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After »Yellowstone«, »1883« and »1923«, the series universe created by Taylor Sheridan is getting another installment. While the first three series tell the story of the Dutton family, »Lawmen« is an anthology series about legendary lawmen of the Wild West. Season 1 is dedicated to the story of Bass Reeves (portrayed by David Oyelowo, who you might know from »Silo«), the first African-American U.S. Marshal. He made over 3,000 arrests and always remained uninjured. Other prominent cast members include Dennis Quaid and Donald Sutherland.

Western fans can look forward to the series which starts streaming on November 5th on Paramount+. You can find the trailer for the series here: 
https://youtu.be/x3XFsQEoJZI

For fans of drama series a new Apple TV+ production starts streaming today: »Lessons in Chemistry«!

In the 50s, Elizabeth Zott (played by Brie Larson) wants to become a chemist in the 50s, but when she's fired from the lab she works at, her dream seems to be over. Then she accepts a job as the host of a TV cooking show and uses her chance to teach the women watching more than just recipes.

The show is based on the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus. The trailer looks really good and makes us feel quite optimistic:
https://youtu.be/-1PuK8mxASE

In case you're still looking for some entertainment this weekend it's worth checking it out. The first two episodes are available on the streaming platform today.

As his deal with Netflix comes to an end, Mike Flanagan is giving his farewell performance today with his fifth miniseries for the streaming service. And for the third time he dedicates himself to a real horror classic and modernizes and interprets it in his inimitable way. After Shirley Jackson's »The Haunting of Hill House« and Henry James' »The Turn of the Screw« (series title: »The Haunting of Bly Manor«), Flanagan's new series is based on »The Fall of the House of Usher« by grandmaster Edgar Allan Poe and sprinkles in references to his other works.

Mike Flanagan's horror is subtle; he always gives his characters room to develop; the horror is waiting in the wings. A lot happens in the background and doesn't immediately jump out at you like in many "Boo!”-shouting films of recent years. Although he doesn't completely forego jump scares, they always serve the story and are never an end in themselves.

Mike Flanagan first appeared on our radar in 2013 with his film »Oculus« and has been a fixture in our horror universe at least since his masterpiece »The Haunting of Hill House« was released. We look forward to letting him teach us what fear is tonight. We are also looking forward to the appearance of Mark Hamill, who plays Arthur Pym, the dodgy lawyer of the Usher family.

It’s the dark season and October, also known as Shocktober by horror fans, is ideal for scary films like no other month, which of course culminates in Halloween on the 31st. Celebrating the anniversary of a horror classic fits in perfectly: 50 years ago today, »Don't Look Now« premiered in London. In our country the film is better known by its German title »Wenn die Gondeln Trauer tragen« meaning »When the Gondolas Wear Mourning« - one of the rare cases where we actually like the German title (the 60s and 70s were full of idiotic attempts at poetic title translations) almost better than the original title.

Cinematographer Nicolas Roeg's third directorial effort has lost none of its suggestive power and Venice has never been more sinister.

We have put »Don't Look Now« on our Shocktober watchlist. If you have never seen the film, you should definitely do so. It is worth it! We look forward to seeing this masterpiece again.

No running. No diving. No lifeguard on duty. No swimming after dark.

Last week, Universal Pictures released a first trailer for »Night Swim«, produced by James Wan and Jason Blum. The planned theatrical release is January 4, 2024. After a bit of exposition about a swimming pool renovation, the first trailer for the horror thriller focuses entirely on a nocturnal and quite exciting scene in said pool and has certainly piqued our interest.

With this film, director Bryce McGuire delivers the feature-length version of his short film of the same name from 2014. Whether it has the staying power necessary for a full-length film remains to be seen. Here's the appetizer to get us excited about the flick: 
https://youtu.be/pcSNqteCEtE

The wait is over - the god of mischief is back! Today season 2 of the Marvel hit series »Loki« finally starts on Disney+.

Just like in the great first season, we can look forward to 6 new episodes in which the eponymous main character navigates through the multiverse and the timeline chaos - plagued by time-slipping which uncontrollably catapults our protagonist (as always brilliantly embodied by Tom Hiddleston) back and forth between the present and the past. He is accompanied not only by well-known faces like Mobius (Owen Wilson), but this time also by the technician of the Time Variance Authority Ouroboros, played by Ke Huy Quan, who is able to win over the audience with his usual likeable manner.

The trailers already made us optimistic, but now the first reviews confirm: This is going to be really good! We're looking forward to it - what about you?

With »The Exorcist« from 1973, William Friedkin created a horror cinema masterpiece 50 years ago. What a blast of a movie! It is considered one of the greatest horror films of all time and knew how to shock. The Oscar-winning movie created the subgenre of the exorcism film and all successors from copycats to ambitious productions have to be measured against it to this day.

»The Exorcist: Believer« is hitting cinemas today as a sequel to the original. Those are big shoes that director David Gordon Green is stepping into. Many critics think it's a few sizes too big. He is credited with good camera work and the make-up is praised. But where the original really managed to shock and get down to business, the sequel probably delivers more mainstream horror off the assembly line, offers nothing new and doesn’t leave out any exorcism clichés - predictable and therefore boring but a great commercial for the Catholic Church.

Of course, everyone should form their own opinion, but after David Gordon Green has already killed a beloved horror franchise with his »Halloween« trilogy, we're not really drawn to the cinema here.

The WONDER FESTIVAL in Shanghai ended yesterday. While at other conventions figures in 1/6 scale are often only represented by a few prominent manufacturers such as SIDESHOW, HOT TOYS, THREEZERO and few others, the Wonder Festival offers 1/6 collectors the full blast. Unfortunately, reporting by Western blogs and YouTubers is rather sparse due to the great distance from the Middle Empire. But of course there are still a lot of pictures on social media. The only catch is that the people who post these rarely write a text to accompany the images. There are usually no manufacturer names to be found, let alone information about the scale, whether a release is actually planned, or whether we are perhaps looking at an artist's custom figure. So a lot of detective work is necessary in order to be able to make halfway reliable statements.

It feels like historical Asian figures take up the largest part of the 1/6 selection at WF, so many samurai, Chinese emperors, soldiers from past centuries and mythological figures from Chinese poetry. Manufacturers such as 303 TOYS, KONGLINGGE TOYS STUDIO and some other small providers concentrate entirely on this topic. TBLEAGUE and I8 TOYS also focused on this in Shanghai. In addition to the Asian series, COO MODEL TOYS and HAOYU TOYS also presented figures from European history. COO showed a great exclusive Hernando Cortes. And HAOYU brought three exclusive figures from »The New Legends of Monkey«. The manufacturer POP COSTUME is noteworthy as well. What should be highlighted here is the collaboration with the JPT DESIGN STUDIO, which always creates texture-rich eye-catchers, like the new Ninja. They also showed a magnificent blacksmith which will certainly delight collectors of medieval figures.

THREEZERO presented many characters from their anime program but we couldn't discover anything new. Apparently ASMUS TOYS was also there but so far we haven't been able to find a single picture of them.

Meanwhile, supplies for all Star Trek fans were available again at EXO-6. It's unbelievable what this manufacturer continually comes up with. You can get a small overview of the exhibition showcase in this video. Our highlights are Ro Laren from »The Next Generation«, Odo from »Deep Space Nine« and Worf from season 3 of »Picard«.

There were also exciting new products to marvel at at the INART stand, including Albus Dumbledore from »Harry Potter«, Daenerys Targaryen from »Game of Thrones« and three versions of Joaquin Phoenix as the »Joker«. Be sure to check out the Inart Booth Tour from Justin's Collection:
https://youtu.be/kSljUqt-KSs?si=Y-4AhEOmxWvTWLbN

The progress with the heads of the Body series from the new provider MAHA is quite promising. We also stumbled across some collectibles by artist Matt Wong aka SENSATION STUDIO, including Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang from »Everything Everywhere All at Once«.

Did you discover something great at the Wonder Festival? Let us know.

The Toy Fair New York has been running since Saturday and everyone who is big in the industry is gathering in the Big Apple to present the latest toys and collectibles. 

Collectors of small-sized action figures in particular will get their money's worth at the Toy Fair. But of course there were also exciting statues and other collectibles from films, TV, anime, comics and games. As usual, it's total sensory overload. Here are just a few highlights that we particularly liked.

When it comes to action figure veterans MCFARLANE TOYS, we are looking forward to the »Demon Slayer« series, the »Jumanji« figures, the Movie Maniacs addition of Pennywise from »It« and especially to the Christopher Walken Emperor Shaddam IV figure in the »Dune« series. In the large DC Multiverse series, the »Batman and Robin« figure set is our highlight with a 'Build-a-Figure' Mr. Freeze Arnold Schwarzenegger.

There were also a lot of innovations to marvel at from the action figure top dog NECA. The greatest news first: In addition to the fantastic Ultimate figures for the Universal Monsters, NECA is now also launching a series for the icons from HAMMER FILMS. First up is Christopher Lee as »Dracula«. And while we're on the subject of classics and horror legends: In the Ultimate Series we can look forward to a Vincent Price with three heads of different ages. In the Toony Terrors line we are looking forward to the characters from the Netflix series »Wednesday« (2 versions of Wednesday and one Enid Sinclair). Angela Lansbury aka Jessica Fletcher from »Murder, She Wrote« is quite funny and certainly no one had this on their radar. Alex Murphy from »RoboCop« is also very cool.

The manufacturer TRICK OR TREAT STUDIOS, which specializes in horror, is showing the 1/6 figures from »Halloween«, »Texas Chainsaw Massacre«, and the two Christopher Lee figures from the amazing films »Frankenstein's Curse« and »Dracula«, which were introduced last year. On this scale, we are also looking forward to Sam from »Trick ‘r Treat«. The army of small action figures is also continually growing here, from classics like the possessed Regan from »The Exorcist« to figures from George Romero's »Day of the Dead« to the slasher offspring »Terrifier«. The diner scene from »Texas Chainsaw Massacre« is also very “cute”.

From SUPER 7 we are looking forward to »Conan« on his throne, and when it comes to the Music Re-Action figures, the »Beastie Boys« in the Sabotage three-pack are a highlight for us. In general, the series offers some exciting characters from 80s music from the »Sex Pistols« to »Blondie«.

At IRON STUDIOS we were impressed by a large »Jurassic Park« diorama with a dramatic encounter between T-Rex, humans and raptors. The new »Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3« figures are also arousing anticipation for us.

From FIRST 4 FIGURES come a few cool monsters from the »Witcher« TV series and the figures from »Cyberpunk 2077« are great as well.

This is only a fraction of what we discovered while researching online and there are certainly still some treasures waiting to be uncovered. You can find a good overview of all the new products on The Toyark and the tireless Pixel Dan is once again providing us with exciting booth tours. Enjoy browsing!

In the course of the year 2023, the collectibles top dog SIDESHOW released some really outstanding “Premium Format Figures” - statues in the classic 1:4 scale. The magical Zatanna or the powerful Ahsoka Tano come to mind …

Within the Marvel Comics PF line the new realization of Psylocke has been a highlight for us ever since its announcement - and since every candidate from Sideshow for our title “Product of the Month” has been eliminated by other collectibles this year, in October it’s now finally Sideshow’s turn with the impressive Psylocke Premium Format Figure!

This detailed statue is limited to 2,000 pieces worldwide and we think it’s great that there’s just one version which includes everything: the exchangeable right forearm, the lantern with a light-up feature integrated in the base as well as the possibility to leave out the backdrop diorama (with the moon and the pagodas) in case you prefer a simpler version of the display.

We are super excited about this amazing collectible and think this is a great opportunity for all X-Men fans to add this iconic character to their collection - especially if you missed out on the first two Psylocke PF’s from Sideshow (released in 2012 and 2019).

We really let it rip in the S.P.A.C.E studio because we used the new episode of 🚀 ABGESPACED 🚀 as an opportunity to really celebrate our big anniversary again 🥳! For this purpose, Sven invited his good friend and companion Thomas, who chatted with him about the last 25 years and remembered a bunch of funny moments 😅.

Of course, in this episode we also have some cool collectibles, great postcards and an XXL sweepstakes with awesome goodies for you 🤩! Get a piece of cake, a glass of champagne and celebrate with us - now on YouTube!
https://youtu.be/bbxKt0P60L4

The slightly different superhero series »The Boys« on Prime Video is, for us, one of the hottest series that streaming TV currently has to offer: funny, bloody, cynical and wonderfully politically incorrect.

The spin-off series »Gen V« starts today on Prime Video and takes us to the elite college financed by Vought International, where the superheroes of tomorrow are being trained. The encounter with the hormone and Compound V controlled Supes looks like a lot of rough fun in the spirit of »The Boys«. Isn't the trailer convincing?
https://youtu.be/hBKkZqImZQo

Finally something really fresh and new, with a blasting trailer! That's at least our first impression of »Argylle«, the new movie by Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman, Kick-Ass):
https://youtu.be/7mgu9mNZ8Hk

Did you have the flick on your radar? We didn't, not at all! The bigger the surprise and the pleasant anticipation is on coming February when »Argylle« incl. a huge cast around Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, John Cena, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston and many more will hit cinemas. Awesome!

»The Creator« opens in cinemas today. When we saw the first trailer a couple of months ago, it was clear that this was a film we definitely wanted to see! This looks like a really big sci-fi epic. And the fact that the trailer immediately reminded us of a whole series of film classics from »Blade Runner« to »District 9« to »Apocalypse Now« doesn't detract from our enjoyment. On the contrary - it increases our anticipation.

We also believe that the film is in good hands with Gareth Edwards. After all, with »Rogue One« Edwards created probably the best »Star Wars« film since the franchise became part of the mouse company.

There are now some early comments on the film and quite a few are praising it and calling it perhaps the best film of the year. Visually it is bombastic. The performance by nine-year-old Madeleine Yuna Voyles and the score by Hans Zimmer also received a lot of praise. To get you in the mood, one more of the last trailers:
https://youtu.be/ex3C1-5Dhb8

The »Castlevania« video game series is one of the longest-lived series the gaming world has ever produced. Since the late 1980s, players have been driven to the brink of despair thanks to the hardcore difficulty level. Sometimes even beyond! ;)

In 2017, Netflix then treated its viewers with an animated »Castlevania« series, which made it to a total of four seasons. Obviously, Netflix hit a nerve with its viewers: The series which mainly aimed for an adult audience was a hit and is now one of the most successful animated Netflix series that the streaming service hosts.

Reason enough for Netflix to follow up again: Tomorrow, the new series spin-off »Castlevania Nocturne« will launch. Nocturne is set in 1792 and tells the story of Judge Belmont and his allies who have to defend themselves not only against the aristocracy but also against a terrible vampire messiah.

Check out the trailer here:
https://youtu.be/_afpwpbKPs0

Are you looking forward to »Castlevania Nocturne«?

The event series »The Continental: From the World of John Wick« starts today on Prime Video. The subtitle immediately makes it clear what we can expect. The three feature-length episodes are set in the 1970s and tell the story of how Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) took over the Continental.

The Continental is a hotel chain with branches all over the world. The hotels are neutral territory for members of the criminal underworld. They are frequented by many contract killers and notorious murderers and offer the best service, which is what a certain Mr. Cormac (Mel Gibson) vouches for with his good name…

The trailer looks damn good and promises us a lot of handmade action and breathtaking fight choreographies, as well as a cool 70's flair with a corresponding soundtrack. The evening is saved!

But before you want to book a city trip in the Continental on booking.com, take a look at the trailer first: 
https://youtu.be/y3FzXBkCUAg

In 2010, Sylvester Stallone scored a coup with »The Expendables« by gathering the heroes of the 80s and 90s in one film and paying homage to the action cinema of those days. There were lots of one-liners and brutal over-the-top action. Like most successful films, »The Expendables« was followed by sequels.

The fourth part of the series is hitting cinemas today and most critics are not very enthusiastic. The film is often accused of false labeling, as the trailers placed their focus on Sly Stallone whereas his character Barney Ross only has 15 minutes of screen time in the film. The old action heroes are even older in 2023, and probably too old. Jason Statham as Lee Christmas is at the center of the story and delivers a one-man show. This no longer has much to do with the original concept of »The Expendables«. For us, »Expend4bles« is expendable in the cinema. The upcoming streaming evaluation is definitely enough for us.

With »The Conjuring« James Wan scored a real hit and revitalized the haunted house subgenre. This not only became a franchise but also an entire cinematic universe, which gave peripheral characters like the doll »Annabelle« three sequels. The demon Valak, aka »The Nun« was introduced in »The Conjuring 2« and is now getting a second film.

»The Nun« is considered one of the weakest movies in the series but is also the most successful film in the franchise. A second part was as certain as the Amen in church. The director was Michael Chaves, who was also responsible for the weak »The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It« and the lame »The Curse of La Llorona«, so expectations of the new nun are probably rather muted. However, many reviews of the film praise its camera work and atmosphere and most critics think it fares better than its predecessor, even if it is said to be predictable and therefore a fair amount of boring. Friends of jump-scare cinema will definitely get their money's worth here.

All in all, two films of summer slump-like mediocrity with a lack of originality. So maybe our time is better spent sitting in the sun and enjoying the last days of summer.

Exactly 60 years ago today, Alfred Hitchcock's film »The Birds« was released in German cinemas. The film was received rather cautiously by critics, as the Master of Suspense was way ahead of its time by courageously refusing to give the audience an explanation for the bird attacks and simply leaving the interpretation up to us.

Regardless of whether we want to read it as an ecological thriller about an exploited nature taking revenge or the metaphor of an oedipal conflict, the film has long since become a great classic of cinema. There is hardly any animal horror film that was not influenced by »The Birds«. And probably in another 60 years, film students will still be studying the schoolyard scene in amazement at how the master creates tension and teaches us a lesson in pure cinema. So if you have never seen »The Birds« we strongly recommend that you close this cinematic education gap.

For many gamers and especially horror fans, the remake of »Resident Evil 4« might be one of the best game titles of 2023. Capcom delivered a prime example of how to transport a classic into the present without destroying the substance of the original.

Besides the likeable characters Leon and Ashley, there is one character that players undoubtedly remembered: We're talking about Ada Wong, of course, whose short appearances enjoy true cult status among fans. In the main game, Ada's motivation remains relatively nebulous and you have to consult secondary sources to fully understand the reason for her stay.

In the first DLC »Separate Ways«, you can experience the events surrounding Los Illuminados from Ada's perspective. There's no need to explain to genre and series veterans that her experiences are not for the faint-hearted.

If you want to get a first impression, you should check out the launch trailer:
https://youtu.be/nHCK6Cbn3UM

The »Separate Ways« DLC will be released September 21st for PC, PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and will cost €9.99. The main game is required to play.

By the way, you can still pre-order Ada Wong in 1/6 format from DAMTOYS from us:
https://www.space-figuren.de/Games/Resident-Evil/1-6-Scale-Ada-Wong-Resident-Evil-2::24864.html