In my attempt to keep up with pop culture goings-on this year, there were a lot of developments I never could have predicted. It seems awesome television announcements or crazy character appearances were turning up all over the place. Take my silken hand as I lead you down the path of 14 of my favorite unexpected surprises from 2014!
In the midst of my most recent late-night rummage through the internets, I stumbled across the following animated GIF on Imgur:
This reverse Jaws scenario plays out in a wonderfully absurd fashion that appealed to my sleep-deprived sense of humor perfectly. Of course, I immediately slid the cursor over to the image to hit "save as." A sudden moment of clarity fell upon me before finishing the act however. I thought back to the thousands upon thousands of other lulztastic animated GIFs I've downloaded over the years. I must have gigabytes on top of gigabytes of them at this point. And for what?
Despite the crowds full of people that won't be quiet or turn off their cellphones, I still love going to the movies. I'm even the sort to keep my ticket stubs. I don't even let the apparent stigma that it's somehow sad to go alone get to me. If I want to go see something, I go for it. Regardless, 2014 has been a pretty light year for me as far as theatrical experiences go.
With the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, it dawned on me that it'll only be the third movie I've actually gone to see this year. As the image up top suggests, the first two were Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past. It seems only Marvel characters have enough allure to actually get me to the theater these days. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 fell through the cracks somehow, but I did at least plan on seeing it. I may have also flirted with the idea of checking out Godzilla for a moment or two, but that's honestly it.
Maybe I've been too distracted, or maybe it's just been a mostly ho-hum year for mainstream movies. Beats me. I really enjoyed Winter Soldier and Days of Future Past however, so hey — quality over quantity!
As I look through the list of films yet to be released this year, there's only a small handful I have any interest in. While it's been nice to keep the list of movies I actually attend short and sweet for a change, I miss the days of seeing them more frequently. Maybe 2015 will turn things back around, or maybe I'll only end up seeing Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man! Shrug.
Side-note: I look damn good in a top hat. For more, feel free to check me out on Twitter & Facebook!
Legendary poster warlords Mondo released a handful of Guardians of the Galaxy prints for San Diego Comic Con 2014, and my favorite of the bunch is undoubtedly Mike Mitchell's "Tree Hugger" featuring Rocket Raccoon and Groot. While I'm sure there are comic fans that would cringe at the idea, this incredibly cute aesthetic makes me clamor for a series of slightly tongue-in-cheek children's books featuring all sorts of adventure and awesome bro moments.
Jeffrey Brown's Star Wars books (such as Darth Vader and Son) prove that you can take iconic characters initially meant for slightly older audiences and portray them in a friendlier context that can be enjoyed on different levels by both children and adults. I'd love to see Marvel join in on something similar. They have more than enough strong characters to work with, and I say Rocket Raccoon and Groot would be the perfect pair to help kick things off. Who's with me?!
Don't tell me I'm all alone here. Feel free to jump on my Twitter & Facebook profiles to discuss your feelings on the matter!
While the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' designs in their upcoming new movie have caused some iffy feelings — even from series co-creator Peter Laird — they don't really bother me. I'd be lying if I said I'm a fan of them, but I'm not the sort to dismiss a movie over a few aesthetic choices. Perhaps it's hypocritical to then turn around and be bothered by a single line of dialogue, but the self-deprecating jab at the franchise's title and premise currently running through some of the trailers and TV Spots is bugging me more than the Turtles' odd new faces ever could. Have a look:
For the two of you that somehow missed it: Entertainment Weekly's upcoming issue is a San Diego Comic-Con Preview that features a striking Avengers: Age of Ultron cover, complete with our first official look at the film's Ultron design. You can check out the full cover image via EW's Twitter.
For me, this is another case of not expecting to see so much so soon, but I suppose it makes sense. SDCC 2014 is next week, and the movie itself is only 10 months away at this point. Where does the time go?
As far as reveals go, this feels like a big one. The cover manages to give the basic gist of the design, and I think it captures Ultron well. A big part of the character's comic history has been a constant string of upgrades, so landing on one defining look can be tricky. The following example doesn't even scratch the surface:
After the evening's final Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 matches, Evo 2014 Day 2 finished with a screening of Chubby Boy Films' short film Matador, an origin story for Street Fighter II boss character Vega (or Balrog if you prefer the original Japanese name.) If such things interest you, a Youtube upload is already available:
Mortal Kombat creator and creative director Ed Boon recently "re-tweeted" a fan image of Scorpion staring down a Predator, complete with Mortal Kombat X logo. As you might expect, many of those that follow the goings on of the fighting game world found the idea rather exciting. The re-tweet got plenty of attention:
As we all know, this past weekend brought the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction upon us. Despite all of the hype, I failed to find the motivation to venture out to see it myself. Upon discussing the film's interesting early reception, my pal GogDog, whom many of you should know from his impressive toy photography and former WTF@TFW Podcast hosting duties, offered to be Castle Geek-Skull's surrogate moviegoer. It would appear the experience left quite an impression, because he came back with quite a tale. Even if you've already had your fill of AoE reviews, trust me, this one is well worth checking out. (Please be warned: the review does contain spoilers)
Alright Gog, take it away:
"I was fairly apathetic in my desire to see Transformers: Age of Extinction. Having seen the previous three films in the series (all directed by Michael Bay) several times each, I knew what to expect. The Transformers film franchise is widely known for its over the top robot action with beautiful, state of the art computer-rendered effects and well-choreographed battle scenes, as well as two-dimensional, unbelievable characters, and confusing, jarring editing.
My interest piqued when the film began to screen. I saw such widely varying opinions from people I know quite well. Their general takes on the film ranged from calling it a noticeable, marked improvement over the previously well-known problems in the series' production, to declaring it “an utterly awful bewildering film” and giving it a score two points lower than the scale even bottomed out at. At this point, I wanted to absorb every bit of my friends' opinions that I could. I wanted to know, in every detail, without spoilers, how and why they felt the film was enjoyable or not, and in what ways it was successful or a failure. Then I would watch the film and experience just why it was pulling people in such widely different directions. I thought I knew what to expect. Let me tell you — I did not. This film managed to shock me in several different ways and for very, very different reasons.
When Myspace was still huge back in 1812 (ooh, such original and scathing commentary!) my favorite aspect of it was not in listening to low quality music uploads or keeping up with anyone I actually knew. I had much more fun filling my friend list with endless parody accounts.
There were many wonderfully bored individuals spending their time creating entire Myspace profiles under the guise of characters like Batman, Leon Kennedy, and even freakin' David Lo Pan. It was actually pretty amusing. Even better? More and more began to send me friend requests over time. Aww, shucks. It was a blast while it lasted.
It's not something I ever thought I'd say, but Twitter is actually reminding of Myspace these days. Rest assured, if there's a character or personality you like, you'll often find someone essentially roleplaying as them for all to see. Let's check out a few of my recent finds!
Oh no, it's "Weekly Want" time once more! Last week's installment featured some cute Godzilla Minimates, DC Collectibles' animated Batman figures, and so on! On to more pressing matters: let's see what May 19-26 had to offer in the realm of action figure and collectible promotional imagery:
The internet has been abuzz this evening over Edgar Wright's decision to step down from directing the upcoming live action Ant-Man. Wright (most famous for directing Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End) cited "creative differences" as the inspiration for his departure. I'm a massive fan of his work and he has made nothing but a great impression on me throughout his numerous commentaries, interviews, and other press appearances. When I heard he would be at the helm of Ant-Man, I was absolutely stoked. As you might expect, I was not alone.
While the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Batsuit reveal inspired just as much fan discussion as you'd expect, it also gave us fuel for plenty of ridiculous Photoshop imagery. That is definitely something I can get behind! I've had quite a bit of fun seeing new versions of the "Sad Batman" meme pop-up with "Batfleck" center stage. Let's look through 10 of the best Sad Batman images, shall we?
On May 12th, 2014, Zack Snyder (director of movie films such as 300, Watchmen, Man of Steel, etc) tweeted a picture showing the back end of the new Batmobile from the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As far as teasers go, it's what you'd expect. You could pretty much only make out some tires and the hint of a spoiler. However, the tweet ended with a promise to show more the next day. Surprisingly, what followed was actually a major reveal: the film's new Batsuit! Ooh. For the two of you who haven't seen it, behold:
Until now, I was totally unaware that there would be mass market toys for the new Godzilla movie. It makes total sense that there would be, but I would have believed you if you told me we'd only be receiving an odd collector-targeted premium figure or two. I can only go by the discussions I've stumbled across online, but my understanding of mass market action figures is that they aren't as sure of a success as they once were.
To go into all of the overarching issues would be a nasty tangent, but when big household names like G.I. Joe aren't even sure hits anymore, you know there's been some serious change going on. Regardless, Godzilla licensees like Jakks and Bandai of America are just freakin' going for it. Several mass market offerings are turning up all over:
As previously mentioned, I somehow managed to miss every Free Comic Book Day up until now. I am happy to report that the curse has been lifted! With the promise of Tusken Raider cosplay fresh in mind, I made the effort to venture to my nearest comic shop today and I had a grand time overall. Here are 15 random pictures that loosely illustrate my adventure:
*Cough.* Ok, I'm sorry (no I'm not), but I relate to pretty much everything through movies. As soon as I heard about the E.T. landfill dig, my mind immediately went to the epic flippin' shot of Indiana Jones looking on at the Ark of the Covenant dig in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Then, this goofy Photoshop happened.
You're welcome.
If you want to see when my next bout of Photoshop silliness is unleashed, please follow on Twitter @castlegeekskull and like on Facebook!
Move over, "The Meat" from Rocky, there's a new contender for "Best Action Figure Ever" in town!
I just came across this Transformers: Age of Extinction Grimlock lobby display courtesy of dj_67knights, and my mind flooded with all of the other awesome giant-size promotional materials I've come across in theaters over the years. I've never thought to photograph them myself, but I was at least able to scour the internets for examples. Onward:
Oh, boy. A short TV Spot for the new Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie has surfaced, complete with a handful of new shots. The most noteworthy of course is a glimpse of Master Splinter's back. Chickity check it:
Even with this briefest of brief glimpses, the TMNT fans of the internet have been buzzing. Who would have guessed? Here are a few early reactions from Youtube:
