GODZILLA has always been one of my top movie monsters. Hell, GODZILLA has always been one of my favorite characters in anything; be it comics, cartoons, toys, and movies.
(And the new GODZILLA movie did not disappoint.)
So when I saw this photo from behind the scenes on one of the classic series I couldn’t help but wonder what it was like on set and how much fun it would be.

I have no doubt that it was much more difficult than I make it out to be. But I loved that old photo. To me it looked like GODZILLA himself, not a guy in a suit, was taking direction.
And that is due to the artistry of the actor in the suit, to not look like just a guy-in-a-suit.
So this new comic is based loosely (and quickly) on that classic photo.

(With respect to all the Kaiju actors and directors out there.)

JJ and his amazing friend Jason are here to talk over a movie. In this case it is the animated Transformers:The Movie from 1986. Jason, JJ and a friend saw this at the theater when they were all young martians and it made quite the impression on them. Does it hold up? Is the death of Prime still full of feels? Is Ultra Magnus still the worst leader ever? Take a listen and find out!

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The movie appears, in full on YouTube. Here’s an embed for anyone who does not have it…

JJ and his amazing friend Jason return to a slightly trouble plagued episode. Skype goes awry! Cats puke! Co-Hosts get offended! Through it all, the duo trudge through and talk about personal history, Star Wars, movies…you know, the usual drivel. Please check out the forums on DOOM! and as always feel free to drop us a line or give us a review on iTunes.

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I’ll kick off with the only real surprise toy news and that’s LEGO unveiling their newest brand acquisition, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! The heroes in a half shell made their presence known with the four ninjas making a personal appearance to unveil their new LEGO theme. The first set to be revealed is The Shellraiser Street Chase, which includes two vehicles, 3 unique villain minis and two Turtle minis, Mikey and Leonardo. It looks like a promising theme but we’ll have to wait and see how the line works out!

In animation news, Warner Home Video announced that along with upcoming release of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2, 2013 will see the release of Superman: Unbound, an adaptation of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s ‘Braniac’ story and Justice League: Flashpoint, which adapts the Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert controversial mini-series that kicked off the New 52 last year. 2013 will also see the release of LEGO Batman: DC Heroes Unite, an animated adaptation of the video game series, which I’m looking forward to if the same level of voice acting is brought to that feature that was in the game.

In comics, Marvel has announced two new cosmic comics to their “Marvel NOW!” stable. Nova, which will follow the new holder of the Nova Force, Sam Alexander, with the creative team of Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness. I love me some Nova so I’m interested to see how the rookie holds up against his predecessor Richard Rider. All-star creative team Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven will be bringing us a new Guardians of The Galaxy book, another title (and team) we’ve not really seen since The Thanos Imperative. Obviously, with a movie coming out, the Guardians need a book out and while the team reflects the one in the movie, a surprise addition is of the Avengers’ own billionaire playboy philanthropist, Tony Stark! How will he figure into the equation? We’ll see when both titles kick off in Febuary 2013.

And the biggest news, at least to me is in the realm of television and an announcement from the Marvel Television Presents panel. Head of TV Jeph Loeb announced that Clark Gregg will reprise his role as Agent Phil Coulson in the live-action pilot “Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.”!

THE SON OF COUL LIVES!

Yes, that’s a reason to be excited. Joss Whedon himself was on hand to break the news and he will also be co-writing the pilot as well as being Executive Producer, alongside Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jeffrey Bell and Jeph Loeb.

What were your highlights of the show? Let us know by commenting below!

The Dark Knight Returns is the seminal work of Frank Miller. The groundbreaking graphic novel that inspired a generation of fans and a multitude of movies and spin-offs. For many, this is the definitive Batman story and Frank Miller is without reproach. Yeah, that’s not gonna wash with me. Let’s check out the trailer for The Dark Knight Returns, Part One!

Words cannot give weight to the contempt I have for Frank Miller. Like Alan Moore, Ol’ Frankie lost his goddamn mind and hasn’t been well since. But while Moore can be insufferably pretentious, he’s not as outwardly offensive or bigoted as Ol’ Frankie.

But I’m not here to speak about him because I’ll rant all day. No, we’ve got some animated goodness to look over, so let’s get to it.

Boys Knight In

Maybe it’s because I was a fan of Batman Beyond but the thought of an old Bruce Wayne without a Terry McGinness to take up the cowl makes me sad. Still, if this movie is going to have a redeeming feature, it’s going to be in Bruce’s voice actor. So, who we got? Kevin Conroy? Bruce Greenwood? …Peter Weller….. Wait? Peter F***ING Weller? Robocop is Batman!? Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy! He seems to be pulling off a good performance from what little we see. SOLD.

Obligatory Cover Shot!

*Hums the Danny Elfman score*

“Jinkies, Batman!”

Oh, c’mon! I had to! Ariel Winter is voicing Carrie Kelly/Robin. She sounds alright but all we hear her say is her name and codename. Some good animation for her though.

Hey, Bebop! Where’s Rocksteady?

Here’s the leader of the Mutants. Unfortunately, there’s no heroes in a half-shell to contend with so Batman earns his ire. He’s a really boring design but he’s voiced by Uncle Ruckus (Gary Anthony Williams) so it’s not all bad!

In the end, I’ll watch it because I’ve watched all of the DC Animated Movies up to this point but it’s not hyping me up as much as Under The Red Hood or many other DCAU movies. If you want to give your opinion on the trailer, be sure to leave a comment below!

The Dark Knight Returns, Part One is available on DVD and Blu-Ray September 25, while Part 2 is set for spring 2013

Potential spoilers ahead.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s head

Se7en (1995)

Hi Brad! Kevin Spacey is such a generous, thoughtful man. After leading Tyler and God on an eventful, fun-filled chase, he thanks them both for being good sports with a gift. And he didn’t just hand it over in the bag the lady at the checkout placed it in. He boxed it up. THAT’s thoughtful.

True fact: After Se7en’s big box office rake, New Line Cinema attempted to cash in further with kids everywhere by producing, the Gwyneth’s head-in-the-box toy. No production photos are available on the net, but just think this.

Hell

Hellraiser (1987)

Forget those sunny by-the-beach cut price holiday deals. Want something new? A gallery of holiday snaps to really shake up your Facebook profile? Then solving the puzzle box is for you. It’s a key to the entrance to Hell. And the best part of the holiday – you know exactly what you’re getting, so if it’s actually fun, it’s a bonus! I hear some of the tourist attractions are amazing. Some rides may have minimum height restrictions. Closed on Sundays.

A bunny

Con Air (1997)

The end of Con Air grates with me. The bunny is burnt, filthy, narrowly misses floating down a drain entrance, covered in germs – and Cameron Poe still hands it to his baby daughter. You know what that kid is going to do now? She’s going to put her fingers in her mouth. And after the cops have quizzed Cameron all night, he’s going to take his wife and daughter to some late night McDonalds and eat. With their hands. His daughter will probably even feed some to the bunny, then eat those fries for herself. I mean really, is that responsible parenting?

But going back, yes, there’s a bunny. In a box.

Imaginary friend

Drop Dead Fred (1991)

I watched this film many times as a youngling. I can still hum the theme. I also quoted ‘cobwebs’ at an age when I really shouldn’t have. But hey-ho, when Pheobe Cates finds a taped up jack-in-the-box in her childhood bedroom, she releases Fred, her forgotten imaginery friend. Madness ensues. Bogies are flicked. Princess Leia’s battleship is sunk. Rik Mayall rules.

True fact: A remake was announced in 2011, to star Russell Brand, who before filming can start I hope will himself be placed in a box. And buried. Forever. It’s best for everyone.

Pop-up flowers

Batman (1989)

Jack is such a charmer. He’s also a man of many sayings. His Batman best: Never rub another man’s rubarb. I’m sure he’s referring to Vivki Vale when preaching to Bruce Wayne, but another side of me likes to think he was giving out a cracking gardening tip. What psychopathic super criminal doesn’t have a vegetable patch? They need a healthy diet too. It’s important to have, y’know.

Fun fact: This Batman quote actually has its own Facebook page. I didn’t like it. And I’m not sure you should either.

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Any other boxes out there? Leave a comment and share it with us!

Sidenote: I feel quite proud that I didn’t have to resort to box puns in this article… I could have folded. Flapped around with them. Sealed my fate. Made a reference to cardboard acting, failed to think outside the box, forced myself into a corner.

Aaand, I’m done.

Sorry.

Behind Blue Eyes

Bond seems to be suffering from PTSD and settles it by going jogging! Maybe. I dunno, the trailer reveals little. The mention of “Skyfall” does elicit a response from a shell-shocked Bond but we shall have to wait to see what that really entails. Maybe he fell in love again, who knows.

For Queen and Country

The attack on MI6 really does take its toll and whatever caused it is tied to M (Dame Judi Dench’s 7th consecutive role in the franchise) and the mysterious Skyfall. I think.

Worst. Tunnel of Love. Ever.

So some part of the film takes place in China! Exotic!

Generic Villain Shot #402: Burning Orphanage

It could be an orphanage and it could be the villain, it’s not like the trailer is giving anything away!

And that’s Skyfall! To be honest, I wouldn’t have guessed at what the plot is by the trailer had I not looked it up. It’s a tough trailer to do this article for but it looks like Bond, smells like Bond and tastes like a martini, shaken not stirred.

Skyfall is set to be released in the UK on 26 October 2012. This article will self-destruct in 5 seconds.

With all my excitement for a certain superhero team movie coming out soon I’ve dropped the ball with some of my trailer reviews for other films. In all honesty there are so many big movies coming out this year, I had to pick and choose which ones I review. There is only so much time in the day! Luckily my fellow DOOMsters have pitched in and helped me out with a couple (although some still haven’t shown up with that Spider-man trailer review yet). Despite all that, a look at Prometheus really shouldn’t have taken this long.

I love the first three Alien movies. In my mind, that’s all that exists. We shall not speak of any others. Ridley Scott taking the helm of a new movie, not a sequel or prequel, set in the same universe understandably set the geeks ablaze with excitement. Then we heard the case. Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce. Really, you guys? Throw in Patrick Stewart and maybe David Tennant and we have officially hit every fan group possible.

Everything is sounding awesome so far, right? Like, really, really, really ridiculously good. The trailer has a lot to live up to. Let’s see what it manages.

Give yourself a minute, then read on for my thoughts.

– Wait, Did I Accidentally Click The Hobbit Trailer?

You had to be thinking it too, right?

I don’t know what this is but having it at the start of the trailer completely threw me.

– Fly Me To The Moon And Let Me Play Among The Stars

This is Prometheus itself. I think it’s a rather cool looking ship.

In fact the whole look of the technology looks great. It still has a bit of dirt and grime to go along with the shiny lights which is necessary but it’s a damn good looking movie on the basis of this trailer.

– Fassbender Says “Bite My Shiny Metal Ass”

The internet rumour mill is churning the idea of Mickey F’s character being an android. It’s not a bad theory.

I’ve often questioned his status as a human. He’s far too good looking and talented.

– Get Away From Her, You Bitch!

Our heroine for this movie has already shown she can be a bad ass. Will she live up to Sigourney Weaver?

*shakes Magic 8 Ball*

*turns it over*

“Most Likely”.

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I really think this could be the critical hit of the year. I worry it may get looked over in the Box Office department (the competition is so big this year that someone has to lose out) but I hope it will still be a success. We need a space thriller to do well. It’s time.

I was on edge at the end of the trailer and IT’S A TRAILER. Lord knows how the movie holds up, but if it’s anything like this we’re in for a treat.

The latest in DC’s direct to DVD animated features, Justice League: Doom is an adaptation of the JLA story arc ‘Tower of Babel’. It bears similarities to many of the previous animated outings of the Justice League, sharing the Lead Character Designer with Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Young Justice (Phil Bourassa) and it’s voice cast are synonymous with many of the characters depicted onscreen. Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Susan Eisenberg, Michael Rosenbaum, Nathan Fillion and many others do a wonderful job and deliver the performances we come to expect from them in these roles.

So what about the story? As I said before, this is an adaptation of the ‘Tower of Babel’ storyline and for the most part is faithful, while being adapted to better suit a 77-minute runtime. The story beats are much the same but the details are changed. For the most part, this works well but it does kind of suffer towards its ending. The scenes of the League being taken down one by one are some of the most tense and, dare I say, enjoyable of any animated outing to date and is the high point of the movie in my opinion, closely followed by Batman‘s realisation that it‘s his plans that have taken down the League.

The music feels fairly stock but hits all the right cues when it needs to. Animation is slick and fluid, as you’d expect if you’re familiar with Crisis and Young Justice and it’s just how I like it. The fight scenes have both grace and force to them.
This is the last written work of Dwayne McDuffie, who tragically died last year around this time. The film is dedicated to his memory.

It’s not the best of the DC Universe features but by no means the worst. More middle of the road but it’s word checking out both if you’re a fan of these films in general or a fan of Dwayne McDuffie. You can pick up Justice League: Doom on Single and Double-Disc DVD, as well as Blu-Ray on February 28th.

That’s right, boys and girls! Because you’ve been very good all year, Tease Me, Baby gives you the gift that keeps on giving; a kick-ass trailer for a testosterone-fueled movie!

GI Joe: Rise of Cobra earned lukewarm reviews on its release but in this humble reviewers opinion, it was just a fun movie. Granted, I know next to nothing about GI Joe as a franchise bar a few names and seeing the animated movie when I was young but I thought the first live action outing embraced the silliness of the material and delivered a light-hearted if somewhat flawed romp.

Cut to today and we’ve been given the trailer for it’s sequel which offers more action, more Joe-ness, and Dwayne “Boots to Asses” Johnson. The basic plot of the movie smacks of the A-Team as the Joes are framed for a crime they did not commit by the President (Secretly Zartan, an undercover agent for Cobra, directly following a plot point in the previous film). The Joes that remain after a brutal attack are charged with clearing their names and kicking Cobra square in the nards along the way. As usual, I’ll pick out some highlights and then offer my opinion on the trailer as a whole. The music is a remix of Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes and the more I listen to it, the most I hate it. I get why it was chosen but another theme would have been preferable.

“You will call me Commander!”

Fresh out of whatever prison Storm Shadow busts him out of in the trailer, we see CC sporting a fresh face-plate that brings to mind his animated counterpart which is a huge step up from that burn victim mask he donned for all of five seconds in the last movie. We see him conspiring with President Zartan and Ray Stevenson, playing a character called Firefly.

See no evil, speak no evil

Ray Park returns as the mute Snake-Eyes and this time he’s got a sidekick in the form of Jinx, a female ninja with a penchant for fighting blind. Literally. There’s an impressive set piece later in the trailer featuring these two in a mountain-side ninja fight which looks particularly impressive. I think we can all agree that the Cliffhanger would have been a far better movie if it had ninjas in it.

The Rock bottom line.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has been a big supporter of the project since he joined to play heavy weapons specialist, Roadblock. With a steady stream of behind the scenes info and pictures, he’s been the guy to follow during development. He seems to have had a blast filming and he seems to be taking a major role in the movie, seemingly leading the remaining Joes in their secret war against Cobra.

In her satin tights, fighting for your rights and the old Red, White and Blue.

Fresh off the set of the failed Wonder Woman series, Adrianne Palicki play Lady Jaye. This films designated totty, she’s a rough and tough Joe who looks great in a dress and…. And…. Dammit all, can I address her mole? It’s not noticeable in motion (She’s also wearing a slinky dress, further distracting the eye) but for a screenshot, all I can see is that mole. Mole! Bloody mole! I don’t want to be talking about the bloody mole, but there’s a bloody mole winking me in the face. GAH!

Mass Hiss-teria!

The most grabbing image of the trailer is the Cobra insignia being unfurled over the White House, revealing the true power behind the President in what is probably the third act of the movie. It’s a striking image and I can’t help but hum the GI Joe theme tune when I see it.

So that’s GI Joe: Retaliation and I enjoyed the hell out of it. The first movie was an enjoyable yet flawed movie and this second outing appears to fix some of what fans complained about first time round. I’m going out on a limb and I’m saying this is a close second to The Avengers for my most anticipated movie of 2012. What did you guys think of the trailer? Let us know bin the comments below. After all, knowing is half the battle!