This book (All My Friends Are Superheroes by Andrew Kauffman) starts off interesting enough. There are superheroes everywhere with different powers. Some are Perfectionists, some are Hypnotists, some can breathe underwater, some are simply always nervous. Some powers seem useful, some not. There are no supervillains per se.
However, one hero makes the girl he has a crush on believe her husband is invisible (by hypnotising). Oh, and he used to date her after he hypnotised her to essentially rape her for 3 months. But somehow he is still not a villain. And the book tries to play this off as "well, the Perfectionist had the best sex of her life with Hypno which is what he hypnotised her to believe, so it is okay." But no-one steps up to challenge this demented Deus-Ex character just to advance the plot more.
Overall, though (if you ignore this bit of writing stupidity), the book is humorous with its unique view of superhero powers. It is also short. But they are big things to overlook, so ultimately a big thumbs down.
1 out of 5 super waffles.
Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Wednesday, 22 May 2019
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: KICKSTARTER ARRIVALS
So I just thought I would give some initial impressions of some Kickstarter arrivals that I have unpacked, purely based on the contents and the rulebook:
Mysthea- Looks really good. Storing it back in the trays is a bit of a pain. The game looks good. The standard miniatures look like they lost a bit of detail a they are quite small. The game looks quite fun. I am very happy I got the language pack for cards with text.
Neta Tanka- The deluxe edition had allot in it. The KS exclusives didn't quite fit well into the storage boxes. It looks very interesting but also looks like it has allot in it. Hopefully it won't be too complex.
Batman- That was allot of stuff. I doubt I will go with the new Kickstarter in June as there is allot here. The miniature bases and lack of player aides with a poor rulebook is very annoying.
Clash of Rage- Looks really fun. However, the boxes have heaps of unused space around molds. I think I can pack in all the stuff in the base game.
Wreck Raiders- The dice are a bit clunky, which affects how much they can roll compared to rolling them in the box. Looks like a nice small set-collection game. The component quality is okay, but looks like it plays quite fun.
Mysthea- Looks really good. Storing it back in the trays is a bit of a pain. The game looks good. The standard miniatures look like they lost a bit of detail a they are quite small. The game looks quite fun. I am very happy I got the language pack for cards with text.
Neta Tanka- The deluxe edition had allot in it. The KS exclusives didn't quite fit well into the storage boxes. It looks very interesting but also looks like it has allot in it. Hopefully it won't be too complex.
Batman- That was allot of stuff. I doubt I will go with the new Kickstarter in June as there is allot here. The miniature bases and lack of player aides with a poor rulebook is very annoying.
Clash of Rage- Looks really fun. However, the boxes have heaps of unused space around molds. I think I can pack in all the stuff in the base game.
Wreck Raiders- The dice are a bit clunky, which affects how much they can roll compared to rolling them in the box. Looks like a nice small set-collection game. The component quality is okay, but looks like it plays quite fun.
Wednesday, 15 May 2019
MOVIE REVIEW: CREED 2
Creed 2 is the follow-up to Creed. This in itself was a sort-of sequel to the Rocky series, where Rocky comes back in the role of a trainer rather than a fighter. The main character, Adonis Creed, is now the heavyweight champion. However, the past is going to try catching up to him.
The main rival here is Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago. After being shamed in his country for losing to Rocky, Ivan has decided to try and regain the glory that was taken from him by putting Viktor against Adonis.
Creed 2 feels at once both familiar and also fresh. Adonis has to contend with issues both inside and outside the ring as he aims to overcome the challenge to his title. It follows several of the familiar Rocky beats (including the training montage), and how it plays out isn't really exceptionally surprising.
However, not every movie needs to be filled with twists and turns. There are a few surprises on how things play out, but what this movie does, it does well. The story gets you emotionally invested and the characters are well realised. In particular, both sides are given plenty of motivations that are believable.
The only downside is that perhaps it is time for Rocky to step out of the series. He does serve as the known emotional bedrock of the series with history, but I would be interested in perhaps a new or different character moving into that role. This would probably be the final step to prove that Creed can truly stand on its own as a series.
5 out of 5 boxing waffles.
The main rival here is Viktor Drago, the son of Ivan Drago. After being shamed in his country for losing to Rocky, Ivan has decided to try and regain the glory that was taken from him by putting Viktor against Adonis.
Creed 2 feels at once both familiar and also fresh. Adonis has to contend with issues both inside and outside the ring as he aims to overcome the challenge to his title. It follows several of the familiar Rocky beats (including the training montage), and how it plays out isn't really exceptionally surprising.
However, not every movie needs to be filled with twists and turns. There are a few surprises on how things play out, but what this movie does, it does well. The story gets you emotionally invested and the characters are well realised. In particular, both sides are given plenty of motivations that are believable.
The only downside is that perhaps it is time for Rocky to step out of the series. He does serve as the known emotional bedrock of the series with history, but I would be interested in perhaps a new or different character moving into that role. This would probably be the final step to prove that Creed can truly stand on its own as a series.
5 out of 5 boxing waffles.
Thursday, 9 May 2019
MOVIE REVIEW: ONCE UPON A DEADPOOL (2018)
Once Upon a Deadpool is a non-R rated remake of Deadpool 2. It effectively just dials back the blood and gore and swearing and instead changes its premise a bit. Instead of just a straight up movie, it is instead set akin to the Princess Bride, with Deadpool telling it to Fred Savage.
Deadpool 2 is the story of Cable, coming back through time. He wants to kill a kid (Russell) who will grow up to kill his family. Along the way, he runs into Deadpool who wants to protect the kid. Despite Deadpool treating allot of things like a joke, he never comes across as a joke. In addition, they are able to play with the new storytelling device to insert extra humour in areas.
Once Upon a Deadpool is as entertaining to watch as Deadpool 2. The acting and the jokes are great, the reveals are good, and it is a good superhero story. That being said, if you have watched Deadpool 2 then it doesn't add enough new things to make it worthwhile to watch again (unless you want to see Deadpool 2 again, in which case having things slightly different makes it feel a bit fresher).
That is probably the biggest criticism of Once Upon a Deadpool. Its reasons for existing are questionable. If people weren't going to watch it because of the tone and vulgarity, it doesn't remove enough of that to make it worthwhile. Otherwise you have already seen it. However, taken in vacuum, it is still a very good movie.
4 out of 5 bloody waffles.
Deadpool 2 is the story of Cable, coming back through time. He wants to kill a kid (Russell) who will grow up to kill his family. Along the way, he runs into Deadpool who wants to protect the kid. Despite Deadpool treating allot of things like a joke, he never comes across as a joke. In addition, they are able to play with the new storytelling device to insert extra humour in areas.
Once Upon a Deadpool is as entertaining to watch as Deadpool 2. The acting and the jokes are great, the reveals are good, and it is a good superhero story. That being said, if you have watched Deadpool 2 then it doesn't add enough new things to make it worthwhile to watch again (unless you want to see Deadpool 2 again, in which case having things slightly different makes it feel a bit fresher).
That is probably the biggest criticism of Once Upon a Deadpool. Its reasons for existing are questionable. If people weren't going to watch it because of the tone and vulgarity, it doesn't remove enough of that to make it worthwhile. Otherwise you have already seen it. However, taken in vacuum, it is still a very good movie.
4 out of 5 bloody waffles.
Saturday, 4 May 2019
BOARD GAME REVIEW: CENTURY EASTERN WONDERS
Century: Spice Road was a game that was a big hit. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of it, it still saw allot of play as it was quick, simple, and could easily be introduced to groups. My main complaint is that one mechanism doesn't make a game, and it was really hurt by the lack of any non-obvious victory point pathway (such as end game goals or achievements).
So when I heard Eastern Wonders was meant to be a gamer's version of Spice Road, I was excited. And it does indeed add some additional mechanisms such as a tech-tree of sorts and end game scoring. While Spice Road is a card and hand-management game, Eastern Wonders is much closer to a pick-up-and-deliver game. It also has the benefit of being able to be combined with Spice Road.
Eastern Wonders, however, felt like a two-steps-forwards/three-steps-backwards situation. The game adds a bunch of extra steps to set-up (including putting the board together, which should've really have had an included play-mat) and to each turn. In addition to this, the graphic design to see all the information is lacking, with the structures you build always obscuring important information you are missing.
But, for me, I guess this also suffers from a fatal flaw like Spice Road. In Spice Road, the lack of end-game or alternate scoring pathways left it feeling much less exciting than things like Splendor (with the noble tiles). Here, it is that the map remains pretty static for most the game. If you can spot a route that you can turn over resources quicker by travelling in circles, there is very little outside sources that can stop you.
This is alleviated by combining Spice Road and Eastern Wonders to form a larger game, now requiring hand management and board management. The problem with this is that it turns into the same price as an expensive big box game, and you still have the graphic design issue. At this price, the game needs to be stellar rather than just good for what you are physically receiving. Unfortunately, it just isn't.
So in the end, Eastern Wonders wasn't for me. I prefer Spice Road because it plays quicker and is easier to set-up and teach to new players. However, for me, the Century series feels like a series of games that isn't for me as they miss essential ingredients of what makes the style of games fun. Maybe if they release a reasonably-priced box for the combined games than it may be more worthwhile.
2 out of 5 wondrous waffles.
So when I heard Eastern Wonders was meant to be a gamer's version of Spice Road, I was excited. And it does indeed add some additional mechanisms such as a tech-tree of sorts and end game scoring. While Spice Road is a card and hand-management game, Eastern Wonders is much closer to a pick-up-and-deliver game. It also has the benefit of being able to be combined with Spice Road.
Eastern Wonders, however, felt like a two-steps-forwards/three-steps-backwards situation. The game adds a bunch of extra steps to set-up (including putting the board together, which should've really have had an included play-mat) and to each turn. In addition to this, the graphic design to see all the information is lacking, with the structures you build always obscuring important information you are missing.
But, for me, I guess this also suffers from a fatal flaw like Spice Road. In Spice Road, the lack of end-game or alternate scoring pathways left it feeling much less exciting than things like Splendor (with the noble tiles). Here, it is that the map remains pretty static for most the game. If you can spot a route that you can turn over resources quicker by travelling in circles, there is very little outside sources that can stop you.
This is alleviated by combining Spice Road and Eastern Wonders to form a larger game, now requiring hand management and board management. The problem with this is that it turns into the same price as an expensive big box game, and you still have the graphic design issue. At this price, the game needs to be stellar rather than just good for what you are physically receiving. Unfortunately, it just isn't.
So in the end, Eastern Wonders wasn't for me. I prefer Spice Road because it plays quicker and is easier to set-up and teach to new players. However, for me, the Century series feels like a series of games that isn't for me as they miss essential ingredients of what makes the style of games fun. Maybe if they release a reasonably-priced box for the combined games than it may be more worthwhile.
2 out of 5 wondrous waffles.
Saturday, 27 April 2019
MOVIE REVIEW: AVENGERS END GAME (2019)
Avengers: End Game had big shoes to fill. Following up from Infinity War (which I regarded as the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movie at the time), End Game had the task of wrapping up Phase 3 of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, rather than continuing Infinity War and taking any risks, End Game feels like a corporate paint-by-numbers movie.
End Game starts a little after the end of Infinity War. The trailers built up several mysteries (such as how Tony Stark is saved), but these are quickly resolved. The Avengers than go about the task of trying to undo the damage caused by Thanos and his snap. What follows next is an underwhelming, self-indulgent movie that the 'nothing matters' superhero movie criticisms can be applied to.
The main problems I have with it isn't that it is mediocre (which it definitely is). It is (like Captain Marvel before it) how it retroactively makes some of the best lines and scenes of the previous movies worse. Thor getting Stormbreaker and his nobility are thrown away into making him the comic relief. Hulk becomes Hulk again with just a quick handwave. The Soul Stone no longer requires sacrificing that which you love the most. They give an out for Loki to reappear. And the list goes on as they want to have their cake and eat it for future merchandising.
It all ends in a largely inconsequential fight at the end. You know the ending. The ending has been rumored since before Infinity War. It is very predictable. All you need to do is look at the upcoming movie releases and the most popular movies to know how it is going to resolve itself. No risks were taken and some of the big risks of previous movies were undone. However, the worst is done to Thanos and his fearsome and formidable Black Order, who are reduced to a generic villain and cannon fodder.
Infinity War took allot of risks for a superhero movie and is one of my favorite movies of all time. It also ended perfectly and would've have been a suitably epic end for the Marvel movies. Unfortunately, End Game fails and instead gets stuck in corporate mediocrity. I wonder when the dust settles on the hype if this movie will be fondly remembered. For me, I always prefer the twisted father-figure that was Infinity War Thanos and suspect that, like Transformers, it won't be remembered too fondly in the future.
2 out of 5 ending stars.
End Game starts a little after the end of Infinity War. The trailers built up several mysteries (such as how Tony Stark is saved), but these are quickly resolved. The Avengers than go about the task of trying to undo the damage caused by Thanos and his snap. What follows next is an underwhelming, self-indulgent movie that the 'nothing matters' superhero movie criticisms can be applied to.
The main problems I have with it isn't that it is mediocre (which it definitely is). It is (like Captain Marvel before it) how it retroactively makes some of the best lines and scenes of the previous movies worse. Thor getting Stormbreaker and his nobility are thrown away into making him the comic relief. Hulk becomes Hulk again with just a quick handwave. The Soul Stone no longer requires sacrificing that which you love the most. They give an out for Loki to reappear. And the list goes on as they want to have their cake and eat it for future merchandising.
It all ends in a largely inconsequential fight at the end. You know the ending. The ending has been rumored since before Infinity War. It is very predictable. All you need to do is look at the upcoming movie releases and the most popular movies to know how it is going to resolve itself. No risks were taken and some of the big risks of previous movies were undone. However, the worst is done to Thanos and his fearsome and formidable Black Order, who are reduced to a generic villain and cannon fodder.
Infinity War took allot of risks for a superhero movie and is one of my favorite movies of all time. It also ended perfectly and would've have been a suitably epic end for the Marvel movies. Unfortunately, End Game fails and instead gets stuck in corporate mediocrity. I wonder when the dust settles on the hype if this movie will be fondly remembered. For me, I always prefer the twisted father-figure that was Infinity War Thanos and suspect that, like Transformers, it won't be remembered too fondly in the future.
2 out of 5 ending stars.
Monday, 22 April 2019
/MOVIE REVIEW: POWER RANGERS (2017)
Power Rangers is a 2017 American super-hero film that is based in a series of shows. The shows main premise is a bunch of heroes can transform into costumed warriors, pilot mecha-lions, and combine into a mega robot.
If that premise sounds silly and light-hearted, that is because it is. And that is something the previous series shows understood (for the most part). Maybe due to budgetary constraints or the quality of the acting that was available to them, they never took the premise overly seriously. And if you think that this new movie is anything but light-hearted based on the trailer, well, you are half-right.
That is ultimately where the Power Rangers movie falls down. It doesn't know if it wants to be light-hearted or grim and dark. I wouldn't be surprised to learn (if I cared enough to research) that it had large amounts of reshoots or rewrites of the script. What you are left with is a weird movie that randomly alternates between trying to be a dark-and-gritty take on the Power Rangers that grates against other parts of the movie that try to make everything a joke.
This is a shame as the movie had potential either way. Instead, the movie can best be summed up in one scene. In this scene, you see the giant monster incinerating the town and murdering the townsfolk. All the sudden, the old Power Ranger theme hits as the Power Rangers arrive on the scene, jarring you out of the dark section. And then one of the characters makes the mind-baffling decision to drive towards the giant monsters just to try and up the tension again.
1.5 out of 5 mighty-morphin' power waffles.
If that premise sounds silly and light-hearted, that is because it is. And that is something the previous series shows understood (for the most part). Maybe due to budgetary constraints or the quality of the acting that was available to them, they never took the premise overly seriously. And if you think that this new movie is anything but light-hearted based on the trailer, well, you are half-right.
That is ultimately where the Power Rangers movie falls down. It doesn't know if it wants to be light-hearted or grim and dark. I wouldn't be surprised to learn (if I cared enough to research) that it had large amounts of reshoots or rewrites of the script. What you are left with is a weird movie that randomly alternates between trying to be a dark-and-gritty take on the Power Rangers that grates against other parts of the movie that try to make everything a joke.
This is a shame as the movie had potential either way. Instead, the movie can best be summed up in one scene. In this scene, you see the giant monster incinerating the town and murdering the townsfolk. All the sudden, the old Power Ranger theme hits as the Power Rangers arrive on the scene, jarring you out of the dark section. And then one of the characters makes the mind-baffling decision to drive towards the giant monsters just to try and up the tension again.
1.5 out of 5 mighty-morphin' power waffles.
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