Tag: tom hiddleston

Weekend Shopping Guide 8/26/16: She’s Our Only Hope

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the FRED Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support FRED by using the links below to make any impulse purchases – it helps to keep us going…)

Until Hot Toys decided to turn their uncanny gaze her way, I don’t think we’ve ever gotten a good collectible representation of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa (Hot Toys/Sideshow, $204.99 SRP). Sure, there have been plenty of figures and statue that come close – and a multitude more that were horrifyingly inaccurate, but Hot Toys 1/6-scale take, depicting the rebel leader as she appeared in Star Wars: A New Hope, is the gold standard. Take a look at the photos below and see for yourself – they’ve nailed it. I just hope they tackle her various looks from Empire, Jedi, and The Force Awakens.

The second season of Star Wars: Rebels (Walt Disney, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$45.99 SRP) not only doubled down its connections to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, it tripled and quadrupled them with Mandalorians, Darth Maul, and Ahsoka’s tale. Bonus materials include “Rebels Recon” featurettes, a featurette on references and easter eggs, and a look the journey of Ahsoka and Vader.

Shane Black knows how to craft a buddy action-comedy, and that’s exactly the kind of skill that makes The Nice Guys (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) such a delight. The fact that it stars a sparking Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling as a pair of mismatched detectives trying to find a missing girl while dodging both bad guys and each other certainly helps out, too. Bonus materials include a pair of featurettes.

It’s not the best John le Carre adaptation, but The Night Manager (Sony, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$40.99 SRP) really shines in the performances from Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie in what is most definitely an engaging spy thriller that hits enough notes to elevate it to the upper tier.

A live action take on your animated take on The Jungle Book (Walt Disney, Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP)? Directed by Jon Favreau? Okay, Disney. Whatever. You’re drunk. But wait. Shockingly enough, the final result is actually a delightful flick. I mean, come on – Bill Murray as Baloo? Who thought that would work! But it does! I don’t know what to think anymore. Bonus materials include an audio commentary and a trio of featurettes.

The remake of the original film was a forgettable mess, but the first season of Ash Vs. Evil Dead (Anchor Bay, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$49.99 SRP) all of the bloody swagger and gory good time that made the original franchise such a memorable cult favorite, and all due credit for that must go to the return of the mighty Bruce Campbell as the titular goofball. Bonus materials include audio commentaries and featurettes.

I haven’t quite decided what’s more remarkable – that we’ve already had nineteen seasons of South Park (Paramount, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$42.99 SRP), or that Matt & Trey have managed to keep it as smart and funny as they have. Sure, I don’t agree with every position they take on a topic, but there are certainly more hits than misses. Bonus materials this go round include their usual mini-commentaries, -plus deleted scenes, #SocialCommentary, and a trailer for the upcoming Fractured But Whole game.

A few months back, Doc Hammer (of Venture Bros. fame) giddily told me about the miraculous existence of a bluetooth device that perfectly re-created both the look – and more importantly the function – of an old school Star Trek: TOS Communicator (Thinkgeek, $149.99). Well, he wasn’t just delusional – the folks at The Wand Company have actually managed to craft such a bluetooth device that is every bit as accurate as a prop replica as it is an honest-to-goodness bluetooth device for your phone that allows you to flip up the antenna and make/answer calls. It even comes pre-programmed with a few sound bites from the original crew, if you weren’t already having enough of a nerdgasm. The first thing I did when I got mine? I called up Doc and we talked for over an hour on them. Like nerds. Giddy, giddy nerds.

As much as the products inside, stores can hold a place in our emotional landscape. For music lovers, none hold more nostalgic pull than the late Tower Records chain. From its fascinating founding and rapid rise to its tragic demise, Colin Hanks’ documentary All Things Must Pass (MVD, Not Rated, DVD-$24.95 SRP) is an emotional journey worth taking.

I don’t mind that some of quite legendary Warner films have been relegated to their specialty direct order catalogue, because I’m just delighted they’re finally getting the high definition treatment they deserve. Case in point is the high-def debut of the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall classics Key Largo, Dark Passage, and The Big Sleep (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP each). If that weren’t enough, they’ve also released Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), Liam Neeson in Michael Collins (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), and Christopher Guest’s A Mighty Wind (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP). Cheers and kudos, Warner Archive! MORE!

If you want proof of just how deep the well is at the Warner Archive Collection, look to their release of a quartet of titles from the Hong Kong studio Golden Harvest – Big Bullet, Blade Of Fury, Downtown Torpedoes, and Pedicab Driver (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$21.99 SRP each) – and all 4 are packed with the action and martial arts you’d expect.

They certainly didn’t think it was going to be the end of the road, but at least they filmed a version of the finale that gave Castle (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP) and its supporting cast a proper bit of closure after a rocky eighth season. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers, and “The Great Escape” escape room featurette.

Shondaland’s bedrock Grey’s Anatomy (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP) keeps chugging along, with the 12th season finding everyone mired in a constant miasma of drama, but then that’s what you expect. Bonus materials include deleted scenes and a gag reel.

As iconic as the original miniseries was, the modern take on Roots (History Channel, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) could easily have been a disaster for no other reason than feeling like a redundancy that falls short of its predecessor. Instead, it manages to be a powerful piece that stand as a worthwhile updating for modern sensibilities, often managing to pull even fewer punches than the original. Bonus materials include a documentary on the history of the material dramatized in the miniseries.

Over the years, The Doctor has adopted many new and updated versions of his trusty multitool on Doctor Who, and of course that means a new toy version, as well. So, as the last season introduced yet another new iteration, you can now get your mitts on The 12th Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver (Thinkgeek, $29.99), full of flashy lights and multiple sounds. It’s just all kinds of spiffy.

There’s a bit of Marley & Me to the emotional arc of Me Before You (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$19.99 SRP), about a relationship that is as celebratory as it is complicated, buoyed by ace performances from Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. Bonus materials include a featurette, outtakes, and deleted scenes.

I love that every month the folks at Olive release another batch of catalogue titles I feared would never make the transition to high definition. This month’s clutch includes Otto Preminger’s Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (Olive, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), the original American Ninja (Olive, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP), and the religious comedy Saved! (Olive, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$29.95 SRP). As for bonus materials, American Ninja features an audio commentary and a making-of featurette, and Saved! sports a pair of audio commentaries and a pair of featurettes.

Like dancing? Like hip-hop? Like dancing and hip-hop? Then watch a pair of young lovers try and pull off their dream of a hip-hop version of Romeo & Juliet at a prestigious South African school in Honey 3: Dare To Dance (Universal, Rated Pg-13, Blu-Ray-$22.98 SRP). Bonus materials include audio commentary, extended dance sequences, deleted scenes, and featurettes.

Spend a few hours in Shondaland catching up before the new season’s debut with the complete fifth season of Scandal (ABC Studios, Not Rated, DVD-$45.99 SRP), as the season finds the Oval Office up for grabs and Olivia Pope is prepared to grab it. Bonus materials include an extended episode and bloopers.

Pull up a hay bale and commence to chewin’ your straw for an evening in with the 14-disc Hee Haw Collector’s Edition (Time Life, Not Rated, DVD-$199.95 SRP), which bundles together a trio of previously released collections into a single mega-set packed with more corn than a can from Del Monte. Bonus materials include favorite sketches, guest performances, interviews, and more.

If John Waters were to make a German film about a student who rents a bunker room from an odd family only to be sucked into a truly bizarre drama, then it would be Der Bunker (Artsploitation Films, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$22.99 SRP). It’s a quirky little fairy tale worth a spin. Bonus materials include audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and outtakes.

Fans waiting for the big screen iteration currently being concocted can whet their whistles by dipping into the complete season releases of Power Rangers: Megaforce and Power Rangers: Super Megaforce (Lionsgate, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP each). Bonus materials include a featurette and a Zord gallery.

So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…

-Ken Plume

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August 26, 2016
My Favourite Things: July 2013

JULY

Things are picking up now as Con season is in full swing and preparations for Dragon Con next month begin. If you follow me on Twitter, then all I will say is “expect cursing”.

1) Dustin Hoffman Gets It

I love the Hoff. He’s a great actor and from all the interviews I’ve seen he seems to be a genuinely good guy to boot. Enforcing this belief is a recent interview he did with the AFI about his time on the film Tootsie where he plays a man dressing as a woman.

Hoffman had a revelation while preparing for the role and he gained a little understanding as to just how hard women have it in this world. Things get a little emotional, so grab a tissue before watching.

2) Castletown Donkey Derby 1994

Words will be difficult to find in an attempt to describe what follows. It is quite possibly the funniest, unintentionally funny, video about rural Ireland in the 90s. You’ll soon realise that Father Ted was more of a documentary than most of us would like to admit.

Welcome to the Castletown Donkey Derby. It’s as batshit insane as you’d imagine.

3) Wolverine – The Musical!

I love the guys at gloveandboots, they do some great videos. With The Wolverine out this month, they jumped at the chance to create a musical based on Hugh Jackman’s… love of musicals.

It’s pretty awesome and features cameos from Jamie Madrox, Hulk and Spider-man.

4) The Walking Dead Season 4

The TV series has been divisive to say the least. Fans of the comic and those completely unaware all have a love/hate relationship with the show. Personally, I’ve found it enjoyable but inconsistent.

Comic Con recently premiered a big four and a half minute trailer for the new season and I have to say, it looks pretty bad-ass. Check it out.

5) Tom Hiddleston

Speaking of Comic Con, here is the perfect example of an actor who is having the time of his life.

Tom Hiddleston, during a Marvel movie panel, crashed proceedings in his full Loki costume and while in character decided to “have fun”. He may be playing an evil trickster but you can tell that smile is legit.

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And that’s it! My favourite things of the last month.

– Aaron Fever is the creator of con-crud. He is also more accurately an internet whore and rarely leaves the house. If you like what you read here check out his blog http://www.aaronfever.com

July 30, 2013
Opinion In A Haystack: THE AVENGERS Review

THE AVENGERS ““ Review ***SPOILER FREE***

In the western world, in the culture of Hollywood, we have made films the apex of a property’s existence. When any creative, artistic or entertaining endeavor reaches a certain level of popularity, respect, profits or prestige we turn it into a film, or possibly threaten to turn it into a film, if its isn’t already a film itself. So we’ve grown up salivating for certain things to come to fruition. Impossible things. For better or worse many of those things in my generation, due to new technology powered by James Cameron’s ego, have come into being as live action romps of varying degrees of success.

Well as far as “things” go, The Avengers is most certainly one of those “things” for me. The good news being that I went completely ape-“fecal matter” for the movie. I sang the praises of Sir Joss Whedon in my Cabin In The Woods review not long ago, and here I’m not even sure that singing is going to do him justice. The man is having a good year, so good in fact that his career is probably going to take a different path from now on. Avengers most certainly has the potential to skyrocket him into the big leagues of Hollywood Event Filmmakers like Michael Bay or Stephen Sommers, but the good news for us is that, unlike those guys, Whedon makes sure to take care of character and story first. However, once those are locked he will let loose on the action spectacle with the best of them. He has the potential to be, and I apologize for saying this, a “thinking man’s Michael Bay.” If you remove all the storied history of the characters involved with the Avengers that is what it boils down to: a Bay film where you actually care what happens amidst all the silliness and explosions. Joss Whedon: Man of Emotional Explosions.

Unlike Cabin though, Avengers is “A Joss Whedon Film,” written and directed in full. I’ve been yapping to everyone who would listen that my main satisfaction with this movie is that it truly feels like a comic book script, as in, a script written with the intention of being drawn, inked and printed for Marvel to distribute. It’s very comic-book-like. What exactly do I mean by that? Well, I don’t know really. I suppose if my hand is forced to explain I would say that is has that ever so sacred balance of comic book reality, physics, logic, and tone without ever delving into being stupid or silly. It’s not cynical of its own source material, this movie is proud to be sopping wet with comic book mythology and atmosphere. At no point does it shy away from the exaggerated world of comicdom. It’s as big, awesome, and faithful to the source art form as Joss Whedon is a fan of that art form himself.

The reason Avengers fires on all cylinders is balance. Whedon is no stranger to the group dynamic in his writing and it most certainly shows here. Thor, Banner, Cap, Stark, Hawkeye and Black Widow all share the screen with things only slightly tipping towards Iron Man. However, that isn’t a problem, this is Iron Man’s film and it makes perfect sense. Cap is still reeling from his 70 years under the ice, his rise to leadership is not cemented especially considering this is an “origin” story of a team. Not to mention, that as far as the public is concerned Tony Stark and John Favreau’s triumphant first Iron Man film is responsible for this whole gargantuan undertaking in the first place. It’s impossible to deny Downey’s presence as well, with a character as “large” as his version of Stark on screen it’s going to take at least two films for the cream, or in this case the Captain, to rise to the top.

It’s an impressive achievement on Whedon’s part as well that Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow not only have presence in the film but actually prove themselves useful and interesting in the face of being over shadowed by a super soldier, a demi-god, a genius billionaire, and the ultimate engine of destruction. Tom Hiddleston proves once again that he was perfectly cast as Loki, at every turn, even when he’s losing he is deep in character without flinching. Chris Evans gives a convincing take on a recently unfrozen and confused Captain America. Chris Hemsworth probably has the most unsung hardship of the entire group as he succeeds in playing Thor with an undercurrent of shame and disappointment in his adopted brother Loki and the horrors he is bringing about on earth. Fans might complain that Thor doesn’t get as much time to strut his powers this time around, but he is mentally focused on his brother and the plot unfolds as such. I think once we get a Loki-free Avengers flick we will truly see Thor cut loose. (Also, I still say that Hemsworth is quite possibly the best casted superhero role ever. The guy just exudes Thor at every turn. Just my opinion.)

Oh, and Sam Jackson knocks it out of the park playing Nick Fury as”¦well”¦Sam Jackson.

There were two huge standouts of the film for me. First is Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson. His screen time isn’t long but the little he gets he sells hard, going so far as to give his character a lot of heart and a lot of balls. Second is Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Now, I admit right here and now that I am a lifelong Hulk fan. The comics, the TV show, the movies, I love the Hulk in all his forms, always have. As a credit to Whedon and Ruffalo I would go as far as saying that with the exception of Bill Bixby, Rufalo might be might favorite live action Banner ever. This is the first time in this new era of cinema tech we get to see the green guy “smash” as a hero instead of a menace and it is incredible (sorry.) That is especially a compliment considering Ruffalo did all the motion capture himself. When Hulk is unleased in this film, especially in the last third of the movie, it takes the “awesome” to a whole new level of incredible (sorry again.) However it isn’t just the smashing that wins me over, it’s Ruffalo as Banner. Much like Bixby, Ruffalo is playing a Banner who was been to hell and back and has begun to live with the curse instead of trying to fight it, this movie particularly furthers that very narrative. Of course all the buzz Hulk is getting from audiences and critics for Avengers is due to the smashing, I’m just saying for the rest of us who love the character this movie has other things to offer as well. Hats off to the design team too, the green guy has NEVER looked more accurate, and just plain perfect, to the source material than he does here.

Thanks for reading and for the love of Thor: STAY AFTER THE CREDITS!!!

May 4, 2012