After a stressful week preparing for finals and a big internship interview, I decided to spend an afternoon browsing through some of the original content offered by Amazon and Netflix. I really loved “House of Cards” from Netflix, so I was looking forward to watching more of their shows. I was more than pleased to hear about Eli Roth producing a show called “Hemlock” Grove since I was a fan of his Hostel films. On the other hand, Amazon is releasing a web series based on the hit film Zombieland. In addition, I also checked out some of their pilots like Alpha House and Betas. Unlike Netflix, Amazon releases their episodes gradually instead of dropping one whole season at a time.

In short, were these shows great? Well, I’ve watched a couple of them and here’s my brief thoughts on them. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments! Continue Reading »

It’s sort of hard to explain what this is, so I’ll just show you with the first item on the list here:

1. Die Hard/Love Actually

“The hero discovers what Alan Rickman has been secretly up to, and it ruins Christmas.”

It’s from a rather fantastic reddit thread that was passed on to me some time ago, and I just had to sift through for the highlights. Read the rest below: Continue Reading »

by Indy Zoeller

Poker is a great metaphor.  The artful bluff, the showdown, the highs and lows, the agonizing bad beats and triumphant reversals – there is much of life in poker.  So much that it makes even a visually uninteresting game (it’s essentially people sitting at a table pushing around pieces of paper and plastic chips) a televised and widely watched sport.

This isn’t a list of the best-portrayed poker games in media.  Actual poker players know that very rarely does realistic poker make for climatic moments (see Casino Royale for details). 

Rather, this is a list of poker scenes where poker is used as a way to communicate something, a way for the characters to explore some aspect of the human condition in an interesting way.
Continue Reading »

by Nick “trashcanman” Verboon

Now, most of us all think of the same thing when we hear Bruce Lee’s name: the guy who kicked all the ass.  ALL.  OF.  IT.   We think of the impossibly charismatic movie star who changed the worlds of film and martial arts permanently in a mere 32 years on this earth before being taken from us.    We think of his epic showdown with Chuck Norris in the Roman Colliseum.  We think about how “Enter the Dragon” is indisputably one of the greatest action films of all time.  We think about all the times weve kicked and punched the air with a high-pitched “WAAAH!”  We think of one-inch punches, two-finger push-ups and other superhuman feats we would not believe were possible if the videos didn’t prove they really happened.   And some of us think about all of those who have tried to follow in his footsteps;  the Hong Kong Brucesploitation travesty featuring films with actors named Bruce Li or Bruce Lei (to name two) that existed only to trick people out of their money or the plentiful video game and anime characters who have bared his likeness.

Any way you cut it, Bruce Lee was a visionary whose shadow is still cast over every martial-artist, action hero, and colorful media personality to this day.  But what a lot of people don’t know is the true breadth of his influence in the non-asskicking arts.  Philosophy, poetry, film choreography, fitness, and nutrition are all areas where Lee made major contributions and blazed trails.   I grew up watching “Kung Fu Theater” on Saturday afternoons and always knew Bruce Lee was The Man, even when I was too young to appreciate why.   But looking back on those classic films from an adult perspective and looking deeper into a man who has always captivated the world revealed to me a man with a brilliant mind to match his physical prowess and magnetic charisma.

For my first contribution to Unreality, I’ve decided to pay tribute to an under-appreciated aspect of a personal hero of mine whose words have provided guidance to me in the best of times and in the worst.  And in doing so, I can offer up a little slice of my worldview as a form of introduction.  Let’s do this.     Continue Reading »

When was the last time a movie disturbed you so much you almost wish you didn’t watch it? For me, I used to rarely feel that way, but in the last few years it seems I have been hit with an avalanche of movies that have resonated deep within me, on the worst level possible. This doesn’t mean I don’t like them, but means I can’t seem to shake them. The reason for this is that these films I speak of that I cannot shake were all based on true stories.

And I don’t mean that in the loosest sense of the term “true”, that Hollywood throws around now so liberally. No, I mean these movies are based on the stories, and have it all spot on, right down to the dialogue in some cases. Shutting a disturbing movie off when it is fiction is one thing, but shutting a disturbing movie off and then having it slowly process how it actually happened, can be quite damning, actually. Brief disclaimer  these films are utterly devastating and very disturbing for the most part, so approach this material keeping that in mind at all times. This is NOT a list (or movies) for the kiddies. Continue Reading »

Pages: 1 2

What’s in a name? Naming characters is, I think, one of the most difficult tasks faced by writers. You want the name to reflect their personality in some way. Can a name even do that? I don’t know, but we sure think it can.

Even more than given names, I love nicknames. One of my favorite aspects of Wolverine (at least in X-Men: Evolution) is that he has a nickname for almost everyone. And sometimes nicknames characters get are just ridiculous. Continue Reading »

The best directors know that a key element to their job is being emotionally manipulative to their audience. To truly take an audience for a ride, in the short time they are with you, you need to throw as many genuine emotions at them as you can. Note I said “genuine”, because if they don’t work, there is no way the audience is going to ALLOW themselves to be emotionally manipulated. A director who seems to know this well is Michael Haneke (Funny Games, Amour, Cache). He knows that in order to keep an audience entranced and truly invested in a film, you need to stack tragedies and suffering on top of whatever story it is you are telling, regardless of how hard that trauma will hit.

You know who else seems to know this blueprint for memorable films? Pixar. You see the logo and you brace yourself, knowing that you will most likely bawl like a child at some point in the next couple hours. The thing is, the movies are not just emotionally manipulative. They tend to be absolutely brilliant and and utter joy to watch, as well, which makes them even MORE memorable. Here, for your reading pleasure, are the five Pixar films that had me openly weeping at one point, and I take no shame in admitting that. Disney has been doing this to me since I was just a child. Disney has a fetish for killing animal parents and forcing early maturation on America’s youth, and Pixar doesn’t fall far from the tree.

We are emotionally stunted for the most part, though, so we NEED Pixar. Also, any guys who feel compelled to take to the comments and point out how no movies make you cry, and I am a pansy, or some similar logic, let me say it now : We get it, you have a huge penis and sweat grain alcohol. You are an alpha and none of us are man enough to set foot into your cave. Cool, awesome? Go away now. Real men cry. And Pixar helps us get in touch with that side. If anything, the real men of the world owe Pixar a bit of thanks for that. Okay this thing is derailing quick, on to the good stuff.

Continue Reading »

When the Oculus Rift was first announced, I was initially skeptical about it. I thought that we might not have even discovered the right technology for it yet. However, my feelings gradually shifted from skepticism to cautious optimism as we learn more from the people who have tried the device. It’s not perfect. People still report experiencing nausea and the like, but it’s definitely one of the most developed prototypes we’ve seen. I regard the Oculus Rift the same way I perceive Google Glass. Glass and Rift won’t come out perfect during launch. Yet, I strongly believe that these devices will serve as a benchmark in creating the ultimate virtual/augmented reality software.

I recently stumbled upon this video from Mashable wherein a startup called Virtuix demonstrated their product ‘Omni’ paired with the Oculus Rift. The Omni is basically a treadmill-like “natural motion interface for virtual reality applications” that enable our real life movements to translate into the video game world. Check the video out here if you want to see for yourself. Regardless of the size, it was still pretty awesome and I felt the envy grow within me. It felt like being a kid in the arcade all over again, as I waited anxiously for my turn to play Ridge Racer.

It’s no doubt that it will take a couple of years until we truly get a near optimal virtual reality device. However, devices like the Omni and the Oculus Rift are visible show us how we are close to getting there. To share my excitement, here are some types of video games I’m excited to see used with virtual reality devices in the near future. What games are you excited to use virtual reality with? Let us know in the comments! Continue Reading »

I have a very odd relationship with sequels (see what I did there^). Well, all my relationships are odd, so I guess in that sense, I have a fairly normal relationship with sequels, by my world’s strange standards. What I mean by that is, for the most part, I feel like sequels are unnecessary cash cows that vacuum out the ideals of good stories in gaming. Companies that just add lore to lore, on top of more lore, with it all feeling like loose twine, trying to hold a whole, disjointed series together, just doesn’t work for me. And sequels are usually just used to further push a game mechanic made famous by the first game.

A perfect example of this is the Gears of War series. A great series, no doubt, but by the most recent installment, I just felt like I had done it all to death, Duck behind walls, kill some guys, ride some kind of machine, kill some more guys, over and over. But there are games that I enjoyed so much, that I want to go back into the worlds, desperately, and have been eagerly awaiting news as to when I might be able to. Some of these seem hopeless, some of these have some faint prospects, but none of that will keep me from dreaming about these six games I feel truly deserve the sequel treatment. You’ll notice I don’t go any older than Playstation (1) here, and that is because I already did an older games I wish would get rebooted list, and this is kind of an unofficial follow up.

Continue Reading »

Pages: 1 2

It is no secret to most people who know me that I can sometimes be a horrible human being. Maybe it’s for the sake of writing or comedy, or maybe it’s just to push my own personal agenda. We can’t be sure.

But am I a better person than a robot? Surely I’m better than a pile of rust and metal. Apparently not. Continue Reading »

I am at a point in my life when gun fights in movies really don’t impress me all that much anymore. I adored the final gun fight in Equilibrium, and some of the Matrix bullet-time shit was a lot of fun the first few times you saw it, but if you are from generation X like me, you grew up on 80′s and 90′s action movies, and have overplayed your fair share of “cover shooter” games that have you engaging in twenty minute gun battles, and some of the excitement you feel over hot chunks of lead flying through the air and landing in people has worn off on. What is good, though, is there has been a shift in how cinema views an action scene or a standoff between two people now.

Where once, it was fists, knives, and bullets, we are in a time in film when anything goes. Is there a kid’s bike on the ground near you? Kick it up in the air and use it as a weapon. You see that plant over in the corner, you can totally utilize that as a weapon of death, too. Here are six other examples film has given me, but my general suggestion to you would be to not try any of this at home, despite how awesome some of the scenes are. And in the case of the mech loader, if you DO have one of these to try at home, call me over your house, stat!

Continue Reading »

Pages: 1 2