THE FLY: Outbreak – IDW Invokes Cronenberg, So It Better Be Worthy…

Posted on December 17, 2014 by geelw

Hmmm. As a David Croneberg fan, I get the shaky eyebrow whenever someone uses his name to sell a project, particularly one linked to one of his better major studio horror films. That said, I’ll give IDW Publishing a bit of a break (wrist or ankle – see the film and you’ll get a chuckle from that, I hope) for its upcoming five-part miniseries THE FLY: Outbreak. While the press release isn’t giving much away in terms of the plot, if what’s below is done up correctly, it just may work for even the most jaded fan of the film. To wit:

Years ago, a scientist had a horrific accident when he tried to use his newly invented teleportation device and became a human/fly hybrid. Now his almost-human son continues to search for a cure for the mutated genes. But a breakthrough turns into a breakout, and anyone exposed risks turning into a monster as well…

Now, to me, that sounds like a mix of 1959’s Return of the Fly and the not at all needed 1989 sequel to Cronenberg’s film, The Fly II, but in what’s looking to be more the capable hands of writer Brandon Seifert (Hellraiser, Witch Doctor) and artist menton3 (Silent Hill, Monocyte).

Of course, this got me wondering if Cronenberg’s idea for a “sequel” that’s been in limbo for a few years (studio politics at work again, whee!) is finally going to see the light of day and the green light that means he can shoot the damn thing. I didn’t even think that a proper sequel or remake was even possible, but I trust Cronenberg to always shake things up and deliver the unexpected. But I guess let’s have this IDW book hit the stands and see how it sells first before buzzing about anything else that lands on movie screens a few years down the pike…

Enough of This Stupid Sunday. Let’s Go Dancing!

Posted on December 14, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, Swudanst Harlow!)

Sure, why not? A little freshly made bathtub gin (wooo!), maybe a few attempts to do the Charleston without looking too dumb flailing around, maybe a burger later at a cheap diner? Yeah, I could go for some of that action tonight. Who’s with me? (Checks wallet, moths flit out)… Er, you’d be buying this time because I’ve just blown all my cash on lighting up the kitchen floor like an airline runway. Hey, how about this? Just come on over with a pound of ground and I’ll make the burgers. Oh, and bring some buns with you as well. I’ll toast them up for those patties nice and warm. I’ve got an onion left and the old cast iron pan got a good seasoning on it earlier this week, so those burgers will be extra tasty. What, you want to being those big portabella you get from the farmer’s market instead? Sure, fine – that’s probably even better and healthier. So, sure, why not?

I’ll be here and up a bit late, thanks to needing to make those signs I posted for the plasterer a bit bigger. You know, just in case they send a new guy to do the plaster job who’s got worse eyesight than the last two. Better safe than sorry, right? Now, hurry up and get on over here – I’m getting hungry and I just pressed a pair of pants! Okay, I was sitting on them for the last hour, but same result once I put them on and stand up. Oh, I have mustard and ketchup too. I might need some more coffee, though. It seems to magically disappears around here like someone’s eating it right out of the can. I hope it not a mouse or anything like that. I don’t need a hopped up rodent around here jazzed on java keeping me up all night…

(Mystery Rodent): Wooooo!

Kitchen Nightmares IV: Now, I Need to Get Plastered!

Posted on December 9, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, WilliamClaudeFields!)

So, between the driving rain outside driving me batty and the insanely awful job the plasterers did in the kitchen. Photos to come, but as a call was placed to bitch about the work, I’m holding out for a redo before I rant about the job here and elsewhere. In a nutshell, the trim around the kitchen ceiling was ripped out during the asbestos abatement, but the plasterers didn’t bother to fill in the gaps around about 3/4 of the kitchen, so there’s a noticeable gap AND some hideous exposed wood even a blind man could see. Not to mention assorted small holes that were missed, a LARGE chunk of the wall under the sink that was knocked out during phase one that no one bothered to fix and a small spot under a cabinet where there’s now a loose piece of plaster mice can pop into. It’s like a little doggie door in my damn wall! Yaaaaaaah.

All I ask for is people who know how to do a job and do it well. What do I get? More stress I really don’t need. Well, that won’t stand, folks. Back in a bit once I get something to eat and perhaps a nap or two. It’s been a loooooong day and I despise incompetence.

Hikari Friday: Funko Gives You A Ghost of a Chance This Week!

Posted on December 5, 2014 by geelw

Only ONE Funko Hikari Sofubi Vinyl figure up for this week’s giveaway, but there’s also the announcement of a limited edition figure you can run out and buy from Hot Topic, of all places. The freebie chance first: It’s #1 of 1500 this time and it’s a ghost you’d not want to bust at all because you’d be covered head to toe in icky marshmallow goop that’s probably a wee bit too hot to be sitting on your tender skin. Say hello to Ice Stay Puft Premium Hikari Sofubi Figure:

Yes, you should be nice to him or he’ll get mad and grow on you! Well, that would be a good thing under non-ghostly un-possessed marshmallow man conditions. But you know the drill if you’ve seen Ghostbusters, right? Anyway, if you want a chance to win this one, hit up one of Funko’s social media sites:

http://www.facebook.com/OriginalFunko
http://www.twitter.com/OriginalFunko
Instagram @OriginalFunko

Follow the rules there and hold you breath for a week. Well, don’t REALLY hold your breath for that long, now. Otherwise, you’ll be dead and with some real ghosts only to find out there’s NO Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, only lonely moans and dirges playing every damned day and night. BOOooooooOOOOooooo! ALso, if you don’t win this time, you ca always buy that big guy at your favorite Funko retailer.

As for that other Hikari Vinyl? Attention Hot Topic shoppers! Be on the lookout for Retro Pastels Stay Puft Hikari Premium Sofubi Figure coming soon to a HT near you and online at HotTopic.com. Check him out and feel the rainbow love:

Obvious jokes about marshmallows on mushrooms aside, I can see this one becoming a hot topic of conversation as only 500 will be made before the mold is melted. Keep and eyeball peeled and get yours soon!

Hikari Black Friday! Free Spidey and Frankie For Two Lucky Winners!

Posted on November 28, 2014 by geelw

While some of you are out there shopping away and getting sore all over, smarty-smarts out there are doing it all online and hoping the also score big in the process. Funko wants to help you today by giving away two more awesome Hikari Sofubi figures, one standard and the other premium.

Metal Mix Spider-Man Premium Hikari Sofubi Figure is the first figure up for grabs. This one’s Premium and over eight inches tall (!) and #1 of 500. Remember, if you don’t win, still want one and don’t mind paying for it, you can hit up your favorite Funko retailer and bug them until they sell it to you. Trust me, it won’t take long for money to exchange hands.

The second figure is Gemini Collectibles Exclusive Metallic Frankenstein Hikari Sofubi Figure. Yeah, he’s a cutie, isn’t he? Okay, the gold eyes are creepy, but that metallic finish on his clothes make it look as if he’s wearing a sharkskin suit! Well, if you like Frankenstein’s Monster as depicted in the Universal Movies, that is. This one’s limited to 750 pieces (you’ll get #1 off the line) and if you miss out, you can grab your own over at the Gemini Collectibles website.

Those in the know know how to go about entering and potentially being the big winners. But once more with feeling for those new to all this stuff: Boogie on over to one of these social sites using your clicky-clicky hand skills:

Facebook!

Twitter!

Instagram @OriginalFunko

Enter and hope luck is on your side! You look as if you could use a little more luck today, I think.

Hikari Friday: Universal Monsters Want To Stalk Your Shelves!

Posted on November 21, 2014 by geelw

Continuing the Hikari Friday madness, Funko has two really sweet Universal Monster vinyl figures up for grabs this week. Check out the Original Creature Hikari Sofubi Figure:

#1 of a mere 500 pieces can be YOURS if you’re lucky! The other vinyl up for grabs is this ToyZoo.com Exclusive Grey Skull Frankenstein Hikari Sofubi Figure, #1 of only 750 you’ll be attempting to claim for your own:

As usual, all you need to to is hit up one of Funko’s social media sites:

http://www.facebook.com/OriginalFunko

Tweets by OriginalFunko

Instagram @OriginalFunko

Once you’re there, enter as required and if you’re lucky you’ll be getting a little surprise in your inbox within the next week or so. If you don’t win, you can grab that Creature at your favorite Funko emporium and the Frankenstein exclusively at Toyzoo.com. As usual, good luck in your efforts and if you win, remember to remember me when you’re sending out those holiday greeting cards!

You’ll Find Out: Yet Another Oddball Film I Need to See!

Posted on November 15, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, Sleaze-O-Rama!)

Ha. I’d never heard of this 1940 comedy until about a month ago when someone asked me if I’d seen it. I hadn’t, noted to myself to look it up and forgot about it thanks to the stupid time I’ve been having on a few fronts keeping me from being very much entertained. Anyway, in my inbox this afternoon was the trailer above and I got pulled right into wanting to know more.

What a cast! Boris Karloff, Béla Lugosi, Peter Lorre… and Kay Kyser & his band? Yeah, I laughed a lot at the casting here. And if I’m not mistaken, the band and bandleader are the heroes here. Oh, this one’s going on the “gotta watch it!” list for sure. Well, I’m gathering I’ll need to haunt TCM and see when it turns up again. It’s usually the case when I hear about an oldie like this they have in their library that it runs less than a week or so later. Mood lightened considerably? You betcha.

Oh, My Aching Saturday…

Status

Well, today was the big moving day… but not for me. I’d be posting up a storm right about now, but I had to assist in the “getting a ton of stuff out of the elevator” part of a big move and I’m just about BEAT. I’m actually polishing up a quick post from yesterday evening now and it will hopefully get up in about half an hour or so, but if I decide to pass out on top of my keyboard, you’ll all hopefully forgive me. Okay, enough stalling – off to tweak and post. Someone want to pour a cup of coffee on me (room temperature, of course). Eh, I guess it could be worse… a LOT worse (cue the over-obvious movie clip):

(Thanks, Henrique Tomé!)

Uh-huh. We don’t need a bigger boat, that’s for damn sure. Unless it’s coming to store some of the stuff that’s packed in here, ha and ha…

Show & Tell: On Ray Harryhausen’s Fairy Tales

Posted on November 8, 2014 by geelw

In regards to every well-worn fairy tale, “It’s not the tale, but how it’s told” is the order of the day. Parents and other creative adults well-versed in story time voices and acting have this mantra branded on their brain cells and know how to make any yarn they spin keep kids at rapt attention. Still, for many of his longtime fans, Ray Harryhausen’s incredible stop-motion versions of Mother Goose stories and five classic fairy tales are some of the most memorable versions ever created.

Save for The Tortoise and the Hare (which was incomplete until its 2002 premiere), I can recall some of these films along with his earlier Mother Goose shorts being shown during assembly hall sessions or in the occasional class where a regular teacher was out sick and the substitute called in hadn’t time to whip up a proper lesson plan. While most of these 16mm shorts were part of my childhood, I’d imagine plenty of today’s little (and more tech savvy) whippersnappers haven’t a clue who Harryhausen was or what made (and still makes him) him great and such a huge inspiration of countless filmmakers and visual effects artists to this day.

Continue reading →

Hikari Friday: Funko Wants You To Win A Movie Mutant!

Posted on October 31, 2014 by geelw

I’d bet a bunch of you are either too young to remember This Island Earth or only know it from the humor hack job done on it in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. Anyway, this week’s Hikari Friday giveaway is none other than the sole monster from that 1955 classic, but presented here as Metaluna Mutant Hikari Figure! He’s not cute, but he’s #1 of only 1500 made and yes, he sure is colorful:

Anyway, before you run out to snag and snack on too much Halloween candy, make sure to enter for your chance to WIN over at one of Funko’s social sites:

http://www.facebook.com/OriginalFunko
http://www.twitter.com/OriginalFunko
Instagram @OriginalFunko

If you don’t win and still want one of these stalking your shelves, set your time machine for January and pop on in to your favorite Funko retailer, wallet in hand.