Review - Transformers Movie Legends Blackout

The first Transformer that appeared in the movie was Blackout, and boy did it leave an impression on the viewers. But after that initial attack, we do not get to see Blackout until the final street battle, where it whisk in and out, and finally back during the Megatron vs Optimus Prime. It was sadly destroyed by the human with some lame shots.

Today's review is based Hasbro's Legends class Blackout.

Hasbro's Legends series has been around for some time, starting with the Transformers Cybertron series. They are small versions of their counterparts in the other classes, and have very simple transformation. The transformation itself might not be the same as the original sequence, due to the size of the figure.

Packaging

Blackout comes with the standard Legends class packaging, with the card altered to feature the movie prints.

Robot Mode


In robot mode, Blackout has the following articulations:

• ball-joint shoulders
  
• swivle elbow
  
• ball-joint hip
  
• ball-joint knee
  
• rotating main and tail rotor blades

Note that the ball-joints have limited movements due to the design of the figure. Joints are tight.

Transformation



Transformation is fairly simple. The only difficult part is getting the legs, which form the lower half of the helicopter to click in place. It gets stuck at the outer groves, but you just have to force it in.

Vehicle Mode




The helicoptor's main rotor blades are divided into 2 sets (upper and lower) of 3 blades, and they click in place to form the 6 blades and rotates as a unit. This is a good design, and does not leave you with loose blades that spin out of control.

Overall


A nice figure, and nice collection to the other flying vehicles like Evac from Cybertron series.

Haul of the Day - 05 Aug 2007

Took advantage of the 2-day 20% discount at Metro and snag the following at Causeway Point branch.

• Hasbro Transformers Movie FAB Frenzy (read that this will be some exclusive in Japan)
• Hasbro Transformers Movie Legends Blackout
  
• Hasbro Marvel Super Heros Punisher and Ghost Rider 2-pack (interested only in GR)

Haul of the Week

Just picked these up from TFH.

• Takaratomy Transformers Movie Basic Ironhide
• Takaratomy Transformers Movie Lawson store exclusive metallic Bumblebee
• HyperHobby Sep 2007 with clear Transformers Movie EZ Bumblebee
• Takaratomy Transformers Movie Basic Jazz
• Takaratomy Transformers Movie Basic Brawl
• SDCC 2007 exclusive 6" Marvel Legends Stan Lee (Thanks to Calvin !!!)

Haul of the Day - 24 Jul 2007

Got myself a pair of loose Transformers Movie MA-1o BumbleBee from TFH. These were selling like hot cakes. As of lunch time of the stock arrival, they were completely sold out.

Article - Transformers Toy Designer

Found this interesting article, via PingMag, about a Japan-based Transformers toy designer.

While you are there, checkout this article on MisFormers as well.

Haul of the Day - 22 Jul 2007

This figure has been mysteriously flying off the shelves. There were not in abandunce, but I did not figure that they were popular as well. So I did not pick them up when I saw them at TRU or Carrefour about 1 month ago. Now they are no where to be found, even in department stores. Luckily I stumbled on 2 pieces at Causeway Point Kiddy Palace today, and quickly snag one of them.

And while suring the net today, I found out that Series 2 (Battle Pose) of the 4" figures have been released in US. Man, I have not even completed Series 1. With the lack of figures in the stores, I am skeptical that we will ever see the remaining Series 1 figures, let alone Series 2.

DC Comics for Oct 2007

GREEN ARROW: ROAD TO JERICHO TP, cover by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens.
Another nice Green Arrow cover, this time by Scott McDaniel. I do not follow SM's art, but do take note sometimes. I like the angle drawn.

That's about all that caught my attention, though there are some other good covers out there.

Incidentally, October also sees the solicitation of DC Minimates Wave 7, available on Mar 2008. 2 heavy weights that stands out from this wave are Gorilla Grodd and Clayface.

Haul of the Day - 21 Jul 2007

Went for a toy run, organised by shaun, together with arthur and pro bro.

We meet at 1:00pm at CSC, then to SpawnAsia (which as predicated, was closed), Playpen at Suntec, Yellowbox at Golden Mile, TaiShing, G&B, TFH, and finally ending at Takashimaya shopping centre.

My haul are mainly from Ng's Collection at CSC. The Transformers Movie Deluxe Bonecrusher was from TFH. Haul mainly consists of weapons (katana, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms), Sinking of Japan minature submarine, Formation Arts Incredibles pvc statue and Naruto Shippuuden pvc figures (Naruto and Sakura).



Checkout arthur's haul here

Had a great time guys. We should do it more often, whenever time permits.

Marvel Comics for Oct 2007

ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST –– STAR-LORD #4, cover by Nic Klein
The style is similar to Simon Bisley - the muscles and colouring. I like the rust effect on the main subject. Check out more of Nic Klein's art in the link. Very nice line and painted work. His art is reminisce of Eric Powell, Mike Mignola, Ashley Wood, and Glenn Fabry, to just name a few.


IRON MAN #23, cover by GERALD PAREL
Nice cover by Gerald Parel. Gadget, the female subject has a very strong Japanese anime influence.


NEW X-MEN #43 and CABLE & DEADPOOL #46, covers by SKOTTIE YOUNG
Skottie Young is also a versatile artist, as it can be seen from the 2 different styles for these 2 titles.


WOLVERINE #58, cover by ARTHUR SUYDAM
Arthur Suydam does very nice water colour art, and this is no exception. I like this cover as it has some similar qualities to Simon Bisley.

Haul of the Day - 19 Jul 2007

Picked up the following from TFH:

• TakaraTomy Music Label MP3 Soundwave (Spark blue)
• TakaraTomy Music Label MP3 Soundwave (Sonic white)
• TakaraTomy Music Label Frenzy and Rumble headphones
• TakaraTomy Transformers Movie MA-09 Ironhide
• TakaraTomy Transformers Movie MD-07 Megatron
• TakaraTomy Transformers Movie MD-08 Starscream
• TakaraTomy Transformers Movie MD-12 Real Gear Zoom Out25X

My colleague was so impressed by the transformation sequence of Starscream that she went ahead to buy the Deluxe Protoform Starscream and Voyager Starscream figures. Woohoo ! She's got great taste !

Haul of the Day - 16 Jul 2007

Went down to Waterloo Centre for the first time to checkout TFH's new location. Much more spacious, for customers as well as the folks working there. By the way, you'll need to remove your footwear before entering the place. Picked up the following while I was there:

• Revoltech #30 Buster-Machine No.19 Dix-Neuf
  
• Revoltech #31 Getter 1 (Original Video Animation Version)
  

Haul of the Day - 14 Jul 2007

Went down to TFH at their current location for the last time, to pickup my arrivals for the week. The folks will be moving to their sparkling new location at Waterloo street come 16 Jul 2007. Checkout some pictures here.

• Revoltech limited edition Kuro (Thanks Ken !)
  
• Transformers Movie Target exclusive Sector 7 Arcee, Signal Flare and Hardtop
  
• Star Wars 30th Anniversary Assault Vehicles V-wing Starfighter
  
• Medicom Star Wars 1/6 Sandtrooper Celebration IV USA Exclusive
  

Video - Before It's Too Late (Transformers the Movie)

More music video from Transformers the Movie. This time is a sentimental theme by the Goo Goo Dolls, Before it's too Late. Great song and video.

Video - What I Have Done (Transformers the Movie)

This song, by Linkin Park, is featured as the title song in Transformers the Movie. You cannot go wrong with Linkin Park. Cool video, and even though the video has no relation to the movie, it does try to bring a host of messages (environmental, war, hunger, drugs, etc). Check it out.

Video - Naruto Shippuuden Ending Theme 2nd version

After 19 episodes of the new Shippuuden storyline, we finally get a new ending theme. The opening theme is still not changed. Another nice song, especially the staring violins track. The comicbook style is also a nice touch.

Movie - Naruto 4th Movie Trailer

Check out the trailer for the 4th Naruto movie that is tied to the Shippuuden series.

The trailer is done nicely to give an impression that this movie will be quite different from the other 3. I hope it will be darker than the previous.

Movie Thoughts - Transformers the Movie

Finally managed to catch the movie on 07.07.07, Saturday 11am local time with an ex-classmate cum ex-colleague. I will not post anything related to story, so potentially no spoilers ahead. Just my after thoughts.

All in all, it was an enjoyable movie. It is great to finally see a live action version on the big screen. I do not seem quite excited, and frankly, I was not completely blow away by the movie. Though it was great to see Autobots, Decepticons, a bit of Cybertron, and Peter Cullen's voice, there was something missing, that did not let me get as pumped up as I hoped I would be.

As you might have already read, there is not much of a story (but hey, we are just there to watch the Transformers whack each other), and the editing was not good as the transition from some scenes was odd.

I wished more characterization, dialogue and interaction were provided to the Decepticons. The Autobots spoke and interactered more than them, and probably Frenzy was the only Decepticon, or rather, the only Transformer with the most screen time.

Although the CG of the Transformers, the transforming sequences and battles were great, some of the CG did not blend well with the background, especically some day scenes with the Autobots. I am not sure if it is due to their bright colours. The Decepticons did not have this problem.

Also, as many have also griped, the battle scenes were too fast to see in detail what was going on. I am a bit puzzled here. The makers spent millions of dollars to build the CG models, but they were not utilized fully, in my opinion in the battle scenes. Maybe it costs more to produce the battle scenes than the other non-battle sequences. The makers were trying to "hide" the battles by cutting away from the scenes with angles and shots that obscure the battle.

Despite views that Megatron's design was not good, I found it otherwise. The design brings out Megatron's menace, and the characterization and voice (though I could not make out Hudo Weaving's voice) also brought out this aspect, which I really enjoyed. He was one big bad ass.

And G1 fans will be thrilled, as I was, with the subtile scenes and dialogue that was in the movie. I will not reveal what they are, so you have to see and hear it for yourself. This is one great aspect that I appreciate the makers of the movie had put in for the fans. Some of the G1 transforming sound effects were also subtly injected into some of the transformation sequences. Cool.

The pace of the show was good, with some action from the start, slowing down in the middle and picking up again till the end. I was actually looking for Michael Bay's signature action sequences, but somehow could not find them. Vehicles and buildings get blown up and tossed around aplenty, but still not that Michael Bay Bad Boys stuff.

I watched the show at the new The Cathay cineplex, at Hall 1, called the Grand Hall, which is the largest hall, providing digital format. The hall is large, and the seats are comfortable. There was enough leg space and the slope was steep enough so that the person in front of you will not block your view too much.

But I was really disappointed at the digital screening. It was very obvious the source was pretty lousy. I can see the grainy texture all throughout the movie. I am not sure if the source is the same for the other movies, or just this particular cinema. Most likely I will watch the show again at another digital cinema. But I'll ask around first if this grainy problem is also inherent in other cinemas. If so, I'll probably watch it again on a non-digital format.

The runtime was approximately 2.5 hours.

Overall, I would give it a 3.8 out of 5.

Till all are one.

Haul of the Day - 30 Jun 2007

Got the following comics from Kinokuniya at 20% discount:

The Wolverine Civil War tie-in has art by Humberto Ramos. I had to choose between getting DC/Dark Horse's Superman/Batman vs Aliens vs Predator because of Ariel Olivetti's art, or IDW's Completely Doomed black and white trade paperback by various artists (Ashley Wood, Ted Mckeever, etc). In the end, I went for the latter due to the black and white art and artists.

Took a stroll to Takashimaya and Metro Paragon, and then to TFH to see if my outstanding stuff have arrived. Haul from the shopping trip:

• Transformers Movie Scout Class Sector Seven Target exclusives Strongarm, Skyblast and Clocker (Metro Paragon, S$15.90 each). A bunch of repaints from the previous Energon/Cybertron series.
  
• Amdriver Monocle Bisar Wendigo (Takashimaya, S$17.50). In Japan, this series was a flop and I guess they dump the excess stock here. But it is not doing well locally as well, with no cartoon to support the toy. Now all the prices have been reduced by 50%, and it is still not moving. Unfortunate, as I had followed the toy series way back when it started in Japan. Anyway, the plus side is that I can get another figure cheap. Next target would be another Bisar, Behemoth.
  
• Pinky Choro-Q Pinky with Messerschmitt KR200 (TFH)
  
• Beast Wars Reborn TM-11 Tigatron (TFH)
  

Music - Minstrel Boy

I was watching Black Hawk Down over at the cable channel (AXN, ch19) for the 6th (or more, I lost count) times tonight. Incidentally, I did not see it at the big screen because during the screening then, I was not into war movies, and I thought it was just another war movie. But after seeing it (less than a year or so later) on DVD, I was hooked onto it.

The movie got me into it mainly due to actors that I could recognise (eg Ewan McGregor, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, etc), the cold reality of war portrayed, it being based on the novel, which is in turn based on a true story, and the overall story and characters. If you have not seen it, please do pick it up and have a look. It is a good movie.

Near the end of the movie, there were 2 songs that captured my attention. One was played when the rest of the pack was running back to the U.N. camp, and the other was played during the end credits. The former is called Gortoz a ran - J'Attends, and the latter Minstrel Boy.

An emotionally stirring and inspirational song, The Minstrel Boy was written by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) who set it to the melody of The Moreen, and old Irish aire. It is believed by many that Moore composed the song as a memorial to several of his friends he had met while a student at Trinity College and who had participated in the 1798 rebellion of the United Irishmen. One died in prison, another was wounded, and a third captured and hung. The song originally consisted of two verses. Due to its popularity, the song was a favorite of the many Irishmen who fought during the U.S. Civil War, primarily on the Union side. Original article can be found here.

Buy the soundtrack, and listen to them. Both are very nice songs. Lyrics to Minstrel Boy:

The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone
In the ranks of death you will find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"

The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free,
They shall never sound in slavery!"

Haul of the Day - 25 June 2007

Went down to Far East Plaza again today to get a haircut (in preparation for my incamp training tomorrow) at It's Hairy. This has become my regular place to get a haircut. Even though it is a bit on the high side, I am far more at ease than my previous places at the neighbourhood Malay Barbershop. At the end of the session, I never get what I asked for. At It's Hairy, I do not need to ask. I just go in and get a cut, trusting that Laurence (the owner) will give me what I need. And I also like his devotion to get a best cut for his customers. If you are at Far East Plaza, do check out his salon at #04-100, Far East Plaza, 14 Scotts Road, S(228213).


Ok, on to the haul. Today I just went to TFH to pickup the 2 heavy weights I left there ages ago - Hottoys ED-209 and Fewture Getter-3. While I was there, I also picked up a Transformers movie Scorponok at a pre-sale price of S$15 (cool !). And thanks to Roy for the free set of 4 Fun Factory Post Pet Kubricks and Clifford for the set of Marvel Legends comics. No pictures today as the camera run out of juice (Update 1 Jul: Picture uploaded).

Plug - Omnitrixland

Please do checkout my newphew's blog at http://omnitrixland.blog.com/. He is a big fan of Ben10, the animated show, that is currently showing on the local cable's Cartoon Network.

Though not as good as Justice League or Nickelodeon's Spongebob SquarePants or Avatar: Legend of Aang, it is nonetheless one of the better shows out there. There is also variety in the show, with new developments on the omnitrix. Do check it out if you can. I am beginning to get hooked as well.

Haul of the Day - 24 Jun 2007

Had to drag my butt down to TFH to pickup some stuff that are long overdue, due to coming down with fever and cough. Spent over S$50 and visited 2 different doctors, and the condition has improved only slightly.

Only managed to collect the following, with the Transformers Movie Sector 7 basic figures and Revoltec INOUE Toro out of stock at the moment.

Marvel Legends Fearsome Foes boxset, a warehouse find by the good folks. Without them, we would have never seen the lights of this boxset, except from evilbay. Through the help of shaun who help me secure a set of BBI 1/6 Female Perfect Body (Caucasian and Hispanic) for some custom down the road. Oh, and do checkout the customs that he did of Wonder Women first take, Wonder Women second take and Mary Jane. And lastly, the bubble warpped figure which you cannot see anything is actually a HyperHobby magazine mailaway Kamen Rider No.1 Sakurajima version.

Will be making another trip tomorrow to retrieve 2 heavy weights that had been at the shop for ages, due to space constraint at home. Have to bring them babies home as the folks are going to move out of the Far East outlet to their new Waterloo location soon.

DC Comics for September 2007

I am back again this month to look at some of the comic covers solicited by DC for the month of Sep 2007.

First up, from last month's recommend BATMAN/LOBO: DEADLY SERIOUS miniseries, comes the cover for #2. The colours are nice on Batman, but the proportions seem to be really off. It looks like Sam Keith did not put in effort in this series. I am having second thoughts about this series. It's now on the wait and see list.


Next is the cover to GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE #5-6, also introduced last month. Another colourful and great piece by Jock.


A new cover for this month is from METAL MEN #2. I must have missed the cover for the first issue. Surprisingly, this series is written and drawn by Duncan Rouleau. He is a great artist. I noticed his artwork when he was doing some work for Marvel's DR DOOM and VENOM series. His work is in the likes of Skottie Young and Humberto Ramos. But I did not know that he is a writer as well. And incidentally, he is also one of the creators of the animated show BEN 10.


Another missed title this month - THE PROGRAMME. It's not mainstream superhero stuff, which is why I had overlooked it. But the cover to issue 2 is very striking, with the nice usage of black and white, and a dash of red to bring out the image. The art and cover is drawn by CP Smith. His name rings a bell, but I just cannot place it. Maybe I might have mistaken him for Matthew Smith. Anyway, this guy's art is incredible. He also did the art on a standalone issue of WOLVERINE #61. Do check it out.


The last 2 covers, from ROBIN #166 and GREEN LATERN CORPS #16, have one thing in common - they are drawn by the artist Patrick Gleason. Nothing special about the covers, but the style of this artist reminds me of Jason Pearson. I hope he goes on to do more interior artwork.

TV - Heroes

Just watched the season finale of NBC's Heroes, and what a great show. Even though some parts are not what people are expecting due to the way the story had to be written, it was still a great ending. Can't wait for the filler Heroes: Origins and the next season to start again in September 2007.

The last few episodes, that were used to build up to the season finale (ep 21-23), were very entertaining, and so were ep 21-22. I enjoyed them (plot, directing) more than I had for Lost season 1.


The final Showdown.

Movies - Spider-man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 3 Thoughts

Caught the 2 movies, coincidentally both third installments, over the past few weeks. Generally, both were much of a disappointment. They were good, but not what I was expecting.

There is a lot of hype about Spider-man 3, and great reviews and boxoffice sales. But personally, I just did not find it as good as the first and second installments. I was going in to see an action packed movie, but it turned out to be more of a romance drama. Also, I think maybe there were too many characters to focus on, and loose ends to tie up. Packing all these in 2 hours might be a tough job for the director Sam Raimi.

Some camera shots, like zooming into the crowd's facial reaction worked well previously, but somehow in this movie, it got pretty meaningless. The part where Peter turned "bad" was too long. It could have been shorten, and more time devoted to the villians.

The action sequences were so fast, that I could not keep up with what was going on. Also, the computer graphics, except for the Sandman transformation (which was the best part of the movie), were quite rough.

Overall, it is still a good movie to watch, but it does not deliver in terms of action.

I only managed to watch the first part of The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, when going into the third sequel. It seems that you need to have some background information of Deadman's Chest to understand what was going on in the beginning of World's End.

So I was lost throughout the movie on the exact plot and storyline(s) of the third installment. And the heavily accented dialogue did not help either. I had to read the Chinese subtitles to understand what they actors were talking about.

The special effects (not just the computer generated ones) and set designs, on the other hand, were impressive. The Flying Dutchman and the crew of Davy Jones and Jones himself were good eye candy. The rock crabs were cute.

Chow Yuen Fatt's role was not that strong and impressive as I would have been made to think though.

Johnny Depp's performance as Jack Sparrow steals the whole show once again. He is as hilarious as ever.

Overall, this is a good movie to watch, if you have watched the previous 2. Even if you have not, you can still go and watch it. Oh, and it is lasts more than 2hours by the way.

My recommendation if you had to choose between wither one, go for Pirates 3. It was more entertaining and value for your hard earned money.

Transformers Movie - Fast Food Toys

Just got this with the morning papers today. Looks like it is fast food for the next few weeks, again !

DC Comics for August 2007

Some cool cover art from DC Comics' August 2007 solicitations.

I never really like Tim Sale's art because he makes Batman and Hulk look like monkeys. But the way he drew the cape from BATMAN ANNUAL #26: HEAD OF THE DEMON looks kind of cool.

The next cover has 3 things that I like - Lobo, Batman and Sam Kieth. And it's great to see the main man back in action, and better still, against another of my favourite comic characters. This will be on the shopping list.

BATMAN/LOBO: DEADLY SERIOUS #1
Written by Sam Kieth
Art and cover by Kieth
Get ready for an action-packed 2-part tale teaming up the Dark Knight with the interstellar madman, as only Sam Kieth can deliver! Batman, transported to an alien vessel by a mysterious figure, is asked to help cure a plague that has infected its inhabitants. Lobo, who has also been shanghaied, finds himself in the same boat. Now, Batman and Lobo, two incredibly unlikely companions, must somehow find a way to work together — and find out the real reason for their abductions — before they kill each other!

Update 27 May 2007: Newsarama has put up a preview here. I just hope this artwork is only for these pages, and not throughout the entire 2 issues. It does not look like Sam Kieth had put a lot of effort into them.

The third cover by the master himself Alex Ross, from JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #8 just speaks for itself.

Next to the gorgeous Power Girl cover, is work from the hot new artist Jock, on GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE #3-4. Jock first came into the limelight with his work on DC's Losers. Now his work can be seen widely, mainly covers and one shot deals. Jock's style is along the likes of Jae Lee, Ashley Wood, Ben Templesmith, etc. The simple, edgy black and white lines/tones, together with a fine tone of colour is simply amazing. Another shopping list item.

And lastly, SUPERMAN/BATMAN #39, by Dustin Nguyen & Derek Fridolfs, has a similar style to Jock. I like the overall composition of the colours and the characters, and the straight lines, especially on Batman (reminds me of Mike Mignola). Though Superman's hand seems to be out of place, if he is supposedly choking Bats.

Oh, yes. One more thing to get in Jan 2008, that is part of Aug's orders.

Nuff said.

Book Haul of the Day - 20 May 2007

Made good use of the 20% discount offer (20 - 21 May 2007) at the local Japanese bookshop Kinokuniya and got meself the follow:

• Essential X-men Vol 2 (continuation of John Bryne's early artwork)
• Batman: Secrets TPB (artwork by Sam Kieth)
• Lore 2 TPB (artwork by Ashley Wood)
• Swallow 3 (artwork by multiple artists)
• Gear (artwork by Doug Tenpal)
• Sunrise Brave Series Toy Collection

Haul of the Day - 18 May 2007

Picked these babies up during lunch time. Woohoo !


Transformers the Movie figures deluxe class Wave 2, S$26.90 each.
Skipped on Bumblebee and Scorponok. Scorponok looks good in alternate mode, but the robot mode sucks. Bumblebee is not interesting enough to pick up at the moment.

Each carton consists of 2x Bumblebee, 2x Jazz, 1x Barricade, 1x Wreckage, 1x Brawl and 1x Scorponok. The carton indicates that these should not be on the shelf earlier than June 02, 2007 though.

Haul of the Week - 13 May 2007

Marvel SuperHero Squad - cute little super-deformed characters from the Marvel universe. The Fantastic Four is the latest series, while the Avengers is from an older series. S$10 each from local Toys R Us.


Thanks to my nephew for picking these up at the local department store. He's a great kid, and being a good uncle does payoff (I think I have to get him the Ben10 action figures). The Batman Shadowtek Man-bat (a repaint) and DC Superheroes Black SuperGirl.