Book Review: The Fourteenth Summer of Angus Jack

Review:  #833
Title:  The Fourteenth Summer of Angus Jack
Series:  N/A
Author:  Jen Storer
Comments:  We following the siblings Angus and Martha who has to move yet again, into a smaller beachside town in Australia.  What starts off as a normal (if resentful) life eventually turns into a supernatural one.  It easily takes one-third of the novel before the fantasy stuff starts happening and up until that point, it can be a little bit of a slog.  The author teases things with odd neighbours moving in, and the siblings interacting with characters with unique personalities.  The story seems to set up more plot points than it knows what to do with and when all is said and done, you can’t help but feel it wasn’t that some of those plot points didn’t develop enough to provide a satisfying conclusion.  Once the siblings get into trouble, a lot of nice concepts are introduced but unfortunately, we never get a clear idea on how this whole parallel world thing works.  Despite that, the events were engaging but the shoehorned obligatory romance towards the end is awkward and shallow.
Rating:  6.5/10

Toy Review: Transformers Bumblebee Bumblebee (Camaro) (Speed Series)

Review:  #495
Name:  Bumblebee
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Bumblebee
Year of Release:  2018
Size Class:  Speed Series (Wave 1)
Mold Status:  new but shares engineering with wavemate VW Bumblebee

VEHICLE MODE:

This new version of Bumblebee transforms into a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro, the same one as from the first film.

Unfortunately, there's a few things that ruin this vehicle mode.  First is that only the front windshield is painted black and the others are unpainted.  The second is the giant block at the back which is part of the gimmick that you can launch the toy using the launcher from a larger toy.

Size-wise, there's not much to say.  He's comparable to other Legion class toys, above is a comparison against TLK Crosshairs.

While the sculpting is good, it is ultimately leg down by the unpainted side windows.

TRANSFORMATION:

While simple, it works really well.  The sides pull out to form the arms, the back unfolds for the legs and then the hood clips onto his back.  He shares the same engineering as the VW version in the same wave.

ROBOT MODE:

This version has a much better proportion than the 2007's Legends figure although it makes do with a fake chest.

His main piece of kibble is the windshield and hood but it sits close to his back so it doesn't affect anything.

The headsculpt is busy and at this size, makes it look fairly cute.

In robot mode, Bumblebee is a little bit taller than your standard Legion.

Articulation is pretty good, thanks to transformation joints.  He has balljoined shoulders, hips and hinged knees.

The hips don't give as much range as you'd expect from a balljoint, and it likes to pop off if you overstretch it.

There's a fair amount of paint here (which explains why the vehicle mode lacks some details), with silver for his face, torso and black striping on his chest.

A strong robot mode overall and it's a good thing that the large peg hole in vehicle mode doesn't hamper robot mode like it did for Barricade.

OVERALL:

For a relatively inexpensive Bumblebee figure, this is one of the better ones.  It has two good modes which provides simplicity and fun.

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Book Review: Jim Henson's Song of the Dark Crystal

Review:  #832
Title:  Jim Henson's Song of the Dark Crystal
Series:  The Dark Crystal - prequel
Author:  J.M. Lee
Comments:  Set as a prequel to the film The Dark Crystal (one of many companion books to the film), the novel has a really slow start.  It takes a long while for you to get acquainted with the characters, as well as the main plot to finally get rolling.  Kylan must find the fabled firca and he travels the lands along with his companions in the hopes of defeating the evil Skelsis.  The novel assumes you are already familiar with the terminology of this world as well as all the different races and customs, thus it can be confusing for a newcomer.  It is not until two-thirds of the way in, whereby you learn the reason for the behavior of one of Kylan’s companions, that the novel becomes faster paced and much more intriguing.  The pacing doesn’t slow from that point on and it leads to a satisfying conclusion.  While the ending was strong, it is hard to say whether the extremely slow and bloated beginning was worth it.
Rating:  6/10

Whisky Tango Foxtrot (2016)

Whisky Tango Foxtrot stars Tina Fey as Kim Baker, a news report who ends up accepting a station in the Afghanistan, in order to provide coverage to the war.  It begins naturally with her like a fish out of water, with a bit of naivety when engaging with the US troops, the sounds of gunfire at night and just the reality that she may actually die at any time.  However, she will soon get accustomed to living in this foreign country and understanding its customs as well as picking up the language.  The film presents an interesting (and often left out of war films) aspect of a person in a foreign country fighting a war.  It dives into the recreation activities, their relationships and what they do when they are not engaged with the enemy.  Over time, Kim dangerously gets addicted to the risk that she is placing herself in, escalating in order to get the best shot.  It is something that does happen so it's interesting to see it portrayed here.  Throughout it all, romantic relationships does get pushed to the forefront at times and despite being billed as a comedy drama film, the drama part wins out a lot more than the comedy.  Overall, while Whisky Tango Foxtrot has plenty of slow and boring scenes, there's enough going for it keep you engaged.

Street Skater (PS1)

Street Skater, also known as Street Sk8ter in the US, is one of the first (if not the first) skating game for the original PlayStation.  Developed by Atelier Double and published by EA, it is a fun arcade game.  The controls are extremely easy, which is good, because there is no tutorial.  Your character automatically accelerates.  You use the Square button to slow down, Circle to crouch and gain speed, and X to do an ollie.  Combining X with one of the directional buttons while you're about to jump off a ramp will allow you to perform tricks.  The game boasts hundreds of tricks but you only have the four different button inputs to do it... what tricks you do will depend upon the speed and the level of your character.

Getting the timing correct for the ramps takes some getting used to.  You'll no doubt crash and burn a lot of times in the beginning.  The key to jumping off the smaller ramps is that you do not press the combination for tricks at the end, but rather in the middle of the ramp.  Aiming your jumps will allow you to grind rails.  The jumping mechanic will take some getting used to, and the collision detection is typical of the games in the age, being weird and instantly stopping you.  Successfully completing tricks and grinding rails will give you points.  The aim is to get a high score by the end of each stage.  Unfortunately, crashing will deduct points, which is not great when you are just beginning and you lose the points you worked so hard to get.

There are two modes:  Street Tour and Free Skate.  Street Tour is your typical main game mode, which comprises of three courses along with two bonus levels.  You need  to beat the high score at each course in order to progress through the next and this can be tough when you begin.  The bonus levels will give you additional time in the next course which is a boon and means the later courses are easier to get the scores required to clear it.  The Free Skate mode allows you to select any of the courses and skate to your whim.  You can remove the time limit in this mode allowing you to practice and explore the courses to your heart's content.  There is a VS mode allowing you to play with a friend, but of course, you need two controllers for this.

There are four characters to choose from in the beginning and it is highly recommended to pick the one with the slowest speed.  This may sound counter intuitive but it makes it much easier to navigate the courses when you are starting to get your bearings on how to handle the game.  Each time you clear a course in Street Tour mode with a character, it levels them up and you can distribute points to their various stats (handling, acceleration, jump power and max speed).  This is a great element and encourages you to check out other characters.  Higher levels mean better tricks and more points for them.

Unfortunately, while the game is a lot of fun specially when you complete a successful run chaining together multiple tricks, it lacks in content.  There are only three courses along with four bonus arenas (which is just one massive skate ramp).  Each course will take 1-5 minutes, meaning that theoretically you can beat the game within 15 minutes.  Go in it for the first time and you'll have to take multiple attempts on each course, extending it to 30 minutes to an hour.  The replayability comes from high scores as well as completing the Street Tour mode multiple times to unlock more stuff.  You will get to eventually unlock alternate pathways in the courses, four additional characters, new skateboard designs and mirror mode.

The soundtrack is one of the best aspect of the game, it suits the action perfectly.  The graphics are nothing to be wowed at though and while it hasn't aged well, you'll soon get used to it but most importantly, the gameplay remains fun to this day.  The bright colorful level designs helps keep the game feel upbeat and positive.  Overall, Street Skater is a typical arcade skating game that's reminiscent of the design choices from that era of games.  It has aged fairly well but the limited amount of content is what holds it back.

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Himouto! Umaru-chan R (2017)

Himouto!  Umaru-chan R is the second season based upon the manga series.  This is a slice-of-life anime with various shorts in each episode, often having no unifying theme.  Umaru has various personas.  When attending school, she is the perfect girl, being extremely pretty, nice, smart and athletic.  She even casts an aura so blinding that everyone can't help but admire her.  Secretly though, she is a massive fan of anime and gaming.  At home, she transforms into a chibi version of herself and lazes around playing games, watching anime and purchasing merchandise, often begging her brother to buy them.

Her brother Taihei has long since finished high school and is currently working.  They live together in an apartment with Taihei being the one to cook dinner and often dote on his sister.  He does try to teach Umaru self-control and to clean up after herself etc.  The brotherly-sisterly affection is some of the best moments in the story as each looks after the other, feeling bad even after getting angry at each other.  While Umaru looks like the perfect girl, Taihei himself is the real deal.  He's nice, dependable and great at cooking.  He's patient and affectionate, it's no wonder that a few of the characters fall for him.  It does meant that his relationship status will never be resolved though.

While Umaru shines a lot during high school and is ever popular with everyone else, people are reluctant to befriend her as they feel that she is out of their league.  The first season establishes the three main friends that Umaru has:  Ebina, Kirie and Sylphin.  The funny thing is that Umaru take son various personas to have befriended them in the first place, and it is interesting to see how this has evolved.  She is her perfect high school self with Ebina, the lazy chibi Umaru with Kirie, and a disguised hardcore gamer with Sylphin.  However, the season has a higher focus on the group of four friends spending time together instead of one-on-one interactions.

Thanks to the characters spending time together and becoming great friends, you can start to see their personalities change for the better.  Kirie becomes less shy, Sylphin is less competitive and Umaru herself becomes more understanding of people's emotions.  It gives a sense of progression and development to everyone, such that the anime doesn't feel like it is forever stuck in one place.  One of the biggest (but funny) coincidences is the fact that all of Taihei's colleagues at work (and by extension, his friends) are siblings of Umaru's friends.  This season completes the circle with Umaru meeting the last elder sibling of her friends as well as the last younger sibling of Taihei's work colleagues.  It is indeed a small world in Umaru-chan.

The backstories of a few of the characters are gradually shown over the course of the season.  From Ebina's brother and why Ebina moved to Tokyo, to Sylphin's reasons for moving from Germany.  Again, it allows you to understand the characters a lot more and finally gives justification to some of their unusual personalities and quirks.  Since the anime has shifted to Umaru's social life, there are fewer interactions between chibi Umaru and Taihei, which were often the funniest aspects.  That being said, there is still a decent amount of scenes the two are at each other, and they are all great.

The animation remains slick and Umaru is as cute as ever, in whichever form she is in.  Her high school persona is sweet and innocent, while her chibi self is so adorable.  Everything about the anime is positive and colorful.  It is all about giving out positive messages that makes the viewer feel good.  There are a few scenes where it feels nostalgic, whether it be from the inevitable changes in the town or the bonds between siblings.  Umaru frequently swaps between her two personas, even when she is in the presence of her friends who only know one of her personalities.  It's funny when Umaru has her own inner monologue in the other persona revealing her true thoughts.  Doubly so when she is currently in the perfect outward appearance and inside she is complaining.

Overall, Himouto!  Umaru-chan R provides more of the same great comedy and it makes it extremely enjoyable.  The dynamic between Umaru's two personas, as well as she relationship with her brother, is sweet and cheeky at the same time.  While the ending is a little bit weak since there is not really a great way to provide closure to the events, it is a fun slice-of-life anime that's relatable.

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Book Review: Between Two Ends

Review:  #831
Title:  Between Two Ends
Series:  N/A
Author:  David Ward
Comments:  The novel follows Yeats, who travels with his family to visit his grandmother.  There, he learns that his father went on an unbelievable adventure many years ago, and this was the reason for his anxious state of mind right now.  To heal him, Yeats must travel into the book of Arabian Nights and save his father’s childhood friend.  The setting feels really weird since the setup is like a sequel, yet it is not a series.  The other fact is that the person that Yeats has to save has remained at the same age and they become attracted to each other, yet there was no doubt that she and Yeats’ father were attracted to, it’s just weird.  It takes a short while before the plot really gets going and by the time Yeats jumps into the book, it gets a lot more exciting.  Yeats struggles in the world, as anyone would if they were a stranger that was just placed into it; this is the novel’s strongest point.  However, the way the events go and the resolution to everything, it wasn’t terribly original lending to a mediocre story.
Rating:  5.5/10

Toy Review: Transformers Bumblebee Barricade (Speed Series)

Review:  #494
Name:  Barricade
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Bumblebee
Year of Release:  2018
Size Class:  Speed Series (Wave 1)
Mold Status:  new (but shares it with Hot Rod)

VEHICLE MODE:

Barricade, despite not appearing in the film, gets a few figures in the toyline.  He transforms into an 80s muscle car.

The paint job is reminiscent of his original 2007 self, as a police car with white sides.  Unfortunately, due to the gimmick, Barricade has an ugly post hole at the rear of the vehicle mode.

The Speed Series is pretty much a different name for the Legion class.  Above is a size comparison against TLK Legion Crosshairs.

This is a good little figure that's surprisingly well painted.

TRANSFORMATION:

If you had ever played with the original 2007 Legends figure then you'd notice that this version shares a lot of similarities.  It effectively copies the transformation with the sides of the vehicle forming the arms, the rear folding to become the (awkwardly shaped) legs and the front folding down to form the chest.

ROBOT MODE:

To be fair, Barricade's robot mode does a pretty good job at shrinking the 2007 movie's design down to this scale (the shoulder wheels are particularly nice).

Kibble at this size is unavoidable but Barricade does well in not having them get in the way.

The headsculpt is complex and is excellent in representing the character.

In terms of size, Barricade is average for the size class.

Articulation is also standard for the size with balljointed shoulders and hips, and hinged knees and ankles.

Unfortunately, the knees are as awkward as they look.  They were the weakest aspect in the 2007 figure and they're the weakest aspect here.  It doesn't help that he has the post for the vehicle's gimmick on the left knee.

The knees cannot straighten much more than 45 degrees which is a shame since the figure looks so good.

A decent robot mode that's hampered by the weak knee design which is slightly alleviated by the hinged ankles.

OVERALL:

For its size and relatively cheap price point, Barricade is a nice little figure.  He is surprisingly good as a representation of the 2007 movie's design.  Barricade is well painted and is fun to fiddle around with in your spare time.

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Book Review: Fetcher's Song

Review:  #830
Title:  Fetcher's Song
Series:  The Hidden Series - 3rd and final book
Author:  Lian Tanner
Comments:  Fetcher’s Song is initially bogged down by the multiple perspectives, introducing the family of Fetchers.  However, this eventually becomes its strength once the different characters’ stories start to intertwine.  After all the mysteries involving the world and also how it is saved, the answers are provided.  The world is an interesting mix of technology in a regressed world.  It does fall back a tad too much on painting the negativity of a cult and their dictatorship across the population.  It takes a fair while before the story gets going, especially as the novel focuses mostly on Gwin Fetcher rather than any other established character in the series so far.  Gwin isn’t unlikable by any means but she was put in difficult situations and you cannot blame her for her decisions.  It is good to find see the resolution involving the Devouts and the story really picks up from two-thirds in, leading to a fantastic climax.  That being said, it felt like one part was underdeveloped considering the amount of emphasis placed into a friendly group promising help if they were asked.  A solid story, one that allows you to care for the characters and appreciate how they have grown.
Rating:  6.5/10

Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

Hotel Transylvania 2 takes place years after the original, beginning with the marriage of Johnny and Mavis.  Then we are treated with a few time skips in which Mavis becomes pregnant, to their son Dennis being born, to finally the point where the film's plot begin proper.  Of course, Mavis's father Dracula, despite what he says, still wants his grandson to be a vampire but Dennis isn't showing any supernatural abilities.  The film revolves around Dracula trying to awaken the abilities within Dennis whereas Mavis is just happy with a normal human child.  It doesn't get more complicated than that and the plot is just an excuse for all the things that Dracula does.  However, this sequel is definitely better than the original, and there were more than a few moments where the jokes and gags worked.  The animation is slick and the music (complete with dances by the characters) are great.  So while Hotel Transylvania 2 will never see the heights of the more acclaimed animated movies, it has enough going for it to be enjoyable.

The Legend of Zelda (NES)

The Legend of Zelda is the first game in the series, released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987 in North America.  The game has a bunch of innovations that is still felt to this day.  One of the most impressive aspects when you first start off the game is how you are dropped into a large open world map.  You can immediately head off anywhere you want and there are seemingly no restrictions.  The only thing you might want to do first is to grab your sword such that you can at least fend against monsters.

Each area of the map takes up one screen.  Due to the hardware limitations at the time, every time you want to go to the next area, there is a screen sliding transition animation as it loads the next area.  It doesn't take too long but it is there for the whole game.  For offense, Link has his sword which he uses to stab right in front of him.  This means the enemy has to be in front of Link before you can damage them.  While for defense, Link has a shield that will automatically block certain projectiles if you are not attacking at the same time (since swinging a sword will move the shield to the side).  Touching an enemy will damage you though and as you only start with three hearts for health in the beginning of the game, it can be a bit difficult.

If you take the time to slowly explore the world, you will be able to find plenty of extra items to help you along your journey.  You'll find shops and secret areas that provide extra offensive power like bombs, fire, and a bow and arrow.  Finding new stronger weapons and shields are part of the fun.  NPCs you encounter will give out cryptic hints.  Although the storytelling is non-existent, the game is quite addictive with its exploration aspects and freedom.  Enemies roam all the areas and they respawn once you're a few screens away.  They can be annoying with unblockable projectiles or are speedy little things running fast into you to cause damage.  The harder enemies are ones where they are invincible, doesn't get knocked back or presented in such vast numbers that they simply overwhelm you.  If you die, you can either retry, save, or get sent back to the beginning section with some health.

The pot is basically that Link must travel through the lands, gather all the pieces of the Triforce, defeat Ganon and save Princess Zelda.  To accompany that mission are a total of eight dungeons hiding the pieces of the Triforce, with a ninth final dungeon where Ganon resides.  There is no set order to tackle the dungeons, although they scale up in difficulty and if you don't have some specific pieces of equipment, you may not be able to advance.  The dungeons are not too big and are comprised of various rooms.  There are heaps of secrets and collectibles, some of which are missable, even though they contain key items required to advance through other areas.  There are also a lot of hidden areas where you need to bomb walls to open a path.

Each dungeon is capped off by a boss.  The first few bosses are pretty easy as you only need to get the pattern down pat and dodge the projectiles.  The later dungeons are more annoying than hard, because they feel cheap.  The game tends to overwhelm you with enemies that are very unpredictable, moving all over the place and is invulnerable except from certain sides.  Then in the same room, are multiple invincible enemies that throw projectiles.  The kicker?  You have to clear the room of enemies in order to proceed.

The final dungeon is filled with the types of annoying enemies who does huge amounts of damage with a large amount of enemies.  This includes the ever annoying enemy that disables your sword attacks... in a room where another enemy only takes damage from sword attacks.  It is frustrating and cheap.  Yet when you do end up getting through the dungeon and defeating the (luck-based) final boss, there is a sense of satisfaction that you've conquered the game.  The graphics are as you'd expect of a NES game.  It still holds up fairly well to this day though.  The music has the iconic Zelda themes in it.

Once the game is cleared and the credits roll, you are immediately put into a new game called Second Quest.  Second Quest is like a New Game Plus but it significantly ups the difficulty via different enemy placements and extra moves.  You still start with nothing and have to regain everything but what makes it confusing is the fact that the world's layout has changed.  Everything that was familiar to you has now changed, it feels completely different.  Overall, playing through the game, you appreciate how innovative The Legend of Zelda was.  The amount of freedom you get is both a boon and a curse because the game doesn't give you any help at all in terms of what to do and where to go.  It is a tough but rewarding game.

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Himouto! Umaru-chan (2015)

Himouto!  Umaru-chan is based upon the manga and the first season is comprised of 12 episodes.  It is a slice-of-life comedy anime.  The series follows Doma Umaru, who by all appearances is the perfect girl.  She is pretty, clever, athletic, cute, innocent and nice.  The twist here is that once she gets home, she turns into a lazy bum who's only interested in eating junk food, playing games and watching anime all day and night.  This is signified with Umaru turning into a (cute) chibi version of herself, to the point where other characters may not even recognize it is her.

Between her normal and chibi form, the animation perfectly balances those two different types of aesthetics.  Umaru neatly transitions to her chibi form and back without feeling jarring, especially since everyone else remains the same.  Umaru lives with her brother Taihei.  Taihei works everyday but loves his sister and in the beginning, spoils her.  Taihei cooks, does the housework and worries about his sister.  Umaru on the other hand tries to take advantage of this and Taihei comes to realize that he mustn't be too soft.  While Umaru symbolizes the ultimate lazy life of being a student, Taihei reflects upon the day to day grind of working.

The humor comes from the sheer difference in the two sides of Umaru.  As Umaru throws a tantrum in order to get the latest game to wanting a specific food for dinner, you can't help but smile at the cuteness of it as well.  The ample references to various Japanese pop culture is fun, doubly so when you recognize it.  From games to figures, it cements the passion that Umaru has for her secret hobbies.

Naturally, Umaru has her reputation to uphold.  She needs to keep up the pretense of an elegant girl when others are around.  The series balances these two aspects, with the lazy version even being able to make friends with some of Umaru's classmates.  One of the neat things about the series is how all the different characters interrelate with each other.  In the beginning, you feel that there is a divide between Umaru and her friends, and Taihei and his friends.  As the anime goes on, you see the various relationships between those characters and gives additional meaning to specific dialogue since you see both sides.  There are also a few love triangles going on but this is never the focus nor does it create any conflict.

The structure of each episode is that there are separate smaller scenarios and events in each one.  Thus at times, it doesn't feel as if the events of that episode flowed after one another.  Each episode tries to have a singular theme uniting it, and the season makes time pass pretty quickly covering Christmas as well as New Year's.

The dynamic between Umaru and her brother Taihei is very sweet.  On the one hand, Umaru annoys Taihei a lot with her demands but she is just so cute that you can't help but forgive her.  You can see and feel how much Taihei loves his sister.  This reaches its peak during the episode when the siblings are sick or when Taihei thinks of ways to get Umaru to eat green peppers.  You can't help but smile when one of them realizes how much the other loves them.

One of the most surprising aspects is although Umaru uses a lot of technology herself from game consoles to tablets to the computer; she doesn't seem to have a great understanding of it.  When she freaks out that something doesn't work, it is funny but at the same time, you have to wonder what age she is living in.  The only slight disappointments is due to the way the episodes work, the season doesn't really end on anything significant.  While Umaru does achieve success in bringing her friends together, there wasn't a central arc for the season to resolve, thus it felt like something was missing.

Overall, Himouto!  Umaru-chan is a fun and lighthearted slice-of-life anime.  The key premise of Umaru having multiple personas provides plenty of humor, it is also that she is just so cute no matter what form she is in.

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