Tag Archives: The Conjuring 2

Cool movie toys for holidays: What’s new this holiday season?

Christmas is less than a week out and you’re in panic mode, wracking your brains over what to get family members and friends. But if you think for a minute and realize the people you love are big movie fans, then there are plenty of reel cool ideas, so to speak, right within your reach.

That’s because Christmastime is about toys, and when you combine the passion of moviegoing with the inner child of said moviegoers, there are plenty of cool movie toys that shoppers can find. There’s plenty to pick from out there, whether they’re based on classic characters with cult followings that appeal to adult collectors or those with a broader appeal appropriate for all ages.

Photo: NECASo, as you prepare your last-minute lists, here are a few options for the movie lover in your life:

Simply put, specialty toy and collectibles company NECA is a movie lovers dream, producing action figures of characters you never thought were possible. Being a fan of horror films and fantasy, the company this year finished up their Guillermo del Toro Signature Series (more, please?), which produced 6- to 7-inch characters from the Oscar-winning filmmakers’ most acclaimed works. This year’s offerings include Amphibian Man from the director’s best picture Academy Award-winning film “The Shape of Water,” and the Faun from his Oscar-nominated film “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

NECA

On the horror film side, the company produced figures this year from the classic “Halloween” films and 40 years-in-the-making sequel (including a butt-kicking Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode figure) and more figures based on Stephen King’s “IT” and “IT: Chapter Two”; and from the Conjuring Universe, the title character from “The Nun” and most recently, the Crooked Man from “The Conjuring 2.”

Also, the company has taken the creative route and given several iconic horror characters with their Toony Terrors line with animated, stylized versions of Freddy Kruger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” Jason from Friday the 13th and the 1990 and 2017 versions of Pennywise the Dancing Clown from “IT.” The second wave includes Pinhead from “Hellraiser,” Michael Myers from “Halloween,” Chucky and Tiffany from the “Child’s Play” films and Leatherface from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

On the sci-fi side, NECA has just released new versions of the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) based on their appearances in the latest film in the series, “Terminator: Dark Fate” and more aliens and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) from “Alien: Resurrection.”

According to “Alien” movie legend, “in space, no one can hear you scream,” but that hasn’t prevented Hasbro from making big noise with its “Star Wars” line as the final film in the Skywalker saga, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” makes it hotly anticipated debut in theaters Friday.

New in the company’s Black Series line (collector-friendly 6-inch scale action figures) from the film are Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and a Sith Trooper (a red version of a Stormtrooper) and Jet Trooper; as well as figures from the hit new Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” including the title character (Pablo Pascal) and Cara Dune (Gina Carano). Sorry, kids, no Baby Yoda figures and toys are available until spring.

The company also has new versions of the film’s iconic lightsaber and motorized versions of the droid D-O, which makes its debut in “The Rise of Skywalker.” Also, on the kid-friendly side, Hasbro has its Galaxy of Adventures line, which includes droids and characters from all films in the saga presented in a stylized, animated form. And speaking of animation, you can’t browse a toy aisle for too long before finding Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and other characters from “Frozen II.”

Photo: Hasbro

If dinosaurs are your thing, Mattel has you covered with its “Jurassic Park” and “Jurassic World” line, featuring characters and dinosaurs from the classic trilogy and new films. The company’s latest offering is a 6-inch figure of Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) from his appearance in the original films.

Lastly, Mego, which made a splash in the 1970s for its stylized, 8-inch doll line, continues its renaissance with new several new releases based on Universal Monsters characters, “Star Trek” movie greats and characters from Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

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, “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).

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Tim Burton Book 2
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Summer at the movies 2016: The best and worst

CBS Films/LionsgateBy Tim Lammers

There’s no better way of putting it: Most of this summer’s movie offerings were pitiful. Loaded once again with sequels, remakes and reboots, the obvious lack of originality this summer movie season seemed to finally affect the box office, which at one point, was more than 22 percent down from last summer.

This summer yielded a slew of decent films, a few obvious winners and some huge disappointments. Here’s a look at the best and worst films to hit the big screen since summer movie kicked off in May.

  1. “The Conjuring 2″/”Don’t Breathe” (tie)

Horror movies usually do well at the box  office, usually due to low budgets and normally large enough turnouts over opening weekend to make back their production budgets. Often, though, low budgets equate to cheap thrills, and “The Conjuring 2” and “Don’t Breathe” defied convention. Yes, the films have their fair share of quick scares to make jump, but layered within were actual stories and the novel approach by directors James Wan (“The Conjuring 2”) and Fede Alvarez (“Don’t Breathe”) to allow intensity to build towards suspenseful and exciting conclusions. If the studios are smart, they’ll rush these out on video in time for Halloween viewing.

  1. “Kubo and the Two Strings”/”Finding Dory” (tie)

The animation genre provided the most steady returns this summer, and the Laika stop-motion wonder “Kubo and the Two Strings” and Pixar’s long-awaited “Finding Dory” were easily the two best. The key to the success of both films is that they respected the intelligence of kid audiences and equally entertained adults audiences with smart scripts, loads of excitement, lots of humor (especially in “Dory”) and healthy doses of emotion (“Kubo”). The two films are shoo-ins for Best Animated Feature Oscars.

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  1. “The BFG”

It’s odd that one of Steven Spielberg’s most magical films in years turned out to be one of his biggest box office disappointments. Sadly, Spielberg was the only marquee asset available to market the film, a live-action/motion capture animation hybrid that delightfully brings late author Roald Dahl’s enchanting tale to life. Fresh off his Oscar win for Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies,” Mark Rylance is brilliant in his motion capture performance of a big, friendly giant (hence, the BFG), who teams with an orphan girl (Ruby Barnhill) in a ploy to prevent his fellow not-so-friendly giants from wreaking havoc with the children of London. The film features a bittersweet reteaming Spielberg and his “E.T. the Extraterrestrial” screenwriter Melissa  Mathison, who died before filming was complete.

  1. “Captain America: Civil War”

The third and easily the best film in the “Captain America” movie arc, “Civil War” is arguably one of the best in the entire “Avengers” saga. Expertly directed once again by brother Joe and Anthony Russo, “Civil War” boasts a brilliant mix of action, emotion and effective storytelling that’s not undermined by the film’s thrilling visual effects. Grounded in real-world storytelling that infuses contemporary issues, the film pits Captain America (Chris Evans) against Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) – who are at odds over an international accord that would impose government oversight on the Avengers’ actions. Unlike the two “Avengers” film chapters, the film doesn’t feel overstuffed with superheroes, even though one massive, entertaining scene features 12 of Marvel’s greatest characters. It’s easily the best traditional superhero movie of the year (“Deadpool” gets its own designation since it’s anything but traditional).

  1. “Hell or High Water”

The biggest mystery behind this brooding crime thriller was the decision to release it in early August when it clearly would have been better served in the fall during awards season. The bank robber thriller feels fresh and exciting with some unique plot twists, and the “Heat”-like narrative is expertly constructed through the taut direction of David Mackenzie complimented by the flawless acting of Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster aids “Hell or High Water” as moves  toward its thrilling (and unpredictable) final showdown. The film, which refreshingly isn’t afraid to be politically incorrect (a rarity these days) is not only the best films of the summer, but one of the best films of the year.

And … the worst

Three films vie for this dishonor, although there are several more that could have easily been included. The ill-conceived “Warcraft” made the disastrous assumption that everybody was familiar with the plot of the blockbuster game series, and the confusing plot only compounded the pain of watching archaic-looking special effects; “X-Men: Apocalypse” was more disappointing than bad, mainly because there were so many expectations after “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” which was arguably the best film in the “X-Men” film series.

20th Century Fox

The worst movie the summer, hands down, was “Independence Day: Resurgence,” an embarrassing follow-up to the blockbuster “Independence Day” from 1996. The dialogue is horrible (“Let’s kick some alien ass!”), the acting is B-movie laughable and talented actors like Jeff Goldblum and Brent Spiner are completely wasted (Will Smith smartly declined to be in the film). Writer-director Roland Emmerich had 20 years to make this film and this is the best he could come up with? “Independence Day: Resurgence” is summer movie formula crap at its very worst.