Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending is about Jupiter Jones, who was born on Earth but turns out she is the reincarnation of a royalty, one that owns Earth.  Of course, family feuds come in the way, trying to stop her from obtaining her right, because Earth was a populated by these "aliens", in order to breed them and eventually harvest (i.e. kill) to develop the aliens' immortality substances.  While the concept is interesting, Jupiter Ascending eventually falls flat due to the awkward pacing and bland dialogue.  The first half an hour is somewhat decent but it degenerates into another typical mess of a story with scenes that does not add much to the story, and generic action sequences.  The characters are not likable and there is no chemistry between the lovers, it all feels artificial.  Some of the technology they used were not very original.  Overall, Jupiter Ascending is a mediocre movie.

Book Review: Accel World 4: Flight Toward a Blue Sky

Review:  #568
Title:  Accel World 4:  Flight Toward a Blue Sky
Series:  Accel World - 4th volume
Author:  Reki Kawahara
Read Before:  no
Comments:  Continuing on from the third volume, the arc with Silver Crow losing his wings to Dusk Taker comes to an end.  Before that happens though, the plot runs through how much suffering Haru gets from blackmail and misunderstanding from everyone.  It does get a little bit annoying when all this could have been solved if Haru could lower his pride and contact Kuroyukihime.  The fact that Chiyu also betrayed the team was surprising but not for one moment would you be fooled into thinking it wasn't an act.  The author dragged out the reason she was acting that way until the climax and by the time you find out, it wasn't anything special anyway.  It had a flaw in her reasoning and that plotline comes off as weak.  This fourth volume continues to expand our knowledge of Brain Burst and the mechanics of how it works, including the game-breaking Incarnate System.  The final climax was pretty intense and there were times where the protagonists were in such a tight spot you don't know how they would get out of it.  A good story overall but does have some plot holes.

Rating:  6.5/10

Toy Review: Transformers ROTF Brawn

Review:  #310
Name:  Brawn
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Revenge of the Fallen - N.E.S.T. Global Alliance
Year of Release:  2010
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 8)
Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Brawn transforms into a dark brown vehicle loosely based on the Hummer HX.  There is a gun on top (which cannot be swivelled) with silver highlights here and there, particularly with the lights.

This is a fantastic vehicle mode with no flaws.  He is held together sturdily with great sculpting and paint applications.  His only play value in this mode is the ability to roll.

You can see joints in the tray but nothing too obvious as robot kibble.  The bars are actually 3mm clip compatible, although Brawn himself doesn't come with any of those weapons.

In terms of size, Brawn is a Deluxe but he feels big and solid in your hands.

Brawn has a great vehicle mode that is realistic and looks amazing.

TRANSFORMATION:

Brawn is a massive shellformer.  The vehicle is literally shells, and the get Brawn from vehicle to robot, you unclip all the pieces and then push them out of the way.  It's messy and would have been a nightmare to design.  The kibble gets in the way when you're trying to manipulate the pieces.  Brawn's transformation is not his strong point.

ROBOT MODE:

Brawn's robot mode looks great at first glance, with the colors green and gold coming out now, based upon his G1 incarnation.

Upon closer inspection you realize how much of the bulk is an illusion provided by the multitude of vehicular panels attached to him.  The biggest offenders is the pair of panels (the vehicle sides) attached to his back.

If you also look closely, he has a skinny waist.  He does have a type of Mech Alive gimmick, although it's not shouted out in the packaging or instructions.  Moving his shoulders up and down will cause the spokes on either side of his upper torso to also move.  It's not impressive but at least it does not compromise anything.

The headsculpt is perfect though and has so much detail such that you feel like there is a mouth beneath the mouthpiece.

Brawn is a considerable height considering he was literally a robot encased within the vehicle.  He appears bulky too and is almost as tall as Bumblebee from the first movie.

Brawn has good articulation, as long as no other parts get in the way which is entirely possible.  That said, the biggest pieces are the ones behind his shoulders, but the pair of panels on Brawn's pack can be adjusted.

Given to how his feet unfolds during transformation, he has a number of joints, including a knee joints, a lower knee joint, and an ankle joint.  The joints rely on friction to keep Brawn standing up.

Brawn comes with a pair of guns (these remain in his hands during transformation which is clever).

They look great with Brawn holding them and you can strike some amazing dual-wielding poses.

The pistols have grooves in them which correspond to grooves on Brawn's shoulder kibble and back kibble.  They act as a place to store them when he isn't holding onto them.

The gun in vehicle mode is also jointed and able to be aimed over Brawn's shoulder.

While the kibble is bad, at least they don't get in the way that much and adds a lot to Brawn's tough look.

Despite all the flaws, Brawn has a solid robot mode that's powerful and looks cool.

OVERALL:

Brawn is a solid figure in the movie line.  He doesn't have the ugliness that a lot of the other figures in ROTF did, and he is a nice updated Movie incarnation of the character.  While the shellforming nature of the toy is a big negative, Brawn is a shellformer done correctly.  He still looks amazing in robot mode and the hanging panels do not get in the way.  Brawn is worth purchasing even at full price.

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Total Recall (1990)

Total Recall is a fantastic science fiction film that touches upon some concepts which gets you thinking.  Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Quaid where he is living a normal good life, with his life and a stable job.  Set in the future, he decides to take a "memory holiday", to have memories of a holiday in Mars implanted into him.  However, this causes his real memories of being a secret agent resurface and a story of deception and betrayal begins.  The plot is gripping, and it raises the questions of which is the real reality quite a bit, even a section where he is supposedly still under the Mars memory holiday and what he had been experiencing up until now was just fabrication.  It strays more towards the fiction side of ones towards the climax as we find out the reason why he had hidden his memories.  While the resolution was a bit too convenient with the technology being able to be used to solve the big problem on Mars, it was still satisfying.  There were a lot of gunfights and fistfights, including frequent violence, the effects were impressive.  It's interpretation of the future is very dated by today's standards.  Total Recall is a really fun and enjoyable film.

Book Review: Accel World 3: The Twilight Marauder

Review:  #567
Title:  Accel World 3:  The Twilight Marauder
Series:  Accel World - 3rd volume
Author:  Reki Kawahara
Read Before:  no
Comments:  The Twilight Marauder starts a new arc in Accel World.  It is the start of a new school year, which means freshman and potential new Burst Linkers.  One particular new person by the name of Seiji Nomi appears to wield the power of Burst Linking but does not show up in the system like he should.  Not only is this a mystery but Nomi becomes the antagonist of the novel and proceeds to steal something very important of the main character Haru.  The plot then devolves into a series of deception, blackmailing and stubbornness.  It can be slightly frustrating to see Nomi winning and taking the advantage when it is so unfair.  What is also annoying is the fact that Haru remains stubborn and wants to resolve the conflict in his own roundabout way, when a simple conversation with Kuroyukihime would have sorted everything out so easily.  Nevertheless, a few more things are revealed about the Brain Burst program, including something that literally breaks the game.  It explains the game mechanics well, which is why the novel is so engaging.  The duel at the end of the book was well done, with heaps of action and surprises.  However, it ends on a massive cliffhanger, something that is hard to understand.  Overall, The Twilight Marauder has an engaging plot and a fun story.

Rating:  6.5/10

Toy Review: Transformers Masterpiece MP-28 Hot Rodimus

Review:  #309
Name:  Hot Rodimus
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Masterpiece
Year of Release:  2016
Size Class:  Masterpiece
Mold Status:  new

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:

For the 28th flagship figure in the Masterpiece line comes Hot Rodimus... wait... didn't Hot Rod already have a toy?  Nah, that's Rodimus Prime.

Anyway, Hot Rod comes in the fancy black boxes that all Japanese releases of Masterpiece figures have been in.

In terms of contents, taking everything out Hot Rod comes with a fishing rod (made of a plastic that has higher flexibility so it won't snap as easily), a pair of guns and and a circular saw.

He also comes with the standard collector's card, with a nice piece of artwork on one side and tech specs on the other.

VEHICLE MODE:

Hot Rod transforms into a futuristic sports car with a blue canopy, sweet chromed side exhausts and a huge spoiler.

This is a fantastic vehicle mode and wins over the previous Masterpiece version.  It is very sleek in person and looks amazing.

One thing to note is that a lot of people have commented about the poor quality chrome on the figure, which is prone to rubbing off soon after taking him out of packaging.  There's nothing to avoid this apart from putting on clear nail polish, unfortunately the underlying plastic is orange so eventually, your Hot Rod is going to have matte orange exhausts, :(.

This version of Hot Rod is in the newer smaller size of the Autobot cars.  He's approximately the size of a Voyager figure (above is Classics Optimus Prime).  He is able to fit into Masterpiece Optimus's trailer (MP-10 version) and also Masterpiece Ultra Magnus' trailer.

The pair of guns can tab onto slots on the roof.  These slots are spring-loaded so when not in use, the roof still sits flush.

You can flip open the engine to slot the gun in there as well.  Note that clearance in vehicle mode is extremely tight, most likely Hot Rod will scrap the table when you try to roll him.

Overall, a beautiful vehicle mode that does the character justice.

TRANSFORMATION:

You'd have thought that Hot Rod won't be able to surprise you and that his transformation will be similar to his previous Masterpiece incarnation right?  Wrong.  Hot Rod has a clever transformation.  there are two sections which will impress you.  The first is how his shoulders rotate around the wheels for robot mode.  The second is how the back of the car compresses and folds up into his background.  Both are ingenious and neat.  Hot Rod is worthy of the Masterpiece title and the design does not feel lazy at all.

ROBOT MODE:

Hot Rod's robot mode is nicer in person than photos depict him.  Although he has seem to be a bit elongated with the skinny-ish legs.

He carries most of the vehicle as a backpack, although it's very compact and does not interfere with his balance at all.

From the side, you can tell that the backpack does just out a lot and most of the mass is on top, with the legs being hollow.  Funnily enough, he still manages to balance securely in any pose.  Testament to the good design.

The headsculpt is nice, with his red helmet and silver crest.  The paint on his face is great.  The head is on a combination joint that allows him to both swivel side to side and also look up.

There is a gimmick in that you can open up the helmet and flip down his visor, which looks cool.

He has vents on his backpack which mimic the ones in the G1 cartoon.  A neat feature.

In terms of size, Rodimus gets a lot taller in this mode but retains an athletic look.

He scales well with the rebooted Masterpiece line, and is understandably shorter than the Autobot leaders (since this representation is before he became Rodimus Prime).

In comparison with the previous Masterpiece figure, this version wins hands down in terms of aesthetics and also functionality.  MP-28 is nowhere near as flimsy or prone to breakage.

If you open the hood of the vehicle on Hot Rod's torso, you'll see a bit empty space.  If you also have MP-10 Optimus, then you can place the matrix into this slot.

In terms of poseability, Hot Rod is great with double jointed elbows and double jointed knees.  Not to mention his ankle tilt which is impressive.

As mentioned, he balances well in robot mode even when you have him dynamically posed.  He has wrist articulation and his hands can open (all his fingers are jointed as one).

He also has waist articulation, able to do crunches.  Not many Transformations can say that they can bend forward at the waist.

Of course, you can pose him in such a way that he uses his vehicle exhausts as weapons, and coupled with the visor, this makes for a great looking iconic pose.

In terms of accessories, first up is his saw blade, which is a big silver disc.  The disc can spin.

To attach it, you need to fold the hand back into its slot which reveals a peg to attach the disc to.  It's quite big compared to the robot to be fair.

The next piece of accessory is the fishing rod.  An oddly peaceful choice.

Hot Rod actually has enough articulation to pull off the fishing peacefully while sitting down pose, which is extremely impressive.

Lastly, he has his pair of guns, which are called the Photon Laser.

To get Hot Rod to hold them, there are slots on the inside of his hands which correspond to the pegs on the gun's handles.  Note that in order to attach the guns to the vehicle, you need to flip a separate handle down.

The pair of guns had good sculpting and they are both different, one has a rounded barrel while the other is more squared.

Both guns are painted in a light purple.  Hot Rod actually has a decent number of paint applications.

If need be, you can open up the hip flaps in order to give you the full range of motion for the hips.  Hot Rod doesn't actually have any ratchet joints though.

Hot Rod feels solid in your hands and love the way the designer have given us such a well formed torso, from the filled sides (from the vehicle headlights) to the face that parts of the hood fold down to fill in the space on either side of his head.

A fantastic robot mode and you'd be hard pressed to decide which is the better most.  This Hot Rod has good proportions, amazing articulation and is a great representation of the character.

OVERALL:

When MP-28 was revealed to be Hot Rodimus, you'd be forgiven for thinking that TakaraTomy wasted a slot since the character was already done before in the Masterpiece line.  Then Hot Rodimus was released without as much hype as other characters, which is a shame as Hot Rodimus is a fantastic toy.  He has improved upon the MP-09 incarnation in every way.  The vehicle mode is sleek while the robot mode is athletic and packs a huge amount of articulation.  Hot Rodimus is worth purchasing and worthy of the Masterpiece name.

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