Titans Terrors and Toys

Given pop culture's never-ending focus on nostalgia, it stands to reason that reissued merchandise from popular TV shows, movies and cartoons keep popping up in stores, catalogs, and other places where such items are sold. However, what is being released now doesn't always match what has come before, which is certainly the case of the toy company Super7 and its recent acquisition of toy licenses of Shogun Warriors and Robotech. Even though both of these titles are known for giant, fearsome robots, the figures that Super7 recently displayed at last weekend's International Toy Fair in New York are anything but intimidating. Read on ....

I've been hearing rumors that a few independent filmmakers are trying to revive the Italian horror subgenre of giallo, a type of murder mystery film that was made in Italy during the '60s, '70s and early '80s. With so many gialli finally seeing the light of day again through high-definition blu-ray releases, it stands to reason that giallo fans who are also budding directors will try to emulate that particular style of cinema in their own work. This particular blog post focuses on Luciano Onetti, a screen writer, director and composer from Argentina who has produced two giallo films: Sonno Profondo (2013) and Francesca (2015). Unlike other neo-gialli that have surfaced in recent years, Onetti has gone to great lengths in both films to emulate the specific look and feel of gialli from the '70s. Read on for my complete review.

This weekend marks the debut of The Lego Batman Movie . Even though it is a semi-sequel to The Lego Movie from 2014, it's also a spin-off from and satire of the live-action Batman movies (and all things Batman in general). I probably won't see this film at the box office and will wait for home video. Then again, it's not like I owe anything to this particular version of the Batman brand--I already own copies of the three Lego Batman video games and reviewed two of them on this blog. Regardless, the release of The Lego Batman Movie marks a new milestone for licensed superhero merchandise. Before, the superhero movie drove the licensed superhero toy sales; now, the licensed superhero toys ARE the superhero movie. Holy meta-movie licensing, Batman! Read on for my thoughts about the licensing accomplishments for Lego, something that hasn't been seen since Mego applied its 8-inch action figure design to just about every kid-friendly franchise in the '70s.

Horror is at its most effective when it takes something ordinary and recasts it as something terrifying. However, such a feat is easier said than done, which brings me to two 2016 films that I recently watched: The Neon Demon and Let's Be Evil . Both try to find the sinister in the simple, but one does it with much more skill and creativity than the other. Read on for my complete review.