Book Review: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation

Book: #95
Title: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation
Series: N/A
Author: Simon Furman
Read Before: no
My Comments: An average comic book, I still believe that comics do not do Transformers justice, and this book reinforces that. It’s not that great, in terms of story, art and action. I can ignore the story as it’s based on the film, and the film didn't really have a story, but the comic didn't express the Transformers’ transformations well enough, and the art made it confusing to figure out what is going on in the frame. At least the one good thing about it is that it is quick to finish, but they have shortened all the scenes and events, to the point where it sometimes feel very abrupt.
Rating: 5/10

Book Review: Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident

Review: #94
Title: Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident
Series: Artemis Fowl – 2nd book
Author: Eoin Colfer
Read Before: yes
My Comments: A great second book in the Artemis Fowl series, although I didn't really appreciate it the first couple of times I had read it. This time though, it was quite interesting, albeit not as great as the first book, but still really good. A lot of funny smart alec comments, good action, and we see the protagonist starting to have a change of heart. The second half of the book picks up the pace and gets much better (so that can put some people off). A thing that is missing from this book though is a plan, Artemis at no point makes a really complex ingenious plan to get what he wants, so you feel that there is something crucial missing and it isn’t as enjoyable as it should be.
Rating: 7/10

Book Review: Airman

Book: #93
Title: Airman
Series: N/A
Author: Eoin Colfer
Read Before: yes
My Comments: A brilliant book, one that has a very good, complex, and interesting plot. The beginning can be a bit boring on the first time, but if you are rereading it, you can see hints here and there relating to the latter part of the book. Once you get past the first part (and the ending of the first part is shocking) the brilliance of the book grows exponentially. Even after around the sixth time reading it, I am absorbed and the journey walked by the protagonist captivates me every time. It has all the ingredients of an adventure and the tough journey as the protagonist learns and grows. The ingenuity of the plot, the twists and the plans within plans created by the author is amazing. A great book that is worth the hunt to obtain.
Rating: 8/10
Rereadability Factor: 7/10

Book Review: The Day My Bum Went Psycho

Book: #92
Title: The Day My Bum Went Psycho
Series: Bum Trilogy – 1st book
Author: Andy Griffiths
Read Before: no
My Comments: The way it started, I thought it was the typical “turned out to be a dream” situation, but nup, it was supposedly real… which led me to think, wtf… Once I got used to the style of writing and what was happening, it was fairly enjoyable. The story and events is pretty outrageous though, and the overuse of the word “bum” does get tiring. The story structure is a typical “quest” style, i.e. the heroes head to a destination in order to remove a threat, but it’s fairly well executed, and kept me interested. The beginning might be weak, but the ending made up for it as it gets more interesting, even though a lot of the elements has been used before in other books. It’s very immature though, with the writing and what happens, its average stuff.
Rating: 5.5/10

Toy Review: Transformers RtS Megatron

Review: #44
Name: Megatron
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Reveal the Shield
Year of Release: 2011
Size Class: Legends (Wave 1)
Variations: none as of date

GUN MODE:

Nice, a Megatron that finally transforms into a gun, and a gun that isn't painted in all the colours of the rainbow. It is a realistic gun, with one exception, the orange tipped barrel. Personally, I don't mind it so much, but many people have been annoyed that even at this size, they had to make it bright orange.

For the size, it is a very very well-formed gun (and it just gets even more impressive later on), with a well-defined safety catch and trigger (and both serve a really good purpose in robot mode). On the left side, you can see most of the body parts, while the other side is plain and smooth, not really hinting at a Transformer.

Only one flaw in this mode, the gap at the back, okay, I lied, there's another tiny flaw, it's fairly hard for him to balance upright as he'll probably tilt forward due to the heaviness of the barrel.

Being in the Reveal the Shield subline, he has a rubsign, and if you were surprised when you revealed his alliance, go away, anyone who has a passing interest in Transformers should at least know Megatron is a Decepticon (and Optimus is an Autobot).

He has one more gimmick (which is one more than you would have expected), but it depends if you have Masterpiece Starscream or not. I say this because there are a few notches that lets Starscream hold onto him. Megatron is too big for it to look good, so I think Starscream should stick with the Megatron included in Masterpiece Optimus Prime, still, it's nice they added the feature. A great gun mode in the end, a lot more than you would expect of a transforming toy.

TRANSFORMATION:

Okay, this is one of the aspects of this figure that BLEW me away, the transformation is ingenious and brilliant. I mean, after the complexity of Masterpiece Megatron you would have expected any further attempts at a show-accurate robot with a realistic gun would be equally hard to transform. Well, I'm happy to say, that's wrong, the designer has achieved a simple transformation that brings out the best of both worlds, it is unbelievable, I am really stunned at this transformation as it is so good. I would daresay the most ingenious transformation I have seen in a while (if not ever), just how the different parts are manipulated into position as you see the shape starting to take form. You can probably tell I am very impressed with this transformation, no kidding, if I gave ratings, I would give this transformation 10/10, it's simple, elegant, and fun.

ROBOT MODE:

If there's anything you should have expected, it's that with Legends toys, one mode is probably going to suffer, well, in Megatron's case, the gun 'suffers'. The robot mode is excellent, well-proportioned, and it looks like Megatron, he even has his fusion cannon on his right arm (the gun barrel).

I am still surprised at how they managed to make such a nice robot turn into a gun, and at such a small scale. The safety trigger becomes his left hand, and the trigger becomes a notch for the barrel to secure into. He is very detailed, and not lacking in paint, there's silver in abundance, and both painted and unpainted grey to provide some contrast, excellent I tell you.

The rubsign is now situated on his chest, a perfect place to be. He retains his 'bucket head'.

Megatron is well articulated, the legs are nice, but the arms are all molded one piece with shoulder joints, his head only has a hinge to flip down (necessary for transformation), nonetheless, he is a really fun little figure to play with.

OVERALL:

You can probably tell, but I really like this figure, it is a very impressive piece of engineering. There is absolutely no reason to not get this little guy as he's cheap and affordable. Plus, he is the first Megatron that I was actually impressed enough when I first saw him that I got him (he is the first and only Megatron I have as of this date), highly, highly recommended, he is, in my opinion, a stellar figure, and the best Legends toy yet.

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A gallery of Megatron can be found here.

Credits: everything is mine, except for some links I've chucked in to other sites.

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Book Review: The Field Guide

Review: #91
Title: The Field Guide
Series: The Spiderwick Chronicles – 1st book
Author: Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Read Before: no
My Comments: I couldn't really get myself into this book, the beginning was very dull and boring, with none of the elements I like from a fantasy novel. The only thing that was good about it was that it was a short book, so it wasn't as painful to get through it. It got better near the end, where something was finally happening (the first two-thirds was creating the setting and showing the personalities of the three protagonists), but as it got just to the best part, it ended, without much explanation. I guess it’s a good cliffhanger to get you wanting to read the second. I do feel it has the right ingredients to create a good series, I’ll just see how it pans out. Depending on how good the rest of the series it, I’m not sure I can recommend this first book as a standalone.
Rating: 5.5/10

Transformers: Prime (Episodes 19, 20, 21)

Rock Bottom
An awesome episode, I found time flying when I was watching this one. Once again, Optimus Prime doesn't appear here, which is surprising, but Megatron and Starscream more than makes up for it. The cave in was a great scene, it was really well done and there was a sense of excitement in it. I like the plot of this one, there wasn't anything that was cringe-worthy, and I loved how Megatron has finally saw fit to get rid of Starscream. The grovelling of Starscream was well done too, but he is a bit too much of a coward in this one, and a bit too pathetic for my liking, particularly since he was supposed to be a credible threat before. I laughed out loud when Starscream found Bulkhead and Miko thinking it was Megatron, that dialogue was great. The most enjoyable episode I have seen since Scrapheap. We also get to see how cruel Megatron can be, everything works out really well in this episode, definitely worth a view.

Partners
A good episode, but I don’t really like Arcee’s anger and how it was played out. It was understandable, but I think it was done up too much, to the point where it gets annoying. The plot is a typical one, the Decepticons finding a super weapon and the Autobots trying to stop them. The notion of Starscream defecting is not a new one, and it’s not especially well played here anyway, Starscream doesn’t seem like a credible threat recently. I was surprised that there were no humans at all in this episode, not that I am complaining, as it made for a good watch. I was absorbed for most of the episode, but the setting and background seems so drab and dull, it really dampens the mood.

T.M.I.
I didn't like this episode so much, it focused a lot of Bulkhead and Miko and I think that they have had plenty of screen time already, and Miko’s actions are to the point of annoying already. She is always the one that jumps into the fights when she is not supposed to and then causes problems, it was okay for the first couple of times, but it is getting a bit too repetitive now. The overall plot of the episode was the standard affair, and fairly boring, but, at least we do get to see Knockout again. I think one of the lower quality episodes as of late, I didn't enjoy it too much.