Boil Before Drinking » movies

Monopoly Coming to the Big Screen

The Runs — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:42:50 +0000

Monopoly may be the next board game to become a movie, if it can beat Risk to a theater near you. Brother Greg talked about the Risk movie and lo and behold – a couple of days later I come across this LA Times article on Ridley Scott and the Monopoly movie he has in the works.

Ridley Scott is rolling the dice on a ‘Monopoly’ movie and here’s why | Hero Complex | Los Angeles Times

For your sake, I did a quick google search on board games made into moves. The only one I could think of was Clue. I think that’s correct, as long as Jumanji doesn’t count. As to my search, apparently Boil Before Drinking has maintained its successful record of being at least six months behind the news, and there are movie adaptions in the works for:

Clue (again)
Candy Land

I am not going to count a planned Ouija Board movie because Ouija Board is not a board game. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Check out the link though for some funny commentary on the Ouija movie.

Why bother to make a Ouija movie anyways, when Witchboard is available? Oh wait, someone is remaking Clue.

“Risk” Board Game set to Become Feature Film

Ninja Man: with Ninja Powers! — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:15:33 +0000

From Slashfilm.com

…Hasbro’s Brian Goldner points to the success of toys Transformers and G.I. Joe, claiming that audiences have “shown a great desire for films that bring to life everything that has made these franchise properties stand the test of time. The strategic thinking and the tactical gambles that players must take in the game are what make RISK a classic, thoroughly engaging game. Those elements translated into an action-packed, thrilling story are what will make this a uniquely exciting movie.”

Read the full story here >>.

Wow. It never ceases to amaze how risk-averse (no pun intended) Hollywood is becoming – at least in theory. In Lala-land it seems that anything whatsoever that can be connected to an “existing franchise” is worth a shot. I mean, making a movie about world domination might not attract audiences, but if you slap a “trusted” brand-name on it (i.e. Transformers, GI Joe) then surely they’ll come out in droves. So far it seems to it work well enough.

The most popular movies this year reached back into the 80s toy-chest with big results; so perhaps this is an attempt to go back even further into the collective geek consciousness by dusting off the oh-so compelling narratives of yesteryear’s board games. And if “Risk: the Movie” is successful can a Hungry, Hungry Hippos movie be far off? Operation could be adapted into something quite terrifying if you let the right people do it; and Ants in the Pants has comedy gold written all over it.

But anyone that’s played Risk knows that the real action isn’t on the board anyways – it’s sitting around the table watching grown men act like rabid maniacs, occasionally breaking down in tears, exchanging blows, and strutting about like boastful cocks. Go ahead and try to remember that “its just a game” the next time you lose Europe those 5 extra armies.

New Tremors Movie, still no Kevin Bacon

The Runs — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:43:54 +0000

Apparently there are not enough Tremors movies, and we will get another installment shortly. Kevin Bacon is still MIA in the newest addition to the franchise. The name kicks ass this time around: Tremors: The Thunder down Under. I should sue. That’s my shout-out when I’m eating Chili on the couch.

via Cinemablend.com

ASCII Star Wars

The Runs — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:07:35 +0000

The other night I was cleaning up an old computer so that I could give it away. On the hard-drive was an old text file with a bunch of websites I has noted down 8 years ago. And of course, I had made sure to record the telnet address of ASCII Star Wars.

Here is the website. You need to check this out.

Star Wars Asciimation

Now, for the fun part, try out the telnet feed of ASCII Star Wars. The telnet address is:

telnet://towel.blinkenlights.nl

If that doesn’t work from your browser, then open a cmd prompt (windows: start, run, cmd), type ‘telnet‘ to launch the telnet app, then type ‘o towel.blinkenlights.nl‘ to open the telnet site. Sit back and enjoy.

Drunk Man Assaults Jedi

The Runs — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:12:59 +0000

Its good to see that someone is willing to put those uppity Jedi churchgoers in their place. Even if their Darth Vader costume consists of a black garbage bag. This article is pretty funny.

Drunk Darth Vader’s Jedi assault

Arwel Wynne Hughes, 27, from Holyhead, Anglesey, admitted assaulting Barney Jones and cousin Michael with a metal crutch. They suffered minor injuries.

Hughes, who was drunk and dressed in a black bin bag, shouted “Darth Vader!”

I’m not sure how wearing a trash bag qualifies as ‘impersonating’ Darth Vader. I honestly could quote the entire article. Its all good.

Muppet Star Wars

The Runs — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:24:53 +0000

On EndorExpress.net they have some links to ‘alternate’ Star Wars toys. There are Muppet version (see below), and Disney-as-Star-Wars characters. Definitely worth 30s of your time.

Muppet and Disney Star Wars

Obviously Toronto in Film

The Runs — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:06:59 +0000

I scan through the Torontoist blog occasionally, and this time I found one of the worst examples of a movie filmed in Toronto and pretending to be New York. If you are familiar with Toronto at all, the stills from the Short Circuit 2 are worth a look.

Reel Toronto: Short Circuit 2

Plan Your Star Wars Trade Route

The Runs — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:31:29 +0000

It seems like it was a long time ago, far away, when I loaded up my wood paneled space wagon with Amway goods and literature to go on a star-hopping sales trip. Woe was me when I didn’t have a friggin map of the galaxy. I’m all set now. Check it out:

Large Version of Star Wars Galaxy Map

via: 20/20 Filmsite

New Street Fighter Movie

The Runs — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:59:00 +0000

This is probably old news for the multitude of Street Fighter fans out there, but in case you missed it: A new Street Fighter Movie is in the works. Yes, I am not shitting you. Apparently someone thought the first one was good enough to make a sequel. Or maybe this is a case of ‘hmmm… that sucked, lets try again’ a la the Hulk movies. I think the worst part of the first Street Fighter movie was that it turned out to be the last movie Raul Julia made. Anyone who has seen him in something like Romero would recognize the utter tragedy of ending on such a note.

I’m not sure why I even saw fit to mention this. I think I was more shocked then anything.

For those that are interested, here’s an article on the new Street Fighter movie.

Street Fighter Movie Cast Expands

Meet the Spartans Movie Review

The Runs — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:57:00 +0000

Thankfully, I have not seen Meet the Spartans. And I doubt I will. Slate’s review of the movie IS a good read, and probably a lot funnier then the film itself. For a good laugh, and to save yourself the time you might have wasted at the theater, check out the review.

Meet the Charlatans – Another terrible spoof movie from the nongeniuses who brought you Date Movie and Epic Movie.

Some highlights:

“Those who stick around for the closing credits are treated to the sight of George W. Bush getting kicked in the nuts. Judging by the respective approval ratings of Bush (31 percent) and the Friedberg-Seltzer comedy team (between 2 percent and 3 percent, according to Rotten Tomatoes), audiences would have preferred to see Bush, or perhaps even Stalin, kick Friedberg and Seltzer in the balls.”

—————

“This was the worst movie I’ve ever seen, so bad that I hesitate to label it a “movie” and thus reflect shame upon the entire medium of film. Friedberg and Seltzer do not practice the same craft as P.T. Anderson, David Cronenberg, Michael Bay, Kevin Costner, the Zucker Brothers, the Wayans Brothers, Uwe Boll, any dad who takes shaky home movies on a camping trip, or a bear who turns on a video camera by accident while trying to eat it.”