DVD Review: ShoutFactory’s G.I. Joe The Movie

First off I would like to thank Dana and ShoutFactory for their generous contribution of this DVD. Now secondly I would like to say as a kid despite not seeing any of the classic G.I. Joe series I had owned a highly used VHS of the classic 1987 animated film. This movie even to this day is one of my most highly regarded films of the ’80′s.

I first obtained the 2000 re-release of the film by Rhino in late 2009, glad to at least see it was on DVD. However since seeing the classic Transformers and G.I. Joe series re-released by ShoutFactory made me wish this would get a remastering as well.

In July of 2010 my prayers were answered in the form of the newly remastered version of G.I. Joe The Movie (1987). ShoutFactory’s version of the movie does feature much greater quality overall. The visuals, the audio, the menus and even the special features were something to be in awe of.

THE MENU:

The menu setup was in a much better format by far in comparison to the original DVD release. It makes use of some dynamic animations in similar fashion to their G.I. Joe Season Sets and the Transformers G1 Season Sets. The quality on that alone makes you gear up to watch the film. Another feature I like is the ability for the movie to be played in either full screen or wide screen. I personally am glad to see the wide screen as I have a wide screen tv and it looks much better not seeing the black outlines. See the image below for details on the classic menu and the new menu system.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Special Features are very similar in each edition of the film. However in the newer ShoutFactory version it also includes the ability to download the original movie script to your desktop computer. This key element I think adds more value in itself to the Special Features.

Now granted in the Special Features area, I do like Cobra Commander’s mug shot there, I do think ShoutFactory adds a nice touch as if accessing the Joes computer system.

AUDIO:

The audio was several steps up and a lot clearer than that of the older edition. I could hear more of the crisp background music, sound effects and vocals. I would much rather listen to this than I would the original. With that in mind I move on to the visuals.

VISUALS:

By the time I got to watching the film after first watching the original 2000 Rhino release, I noticed several differences in picture. Some of these were subtle and others were blatantly obvious. See the examples below:

Now look at B.E.T. (Broadcast Energy Transmitter) which granted is slightly higher in seconds on one of the scenes but regardless you get the idea. The colors on the one on the left (Rhino) are more cartoon-ish whereas the one on the right (Shout) have a more real tone to them. To further detail this I have some more side by sides with the actual same scenes.

Here we have an image of Serpentor from the first 10 minutes of the movie. Rhino has the colors more vibrant on the lighter colors. However their details to the darker images makes it so it is hard to see the details. ShoutFactory despite missing some of the brighter colors did manage to show more accurate skin tones. The colors on the darker objects such as the snakes on Serpentor’s shoulders are much brighter leaving me seeing actual detail in that area. Finally on to one final image comparison.

Here we have Roadblock with Cobra Commander only here he is holding Cobra’s battle mask. What I like about the image on the right are the accuracy to real life colors. Rhino did a good job but Roadblock looks reddish instead of the brown that is in Shout’s. Another thing is the mask. It has a red tint to it there as well whereas Shout again outdoes it with the chrome coloring. It makes in these instances a no brainer which copy I would rather have.

OVERVIEW:

All in all I like the version ShoutFactory has released and am glad to finally have a great quality of this movie. Although the menu could have used a little more imagery of the characters included, I still loved this re-release.  This is a film I will watch for years to come.

OVERALL SCORES:

• MENU: 4.0 out of 5
• AUDIO: 4.5 out of 5
• VISUAL: 4.5 out of 5
• SPECIAL FEATURES: 5 out of 5
• OVERALL: 4.5 out of 5

Podcasting and I

My article directly quoted from the paper:

GeekCast Radio Network seeks listeners

Published: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 3:03 AM     Updated: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 7:57 AM

Steven C. Phillips

In the early 2000s I spent much of my time listening to local radio stations, winning prizes and yearning for better programming. I listened to the radio mostly to win prizes and to hear the various DJs’ talk shows. As little talking as they did, I thought “Wouldn’t it be cool to be on one of those types of shows?”

When I first heard of podcasting, I had no idea that it would blow up into such an awesome phenomenon. I had entered it as an amateur voice actor who was doing fan dubbing and decided to give it a whirl.

Upon jumping into this I started searching for shows that struck my fancy. At first I looked into Transformers-related podcasts, sticking with a few. Shortly thereafter I had ventured into looking for geeky or tech-related shows. At the time I wasn’t doing massive amounts of podcasting but was an avid listener. I found I loved the multiple host dynamic featured in most of the podcasts online. I enjoyed the witty banter, humor, and the in-depth knowledge these varying people brought to their shows and their topics. Quickly I was pulled into this new age techknowledgy.

I started out doing narrative story-based shows similar to old style radio. All the while lending my voice talents to the shows. As time went on, I guest hosted on other podcasts. Within a year of doing all of these things, I had decided to launch my own show. With my older show fading into the great cloud of the interwebs, out of it came new opportunities.

The GeekCast Radio Network of Podcasts was launched last year with a friend of mine whom I met via Twitter from working on a podcast together. We have since launched close to 12 shows all ranging in various topics and structures. I’ve also, in the last year and a half, gained a ton of great new friends that I would have never known without going on this awesome adventure. My friend Mike and I have met famous musicians, voice actors, TV writers, fellow podcasters and the list is continuing to grow.

Even with the massive amounts of content that GeekCastRadio.com presents, I still find myself listening to my friends’ shows and networks. I’ve also discovered since listening to podcasts that radio is becoming less relevant with the podcasting growing exponentially. I love podcasting for the knowledge, fun and the networking with spectacular people of all walks of life. Thanks to my interest in voice acting and radio as a whole, I have grown into the podcasting phenomenon and doubt there will be ever be an end in sight.

For more information on me and my podcasting network, please visit: GeekCastRadio.com

© 2010 MLive.com. All rights reserved.

And there you have it. Going to keep posting I believe.

Batman Beyond ROTJ – 10th Anniversary Petition

I am starting this to get a re-release of Batman Beyond Return of the Joker DVD and all products associated with it. Including and not limited to “NEW” molds for toys and special editions. New special features on the DVD, possibly the missing animation of Bruce Wayne entering old Arkham to see the Joker, new interviews with the voice actors and a revamp of the disc in high def.

As for toys, maybe a custom Joker from the past as well as his future self. We’ve had a ton of customizers including myself making the future Joker toy that Hasbro and Mattel missed the first time around. We need a custom Tim Drake as Joker Jr, the JokerZ gang and various other characters of the movie.

Here’s hoping Warner Bros and Mattel come through for us. If you agree please sign the petition for sending to them for next year’s 10th Anniversary of the DVD Release. Even though technically this year is the actual 10th Anniversary. At the very lease they could release these new or remolded figures under the Justice League Unlimited line. Least of all we need the JokerZ Gang and Ultimately the Future Joker in full detail.

If you know me on twitter (@SCP21) or facebook (SCP21) or anywhere else email me if you want to be added to the list. I will edit the blog post accordingly or you can cmment here on the page using either Facebok Connect or Typing in there and it will be added.

Email: steve@geekcastradio.com

Steve “Megatron” Phillips
GeekCastRadio.com

Voice Acting / Podcasting Experiences

First of all I would like to thank those of you that are here for visiting and reading this text. Now that I’m done with that, let’s get on to why you’re really here.

Have you ever found yourself wondering about getting into voice acting? I know I sure have. Now I actually first started out on a Transformers site called, TFCog.com. There I was introduced to a large portion of fans who not only did it for fun but for the ability to re-enact their favorite voices. I joined up in a fan dub of Transformers called Headmasters. There I began my continuing mission to grow as a voice talent. Even as a child I was interested in doing this and mimicked voices when playing with toys. As I got older it became a way to prevent stress and irritate my bosses at particular jobs, in any case I digress.

The first project of Headmasters led to my role of Scourge. In which I found I could after a year of practice replicate from the original 80′s cartoon in Season 4. Awesomeness followed as I soon joined up with another website called, TFwire.com. There I became the host of the War Stories podcast which was in the format of old style radio broadcasts. This is where I caught the podcasting bug. Although after hiatus’ and a cancelled show after 15 episodes, I ran into a wall.

A year passed as I again did some small parts in various voice roles and sites. I even with the help of my awesome friend TFG1 Mike started this place up exactly a year ago. My how the time flies. Even now we continue to grow the network, I continue to grow my voice roles and the list grows longer. As usual I talk a little too much. So I will leave you all with a full resume of my works on voice acting not the podcasting spectrum however. Following that I shall post a new blog post with all of my audio clips as specific characters, an image and the details of that particular show.

Podcast: TF Anonymus
EPISODE:	TOPIC:	HOST / ANNOUNCER:
29.5	Christmas Special	Steve/Megatron

FanDub: TF Headmasters (TFCog: 2005-)
EPISODE:	CHARACTER:	NAME:
3, 5	Scourge	Steven C. Phillips / Megatron

Stop Motion: TF Prime Time 3 (EyesonEnt: 2009)
EPISODE:	CHARACTER:	NAME:
3	War Within Prime	Steven C. Phillips / Megatron

FanDub: Thomas the Tank Parody (VAA: 2007)
EPISODE:	CHARACTER:	NAME:
1	Fat Conductor	Steven C. Phillips / Megatron

FanDub: TF Scramble City (TFCog: 2008)
EPISODE:	CHARACTER:	NAME:
1	Blades	Steven C. Phillips / Megatron
1	Superion	Steven C. Phillips / Megatron

Audio Play: TF Generation 3 (VAA – Halstar: 2009-)
EPISODE:	CHARACTER:	NAME:
1,2	Beast Wars Megatron	Steven C. Phillips / Megatron

Toy Review: Batman Beyond ROTJ Custom Joker Figure

When I first started this figure, I began by trying to pay someone else to make this for me. Until I decided it was cheaper for me to do this custom figure myself. I first went to the great eBay and purchased two action figures. One being the Wild Card Joker with green hair from the Secret Society line of Justice League Unlimited. The 2nd figure was the old “The New Adventures of Batman and Robin” figure of Nightwing. So altogether about 20 bucks was spent here. Then I proceeded to take images of future Joker from the interwebs.

I eventually found a custom by Shatterblade on a customs forum which used this exact formula. The green haired Joker mind you was more work than if I had purchased the one from the 3 pack of Batman, Black Canary and Joker with the black hair. So I opted for cheaper and although I should have gotten this edition, it wasn’t necessary.

Soon after this I acquired some smooth sand paper for the lines and for the scalp. I used a razor blade on the hair even though it calls for an exacto knife. I carefully cut down the layers of the hair until it became a suitable level. Then I used some acryllic black paint for the body as well as the Joker head. I had to because I used the wrong head repaint the face as well. I had added the red eyes of permanent marker. I plainly cut Knightwing’s head off of his torso glueing the Joker’s in place. I also custom colored the hands to match his from the movie.

Over all I love the outcome of this figure. Granted it’s not the best I could do but it is still worth the time I invested in it. This with my other 3 Joker’s will complete this set. Now hopefully Mattel will release an official one for my collection. Again, if not I have this awesome custom to fall back on. View the images below for more detailed ideas of what I did.