Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (5): Plush Rush!

Posted on March 23, 2013 by geelw

Three new plush figs from DM2
are this week’s bad poem you’ve to view.
Don’t blame me, folks – blame Thinkway Toys
They make fine stuff for girls and boys.

Collectors, too – you’re not forgotten
As these three toys aren’t at all rotten
Agnes, Unicorn and Minion Dave
are all well-made to draw your rave.

They’re special, as each activates
with sound or lights and functions great
Agnes speaks, her unicorn chimes
And Dave’s eyes pop (not from my rhymes!)

All priced quite fair, so grab them all
And decorate your room or hall
Stop by here this time next week
For more to make your wallets weak!

Continue reading →

Kick-Ass 2 “Restricted” Trailer: Seatbelts On, Please. It’s Another Wild Ride…

Posted on March 22, 2013 by geelw

OK, OK, on second look, this should be even more fun and strange than the original. Granted, anyone going in not expecting this to be as violent as the first film will need to be whapped with a rolled up newspaper and told gently to LEAVE THE KIDS AT HOME. Remind me to tell you guys about the time I went to see Paul Verhoeven’s excellent and campy Starship Troopers on opening day, taking my seat and about five minutes or so into the film, an entire class trip’s worth of oh, about 8 or 9 year old kids comes in with teachers and chaperones. Yup, worst planning ever that year for those adults in charge who thought this was going to be Star Wars or something “light”. Fortunately, they got up and trooped right on out of the theater when the mixed barracks shower scene kicked in. That almost made me laugh more than the ending of the movie (which only I “got”, as no one else in the audience understood Verhoeven was basically making a modern day propaganda reel like something from World War II).

Er, anyway… so much for telling you that story later, huh? Kick-Ass 2 opens August 16, 2013.

Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (4): Double “Evil” Geniuses On Display

Posted on March 15, 2013 by geelw

It’s Gru, he’s back again for you with kids and Minions in his crew.
He’s not as bad as he first seems – his new girls tamed his evil dreams.
But Minions vanishing from his place have him now in quite a race.
To put a stop to a new foe (and have you all cheer Go, Gru GO!)

And here’s Nefario, Gru’s right hand man, who’s always on with every plan.
But hearing loss is his big bane, his mistakes make Gru’s projects lame.
Dart Gun to Fart Gun is good for fun, but useless when more pain’s the one
Nevertheless, Gru keeps him ’round, as good friends for life go pound for pound
And perhaps if their plans would just work right, the world will be theirs day and night!

Pictured, two more Collectible Action Figures (Gru and Dr. Nefario) from the upcoming Despicable Me 2 toy line (2”-3.5”), Age: 4+; Approximate Retail Price: $4.99 – Available starting in May at a retailer near you.

Random Film of the Week: This Island Earth

Posted on March 15, 2013 by geelw

(Thanks, TrailerFood!)

Depending on how far back your cinema memories go, 1955’s This Island Earth is either a really cheesy “B”- grade sci-fi flick chock full of laughs or a genre classic that still has some compelling moments. Given that it took around 2 1/2 years to get from novel to screen (and it shows in some pretty solid production values and impressive for the era visual effects), the fact that a good chunk of younger movie fans may only know this from the on-target butchering it got in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is a wee bit annoying.

Hey, like many of you, I like MST3K a great deal. But I can still recall a few friends who were also fans of this gem thinking the folks behind that decision to rip this classic a new one were a bit out of their heads. I grew up watching this on TV a few too many times as kid and along with the stellar Forbidden Planet and heady, deep The Day the Earth Stood Still and the thrilling “B” Earth vs The Flying Saucers, it’s on my (too) long list of ‘Desert Island Disc’ sci-fi picks.

No CG here, folks. Just good ol’ models, mattes, and dangerous chemical explosions.

That’s not to say the film doesn’t have its share of intentionally and unintentionally funny moments, mind you. Clever viewers can mine this one for plenty of chuckles if they choose to go that route. That said, it’s best to look at it today as a product of dedicated over-exuberance of the filmmakers in delivering a space opera for the masses that was also a pretty darn good genre movie that holds up today when approached from the proper perspective. Continue reading →

Kick-Ass 2 Trailer: Heroes And Nuts Do That Dance Once More…

Posted on March 14, 2013 by geelw

In case you never saw the first film (or read the comic, for that matter)… drop everything NOW and do one of those two things. I’ll wait. (La la la, hmm hmm hmmmm… la la l..*ding!*) OK, got it? GOOD. Well, this isn’t quite more of the same hilarious ultra-violence, it’s just much MORE of it and a lot crazier. Which is a good thing, by the way. I’m still not convinced Jim Carrey is worth trotting out of the house over these days, but I can deal with him in something as nutty and violent as this flick, as it’s somewhat up his alley in terms of his older, wilder work. As always, we shall see… SO far, so good, though. Kick-Ass 2 should be in theaters August 16, 2013.

Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (3): Three Really Hard Working Minions

Posted on March 8, 2013 by geelw

A baker and two firemen are this week’s D2 toys
Like the rest covered here, they’re for girls or for boys
They also make possibly the most perfect fit…
(keep reading below for some well-placed wit)

That baker Minion might make a tasty treat
But his skills with the stove sure bring up the heat!
The smoke alarm’s wailing, here come the red trucks
But as they pull up, from the oven he plucks…
a perfect muffin or two (they taste really sweet)–
But the entire house has burned to the street!

Pictured, three more Collectible Action Figures from the upcoming Despicable Me 2 toy line (2”-3.5”), Age: 4+; Approximate Retail Price: $4.99 – Available starting in May at a retailer near you.

Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (2): More Minions, More Problems!

Posted on March 2, 2013 by geelw

Three more minions here and a new poor rhyme,
despite my bad verse, they’re well worth your time.
A golfer, a ninja, and rocker that’s punk
(it’s best to look upwards than read my old junk!)

But if you’re not green yet, then keep reading on
(and be glad that I’m not writing your favorite song)
those Minions will pop up in stores really soon
about a month before the film lands in June!

Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (1): A Few Minions For Your Approval…

Posted on February 23, 2013 by geelw

Meet Minions Stuart, Phil and Dave,
(of them I’ll post this little rave)

They’re three fun guys full of surprise
and just a few bucks each.
They’ll fit in pocket, purse or bag,
(I think they’d like the beach)

Thinkway has made them all just right
they’ll make you smile a lot
That said, I’d keep mine at home
so mischief happens not!

Pictured, three Collectible Figures from the upcoming Despicable Me 2 toy line (2”-3.5”), Age: 4+; Approximate Retail Price: $4.99 – Available starting in May at a retailer near you.

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 →

Random Film of the Week: Never Give a Sucker an Even Break

Posted on December 14, 2012 by geelw

I’ve decided to keep things a bit lighter on such a heavy day here and not post reviews of a couple of games just out of common courtesy, Anyway, time for some much-needed comedy:

For his final encore (that’s a little vaudeville joke there, I think), the great W.C. Fields created one of the more surreal comedies of the era that’s just as quirky today as it must have been back when it was originally released. 1941’s Never Give a Sucker an Even Break is the not quite true, but very true story of Fields’ problems in getting his often outrageous for the time comedies past brainless executives and censors who deemed his material too wild for movie audiences. Playing himself, the film is basically Fields trying to sell a screenplay he’s written to a producer at the aptly named Esoteric Pictures with scenes from the script turning into some pretty bizarre and hilarious stagings thanks to some really fun special effects work and plenty of Fields’ comic genius.

Continue reading →