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50 years ago today, »The Godfather - Part II« celebrated its premiere in New York City. The film won 6 Oscars, including the award for Best Picture of the year 1974. Francis Ford Coppola thus managed the feat of winning the Oscar for Best Picture for both »The Godfather« and its sequel. Both works are at the top of the IMDb list of the 250 best films of all time (»The Godfather« in second place and »The Godfather - Part II« in fourth place).

The film is both a sequel and a prequel. It continues the story of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), who becomes the new godfather after his father Vito's death. At the same time, flashbacks tell the backstory of Vito Corleone, how he came to the USA as a boy and rose to become the godfather. Robert De Niro took over the role from Marlon Brando.

You can stream or buy the film from different sites online but we think most of you have the films on your shelf anyway, because they shouldn't be missing from anyone's film collection. As a reminder, here are the trailers again:
https://youtu.be/UaVTIH8mujA
https://youtu.be/9O1Iy9od7-A

Speaking of collections, let's take a look at the collectibles for the films!
https://www.space-figuren.de/Filme/Der-Pate:::4681_5063.html

Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone has been immortalized in the form of different collectibles several times. In 2009, Hot Toys released him as a 1/6 scale figure. In 2020, Damtoys secured the license and released the Don in two versions. We still have the Golden Years version in stock, as well as the life-size bust from Damtoys and the brand-new, cool diorama statue from Iron Studios depicting the opening scene of the film.

Unfortunately, Al Pacino as Michael Corleone and Robert De Niro as the young Vito Corleone have so far been treated rather poorly by the collectibles industry. The unlicensed 1/6 scale figures from Dragon in Dreams, which were released in 2014 under the titles Chicago Gangster (Pacino), Chicago Gangster II (De Niro) and Chicago Gangster III (Pacino), deserve a mention here. Unlicensed figures were also recently released by Present Toys.

It would be great if Hot Toys or Damtoys or one of the other well-known players on the collectors' market would take the 50th anniversary of the film as an opportunity to bring us new licensed collectibles for this cinematic masterpiece. It's about time!

Today, we have four new films, which are hitting cinemas right now, that we'd like to present here.


In »Here« Robert Zemeckis takes us on a cinematic journey through time. It's about joy, hope, loss and love and the core message: life happens HERE. The first trailer already touched us a lot, so we're really excited to see Tom Hanks and Robin Wright reunited in front of the camera by Zemeckis 30 years after »Forrest Gump«, surely in a great set and costume design. Since Zemeckis' colleague Eric Roth co-wrote the script and the music was composed by the great Alan Silvestri, »Here« could be a truly emotional highlight at the end of the year.
https://youtu.be/I_id-SkGU2k


»Kraven The Hunter« is also hitting cinemas. Fans have had to wait a long time for this day after the original release date was pushed back several times. The trailer already reveals that the story of Russian immigrant Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is taking some brutal turns. The film of Sony's Spider-Man Universe is about Sergei's complicated relationship with his father Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe). Due to the fact that he prefers his younger brother Dmitri (Fred Hechinger), Sergei withdraws from humans and finds strength in nature. In the end, he begins a ruthless revenge campaign and devotes himself to his goal of becoming the world's most feared hunter. On his way to his future as a villain, he also meets Rhino (Chi Lewis-Parry) who makes his life even harder. Check out the latest trailer:
https://youtu.be/hR1-ihzff3I

There's a new adventure from Middle-earth that's finally coming to cinemas as well - with a new look! »The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim« tells the story of the Riders of Rohan in animation. And while the first reviews aren't too great, we still want to see for ourselves.
https://youtu.be/gCUg6Td5fgQ

Speaking of Rohan - WETA WORKSHOP have forged the capital of the Rohirrim as a fantastic collectible in the fires of mount doom just in time for the release of the movie.


Last but not least, we have an absolute highlight for musical fans: of course, we're talking about »Wicked«! The film takes place in the world of »The Wizard of Oz« and is based on the Broadway musical that shows the story of Elphaba and Galinda, who later become the Wicked Witch of the West and the Glinda the Good. While we still have to wait a year to see part 2, we can now watch the first movie in cinemas, which contains the first act of the musical and culminates in the song "Defying Gravity". But even outside of the musical numbers, »Wicked« is opulent and tells a moving story about ostracism, loyalty and propaganda. The main characters are cast perfectly with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande and the supporting actors, including Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Jonathan Bailey, make us feel euphoric. We can't wait to finally travel to the magical world of Oz once again!
https://youtu.be/6COmYeLsz4c


Are you watching any of these movies in the cinema?

Today we are opening door no. 11 of the S.P.A.C.E Advent calendar 🎅🎁!

Behind the 11th door is: a SuperGeek coupon worth 30 € and an Alien Queen Micro Epic figure by Weta Workshop

The winner is: Alexander

Congratulations 🥳! We will contact you via email.

Someone is really in the Christmas spirit - Alice, Dum and Dee have decorated beautifully and they've already wrapped their presents! And there's still some jam on the knife from baking cookies ... at least we hope so 😅.

This wonderful picture was taken by Gabriel, who photographed the figures of Alice, Tweedledum & Tweedledee by Milo's Workshop from the game »American McGee's Alice« in a self-made atmospheric scenery. Thank you, Gabriel!

If you would like to send Christmas greetings from Wonderland, get a copy of this card 🎅! You get one for free with every package we send to you in December 📦.

»Inside Out« and »Inside Out 2« are among the best and most successful Pixar films of all time. The stories are bursting with ingenuity and creative, intelligent ideas. We follow the development of the child Riley and her core emotions of joy, sadness, fear, anger and disgust in the control center of her head. Dream Productions were introduced in the first film - the place where Riley's dreams are created. When memories need to be processed more intensively, Dream Productions is responsible.

We often speak of the mental cinema of dreams and so cinema and the production of films were also the inspiration for the creation of Riley's dreams, which are staged like the shooting of a film.

In the four-part mini-series »Dream Productions«, the celebrated director Paula Persimmon has to deal with the conceited daydream director Xeni, who is determined to get into the top league of night dreams.

You can binge the four entertaining 20-minute episodes on Disney+ starting today.

Today we are opening door no. 10 of the S.P.A.C.E Advent calendar 🎅🎁!

Behind the 10th door is: a Professor X MiniCo. Figure and a Captain America MiniCo. Figure by Iron Studios

The winners are: Georg and Jörn

Congratulations 🥳! We will contact you via email.

»28 Days Later« breathed new life into the zombie genre in 2002. Strictly speaking, we weren't dealing with the undead here, but with people infected with a kind of rabies virus. They were therefore much faster than Romero's sluggishly shambling zombies. However, the apocalyptic results were identical in both cases. Without the film, there would probably have been neither Zack Snyder's remake of »Dawn of the Dead« nor Romero's »Land of the Dead« or the TV series »The Walking Dead«.

After the sequel »28 Weeks Later« from 2007, another sequel is now following with »28 Years Later«. The first trailer has been released today:
https://youtu.be/mcvLKldPM08

Late sequels of successful films are very popular right now, but compared to some others, »28 Years Later« is actually still early ("only" 18 years lie between the release of the two films). The trailer looks fantastic and gets us really excited to see the film. What also makes us feel very optimistic is that Danny Boyle will be directing again, like in the first film, and that author Alex Garland is back on board and wrote the script together with Boyle. The cast is impressive, with names like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes and Jodie Comer; and Cillian Murphy is reprising his role as Jim. We're looking forward to it, even if we still have to wait until summer. The release date is planned for June.

For series lovers, who are also gamers, there's no better way to enjoy the advent season than with the anthology series »Secret Level«. It's available now on Amazon Prime Video. The first season includes 15 episodes that tell stories from the worlds of famous video games. The trailer, in fact, makes gamers' hearts beat faster:
https://youtu.be/SvY9Uq7I30Y

Each episode has its own charm and animation style, as well as excellent actors. Titles like »Pac-Man«, »Dungeons & Dragons«, »Mega Man« or »Unreal Tournament« should be familiar to almost every long-time gamer. In addition to the nostalgia overload, you can look forward to gorgeous fantasy and sci-fi worlds from games like »Warhammer 40,000«, »Exodus«, »Honor of Kings« or »The Outer Worlds«. Popular shooter titles like »Crossfire« also play a role. There are treasures of many different genres, from which »Secret Level« tells us a story full of tension and emotion. Surely watching this series will make you want to play one or the other game again 😁!

Today we are opening door no. 9 of the S.P.A.C.E Advent calendar 🎅🎁!

Behind the 9th door is: a T-Rex D-Stage mini-diorama from »Jurassic World« by Beast Kingdom

The winner is: Simon

Congratulations 🥳! We will contact you via email.

The Tokyo Comic Con took place last weekend. The large Hot Toys booth was particularly notable. The market leader showed a large line-up of their themes and also used the event to introduce two brand new figures that made their 1:6 debut here: Mr. Knight from the series »Moon Knight«, played by Oscar Isaac; and Rain Carradine from »Alien: Romulus«, played by Cailee Spaeny. We like both of them a lot!

But Hot Toys also had a whole legion of 1:6 collectibles on exhibition. »Deadpool & Wolverine« got its own display case with the recently announced X-23 figure as the first release of the four Resistance characters. A total of eight Spider-Men populated the »Spider-Man« display case, including the Peter Parker "Anti-Venom Suit" from the »Marvel's Spider-Man 2« video game that was announced last week. Various Marvel heroes, including the new Captain America Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. Suit 2.0, were on display in two other Marvel cases.

A total of four showcases were filled with »Star Wars« figures, and two display cases featured the heroes from DC Comics.

The long-running »Terminator« line also got its own section. Alongside the 2.0 versions of the T-800 and T-1000 from »Terminator 2: Judgment Day« ,there were also various older figures from the franchise on display. We want to see this as a subtle hint from the manufacturer that other figures will also be getting their Version 2.0 re-issue. We would be very happy to see a state-of-the-art Sarah Connor with movable eyes.

Another exhibition area was dedicated to »Alien« and »Predator«. There was fresh blood in the Alien franchise this year with »Alien: Romulus« and with the Scorched Xenomorph and the newly introduced Rain Carradine, Hot Toys is ready to give us more figures from the Alien films. The »Alien: Earth« series is also coming in 2025. We think it is more than likely that we will get something from Hot Toys for that too. As with »Terminator«, we would also be happy to see a 2.0 re-release of some classic figures, especially Ellen Ripley, of course.

At the beginning of December, Hot Toys announced that it had acquired a license for the Netflix series »Squid Game«. The first products in the form of some Cosbabies were on display in Tokyo. Of course, we hope that the manufacturer will also add some figures in 1:6 scale. We are excited to see what's coming! The new license is a step in the right direction. We think it's time for Hot Toys to expand its license spectrum beyond its comfort zone. We can think of a whole bunch of other films and series for which we would like to have Hot Toys figures.

With this YouTube video from Kaiju Daddy you can pay a virtual visit to the Hot Toys booth at Tokyo Comic Con:
https://youtu.be/zUDP04PxhuI

And you can find our Hot Toys line-up here:
https://www.space-figuren.de/Hot-Toys:.:8.html

From today on, you have the opportunity to play as one of the world's most famous adventurers and unravel ancient mysteries. »Indiana Jones and the Great Circle« was published by Bethesda Softworks (»Fallout«, »The Elder Scroll«, »Wolfenstein«) for the Xbox Series and Windows. The release for PlayStation 5 is announced for 2025. In first-person, you step into the role of the brave American archaeologist Indiana Jones and have to overcome numerous obstacles for a groundbreaking cause.

»Indiana Jones and the Great Circle« takes place between the films »Raiders of the Lost Ark« from 1981 and »Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade« from 1989. Indy wants to discover the mystery of the Great Circle. But the Nazis get in his way. You can either ambush them or fight them in direct combat. Of course Indy's whip can't be missing, which you can use in a variety of ways throughout the adventure. In addition to companions such as journalist Gina Lombardi and Marcus Brody, who's already known from the films, you also meet the manipulative Emmerich Voss, who potrays the nasty villain. The developing studio MachineGames has set the game in an adventurous atmosphere and also proved graphically that video game adaptations do indeed have their right to exist. Here's the trailer:
https://youtu.be/0e17p2IVDUU

If you're feeling at home in the Indiana Jones franchise, you should check out our online shop. The manufacturer Iron Studios, for example, has designed some dynamic statues of your favorite archaeologist:
https://www.space-figuren.de/Movies/Indiana-Jones:::4681_4972.html?language=en

Today we are opening door no. 8 of the S.P.A.C.E Advent calendar 🎅🎁!

Behind the 8th door is: a Terence Hill as Trinity 1/12 PVC statue by Infinite

The winner is: Jörg

Congratulations 🥳! We will contact you via email.

Today we are opening door no. 7 of the S.P.A.C.E Advent calendar 🎅🎁!

Behind the 7th door is: a SuperGeek coupon worth 30 € and an Alien Queen Micro Epic figure by Weta Workshop

The winner is: Elisabeth

Congratulations 🥳! We will contact you via email.

Today we are opening door no. 6 of the S.P.A.C.E Advent calendar 🎅🎁!

Behind the 6th door is: the 1/10 Neytiri Art Scale Statue from »Avatar: The Way of Water« by Iron Studios

The winner is: Tanja

Congratulations 🥳! We will contact you via email.

As film freaks, we always find it exciting when cinema makes itself the subject of discussion. Especially when the focus is on the filming, as in François Truffaut's »Day for Night« or in »Living in Oblivion« by Tom DiCillo. Shooting a film is pure madness, a permanent state of emergency. What does it look like for a big franchise film? The HBO series »The Franchise« tells this story.

Assistant director Daniel Kumar (Himesh Patel) is on edge. On day 35 of shooting »Tecto: Eye of the Storm«, they are already 12 days behind in their shooting schedule. He constantly has to mediate between the eccentric European auteur Eric Bouchard (Daniel Brühl), the studio and the main actors, who hate each other. Then they find out that in the franchise's predecessor, which is being produced at the same time, central characters of the story are killed. And damn it, the story is supposed to become more feminist - but don't alienate the hardcore fans ...

The series by Oscar winner and Bond director Sam Mendes (»1917«, »Skyfall«), Emmy winner Jon Brown (»Succession«) and Armando Ianucci (»Veep«) is released today on Sky and is also available on demand.

Today we are opening door no. 5 of the S.P.A.C.E Advent calendar 🎅🎁!

Behind the 5th door is: a Minion-Bundle, consisting of 2 D-Stage mini-dioramas by Beast Kingdom

The winner is: Robert

Congratulations 🥳! We will contact you via email.

We love the cinema of the 80s! It feels like no other decade has produced so many films with a cult status: »Raiders of the Lost Ark«, »Ghostbusters«, »Terminator«, »Blade Runner«, »Back to the Future«, »Die Hard«, »Star Wars« and many, many others. Heroes like Han Solo, Peter Venkman, Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, Indiana Jones, John McClane and Marty McFly almost feel like they're old friends - just like Axel Foley, the cop from Detroit, who we are celebrating today, because ...

40 years ago today, »Beverly Hills Cop« hit US cinemas. The story is quite simple. After his old friend Mickey is murdered, Detroit police officer Axel Foley travels to Beverly Hills to track down the murderer. He quickly finds the culprit in businessman and cocaine smuggler Victor Maitland, whom he tries to convict. With his unconventional methods, Axel initially rubs the local police authorities the wrong way, causing chaos in Beverly Hills and entertaining the audience.

Originally, »Beverly Hills Cop« was supposed to be a very different film. Sylvester Stallone was initially considered for the lead role. He wanted a lot more action than the script called for. However, that would have blown the film's budget and Stallone dropped out of the project and made »Cobra« instead. The up-and-coming »Saturday Night Live« star Eddie Murphy got the role of Axel Foley. The script was revised and tailored to Murphy. After »48 Hrs.« and »Trading Places«, »Beverly Hills Cop« marked Murphy's final breakthrough.

Axel Foley was our buddy. You just had to love him, a laid-back guy in a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers who we could identify with. He was no superhero, no muscleman, but instead cheeky, wonderfully disrespectful, bold and clever, basically a charming loudmouth who could talk his way out of any tricky situation.

Murphy's talent for improvisation came into full play here and met the ideal co-stars. The Beverly Hills police officers assigned to him, Det. Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Sgt. Taggart (John Ashton), are reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy in their best moments. Ronny Cox plays the initially annoyed superior Lt. Bogomil. It's just great to see how the relationship between Axel and his colleagues develops, how they eventually become friends and triumph over the criminals.

The opponents are also perfectly cast with Steven Berkoff as Victor Maitland and his henchman Zack (played by Jonathan Banks, who'll be known to most people as Mike Ehrmantraut from »Breaking Bad«).

Even after 40 years, the film is still a lot of fun and is an example of the great cinema of that time. The film's music plays a big part in this. The »Axel F« title theme by German composer and music producer Harold Faltermeyer is catchy and became an influential synth pop hit of the 1980s. Faltermeyer was even awarded a Grammy for the soundtrack!

»Beverly Hills Cop« got three sequels, »Beverly Hills Cop II« (1987), »Beverly Hills Cop III« (1994) and in 2024, to mark its 40th anniversary, the late sequel »Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F« was released on Netflix. A surprisingly good sequel, we think, with a nice reunion of Axel with Rosewood and Taggart. Alongside Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold and John Ashton, Bronson Pinchot is also back as Serge. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Det. Bobby Abbott and Taylour Paige as Foley's daughter Jane Saunders fit in very well and Kevin Bacon plays a convincing antagonist as the corrupt Captain Cade Grant.

You can find the first three films on Paramount+, although they really shouldn't be missing from any DVD or Blu-ray collection. You can stream part 4 on Netflix. What's definitely missing, though, are some »Beverly Hills Cop« collectibles. A well made 1/6 scale actionfigure in jeans, sneakers and the iconic Detroit Lions jacket would be awesome, wouldn't it?!

Starting today on Netflix, you can see Keira Knightley (»Pirates of the Caribbean«) and Ben Whishaw (»Perfume: The Story of a Murderer«) as a fearless team in a spy thriller. In the first season, »Black Doves« offers you six episodes full of revenge, murder, a lot of blood, gunfights and strong characters. At least that's what the trailer suggests:
https://youtu.be/1R0d2jW7a-I

Helen spies on her husband in order to pass political secrets to the organisation Black Doves. Meanwhile, she's involved in an affair. Her lover, however, knows nothing of her secret identity. Not even when he's murdered in cold blood. The London underworld is behind the assassination, and Helen immediately vows revenge. Her safety on this dangerous crusade is ensured by Sam Young, an old friend and contract killer who's not able to shake off his unfortunate past.

Back in August 2024, a few months before the show would be released, Netflix announced that there would be a second season of »Black Doves«. That means you won't have to wait long for the sequel in case the thriller series blows your socks off. Anyway, we're excited!

Today we are opening door no. 4 of the S.P.A.C.E Advent calendar 🎅🎁!

Behind the 4th door is: a Landslide Druid from »Diablo IV« by McFarlane Toys

The winner is: Marcus

Congratulations 🥳! We will contact you via email.

Yesterday, the first two episodes of »Star Wars: Skeleton Crew« premiered on Disney+. Here's our first impression:

The series clearly targets a younger audience, but that shouldn't stop you from giving it a watch. Already, it's far more entertaining than, say, »The Acolyte«. Instead of intergalactic warfare or space-western vibes, this time we get Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-style adventures in the outer rims of the Star Wars universe, complete with an exhilarating spaceship boarding scene in the opening minutes and some very obvious homages to these beloved pirate film series.

The first episode is set, quite atypically for Star Wars, on an Earth-like planet that feels reminiscent of 1950s American suburbs. However, that doesn't detract from the experience, because the galaxy is vast - why wouldn't there be a world with familiar-looking neighborhoods? Especially since this parallel world is peppered with charming details that ground us firmly in the Star Wars universe. In this episode, we meet the four kids who will lead the adventure: Wim, the dreamer; Neel, the somewhat timid but clever one; Fern, the natural-born leader and KB, the techie sporting a Geordi-La-Forge-style visor.

By chance, they discover what at first seems to be a Jedi temple, which turns out to be a spaceship. Before they know it, they're out in space. A hyperdrive mishap flings them far from home. Accompanied on board by the damaged droid SM-33 (voiced by Nick Frost, delivering delightful pirate-style "Arrr"s, and already our favourite character in the series), they unwillingly plunge into adventure and find themselves in the Tortuga of a galaxy far, far away. Here, they encounter Jude Law's enigmatic character, Jod Na Nawood.

We thoroughly enjoyed the series' opening. The visuals are polished and we're eager to further explore this pirate-filled world. The makeup work for the different species is notably impressive, standing in stark contrast to »The Acolyte«, where it sometimes felt more like face painting for kids. We are really excited to see how »Skeleton Crew« will evolve.

Of course, this is a kids' series with children in the lead roles, so Emmy-worthy performances are unlikely. But so far, the four kids have portrayed their characters with charm and wit. Clear parallels to the kids from »Stranger Things« can be drawn, though »Skeleton Crew« doesn't quite reach the same level of artistic or emotional depth.