Adam Wallace
Bio
I put up pieces here when I can, mainly about games and movies. I do also write poetry & short stories. I'm also writing movies, writing a children's book & hosting the gaming channel "Cool Media" on YouTube! Enjoy & find me on Bluesky!
Achievements (1)
Stories (143)
Filter by community
'Over the Top'—Paternal Bonding Via Arm Wrestling
Hello, and welcome back to Second Chances where the maligned and forgotten get another shot at the championship. Since Father's Day is this weekend, I wanted to talk about a movie that revolved around the theme of fatherhood. It took barely a few seconds to decide which one: the 1987 Sylvester Stallone drama Over the Top. Despite its bombing at the box office (making $16 million against a $25 million budget), its critical bashing (only a 27% approval on Rotten Tomatoes), and three Razzie nominations (winning two), this movie was nonetheless a major presence throughout my life. It was one of the first Stallone movies I ever saw. It's one of my step-father's favorite movies. It was also a favorite of my late father who died sixteen years ago. There's a lot of sentimental value tied to this movie, which allows me to look past its silly parts, uneven acting, and Cannon Films trappings, and just enjoy it.
By Adam Wallace7 years ago in Geeks
'Game of Thrones': 'Dragon Age' in Westeros
Hello, and welcome back to Second Chances where the Iron Throne is reserved for the maligned and forgotten. Unlike just about every geek on the planet, I had not gotten around to watching Game of Thrones yet. What can I say? I don't have HBO, and there are a bunch of other shows I'm getting up to speed on via DVD and Netflix before I sit down and see all the trouble House Lannister can get into. However, I am a devout gamer, and when I saw that a full-fledged RPG was made in the official universe, I was immediately interested.
By Adam Wallace7 years ago in Gamers
Britpop Battle: Blur vs. Oasis
Hello, and welcome to The Great Debates. Growing up, there have been numerous pop culture competitions. Some were lame in hindsight like Dante's Peak vs. Volcano. Others are so memorable that they're still the subject of argument to this day like Kirk vs. Picard. This new subseries is where I put my two cents in.
By Adam Wallace7 years ago in Beat
Added Value: 10 Great Achievement Lists
Hello, and welcome back to Silver Linings where I pop up the maligned, forgotten, and ignored. When the Xbox 360 launched in 2005, one of the features that raised eyebrows was the concept of Achievements. Basically a set of merit badges that can be unlocked for completing various in-game tasks named by the games' developers and saved to gamer profiles for display, gamers were initially puzzled, and the competition was initially dismissive. However, those little meta-rewards caught on so effectively that it actually hurt Sony and their Playstation 3. The original Assassin's Creed sold far better on the Xbox 360 despite the PS3 version being technically superior because of the GamerPoints that can get on GamerCards, and other multiplatform games fared the same way. Within a couple of years, Sony had their similar Trophies system running, and Steam was putting Achievements into PC games.
By Adam Wallace7 years ago in Gamers
Mission BBQ—Thanking Vets with Brisket
Hello, and welcome back to Local Flavors where I find new dining experiences in the Nashville area. Now, originally I didn't intend to cover chains in this column. It was supposed to be about spotlighting little-known spots that could be missed, similar to the purpose of my Second Chances series. However, I do feel it worth talking about the Mission BBQ chain for three important reasons:
By Adam Wallace7 years ago in Feast
My All-Time Favorite Movies: #40-21
This month is my 40th birthday. Whenever my birthday comes up, I always want to do something big. Since I had already chosen my favorite songs and my favorite video games, the most logical choice was to count down my favorite movies of all-time. Despite it being the most logical idea, it was also the most intimidating. I've seen hundreds of movies of every type over the decades I've been breathing. How the hell can I possibly narrow that down to 40, let alone rank them?
By Adam Wallace7 years ago in Geeks
'Evangelion' — An End to Forget
I missed out on a lot of anime growing up. I just didn't have the means to go running out to Suncoast or Media Play on a regular basis nor did I have regular access to "Toonami" on Cartoon Network. However, these days, thanks to eBay and various streaming services, I have been getting up to speed on many of the most well-known anime of the last forty years.
By Adam Wallace7 years ago in Geeks
