Undermine All Emotion: "Hell Bent" Is Another Dismal End For Clara Oswald.

The Good: Moments of performance, Moments of character
The Bad: Narrative makes no sense, Undermines all emotional resonance for viewers, Lack of significant character moments, Abysmal continuity
The Basics: "Hell Bent" has all sorts of people who can't remember things telling a story that brings Clara Oswald back, yet again, from the dead . . . sort of.


It has been, almost inarguably, a rough season for Doctor Who. As the season reaches its peak, fans - rightfully - were split on the direction of the series. For those who suffered through "Heaven Sent" (reviewed here!) - an episode whose sole purpose was to move The Doctor from our universe into whatever pocket universe Gallifrey was placed as a result of the events of "The Day Of The Doctor." The thing is, the much-neglected search for Gallifrey that seemed to be the purpose The Doctor was given coming into the tenure of Peter Capaldi as The Doctor is troubling to fans who have stuck with the continuation of Doctor Who that began in 2005.

The whole concept of the quest to find Gallifrey exists in conflict with what The Doctor told The Master in "Last Of The Time Lords" (reviewed here!); to release Gallifrey from its time lock would bring with it the Daleks and thousands of other nightmares that were trapped by the way The Doctor ended the Last Time War. So, as "Hell Bent" begins, attentive viewers have to be concerned by The Doctor arriving at Gallifrey. If Gallifrey has evolved past the final day of the Time War, then it would explain why Timothy Dalton's character from "Last Of The Time Lords" is not around in "Hell Bent" and would allow for the Gallifreyans to evolve beyond where they were when last we saw them. And if the billions of years The Doctor spent in "Heaven Sent" in his Confession Dial's scenario getting from Earth to Gallifrey were only a function of the Dial's pocket universe, then The Doctor is not likely to find his people to be at all reasonable or likable. So, "Hell Bent" has a lot of potential at its outset.

Sadly, so much of that potential is squandered in "Hell Bent" and after two years of anticipation for what would happen when The Doctor found Gallifrey, The Doctor's homeworld is almost incidental to the episode of Doctor Who.

Opening in Nevada, The Doctor enters a diner where he encounters a woman who appears to be Clara and he begins to tell her the story of his return to Gallifrey. Flashing back to Gallifrey, The Doctor stops his approach to the Capital City and, instead, heads to his childhood house. The Doctor has a bowl of soup and rejects the appearance of the military, a General, and, ultimately, The President and his firing squad. When the soldiers refuse to execute The Doctor, The Doctor deposes The President and disbands the government on Gallifrey. The General allows The Doctor to seize power because of his fear of The Hybrid, which is said to bring about the destruction of Gallifrey.

To protect Gallifrey, The Doctor is allowed the use of an Extraction Chamber. In it, he pulls Clara out of the moment of her death in order to get information from her about the Hybrid. Instead, though, he takes the General's firearm and helps Clara escape the Extraction Chamber. They escape to the cloisters that house the Matrix, the Gallifreyan computer that generated the Hybrid prophecy, where The Doctor hatches a plan to escape Gallifrey and save Clara's life. To that end, he takes a newly-stolen TARDIS to the end of time where he encounters Me and is faced with a difficult choice over what to do with Clara.

"Hell Bent" calls to mind the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Life Support" (reviewed here!) where one character is agonizingly killed over and over again. Between that and the old phrase "It's hard to say good-bye, if you won't leave," it's pretty easy to sum up "Hell Bent" as something of a waste of time for fans of Doctor Who.

"Hell Bent" is an annoying impossibility and one that is overly complicated for what it is. The episode feels like it could be a pilot episode for a spin-off (one made impossibly problematic for a pragmatist if Maisie Williams is not done growing up!) or is a complicated revisiting of Clara's death while completely copping out on the emotional ramifications of Clara's death. But, from a narrative perspective, "Hell Bent" is an irksome impossibility; The Doctor is telling Clara the story of his saving Clara's life . . . but he only has the vaguest recollection of who Clara was. The specifics of this adventure are so ingrained with Clara that The Doctor should be unable to tell even a fraction of the story.

Beyond that, "Hell Bent" once again buggers the entire concept of Clara as the Impossible Girl. The first moment The Doctor walks into the diner, viewers are given hope that The Doctor is encountering another version of Clara from somewhere else in The Doctor's timestream. Before The Doctor encountered Clara, he encountered Oswin and a Clara who was killed by the end of "The Snowmen;" as the Impossible Girl, Clara Oswald journeys all through The Doctor's timeline and saves his life from the attempts by The Great Intelligence to kill him all along his timestream. So, the hope viewers have at the very beginning when Clara first appears that the diner's waitress is a different iteration of Clara is a rational one. Sadly, Steven Moffat goes for flash and ridiculousness over sticking to his own conceptual narrative. Instead, "Hell Bent" is a poor explanation for why The Doctor and Clara do not appear to recognize one another at the outset of the episode.

Much of the beginning of "Hell Bent" hinges on the Matrix prophecy of the Hybrid. Like many Doctor Who prophecies, the Hybrid is created as a matter of plot convenience and pops up into the narrative only when it is needed. In other words, it is not like there is a long prophecy about The Doctor that was revealed ten seasons ago and viewers can slowly piece together and become concerned about. No, suddenly, everyone in power on Gallifrey is terrified about The Hybrid, even though we've only heard reference to the Hybrid once or twice before (and never in the Gallifrey episodes since the 2005 continuation began).

So, the plot of "Hell Bent" is pretty much nonsense and fans of Doctor Who are likely to roll their eyes the moment mind wiping comes into the episode as a conceit (did Moffat think viewers skipped the season with Donna Noble?!).

All "Hell Bent" truly has going for it are moments of character and a few key moments of performance. The character elements are undermined because when one rewatches the episode, the narrative conceit means that the moments of character make no genuine sense; The Doctor cannot tell the story with key moments of emotional depth when he doesn't actually remember them.

In the Cloisters, as The Doctor and Clara work a secret escape hatch, Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman give truly great performances. They have the chance for one last, truly emotional scene together and it plays perfectly because of the depth of the emotion they play. Capaldi plays the scene as a person who waited four billion years to see his Companion again and Coleman plays the moment with such appreciation and sadness that one is almost sad to think that Clara might die . . . yet again.

Maisie Williams steals the climax of the episode as Me. She has some wonderful facial expressions and delivers many of her lines with a gravity that is appropriate and severe. For sure, it makes no sense that Ashildr could actually have a nose ring, but Williams's performance is enough to make one overlook the make-up problem.

The Doctor has been trillions of years into the future, but in "Hell Bent" the scale is made in billions of years and that seems like another detail in an episode that doesn't care about reason, specificity, continuity or reason. The episode attempts an emotional tug and it fails; making for an ultimately unsatisfying final send-off for a character who can always be brought back.

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

For other works with Donald Sumpter, please check out my reviews of:
Game Of Thrones - Season 2
Game Of Thrones - Season 1
The Constant Gardener

3/10

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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The 2015 The Sorcerer's Apprentice Hallmark Ornament Is A Proper Mickey Mouse Ornament!

The Good: Decent sculpted details, Appropriate coloring details, Collectible value
The Bad: No sound chip/feature, Slightly backheavy/obtrusive hook loop placement
The Basics: The 2015 "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" ornament from Fantasia is a decent Mickey's Movie Mouseterpieces ornament, even if it is not perfect!


Ever since I got my wife an artificial Christmas tree, we've worked pretty diligently on filling it with ornaments she might love. She is a fan of Disney movies and the Disney ornament lines from Hallmark have garnered a lot of interest whenever the ornament preview begins. This year was the first time there was an ornament focused on Mickey Mouse that she wanted for her collection. That initially surprised me, but upon giving her and looking over the 2015 The Sorcerer's Apprentice ornament, it is pretty clear why she would want it to augment her collection and tree!

For those unfamiliar with him, The Sorcerer's Apprentice was the assistant to the Sorcerer in the ultimate piece from Fantasia (reviewed here!). The Sorcerer's Apprentice is one of the most iconic single iterations of Mickey Mouse and the troublemaking character is presented on his own, without any creepy magically-endowed brooms following him!

Ken Crow did an amazing sculpt for the ornament and the ornament was fairly priced at the original issue price of $12.95, even if it did not have any sort of sound or light function to augment it (which, given that the character is from the musical Fantasia, would have been appropriate).

Basics

The "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" ornament recreates Mickey Mouse As The Sorcerer's Apprentice as he appeared in Fantasia, from the moment he first puts on the Sorcerer's blue, magical, hat. The ornament, released in 2015, is an entirely accurate sculpt of The Sorcerer's Apprentice the robed apprentice with fine detailing like the bow tied on the front of the robe, the character's smile and the distinctive Mickey Mouse lines on his gloved hands. The subject of the ornament was the animated mouse and sculptor Ken Crow did an exceptional job of capturing the enthusiastic look of Mickey Mouse as The Sorcerer's Apprentice!

Measuring three and one-half inches tall to the top of the magic hat, one and five-eighths inches wide and one and a half inches deep, the "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" ornament is on-scale with most of the other Disney character ornaments. The Sorcerer's Apprentice is the fourth in the Mickey's Movie Mouseterpieces series.

The Hallmark "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" ornament is made of a durable plastic and has The Sorcerer's Apprentice, arms raised to place the magic hat on his head. His eyes are looking up with anticipation at the hat. The ornament is sculpted accurately and gets the look of Mickey Mouse as The Sorcerer's Apprentice perfectly right! This ornament is augmented by a glossy sheen on Mickey's pupils when the rest of the ornament has a matte finish. The only other real coloring accents are the magic symbols - moon, stars - on the character's hat.

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" could have a sound or light function, but it does not. While fans of Fantasia might want a clip of the musical piece that The Sorcerer's Apprentice is featured in, the ornament does not have a bonus function like that. For the price, the ornament is fine without any additional functions.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Disney movie Christmas Tree, the "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" ornament is one of the most worthwhile Mickey Mouse ornaments! The ornament has the standard steel hook loop embedded into the top center of The Sorcerer's Apprentice’s hat. From that position, the The Sorcerer's Apprentice ornament hangs with a slight back bias. The balance for this ornament is only slightly off, but it is not a severe defect by any means.

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Within a few years, every major franchise from Star Wars to A Nightmare Before Christmas to Indiana Jones started making Hallmark ornaments. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is not the fourth Mickey's Movie Mouseterpieces ornament and the line has done well in past years. Given how The Sorcerer's Apprentice is one of the more iconic and recognizable variations of Mickey Mouse there is no reason not to expect this ornament will not appreciate in the secondary market. Collectors have been responding to it well already and it has sold out at many Hallmark shops.

Overview

Fans of Fantasia, Disney, Mickey Mouse, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Hallmark ornaments might find the ornament based upon The Sorcerer's Apprentice to be simplistic, but worthwhile. Given its source is a classic animated work, one suspects most fans will be thrilled by the 2015 The Sorcerer's Apprentice ornament!

For other Disney-themed Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2015 "Let It Go" Frozen ornament
2015 "Yo, Rugman!" Aladdin ornament
2015 Olaf In Summer Frozen Ornament
2015 Jiminy Cricket Pinocchio Limited Edition ornament
2015 WALL-E
2015 Rapunzel And Pascal Tangled ornament
2015 Tiana Ballerina The Princess And The Frog
2015 Ariel's Thingamabobs The Little Mermaid ornament
2014 Queen Elsa Frozen Limited Edition
2014 Bank On Hamm Toy Story ornament
2014 Jack's Peculiar Pet The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
2014 The Daring Princess The Princess And The Frog ornament
2014 Rapunzel's Long Locks Tangled ornament
2014 The Little Mermaid 25th Anniversary ornament
2014 "This Is Halloween" The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
2014 All Eyes On Belle Beauty And The Beast ornament
2014 Olaf Frozen ornament
2013 Under The Sea The Little Mermaid
2013 The Nightmare Before Christmas Jack’s Sleigh O’Scares
2013 Tiana's Party Dress The Princess And The Frog ornament
2013 Beautiful Belle Beauty And The Beast
2013 Fierce With A Frying Pan Tangled ornament
2013 Ariel's Big Dream The Little Mermaid ornament
2013 Merida The Archer Brave ornament
2012 The Circle Of Life The Lion King ornament
2012 Jack Sneaks A Peek The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
2012 Monsters, Inc. ornament
2012 Merida Brave ornament
2012 It's All About The Hair Tangled ornament
2011 Rapunzel Tangled ornament
2011 CLU’s Light Cycle from Tron: Legacy ornament
2011 Up ornament
2011 A Snowy Surprise The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament
2011 Captain Jack Sparrow Pirates Of The Caribbean ornament
2010 Tron: Legacy Light Cycle ornament
2009 Welcome To Christmastown The Nightmare Before Christmas ornament

9/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Rocking Out On His Own, John Mellencamp's Uh-Huh Endures!

The Good: Good lyrics, Catchy tunes, Decent vocals, Engaging instrumental accompaniment
The Bad: SHORT, Frontloaded, Repetitive on some songs
The Basics: Aging well, Uh-Huh remains a damn good, albeit short, album.


Every now and then, publications and website generate lists of their opinions of the best works for various criteria. The longer I explore the works of John Mellencamp, the more I understand why so many of his albums make it into essential album lists from the 1980s. Despite the albums being short - which was very much a sign of the times, given that vinyl and cassette were still the standard and they had limited durations - Mellencamp's albums from the 1980s are usually packed with decent songs beyond the two or three singles that made it onto the radio. That is certainly how it is with his album Uh-Huh.

Uh-Huh was the first album Mellencamp produced under the name John Cougar Mellencamp. It was the first album Mellencamp created after leaving the record label that had made him an icon with American Fool. Uh-Huh also represents a new high water mark for Mellencamp with the amount of creative control he had over his own works and, as such, it is one of the most distinctly Mellencamp albums of his early career.

With only nine songs (10 tracks - an acoustic version of "Pink Houses" - on the 2005 c.d. reissue) clocking out at 32:59, Uh-Huh is very short. What is on the album, though, is distinctly the work of John Mellencamp. Mellencamp wrote four of the songs and co-wrote the other five. Mellencamp provides all of the primary vocals on Uh-Huh and while he is not credited with playing any instruments on it, he was co-producer on Uh-Huh.

Uh-Huh sounds very much like a garage band generating pop-rock songs. The guitar and drums dominate the music and the album alternates well between quieter, more contemplative, pop tracks like "Pink Houses" and "Jackie O" and more banging, guitar-driven tracks that compete with pounding drums like "Play Guitar" and "The Authority Song."

Vocally, John Mellencamp growls his way through Uh-Huh. At this point in Mellencamp's career, he had found his range and he sticks in it in Uh-Huh. Perhaps his most impressive musical moments are how fast he can sing, as he does on "Serious Business." Otherwise, he sings clearly enough to get his message across.

On Uh-Huh John Mellencamp sings about revolution and the real state of America in the early '80s. Songs like "Crumbling Down" became anthemic for young people and it is hard not to see why songs like "The Authority Song" resonated long after the 80s. Sure, it might be repetitive when Mellencamp repeats the mantra "When I fight authority, Authority always wins" ("The Authority Song"), but he makes it work and rock.

As one might expect, Uh-Huh contains some musical storysongs. His musical storysongs tend to blend social commentary and the sense of personal experiences. While "Pink Houses" cracked at the facade of Americana, anyone who has had a dream and had to sell out for American Capitalism is likely to be able to relate to "Warmer Place To Sleep." With lines like "I had breakfast with the wise man /He told me what he thought I should know / And I've been to bed with Jezebel / And I found the well was deep /And I'd trade in my ambitions / For a warmer place to sleep" ("Warmer Place To Sleep"), Mellencamp sings well about how dreams die in America.

Uh-Huh also features Mellencamp reacting to his own celebrity. When he sings "This is serious business / Sex and violence and rock and roll / You know my head is sweating / I can't dance and I can't relax / Outside is too threatening now / I've come this far and I can't go back / Call up some old friends / Call up some strangers" ("Serious Business") it is hard not to believe that he is singing about some of his new experiences as a rock star.

Uh-Huh is more than just the three iconic '80s songs that people might associate with the album. Despite uncharactistic rhyme schemes on "Jackie O," there are no truly bad songs on the album and it illustrates well the potential Mellencamp had for continuing to produce well beyond one hit record. The best song is "Pink Houses," the weak track is "Lovin' Mother Fo Ya."

For other works by John Mellencamp, please check out my reviews of:
Chestnut Street Incident
A Biograpghy
Nothin' Matters And What If It Did
American Fool
Words And Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits

8/10

For a full list of the albums and singles I have reviewed, 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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Inexplicably Failing To Engage Its Audience: Marvel Dangerous Divas Series 2 Trading Cards Are Still Cool!

The Good: Interesting artwork, Archive Cuts are very cool, Some incredible sketches
The Bad: Preponderance of parallel sets, Printing errors, Machining marks on cards, Some mediocre sketches, Collectible value
The Basics: Rittenhouse Archives made a solid, decent set with its Marvel Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading cards, but the market just did not respond favorably to it.


Nothing reminds collectors just how fickle the marketplace is as when a usually reliable concept fails in the marketplace. In trading cards, sets focused on women are usually money in the bank for dealers, distributors and a solid investment for collectors. It is, therefore, somewhat inconceivable that the Marvel Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading cards did not capture the enthusiasm of the Marvel comics-based trading card fans to even come close to holding its value in the marketplace. For sure, Rittenhouse Archives (the trading card manufacturer) got its sell-out of the product, but I cannot recall a product that tanked and was clearanced so fast and so deeply in the secondary market at Dangerous Divas Series 2.

More than that, the lack of consumer enthusiasm is baffling as Rittenhouse Archives produced a generally solid - and, at the very least, interesting - set with Dangerous Divas Series 2.

By this point, Marvel trading card collectors are used to the virtual impossibility of assembling a true master set and Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading cards are the first set focused on the female characters of the Marvel Universe to have a diamond parallel set where only ten complete sets are possible.

Basics/Set Composition

The Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading card set is a conceptual follow-up to the 2011 Dangerous Divas Series 1 trading card set and, like that set, it focuses on the women of the Marvel Comic Book Universe. Unfortunately, between the Rittenhouse Archives Dangerous Divas Series 1 and its first Marvel trading card set, Women Of Marvel, and the Women Of Marvel Series 2 set all of the essential women of Marvel have been a part of a trading card set (except, oddly-enough, Hellcat, who is still absent from Dangerous Divas Series 2!). As a result, Dangerous Divas Series 2 is a character-centered trading card set that is fleshed out with secondary characters from the Marvel Universe, with only a few duplicates from prior women-based sets to appease those who have essential female favorites. The common cards come together to form nine-card murals with larger images of various groups of Marvel women (several of which have Hellcat in them!), but not any writing about the characters. I suppose if one recognizes Skirn: Breaker Of Men, one does not need any information about her. Properly assembled, the set is a collection of 622 (I think) trading cards and the official binder from Rittenhouse Archives. All but one hundred five of the cards are available in boxes of Dangerous Divas Series 2 cards and ninety-one of those cards are exclusive to the archive box from the set. The cards were originally released in boxes that contained twenty-four packs of five cards each. Boxes tended to run in the $75 - $90 range, before the Great Distributor Purge, and guaranteed one common set and one sketch card per box.

Collation in the Dangerous Divas Series 2 set was remarkably good, but the set is oppressive to attempt to collect. In order to get the multicase incentives, one has to buy eighteen cases to get an Archive Box, but to assemble a true master set, it would take 90 CASES of the trading cards with absolutely ideal collation to complete the Diamond Parallel set and thus make a true master set. The Diamond Parallel set weeds out the casual collectors of the Marvel Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading cards, much like the other two Marvel sets from 2014 did.

Common Cards

The common card set consists of 90 trading cards, which are printed on a thinner cardstock than most of Rittenhouse Archives's other cards and it does not have an obvious UV resistant coating. In fact, physically, the cards are more reminiscent of a product from Cryptozoic than Rittenhouse Archives; the common set lacks flair or solid cardstock. This became something of an issue as several of the cards (in each case) had machining marks on them, like scratches along the back, or bent corners coming out of the pack. The common cards did not have the physical presence of the usual Marvel product from Rittenhouse Archives.

The Dangerous Divas Series 2 set features ninety cards featuring many of the women from the Marvel Comic Book Universe, both heroes and villains. The set is broken down; half "Mighty Maidens," half "Mistresses Of Mayhem." With most of the first-tier women of Marvel appearing in Dangerous Divas Series 1 and Women Of Marvel, Rittenhouse Archives had to stretch to make a common set for Dangerous Divas Series 2 that balanced recognizable female characters with characters who had not yet appeared in similar sets. As a result, casual fans will easily recognize and appreciate cards featuring Rogue, Mystique, Typhoid Mary, Black Cat and Elektra, while only the die-hard fans will get psyched for trading cards that feature Proxima Midnight, Mantis, Motormouth, White Rabbit and Hela.

Despite some manufacturing issues (physical concerns), the common cards look good with a single, solid image on the front of each card, framed by either a purple or pink lightly embossed border (based on their heroine or villainess status!) and a component of the puzzle image on the back. The fronts feature the character's name and the classification as either a "Mighty Maiden" or "Mistress Of Mayhem."

The backs of the Dangerous Divas Series 2 cards are devoid of writing, save the collector's number. At least one of the cards in the set feature the collector's number printed twice on the back, which is a pretty minor error, though it is odd that it did not get fixed prior to the set's release. The nine card murals on the backs of the Dangerous Divas Series 2 cards are replicas of popular variant cover and posters featuring the women of Marvel Comics and they are incredibly well-executed in trading card form. Some of the works replicate paintings that are exceptional for their form and color.

Collation on this set was excellent, so the common sets averaged one and a quarter per box, which was good for collectors (I consistently managed to assemble five sets from every four boxes I opened).

Chase Cards

Why, then, do I tend to praise the Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading cards? The bonus cards are some of the coolest that Rittenhouse Archives has produced for their Marvel trading cards and most of them look fantastic! There are (at least) 532 chase cards in the Dangerous Divas Series 2 set, with 427 found in the boxes of cards and the remaining one hundred five available outside the boxes and packs. The bonus cards that can be found within the boxes were the emerald and diamond parallel cards, Sultry Seductress, ArtiFex, Art Of Milo Manara, Rhiannon Owens Autographed ArtiFex, Archive Cuts, Marvel 75th Anniversary and sketch cards. Most of the chase cards are limited to only one of the style per box and two of the parallels were found only one each per case (the Diamond Parallels and the Autographed ArtiFex cards), which should have enhanced the value of the boxes and cases.

The most basic bonus card in the set are the 90 emerald parallel cards. Found one per box there is an emerald parallel card (individually numbered to 100) and one per case there is a diamond parallel card (individually numbered to 10). The emerald parallel cards feature the purple and pink framing replaced with a consistent, dull green foil. The emerald parallel cards usually match the artwork inside, though the contrast provided for the diamond ones make some of the artwork truly pop. There are a few pieces of lesser artwork (the Abigail Brand card, for example, looks much more comic book-y - or like a colored comic strip! - than, for example, the Proxima Midnight, artwork which looks more like a painting!) and the emerald parallel versions make some of them actually look better than with the purple or pink, non-foil border. The "diamond" parallel is has a satin white border that is vaguely pearlescent and otherwise replicates the common card. While the one-per-box emerald parallel cards are not oppressive to collect (especially given that more boxes are required to complete the sketch card set and boxes have taken a dive in price recently), the one-per-case Diamond parallel cards are virtually impossible to collect and are predictably pricey.

One per box, though, are chase cards that remind collectors of just how cool foil cards and artwork cards can be. The Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading cards continue the Sultry Seductresses set begun in Dangerous Divas Series 1 and ArtiFEX cards begun in Women Of Marvel Series 2 (another Women Of Marvel set that does not have Hellcat, whom I have just learned is one of the oldest characters in the Marvel Comics pantheon!) and has a nine-card foil set focusing on the Art Of Milo Manara. The Sultry Seductresses cards are foil cards featuring vaguely risque versions of Rogue, Mystique, and Black Widow, alongside lesser known characters like Sin and Caira in non-cannonical presentations. These foil cards were very nice, though several of them I found across the many cases I opened had machining marks across the fronts, which created a noticeable seam in the artwork. The ArtiFEX cards follow Rittenhouse Archives's usual format for ArtiFEX cards, which means that the cards are printed on a canvasboard stock and, in this case, the backs feature notes from artist Rhiannon Owens on why she chose each of the villainesses she depicted. The Art Of Milo Manara subset is a nine-card foil chase set that features reprints of paintings Manara produced of notable Marvel women like Captain Marvel, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, and lesser-known characters like Angela, Medusa, and Valkyrie.

One per case, collectors were able to find an autographed parallel of the ArtiFEX cards. Not printed on the canvas stock (it is not conducive to autographs), the parallel cards feature a smooth representation of the artwork on the front and Rhiannon Owens's signature on the back. I'm not sure why Owens signed the back, as opposed to the front or why these cards have not been exceptionally valued in the secondary market, but they are still a neat addition to the set and die-hard fans of Owens's work, trading cards, and some of the cool villainesses of Marvel will want to hunt these cards down!

The Dangerous Divas Series 2 set is the third and final of three Marvel Comics trading card sets from Rittenhouse Archives released in 2014 to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Marvel Comics. In the Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading cards, there are twenty-five Marvel 75th Anniversary cards. These cards are reminiscent of the Marvel Comics trading cards from the 1990s with big, full-bleed artwork featuring character "paintings" of major female Marvel Comics characters. Each of these cards is limited to 75 (and individually numbered on the back) and they were found two per case in the Dangerous Divas Series 2 set. They look wonderful and this set features some of the coolest women of Marvel for this subset.

The Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading cards include 62 Archive Cuts trading cards from six different titles focused on heroines. The Archive Cuts trading cards are a cool new concept that are like costume cards for comic book enthusiasts! The Archive Cuts cards are trading cards with embedded panels from comic books in them. Rittenhouse Archives cut up several prime issues of Marvel Comics comic books that focused on Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, She-Hulk, Scarlet Witch and Wasp! Each Archive Cuts card is unique and Rittenhouse Archives did an amazing job of finding intriguing issues and images for all of the Archive Cuts cards I pulled. The most limited are MM17 (Ms. Marvel) and SW4 (Scarlet Witch), which had only 21 of each produced.

The grail of comic book based trading cards these days are the sketch cards and the Dangerous Divas Series 2 cards are some of the most consistently wonderful I've yet found (even when the subjects are more obscure than some of the others). At least 114 artists contributed unique, hand-drawn sketch cards for the Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading card set. I write "at least" because I've pulled at least one sketch card positively identified as an artist whose name does not appear on Rittenhouse Archives's website as having contributed to the set. The sketch cards are where one might find Hellcat in multiple forms; she might not have made it into any woman-centered Rittenhouse Archives card release, but the sketch card artists seem to love her! Artists like Rhiannon Owens, John "Jax" Jackman, Amber Shelton, Priscilla Petraites, and Monte Moore contributed and the quality level for these sketches is higher than any prior set I've reviewed. There are always duds, but the Dangerous Divas Series 2 set seems to have fewer artists who were not producing amazing works. I was particularly captivated by the quality of a sketch of Hela I pulled by artist Erwin Ropa. Oddly, though, some of the best - and rarest - sketches I've found from the Dangerous Divas Series 2 set have not been garnering interest from collectors. It seems like, perhaps, collectors have sketch card fatigue and are either collecting only their favorite characters or some from their favorite artists. Very few of the sketches from the Dangerous Divas Series 2 set have maintained value in the secondary market and as distributors dump their excess boxes or cases, it is shocking that the sketch cards from the set are not even garnering prices that make it worthwhile to buy up the clearanced boxes! Still, the quality of the sketches is impressive and bodes well for long-term investors looking for a decent long-term gain.

Non-Box/Pack Cards

As with most "modern" trading card releases - certainly the ones from Rittenhouse Archives - not all of the cards needed to make a true master set are available in the boxes of these trading cards. In this set, there are ninety-one cards exclusive to the archive box and an additional fourteen cards that cannot be found in the boxes. The archive boxes possess a ninety-card Ruby parallel set that again recreates the common set, this time with a red foil borders. Each card in this set is numbered to 50, though archive boxes do not contain matching number sets. Also in the archive box is an exclusive Archive Cuts card of Black Widow unique to the archive boxes. Rather oddly, the BW2 is numbered to 74, though the Ruby Parallels would seem to indicate there are only 50 Archive Boxes.

There is the usual promo card which foreshadowed the series release which is common enough to find (P1). There is also a card exclusive to the Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading card binder. Both promotional cards remain fairly well-available in the secondary market. However, there were two exclusive promotional cards which were a bit harder to track down. The P2 was found only in issues of Non-Sport Card Magazine and there was a promotional card distributed by Rittenhouse Archives at the Fall 2014 Philly Non-Sport Show. That P4 is the hardest to find of the promotional cards, though it is attainable now in the secondary market (for those who cannot go back in time to the event at which it was distributed).

The remaining ten cards are the casetoppers, the multicase incentive cards and the Rittenhouse Rewards card. The casetoppers are five different foil-enhanced Embrace cards that continue the popular series of cards that have been seeded throughout several Rittenhouse Archives Marvel trading cards products. Character pairings like Cyclops and X-23 and Mystique and Wolverine finally get their card tributes and these casetoppers are nice, even if they haven't been lighting up the marketplace with their inherent value.

The multicase incentive sketch cards are highly coveted and exceptionally rare and seem to be where the secondary market is assigning any value to this set. Artist Anthony Tan contributed a sketch card that was given to dealers with every 6-case purchase. These sketch cards are even more detailed than the usual ones. The nine-case incentive card was a sketch card from Tim Shay, Tony Perna or Warren Martinek. Completists will want one of each of the cards from the three different artists producing 9-case incentive cards and these art cards were among the most detailed, precise and beautiful works in the set.

The final card for the Dangerous Divas Series 2 set is a Rittenhouse Rewards card. Available only by redeeming wrappers with Rittenhouse Archives, there is a Psylocke Sultry Seductress card. It adds a tenth card to the nine-card set (which is irksome from a collector's perspective as trading card pages are nine-card pages) and continues the format to the Sultry Seductresses set. It is not a terribly exciting card, but the wrapper "cost" is not very high, so it tends to leave collectors generally pleased with it. This is at least the second Rittenhouse Rewards card to feature Psylocke, begging the question of what exactly it takes to get her into a standard chase card set! At least she is not overlooked entirely, like Hellcat.

Overall

The Dangerous Divas Series 2 trading card set is wonderful, from the basic chase through the higher-end incentive cards. The long-term prospects for the set remain astonishingly good, even if some of the subjects of the cards are more obscure and the market has not caught up with its inherent coolness.

This is a set of trading cards I proudly sell in my online store! For current stock, please check out my Dangerous Divas Series 2 Inventory and shop there!

For reviews of other Marvel trading cards, please check out my reviews of:
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1 trading cards
2014 Marvel 75th Anniversary trading cards
2014 Marvel Universe trading cards
Spider-Man Archives SD09 Promotional Card

7.5/10

For other trading card reviews, be sure to check out my Trading Card Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Badass Patty And Rise Of The Spinoff With The Flash's "Legends Of Today!"

The Good: Decent performances, Engaging pacing, Good plot
The Bad: Very light on character development, Packs a lot in; obvious set-up episode.
The Basics: Despite the nature of the beast - "Legends Of Today" is a set-up episode both for a crossover on Arrow and the forthcoming spin-off Legends Of Tomorrow - The Flash delivers an entertaining episode ramping up for its midseason finale!


A midseason finale time looms, most television shows that are taking a few months off are going for the gimmicks. The midseason finale is a relatively new phenomenon and it's becoming almost as unfortunate for narrative flow of a season as commercials can be during an episode. While I continue to enjoy The Flash, the second season's narrative structure has been erratic thus far - though, fortunately, there have been very few ful-fledged "metahuman of the week" episodes in the season's first third. Before its big midseason finale next week, The Flash is softening viewers up with a tangent story that allows them a crossover with Arrow and provides a proper set-up for the next DC Television Universe spin-off, Legends Of Tomorrow. The set-up on The Flash is, appropriately, titled "Legends Of Today."

"Legends Of Today" follows "Gorilla Warfare" (reviewed here!) in only the loosest sense; one reference is made to the latest encounter with Grodd. Otherwise, the recapping done in "Legends Of Today" tends to encompass the entire season with fast exchanges of dialogue between Felicity Smoak and Barry Allen. For a crossover episode that makes a ton of references, perhaps the biggest surprise from "Legends Of Today" is how accessible it is to new viewers, without feeling expository.

Opening with Barry training and Dr. Snow and Harrison Wells worrying about how he is not getting faster, the S.T.A.R. Labs team begins to investigate how to make Barry faster. Wells wants to develop a drug that will unleash more of Barry's potential, which makes Dr. Snow nervous. At the port in Central City, a stowaway is taken off a boat in handcuffs, before magically removing the cuffs and killing those from the boat he was on. He is hunting the woman with the wings that Cisco saw in his vision. The man hunts Kendra Saunders during her date with Cisco and when the Flash saves them, Cisco accidentally outs Barry. Barry turns to the Green Arrow in Star City to hide Kendra and keep her safe.

Once in Star City, Barry's sketch of the assailant reveals that he has not aged since the mid-1970s and Oliver Queen interrogates Kendra. Back in Central City, Wells and Snow work on developing a biochemical solution to Barry's problems. Jay Garrick, however, wants no part of the Velocity Six drug and he does not want Wells experimenting with it on him or Barry. When Vandal Savage crashes the party meeting of the heroes, everyone is shocked by his speed and his ability to disappear after being shot by many, many arrows. Malcolm Merlyn arrives with information on the assailant - identifying him as the immortal Vandal Savage. Merlyn tells them that Savage is set upon killing Kendra and the team tries to keep her safe . . . until she is abducted by a man with giant hawk wings. When Patty shoots Wells and the man, Carter Hall, reveals that he and Kendra are linked and Vandal Savage will use all his power - and the power of the Staff Of Horus - all of Team Flash is thrown into chaos.

"Legends Of Today" packs a lot in and the unfortunate aspect of it is that it crams in a whole load of supernatural elements to a previously, surprisingly, grounded television series. The scientific basis of The Flash is singlehandedly undermined in "Legends Of Today." While Vandal Savage is an awesome villain to introduce into the DC Television Universe, immediately attaching the immortal villain to the reincarnating Hawkman and Hawkgirl throws a lot at the viewer at one time. Given how hard The Flash has worked to maintain a scientific basis for the metahuman concept and the speedsters, the "real world" of the DC Television Universe becomes some mixture of fantastic and ridiculous in "Legends Of Today."

Vandal Savage is a good villain, though he is introduced in "Legends Of Today" as a pretty generic psychopath, despite being an immortal. Savage gains power - though it is not made clear exactly what those powers entail in "Legends Of Today" - by killing reincarnations of Kendra Saunders and Carter Hall. He is powerful in "Legends Of Today" and the use of the Staff of Horus truly explodes the use of magic in the DC Television Universe. The fact that Savage hits his mark more often than not makes him a decent adversary.

Much of the character development in "Legends Of Today" comes from Kendra Saunders realizing her own potential to become Hawkgirl. Bringing out the reincarnated heroine leads to some super-cheesy speeches from Barry and Cisco, but they work well-enough to make Kendra Saunders's journey watchable. Perhaps the most intriguing concept in Saunders's journey in "Legends Of Today" is that Hawkgirl's wings are organic, not mechanical (which opens a whole new conceptual can of worms for the DTU). The other significant moment of character development comes when Jay Garrick is given the opportunity to save Harrison Wells's life.

Much of the rest of the character development comes in the form of simple exposition. Felicity and Barry exchange stories to catch viewers up on how Arrow and The Flash have changed since the last crossover event in season one.

"Legends Of Today" gives viewers hope for the potential of Legends Of Tomorrow by virtue of demonstrating decent special effects all the way through. Between the slow motion attacks, Barry throwing lightning again and the execution of Carter and Kendra as virtual characters for several shots, the visual effects are impressive.

That said, "Legends Of Today" is an entirely incomplete story. This is a crossover with Arrow and The Flash component is all set-up, little pay-off (only the Harrison Wells/Jay Garrick plot is actually resolved within the episode). Leading into next week's midseason finale, The Flash goes off on a tangent and it is a gimmick. Whether or not "Legends Of Today" actually works in the larger context of the second season of The Flash remains to be seen, but it is an entertaining episode on its own.

For other works with Neal McDonough, be sure to check out my reviews of:
"The Iron Ceiling" - Agent Carter
Tin Man
Minority Report
Star Trek: First Contact
"Facing The Fire" - V.R.-5

7/10

For other television season and episode reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Wonderful Foil To Last Year's Ornament, The 2015 Heat Miser Ornament Succeeds!

The Good: Decent sculpted details, Glitter, Coloring details, Decent balance
The Bad: No sound chip/feature, Noticeable seams
The Basics: The 2015 "Heat Miser" ornament from The Year Without Santa Claus is decent, even though it looks like it was assembled.


Last year, one of the surprises to hit my wife's Hallmark ornament want list was the Snow Miser (reviewed here!) from The Year Without Santa Claus. In our six years together, she had never expressed a desire to watch any holiday programs with me, but apparently, she has a strong attraction to that particular holiday special. Her enthusiasm with last year's ornament from the special extended to this year and the new Heat Miser ornament.

For those unfamiliar with The Year Without Santa Claus, Heat Miser was one of two weather-controlling brothers who was part of manipulating Christmas. Mother Nature convinces the Heat Miser to stop ruining Christmas. It is Heat Miser, flamelike hair and fire in the palm of his hand, that is the subject of this year’s The Year Without Santa Claus ornament!

Ken Crow did a detailed and accurate sculpt of the Heat Miser and the ornament was affordable and cute at the original issue price of $14.95, even without any sort of sound or light function!

Basics

The "Heat Miser" ornament recreates Heat Miser as he appeared in The Year Without Santa Claus, though not in any iconic moment I recognize. The ornament, released in 2015, is an entirely accurate sculpt of Heat Miser with fine detailing on the hair, teeth peeking out from his cockeyed smile and pointed toed shoes, reminiscent of an elf's. The subject of the ornament was an animated (or Claymation-style stop animation) one and Ken Crow captured the whimsy and originality of the character’s design. Measuring two and three-quarters inches tall by 1 1/2” wide by 1 1/2" deep, the "Heat Miser" ornament is on-scale with most of the other character ornaments Hallmark offers, though it is smaller than the Snow Miser. As well, it is one of the more affordable Hallmark Keepsake ornaments at only $14.95.

The Hallmark "Heat Miser" ornament is made of durable, opaque plastic and has the character Heat Miser, standing with a scowl on his face and a little flame in his right palm. The Heat Miser’s nose is right red and a monotone color that lacks any depth and shading. This ornament is augmented by glitter on the pants and shirt that might suggest he is sparking. All other elements of the Heat Miser ornament are clean and clearly rendered in simple plastic. Unfortunately, Heat Miser’s arms and head have strong seams, making it clear that they were attached to each other after the initial sculpting.

The Heat Miser is colored in simplistic, but solid colors, which is entirely accurate for the character.

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "Heat Miser" could have a sound or light function, but it does not. The closest it actually possesses is the glitter. For those who are fans of The Year Without Santa Claus, it might be disappointing that Heat Miser does not feature an electronic function that would allow him to play a sound clip from one of his distinctive songs.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Heat Miser" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Christmas Tree, the "Heat Miser" ornament is very much a worthwhile addition. The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top back of Heat Miser’s flaming hair. From that position, the Heat Miser ornament hangs with great positioning, stability and balance.

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Within a few years, every major franchise from Star Wars to A Nightmare Before Christmas to Indiana Jones started making Hallmark ornaments. "Heat Miser" is part of the The Year Without Santa Claus ornament line and the only one from that franchise in 2015. This ornament has sold out at more than half of the Hallmark Keepsake stores I have been to since their release in October. As a result, I suspect that the Heat Miser ornament will at least retain its value, if not appreciate rapidly in the secondary market.

Overview

Fans of The Year Without Santa Claus, Heat Miser, Hallmark ornaments and Christmas in general are likely to enjoy the Heat Miser ornament!

For other Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2015 Crayola Crayons Big Box Of 64! ornament
2015 Celebration Barbie ornament
2015 Season's Treatings ornament

8.5/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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End The ATCU: "Closure" Advances HYDRA Impressively!

The Good: Good use of ensemble cast and characters, Wonderful plot advancement, Sufficiently weighty
The Bad: Very much a set-up episode (does not actually live up to its title), Still a little busy
The Basics: "Closure" pits Ward and Coulson against one another as HYDRA reasserts its importance in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.!


Midseason finale time is upon us and I'm psyched that Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. is nearing its finale with "Closure." I'm particularly excited about Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. getting closer to its midseason finale because my week off from the show was packed by reviewing the entire thirteen episode run of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's new addition, Jessica Jones (reviewed here!). With "Closure," hope rose in me that the dull Grant Ward HYDRA plotline might finally come to an end.

That hope was not at all met. Instead, HYDRA becomes a credible and impressive antagonist to S.H.I.E.L.D. once again. No longer a ragtag batch of lame enemies who were motivated by ridiculous ambition or picked off by Grant Ward, Gideon Malick's HYDRA explodes with relevance in "Closure."

"Closure" follows on the heels of "Many Heads, One Tale" (reviewed here!), which set up the possibility that the HYDRA arc might actually end. Ward's plotline has been convoluted and boring for the past season and a quarter, since his mentor was killed in "Beginning Of The End" (reviewed here!); in "Many Heads, One Tale," Gideon Malick's character became instantly more interesting by being able to tell Ward the origins of HYDRA and its purpose. Ward's on-again, off-again status with HYDRA, as opposed to being a rogue who doesn't care about HYDRA's ideology or plans, has become tiresome by "Closure" and with a title like "Closure," it is hard not to get one's hopes up.

Opening with Coulson and Price having dinner together at her home, Price reveals what she has learned about Malick and HYDRA. Price plans to go into the ATCU the next day, as if everything was normal, before she is shot and killed by a sniper rifle's bullet. Ward is the sniper and he calls to taunt Coulson before his goons break in and attempt to kill his former boss. Rescued by Mack, Coulson returns to base to break down and plan his revenge. Coulson interrogates May, Simmons, Fitz and Daisy about their relationships with Ward in order to try to find Ward's weakness. Mack brings Banks into the headquarters to try to learn more about Malick and the NASA Distant Star program HYDRA funded for the obelisk.

Morse, Hunter, and Coulson head off to deal with Ward, leaving Mack as Acting Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Banks, Fitz and Simmons are attacked by Malick's people while searching the Distant Star facility. Malick has Fitz and Simmons interrogated, while Coulson and his team kidna Ward's younger brother. Thrown off balance by Coulson and his brother, Ward strikes a deal with Fitz while Malick and HYDRA prepare to open a portal back to the distant world to recover the evil creature there. Mack brings Gutierrez and Campbell onto a team to try to rescue Fitz and Simmons from HYDRA before it is too late.

There is something very charming about Coulson and Price having take-out for their first real date. The shock comes from the bullet in the window is an engaging opening to "Closure" and a return to excitement for Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Constance Zimmer and Clark Gregg are given just enough time to establish genuine on-screen chemistry before Zimmer disappears from the episode. One hopes that if Zimmer is not returning, Gregg gets the chance to work with Amy Acker again.

"Closure" has one of the most gruesome openings of all episodes of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Unless Coulson is a bad shot, there are seven people killed in the first seven minutes of the episode. The episode has a seriously high body count and between people getting shot in the head and neck, "Closure" is fairly brutal. As the episode progresses, the quick deaths are replaced by long torture sequences that are unpleasant to watch on every level. They generally only increase the sense of Ward's villainy.

As Ward is characterized again by his former teammates, he appears on-screen as an actual Agent Of HYDRA. Gideon Malick has used Ward to get all five of the terrigen stones and Ward seems ready to end Coulson. Brett Dalton's performance is somewhat monolithic for the bulk of the episode. The best moments for Dalton's performance come as he shows some slight bit of vulnerability while Ward talks to his estranged younger brother.

Throughout "Closure," there is a Fitz and Simmons subplot. Fitz continues to grow closer Simmons and she seems split between Fitz and rescuing Will. Fitz, for his part, is committed to rescuing Will. Ward quickly realizes that the greatest torture for either of them begins with having them separated and the manipulation from Ward is appropriately villainous. Beyond that, Fitz reveals the depth of his feelings by making a gesture for Simmons that leads to a heartbreaking sense of emotional climax to the episode.

Throughout the third season of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. up until this point, a big problem with the show has been finding the right balance of characters with the (now) rather large cast. "Closure" has the right balance; the dichotomy between Coulson and Ward suddenly becomes engaging again. Coulson is obsessed and Ward is brutal. With the on-screen appearance of Ward's younger brother, "Closure" calls back to "The Well" (reviewed here!) and "The Things We Bury" (reviewed here!) to definitively remind viewers there is no ambiguity about his nature.

Coulson's focus and obsession allow Morse a brief, wonderful moment in "Closure" where she has some real chance of growth. "Closure" also has a fairly decent sense of writing to it. Brent Fletcher seems to know how ineffective torture is; neither Fitz, nor Simmons breaks and Fitz's sacrifice is characterized as more selfless than manipulated.

Leading into the mid-season finale, Ward and Malick are established as the definitive villains for Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Malick finally grows into the real commander role that viewers have been waiting for. His ideology and goals make Malick a credible adversary. The combination of elements make "Closure" one of the best episodes of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. yet!

For other works with Andrew Howard, please visit my reviews of:
The Hangover, Part II
Limitless
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. - The Complete Third Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the third season here!
Thanks!]

8/10

For other Marvel movie, television season and episode reviews, please check out my Marvel Cinematic Universe Review Index Page for a listing of those reviews!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Compete Against Nutella (And Lose): Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate!

The Good: Tastes fine, Good ingredients, Affordable, Easy to work with
The Bad: Not chocolatey enough, Not great on the nutrition front
The Basics: With a name like Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate, I had higher expectations for the flavor than the product delivered!


Sometimes, a brand becomes so associated with a product that it becomes virtually impossible for other companies to compete. Brand name word association has made Band-Aid the almost universally used term for adhesive medical strips and Nutella's chocolate-flavored spread (reviewed here!) has made it virtually impossible for other companies to produce a similar nut-based chocolate spread. Still, Hormel made a decent attempt with its Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate.

Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is not bad, but it is hardly as chocolatey as those raised on Nutella (or who experience Nutella first) will expect from a spread.

Basics

Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is a flavored nut spread produced by Skippy (Hormel Foods). It seems to be a new peanut butter that is part of their expanding line of flavored peanut butters. Given that I found the Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate on clearance I, suspect that they are finding the market inhospitable for this spread.

Skippy’s Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate comes in the company’s standard 15 oz. plastic jar. The Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is a very dark brown peanut butter. It is very creamy, as one might expect from a peanut butter; this is a smooth peanut butter without chocolate additives. The container comes with an easy to unscrew lid that keeps it fresh use after use!

Ease Of Preparation

Skippy is a peanut butter, so there is not much needed in terms of preparation. Simply unscrew the plastic cap, tear off the foil safety seal below that and consume! It is that easy. Unlike most natural peanut butters, the Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate does not separate and, thus, does not require one to stir it up before use.

Taste

Opening the container of Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate, the peanut butter emits a smell strongly and distinctly of peanut butter. The scent is all nutty, without any trace of chocolate in its bouquet.

On the tongue, Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is smooth, dry, and tastes like a nutty, less-sweet version of peanut butter than the standard Skippy peanut butter. Instead, this tastes like a very average peanut butter, with a dry flavor similar to the aftertaste of baking chocolate. The chocolate flavor never truly asserts itself and it is not a powerful flavor at all.

The flavor of the Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is easily sublimated to anything sweet connected with it. In a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate loses on the taste front to virtually any jelly overwhelms the peanut butter. The Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate has not been added to anything I have tried and resulted in a greater chocolate flavor being brought out.

The aftertaste of Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is only slightly dry, but it lingers in the mouth for about ten minutes.

Nutrition

Obviously, as a nut spread, Skippy cannot do much about the lack of nutrition with their peanut butter. Given that the peanut butter is made largely of roasted peanuts, palm oil, and salt, this is not an overly nutritious product. There is nothing unrecognizable in this
peanut butter, so it lives up to its promise of being all natural.

Still, the Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is not the best product in the world on the nutrition front. A 2 Tbsp serving of Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate has 200 calories, 130 of which are from fat. Those 14 grams of fat represent 22% of one’s RDA of fat. Unsurprisingly, one serving is 4% of your RDA of carbohydrates, though there are 6 grams of protein in this spread. There are 120 mg of sodium in the peanut butter. It is not a food to try to live off of, even with its smatterings of Iron, Vitamin E, and Niacin.

This Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is not marked as kosher or vegan compliant. Oddly, it includes no allergy warnings.

Storage/Cleanup

Keep the peanut butter sealed and it still has a fairly limited shelf life. The container we bought in mid-November would have expired by December 14, 2015, had I not eaten it all up! This spread does not seem to denature with time at all.

As a product made mostly of nuts, the Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is very easy to clean up. Simply washing it off with hot water helps clean off anything this gets on. Hot water is recommended because of the oils in it.

Overall

The Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter With Dark Chocolate is not chocolatey enough to thrill, but it is a fairly good peanut butter . . . for a creamy one.

For other food spreads reviews, please check out my reviews of:
Jif Creamy Cashew Butter
PB Crave Coco Bananas Peanut Butter
Jif Mocha Cappuccino Flavored Hazelnut Spread

5/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Better Than Expected, Victor Frankenstein Fleshes Out The Dark Allegory Of Frankenstein Well!

The Good: Performances, Character, Special effects
The Bad: Underdeveloped romance plot, Predictable plot
The Basics: Victor Frankenstein retells Frankenstein from an engaging new perspective!


It seems like every year since Once Upon A Time hit the airwaves, there are film re-imaginings of popular fairy tale or horror icons. Last year around this time, Dracula Untold (reviewed here!) attempted to fill that niche; this year, it is Victor Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein is yet another retelling of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and is this year's horror vehicle for Daniel Radcliffe. Radcliffe has been working to get as far away from the role of Harry Potter as he can, while still finding works that appeal to the genre fanbase that made him a worldwide celebrity. To that end, Victor Frankenstein is a fairly good choice for him.

Victor Frankenstein casts Radcliffe as Igor, opposite James McAvoy in the title role. The story is essentially Frankenstein from Igor's perspective and focusing on the young scientist Victor Frankenstein, as opposed to focusing on the monster he inadvertently created. The film works to establish much more in the relationship between Victor and Igor than the science or the morality of the monster and that makes for an interesting take on the well-known story.

Opening with Igor as a hunchbacked clown for a traveling circus, Igor becomes fascinated by how the body works and assists the circus's doctor. Igor is infatuated with the trapeze artist Lorelei and when she falls from the trapeze one night, Victor Frankenstein is in the audience and he is impressed with how Igor quickly diagnoses and treats her injuries. Frankenstein offers Igor an escape from the circus. Frankenstein drains the abscess that has plagued Igor for eighteen years, straightens his back, and offers him a chance to become his assistant. The London Inspector, Turpin, begins an investigation of the escape, while Igor acquaints himself with Victor Frankenstein's lab.

Igor is horrified when he goes out into London and finds that Frankenstein is wanted for murder, but he gives the scientist a chance to explain his perspective. Igor begins working with Frankenstein on his Lazarus device. When they go out to a party together, Igor has to make up for Frankenstein's boorishness when they encounter Lorelei there. Returning to the lab, Victor reveals to Igor that the projects Igor have been working on have been assembled into a living being. Presenting the homonculus to a pathetically small audience, Frankenstein surprises everyone by delivering upon his promise to create life. The chimp-based homonculus escapes and has to be subdued by Igor and Victor. Finnegan, who doubted Frankenstein's technology, hires the scientist to resurrect a dead person for him and Frankenstein agrees, over Igor's objections. While Igor and Lorelei grow closer, Frankenstein becomes obsessed with his experiments and Inspector Turpin works to stop Frankenstein.

Victor Frankenstein is one of the few films in recent memory that has appeared to absolutely bomb and I'm at a loss to understand exactly why. For sure, it was released in proximity to the final movie in The Hunger Games Saga, which meant it was bound to get overlooked. And, for sure, the story is predictable, but . . . it's not like people who made the Harry Potter Saga or The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy box office smashes didn't know where the stories were going.

Victor Frankenstein fleshes out the familiar story with some entertaining false starts and characters who are more than just generic mad scientist and comical sidekick. To that end, Igor is well-played by Daniel Radcliffe. Radcliffe is able to make Igor into an intriguing character who is fleshed out with his own motivations and a sense of romance that is appealing. Radcliffe breathes life into a role that usually is that of a sidekick and the only truly unfortunate aspect of it is that Igor has to be straightened into a dashing young man that looks like Daniel Radcliffe before he can catch the eye of Lorelei.

Despite the perspective of Igor dominating the narrative, Victor Frankenstein is absolutely ruled by the acting talents of James McAvoy. McAvoy hinted at the potential to play dark and unsettled in X-Men: Days Of Future Past (reviewed here!), but in Victor Frankenstein, he truly lets loose. McAvoy plays Frankenstein as twitchy and obsessive in one of his most expressive roles to date. He plays off Charles Dance in their brief scenes together and McAvoy's active eyes contrast brilliantly with Dance's stone-cold facade. McAvoy and Radcliffe play off one another exceptionally well, with Frankenstein and Igor becoming a genius team that is very easy to watch and appreciate.

As one might expect of a period fantasy film, the costumes and special effects are of tremendous importance to Victor Frankenstein. The costumes look incredible and when the visual effects are focused on long enough, they are impressive enough to augment the story well.

Ultimately, Victor Frankenstein works as a well-developed character study and showcases the talents of two great talents in a way that they have not previously been able to. But the romantic subplot and religious fanaticism of Turpin might turn off an audience just looking for a generic monster movie. Victor Frankenstein is not that and, as a result, it works far better than most monster flicks.

For other films currently in theaters, please check out my reviews of:
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
SPECTRE
Bleeding Heart
Hotel Transylvania 2

6.5/10

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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