Titans Terrors and Toys

Whenever I see an action figure line that leads with Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and a Wolf Man, I usually expect other classic Universal monsters to follow (The Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Bride of Frankenstein, etc.). Yet as recent announcements indicate, Mego has different plans for its new monster figures.

Over the years, I’ve built up quite a library of art books from various movies. Usually, these glossy coffee table books contain photos of concept art, production models, and set environments. Alien: Covenant – David’s Drawings , which was published by Titan Books last year, looks and feels like one of these art books. However, it is so much more: It’s both a crucial component of the Alien: Covenant story and a significant addition to the Alien saga as a whole.

Despite recent successes, it remains to be seen whether virtual reality (VR) will find its footing among the general public. Consumer-grade VR tech has largely been split between two polarities: expensive headsets that need to be tethered to expensive computers, and cheaper headsets that use expensive smart phones as their operating systems. Sitting in the middle of this spectrum is the Oculus Go, the stand-alone headset that arrived on the market last May. I just got my own Oculus Go headset and I can definitely say that between high-end and low-end VR, Oculus Go is the best of both worlds.

Around a year ago, Disney quietly stopped releasing 3D Blu-rays in the United States , even though it's still releasing high-profile 3D movies at the box office around the world. Now, with the upcoming arrival of Ralph Breaks the Internet (a.k.a. Wreck-It Ralph 2 ) on home video, it may be that Disney could be done with releasing 3D Blu-rays everywhere. Read on ....

As movie monsters go, the grotesque human-insect hybrids from The Fly (1958) and its sequels, remake, and remake sequel rarely appear as action figures. Sure, there are plenty of Fly busts, statues and model kits, but action figure collectors who love all things Fly have been left out in the cold. Fortunately, the collectible figures company Distinctive Dummies (DD) has taken it upon itself to address this unmet need by releasing a limited edition 8-inch Mego style figure based on the monster from the first sequel, Return of the Fly (1959).

2018 was a very good year for fans of the Jaws franchise because it marked the release of two great books: the expanded edition of Jaws 2: The Making of the Hollywood Sequel by Michael A. Smith (read my review of that book here ) and Adventures in Amity: Tales from the Jaws Ride by Dustin McNeill. This review covers McNeill’s book, which I recently got a chance to read over the holidays.