2012 Hotwheels Kroger Exclusive Ecto-1

Back in 2012 Kroger decided to partner with Hotwheels to release store exclusive Ecto-1 cars.

For somebody who lives in the middle of the country, these things  don't pop up. We have no Kroger grocery store here.

Luckily, I have a wife, and I have a birthday!

I'm pretty certain she did indeed order this for my birthday a few years ago. 

We'll say she did. Either way, it wasn't just handed over to me. I don't get those perks like other Ghostbuster sites do. It seems douchebags always get the free stuff.

While I'm a big fan of the Ecto-1, the rest of the Kroger exclusives, at least to me, seem boring.

I guess I could make one exception for the Batmobile. It's pretty ass on it's own, but when fitted with a Halloween design, it gets a little bit neater.

I've never been a Hot Wheels collector. 

 There seem to be too many people out there that go bat shit crazy over Hotwheels stuff. So much to the point of knowing when certain stores get their shipments in and raiding everything before the casual buyers can get to it, taking out everything that they believe is worth money, and selling it online.

Some people ruin everything, don't they?

 

I think it's safe to say that this ain't your daddy's Ecto-1.

Being an exclusive to Kroger, Hotwheels of course had to fit the vehicle with an exclusive Halloween theme. 

Makes sense, right?

The hood of the black car, with green tinted windows and a slime stripe on the side, is adorned with our pal, Slimer.

It's almost as if Slimer possessed the Ecto-1 making it his own or something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but glorious is too weak of a word for it.

Instead of the much loved Ghostbusters logo on the doors, there is a plain and simple jack-o-lantern with the Hotwheels logo on it.

This is where I have some mixed feeling about the car.

I think they really should have kept the no-ghost logo somehow. In fact, there isn't one to be seen anywhere, and casual passers by would have no idea that it was the Ecto-1 unless they actually picked it up and very closely examined it.

Shit, I didn't even pay enough attention to the fact that Slimer was on the hood until about 8 months after I received it.

All in all, I do like the exclusive car. I guess it's just one of those things where Ghostbusters products seems to be better identified with the No-Ghost logo. I think it just goes hand in hand at this point, being that it is indeed one of the most recognizable logos of all time.

If you haven't checked it out yet, head over to Facebook and like "Mr. Ghostbuster" for all kinds of fun, including a contest that is going on right now!

Day 6: Highway Haunter!

If there is one thing I love about Ghostbusters, it's that there was never one main bad guy.

He-Man had Skeletor, The Ninja Turtles had Shredder, and Luke Skywalker had Darth Vader.

Without one definite enemy, it left the Ghostbusters world wide open to come up with creative ways to find an antagonist of any kind.

That is what I enjoy about the Highway Haunter.

It's technically a vehicle, but ghostly enough to make the countdown.

When I was younger, I had friends who liked to refer to the Highway Haunter as, "Janine's car" being that she did indeed drive a pink Bug in the Real Ghostbusters cartoon series.

I suppose it is a safe assumption to label Highway Haunter as such. I mean, sure, the color is different, but it's still a Bug emblazoned with the Ghostbusters logo, right?

What other purpose would it have?

I truly cannot imagine a simple, plain, VW Bug, without any type of ghost tracking and catching technology inside, being used for anything officially by the Ghostbusters.

It MUST be Janine's vehicle, right?

Remember, though, Janine didn't always have the best of luck when it came to the boys in grey using her vehicle, which brings me to my next point.

It's HAUNTED!

When you push a little tab on top of the seats, this big ugly dude pops up.

Looks like Murray the Mantis got into the engine block and infused himself with all kinds of wonderful mechanical parts.

Being as the Ghostbusters typically showed plenty of recklessness with Janine's vehicle, one does wonder, how exactly would you extract a ghost from the transmission without destroying the entire engine?

Janine, it looks like Egon owes you a new ride.

Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary Blu-Ray!

The day has finally come!

Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 have officially been released on Blu-Ray! (A first for the sequel)

Both films have been wonderfully remastered in 4K for maximum quality picture and sounds. Let me tell you, if you didn't know any better, you'd almost swear that you were watching movies made in this decade.

I woke up extra early this morning and made my journey to Target to purchase the brand new box set.  (Because let's face it, Sony doesn't think I'm good enough to advance a copy to, like certain other aristocratic GB sites)

The box set itself, from the outside looks GLORIOUS with the specially designed logo and sleeve that is made in the style of a hard cover children's story book.

The first thing we see when we open the set up is some advertisements and a "personal note" from director, Ivan Reitman, who gives us a few thoughts and memories of both films.

Included is a non-removable 25 page booklet which gives us everything from rundowns of both films to original 1984 cast biographies and plenty of bright, full color photos in between.

The Ghostbusters disc doesn't have a ton of new material on it when compared to previous Blu-Ray endeavors, but still enough to cleanse our pallets and leaving us wanting more.

Among the new items are a roundtable discussion with Dan Aykroyd and Ivan Reitman talking a little about the making of Ghostbusters and other behind the scenes talk and memories of how the film came together.

We also get a full version of the Ghostbusters music video as performed by Ray Parker Jr. in all of it's lit up neon glory.

The real pay dirt for Ghostbusters fans are the special feature on the Ghostbusters 2 disc.

For the first time ever, we get to view deleted scenes. Many have complained that certain scenes have not been made available, but mark my words, what is on this disc is incredibly funny and amazingly powerful. Sure, there are a couple of sleeper scenes, but overall, these scenes, especially when viewed for he first time, are nothing short of excellent.

We get a scene of Louis Tully hunting Slimer, a few different takes of a conversation between Dana and Peter inside of the courtroom, and an over-the-top-funny scene where the guys knock on Venkman's door dressed and ready to go hunt the river of slime. Bill Murray can only be described as "comedic god" in this one.

Also we get another chat with Reitman and Aykroyd about the second film and what lies in store for the future of Ghostbusters.

And let's not forget the music video for "On Our Own" by Bobby Brown, which makes you want to get up and scream, "I wan't my MTV!!!"

For a die-hard Ghostbusters fan, this is THE one to own!

The set retails for $16.99 at Target and is available NOW through them and other major retailers!