Marvel Media Mania: Blade: House of Chthon (Pilot)

As always - Spoiler Alert!

Blade: House of Chthon is a pilot for a Blade TV series which originally aired on Spike TV in 2006. 

To be honest, I went into seeing this expecting it to be bad. The last two Blade films missed the mark with me and the made-for-TV budget for Blade: House of Chthon just seemed like a recipe for campy-ness. The opening sequence didn't do much to prove me wrong. Blade is chasing a Russian vampire around what appears to be the inside of a nuclear power plant... on his motor cycle, of course. What's weird is that the opening scene has almost nothing to do with the rest of the film. Blade asks the vampire, "Where are you taking the bodies?" and the vampire answers, "Detroit," but then we see a cop getting bodies for the vampires in Detroit. So why do they need to ship them all the way from Russia? Either way, we never hear about the Russian angle again...

The first part of the pilot is definitely weak. There's a storyline with a girl, Kirsta, searching for her brother's murderers. You know it will eventually be connected to Blade but it takes awhile until it actually is. So I was surprised when the pilot began catching my attention! I'd say the pilot really picks up when Kirsta meets Blade for the first time. I thought I knew where it was going - Kirsta becomes Blade's vampire hunting partner, but the pilot really gets interesting when Kirsta is turned into a vampire! What an excellent plot twist!

I'm glad to see they took a more "mature" angle on the Blade property - they're not afraid to be violent, bloody, sexy, or rough around the edges. The creators of the show went out of their way to show how vampires have pervaded our pop culture - from Video Games to comic books to movies. Some nice nods to vampire fans. They also threw in one tidbit for die-hard Marvel fans. At one point a "Professor" character mentions he colleague Marc Spector who specializes in werewolves. This is obviously a reference to Moon Knight (who's secret identity is Marc Spector although in the comics continuity he has very little to do with werewolves). 

The creators take their own liberties with the vampire myth, making it their own. First, I loved the flashbacks to native american vampires during the colonial times. Very cool. The creators seem to have taken the "cursed" spiritual aspect out of vampirism and made it more scientific. In this version, vampires are affected by sunlight, garlic, and silver but not by crosses and holy water. A major plot point is the vampires trying to overcome their weaknesses through scientific testing. There also appears to be different levels of vampires - a more "primal" vampire and more "civilized" vampires. I liked the idea of a "vampire farm" with thousands of vampire bodies in cold storage, all slowly being drained of their blood!

The main cast is great. "Sticky Fingaz" (AKA Kirk Jones) does a good job as Blade. The rest of the main cast does a pretty good job. They certainly cast people that look the rolls they're playing. The actors playing Kirsta, Chase, and Vam Sciver (the main bad guy) all do great jobs. The problem I ran into was when you get into some of the supporting cast. Even Pinocchio didn't act as woodenly as some of these folks!

All in all, Blade: House of Chthon (which I would have pronouned "Ch-Th-On" but is actually pronounced "Kith-On") is a good hook into the series. 

1LR Rating - 15 out of 20 - It's a Hit!

George Lucas says, "No!" To Real World AT-AT Walkers

This story is from 1LR fan, Bill P.

How was the At-At defeated? It's only weakness is George Lucas.

Hundreds of volunteers have marshaled their energy to the task of recreating a real-world AT-AT Walker from the Star Wars movies for $100 million dollars. Well, they did before George Lucas *cough* *jerk* *cough* stopped them because of "intellectual property rights concerns."  Pssshhh.... And I'm sure if George Lucas directed a film that had a device in it that cured cancer he wouldn't want eager fans to build that either! Check it out: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42667952/ns/technology_and_science-innovation?GT1=43001

Star Wars fans never stop surprising me with their rabid dedication and creatively. George Lucas never ceases me amaze me by being a tool. I mean, what reason could he have for fighting this... unless... HE'S A SITH LORD! Yes, of course! Who wouldn't want the good ol' USA to have this power but a Sith Lord! It all makes sense! George is the "Emperor" - behind the scenes, manipulating, "directing" if  you will... while the whole time amassing power for himself, letting the citizens of the empire suffer!

Build that AT-AT, boys, then use it to overthrow the Sith Lord's influence over the Star Wars films so we will finally have Episodes 7-9 like we justly should!

Thanks, Bill, for bringing to light this threat to the galaxy. 1LR fans, keep this stories coming... for the safety of all the known universe!

Flaming C Trailer - Conan O'Brien

Conan had the folks at Warner Bros./DC Comics make him his own hero - The Flaming C. What started out as a joke has gotten kinda serious. Already there have been some short animated sequences produced and now this pretty good looking trailer for a fake (for now) movie.

Lone Wolf (D20) - Magic of Magnamund

Magic of Magnamund is the third book published by Mongoose for its Lone Wolf D20 RPG.

The main thing that this book adds to the Lone Wolf RPG is more character classes, both good and evil.

The Cener Druid and Shadakine Wytch/Wytch Chylde are both evil character classes to expand what was introduced in The Darklands. Both of these character classes are presented in a clear and easy to understand fashion. They are unique enough to warrant publication and should provide interesting enemies for the PCs.

Herbalish, Kundi Mystic, Sage of Lyris, Shianti Sorcerer, and Vakeros Knight are all good character classes that greatly expand what was presented in the core rulebook. Additionally, some "advanced classes" are also detailed. Each of these character classes is truly unique when compared to the ones previously published in other books. The Vakeros Knight's eagle steed make it a unique character class. Although I wouldn't allow a player to play a Shianti Sorcerer because of their massive power, I think it's a good thing that they are presented so the DM can create NPC Shianti Sorcerers. The Kundi Mystic is perhaps the most unique class presented here, however. Strange that it hasn't been included in LWM to date...

Additionally, some rules for magical items and crafting are presented. These, along with some information regarding the mechanics of magic in Magnamund, help to round out the feel and scope of the world.

While this volume isn't essential, I think it adds variety to the game for the players. All of the classes presented are fully detailed and given extensive write-ups.

1LR Review - 16 out of 20 - It's a Hit!

She Don't Like Firefly - Awesome Geek Song!

Check out this original geek song and video by Mikey Mason... Personally, I think he's insane if this was based on a real life experience but I give him major geek credit for sticking to his geek guns!

Lone Wolf (D20) - The Darklands

I've previously reviewed the Lone Wolf Multiplayer Darklands book. A lot of the content is remarkably similar between the D20 Darklands book and that one. I felt that the LWM version was an excellent supplement. I will focus my review on the unique aspects of The Darkland book.

The Darklands doesn't disappoint. The second entry in the D20 Lone Wolf RPG is a strong one. Beyond the information about The Darklands and Helgedad itself (the map is an nice inclusion), this book also includes a bestiary, AWESOME write-ups of Darklords (You'd better have a party of all 20th level before you run into one, essentially), and rules for corruption of characters who enter The Darklands, the book offers quite a bit more.

Evil character classes are also included in this volume. Now, it's one thing in Dungeons and Dragons to say, "My alignment is Chaotic Evil," but in LW evil is EVIL. The descriptions of the abilities, powers, and dark rites that evil characters go through will give you the shivers. Which is exactly what you're looking for in this book, of course.

Additionally, there's a "Tools of Evil" section that details various weapons, armor, and evil magical items one might encounter in the Darklands. All of it is, of course, deliciously evil.

The Darklands manages to equal its LWM brother in quality but it includes more great material.

1LR Review - 19 out of 20 - It's a Critical Hit!

Stand Tall - AKA Lou Ferrigno Loses (Again)

I've met Lou Ferrigno in person at a comic convention. Here's how the meeting went. I said, "Hey Lou! It's great meeting you! Can you sign my (classic television series Hulk) DVD!" Lou said, "I charge $20 to sign." I said, "Oh. That's more than I paid for the DVD. Bye," and I slid the DVD back into my backpack and walked away.

So I went into Stand Tall thinking that this is just an attempt to grab some dough by an aging, cash-starved star. I am probably right but that didn't stop it from being interesting.

I'll readily admit that I know nothing about body building. Stand Tall works pretty well as an introduction to the culture. Different body builders are interviewed throughout the film. Lou is trying to win the Mr. Olympia Masters (which is like Mr. Olympia for old body builders). The film sets up a rivalry between Lou and Boyer, his competition in the contest. Arnodl Schwarzenegger plays the roll of the old sage, dispensing wisdom about body building.

I thought it was pretty funny when Robbie Robinson, a body builder that you don't hear about at all during the film, wins the competition and Lou takes second.

The film focuses on Lou's hearing loss. We see Lou speak to crowds and hear stories from Lou's childhood when they called him names, inspiring him to become a body builder. I guess all those ads in comic books were based on real life after all!

Probably the best thing in this film is watching Lou's wife walk a tightrope as she tries to tell the truth about Lou without totally calling him a neglectful bad father on film. It's pretty funny how carefully she chooses her words.

The production value is understandably low. Dialogue is frequently hard to understand (use subtitles if you choose to watch it). At one point there's a hair in the shot. At another the mic keeps dipping into frame.

I'd recommend you watch this movie just to learn a little bit about body building or Lou Ferrigno if you're interested. Otherwise, stay away.

The Great Debate: Party Engineering?

After we created our Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition party and ended up with a ranger, paladin, barbarian, and druid INSTEAD of a cleric, magic user, thief, and fighter I started wondering... is party engineering such a bad thing?

What is party engineering? That's when the players sit around and "fill in the gaps" so the adventuring party will be well balanced. You know - a little stealth, a little healing, a little magic/tech, a little brawn.

When a group uses this technique you end up with a well-balanced party that's able to tackle any challenge thrown at them. If you let everyone choose their own class independently you may end up two people from the same class. Unless it's possible for you to distinguish your character with game mechanics within the class, one party member will ultimately eclipse the other party member. "We've got to make a lore roll? I have the highest lore so I'll roll it!"

The down side to party engineering, however, is that the party becomes predictable. Experienced gamers know their roles well. The cleric is the walking band-aid while the fighter is the meat shield. The wizard lobs magic missile and then detects magic after the fight. Why not spice things up a bit by having an intentional hole or two? It takes a creative party to overcome the lack of a rogue or a cleric. It also lends the DM an excellent opportunity to introduce NPC characters that adventure with the party. No magic user? Hire one!

Another downside to party engineering is that somebody inevitably gets stuck with a role that they don't want. If you're launching a long-term campaign, nobody wants to be stuck as the healing potion with legs for twenty levels. Inevitably, there's a rush to declare what class you're going to be leaving the last person with whatever nobody else wants.

So ultimately, in this debate, I fall on the side of individual expression. So what if you end up with a party of all magic users? What a unique challenge! How can you make YOUR magic user unique even though you're in the same class and race as the rest of the party? That's a challenge an old-school gamer should relish.

Merry Christmas, Geek!

We here at 1LR just wanted to pause, take a deep breath and wish you all a Merry Christmas. That's right - I said it. Merry Christmas. Not Happy Holidays or Merry X-Mas or any of that garbage. CHRISTMAS. So today, as you're unwrapping your superhero movies, roleplaying games, sci-fi books, board games, video games, and geek gear remember the reason we celebrate - the birth of Jesus Christ. He came to Earth so that you might be saved.

So while this is cool:

This would actually be an incredibly tough board...

This is even cooler:

The reason for the season.

Marvel Media Mania: Blade Trinity

Blade Trinity is the third and final film in the Blade series starring Wesley Snipes.

I remember seeing Blade Trinity in the theaters. I remember being really disappointed and not liking it very much. Watching it again, I found myself wondering why I had such a strong negative reaction. While it's not great it certainly isn't horrible either.

The film starts with a cool introductory scene where we seen vampires played by Parker Posey, Triple H, Callum Keith Rennie (of Battlestar Galactica fame) and others discover a resurrected Dracula. Unfortunately, this scene is directly followed by a boring television interview with an interesting but insignificant character played brilliantly by John Michael Higgins. It's only after this boring and exposition heavy scene that we get to see some Blade action.

Whistler dies but it isn't a very memorable death. It is pretty cool to see Blade fighting police and losing. The interrogation is funny at times like when Blade says to the cop he's killed exactly 1,182 people (not vampires - humans who work with vampires). Seeing Blade psychoanalyzed by the psychiatrist was funny.

A lot of people have problems with the Nightstalkers characters. This group are suppose to help Blade take down vampires but they approach things from a different angle. They're working on biological warfare to take out all vampires instead of killing them one a time which is a losing battle. The two primary Nightstalkers are Abigail (Whistler's daughter) and Hannibal King. King was a vampire but somehow was "cured." The film is a little fuzzy on this point. Whistler was cured of vampirism in the second film and it just doesn't seem to fit with the vampire lore at all. But, at least for King, it does fit with the comics continuity. Anyway, I didn't have a big problem with either character. I actually really liked Hannibal's wisecracks. He's really funny. But maybe that's the problem some people had with this film - it's tone is much lighter than the previous Blade movies.

Some cool concepts are introduced in this movie such as the blood farming facility and the vampire supervirus. Seeing vampiric dogs was cool... why did they look like the Reavers from the second film? Weren't the Reavers super-bad vampires that the rest of the vampires wanted to kill?

Probably the coolest supporting character is a little girl named Zoe. She brazenly tells Dracula off and delivers her lines with a steely look in her eye. The cast in this film is really amazing. Besides the actors mentioned previously this film also had Kris Kristofferson, Ryan Reynolds (in his FIRST comic book movie!), Dominic Purcell, and Jessica Biel.

All in all, it's a somewhat likable action movie but it lacks emotional weight and the tone and mood are wrong for a Blade film. I did like the little nods to long-time Marvel fans such as the don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it Fantastic Four "4" shirt one of the Nightstalkers is wearing.

1LR Review - 8 out of 20 - It's a Miss!

G.I.JOE #8 Lottery Scratch-Off Cover

Now I've seen some pretty gimmicky comic book covers. There have been holograms, foil, glow-in the dark, die-cuts, lenticular art, sketch variant, gatefold, and embossed covers. I'm sure I even missed a few. But I've never heard of a scratch-off cover... until now. That's right - G.I. Joe #8 has a scratch off cover like a lottery ticket. The prize? You get to see the new Cobra Commander's face... five minutes before you read the issue. Either that or it ruins the surprised for the next issue.

This has got to be the stupidest promotion I've heard of since the cut-and-collect "Marvel Value Stamps" which you were suppose to cut out of your comics and paste into an album. The only thing those stamps did was drive up the value of the comics that weren't cut up! Likewise for this G.I.Joe promotion... who's going to actually scratch off the cover of their comic? This promotion shows a complete lack of understanding of comic book fans. The only people I can see doing that would be folks who actually buy an extra copy just to scratch. Which is probably what IDW is counting on to boost up their sales. Lame.

Oh, and I don't want to ruin it for anybody but the new Cobra Commander is... Polly from Polly Pockets.

Lone Wolf (D20) The Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

The D20 Lone Wolf RPG was first published in 2004. It is based on the D20 Open-Game License so many of the core rules are very similar to Dungeons and Dragons 3.5.

This is a hefty book, clocking in at over three hundred pages. In this book you get content that it takes FIVE Lone Wolf Multiplayer books to present (core rules, Heroes of Magnamund, Book of the Magnaki, Magnamund Bestiary, Sommerlund, and the list will most likely also include Stormlands I and II when they're released).

The character classes are the core attraction to Lone Wolf that makes it different from other RPGs. Mongoose did one think GREAT when they made this game and one thing HORRIBLY.

The great thing is the tiered abilities each character has. When you go up in level, not only do you get to choose a new ability but the abilities you had selected previously become more powerful by allowing the character to access the next tier of that ability.

The horrible thing they did was have some character classes pay for the use of their skills with endurance points (health points or hit points). This almost completely breaks the game and makes some character classes worthless. Who would want to play a wizard with D4 HP if you lose HP every time you cast a spell?

The book is fully black and white. The information is presented in an easy-to-access format. There's a good index and table of contents. The little art that's in the book is okay at best... but I don't care about the art so that's okay with me. I don't know how widespread this problem is but my copy of the book is lightly used and the binding already came undone in the front of the book.... pretty bummed about that!

Overall, this is the best overall Lone Wolf RPG produced to date. My advice is to use the homebrew rule to simply ignore endurance point costs for skills.  It's a shame Mongoose stopped supporting this line.

1LR Review - 17 out of 20 - It's a Solid Hit!

Geek Gear: Harry Potter Triwizard Tourney Shirt

While this shirt may not be the height of fashion it IS exactly what Harry Potter was wearing during the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and that makes it cool. I love prop replicas and if they're actually useful in real life that makes them all the cooler. The back of this shirt has POTTER blazing across it in brilliant orange. Maybe if you wear it you'll feel like you, too, can conquer he-who-shall-not-be-named, your boss, Randy. Oops. I named him. Sorry.

Geek Gear: Star Wars Flash Drives

There have already been a whole bunch of these Star Wars 4 gigabyte flash drives released. But the newest wave, Series 7, may have the coolest one of all - Han Solo frozen in carbonite. I like the ones that are wearing a mask and when you remove the top it reveals their faces like Darth Vader, Leia as Boushh (above), or Boba Fett.

These babies clock in at $27.95 which is extremely pricey for a 4 gigabyte flash drive - you can get one for less than $5 normally. Still, that Han IS quite tempting...

Check out some of the previously released Star Wars flash drives....

Nerd PSA

This is a funny PSA that deals with a serious topic. Pay attention, gamers!

Geek Gear: Duff

Ever try to sit down and watch an entire season of The Simpsons on DVD back-to-back-to-back? It's tough to do but the task just got a little easier thanks to Duff. No, not the beer that Homer is always drinking but a real-world energy drink by the same name. I love it when fictional products become real and now it's possible to go to work totting a Duff, just like Homer.

Geek Gear: Star Wars:Imperial Forces Wallpaper

I have a thing for taking things from geek sources and presenting them in a completely normal manner. That's why this wallpaper caught my attention. And, yes, we're talking about the type of wallpaper that goes on your walls, not on your computer desktop.

Pretty slick, isn't it? If it was hanging on a wall and you didn't specifically pay attention to it you might never notice it. That's what's so interesting about it! It obviously features Boba Fett, Darth Vader, and some Storm Troopers in different outfits. How cool. But this stuff is expensive! I don't know what normal wallpaper costs but I'm betting it's not $120.00 a roll (covers 27" x 180"). It's expensive to decorate your house with imperial glory!

Lone Wolf (D20) - Free Download - Flight From the Dark (Solo Adventure)

Flight From the Dark is the original Lone Wolf game book. The character creation and combat rules sections are very simple and easy to understand. When Mongoose came out with the Lone Wolf RPG, they re-released the first gamebook translated into the D20 system.

I think this is a brilliant idea. It takes the first gamebook and presents it in a completely new light even though the flavor texts are not changed at all. Where once there may have been a random roll, it's replaced with a skill check or an ability check. Creatures are presented with D20 stats instead of their original "bare bones" stats.

It should be noted that this adaptation is meant for solo gameplay - meaning you could roleplay in the D20 system by yourself. You COULD have a DM read the text to you but what would be the point of that since the DM wouldn't make any decisions?

It's a shame the great Gary Chalk art wasn't reproduced but I'm willing to make that sacrifice to see a familiar path with new eyes.

1LR Review - 17 out of 20 - It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Blade II

Blade II is the 2002 sequel to Blade. Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson reprise their rolls but the rest of the cast is new.

Right off the bat, I'll tell you that this film suffers from sequel-itis. In trying to differentiate itself from the first film or "take things to the next level" it loses its heart, style, and passion. Honestly, I saw this film when it came out but I didn't remember one thing about it until I rewatched it recently.

Sure, we still have Wesley Snipes in kung-fu action taking down vampires... but why do we care? Sequences seem to be designed to be "cool" not because they have any purpose, such as the motorcycle sequence in the beginning.

The story opens with Blade searching for Whistler, who, somehow survived his memorable suicide from the first film. This is never really explained at all - one huge example of the plot holes in this film. Apparently Whistler didn't kill himself and became a vampire. Then the vampires captured him and held him captive for two years, torturing him and then putting him in stasis chamber blood vats to heal so they could torture him some more. Blade rescues him and gives him a serum and then the rest of the film he doesn't act like a vampire at all. Really? That's all it takes? Because the vampires have been searching for a cure to their weaknesses such as sunlight... turns out, all they needed to do was use Blade's serum!

The plot of the movie involves super-vampires, which are hunting regular vampires and turning them into super-vampires. Blade agrees to help the vampires hunt the super-vampires (called Reavers). While the reavers have a cool design, they're primarily treated as mindless thugs. Once again, I didn't care about them, nor did I care about any of the vampires. A special-ops vampire team called the Bloodpack is introduced but they're all cardboard cutouts - style but no substance. Blade forms an attraction with one vampire, Nyssa, but, once again, I didn't care about that at all. Plot twists don't seem surprising or even interesting at all. In almost every regard, this film falls flat.

Now, that's not to say that this film is completely without merit. The special effects are okay, the action is fine, and I did like the very end when Blade shows up to take out the vampire he let go in the beginning. Scud has the best line in the film when Blade comes home and he says, "The Dark Knight returns!" referencing the Batman storyline by Frank Miller.

Ultimately, this film is a mere shadow of the first one. It lacks the charm and style that made the first film memorable. Unfortunately, it's not the worst Blade movie....

1LR Review - 9 out of 20 - It's a Miss!

What Do Your Dice Say About You - Open Invite!

Now that I've analyzed those that I game with regularly, I thought I'd open up an invitation to all gamers - send me a photo of your dice (or the dice of somewhat you game with) and I'll gamer-psychoanalyze you right here on 1LR!  What could be more fun?