Dblog: March 2014

27.3.14

Trailers

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Edge of Tomorrow

TMNT (which I think stands for Teenage Mutant Ninja Transformers)

Zombeavers

From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series

Creatives

Gabriele Galimberti's Children's Prized Possessions.

Rob Loukotka's ACME Poster

Lego Job Application Kit

Bodypaint series by Janine Rewell

Serbian Illustrator Bratislav Milenkovic

My favourite comic Powers being made adapted by Sony exclusively for the PS3... Two detectives investigate crime in a hard boiled world of superheroes. Looks like my XBoxOne will have to wait... And read the comic, it will change your life...

Speaking of comics, two amazing webcomics releasing hardcopy volumes...

PVP webcomics legend Scott Kurtz's Table Titans; delightful tale of a group of roleplayers, in game and out on Kickstarter.

And the wonderful Abominable Charles Christopher Vol. 2, a Webcomic everybody should really check out.

26.3.14

DTV

True Detective

A good friend with a (mostly) like-minded taste in T.V. recommended True Detective. All I can say four episodes in, is phenomenal (and thanks!). Starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson it is a hard boiled, deep south detective drama, told from multiple perspectives and timelines. It has a gorgeous saturated palette, gritty visuals, stunning scenery and original, complex characters (I'll take a breath now). It is a harrowing joy to watch from the moment the titles begin, like David Fincher does Twin Peaks and watch for a 6 minute 'Children of Men' style one-take in Episode 4! Interestingly it's an Anthology, each season a different story with different characters...

Community

If you were a fan of the popular Advanced Dungeons and Dragons episode (see above) make sure you check out this season's sequel; Dungeons & Dragons pitting new regular Mike from Breaking Bad against his son Tobias Funke from Arrested Development (or at least said actors) in a surprisingly accurate and tender (if also slightly embarrassing) homage to my favorite hobby. Not as great as the first but a must for fans of the show or hobby!

Walking Dead

Walking Dead is an interesting one. I love it (and its comic source material) but it really divides fans in a most haphazard way. There is generally a sort of agreement with most series as to which one was good or not, every time I speak to a fellow fan, it's all over the place... So I say this knowing that obviously we all want something different form a Zombie T.V. series; but the second half of the fourth and current season has been my favorite. Without spoiling too much, it is everything I want from a Zombie apocalypse take; Like World War Z (the book) it describes a series of short and varied personal experiences of survival, whilst integrating a few of the better short storylines from the comic.

Dexter

With a bit of free time on my hands I was determined to go back and finish Dexter after stalling with Season 3 (a common pattern it appears after talking to a few friends) and I'm glad I did. I found Dexter to be a pretty solid series from beginning till end, which I think also did a great job of wrapping things up. Definitely worth returning too and persisting if you're a lapsed watcher.

20.3.14

Movie Trailers

Get On Up

Peanuts

The Maze Runner

Earth to Echo

The Signal

The Box Trolls

Godzilla

Dark Noir

A very nice (and interestingly, sponsored by Absolut Vodka) meta creative, short animation by Rafael Grampá

19.3.14

Creatives

Illustrator Emrich Co.

An extensive excerpt from Creativity Inc, inside The Pixar Braintrust

Pieter Hugo's strikingly 'pushed' photographic series There's a Place in Hell for Me and my Friends

U.K. Studio Grafiky

And a call out to all those who, like me, banded together to waste literally years of our lives playing the first great MMORPG, driving work mates mad with the tales of our exploits the night before and watching my fellow players out level me... Happy 15th Anniversary Everquest! (I played an 'Iksar' lizard man and insisted on writing all my 'S's' with a rolling hiss- Joy!)

As the in-house graphic artist at THQ, I worked on a video game called Deepak Chopra's Leela... I remember thinking (quietly) at the time it was a stupid idea and as we were all redundant within 6 months I guess I was right... So was this guy who featured it on The Internet's most horrible items. A daily blog (see the pillow slip above available on Amazon, which would actually make a pretty hilarious 'ironic' gift'). Worth a read for Drew's comments alone!

12.3.14

Movie Trailers

There's a few this week... Frank

Only Lovers Left Alive

Tracks

Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

Perfect Sisters
)
Pioneer
)
A Thousand Times Goodnight
)
The Devil's Knot
)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
)
Hateship Loveship
)
Sabotage
)

Descent V Hero Quest

Last week I broke out a seminal game from my childhood: Heroquest (that still sees action at my own game table with its fantastic collection of miniatures); Taking on the role of Barbarian, Elf, Dwarf and Wizard (in this case Thog, Bat, Fat and Maggot respectively) four brave adventurers delve dungeons deep, killing monsters and stealing their stuff.

Still available 2nd hand online from a retroeasonable price to the collectordiculous this is still a great game for kids (if you can find a copy in good condition) and the perfect gateway drug for parents hoping to drag their kids kicking and screaming into the world of roleplaying games (and get their fix while keeping the kids entertained). Even my two from the jaded touch screen generation had a great time and begged for more!

I would say however that it's a little 'quaint' for the battle hardened gamer and if you're looking for a that sweet D&D taste without going the full nerdtard, I would highly recommend Fantasy Flight Games: Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition)
We recently played an entire campaign (a series of connected games) and wow, were we impressed.
I have never played such a finely balanced game. You fight hard for every every victory and whether hero or monster each victory is by the skin of your teeth... Like all FFG products it is the highest level of production with simple rules and clever mechanics, quick to set up and a night to play.
Brilliant!

Save the Children: A Second a Day

) Video campaign by charity Save the Children to highlight the current appalling Syrian conflict. Connect and donate.

Creatives

Illustrator and designer Javier Garcia. Also check out his BLOG

Max Dalton's hand made figures for a David Lynch Exhibition.

John Hallman's Macrophotography

Minimalist Bible Posters

Studio

Not the best articles but... Finally, two of DC Vertigo's alternative comic stalwarts, Hellblazer and Preacher are coming to where they belong, the small screen and it appears, to be done faithfully...