Exclusive Batzarro Minifigure with LEGO Justice League vs. Bizarro League Movie :: Coming Soon!

Just when I thought I finally owned the coolest Batman LEGO minifigure ever conceived (at least in bootleg form), LEGO goes and makes a freaking BATZARRO MINIFIGURE and suddenly all bets are off.

Not only that, but they made it easily accessible! WOOHOO!

Available exclusively with the LEGO Justice League vs. Bizarro League Movie (available for pre-order now with a release date of 2/10/15) Batzarro is an exciting addition to what looks to be a fun little original LEGO movie.

You can bet I'm pre-ordering and will have myself a Batzarro LEGO minifigure as soon as my grubby hands can get a grip on him!

Me am so angry to get a LEGO Batzarro, me can wait!

Rahzar's Edge

I count the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie as one of my all time favorite films ever. And I admit to having seen 'The Secret of the Ooze' in theatres when it was released. But for some odd reason or another I hadn't seen it again since then. I don't recall hating it, but I don't recall loving it either. So before I made this post I re-watched it.

Not a fan.

The Secret of the Ooze loses all the charm and grittyness of the first in favor of a more cartoony (in a bad way) Turtles movie. Dumbed down for kids, I don't think Leonardo unsheathed his swords or Raph his sai even once. Because...sharp?

In summation:

1) Shredder living for Part II negates the end of the final scene of the first movie. I know this is a movie trope, but it was so poorly handled for the second film. Shredder is in the garbage, alive, his pals meet him in the junkyard, all baddies back again. Lame.
2) No Casey Jones?!?! Not even a mention. Lame lame.
3)I had forgotten how much I hated that 'karate kid' wannabe Keno. Why the hell was he in the movie anyways? Lame lame lame.
4) Vanilla Ice: Yuck and Jeezus Crimeny WHY?!?! Lame times infinity.
5) Instead of Bebop and Rocksteady, whom everyone kind of expected to see, we got villainous versions of a snapping turtle and a wolf, for no reason in the world. I do recall this being a disappointment during my theatrical viewing.

But all disappointment aside, said 'also ran' villains Tokka and Rahzar at least make for neat looking toys.

Unlike Tokka (whom we'll see here at Toyriffic very soon!) Rahzar is/was an all 'new' sculpt/figure with no parts re-use for his action figure. He looks great and is the perfect amalgamation of movie look/Playmates Tmnt toy design.

I had to rewatch the movie for Rahzar's garb to make sense - it looks like his shoulder pads are made of hubcaps and tires and his chestplate is a grill from an old car. Because he was mutated in a junk yard, see?

Actually that's pretty cool!

Of note: not that Shredder isn't free to dress his mutant dog any way he pleases, but the torn 'shirt' suggests Rahzar may have originally been conceived as a man transformed, and that he was wearing a shirt before transformation.

Also: broken shackles. He doesn't have shackles in the movie, so this might also suggest an early concept design or character decision that was left on the drawing board.

Rahzar originally came with accessories that had little if nothing to do with his movie appearance. I don't have them and don't care too much, as Rahzar is a perfectly fine figure without them.

Rahzar is a fine classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy that I honestly never really thought I needed (Tokka is my favorite of the two) but I am glad to own him now that I have him - thanks to Brian at Cool and Collected for the trade- and stay tuned for my look at his pal Tokka coming soon!

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Enid Coleslaw

Enid Coleslaw (played by Thora Birch) in Catwoman 'fetish mask' from the movie Ghost World.

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Thoughts on Hathaway's Catwoman

Careful, there may be minor spoilers ahead...

Probably the most comic-booky thing about The Dark Knight Rises was Anne Hathaway's portrayal of Selina Kyle (and her unnamed cat burgler alter ego known to all of us as Catwoman.)

Don't get me wrong; by 'comic-booky' I don't mean 'corny; or 'campy' or anything like that. I just mean that Hathaway's Selina Kyle/Catwoman scenes play like a true comic book movie, something that, it could be argued, Nolan's Batman movies are not.

Sans Catwoman, TDKR would have been a two hour and forty five minute uber-thriller with Batman in it for...oh about fifteen minutes.

Hathaway plays Selina and Catwoman better than anyone on screen has done to date. Sorry Julie and Eartha and Lee and Michelle; while your Catwomen were perfect (or, dare I say it...purrrfect) for their respective times, Nolan's universe demanded someone up the ante.

Hathaway does so in spades. (HAHA get it? Spade - spayed - Cat - HAHAHA!)

And unlike me, there are no ridiculous Cat puns with this Catwoman. There is however some serious butt whoopin skills, a sexy 'realistic' costume (except maybe those stilletto heels, but whadayagonnado?) and criminal motivation and skills straight out of the better Catwoman comic books of the past thirty or so years.

The 'team up' scenes with Batman and Catwoman were the most fun parts of TDKR, a film with little room for any kind of fun in it's bleak apocalyptic take on Gotham's darkest hour.

I was totally engrossed in the overarching story when I viewed TDKR for the first time; I look forward to viewing it again and soaking in the nuances, including paying more attention to Selina's scenes.

The Dark Knight Rises :: My (spoiler free) Thoughts

I was literally rendered speechless after viewing The Dark Knight Rises. I went to the midnight showing on Thursday night (technically Friday morning) with a group of friends, and since the movie let out at 3am I went straight home and went to bed.

Not that I would have been able to chat or discuss it at that time anyways.

People asked me the next day what I thought and I was still without words.

I liked it. Sometimes I felt I liked it in spite of myself. Can I explain that? Maybe not without spoilers. But that was my initial reaction.

As we know, TDKR deals with Bane as the main villain. Bane is relatively contemporary, at least he's a 'my generation' character, unlike the Joker and Catwoman and even Batman who began life in the golden age. But more surprisingly, the film felt like a 'my generation' film entirely, which is not necessarily the best thing or what I want in my Batman movies, especially since the contemporary world is so brutal and unforgiving (see the headlines and news stories of the past few days and you'll know what I mean.)

TDKR is brutal and unforgiving. Bane is brutal and unforgiving. Okay, maybe this last bit is a spoiler so highlight only if you have seen the movie:

I saw my hero beaten near to death and I didn't like it one single bit. The fact that Bane actually picked Batman up and smashed him over his knee literally shocked me to the core. I know, it's integral to the character, but so is 'venom' and they never mention that. I did not expect to see Nolan's Bane snap Batman like that. And when he did it had an impact on me. It hurt.

Yet there I was watching a mosaic made up of pieces of comics I read 'growing up,' that grew up with me, and I couldn't believe they were able to pull these bits off in a movie! It was as awesome as it was brutal.

I haven't had much chance to talk to my circle of IRL folks who have seen it yet (the price you pay for seeing it the second it's released!), but look forward to chatting with both deeply initiated Bat-friends and the uninitiated alike. I think their perspectives will help me digest the film better. I also know that I have to see it again; it was a thick, heavy film and I know I missed a lot in the first viewing, especially because so many moments my mind shifted as I sat there thinking 'I remember that from the comics!'

Bottom line: I liked the movie. I probably even loved the movie. There were some truly incredible moments that I never in a million years thought I'd see in a Batman movie.

It was the movie I deserved, but not the movie I needed. And now that the 'realism' of Batman has been looked at in a trilogy that will never be matched in tone and scope, I look forward to a more 'perfect' (read: less 'real') Batman once the inevitable reboot occurs. I don't want camp, I do want relatively serious, but I don't want to worry about Batman having kidneys full of scar tissue. Think Batman: Animated come to life. That's what I hope to see next time.

But from the bottom of my heart I thank Nolan et al for showing me this Batman and making the past seven years one of the best times in history to be a Bat-fan!

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Michelle Pfeiffer

It is incredible to think that twenty years ago today in 1992 I was waiting on bated breath for any news and images about Catwoman's appearance in the upcoming Batman sequel 'Batman Returns,' and here I am in 2012 once again waiting on bated breath for news and images on Catwoman's appearance in the Batman sequel 'The Dark Knight Rises.'

But I digress. Today let's look again at the best thing about Batman Returns: Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman!

Meow.

I was Junior in High School when the anticipation for this sequel was hitting a fever pitch. I couldn't wait for summer to arrive so I could see Michelle Pfieffer in all her black vinyl glory...I mean...see the sequel to my favorite movie of all time, 1989's 'Batman.'

Yeah.

I had quite a few posters of Ms. Pfeiffer in my bedroom, culled from the only source available: movie magazines, back in that pre-internet time we like to refer to now as 'The Stone Ages.'

I drew pictures on my desk of Batman and Catwoman and Penguin with the tagline 'The Bat, The Cat, The Penguin.' Once after High School I met a girl who had gone to the same school as I but whom I never knew; she knew me from my desk vandalism and said she loved coming into the classroom each day (she had the class after I did) and seeing what I had drawn on the desk.

Chicks dig rebels.

Anyways, the Michelle Pfeiffer/Tim Burton Catwoman was like nothing we'd seen before. A costume that emphasized it's homemade nature with a 'Bride of Frankenstein' meets 'Dominatrix' tone, Miss Pfeiffer brought the costume design to the next level with a sexy swagger and low purring voice that melted many a viewer like butter!

Say what you will about 'Batman Returns,' it isn't the perfect Batman film but it isn't the worst by a long shot (Damn you Schumacher...DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!) and it's hard to deny that Michelle brought something nearing purrrfection to the silver screen.

Watching the movie again as I write this post, I am a bit amazed that I really do like it. Call it nostalgia or whatever, but this is MY Batman, this is MY Gotham City. Burton, Keaton, Nicholson, Hingle, Gough, DeVito, Pfeiffer...they defined 'Batman' for me and my generation, and they did a pretty damn good job of it.

I may consider myself older and wiser and like to think that Nolan, Bale, Ledger et al are the best, and while they are a more mature 'realistic' look at Gotham City, I really really love the pseudo 40s depression Fritz Lang Metropolis black on black Gotham City the two Burton movies created.

It is beyond a crying shame to think that after 'Batman Returns' TWO sure-thing comic book movie properties were brought to their knees (the Batman franchise and the solo Catwoman film that inexplicably did not star Michelle Pfeiffer) but in hindsight at least Keaton and Pfeiffer stayed away when they saw what was happening to their characters (whether it was by choice or otherwise.)

Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman will forever stand out as a beautiful unique creation that can never be duplicated. In today's Hollywood, that's quite an achievement!

Poisunday Ivy :: Uma

'Batman and Robin' was an abomination.

However it does mark the only time a live-action Poison Ivy has appeared on the silver screen, or even the television screen for that matter.

With the release of The Dark Knight Rises this summer even Bane will have more live action appearances than the alluring Miss Isley! Who would have ever thought that would happen?!?!

 

Uma Thurman is an attractive lady and a fine actress, yet 'Batman and Robin' made her look more like a plant themed drag queen than an alluring super villain.

I wonder what his/her drag queen name would be.

Tessa d'Salad, maybe?

I think Uma had about seventeen different costumes throughout the movie. I'm not going to watch it again to find out.

The eyebrow-leaves are just unnecessary, if they wanted her to be incognito they could have at least gone all out and gave her a domino mask or something.

This costume is okay, if the cape were gone and the hair a more natural shade of red.

Oh hai Bane.

What the hell is up with that hair?

Again, this would have been a fine look for the entire movie; but then the toy companies wouldn't have been able to release all those variant action figures of Poison Ivy in all her movie costumes. Wait, they didn't do that anyways.

Oh well, here's to Uma Thurman, I'm sure she was paid well for her role.

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Cinematic Cat-tastropy

I have never seen the Catwoman movie starring Halle Berry in the title role. And I intend on keeping it that way.

I don't believe anyone has ever said anything good about this movie. Ever.

Even the costume is bad...

Good lord.

Unbelievably, they even made a video game of this monstrosity, which by all accounts is as horrid as the movie itself.

Also unbelievably, they did not make action figures for this movie. A Halle Berry Catwoman toyline would most certainly have been a train wreck one could not divert their eyes from, and would probably be charming in it's hindsight horrifficness today.

Okay, probably not.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I own this: A figurine of Halle Berry Catwoman which came with a chocolate candy called Jack, sold exclusively in Argentina.

I am so ashamed.

In brightest day, in blackest night, this isn't the droid you're looking for, alright.

I wasn't planning on picking up any of the Green Lantern movie toys. They're cool enough, but I'm not yet in love with most of their designs (that may change after I see the movie though. We'll see.)

I do like the fact that there are so many funky looking aliens in the toyline (and movie.) If I were a kid I'd be all over these. But as an adult I prefer a more comic book or cartoony look for my GLs - it's like I've regressed or something. Maybe I'm actually from Ork.

There should be a Green lantern from the Ork sector. Nanoo nanoo.

Anywhoo, today I was undertaking the very adult task of buying pants when I spotted all the new Green Lantern toys. There are about fifteen thousand of them, in sixty three different scales; figures alone and in multi packs and with pets and removable pants and riding motorcycles and big green rubber fists for...playtime fun...ahem...and masks and rings and...okay I exaggerate. But only a little bit - the part about the green rubber fist is true.

In the 4-5 inch scale figure collection I found Stel and decided I had to have him. First of all, this scale is on sale at K-Mart for $5.99. A fair price for a toy this size. Second, Stel here is a figure based on early production art. The character as he will be seen in the movie is vastly different. Making this guy the Blue Snaggletooth of the Green Lantern movie.

If the movie and toyline is a hit and there is a sequel, I am sure Stel will be re-released to better reflect his on-screen design, which means this might be the only release this version ever sees. Not that he'll be of any value ever, but as a conversation piece that makes him pretty neat-o.

Stel comes with a green construct (in fact all the figures in this scale do) that is specific to his character. Stel's construct is a mechanical armature/blade. Fun times.

He looks like he's flipping the bird in this picture. "Number Five is alive, you f*&(ers!"

Stel is a pretty simple toy. Four points of articulation and simple paint applications. Still, he looks like a neat robot that might mosey into the Star Wars Cantina at some point. If they allowed his kind, that is.

Each figure in this scale comes with a Green Lantern ring. It's pretty nice and solid, a little on the small side (yeah, I know I know, these are for kids) but flexible enough to fit if you force it. I'll probably wear it to the movie and embarrass my girlfriend. Or use it to propose to her or something. Just kidding, if I were to propose to my girlfriend with a nerdy ring, I'd use a Legion ring. Sillies.

La Mujer Murcielago (The Bat Woman) - with subtitles!

I just discovered that someone recently uploaded the entire film La Mujer Murcielago (The Bat-Woman) on to Youtube. If you haven't seen it, La Mujer Murcielago is a 1968 Luchador movie about a female wrestler (La Mujer Murcielago, natch) who fights crime as, well, La Mujer Murcielago.

Whatever. It has scenes like this:  

And this:

So what's not to love?

I've seen La Mujer Murcielago before, but not with subtitles. Will I enjoy it more now that I can understand what they are saying? Doubt it. Everything I love about this film has nothing to do with the dialog. But I'll watch it again anyways. And you should too!

Buy stuff by me at Zazzle!

Captain America in Entertainment Weekly

In case you haven't yet seen these online, here are a couple of my favorite images from the upcoming Entertainment Weekly issue featuring Chris Evans as Captain America on the cover. Looks cool, and it is VERY geek-tastic to see his original shield!


See more at SuperheroHype.com

WonderCon 2010

My family and I attended WonderCon 2010 yesterday and it was a blast! The first "real" comic book convention I've ever attended, WonderCon 2010 took place April 2-4 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. It was insanely packed on Saturday April 3rd, the day I attended. I estimate there were about 300 million people there:


There were a lot of artists and vendors and stars signing autographs, but WAY too many people for the space alotted, and moving through the aisles was more like riding the rushing rapids of the Rio Grande than perusing a comic book store. I didn't buy anything and an attempt by my entire party to get tickets to buy the exclusive DC Direct action figures failed, so I spent little time perusing the wares and more time checking out the awesome people dressed up as movie, comic and cartoon characters!


The 501st Legion were there in full force. And I have to admit, a fully functional Stormtrooper is an imposing thing to behold in person! I wouldn't want to face down a whole squadron of these guys no matter how bad their aim!


My mom wasn't the droid he was looking for. He was willing to let us go if I promised to help look for a small silver/white R2 unit with blue trim accompanied by a tall gold robot.


I found the R2 unit first...


...but when we returned with the tall gold one, he simply ran away! Some people! You try and help them out and you get no appreciation!


We saw a lot more familiar faces too, like Joker, Black Canary and Green Arrow.


Baroness also showed up for the festivities.


As did a couple 1930s era heroes, The Rocketeer and The Shadow.


Harley Quinn was there too...


...along with Angel and Nightcrawler...


...and Vixen!


And here is old chrome dome himself, Cobra Commander. I tell you, it was very surreal to say "Hey Cobra Commander, can I take your picture?" and to get a response just as if you yelled out "Hey Tim," or "Hey Raul." These folks take their cosplay seriously. They are their characters!

Besides my mom, I was the only other one of all of us willing to get a picture with these costumed folks. For me it was better than Disneyland! Here I am with Captain America.

And here's the main man himself, Batman. (Oh, in case you couldn't tell, I'm the one on the right.)

Nurse Joker wanted to get in on the action as well.

The highlight of the convention for me was the surprise guest during the Warner Brothers panel. After listening to the actors from The Losers (which included the past Human Torch/future Captain America Chris Evans and The Comedian himself Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Nightmare on Elm Street (which included Jackie Earle Haley of Rorschach and soon to be Freddy Krueger fame) and the director of the upcoming movie Splice (which looks pretty freaky! The movie that is, not the director,) we were treated to a glimpse at Christopher Nolan's upcoming Inception...presented by the man himself, Christopher Nolan!

Yeah, that's Cobra Commander's helmet blocking my view. Asshole! Hey, down in front!

Sure...I was like, a half a mile away...but I was in the same room as Christopher Nolan!

Nolan was joined by his wife, Producer Emma Thomas, and they talked about their new movie and film in general. Later everyone who sat through the WB presentation got a bag of goodies that included a cool Inception t shirt and a metal top. How that plays into the movie, I do not know. Also included were shirts for Splice and A Nightmare on Elm Street. DC Comics also gave away a ton of free comics and pins and stuff. In fact I got some extra stuff which I will be giving away here so stay tuned to Toyriffic for an upcoming contest!

All in all the convention was a ton of fun. I would have liked to have been able to see more, which I guess is why they hold it over three days. There's just too much to take in during one day. Oh well, there's always next year!