Pop Culture Will Eat Itself » Toys

Is The Matrix Made of Lego?

Sean — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:03:14 +0000

Probably not. But this video is made of win. Two guys recreated the famous “Bullet Time” sequence from The Matrix, shot for shot, in Lego. And it kicks ass. The amount of work they put into this is astounding: 440 hours for a 44 second clip. But their attention to detail is equally astounding. It truly is, shot for shot, a Lego Matrix. Check it out:

They have a ton of information about how they made the video, along with behind-the-scenes videos, on their site. It’s interesting stuff if you’re a film geek, a Lego geek, or both.

via BoingBoing

RIP Captain Lou Albano

Sean — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:14:41 +0000

It’s a sad, sad day. Pro wrestler and all-around 80s celebrity Captain Lou Albano died. If you’re about my age you should remember him from the WWF, the WWF cartoon, or in Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” video. Let’s all raise a toast to the man with rubber bands in his beard.

A Lego Salute to 8-Bit Games

Sean — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:47:44 +0000

What do you get when you combine Lego, old-school Nintendo games, and music made from old gaming system chips? 8-bits of awesome that took 1500 hours to make. That’s almost 190 8-hour days. Goddamn. It’s worth it though. Check it out:

He-Man Movie Gets a Director!

Sean — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:42:07 +0000

It appears the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe movie is actually moving forward. Latino Review broke a story today that Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson has been hired to direct the updated He-Man movie.

I’ve been very skeptical of this project from the first report. It seems like simply another attempt to cash in on 30-something nostalgia. Plus the first attempt at a movie was an absolute abomination (Dolph Lundgren anyone?). And in retrospect He-Man was a pretty stupid cartoon and toy line (why is he fighting guys who shoot lasers with a sword? And how did we miss the fact that the guy with the Mary Tyler Moore haircut goes from pink shirt and tights to bondage gear?). But…

I like Kung Fu Panda. Quite a bit actually. So can the man behind that movie actually make Masters of the Universe interesting? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Not sure how long we’ll have to wait though; no release date has been set.

via Latino Review

Album Covers Made from Legos

Sean — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:35:02 +0000

Check out this cool-ass Flickr pool: People are recreating classic album covers out of Lego. Above, The White Stripes’ White Blood Cells and The Beatles’ Let it Be.

Legos vs Photographs

Sean — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 03:00:53 +0000

It’s hard not to love it when people come up with creative uses for Legos. Here’s a guy who takes famous photographs and recreates them with Legos. From the photo of Marines planting the flag at Iwo Jima to New York construction workers eating lunch on a girder and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, he’s reenacted them with great care and attention to detail. If you’re not familiar with the original photos, here’s a site that shows both the original and Lego versions together.

All the photos on Flickr

G.I. Joe – The Movie (with Pics)

Sean — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 03:34:59 +0000

In yet another shameless attempt to cash in on my childhood Paramount Pictures is making a live-action G.I. Joe movie, creatively titled G.I. Joe. It’s being directed by Stephen Sommers, the mastermind behind The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, The Revenge of The Mummy, and Van Helsing. Wow, that’s a tour de force of shit. Can’t wait to see how he rapes my cherished childhood memories…

The movie is currently filming, and it isn’t due out until August of 2009. While you wait anxiously for the release, here’s a few things we know already:

Dennis Quaid is playing General Hawk (click for picture)
Fire-maned hottie Rachel Nichols is Scarlett O’Hara, quite possibly my first crush
Korean star Byung-hun Lee is Storm Shadow, the badass Cobra ninja
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is hooded hoodlum Cobra Commander. Yes, the kid from Third Rock From the Sun is playing Cobra Commander.
The pivotal role of Joe leader Duke will be played by a guy with a gay pr0n name: Channing Tatum
Ripcord, who just missed our 10 Lamest G.I. Joe Figures Ever list, is in the movie. Maybe Marlon Wayans can make the character cool. Wait? MARLON Wayans? Shit. No chance.
Snake Eyes is played by Ray Parks, the stunt man who played Darth Maul in the shitburger that was Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. A couple of pictures of Park as everyone’s favorite good guy ninja have come out:

I have a scary feeling that when all is said and done, the Michael Bay suckfest that was Transformers may actually be the lesser of two evils. And writing that makes me feel very dirty.

So, my fellow children of the 80s:

[poll=4]

Lego Arms Dealers

Sean — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:00:59 +0000

Are your Lego men boring? Do they lack a certain something? Are they a little too goody two shoes for you? Well finally there’s a solution: automatic weapons. That’s right, you can finally have that AK-47 or RPG to complete your “Day in Iraq” scene.

BrickArms is a small toy company based in Redmond, WA that specializes in creating custom Lego figures as well as weapons for the little brick men. Prices are reasonable, so head over to their site and arm your miniature “freedom fighters”.

via Gizmodo

RIP Richard Knerr – Co-Founder of Wham-O

Sean — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 04:59:37 +0000

Richard Knerr, the co-founder of Wham-O, the originators of Hula Hoops, Super Balls, Frisbees, Silly String, Hacky Sacks, and Slip ‘N Slides has died at age 82. He and his longtime friend Spud Melin founded Wham-O in 1948 to market slingshots. But it wasn’t until 1958 when they heard about a bamboo ring used in Australia for exercise and their business took off.

Without seeing one of these Aussie exercise devices they devised their own and made it out of Marlex. Then they re-wrote the book on product marketing, giving away free to kids who mastered them, had salespeople take them on planes, and generally did everything possible to create buzz. Soon their new product, the Hula Hoop, was the biggest fad to ever hit America.

Wham-O didn’t stop there. They went on to become heroes to hippies everywhere when they brought the Frisbee and the Hacky Sack to the market. They defined summer entertainment for kids (and drunk college students) when they introduced the Slip ‘N Slide. They seemingly defied the laws of physics and redefined bubble gum machines when they developed the Super Ball. Along the way they entertained countless people with reasonably-priced, innovative toys. Basically, if there was a Nobel Prize for toys, Knerr and Melin would get it.

So rest in peace Richard Knerr. I hope like the Egyptian Pharaohs they buried you with all of your toys to keep you entertained on your journey over the River Styx.

Classic commercials for Wham-O toys after the jump.

Commercial for Hula Hoop and Frisbee:

Super Ball and Super Elastic Bubble Plastic:

Full-Sized Transformer

Sean — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 02:12:50 +0000

Three Chinese dudes who have too much time on their hands have paid homage to Michael Bay’s uber-craptacular film adaptation of Transformers by building a full-sized Citroen Transformer. It doesn’t actually transform or anything, and it cost $8,000 to build. So really it’s just a statue. Bo-ring! Call me when it transforms…

More photos and info at Weird Asian News

UPDATE: There’s another one in West Hollywood