Thunderbirds Security Hazard review

Here's what you need to know; a routine rescue operation takes an unexpected turn when a kid stows away aboard Thunderbird 2 and ends up on Tracy Island. Realising the massive security risk the kid poses, Jeff plans out his return home while the brothers babysit him and give him a tour of the base.

Let's just get to the grit, this episode is a clip show, a  collection of clips from previous episode of Thunderbirds, specifically Trapped in the Sky, Sun Probe, Day of Disaster and End of the Road, that's 3 episodes I like and 1 I love, so why does this episode really not do it for me. I can only assume that this episode was an effort to stay under the budget after they blew it all on previous episodes, so only about 20 minutes of this episode is new footage while the rest is clips from previous episodes. Admittedly it's a good line up of episodes they're pulling from, but these little clips on their own are nowhere near as good as the episode as a whole, especially Trapped in the Sky, which they left a very important part of out of this clip show, the part that, in my opinion, made the whole thing work. This episode comprising mostly of flashbacks also completely kills the tension, which at this point, how inexcusable that is should be obvious. Maybe it could be salvaged if the episode had an interesting story tying all these clips together, but while it has it's moments of comedy, the story just isn't that good. This is a fairly short review, but there's really not a lot to say with this episode. As a finale it really is a big let down, with a lacklustre story, and the only real meat on its bones being neutralised versions of some of Thunderbirds' best moments. While it pulls from 4 great episodes, it can't hold its own against those episodes, and ends up falling completely flat, I don't think I've said this before, but this is an episode of Thunderbirds that's worth a skip in my opinion.

Star Wars The Force Awakens Black Series Kylo Ren figure

A figure that came out of the Star Wars merchandise Blitz I went through following The Force Awakens, and a figure that set me back about £20. I decided to break away from the stream of Lego reviews, because if I didn't, fellas like this wouldn't get any recognition for months. That being said, lets see how good this guy is.

First up is something that's fairly apparent, this guy's outfit is made of fabric, it's actually not something I encounter often, but I really love the look of the fabric here, it's simple, clean, very well done, and it's fairly high quality too, this aspect of the figure wasn't half-arsed, and it looks great. The fabric also hides a lot of things, such as a soft rubber robe underneath, and his legs, which, while completely lacking in paint, have a great sculpt to them. the fabric continues up to the hood, which as you can see, is a pretty effective hood, giving a good look at the superbly sculpted helmet while also looking very menacing. what's interesting is that when the head turns, the hood actually turns with it, how it does this I do not know, but it means the helmet is never obscured, and that greats benefits the figure's poseability. The only part of Kylo Ren's robes that isn't made of fabric is that poncho looking thing over his shoulder, which, like the robes around his legs, are made of softer rubber, it does stick out from the rest of the figure, with being a different piece made of a different material, but the molding on it is pretty good, and it fits into the robes quite naturally, given the stated standout differences. The arms are, sculpt wise, probably the most unimpressive part of the figure, being fairly simple in their general design, but with a good amount of greebling and pattern. But at the end of one of the arms is one of figure's highlight features, Kylo Ren's lightsaber, which, for its size, has an impressive amount of sculpted detail, and some touches of paint to boot, it's a really awesome looking little piece. The blade is molded with the jagged, unstable look of his Lightsaber from the film, and is removable, though the blade doesn't come with storage and I don't see why you'd want to dethatch it, personally. The Articulation on this guy is also pretty good, with a decent range in the arms and legs that allows him to stand in some great poses, and while the torso and head are more limited, I don't mind, it doesn't detract that much from the figure as a whole. The lightsaber fits in his hand very well and while his articulation becomes very limited, he can hold his lightsaber with both hands.

This is a great little figure, he has some superb sculpting detail on the helmet and lightsaber, the paint is minimal but well done, and most of the figure is covered in very nice fabric robes that are as equally high standard as the figure itself, the articulation is superb to boot. This is a figure I am very, very happy with, and it's a must buy for people who like Star Wars merchandise.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice movie review

Here's what you need to know; in the months following the destruction of Metropolis, Superman has become a very polarising figure, with many worshiping him as a god, and many seeing him as a threat to humanity. One such person is Bruce Wayne, who has become determined to take down Superman and save the world, another such person is Lex Luthor, a scheming little genius with a hatred for Superman, and the power to manipulate and control the 2 heroes for his own evil bidding, a trick he plans to use to destroy Superman once and for all.

This film showed real promise with a fantastic opening sequence that got everything right in my opinion, setting up the character of Batman in a very clever and emotional way. Damn shame though that the film then goes and throws all of that away; because dream sequence. I'll start with what I liked. Ben Affleck as Batman; sure he was a miserable character, but this is an old Batman, it's understandable that he'd become more hateful and grumpy. Throwing away his morals, however, this is something that I'm actually not all that fussed with, at least not now I've seen the film. Him being an older, more hateful Batman, maybe it would make sense that he'd throw out his moral code, which would have been fine, if they addressed it at all in the film, but they didn't, not once, which really just makes it look less like they were trying. When Wonder Woman shows up, she's also cool, less so than Batffleck, but still cool, her character doesn't get the same background as Batffleck, which would be fine if they skipped it to make the film less bloated, but clearly that wasn't the reason. Clark Kent kind of takes a back seat in this film, oddly, with Batman getting more story. The majority of the supporting cast from Man of Steel return here, with reasonable results, they don't complicate things too much, and Jeremy Irons is great as Alfred, though he's not really a butler in this film, being far more involved in tech and strategy. And now for Lex Luthor, who is just off, not in a good way either, his character is just not good, he's crazy for the sake of crazy, and more often than not he's just annoying. I see exactly where they were going with Lex, and they failed, it just doesn't work. And now we've pretty much wrapped up what I did like, and I can come clean, this film is a complete and total mess. Let's start with this, this film is really crammed with things going on, no doubt an attempt to push as much Justice League down our throats as possible, but there was just so much going on, so many stories all happening, and it doesn't come together, it's just a wonky, disjointed collection of stories that are, for the most part, completely flat, like the sub plot with Lois Lane and the mystery bullet, Wonder Woman and her photo, and of course the terrible info dump that happens in this movie; it's painfully obvious why that's there, because Justice League set up. This film is so bogged down by all the crap that it becomes really boring at a point, and its ending is really crap too, dragging out seemingly endlessly, and then finally ending, on a cliffhanger, because Justice League. I swear, people were already leaving as the last shot of the movie was on, then the credits finally started and the Cinema just drained, everyone cleared out, there was no patience or hesitation to leave that cinema.

The film is directed by Zack Snyder, you know you can at least expect some beautiful imagery, and this film has that, great special effects, minus a certain cave troll, good cinematography, and a superb soundtrack. But even that starts to fall apart upon the arrival of the cave troll. And while I, again, loved the opening, some of the imagery just ruins everything, and you'll understand what that means when you see it. I didn't even mention the sodding dream sequences, my god, the dream sequences. Very rarely is a dream sequence used successfully in films, and here's a good example of when it's not. They're like the Justice League info dump, it feels lazy and forced, and it bogs the movie down. But that brings me onto another issue I had, the film's tone was a complete mess too. It's all over the place, one minute it's Lex Luthor being awkward and crazy, then Batman, then Daily Planet, and the tone is constantly shifting to accommodate all this crap, and like the crap itself, it's disjointed and awkward, which is one of the biggest contributors to how boring this film was. The film's tone isn't the only thing that's not consistent, the pacing's off too, one minute you're bored, and then things blow up, sometimes figuratively, other times literally, and the titular fight just kind of happens, without the slow build I think it would have benefited from. The titular fight is cool, but it's hard to get really invested as the characters' motivations aren't really given time to develop, Superman in particular, who's ultimately strong-armed into the fight more than anything. The big finale fight is longer, but even then, the special effects in this fight are a lower standard to the rest of the film, probably down to the presence of an entirely CG monster that looked laughable, followed by an ending that didn't end, ironically enough. Back to the titular fight, the fight itself was really cool, with both of them getting some brutal hits on each other, and neither of them ever really being in a better position, until the fight ends way too soon. It actually comes across as the movie makers wanted to make a Justice League prologue, but they needed some Superman and Batman in there so they could market it as Batman V Superman. It's a great example of how so many films these days feel the need to establish a world and set up a series and spinoffs and what not, even if it compromises the quality of the film as a whole, to a point, I'd call that mismarketing; given that in this 151 minute long movie, about 10 minutes maximum is actually Batman and Superman fighting.

I feel the need to stress that there are things I liked in this film, Batffleck was pretty cool, Wonder Woman was also pretty cool. The film looks great for the most part, has a good soundtrack, and the titular fight is really cool. But the titular fight is only a small part of this movie that is completely rammed with side plot upon side plot and Justice League set up upon Justice League set up, and it all becomes lost in its own inconsistency and lack of structure. I think I found a good summery for this film while we dissected this film and devoured pizza; it's like a beautiful Tapestry, great to look at, but there are countless loose threads sticking out of it, and pulling on any of them will cause the thing to fall apart, it's a messy movie, plain and simple, and I would not recommend it.

Man of Steel movie review

Here's what you need to know; Clark Kent has lived a life unlike most people, having discovered his alien heritage and god like powers at an early age. But his life in the shadows is about to end when a terrible evil finds its way to Earth, one that doesn't intend to take prisoners. Not sure if he can trust the people of Earth, Clark must take a leap of faith and defend his home from Zod and his genocidal plans.
Not the movie I would have liked to review today, for fairly apparent reasons, but that review will come, and I think it would be a good idea to watch, and by extension, review Man of Steel, just to catch up, so here we go.

I really like the opening sequence of this film, taking place on Clark's homeworld of Krypton, and giving us a really cool glimpse at the state of affairs on the dying planet, there's a story there, one you can clearly see even from only about 20 minutes, and it's a really interesting world with politics and society and nuances, it's good stuff. The planet soon meets a grisly fate though, as does Russell Crowe's Jor El, at the hands of Zod. Despite dying in the first 20 minutes, Jor El makes several appearances in this film, and he's a very interesting character, more morally ambiguous than both Clark and Zod, and with just being really cool in the scenes he's in. Zod is more flat than Jor, while they try to give him motivation in his efforts to rebuild Krypton on Earth, he just comes across as an arsehole bad guy, I do however love a brief monologue he gives before the film's final clash, about his reason for existing. He's completely serviceable as a villain, and I don't really have any issues with him. In fact I don't have any real issues with any characters in this film. Lois Lane is a cool character, not being an idiot while also being an adventurous and at times foolish journalist, and I like the story of her trying to hunt down Clark Kent. Jonathan Kent is also a character that I like, probably the most grounded character in the film, I like how he sees Clark's powers as something that he should hide, thinking the world wasn't ready for a god, to be fair this idea has its merits, I'm sure a god being among us would probably cause some commotion. And while I know this is a different take on Johnathan Kent, my knowledge on the source material being kind of limited, I like this take on him, and he really adds to the character of Clark Kent, same as Jor El. Which brings us onto Clark Kent himself, who I do like in this film. I like that he has tried to live completely under the radar, but is driven to help people out of a sense of morality, it's a very likable trait for a character to have, and it is clear that he has lived a difficult life, until he finds a ship crashed in the Arctic, and dons the cape. Clark manages to be relatable, both in his troubled life, and in his own amazement at learning the true potential of his powers, be honest, if you one day learned you could fly, it would be a bit amazing to you too. The effort to make his superpowers as grounded as possible is admirable, but it's not The Dark Knight, sciency mumbo jumbo still can't really explain godly powers, no matter how sciency said mumbo jumbo is. This is, of course, a more serious and dark origins story for Superman, and for the most part, it does a good job with the characters, in my opinion, and the story moves along at a good pace and is interesting enough, what with the stuff about Krypton and the motivations of the characters.

But there is one issue I have with this film, and I know I'm not alone in this issue. like I said before, I really like the opening of this film, with great action, a fascinating world and story, and, as expected of a big Hollywood movie, beautiful special effects, and while it's a very explody sequence, nothing about it ever stood out as overkill, that can't be said for the rest of the film. first up, the effects in this film are top notch, throughout, practically never does it drop the ball from a technical standpoint, and in Zack Snyder fashion, this is a very loud, bright, action packed film. I can kind of see where the reasoning is, that being Superman and everyone he fights in this film are basically gods, so they would cause a lot of destruction when they clash, but even then, this is a little much. it's a bit of a spoiler, but near the end of the film, I remembered Godzilla Final Wars, and how the final battle of the film takes place in a wasteland, but that was Godzilla, a 300 foot tall, radioactive lizard, the fact that they're both gods is pretty irrelevant when you consider that Godzilla doesn't care how many civilian casualties there are, while Superman should be actively trying to at least keep it as low as possible, something he doesn't seem to do in this film. The action is insane in this film, it's huge, it's violent, and it is destructive. But it is definitely too destructive in my opinion, less could have been more in this film's action, and it's not like a morally ambiguous issue, where Zod's defeat was more important than civilian lives, just how completely fucked Metropolis is at the end of this film just kind of gets forgotten about, something that really goes against the idea of Superman being any kind of savior. I do only have 1 real issue with this film, but it's a big one, in every sense, and that is disappointing.

Man of Steel has a lot going for it, I like the characters, I like the story told by and through these characters. I like the special effects in the film also, and I do like the film's exploration of morality. but that kind of goes out of the window in the final act when all hell breaks loose and shit gets really destructive, an over the top level of action and destruction that brings a lot of the film's momentum to a halt. But I do very much like what I think works in this film, and for that reason, I still very much like this film, and would recommend it.

Thunderbirds The Cham Cham review

Here's what you need to know; International Rescue decides to do some snooping around after a third USAF weapons transport is shot down, again while a certain song plays on the radio. But now they must solve the peculiar riddle of what a chart topping song has to do with a series of attacks on the USAF, turns out there is indeed more going on here than meets the eye.

I'll just come clean and say it, coming off Attack of the Alligators and Martian Invasion, 2 great episodes of Thunderbirds, this is a step down. It does open with a strange sequence in which everyone is seemingly transfixed by a song playing on the radio, oddly it did remind me of my days in Sixth Form, but it was weird there, and it's weird here. Then we are introduced to one of the strangest stories in the series, as a weapons transport is shot down following the broadcast of the song, causing Alan to speculate that the 2 events are linked, something that would have been completely dismissed if it weren't for the fact that It's happened 2 previous times that aren't shown in this episode, convenient isn't it. Which isn't to say this plot isn't interesting, but I feel the big reveal could have come a bit later in the episode than it did, allowing for more tension and mystery, 2 things this episode isn't exactly without, but could have used more of. I do however like the Cham Cham, that being how the song can bring down a plane, it's an interesting idea that is actually less ridiculous than it sounds, what is ridiculous though is how the episode never really explains the story behind this Cham Cham, why are the baddies after the weapons transports, where does the song actually come into it, things like this are just kind of forgotten rather than getting the explanation I reckon they needed in order to be taken more seriously. The episode does however have another great thunderbirds finale, with a runaway cable car, it's ruined by the Parker escape, but the sequence itself is great. All in All this episode is just a bit flat compared to the 2 before it, I like the Cham Cham itself, but it's lacking any background or nuance, it has a great ending until a certain point, but misses some great chances to build a more interesting mystery, were it not for what it comes off the tail of, I'd say this episode is worth watching, and I'd still recommend it, but it's just not what it could be.

Lego Star Wars Droid Escape Pod set

Another smaller set, this little thing only took 23 minutes to build, not to say it wasn't a fun build, and not to say I don't have my thoughts on the mini figures. First we'll delve into the vehicle that this Droid Escape Pod set features, the escape pod which R2D2 and C3PO escaped from the Empire in in the first Star Wars. I have very mixed feelings on the vehicle itself. Post stickers, I very much like the look of the pod.  But I am not a huge fan of applying stickers, and this set really does require them in order to basically not look like crap. While the detail and complexity of the nose and engines are very good, the main body is just a solid grey colour, and when I first built this thing, thanks to my dislike of stickers, I really didn't like the way this set looked, it was boring to look at, simple as that. with the stickers on, it looks far better, giving it more visual intricacy, that it was sorely lacking. The set does slightly redeem itself in that the pod is hollow, and can be opened up with 2 hinged doors to reveal seating for R2D2 and one mini figure, the interior was actually the most interesting part of the build, and I like the colours and design. the mini figure you can sit in there is C3PO, 1 of the 2 mini figures I bought this set for, he and his fellow Droid R2D2 being 2 of my favourite characters in the film, and I really like the figures. R2D2 is as simple as he looks, consisting of 4 pieces and 2 points of articulation, but that's fine, and the print on him is incredible, full of nice little details and great colours, the same can be said of the more conventional C3PO figure, and he has a great little head sculpt. of course though, while they're my first R2 and C3, I know previous versions of these guys have been released, in fact, previous versions of this very set have been released in the past. while this is a very different looking design to the first 2 versions though, the only standout difference is the inclusion of 2 Jawas, and while they do also have very good torso prints, I still don't think much of them, in the same way I think little of the Thug from the Speeder bike set, they aren't interesting of even named characters from the film. All in all this set is a very mixed bag, it comes with 2 great mini figures, and 2 more that I'm pretty much indifferent to. and while the pod has a nice interior, and looks decent with stickers, it looks crap without them. That and the fact previous escape pods have been released and previous R2D2's and C3PO's have been released, makes this a pretty redundant set if you already have 1 or both of those 2 things. But if you don't, like myself, I would recommend this set, simply for the Droids.

Gyo review

First, a story, as my reviews of Ten Little Roosters and Lazer Team would suggest, I am somewhat a fan of Rooster Teeth, and as such, am a bit of a fan of their weekly podcasts. On Podcast #365 they discussed something that got my attention, a horror comic called The Enigma of Amigara Fault, a short read which I then hunted down and read, the basic premise is an earthquake opens a fault on a mountain, revealing hundreds of human shaped holes, people are drawn in looking for their holes, and then disappearing into the holes, it's a really short read and its ending is genuinely nightmare educing, so I won't spoil it, but I would very highly recommend it, if you like losing sleep. Anyway, after losing a few hours to Drr Drr Drr, I decided to look into the comic a bit further, and found something cool. It's a horror Manga from 2002 written by a Junji Ito, who from what I've heard is a sort of Stephen King of Manga. The Enigma of Amigara Fault is a bonus comic that came with one of Junji Ito's most famous Manga, Gyo. And like you'd expect, I read the premise of Gyo, was immediately hooked, and decided to hunt it down and give it a read. And now I've read it, and I'm going to do, I don't know, a review? they're my thoughts on Gyo.

Here's what you need to know; Kaori's sensitive nose starts causing conflict between her and her boyfriend Tadashi while on vacation in Okinawa. The source of the smell however turns out to be something far worse than they could imagine, as an army of undead fish begins rising from the deep and swarming the land, bringing with them not just a terrible smell, but something far more dangerous and evil.

In typical review fashion, I'll start with the opening, which sees our main character, Tadashi, scuba-diving around a sunk WW2 warship, and narrowly escaping sharks. This introduction to Tadashi sets him up as a pretty cool character, as he talks shit to the sharks after his close shave. Tadashi is a pretty cool character, very relatable in his attempts to remain level headed and his compassionate actions towards not just Kaori, but even nameless bloaters in the second half. His girlfriend however is less likable, as someone who has a psycho ex girlfriend myself, I just am not a huge fan of Kaori, god damn, asking her boyfriend to brush his teeth 10 times a day just so they could kiss. it isn't long though before the creepy imagery starts appearing, as we see one of the monsters. First up, the artwork in this Manga is great, I really liked looking at these panels, not just the nastier ones, but also the more tame ones, they are very well drawn and they do a fantastic job of making this piece of writing feeling more alive and animated. which is somewhat ironic when you see the first of the monsters, a dead fish running around on a set of artificial metal legs. I must admit, the first panel I ever saw of Gyo was the panel of the walking fish crushed by a drawer, and while it's not the vilest imagery I've seen in a Junji Ito comic so far, it's among the most fascinating. These are very unique monsters, they've very unlike anything I've seen before, and they're really interesting, just the sight of them is a catalyst for rampant analytical thought, hey, that sounds cool. what I mean by that is I at least can't help but think about these things, how do they work, what are they for, how are there seemingly millions of these things. A few of the questions I have are answered in the Manga, by Doctor Koyanagi, a mad scientist who seems to have a very extensive amount of knowledge about these secret biological weapons that were buried after the Pacific war. How they work doesn't make a huge amount of sense, but it's a fascinating machine, the bacteria that causes the smell is also an interesting plot point, but it kind of loses itself in the second half, throwing out it's pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo for full on balls to the wall craziness, as the 'bacteria' shows it's true colours. In that, while the second half definitely has more disturbing imagery, the second half loses some of the intrigue and horror the first half had, even with the inclusion of a mad scientist. The second half, in addition to going insane, has a sequence that's just weird, maybe it makes sense in some way I haven't yet conceived, but it just felt strange. Another thing I'm not a huge fan of is the gap between the first half and the second half, with an entire month going by in the story while Tadashi is in a coma. I finally am not a huge fan of the ending, no spoilers of course, but I'll just say the ending is somewhat lacking in finality.

All in All Gyo was a very interesting read, while I am not a huge fan of the direction the story takes in the second half, and the full on craziness the story goes into in said second half, the first half is brilliant, it's unique, it's thought provoking, it's disgusting, and it has the power to infest your nightmares with its metallic scuttling. Again though it's dragged down by the much weaker second half. But I still enjoyed my time reading Gyo, and, if you're up for some fucked up imagery, food for thought, and an interesting story, I'd definitely recommend Gyo.

Oh, we're not done yet. Gyo comes with 2 bonus stories, the shorter of the 2 is The Sad Tale of the Principal Post, a brief, slightly tragic, and very enigmatic little read that I really like, it does't drag itself out with explanation, it's just a puzzling little tale. But by far the more frightening of the 2, and perhaps even more frightening than Gyo itself, is The Enigma of Amigara Fault. I've already explained the premise, but I'll add that it masterfully feeds off of the very real and very human fears of isolation and claustrophobia, and has a an ending that will fuck your sleep pattern right up. They are both really good, and they add even more to Gyo in a way it didn't need, but I'm glad they do. Definitely give The Enigma of Amigara Fault a read, I'd very highly recommend it.

Tremors 5 movie review

Here's what you need to know; Burt Gummer's getting old, his legendary Graboid hunting escapades now mostly forgotten, until a Graboid attack in Africa summons him back into the hunt. But these African Graboids are different, bigger, meaner, and packing a host of new surprises for the Worm guy and his new sidekick, and they intend to make this Burt's toughest hunt yet.
Given my love of the Tremors franchise, it's surprising that I didn't know of this film's existence until about a month ago, but that in itself may not be surprising when you consider that the last one came out over a decade ago, regardless of lack of critical, need to know information, I have now seen Tremors 5, so lets go.

I do like the intro this film has with Burt Gummer and a recap on the life cycle of the Graboid, while I'm not the biggest fan of the Graboid life cycle and it's various forms, I like that they included that, for the 4 people in the world who will see this film before seeing any of the others. it's very cheesy, but I think that's rather the point. following that is a less interesting sequence in which we see our first casualty, the scene loses a bulk of it's quality when our Graboid snack pisses himself, I don't actually know if it was meant to be humorous, I genuinely don't know. Burt is still the slightly crazy hardcore survivalist he's always been, but he's old now, and while that has changed, very little else has, it's good that I think he's a great character, because this is definitely a less interesting appearance of Burt. What saves it is Travis, his new side kick, who is yet another side kick, but what I like about him is his shit talking, his persistence, something no Tremors sidekick has lacked so far, and I have come to like the backstory he's given, and how it ties into Burt's backstory, which get's a bit more fleshing out here too. Travis is actually really cool, and he's a very close second with Burt in characters I like in this film. it's a good thing it's such a close second, because there really isn't a lot of competition in any main role, there's a crazy old helicopter pilot who is completely badass in the 2 scenes he's in, I did want to see more of that crazy, because I really liked him. Van Wyk is also kind of cool, I like the betrayal element of his character, and I actually think he could have been given more significance as a blocker. Nanbi is just kind of there, apart from being a badass shot with a bow, she really doesn't do much in the film, her friend Baruti is much better character, purely down to the fact that he's funnier, or at least has a few funnier moments, and everyone else really just drops off the radar, even coming off of Tremors 4, this is a pretty weak line up of characters, but being honest, it's hardly a letdown. I say that for reasons I'll go into later. Plot wise, I wouldn't exactly call this weak though, taking place in a different place in the world, a place with a completely different culture, that is touched on in the film, and I like the story between Burt and Travis, I also like the Van Wyk stuff, is it as interesting as 2,3 or 4, no, is it as straightforward as 1, no, but I do think that the story here is not a bad one overall.

What may be considered bad however is the directing and the special effects. I actually expected the special effects to be completely terrible, as this film has all but abandoned the use of practical effects, but the CG isn't actually terrible, it's not good, but it's decent. what is more bad however is the directing, particularly during the action scenes, where the film tends to deploy fast cuts and shaky cam, 2 things I don't like, 1 effect that really isn't good and makes the action worse is the guns, very often it's very apparent that the actor is both not holding a real gun, and not making an effort to make it look real, 1 particular incident happens in a chase involving an Ass Blaster, it's laughable. I always say it's stupid to think there are people in the world that don't know now a gun works, but I'm in self doubt now. back to the effects because there are some design choices in this film that I have mixed feelings on. First up, the African Graboid, while I think the leaner, more spiky appearance of the Graboid is less cool than the American Graboid, I still think the redesign is pretty cool looking, and I think it's stupid, but I still like how they can fire out of the ground like missiles in this film, the baby Graboids in Tremors 4 did something similar, and I liked it then too. the Ass Blasters however, I wasn't a huge fan of them in Tremors 3, and while they're slightly less stupid here, they're still really stupid, and they too have received a radical redesign, making them look less like Ass Blasters and more like something out of the 2011 version of The Thing. And the grabbers just make no sense, why do the tongues become independent of the body, it's stupid. Something I found really weird and I didn't like was the nesting nature of the Graboids, it just comes completely out of nowhere, given that the Graboids in the first 4 films never went to such efforts, while they were smart, they never showed consideration for each other, seemingly only helping each other when it was mutually beneficial. Speaking of smart, the Graboids in this film don't show any level of intelligence, which, especially after Tremors 4, is not great. again speaking of intelligence, I said in my Tremors 4 review, that some things in the film don't make sense, but this film has it beat, a lot of things here are just utterly nonsensical, and I'll spoil one of them here, towards the end of the film, a character sends up a 'flare' to get another character's attention, the flare is a flaming arrow, in the middle of the day. how visible would an arrow be in the day, in the air, moving fast, on fire or not, and you must also consider that the person in question is distracting a Graboid, doesn't make a lot of sense that he'd take his attention off the monster chasing him to scan the skyline for an arrow, it really doesn't. But finally, back to something I touched on in the first paragraph that none of these things are really a let down, because, in all honesty, I actually had no expectations for this film, I thought it was going to be completely terrible. So, I'm actually pleasantly surprised that I did like parts of this film, and a film that defies expectations like that can't be that bad.

But, considering what I did like in this film, mainly Burt and Travis, I'd still say this is the weakest in the series, only about 3 of it's characters stand out, it has funny moments but not many, semi decent effects, but bad directing in the action scenes that detract from the entertainment they could provide. Like, Tremors 4, I appreciate it for going in a different direction, but I definitely enjoyed Tremors 4 more than this film. It's not terrible, much to my surprise, but I still wouldn't put it on the same level as the first 4, while it isn't something that should be actively sought out, I don't think it should be avoided at all costs either. I'd advice against passing up on it, it's a passable monster movie.

Tremors 4 movie review

Here's what you need to know; the tiny town of Rejection, Nevada looks doomed to become a ghost town after a massacre at the local silver mine. Not happy with the mine's closure, it's owner, Hiram Gummer visits the town to oversee its reopening, only to be greeted by an unimaginable enemy that now comes for him and the few that stayed in the doomed town.

Elephant in the room, this is not a sequel to Tremors 3, in fact it's set in 1889, it's marketed as a prequel, but in many ways, I don't think that's a fair label to stick on this film. First up, this film has a very good introduction, showing us the massacre in the mine and not being afraid to get a bit gory, it sets the tone just as well as the intro's to Tremors 2 and 3 did, and that this is definitely a less silly film than 2 or 3, particularly 3. This being set in a different century to all the other films, you get a completely new line up of characters, so how are they. Time for the second elephant in the room, they still got Burt in this film, but his name is now Hiram, and he's, at least at the beginning, a very different character to Burt. While Burt was a hardcore survivalist with an unhealthy obsession with guns, Hiram is a rich, privileged businessman who's never held a gun in his life, and that element of his character creates some interesting friction with him and the rest of the town, who haven't lived a life even remotely as comfortable as his. As the film progresses, Hiram changes, becoming more liked the hardened Badass that actor Michael Gross played in the previous 3 films, which is very cool to see, and while he comes across as just a rich arsehole, there is actually more to his character that's explored here, and I really like that. Juan, one of the miners who survived the massacre, and the first character we meet in this film, is also pretty good, while he's not as deep as Hiram, and not remotely as interesting, he's very much like Rhonda from the first film, coming up with schemes to outsmart the Graboids and figuring out their tactics, and when the big throw down you know is at the end of this film comes, he's a badass. Christine and Tacopa are similarly good, but for different reasons, both of them are more interesting on their own, Christine is a more central character to the story with Hiram, while Tacopa is just cool, bringing up his heritage and speaking of his people's legends of spirit demons, unlike China, I wish there was actually a bit more of that, but we'll get to China. Black Hand Kelly has a more minor role, but in this line up, he's where things start going down hill, he's a cartoon, a gunslinger in all fashions, donning all black and armed with lingo like hog leg and lead pushers and jingling some spurs, the over the top gunslinger nature of him is just odd, and it does detract from both his character and the film over all. And Finally we have the Changs, 1 of which, Pyong Lien, I actually do like, when he talks about China, he has the highest comedy to annoying ratio, Lu Wan and Fu Yien are, however, pretty annoying. Lu Wan doesn't shut up about China, and that's not hyperbole, like Black Hand Kelly, it's stupid, Fu Yien is the most wooden character in the film, and it can get really annoying at times just how flat he is, more so as we're supposed to care about these people, and with the youngest one of all of them, he's probably the one you care about least. And as a specific example of how wooden he is, I refer you to the execution of the line "ok, it's done."

This being set in 1889, it's labeled as a prequel, but it really isn't one, there's practically nothing relating this film to the original Tremors, I don't see this as a problem, in fact I'd say it's good, it allows this film to stand alone from the rest of the series. However, what does relate them, in a very flimsy way, is a few really odd coincidences. Like there being a Gummer in this film, and for that matter not 1, but 3 Changs, the Changs I can kind of understand, the market running in the family, eventually being passed down to Walter from the first film, but Gummer makes very little sense when you look at it from any other angle than they needed Michael Gross in this film, I like his character a lot, but it does seem really, really, coincidental, in fact distractingly so. And there are some things in this film that just don't make any sense, 2 in the last 10 minutes of the film that, while really cool to watch, kind of fall apart as you think about them. But there is one thing in this film that I love, and that is the Graboids, no Shriekers in this film, or Ass Blasters, just Graboids, which is something I am very glad to see. And the Graboids are really cool in this film too, showing their intelligence in a way they haven't since the first film, and first appearing as babies in a really cool scene. Something else that is a massive improvement over Tremors 3 in particular is the special effects, while the CG is still not the best, it's used a lot less frequently, and the props look far more organic and convincing here, which is, again, a massive improvement. The first 3 Tremors films all ended in a climactic final duel between the surviving humans and the Graboids/Shriekers/Ass Blasters, and this film is no exception, having a really cool battle at the end, a battle that contains 2 of the already mentioned things that don't make sense, but you don't notice it in the moment, it's just cool, but others in the film are less forgivable, for example a wrecked wagon, and a single shot involving a wooden bridge, simple little things that are just head scratchers, they're nit picky, but they do distract from the film overall.

This is a more serious film than Tremors 3, making it harder to have fun with this film when it abandons reason, but what works here really works, Hiram Gummer is great, Juan, Christine and Tacopa are all good, but the film's characters has a darker side in the sillier and more annoying characters like Black Hand Kelly and the Changs. But it's a very refreshing return of the Graboids as the primary threat, and the improved special effects are cool to look at. And the battle at the end is really fun, if at times nonsensical. All in all though, I appreciate this film for going in a different direction and taking it back to basics, I like the new setting, me being a bit into Westerns. I like about half of the characters, and I love the finale. Which means I would definitely recommend Tremors 4, worth a watch.

Thunderbirds Martian Invasion review

Here's what you need to know; when a film production is sabotaged by the Hood, trapping the stars in a mountain, International Rescue answers the call. Little do they know that they've flown right into a trap, as the Hood waits with a camera to steal their secrets.

 

This episode is a very interesting one, I'll immediately start with one of the most interesting elements, the film production, it's just your average 60's sci fi film, but I have a bit of a soft spot for such old sci fi films, 50's films like War of the worlds, Earth vs the Flying Saucers, and of course the Toho productions of the 50's and 60's, and the Jerry Anderson Supermarionation productions, oh wait. I could go on for a while, point is I like old sci fi, and I like this episode for that. It's not a terribly huge element though, overshadowed by the rescue and the Hood's evil scheme. The rescue is a rather procedural one, having a lot in common with a lot of previous rescues like Pit of Peril and Terror in New York City, with people trapped underground and water flooding in. But like Pit of Peril, this rescue uses really cool machinery, a new rubble clearing machine that in addition to actually looking like it might be useful in real rescues, is just a sweet machine, up there with the recovery vehicles and the Elevator Cars, easily. that sums up the first half of this episode. Where I start loving this episode in the second half, with Scott and Virgil on the Hood's tail in a really fun chase sequence. While not the most eventful chase in the history of Thunderbirds, it's awesome to see the Thunderbirds actively going after the Hood, and the 2 engaging in a game of cat and mouse that takes many foolish and funny forms, including a tunnel misdirection, a foot chase through a forest, and a stupidly funny aerial chase with a stolen plane. I will say that the chase ends a bit abruptly though, and the fate of the McGuffin is left strangely uncertain, as is the fate of the Hood and his mysterious client General X. But all in all this is a very enjoyable episode of Thunderbirds, I like the rescue, the Martian Invasion film scenes, and the really cool chase with the Hood. the ending is a bit sudden, but other than that, I really like this episode, and very highly recommend it.

Once more from the Pit

I still know nothing about this building, it's such an enigma to me for some reason, I really want to know that it is, and why I can't not go down there with my camera from time to time. I tried to go down there on New Year's Eve, but I hit one hell of a snag. while I was on my way down there, a Hail storm rolled in, and I got completely battered. When I finally got down there, after a very long, very cold walk, I found I couldn't get close because the building was under a few feet of water, so I turned back, without gloves on because they fell off on the walk down and I was too numb to put them back on. fast forward to Monday this week, the sun was out, it hadn't rained for a few days, things looked good, so I braved it once more. Unfortunately the building was still flooded, less so than last time, but my only way in was under a few inches of mud and water, and because I'm an idiot, I didn't even consider wearing proper footwear. I did my best around the front of the building though, and got some good ones, I also got some good ones in a nearby farm building in a lesser state of disrepair, and there's a toy in there of course, enjoy.

Tremors 3 movie review

Here's what you need to know; 11 years since they first surfaced in Perfection valley, Burt Gummer has made a name for himself as a professional Graboid hunter, bent on their eradication. Things get complicated however when the government gets involved after a sudden resurgence of the Graboid menace in Perfection valley, and the Graboids don't intend to make things easier, and it turns out they've got even more surprises in store for the residents of the valley.
This film was the first in the Tremors series I watched, like many films I loved growing up, it was introduced to me by my dad, about 14 years ago, this film and the other 3 had a big impact on my early years, and watching it now, through my more developed critical lens, I think this will be fun.

This film has easily the best intro sequence in the series so far, and one that got 6 year old me hooked on this film instantly, as Burt climbs into his anti aircraft cannon and lays waste to a heard of Shriekers. Of the 3 films in the series I've reviewed so far, this is by far the silliest, which makes a lot of the film's stranger elements right at home. One such element is Burt, who is completely insane in this film, it's clear that the Graboids have completely consumed his life, with his compound surrounded by steal reinforced concrete graboid barriers, and his installing seismo's all over the valley to form a sort of Graboid alert grid. he's at his most cartoony here too, showing up at the beginning with military overalls and an army beret, constantly armed with shades and often accompanied by trumpets, is it any wonder that 6 year old me thought this guy was some kind of god. he, and for that matter, this film is also the funniest in the series, with some good laughs coming from Burt, his interactions with the valley residents and the government agents come to end his Graboid hunt. But while Burt is a complete badass, he's the only character that's particularly interesting, Jack is just Jack, he's big into the zen and chi and other such spiritual nonsense, but the persona he puts on for his Graboid safaris is downright annoying, and while Burt is regularly producing laughs, he isn't as funny, he can be summed up really by his name, Jack, not very unique or interesting, he's just Jack. Jodi is more interesting, Walter from the first film's niece, she's in Perfection to claim what she thinks is her family's claim to fame, being among the first people to discover Graboids, and she has build a business off of Graboid merchandise. as you'd expect, a romance starts to blossom with her and Jack, and if you think that's a spoiler, it's really not. while I've generally been a bit harsh to romances in the Tremors series so far, this is the least invasive or bolted on feeling romance, it's also the flattest, which is probably the reason. it's about as rich and interesting as the flavour of paper, it's not very well done. Miguel's back from the first film, and apart from becoming seemingly more Mexican, he's the same character he was in the first film. Melvin's back too, and while I like what they've done with his character, I fucking hate him, you're supposed to though, so good job film. Mindy and her mum are also back, but to be honest, I really don't like them in this film, while the mum's bearable, Mindy is just plain annoying, just a moody, statement obsessed teen, most fascinating. I've been a bit unkind to he supporting cast, but to be fair, Burt, Jobi and Jack are pretty much our mains, and Burt's awesome, and Jodie and Jack are serviceable, so the hateable supporting cast ends up being kind of irrelevant in the end. Plot wise, this is also the silliest so far, with the government getting involved and wanting to research the Graboids, and a new monster I'll get to in a second, as well as the characters.

While Tremors 2 was also a Direct-to-video film, this is the one of the 2 that really shows it, with a heavier reliance on CG than Tremors 2, CG that looks worse than the CG from Tremors 2 too. it actually bothers me how much CG was used in this film, and how bad a lot of it looks, for example, El Blanco, one of the Graboids in this film, is usually portrayed with CG, and it looks crap. But the times when props are used, and when they don't reuse footage from the first Tremors, the props aren't even all that good, the Groboids and the new monsters just look robotic when props are used, it's just not convincing. The new monsters are called Ass Blasters, yep, that's the name they give them, and in addition to having a really stupid name, they're just stupid things. They are cooler looking than Shriekers, being bigger and meaner looking, and they can fly as well, which I would be able to get if they didn't propel themselves with their farts, again yep, they're called Ass Blasters, and they launch themselves into the air by lighting their farts, if that doesn't sound stupid, I don't know what to tell you. so all in all, I don't like the Ass Blasters, and funnily enough, 6 year old me agrees, he didn't like them that much either, though obviously more than current me. So, the special effects are pretty shit across the board, and the new monsters are really stupid, any redeeming features? thankfully, yes. Like I said at the start of the review, the film opens with an awesome mass murder sequence with an anti aircraft cannon, but this film is riddled with some really cool sequences, 3 in particular, the final battle with the Ass Blasters in a scrap yard, a sequence when an Ass Blaster breaks into Burt's compound, that ends in easily the film's biggest laugh, and a 3rd I won't spoil, other than it involved Burt's Graboid barrier, and a chainsaw. this is a very fun film throughout in all honesty, whether it be because the film is genuinely fun or funny, or if it's just being so stupid and shit that you can't help but laugh, I can't say I didn't have a lot of fun watching this film, even now as a young adult, because I'd be lying, it's so much fun to watch.

Tremors 3 is a strange beast, some elements really work, like some of it's comedy, Burt and all that surrounds him, and the interesting take on the Graboids this film does. Other things sort of work, like Jack and Jodi, Miguel, and the government element. but then there are some things that don't work at all, like the Ass Blasters, and the often terrible special effects. But then the film makes up for that with how stupidly fun it is, with fun action sequences, some really good laughs, and just a fun tone overall, regardless of whether you're laughing with or at this mess. I still had a lot of fun with Tremors 3, and with all its glaring, hideous flaws, I'd still recommend it, just don't expect a very, what's the word, good movie going in, expect something stupid, cheesy and fun, worth a watch for sure.

Lego Star Wars Battle on Takodana set

This set was an impulse buy when I saw the mini figures, but regardless of reasoning, I now have this set, and it took me 87 minutes to put together, and it being the first structure set I've bought since my induction into the realm of Lego, it was an interesting build, so lets go.

First up, this is a set that recreates a location from the film, a location that, in the film, was a very nice place, a big palace on the shore of a lake surrounded by forest. Like all structure sets I own in the Mega Bloks line, this set doesn't quite capture the majesty of the location, which is admittedly a shame, that said, this set does do a decent job of recreating the front door of the palace, and it looks really cool, with the pillars and the nicely designed angled walls, and of course the stunning design of the door itself, it might not come across in the photo, and it is of course a small detail but I love that door, it uses textured bricks as well as the usual flat ones, and the doors can be opened from the back with a simple yet cool sliding mechanism. Speaking of playability, this set comes with a few specimens, first up, a slider under the door that can be filled with black studs, of which this set comes with plenty of spares, and flicked to launch said studs into the air, presumably representing an explosion, doesn't work as well in practice as it does in concept, but it's a neat idea nonetheless. The structure can be split in half, and the other half, while being visually less impressive, comes with more interesting features, like a collapsible wall on the top that can be felled with a wheel on the back, and the tree that can also fall over, a bit to easily with mine perhaps, but I put issues like that down to the individual product and not the design overall. it's a simple piece when it comes to it, and it is just a wall, with lots of moving parts, yes, but it's just a wall, no interior, but overall it's a cool wall, with a nice look to at least 1 half of it, and a surprisingly big number of things it can do.

But I'm not going to lie, I bought this set for the mini figures, and I'll be honest again, this is a great line up of figures. From left to right, we have 2 generic Stormtroopers, which you can never, ever have enough of, I really like their prints and those helmets are stunning, just look at them. both of them come with blasters, but one of them also comes with a riot stick from the film, which made for an awesome little fight in the film, and a sweet little toy weapon here. Finn is identical to the one that came with the Falcon, and now you can see the alternate face they both come with, this Finn however comes with a blue lightsaber, which is cool. Maz Kanata is a pretty cool little mini figure too, literally, she's tiny, with the shorter, none posable legs, and while I have no issue with the figure itself, the prints and head sculpt are both top notch, I do think her colours are a little light, compared to the film anyway, from what I can see the colours are correct, just a few tones lighter than in the film itself. fortunately there's only one shade of black, which means they can't get the colours wrong on the reason I bought this set. Kylo Ren it awesome, I adore this mini figure, his prints are simple but well done, his rags are well done with a cape piece, he comes with his hilted red lightsaber, which is a cool piece, and of course he comes with a helmet and a hair piece with an alternate face, which you see is very angry, he also has a more neutral face, and a really cool helmet. All in all these mini figures make the set, at least for me, I love the Stromtroopers, the Maz and Finn are cool, and I love the Kylo Ren figure. The structure itself is a nice display piece over all, and it comes with some playability that's worthy of credit, overall, I'm very happy with this set, and I'd highly recommend it, if for nothing else, the Kylo Ren makes it a good deal.

Tremors 2 movie review

Here's what you need to know; Earl has moved on with his life after his brush with the Graboid menace in Perfection, but now an attack in a Mexican oil field has brought him back into the Graboid hunting business, but while Earl and his new side kick get to hunting, the Graboids have something new in store, and soon the team learn just how unprepared they really are.

Tremors 2 starts off well enough, with an oil field worker fleeing from a Graboid, in a fairly well done sequence that ends like you'd expect it does. Next we meet one of our returning heroes from the first Tremors, Earl, who is perhaps a wee bit cartoony in this film, not overly so, about as cheesy as Burt and his wife were in the original film, He's missing a bit of the friendship element without Val, and that does detract from his character, but he's still not bad. Speaking of not bad returning characters, Burt's back, easily the coolest character in the first film is still the coolest one here, with his big-ass truck packed with 2 tons of C4 and his Grizzly Big Boar anti-tank gun, it's silly, but he's still a badass, and it's still awesome. the new characters are less interesting however, Grady may be annoying to some, and I understand why, thanks to his "sunny disposition" and his near constant talking, but I personally don't mind him, he's a serviceable side kick and when he first see's a Graboid is a pretty amusing scene, and his recklessness can also be funny at times. Kate on the other hand really isn't all that interesting, while she does come up with some cool plans here and there, she's not as interesting or as smart as Rhonda from the last film, and while I can get over the bolted on romance element from the first film, the romance element in this one really is difficult to ignore, it's stupid, and feels even more bolted on than the first one. they're really the characters you're going to be stuck with, everyone else either dies in five minutes or is some oil field worker with about 5 minutes of screen time, usually followed by death. the only one who's name I remember is Pedro, and that's because his name is Pedro and his death is easily the most gruesome. All things considered then, I like 3 of the characters, and am moderately indifferent the rest of them, it's a shame that Kate is such a flat character and the romance element is equally as flat, and as the film approaches it's explosive conclusion, the romance just starts becoming clumsy. Speaking of conclusions, I like at least the first half of this film's story, it's cool that the film doesn't take place in the same place, instead in a new location, and I really like the idea of Graboid hunting. It's disappointing that the Graboids are no longer even remotely as threatening as they were in the first one, but blowing them up with RC cars and C4 looks like so much fun, it really does, and it makes for a few really funny scenes both with the seismograph and with the RCXDs Earl, Grady and Burt deploy to kill the Graboids.

But while Graboid hunting with RCXDs looks like a crazy amount of fun, the Graboids in this film have a trick up their sleeves, and I don't know what to think about it. on one hand it is a cool idea that the Graboids can go through metamorphosis and become something new, but on the other hand it is stupid that what they turn into is weird dodo looking things that can only see heat and reproduce by vomiting up babies after eating enough food, while this does provide the crew with a new threat to face as the Graboids stop being dangerous, they just look silly, which is made all the more strange when you consider the very well done build up to their reveal, just like the Graboids in the first Tremors, they aren't shown until the end of a slow burn as they learn that something is happening to the Graboids and whatever it is is also destroying cars and radio equipment, but it's intentionally humorous how small and odd looking they are, and any fear they could have built around them is extinguished in the process. that said, as they crack into the food supplies and their numbers start exploding, it does get interesting, even if it gets to a point where the familiarity of the crew stranded on high ground bickering started getting tired, but I will say I really like this film's finale, which is considerably bigger than the first, and louder, and more destructive. This is a monster movie, so now let's go into special effects, and unlike the first one, it's a bit of a mixed bag. a lot of the time Tremors 2 uses models and props for its effects, which are as cool here as they were in the first one, but this film, like the Graboids, has a new trick up it's leave, and like the Shriekers, it's somewhat hit and miss. That trick is CG, this is a post-Jurassic Park world after all, and let me tell you, it has not aged all that well, at all. At best, it's not the worst CG used in a film from the 1990's, that I've seen anyway, and considering the film's budget, it could be worse, but it still doesn't look great, the practical effects, as you'd expect, look better, and actually still look pretty good.

There are some things in Tremors 2 that I really like, like how much fun it looks to hunt Graboids, the interesting new setting and the very well done practical effects, but the characters are a mixed bag, and the new monsters are too strange to really go either way, they just don't make a lot of sense, and some of the recycled formula from the first film does feel a bit tired, but that doesn't detract from how much fun the first half of this film is, or how awesome it's finale is, all in all I like Tremors 2, and I would recommend it, for sure.

Busy Week 2

A few months ago I did a post stating I had a job, as one would expect, I was quite happy with my job, but as I do with my life in general outside of movies, games and materialism, I try to keep stuff about myself and my life out of the stream, which means I don't talk about my job, but I will today, because I have good news. I got a permanent contract, oh hell yes, now I can stay there as long as I want, until I monumentally fuck up, I say until and not unless because I have no respect for myself, which oddly is what at least 1 of my colleagues tells me to do more, but self respect is something I'm  not good at. not a lot of substance to this one, but there's not a lot to say, I got a permanent contract, meaning this sonic camelid is here to stay, at my place of work, and wow that was a shitty joke. On a side note, sorry J, but you're stuck with me, and my sarcasm, get comfy.

More on Ghostbusters

So, it's been a week, and the numbers are in, it's pretty damn apparent that the horrid, evil, slimy, sexist, misogynist shit lords like myself have come out on top, just look at that like/dislike ratio. I do genuinely love the response this trailer has got, what with the majority of people saying it looks like garbage, the Feminists saying all those people are sexist, and the Intersectionals declaring that this new Ghostbusters film is racist, it's nice to see a diversity of ideas, but my opinion still stands, I think that this film looks awful, and my opinion won't change until I see it and it's actually good, or if they release a trailer that changes my mind.

Well would you look at that, they released a second trailer, and that like/dislike ratio doesn't look any better, though obviously we're dealing with smaller numbers given this trailer's newness. so, let's see, will this trailer be an improvement, will it change at least my mind. First off it's nice to see that little tweak at the beginning with the 4 scientists saving the world thing, I'll get back to that. For the most part this trailer starts off about the same as the last one, with Wiig getting puked on by a ghost, but the 2 trailers deviate from that point pretty much. The problem still stands however that the film just doesn't look funny, the jokes they kept from the old trailer still aren't funny, and the new ones are somehow even worse. Oh how funny, Wiig can't open a door, oh look, no one will catch Jones when she goes for the crowd surf, and I quote, "Ok, I don't know if it was a race thing or a lady thing, but I'm mad as hell," you know, I was trying to avoid thinking that this film is actually trying to push a political message, but I guess I was wrong, clearly our new friend Mr Feig is making this film not from a place of love for Ghostbusters, but from a place of needing to push his precious agenda, why? Did he see what happened to Joss Whedon when he put the art of cinema before his agenda, is he scared his fellow cultists will attack and harass you like they did him, come to think about it that's actually a pretty valid reason, until the Intersectionals show up and he realises he will never win. Also, Feig, another suggestion that this film is more about your politics than it is Ghostbusters, you say you wanted the funniest people you know, if so, why are all 4 of them women, it's a strange thing that you wanted 4 funny people and all 4 of them happened to be women for no real reason, it's even more interesting that you think people critical of this film are misogynists, I'm sure there's no coincidence here. I feel also about that Leslie Jones line that this trailer is less of a trailer and more of an attempt to mitigate the damage from last week's trailer, like that line is addressing the bozo Intersectionals. the intro caption was changed to 4 friends instead of 4 scientists, at least they did some research and learned that only 3 of them were scientists, but here's what I love, this is a completely new story with completely new characters, so why are they bringing up the original film, when those events never happened in  this film. Simple, the same reason they're still using the soft piano Ghostbusters theme, to pull at your nostalgia to try and get you on board. When out snagging my Hanley haul me and a friend discussed this film's audience, and it basically doesn't have one, people who like comedies won't see it because it doesn't look funny, people who like Ghostbusters won't see it because it's bastardising something they love, and the chick flick market won't see it because it's sci fi, it's a guy movie. Who remains then, the feminists and SJW's who have rallied to your side like the good little drones they are, they won't like it because, like I said earlier, you will never make them happy, they will always find a problem. Which ironically did make me laugh when Chris Hemsworth showed up and Wiig gave him the job because he's hot, because there's hell to pay for sexually objectifying a woman, but a man, no issue, it's funny, really consistent and not at all hypocritical of you. back to my previous point however, this film has no audience, so will it do well at the box office, I can't say no because I can't see the future, but on a hunch, it's chances don't look good.

In the past week, the bloodbath that has been the response to the first trailer has been very funny to watch, certainly funnier than the trailer itself, but now, with this new trailer, they have not improved anything, this film still doesn't look good, in fact this new trailer makes it look even worse. I didn't even mention that bit at the end with the boob ghost drawing, well done, a joke like that might make a year 5 or 6 class laugh, but that just wasn't funny, that plus the Hemsworth hypocrisy and the stupid Leslie Jones line really tips it for me, this is a worse trailer, well done.

*Addendum
Just throwing one of these in, I found another upload of the International trailer on a Sony channel, I thought I'd put these different numbers here, given how this upload has more traffic and a response that is still no better.

Thunderbirds Attack of the Alligators review

Here's what you need to know; a secret lab hidden deep within a south American swamp has invented something extraordinary, a chemical that can mutate creatures and force them to grow to enormous sizes. Things quickly go very, very wrong however when a small amount of the chemical contaminates the surrounding swamp, and the resulting mutations begin unleashing hell on the lab. Trapped in their lab, the scientists' only hope is International Rescue.
There are some Thunderbirds episodes I have stronger memories of from my younger days, this is one of them, one that was up there with Trapped in the Sky and Pit of Peril as one of the greatest episodes this series ever offered, now I'm older, let's see how it holds up.

This episode is nothing short of a technical marvel, saying it plain, the use of live alligators for the mutations was extremely well done, and the mood of the swamp and the house is established beautifully, as the storm rolls in and the house goes dark for example, it's spooky stuff, as is the swamp surrounding this creepy, creepy house. back to the Alligators because they really are the star of the show here, the scenes with them destroying boats and wailing on the house are really cool and really well done, even if it's sometimes pretty apparent that they're just babies, when that isn't noticeable, the scaling is very good at showing these mutations' size. which leads me onto story, another strong point in this episode, it starts off in the spooky swamp, where we see the very mad scientist looking lab, and the resident blocker, a boat driver with some nefarious schemes, this is a pretty interesting story with this growth chemical contaminating the swamp, it's all got a very don't tamper with nature vibe to it. When the Thunderbirds show up, you would think they'd be at least a little shocked at seeing a 30 foot alligator, but they must be professional I guess. This is a pretty cool rescue, with Scott getting into bother in the house while Virgil, Alan and Gordon are outside tranqing all the Alligators. which then leads me onto another strong point of this episode, the tension, this episode has some damn intense moments, 90% of which of course involving the alligators, one particular scene with Alan and an alligator stands out, because it was awesome, and very tense. Finally, this episode even throws in a bit of humour at the end, and another alligator, can't have enough of them.

All in all this episode is just amazing, it has everything a good Thunderbirds episode needs in the proper proportions, and it has a really interesting story with shady science in a swamp and mutant alligators, also, did I mention it has mutant alligators, absolutely a must watch.

Lego Star Wars Rey's Speeder set

A considerably smaller set than the Falcon, this one took me only 20 minutes, that's £1 per minute, still, it comes with 2 mini figures and a bike, so let's check it out.

As usual I'll start with the vehicle, which is Rey's speeder bike from the Force Awakens, and it looks really cool, I had less fun building this thing than I did the Falcon, but I'm happy with the look of the outcome, with a nice rust colour on the body of the bike, and a fun design overall with the use of parts, 2 such cool uses are grid plates on the top and front, not visible in the picture, but they're cool. the bulky shape of the set just does it for me though, normally I like more intricate designs with my Lego and Mega Bloks, but here I just like the simple box shape of it, along with the engines on the back, which interestingly incorporates some playability into the set. by turning the rear engine, you can open the body on both sides, exposing a very tight space containing what I assume to be a storage chest and the sled she uses once in the movie when going down the sand dune, really I don't know why they included it, it's not something I take issue with, I just find it strange. the Bike also includes 2 stud shooters, one on either side, not very movie accurate from what I remember but cool none the less, and visibly along the left side it has storage for Rey's staff, which I love having, and some other junk that I guess they needed to fill space with, like the sled, I don't take issue, I just don't know why they included it, especially given that, when I think about it, I prefer the look from the clutter free right side. the figures included in this set are hit and miss, while I like the new head piece they put on Rey, underneath it's an identical figure to the one included in the Falcon, just with a bag, which is a nice touch, the head piece is pretty nice though, so I like having a duplicate Rey with the head piece and bag. The other figure on the other hand is less interesting, an Unkar Thug with a crowbar, while the print on him is very well done, he's just another troop in the army as I call figures I have no real place for, again though ,I do very much like the print, I'm just not fussed about the figure overall. All in all I very much like this set, it comes with a duplicate Rey from the Falcon set, but with some awesome accessories including that damned staff, and a thug which I remain indifferent to while still liking the print on him. but the highlight of the set is the awesome looking speeder, which has a cool design, a very nice look with the shape and colour, and some playability to boot, I like this set a lot and would highly recommend it.

Tremors movie review

Here's what you need to know; handymen Val and Earl are sick of their existence in the middle-of-nowhere town of Perfection, Nevada, and decide to leave, but when their attempt to escape comes to a halt after a series of gruesome deaths, Val, Earl and the rest of the tiny town find themselves trapped in a fight for survival against a most unusual foe, one that lurks beneath their feet.
Recently I was in Hanley snagging another materialistic haul, and I stumbled across something interesting, Tremors 5 on DVD. Since I have a soft spot for the Tremors series, I grabbed it, and will watch it after sitting through the first 4 movies, because I'm like that, that of course means starting with Tremors, so here we go.

This film starts off introducing us to Val and Earl, who are, in my opinion, both really cool, the shit they through at each other is funny to watch, and the film's opening does a good job of showing why they're so anxious to leave, Perfection is a tiny, quiet little town with a population of 14 that's literally in the middle of nowhere, in a desert surrounded by mountains and cliffs. While scenically beautiful, it's a bit of a shit hole, and you get why they want to leave. Val and Earl, in addition to constantly giving each other shit, have a believable friendship in this film, and they're just fun to watch. while they're technically the main characters of the film, this film, at least more in the second half, focuses more broadly on the whole town, so how are the townsfolk. Burt and his wife are my favourite, they're a pair of Ex-military survivalists with a huge collection of guns who live in a bomb shelter just incase of world war 3, you've got a fairly good idea of what they're going to be like from that description, but that doesn't stop them from bringing the fight when the monsters show up, and when they do, it's completely badass. the less conspiratorial residents include a graduate student named Rhonda, who is also a pretty cool character, perhaps the smartest person in the town, she figures out the monsters pretty quick, and while that kills a good opportunity for mystery, I think it's beneficial to the film as a whole for reasons I go into later. Rhonda is also pretty fun when she thinks up ways either to escape the monsters or to distract or scare them, I did say she's smart, and it's fun. The Chinese shop owner, Mexican farmer, and idiot kid all really serve to add variety to the line up, which isn't to say they're not good, because for the most part they are, perhaps with they exception of the idiot kid, but I think that's rather the point. Those 3 however are the most memorable of the supporting cast, the rest of the town is pretty whatever, either just there to die or there because won't someone please think of the children. This film has a very straightforward story, it's actually very strange to see a film that's as straightforward as this, there is no big baddie, there's no big mystery of say, where these monsters came from or what they want, this film is just about the people in this town trying to escape.

This may sound boring, but this film actually has very few dull moments, it's not a very long film, but for it's length, it's a very well paced film, even the slower moments of which this film has many, are still fun because of the interesting and at times very funny characters that occupy them. And this brings me back to something I said about Rhonda earlier, how she figures out the monsters pretty fast, killing any mystery about at least what they are, this isn't a negative, in fact it streamlines the film's story, cutting out any unnecessary baggage that would come with for example more information on their origins or their purpose, they simply must escape, that's what matters, simple, and good. I've used the word monster to describe the Graboids for long enough, but these monsters that are after the crew in this film are called Graboids, and they are awesome. while cutting it pretty early on, this film does open with a bit of a mystery, with a not so slow build towards the big reveal, the reveal which is really awesome, the Graboids are enormous worms that hunt by sensing vibrations in the ground, and when they are revealed they look crazy, with their mouths which I think I can best describe as a demonic cross between a flower and a mantis mandible, with freaky mini tentacle monsters for tongues, they're just a funky looking creature. The film makers didn't slouch when filming these things either, the special effects used in the film are, even now, stupidly good, with good old models, puppets and camera trickery instead of CG, and like I've stated many, many times, when done right, models and props trump CG with ease, here is a superb example of it done right. Really if I had to pull an issue I have with this film out, I'm not a huge fan of the romance element of the film, I think it was actually added on to the film after test screenings, if that's true, then it would explain how bolted on and unnecessary it feels, it just seems like they needed a kiss at the end, when a subtler approach or even just removing it entirely would have left the film on a better note, in my opinion. finally, this film isn't all sitting on rocks and artificial romances, from time to time, shit goes down, and it is stupidly cool, either when the Graboids are cleaning house with the humans, for vice versa, it's mad, and I love those scenes.

I love this film, I have since a very young age, and even now, as a young adult, I still have a huge amount of fun with this film, it's got cool and interesting characters, stuck in a fascinating situation, hunted by really cool monsters, and there isn't a single part of this film I don't like, even if the romance element feels like dead weight. It has really cool special effects, a simple and fun story about survival and escape, that has fun and interesting slower moments, and sweet louder moments, including a sweet basement scene I didn't touch on specifically in the review, but it's nuts, Tremors is absolutely a must watch.

Ghostbusters trailer thoughts

This is a film that has torn my innards up from the minute I heard of it's existence, I love the original Ghostbusters, and would be very excited to see another look at that world, but I have always had doubts that this film would be what it needs to be. Elephant in the room, the all female lead cast, I just have to ask why, why is it necessary, I'd argue that it isn't and making the lead cast all women for no other reason than 'reasons' is an arbitrary attempt to separate the film from the original and appeal to an audience I don't think would really give a shit about Ghostbusters, but that's because, like I've said in previous posts, I'm a retrograde dinosaur with really problematic views on such matters, and what with my inherent privilege as a male, my opinion automatically carries less weight, because equality, feminism rant over, for now. Another issue I feared I would have is the effects, undeniably the original Ghostbusters has very stylised effects, with the bright coloured, glowing and creatively designed ghosts, this is something I always feared would translate poorly into a film with modern computer effects. And finally, neither of those issues would really bring the film down for me if Harold Ramis was writing this film, but for obvious reasons, he's not, rest in peace you genius, my fear is that the film won't be funny. and luckily for me, it seems that all 3 of my biggest issues with this film are present in this trailer, talk about confirmation of prejudice.

I'll start with what I do like in this trailer, the story, at least from what I can gather from this trailer, sounds pretty cool, with an evil force causing increasing amounts of paranormal activity in New York, and the new Ecto-1 looks really cool, and I don't dislike the rendition of the classic Ghostbusters theme in this trailer, it's good. Now, on to what I am not a huge fan of; none of the characters look interesting, they just look like clones of the original cast mixed in with lazy stereotype comedy characters, McCarthy and Wiig look like our knock off Ray and Egon with their scienciness, Leslie Jones looks like our knock off Winston with the added comedy stereotype of big sassy black woman who I'll go out on a limb and say is probably a Christian too. Then there's Kate McKinnon's character, who in all honesty does look like the most interesting character in the film, based on that she's an engineer, but even still, she, like the other 3, just doesn't look all that interesting. Now for the equipment, I have mixed feelings on the more weaponised design of the Ghostbusters equipment, it makes sense, given how aggressive some of the ghosts can be in this world, but that lost me at the point McKinnon went Akimbo with the guns that at first glance kind of look like the MR6 from Black Ops 3, that was dumb. Now for my second gripe, the effects, again, the bright coloured, glowing ghosts of the 1984 film were great, and the effects used to achieve them was perfect, but I was scared and it seems am completely right in thinking that with modern CG effects, those same ghosts will look terrible. And they even did the courtesy of giving us a side by side and what the actual fuck did you do to Slimer, he looks like dumb, cartoony shit, it's laughable. More over the more weaponised equipment would also suggest this is a more action heavy film than the original, and it doesn't need to be, that fact that it seems to be going that way really bothers me, like the arbitrary casting it just seems pointless and stupid. But who knows, maybe this trailer will at least give me hope for the film's clever and funny script, how's about fuck no, this trailer made me chuckle once, when they introduce the Hearse and Leslie Jones says "It's a Cadillac." what the ever loving fuck did you do, seriously, this trailer made me chuckle, not laugh, chuckle, once,  fucking once?! This is by far the thing in this trailer that pisses me off the most, the film does not look funny, to the point that I think maybe I'm the problem and I'm not getting something, or maybe I'm right and this film does not look funny, fucking hell what have you done.

I wanted to give this film a chance, I really did, but this trailer has gone and scrubbed all that away, this trailer was crap, showcasing an attempt at respect for the original film that looks completely terrible with the new CG effects, characters that don't look interesting, and worst of all a script that doesn't look funny, this film may just prove me dead wrong and be good, but I highly doubt it, it looks shit, and I do not have my hopes up.

*Addendum
Haven't done one of these in a while, and these are being thrown in before I put up my thoughts because I'm annoyed and wish to be even more annoyed, so after writing the post above, I dug into some of the reactions to this trailer, and some of the controversy surrounding this movie, here are some favourites of mine scraped together from a quick google search.

Brianna Wu, Victim extraordinaire, unironically tweeting about sexist double standards regarding this film, well done.

Matt Patches pointing at the 'Misogynist Ghostbusters Fanatics' and saying they're all ugly slime balls, well done again, just keep white knighting and maybe someone will fuck you, also, ad hominems aren't arguments, I say ironically.

The clearly not ideologically entrenched director Paul Feig describing backlash against his arbitrary alterations as "Vile, Misogynistic shit", that's twice we've seen the M word so far.

Kadeen Griffiths of Bustle.com compiling a list of '12 sexist reactions' to Ghostbusters and including some 'thoughtful responses'
:Ain't a all female cast in Ghostbusters 3 a Lil sexist? The movies gonnae be a flop anyway so maybe it will teach Hollywood a lesson... tweeted @DonoftheDead80
Griffiths Mcsmugface responds with Answer: Was putting an all male cast in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 more than a lil sexist? Survey says... yes.
to which I refute, who gave a shit in 1984, answer, no one, but then this movie and self righteous dimwits like yourself have to make it all about gender, so now people care, when they shouldn't, well done for first creating and then exacerbating an issue.

And finally, the juicy self righteousness of Allison Shoemaker's Consequence of Sound article Five Reasons the Ghostbusters Trailer Has Us Worried, in which she says:

 For those too horrified by the idea of a female-driven comedy franchise to use the analytical parts of their brains, this could be an enlightening exercise for you: Go ahead and type out some sexist nonsense if you feel the need. Get it out of your system; it’s good for the digestion. Then delete it, copy and paste one of these selections, and thank us later. Simply put, you might be afraid of no ghosts, but you sure as shit should be afraid of getting publicly shamed on Twitter.

Well fucking done you tool, congrats for completely missing the point of Ghostbusters, unironically saying people are not analytical, describing your article as 'an enlightening experience', I'll try to hold back the masturbation jokes Allison. Having previous said there are 'many' who dislike the trailer for 'valid reasons', she then keeps on wanking by dismissing criticism as 'Sexist nonsense', and then says people should be afraid of feminists publicly shaming them on Twitter, congrats for making your ideology sound bigoted and intolerant of different opinions, ironic isn't it, you brainwashed harpy.

And that's the Addendum taken care of, and my feminism rant completed at the end there, come on Anita, I'm getting hungry.

*Addendum 2
made post upload, updated March 3rd
Just Had to throw this condescending bint in here, and give her a polite message, fuck you.
Molly Fitzpatrick on Fusion.net, Sexist backlash to 'Ghostbusters' trailer is already here, Angry baby-men hate the new 'Ghostbusters' trailer.