What's So Great About the Star Wars - The Force Awakens Trailer?

Last month saw the release of the teaser trailer for the new Star Wars film - titled Episode VII - The Force Awakens - which is due to land in December of 2015. It's not too common that we'd get something so far in advance, but it really seemed like the perfect Christmas present for fans of the series. The problem is, we've been down this road before with the Lucas-directed prequels, which went quickly from fan-excitement to fan-rage, leaving us in a place where we only half-hoped any more films would get produced for fear of them being as sterile and lifeless as that trilogy was. So what exactly is it about the new teaser that has gotten fans excited about the franchise again?

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The Garbage Pail Kids Turn 30

Well, this is news that'll make you feel old quickly; the Garbage Pail Kids turn 30 this year. It really doesn't seem that long ago since I was collecting these, and to be honest, sticking them all over my headboard on my bed. I wasn't particularly good at keeping them pristine anyway (a skill I think I only developed when The Simpsons trading cards came out), but I had great fun trading these with friends in school; they seemed perfectly pitched for kids, despite the somewhat grotesque characters. It's something that seems to be missing for young 'un's these days; we loved the gross-out humour and awful puns, and no doubt children now would, too. So while taking in some of the gloriously revolting artwork, let's have a quick look back at the start of the collecting craze.

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Some memorable toys I got for Christmas when I was a kid

This time of year always makes me think about what it was like for me and my brothers growing up in the 80's. The excitement of putting up the tree and hanging decorations (usually done just after my birthday, which is in December), and then picking out what we wanted to get from Santa. Of course, by this point in the month we had long decided on what we wanted, usually helped along by staying up for the national Irish tradition of the Late Late Toy Show (the longest running chat show in Ireland that gets invaded by children for the 'toy show' the last weekend every November), and giving plenty of time for our parents to scramble to get those toys we wanted. Saying that, we were pretty simple in our tastes; usually some action figures, books or cars were what we got, with the more expensive Star Wars toys never seemingly on our radar (my mother had probably the good sense to direct us away from those, her poor wallet!). So, here's a small selection of a few of my favourite toys I received in the 80's; not necessarily the best, but ones that really stuck out in my mind, and I still remember them fondly today.


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The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

"Would you look at Lumpy! He's sure grown, huh? And I think his voice is changing."

The buzz for Star Wars in '78 must have still been quite high; no doubt it was still showing in theatres, with kids desperate to catch another glimpse of that George Lucas magic in the days before VHS players allowed them to rent the film or own it for themselves. Then what better way to capitalise on the films success? A TV special, of course. Airing just in time for Thanksgiving, it seemed like not only the perfect way to sell TV advert space, but to reinforce the brand in the young viewers minds. Irregardless of intentions, something went drastically wrong somewhere, and the 'Holiday Special' has gone down in film history as one of the biggest missteps for a well-loved franchise. But is it really that bad? Does it deserve the endless ridicule it gets?

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Our traditional Hallowe'en Turnip

Most people these days go with the much handier (and prettier) pumpkin for their seasonal carving, but this year I thought I'd go old school and go with the turnip. Well, it was more to do with pumpkins being sold out already...but! A lot of people don't realise that the simple, ugly-looking turnip was the traditional vegetable of choice in Ye Olden Days in Ireland, when we didn't have things like pumpkins (pumpkins only became traditional when we fled to the states, and found something much less awkward to use). Sure, you'll rip your hands to shreds trying to hollow them out, but sure what's Hallowe'en without a little pain and bloodshed? me and my friends used to go straight for turnips for years, but I'd been getting soft in my old age, so was nice to go back to how it was originally done this year. Hope you all have a great Hallowe'en!

Halloween - Vintage Holiday Graphics by Taschen

For those who don't know, the ideology behind Halloween (or Hallowe'en, if you want to be particular about it) is about the one night of the year when the souls of the dead can wander among us, and by dressing up as something ghoulish it would keep them from bothering you, as they believed you were one of them. Ok, I'm not sure if the last part was added in later, but it's an old pagan tradition that is still well loved and cherished in places like Ireland, bonfires and all (even if the old beliefs are no longer followed), and has largely become a fun festival around the world that most people enjoy these days.

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Video Sleeves: Then and Now (part two)

It has been a few months since we last looked at the ever-changing face of video artwork, so seeing as it's October, lets do a full horror entry. Some of these are subtle, while some are downright appalling. I guess the art department has to justify their salaries too, but I just wish they could have been a bit more creative in what they do.

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A nice little present from my wife...

So, we are currently in Paris (Montmartre specifically) enjoying a quick weekend away for our wedding anniversary. While strolling through a flea market yesterday, we spotted a store specialising in vintage toys; tin cars, Tonka toys, etc. On a shelf was a selection of these guys. They are nicely reproduced in the style of toys made in the 50's and 60's, and the clockwork mechanism is quite nice! When he gets going, the movement is lovely, with the eyes sparking up and all. I think I've found something new to collect!
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Under Your Bed.Org - A horror Podcast featuring me as the 33rd guest.

Yesterday I spent a few hours recording the latest podcast for Under Your Bed - the podcast all about horror. The format is fairly straight forward - guests bring three films for discussion, and they dig as deep as they care to over a few beers of their choice. The pacing is fast and the tone jovial enough, and I think we did a good job at getting to the core of these films. My choices? Carnival of Souls, Re-Animator and Lovely Molly from 2011. We drank some of my home brew, which went down a treat (Bren has a good poker face).

If you feel like kicking back and listening in, please do! Seeing as this was my first time doing something like this, forgive my nervousness and the (most likely) dozens of mistakes I made. And yes, that is me dressed as Coffin Joe from Halloween a few years back.

Enjoy!

click here to go to the Podcast.

The Twilight Zone - Season One: 'Mr.Denton on Doomsday' and 'The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine'

"Portrait of a town drunk named Al Denton. This is a man who's begun his dying early - a long, agonizing route through a maze of bottles. Al Denton, who would probably give an arm or a leg or a part of his soul to have another chance..."

Once again we take a break from the comforts of our couch and dip a toe into the murky pool of The Twilight Zone - be sure to dim the lights, and lock the back door - because who knows just what could happen on this strange journey we are about to embark on. This week we have a double-whammy of lost souls, lost lives and that fleeting chance for redemption, backed up by some excellent casting choices. So let's dive right in here, shall we?

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The Twilight Zone - Season One: 'Where is Everybody?' and 'One for the Angels'

"The place is here, the time is now... and the journey into the shadows that we're about to watch could be our journey..."

It's hard to know where to start talking about a show as iconic and influential as The Twilight Zone. Despite airing several decades before I was born, it had already become so deeply embedded in pop culture lexicon that I felt I knew it before I had ever even watched an episode. Growing up we watched plenty of re-runs, with shows such as The Lone Ranger, Rawhide, Star Trek and Lost in Space playing as vital a role in our regular TV schedule as Thundercats and He-Man. It was a great time to be a kid, getting the best of both worlds. By the time I was growing up, the legacy of Serling's work was already visible on the TV landscape; in its wake came a some truly fantastic shows, classics such as The Outer Limits, Night Gallery, Tales From the Darkside, The Ray Bradbury Theatre and eventually, the show got a a re-boot itself to mixed results. Not only was the format successfully translated to other shows, but it was a great introduction to the masses for ideas in film and television that moved beyond just being science fiction and horror, but fell into the weird place that could only truly be found in The Twilight Zone...

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Video Sleeves - Then and Now (part one)

While I was going through some older reviews and updating them with more hi-res art work, I was saddened to see how some of these excellent covers had been altered or outright ditched in the progression from analogue to digital. I figure there could be many reasons for this - rights may have lapsed for artwork commissioned for certain regions, for example - but a lot of the time I feel it boils down to distributors having to justify having an art department. It can only account for some of the lazy and downright shoddy cash-grabs made by some of these guys.

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Movie Soundtracks : Theme Songs - Part One

It's one thing I definitely miss when watching a modern comedy or action film; a glorious, title-dropping theme song. I guess tastes have changed somewhat over the last 30 years or so, and having a hit single tied to the film might not be top priority for producers anymore. Luckily enough, there are plenty from the 80's that many of us know and love, that are well worth dusting off and adding to your party mixtape.

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