration of San Diego Comic-Con. Limited quantities available are available for purchase at the Entertainment Earth booth. Stay tuned to @EntEarth and @HasbroPulse for additional pre-order details.

Show-goers are encouraged to check the schedule posted in Hasbro’s information booth each day for updates and follow @Hasbro on Twitter, as well as @Hasbro & @HasbroPulse on Instagram for the latest happenings.

THE VAULT: A HASBRO PULSE STORE

Hasbro is hosting The VAULT: A Hasbro Pulse Store at the Sparks Gallery (530 Sixth Avenue) so fans can purchase Hasbro Pulse’s best-selling products and select convention exclusives. To purchase the SDCC convention exclusives, you must present a valid convention badge. Limit two per customer. While supplies last. Also, view displays of some of the most iconic products to celebrate Hasbro’s 100th Year Anniversary. The shop will be open to the public on the following days (times subject to change):

Thursday, July 20: 11AM – 6PM
Friday, July 21: 11AM – 6PM
Saturday, July 22: 11AM – 6PM
Sunday, July 23: 11AM – 5PM

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS SDCC TAKEOVER

Celebrating the digital and streaming release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts film on Paramount+, fans can visit the Petco Interactive Zone (58 11th Ave) for giveaways and photo opportunities with Optimus Prime, Optimus Primal and Mirage statues. Additionally, The Lodge: A Paramount+ Experience at Happy Does Bar in downtown San Diego (340 Fifth Ave) will be decorated with the film’s 90s-themed aesthetics and offer airbrush tattoos of Autobot and Maximal icons.

HASBRO BRANDS, PARTNERS, AND PINS: A SCAVENGER HUNT ADVENTURE

For the first time this year, Hasbro collaborates with licensing, publishing, and retail partners on a free pin scavenger hunt, allowing fans to collect pins featuring iconic Hasbro brands. Visit the Hasbro booth (#3213), offsite pop-up shop, and partner booth locations, including BOOM! Studios, Diamond Select, Entertainment Earth, Icon Heroes, Kotobukiya, Mezco, Skybound Entertainment, Super7 and Super Impulse to collect the 21 different pin designs while supplies last (quantities are limited). More information about pins and locations is available in each participating booth.

BRAND PANELS

What’s more, attendees can dig deeper into Hasbro’s wondrous brands TRANSFORMERS, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and G.I. JOE, along with premier collaboration brands, including Star Wars and Marvel, through engaging brand panels where they’ll get first looks at never-before-seen product and toy innovations, along with other major brand news!

Thursday, July 20

Secrets of D&D Dungeon Mastering Panel: Thursday, July 20 at 12:30PM – 1:30PM | Room: 29CD – Chris Perkins (Principal Game Design Architect, Dungeons & Dragons), Dungeon Master extraordinaire is here to answer, “How do you do THAT?!” and give you advice on how to level up your Dungeon Master game! All are welcome, from DM-curious to experts!

Hasbro TRANSFORMERS Generations Toy Panel: Thursday, July 20 at 1:30PM – 2:30PM | Room: 29CD – LET THEM COME! Screenwriter, game designer and novelist Flint Dille joins the TRANSFORMERS team as Ben (Hasbro Marketing) Delaney (Hasbro Marketing) and Evan (Hasbro Design) take attendees through some ALL-NEW TRANSFORMERS Action Figures – Studio Series: Rise of the Beasts, the FIRST Studio Series Commander, and Generations Exclusive toy reveals! The team will also hold a Q&A to discuss all things CYBERTRONIAN! So, get ready for a panel that’s…More Than Meets The Eye.

It’s Morphin Time with BOOM! Studios; Thursday July 20 at 2:00PM – 3:00PM | Room: 25ABC – BOOM! Studios and Hasbro celebrate 30 years of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers storytelling in comics! Join Melissa Flores (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), Meghan Camarena (Power Rangers HyperForce), and series editors Allyson Gronowitz and Dafna Pleban for a roundtable discussion on the history of the series, an exciting look at what’s next, and some special surprises

Magic: The Gathering Goes to Universes Beyond Panel: Thursday, July 20 at 7:00PM – 8:00PM | Room: 7AB – Magic: The Gathering’s Universes Beyond lineup is bringing the game to exciting new places, crossing over with your favorite books, games, and shows! From The Lord of the Rings to Doctor Who, Gavin Verhey (principal game designer, Magic: The Gathering) will share the secrets behind bringing these sets to life, and some sneak peeks of the future!

All A-Bot Transformers: EarthSpark Panel: Thursday, July 20 at 5:30PM – 6:30PM | Room: 24ABC – Prepare for more Autobots, more Decepticons, and more Terrans! From Paramount+, Hasbro’s Entertainment One, and Nickelodeon, Transformers: EarthSpark is an original animated series based on the iconic global franchise. Catch this exclusive panel and screening of never-before-seen content. Attendees will also be treated to a sneak peek of behind-the-scenes visuals from upcoming new episodes, including the special one-hour season finale slated to debut exclusively on Paramount+ later this summer. Plus don’t miss the chance to participate in a Transformers-themed trivia contest– study up and come prepared to win awesome franchise swag.

Friday, July 21

Hasbro Toys Panel for Marvel: Friday, July 21 at 12:30PM – 1:30PM | Room: 5AB – Dwight, Ryan and Dan (Hasbro) plus Jesse (Marvel) share exciting news for Hasbro’s popular Marvel Legends product line. They will give a sneak peek of upcoming, never-before-seen items and hold a Q&A session for attendees.

Hasbro Star Wars Panel: Friday, July 21 at 2:00PM – 3:00PM | Room: 7AB – Join Patrick and Jing from Hasbro Marketing and Chris and Eric from Hasbro Design as they discuss the popular Hasbro Star Wars line, including the Black Series and The Vintage Collection. Attendees will get an in-depth look at Hasbro’s latest action figure and premium roleplay offerings from throughout the saga. Word on the Holonet is there may also be a few surprises.

Saturday, July 22

Hasbro G.I. JOE Classified Series Panel: Saturday, July 22 at 12:00PM – 1:00PM | Room: 9 – Joes and Cobras don’t agree on much, but even they can see that G.I. JOE’S Classified Series toy line is an absolute hit. Join Emily, John, Lenny, and Tony from the development team to learn never-before shared behind-the-scenes info, get a sneak peek into the future of Classified Series, and learn more about the most recent HasLab project. Make sure to attend because knowing is half the battle!

You Got Your Pop Culture in My D&D! Panel: Saturday, July 22 at 3:30PM – 4:30PM | Room: 29CD – Chris Perkins (Principal Game Design Architect, Dungeons & Dragons) and Josh Herman (Principal Art Director, Dungeons & Dragons) talk pop culture’s invasion of Dungeons and Dragons! Learn how the folks who make D&D are teaming up to bring some of your favorite media sensations to your gaming table!

Magic The Gathering Panel, Blogatog Live: Saturday, July 22 at 6:30PM – 7:30PM | Room: 24ABC – Magic head designer Mark Rosewater presents this one-man program in which he re-creates his daily blog, answering the audience’s questions about the making of the popular trading card game.

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About Hasbro

Hasbro is a toy and game company whose mission is to entertain and connect generations of fans through the wonder of storytelling and exhilaration of play. Hasbro delivers engaging brand experiences for global audiences through toys, consumer products, gaming and entertainment, with a portfolio of iconic brands including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Hasbro Gaming, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH and PEPPA PIG, as well as premier partner brands.

Hasbro is guided by our Purpose to create joy and community for all people around the world, one game, one toy, one story at a time. For more than a decade, Hasbro has been consistently recognized for its corporate citizenship, including being named one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media, one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute and one of the 50 Most Community-Minded Companies in the U.S. by the Civic 50. For more information, visit https://corporate.hasbro.com.

STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.

Transformers Legacy Evolution War Dawn 2-Pack

(HASBRO / Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $49.99/ Available: Summer 2023)

Witness the dawn of the Cybertronian war with the Transformers War Dawn 2-Pack! From the iconic animated series, The Transformers, this multipack comes with 5.5-inch Cybertronian Erial and Dion action figures with 2 blasters, missile launcher, and Energon canteen accessories.

Each figure converts from robot mode to vehicle alt mode (convert Cybertronian Erial robot to Cybertronian motorcycle mode in 19 steps; Cybertronian Dion robot to Cybertronian truck mode in 20 steps).

The package art is inspired by the scene in The Transformers where dockworkers Orion Pax, Erial, and Dion are struck down during a Decepticon raid at the docks. Available exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con. Attendees can visit the Hasbro Pulse Desk at the Hasbro Booth (#3213) to receive a one-time use code, which can then be scanned to pre-order. One code per customer. Limited quantities will be available to pre-order on HasbroPulse.com after the convention. While supplies last.

Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Krrsantan

(HASBRO / Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $39.99 / Available: Summer 2023)

A former gladiator turned deadly bounty hunter, Krrsantan is a towering black-furred Wookiee who made a name for himself in the criminal underworld with his intimidating presence and raw strength. Fans can celebrate the legacy of Star Wars, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this premium 3.75-inch scale Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Krrsantan figure inspired by Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett live-action series. This figure features premium detail and design across product and packaging inspired by the original Kenner line, as well as the entertainment-inspired collector grade deco. Includes figure and 14 entertainment-inspired accessories including two additional sets of hands.

Available exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con. Attendees can visit the Hasbro Pulse Desk at Hasbro’s Booth #3213 to receive a one-time use code, which can then be scanned to pre-order. One code, per customer. Limited quantities will be available to pre-order on HasbroPulse.com after the convention. While supplies last.

Marvel Legends Series Deadpool and Bob, Agent of Hydra

Includes 2 figures and 28 comics-inspired accessories fit for the Merc with a Mouth, including an alternate head and a bunch of his favorite weapons. Attendees can visit the Hasbro Pulse Desk at Hasbro’s Booth #3213 to receive a one-time use code, which can then be scanned to pre-order. One code per customer. Limited quantities will be available to pre-order on HasbroPulse.com after the convention. While supplies last.

G.I. JOE Classified Series Philip “Chuckles” Provost

(HASBRO / Ages 4 years & up / Approx. Retail Price: $41.99 / Available: Summer 2023)

The G.I. JOE CLASSIFIED SERIES is inspired by the characters fans know and love. This G.I. JOE CLASSIFIED SERIES PHILIP “CHUCKLES” PROVOST action figure is detailed to look like the classic G.I. undercover agent featuring classic design, premium detailing, and articulation.

Includes 6-inch figure, a briefcase, top secret folder, sunglasses, cassette player with headphones, binoculars, 2 sets of handcuffs, an alternate head with bruised face, alternate hands with brass knuckles, and 2 weapon accessories. The figure and accessories come in collectable packaging with original artwork and unique digital rendering that tells the story of Chuckles’ undercover mission to Cobra Island.

Thank you hisstank.com for the info!

July 11, 2023
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DESTINY GATE [Press Release] – Get Caught Between Reality And Madness

LOS ANGELES – July 11th, 2023 – Top Cow Productions, Inc., the company behind The Darkness and Cyber Force, announced today that it has partnered with EP1T0ME Studios, Inc. to co-produce and to publish Destiny Gate, a new horror, noir thriller series.

Destiny Gate, a blend of Inception and Amnesia: The Dark Descent, is an action-packed, immersive series based on the game concept by Paul Limon and being penned by Ryan Cady (Haunt You to the End, The Joker, Magdalena), illustrated by Christian DiBari (Revolvers, The Clay People: Colossus, Tales Told in Techni-Horror) and colored by Simon Gough.

Richard Leibowitz, EP1T0ME President, says, “I told Paul, an ex-Blizzard artist, that his Destiny Gate game pitch was one of the best I’d ever read; we’re happy to work with Paul and Top Cow to make the comic and look forward to making the game next.”

The debut title’s solicitation for issue #1 states:

Life, for the most part, is the product of the decisions you make. For some, a “wrong” decision or two (or more) leads to a crossroads on the other side of the Destiny Gate. Do you fight for a chance to survive and to start anew, or do you succumb to your inner demons and end it all for you and, worse, yours? In this opening tale, we meet Mitchell Slate at the height of the Great Depression. Down on his luck and heading home to a disappointed and desperate family, Mitchell’s train ride veers off the rails and transforms into a macabre and darkly fantastical journey into his own fragile soul.

This complex storyline is why Top Cow President Matt Hawkins exclaims “Destiny Gate is one of the more interesting supernatural stories we’ve ever done. Ryan Cady and Christian Dibari deliver on this one. I love this book!”

“The narrative and artistic elements playing out in Destiny Gate are among my favorites – mind-bending horror, surrealist psychological architecture, and of course, radical art deco design. ” says writer Ryan Cady. “With everything to play with here, it’s been a thrill to translate the immersive horror of a game like this into comic book form.”

Artist Christian DiBari adds, “It is great reuniting with Ryan Cady who, like me, is a huge horror fan. Inspired by films like Dark City and Jacob’s Ladder and Ryan’s scripts, I use heavy shadows and different kinds of brushes to push the visual look more in a noir direction with nightmarish images.”

Horror fans with interests beyond comics are going to enjoy the new noir world that Cady and DiBari have developed.

Destiny Gate is the fourth project between Top Cow and EP1T0ME; previously, the two companies launched the critically-acclaimed St. Mercy, The Clay People: Colossus, and Revolvers.

Destiny Gate #1 Cover A by Christian DiBari and Simon Gough, and Cover B by Rahsan Ekedal, will be in comic shops on October 11th, 2023, and also available for purchase on digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Top Cow Productions, Inc.,(http://www.topcow.com), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company, was founded in December of 1992 by artist Marc Silvestri, who also co-founded Image Comics earlier that same year. Top Cow currently publishes its line of comic books in 21 languages in over 55 different countries. The company has launched 20 franchises (18 original and two licensed) in the industry’s Top 10, seven at #1, a feat accomplished by no other publisher in the last two decades.

EP1T0ME Studios, Inc., (http://www.ep1t0me.com), is a video game company headquartered in Austin, TX with locations in Los Angeles, CA and Montreal, Quebec. We are focused on delivering story-driven game experiences across multiple platforms, including PC, console, mobile and VR. We work with exceptional independent game developers and experienced creative talent on both original and established IP. We are developing original IP specifically for multiplatform storytelling, including games, comics, film, television, audio drama and podcasts.

RENFIELD [Film Review]: Sink Your Teeth Into This.

Jumping the gun on spooky season by…oh, only about half a year…director Chris McKay has gifted us masses with a bloody, hilarious, action-packed movie that has just as many laughs as it does gallons of blood. Having missed the Q&A session earlier in the week, I made my way to Lower Manhattan’s ever-reliable Alamo Drafthouse for their themed screening of Renfield. Paired with some drinks, and some vampire fangs, we sat back to see what all the fuss was about.

Told from the perspective of his long-suffering slave/familiar/servant, the titular Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) relocates himself and his master, Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage) to New Orleans, following an incident in which several vampire hunters nearly got the better of the pair. While Renfield uses his daytime hours to try to deal with the abusive toxicity of his relationship to Dracula, members of the Lobo crime family—eager to push their weight around the burgeoning drug business—are on the hunt for the person responsible for offing (and disappearing) several dealers and soldiers. Unbeknownst to Renfield, one night he inadvertently offed some of the foot soldiers of the Lobo family, attracting their attention, especially that of the wild card heir, Teddy Lobo (Ben Schwartz), who makes it his mission to track down the person responsible for stepping into the family business. Renfield — in his quest to rid himself of Dracula’s influence — befriends a traffic cop, Rebecca Quincy (Akwafina), which draws Dracula’s ire. Will their paths intertwine?! Well, this movie isn’t an hour-and-a-half for no reason.

Director Chris McKay already proved himself to having an eye for comedy in his tenure directing episodes of Moral Orel, and Robot Chicken. Here, his effervescent energy translates as easily to live action as it did for stop motion animation. He and cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen have an incredibly fun visual feast early on when together they recreate the earliest incarnations of Bram Stoker‘s creation, including an almost shot-for-shot remake of several scenes of director Tod Browning‘s 1931 classic (easily the second funniest sequence). Hoult is believable enough as the put-upon familiar to the undead count, and Akwafina seems to recreate her performance in Shang-Chi, only a lot less shrill, and much more human.

Nicolas Cage knocks it out of the fucking park as Dracula though. At once terrifying and hilarious, this is just as unhinged as his other vampire role from Vampire’s Kiss, only here he is firmly and without a doubt a capital-V Vampire. He keeps the scene-chewing just this side of toned down, making him somehow both more hilarious and increasingly more creepy and terrifying. Take for instant a scene in the near the later half of the second act, where Dracula figures out that Renfield has betrayed him: he meets Renfield in his apartment to confront him, and plays the scene at once betrayed, hurt, and in an infuriated rage, barely controlled, but he’s unable to process any of those emotions, so just acts out like some crazed beast (which, yes, he is). It is genius to cast Cage in this role, as a creature who is experiencing the entire breadth of human emotions, but is utterly incapable of understanding or even process any of them.

This is a fun, gory piece of fluff, readily available to add to my wife and my Halloween canon viewing. The gore is gory, the action is fairly impressively staged and shot, and odd as it might sound while it’s happening, I will never tire of hearing Ben Schwartz dropping F-bombs. This would be an interesting double feature with the aforementioned Vampire’s Kiss: there, a human is trying to comprehend vampire emotions, and here, the greatest of all vampires is STILL trying to understand human emotions. That both feature the same actor playing the flip side of the equation is apt.

4/5 murder cookies

Renfield is currently streaming.

EVIL DEAD RISE [Film Review] – Mommy’s With The Maggots Now.

J.L. Caraballo
IG @captzaff007
Letterboxd @CaptZaff

Nearly forty years after Sam Raimi unleashed his classic, splat-tacular cabin-in-the-woods horror film, The Evil Dead, to an unsuspecting audience, director Lee Cronin steps behind the camera to resurrect the deadites and bring the skin-etched Necronomicon screaming into the 2020s. With a change in setting, an inversion of sorts in characters, a few legitimate surprises, and a wildly unexpected (yet no less welcome) amount of gore, Evil Dead Rises has not only become the highest-grossing Evil Dead film in the series, but has cemented the fact that these movies have plenty of bloody mileage left in them.

The film opens in very familiar territory: a couple, Teresa and Caleb (Mirabai Pease and Richard Crouchley, respectively) and Teresa’s cousin Jessica (Anna-Marie Thomas) are in a lakeside cabin in the woods, where Teresa finds her cousin, Jessica, looking, sounding, and acting like one of our good old familiar deadites of old. A bloody encounter amongst the three ensue, the opening credits roll, and then we a thrown a day into the past, some hundred miles away at a condemned Los Angeles apartment complex. We are introduced to Beth (Lilly Sullivan), out for a visit to her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), looking for some advice and convalescence after learning that she is pregnant. Ellie has three kids of her own; Danny (Morgan Davies) aspires to be a DJ and musician; Bridget (Gabrielle Ecchols), who’s overwhelming trait is that she is very much Gen-Z…Very Online, overwhelmingly progressive, and like any other Zoomer you’re bound to meet; and then there’s Kassie (Nell Fisher), the youngest of the three, who is more than excited to have Aunt Beth visit for a few days. A low-level earthquake makes short work of the happy reunion, as it cracks open the subbasement of the family’s apartment building, revealing a forgotten bank vault underneath the building. Within this vault is where Danny stumbles upon a very familiar, yet very familiar human-skin-bound book, brings it back to their apartment and…well…you can imagine what ensues.

Unlike 2013’s rather ill-advised remake, the brutality and violence in this film is not without its sense of humor. The deadites here are not without their morbid, pitch-black sense of taunting humor, the kind that know how to get under the skins of the characters. The use of household items and props as weapons is also not without its dark sense of fun; the appearance of an industrial woodchipper in the apartment building’s parking garage, for instance, is put to obvious use. And, refreshingly, the change in scenery — from a cabin in the woods, to a condemned apartment complex — is put to good use. Air ducts, elevators, record turntables, and bathtubs are all utilized in unique ways. Director/writer Lee Cronin also thankfully allows for a clear sense of geography: at no point is there any confusion in where characters are in relation to each other. A lot of the long takes early in the film, when Beth and Ellie are reconnecting, act just as much to orient the audience spatially, and to get a layout of the apartment as it does to introduce these characters.

This movie also goes to some places that I wish more modern horror movies had the gall and nerve to go: it puts children in direct danger, and doesn’t shy away from killing off some unsuspecting characters. I’m gonna get a bit spoilery here, but Evil Dead Rises is absolutely brutal with its treatment of Danny and Bridget. Refreshingly so, as often modern mainstream horror and thrillers tend to shy away from targeting such specific types of characters (when you see it, you’ll know what I mean). And I understand that there’s perhaps an awareness that targeting such characters might leave an unpleasant taste in audiences…but in showing just how brutal the deadites are this time around, I think it’s safe to say that’s the point. The Evil Dead theatrical series is a far cry away from Ash grafting a chainsaw to his hand, and has returned to straight, brutal, blood-soaked horror.

Cinematographer Dave Garbett and director Lee Cronin together set a perfect mood of dread and danger, and many of the Raimi-isms are spot on. Cue the industrial droning sound design; cue the POV shots; cue the maniacal laughter; cue the whip-pans. An attack in a hallway against Ellie’s neighbors is so effective and damn-near goofy I was half expecting Raimi’s name to crop up in the credits as a co- or guest director. The sound design was especially gratuitous…and even more fun since it was none other than Bruce Campbell himself who did foley work.

Gritty, gross, oozing, and not without a certain panache, Evil Dead Rises is already a welcome addition to my annual Halloween movie watching playlist, despite it having the single grossest omelet ever committed to screen. Oh, and my wife and I watched this at Brooklyn’s Nitehawk Cinema, where food and drink is provided; at one point the woman sitting next to us visibly shook and was hiding her eyes behind her hands during the goriest set piece…only to turn and see me laughing my ass off and shoving tater tots into my mouth. Man, I love genre films sometimes.

4/5 creepy crawlies in my tummy

Evil Dead Rises is now available via streaming.

July 2, 2023July 4, 2023
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AEW: FIGHT FOREVER [Review] – A Fine, First Fyter Fest.

I feel like a genius for requesting a Nintendo Switch review code for AEW: Fight Forever. A major wrestling game with the throwback feels of WWF No Mercy for on-the-go use? I’m All In. Despite a surplus of flaws, AEW’s debut entry on consoles is the ultimate pro wrestling game for casuals who don’t require super glossy 4K visuals, a zillion modes and wrestlers on the roster, or a deep customization suite.

Fight Forever should only hope to have the continuous update life of, say, Fire Pro Wrestling to withstand any sort of longevity. Right out of the box, the game feels super MID (*MJF voice*) as FF is severely lacking in replayability – unless, of course, you’re just treating it like the casual pick-up-and-play game that it should. If allowed, Fight Forever can be a wonderful alternative to the WWE 2K series and has a whole other quirky charm going for it. With that said, let’s break down the 4 pillars of this All Elite Wrestling video game section by section.

REVOLUTION

While most squared circle marks are tuning into Titan Tower every week – especially with the Triple H Era giving fans a solid, watchable product on TV and Premium Live Events on Peacock that remind us more of the “Black and Gold” era of NXT – All Elite Wrestling has offered an edgier, more “hardcore” alternative over the past 3-4 years, an amalgamation of WCW/ECW/ROH/NJPW/PWG/AAA fantasy booking. Matches in AEW don’t have one particular style, and there is a rotating door of new characters and athletes in the company week in and week out. With Fight Forever, the in-ring gameplay definitely reflects that wild mix of old and new – from the arcadey design of classic Yuke’s Nintendo 64 wrasslin’ games of yesteryear to current day animation that does an admirable job capturing its TV counterpart. Here, female talent is treated equal to men with no “Superstar” ratings in sight, and they can even capture the AEW World Title. Mixed tag matches are fun, too, and Britt Baker can chuck around the former “Big Show” Paul Wight around like a ragdoll.

You guessed it: a sim, this is not. Most of AEW:FF‘s charm comes from the cartoony character models that, aesthetically, still look very much like the wrestlers it portrays. The multitude of delays certainly looked like it helped character model render development. Kenny Omega, Abadon, Eddie Kingston, and company come off as slightly exaggerated, almost Def Jam Vendetta versions of themselves. While not aiming for 2K’s level of realism, that animated/comic book stylization is still believable and far from the retro/pixelated stylings of RetroMania and super-bloated bobblehead of WWE Battlegrounds. Since I have the Switch version, I can’t compare how FF looks on a PS5 or Xbox Series X in comparison to the gorgeous visuals of 2K23 – and, for that, I’m actually thankful.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING

The animations are smooth on the Switch, with the biggest issue being some heavy lag during matches. While far from a gamebreaker, the slow responsiveness and awkward movement when your opponents are lying on the mat, bumping into barricades outside the ring, clustering up too close to each other, etc. desperately needs some smoothing out in a future patch. Omega, Yukes’ chief consultant on Fight Forever, admitted in an interview that there was no way that the game could compete with 2K in terms of production polish and there was absolutely no intention of trying to. Fight Forever does do a bunch of small things great. Malakai Black can squat down “Yoga style” to avoid attacks; he can also spit black mist that will stutter your opponent for a few seconds. There are a lot of smaller, cool moments like these and Orange Cassidy’s sloth-motion hands-in-pockets power, Adam Cole can remove his kneepad and Penta can remove his glove, MJF’s signature play-dead eye-poke that diehard AEW fans will really appreciate.

The match pacing is great, if you’re up for a relentlessly frantic style that is 100x more Here Comes The Pain than the more schematic sim of 2K. It’s all about momentum, mixing up your combat and offering a blend of unique offense and well-timed defense to get that victory. Signature and Special moves are super easy to accomplish, you can obtain these sequences fairly early in the match if your momentum is right, and the animation captures these moments greatly. Fight Forever has absolutely no shame in going over the top, and captures an awesome balance between being cartoonishly arcade and STILL feeling REAL TO ME DAMN IT. You can toss gas cans for some wild explosions, ride around in Darby’s skateboard, and splatter tons of blood via barbed wire brooms, bats, fire extinguishers, and the like. There are over 40 weapons in all! The Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match is super thrilling with a friend and so Fire Pro, even offering a hidden option to recapture the infamous dud explosion from AEW Revolution 2021.

ALL OUT

When it comes to presentation, AEW Fight Forever is not that Dynamite. Maybe that’s the point. THQ/Yukes saves a few bucks by having the four main voices of All Elite say very few things, and, surely, Excalibur, Good Ol’ JR, Schiavone and Taz digitally mail this one in. Hell, Ross sounds like he recorded his bits half asleep on a plane whenever he welcomes the players to an AEW show (“It’s Sunday and you know what that meanzzz…zzz…zzz…). Somebody ought to give this guy a slobberknocker shot of whiskey in his barbecue sauce. Come on, Jim! On the contrary, I’m starting to see a lot of feedback on social media that gamers prefer not having any commentary anyway, judging how the play-by-play and color commentary in WWE 2K has been mundane for years. It’s a shame that wrasslin’ games haven’t been able to live up to the level of NBA 2K or even Madden NFL’s outstanding booths.

Entrances are seven seconds long, deeming the Create-An-Entrance mode worthless. What’s the point of overpowering your hello with pyro for.. seven seconds? Again, it’s one of those things where the smaller budget for FF went to other things than a 40-second plus entrance that most players will eventually skip anyway. That said, Fight Forever’s seven second entrances are great for the seven seconds. You’ve also got to love the Austin Aires/Kenny Omega/Ultimo Dragon ALL DA BELTS pose possibilities. It’s cute, little things like this that give Fight Forever the charm it needs to help separate it from the wealthier competition.

Sadly, you essentially can’t create anyone. The creation suite, particularly create-a-wrestler, is an absolute stinker, incredibly underwhelming, bare-bones, and whatever other adjectives you want to describe what a travesty this mode really is. I even tried to make everyone’s favorite pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer and he has no other choice but to look 35 instead of 63, which I’m sure would make him thrilled. So no face morphing, aging, changing colors of accessories, etc. Worst yet, you can’t download anyone’s creations. A lot of gamers buy 2K JUST to download the amazing work of Dre41, Iconic 2K, Defract, WhatsTheStatus, etc. Maybe this was a heavy copyright thing that AEW didn’t want to deal with; then again, you can still make a Big Lots Cena and Ross Reigns and post video of your creations up on YouTube, so likely just another budgetary thing.

FULL GEAR

Not quite, Adam. Sans the incredibly fun (but still limited) Barbed Wire Death Match and Lights Out matches, Fight Forever offers very few match types and even lesser modes. For a company that has had 100 Ladder Matches with the Lucha Bros, you can’t have a tag team Ladder Match. For a company that often apes the 8 and 10-person tags of New Japan, you can’t have more than 4 wrestlers in a ring. For a company that has Trios TITLES, you can’t have a 6-person tag match. Yeah, there’s hardly any variety here.

I had the most fun with FF’s eccentric little single player career mode, Road To Elite. Because the menus are somewhat clunky, I had no idea I could even take a CAW into the career. Thus I opted for Jungle Boy, who, at the time – but has since gone full-on Luke Perry rogue – appeared like the most white meat babyface guy to start a fresh career path with, and it was a blast getting involved in a “Blind Eliminator” tag team with Eddie Kingston (before that term even became a thing), taking selfies and talking scrap at some tourist sights with Hangman Page, and getting into a love affair turned ugly with Jack’s real life beau Anna Jay. The fact I got to accomplish this all in one single night on the clock at work? “Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhhh-ohhhh” is right! I’m telling y’all, portable play will have you forgiving a lot of things about Fight Forever.

RTE will bury you, too. There are several paths, stories and even characters to unlock during this mode and it will take you a few times before you get it all. In a way, that’s great; but what happens to our “career” once we complete it? There’s no Universe we can set up once we become “Elite”. There’s just a bunch of exhibition matches. That said, I’m expecting a ton of expansion with Fight Forever; word from THQ Yukes and AEW is that there will be a lot of post-launch support for this one ala FPW, maybe even for years, compared to the annual cranking of WWE entries from 2K. While that would definitely be best for business, I’m wondering if $60 might have been too high for a game that’s admittedly incomplete – especially if you have to pay an extra $20 for DLC. It felt so strange to try to put the FTW title on Hook, the AEW Women’s Title on Toni Storm, and the AEW World Tag Titles on FTR, only to find that none of these real life champs were in the game on day one. Heck, Storm didn’t even make the first wave of DLC that features Cash, Dax, Taz’ kid and Keith Lee, Danhausen and The Bunny.

FORBIDDEN DOOR

The general consensus is here: AEW Fight Forever is a fine start, a solid core wrestling title with lots of kinks to work out, yet a foundation reminiscent of the good ol’ days of games like WCW/nWo Revenge and WWF SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain with lots of promise in the future. Can it ever truly be Elite? Well, that all depends on what you want from a wrestling video game. Old school/arcade fans will eat this up, but for how long? We need an additional GM or Career Mode. We need to download other gamers’ creations. We need to import logos (especially for Create-An-Arena). We need more than 4 wrestlers in the ring. We need more wrestling match types (a future Stadium Stampede mode is confirmed!). Mini-games are fun, but for how long?

Longtime 2K heads will definitely be disappointed by the depth, especially once the nostalgic joy of Road To Elite starts to fade. But, if Kenny & his homies at Yukes (I mean, he brought back Geta!) follow the FPW & Virtua Pro Wrestling formula over the next 2-3 years, we may be in for a lengthy Elite treat without having to essentially buy the same game year in and year out. That’s a whole lot of hope, but if anyone can deliver on the promise it’s The Cleaner – the sweeping brain behind all the silly Mario Partyesque mini-games, international meals and sights that only a Yakuza-loving Best Bout Machine could offer.

P.S. Change all of the music in the Jukebox option immediately to the 8-bit tribute versions of entrance themes. You can thank me later.

Gameplay = 4.25/5
Visuals/Animations = 3.5/5
Presentation = 3/5
Matches/Modes = 3/5
Creation Suite = 1.5/5
Switch Portability = 4.5/5

Overall = 3.25/5 Whiskeys.

-Travis Moody

THQ Nordic/Yuke’s AEW: Fight Forever is available now on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, P5, Xbox One, Series S/X, and PC.

June 29, 2023June 30, 2023
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INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY [ScreenX Review] – One More Time.

ScreenX is a tricky format. To the casual moviegoer it seems as if the 270-degree panoramic view isn’t adding a whole lot to the experience, seeing how 99.5% of the action is front and center. But it’s about the feel. Indiana Jones And The Dial of Destiny is my surprise movie hit of the summer (chiefly due to how shitty the early word was about the film; more on that later), and ScreenX isn’t a bad way to experience all of the thrills.

Based on the great — or make that startling reaction — I’ve experienced twice watching the 4DX trailer for Indy 5, I was shocked that the CJ 4DPLEX company would opt to screen the long-awaited Indiana Jones sequel in ScreenX instead. Now, having watched the panoramic motion-theater presentation on Wednesday night, I can understand why with a “but”. The Dial of Destiny has a surplus of exotic locales you’d expect from an Indy movie, and capturing that on three screens is better than one. I’m assuming other critics, “influencers” and ScreenRant guests felt the same — just ever so subtly. Of course, with 4DX your seats crash and burn, air is shot to your ears and ankles and there are weird smells whenever you’re somewhere.. exotic. But, having experienced some heavy motion with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and The Flash, I had no issue sitting comfortably in a theater for 2-plus hours this time.

The most memorable ScreenX scenes, however, were moments where I — or Dr. Henry Walton Jones Jr., to be more apropos — felt the most closed in. Cheeky scenes of Indy taking the subway (the train, not the sandwich) or finding himself traversing a suffocating ancient ruin tunnel worked well within the triple-screen format. Like most ScreenX flicks, the side panels aren’t utilized for maybe 40-50% of the duration. But there is a lovely moment when Indiana and Helena (the absolutely terrific Phoebe Waller-Bridge, an absolute scene-stealer) arrive under a splendidly shot, gorgeous bridge landscape. ScreenX really captures this moment profoundly and many more time-lapsing moments well, especially with the abundant number of chase scenes, particular one menacing 3-wheeler wild ride(!), throughout Tangier and other numerous epic lands.

This is a James Mangold (Logan, 3:10 to Yuma) film, through and through, but definitely one more soaked with nostalgia. He clearly knew that following a legend such as Steven Spielberg would be a dangerous whip to swing from, so Mangold carefully curates each shot as an ode to the past within his own auteur sensibilities. To some critics, there’s little risk in that, which I get — but are you really set out to do an Indy legacy film fifteen years after the last (and mostly forgettable) sequel to change the dial (ah-ha!) or to recapture the essence of what made these films to enjoyably memorable in the first place? Kudos to Mangold for even giving this job a thought, and more props for coming close to the epic original trilogy. Even if this is, indeed, the fourth best Indy film, The Dial of Destiny absolutely fits within the confines of what made the o.g.’s so special in the first place.

Harrison Ford is outstanding, a true legend who doesn’t “mail in” his final performance as one of cinema’s most iconic characters. He’s still naturally stoic and gruffly handsome, even in all the digitized foundtain of youth CG. Don’t worry– there’s still plenty of “old Indy” with a slew of “aching back, bones are breaking” jokes that Ford banters with his co-stars as well as an elderly Indy could. It’s amazing that we got this type of performance from Ford at this stage of his career — the man is 80! Along with bringing back John Williams for the score, this is about as good an Indiana Jones sequel you’re going to get.

As far as format, it’s more of a debate here between ScreenX and 4DX than whether you should see Indy 5 in a premium format. At least in 2023 — a year where most folks have big screen TV’s and surround sounds powerful enough to enjoy a movie in the comforts of our own homes (with much cheaper popcorn and soda) — you should always see movies in premium formats, and the enhanced storytelling of ScreenX is a format you should chose if you’re not up for a little bump ‘n run of the fourth dimension, but still want some added oomph to the immersion.

Movie = 4/5
ScreenX = 3.5/5

-Travis Moody

Lucasfilm/Walt Disney Studios’ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny takes off in theaters nationwide today.