Top Hat Sasquatch

Lets face it; fan films usually suck. With a few exceptions, most fan films are a mediocre mix of bad acting, bad writing, and decent costumes/effects. If you listened to Bubble Pipe Theater: Episode 3, you heard us mention a promising-looking Casey Jones fan film. Well, what once was but a trailer is now a full-fledged short film, and it’s available to stream online.

Oh, and it’s surprisingly decent. The acting, cinematography, and fight choreography are on par with some television level stuff that gets released these days. It’s got an original score by Zain Effendi, which is better than I would have guessed a TMNT fan film would have.

Casey is played by Hilarion Banks, and is a bit more violent than he was in the original TMNT movie. The choreography never crosses over into the kids-playing-in-the-back-yard style that most fan films I’ve seen have, and if you’ve seen the trailer you know that the film doesn’t just feature the masked vigilante.

Rather than put Casey against Raphael like most other incarnations of the story, the filmmakers decided to introduce him to Michelangelo first. This is probably because they were fortunate enough to land Robbie Rist to lend his voice. Robbie played Mikey in all three original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle films, and is the definitive version of the character, to me at least.

The turtle costume suffices in the dark alley setting they filmed in, and definitely looks better than the costumes in Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation.

Overall, the film plays like a nostalgic cross between the orignal film and the ’80s cartoon series. April is there, wearing her signature yellow jumpsuit, but the tone is much darker and more violent. The banter between Casey and Mikey is convincing, as is the whole film, which may be the best compliment a fan film can receive.

Just in case, I’ve got another one. I don’t see how a live-action TMNT movie that involves Michael Bay in any form could ever be better than this Casey Jones fan film.

Check out their website, which is a little annoying and 100% Flash, but maybe someday we’ll get a HD download option. Great work guys!

Via Ninja Pizza

If you listened to this week’s episode of Bubble Pipe Theater, you’ll hear me mention a mystery arcade game that my Dad use to have in the Noble Roman’s pizza shop he ran when I was a kid. For years I’ve been trying to remember what this game was called, and hadn’t been able to find anything online about it. All I could remember is that it starred the three little pigs, and that you fought the Big Bad Wolf by throwing junk at him.

After the podcast, I dug around a bit more, and I finally tracked it down (thanks to a thread on Giant Bomb), and it’s called Pig Out: Dine Like a Swine!.

Now, I still consider this a nostalgic victory, but file this under things-I-remember-being-awesome-that-turn-out-to-actually-be-pretty-lame. The gameplay looks horrible, and with those damn pigs constantly yelling “Mine!” it’s hard telling how I ever forgot this game in the first place.

This time around on Bubble Pipe Theater, Rob, Tim, and Tommy discuss the NikeMag Back For the Future benefit auctions (read: pricey sneakers), the Star Wars Blu-rays (again), fictional technology we’d like to see in real life, the Walt Disney Family Museum, arcade nostalgia, Wii hacking, our current obsessions, and more.

It’s Star Wars on Blu-ray week! The folks at Wal-mart and Lucasfilm have something additional to spend your money on this Friday when all six Star Wars movies debut on Blu-ray. Exclusively at the discount retailer, you can pick up Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace on DVD/Blu-ray combo pack.

The cute 22-minute animated short originally aired on Cartoon Network this July. The Clone Wars-era story stars a special mystery character who is finally revealed at the end. The Blu-ray set includes an exclusive Lego mini figure of that special character.

For less than $20 it seems like a great deal but consider this. That mystery character who’s identified in surprising fashion at the end of the show is named right there on the front cover. Yes, the twist ending of this animated short is revealed by simply reading the front of the box.

It’s kinda like buying the new Citizen Kane Blu-ray edition with a special “Rosebud Sled” toy inside. You read that correctly. I just compared Lego Star Wars and Citizen Kane — and spoiled the mystery of 1941 film in the same sentence. Keeping it in the Star Wars universe, this gaffe is like having a special “Father’s Day” edition of The Empire Strikes Back. No potential spoilers there!

Of course I’m joking around with these analogies but I think the Lucasfilm marketers should consider their young fans when designing the cover art for their releases.

If you want the secret spoiled for you, just head over to Walmart.com for an up-close look.

Terry Border, an Indianapolis-based artist, runs the always-awesome site Bent Objects. His photos of everyday objects are about to see their second book release, and to coincide with the new book, Terry has created this animated short A Slice of Life.

It’s as delightfully twisted as the rest of his work, and makes me even more excited about his upcoming book. Be sure to check out his website, order his books, and follow him on Twitter.

• Bent Objects
• Bent Objects: The Secret Life of Everyday Things
• Bent Object of my Affection: The Twists and Turns of Love
• Terry Border on Twitter