Top Hat Sasquatch

We’re big Muppets fans around THS. We also love action figures. So imagine our amazement when we saw Lance Cardinal’s custom-built Muppets’ playsets, scaled for the defunct Palisades action figures.

Cardinal made a mainstage, sized to fit the existing Palisades figures and playsets, as well as the backstage set, with the dressing rooms upstairs. He even made it so the two stages fit together to form one complete set.

This thing is a work of art. I’d try to describe it, but my words would not do the set justice. After you’re done checking out these sample items, head over to Cardinal’s website for the complete collection (Mainstage and Backstage).

I want to tap into Zack Snyder’s brain and figure out what the true vision for Sucker Punch really was. The man has been on the verge of something perfect and revolutionary ever since he broke in the director’s chair. Sucker Punch has flashes of brilliance, beauty, and awe-inspiring style that demonstrates why a trip to the big screen is still worth it. However, if your trip to theater requires more motivation than to see the latest special effects spectacular, you may be better served testing out your home theater with a Sucker Punch rental down the road.

After the initial voice-over, the introduction to Sucker Punch sets up the main character, Baby Doll played by Emily Browning (Lemony Snicket’s), and her trip to the insane asylum with absolutely no dialog. A haunting remake of “Sweet Dreams” kicks off the consistently strong soundtrack while Baby Doll’s hopeless journey unfolds before our eager eyes. Snyder’s knack for visual flare is on full display even when setting up a much more reality based scene than his recent films. I found the tragic setup to be the strongest piece of storytelling in the entire film, and a fantastically subtle delivery of his constant camera movement and dramatic angles. Unfortunately, the strong start begins to crumble when the character’s start opening their mouths to speak.
Read More

After a whole day of being teases, Paramount and Marvel have finally released the full trailer for this summer’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ and I’m totally stoked. Lets hope the script is solid and there’s plenty of ass-kicking after Cap gets his makeover. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, and if they can deliver on those two points with the style they’re showing in this trailer, we’re in for a swell time.

What do you think of the trailer? One gripe I have is that it looks like they went overboard with the skinny Steve. He looks like he’s about ten years old. Couldn’t he at least have been tall and skinny?

In other news…

If you don't get this, we can't be friends anymore.

… we’re back! I was swamped with work but someone slapped me repeatedly, Daniel Plainview style, to make me realize I’d abandoned the blog. Well in the coming weeks we’ll be back in full force, with a couple new authors, an amazing new logo, and the official podcast, so hold tight.

I’m an excellant driver.

I’m sure you’ve all seen Rain Man. It was on TV constantly when I was growing up and I was always aware of it. You might own in on VHS or DVD. Luckily I didn’t because now I have the Blu-ray and can watch Dustin Hoffman talk about buying his suits at K-Mart in full 1080p HD.

Rain Man won an impressive 4 Oscars in 1988, including Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman), and Best Original Screenplay.

We definitely need more classic movies like Rain Man on Blu-ray, so I was pretty excited to hear it was being released. Here’s a quick review of of the Rain Man Blu-ray if you’re thinking about adding it to your collection.
Read More

Due Date is almost a modern remake of the classic John Hughes film Planes, Trains & Automobiles; a buddy comedy about the straight man (Robert Downey Jr.) being forced to travel across country with the annoying, fat slob (Zach Galifianakis) in order to get home to his family. In this case, he’s trying to get home to his wife who is about to give birth, rather than wanting to get home in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

Robert Downey Jr.’s character is a hell of a lot meaner than Steve Martin’s in PT&A, however. He often “sees red” and makes poor life decisions that result in someone being punched, something being broken, and dogs being spit on. Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) is an aspiring actor who desperately wants to appear on Two and a Half Men and spread his father’s ashes along the way. The two bump into each other and after they’re both kicked off their plane, hilarity ensues.

It’s not the most ground-breaking comedy ever, but I enjoyed it. It had a good blend of wackiness, Robert Downey Jr. being himself (awesome), and even heart.
Read More