LEGO Systems, Inc. announced LEGO® BrickHeadz, a new product line for fans to collect, build and showcase LEGO® versions of iconic characters and super heroes in conjunction with San Diego Comic-Con International (SDCC), the world’s largest comic and entertainment convention. The company will participate at SDCC for the 16th year and will delight show attendees with extraordinary life-sized LEGO models, exclusive sneak peeks of 2017 LEGO building sets, one-of-a-kind minifigure giveaways, and hands-on building fun with thousands of LEGO bricks at booth #2829 in Hall D at the San Diego Convention Center, July 21-24. The company also detailed the special activities, product giveaways and exclusive retail offerings which will be available for all San Diego Comic-Con International attendees.
“Each year our team looks forward to attending San Diego Comic-Con to unveil new products and life-sized LEGO models inspired by some of the most popular entertainment properties in the world,” said Amanda Santoro, brand relations manager, LEGO Systems, Inc. “This year, show attendees will be the first in the world to preview our new, fan-friendly, collectible line of LEGO BrickHeadz, share a photo moment with new LEGO statues, and lend a hand to LEGO Master Builders as they assemble larger-than-life LEGO models.”
LEGO® BrickHeadz
Scheduled for 2017 availability, LEGO BrickHeadz is a new collectible play experience that allows builders to create, collect and display versions of iconic characters and super heroes out of classic LEGO bricks and elements. To celebrate the new collection, four limited-edition LEGO BrickHeadz sets—each containing two buildable characters inspired by renowned super heroes across movies and comics—will be sold in limited quantity at the LEGO booth for $40 each. Information about LEGO BrickHeadz SDCC exclusive retail sets available below.
The LEGO® Batman Movie
Before heading to the big screen on February 10, 2017, The LEGO® Batman Movie’s Batman™, Batgirl™ and The Joker™ will share center stage at the LEGO Booth. Together with LEGO Master Builders, attendees can build a large-scale model of Batman on Thursday, followed by Batgirl on Friday and The Joker on Saturday. Fans will also get to preview two LEGO building sets, The Batmobile and The Joker™ Notorious Lowrider, inspired by the film, and take a selfie to share via social channels on-site with LEGO Batman using a custom brick-built “Bat Booth.” There will also be talent signing with the cast of The LEGO Batman Movie in the LEGO Booth on Saturday, July 23rd. A life-size version of LEGO Batman made entirely out of 53,998 LEGO bricks will be making a special appearance at the WB booth, #4545.
DC Comics™
To honor Wonder Woman™’s 75th anniversary and the heroine’s Super Hero’s first solo live-action film slated for 2017, Gal Gadot will make her debut as a life-sized LEGO Wonder Woman model standing 6 feet tall and built from 22,736 LEGO bricks. It took LEGO Master Builders 317 hours to construct the realistic likeness. Three 2017 LEGO® Super Heroes Mighty Micros: DC Comics™ building sets, including Wonder Woman™ vs. Doomsday™, Superman™ vs. Bizarro™ and Batman™ vs. Killer Moth™ will also be on display.
A specially produced LEGO BrickHeadz building set consisting of characters Batman™ and The Joker™ will be sold on Thursday, July 21, and a LEGO BrickHeadz building set with Superman™ and Wonder Woman™ will be available for purchase on Saturday, July 23.
A LEGO minifigure version of “Ray” Palmer as The Atom, from the popular CW TV series DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, will be given away to lucky winners on Thursday, July 21 and Saturday, July 23.
MARVEL™ Universe
Inspired by the blockbuster film Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War™, a 6-foot tall LEGO model of Captain America™ made entirely out of 25,984 LEGO bricks will stand proud at the LEGO booth. Prior to its January 2017 availability, fans can preview the ultimate Hulk™ mashup in the LEGO MARVEL™ Super Heroes Classic Avengers: Hulk™ vs. Red Hulk™ building set. The fun collectability of LEGO® Super Heroes Mighty Micros is expanding within the MARVEL universe with three new sets on display, including Iron Man vs. Thanos, Spider-Man vs. Scorpion and Wolverine vs. Magneto.
Two limited edition LEGO BrickHeadz: MARVEL building sets—each containing two collectible characters composed entirely out of classic LEGO bricks and elements— will be available for purchase exclusively at the LEGO booth. The LEGO BrickHeadz building set containing Black Panther and Doctor Strange will be available for purchase on Friday, July 22, and a LEGO BrickHeadz building set with Captain America and Iron Man will be available on Sunday, July 24.
Attendees can enter to win a LEGO minifigure version of Steve Rogers as Captain America on Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 23.
Star Wars™
LEGO Star Wars™ fans eagerly awaiting the upcoming film premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be thrilled to see an over 6-foot tall life-sized model of the film’s new Death Trooper™, which took LEGO Master Builders 349 hours to build and contains 27,202 LEGO bricks.
LEGO NINJAGO™
In celebration of the sixth season of Cartoon Network’s popular NINJAGO™: Masters of Spinjitzu™ and the 2017 feature film, a large-scale LEGO model of one of the playtheme’s iconic ninja apprentices, Jay Walker, will be at the LEGO booth. Equipped with his signature Nun chucks of Lightning, the model is made entirely out of 64,148 LEGO bricks and stands 51” high.
LEGO Ideas
Fans of the hit Cartoon Network Series Adventure Time™ will get a first-hand look at the official LEGO building set based on a concept from the fan-fueled LEGO Ideas crowdsourcing platform. Available for purchase at $49.99, the set features brick builds of characters Finn the Human, Jake the Dog, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Princess Bubblegum, Ice King, Flame Princess, Beemo, Lady Rainicorn, and Gunter.
2016 LEGO Show Exclusive Retail Sales Details
While purchase and fulfillment of exclusive LEGO BrickHeadz sets will take place in LEGO booth #2829, attendees must first visit the Pavilion Terrace to participate in a random drawing to qualify to buy, beginning as early as 6 am daily. Each of the four exclusive retail sets will be sold on separate days of the show, with a limit of one set per attendee per day. Tickets to purchase must be redeemed on the same day or purchase is forfeited.
2016 LEGO Minifigure Giveaway Details
To secure an opportunity to receive a LEGO minifigure giveaway, show attendees should visit the Pavilion Terrace at 12:30 pm each day to enter an instant drawing giveaway, to be fulfilled on the spot while supplies last. One drawing per person per day.
Thursday, July 21, and Saturday, July 22: “Ray” Palmer as The Atom minifigure
Friday, July 22, and Sunday, July 24: Steve Rogers as Captain America minifigure
Fans who are not attending SDCC have a chance to win the exclusive LEGO minifigure giveaways and Exclusive Retail Sets via Twitter by following @LEGO_Group and the hashtag #LEGOSDCC.

Streaming
Midnight Mass: The Blood of Life

The isolated island community of Crockett receives a mysterious new head priest, full of secrets and a brand new testament under a very unusual Messenger of God.
Meet poor Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford), freshly released from prison and wracked with guilt over what got him there, a stupid drinking accident that caused the death of his ex-girlfriend. The last thing he wants to do is go back to Crockett and the judgment of the mostly religious community there, his disappointed family, and the nightmares of his ex’s death that plague him. But where else would have him? Resignedly on the ferry, he goes.
Riley’s dad Ed (Henry Thomas) isn’t the kind of man who talks very much at all, much less about his feelings, or his very real disappointment in his elder son. Riley’s teen brother Warren (Igby Rigney) has no idea what to say to him either, and just generally keeps mum. Riley’s mom Annie (Kristin Lehman) is accepting and loving, hesitant in how to help her eldest son but never wavering in her faith in the help of our lord Jesus. Mom seems to think a good heaping dose of the Church would set Riley right but is surprised to learn that the old priest of the Parish, Pruitt, has taken an extended leave of absence from the island, and his newcomer replacement Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) is young, charismatic, and bursting at the seams to tell the whole island about the gifts he brought them, most especially what he claims as a new testament under a messenger of God.
We’ll get back to that whole ball of issues in a moment, the other interesting characters of Crockett Island. Bev Keane (Samantha Sloyan) is the nightmarish overly polite and gently, almost lovingly condescending neighbor Christian woman you’ve ever loathed, the kind of person who explains away every last thing her Church may do wrong or contradictory because, after all, God works in mysterious ways. Pfft. Of course, Bev immediately ingratiates herself as the second to the new Father Paul in their services and is the first to start covering up his transgressions as they become more rampant.
Newcomers to Crockett Sheriff Hassan (Rahul Kohli) and his son Ali (Rahul Abburi) present a burgeoning problem to the plans of Father Paul and his shadowy companion, for they are both practicing Muslims. The practical side of investigating these so-called ‘miracles’ and strange happenings falls on Hassan’s shoulders, as he already struggles with barely-concealed racism and suspicion from his fellow islanders, and of course his son is being wooed away from him by the promise of actual, tangible miracles, but from a different whole faith and God. Father Paul definitely does not practice a traditional Christian faith and relies far too much on making use of the eucharist, the ceremony of the blood and flesh of Jesus Christ turning into bread and wine and, well, consumed.
Wade (Michael Trucco) and his wife Dolly (Crystal Balint) are lifers of the island and both in general interested in one thing, the advancement of their own family, specifically their daughter Leeza (Annarah Cymone), who happens to be in a wheelchair. And that happens to be the canny Father Paul’s first real miracle-with-a-cost that he demonstrates to the astonishment of the parishioners, after a heartfelt and rousing sermon, Father Paul commands Leeza to rise, to stand, and to walk. And lo, she does. What parents wouldn’t wholly dedicate themselves to a cause after seeing this happen to their beloved precious daughter? The fringe benefits of healing, and power, the ones that come at a mighty, currently unnamed, cost, are simply a nice bonus.
Joe Collie (Robert Longstreet) is the town drunk, and while his reasons for drowning his sorrows in the sauce might be understandable, absolution wears a very different face when it comes from Father Paul. While Leeza might be willing to forgive Joe, and even as Joe begins attending the newly-formed Al-Anon meetings on the island of course hosted by Father Paul, redemption might’ve been better sought from medical professionals, and not this newfound method of religious worship.
Dr. Sarah Gunning (Annabeth Gish) is the islands’ kind of all-around medic, and this is how she and Riley’s old friend Erin (Kate Siegel), also newly returned to the island, a few months pregnant but traveling quietly alone, met when Erin comes to the Doc for obstetrics. Sarah’s older mother Mildred Gunning (Alexandra Essoe) has many medical and mental issues, and Sarah struggles in their shared home, to take care of her addled mom and balance her own life. Then Father Paul takes it upon himself to visit one of his oldest parishioners, bringing the sacred host and wine with him to give directly to Mildred, who starts looking and acting so much better under his loving care.
The show is very much a slow slow burn, with a lot of the actual action taking place in the last two episodes. Much of the beginning and middle episodes feature two people just sitting alone, having quiet and seriously in-depth conversations about heavy subjects – grief and repentance, what happens when we die, the disasters that come as a result of addictions, how our actions’ consequences reverberate to those we love around us, faith and the foibles of man, and of course, the giving of oneself over to a higher power, for strength, and guidance, and love.
Except, for the higher power that Father Paul brought back with him, to share with his beloved flock of Crockett Island, while it may be extremely powerful and full of what could be considered miraculous magic, everything comes at some kind of a cost. And when the Messenger of God is finally revealed to the shocked denizens of Crockett at Easter Mass, with Father Paul rapturing on about rebirth as the bloody massacre begins in earnest, it’s faith, not in any kind of God or religion, but faith in each other, that may save a few hardy souls.
Question the wisdom of your religious leaders along with the rest of us in a fine slow-burn addition to the Flanaverse, Midnight Mass is on Netflix now!
Movie
Saw X: It ain’t brain surgery!

Legendary executioner Jigsaw returns to exact revenge on a cadre of scam artists who promised him a bogus cure for his cancer!
First off, be aware, that this is what I call an interleaved sequel, a movie set between previous films in the franchise. In this case, Saw X occurs after the events of the very first Saw film, and before Saw II. Everybody got where we are? Good! Into the madness, we dive!
So, as we all know, John Kramer’s been diagnosed with cancer, very aggressive brain cancer, and likely doesn’t have much time left. And he’s tried everything under the sun, doing a ton of meticulous research, we’d expect nothing less from our master of the art of murder, and not one thing has worked. Yet one man from the support group for cancer sufferers, Henry (Michael Beach), offers an off-the-books supposed miracle cure, and John jumps at the chance.
Why does this nonsense always sound too good to be true? Because it is. Deleted scenes from the first Deadpool movie already told us why traveling to Mexico for any kind of medical cure is a sublimely stupid move, but Kramer is desperate. And while he might be sick and dying, John Kramer has never been what anyone could call stupid. So the villa out in the Mexican countryside, the affable cab driver Diego (Joshua Okamoto) professes surprise at Kramer being highjacked for his good, the nervous muttering from assistant Valentina (Paulette Hernandez), the side-eyeing from little housekeep Gabriela (Renata Vaca) and her tequila, and most especially the smooth and smarming reassurances of head “doctor” Cecilia Pederson (Synnove Macody Lund), all leave a kind of sour taste in John’s mouth.
The whole cluex4 scene is done in the style that the Saw films are known for, where we the audience are treated to cut-together explanatory scenes in a flip-flash fashion of usually about two minutes, for poor John when he realizes he’s been hoodwinked and just how badly, seems a little contrived. But then it’s entirely possible that we the audience truly expected our genius mastermind of the infamous Jigsaw murders to have realized what was happening sooner, and got enraged along with Kramer. And cheered as he prepared to take his bloody and ultra-violent revenge!
First up in our grand guignol of executions is the return of Jigsaw’s first protégé, Amanda (Shawnee Smith). And despite her avowed reverence for Jigsaw and his proven “therapy”, Amanda does waver a bit when the scammers are put through the paces of their specially-made Saw traps, and they shriek and blubber and bleed out. The appearance of the ringer of the bunch, Parker (Steven Brand), doesn’t even slow our beloved engineer of the damned down, because we knew Jigsaw would have his other apprentice waiting just off stage, the deliciously vicious Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). Even the monkeywrench of involving little-boy soccer fan Carlos (Jorge Briseno) in the traps, is just another cog in the machine that is the brilliantly plotting mind of John Kramer.
A fine addition to the Saw legends, showcasing a return to the beloved style and panache of the original Tobin Bell-starring Jigsaw films, Saw X is splashing gore and gallons of blood in theaters now!
Streaming
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

“Scott Pilgrim Takes Off,” Netflix’s latest series, is a rollicking journey through the world of video game culture, blending nostalgic references with a fresh narrative twist. Centered around Scott Pilgrim, portrayed with magnetic charisma by Michael Cera, the show skillfully integrates gaming elements into its storytelling, creating a delightful homage to the video game subculture.
The series cleverly employs pixelated graphics, power-up animations, and game-like sound effects to bring the virtual world to life. These visual cues, reminiscent of classic video games, enhance the storytelling and resonate with audiences familiar with the gaming landscape. The attention to detail in recreating iconic gaming moments is commendable, creating a visual and auditory treat for enthusiasts.
The exploration of video game culture goes beyond mere aesthetics; it becomes an integral part of the characters’ identities and interactions. The script intelligently weaves gaming terminology and tropes into the dialogue, effectively blending the real and virtual worlds. The series navigates the challenges and triumphs of the characters through the lens of gaming, making it a unique and engaging experience for both gamers and general audiences.
The ensemble cast, including standout performances from Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong, and Chris Evans embraces the gaming theme with infectious enthusiasm. The chemistry between the characters is palpable, adding emotional depth to the series.
“Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” successfully taps into the zeitgeist of video game culture, offering a nostalgic yet contemporary take on the gaming phenomenon. It’s a must-watch for those who cherish the pixelated roots of the gaming world while providing an accessible and entertaining narrative for a broader audience. The series takes off not only in its title but also in its ability to soar within the ever-expanding realm of Netflix originals.