The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015)

The final film in The Hunger Games series, based upon the novels of the same name.  Part 2 is the second part of the adaptation of the final book and whereas Part 1 suffers from this, Part 2 partially redeems it.  Nevertheless, Mockingjay Part 2 still suffers from slow pacing and way too much pointless dialogue.  The majority of the film takes place in the Capitol, with Katniss Everdeen and her troops (allies made from previous films) storming the place in her quest to assassinate President Snow and bring an end to the war.  The film succeeds in Katniss's internal struggles as she deals with Peeta hating her, and her doubts about whether the tyranny will truly be over even after Snow dies as President Coin does not seem much better.  It takes a while to get the film going and surprisingly, not many action scenes or gunfights but when it does happen, it perks your interest.  In the end, Mockingjay Part 2 still feels too long at over 2 hours considering the novel itself didn't lend itself well for that much content.  It is still a satisfying conclusion to the series (barring the death of the character that started this all...) but viewers will encounter a bit of frustration along the way as the characters have started losing their charms.

Book Review: Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice 1

Review:  #686
Title:  Puella Magi Kazumi Magica:  The Innocent Malice 1
Series:  Puella Magi Kazumi Magica:  The Innocent Malice - 1st volume
Author:  Masaki Hiramatsu
Read Before:  no
Comments:  A spin-off from the anime focusing on a new protagonist, Kazumi.  She finds herself in a box having no memory, but eventually finds her friends again and discovers she is part of a group of magical girls, tasks with eliminating Witches.  The manga assumes the readers are already well-versed with the Magica universe as it doesn’t explain many of the concepts.  The tone of the plot though, is fairly different to what you’d expect being a lot more lighthearted, more ecchi and just more… typical of a typical comedy manga, lacking any of the seriousness found in the anime.  The story is fairly bland since the characters seem shallow and nothing special happens.

Rating:  6/10

Toy Review: Transformers Movie Advanced AD-14 Jolt

Review:  #401
Name:  Jolt
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Movie Advanced
Year of Release:  2014
Size Class:  Deluxe
Mold Status:  redeco of Dark of the Moon Jolt

VEHICLE MODE:

Jolt transforms into a Chevy Volt, with a carbon-fibre roof.  This is a redeco of DOTM Jolt but in ROTF colors, which is frankly, much better.

The sculpting is great although the rear panels doesn't sit flush with each other which ruins the look a little bit.

This mold was during the era where the sizes of toys were reduced, so Jolt's quite comparable with contemporary Deluxes, above is a comparison against TLK Barricade.

You might notice there are two blue circles on the roof against the black, these are spring-loaded pegholes to plug the weapons to, which in this case, are Jolt's electro-whips.

This is a unique vehicle design that looks great.  His play value is limited to his rolling wheels.

A strong vehicle mode in a much better color scheme than the original use of this mold.

TRANSFORMATION:

Transformation is probably one of Jolt's weakest aspect.  The robot legs, which formed from the rear of the vehicle, are not intuitive and fiddly, especially when going back in to vehicle mode.  The arms have weird jointing that makes it confusing to also go back to vehicle mode.

ROBOT MODE:

Jolt's design from ROTF is pretty good and this robot mode replicates most of it, the biggest difference is using the vehicle hood for his feet.

He features panels made from the vehicle's sides and roof as his rear wings and it works wonderfully here, looking quite awesome.

The headsculpt is average, while it has the sculpting that you'd expect from a Movie toy, it's not terribly great.

Jolt is fairly tall in robot mode but that's also because he is standing on his tippy toes.

Articulation is Jolt's downfall.  His elbows have an unusual system of joints.  It's actually on an angled swivel only, so you can't bend the elbow.  However, but it is angled, you can swivel it to the point that it gives the illusion of him bending his elbows.  It's terrible and annoying to get just right for the pose you wanted.

The other negative is his feet which is equally terrible.  It is unstable and takes a lot of fiddling around in order to get him to even stand flat on the table.

The original mold had a gigantic gun, this release removes that in favour of giving Jolt his electro-whips instead.

These whips peg onto the underside of each arm and are slightly curved, so they look fantastic and dynamic.

Note that his hips are cast from transparent clear plastic which is a recipe for disaster and more likely than not, you'll encounter problems with it such as looseness or cracks.

The knees are double jointed but like the rest of the figure, it feels experimental as it doesn't work as nicely as you'd expect.

While a good robot mode for display, Jolt is terrible for play and posing, feeling very fragile and fiddly.

OVERALL:

While this is the best version of Jolt that we've ever gotten and probably will ever get for a minor character, the mold is filled with flaws.  The elbow and feet design are terrible and the transformation clumsy, this toy is only recommended if you like the character since the new weapons are pretty neat.

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Doodle God (PS3)

Doodle God was originally a smartphone game for iOS and Android, then later ported to the PlayStation family of systems at a higher cost (naturally).  The control scheme is still reminiscent of touch controls at the main menu, since you use the analogue stick to move a hand cursor to select the options.  For the actual gameplay though, thankfully, it translate well to the D-pad and face buttons, such that you can power through the levels quickly once you know which groupings the icons you want are.  Since it was originally a mobile game, the gameplay is simple.  The aim is to combine two elements to create a new one.  Some of the combinations are intuitive such as Swamp + Life = Bacteria and Metal + Tools = Weapon, while others are less so such as Sand + Worm = Snake and Life + Void = Law + Order.  However, not every combination will produce a new element.  If it does, congrats, if they can't, then continue experimenting.

Each element is fitted into a particular group, so finding the icon you want can be annoying when you don't remember the group it was in.  It isn't too much of a problem in the beginning but near the end of the game, where you have 25 different groupings, you might have to enter and exit out of a few in order to find the one you want.  Likewise, while at the beginning it is easy to create new elements, as the game progresses and you get more options, it gets progressively harder to find the correct combinations.  However, there is the option of hints if you are stuck and cannot find a new combination.  Unfortunately, that's all the gameplay ever boils down to so it can become boring very soon.  Doodle God has a sense of humor in its combinations, such as Human + Fire = Corpse, you'll probably chuckle a few times over the course of the game.

There is a simple and short story.  You play as God, creating the world and all the things in it.  You start off with only the four classical elements, which limit you to creating simple items such as "sand" and "metal".  Eventually, through numerous combinations, you can create complicated items such as "internet" and "rockets", which feels like you have gone a long way since the start.  There are a total of four levels, with 228 elements to find in total.  This trial and error gameplay will take hours if you play through it blind without any guide.  However, it'll only take an hour to complete the game if you follow a guide (but where's the fun in that?).  Of course, being a PS3 game, it features Trophies and they are all easy to obtain.  Overall, Doodle God is a simple game that really doesn't seem to be worth the excessive price tag, especially when there are so many better games for the PS3.

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Book Review: Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion 3

Review:  #685
Title:  Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie:  Rebellion 3
Series:  Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie:  Rebellion - 3rd and final volume
Author:  Magica Quartet
Read Before:  no
Comments:  The finale in relation to the adaptation of the movie and it is not much of a stretch to say that it is even more confusing than the movie.  Homura has turned into a Witch and the rest of the magical girls fight against her to save her.  The best moments were when Sayaka summoned her Witch form, or when Kyoko realizes what had happened and come to terms with Sayaka.  Despite that, most of the scenes were still confusing and hard to make out what is actually happening.  The ending was disappointing, it felt that the final plot twist felt superficial, and it wasn’t even worthwhile in the end.  It doesn’t really fully explain the implications of what has happened, feeling rushed in the process.

Rating:  6/10

Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto (2016)

Haven't You Heard?  I'm Sakamato is a slice of life comedy anime comprised of 13 episodes (one of which was released as part of the Blu-Ray as it was never aired).  Set in middle school and starring Sakamoto where we are told, and shown, that all his actions are stylish, cool, cooler and coolest.  It has a great first episode that cements Sakamoto's awesomeness, where jealous students tries to play pranks on him but failing each time, such as catching the duster before it falls onto him, and sitting on thin air after someone tries to pull the chair out from under him.  All of these gags work really well and are hilarious.

Despite being the perfect most awesome person ever, Sakamoto is still interesting and you want to see more of his interactions.  The anime is structured such that each episode is comprised of two to three short stories that depict Sakamoto's exploits.  These stories don't necessary have to link with each other and so it can seem very random at times.  It's best to think that this is just a collection of Sakamoto's interactions throughout his first year of middle school.

Sakamoto himself is physically attractive and popular with not only the girls, but all the guys too.  These include the ones initially jealous as they eventually turn around and like him after Sakamoto helps them in some way.  In a sense, it has a feel of comradeship.  Sakamoto will often do something that seems against his character, or encouraging unwanted behavior such as indulging the whims of a bully.  However, in his own roundabout way, he will change the person for the better.  This leads to his frequent encounters with the school's delinquents, who sees Sakamoto as a threat but he thwarts them each time in his quirky way.  No matter what, you know Sakamoto will come out on top every time.

Along with the melodramatic scenes and exaggerated reactions from all characters, there are red herrings in what Sakamoto is going to do.  From battles that turn out to be a sumo pushing competition to standing up straight in a thunderstorm, looking like he is intending to call down lightning, but in reality, he is hailing a taxi.  It works every time, the excellent animation with clean aesthetics helps.  However, there are scenes where it feels such that when Sakamoto's best friend's mother is romantically interested in him.  It's a bit creepy but manages to stay on the side of funny most of the time.

Another charm of Sakamoto is that he is often oblivious to what other people are trying to do to him, the effect he has on people and what is expected of him.  He readily accepts anything as normal.  At the end, Sakamoto has made so many friends, whether they were bullied, the delinquents or just anyone at all, that it feels sad to say goodbye to them all.  The ending was sentimental and heartwarming.  Overall, Haven't You Heard?  I'm Sakamoto is a fantastic anime.  It doesn't take itself too seriously and enjoys in showing off its originality and charm of its titular character.  The anime is highly recommended as something to relax at the end of a long and dreary day.

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Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Movie - Rebellion (2013)

While the first two movies from the Puella Magi Madoka Magica series were recaps from the television show, Rebellion is an original story taking place after the events the final episode.  Sure, the series has a good conclusion and doesn't feel like it needed anything to be explained further but who doesn't want to return to the world of Madoka and see what the characters are up to now?  Rebellion may satisfy that desire but throws in a complicated plot and brings about a full circle to all the events, that may dilute the impact the original series had.  The pacing of Rebellion is a tad bit slow, from the beginning where all the characters return and are living their normal lives, with some strangely similar scenes as the anime, you begin to realise that something is amiss.  Some new characters are introduced, and the movie retains the same animation style with witches/nightmares being aesthetically different.  Once the plot twist is out in the open, the concept takes your interest in how it got up to this point.  The movie focuses mainly on Homura though, who still can't get over the fact on what happened to Madoka.  Just when you thought the movie was going to end, and in a good satisfying way, it throws up another plot twist that completely turns the whole world upside down.  This event feels decisive, and some people would like it while others won't.  It's good that all the characters get a chance to shine and interact with each other but not sure if this was the right way to go about it.  The movie has some fantastic set pieces and scenes, especially during the climax where the witches face off against each other.  It is also nice to get some clarity over how the new process of Magical Girls work after the ending of the anime.  Overall, Rebellion is worthwhile to watch if you're a fan (and you must have watched the anime beforehand otherwise you will not understand anything) but the ending may not be what you'd expect or like to accept.