The stars of two of Nickelodeon’s most successful shows are available at Dollar Tree, in building block form, for the low, low price of $1.25 each. Come on in and let’s see if they’re worth it.
The first two series of Dino Strike toys, which I have yet to write about, have been surprisingly compatible with Transformers due to the universal 5mm posts and ports which allow kids to customize their dino warriors. How will series three fare? Click the pic and we’ll test them out!
Batman is my favorite superhero, and Kevin Conroy’s is the only voice I ever cared about hearing when Batman spoke. Over the last thirty years, people around the world came to realize what fans of the DC animated universe learned back in 1992: Kevin Conroy’s Batman and Bruce Wayne are quite simply the finest interpretations of those characters ever filmed. Kevin Conroy, more than any actor before or since, understood what made Batman loveable, what made him scary, and what made him human. We loved him when he was kicking ass, but we loved him even more in his moments of weakness, when he was being suffocated by the doubts and pains of a life of violence and grief and, ultimately, hope. When a new Batman animation or video game was revealed, the first thing I listened to was the voice. If it wasn’t Kevin Conroy, I lost a lot of interest. As a late comer to the Arkham games, I put the Arkham Asylum disc into the console with skepticism. Then, to my shock, I heard Kevin’s voice on my television. The next day I went back to the store and bought the entire Arkham series. THAT is how much Kevin Conroy brought to this role. Many actors have played the Dark Knight, both before and after. And some were quite good. But I sincerely doubt that I will live to see another actor surpass him. Today we lost a legend.
Kevin Conroy, November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022
How can I describe to you how good this movie is? I could tell you how it faithfully and unflinchingly charts Al Yankovic’s meteoric rise, from his troubled childhood in which his accordion playing was the unforgiveable sin that caused his estrangement from his family, to his infamous, onstage alcohol-fueled breakdown and arrest. Perhaps I could highlight the tender but unapologetic treatment of Yankovic’s love life, from the beginnings of his highly publicized, turbulent affair with Madonna, played to absolute PERFECTION by Evan Rachel Wood, to their violent and heartbreaking separation amidst a hail of bullets and cocaine.
I could explore the end of Al’s innocence, as we watch his wrenching betrayal by Michael Jackson, who parodies Al’s song “Eat It” in a ruthless attempt to cash in on Yankovic’s success. I could expound on the way this film so seamlessly pulls back the veil of Al’s entanglement with organized crime, from his role in the murder of Pablo Escobar, to the retaliatory assassination that so famously cost Yankovic his life at the 1985 Grammy Awards. All of those things would be valid. But I think the very best way I can pay tribute to “Weird Al” Yankovic – as well as to this movie, which so accurately chronicles and celebrates the brief but oh-so-bright candle that was his life – is to tell you that as soon as this movie ended, I immediately pressed play and watched it all over again. 9 out of 10. Absolutely triumphant.
“Weird Al” Yankovic, “Now You Know” “This song is technically eligible for Oscar consideration…”