Funko Pop of the Month #1 - May 2016 - Doom Marine (Games #90)

             If any of you who read this know me, I'm a huge Funko Pop lover. I just think they’re extremely cool figure and if I had the space I’d get a billion of them. This format will be a work in process. I'm not sure how to proceed but we shall start here. I decided it was time to start with the Marine from Doom since the game just came out this month.

            The character caught my eye at the EB games as soon as I saw it. I'm a sucker for Funko’s that have goggles. The green and gold is an odd color that I sometimes think is cool, sometimes not as much. I love the fact that he has his shotgun handy. Unfortunately I find the head looks a little too big for the body. I think it may be because the arms and legs are bunched together giving that perception.

            Forgive the shortness of this look at the Funko of the month, still trying to find my footing. Come back to see what ‘s in store for June. 

Book Review #10 - Die Trying by Lee Child

Plot: Jack Reacher, along with a woman he was helping with her crutches, get kidnapped and go on a cross-country ride.

Review: The Jack Reacher series is something that I’ve only read one book of so far, but I’m hooked. Reacher is a very simple character, but there’s also an unknown mystery about him that is intriguing. In this story, he’s just the wrong guy at the wrong place at the wrong time. He gets dragged into a conspiracy involving a group of nutjobs trying to create their own country.

            The story starts off slowly, nothing much happens for the first half of the book. But it’s a slow build that grows until the finale. Anyone looking for a quick validation won’t find it here. But if you stick around, it will be worth your time. It gets extremely violent, ruthless and entertaining. I won’t go into too much more detail on the story but suffice it to say I will continue with this series.

Score: 8.5/10

Movie Reviews #54 - Daddy's Home (2015)

Plot: The father and step-father of a family compete with each other to gain their affection.

Review: The pairing of Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell is a unique one I don’t believe has been seen previously. This time, Ferrell plays the straight man and Wahlberg is the eccentric one. And in this scenario, they do it well. Ferrell is a straight laced nice guy who does everything for his new family but isn’t that exciting. Wahlberg is the cool, rebellious father coming back to bond with his kids. The two clash and hilarity ensues. It’s not a novel concept in any way, variations of this type of story have happened many, many times. Despite this, the movie is still funny but not laugh out loud hilarious. Ferrell's boss, played by Thomas Haden Church, is the type of comedic character I really love. He spouts off hilarious stories that sounds like they were improvised and make me laugh a lot.

           

            This movie won’t blow anyone’s mind but if you were on a plane like me, this is an entertaining and worthwhile way to pass the time.

Score: 6.5/10

Movie Reviews #53 - Judgement Night (1993)

Plot: 4 friends get lost on the way to a boxing match and witness a murder. They are now being hunted by the killers.

Review: This movie was a big deal when I was a kid. My brother and I would watch it all the time. Watching it now, it feels a little weird. There is a lot swearing, but most of it I probably didn’t understand at the time. There isn’t all that much action and the killing that does happen seems very mean spirited, especially compared to the Schwarzenegger movies I grew up on.

            Emilio Estevez as the main hero is an unusual choice but he does alright here. He’s supposed to be an everyman. At times though he gets annoying, acting like everyone’s mom. Stephen Dorff are Cuba Gooding Jr. are the hothead and Jeremy Piven is the weasel, typical archetypes. Dennis Leary as the villain was good. He’s scary and threatening since he’s got a crew and guns, but you feel that on a one on one fight you could take him.

            This movie is more of a thriller than an action movie. It manages to keep the intensity but sometimes the characters get annoying and bothersome. A decent movie but not great by any stretch.

Score: 6/10

TV Reviews - X-Files Season 9 (2001-2002)

Review: After 3 and half years we’re finally at the end of the original run of The X-Files. There’s been up and downs and some breaks in between also. The show changed a lot from the beginning to the end, and not necessarily for the best. In this final season, Mulder has disappeared and Scully is mostly a support character, not directly participating in most of the cases. Doggett and Reyes are now the leads and while it does breathe some new story-lines and interactions, it feels off. While watching you keep thinking this is not the X-Files I know.

            That’s not to say there aren't any good episodes. Some of the monster of the week stories are strong. The ones featuring Doggett’s past are quite intriguing. It would have been great if the new agents were additions rather than replacements.

            The central alien storyline is now more confusing than ever. There are super soldiers and something to do with Mulder and Scully’s baby, I can’t quite understand it. It feels like they had solved everything in previous seasons and now they are making up stuff to keep it going. We don’t even get a satisfying conclusion at the end, it’s barely a season finale. Chris Carter was most likely hoping to make a series of movies to explain but that didn't really happen.

            The season is decent but there is not much left to tell. They should have just tied up the loose ends instead of introducing new threats. Hopefully the new season that came out recently will solve some of these problems, but I doubt it.

Score: 6.5/10

Movie Reviews #52 - Some Kind of Wonderful

Plot: An unpopular teenager tries to gain the affection of the popular girl in school.

Review: While watching this movie I kept wondering why is Eric Stoltz trying to get liked by Leah Thompson? Sure she’s hot but his friends, Mary Stuart Masterson, is hot too and she’s way more fun. That was the main I was wondering the whole time. That’s pretty all I’ve got for this review. Decent John Hughes produced movie with some cute moments but not all that great.

Score: 6/10