A Nerd Confessional

Hey there everybody! Old Man Chaos is here with another posting from the Eye of Terror. This one is, I think, a bit unusual, but it is something I'd like to do more frequently (when I have the time, that is). So, away we go...

I am, as my wife says, a Nerd. There. I said it. I am a very large nerd. I have been involved with many nerd activities. Warhammer 40K? That makes me Nerd #1, for sure. But, there's more. I love video games. I have been playing video games since the Atari 2600. I was playing video games before they were "cool" (which did not happen till Playstation One in 1995- before that, people played games, but they weren't widespread or a BIG part of culture till then). I owned so many game systems (NES, SNES, Genesis, Sega CD, Turbografix, and much much more).

Does anyone recognize this one?

As I kid, I saw my world through video games. I loved Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Sonic, Castlevania, Mega Man, etc. I was skilled at video games (I had no skills in traditional sports), and they transported me to so many places. Sad, but nerd true, I have video game music on my ipod. To this day, I play games.

Nostalgia for the 8 and 16 bit days aside, I believe the pinnacle for gaming was the XBox 360 and Wii days of the mid 2000s. Those were a great few years to be a gamer- the games that came out then were simply amazing- Mass Effect, Fallout, Bioshock, Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, House of the Dead Overkill... plus xbox arcade and virtual console... wow. I must admit, my gaming has slowed down since I got married, but I do own a Wii U (Mario Kart is just fantastic multi-player fun), and I would like to get an XBox One at some point.

I was also, for a very long time, a comic book addict (I think 40K supplanted it, ultimately)- I got into comics in 1989 when I saw the movie Batman- which inspired me to buy a few Batman books, including the trade of A Death in the Family. I started with Bats, but I went to Spiderman, X-Men, and others. I was going comic book shopping once a week, buying tons of issues.

I was there for the comic book explosion and ultimate implosion in the 90s. I had like a billion X-Force 1 bagged, of course. I was there for Death of Superman, and more importantly for me, Knightfall (still a fav). I was there for Morrison's incredible (and unsurpassed) JLA run (that was in college for me by that point). On the Marvel side, my favs were Age of Apocalypse and Infinity Gauntlet. But, I was also there for the messes, like the Clone Saga and Onslaught.

I stopped in 1999/2000 for the most part, as I simply couldn't keep up with all the crossovers and "events" anymore. Ugh. That killed it for me. I briefly returned in 2005 (Thanks to Bats again, as Batman Begins made me go back), just in time for Grant Morrison start his Batman run (which I never finished), and I picked up Civil War. After that, too many damn crossovers reminded me why I stopped, and so I quit cold turkey. Now, I once in a while buy a trade or something. I recently got the Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus- what a pleasure to read. Of course, I use the Internet to monitor major comic developments (Thor is a woman? Puh-lease- Publicity stunt.), but I don't buy anymore. I do still love comic movies, of course.

Speaking of, my third "Nerd love" is movies. I think film is a powerful medium if used correctly. I don't see every movie. Many would bore me or just be unappealing. The movies that I love are sci-fi. Well-done horror* films. Comic movies. Tarantino (he's his own mixed up genre). My love of movies come from my parents, who loved watching movies in their down time.

Growing up when I did (1980s), my parents exposed me to "classics". Star Wars (saw Jedi in the theater). Star Trek (Trek III being the first Trek I saw in theaters). Alien. The Godfather (my Italian father's Bible). The Black Hole. Jaws. Young Frankenstein. My mother took me to see Ghostbusters and Monster Squad. I also saw older sci-fi, like Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1950s), War of the Worlds (1950s), Godzilla (the FIRST one, thank you). My mother loved classic horror- I saw Dracula with Legosi, Frankenstein, Invisible Man, all those Universals.

My passion for good movies has continued, almost undiminished. On my own, I "found" other films. For a while I was into seriously into horror- but again, the classics- Texas Chainsaw, Evil Dead, Halloween 1-3 (yes, 3), and Romero's Dead trilogy. I was always into sci-fi, of course- I didn't get to Terminator until I was in high school though. I liked Jurassic Park but didn't love it for some reason. Independence Day- now that was a movie! I also got into action films, like Die Hard. In college, I saw a ton of history-related films- Patton, Dr. Strangelove, The Great Dictator, Saving Private Ryan, etc. In the 2000s, we had a great run- Lord of the Rings (which were a revelation), Nolan's Batman (similarly, a revolution in comic films), solid sci-fi like Children of Men and the War of the Worlds remake.

I have seen many movies with my wife- we do date nights by going out to dinner and a movie. Sometimes we see what she wants (Twilight. Yes- love makes you do strange things). Sometimes its what I want (Watchmen). My wife loves the Marvel films (she loved GotG), so that's great news for me. We see Oscar bait in the winter (like American Hustle, which was excellent). Most recently, we saw American Sniper- a fantastic anti-war film masquerading as a gung-ho war film (idiots on BOTH sides are having knee-jerk reactions without really "seeing" the movie). We are totally looking forward to Avengers 2 this summer, and the new Star Wars, naturally.

So- what was this article, anyways? An exercise in nostalgia? Hoping to just get readers thinking about their own nerd experiences? Putting readers to sleep? Maybe all of the above. This site, Corners of Chaos, will always be Warhammer 40K focused, but I would like to do other things. Perhaps reviews of some of my favorite movies or classic comic stories. So, this was my first step- and I hope that I will be able to do more on this blog... Or just go back to 40K, as my next project beckons to me... Harlequins are certainly tempting me...

Until Next Time...

Some Mini-Movie Reviews

Greetings and felicitations to my fellow denizens of the warp! Old Man Chaos is back in action. I have another battle report that I have to write up, and I've got some freshly painted models that I have to take pics of pronto. However, I also promised some movie reviews. Now, these will be somewhat brief- I just want to give the gist of my thoughts on the movies I have seen this summer so far...

Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier

If you have read other reviews on my site, you know that I think Captain America: The First Avenger, was one of my favorite Marvel movies. Well, I am pleased to say that Cap 2 blows that, and all the other Marvel movies out of the water. Possibly even Avengers. Why, you ask? Well, Cap 2 does a TON of things right.

First, like Nolan's Batman movies, this movie is a reflection of our War on Terror fears and how far are we willing to go to keep the world safe. The movie does a great job with this, actually making lots of links between this conflict and World War II. Here, Captain America stands for our best intentions, and he finds himself at odds with an America that values security over freedom. So, he is still a fish out of water, but this time it has a moral imperative. This is contrasted nicely with the "Winter Soldier", who basically does whatever his handlers tell him, with no moral qualms.

Then, there is a deeper idea, that evil can survive even decisive defeat by changing form. By becoming a different kind of evil. Less open. More hidden. And, worst of all, it can mascerade as something good. This evil is harder to root out. We all like to think that Totalitarianism is gone, but... it just looks better now. This is some deep stuff for a comic movie, and the film makes those connections by bringing in elements from Cap 1 and WW 2 so well and intricately.

But, even with great ideas, a movie could be flat. Not this one though. The actors are all superb- Chris Evans is just amazing as Cap. His scenes with Falcon are warm and realistic (this is not hero worship- its 2 soldiers bonding over loss). Black Widow and Fury are also at top form here, and Cap is constantly trying to figure out their true motives and loyalties. Finally, Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce is so morally slippery- and yet he never overplays it. In addition, the action scenes are a standout. The physicality between Cap and the Winter Soldier is just brutal. There's also lots of bullets flying- it gives the movie a grittiness and gravitas without becoming too grim.

Overall, the best Marvel movie. Period. Loved Avengers, but there was nothing deeper there. Cap 2 is both a fun action movie and a reflection of America at this moment in time.

Godzilla

This one I have mixed feelings about. I am glad to see Godzilla taken more seriously- I LOVE the 1954 movie- the perfect metaphor for the atomic bomb. The other Godzillas I could take or leave- I liked the monster fights as a kid, but damn those movies are bad. Then, the trailers for this one came out and I said YES- this is the Godzilla that needs to be seen.

The film is, as I said, a mixed bag. The monsters are very well done, with Godzilla himself getting all due respect in his appearance and strength. The problem is the rest of the movie isn't very effective at all. I don't mind slow deliberate pacing- but this felt off. They could have trimmed a good chunk and the movie would still be OK. They also kill the off one of their best characters fairly quickly. It doesn't help that the lead is fairly dull and un-involving. The monster fights are thrilling though- but these were all too brief compared to the rest of the movie.

Overall, I liked it, but didn't love it. That's too bad, as I think this movie could have been great.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Boy, did this movie have a ton on its plate. It was going to try to coordinate the older actors with the newer ones, somehow account for all the differences and inconsistencies (big and small) in the various movies, while trying to live up to one of the most famous X-Men stories of all time. Now, if that isn't a tall order, I don't know what is.

And, incredibly, the movie manages to deliver on all of these and then some. The story is part Terminator, part Empire Strikes Back, part ST IV: The Voyage Home, part comic book movie, and I mean that in the best possible way. To prevent a terrible future for both mutants and mankind alike, the xmen decide to send Wolverine back in time to prevent the murder of Bolivar Trask, inventor of the Sentinels. Problem is, Mystique is the killer, and how do you find someone who could look like anyone? Complicating matters is the fact that in the 1970s, Xavier has basically given up on his dream, living life in a druggy haze (a metaphor for how America seemed to have given up in the 1970s perhaps). Plus, Magneto is in jail for a crime he may or may not have committed. Only by working together do the three have any chance to avert the catastrophe- but can they?

I am disappointed in this costume... how he looked at the end of First Class was great...

The movie is a great race against time flick, and it also has a healthy sense of humor. It is buoyed by some great performers- the Xavier's and Magnetos are played so well, its fantastic. And of course Hugh Jackman is great as Wolvie, though he doesn't dominate the proceedings, which is good. The special effects are top notch, and the Sentinels are fantastic. The best part though is the juxtaposition between the hopeless future and the rough but not yet dark 1970s- it really adds weight to the whole thing, making the characters decisions that much more important. However, there are moments where it seems like they are juggling too much. Also, there are some rather odd dull spots too, as well as some lapses in logic. But, as they say in Austin Powers- time travel? Now I've gone cross-eyed.

Without giving away the movie, let me say that the last battle and ending are great. Indeed, the conclusion is so good- basically, IF this was the end of the series, I would be totally OK with that, as this ending is really special. It is especially noteworthy if you hated X3 or Origins, let's put it that way. Naturally, there will be another one, judging by the scene after the end credits-geeks only will get this, as I had to explain it to non-comic fans.

Ultimately, I think X2 is still the absolute best, and there is something really fun about First Class, but DoFP is really, really good- it is so ambitious and they accomplish what they set out to do. Cap 2 was a better movie overall, but DoFP is still excellent.

Well, that's it for my movie reviews for now. I plan on seeing Planet of the Apes, Sin City 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy at the very least. I'll be sure to review them (eventually). Hope you found this entertaining.

Until next time.