Monday, May 30, 2016

Fantasia Announces 1st Guests and Titles for 20th Anniversary

The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary in Montreal this summer, taking place from July 14-August 2, with its FrontiƩres international co-production market and Industry Rendez-Vous weekend being held July 21-24. The full lineup of over 130 feature films will be announced July 5th. In the meantime, the festival is excited to announce a selected first wave of titles, along with several special happenings.

LEGOLAND Coming to New York

It's OK to be mad at us. We of the tri-state areas are spoiled rotten. We've got every convention imaginable, smaller monthly toy and comic shows, museums, multiple stadiums and....the Crayola factory. Now we find that Merlin Industries has begun laying down the building blocks (go on and groan) for a LEGOLAND theme park in Goshen, New York...and you'd better believe thousands of grown up geeks are already preparing to line up...

Thursday, May 26, 2016

SDCC 2016 Exclusives: Mattel's 1st Round with Monster High, Ghostbusters, Wonder Woman & More

Mattel usually rolls out their exclusives in a very methodical way, profiling each piece, first showing tiny pictures that don't give one a real sense of the glory of a Mattel San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive, complete with all the bells and whistles. Today...they said screw it...and released half their lot. EYE CANDY!! We are working on more images of each item so check back for updates, but until we've had our fill, here's a good look at some must have items...

SDCC 2016 Exclusives: Diamond Comics with Marvel, Batman, Ghostbusters & More!

INTO THE EXCLUSIVES ANNOUNCEMENTS WE GO! Diamond Comics jumps into the fire with a heap of exclusives you'll most likely find at the Diamond Select booth and various retailers across the San Diego Comic-Con floor. Items include merch from Marvel Comics, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Batman and Ghostbusters! Dive in and commence to drooling...

Diamond Comic Distributors is offering over 25 extremely limited PREVIEWS exclusives for this year’s Comic-Con International: San Diego (July 20-24). The list includes several variants of Marvel’s current hit, Civil War II, an exclusive Outcast cover from Image just in time for the show’s premiere on Cinemax, a slew of Diamond Select Toys items, and more!! Comic-Con attendees will be able to preview the items at the Diamond PREVIEWS booth #2401 and purchase from participating retailers on the show floor.

“Diamond will be showcasing the con exclusive items at the PREVIEWS booth, and then we’ll guide fans to retailers who have the exclusives available for purchase on the show floor,” said Diamond’s Director of Marketing, Dan Manser. “These items are extremely limited and a big reason why fans look forward to coming to Comic-Con International: San Diego each year.”

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

John Carpenter Returns to HALLOWEEN

John Carpenter has been on a music tour setting the ears of long time horror fanatics ablaze across the country while his higher profile fans sing his praises in epic Twitter rants (like the most recent one from Guillermo del Toro!) Last night, no one could prepare their bodies for the news Blumhouse was about to drop.

"We’re thrilled to announce that Michael has found a new home at last — thanks to the efforts of Blumhouse founder/CEO Jason Blum, HALLOWEEN franchise producer Malek Akkad, Miramax and Trancas International Films, who have just announced a team-up of historic proportions to bring a new HALLOWEEN to the big screen."

Monday, May 23, 2016

SDCC2016 Exclusives: NECA: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Game Action Figures Boxed Set

Most avid toy collectors are aware of NECA's astounding work in transforming your favorite pop culture icons into action figures painted up as 8bit masterpieces, mirroring their appearances in mega popular video games from our childhood. Now they return to a license no one ever dreamed they'd be able to revisit; TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!! The NECA TMNT action figure line remains the truest interpretation of the original Mirage comics into toy form and fans have moaned across the internets about how that collection is, sadly, incomplete. Now, a San Diego Comic-Con miracle will add more highly requested characters to that lineup...

Star Trek Beyond Trailer #2 Is ...More ...Star Treky?

It's an interesting thing, and it comes up more often than we realize, especially with "geek" properties. There are translations of our favorite comics/cartoons/what have you that seem faithful...made by people who actually LIKE what they've seen and wish to make a feature film that would make the original creator smile from ear to ear and give fans something to cheer about and beg for more. The first trailer for Star Trek Beyond was lacking in..shall we say..Star Trekkiness. It may as well have been a preview for a generic space adventure fueled by rock music and peppered with scantily clad women and men who inexplicably lose their shirts mid-battle. After binge-watching the entire run of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I am no closer to pinning down the exact elements you NEED in any property claiming connection to the Star Trek mythos, but I know what it feels like, and like most fans, I can tell when it's missing. The second trailer for "Beyond" takes several steps back in the right direction...

Friday, May 20, 2016

The UK Ghostbusters Trailer #2 May Change Your Mind

Soo....it seems everything done to market the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters has been met with some....anger? Maybe unchecked rage is more appropriate? From my POV, it's been less about a female lead GB movie (all the women in this film are awesome in my book) and more about film makers that stuck with a very specific mold to pour the GB story into...that being Bridesmaids. The first trailer pretty much assured us that if you didn't like the movie Bridemaids, you were probably not going to be into this film, which sucks for Ghostbusters fans who just want the legacy to continue. The second trailer didn't do much to change people's minds on that point as we witnessed further lines delivered via screaming and an ocean of ghosts which all pretty much look the same (and really CGI'd into the ground." NOW comes a third trailer from the UK...and it just might change your mind...

Diamond Select Ready To Believe In the Ghostbusters Again

Diamond Select Ghostbusters Action Figures
HERE WE GO!!! It's not often I get to dive head first into an action figure line made after a movie I've watched so many times, I can just about recite all the words along with it. Mind you, this still didn't make me qualified to immediately know where the Proton Wand was meant to hang on any action figure's pack, but I still love the films enough to be ridiculously excited to crack open this collection.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

DC TV's Powerless Trailer

In a city packed with super powered beings waging war ....we still have to get to work on time, pay bills, and try and have some semblance of a normal life. This is the story of one woman working in the insurance industry attempting just that. Hilarity ensues. "Ground Floor" stories are always fantastic when done right, so a comedy using the DC Universe as a backdrop was always a no-brainer, especially considering how much people are loving the DC TV Universe...while some relish in making fun of their cinematic universe. WIN WIN! Jump in to catch the first trailer for POWERLESS before someone yanks it offline...

Warner Bros. Interactive Announces Batman: Return to Arkham

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Batman: Return to Arkham.  The new title bundles Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, two of the most critically acclaimed videogames on the last generation of gaming consoles. Both are being remastered for PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One using Unreal Engine 4, a first for the award winning Batman: Arkham series. Remastered by Virtuos, this set offers fans a chance to play the first two Batman: Arkham titles including all Game of the Year edition bonus and downloadable content from both games, now with improved graphics, as well as upgraded models, environments, lighting, effects and shaders.  Batman: Return to Arkham will be available beginning July 26 for a suggested retail price of $49.99/€49.99/£39.99.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

New York Comic Con Updates Their Ticketing Process

SUPER IMPORTANT UPDATE for all those wishing to attend NYCC this year, so read everything very carefully and CHOOSE YOUR FATE!! New guidelines for purchasing tickets are coming your way. Here's the skinny...

Each year when we take over the Javits Center in October, we have one priority in mind: you, the NYCC Fans. We don’t run NYCC year after year because we love hanging out by the Hudson or we need to reach our step goal in October, we do this because we want to provide the experience of a lifetime to everyone who attends NYCC each year...

Monday, May 16, 2016

Rick and Morty: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray & DVD June 7th

This June, the #1 Adult Swim show will teleport into homes when Rick and Morty: The Complete Second Season debuts on Blu-ray™ and DVD June 7th.  The release features all 10 of the hilarious inter-dimensional episodes with guest stars Stephen Colbert (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), Keith David (Community), Tom Kenny (Adventure Time) and more! Plus exclusive special features such as deleted animatic sketches, as well as animatics for every episode including an alternative version of this season’s first episode. Other bonus features include commentaries for every episode with guest commentary tracks. Furthermore, each Blu-Ray™ and DVD contains a featurette of the season’s premiere party with live drawing/animation by the series’ creator Justin Roiland (House of Cosbys) and a performance by the band Chaos Chaos. Lastly, and most importantly, the release comes with a manual for the fictional, yet essential, household item - the Plumbus - created by Roiland.

FOX's Rock Horror Picture Show Gets a Teaser Trailer

Now that most of us have seen the stills and yelled things like "Do they get why Frank being a gorgeous woman doesn't work? No..no definitely not" and "WHY IS MAGENTA'S HAIR MAGENTA?!", FOX has released a quick teaser via Facebook so we can put voices to those pretty, pretty faces, gawk at moist undergarments and most importantly, hear Laverne Cox do an awesome Tim Curry impression. DRINK IT IN!!

Harley Quinn Solo Movie In the Works

You could just feel Warner Bros giving team Deadpool the side eye and they raked in tons of cash with an R rated film staring a lovably psychotic super-person dressed in red and black. You could just see the meeting that following Monday when someone stood up in the middle of the room and said "You know...WE HAVE A LOVABLY PSYCHOTIC SUPER-PERSON WHO DRESSES IN RED AND BLACK!!" and then a guy in the hallway walking past shouted "AND SHE HAS BOOBS!!" After that is was just a flurry of odd mock-victory dances with lots of pelvic thrusting and pretending to palm off dollar bills while others shake their asses skyward. FLASH FORWARD to today with Variety announcing a Harley movie packed with DC Comics villains and heroes including Birds of Prey and Batgirl is indeed on the way.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Ghostbusters 2016: Meet Ms. Slimer, The Ever Changing Face of Rowan & More

Do I need to say SPOILERS AHEAD?? Be aware.. SPOILERS BE HERE!! We are still just over 2 months away from the release of the female lead Ghostbusters movie reboot, and as is custom, the toys have hit shelves in full force! As is also custom (at least lately), Mattel has packed those shelves with plenty of surprises in the form of toys we didn't even get a hint at while covering Toy Fair 2016. Among the new toys you'll find a series of classic Ghostbusters Ecto Mini figures in blind bags, alongside the Ghostbusters 2016 movie Ecto Minis we only previously saw in figure three packs. To recap, the ghosts in this mini figure series are all translucent (and if the packaging is to be believed, glow in the dark!), allowing you to pop one into the proton pack and project its image onto a nearby surface. To add to the fun, we've now found a Ghost Trap Playset (which gives us an awesome look at the new trap design) that not only stores figures and can be a prop replica, but also can be a neat backdrop for your Ecto Minis, complete with a "secret ghost compartment" which looks like the Containment Unit! We've also spotted Slime Containers that come with one Ecto Mini figure in a tube, topped with a Slimer sculpted top. It's here that we spotted a new addition we've only mentioned in passing round Toy Fair time. Meet Ms. Slimer!!

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Adult Swim Announces Robot Chicken Walking Dead, New Rick & Morty, Samurai Jack, FLCL and More

Adult Swim, a division of Turner and basic cable's #1 home with millennials for over a decade, is once again departing from the ordinary, announcing two new slates of programming in advance of the Turner Upfront 2016 presentation on May 18 in New York City. Known for its unique approach to content development and having a voice that resonates with its audience, Adult Swim has not only crafted a robust and diverse slate for its top-rated cable network but also for its ever popular digital domain AdultSwim.com. An ongoing leader in the digital space, Adult Swim has charted double-digit growth across multiple platforms and mobile gaming, including a +97% increase in web and app usage.

Batman: The Killing Joke Full Blu-ray & DVD Details

Delve into the demented history of the Dark Knight’s arch nemesis – The Joker – as he sets out to prove insanity is only a horrifying moment away for anyone in the latest DC Universe Original Movie, Batman: The Killing Joke. Based on one of the best-selling graphic novels of all time, this R-rated, feature-length animated film brings together some of the key creative team behind Batman: The Animated Series with executive producer Bruce Timm at the helm and Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill returning to their seminal roles as Batman and The Joker, respectively. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, Batman: The Killing Joke arrives August 2, 2016 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Blu-Ray™ Deluxe Edition, Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD.

Batman: The Killing Joke will be available on Blu-rayTM Deluxe Edition for $29.96 SRP, Blu-rayTM Combo Pack for $24.98 SRP, and DVD for $19.98 SRP.  The Blu-rayTM Combo Pack includes a digital version of the movie on Digital HD with UltraViolet. The Blu-ray™ Deluxe Edition will include all components of the Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack, along with an exclusive figurine of The Joker in a numbered, limited edition gift set.

Activision Blizzard Media Networks Announce ESports Broadcast Newtork

Today at the 2016 IAB Digital Content NewFronts, Activision Blizzard Media Networks (ABMN), a division of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced the launch of new content, broadcast experiences and distribution partnerships for its MLG.tv streaming platform.

MLG.tv debuted its Enhanced Viewing Experience (EVE) at the event, a High-Definition video stream with a built-in algorithmic system that provides viewers with match statistics, up-to-the-minute leaderboards, and situational insights based on the competition they are watching.

Johnny Depp Introduces the Mad Hatter to Disney Guests


The surest way to get a ton of publicity for your new mega blockbuster film is to send your mega blockbuster film star out among the people for surprises that make for viral videos. Enter a blushing young man named Depp who thought it a good idea to introduce the citizens of Disneyland to an obscure character called the "Mad Hatter" via a digital billboard that wasn't supposed to be interactive...

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Dreamworks Voltron: Legendary Defender Full Trailer Premiere

The time has come to see if you are going to be down with this new incarnation of Voltron...probably with just one look! As is the case with most things that cause flashbacks, if the first trailer for a project doesn't hit the right notes, use a pleasing art style or nod heavily to the original work, fans will begin the slagging. Ohh....so much slagging to be had. Let's see if the new Voltron is going to spark cheers or hate mail from 12 year old Minecraft trolls...

Saturday, May 7, 2016

1st Ever Ancient Aliens Fan Event October 28-30 in Santa Clara, CA

The truth IS out there, and you can find it this October in Santa Clara, CA at Alien Con, the very first convention devoted to fans of HISTORY’s Ancient Aliens, sci-fi buffs, and pop culture enthusiasts alike! Cosmic-Con®, the event division of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, and HISTORY® are teaming up to celebrate all things not of this world, both in science and in pop culture, for three days only on October 28-30, 2016 — Halloween weekend, the perfect time for a close encounter!

Friday, May 6, 2016

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY IS TOMORROW!!

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow, most likely at your humble local comic shop, there will be free comic books for all who love them, and those who have been comic-curious after being inundated with movies and merchandise everywhere you look. I will also point out that this doubles as "hug your local comic shop owner day", because while the comic books are free for you, they are not free for the comic shops participating. They do it out of love. Love for youuuu. I personally will be doing my hugging at the Comic Crypt at 55 White Rd #1, Shrewsbury, NJ. Where ever you might be attending, be sure to give them hugs, bring them cookies, tweet about their store goings on and make sure to generally show them how much you appreciate them on this high holy day. ON TAP for free comic book day, you may find the following...

Inhumans Out... Mutants In? The Marvel Cinematic Universe Changes Shape

If comic books fans excel at one thing, unilaterally, it's speculation and dream-casting...and when the two collide, it can be incredible fun. Ever since the mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe architects revealed that their master plan went beyond the occasional Iron Man movie, fans have imagined all their favorite comic book heroes and villains back under one roof, allowing the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building with share the same New York City skyline as the Avengers Tower, Daredevil's law office and Doctor Strange's abode, all made a perfect and complete picture with Spider-Man swinging by. Now that Spider-Man has made his triumphant return to the mother ship, with fans shouting that this is the best Spidey we've ever seen on the silver screen, we are left to wonder what other surprises may be revealed in the not so distant future!

Thursday, May 5, 2016

The Steampunk World's Fair Returns May 13-15th

The Steampunk World's Fair (steampunkworldsfair.com) comes roaring back into the heart of Piscataway, New Jersey this May 13th through 15th as one of the most unique and memorable events on the East Coast celebrates its 7th season. 

This year's event hosts a veritable cabal of international performers, a sea of vendors providing temptations for miles, a packed schedule guaranteed to both titillate and educate and a series of special events that will keep you smiling from ear to ear for months to come!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Anime Fan Fest in New Jersey This Weekend with Bandai, Otaku USA, CrunchyRoll & More!

MAD Events follows up a fantastic 7th year of the Long Beach Comic Expo with a return to the Garden State! The first ever Anime Fan Fest comes to Garden State Exhibition Center in Somerset New Jersey May 6-8th, 2016 with MAD's special brand of geek-centric entertainment, bringing creators and fans together for two days of celebration of manga, anime and Asian culture.

Monday, May 2, 2016

It's New Ghostbusters Toy Day!!

Today was the official street date of Mattel's new Ghostbusters toys based on the upcoming, female lead film. And sure...the street date was fairly useless as people have been buying the toys for weeks now....BUT IT'S STILL FUN!! ...Especially because it's new Ghostbusters toys. Can you tell I love Ghostbusters? Yea, just a little bit. Idle Hands hit a few toy isles today in search of all that Mattel had to offer from the Ghostbusters movie reboot toy lines and we hit pay dirt. Let's run down the goods and some little bits of info they reveal..so as usual..SPOILER ALERT!!

ECTO MINIS

Three packs of mini figures retail for around $9.99. So far 4 three packs should be out on pegs. The idea is that you pop the mini figures into the Proton Pack projector, which projects an image of your little plastic, translucent ghost buddy onto a nearby wall. This line gives us the first good look at the movie's main villain Rowan in his most innocent looking form, and perhaps the moment when he is captured by the Ghostbusters and VOWS REVENGE!!! Also among the sets is the Library Ghost from the movie trailer and a Slimer with a face full of hot dogs, which is sure to be the most sought after piece.