I do love a good knockoff and a mega hit like Masters of the Universe spawned many a tacky He-Man. Here's a few I've seen this year.
Do you have any?
I bet kids loved them at Christmas!
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Slender legs
[possibly a Galaxy rider]
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Barbarella's angel!
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Visiting the Grandkids yesterday I caught ten minutes of the Grandson's new festive flick That Christmas.
It appeared to be an animated tale about families with a boy at the centre of it all. It seemed like a cartoon version of a soap or a schmlalzy film from the 90's. I thought of About a Boy with Hugh Grant.
The son-in-law informed me it was a Richard Curtis film, he of Love Actually. So its Love Actually done as a cartoon for kids?
The Grandson loved it!
Not my cup of tea at all [sorry if you're a fan] and I really hope the Grandson chooses Jason and Argonauts or the new Wallace and Gromet for us to watch together over the holidays!
Have you seen That Christmas?
This model maker, not one I knew of, has done some amazing stuff!
This Fireball Xl5 he made from scratch in the 1980's in other people's workshops!
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ZeVv0N
His Thunderbirds Elevator Cars are incredible.
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/3qNPxo
After seeing these I may just quit making stuff!
I love this 'launch' sequence of the Green Hornet's Black Beauty from 1966. What a car!
Do you have one?
I love this short video from Scalextric. Makes me want to get their FAB1.
Almost!
Do you like it?
They just need a Zero-X flying overhead now.
So here it is, Merry Christmas, everybody needs a quiz! Go for it Moonbasers! Maybe answer TWO each to start with! DON'T GOOGLE! Some are easy, some not!
A little bit of Dickensianimation!
Our local Cineworld in Castleford is closing on January 19th. Its one of a handful the chain are shutting next year in Blighty. Poor sales, fewer films, home streaming and Covid are no doubt the reasons.
Its a shame though. My mate Mark and me have been going to watch films there for 25 years I reckon. Somewhere I've got most of the ticket stubs [yep, sad I know].
I even once applied for a job there as a projectionist. I didn't get it.
We must have seen hundreds of films over the years, greatly boosted by the old Orange Wednesday offer of two for one. The day that ended was when it got expensive for us, averaging nowadays at around £15 per film each.
Over the years Cineworld added vibrating chairs, deep recliners, panoramic screens, super loud sound, water vapour, shaking seats, Imax and Pic'n'Mix.
Pic'n'Mix was welcomed but Mark and I didn't need all those gizmos. It was the films that drew us in.
And what films! the later ALIENS, each one as they came out; the later STAR WARS - again each new one, All the X-Men, the whole new Godzilla and Kong franchise, Blade Runner 2, each Marvel and Avengers and many many more. I remember us seeing one horror film, Creep, completely alone in an empty screening one night!
Seeing the films was just half of the experience too. Then came the critique over a KFC or a Burger King. We picked them clean, praised the good bits and panned the bad. But we always appreciated the effort it took to make a movie and get it in the local flicks.
We haven't seen as many films in the last few years it has to be said, the tale end of a long stint. ALIEN Romulus was the last one. Even Gladiator 2 didn't entice us back this winter. Maybe the glory days really are over.
We've agreed to see one more film before Cineworld closes in mid January. For old time's sake really. Whether we do is another thing but there it is. The next nearest Cinema for me is Wakefield - a pain to get to - but its a major pain for Mark to get too from Leeds. Cineworld was just off the motorway.
It really is the end of a cinema-going era.
Do you go to the cinema readers?
