Played any good games lately?

On talking to a coworker today, I learned of a fun game I should try, Ca$hflow. I am assuming that he is suggesting the kid's version of the game, reasonably priced at $40, instead of the normal version which runs over $190. He says that it's an interesting game that you can play solo or with any number of players since one is competing against the game instead of others.

I have played a couple rounds of Clans, one of the presents I gave Mike for Christmas, and it looks like a very interesting game. You have to get a feel for which areas of the board you can target effectively and which areas you need to move your pieces away from to prevent inefficiency. When playing with three people, it is generally obvious which colors have players behind them, since the unrepresented colors tend to take a back seat in the points.

I'm looking towards January 31st as our first "Game Day" for the year. I plan on having "Game Day" once a month this year. We need to have it at my sister's place, since they have interconnected kitchen/livingroom spaces that could accomodate two big board games if necessary. I want to play "History of the World". I plan on having a LARP sometime in May, June perhaps. Play any really great games lately?

Happy New Year!

And to start the new year, lots and lots of movie news:

The Grudge, a remake of the Japanese horror film of the same name will star Jason Behr and Sarah Michelle Gellar. It sounds an awful lot like The Ring. It will be released in 2005.

The Libertine, a play about the sex-crazed Earl of Rochester is coming to the big screen with Johnny Depp in the lead role. The most interesting bit of the article: Depp was keen to take on the part, but the project faced eight years of struggles to lock in financing. Not only is the project a period piece, but the script doesn't soft-peddle the earl's prodigious sexual appetites. Asked if "The Libertine" could court an NC-17 rating, Producer Russell SmithSmith told Daily Variety, "It's clearly something that will be a question. No doubt about it." Oo.

I held out from buying the Panic Room superbit DVD because there were no extras on it. I shall be rewarded because a 3-disc special edition DVD will be released on March 30th. It will have commentary tracks with Fincher, Foster, Whitaker, and Yokam. Woo hoo!

The Bourne Supremacy looks like it will be released on June 23rd. Another "Woo hoo"! This year looks like it's filled with good releases.

Should I get Underworld on DVD or should I just get it via Netflix?

The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominees for its Producer of the Year Award. The nominees are Cold Mountain, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, The Last Samurai, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Seabiscuit and Mystic River. I hope that Return of the King will receive this award, as a testament of the sheer magnitude of producing all three films (Jackson and company were nominated for The Two Towers but not for Fellowship). Speaking of Peter Jackson, he is also nominated for the Directors Guild of America's Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award for the third year in a row, the only director to have such an achievement. Also nominated are Sophia Coppola (Lost in Translation), Clint Eastwood (Mystic River), Gary Ross (Seabiscuit), and Peter Weir (Master and Commander). I'm torn. There's the fangirl part of me that cries out "Return of the King, you idiot!", but having seen the remarkable performances in Lost in Translation, Sophia Coppola should receive many kudos. I've heard rave reviews of the performances in Mystic River. The positive aspects of Master and Commander should be attributed to its star, Russell Crowe, who has a commanding presence. Perhaps if it was with a lesser actor, I would be more positive towards Weir.

The Producers, the Broadway version, is going to be remade into a film with Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane in the leads. Mel Brooks will produce and Susan Stroman will direct. The circle of film to theatrical musical back to film will be very interesting to see. I think I need to see the broadway show soon, to see the live performances and then I can compare to what ends up on the screen.