.:Book/Movie Reviews:.

Sesame Street Classics!!!

So I have been searching for the video of the little guy in the glass that moves around called the Teeny Superhero Guy! I found it finally on YouTube along with the pinball number counter! Take a trip with me down memory lane!

Here’s the ultra-cool pinball counter!

Do you remember these? They ran in the very very early 80’s and probably in the late ultra late 70’s. I just remember when they came on and I don’t know how I remember these but I’d stop whatever Star Wars toys or Hot Wheels I was playing with in my tracks to watch!

Book Review: MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works

25 Years!

In honor of Mega Man Month today, I’ll be giving a short review of the art book MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works (ISBN: 978-1926778860). This 432-page monolith covers every aspect of Mega Man artwork as of 2013.

The book contains AWESOME original illustrations of the robot masters, enemies, and Mega Man, and pals! Interviews with the original concept artists talk about the history and creation of some of the imagery that went from page to screen.

While this book is VERY expensive now as it’s been out of print I was fortunate to pick this up on Mercari for about $35 bucks after I negotiated with the seller. So it can be found if you keep looking! The illustrations are SUPER COLORFUL and a joy to behold.

The book follows the format of a game cover (no promo logos on it like NES or Famicom logos), then the robot masters and Mega Man, followed by the enemies and elements of each level. There are collages along with some artist notes along the side!

All in all, if you are a Blue Bomber fan you must have this book! It’s great to see the evolution from Mega Man 1 / concept art to Mega Man X all-in-one large coffee table book.

I’ve taken some pics and put together a gallery for you below:

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THEM! (1954)

THEM! Released in 1954 is a sci-fi horror movie. What do you get when radiation hits ants in the desert? You get THEM! Large ants terrorizing humanity! The effects in this movie are outstanding. The puppet and practical effects make the movie. None of that fake CGI stuff here. All real props the way things should be as much as possible.

The story is very simple. Investigate, Research, and Fight! There are some very funny points in the movie (not because it’s an old movie) that are done for the sake of comedy. Good laughs, good effects and the movie appears in Disney’s Lilo and Stitch 2 briefly for those wondering what they were watching.

All in all I don’t want to spoil to much of the film. The plot isn’t very deep it’s right to the point and you are off on a giant ant killing spree! The sound effects are interesting as well and for some reason I’ve noticed with other movies of the time fire seems to solve all problems…

Till next time get out the popcorn and watch THEM!

 

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Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

The movie of the day is the 1959 classic Journey to the Center of the Earth released in 1959. Based on the book by Jules Verne. The plot is very simple and slow moving it follows a professor and his colleagues on a chase to go where no man has gone before. The movie takes quite some time to get moving and you are not treated to any interesting scenery until about just past the halfway mark.

Some of the gear is what we today call “Steampunk” but by the standards then very sci-fi looking. Characters are rather uninteresting and it’s hard to develop any rapport with them or care about them in any way.

Some of the matte painting is absolutely outstanding as shown below. Special effects at the time I’m sure were amazing. Nothing like taking a dinosaur fin and gluing it to the back of a iguana!

When it comes to book to movie adaptations I have to say stick to the book on this one. Your imagination can do so much more than this movie ever could.

Overall though the quality of the reproduction in 1080p is outstanding and looks and sounds out of this world. By far the best version I’ve ever seen having seen this on VHS and DVD they don’t hold a candle to the digital restoration that is the Blu-Ray copy.

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