The A-Bomb

Week of June 7th, 2008

It’s Bruce Campbell theme this week, so grab your boomsticks and gimme some sugar baby! (those are quotes from his films)

Movie: Alien Apocalypse

Probably my favorite Bruce Campbell movie after Army of Darkness. Bruce plays an astronaut who has been away from earth for 40+ years and returns to find it overrun by aliens! The reason this movie is so awesome, aside from Campbell himself, is that the aliens are hilarious. Some of their dialog is the funniest stuff I’ve ever heard, especially the ‘Humans are our favorite delicacy…after wood!’ part. That’s the part that stands out in my mind. But the whole ‘humans leading the resistance against the aliens’ plot becomes so great and so campy that it’s hard not to love this movie. If you love Bruce you’ll love this one, but even if you don’t, you should be able to enjoy it as it’s full of great cheesy one liners and moments.

Television Show: The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

Unfortunately I haven’t seen much of this show yet, but it’s on my to do list and I’ve decided it should be on all of yours as well. It stars Bruce Campbell and was co-created by him and Carlton Cuse (also co-created LOST, which is also awesome). The best way to describe the show is to quote the back of the DVD boxset:

The world’s favorite western/sci-fi/comedy/action cult hit rides again! Here on 8 discs is the complete series about Brisco (Bruce Campbell) a tough-as-rawhide cowpoke debonair ladies’ man and Harvard-educated smarty-britches who roams from Frisco to Jalisco in pursuit of outlaws who killed his father…and in search of a mysterious orb possessing out-of-this world powers. Hot lead and cool anachronisms await Brisco as he and his sidekicks – including Comet the intellectual equine who doesn’t know he’s a horse – fight for justice in the way way way-out West. Put your boots in your stirrups your tongue in your cheek and join the fun. Let’s play cowboys and aliens.

How does that NOT sound amazing?

Music: Coheed and Cambria

I’m cheating here a bit, as there is a brief line from Campbell’s Army of Darkness (“This…is my BOOMstick!”) that appears in one of the songs off their first album’s re-release, but unfortunately Bruce hasn’t released any CDs as of yet! These guys are really great, and the interesting thing about their music is that it all actually tells a story, which is also represented in a series of comics overseen by the band (The Armory Wars) and it’s one of the more unique bands I’ve come across. They’ve become more popular recently due to having some songs featured in Rock Band, and I’ll admit that’s where I first gained interest in them. They have great music though and if you’re a fan of Rush, some people draw a comparison between the two (I think mostly because both have unique singers). Check them out if you get a chance.

Book: If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor

Since it’s Bruce Campbell themed, I figured his autobiography was the best pick here. If you’re a fan of his, this is an excellent read and really entertaining. At the same time it’s really interesting to read about his ‘rise to fame’ as a cult icon, and the things he went through to get there. Highly recommended if you’re a fan of his work.

Video Game: Spider-Man 2

I love Spider-Man, and just about everything about him. Naturally I’ve played most of the video games he’s featured in, but so far, I strongly feel the video game adaptation of the second film was the strongest entry. Not only because the second film was by FAR the best of the series, but the game itself used the same basic idea as the first game but improved on a lot of aspects. It’s really fun to just swing around New York City and try different things, and it uses a ’sandbox’ type of game design so you can wander around at your leisure. There’s lots of side stuff to do too, but for the most part that was boring (to me at least).

Oh yeah, and Bruce Campbell provides narration for the game and it’s actually a highlight of the game, as he is quite the funny man.

Next week I’ll try to think of a more clever theme, I mostly wanted to write about how hilarious Alien Apocalypse is.