'ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY' - Likes/Dislikes

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!  SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! 

Everybody got that? Good.

As a fan of the Star Wars films, I was curious and optimistic about the first in a series of Anthology movies based on the Star Wars saga.

'Rouge One: A Star Wars Story' follows a band of Rebels who attempt to steal the plans of a new super weapon built by the Galactic Empire called the Death Star.
Basically the Plot is the opening crawl from 'Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'. The only other time I've seen that happen was from watching the last few episodes of the 'Star Wars: Clone Wars' cartoon from 2005 and then seeing the events from those summed up in Revenge of the Sith's opening crawl.

And having seen the movie, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. And in trying to come up with a review for it, I figured that I would detail some things I liked about the movie as well as some things that I didn't nessisarily hated, but kinda bugged me about the movie.

Without any further ado...

Not as much Likes:

1. Jyn's Meaningless Crystal

In the opening scene, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is given a Kyber Crystal by her father and it's shown very prominently. You'd think that it would've had some bearing on the plot the way they showed it, but it doesn't.

2. Crawl-less Opening
I know that plenty of Star Wars related media doesn't have the iconic crawl at the beginning, but here's the thing: Rogue One opens with the famous "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." text and then they cut to abrupt music and a shot of a planet, almost as if they cut out a crawl at the last minute.

3. Jyn and Cassian aren't the most interesting protagonists
Rogue One has some fascinating characters in it, unfortunaly our two lead characters, Jyn Erso and Cassain Andor (Diego Luna) are the weakest links. They aren't the worst characters in the movie, far from it, I could follow their character arcs just fine and genuinely wanted them to succeed in their goals. I just liked the other characters far better. It's similar to the 2014 Godzilla film in which Aaron Taylor-Johnson played an OK character but was overshadowed by certain actors who gave a performance that was too good. -cough-byrancranston-cough-

4. I couldn't spot the MUTO's on Saw Gerrera's cave walls.

I knew where to look for them, but the were too blurred out to really see what was on the wall.

Likes:

1. Special Effects
One thing the Star Wars films excel at is it's blend of practical and Digital effects and Rogue One is no exception. Some people would like to overrea-, I mean, criticize some of the digital effects and claim that they look awful, when really they don't.
Speaking of which:

2. Classic Character Cameos
The appearance of characters from the past films really help to tie this movie into the Saga nicely. Such characters include Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits), Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) even the two gangsters from the Cantina in A New Hope make a brief appearance. ("You just watch yourself, we're wanted men. I have the death sentence on 12 systems!") And you simply can't have a Star Wars film without R2-D2 and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) 
But there were 2 character cameos that caught me off guard. One was that of Grand Moff Tarkin (Originally played by Peter Cushing). While being played by a different actor (Guy Henry) who stood in and provided the voice for Tarkin, his face was digitally altered to look exactly like Peter Cushing in 1977, which I thought was pretty cool!

One thing I was wondering about the film was weather or not Princess Leia would make an appearance. Of course, I got my answer! As with Tarkin, Leia appeared as a stand-in actor (Ingvild Deila) with 1977 Carrie Fisher's face imposed on her own.

3. The Side Characters
Like I said before, the side characters are the most fascinating characters that I wanted to know more about.
My favorite might be the droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), he's kinda like if you took C-3PO and gave him the personality of Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
A close second favorite would be Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen), A blind fighter who is a strong believer in the force. He might as well be Daredevil if he were a Jedi, every time he was on screen it was an awesome delight! He should have taken Jyn's Kyber Crystal and stuck it into a make-shift Lightsaber to fight with.

4. The ENTIRE Thrid Act!
As soon as the crew of Rogue One land on the Imperial base on Scarif , the action, tension and great character moments are cranked up to 11. We also get a really cool space battle.
How cool is it? How about the moment where one of the Rebel ships rams into a Star Destroyer, then crashes that Star destroyer into ANOTHER Star Destroyer and uses BOTH STAR DESTROYERS to destroy the planets Shield Generator, allowing Jyn to transmit the Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance so they can find out how to destroy it?!?!!!

-takes a breath-

And just when you think it couldn't get any better.I have 3 words for ya: DARTH GODDAMN VADER!!!

Yes, even though we knew Darth Vader wasn't going to be in the movie for very long, he steals the show in every scene he is in and James Earl Jones even came back to give him his iconic voice.
He doesn't get a lot of lines, but guess what? He's Darth Vader, he doesn't need to speak to let you know that you really should not mess with him and the last part of this Third Act deals that message in spades. He boards a rebel ship and just slaughters a bunch of Rebels who think they have a chance. I remember sitting there in the theater with my mouth wide open in absolute shock and amazement at how much of a great moment this is.

So overall, I really loved 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'. I know some people who were actually quite skeptical or cautiously optimistic about seeing this movie, but I can assure you that seeing this movie is well worth the price of admission, and I look forward to seeing what other Star Wars Stories we may get on the big screen.


Now where's the trailer for Episode VIII?!  

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.

So long...

And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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X-PLUS GODZILLA 1984 (30 CM DIAMOND REISSUE) - Figure Review.

X-Plus, a company who's Godzilla products I've known about for a while but have little to no experience with. I do own a Cold-Cast Resin Chess Piece of the 1968 Godzilla and I used to see their larger Vinyl figures in Comic Book stores.

I would've picked them up if they weren't $100+.

As the years went by, I never thought I would come to own one of the larger X-Plus vinyl figures. But you clicked on the review, so you know that that just changed. I had to help my Grammie fix up her old house so that she could sell it and she was kind enough to pay me for my services. There were a lot of things I could have done with that money, but for some reason, my mind kept fixating on getting an X-Plus figure.

Particularly, the 1984 Godzilla since I knew it was getting a re-issue. Godzilla 1985 (The Americanized version of 'The Return of Godzilla') was the first Godzilla movie I saw and that design of Godzilla has remained one of my absolute favorites and I always told myself that if I was ever to own an X-Plus figure, it would be that one.  
Having the money, I knew I had to leap at the chance!

And I'm glad I did, this is probably one of the coolest Godzilla figures I own know.

This figure has an amazing sculpt. Godzilla's rough and bumpy skin is captured beautifully. X-Plus definitely spares no expense in making sure that their Godzilla figures look exactly the way they do in the movies. If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was holding a smaller version of the actual suit.
The amount of detail in the head alone is something to marvel at. Just look at the eyes, not only are they painted very nicely, but you can see individual veins painted on the pupils, a small detail that I love immensely.

Another great thing about the head sculpt is the mouth. The paint work looks outstanding, Godzilla's teeth and gums are painted without overlapping each other too much and he has a very nice looking tongue. 

The same attention to detail on the skin continues down the rest of the body. The claws and toenails are colored a nice yellow-ish white. I also really like how all the creases and folds all over his body look making Godzilla look big and muscular, particularly in the chest.

The dorsal fins look really great running down to the tail, which is perfectly sized when compared with the body.

If I had to give one little nitpick it'd be that the paint work on the back of the neck looks a little off, like they got a little carried away with the grey airbrushing.
But at the end of the day, this is only a little nitpick and doesn't distract me too much from the rest of this figures magnificence!

Left: Diamond Select Godzilla 1975. Right: Diamond Select Godzilla 1989

Standing beside the NECA 24" Godzilla 2014.

Left: Diamond Select Rodan. Right: Bandai Creation 12" Mechagodzilla

As you can see, X-Plus figures look great standing next to any larger scale Godzilla figures.

I wanna take this time to give praise to the retailer I received this figure from: Flossie's Gifts and Collectibles, a site that sells all manner of dolls and figurines, but has it's own section of Godzilla related merch. This is where most collectors get their X-Plus fix and I knew this is where I need to go.
The journey to obtain this figure has been interesting, to say the least. This figure came out around the time when my card I use to buy things was to expire so I had to find an alternate means of payment till I got a new one. Luckily, John Stanowski, who manages the Godzilla products on the site was able to communicate with and help me square that away, and for that I give major kudos for outstanding customer service.

In the end, I think this is a FANTASTIC figure from X-Plus and absolutely captures the essence of the 1984 Godzilla perfectly. If this is one of your favorite designs of the Big G and you have the extra scratch to spare, this is one figure you should add to your collection right now. 

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and from my lair to yours: Have a Merry Christmas!!! =)

So long...

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Kong: Skull Island - Trailer Thoughts

I was originally going to do a blog where I posted my thoughts on the Comic-Con trailer for Kong: Skull Island. However, it came out around the time when I had way too much stuff going on. I had to work on at least 5 different figure reviews, my job was being hard on me and I had to help my friends move from and to new apartments. 

It was tiring, I missed my window of opportunity and I needed a break from writing. But I will say right now, I LOVED it. It had great character moments, awesome music and fantastic build up. I also loved the little peeks we got of Kong himself.

And now, not only do we have 2 new posters (both of which I want!) we also have a brand new trailer which has all that with a lot of extra meat!

I love Kong's design, it echo's the familiar 1933 look and even adds elements that resemble the 70's/Toho Kong. Rather fitting considering whats about to happen in a few years.

Fun fact: The actor doing the motion capture for Kong is Terry Notary, who also did the motion capture for Rocket the Chimpanzee in both 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' and the upcoming: 'War for the Planet of the Apes'. Ya know who else was in those movies? Andy Serkis, who did the motion capture for Kong in the 2005 Peter Jackson film, an amazing coincidence!

One moment that I really loved is when that one dumb helicopter pilot looks out and says "Is that a monkey?", and then -BAM!- gets a tree to the face like the racist bastard he is. At least, that's what I hope happens.

Of course I'm looking forward to seeing the characters in this movie portrayed by a really good cast, especially John Goodman.
John C. Reilly is looking to be the one who steals the show.

But Kong's not the only giant monster inhabiting Skull Island. Aside from giant Spiders and some weird Water Buffalo-looking thing, there's the Skull Crawlers, a 2-legged lizard based on a creature that appears briefly in the original King Kong. These things look wickedly cool and I can't wait to see an all-out war unfold between Man and Beast.

 Needless to say, this Kaiju Groupie is excited to see Kong return to the big screen after almost 10 years, as well as what direction the stories for both Kong and Godzilla will go in the future. 

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.

So long...

If you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, Be sure to give my FB page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. Thanks for reading!

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NECA GODZILLA 2001 - Figure Review

It's been quite a long wait for this one.
Seriously, it's been over a year since I've last talked about a NECA Godzilla figure.

Last year, I made a Top 5 list of Godzilla figures I wanted to see NECA make (CLICK HERE) and coming in at #3 was the Sokogeki Goji suit from 2001's 'Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack' 
-moment to breathe-
We've already seen what SH MonsterArts can do with the design, how does the NECA one hold up?
In my opinion it is a good figure, but there are a few things that I find odd about it.

Let's begin at the top. Overall the head sculpt is pretty nice with the iconic ghost eyes and menacing, bulldog-like face.
The figure's body is painted the usual charcoal grey with a bit of a light greenish tint to it, which is an interesting choice. However, the paint work on the lower jaw looks unfinished, there are flesh colored marks peeking through. It really clashes with the rest of the figure. And if you look inside the mouth you'll notice that the lower jaw hinge is not painted. Why?

Looking at the teeth, you'll notice that there are smaller teeth sticking out above the main row. I know that's something that the majority of Millenium Godzilla suits were known for, but at first I thought it was a mistake. I had to go back and watch GMK just to be sure, and sure enough, in some scenes you can see a few smaller teeth sticking out beyond the main row. Not necessarily in the same place as the figure, but it's still neat to see NECA take the time to add that detail, it actually shows up better than it does in the SHMA version.
(And that's the only comparison other than size and scale between the 2 figures you'll hear from me.)

I have to mention the Claws and the Toenails, they're painted white, but there are these weird white-orange streaks on them. I don't know why they look like that, though I'm not sure if it'll matter to some people.

I do kinda wish the tail was longer. The individual segments are larger than on most NECA Godzilla's, but the rubber end piece is shorter than past ones have been.

Now, don't misunderstand me, I don't find these issues big enough to call the figure bad, but I feel they are worth mentioning.

The rest of Godzilla 2001's body looks good, especially the Dorsal Fins which are painted very nicely, and have a rough texture added to them which makes them stand out really well.

Articulation for Godzilla 2001 is as follows:
The Head can look down and rotate, the mouth opens and closes, the neck can bend forward making Godzilla look straight down.
The Arms can rotate as well as move in and out, there is a bend at the elbows and the forearms can rotate. The hands can rotate and pivot slightly and the hands can also bend at the fingers.
The Torso rotates and bends forward.
Legs move forward and backward as well as in and out. They can bend and rotate at the knees and the feet rotate and pivot.
The tail segments can bend left, right and down a bit. The end piece is made of rubber with a bendable wire built inside, try not to force it's movement too much though.

Godzilla has a very nice range of Articulation that makes for some very nice and fearsome looking poses.

Left to Right: NECA Godzilla 1954 and Godzilla 1994

Left to Right: Bandai Movie Monster Series Milenium Godzilla and Bandai Creation Godzilla 2014

Left to Right: SH MonsterArts Godzilla 1954 and SH MonsterArts 2001

While I may have brought up a few issues in the beginning of this review, I can still say that NECA's 2001 Godzilla figure is still worth picking up as a good piece to add to your Godzilla collection and would make a nice compainion piece to the SH MonsterArts version. If you have that one to begin with.
And it would make a nice stocking stuffer for Christmas.

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.

So long...

If you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, Be sure to give my FB page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. Thanks for reading!

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FIGMA LINK: A LINK BETWEEN WORLDS VERSION (DX EDITION) - Figure Review.

To be perfectly honest, I never thought I would come to posses the original Skyward Sword Link Figma. That changed when for one of my birthday's, my buddy Nick got it for me. I was very impressed with it and at that point, the Figma bug bit me.
When the next figure in the line, Link from the Nintendo 3DS game 'A Link Between Worlds' was announced, I knew I had to get it.

As decent looking and cheap as the World of Nintendo Zelda figures are, Max Factory's Figmas completely blow them away!
This figure is absolutely amazing!
I'm pretty sure my pictures for this review can't do it enough justice. (Bad lighting aside)
Looking at the figure's sculpt, details, coloring, everything about it is just great!

Link's head is especially stands out for me. He has a great looking face with the wonderfully painted eyes and the expression. The hair piece is very nice looking, the side pieces are a bit flexible so it doesn't impede on head articulation. Same can't be said for the hair on the back though. And I think this has the nicest looking hat on any Link figure I've ever seen.

The rest of the body is very nicely sculpted, there are a fair amount of wrinkles and creases in the Tunic and Boots.
Once again, I've gotta give mention to the paint work on this figure, it's bright, very much how it looks in the game, and it looks amazing!

Link comes with stellar articulation.

The head can turn/tilt left and right. It can look down, but as I said, the hair prohibits the head from looking up. Also, the back of the hat can be rotated.

The arms can move outward, and rotate at the shoulder. The hands and elbows can bend and rotate, leading to a ton of creative poses.
There is rotation at the waist and you can sort of get him to bend Link forward and backward.

The legs can move forward/backward and rotate at the hips, surprisingly the tunic doesn't really hinder the movement. The lower part of Links tunic is separated into 2 individual parts, which I think is brilliant.
The knees can bend. The feet, can bend up, rotate and pivot. The front part of the foot can also move upward.

Since this happens to be the Deluxe Version of this Figma, it comes with a few more accessories than the standard edition (some you have to search the whole box to find). All of these look great, even down to the smallest detail. A figure stand is also included which can lead to a lot of dynamic poses.

One of the more obvious ones would be Ravio's Bracelet, which can be removed by taking off the hands. 

One thing to note though is that when you do remove the hands, sometimes the connecting joint piece will pop off attached to the hand instead of the arm. You'll probably need to use a pair of pliers or your finger nails to get it reattached to the arm.

Link also comes with an added face piece, which gives Link a more determined and ready for action expression.

A variety of different hands are included. You have hands for holding items, closed fists, open hands and open hands with an added peg for holding certain items.
Items included are as follows:

 Tornado Rod (w/ a spinning part)

Bomb

A Rupee (w/ a stand)

A Pot

 Hook Shot (w/ an extended piece)

  A Baby Maiamai

 And a Wall-Merged Link piece. The stand included for it will only stand up if attached to the figure stand, otherwise it'll fall over on it's own.

And of course, no Link figure would be complete without his signature weapons, the Master Sword and Hylian Shield.An instruction manual is included for the purposes of showing you how the items attach to the hands. The manual is in both English and Japanese, for your convenience.
Now, a lot of these accessories do come apart into several small pieces so make sure you are in an area where you can easily keep track of them without getting them lost.

The Link Between Worlds Figma stands at about 4 inches. Being a younger Link, it stands a bit shorter than the previously released Skyward Sword Figma.

Standing next to the World of Nintendo 'Ocarina of Time' and 'Skyward Sword' Link figures.

Figma has created another superb Link figure that I am proud to have in my collection. The accessories included in the Deluxe Version definitely make it the preferred buying option.

However, if that's not your cup of tea and you wanna save a few bucks, you can go with the standard version which only has the Master Sword, Hylian Shield, the extra face, hands and the Wall-Merged piece.

But which ever version you end up going with, you're still getting one of the best Link figures ever made!
At least until the Twilight Princess Figma comes out. I really NEED that one!

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.

So long...

If you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, Be sure to give my FB page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. Thanks for reading!
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