A Snapshot in Time: The Amazing Spiderman

2012 is a good year for superheroes; especially in the movie department. This year alone we're getting 5 movies with Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance kicking off the year followed by the highly anticipated The Avengers. Both Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises will both hit theaters in July with Judge Dredd ending the list of superhero movies in September. I can honestly say of the 5, I'm most excited about The Avengers, with Batman coming a close second with Spiderman coming in at third.

So we've all had a taste of things to come via the newly released trailers and the more recent superbowl teasers and what have you. Like any self respected fanboy, one would scrutinize each and every frame of the trailer, quenching our thirst if only for a short period of time before the movie hits theaters. So far I've done only The Avengers and Spiderman. I've yet to sit through Batman. I went one step further by actually taking snapshots from the trailer so I can share my joy with my fellow fanboys in this segment I like to call "A Snaphot in Time"

I'm kicking this segment off with The Amazing Spiderman :)

Here's a close up of Spiderman's web shooter. I thought it would have some form of cartridge much like the comic book version but apparently from what can be seen here it's just this little wristwatch sized shooter. From what I can gather by watching the trailer, Peter somehow manages to develop a new sticky composite which you can see him experimenting on below.



Here you see Peter actually experimenting, developing the new composite by mixing two components. As soon as the thing in his hand makes contact with the shooter, it immediately spits out the webbing. In one scene from the trailer, you can see Peter wandering into a room filled with strands of webbing (where he eventually gets bitten) in one of OsCorp's lab. I'm guessing Peter's dad was actually trying to replicate a spider web and make it stronger for more practical uses. Peter might have stumbled upon the formula from his dad's briefcase or something. Peter being a genius himself (which they demonstrated in a scene with Peter and Dr Connors; Peter completing a complicated equation) manages to replicate the process and tadaa! Webshooters!

I'm liking the direction of them actually going back with webshooters just like in the comics. A while back I actually condemned the move, stating it looked ridiculously large for him and made him look like the 70's movie Spiderman. Looking at the pictures and actual footage now, I have to say I take back all the bad things I said.



From the picture above you can see the shooters actually emitting a red glow every time he uses it. The light could probably be the effect of the chemicals reacting. I don't know why they actually made the shooters light up. Looks a wee bit tacky but I think I can live with it. I can see the Spiderman action figures; light up wrist spiderman.



Spiderman's eye protectors are somewhat gold rather than the silvery / white we're used to seeing in the comics and the previous movies by Sam Raimi. Maybe the gold reflects light better and gives Spiderman a more dramatic look when filmed. Maybe. It also looks slightly smaller than the ones we saw before. No complains there.



Cicakman. People have been on the fence with the Lizard's overall look, some even going as far as saying that he looks like a scaled down version of Godzilla. I don't know why the studio didn't go for the classic Lizard look with an elongate snout but rather a Killer Croc looking lizard? Oh well...



Can someone please explain to me why the Lizard is carrying a sling bag? It's a sling bag. Trust me. Really it is! I ain't making this shit up. Don't believe me? Go back and watch the trailer and pause/play when this scene comes up. Told ya...





Spiderman and the Lizard's final epic battle. From here you can get a rough idea of the Lizard's physique and anatomy. You can see why people are calling him Godzilla. Just look at those hind legs! Check out the tail too. Ginormous. I wonder if it falls off when threatened?

So there you go guys and gals. After watching the trailer a few times I must admit I'm pretty sold on the movie. But I have been disappointed before (Yes I'm referring to you Green Lantern). So here's hoping that the movie kicks ass.

I'd love to hear any comments you might have regarding the movie. Until May fanboys! Excelsior!

*all footage/screencap/copyright is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment
*Trailer available at apple.com/trailers

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Firing Squad

How it feels like every time I tell creatives the clients rejected their ideas. Read on...

Suit of Armor

After much wait, finally the set is now complete. Last off from Hot Toys' Iron Man 2 series is the Mark V. I'm not including the Mark II Armor Unleashed in the list because technically the suit was already featured in the first movie.

Hot Toys announced the Mark V sometime in December 2010 and after much, much much delay the figure is finally hitting the store shelves. Most collectors were wondering if this figure would ever make it out of the factory floor seeing as it's been almost a year but the wait, my fellow collector is worth it.

The packaging is similar to the other Ironman figures from the line. I was hoping Hot Toys would somehow make the box art interconnected with one another just like the Mark IV War Machine and Black Widow but alas that was not the case. No biggie tho, just thought it would be cool to arrange the boxes and make one big poster-like collage.

Out of the box the figure looks stunning. The details on the Mark V is astounding. Much love and dedication definitely went into the making of this one. The suit is beautifully replicated down to scale. First thing you'd notice is how scrawny the figure is. Technically this suit is suppose to be light in the plating department and was meant to be portable and having that in mind Tony Stark had to sacrifice a lot of armor to make the suit work the way it does (Whiplash's power whips cut through the armor like a hot knife through butter).

I like how John Favreau paid homage to the classic comic book series by having an updated version of the Ironman briefcase; where in the comics Tony would store his Ironman gear in a briefcase and when needed would quickly change into his superhero duds. They even included the suitcase as part of the accessories, along with the handcuffs. Also worth mentioning is the choice of color for this particular suit. The Silver Centurion armor color scheme was used for the Mark V notably a nod for the fanboys; even though the Mark VI was more like the Silver Centurion armor sans the color. Hey maybe I should photoshop the Mark VI. Hmmmmmm....

The articulation on this one is as good as you're gonna get it. It's far superior in terms of joint movements if you're comparing with the IV and the VI but don't expect the V to perform any contortions. It still has limitations, where the upper arm hits the chest plates. There's actually an instruction manual on how to position the arms during poses. Be careful when posing though, when done wrong you might chip the paint off.

Another thing I'd like to point out is the articulation on the lower body and the ribs. I can't seem to figure out how to outstretch the joints, much like how the IV and the VI could pull the joints apart for more articulation. I tried numerous times to do so but couldn't. Funny thing is the instruction manual actually shows you how to do it but I think I was too scared to risk pulling it and snapping my figure in two.

If only Hot Toys had thrown in a bruised and battered Tony Stark headsculpt in there that would have definitely made my day. I must say I am quite happy with this purchase. Noteworthy to the Ironman 2 line. Hats off to Hot Toys yet again for yet another masterpiece.

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Enter the Bay (Updated)

(Update)Sorry for the error ladies and gentlemen, this Enterbay T-800 is actually in 1:4 scale. My bad, thanks Desmond for the info

Jeng jeng jeng! Well looks like Enterbay has acquired the license to produce the T-800 from Terminator 2. I have no idea as to why Enterbay would want to produce a figure that Hot Toys has just put out on the market barely a year ago. I understand if the figure is a few years old and they would like to make a better version of it but IMHO Hot Toys pretty much nailed the figure.

From the pictures I can tell straight off the bat that the head sculpt on Enterbay is pretty impressive. Dare I say even better perhaps? But there's something about the muscle body they're using that doesn't seem to fit. I can't put my finger on it but it just looks a bit out of proportion especially the shoulder area.

But hey, I think it's good that there's still companies out there who are willing to challenge the almighty Hot Toys for top spot. The other companies try harder, because they're second spot. It keeps the big HT in check seeing as they are starting to monopolize the market and when that happens, capitalism is sure to follow.

Hope Enterbay releases more pictures soon. So if any of you missed out on the Hot Toys version, maybe you'd want to consider picking this one up. Will you be getting one? Thoughts?

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Iron Clad Behemoth

Tony Stark, mortally wounded was kidnapped and forced to build his captors weapons of mass destruction. To save his life, Tony instead build himself a suit of armor which also allowed him to escape. Since his return from captivity, Tony vowed to protect those in need and so Ironman was born.

The movie back story was slightly different that his comic origins. Something to do with using China as the backdrop was somewhat sensitive, so they opted to use the middle east as the enemy (USA propaganda strikes again people). But no matter, the movie stayed true to the history despite that minor change. No biggie.

One of the more detailed Ironman figures from Hot Toys, the Mark I is indeed beautiful. Though not as articulate as the rest of the line, the detailing on this one is astounding. Every scrap of iron, wiring, nut and bolt were nicely replicated from the actual movie suit to this 1:6 version.

When Hot Toys first previewed the figure on its newsletter, everyone was speculating whether the suit could be removed and reveal a Tony Stark figure underneath but alas we were wrong. Nevertheless collectors were still happy with the end result. The Mark I were selling like ice cream on a hot sunny day when it first came out.

Most of you might have either passed this one on or could not secure an order but fear not. Hot Toys has announce that they will be re releasing the Mark I. It's still uncertain whether the new Mark I will be a reissue of the old one or new goodies would be thrown in so that us poor collectors who already own the first Mark I would have to fork out more cash to actually buy the new version.

I'm starting to get worried with Hot Toys lately. They seem to be milking us dry with reissues, upgraded versions or repaints. And I don't know about you guys but their prices have increased, not by much though.

I'll wait and see what the new Mark I has to offer before I spend my hard earned cash on it. How about you guys? Are you getting one? Thoughts?

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The Pop Culture Room

The Pop Culture Room's finally up and running. I've still got a few more things I need to put up like the 3 Avengers posters but overall this is pretty much how the room looks like. I must say I'm quite happy with how it turned out :)

Click on picture for a bigger view

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A World Without Jobs

The good ones die young. Rest in peace Steve.

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