The Inside Scoop on Gaming

For all you cheesy gamers out there, and you know who you are, I offer you thirty-one movies you just gotta see. Why thirty-one, why not? Let's keep in mind some things:

1. These movies are listed here because they offer cheesy sci-fi and fantasy, not because they are good. Don't get me wrong some of them are actually quite good, but definitely not all of them.

2. Most of these movies have been around for a while.

3. This is a salute of sorts for movies that have inspired us to game.

4. Most of these were made before the advent of digital computer graphics.

And now...

Thiry-One Movies Cheesy Fantasy Gamers Just Gotta See (But not in order of importance,not in any order at all really):

1. The Road Warrior: Not bad for a some stuntmen/actors and a handful of vehicles. George Miller directed this. He practised as a doctor to raise money for Mad Max. Producer and co-writer Byron Kennedy died in a helicopter crash two years later in 1983. Miller later went on to direct Dead Calm, Lorenzo's Oil and Babe.

2. Knightriders: No, not the David Dusseldorf or Hasselhoff or whatever his name is series. I'm talking about George Romero's tale of knights on motorcycles starring Ed Harris. George Romero is from Pittsburgh, this makes him extremely cool. That's were I'm from. It was also shot on location in my home state of Pennsylvania. George also made Night of the Living Dead in 1968.

3. The Dark Crystal: Great puppeteering. It takes a lot of effort to coordinate those puppet's movements.

4. Excalibur: John Boorman's version of the Grail myth. One of the few good sword and sorcery films. 1981

5. Dragon Slayer: Just saw it again. Still excellent.

6. The Hidden: A sleeper. Kyle MacLachlan from Dune. Agents track down alien in contemporary times. The alien digs on speed metal. Hints of X-files, but came before the series. 1987

7. I Come in Peace: And you go in pieces $%^hole. Awesome guns. Total sci-fi cheese. I put one of those dudes in my RIFTS game after I saw this flick.

8. Lifeforce: Cool space vampires. Killer sfx. Remember, this was before digital CG.

9. Split Second: "We need bigger guns." Rutger Hauer and Neil Duncan play cops Harley Stone and Dick Durkin. Hauer's character survives on adrenaline, caffeine, and chocolate. I thought this was an awesome blend of occultism and sci-fi. Anybody with me? Cool guns. Hauer and Duncan had a good chemistry. 1992

10. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen: Who'd of thought it. There's now a game by the same name from Hogshead publishing. Total Terry Gilliam. Great production and cinematography.

11. Time Bandits: Terry Gilliam, nuff said.

12. Highlander: I refer to the original of course.

13. Le Visiteurs: Jean Reno from the Professional stars in this. A knight travels through time. It's French with subtitles. I saw it on Sundance about a month ago. Not much gaming material but it is different. I'm all for independent film making. Hollywood consistently dissapoints me with big budget poo.

14. Hawk the Slayer: Us older folks will remember this one. If your a fantasy RPGer and you haven't seen this you are not part of the inner-sphere. If you call yourself a fantasy RPGer and you haven't seen this we'll know and the juicer-assassins will come.

15. Ghost in the Shell: This is Japanese animation at its best. The examplar of how good animation should be. Good story, great animation.

16. The Sword and the Sorcerer: More high fantasy cheese. When I was a teen this was the stuff man. I saw it recently and laughed. 1982

17. Judge Dredd: I like it just for the sfx and the big orange robot.

18. Krull: Even more fantasy cheese. We need more of this stuff. The Glaive was cool, there's one in my AD&D campaign.

19. Lawnmower Man: Cool concept, cool visuals.

20. Mad Max: Yeah, the one before the Road Warrior.

21. Ninja Scroll: This is relatively new. This kind of animation is not for the children. Cool, cool bad guys. Definite source material for your campaign.

22. Predator: "I ain't got time to bleed." Rotary machine guns are cool. Yes, I know it's called a mini-gun.

23. Prophecy: Angels aren't necessarily nice but they're superhuman. Definite source material for any fantasy or conspiracy game.

24. Beast Master: Sword and Sorcery baby. 1982

25. Total Recall: Awesome.

26. Conan: "Crucify him on the Tree of Woe." Defines the genre.

27. Robocop: Peter Weller eats babyfood and shoots drug dealers. Ed 209 rocks, yes there's one in my RIFTS campaign. Can you believe that actually had a cartoon series made after this violent bloodfest? 1987

28. Rollerball: Cyberpunk before the cyberpunk genre came about.

29. Scanners: It's always nice to see someone's head explode on film. Don't you think?

30. Dune: See it, love it. I don't care what anybody says it has cool concepts in it. First of all there's the spice Melange which expands awareness and extends life. Then there's that big machine that Paul has to fight. Then there are those sonic guns that amplify sound. What about those cool environmental suits? 1984

31. Akira: One of the most popular anime. I want one of those bikes that Akira was riding.

That concludes the list. I didn't include Blade, Matrix, Blade Runner, Star Wars, or the Indiana Jones movies because those go without saying. The list includes movies you might have missed.

GAME ON

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Movies
Author: NA Category: 31 Movies Gamers Must See Company/Publisher: NA Line: NA Cost: Probably about 99 cents at your local video store Page count: NA ISBN: NA SKU: NA Capsule Review by Scott Edward Yohman on 08/03/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Modern_day Horror Far_Future Space Anime Espionage Post-apocalypse Vampire Gothic	For all you cheesy gamers out there, and you know who you are, I offer you thirty-one movies you just gotta see. Why thirty-one, why not? Let's keep in mind some things: 1. These movies are listed here because they offer cheesy sci-fi and fantasy, not because they are good. Don't get me wrong some of them are actually quite good, but definitely not all of them. 2. Most of these movies have been around for a while. 3. This is a salute of sorts for movies that have inspired us to game. 4. Most of these were made before the advent of digital computer graphics. And now... Thiry-One Movies Cheesy Fantasy Gamers Just Gotta See (But not in order of importance,not in any order at all really): 1. The Road Warrior: Not bad for a some stuntmen/actors and a handful of vehicles. George Miller directed this. He practised as a doctor to raise money for Mad Max. Producer and co-writer Byron Kennedy died in a helicopter crash two years later in 1983. Miller later went on to direct Dead Calm, Lorenzo's Oil and Babe. 2. Knightriders: No, not the David Dusseldorf or Hasselhoff or whatever his name is series. I'm talking about George Romero's tale of knights on motorcycles starring Ed Harris. George Romero is from Pittsburgh, this makes him extremely cool. That's were I'm from. It was also shot on location in my home state of Pennsylvania. George also made Night of the Living Dead in 1968. 3. The Dark Crystal: Great puppeteering. It takes a lot of effort to coordinate those puppet's movements. 4. Excalibur: John Boorman's version of the Grail myth. One of the few good sword and sorcery films. 1981 5. Dragon Slayer: Just saw it again. Still excellent. 6. The Hidden: A sleeper. Kyle MacLachlan from Dune. Agents track down alien in contemporary times. The alien digs on speed metal. Hints of X-files, but came before the series. 1987 7. I Come in Peace: And you go in pieces $%^hole. Awesome guns. Total sci-fi cheese. I put one of those dudes in my RIFTS game after I saw this flick. 8. Lifeforce: Cool space vampires. Killer sfx. Remember, this was before digital CG. 9. Split Second: "We need bigger guns." Rutger Hauer and Neil Duncan play cops Harley Stone and Dick Durkin. Hauer's character survives on adrenaline, caffeine, and chocolate. I thought this was an awesome blend of occultism and sci-fi. Anybody with me? Cool guns. Hauer and Duncan had a good chemistry. 1992 10. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen: Who'd of thought it. There's now a game by the same name from Hogshead publishing. Total Terry Gilliam. Great production and cinematography. 11. Time Bandits: Terry Gilliam, nuff said. 12. Highlander: I refer to the original of course. 13. Le Visiteurs: Jean Reno from the Professional stars in this. A knight travels through time. It's French with subtitles. I saw it on Sundance about a month ago. Not much gaming material but it is different. I'm all for independent film making. Hollywood consistently dissapoints me with big budget poo. 14. Hawk the Slayer: Us older folks will remember this one. If your a fantasy RPGer and you haven't seen this you are not part of the inner-sphere. If you call yourself a fantasy RPGer and you haven't seen this we'll know and the juicer-assassins will come. 15. Ghost in the Shell: This is Japanese animation at its best. The examplar of how good animation should be. Good story, great animation. 16. The Sword and the Sorcerer: More high fantasy cheese. When I was a teen this was the stuff man. I saw it recently and laughed. 1982 17. Judge Dredd: I like it just for the sfx and the big orange robot. 18. Krull: Even more fantasy cheese. We need more of this stuff. The Glaive was cool, there's one in my AD&D campaign. 19. Lawnmower Man: Cool concept, cool visuals. 20. Mad Max: Yeah, the one before the Road Warrior. 21. Ninja Scroll: This is relatively new. This kind of animation is not for the children. Cool, cool bad guys. Definite source material for your campaign. 22. Predator: "I ain't got time to bleed." Rotary machine guns are cool. Yes, I know it's called a mini-gun. 23. Prophecy: Angels aren't necessarily nice but they're superhuman. Definite source material for any fantasy or conspiracy game. 24. Beast Master: Sword and Sorcery baby. 1982 25. Total Recall: Awesome. 26. Conan: "Crucify him on the Tree of Woe." Defines the genre. 27. Robocop: Peter Weller eats babyfood and shoots drug dealers. Ed 209 rocks, yes there's one in my RIFTS campaign. Can you believe that actually had a cartoon series made after this violent bloodfest? 1987 28. Rollerball: Cyberpunk before the cyberpunk genre came about. 29. Scanners: It's always nice to see someone's head explode on film. Don't you think? 30. Dune: See it, love it. I don't care what anybody says it has cool concepts in it. First of all there's the spice Melange which expands awareness and extends life. Then there's that big machine that Paul has to fight. Then there are those sonic guns that amplify sound. What about those cool environmental suits? 1984 31. Akira: One of the most popular anime. I want one of those bikes that Akira was riding. That concludes the list. I didn't include Blade, Matrix, Blade Runner, Star Wars, or the Indiana Jones movies because those go without saying. The list includes movies you might have missed. GAME ON Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)