Before Midnight
It’s been 18 years since Céline and Jesse met on that Vienna-bound train, both in real life and for the two fictional characters played by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. But where has time taken these two characters? The Before… films are Richard Linklater’s precursor to boyhood, returning with the same characters and actors in 1995, 2004, and again most recently in 2013, but has the series grown better with age? Join Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart as they review the final film in this series to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPBEFORE03.mp3
Now Playing Podcast to open vault during live ‘Kingsman’ show
It’s true. It’s happening. There’s photographic proof.
Now Playing Podcast officially announced Monday that it will open the vault containing its previously released donation shows on February 17, following its first-ever live review of Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service.
One listener will win the entire donation library, but they must be present for the live show and follow-up Q&A, starting at 9:30 p.m. EST.
Inside the vault — which I imagine is welded shut and bound in human flesh like the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis – are the precious few retrospective series’ that Now Playing Podcast offers listeners during its bi-annual pledge drives.
The Alien series, Child’s Play, Jaws, Evil Dead, Exorcist, Poltergeist – that’s not even half of what you’ll find inside. But the hosts promise all will be up for grabs.
Now Playing Podcast launched its first pledge drive in 2010 with reviews of the five Child’s Play movies (with a sixth film added to the series in 2013). Host Arnie Carvalho has credited listener support for keeping Now Playing on the air, and in return the hosts have continued to up the number of shows offered per donation drive (a total of 13 were available in Fall 2014) while sprinkling in secret shows like Garbage Pail Kids and Troll.
It’s been more than two years since Now Playing Podcast gave listeners a chance to loot the vault.
So why now? And what’s the catch?
“We’re not opening them for new donations,” Carvalho said. “What that means… what we are doing… we’ll reveal during our live show.”
Although just one fan will win it all, the host added that it won’t be the only opportunity to grab the long-sought donation shows.
“Hopefully 2015 will be Now Playing’s biggest year yet,” he added. “And giving listeners a chance to get these old podcasts is just the beginning.”
Pre-Order Alert: Hot Toys 1/6th scale Thanos Collectible Figure
“The only matter I do not take seriously, boy, is you.”
Up for pre-order now is Hot Toys figure of Thanos — the mad titan from Guardians of the Galaxy!
Thanos is one of the most infamous Marvel villains in comic book history. His first appearance in The Avengers has already got fans widely discussing the Mad Titan’s role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and in Guardians of the Galaxy; audiences are finally able to meet him fully when he gives his threatening speech to Ronan the Accuser.
Now Hot Toys presents the eagerly-anticipated 1/6th scale Thanos Collectible Figure from Guardians of the Galaxy!
The movie-accurate Thanos collectible figure is specially crafted based on the appearance of Thanos in the movie, featuring a newly developed helmeted head sculpt, meticulously sculpted armored body, and Thanos’ throne with LED light-up function.
Supervillain fans, remember to make room for this powerful Mad Titan in your collection! Order now at Sideshow Collectibles!
Hot Toys – MMS280 – Guardians of the Galaxy: 1/6th scale Thanos Collectible Figure Features
– Authentic and detailed likeness of Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy
– Newly developed helmeted head sculpt with movie-accurate facial expression and detailed skin texture
– Newly sculpted muscular body with over 22 points of articulations
– Approximately 38 cm tall
– Two (2) pairs of interchangeable palms including:
– One (1) pair of fists
– One (1) pair of relaxed palms
– Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted
Costume:
– One (1) metallic gold, dark grey and dark purple colored armor
– One (1) pair of metallic gold, dark grey and dark purple colored bicep armor
– One (1) pair of metallic gold, dark grey and dark purple colored gauntlets
– One (1) pair of metallic gold and dark purple colored greaves
– One (1) pair of metallic gold colored boots
Accessories:
– Thanos’ throne with LED light-up function (white light, battery operated)
– Diamond-shaped base with transparent pillars, Thanos’ nameplate and movie logo
Artists:
– Head Sculpted by Hyeong Seok Koh & Eui Jong Kim
– Head Painted by JC. Hong & Yoong Young Lee
– Armor Sculpted by Eui Jong Kim, Seung Min Kang, Seung Soo Yoo & Hyeong Seok Koh
– Figure Art Directed by JC. Hong
– Throne Sculpted by Kyoung Geun Kim, So Young Lee & Mina Yu
Check out the pictures below, and place your order now with Sideshow Collectibles — the only Hot Toys authorized reseller in the USA!
Pre-Order Alert: Hot Toys Age of Ultron Captain America Figure
The movie-accurate Captain America Collectible Figure is specially crafted based on the image of Chris Evans as Captain America/Steve Rogers in Avengers: Age of Ultron, featuring a newly painted helmeted head sculpt, a newly painted Steve Rogers head sculpt, finely tailored Captain America suit, magnetic metal Captain America shield with retractable handles, and a specially designed figure stand.
Before Sunset
It was unexpected that Before Sunrise, the 1995 indie romance film, would get a sequel. Long discussed by stars and director alike, the thought of Céline and Jesse reuniting on screen seemed impossible. Yet in in 2004, nine years after the original’s release, audiences were able to reconnect with these two characters. Did the two reunite in Vienna on that train platform, and what are these two like now that they’re older? Can they recapture the magic their relationship once held, and can Linklater recapture audience affection for these two lovers? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPBEFORE02.mp3
Hot Toys – MMS281- Avengers: Age of Ultron – 1/6th scale Captain America Collectible Figure
The movie-accurate Captain America Collectible Figure is specially crafted based on the image of Chris Evans as Captain America/Steve Rogers in Avengers: Age of Ultron, featuring a newly painted helmeted head sculpt, a newly painted Steve Rogers head sculpt, finely tailored Captain America suit, magnetic metal Captain America shield with retractable handles, and a specially designed figure stand.
Avengers: Age of Ultron Toys – Pop!, Mystery Minis, Pocket Pop! Keychains, Exclusives!
The first Avengers film made more than a billion dollars at the box office, and toy makers are primed to build on that success with Avengers: Age of Ultron! Look at some of the toys and collectibles available for pre-order now at Entertainment Earth:
From Marvel Studios…
“When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.”
In theaters May 1st!
Check out the latest trailer right here!
Avengers: Age of Ultron Electronic Titan Heroes
Super-size your Marvel superhero adventures with the electrifying Avengers Titan Heroes Iron Man and Hawkeye Deluxe Electronic Action Figure Set – an Entertainment Earth Exclusive! Each figure is inspired by Marvel’s ongoing Avengers story, pitting the world’s greatest assembly of superheroes against tougher threats than ever before. Each Avenger is ready to unleash the light of justice on the darker corners of the Marvel universe. These gargantuan plastic action figures are jointed and stand 12-inches tall. Ages 4 and up.
Truly a superior Iron Man, Tony Stark is back in a new blue and white suit of armor! The cool exec with a heart of steel upgrades his wardrobe so he looks snazzy in Silicon Valley or anywhere Stark Enterprises expands! Tony’s look is modeled after his classic wardrobe, with a hint of the flavor appearing in Marvel Now! Superior Iron Man‘s pages. This 12-inch figure comes with a spectacular light-up blaster you’ll only find at Entertainment Earth.
Clint Barton went out and found himself some thick red frames, with glass so dark they won’t even know his name – but you will! Hawkeye’s new outfit is inspired by the massively multiplayer online game Marvel Heroes 2015 and the hit TV seriesAvengers Assemble, combining to bring you one of the best archers in the business! Loki, Doctor Doom, Ultron, and bad guys won’t stand a chance against his funky fine bow with a special kind of light.
Pop! Marvel: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Assemble Marvel’s Avengers to defeat man’s mightiest foe – Ultron! Collect the whole team, including the Avengers Age of Ultron Iron Man Pop! Vinyl Bobble Head Figure! This innovative hero measures approximately 3 3/4-inches tall. Preorder now!
Avengers: Age of Ultron Mystery Minis
“I know you’re good people. I know you mean well. But you just didn’t think it through.” Think it through and collect the Avengers 2 Age of Ultron Mystery Minis Vinyl Mini-Figures! This Avengers Age of Ultron Mystery Minis Vinyl Mini-Figure Display Box contains 12 mini-figures, with each standing 2 1/2-inches tall. Including fan favorites such as Iron Man, Hulkbuster, and Nick Fury, these stylized figures are perfect for Marvel and Avengers fans!
Item selection is random. Items are in blind packaging.
This Display Box contains 12 individually packaged vinyl mini-figures, and may contain the following:
Hulk
Hawkeye
Ascending Iron Man
Thor
Nick Fury
Ultron
Captain America
Hulkbuster
The Vision
Iron Legionnaire
Black Widow
Regular Iron Man
Avengers: Age of Ultron Pocket Pop! Keychain
From Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron comes Pocket Pop! Keychains! Bring justice wherever you go…on your keys! The Avengers Age of Pop! Vinyl Figure Key Chains stand approximately 1 1/2-inches tall and comes attached to a key ring. Pre-Order Now!
Avengers: Age of Ultron Fabrikations
The Avengers just got a little more adorable! Figural plushes that can stand up, the Avengers Age of Ultron Fabrikations Plushes measure over 6-inches tall. Their heads even rotate! Pre-Order Now
Avengers: Age of Ultron Mini Wacky Wobblers
Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America are coming to your living room as mini bobble heads! Each Avenger stands approximately 3-inches tall and all 4 characters are packaged in a displayable window box. The Avengers Age of Ultron Mini Wacky Wobbler 4-Pack is a great gift idea for any Marvel or Avengers 2: Age of Ultron fan! Pre-order now!
Before Sunrise
It is rare for a romance film to get a sequel, but Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise actually got two! Released in 1995, the movie tells of two strangers, Jesse and Céline, and their one night together in Vienna. But nine years later the couple returned in Before Sunset, and then in 2013 their story continued in Before Midnight. What is it about this saga that keeps the actors, director, and audiences coming back for more? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPBEFORE01.mp3
Uncle Milton to Release Holocron and new Force Trainer Toys
Uncle Milton, creator of the innovative Star Wars™ Science brand of toys, is getting ready to challenge aspiring Jedi in a different way. This time, Uncle Milton will be bringing the popular artificial intelligence game of knowledge, 20Q, into the world of Star Wars with the Jedi Holocron. Holocrons are artifacts that hold an indeterminable amount of knowledge, so what better way to bring the Holocron into our world, than with 20Q. Even better, Star Wars™ fans can be part of the creation of this new Star Wars™ Science Jedi Holocron! Just visit 20q.net, click on the Star Wars logo and follow the instructions. Think of any person, place, or thing based on all 6 Star Wars movies and TV series and 20Q will try and guess what you’re thinking. See if you can outsmart the Jedi Holocron! The more times you play, the smarter the artificial intelligence of the Jedi Holocron will become. Look for the Star Wars Science Jedi Holocron on store shelves beginning in Fall, 2015.
In addition, Uncle Milton is also releasing a new version of their very popular Star Wars Force Trainer.
In 2009, one of the most innovative Star Wars toys of all-time was launched–The Force Trainer. This incredible toy enabled fans of all ages to move and control an object with the power of their mind and quickly became a hit with Star Wars fans and the media worldwide. Just as the next generation of Star Wars movies is preparing to launch, Uncle Milton’s Star Wars Science brand is introducing The Force Trainer II: Hologram Experience. The Force Trainer II features new technology being unveiled at CES and gives Star Wars fans the opportunity to harness the power of their mind to move and control hologram images as they perform incredible Jedi feats from Star Wars movies.
With The Force Trainer II, you are the Jedi. Imagine that you could raise an X-wing from the Dagobah swamp just like Luke Skywalker, battle Darth Vader, or build your own lightsaber with just the power of your mind! These magical scenes are re-created through hologram images and a wireless headset with real brainwave sensors that read and interpret your levels of concentration. The more you focus, the more successful you are in moving and controlling the hologram image and successfully completing the Jedi challenge. The hologram images and Jedi challenges come through a companion app included with the purchase of the product and powered by the user’s tablet device which projects these holograms into the unique Jedi themed training base.
There are 10 different Jedi training levels through which fans can advance from Padawan to Jedi Knight to Jedi Master, with instruction and guidance from Jedi Master Yoda. Additional Jedi challenges will also be available for download on updated versions of the app as new Star Wars movies are released. The product is expected to hit retail stores in Fall 2015 with an estimated SRP of $119.99.
“We are very excited to unveil The Force Trainer II: Hologram Experience at CES,” said Ken Malouf, VP of Marketing & Product Management at Uncle Milton. “This toy captures the imagination of aspiring Jedi everywhere as they learn to use and control the power of their own concentration to activate fantastic Star Wars adventures. The combination of this advanced technology, compelling game play, and real science application makes for a truly unique product that fits the spirit of the Star Wars brand.”
Voting Now Open for 2014 Poppies Toy and Collectible Awards
Voting is now open for the 2014 Poppies Awards.
Now in its seventh year, The Poppies is an awards program presented by MWCToys.com. Run by MWCToys owner Michael Crawford, the Poppies present awards to toy and collectible companies in such categories as Best Overall Company, Eddie Wires Award for Outstanding Paint, and Best Vehicle or Playset. Further categories for figures are broken down by gender to Best Male Figure and Best Female Figure and then further broken down by scale: Under 5-inches, 5-inches to 11-inches, 12-inches to 17-inches, and 18-inches and larger.
The awards are voted on by a panel of judges picked by Crawford. These judges represent collectible companies, media outlets, toy retailers, artists, and notable collectors. Included in the 2014 judging are former DC Comics creative leader Georg Brewer, Toynami design consultant Scott Tipton, Diamond Select Toys Marketing Supervisor Zach Oat, Yodasnews.com webmaster Mark Picirilli, Entertainment Earth merchandiser Adam Pawlus, MTV Geek writer Jason Stephens, and Marvelicious Toys and Star Wars Action News podcast host Arnie Carvalho. The full list of judges can be viewed at MWCToys.com.
In addition to the expert panel of judges, MWCToys.com also offers Peoples Picks awards which have open voting. The ballot is hosted at MWCToys.com
This years list of nominees in the Peoples Picks awards are:
Best Overall Company
- 3A
- ACI
- Asmus
- Bandai / Bandai Japan
- Bif Bang Pow
- DC Collectibles
- Diamond Select
- Enterbay
- Four Horsemen
- Funko
- Gentle Giant
- Hasbro
- Hot Toys
- Jakks
- Jazwares
- Kotobukiya
- LEGO
- Mattel
- McFarlane Toys
- Mezco
- NECA
- Playmates
- Sideshow
- ThreeZero
- Weta
Best Overall Line – High End
- Batman Black & White (DC Collectibles)
- Batman (All licenses) (Hot Toys)
- DC Bombshells (DC Collectibles)
- DC Comics (Sideshow)
- DC (all lines) (Hot Toys)
- Dr. Who (Big Chief)
- Gang’s Kingdom (DAM Toys)
- G.I. Joe (Sideshow)
- The Hobbit/LOTR (Weta)
- The Hobbit/LOTR (Gentle Giant)
- Lord of the Rings (Asmus)
- Marvel (all lines) (Hot Toys)
- Marvel (all lines) (Sideshow)
- Masterpiece HD (All lines) (Enterbay)
- Robocop (Hot Toys)
- Star Wars (Sideshow)
- Star Wars Jumbo Vintage (Gentle Giant)
- Walking Dead (Gentle Giant)
Best Overall Line – Low End
- Batman Designer Series (DC Collectibles)
- Batman Animated (TNBA etc.) (DC Collectibles)
- Breaking Bad (Mezco)
- DC Multiverse (Mattel)
- Game of Thrones (Dark Horse)
- Game of Thrones (Funko)
- Gothitropolis: Ravens (Four Horsemen)
- Magic The Gathering (Funko)
- Marvel Legends (Hasbro)
- Marvel Select (Diamond Select Toys)
- Masters of the Universe Classics (Mattel)
- Outer Space Men (Four Horsemen)
- Pacific Rim (NECA)
- Planet of the Apes (NECA)
- Plants vs Zombies (Diamond Select Toys)
- Pop! Vinyl Figures (Funko)
- ReAction (Funko)
- Simpsons Celebrity Series (NECA)
- Star Wars Black (Hasbro)
- Star Wars Diecast (Disney)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (playmates)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Kid Robot)
- Transformers (Hasbro)
- Twilight Zone (BifBangPow)
- Universal Monsters (Diamond Select Toys)
- Walking Dead (Mcfarlane)
- WWE (Mattel)
Eddie Wires Award for Outstanding Paint
- Azog on Warg (Weta)
- Batista, WWE (Mattel)
- Black Widow (Gentle Giant)
- Chomper/Engineer 2 pack, Plants vs Zombies (DST)
- Clonetrooper, 501st (Sideshow)
- Elder Predator (Hot Toys)
- Gorilla Soldier (NECA)
- Harley, Batman B/W (DC Collectibles)
- Iron Man MK42 DieCast (Hot Toys)
- Kerberos Panzer Jäger (Hot Toys)
- Knifehead BD, Pacific Rim (NECA)
- Marv Sin City (DST)
- Maurice POTA (NECA)
- Robocop (Hot Toys)
- Shao Khan (PCS)
- T-800 BD (Hot Toys)
- Tyreese (McFarlane)
- Viper Predator (NECA)
Best Male Figure 18″ and up
- Batman 1989 (NECA)
- Bruce Lee (Blitzway)
- Cherno Alpha, Pacific Rim (NECA)
- Dutch, Predator (NECA)
- Godzilla (Jakks)
- Han in Stormtrooper Outfit (Jakks)
- Joker (NECA)
- Master Chief (NECA)
- Mr. Bean (Enterbay)
- Robocop (Enterbay)
- T-1000 (Enterbay)
- War Machine MKII (Play Imaginitive)
Best Male Figure (12″ – 17″)
- Batman (comic version) (Sideshow)
- Chucky (Mezco)
- Darth Vader (Sideshow)
- Diamond 3, Gangs Kingdom (DAM Toys)
- Guritz, LOTR (Asmus)
- Harry Potter (Star Ace)
- Iron Man MK42 Die Cast (Hot Toys)
- Link (Medicom)
- Probe Droid (Sideshow)
- Robocop with Chair (Hot Toys)
- Sherlock Holmes (Big Chief)
- Star-Lord, GotG (Hot Toys)
- Superman, MoS (Hot Toys)
- Tyrion, Game of Thrones (ThreeZero)
Best Male Figure (5″ – 11″)
- Amazing Spider-man 2 Spidey (Hasbro)
- Batman 1989 (NECA)
- Batman, TNBA (DC Collectibles)
- Caesar DOTPOTA (NECA)
- Captain America Stealth Suit ML (Hasbro)
- Creature from the Black Lagoon (DST)
- Drogo, GoT (Funko)
- ED-209 (NECA)
- Falcon, Marvel Select (DST)
- Garruk Wildspeaker, Magic The Gathering (Funko)
- Glen, Walking Dead (McFarlane)
- Gorilla Soldier, POTA (NECA)
- Iron Patriot (S.H. Figuarts)
- Jedi Luke, SW Black (Hasbro)
- Jetfire, Transformers (Hasbro)
- Michelangelo, TMNT (Revoltech)
- Modulok, MOTUC (Mattel)
- Mummy (Mezco)
- Riddler, Batman Designer (DC Collectibles)
- Star-Lord, GotG ML (Hasbro)
- Tyreese, Walking Dead (McFarlane)
- Viper Predator (NECA)
Best Male Figure (under 5″)
- Adam Power, Power Lords (Four Horsemen)
- Alien, ReAction (Funko)
- Arctic B.A.T., G.I. Joe (Hasbro)
- Bowser, World of Nintendo
- Darth Vader #26, SW Black (Hasbro)
- Fighter’s Guild Akavari and Pony Guar (Symbiote)
- Gremlin, Twilight Zone (BifBangPow)
- Jack Asteroid, OSM (Four Horsemen)
- Jabba’s Skiff Guard, SW Black (Hasbro)
- Kane in Spacesuit, Alien ReAction (Funko)
- L’il Gotham Batman (DC Collectibles)
- Penguin, Multiverse (Mattel)
- Snake Eyes, Artic, G.I. Joe (Hasbro)
- Super Mario (S.H. Figuarts)
Best Female Figure (over 11″)
- Avea Trotter, Monster High (Mattel)
- Baroness, G.I. Joe (Sideshow)
- Black Widow, CA:WS (Hot Toys)
- Cammy, Street Fighter (Medicom)
- Catwoman, DC Comics (Sideshow)
- Crimson (Flirty Girl)
- Domino Lady (Phicen)
- Faraway Forest Elf, Barbie (Mattel)
- Harley, DC Comics (Sideshow)
- Hit Girl, Kick Ass 2, (Medicom)
- Maleficent (Hot Toys)
- Maleficent (Disney Signature Collection)
Best Female Figure (5″ – 11″)
- Alien Queen (NECA)
- April O’Neil TMNT (Playmates)
- Arcee, Transformers (Hasbro)
- Arya Stark, GoT (Funko)
- Arya Stark, GoT (Dark Horse)
- Black Cat, Spider-Man ML (Hasbro)
- Black Widow, CA:WS ML (Hasbro)
- Catwoman, animated (DC Collectibles)
- Daenerys, Got (Dark Horse)
- Daenerys, GoT (Funko)
- Gamora, GotG ML (Hasbro)
- Lilliana Vess, Magic (Funko)
- Lucy Lawless, Simpsons (NECA)
- Maggie, Walking Dead (McFarlane)
- Mermista, MOTUC (Mattel)
- Penny, Gremlins (NECA)
- Scorpia, MOTUC (Mattel)
- Venus, Sailor Moon (S.H. Figuarts)
- Windblade, Transformers (Hasbro)
- Zira, POTA (NECA)
Best Female Figure (under 5″)
Notes: The strong female represetation continues in the smaller scale. It’s particularly nice to see it’s not just Star Wars and Joe, although they have some strong nominees as well.
- Amy Pond, Dr. Who (Character Options)
- Baroness, G.I. Joe (Hasbro)
- Catwoman, DC Multiverse (Mattel)
- Harley, DC Multiverse (Mattel)
- Lady Jaye, G.I. Joe (Hasbro)
- Ripley, Alien ReAction (Funko)
- Samus Arun, Amiibo, (Nintendo)
- Talky Tina, TZ (BifBangPow)
- Terra Firma, OSM (Four Horsemen)
- Toryn Farr, Star Wars Black (Hasbro)
- Wasp, Marvel Infinite (Hasbro)
Best Build a Figure/Collect and Connect (any size or type):
- Green Goblin, Spider-Man ML (Hasbro)
- Groot, GotG ML (Hasbro)
- Jubilee, ML (Hasbro)
- Kalibak, DCU/Super Powers (Mattel)
- Mandroid, ML (Hasbro)
- Minicon Assault Team Centuritron, Transformers (Hasbro)
Best Vehicle or Playset
- Armory, Batman (Hot Toys)
- AT-DP, Star Wars, (Hasbro)
- Batbot, RC (Imaginext)
- Batmobile, Toy Toyko Red version (Funko)
- Battle Ram, MOTUC (Mattel)
- Battle Rover (Imaginext)
- Cobra Wolf, G.I. Joe (Hasbro)
- Dragon Castle (True Legends)
- Ecto-1, Ghostbusters, (Funko)
- High Flying Blimp, TMNT (Playmates)
- Inquisitor TIE Fighter, Star Wars (Hasbro)
- Iron Man 3 Hall of Armor, House Party (Hot Toys)
- Iron Man 3 Workshop Accessories (Hot Toys)
- Millenium Falcon, Star Wars Hero (Hasbro)
- Phantom, Star Wars Rebels (Hasbro)
- Serenity 1:250 scale cutaway (Qmx)
- Slave 1, Star Wars Die Cast (Disney)
- Speeder Bike, Star Wars Black (Hasbro)
- T-Tower, Teen Titans (Jazzwares)
- X-Wing Fighter, Star Wars (Hasbro)
- Z-line Billiard Breakout, TMNT (Playmates)
Best Statue
- Azog on Warg (Weta)
- Batman Arkham City (Kotobukiya)
- Black Widow (Gentle Giant)
- Black Widow PF (Sideshow)
- Chewbacca PF (Sideshow)
- Conan (ARH)
- Harley, DC Bombshells (DC Collectibles)
- Harley, Batman B/W (DC Collectibles)
- Harley PF (Sideshow)
- He-Man (Pop Culture Shock)
- Herman Munster (Tweeterhead)
- Judge Death (Pop Culture Shock)
- King Thror, Hobbit (Weta)
- Mojo (Bowen)
- Padme Amidala (Gentle Giant)
- Rick Grimes, Walking Dead comic (McFarlane)
- Shao Khan (Pop Culture Shock)
- Superman DC Comics PF (Sideshow)
- Warframe Excalibur (Symbiote)
- Wonder Woman ArtFX (Kotobukiya)
- Yoda Ilum, Star Wars (Gentle Giant)
Best Bust
- Alien Big Chap Legendary Scale (Sideshow)
- Azog (Gentle Giant)
- Goblin King (Gentle Giant)
- Iron Man MK42 Battle Damaged (Hot Toys)
- Jek Porkins, Star Wars (Gentle Giant)
- Panzerkommandant Jürgen (Quarantine)
- Rocket Raccoon (Gentle Giant)
- Ryu, Street Fighter Life Size (Pop Culture Shock)
- Scorpion, Life Size (Pop Culture Shock)
- Sophia Stalker, Walking Dead (Gentle Giant)
Best Designer/Vinyl
- Baby Dancing Groot (Funko)
- BeeBop, TMNT (Kid Robot)
- Chariv, Rise of the Beasts, Glyos (Onell)
- Dr. Who War Beast SDCC (Titan)
- Dr. Who War Doctor SDCC (Titan)
- Elder Scrolls Online Nord (Symbiote)
- GoGo Yubari, Kill Bill (Funko)
- Gus Fring, Dead Face, Breaking Bad (Funko)
- Judge Dredd Cosplay Penguin (Blind Mouse)
- Kiora Atua, Magic (Funko)
- Sharknado, Bloody (Funko)
- Shockwave, Transformers (Loyal Subjects)
- Splinter, TMNT (Loyal Subjects)
- Sun Dad Red (RealXHead)
- Super Crayboth, Glyos (Onell)
- Tezzeret, Magic (Funko)
- White Lantern Flash (Funko)
- Yubiosu (RealXHead)
Best Prop Replica
- Batman Returns Cowl (Hollywood Collectibles)
- Breaking Bad Teddy Bear (Mezco)
- Gremlins 2 Flasher (NECA)
- Infinity Gauntlet (Hasbro)
- Larry Talbot’s Cane, Wolfman (Factory Entertainment)
- Longclaw, GoT (Valyrian Steel)
- Monkey Brains Bowl, Indiana Jones
- Predator 1 Bio Mask (Sideshow)
- Ravenclaw Diadem, Harry Potter (Noble)
- Sonic Screwdriver, Dr. Who (Rubbertoe)
- Tomenosuke Blaster Pro Edition (Hollywood Collectibles)
- Walking Dead Jail Key (McFarlane)
Best Block Figures/Building Set Series
- DC/Marvel Superheroes (Lego)
- Halo (MegaBloks)
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Ionix)
- Legends of Chima (Lego)
- Lego Movie (LEGO)
- Plants Vs Zombies Minimates (DST)
- Simpsons (Lego)
- Spongebob (MegaBloks)
- Star Wars (Lego)
- Titanfall (K’Nex)
- Transformers (Kre-o)
- Walking Dead (McFarlane)
- WWE (C3)
Best Misc
- Caesar’s Bust/DVD Case (NECA)
- Disneyvision (Disney)
- Grimlock Stomp and Chomp (Hasbro)
- ReAction Figures (Funko)
- Star Wars Command (Hasbro)
- Titanfall Collector’s Edition
- TMNT Giant Size (Jakks)
Vote now for the Peoples Picks awards at MWCToys.com
Watch the latest episode of the Star Wars collecting show Star Wars Action News
Watch the latest episode of the Marvel Comics collectible show Marvelicious Toys
SDCC Exclusive AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Posters Coming As Variant Comic Covers!
Assemble Your Own Avengers With Epic Marvel’s AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Movie Variants!
New York, NY – January 16th, 2014 – Before Earth’s Mightiest Heroes do battle against Ultron in Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1st 2015, don’t miss your chance to own a piece of the action with these epic Avengers: Age of Ultron Movie Variants in April.
Originally debuting at Comic-Con International 2014, these epic pieces of theatrical concept art by Ryan Meinerding, Charlie Wen & Andy Park combine to form one stunning image of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes locked in combat against Ultron’s massive army. Coming to eight Marvel comics in the month of April, these covers are just like the Avengers – better when assembled!
Don’t miss a single variant when they come to these exciting Marvel comics in April!
· Avengers: Ultron Forever #1 Variant Cover A
· Avengers: Ultron Forever #1 Variant Cover B
· New Avengers: Ultron Forever #1 Variant Cover A
· New Avengers: Ultron Forever #1 Variant Cover B
· Avengers #44
· Uncanny Avengers: Ultron Forever #1 Variant Cover A
· Uncanny Avengers: Ultron Forever #1 Variant Cover B
· New Avengers #33
“These epic posters were really the hit of last year’s San Diego Comic-Con,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “We’re glad that fans who attended the convention were able to get their hands on them but we’re even more excited to bring thousands of fans who may have missed this stunning image.”
Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on these hotly anticipated variant covers as they hit comic shelves through the month of April. No fan will want to miss the chance to own this stunning, epic image when the AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON MOVIE VARIANTS hit comic shops this coming April!
Several Oscar Nominated Films Reviewed by Now Playing Podcast
The Academy Award nominees have been announced, and Now Playing Podcast has reviewed (or will soon be reviewing) several nominees!
Boyhood, directed by Richard Linklater, is one of the leading films of the year. The film earned six nominations; only three films beat that number this year. The film, which Linklater filmed over a span of 12 years, is up for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Ethan Hawke), Best Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette), Best Editing, Best Director, and Best Screenplay!
Our review of is film will be posted at NowPlayingPodcast.com on Feb 10, but we start leading up to that next week! Starting January 20th we begin reviewing Linklater’s Before trilogy of films: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight — all directed by Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke.
Big Hero 6 is up for Best Animated Film. Do the Now Playing Hosts agree? That review is out now at NowPlayingPodcast.com (additionally Feast is up for Best Animated Short and we discussed that in our Big Hero 6 review as well!)
Interstellar was blocked from the big categories but did get Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Score and, most unexpectedly, Best Sound Editing and Sound Mixing (did they hear that film right???? Were the screener DVDs mixed differently??) . That review is up now in the Now Playing archives, along with every other film Christopher Nolan has reviewed!
Guardians of the Galaxy may have won top spot in the 2014 box office, but the Academy only nominated Marvel’s blockbuster film in two technical categories: Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Visual Effects. (I rewatched the film over the holidays and that the film did not get Best Costume Design is a travesty–those outfits were intricate and varied). You can hear our review of this film now!
Also nominated for Best Visual Effects were Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past, both of which we reviewed as part of our ongoing Marvel Movie Retrospective.
Now Playing Podcast donors who took part in our Spring Donation Drive also heard our review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but that review is no longer available as the donation drive has completed.
The full list of nominees for The 87th Annual Academy Awards are:
Best Picture
- American Sniper
- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- Boyhood
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Selma
- The Theory of Everything
- Whiplash
Actor in a Leading Role
- Steve Carell for Foxcatcher
- Bradley Cooper for American Sniper (Hear us discuss Cooper in our reviews of Guardians of the Galaxy and The Midnight Meat Train)
- Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game (Hear us discuss Cumberbatch in our review of Star Trek Into Darkness)
- Michael Keaton for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Hear us talk about Keaton playing a different winged hero in our reviews of Batman and Batman Returns, and he also featured in the remake of Robocop)
- Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything
Actress in a Leading Role
- Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night (Hear us review her turn as the evil Talia al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises and also her role in Christopher Nolan’s Inception)
- Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything (We discussed her blink-and-you-miss-it turn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2)
- Julianne Moore for Still Alice (We recently reviewed Moore for her role in the remake of Carrie, as well as her work in Next and Hannibal)
- Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl (Hear us discuss this former Bond Girl’s work in Die Another Day)
- Reese Witherspoon for Wild
Actor in a Supporting Role
- Robert Duvall for The Judge
- Ethan Hawke for Boyhood (Hear us discuss Hawke in the upcoming Now Playing Before Sunrise Retrospective Series, starting Jan. 20!)
- Edward Norton for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (We reviewed Norton’s work in Fight Club, plus his one-and-done turn as The Incredible Hulk)
- Mark Ruffalo for Foxcatcher (We first discussed this star of 13 Going on 30 in our review of Shutter Island, as well as his work replacing Norton as The Hulk in The Avengers and Iron Man 3)
- J.K. Simmons for Whiplash (We reviewed the Farmer’s Insurance salesman for his role of J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films)
Actress in a Supporting Role
- Patricia Arquette for Boyhood (We reviewed her first big-screen role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)
- Laura Dern for Wild
- Keira Knightly for The Imitation Game
- Emma Stone for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (We reviewed her performances in both of the Amazing Spider-Man films)
- Meryl Streep for Into the Woods
Animated Feature Film
- Big Hero 6
- The Boxtrolls
- How to Train Your Dragon 2
- Song of the Sea
- The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Cinematography
- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Ida
- Mr. Turner
- Unbroken
Costume Design
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Inherent Vice
- Into the Woods
- Maleficent
- Mr. Turner
Directing
- Alejandro G Iñárritu for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- Richard Linklater for Boyhood
- Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher
- Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game
Documentary Feature
- CitizenFour
- Finding Vivian Maier
- Last Days in Vietnam
- The Salt of the Earth
- Virunga
Documentary Short Subject
- Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
- Joanna
- Our Curse
- The Reaper (La Parka)
- White Earth
Film Editing
- American Sniper
- Boyhood
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Whiplash
Foreign Language Film
- Ida
- Leviathan
- Tangerines
- Timbuktu
- Wild Tales
Makeup and Hairstyling
- Foxcatcher
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Guardians of the Galaxy
Music – Original Score
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Interstellar
- Mr. Turner
- The Theory of Everything
Music – Original Song
- “Everything is Awesome” from The Lego Movie
- “Glory” from Selma
- “Grateful” from Beyond the Lights
- “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
- “Lost Stars” from Begin Again
Production Design
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Interstellar
- Into the Woods
- Mr. Turner
Short Film – Animated
- The Bigger Picture
- The Dam Keeper
- Feast
- Me and My Moulton
- A Single Life
Short Film – Live Action
- Aya
- Boogaloo and Graham
- Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak)
- Parveneh
- The Phone Call
Sound Editing
- American Sniper
- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Interstellar
- Unbroken
Sound Mixing
- American Sniper
- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- Interstellar
- Unbroken
- Whiplash
Visual Effects
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Interstellar
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
Writing – Adapted Screenplay
- American Sniper by Jason Hall
- The Imitation Game by Graham Moore
- Inherent Vice by Paul Thomas Anderson
- The Theory of Everything by Anthony McCarten
- Whiplash by Damien Chazelle
Writing – Original Screenplay
- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) by Alejandro G Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo
- Boyhood by Richard Linklater
- Foxcatcher by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
- The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson, Story by Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness
- Nightcrawler by Dan Gilroy
The Undead Epic Concludes in GEORGE ROMERO’S EMPIRE OF THE DEAD: ACT THREE #1!
The Undead Epic Concludes in
GEORGE ROMERO’S EMPIRE OF THE DEAD: ACT THREE #1!
The Final Chapter Begins This April!
When the dead fight the dead, where does that leave the living? That’s the question as the legendary George Romero unleashes the final chapter in his new undead epic in GEORGE ROMERO’S EMPIRE OF THE DEAD: ACT THREE #1! Debuting in April, it’s zombies vs. vampires – with the desperate, last surviving humans caught in the crossfire! Writer George Romero and artist Andrea Mutti bring you the closing saga in the epic war between living and dead!
Welcome back to NYC, years after the horrifying plague has swept the nation. The Big Apple is a quarantine zone – but that doesn’t guarantee safety! There are predators within the walls. Vampires lurk in the shadows preying on the living and the undead alike. But with the zombies seemingly growing smarter each and every day, the war between the two dead factions begins heating up!
“Romero understands the wide possibilities of the comic format and has used it to tell his biggest, most epic story to date,” says series Editor Jake Thomas. “In this final chapter the narrative bomb he’s been carefully constructing under Empire of the Dead’s Manhattan goes off with a bang! There are dangers coming from all sides, no one is safe, and blood will flow. It’s everything an undeadhead would want from the Godfather of Zombies himself, George Romero!”
Meanwhile, who is kidnapping the children of NYC? Where are they taking them and why? The future of Manhattan and humanity itself may rest in the answers! Don’t miss this excellent jumping on point when the zombie godfather and horror visionary’s next undead epic reaches its climactic chapter in April’s GEORGE ROMERO’S EMPIRE OF THE DEAD: ACT THREE #1!
GEORGE ROMERO’S EMPIRE OF THE DEAD: ACT THREE #1
Written by GEORGE ROMERO
Art by ANDREA MUTTI
Cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
On-Sale in April!
Lou Ferrigno’s “Liberator” Now Available on YouTube
FERRIGNO’S “LIBERATOR” RELEASED ON YOUTUBE
Award-Winning Short Film Features “Super” Geek Cast
Los Angeles, CA, January 14, 2015—There’s a new superhero in town — and chances are, you’ll like him when he’s angry. LIBERATOR, an 18-minute short film/presentation pilot, stars “The Incredible Hulk” star Lou Ferrigno, returning to superheroics to play an aging, disgraced ex-superhero turned whistleblower. After a successful festival/Comic-Con run followed by six months on iTunes and Amazon streaming, LIBERATOR is now available for the world to see in HD courtesy of YouTube.
LIBERATOR stars a panoply of uber-geek luminaries: Peta Wilson (“La Femme Nikita”), Michael Dorn (Worf from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), kickboxing legend Don “The Dragon” Wilson (“Bloodfist”) and the legendary Ed Asner (“Up”) as the President. LIBERATOR mixes a timely, gritty story about taking a stand against government corruption — and the resulting blowback — with a very human subplot of a father desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Fear not — there’s a big dollop of superhero action on top. Ferrigno goes deep here, surprising many with the performance of a lifetime, winning a Best Actor statuette from Cinerockom Film Festival in the process. The film also drew the attention of geek news sites like Ain’t It Cool News and many others, as well as national outlets USA Today, Yahoo! News, and Huffington Post, who called LIBERATOR “a perfect storm of awesomeness.”
“I play a government agent who takes the fall for a bad situation, and finally he decides to blow the whistle and write a book,” says Ferrigno. “Being a police officer myself—being a deputy sheriff—I think leaking classified information is wrong. But the Constitution protects freedom of speech. (Edward) Snowden felt he had to speak out. It’s the same thing with my character. Some people see him as a hero, others a traitor.”
Says Director Aaron Pope (MY HAUNTED HOUSE), “I’m really so thrilled that LIBERATOR is now going to be available free, worldwide. Our tagline is ‘truth is worth fighting for,’ and never has that statement been more true than right now. If putting our movie out there now helps anyone anywhere realize the value in fighting for what’s right, it’s well worth it. And hey, if people just want to enjoy a bit of superhero fun at the same time, they can do that too.”
LIBERATOR’s success also led to a 2-shot LIBERATOR comic book series as well as graphic novelization from Bluewater Comics. Producers Coverage Ink Films (www.coverageinkfilms.com) hope that the film’s YouTube release will interest people around the world in seeing more of Liberator. “We’d love to continue the adventures, whether it’s as a feature, webisodes or TV,” says LIBERATOR executive producer Jim Cirile. “Producer Tom DeSanto (X-MEN, TRANSFORMERS) said it best — ‘I encourage everyone to take to the social media and do whatever you can to promote (LIBERATOR), because I want to see what happens next.’ Thanks, Tom!”
WATCH LIBERATOR NOW: www.liberatormovie.com
Other links:
www.facebook.com/liberatormovie
www.twitter.com/liberatormovie
http://www.youtube.com/liberatormovie
VIDEO GAMES: THE MOVIE from Anchor Bay Entertainment and Amplify — Get your game on February 3rd on DVD!
ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT AND AMPLIFY PRESENT
VIDEO GAMES: THE MOVIE
AVAILABLE ON DVD ON FEBRUARY 3rd
Executive Produced By Zach Braff, Video Games: The Movie Features Gamer And Geek Icons Chris Hardwick, Donald Faison, Wil Wheaton, And More!
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Anchor Bay Entertainment and Amplify present Jeremy Snead’s VIDEO GAMES: THE MOVIE, the fascinating chronicle of the meteoric rise of video games from nerd niche to multi-billion dollar industry. Executive produced by Zach Braff (Garden State, “Scrubs”) and narrated by Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), the documentary features in-depth interviews with some of the industry’s biggest gamer and geek icons. A celebration of gaming from Atari to Xbox, as well as an eye-opening look at what lies ahead, VIDEO GAMES: THE MOVIE will be available on DVD on February 3, 2015 for an SRP of $22.98.
VIDEO GAMES: THE MOVIE features interviews with the godfathers who started it all, the icons of game design, and the geek gurus who are leading us into the future, including Nolan Bushnell (Atari, Inc.), Chris Hardwick (The Nerdist Podcast), Donald Faison (Kick-Ass 2, “Scrubs”), Cliff Bleszinski (“Gears of War,” “Unreal”), Warren Spector (“Deus Ex,” “System Shock”), Hiroyuki Kobayashi (“Resident Evil”), Clare Grant (Danger Maiden Productions, Team Unicorn), Doug Tennapel (“Earthworm Jim”), Palmer Luckey (Oculus Rift), Wil Wheaton (Stand By Me, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), and Alison Haislip (“Attack of the Show”). The documentary made its way to the big screen via a successfully-funded Kickstarter campaign, which raised more than $100,000 in just 35 days.
VIDEO GAMES: THE MOVIE DVD special features include a Sean Astin mashup and Why We Love Games featurette.
VIDEO GAMES: THE MOVIE DVD
Street February 3, 2015
Pre-book: December 31, 2014
Catalog #: DV62685
UPC: 01313262685780
Run time: 101 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
SRP: $22.98
Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Rumor: Ant-Man Marvel Legends Figure to be Walgreens Exclusive?
Could the next Walgreens exclusive Hasbro Marvel Legends figure be Ant-Man? Read on for why this now seems likely.
Two bits of news came to us two days apart. Taken separately they mean nothing, but put together a pattern seems to form.
First we received an inside tip from a HYDRA Agent at Walgreens. The Agent sent a screenshot showing that the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron Marvel Legends figures, the ones with the Odin Build-A-Figure, are now in the Walgreens system. More interesting, though, is that there were eight individual UPC codes as shown in the below image:
This new wave of Marvel Legends is slated to have seven figures: Iron Fist, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, Thor, Sentry, Scarlet Witch, and Machine Man. As these figures ship in cases of eight the standard case will have two of the in-demand classic Hawkeye figure.
I was confused as to what the eighth UPC could be, until Walgreens Toy Buyer Steven Anne tweeted:
2015 – An irredeemable year for action figures. Perhaps also electrifying? Am I doing this blind news correctly?
— Steven Anne (@stevenganne) January 2, 2015
As Ant-Man’s 2006 Comic was titled Irredeemable Ant-Man it is likely that Anne may be hinting at an exclusive of the figure tying into this summer’s upcoming film.
Rumors of an Ant-Man Marvel Legends figure have been swirling on social media recently, though there was no consensus on if there would be only one Ant-Man figure or an entire Ant-Man themed wave of Marvel Legends. The rumors were consistent in that the figure(s) would be an exclusive, with some indicating Target as the retailer who would carry it.
While confirmation will likely come at next month’s Toy Fair International, it seems likely now that Ant-Man will be a Walgreens exclusive.
Walgreens is a new retailer to carry exclusive Hasbro collectible figures. They started in 2014 with Agent Venom in the Marvel Legends line as well as a Boba Fett figure in the 6-inch Star Wars Black Series line.
Given that Anne’s tweet also mentions “electryfying” speculation has already begun that it may reference another Star Wars exclusive figure as well. (Let the speculation begin–an electrified Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker from the end of Return of the Jedi?)
We will keep you updated for the information!
For news on Marvel Legends figures follow Marvelicious Toys on Facebook and Twitter, and watch for Toy Fair coverage on the video podcast at http://marvelicioustoys.com
For news on Star Wars figures follow Star Wars Action News on Facebook and Twitter. We will also be covering Toy Fair news on our show at http://swactionnews.com
The Dead Zone
After the box office success of Carrie and The Shining move movies based on Stephen King’s writings were a guarantee. And following in the footsteps of Brian DePalma and Stanley Kubrick came other stylistic directors, including John Carpenter, Rob Reiner, and David Cronenberg–director of The Dead Zone. Starring Christopher Walken as a psychic trying to stop nuclear war, the film continued King’s success in theaters. Does the film hold up over thirty years later? You don’t have to see the future to know–just listen to this episode of Now Playing to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPP045-King-DeadZone.mp3
FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES ACQUIRES NOAH BAUMBACH’S “MISTRESS AMERICA”
FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES ACQUIRES
NOAH BAUMBACH’S “MISTRESS AMERICA”
STARRING GRETA GERWIG AND
INTRODUCING LOLA KIRKE
Specialty Arm Acquires Worldwide Rights to Comedy, Financed by RT Features
LOS ANGELES, CA January 9, 2015 – Fox Searchlight Pictures Presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula announced today that the company has acquired worldwide rights to the comedy MISTRESS AMERICA, starring Golden Globe nominated Greta Gerwig and newcomer Lola Kirke. Directed by Oscar nominated Noah Baumbach and written by Baumbach and Gerwig, the film is produced by Baumbach, Scott Rudin, Lila Yacoub, Rodrigo Teixera, and Gerwig. The film will have its world premiere at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival and is scheduled to be released in 2015.
“Noah’s distinct cinematic voice and keen sense of humor are an ideal fit for what we do at Searchlight. We are thrilled to be working with Noah and Greta and couldn’t be more excited to be taking their new collaboration to audiences,” said Gilula and Utley.
“We’re so excited about Noah’s film, and Fox Searchlight as its distributor is just the perfect match,” said RT Features’ Rodrigo Teixera.
In MISTRESS AMERICA, Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig) – a resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town – she is rescued from her disappointment and seduced by Brooke’s alluringly mad schemes.
The deal was brokered by Fox Searchlight’s Executive Vice President of Worldwide Acquisitions, Tony Safford, Senior Vice President of Business Affairs Megan O’Brien and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions & Co-Productions Ray Strache, and UTA Independent Film Group, which represented the filmmakers and arranged the film’s financing.
Since 2008, RT Features has been focused on developing, producing and financing international projects such as FRANCES HA by Noah Baumbach, LOVE IS STRANGE by Ira Sachs and the next project from James Gray. In 2014, RT announced a venture with Sikelia Productions, launching a fund to finance and produce projects by emerging filmmakers.
Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both finances and acquires motion pictures. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of 20th Century Fox Film.
Deadpool Number 250 Puts the DEAD in DEADPOOL!
Deadpool Number 250 Puts the DEAD in DEADPOOL!
The Death of Deadpool and All-Star Creators in April’s DEADPOOL #45
New York, NY—January 9th, 2014— That’s right – if you add together all the Deadpool series (creatively), April’s DEADPOOL #45 marks Wade Wilson’s landmark 250th issue! How will he be celebrating? DEATH! No, really. Wade’s about to reach the end of the line, but he’s not gone yet. Prepare for a colossal-sized series finale the likes of which you’ve never seen before as Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn and more bid the Merc With a Mouth adieu, and explore the legacy he leaves behind.
First, Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn and Mike Hawthorne serve up a 30-page main story as, the villainous Ultimatum finally makes their move. They’re coming at Deadpool for revenge – all of them! And we mean ALL OF THEM. It’s going to be a bloodbath, but Wade’s not going down without a fight though.
“This is something we’ve been naturally building towards,” says writer Gerry Duggan speaking with Marvel.com. “This isn’t being done lightly. It always comes down to what we think is right and Marvel has been very king and gracious with us and let us get away with murder: in a literal sense.”
“I have no problem telling you I’ve always wanted to kill Deadpool and not just kill him but kill him in the way that we are killing him.”
Then – Gerry, Brian and Scott Koblish bring you a long lost, full-length Deadpool tale. Remember that time Deadpool got a hold of the Infinity Gauntlet? No? Don’t worry – we’re going to tell you. And yes, you should be very worried that Deadpool now has control over space, time and reality. First order of business? Summoning the entire Marvel Universe for the Roast of Deadpool.
Finally – a killer (pun intended) line-up of celebrities, comedians and friends of ol’ Wade have come to pay tribute to the Merc With a Mouth. Cap off Wade’s final adventure with new stories from Paul Scheer & Nick Giovannetti (Deadpool Bi-Annual), Scott Aukerman (Comedy Bang Bang), Ben Acker & Ben Blacker (Thunderbolts, Thrilling Adventure Hour), Jason Mantzoukas (The League), Mike Drucker (The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon) and more!
Sure, Wade may be meeting his end. But he’s poised for a grand sendoff the likes of which have never been seen before. No fan can afford to skip this can’t miss lineup of creators as the Merc With a Mouth meets his maker in the massive 250th issue – DEADPOOL #45, on-sale in April! Plus, check out Marvel.com on Monday for the full interview with Gerry Duggan and Deadpool Editor Jordan D. White!
DEADPOOL NUMBER 250 (a.k.a. DEADPOOL #45)
Written by GERRY DUGGAN, BRIAN POSEHN, BEN ACKER,
BEN BLACKER, NICK GIOVANETTI, PAUL SCHEER, JASON MANTZOUKAS,
MIKE DRUCKER & MORE
Art by MIKE HAWTHORNE, SCOTT KOBLISH & MORE
Cover by SCOTT KOBLISH
DEATH OF DEADPOOL VARIANT BY TONY MOORE
On-Sale in April!
Do 100 Variant Covers Mean Free Copies of Marvel’s Star Wars #1?
Will Marvel’s Star Wars #1 end up as a free giveaway at comic stores and cons across the country?
Marvel does their incentive covers, such as “For every 150 copies of the base cover you order, you can also order 1 of this variant cover.” THIS is why Marvel’s Star Wars #1 has sold more than one million copies.
Understand, saying one million copies are sold does not mean one million fans bought it. It means stores, often small-business local comic shops, bought one million copies…and given that so much of it was for the over 100 variant and incentive covers that means stores are ordering boxes full of comics they may never sell.
I have no doubt the first Star Wars comic from Marvel in 30 years will sell very well. It will have a huge sell-through…but one million copies seems unrealistic in today’s comic book market. Star Wars author and comic historian John Jackson Miller reported at his site Comichron the last comic to have over a million copies ordered was likely Batman #500. For perspective, that was in 1993 just before the comic market collapsed.
I really suspect that retailers are going to end up sitting on thrones of unopened boxes of Star Wars #1. At cons, free comic day, and more, I think Star Wars fans will see these comics sitting out.
I’m not worried about local comic shops losing their shirts on this deal. The reason incentive and variant covers carry such a high price tag is because the stores factor in the cost of ordering so many extra comics that may never sell. From increased interest in the title at all, the headlines (such as this one) promoting its release, and the obscene number of variant covers, Star Wars #1 will sell well. This is great news for ailing local comic stores.
Yet I still envision the lost ark from Raiders surrounded by crates and crates of unsold copies of Marvel’s new Star Wars #1.
So if you really aren’t in a hurry and don’t care what cover you get of Marvel’s Star Wars #1…I’d suggest keep your wallets in your pocket and just wait. Deep discount at a MINIMUM; boxes of them for pennies on the cover price dollar. Maybe even stacks of freebees.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.
Announcement – Disney’s Big Hero 6 Arrives on DMA 02/03 and Blu-ray 02/24
From the studio that brought you “Frozen” and “Wreck-It Ralph” comes Disney’s “Big Hero 6” on Digital HD/ Disney Movies Anywhere February 3rd and Blu-ray™ Combo Pack on February 24th! Exciting bonus features include the theatrical short “Feast” as well as a host of deleted scenes and extras.
Own It Early on Digital HD/Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) February 3, 2015
Bring It Home on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack on February 24, 2015
From Walt Disney Animation Studios (“Frozen,” “Wreck-It Ralph”), Disney’s “Big Hero 6” introduces you to a lovable robot who will change your world. Join Baymax (voice of Scott Adsit) and Hiro Hamada (voice of Ryan Potter) in a comic adventure that will make your heart soar as they learn about teamwork and becoming more than you thought you could be.
With all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Big Hero 6” is an action-packed comedy adventure that introduces Baymax, a lovable, personal companion robot, who forms a special bond with robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada. When a devastating turn of events catapults them into the midst of a dangerous plot unfolding in the streets of San Fransokyo, Hiro turns to Baymax and his diverse group of friends — adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred — who transform into a band of unlikely heroes. Bring home Disney’s “Big Hero 6,” featuring comic-book-style action and hilarious, unforgettable characters — it’s fun for the whole family!
Pre-order it now at Amazon.com!
EXEC. PRODUCER: John Lasseter (“Toy Story,” “Cars”)
PRODUCER: Roy Conli (“Tangled,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”)
DIRECTORS: Don Hall (“The Emperor’s New Groove,” “The Princess and the Frog”)
Chris Williams (“Bolt,” “The Emperor’s New Groove”)
VOICE TALENT: Ryan Potter (“Save the Date”) as Hiro Himada, Scott Adsit (TV’s “30 Rock”) as Baymax, Jamie Chung (TV’s “Once Upon A Time”) as Go Go Tomago, Damon Wayans, Jr. (“Let’s Be Cops,” TV’s “New Girl”) as Wasabi, Genesis Rodriguez (“Identity Theft”) as Honey Lemon, T.J. Miller (“Silicon Valley”) as Fred, Maya Rudolph (“Bridesmaids”) as Aunt Cass, James Cromwell (“The Green Mile”) as Professor Robert Callaghan, Alan Tudyk (TV’s “Suburgatory”) as Alistair Krei and Daniel Henney (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) as Tadashi Hamada.
SCREENPLAY: Jordan Roberts (“March of the Penguins”), Daniel Gerson (“Monsters University”), Robert L. Baird (“Monsters University”)
COMPOSER: Henry Jackman (“The Dark Knight”)
RELEASE DATES: Digital HD & 3D on February 3, 2015
Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital SD, DVD and On-Demand on Feburary 24, 2015
PRODUCTS: Digital HD/3D/SD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On-Demand
BONUS: Digital HD/3D/SD*, Blu-ray Combo Pack & Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA)
· FEAST Theatrical Short
· The Origin Story of “Big Hero 6”: Hiro’s Journey (hosted by Jamie Chung, voice of Go Go Tomago) – Join the team behind the team that brought Big Hero 6 to the big screen as they travel on research trips to Tokyo and San Francisco and go behind the scenes of this epic film. Explore everything comic-book about Big Hero 6, from director Don Hall’s passion for comics to the story’s roots in a lesser known Marvel property. We’ll talk to Marvel’s Joe Quesada and Jeph Loeb, who were consultants on the film, to learn what makes a good comic-book story, and how these devices were used to help create Disney’s “Big Hero 6.”
· Big Animator 6: The Characters Behind the Characters – Join the six lead animators of Big Hero 6 as they talk about each of the characters and how they came to be the heroes they are now.
· Deleted Scenes (intro by Directors Don Hall & Chris Williams) – Includes two alternate openings and more.
· Big Hero Secrets (Easter Egg) – The movie is filled with Easter Eggs, and this Buzzfeed-type list piece will give you a sampling of some of the hidden treasures in the film. See if you can find this Easter Egg about Easter Eggs! (BLU-RAY ONLY)
· Gag Animations (intro by Directors Don Hall & Chris Williams) – For fun, animators made alternate versions of scenes they were working on and threw them into the mix at review sessions. The directors will present some of these gags for the first time to the public in this piece. (DMA ONLY)
· Beatmax – Check out some of Baymax’s greatest lines auto-tuned like you’ve never heard before. (DMA ONLY)
DVD:
· FEAST Theatrical Short
· Big Animator 6: The Characters Behind the Characters
· “Big Hero 6” Theatrical Teaser
*Digital bonus offerings may vary by retailer
FEATURE RUN TIME: Approximately 102 min.
RATING: Feature Film: PG in U.S.; PG in CE; G in CF (Additional Bonus Features Not Rated)
ASPECT RATIO: Blu-ray Feature Film = 1080p High Definition / 2.39:1
DVD Feature Film = 2.39:1
AUDIO: Blu-ray = 5.1 DTS
DVD = 5.1 Dolby
LANGUAGES: English, French & Spanish
SUBTITLES: English SDH, French & Spanish
ABOUT DISNEY MOVIES ANYWHERE (DMA):
Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) is an engaging and family-friendly cloud-based digital movie service that makes it simple to buy your favorite Disney, Pixar and Marvel movies once and watch them anywhere. With DMA you can explore Disney’s library of over 400 eligible digital movies, discover hours of new and exclusive short-form content, and watch your digital movies from the comfort of the living room or across multiple mobile devices. In addition, you can redeem Digital Copy codes found in Disney, Pixar and Marvel Blu-rays and DVDs, as well as earn Disney Movie Rewards points with every digital purchase. Sign up and access Disney Movies Anywhere for free on DisneyMoviesAnywhere.com and through the Disney Movies Anywhere iOS and Android apps. Users can then simply connect their iTunes, Google Play and/or VUDU at VUDU.com/DMA accounts to begin enjoying their Disney, Pixar, and Marvel digital movie collections across platforms and devices.
Rob Reiner’s classic romantic comedy “The Sure Thing” 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray arrives on home ent. shelves March 24, 2015
Rob Reiner’s Classic 1985 Romantic Comedy
30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION BLU-RAY™
Starring John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Viveca Lindfors and Nicollette Sheridan
Arrives on Home Entertainment Shelves March 24, 2015
From Shout! Factory
Let’s shift the year 2015 into gear and take a ride down the memory lane with Walter “Gib” Gibson and Alison Bradbury from the quintessential 80’s romantic comedy THE SURE THING, directed by celebrated filmmaker Rob Reiner and executive produced by Henry Winkler. The film stars John Cusack (Say Anything…, High Fidelity), Daphne Zuniga (Spaceballs, One Tree Hill), Viveca Lindfors (Stargate) as Professor Taub and introducing Nicollette Sheridan (Spy Hard). On March 24, 2015, Shout! Factory will release THE SURE THING 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray™ on home entertainment shelves. Available for the first time on Blu-ray™, this special anniversary edition is a must have for movie collectors and fans of raucously funny road trips, red-hot romantic comedies and romps through 80’s angst. THE SURE THING 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray is priced to own at $24.97 SRP.
When college student Walter Gibson (Cusack) gets set up for a date with an incredibly gorgeous blonde (Nicollette Sheridan in her film debut), he’s ready to go to the ends of the earth — or at least across the country — to capitalize on this “sure thing.” Paired up with tightly-wound coed Alison Bradbury (Zuniga) via the campus ride-share program, he heads west for Los Angeles. But as the obstacles begin to pile up, he and Alison begin to form an unexpected bond… and soon Gib must choose between the sure thing and the real thing.
THE SURE THING 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray™
Special Features:
• Commentary with director Rob Reiner
• Road to The Sure Thing
• Casting The Sure Thing
• Reading The Sure Thing
• Dressing The Sure Thing
• Theatrical Trailer
1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.78:1)/DTS HD Master Audio
Color/1985/Running Time +/- 95 minutes
Ultron Unleashed In Your New Look at AVENGERS: RAGE OF ULTRON OGN!
Ultron Unleashed In Your New Look at AVENGERS: RAGE OF ULTRON OGN!
Superstars Rick Remender & Jerome Opena Reunite For Epic Original Graphic Novel
Two generations of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes rise to the challenge and come face-to-face with the Avengers greatest villain in AVENGERS: RAGE OF ULTRON, the can’t miss original graphic novel coming to comic shops and book stores this April! New York Times bestselling writer Rick Remender (Uncanny Avengers, Uncanny X-Force) re-teams with critically acclaimed artists and frequent collaborator Jerome Opeña (Avengers, Uncanny X-Force) to take heroes old and new to the brink of destruction in a story that will redefine Ultron and have long reaching effects for the Avengers!
Time and again, Ultron has reformed himself. Each time more vicious and destructive than the last. Today, he has returned, unleashing his destructive fury upon Saturn’s moon Titan – home of the superpowered race of Eternals and birthplace of Thanos the Mad. With the Eternals decimated, and Ultron gaining complete control over Titan’s central computer core, there is nothing to stop Planet Ultron!
“The Avengers mostly contend either with the foes of their individual members, such as Loki, or teams of villains such as the Masters of Evil,” says SVP, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort. “But as a group, they have only two discrete villains of note: Kang and Ultron. So whenever you embark on a story featuring either of them, it needs to be a very strong and important story indeed. AVENGERS: RAGE OF ULTRON is such a story, both going back to the formative days of Ultron’s existence, and also transforming him in a manner that can’t help but impact upon future stories. Plus, he’s a whole planet!”
With an entire planet bending to his will, nothing will stand in his quest to obliterate the Earth and his makers. What hope do the Avengers stand against an entire planet of Ultron robots? Even with the aid of Starfox and the Eternals, the battle is still all but lost.
Only Ultron’s creator Hank Pym holds the secret to defeating his unhinged creation. A secret that dates back to the Avengers of a bygone era. A secret that comes with a terrible price…
Debuting in a high-end, oversized format, Avengers: Rage of Ultron marks another entry in Marvel’s stunning OGN line, featuring the world’s most popular characters brought to life by the best creators in the industry. You will not want to miss one of the biggest, boldest stories of the year when AVENGERS: RAGE OF ULTRON OGN explodes into comic shops this April!
AVENGERS: RAGE OF ULTRON OGN (DEC140948)
Written by RICK REMENDER
Art by JEROME OPEÑA
FOC – 01/05/15, On-Sale – 04/01/15
Ocean’s Thirteen
“You think we need one more? You think we need one more. All right, we’ll get one more.” That quote, from 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven, seems like it could be the attitude going into Steven Soderberg’s star studded third and final installment in the Ocean’s series. The gang has now teamed up with former enemy Terry Benedict to rob a different Vegas casino. As an attempt to end the series on a high note, did this film hit the jackpot? Listen to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPO1104.mp3
Stephen King’s The Stand Revisited in Books & Nachos Multi-Part Podcast Series
For more than a year the above-pictured copy of The Stand has been my constant companion.
The way Mel Gibson’s character in Conspiracy Theory never when anywhere without his copy of Catcher in the Rye, wherever I went this paperback, becoming ever-more battered and torn, went with me.
For this copy was the first of three versions of King’s seminal fantasy novel that I read in 2014. This copy contained the text found in King’s 1980 paperback printing of the book, which varied slightly from the original 1978 hardcover and the 1990 “Complete and Uncut” version of the novel.
It was in this book that I took my primary plot notes on the novel, writing on the pages with pen and highlighter. Then as I next read the 1990 revised Stand, and then the 1978 hardcover version, it was this paperback I constantly returned to for comparison.
Now I can put this book in a drawer for my review of Stephen King’s The Stand is complete and starting the afternoon of Monday, January 5th, 2015, you can hear it at BooksAndNachos.com.
The Stand is an epic tale broken down into three books, as well as a prologue and an epilogue. Likewise my podcast review will be broken into multiple parts and released one per day during this week. (Though the review of The Stand will be released in fewer parts, and have a shorter run-time, than the sum of all 20 reviews for the short stories in King’s Night Shift collection).
Leaving this book behind is bittersweet. While I have enjoyed spending so much time in King’s post-apocalyptic universe I’m also really happy to finish this, the most difficult and involved review I’ve ever done.
I hope you’ll join me for it!
While you wait for the Books & Nachos review of The Stand, you can hear our review of the TV Mini-series posted now at Now Playing Podcast’s web site.
New Trailer : BUDDY HUTCHINS starring Jamie Kennedy
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Named one of Wicked Channel’s Top 25 Films of 2014, Buddy Hutchins features Jamie Kennedy (Scream, TVs Ghost Whisperer) as you’ve never seen him before!
Pre-Order Alert: Hot Toys 1/6 Scale Darth Vader
Hot Toys’ newest 1/6 scale Star Wars figure is up for pre-order now: Darth Vader.
Darth Vader is one of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars saga and has frequently been regarded as one of the greatest villains in cinema history. Following the release of “The Circle is Now Complete’ teaser earlier last month, Star Wars fans have already been eagerly waiting for the official reveal of the Sith Lord!
And now Hot Toys is welcoming fans to the dark side and officially introduce the highly-detailed and amazingly-crafted Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope: 1/6th scale Darth Vader Collectible Figure complete with the Sith Lord’s iconic breathing sound effects and LED lighted functions!
The movie-accurate collectible figure is specially crafted based on the image of Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope! It features a sophisticatedly-crafted Darth Vader armor and helmet, specially tailored suit, built-in sound effect function with Darth Vader’s breathing sound, LED-lighted lightsaber and belt, a finely-made Interrogator Droid, and a specially designed figure stand.
Embrace the dark side and add the infamous Dark Lord of the Sith to your Star Wars collection!
The figure comes with 9 interchangeable hands, a LED lit lightsaber, a special figure stand, and an Interrogator droid!
Continue your 1/6 Scale Hot Toys figure collection by ordering Darth Vader now from Sideshow Collectibles!
Is this an improvement over Sideshow’s own 1/6 scale Darth Vader? Let us know in the comments below!
Ocean’s Twelve
Director Steven Soderbergh won big with his Vegas film Ocean’s 11. So three years later he decided to double down, getting back the whole cast from the first film, including Clooney, Pitt, Damon, and Cheadle, and adding to it Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bruce Willis, and several more for a sequel Ocean’s 12. No longer based in Vegas, the crew globe-hops in an attempt to steal a Fabergé egg. Did Soderbergh’s bet pay off the second time around, or did he push his luck too far? Join Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob to find out!
Arnie C: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPO1103.MP3
Frank Oz returns as the voice of Yoda in the all-new Star Wars Rebels episode
Frank Oz returns as the voice of Yoda in the all-new Star Wars Rebels episode,
“Path of the Jedi!”
Recognizing it’s time for Ezra to undertake his next important step in Jedi training, Kanan and his apprentice quest for an ancient Jedi Temple on Lothal. Once there, Ezra begins a series of Jedi tests and receives some unexpected guidance from Jedi Master Yoda.
Frank Oz was interviewed about his portrayal of Yoda. Read it below!
Watch a clip from REBELS below!
The Hobbit – The Battle of the Five Armies – A Podcast Preview
The Battle of the Five Armies may only have been about 50 pages in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit but it is the focus of Peter Jackson’s third and final Hobbit film. It’s elves and humans versus dwarves and orcs, with a few special surprises thrown in! How does the Battle of Five Armies compare to the Battle for Middle Earth in Return of the King, and were three films warranted to tell the story from one novel? DONATE TO SUPPORT NOW PLAYING and you can listen and find out as Jakob, Stuart, and Arnie complete their Lord of the Rings Bonus Retrospective Series!
: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLOTR06TEASE.MP3
Movie Review: The Interview
It’s discussed as if it is the most important film of 2014. Hell, from all the headlines some may think it’s the most important movie of all time.
That movie is, of course, The Interview, and its controversial plot involving the assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
The lore around this film’s release is great, and yet muddied. It is supposedly the motive behind one of the largest cyberattacks in history–a massive breach of Sony Pictures’ network. This hack has led to private e-mails being leaked and several films hitting bittorrent weeks before theaters. Debate raged on if the media should cover the contents of these leaked files.
The FBI has claimed North Korea is the group behind the hacks, yet there is compelling evidence that others may in fact be responsible, and The Interview‘s North Korea plot simply a red herring.
Then the hackers threatened physical attacks if The Interview was released and theater chains like AMC to refused to show the film. With few movie houses still willing to screen the film Sony cancelled the release, and suddenly this movie became about more than just dick jokes–it was about freedom of speech! Indignant tweets were issued, and even President Obama weighed in calling Sony’s move a “mistake.”
Thus it has been hailed as a triumph of creativity that Sony reversed its decision. On Christmas Day The Interview will be shown at independent theaters nationwide. More, starting December 24, The Interview was available for purchase or rent from Google Play or YouTube (though the Google-only release made this film only slightly less difficult for me to watch, having only an Apple TV and a TiVo hooked up to my home theater; this guide helped greatly).
But now that the film is out, available to rent in your home, a far more fundamental question must be asked–will everyone who has decried the film’s cancellation watch it?
Of course taken in the context of the national conversation there is no way a lighthearted comedy like The Interview could hold up. As an apotheosis for freedom of expression The Interview is lacking, and that should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the oeuvres of the film’s stars James Franco and Seth Rogen.
So tonight I watched this movie and stripped away all thought of the brouhaha surrounding its release to review the film on its own merits.
The story surrounds TV talk-show host Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapaport (Seth Rogen). When it’s uncovered that their show Skylark Tonight is a favorite of Kim Jong-un’s the duo schedule an interview with the reclusive leader. Yet the simple fluff piece becomes deadly serious when Skylark and rapaport are approached by CIA Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) drafting the two to assassinate the dictator.
Despite its pseudo-political plot, The Interview is not revolutionary. This is the second film co-directed by Rogen and his longtime collaborator Evan Goldberg, and it follows very much in the style and one of their first feature This is the End. Both films are about single guys in above their heads, and so as expected, The Interview movie has more dick jokes than political statements–it’s a film that plays to the stars’ fan base without expanding their appeal.
It’s telling that the movie is strongest in its first act when it is firmly planted in the United States, Franco having “revealing” interviews with Eminem and Rob Lowe. Lampooning celebrity culture was the backbone of This is the End, and is obviously an area where Rogen and Goldberg feel comfortable.
Additionally the chemistry between the two leads is infectious. Rogen and Franco have worked together for over a decade since the Judd Apatow series Freaks and Geeks (a series in which Caplan also had a recurring role) and they play off each other very well. It’s fun to watch them on screen together discussing “stink dick” and I would have watched an entire comedy revolving around the antics on Skylark Tonight.
But once the duo arrive in North Korea the movie starts to lose its footing. The bromance between the two leads hits the rocks when Skylark begins to go rogue and bond with Kim, played by Randall Park. Park is the true weak link in the film; his performance never carries any gravitas, thus undermining the importance of his role as a rogue dictator with an arsenal of nuclear weapons. More, Franco and Park never show a hint of the chemistry we saw with Franco and Rogen, and the scenes between the TV personality and the dictator drag.
The longer the movie runs the less funny it became, and at a nearly 2-hour runtime The Interview came very close to overstaying its welcome. The last twenty minutes are painfully unfunny save for some extreme violence. The film did have a good number of laughs, they just were all packed into the first hour.
So no, there is nothing in this film to rally around. I suspect that once audiences can actually see the movie they’ll quickly forget the circumstances surrounding its release. But for fans of the Apatow level of stoner and sex humor, there’s enough here that I give The Interview a mild recommend.
It’s a major victory for freedom of speech, but a very, very minor one for the cast and crew who made The Interview.
5 Now Playing episodes to stream while waiting for Santa
It’s December 24. You’ve already watched Scrooged and Christmas Vacation, and the only holiday options left on Netflix are Santa Paws and those ABC Family Christmas movies where Melissa Joan Hart falls in love with Mario Lopez.
It’s not all bad. Turn off the TV and turn up some classic episodes of Now Playing Podcast. If your relatives complain (or ask what a podcast is) just tell them these shows are holiday-themed. That’ll keep them quiet, and keep you entertained until TBS starts showing A Christmas Story at 8.
Here are 5 Now Playing episodes to stream while waiting for Santa:
That guy was also in a James Bond movie.
Does Die Hard get three recommends? The answer is obvious, but the episode is engaging for its scene-by-scene comparisons to the film’s source material; Roderick Thorp’s “Nothing Lasts Forever.” The Die Hard Retrospective Series also includes a review of Frank Sinatra’s The Detective (the first appearance of Thorp’s hero, Joe Leland) and gets better as the films get worse (there’s plenty to laugh at in A Good Day to Die Hard).
Where did they even learn to read?
Released on Christmas Eve of 2013, the Gremlins episode has hosts Arnie, Stuart and Jakob flashing back to their childhood selves and trying to figure out if they should laugh or cry during Phoebe Cates’ tragic Christmas story. There are clips of people performing that monologue on YouTube. Watch them.
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
It never gets old.
Because #GarbageDay.
Honestly, I’d rather play this SNES game than watch “Batman Returns” again.
Hosts Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob put the spotlight on the Tim Burton sequel that was too dark for McDonalds. This episode is great for its exploration of early 90s Bat-mania and is stacked with behind-the-scenes trivia (Marlon Wayans still gets residuals for this movie?). Highlights include the story of how Batman-obsessed Arnie swayed Stuart into seeing the film, and (spoiler alert) the former’s reaction when Returns turned out to be a bust.
Leo listening to Arnie bash his movie.
Because December 24 is Howard Hughes’ birthday, and because this episode could have been titled The Aviator: Arnie Unleashed. The host begins his verbal assault on Scorsese’s 2004 biopic seconds after the opening credits and refuses to let up during the hourlong episode. He’s not trying to be funny, but his criticisms are hilarious. “I don’t think you’re gonna give this movie one thing Arnie, you really seem out to kill everyone down to the caterer,” co-host Stuart says at the 43-minute mark.
Happy Holidays From MARVEL SUPER HEROES (WHAT THE–?!)
Happy Holidays From MARVEL SUPER HEROES: WHAT THE–?!
Enjoy this brand new Holiday Spectacular episode of Marvel Super Heroes: What The—?! His latest schemes against the Inhumans finds Thanos, the Mad Titan is forced to impersonate a beloved and jolly holiday figure! Also featuring Hawkeye, Hulk, Spider-Man, and more! Watch the holiday hijinx ensue in the latest episode of Marvel Super Heroes: What The—?!
FEAR CLINIC is accepting appointments on Blu-ray and DVD starting February 10, 2015!
Time to face your fears. What if your fears faced you?
ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT DARES YOU TO ENTER THE…
FEAR CLINIC
Starring Robert Englund, Fiona Dourif, Corey Taylor, Angelina Armani and Thomas Dekker
Step Into The Fear Chamber Starting February 10, 2015
on Blu-ray™ and DVD
After terrifying audiences from coast to coast – Closing Night Event at ScreamFest 2014 Los Angeles and Opening Night Screening at 2014 New York City Horror Film Festival – Fear Clinic, the latest excursion into unrelenting terror will be released on Blu-ray™ and DVD on February 10, 2015 by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The highly anticipated shocker stars horror icon Robert “Freddy Krueger” Englund, Fiona Dourif, Angelina Armani, Thomas Dekker, as well as Stone Sour and Slipknot lead vocalist Corey Taylor in his acting debut, and is directed by Robert G. Hall (Lightning Bug, Laid to Rest, ChromeSkull: Laid To Rest II).
With blood-chilling special effects by award-winning FX creators Robert Kurtzman and Steve Johnson, Fear Clinic will take viewers on an unforgettable journey into the very soul of terror itself. SRP is $26.99 for the Blu-ray™ and $22.98 for the DVD, with pre-book on January 7.
Co-written by Hall and Aaron Drane, the film is based on the critically acclaimed and fan favorite 2009 FEARnet.com series. When trauma-induced phobias begin to re-emerge in five survivors a year after their horrifying tragedy, they return to the “Fear Clinic,” hoping to find the answers they need to get cured.
Dr. Andover (Robert Englund), a fear doctor who runs the clinic, uses his “Fear Chamber” to animate their fears in the form of terrifying hallucinations. However, the good doctor soon begins to suspect that something more sinister may be at work, something that yearns to be more than just an hallucination…
Bonus features on Fear Clinic Blu-ray™ and DVD to be announced.
FEAR CLINIC Blu-ray™
Street Date: February 10, 2015
Pre-book: January 7, 2015
Cat. #: BD62075
UPC: 0 1313 262075-6
Run Time: 95 minutes
Rating: R (pending)
SRP: $26.99
Format: Widescreen 2.40:1 1080p
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
FEAR CLINIC DVD
Street Date: February 10, 2015
Pre-book: January 7, 2015
Cat. #: DV62074
UPC: 0 1313 262074-9
Run Time: 95 minutes
Rating: R (pending)
SRP: $22.98
Format: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
In 2001 it’s doubtful anyone was begging for a remake of the 60’s Rat Pack film Ocean’s 11. It was the cast that grabbed moviegoers’ attention, filled with leading men George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt, plus a strong supporting cast and Julia Roberts as the female lead. But such star-studded films can often be debacles where the fun is had on the set, but not translated on the screen. Can director Steven Soderbergh pull off this intricate heist? Join Now Playing’s Three — Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob — to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPO1102.mp3
EXCLUSIVE NEWS: Avengers Figures Will be 2.5-inches, ship in January
Hasbro will be selling a 2.5-inch Avengers: Age of Ultron action figure line as soon as this February.
One of our HYDRA spies sent us the above screenshot from their inventory system. This shows that Hasbro will be shipping 2.5-inch Avengers: Age of Ultron figure 2-packs, continuing the smaller scale figure line they debuted with their Guardians of the Galaxy figure line. These figures are scheduled to arrive at their warehouse on January 28th.
Rocket Raccoon and Groot from Hasbro’s Guardians of the Galaxy 2.5-inch figure line.
While this news may not excite action figure collectors, it actually may be a harbinger of worse news. With Guardians of the Galaxy Hasbro eschewed the 3.75-inch scale of action figures they had made since their earliest action figure lines based on X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Iron Man 2. Due to the rising cost of action figures Hasbro went with less expensive 2.5-inch figure 2-packs. These figures had much less paint detail and articulation than Hasbro had put in their 3.75-inch lines, and many collectors wrote them off as kid’s toys. The smaller figure style allowed for Hasbro to focus on vehicles as part of the line’s play pattern, releasing space ships seen in the movie to scale with these figures.
The news of Avengers: Age of Ultron figures may indicate Hasbro is giving their toy line for the upcoming film the same treatment they gave Guardians of the Galaxy.
At a press event held in New York last October Hasbro revealed Avengers: Age of Ultron figures in their collector-focused, 6-inch Marvel Legends line. They also showed new figures in their Marvel Infinite Series 3.75-inch line, but these figures were comic-based rather than movie-based. They also showed a Quinjet vehicle from the upcoming film that, while the same approximate size as the 3.75-inch scale Quinjet, Hasbro has confirmed is for 2.5-inch figures.
Hasbro reps confirmed the Quinjet toy shown at October’s New York Comic-Con was scaled for 2.5-inch figures.
When asked for more details on the likelihood of a 3.75-inch Age of Ultron figure line, a Hasbro representative confirmed the Quinjet shown was 2.5-inch scale, and added: “I can’t comment on the existence or any details of a 3.75-inch action figure line at this time. There will be more information on the Age of Ultron toy line as we get closer to Toy Fair.”
Will you be disappointed with no 3.75-inch figure line for Age of Ultron or are Legends and 2.5-inch enough? Let us know in the comments below!
You can watch our full coverage of Hasbro’s NYCC reveals in Marvelicious Toys Issue 128!
Willow
A young farmer must learn magic and join with a rouge warrior to travel to far away lands and save the world. No, this isn’t a review of Star Wars, but Willow–the 1988 action-fantasy film based on a story by George Lucas. Though this film closely follows the Star Wars formula can it recreate that saga’s excitement? Join Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob to find out in their review of this tale of Leprechaun meets Lord of the Rings!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPP044-Willow.mp3
Pre-Order Alert: Tony Stark with Arc Reactor Creation Accessories
A new Marvel Hot Toys figure is up for pre-order–Tony Stark with Arc Reactor Creation Accessories.
In the film Iron Man 2, Tony Stark was slowly being poisoned by the palladium arc reactor in his body. With the help of the information left behind by Howard Stark, Tony was able to create a new element to use for a new Arc Reactor. This scene greatly displayed Tony Stark’s immense intelligence when he re-discovered and created a new element by using a particle accelerator.
Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys are delighted to introduce the new sixth scale Tony Stark with Arc Reactor Creation Accessories Collectible Set. This collectible set includes a specially crafted collectible figure based on the image of Robert Downey Jr. as the genius billionaire Tony Stark in Iron Man 2, and features a newly developed head sculpt, an advanced body with light-up chest light, detailed outfit, and the Captain America shield prototype which he has used to level the particle accelerator and workshop accessories.
Iron Man fans, don’t miss out on this collectible set! Expand your Iron Man series collection! Order it now from Sideshow!
We Are (Baby) Groot! Pre-Order Alert
Hot Toys Enters the Quarter Scale Marvel Market in a Small Way with the pre-order for the Little Groot Quarter Scale Figure.
In 2012 Hot Toys announced they held the license for Quarter Scale Marvel Figures. The company is widely known for their detailed (and expensive) Marvel sixth scale figures, including over 20 versions of Iron Man, and many collectors wondered what the cost of such items would be. Yet since the announcement Hot Toys has limited their 1/4 Scale releases to Iron Man busts. Now Hot Toys releases their first full figure in Quarter Scale, but it’s not Iron Man, nor any other humanoid creature–it’s Little Groot, as seen at the end of this year’s top-grossing film Guardians of the Galaxy.
In 1/4 scale, this potted Groot stands about 5.5-inches tall. Yet the figure is fully bendable allowing for a variety of poses. With three separate head sculpts you can have serious Groot, dancing Groot, or super-happy Groot!
The collector in me is worried about long-term wear on the figure from too much bending, but the Groot fan in me finds this too cute to prevent me from buying it!
At under $45 I think this figure would be Hot Toys’ top-selling figure of all time, except the market is flooded with baby Groot figures. Funko has their POP Vinyl version released; a low-cost animatronic dancing Baby Groot has surfaced at Wal Mart stores in the USA, KIDdesigns has a dancing Baby Groot shipping this Spring, Dragon has a full-scale Baby Groot Maquette, and Hot Toys themselves have already put up for pre-order two different Baby Groot figures in the 1/6 scale line–accessories with the Rocket and (full size, adult) Groot 2-figure set.
Still, at under $45 this is a great gift item that will likely sell quickly. So go GROOT yours now at Sideshow Collectibles!
Pre-Order Alert: Hot Toys Avengers: Age of Ultron Iron Man Mk XLIII
Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series Die Cast Iron Man Mk XLIII from the upcoming movie Avengers: Age of Ultron is now up for pre-order at Sideshow Collectibles, including the exclusive edition with a bonus helmet!
Age of Ultron is still almost five months away from its theatrical release, but fan excitement is high after the trailer premiered in October. As such Hot Toys seems to be accelerating their pre-order schedule. With the original Avengers film, as well as Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, and Guardians of the Galaxy Hot Toys offered pre-orders in the weeks leading up to the film’s release. For Ultron, they are offering the first pre-order almost six months ahead of time.
Such a lead can be cause for concern. With the film still in production and CG work being performed the final look of characters can change from concept to screen. There is a chance, however slim, that figures designed this early could differ significantly from the final on-screen version.
However there is a benefit as well–the figure will be released the same year as the film. This Iron Man Mk XLIII figure is scheduled for release the third quarter of 2015–only 3 to 5 months after the film opened (compared to the first Iron Man 3 figures which shipped more than a year after the film’s release).
As for this first pre-order, it is the newest Iron Man armor, the Mk XLIII (43 for the roman numeral impaired). Not only is this armor a return to the classic mostly-red armor color, it is also a made of die cast metal. (For a hands-on review of Hot Toys’ die cast Iron Patriot and the quality Hot Toys puts into their die cast figures watch Marvelicious Toys Issue 119).
The movie-accurate Mark XLIII Collectible Figure is highly detailed and specially crafted based on the image of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Mark XLIII in Avengers: Age of Ultron, featuring a newly painted Tony Stark helmeted head sculpt, metallic red, gold and silver armor with weathered effects, LED light-up functions, and a specially designed diorama base with a damaged Ultron Mark I. A special edition will be available for selected markets which includes a LED lighted battle damaged helmet as a Sideshow Collectibles exclusive bonus accessory.
The figure comes with a Tony Stark head as well as a LED light-up helmeted head, 3 pairs of hands, interchangeable forearm armor and wrist guards, LED chest and hands, and more features. Plus the figure has over 36 points of articulation, not even counting the deployed air flaps at the back of the armor.
Most exciting is the figure’s base, which includes a battle damaged Ultron Mark I (meaning that Ultron and Stark will be competing in who has the most outfit changes in Avengers 2).
Pre-order this amazing collectible figure to kick-off your Avengers: Age of Ultron collection!
Pre-Order Alert: Hot Toys Quarter-Scale Boba Fett Figure
The ultimate bounty from Hot Toys is now available for Pre-Order – their Quarter Scale Return of the Jedi Boba Fett Figure.
In July Hot Toys announced they had obtained the rights to sell figures based on the Star Wars films. The only releases so far had been in their 1/6 scale (12-inch) Movie Masterpiece Series line. Boba Fett is the first release in their quarter-scale (18-inch) line of figures, bringing a level of quality, articulation, and accessories never before seen in Star Wars figures of this scale.
In terms of size, this figure matches a Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format Figure, or figures in Diamond Select Toys’ (now cancelled) quarter-scale figure line. But while the Sideshow “figure” is really a statue, and the Diamond Select Toys’ figure was a toy that did not attempt realistic likenesses and high articulation, Hot Toys is bringing the detail of their Movie Masterpiece figures to this giant size.
Standing nearly 18-inches tall (45cm to be exact), this Boba Fett figure has a helmet with an articulated rangefinder and extremely detailed Mandolorian armor designed to match the bounty hunter’s appearance in Return of the Jedi. Underneath that armor you’ll find over 30 points of articulation allowing a huge variety of poses. And more, you get seven interchangable hands for different gestures, and a huge number of accessories including two blaster rifles (regular and damaged), a survival knife, an anti-security blade, and more! Plus if you get the Special Edition (exclusively through Sideshow Collectibles) you also get a blaster sidearm with holster which Boba Fett has in Star Wars: Episode V Empire Strikes Back.
Don’t miss the chance to add the fearsome bounty hunter to your prized collection!
Find out all the details and pre-order now at Sideshow Collectibles!
Ocean’s 11 (1960)
Before there was Clooney, Pitt, and Damon there was Sinatra, Martin, and Davis starring in Ocean’s 11. This 1960 crime caper was the first film to feature The Rat Pack, with Ol’ Blue Eyes himself playing Danny Ocean. In this original vision Ocean was a former World War II commander once again gathering his troops for one final mission–to rob five Vegas casinos in one night. The film has an impressive cast, but does it hold up over fifty years later? Go all in with Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPO1101.mp3
Relive the Original Marvel STAR WARS™ Adaptations With Remastered Graphic Novels in 2015!
Relive the Original Marvel STAR WARS™ Adaptations
With Remastered Graphic Novels in 2015!
Next year, the original Marvel Comic adaptations of the iconic Star Wars trilogy return for new, oversized graphic novels with remastered coloring! It all starts this May as the first original comic adaptation of the greatest space-fantasy film of all time is reborn for the modern age as STAR WARS™: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE makes it’s triumphant return to comic shops!
Weeks before George Lucas’ first STAR WARS film hit theatres, Marvel gave eager fans their very first look at Luke Skywalker, boldly asking “Will he save the galaxy, or destroy it?” Over 30 years later, you know the answer, but that doesn’t spoil the excitement of reliving this now classic adaptation like you’ve never seen it before – including scenes that never made it to the silver screen! Written by Roy Thomas with art by Howard Chaykin, this iconic story has been remastered for the modern age all-new coloring by Chris Sotomayor.
“When Star Wars took the world by storm in 1977, Marvel Comics was right there with exciting comic adaptations and new stories set in a galaxy far, far away,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “With new Star Wars comics being published by Marvel in 2015, we’re proud to look back on this exciting remastered adaptation of the original film, with remastered adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi coming later in 2015.”
Debuting in an oversized hardcover format with sophisticated packaging and a new cover by famed artist Adi Granov, relive the original Marvel Comics adventure of Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and the villainous Darth Vader again – or for the very first time. It’s six against an entire galaxy – one that’s far, far away and a long time ago!
May the Force be with you, and in the mighty Marvel manner this May when the remastered STAR WARS™: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE OGN HC comes to comic shops and bookstores in 2015!
For more on Star Wars please visit marvel.com and join in the conversation on Twitter with #StarWars. To experience Star Wars online, visit StarWars.com or follow Star Wars on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ or YouTube.
New Podcast: The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug – A Podcast Preview
He is fire…he is death…he is Smaug, the titular dragon in Peter Jackson’s second Hobbit film. How can a halfling and some dwarfs battle such a mighty beast? How much of the movie passes before they get there? And how many characters from the original Lord of the Rings trilogy will appear along the way? If you make a Silver or Platinum donation to Now Playing you can hear Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart discuss all this and more in this review of The Desolation of Smaug as they prepare for next week’s new release — Battle of the Five Armies!
: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLOTR05TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
Pre-Order Alert: Hot Toys Iron Man Striker Armor Mk XXV
Just a few days ago Sideshow Collectibles put up for pre-order the exclusive Hot Toys Iron Man Hot Rod Armor – Mark XXII. That piece has sold out in just a couple days (though Sideshow is taking Wait List reservations, so if you might want that figure join the list now!)
But now, just a few days later, they have another one up for order: The Iron Man Mark XXV: The Striker Armor.
As seen in Iron Man 3, Tony Stark has built the Striker (Mark XXV), also known as the Heavy Construction Suit. This suit is designed for assisting in heavy construction with its distinctive Pneumatic Hammers. Although the hammers are not designed for combat, they still proved to be lethal when Striker assisted in eradicating the two Extremis soldiers attacking James Rhodes.
The Iron Man Mark XXV – Striker Sixth Scale Figure features:
- Authentic and detailed likeness of Striker (Mark XXV), the Heavy Construction Suit, in Iron Man 3
- Over 30 points of articulation
- Approximately 34 cm tall
- LED light-up eyes and rectangular-shaped RT on chest (white light, battery operated)
- Silver, gray, and yellow painting on armor with specially applied distressed effects
- Special features of armor:
– A pair of distinctive Pneumatic Hammers with LED light up function (white light, battery operated)
– Articulated air flaps
– Articulations on waist armor allowing flexible movement
Accessory:
- One (1) circular figure stage with flexible pillar
This figure is up for pre-order, and Flex Pay is available, so get your order in now at Sideshow Collectibles site!
Get your Guardians of the Galaxy signed by James Gunn on Dec 12
Meet the Director and Co-Writer of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Friday, December 12th at Amoeba Music in Hollywood!
This event is at Amoeba Music, 6400 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, on Friday December 12th 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
ABOUT GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Maniac (2012)
Horror film remakes have been non-stop for a decade. Of course the big films were redone, including Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Yet even smaller horror films, such as Black Christmas, I Spit on Your Grave, and Willard have seen updates for the 21st century. In 2012 another cult splatter film was added to that roster–Maniac. Closely based on the 1980 original, but with some daring style choices, this new Maniac did not find wide release but is slowly growing its own cult following. Can Hobbit Elijah Wood compete with Joe Spinell’s personification of serial killer Frank? Listen to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPMANIAC02.mp3
Star Wars #1: Hasbro Previews Exclusive Variant
Pre-Order Alert: Hot Toys – Iron Man 3 Hot Rod (Mark XXII) Collectible Figure (Hot Toys Exclusive)
Sideshow has just put up for pre-order Hot Toys’ newest exclusive die cast Iron Man 3 suit of armor — the Hot Rod Mark XXII.
Tony Stark designed the Mark XXII armor as a War Machine 2.0 Prototype Suit in Iron Man 3. This lightly-armed suit is built with versatility in mind being able to dodge obstacles and move around mid-air more swiftly. Tony Stark was just about to jump into the suit in the movie before it got attack by an Extremis soldier. It earns the name of “Hot Rod” as its arms and legs’ design resembles the classic American hot rod with flames.
Now, with this pre-order, Hot Toys is expanding the “House Party Protocol” with the 1/6th scale Hot Rod (Mark XXII) Collectible Figure as a Hot Toys Exclusive item. It is the latest addition to their MMS Diecast Series which the collectible figures are made of diecast material, and realistically designed to look more like Hot Rod as it appears in the movie.
The movie-accurate Hot Rod (Mark XXII) Collectible Figure contains diecast material and is crafted with fine details featuring metallic dark gray, silver and red armor with distinctive flame patterns on legs and LED light-up functions.
If you are an Iron Man fans, don’t miss the chance to add this special armor to your House Party Protocol!
This item is exclusive to the “Toy Soul 2014” event in Hong Kong on Dec 19-21 but you can secure yours now from Sideshow Collectibles!
The 1/6th scale Hot Rod (Mark XXII) Collectible Figure’s special features:
– Authentic likeness of Hot Rod (Mark XXII), the War Machine 2.0 Prototype Suit, in Iron Man 3
– Approximately 30 cm tall
– Over 36 points of articulations
– Contains diecast material
– LED-lighted eyes and rectangular-shaped arc reactor on chest (white light, battery operated)
– Metallic dark gray, silver and red armor with distinctive flame patterns on legs
– Interchangeable forearm rocket-launching armor
– Seven (7) pieces of interchangeable palms including:
– One (1) pair of palms with movable fingers and light-up repulsors
(white light, battery operated)
– One (1) pair of fists
– One (1) pair of repulsor palms
– One (1) saluting right palm
– Articulations on waist armor which allow flexible movement
Accessory:
– One (1) LED light-up figure stand with movie logo (white light, battery operated)
This figure is expected to ship in January. The other Hot Toys Toy Soul 2014 exclusive, the Shadow Stormtrooper, sold out in a few hours, so don’t make that mistake and miss out on this rare chance to add the Hot Rod armor to your collection! Pre-order now at Sideshow Collectibles site!
MUCK arrives from Anchor Bay Entertainment March 17, 2015 on Blu-ray and DVD!
The Lucky Ones Are Already Dead
ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT
WADES INTO THE…
MUCK
With Kane Hodder, Lachlan Buchanan,
2012 Playboy PMOY Jaclyn Swedberg, and Lauren Francesca
The Race for Survival Begins March 17, 2015 on Blu-ray™ and DVD;
Limited Theatrical Engagement starts Friday, March 13th!
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – This St. Patrick’s Day, Anchor Bay Entertainment invites fans for a little bit’o the green and a LOT of the red with MUCK, a chiller seething with the greatest fear of all: that nowhere is safe! The directorial debut of Steve Wolsh, who also wrote and produced, MUCK reads like a bloody love letter filled with just the sort of jolts horror fans have been waiting to hear – and see!
Shot in state-of-the-art 4K Ultra HD resolution, MUCK is packed with old-school effects, shocks – and yes, breasts – that stick with you, creating terror with effects and stunts without the use of CGI. MUCK arrives Tuesday, March 17th – uncut, uncensored, and unrated – available on Blu-ray™ for $26.99 and $22.98 for the DVD. Pre-book on February 11th.
For fans who like their 4K horror on the big screen, MUCK will also have a limited theatrical engagement starting Friday, March 13th.
After narrowly escaping an ancient burial ground, long forgotten and buried underneath the marshes of Cape Cod, a group of friends emerge from the thick, marshy darkness, tattered and bloody, lucky to be alive. They have already lost two of their friends in the marsh, presumably dead. They stumble upon an empty Cape Cod vacation house alongside the foggy marsh and break in to take shelter. Whatever was in the marsh is still after them and soon after one of them goes for help, the rest of the group learns that the evil in the marsh is not the only thing that wants them dead. Something worse, something more savage, was lying in wait just outside the marsh, in the house. What happens next is unspeakable horror that cannot be unseen. These unlucky travelers spend their St. Patrick’s Day trapped between two evils forcing them to fight, die, or go back the way they came.
Featuring Kane Hodder (Hatchet, Jason Voorhees in four of the Friday the 13th films), Lachlan Buchanan (“Pretty Little Liars”), Puja Mohindra (Foreign), Bryce Draper (Bound) and YouTube Sensation Lauren Francesca (iwantmylauren), MUCK is throwback horror at its best.
About Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a leading home entertainment company. Anchor Bay acquires and distributes feature films, original television programming including STARZ Original series, children’s entertainment, anime (Manga Entertainment), fitness (Anchor Bay Fitness), sports, and other filmed entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray™ formats. The company has long term distribution agreements in place for select programming with AMC Networks, RADiUS, and The Weinstein Company. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, Anchor Bay Entertainment has offices in Troy, MI, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Anchor Bay Entertainment (www.anchorbayentertainment.com) is a Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) business, www.starz.com.
MUCK Blu-ray™
Street Date: March 17, 2015
Pre-book: February 11, 2015
Cat. #: BD62847
UPC: 0 1313 262847-6
Run Time: 98:27
Rating: Not Rated
SRP: $26.99
MUCK DVD
Street Date: March 17, 2015
Pre-book: February 11, 2015
Cat. #: DV62467
UPC: 0 1313 262467-9
Run Time: 98:27
Rating: Not Rated
SRP: $22.98
Pre-Order Alert: Hot Toys EXCLUSIVE Shadow Stormtrooper MMS Figure
Hot Toys collectors, fans of 12-Inch Star Wars figures, and troop builders, you can stop reading right now and just hurry to Sideshow Collectibles’ site to put in your order now for Hot Toys Exclusive 1/6th scale Shadow Trooper Figure!
If you’re still reading, I see you need some convincing.
The Hot Toys figures have started to take the Star Wars collecting community by storm(trooper) but here is their first exclusive release in the Star Wars Movie Masterpiece Series of figures. Hot Toys exclusives are notoriously hard to get. Distributors like Sideshow get a small number, if they get any at all! The prices on the secondary market have climbed over $1,000 for some of the Avengers exclusive figures, and I expect the Star Wars figures to have even higher demand.
This is the Shadow Trooper (also known as the Black Hole Stormtrooper for old-school Star Wars comics fans). It was first to be available at “Toy Soul 2014” in Hong Kong, but has been released already for pre-order by Sideshow. It is expected to ship in January.
The 1/6th scale Shadow Trooper Collectible Figure specially features:
– Authentic and detailed likeness of Shadow Trooper in Star Wars
– Body with over 30 points of articulations
– Specially applied gloss black painted armor with weathered effect
– Approximately 30 cm tall
– Seven (7) pieces of interchangeable gloved palms including:
– One (1) pair of fists
– One (1) pair of relaxed palms
– One (1) pair of palms for holding weapons
– One (1) gesturing left palm
Costume:
– One (1) Shadow Trooper armor
– One (1) black under-suit
– One (1) Shadow Trooper belt with leather holster
– One (1) pair of black boots
Weapon:
– One (1) blaster rifle
Accessories:
– One (1) black pauldron
– Two (2) black belt pouches
– Specially designed figure stand with Shadow Trooper nameplate and Star Wars logo
Artists:
– Figure Painted by Lok Ho
– Figure Art Directed by JC. Hong
So check out the pictures, and now hurry to Sideshow and order yours!
The Force is Strong With Your New Look at STAR WARS™ #1
The Force is Strong With Your New Look at STAR WARS™ #1
New York, NY – December 5th, 2014 – Lucasfilm Ltd. and Marvel Entertainment are extremely proud to present your new look at the highly anticipated STAR WARS #1 – the blockbuster new ongoing series welcoming Star Wars™ back home to the House of Ideas! The all-star creative team of Jason Aaron (Thor, Original Sin), artist John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men) and colorist Laura Martin bring a galaxy far, far away to life like never before as the adventures of the Rebel Alliance continue following the events of Star Wars: A New Hope!
“Every story is about the characters, and we’ll focus on all the old favorites,” writer Jason Aaron tells Marvel.com “There will be big moments for everyone, from Han to R2-D2. But a major part of the narrative will be driven by Luke Skywalker and his journey of discovery, a journey that will decide the fate of the entire galaxy.”
Taking place immediately after the destruction of the first Death Star, join Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, R2-D2 and C-3PO as the Rebel Alliance attempts to liberate the galaxy from Darth Vader and the tyranny of the Empire! Created in close partnership with Lucasfilm, this new ongoing comic series will exist as part of the canon for the Star Wars Universe!
“If you’re not excited for Star Wars right now, you must be living under a rock!” says Star Wars Editor Jordan D. White. “All anyone is talking about is that awesome teaser…and it’s still a whole year before the movie comes out! Fortunately, we’ve been working overtime to bring you all-new adventures of the original Star Wars gang to satisfy everyone’s hunger for space adventure! Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen, Mark Waid—these are some of the best writers in the comics industry, and they are sparing no expense to craft stories that live up to the classic series with the same feel and tone of the original. Combine them with the amazing artwork of John Cassaday, Salvador Larroca, and Terry Dodson—each one a serious Star Wars fan themselves—and trust me…these comics will be everything you could want from a Star Wars series.”
The world of Star Wars™ is set to make it’s triumphant return to Marvel beginning in January 2015, and now is your chance to jump on board the brand new series for one of the biggest launches of the year! Take your first step into a larger world when STAR WARS #1 comes to comic shops and digital devices this January!
For more on Star Wars please visit marvel.com and join in the conversation on Twitter with #StarWars. To experience Star Wars online, visit StarWars.com or follow Star Wars on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ or YouTube.
STAR WARS #1 (NOV140709)
Written by JASON AARON
Art & Cover by JOHN CASSADAY
Variant Covers by JOHN CASSADAY (NOV140711), BOB MCLEOD (NOV140712),
JOE QUESADA (NOV140714), ALEX ROSS (NOV140716), SARA PICHELLI (NOV140718), SKOTTIE YOUNG (NOV140719) and J. SCOTT CAMPBELL (NOV140710)
Party Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (NOV140720)
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (NOV140721)
Movie Variant Also Available (NOV140713)
Quesada Sketch Variant, Ross Sketch Variant
and Christopher Party Sketch Variant Also Available
FOC – 12/08/14, On Sale 01/14/15
First looks at Bond, ‘Terminator’ sequels
Thursday brought back-to-back looks at sequels for two iconic film franchises that will be on the Now Playing Podcast calendar in 2015.
Director Sam Mendes introduced the cast of the 24th “official” James Bond film at a news conference in the United Kingdom. The sequel’s title, SPECTRE, was also announced, and a one-sheet for the film was released online.
SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) battled Bond throughout many of the early films in the series. It’s not yet known what role the organization will play in the sequel, or if SPECTRE will have any ties to Quantum, the group introduced in 2006’s Casino Royale and exposed by Bond in Quantum of Solace.
While SPECTRE is the 24th film in the Bond series, the Now Playing Podcast review will be No. 26 in our James Bond Retrospective Series. In 2012, Arnie, Stuart and Brock reviewed all of the Bond films, including 1967’s Casino Royale and 1983’s Never Say Never Again.
To find out how those films fit into the Bond universe, and to hear reviews of the others, check out the retrospective at NowPlayingPodcast.com.
By the way, if you want to catch up on some classic Bond, Netflix and Amazon Prime just added a handful of films from the series to their libraries.
HE’S BACK
Now to Terminator: Genisys. The first trailer went online Thursday morning, and was met with a largely negative reaction on the Now Playing Podcast Facebook page.
As one fan pointed out, it appears the filmmakers are taking a page from 2009’s Star Trek and attempting to reboot the series within itself, creating an alternate timeline where the Arnold Schwarzenegger T-800 has been protecting Sarah Connor for years and preparing her for the arrival of Kyle Reese and the Terminator in 1984.
Judging by the early reaction, fans are ready to hate Genisys. But it’s just one trailer and a couple of really unimpressive magazine covers. There’s still plenty of time to make a better impression between now and July 1, 2015.
Terminator was one of the first series’ covered by Now Playing Podcast, back in 2009 when McG helmed the hated Terminator: Salvation. It’s worth going back to that retrospective not only to hear the reviews, but also to see just how far the show has come since those early days.
Arnold’s been waiting for you.
Throne of Atlantis coming January 27, 2015 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
LEGO(R) DC COMICS SUPER HEROES: JUSTICE LEAGUE v. BIZARRO LEAGUE on Blu Ray/DVD on 2/10/15
ENTER A WACKY REALM AS
WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT
AND THE LEGO GROUP RELEASE
LEGO® DC COMICS SUPER HEROES:
JUSTICE LEAGUE vs BIZARRO LEAGUE
ON BLU-RAYTM COMBO PACK, DVD and DIGITAL HD,
ON FEBRUARY 10, 2015
All-New Original LEGO® DC Comics Movie Featuring Exclusive Batzarro LEGO Minifigure
Burbank, CA (November 13, 2014) – In the follow-up to LEGO® Batman, The Movie: DC Super Heroes Unite, the Justice League is newly solidified yet faces a peculiar set of villains when Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment and The LEGO Group release LEGO® DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League on Blu-rayTM Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD on February 10, 2015. Order due date is January 20, 2015. The Blu-rayTM and DVD releases will include an exclusive Batzarro LEGO Minifigure on-pack, while supplies last.
LEGO® DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League will be available on Blu-rayTM Combo Pack for $24.98 SRP and on DVD for $19.98 SRP. The Blu-rayTM Combo Pack includes a digital version of the movie on Digital HD with UltraViolet.* Fans can also own LEGO® DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League in Digital HD on February 10 via purchase from digital retailers.
Batman has joined the newly formed Justice League in order to keep tabs on Superman, a mistrust that is complicated by Superman’s clumsy – but well-meaning – clone, Bizarro. Bizarro’s creation of the Bizarro League has caused confusion amongst the world’s greatest Super Heroes, but an even greater and mysterious threat may force the Justice League and Bizarro League to band together to defeat evil.
“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is thrilled to release LEGO® DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League on Blu-rayTM and DVD,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, WBHE Vice President, Family & Animation Marketing and Partner Brands. “Fans of the LEGO® DC Comics Super Heroes movie franchise can experience the Justice League battling all-new foes in this action-packed and hilarious film.”
LEGO® DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League Special Features include:
· LEGO® DC COMICS SUPER HEROES: BATMAN: BE-LEAGUERED TV SPECIAL – Approximately 22 minutes
- BIZARRO! – FEATURETTE – One part oddity, one part comedic curiosity, Bizarro is a favorite among the characters within Superman’s universe. Take a look at the Man of Steel’s potent, backwards nemesis.
- BE-LEAGUERED BLOOPERS
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION ELEMENTS
LEGO® DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League will be available for streaming and download to watch anywhere in high definition and standard definition on their favorite devices from select digital retailers including Amazon, CinemaNow, Flixster, iTunes, PlayStation, Target Ticket, Vudu, Xbox and others. Starting February 10, LEGO® DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League will also be available digitally on Video On Demand services from cable and satellite providers, and on select gaming consoles.
Basics
Street Date: February 10, 2015
Order Due Date: January 20, 2015
Audio: Blu-rayTM: DTS-HD Master Audio
Rating: Not Rated
DVD Price: $19.98 SRP
Blu-ray Price: $24.98 SRP
DVD Catalog #: 1000475918
DVD UPC: 883929405275
Blu-rayTM Catalog #: 1000476119
Blu-rayTM UPC: 883929405374
About The LEGO Group
The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of play materials for children. The LEGO Group is committed to the development of children’s creative and imaginative abilities. LEGO products can be purchased in more than 130 countries.
LEGO, the LEGO logo, the brick & knob configuration and the Minifigure are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. © 2014 The LEGO Group. All Rights Reserved.
About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s home video, digital distribution, interactive entertainment, technical operations and anti-piracy businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees, as well as directly to consumers through WBShop.com
About Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, producing and developing both CG and traditionally animated projects for multiple platforms, both domestically and internationally. For TV, WBA produces series such as Teen Titans Go!, The Tom and Jerry Show and the upcoming Be Cool Scooby-Doo! and Wabbit – A Looney Tunes Production for Cartoon Network; original animated DC Nation shorts for Cartoon Network; and the forthcoming Mike Tyson Mysteries series for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. As the home of the iconic animated characters from the DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries, WBA also produces highly successful animated films — including the DC Universe Animated Original Movies — for DVD. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has won six Academy Awards®, 35 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 20 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).
About DC Entertainment
DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, etc.), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables, etc.) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.
Maniac (1980)
1980 saw the release of several memorable slasher films, including Friday the 13th, Silent Scream, New Year’s Evil, and Prom Night. Yet of all the 1980s slashers none may be more controversial than Maniac–a low budget splatter film with its unrated violence and Tom Savini’s gore effects. The film has grown a cult following through home video but maniacal murderer Frank still lacks the name recognition of a Jason or a Michael Myers–yet it did warrant a 2012 remake starring Elijah Wood. Does Joe Spinell’s psycho killer deserve a place in the pantheon of horror icons? Listen to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPMANIAC01.mp3
New Podcast: Lord of the Rings (1978) – A Podcast Preview
Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Lord of the Rings runs over 9 hours, or 12 hours for the extended cuts. By contrast, in 1978 Ralph Bakshi’s animated adaptation claimed to tell the saga in just over two hours. In truth, this theatrical cartoon adapts half of J.R.R. Tolkien’s bestselling saga, and left audiences anticipating a conclusion that would never come. Can almost two novels be told in two hours? If you make a Platinum donation to Now Playing Podcast you can listen and find out!
: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLOTRANI02TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
Star Wars Action News “Sithmas Exchange” Registry is Open
REGISTRATION OPENS FOR STAR WARS ACTION NEWS SITHMAS GIFT EXCHANGE
Annual event gives fans chance to have a Force-full holiday!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, Ill – November 26, 2014 – Today Star Wars Action News, the premier podcast for Star Wars collectors, launched its annual “Sithmas” holiday gift exchange for listeners looking to send a lightsaber to a fellow fan or find a new Speeder Bike sitting on their doorstep.
Anyone who has ever participated in a “Secret Santa” gift exchange will be familiar with the Star Wars Action News formula; just register online to receive a gift from a fellow participant and you’ll be assigned to buy a gift for someone else taking part in the program.
“Star Wars Action News was founded on the idea of collectors helping collectors,” said creator and host Arnie Carvalho. “From original art to rare figures, the gifts represent the diversity of our audience, and to see people participating worldwide is such a treat.”
The “Sithmas Exchange” gives participants a chance to put together a “wish list” of favorite toy lines, characters, and other items they hope to receive, so the gift-giver isn’t left wandering the aisles of Toys ‘R Us or Target without a clue.
Minimum total gift cost is $20, although past events have seen listeners go above and beyond to gift the perfect Star Wars item to a fellow collector.
Those who wish to participate in the “Sithmas Exchange” can find rules, important shipping details, and a registration form on the Star Wars Action News website. Registration is open until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2014.
About Star Wars Action News
The Star Wars Action News podcast is dedicated to covering Star Wars collectibles of all shapes and sizes. From action figures to art to high-end statues, Star Wars Action News brings listeners biweekly news and reviews, as well as in-depth convention coverage and interviews with toy makers and celebrity collectors.
About Venganza Media Inc.
Based in Springfield, Ill., Venganza Media Inc. is a privately-owned multimedia production facility and home to the Venganza Media Podcasting Network. Film fans and collectors worldwide know Venganza as the producer of Star Wars Action News, Marvelicious Toys, and the company’s flagship program, Now Playing Podcast. Since its formation in 2005, Venganza has delivered thousands of hours of entertainment to listeners, while its staff and fleet of contributors have established the company as a premier source for film reviews, celebrity interviews, and collecting news for audiences of all ages.
Facebook: Star Wars Action News
Twitter: @SWActionNews
Marvelicious Gift ‘X-Change’ Registry is Open
REGISTRATION OPENS FOR MARVELICIOUS TOYS HOLIDAY GIFT X-CHANGE
4TH annual event gives fans chance to celebrate Merry Marvel Madness
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield, Ill – November 25, 2014 – Today Marvelicious Toys, the premier podcast for Marvel collectors, launched its 4th annual holiday gift “X-Change” for listeners looking to send Spider-Man web shooters to a fellow fan or find a Rocket Raccoon statue sitting on their doorstep.
Anyone who has ever participated in a “Secret Santa” gift exchange will be familiar with the Marvelicious formula; just register online to receive a gift from a fellow participant and you’ll be assigned to buy a gift for someone else taking part in the program.
“Marvelicious Toys was founded on the idea of collectors helping collectors,” said creator and host Arnie Carvalho. “From original art to rare figures, the gifts represent the diversity of our audience, and to see people participating worldwide is such a treat.”
The Marvelicious “X-Change” gives participants a chance to put together a “wish list” of favorite toy lines, characters, and other items they hope to receive, so the gift-giver isn’t left wandering the aisles of Toys ‘R Us or Target without a clue.
Minimum total gift cost is $20, although past events have seen listeners go above and beyond to gift the perfect Marvel item to a fellow collector.
Those who wish to participate in the “X-Change” can find rules, important shipping details, and a registration form on the Marvelicious Toys website. Registration is open until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2014.
About Marvelicious Toys
The Marvelicious Toys podcast is dedicated to covering Marvel Comics collectibles of all shapes and sizes. From action figures to art to high-end statues, Marvelicious Toys brings listeners biweekly news and reviews, as well as in-depth convention coverage and interviews with toy makers and celebrity collectors.
About Venganza Media Inc.
Based in Springfield, Ill., Venganza Media Inc. is a privately-owned multimedia production facility and home to the Venganza Media Podcasting Network. Film fans and collectors worldwide know Venganza as the producer of Star Wars Action News, Marvelicious Toys, and the company’s flagship program, Now Playing Podcast. Since its formation in 2005, Venganza has delivered thousands of hours of entertainment to listeners, while its staff and fleet of contributors have established the company as a premier source for film reviews, celebrity interviews, and collecting news for audiences of all ages.
Facebook: Marvelicious Toys
Twitter: @MarveliciousToy
The Stand
It’s considered by many to be Stephen King’s best novel of all time — The Stand. King’s fourth novel told of a superflu that wipes out humanity and sets the stage for an epic battle of good versus evil. In 1994 ABC aired a mammoth, four night mini-series that took the top three spots in the Nielsen ratings. Now it’s time for Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart to take their Stand and review this miniseries. Can the book’s epic quality be captured on a TV budget? Listen and find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPP043-TheStand.mp3
New Podcast: The Hobbit (1977) — A Podcast Preview
It took forty years for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth saga to reach screens. Despite the mass popularity of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books, only a short feature had been realized. Finally, in 1977, the animation studio Rankin/Bass brought the story of Bilbo Baggins to TV audiences everywhere with their animated adaptation of The Hobbit. Now Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob watch and review this NBC prime-time special as the first volume in a trilogy of animated Middle Earth films. Make a Platinum level donation to Now Playing and you can hear it now!
: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLOTRANI01TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
Big Hero 6
Ever since Disney purchased Marvel Comics a family-friendly superhero cartoon was all but guaranteed. But it’s not the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, or the X-Men who star in Disney’s first Marvel animated feature, it’s the little-known Asian team Big Hero 6. Many changes have happened adapting the team from the page to the screen, but is the result super? Join the Podcast Hero 3 of Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPP042-BigHero6.mp3
Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys
George Lucas’ 1977 space fantasy Star Wars changed the way American audiences consumed films. More, though, it also changed the landscape for movie merchandising, with more money being made on toys, games, and collectibles than on the movies themselves. Now the documentary Plastic Galaxy looks back at the first generation of Star Wars toys, released between 1977 and 1985 from Kenner. Does this film capture the childhood magic of Star Wars figures, and can the documentary appeal to anyone not already obsessed with little plastic Stormtroopers? Find out in this special Now Playing/Star Wars Action News crossover podcast hosted by Marjorie, Arnie, and Jerry!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPP041-PlasticGalaxy.mp3
Interstellar
Christopher Nolan’s film Interstellar tells of an Earth that is dying; those who don’t starve to death will suffocate in an atmosphere turning toxic. Our only hope comes in the form of Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a farmer who crashes NASA’s secret base thanks to mysterious messages from beyond. It’s an ambitious film filled with hard science and lots of discussions of love. Is it a film that has found its place in the stars, or that has crashed to its place in the dirt? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPNOLAN06.mp3
Pre-Order Alert: Sideshow Iron Man Mk II Maquette
The awesome Iron Man Mk II maquette, based on the design seen in the original Iron Man film, is now up for pre-order at Sideshow Collectibles!
This statue is replicated in 1/4 scale, standing 26-inches tall and weighing 15 pounds! The clean, silver suit is crafted from polystone and finished with a high gloss metallic paint and light-up features in the eyes, chest, and hands.
Add this to your own hall of armor now!
The Prestige
After bringing respectability back to the Dark Knight with the 2005 film Batman Begins Nolan reteamed with two of that film’s leading actors, Christian Bale and Michael Caine, for The Prestige–an 1899 period piece about two competing illusionists. Does Nolan’s non-chronological storytelling and slight of hand produce a prestigious film? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPNOLAN05.mp3
New Podcast: Leprechaun: Origins – A Podcast Preview
The Leprechaun is back and he wants his gold, but he’s no longer a rhyming fool but instead a vicious, feral creature in WWE’s reboot and reimagining of the Leprechaun franchise. Can a Lep be truly frightening, or was it just scary that they tried? If you Trick or Treat Now Playing with a pledge then you can listen and find out!
: http://nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLEP07TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
Pre-Order Alert: Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Stormtroopers
Hot Toys has released the next two figures in its Star Wars Movie Masterpiece Series: 2 separate Stormtroopers!
First you can order the individual Stormtrooper which includes:
- Authentic and detailed likeness of Stormtrooper in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
- Body with over 30 points of articulations
- Approximately 30 cm tall
- Seven (7) pieces of interchangeable gloved palms including:
- – One (1) pair of fists
- – One (1) pair of relaxed palms
- – One (1) pair of palms for holding weapons
- – One (1) gesturing left palm
- – Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted
Costume:
- One (1) Stormtrooper armor
- One (1) black under-suit
- One (1) Stormtrooper belt with leather holster
- One (1) pair of white boots
Weapons:
- One (1) blaster rifle
- One (1) blaster pistol
Accessory:
- Specially designed figure stand with Stormtrooper nameplate and movie logo
Or you can order a pair of Stormtroopers. The second one is shorter, 28cm instead of 30cm, plus a heavy blaster, a mouse droid, and a weapons rack! (The weapons rack is the most exclusive piece as internationally the 2-pack may or may not include it)
You can order these now at SideshowCollectibles.com
Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Thor 3, Avengers 3 and 4 Announced by Marvel Studios
In a move worthy of Apple, Marvel Studios held a presentation today unveiling its third phase of films based on the characters from Marvel Comics.
While several expected titles were told, many surprises were there as well.
With this announcement, the current slate of movies from Marvel Studios are:
May 1, 2015
Avengers: Age of Ultron. Director: Joss Whedon.
Starring: Robert Downey, Jrl, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Hayley Atwell, Andy Serkis
View the trailer below:
July 27, 2015
Ant-Man
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly
May 6, 2016
Captain America: Civil War
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Chadwick Boseman
November 4, 2016
Doctor Strange
Director: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch (rumored)
May 5, 2017
Guardians of the Galaxy
Director: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper (all rumored)
July 28, 2017
Thor: Ragnarok
Director: ???
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston (rumored)
November 3, 2017
Black Panther
Director: ???
Starring: Chadwick Boseman
May 4, 2018
Avengers: Infinity War Part 1
Director: ???
Starring: ???
July 6, 2018
Captain Marvel
Director: ???
Starring: ???
November 2, 2018
Inhumans
Director: ???
Starring: ???
May 4, 2018
Avengers: Infinity War Part 2
Director: ???
Starring: ???
These titles bring back many established heroes while bringing in new ones and meeting the call for diversity among superhero films (a female-led film and a superhero film starring a black man). Conspicuous by their absence are any additional Iron Man films, as well as any films featuring popular Avengers heroes Hulk or Black Widow.
How do you feel about this line-up of movies over the next five years? Let us know in the comments below!
Insomnia
After directing the indie hit Memento director Christopher Nolan was chosen by producer Steven Soderbergh to direct Insomnia–a crime thriller based on the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name. The result was Nolan’s first mainstream studio film starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams. Does a film about a man who can’t sleep live up to a film about a man with no memory? Don’t lose any sleep thinking about it, just join Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPNOLAN04.mp3
New Podcast: Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood – A Podcast Preview
The Leprechaun struck gold when he went to the Hood, but will he find the same returns going Back 2 tha Hood? Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob find out in this week’s gold Donation Series podcast as they watch and review Warwick Davis’ final performance as the greedy green guy. Will their ratings match the color of the Lep’s outfit? If you make a pledge and support Now Playing you can listen and find out!
: http://nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLEP06TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
New Podcast: Memento – Chronological Review
In 2001 Christopher Nolan broke into mainstream filmmaking with Memento–a noir murder mystery about a man who had no short-term memory trying to find his wife’s killer. With a quirky concept and an editing style specifically used to play with the audience’s own memories the result was an indie hit that launched the director into the public eye. Is this Tarantino-styled film remembered fondly by Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart? Do they remember it at all? Listen to find out!
: http://nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPNOLAN03-Chronological-HQ.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
$100 Toys R Us Gift Card for only $85 on eBay
With new toys hitting, plus the Toys R Us exclusives (such as the Star Wars AT-ST pack or the Marvel X-Men Legends figures), plus just holiday shopping, we thought you’d like to be notified of this bargain.
Right now on eBay Gift Card Mail has a $100 Toys R Us gift card for only $85. This is a reputable seller, and I purchased 2 myself.
There are very limited quantities available still, so act fast! Get yours before they’re gone on eBay
New Podcast: Memento
In 2001 Christopher Nolan broke into mainstream filmmaking with Memento–a noir murder mystery about a man who had no short-term memory trying to find his wife’s killer. With a quirky concept and an editing style specifically used to play with the audience’s own memories the result was an indie hit that launched the director into the public eye. Is this Tarantino-styled film remembered fondly by Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart? Do they remember it at all? Listen to find out!
: http://nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPNOLAN03.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
Memento – Chronological Review
In 2001 Christopher Nolan broke into mainstream filmmaking with Memento–a noir murder mystery about a man who had no short-term memory trying to find his wife’s killer. With a quirky concept and an editing style specifically used to play with the audience’s own memories the result was an indie hit that launched the director into the public eye. Is this Tarantino-styled film remembered fondly by Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart? Do they remember it at all? Listen to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPNOLAN03-Chronological-HQ.mp3
Memento – Reversed Review
In 2001 Christopher Nolan broke into mainstream filmmaking with Memento–a noir murder mystery about a man who had no short-term memory trying to find his wife’s killer. With a quirky concept and an editing style specifically used to play with the audience’s own memories the result was an indie hit that launched the director into the public eye. Is this Tarantino-styled film remembered fondly by Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart? Do they remember it at all? Listen to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPNOLAN03.mp3
Marvel Movie Pre-Order Alerts: Hot Toys Wolverine and Hikari Sofubi Groot
Fans of movies based on Marvel Comics characters have several pre-orders hitting today!
First, from the film X-Men: Days of Future Past Hot Toys and Sideshow Collectibles bring Wolverine! This figure has over 30 points of articulation, 3 pairs of swappable hands (with and without claws!), and an outfit representing Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the dystopian future shown at the film’s opening. It stands just under 12-inches tall, and comes with a specialized Wolverine display base.
Now, it’s no secret that licensees have issues making toys and collectibles based on 20th Century Fox’s X-Men and Fantastic Four films. The last X-Men film to receive a big marketing push was X-Men Origins: Wolverine back in 2009. In 2011, covering New York Toy Fair for Marvelicious Toys, I interviewed one of the Marvel reps at Hasbro’s presentation. I was shocked at a lack of toys for that summer’s X-Men: First Class and I asked about that. I was told that Marvel would be marketing their X-Men: First Class comic books, not the movies. Indeed, in the past five years it has been hard to find any toys or statues based on the X-Men movies; only the comics. Only Diamond Select, with their Minimates lines, has covered all the Marvel movies regardless of studio.
In 2012 Hot Toys announced a licensing agreement for figures based on X-Men: First Class and Magneto and Charles Xavier figures were shown at various Hot Toys exhibits, but they never were released. It is more than likely pressure from Marvel has caused those figures to be indefinitely delayed, if not altogether cancelled.
Yet Hot Toys has persevered in releasing X-Men movie toys…if only Wolverine figures. Their first was from X-Men Origins: Wolverine released in 2009. That figure shot up in value and even had some high-quality bootlegs sold on eBay. As such, in 2012 Hot Toys made another Wolverine figure from X-Men III: The Last Stand. Then last year Hot Toys made another version of this character, showing his appearance in The Wolverine (still available to order, at a deep discount, from Sideshow Collectibles). This Days of Future Past Wolverine is the 4th version of this character.
Despite how much I really want Hot Toys to finally release the other X-Men figures (specifically the yellow-and-blue clad X-Men from First Class) Wolverine is the most popular X-Man. Each version of this figure has been distinct, and showing a likeness of Hugh Jackman appropriate to that film. This is an older Jackman likeness, and the future outfit is far different from any we’ve gotten before.
At $250 the figure is a bit more expensive than I’d like–with no large diorama pieces, excessive accessories, or swappable heads I’d prefer to see this around $200 like The Wolverine version, but it’s still a great version of the character.
I have it ordered already, both for the figure it is, plus I’m hoping that by “voting with my dollars” Hot Toys and Marvel realize high-end figures based on the X-Men films are profitable enough to continue beyond Wolverine.
(as an aside, X-Men: Days of Future Past came out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week, and the collector’s edition is almost half off at Amazon!)
If you prefer Marvel Studios’ own films, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, a new collectible is available for you as well! From Funko comes the Entertainment Earth exclusive Hikari Premium Sofubi Vinyl Figure of Groot!
While that’s a lot of adjectives, Funko’s Hikari Premium Sofubi Vinyl Figures are 11-inch soft vinyl figures. This one is limited to 5,000 pieces and only available from Entertainment Earth.
Funko is known for having several variants for each of their Sofubi figures, from color changes to translucent glittery versions. Several variants of the Groot Hikari Vinyl Figure were displayed at New York Comic-Con, but this Entertainment Earth version seems to be the most movie-accurate. You can order it now at EE.
And for Hikari collectors, Barnes and Noble just put up their exclusive black-and-white version of the Spider-Man figure, called “Dangerous Spider-Man” for $71. That is not a pre-order; mine has shipped already.
New Podcast: Leprechaun: In the Hood – A Podcast Preview
The Leprechaun has always had one foot in horror, the other in comedy. With his fifth film, Leprechaun: In the Hood the series focuses far more on the comedic side as the green meanie smokes weed, raps, and becomes south central’s foremost pimp–all while trying to reclaim his magic flute. If it sounds outrageous, that’s because it is. But does this inner-city scene suit the rhyming rascal? A friend with weed is a friend indeed, but a friend who donated Gold is the best I’m told! So make a Platinum or Gold donation to Now Playing, then you can listen to find out!
: http://nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLEP05TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
Following
Christopher Nolan is one of the most acclaimed directors currently working in American cinema. His films bend the mind and break the box office–his Batman film The Dark Knight is the fourth highest grossing film in the US. Now Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart flash back to the director’s first film–the micro-budgeted Following. With almost no money did Nolan’s talent shine through, or is this a glorified home movie? Join us to find out! Playing during their Fall, 2014 donation drive you can join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob and find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPNOLAN02.mp3
New Podcast: Leprechaun 4: In Space – A Podcast Preview
No woman on Earth would want to marry the Leprechaun, so our Irish imp has gone to space to find his bride! Can Warwick Davis’ Leprechaun bring the fun frights in this Aliens spoof? If you make a pledge and support Now Playing during their Fall, 2014 donation drive you can join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob and find out!
: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLEP04TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
Annabelle
Last summer’s supernatural horror film The Conjuring scared up big profits for Warner Bros. Pictures. While ghostly Bathsheba terrorized the house, it was possessed doll Annabelle that stole the show. Now the porcelain poltergeist is back in her own spin-off film! The film scored much green in its opening weekend, but will it get green arrows from the Now Playing hosts? Listen to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPCONJUR02.mp3
Children of the Corn: Genesis
When Tim and Allie’s car breaks down on the desert streets of California the only help they can find is from nearby farmer Preacher and his Ukrainian wife Oksana. But one night in that house may lead to Tim and Allie’s doom as strange occurrences terrorize the young couple. What is going on, and how in the world is this a Children of the Corn film? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob’s review of Children of the Corn: Genesis for their the final film in this series (for now), and reflect on all the movies adapted from Stephen King’s Night Shift stories.
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPCOTC09.mp3
The Conjuring
Last summer a low budget horror film surprised box office pundits and horror fans alike. The weekend the big-budget films RED 2 and R.I.P.D. opened, the box office champion was The Conjuring. Directed by Saw co-creator James Wan, Conjuring seemed like a retread of the horror he showcased in 2010’s Insidious, but with a based-on-real-life twist and the film became the top grossing horror film of the year. Now, as the spin-off film Annabelle hits theaters, Marjorie, Stuart, and Arnie go ghost hunting once more. Is this tale of a pesky poltergeist worth watching? Listen and find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPCONJUR01.mp3
New Podcast: Leprechaun 3 – A Podcast Preview
Las Vegas is a town full of folks hoping to strike gold, and where there is gold the Leprechaun can’t be far behind! Leprechaun 3 takes the titular tiny terror and sets him loose in Sin City as he attempts to reclaim his missing magic shilling. Does the Leprechaun’s magic work on the Vegas strip? What happens on the donation bonus podcast stays on the donation bonus podcast, so donate to Now Playing Podcast and find out!
: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLEP03TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
New Podcast: The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King — A Podcast Preview
After three years Lord of the Rings fans finally had their epic conclude with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Now Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob conclude their review of Jackson’s original Rings trilogy. With huge battles and Frodo’s personal battle of wills with the ring, this was Jackson’s most ambitious film in the trilogy, and it took home plenty of Oscar gold. But will it also take home recommends from the Now Playing hosts? If you make a pledge in support of our show you can now listen and find out!
: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLOTR03TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
Children of the Corn (2009)
Stephen King’s short story “Children of the Corn” ties Carrie for being adapted for screens three times. The first was the “Dollar Baby” Disciples of the Crow, then in 1984 came the well-known film starring Linda Hamilton. Finally in 2009 came a new Children of the Corn, premiering initially on the SciFi channel before getting an unrated home video release. Is the third time the charm for He Who Walks Behind the Rows? Join Arnie, Jakob, and Stuart to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPCOTC08.mp3
Children of the Corn: Revelation
This week listeners get two servings of Corn as Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart return to review the seventh Children of the Corn film, Revelation. Set not in Gatlin, Nebraska but rather in Omaha, featuring a cult of undead children, and with Michael Ironside getting top billing, can this serving go down easier than some of the earlier direct-to-video installments? Listen to this review to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPCOTC07.mp3
Hot Toys goes Solo, Han Solo, with the Star Wars license
Over the past six years Hot Toys has emerged as the superstar company for 12-inch highly articulated, collector-oriented action figures.
Their product lines in the past have ranged from Robocop to Predator to Terminator to even one-offs like Michael Jackson and Back to the Future. But where they’ve really shown is with their Marvel Movie Masterpiece Series figures. From Blade to Iron Man to Spider-Man to Ghost Rider, Hot Toys has amazed and astounded with their actor-accurate facial likenesses, the attention to detail, and the seemingly endless number of accessories, including interchangeable hands, feet, and heads, that come with their figures. Even the boxes each figure come in is a work of art.
I have covered Hot Toys figures for three years on the Marvelicious Toys podcast, and own every single Marvel Movie Masterpiece figure they have done–the only 12-inch line I am ‘all in’ on. Their quality and workmanship is unmatched. I’ve often wondered why Sideshow’s 12-Inch Star Wars line could not match the quality of Hot Toys’ Marvel line.
Sideshow and Hot Toys did partner once in the past, for Sideshow’s 12-Inch Bespin Luke Skywalker figure. But now Hot Toys has gotten the licence for their own lines of 1/6 scale and 1/4 scale Star Wars figures and collectibles.
Right out of the gate come not one but two sixth scale Movie Masterpiece Star Wars figures–Han Solo and Chewbacca. Available individually or as a set, these two smugglers are ready to join your collection.
- Interchangeable hair sculpt with headset
- Newly developed body with over 30 points of articulation
- Ten (10) pieces of interchangeable palms including:
– One (1) pair of relaxed palms
– One (1) pair of gloved relaxed palms
– One (1) pair of partially clenched gloved palms
– One (1) right palm for holding blaster
– One (1) left palm for supporting blaster
– One (1) right gloved palm for holding blaster
– One (1) left gloved palm for supporting blaster - Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted
- Brown leather blaster holster belt
- One (1) blaster pistol
- One (1) droid caller
- Specially designed figure stand with Han Solo nameplate and movie logo
Plus if you order the Sideshow Exclusive edition you also get a Stormtrooper belt and blaster rifle!
- Authentic and detailed likeness of Chewbacca in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
- Brown fabric hair throughout whole body
- Movie-accurate facial expression
- Newly developed body with over 30 points of articulation
- Approximately 36 cm tall
- Two (2) pairs of interchangeable palms including:
– One (1) pair of relaxed palms
– One (1) pair of palms for holding bowcaster - One (1) bowcaster
- One (1) brown bandolier bag
- One (1) headset
- Specially designed figure stand with Chewbacca nameplate and movie logo
And if you order the pair together you get everything listed above (including the Stormtrooper belt and rifle) plus an additional accessory exclusive to the set–a heavy blaster for Chewbacca to wield.
Long time Sideshow sixth-scale figure collectors, there is no word yet on how the scale of Hot Toys’ figures will fit in with Sideshow’s long-running line. As Sideshow uses their own figure bodies for most of their figures there is a chance these figures may look slightly taller or smaller than their Sideshow counterparts. This is not an evolution of Sideshow’s figure line, but an entirely new sixth scale figure line from Hot Toys.
It is canny of Hot Toys to be out of the gate with Chewbacca–a figure Sideshow has long teased but never brought to market.
However, and this is ironic, the only authorized US seller of Hot Toys is Sideshow Collectibles. As mentioned, I have purchased many Hot Toys figures, but as with any detailed piece I have received a fair number of damaged and broken figures and accessories. Hot Toys will not provide a warranty on any product purchased at an unauthorized reseller. The one Hot Toys figure I purchased from a reseller other than Sideshow, Hot Toys would provide no repairs and the seller could not offer a repalcement. If you are interested in the Hot Toys Star Wars line, my strong recommendation is you only purchase from Sideshow Collectibles, or risk having a damaged or broken piece with no recourse.
As for these figures, you can hear my first impressions on this Monday’s episode of the Star Wars Action News podcast!
In the meantime, head over to Sideshow’s site and check out these new figures. If you order, please consider supporting our site and our podcasts by using our affiliate link!
Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return
The Children of the Corn are all grown up, but original cult leader Isaac is back to lead them! The role of the original corn killer was reprised by John Franklin who not only starred but co-wrote the film with his cousin Tim Sulka. Does this return the franchise to its horror roots? Join Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPCOTC06.mp3
New Podcast: Leprechaun 2 – A Podcast Preview
The Leprechaun is back, and now he wants two kinds of booty — his gold and a bride! He’ll kill anyone who gets between him and his desires, including young Cody and his drunk uncle Morty. It doesn’t have the star power of the original, but is it magically malicious? Thanks to your donation to Now Playing you can listen and find out!
: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLEP02TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror
Allison knows her brother has joined a cult of young people who worship He Who Walks Behind the Rows, but she doesn’t know that he’s slated to be sacrificed on the eve of his eighteenth birthday. Can she save her sibling from a corny fate? The answer lies in Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror. With stars Eva Mendes, Alexis Arquette, and David Carradine, plus Fred Williamson, Kane hodder, and Ahmet Zappa on screen does this Corn greener than its predecessors? Join Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPCOTC05.mp3
New Podcast: The Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers — A Podcast Preview
Though the fellowship is broken the war of Middle Earth continues on in Peter Jackson’s second Lord of the Rings film — The Two Towers. Our heroes separated this film follows three parallel stories of heroism, and introduces new heroes and villains, including Gollum who may be either or both! There is also more action, including the intense battle at Helm’s Deep. How does this middle chapter compare to the first, and does the fellowship of the podcast remain united in their views? If you make a pledge and support Now Playing Podcast you can listen to find out!
: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/Podcasts/NPPLOTR02TEASE.MP3
Category: Movies & Film
The 40 Year-Old-Critic: Before Midnight (2013)
In The 40-Year-Old Critic, Venganza Media creator and host Arnie Carvalho recalls a memorable film for each year of his life. This series appears daily on the Venganza Media Gazette.
I described yesterday my fear of watching This Is 40 — fear of a movie that may make me examine my own life in uncomfortable ways. I never expected the film I really should have been nervous of was one I raced to opening weekend; Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight, the third film in his Before series.
I first saw Before Sunrise in the mid-90s. I had discovered indie director Linklater with his mainstream 1993 hit Dazed and Confused. I considered that film to be the American Graffiti for Generation X. Both films were period pieces that spoke as much to the trials of teens in the present day as they did in the times in which they were set. Both films also focused on the period rock to help advance the story and the mood. After Dazed, Linklater became a director I wanted to follow.
More than just the director, I was also drawn to Sunrise by its male lead, Ethan Hawke, an actor I enjoyed seeing in Dead Poets Society and, more recently at the time of Sunrise‘s release, Reality Bites.
Finally, the genre seemed up my alley — the romantic comedy. From the trailers Sunrise seemed like another Reality Bites or Singles — Jesse (Hawke) was an American 20-something traveling through Europe. On a train ride he meets Céline (Julie Delpy), a blonde French beauty. The two have one night together in Vienna before Jesse returns to the United States.
When I saw the film I was surprised that it was far more of a romance film than a comedy, but also a tender and moving one. Few films made me feel I was watching an honest romance. Hawke and Delpy sold their attraction and affection for each other. Though they had only one night together, the two had laughs, arguments, and an honest connection. They fell in love with each other, and I fell in love with their relationship.
Our first encounter with the young lovers.
It was a great film, but not one I ever expected to have a sequel. It simply wasn’t the genre of film that spawned sequels. I would revisit Before Sunrise regularly in the 90s but never expected to see the characters again. I knew that Delpy, Hawke, and Linklater always teased the thought of returning to Jesse and Céline, but I just didn’t believe it would happen. As such I was utterly stunned in 2003 when I read the trio was reteaming for Before Sunset. This time the film was written by Linklater as well as Hawke and Delphy — the actors were helping shape the story of their characters. That was a major change from the original and showed that the director and stars were creating something truly unique and special.
Before Sunset told of Jesse and Céline meeting up again for the first time in 9 years. I was excited to see the film; I felt like Linklater was giving me a mini-college reunion — my own chance to catch up with two people I fondly remembered from the 90s.
A reunion on film, nine years later.
When the film came out in limited release I was concerned it wouldn’t open in Springfield. As such Marjorie and I drove 8 hours round trip to see the movie in Chicago; it meant that much to me (ironically it opened in our town about two months later). I really enjoyed the sequel, though it had a totally different vibe than the original. Now in their 30s, the two have followed different paths; Jesse is married with a son, adding a complication and moral complexity to the prospect of a rekindled romance. Like most reunions, it was good to see these friends again, but we had grown apart a bit, and I didn’t feel as strongly about them as I did in the 90s.
But the door had been opened, and when Before Sunset came out Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke said they may return to these characters every nine years and check in on them. I wouldn’t have been shocked if a third film never came, but I equally wasn’t surprised when the third film, Before Midnight, was announced.
Now it was time for the cinematic equivalent of my 20th college reunion — it was time to see Céline and Jesse again. I was a bit concerned. Trailers let me know that the two characters had been together for the past nine years. While Linklater was a director I trusted, it seemed like a totally different concept than the previous two films. It felt like we had captured the characters’ every moment together on film, but in the years between Before Sunset and Before Midnight Jesse had left his wife and moved to Europe to be with Céline; they were now married and had twin girls. Could the film carry the same emotional resonance now that we were getting a “day in the life” type of story instead of seeing their only encounter?
My concerns were secondary, though; I saw Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy again teamed to find these characters’ stories, and so Before Midnight was my only must-see film in 2013 that wasn’t reviewed for Now Playing Podcast (though we came really close; I championed it, Stuart also wanted to, but it didn’t fit the schedule). This time there was no question Before Midnight would play in Springfield, and Marjorie and I went opening weekend. I sat down and watched the best film I would see all year.
Before Midnight never feels rushed. Though Linklater needs to catch us up on the nine years of history between our characters, the movie starts with a long scene of Jesse and Hank, his son from his previous marriage. After spending time with Céline and Jesse in Greece he was returning home to his mother. Jesse’s desire to be a good father is at odds with his current marriage — he’d like to move back to the states and be closer to his son.
When we again meet Céline and their twin daughters Ella and Nina we see a happy family, at least on the surface. With Jesse back, the four are taking a road trip for a weekend vacation at a house in the country. On the way the strains start to show as Céline starts discussing her dislike for her career and desire to change jobs though it would greatly impact their family.
Hawke and Delpy, now in their 40s.
But once we reach the country house and are introduced to Jesse and Céline’s various friends the theme of this movie became clear: it’s an exploration of ideas about love, sex, and commitment. Long conversations are had with middle-aged Céline and Jesse seeing new passion kindled between a twenty-something couple, and an older couple discussing their many years together. These stories tell of love at different stages, but also provide interesting debate on what it means to be in love, and to be committed. Céline and Jesse are committed it seems, and in love we hope, but they now want different things in their lives. In the grand spectrum of life, where does love fall on the priority list? What compromises must be made in order to work the logistics of staying together both emotionally and geographically?
As with the film’s view of love, the movie also changes as time passes. Céline and Jesse are given a romantic night at a hotel; their hosts will watch the girls. Now the film is back on familiar footing, with Jesse and Céline visiting a European locale and having meaningful conversations. Yet the stage has been set, and this time they must address their lives and their next steps.
It doesn’t go well. As couples do, new arguments lead to the trudging up of old dirt; Jesse had an affair while on a book tour, but it was just sex, not love. Meanwhile it’s strongly suggested Céline also cheated, rekindling an old romance. The fight grows bitter, raw, and real. It ends with Julie leaving the hotel room and her husband, saying she doesn’t love him anymore.
The film is dark and brooding. This was the film that I had feared This Is 40 would be; a hard look at middle-age and differing views of marriage and love. More, it is well-balanced. Both characters have made selfish choices and transgressions. Neither character is fully right, nor fully wrong, and, as accusations are made in the midst of a bitter fight, it’s hard to tell even what is fact and what is unsubstantiated accusation. It’s likely due to both lead actors participating in the script that this delicate balance is achieved. Neither character is the “bad guy” — nor is either good. Both are operating from their own points of view, and now they’re realizing their viewpoints don’t match up as they once thought.
This film hit incredibly close to home. Marjorie and I had been together for 13 years, married 11. Those years have been full of happiness, but all lives have hardships and all couples have spats. Watching Jesse and Céline break down in Europe when they realize they each had different ideas of marriage made me reflect. First, Marjorie and I were planning a romantic European vacation just weeks after watching this film — Before Midnight certainly seemed like a cautionary tale to not pick that time to discuss major life-changing decisions.
Marjorie found herself identifying with Céline; not just for the gender but also because Marjorie had a job and employer that made her miserable. Like Céline, Marjorie was looking for a career change, and that type of major decision can have a ripple effect. It did so happen that she interviewed for a new job the day before we flew to Europe, and while it didn’t diminish the fun of our vacation one iota, the question of career choices was discussed often on the trip.
Things aren’t always pleasant for the couple in the second sequel.
I found myself identifying with Jesse. Sure, he’d made some poor decisions, but he was trying to balance his career with his desire to be a good husband and father. While I have no children, I completely identified with his being pulled in multiple directions. I also saw in Jesse my own artistic nature, but one not as accomplished as I’d like due to compromises and other priorities. I completely felt what Jesse was going through and empathized with him.
Yet what the movie really exposes is that two people can be together and have totally different views of their relationship. While happy and playful on the surface, beneath there could be unknown angst and tension. And it’s not that both parties are sublimating — it’s completely possible one person is miserable while the other is content.
The film led to some great conversations with my wife, ensuring we were indeed on the same page with our lives and not a tangled mess of miscommunication like Jesse and Céline. It was very interesting leaving the theater and cautiously discussing the themes; especially when we each took different sides in the argument. It didn’t, but it could have easily led to an argument between us, and that is how real Before Midnight feels.
In private I continued to ruminate on this film and the ideas it put forth. What is love? How does it change over time? These aren’t just academic discussions; these are the emotions that rule our lives. I love that Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy don’t give definitive answers; they raise viewpoints and it’s up to each individual member of the audience to supply the answers that are true for them.
This film is not the tearing down of what Before Sunrise and Before Sunset — its end message seems to indicate love conquers all, and it seems Céline and Jesse are in love after all.
As am I with my wife. As I write this we are on another romantic getaway for my 40th birthday. And, no, there have not been any fights, no storming out, no near-divorce moments.
But Before Midnight is one of the greatest types of films, one that hits home emotionally. I don’t know if Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke will reteam again in 2022. If they do, I don’t know if Célene and Jesse will still be married, or a divorced couple meeting again. What I know is I’ll be there to see what these characters say about people in the next stage of their lives, and I wonder how it will mirror my own.
Arnie is a movie critic for Now Playing Podcast, a book reviewer for the Books & Nachos podcast, and co-host of the collecting podcasts Star Wars Action News and Marvelicious Toys. You can follow him on Twitter @thearniec
Pre-Order Alert: Sideshow Collectibles’ Premium Format Thor from The Dark World
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The 40 Year-Old-Critic: This Is 40 (2012)
In The 40-Year-Old Critic, Venganza Media creator and host Arnie Carvalho recalls a memorable film for each year of his life. This series appears daily on the Venganza Media Gazette.
Have you ever wanted to see a movie and yet been afraid to watch it?
It’s an interesting feeling — the allure of a film that should be very good and entertaining, but the anticipation is tainted by fear that I may have an uncomfortable experience. Not that I feel the movie may be bad, but that it could be so good that it makes you a different person after watching it.
As a child I held this fear about many horror movies. From A Nightmare on Elm Street to Hellraiser II, I was scared of what the movie might contain. But as I grew up it wasn’t horror movies that scared me; it was stories about people, and movies that may hold up a mirror and force me to look deep inside myself.
In 2012 the film I feared watching most was This Is 40.
On the surface that may seem absolutely silly. After all, what is there to fear about a comedy, especially a spin off to the easy, breezy stoner sex romp Knocked Up?
The problem lies entirely in coincidence. This is 40 was released in the holiday season of 2012, a time in which those numbers — 4 – 0 — loomed large in my future. This entire review series is a retrospective of my 40 years of watching films, but it ends with me being forced to say, “So… this is 40.”
More, this movie was written and directed by Judd Apatow, best known for his 2005 comedy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Though I had watched a few episodes of his TV series Freaks and Geeks, it was through Virgin that I became aware of Apatow’s work.
Clearly he was a funny writer; The 40-Year-Old Virgin had me laughing out loud throughout. But despite being funny and raunchy, there was something about the film that felt real and true. Andy, the sexually-challenged obsessive toy collector played by Steve Carrell, may have been a caricature, but he was also sweet and earnest. By the end of the film he’d gone from wanting sex to wanting true love, and the audience rooted for him. More, his friends all seemed to have more realistic problems; one constantly cheats on his girlfriend, another is obsessed with his ex.
This combination of heart and humor became Apatow’s trademark, and while I didn’t feel his follow-up films Knocked Up and Funny People reached the heights of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, they both were films with a human story surrounded by comedy. Even the films Apatow produced, but didn’t direct or write, often followed that pattern, with Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Wanderlust, and The Five-Year Engagement all being character studies as well as comedies.
It was specifically Funny People that made me fear This is 40 the most. That film featured Adam Sandler as a comedian dying of leukemia. While the movie pulled several punches and most of the jokes didn’t hit (like any 21st Century Sandler film), it showed a dramatic weight and had several moments that tugged at the heartstrings and made me contemplate my own death — what would I do if I became terminally ill at a still relatively young age?
Bathroom humor… literally.
Now Apatow was going to set his sights squarely on middle-aged suburbanites. As an Apatow fan I wanted to see the film, but as a man about to turn 40 I feared what I would see.
I have a good life. I love my wife, I have a steady job, we have a nice house, and we travel a lot. Through my podcasts I get to touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, and some of the doors opened by those shows allow me to have experiences many only dream of. I am not unhappy in my life, but any major milestone is a time for reflection. Should I have chased my dreams harder than I did? Should I have become comfortable in my job? Did I compromise too much?
It’s hard to start living a life where you see the clock start ticking the other way, and life starts being gauged by the things you’ll never do instead of the things you’ll do someday. That is being 40 — and I wasn’t sure I wanted to see a movie that would epitomize that experience.
The trailers showed a couple seemingly at a crossroads. The opening scene showed Paul Rudd’s character, Pete, chatting with a friend, Barry (Robert Smigel), confiding that he sometimes fantasizes about his wife’s death and the second wife he may find after.
“God, I can’t wait to meet my second wife,” Pete tells Barry. “I hope she likes me better than this one.”
Yes, it was somewhat amusing but it also was about death. I know too many remarried widows and widowers, and the thought of losing Marjorie was uncomfortable.
Lines then floated from the screen, such as, “I have responsibilities, I can’t afford to sit in my apartment getting baked,” and, “It doesn’t seem like our lives should be this much work.”
Another line that resonated with me; “We’re gonna blink and be 90. We have to make a choice to make things different.”
It then ends with a turnaround, showing Pete’s wife Debbie (Leslie Mann) admitting she also fantasizes about his death.
While the parenting situations portrayed were not ones to which I could relate, these messages of reflection on aging mirrored my inner thoughts to a frightening degree. If I was already undergoing extreme neurotic self-examination, what would I see in the mirror held up by This is 40?
I didn’t see the film in theaters. I eventually rented it on iTunes during a trip; the 30-day rental expired with me never having pushed “play.” Then I set up my Tivo to record it, where it sat for months.
Can this couple stay together? Do we want them to?
Finally, one night at 3 a.m., I found myself restless and unable to sleep. Though it was a weeknight and I had to work in a few hours, I got up and went into the home theater. It was time to face my fear and watch This is 40, though it was a path I chose to walk alone, intentionally watching when Marjorie was sound asleep.
What did I find in that film? Was it an honest portrayal of 21st century middle-age? Was it a scathing look at modern marriages? Was it going to try to sell me on the trite message that children are the only thing worth living for; a path I intentionally never took?
Nope. All my fear was for nothing — all I got was an incredibly unfunny and poorly written movie.
Despite the title, Apatow didn’t focus on the issues of an aging Generation X. This was not our mid-life crisis version of The Breakfast Club; a cultural touchstone that we could all look at while sadly remembering days gone by. No, This Is 40 is not even attempting to speak to a generation; it is simply a situation comedy with a broad title.
That is fine, and actually I was relieved to not have an uncomfortable movie experience. My dislike of this film is not because it wasn’t what I expected; my dislike is that this is an ugly portrayal of unlikable people in which none of the jokes work.
Pete and Debbie are a married couple who seem to genuinely dislike each other. The death fantasies were not wanderlust; they were manifestations of extreme aggravation. And, honestly, both are right to sometimes hate the other.
Apatow films often feature a man-child in the lead role, and here that character is Pete, a man who keeps chasing his dreams, though he’s about to turn 40. That, in itself, isn’t so bad. Some of his behaviors were even slightly amusing. He sneaks food like a child. He hides out in the bathroom to play on his iPad versus talk to his family. But in this type of character there is a line where you cross from funny into pathological, and Pete crosses that line. He lies to his wife about money, taking their life savings and giving it in chunks to his deadbeat father Larry (Albert Brooks). He also hides his business troubles.
His wife Debbie is no better. If the Apatow male is irresponsible, the counter is the Apatow female — the shrew. Apatow’s real-life wife Mann is often cast in that role, and here she’s the most extreme and horrible version of that character. Vain and neurotic, she leaves her husband to his own devices while she goes out trying to recapture her youth, partying with her young employee Desi (Megan Fox). She flirts with other guys, and there’s a fine line between wanting to feel validated and cheating on your husband; Debbie skirts that line. Most, Debbie discovers she’s pregnant and hides that from Pete.
Looking at these two characters that do whatever they can to not spend time together, who lie to each other versus having hard conversations, I hoped this film ended in divorce. This was not a couple I wanted to see work it out, not even for the children.
And Melissa McCarthy’s in this movie… doing that thing she does in every movie.
Apatow includes scenes of the two working in unison, such as when they have to visit the school principal about an incident with another parent (played by the always one-note Melissa McCarthy). I think the director intended to show that while the couple may fight and struggle, together they are strong. Instead of that, I took away that they are lying, manipulative characters who treat the rest of the world as badly as they treat each other.
It seemed an ugly portrayal — a marriage of convenience and obligation versus love.
Still, I’m not sure this movie had a “plot” so much as it was a loose stringing together of subplots. For instance, Debbie has an employee stealing from her business. It’s a mystery at first, but eventually revealed to be Desi, who is stealing to finance a drug habit. This is supposed to be a revelation that makes Debbie realize young, sexy Desi isn’t perfect and that she should no longer yearn to be in her 20s, but that character turn doesn’t make sense. It really just shows that Debbie is a poor judge of character. More, Desi’s troubles are never examined, and she is cast aside in the film.
Another subplot involves Debbie attempting to reconnect with her wealthy physician father, Oliver (John Lithgow). I thought that subplot was there to provide an “out” for the various financial issues the couple put themselves in, but no, the film offers that solution and then refuses it.
When credits rolled I was relieved that I no longer had to spend any more time with Pete, Debbie, and their dysfunctional family and friends, and I’d have been hard-pressed to tell you the point of the film.
This is 40 is clearly Apatow’s worst directorial effort to date, on par with some of his worst-produced films, notably Wanderlust and The Five-Year Engagement. The jokes fall flat, focusing on such inane topics as an obsession with the TV show Lost. More, the story is non-existent. That could all work if I liked the characters, but the script makes that impossible. Even Rudd, who has oozed charisma in every role I’ve seen, stumbles badly. Usually his charm can make him stand out even when he’s working with sub-par material, but here the most extreme version of his lovable, immature routine comes across as whiny and spoiled.
The worst part of 40 is the length. Perhaps I made a mistake watching the even longer unrated cut, but in a movie where most of the jokes die and the characters have no appreciable arcs, the goal should be to cut as much as possible. Instead Apatow became as self-indulgent as his characters and the film ballooned to more than two hours and fifteen minutes.
I guess I was right for fearing This is 40, but for all the wrong reasons. In the end, I just spent nearly two-and-a-half hours of my last year in my 30s watching a pathetic, unfunny, and unoriginal film.
Now just days away from that milestone birthday, I’ve gotten past my fear — not only of this movie but of that age. The amount of thought given, both through this review series, watching This is 40, and private reflection has shown me that 40 may not be so bad after all. My beard may have a few gray hairs, but I have used this time to build a terrific life.
Being 40 isn’t so bad at all, but This is 40 is miserable.
Tomorrow — 2013 — the final review!
Arnie is a movie critic for Now Playing Podcast, a book reviewer for the Books & Nachos podcast, and co-host of the collecting podcasts Star Wars Action News and Marvelicious Toys. You can follow him on Twitter @thearniec
The 40 Year-Old-Critic: X-Men: First Class (2011)
In The 40-Year-Old Critic, Venganza Media creator and host Arnie Carvalho recalls a memorable film for each year of his life. This series appears daily on the Venganza Media Gazette.
I didn’t really want to review the X-Men films for Now Playing Podcast.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy discussing any movie in-depth, whether it’s Leprechaun in Space or Touch of Evil. But for X-Men I had a specific hesitation.
I had, in passing, already discussed these films with longtime friend and podcast co-host Stuart. It was clear we didn’t see eye-to-eye; he expressed a preference for Bryan Singer’s earlier, dour X-films; I actually enjoyed Brett Ratner’s third X-Men movie, The Last Stand, the most — finally giving the superheroes fight sequences they’d been denied on screen.
I hadn’t seen the X-Men films in a few years by 2011, when we started our Marvel Movie Retrospective Series, but I was fully prepared to stand alone with my minority opinion.
It wasn’t that I loved X-Men: The Last Stand. I felt all the X-Men films were lacking in some areas, and expressing my preference for Ratner’s vision didn’t mean I could champion it. I loved Marvel, especially the movies, but to this franchise I held no allegiance.
That is why in 2009 we took a pass on that year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After the film was released we felt doubly justified.
But, as I discussed in my Howard the Duck article, in 2011 Now Playing was beginning its most ambitious endeavor; reviewing every Marvel-based movie ever released in theaters (U.S. or overseas). That meant Stuart, Jakob, and I would have to tackle the X-films, eventually.
How we approached this retrospective was the subject of some debate. I initially pitched doing all the films intermixed, in chronological order. Perhaps because it would have seemed odd to have 2002’s Spider-Man review immediately followed by 2003’s Daredevil and Hulk (both released before Spider-Man 2) Stuart wisely suggested breaking the series into a number of smaller sub-series; do Spider-Man as a unit, Blade as another group, and the X-Men by themselves. But then how would we order them? First-to-last according to release date? Or do we start with the most recent film?
Finally, realizing the interest listeners had in our theatrical release reviews, we decided to just shuffle all the series’ around to whatever order fit; but two rules presided. First, we would arrange series’ so that if they had a theatrical release, as happened for X-Men and Ghost Rider, we would tie into that release. Second, we would do all the movies in time for the ultimate Marvel crossover movie: 2012’s The Avengers.
(Sony then threw a wrench in that plan by releasing their The Amazing Spider-Man reboot in the weeks following Avengers, making Marvel’s most popular superhero the only one we hadn’t reviewed)
Would audiences accept an X-film without Wolverine?
This massive undertaking meant we could delay it no further; we had to review X-Men. More, while we had done three one-off Marvel movies — Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, and Kick Ass, in a loose group we called Marvel Misfits — X-Men was our first real series in the Marvel Movie Retrospective. This was demanded by the release of 20th Century Fox’s impending reboot/prequel of their X-franchise, X-Men: First Class.
I wasn’t terribly excited for First Class. It was the latest offering in a scattershot series. More, it didn’t have Wolverine. While his 2009 solo film was an over-the-top testosterone-fueled orgy of explosions, I still enjoyed the character and did wonder if his absence from First Class was a blessing, giving him a rest after Origins, or a curse, the new film lacking the series’ star.
It turns out all of this fear was for nothing. While Stuart and I did disagree over the merits of the first three X-Men films and Origins, the conversations were always fun. More, Jakob provided a great third perspective that tempered both of our points and prevented the conversations from following any preconceived pattern I’d feared. Also, revisiting the films with revised expectations allowed me to appreciate them more than I had in the past.
More importantly, though, in 2011 the X-Men got their first truly great film with First Class. I had feared not finding a film I loved in the X-series, but new director Matthew Vaughn delivered that in spades.
First, the film had a lead cast that was nothing short of amazing.
I knew James McAvoy from his earlier teen comedy Starter For Ten, a film funnier than its teen game show premise deserved. The actor was also a standout in Wanted, holding his own against Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, and imbibing his character with personality that seemed lacking from the movie’s thin script.
Still, while I liked the man’s work, I had a hard time imagining him as Charles “Professor X” Xavier, the lead X-Man portrayed by Patrick Stewart in the earlier films. But with Vaughn’s direction and the script (co-written by the director) this was a young, cheeky Xavier, and McAvoy owned the part.
He was, however, overshadowed by co-star Michael Fassbender, who took the role of Erik “Magneto” Lensherr; previously occupied by Ian McKellen. X-Men: First Class took elements from a canceled X-Men Origins: Magneto script — and truthfully this film is Magneto’s. Like the original X-Men film, First Class opens in a Nazi concentration camp showing Magneto, still a child, discovering his powers. But it continues that story line and shows the Nazis grooming Lensherr and training him. Magneto’s quest for revenge is the true arc of this film, and, playing Erik as an adult, Fassbender commands the screen.
I can’t recall even hearing Fassbender’s name before First Class. I had seen him in only two films: 300 and Jonah Hex, and neither performance was memorable. From this role I knew Fassbender had amazing range. With the X-Men franchise under his belt Fassbender has picked a variety of mostly smaller films allowing him to demonstrate his range, but he was truly the best find of First Class.
Jennifer Lawrence joins the X-franchise as Mystique.
That is probably a somewhat unpopular opinion, especially for any Hunger Games fans reading this review, as First Class also featured Jennifer Lawrence, starring as the shape-shifting mutant Mystique (a role previously played by Rebecca Romijn). Unlike Fassbender, I knew of Lawrence before First Class due to her role in Winter’s Bone. Strong word-of-mouth brought that movie to my attention, and Lawrence earned an Academy Award nomination for her role. Still, while already an acclaimed actress, she was just beginning her career. Few could have predicted what her future held; becoming Hollywood’s biggest actress thanks to her role of Katniss in the aforementioned Hunger Games series, plus continuing to make critically acclaimed films, as well as winning an Oscar for her role in Silver Linings Playbook.
In X-Men: First Class it was clear she was as talented as her more seasoned co-stars. While not much more than a sexy henchman in the original X-Men trilogy, here Mystique’s dilemma is the heart of the film; she can do amazing things but her true form is scaly and blue. The film shows her path of self-acceptance and, as a by-product, her allegiance shifting from the more diplomatic Professor X to the more militant Magneto.
Even the smaller roles were stacked with great performances, with Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, and Oliver Platt being stand-outs. I felt the only weak link in the film was January Jones, the Mad Men star who played “White Queen” Emma Frost.
Yet while the cast was amazing, its director was even more so. I knew Vaughn only for his 2010 superhero parody Kick-Ass, and he brought that same visual flare and fast-paced storytelling style to First Class. Also, like Kick-Ass, this film had actual character development intermixed with a healthy dose of comedy.
Out of all the X-Men films, this was the first one that had been really, truly fun while also establishing amazing rivalries and human drama. It was the first great X-Men movie.
It was a delight to watch, and I was ecstatic while recording the Now Playing review when I discovered Jakob and Stuart had seen the same film I did. The only thing better than watching an amazing film is sharing that enthusiasm with other film lovers.
The movie, and that podcast review, were my personal high points of our X-Men retrospective series, and it kicked off our Marvel Retrospective with a huge bang. There were good times ahead.
In the three years since this film’s theatrical release I’ve seen it at least a dozen more times. I went back to see it in theaters even after Now Playing’s review, just for fun. I bought it on its Blu-ray release date, and watched it immediately. It’s a staple, any time it airs on television I turn it on again. On flights it’s the movie that gets the most play on my iPad.
Fassbender’s Magneto is the highlight of the film.
Yet this enthusiasm is tinged with sadness. While I did not share a dissenting opinion on the podcast, all three of us seem to be in a minority group for our love of this film. It became the lowest grossing X-Men film ever — audiences just didn’t turn out to see the movie. Perhaps they were put off by the lack of Wolverine? Maybe the 1960s period piece feel didn’t appeal to 21st Century moviegoers? Perhaps the summer was just too full of superheroes with Thor and Captain America also hitting screens? No matter the reason, the film failed to find an audience and made less money than 2000’s original X-Men, even with 11 years of ticket inflation taken into account.
More, it seems this movie didn’t catch on in home video. I thought it could have a second life in home theaters, but my anecdotal evidence suggests people simply preferred the movies with the original cast to this new vision.
If there is no greater joy than discussing a beloved film with others who share that sentiment, there are few feelings more depressing than feeling alone and wondering why everyone else can’t see in this film the great things I see.
Worse, lack of fan response ended First Class‘ run in the X-Men. Fox, knowing they have to battle Marvel (who are the creators of the X-Men characters, but don’t hold the film rights), decided a major course correction was needed for the studio’s premier superhero franchise. They had definite ideas for the next X-Men movie, and were prepared to spend more than they ever had before to ensure their mutants could stand their ground against the Avengers. Studio interference and demands, including bringing back some members of the original cast to appeal to fans, led to Vaughn abandoning development on the sequel film, and in his place Bryan Singer returned to the franchise.
The result of Fox and Singer’s work was this year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. It was a very good movie — Singer’s best entry in the franchise by a mile. Yet it didn’t do as good a job juggling the characters, the story line wasn’t as tight, and it lacked the groovy, kinetic fun of First Class. It lacked Vaughn, who was the X-factor the franchise needed most.
But again I may stand alone in that opinion, as Days of Future Past became the highest-grossing X-film to date; besting X-Men: The Last Stand’s take in 2006.
I have no doubt that with the upcoming X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, the X-films will continue to get grander and mix in more cast members new and old. I just hold out hope that at some point they look back and see all that First Class did right, and bring some of that lighthearted humanity back to the X-Men.
Tomorrow — 2011!
Arnie is a movie critic for Now Playing Podcast, a book reviewer for the Books & Nachos podcast, and co-host of the collecting podcasts Star Wars Action News and Marvelicious Toys. You can follow him on Twitter @thearniec
The 40 Year-Old-Critic: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
In The 40-Year-Old Critic, Venganza Media creator and host Arnie Carvalho recalls a memorable film for each year of his life. This series appears daily on the Venganza Media Gazette.
On the surface this may look like I’m again revisiting a movie reviewed on Now Playing Podcast. But that’s not the case. This is actually the first time I’m getting to share my views on Edgar Wright’s 2010 romantic comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Looking back, I recall 2010 was a very busy summer for me. I was approaching my 5th anniversary of podcasting with Star Wars Action News, which was, at the time, our most-downloaded show. However, Now Playing was on the rise in the iTunes ranks, and while 2009 saw the show go several weeks without a new episode, by 2010 we were putting out a new show almost every week. We even decided to experiment with fundraising to help cover our costs by doing two shows a week in October: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Retrospective Series on our main feed and the Child’s Play Retrospective Series for those who donated money to the show.
Doing so many podcasts at once was becoming a heavy load for me to carry, and I hit a bit of a breaking point by late summer. Not only were we doing two Now Playing shows per week and Star Wars Action News, but we also were covering San Diego Comic-Con in July (which had us producing an SDCC-exclusive bonus podcast review of I Know Who Killed Me), and the Star Wars Celebration V convention in mid-August. There Marjorie and I, as part of Star Wars Action News, were throwing a party that was to be attended by hundreds of people, hosting several panels on Star Wars Collecting and the Star Wars Radio Dramas, and, of course, trying to put together our reports on the convention.
I felt I needed a break; priorities had to shift. SWAN was Venganza Media’s flagship podcast, so it and Star Wars Celebration V demanded my attention. I needed time off from Now Playing.
Until that point I had been Now Playing’s constant. I was the producer and — for most of the run — editor of the show. The other hosts rotated, but I was always there facilitating the show and making sure it went smoothly. Yet I still made plans, communicating with Brock, Stuart, and Jakob to do the Philip K. Dick Retrospective Series without me. It seemed perfectly timed, as The Adjustment Bureau was coming out in July. The guys would record the shows, and our first editor, Jay, would cut them. I could finally be “hands off.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be on the series; Blade Runner is a long-time favorite that I’ve seen more often than I can count. Total Recall is another favorite. With Minority Report also in the series, I would have liked to be there to express the minority opinion that the film isn’t very good.
Still working the schedule, I could see we needed one more show for August, specifically for the weekend of Star Wars Celebration. I suggested the guys do Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I knew nothing about the movie beyond having seen some trailers, but to me it seemed in line with Now Playing’s usual fare. First, it looked like a film full of comedic action and special effects. Second, it was coming from Edgar Wright, the director of the awesome and quirky Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Third, Jakob was a huge fan of the comic books and hyped for the film.
It seemed all set and ready to go.
Then it all fell apart.
Right after the July 4 weekend Universal Pictures announced it was moving The Adjustment Bureau’s release to February 2011. These Hollywood schedule shifts always cause headaches for us, but none had been worse than this one; most of the Dick series had already been recorded and we had to scramble to get other shows ready and released to fill that gap — not what I wanted to be doing in an already jam-packed July.
Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers. Do they deserve each other?
Then came Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I was in Orlando for Celebration when the show was released, which made it the first (and only) time in Now Playing history I was hearing the show as a listener. I had complete faith in the guys to do a great job, but it was odd to be so out of the loop on my own show. Yet I listened, even without having seen the film, and it was a solid episode. Still, it was hard for me to judge — I was too busy to see the movie.
Finally, after returning from Celebration in late August, Marjorie and I made it to the theater to see Scott Pilgrim. It was a chore — the movie had quickly vanished from our local theaters, so we had to drive two hours each way to see it. Yet it was completely worth it. I sat there enraptured as Wright delivered what, to this day, remains his best film.
Part of the thrill came from the fact I didn’t really know what the film was about. The trailers suggested that the characters were living in a video game world, collecting coins and getting 1-Up extra lives. It was quirky, but what was it about? I expected the movie to offer some explanation; perhaps, Tron-like, Scott had fallen into a video game world, or maybe he had an overactive imagination like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty?
No, it turned out Wright was a confident enough filmmaker to just make a fantasy film in which this was the world. It wasn’t strange to any character that mortal combat would break out in the streets, that two-headed dragons would emerge from speaker systems, or that coins magically appear when people die. All taking place in the magical land of… Canada. It was a vision that Wright completely committed to, and the result is a phenomenally immersive experience. I usually don’t like fantastical scenarios (going to Tolkien’s Middle Earth holds little appeal) but I would love to visit Wright’s Canada.
The editing and music on the film were honestly the best I’d seen in a film that year. Wright’s kinetic montage-style of filmmaking had been a high point of his previous two movies, but here was the first time he seemed totally at ease with his own storytelling ability. It was the same effective, short-hand repetition Darren Aronofsky had used in Requiem for a Dream, but here it was fun and it worked. More, it hit me in a sweet spot: its video game references were all of the late 80s and early 90s 8-bit and 16-bit systems like Super Mario Bros., games I spent thousands of hours playing in my youth.
The film’s saturated color palette, the comic book-style words that filled the frame, the soundtrack and score, every element came together in Scott Pilgrim to create an incredibly fun movie experience.
Scott gets a life.
But there was more to this movie than just a good time — it was also a romantic comedy. The primary plot surrounds Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), his crush on Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and their courtship. In order for them to date, though, Scott had to engage Ramona’s “Seven Evil Exes” in battle.
The trailers told me that was the setup for the film, but the focus had been on the fights and the comedy. I had no idea that the movie would be so deep on the romance.
The film is virtually a love quadrangle: Scott starts the film dating underage Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), a girl so infatuated with him that she practically seems like a groupie for Scott’s band, Sex Bob-omb. Scott is a very passive character so he can’t bring himself to break up with Knives until he is certain things are going well with Ramona.
Then, in the background, is Sex Bob-omb drummer Kim Pine (Alison Pill), Scott’s ex-girlfriend who seems fed-up with her bandmate’s immature relationships.
This wasn’t your standard rom-com where everything is clean-cut and neat — there were messy relationships at work. In this magical land of Canada real emotions and moral dilemmas were being had. Were Scott’s actions right, or was he wrong for dating Ramona while still going with Knives? Did I want to see Scott with Ramona?
Yes, Scott was infatuated with Ramona; she was the princess in the castle and Scott was the video-game hero who had to rescue her. He didn’t just have to court her; he had to fight for her. Literally. Ramona has had seven romances in her life and Scott must defeat each one.
First, this is an awesomely delivered metaphor for any new romantic relationship. When two adults start to date each brings with them the wounds of heartbreak and the baggage of previous boyfriends and girlfriends. New love often is accompanied by hesitation and a degree of paranoia; will this person try to control me like my last girlfriend did? Will he cheat on me like my previous boyfriend?
In real life those “evil exes” are simply previous loves lost, and a new suitor must battle it by earning trust and proving themselves better than those who came before. But that’s the real world; in Wright’s fantasy-land of Canada these evil exes have to be fought Mortal Kombat-style… to the death. It’s a storytelling conceit that is fun but also drives home that Ramona carries some serious baggage.
Scott arms himself for battle.
Wright has perfect casting in the film, with Cera a particular highlight. I first encountered the actor in Superbad and then caught up on his breakthrough television role of George Michael Bluth on Arrested Development. He carries with him a shy niceness that makes him seem sweet even when making bad decisions. More, he’s thin and wiry, and doesn’t look well-equipped to engage anyone in combat. When Matthew Patel, the first evil ex, appears, it’s easy to think Scott’s ass will be handily kicked.
Yet this is Canada, normal rules of fighting don’t apply. Scott pulls out fighting moves that astound Patel and the audience. While Patel and Scott fight in hand-to-hand combat, no two battles follow the same video game convention. From Rock Band to Tony Hawk Pro Skater, each fight has its own video game analog.
But as Scott battled I started to wonder if he and Ramona really should be together. Ramona was non-committal; she couldn’t even go a few days without changing her hair color, let alone her boyfriend. Even as Scott battles ex after ex, Ramona is not forthcoming about her past — Scott’s every day is a surprise of what’s coming next. More, as each ex arrives Ramona finally reveals to Scott her relationship with that person, and how she broke up with them. It turns out Ramona was always the one to initiate the break-up, she’d never been dumped.
Scott was fighting for Ramona, but I wondered if Ramona would fight equally for Scott. Winstead’s performance is wonderfully reserved, giving me that hesitation. We know Knives would, and does, fight for Scott’s love, but is Ramona the one Scott should end up with? Or will she dump him as she has all seven of her exes?
More, it turned out Scott himself had a history, having been dumped by Natalie “Envy” Adams (Brie Larson) when she became famous with her band The Clash at Demonhead. Scott is as evasive about Envy as Ramona is about any of her exes.
For a movie that was sold as an 8-bit video game fight, I was just as enthralled with the emotional resonance and depth of characterization occurring on-screen.
A fake poster created for the film, featuring Chris Evans’ action hero character.
The actors, from large roles to small, also delivered great performances. Kieran Culkin almost stole the film as Scott’s gay roommate Wallace Wells. Every scene with Culkin is full of quotable dialogue and unexpected humor. Minor roles in the film are stocked with familiar faces, including Rushmore’s Jason Schwartzman as seventh evil ex Gideon Gordon Graves, Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) as a psychic vegan Scott must fight, and Captain America Chris Evans as a skateboarding action movie star. The latter two had both done superhero films I disliked (Routh in Superman, Evans in Fantastic Four), but their performances here won me over and I left the film actually liking both of them. Plus cameos by Thomas Jane (The Punisher) and others always had me going, “I can’t believe he’s in this film too!”
I don’t wish to sound trite, but everyone in this movie was perfect — and that’s a term I don’t use lightly.
That this film didn’t find its audience at the box-office was disappointing. This was a movie I thought everyone should see, and most would enjoy. It had come out of nowhere and became my favorite film of 2010 (with Kick-Ass a very close second).
More, though, I was heartbroken. This was such a great movie and I couldn’t talk about it. That spot on the show had been given up, through my own action. I had said, “You guys go ahead, take this one without me.” Now I can never spend two hours debating the various romantic entanglements, and relishing in the great performances delivered in Scott Pilgrim. Despite putting more than 2,000 words of praise into this article, it will never be as widely disseminated a review as the one you’ll hear on Now Playing Podcast.
I have very few regrets in my podcasting history. Not being on the panel reviewing Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is one of the biggest.
That day I made a vow — I wouldn’t make that mistake again. After Scott Pilgrim there would never again be a Now Playing review I did not co-host. Barring massive illness or injury, I will remain Now Playing’s constant. It is in my blood to discuss film. I love the conversations, even if I don’t always love the film.
Another host approached me when Jakob, Stuart, and I were doing our Steven Spielberg donation retrospective series covering Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and War of the Worlds, asking for a turn on the panel. His argument was, “You don’t even like Close Encounters,” so why would I want to be on the review. The answer was pure and simple — I wanted to be there to say why I didn’t like Close Encounters. I wanted to have that debate with two fans of the film. It’s not just about the movie; it’s about the analysis, the debate, and the conversation. There’s no fun if everyone agrees on everything, having a minority opinion is vital to good debate.
I will always regret not being able to be on a podcast review of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but I came out of that knowing how important Now Playing truly is to me. And that is a happy ending.
Tomorrow — 2010!
Arnie is a movie critic for Now Playing Podcast, a book reviewer for the Books & Nachos podcast, and co-host of the collecting podcasts Star Wars Action News and Marvelicious Toys. You can follow him on Twitter @thearniec
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering
The ghost of a child evangelist possesses the youth of Grand Island, Nebraska. Can medical student Grace stop this preaching poltergeist before he possesses the body of her daughter? More importantly, can Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering, starring two time Academy Award nominee (and Chainsaw award winner!) Naomi Watts and scream queen Karen Black, improve this film series’ track record? Join Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPCOTC04.mp3
The 40 Year-Old-Critic: Avatar (2009)
In The 40-Year-Old Critic, Venganza Media creator and host Arnie Carvalho recalls a memorable film for each year of his life. This series appears daily on the Venganza Media Gazette.
Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time. Audiences loved the film, as did most critics. Yet in 2009 the film failed to excite me, my review was controversial, and to this day Avatar continues to give me a headache. To this day I also remember the buildup to that film’s release… and the aftermath.
I had heard rumblings about Avatar for years. James Cameron’s last theatrical film had been Titanic in 1997 — then the top-grossing film of all time — and after that massive success the director dropped out of the spotlight, focusing his time on a few IMAX documentaries. It seemed quite possible in my mind that Cameron might not ever make a film again, and with each passing year I paid less attention to the rumors that swirled about his next project.
It wasn’t until San Diego Comic-Con in 2009 that Avatar truly grabbed my attention. Signs showcasing the blue Na’vi aliens were everywhere, and all the buzz at the convention was about 20th Century Fox’s panel and the Avatar footage they would show.
My curiosity was piqued. I was a fan of Cameron’s films in the 80s and early 90s; the two Terminator films and Aliens are among some of my favorite movies. I was less thrilled with The Abyss and True Lies, and Titanic was the breaking point. The film was way too long in all respects, and while I thought it was competently made I never cared for it. As such, I wanted to see what the man who made Terminator 2 would do, but his later works prevented me from being excited.
As I wasn’t passionate for Avatar I never even thought it should be reviewed on Now Playing Podcast. That idea came from my co-host Stuart.
My memory is slightly fuzzy, but as I recall Avatar was the first film Stuart ever championed to review on the show.
Before 2009 Stuart had reviewed two only two movies for Now Playing. In 2008 I asked him to review Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I knew that compilation of episodes that Warner Bros. laughingly called a “film” was an atrocity that made The Phantom Menace look like The Maltese Falcon by comparison. Yet due to my primary podcast, Star Wars Action News, I didn’t want to eviscerate the film myself for fear of alienating any Star Wars fans excited for Clone Wars. Stuart had been writing reviews for another website for some time, and as he was one of my few friends who was not a fan of Star Wars, I felt he’d be perfect for the job.
Later that same year Stuart came to visit and we ended up seeing the Clive Barker film The Midnight Meat Train. Marjorie suggested we record a Now Playing review and I was shocked how much fun I had. Stuart’s knowledge of film plus my own horror fandom made that easily one of my favorite “early episodes” we recorded. But it was a one-off recording; there were no plans for there ever to be another. Still, I wanted to talk more horror with Stuart.
But Now Playing was not a priority for me in 2007 or 2008. During those years the show had languished; lack of regular content caused downloads to drop from the thousands to the tens. Several efforts to reignite the show had not caught on with listeners, but I enjoyed having an outlet to discuss movies when so inclined.
Things started to turn around in January 2009 when I was inspired to return to Now Playing to review the rebooted Friday the 13th, and it wasn’t enough to just do that one movie — I wanted to review the entire Friday the 13th series. And I wanted Stuart to join us.
He was hesitant. He didn’t love the franchise and wasn’t entirely sure what would be involved. Still, he agreed. Even with the lower caliber Friday entries, the recording sessions were fun. More, the audience was responding, and we started getting thousands of listeners again. As such, near the end of the Friday the 13th Retrospective we decided to continue going with Star Trek.
Things snowballed, and by late 2009 Stuart had been on dozens of shows discussing The Terminator, Halloween and more. Yet it seemed he was going along with the group. Even though there were series where he strongly liked early installments, the new releases didn’t excite him. The theatrical weekend-of-release recordings left him cold.
Zoe Saldana in blue. She’d later go green for Marvel.
Until Avatar. After a long series of Halloween movie reviews Stuart wanted to do a one-off review for Cameron’s newest film.
Now it was my turn to resist.
I was hesitant for a number of reasons. First, Now Playing had tried for years to do weekend-of-release reviews, but it was the retrospective series’ that really clicked with listeners. Even in 2009 Marjorie and I had done a couple one-off reviews, but they didn’t reach a wide audience.
More, I was the editor for weekend-of-release recordings. Those shows take a bigger time commitment than any other. It’s easy to be a host on a series that doesn’t excite you — two hours of watching, two hours of recording, and you’re done. As the editor I’d have to spend another dozen hours, or more, editing and polishing the show. It’s hard to commit that amount of time for a film in which I had only mild interest.
But Stuart had been agreeable, reviewing some schlocky horror along the way. And he had already signed on for 2010’s Nightmare on Elm Street retrospective, a series I was ecstatic about. Now Playing scheduling is all about negotiation, so I agreed not only to Avatar but also to his idea of a Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio team-up retrospective that would kick off 2010.
Plus Stuart followed film development and studio tracking far more than I did, and he knew how big Avatar would be.
Not to say I was totally resistant. More than wanting to be a team player and “give one up” for Stuart, as the film’s marketing started to hit I was curious. As I recall though, that curiosity was more muted, and it never reached a Spider-Man 3 level where I’d have been moved to podcast about the movie. But I did get swept up in the hype enough to give Avatar the “full Now Playing treatment” — special opening and closing credits.
In many ways Stuart was right. I never would have predicted Avatar would be the biggest film ever. That Cameron’s work could best even Titanic seemed unreal to me, yet it happened. And Stuart was also right that our review would get a lot of downloads; there was interest in the movie, and so it followed that our downloads were the highest we’d gotten for a one-off review at that time.
But I had to be honest in my review of the film, and I didn’t like it very much. Avatar was made by the James Cameron who directed Titanic, not the Cameron who directed The Terminator. The story was unoriginal and propagated the story trope of an indigenous people needing a white, male savior. The movie wasn’t terrible, but it was overly long and I never found myself enthralled with the world of Pandora. It seemed Cameron had spent too much time making documentaries and forgot how to tell a story.
But the technology impressed the living hell out of me. Cameron, at his best, is a filmmaker of tight, exciting action movies, but even when he’s not at his best he pushes the envelope of filmmaking. The Abyss, Terminator 2, and Titanic all represented giant leaps in computer-generated effects. With Avatar, Cameron not only used computer imagery, but he also advanced 3-D technology to a level I’d not seen outside of theme parks.
In 2009, 3-D films were still a novelty to me. Growing up after the boom of 3-D in the 50s I only got to see two films in that format: Jaws 3-D and Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (which only had the climax in 3-D). Yet the idea of being immersed in a film was exciting, so I went to see the Terminator show at Universal Studios with its amazing 3-D effects, I went to a museum to see the IMAX 3-D documentary Space Station, and I even went to see Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over in 2003 despite never having seen the first two Spy Kids films.
A screenshot of the film’s groundbreaking effects.
Slowly, 3-D films were returning, propelled by digital projection technologies. I had to travel hours to digital theaters to see such films as My Bloody Valentine 3D and The Final Destination just for the effects. They were good; gimmicky, but fun.
Yet none could hold a candle to Avatar, which not only had eye-popping effects but added depth to the frame. The 3-D was at times attention-grabbing, but at other times subtle. For the first time I saw how this new technique could really aid films in drawing viewers into the story.
That was what I thought leaving the theater in 2009. For this article I revisited Avatar on video (albeit in 2-D), and listened to the archived Now Playing Podcast review. I stand by everything I say; the movie was really impressive to look at, but also horribly dull.
The film ended up with one “Recommend” from Stuart. Marjorie — who had also co-hosted the Terminator reviews and thus was the natural choice to co-host more Cameron reviews — sided with me, and we gave two “Not Recommends.”
Reviews are a funny thing, no matter what you say, it pisses someone off. Every Now Playing host has received vitriol-filled e-mails, tweets, reviews, and more from listeners who disagree with their opinions. Rarely is this feedback constructive, filled with counter-arguments that support an opposing view. Usually the e-mails feel like notes from a kindergarten student, tantamount to saying, “You are a doodie-head,” though with many more four-letter words and, in some special cases, threats of physical violence.
Sometimes liking a film can be cause for this type of reaction, but it’s more common with negative reviews. No matter what title is being discussed, somewhere that film has an ardent fan whose feelings are hurt by having their film criticized. Superman IV, Halloween III, even Star Trek V, they all have their supporters.
While we received a few nasty-grams for our negative reviews of the Friday the 13th reboot, Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, and even 2009’s Star Trek, nothing prepared me for the backlash I would receive for giving Avatar a mild “Not Recommend.” The attacks came from all sources, but primarily nasty e-mails. Listeners not only said they were never listening to our show again, they wanted to be sure I knew it, and not just from watching server traffic. They wanted to make noise as they (supposedly) walked out the door.
Our audience only continued to increase throughout 2010, but the scathing, often personal, attacks let me realize that by putting myself out there and expressing my thoughts I was really opening myself up for a lot of negativity.
While that trend has continued — each host speaking unpopular truths — I’m happy to report the positive feedback from listeners far outweighs the negative, but in the midst of Avatar-gate there were times it didn’t feel that way.
Yet, for all the attacks I received in 2009 for giving Avatar a red arrow, I have to wonder; is there still the love for this film? It truthfully feels like that movie was a flash in a pan. I see the disc on Walmart movie racks, but I know of no one who regularly re-watches the movie. It’s not in rotation on cable, network, or pay television. I see no Na’vi cosplay at conventions, and rarely does Avatar show up on lists I read of favorite or best films.
Will we see these two on screen again?
If you still love, or even strongly like, Avatar, please let me know in the comments below. For while the studio talks of two, and now three, sequels in concurrent production, I simply don’t see the demand from the fan base. Actually, I don’t even see the fan base existing at all.
So in that regard I feel vindicated. Unlike Titanic, which was inescapable for many years after its release, Avatar seems forgotten.
But I am not above issuing a correction when due, and I did say something in our 2009 review that history has proven untrue. I stated Avatar was the best looking film I’d ever seen, with the greatest 3-D effects to date, and I stand by those thoughts. I continued, though, that the next year we’d see films with even better CGI visuals, and even greater 3-D, and in that I was dead wrong. Cameron is more than an artist, he’s a technician. He has both the will, and (thanks to his track record) the studio support, to linger in development and ensure the films he makes always reach new heights. Yet here we are, five years later, and no film has bested Avatar‘s use of 3-D in film. Cameron’s work is still my high watermark against which I measure all other 3-D.
More, it seems no filmmaker is even trying to achieve that result. Technical difficulties have kept many directors away from filming in 3-D. Joss Whedon had intended to shoot 2012’s The Avengers in 3-D, but while filming the Thor stinger scene he encountered numerous production delays caused by the cameras. As such, he abandoned the medium and chose to shoot in 2-D.
Disney then post-converted The Avengers to 3-D for theaters.
And that may be Avatar’s longest lasting, and worst, outgrowth — the 3-D cash grab. It was not just by popularity that Avatar became the world’s top-grossing film, much of that was due to inflated ticket prices. The general cost of movie tickets has been steadily rising for decades, but premium surcharges put on IMAX presentations and 3-D films boosted Avatar to even greater heights. Studios wanted to continue to reap those rewards. It took a year for studios to implement the change, but by 2011 almost every major motion picture released was in 3-D — the majority post-converted in order to make more money through higher ticket prices.
Recently it seems that audiences are wising up to this gimmick and realizing that, especially with post-conversion 3-D films, the effects are not worth the extra cost. Many articles I’ve read point to a decline in 3-D film popularity. But to this day, every time I go to theaters and pay a 3-D surcharge, and every time I leave the theater with an eye-strain headache due to a piss-poor 3-D post-conversion job, I know that is truly Avatar‘s legacy.
Perhaps Cameron will succeed in bringing Avatar back to the screens. Hopefully the story will be more original, and tighter. More importantly, maybe they will change Avatar‘s place in film history from “the film that popularized 3-D” to “the sci-fi fantasy saga of the 21st Century.”
Or perhaps I’ll give more negative reviews to dull films.
Time will tell.
But then again, perhaps the true, best legacy of Avatar was expanding Now Playing’s boundaries. It’s not often that we do one-off reviews, but Stuart’s correct insistence that we review Cameron’s 2009 epic exposed our show to new listeners and helped expand even the type of film we review. For that, I am grateful.
Tomorrow — 2010!
Arnie is a movie critic for Now Playing Podcast, a book reviewer for the Books & Nachos podcast, and co-host of the collecting podcasts Star Wars Action News and Marvelicious Toys. You can follow him on Twitter @thearniec
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