Book Review: The End

Review:  #463
Title:  The End
Series:  A Series of Unfortunate Events - 13th and final book
Author:  Lemony Snicket
Read Before:  yes
Comments:  If you were going into this book hoping for answers to all the mysteries the series has presented, you will be severely disappointed.  It is actually quite annoying that the author teased so many hidden secrets but doesn’t provide the answer to any of them.  The author is one big troll and made every single book before this redundant, there is no point to this series.  The End also feels like a big change in direction to some of the previous books, it doesn’t feel like a direct continuation from the previous books.  There were a lot of sections in which the author repeated things again and again, or had paragraphs upon paragraphs of nonsense.  This was to the degree where it does not add to the story or atmosphere at all.  The ending was unsatisfying and the plot wasn’t very interesting at all.  This is a mediocre novel and a poor ending to a series which begun with such potential.

Rating:  6/10

Thor: The Dark World

A fantastic follow up to the first Thor movie and the most enjoyable Phase II movie out of Iron Man 3 and Captain America:  The Winter Soldier.  A large part of the movie is spoiled by the blurb on the back of the DVD and in promotional texts, being that Thor partners up with Loki.  You end up waiting for it to happen so it lacks the punch it is supposed to have.  That said, the bantering between Thor and Loki is definitely the highlight of the film.  Tom Hiddlestone is perfect here, showing enough menace and sneakiness to be evil yet enough charisma for you to like the character.  Loki also has the best humour in dialogue.  Despite somewhat average critical reception, I thought Thor:  The Dark World was really good.  The pacing was solid, there wasn’t a dull moment where your thoughts would stray, the battle scenes were good and there was definitely a lot of eye candy.  Conversely, the amount of eye candy also meant a large reliance on computer effects and while there were some breathtaking scenes, there were more than the occasional ones where it looked fake.  The music is a noticeable highlight, being epic and grand, immersing you into what’s happening on screen.  A disappointment would be the plot, for all the set up done, the climax was lacking in resolution.  It felt anticlimactic in how the villain was defeated, it was too easy and you kept expecting that he will suddenly reappear but he didn’t.  Overall, a nice movie that is leaps and bounds better than the original Thor (not that that was a bad movie).

Toy Review: Transformers Age of Extinction Then & Now Optimus Prime Promotional Statues

Review:  #212
Name:  Optimus Prime
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Age of Extinction - Then & Now
Year of Release:  2014
Size Class:  N/A - die-cast figurines
Variations:  none

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:

To celebrate the release of the fourth Transformers film:  Age of Extinction, and also the release of the toyline, a set of two Optimus Prime statues was released as promotional items in Asia.

These were not for sale, they were freebies given when you purchased Transformers figures over a certain amount.

On one side, there is artwork of G1 Optimus.

While on the other, it is Movie Optimus.  It carries the same Transformers branded packaging design as the rest of the AOE figures.

The movie side is a flap which you can upon.  Be careful though as the tab likes to catch and you could end up ripping the box.

Inside, you can see the two figures, nice that they included this if you didn't want to take them out.

However, to see in greater detail these figures, we will need to take them out, so shall we?

As you can see, they have no additional paint apps but they both look pretty cool.

G1 OPTIMUS:

Let's start with G1 Optimus.  First thing you'll notice is how heavy these figures compared to their size.  They're made of die-cast so it's not surprising that this might be the case.

The sculpting is great in these figures, containing equally as much detailing on the back as the front.

His side profile is a bit thin however.

They're statues, so they are absolutely not poseable.  For some reason, Optimus's shoulders looks warped.  He carries his iconic blaster.

The headsculpt detailing isn't the best and G1 Optimus takes on a bronze-ish color.

These are only small figurines, next to him is a Deluxe sized figure.

MOVIE OPTIMUS:

The other figure is Optimus Prime from the movie universe, in his AOE body (which isn't my favorite design).

Being from the movie, it is much harder to replicate the thousands of parts in the design but the sculpting does a good job.

Optimus carries his sword which seems a bit stumpy and with the end chopped off.

I think this figure does a better job in terms of the intricacy of details.

They've managed to pack in heaps of detailing in here without make it look like an undefined mess.

I'm very impressed with the attention to detail on the back of the figure.

Once again, the side profile is a bit slim.

He stands at the same height as the G1 Optimus statue.

OVERALL:

For freebies, these are really nice and definitely better than the die-cast coins you get with the Masterpiece releases.  However, I would not pay too much money for them and considering that online stores were selling it for around US$5 before shipping back when they were released, that was a good price for them.

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Book Review: Cage of Eden Volume 12

Review:  #462
Title:  Cage of Eden Volume 12
Series:  Cage of Eden - 12th volume
Author:  Yoshinobu Yamada
Read Before:  yes
Comments:  Like with previous volumes, it raises more questions than you would like and the mystery just deepens.  It starts to stray more and more towards the improbably side as the characters find ways to defeat the animals, it just doesn’t flow properly or seem natural.  While the pacing has gotten better, it often stutters awkwardly when fan service elements come into play.  The author teases us too much which can get slightly annoying.  Otherwise, it was still enjoyable learning more about the weird world that the characters have gotten themselves in.

Rating:  6/10

X-Men 2

X-Men 2 has a solid story that while you are left in the dark in the beginning, it slowly dawns on you and makes sense.  It addresses what happened in the previous movie, from how Magneto gets out of prison to Wolverine’s backstory.  Granted, all of this makes the movie blow out to over two hours and at times, it can feel a bit too long.  There is a slight reliance on special effects, which means that some scenes it wouldn’t have aged well.  It introduces a few new mutants into the main cast, most of them are likeable but it feels as if the movie is being stretched too thin in order to give each character some focus.  It ends up with some characters having a pointless role, which could have easily been cut from the movie and it wouldn’t affect the story at all.  X-Men 2 is lacking some memorable action scenes, it would have been awesome to see the mutants battle it out but we only get small battles here and there.

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Fall of Cybertron Sideswipe

Review:  #211
Name:  Sideswipe
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Generations - Fall of Cybertron
Year of Release:  2012
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 3)
Variations:  retool of FOC Jazz

VEHICLE MODE:

Sideswipe transforms into a Cybertronian race car, thankfully, instead of "hover jets" he has actual wheels, which roll.

Sideswipe is an extensive retool of the first wave Jazz figure, pretty much a whole re-shell of the vehicle mode, which is quite impressive.  It inherits the flaws of the mode which includes an open gap in which you can see his robot hands.

Other than that, this is a wicked vehicle mode which I liked much more than I expected.  The re-shell allows Sideswipe to be dynamic and speedy.

Unfortunately he is a bit small in this mode, easily fitting in the palm of your hand.

His giant gun can peg onto either side although the left is preferred otherwise you'll have to peg it upside down on the right side which doesn't allow the car to sit flush.  You can also attach it at the back at an angle.

A great looking car mode that's instantly recognizable for what it is supposed to be, which is not always a given with Cybertronian modes.

TRANSFORMATION:

Transformation is simple but some of the tabs are really tight to detach, stressing those pieces is possible.  I feel that Sideswipe improved upon Jazz's transformation in that the chest is able to sit more flush now (so that his head doesn't look like it's floating).  The legs are disappointing in that they flip forward and carries faux wheels.

ROBOT MODE:

Sideswipe's robot is not the best, the gigantic bulging chest which is the front of the car causes proportion issues.  The thin arms and legs doesn't help matters.

He carries the top of the vehicle on his back but not as extra kibble, it actually forms his back so it isn't as bad as it looks.  The way it breaks up is pretty cool though.

The head sculpt is okay, it's not the best and it looks like he is pursing his lips.  The head's on a balljoint and sits on a panel.

He's still not that big in robot mode, being quite short.

Sideswipe improved upon Jazz in that the chest sits closer to his head now.

Articulation is pretty good although his feet feels very static.  His forearms are big and bulky, which adds to the awkwardness.

Losing Jazz's small pistol, Sideswipe's replacement weapon is a giant gun, which is based upon the Path Blaster from the game.

The barrel can extend to it's full length for a more impressive looking gun.

It is much too big for Sideswipe to comfortably hold.  It is also too heavy in some poses for Sideswipe's arms to bear.

Having such a big gun makes it hard to find some natural looking poses.  The designer should have scaled it down more to make it less unwieldy.

A better robot than I was expecting.  Sideswipe's looks okay but aesthetics issues and the gigantic gun hold him back.

OVERALL:

Sideswipe is another example of a retool done right, the amount of new parts amount to so much that he looks completely different to Jazz.  The vehicle mode is the winner here, looking fantastic.  The robot mode has proportion issues and the gun is much too large for Sideswipe to hold comfortably.  Recommended only if you like the look of the figure, otherwise this is an easy skip.

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Book Review: Death Note Vol. 2

Review:  #461
Title:  Death Note Vol. 2
Series:  Death Note - 2nd volume
Author:  Tsugumi Ohba
Read Before:  no
Comments:  Continuing with the momentum and building upon it, the second volume of Death Note is even better than the first.  The case of Kira (i.e. the person using the Death Note to kill people) develops and escalates.  So many things happen in this volume it’s not funny.  There are twists and turns in abundance and it was interesting to see Light panic and the risk that his plans were going to be unraveled by something he did not foresee.  While it may seem a bit contrived in how he learns the names of a particular person, it was still plausible and the suspense was a killer.  Unfortunately, like all good things, it ended before you wanted it to.
Rating:  7/10