The Goonies vs Stranger Things... Why Are ALL These Characters SO SIMILAR?!?

I have watched Stranger Things twice through now and the more times I view it the more references and nods I see to properties from the 80s that I LOVED. The Duffer Brothers set out to recreate the FEEL of all those movies we loved through the early 80s (War Games, ET, Stand By Me, Flight of the Navigator) without directly referencing those particular films. You get direct mentions for things like Dungeons and Dragons, The Millennium Falcon and a throwback snack like canned Hunt's Chocolate Pudding... but most of the more obvious references and tonal inspirations are there only at the abstract level. They are not ham-fisted, and the Duffer Brothers DO NOT make the mistake of trying to slam as many blatant nods as they can into their little 8 episode gem.

But the more I watch the show, the more I realize that whether it was intentional or not, The Duffer's have DIRECTLY copied many of the character traits of the seminal 80s kid gang classic The Goonies. I can draw a direct comparison between almost EVERY SINGLE character in the original Richard Donner film and their Stranger Things counterparts... This is going to be FUN!!!!

The Wonderful Geometric Art of Ale Giorgini

The trouble with all the artists flooding the Internet with their work is that they all seem to be taking on the same source material. How many Star Wars, Ghostbusters, or Goonies posters have you seen? No matter how cool or original they are, they tend to get a bit repedetive. But artist extraordinaire Ale Giorgini has developed an interesting geometrical style that makes his artistic work pop in a way that forgives the familiar subject matter. According to Giorgini's website he will be having a gallery show at Bottleneck Gallery in NYC. I for one will be checking it out... how about you? You can check out Giorgini's Society 6 page by clicking here and see some of my faves after the jump...

The Goonies by Randy Ortiz

Whenever the new Mondo poster gets released I always tend to enjoy seeing them but hesitate posting them here on CCD because they get plastered over each and every website around the Internet. But when I saw Randy Ortiz's newest creation for The Goonies I flipped out... it looks spectacular and really play up some of the coolest aspects of the film, such as One Eyed Willy & The Waterfall. This poster is so awesome and I just had to get it up here. Mondo keeps their track record going... so perfect!!! This one goes on sale tomorrow, so keep track of when by following Mondo on Twitter. Check out the full size poster after the jump....

'I'd Buy That...As a Tee!' Vol 14 by Jeff Bond

Summer it is!..... and I could use a few new unique t-shirts to really make a statement without saying a word. A statement like "I'm a geek that doesn't take much of anything seriously...I'm approachable and easily abused."

Here's some of the t-shirts I have my eye on to do just the trick but, there's only one problem....they aren't for sale yet! Please click the links below to the Threadless.com (my favoritest and most user friendly t-shirt contribution site) voting pages for each and give these beauties '5' ratings so I can throw 'em on my charge card one day.

'Mr. Brain Freeze' is a Batty villain of super-sized Slurpee proportions! Drink at your own risk.

'The Untold Origin of the Smoke Monster'...c'mon....you know you thought about it too.

There's a little bit of everything Star Wars in 'FashioniSTAR'.....I see C-3PO junk, R2 bits, Wookie scalps, litesabers, Leia hair etc...

***Please click READ MORE below...for way more tees!***

Movies As Pixel Art by Andy Helms

Check out these famous movie scenes and characters recreated in pixels by artist Andy Helms. I always find it interesting when pixel artists recreate a very intricate scene since they are severely limited to the low resolution that pixels guarantee. These are great... which one is you fave? Tell us in the comment section below. Thanks Edson!

Inception

Hey You Guys!!!

Indy vs the giant Nazi

The Falcon...

Don't Cross The Streams!!!

My Precious....

The Man with No Name

Gallery 1988 Presents: The 3G Art Show...

... and the three G's are: The Goonies, Gremlins, and Ghostbusters!!!

 Holy 80's baby flashbacks (KMG, Joey, Jeff, Fletch, and Tommy L, you are all welcome!!!) This awesome gallery outdoes itself time and time again and I wish I lived in L.A. to see some of their great shows. This particular show kicks off September 3rd and runs till September 22nd. You should click here for more info on the gallery (this show is at the LA location) and thanks to the boys over at /Films for these great pics. Great work to all the artists involved. Check em out, and tell us your favorite pieces in the comment section below.

***Please Click read more below to see more 3G art***

Has It Really Been 25 Years???

I can not believe that it has been 25 years since The Goonies hit theaters and changed 80's babies lives forever. The kids of the 80's had to be able to find someone to identify with in the diverse cast... whether it was the fat kid Chunk, the wise ass Mouth, the Asian kid Data, the jock Brand, the doofy kid Mikey, the cheerleader Andy, her ugly friend Stef... there was something for everybody. Toss in a mutant monster, a couple of gangsters, a dead body, some absentee parents, and a pirate ship... and well, the rest is history. Directed by the great Richard Donner, the story was written by then unknown Chris Columbus (Future director of Home Alone and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) who got the idea from producer Steven Spielberg. While its hard to believe now, the movie was a financial bust even though it placed in the top 10 for 1985. But over the years the movie has attained a cult like status amongst children of the 80's, and we love this movie more then life itself. It has been chosen to represent us as a generation, and we pass it on to our children now. My son Mikey absolutely adores the flick, and its not like its a surprise why.

The cast of the film has gone on to have considerable success given the fact that the children were all relatively unknown. Mikey (Sean Astin) grew up to be Sam in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Mouth (Corey Feldman) starred in dozens of 80's mainstay movies like Lost Boys and License to Drive and continues to make movies today. Stef (Martha Plimpton) is still that quirky actress that she was 25 years ago and is now featured on HBO's How To Make It In America. But the biggest star of the cast has got to be Brand (Josh Brolin) who has grown up to be quite the critically acclaimed movie star in films like No Country For Old Men and W,  as well as this summers soon to be blockbuster Jonah Hex. It's awesome to see so many of these guys grow up and continue contributing to the acting profession. There has been much talk of a sequel over the years, but nothing has ever gotten done.

Now, on the 25th anniversary, tons of stuff is being planned in honor of one of the 80's greatest movies. A new Blu Ray version of the movie will be coming out soon that will come with a board game, still photos and a remastered version of the film. Also, this past weekend, the town of Astoria, Oregon (where the movie was shot) had a celebration that included dinner with the cast and touring the shooting locations. You can check out the site for that here. All in all, I can't believe its been 25 years. But thanks for the memories, and I assure you my grand kids will grow up to Cyndi Lauper jamming out and Sloth screaming "Hey.... U.... Guys!!!!" See you in another 25 years for the 50th anniversary.