Video Game Adventure Film Double Feature: The Wizard and Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie
Video Game Adventure Film Double Feature:
The Wizard and Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie
For Gen X and early Millennials, we grew up as kids in the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the height of the Nintendo craze, and it would only make sense that our obsession with the Nintendo Entertainment System and video games in general would become a part of all aspects of pop-culture, including films. From that generation of gamers would come films like The Wizard in 1989, which was really a Nintendo advertisement disguised as a film, and then in 2014 there would come the Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, which is a film based on the popular online character of the Angry Video Game Nerd, that tortures himself by doing comedic reviews of video games from his youth. So in this review I am going to "take you back to the past" and take a look at films that were rooted in the video game culture from the youth of generation X and young millenials. Both of these films are for the fans of the video games of our youth, and both films have a limited appeal, that will be loved by the fans that they are made for, but generally dismissed by mainstream audiences. So this review is for the nerds out there.
The Wizard, released in 1989 at the height of the Nintendo craze came about when Tom Pollack from Universal Pictures, approached Nintendo of America with the idea of doing a film like Tommy (the rock opera by The Who), but with video games instead of pinball (thus the name Wizard). Nintendo of America saw this as an opportunity to advertise for the upcoming US release of Super Mario Bros. 3. The film featured product placements for the Nintendo Power Glove, as well as NES games such as Super Mario Bros 2, Legend of Zelda, Double Dragon, Rad Racer, RC Pro Am, Formula One, as well as many others. The film also featured heavy product placement from Vision Streetwear and Skateboards, as well as Hostess. The film was really more focused on being a commercial than it was being a movie, and if in 1989 you were like me not only a NES fanatic, but also obsessed with skateboarding, then the product placements were absolutely amazing, and were really exciting. The Wizard was directed by Todd Holland, and written by David Chisholm. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures in the US, Carolco Pictures internationally, and Toho in Japan.
The Wizard starred Fred Savage as Corey Woods, Luke Edwards as his brother Jimmy Woods, Jenny Lewis as Haley Brooks, Christian Slater as Nick Woods, Beau Bridges as Sam Woods, Will Seltzer as Putnam, Jackey Vinson as Lucas Barton, Wendy Phillips as Christine Bateman, Sam McMurray as Mr. Bateman, and Frank McRae as Spankey. This film is also the first film for a young Tobey Maguire in an uncredited role. The cast for this film is amazing, Fred Savage who at the time was in the Wonder Years, Jenny Lewis would later go on to being in the band Rilo Kiley, and then there is Christian Slater who was also in one of my favourite skateboarding movies Gleaming The Cube, and Beau Bridges was great as the neglectful father. I honestly love the casting of this film, and think that all of the actors were great in their roles, though yes they are all cheesy and over the top, but to me it works for this film. I know it isn't an actor, but I thought it was interesting that the semi truck that Spankey is driving, is the same truck that was used in the 1987 Sylvester Stallone film Over The Top, it also appeared in Messenger Of Death, and Tank Girl, making the truck an interesting character actor itself.
The Wizard was a minor box office success making $14.3 million in the box office against a budget of $6 million. However it has receive unanimously negative reviews from the critics and holds a low rating on review sites like Rotten Tomatoes. I can understand where the negative reviews are coming from, and I think that many of them are valid. However I watched this film for the first time in quite a few years last night, and the film gave me a warm happy feeling, and I just had such a great time watching it. This film appealed to my strong nostalgia, and I just absolutely loved it, which is a feeling that I have always had, from the first time watching it as a kid to watching it last night. I think that this is a film that was made for people like me! I was a child of the Nintendo era, and to watch a film that is little more than a Nintendo advertisement, and had Christian Slater (one of my favourite actors at the time), featured product placement from Vision Skateboards and was everything that I wanted in a film.
The film is about a kid that struggles with bad PTSD, who keeps trying to run away to California. His brother Cory helps him, and along the way they meet a young girl named Haley. They also find out that he is a wizard at Nintendo games, and it is decided that they will make it to the Nintendo Championship competition in Los Angeles as Universal Studios. Along the way they are being followed by a bounty hunter hired by their mom and step-dad, and their dad and brother are also trying to find them. The film is a fun adventure story about two brother's love and youthful friendship, and Nintendo games. Like I said I love this film, it is cheesy, and it is dated, but it is special to me. I highly recommend checking it out if you are have nostalgia for the NES era of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Angry Video Game Nerd is a character created by James Rolfe in 2004, that focuses on playing "shitty" games from the past. His reviews focus on the most frustrating, hard, and badly made games. His character drinks Rolling Rock Beer, and gets angry at the games, and uses creative strings of obscenities that the character has become famous for. Though Rolfe himself isn't the angry gamer that he plays in the web series, from his film reviews with Monster Madness, and his other webisodes on the Cinemassacre website, he actually seems like a quiet and kind person, with a great taste in music, films, and video games. I'm not going to lie, I highly admire James Rolfe, and his great film reviews are part of what inspired me to start talking about the films that I have in my collection, and to share with people my own passion for films. I have nowhere near the collection that he has in his "video rental store" recreation that he has in his home, but I am working on it. So when I heard that he was making a film about the Angry Video Game Nerd character I got really excited.
James Rolfe went to film school, and has over the years made over 200 films, mostly shorts, the Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, released in 2014, is his first film with a larger cast and crew, and bigger effects, basically a bigger budget was available for it. In the past most of his films were made by just him and a few friends (I will be reviewing several more of his films in the future). With the AVGN movie he teamed up with his friend Kevin Finn to co-write and co-direct the film with him. The film was produced by Cinemassacre Productions and Skinny Ugly Pilgrim, and was distributed by Screenwave Media and Indie Rights. The film's $325,327 budget came from online crowdsourcing.
AVGN The Movie stars James Rolfe as The Nerd, Jeremy Suarez as Cooper, and Sarah Glendening as Mandi who set off on a quest to find out if the legend of the Atari Landfill in New Mexico is real. The film also stars Stephen Mendel as General Dark Onward, and Helena Barrett as Sargeant McButter as soldiers who think that they are instead trying to break into Area 51, and are trying to stop them and destroy. Other characters include Time Winters as Dr. Zandor, Bobby Charles Reed as Bernie Cockburn, Eddie Pepitone as Mr Swann, Robbie Rist (yes the same Robbie Rist who voiced Michelangelo in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as the voice of Alien, Matt Conant as Death Mwauthzyx, Andre Meadows as store customer, and Howard Scott Warshaw (the creator of E.T. for Atari) as himself. The film also has cameos from Kyle Justin (the writer of the AVGN theme song) as Guitar Guy, Mike Matei (one of James' closest friends and co-creator at Cinemassacre) as himself, Pat Contri (AKA Pat the NES Punk) as Disappointed Gamer #1, Bear McCreary (the composer of the soundtrack) as Zombie, Doug Walker (AKA the Nostalgia Critic) as himself, and the one and only Lloyd Kaufman (Co-founder of Troma Pictures) as himself, among many others. This film has an amazing cast, especially the three main characters of The Nerd, Cooper, and Mandi. All of the characters are very rooted in B-movie tropes and gaming culture personalities.
This film at its heart pays homage to the tradition of classic b-horror and science fiction films, and for fans of classic indie b-films this movie is a love letter. But it is also a video game adventure film, much like The Wizard, where two friends (brothers in the case of The Wizard) set out on the road with a girl who is new to the party, both on a quest for video games, The Wizard to compete in the Nintendo World Championship, and AVGN The Movie on a quest to disprove the existence of the mythic Atari Landfill in New Mexico where they supposedly buried thousands of unsold copies of E.T. (the "worst" game in the history of video games, and the catalyst for the video game crash of 1983). As such, I think that this film works really well, it uses mostly practical effects, much like the classic b-films that it pays homage to, and honestly that extra time and attention to detail of doing practical effects ended up looking way better than if they had opted for the much easier route of CG effects (I am so glad that they didn't go that route, it would have ruined the film).
When the film was released it was met with mixed to negative reviews, and honestly I completely disagree with those reviews, however the thing is: this film is not meant for mainstream critics, it is a film that is destined to be a cult classic, it is a love letter to cult classics, and this film is a gift to the fans of b-films, and to those in that Gen X and older Millennial Generation, or the video game generation. I do think that both older and younger audiences will not have the nostalgia for Atari games that this film touches upon. As a person who has a lot of nostalgia for older video games from my youth, and who is deeply in love with b-films I absolutely love this film. I truly believe that Roger Corman and Lloyd Kaufman would be proud of James Rolfe and this amazing film that he and his friends created. Some of the negative reviews I read mention how the film is too long, though too me it didn't feel too long at all, I never found myself bored or my mind wandering, I kept finding little things that made me smile, laugh, and get excited. This is a film that I could definitely watch repeatedly, and each time catch subtle mentions of pop culture, and small details that I missed before, and I could see myself feeling that same excitement and nostalgia upon each viewing.
The film is about the Angry Video Game Nerd, and how his fans are always demanding that he review ET for the Atari 2600, which is considered the worst video game of all-time, but he always refuses to review the game. Then when Cockburn Industries creates a sequel to ET (or Eee Tee as it is in the film to avoid copyrights), and they promise it will be even worse than the original, and they are trying to get the Nerd to review the game. With Cooper's convincing he decides to set out to prove that the legendary Atari Landfill in New Mexico is a hoax, and if he is proven wrong then he will review ET. So they set out in an old dodge van filled with retro video games and set off to find out the truth about ET, but what they discover is more than they could ever bargain for.
If you like low budget independent b-science fiction/horror films, and if you have nostalgia for classic video games, or even if you are a fan of the Nerd's over the top strings of obscenities, I really highly recommend checking this film out. I have been wanting to see this film since it's 2014 release date, and I finally bought a copy, along with some of James' other films from the Cinemassacre website, and I honestly couldn't have been more happy with it, it is everything that I hoped that it would be. Is this film for everyone? no, this is a film that won't appeal to most mainstream viewers, but to those of us who see beauty in low budget b-films this film is for us. Thank you James Rolfe and Kevin Finn for creating this amazing piece of independent cinema. Also on parting I really wanted to give props to Bear McCreary's amazing soundtrack that he composed for this film, it is absolutely amazing, and really helps to bring the film together, I wish that Cinemassacre would put out the soundtrack on CD or vinyl. If you want to get a copy of this film for your own collection, please head over to https://store.cinemassacre.com/ and purchase a copy, also support their other great films and shows as well by purchasing merchandise directly from them, it is important to support independent artists.
The Wizard starred Fred Savage as Corey Woods, Luke Edwards as his brother Jimmy Woods, Jenny Lewis as Haley Brooks, Christian Slater as Nick Woods, Beau Bridges as Sam Woods, Will Seltzer as Putnam, Jackey Vinson as Lucas Barton, Wendy Phillips as Christine Bateman, Sam McMurray as Mr. Bateman, and Frank McRae as Spankey. This film is also the first film for a young Tobey Maguire in an uncredited role. The cast for this film is amazing, Fred Savage who at the time was in the Wonder Years, Jenny Lewis would later go on to being in the band Rilo Kiley, and then there is Christian Slater who was also in one of my favourite skateboarding movies Gleaming The Cube, and Beau Bridges was great as the neglectful father. I honestly love the casting of this film, and think that all of the actors were great in their roles, though yes they are all cheesy and over the top, but to me it works for this film. I know it isn't an actor, but I thought it was interesting that the semi truck that Spankey is driving, is the same truck that was used in the 1987 Sylvester Stallone film Over The Top, it also appeared in Messenger Of Death, and Tank Girl, making the truck an interesting character actor itself.
The Wizard was a minor box office success making $14.3 million in the box office against a budget of $6 million. However it has receive unanimously negative reviews from the critics and holds a low rating on review sites like Rotten Tomatoes. I can understand where the negative reviews are coming from, and I think that many of them are valid. However I watched this film for the first time in quite a few years last night, and the film gave me a warm happy feeling, and I just had such a great time watching it. This film appealed to my strong nostalgia, and I just absolutely loved it, which is a feeling that I have always had, from the first time watching it as a kid to watching it last night. I think that this is a film that was made for people like me! I was a child of the Nintendo era, and to watch a film that is little more than a Nintendo advertisement, and had Christian Slater (one of my favourite actors at the time), featured product placement from Vision Skateboards and was everything that I wanted in a film.
The film is about a kid that struggles with bad PTSD, who keeps trying to run away to California. His brother Cory helps him, and along the way they meet a young girl named Haley. They also find out that he is a wizard at Nintendo games, and it is decided that they will make it to the Nintendo Championship competition in Los Angeles as Universal Studios. Along the way they are being followed by a bounty hunter hired by their mom and step-dad, and their dad and brother are also trying to find them. The film is a fun adventure story about two brother's love and youthful friendship, and Nintendo games. Like I said I love this film, it is cheesy, and it is dated, but it is special to me. I highly recommend checking it out if you are have nostalgia for the NES era of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Angry Video Game Nerd is a character created by James Rolfe in 2004, that focuses on playing "shitty" games from the past. His reviews focus on the most frustrating, hard, and badly made games. His character drinks Rolling Rock Beer, and gets angry at the games, and uses creative strings of obscenities that the character has become famous for. Though Rolfe himself isn't the angry gamer that he plays in the web series, from his film reviews with Monster Madness, and his other webisodes on the Cinemassacre website, he actually seems like a quiet and kind person, with a great taste in music, films, and video games. I'm not going to lie, I highly admire James Rolfe, and his great film reviews are part of what inspired me to start talking about the films that I have in my collection, and to share with people my own passion for films. I have nowhere near the collection that he has in his "video rental store" recreation that he has in his home, but I am working on it. So when I heard that he was making a film about the Angry Video Game Nerd character I got really excited.
James Rolfe went to film school, and has over the years made over 200 films, mostly shorts, the Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, released in 2014, is his first film with a larger cast and crew, and bigger effects, basically a bigger budget was available for it. In the past most of his films were made by just him and a few friends (I will be reviewing several more of his films in the future). With the AVGN movie he teamed up with his friend Kevin Finn to co-write and co-direct the film with him. The film was produced by Cinemassacre Productions and Skinny Ugly Pilgrim, and was distributed by Screenwave Media and Indie Rights. The film's $325,327 budget came from online crowdsourcing.
AVGN The Movie stars James Rolfe as The Nerd, Jeremy Suarez as Cooper, and Sarah Glendening as Mandi who set off on a quest to find out if the legend of the Atari Landfill in New Mexico is real. The film also stars Stephen Mendel as General Dark Onward, and Helena Barrett as Sargeant McButter as soldiers who think that they are instead trying to break into Area 51, and are trying to stop them and destroy. Other characters include Time Winters as Dr. Zandor, Bobby Charles Reed as Bernie Cockburn, Eddie Pepitone as Mr Swann, Robbie Rist (yes the same Robbie Rist who voiced Michelangelo in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as the voice of Alien, Matt Conant as Death Mwauthzyx, Andre Meadows as store customer, and Howard Scott Warshaw (the creator of E.T. for Atari) as himself. The film also has cameos from Kyle Justin (the writer of the AVGN theme song) as Guitar Guy, Mike Matei (one of James' closest friends and co-creator at Cinemassacre) as himself, Pat Contri (AKA Pat the NES Punk) as Disappointed Gamer #1, Bear McCreary (the composer of the soundtrack) as Zombie, Doug Walker (AKA the Nostalgia Critic) as himself, and the one and only Lloyd Kaufman (Co-founder of Troma Pictures) as himself, among many others. This film has an amazing cast, especially the three main characters of The Nerd, Cooper, and Mandi. All of the characters are very rooted in B-movie tropes and gaming culture personalities.
This film at its heart pays homage to the tradition of classic b-horror and science fiction films, and for fans of classic indie b-films this movie is a love letter. But it is also a video game adventure film, much like The Wizard, where two friends (brothers in the case of The Wizard) set out on the road with a girl who is new to the party, both on a quest for video games, The Wizard to compete in the Nintendo World Championship, and AVGN The Movie on a quest to disprove the existence of the mythic Atari Landfill in New Mexico where they supposedly buried thousands of unsold copies of E.T. (the "worst" game in the history of video games, and the catalyst for the video game crash of 1983). As such, I think that this film works really well, it uses mostly practical effects, much like the classic b-films that it pays homage to, and honestly that extra time and attention to detail of doing practical effects ended up looking way better than if they had opted for the much easier route of CG effects (I am so glad that they didn't go that route, it would have ruined the film).
When the film was released it was met with mixed to negative reviews, and honestly I completely disagree with those reviews, however the thing is: this film is not meant for mainstream critics, it is a film that is destined to be a cult classic, it is a love letter to cult classics, and this film is a gift to the fans of b-films, and to those in that Gen X and older Millennial Generation, or the video game generation. I do think that both older and younger audiences will not have the nostalgia for Atari games that this film touches upon. As a person who has a lot of nostalgia for older video games from my youth, and who is deeply in love with b-films I absolutely love this film. I truly believe that Roger Corman and Lloyd Kaufman would be proud of James Rolfe and this amazing film that he and his friends created. Some of the negative reviews I read mention how the film is too long, though too me it didn't feel too long at all, I never found myself bored or my mind wandering, I kept finding little things that made me smile, laugh, and get excited. This is a film that I could definitely watch repeatedly, and each time catch subtle mentions of pop culture, and small details that I missed before, and I could see myself feeling that same excitement and nostalgia upon each viewing.
The film is about the Angry Video Game Nerd, and how his fans are always demanding that he review ET for the Atari 2600, which is considered the worst video game of all-time, but he always refuses to review the game. Then when Cockburn Industries creates a sequel to ET (or Eee Tee as it is in the film to avoid copyrights), and they promise it will be even worse than the original, and they are trying to get the Nerd to review the game. With Cooper's convincing he decides to set out to prove that the legendary Atari Landfill in New Mexico is a hoax, and if he is proven wrong then he will review ET. So they set out in an old dodge van filled with retro video games and set off to find out the truth about ET, but what they discover is more than they could ever bargain for.
If you like low budget independent b-science fiction/horror films, and if you have nostalgia for classic video games, or even if you are a fan of the Nerd's over the top strings of obscenities, I really highly recommend checking this film out. I have been wanting to see this film since it's 2014 release date, and I finally bought a copy, along with some of James' other films from the Cinemassacre website, and I honestly couldn't have been more happy with it, it is everything that I hoped that it would be. Is this film for everyone? no, this is a film that won't appeal to most mainstream viewers, but to those of us who see beauty in low budget b-films this film is for us. Thank you James Rolfe and Kevin Finn for creating this amazing piece of independent cinema. Also on parting I really wanted to give props to Bear McCreary's amazing soundtrack that he composed for this film, it is absolutely amazing, and really helps to bring the film together, I wish that Cinemassacre would put out the soundtrack on CD or vinyl. If you want to get a copy of this film for your own collection, please head over to https://store.cinemassacre.com/ and purchase a copy, also support their other great films and shows as well by purchasing merchandise directly from them, it is important to support independent artists.
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