Tuesday 28 November 2017

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Review of "IT" (2017)

Skepticism was something that seemed to float around the social media circuit when this bad boy got announced. This is, of course, not uncommon in the horror communities, putting it mildly.

People didn’t like how the new Pennywise looked (even though it’s arguably more loyal to the description in the book but ya know…), and others felt the original series (that some are still calling ”the  original film” but ya know…) was unbeatable, and that a new coat of polish on a book so big you could kill an elephant using it just wasn't needed!

However, ever the crusader when it comes to revamps and whatnot, I thought I’d give this bad boy a go myself, and I can tell you I wasn’t disappointed.

Personally, I found the miniseries a chore, if I’m being perfectly honest. Tim Curry seemed to be the only thing holding it together and I still to this day think Seth Green should catch a mallet with his teeth, but that’s neither here nor there.

The part 1 of 2 feature-lengths (with the second to follow later, as you might expect) that graced our cinemas this years, however, is everything the other one wanted to be and more. From the get-go we are introduced with a somewhat terrifying sewer drain scene that doesn’t hold back one bit, really setting the scene for what was to come. Then, as a horror fan, I expected a grand opening and then a good 45 minutes of no action (save a couple of jump scares between mundane character developments) but that was my undoing! This film delivered scare after scare, and not cheap ones either! They actually used atmosphere and a harrowing sense of unease almost throughout which was bloody lovely for me!

It should also be said that the cast was brilliant, bringing us in a whole new range of child actors that only Stranger Things thought they could boast about. Oh no, good sir! Yes, I'm well aware that one of said child actors was in Stranger Things as well! Thanks for asking! Bill Skarsgârd, in my opinion, absolutely stole the show! Some said he was trying too hard, but for me, he just tipped the balance between creepy and playful, which really brought Stephen King’s vision of Pennywise alive; at least I think so anyway, which is what counts, as what I say goes.

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Verdict: I was really impressed with this flick, as it delivered way more than what I was expecting and leaves me highly anticipating part 2 next year. 8/10


Aaron James Waters is a best-selling Pulp Fiction writer who has written more books than he's actually read.

He's also the rotten apple of the group who thinks this whole Star Wars thing needs to hurry up and die already.

You can find all of Aaron's works on Amazon!






Saturday 25 November 2017

E14 Toybox #57 - DC Heroclix "Elseworlds" 15th Anniversary Booster Unboxing (Vol 2)

On this episode of the E14 Toybox, Rob tackles a pair of Heroclix boosters from the DC Comics 15th Anniversary "Elseworlds" set! What will be Pick of the Pulls this time round?

The E14 Toybox theme is provided by Deon Van Heerden, and you can find out all about his work at deonvanheerden.com!



The E14 Toybox is a video show hosted by Rob Wade, dedicated to the pursuit and unveiling of Wizkids Heroclix figures. Whether Marvel or DC, booster or gravity feed, alone or with a buddy, Rob takes the unknown and reveals the mystery within for your enjoyment!




Tuesday 21 November 2017

E14 Toybox Gravaday Feed Challenge Update!

Hello all, Rob here. As our resident review-writer Aaron is having computer issues (hopefully to be resolved in the very near future), I thought I would take this opportunity to give an update on the E14 Toybox Gravaday Feed Challenge!

In short, it is going very well!

It's been 21 days, and so far I have yet to miss a day! What's more, I've only doubled up once within the challenge itself, pulling 2 "Groot" pieces from the Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 Gravity Feed!

For those who are hearing of this for the first time, it's a Heroclix video series running throughout the month of November - giving me (Rob) a chance to handle some of my significant Gravity Feed backlog while at the same time giving cool daily videos for the fine E14 fans on YouTube and my followers on Instagram and Twitter!

Why not check out the playlist with some of the videos in it? There are worse ways to spend less than an hour!

For regular Toybox viewers, have no fear - you have not been forgotten about! Part 2 of my Elseworlds DC Heroclix unboxing will be available later this week, as well as a special video responding to a tag from the awesome Tabletop Teacher, which will see me delve into the meta game for the first time in any real depth!

Of course, as always, I appreciate your patience while things get back to normal around here. If you're bored while waiting, why not check out some of our other awesome posts? Alternatively, you could pick up some Heroclix of your very own using the links below, and throw E14 some Amazon Associates love without costing yourself any extra dough!



Friday 17 November 2017

The E14 Gamecast Episode 31 - "Player 1 Has Entered The Game"

On this episode of The E14 Gamecast, it's a rare departure from the ensemble format as Rob goes solo for a look at a couple of games he recently completed!

Games discussed include Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Mafia 3, and there's even some brief detail on Battlefront 2's campaign (or at least the prologue and the first two missions)!

If you want to give us your thoughts on the games we talk about, ask us questions or even suggest topics for us to talk about, you can contact us by email using podcast@emotionally14.com, tweet @emotionally14 or find us on the Emotionally14 Facebook page! For our gaming videos, check out the E14 Plays Playlist on YouTube!

Rob is on Twitter @RobWadeVision!

The E14 Gamecast theme is courtesy of Deon Van Heerden, and you can find out all about him at DeonVanHeerden.com!

Here are the articles Rob mentions in the show:

Part the 1st
Part the 2nd


About The E14 Gamecast

A place to find the gaming content for Emotionally14. We'll talk reviews, excitement, upcoming releases - Hell, we'll even play a few! If gaining perspective on Team E14's gaming habits is your bag, this is the place you can get that fix!

The E14 Gamecast is a show all about games. Initially recorded as a short chat about the Titanfall beta, the crew has talked about all sorts of subjects ranging from Eurogamer Expo, the previous console generations and general comments about what they're playing at the time.



Sunday 12 November 2017

E14 Toybox #56 - DC Heroclix "Elseworlds" 15th Anniversary Booster Unboxing

On this episode of the E14 Toybox, Rob tackles a pair of Heroclix boosters from the DC Comics 15th Anniversary "Elseworlds" set! What will be Pick of the Pulls this time round?

The E14 Toybox theme is provided by Deon Van Heerden, and you can find out all about his work at deonvanheerden.com!



The E14 Toybox is a video show hosted by Rob Wade, dedicated to the pursuit and unveiling of Wizkids Heroclix figures. Whether Marvel or DC, booster or gravity feed, alone or with a buddy, Rob takes the unknown and reveals the mystery within for your enjoyment!




Friday 10 November 2017

The Crazy Train - Episode 56 - "Chris Isaak's Deadly Game!"

On this episode of The Crazy Train, Rob is joined by Omer, Blake and Joe! We discuss, among other things:

  • Horcruxes
  • William Shatner
  • Rob got engaged!
  • Rob tells a story about a friend who stole a chair
  • Diabetes alert dogs
  • Australian accents
  • Sittingbourne is shit
  • Chris Isaak (Not really a murderer that we know of)
  • Beaches
  • Flimsy pretenses
  • David Attenborough was supposed to be on the £20 note. This is sadly not the case.
  • The Queen turns up, because reasons
  • The rails come straight-up off
  • Rob carries on with his engagement story
  • Awkward erections
  • Rob's engagement celebration
  • A discussion about golf devolves into Street Fighter 2 sound effects
  • Andy Serkis
  • Buying Colin Firth
  • Versatile actors
  • Hamilton Steele, Murdering Detective
  • Szechuan Sauce

Rob is on Twitter @RobWadeVision, is at @TheIronTurkOmer, Joe is at @ItsJoeCrouch and you can find Blake @FuckSakeBlake!

If you want to give us your thoughts on the games we talk about, ask us questions or even suggest topics for us to talk about, you can contact us by email using podcast@emotionally14.com, tweet @emotionally14 or find us on the Emotionally14 Facebook page!

Intro music: "Outlaw", by Deon Van Heerden. Find out more about Deon's music at Deonvanheerden.com!

We are part of the Brit Pod Scene podcast collective, a group of British podcasts working together to help each other improve and grow. Check it out on Twitter by searching #BritPodScene!


About The Crazy Train

Welcome aboard The Crazy Train - Emotionally14's flagship podcast dedicated to one theme: there are no rails. Ever. Encompassing a wide range of subjects, from movies to TV to gaming, we'll give you a piece of our minds even if there's nothing in them, and you'll bloody love it. Where will the Crazy Train go?


Thursday 9 November 2017

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Review of "The Bad Batch"

There are some great movies out there that take the post-apocalyptic premise and manage to wrangle it into a cult classic. We have the likes of Mad Max, Turbo Kid, A Boy and His Dog, and I really would love to throw the Netflix Original The Bad Batch in with that list, only I can’t, because I don’t know what the bloody hell it is.

I’d love to give you a basic plot outline, only I can’t because it almost seems impossible. I never thought I would ever see a film that didn’t have a beginning, a middle nor an end, yet here we are! And with a cast that boasts the likes of Jason Momoa, Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey and Giovanni Ribisi, I thought to myself “hold on a bloody minute, by Jove I think we have something!” And nope, we really didn’t.

There was a lot of walking in this film. Seriously, our two leads like to go on long, mysterious walks with no destination in mind. Kind of like this film, really.

Another thing worth mentioning is our leading lady, Suki Waterhouse, who err…yeah. The only credit I can really give her is the fact that she was in the bloody thing!

I think what annoys the most about this film is that it could have been brilliant! Convicts are thrown into the desert, girl gets captured/half eaten by cannibals, girl escapes, let the battle commence! But no. No, we don’t get that. In fact, after the first 10 minutes, we then get another hour and fifty minutes of “screw story, who needs that?” Whilst it screams “please love me! I can be cult! Look how artsy I am” when all we get given is minimal (and shit) dialogue, people walking, people dancing and long shots of landscapes.

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Rating: To say this film was boring would be an understatement, and to be honest, it’s merely nothing but a two hour film that had every opportunity to tell a story that just doesn’t bother. So with that in mind, neither should you. 2/10


Aaron James Waters is a best-selling Pulp Fiction writer who has written more books than he's actually read.

He's also the rotten apple of the group who thinks this whole Star Wars thing needs to hurry up and die already.

You can find Aaron's debut novel on Amazon!





Tuesday 7 November 2017

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Review of "The Bye Bye Man"

Urban Legend movies normally go one way, and it’s right down the toilet.

Don’t get me wrong. When done properly, they can be absolute gems! Just look at Clive Barker’s Candyman!

But then, on the other hand, just look at the Urban Legend movies. I know, who farted, am I right?

So, when I stumbled across this low-budget, straight to video horror flick, I had a pretty bad feeling I was in for 90 minutes of nonsense.

However, as a huge Horror enthusiast, I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing, especially when Horror’s foundations are built on string budget amateur flicks, so where’s the harm, right?

So, basically, The Bye Bye Man is an entity that, once you know his name and say it out loud, he comes and gets yo candy ass, and if you tell anybody his name, you then have to kill them before they tell anyone else, otherwise the Bye Bye Man goes on a mass killing spree and you can only stop him by making sure no one knows his name…including yourself.

Sounds terrible, right? That’s what I thought. I thought it sounded clumsy, not well thought out, and just all round mish-mashed to the point where urban legends are now running out of ideas (next up, a movie called Bad Chicken Pie, an urban legend tale where if you eat an undercooked chicken pie, you die of salmonella, unless you find a doctor who gives you treatment but he must also be a veterinarian named Steve who you must then kill afterwards so he can’t treat anyone else, in fear of cross contamination…same sort of thing, I reckon).

However! Cool your jets, Jetson, because this movie was actually, despite its lunacy, pretty damn good! I’m not even joking!

The acting was bang-on all round, which was shocking, the character developments were actually very well done, the story unfolded into something that grabbed my attention, and Doug Jones plays the titular character!

The gore was…well, almost non-existent to a point where it was laughable in places (point-blank range 12-gauge shotgun to the chest and not a drop; seriously…) and the CGI was just awful, but not allowing this to take anything away from the film, I would happily sit and watch this movie again.

There is one character in it (the leading man’s niece), however, who is just fucking awful and should be shot from a cannon into the sun as far as I’m concerned, but other than that we get a pretty solid movie which somehow manages to stand up tall on its somewhat weak knees.

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Verdict: So yes, this was a surprising little horror gem that I thought would be terrible, but actually turned out to be a good bit of fun, but made the error of taking itself a bit too seriously. - 6.5/10


Aaron James Waters is a best-selling Pulp Fiction writer who has written more books than he's actually read.

He's also the rotten apple of the group who thinks this whole Star Wars thing needs to hurry up and die already.

You can find Aaron's debut novel on Amazon!





Saturday 4 November 2017

E14 Toybox #55 - HyperSonic Greed! (Marvel Heroclix "Mighty Thor" Booster Unboxings)

On this episode of the E14 Toybox, Rob tackles a pair of Heroclix boosters from the Marvel Comics "The Mighty Thor" set! What will be Pick of the Pulls this time round?

The E14 Toybox theme is provided by Deon Van Heerden, and you can find out all about his work at deonvanheerden.com!



The E14 Toybox is a video show hosted by Rob Wade, dedicated to the pursuit and unveiling of Wizkids Heroclix figures. Whether Marvel or DC, booster or gravity feed, alone or with a buddy, Rob takes the unknown and reveals the mystery within for your enjoyment!




Friday 3 November 2017

The E14 Gamecast - Episode 30: "Battlefield-Front-Field-Front"!

Rob is joined by Blake, Omer and Joe to talk about games. We've been playing a variety of games across video games and tabletop gaming, and we have some thoughts on them!

Games discussed include Forza Horizon 3, Battlefront 2, Divinity Original Sin 2 and Mafia 3! We also wax a little nostalgic about Nintendo 64!

If you want to give us your thoughts on the games we talk about, ask us questions or even suggest topics for us to talk about, you can contact us by email using podcast@emotionally14.com, tweet @emotionally14 or find us on the Emotionally14 Facebook page! For our gaming videos, check out the E14 Plays Playlist on YouTube!

Rob is on Twitter @RobWadeVision, Joe is at @ItsJoeCrouch, Omer is at @TheIronTurkOmer and you can find Blake @FuckSakeBlake!

The new E14 Gamecast theme is courtesy of Deon Van Heerden, and you can find out all about him at DeonVanHeerden.com!


About The E14 Gamecast

A place to find the gaming content for Emotionally14. We'll talk reviews, excitement, upcoming releases - Hell, we'll even play a few! If gaining perspective on Team E14's gaming habits is your bag, this is the place you can get that fix!

The E14 Gamecast is a show all about games. Initially recorded as a short chat about the Titanfall beta, the crew has talked about all sorts of subjects ranging from Eurogamer Expo, the previous console generations and general comments about what they're playing at the time.



Day 2 of the Gravaday challenge went live yesterday and can be found on YouTube!


Thursday 2 November 2017

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Review of "The Babysitter"

Netflix have brought us a new one just in time for Halloween and one couldn’t help but be curious, of course.

Plus, in great holiday spirit, it’s a home invasion movie, which is something I’m sure we’re all too used to by now at this time of year; little shits!

Anyway, The Babysitter introduces to young Cole, a ne’er-do- well, pubescent teen who’s not going to be climbing the social ladder any time soon, and is the oldest kid on his block to still have a babysitter. Fortunately, for this most likely four-times-a-day habit teen, his babysitter, Bee, is smoking hot! The two seem to get on like a house on fire, and there is definitely a strong chemistry between the two actors, which is cool, but then one night, after Cole has gone to bed, Bee brings some friends over and all Hell breaks loose!

This Home Alone style Horror Comedy is bound to have something for everyone, with quirky characters, fun dialogue and an overly-comic relief black guy who ticks all of your stereotype boxes for the genre (almost to a point where you may have to grit your teeth a couple of times), and some semi-decent acting throughout, which is always a nice – albeit welcomed – surprise when it comes to these kinds of films.

The gore is great fun and the deaths are even more so with their fantastic comedic style, and even throwing some slapstick in there for good measure, but also exploits the slasher genre clichés almost out of tongue-in-cheek spite (the cheerleader, the jock, the comic-relief black guy, the nerd, etc.) many of which I just loved!

Unfortunately, once the rhythm gets going, the film feels almost rushed in certain places which I felt diluted the story a bit, plus it gets a bit ‘social commentary’ at one point which seemed to just get thrown in for the sake of trying to score brownie points. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for holding up a mirror to society in the arts and what have you.

However, when it’s done poorly with no point or relevance to the story, it just leaves me rolling my eyes and saying “Ugh, yeah, okay…” and shaking my head, which is a shame.

So, all that negativity aside, you pretty much get what it says on the tin, and if you don’t go in hoping for a modern-day masterpiece and just enjoy the film for what it is, then you’ll probably have a good time.

Aaron's Spoiler-Free Verdict: I for one had a great time, because I thought it was going to be shit! – 6/10


Aaron James Waters is a best-selling Pulp Fiction writer who has written more books than he's actually read.

He's also the rotten apple of the group who thinks this whole Star Wars thing needs to hurry up and die already.

You can find Aaron's debut novel on Amazon!




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Rob's "Gravaday" Heroclix challenge began yesterday, with the first pull from DC Comics' "Man of Steel" movie set. What was pulled? Well handily the video is here for your enjoyment!