Halloween Movie Madness 2017: The Grapes of Death

October is finally here!  This year, it brings the long awaited return of Halloween Movie Madness!  I decided I needed to try and make this year special, so most of the movies on this year's list are films that I haven't seen before(and I will probably wish I never sat through half of them). 

The Grapes of Death (Les Raisins de la Mort)
(1978)

Day two of HMM, and I'm still in unknown territory!

Today's movie is The Grapes of Death (or the original French title Les Raisins de la Mort).  This was another used DVD that I found at a store and just bought, because how could I pass it up?

Halloween Movie Madness 2017: Shock Waves

October is finally here!  This year, it brings the long awaited return of Halloween Movie Madness!  I decided I needed to try and make this year special, so most of the movies on this year's list are films that I haven't seen before(and I will probably wish I never sat through half of them). 

Shock Waves
(1977)

This year, I decided I would start things off with a movie starring two of the greats: Peter Cushing and John Carradine.  All I know about this movie is that it is about underwater Nazi zombies.  Other than that, I'm going in blind, folks!

Ranking George Romero's "Of the Dead" Films

As you no doubt have heard, George Romero passed away earlier today.  In honor of the man who was the progenitor of the shambling, flesh-eating undead, here are my rankings of his six zombie movies.

1. Dawn of the Dead
Everyone knows this is the best one.

HMM '13 Special: RiffTrax Live Night of the Living Dead

It's October! The doorway to not only the start of the greatest food season (early October to Christmas), but also to sexy nurses, zombies, and grown men dressing up like ponies. That also means it is time once again for Halloween Movie Madness! This year, I'll be taking a look back at the movies of my youth. Every movie this year was released before I turned eighteen. These are the Halloween movies that shaped me into the man I am today. Some of them are scary. Some are funny. Some are fantastical. Some are just weird. And not all of them are good. But to me, they are all Halloween movies. Now, stand back, for your own safety! 

Night of the Living Dead
1968

This was the zombie movie that started it all.  With this movie, George Romero set the rules in place about what a zombie should be: slow, shambling creatures who want nothing more to feast on your flesh.

Last night, I had the pleasure of watching this movie being torn apart by the crew from RiffTrax.  For those of you who are not familiar with RiffTrax, what the hell man?  RiffTrax is what three of the guys from MST3K(and if you don't know what that is, there might not be hope for you) are doing now.  Mike, Kevin, and Bill do a mixture of newer blockbuster movies(Twilight, Harry Potter, The Avengers, etc.), old feature length films (like they did on MST3K), and the most amazing shorts I have ever seen.  A handful of times throughout the year, they do special live broadcasts of movie riffing.  A few months ago, they did Starship Troopers, and on December 5 they will be doing a live riff of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

Uprising DLC for Call fo Duty: Black Ops II Bringing Ray Liotta to Xbox on April 16

The newest batch of DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops II has been revealed as Uprising, and will be available for Xbox 360 on April 16.  It brings that now standard four new maps and new Zombies setting called Mob of the Dead.  Much like Call of the Dead from Black Ops, this one is bringing some star power with it.  Not only does it feature Ray Liotta, but it also features Michael Madsen, Joe Pantoliano, and Chazz Palminteri.  Pretty inspired casting for a mob themed level.

The DLC is going to be 1200 MS Points, and is, of course, included in the Season Pass.  It will be headed to the PlayStation 3 and PC versions at a later date.

Zen Pinball 2 Finally Comes to Wii U March 21

FINALLY!

 The wait for this game has been nearly unbearable!  Since being announced so many months ago, Zen Pinball 2 has been one of my most anticipated releases for the Wii U.  With the title finally releasing next week, that wait is nearly over.  I absolutely love the two titles on the Nintendo 3DS (after all, I did name Marvel Pinball 3D as my 3DS eShop GotY), but I have missed playing the majority of the tables I used to have on the Xbox 360.  Being able to play the Epic Quest, Paranormal, Plants Vs. Zombies, and Wolverine tables again has a real pants-tightening effect on me.

All that is needed now is an announcement for the Star Wars tables and some Nintendo-themed tables, and everything would be perfect.

Zen Pinball 2 on Wii U This Month

This is the greatest bit of news that I have heard this month!  Zen Studios is bringing their collection of amazing pinball tables to the Wii U.  Zen Pinball 2 will be a free download later this month, with a minor catch.  For those of you not familiar with how Zen Studios does their pinball thang, the core game hub of Zen Pinball 2 is free, and it includes trial versions of the tables.  You then buy the tables themselves.  It is a pretty nice à la carte system.  That way, it's easier to avoid tables that you don't like.

The best part of this news lies in the list of tables that will be available when the game launches on the Wii U.  Basically, everything is going to be there that is available in the other versions of Zen Pinball 2.  So, all of the Marvel Pinball tables, the Plants Vs. Zombies table, and Epic Quest, all of my favorites, will be available.

You can check out the trailer and the full list of features and tables after the jump.

HMM '12 Day 30: The Cabin in the Woods

It's almost the end of October! That means two very important things: Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts are here, and Halloween is very near! My favorite thing to do in October to prepare myself for Halloween is to, of course, watch movies that I feel best exemplify the season. Now, this doesn't just mean extreme gore fests (of course, I do love me some gore), but I like to include movies that have that Halloween feel. Anyway, let's get to Day 30 of Halloween Movie Madness 2012!

The Cabin in the Woods
(Lionsgate, 2012)

I have been agonizing over this movie for the past month.  Not because of how I feel about the movie, but because I wasn't sure how I was going to approach it.  Usually, I am one hundred percent against spoilers.  With this movie, however, I feel that I can't really talk enough about it without spoiling some things.  With that said, there will be some spoilers in this post.   

HMM '12 Day 24: Dawn of the Dead

It's October! That means two very important things: Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts are here, and Halloween is near! My favorite thing to do in October to prepare myself for Halloween is to, of course, watch movies that I feel best exemplify the season. Now, this doesn't just mean extreme gore fests (of course, I do love me some gore), but I like to include movies that have that Halloween feel. Anyway, let's get to Day 24 of Halloween Movie Madness 2012!

Dawn of the Dead
(United Film Distribution Company, 1978)

The original Dawn of the Dead, the movie that ranks at the very top of my favorite zombie movies list, is the subject of today’s Halloween Movie Madness.

HMM '12 Day 22: Return of the Living Dead

It's October! That means two very important things: Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts are here, and Halloween is near! My favorite thing to do in October to prepare myself for Halloween is to, of course, watch movies that I feel best exemplify the season. Now, this doesn't just mean extreme gore fests (of course, I do love me some gore), but I like to include movies that have that Halloween feel. Anyway, let's get to Day 22 of Halloween Movie Madness 2012!

Return of the Living Dead
(MGM, 1984)

Tonight's flick is one of my favorite movies in this year's Halloween Movie Madness.  Return of the Living Dead was written by John Russo, who co-wrote Night of the Living Dead with George Romero.  After the two parted ways after NotLD, Russo retained the rights to "Living Dead", while Romero was free to use "of the Dead" in his titles.  This has caused a bit of confusion in the past and has caused people to believe that Return of the Living Dead was a sequel to NotLD.  However, once you actually watch the movie, you find that to be false - mostly.

HMM '12 Day 8: Shaun of the Dead

It's finally October! That means two very important things: Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts are here, and Halloween is near! My favorite thing to do in October to prepare myself for Halloween is to, of course, watch movies that I feel best exemplify the season. Now, this doesn't just mean extreme gore fests (of course, I do love me some gore), but I like to include movies that have that Halloween feel. Anyway, let's get to Day 8 of Halloween Movie Madness 2012!

Shaun of the Dead
(Universal Pictures, 2004)

Ah yes, Shaun of the Dead.  My favorite romantic comedy with zombies.  This is one of those movies that is loved by everyone that I know who has seen it.  Hell, even my wife enjoys it, and she doesn't care for gore-filled flicks very much.

HMM '12 Day 5: Slither

It's finally October! That means two very important things: Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts are almost here, and Halloween is near! My favorite thing to do in October to prepare myself for Halloween is to, of course, watch movies that I feel best exemplify the season. Now, this doesn't just mean extreme gore fests (of course, I do love me some gore), but I like to include movies that have that Halloween feel. Anyway, let's get to Day 5 of Halloween Movie Madness 2012!

Slither
(Universal Studios, 2006)

Last night's movie was Slither, a great throwback to the horror movies of the 80's.  You know when a movie starts off with an asteroid hurtling through space at Earth, things are going to be fun.  And fun is this movie’s middle name.  Well, maybe that should be last name... if it was the movie’s middle name, it would be Slifunther.  Of course, if it were the movie’s last name... you know what, nevermind.  I’m just getting sidetracked.

HMM '12 Day 4: Dead Alive

It's finally October! That means two very important things: Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts are almost here, and Halloween is near! My favorite thing to do in October to prepare myself for Halloween is to, of course, watch movies that I feel best exemplify the season. Now, this doesn't just mean extreme gore fests (of course, I do love me some gore), but I like to include movies that have that Halloween feel. Anyway, let's get to Day 4 of Halloween Movie Madness 2012!

I need to start this one with a word of warning: This post is NSFW.  Don't read this one if lots of gore upsets you.

Dead Alive
(Trimark Pictures, 1993)

Now that we got that out of the way, tonight’s movie is Dead Alive, also known as Braindead, also known as one of the goriest movies of all time. When I first saw this movie, I had never heard of the director.  Now, almost everyone has heard of him.  He directed a pretty popular trilogy about a ring.  Yes, this movie came from the mind of Peter Jackson.  It is also the first of two of his movies that will appear in HMM '12.  This is the only movie that, no matter how many times I watch it, still makes me gag in certain parts. Hell, even just thinking about a few scenes in particular makes me feel nauseous.

Animated Gifs And MIDI Files, Oh My!

Yes! Look at the beautiful Halloween-themed layout! I know it's cheesy, but that was the point. Finding the little background image and making the blog have Halloween-ish colors had the fortunate side effect of putting me in the mood for something else old and cheesy...

Yes, old school animated gifs!

HMM '12 Day 3: Bio Zombie

It's finally October!  That means two very important things: Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts are almost here, and Halloween is near!  My favorite thing to do in October to prepare myself for Halloween is to, of course, watch movies that I feel best exemplify the season.  Now, this doesn't just mean extreme gore fests (of course, I do love me some gore), but I like to include movies that have that Halloween feel.  Let's get to Day 3 of Halloween Movie Madness 2012!

Bio Zombie
(Media Blasters, 2001)

Tonight's movie is a special treat.  It was something that a friend introduced me to.  He handed me a DVD case that was mostly in Chinese.  Inside this case was a movie called Bio-Zombie.  He told me if I liked it I could keep it because he bought the Region 1 version.  I honestly wish I could find the Region 1 version because I hear the English dub (this disc only has English subs) is funny as hell.

Halloween Movie Madness 2012 is Coming

With Halloween fast approaching, I have been preparing a little movie marathon.  I call this little treat Halloween Movie Madness.  I watch a movie that I feel is appropriate for the time of year, and then you get to read my ramblings about it.  This is supposed to go every day for the month of October, but I might extend it by either starting it early or running later.  It just depends on how many movies I want to watch.  I even have a cheesy logo I made for it.  Check it:

If that doesn't say AWESOME IS COMING, I don't know what will.

Your First and Only Warning

Outside of my wife and children, I have three big loves in my life; Sriracha, Deadpool, and zombies.  
This is your only warning that I will probably talk about these three things on a very regular basis.  In fact, I'm working on writing a book that deals with at least two of them.

I have no other point here.

Plants Vs. Zombies DSiWare Review

This review was originally written for DigitalSomething.com, but since that site is gone after seven years and I just downloaded the DsiWare title, I figured I would repost it on my new blog.

If one company was the master at casual games, PopCap would be it.  There are two games in particular that really sank their teeth into me and still have yet to relinquish their grasp, and both of them are now available on the Nintendo DS.  My favorite one, Peggle, was released in 2009.  I had just escaped from the clutches of the other, but it has shambled back into my life (and onto my 3DS) and started attacking my brain.  Now I am struggling to free myself from the zombie masses once again, so I figured it would be a good time to review Plants Vs. Zombies.