Saturday, May 22, 2010

The passing of a fellow toy photographer.

Recently a fellow toy photographer has passed away. We did not know him personally, but anytime someone passes away I feel its respectful to leave your condolences. Its sad because I just recently came across his work, and enjoyed it very much. Its always a tragedy when someone dies, and its even sadder to us considering we shared such a love with the man. We feel for his friends and family, and wish them the best in getting through this hardship. RIP Jason...collect as many figures as you can in heaven buddy, make us proud. <33


If you'd like to see Jason's photosteam check it out here and leave your condolences.
MofoJT

Sunday, May 16, 2010

IRON MAN 2 - Extravaganza!!! Part 2

Part 2 of our Iron Man 2 Extravaganza! With the release of Iron Man 2, Hot Toys celebrates with a whole line dedicated to the realized movie accurate likeness of the characters of this years hit action film. Among the line of figures comes 2 very special additions...MMS Iron Man Mark IV and MMS Whiplash. I believe that these will be the two that I personally purchase for my collection. I am, however waiting to see if HT releases a Mark V Iron Man suit.

MMS 121 Iron Man - Mark IV
"Hot Toys is proud to present the 1/6th scale Mark IV Limited Edition Collectible Figurine from the Iron Man 2 movie. The movie-accurate Mark IV collectible is highly detailed and fully deployed, specially crafted based on the image of Robert Downey Jr. as the iconic character Mark IV in the movie, highlighting the well equipped armor and light-up functions."













The 1/6th scale Mark IV Limited Edition Collectible Figurine specially features:
- Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness as Mark IV in the movie Iron Man 2
- Newly developed alternate head with authentic likeness of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in the movie (photos coming soon)
- Approximately 30 cm tall
- Over 36 points of articulations
- Special features on armor:
- Newly developed movie-accurate helmet
- LED-lighted eyes and Micro ARC reactor on chest (white light, battery operated)
- One (1) piece of detachable chest armor
- Improved articulations on waist armor which allow flexible movement
- Detachable forearm rockets
- Four (4) pairs of interchangeable palms:
+ One (1) pair with improved articulations, movable fingers and light-up repulsors (white light, battery operated)



MMS 121 Whiplash
"Hot Toys is proud to present the 1/6th scale Whiplash Limited Edition Collectible Figurine from the Iron Man 2 movie. The movie-accurate Whiplash collectible is highly detailed and specially crafted based on the image of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash in the movie, highlighting the newly sculpted head, muscular upper body, patterned tattoos, light-up functions, highly detailed accessories and weapons."
















The 1/6th scale Whiplash Limited Edition Collectible Figurine specially features:
- Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash in the movie Iron Man 2
- Newly developed head sculpt with real-like facial expression, wrinkles and beard
- Multi-layered stereoscopic hair sculpture with grey highlight on dark brown hair
- Newly developed upper muscular body and arms
- Highly detailed patterned tattoos on neck, upper body, arms, palms and fingers
- Approximately 30 cm tall
- Over 30 points of articulations
- Two (2) pairs of interchangeable palms
+ One (1) pair for holding metal-like whips
+ One (1) pair of fists
- LED chest light (white light, battery operated, battery included)
- Metal-like electricity generator with light-up function at the back
- Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted
Costume:
- Brown-colored jumpsuit with burning effect and holes
- Hydraulic exoskeleton with brown-colored leather-like harness
- Brown-colored leather-like belt with accessories
- One (1) pair of brown-colored buckled boots
Accessories:
- Necklace with cross-shaped pendant
- Figure base with Whiplash nameplate and movie logo
Weapons:
- One (1) pair of metal-like whips with real-like flashes and wires

I chose not to review either of these figures or state any of my opinions until I've either seen them in person or purchased them so look forward to that in the future. For picures and specs on Hot Toys War Machine figure...check out our previous post
here.

IRON MAN 2 - Extravaganza!!! Part 1

Hey everyone, how are you all doing?! Its been so long since our last post...Im actually embarrassed.
So heres the deal: I told you all I was going to keep you up-to-date with all the Iron Man 2 news, and sadly I fell far behind. So since Im so far behind, I decided that I'd do everything and anything Iron Man 2 in 2 posts. So here it goes everyone, I hope you all enjoy it and once again sorry for falling so far behind. Just to warn you, if you havent seen the movie you might not want to read this because there is some spoilers in here. Read at your own risk. =]


Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film and another installment to the highly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man and the second film in a planned trilogy. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., who reprises his role as Tony Stark. In the movie, Stark has revealed his identity as Iron Man and is resisting requests by the US government to hand over the technology that they consider a mechanized weapon. With Stark fighting his own battles, he soon faces a man named Ivan Vanko(Mickey Rourke) a.k.a. Whiplash , who has duplicated the technology and built weapons of his own. Battles soon begin and Iron Man is pushed to save the people that need a hero.

The movie is a smash hit from beginning to end...a truly amazing viewer experience. You feel adrenline every moment of an action scene, fall in love for the characters and their interactions with each other, and fill with warmth with every quirky comedic dialogue. The movie features amazing visuals on such a grand scale and even a suprise to me, very humorous moments between Tony Stark and others.

The suits were very impressive, even more than the first, and you could tell that production design really worked hard in this film. Every "Mark" was more impressive than the one before it and made me gasp with amazement. The CGI was the most impressive thing for me, as unlike most movies...this looked very real. The racing scene in Monaco was actually filmed in California, but thanks to the people in the graphics department they brought the scene to much more of a grand level. The fighting scenes were awesome and kept me on the edge of my seat and bouncing with with every hit.

The cast of Iron Man 2 were great, and each one brought a little to the table. Robert Downey Jr. gave so much to the screen play and I think that like Christian Bale and Batman before him, Downey IS Iron Man. His quirkeyness, stubborness, and cockyness mold into a very interesting character and makes him such a favorite with people. Gwyneth Paltrow returning as Virginia "Pepper" Potts was a very smart decision. Her interaction with Stark proves to be a one of a kind relationship and adds so much to the story line. It was also a joy to see Jon Favreau return as Happy Hogan, Stark's bodyguard/chauffeur and actually provide a little comic relief to the film. Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko a.k.a. Whiplash(although never refered to as "Whiplash" in the movie) was hands down my favorite character. His performance provided so many different layers to the character of Vanko. One minute you're feeling remorse for the man, and the next you're down-right scared of him. Rourke performed as a villian perfectly and played the perfect antagonist for Stark.

I can honestly say that I really loved this movie...but unfortunately its not exempt from a couple negative opinions. There were a couple characters that I have a gripe against. First off...Scarlett Johanson's performance of Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romanoff was flat and irritating, and with the exeption of a couple comedic one-liners, provided nothing to the film. In my opinion her character was completely unneeded, and I believe that the only reason she was casted was to apeal as a sex symbol to attract men to the film. I believe that Paltrow's character Pepper could have delivered any of the lines and the story line would have continued fine. In other words, the plot would have been the same without the character of Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romanoff. Maybe if another person had been casted, my view would be different.Another character I found a bit irritating would be Don Cheedle as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes. I enjoyed Terrence Howard's performance of Rhodey in the first film, but I have to say Cheedle's rendition just falls short of expectations. In the first film, although being a "tough" military man, Rhodey was very comedic and warming. Cheedle's performance in Iron Man 2 just felt cold and unlikable, and I just did not enjoy his character. I didnt like the fact that Stark's "best-friend" could stab him in the back so easily by stealing his armor, and we're still expected to embrace his friendship in the end.

The worst thing about the film is that its just too short. I didnt like the fact that Ivan Vanko was so easily defeated in the end and everything was completely happy and perfect in the end. I would have liked to see Whiplash returning in future Iron Man films, and I believe he could offer much more to future story lines. I also dont like how the writers are pushing the film towards "The Avengers". One thing that attracted me to the Iron Man franchise was that even with the futuristic gadgets, the film is set in some-what reality. With introducing characters from "The Avengers", it sort of takes the film away from the realness that I love. But that's just my opinion.

In all, this movie is amazing. It offers jaw-dropping visuals and action packed battles, and stimulates your need for a great story line at the same time. Overall I'd say I rate this movie at 4 STARS. I highly recommend that if you havent already, go see Iron Man 2!!!



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