Tim joined Tom Barnard, Brittany Arneson and Rudy Pavich on the “Tom Barnard Morning Show Podcast,” as well as Jordana Green on “Adam and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM Friday to review the new theatrical release “The Little Mermaid” and the new streaming series “FUBAR” (Netflix). Click to listen to below. All of Tim’s segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant, and Bradshaw and Bryant.
Click HEREto see Tim’s review on “The Tom Barnard Show.”
In addition, Tim reviews movies weekly for the “Adam and Jordana” with Adam Carter and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Adam and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11.”
Tim joined Tom Barnard and the crew for the “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM Thursday to review the superhero thriller “The Mutants” and the action adventure “Iron Mask.” Click to listen below. Then on Friday, Tim reviewed the films with Paul Douglas on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM. The segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “Let’s Talk Movies with Tim Lammers” with Tim Matthews on KRWC-AM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
Arnold Schwarzenegger is not back in “The Predator” a sequel – even though it’s essentially a reboot – of the movie series that began with Schwarzenegger, continued with Danny Glover and then joined Alien for a couple movies before attempting a comeback in 2010. The big difference with this comeback is that Shane Black, who had a brief role in original but went on to a more successful career as a writer and director (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” “Iron Man 3”), is in charge of the new film, and with a talent of writing comedic dialogue, makes “The Predator” very funny at times … an element the original film didn’t have much of.
“The Predator” stars Boyd Holbrook (“Narcos,” “Logan”) as Quinn McKenna, a military operative who witnesses the crash of a spaceship with a Predator amidst a drug smuggling operation, who quickly lays waste to everything in its way, including Quinn’s entire unit. Convinced the government won’t believe him, Quinn takes some of the Predator’s weaponized armor, which he ships to the home of his estranged wife (Yvonne Strahovski) and son (Jacob Tremblay).
AUDIO: Tim reviews “The Predator” and talks Jesse “I ain’t got time to bleed” Ventura with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show.” Click to listen!
Determined to keep the crash off the books by any means necessary, a top government agent (Sterling K. Brown) soon finds that he has a bigger problem when a second, since Quinn’s son activates a beacon that alerts the Predator’s location. As a result, a larger and even deadlier Predator arrives, and his actions reveal a much bigger plan for the alien creatures, and it’s up to Quinn and a band of fellow solider outcasts to stop it from happening.
While the setup is very familiar, Black’s addition of humor to the film (sometimes through dialogue, other times through over-the-top gore), along with some impressive special effects and a solid ensemble cast (including Keegan-Michael Key and Thomas Jane) more than make “The Predator” a worthwhile sequel. Plus, there’s no denying that the Predator after all these years is still a fantastic-looking creature that definitely commands all of the attention it attracts.
Naturally, fans of the original film will be disappointed at the lack of a Schwarzenegger cameo, even though he was reportedly offered one. That’s not to say he can’t appear in another “Predator” sequel, since Black has left the door wide open for another film. Until then, the new “Predator” is a nice welcome back to the franchise.
Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
The creation of action figures for movies and television series is big business in the toy and collectibles industry, but generally the assortments that emerge from any given line generally consist of the characters, creatures and vehicles associated with film or TV shows and nothing more.
But thanks to the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA), the action figure business is taking an exciting new direction.
Appealing to the fans who appreciate the talent both in front of and behind the camera, the New Jersey-based specialty collector company has found a niche by making action figures of directors behind famous films. To date, NECA has released seven-inch action figures of directors Quentin Tarantino (in a “The Hateful Eight” costume) and James Cameron (in “Aliens” attire); and now, for a limited-edition figure that will be sold the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) this week, Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro.
In a recent email interview, NECA’s director of product development, Randy Falk, revealed that the idea to immortalize “The Shape of Water” filmmaker came about when the company and del Toro worked together on creating figures and sets for two of his classic films.
“We have a great history working with Guillermo del Toro, and when he attends SDCC he always comes by the booth to check out our latest and greatest,” Falk said. “The idea to actually create a figure of del Toro himself grew out of our experience collaborating on ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ and ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ over the past two years. We’ve had success in the past creating director figures of Quentin Tarantino and, last year, Col. Cameron (James Cameron), so immortalizing Guillermo was a no-brainer. He loves toys and collectibles and is an icon to our fanbase since he is such a visionary director.”
In addition to selling the 8-inch Guillermo del Toro Signature Collection figure and other exclusives at SDCC, NECA will be revealing upcoming licenses. So, given that “The Shape of Water” won the Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards earlier this year, could an Amphibian Man figure be in the works?
“Possibly — (that is) certainly something that is very high on our wish list considering how beautiful that film was and the critical acclaim that followed,” Falk said. “Perhaps we will have more news on this come SDCC.”
In a wonderful bit of symmetry, another exclusive NECA action figure of a director will be available at SDCC this week. The interesting bit is, it’s a 7-inch figure of Shane Black, the director of the upcoming sci-fi thriller “The Predator,” but of Black as his character, Hawkins, from the 1987 classic “Predator,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“I was fortunate enough to visit the set of the latest ‘Predator’ film back in the spring of 2017 and I sort of bounced the idea off of Shane and his people at that time,” Falk recalled. “We had just finished up our ‘Predator’ 30th anniversary collection and felt like it would be great to incorporate Shane into it … to be able to do his character as Hawkins would be a perfect lead-in to him taking over the franchise as a director and was just perfect synergy. Luckily, he liked the idea and wanted to do it. The timing really was perfect. With the film having a big panel and presence at SDCC and releasing in September, to have the exclusive Shane Black as Hawkins release this July couldn’t be more perfect. The toy gods were smiling down upon us for this entire project.”
While fans are getting the unique opportunity to get action figures of del Toro and Black at this year’s SDCC, Falk said NECA isn’t “actively pursuing” any other filmmakers to make into action figures at the moment. He’s completely open to the idea of creating more, however.
“We agree it is a really nice addition to get the actual creators involved and into the line where it makes sense. Everything so far has grown out of special circumstances or situations that lent themselves to the creation, and there has been a narrative or compelling reason behind it,” Falk said. “The ‘Aliens’ 30th anniversary for example, Shane being director of ‘Predator,’ the launch of the Guillermo del Toro Signature Collection we have worked so closely with him to create. All those factors helped make those possible and make them special. So, along those lines, I would love to do something with, say, Wes Craven or George Romero if we could find a way to make it special and have it make sense.”
In the meantime, Falk said, fans can look forward to plenty of surprises as the company reveals new lines at its booth at SDCC throughout the weekend.
“We definitely have some incredible surprises in store! I think there is truly something for everyone in this year’s reveals and a few jaw-droppers that no one will have seen coming,” Falk enthused. “We have some reveals involving horror, classic TV, classic ’80s films, lots of nostalgia and lots of fun. I can’t wait to be in San Diego again to debut all the great new items our team has worked so hard to create.”
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
