As Hollywood continues to run out of ideas, they're going to keep turning any and all books into movies. Any book that is remotely similar to anything that made money is going to get the big screen treatment at some point or another. Some of these movies will be good while some of them will inevitably end up being train-wrecks.
However we need to take a step back in how we judge and critique these movies. Stories that we loved in print form are not necessarily going to be translated word for word into the movie and nor should they be or can they be.
When you're reading a book, the author has the ally of your imagination when you're reading, especially when it comes to horror stories. The author can paint just a vague picture of a demon for example and your imagination will fill in the rest. If you're reading about something you know is horrible, your brain will immediately fill in the most horrible thing it can conceive because the scariest thing is the unknown. Not giving you concrete details about something is scarier than knowing every little thing.
I can't find the exact person to attribute this quote to but I will always remember this from an English class in high school: "If I tell you that there's a 10 foot cockroach on the other side of the door, you'll just say 'Oh that's scary but at least it's not a 20 foot cockroach.' And if I tell you that there's a 20 foot cockroach on the other side of the door you'll say 'Oh that's scary but at least it's not a 30 foot cockroach.' The fear of the unknown is always greater than the known."
Horror films suffer the most from this because before when the author could leave most of it up to your imagination, a film director has to actually do the job that your imagination did before. No matter what they can come up with, it's not as scary as not actually knowing. It's natural human instinct to fear the unknown and as soon as it known, it is instantly less scary.
So when watching a movie based on a book, look at it through a different lens. What you pictured in your imagination is most likely not going to be what is shown on the screen but that doesn't make it a bad movie. The imagination is a powerful weapon but beware the double-edged sword. Enjoy the movie for what it's worth, as a separate entity of the book.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Super Smash Brothers Dream Mode
Nintendo keeps having videos leaked, or more likely leaking them themselves, revealing new characters that will be DLC for Super Smash Bros. Most recently we've seen Ryu from Street Fighter, Roy from Fire Emblem, and Lucas from Mother 3.
Ryu is at least a little bit exciting since he's a character we haven't seen before. Apparently Lucas and Roy are extremely beloved in Japan which might explain their inclusion. It's less exciting on this side of the Pacific especially when you take into account the fact that Mother 3 was never released in the U.S., with the exception of pirated and translated copies.
It got me thinking about some other characters that might be fun to have in Smash Brothers. With characters like Sonic the Hedgehog, Ryu, and Pac-man already in the game, the options are wide open.
1. Geno (Super Mario RPG)- there's been a campaign on the internet to get the warrior from the Star Road included in the game and I'm with them. Geno could be a lot of fun and already has a huge following. As long as his character isn't terrible, it'd be a win.
2. Knuckles (Sonic the Hedgehog)- we've already got Sonic and everyone knows that Knuckles is way cooler. There's a bunch of Star Fox clones, so why not a Sonic variant? Still really fast but can go toe to toe with the heavyweights. Make it so, Nintendo.
3. Scorpion (Mortal Kombat)- if Street Fighter can join the party, why not the other most popular fighting game of all time? Just imagine hearing "GET OVER HERE!" and then Bowser getting yanked across the screen by the harpoon. If that doesn't appeal to you... just get out of there.
4. Sephiroth(Final Fantasy VII)- this really can't need any explanation, can it?
5. Earthworm Jim (Earthworm Jim)- a forgotten classic that also spawned a fun cartoon series. Jim could be a lot of fun with all the things he could do with his suit and the fact that he's, you know, a worm. I just want to see a Kirby version on this.
These are my top choices to join the ranks of Smash Bros. What are some of yours?
Ryu is at least a little bit exciting since he's a character we haven't seen before. Apparently Lucas and Roy are extremely beloved in Japan which might explain their inclusion. It's less exciting on this side of the Pacific especially when you take into account the fact that Mother 3 was never released in the U.S., with the exception of pirated and translated copies.
It got me thinking about some other characters that might be fun to have in Smash Brothers. With characters like Sonic the Hedgehog, Ryu, and Pac-man already in the game, the options are wide open.
1. Geno (Super Mario RPG)- there's been a campaign on the internet to get the warrior from the Star Road included in the game and I'm with them. Geno could be a lot of fun and already has a huge following. As long as his character isn't terrible, it'd be a win.
2. Knuckles (Sonic the Hedgehog)- we've already got Sonic and everyone knows that Knuckles is way cooler. There's a bunch of Star Fox clones, so why not a Sonic variant? Still really fast but can go toe to toe with the heavyweights. Make it so, Nintendo.
3. Scorpion (Mortal Kombat)- if Street Fighter can join the party, why not the other most popular fighting game of all time? Just imagine hearing "GET OVER HERE!" and then Bowser getting yanked across the screen by the harpoon. If that doesn't appeal to you... just get out of there.
4. Sephiroth(Final Fantasy VII)- this really can't need any explanation, can it?
5. Earthworm Jim (Earthworm Jim)- a forgotten classic that also spawned a fun cartoon series. Jim could be a lot of fun with all the things he could do with his suit and the fact that he's, you know, a worm. I just want to see a Kirby version on this.
These are my top choices to join the ranks of Smash Bros. What are some of yours?
Thursday, June 18, 2015
My First Week with Elder Scrolls Online
An Incomplete Review of Sorts
Day 1:
As with every morning, I hop on my phone to read the latest gaming news. One of the highlighted articles was regarding ESO and it's servers having issues with the traffic volumes. While I wasn't shocked, I was more concerned by how quick a fix would be for this.
The work day passed and I rushed to my local game store to pick up my reserved copy from months back. Rushed home and installed the game with a huge sense of urgency, as if I were missing vital things in the game. After a long 15gb day on patch I finally logged on and began to create my character. I went with a Sorcerer Class, an Ebonheart Pact Alliance and a Khajiit as my race. Out of the normal build from previous games in the franchise. After an hour of customizing and tweaking to perfection I was ready!
The story began just like any other in the franchise, no weapons, ragged clothes and stuck in some dark dungeon level having to complete yet another game tutorial. I ran through this pretty quick picking up everything as I ran through to sell later. The feeling of excitement was slowly fading as the tutorial dragged on longer than I had hoped.
With two hours of game play, all I had accomplished was building a character and learning the ropes. I wasn't really satisfied until the world finally opened up for me to explore! Unfortunately, like most people, I had to head to bed as I had work in the morning and being 30 means you don't recover like before pulling a late night gaming session.
To wrap my thoughts on the first day I would have to say I was pleased with the character builds, but underwhelmed with the game play so far. At least the server issues had resolved for now.
Day 2:
After thinking about my adventures ahead all day at work and watching others play on streaming sites, I rushed home to explore Tamriel!
My character loaded right where I had left off and I was ready to start taking missions. The first mission was just a basic fetch mission where you just run and get items and kill enemies while exploring an linear dungeon. This was a breeze and I even gain a couple levels! As I proceeded into the nearest town to collect more missions, the game was starting to lag. During the mission I was able to accept, the characters around me randomly were frozen in place. As I walked up to them, like I was going to wake them or something, I wondered what was happening in Tamriel. Was this the end of the world? Was this a glitch or lag? I found my answer moments after that as the game timed out and even dashboarded my PS4...
This would eventually lead to the end of Day 2 for me as servers crashed. I would love to continue to share my journey, but today would be Day 9 as I am writing this and the servers are still inconsistent for me.
Is this the future of games at launch for us? What is causing this continued trend we are in? I really wish I had the answers, but I feel at a loss for words with the industry now. This will be at least the tenth game that I have been burned on for either of the leading consoles since the launch of the new generation.
Please share any of the thoughts or problems you have endured with ESO or any game that you have been burned on.
Thank you all for taking you time to read my journey with ESO.
Travis L. with DNA
As with every morning, I hop on my phone to read the latest gaming news. One of the highlighted articles was regarding ESO and it's servers having issues with the traffic volumes. While I wasn't shocked, I was more concerned by how quick a fix would be for this.
The work day passed and I rushed to my local game store to pick up my reserved copy from months back. Rushed home and installed the game with a huge sense of urgency, as if I were missing vital things in the game. After a long 15gb day on patch I finally logged on and began to create my character. I went with a Sorcerer Class, an Ebonheart Pact Alliance and a Khajiit as my race. Out of the normal build from previous games in the franchise. After an hour of customizing and tweaking to perfection I was ready!
The story began just like any other in the franchise, no weapons, ragged clothes and stuck in some dark dungeon level having to complete yet another game tutorial. I ran through this pretty quick picking up everything as I ran through to sell later. The feeling of excitement was slowly fading as the tutorial dragged on longer than I had hoped.
With two hours of game play, all I had accomplished was building a character and learning the ropes. I wasn't really satisfied until the world finally opened up for me to explore! Unfortunately, like most people, I had to head to bed as I had work in the morning and being 30 means you don't recover like before pulling a late night gaming session.
To wrap my thoughts on the first day I would have to say I was pleased with the character builds, but underwhelmed with the game play so far. At least the server issues had resolved for now.
After thinking about my adventures ahead all day at work and watching others play on streaming sites, I rushed home to explore Tamriel!
My character loaded right where I had left off and I was ready to start taking missions. The first mission was just a basic fetch mission where you just run and get items and kill enemies while exploring an linear dungeon. This was a breeze and I even gain a couple levels! As I proceeded into the nearest town to collect more missions, the game was starting to lag. During the mission I was able to accept, the characters around me randomly were frozen in place. As I walked up to them, like I was going to wake them or something, I wondered what was happening in Tamriel. Was this the end of the world? Was this a glitch or lag? I found my answer moments after that as the game timed out and even dashboarded my PS4...
This would eventually lead to the end of Day 2 for me as servers crashed. I would love to continue to share my journey, but today would be Day 9 as I am writing this and the servers are still inconsistent for me.
Is this the future of games at launch for us? What is causing this continued trend we are in? I really wish I had the answers, but I feel at a loss for words with the industry now. This will be at least the tenth game that I have been burned on for either of the leading consoles since the launch of the new generation.
Please share any of the thoughts or problems you have endured with ESO or any game that you have been burned on.
Thank you all for taking you time to read my journey with ESO.
Travis L. with DNA
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Final Fantasy VII Remake
The video game world was set abuzz when Square-Enix announced that they would finally be remaking the long revered RPG Final Fantasy VII. Everyone was super stoked. Hell, I'm excited and I don't even have a PS4.
However, Square needs to tread lightly here. FF7 is held in such high regard by fanboys and fangirls everywhere that if they make too many alterations to the game it will blow up in their faces. Anything being updated graphics and controls could end disastrously. Extra secret bosses, yeah that's find but don't be introducing any new storylines.
That's the danger of trying to remake old games. Sometimes the nostalgia is all that people really want. This particular game might translate well but there's definitely certain games that no one should ever try to remake and certain ones that are primed for a reboot.
Take for example Final Fantasy VI, the greatest Final Fantasy ever. If you say otherwise, you're wrong. There's been no buzz every about redoing the game outside of the honed graphics version that was released on the iOS and Game Boy Advanced. It's because you don't mess with perfection. It was about as perfect as an RPG can be, so why even bother?
Another example would be the under-the-radar RPG for the Super Nintendo Earthbound. Part of the charm of the game was its quirky, almost bad graphics. You can't try to redo that for these new systems because it would just look stupid and loose the goofiness of the whole thing.
Probably the best example would be Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past. You can't touch that game. It's arguably the greatest Zelda game of all time and usually ranks up as one of the greatest games in general as a whole. If you try to reboot that game and don't essentially make a carbon copy you're asking for trouble. It's all about the court of public opinions and these days it's so much easier for people to find and see it.
Then there's other games that they could definitely redo for the newer systems. A personal favorite of mine was the Star Wars series Dark Forces, basically a Doom clone. It was the first ever Star Wars first person shooter so imagine that with updated graphics. Yeah, that'd be pretty epic. I'd buy that and I think so would a lot of other people.
So let this be a warning to the game companies: tread lightly with our games and our memories.
However, Square needs to tread lightly here. FF7 is held in such high regard by fanboys and fangirls everywhere that if they make too many alterations to the game it will blow up in their faces. Anything being updated graphics and controls could end disastrously. Extra secret bosses, yeah that's find but don't be introducing any new storylines.
That's the danger of trying to remake old games. Sometimes the nostalgia is all that people really want. This particular game might translate well but there's definitely certain games that no one should ever try to remake and certain ones that are primed for a reboot.
Take for example Final Fantasy VI, the greatest Final Fantasy ever. If you say otherwise, you're wrong. There's been no buzz every about redoing the game outside of the honed graphics version that was released on the iOS and Game Boy Advanced. It's because you don't mess with perfection. It was about as perfect as an RPG can be, so why even bother?
Another example would be the under-the-radar RPG for the Super Nintendo Earthbound. Part of the charm of the game was its quirky, almost bad graphics. You can't try to redo that for these new systems because it would just look stupid and loose the goofiness of the whole thing.
Probably the best example would be Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past. You can't touch that game. It's arguably the greatest Zelda game of all time and usually ranks up as one of the greatest games in general as a whole. If you try to reboot that game and don't essentially make a carbon copy you're asking for trouble. It's all about the court of public opinions and these days it's so much easier for people to find and see it.
Then there's other games that they could definitely redo for the newer systems. A personal favorite of mine was the Star Wars series Dark Forces, basically a Doom clone. It was the first ever Star Wars first person shooter so imagine that with updated graphics. Yeah, that'd be pretty epic. I'd buy that and I think so would a lot of other people.
So let this be a warning to the game companies: tread lightly with our games and our memories.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
The Flawed Rule of Three
Whenever a person of note passed, people immediately begin looking for the Three. The rule of thumb is that whenever one famous person passes two more are usually right behind them. More often than not, it does seem to be true.
Or does it?
Here at DNA, we were all upset by the loss of Sir Christopher Lee. Some of us were more upset than others by the passing of "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. We were immediately checking in on our other favorite celebrities to make sure that they were still among the living. Even as we were looking for the third member of the Three, there was some debate about whether or not we even had two members yet.
Who actually gets to decide The Three?
People who aren't into movies or younger people who haven't seen the Lord of the Rings or the most recent Star Wars movies might not even know who Christopher Lee was. Those that didn't follow professional wrestling primarily in the 80's and 90's most likely aren't that familiar with Dusty Rhodes and didn't find themselves affected by his death. Someone I used to work with was greatly upset by the passing of Ornette Coleman, a jazz musician pioneer who I had never even heard of.
There's been more than 100 deaths of people that were prominent enough for Wikipedia to note just in the month of June. Why are any of these other people less worthy than anyone else? Scientists, singers, actors, and athletes have all departed to the afterlife in just the last 12 days.
Are they any less worthy of being mourned than anyone else? Why is Christopher Lee more important than Dame Anne Warburton who was a college president, ambassador and representative to the UN? In the big world picture, Lee probably wasn't as important but that's how at least American society seems to be this day in age. Pop culture rules all.
So keep that in mind next time a big name dies. Just because you haven't found your Three doesn't mean someone else isn't already mourning theirs.
Or does it?
Here at DNA, we were all upset by the loss of Sir Christopher Lee. Some of us were more upset than others by the passing of "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. We were immediately checking in on our other favorite celebrities to make sure that they were still among the living. Even as we were looking for the third member of the Three, there was some debate about whether or not we even had two members yet.
Who actually gets to decide The Three?
People who aren't into movies or younger people who haven't seen the Lord of the Rings or the most recent Star Wars movies might not even know who Christopher Lee was. Those that didn't follow professional wrestling primarily in the 80's and 90's most likely aren't that familiar with Dusty Rhodes and didn't find themselves affected by his death. Someone I used to work with was greatly upset by the passing of Ornette Coleman, a jazz musician pioneer who I had never even heard of.
There's been more than 100 deaths of people that were prominent enough for Wikipedia to note just in the month of June. Why are any of these other people less worthy than anyone else? Scientists, singers, actors, and athletes have all departed to the afterlife in just the last 12 days.
Are they any less worthy of being mourned than anyone else? Why is Christopher Lee more important than Dame Anne Warburton who was a college president, ambassador and representative to the UN? In the big world picture, Lee probably wasn't as important but that's how at least American society seems to be this day in age. Pop culture rules all.
So keep that in mind next time a big name dies. Just because you haven't found your Three doesn't mean someone else isn't already mourning theirs.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
New Releases for the Week of 6/7/15 - 6/13/15
New Release Schedule
Gaming Edition
6/9/15
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited - PS4 and Xbox One
- Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy - PSVita
6/10/15
- Adventures of Pip - WiiU
- Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure - 3DS
6/12/15
- Lego Jurassic World - Win, X360, XBO, PS3, PS4, PSVita, WiiU, 3DS
Jurassic World Insurance Mini Van
With the summer blockbuster season on it's way, we're starting to get besieged by something else as well. Every major movie that has come out recently has had some type of corporate tie-in and filled our TV's with commercials.
This year we've got Jurassic World and Dairy Queen although I'm almost certain that I saw one for an insurance company as well. Disney and Pixar's new movie Inside Out has a couple commercials as well. They've joined forces with Clorox and State Farm for their commercials. I seem to recall in the past seeing car commercials for Transformers, Iron Man and maybe even Spider-man.
Sure the movie companies probably got a sweet deal, but are these commercials really even doing anything? Who has been to DQ, seen their new Blizzard and been like "Man, this is really good. Maybe I will see Jurassic World." It's a movie about dinosaurs and it has Chris Pratt. It pretty much sells itself.
I also can't imagine that it really works the other way either. Who has come out of a movie and been like "That movie was so good I want to buy the car in the commercial now."
If anything, it's just starting to over-saturate the market. If you push something down people's throats too much for too long, there's bound to be a backlash. With the internet and early leaking trailers and sometimes entire movies, this kind of advertising isn't necessary.
We're going to see your movies. We always see your movies. Stop plastering us with commercials and just shut up and take our money.
This year we've got Jurassic World and Dairy Queen although I'm almost certain that I saw one for an insurance company as well. Disney and Pixar's new movie Inside Out has a couple commercials as well. They've joined forces with Clorox and State Farm for their commercials. I seem to recall in the past seeing car commercials for Transformers, Iron Man and maybe even Spider-man.
Sure the movie companies probably got a sweet deal, but are these commercials really even doing anything? Who has been to DQ, seen their new Blizzard and been like "Man, this is really good. Maybe I will see Jurassic World." It's a movie about dinosaurs and it has Chris Pratt. It pretty much sells itself.
I also can't imagine that it really works the other way either. Who has come out of a movie and been like "That movie was so good I want to buy the car in the commercial now."
If anything, it's just starting to over-saturate the market. If you push something down people's throats too much for too long, there's bound to be a backlash. With the internet and early leaking trailers and sometimes entire movies, this kind of advertising isn't necessary.
We're going to see your movies. We always see your movies. Stop plastering us with commercials and just shut up and take our money.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Get Your Dose of Nerd Acumen!
Welcome to the official site for the Dose of Nerd Acumen!
We're a group of three friends that like just about everything nerdy and we're here to share our thoughts with you and hopefully you'll share yours with us too.
We play video games, watch movies and TV, read nerdy books, watch wrestling, and really just about anything technology related.
There's going to be articles, art, pictures and podcasts. Some podcasts will even feature specials guests that we feel can really add something to the conversation.
The official launch date is June 15 but keep checking back! We'll start posting content soon!
Dose of Nerd Acumen... it's in your DNA.
-The Nerd Crew
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We're a group of three friends that like just about everything nerdy and we're here to share our thoughts with you and hopefully you'll share yours with us too.
We play video games, watch movies and TV, read nerdy books, watch wrestling, and really just about anything technology related.
There's going to be articles, art, pictures and podcasts. Some podcasts will even feature specials guests that we feel can really add something to the conversation.
The official launch date is June 15 but keep checking back! We'll start posting content soon!
Dose of Nerd Acumen... it's in your DNA.
-The Nerd Crew
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