Issue 123: San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Coverage
Exclusives. New Product Reveals. M.O.D.O.K. Me! All of this and more were hot topics of conversation at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International! Now on this episode of Marvelicious Toys join Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin live on the convention floor as they discuss the exclusives and new Marvel toys and collectibles revealed at this year’s Comic-Con.
Plus watch for exclusive interviews with Hasbro, Gentle Giant, Kotobukiya, 3-D Plus Me, and Diamond Select Toys for even more news! Discover the fate of Diamond Select’s X-Men Days of Future Past Mystique figure. Hear Hasbro’s answer as to when Bulldozer will see the light of day. Find out what Koto has planned after their Avengers Art-FX+ series ends, and so much more!
It’s just like having a press pass for SDCC, but without the aching back and sore feet! So kick back and enjoy this episode of Marvelicious Toys!
Source: Marvelicious Toys
Issue 123: San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Coverage
Exclusives. New Product Reveals. M.O.D.O.K. Me! All of this and more were hot topics of conversation at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International! Now on this episode of Marvelicious Toys join Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin live on the convention floor as they discuss the exclusives and new Marvel toys and collectibles revealed at this year’s Comic-Con.
Plus watch for exclusive interviews with Hasbro, Gentle Giant, Kotobukiya, 3-D Plus Me, and Diamond Select Toys for even more news! Discover the fate of Diamond Select’s X-Men Days of Future Past Mystique figure. Hear Hasbro’s answer as to when Bulldozer will see the light of day. Find out what Koto has planned after their Avengers Art-FX+ series ends, and so much more!
It’s just like having a press pass for SDCC, but without the aching back and sore feet! So kick back and enjoy this episode of Marvelicious Toys!
Source: Marvelicious Toys
Guardians of the Galaxy
When teased at the end of Thor: The Dark World, the Guardians of the Galaxy looked like a bunch of a-holes. But this past weekend Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot proved their worth with a heroic opening weekend at the box office. More than just money, the film has been a hit with audiences and critics alike. What is the magic that made this film blow up like a ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb, and were the hosts of Now Playing won over by this charming band of outlaws? Listen to Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob in this review to find out!
Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPAVENGERS10.mp3
Pre-Order Alert: Die Cast Iron Man Mark III Exclusive and Mark III Construction Version
Hot Toys collectors, your day just got a little bit cooler! Sideshow Collectibles has put up for pre-order two new versions of the Iron Man Mark III armor as seen in the first Iron Man movie!
First we have the Iron Man Mark III Armor. This is the iconic red-and-gold suit Tony Stark dons about halfway through the first film. Hot Toys has released this figure before, but collectors complained that the figure was a bit shorter than the later Hot Toys figures, and the face sculpt wasn’t as perfected. Now Hot Toys brings their latest technology to the figure–it’s made of die cast metal! You can hear (or watch) our review of Hot Toys’ amazing Iron Patriot die cast figure in Marvelicious Toys Issue 119 (and that figure is still available to order from Sideshow as well). By going die cast Hot Toys has taken their already astounding figures to the next level, so for many who even already own the Hot Toys Iron Man Mark III this upgrade is worth a purchase.
More, through Sideshow Collectibles, Hot Toys is offering an exclusive version of this figure that comes with an accessory you can’t get anywhere else: a 1/6 scale version of Tony Stark’s first arc reactor in the case as Pepper Potts gave him as a gift in that Iron Man film! It’s a neat accessory that is sure to make this item highly sought after on the secondary market.
More, you get a ton of accessories (pictured right) including a changeable Tony Stark head, LED eyes and chest RT, removable chest and torso armor, interchangeable forearm rockets, interchangeable shoulder guns, interchangeable countermeasure dispensers, 3 pairs of hands, and a light-up figure stand.
And for those Hot Toys collectors who like to make dioramas or environments, there’s a more unique Iron Man Mark III up for order today–the Iron Man Mark III Construction Version. Priced at only $149.99 this is about half the price of a normal Hot Toys Iron Man, which is fitting as it’s half an Iron Man! This item recreates the Mark III armor as shown undergoing repairs in Tony Stark’s workshop. With the chest plates off, shown hanging from chains with wires extending beneath, it’s an interesting accessory that your Tony Stark figure can tinker with!
So hurry and order the Die Cast Iron Man Mark III or the Iron Man Mark III Construction Version now from Sideshow Collectibles!
40 Year-Old-Critic: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
In The 40-Year-Old Critic, Venganza Media creator and host Arnie Carvalho recalls a memorable film for each year of his life. This series appears daily on the Venganza Media Gazette.
I was born in 1974, and if my parents took me to a movie that year I have no memory of the trip. In the 40 years since, I’ve caught up on many of the classics from that year such as The Godfather Part II, Blazing SaddlesThe Conversation, and Young Frankenstein. But, truthfully, none of those pictures shaped my life nearly as much as the small indie film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Of course, I didn’t see this film in its original release. I was only 19 days old when Texas Chain Saw hit theaters. And while my parents were pretty lax with the content of movies I watched or books I read, even they would have had serious concerns about my watching teens carved up for food. I got into true, hard R-rated horror films when I turned 12, and the constant Chain Saw references in the 1987 Mark Harmon film Summer School had me finally rent this grindhouse film on VHS.
I was unimpressed.
I had built Leatherface up in my mind as a Freddy, a Jason, or a Michael Myers. But, in truth, Leatherface had none of the slick, commercial appeal of those later imitators. As such, the film was less fun for me as a teen. I later returned to Texas Chain Saw in 2010 for Now Playing Podcast’s retrospective series and, to the shock of many listeners, I gave it a red arrow. The cacophonic score, annoying performances, and dirty, low-budget look of the film still made it a movie I couldn’t enjoy. I labeled it “horror homework” — great for aficionados of the genre but not a film I’d recommend for the masses.
But while I may not recommend watching the film I truly recognize there are few films more important than this. It is no exaggeration to say that without The Texas Chain Saw Massacre the horror films I love may never have come to be.
First, Texas Chain Saw was a hugely successful film, costing only $300,000 to make and grossing over $30 million at the US box office (which, per BoxOfficeMojo is more than $131 million adjusted for inflation). This showed studios that inexpensive horror films could make bank.
In addition to showing studios a pathway to profit, Texas Chain Saw also inspired screenwriters and directors. This film, along with Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, provided a template for the “slasher” sub-genre of film, combining a masked killer with an iconic weapon Later horror films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and even Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, all series that I love, took this formula and refined it for even greater success. And Leatherface’s greatest successor may just be Hannibal Lecter, another cinematic cannibal that has captured my imagination.
More, this film launched director Tobe Hooper into the spotlight, paving the way for him to direct Poltergeist, another seminal horror film of the haunted house variety. (And yes, we discussed how much influence Hooper had on Poltergeist in Now Playing Podcast’s 2011 Spring Donation Drive. Those podcasts are no longer available.)
While this film doesn’t click with me as entertainment, I credit Texas Chain Saw for paving the way for later horror films I love. This film was born the same time I was, and without it I would not be the man, or the movie critic, I am today.
I do, however, stand by that red arrow. As I found out when I was 13, this isn’t a film I can recommend for those looking for the same glossy thrill given by Friday the 13th Part VI. It is not a Hollywood production and it shows. But while I can’t recommend it, I love it for the future films it enabled.
Tomorrow — 1975!
Arnie is a movie critic for Now Playing Podcast, a book reviewer for the Books & Nachos podcast, and co-host of the collecting podcasts Star Wars Action News and Marvelicious Toys. You can follow him on Twitter @thearniec
Hasbro SDCC Exclusives Now Available Online!
Update 3: Overnight the Infinity Gauntlet 3.75-inch Marvel set sold out, over 12 hours after being offered.
Update 2: The Jabba the Hutt set is now sold out, 1 hour after being put up for sale
Update: The Marvel Legends Galactus Engine Set is now sold out, about 25 minutes after being put up for sale.
Hasbro’s 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International exclusive toys are up for order now at Habro’s online store HasbroToyShop.com As we reported on Star Wars Action News and Marvelicious Toys’ social media sites, and will be detailed more in the forthcoming Comic-Con coverage videos and podcasts, Hasbro’s San Diego booth was the most chaotic it’s been in 9 years. Items like the Marvel Legends set and Jabba the Hutt sold out by 10:30 Saturday morning. Collectors and scalpers alike fought to get tickets and get in the line, and sometimes lining up as early as 5 a.m. was not enough to get the toys sought. Now they are on Hasbro Toy Shop.com but with the high demand for these limited-edition toys they will likely sell out in under an hour. So if you were looking for these toys, hurry to the site now and get yours! 
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