Category Jake Combs

The team at Warner Brothers are back with three classic films being released in 4k, Blazing Saddles, North By Northwest and The Terminator!

Warner Brothers have released 4k versions of three more classic films, Blazing Saddles, North By Northwest and The Terminator. Prior to receiving these I had never seen any of the films but knew of them well enough. One thing to keep in mind is that these three films have not aged very well. For example, Blazing Saddles is full of racist comments and jokes.

Blazing Saddles is one that my family have told me for years to watch since I am a fan of Mel Brooks and many of his films. The story follows an African American rail worker turned Sherriff. He must protect a small town from bandits and to prevent the railway from tearing through the town. I was amazed by how the story matched, practically scene for scene, to another Mel Brook’s film, Paws of Fury. The story and the non-racist jokes were great but leaned too far into the racist dialogue.

North By Northwest is a thriller by Alfred Hitchcock that stars Cary Grant. Grant plays Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive that is mistaken as a spy and must clear his name. For a spy thriller from the 50s it was surprisingly well done. I’ve never seen a true Hitchcock film till now and I can see why his name carries so much weight.

The Terminator is the classic film that started the franchise. This film focusing on the Terminator hunting and attempting to kill Sarah Conner. T2 was my introduction to the franchise and despite having seen the original before this was a much needed piece to the overall puzzle.

All three films are currently available for purchase at your favorite retailers. Which one will you be picking up? Is this your first time viewing or are you revisiting a classic you remember?

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the film we never knew we wanted or that we needed with the original living cast and some additions.

The original Beetlejuice film was one that my twisted young mind loved and is probably why my tastes tend to lead towards the macabre and twisted. Warner Brothers have brought back the original cast, those that are still living anyway, and brought us the sequel I think no one really expected with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The film follows Lydia and her daughter as they learn of their father/grandfather’s death and return to the home where Beetlejuice plagued them all. Astrid, Lydia’s daughter, is tricked by the ghost of a dead boy into following him into the afterlife to see her deceased father with a secret plan to trade places with her. Lydia must call on the one entity she knows she can’t trust to save her.

With Tim Burton at the helm and a team of master effects artists this film was a treat from start to finish. Even better is we are given several behind the scenes features where at least one goes in depth on how some of these effects were made. The shrinking Danny DeVito effect was fascinating to watch how they figured it out but even more so was the reassembly of Delores’ body. As to be expected, the cast was over the top in the portrayals of their characters. If you’ve seen the original film then you know they played them no differently then they had then.

I’ve read numerous reviews that complained about the fact that there were two villains or about how they were each defeated. I honestly felt like this was very on brand for the franchise and the progression of the story it made sense each step of the way. Overall I thought the film was EXACTLY was what I wanted from a sequel of a classic from my youth. Regular callbacks to previous events and natural progression of the characters completed the formula. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and feel that anyone that didn’t wasn’t a fan of the original or went into the viewing with the wrong mindset. Following the naming, does this mean we might get a sequel? I certainly hope so.

Trap is a film about a serial killer that attends a concert with his daughter that turns out to be snare meant to prevent him from escaping.

The film Trap, from Warner Brothers and M. Night Shyamalan, follows a father and his daughter as they attend a pop concert where law enforcement hope to catch a serial killer. The story focuses on Josh Hartnett’s character Cooper and his alter ego, The Butcher. He bounces around the arena between searching for an exit and spending time with his daughter. This is all while trying to figure out how law enforcement learned he would be there.

Every step of the way it seems the police are a step ahead and have another avenue of exit blocked off. His creativity with how he avoids them and blends in is quite impressive. If only he used his skills for good.

Having seen the trailer my first impression was that the film would focus on him recognizing he was trapped and then going on a killing spree to as one last party before the end. That is not the film we got. Like a classic Shyamalan film there is always a twist and this time it was much more subtle than expected. Typically his twists basically slap you in the face but this time it could be argued whether it truly is the twist at the end. Despite the film not being the story I expected, or wanted, it was still very well written, exceptionally acted and directed. This is one of those films that I’m certain has hidden details throughout and will require multiple watches to see everything and I’m looking forward to what I find on the next viewing.

ININ has returned with the second volume of the IREM Collection, featuring games from the arcade and SNES.

ININ has come back with another installment of their IREM Collection with Volume 2 and once again it is multiple games I had never heard of. There are three primary titles within the collection with a couple variations of two of them. Those titles are Air Duel, GunForce 1 and GunForce 2.

Air Duel is one of those classic looking top down shooters like 1942. These games were truly the first bullet hell games. If you weren’t quick enough to kill the planes, tanks and ships before they fire then the game becomes more difficult, almost exponentially. Playing these game, while never being very good at them, has always taken me back to playing in the arcade in my youth. The look, feel and total gameplay is exactly how I remember and despite dying, a ton, I loved it.

GunForce 1 and 2 and classic side scroller games that become to be known as a precursor to the king of all run and gun side scroller, Metal Slug. For the majority of both games its not quite so obvious but in GunForce 2 its more obvious. There are literally vehicles that are nearly the exact same in Metal Slug and I knew I had to check this out. Both titles are as unforgiving as the king is, full of nonstop mayhem and hard hitting weapons.

Thanks to these titles being ported in their arcade versions you can load up each game with enough “credits” to play to the end of them all. Of course you can add more as you go to ensure your victory. More often than not, porting vintage/classic titles feel like a lazy attempt at grabbing some nostalgia fueled funds and fall flat on the actual gameplay. For the first time though I am the EXACT demographic for this round of releases. Metal Slug is one of my ride or die titles and I grew up on games like 1942. Makes me rethink my snarky thoughts on the other releases like this. There is a perfect person or people for each release and just because its not perfect for me doesn’t its not for someone else. Honestly the only change I’d make to this game is making the controls/buttons on how to start the games easier to understand on console. It seriously took me way to long to figure out how to start. Pushing on the left stick adds credits to the game. It’s not very intuitive but once you finally get into the game and start then the controls make sense. Other than that though I had a great time with all three titles.

Camp Sunshine is a 16 bit survival horror roleplaying game that first saw success on PC and has been finally released to consoles!

The team at Fossil Games brought out their latest title Camp Sunshine from finding success on pc to see if they can do it again but on consoles. I didn’t realize this until I was writing the review but this is the second title we’re reviewed and were provided by this studio. It is also the second title by them that includes “Sunshine” in the title. Coincidence? Possibly but I doubt it. I expect that if you play them through to the end you’ll find them linked in some way. The original release of this game came out in 2023 and as far as I’m aware there is no difference to the story beyond the console you are using.

In this game you play as Jez, a young but somewhat troubled child who is attending camp. Your first night there you awake to see the aftermath of the murder of one of your bunkmates. It is now up to you to not only survive but to solve and stop the murders around the camp. The game is filled with puzzles, hidden lore and a surprising amount of core for only 16 bits. The Summer Camp Slasher is hunting you, will you help Jez with solving the puzzle and defeating the killer?

As I mentioned I was quite surprised by all they could achieve with the 16 bits and for 16 bits it looks great. The controls are intuitive, puzzles (at least the ones I attempted) were easy to grasp and solve but not so easy they were overly annoying. The music was great for creating the tone of the game and set the ambiance. Overall experience was surprisingly good and I found the game enjoyable. The only change I’d have made is releasing it early in the month of October to better grab the attention of all the horror fans, otherwise this was a surprisingly good tribute to horror stories and an enjoyable game that is more than worth the cost.

Blink Twice starring Channing Tatum is a thriller that surprises at nearly every turn. The pieces are there but will you see them?

Blink Twice is one of those films where the trailer seemed to imply the film was entirely different than it actually is. The film is a thriller but the premise was not at all what we expected. Almost feels like a bait and switch. The trailer from Warner Brothers made the film appear as a story where the uber rich Slater King was tricking people to come to his private island to then be hunted by him and his friends. There is some truth to that but not any of the hunting.

The film starts with Frida arriving to work her shift at a part for Slater King’s charity. With a change of outfits she attends the party and gets invited to the island by Slater himself, played by Channing Tatum. Other than some weird run ins with staff working the grounds, it all seems like fun in the sun with drugs, booze, gourmet meals and watching the help eliminate the native snake population. Everything seems to be great until Frida’s friend was bit by one of the many snakes and it changes everything for Frida.

For anyone interested in seeing the film, I must warn there are numerous scenes of Sexual Assault that I was not expecting to see. Despite those scenes the writing of the film and how it was filmed was quite brilliant. Without spoiling the movie I will only say that I loved the end. The acting, directing, all it, was fantastically done.

Drova Forsaken Kin is an Action-Roleplaying Game that takes the player to an otherworldly place where they must adapt to survive.

From Deck 13 and Just2D, Drova Forsaken Kin a pixel art styled action roleplaying game that takes you to an otherworldly place by travelling through a fog/mist with the aid of an ancient creature. Once arriving your companion has been killed by some sort of monster, seems to be the same that brough you to the new land.

The game started as an overly ambitious dream where a group of designers decided to form a studio. That dream was to build an open world roleplaying game as their first game, starting as students. Soon after they found their publisher and about three years after creation, the game was released. That alone makes for a great story and I must give serious props to the team. Not only did they shoot for the stars but they did it on their own terms and didn’t compromise along the way.

Inspired by Gothic and other classic roleplaying games of the last few decades, the game follows your own custom character as you wander the world of Drova, helping people and defeating monsters and wildlife along the way. Most of the creatures can not only kill you but if you fight them too soon you’ll find yourself outmatched and likely dead. My first impression of the game was that it gave definite Baldur’s Gate vibes, the original, not the new one that recently released. I loved Baldur’s Gate and the original sequel. The vibes continued as the game gives you most of the instructions through just playing and trying things or through dialogue options.

I found the game to be on the difficult side, if you’re like me and rush into danger without being careful, but not so much that it detracted from the game. The visuals rather refined for pixel art and the controls felt natural. Overall I found the game enjoyable and a worthy choice for the next time I feel the need to play an old school RPG.

Alien Romulus is the latest in the Alien franchise, this time returning to the survival horror roots that launched it!

20th Century Studios has returned to the roots of the Alien franchise with Alien Romulus, featuring the likeness of Ian Holm, who played Ash in the original film. With the exception of the original film, I have always felt that the franchise was less horror and more sci-fi action film. I have literally seen every seen every Alien film in the franchise. I’ve virtually enjoyed them all, even the Aliens Vs Predator films. Romulus truly is the return to its roots.

Taking place about twenty years after the original, Weyland-Yutani is up to their usual shenanigans and have been searching for the organism that was responsible for nearly killing the entire crew of the Nostromo. As they usually are, they were successful and began experimenting on the creature, but not before it woke up and killed a bunch of the crew. On the nearby mining planet, a group of teens learn about the space station and believe it has been decommissioned. They decide to raid it for supplies to allow them to travel to a planet that is not under the control of the company. As expected this is when things go awry.

The cast was beyond fantastic, especially the two leads that played Andy and Rain, Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson. Set designs, costumes and effects were perfect but were outshined by the brilliant use of lighting and ambient sounds to REALLY set the tone for the film. Overall this is the second best film in the franchise and that’s because you just can’t beat the original, especially on that first watch.

Sideways is a film about friendship, lost love and wine tasting from Searchlight Pictures.

In the world of wine tasting, Sideways does a great job of explaining the reasons behind the behaviors of the wine tasting crowds. They still seem absolutely nuts hearing them talk about wines but some of the things they’re saying actually make a little sense. For the 20th anniversary the film has been rereleased by Searchlight Pictures to 4k. When the folks at Searchlight had send us the film, I had never heard of it. I honestly thought it was a newer film that I just never saw a trailer for.

The film follows Miles who is still reeling from his divorce, two years prior, but also the failure of his novel he is trying to publish. He is accompanied by his closest friend Jack, an actor that is on the verge of getting married. They take a road trip to taste a lot of wine and try to live a little before returning home. Jack spends most of the time trying to cheat on his future bride and to help Miles find himself a woman to spend an evening with.

Despite the education about wine tasting, I found the film to be slow and overall to be quite dull. That’s even with the talented cast delivering great performances through the entire film.

A Nightmare on Elm Street and it’s villain, Freddy Krueger, have haunted audiences for decades and have returned in 4k from Warner Brothers.

Freddy Krueger is back in the 4k edition of A Nightmare on Elm Street and was established as one of the ultimate horror villains when I was a kid. He is still talked about to this day. Of course many of us from the 80’s like to relive those films from our childhood and that is further helped by horror themed conventions and music, like Ice Nine Kills’ American Nightmare. That song was actually what got me not just listening to them but WANTING to see this film for the first time. That’s right, prior to this viewing I had never seen a single movie in the franchise. Thanks to Warner Brothers, this edition also includes the Uncut version as well! Of course, the only real differences between the two is an extension of a couple scenes, making them just a bit more graphic. I’m glad I watched this before letting my son, he doesn’t do well with gory elements.

My understanding about Freddy’s character is that he was simply some sort of demon that killed teens in their sleep and simply put, that is accurate but it goes much deeper than that. He was a man that was hung and is now targeting the children of his own killers. Of course the parents were justified as Freddy was evil even as a man and was already targeting children. Now he is targeting SPECIFIC children.

At this point I should stop being surprised at how well a story is told from the 80’s and learn to accept that to make a great film you don’t need all the new effects and rely more on actual talent instead. Finishing the film I was quite impressed and can easily see why Freddy remains one of the great horror villains.