The Famous Starstore Blog » Gears of War

WELCOME TO 2009: The movies and merchandise to look out for this year!

starboy — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:55:57 +0000

Happy new year one and all! 2009 promises to be a big, brash beast of a year, with some of the most anticipated films and gear around in ages. 2009 is going to be a big year for many geeks, as not only do we have the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to look forward to, but there’s also the very promising Terminator: Salvation and the hugely anticipated WATCHMEN adaptation on the way too.

Oh yeah, and there’s that little STAR TREK film too…

Doctor Who will be back for another four special episodes in 2009, before David Tennant gives up the TARDIS keys to the 11th Doctor for series 5 in 2010. There’s the remake of FRIDAY THE 13TH too, introducing a whole new generation to the origins of Jason Voorhees. Car fans get the awesome Fast and Furious, the fourth film in the extreme racing series of blockbusters. The third film in the UNDERWORLD series will be taking a bite out of cinemas too, and fans are hopeful that RISE OF THE LYCANS will be as good as the trailer promises.

Classic toy fans will hopefully get the thrill ride they’re hoping for this summer with the release of the first live-action GI JOE movie. Classic horror fans won’t be disappointed though, as there’s the WOLFMAN remake starring Benicio Del Toro, and the first film to be based on Clive Barker’s infamous short story collections, namely BOOK OF BLOOD.

There’s some fantastic new merchandise on the way too, with action figures, collectibles, statues and more from the WATCHMEN movie due in this month, as well as brand new figures in the GEARS OF WAR range coming soon too. The GEARS OF WAR range is going to grow with some fantastic figures from the huge sequel to the hit game, and they look superb thus far!

Also on the horizon there’s merchandise from the aforementioned Transformers sequel, the fun old-school Monster Scene Kits, and a brand new range of Torchwood figures, just in time for the third series of the SF hit to arrive. There are a huge number of other ranges to be released in 2009, so make sure you bookmark Starstoreblog or subscribe via RSS for the latest updates!

Right, let’s get started. How about:

DOCTOR WHO:11TH DOCTOR TO BE ANNOUNCED BY THE BBC TOMORROW!

Be here for the latest!

2008: THE STARSTORE REVIEW

starboy — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:37:22 +0000

This year has been another big one for the geek world in movies, TV, comics, books and new media. There has been an unprecedented growth in the realms of geekdom despite the economic woes faced by the entire planet. As things become more difficult, people are wanting more entertainment value for their money, and quite rightly so. That’s where science fiction and fantasy, comics, movies, book, collectibles and everything else geek flavoured comes in. The global media stage has been crammed with superheroes, science fiction and fantasy characters and other such delights for pretty much the entire year, with a few outstanding examples of the genres and industry that we all hold dear.

Film has had a surprisingly strong year despite the global economic downturn. Audiences have flocked to cinemas to take in a selection of blockbusters that have been something different to the usual empty spectacle. The biggest, naturally, is The Dark Knight, the second film in the revived Batman franchise. That film left countless records smashed to pieces in its wake. While the film ran to a rather bloated running time, it captivated millions with its gritty, urban take on the first struggles between Batman and the Joker, and proved that comic book movies can be more than just set pieces and effects.

That said, the two major Marvel movies out this year had greatv effects and set pieces as well as fantastic stories, acting and direction. The Incredible Hulk was vastly superior to the 2003 film, and Iron Man may well be THE definitive Marvel movie thus far made.

Other big genre movies this year have included the superb new take on the monster movie idea, Cloverfield, as well as the fifth film in the SAW franchise and the long-awaited new X-Files movie. The X-Files sequel, I want To Believe, turned out to be a low budget and very small scale piece which disappointed many fans despite being a strong standalone story. Other fun flicks this year have included Death Race, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Transporter 3 and Rocknrolla, but the end of the year has been dominated by one film- Twilight. The adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s bestselling teen vampire novel may be leaving many people shaking their heads in bemusement at it’s popularity, but the fans have been lapping it up. There was the movie release of Star Wars: the Clone Wars, which kicked off the TV series too. That film wasn’t quite the hit many had expected, but the series is going from strength to strength.

US imports Battlestar Galactica, LOST and Heroes have continued to thrill TV fans across the world, and fans have seen the end of Stargate Atlantis come and go. Stargate fans needn’t worry too much though, as Stargate Universe is on the way, helmed by respected actor Robert Carlyle, of all people! UK fans were also treated to new series of Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Chronicles, Merlin and Primeval. The year’s UK genre delights were rounded off by the stupendous Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Next Doctor.

The comics scene in 2008 has again been dominated by Marvel and DC, who wheeled out two hugely popular crossovers, namely Marvel’s Secret Invasion and DC’s Final Crisis. DC’s entry was walked all over by Marvel’s massively superior story and creators. The comics world was rocked by the sad death of Michael Turner, art supremo and creator of the Fathom character.

Games have continued to dominate the entertainment industry throughout the year, with Halo 3, Gears of War 2, Dead Space, Fallout 3 and the like all battling for supremacy. The Wii really came into its own this year, and games such as Guitar Hero proved that everyone can join in. Another Tomb raider game, Underworld, also proved that Lara Croft still has what it takes to get fans parting with their cash.

On the merchandise front, the big sellers this year have been video games action figures. Figures from Halo 3 and the Gears of War games have been flying off the hooks at a surprising speed, as well as figures from Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Street Fighter and more.

Sales of the Twilight novels went through the roof this year, with the latest installment being released and the movie doing huge business, here’s hoping that this means more genre projects will get off the ground and show people just what fantasy and science fiction is capable of.

What’s ahead The big names for next year are JJ Abram’s STAR TREK recreation, the second Transformers movie- Revenge of the Fallen, and of course the highly anticipated WATCHMEN, adapted from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s legendary graphic novel. Doctor Who and Torchwood will return for shorter runs in 2009, and Sarah Jane will also return for a 3rd series. Primeval is back too, as are a multitude of US series to enjoy.

2008 has been a hell of a ride, and 2009 is going to be very interesting indeed for everyone on planet geek. There has been more than enough for geeks to get into some serious flame wars over, and that’s how we like it, really. From everyone here at Starstore.com and The Last Picture Show, thanks for a great year, and we look forward to meeting more of you in 2009!

What have been 2008′s most wanted Action Figures?

starboy — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:19:31 +0000

That time of year where we take a look back at the big names is here again. It has been quite a year on the action figures and memorabilia front, with all manner of media tie in items coming onto the market from movies, comics, TV shows and games. The area that has seen by far the most interest in licensed action figures this year is undoubtedly the ranges of merchandise based on console/video games titles. With the continued (and somewhat meteoric) growth in the influence of the gaming world over popular culture, it stands to reason that related merchandise would be in demand, and it certainly has been in 2008.

The big two names I’m talking about here are the Gears of War and Halo franchises. While the Halo range has grown with another two sets of articulated figures this year, the makers have also branched out into statues, large format figures (the rather awesome ‘Legend’ series of figures), headknockers, posters, calendars and various apparel for the discerning Halo fan. The success of the Halo merchandise has been dwarfed slightly by the sheer demand for official merchandise based on the Gears of War franchise.

With a huge sequel to the first game now doing the rounds, the demand for the Gears Of War items has been steadily growing throughout the year. Thankfully NECA have created some incredible items to keep the fans at boiling point, with some of the best action figures that have been on the market in years. The Gears of war figures are a larger format to most games figures and feature a much higher level of detail as well as better accessories and packaging. The box sets have been hot sellers as well, each of the three released so far featuring four separate figures. The first box set is now no longer available, but the second and third are being snapped up by fans left right and center.

Other games that have featured on the action figure hooks in 2008 include Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Brothers and more, proving that older titles still carry some clout with games fans, and let’s face it, there’s plenty of them around. Lara Croft also made a comeback with the excellent figure of her from the latest Tomb Raider game, Underworld.

Star Wars has been present again this year thanks to tie-in merchandise from the new Clone Wars movie and TV series, despite the lukewarm reception to the film version. One surprising thing in this year’s run of film and TV related merchandise has been the demand for the ‘Classics’ range of Doctor Who action figures, which surpassed all expectations and have been snapped up by eager Whovians everywhere. The first series of TORCHWOOD figures finally saw the light of day in december, way past the original September release date.

Movie merchandise has seen something of a resurgence too, and a particularly popular item of late has been the 12 inch SAW puppet on Tricycle box set, depicting the infamous Billy doll from the horror franchise, which, of course, had its fifth installment released in the latter part of the year. Other official horror based items have included a superb 12 inch version of Jason Voorhees and more, just going to show that the fans still want blood. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight have all had their parts to play this year too, and some fantastic merchandise has been available.

Those who are into their rock music action figures this year were treated to new figures of Joey Ramone, Lemmy from Motorhead, two new Elvis Presley figures and two new Elvis headknockers. While the number of new items in the music ranges has been pretty thin on the ground, the demand is certainly there for more, and we’re eager to see who comes next. Personally I think we need to get some Dimebag figures.

The market for licensed memorabilia from all corners of popular culture has seen a definite upturn in 2008 despite the economic troubles the world is facing, and these collectibles make perfect Christmas gifts. The merchandise industry is now even more a part of popular culture and the media it is based on that ever, even going so far as being integral to the continued life of the entertainment industry itself to a certain extent. While DVD sales are keeping cinema alive and box office takings slowly raising, the future is looking rather solid for the action figure world, and there are many, many more to be collected in 2009. The winners this year must be the video games ranges, and in particular Gears of War, which does appear to have won the battle of 2008.

Onto 2009, and the joys of merchandise from WATCHMEN!

Thanks for a great 2008 you guys, it’s been a blast.

COMING SOON: The STARSTORE ROUNDUP OF 2008.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS: THE BEST TOYS, ACTION FIGURES CALENDARS AND MORE FOR CHRISTMAS 2008

starboy — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:51:05 +0000

Christmas is coming, so make sure you have clean stockings and that you have most certainly behaved yourself this year. Getting hold of the perfect Christmas gifts for friends and family can be a nightmare, so here are some selections of recent hot sellers from our catalogue to help you find the gifts to make Christmas 2008 go with a bang!

GEARS OF WAR ACTION FIGURES
The official action figures based on the hugely popular video game franchise have been a hit with fans everywhere this year. series one and two are available as well as box sets for each series!

HALO 3 ACTION FIGURES
The gaming phenomenon continues to be a massive draw for fans of pure action, and the merchandise for it keeps on getting better. The figures for Halo 3 are an excellent addition to any fan’s collection.

ALIENS VS PREDATOR: REQUIEM FIGURES
With the second crossover film in the sci-fi franchise came a new wave of hot action figures and collectibles which have been popular all year. With a third film going into production soon these will continue to be sought after for a while yet!

2009 CALENDARS
We have calendars featuring the hottest celebrities, movies, TV shows, games, comics and artists available, as well as all manner of animal and photography calendars for the year ahead.

THE LATEST POSTERS
Officially licensed posters from the stars of movies, TV, music, glamour, history, photography and more. Perfect gifts for everyone.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
The best new and classic graphic novels, featuring all the classic tales that laid the foundations for the current upsurge in comics interest and the comic book movies that are filling cinemas with new fans.

LIFE-SIZE CUTOUTS
Huge cardboard cutouts of your favourite stars, including Doctor Who, High School Musical, Star Wars, Transformers and many more icons of popular culture!

MOVIE COLLECTIBLES
Action figures, busts, statues, replicas and more from your favourite films, franchises, TV shows and cartoons. Something for fans of pretty much every film franchise around.

DVDS, DVD BOX SETS
The latest and greatest DVDs and DVD box sets for any fan of film, TV, anime, action, adventure, comedy, sci-fi, horror, fantasy and everything else under the sun.

VIDEO GAMES
The biggest games and accessories from the hottest video games properties in the world. Prepare to have aching thumbs!

There are countless other items available that would make perfect Christmas 2008 gifts, so do check out the rest of our site for something a little different this Christmas!

GEARS OF WAR ACTION FIGURES- SERIES 2 NOW IN STOCK!

starboy — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:33:40 +0000

The second wave of officially licensed action figures from the Gears of War video game phenomenon are here! The series two figures look as though they come straight from the hit Xbox 360 game and its up-coming sequel! The Gears of War series 2 figures include Dom, Baird, Theron Guard and Helmeted Theron Guard and come with game accurate accessories! Following on from the hugely popular first wave, these look set to be an even bigger hit with fans.

NEW MOVIE & SCI-FI MERCHANDISE COMING SOON

starboy — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:15:31 +0000

Here’s a look at some of the new movie, tv, comics, video game and sci-fi merchandise due to be shipped in October. There’s some incredible new stuff coming from fan favourite franchises, so lets see what’s in store, or rather, what will be later this year…

STAR WARS: ¼ SCALE DARTH MAUL
The infamous red-and-black Sith apprentice is back in a new quarter scale Star Wars Collectible piece from Diamond Select. Due to stand over 19 inches tall, this is set to be one hell of an imposing piece for all Star Wars fans’ collections. Darth Maul will come with an excellent facial sculpt, layered cloth costume, interchangeable hands and movie authentic accessories.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA RAZOR: CYLON RAIDER STATUE
(Shipping in December) Gentle Giant have really outdone themselves with this high quality eight-inch replica of the Cylon’s notorious craft. Set on a numbered BSG themed base, this classic-themed Cylon Raider is to be limited to just 2,007 pieces.

GEARS OF WAR SERIES 2 BOX SET
The complete box set of all four figures from the second series of GEARS OF WAR merchandise! The next wave of these hugely popular figures is set to contain characters Dominik Santiago, Damon Baird, Theron Guard and Locust with ‘Exploding head’ variant extremity.

STAR WARS: CLONE WARS EVOLUTIONS ACTION FIGURES
A new set of Star Wars action figures showing the evolution of three separate parts of the Star Wars saga! The three triple packs of action figures include the Padme Amidala Legacy, The Imperial Pilots Legacy and The Rebellion Pilots Legacy sets.

RAMBO STATUE
A 1/6 scale statue of John Rambo himself is set to be released in late October. This one is due to be limited to just 500 pieces, and thus will be highly sought after by collectors.

Stay tuned for more news on forthcoming attractions!

COOL STUFF COMING SOON

starboy — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:25:49 +0000

A quick look at what we’re itching to get our grubby mitts on in the way of comics, movies and more.

GEARS OF WAR ISSUE ONE: The first issue of the officially licensed comic book series based on the massive-selling Gears of War video game property will be on the shelves in October. The series is written by no less than Gears of War 2 scribe Joshua Ortega.. DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Cybermen! A fake Doctor! A new companion! Cyber Wraiths! We’re all itching to get the new Doctor Who special episode into our eyeballs, and after the events of Journey’s End, it is going to be interesting to see what sort of state of mind the Doctor will be in. TORCHWOOD AUDIO EPISODE: To be broadcast on radio four on the 10th of September, the full-cast audio episode entitled ‘Lost Souls’ sees the story pick up after the end of series 2’s heartbreaking climax. PUNISHER: WAR ZONE: Well, its got to be better than the last Punisher flick, hasn’t it? IRON MAN ON DVD: Yeah, some Tony Stark shaped action is just the ticket for later this year. The Iron Man DVD is said to be out in November, and we’re all up for a piece of that. X-MEN: GHOST BOXES 1: The two issue Ellis/Davis/Cho series looks set to be a huge hit in the Autumn. UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS: Yeah, it isn’t hitting these shores until early next year, but the Underworld prequel looks like it is going to be immense. SECRET INVASION: The thing we’re all excited about right now has gotta be the big ending to Secret Invasion, which, in our opinion, is one of the finest crossovers to have been published in a very long time indeed. Of course, over the top of everything else there is the WATCHMEN movie, but who knows when that’ll arrive now Fox are having a tantrum?

Oh, and there will be some very cool stuff indeed coming from us in the coming months…stay tuned.

Life in the Geek Lane: The Dork Knights Return!

starboy — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:30:41 +0000

Well, there’s been some changes in store of late, and its been a while since we last spoke on a personal level, geek to geek, so lets check out what has been happening here in the real-world counterpart of Starstore.com, namely The Last Picture Show, here in the Meadowhall centre in Sheffield.

We now have a new ~~internet Monkey~~ colleague in the form of Jon, who out-geeks most of the rest of us by being an avid WoW player. Thankfully he isn’t quite so knowledgeable on comics and movies, so the balance is steady, for now at least. Anyway, the nerdometer is about ready to explode as it is right now, thanks to me frothing at the mouth with glee at the current series of Doctor Who (See our regular TARDISWATCH and TORCHWATCH features for proof of that), so my crown is still residing safely upon my shiny head. Anyway, welcome Jon!

The hot merchandise of late has been the Gears of War action figures, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures, the Halo 3 range. The AVPR range is still proving to be popular, so as long as you guys want the Hybrids, Aliens and Predators, we’ll do our utmost to get them in.

Everyone’s getting stoked for the imminent release of the new Batman film THE DARK KNIGHT, and quite rightly so. The posters and some of the merchandise has started to arrive, and we’re proud to have it on our shelves as we all love what Christopher Nolan has been doing with Batman. Its been quite a year for superheroes so far, what with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Batman getting people excited about superhero cinema again. The direction the Marvel movies are taking is really quite brilliant, and things are coming together nicely for a coherent Marvel screen universe, which if course will lead nicely into the AVENGERS movie.

There’s been some shifting around of stock and shelves and the layout of the shop is mutating into something much cooler. The shop layout is something that never really stays still for long- like your home, there’s always something that would look ‘better over there’. We’re trying to get everything displayed nicely and keep the store fully accessible for visitors.

We’ve been trying to figure out which crossover event we’re more into at the moment- Secret Invasion or Dreamwar. It looks like Dreamwar is edging ahead in the Starstore popularity stakes as stuff actually happens in it. Secret Invasion is cool as hell but the pace has been a bit too slow in picking up to keep us guessing. Elsewhere on our comics racks, the new Tank Girl series has been picking up a bunch of new readers and keeping the iconic, foul-mouthed anti-heroine in the public consciousness, so that’s a good thing. On the graphic novels front, the reissue of Batman: The Killing Joke has been flying out, and there’s also the first collected volume of THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY out now for all of those My Chemical Romance fans who suddenly found themselves reading comics and discovering they’re actually rather good. My advice to those new comics fans? Get hold of WATCHMEN so you can be like the rest of us here and know all about the greatest comic series ever released, before the movie comes out next year. That way you get to say ‘I TOLD you it was brilliant’ once Zack Snyder’s adaptation hits the screens.

Anyways, I gotta get back to sorting out the new layout and mocking Greg’s scene kid hair.

GEARS OF WAR FILM- FINALLY SOME CONFIRMATION!

starboy — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:42:37 +0000

The highly anticipated feature film adaptation of the Xbox 360 hit video game GEARS OF WAR finally came a step closer to becoming a reality recently. It has now been confirmed that Len Wiseman will direct the movie, and work is expected to start soon on getting the production underway. Now to be scripted by Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast and Furious 3 and 4), the Gears of War tale of humans in a battle against the alien menace of the Locust Horde is being touted as the definitive video game film; one that brings the game faithfully to the screen yet offers a satisfying movie experience as well. That is no mean feat, and if Wiseman pulls it off he’ll be pretty much the first person to make a truly compelling film out of a video game franchise. Despite the Gears of War film only just getting underway, there is still a tentative release date of summer 2009. They’re gonna have to hurry up a bit…