Calling all Batfanatics...!

I do have a bit of a Batmobile collecting problem - it's fairly under control, but I must share something new I discovered - you see, Eaglemoss has been releasing a series of Batmobile collector models under the "Automobilia" line - similar to the James Bond Car Collector series a little while ago - you get a slick glossy magazine profiling a particular car, but the real score is the pack-in diecast vehicle - about Corgi scale (1/43), but with nice display environment features and some really precise detail - here are a couple of recent examples...

 
Nice, eh? But a lot of these have been easy to bypass as many of them are similar in content and scale to what Hot Wheels and U.K. modeler Corgi have done in their 1/50 range over the last few years. Until now.

Yes, that's Frank Miller's immortal Dark Knight Returns, without which there would be no Christopher Nolan films - and certainly no Tumbler, as grim Bruce Wayne/Batman uses a gigantic "Bat-Tank" to face down the neo-apocalyptic mutants that threatern modern Gotham City.

Well, kudos, Eaglemoss, as you have seen fit to give us this legendary vehicle exactly as it appeared in the comics - just look at this bad boy...

Unbelievable. Now these are a lot easier to find over in the U.K. than here in the states - your comic shop has to special order them, as they are a lot more popular across the pond. These devils are even unleashing a Star Trek series, which could get ugly. The DKR Tank will be a special edition (I'm guessing that means larger than the others and more expensive) coming out around November.

Without a doubt the coolest toy I've seen today.

Still more damn dirty news from NECA...

As if NECA wasn't busy enough - what with all the Alien talk over Comic Con weekend, don't want to overlook that the toymaker also announced they have acquired the license for Planet of the Apes, both the classic and newer films. Exciting news. Sounds like this is a favorite property over at NECA, so they will likely go all out to make a memorable impression - can't wait!

Godzilla!!!

Here's the maquette revealed at Comic Con for Gareth Edwards' reboot. After the last misfire it's tempting to roll your eyes but then you probably haven't seen his debut film, Monsters, which will probably always hold the title of most bang for budget buck ever. I'd love for him to succeed.

Comic Con postscript...

Okay, we got a little more news from NECA about their future Alien plans and it's sounding good!

First, while it sounds as though likeness rights issues are causing some grief, there will definitely be more Aliens figures, with android Bishop mentioned specifically.

And for the 35th Anniversary of Alien, NECA's head of product development Randy Falk spilled the beans that there will be several waves of Alien figures, including Captain Dallas in Nostromo spacesuit, Kane and more. Jones the cat will be a pack-in with one of the figures... Hmmm...? That is sounding awesome and is now officially my most anticipated figure line - time to start clearing some display space...

Thanks, NECA!

Underrated gem: Solomon Kane!

Even in this day and age, some movies can get lost and travel a long road to find an audience. Such is the case with Solomon Kane. Filmed in 2009, Solomon Kane never found a U.S. theatrical release, though it did play in the U.K. and Europe.

Conan creator Robert E. Howard's pulp hero first appeared in the late 1920s in Weird Tales magazine - an avenging puritan who wonders the earth determined to vanquish evil.

I'd been waiting a long time for Solomon Kane, and when my long dormant Netflix placeholder suddenly shot me a "sent" message, I knew that it had finally been released.

Simply put, Kane is terrific - a rough gem to be sure - but if you're looking for a pulp-fueled horror adventure film that doesn't drag, you really owe it to yourself to seek this movie out. If you're a fan of old school Hammer Horror films, Conan, Game of Thrones, The Brotherhood of the Wolf - or any good rip-roaring adventure with a solid dose of supernatural horror, then you're simply going to love Solomon Kane. James Purefoy (TV's The Following) is Kane, a ruthless mercenary who seeks redemption by fighting evil, when he realizes his damned soul is bound for hell. Purefoy does his best Hugh Jackman (peppered with a little Liam Neeson) but makes Kane a sympathetic hero here. In one of his last roles, Pete Postlethwaite is terrific as a traveling puritan, Borg Queen Alice Krige as his wife. Max von Sydow is also effective as patriarch of the Kane family.

Solomon Kane is written and directed by Michael J. Bassett with style and enthusiasm. He gives Kane a strong unifying backstory for modern audiences while sacrificing none of the atmosphere of the era. Things move at a brisk, rollicking pace, yet Bassett gives us plenty of slower, suspenseful horror sequences. The film is beautifully shot in the Czech Republic and the production design is sensational. Creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos and the effects team do a super job on all fronts.

Is it a perfect film? There may be times when Purefoy's tone slips over into Van Helsing earnestness, but I can't help feel Solomon Kane was just released at the wrong time. It has the energy of a film that might have come out in the late 1980s, and whoever decided to can a stateside release - well, dude - you made a bad call. I feel Solomon Kane will be discovered on home video and fans will embrace it - it's a great horror adventure saga and you should really give it a spin.

SUNDAY: Comic Con wrap-up

Comic Con is history - and as the dust settles and the spandex is packed away (much the worse for wear) what are talking about?

Saturday saw some of the biggest news in terms of long-term attention-getting from both the DC and Marvel camps. Can Warner Brothers bankroll a DC Universe that's as successful as Marvel? We're going to find out. The official announcement came on Saturday with news that Man of Steel director Zack Snyder will bring back Henry Cavill as Superman, but in a Batman/Superman film, inspired to some degree by Frank Miller's legendary Dark Knight Returns comic series.

Snyder also quickly clarified that, "We're not adapting this thing, but it is the thing that will help us tell that story," whatever that means. Christopher Nolan will be Executive Producer and David S. Goyer will script. So it sounds like Warner's has effectively pulled back from their plans to mount an Avengers equivalent Justice League movie and instead focus on the two top dogs of the DC Universe. Whether or not Christian Bale will return is anybody's guess at this point. 2015 has been tossed out as the release window, so they'd better get cracking.

Marvel, on the other hand, backed the truck up to the door and showed us everything. Lots of new peeks of The Amazing Spider-man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy - but possibly the biggest gasp-inducer was Joss Whedon revealing the the official title of The Avengers sequel will be Avengers: Age of Ultron!

For those of you in the dark, Ultron is an advanced robot who developed his own intelligence then rebelled against his creator, out for delirious vengeance against both The Avengers and mankind itself.

So while we'd been lead to believe that Thanos would be the ultimate antagonist of any Avengers sequel - and he may still be - there's going to be trouble coming at them from presumably two fronts, as Ultron has now stepped into the spotlight, front and center.

A lot was hinted at, by both studios and toy companies, but less was shown than we'd dreamed of, but dreams have unlimited mileage, so that's okay, too! It was fun to watch it all unspool and as mainstream as Comic Con has become, it's still nice to see the fans courted in such an over the top fashion and how amazing is to see so many avid enthusiasts come together in one place, just to share some zeal?

One things for sure, we live in one hell of an age to be a fan!

The Conjuring - poised to petrify

James Wan is on fire. The director of Saw (the original) and Insidious is set to carve up the box office this weekend, dethroning blockbusters left and right with The Conjuring, one of the best-reviewed horror films in ages, the buzz is that Wan has himself a genuine classic.

85% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, The Conjuring should knock the stuffing out of the loathesome looking R.I.P.D. and could do Evil Dead numbers ($54 million?) - the feeling is this could be the best audience shocker since the original Poltergeist, and that's saying something. Lily Taylor and Patrick Wilson star. It's always nice to see a little movie with a modest budget that no one was expecting charge ahead of the tentpoles to become a sleeper hit purely on the strength of it connecting with audiences. This is what memories of summer at the movies are all about.

UPDATE: Comic Con - Friday

Close-ups of The Walking Dead series 4 Andrea and The Governor...

UPDATE: Comic Con - Thursday

Lots more news out of San Diego today in the figure world.

I guess it was inevitable, but Dark Horse revealed new 7" Game of Thrones figures - opting for a more statuesque approach without articulated joints - behold Jon Snow and Daenerys...

 

These two are slated for January, with Ned Stark, Khal Drogo and Tyrion Lannister set to follow in May.

We also got a look at the second wave of NECA's Aliens line - two new Aliens and Sergent Windrix...

 

Now before you get all snarky with, "Hey, where's Apone? Who the #@! is Windrix?" know that this is a special figure from NECA. Sculptor Kyle Windrix created this figure as a tribute to his brother, Craig Windrix, who is battling stage 4 stomach cancer (Aliens is Craig's favorite movie). That NECA supported the idea of this tribute from one of their artists is pretty compelling. I know I'll be supporting it...



























Oh, we got a look at a Colonial Marine two-pack, with a "screaming Hicks" alternate head, with helmet and exploding alien warrior...

Okay, that's it for now - more news can break at any moment, so check back. If any 1979 Alien prototype figures emerge, you'll be able to hear me scream...

Comic Con begins to tantalize!

For me, certainly the most exciting thing glimpsed at SDCC's preview night was the little sign at the NECA booth that read, "ALIEN 35th Anniversary figure collection 2014" WOW! They are doing it! Figures from the original 1979 Ridley Scott film - and as they're depicting Jones the cat, we have to assume that previous likeness issues with Sigourney Weaver have been resolved - because why would you show Jones if you weren't going to make Ripley?

Super exciting - hopefully more details will emerge by the end of Comic Con but this looks to be spectacular news! Comic Con has begun!

Jaeger Meister! Pacific Rim!

The weather just keeps getting worse - time was a "Category 4" meant a bad tornado was coming. In Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Toro's eye-rupturing 'bots-against-beasts extravaganza, the Category system is used to gauge the severity of attack from the bestiary of Lovecraftian behemoths that have taken to breaching a dimensional portal and laying siege to the cities of Earth.

Pacific Rim is clearly Guillermo del Toro's love letter to the Japanese monster movies of his youth, and as someone who remembers all too well gaping up at afternoon airings of War of the Gargantuas, I can tell you it's extremely successful and ridiculously entertaining. Pairs of human pilots operate the gigantic mecha robot vehicles (Jaegers) that mankind has banded together to create to fight off and kill the horrific monsters (Kaiju). I'm a big fan of Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy - still can't believe he's British), and he does a great job as the wounded Jaeger pilot out for some payback. Idris Elba is the man in charge of it all, trying to galvanize the remnants of the fading Jaeger program. Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) is the untested pilot candidate with her own score to settle. Just wait for the scenes depicting the memories of her childhood terror during the first Kaiju attacks.

Each Jaeger is more spectacular than the last. The design and look of Pacific Rim is pretty jaw-dropping. It's the biggest assemblage of steel and hydraulics I can remember seeing and it's spectacularly well shot. All that plus you get a dynamite Ron Perlman part, Charlie Day and the superb Burn Gorman. It truly cries out to be experienced on the biggest screen you can find - with an audience. The novelty of the picture reminded me of films like Independence Day, The Matrix and Blade Runner - movies that showed us a universe we'd never really seen on film before, while involving and connecting with the audience. If the film has a weakness, it's that the second act battle sequence is so spectacular and awesome, the third act sequence seems a little mild in comparison. Still - I loved it and while the characterizations are pulpy and thin, so were the films Pacific Rim tips its helmet to. The bottom line on Guillermo's vision here is fun.

del Toro took a hard one to the chin last weekend, coming in 3rd on opening weekend behind Grown Ups 2. The naysayers are carping that fans can't turn out to support a visionary genre picture - let's help prove them the hell wrong. Pacific Rim is easily one of the two best films of the summer (along with Star Trek Into Darkness) and you should really experience it at the Shatterdome while you can. Just don't leave too early, as the end credits may have a little treat for you.

Thanks, Guillermo - this movie came at a time when I really needed an escape and it was great to be ten again, gazing back up at the enormity of man versus monster.

This Bridge delivers!

There's a gem emerging in the summer TV sock drawer - our pals over at FX continue to deliver some creative, hard-edged alternatives to network. Following in the footsteps of The Shield, Sons of Anarchy and The Americans, their new series - The Bridge - looks to be a gripping new addition.

Like The Killing, The Bridge is inspired by a Scandinavian TV series of the same name, with the action moving to the U.S./Mexico border crossing between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, the titular bridge being where a murder victim is found that will involve law enforcement from both sides of the border. Demian Bichir is the detective from Chihuahua, holding onto the last vestiges of honor in the midst of a corrupt polic force. Bichir's eyes have the narrowing size-up of Robert De Niro in his prime. Diane Kruger (Inglorious Basterds) as his American counterpart is trying to function despite what appears to be Asperger's syndrome, and redefines blunt in moments that would normally call for extreme empathy. Forget National Treasure - Kruger is amazing here, with a haunted, self-conscious stare that reminded me of Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salendar. Both performances aren't showy - they - and pretty much everything about the pilot - are anchored in solid realism, with near feature film production values and a unique atmosphere, beautifully shot. Genre vet Ted Levine rounds out the cast as Kruger's weary boss. Based on the 90-minute initial episode, The Bridge stands a good shot of becoming the show that The Killing should have been.

The networks are flooded with serial killers lately - The Following, The Killing, Hannibal, Dexter - I hope The Bridge doesn't get lost in the Visqueen. I know I'll definitely be tuning in next week - you should definitely check it out, Wednesday's at 10 on FX. What I want to know is, what the hell is in Anabeth Gish's husband's secret room?!?





"You only live twice, Mr. Mendes..."

You can finish your drink, Double-O-Seven - stop worrying. EON, MGM and SONY have reached a deal with Skyfall director Sam Mendes to return to the helm for another outing with Daniel Criag and screenwriter John Logan in the as yet untitled Bond 24. Skyfall made over a billion dollars, Mr. Powers, and was a critical favorite to boot, so getting Mendes back is a phenomenal move. So much for those Christopher Nolan fantasies. I wouldn't expect much in the way of plot for a while, but we do have a release date - November 6th, 2015.

WATCH THIS SPACE - San Diego Comic Con is about to explode, and all manner of amazing movie and toy news is bound to come crash-landing on our brain pans in just a few short days. So check back with a cup of coffee and look out for those Bronies...