Missing Links: A Bit of Everything

Posted 8 years ago by Missing Links

Missing Links

The Top Hat Sasquatch team reads a lot of blog posts every day, and some slip through the crack or just don’t warrant their own post. That’s where Missing Links comes in. Every few days we collect the best links we’ve come across and pass them on to you.

LEGO Lord of the Rings News: LEGO Gollum Poster, LOTR Minifigs Revealed
Yet another awesome minifig reveal by LEGO for their Lord of the Rings line. Also a first look at the Orcs and Ringwraiths. So far, I like everything I've seen and can't wait to build these sets.

Threadless on the Xbox Live Avatar Marketplace
Your Xbox avatar can now wear Funkalicious, among other classic Threadless t-shirts. The circle is now complete.

Vortex, a USB keytar
As a musician and a geek, I approve of this keytar midi controller, even though half of the fun of keytars is standing up and looking like a dork in front of a lot of people, not just your computer.

Hyrulecraft, a complete Minecraft replica of Ocarina of Time, is now live
The lengths that geeks are willing to go these days to create awesome things astounds me.

Nickelodeon Universe Announces New TMNT Thrill Ride
Looks like I'll be going to the Mall of America sometime this year. This ride sounds great! Also, note the appearance of Shredder in this mockup. He looks kind of cool!

RetroBit RetroDuo Portable takes your SNES games on the go, $20 adapters bring NES and Genesis as well | The Verge
Looks like the portable SNES that Tim linked to around the holidays has some (much cheaper) competition.

The Most Awesome TMNT Rumor You’ll Read Today

Posted 8 years ago by Games

Rocksteady Studios

Are you one of the bzilions of geeks who enjoyed the two Batman games by Rocksteady Studios? I know I am. Now, are you also a huge TMNT geek? I thought so. There is a rumor going around (sadly not very substantiated) that Rocksteady Studios could be developing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game next. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. It could be dark and gritty like their Batman games, and the combat could be very similar. Insert the Foot Clan, the TMNT rogues gallery, and a healthy bit of nostalgia, and I’m sold.

This rumor is so awesome I actually avoided any Bebop and Rocksteady puns.

I doubt it’s true at all, but it made me happy just thinking about a TMNT game made by the fine folks at Rocksteady, and I thought it was worth posting if only for discussion’s sake. So, what would you like to see in a TMNT game in the style of the Arkham Asylum series? The Party Van? Pizza power-ups? Ace Duck?

Cool Stuff: Christopher Lee’s TMNT Action Figure Art

Posted 9 years ago by Art

Ace Duck and Slash

Christopher Lee, aka The Beast is Back, is an artist and designer who has been creating a series of prints based on the classic Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure line, and they’re freaking awesome.

If you grew up on TMNT and you appreciate geek art like I do, you’re going to go broke looking through his online shop. He’s covered the majority of the awesome TMNT action figures, from Leatherhead to Muckman, Ace Duck, and even Scumbag. Now he just needs to do Monty Moose and Sergeant Bananas and I’ll be satisfied.

You can buy prints of all his work, including a lot of awesome, non-TMNT art, on his online shop. Also make sure you check him out on Deviant Art (and don’t miss his amazing toy room).

Via Strange Kids Club

Forget Star Wars, Spend Your Money on These Blu-rays

Posted 9 years ago by Movies

If you’re like us, you’re so upset about George Lucas tampering with his classic films that you don’t even want to buy the new Blu-ray set. As much as I’d love to watch the new bonus features, the thought of shelling out $80 and not even getting the versions of the films that I love drives me crazy.

Luckily for my fellow disgruntled Star Wars fans, there are a lot of amazing Blu-rays available to fill that void, some already available and some coming very soon. Here are a few.

Citizen Kane

Whether or not you agree with the masses that Citizen Kane is the best movie ever made or not, you can’t ignore it’s cultural and historical significance (Hey, just like Star Wars!). Admittedly, I’ve only watched it all the way through once, and it was years ago. I’ve had it sitting on my media center for over a year in not-so-glorious SD resolution, and now that I own this impressive Blu-ray set I’m glad I’ve waited to watch it again. The box itself is gorgeous and holds a lot of goodies, and the movie has been upgraded with a 4K scan. There are tons of bonus features, but the best part is the price.

$40 on Amazon
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Casey Jones Fan Film Now Online

Posted 9 years ago by Movies

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