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Even More Toy Photos from San Diego Comic-Con 2009
Posted by Guest Author on Jul 31, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
Before the San Diego Comic-Con 2009 fades into memory we present these highlights from the show — presented by the talented artist and toymaker David Foox: Read more… An Animated Film — from Wes Anderson?!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 31, 2009 in Animation
When I caught this trailer my first thought was “oh no, not ANOTHER damn 3D looking animated film!” Although then I noticed that the directors credit belong to Wes Anderson who’s done such an amazing job on films like The Royal Tenenbaums. This film is titled Fantastic Mr. Fox and is based on the book by Roald Dahl. From what I’m seeing in the trailer I have a bit of a mixed reaction: One one hand the animation looks terrible, everything is so stiff and there’s no timing to be found. Yet in the other hand the story looks like it could be good, in which case I might forgive the animation to a degree. I guess we’ll have to see how this goes when the film comes out this fall. Update: I’ve been informed by the talented wardomatic that this film is stop motion not CGI – however sadly the animation is still terrible looking… Read more… This Phaser Kit Looks Like It Was Stolen Off the Set
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 31, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Trek
Oh sure any toy can give you the fanboy dream of being Captain James T. Kirk! But how many goodies can give you the illusion that you’re in 1960s Hollywood working in the props department on that cool new sci fi show Star Trek? And that’s what this Star Trek Hero Prop Type-I Phaser Kit is all about — this isn’t some toy you rip out of the case and start shooting your office buddies with for mere amusement. Instead you get the pleasure of taking vintage parts and crafting a prop that looks like it came from the set of the original series: Read more… An Ecology Friendly Origami USB Stick
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 30, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
From the Netherlands comes Boardy — a clever origami USB stick that you create from recycled paper. This clever design has mostly been used for advertising campaigns, allowing for advertisers to include electronic info on the USB stick while being eco friendly with the packaging. Here’s how you fold one together: Read more… Whiteout: Aliens & Antarctica? I’m Afraid Not!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 30, 2009 in Horror
Update: My apologies! I was looking at the 1:30 mark and they seemed to be UFO hunting (i.e. “We’re investigating a meteor!”) by well informed sources tell me that there were no aliens in the comic book that the film is based upon. Read more… Pixar Taking 3D to Another Dimension
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 29, 2009 in Animation
Only Pixar could get away with making fun of their own medium — I love how in this promo they’ve literally broken the third wall! It’s this sense of humor (i.e. understanding of storytelling) that makes their animation so brilliant in my book. Toy Story 3-D (which is Toy Story 1 & 2) will hit theaters on October 2nd, 2009. Light Up the Candles on Your Pac-Man 30th Anniversary Cake
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 29, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man Banpresto will be releasing this beautiful Zippo lighter in November of this year. I love the added touch of having the high score at the top and having the bitmap typography at the bottom — it’s the little bits and bites that count. Read more… Karikyuramashin: A 70s Japanese Version of Sesame Street
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 29, 2009 in Japanese TV
From 1974 until 1978 NTV ran a children’s educational show called Karikyuramashin (カリキュラマシーン) which was inspired by Sesame Street in the United States. What I love about this show is that the music is quite catchy: The video above features the songs Twisted Uncle, Kya and the Awry song. Below are other video segments from the show which are now the treasured childhood memories of Gen Xers in Japan: Read more… The Ultimate Toy Guide to the San Diego Comic-Con 2009
Posted by Guest Author on Jul 28, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
The dust has settled on the San Diego Comic-Con 2009, but lost in all of the Hollywood movie coverage was a con packed with all sorts of other goodies like designer toys! This photo essay by artist and toymaker David Foox gives you a first hand view of the convention: Read more… This Lucky Star Drive Makes Me Purr!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 28, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
As a Lucky Star fanboy I always feel left out! Sure there are like a billion action figures associated with the show, but I’ve always found a lack of USB merchandise to satisfy my geeky side. Well it seems someone in Japan answered my prayers by designing this Lucky Star Nyamo USB Drive. The drive features the abstract cat character Nyamo, who is said to be a self-portrait of manga artist Kagami Yoshimizu (the man created Lucky Star to begin with). Read more… Strange Sgt. Frog Commercials
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 28, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV
To celebrate the latest Sgt. Frog publications Kadokawa has been putting out these very surrealistic commercials on YouTube. Although the frog themed water bottle looks quite cool: Read more… Mighty Joe Young: King Kong’s Little Brother Turns 60
Because Business is a Game…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 27, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames
As a retrogaming fanboy my eyes lit up when I glanced at this NES Controller Business Card Case. Normally I try to discourage my friends from mixing anything fannish with business — for example having a cartoon character on your tie is a great way to say “hello I’m a dork!” However in this case I’ll make an exception for this business card case because it’s clever enough and would open doors across multiple generations. Being a Japanese card holder there are two compartments: one to hold your cards, and another to store cards that folks give you. Osaka Maid Cafe Exchange Program with Taipei, TaiwanI think this somewhat serious looking NHK news video is showing an cultural exchange program between the city of Osaka, Japan and Taipei, Taiwan. The cosplay maids are being deployed to the largest anime and manga event in Taiwan this week. Part of the exchange program is to help the local Japanese tourism trade which was down by 44% last year due to the avian flu and the recession. I think we should pray for the success of the cosplay maids in their diplomatic mission! Stewie on the Rocks
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 26, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
Frankly I’ve always found Family Guy to be a bit pale when put next to the likes of old school South Park — although I do admit that I wind up watching it every now and then in the middle of my more mindless channel surfing moments. So therefore the fanboy in me would avoid most merchandise associated with the show, however I did find this Stewie Ice Cube Tray to be amusing and well designed. After all how often do you find cartoon characters in your cola? Marvelous Marvel Anime Trailers
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 25, 2009 in Animation, Comic Books
I really like what Madhouse is doing with Iron Man and Wolverine! As you can see with that extra touch of anime love Iron Man features some nice mecha and Wolverine wades more into a goth look: Read more… The Force Unleashed: But the Talent Held Back?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 25, 2009 in Star Wars, Videogames
Usually LucasArts does a great job with anything that they touch, but something seems a bit off on this promo for Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition. Part of it may be the average quality of the voice acting, yet part of me also isn’t blown away by the visuals shown here. Well my hopes aren’t too high, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt until I see more — which I suspect we will as the game is due out for Christmas season this year. Sendak + Spike = Wild Winner!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 25, 2009 in Cinema
This is nice mini-feature promotional film that was just released to promote Where the Wild Things Are. What I love about this video is that they really showcase Maurice Sendak here, I mean when was the last time you found the author of a book promoting the film? Also I know director Spike Jonze is going to have fun with the film given his previous track record — and I also think that Catherine Keener is one of the most underrated actors I know of: So i can’t wait to see this film! Tron Legacy Trailer: Retro CGI FunI hate to say it: But it looks like director Joseph Kosinski is doing a nice job with this Tron update! What’s great is that they’ve kept to vision of the original art direction of the film and given it just the right dash of slick. I also like the fact that Jeff Bridges is in this film as well. Hats off to Disney for getting this one right… Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko’s Advert is Super Kawaii!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 25, 2009 in Animation, Comic Books
The video above is a promotional spot for the 20th anniversary of Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko which is the light novel label for Kadokawa Shoten (who published the Haruhi Suzumiya series). The celebrate the anniversary Kadokawa Shoten has put together a nicely designed website: Read more… The Book of Eli: Denzel Does Mad Max
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 25, 2009 in Cinema
Normally I’d slag this film out of the gate — however Denzel Washington gives me some hope that The Book of Eli might be interesting (and Gary Oldman too!). Although the plot sounds kind of like we’ve heard it before: “A lone hero must fight his way across the wasteland of post-apocalyptic America to protect a sacred book that holds the key to saving the future of humanity.” Maybe it would be nice if folks would read a book every now and then in pre-apocalyptic America? Read more… Superdeformed Cola Zoids
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 24, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
Tomy has released a cute line of Zoids which you can win if you buy certain soft drinks in Japan including Coca Cola, tea爽健beauty, and Fanta Zero Cider: Read more… This R2-D2 Unit Knows When Your Cubicle is Too Dry
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 24, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Wars
It’s gets very dry on the planet Tatooine — and that’s why this special R2-D2 unit has been converted into a handy humidifier! Frankly for a USB trinket this goodie is pretty impressive — you can store up to 8 ounces of water in the body of this droid. And best yet R2-D2 doesn’t require any batteries, you can run the device just on the power of your USB port (admit you didn’t want to waste that port on something dumb like a backup hard drive anyway!). Read more… Shonen Sunday 1983: A Manga Flashback to the Flashdance Era
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 24, 2009 in Comic Books
Weekly Shōnen Sunday (週刊少年サンデ) has been published every week since 1959 (although one should note that it actually comes out on Wednesday during the week, not Sunday). Looking back on their 50 years one of the high points of their history was the year 1983 when their circulation grew by leaps and bounds due to the fresh quality of the manga for that era: So to celebrate this they’ve released the book Shonen Sunday 1983 which gives you taste of the manga from that era. Read more… |
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