Toy Fair 2013: Despicable Me 2 Toy Lineup: Gru’s Grunts & Girls Get Great Gear!

Posted on February 16, 2013 by geelw

Despicable Me was quite a surprise for me, as I wasn’t expecting much before I saw it and ended up charmed by the animation and characters. Of course, so were a few many million other moviegoers, which means, yes indeed – it’s time for a sequel. If the teaser and trailers are any indication, you can expect Despicable Me 2 to be even funnier than the original, as Gru’s Minions seem to be the focus this time out. This also means in terms of licensed products, toy companies such as Hasbro, Thinkway Toys, Basic Fun and others are going all out to get fans of the film into stores and online shops to snap up some really cool new items. I got to see most of the upcoming lineup during Toy Fair off-site at a more relaxed downtown location and everything looks (and sounds, where applicable) great and is coming soon to a retailer near you.

Gallery below the jump along with some more scribblings on the collection from yours truly…

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Wait, Wasn’t The Last Exorcism Supposed to Be The. LAST. Exorcism?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by geelw

Hey, I know, I know… I’m just sayin’. The again, I didn’t see the first Last, so who am I to judge? This actually might be scary (or scarier than the trailer… which as usual, probably gives away a wee bit too much to those folks who want too much information about what they see before they get all upset after they pay their twelve bucks that the film didn’t surprise them much if at all). That said, in my part of the universe, when you say something’s “the last” anything (cookie, pair of socks, bottle of booze), there’s no more coming unless someone’s hiding something or is willing to boogie on down to the store for a fast purchase in the middle of the night.

Wait a sec… I just now figured out how some movie sequels get made… can I get a job in Hollywood now?

New Jack The Giant Slayer TV Spot: The Answer Is Obvious…

Posted on February 9, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, it’s Ray Harryhausen with a baseball bat who’s behind you. Um… Duck, You Sucker! Too late… Bonk! That said, I’d imagine Ray would have liked to go after the folks who animated the original, as they certainly mucked it up with some lousy-looking models and super cheesy “magic” effects work that were terrible back than and haven’t held up well at all today. I’d say the best thing here will be Bryan Singer’s direction, as he’s quite good at doing comic book flicks and yeah, yeah, The Usual Suspects is one of those films that keeps you hooked in right from the start.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone TV Spot: The Big Trick Is Getting An Audience…

Posted on February 8, 2013 by geelw

Oh, look… it’s another Hollywood movie about “maaa-gic.” And by my corns, does it look quite (and intentionally) silly. But people go for silly these days and it’s supposed to be a comedy, so at least that’s working for it. Bleh. My kingdom for a few corny but fun episodes of The Magician with the late Bill Bixby, Chris Nolan’s The Prestige (which I didn’t like the first time I saw it, but a second viewing helped) or even (yikes!) Magic with Anthony Hopkins (soon to be a Random Movie of the Week, by the way), which really wasn’t about “magic” at all, but a ventriloquist who maybe has a rather unique dummy (an old trick from the creepy horror anthology Dead of Night). Eh, maybe I’m being too much of a skeptic here. The again, there’s no REAL “magic” anyway… just “the foolers and easily fooled” as I once overheard some old lady say as she walked away from a street magician doing his thing.

Well, it looks sort of interesting in a “I’ll catch it on cable in eight months” kind of way, but I bet this makes a load of dollars vanish from wallets worldwide once it hits theaters. That, or it’ll disappear without a trace because it’s terrible and people magically stay away. As always, we shall see… *poof!*

Random Film of the Week: Killer Klowns From Outer Space

Posted on February 8, 2013 by geelw

If you hate clowns for any abnormal reason, this film will probably freak every bone in your head out of your skull while making you laugh so much that you might fall off the couch and break something else. Granted, despite a bit of blood and gore it’s not really “scary” at all, but it does bring the laughs faster and furiously than some horror flicks that take themselves too seriously. The Chiodo Brothers (from up here in the Bronx, yeah!) cooked up this 1988 flick and while it didn’t become an “instant” genre classic or box office hit, for those lucky enough to catch it in theaters and later on home video, it was one of the more offbeat blends of horror, sci-fi and humor of the decade. I can recall laughing at the title before I saw this, thinking it was pretty dumb (but hey, it actually fits perfectly) and yep, I would have expected the film to be pretty dumb as well had I not been a fan of The Chido’s special effects work in another 80’s “B” film Critters, itself a bit of an underrated gem. Anyway, those Killer Klowns in the title are yes indeed, from Outer Space (their ship looks like a circus tent) and they’ve landed in tiny Crescent Cove for a midnight snack that just so happens to include the population of the sleepy little town… Continue reading →

Iron Man 3 Commercial: Hopefully, Rust WILL Be Sleeping…*

Posted on February 3, 2013 by geelw

I’d actually almost forgotten about Iron Man 3 because of so many other blockbusters (or are they BLOGbusters?) coming this summer, but here you go. I’m still curious about how some of these comic book flicks work and others stumble all over themselves. The first Iron Man was great fun, the second was OK and Both The Mighty Thor and The Avengers were fun to sit through. On the other hand, Ghost Rider? Bleh and double bleh deluxe with extra cheese and don’t get me started on anything related to Daredevil, The Punisher, Fantastic Four and that last Spider-Man flick. DC, you’re not immune at all, as Green Lantern made me green (and not with envy, either), I felt the previous Superman reboot was weird and unnecessary and I still have scars from that Swamp Thing film (even though it had a corny one-liner that made me laugh really loudly in the theater I saw it at). Well, at least there’s a willingness to experiment until it’s gotten right, but that doesn’t mean there’s an audience always willing to drop full price on a ticket to see those films that don’t quite get it right…

*add 5 XP if you got the Neil Young reference…

Random Film of the Week(end): Emperor of the North Pole

Posted on February 2, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, Carl’s Trains & Stuff!)

If you haven’t checked out that video above, don’t let the title fool you one bit – this isn’t a family friendly movie about a bouncy, happy CGI penguin and there’s definitely no red-suited Jolly Saint Nick here to spread happy holiday tidings (but there is a fat guy who throws hammers). Nope, this 1973 film from the late, great Robert Aldrich is simultaneously big, mean, brutal and hilarious, often within a few seconds in some scenes.

Based loosely on a Jack London book and a book partially about Jack London, the film features Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine as bitter rivals battling for turf rights in the most absurd of places – a moving freight train. OK, there’s much more to this classic than that, but it pretty much boils town to a prolonged (and excellently shot) fight between two men way past middle age beating the crap out of each other with 2 x 4’s, a chain, thrown hammers and an axe. I guess a cynic would call it Thunderdome on rolling stock, but not as cheesy and much better acted, at that…

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Random Film of the Week: DUNE

Posted on January 30, 2013 by geelw

(Thanks, MovieClips Classic Trailers!)

Recently, someone who hadn’t seen it yet asked me “Is DUNE a great movie or not?” My answer was (and has always been) “Well, it depends…” I certainly didn’t hate it when I first saw it, but having not read the massive sci-fi novel it was based on at that time, my brain had to hold onto the inside of my head for dear life a few times during the more heady moments of mass exposition. I actually liked that David Lynch brought his trademark visual style to the film and some of the ickier visual effects (the alien navigator in the glass case, for example) were there to show this wasn’t yet another budget Star Wars clone.

Granted, the big, loud battle scenes were a big, loud mess and some of the “special” effects were reused too many times (for example, that same enemy ship swooping over the battlefield on Arrakis became a running gag to some friends I saw the flick with). Nevertheless, I liked the production design and facts that the different alien cultures were well portrayed thanks to some solid casting and it was a “pay attention” flick that demanded more of viewers than almost any other American sci-fi film of that period. Of course, it’s no Blade Runner by a long shot, but that’s another post for another random week… Continue reading →

Jack The Giant Slayer TV Spot 2: Land of the CGI Giants Still Leaves Me Chilly…

Posted on January 28, 2013 by geelw

OK, OK, I’m trying hard to give this one a chance and yes, as I noted a while back, it’s definitely better looking that the awful 1962 original that tried to fool viewers with some piss-poor stop motion ( as in: Hey, we can’t get Harryhausen, but those stoopid kids won’t EVEN know! Well, I sure did…) and wooden acting. Well, this certainly will beat that old flick to a pulp on a few fronts, but will it be remembered as much as the original is… or will it vanish into the bargain bin and into cable recycle mode like the remake of Clash of the Titans and its sequel, Wrath of the Titans. I finally saw that this past weekend and was not impressed despite some pretty wild effects work. These “epics” NEED to feel epic, not like almost two hours of loud, big and forgettable. Well, let’s hope Jack is actually something that works on the right parts of the brains of those who go see it. Me, I’ll hold out for the cable premiere…

These “Creatures” Might Be “Beautiful”… But They’ll Never Be “Heavenly…”

Posted on January 26, 2013 by geelw

Now, I know for a fact and a half that I’m not even interested in seeing this upcoming flick (I’m SO not into the tween fantasy stuff, sorry!), but know ye this: I was fooled for a hot minute a few months back and ALMOST thought this was a remake of Peter Jackson’s outstanding (and much more mature) ‘based on a true story’ film that marked the acting debuts of Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey and wondered if I was nuts for getting pissed off that someone went and remade it. Fortunately, I watched that trailer and didn’t post a needlessly incorrect rant I’d have to apologize for later, right? How un-Internet of me! Anyway, it looks good (in a whee, pretty people and too much CG sorta way) go see it if you liked the books. Me, maybe I’ll catch it on cable at some point in about, what, eight months or so (a year, tops)? I can wait.

Or as the trailer above is titled… “Let’s get out of here!”