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Today, two exciting new movies are hitting cinemas which we’d like to recommend: »The Flash« and »Asteroid City«!

The DC Superhero Movies look back on a mixed history. A few masterpieces, movies that made pop culture history and entertaining films that were fun, but also ones we'd rather forget. The reboot of the DCU under the aegis of James Gunn is just around the corner and »The Flash« lies on the border.

Barry Allen uses his super speed to change the past. However, his attempt to save his family leads to a world without superheroes, forcing him to run for his life to save the future ...

If we look at the reviews, we can give the all-clear. According to critics, the film is not without weaknesses, but director Andy Muschietti knows how to create convincing characters, gives them emotional depth and spices the story up with humor. The performances of the actors are also praised. Ezra Miller as double Flash does a surprisingly good job, Sasha Calle as Supergirl probably deserves more screentime. And then, of course, there's Michael Keaton and his return as Batman, which is one of the film's biggest selling points. The film offers good entertainment and gives the fans numerous Easter eggs and a sizeable portion of fan service. The CGI effects however, which are apparently not quite state of the art, were criticized often. That aside, we are looking forward to our movie night.


Wes Anderson's new film »Asteroid City« has also been eagerly awaited. It takes place in the mid-1950s in the fictional small town of the same name, where a congress for young inventors takes place every year. The people who come together in the city for this assembly could not be less alike. And then everything turns out differently than planned, because after an extraterrestrial event, all those gathered are quarantined.

As one is used to from Wes Anderson's works, »Asteroid City« boasts a star-studded cast: Adrien Brody, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton and Tom Hanks are just some of the top-class actors. The director stays true to himself in other ways too, as this film comes with picturesque pastel sets, a sense of symmetry and quirky characters.

As is so often the case, critics seem to be divided here: while some happily say that this is "the most Wes Anderson movie ever", others have had enough of the now well-known aesthetic and decry a lack of substance. Still others praise Anderson's play with multiple meta levels and his witty dialogues. In the end there is only one conclusion: see for yourself 😉!

In episode 3 of 💫 NEUES AUS DEM FIGUREN UNIVERSUM 💫 we crisply present to you our Hot Toys highlights of the last few days. This time, fans of Marvel and DC have lots to discover - including collectibles from the current blockbusters »The Flash« ⚡ and »Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse« 🕷️. On top, we have two eye-catchers from Sideshow that will excite Star Wars and Western fans!

Check it out - now on YouTube 😁!
https://youtu.be/9bEZSbzWU2E

If you are on holiday in the Middle Kingdom right now, we have two event tips for you. Of course, everyone who stayed at home can look at the photos online.

Hot Toys is hosting a major exhibition in Hong Kong until July 9th to celebrate the premiere of The Flash« and the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros.. The sixth scale market leader splashed out on some hyper-realistic life-size statues of The Flash and 7 majestic Batman statues including Keaton's Batman and Batsuits. Plus the whole range of 1:6 figures from the DC films and more. The Batman vehicles are also big eye-catchers here. A Batwing shown appears to be on a smaller scale. We're excited to see if Hot Toys will actually release the flying apparatus. The Batmobile from »The Batman« was shown as well, which Hot Toys has yet to release. It could already be seen on some promotional photos of the Robert Pattinson Batman figure. The collectible figure, his motorcycle, and the Batsignal were all announced at the same time more than a year ago. We sincerely hope that Hot Toys will still release the mega-cool 1969 Dodge Charger.

You can find a video of the event and an album with photos on Hot Toys’ Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/hottoys/videos/1761146971005397/
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=hottoys&set=a.640847338079282

A good nine degrees of latitude to the north, the Shanghai International Film Festival is currently taking place. On the occasion of the festival, the Chinese manufacturer Infinity Studio held a SIFF showcase with some new products. Fans of The Rock, Gal Gadot and the »Fast & Furious« franchise in particular have reason to celebrate here, because miraculously, there are hardly any collectibles worth mentioning from the F&F world. Infinity Studio is now bringing us a cool Hobbs/Dwayne Johnson Statue with a Gatling Gun from »Furious 7«. And Gal Gadot aka Gisele Yashar is posing on her bike.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CtYcoBvOoyB/

With »Star Wars Outlaws«, a new game from the Star Wars universe has been announced which will grant fans of the franchise and gamers a long-cherished wish. At least that’s what we’re hoping for!

Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft are venturing into the open world genre and letting us take on the role of Kay Vess. According to the developers the story takes place in between the events of »The Empire Strikes Back« and »Return of the Jedi«. Unfortunately no official release date has been announced yet but it seems like we can expect the launch in 2024. The trailer is definitely making us feel optimistic. What about you?
https://youtu.be/XF0kMT39GNY

In high anticipation and thrilled expectation for the end of June - actually for the theatrical release of »Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny«, the current card from our S.P.A.C.E POSTCARD COLLECTION of course does have Indy as the cover guy on the front!

The motif comes from our dear friend and supporter Timo Mrazek, who is a hardcore Indiana Jones fan and of course lover of action-figures.

For this photo, Timo grabbed the brand-new 6" Indy figure from »Raiders of the Lost Ark« out of the Hasbro Adventure Series. In this scene, Indy is by the way getting attacked by two mean skeletons (from the super articulated Revoltech line from the manufacturer »Kaiyodo«). The stunning diorama, which by Timo is called "Temple of the Unholy Trinity", comes from our mate Markus (@bambino_dioramas) - and it shows up from time to time in Timo's crazy comic and picture books ... and when he lets action-figures talk (@let_actionfigures_talk).

You still have time for the rest of June to secure yourself a free copy of this cool postcard 😉!

In the second episode 💫 NEUES AUS DEM FIGUREN UNIVERSUM 💫 we recap the most exciting new collectibles of the last days for you! This time the focus is mainly on Iron Studios, who brought us superheroes, horror icons and our current product of the month. But there are also great collectibles for manga and anime fans and for the grand finale we can present to you two amazing statues from Prime 1 Studio 😍!

The video is now online on our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/aTgxeKfVcBU
 

A mysterious sculpture of a hand is circulating in a small Australian town. With it, whole groups of friends put themselves in a trance one after the other and summon the dead from the afterlife. Videos of obsessed classmates also arouse the curiosity of best friends Mia and Jade: the two decide to take part in a séance themselves. But when Mia's deceased mother uses the hand to contact her, the game turns deadly serious. The rules of the ritual have been broken - the door to the spirit world is ajar...

This is the plot of »Talk to Me«, which Capelight Pictures and A24 will bring to the cinemas end of July. Here’s the first trailer:
https://youtu.be/aLAKJu9aJys

At first glance, we weren't particularly impressed by the work of the Australian twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou. We wrongly almost ignored the horror thriller of the two YouTubers and wrote it off as “ordinary teenage horror crap”. But when the A24 logo appears in the opening credits, that should make us prick up our ears. Australia also has a pretty good reputation for original horror flicks. And when the film finally took the renowned Sundance Festival by storm and critics praised it for a high degree of originality, it was clear that we should see the film because it seems to have more up its sleeve than the trailer suggests.

Also check out this video about the Philippou twins: 
https://youtu.be/4gqwOSqx4wI

The three-part miniseries »Arnold« has been running on NETFLIX since Wednesday. Titled »Athlete«, »Actor«, and »American«, the series tells the story of Arnold Schwarzenegger, from a childhood in the dreariness of post-war Austria to bodybuilding champion, multiple Mr. Universum and Mr. Olympia, to an unprecedented film career and superstardom, and finally to his political career as governor of California.

In addition to the voices of some companions from sports, showbiz and politics, it is above all Arnold himself who tells us his story - with sparkling eyes, his inevitable Cuban cigar in the corner of his mouth, and a lot of mischievous charm. Arnold is the hero of his story. He is the American dream incarnate. We experience a great narrator who skillfully hooks us up and we are only too happy to follow his hero's journey. Thoughtful moments are also interspersed, but without damaging the narrative too much.

It is also exciting to see the archive material with some previously unseen recordings from Arnold's private fund. For film fans, the middle part is the highlight of the three-part series. We really would have wished for more here. But the main points of his film career are mentioned, from his unintentionally comic appearance under the name Arnold Strong in »Hercules in New York«, his cast as a bodybuilder in »Stay Hungry«, early TV gems like an appearance in »The Streets of San Francisco«, his breakthrough as »Conan the Barbarian« and of course the first two »Terminator« films. Comedies like »Twins«, »Last Action Hero« and »True Lies« are also mentioned. Perhaps the less successful films are neglected and it's a pity that films from his post-gouvenor era didn't participate.

For Arnold Schwarzenegger fans, the series is of course an absolute must. And the good three hours fly by. Of course, the documentary could have shed some more critical or self-critical light on some things and here and there it only scratches the surface. But it's up to us as viewers whether we actually buy everything Arni tells us. This (self-)portrait is definitely entertaining.

Did you have on the radar that the 3rd part of the action-flick »The Expendables« is already almost 10 years old? And did you have on the radar that part 4 was not only confirmed, but in the meantime already wrapped up?? We did, a bit at least - even more surprising was the drop of the first trailer of »Expend4bles«, the fourth movie of this - as we think - really cool, funny and die hard action series:
https://youtu.be/DhlaBO-SwVE

On board are for example Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Andy Garcia, 50 Cent and Sylvester Stallone, as well as some female enpowers with Megan Fox and Levy Tran! We love it - and we're really looking forward to the end of September when »Expend4bles« will hit cinemas!

»Transformers: Rise of the Beasts«, a new installment of the Transformers Franchise is hitting cinemas. The sci-fi action movie is based on Hasbro’s Transformers toy line. It’s the seventh part of the series and is supposed to be both a sequel to »Bumblebee« and a prequel to the first Transformers film from 2007.

The story takes place in 1994 when Noah (Anthony Ramos) and Elena (Dominique Fishback) become entangled in a chaotic conflict between different races of Transformers. The Autobots and the Maximals join as allies to fight against an evil divine power.

The first reviews of the film are very mixed, but overall it seems to convince only a few voices. And the criticism isn't new in this case either: after the potential for an interesting story was at least partially exhausted in the first Transformers film, the quality of the franchise has been on the decline for a long time. So it's not surprising that this part offers a lot of spectacle and little substance as usual. Praise went to the visual effects, which are quite impressive thanks to a decent budget of $200 million, and the star-studded (voice) cast which includes Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Michelle Yeoh and Peter Dinklage among others.

The time has finally come - »Diablo IV« celebrates its official release today.

After early access already started last week, today the average pre-orderer will also get the chance to dive into the world of Sanctuary. Leveling and looting has hereby begun 😄. We are excited for Lilith, Inarius and the rest of them and are curious about what awaits us.

Speaking of Lilith and Inarius, here’s a hot tip from us: there are premium statues of the two characters from Blizzard. While Lilith has been released a while ago, Inarius just recently arrived at our warehouse. If you’d like to see the amazing quality for yourselves we recommend checking out our latest episode of 🚀 ABGESPACED 🚀 where Inarius was our centerpiece in the studio. Lilith was even our product of the month in April 2022. She’s not in stock at the moment but she’ll be available again in the last quarter of this year.

But for now: enjoy playing 😉!

Last weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center in California was the »Monsterpalooza«, celebrating, as the tagline said, monster art and movie magic. The Convention has long been on our top 3 list of events we would like to visit.

As always, many celebrities were present, including Doug Jones (»Pan's Labyrinth«), Harvey Guillén (»What We Do in the Shadows«) and FX make-up veteran Tom Savini.

More than 450 exhibitors presented their works, including many make-up artists, sculptors, illustrators and collectibles manufacturers, including: Elite Creature Collectibles, Trick or Treat Studios, Premium Collectibles Studio and Tweeterhead. In addition to the »Masters of the Universe« works, the latter also showed the final version of the Gillman (inspired by »Creature from the Black Lagoon«), the first figure in the new »Myths & Monsters« series. At PCS you could see the first two 1/4 »Ghostbusters« statues Ray and Egon & Slimer, the 1/3 Robocop statues, Leatherface and more. Booth tours of some manufacturers can be found on the Secret Sanctuary channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thesecretsanctuary/videos

Our friend Gabriel Garcia was also there and shared many photos in a Facebook album:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=theartofgabrielgarcia&set=a.10227217661300405

You can find interesting video material on YouTube. We particularly recommend the Walk Through through the Horror Museum (https://youtu.be/VsXYIOQX8N0). The tour of TheDailyWoo (https://youtu.be/JTImoJYfqUA) also gives a good impression.

Seeing this really makes us want to go to a horror con. Maybe one or the other of you will travel to Oberhausen for the »Weekend of Hell« at the beginning of September.

For the 31. episode of 🚀 ABGESPACED 🚀 (for the first time without NEUES AUS DEM FIGUREN UNIVERSUM 😉) we have invited a very special guest into our S.P.A.C.E studio: Jasmin (@jasmini.cosplay)! She's a cosplayer and in this episode she's giving us an insight into the cosplay scene, how she started this hobby and how her costumes are made. And her favorite alter ego »The Armorer« was live with her 😅. We are taking this opportunity to say a huge THANX to Jasmin!

Of course we will bring you everything else your nerdy hearts may desire: lots of talk about news from the world of film and collectibles, trailers, movie releases, a super cool new postcard and a blast of a goodie in our sweepstake!

So make yourselves cosy and enjoy episode 31 - 2 days late though, online now 🤩:
https://youtu.be/fHfoLNcYhw0

Our presentation of the product of the month starts with a riddle this time!

Which hero of our childhood used this sentence to transform:
»By the power of Grayskull - I have the power!« ?

Ok, we admit it. The level of difficulty wasn’t very high. Of course it’s the most powerful man in the universe: He-Man from the »Masters of the Universe«. And to pay homage to prince Adam’s alter ego we have made him our product of the month in June. Or, to be precise, the 1/10 Scale He-Man Deluxe Art Scale Statue from Iron Studios.

This collectible made of polystone shows He-Man in front of the gates of Castle Grayskull and you can choose yourself how you prefer him. The Brazilian manufacturer seems to have put a lot of thought into it - because an additional second body is included, so you can recreate the two iconic scenes from his transformation from Adam to He-Man.

By the way, there’s also a regular version of this statue without the gate behind him. And we’re already very excited for the next releases, because Iron Studios has yet announced a few things and there’s sure to be more.

Now the prince of Eternia doesn’t have to wait for his coronation any longer, because we are putting him on our throne as the product of the month!

Tomorrow three interesting films will be released in cinemas - the superhero animation film »Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse« and two horror flicks with »The Boogeyman« and »Pearl«.

With »Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse« we will now get to see the second part of the Spider-Verse-Saga. After »Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse«, the much-awarded animation hit from 2018, Miles Morales comes back to the big screen as a superhero to fight a powerful opponent together with a new team of spider-people. And this is just the first part of this sequel! Part 2 will be released next year. We are already excited for this movie and are expecting to see just as much heart as well as action in the distinctive comic animation style as in its predecessor.

When we saw the first trailer for »The Boogeyman« (based on a short story by Stephen King) we weren't very impressed, as the whole thing looked too much like the ordinary jump scares mash, which has been reproduced over and over again. However, the first reviews are quite positive and certify the film's solid performance and a creepy atmosphere with plenty of goose bumps. That seems to be worth a visit to the cinema after all.

After some waiting time, German horror fans can now finally enjoy »Pearl«, the prequel to Ti West’s slasher film »X«. »Pearl« gets to the bottom of how the eponymous main character (brilliantly played by Mia Goth) became a psychotic killer who massacred an entire film crew in »X«. The movie gives us insights into the restrictive-conservative reality of the life of a young woman who lives together with her parents in a secluded farmhouse. In the midst of the wasteland of 1918, Pearl, whose husband has not returned from the First World War, does not want to settle for an existence as a marginal figure: she dreams of making it big as a dancer! But typical for the genre, the dream soon turns into a nightmare... In this psycho-horror drama, instead of ambitious slasher art, you are offered a bittersweet psychogram that was completely tailored to Goth's acting qualities. The film is worth watching for a lengthy monologue scene alone, in which the actress literally threatens to suffocate the viewer with world-weariness...

For several years now, the small 1:12 scale has been big in the collectible world. From Mezco's One:12 Collective Series to TBLeague, Damtoys and Kaustic Plastik, many classic 1:6 manufacturers have also included the smaller format in their range. The scale has been celebrated in the dollhouse scene much longer, in fact since the 16th century! The 1zu12 fair, which takes place annually in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck, becomes El Dorado for all dollhouse friends and 1:12 enthusiasts. Our Mick looked around the fair last Saturday and describes his impressions on Action Figure District: 
https://action-figure-district.de/1zu12-messe-rheda-wiedenbrueck/

...and he already knows that he will be there again next year. Maybe then he will give Bud and Terence a 1:12 motorcycle workshop (https://www.space-figuren.de/products_all.php?filter_id% 5B0%5D=166&filter%5B5%5D%5B0%5D=467) …

A few days ago, 20th Century Studios released a first teaser trailer for their latest sci-fi spectacle: »The Creator«!

The film takes place in a future where a war is raging between humans and artificial intelligence. What was originally intended to help people has become their greatest enemy. Ex-agent Joshua (John David Washington) is assigned to hunt down the creator of the AI, who has developed a weapon that could not only put an end to the war, but also to the entire human race.

Artificial intelligence is a huge topic of discussion - and not just recently. With every supposed progress, more and more questions about the ethical implications of its chances and dangers arise - questions that films like »Blade Runner« or »Ex Machina« have already asked and that »The Creator« also deals with. In addition, the teaser lures with an epic atmosphere and visually impressive action sequences:
https://youtu.be/573GCxqkYEg

The film is going to hit cinemas at the end of September. We are excited - and you?

Loyal viewers of our YouTube channel have already heard the news in our 🚀 ABGESPACED 🚀 special episode: one format is splitting in two! In 💫 NEUES AUS DEM FIGUREN UNIVERSUM 💫 we will frequently serve you compact summaries of all product highlights from now on. And today we can already present to you the very first episode 🤩!

This week, we showcase the most exciting new arrivals and pre-orders from the first half of May. From rock legends 🎸 and Star Wars to Marvel, DC and Universal Monsters 🧛 - we have plenty of different collectibles in store for you ... and a very special highlight from Blizzard on top 🔥:
https://youtu.be/7haT07kVgts

So tune in - now on YouTube!

The Dracula fans among you have surely marked tomorrow in their calendars because it’s finally time: »Renfield« is hitting the German cinemas!

The film is loosely based on the tale of the blood-sucking count and his servant from Bram Stoker’s novel and is meant to continue the 1931 adaptation. The modern comedy horror tale tells the story of Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), the longsuffering assistant of Dracula (Nicolas Cage), who is forced to procure victims for his master and follow his orders. After decades of servitude he is fed up and wants to break out of this toxic relationship - no easy task when your boss is the prince of darkness. Fortunately he is helped by traffic cop Rebecca (Awkwafina).

While critics’ reviews of the film have been overwhelmingly mediocre, there are quite a few enthusiastic voices as well. Friends of vampire tales should get their money’s worth because »Renfield« picks up many aspects of the known Dracula lore and delivers action sequences with plenty of gore on top. Praise went to Nicolas Cage’s performance, whose fans can expect to see his beloved and entertaining overacting as well as his chemistry with Nicholas Hoult, who plays the intimidated servant in his familiar charming and likable fashion.

You can watch the trailer here:
https://youtu.be/ICydLkeXq3w

Are you excited for the film?

NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have enchanted all beat 'em up fans with a fantastic announcement: MORTAL KOMBAT enters its next round!

With »Mortal Kombat 1« the bloody tournament for life and death shall continue - the release is planned for the 19th of September this year.

The first, really epic and very bloody trailer definitely leaves you wanting more - but see for yourself:
https://youtu.be/UZ6eFEjFfJ0

According to Ed Boon, programmer of NetherRealm Studios, the game is not a sequel to »Mortal Kombat 11«, but rather a new timeline in which the characters will have completely new roles - a new beginning in a new universe, so to speak. 

What do you think of this new direction for the MK universe? And above all: are you up for it?