Movember Day 26: Yanni

If you'd told me 15 years ago that I'd be doing a blog post featuring Yanni, my response would be 'What's a blog?' and then after that 'YANNI? I don't think so!' But here we are. And here he is.

In case you're unaware, Yanni is a Greek instrumental musician who was most popular in the 90s (obviously. Look at him). Most people probably couldn't name a Yanni song, but assuming you've watched an Olympics broadcast since '88, you've probably heard his work.

Yanni's luscious mane of hair was clearly not enough, so he grew a matching mane on his upper lip. It's always good to have a matching set of manes. I hear. Huzzah, Yanni!

This Week's 8 Bit Dreams Illustrations - A Boy And His Blob, Cabal and more!

Campbell Whyte's 8 Bit Dreams series is going strong (daily NES illustrations revealed alphabetically by year of release) and it's just hitting 1990. Even in just the first few letters of the alphabet, there were some solid titles.

What I love so much about this series is that it's providing an all new way to discover old games. There are some REALLY awesome illustrations for games that I've never played, and some I've never even heard of. Seeing the illustrations makes me want to play the game, and when researching the game it makes me want to buy the illustrations. It's a terribly awesome circle of events.

A Boy And His Blob: Trouble On Blobonia

Click the link underneath any of the images for the link to purchase the original illustrations on Etsy. Or visit  http://www.campbellwhyte.com to see the whole collection.

More after the jump!

Movember Day 25: Ron Jeremy

In an industry dominated almost exclusively by women (and rightfully so) 1979 saw the red-hot, throbbing rise of Ronald Jeremy Hyatt. Ron Jeremy, as he would later call himself after being admonished by his conservative Jewish father for using his real name, provided stiff competition for all of the less significantly talented men at the time and rigidly solidified his rock-hard status as one of the greatest male Adult Film actors to ever come along.

No need to stroke the ego of this 'Hedgehog', as he was later nicknamed, as his famous moustache has been ridden more times that Space Mountain by some of the hottest women on this planet, and his fame for being capable of auto-fellatio (which he demonstrated on-screen in the film Inside Seka) automatically places him in a category that defies traditional description.

Here's to you, Mr. Jeremy.

I...um...salute you! And one of these days I am going to talk to my buddy about possibly getting permission to tell the story about you, him, his sculpting shop and doing the work on sculpting you and your tree trunk. It's quite an interesting story and the kind you don't often get to hear when you work in the toy business.

OUT.

Friday Night Movie Review: Ryan Reynolds Space Cop (2011)

Ryan Reynolds Space Cop - or RRSC - is a 2011 documentary about the tough times former pizza place owner Ryan Van Wilder Reynolds was having after he broke up with Scarlett Ass-Mirror Johansson, and how it led him to briefly become a policeman. In space.

Join me after the jump and I'll share more hard facts about this fascinating tell-all film:

Javelin Missile in Afghanistan

 I will never understand war

I Got Yer Stuffing Right Here...

Sometimes, you don't have a lot of time, but you still have some things you need to take care of. You have obligations you need to fulfill. Promises you have made. Word you need to keep.

You can't let anyone down. You got people counting on you.

You've made a commitment. But things have gotten a little out of hand for you this week. It is a short week after all, and you had technical problems of all kinds and now you find yourself far from home. You don't even have access to all the stuff you have come to depend on.

In cases like these? You find a substitute and you send it in.

It's all you can do really. And if it works for James T., well then it works for me.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

Set your phasers on LOVE!

OUT.

Quick, Spoiler-Free Two Sentence Review of The Muppets

It was everything I wanted and so much more. Definitely a movie made by, and for, fans of the Muppets. :)

John Carter Goes to Mars, Fights White Ape, Internet Cries.

So if you didn't know, genius Andrew Stanton - writer of all three Toy Story movies and director of Finding Nemo and Wall-E - is making a film based on John Carter of Mars based on the novels by classic scribe Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tar-fucking-zan). It stars Taylor "Gambit" Kitsch, Willem "Green Goblin Defoe", Mark "Sinestro" Strong, Thomas Hayden "Sandma"n Church, and Lynn "Silver Fox" Collins. It's about John Carter who thinks earth is a totally sissy wasteland so he jumps to Mars and kicks a White Ape's ass. Sounds pretty damn incredible right? And it looks like this (as recently revealed by Entertainment Weekly):

Now you would think that the sophisticated gentlemen of the Internets would be high-fiving in delight that such a thing even exists, delighted by the very fact that Sir Andrew Golden Stanton is descending from the heavens to entertain us with another delicious slice of classic storytelling. But no. Instead everyone is all "GEONOSIS LOL! ATTACK OF TEH CLONEZ!!" and saying that this looks shit and will suck.

Listen up, Internet. That's Lord Andrew You've-Got-A-Friend-In-Me Stanton you're talking about and he deserves your frigging respect. Even if this does look shit (and it doesn't) you should still trust that next year he's going to punch in your face through the screen. Or at least die trying. So give him a chance! Because if you don't want to see John Carter jump to Mars and beat on a White Ape then what the hell do you want to see? John Carter stay home and drink a beer? I think not!

How excited are you for John Carter and what other awesome shit do you think he will do once he gets to Mars?

Movember Day 24: Top 5 Muppet Moustaches!

In celebration of The Muppets out this week in theaters (sorry Australia!), I wanted to feature some of the best Muppet moustaches. Many of these characters were created at a time when the moustache was in it's prime, so... enjoy this time capsule of facial hair, locked away forever in our televisions and movie theaters!

...sorry I'm just really excited to see the movie today. :)

Onto the moustaches!

#5. Swedish Chef
It's hard to top those eyebrows, but the Swedish Chef has an amazing mustache. It's so messy that I'm sure it's a major violation of any and all food industry regulations.  I'm also sure that he doesn't know and/or care.

See the top 4 after the jump.

Advanced Zelda gaming

Man this game seems hard! I don't know if I'm fit or agile or Stephen Chow enough to play Skyward Sword

Wave Goodbye To Google Wave

Google has been talking about it for a while.. and they're shutting down Google Wave completely. And not just stopping it's functionality, they'll be making it inaccessible after April 30th, 2012. So all of those nude photos and naughty messages that you shared, thinking they would be forever on the internet... they'll be gone.

I don't really know if Google Wave was used for nude photos (I'm sure it was) as I've only really used it for project coordination. But I do know that I never referred to myself as a "waver".

Movember day 23: The Mario Bros

How can you not be hooked on these brothers? Look at those stashes!

now swing your hands side to side

Yes live action rapping Mario is a thing that exists. I have no idea what is going on at the start of that video but it looks amazing. These vids are the intro and end credits for the Super Mario cartoon

I've always wondered if the names are Mario Mario and Luigi Mario. Or if Mario's first name is something like Patrick or Jones or maybe it is just Super. That would be a bit of a burn on Luigi by their parents.

Oh one last thing I learnt from watching this cartoon is that the Mario brothers are from Brooklyn.

Star Trek crew watches Star Wars and Data Raps

Here's a couple of Star Trek next gen vid mashups. First have you ever wondered what the crew would make of Star Wars

Worf is the best in that haha!

Now here's Data as he lays down a rap for his crew

Riker doesn't feel it as it's probably not gangsta enough for him

For more of Riker's shenanigans head over here

The Night We Were Kings

Here's a beautiful looking animation ​​by Gobelins Students during summer training, in Cube Creative studio.

There's a little nsfw scene in it just so you know. It does reminds me of Robert Valley's stuff

The film was made by Chloé Nicolay, Manddy Wyckens, Gaspard Sumeire, Léa Justum and Anthony Lejeune. Definitely check out their blogs and websites they do some gorgeous stuff.

I have a few production stills from the film after the jump

Risk: Legacy - A New Board Game That Requires You To Deface The Board

Risk: Legacy is coming out this week, and it puts a whole new spin on the Risk series, as well as a spin on modern day board gaming. How? Well first I should warn my fellow gamers because the next sentence is going to hurt.

Over the course of playing the game, you will write on the board, add stickers to it, and destroy some of the cards. 

WHAT!?! If you're still here, let me tell you why. Now I haven't played it myself, but ever since I got an ad from my local game store with the following description.. I've been obsessed.

How will you shape your world? In Risk Legacy, every game you play will change every future game. A decision you make in Game 1 could come back to haunt you in Game 10. The risks you take in Risk Legacy are not like those in any other board game. You and the other players will shape how your world evolves: its history, its cities, even its factions and how they fight. Cards and stickers will come into play. Cards will go out of play forever. You don't forget past betrayals – and neither does the game.

It is such a cool concept and from what I understand, that description barely scratches the surface. Click through the jump for more photos and excerpts from reviews of those lucky enough to already have the game (a/k/a jerks).

What's Out? 23rd of Movember

Stop what you're doing! Things are about to come out and you need to know what they are! I will tell you about them after the jump!

Movember Day 22: Thomson & Thompson.

Great literary minds all over have agreed on one thing - the enigma that is Thomson and Thompson.

These fine mustachioed gents are a fixture of the wonderful Adventures of Tintin, presented as pure slapstick and a parody of British police officers (remember this is a Belgian comic. I'll bet those Brits cried into their pillows) in their seemingly endless parade of stupidity and bad decision-making.

The eternal mystery is their origin. They are not twins, although constantly referred to as the Thompson Twins. They're not even brothers, as they have different last names. And their only difference? The moustache. Thomson's curls up slightly at the ends and Thompson's does not.

They were so awesome Goscinny even cameo'ed them into Roman Empire- era Asterix:

Doctor Who Mini Episodes

Every year for Children in Need, the Doctor Who team puts together a little mini episode for charity. Generally they're a lot of fun and very silly, but the official one this year seemed a touch underwhelming (even though Matt Smith does take his clothes off):


But it was all a trick! Sort of. A further FOUR mini episodes were released that were only mildly silly, and fit in with the ongoing storyline (and are really rather good). Head below the cut to check them out (and for an extra little surprise).

The Book Was Better Podcast: Episode 7: Fantastic Four!

This episode we audibly groan at the incredulously extra dumbed-down junior novel version of cheap-looking superhero movie The Fantastic Four. So stop acting like a HOT-head and STRETCH yourself to listen to this ROCKing podcast before it FADES away. Yes. The whole episode is like that.

Download here at the official site!

Hosts: Jessica McLeod and Luke Milton

Arnie recalls Total Recall

Arnie really does the best commentaries. I think the first commentary I ever listened to was for Conan and he was priceless.

Well here he is for Total Recall

here's some Conan

So good!

Boil Japan

Here's 2 big budget adds for "Cup Noodles"

Boil has something of a double meaning in Japan, something like 'get fired up'.

I swear this noodle company is making a crazy killing with these big budget adds they produce. One add was an entire series (4 or 6 eps) overseen and designed by Katsuhiro Otomo the creator of Akira

Kickstart the Week: The 2012 Time Travel Calendar by Alex Griendling

This project is already way beyond it's goal, and ending in just a few days, but it was way too cool to not mention. It's a really well-designed time travel calendar showing important events throughout the history of fictional time travel, starting with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time at 2,500,000,000 BC. Check out the video below.

Click through the jump for all of the details.

Banners Reveal new Avengers Title.

The fine folks at Superhero Hype have revealed two new banners for Joss Whedon's upcoming Avengers movie. Apparently the title Avengers is far too obvious for this marvelous masterpiece, so the new title of the film is AAAAAAAA!

As in, "AAAAAAAA! Shit! The Hulk is coming!" and "AAAAAAAA! What is Loki wearing!?" and "Holy crap, you guys, check out Scarlett Johansson's AAAAAAAASS!"

All kidding aside, these are pretty great images and certainly get me pumped to see grown men in fabulous tight-fitting costumes trade quips and punch each other. I particularly like Captain America's new outfit which feels very true to the classic comics.

Plus, as a hot-blooded, shallow, chauvinistic male (spell-check just said, "Are you sure you don't mean 'charismatic'?), I have to say that Scarlett looks pretty alluring in that pose. All that practice in the mirror was worth it! 

Movember Day 21: Sam Elliott.

Sometimes the moustache maketh the man.

I mean, seriously, who the hell is this nondescript clean-shaven gentleman? Surely not a mesmerizing star of the silver screen! What an average Joe! What an absolute nobody!

 But add a bushy moustache and about thirty years of sun damage, and look at this blockbuster-baiting, Hollywood hero!:

That's right, Sam Elliott IS his moustache and without it he couldn't land a role at a LARP session! That moustache is his money-maker, and when not on screen it is kept on a velvet cushion and fed the finest caviar while it is groomed by handmaidens. But rest assured, whenever Sam comes into the room his moustache leaps onto his face both obediently and excitedly, ready for action.

Whether you need someone to play a cowboy, a hobo, a cowboy, or a cowboy, Sam is your man! We salute your 'stache!

Comics Face: Movie News

Comics Face archive.

Willow T-Shirt Designed By Warwick Davis! Only Available For 24 Hours.

I just came across this awesome Willow shirt designed by Warwick Davis himself. It's only $10, available for just 24 hours, and some of the proceeds go to Make A Wish International.

Check it out at http://www.shirtpunch.com

DANGER 5: The Diamond Girls part 1

It's here!

"Jackson, Pierre and Tucker are deep undercover in Nazi Germany. Armed with guns, poison, plastic explosive and raw patriotism, they plan to end World War II at Hitler's favourite nightspot, the Black Dog. Just as the Big Man shows up in their iron sights, so does his new bullet-proof vest -- made of 24-carat She-Nazis"

Under the Man-croscope: Power Lords!

The Man-croscope! A super-calibrated instrument that scrutinizes that which you held dear as a child and criticizes it with the unloving eye of an unfulfilled adult! What will the Man-croscope focus on this week?

We already know that the run away success of Mattel's Masters of the Universe led to a hastily bashed together bounty of sci-fi/fantasy themed muscular miscreants. And not many of them gained traction. But there's one obscure group of toys that will forever be burned into my mind - a line so bizarre and unsettling that both enchanted and terrified me as a child. I'm talking about Revell's short-lived Power Lords, released in 1983, to the delight of no one.

Source.

 What made them so memorable and blood-curdingly horrifying? Find out with me, after the jump!

End of a Scarer by Chris Ohara

I quite like this one. Simple yet quite clever. 

You can see more of Chris O'Hara's work on his blog and there's some more videos on that vimeo account

Movember Day 20: Robert DiPierdomenico

Back in the 80s, Australian Rules Football was a rough game. The gameplay was bloody and bone-shattering, and the men were so hirsute that they could shave before bouncedown and have a full Ned Kelly beard by full-time. Even among these manliest of manly men, Hawthorn FC champion Robert 'Dipper' DiPierdomenico stood out, and he still retains his moustache to this day. He knows the mighty 'stache cannot be defeated with mere razor, so he has conceded to a lifetime of lip-fuzz.

Moustache 1. Dipper 0.

Zelda Raps

Time for some Zelda Rap videos since a few new ones have turned up

Hit the jump for some more Zelda rap goodness