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Takes on the Trailers unveiled during NYCC

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

On the West Coast, the San Diego Comic Convention offers trailers of the must-see movies and television series of the 2018 and 2019 season. Add a few more months into the mix, the New York Comic Convention is the East Coast show to pay attention to. The new Hellboy movie trailer dropped at this event, and the studio has yet to release on YouTube. Reports reveal the fact this work is more of a horror flick than the light-hearted del Toro version. Even the tease to X-Men: Dark Phoenix was shown, and based on what I have read, the set up pays homage to her comic book origins before spinning in a different direction.

In those trailers that are currently online, I am most particularly excited for the following:

If this extended Aquaman trailer indicates anything, this film will put the DC Cinematic Universe back on track. It has the feel of 300 meets Lord of the Rings. When dealing with Atlantis, the joke is not with how star Jason Momoa got his start (he became popular in Stargate’s imagining of this sunken city), but rather in how he can become the next king. The digital set pieces look very impressive, and on a proper IMAX screen, this movie will no doubt deliver.

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Dreaming of Shawn’s List of Top 25 SNES games? Part Two Arrives!

This time I’ll look at some of the grandest epics and most jaw-dropping technological innovations of the era. These games are widely loved and played to this day, and still inspire and affect modern game designers.

shawn

By Shawn Trommeshauser
(Dreaming in Digital)

It’s been a while, but here is the second part of my personal top 25 Super Nintendo games (You can read part 1 here). This time I’ll look at some of the grandest epics and most jaw-dropping technological innovations of the era. These games are widely loved and played to this day, and still inspire and affect modern game designers.

As I mentioned previously, I ended up with FAR too many games to choose from, so I had to give myself some limitations to narrow down the field.

Rule 1: The game must have been released in the North American Market at the time. This eliminates several Super Famicom titles I enjoyed such as Rockman & Forte and The Firemen.

Rule 2: It must be a game I originally played on actual hardware when it was current, not something I discovered in later years through later releases of the game, or fan-translation patches using emulation on PC. A lot of Role Playing Games got bumped due to this—Seiken Densetsu 3, Final Fantasy V, and Front Mission to name a few.

And now we continue:

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Rev Up for Shawn’s Top 25 SNES Games (Part 1)

The SNES is tied with the original Sony PlayStation as my favourite systems of all time. I’ve played a good chunk of them. So here’s my thoughts on the best of the best, my personal favourite Super Nintendo games of all time!

shawn By Shawn Trommeshauser
(Dreaming in Digital)

As an 80s kid, I grew up right beside video games and have fond memories of every gaming system I’ve played from the Intellivision to the PlayStation 4. Whether you’re shooting ducks with a bright orange light gun to performing in a rock concert with a plastic drum set, video games have always tried to offer a safer and cheaper way to experience any thrills you could imagine. This is the thing I love most about gaming, the advancements and imagination put into using the technology to its fullest. There is always a new gimmick, a new way to play.

My favorite era for gaming was the 90s. The console wars were in full swing with Sega trying everything in their power to chip away at Nintendo’s market share in North America. Meanwhile, Sony was getting ready to take the gaming world by storm with a 3D revolution. It was a time of desperate innovation and cutthroat competition which made the 90s one of the most amazing times to be a gamer. Every new advance in technology was changing what could be done with game design more than ever before, and these advances were arriving faster with each year that passed.

From the mid-80’s to the mid-90’s Nintendo was king. Sega had their loyal fans, but their 8-bit console, the Master System, never took off in North America the way it did in Europe. Nintendo’s first venture into the video game Market revived an industry that had fallen apart under older companies such as Atari in the early 80’s and ended up giving them a virtual monopoly on console gaming in Canada and the US. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) hit the market like a tidal wave and it wasn’t long before everyone was using the name ‘Nintendo’ interchangeably with the term ‘video game’.

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Top 5 Lightsaber Duels. #StarWars 2017 Edition

One of the best part of what makes Star Wars appealing is to wait for that exciting lightsaber duel.

One of the best part of what makes Star Wars appealing is to wait for that exciting lightsaber duel. Whether that’s in the movies or the animated series, the choices are too numerous. Of the many, which one of them is the most memorable? Over the decades, fan films have also made their mark. With thanks to programs like Adobe Photoshop and After Effects making the animation process very easy.

The old rotoscoping method used in the original trilogy gave the plasma swords life which the prequel trilogy has never recreated quite as well. Refinements to the process gave that nuance back. After watching The Last Jedi yet again, I feel confident to offer my top five picks ranked in no particular order.

Yes, the obligatory spoiler alert is required as this latest film made the list. Credit has to be given to the Youtube folks who posted these clips and to the companies for not taking them down.

Star Wars: Rebels
“Twilight of the Apprentice”

Anyone who has followed The Clone Wars animated series will know about the relationship which developed between Master Skywalker (Anakin) and Padawan Ahsoka Tano. As that series came to an end, Tano left the order citing hypocrisy. Little did fans know at the time, these story points would come back to haunt many new Jedi masters (and certain old ones). Yes, it must be undone if a bright future for the galaxy is to take place.

Over the years, Tano became a free agent and in this return, she comes face to face with Darth Vader. Her battle reflects one of shock and revelation. Does she still stand by what he now represents or is there more at stake now?

The battle is heated and flashy. The force of good wields two silver blades than one (usually it’s the bad guys who do that), Lord of the Sith and deal with the best. He does not clearly beat her, but when the building itself crumbled with the two inside, everyone wants to know if Tano survived? Some fans like to think she did, but as for why this battle mattered shows how even loyalties are challenged to the bitter end despite the fact of who they were in the past.

Video posted by ARC Trooper TV

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7 Guilty Christmas Movies For Family Time Viewing

Even though there’s a lot of Christmas Movies to watch, there’s always that essential list to make enjoying the season all the more jollier.

Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest) — By Ed Sum
*(The Vintage Tempest)*

When looking at the television schedules during the Yuletide season, the list of Christmas movies offered is very predictable. There will always be the same set of films or holiday specials to watch to get into the spirit. A few rarely get taken off programmming because it’s dated. It’s just tradition to offer them every year.

Try as I might to resist, there’s no denying these works, be it made for the big screen or small, are a must. Even though this list is based on what’s offered mid 2010, I’m sure a few might not get revisited again, but I’ll seek it out when I need a work to get me into the season.

Presented in no particular order are:

Home Alone 2

If I had to choose between which one of the two films is the best, I feel the sequel is just a lot more fun and enduring. Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is in a big city, and he does an amazing job of fending for himself.

The deeper feeling of isolation, a common theme in this series, feels more powerful. His mom loves this kid despite all his flaws. He befriends a homeless lady during this time, and just what they teach each other earns more sniffles than the previous, where that arc with Old Man Marley is nicely resolved.

Plus, how can anyone not like what Hector the Concierge (Tim Curry) had to endure? Even after successive watches, to see him deal with all the madness that ensues is still priceless.

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The Vintage Tempest’s Comic Book Picks for All Hallow’s Eve

When Halloween is near, the only thing we have to fear is the cinematic products coming from Hollywood. Not every vision is slick and this year’s offerings feel slim. Of the five movies coming up, only one feels 100% appropriate (Insidious 3) for the season.

I can get more frights in the sequential art world. From this list, I find rereading them far more delightful and usually more frightful (in a good way).

Here are my picks for the season:

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