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Old 12-10-2019, 05:14 PM   #471
Team Jetfire
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

269-2
Takara Tomy- Transformers Masterpiece MP35: Grapple






Rating of worst to best of the Transformers movies continued; see review 208-2, 213-2, 217-2, 223-2, 226-2, 230-2, 234-2, 239-2, 243-2, 246-2, 249-2, 252-2, 257-2, 260-2, 264-2 & 268-2 for previous instalments:

Transformers Movie Rating #2: Bumblebee

The Good- I’ll be honest, if the movie suddenly stopped after the first 15 minutes I probably would have walked out of the theater happy as punch, thinking that I have just seen the best Transformers media to date. As a lifelong fan it was really cool to see a Generation 1 style, Cybertronian battle playout on the big screen. IT had everything I could have ever wanted: Optimus kicking ass, Soundwave and ravage and even StarScream tent ships! It was amazing and almost felt like a little nod to the OG fans, who always wanted a more G1 feel to these movies, but got the Bayverse instead. I also want to give some credit to the Haykey Stienfeild for doing a decent job playing Charlie. Sure some of the scenes and dialogue were cliche or downright silly, but I appreciated that she was not your typical Transformers leading role. Quick shoutout to John Cene as some of his one made me chuckle. Lastly, I'll say that I enjoyed the 80s vibe to this movie and even though movies can never quite get the 80s ‘feel’ right, it was still fun to see it and hear it play out with a pretty great soundtrack.

Pros- Not going to bury the lead, I love Grapple. Quick story (that may or may not be substantiated by my brother, but this is how I recall it). When I was younger my Dad worked for an airline (that seemingly had little regard for his families sanity) and often transferred his position for city to city every 2 years like clockwork. As part of this “deal” was that the company would pay for a moving company to carefully box up and move all of our prized possessions across the country and later unpack them at the destination. This would obviously lead to some breakage of the more fragile items which was covered by some type of insurance claim. Not to let an opportunity go and likely lessen the blow of yet another move, my parents dabbled in some creative insurance claims (to which they aggressively deny, but i’m sure my 6 year olf brain remembers better) and let my brother and I pick out a new Transformer because the movers ***nudge-nudge, wink-wink*** were careless and broke some of our toys while packing them up. And while I’m crystal clear on the events that lead up to us getting the toys I’m a bit hazy as to how the choice was made, but somehow I ended up with Grapple and my Brother ended up with Inferno; so in true fashion, I was now, and would ever be known as a fan of Grapple. Not that there is anything the matter with that as he was a decent G1 figure, but just that he was, well, construction equipment and in a world of Tanks, Jets and Race Cars a crane is not exactly the coolest of alt modes. But.. nostalgia is a hell of a drug, so I thought it would be only right to pick up my old buddy. Overall, this is a really great MP figure with lots of excellent accessories that you would expect from these figures. Multiple faces, 2 helmets, 2 laser hand extensions, a gun, a screwdriver, a number of different crane attachments, some random piece of tech that I vaguely recall him building from the cartoon and even blueprints for said random piece of tech. He also comes with 2 different truck grills for those who can’t decide between a cartoon accurate look or G1 toy accurate look; what a great design choice! Additionally he has a decent amount of articulation and while the transformation is tough, it's not overly difficult.

Cons- I’m sure that there are faults with Grapple, but I don’t really see it. I think maybe the biggest frustration for me is that his shoulders often fall out of place, but that's only prevalent when i’m fussing with him. Outside of that, I think he's a decent additional to any fan’s collection who is trying to fill the nostalgic gap of when their parents committed insurance fraud to get their kid a new toy, or for anyone is into trucks and stuff.











Last edited by Team Jetfire; 12-16-2019 at 06:51 PM.
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Old 12-10-2019, 05:14 PM   #472
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Old 12-11-2019, 05:18 PM   #473
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

270-2
Disney Infinity- Pixar: Sadness



Rating of worst to best of the a the Pixar movies continued; see review 205-2, 219-2, 231-2, 240-2 & 264-2 for the previous installments:

15. Finding Nemo- This is probably the most surprising placement for a Pixar movie as Finding Nemo is pretty beloved and while I recognize that it's a good movie, I just have my own personal issues with it stemming from the fact that when it first came out my son and daughter were born and something about having 99% of Marlin’s family getting murdered and then him losing his one surviving son to that fucking dentist, really struck a chord with me. Seriously if this movie didn’t have such memorable characters It would be at the bottom of my list, which leads me to… (con’t)

Pros: Really great sculpt capturing Sadnesses overall look and also did a remarkable job on her glasses (which is often difficult on toys) and blue coloring. Could actually be my favorite of the Inside Out gang.

Cons: Static figure that is part of a cancelled game.








Last edited by Team Jetfire; 12-16-2019 at 06:52 PM.
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Old 12-16-2019, 06:54 PM   #474
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

271-2
Hasbro- Transformers- Generations: Kup



Rating of worst to best of the Transformers movies continued; see review 208-2, 213-2, 217-2, 223-2, 226-2, 230-2, 234-2, 239-2, 243-2, 246-2, 249-2, 252-2, 257-2, 260-2, 264-2, 268-2 & 269-2 for previous instalments:

Transformers Movie Rating #2: Bumblebee

The Bad- Ironically enough, the worst part of this movie is it’s hamfisted connection to the other live action Transformers movies as Bumblebee is somehow a soft reboot and a prequel all at the same time. For instance we see BB land on earth in the 80’s, but was apparently a WW2 war hero as explained in The Last Knight. Also, Sector 7 is featured in the BB movie, even with a young Agent Simmons, but in the first movie they already know about Megatron and the Allspark so why would the appearance of the Transformers be a big surprise to them? There are a few other examples and it’s not a big deal, but just makes things confusing. My other issue with the movie is perhaps more of an issue with modern ‘80’s period piece films as they don’t get one thing right: how much media,things like tapes, records, CHs tapes would have cost back then. Seriously, it drives me crazy. Charlie is complaining about not having any money but have $300 worth of cassette tapes alone… just sell all that for your junk parks. And while I already praised the soundtrack, the point needs to be made that while these songs originated in the 80s, these were not the popular songs back then. I’m not saying that I want a soundtrack full of Billboard hits, but just being mindful that a soundtrack of hipster b-sides was not an accurate depiction of popular music back in the day. Lastly, while I appreciate the inclusion and badass fight scene between Bee and Blittzwing, it just bothers me that nothing about this character makes me think Blitzwing. Sure, he’s a jet, but not purple, not tan not a triple changer; like why even bother. Hell, even the 2 other Decepticons features were more like Blitizwing than Blitzwing?!?! How hard is it to take a G1 toy and make a movie character out of it?

Pros: I’ll be honest, I was never really a big fan of Kup. The original toy was meh, the old guy schtick was lost on my and I never really thought that they were able to transition him forward to the new Transformers lore like other G1 characters of the time. That said, this figure is pretty outstanding. Overall really nice look from Vehicle mode to robot mode, decent transformation and even clear windors (something that does not happen very often anymore).

Cons: My only issue is the amount of forearm kible that he has in robot mode. It’s the nature of these figures to have panels etc, but interferes quite a bit with the ability to pose.










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Old 12-16-2019, 06:54 PM   #475
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Old 12-17-2019, 07:37 PM   #476
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

272-2
Disney Toy Box- Star Wars: Han Solo.



Rating of worst to best of the Star Wars movies continued; see reviews 215-2, 218-2, 221-2, 241-2, 245-2, 247-2 & 266-2 for the previous instalments:

8. Star Wars Ep 1- The Phantom Menace
The Good: What makes EP1 the best of the prequels? Well for me there are a few reasons. Firstly, and while I didn’t appreciate it at the time, it was a technical marvel with almost seamless integration of CGI with practical sets and effects at a time when it was not the norm. Even the aforementioned Jar Jar Binks played by Ahmed Best, who I feel is unfairly maligned and does not get the credit that he deserves as he was the first fully CGI character to co-star in a live action movie. I will also say that while long and mostly superfluous to the overall story, the Pod Race was a really enjoyable sequence and to this day one of my favorite Star Wars Moments.
Secondly, I appreciate the “pre-Empire” world that Lucas built as it feels completely different than the world that preceded it, yet still feeling like Star Wars. That kind of world building is not a simple task and while it's easy to focus on Lucas’s faults as a director and writer, you have to give him credit for his vision.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly given the power of nostalgia, is all the amazing memories about the build up and excitement surrounding Star Wars during that time; my fond memories of watching the trailer over and over (recorded from TV on a VHS), the countless hours discussing hopes for the movies with my brother and of course seeing and buying all the new action figures that were in plentiful supply everywhere. The hype surrounding this event was amazing and I can’t say if there has been anything like it since.
Pros: I’ve mentioned it before, but it is worth mentioning again, these Toy Box figures work great when the figure is free of impediments, or rather, have no hard plastic cape, skirt or long tunic to get in the way of a better than average articulation scheme. And with the classic “smugglers gear” that Han is sporting, hit fits the bill perfectly and can pull off a number of poses while brandishing his tructly blaster.

Cons: I’m not sure if it is a likeness issue and I’m sure I mentioned it in my review of the Infinity figure which this is based on, but the head sculpt is just a bit off. It almost looks as though they went with a sculpt that resembled a combo of Adam Driver and Harrison Ford; which makes sense for the character, but not the actors portrayal. In any case it’s not unrecognizable, but still curious…








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Old 12-25-2019, 12:31 PM   #477
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

272.5-2
Jazwares- Fortnite- legendary series: Crackshot





Merry Christmas everyone! In honour of the occasion I’ve decided to interrupt my numbering (despite my anxiety about it) and do a quick review on the WalMart exclusive Jazwares Fortnite Crackshot. This may seem a little out of left field given that I’ve yet to review any Fortnite figures, but I’ve actually opened a few and the reviews are forthcoming; I was just excited to open this one before Christmas. I’ll also have more detail on the differences between the Jazwares and McFarlane figures and which I prefer down the road, but to be honest I kinda love em both.

Pros: Much like the other Fortnite figures Crackshot has an amazing sculpt and tons of details for a 6” figure. Couple that with a fantastic articulation scheme, multiple different accessories and facial expressions (not heads), you have a really solid action figure. I also love that Jazewars is raising the bar with innovative designs and sculpts that quite frankly make some of the other, larger toy companies look lazy.

Cons: Too much of a good thing can be detrimental and this sometimes can apply to articulation. I’m good with everything but the hand/finger articulation as it actually makes it more difficult to hold weapons. Also, there is only a wrist swive and not a ball joint; nothing major, but still would have been nice.












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Old 01-01-2020, 12:49 PM   #478
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

273-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Drax



Given all the new details that have emerged from SDCC and D23 I thought I might be fun to give some thoughts on all the new announced projects. Check out review 267-2 for details about the new Disney plus shows.

Phase 4 New Movies

Endgame left some massive shows to fill and with the departure of Spiderman (don’t even get me started) Disney and Feige will have some work to do in keeping audiences engaged. The list for Phase 4 was short and a bit random if you ask me (I REALLY wanted a new X-Men movie), but they have done an amazing job in the past so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

Black Widow- First up and probably the most deserving of the bunch for a solo movie at this point. I know very little of this movie, except that it's a prequel (duh) and that ScarJo is in it (also duh) and I believe that Taskmaster is in it. Time will tell if they can pull it off, but it’s rare that prequels ever work out so fingers crossed.

The Eternals- NO DAMN CLUE. Seriously, I feel like I have some knowledge of comics and superheroes, but I have no idea who these people are. What are you playing at Marvel?

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings- Again, not sure what Marvel is going for here, but in the interest of making all different genres of movies, a classic martial arts movie could be kind of cool. I also give them credit for linking back to the Ten Rings group who were established way back in Iron Man 3.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. My understanding is this will be a legit horror movie, which I’m not really into, but curious as to what will happen. Plus the inclusion of the multiverse is always a fun idea in my book; maybe THIS is how the X-Men will be included.

Thor: Love and Thunder- I’m a fan of the Lady Thor character and story line, so I remain cautiously optimistic of what may come from this 4th Thor movie.

Pros: The 4th and technically last of the GOTG team until the BAF is complete Drax was a fairly big surprise for me both on screen and in toy form. Little inside baseball on this Drax figure, I had originally passed on the GOTG figures when I first saw them at retail. 1. I was not fully into the Marvel Legends yet, and was baffled and put off by the $25 price tag. How times have changed. In any case I picked up Drax as well as a good portion of the wave on an impromptu trip to Phoenix to watch my son play in a soccer tournament. The schedule was fairly open and it allowed much time for toy hunting and I happened upon the entire GOTF wave at Target for $10 each; Even with the exchange it was a deal so I decided to bite and I’m glad I did as most of the figures, including Drax, rock. For real, he has a unique sculpt, great articulation and two blades that fit in to boot sheaths: can’t ask for much more on a Marvel Legend figure.

Cons: My only complaint would be that, aside from a new head sculpt, it looks that Hasbro all but re-used this sculpt for the GOTG Vol 20 figure. Would also have been nice to include another weapon, but seeing as daggers are Drax’s thing, this still works.









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Old 01-01-2020, 11:55 PM   #479
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Re: I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Team Jetfire View Post
273-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Drax

Black Widow- First up and probably the most deserving of the bunch for a solo movie at this point. I know very little of this movie, except that it's a prequel (duh) and that ScarJo is in it (also duh) and I believe that Taskmaster is in it. Time will tell if they can pull it off, but it’s rare that prequels ever work out so fingers crossed.
Have to say having Taskmaster here kinda bothers me being he has a deep history with Deadpool so I was hoping he'd be the main baddie in Deadpool 3.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Team Jetfire View Post
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings- Again, not sure what Marvel is going for here, but in the interest of making all different genres of movies, a classic martial arts movie could be kind of cool. I also give them credit for linking back to the Ten Rings group who were established way back in Iron Man 3.
Don't forget also first seen in Iron Man 1 - in the caves is a flag of the Ten Rings. You can see when they've captured Tony and have him in the cave doing one of those ransom videos there's the flag behind him. So even before Iron Man 3...taken this long to come back around to this story

I think there's also a Ten Rings disciple in Ant-Man 1 when everyone is bidding to buy the Yellowjacket tech near the end of the movie. Tattoo on his neck.
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Old 01-03-2020, 05:07 PM   #480
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Have to say having Taskmaster here kinda bothers me being he has a deep history with Deadpool so I was hoping he'd be the main baddie in Deadpool 3.
Really? I thought he was more of a Avengers/Captain America villain? That said given that DP3 is in production there could be a chance!
Quote:
Don't forget also first seen in Iron Man 1 - in the caves is a flag of the Ten Rings. You can see when they've captured Tony and have him in the cave doing one of those ransom videos there's the flag behind him. So even before Iron Man 3...taken this long to come back around to this story

I think there's also a Ten Rings disciple in Ant-Man 1 when everyone is bidding to buy the Yellowjacket tech near the end of the movie. Tattoo on his neck.
For this movies sake I hope they bring you on as a consultant because that is a level of detail that is surly lost on me and the general public! Nicely done.
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