Posts in category Entertainment

Having Fun in GameStop

Sep02
2011 Leave a Comment Written by randy

Having Fun in GameStop

If you’re going to spend most of your time in GameStop searching for that hard-to-find game, you may as well have some fun while you’re at it.

Here are some methods for having fun in GameStop while you’re digging around for a specific title.

Talk to Yourself

GameStop 8 300x224 Having Fun in GameStopI’m a people-watcher, so I always notice the weirdos in GameStop. One time, in my quest to find a limited edition copy of Brothers in Arms, I spent an hour just listening to this one GameStop creep mutter to himself. Come to found out a few days later, stalking GameStop’s Facebook page, that this guy is a regular at GameStop stores up and down the Gulf coast. So sometimes now I talk to myself, just to keep things interesting.

Re-arrange the Titles

Okay, so maybe I’m kind of a jerk, but when I’m in GameStop and the employees are being unbearable, I like to subtly rearrange the tiles my own way. Sometimes I put everything in reverse alphabetical order, sometimes I arrange them by color, and sometimes I just move titles around willy-nilly knowing that the employees will have to spend hours re-arranging. It’s my way of exacting revenge on the losers that work at GameStop.

Hand Out Fake Coupons

You can find free GameStop coupons all over the Internet, but some people will try to use any old coupon they can to save money. So when I’m feeling particularly cruel, I’ll stand near a GameStop store and hand out fake coupons. I make them look real enough that people think they’re the real thing, and see if I can get away with it.

Once I made a coupon that read Buy One Game Get Five Free and you should have seen the excited looks on those gamer dork’s faces.

Talk in a Silly Voice

The whole purpose of having fun in GameStop is to make your search for a rare game more exciting and bearable. I’ve spent entire weekends digging through GameStop collections up and down the Interstate, so I have to do something to distract myself.

My all-time favorite trick is to talk in a really silly voice while I’m in GameStop. Juvenile? Yes. Entertaining? Always.

Understand that most of the stuff on this list is probably illegal. I don’t take anything I do to the jerks at GameStop lightly, and I can’t promise that you won’t get arrested for trespassing if you pull any of these GameStop stunts. Be careful out there.

Posted in Games

Spaghetti Westerns You Might Have Missed

Sep01
2011 Leave a Comment Written by randy

During the height of the sub-genre, there were a ton of great spaghetti westerns cranked out in Italy and Spain. While you’re likely to have heard of the classics made by men like Sergio Leone, there remain many films that are relatively unknown to American viewers. If you’re interested in learning more about the films that inspired men such as Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, give a few of these a try.

Lesser Known Spaghetti Western to Watch

  • The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe (1972) – Chen Lee is a Chinese immigrant who arrives in the Old West and puts his martial arts skills to good use against murderous outlaws.
  • China 9, Liberty 37 (1978) – A gunfighter awaiting hanging is released on the condition that he kill a local rancher (Warren Oates). Jenny Agutter stars as the rancher’s beautiful wife.
  • Grand Duel (1974) – Lee Van Cleef and Horst Frank butt heads in this spaghetti western about an ex-lawman (Van Cleef) who helps a man accused of murder to clear his name. Also known as Storm Rider, look for some of the soundtrack in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.
  • Man from Nowhere (1966) – Giuliano Gemma flashes his distinctive smile as a cheerful gunman who joins forces with a bandit leader and then slowly unravels his plans.
  • Django (1966) – Considered one of the most memorable cult classic movies, Django stars Franco Nero as a mysterious gunfighter who pulls a coffin behind him. When he arrives in a small town seeking vengeance against a rogue military man, you can bet that we’ll get to see what’s inside the wooden casket (with violent results). A sequel would follow in 1987.
  • White Comanche (1968) – William Shatner plays half-breed twin bothers who engage in a life and death struggle with one another. Fans of T.J. Hooker should love this one.
  • God’s Gun (1975) – Lee Van Cleef plays a gentle priest who’s gunned down by a ruthless outlaw. Turns out he has a twin brother (also Lee Van Cleef), and he comes looking for payback.
  • Death Rides a Horse (1968) – John Phillip Law stars as a young man out to avenge the death of his family at the hands of a gang of outlaws. Lee Van Cleef, meanwhile, plays a gunman who’s been released from prison after 15 years and is seeking some revenge of his own.

Now that you’re aware of these lesser-known spaghetti westerns, all that remains is for you to go out and rent them. Your local video store may not carry them, so your best bet is to either get them from Netflix or buy them from Amazon.

Max von Sydow Movies

Jul21
2011 Leave a Comment Written by randy

Max von Sydow got his start in Swedish movies, but he’s since become a familiar face to both American and international audiences. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, the following list should provide an idea of his diversity as a performer.

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) – Sydow plays a reclusive artist in this Oscar-winning ensemble piece from Woody Allen. Other cast members include Michael Caine, Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, and Dianne Wiest.

Strange Brew (1983) – Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas bring their dimwitted SCTV Canadians to the big screen to stop the evil schemes of a power-mad brewmeister (Sydow). Just good, dumb fun.

The Exorcist (1973) – While Sydow has appeared in a few Swedish horror films, none have achieved the level of success enjoyed by this adaptation of the William Peter Blatty novel. Sydow is a priest well-versed in the art of exorcism, and he’s called upon to team with a young priest in order to drive a demon from the body of a girl (Linda Blair).

The Seventh Seal (1957) – The iconic Swedish film from Ingmar Bergman stars Sydow as a medieval knight who plays a game of chess with the personification of Death. Highly influential on later movies.

Flash Gordon (1980) – Sydow portrays Ming the Merciless, an alien conqueror who sets his sights on Earth. Luckily, our planet is defended by a pair of scientists and a player for the New York Jets (Sam Jones). Cheesy fun, with a memorable soundtrack from Queen.

Needful Things (1993) – Based on the novel by Stephen King, this horror flick stars Sydow as Leland Gaunt, a mysterious figure who arrives in a small Maine town and opens up an antiques store that deals in specialty items. Before long, murder and madness reign in the town, and it’s up to the local sheriff (Ed Harris) to restore peace.

The Virgin Spring (1960) – Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and the inspiration for Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left, this Ingmar Bergman project follows the murder of a young girl and the subsequent revenge visited on the killers by her father (Sydow).

The next time you’d like to see an elder statesman of cinema in action, be sure to check out a few of the Max von Sydow movies listed above. While his films from Sweden have often garnered the most critical acclaim, you’ll find his later appearances in American movies to be just as enjoyable.

Bad Halloween Costume Ideas

Jul18
2011 Leave a Comment Written by randy

Bad Halloween Costume Ideas

It is a good idea to think outside the box and try to wear uncommon costumes to Halloween parties. Uncommon costume ideas come from many places. When I’m brainstorming Halloween costume ideas, I often wake up in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea. Keep paper and pencil on you at all times when trying to come up with uncommon costume designs–you never know when you’ll have your next big idea.

Fortunately, most uncommon costumes come out well. They attract attention without standing out so much as to ruin the spirit of Halloween. When outside the box Halloween costumes go a little too far outside the box, they attract attention for the wrong reason. Here is a list of bad Halloween costume ideas. Avoid dressing up in these costumes.

Offensive Costumes

At a recent costume party, I saw a woman dressed up as accused child-killer Casey Anthony. This was a small private costume party among good friends, so although the idea was offensive, the costume ended up being okay.

Dressing up as Adolf Hitler, a runaway slave, or a dead baby (or anything tasteless like that) is bound to get you ignored or even kicked out of a Halloween party.

Obscure Costumes

You may be the world’s biggest anime fan, but hardly anyone at your costume party is going to appreciate your Yotsuba costume. Unless you’re headed to a costume party with a tight-knit group of friends, avoid dressing up as an obscure Battlestar Galactica character or some third-string football player.

Dead People

When people run out of Halloween ideas, they tend to just dress up as a dead version of some other character. Dead cheerleader, dead prom date, dead athlete . . . it’s all been done before, and you’ll just blend in among the crowd of zombies and ghosts.

Eva Mendes Career

Jul04
2011 Leave a Comment Written by bogart

During her incredible career, she proves that Eva Mendes is a serious and devoted actress who is strongly committed towards her craft and work. As far as action movies are concerned, she also starred in the action blockbuster movie, i.e. 2 fast 2 furious. Furthermore, Mendes is performing the duties of an international spokes person and brand ambassador for Revlon Cosmetics. Apart from other beautiful and international women such as Julianne Moore, Cindy Crawford and Halle Berry, she appears in the advertisements and campaigns of Revlon. Moreover, she is one of the very active participants of the fight against breast cancer in collaboration with Revlon.

For more information on Eva Mendes