Lazer Team movie review

Here's what you need to know; for decades the US government has been secretly preparing for Humanity's first encounter with aliens, and has prepared a Champion to challenge whatever terror they bring, a champion armed with an alien power suit, that, instead of reaching the champion, ends up in the hands of a crew of idiots. Now the crew of idiots are Earth's only hope of defeating the looming alien threat, and they call themselves the Lazer Team.
yep, I did watch this film, in a cinema, and I don't think I was this excited to see a film since Godzilla, because, here's a little thing about me, I love Rooster Teeth, I am a huge fan, and I was looking forward to seeing a film I doubted I'd have the privilege of seeing in a cinema, but I did, and here we go.

Weirdly, of all the films I've seen in a cinema, I don't recall ever actually watching a comedy, sure I've watched films that have had me laughing my arse off, but I don't think I've ever watched a straight up comedy, but that's what this film is. It is hilarious, and I can't stress that enough here and won't stop trying, this film was never not funny, it kept moving along from scene to scene and the laughs genuinely didn't stop. Part of what made the film so funny was the characters, so let's move onto them, the Lazer Team themselves are great, Hagan is a very good character, he's the Shield, and the de facto leader of the team, and he has a very interesting backstory with another Lazer Team member that comes more into the forefront towards the end of the film. He also has a daughter, who, while not as funny or interesting as him or the other members, still has some pretty funny moments in the film, as well as a pretty hysterical fight scene. She's dating the Sword of Lazer Team, Zach, who, at least at the start of the film, in all honesty, is a bit of an arsehole, but it really works, and he too is absolutely brilliant with the comedy, and he gets more likable as the film goes on. Herman, the Boots of the team, is the character with which Hagan shares an interesting backstory, and while he's probably the least funny of the team, that's not to say he isn't funny. Then there's the Helmet of the team, Woody, who is by far the stupidest of them all, and he's also possibly the funniest out of all of them, a few particular scenes involving his helmet were among the funniest scenes in the film. But like the suit, these characters are at their best as a unit, and they bounce off one another in some purely hilarious ways, again I can't stress enough how hard I was laughing in this film. Now, finally, for the most interesting character in the film, Adam, the champion of Earth, while he's not particularly funny, his backstory is really interesting, and he has to get over a personal struggle in this film that gets kind of emotional towards the end. as far as story goes, this films not terribly original, and it does actually get quite predictable once you get the general drift of the plot, but it's still a really fun story that allows for some sweet action and some comedy that made my lungs hurt, really my only issue with the story is it's ending, which, without spoiling anything, leaves the film on a slightly annoying note, part of me gets why they did this, a 'this is just the beginning' ending, but I'm still not a huge fan of it, even when Rooster Teeth do it.

This film has some pretty kick arse action sequences, I obviously won't go into specifics aside maybe from the final battle that you know is at the end of the film, but they're really fun, even with the shaky cam, I feel I should stress that as far as action scene filming goes, this isn't Taken sequel level bad, it's shaky enough to where you know what's going on and your eyes don't sting, but it's there, and it's something I thought while compiling my thoughts on this film. another thought was the slow mo, this film has a lot of slow mo, and again, part of me understands why this is the case, and like the shaky cam, it is far from unbearable, but like the shaky cam, it's there. from a visual effects standpoint the film is actually pretty impressive, sure it's not remotely comparable to the big budget blockbusters that use far better effects, but for a film funded through crowdfunding, it's very good. the film also makes very good use of said special effects, it's never over the top, so what is here really works, and the design of the various props is really cool too, even if the Sword of the suit looks really, really similar to the Aperture science handheld portal device. but really that can be said of a lot of design choices in this film, it's clear that this film was heavily inspired by a host of movies and video games released over the years, and in addition to the comedy and ludicrous amount of in-jokes, this is a film that I would gladly watch multiple times, in that sense it's actually comparable to the Cornetto trilogy, and that is great. It's also worth noting that, while being a Rooster Teeth fan like myself (and I think everyone else in my screening) is not required to find this film funny, it definitely helps to be familiar with their brand of humour and to be familiar to some degree with their various productions, Red vs Blue, RWBY, among others, it's far less in your face than the last Rooster Teeth anything I reviewed; Ten Little Roosters, but it can be seen as a bit of a negative that some people who watch this film just won't get part of it's comedy, I personally don't have any issue with that at all, but it's worth addressing.

I loved this film, I really mean that, and the last film I saw in a cinema was Star Wars. Lazer Team had me laughing out of control for a large amount of it's runtime, as well as a fun if predictable story with an admittedly frustrating ending, it had fun action, if a little shaky. but where this film really shines is in its fantastic characters, insane hilarity, and it's really fun final battle, along with some nerdier comedy and some clever in-jokes, Lazer Team is a film I've been looking forward to for a long time, and I was not disappointed, I 'd very highly recommend Lazer Team.

Thunderbirds Cry Wolf review

Here's what you need to know; International Rescue responds to a distress call, only to find a huge misunderstanding, and 2 kids playing a game. But soon International Rescue get in a pickle as a real situation arises, as the Hood has sinister plans for the 2 kids and their dad.

Something that you would probably expect, but that's done pretty well here, is the bait-and-switch, as International Rescue responds to what they think is a distress call, and the episode leads you to believe what they believe, until you learn the truth in a pretty comical way. from there this episode has a bit of an uninteresting period with the 2 kids on Tracy Island and some stuff about photos which really isn't that interesting to be honest. Things pick up though when the Hood shows up, and sets out to get his hands on the McGuffin. it is a bit weird when he tricks the 2 kids into the mine, I don't know why, but it's just a bit weird to me, probably with how odd his questions were, and also the knowledge that he's the Hood. from there this episode gets out of control, with the Hood trying the break into a sealed room to get the photos, while the kids are trapped in a collapsing mine getting ignored by International Rescue. The focus starts to shift away from the kids and towards the Hood, which I don't mind, as the story with the sealed room actually becomes more interesting both than the photos and the trapped kids. When International Rescue to finally show up, the rescue in the mine is pretty good, but it lacked in some much needed tension, especially given the instability of the Mine. and the chase with Scott and the Hood, while brief, is ridiculous, with Scott on his hover scooter, something about those hover scooters just cracks me up, and the Hood's defeat is probably the funniest one so far in the series, very good comedic timing there. All in all this episode has some interesting stories, and some not so interesting stories, mainly what worked was the kids and their International Rescue games, and the Hood trying to get the photos, with one ending somewhat anti climactically, and the other ending hilariously, there is tension to be found in the Hood story, but it's lacking in the kids story, overall it's a good episode that's I'd say is worth a watch, but it's not the height of the bar this series has set for itself.

playing a new game

So, for the unaware, I'm a member of SnapperSquad, a club hosted by The Sentinel newspaper for budding photographers, I bring this up to give these new photos a bit of context. every week there is a theme, this weeks it's Need for Speed, so I decided I would try something a bit different. I've never played around with shutter speed before and have it amount to anything, until today, when I dropped in at my local train station and took up a perch above a motorway, and took some of the strangest photos I've ever taken, I say before realising how much toy photography I do. so here we have 2 photos of a train, and 2 photos taken above the motorway, both with the shutter speed played with, and the result looks like this, which is awesome. I really like these photos, and I hope you enjoy.

Thunderbirds Are Go Legacy review

Here's what you need to know; when a series of suspiciously timed disasters lure International Rescue away from Tracy island, Kayo realises that the island has been compromised. With the rest of the Thunderbirds in a vice, Kayo must handle the security breach alone, even if it means revealing her biggest secret.

part of me is really bothered by how much this episode makes me think of the 2004 movie, as just with that movie, the Hood takes over Tracy Island and the Thunderbirds are stranded and powerless, and something I did think of was how did the Hood find the island? if he knew where it was the whole time why not take the place over already, and if he didn't, how did he find it, this is, oddly enough, something the movie does better, where the Hood sticks a tracker on Thunderbird 1. Being honest though I did find a lot of enjoyment in this episode, even considering the similarity to that monstrosity of a movie. For starters I think the Hood being on Tracy Island was actually done in a pretty interesting way here, and with no Vanessa Hudgens and annoying side characters being chased through the jungle, which is very good. I like how the Hood is portrayed here, much more like what I wanted this Hood to be, a man with a plan, someone who's always 3 steps ahead of his opponents, and the interactions between him and Kayo are pretty cool, though I would like to have seen more of him interacting with the Tracy's. what I would also like to see more of, in all honesty, is violence, bear with me, yes, it's a kid's show, but why can't we see MAX kick those 2 thugs' teeth in with kitchen tools, or more importantly, an actual fight between Kayo and the Hood, would it be that bad, unarmed combat, I'd argue no, it almost seems that after Kayo implying the ineffectiveness of Pacifism through various past episodes, the series will still not show violence, it doesn't make sense. that said, watching Thunderbird 1 and 2 ripping the Hood's ship apart was pretty cool, I guess that's as close as we're going to get to seeing them actually straight up stopping the bad guys. Finally, I have mixed feelings on the reveal, yes, they finally find out that Kayo is the Hood's niece, I personally would think that's a great springboard for character drama if it's done right, and the reveal itself is done in a pretty cool way in this episode, but it really looks like they're just going to sweep this under the rug, and I don't think they should, particularly with Scott, this would leave the series on a bit of a cliff hanger for sure I think that would work.

All in all this episode has flaws, and it does have a tendency to bring back bad memories for me, personally. but with that in mind, the focus on characters is something that's cool and something that the show's finally been doing recently, I enjoyed the interactions with the Hood and Kayo and I liked the situation with the Thunderbirds, I just think a more ambiguous ending as to the Tracy's trusting Kayo would have been a good idea. It's still an episode I enjoyed, and it's still worth watching.

By the grace of your training I will not be seduced.

I've really been having some fun with my D3300, while I wait for the ground to stop being a frozen wasteland or flooded swamp, I've been taking some photo's closer to home, and of a smaller scale. By that I mean photos of toys and of a freaky bout of snow we had lately, snow I did a little experiment on that I might post about when I understand what I actually did. So here we have possibly one of the best photos I've ever taken, a very clear photo of the Moon. We also have 2 of the results of a failed attempt, the 2 photos of Kylo Ren, I wanted to take a  photo similar to the one of the Back Series figure but in the snow, and it was a failure, didn't get a single good photo out of about 40. now I have a pair of photos I'm very happy with, the Black Series Ren looking menacing thanks to a use of light I'm extremely proud of, and it is edited sadly, altered saturation, brightness and contrast, the other isn't though, little Lego Ren in the snow, un-helmeted too. the last one is the laziest of all of them, it's my bedroom window during a very bad bout of frost, it's simple, but I like it, and I hope you like them too, enjoy.

Thunderbirds The Man from MI5 review

Here's what you need to know; after some top secret papers are stolen and a man is murdered, International Rescue must play a game they never intended to play, as Penelope hunts down the killers in an effort to retrieve the papers, and gets herself in trouble.

Let's start with the obvious, this episode has some cool music, that and the suitably 60's espionage really make this episode feel like a Bond knock-off, and I do like that. I also like the story on offer here, again, with the cheesy espionage with stolen plans and villainous Europeans in submarines, my problem with it is how long it takes to get going. after a very fun intro with a murder, a theft and an explosion, things really slow down for quite a large portion of the episode, there's a few laughs in there with Parker, but for the most part it's pretty slow. What makes this episode fun again however is a really tense and awesome rescue, but then again I have an issue with that. first off, what I liked, this episode did tension very well in it's big finale as time was running out and the bomb was getting closer to exploding. I liked the scenes with Penelope as she tried to communicate with Jeff, and, while no fancy Thunderbird machines were really used here, the Thunderbirds stuff was cool too, with Thunderbird 1 trying to find the evil bad guy sub and Thunderbird 4 then going in to take them out. my issue comes because there's no explosion at the end, it sounds petty, but the finale isn't climactic, the great tension just fizzles away with no real payoff aside from good guys win and bad guys lose. yes this could still be fine, but for some reason I just don't like the way it was executed, I think it could have been done in a more satisfying way. All in all there are things in this episode that I really like, the music, the fun spy story and Parker, not to mention a very tense rescue, but that tension is all wasted in the end in an anticlimactic finale. I don't really know what to think about this episode since I have such mixed feelings on it, for the parts I enjoyed, I still think it's worth a watch, but it's not an episode I'd recommend.

Thoughts on Strategic Butt Coverings - Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Well Anita, I take it back about your rate of production, 20 days into 2016, and I've already done 2 posts about your videos, including this one. but unlike your last video, that I didn't get pissed off at, I actually got extremely pissed off with this one, which is impressive given how the video is less than 7 minutes long, now, let's be calm and civil and try not to tear this video apart.

I'll start with your title, how do you not realise that this is extremely petty, just how don't you see, I'll go more into this later but hopefully you can see why this is pathetic. ok, Anita, I'm going to take Elizabeth again as an example, tell me, does what I think about her extend entirely from her butt, which is something I don't even recall seeing in the game. the answer is of course yes, because I'm a heterosexual male pig, apparently, that's the vibe I'm getting there, that or women are nothing but pieces of meat, which is it Anita, are you a misogynist of a misandrist? you then go on to point out a load of sexualised butts in third person adventure games that have T or M ratings from the ESRB, I'll get to why that matters later, but then you deliberately mislead people about Tomb Raider Underworld, Lara is dressed like that in 1 level from what I remember, correct me if I'm wrong but she definitely isn't dressed like that for the whole game is she? what's more you don't have to always have the camera angled low looking up at her butt, you can look at other things, unlike Gears of War, where the camera is fixed over Marcus' shoulder because it's a third person shooter, this is not a valid comparison, and further more, you complain that Lara Croft is sexualised, and then sexualise her yourself to prove your point, and then conveniently ignore the fact that Marcus and the other Gears have arms like tree trunks, how are they not sexualised as Lara is, with exaggerated masculine features, and Lara's exaggerated feminine features, it's the same thing, except it's not, because if it was, that would make you wrong wouldn't it? as for Arkham City, you play most of that game as Batman, and just like the Gears, he's a walking tank, meanwhile you focus on Catwoman, whose sexiness is in fact a part of her character, sorry but it's called source material, Catwoman's always been sexy, and she's often had sexual tension with Batman, don't you see Anita that taking that away would be like making Deadpool a PG13, it would be missing the point and a slap in the face to fans of the character. And now, 3 of your examples for sexualised female butts, WET, Bayonetta and Lollipop Chainsaw, not sure if you've played those games, but I have, and I can tell you that they're all ridiculous, some more than others but they're all really over the top and stupid, of course they'll have exaggerated features, they're not grounded in any sort of reality, why do they need to be, other than to suit your delicate sensibilities of course.

and now for your statement that male butts are covered and devs go to "often absurd lengths" to do this, because that's not petty as all shit, because the character designer is definitely sitting there thinking about this shit like it's the most important part of the whole deal. And, I hate to tell you this, but, as a gamer, I do not give a shit about the character I'm playing as' arse, if I wanted sexual pleasure from arses I wouldn't pop in Arkham City and play the Catwoman missions, I'd go else where, but I'm sure that's an issue too isn't it. on the topic of sexual pleasure, does the emphasis on butts in these games reflect the audience, if you're right, and all these  gamers are straight males, why would they want a sexualised male arse, I'd guess they wouldn't but that's just me, and remember those ESRB ratings, most of the games you've cited have T and M ratings, meaning in all likelihood the audience is majority male, which makes me think of Post proc ergo propter hoc, is it possible that the games are in fact a reflection of the gamers and not an influence on them. and now for something you said which particularly pissed me off, butts are defining aspects of characters, are you fucking kidding, are you fucking kidding, no, Drake's arse isn't a defining aspect of his character, you know who else's arses aren't; Joel, Ellie, Elena, Tess, Sully, David, Eddie, Flynn, maybe Chloe, maybe, at a stretch, but certainly none of those others, and you can't blame the devs here because it's all the same fucking devs. also, is it the case that gamers are explicitly encouraged to objectify women in games, is that really the fucking case, is it fucking really, I really doubt it, you know why, because a video game character can be sexy and be developed and relatable, I give you Elena, Lara Croft, Cortana, Elizabeth, Bayonetta, but no, to you they're all just pieces of meat, because you're a misogynist, you fucking are, why else would you say things like females' value only comes from their figure, the only people who've ever said that are stupid fucking feminists like you, because you're a misogynist. and also, a depressing joke, who to exactly, you, because if you're the only one who thinks it's a depressing joke, I don't care. as an example of butts done right, can I just say something, I don't know much about Life is Strange, but you make it looks really fucking boring, my lord, I want excitement and adventure with my games, why the fuck would I want a game set in a high school, am I missing something about Life is Strange or are you saying that all games should be boring life simulators, because I'll stick with my action and adventure, if you don't mind.

Finally we get to your solution to this 'issue' and apparently it's not equal opportunity display, but instead restrict devs' freedom of expression so gamers aren't encouraged to objectify women in games, but instead see them as people, because yes, restricting people's freedom is absolutely the answer, Ms. Fuhrer, of course it is. meanwhile, as we take away real peoples' rights, we will extend the rights they're losing to female video game characters, I agree Anita that they should absolutely be allowed to vote and drive and speak their mind, because they're people, not lines of code. Well Anita, we have reached the end of this long and troubled road, and guess what, I still don't like you, at all. you lie, you spout misinformation, and you propose nonsensical solutions to non existent problems, solutions that actually infringe on people's rights, but that's fine, because the great evil of our time must be defeated, Anita, that evil of course being the terror of butts, hey Anita, I have some advice, maybe, if you're a critic, be a fucking critic, don't be a really petty bitch with a blatant and deep rooted issue with your fellow humans, don't be a victim who asks people for money because you're a poor innocent victim, be a critic. if you do that though all that mone... I mean sympathy would stop flowing in wouldn't it.

Thunderbirds Are Go Undercover review

Here's what you need to know; things don't go according to plan when Parker and Penelope go undercover to retrieve a stolen piece of technology, now Kayo is on the tail of the thief while Scott and Penelope scramble to save Parker.

this episode is a bit different from the normal Thunderbirds Are Go, much like Touch and Go, this episode focuses a decent amount on Kayo and Thunderbird S, as well as Scott, Penelope and Parker, and Colonel Casey. what got my attention immediately was the episode's opening, which had a very interesting and refreshing focus on the GDF and their military operations. From there is an episode I do have some flaws with though, and I'll start with them, first off, why is Ned back, I mean, he's a character we've already seen, and the 2 previous times we've seen him he hasn't really been worthy of a recurring role, it made me chuckle when he first showed up, but then he, and he alone, screws up the entire GDF operation, then I found it less funny, he's a character who is very useless, and this recurring role is unjustified, even if I don't necessarily hate him. I also have a problem with the episode's resolution, in which we see the guy who for the rest of the episode was firing missiles at Kayo and wielding the telekinesis plasmid from Bioshock  just bow in submission after literally not even being touched in a 'fight', then blackmailing his way out in a way that I assume is supposed to be emotional and dramatic, but it just comes across as a bit forced. I also don't like how the episode ends after teasing what could be one of two things, either a very dramatic and interesting character conflict, or a poorly executed OMG moment, I'd rather the former, and it feels like the series has rushed to this, after not featuring much of Kayo and the conflict with the Hood for a while, suddenly it's all coming out in 2 episodes, slow it down a bit, it adds to the drama. Other than that, I very much liked pretty much everything else, I loved the scenes with Thunderbird S, as the bad guy of the episodes fires missiles at her, and I liked the scenes near the beginning with the telekinesis plasmid, particularly when he lifts Thunderbird S into the air, and when he drags down a GDF flyer. And the rescue with Thunderbird 1, while brief, had a very good amount of intensity that I realise has become far more prevalent in recent episodes, and that is very, very good. finally, I laughed quite a bit at the role reversal with Penelope and Parker, and the ridiculous Brazilian show Parker was putting on, that was great.

And overall I do think this is a great episode, yes I have issues, like Ned, and the weak ending, which may lead on to the best thing this series has offered so far, or the worst thing it can do right now, but the undercover story with Penelope and Parker was cool and funny, the rescue was fun, and the Thunderbird S scenes were completely awesome, a very good episode that's worth a watch for sure.

Thunderbirds The Imposters review

Here's what you need to know; after a daring heist is committed under the false identity of International Rescue, the real International Rescue is forced into hiding. While they're grounded, Lady Penelope and her new hillbilly friends are on the hunt for the imposters, in the effort to clear International Rescue's name.

This episode reminds me in a lot of ways of Chain of Command from Thunderbirds Are Go, or should I say Chain of Command reminds me a lot of this episode. And as you'd expect in an episode where they're in hiding, this episode doesn't really feature a lot of Thunderbirds, they do use Thunderbird 3 towards the end, but 1 and 2 aren't used. Normally I'd call this lack of Thunderbirds a negative, but here there's something else going on, and that is the dilemma of International Rescue not being able to operate while in hiding, this is a dilemma that was also used in Chain of Command, but this episode did it better, as there is a heavier sense of defeat here, especially when they learn of a man who needs help and are unable to help him, of course they do, but again, it's so much more meaningful here. The search for International Rescue is also very interesting, with the secrecy of their operation and the extent the military goes to to find them, it's pretty nuts, and the hunt itself is pretty interesting to follow. This episode also has very good humour, with 'agent 47' and Penelope sniffing out the imposters, these hillbillies are very hillbilly, and they're very funny, a few notable times in particular, like with the car, and with a can of beans, never has a can of beans been so funny. All in all this episode is very light on the Thunderbirds, but there isn't really anything to complain about with an interesting story with the hunt both for International Rescue and the imposters, and a very interesting dilemma, top it off with some funny Hillbillies and you've got an episode that's worth a watch for sure.

Old vs New

For Christmas I got something very nice, I got a new camera, it's a Nikon D3300, and if you're wondering, that was a replacement for the Sony DSC F828. It's a bit sad to no longer be using the old F828, but it's primitive compared to the D3300, it really is. that got me curious though, just how primitive is the old gal compared to the D3300, so I had an idea, a few years back I took a photo of a toy dragon on a bird table using the F828, and to the best of my ability, I recreated the photo using the D3300. it's bizarre to see this for me, a photo I took years ago, one I haven't really seen since I did my waste of time photography course, but now in higher resolution, sharper colours, and a slightly noticeable change in positioning, both the toy and the camera. I don't know which I prefer personally, but that's where my opinion will differ from others', I like them both though.

Thunderbirds Are Go Touch And Go review

Here's what you need to know; International rescue has it's work cut out when air traffic control across America goes dark, stranding thousands of planes in the air with no means of a safe landing. Meanwhile Kayo is on the hunt for the only man who could be behind such an event; the Hood.

This episode surprised me right away then it shows Kayo in a chase flying Thunderbird S, we've not really seen Thunderbird S since Ring Of Fire, and never in action, but here it is, and I really like Thunderbird S, it looks cool, and in this episode we see it's cockpit drop down and turn into a bike, and it land on vertical surfaces like an insect, as well as see it's new take off sequence, which is cool. We also see more of Kayo in this episode, which I think is good, as her relation to the Hood and her ability in combat has potential to be really entertaining, and this episode pretty much proves that. I really like the scenes near the end with Kayo and the Hood, and I like the new element that they finally added which is the fact that Kayo is the Hood's niece, this is something that I've wanted to see addressed for a while in this series, and I finally see it, will it be addressed again, probably not for a while, but I liked it here. I also liked how this episode addresses that International Rescue's pacifism might not be an adequate approach to some of the issues they have to deal with, this is something the original series did really well, but them shooting and killing the bad guys like they did in the 1960's isn't very kid friendly I guess, but that's another ramble for another time. If you want something that's less subtle, this episode has some really cool Thunderbirds action too, with Scott and Virgil trying to save a crippled cargo plane, and it all comes to a head in a literal cliffhanger which for some reason reminded me of The Lost World. All in all I really liked this episode, it had a lot of what I've come to love about this new series in the cargo plane rescue as well as some long overdue Hood and Kayo stuff that I loved, plus we finally see Thunderbird S in action, and now I want Vivid to make a Thunderbird S toy, definitely worth a watch.

Darkman movie review

Here's what you need to know; Peyton Westlake is on the cusp of finally cracking the formula to his lab grown artificial skin, until a run in with the mob leaves his lab in ruins, his assistant dead and his face hideously disfigured. Now Peyton is on a quest for vengeance, while also struggling to rebuild his life after his death.

Darkman, in all honesty, is not your typical superhero movie. For starters, Liam Neeson is pretty cool here, while he starts off serviceable, he goes on to become a very interesting and actually very tragic character, and that's one of the things I love about this film, but I'll go more into that later. His girlfriend is actually also pretty cool, nowhere near as interesting, but she still offers something to the story and is very good for adding emotion to Liam Neeson's character. Meanwhile the film's villains are pretty by the numbers, menacing mob bosses and corporate scumbags, but they serve their purpose, and do crazy things like cut off peoples' fingers and use nail guns as weapons, nail guns and Sam Raimi, why does that sound familiar? Now onto Darkman, who is by far the film's strongest element, he is a man with super strength and an inability to feel pain, but he is also a man losing control of his emotions and this is reflected in his actions as his path of vengeance gets his hands more and more bloody, though there is something I take issue with here, and I'll get to it later. More on the monster, Darkman's decent into hate fuelled villainy is very cool to watch, though it is a bit jarring how he goes from lab scientist to brooding superhero in such a short time span. Other than that though the film's story is pretty fun to follow, as some dark deals come to light, and I like how the main baddy of the film isn't some supervillain out to destroy/rule the city/world, but just a scummy businessman, who I guess you could argue wants to rule the city. from the standpoint of technicals, this film came out in 1990, and in a lot of ways, it shows, while the makeup on Darkman still looks pretty cool, albeit nowhere near the same level as the computer enhanced Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, other effects like the green screen don't look terribly good, and this film uses a lot of it, one time in particular when it was used in a really clever way, but the effectiveness is kind of hindered by the aging effects. Where the effects really show their age worst though is in the numerous trippy imagery heavy sequences, but in that is one of the film's oddest charms as well as one of it's hindrances. This film can at times be goofy, stupidly goofy, and there are times when it works, and it's really funny, and those I'd rather not spoil, but I will say those artificial skin masks are very convincing. But on the other hand, when Neeson loses control of his emotions, and the screen explodes with weird imagery and dated green screen effects, it doesn't work so well, and when he runs for is hidden lair while crying like a little girl while also holding a giant pink toy elephant, it just looks down right stupid, I found it funny, and maybe for the reason Raimi intended, but it was really dumb. The few action sequences scattered throughout the film are also pretty fun, one in particular which involves a helicopter, which is awesome.

Darkman is a film I very much enjoy parts of, mainly the fascinating hero, and his decent into madness, but at the same time it's dragged down by some aging special effects and some at times really stupid goofiness, but it has fun characters, a fun story of revenge, and a sweet helicopter action sequence. It's a film I enjoyed, and I'd recommend Darkman, worth a watch.

Thoughts on Godzilla Resurgence updates

I considered sharing my thoughts on the new Godzilla Resurgence trailer when it dropped back in December, but I didn't because I didn't really have any thoughts to share; all things considered it was a pretty naff trailer. All it was was just a lot of people running and screaming followed by the classic 1954 roar, we've seen people running and screaming a hundred times at this point, or at least about 30, and Godzilla probably won't sound like that in the film anyway, I wasn't a fan of the trailer if you couldn't tell. What I found far more interesting and greatly preferred, however, was the poster that Toho released at the same time as the trailer. As you see, it's very simple, a heavily silhouetted profile of the new G on a solid red background, I'll just say I love this poster, because from this I get a much better idea of what the film will be like. I'm guessing they're going for a much darker, more frightening vision of Godzilla, almost horror-esque, going on how A the G profile is very heavily silhouetted and B the profile itself looks fucking freaky, the teeth and eyes alone really get under my skin here, it looks stunning. Oddly what I first thought of when I saw the poster was FNAF 4, in the same way the monsters in that game are nightmare versions of the normal animatronics, this is like a nightmare version of Godzilla, not how he would look in real life, but how he would look in the mind of someone who survived a Godzilla attack, and I really like how I can even get such an idea from a poster as simple as this. This looks to be the kind of Godzilla movie that will be genuinely frightening, at least I think based on the poster. I think back to a scene in the original Godzilla when a mother is cradling her baby and saying they'll be with the father soon, it's a very subtle thing, but it had so much power, at least for me, it's something Godzilla hasn't really done since with the exception maybe of the 2014 Legendary film, but I like the idea of seeing that sort of thing again.


What motivated me to do this post was a few days ago a few pictures supposedly leaked showing the new G, I held back at first, not sure if they were real, but it's since come to light that they are indeed real, so now I can finally talk about them. what you see on your right is in fact what G will look like in the upcoming film, and as you'd expect, I have some thoughts that I'd like to share. first off, my FNAF 4 nightmare Godzilla theory seemed to be very much correct, this is quite different from any Godzilla I at least have seen before, Godzilla has always looked like many things, perhaps most notably a dinosaur, and, in the case of the 2014 film, a giant, scaly bear, but this thing looks straight up out of a nightmare, it makes the dead eyed GMK Godzilla look so tame. let's go into specifics, that mouth, does it not just produce ideas of tearing flesh, it does for me, and I love the texture on his head, it doesn't look like a natural... ok, re word, nothing about that hideous face looks natural, those teeth really do frighten me, those beady little eyes don't help, and the mouth, it doesn't look like a mouth, it looks like someone just took an axe to Godzilla's snout and called the resulting gash a mouth, but really who am I kidding, these are all compliments, this head looks stunning, just like on the poster. What made me stop marvelling and start thinking however was everything else from the stupidly long neck down, come on, that is a ridiculous neck, I know he's a reptile, but come on. immediately you will notice the colour, which in addition to the charcoal grey we love, has some red as well, my initial thoughts were something along the lines of necrosis, given the rawness of the red areas, but now I'm stuck between that and burns. But now I must ask, what could cause burns like that, unless he spent  the last 12 years hiding away inside a volcano, the only thing that can really cause burns like that is radiation, but where did that radiation come from? did it come from Operation Castle, or any other nuclear tests by the U.S, is it caused by radiation Godzilla emits himself, that would also explain the mutated state of his face and teeth, or are these scars from battles either with other monsters or the Japanese military, not sure that a  Maser cannon could cause such total tissue damage, but Maser cannons don't exist and as much as I like physics, I'm no scientist, so I don't know. I don't know what to make of the burns to be honest, so I'm holding my judgment until I see this thing in motion. On the topic of motion, I'm sure I've heard somewhere that this thing is about 20 feet tall and needs 3 operators to make it move, which is insane, and I do like that about it, it's going to the big. On the other hand, those arms look pathetic, I will say I don't like them, they look really small, and I'm not a fan, especially given how monstrous the rest of him looks, those little stubs look weak.

overall though I'm really excited to see this film, Suitmation is back and I fucking love it, the film looks like it's going down a much darker road in turns of mood, and monster, who has never looked so horrific, even with those questionable Necrosis/burns and the downright pathetic arms, I think I'll like this thing a lot more when I see it moving, but for now I do like where this is going.

Thunderbirds City of Fire review

Here's what you need to know; an experimental new gas developed by Brains is about to get it's first field test when a 3000 foot high mega tower goes up in flames, and a family get trapped in the underground car park, with the temperature rising and timing running out, International Rescue must go all or nothing.

I'll start with something that grabbed my attention immediately, the tower itself, it's a really cool idea, and something I've seen a few times in science fiction, what sprung to mind when watching this a few hours ago was Dredd, the idea of a self contained city inside a single, massive building, it's cool, sadly what also came to mind was the 1993 attack on the World Trade Centre. This disaster had nothing to do with terrorism though, just an idiot driver, but this episode does a really awesome job of showing just how big this disaster is, of course it could have been more, but like the atomic explosion in The Mighty Atom, with what they had, they did a great job. It's not really an issue as such, but I still feel they could have better represented the size of the disaster more still, it is a kids show however, maybe that would be a bit heavy. Again though, as the fire consumes the building, it's actually pretty frightening to watch, notably when it takes the car park and when the firefighters are forced to leave, the white hot ferocity of the fire is really unsettling to me for some reason. The family in question are serviceable in their role as trapped family, but their situation isn't as gripping as Fireflash or Sidewinder, they are overshadowed, quite literally in this case, by the inferno above them. When International Rescue show up, this is the most intense Thunderbirds has been for a while, having established that the gas isn't safe, they are now going to use it in a rescue without any further testing, how does that not sound nail biting, and it absolutely is as the smoke gets thicker, the temperature goes up, and the ceiling gets more and more unstable, it really is good shit. All in all the weakest element of this episode; the trapped family, fades into the background with how enjoyable the rest of the episode is, with an awesome and frightening disaster, and a really intense rescue, and without fanboying, more Firefly, and more Mole, icing on the cake, definitely worth watching.

Thunderbirds Are Go Chain of Command review

Here's what you need to know; International Rescue have found themselves in big trouble after their new GDF oversight grounds them. But this new management isn't all that he appears, and now International Rescue must defy the chain of command to save lives.

This episode starts in a very likable fashion with a bridge rescue that doesn't go to plan, I really like this, given how boring I found Designated Driver, this episode starts with Thunderbirds right out of the gate. Then we are introduced to the new oversight, I suppose it's a kids show, so I really want to be fine with the fact he smells so strongly of sinister intentions. Yes the Hood is involved in this sinister intent, but I like how for once, he's not the forefront of International Rescue's problems, and I love what the Hood says to whatever his name was in the jail cell, that's more like the Hood I wanted to see in this series. I also love the specific moment then the GDF transports surround Thunderbird 2, that was cool. It does bug me though, that, even though it's a kids show, I feel this episode is a little preachy with regards to doing the right thing, it's a good sentiment, but more subtlety would have been an improvement. While it is brief, I love seeing more of the Mole, and for some reason I liked the mole a lot more in this episode than the last time I remember seeing it in Crosscut, it was just cool to see the mole. All in all I enjoyed this episode far more than last week, it was more exciting, actually had Thunderbirds in it, and had a more interesting story with a more sinister bad guy, it was in my opinion a bit preachy, but other than that I really like this episode, worth a watch for sure.

Sherlock The Abominable Bride review

Spoilers ahead for Sherlock, you have been warned.
Here's what you need to know; genius detective Sherlock Holmes may have just met his match in this seemingly unsolvable mystery, a string of murders supposedly perpetrated by a dead bride. But the game is afoot, and Sherlock must dig deep inside himself to find the key to solving the mystery.
Second spoiler warning if you didn't spot the first one.

This episode of Sherlock is an enigma to me, but like all things I find enigmatic, I'm fascinated by it. It starts off in a very typical Sherlock fashion, albeit with a very different coat of paint, this time set in the 19th century rather than the 21st. That isn't to say this episode is bad in that regard, even the weakest episode of Sherlock; The Hounds of Baskerville, still has some very good Sherlocky things and I still like it even if it's the worst in the series. When I say this episode starts off in typical fashion, I mean it still has the awesome characters and fast, clever and funny writing I've come to love in this series. But the Sherlock mode scenes in this episode are far cooler then they were in series 1, and they were stupidly cool in series 1, but here time freezes and they're still in the living room but at the crime scene, as the crime happens around them in real time, I adore it. I also haven't been this intrigued with a mystery in this series since The Great Game, which I still hold with A Study in Pink and The Reichenbach Fall as the best episodes of this series, I was really interested in seeing how this murderer could blow her own brains out and then keep killing afterwards, more on that later. Now for something Sherlock has never made me feel, I've been paranoid while watching Sherlock in the past, but I've never been on the edge of my seat from tension with this series, not like I was with the maze scene here, that shit was intense, and the bride was really creepy. And now for some episode ruining spoilers, I feel like the solving of the case could have been smarter, but I'm fine in a way with how the whole conspiracy story comes out. What I'm a bit on the fence about, and what I know is a very can of worms subject, is this episode's representation of the Suffragettes, I get that to some they were freedom fighters and to others they were terrorists, and I am aware that to an extent they were both, again, can of worms, but here we're supposed to see them as both, and they don't go together all that well, they're fighting injustice, by conspiring to commit revenge murders, I get that they're going for sympathy, but it's hard for me to feel sorry for a cult of murder conspirators.

Of course this was after the episode started with the mind fucking, seriously, I watched it when it aired, then I watched it again immediately afterwards just to make sure I got everything, this episode gets really weird, think like the scene in His Last Vow when Sherlock gets shot, but for the rest of the episode past a certain point, and while Sherlock's running around in the 19th century, he's actually returning home from his exile while overdosing on drugs, and the events in the past are a fantasy in his mind to try and solve how Moriarty survived. In that I really, really loved the scenes with Moriarty and Sherlock in this episode, they reminded me of the very best from series 1 and 2, and 3 for about 30 seconds. In these scenes both characters really shine, and it really is a fascinating idea that while Moriarty may be dead, he will never really be gone, as he says himself, Sherlock's brain is a hard drive, and he is a virus, I love how Watson is always there too to save him equally as much, and I must be honest, I laughed when Watson kicks Moriarty over the waterfall. This episode's mind fuck element is Inception level crazy, as he descends deeper into his Overdose and reality becomes impossible to define, it does remind me a lot of the levels from Inception, as be ends up bouncing back and forth from the 19th century to the 21st. It makes more sense to me now after a second viewing, but it's hard to follow,  for sure. The ending also makes little sense, but to my credit, one of my theories from series 2 was Moriarty really did die and that he had planned his return in advance, it looks like they are going that way, but my concern is that it sounded preposterous when it was just a theory, now it appears to be true, and I'm still worried that it won't live up the inevitable high expectations of fans of this show. I'm also however curious to see just what they do now, for obvious reasons.

I take issue the conspiracy element of the mystery to an extent, and the ending makes me concerned, but also equally intrigued to see what comes next. But I don't really have any other issues with this episode, I still love the great characters and writing, I really was interested in the mystery, and I adored the mind fuckery, something I didn't expect and really loved. I can genuinely say this episode is brilliant, I loved it, and it's definitely, beyond doubt, worth watching.

Thoughts on Anita Sarkeesian's Star Wars The Force Awakens review

It's been a while since Anita put out an episode of Tropes vs Women, 4 months, real speedy on the production there. However, I've noticed she's put up a review of my favourite film of 2015, so I watched it. This probably won't be a very long ramble, but I have some opinions on her review that I feel like addressing, and on the plus side, this video was nowhere near as painful to watch as the last one.

Surprisingly I didn't feel that everything she said was in need of refutation, she describes the positive attributes of Rey, and I, thinking she was the best character in the entire film, or for that matter the entire year from what I saw, agreed with a lot of her points. But I do have an issue with point about the significance of Rey's gender, as well as Finn's race, but I'm a regressive dinosaur who thinks that we shouldn't judge characters based on their race or gender, but instead on what defines them as characters, Rey is a good character because she has dimensions, she's emotional, capable, resilient, qualities that make good characters, her gender shouldn't matter, and on the same grounds, neither should Finn's race. This need to have a more inclusive story is something I've never understood, again, why should we care about something that really should be inconsequential to what makes the character, weather that be race, gender, orientation, whatever, are they good characters or not. Anita then says something I still don't fully understand, the binary representation of good and evil creates a regressive and conservative narrative, what? Conservative, you mean like religion, you mean like God and the Devil, I always saw the Empire/First Order and the Rebellion/Resistance as being comparable to the Allies and the Nazis, one standing for freedom while the other stands for power and oppression. Do you mean the Force, Anita, because you say good and evil are clear absolutes in a constant struggle, well, from how I understand it, that's exactly what the Force is, the light side vs the dark side, both must remain in a constant struggle to maintain balance, and as for people changing completely with no complexity, I must simply say Darth Vader and Klyo Ren. If you've seen the films, I'm surprised that you say these characters have no complexity, Vader in particular. While Ren has very serious emotional damage, and clearly suffers in an emotional war with himself, is that not complexity? Finally, I like how you infer that Stormtroopers are people too. Yes, Finn's desertion does suggest that they can be changed, but there's one word that comes to mind, Traitor, it's something Finn is called a few times in the film. But he is a traitor, he saw something he didn't want to be a part of, he ran, and now his former allies hate him, clearly they have no issue with wiping out towns like Finn does, so how could they be changed like Finn was, Finn's change came entirely from within himself, and I doubt people that would call him Traitor have that in them.

This is a little one compared to my last/only Sarkeesian related post, and I, to her credit, was nowhere near as bored or as furious as I was in Women as Reward, in fact I'm fine with some of what she said in regard to Rey, but I take issue with the rest of it pretty much, maybe I'm not in any better a position on Star Wars, since when it comes to my love for Star Wars, I'm still in the larval stage, but I like to think I've at least been sort of interesting with my refutations. Anita, today you haven't pissed me off, I think you're wrong, but this is a much more tolerable video than the last one I posted about.