There have been numerous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games released, and depending on how old you are, you will have your own personal favorite. For me growing up in the 80s, I would always hit the arcades to play on one of the coolest games around, the Turtles arcade game.
Continue reading Cowabunga! New Arcade Designed TMNT Figures Debut at SDCC 2016
As we approach the holiday season, people have begun checking out numerous shops and websites, looking to find that one quirky gift that will knock the socks off their friends and family. Now there is a wide array of potential places to go for these seasonal gifts, but Grizzly Bomb wanted to bring your attention to one we found that could be the answer to all your shopping needs.
Firebox is a site which was set up in 1998 and has an eclectic array of items for fan-boys and girls of all ages. The site is even proud to say that their products are “not for everyone” and that is certainly true, as you will soon find out. Below are some of Grizzly Bomb’s favorite items from quite honestly a mind-boggling collection of treats. So feast your eyes on items as diverse as Breaking Bad candy, underwear for that certain time of the month, and none non-conventional Garden Gnomes!
So now two new trailers have arrived for the film which is fast becoming the bane of all pop culture fans everywhere. Yes you guessed it it’s the Robocop remake. Why do people hate this movie so much compared to other remakes? The lure of nostalgia is obviously strong and the fact the original movie is beloved by fans (because of its hard-hitting violence and social commentary means the new movie has very big expectations to live up to. As a Robocop fan myself I feel their pain, there have been too many sub standard remakes to make anyone think differently. But after seeing the first trailer a while ago it did peak my interest enough to not be to judgemental about it. This new trailer expands more on the information we saw in the first trailer. Watch it below and see what you think.
Some interesting things come out of this. We see a lot more emphasis on Alex Murphy as a family man and the problems caused with him now being a big old cyborg. Gary Oldman Doctor gets to show the more sensitive side of science here and he is engaging enough, while Joel Kinnaman as Murphy looks in this trailer a little bit of an under whelming screen presence. In his defence though aside from a few brief moments of confusion over his new form, he is mostly seen blowing stuff up which we see a fair bit off. ED 209 and the Robodrones cover the streets and some nice scenes of Robocop in training and jumping about on the street show the action is a lot more streamlined and (dare we say) Hollywood than the gritty original. The robots have a Battlestar Galactica feel to them which I am still not sure about, more exposure should confirm whether I like or dislike this style. The worry that the speed that the CGI scenes whiz by the viewer could easily turn this into another Transformers movie if all the film is constantly like this.
Let’s move on to the next trailer now and we notice a slightly different tone here. Check out the trailer below.
“Why is America so Robophobic?” is not only an awesome line but could also be a little tongue in cheek jab at the haters of the film. There are some more alternative action scenes here, but for the most part this focuses on the propaganda element of the film and it does this to great effect.. Media spinning Samuel L Jackson as Pat Novak and money grabbing Michael Keaton as Raymond Sellars shine when ever they are on-screen (not surprising with their strong screen presence). The trailer makes sure that the audience knows that O.C.P are still money grabbing scum bags.
So overall the film still looks kind of impressive and this reviewer is still very interested to see how this all pans out. There are some concerns here aside from the memories of the past affecting the present. The action scenes from both trailers, though they look fast and streamlined also look a bit to sharp and kind of hollow. It fits in with the style of movie they are going for, less grime more style but I’m concerned that this will become more style over substance. This gleaming, futuristic look the film is going for were everything is made to look slick and polished makes Murphy having his hand still human seem slightly redundant. Would O.C.P not just whip it off and give him a robot hand as it is more productive? I can understand the face exposure because that shows a human side to him which people can relate to. I assume the hand has been left there as a nod to the fans. Story wise I doubt it will make a difference either way. I have noticed that each trailer seems to make Robocop less cop and more superhero like. The shots of him jumping high up in the air and the sleek, black armour he now has on would not look a miss in an X-Men movie. Some of the fears I have about this been a tad dull and suffering from Total Recall remake syndrome (look at my previous article on this to see what I mean ) are still there, but it is tricky to truly know from just a trailer. At least it warrants a watch and if nothing else I want to be able to see this film and then say whether it crashed or burned through my own view point. All we need is an entertaining movie and that cannot be too hard to make right? Well should not be to long until we find out the films released on February 2014 (changes withstanding). For now I leave you with some publicity stills that showcase a few familiar faces you may recognise from the above trailers (like Jackie Earle Haley as Mattox). Enjoy and remember don’t be a Robohater people!
When news that a remake to Robocop was coming out, the internet almost imploded with the sheer volume of venom and bile that was unleashed. The original Robocop has always had a warm place in the hearts of fans. The clever mix of ultra violence, angst and social commentary meshed well to give us a truly stunning piece of ’80s cinema. So it’s understandable that there may be a certain amount of tension when a new version is released. Even this reviewer was slightly nonplussed by the news, and when shots of the new suit came out face palms were felt all around the world. It looked pretty dire and people could hardly believe they were thinking of using this version over the classic silver suit Peter Weller wore. It did not really exude confidence in the new film. Well now it is time to put up or shut up because the new trailer is out. See what you think below.
So there you go. Now I do not know how this trailer went down with everyone else, but personally, I liked it. The tone still seems to be dark, but not as gritty as the original. The darkness is still there hidden under all the shiny metal and techno heavy visuals. Hopefully it will not suffer the same fate as the Total Recall remake, where the futuristic look over shadowed the fact that the film somehow managed to take all the fun out of the movie and made it a dreadful bore. This trailer is anything but that, with the action coming at you thick and fast and for once you can actually see the events as they take place, rather than say the Transformers franchise where the gleaming metal battles all gel into a CGI mess.
Let’s not forget about the cast, and boy what a cast. Samuel Jackson, Michael Keaton, and Gary Oldman are just a few of the names involved, and they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves. Unlike the OCP from the original where most of the people working for the company were dicks (and we loved them for it, who can forget Dick Jones, Bob Morton and Clarence J.Boddicker), here it seems Oldman is to be the scientist with a heart, while Keaton is chewing up the scenery in a more corporate way than his predecessors.
Giving Alex Murphy and his family more screen time seems to be a good call as it adds a nice dynamic to the tale. How do decide if your husband should be given a new lease on life but lose some of his humanity? These clips with the family should make for some touching scenes in the movie if the trailer is to go by.
The new designs look great. ED 209 has been slightly revamped, and as much as I love the old clunky model I am interested to see how this new, more streamlined version will fare on-screen. The new suit after all the moaning does look good in action. The visor sliding up and down adds a nice element, and again helps to keep the human side of Robocop visible more. The scene with numerous Robocop models taking on the Alex Murphy Robocop certainly interested me and the voice is spot on. The main downside to this is there is no police presence in the trailer that I could see. So the dynamic that Murphy and Anne Lewis had in the original seems to have been removed to focus more on Alex Murphy’s family issues. I can see the point, but it does not mean that I a tinge of remorse we are going to lose that side of the movie. But that’s what happens with change.
Let’s just get one thing clear in our minds. This is never going to be Paul Verhoeven Robocop. That movie is irreparable. But much liked other remakes that have worked (Dawn of the Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Star Trek) it has taken the core idea and given it a different spin. Do we forget about the original Texas Chainsaw movies now that the remake has been made? Of cause not. Both live together in cinematic harmony and both have their own fan bases. Could we have room for two Robocop’s? I believe so, but only if the film is good. The last thing we need is another shitty remake. Fingers crossed this will be the former rather than the later, and if it lives up to the promise of the trailer we could be in for a treat. No matter what, Peter Weller’s iconic turn in the role of Robocop will never be forgotten, but maybe we can find a space for Joel Kinnaman portrayal too? I would like to think so, we’ll just have to look past that PG-13 rating first…
It’s about that time; that time being just long enough in between Star Trek teasers and trailers that people started to get ready to actually see the movie to have its secrets revealed to them, which means it’s also time for them to release a big, “show-everything-basically” trailer internationally that more or less spells out the plot of the film. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great trailer and all, but it’s had sort of a reverse effect of making me less excited. Now Benedict Cumberbatch is so clearly just an original new villain for the series, rather than some updated or remade villain like we were all thinking a while ago. On top of the basic plot being revealed, (Cumberbatch is mad at the Federation while destroying things and getting revenge; Kirk & Co are the only ones to help), it’s also more or less telling us that we’re not getting interesting reinterpretations of older characters rather it will continue it’s own new path. Which I have mixed feelings on, but here, judge for yourself first:
While I like the idea of the Star Trek franchise moving forward and creating all new everything to complement and refresh the franchise for new and old fans alike, a part of me still wishes to see everything old, but new again. We’ve been teased with Klingons and Kahn and whatnot for so long, just little hints at these things make us salivate. It raises the question, is it bad that they’re seemingly not going this way? At this point I can’t really decide one way or the other, I’m just glad the movie still looks good. I’m also glad that apparently Peter Weller is in the film, which was a shock to me, but a happy one because I f***ing love Robocop. I’m also glad that cute blond girl they’ve been showing in the trailers up until now definitely gets in her skivvies, because I’m a disgusting man-pig.
I’m sure there’s probably a bit more that the more hardcore Trekkie could get into, but more or less, this trailer was full of a lot of repeated footage, with some new stuff added in between. It’s nice to get a thematic preview of what the movie will be, and if it still turns out somehow that Cumberbatch actually IS a new version of an old character, it’ll still be surprising reveal. Maybe they are playing some double-negative-mega-reverse-double-bluff with us about his character all along? OH GOD I DON’T KNOW ANYMORE! Let’s just have the movie come out already okay? I don’t think my heart can take this much more. Especially if it includes cute blonde girls half-naked in their underwear.
{Amanda- while the guys have their moment with the cute blonde, excuse me as I geek out over a new poster, ooooohhhh Benedict Cumberbatch!}
And because once is never enough… in German!
We’re passionate about RoboCop here at GB. We’ve covered his news, a lot. Probably about 7 or 8 times since we first heard serious word of it. We’ve actually had multiple discussions on the film, and when those first pictures leaked of the new RoboCop suit, the majority of us were… unhappy. However, being ever the contrarian I am, I expressed my caustic disappointment VERY specifically, because I knew the more I thought about it, the more I could understand it. In that article I said, and I quote:
“I’m…. Just really gonna keep hope that it’ll work in the movie.”
And I still stand by that statement. At first It was meant in a way to express dread, but the more I looked at this new RoboCop I kept trying to understand why it was so drastically different from what we’d all expect, and so seemingly cookie cutter and generic looking, when it suddenly hit, and everything made perfect sense. You see, when you’re a passionate nerd about something, seeing it changed to something else in a “new” form is a bit shocking, and tends to illicit knee-jerk reactions of imminent hatred or dismissal. I think that’s the natural state of all nerds. We see something that maybe takes an old favorite, and turns it on end, or tries something completely different with it, and usually we hate it. At first anyway. I remember the old internet reaction to Heath Ledger’s Joker, when the first pics of him leaked. People were VERY critical and dismissive. I would know, because I was one of those people. Of course we all know how that story turns out, because The Dark Knight is one of the best films of all time, and a huge part of it is due to the game changing performance by Heath Ledger.
I took a vow that day to never immediately judge something as a failure based on preview pictures alone. That potentially, it could all work out in the finished product, and a good movie could come from it. I even held this view for The Amazing Spider-Man, right up until it proved to be an unwatchable mess. So what was it that clicked for me? What changed my initially reserved but dreadfully optimistic view on this RoboCop remake? Well before I get to that, let’s take a second look at the new suit, so you’ll have a fresh idea in mind of what I’m talking about.
via [JoeBlo]
Again, the first things that come to mind are how UN-original it looks. How it seems reminiscent of countless other generic cyborg/soldier characters from all types of media right? I believe this is ENTIRELY intentional. If you’re going to remake RoboCop, one of the greatest missteps you could take would be to not carry over the brilliant social satire it had throughout the film. In the same way that the original RoboCop’s look represented the pinnacle of faux-futuristic 80’s excess, so does this modern RoboCop’s look reflect the polished, materialistic, and factory formed look of almost all modern technology. The sleek embossed sheen to his hood is indicative of most modern cell phones, right down to the bright red visor.
The style, layout, and font choice are all intentionally similar.
If you’ve ever seen a Droid commercial you’ll have no trouble making the visual connection. What they’ve done is rather than rehash the old story(and suit) note for note, they’ve gone and taken the initiative. It makes sense that in a modern world where everyone has the same looking cell phone, same looking cars, and same looking computers, we should have a similarly themed RoboCop. Of course he looks generic, because a massive, money-making corporation churned him out like yesterdays cheap cell phone update. It’s a theme that’s very welcome for a RoboCop remake because the whole thing was about criticizing the faceless corporations that would literally put a brand name on justice if it made them an extra dollar at the end of the day. Steamlined robotic officers? Mass produced cybernetic equipment? Bargain basement justice? I’d buy that for a dollar!
So yes, the new RoboCop suit looks incredibly generic and uninspired, but that is precisely the point, and ultimately what ends up making it ironically, very inspired and unique. It’s a pretty effective way to establish a visual motif of social commentary, that even our CYBERNETICALLY ENHANCED ROBOT COPS get the shiny, red laser LED lined look to them. That’s exactly what any modern technology company would do. The proof is all around your living room, or even in your pocket. Sure the movie may end up sucking something fierce still, (I don’t think it will, but I have been wrong), but at the very least the intention to establish and bring back that sense of social commentary, updated now for relevant social context, is laudable and worthy of note. That’s not even to say what the whole suit will look like after filming effects are completed, because I have a strong feeling it’ll get a much more visually striking look once it’s complemented with added CG lights and whatnot. Furthermore, between the strength of its cast, director, and what we’ve seen so far, I’d say everyone has good reason to get their hopes up. This is the RoboCop for our generation, and it most certainly is reflecting that, as it should. So sit back and relax RoboCop fans. We may have a good remake yet.
Grizzly Bomb 