Thursday, November 14, 2013

Jackass and CKY DVD Guide

After seeing Bad Grandpa, I'm feeling nostalgic about Jackass.  I've got the movies, and somewhere I have the volumes on DVD, but I know I don't have all the footage that was aired.  The history of Jackass on DVD has been a little sketchy from the beginning, so hopefully this guide will help you sort through the numerous releases of movies and TV shows.  I'm aware most people won't need help doing this, but here it is for the few of us who do!

Main Jackass Titles

Jackass (TV Series)

Unfortunately as of 2013 there isn't a release of complete seasons of Jackass.  I doubt it will ever happen.  However, MTV has released the show on three separate volumes.  For some reason, these volumes are really just highlights, and don't contain all the footage that aired.  For another unknown reason, only volumes 2 and 3 were released for quiet a long time.  Both volumes are about an hour and twenty minutes long, so roughly four episodes worth of material.  Considering there were 25 episodes total, it soon becomes obvious all the material isn't here.  Three years later, in 2005, they finally released Jackass Vol. 1.  It had a run time of about 120 minutes, so here we get about six episodes worth, so we are up to ten episodes of twenty-five aired.  Now I realize that math is exactly perfect, but it's quite clear there isn't everything here.  All three volumes can be purchased separately for fairly cheap, but it's going to be most intelligent to get the box set.


The box set also includes a four disc of special features.  It includes the Gumball 3000 race across Europe, and a "Where are they now?" documentary.  It's definitely the way to go if you want any of these volumes.

Jackass: The Lost Tapes

In 2009 Jackass: The Lost Tapes was released.  While it never claims to have all the footage that wasn't in the box set, I just assumed it did.  It doesn't.  It has about 1 hour and 40 minutes worth of material that wasn't in the box set.  It's definitely worth checking out, but it still isn't all the material.  I'm just going to assume we won't ever get it from anywhere but Pirate Bay.


So that sums up all the television material that is available.  Hopefully someday we will get more, but I doubt it.  Now, on to the immensely more popular movies!

Jackass: The Movie

Released in 2002 (exactly 11 years before Bad Grandpa, to the day!), Jackass: The Movie was a huge success.  The movie cost 5 million and made almost 80 million.  The film showcases everything the crew had to offer in the TV series, but now they can do so much more.  There's a rated and unrated version of the film.  The unrated version is only a few minutes longer, but it's worth it.  It's cheaper anyway, so there's no reason to get the rated version honestly.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Avengers Series Skrull Soldier


A year and a half after the release of the film, my local Wal-Mart still doesn't have their Avengers movie toys on clearance. No joke, they still have a Thor figure from that movie mixed in with them too.


Regardless of their price, I got two.  I'll go back for the others when they drop in price.


It's a pretty decent figure for this movie line.  I made the mistake of buying quite a few Chitauri that have about the same articulation as Power of the Force 2 figures.  I'm happy to say the Skrull Soldiers are far superior.

Marvel Universe Skrull Soldier

Unfortunately their weapons aren't the best.  The good news is that I have plenty of Star Wars weapons that will do just fine.  I'm not picky.

Gears of War Series 2 Dom

Gears of War Series 2 Carmine


Thor Movie Series Fandral


In honor of Thor opening last weekend, I finally opened up Fandral the Dashing.


He is not the best figure, but he is pretty good for a movie line.

Thor Series Frost Giant

Pirates of the Caribbean Blackbeard


Friday, October 18, 2013

DC Comics and 1:18 Scale Action Figures

Marvel has always seemed to dominate the 3.75 inch action figure category.  Along with the popular Marvel Universe toy line, about every Marvel Cinematic Universe film has had it's own 3.75 inch toy line.


Unfortunately, DC hasn't had the best fortune when it comes to good toy lines in this scale.  There have been numerous lines, some better than others, but none too great.

DC Universe Infinite Heroes

DC Infinite Heroes is a smaller version of the DC Universe line.  The toy line has one-hundred some figures and is very diverse in the DC universe.  I wouldn't consider myself a die-hard DC fan, but there were still very few figures I wanted from this line.  Even if there were figures I wanted, I always had an extremely hard time finding any figures that I even recognized.

The figures themselves are fairly detailed, but lack articulation and accessories.  The line definitely got better as it progressed, as most do, but even then it wasn't spectacular.  I had planned on tracking down some figures I wanted from eBay, but after my first few I decided it simply wasn't worth it.

Green Lantern

To coincide with the film, there was a 3.75 inch toy line for Green Lantern released.  This seemed like a no-brainer, as there are tons of these Green Lantern characters, so the possibilities are endless even without considering villains!  Unfortunately, these figures are simply awful.  The articulation includes their arms at the shoulder, their legs at the waist, and a little waist swivel.  They are equivalent to Power of the Force 2 figures from the 1990s.  This becomes a trend for DC figures unfortunately.  I saw these figures clogging shelves at my local stores for years.

The Dark Knight Rises

This set of DC figures is based the film of the same name.  I thought the Green Lantern figures were bad, but this was shocking.  Their first mistake was the articulation.  This time around, we lost the waist articulation.  It's just sad, they aren't even trying.  Their second mistake was the variety of figures.  There is Bane and Batman, then a bunch of repaints of Batman.  I guess if it is making them money, I get it from their stand-point, but I wish they would have tried, even a little.

Man of Steel

With Man of Steel, they fixed one major mistake.  These figures have a little more articulation than the previous movie toy lines.  They have shoulder joints!  This line mainly consists of Zod and a punch of Superman variations, but they do include some kind of cool accessories.  I really had to convince myself not to buy a few of these.  I wanted them, but I knew they would only lead to disappointment.

DC Injustice: Gods Among Us

Now finally a line worth collecting!  With the release of the fighting game of the same name, these action figures began being released in two packs.  They are extremely articulate and very detailed.  I would say they are almost on par with Marvel Universe figures.  Unfortunately, they are kind of brittle.  While not a huge problem, they are also wearing their Injustice costumes, which seem kind of strange, but it's still the best version of most of these figures in this scale.

DC Multiverse Figures

DC recently announced a new line of "multiverse" figures.  It apparently will consist of DC characters from TV, movies, comics, and video games.  It's extremely exciting to see a decent Batman!  These figures should be out soon.  The first wave consists of straight Batman figures, but apparently each wave will be different.  Sounds perfect to me.  Here are some details on the first wave:

Friday, September 6, 2013

New DC Multiverse 4 Inch Toyline Announced

Mattel has announced a 1:18 scale toyline which claims to cover the DC multiverse.  So far, it appears to be a Batman line, but there's nothing wrong with that in my eyes.

There's a complete photo gallery of the 4 and 6 inch figures over at Toy Ark.  All my images of the new toyline came from the following post.  Thanks!
http://news.toyark.com/2013/07/19/sdcc-2013-mattel-dc-comics-post-panel-friday-update-96331

Apparently this line will covers comics, movies, and video games.  The first wave appears to just have Arkham City and Arkham Origins figures.  So far they are promising 18 figures total, spread over three waves, and they will be released this Spring.

Arkham City Batman

Finally a Batman in this scale.  I was hoping for one in the DC Injustice line, but this is so much better.

Arkham City Armored Edition Batman

I actually prefer this figure to the regular Arkham City Batman.

Arkham City Mr. Freeze

I don't collect six inch figures, but I've been tempted many times to buy the six inch version of this figure.

Arkham Origins Bane

A decent Bane for this scale.  Way better than those Dark Knight Rises figures.

Arkham Origins Deadshot

I'm not particularly super excited for this figure.  I'll get it as long as it has some or at least one decent accessory.

Arkham City Azrael

This figure is just awesome.  It kind of reminds me of the Assassin's Creed toyline, but that's fine.  It's a definite buy.

As many of you probably know, this isn't the first DC 4 inch line.  There's been quite a few.  More on that in my next post!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Marvel Universe West Coast Avengers Team Pack


I've had this for months, I just never really had the urge to open it.


This pack includes War Machine, Hawkeye, and Mockingbird.


Mockingbird is the only exclusive figure to this pack, so I'm assuming she may be the only version for somebody buying this.


However, Hawkeye is a hard to find figure.  He's been released a few times, but for some reason isn't common.  He had a release in a Secret Wars pack and as an Avengers pack when the movie came out.


This is my fourth War Machine figure, but now my favorite.



I absolutely love the missile and gunfire accessories that come with this War Machine.

Iron Man 2 Series Hammertech Drone








Iron Man 2 Series War Machine

This exact sculpt was previously released in the Iron Man 2 line.  The figure is repainted and more gross than matte.

Marvel Universe Comic Pack Wave 3 Hawkeye

This figure is the same sculpt as the previous Hawkeye figures, but is painted slightly darker and now has a t-shirt instead of a tank top apparently.

The Hobbit Wave 1 Legolas
The Hobbit Wave 1 Fili

Thor Series Frost Giant


Avengers Movie Series Hawkeye


I suppose having this figure makes the pack worth it.  I wasn't specifically needing a Mockingbird figure, but it certainly doesn't hurt.  I need a SHIELD team anyway.

Marvel Universe Comic Pack Wave 10 Daredevil


Mockingbird comes with the same accessory as Daredevil, but white.

Marvel Universe Fantastic Four Team Pack Invisible Woman
Marvel Universe Wave 3 Ms. Marvel (Karla Sofen)

She has the same old female Marvel Universe sculpt, but it works.

Marvel Universe Comic Pack Wave 10 Quicksilver
Marvel Universe Comic Pack Wave 10 Wonder Man
Marvel Universe Wave 4 Moon Knight


West Coast Avengers assemble!


Marvel Legends Yellowjacket

Marvel Universe Wave 2 Hulk







Overall, this pack is probably worth it if you want all the figures.  Furthermore, anyone who collects exclusively Marvel Universe figures, this is their first chance to get War Machine.  They are all pretty solid figures.