Monday News Cheap Thrills

[Source: NASA]

I've had a pretty busy day already, what with getting up to watch Endeavour launch for the last time and helping with some errands (as well as sneak a peek at the new Transformers 3 and Captain America toys); as a result, I've only been able to go through some (mostly) movie news so you're gonna have to deal.

The first trailer for the Fright Night remake is out and it's got a surprising amount of emphasis on the horror but not the comedy. Strange to me, in light of how I think of the old movie as being more funny than I do scary but I guess we won't really know until it hits in August, bravely battling it out for screens with Spy Kids 4 and Conan the Barbarian during a weekend I can only think of as being 3D-MAGEDDON(TM)! You get a good look at everybody excusing David Tennant as Peter Vincent; the focus is mostly on Anton Yelchin and Collin Farrel as the new Jerry Dandridge (or as my brother used to call him, Disco Dracula) [Source: Deadline.com]

In exciting poster news for movies I deeply hope do not turn out awful despite some questionable production choices, the first one-sheets for The Muppets and The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn have appeared, part of the theater businesses continual attempt to lure me into hanging around forever. The former is ok I guess; I'm not blown away with evocative imagery but it does show the characters well which will hopefully get kids asking their parents about them. I find it funny that the only picture anyone's got of it has that lens flare as people are mistaking it as part of the poster; I already have some on the way to work so I'm amazed that no one else has a better image yet since we usually get stuff last (if at all). As for Tintin, I'm already highly covetous of both versions though I admittedly prefer the international version, pictured below.  The US is getting really screwed over as the international Thor posters were a damn sight better than the domestic final, something I will never let go. The domestic version is here though ignore Harry's commentary as he's an idiot. I'm really excited to see anything from Tintin despite disliking the majority of it's cast (yeah you heard that right) and being iffy on how the characters have translated from those pictures in Empire last year. Still, everyone's talking about the Tintin posters on most of the sites I've seen with varying levels of accuracy/excitement. A special credit goes to Nordling at AICN for actually admitting he knows nothing about the source material. I appreciate your honesty! [Source:  Ain't it Cool News]

Cool... sure wish I got a shot at one Paramount

Speaking of cool stuff that totally relates to the movies that I never get to see despite working at a theater, here's a look at one of the SHIELD Field Agent Test Kits that Marvel and Acura were using to promote Thor. Sure, it comes as part of a story about how it was mistaken for a bomb but that's a little cathartic for me since I'll never have one. [Source: Comics Alliance]

Takara announced what the 10th Masterpiece Transformer was going to be: a new mold of Optimus Prime, trailer included this time and meant to better fit the scale of MP Rodimus and Starscream. Where that leaves MP Megatron and Grimlock, I'm not sure; if they want to redo Megs though I'm definitely not going to protest as mine has the tarnishing issue on top of how he's the weakest of the Masterpiece TFs. In the meantime, I'm hoping Hasbro gets their act together and puts out the MP Rodimus and Thundercracker, all features intact; not looking forward to springing $200 on the new Rodimus 2.0 that was just released. Anyway, the irony of how this comes out after the original MP-01 Prime mold was highly touted as being retired is not lost on anyone. One thing's for sure though: I'll be glad to finally have an Optimus with a trailer! I may even import him so I can have my highly illegal long smokestacks... [Source: Seibertron.com]

Ruminating on ridiculous US toy regulations aside, I'm done for now; I have to catch up on the sadly canceled The Chicago Code before trying to squeeze some enjoyment from my precious, precious day off. Don't worry though: I'm sure some jackass will send me into a rage at work tomorrow for your guys future enjoyment on the show.

Matty Nightmares and Movie Posters

So King Grayskull, Venkman and the Great Wars Weapon Pak came out today; in the process of struggling with the Matty Collector website I have way too big a headache to focus on writing anything lengthy so I'm instead going to improvise (re: be lazy) and comment on some of the recent posters that have been popping up without much hoopla.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On stranger Tides

It's all about growing the brand

So this is out there. This is pretty much the ultimate in Teaser Posters as it tells you nothing but a release date; no mention of Johnny Depp or Geoffrey Rush much less Keith Richards (who's apparently back in a bigger role). That's pretty much not needed though as there's a reason that Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley aren't coming back for this one: no one cares. Has the hair on the skull always been white and I've just never noticed? Maybe it's meant to hint at the hunt for the Fountain of Youth plot point. It is interesting that the skull's apparently made of metal as it kind of resembles the teaser for 'The Expendables'.

Kung Fu Panda 2 

These came out right on top of one another, maybe in hindsight on Paramount's part that this is going to need a much bigger marketing push then the Justin Bieber movie that it split an attached trailer with. I can only imagine that a full-on CGI feature has to cost a lot more than a hastily assembled psuedo-biopic/concert movie. The first Kung Fu Panda was a big surprise to me; I never really liked anything Dreamworks Feature Animation had done before and this one finally hit the nail on the head enough for them to earn my grudging respect. Of the two of these I much prefer the second one as the expression is completely priceless and it has the benefit of no empty space underneath the character's crotch. Sure it has less info on it but it also doesn't bitch-slap 2D as the ancillary method of audience viewing,so points for that. Here's hoping the final isn't incredible as I have a real reluctance for keeping sequel posters when I lack one for the original (Toy Story 3 being an exception though at some point I plant to get the others). At any rate it'll hopefully outdo the Megamind final where they forgot the title character's facial hair.

Don't be afraid of the Dark 

This is a neat little number; it has a real Edward Gorey vibe and that helps it stand out. The advertising has been a little soft for this (there's only been one trailer that's come in on the hard drives) so it's good to see something that stands out like this. Not sure about the January release date but I think 'The Orphanage' was a first quarter release too and it did a little above expectations.

Mars needs Moms

This may be the final, it's hard to tell at this point; there's no date or rating (admittedly the rating on what is supposedly the 'Tron: Legacy' final is also missing) so there's no guarantee of that. I'm glad to see that they've found a pretty evocative image and cute tagline for Berkeley Breathed's charming picture book though Simon Wells has yet to direct anything I've really been thrilled with (I'm looking at you 'The Time Machine'). I have faith in Zemeckis since I enjoyed 'Monster House' and anything related to Breathed will manage to get my attention. Good to know Mindy Sterling isn't dead either.

Cowboys and Aliens

I HAVE BEATEN YOU YAHOO! WATERMARK

This was the big reveal today over at Yahoo! Movie News. At least it was until the Pirates 4 poster popped up. You can see I've circumvented their watermark by taking a picture of the real one I got when I ran by work today. Yes, that's the fridge in my kitchen.

Anyway, this is the first picture I've seen for Jon Favreau's adaptation of Fred Van Lente's comic and I have to say it's pretty cool. They're probably not doing themselves any favors by leaving out the cast members but I don't mind since it keeps it uncluttered. Besides I don't know if any movie star is enough to pull people in who aren't already convinced of the concepts. It's got a Cowboy and a piece of presumably Alien technology so all parties involved are represented.


So there you go: Matty gives me brain damage and as a result you guys get a peak into what it's like when I bring my work home with me. I'm hoping that the Tron Triptych comes out domestically but otherwise I'm basically in a holding pattern until we get 'Thor' or 'Captain America' teasers.