Happy New Year! It’s that time again to look forward and see what’s in store at box office this year. I’ve compiled my list of 13 movies for 2013 to give you a look at my eclectic taste.
*Must-See meaning I really, really want to see these movies. Whether or not I make it to the theaters is another story. Breaking away for a 3 hour stint from the little man on one of our rare days off is a feat. All that being said, we will see how many of these I actually make it to see. Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged 2013, A Good Day to Die Hard, Anchorman 2, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bruse Willis, Catching Fire, Charlie Hunnam, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pine, DC, Disney, Edger Wright, Frozen, Guillermo Del Toro, Hennifer Lawrence, Henry Cavill, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Idina Menzel, Idris Elba, Iron Man 3, James Franco, JJ Abrams, Jon Favreau, Josh Hutcherson, Kristin Bell, Man of Steel, Martin Freeman, Marvel, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, Must-See Movies, Nick Frost, Oz the Great and Powerful, Pacific Rim, Peter Jackon, Rachel Wiess, Robert Downey Jr., Ron Perlman, Simon Pegg, Star Trek into Darkness, Superman, Suzanne Collins, The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, The Wolverine, The World's End, Thor 2, Will Farrell, Zach Snyder, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana
The Hunger Games is an odd trilogy to me. When I read the first novel, The Hunger Games, I was impressed. Sure the concept had been done before in many forms, but ultimately it was well written for a YA book, which is refreshing, and had all the right bits and pieces to form a cohesive plot. Then I read Catching Fire which seemed to have a lot of the same enjoyable action from the first book but at the expense of introducing some way too convenient plot wrangling to do so. Then came the final installment, Mockingjay. Mockingjay did things that seemed so backward to how one would expect its protagonists to act at this point that I was just baffled. Many would say that this represents growth, or a hardening of the characters but I disagree as I lay out below.
As usual, SPOILERS AHEAD dear reader!
Posted in Books, Contributions, Kevin Smith
Tagged Amandla Stenberg, Catching Fire, Cinna, District 12, Gale Hawthorne, Haymitch Abernathy, Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Katniss Everdeen, Lenny Kravitz, Liam Helmsworth, Mockingjay, movie trailer, Panem, Peeta Mellark, Prim Everdeen, release date, Rue, Safe & Sound, Safe and Sound, Seneca Crane, soundtrack, Suzanne Collins, Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games Trilogy, The Reaping, theme song, trailer 2, tribute, TV Spots, Willow Shields, Woody Harrelson
Considering the fact that I just had my fourth wedding anniversary, I’m dedicating this post to my wife, Nikki, for putting up with my crap so far. Boy did she not know what she was in for!
So, I was a table-top gamer well before I met my wife. Thankfully, this fact did not impact our relationship in the slightest while we were dating or through the first four years of our marriage. Even better, she has been extremely supportive of the time, energy, and financial contributions related to the Monkey in the Cage Podcast Experience (it’s just like The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but with less guitars and not quite as many psychedelics).
Posted in Board Games, Books, Comics, Conventions, Gaming, Pop-Culture, Role Playing Games, Table Top Games, Television, Video Games
Tagged 3rd edition Monk, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Alice in Wonderland, Apples to Apples, Being Human, Buffy RPG, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, C.S. Lewis, comics, Critical Hit, crits, Danica Bonaduce, Depth Psychology, Dungeons & Dragons, Elder Scrolls V, gamer relationships, Gamers, Gaming, girl gamers, Goomba, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jimi Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Josef Mengele, Joss Whedon, Koopa Troopa, Lemony Snicket, Lewis Carroll, Little Big Planet, LOST, Monkey in the Cage, Munchkin, Mythology, Nazi Doctors, Nazi Medicine, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Pen and Paper RPG, Plants vs. Zombies, Podcast, Positive Escapism, R.A. Salvatore, relationship dynamics, San Diego Comic-Con, Shakespeare, Skyrim, Super Mario Brothers, Supernatural, Suzanne Collins, Tabletop Roleplaying Games, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Cleric Quintet, The Guild, The Hunger Games, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Lord of the Rings, The Twilight Saga, The Vampire Diaries, Whedonverse
Spring is here, and what better way to start than watching teenagers savagely murder each other on national television? Better yet, there is The Hunger Games! If you’ve been living in a cave you might as well stay there because it’s all about Katniss, Peeta, and The Capitol’s greatest spectacle. Join the Monkey in the Cage crew this week as they discuss their thoughts on both the book and the film while also being thankful for not starving and fighting to death. Impress those Gamemakers, get plenty of Sponsors, and be sure to watch out for those Tracker Jackers if you plan on surviving this week’s episode on The Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:29 — 30.9MB)
Posted in Books, Comics, Movies, Podcast, Pop-Culture, Video Games
Tagged Amandla Stenberg, Arrow, Avox, Avoxes, Battle Royale, Breaking Dawn 2, Caesar Flickerman, Career Tributes, Catching Fire, Cato, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Cinna, Claudius, Clove, Dispatches From Wondermark Manor, District 11, District 12, Donald Sutherland, Dwarves, Effie Trinket, Foxface, Gale Hawthorne, Gamemasters, Geekism, Gladiator, Haymitch Abernathy, Hellboy, Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Katniss Everdeen, Kristen Stewart, Lenny Kravitz, Liam Helmsworth, Mockingjay, Muttations, Opening Ceremonies, Panem, Peeta Mellark, President Snow, Prim Everdeen, Racism, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Roman Bread and Circus, Rose Garden, Rue, Safe & Sound, Safe and Sound, Seneca Crane, seti@home, Shaky Cam, Snow White, Snowcrash, soundtrack, Sponsors, Stanley Tucci, Stuff You Should Know Podcast, Suzanne Collins, Taylor Swift, The Capital, The Capitol, The Civil Wars, The Game, The Game Center, The Hob, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games Trilogy, The Huntsman, The Reaping, The Storm and The Fury, theme song, Thresh, Tracker Jacker, trailer, tribute, TV Spots, Twihards, Twilight, Wes Bentley, Willow Shields, Woody Harrelson
I love the new year. My type A, OCD-addled personality loves how perfect January 1st looks on the calendar. We all have resolutions, even if you’re the type of person who doesn’t “believe” in them, it’s a great time to set some goals and make some improvements. So here are my geek-related resolutions for the new year!
Go To the Movies
I can’t tell you the last time I went to the movies. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to the movies it’s just hard to get out. However, with so many awesome geek movies on the horizons we are going to have to sneak away once a month or so. Here’s my Top 3 Must-Sees:
The Avengers coming May 4, 2012:
Batman: The Dark Knight Rises coming July 20, 2012:
The Hobbit coming December 14, 2012:
Play More Games
It must be noted that this does not mean buy more games. We have a walk-in closet chock full of awesome games that have yet to be played! Here’s my Top 3 Must-Plays:
Arkham Horror by Fantasy Flight Games
This game has co-op game play set in a Lovecraftian world so what has kept us from playing? A dauntingly long rule book and laziness, or course!
Bang! (La Pallottola) The Bullet! by Da Vinci
A Western-based card game should have us chomping at the proverbial bit to play this one but it fell to the wayside for quicker-to-play fare and once again.. laziness.
Battleship Galaxies by Wizards of the Coast
I loved Battleship as a kid and when I saw this new variation of the game I immediately impulse-bought it! I wanted to get my Captain Maul Mal on but the guys seemed meh about the whole thing. So lack of interest and wait for it… laziness sent this one to the shelf o’ “how long have we had that game!?”
Read More Books
Since I finally got out of my vocabularily-abusive relationship with Fablehaven it’s time for me to sow my oats and see what else is out there for me. Here are my Top 3 Must-Reads:
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
When I first heard of this series my inner voice yelled, “Didn’t you learn anything from Twilight!? Don’t believe the hype!” But I quickly quieted that voice and hopefully clicked the purchase button. I am about five chapters into the first book and so far I am liking it! Katniss Everdeen is no Bella Swan and that alone makes this series far superior to Stephenie Meyers’ dreck.
Locke & Key by Joe Hill
I own all four hardcover volumes of this series: Welcome to Lovecraft, Head Games, Crown of Shadows, and Keys to the Kingdom but just haven’t found the time to read them. When I first started hearing buzz about this series I was very intrigued. It’s written by Stephen King’s son and that makes him a legacy in my book. I picked up World War Z for a similar reason and Max Brooks impressed the hell of me. It was also optioned for a television series on FOX and although it didn’t get picked up (much to my dismay) Cryptozoic is making a board game based on the series this year.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
When I heard that this book was originally conceived during a NaNoWriMo project I knew I had to pick it. Writers write whether it’s National Novel Writing Month or not but I like the idea of setting aside a special time to chase that manuscript that is always rattling around in my head. Erin Morgenstern did just that and I am beyond curious to see what she came up with. Oh, and Matt, I know you got your hopes up but it’s not a sequel to Night Train.
So, fellow geeks resolve along with me to get some checks on that old to-do list! What are you looking forward to accomplishing in 2012?
Posted in Books, Comics, Gaming, Movies
Tagged Anne Hathaway, Arkham Horror, Bang!, Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, Battleship Galaxies, Bilbo Baggins, Captian America, card games, Catwoman, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, Cryptozioc, Da Vinci Games, Erin Morgenstern, Fantasy Flight Games, Gandalf, Iron Man, Joe Hills, Joss Whedon, Locke & Key, Lovecraft, Max Brooks, Mel Brooks, NaNoWriMo, New Year's Resolutions, Peter Jackson, Pilot Trailer, Stephen King, Stephenie Meyers, Suzanne Collins, The Avengers, The Bullet!, The Hobbit, The Hunger Games Trilogy, The NIght Circus, Thor, Twilight, Western, Wizards of the Coast, World War Z
Robert The Skaggs: So killing zombies in @JazzIsBlues game didn't turn out so well. Shot a 8 year old girl by accident. :( hysterical sobbing ensued. #Gamex 
Matt Fuller: RT @USArmy: “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”
‐ Joseph Campbell
http://t.co/nluuzN6G41 Matt Fuller: @MonsterPunx @PodcastRam I know what I'm missing. Pain. Lots and lots of pain... and my fat ass not being able to breathe right for a week 
