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Arcade in the Sky Blog: June 2008

Friday, June 27, 2008

Kongregate

Has anyone heard of this site? What do you think? What's your fav game?
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Monday, June 23, 2008

Kung Fu Panda

This has got to be the biggest surprise in moviedom since as far back as I can remember. It's certainly the biggest pleasant surprise I've ever had.

I should preface this by saying that I like Jack Black. I don't have a poster of him or anything, but I do appreciate his music and movies.

That said, you don't need to like Jack Black at all to appreciate this. Kung Fu Panda is a great story with great characters. Ever plot point and line is woven into a coherent story with no loose ends or tangents. This is a movie that delivers action, laughs, and characters.

I've seen the movie twice already, and I can't wait until DVD, so I can see it a hundred times more.
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Friday, June 20, 2008

Cloverfield, Number 23, Dr. Strange

I've gotten a chance to catch up on some movies this past week. I thought I'd share my thoughts with you. I really should post a full AMA con report, but perhaps I'll do that on Youtube.

Cloverfield. It seems odd that I haven't seen this one until now considering that I put a viral marketing bug for it in this blog last year. I just couldn't find anyone to see it with, and I didn't want to buy the DVD, since I thought it would be a see-me-once type of film, like a Shaymalon movie. It turns out this movie was all sorts of awesome. It was like a breath of fresh air on a muggy August day. This could easily be the best monster movie ever made, but this is coming from someone who is a huge fan of both Godzilla and the Blair Witch Project.

So, I only got this movie cause I was in Blockbuster. I also rented "Black Sheep" while I was there. The New Zealand movie, not the Chris Farley movie. All I can say about Black Sheep is that it is exactly what it should be.

I also got The Number 23. I got the impression that it wasn't very good, but I'm a big fan of "puzzle movies" like Fight Club, Memento, and Donnie Darko. So a puzzle movie of any kind in the 3.99 bin was going to call out to me. The thriller was OK, and Jim Carey was good in it. The movie could have been a bit more puzzlely for me. The best part of this DVD is the extra features where they actually talk to mathematicians and numerologists about the number 23 and all the puzzles it's involved in.

Finally, I got Dr. Strange- the Marvel original animated DVD. I saw an extensive preview of it on the Iron Man Marvel original animated DVD. I must admit, I've never read a Dr. Strange comic and have no interest in the character, but seeing the opening made me think this was a well put together movie, and I was excited to see it.

It turned out to be OK. Dr. Strange's story is refreshing in that he actually develops some character, not just powers or confidence. The actual plot is nothing new, however. It is well done and I think it's the best original animated movie Marvel has made to date.
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Monday, June 16, 2008

Anime Mid Atlantic 2008

I just got back from another excellent AMA. Anime Mid Atlantic is one of my favorite cons. Ed and Ezza and all the folks that put it together do an excellent job. It's not as big as Nekocon or Otakon, but it's still awesome.

This year I did a Video game workshop as well as a drawing workshop. I met a lot of great artists and captured some cool fan footage with my camcorder. Look for it on Youtube later!
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Saturday, June 7, 2008

Heat

It's starting to get hot. I try to belabor turning on my AC in the summer, just like a belabor turning on the heat in the winter. I hate wasting energy. Because it costs money.

I'm going to have to start it soon, I'm getting sticky...
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