Author Archives: DrunkKnurd

Batman: Puppet Master Review

Much like Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement in the conclusion of the Dark Knight Trilogy, I have come out of recluse to drink beer and review things again. Because I’m not the blogger the Internet deserves, but I’m the one that it needs right now.

To get the ball rolling, I’ll be reviewing a slew independent short films set in everyone’s favorite crime ridden city: Gotham. Let’s start with Puppet Master.

Puppet Master is an interquel that takes place between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. The tone and story fit neatly into the Nolan’s trilogy, a blend of crime thriller and comic book movie. They may not have a star studded cast or $500,000 cameras, but this film manages to match the look and feel of the latest Batman movies very accurately through the sets, the score, and even the cinematography.

But let’s not be superficial. This film looks good AND it has a great personality. My favorite thing about this 15-minute flick is that it gives us the Nolanverse version of three interesting Bat-Rouges: Zsasz, Scarface, and The Riddler. Zsasz is just as chilling and psychopathic as we’d expect. And Scarface is great. John DiCrosta nails the voice and Frank Birney’s Wesker is my favorite character in Puppet Master.

And the main character, Mr. Edward Nygma, an FBI agent assigned to bring in Batman for the murder of Harvey Dent. Wil Daniels’s plays this FBI-agent gone rouge like a less insane Jonathan Crane and my favorite part of his portrayal is Riddler’s superiority complex. He’s right, if Gotham is willing to let themselves be victimized by clowns and scarecrows, why should he save them? As a Riddler fan, I would’ve liked to have seen cleverer riddles and more obsessive compulsive behavior, but the condescending looks he gives Wesker and the talking down he gives Batman and his calculated smugness throughout is quite enjoyable.

This short film is a great premise for a full length feature or a mini-series that brings other psychopaths from the Batmythos into Nolan’s world of dark and gritty freaks, so hopefully we will see more from this team.

If you haven’t already watched it, take a look here or here.

3 Days Until PAX East!

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The granddaddy of them all! Or at least the creepy uncle.

Same as last year, I’ll make it my mission to locate beer, harrass cosplayers, and incite a civil war between PAX East and PAX Prime.

And same as last year, I’ll forget about those other objectives the moment I accomplish the first.

New podcast, articles, and maybe even a comic, coming very soon.

Happy Easter Everyone!

PAX Easter Weekend

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PAX East 2012 on Easter Weekend? ~~Gabe and Tycho~~ Mike and Jerry, I see what you did there.

This year, thousands of geeks will have to explain to their families why they won’t be at Easter dinner this year. Instead, we’ll be adrift in a sea of craft foam, body odor, and unadulterated enthusiasm. And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.

Still, I feel like Penny Arcade is missing out on a huge opportunity to incorporate some of Easter’s more traditional customs into the upcoming PAX East convention. Here’s just a few ways they could combine the two events.

PAX Easter Bunnies
PAX East has no shortage of people willing to dress up as imaginary characters. I’m certain that a few of them could be convinced to dress up as bunnies, in the spirit of the holidays.

But what kind of bunny? Playboy Bunny? Babs Bunny? Full furry? Doesn’t matter. All will have more than their fair share of admirers at this event.

PAX Easter Egg Hunt
What do Easter and Video Games have in common? Lack of innovation! And also, Easter Eggs!

This could easily be an enormous event, with riddles distributed via Twitter, deciphered to reveal the exact Google Map coodinates of QR codes strategically hidden all around the convention center, which can then be scanned to unlock secrets in an viral alternate reality game, which can be used to level up and eliminate your competition in an augmented reality game, until only one gamer is left standing and granted the ultimate reward for his cunning and guile.

Or they can just stash some leftover swag in random spots around the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and let whoever finds it keep it.

Whichever.

The Passion of Christ
And of course I mean Christoforo, who probably views himself as some sort of deity anyway.

On Good Friday he’ll be paraded through the main convention floor and be whipped and beaten with anything that isn’t nailed down or in near-mint condition. (NRFB! NRFB!)

At the end, he’ll be nailed to an enormous D-Pad and left to die.

Of course, he’ll rise from the grave on Sunday, but I don’t see that being a problem. The last day of the convention is usually pretty dead anyway.

See what I did there, Mike and Jerry?

Happy Easter!

Subjects Subject To Change S01E02

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Welcome to the second episode of Subjects Subject To Change, where @HIGHlyCRITICal and @DrunkKnurd discuss, dissect, and disrespect various pop culture subjects.

We get into the Grand Theft Auto series, Fables the TV Series, the best Disney Villains, and the badassness of Neville Longbottom and Alan Rickman in the Harry Potter series.

Two things. First, our apologies for the delay. This episode was recorded ages ago, but the information in it is as entertaining and relevant today as it was when we recorded it.

Second, my apologies for the sound quality of my microphone. I’ve since upgraded my microphone and later episodes have been recorded in luxurious high quality sound.

Why Mario Will Never Score With The Princess

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Mario has saved lands, liberated worlds, and rescued galaxies, but there is still one stage that he will never escape: The Friend Zone.

I know that no relationship is perfect, but Mario and Peach are the most dysfunctional couple in video history. And that includes Batman and The Joker in Arkham City.

Princess Toadstool gets abducted every other Thursday, and yet the Mushroom Kingdom refuses to beef up security. And why would they when the Princess has her own personal bodyguard wrapped around her pinky finger?

Not only will Mario journey across eight worlds and a special zone to save her, but she even has him picking up all the money he can carry before he gets to her. Her knight in shining overalls has defeated dinosaurs, dragons, ghosts, and aggressive agriculture to save his beloved. And what’s his reward for all of this effort? A kiss on the cheek.

The same kiss on the cheek his brother gets if he makes it to the final castle first.

It’s easy to see why Peach doesn’t share Mario’s romantic interest. Mario is short, chubby, and old enough to own a plumbing/construction/pizza company back in Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Peach is young, blonde, and doesn’t even look old enough to vote.

Of course, there might be another reason Peach doesn’t reciprocate Mario’s feelings. Perhaps someone else has snared the fair Princess’s heart. But who could it be?

Who else could it be, besides the only other person she spends the majority of her time with? He’s powerful. He’s dangerous. He’s royalty. And let’s be adults, we all know those Koopalings didn’t come from nowhere. Wendy even has her mother’s eyes.

Yet, Mario still can’t seem to take a hint.
“Hey, Peach. Want to go play tennis/golf/go karts?”
“Sure. Who else is going? Is Bowser coming?”

Sorry, Mario, but your Princess is in another castle.

—DrunkKnurd

3 Details The Amazing Spider-Man Trailer Nailed (That the Raimi Trilogy Failed)

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This trailer makes me want to want to see this movie. If you haven’t seen the latest trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man movie, here it is:

I was leery at first about Sony’s decision to reboot the Spider-Man film franchise barely a decade after it began. It felt rushed and greedy, but after Disney killed off the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series, I was eager to see a new take on one of my favorite characters. Still, my expectations were set pretty low. I mean, what more could they do that the first three films hadn’t done already?

According to this trailer, these three very important pieces of the Spider-Mythos.
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