Mind of UPSLynx for the Week of December 13th

Bobby Miller (UPSLynx) This week, UPSLynx talks about the (lack of) Christmas spirit in Indiana, Icrontic Sekrit Santas, NVIDIA's indifference to AMD's DirectX 11 dominance, and game-to-movie adaptations.

December 19, 2009 1:33 AM ET in Video, , , ,

It’s almost Christmas time! At least I think it is—I’m really not sure. The lack of snow and holiday bustle is kind of killing the vibe for me. No matter, because Christmas means one of my favorite Icrontic activities: Icrontic Sekrit Santas! The cleverness of our community members never ceases to amaze me, as the incoming gifts are already stellar.

NVIDIA tries to brush off AMD’s industry dominance of DirectX 11 like it ain’t no thing. We know what’s really happening here though—PR schlock.

Also, there’s a feature-length fan film based on the Legend of Zelda. The question at hand isn’t of the quality of this film, but rather the quality of the Super Mario Bros film made in the mid-nineties. Cliff Forster seems to think it sucked. Everyone else disagrees with him. A shocking new development!

Kick off your shoes, crack open a brew, and hit play, because if it’s Friday, it’s Mind of UPSLynx.

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29 Comments

  1. 19 Dec '09, 7:01 am GooD

    Haha nice one

    You're getting better and better with each episode UPSLynx !

    I liked the end when you tell us your opinion about movie based on a game, i think the same way

  2. 19 Dec '09, 7:22 am Thrax

    Q: Game to film adaptations. Why are there so many bad ones?
    A: Uwe Boll.

  3. 19 Dec '09, 7:32 am UPSLynx

    Glad you enjoyed it, GooD!

    Sledge, I'm sorry man... someone had to tell you. I hate that it was me D:

  4. 19 Dec '09, 9:18 am MachineDog

    I want to talk about the lack of mobile support for this webcast.

  5. 19 Dec '09, 2:55 pm Cliff_Forster

    Hey, say what you all will about the Super Mario Bros. film, but the fact that it was a critical and commercial flop is the reason that you don't yet have films based on Zelda or Metroid which are both obviously ripe franchises for a filmmaker that really cares about the source material. Nintendo got out of the filmaking biz for a reason, and at least half of it was SMB the movie, and Thrax does have a point about Uwe Boll, he is not helping anybody.

  6. 19 Dec '09, 4:17 pm photodude

    All this talk about game based fan films brings memories of watching Red vs Blue the halo based weekly fan shorts....http://redvsblue.com

  7. 19 Dec '09, 4:40 pm UPSLynx

    Red vs Blue and Hero of Time are two great examples of how it can be done right in the hands of people who truly care about the source content.

    Though I hate the series, they should never give the Halo film to Peter Jackson or Del Toro, let someone who is intimately familiar with the IP and passionate about the game do it. It's the only way.

  8. 19 Dec '09, 6:27 pm Dunigan

    You should all do yourselves a favor and track down a copy of Pocket Ninja's. Then you can truly say, "I have seen the WORST movie of all time." No joke...THE WORST!!!

  9. 19 Dec '09, 6:56 pm Grimnoc

    Without going into a million reasons as to why I'm pretty close to agreeing with you on the whole "keeping games as games and film as film" bit.

  10. 19 Dec '09, 7:45 pm Cliff_Forster

    I think that may be the broader point, perhaps the game as a narrative is enough in some cases, but I swear, Zelda and Metroid could totally work in the right hands.

    And though no game movie is a masterpiece there are those that are certainly entertaining. The Resident Evil films, Hitman, and the first Mortal Kombat film, none particularly mind blowing, but all at bare minimum entertaining to some degree. It can be done. Source material like Zelda and Metroid, so much potential, but I'm telling ya, that SMB film made Nintendo ultra protective of its IP, and with good reason.

  11. 19 Dec '09, 8:12 pm chrisWhite

    Hmm, if Zelda could work I don't think it could work right now, we need to get some distance from this era of fantasy films before anyone really can stomach another decent fantasy movie that I would expect to be no better then the Narnia films.

    I think a Halo film could still work though, if only because the lore, the story and the music has always been what's carried the series despite the mediocre start and the average game play and level design since. Del Toro would not be the man for that job though, it's just not dark or intimate enough, it would be serviceable, like the Hell Boy films but nothing shockingly good. Peter Jackson on the other hand, I feel could do an amazing job with it, if I could pick any director for the job it would come down to a tie between him and James Cameron.

  12. 19 Dec '09, 10:09 pm Thrax

    Peter Jackson was working on Halo. Then it was canned and we got the (much) cooler District 9.

  13. 19 Dec '09, 10:14 pm chrisWhite

    Agreed, though they were two very, very different projects, I'm glad we got District 9 but I wouldn't mind there someday being a Peter Jackson Halo movie. I think it would be one of the better games to lend itself to a film but I just get excited about anything Peter Jackson does.

  14. 19 Dec '09, 10:53 pm UPSLynx

    Still haven't seen District 9 :/

  15. 19 Dec '09, 11:50 pm GHoosdum

    Pocket Ninjas has nothing on Battlefield Earth.

  16. 20 Dec '09, 1:42 am chrisWhite

    I saw part of The Room recently, that's got to be on the worst films list. Makes Uwe Boll look pro.

  17. 20 Dec '09, 6:12 am Gate28

    *Crosses off "mentioned in a Mind video" off his to-do list*

  18. 20 Dec '09, 10:11 am Snarkasm

    Dead Alive is on my "worst movies ever" list - I saw it in New Zealand, and it was so miserable, I came back to the States and hunted it down just so I could own it.

    Just terrible.

  19. 21 Dec '09, 4:50 pm Bandrik

    Before I even watch the rest of it, I have to say this: OHHOLYCRAPYOUACTUALLYUSEDIT!!!

    Er, I mean, I'm surprised and delighted to hear the "get some nuts!" included in a Mind of UPS Lynx. Just like I asked for. I guess Christmas dreams do come true. Thanks for the gift (of sorts), Lynx! =D

  20. 21 Dec '09, 5:01 pm Bandrik

    Okay now a post with a few less *squee!* moments. =P

    1. Love the ZeFrankians you're pulling in seamlessly. Cutting to images to make your points stronger and more graphical is a nice touch.

    2. Santa Claus - whatadick. Nicely done. Bastard.

    3. Love the "here I'll show you the gifffffffffff ;P" part. HAH!

    4. Yep. Getting about the same snow here. Sucks. We have a dusting now, but meh. Where's my minimum of 3 inches?

    5. Steve Jobs' evil little fruit LOL.

    6. nVidia, suck it. Or show your goods. But till then, suck it.

    7. Mario Bros movie did rock. And am I nerd for laughing out loud (literally) at the "Pocket Ninjas" clip because the male character flips to the left side of the frame when he turns around, and NOT for the bad acting? Yeah, maybe I am a nerd for that.

    Though if you want a REAL bad movie, try Manos: The Hands of Fate. I couldn't even watch the MST3K version of it, it was so awful.

    8. Sweet T-shirt, bud. =D

    Okay that's all. Go. Get outta here. GET SOME NUTS!!

  21. 21 Dec '09, 5:27 pm poofie

    SQUEE! <4 now that i have been properly shout outed, i'll stop pestering you.

    and Super Mario Bros was a badass movie! i watched it just a couple of weeks ago, ON PURPOSE, and grinned like a fool the whole way through. the part in the elevator, when Luigi gets all the goombas to dance? makes me giggle every time i think about it. i will always love that movie, even though it's not very good.

    are *all* video game movies considered bad? i mean, i'm no game or film connoisseur, but i liked Mortal Kombat.

  22. 21 Dec '09, 5:29 pm Thrax

    All of them are bad, but some are simply less bad than others.

  23. 21 Dec '09, 6:05 pm Grimnoc

    Yes, all of them are bad, quite bad.

    I'm pretty sure a Zelda movie would be a complete disaster, almost regardless of who made it. I also don't think the answer would necessarily lie with getting a "fan" of the games to do it. In fact, if Zelda were to ever be optioned I think it would work better to get someone who didn't know anything about the Zelda games and could just be given a rough outline of the games.

  24. 21 Dec '09, 6:11 pm _k_

    The Postal movie was on par with the game, I think that is a win. When chicks make out its always a good movie.

  25. 21 Dec '09, 6:15 pm Grimnoc
    Quoting _k_

    The Postal movie was on par with the game, I think that is a win. When chicks make out its always a good movie.

    Actually, you may be on to something here k. While Postal wasn't really good it was Uwe Boll's best work, and he doesn't really receive much credit for it.

    There, I said it. I officially gave Uwe Boll some credit.

  26. 23 Dec '09, 2:23 am UPSLynx

    Agreed. Postal is Boll's best film. It is actually kind of funny, and matches up with the game well.

    crap. he did it.

    Bandrik, told you I wouldn't let you down! I was thinking about my humor style in Mind this morning, and I realized I'm REALLY taking to the mold of Ze Frank. And I am completely OK with that.

  27. 23 Dec '09, 10:34 am DrLiam

    Thanks for posting during the holiday season. I enjoyed your video as usual.

  28. 23 Dec '09, 8:54 pm Zadok

    Ha Ha, Pocket Ninjas... I've seen that movie way to many times. -_-

  29. 24 Dec '09, 6:34 am UPSLynx
    Quoting Zadok

    Ha Ha, Pocket Ninjas... I've seen that movie way to many times. -_-

    Knew you'd appreciate that! I miss hating that film...

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