NEW YORK COMIC CON 2012: Hasbro Unveils Latest Toy Lines

On the eve of New York Comic Con, Hasbro showed off some of the hot new products set to hit shelves soon. From their new G.I. Joe KRE-O line, to the Star Wars Angry Birds tie-in, to the latest from Transformers Prime and Marvel properties. We also got a sneak peek at the new armor Robert Downey Jr. will be wearing as Tony Stark in the upcoming Iron Man 3.

Check out some pics from the exclusive party last night.

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TRAILER: 'Prometheus' Blu-ray - "Questions Will Be Answered"

Tomorrow's Blu-ray release of Prometheus has seven hours of bonus features, some of which promise to fill in some of the blanks regarding the boatload of questions raised in the version released in theaters this summer.

While the film was two hours of solid visual eye candy, and boasted some of the best unobtrusive 3D I have ever seen on the big screen, it left much to be desired when it came to  more questions than providing answers to the them regarding the mysteries the script unearthed. It's great that we will have the bonus features to some light shed on certain things like more of the who and what of the Engineers' back story, and perhaps some extra tidbits on the Xenomorphs role in things, but foremost these things should be seen in the theater to make the film as strong as possible and to stand on its own if a sequel never arrives.

I'll make no bones about  it, I will be first in line to Prometheus 2. Ridley Scott and company did a fine job of making good on the promise that any logistical follow up to Prometheus would not be 1979's Alien, but rather another chapter that furthers along the new story they set up, which runs parallel to the exploits of Ellen Ripley. However, as a stand-alone film, Prometheus leaves way too much unanswered regarding the core issues that demand explanation for the theater going audience to leave satisfied. They may have just as well stuck an end credits title card informing us that if the theatrical cut wasn't satisfactory, we just need wait a few months for the Blu-ray for a little more, and then join together in prayer for a sequel for all the remaining answers.

While extras on the Blu-ray are both welcome and awesome, it's just unfortunate that they had answers waiting in the wings the whole time for a post release epilogue, instead of making the theatrical version as coherent as it could be and to stand better on its own. It would have been pretty disheartening a few months ago to have the cast and filmmakers deflect questions while promoting the film with "Yes, there is an answer to that. But it will not be in the film, but rather on the Blu-ray bonus disc."

Bryan Singer had grand plans for the sequel to 2006's Superman Returns centered on Brainiac and the unpopular Super-Kid offspring of Kal-El and Lois Lane. But perhaps by putting too many eggs in the basket assuming he had a second film to make all the threads pay off, it weakened its position as a self-contained story. That train of thought allows less focus on delivering a stand alone film than one that has the benefit of one or two sequels to flesh out its grand scheme.To much surprise at the time, Superman Returns was not the super blockbuster it was hoped for, (a sad state of the union when making over $391million worldwide doesn't warrant a follow up), and Warner Bros. went with another reboot over a sequel.

When Prometheus is released tomorrow for home viewing, we will have the chance to see exactly how much was left on the cutting room floor, and whether some of it would have been better served left in to flesh out the film more. But I'd rather have less questions and more answers in a theatrical cut than to have them left over for Blu-ray special features.



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WEEK IN GEEK: Adele's 'Skyfall' Theme • 007 To Host SNL • 'Star Trek' Sequel Preview • 'Die Hard'' & 'American Horror Story' Trailers

Adele is the latest pop star to put her voice to a James Bond theme. Check out the title track video for Skyfall, which was released to coincide with 007's 50th Anniversary this week, plus Daniel Craig hosts Saturday Night Live tonight.

The teaser trailer for Die Hard 5, or as it's officially known as, A Good Day To Die Hard, went viral. Bruce Willis returns as John MacLane, finds himself in Russia this time out, and teaming with his son played by Jai Courtney (Spartacus). The movie is set to hit the big screen on Valentine's Day next year.

J.J. Abrams stopped by Conan on Thursday night to talk up his new NBC show Revolution. Lucky for Star Trek fans, he also brought with him the first official sneak peek from the sequel to his 2009 blockbuster big screen reboot of the series. It wasn't exactly the in-depth look we had hoped for though,“It’s got to be really short,” Abrams told Conan. “It can’t be longer than three frames." And that's all of Star Trek Into Darkness we got to see, per Paramount's strict shroud of secrecy. 

American Horror Story returns for its second season on FX on October 17th. This year the chilling thriller moves from a haunted house of horrors to the 1960's in an insane asylum (hence the addition of the subtitle). Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, and Sarah Paulson will be back, but as different characters. Check out the new preview.

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Happy 50th Anniversary 007!

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NEW YORK COMIC CON 2012: Hasbro KRE-O's Classic G.I. Joe Flashback

The good folks at Hasbro have provided NerdyRottenScoundrel with a sneak peek image for their 2013 G.I. Joe KRE-O toy line, which will be unveiled next week exclusively at New York Comic Con.

If the picture looks familiar to some of us old school Joe fans, it's a direct homage to one of the most iconic images associated with the franchise. For the NYCC debut, KRE-O chose a varient that is unmistakably reminiscent of Marvel Comics' June 1982 first issue of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, which featured some of the original 13 members, including Grunt, Flash, Scarlett, and Stalker.

Check back here next week for a preview of what is set to hit shelves in 2013, I will be attending an exclusive event on the eve of NYCC for a first hand sneak peek at Hasbro's latest in their Transformers, G.I. Joe, Star Wars, and Marvel toy lines.

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