Hallmark Ornaments I'd Want For Christmas!

Ok, ok, ok.  Don't even say it. I know it's not even August yet, I get it. But this whole Christmas in July thing has had me thinking a lot about Christmas and how much I truly hope this years Christmas will be as great if not better than last. While I've got got a little under 5 months to worry about it, I do have to say that something caught my eye on a random trip to Hallmark this past Friday that made me wish Christmas was here sooner. I can only be referring to Hallmark's amazing ornaments. Yup!

Every year, Hallmark delivers more and more awesome ornaments to doll up our Christmas tree in unlikely geek fashion. Which is awesome seeing as 15-20 years ago, all Hallmark put out was a replica lunchbox or a mouse opening presents. That was pretty much it. But now, the floodgates are opened and we can finally put Batman on a tree or a diorama of Clark Griswold plugging in his lights from Christmas Vacation. It's about time, too. I got tired of handmaking nWo and Ninja Turtle ornaments. So which ornaments made my list? Well, it wasn't easy, but I think I have a good list here.

(Click the links in the titles to order these!)

BEETLEJUICE! BEETLEJUICE! BEETLEJUICE!

As noted on the Keaton-Cast episode of UnderScoopFire podcast that I appeared on earlier this year, anything that has Michael Keaton, I'm down. I love Beetlejuice. Keaton was great, Winona Ryder was great, the visuals were great, the music was great, everything was great. So naturally, I love this ornament. It's got that great "hey, say my name!" look. I'm expecting it to cause trouble, but with the way it looks, it's a price I'm willing to pay.


SNOOPY FOR CHRISTMAS

Peanuts is a lifelong obsession of mine. Anything with Charlie Brown and Snoopy, I'm automatically going to love. That means holidays. Holidays are ALWAYS in my hosuehold as a kid and even now have always been peppered with Charlie Brown decorations all around the place. Hallmark has long had a relationship with the Peanuts characters and their offerings get better and better every year. Hallmark has a couple Peanuts ornaments but this one was my personal favorite. It really represents the love between Charlie Brown and Snoopy perfectly and the smile on both their faces, really sums up why I love these characters. A very welcome addition to my tree to say the least.


JINGLE BELL ROCK!

Now here's a fun little deviation from the normal geeky.sentimental choices, but I couldn't help but smile. A PetRock with a Santa hat that plays "Jingle Bell Rock". I don't know if there's anything else I can really add to this. It just looks so happy to be hanging around for the holiday. I feel like this could potentially be the one no one buys just because it is so simple, but I love it.



WONDER WOMAN!

Oh my. Lynda Carter has always been one of my biggest crushes ever. In fact, I met her at a cd signing in 2009. I can tell you that never before(or since) have I been so star struck. With all due respect to Gal Gadot(who I hope does a great job as Wonder Woman), I don't think there's a person alive who doesn't look at her and still think "Wonder Woman". And with this, you can look at your tree and feel warm and fuzzy thoughts. Even better, if you press the button on the side, the ornament plays the theme to the 70s tv show. How great is that?  I don't think this can be any more "wonder-ful".

I'm sorry. That sounded funnier in my head...



MEGATRON!

I'm a huge fan of the Decepticons, especially Megatron. Where as other cartoon villains were silly and incompetent, Megatron was so cold and merciless. And while it's a little bit of a dated, bulky and unusual design, it's still my favorite Megatron design ever. Plus, a bonus, it's toy accurate more than cartoon accurate, which is even better! While the cartoon design was great, I love the toy version better. Now if only it transformed and played "The Touch"...


GIZMO TO THE RESCUE!

Oh boy. OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY! This is my personal favorite out of all the great ornaments I've listed and seen in the store. Being a lifelong Gremlins fan, it makes all the sense in the world to own a little ornament of Gizmo in his red car from one of the most memorable scenes of the first movie. It's an easy YES! from me and I have to assume anyone else with a beating heart. If you say  you don't want this, I just don't know what to do. Try to deny Gizmo's infectious smile and adventurous energy. I dare you.


With these on my tree, I have to guess I'll have the coolest tree on the block...

See any great ornaments on this list you love too? Or maybe the Hallmark site? Share with me what your personal favorites are in the comments!


-Chad

Conquering the 50 Mile Yard Sale

Oh boy. I've been waiting a while for this. After almost a month or so of nothing but packing for my upcoming move and working a new job, I've been tired and stressed out. Thankfully, the promise of 50 miles of nonstop yard sales was certainly a nice change of pace and the much needed getaway for an afternoon. So, after I woke up, I loaded up on sugar and made the hour drive down to Montezuma, a small town, right outside of Syracuse for this.

Note: I apologize in advanced for the photo quality, I'm using an old camera so they aren't all perfect.

Now, at first I expected massive failure. When I first arrived, I found miles and miles of nothing but baby clothes and old tools. Did I drive all this way for a free seat warmer that I found in some box on the side of the road? Well, it seemed like that. I went 10 more miles up the road before I found anything else of interest. But thank goodness I kept going because it got better...

BATMAN CARRYING CASE WITH 13 FIGURES($15)

Yes, I know there's only 12 in that photo, I lost one of the figures in my car. But oh well. For 15 dollars I found this awesome lot of Batman figures from the 1990 Dark Knight Collection all the way up to the Batman Forever line and everywhere in between. A nice little Batman multiverse collection including villains! And that carrying case! So bright and vibrant! But this wasn't the best part! The best part was what I got for FREE:



MOAR FIGUREZ!

The guy who sold all these to me must've either been a former collector or dealer because the tubs of toys he had would usually be reserved for a toy store owner. But these were my favorite picks. I offered him 25 bucks for the figures above and the Batman lot, but he just threw these in for free, no questions asked. Dick Tracy figures, Star Trek,a Shadow figure, and a few Hulk Hogan items. Not bad for free, eh? Normally, I'd be paying at least a dollar each, but after chatting with the guy about toys and collecting, I guess he liked me enough to not ask for any money. I bid farewell, but I'd be back...



22 POSTERS!($2 total)

A little old couple had a giant bag of posters that belonged to their son who was apparently a film nerd because all this posters were mostly movies. I started investigated because I noticed the Punisher logo and knew I had found a cool poster. So, after finding out it was trashed, I almost walked away. They then said I could have the entire bag for just 2 bucks. TWO BUCKS?!?!?1 YES I'LL TAKE IT GIVE THEM TO MEEEEEE!

Sadly, out of the 22, only 5 were in decent shape. The either weren't gonna be displayed in my apartment, outdated and tacky or just didn't sell on eBay. But check out the ones I kept!

Not bad? I'm pretty happy with these. My girlfriend LOVES the Crow. I mean LOVES it, so I'm sure it'll turn up on the wall of our new apartment. And you gotta love the Bartman poster!




VHS! ($2 total!)

Yup! Elm Street and Halloween are great, but I've NEVER seen Frankenweenie, despite being a huge fan of Tim Burton, so I'm glad I was finally able to get a copy to sit down and watch. And Yogi The Easter Bear? Oh, just wait. That's getting reviewed for next Easter on this very blog!

Oh but I wasn't done in this church...

New Kids on The Block Joey Button (.25)

Yup. No comment needed. I simply couldn't pass this up.


Willow Bowl and Spoon ($1.50)

Ok, I wasn't the biggest fan of Willow, but I love promo items from the late 80s and early 90s. Especially the unusual mailways and this is DEFINITELY an unusual item. If I recall, Willow wasn't the biggest success but spawned a lot of merchandise. But hey, I now have a new ice cream bowl! And who doesn't want to eat ice cream with Val Kilmer and Warwick Davis?



2 nWo Shirt and Mug Combos ($5)

These. I love these. See, I'm still one of those weirdos that still rocks an nWo shirt with no shame. In fact, today I was wearing my nWo black and white shirt, which helped me get a few wrestling deals including this! I love a nice tall, cool mug of ice cold water, so what cooler mug to use than this? Even better, it comes with an nWo shirt! Downsider, I'm clearly not a xl. But, hey I got these for a sweet price and see no reason I can't keep one and put the other on ebay!

Now, the person who sold me this was kind enough to throw in an item for free. I'll let you gaze upon it...

HOWARD THE DUCK NUMBER 1. OH YES!!!!! Now THIS may have been the item of the day! Quite a nice freebie, eh? The seller had a stack of silver age comics, but this was by and large the best comic in the pile. Very happy to walk away with this for free!



After a little bit more walking, I decided I was good with what I had. I had gone about 30 miles of the 50 mile point, so it was by no means a waste at all. So I packed up and headed back home. But not before I stopped at that first table and got these...


MOAR TOYZ! ($8 TOTAL!!!!)

The guy hooked me up again. He said if I bought the two Biker Mice From Mars, he'd throw Egon in for free. Without another argument, I gave him 4 bucks for both Mice. He then told me all 10 figures in my other hand could be all mine for only 4 bucks. Yessir. The entire nWo, Sting, Earthquake, the New Adventures of He-Man, Chris Jericho, a Kevin Nash figure, and an LJN Ricky Steamboat all for 4?!?!? YES. THANK YOU SIR MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?!?!?!



With all these toys and eBay fodder loaded in my car, I bid Montezuma a fond farewell and drove back home. Definitely some great items, a nice view of Montezuma and it's small town charm. I'd probably go back next year if the vendors were different. I wouldn't want to go back for the same stuff. I will highly suggest anyone who hasn't experienced this before, to do it next year! With 50 miles, you KNOW there's gotta be treasures waiting just for you!


-Chad

Wild Thing(1987) Review

No, not the WCW payperview from 1990. Today, I'll be reviewing the movie "Wild Thing" from our buddies at Olive Films. No Ric Flair, but I'm sure you'll still enjoy it.

Starring Robert Knepper, Wild Thing provides an updated Tarzan story. As a young child seeing his parents murdered, Wild Thing quickly abandoned any  form of a normal life to become a defender of the innocent in the big city as well as return to normalcy. Ok, now I know what you're going to say "Chad, I've seen this before" and most likely you have, especially with so many superheroes following that same basic premise. I'd say, this is the best Tarzan movie out there. Except it's not Tarzan. It's like a blend of Batman, Tarzan, and any Canon movie out at the time.

Now, what are the high points? Well, the acting is all pretty fun. The cast is pretty good. Future star, Robert Knepper puts on a pretty good "silent savage" performance, which I'd say is the biggest highlight of this entire film. Maury Chaykin, Robert Davi, Cree Summer(Penny from Inspector Gadget and Kneesa from Ewoks!) are just some of the names you'll recognize. The cast gets a little silly and campy at times, but it was 1987 and  to play a modern superhero in a dark action movie? It was expected. The action is fun, with a little hokey action cliches here and there. An inner city street gang that appears in the movie that resembles the entire Debarge band, was a fun highlight as well.

Now the bad: As silly and fun as it gets,  it also kinda gets slow and boring at times.At one point you stop caring for whats going on until an action scene picks up. It's also very dated. It's definitely a movie you want but need to be int he mood to watch. That's the only downside I can honestly tell you. Don't go into this thinking it's Die Hard, and you'll enjoy it.

Do I suggest this movie? Yes. Chances are this is one of those movies that would've been sitting on the shelf in the video store that wouldn't have been rented but once every ten years, which is a shame because it probably should've been more successful and could've lead to a franchise, had it been handled by the right people. It's kinda sad this never got a sequel.

If you're interested, I suggest you head over to Olive Films site and pick one up! 


-Chad

Roller Boogie Review

Well, Olive Films is at it again. They just keep releasing some obscure and forgotten favorites that we've always been hoping to see get a bluray release. And the movie I received from Olive Films, Roller Boogie is one of those movies. I had never seen it all the way through before, so I jumped at the chance to not also get a screener but also expose myself to a new movie that I've always heard fun things about. The story of Terry, played by Linda Blair, wanting to achieve roller skating greatness while her favorite roller rink gets threatened by a bunch of mafia guys is a pretty straight forward story. In fact, it's a been done by other directors with fads.

While I really wanted to like this movie, I didn't. Unlike Thrashin', I didn't grow up in this era and didn't have any emotional attachment to any sort of the story, nostalgia, or location. I haven't been a fan of roller skating since I was about 5 but I figured since I'm a fan of cult classics and the weird films that are from this era, I'd be a fan.

So what else didn't I like? Well, almost everything. My main issue was with Linda Blair. I thought Linda Blair bordered the line of whiny and annoying. Now is this her fault? No. She was still transitioning between Exorcist and was trying to establish herself as a more serious actress. Which, every child actor tries to do. So, a bomb here and there is expected. The dance routines and love story between Linda's character Jim Bray's character also seems a little boring at times. The movie's pace seems kinda slow too. There's times in the movie where I just looked at the counter on my bluray player and was amazed at how little time had gone by. The movie is 1 hour and 40 minutes but seems a little longer at times.

Now that said, there were things I liked. The transfer of the movie, as expected, was perfectly crisp and clear with great sound. Kimberly Beck's spoiled and whiny character was pretty enjoyable. The disco infused soundtrack was a perfect fit for the movie. And while I don't feel any emotional attachment to the SoCal area, it always seems to be a perfect spot for movies like this and does make me want to go out and visit. Fans of SoCal and Muscle Beach get a nice glimpse into the style and culture of that time. The cover is another bonus, as I can't say I was a fan of the original poster art, so while I'm not a fan of new covers, this one works for me.

 I can see where the effort was put in, it just didn't work out. To be fair, by the time this movie was released, disco and roller skating was on it's way out and was passe.

So do I recommend this movie? Personally, no. It's kind of hard for me to sit here and lie and tell you it's worth watching, but in my mind, it's not the best movie you could put on your shelf.  But, if you're a fan of roller skating movies, disco music and culture, or have a fondness for the 70s, I suppose this is a good movie for your collection. Movies like this and Xanadu have their audience, just not with me. At the same time, my older brother grew up as a BMX and skateboard enthusiast, so a movie like Thrashin' would be what I pull off the shelf before I watch this.

If you do have any interest in this movie, you can order it from the fine folks at Olive Films, click here.

-Chad

Ecto Cooler Candle Giveaway!

So with all the debate on the new Ghostbusters movie flooding the internet(half good, half good), I figure now would be a good time to do a quick giveaway. See, I'm in a pickle. My girlfriend ordered me the Ecto Cooler candle from HorrorDecor and FreddyInSpace and so did I. I now have TWO! And, as much as I'd love to hoard both, I know some didn't even get ONE. So, I'm gonna make this short and sweet.

Slimer not included. Sorry!

So here's the deal: like my Facebook page, here. Then in the comments here, please tell me what your favorite Ghostbuster is as well as your email address! That's IT. Plain and simple. Peter, Winston, Egon, Ray, Luis, even the Filmation Ghostbusters are eligible! Yes, I'm serious! Even Tracy the Gorilla! This contest will only last for the next week(7/18/15) so enter NOW!!

And don't forget to give Freddy In Space and HorrorDecor a like on Facebook for more on their upcoming products!


-Chad