The Stephen King Blogathon

Original Post here: 

I’d like to thank Movierob and Darren of Movie Reviews 101 for letting me take part in their huge blogathon this month, aptly named ‘The October King-a-thon’. When they posted the 62 movies available to choose from, I was ashamed that I could count the number of Stephen King movies I’d seen on just one hand. I’ll just hand in my blogger badge now, right?

Anyway, I knew this was a great chance to get involved and tick another ‘must watch’ off my list, so I chose my movie based on two factors:

It’s in IMDB’s Top 250 list, and conquering that list is a not so little mission of mine

One of the main cast is played by my favourite geek when he was barely a teenager, Wil Wheaton!

So, the other night, I snuggled up on the sofa and watched Stand By Me (1986). Based on Stephen King’s novel, The Body, the story is told through the writings of a grown up Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton). After a close friend of his died, he decided it was time to recount the journey he and his friends Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman) and Vern (Jerry O’Connell) went on to find the body of a missing boy, reportedly found just off the railway tracks.

My first thought was how much I wished I had seen this when I was younger, although I think I can be forgiven as Stand By Me was released 3 years before I was actually born. It’s the perfect film to watch in that transitional period between schools, when even though times were much simpler, the fact of moving on and potentially leaving friends behind is the worst feeling in the world. You know, maybe I should scrap that, I’ve just realised this was rated R! What does that equate to in UK ratings?

Moving swiftly on, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I was surprised at how well acted it was from such a young cast. I read that in the scene on the bridge, the director, Rob Reiner thought a couple of the boys didn’t look scared enough so he shouted at them till they cried and then re-took the take! So hats off to him for that one.

There’s one scene that will stick out in my mind for years to come, and I hold it in the same regards to the Bruce Bogtrotter scene in Matilda. I’m talking about Gordie’s story when they gang had set up camp for the night, about Lardass Hogan and the pie eating contest. It was gross enough and then I found out that the vomit was made from ‘cottage cheese and blueberries’, and my stomach hasn’t felt the same ever since.

All in all, I would rate Stand By Me as a film that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime, it’s such a beautiful story.

Web Series: Titansgrave, The Ashes of Valkana

Time for something a little different here today. We like to blog about films primarily, with the occasional TV show ramble, but I really want to share with you a web series that I’ve fallen in love with. I’m a gamer as well as a film fan, and when I’m not at work or watching a film I’ll either be found on my laptop playing World of Warcraft or shouting expletives at my fiance’s PS4. Whilst playing a game that is...I don’t make a habit of swearing at inanimate objects.

Recently my fiance and I have gotten into the more traditional side of gaming, Tabletop to be precise. When I mention board games you might be thinking Scrabble and Monopoly, but there’s actually a whole world of innovative board games completely unknown to most people. Wil Wheaton, who you may know from Star Trek and The Big Bang Theory is to thank here.

Wil has a web series called Tabletop in which he invites friends and celebrities to play board games with him, which is surprisingly entertaining to watch. It’s a great way to discover new board games, find out whether they’re the kind of game you would enjoy, and have a laugh whilst doing so. Wil’s show has created the ‘Tabletop Effect’ where the day after a game is featured on his show, it goes out of stock worldwide. It’s crazy!

Season 3 is slowly coming to an end, which was funded by the public via Indiegogo. One of the stretch goals for season 3 was a spin off RPG show, which was smashed. It’s recently started, and at the time of writing, Episode 5 has just been posted.

Titans Grave: The Ashes of Valkana is a brand new RPG game created by Wil Wheaton and his team, and it’s awesome. It takes the classic Dungeons & Dragons to a whole new level, with a futuristic and scientific theme, and mechanics inspired by similar games. For a quick introduction to the world of Valkana, look no further than here:

What’s so special about a web series about a role playing game? Wil’s storytelling. Seriously, this guy is the best storyteller I know. He has such a vivid imagination, and can describe everything in this game so clearly it’s easy to picture in your head. He’s engaging, and funny, and yet he still has the power to break our hearts, which episode 4 proved. He also has a great team on board to play with him. 

Hank Green is a Vlogger who runs a web channel called VlogBrothers with his brother John Green (yes, the author!). Alison Haislip used to be correspondent for The Voice, and also does a lot of web work. Laura Bailey is a voice actress who does a lot of cartoons (most recently Black Widow in Marvel’s Avengers Assemble). Yuri Lowenthal is a voice actor from pretty much everything. Seriously. Check out his IMDB profile. He’s also very nice to look at!

If you’re not really into games then I would never try and push Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana on you, but if you’ve made it this far down my post and haven’t nodded off or written me off as a complete dork, give it a go! If you don’t enjoy it, you can blame me.