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09.14.05 by Widge @ 2:23 am  Just when I realized that Halloween is around the corner--which means it's time for another non-stop mini-horror film fest for yours truly--what should I get in the mail? Holy crap, it's the Blind Dead Collection from Blue Underground! Okay, first up, this thing gets huge points for showing up with a sarcophagus for a case. Which is sad in another sense, because even a gigantic freaking coffin full of European horror flicks can stand up better than the latest boxed set of the Simpsons. But I digress. This five-disc limited edition set comes with four of director Amando de Ossorio's freakiest pics, Tombs of the Blind Dead, The Return of the Evil Dead, The Ghost Galleon, and Night of the Seagulls. Who are the Blind Dead, you might well ask. The press release says it best: heretic horsemen whose eyes were burned out to prevent them from finding their way back from Hell. Sign me up, chief. The first film comes with an alternate opening sequence, and they all come with trailers and poster and still galleries. The fifth disc covers the director, with a docu, an interview and DVD-ROM to boot. There's also a collectible forty-page booklet if all that wasn't enough. This streets September 27th. So be ready. Categorized as: Headsup
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09.10.05 by Widge @ 10:56 pm  Basically, here's the deal. Your favorite Muppet performers are going to be replaced. How do we know this? Because auditions are being held right now to that end. Jim Henson's idea was that only one performer would bring each Muppet to life...this way, you had an actual character instead of Kermit or Fozzie being brought to life by just whoever happened to be closest to the puppet at the time. Now, of course, since Brian Henson has sold his father's legacy, it's really well within Disney's rights to do whatever the hell they want with the characters. This is not in question. However, by doing so, they run a very real risk of mismanaging the property into oblivion. Because they're taking away the one thing that still makes the Muppets special. Or, to be this bluntly in exec-speak, the one thing that still makes us want to buy product based on those characters. Categorized as: Headsup
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08.31.05 by Doc @ 1:07 am It's another thin week for game releases, alas. With the holiday season still just far enough away that the big releases haven't dropped yet, and the looming spectre of the Xbox 360 launch still more than two months off, nobody seems to have much to bring to the party in terms of new releases here in the dwindling days of summer. The only real premiere release scheduled this week is Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the PSP. The game takes us back to the gang-ridden Gotham of GTA3, but with an all new storyline and some gameplay improvements over that title. Also on handheld this week is Dynasty Warriors Advance, which should have been one to look forward to, but all indications is that it should go find a convenient corner and commit seppuku for sullying the name of the franchise. There are a couple of racing titles for the consoles this week, with the '06 version of NASCAR's game and the third installment in Xbox's motorcycle franchise, MotoGP 3, but that about rounds things out.  For those of us that remember when controllers had one big, bright orange button and most of our game-playing happened at the mall while Mom shopped for our school clothes, Namco drops Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection across pretty much every platform this week. The collection brings together a slew of classic Namco arcade games to scratch any nostalgia itch you might have. Included on the full-console versions are Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Galaxian, Dig Dug, Pole Position, Pole Position II, Rolling Thunder, Rally X, Bosconian, Dragon Spirit, Sky Kid, Xevious, and Mappy, while the GBA version has a slightly more limited selection, but will include the big guns like Pac-Man and Dig Dug. Adding to the game's retro credibility is a licensed soundtrack of early- to mid-80s arcade standards, from Dexy's Midnight Runners to Loverboy. Also, the full console versions feature a "virtual arcade" showcasing each of the games in its original cabinet. Perhaps the best part, though, is the $20 price tag for the whole shebang. PC gamers? Suck it again. There's another installment for Ultima Online, which I'm sure both the remaining players will be thrilled to get, and of course the hotly anticipated Taxi 3. There's also a quirky French MMORPG called Dofus, and I'd like to take this moment to address the game's developers directly. Seriously, guys...do you really think there's a vast untapped market of PC gamers who want nothing more than to play Final Fantasy IV online with their buddies? With bad localization issues that make the plot and quests damned near impossible to follow? Polish the localization issues, and the game could be a lot of fun, but I don't expect it's $80/year worth of fun...especially when that'll get me into World of Warcraft, and Guild Wars doesn't charge at all. Next week: RPGs! Tom Clancy! Hockey! Dogfights over the Pacific! Buy Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary for the Gamecube from Amazon. Categorized as: Games and Headsup
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08.25.05 by Widge @ 3:04 am    McFarlane Toys' summer release of the third series of Spawn Reborn is in stores and, like the majority of their releases, the results are sufficiently badass. Basically, Spawn Reborn is where they take figures from previous lines, throw them back at their artists and get the equivalent of an action figure remix. The results are then re-released to you, the great unwashed masses. Now that sounds good on paper, and I know what you're thinking: it's just a repackaged, rehashed figure. Yawn on toast. And perhaps I'd agree with you for most ideas like this, but I just dig these things. And not just because there's a lot of black involved. For example, Bloodaxe Spawn is just about as black a figure as you can have. And evil looking to boot. He and my Marv figures are going to go get drinks in a bit. Comes with a bigass shield and spiked mace. This was a variant figure from the Spawn Series 22: The Viking Age line, and from what I can tell they have blackened the hell out of it, along with adding more bits to the armor. So that works. In addition, this new version of Redeemer, which was originally released last year as part of the Spawn Series 25: Classic Comic Covers 2 line, was originally blue and gold. Now the gold is silver and the rest of the body along with the wings are black. Goes with everything I own. Comes with a nasty sword/axe combo. The Warrior Lilith we have here is a reworking of the one released in 2003 from Spawn Series 23: Mutations. Less bare skin (sorry, guys) but now she's covered in a wicked red and black tattoo. Her hair is recolored and what clothing she has is either red or black, with the armor now gold. She also comes with a base and two of the craziest damn swords I've ever seen. Plus a bullwhip. So she's got that going for her. Buy Bloodaxe Spawn from Amazon. Categorized as: Headsup and Toys
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08.24.05 by Widge @ 3:34 am    A TV movie and two boxed sets to talk about this time around, recent releases all from Warner Brothers. First up, there's Dallas. Yes, if you love prime-time soaps then you're all over this one. And let's face it, the cliffhanger to this third season got everybody involved. All except you whippersnappers who were not even a gleam in your father's pants at that point. "Who Shot J.R.?" ended the season. There's a new docu covering this phenom along with commentary by Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray on two of the twenty-five episodes here. This is a five-disc set. Check out the official site here. (Streeted 8/9). Categorized as: Headsup
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