@ The Movies: Cool Gift Ideas
Have Your Shopping Done Yet?
POSTED: 3:30 p.m. EST December 18, 2001
Alright, don't deny it -- there are many of you out there who are still bashing your brains trying to think of the perfect holiday gifts for your loved ones, so I'm here to help. As a movie writer, it only makes sense that I make recommendations that are, well, movie-related.
So, I've come up with five cool movie-related gifts ideas -- not in any particular order -- that might help you out in the 11th hour of shopping. The bottom line is, I think they are really cool, and I hope you do, too. Happy holidays!
Cool Movie Gizmo: Whether you want to call it a toy or a gizmo, the new and improved Micro Movie Projector from Fascinations could be best described as a miniature technical marvel. I first happened upon one of these about 10 years ago in a specialty shop, bought several for gifts, and have been looking for them every since (the company just redesigned the viewer and released it again this year). When it comes to movie nostalgia, this has to be one of the coolest movie items ever produced.
Small enough to hold in the palm of your hand, the Micro Movie Projector holds a small cylinder-shaped cassette that contains 30 seconds of 8 mm film. When you hold the viewer up to light and look into the viewer and hold the button down, if feels as if you are in your own little silent movie theater, with the sweet sounds of a clickety-clackety projector to accompany you. But the cool machinery is only the beginning: The company has also secured several great titles for your viewing pleasure, too. Culled from public domain footage and movie trailers, titles include classics like "The Day the Earth Stood Still," Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," vintage "Superman" cartoons, Scooby Doo and several cartoon icons including Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse and Woody Woodpecker.
More Info: Fascinations Web Site
Cool Movie Book: Forget all about those silly celebrity "tell-all" books, Bruce Campbell's autobiography "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor" is the tome that really tells it like it is. Having poured gallons of fake blood, sweat and tears (along with director Sam Raimi and producer Rob Tapert) into the making of the "Evil Dead" trilogy, you can?t help but appreciate Campbell's working class upbringing and everyman existence as cinema's most endearing, squared-jawed cult hero.
Of course, Campbell has plenty of stories to tell from his "Evil Dead" movies in the book, but there's also playful anecdotes about his early days with Raimi, and as his stints as actor and director on such television shows as "Hercules" and "Xena." Campbell also chimes in with brutal honesty about the differences between fame and true appreciation of the acting craft. Since Campbell has a huge presence on the Internet, the book is peppered with some e-mails, which range from appreciative to outright bizarre. The book is a tribute to working-class folks everywhere, and an essential guide for disillusioned actors who hope to make it in Hollywood as a "star."
More Info: Bruce Campbell Web Site
Cool Movie Collectible: Adding to the pleasure of writing about movies for the past 11 years has been my hobby of collecting the movie toys and collectibles on which they are based. Raising the bar when it comes to quality, the cool movie action figures and dolls from Sideshow Toy make the hobby all the more enjoyable. Since the company always goes the extra mile in recreating spot-on likenesses of cult and classic movie characters, it's hard to nail down one single recommendation, so I won't even try.
Among my top picks this year are the release of a set of dolls from "Young Frankenstein" (these are molded in glorious black and white, with Marty Feldman's Igor taking the cake), "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (among the knights are plenty of great accessories, including, yes, that decapitating rabbit), and the long-awaited debut of Bela Lugosi, molded as Dracula and four other of his classic movie characters. Perhaps Sideshow's greatest achievement, though, is becoming the first toy company to team with a movie effects unit to create movie collectibles, and the result is a bevy of statues, busts, helmets and landscapes from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring."
More Info: Sideshow Toy Web Site
Cool Movie Icon: Okay, it's not exactly a "movie" in the cinematic sense of the word, but "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a cool short film that is broadcast every year on television and is available on video. From baby boomers who grew up with him to today's kids, "Rudolph" is still "red" hot, and toy company Playing Mantis smartly captured the license to produce cool "Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys" figurines that look as if they stepped out of their stop-motion world and into your living room.
The figurines -- which include Rudolph, Yukon, Hermey, Clarice and more -- come in action figure size, and the company produced an over-sized Abominable Snowman (also known as the Bumble) to make the collection complete. Rudolph's nose, by the way, does indeed light up. I wouldn't have recommended them last year, simply because they was an immediate rush on them and they were impossible to find. This year, Playing Mantis made sure stores had plenty of stock. After all, he's one of the most lovable cultural icons from holidays past, present and future.
More Info: Playing Mantis Web Site
Cool Movie Movie: What sense would a movie gift guide make without a movie recommendation? Since it might take all day to list the classics, I've instead chosen to limit my choice to a movie that came out this year. Since the holidays are about family, it only makes sense to recommend the best family movie (if not the best movie, period) this year: "Shrek" (PG).
Apart from being a visual wonder, this computer-animated gem fractures the narrative of practically every classic fairytale ever written. Backed by its smart script and a mother-load of voice talent (including Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow), it's easily one of the funniest movies of the year that both kids and adults can enjoy.
More Info: "Shrek" Web Site
Small enough to hold in the palm of your hand, the Micro Movie Projector holds a small cylinder-shaped cassette that contains 30 seconds of 8 mm film. When you hold the viewer up to light and look into the viewer and hold the button down, if feels as if you are in your own little silent movie theater, with the sweet sounds of a clickety-clackety projector to accompany you. But the cool machinery is only the beginning: The company has also secured several great titles for your viewing pleasure, too. Culled from public domain footage and movie trailers, titles include classics like "The Day the Earth Stood Still," Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," vintage "Superman" cartoons, Scooby Doo and several cartoon icons including Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse and Woody Woodpecker.
More Info: Fascinations Web Site
Cool Movie Book: Forget all about those silly celebrity "tell-all" books, Bruce Campbell's autobiography "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor" is the tome that really tells it like it is. Having poured gallons of fake blood, sweat and tears (along with director Sam Raimi and producer Rob Tapert) into the making of the "Evil Dead" trilogy, you can?t help but appreciate Campbell's working class upbringing and everyman existence as cinema's most endearing, squared-jawed cult hero.
Of course, Campbell has plenty of stories to tell from his "Evil Dead" movies in the book, but there's also playful anecdotes about his early days with Raimi, and as his stints as actor and director on such television shows as "Hercules" and "Xena." Campbell also chimes in with brutal honesty about the differences between fame and true appreciation of the acting craft. Since Campbell has a huge presence on the Internet, the book is peppered with some e-mails, which range from appreciative to outright bizarre. The book is a tribute to working-class folks everywhere, and an essential guide for disillusioned actors who hope to make it in Hollywood as a "star."
More Info: Bruce Campbell Web Site
Cool Movie Collectible: Adding to the pleasure of writing about movies for the past 11 years has been my hobby of collecting the movie toys and collectibles on which they are based. Raising the bar when it comes to quality, the cool movie action figures and dolls from Sideshow Toy make the hobby all the more enjoyable. Since the company always goes the extra mile in recreating spot-on likenesses of cult and classic movie characters, it's hard to nail down one single recommendation, so I won't even try.
Among my top picks this year are the release of a set of dolls from "Young Frankenstein" (these are molded in glorious black and white, with Marty Feldman's Igor taking the cake), "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (among the knights are plenty of great accessories, including, yes, that decapitating rabbit), and the long-awaited debut of Bela Lugosi, molded as Dracula and four other of his classic movie characters. Perhaps Sideshow's greatest achievement, though, is becoming the first toy company to team with a movie effects unit to create movie collectibles, and the result is a bevy of statues, busts, helmets and landscapes from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring."
More Info: Sideshow Toy Web Site
Cool Movie Icon: Okay, it's not exactly a "movie" in the cinematic sense of the word, but "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a cool short film that is broadcast every year on television and is available on video. From baby boomers who grew up with him to today's kids, "Rudolph" is still "red" hot, and toy company Playing Mantis smartly captured the license to produce cool "Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys" figurines that look as if they stepped out of their stop-motion world and into your living room.
The figurines -- which include Rudolph, Yukon, Hermey, Clarice and more -- come in action figure size, and the company produced an over-sized Abominable Snowman (also known as the Bumble) to make the collection complete. Rudolph's nose, by the way, does indeed light up. I wouldn't have recommended them last year, simply because they was an immediate rush on them and they were impossible to find. This year, Playing Mantis made sure stores had plenty of stock. After all, he's one of the most lovable cultural icons from holidays past, present and future.
More Info: Playing Mantis Web Site
Cool Movie Movie: What sense would a movie gift guide make without a movie recommendation? Since it might take all day to list the classics, I've instead chosen to limit my choice to a movie that came out this year. Since the holidays are about family, it only makes sense to recommend the best family movie (if not the best movie, period) this year: "Shrek" (PG).
Apart from being a visual wonder, this computer-animated gem fractures the narrative of practically every classic fairytale ever written. Backed by its smart script and a mother-load of voice talent (including Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow), it's easily one of the funniest movies of the year that both kids and adults can enjoy.
More Info: "Shrek" Web Site
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