You keep your action figures in their original packaging. Your bedsheets are officially licensed Star Wars merchandise. You’re hooked on Elder Scrolls and Metal Gear but now you’ve discovered an even bigger obsession: the new girl who just moved in down the hall.And thanks to Eric and our friends at Quirk Books, we're giving away a copy to a Forces of Geek reader!
What’s a geek to do? Take some tips from Eric Smith in The Geek’s Guide to Dating. This hilarious primer leads geeks of all ages through the perils and pitfalls of meeting women, going on dates, getting serious, breaking up, and establishing a successful lifelong relationship (hint: it’s time to invest in new bedsheets). Full of whimsical 8-bit illustrations, The Geek’s Guide to Dating will teach fanboys everywhere to love long and prosper.
An American writer of travel guides in need of a new location chooses to travel to a small and obscure Eastern European country. The moment Grafton crosses the border he is in trouble, much more than he could have imagined. His passport is taken by guards, and then he is detained for not having it. He is released into the custody of a family, but is again detained. It becomes evident that there are supernatural agencies at work, but they are not in some ways as threatening as the brute forces of bureaucracy and corruption in that country. Is our hero in fact a spy for the CIA? Or is he an innocent citizen caught in a Kafkaesque trap?
Gene Wolfe keeps us guessing until the very end, and after.
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| Kmye Chan 'Dancing Puppet' |
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| 'Rapunzel' by Kmye Chan |
Taiwanese pop sensation Jay Chou is Wax, a cocky drifter who lives a happy but oppressed life among the rooftops of Galilee. But a chance meeting with his dream girl, Starling (Li Xinai), takes him on a thrilling journey to change his fate.
Chou's second feature film, The Rooftop is a story of friendship, romance, rivalry and destiny, filled with song and dance numbers that will delight audiences for years to come.
Northeast China, early Northern Song dynasty, AD 986. The Khitan army takes its revenge for a past massacre, abducting General Yang Ye (Adam Cheng) and leaving his wife and seven sons to rescue him - and fall into their deadly trap.
Led by the first son (Ekin Cheng), the seven - two of whom have never seen combat - set out with a small band of fighters to face an army of thousands, brave the treacherous Wolf Mountain, face the nemesis of their shared history, and find the way back alive - all to bring their father home.
The Seasoning House - where young girls are prostituted to the military. Angel (Rosie Day), an orphaned deaf mute, is enslaved to care for them. She moves between the walls and crawlspaces, planning her escape. Planning her ingenious and brutal revenge.
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| 20th Century Fox / Released 12/3/13 |
Hugh Jackman returns as The Wolverine and faces his ultimate nemesis in an action packed life-or-death battle that takes him to modern day Japan. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his limits, Logan confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality; an epic fight that will leave him forever changed. Extras include alternate ending, second screen app, featurette and X-Men Days of Future Past set tour.
Last Word: Director James Mangold leads the audience through a story that lends itself equally to examining the effects of war on a soldier as it does providing a hack and slash fest that fans of the 1982 Marvel Limited series are looking for. There are certain snacks that comic fanboys will eat up - a fleshed out scene with a crazed grizzly comes to mind - but overall The Wolverine plays more like a slightly flawed Skyfall than the X-Men movies from which it has sprouted.
The story starts outside of Nagasaki moments before the bomb is dropped. Logan saves the life of a soldier who declares his unending gratitude to him - a sentiment that serves to haunt Logan in the movie. Flash forward to the present. Logan is living in the Canadian wilderness when he meets Yukio, an agent for Japanese Billionaire Yashida, the Nagasaki soldier now on his death bed. They travel to Japan and Yashida presents Logan with a bargain, an opportunity to give up his immortality and live a life that allows him to have an actual death. Here Logan also meets Mariko, Yashida's granddaughter and heir to his throne.
Needless to say, a struggle for the Yashida empire ensues between Logan fighting for Mariko's interests and the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. These scenes are almost coated in gray as Logan discovers that something is sapping his healing ability. Not knowing how he will make it from one scene to the next with his life actually gooses the story. Throughout the movie there are frequent rumination a on how the madness Wolverine has witnessed throughout his life have effected him. This is no heavy handed commentary on current events, but a direct connection to that metaphysical beauty that sucked me into X-Men comics in the 80s. These war stories have played out since the dawn of time, through Nagasaki, through our current conflicts, and sadly, they will not end.
The soulful suffering that accompanies acts of bravery is as never ending as the idea of the soul itself. (I guess I'll be the heavy handed one) Through this, Logan falls in love with Mariko, wins her fortune for her and is forever reminded of the fleeting humanity around his seemingly indestructible self. He also fights tons of ninjas, who slide into scenes like shadows. It's a beautiful display and one that harkens back to Frank Miller's artwork from the limited series.
Are there faults?
Sure. Yashida is a bit uneven and underdeveloped. An appearance by the Silver Samurai will be disappointing to any fan of the comic book villain and maybe just confusing to a non-comic reading viewer. However, the movie does what the X-Men have always done: cut right to the core of what it means to be human in a not so humane world. (– Joe Yezukevich)
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| Warner Home Video / Released 12/3/13 |
As the Iranian Revolution takes over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, six Americans escape. Now only one man can get them out from behind enemy lines. Tony Mendez is a brilliant CIA agent who specializes in impossible escapes, but his new plan is as daring as it is desperate. Disguised as a film crew, Tony and the fugitives must hide in plain sight, where the slightest slipup could end in instant death. Academy Award winner Ben Affleck directs and stars in a thriller based on an unbelievably true story. The powerful cast includes Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston and John Goodman, as well as Academy Award winner Alan Arkin. Extras include commentary, interviews, featurettes, picture-in-picture track, Mini Poster, 64 Page Behind The Scenes Photo Book, Map With Notes On Scenes From The Film and Replica ID Badge Prop.
Last Word: I might have been in the minority with the initial release of Argo, thinking that it was competent, but wasn't deserving of it's numerous accolades. I was wrong. I've seen the film a half dozen times and truly believe that Affleck is among the more talented filmmakers working today. Argo juggles multiple characters, plotlines and agendas with ease, and Affleck's flawless execution makes it all the more absorbing. In this Declassified Extended Edition you'll find a bunch of fairly useless physical ephimera, but more importantly a slew of new supplementary material and more importantly, a new cut of the film which runs an additional ten minutes. It's not essential stuff, but it certainly is worthwhile, providing five extra scenes and a bit of more character stuff with Affleck's Tony Mendez. Argo is unquestionably a terrific film and this edition with both the theatrical and extended cuts and extensive supplementary material makes it an easy recommendation.
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| Magnolia Home Entertainment / Released 12/3/13 |
A comedy about knowing when to say when Luke and Kate are co-workers at a Chicago brewery, where they spend their days drinking and flirting. They're perfect for each other, except that they're both in relationships. Luke is in the midst of marriage talks with his girlfriend of six years, Kate is playing it cool with her music producer boyfriend Chris. But you know what makes the line between "friends" and "more than friends" really blurry? Beer. Extras include commentary, featurettes, interviews, and trailer.
Last Word: This is elephant-in-the-room relationship territory, where every facial gesture, body language and unspoken remark leaves a little mark. Alcohol is a frequent collaborator in Drinking Buddies, without a message for or against reliance on it.
Olivia Wilde plays the free-spirited, but deeply conflicted Kate, the token female player in a successful craft brewery. She gets along well with the guys at work, and hangs with them after hours for a few pints and pool games before heading to the apartment of her boyfriend Chris, played by Ron Livingston.
Kate is the quintessential fun co-worker, and puts on her professional, mature side only when need be (like, when around the very serious, kind of pretentious Chris). The other couple consists of Luke, played by New Girl's Jake Johnson and his long-time girlfriend Jill (Oscar Nominee Anna Kendrick). They're the quintessential old-married couple that has yet to get married, or in this case really have a serious conversation about it. Luke and Kate, however are "just-good-friends" on the verge of never doing anything about it.
This set up could have so easily sinked into cliché, but there's a brilliant set piece early in the film that's a testament to the performances from the four leads. Brought together first at an after-hours work party, there are polite familiarities mixed with subtle hints that each couple's in a unfulfilled relationship. When the couples go on a weekend trip to Chris' cabin in the woods, their respective feelings for one another are put to the test.
Writer/Director Joe Swanberg is in control, with the film's dialogue completely improvised from a basic plot outline. His cast fully exploits every possible aspect of their characters. Thankfully Olivia Wilde gets to carry most of the film. Her performance is very genuine, constantly adorable and brave to accent Kate's flaws without ever making you despise the character. But it's the film's real co-star, alcohol, that gets all the clever commentary on what's really going on.
There are the types of guys (and the occasional Kate) that enjoy a beer with lunch, especially when its made right there in the workplace. More beer after work only makes things better. Kate's boyfriend Chris is shown as a casual whisky drinker. Luke's girlfriend Jill is easily seduced by a nice wine and cheese picnic in the woods, no less by Chris. Cut back to Kate and Jake as stumbling really-good-friends, and really no more than the titular "drinking buddies. Like a good brew, Drinking Buddies is true to heart and refreshing. Watch it with someone you love, but they probably don't really know it. (– Todd Sokolove)
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| Review by Caitlyn Thompson |
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I’m no vet, but that looks pretty serious. |
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To be fair, it was my idea to DRESS like Luke while writing. |
