Mog

Finally watched this last night. It's an okay film. And I gotta agree with a good chunk of what therealfolkblues says. Something about the whole "mass appeal" intent of film just rubbed me the wrong way. I think X2 got the right balance of appealing to the masses but statisfying the rabid fanboys. Here, that balance just seems "off." I also understand that it's supposed to be a continuation of the first two Supes movies. But I think this link really hindered the film. At times, it feels like Singer is trying way too hard to make this into an homage to the old films. Probably my biggest gripe of the film though is Lex Luthor. I realize they're going for the Lex of the old films, but I just don't find that version of Lex all that compelling or interesting. Maybe I've been spoiled by Clancy Brown's portrayal of Lex in the DC Animated Universe. But I prefer the Lex Luthor who's a cool, ruthless, and in control businessman with a drol sense of humor, rather than this flamboyant madman who likes to wear wigs. All in all, the film has its moments. But I just wasn't "Wow..."ed by it. So far, it's been a pretty average summer movie season. Haven't seen Cars yet, but there really hasn't been any standout, "Damn that was good!" movies this summer.

SDF-1 (TV style) for me.............as long as it's taller than the 1/48's. Considering it's the flagship of the TV series, I'd like the toy's size to scream, "I'm the big-boss around here."

I should still have that at my parents' house, in its box and everything. I was one of those kids that got more Go-Bots than Transformers. (They were cheaper, and I could buy more of them.) But I did get a few (and still have with all the parts and weapons) a few Transformers jewels: namely, Devastator and Metroplex. BTW, shouldn't this be in "Anime or Science Fiction" section?

Ah yes, In the Pale Moonlight. Arguably, the best DS9 and one of the best Trek episodes ever. I agree that DS9 showed a lot of much-needed tarnish on the Federation's pristine image. But at its core, DS9 still has that Star Trek idealism and that hope for a better future. The personal growth that many of the characters go through over the course of the series shows this optimism the best. For example, Kira goes from being a Cardie-hatin' ex-terrorist to a person willing to liberate the very enemies she once swore to kill. And just as important, DS9 showed all the difficulty, missteps, and hardships that happened along the way for her, without ever destroying or neutering that "inner core" of Kira's character. So to summarize, I still think the Star Trek idealism should be present in whatever series, reboot () , or movie comes out. But it absolutely has to be balanced out by the characters struggling with that idealism.

Just when I thought I'd be happy with the valks I currently have, Yamato busts out a fresh new batch of crack! Looks like I've gotta start planning on building a wall-shelf. ........And where's the drooling smilie when we really need it?

Well, I usually don't pose mine standing straight up (just look at the pic on page 42 of this thread), but I'm guessing/estimating about 17cm tall.

If we're talking original airings, TNG, DS9, and Voyager all went seven seasons long. So, it's not exactly the longest-running series of the whole franchise. But your point is right: TNG and DS9 really didn't hit their stride until about Season 3 for both shows. I woudn't mind a proper TNG movie send-off. But if turns out to be another Picard and Data show, with a smattering of "cool" lines and pointless comic-relief for Worf, and jack-nothing for the remainder of the crew, you can count me out. As for a reboot, I'm still resistant to the idea. Unfortunately, they screwed the pooch with the Romulans (Instead of exploring one of the most underutilized villians in all of Trek, they instead create the REMANS!! ). But despite this and all the screw-ups some of the recent writers (and Berman) have done to this franchise, I still don't agree that a reboot is the way to go. There's practically a whole century's worth of backstory in the Star Trek universe. Why just dumped that whole rich tapestry? Sure, I wouldn't mind getting rid of all the techno-babble, the alien-of-the-week mentality, and the bland re-hashed plots. But the characters and the history? There's still some potential in there.

Graham, not sure about the 1/55 scale. But just measured my Alpha, and from nosecone to thrusters, the pup's about 23.5 cm long.

Wow......<Where's the drooling smiley when I need it.> Someone should make animated giffy of your pic, slowly phasing it from the moon to the 3D, full color version of the red kite symbol. Awesome photoshop skills there!

Vermillion21, you should definitely give DS9 another chance. Most people consider the first two seasons kinda bland (though there's a couple of gems in there like "Duet"), but Season 3 onwards is a pretty damn good ride. Yes, it's "darker" than most other Star Trek series . But it arguably has some of the best stories, the deepest character development, and coolest OMFG space battles of any of the series. Hell, even some of the recurring guest characters had more development than the regulars on some of the other series. BTW, hate to put a crimp on your guys' Starfleet Academy ideas, but the actor that played Boothby (Ray Walston) past away a few years ago. Yeah, they could always recast the part, but I don't know if it'd be the same.

Kurt came back from a hard-ass mission and discovered that Logan had drank all the beer. Including Kurt's hidden stash of home-made brew from the Deutschland.

Well, you're probably right. It just irks me a little that they went the "cost savings" route with the sentinel and having the Phoenix just sport dark contact lenses. I'm not exactly sure how Prof. X funds the school and everything else. I ocassionally check out some of the summaries out on the web, but I'm not sure if this was ever addressed in the comic books.........I'd like to think he used his mutant powers to make himself a nice little pile of cash. ["A $10,000 check would be very generous, Mr. Senator." ] .....All this thinking about X3 made me rewatch X2 last night. Damn, it's just such a great movie!! From Nightcrawler cutting loose in the beginning all the way to the Phoenix appearing in the water, X2 was a pitch-perfect example of what a comic book movie adaptation should be like.

I guess I'm the only idiot who thought of South Park's "Woodland Critter Christmas" when he first saw the box? <Not knockin' the valk inside. Just not a big fan of the box's design or the "official" name of the valk.>

Umm, not to overstate the obvious, but she was NEKKID!..........And it worked for the plot of the movie. Does anything else really matter? Totally agree with you there, David H. Something about Jean's "Sith Witch" look just felt off. Especially when in X2, they kept peppering us with all the little Flaming Phoenix visuals. I liked the potential in both the mutant cure and the Phoenix saga stories. But putting both stories in the same movie? It just didn't mesh all that well. And dammit, if you're gonna show a Sentinel, show the WHOLE damn thing! I felt that they cheated on that scene with just the glowing eyes and the severed head. All in all, it was an average movie. The potential was there for a great movie, but it just felt flat in its delivery. I'll stick with X2, and wonder what could have been with Singer directing.

I know it's probably not canon, but I repainted the Toynami FP's for the VF-1S black. (Personally, I just think the black armor looks better on Skull-1 than the armor's original teal color.) Clearly, the Yamato FP's have more detail. And the leg armors (the inner part, not the covering) on the Toynami FP's sometimes have a tendancy to plop off. But Toynami didn't do too bad of a job in engineering the actual Fast Pack boosters. Some people might not like how they look asthetically-speaking. But those things are sturdy as hell.

Here's what I'm hoping next season will be: Jack Bauer, Sleeper Agent Could make next season one hell of a ride.

Pillows-hatin' bastards! FLCL should have easily cracked the top 10. Heck, it's gotta count for something that the animators designed the animation and scenes to match up with the Pillows' music, and NOT the other way around.

Mog (heh!) would be cool, but we gotta show the Chocobos some love too!! Some other ideas: Toad or Magus from Chrono Trigger: always liked Toad's backstory and his theme music, while Magus has the whole powerful-magic-skills-packing-a-scyth thing going for him. Little Mac or Mr. Sandman from the original NES Punch Out!: Just for the pure nostalgia factor. (I still have trouble dodging Sandman's damn triple uppercuts!!) Earthworm Jim: I can just see the character fitting this type of game perfectly. And...............Video Game Bo Jackson from Tecmo Super Bowl: Kirby meet thy equalizer. Lastly, I think any Konami characters added to the game should have a secret attack using the following button combo: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. wolfx: You could play as Samus without her armor in the original Metroid, and you would briefly see Samus without her armor if you collected a high enough percentage of the power-ups in Super Metroid.

All the better to hide and spy! But yeah, the inside boxes are just a glossy white with nothing else. <Just being silly> Guess Yamato blew the wad on the outer box's design!

Someone else probably said this on the boards. But considering that the FP's are for space use and that the Stealth is pretty much black, it makes sense to have the Stealth have the FPs rather than the LV2. The Stealth gets accessories that enhance its speed, evasion, and espionage abilities. If the LV2 had the FPs, it wouldn't exactly make sense to be flying up in space with a Valk in camo patterns (unless the pilot just liked being a wild and crazy kinda guy). As for the GBP armor, as much as I love that "little" accessory, it just doesn't strike me as very "stealth-ish." But the armor's "F@ck you! I've got 40 missiles trained on your mofo azz. So please, PISS ME OFF!" attitude meshes pretty well the camo/military look of the LV2. .........And vlenhoff, yeah, I also got my Stealth last Saturday (preordered it from the Samurai-Monkey).

Surprisingly, it wasn't all that bad. Yes, Cruise is a nut, and I could care less about his personal life or opinions. But as for this movie, I have to admit: it was fairly entertaining. I mean an MI movie with actual TEAMWORK?!!! What a shocker! For a summer action flick, I'd say it's easily above average. And although it doesn't have the hotness that is Thandie Newton, this latest MI is a helluva lot better than MI2.

Well, considering I boycotted buying the "Even More Special" OT DVD's when they first came out, I'll probably be buying these suckers, just to have them on DVD. ......Now if I could just find a VOTC Biker Scout at a store.

It's all good. I await the all-powerful Mod Thread-Lock!

Linky: http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/release...ws20060503.html Watch out for the stupid pop-up ads. Saw the link originally from rebelscum.com.......I knew there was a reason I didn't buy these things when they first came out on DVD. My bad.....didn't see bsu's post.

Personally, I like Uematsu's works, especially the stuff for VI, VII, and even VIII. (BTW, if I'm wrong and he wasn't the main guy composing the themes for these games, someone can smack me upside the head.) Call me a sucker for the themes/leit motiffs(sp?), but some of his stuff is pretty impressive, considering it's for freakin' video games. Yes, some of the in-game music does sound "synth-like." But if you've ever heard the piano or orchestral versions of some of the themes, I can guarantee you that "synth" would be the last thing to come to mind. Heck, I'd put some of Uematsu's stuff on par with John William's work on the original Star Wars Trilogy.