Sunday, March 31, 2013

Justice League, Batman Beyond, Adult Swim and more Cartoon Network now on Netflix!

Netflix has just added a plethora of wonderful Cartoon Network shows!  Most of these seem to be from early 2000s, but there is some newer stuff here too.  Definitely something for everyone! 

Justice League (2 Seasons)

This show ran from 2001 until 2004 and is considered one of the greatest super hero cartoons in existence.  Personally, I've always preferred Marvel cartoons, but this show really does shine.  It's no Batman the Animated Series, but it sure is good.  Netflix has both seasons for a total of 52 episodes.  I know it is coincidence, but DC sure does like the number 52!
Justice League on Netflix

Justice League Unlimited (2 Seasons)

To me, this always seemed like a bit of a forced sequel to Justice League.  I don't mean that in a negative way though.  Justice League Unlimited picked up in 2004 where Justice League left off.  It features a huge cast of Justice Leaguers, and is really worth watching, but watch Justice League first.  Netflix has them both, no need to watch them out of order!  The last episode aired in 2006.

Batman Beyond (3 Seasons)

From Paul Dini, Batman Beyond is a kind of continuation of Batman the Animated Series.  You don't necessarily have to have seen Batman the Animated Series to understand this, it's kind of it's own thing.  The story follows Bruce Wayne as a senior citizen, still trying to fight crime, but beginning to realize he is getting too old.  A kid named Terry proves himself and Bruce eventually begins training him as a new Batman.  It's not as good as Batman, but it's certainly good.


Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2 Seasons)

This show is essentially DC Team Up.  Each episode features Batman teaming up with somebody in the universe to stop somebody else.  The show can be hit and miss, but overall I would give in a whopping "okay".  Maybe Batman the Animated Series has raised my expectations so high I'll never enjoy another Batman cartoon.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Marvel Select Example Pictures

Obviously these figures are nothing compared to Hot Toys, but for 10% of the price, they will do just fine for me.  Some of the older figures are quite in articulate, and are essentially statues.  Newer figures, pictured below besides Mephisto, are quite a bit better!


Movie Captain America

Movie Iron Man



Movie Red Skull


This turned out much more lopsided that I planned.


Mask can be removed to see Tony Stark in his film likeness.


They typically come with accessories you would assume people would.  Cap has his shield and a gun, Red Skull has a gun.  Iron Man came with exchangeable hands, so he can have a fist of blaster in each hand or both.  These figures really stand out (ha) with their stands.  All the figures come with some kind of themed stand.  The examples I have shown aren't exactly great...but some of them really are!  Magneto comes with ruins of the Xavier Mansion to stand on, things like that.




As you can see, these figures are about six to seven inches compared to this Marvel Universe Thor figure.  This line, for the most part, keeps scaling pretty good.  The Hulk figures can be almost ten inches tall!  They are huge!  I wouldn't recommend this line as a replacement for Hot Toys, but they are usually better than Marvel Legends, even though they retail for about $20.  They are bought exclusively at comic shops and online retailers, but Amazon has most of them for reasonable prices.  Enjoy!


DC Injustice: Gods Among Us Action Figure List

If for some reason you haven't heard, Injustice: Gods Among Us is a new fighting game by published by Warner Bros. Interactive.  From the developers of Mortal Kombat, this is probably going to be a fairly decent game.  I would assume it will play like Mortal Kombat VS DCU, but hopefully a little better.  Here is the trailer if you haven't seen it:

UPDATE: Complete Playable Character List


It looks decent, I've been reading the coming for it, the story is intriguing enough to me, but the real appeal here is the toy line!

This figures seem to be very high quality.  I have about every Marvel Universe figures (except Vision!) and hopefully these are similar quality-wise.  From the pictures, they seem quite detailed and very articulate.  I have a few DC Infinite Crisis figures, and they are just horrible in every way.  I'm sure there are good figures in that line, but not the ones I have.  Other than that, if you have wanted DC figures in this size lately, you haven't had articulation.  Green Lantern and Dark Knight Rises both had toy lines, but the articulation is just as good as Power of the Force 2 Star Wars figures from the 1990s.  I wouldn't recommend those to anyone.

Not too much is known, and we don't have the entire line up listed yet.  They will be $29.95 for two figure packs.  That seems high, but if these figures are more detailed than Marvel Universe figures, I'll pay it.  They will apparently sell exclusively at comic shops and on the DC Online Store.

I did, however, find them on Big Bad Toy Store for $26.99 a piece.  Not much cheaper, but it would add up if you got them all.  Of course, support your local comic shop if you can.  I no longer have one to support unfortunately.  Here is the line up so far:


Black Adam and Aquaman

Superman and Nightwing

Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy

Deathstroke and Green Arrow

Harley Quinn and Cyborg

The Flash and Raven

Some of the costumes aren't what I'm used to seeing, but I can easily forgive that to get a decent Nightwing and Solomon Grundy in this scale.  I can't wait for the Thing to fight Grundy and Daredevil to take on Nightwing.

I highly recommend checking out the comic if you plan on buying the game, it's a good read.  More on these figures when they come out!





Playstation Classics - Mega Man X4!



Today I have successfully completed Mega Man X4!


I have to come forth first though, I only beat the game with Mega Man X, but I didn't even try with Zero.  So technically, I only finished half the game.  Maybe I'll return to it someday and finish it with Zero.


I have been a Mega Man X fan since I got the first one on the SNES, and this plays very similar to that title.

Is AMC Theatres Having an Iron Man Marathon?


Last May, AMC Theatres hosted an "Ultimate Marvel Movie Marathon".  It consisted of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, and finished off with the midnight release of The Avengers.  Each film had a special introduction from Phil Coulson himself.  The marathon started at eleven in the morning, and didn't rap up until about two-thirty the next morning.  It was so much fun.  I've never been to a comic convention or anything like that, so it was nice to see people in cosplay.  The sold out audience was filled with Thors, Iron Mans, Tony Starks, and even a few Hawkeyes!

AMC did this again for The Dark Knight trilogy when The Dark Knight Rises came out.  So what about Iron Man?  Sure, I had scene all the Marvel Universe movies plenty of times, but to watch them all on the big screen again, all of them just building up to a finale like the Avengers, it was a great experience.  I would love to do it again with Iron Man.  But, being as the movie comes out in about a month, I would assume they are not doing one...

In fact, I have been told they are!  I don't have sources, but I have definitely been assured they will be doing a marathon.  I would love to see Tony Stark's journey from a playboy to hero all in a row.  Why not just watch at home?  I like being in a theatre, even if it is super overpriced.  I like giving something my full attention.  At home, I'm texting, cleaning, reading, or doing a long list of things while watching a movie.  Rarely does television or movies get my full attention at home.  I would also love to see the evolution of the Iron Man armor throughout the series!


Next question, should it include Avengers?  While a major part of the movie, it clearly wasn't solely about Iron Man.  If anything, it felt more like Thor 2 than an Iron Man movie, not that that is a bad thing.  I think Pepper Pott's brief scenes in Avengers develop her relationship with Tony more than both the first two Iron Man movies do, combined.  In my opinion, I would say Avengers would be an integral part of an Iron Man marathon, even if just for his armor upgrades and the fact that he literally goes on what he thinks is a suicide run to save New York.  I have been assured that Avengers will be a part of the trilogy.

Anyone, stay tuned to the internet for information once they go public...I hope I haven't been lied to!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Godzilla Movie Streaming Options!

I'll eventually go into more detail about all these, but for now here is a list of all Godzilla movies and there streaming options, if any.  I'm posting links to a website instead of making a chart, as streaming options change frequently and this is apparently updated frequently as well.  Check back often or have them notify you when something new becomes available!  I'm very surprised that some of these are available!


  1. Godzilla: King of the Monsters
  2. Godzilla Raids Again
  3. Godzilla VS King Kong
  4. Godzilla VS Mothra
  5. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
  6. Godzilla VS Monster Zero
  7. Godzilla VS the Sea Monster
  8. Son of Godzilla
  9. Destroy All Monsters
  10. Godzilla's Revenge
  11. Godzilla VS Hedorah
  12. Godzilla VS Gigan
  13. Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla
  14. Terror of Mechagodzilla
  15. Return of Godzilla (Nothing apparently)
  16. Godzilla VS Biollante
  17. Godzilla VS King Ghidorah (Again, nothing, but it is currently on Crackle!)
  18. Godzilla VS Mothra: Battle for the Earth
  19. Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla II
  20. Godzilla VS Space Godzilla
  21. Godzilla VS Destroyah
  22. Godzilla 2000
  23. Godzilla VS Megaguirus
  24. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah - Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
  25. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
  26. Godzilla: Tokyo SOS
  27. Godzilla: Final Wars

GI Joe: Retaliation

As I drunkenly rode with my significant other to Wal-Mart Tuesday, I couldn't help but pass up GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra on Blu-ray for $10.  It was good right?  I mean, it was a bad movie, but it was fun.  I hadn't seen it since it came out, but damn did I not remember properly.  I watched Rise of the Cobra Tuesday to prepare for my early showing of Retaliation.  I work as a projectionist, so we can watch movies early if we like.  Anyway, this movie was horrible!  I left me almost not wanting to watch Retaliation!  I have a huge GI Joe collection, so theoretically I should love Rise of the Cobra, but nope.

Originally supposed to come out last August, GI Joe: Retaliation is a direct sequel to Rise of the Cobra and opens Thursday.  Why Thursday?  Maybe they feel guilty about pushing it back seven months!  Allegedly the film was pushed back to add 3D, but it was revealed they may have altered some scenes to make the Rock's and Channing Tatum's relationship more believable.  I'm not sure it's believable, but I would hate to see the original cut!


I start the movie, enjoy the wonderful Kick Ass 2 preview, and the movie begins.  I'm expecting shit, complete shit.  the opening scene is an extraction mission to get some guy out of what I believe is North Korea.  It really does not relate to the story, and is a little cheesy.  My expectations stayed the same, but as the movie progressed it get more and more ridiculous.  It seems just like a Saturday morning cartoon brought to life.  Not only were the action scenes in this movie much better, it had so many ninjas!  I have collected almost all the figures from the movie line, even though some aren't great, but I have multiples of all the ninjas. I left the movie wanting to act out the massive ninja battles!


I wasn't convinced at first, there were even a few scenes towards the beginning that angered me.  I don't want to ruin it, but there is a scene where Snake Eyes kind of talks...I was upset, but everything turned out better than expected.

I'm not a professional reviewer, but if you liked the first one, you will like this.  While Bruce Willis isn't in much of it, I would recommend it to any Willis fan.  All his segments are pretty great.  Overall, it's a summer popcorn flick that came out before summer (or after it if you think about when it was supposed to come out).

Go see it if you like mindless action, definitely don't if you don't.  It's a fun movie that you obviously can't take seriously, just have fun with it!

A Beginner's Guide to Godzilla and Company! Part 1: Shōwa

With a new Godzilla movie coming out soon, I figured I should make a guide to where to start if you have never watched Godzilla before, or maybe just some recommendations if you are looking for one you have not seen.

Please keep in mind, there are hundreds and hundreds of Godzilla viewing guides, and none of them are wrong.  Most movies have nothing to do with each other, so seeing every movie is not completely necessary.  Everyone has their own opinion, and to them their viewing guide is perfect, I'm just here to show you mine.  I'm going to list them in order of release, and if you were wanting to watch them all, that's the order you should do it in.  I'll then make recommendations!  Not all these movies are great, or even good, but if you are a fan, why not watch them all?

Godzilla movies are split into three "series".  The films in each serious don't necessarily have anything to do with other films in the series, but for a few it helps to watch them in order.  The Shōwa series is named for the period in Japan before Emperor Hirohito's death.  These films span from 1954-1975.

The second series is the Heisei series.  This series starts with a direct sequel to the 1954 original, and ignores all previous movies besides the first.

The final series is the Millennium series.  This is from 1999-2004.  All films in this series use the original as the starting point.

This post is going to focus solely on the Shōwa series, but we'll cover the others later.  We have a long way to go!

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla started it all.  Other than a few prior B movie horror films and of course King Kong, Godzilla really was the first big (ha) monster to take over the silver screen.  Known in Japan as Gojira, Godzilla made his first appearance in 1954.  There are two versions of the movie, Gojira, the Japanese version, and Godzilla, the "American" version.  Essentially, Hollywood took original Japanese footage from the movie and added an American actor into it, making it more appealing.  If you are going to watch one, I would recommend the Japanese version.  Also, from here on out, just assume recommend the watch these movies with the subtitles and original Japanese audio track.  Typically, the English dubs are a little off, but if you are just watching them for monsters fighting and cheese, the dubs will suffice.  Godzilla: King of the Monsters was released in the United States in 1956.  It shows Godzilla's first attack on Japan and how the military attempted to stop him.  Like old slasher films, don't take the story lines between these movies too seriously, as Godzilla dies more than once.

I would definitely recommend this movie the anyone interested in Godzilla.  You need to see where it all began!



Check here to see where it is streamming currently.  I would list them myself, but these things seem to change constantly!


Godzilla Raids Again

Just one year later, in 1955, Toho productions released Godzilla Raids Again.  Once again, Hollywood screwed up Godzilla for us Americans.  They released this movie as Gigantis, the Fire Monster.  In the film, they referred to Godzilla as Gigantis and changed his roar to make him seem like a new character.  Watch the Japanese version!

This film gave Godzilla his first giant monster to do battle with!  Godzilla Raids Again introduced the future ally Anguirus!  After this film, it apparently became almost a necessity to have Godzilla fight another monster in every movie.


Anguirus is a half turtle, half crocodile, half stegosaurus four-legged monster.  He walks on all fours and has sharp spikes covering most his body.  Anguirus goes on the become a frequent monster in Godzilla movies, depicted as an ally to Godzilla.  He typically is there to help take down the bad ones!


King Kong VS Godzilla

This next one is pretty bad...
In 1962 Toho released King Kong VS Godzilla!  It seems like an okay film right?  Two widely famous monsters doing battle!  Well, remember King Kong getting shot at my planes?  Remember his size?

He is maybe twice the size of the plane!  Godzilla is taller than Skyscrapers!  It would be like mouse fighting a lion!  Anyway, he is much bigger in this film that in King Kong, he is essentially just a Godzilla sized ape ready to box a giant lizard.  While not particularly great, it should be noted that this is the first movie where Godzilla and King Kong are in color.  Furthermore, according to Wikipedia, this is the most successful Godzilla film to date.  This does not surprise me, as I'm sure King Kong was quite well known world wide in the sixties, as was Godzilla.  This also is the first of two Japanese King Kong movies, I'll touch on that later.

As a kid in the nineties, it was sometimes tough to get Godzilla movies.  I had the basic ones everyone has seen, and a couple harder to find ones, but I never did get this one on the old VHS tape.  There was a rumor that there were two versions of the film, in the Japanese version, Godzilla lights King Kong on fire and he dies; in the American version, King Kong throws Godzilla into a volcano and Godzilla dies.  At the time, it seemed so believable as both countries would want their own monsters to win.

Mothra VS Godzilla

Mothra first appeared in the film Mothra in 1961.  Three years later, Toho decided to have her face Godzilla!  Poor Mothra!  This film marks the first time Toho brought monsters from their other movies into Godzilla movies.  This film is also known as Godzilla VS the Thing in the United States.  I actually have two copies of this VHS tape, one with each title.  I didn't know they were the same as a kid.
Mothra is a giant moth!  She is the protector of the planet, and he is represented by two five inch tall women!  It sounds far fetched, but you are the one reading a blog called the Mojoverse about a giant lizard who destroys cities!  Following this film, Mothra returns in three solo film, Rebirth of Mothra I, II, and III, and in twelve more Godzilla movies, sometimes as an enemy, and sometimes as an ally.

Ghidorah,  the Three-Headed Monster

Also in 1964, Toho release Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster!  King Ghidorah will go on the probably be the main antagonist of the series.  It is worth noting, he is sometimes called Ghidrah in the American versions.
As the title implies, Ghidorah is a giant three-headed monster!  He can fly and shoots lightning out of his mouth as well.  Neat.  He is vicious and always considered evil.  Also appearing in this film is Rodan!
Rodan is a giant flying pterodactyl.  He first appeared in the film Rodan, which I'll get to later, but had his first Godzilla appearance in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.  He is an enemy for about the first thirty minutes of this movie, and has been a trusted Godzilla ally since!  This film also has Mothra, making it the first Godzilla movie to feature more than two monsters.  Overall, it's one of the bests.  Definitely watch it if you are going to watch any of them that are this old.

Godzilla VS Monster Zero

Apparently Godzilla fans liked Ghidorah!  Just a year later, Toho release another Godzilla film with Ghidorah as the villain.  This movie has a bit of science-fiction to it.  Two astronauts travel to a planet that is terrorized by Ghidorah, and the locals ask for Godzilla's help to stop him, but it's not all as it seems!  Anyway, this is also known as Monster Zero and Invasion of the Astro-Monster.  This movie also features Rodan helping Godzilla take down Ghidorah, again.  It's not bad, but typically I would rather watch the Three-Headed Monster twice than to watch both of these.

Godzilla VS the Sea Monster

So in this one, Godzilla fights a sea monster.  No really.  The official Japanese title is Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, but is known as Godzilla VS the Sea Monster in America.  This film stars Godzilla, Mothra, and Ebirah...
...a giant lobster!  This movie kind of starts to show a lighthearted Godzilla.  He is still a monster, but much less terrifying than previously.  There is even a scene where Ebirah and Godzilla hit a rock both and forth like they are playing volleyball.  Ebirah isn't very popular apparently, as he only appears in three films total.  Honestly, I like this movie because I had it as a kid, I probably wouldn't otherwise.

Son of Godzilla

Son of Godzilla, also known as Monster Island, is really where the movie start to get weird.  It was released in 1967 and more of a children's movie than anything else.  This movie introduces Godzilla's son, Minilla.
Damn that thing is ugly.  The movie is about a group of scientists working on a weather control system on a remote island in the Pacific.  This proves dangerous as Godzilla lives on the island, along with Minilla and giant praying mantises.  They are known as Kamacuras.  God Minilla looks weird.
The Kamacuras mess with Minilla, and Godzilla shows them what's up.  That's pretty much the entire plot.  
The film also introduces Kumonga, a giant tarantula from the island.  Kumonga will go on to be in three more Godzilla films.

Destroy All Monters

This movie was the first DVD I ever bought!  Released in 1968, this was originally supposed to be the final Godzilla film, but you can't kill Godzilla!  This movie is an all out battle between monsters and the Earth!  Aliens mind control all the world's monsters and they start destroying all the major cities.  This movie features previously introduced characters such as Godzilla, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Minilla, Kumonga, Anguirus, and Mothra.  This film also introduces Gorosaurus, Manda, Baragon, and Varan to the Godzilla series.
Gorosaurus got his first appearance in Toho second King Kong movie, King Kong Escapes in 1967.  He is more or less a giant tyrannosaurus rex.  He will appears in two more Godzilla films.
Manda, a personal favorite of mine, got his first appearance in film Atragon in 1963.  He is an underwater God, and he closely resembles your stereotypical Japanese dragon.  He's a personal favorite of mine.  He will appear in two more Godzilla films.
Our next monster is Baragon.  He is a giant dinosaur, like many other Toho monsters.  He first appeared in Toho's giant Frankenstein film, Frankenstein VS Baragon.  More on this later of course.  He is also featured in one more Godzilla movie, Godzilla: Final Wars.
Our Final new monster to the Godzilla series is Varan, who first appeared on his own film in 1958.  He's kind of a spiked dinosaur of sorts.  He also appears in Godzilla: Final Wars.

This is the definitive monster chaos movie.  It's really just monsters destroying cities, and then teaming up to fight King Ghidorah himself!

Godzilla's Revenge

This movie is 100% made for children.  According to Wikipedia, the film was made for $150,000, which even for 1969 wasn't much.  It is also known as All Monsters Attack.  The film stars a young boy named Ichiro.  Ichiro is a lonely, bullied child who escapes into Godzilla fantasies.  These fantasies involve him on monster island with Minilla, who can apparently shrink to a human size on demand.  The movie features Godzilla fighting a variety of creatures throughout the island and Minilla and Ichiro cheer him on.  To help overcome his fear of bullying, in his fantasies Ichiro witnesses Minilla being bullied by Gabara, a green monster who sounds like a cat meow on repeat.
This is Gabara's first and last appearance in a film.  Gorosaurus, Manda, Kumonga, Ebirah, Kamacuras, and of course Godzilla also return.  Most the monster appearances in this film are just stock footage from previous Godzilla movies.  This movie is literally as weird as Godzilla gets, and you probably shouldn't watch it if you literally have any other Godzilla movies to watch.

Godzilla VS Hedorah

Also known as Godzilla VS the Smog Monster, this film was released in 1971 as introduces us to Hedorah, the smog monster.  Hedorah is essentially a giant space alien blob of trash.  He can change his size and form often, and it apparently unaffected by Godzilla's atomic breath.
This is Hedorah's first and only appearance, but that doesn't mean he should be compared to Gabara!  He is a pretty great villain!

Godzilla VS Gigan

Godzilla VS Gigan was released in 1972 and features Ghidorah and Gigan sent to Earth to wipe out the human race.  Godzilla and Anguirus attempt to fight them off!  There are a few other appearances of monsters from stock footage, but nothing notable.
Gigan is a giant laser eyed cyborg with claws for arms, to make things even better, his stomach is literally a buzz saw..  Since he is an alien, he can apparently fly.  Gigan will return in Godzilla VS Megalon!

Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla

This might be my favorite Godzilla film.  If you couldn't tell by the title, this movie is about Godzilla facing off against a giant robotic Godzilla.  Originally known as Godzilla VS the Bionic Monster in the United States, this 1974 film features another monster who can go 1 on 1 with Godzilla other than Ghidorah.  Mechagodzilla is a Godzilla sized robot built to destroy Godzilla.  At first, it wears a fake skin to disguise itself as Godzilla.
Mechagodzilla is equipped with lasers, missiles, machine guns, some kind of spinning force field, and of course, rocket shoes so it can fly.  He appears in one more Godzilla film, even though technically it's a new robot, but still the same thing.  The film also features Anguirus and introduces King Caesar!
King Caesar is a giant, horned dog.  Just kidding, but seriously.  King Caesar is some kind of royal monster worshiped by natives on an island.

Terror of Mechagodzilla

Terror of Mechagodzilla was released in 1975 and is the final film in this series.  Apparently the film didn't even sell one million tickets, so Godzilla was put on hold for a while.  The film brings back Mechagodzilla, ready to do battle with Godzilla once more.  The film technically starts Mechagodzilla II and Godzilla, but it is more or less the same machine.  The film also introduces one of my favorite monsters, Titanosaurus.  I don't know what it is about fish looking monsters, but I love this guy.
He is an aquatic monster discovered by a doctor, but no one believed him.  He got kicked out of the scientific community for his "crazy" findings.  If you can believe Godzilla and the 500,000 other giant monsters in Japan, what makes this so crazy?!  Anyway, Titanosaurus is pretty bad ass, but this is his only film sadly.

This was one of the few Godzilla movies I had on VHS for years, so I've probably seen this one more than any of them.  Titanosaurus's roar is so great!

Recommended

Out of this series, everyone needs to see the original Godzilla.  Godzilla VS Mothra is definitely worth checking out, and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is mandatory viewing.  I would probably check out Destroy All Monsters just for the monster carnage.  Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla is good too, as he kind of messes Godzilla up.

I will do the other series and spin-off titles soon!