Tough Sell For The Price, The 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set Still Has Merit!

The Good: Limited edition, Great images, Easy to collect
The Bad: Very expensive, Simplistic concept/images
The Basics: With eleven cards, the 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set is great for die-hard collectors, but is a tough sell to Star Trek fans in general!


Pushing the envelope works in a lot of industries. In the collectibles market, there seems to be a pretty fine line between pushing the envelope and alienating one’s base. As a fan of Star Trek collectibles, it seems like the line between pleasing and upsetting fans comes in the form of making items too rare. One of the first collectibles to really upset Star Trek fans (back in the day when the internet was chock full of active message boards!) was the “Tapestry” Picard action figure (reviewed here!), which was limited to 1701 pieces worldwide. At the time, Playmates Toys lost a number of collectors because they realized that they could never complete their collections based on how limited those figures were. Standards have changed! In the realm of Star Trek trading cards, fans have watched as rarity has gone from there being 500 of a card to 125 (with some of the first sketch cards) to 25 when Rittenhouse Archives released the Star Trek The Original Series 40th Anniversary set (reviewed here!) with 25 cut autograph cards from Gene Roddenberry. Now, there are only 5 truly complete sets of Star Trek trading cards and as a collector and dealer of Star Trek trading cards, I’ve watched the consumer base shrink over the last twenty years.

An odd debate raged among Star Trek trading card collectors when Rittenhouse Archives released their 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set. The eleven card set was released for hundreds of dollars and while it contained autographed costume cards for both Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, the idea of shelling out so much for so little seemed to shock collectors (which is odd because people tended to pay more for similarly rare autograph cards when they were released in bigger sets). So, the emotional disconnect with the 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set makes it more analogous to the mini-disc vs. c.d. (SONY discovered that people felt they weren’t getting as much for their money when they bought mini-discs, even though they sometimes had exclusive tracks – more content!). In other words, most of the problem with the 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set is a perception problem.

Basics/Set Composition

The2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set is an eleven card limited edition set that was sold directly from Rittenhouse archives. It was strictly limited to 250 sets, each one hand numbered on the two autographed costume cards. Each set was sold as an entire set in a cellophane pack. Each pack has all nine cards and the two autographed costume cards.

The limited edition 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set was originally sold direct from Rittenhouse Archives and they are long since sold out, making the eleven-card sets a real find from dealers who might still be clinging to them. These sets have steadily increased in price over the years and fans are lucky to be able to find them for under $500.00 now, if they can find them at all.

Common Cards

The nine common cards are essentially movie posters for Star Trek Into Darkness. Paramount released promotional posters of the seven main crewmembers, as well as Dr. Marcus and Khan. Rittenhouse Archives replicated those posters for the 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set. Each of the portrait-oriented movie poster trading cards features a single character from Star Trek Into Darkness, as they appeared in key scenes of the film (and were used for promotional purposes).

The backs of the nine common cards simply state the actor and character names over the slightly reframed and enlarged photo of the character on the front. This is a very simply limited edition common set.

Chase Cards

The 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set features two bonus cards. There is an autographed costume card for Chris Pine as Captain Kirk and another of Zachary Quinto as Spock. The autographed costume cards are landscape-oriented and have decent, clear signatures on the front and a window that features a piece of the set-worn costume from Star Trek Into Darkness for each of the two main characters. On the back of the two cards, which came sealed in a toploader directly from Rittenhouse Archives, are hand numbered to 250.

Non-Box/Pack Cards

There were no cards for the preview set not in each limited edition pack.

Overall

The 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set is small, but valuable. It is unremarkable, save the two cards which are truly impressive, even if they do not quite fit the same style as the rest of the set. In short, the 2013 Star Trek Movies Star Trek Into Darkness Preview Set is an inconsistent mix of incredible and mundane, making for an ultimately average product.

This set culls images from Star Trek Into Darkness, reviewed here!

For other limited edition card products, check out my reviews of:
Star Trek: Enterprise 9-Card Preview Set
Star Trek Genesis Limited Edition CCG Set
Star Trek Cinema Collection

5/10

For other trading card reviews, please visit my Trading Card Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Unfortunately Indistinct Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind Is Not Gordon Lightfoot’s Best!

The Good: Great voice! Some good lyrics
The Bad: SHORT, Dull instrumental accompaniment
The Basics: If You Could Read My Mind is both Lightfoot’s best-selling original album (under its original name Sit Down Young Stranger) and one of his most boring works!


So far in my study of Gordon Lightfoot’s musical works, I have discovered that I like Gordon Lightfoot’s music and that I find I am enjoying his works in almost the opposite of most of his fans! As a result, some of his celebrated albums with awesome charting singles have left me unimpressed and some of his albums that flopped because they didn’t have a “hook” single have been the ones I enjoy listening to the whole album over and over and over again (I listen to every album I review at least eight times before reviewing it!). So, it is something of a contrarian opinion that I have on If You Could Read My Mind (the album is identical in content to its original name Sit Down Young Stranger).

If You Could Read My Mind is Gordon Lightfoot’s sixth studio album (his first on Reprise) and while it might be his best-selling non-compilation album, its success might be based more on the advertising hype than the quality of the work. If You Could Read My Mind easily falls into the “indistinct” category, where a generally good work has so many songs that sound so similar to one another that listening to the album on replay it becomes something of an auditory mash. Any one of the songs on If You Could Read My Mind are (at the very least) good, but as an album, this album is dragged down because all of the songs have the “one man with a guitar” sound to them (despite there being additional instruments on several tracks.

With only eleven songs clocking out at 36:44, the biggest strike against If You Could Read My Mind is that it is short. The album is mostly the work of Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot wrote all of the songs, save “Me And Bobby McGee” (which, as it turns out was co-written by Kris Kristofferson and was only covered by Janis Joplin?!). Gordon Lightfoot plays guitar or piano on each song (depending on which instrument is dominant on the track) and he sang all of the lead vocals. The only major creative function Lightfoot was not involved in was producing or engineering the album. Given that he was well-established by the time If You Could Read My Mind was released, it is hard to imagine that this was not the creative direction Lightfoot wanted for the album.

Vocally, If You Could Read My Mind is brought down by the quality vocals of Gordon Lightfoot. That might seem like a contradiction, but there is a narcoleptic quality to listening to If You Could Read My Mind because almost all of the songs, save “Baby It’s Allright” have Lightfoot singing slowly, smoothly and hypnotically. His vocals throughout the album are clear, but generally slow and somewhat sad.

Instrumentally, If You Could Read My Mind is very much the sound of one man and a guitar. It is hard to imagine that an acoustic version with Lightfoot unsupported by backing harmonica, bass, or mandolin would sound too different from the full-studio version of the album. The clarity of the songs makes it almost inconceivable that Lightfoot didn’t sue the crap out of Bob Dylan! Dylan’s “Shelter From The Storm,” which was released five years after If You Could Read My Mind has virtually the same tune as Lightfoot’s “Sit Down Young Stranger!”

Lyrically, If You Could Read My Mind is a good, but not superlative, album. This is very much an album of Folk ballads and the raw emotionalism of many of the songs is appealing, but Lightfoot has done similar sentiments better elsewhere. That’s not to say that lines like “Open the door my pretty one / Wake from your sleep and take me home / Open your eyes and look my way / I cannot leave your love alone” (“Your Love’s Return”) do not perfectly capture the passion and yearning that make it relatable, but hearing it with such an indistinct tune makes it harder to be grabbed by the lines.

It is easy to see why Lightfoot originally named the album Sit Down Young Stranger; “Sit Down Young Stranger” is a beautiful folk song that is very much an archetype for the Folk-Country tradition. The conversational tone of the song is revealed through the lines “I'm standin' in the doorway / My head bowed in my hands / Not knowin' where to sit / Not knowin' where to stand / My father looms above me / For him there is no rest / My mother's arms enfold me / And hold me to her breast / They say you been out wandrin' / They say you travelled far / Sit down young stranger / And tell us who you are” (“Sit Down Young Stranger”) and it is well-executed.

Some of Lightfoot’s poetics on If You Could Read My Mind are a bit more esoteric, though. After listening to the album more than ten times now, I don’t think I could quote a single line from “Saturday Clothes.” And I have no idea what it means to be “Approaching Lavender” (is “lavender” a euphemism for a drug?! A love interest? A hooker?). Lightfoot repeats the title a number of times and the song has good poetics – “If you'd like to try your hand at understanding lavender / Then you must be very sure / That life is not a game / You might even learn a thing or two approaching lavender / You'll soon be on a one night tour / Forgetting your own name” (“Approaching Lavender”) - but it seems to work better as a poem than a song.

Played on repeat, “The Pony Man” easily blends back into “Minstrel Of The Dawn” and that creates a pretty much continual loop that is not bad – it is in the lower portion of average in my rating system – but it is, most certainly, underwhelming.

The best songs are “Sit Down Young Stranger” and “If You Could Read My Mind;” the rest of the album pretty much just blends together.

For other Gordon Lightfoot albums, please check out my reviews of:
Lightfoot!
Sundown
Endless Wire

3.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Way Too Mild To Get Excited About, Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning Underwhelms!

The Good: Relatively inexpensive, Not terribly unhealthy
The Bad: Not terribly nutritious, Exceptionally weak flavor!
The Basics: Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning is a letdown for those who like strong flavors!


Tonight, for Oscar Night, I’m enjoying a decent variety of popcorns. I’m mixing savory and sweet and for the latter, I’m using Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning. Unfortunately, the Milk Chocolate Caramel is barely holding its own with the popcorn; it is a stunningly weak flavor, which is hugely disappointing for Kernel Season’s, which usually nails the flavors they create right on the head. Alas, though, Kernel Season’s has a miss with the Milk Chocolate Caramel flavor.

Basics

Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning is a fine brown powder that one sprinkles on their hot popcorn. We picked it up in the 3 oz. plastic container for only $3.49. After removing the safety seal below the flip-top cap, one has easy access to the Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning. The seasoning is basically a spice that adheres to the hot popcorn or liquefied margarine on popcorn.

Ease Of Preparation

Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning is exceptionally easy to use. After the popcorn is popped, add oil or spray margarine to the popcorn. Then, flip the lid to the Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning and sprinkle it on your popcorn. The container to the Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning has holes, much like any other major spice container. When one is done applying the seasoning, simple press closed the spice container.

Taste

Smelling the Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning, the aroma of cocoa actually comes out very clearly. The scent is distinct and inviting, especially when the seasoning gets warmed up on actual popcorn. The scent is not incredibly strong, but it is present and it is quite the realistic embodiment of chocolate (which is something considering there is no actual chocolate in it).

On the tongue, Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning is sweet and dry, without a strong cocoa flavor. The flavor fades very quickly and there is really no embodiment of caramel in the palate. Instead, this is like a diluted hot chocolate cocoa powder without any real distinction.

On popcorn, the Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning comes out very sweet, but without the distinctiveness of chocolate or caramel flavor. This transforms dry or buttery popcorn into a generically sweet popcorn.

Nutrition

Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning is not that bad on the nutrition front. In a 1/2 teaspoon serving (there are over 53 servings in the 3 oz container), there are only five calories. The only other real nutrient is 2 mg of Sodium in the Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning.

On the ingredients front, Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning is surprisingly not terrible either! The Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning consists mostly of pure cane sugar, chocolate and cocoa flavoring, and milk. There is actually nothing unpronounceable in this spice and while it is Kosher, it is not Vegan-compliant.

Storage/Clean-up

I could find no expiration date on my container of Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning, but given that the final ingredients appear to be preservatives, it seems reasonable that – stored at room temperature – this will last indefinitely.

If the Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning gets on clothing, it will stain, given how dark it is. Even so, consult a fabric care guide for how best to get this out of any outfit you get this on. It easily wipes off any nonporous surface it gets on.

Overview

To transform popcorn into a sweet treat, the Kernel Season’s Milk Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Seasoning works, but if one wants a real chocolate flavor, this will only disappoint!

For other Kernel Season’s products, please check out my reviews of:
Sour Cream & Onion Popcorn Seasoning
Popcorn Spritzer Butter
Kettle Corn Popcorn Seasoning

2/10

For other food reviews, be sure to check out my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Goofy Camerawork Aside, Project Almanac Is Watchable Science Fiction!

The Good: Moments of concept, Acting is fine
The Bad: Direction, Low on character development
The Basics: MTV Films delivers a solidly average time-travel film that is entertaining, if not extraordinary.


As much of the world prepares for the excitement of the Oscar ceremony, I’m catching up on current films. Today, I decided to take in Project Almanac, for no particular reason (though I am a fan of science fiction films). Project Almanac is the latest film from MTV Films, a production company that is not going to be represented noticeably at tonight’s Oscars, despite the company having the occasional decent film like The Perfect Score (reviewed here!), which should have lessened the prejudice against it being associated with MTV.

Project Almanac is very much what people have come to expect of MTV now, including the lack of compelling music in the film. Project Almanac is a shaky-camera mock-reality film featuring young, good-looking people for whom high school is pretty much everything. Despite the MTV conceits, Project Almanac is watchable, though it is hardly original – it is essentially Chronicle (reviewed here!) meets The Butterfly Effect. While it is hard to imagine anyone but an early teen getting excited-enough about the film to want to add it to their permanent collection, Project Almanac nevertheless has its moments and it is entertaining-enough to watch. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how early the film’s protagonist recognized that his attempts at time-travel were going to be successful and stopped talking about the time machine as a potential failure and soldiers on with building the machine.

David Raskin is working on getting into MIT and getting a scholarship by designing a new control mechanism for drones. Videoing his attempt to control a programmed drone with his body movements and cell phone, while out with his friends Adam and Quinn and his sister, Christina (who operates the camera). The video has the desired effect; David gets into MIT, but instead of the $45,000 scholarship he needs, MIT offers $5,000. Unable to afford the tuition, David and Christina’s mother decides to sell their house to raise the money they need. That leads David and Christina into the attic to clean. While there, they discover an old video camera their father used to use. Watching the video, of David’s 7th birthday, David notices himself (his teenage self) in the mirror of a single shot. David is obsessing about the video with his friends and sister and that brings the group to the basement of the Raskin house where they notice (apparently, for the first time) a clicking when they turn the lights on and off. The clicking is coming from a small compartment in the floor, in which is a briefcase. Opening the D.A.R.P.A. case, David and his friends uncover blueprints and prototype components for a temporal relocation device. Being clever and having enough money to get many of the supplies at the hardware store, David and his friends attempt to build the time-travel device.

After a few weeks of building and experimenting, usually with inanimate objects ending up damaged and causing power outages, David and his friends are successful in moving back and forth in time. With the young woman David has a crush on, Jessie, the group begins to go on little jumps in time. Quinn uses the device to go back and pass a test, Christina uses it to thwart her bully, and Adam has the group go back to win the lottery (or some of it, anyway!). But the leaps come with unintended consequences ranging from a lost dog to a plane crash. When past versions of the group encounter themselves, the resulting paradox erases them from time. When Jessie so disappears, David uses the machine to return to his 7th birthday to destroy the plans for the time machine to prevent all of the chaos from ever happening!

Project Almanac is like Intro To Time Travel for those who have never seen the Star Trek episode “The City On The Edge Of Forever” (reviewed here!) or had the patience to read The Time Traveler’s Wife (reviewed here!). It is very much a basic story that spends a lot of time with exposition on the nature of time travel, at the expense of developing well-rounded characters.

The acting and characters are what they are; like most films coming from MTV, Project Almanac features a young cast playing young people. The characters are motivated by the general priorities of late teenagers: David and his friends try to hook up, thwart bullies, ace tests, go to concerts, etc. They also try to avoid doing anything bad and have a real sense of remorse over their actions leading to deaths (though the weird prioritization on having a winning basketball team for the school is odd) and they try to do right. The young cast led by Jonny Weston as David are fine, though their parts require little in the way of acting, outside getting through jargon and reacting to the extraordinary changes in what they know of the world.

Project Almanac does not have big moments for the actors or their characters, largely because of director Dean Israelite’s enslavement to the form. The camera p.o.v. “documentary” style robs much of Project Almanac of its chance to capture the characters at their best or most interesting. Instead, the film is shot nauseatingly with a lot of quick movements and perspective shots that feel like the camera operator is inebriated.

What got Project Almanac into the soft “recommend” column of mine for such an average film with unpleasant direction was the subtle social message of the film. Project Almanac, stripped away of all of its conceits, is a warning to Ivy League schools and a commentary on American financial aid packages. David’s financial aid package is so bad that his mother has to sell their house just to get him into college. If MIT offered better financial aid packages, David and his sister and friends would not have gotten around to cleaning the attic, not found the vital clue, not found the plans, not nearly destroyed all existence through temporal paradoxes. Even the resolution to Project Almanac fits the idea; nearly killing a plane full of people doesn’t get David to stop using the time travel device – losing Jessie does. Hormonally-motivated individuals do not make great decisions; when they are smart and resourceful, they should be kept busy and stimulated. College does that, mad scientist laboratories do not. We need more lucrative financial aid packages for smart kids.

That might not be what the writers of Project Almanac intended as the enduring message of the film, but for adults going to see it, it might be the most memorable aspect of the otherwise average time travel flick!

For other films currently in theaters, please check out my reviews of:
To Write Love On Her Arms
The Last Five Years
The Voices
Love, Rosie
The Seventh Son
Song One
Vice
American Sniper

5/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Mix Of Perfection And Frustration For Serious Chefs: The Split Decision On The Pyrex Bake N’ Store Set!

The Good: Quality materials for most of the set, Affordable, Easy to clean
The Bad: Dimensions on the large baking pan, Tops for the large baking dishes
The Basics: The Pyrex Bake N’ Store is highly functional, cleanable and affordable, but for those using classic recipes, it may yield less-than-ideal results.


At the beginning of the month, I decided that I was going to make my wife a lasagna for my wife. It’s one of her favorite dishes that I make for her and it’s one of the things that I know, objectively, I make very well. Despite my old family recipe and the ceramic baking dish I have been using for decades, when I made the lasagna for my wife this last time, I realized I am being held back by my materials. As much as I love the baking dish that is probably older than I am, my recipe calls for a 9” x 13” x 2” baking dish and the one I’ve been using is 9” x 13 x 1 1/2". It might not seem like a lot, but when it comes to making a full, tall, amazing lasagna, the 1/2” of extra height makes a real difference.

So, my wife decided to rectify the problem and she bought me the Pyrex Bake N’ Store 8-piece set. The Pyrex Bake N’ Store set (product number 1093839 in the Pyrex catalog) is a set that illustrates some of the troubling differences between classic and contemporary cookware standards. As much as I love my wife and adore her attempt to solve my lasagna pan problem, the large Pyrex dish in the Bake N’ Store set is not actually 13” x 9” x 2” as Pyrex claims. So, those going off classic recipes that require dishes that actually live up to the measurements of the pans will be somewhat underwhelmed. New Pyrex dishware goes by volume instead of strict internal linear measurements and that makes a difference to chefs using tried-and-true recipes (much like architects would have issues using old blueprints that called for actual two by fours.

That said, the Pyrex Bake N’ Store is an otherwise wonderful set that lives up to almost all it promises! The Pyrex Bake N’ Store set includes four baking dishes/storage containers and four tops. The largest baking dish is a Pyrex glass dish that measures 16” by 9 3/4" by 2 1/4” at all of its most extreme external dimensions. Rather problematically, the three quart baking dish is only 12 1/2" by 8 3/4" by 1 7/8” at its widest internal dimensions. The 3 quart baking dish is significantly wider at the top, so it’s not even 12” long at the bottom dimension! Pyrex tries to advertise this as a 3 quart baking dish, as opposed to a 13” x 9” x 2”, but on the packaging it makes the linear measurement claim that it does not live up to. Given that I was trying to use this to replace a true 13” x 9” by 1 1/2", this was not an impressive leap up. It is, however, almost perfectly the size of three lasagna noodles!

The 2 quart baking dish claims to be 8” x 8” x 2 1/2" and the depth is realistically-executed and the internal 8” is reached only at the top (it’s under 7” at the bottom!). That makes a difference for doing things like baking brownies in a glass dish. The 2 quart baking dish, like the 3 quart, has built-in handles (this is one solid piece). Unfortunately for people who are tall or big, the 2 quart dish has very small hand-holes. This makes it virtually impossible for adults to actually pick up the 2 quart dish while wearing a hot pad to protect their fingers. That makes the built-in handles on the smaller baking dish somewhat pointless.

The Pyrex Bake N’ Store comes with two 1 cup Pyrex dishes. I’m not exactly sure what one might cook in these (outside eggs or something small that one could microwave), but they are great for storing individual portions of food that are one cup.

The four tops are a real split on the quality front. The two one cup containers have a slightly rubbery top that fits snuggly on the one cup Pyrex containers. The round top creates a wonderful seal that keeps foods stored inside the container fresh. The top may be used in the refrigerator, freezer, and microwave and it maintains a great seal on the small Pyrex containers!

The other two tops are made of a stiffer plastic and they snap onto the tops of the two and three quart dishes. It is impossible to mix them up; they only fit the one for which they are meant. The larger tops snap onto the top of the containers and they are nowhere near as snug as the tops for the 1 cup containers. That means that they are not designed to keep food fresh the way that the tops for the small containers are. While this makes it seem like the tops are ideal for transporting food in the larger two containers, they only work for that if one does not use the handles. The tops have tabs that snap into the handles. People with adult-sized hands might want to wrap their fingers around the handles, but if one tries, the result is that one’s fingers either do not fit or (especially if one is wearing oven mitts) attempting to use the handles with the top on the baking dish results in popping the top off the dish!

For all my gripes, though, the Pyrex Bake N’ Store is still pretty wonderful. First, the Pyrex is durable and weathers the oven, microwave, refrigerator and freezer perfectly! Second, Pyrex is ridiculously easy to clean. Between using the dishwasher and the ability to truly scrub the hell out of it when something is baked onto the surface, the Pyrex is exceptionally easy to clean. The tops for the small containers are top-rack dishwasher-safe and they, too, are simple to clean. Finally, the Pyrex Bake N’ Store 8-piece set is inexpensive. As my wife noted, it was less expensive to purchase this set than a single Pyrex 13” x 9” x 2” baking dish (though we’re not sure if that is an actual one or a 3 quart like the one in this set!).

For most households, the Pyrex Bake N’ Store will be superlative; for serious chefs going off scientifically-produced recipes, the dishes and tops in this set tread more toward adequate than incredible.

For other kitchen gadgets and appliances, please check out my reviews of:
Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge With WedgeWorks
RSVP International 4-Piece Spoon Straw Set
Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper

7.5/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Season Of Building: Modern Family Season 5 Has Real Humor!

The Good: Good acting, Good character work, Decent plot progression
The Bad: Surprisingly little that is universal
The Basics: In its fifth season, Modern Family does not disappoint; it is consistently funny and is building well toward its promised purpose!


Not long ago, I finally caught up on The Big Bang Theory and I found myself tremendously disappointed with its seventh season (reviewed here!), so I was a bit worried going into Modern Family Season Five. My experience has been that when shows go bad, they tend to go bad in batches, like all of the writers get bored at the same time. Fortunately, that is not the case right now in television! Modern Family Season Five is one of the best seasons of the show yet.

The premise of the fifth season of has the show taking on a bit more of a serialized flavor than in some of the prior seasons. As a result, the season is building to something from its first episode on and fortunately, Modern Family does not jerk the audience around with the “will they or won’t they” plot conceits. The season continues to follow the Pritchett/Dunphy family and while there are numerous opportunities to go troublingly negative – most notably in the backstory of Phil Dunphy – the show does not get as dark as the season of The Big Bang Theory that aired during the same season. While there might be some bias in favor Mitch, Cam and Phil, the episodes all try to include most of the Modern Family cast, though the Dunphy girls seem to have less screentime than in prior seasons and Claire works best when she is setting up jokes for Phil.

With gay marriage legalized, Mitchell and Cameron conspire to propose to one another. Despite the guys both trying to make a grand romantic gesture, their plan goes awry, though they end up proposing to one another. They begin planning their wedding, the various Dunphys and Pritchetts go on with their lives. In this season, Mitch lets Cameron try his hand at planning the wedding and Cam becomes the new football coach at Manny and Luke’s school. Phil accidentally leads on a number of divorcees looking for houses, with hilarious consequences.

Claire goes to work for Jay and tries to distance herself from being the boss’s daughter. In the process, she learns that Jay actually tried to get Phil out of the picture, back in the day, and Phil learns that Claire might well have only been with her because he got her pregnant. Alex gets a psychiatrist for her overachieving and managing her stress, while Haley begins to show a real aptitude for photography and business. Gloria, Luke, and Manny show up and act as supporting characters without any big arcs of their own.

In the fifth season of Modern Family, the acting is virtually flawless. The main cast – led by Ed O’Neill, Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson – know their parts perfectly and this is not a big season for transformations. While Haley might have the biggest character evolution in the season, actress Sarah Hyland does not have much to do to change the way the character is played. In other words, there are no great performance changes that allow her to expand her range on the show.

The fifth season of Modern Family does what a sitcom ought to do very well; it makes us laugh and the characters are interesting. This is very much an archetypal sitcom in its fifth season as it is plot-heavy and involved in the characters without making broader statements on humanity. It is frequently laugh-out-loud funny, especially from Ty Burrell’s Phil. But, it’s also a season that leaves little needing analysis; this is a funny season of television that continues the story of the Dunphy’s and Pritchett’s by having most of the family preparing for the imminent wedding of Cam and Mitch.

For other shows from the 2013 – 2014 television season, be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Big Bang Theory - Season 7
Game Of Thrones - Season 4
New Girl - Season 3
The Walking Dead - Season 4
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 1
The Newsroom - Season 2
Breaking Bad - Season 5
The Clone Wars - Season 6
Orange Is The New Black - Season 2
Parenthood - Season 5

7.5/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Intriguing Start: Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton

The Good: Most of the artwork, Moments of character, Moments of plot, Concept of the villains
The Bad: Villains are way too expository, Assumes a lot of knowledge of the franchise (not entirely accessible to new readers), Somewhat simplistic
The Basics: The New 52 reboot of Supergirl starts in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton when the Kryptonian girl comes to Earth.


I was, perhaps, the most skeptical fan in the world of the DC Comics reboot of its stories a few years back. “The New 52” was a terrible idea and the execution of the idea has borne out my trepidation to the concept. And yet, every major superhero that DC Comics wanted to continue to invest in was reworked and reimagined and their stories were (for the most part) rebooted (with a number of problematic exceptions!). One of the characters whose story was entirely restarted was Supergirl. Her story has a pretty straightforward beginning in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton.

Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton is one of those quick reads that is simultaneously very good at what it sets out to do and increasingly frustrating the more one considers it. The trade paperback anthology collects the New 52 Supergirl issues 1 – 7 and it does tell a fairly solid story, albeit a clear beginning with the promise of much more to come. And there are many elements to like about it, but it is by no means a great story or exceptional writing. It is, also, clearly geared toward fans of the Superman franchise as it makes passing reference to things like Kara Zor-El studying on Krypton for her trials which will make her a woman without any explicit reference to her age. The result is an instant sense of alienation within the narrative because exactly what stage of cognitive development Kara Zor-El is supposed to be at is unclear.

A space station orbiting Earth monitors objects from space that hurtle through the Earth creating a hole from near-Kansas to Siberia. They send a team of humans in mechanized suits to recover the object and its potential occupants from Russia, per international agreements the station’s owner has with the various governments of Earth. The mechs encounter Kara Zor-El, a young woman who is confused and thinks she might be dreaming. As the mechs attempt to restrain and capture her, Kara begins to experience dramatic physiological changes – she finds she is ridiculously strong, can see through things, can burn her targets with her eyes and can more or less fly. She encounters a man who claims to be Kal-El, her baby cousin, whom she saw only three days prior on Krypton. After a fight with Kal-El, Kara separates from the other Kryptonian when he rushes off to save the lives of some of the humans nearby.

That gives Simon Tycho the chance to engage Kara Zor-El. He lures her up to his space station with the information that he has the pod in which she arrived. When she gets there, though, Tycho tries to incapacitate her, using his artificial life form, The Brain. In subduing Kara Zor-El, Tycho learns about her outfit and in the ensuing battle, loses the memory crystal he recovered from her pod (and most of his space station and staff) to her. Kara flies off to a portal that takes her to the remnants of Argo City, where she was raised. There she learns the truth of the destruction of Krypton and she is discovered by Reign, a Worldkiller engineered by the people of Krypton (despite being outlawed). Reign wants to find out the truth of her origins – and the origins of the other worldkillers – and she and Kara bring their fight from the remnants of Argo City to New York City!

Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton is instantly problematic because of the language barrier. Kara Zor-El does not understand any Earth languages; her internal monologue establishes that. But the men in mech suits talk to her, Simon Tycho talks to her, and civilians talk to her and while she is not supposed to understand their languages, she behaves as if she comprehends them entirely. I get the instinct of knowing that mechs that start shooting at you are inherently bad, but Tycho tries to get involved with somewhat sophisticated ideas with Kara Zor-El and she more or less goes with it, not nearly as confused as someone blocked by a language barrier ought to be!

At the other end of the spectrum is Reign. Reign is established as a pretty cool, if obvious, adversary (it seems like it is supposed to be a big revelation that Reign is a Worldkiller and that Worldkillers are entities, not engineered objects of destruction). The problem with Reign is that she’s not terribly smart (she tells Kara how to defeat her and her posse) and she does not talk like an adversary at all. Reign is searching for her origins and she ends up delivering more useful exposition to Kara than a Bond villain! She details what she knows of herself, the destruction of Krypton, her plans, her (and the other Worldkiller’s) abilities, and that makes very little sense. In fact, after Kara encounters the Worldkillers at Argo City, their trip to Earth makes no logical sense. Reign is convinced that Earth is the refuge for the Kryptonian survivors and thus it must mean something to her own search. There is no logical correlation between those two ideas (in fact, if the Kryptonians were fleeing the Worldkillers, logic suggests that they would want to make their sanctuary the place farthest from anything useful to Worldkillers!). So, Reign seems to be phoning in her heart-felt quest to understand her own origins and find her home.

The final real problem with Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton is in the context of the larger DC Universe. I know I mention this whenever I read a book or see a show/movie set in the DC Universe, but I have to ask: Where the hell is the Green Lantern Corps?! The whole purpose of the Green Lantern Corps is to maintain peace and order in the galaxy. Somehow, a suspended animation pod travelling for decades away from the last remnant city of Krypton eluded them?! The Worldkillers managed to slip by them, unnoticed?! Kara Zor-El falls to Earth, leaves Earth and returns to Earth entirely without setting off any alarms within the Green Lantern Corps in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton. Wow, the Oans suck!

Ironically, Simon Tycho is an instantly intriguing villain. His motives seem to be simple greed, but he’s using his fabulous assets for a surprisingly realistic purpose. Tycho notes that the major governments of Earth have given up on space exploration, so he – as a business enterprise – has decided to pick up the slack. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a good argument for private sector development like Simon Tycho, but there he is. He’s doing what governments bullied by low-tax right-wingers won’t; investing in research and development. What he does to Kara Zor-El is terrible, but at least he makes sense.

The artwork in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton is generally good. Kara Zor-El is clearly recognizable throughout the book and the panels have a decent sense of movement and color to them. This is a good-looking book.

And there is just enough in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton to make one want to come back to it. Technical problems aside, Kara Zor-El starts as an intriguing-enough young woman and at the beginning of her story there is a lot of potential to make her an interesting character quite different from Superman.

For other New 52 titles, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection By Gail Simone
The Flash: Move Along By Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Green Lantern: Sinestro By Geoff Johns
Green Lantern New Guardians: The Ring Bearer
Justice League: Origins By Geoff Johns
Red Lantern Corps: Blood And Rage By Peter Milligan
Wonder Woman: Blood By Brian Azzarello

5.5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, be sure to check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the graphic novel reviews I have written!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Duller Than It Is Satisfying, “The Satan Pit” Is Hardly An Engaging End To “The Impossible Planet”

The Good: Adequate acting
The Bad: Erratic special effects, No real character development, Exceptionally heavy on exposition without real plot
The Basics: “The Satan Pit” finishes off a Doctor Who adventure story in a very unremarkable way.


So much Doctor Who is loosely serialized, but there are a few true two-parters (or more). In the run of episodes featuring David Tennant as The Doctor, the second directly serialized pair of episodes climaxed in “The Satan Pit.” “The Satan Pit” is the second part to the story arc that began with “The Impossible Planet” (reviewed here!) and it does not stand very well on its own without having seen the first part. That said, “The Satan Pit” is a rare Doctor Who second part that only utilizes the teaser for the “Previously on. . . “ recap of the prior episode.

As a result, “The Satan Pit” picks right up in the middle of the action that was the climax of the prior episode. “The Satan Pit” is a very basic supernatural action-adventure story without a huge deal of character development for the primary characters of Doctor Who. Featuring an obligatory reference to Torchwood, which the second season is preoccupied with, “The Satan Pit” is exposition heavy, without having much in the way of a significant story. Outside foreshadowing the imminent demise of Rose and resolving the story begun in “The Impossible Planet,” “The Satan Pit” is very much a bottle episode that does not influence the Doctor Who universe much.

With the Ood in a sudden, murderous frenzy under the mercy of The Beast on the sanctuary base suspended above a black hole and The Doctor and Ida Scott on the planet far below, Rose finds herself fighting for her life. The Doctor and Ida stand over the opened seal and The Doctor makes the decision for a rare tactical retreat. Rose starts guiding the crew on the sanctuary base, especially when The Doctor’s communicator is cut off and the cable to his lift onto the planet is cut. While the crew on the sanctuary base struggles to avoid the murderous Ood, who have become the voice of the Beast, the Doctor finds himself drawn into the pit on the planet below.

Crawling through the ducts, struggling for air, Rose and the other survivors up top fight the Ood off as best they can. Sacrificing Jefferson, Rose and Danny are only able to escape the Ood because Toby retains some sort of power from the Beast within him. With the Sanctuary base saved, Rose turns to trying to rescue The Doctor. The Doctor, lowered into the pit on the planet, takes a leap of faith and drops into darkness where he encounters the Beast. As Rose is forced into an escape rocket with the others, The Doctor figures out the nature of the creature and the trap that keeps it there.

“The Satan Pit” has the characters giving a great deal of exposition and trying to mask their descriptions as plot. Much of the episode features philosophical discussions masquerading as plot development. The episode, however, does not have much going on in the way of plot. Instead, the episode feels like it is made up of equal points action and filler. It’s like the writers stretched a fifteen minute story into a full forty-five minute episode with babbling and characters running away.

The episode includes a somewhat pointless bit of exposition from The Doctor. David Tennant does a fine job opposite a CG creature (presumably a blue screen when he shot it). Faced off against the Beast, The Doctor uses a single painting on the wall to reason the entire nature of the trap in which the Beast was left. The logic and reasoning the Doctor goes through might be solid, but the Doctor gets it all right without any new information being given to him. The result might seem satisfying for some, but the more one watches, the more it appears like The Doctor just guessed a number of factors right. This is more random and correct exposition than a satisfying series of conclusions from the Doctor reasoning things through.

That is not to say that David Tennant and the others do not perform the parts well; they do, but the episode lacks genuine character development. Instead, the Doctor does not grow or develop and Rose does not actually become the superheroine the episode seems to imply she is becoming. The Doctor and Rose unceremoniously kill in “The Satan Pit” and there is no real reflection of that within the episode. Instead, Tennant and Billie Piper make it around the technobabble and rush around in tight jeans, respectively.

“The Satan Pit” also suffers because the special effects are painfully erratic. The special effects department seems to want to make the rocket and its fall into the black hole look like a b-rate science fiction flick as opposed to a state-of-the-art science fiction horror. The Beast is generic and the space shots are utterly campy.

Ultimately, “The Satan Pit” takes the energy of “The Impossible Planet” and fizzles. So burdened with explaining the setting and the adversary, “The Satan Pit” disappoints.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season of the Tenth Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Danny Webb, please check out my reviews of:
Redemption
Valkyrie
Alien 3

2/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Pretty Much All It Promises: The Justice Limited Edition Translucent Martian Manhunter Figure Delivers!

The Good: Great sculpt, Good articulation, Decent balance
The Bad: Did not maintain collectible value at all!
The Basics: The Justice Translucent Martian Manhunter action figure is a cool variant figure that might seem specific to Justice, but is a cool figure essential for Martian Manhunter fans!


Whenever I go on vacation these days, I try to find local comic book shops to find deals that represent good values I can’t find locally or online. Returning to my home state last year, I pawed through the beloved comic book shop of my youth and found many cool items. One, which I saw again weeks later in Minnesota at similarly depressed prices, was the Justice Translucent Martian Manhunter action figure. The variant of Martian Manhunter was a pretty clever idea from DC Direct, even if it was unpopular and has virtually no collectible value (these figures were originally released in the $16 - $20 range and I found it on clearance for $4 – and saw it on clearance for $5 in a second location!).

For those unfamiliar with Martian Manhunter in Justice (reviewed Hise!), he becomes integral to the plan to save the world by infiltrating the league of super-villains who have taken control. Martian Manhunter is depicted as invisible as he enters the mind of Gorilla Grodd and spies for the surviving heroes. Seen frequently disembodied in Justice, Martian Manhunter has the ability to disguise himself and to remove himself from the minds of others.

It is Translucent Martian Manhunter in his standard costume, with cape, cast in clear plastic, that is the subject of the Justice Translucent Martian Manhunter action figure.

Basics

The Translucent Martian Manhunter figure is very well-detailed and is a good sculpt. The artwork of Alex Ross translates nicely into the Translucent Martian Manhunter figure, though given that he is cast in monotonal clear plastic, the surface details are hard to pick up by the sculpt alone. The Translucent Martian Manhunter is muscular, ethereial-looking and bears both the Translucent Martian Manhunter costume and the distinct forehead ridge that makes this Martian Manhunter clearly J’onn J’onz. The humanoid Translucent Martian Manhunter stands 7 3/4" tall to the top of the figure's head. His skin is visible all over, save the briefs, belts (waist and across the chest) and cape. The Justice rendition of the Translucent Martian Manhunter is from DC Direct.

This toy is a decent sculpt; for a character that has only had two-dimensional references, Translucent Martian Manhunter looks good in all three dimensions. DC Direct made the character appropriately muscular, especially with his visible ribs and pectoral muscles. DC Direct cast the Translucent Martian Manhunter in hard plastic and he is solid, save the rubbery cape.

This Translucent Martian Manhunter figure has no coloring details at all. Martian Manhunter, in this incarnation, is entirely made of clear plastic and has no coloring accents at all, which makes sense for the character.

Accessories

Translucent Martian Manhunter, Hero of the DC Universe that he is, comes with only his stand. The stand is a black and silver square that looks like a piece of flooring. It is 6" by 4.5” and 1/2” tall and it has a pair of peg holes spaced 2” apart. The pegs come with the figure and plug into the base and then into the hole in Translucent Martian Manhunter’s right heel. Why there are two holes/pegs for a figure with only one foot hole I do not know. He is perfectly stable on his base.

Playability

The DC Direct figures were designed more for display than play. Even so, the Translucent Martian Manhunter holds up well on the playability front. The Translucent Martian Manhunter actually has decent balance on his own. He can stand flatfooted in most poses off his stand. On his stand with his foot plugged into the base, he is perfectly stable.

Translucent Martian Manhunter comes with eleven points of articulation, most of which are hinge joints. Translucent Martian Manhunter has joints at the knees, calves, groin socket, shoulders, elbows and head. The elbows and knees are both hinge joints, while the groin socket, calves and head are simple swivel joints. The shoulder of the Martian Manhunter figure are actual ball and socket joints, so they function ideally. This is not the most robustly articulated figure DC Direct has ever made, but on its stand, he still looks very good, though most of the joints are visible given that he is transparent!

Collectibility

The Translucent Martian Manhunter is part of the DC Direct Justice Series 5 line which was fairly uncommon, largely because it was mostly distributed through comic book shops. Translucent Martian Manhunter was one of three heroes in the wave and there were two Martian Manhunters in the set. This one is, by far, the less popular one and as a result, it has plummeted in value. It may be found easily and inexpensively now and is a tough sell except for the most die-hard collectors.

Overview

The Justice Translucent Martian Manhunter figure is pretty cool, even if one can see some of the joints because of its transparent nature and it has no real collectible value. At least it may be found inexpensively enough!
For other Justice action figures, please check out my reviews of:
Wave 1 Sinestro
Wave 5 Brainiac
Wave 1 Cheetah

8.5/10

For other toy reviews, please check out my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Not A Masterwork Album, Sundown Still Has Some Of Lightfoot’s Best Works!

The Good: Good voice, Good sound, Some wonderful lyrics
The Bad: SHORT, Not a great amount of musical variety, Works better as a collection of singles than an album.
The Basics: Sundown might be the album that has the best, most recognizable Gordon Lightfoot singles, but it might not be his best album ever.


In my study of any given musical artist, I find that I run into weird conundrums with a fair amount of regularity. In the case of Gordon Lightfoot, the single “Sundown” got me into listening to Lightfoot and now that I’ve picked up the album Sundown, I figured I should be happy as a clam. The prevailing wisdom seems to be that the album with the most recognizable singles by an artist is that artist’s best album. However, having just listened to Endless Wire (reviewed here!) on heavy repeat, Sundown does not hold together nearly as well as an album. Sundown certainly has more iconic singles and some of the poetry is more clear and great, but the album has a much less experimental nature and thus comes across as somewhat musically bland.

Sundown is best known for the singles “Sundown” and “Carefree Highway” (a song whose lyrics I never heard right until I had Sundown on heavy replay). Beyond that, none of the songs have the same level of hook to them. That’s not to say that Sundown is a bad album, but it is definitely driven up based on the strength of the two commercial singles.

With only ten songs, clocking out at 36:12, Sundown is short, like most LP records-converted-to-c.d. Sundown was Gordon Lightfoot’s tenth studio album, so it came at a time in his career when Lightfoot had almost complete creative control. As a result, Lightfoot wrote and composed all of the songs on the album. Gordon Lightfoot provided both lead and backing vocals, as well as most of the guitar tracks. The only major function Gordon Lightfoot does not perform on Sundown is producing the album. Still, it seems like Sundown is very much the album Lightfoot intended to create.

Vocally, Gordon Lightfoot sings smoothly and melodically on Sundown. While he goes lower on “Sundown,” he is within his more familiar – higher – range on most of the tracks. What is notable about the vocals on Sundown is that Lightfoot does not enunciate on all the tracks as well. “Carefree Highway” is a song with frequently misheard lines.

Instrumentally, Sundown is an interesting transition album between classic folk (which has a “one man and a guitar” sound much of the time) and classic rock. Lightfoot is accompanied on most of the songs by bass guitar, drums, and piano. The result is a richer sound than most folk albums. Sundown has songs that have distinctive tunes to them, something frequently lacking from today’s music. Lightfoot knows how to create a melody, harmony and musical themes over the course of almost all of the ten songs.

As one might expect from Gordon Lightfoot, Lightfoot has something to say on Sundown. Lightfoot sings musical storysongs on almost all of the tracks and they are impressive. The sense of foreboding on the title track is poetically-realized with the wonderful lines “I can see her lying back in her satin dress / In a room where you do what you don't confess / Sundown, you better take care / If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs . . . She's been looking like a queen in a sailor's dream / And she don't always say what she really means / Sometimes I think it's a shame / When I get feeling better when I'm feeling no pain” (“Sundown”) set to one of the most distinctive bass tracks of all time!

“Too Late For Prayin’” stands out on Sundown. The song, which has the darker lyrics “Nothin' left but promises / Nothin' much is certain / All we see is want and need across the board, why thank you lord / We're livin' in the glory of your care / Skies of blue have all turned brown / To the sound of cryin / Lord abide, let us stem the tide / Of broken dreams / Sometimes you seem to tell us / It's too late for prayin'” (“Too Late For Prayin’”) has an uncharacteristic honesty to it. Lightfoot has a strong sense of realism and the moodiness of the song illustrates Lightfoot’s power as a songwriter.

That said, “High And Dry” is a little repetitive. Lightfoot sings “Singin' why, me oh my, is there a better man than I? / I hope you find your way back home, / before you're lyin, high and dry, / I hope you find your way back home before you die” (“High And Dry”) over and over for such a short song. “High And Dry” is an exception to the rule.

Sundown is a good album, but its strong singles definitely make the album better. Amid such distinctive songs as the singles found on virtually every compilation for Gordon Lightfoot, Sundown has an equal number of unmemorable tracks. The result should be a very average album, but “Sundown” is just that good of a song; it brings up the whole album.

The best song on the album is “Sundown,” the low point is the unmemorable “Circle Of Steel.”

For other, prior, Artist Of The Month reviews, please check out my reviews of:
Are Men - Barenaked Ladies
Hotter Than July - Stevie Wonder
18 Singles - U2

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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