Enter to Win Digital Copy of “Free Guy”

To celebrate the digital release for “Free Guy”, Media Mikes would like to give our fans a chance to win two (2) digital copies of the film. If you want a chance to win, please leave a comment below or email us with your favorite Ryan Reynolds film. This giveaway will remain open until October 8th at Noon, Eastern Time. This is open to our readers in US only. One entry per person, per household. All other entries will be considered invalid. Media Mikes will randomly select winners. Winners will be alerted via email.

A bank teller (Ryan Reynolds) who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game decides to become the hero of his own story –one he rewrites himself. Now, in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way… before it’s too late.

Men’s Gift Guide: What to Get the Guy Who Has Everything

Who’s more difficult to find a gift for: your mother-in-law, or the guy who has everything? Okay, so both are pretty hard. But honestly, just get your mother-in-law a photo album and a subscription for a fresh bouquet every month, and you’re golden. As for the impossible guy, the whole gift-giving world is your oyster. That’s right—there’s actually a whole treasure trove of gifts out there you can choose from for that extra-picky man you want to impress.

A Donation

Sometimes, a graceful way to show someone you care about them is to make a charitable donation in their name. This is such a win-win because you both get those warm-fuzzies that come from selfless giving, and your guy doesn’t have to worry about accruing more stuff that he doesn’t want or need. Plus, if he’s already involved in charity work, you can donate to the organization that’s close to his heart. Even the guy who has everything can’t get enough of giving back to a cause he’s passionate about.

A Dedication

Similar to a donation, there are countless adoption/dedication programs to choose from. You can get your guy anything from a star in the sky, a tree in the Amazon, or a snow leopard on the endangered list. Many of these programs provide periodical updates or facts about the object or creature you’re helping support—plus they usually come with fun little goodie bags. This is a nice, wholesome way of showing how much you care and how well you know him without having to get him another gadget he’ll only use once.

A Timepiece

Is there anything classier than a well-dressed guy with a slick new watch? No, there is not. If you absolutely have to get your everything-man something wearable, please let it be a watch. Look no further than these classic men’s watches from MVMT—their elegance will certainly delight the high-class tastes of your man. A sophisticated watch will help him get to all his appointments on time, but the best part? He’ll always think of you when he checks the time so you’re never far from his thoughts.

Nostalgia

Perhaps the solution is right in front of you. There’s no one in the world who doesn’t appreciate a thoughtful gift from the heart meant to remind you of happy times. The possibilities are endless. Yes, a photo album is always a crowd pleaser, but who says it has to be cute? It can be all funny pictures, embarrassing moments, or selfies (it is 2018, after all). But, photos are not the only way to a sentimental man’s heart. You can find a vintage hoodie from his alma mater, a pair of sunglasses that look just like the ones his grandpa used to wear, or some old baseball cards from when he used to trade them around with friends. Get creative, and do some digging. You can find some real treasures when you make an effort to remind your impossible-guy of the good ole’ days.

A Vacation

Don’t worry, there’s no need to plan a luxury trip to the Maldives for two weeks. A weekend trip is a great gift to share together that will spark plenty of new memories. Maybe you could take a little road trip or even opt for a staycation in your own city. Splurge for a nice hotel, get a reservation at that restaurant you keep talking about, book massages, and check off those touristy things you’ve been meaning to do for years. A lot of times, the best gift is just good company and happy memories to be made.

A New Hobby

Guys that have everything usually love to try new things and expand their horizons– otherwise they wouldn’t have so much cool stuff. Ask him about his interests and his schedule, and then do some research on classes in your area. Maybe it’s a cooking class, or he can learn how to brew beer, or maybe even a dance or art class. Trying something new is always exciting and gives you an excuse to get out together.

The man who has everything can be hard to shop for, but with a little creativity and thoughtfulness, you’re bound to find a gift that he’ll cherish for years to come.

 

MEET THE NEW GUY – Media Mikes welcomes writer Michael D. Smith

It is with great pride that we at Media Mikes are able to introduce you to our new film reviewer/writer:  Michael D. Smith.

Michael began his film critic path by writing movie reviews for his college newspaper for a couple years. After graduation, he wrote reviews for his hometown paper in Harrisonville, Missouri for six years before becoming the Arts & Entertainment editor and film critic at a publication in Overland Park, Kansas. a position he held for three years.

Our newest “Mike” – Michael D. Smith

In 2009 was offered an opportunity at KCMETROPOLIS.ORG where he predominately covered independent/art house films.   He will now cover them for Media Mikes as well as contributing commentary when the mood takes him.

Michael is a long-standing member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, the second oldest film critic group in America.

You can find his first review for Media Mikes, of the film “Mountain,” HERE

Book Review “I’m the Man: The Story of That Guy from Anthrax”

“I’m the Man: The Story of That Guy from Anthrax”
Author: Scott Ian w/ Jon Wiederhorn
Hardcover: 316 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Just another Jewish latchkey kid living in a cramped apartment in Queens with his mother and brother. After hearing “Rock and Roll All Nite” and seeing Kiss perform at Madison Square Garden in the late seventies the fire was lit. Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian’s “I’m the Man” recounts the trials and tribulations of being in a band that was at the fore front of the early 80’s thrash scene. “I’m the Man” is much more than a collection of road stories as Ian delves deep in to his personal experience with love, life and all things Dimebag Darrell.

Lately it seems harder and harder to sift through the endless tell all biographies that are being released from all sorts of celebrity and public figures. Usually you spend countless chapters sifting through stories that have no real rhythm or reason other than just to fill pages. I won’t say that there isn’t a little of that with this book however in the end all of the stories Ian shares intersect.

Ian even recounts the events which led up to Lars Ulrich almost being fired from Metallica. Over the books 316 pages Ian is candid and unabashed with his experiences making this book a solid read. The book includes a forward by Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, 32 pages of rare photos and a 16 page graphic novella which alone is worth the price of admission. For newer fans and for those who have followed Scott “Not” Ian from the early days this book is for you.

 

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Win a Blu-ray of Guy Pearce & Robert Pattinson’s “The Rover [ENDED]

To celebrate the release of Guy Pearce & Robert Pattinson’s “The Rover”, Media Mikes is excited to giveaway one (1) copy of the film on Blu-ray to our readers. If you would like to enter for your chance to win one of this prize, please leave us a comment below or send us an email with your favorite post apocalyptic film. This giveaway will remain open until October 3rd at Noon, Eastern Time. This is open to all of our Media Mikes readers worldwide. One entry per person, per household. All other entries will be considered invalid. Media Mikes will randomly select winners. Winners will be alerted via email.

Fueled by engaging performances from Golden Globe nominee Guy Pearce (Memento, L.A. Confidential) and Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga franchise, Cosmopolis), The Rover is set in a world 10 years into the general collapse of society and follows hardened loner Eric (Pearce) as he travels the desolate towns and roads of the outback. When a gang of thieves steals his car, they leave behind a wounded Rey (Pattinson). Forcing Rey to help track the gang, Eric will go to any lengths to take back the one thing that still matters to him.

Our Own Comic Book Guy Sounds off on “Guardians of the Galaxy”

*Warning: Probably Going to Offend Some People with this One

Ok, so I know I’m not the movie guy here (not trying to become one either…I like my little corner of the website here talking about comics and games), but I feel I have to take a break from my normal rantings and ravings to rage about a comic book movie issue that is driving me absolutely nuts (we’ll get back to the second half of my take on the independent comics reigning supreme over the current comicscape next time). All I have heard the last couple weeks is about how Guardians of the Galaxy is the best Marvel movie yet. Are you people out of your frakkin collective minds!!??!?!? Have you been fed media crack for so long that your short term memory is that completely and utterly useless??

I even went to go see it a second time, just to be sure I wasn’t the one who was hitting the bottle here (granted, I did sleep through half of it the first time, so I really did have to make sure for myself). I will admit two things and only two things, because they are the only two things that I can truly say in a positive light about Guardians of the Galaxy. #1…Groot rocked, seriously awesome, best character in the movie hands down. Vin Diesel has always been an amazing voice actor (If you haven’t seen Iron Giant, shame on you), but the fact that he was able to convey an array of emotions with only three words was incredible, while the way the character of Groot came to perceive and respond to the world around him was genius. I will give you all that. #2…the movie was fun. The problem, though, is that it was only fun in the way that every other ‘outlaw sci-fi’ movie or television show that has ever been done before was fun (Han Solo in Star Wars, Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly/Serenity, Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica etc). Thus, everyone’s ‘best Marvel movie yet’ was really just recycled, rehashed, retread special effects madness.

Also, there was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much wrong with it!!! The villains were completely and utterly flat and unbelievable with no motivation; the plot was completely (and almost insultingly) simple (good vs evil with ultimate/infinite power looming towards utter destruction), and the characters were just plain boring and rehashed (the ‘outlaw’ leader, the defector from the other side, the vengeance-seeking bruiser…ok, I will give on one more thing, Rocket did have a couple good one-liners – “Ok, so now we’re all standing…just a bunch of jackasses standing up.” That made me laugh). And don’t even get me started on the blatant sexism (the two female characters could have easily wiped the entire cast away in mere seconds. It’s what they were created/trained to do, yet they needed the males in the movie to repeatedly save/lead them..WTF?!?!?)

And need I say it…Howard the Duck?? Howard the frakkin Duck?? How in the frak can you even take that seriously?!?!?!?

Even if there weren’t all these problems with the movie, best Marvel movie yet?? Really?? Have you all really already forgotten Winter Soldier, where S.H.E.I.L.D. collapses and Cap’s best friend comes back as the villain?? Or Thor: Dark World, where Loki just straight up stole the show? Or even Avengers, where Joss Whedon actually raised the bar on comic book movies to challenge the entire world to make them better?? Even before that, Ed Norton just destroyed it as The Hulk. Even as far back as the first Iron Man, which raised questions about the morality of war and making profits of off it when we could be using the same technology for alternate energy sources, the Marvel movies that have come before have not just been ‘fun’, they raised awareness and asked questions; they made social statements. Even the ‘non-Marvel’ Marvel movies (those not done by Marvel studios) were far and above Guardians, or have you all also forgotten X-Men: First Class and The Amazing Spider-Man?

I’m sorry if I’ve offended you, folks. Sorry if I’ve challenged the status quo, but if you actually believe that Guardians of the Galaxy is the best Marvel movie, you are a simpleton who has been easily led astray by a talking raccoon and a dancing plant.

Meet Our New Game and Comics Guy

Media Mikes welcomes Bear Wolf to the fold. Enjoy!

Being the first review for the web site, I felt the best introduction would be one of an overall view of board games. One thing I absolutely love about board games: there are so, so many out there that we should be able to find something for everyone.

Starting out, almost everyone has heard about the new rage “Cards Against Humanity” sweeping game parties everywhere. While this game is wonderful to draw out the ‘Family Guy humor’ in all of us, there is a major problem with this game. The creators seem like they don’t like money in the fact that they will simply not allow any distributors access to their game. Therefore, the only two ways to get this game are from their own web site or sometimes Amazon.com, so it’s not always available. The game itself is really just a variation of “Apples to Apples,” but having played them both, I actually feel they are too limited in the fact that one can only use the cards in hand to answer. As a much more creative alternative, I strongly suggest a game called “Say Anything.” The game play is almost the same in that a question is asked, answers are given, and people are scored based on which question/answer combo is chosen. However, what makes “Say Anything” superior over the other two is that the players have whiteboards and dry erase markers, so they can give their own answers. Let me tell you, if you like the risqué and crude feel of “Cards Against Humanity,” this is far better. From experience, myself and a friend played this game with a couple ‘dancer’ friends of ours, and…well…let’s just say we had a blast.

A step beyond party games, I have two suggestions for games the whole family can play. “King of Tokyo” is most definitely a front runner. Lovingly nicknamed ‘Rampage: the Board Game’, it is quite literally “Yahtzee” with monsters. I have yet to play this game with someone who hasn’t loved it. By rolling the dice you can fight other monsters, make your monster stronger, heal from earlier damage or earn victory points. The winner is the first to 20 VP or the last monster standing; seriously awesome fun!! Another great family game with light strategy is Kill Dr. Lucky, quite literally “Clue’s” mirror image, where you are actually trying to get away with the murder instead of solving it. The game board itself even looks like “Clue,” and it even includes a version with the Doctor’s dog that is so cute he calms you down and your less likely to want to kill the poor doctor. Great fun!

For the midrange gamers, I find “Boss Monster” to be a blast. A fairly simple card game based on the old 16-bit dungeon crawl games, this is just a whole lotta fun. 2-4 players play boss monsters trying to lure adventures into their lairs in order to kill them. Who wouldn’t want to play this? For a cooperative experience that will test how well you can work together as a group, “Pandemic” is an outstanding game to play. With a look and feel similar to “Risk,” instead of fighting against each other to take over the world, you’re working together to save it. The most challenging part of the game…there is only one way to win, but four ways to lose! I can’t recommend this game strongly enough!

Join me next time when I do an overview of my top four games for the hardcore board gamers. Until then, have fun!

Bear Wolf operates the New Game in Town shops in Dekalb and Dixon, Illinois
Visit them at www.newgame-intown.com

 

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Ken “The Bug Guy” MacNeil talks about collaborating on the film “Epic”

Ken MacNeil, also know as “The Bug Guy” is the owner of the largest retail pet shop in the country that is devoted to insects and other arthropods. Ken was recently contacted to work on the film “Epic” as the bug expert. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Ken about his love for bugs and his work on the film.

Mike Gencarelli: I think the first obvious question has to be how have you developed this love for bugs?
Ken MacNeil: I have been into bugs my entire life. Going back, I had started with having some hissing roaches and mantises. I ended up breeding my mantises and got an egg sack. I was a programmer at the time, so I sold those to a local pet shop and made some money. I new a local buy guy at the time that was going out of business, so my wife and I drove out and ended up coming home with 130 tarantulas. We thought we were crazy but at the time we didn’t realize that that number was nothing (laughs). We ended up selling them over a month or so. So then I got a call from the same guy hearing that I sold the first 130 so fast and he asked me if I wanted to buy the other 2,000 tarantulas he had (laughs). Well once again I asked my wife and she told me to go for it, since I liked it so much. We thought we were really crazy when we drove home with a truck full of tarantulas (laughs).

MG: So you have no fear to those kind of bugs?
KM: No, not at all. At the very beginning when I was packing a tarantula that wasn’t docile, I was a little nervous. My wife was less nervous since she grew up having tarantulas. My mom was arachnophobic, so I didn’t have any type of spiders growing up but I have always been fascinated by them.

MG: How did you end up getting contacted to work on “Epic” as the bug expert?
KM: Truthfully, I am not 100% sure how they found me. Because I am an ex-programmer, I was able to get my name and website into the front of the search engines. So if you do a general search for a pet bug, I come up first. So I bet they just did a search and came across me.

MG: Tell us about “Bugs of Camouflage” available on the special features on the home release?
KM: They came into the shop and wanted to see a bunch of different bugs. They wanted to see a bunch of different things that could fit the movie. We tried to pull up some that the movie had, the same kind of ability or the actual bug itself. I got a hold of some walking sticks for them to film since there is an actual walking stick in the movie. They have a great demonstration of camouflage and how these insects use their defense in the wild.

MG: What other films or TV shows have you been asked to consult on?
KM: I have done a few different things over the years. We also had a TV show on the Science Channel called “Bugging Out”. I have also done a bunch of articles of newspapers and also NPR did some pieces on us as well.

MG: Tell us about your retail pet shop in Tucson, AZ that is the only one in the country devoted to insects and other arthropods?
KM: We are the largest bug business in the U.S. by a lot. The next guy down probably has about 1/10th of what we got. It is what we specialize in and the tarantula hobby is the biggest part of the business. So we have more tarantulas that anything but we also carry scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, roaches and many others. On top of that I have opened an exotic pet shop that carries others pets like reptiles etc. But it seems more like an after thought when you have 10,000 bugs to 40 animals (laughs).

Jack Perez talks about “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus” and “Some Guy Who Kills People”

Jack Perez is known best as the director of the cult hit “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus”. Jack also recently directed the new horror/comedy “Some Guy Who Kills People”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Jack about his new film and the cult success of “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus”.

Mike Gencarelli: How did the title, “Some Guy Who Kills People”, come about?
Jack Perez: I came to the project after the script was already written. Ryan Levin had come up with the title and I loved it. Some people had wanted to change it as they thought it was too strange. I really fought for it as I thought it summed up the theme of the movie.

MG: What was your biggest challenge working on this production?
JP: I think getting the film done in the time we were given. We only had 16 days to do the film and its one of those films where performance counted. I wanted to make sure I could get all of those. Time was really the biggest thing. Fortunately we had a great crew and the cast was great as well.

MG: How was it working with such a great cast?
JP: It was great! I am a big fan of Karen Black and Barry Bostwick. These were all people Iadmired. I also admired Kevin Corrigan’s work and knew him socially however we had never made a film together. This film was a chance to work with people I loved. Thankfully they were all available as that generally never happens.

MG: Were the comedic parts of the film planned or were they something that just naturally occurred?
JP: Everything was deliberate. The script was designed to have equal parts of comedy, horror and drama. That was something that made me like the script so much. Mixing these things is always appealing but difficult to find.

MG: How did John Landis become involved?
JP: I think he had gotten script early on as Ryan was looking for a director. Landis was approached and it appealed to him however around that same time he was approached to make “Burke and Hare”. That was a project he has been looking to make for a long time and it then became about finding someone to replace him which is where I came in.

MG: Did you think “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus” would ever reach the cult status that it has? And why did you choose to go by Ace Hannah?
JP: I never did. The reason I didn’t put my name on it was because I like to have control over the edit of my work. I think it is an essential part of directing. The Asylum doesn’t work that way. I knew they would sort of make a mess of my work. I wish people could see my cut of the film as it is a much faster, funnier movie. There was a bunch of stuff added to pad the length of the movie.

MG: What do you have planned next?
JP: I just did a movie for the Syfy channel called “Blowing Vegas of the Map”. It’s kind of a goofy, super natural disaster type movie. It was really a chance to work with Barry Bostwick again. Ryan and I also want to work together again.

DVD Review “Some Guy Who Kills People”

Directed by: Jack Perez
Starring: Barry Bostwick, Kevin Corrigan, Leo Fitzpatrick
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Running Time: 97 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

“Some Guy Who Kills People” is one of those films that looks and sounds cool but you know its gonna suck. Then you watch it and it is damn decent, with great gore and a cool story…but then the last 10 minutes of the film happens which ruins it all. Great performances though from Kevin Corrigan and Barry Bostwick. The film is not a really a horror film and not really a comedy but still manages delivers for the most part.

The film follows Ken Boyd, a former mental patient, who now draws comics, lives with his mother and works at ice cream parlor. He also likes to fantasizes about killing people. The reason he was locked away was due to trauma from being beaten and tortured by his fellow basketball team members back in high school. Though suddenly his tormentors, one by one, start dying off viciously. This also happens while Ken finds out he has a daughter, who wants to be a part of his life, which makes things more complicated.

I would like to point out that this film is from the director of of “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus”, Jack Perez. So I am definitely fan of his work. I wish they would have just followed through with the ending and this would have turned out a lot cooler. I also should note that this film is executive produced by John Landis, which is cool but doesn’t boast much for the film.

The special features included on this DVD are decent. We get a decent commentary track from director/co-producer Jack Perez and producer Ryan Levin. There is featurette focusing on the making of “Some Guy Who Kills People”. There is a cool short film that inspired this film called “The Fifth”. Lastly there is the theatrical trailer included.

DVD Review “Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy- Volume 1”

Starring: Larry the Cable Guy
Episodes: 10 out of 20 episodes
Running time: 376 minutes
Original channel: History Channel

Volume 1: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Something about Larry the Cable Guy is like a car accident…you can’t look away. No matter how corny or stupid he may be, he is damn entertaining. This show is funny and is also very informative. In the series, Larry travels America as he experiences different lifestyles, jobs and hobbies. that occur “only in America”. It is sort of like “Dirty Jobs” except the hillbilly version. I really enjoyed this series and Larry the Cable Guy is a good show host.

Here is just some of the things that Larry does on this season…Larry Makes Moonshine, Larry Goes to the Swamp, Larry Shoots Guns/Larry Gets the Horns, Larry Breeds Mules, Larry Races Dogs, Larry Gits a Gator, Larry Goes Trucking, Larry Is an Astronaut, Larry Rides with the Hells Angels and Larry Deep Fries Everything.

Larry seems to make fun of all these different lifestyles, jobs or hobbies but he does really seem to enjoy them overall. What I like about this volume of episodes the most is that there are no commercials, opening or ending credits. What this means is each disc, for a total of two, is just one 2 hour and 51 minute episode. It is work well when re-watching the series and make it feel like you are watching less and just keep watching.  I look forward to volume two of this season and hopefully season two.