It’s a New Year…Let’s try this again!

Hi, I know it’s been a long time since I posted but my New Year’s resolution was to lose weight and write on my blog…writing seems easier.

Warhammer Fantasy gaming has really fallen off with our group lately and I haven’t played a game of it since November 2011. So I changed the blog name to reflect the fact that I don’t JUST play Warhammer.

What have I been doing? I’ve been playing a lot of board games and a few other table top miniature games as well as role playing games to fill the time. I’m currently playing Gamma World RPG with my friends. It’s a quirky post-apocalypse game using the D&D 4E game rules. I like it better then D&D 4E but it still moves to slowly for my tastes. I’ve been playing a variety of board games lately and will try to keep everyone up to date on what I think of the ones we play in future posts.

The biggest project I’ve been working on is the development of racing game based on NASCAR. You might be thinking “Why NASCAR”, just check the title of the blog your reading and that’s all that needs to be said about that. I doing this with a friend of mine who already developed a car racing game based on individual card decks. The big change was to drive the game using a universal roll of 6 dice to make the game work. It’s been a bit of a challenge but I think we have moved to a point where we want to play test the game to wider gaming audience. More on this later…On to the real topic of my post!

Movies!
I went to see some Movies recently and as I have 2 young kids this is a bit of rarity for me. The experience could be summed up in a classic movie title “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” starring Clint Eastwood.

The Good – Act of Valor
I went to see this with a friend of mine just last weekend. I thought the movie was terrific. The action sequences were some of the best I’ve seen in awhile (and I do watch current movies on DVD and such so I’m not completely out of the loop). Live fire ammo was interesting to watch and the filming of those sequences seemed much different from the standard special effects. I must admit (without giving anything away I hope) that I did cry in the movie and people applauded at the end which was 2 things that haven’t happened in awhile to me. I admit that I’m a sucker for heartstring moments in shows but that usually happens in TV shows with characters I invested years watching. Since I wasn’t the only one this happened to in the theater I felt it was unusual. Side note: How awkward is it when you try to take a peak around the people setting next to you and A) See if they’re tearing up as well and B) See if they saw you tearing up and you make eye contact with that stranger. I had to look away quickly before it got awkward enough that I would be compelled to try and small talk about the weather or sports. Maybe this just happens to me!

The Bad – Safe House
I really thought that with Denzel and Ryan Reynolds that the movie would be good. I think this movie was intended to be a Suspense Thriller type movie. What it really lacked was suspense and thrills in it. It could just be an action film as there wasn’t enough of that in it either. The plot is utterly predictable and frankly boring at this point. The trailers make the movie look much more interesting then it is. I don’t want to spoil the plot in case you really want to go see it but my bottom line is this: If Denzel Washington &/or Ryan Reynolds had any artistic integrity they would refund the money people paid to see this movie along with a hand-written note apologizing for helping make it. Since Ryan Reynolds didn’t do that after Green Lantern I’m not holding my breath. Side note: Wouldn’t it be better if you could pay for movies after you’ve seen them!

The Ugly – Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
I didn’t actually see this movie but the trailer ran before Act of Valor. I can assure you that I am going to see this movie. After the trailer ran my friend and I looked at each other and agreed that They’ve (maker’s of this film) already sold me. I would have pre-ordered tickets that day. I have no idea if this movie will be any good. I’m okay if it isn’t any good. The audacity to make a movie about Abe Lincoln the vampire hunter needs to be rewarded. I’m not sure if this is a book or property adapted from some other media but I’ve never heard of it and can only cry out WHY!!! If George Washington is the grizzled vet that recruits and trains him to be the vampire hunter I will stand up in the theater and scream for Joy and dance a jig until they remove me.

Well that’s all I have time for today and don’t worry I’ll get back to game related topics next time