Diva's Movie Review - Spider-man: Across The Spider-verse Is A Dazzling Work Of Art

Just after two weeks of its theatrical release, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE raked in an impressive USD 400 million at the global box office. Achieving this box office number is no mean feat for a superhero animated film, and ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, the sequel of 2018's SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, is now Sony's highest-grossing animated release in history. The film continues its money-making gains at the international box office by crossing the half a billion (USD) mark this week.

ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE follows about a year after the events of the first movie. Back at her own world, Gwen Stacey/ Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) has been dealing with her personal demons. She is feeling emotionally fraught after losing her best friend Peter, and being not able to reveal her secret identity to her dad. Later on, Gwen is roped in to join the Spider Society, which is headed by Miguel O'Hara (Oscar Isaac), the intense and intimidating Spider-man 2099 from Earth 928B. The secret society had been created mainly to prevent the collapse of the multiverse, and consists of numerous Spider-variants as members.

Soft Toy Hospital Helped Stan Lee Plushie Get His Voice Back

Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee passed away 2 years ago on 12 November 2020. In remembrance of him, Red Dot Diva wants to share a sweet story about one of her prized possessions.

Back in 2014, she had purchased a limited edition toy talking Stan Lee plush doll from Factory Entertainment as a San Diego Comic-Con 2014 exclusive. Ever since, she brought Stan Lee Plushie home, the toy had been sitting on a self amongst a collection of Marvel comics. Occasionally, she brought him along to events and conventions, and people are usually so amused with the rare Stan Lee doll that talks! He is such an integral part of her collection of pop-culture knick knacks.

On the day Stan Lee died, Red Dot Diva posted an Instagram video message with the toy, in tribute to the man's extraordinary life:

View this post on Instagram

Dear Sir, you will so sooo missed! ❤️ But I can always hear your voice over and over again, and be continually inspired to live life with meaning and passion. Thank you 🙏🏻 for all that you have contributed in the world of pop-culture for us. #StanLee #Marvel #collectible #popculture #comics #Spiderman #superheroes

A post shared by Red Dot Diva (@reddotdiva) on Nov 12, 2018 at 5:52pm PST

It was one of the last few times she remembered hearing Stan Lee Plushie's voice from the plush toy.

Recently, she wanted to hear the toy speak again, but it did not work. She thought it could have been the batteries, so she tried changing them. Nope, that didn't work either. Boo hoo. There has to be something that can be done about this.

She recalled reading about a toy repair company in Japan, and wondered if there was a similar thing in Red Dot Island. Upon Googling the key words, Soft Toy Hospital's profile came up immediately. The hospital had a Facebook page as well, with photos of the surgeries that they have done. Some of the repairs they performed on old and broken toys were amazing, and they have received positive comments from their customers.

Soft Toy Hospital is founded by husband and wife team, Isaac Kong and Pamela Theng. They were esteemed teddy bear artists, and in 2016, decided to offer toy restoration, repair and cleaning services to collectors and owners. With such a track record, Red Dot Diva had a good feeling that these wonderful toy doctors would be able to help recover Stan Lee Plushie's voice.

She emailed Soft Toy Hospital with a few photos of Stan Lee Plushie and the battery pack.

Dr. Isaac replied to her email within a couple of days. He told Red Dot Diva that it was difficult to see what was wrong (the mechanics were all hidden deep within the toy's body), and advised that Stan Lee Plushie be hospitalised so that they can have a better look. He even offered to collect the toy (via toy ambulance?) from her home!

Stan Lee Plushie was then warded at Soft Toy Hospital for about 5 days, and placed under the loving care of Dr. Isaac. Red Dot Diva hoped he was a good patient. Using Whatsapp, Dr. Isaac provided the diagnosis of Stan Lee Plushie's voice box. The contact plate within the toy has rusted and some wiring have been damaged. However, Dr. Isaac could operate on Stan Lee Plushie and get him fixed within a few hours at a cost of SGD 40.

OMG. Hooray! OF COURSE, YES. Please fix him!



That very same evening, Dr. Isaac brought Stan Lee Plushie back home, who was looking none the worse for wear. In fact, Stan Lee Plushie could talk again! It was an amazing superhero feat by Dr. Isaac indeed. Red Dot Diva couldn't be any happier and relieved. Thank you so much, Dr. Isaac!

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My Stan Lee plushie lost his voice recently. I thought a set of new batteries could perk him up again, but that didn’t work. I was a little sad about that. Luckily, I managed to find @softtoyhospitalsg, and Dr Isaac took Stan Lee Plushie to the hospital via a toy ambulance, and after a short surgery, the skillful toy doctor managed to recover Stan Lee’s voice! Amazing work with lots of TLV given. Thank you, Dr. Isaac! I have written about my experience in my latest blog post - link in profile. If you need your beloved toy or collectible to be repaired, go look for Soft Toy Hospital! ———— #stanlee #stanleetoy #stanleeplush #marvel #toyrepair #singapore #softtoyhospitalsg

A post shared by Red Dot Diva (@reddotdiva) on Nov 12, 2020 at 9:49am PST

Stan Lee Plushie now sits together with lots of other toy friends, and he still talks from time to time. Red Dot Diva hopes he continues to spout those heartwarming Stan Lee-isms for many more years!

So, if you ever need your precious soft toy or collectible to be repaired, do drop an email, Whatsapp (98820388) or Facebook message to Soft Toy Hospital. The toy doctors offer such skillful and affordable service. Best of all, it is all wrapped up with an awesome amount of TLC for the toys and their owners.

Why “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is THE Best Spider-Man Movie

Sony Pictures' animated movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has created waves across the geek world with its simple yet iconic storyline that has a lot of heart and chockful of easter eggs, accompanied by eye-popping dash of colour and a snappy pace. Red Dot Diva loved the movie too, and thought it was the best animated movie of the year.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” translated the characters from the 2D comic book pages to animated form, by fleshing out the characters whom we love, like Peter Parker (Jake Johnson for the scruffy 'B' version), Gwen Stacy (Hailey Steinfeld), and the latest Spidey hero Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) in such a delightful manner. It made us even feel a little for the villain, Kingpin (Liev Schreiber). 

The animated feature is also a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to Spider-man's creators Stan Lee (who passed away a month ago), and Steve Ditko. For those sniffle-worthy moments, do not forget to stay on for the movie's post-credits, for which there are two.

Red Dot Diva's fellow geek pal Wayne Rée watched the movie and loved it as well. Here's Wayne's review of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”:

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I’ll just say it right up front. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” isn’t just my favourite movie of the year, it’s also one of my favourite superhero movies ever, one of my favourite Spider-Man stories in any medium, and easily my favourite Spider-Man movie.

Your mileage may vary on all the Spider-Man live action movies thus far. I personally think that Sam Raimi and Marc Webb’s respective series were both flawed overall, but with moments of brilliance, and while Homecoming very much got the spirit of the character right, a lot of the action was pretty choppy. (Don’t @ me, guys.)

Why Into the Spider-Verse tops all of them for me, however, is that it’s the one that didn’t just nail the spirit of the character, but it also tapped into the idea of why we al love Spider-Man.

Excelsior! To The Legendary Marvel Superhero Stan Lee (1922 - 2018)

It is hard to forget Stan Lee once you know of him - the bespectacled, mustachioed man with a booming voice, bright smiles and larger than life presence. He was the face of Marvel Comics, and even in his 70's, he was had more energy than those younger than him. The legendary writer, editor and publisher of Marvel Comics, who co-created several iconic comic book characters like Spider-man, Iron Man and Black Panther, loved being connected to the fandom as well as the people who worked in producing comics. Until recently, he attended a number of comic conventions meeting thousands of fans each year.

On Monday morning (13 Nov), Stan Lee pass away at the age of 95 in Los Angeles.

The last few years had been tumultuous for Stan Lee. He battled with pneumonia with legal issues and problems with trusted managers and caretakers which surfaced after his beloved wife Joan died in 2017 at the age of 69. Still, when long time friends like Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefield visited him while he was unwell earlier this year, he was energetic enough to offer positive messages to the fans and creators.

Pop-culture Convention Watch: ComicCon Asia, Manila - Was It Worth Attending?

Last year, Red Dot Diva and her Geek Blogger Alliance pals spotted a dodgy looking promo video of a new pop-culture convention called ComicCon Asia held at SMX Convention Center, Metro Manila, on 24th & 25th March 2018. They wondered if the convention was for real, especially since Asia-Pop Comic Con (APCC) has managed to garner solid fan and vendor support in the last couple of years. Are these newbies ready to take on the competition? That initial promo video and their newly launched website did not inspire much confidence.

The organizers, PSL Entertainment (who had more experience with beauty pageants) and Nam Entertainment Group, had touted that the convention was supported by Manny Pacquiao as the Philippines’ tourism ambassador. This was one of their biggest mistakes. The controversial, religiously conservative sportsman, was known to have called gay people ‘worse than animals’.

Perception that the show was being a poor copycat of the internationally reknown San Diego Comic-Con was also evident in its choice of name and the similarity in the logo design.

In comparison to APCC, tickets for the ComicCon Asia were more expensive. A 2-day ticket cost PHP1,300 (SGD33) compared to APCC's 2017 ticket prices of PHP1,100 (SGD27) for a 3-day access. To be fair, considering that they did invite Marvel's "Generalissimo" Stan Lee, the photo and autograph opportunities for the fans would have been worth the ticket price. However, any pop-culture fan would know that Stan Lee is already 96 years old, and has been of poor health lately. Would you fly more than 24 hours to another country to attend a convention at that age? It was not a surprise then, due to another bout of pneumonia, Stan Lee's appearance was cancelled a week before the convention. Also, a week's notice was late for those who had already made travel arrangements, even though Cavaet Emptor.

That was not the end of ComicCon Asia's list of boo-boos. Here are some of them:

Artist of "The Zodiac Legacy" Book Series Andie Tong Meets Fans at Kinokuniya

Locally, there are still many who are not familiar with Singapore-based artist Andie Tong, but Red Dot Diva is pretty sure this is going to change very soon due to the success of his work with Disney's illustrated book series "The Zodiac Legacy", created by the legendary Stan Lee, and co-written by Stuart Moore. It is also Stan Lee's first illustrated book series.

"The Zodiac Legacy" is about the power of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac that have been unleashed all around the world. Chinese-American teenager Steven Lee absorbs the power of the Tiger and gets caught up with the whirlwind of events battling with the Vanguard - a group of mercenaries - who are trying to collect the powers from other hosts and use them for their own selfish means.

The action-packed first book "Convergence" was launched in early 2015. The follow-up book entitled "The Dragon's Return" was released last month, and was listed as a NYT best-seller for Children's Middle-Grade Hardcover!

Andie has worked in Australia and the UK, and is well-known with regular comic conventions goers around the world. He is definitely a familiar face to those who attend STGCC, and Red Dot Diva notices that his booth is usually swamped with fans.

Comic Creators now in the Loop with the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS!

It has been so fun watching the celebrities take on the Ice Bucket Challenge for #ProjectALS the last few days!

Red Dot Diva thinks it's a great idea. The social media stunt injects that special atmosphere of fun and camaraderie while raising awareness and funding for ALS at the same time.

(Check out her previous round-up on celebrities doing the #IceBucketChallenge for the ALS Association!)

And now, it seems the comic creators and artists are going to get drawn into this. For internationally known writer Brian Michael Bendis has now completed the challenge and throws the gauntlet to Matt Fraction, David Mack and Michael Avon Oeming! Red Dot Diva had been wondering when this was going to happen, and it has now begun!

Click this link to watch Brian Michael Bendis' Ice Bucket Challenge video!

ICE, Ice, BABY! Who's next!

(Red Dot Diva will be updating this post as more challenges get completed by comics-related folks!)

SDCC 2014: Diva's Fun and Laidback Preview Day!

A bright, sunny Preview Day is definitely a Diva-tastic way to start off the largest pop-culture event in the US!

And to have enough proteins and energy to get goin', one must have a good hearty breakfast - complete with caffeine input. A good place for that is the Broken Yolk, at the corner of J Street and 6th Avenue.

Red Dot Diva and her roomies walked to the breakfast cafe from their Hilton Bayfront Hotel early in the morn and was surprised to discover that the place was pretty empty.

Standing just outside the cafe, one of Diva's favourite geek dude, Artimus was already waiting for them. The group did not need to wait long at all for their table. 

Diva and Artimus

Dallas Comic-Con 2014: Record-Breaking Attendance and Super-Long Lines!

Last month, Red Dot Diva's fellow geeky acquaintance from Texas, Natasha S. Hoover, attended a comic convention that was held at her own backyard. Well, almost!

The Dallas Comic-Con (DCC) - which has been running for about the last 12 years - has recently changed ownership and this year, the event moved to a larger location from Irving Convention Centre to the Dallas Convention Centre.

In line with what's happening at comic conventions around the globe in the last few years, there was a huge increase in attendance numbers for the event which ran from May 16 to 18, 2014. Approximately 45,000 people were said to have attended DCC this year.

Here's Natasha's report for the geeky camaraderie that happened at the convention. It is too bad she did not bring a fancy camera, so all but two of the photos used in the article belong to DCC.

SDCC 2013 Recap: When The Legendary Stan Lee Launched Two Children's Books!

There are so many stories to tell from Red Dot Diva's Comic-Con 2013 adventures, and she is trying to find time to blog some of them for you.

Out of the many, there was one very short yet memorable moment Diva had with a very legendary man. He is none other than the beloved Generalissmo himself *salute!* - Mr Stan Lee.

This is the second time (yes! you've read it right.. t'is the second time!) Red Dot Diva has met the incredibly dynamic icon. At over 90 years old, the Generalissmo is still such a ball of energy that one cannot help but feel zapped with ((( POWER ))) just by being in his presence.

If you have missed the first Red Dot Diva vs Stan Lee encounter, you have also missed him in a special video message to his Singapore fans. So, click here to check it out!

Star-Gazing At The "Iron Man 3" Red Carpet Premiere in LA

For any die-hard fan, it can be a fun thing to hang out at the red carpet barricades hoping to catch a glimpse of your favourite star at a Los Angeles movie premiere. How often does this happen in Red Dot Island anyway right?

So, yet again, Red Dot Diva is living vicariously through her good friend, Chelle and her red carpet adventures.

Here's her star-studded report from the recent "Iron Man 3" premiere at the El Capitan!

Geeky Conversations For A Cause at Nerd HQ 2012!

NERD HQ 2012.

It was *the* schedule that SDCC attendees and fellow Nerds/ Nerdettes were eagerly looking out for!

After SDCC released their official schedules last week, Red Dot Diva and her friends were going crazy, and on edge waiting for more Nerd HQ information. Red Dot Diva's hair was all ready to fall out in agonized anticipation!

Finally, about a day ago, the Nerd Machine (founded by "Chuck" star Zachary Levi and his good friend Dave Coleman) released a sneak preview of what Nerd HQ's Conversations for a Cause panels are being slated for this year's NerdHQ.

NYCC 2011 - Shakespeare Gets A POW! Treatment by Stan Lee and 1821 Comics

Of all the surprises that befell on Red Dot Diva at NYCC 2011, she never expected to have a good Squee over comic-book legend and former head of Marvel comics, Stan Lee!

She was well aware that Stan Lee (who is now Founder, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment) would be at the convention, but because he has always been wildly popular with fans, she thought that meeting the man would be near to impossible.

In between spending fangirly time with her friends, doing touristy stuff, stalking comic book creators and being shown round the city (thanks to a particular silver fox) ... oh, and not to mention, the wondrous lack of free wifi, she managed to miraculously receive an email for a press invite to the unveiling of "Romeo and Juliet: The War" - a new graphic novel by 1821 Comics, a new comic book/graphic novel company based in LA, and Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment.

It didn't take her more than a couple of seconds to RSVP a loud YES.

A First Foray To A Comic Con - in Phoenix!

There is always a first time for everything!

One of Red Dot Diva's twitter friends Lindsay, decided to dip her toes into her first comic con recently. She attended the Phoenix ComiCon on the USA Memorial Day Weekend of May 26-29, 2011.

There was a really good list of guests for the convention including Aaron Douglas (best known for his role in the "Battlestar Galactica" reboot), Kristin Bauer ("True Blood"), Nicholas Brendon ("Buffy"/ "Criminal Minds") and Star Trek luminaries like George Takei, Leonard Nimoy and fan favourite Wil Wheaton. Plus many comic-related guests like David Petersen (creator of the Mouse Guard series), Michael Golden, Eisner award-winning artist Rob Guillory and yes, even Mr. Stan Lee!

And with that fantastic guest list was the record-breaking turnout of about 25,000 attendees for this year's Phoenix Comicon.

A definitely appropriate weekend for Lindsay to pop her comic con cherry.

Here's what she recounts from that weekend:

Stan Lee's Shiny New Star!

Pic by Getty Images

And Finally.... on 5 January 2011, 88-year-old legendary comic creator and he-of-many-cameos, Stan Lee, was given his very own star along Hollywood's Walk of Fame!!

Red Dot Diva says that it's about time! What took them so long?!?!

After spending his lifetime creating all those well-loved superheroes and super-villains, Mr. Stan Lee's name is now immortalized on a star in front of the Live Nation building at 7072 Hollywood Blvd. (Just in case, if one wants to gawk at the shiny new star, Red Dot Diva says.) And BTW, it is the 2,428th star to be placed on the Hollywood sidewalks.

Stan Lee looked all hale and hearty and full of smiles at the ceremony. He was accompanied by his equally radiant wife, Joan. With his trademark shout of "Excelsior!" his star was unveiled, with Paul Newman and Sophia Loren as his star's "neighbours".

When she gets that age, Red Dot Diva hopes she still looks this mischievously jaunty and in the pink of health.

So... another excuse to walk down Hollywood Boulevard maybe? The last time Red Dot Diva was there in July 2010, she stroked Keanu Reeves star and just about molested Antonio Banderas'.

The next time, she may well hunt down and get pervy with Stan Lee's star! (Don't think he'd mind, right?) XD