Find of the Week (1/20/13 - 1/26/13)

Dag Nasty - Field Day (Vinyl)

Value: $25 on Discogs.com

Actual Cost: $17.99

Dag Nasty is one of my favorite bands. Their second album Wig Out at Denko's is possibly in my top five albums. Field Day is the follow up to that classic. It's something I've always wanted but probably would have never bought until I found it randomly. Unlike the other Dag Nasty releases from Dischord Records, Field Day was put out by Giant Records and never reprinted. I would never find it anywhere but the internet. I would probably never actually pull the trigger on buying it because the S&H costs would deter me.

But lo an behold, I found it at the local record shop. I listened to it and was very impressed. I've only listened to Field Day through digital copies, and they never sounded this good. I think sometimes the benefits to sound in vinyl recording are exaggerated. Not here. Field Day sounds much more powerful here than in the puny mp3s.

One of the most frequent complaints about this album is that Dag Nasty lost their hardcore punk edge, so the more raw sound definitely helps. I had forgotten how good Field Day actually is. It has some pop punk classics like "Things That Make No Sense" and some good bluesy rock. All in all, I'm very happy I picked it up!

Find of the Week (1/13/13 - 1/19/13)

Megaman NT Warrior: BattleNet Game

Value: $25 on eBay

Actual Cost: $2.52

I found this game during my weekly thrift run. The box is a little damaged, but, upon opening, it's new and unplayed. People on eBay are asking like $40-100 for it, with none of them selling. The only copy sold recently was $25.

I haven't played it yet and may never. I mostly bought it for the little Megaman mini's. The only thing I was able to find about this game made it seem like junk, but who knows? There's not a whole lot on BoardGameGeek.com relating to this one. My buddy Josh is a big Megaman fan, so maybe he'll want to try this one with me.

At the very least, I can use the miniatures for D&D.

Find of the Week (1/6/13 - 1/12/13)

Pokémon Monopoly: Collector's Edition
(with pewter figurines)

Value: $30-40

Actual Cost: $5.00

Here's another steal of a deal I found! This time it's a board game. This edition of Monopoly goes regularly for $40 complete on eBay but is sometimes found for as low as $30. I found it at Goodwill for $5. The store also had Pokémon Sorry, but I'm not going to stoop that low.

Say what you will about Monopoly, but this is probably the most interesting version. I mean, who wouldn't love to purchase Pokémon as properties! Pokémon theming aside, this game also has rules for special powers use (optionally) after rolling doubles. For instance, if you roll double 6's, you can choose to battle another trainer in a roll of the dice over ownership of one of their properties!

Probably my favorite thing about Pokémon Monopoly is that Nidoqueen and Nidoking are the replacements for Park Place and Boardwalk! That's just too cool!

Slasher Scorecard

Have you ever wished if there was a way to easily compare slasher movies based on graphic content? Now, thanks to my patented slasher scoring system, you can.

Developed with my buddies in Hamtramck, this system accounts for all the cool things you will find in slasher films, from castrations to cat scares to dog flashbacks. Be warned, when I use this scale in the future, it will contain spoilers about the ways people get murdered in slashers.

I have include the scoresheet so you can print them off and join along!

Slasher Scorecard

Tuesday on Tape #6 - The Guyver

#6 - The Guyver (10/16/12)

Tuesdays on Tape Rating Scale™

Previews: .5/1
Soundtrack: .5/.5
B&T: 1/1.5
Graphics: 1/1
Sound Effects: .5/.5
Likable Characters: 0/1
Memorable Moments/Quotables/Emotion: 1/1.5
Total: 4.5/7

Rent or Buy?: Rent

Personal Thoughts: The Guyver is the 1991 American live-action film based off the Japanese manga/anime. As far as American live-action movies based on anime go, this one is pretty decent. It does its job well. I went into The Guyver expecting lots of monster suits, and that's exactly what I got.

The Kronos Company has created a mechanical suit thing called the Guyver, and our hero finds it. The company wants it back, so they send a bunch of anthropomorphic monsters to fight him.

Now, I've never read the original manga or seen any of the anime. I have no clue how this stacks up in a side-by-side comparison. I can say that this tape was a visual feast! Monsters galore! Unfortunately, it's not 100% greatness. Mark Hamill's character feels ultimately pointless, which is problematic given the amount of screentime dedicated to him. The other characters aren't too interesting either.

I got a good kick out of the scenes at the movie set, but not a whole lot of other stuff stuck out apart from the suits. I mean, suits are awesome and all, but this movie is going to score lower on our rating scale because we just don't have a category for monster suits. A lack of real characters hurt this one on the scoreboards especially.

My colleagues thought this was fun but unsubstantial. I guess I agree, but I think I may have liked it more than they did. I'd probably buy (not rent) the VHS again if I had to do all over.

Tuesday on Tape #5 - Ghost Dad

#5 - Ghost Dad (10/9/12)

Tuesdays on Tape Rating Scale™

Previews: .5/1
Soundtrack: .5/.5
B&T: 0/1.5
Graphics: 1/1
Sound Effects: .5/.5
Likable Characters: 1/1
Memorable Moments/Quotables/Emotion: 1.5/1.5
Total: 5/7

Rent or Buy?: Buy

Personal Thoughts: Ghost Dad is another Tuesday on Tape MVP. This movie looks like a bad family comedy. Well, it kind of is. What makes the movie shine is the excellent performance by Bill Cosby. The writers and director let Bill Cosby go wild, and it shows. This is good stuff.

Bill Cosby plays a dad who winds up a ghost. This may be the most likable character ever! His likability resulted in a full Likable Characters score, despite there being no other likable characters in the movie. When I'm 50 and turn into a ghost dad, I hope to be as cool as Bill Cosby is in Ghost Dad.

This movie would have definitely hit the full points category if it had more previews and some B&T. Unfortunately, it didn't. Thus, it isn't the perfect tape. What do you expect from a Bill Cosby family flick? Either way, you owe it to yourself to watch it if you ever run across a copy.

Find of the Week (12/30/12 - 1/5/13)

The Ripper (1985) VHS

Value: $4 on Amazon.com

Actual Cost: $0.50

Ok, this isn't a super good find in terms of value-to-actual-cost ratio. The reason it's the find of the week is because it's another shot-on-tape horror movie (and I didn't buy anything else valuable this week)! I'm lucking out this month! Shot-on-tape, or shot-on-video, is my favorite subgenre, if you can call it that, of horror.

How does The Ripper fare compared to other SOV horror? I don't know. It's not exactly renowned for being good or anything. We'll see when I watch it. I'm excited to see how it turns out. I am a fan of the starring actor Tom Savini. I loved his remake of Night of the Living Dead, preferring it to anything ever made by George Romero. On the other hand, I am not a fan of horror movies that follow the life of the killer. (When A Stranger Calls is the exception because that film was genius.)

Maybe I'll start a shot-on-tape horror review feature. I own a few others on bootleg DVD, so it could be interesting. I'll watch it soon and let you know what I think.