Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Watch it or Buy it DVD Review: The Host


Watch it or Buy it Quickie DVD Review

This movie is worth the watch but not the buy. If you find yourself confused it might even be worth a second watch just to ensure you didn't miss any information but this movie lacks a lot. It has a linear and slow plot that lacks the point of a true climax. In an end that is seen coming from miles away, this movie doesn't even seem to have a redeeming quality. It follows the trend that teens are always involved in love triangles (only it is a square?) and highlights impulsive behavior that doesn't even make a logical progression.

As a previous Stephanie Meyer fan, I am glad this is over. And because the book was made to be an  "adult" book this movie was definitely teen. 

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Watch it or Buy it is The Fandomonium's attempt to save you time and money with real life reviews handed to you at the speed of light.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Tuesdays with Tarinae 8/27

Tuesdays with Tarinae, covering the past week in geek...

Batfleck

The word is in that Ben Affleck has been cast as the new Batman due to make the appearance against Henry Caville in the second Man of Steel movie. This has caused quite the uproar in the geek community and there has been a lot of flack (See what I did there!) thrown towards the actor/director.

I wasn't against the idea that Christian Bale could have done the role of the caped crusader but I don't think I was prepared for this (though I love Affleck in romance!) and neither was the rest of the world, in fact there is a peteition with change.org that has over 77,000 sigs to rename someone else. Rumor has it Ben Affleck has been signed for multiple movies should "sequels continue to proliferate". What are you thoughts?

Just remember the boy from the dorky knight story turned out to be the best Joker the universe had seen.

Divergent Trailer

I love this book, if you haven't read it pick it up. Choose your faction, change your life, watch this trailer.




World of Warcraft TCG

The word as of August 23 is that Blizzard has pulled their license with Cryptozoic Entertainment that puts out the World of Warcraft Training Card Game. Here is Lexington this is pretty popular Magic-Style TCG. There are region tournaments and battlegrounds. This comes as a major blow to the community. No more new blocks, no new merchandising but if you are due to run a tournament you are on your own but you are still responsible for following Blizzard's rules.

This news comes shortly after their F2P Online CCG, Hearthstone, just entered the beta testing. It was suggested that the two games would not interfere with one another but it seems that is no longer the case as Blizzard has bought themselves out of the contract and does not plan to renew the license with any other company. Now is the time where I rush to stock with cards for my own decks, my art project, and loot cards. 

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Online Identities: Who Are We?

I have recently moved to playing World of Warcraft again and the situation came up that I felt it was finally time to make a server transfer; I wanted to be able to experience the MMO part of the game and at the time that just was not happening. So I packed up my things and decided to move Tarinae away from her 6+ year home.

What this ended up was a journey and discovery that online identities become a major part of a gamer.

When I first rolled Tarinae, I was the only one. It was a name that I drudged up from the creative parts of my brain and I loved it. From the very first moment I rolled her, she was perfect. I also happened to be the only Tarinae in the whole of the game. I took Tarinae a step further and made a Twitter account @TarinaesJournal to have a nerd place to document her progress and her adventures. That quickly evolved into @Tarinae when I decided to start blogging as a WoW blogger and a lot of people knew my name.

I made a couple different iterations of Tarinae across other servers, including a Tiny Tarinae, that I used as a blogging project. When someone said Tarinae, you knew it was me. When I left WoW blogging for something else I changed my Twitter handle and a spam bot that never tweets picked it up, when I went back to use that name again that was my first throw into "Who Am I World" because I didn't know what I wanted anymore. 

By this time, I had created a random assortment of gaming profiles and I had adopted Tarinae across all of them including XBox, Playstation, etc. (Steam is a different story). I even have Tarinae on Gmail! So in my Twitter hassle, it turns out they only release inactive names in batches and there is nothing that I can do about it. So I went with my BattleTag. By this time, this was a thing and everyone's Twitter Name was their tag, I decided to use it as my handle, and so I was @Tarinae1821.

But I digress, allow me to get back to the game. When I decided to move to a new server, this time there were 12 other Tarinaes, none of which were me. There are countless servers, somewhere way over 300. I had a 12/300+ shot at hitting a server with my name and I hit the nail on the head. The most insulting part was that she was only Level 1. She was a name saver, a waste of space, and I was furious

I consulted Twitter, I ranted on Facebook, I rambled on podcasts, I even petitioned to have the name flagged but it didn't work. I am Tarinae. That is MY online identity, it is my gamer identity. She and I are one in the same and I had no idea what to do. And in that moment, my inner sociologist kicked in and I really started to analyze who we are and who we claim to be. This identity meant the world to me and my online presence but to a non-gamer, to a non-geek I was behaving irrationally; this would have been all trivial but in my heart of hearts I felt like someone had stolen my identity. 

Most people would say that it is time to take a break from WoW at that point. But it was more than that. Tarinae is how people know me on Twitter, from communities, from games, from browser interactives, from a lot of things. Being Tarinae is how I have met some of my MOST AMAZING friends. 

And that was where the problem came in.

In the end, I opted for making a special character in the name and circumventing the system (as allowed by the TOS of course) but when I see her name and that it isn't written correctly, I know a part of me is still out there, floating in the limbo of online identity nether. 

I asked this question on Facebook and across Twitter and it has spurred a lot of wonderful conversation but who are you? Do you have an identity that you are attached to? So many of us do. You're in great company.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Tuesdays with Tarinae 8/19

Tuesdays with Tarinae, covering the past week in geek...

Trailer Mania

There were several trailers that released this week (or that I stumbled upon perhaps) and they absolutely blew my mind. This one is the movie trailer for the book-to-movie adaption of Richelle Meade's Vampire Academy.


I have never read this series, I chose to read Twilight instead and my Young Adult vampire fetish went no further. But these books are bestsellers and this trailer looks to be pretty action packed and little on that sexy side.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Cinema Feature: City of Bones

August 2013 | Cinema Feature

August 21, 2013 | IMDB

The hit of the fall is coming soon The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. This is a book to movie adaptation of the first book in the Cassandra Clare series The Mortal Instruments. Honestly, if you have never read these book and can appreciate anything Young Adult and/or Paranormal then you are seriously missing out.

These books were some of the first things that I read coming out of college and I was instantly enamored with them. Cassandra Clare has created such an intricate story with twists and turns the likes of which I had never encountered. The fact that Hollywood has decided to make one my favorites into a movie has me on the excited side to say the least.

I fashion that I will be sporting rune tattoos and buttons on opening weekend; a journey that will lead me to the cinemas with long time friend Natasha from Kentucky Geek Girl. This movie is about Clary Fray who finds herself wrapped up in a world of Shadowhunters. Shadowhunters are demon fighters whose blood has been touched and blessed by the angel Raziel. This journey takes us across worlds of reality and the hidden where the vampires and the villains lurk but you are never sure who is what or who to trust.

Check out the trailer and be sure to stay tuned after its opening weekend for a review!


Did I mention that this stars Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), James Moriarty (Jared Harris), and King Henry VII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers)? Oh, well it does! They appear alongside the stars of the film Lily Collins & Jamie Campbell Bower!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Featured Game: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

August 2013 | Game Feature

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Release Day: August 27

To continue the epic saga that has been Final Fantasy, FF14 releases this August as an MMORPG for Playstation 3 and PC. This is the second game in the Final Fantasy family to be an MMO other than XI. This game is expected to be a subscription based MMO. Square Enix as the developers have been known to put out fantastic products in the Final Fantasy franchise and between 2010-2012 when FFXIV recieved such negative criticism, Square Enix pulled the game to rebirth it. 

And this time it seems to be set up for success. I have heard firsthand feedback from the beta that is positive for the PS3 platform. The game is due to feature the same lore and intended story progression but with a different interface and client that is more slated towards successful MMO formats. This includes new maps, new graphics, additional content and servers. 

Here is the snippet from the website that sets up the entire existence:

Hydaelyn─a vibrant planet blessed by the Light of the Crystal.

Amid azure seas, encompassing the westernmost of the Three Great Continents, there lies a realm embraced by gods and forged by heroes. Her name...Eorzea.


It is here that your tale unfolds. Beckoned by the Mothercrystal─the source of all life─you must embark upon a quest to deliver the land from an eternity of Darkness.

If you are lost in the world of Final Fantasy, I strongly encourage watching Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The DVD has a special feature that walks you through the entire story in approximately 15 minutes. It is also a great movie.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

There Can be Only 12: The Doctor's Regeneration

This post does contain the actor's name and photographs.

Sunday, August 4, BBC One ran a live special to announce who would be cast as the 12th Doctor. This actor will be taking over from Matt Smith who is due to leave the show and regenerate in the Christmas Special this coming Holiday.

Every whovian had their list of hopefuls and every major blog was running their speculation. The biggest hype surrounding 12 was what their race would be and if this time, he could be a she. The front runners for myself were Damien Lewis, Andy Serkis, and anyone from the Harry Potter cast. I was really holding out for a Ginger. The front runner that I kept seeing in all the speculation was Idris Elba; there was even a running of the odds.

Image from DailyMail.Co.Uk

But in the end, on Sunday somewhere around 2:30 PM EST the world watched as Peter Capaldi was announced as the twelfth Doctor. 

I have given myself some time to gather my reactions before writing this summary because in the original aftermath of the announcement I was in a state of disappointment. I know how old the doctors have been and I know how quirky they have looked and all these other things but he just wasn't how I envisioned my Doctor. The one I will go through my first regeneration with since joining the fandom. And so I let it go.

I waited and I looked at pictures and I watched Facebook pages. I knew that Capaldi had been in The Fires of Pompeii with 10 & Donna Noble but that didn't cut it. But now the news has sunk in and I am finally at terms with it and am pretty excited, I think it just as good as it always is but never better than 10!


Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Tuesdays with Tarinae 8/6

Tuesdays with Tarinae, covering the past week in geek...

Sherlock Series 3 Teaser Trailer


If you have not given in to the tempation that is BBC Sherlock, do so now. It is on Netflix, check your library, do whatever it is you must do to watch this. It is witty, it is intelligent, it is Benedict Cumberbatch. Each series is only 3 1.5 hour episodes and they will leaving in tantalizing agony for more. Thoughts on this trailer: Is that Watson...with a mustache?

10 vs Mr. Dude

I saw this image of David Tennant as 10 and I just cannot force myself to believe in coincendence. I mean I kind of have to given the Recess came first by 6+ years, but I still have the sha of doubt inside. Look at that hair!


BBC Broke My Dreams

With the announcement of 12, my list of hopefuls fell hopelessly by the wayside. These are the top three picks that I was rooting for only to have my dreams shattered

 Damien Lewis turned out to be my first choice. Born in London, Damien is a little known actor starring in the film Stephen King's Dreamcatcher and episodes of Homeland as Nicholas Brody. He has great hair (ginger if you didn't notice), great "shiny" off the wall attitude, and serious aptitude.

Andy Serkis has the "funny" look about him that they said they were hoping to get back to. He has well known characters but he himself is not so well known, he is Gollum. A great choice that was seconded by Jaedia on Twitter!

And we all know Rupert Grint. To be honest, I would have been okay with any of the HP cast but when it comes right down to it...

I wanted The Doctor to be a ginger.
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