Category Archives: Fandom

21 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – mountain battle

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Twitziller continues the countdown as we are officially less than three weeks away from the debut of G.I. Joe Retaliation.  Today’s reason to be excited: the moutain battle!

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I have to admit– when I first saw a snippet of this I was a bit floored.  After all, how feasible is it to have ninjas fighting ninjas suspended by ropes on the side of a mountain? So I watched the first trailer again, and again, and then I watched subsequent trailers of the mountain top sequence and I saw it for what it was– an insane ballet of blades and bodies that could only be accomplished by the ninjas in the film.  This is one of those sequences that will play out like an insanely well-choreographed ballet routine and the end result could be closer to art than “just another action piece.”  Given director Jon M. Chu’s insane work in LXD we know that he’s got the chops to pull this off in a spectacular fashion.

Three weeks from now I’ll be basking in the fanboy glow of having already seen the film.  The passage of time, however, is a cruel mistress…

Check out the rest of the reasons to look forward to G.I. Joe Retaliation below and check back tomorrow as the countdown continues!

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22 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – visual effects

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As we near the three week mark, Twitziller continues his countdown to G.I. Joe Retaliation with today’s reason to be excited: visual effects!

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We live in an era where visual effects can make or break a movie.  Remember Wolverine Origins and the dodgy CGI used to simulate Logan’s trademark claws in a number of the scenes?  Or even G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and some of the effects for the desert sand and the Howlers?  While the movie is still only an eagerly anticipated phenomenon here in the United States at this point, what we’ve seen of Retaliation promises some top-notch visual effects.  The snow avalanche and the destruction of the Cobra satellite looks amazing– as does the motorcycle-to-missiles sequence.  Even with a reduced budget when compared to its lackluster predecessor, director Jon M. Chu appears to have maximized his FX budget on the key sequences that couldn’t be shot practically… and the result looks stunning.

Okay, now how soon can I reserve tickets to a midnight showing?

You can check out the rest of Twitziller’s Countdown to G.I. Joe Retaliation images below:

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23 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – the El Camino

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Twitziller continues the countdown to G.I. Joe Retaliation with another reason to be excited for March 28: the El Camino!

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Of all of the reasons we’ve been given thus far, this is my favorite for the simple reason that it’s something that could have escaped notice entirely.  Let’s face it– the El Camino is the platypus of the automotive industry.  It’s a weird fusion of a car and a truck whose very design is almost symbolic of the late 60’s and 70’s.  It also has the distinction of being the most unlikely G.I. Joe assault vehicle since the Joes commandeered the van of Bongo the Balloon Bear in the classic Marvel run.   Now if only we’d get a nice 1:18 standard version in the Joe line.  (I’m serious!)

Check out the rest of Twitziller’s images below as the countdown to G.I. Joe Retaliation continues!

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24 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – Cobra Troopers

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Twitziller continues the countdown to G.I. Joe Retaliation on March 28th with today’s reason to get excited: Cobra Troopers!

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The backbone of any army is the rank and file soldiers.  Those troops conduct the missions, execute the objectives, and put themselves at risk for something larger than themselves.  In the case of G.I. Joe Retaliation, those troopers are members of Cobra Special Forces— what appears to be a Blackwater-style private military organization that is secretly funded by Cobra Commander.  With a new more realistic urban camouflage uniform and practical gear, these troopers are part of the Cobra revolution and it is up to the Joe team to stop it!

I can’t wait for the movie nor can I wait for the forthcoming “Cobra Combat Ninja” action figure in wave 3!

You can view the entire series here:

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C’mon guys and gals– the film is now dropping in 23 more days!  Can you feel the excitement? G.I. Joe Retaliation is coming!!!

25 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation– Jinx!

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Twitziller continues his countdown to the premiere of G.I. Joe Retaliation with today’s image: Jinx!

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Jinx is a character that received a lot more exposure in the Marvel Comics series than she did in any of the animated adventures from Sunbow.  (She made her only 80’s animated appearance in the controversial G.I. Joe: The Movie.)  The blind-fighting cousin of Thomas Arashikage, this female ninja was reported to bring bad luck to anyone who worked with her.  Yet Jinx, like most of the females in the G.I. Joe mythos, was hardly a damsel in distress.  Strong, capable, and deadly Kim Arashikage was force to be reckoned with on both the screen and the page.

This time around she’ll be brought to life by actress Elodie Yung as she throws on some yellow and black to assist Snake Eyes in what appears to be a daring mountain top extraction mission worthy of a similar scenario carried out by Snake Eyes and Agent Helix in the IDW solo Snake Eyes series.

We’re less than four week away… and G.I. Joe Retaliation looks better and better with each passing moment.

Check out the rest of Twitziller’s reasons to get excited for Retaliation below:

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26 & 27 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation!

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Twitter user Twitziller is back with two more reasons to be excited about G.I. Joe Retaliation!  Due to the hectic schedule of the weekend, these two images will be presented without comment:

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You can see the entire series of reasons to look forward to G.I. Joe Retaliation below!

We’re under four weeks now!

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28 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – Storm Shadow

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Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: Storm Shadow!

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One of Larry Hama’s INFINITE contributions to the G.I. Joe mythos was the tale of Thomas Arashikage also known as Storm Shadow.  Whereas the Sunbow animated series presented the Cobra Ninja as a spooky sounding foil for the G.I. Joe Tracker Spirit, the Marvel Comics series took a decidedly different approach.  Storm Shadow was shown to be working for Cobra only to find out the true identity of his uncle’s killer.  Once he had this information, Thomas did the only thing he could– contacted Snake Eyes, set aside their differences, and went on a two-ninja assault of Cobra Island!  Later, he’s put aside his ties to Cobra entirely, join the Joe team, and even serve as a mentor to Cobra Commander’s son Billy.

In the film universe, as portrayed by Byung-hun Lee, Storm Shadow is portrayed as a conflicted mentor to the Baroness who is at odds with his own past.  It looks like G.I. Joe Retaliation is going to confront head-on the real story as to who killed the cinematic Hard Master!  It also looks like Tommy will be fighting on the side of angels before the film is over.  Either way, I’ll be there opening night popcorn in hand!

Check out Twitziller’s previous entries in the series below.  We’re getting closer, gang.  Closer every day!

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27 days to go!

29 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – assault VTOL

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Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: assault VTOL!

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In the last film, members of the G.I. Joe team were ferried around in a silver VTOL called a “Howler”.  (It always looked like a featureless glider wrapped in aluminum foil to me.)  This time around, the Joe’s ride is a bit detailed in the form of the yet-to-be-named assault VTOL craft.  It’s a sturdier-looking craft which happens to bear more than a passing resemblance to a Cobra Rattler.   It’s a nice design homage that shows that the production designers took the time to look through the source material for reference.  We’ve no idea how this craft will be used in the film or whether or not it will see much in the way of action, but it did a plastic representation in the form of the Ghost Hawk II!

Check out Twitziller’s previous entries in the series below.  We’re getting closer, gang.  Closer every day!

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29 days to go!

30 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – practical effects

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Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: practical effects!

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The modern cinematic world is one dominated by CGI.  More often than is necessary, filmmaker’s fall back on computer generated imagery to solve any and all manner of problems.  From removing unwanted elements such as safety harnesses to changing a character’s eye color, CG has become incredibly common place.  Yet, there is a certain plausibility that comes from practical effects that digital effects still can’t replace.  Go back and watch the old Bond films and you’ll see what I mean– that guy jumping off of a cliff on skis really did jump off of a cliff on skis!  The eye can tell it’s not faked and therefore the scene has a higher level of tension.

G.I. Joe Retaliation appears to be going that route as well.  Real effects involving real stunt work.  I’m not saying that there isn’t any CGI in the film nor am I saying that CGI can’t be impressive but there’s something to be said about doing things the old-fashioned way.

Check out Twitziller’s previous entries in the series below.   The days until the film’s release are getting fewer and fewer in number!

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29 days to go!

31 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – rappelling assault!

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Twitter user Twitziller continues his “40 Reasons to Be Excited About G.I. Joe Retaliation” series with today’s image: rappelling assault!

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High octane plausible action: this is what much of G.I. Joe Retaliation seems to be based upon!  While the shots of ninjas swinging around a mountaintop retreat appear to use a significant amount of CGI, it’s shots like this that showcase a real world practical effects approach to action.  It’s the kind of sequence that you’d have seen back in heyday of the action movie– the 1980’s!  Roadblock is going for “shock & awe” in this sequence and, unless Cobra troopers have nerves of steel, the sight of a 6″+ heavyweight fast roping down with a SAW should be enough to send them running back to Cobra-La!  (Yes, I went there.)

Check out Twitziller’s previous entries in the series below.   The days until the film’s release are getting fewer and fewer in number!

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30 days to go!