Movie Reviews Iron Man 2

So this past weekend was pretty great for me. Mother's Day, just a weekend from working too much, and of course the release of Iron Man 2. I was set to go see it with my mom and some friends that Friday night but others decided to catch a mid-night release instead... which I did end up going through with. Tons of people were around, and many lines, and many popcorn, and many, many, MANY women dressed like they were about to go to a club which does sound unnecessary but hey I didn't complain =p

My friends and I sat in our chairs for two hours just to make sure we GOT seats to begin with and make sure it was a nice view, and a really nice view it was if you get my drift. 12:05am hit and the trailers let lose starting with The Last Air Bender which was an AMAZING trailer and even though I'm NOT a fan of that show, the movie DOES look fun and promising. More trailers roll through but none that really caught my attention with the exception of the next installment of Shrek and another Cloverfield-esque trailer for Super 8(?). Oh and I cant forget the trailer for Grown Ups starring a main cast of the most funniest comedians on screen, another Happy Madison film.

Now about the movie itself. It starts off in Moscow, Russia with our main antagonist Ivan "Whiplash" Vanko witnessing Tony Stark make his live speech announcing to the world that "He is Iron Man" which is actually the basis of this story. Tony Stark pays the price for busting himself out and now the whole world wants his suit for better or worse, mostly worse, reasons. Not only that, but Tony is going through some internal conflicts for both emotionally and literally so the audience will be expecting more drama and a darker tone to this story than the first one. There's also much more of everything in this movie aside from the drama. There is much more comedy, much more development, and definitely much more action though it falls short of what many were hoping for. The whole cast from the first movie returns with the unfortunate exception of Mr. Terrance Howrad who played Tony Stark's grounding man James Rhodes, who is now played by Don Cheadle. New cast members who are consisted of Scarlet Jo-hot-as-hell-hansson who plays SHIELD agent Black Widow, Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, and Mickey Rourke as Tony Stark's rival Ivan "Whiplash" Vanko.

Now with the casting being great already, do they deliver? Or is the script to blame for some of the things i have to pick on about? First being the fact that Sam Rockwell's character, Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries, is the equivalent to Jar-Jar Binks. Now don't get me wrong but i love Sam Rockwell's performances but in Iron Man 2, there were just some parts of his acting that just made me cringe sometimes. Another thing i need to pick about is how the hell did Don Cheadle's character James Rhodes get into the War Machine suit?! I mean obviously because he was the one who brought it in and of course hes got some time with it but HOW?! And out of no where... so a lacking on development there and a little bit inconsistent. now the biggest gripe i have against this movie is Mickey Rourke's, a.k.a Ivan "Whiplash" Vanko, screen time. He had very little screen time and for most of the time he didn't even have too much dialogue. Mickey Rourke is known for big roles especially his ground-breaking performance in The Wrestler, and i can't really say this sticks out too much but hey, you get to hear him using a Russian accent and literally "whip" some ass.

Overall, id have to agree that this was a pretty good movie as is though some improvements would've been nice. It was great to see more of the Avengers Initiation, especially getting to see more of Nick Fury played my Samuel L. Jackson, and newly introduced on film Black Widow played by, once again, Scarlet Jo-my-goodness-shes-friggin-gorgeous-hansson. Did i mention she kicks ass? And the music that plays right after she does that crazy move on the guy, right before she sprays that pepper spray... very sexy-girly, which adds to the hotness. But putting that aside, I loved the balanced amount of drama, comedy, action, and none of that seemed to be useless to my eyes and it all flew by smoothly. If you're a long time Marvel fan, you'll especially enjoy this movie because there are plenty of winks and nods at some older sub-plots and even to some possible future tricks and treats that Marvel would have to offer to us. I can't say the same for those of you who just have no clue about the Marvel universe and you are just someone who just enjoys the movies. There might be some confusion as to why Sam Jackson is in this movie and who is the character he's playing. It might not be that exactly but i would definitely have to say that this isn't for the clueless, as they might heavily judge the movie based on what they see and most of the movie felt more like a set-up for upcoming Marvel movie releases anyway. But if you take my word for it? Its worth seeing. Could've done better but I'm happy with what they gave us.

IM BACK!! sort of...

so as i enjoy the rest of my weekend, well its 11:20pm... pretty much a quarter till midnight so my weekend is also pretty much done... im uploading and editing some videos/reviews and at the same time i taking some test shots to see how my pictures would look like if i actually took night-time pictures instead of having to rely on mostly natural daylight. and luckily enough they came out pretty decently... decently enough that i should actually upload them onto photobucket and share them with you guys as a nice way to also update this long un-updated blog -_-

i decided to go with my recent purchases that were made during this past wonder-con, and also using some of my other figures so here they are =)

this first one was just a simple test shot using the all white Unicorn Gundam in its iconic Unicorn Mode




next weve got the famous Gurren Lagann




another revoltech figure, Overman King Gainer




an SD kit that ive had laying around for a while just like the SD Blitz, Kakuka Virsago




and now finally the one that im most excited to announce... S.I.C kamen rider ultimate kuuga from the kamen rider kuuga vol.13 set




well there you go!! i hope you guys enjoyed in some way... as far as future updates im thinking photo-based updates and/or reviews will be the way to go but until then... ciao!!

SD Blitz Gundam WIP // painting phase 1

whats up people!! so this would be my first post of the year and im glad thats its not some bullshit post about me ranting on about something you guys dont care about so with this i give you some photos of some of the pieces of the SD Blitz Gundam kit that ive been working on

this first image is just the exhaust vents on the shoulders, done with black lining marker but im wondering weather or not to outline the boarder with gray to give these pieces more of a thruster look rather than just keeping it plain red



and then these next images are just different angles of the eyes which was done using both lining and paint black gundam marker, and clear paint colors over plated silver gundam marker. i still dont know what the name of the effect is called...





this last one just shows the differences between when you paint the eyes vs. using the foil stickers that Bandai provides



make sure you guys check out the following paint video on my VersusEclipse channel come back for the 2nd photo phase here!!

a personal update but important enough

ok guys so the season has ended and new years is in a few days and as ive said 2010 is a year for change; a new decade... which is big i mean c'mon... and it has come to my attention that i should really be getting back into school because as you all know ive been dragged into a working life rather than a balance with work and school life like how it used to be. i dont know if i will actually be able to get into a the school id want to get into this spring let alone qualify for any form of financial aid which is tough considering my current job isnt stable and doesnt pay very much but im not mad... at least its still a job right? anyway, what does that mean for future video content? well it only means REVIEWS will be more rare due to the fact that i would really want to focus on which ever class/es more. we all say, and myself included, do what you have to do, and put life ahead of your hobby... well... this is me doing just that... i have high hopes for getting back into school even if it isnt exactly full-time and im not completely bummed out at all or anything about my sort of hiatus from gunpla and on top of this, everything is still all in planning stages so anything can change i mean i might not get into the desired class or i might, but i guess the other question is... what of the gunpla i said i would review in the future? well of course ill still get the 00 kits all the way up until i feel that ive gotten what i only need rather than what i only want like the MG GN-X and any other interesting MG's from 00, HG Reborns(maybe trans-am), Masurao and Susanowo(maybe trans-am as well), Gadess, Arche, and Seraphim(super late).

ok so i must be losing you guys in my rambling again so basically: ive declared for myself that id step my life up, or at least step a few things up in my life, for this new decade. i wont be getting any younger... i cant live the way i am forever either... so im making a change with what ever will i have to my better liking. if things go the way id like them to it would most likely mean either a rarer output of reviews... or just a total hiatus(which is less likely cuz i know id miss you guys anyway like i always do, no homo). am i ready to make these changes? no... but will i try my best to see it through? of course... so no matter what the outcome, 2010 will be my year

2010 gundam 00 movie gundams

heres the link to the original post

yeah im not too sure about the look of the new gundams BUT i can pick favorites right now and that would have to be either the Harute(\Allelujia Haptism) or the Raphael(Tieria Erde)... they look really awesome and i bet they would look much better as model kits either in the HG or the MG line. im totally not sure about whats going on with the 00 Quan[T] because to me its really beginning to look alot like some kinda of robo-organic gundam and more closer to an Innovators' suit... even more so than Tieria's Raphael Gundam. aside from that im not really feeling the a-symmetrical look with the fangs concentrated on one side... i hope that the 00 Quan[T] will have some other weapons to hold on his right arm to kind of balance that look. but the swet thing about the design is the Nu Gundam homage...hmm... and Zabanya(Lockon Stratos)... probably not as weird looking as the 00 Quan[T] but it does its job as a fire-arms based gundam. who knows what those things hanging from its waist are based on what we know to date but hopefully their functions get revealed soon. i would guess that theyre missile pods or something which would be sick and all i can think of is getting that kit an giving it a Heavyarms custom paint job(ideas here people get creative!!)



anyway... thats just my initial take on those gundams... and like before my thoughts on them might change overtime. as model kits though i do believe they would be pretty interesting though i can only imagine that they would NEED a action base or stand for them to really look good... or let alone stand on their own. but well see what Bandai can pull out of their sleeves with these kits but all i have to say about these designs is: "i guess they make sense for 'movie' gundams"

look out for a video response to the original post too on my VersusEclipse channel

just a couple of updates

So i was going through my daily check on the ngee khiong blogspot and i came across the Robot Damashii Susanowo. Now, i never really liked the look of the Susanowo but, for the Masurao i feel quiet opposite. Its got great colors and wields two awesome looking beam katanas instead of the physical swords of the Susanowo, though the reason behind the physical swords does make sense.



Now those are little images i took from the ngee khiong blogspot and once i saw them i immediately noticed the difference between them and the HG kits and i have to say it really caught my attention. The sculpt of these figure are just amazing and i believe Robot Damashii is pretty well known for producing these little figures with anime-accurate sculpting. Unfortunately, these figures go for about twice the price of your average HG kit and they actually come out of the box considerably smaller than your average HG kit. Its like paying for a less posable yet more detailed and sculpted Revoltech figure. So getting either the Robot Damashii Masurao or Susanowo would probably be just a thought since they arent exactly in scale with the HG kits though they are in scale within the same line. I would get either just as a pretty sweet display piece on top of some random shelf in my living room and no one would really know its from Gundam 00, instead they would just see it as an awesome looking mech that wields two swords.



I just hope that since they supposedly improved a few things with the HG Masurao kit which, by the way, i had to also cancel on that order. I now have a plan when buying that kit and i just hope that Sun Entertainment is still open so that i cant get the HG Masurao and something else ive been wanting for a while along with it.



Aside from that, im glad to say that recording for MG Exia has been FINALLY finalized and the editing process is taking place as i type so look out for the final and best part of the MG Exia review coming hopefully on Wednesday or Thursday of this week and yeah... i did come to fix the arm, though i have to now resort to taking my sweet ass time with posing that right arm, piece by piece. Heres a shot of my MG Exia showing you how bad ass he can look with JUST his GN Beam Daggers. More to come soon guys but if you wanna check out just a couple more photos, you can hit up my Flickr page here!!

just made a Flickr account!!

ok so as i CALMLY finish the "maintenance" of my MG Exia i veer off and try to tend to other things like making a new Flickr account so that i can finally post some pictures up!! well i dont mean NOW exactly when i say "finally" but you know... i DO have some photos that i will be uploading after the MG Exia review is finally done (after a long months worth of waiting) and hopefully ill be able to get some time to make a slide-show or gallery or what ever that i can link and post in this blog... somehow. so ill be doing kind of a written review thing using a couple of photos that i already have, and then ill be doing what i would like to call the "pose-ability" series (finalized name in progress =p) where i basically showcase using some photos with what ever kit im talking about and having that kit pull off some of its best poses with the given and working amount of articulation. im kind of excited about that part actually cuz i know alot of you, and myself included, are real action-pose freaks so this should be pretty good for all of us. i just hope my batteries last me (only those who know about my batteries wouldve gotten that one =p)

delay in MG Gundam Exia Ignition Mode review

so you remember that piece that had a crack on it back in the inner frame review?? at the moment im a little too pissed off to post pix of what my formerly sexy kit looked but yeah well that piece eventually gave in even after i had applied some plastic cement on it... apparently i didnt put enough or the piece just totally wore out after moving the arms so much... i dont know what to blame in this situation weather its me being too careful and breaking something instead or it was bandai and how they couldve just used a totally different joint system there... either way im gonna have to delay the final and best part of the review and let some of the new coats of cement rest... if it comes down to it... ill even grab some gorilla super glue because i dont want to have to waste money on getting another MG Exia kit JUST for that damn piece... but then again i DID plan on getting another one eventually... god damnit...

"what's with that stand?" more on MG GN-X Pt. 2

yeah... what the EFF is THAT?! why exactly is there a stand behind that kit... that really concerns me because as excited as i am about that kit this leaves me guessing "is this kit even gonna be able to STAND on its own?!" MG Exia has a little bit of standing issues itself so if the MG GN-X has that same issue then thats when i would begin to joke about the 00 MG line to be awesome!! but with a consistent standing issue on the side... i guess only time can explain why exactly there seems to be a friggin action base behind the concept unit... oh how i hope it doesnt have to do with standing issues =/

more on MG GN-X

so as far as we know the planned release date for this highly anticipated kit(well at least for me) is January 2010, this easily goes to show that bandai has had this planned for probably not that much longer than exia's planning phases, probably even at the same time!! but i wouldnt hope that were the case becasue given MG Exia DOES have quiet a few quirks to it, im hoping though that this MG GN-X unit wouldnt suffer from the same, or at least relatively the same, quirks like the semi-lose ankle joints for example. in all honesty i believe that this kit might actually hold together in terms of ground balancing than MG Exia can but i DO see wher ethere could be potential problems



if you take a look at the design art youll notice that on the rear view of the GN-X... you can kinda KINDA tell that the hip joint is gonna be something new but it relaly reminds of of the arm joints on the HGUC Acguy or the just released MG Guntank but im hoping that not the EXACT joint system they plan on using... though it COULD be a strong joint, posing would be a bitch i can imagine so im just hoping that thats just armor pieces and the hip joint system is pretty much the same as what weve been given with MG Exia

aside from all that junk i still cant seem to get passed the awesomeness that this kit could potentially posses... not to mention it really gives a hint at what bandai could be processing through their designs right now for what their next MG kit would be for the 00 line or even just in general as i found that the MG Blue Frame 2nd Revise was pretty impressive itself but of course iy had some quirks but you know what? i dont blame bandai for those quirks because i look at it as experiments... they did great with MG Exia with giving it that new separate hip joint system but the ankles werent so impressive though the idea was great and so it makes me wonder if the MG Blue Frame had the same quirk because it also was given the same ankle joint system as MG Exia

as for MG GN-X... i probably wont be able to make the pre-order in terms of following through considering christmas and a few birthdays are coming up before that time comes but i can assure you... weather the 00 series DOES happen to win the votes or not... consider the GN-X as my next MG review after the MG Exia Ignition Mode set... but dont think im trying to convince you all to JUST vote for 00

next MG for 00 series is...

like you didnt already know... yes the next MG kit coming for the 00 series is the GN-X unit as shown here



this caught me by surprise too as im sure it did with everyone else but you know what?! i dont think its such a bad idea after all. look at it as a sign of whats to come in the later releases of 00 MG's *COUGHMasuraoCOUGH* and just the fact that Bandai's technologies put into their MG's have been advancing especially in the 00 series and aside from that its really refreshing to me to be seeing this considering the only OTHER units that have been getting the MG attention are grunt units like the Zaku's which have TONS of alterations already released and STILL being released in the near future... talk about creativity and smart spending of funds though i CAN see that potentially happening too with the GN_X considering the other forms this unit takes like the GN-X II and GN-X III and even the GN-X Advanced!! now that would be sweet... anyway it could also be sweet to see if, and im sure there SHOULD be, an LED unit as well but of course in RED!! that would be so awesome... and finally i just love the design of the GN-X... totally something different and over time its just grown on me... now i just cant help but wonder what other unit from 00 *COPUGHMasuraoAndMaybeEvenABetter00COUGH* they would give the MG treatment to

taking a new approach to the "lets build series"

for this upcoming lets build series(sergei's tieren taozi), i planned on taking a different approach where instead of taking the same steps as with previous takes, i go with something more similar to stryderprime's style in terms of set-up but that doesnt mean im trying to copy him. what WILL be similar will be how the pieces would be ready and set for the takes instead of having to cut them from the trees in real time so that would mean i would have to take the time to not only cut parts from their gates, but to also shave excess/buff the parts... and get an idea of where the pieces would go, seeing if there is any issues that one might run into and bringing them up during the shoot... just all part of my quest in becoming a more detail oriented reviewer, considering its been ALMOST 2 years since ive been an active reviewer and 1000 subscribers later, id really like to go for some changes. does that mean no more fun wise-cracky reviews? nope!! still going to throw those in when i get a chance as you might see in upcoming reviews

wow...

alright, alright, alright... i know... i know... what the EFF have i not been doing to update this here blogger?? who cares... what matters is the current matter at hand and it involves alot of what ive been thinking about in terms of "what happens after SD Blitz gundam?!" assuming that it will be the last kit i build until i have no more kits to build... well at least until after HG masurao but with that in mind ive been thinking about doing gundam reviews according to series... for example depending on WHAT i come across between now and when ever "then" is ill be taking a full concentration on doing reviews for gunpla coming from that series... now that doesnt exactly mean me going out to get every single kit from a particular series but ONLY the ones i find interesting and more importantly, the ones i dont have but this is where it gets confusing... lets say i go with the SEED Destiny series and i already have the HG strike freedom and destiny gundams, so does that mean i wont be getting those two in a bigger/better scale? no... MG strike freedom and destiny have been on my "wanted list" for quiet some time now so that just goes to show that there WILL be exceptions but hey enough with the garbage!! how about we get to the point... the fun part of course is when i get lazy to decide for myself and yes i tend to do this alot... i make YOU GUYS DECIDE!! so i will be posting this poll up (which should be both UP and literally UP) asking you guys obviously to decide for me and besides i think this is more fun due to the fact that in the end it could be anything and which ever the outcome... i think it would be fun to go with what you guys had decided and just go from there as it adds to a sense of freedom and adjustment... not to mention surprises... SO... happy voting guys and oh by the way... for those ever wondering about whats going to happen to the revoltech reviews?! ive postponed them until further notice due to the fact that they are just not worth it at the moment considering their size and quantities and overall price tags hence ive just decided to continue with gunpla and transformers... until further notice as i said...

ok now i think ive spoken enough so yeah... aside from all that junk up there i will be posting up alot of pictures of my recent works that never got to make it up here and that goes from all the way back to HG exia r2 and 0 gundam acd so look out for those but ill be trying to find a way to link them to a gallery of sorts so that i dont waste time and space putting them all here...

HG 1/144 Trans-Am Raiser WIP pt.1

this is all about the GN Sword III

sorry for the lack of updates...

...ive been real busy with getting these reviews in and also losing myself with building the trans-am raiser that i totally forgot to shoot and upload WIP shots for the 0 raiser...which ive painted and such...i just havent taken actual progrss shots...but i CAN take the kit apart for SOME shots...will be getting to that real soon i promise...just hang tight

HG 1/144 Garazzo COMPLETE

HG 1/144 Garazzo WIP pt.3

here they are...split and cut beam claws...couldve done better on the thumbs though but im satisfied



a different angle



the normal beam effect part for the right hand compared to the worked on left hand

HG 1/144 Garazzo WIP pt.2

first off is a shot of the two parts of the left leg...i think i did better this time with the stickers



now we have gadessa in the background and the 40% completed garazzo...liking this scene



close-up...you can see the face behind the clear red "visor" which can be pulled down a little bit for some odd reason...



parts-swapping is required for the visor...here it is when its up



notice the difference when the visor is down? cuz i dont...i will leave the visor up just because it looks cooler that way



heres those red circles in the chest on the gadessa with stckers



same area on the garazzo but with metallic red gundam marker...its darker but i like it alot more



"the future of mankind lies with Innovator"