(The video clips are age-restricted due to the realistic cartoon violence.)

I love the way Shank moves and the sheer variety of weapons he has at his disposal. The backgrounds are gorgeous, and the sunset segments are a nice visual touch:

The Shank, At Sunset

For more information about the game, check out the official blog here.

Coffinman: The Journal Of A Buddhist Mortician

The 2008 Japanese film Departures (Okuribito) is loosely based on the novel.  In it, unemployed Orchestra cellist Daigo Koboyashi heads back to his hometown looking for a new job and answers an ad for a “Nokan Agent” unaware that the position involves the ritual preparation of the deceased for burial.

The film went on to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009 and practically swept the Japanese equivalent of the Academy Awards the same year, garnering wins in the Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor categories (along with many, many more). It’s a beautiful film, funny and heartwarming, and highly recommended.

The poster for Japan's Best Film of 2009: Departures

On a related side note: kudos to the lovely people over at BCA Bookstore in Berkeley for the several personalized touches included with the shipment, namely:

The Book Itself, Carefully Wrapped And Sealed,

A Complimentary Incense Sample,

And A Handwritten Thank You On The Invoice

Nicely done!

Now if only every seller took the time to personalize their orders this way.

I’ll try to post a review of the book some time next week.

Whiplash and War Machine both look great.

I especially like the shot of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash shown from Tony Stark’s POV under the flipped race car.

The portable Iron Man armor at the end of the trailer is an awesome money shot that will definitely go a long way towards getting people in seats May 7th when the sequel, Iron Man 2, makes its debut.

Looking forward to it!

The controller arrived a few days ago.

Here it is:

Retrolink's USB Nintendo Entertainment System Control Pad

Here’s a shot of the original NES Controller for comparison:

The original Nintendo Entertainment System Control Pad

The Retrolink controller closely resembles the original NES Gamepad, no doubt a large part of the peripheral’s appeal.  To the designers’ credit, the only noticeable difference between the two controllers is the logo in the upper righthand corner.  Even the back of the controller (not pictured here) looks the same, screws and all.

Of equal importance to the avid retro gamer, the Retrolink NES Controller feels almost exactly the same as the classic NES gamepad, sporting the same dimensions, boxy design, and “clicky” buttons, albeit noticeably lighter, feeling practically hollow inside.

The controller is easy to set up and use.  Simply attach the controller to your computer, PC or Mac, via the 6-foot-long USB cord, and you’re ready to play, no fussing with adapters and complicated software installations.

The controller performs exactly as advertised.  The D-pad and buttons are all responsive and seem able to withstand many long hours of frantic, button mashing-type abuse.  The USB cord is long enough so that there’s little risk of accidentally pulling the controller loose in the heat of the moment and actually helps to recreate the feeling of sitting in front of the TV in the family room with the lights off, stomping Goombas, and collecting coins into the wee hours of the night.

For retro gamers like myself who grew up playing 8-bit classics like the original Super Mario Bros. and The Legend Of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Retrolink USB NES Controller just feels right, and that’s the most important thing.

Looks promising, doesn’t it?

I have little doubt that Jackie Earle Haley will “kill it” as the new, more gruesome-looking, and less quippy Freddy Krueger, but I do share others’ concerns about the movie being too similar to the original.

I haven’t watched any of the original Nightmare films in ages, but from what I’ve seen from the trailers, there looks to be  a fair amount of recycling of material from the first two films.

On the plus side, at least this time, the trailer focuses on the scares.  The teaser trailer released awhile back showed a bit of the new Freddy’s origins, including an unintentionally funny shot of pre-claw Freddy about to be burned alive, tearing off his jacket to reveal the character’s iconic red and green-striped sweater.

In slow-mo, no less.

When it comes to the sweater, the less viewer attention drawn to it the better, I think.

The same can be said of most superhero movie names: Magneto (Mag-neat-o!), the Abomination (“My, God, he’s become some sort of horrible … Abomination!”), even Iron Man are all incredibly silly, if you really think about it.  Luckily, superhero movies typically move along at a steady clip (“Wait.  Did he just say his name is Sinestro?”) and rarely, if ever, draw attention to the silly sounding names that have their roots in comic books dating back to the 1960s and earlier (“What do they call you?  Wheels?”).

Freddy shows up in the new trailer wearing his regular “costume” plus hat and is suitably creepy, and it works.  I don’t think any audience member really consciously questions his choice of wardrobe these days.  He looks the way we expect him to look, like Santa Claus or Spiderman, and we don’t give it a second thought, as long as Freddy sticks to doing what he does best: slaughtering helpless teens in gruesomely creative fashion.