Feb 26, 2018

First it was Shiba, now my dearest Kurumi is now gone.

Feb 26, 2018... I arrived home from work and find that my Mom's cat, Kurumi was having difficulty breathing and had to take her to the vet, where she was put to sleep.
After Shiba died, I thought I would be ready, but no. I cried, I wept, my heart broke once again. She was like Mom's familiar. She behaved like a Cat version of Mom. After Mom passed, Kurumi helped me cope. She made me feel like Mom was still watching over me. Often I would catch her talking to a portrait of Mom as if she was tattling on me.

Whenever I fell sick, she acted like a nurse and would be all over me until I got better.
Now my favorite cat nurse is no longer with me.


Feb 25, 2018

Woody Woodpecker the movie. Did this get a theatrical release?

It seems that it didn't get a release in the US. Mostly in Central and South America.
It went straight to DVD in the US... Which I don't blame them, since the biggest name is a Bryan Flynn (of Super7) Look-Alike that apparently appeared on Xena.
Wait... We have a dude that happens to be the Voice of Flipshot, Shtratosh, Dr. Wily, Protons, Rattrap, and Ken Masters in the awful Street Fighter series.

One good thing I can say about the movie:
Woody Woodpecker is voiced by AN ACTUAL VOICE ACTOR and not a washed up celebrity trying to cash in on his hits from the 80s... Not saying any names but he rhymes with Dan Aykroyd... Oops!

Everything else about the movie is a steaming pile of...

Let's be fair here... Before I call the movie absolute crap let me describe it for you.
Hyper summarized, cause I'd rather keep my sanity and not rewatch that steaming pile of feces.

Beardo McDoucheo played by the dude who kinda looks like Bryan Flynn. He loses his job and decides to turn an inheritance into a money maker to bounce back and take his revenge on his former employer. His plans hit a hurdle, when he's forced to take his estranged son along, which bothers the much younger fiancee (who is so relevant to the story that vanishes 1/4 into the movie).
He tries to build a house in Woody's habitat and we get the standard children's movie slapstick. Some poachers get involved and the kid befriended the woodpecker. When they finally make peace, Woody accidentally burns their house prompting Beardo McDoucheo to rehire the poachers. Woody is captured, the kid tries to save him and gets captured. Beardo tries to save Woody and gets captured as well. He finds a way to free Woody who engages the villains until they surrender to the police.
Beardo apologized to Woody and gave him a peace offering, which Woody accepts and accidentally destroys.
The End...

There are a couple of bird poop jokes and the movie is predictable as hell. The bad taste it left in my mouth made me forget about Fullmetal Alchemist. But on the other hand, it made Yogi Bear feel like a Masterpiece (Dan Aykroyd and his phoned in performance aside)

Feb 24, 2018

It came from the Toy Chest: What if Himura Kenshin was a bunny?

If the clue isn't that obvious, then you might not know of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo. It's a comic about a samurai Rabbit, who has crossed swords with a certain Terrapin who obeys this guy


And the only reason we ever get Any Miyamoto Usagi figures is thanks to the TMNT crossovers.

I managed to snag an Usagi by the end of the Advent Calendar and he's been on the back burner for some time.
Let's get cracking!

Articulation:
His Articulation rivals the Nickelodeon TMNT. His loose clothing does hinder the articulation a little bit as well as his scabbards. He can do some Samurai poses, but he cannot go in Seize position... Drat!!!
4.0

Paint and Sculpt:
Playmates shorted out on the paints here. A lot of what was painted in the prototypes (and pictures on the back of his card) was unpainted in the final figure. The Sculpt is pretty decent. Not as good as the 2003 era figure sculptwise (but the 2012 era one is close enough)
4.5

Accessories:
Katana
Wakizashi.
5.0  he needs nothing else.

Overall:
Usagi gets a 4.5 as his final score, which is decent. Much better than past Usagi figures.

Feb 22, 2018

Flinging popcorn at Hagane no Rekinjutsushi live action.

Elric Brothers lost their mom, tried to bring her back. It cost an arm and a leg to the eldest, and the body of the youngest and the mom came back defective. Now the boys travel the land trying to find the Philosopher's Stone to return the youngest to his body.
It almost sounds like a faithful adaptation of the manga?
Ehhh... I'd Say about 55% faithful.

It was better than Deathnote, or Dragon Ball Evolution. It wasn't great, either...
It needed a white cast... Because Amestris is an European ersatz, and seeing too many Japanese folk pretending to be European felt almost like a minstrel show... Oh God! I'm sounding like an SJW... But in reverse...
Ok, all jokes aside. While the costumes were accurate, they looked more like cosplayers than the Characters.

The movie suffered of cramming too much and it's rather obvious that they want a sequel or too like it happened with Kenshin.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but avoid it... Stick to the anime. Now ImI going to wash of my brain by watching Woody Woodpecker the live action movie... Wish me luck.

Feb 21, 2018

Magnum PI reboot...

But now is Mexican Magnum PI... Not sure how I should feel about this. All I know is that New Magnum would have been irritating to Mom. She's a hardcore Tom Selleck fan, so replacing Selleck with... Wait for it...

El Diablo from Suicide Squad...

That would've been Mom's initial reaction. She then would've said,YOU YOU watching it with me... "If it sucks, you can do your blogging thing. Yes, I said IF because I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. It's Magnum and I liked the new Hawaii 5-0. I know that look, young man! Don't you dare mention Elektra or Catwoman!! They were OK"!

So, Jay "ya te te chingaste wey" Hernández is the new Magnum...
Not gonna see it, since I dropped my cable provider. I'll wait for the show to hit netflNe or something. All I know is that Mom's ghost will haunt the production if they mess up too much.

Odds and ends Feb 21 2018, Creed II with He-Man Drago Jr...

Before I go on a Creed II will be an exciting thing due to having Adonis Creed meeting the man who killed Apollo...

I want to thank my loyal readers, who have stuck through thick and thin... Especially those of you who have taken time to point out inaccuracies for me to correct, or who simply have commented... It makes me feel nice that my ramblings have touched you... Not in that way... Unless you're female, early 20s and look like a 20-something clone of Kelly Kapowski or Mary Jane Watson...
Where was I? Creed II
The idea of Creed Jr. Fighting the son of Drago is an exciting one. We don't know if Drago has changed after all these years. Will he attempt an apology for Killing Apollo? Or is he more "machine than Man"?
How was Drago Jr trained? Was he engineered as well, or did he do things naturally and even grew a beard?

The way they're going kinda scares me. We're jumping to Rocky IV without reaching II or III... Also, at some point Mick died and was replaced by Apollo... If Rocky is the new Mick? Will Clubber Lang replace him? It would be interesting to see Lang on a mentor role as a "good guy" instead of the antagonist. They can't use Tommy Gunn for obvious reasons and I'm not too sure on using Mason Dixon, since he's not "iconic enough" as a Rocky "villain". Not to mention that there's NO WAY to have Apollo back.

Fergie messed up the Star Spangled Banner so bad... How bad was it? Well, the memes and public apology kinda show that it was bad... I mean the performance was so bad... You can't make the Star Spangled Banner sexy... Unless you play it to Guile or Captain America. She sounded like a drunk mom trying to seduce her son's best friend who recently enlisted. You can see in slow mo the moment she reached her climax if you look carefully. Hell, even the players couldn't keep a straight face. I even forgot what game it was... I think Magikarp James was in it or something.



Feb 19, 2018

Super7 is finally shipping wave one...

This is it, guys and gals... Finally, I will be able to pass the final judgement on Super7... Once I complete the 8 reviews. I know some people are dying to see what I have to say... Some of you are wondering if I will be as Ruthless as I was with Toyguru... (Hi Scott, how ya doing,I know you're reading... Hope everything is going fine with you... I miss you! No, really, I do. It's hard to be inspired without a nemesis.) Or if I'll cut them some slack. This will depend heavily on the other 6 figures (Fangor, Quakke, Lodar, MAA, Hordak, Tri-Klops). All my criticism will come from a place of love and a desire for improvement on the issues. I might be snarky, over the top, but this is for the betterment of the brand.

Right out of the bat, something that NEEDS to be improved is the waiting time. I get it, Super7 are rookies at this, but they are making Slowpoke Rodriguez look like Speedy Gonzalez

Yes, I went there. I also feel like they've been biting more than they can chew. MOTUC, the faux vintage, the MUSCLE, the faux Kenner figures, the other hipster crap I don't care about. They're a small company and their team seems to be spread too thin.
Add the issues with the Chinese factory and we have The ingredients for a clusterflock.

The reason nothing MOTUC was shown at NYTF was that Super7 felt like it would be a dick move to show wave three when Wave one barely arrived at their warehouse. I kinda get it. At the same time, they went to New York Toy Fair with NOTHING NEW to show aside Faux Vintage MAA and Beastman. Complaints would be inevitable. But better to have complaining about too much than too little.

They needed to have a TEASER. Something that Scott Neitlich was a master of.
For example, have Bryan state that the figures are being held back until the first orders begin to ship, but there are some accessories to whet your appetite then reveal for Collector's Choice:
A special guitar, a futuristic red gun and missile, Grimalkin statue, and Hunga's scepter.  (Basically hinting at Songster, Artilla, Melaktha or Kittrina, and Hunga)
For Filmation:
A black flower,  a coil of smoke, a pair of eyes on stalks, and a fishing pole)
(Basically hinting at Marzo, Weaver, Mantenna and Adam?) That would keep the people talking and become excited. Right now we have nothing, until the Power-Con exclusive reveals, which could happen any time now.

That's how interest wanes. The long periods of nothing. And seriously, going empty handed to the biggest toy show is kind of a horrible mistake.

I'm trying to stay positive, even if it's just to spite Guru... But each issue makes it harder... Please toys don't suck... Blow me away figures...

It came from the Toy Chest... Why do you ask me if I'm OK just to hit me!?

I guess I better explain the reference...

Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury and the King of Fighters series had a D-Arts figure released many years ago. The only figure from the King of Fighters line. Terry is my favorite KoF Character. Well, he's my favorite SNK Character, period.
Fun fact: 3 OVAs based on Fatal Fury were released in the US and Caz from New Adventures of He-Man plays Terry Bogard.

So, Terry Bogard D-Arts figure... Let's get this out of the bat... The D stands for disappointment.

Articulation:
Theoretically speaking Terry is well articulated... Aside a lack of bicep swivel or an Hasbro elbow substitute, he can do many poses... Problem is that he can barely stand. I had to cheat with Blu tac for the review. Attempting to have him stand without the Blu tac made him fall and I lost a tiny plug that goes in his butt. I'll explain later.
His left foot is almost frozen in place due to his left pant leg getting in de wae. But on the other hand, he can pull off most of his moves... Some require stands, not included. (Burn Knuckle, Rising Taco, Crack Shoe)
3.0
Paint and Sculpt:
The Sculpt on Terry is decent. He looks a bit more cartoony than I'd like, but he's very Terry-like. The paint is decent. There's shading and accents and he looks incredibly nice!
4.5


Accessories:
2 extra heads
I
Extra ponytail
7 extra hands, one with duffel bag.
Power wave effect
Power Geyser effect
2 piece Burn Knuckle effect
Butt-plug for Figma stands. ( If you remove a tab in his butt, you can connect a new tab with a plug to use the Figma stands without clamps)
4.0 Now you're asking, why the lower score, because figures that come with less have gotten a better rating.

And the answer is quite obvious... He needed an extra head with hair for the capless poses.

Overall: 
Terry gets a 3.83 as his final score. I'm pissed at myself for losing that flap. Terry fell behind my entertainment center and that is the land of the lost. The limited articulation and lack of obvious accessories hurt his score a bit. I'm not getting the KOF Figma, because for the price of Flimsy Figma I can get a Hefty Storm Collectibles figure. Had this figure been say, Kyo Kusanagi or Ryo Sakazaki, I wouldn't have looked in their direction. I kinda regret getting him without looking at reviews before buying, but I now have a Terry Bogard.


Feb 18, 2018

Hasbro is tempting me with ML...

New Bishop, Sabretooth, Omega Red, Cloak, Dagger, Logan with Bike... Kaine in the Scarlet Spider suit, Scream (one of the Separation anxiety symbiotes) and last but not least my favorite Pudgy, myopic villain whose bowl cut can make the most serious of wall-crawlers laugh...

Otto freaking Octavius!! Doctor Octopus is coming to MARVEL Legends!!!!1!
My favorite Spider-man villain will be gracing the ML line-up and it looks good enough to replace the ToyBiz version!!

Not only that, but The Thing and Silver Surfer are heading to Walgreens... Haven't seen Reed or Torch yet... I need some Fantastic Four...

Hasbro is trying really hard to reel me back in to ML, while the MOTUC spell is weakening... I might need to win the Powerball to keep up with Hasbro.

Toy fair 2018 odds and ends...

I have TO Say That Funko kicked everyone's ass. Funko POPs out of a bunch of properties including one of a certain actor who was caught playing with himself... Yes, I'm so buying that Pee-Wee Herman POP... Then we have Deadpool as Bob Ross's among many others...

But Remember the MOTU Kombatants? Well Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, and other horror icons are getting the pseudo MOTU treatment. They will be reimagined as Barbarian Fantasy with sci-fi elements characters... But wait there's more...
Thundercats Classics *MIGHT HAVE BEEN COCKBLOCKED* by Funko. They're releasing Vintage MOTU scale Thundercats.
The main 4 cats and Mumm-Ra the Everloving will be released as well as Slythe, Monkian, and Jackalman.

But I'm not finished yet!
Let me ask you: What's best in life?
Yup! Funko is doing what Mattel was supposed to have done 36 years ago... Ahnuld Conan toys... I normally don't do faux Vintage, but by Crom! It's King Hissfasa, Arnie as Conan and the rest... But if you do not want them, then The Hell with you!

In second place we have Hasbro... 10 years of MCU multi-packs and a Single carded Red Skull. Then they acquired Power Rangers and they're crowdfunding for a Jabba's barge in scale for the 3.75 inch figures.
Haven't heard anything on the Joe's or ponies. Ml will rape wallets...

Diamond Select is doing Ghostbusters... I know, they've done movie versions for some time already...
NO! I'm not talking about the 2016 ones... I'M TALKING ABOUT THE REAL Ghostbusters!! Blonde Egon played by the Brain, Ginger Ray played by Megatron, Winston played by Arsenio, and Venkman played by Garfield (and later by Joey Gladstone)

Storm Collectibles showed Rugal, Heihachi, Kazuya, Rain, Ermac, Smoke, and GORO!!
On the SF side there were some drawings of SFII Ryu, Ken, Guile, and Sagat... Alternate V outfits for Chun Li and Bison.
Sagat, Ken, and Guile are must have for me. I will most likely get Ryu as well, cause I'm a sucker for Ryu.

Wait, Lobo and Darkseid? From Injustice 2!? If Storm Collectibles is allowed to do the Injustice TMNT... Might have to sell my spleen or something...

Playmates... Let's not talk about those failed attempts at making Battletoads toys.

Now for last: Super7...
Nothing new in the classics front, but faux vintage is getting MAA, Beastman as well. If they're in the $10 range, I will most likely bite.

As much as I hate to say this, Super7 is losing steam with the MOTUC Community. I feel like they've bitten more than they could chew and now they're choking under pressure.

Teela looks a smidge better, but Hawke Looks terrible.


Forgot NECA! I fear their QC, but I need this:

Yup! The REAL Pennywise the dancing clown the toy. None of that edgelord Pennywise from the remake...

Feb 16, 2018

Ho ho Hasbro Rangers!!

Bandai of America Lost the License to Power Rangers and now it belongs to Hasbro. Starting in March or April 2019, Hasbro will be making Power Rangers toys and Collectibles for the US audiences. Super Sentai stuff will still be made by Bandai Japan.

ML Quality Power Rangers toys and we might even get some popular villains to match their heroes...
For example a Mighty Morphin' wave with the 7 rangers (both Tommy's), Rita, Lord Zedd and have 3 Putty Patrollers as BAFS.

Seriously, Hasbro is taking over everything... Mattel better watch out, cause if Hasbro convinces DC like they did to Disney, then Barbie and Hot Wheels won't save them... And Playmates...
Look at those things... Hasbro doesn't need to worry about Playmates... They have nothing other than TMNT to keep them afloat and judging by Next Mutation 2.0 here, TMNT may be looking for a new home soon...

Black Panther does not kno de wae...

Marvel's latest movie: Black Panther is...
Forgettable, unoriginal, formulaic, but despite all that it's entertaining. It takes place right after Civil War, but before Infinity War. I know some people are planning to boycott it because it's full of black people... Which is dumb since we knew from the start that most of the movie was going to be in Wakanda and that most of the cast was meant to play Wakandan people that wait for it... Happen to be black!

I found the movie a tad more serious than other Marvel movies. Then again, T'Challa wasn't one for dropping one-liners. There were a few instances of humor stemming from Shuri, and Agent Bilbo Baggins.

M'Baku does not get his comic book name, but then again, Man-Ape sounds very racist.

Let me summarize the movie...
T'Chaka dead, T'Challa has to become King.
To officialize the King, T'Challa poses a challenge. Man Ape accepts challenge and loses...
Klaw is alive and is being helped by Erik Killmonger... Who is T'Challa's cousin now... Who is plotting to take back Wakanda and become ruler of the world. Killmonger kills Klaw and sneaks into Eakanda, where he challenges T'Challa and wins, becoming Black Panther. Hence the BP outfit on Killmonger.
T'Challa returns Simba Style and reclaims Pride Rock and marries Nala...
And I'm aware I'm referencing The Lion King. Because Black Panther and The Lion King are very similar.

SJW folks are praising the movie for the amount of black people... Which I don't get, because Meteor Man and Blankman already did the Black Superhero thing way before the Black Panther movie.

Wonder what M'Baku will bring to the table in Infinity War...
I feel kinda bad about the movie. I liked it, but wasn't blown away by it. I want a sequel, but it's not the MOST WANTED SEQUEL that I want. I totally feel like I'm gonna get hate if I say anything negative about the movie...
Am I racist for feeling that Black Panther is Average?

Feb 14, 2018

It came from the Toy Chest: What Stan joined together, let no Quesada put asunder.

I am, of course, talking about the Spider-Marriage. So, I got me a Toys R Us Spider-man and Mary Jane two pack. Never saw it on stores, so I went through a reseller who was selling it without much mark-up.
I don't think I need to explain Spider-man/Peter Parker... Mary Jane is a different story. She's the impossible girl next door. Super hot, super popular, supermodel, that falls for the geek next door... The same geek that went inside his house the night MJ's neighbor was shot and popped out the window as Spider-man. You see, Mary Jane always knew Peter's secret. She was curious to see if the man was as cool as the Spider, but she found that a kind, sometimes neurotic man with a guilty conscience that tries to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders because the one time he acted selfishly, his world came tumbling down. Now the guy is driven by a sense of responsibility, which makes him endanger his life every day as he attempts to stop crime in New York City. Despite the troubles with his dual life, Mary Jane became the pillar of strength, when Peter needed it the most. This she saw in Peter Parker. What Peter saw in her was a caring woman, who came from a very dysfunctional family. Forced to wear a bubbly mask, Mary Jane became the life of every party. Peter found a light, beyond the mask, someone who could ease his pain of failing Uncle Ben, both Captain Stacy and his daughter, Gwen, failing his friend Harry, his Daughter May, His clone "brother" Ben Reilly, and others.

These two were married in a weird synergy of combining the Newspaper comic strips, the mainstream comic books AND a live action wedding celebration at Shea Stadium

Then Marvel wanted to stick Peter in a permanent youth mode and tried to replace Peter Parker with Peter Parker while allowing Peter Parker to walk into the sunset with MJ while Peter Parker remained Spider-man. I am talking about the Clone Saga. That failed and they had Peter and MJ to separate, but they were brought back together... Then Aunt May was shot with a bullet that No one in the Marvel Universe could find a way to cure her... So Peter and Mary Jane sold their marriage to the Devil... Better known as Joe Quesada. In the comics they used Mephisto. I'm using Tony Stark because my MS Mephisto is MIA.
Articulation:
Spidey has a standard ML buck, but for some reason, I can't pull off the MVC stance, or the web Yo-yo pose with him. The thigh movement range seems to vary from figure to figure despite being built similarly.
4.0
MJ fares a bit better with her normal female buck. She doesn't require crazy martial arts poses, but she has decent range. 4.5

Paint and Sculpt:
I'm not too sure on what this version of him is supposed to be, but I have a couple of Hasbro Spidey's to use as his vanilla look.
UPDATE: Spider-Armor Mk. IV
The Peter Sculpt is where this figure shines. He looks very Peter Parker-ish unlike the one from ToyBiz that looks a bit like Michael Jackson.
4.5
MJ fares a lot better here. She is wearing JEANS WITH SCULPTED DETAILS!
Shame that she isn't sporting her traditional hairdo with bangs, but at least the Hasbro Sculptors make much prettier ladies than The ToyBiz Sculptors. She even has freckles!
5.0

Accessories:
Peter has 4 extra hands and an extra head.
I've commented before that we need an extra pair of gripping hands for webbing (whether store bought or homemade) other than that, the accessories are versatile enough.
5.0
MJ gets the short end of the stick here... A Purse. No extra hands, alternate head, nothing...
2.0
Overall:
Peter gets a 4.5 while MJ gets a 3.83 as her score. The lack of accessories really hurt MJ, which is the better toy. This puts the two pack at a 4.16 final score. Get this set JUST FOR MJ.


Feb 13, 2018

Kung Fury Sequel with Magneto!?

Fassbender Will be in Kung Fury 2.
Remember Kung Fury? Well, now the sequel will be feature film length, with a popular actor. I say Magneto, you say Robot from Prometheus. I don't know what to say. I mean, how do you top beating a Kung Führer with the aid of Thor and a T-REX!?

My biggest fear is that this will fall flat. Insane comedies riffing on past stuff and making nods to previous movies/TV shows tend to fall flat on the big screen... Just ask every (insert genre here) Movie after Scary Movie 2... Or all the SHARKNADO movies...

In any case, more 80s nostalgia trip is coming.

Pre-Valentine's Day odds and ends... 2018

Boop, boop, beep, boop! And if you thought of calling Kim Possible, well, Disney is doing that... For a DCOM Live action KP movie!!
Yes, Kim Possible Live action... I expect a bad CGI freaky thing... The whole DCOM thing scares me. Since Disney Channel movies tend to be miss or hit, more misses than hits... Especially if said movies are action movies.

The second bit of KP LA news is that Riverdale fans are trying to get Madeline Petsch to play Kim.
I, don't see her as Kim... She looks like a pint size Jessica Rabbit. I see someone more like Bella Thorne as Kim. Petsch has this mini Bombshell vibe to her, while Thorne is more of a sporty, bit more average vibe to her, which is more in line with KP...
But if we're looking for a Ron, Corey Foglemanis would be a nice choice...

Don't bother with Fiddy Shades Freed. It's bad and wrong. It's badong. Yes, I saw it. Grey marries Anesthesia Steele and they have boring conversations, boring sex, lather, rinse, repeat. There is a plot about Jack trying to hurt Grey by hurting Anesthesia, but the movie forgets about it half the time. His motivation is rather contrived and forced. He was on the same foster care as Grey and wasn't adopted, so he swore revenge.

Lord Masque got an official bio by Super7. A recent .org interview revealed the writers of the new bios and some explanations on some of the choices made. I admit that I'm not sold on some of the choices made: Mass revival while keeping the Neitlichverse intact, or rejuvenating He-Man.
Dammit, Bio! Why don't you suck!? It's hard to mock the bios if they're good! While, I miss the real names (mostly for mockery reasons) this bio is about Masque, recaps his Filmation appearance, and has ties to other eras by being ancient, having a mask stolen from Eldor and teaching Count Marzo the ways of the Magical. (Bonus tidbit, Melaktha has a TM... Could it be?)
The bios still have a little Neitlichian feel to it, since the writers are trying to keep the style similar to that of Neitlich, but done a bit better. I will discuss them as they pop up. While the wave 1 bios are around (and on the character guide) I won't discuss them until my figures arrive.


Feb 11, 2018

Actiom figure woes: Toy swapping sucks and you should be ashamed of it if you do.

In fact, there should be a special circle in Hell for those who do.

Stealing toys is wrong, no matter how you slice it. But if it was that simple just stealing the toy... No, stealing the toy, the BAF piece AND THEN REPLACING THWM WOTH A DOFFERENT TOY, that REALLY GRINDS MY GEARS!!!

The other day I saw this at a KMart...Yes, I shop at KMart. Being very near to one at work and living very close to another kinda makes it easy for me to stop there.

But it seems I'm not the only. Collector in the area. There seems to be a douchebag who is buying figures, swapping them out and returning Abominations such as the Sharpied Drax above.
That's Supposed to be Killmonger...
Going all the way and Sharpieng Drax is a massive dick move. Time consuming and mostly pointless. I notified a supervisor at the CS about this abomination among others... Seriously, the CS reps already roll their eyes when they see me going towards them with a toy in hand. (Some managers as well) I'm trying to help them to reduce shrinkage in some areas... (No pun intended).

Well, seems that these douches have been hitting the Collectibles section and this was the result:
Now they're Spider wrapping adult Collectibles to prevent theft... Thank you asshole thieves for making it harder for MOC collectors...

But Nefty, you're a loose collector...

Yes, I am, but the spider wraps can harm boxes and that's a no-no for MOC Collectors.

Isn't that kinda your fault for tattling on the swapped toys?

Not my fault at all. Picture it mid-2017 and there are a few Headmaster Soundwave figures available. For a Soundwave fan this is good news. You pick the figure and realize that his headmaster was stolen. You can't use Soundwave as intended. Same thing with the only Optimus Prime there.
Or finding the Juggernaut wave Wolverine WITHOUT THE BAF PIECE. It sucks, amirite?

I get it, it kinda sucks having to buy figures you don't want for the BAF. (Michael Keaton, I'm talking about you) but stealing parts of the toy is an even bigger dick move.

Saw Sharknado 4 & 5...

And I'm confused as hell. I get the Hoff being in them, Tony Hawk was a weird cameo, as well as Dog the Bounty Hunter, Billy Ray Cyrus, or Nichelle Nichols... Heck even Charo being a cameo is understandable... But when Dolph Lundgren's cameo is the set up for a SIXTH SHARKNADO MOVIE that's when I say: Dude, you've gone far enough...
You have gone too far SHARKNADO films!
You brought a REAL ACTION MOVIE STAR.
Do you even know what this means? You can't cheap out with Tara Reid pretending to be badass. Now you have a bona fide action movie star and SHARKNADO 6 better deliver. I had to suck on a Geraldo cameo and the VH1 reject from Flavor of love that got her own spin-off cameo here... You brought The Punisher, Ivan Drago, He-Man himself... Sharknado 6 better kick all sorts of asses now. You upped the ante way too much now.
Now I wanna see Dolph kick some shark ass...


The last two feel very lazy and forced some awkward set pieces in order to deliver a one liner referencing a much better movie... But SHARKNADO!!!

Feb 9, 2018

It came from the Toy Chest: Dead Man Walking

The streak is dead... Killed by a part-time wrestler... But the Legendary Undertaker still lives in our hearts.

I don't think I need to explain The Undertaker. I'm having a bit of a hard time in pinpointing from which era this figure is based. The lack of Sara on his neck may be a sign of him being more modern, or something that Figuarts omitted on purpose due to the interchangeable head gimmick. It's not the dreaded underbiker era...


Articulation:
Taker has a lot in common with Kane in size. His Articulation is similar to that of the Big Red Monster. Stands are required for some of his signature moves thar require holding other figures.
5.0

Paint and Sculpt:
Looks like Taker, but like most Wrestling figures, the tattoos aren't all always there.
Other than that, this figure is great!
5.0


Accesories:
-3 extra heads
-hat
-3 extra hands.
I almost wish he had come with extra arms and the coat just to have some extra oomph!
3.5

Overall:
Taker gets a 4.5 as his final score. I blame the lack of accessories as the reason why his score is a bit low. Then again, a 4.5 is a great score. It could've been a better one, but it is what it is.

Feb 8, 2018

Some good news regarding the MOTU MOVIE!!

David S. Goyer is no longer directing MOTU, which coincidentally "starts filing in April on Vancouver and British Columbia".
We're almost in March (20 days), so with LESS THAN TWO MONTHS, NO DIRECTOR, NO CAST, NO SCRIPT, AND THIS IS STILL GOING ON!? HOW!?
I honestly don't get how SONY is pushing forward a big bowl of NOTHING! I want it to not suck but every pratfall, every blunder is cementing the suckitude... But at least we got rid of Goyer... Problem is that SONY might get a more incompetent director...

Venom teaser dropped and was like Yamcha...

I do not know how could they not even TEASE VENOM!?

Generic action scenes and Tom Hardy getting an MRI... Yup! Got me super excited to see Venom... NOT! Lack of Spider-man/Peter Parker is very disappointing...

Not even a tease of the titular Character. We barely got a blink and you miss symbiote cameo. That's not even a tease. If it wasn't for the Venom logo at the end, this could be ANYTHING. I feel a LOT LESS excited about this than I was before watching the trailer.

But We'll see what October brings... On a more positive note. The 19th will bring FAMA live action.

It came from the Toy Chest: She really hates Tuesday.

Because that was the day Bison graced (or grazed if we wanna be punny) her village.
I'm talking about the Legend of Chun Li...
No, not the crappy movie with Fiona, who cheated on Scotty. I'm talking about the real Chun Li, the videogame Character... And I know it's an oxymoron saying real while talking about a fictional character.

Articulation:
She's really poseable. Many of her poses from various 2D and 3D games can be recreated. A few require the use of stands. She can be a bit finicky to pose at times, but it's worth it.
5.0
Paint and Sculpt:
She looks like the 3,4,5 Chun Li, Which is a much THICC version of Chun Li. The paintjob is crisp and no visible slop. She's terrific, but then again, Storm Collectibles has been nailing these Street Fighter V figures.
5.0

Accesories:
-2 extra heads
-7 extra hands
-SFV stand
-Kikoken stand
-Hyakuretsukyaku effect
-2 VTrigger effects
I can't think of anything else she could use as accesories. Maybe a Victory V hand as a nod to her old victory pose?

5.0

Overall:
5.0 for Chun Li. She's so far the best of the SFV crew. I'm debating whether or not I should buy Alex... While I'm mainly looking for the SFII crew, I know I'll get a few Alpha Stragglers... Mainly R.Mika, Karin, and Sakura. Not sure if I wanna go for the III folks or the new V folks...

Feb 6, 2018

It came from the Toy Chest: Snoochie Boochies

As you can guess by the reference in the title, I'm doing Jay and Silent Bob. Not in that way, you perv! I mean the Diamond Select Mallrats figures of Jay and Silent Bob.
Who are Jay and Silent Bob? Two drug dealers from the mind of Kevin Smith (who plays Silent Bob)... The guy that wrote an anti-rape PSA comic starring Black Cat but it was not finished on time and it had an overly long cliffhanger that the pay off sputtered. He also complained about fans and told them to get laid. So, where was I? Jay and Silent Bob. These are the Mallrats versions of them. So, the stuff they come with is based on that movie.

Articulation:
I am highly disappointed here. They Have decent amount of Articulation, but the rigid long shirts on both block the leg Articulation and the pants block the double joint knees... Sad
3.5 for both.

Paint and Sculpt:
They look like they should, though Silent Bob has the better likeness to his actor. The only gripes I have is that the shirt Jay wore in the movie had a design that could not be replicated due to copyright and they left his shirt plain black. He looks a bit plain because of that.
4.5 Jay 5.0 Silent Bob

Accesories:
Jay has a sock full of quarters, the bat, extra hand, plans to knock out LaFours.
3.5
Silent Bob has an extra hand for the Grappling Hook gun, Grappling Hook, extra hand for holding the gun, the cassette tape, a toy truck, wire citters.
He can barely hold the cassette, and the grappling hook gun, and Grappling Hook. The wire cutters and the truck cannot be held by the figure.
3.0

Overall:
Jay gets a 3.83 and Silent Bob gets a 3.83!? I can't believe it! I know the review feels a bit lackluster, but after opening them and finding the Articulation issues kinda knocked the inspiration out of me. I could  see some potential if I were to pose them with other Figures in 7 inch scale.

Feb 5, 2018

Odds and ends Feb 5 2018: The Patriots fell.

I didn't know that John Cygan, voice of Solidus Snake had died.

I was going to make a Solidus Meme about The Patriots losing when I found out... In any case, the Patriots lost... But we don't care about

Here at the House of Rants... We care about commercials shown on the Big Game.
Things like:

Which feels very Star Wars... And not the whole ACE VENTURA IN SPACE that was rumored. In any case, it caught my interest.

What would you say to Die Hard if it was remade with The Rock...

Wait! I'm not done yet! Now he's an amputee!

Yup! The movie is called Skyscraper... And you can't write SkysCRAPer without Crap... Which is what I expect the movie to be.



How long until the SocJus Whiners complain about not using a real amputee for the movie?

But Spring is coming and soon the Blockbusters will come afterwards... Infinity War, Solo and a bunch of movies are coming!!!

It Kame from the Toy Chest: MOTU KOMBAT!!!

Damn you Funko! First the GOT figures, then the POPs, now the faux Vintage MOTU inspired Kombatants? I draw the line at Dorbz... No need for butt-plug looking toys.
 But I ended up getting all 5. The Raiden Chase Variant was there but I didn't want an half translucent Raiden so I went for the normal version.
I still can't believe that I bought them. I've made my disdain for faux Vintage items very clear... But the MOTUness of the figures won me over...
That is until I opened them. That's where the magic ended... Once out of the package, the MOTU imitation effect begins to fade... The Playmates Vintage TMNT feel begins to take it's place. You almost thought that this was going to turn for the bad? So did I. The "vintageness" of these toys feels like a hybrid of MOTU and TMNT. How is that? Well, if These figures had TRULY FOLLOWED THE VINTAGE MOTU style, Scorpion and Sub-Zero would've been repaints. They would've gotten Cloth parts. Tunic, masks. Liu Kang and Kitana would've received a massive haircut or their hair would've been rooted. Raiden's hat would've been removable and his tunic would've been made out of cloth. Also, their legs aren't wobbly as vintage MOTU. They are more in line with Playmates.
Articulation:
Don't expect modern levels of articulation here. Head, shoulders, waist, legs. 6 POA...
Which is NORMAL for a vintage non-Joe line. I kinda wish that they had the twist punch action.
3.5 for a vintage styled toy.

Paint and Sculpt:
The MKX Character models have been Vintagized well. Softened details, brighter colors. The style seems like a Hybrid of MOTU and Playmates toys. They're a bit underdetailed for Playmates but a bit hyperdetailed for MOTU. No washes to higjlhigh textures, for that is a late 90s thing. Sadly some of the Sculpt is not following 80s conventions. I mentioned that above.
5.0 for a vintage styled toy.

Accesories:
Here I will rate each character individually.
Scorpion: 2 Katana.  2.5
Sub-Zero: 2 ice weapons 3.5
Raiden: 2 clip-on lightning bolt effects. 3.5
Kitana: 2 Fans 4.5
Liu Kang: Zip, Zilch, Nada, the big G00se egg. 1.0

Overall:
Scorpion 3.66
Sub-Zero 4.0
Raiden 4.0
Kitana 4.16
Liu Kang  3.16
The score differences rely on the accesories. No "Get over here!" Kunai for Scorpion is almost blasphemous. Liu Kang having nothing is really bad. Not even a flame effect to simulate his fireball attacks feels wrong!
These figures are a nice NOVELTY ITEM. If they make Johnny Cage, Sonya, Mileena, and Kano, I'd buy them... Especially Johnny Cage.
I guess that I'm not a fan of the Kenner style, but that Mattel/Playmates style can win me over.

Feb 2, 2018

Sore wa omocha no mune kara kita Gouki-sama

And before Gouki-sama attempts to challenge me into combat... I'll use the ultimate technique from the Saotome School of Anything goes Martial Arts.


So, Gouki-sama, the Man who has forsaken everything in order to become a true Master of Ansatsuken...
Now he sports a Lion King inspired mane... Which makes him look ridiculous, but that's the V-look...

Articulation:
Literally the same as Ryu and Ken. His body might be Bigger, but he's built like a shoto...
The head Articulation is obviously limited. Other than that, he can pull off most of his fan favorite poses.
5.0
Paint and Sculpt:
His sculpting is brand new. Somewhat similar to Ryu and Ken, but bigger. The bushy hair is ridiculously accurate to the source material... The paint jobs are excellent on the figure and make him pop in a good way.
5.0

Accesories:
2 extra faceplates
6 extra hands
2 dark hadou effects
1 gouhadoken
Prayer beads
SFV stand
Hadoken stand
Alternate Gi
5.0

Overall:
Gouki-sama gets a Perfect Score of 5.0 due to his nearly perfect nature. While I'd personally prefer a SFII or SFIII look for him, this is a badass figure...
Not only that, but he's very photogenic. If he had gotten a second Classic head, now that would've been amazing...