[Transformers] Takara Welcome to 2010 Unicron

The true Transformer lover knows that were owe a lot to a Japanese toy company called Takara. Established in 1955, the company has been making novel toys over the years while keeping their company motto in mind - "Playing is culture." Sure, they weren't originally Transformers when they first came out - we have the US toy company Hasbro to thank for that.

While Hasbro has gone on to fame and fortune by waving around the Transformers banner, Takara remains to be the original creator and Hasbro is their their Transformers distributor. Well, among other things.

In recent years, Takara has been re-releasing some of the original Generation 1 Transformers as part of their Encore line. I've been able to acquire a few classics such as a re-release of Soundwave (together with Laserbeak) and the first Japanese release of Sky Lynx (and he still walks!) And I'm still lusting over the Encore Omega Supreme, mainly because I still feel bad that I lost mine as a kid.

But as much as I'm happy to own these, there's one new Transformer re-release that I'm dying to have.

[Comics] Kick-Ass

There's a very large universe of comic books that I have yet to have the chance to read. My partner, who is a major comic book fan, has been keeping me busy with a heck of a large number of titles that I have to read as "assignments" of sorts and it's been a nicely enjoyable experience thus far.

This title was sort of on the assigned reading list, but naturally I was prompted to read it because of the recent movie, that we both enjoyed a lot. And as much as the movie was pretty violent and somewhat jarring at times, the comic was even better!

As much as violence in media tends to be a somewhat touchy subject amongst more conservative advocates, I still feel it works within appropriate mediums or with sufficient controls in place. The answer is NOT about censoring the worst bits out of a movie in order to give it a wider-reaching movie rating (I'm talking to you freaks at the MTRCB!) but about sufficient controls so that people who can handle the content can gain access and no one else. Comic books tend to be a gray area in this regard since I've yet to encounter comic book stores that limit what titles they can sell to minors, but I trust the clerks and their better judgement in terms of what can and can't be sold to younger audiences.

And the rest of us get to enjoy the results.

[Movies] Despicable Me (2010)

In the CGI movie market, the big guns remain to be Pixar and DreamWorks Animation. A few others have taken a stab at entering this particular movie market, with mixed if not limited success. And as much as I love the products that come out from both studios, I'm never entirely opposed to new players entering the market. Seriously, I was one of the people who enjoyed Hoodwinked!

A big reason why I still like these movies is that the writers tend to do a pretty stellar job of writing good comedy. Sure, the animation medium does allow for more liberties in terms of sight gags and what you can have the characters do, but it takes a skilled group of writers to figure out how to best utilize the medium to full effect. And of course a fairly visionary director knowing how to put all those diverse elements together.

I suppose this is what keeps me as a kid at heart. I'll always be able to derive pleasure and enjoyment from watching most cartoons. It just really helps when the writers are similarly spirited and thus they make sure that not just the young in age enjoy the movie.

[Technicolor Musings] Growing Up Gay With Kylie

Image via WikipediaI don't remember precisely when I fell in love with the music and artistry of Kylie Minogue, but it definitely coincided with my realizations about my sexuality. Sure, I'm familiar with her old songs from before that time, but only as tunes that sounded nice but nothing I particularly wanted to listen to more closely. To put things in context though, I wasn't into any of the more popular forms of music prior to high school. All I knew was classical pieces and lots and lots of Broadway musicals.

With the release of her latest album (and her second music video), I find myself thinking back to my on again, off again relationship with her music. She has sort of been a companion to me over the course of my homosexual awakening, my first relationship and so on and so forth. Every gay man has to have his diva after all. Some still fiercely defend Britney (hello Chris Crocker!) while newer generations have come to worship Lady GaGa. While I'll always have the utmost respect and appreciation for Madonna, it's only with Kylie that I can firmly say that I love with all my heart.

So for this week's Technicolor Musings post, I thought it might be fun and of course most timely to revisit my experience of growing up with the wonderful music of Kylie Minogue.

[Movies] Transformers: The Movie (1986)

Image via WikipediaWhen I started the Geeky Guide, I decided that I'd do my best to review every single movie, book and TV show that I'd work my way through starting from that point. Over the years, I'd like to think I've done a decent job of this, but the challenge of a "going forward" system is that I don't always get to go back and review things that I had seen longer before the Geeky Guide existed.

Sometimes I just get caught up in the rush of all the geeky things that my partner and I get to involve ourselves with, that I end up missing opportunities to revisit classics of my youth (or daresay my childhood). And then I get these "slow" days when no recent movies immediately come to mind and so I start digging through my past to find something to write about.

So I have to admit that it was a surprise to me that I had yet to post a formal review for this movie despite how much I proclaim that I'm a Transformers G1 fan (till all are won!). It's weird to think that not only is this movie now over 20 years old, but even the setting of the movie is already in our past.

Don't you just hate it when the future becomes the past?