Avengers: Age of Ultron Review

I've done reviews of several of the other Marvel movies, and while I don't plan on making a habit out of it, I do like to share some very short thoughts on the new Avengers movie.

And rest assured, absolutely no significant spoilers below.

Yes, I've talked before about how incredible it is to see all my favorite superheroes band together in one single film. In some ways it's almost become such a familiar occurrence, that I barely think of how awesome it is. For instance when Captain America shows up in Thor 2 - yes, it was cool - but considering how Marvel Studios has run things, it was almost expected. 

And that's really where we are, it's cool to see all of them. Literally all of them, in one movie. But do we really appreciate how amazing it is? And do we really appreciate how impressive it is to do that, and not have a movie that sucks? Because Avengers 2 definitely didn't suck. 

Yes, it was not as surprisingly good as Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And it wasn't as fun as Guardians of the Galaxy. But I feel that that isn't the idea of the Avengers movies either.  

The idea of the Avengers movies is to gather all of them, and have cool fight scenes and explosions and stuff. Have buildings collapse, have skyscrapers collapse, have entire cities collapse. Stuff like that. And all the while ALL OF THEM are looking cool, while doing cool stuff. And it's just so damn awesome to see the Marvel cinematic universe in this place, where it's familiar, expected and natural. And that's the strength of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

It's like reading a Marvel comic book, but in cinema.

Yes, I could talk about details, and there were tons of them in this movie. Interaction between Ultron and Vision, interaction between Hulk and Black Widow. Interaction between Tony and almost everyone else. Most of the stuff involving Hawkeye. It seems they wanted to round out a few characters a bit more than they have done in previous movies, and it works fairly well. But this movie is about seeing all of them together, and explosions. 

Ok, some details. Holy shit, Vision! I like. Hulk riding a Quinjet alone made an impact for some reason. Ending shows promises, but also challenges for Marvel Studios. Post credits scene somewhat boring, but not necessarily bad. Also, regarding Hawkeye, thank god they didn't follow Ultimates storyline, or I would never be able to drag my girlfriend to another Marvel movie. Ok, that last one may have been a spoiler. 

Marvel is at an impressive - and some what dominating position these days, and I just fear they won't be able to keep up the pace, and that they won't put as much effort into the "individual" movies as they have done so far. If they do continue to make an effort, I'll gladly accept the occasionally mindless, but still glorious action from future Avengers movies. 

Marvel Phase 3

These are great times.

Nearly three decades ago, I picked up an issue of Secret Wars, and I was instantly a fan. Many kids of my generation grew up reading the comics with the Marvel superheroes. And sure, we dreamed of watching movies with our heroes, but as we aged, we realized that they very well could be similar to Street Fighter the Movie, or the TMNT movies. With this kind of quality as an alternative, I'd say it was a better option to not have superhero movies at all

Back in the late 90s, we actually started getting the superhero movies. Blade, Spider-Man, X-Men, followed by Hulk, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider and sequels to the first wave. Some of these were good, a few of them were great, most of them were just awful.

Hindered by technology, but even more so a lack of scope and ambition.
You see, one of the reasons I fell in love with the Marvel universe was that any and all hero and villain could have some sort of link to the others. After all, the first comic I consciously read was a massive team-up between the heroes and villains.

And up until Marvel Studios, we just haven't seen this. They managed to team up four superheroes that easily could be the sole superhero franchise at any other movie studio. And they're building the story lines towards a goal.

Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-Men - maybe the most popular Marvel characters at one point - are locked at other studios. But that kind of doesn't matter.

You see, another impressive feat with Marvel is that they're not afraid to take chances with lesser known characters. Iron Man? Sure, every comic book reader knows Iron Man, but at the time the first movie came out, he wasn't the most popular Marvel character, probably not even top ten. Guardians of the Galaxy? Popular in the comics the last few years, but in the mainstream? Not even remotely.

Now, look at that line-up of movies. Captain Marvel. Black Panther. Doctor Strange. Inhumans. This is sick. This is insane. These are ridiculously awesome times to be a fan. I'm so glad I grew up with these comics to build the enthusiasm, and I'm so glad I'm around now to see them come alive like never before.

Star Wars Episode 7 Concept Art

A handful of concept art pieces leaked the other day, and I thought it was worth talking a bit about the value of these illustrations.

Me, and many of my generation are probably as excited as it's possible to be for a movie. I even knowpeople outside my generation are excited for the new movie. The popularity of Star Wars extends far beyond the kids that grew up watching it.

And we just can't wait. We have to know all the information right away! Every little piece of news regarding the JJ Abrams directed movie has the internet buzzing. Now that Lucas is out of the picture, we shouldn't have to worry about repercussions should we leak secret information. It's not like the new owners are overly protective of their copyrights.

Well, except if your image sort of resembles one of their million trademarked logos. 

Anyway, I don't fear any C&D letters, simply because I have nothing to gain from sharing these images. And to be fair, these illustrations does nothing but get fans more excited, so for all I know, the leak may be fully intentional.

But for the sake of the fans that want to go in to the theater with zero knowledge of what's coming, I'll put a break.

So hop on in for Star Wars Episode 7 concept art!

Hot Toys DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future

At this point, we've probably already pre-ordered the Marty McFly 1/6 scale action figure from Hot Toys, and we kinda expected the DeLorean to be made as well. And we knew it would be awesome. And it is awesome. Expect the pre-order from various online retailers to be up any time soon.

SDCC 2014 Infinity Gauntlet Set

Once again I'm not heading to San Diego for the annual comic convention. Of course, at this point it's pretty much pointless attending SDCC, as it has grown too big for it's own audience. And it's certainly not worth my time travelling to the states just to stand in lines, endless lines. I don't have patience for that.

At the very least from an outsider's point of view, SDCC has gone from being a pure comic convention - where like-minded came and celebrated comics - to being a showcase for movie and media. There's nothing wrong in that, but watching panels with movie stars, and hearing the latest toy news, I can really do that just as comfortable from my chair at home.   

That said, there is something special about attending conventions, the atmosphere, meeting other fans, watching cosplayers. If you've ever been to a con, you know what I'm talking about. 

I'm sure you can still get all this at SDCC - it's just that you have to stand and walk in line at all times. 

This very weekend, I'm heading to a small, local games-con. I'm excited, and hope to get that "con-feeling". 

For the bigger cons, there's always the allure of goodie-bags, con exclusives and freebies. 

Hasbro has had a monstrous streak of incredible exclusives, ranging from their back-to-back Transformers cassette players (2009-2010), to their Star Wars Death Star set (2011), their Transformers/G.I. Joe collaboration 2011-2013) and the simple, yet excellent 6" Boba Fett with Han Solo in carbonite (2013). 

This year, they hit a home run for me with the Infinity Gauntlet set, within their 3 3/4 Marvel Infinite line.

I'm a sucker for everything from Marvel's cosmic heroes, and I've been reading their epic space comics ever since Secret Wars. Naturally the Infinity Gauntlet series is one of my all time favorites. Author/artist Jim Starlin and artist Ron Lim had an insane run where they, among other stories, told the tales of Thanos, the mad titan, in his quest for scoring with Lady Death. 

And now, this weird relationship is being captured in toy form. The set includes Thanos, his brother Starfox and Lady Death (whom I think is a first-timer in toy form). 

In addition, we see Thanos' on/off associate, Nebula. She will be a major character in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but in this set they all have their comic appearances. 

And finally, the set comes with a wearable Infinity Gauntlet - complete with all six infinity gems, that will let its wearer control everything in the universe. Except lust for something you cannot have - lust that will eventually make you screw up, and let yourself be defeated. Again. 

This set would have been truly monumental had they included a vintage-appearance Adam Warlock. I'm not saying the asking price of $75 is too high for just four figures and a rubber gauntlet - but standing hours in line, you'd hoped to get at least one more figure. 

I want one. 

Yup, it's clear that Marvel is really taking it's cosmic "universe" seriously. Their six inch SDCC set is also cosmic related, with Black Bolt, Gladiator, Star Lord in the mix. Pair these sets with the Guardians movie this summer, and we almost have our dose of superheroes in space. Almost. 

Episode VII Cast

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Lego Ice Planet Artwork

Reminiscent of when I wrote an entire article around an art piece based on Lego Spyrius, this artwork based off Ice Planet just had to be featured.

Made by artist "Mr--Jack" - real name Luke Mancini, who posted this on his DA account. He has also done some amazing work for game company Blizzard's properties, like Arthas from World of Warcraft, Tyrael from Diablo and Tychus from Starcraft.

But this work from Lego Ice Planet sticks out to me. There's something awesome and fantastic about the idea of making a Lego theme more realistic, because to a kid, this is exactly how it feels. In a way, Mancini has tapped into the very nature of playing - the act of pretending and imagining to expand what is already there.

Very much true to the theme of The Lego Movie, the ability to imagine seems to be easily lost as kids grow into adults. We loose desire or skill (or both) to see more than there actually is.

But it's not difficult to get back into the habit of imagining, and in other ways than playing with Lego, adults are just as creative as kids. And of course, we have people like Luke Mancini, who are both creative and skilled enough to articulate his imagination, and gift us with amazing artwork based of a Lego sub-line.

Toys are fun. I collect toys. I play with toys. Article number 300.

Would you know, I've written three hundred articles in this blog. Some of them are pure nonsense, some of them are well thought out, and some of them are extremely personal. This leans towards the latter, but I suspect any collector can find some meaning here. It's about stepping out of the comfort zone and finding something that re-ignites the passion. 

How do you use action figures? 

Pictured: Story line.

Well, there are many ways, and I've talked about this before. Of course the most common way to use an action figure is to play with it like a child would. Well, I'm not a child, so you will probably not find me clashing my toys together and make explosion sounds. But what is the child really doing while playing? 

The child is creating a story line, interacting with the toys, taking part in the story. It's entertainment and creation at the same time. 

If I had a new years resolution this year, it would be to not collect stuff just to collect. The last few years I feel like I have been doing just that. Most of the toys I collect, I really like. That goes for my other collections as well. But I also found my self buying action figures and toys I simply didn't use. 

Now, my action figures are being played with, but not exactly like I describe above. You see, I also consider it playing with toys just to pick them up, and hold them, look at them, pose them. And in some way, I do the same as the child. It's a combination of appreciation of the toy itself and the creation of story lines. The story lines are probably not as strong and as lively as when I was a kid, but they're still there in some way. I look at some of the pictures I take, and there's definitely story lines.  

In storage...

Far too many of my toys see little to no play time. And that's not how it should be. Sure, some of them I have stored away for a specific purpose, and for good reasons. Some of my toys are appreciating just by sitting in storage, like a few sealed vintage pieces. Some of them I simply have no room for in my current apartment, like the bigger Lego sets. And some of them are valued treasures from my childhood, that I couldn't possibly get rid of, even though I don't necessarily use them any more - my entire G.I. Joe collection for instance. 

But I own toys that doesn't fall in any of these categories. What's really the point of these? I don't play with them, and I don't really need them. It's just stuff that's clogging up my closets. 

So since Christmas, I have been getting rid of - selling a lot of toys. We're talking a significant amount, both in numbers of action figures, and in money. 

Some of this money obviously goes right back into collecting, but this time more focused. I have been drooling over the Hot Toys Marvel superheroes ever since the Hong Kong company made toys for the first Iron Man movie. And naturally, I too start with Iron Man - more specifically the Iron Man 3 Tony Stark Suit Test. 

Now, this isn't about this specific Tony Stark toy, and I have only half-assed taken a few pictures of it. These pictures doesn't do the toy justice, and it's easy to find better pictures online. This is about what these figures are bringing to the table. These are the ultimate superhero action figures. 

In the past, my reasoning for not picking up Hot Toys figures have been: "These doesn't feel like toys". It's a common critique. They're extremely expensive, they're 1/6 scale, they're not intended for children. 

Tony Stark plays with toys as well. 

But when I display them in my cabinet, are they not toys that I play with? When I can't even leave them alone in said cabinet, am I not playing with them? 

I'm having more fun playing with the Hot Toys superheroes than I have had in a long time. The last time I had this much fun playing with toys was when me and Runar built a G.I. Joe diorama for a museum. 

The details on Tony Stark are amazing, his head sculpt is so realistic it's almost creepy. He has great articulation and comes with tons of cool accessories. Light up functions. I mean, apart from the high price, there aren't any reasons this couldn't be the perfect toy for anyone even remotely interested in action figures, comic books and the likes. 

When I think about it, I actually understand why it has been difficult for me to make this jump, and that may also be the reason I enjoy these toys more than I had thought. These aren't rooted in my nostalgia in the same way as say G.I. Joe, Transformers and Masters of the Universe. These are only indirectly connected to my childhood. I have always collected action figures, and I have always read the superheroes. But as a child I never had superhero action figures, and I was never into 1/6 scale. 

In that way, my Hot Toys Superheroes are something new, something exciting. Fear not, I'll still be into all the other stuff, Joes, Lego, robots and so on. But this is deliciously refreshing. 

Current collection consists of Tony Stark, one of his suits, one of his super powered colleagues, one of his adversaries, and two members of the espionage agency. All are obtained by simply getting rid of stuff I didn't use. 

Fun.

The LEGO Movie Trailer

Yup. I like this.