The Dark Knight Joker and Two-Face

Yeah, I know. I took too long in updating my blog... again... I guess people with short attention spans and ADD shouldn't write blogs. But here I am to review two figures from Mattel's "The Dark Knight" line. Two-Face and The Joker.

This is the box he came in. I got him in a two pack set from Wal-Mart. Only 5 bucks. Sweet, right? But the first thing I want to get off the ground is that we are ignoring the figure that came with The Joker. Because no Batsuit should ever do THIS!

Yeah, THAT'S gonna strike terror in the hearts of criminals.

We'll start off with the unstoppable force to your immovable object. The Joker!

The Joker stands at about 5". Yeah, the head sculpt doesn't do Heath Ledger justice. (god rest his soul) Not to mention, the figure's articulation is lacking but it's a movie figure and I've come to expect that movie figures will always lack in articulation. That's just how it works. They aren't really making these for adult collectors, but for kids and kids don't ask for quit as much in action figures.

Something else that screams "kids toy" on this is the accessory. Remember when The Joker said that he didn't like to use guns because they're "too quick?" Well, Mattel didn't because they gave him a big ass gun! (Although, to be fair. He DOES use a rocket launcher at some point in the movie) even in the movie, it didn't shoot this

Yeah, I could see Jack Nicholson's Joker carrying one of these, but certainly not Heath Ledgers. The good thing is, this rocket launcher has great mileage and when it hits it's target, (providing the target is of the same scale as The Joker) you can be sure the target gets knocked down.
So, overall, there ARE better Heath Ledger Jokers out there, but not at Wal-Mart's five dollar range. This is good for kids (and for big kids like myself) but if you're a serious collector, chances are you won't be interested
Next up is Two-Face from the same Dark Knight line.


Two-Face stands at about 5" as well, and where The Joker was sold short in his sculpt, Two-Face really shines.

The likeness to Aaron Eckhart is excellent, and the disfigured half of his face has great detail. As does the burned up half of his coat. Though I don't remember his hand getting burned and disfigured in the movie too. The articulation is pretty much the same as The Joker's though. But the figure is still fun to play with.
Aside from his "I believe in Harvey Dent" card, Two-Face only comes with a coin with a button that when pressed, spikes come out. Yeah, Two-Face actually got a worse accessory than The Joker. But overall, The Two-Face figure is really good. Especially in his sculpt

Japanese Astro Boy figure by Takara

After months of trying to find someone who DIDN'T have it on "backorder." *I'm looking at YOU Toysnjoys!* I finally acquired the Astro Boy action figure by Takara. Made in Japan, I got it from some guy at Hong Kong. *yay Ebay*

Here it is in it's box. The box is very colorful and unlike most American figures that are just cardbacks with the figure attachted to a plastic bubble, this is a completely encasing box. I could really see this standing out in a toy store.

back of the box. I imagine most of the writing here is descriptions of his features, accesories, and the story of Astro Boy. Actually, the story of Astro is written in english on the left side. What's more interesting is that he's referred to as "Astro Boy" rather than his Japanese name "Mighty Atom." It's almost like they KNEW this figure would find it's way to American shores. Hmm... Anyway, before I go into the figure, I must point out a couple of things that made me giggle on this box

First off, I have no idea why Charlie Brown is sticking his tounge at me, but it's highly amusing and second, the bottom left goes on about the "choking hazards" of the toy and look at the picture they use. They just sacrificed Pac-Man so Japanese children can know better than to put any of these things in their mouths. So remember kids, whenever you think about putting a toy accessory in your mouth, just think of Pac Man.


Here he is out of his box and on his stand. The figure is between 4" and 5". Yeah, he comes with a stand. He also comes with his little robot nanny "Robita." (I think that's the Robot's name) But that's not all he has

These are all the pieces you can snap on him. While the American Astro Boy line made you buy three seperate figures if you wanted him to pose, fly, and shoot his arm cannon, Japan just gives you all of his abilities in one set. Boy, did WE get ripped off. But as you can see, they were right to feature a Pac-Man chocking to death on the box because this has a LOT of little pieces.

"Umm... little help?"
Incase you're wondering, here's Astro Boy when I took that shot of all the pieces.

As you saw, he comes with his rocket legs so you can have him fly. He even has a piece that connects to the stand so you can display him this way if you want.

and even a place to put that piece underneath the stand if you don't.

and here he is with the open hands if you wanted to see.

My only REAL issue with the set is that if they're going to give you this many accesories, they really should give you something to store them in. Like a compartment in the stand or something. But that's my only complaint. His articulation is great, his facial expression speaks his character far better than any of his American figures, and the figure comes with everything he'll need to combat the forces of evil. (Plus a stand for when he isn't)

Here he is with my other Astro Boy figures for comparison. So, if you're a fan of Astro Boy and are willing to buy something from ALL the way from Asia, make a note to own this figure. You won't regret it.
and sense we're all here... LET'S PARTY!!!

Hasbro's Indiana Jones action figure

After long last, Indiana Jones finally has a cool action figure line and yesterday, I finally picked up a figure from it.



What better way to start my Indy collection than with Indy? Here he is in his case. I like the case design. It really says INDIANA JONES to me.



Out of his box, he looks awrsome. The details on his sculpt are excellent. Even if at certain angles, his hat looks a little too big for his head. His face is a semi decent like-ness. Especially when you consider that Harrison Ford's likeness has never exactly been easy to capture.
As you can see from this picture, Indy comes with his trademark whip. Only problem with it is that if you try any whipping action, it kinda slips off wayt too easily.



He also comes with a pistol, and the infamous Crystal Skull. What I found interesting though is how he doesn't just come with the skull. Instead, he comes with two interchangable hands. One empty, and another with the skull molded onto him.



I guess those russian soldiers won't be able to take the skull from him after all



Each figure seems to come with a "Hidden Relic" wrapped in a box labeled "top Secret." Guess it was being looked at by "Top Men." Let's see what we got inside it



Inside the box is a gem and a small card with the gem's name



We have uncovered the "Eye of the Peacock." Yeah, the concept is a little gimmicky, but I like it.



Also, the figure stand at the 3.75" scale. Which could lead to some amusing crossovers.
So, all in all, Hasbro made a good action figure. I think kids AND collectors can get something out of this figure so if you don't have it yet, or are only interested in the 12" Indy figures (Which all of you must be 'cause I can't find any!!) then give this figure a shot.


"Cobras. I hate these guys."

mediocre but fun

today i'm dedicating my blog to video games. But not just any video games. Video games that are mediocre. Yeah, you read that right. Mediocre. These are the games that don't change the way we play, don't get 5 stars on X-Play, and I was certainly glad that I didn't pay the full 40 bucks for, but I'll be damned if they weren't the least bit entertaining.

First up is Astro Boy. Now, maybe it's because i'm a bit of a sucker for video games with my favorite cartoon characters in them, but I enjoyed the Astro Boy video game. Yeah, the GBA version runs circles around it (which just further proves that Sonic Team can only seem to make 2-D side-scrollers work) and the side missions sucked, but the fights were fun and the bosses were awesome.

It's also really pretty to look at with its bright and broad colors, and cartoony details. Also, I only got it for 9 bucks. On top of that, how many video games let you run around in your underwear and still be called a family game?

Next up is Superman Returns. Yeah, this is no where near the end all be all Superman game EA promised us, but when I only paid 12 bucks for it, I didn't care. I'M SUPERMAN, BITCH! The worst thing I could say about it was it's repetition. It's just fly around, fly around, find robots/monsters, beat 'em up, hear the crowd cheer, fly away, repeat. That and a tornado does not a good final boss make.

But any game where you can pick up the Daily Planet display or giant hamburger displays and throw them at giant robots is entertaining for me

Finally is Justice League Heroes. In this Gaunlet style beat-em up, you play as well, the JL and fight through an army of villians ranging from Gorrila Grod, Brainiac, and the big babass himself, DARKSEID!

With a story written by real comic book writers, simplictic arcade like fighting system, an RPG like level up feature, this game may not be all wowing, but it's fun. Especially since I got it for Christmas so I didn't pay anything for it. You can even collect JLA points to use to unlock new outfits for the characters and even extra characters. (Aquaman is the cheapest character. No respect for Aquaman)
So there you have it. Proof positive that I am a simple man that can be easily entertained. I'm probably the kind of guy hardcore gamers can't stand because i'm buying those mediocre games they hate for not being the next Halo. Well, maybe not considering that I don't buy them at full price, thus not funding the people that made the mediocre games. Either way, I got cheap games and I like 'em

Astroboy sells out

As a big Astroboy fan, you can only imagine my suprise when I saw this

Online Videos by Veoh.com
dang, now I want to buy a car XD

Pirates of the Caribbean Disney park toys

"Ye be seekin' adventure and Salty old pirates, eh? Well, you come to the proper place." Before Johnny Depp single-handedly made Pirates cool again, the classic Disney attraction Pirates of the Caribbean stood on it's own as one of Disney's most beloved attractions. Celebrating this attraction, Disney released several figures based on the classic characters of this ride but you can't get these at any toy store. You gotta travel AAALLL the way to Disneyland or Walt Disney World to get these babies and on my last trip, I acquired a few of them.

These are the ones I got. The Helmsman, the Captain, and the Pillager. They made several others, but were sadly not at any of the stores when I got there. Here is how they were packaged. Sure, the packaging is different and bound to be noticed, but the crossbones on the side make them awfully bulky and take up more space in shelves and in shopping bags than needed. Once I got home from our trip, I was sure to tear these suckers out of their bulky little prisons.


All the figures come with a display base that is based on the scene they appear in on the ride. Yes children, long before Barbossa came into the ride, the ship was captained by this generic pirate known as... The Captain.

The figures also have decent articulation. More than I was expecting. The only one with the least bit of articulation issue came from the Captain and his long hair. This made it difficult to turn his head.

The only bad seed in this haul I would have to sadly say is the Helmsman. It's a pitty to. He looks awesome in the ride, is one of the most memorable figures in the ride, and looks pretty cool as an action figure, but he had the most problems of the three. First off, he had issues holding ANY of his accessories and keeping them held, and while the other figures had no problems with their bases, his was a wee bit flimsy. You have to attach the helm to the base and it sometimes comes off easily. But these were minor issues to be honest and it still displays great as you can see from this picture.

Did I mention that these have a LOT of accessories to play with? The Captain alone comes with his base, a sword, two pistols, a lantern, and a mug. The skeletons each have two swords, a rifle, a pistol, a dagger, and the Helsmman comes with an anchor. This does make it difficult to keep track of the accesories and years from now will probably lead to these figures with all of them costing big bucks.
Their price range is in $10 which alone I find very reasonable for everything you get. Especially considering you're buying these at Disney World, where soda is 2.50 a bottle and t-shirts are 40 bucks!! but I got the Captain and the Pillager half off. If ten bucks is reasonable, FIVE bucks is a steal!
All in all, these are excellent figures. If you're a Disney fan, a Pirates of the Caribbean fan, a general fan of pirate junk, and/or an action figure collector, I think you'll definitely enjoy these figures. Now excuse me while I go find the rest of these figures. (TO EBAY!!)

CAN'T WE SETTLE THIS OVER SOME RUM?

Halloween time

What better way to celebrate Halloween than with a ghost story told by Vincent Price?

Online Videos by Veoh.com
Happy Halloween :D

Deluxe Elizabeth Swan figure

Warning, this review may contain spoilers of POTC: At world's end. If you haven't seen it yet, you might want to skip this review

Now then, I think Yogurt the wise put it best when he said "Merchandising, where the REAL money from the movie is made." And unless you've been under a rock the past few years, you've no doubt noticed Disney's newest and quite possibly biggest cash cow, Pirates of the Caribbean. It's no surprise that due to the popularity of these movies based on the classic Disney ride, that toys would spring up for them. With two of my biggest interests in childhood (Disney and action figures) coming together, it was only natural that I'd just at this. My newest addition to my young POTC toy collect is the deluxe Elizabeth Swan set from the "At World's end" line.



Here she is in her box. It's the standard red package with the Pirates skull on the side and ship on the bottom. It's more vibrant and noticeable than the brown scheme the "Dead man's chest" line had, but mind you, the red package thing's been done.

Alright, before I continue my review, there's something I must get off my back.



Okay, I feel better now.



Out of the case, Elizabeth is excellently sculpted. Her outfit looks just like it does in the film, and her face is much prettier than the "Dead Man's Chest" version of her. Her um... chest size is more... realistic here than on the "Dead Man's Chest" version too. Yeah, I know 'Liz has a nice rack and all, but they were awfully optimistic on that other figure.

Her poseability is of the basic POTC toy. While not as poseable as a basic GI Joe, she IS more poseable than a basic Star Wars figure.



Elizabeth comes with three (count 'em three) swords. I like the two on the left best personally. They look more like the kind of swords a Singapore Pirate king would carry while the one on the right looks more like a standard pirate cutlass. I guess they figured each figure should come with one.



'Liz also comes with a globe. The globe has a kinda cool feature on it. When you put one of her swords in one of the many slots on the globe, it lights up. But it has to be the RIGHT slot.




OH YEAH! I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES! Oh, wait. I made that joke already.



If you're a fan of the POTC movies and toy line, the deluxe Elizabeth Swan will make a nice addition to your collection.