Monday, January 30, 2017

Episode 181: Normal Effin Teenagers

Hello and welcome to this weeks podcast  This week we discuss the passing of John Hurt, the new Star Wars title, Square Enix Marvel partnership predictions and we also dive again into Final Fantasy 15... seriously we could write a short story about this game and the things we love and hate about it.  We also review this weeks streaming review of It Follows.

It Follows is the story of a supernatural STD of sorts.  Essentially if you sleep with an "infected" person you then become the target of a slow walking creepy demon and the only way to sort of get rid of it is to have sex with someone else and pass the curse.  The kink is that if that new person is killed by the ghost/demon thing then it start going back after you. There are many really neat things about this movie but it falls short of the masterpiece many have made it out to be.  The slow and steady suspense of the pursuit actually was one of my favorite things about this movie.  But there were a few parts that dragged on to me and Bat took issue with the movie not following it's own sort of rules.  Overall we both gave it a 3/5 and would recommend it to horror/suspense fans. 


 

This week's recommendation comes from TK. He is having us watch 
The Infiltrator
which stars Bryan Cranston... and that is literally all we know about this one.  So come and watch this movie with us on Amazon Video.




You can suggest a streaming movie that you want us to watch and review on future episodes that are on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime or HBOgo. 
Please send your suggestions to us using any of the means below.
Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com




Click here to listen to this weeks podcast in iTunesSoundCloud or Sticher.
We've also included the most recent episode via the embedded link below




For last week's Podquestion Bat wanted to know what is your favorite song that shares the same title as the movie it appears in? 

Hammer             - Straight Out of Compton
Bat                     - Saint Elmo's Fire
Josh the White   - Stand By Me
TK                      - Ghostbusters
Mand                  - Last Action Hero
Pajamazon        - Live and Let Die

For next week's podquestion we want to know: What movie would you want to have a walk on cameo in? 


You can send us your answers to this weeks question as well as any questions you'd like to submit to Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com.



That is all for this week's Blogcast.  Be sure to tune in next year. Same Hammer Time, same Bat Channel.

-Hammer

Monday, January 23, 2017

Episode 180: Daddy's Home Alone

Hello and welcome to this weeks podcast!  Not much going on in the geek world so we discuss our Final Fantasy 15 impressions, thoughts on the power rangers trailer and get to this week's streaming review of Daddy's Home.  You should also give Bat's review of Final Fantasy 15 a look see from last week.  

This week's recommendation came from our listener, Kristi.  Daddy's Home is the second team up movie starting Will Ferrell and Markie Mark (no funkie bunch).  The basic premise is the battling between stepfather Ferrell and biodad Walberg for the hearts and minds of the kids.  While Bat is not fan of Ferrell, I actually enjoy a few of his movies.  But even so, we both did not enjoy this movie.  The humor just never really hit home for either of us, except for a 1 or 2 occasions.  But what really brought this movie, in my opinion, is the lack of heart from this movie.  I honestly didn't really want to root for either character as both were just in an ongoing pissing contest.  Bat gave it 3/5 and I gave it a 2/5 and we both recommend skipping this one in favor of something else. 


 


This week's recommendation comes from Bat.  This week we get to watch the horror movie It Follows. We've heard a lot of good things about this movie so we're pretty excited to see it... though i'll be sure to grab my blanket to hide behind.  Come and watch this movie with us on Netflix.




You can suggest a streaming movie that you want us to watch and review on future episodes that are on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime or HBOgo. 

Please send your suggestions to us using any of the means below.
Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com




Click here to listen to this weeks podcast in iTunesSoundCloud or Sticher.
We've also included the most recent episode via the embedded link below




For last week's Podquestion I wanted to know What is your favorite Video Game Console launch?

Hammer             - PS2
Bat                     - PS2
Josh the White   - Original Xbox
TK                      - N64
Man                   - Wii

For next week's podquestion we want to know: What is your favorite song that shares the same title as the movie it appears in? 


You can send us your answers to this weeks question as well as any questions you'd like to submit to Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com.


You can send us your answers to this weeks question as well as any questions you'd like to submit to Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com.



That is all for this week's Blogcast.  Be sure to tune in next year. Same Hammer Time, same Bat Channel.

-Hammer

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

My 130 Hours With Final Fantasy XV



Spoiler for Final Fantasy XV will follow. You have been warned!



After 10 years of development we finally got to see the release for Final Fantasy Versus 13, Of course in that time frame, the game changed directors, writers, story and most importantly, title. Re branded as Final Fantasy XV, the game was released on November 29 2016.

FFXV follows the story of Prince Noctis and his journey to marry Luna. Joining him on this bro trip are his three friends Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto. Along the way Noctis loses his father, his kingdom is seized, and he discovers the power of the "True King"

Unlike previous Final Fantasy's, we find out the antagonist very early in XV. The lack of story, and a horrible camera. During battles in the open terrain of Eos the fights are fluid and fun and excited. In the confined dungeons or in wooded areas, the camera battles against you, sometimes hiding inside mobs and walls while you mercilessly press O trying to defeat the mob before Prompto dies again.

The story is where the game falls. FF used to be these huge world saving missions, but with XV, it never really fleshes out what Square-Enix is trying to accomplish. Why is Noctis the chosen king? Random characters die with no explanation. Why? This could have been my favorite FF game, but the story leaves so much to be desired.

The parts of XV that I liked, I loved. The banter between the bro-wings is refreshing (the first 5 times you hear them) and bring life to your road trip. The hunts for rare monsters are fun and engrossing and you want to challenge yourself to defeat them. The day/night cycle and the change in difficulty in mobs makes you realize you don't want to be on the road when an Iron Giant pops up. That being said, I felt the variety in mobs was lackluster and uninspiring.

If you haven't tried FFXV yet, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's a fun, disasterpiece.

Cons:
Lack of cohesive story
Bad camera angles
No support magic (cure, protect, etc)


Pros:
Fluid, engaging combat
Beautiful world with many locales to explore
Side quests galore!

Bat

Monday, January 16, 2017

Episode 179: Pour Some Sugar On Me

Hello and welcome to a podcast without Mariachi music in the background!  Okay maybe that doesn't make much sense since you couldn't really hear it in the background of last week's episode.  But rest assured, there are zero mariachi in this episode.  But what we do have is some nerd news and a whole heaping of random quality conversation.  We also discuss this weeks streaming review of Sprectral 

Spectral was an interesting movie, not great but interesting. There some cool parts in terms of the props and set but the logic and action sequences just really felt a little lack luster. Also Bat's criticism of "no recognizable protagonist" rings true again in this film.  So the nitty gritty of this film?  It tries to play with the near future concept of emerging technology in war but it kind of fumbles it's way to the end.  We didn't hate this movie, but didn't love it.  If there was an option for a 2.5 stars this movie would have hit it but since there isn't we both gave it a 3/5.  You won't be wasting your time while watching it but there are plenty of other good things out there that you could be watching instead.


 

This week's recommendation comes from our listener, Kristi.  Daddy's Home is proof that she truly knows the way to Bat's heart... well heart attack that is.  His lack of love for Ferrell is no secret and our fans know just how to hit us where we hurt.  No seriously, Kristi you-da-real MVP for this one.  Come and watch this movie with us on Amazon Prime Video.





You can suggest a streaming movie that you want us to watch and review on future episodes that are on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime or HBOgo. 

Please send your suggestions to us using any of the means below.
Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com




Click here to listen to this weeks podcast in iTunesSoundCloud or Sticher.
We've also included the most recent episode via the embedded link below




For last week's Podquestion Bat wanted to know what your favorite movie cameo was.

Hammer             - Matt Damon in Eurotrip
Bat                     - Matt Damon in Eurotrip
Josh the White   - Matt Damon in Eurotrip
TK                      - Stan Lee in Mallrats

For next week's podquestion we want to know: What is your favorite Video Game Console launch? 

You can send us your answers to this weeks question as well as any questions you'd like to submit to Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com.



You can send us your answers to this weeks question as well as any questions you'd like to submit to Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com.






That is all for this week's Blogcast.  Be sure to tune in next year. Same Hammer Time, same Bat Channel.

-Hammer

Monday, January 9, 2017

Episode 178: We Survived

Hello and welcome to our first new podcast of the year!  We're excited to be back and to jump right back into the action.  A lot has gone down in the past two weeks and we intend to talk it through including: Phoenix Comic Con's policy change to volunteering, The many deaths of 2016 and some new Mass Effect News.  We also caught the sci-fi movie Passengers and will be bringing you our spoiler free and spoiler filled reviews.  Lastly we discuss this weeks streaming review of Kindergarten Cop 2.

So this week we watched the long awaited sequel that we've all been dying to see....  Okay I'm lying, we watched the travesty that is Kindergarten Cop 2.  While we didn't expect too much to come out of this movie we thought it might at least be a little cheesy and funny.  Boy were we wrong.  What we got was a hallow shell of a movie staring the "charming" Dolph Lundgren.  He's perfectly at home in movies like Expendables and Masters of the Universe (go cheese!) but as a likable charming detective he just falters.  The writing is pretty numb and just seems forced.  Just when you think you see an iota of something you might enjoy the movie gives you more IT Tech guy or Constantly Yelling Boss.  The original was cheesy but it still had a nice charm and wit to it, this sequel  has none of that but does make me want to eat a Twix... damn you product placement. We both gave this stinker a 1/5 and highly recommend you remove this one from your mind.


 

This weeks streaming recommendation comes from our listener Mike. Spectral looks to be a scifi shoot em up thriller from Netflix.  The main reason I'm excited for this one is because Weta Workshop also worked on this movie.  Which means, the props and sets are gonna look pretty damn cool.  Give this one a watch on Netflix.





You can suggest a streaming movie that you want us to watch and review on future episodes that are on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime or HBOgo. 

Please send your suggestions to us using any of the means below.
Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com




Click here to listen to this weeks podcast in iTunesSoundCloud or Sticher.
We've also included the most recent episode via the embedded link below







Free Shit, Good Shit:


Xbox one:
Deathtrap: World of Van Helsing   1/1-1/31
Killer Instinct Season 2                  1/16-2/15

Xbox 360:
The Cave                                       1-1-1-15
Rayman Origins                             1/16-1/31





Playstation 4:
Day of the Tentacle: Remastered (Vita)
This War of Mine: The Little Ones

Playstation 3:
Blazerush
The Swindle (PS4/Vita)

Plyastation Vita:
Azkend2
Titan Souls (PS4)




For last week's Podquestion... we forgot.  Well we didn't forget the question, we just forgot to talk about it on this week's show.  So that means you still have time to send us your answer to last week's Podquestion of  what is your favorite cameo in a movie? 


You can send us your answers to this weeks question as well as any questions you'd like to submit to Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com.



That is all for this week's Blogcast.  Be sure to tune in next year. Same Hammer Time, same Bat Channel.

-Hammer