Trade Pile Part 1: Lumberjanes, Gotham Academy, Mockingbird, Batman & The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Posted on by TJDietsch

Well, I guess I’ve been at it again. Even though I spent a good deal of my last vacation burning through the first few books of Alan Moore’s amazing Swamp Thing run, I’ve also taken time out to plow through another pile of trades, most of which come from my local library.. I thought about separating them out into various themes and writing a bunch of different posts, but don’t want to forget too much and have decided to do a good, old fashioned quick-shot pair of pile posts! You know you want to hear what I thought about these books, so hit the jump! Continue reading Trade Pile Part 1: Lumberjanes, Gotham Academy, Mockingbird, Batman & The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Toy Commercial Tuesdays: Star-Studded Star Wars

Posted on by TJDietsch

There are roughly a thousand things I love about this Kenner Star Wars spot. First off, that’s Christian Slater on the left and Christmas Story and Death Valley star Peter Billingsley on the right. Second, I’ve had some of the action figures in this commercial since I can remember remembering things like Hoth Han and IG-88. Third, I’ve always seen and been enamored with that Darth Vader carrying case, but never realized that it actually featured the names of the characters and designated spots. Fourth, it’s hilarious to me that, of all the amazing characters on display as the camera pans by, AT-AT Driver and the medical droid get shout outs from young Master Slater. Okay, so maybe there were only five things I love about this commercial, but it’s still a great watch.

We Want Action: Fighting Mad & Moving Violations

Posted on by TJDietsch

For the past few weeks things have been kinda crazy around here. Thanks to a procedure our cat had, the kids couldn’t be in the same house as him for a while so we switched places with my folks (everyone’s aces now). That lead directly into a trip up to New Hampshire to see my wife’s parents and also attend her best friend’s wedding. In other words, I haven’t had much time to sit around and watch movies. Since I’ve got one day working from home this week with the kids gone, I figured I’d make good use of it and check out a double feature! Continue reading We Want Action: Fighting Mad & Moving Violations

Ambitious Summer Reading List: Cary Grant By Marc Eliot (2004)

Posted on by TJDietsch

We just got back from a week-long vacation and I’ve finished another book from the Ambitious Summer Reading List! First, I knocked out The Death-Bringers by Dell Shannon, then I finally finished Stephen King’s Desperation, I read all of Marc Eliot’s Cary Grant in about three days and I’m now nudging my way into Alistair MacLean’s When Eight Bells Toll, but that’s a story for another post.

I decided to buy this bio on the Hollywood legend after reading George Hamilton’s fascinating autobiography a few years back. It’s been a while since I read that one, but I have this vague memory of Hamilton mentioning how Grant rode onto a golf course on a horse or something along those lines. It must have been enough to capture my curiosity, because I ordered the book…and then it sat in a box for several years.   Continue reading Ambitious Summer Reading List: Cary Grant By Marc Eliot (2004)

Toy Commercial Tuesday: Super Mario Bros. THE MOVIE!

Posted on by TJDietsch

Even as a kid, I knew there was something off with 1993’s Super Mario Bros. movie. I don’t remember being super excited about it coming out — not like I was for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a few years earlier — but I do remember being confused by the tiny headed lizard dudes and, well, everything else.

These days, I’m happy the movie exists because it gave us Ertl action figures based on Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper AND Fisher Stevens. What other movie can say that? More importantly, what accent is this kid trying to do?

We Want Action: The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Posted on by TJDietsch

After realizing that the Fast & Furious movies are the best superhero films around, I’ve developed a new appreciation for Vin Diesel. He’s not the best actor in the world, but he’s pretty damn good at doing his thing (knowing looks, confidence, being huge, driving cars, saying “I am Groot,” etc). With that in mind — as well as a few How Did This Get Made? episodes focusing on his films — I decided to give The Last Witch Hunter a watch. I remember hearing exactly nothing about this one when it came out and you know what? I kinda liked it a lot. Continue reading We Want Action: The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Halloween Scene: Death Valley (1982)

Posted on by TJDietsch

Anyone even remotely familiar with this blog and my tastes will know that I have a lot of love for stories revolving around kids dealing with enormous dangers they have no business getting involved with. Most of my favorites harken back to my days of watching movies like Goonies on TV and the like, but I’ve been lucky enough to discover a few new ones as the years have rolled on. I want to say Cloak & Dagger was the last, but now we can add Dick Richards’ Death Valley to the list!  Continue reading Halloween Scene: Death Valley (1982)