Toronto Thumbs

Review
Batman: Year One (Blu-Ray + DVD + DC)

I have a shelf in my office dedicated to graphic novels (and a few actual comic books). Relative to your average comic book collector, the shelf holds relatively few titles. Next to Kingdom Come, Batman: Year One is one of my all-time favourite; in fact, I would go so far as to say that it is probably one of the most inspirational stories in comic book history. At what some would consider to be a great risk, the folks at DC Showcase have given this title the DVD/Blu-Ray treatment; a risky proposition, mostly because Batman: Year One is a very important title to a lot of people – the adaptation would have to be nothing short of spectacular to ensure absolute enjoyment. So, does this video measure up to the print?

Read the rest »

Posted in Blu-ray, DVD, Film, Reviews | No Comments »

Sarge Got You’d!
Red vs. Blue – Season 9 DVD

My enjoyment of Halo is due, in part, to Rooster Teeth’s hilarious series, Red vs. Blue. I have previously reviewed Seasons 1-5 (The Blood Gulch Chronicles) and Seasons 6-8 (The Recollection) – both of which were most excellent pieces of entertainment. Their current offering, Red vs. Blue Season 9, looks to be another notch in the belt made of awesome that is part of the company uniform at Rooster Teeth.

Read the rest »

Posted in DVD, Film, Reviews | 2 Comments »

IN10
The King of Prince of Persia

The opening and keynote session for IN10 was interesting; not only was it a fascinating look at one of the most successful franchises in video games; it was also a glimpse into the mind of a really great person. After a brief welcome from Ian Kelso, President and CEO of IO, and a short introduction by Karen Thorne-Smith, President and CEO of Ontario Media Development Corporation, the keynote speaker walked out into the spotlight.

Read the rest »

Posted in Events, Film, The Future Is WOW | 3 Comments »

Check This Out!
The Losers

I can’t even begin to tell you how geeked out I was when I heard that The Losers was being made into a movie starring Jeffery Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Idris Elba and the delightful Zoe Saldana. Originally a graphic novel series by writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock, the series follows a group of Black Ops soldiers trying to find out who tried to kill them (officially, they are listed as K.I.A); they team up with a mysterious woman who also has a beef with the agency that tried to kill them.

Read the rest »

Posted in Awesome, Comics, Film, First Impressions | 2 Comments »

Who Buys This Shit?
Ludmilla Drago

Recently while cleaning out the Stadium Comics storage space hidden deep within the catacombs of Shoppers World Mall, I came across a nondescript cardboard box of contents unknown. My curiosity piqued, I brushed the thick layer of dust off of the box and opened it, unaware of the treasure that awaited me inside: A Ludmilla Drago action figure from the movie Rocky IV.

For those who grew up in my generation (the 1980s), Rocky IV is the only Rocky movie that matters. Sure, the original Rocky may have won a bunch of Academy Awards including one for Best Picture, but Rocky IV defined fight movies for years to come. Set during the height of the Cold War, it featured the classic “revenge” storyline, killer montages, and an awesome fight movie soundtrack. This formula has since been used many times over, especially in movies featuring Jean Claude Van Damme, such as Bloodsport and Kickboxer.

Ludmilla, played by Bridgitte Nielsen, was the strong woman behind Ivan Drago, the Soviet-engineered killing machine that was Rocky’s nemesis. This particular action figure is an accurate depiction of the character from the movie: drab grey outfit, stereotypical “strong 80s woman” hairstyle, and knee-high boots. The clothing is removable, and one might wonder just what lies underneath that iron curtain-like dress she’s wearing. I imagine a tattoo of a hammer and sickle or maybe the likeness of Josef Stalin somewhere on her rear end, but that’s just me.

Read the rest »

Posted in Awesome, Film, Who Buys This Shit? | 7 Comments »

Metal Gear Solid
The Film is Dead

If you’re a fan of Metal Gear Solid, you already know that the series has such an intricate storyline that it would be impossible to actually make a movie based on it. As it turns out, a film based on the series was in development but is now dead in the water due to a lack of coordinated will behind the project, collider.com reports.

With games co-opting movie production ideals and vice-versa, and with big franchises seeing a confusing amount of success when jumping formats, it might seem strange that this project is now not happening. On the other hand, the Metal Gear Solid series is so amazing it’s better off without being adapted. The movie would have probably involved a lot of really quick outfit changing, sneaking, and loads of exclamation mark special effects.

Via FilmJunk

Posted in Film, News Bytes, Sony | 2 Comments »

First Images From
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Earlier today, thanks to Film Junk, I was treated to the first official stills from the upcoming movie, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which stars Michael Cera as the title character. I hadn’t been following the pre-production of the film despite its many Toronto and indie rock connections. But after seeing these stills I’m suddenly compelled to fall in love with it. Head on over to /Film to check both these stills out in beautiful high resolution.

Also: Michael Cera in full badass mode wielding the Flaming Katana = Awesome.

Posted in Awesome, Film | No Comments »

THUNDERCATS, HO!
Movie Dead, Flash Games Live On

Given my affinity for 8-bit games, coupled with my love for 1980s toy franchises, I was pretty jazzed to hear that Kids WB has Thundercats games playable on its website. With recent news that Warner Bros. is no longer producing a movie based on the hit franchise, these games also come as a small consolation, especially The Rescue, which is styled like an 8-bit Double Dragon-type game.

Then again, considering how the recent G.I Joe and Transformers movies turned out I’m glad the Thundercats won’t be given the Hollywood treatment after all. Nevermind the fact that the cartoon was never that great to begin with. Enemies ran away upon first sight of Lion-O, and those robot bears that helped build the base are more unforgivable than Gungans.

Anyhow, you might have heard that the 80s was a time when a lot of people did a lot of drugs. I can’t say for certain, but Thundercats might be a great example of this. If, however, like me you are a fan of the series regardless (or because) of its shortcomings, check out the Flash games, The Rescue and The Orb of Madness.

Via collider.com

Posted in Film, Flash Focus, News Bytes | 2 Comments »

I Heart The Transformers But
No, I Don’t Like The Michael Bay Movies

When Michael Bay’s Transformers was released in 2007, I was initially quite excited about seeing my favourite cartoon being brought to life through the magic of modern technology. Big explosions, cool cars, and crazy fights were just about guaranteed to give me my giant robot fix of that summer. But I was immensely disappointed upon seeing it. I remember the experience quite vividly. As the movie started, I was incredibly thrilled. The opening scene was excellent and seemed to set what I was expecting to be the pace for the remainder of the film.

Unfortunately all the special effects in the world can’t compensate for poor acting, a convoluted plot, and stiff, unlikable characters. It couldn’t even justify the creative liberties taken with the characters of The Transformers’ universe. Having Bumblebee, the most humble and gentle of Transformers, urinate on a character was just about the low point of the movie. That, however, is arguable; there was far too much that was far too horrible in that movie for a longtime fan like me to possibly forgive. For instance, why such a huge unnecessary emphasis on the humans who have zero redeeming qualities whatsoever?

This year the world was gifted with Bay’s follow-up to the original crapfest and, in true fashion, the sequel just took everything about the first movie and cranked it all to 11. Sadly this meant out of place comedic sequences were even more out of place, racist jokes and characterizations were even more offensive, the story made even less sense, and the battles were even more confusing. Two years after the first blockbuster raked in millions of dollars, the sequel did the same despite not doing anything differently – or well, for that matter.

Read the rest »

Posted in Blast From the Past, Cartoons, Editorial, Film | 5 Comments »

DEDICATION
Ultimate Iron Giant

“Eyes of the Hurricane” print by artist: Joel Parod

The first time I saw The Iron Giant, I was a college student out at a friend’s house and was too drunk to remember anything about it other the fact that it was both amazingly awesome and terribly sad. The second time I saw the movie in a much more sober state and was blown away by how amazing it was. It soon became one of my favourite movies of all time.

When I got my first DVD player, it was the first movie I bought. I watched it frequently, including the special features that are by today’s standards fairly bare bones. At the time of its release I was a huge toy collector but I unfortunately missed the short window of opportunity to purchase merchandise from The Iron Giant at retail. Because of the scarcity of toys based on the movie, I still have none save for the little figuring of the giant that came with the VHS release.

The curator of the site, Ultimate Iron Giant, does not have this problem. Instead, Dave is in quite the opposite position as he has what appears to be the world’s largest collection of The Iron Giant memorabilia. He’s photographed it all, too, and put it up on his website.

Dave’s growing collection includes not only items that were once available at retail, but also rarer items such as cast and crew promo materials, press kits, lobby cards, storyboards, model sheets, and much more. If you’re a fan of the film, be sure to check out the site. It amazes me just how much stuff was created to promote the movie despite it being lesser known to the general public than most animated films.

Posted in Awesome, Cartoons, Film | No Comments »