#Rangers Review

[askmovieslate]

To be fair, it would be really weird, yeah.

But it'd still be funny, which is more than I can say about this movie. "The Lone Ranger" feels like a kamikaze movie, something done for the sake of those involved instead of the audience or the characters. I'm not gonna pretend I'm a big fan of the Lone Ranger as a character, but this is a very bad movie if you want to care for him or his cause.

It's still got a lot of clever and enjoyable set pieces, though you have to get through an absolutely noxious poisoned swamp full of wolves in order to get there.

Is it worth it? Not really. You can check the clips on YouTube and save yourself two hours.

So yeah, can't recommend. And now if you excuse me, I need to convince my friend here to put this saddle on.

[reversemoon255]

Kyoryuzin Western & Kung Fu Combo Full Action Ver. Set

I would like it if they did the other main mechs from Kyoryuger in this style. I understand why they did these and are going to do Tobaspino, since they are mostly remolds. Pteragordon and Bragigas do have alternate color schemes they could do (the ones that appeared in Dino Force Brave) which would also mean we get Full Action versions of Brave Kyoryujin (which I would love; it's my favorite color scheme of any Sentai mech), but Plesuon only has the one color scheme. I suppose that if these do very well we might get them? But we probably won't.

Now, I do like these guys, but they are much simpler versions of the original DXs from 2013. They work well for what they're supposed to do, be small and lightweight versions to work with a posable Kyoryujin. I do wish the arms folded in a bit more, I do wish Zakutor and Parasagun's weapons were more obvious, but apart from that? Yeah, they're cute. I actually prefer these versions of Ankydon and Bunpachy. Ankydon's old hammer was originally held together by a small c-clip so it had a tendency to break and this one is a solid piece, and the real chain on Bunpacky feels better than the locked one. It's a give-and-take.

Overall, if you got Full Action Kyoryujin, then I can easily suggest these. While I think the original DX is a more fun toy, it's not posable and isn't as easily available. They're fun, they're cute, I hope they do more.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (December 10-16, 2023)

Suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, who originated the roles of Gigan and Hedorah and played Godzilla in all of the Heisei films, passed away on Saturday at the age of 76. A serious performer paired with a serious Godzilla, he approached the role with near-religious reverence. Asked to give advice to Godzilla's next actor following the completion of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, he said, "Be Godzilla. Don't do anything else. Write books about playing Godzilla, talk to reporters about playing Godzilla, but don't do anything else. Just be Godzilla." His second stint as the character, Godzilla vs. Biollante, is my favorite movie of all time, and it's pretty staggering how many of its key people are gone now. Rest in peace.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters finally brought Godzilla into the present-day storyline—and finally let him enter Japanese waters in the flashbacks to 1955. (The only other time he's done this in the Monsterverse is in the debatably-canon Godzilla: Awakening.) I enjoyed the flashbacks a lot more than the main story this time, as the latter is just piling on the Ominous Pronouncements while withholding details to a degree that seems unrealistic from a Watsonian perspective. Give me a well-acted, doomed love triangle any day.

Comic book sales data is nigh-impossible to find these days, but 2022's Godzilla vs. the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers must have made bank, since it's getting a sequel! Writer Cullen Bunn and colorist Andrew Dalhouse are back, with Baldemar Rivas now handling the art. First issue's coming in April. The logline:

Worlds collide a second time as everyone’s favorite kaiju meets up with Earth’s mightiest warriors once again to take on the most fearsome monsters from both sides of the multiverse, with Rita Repulsa egging them on! This one has it all: SpaceGodzilla! Clawhammer! Tentacreep! But what exactly does Rita intend to do with their collective might, and how have her mysterious new allies, Astronema and the Alliance of Evil, given her added reach across worlds? The Power Rangers are on a mission to find out, but first…all roads lead back to Godzilla!

I recognize some of the proper nouns in there, at least!

Godzilla Minus One added even more North American theaters (from 2,540 to 2,622), but with stiffer competition in the form of Wonka, it fell to fourth with $5 million. That gets it over $30 million here; we'll see how much of a boost it gets from the holidays. The film is piling up accolades from regional critic groups, as well as a nomination at the Critics Choice Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

I'm also making my way through all the videos Toho put on YouTube when I was desperately dodging spoilers, so look forward to more Minus One gifs and screenshots.

One more trailer for the Kaiju No. 8 anime, which is, for whatever reason, going to stream worldwide via X/Twitter. (Maybe they saw that users there already upload entire movies and decided to get ahead of the curve?) Don't worry, it'll be on Crunchyroll too.

[fuckmeyer]

girl please, Charlie Swan is Team Werewolf and you know it

[rangertessadarling]

so has anyone actually read the new TRR book or....? or are we just not even bothering anymore

[themundanemudperson]

Power Rangers Dino Charge: End of Season Review

So I thought making reviews for every Power Rangers season that I've seen would be fun! (And I'm ignoring the physics lab report I have to do lmao)

Don't really expect anyone to read this but eh this is for fun

Fave Character: Prince Phillip III of Zandar. He's my little bitch babygirl <3

Fave Ship: Chiley!!! Green/black ships my beloved. My fave rarepair is Phillip/Ivan. The gay devotion in knight/prince ships is peak

Fave Non-Romantic Relationship: Kendall, James, and Phillip. Auxillary Rangers ftw!! (fuck Zenowing)

Fave Episode: The Tooth Hurts! Chiley ep of all time

General Thoughts:

Dino Charge was the first season of Power Rangers that I'd ever seen, and was the thing that got me into the fandom, so I'll always have a soft spot for it. But even rewatching it recently has it hold up.

The characters in this show are what I think makes it one of the best Power Rangers seasons, and the best Neo Saban. All of them are so great, and while they never got too much depth (curse you adults that think kids can't handle complicated things) but they're still such interesting people. Dino Charge had a large cast, and they didn't always handle that many people that well (the auxiliary Rangers unfortunately get little to no attention), but the cast, in my opinion, is what made it so great.

The main cast is so lovable. Tyler, while he can be a little bland at times, is a little cutie so he's great. Chase is an interesting character that's very fun to watch. Koda is the heart of the team and he's a perfect little angel. Riley is our canonically gay (via the actor) overachiever representation. Shelby is also overachiever representation, with academic pressure from parents too! Then you have Ivan. Our loyal and chivalrous knight out of time. The gay devotion is real with this one.

I'm going to cut myself off here, because you probably get the point. I love the cast of Dino Charge. Barring Zenowing and Keeper. They're just useless to me

And because these characters are interesting people, they also have such fun dynamics with each other. I love that the Rangers really feel like a found family. You can examine any relationship between the Rangers and have something to talk about. I mentioned Kendall, Phillip and James earlier as my fave platonic dynamic, but there are a lot more to look at. Tyler and Chase as himbo bros, Riley and Shelby as gay besties , Koda, Kendall and Chase with their familial bond as they were the first Rangers together... they're all great.

And the villain situation in Dino Charge was.... interesting.

The concept of fighting a bounty hunter that captures his monsters from all over the universe is cool, especially because it gives an explanation as to why the monster of the week fights so hard - they'd win their freedom if they brought back an energem. But Sledge himself was kind of a boring villain to me. He never actually has any kind of motivation for getting the energems - we don't know if he wants them for universal domination or to sell them to the highest bidder. So he felt kind of flat to me. I did love Poisandra, Curio, Wrench and Fury though. I liked that they had more personality. And Poisandra is my girl and I love her. She should've gotten a redemption arc. Fury was also an interesting character because of his rivalry with Ivan. I do wish they explored it more, but what we did get was cool.

And after Sledge was defeated, we got Heckyl and Snide! Quite obviously a Jeckyll and Hyde reference, these two were much more interesting to me than Sledge. Heckyl's backstory is so sad 😭 and I love him more for it. The concept of a villain infiltrating the Rangers place of work and pretending to be their friend was so awesome. I wish he was a double agent for longer (and that they didn't wipe his memory of their base) but I liked it.

Then you had Arcanon for a little bit. This was so fucking stupid. Dino Charge made an original villain in Sledge, so I think they shouldn't have bothered with trying to work Arcanon in there (his Sentai counterpart was the head villain). It felt too rushed and they could've introduced the dark energem with something else.

And then surprise! Sledge again! Also hated that to be honest. They defeated him the first time. Why bring him back.

We don't talk about that finale. We don't

Technically I have to if I want to talk about Dino Charge (unfortunately) so all I'm going to say is that it's stupid and I hate it. Ivan and Koda never leave and they never fuck up the timeline with that dumbfuck idea thanks <3

(Genuinely there's a discussion to be had about the character assassination that was committed by making Koda and Ivan - who had accepted that they were men out of time and living lives with their new family - went back in time for some fucking reason, but that's for another post)

Now! Onto something I actually want to talk about! The Sentai adaptation vs the Power Rangers. I've seen both, so y'all are getting my thoughts as to how well they adapted it. I think Dino Charge did an amazing job. They didn't take what happened in Kyoryuger and copy that exactly (cough cough Samurai cough cough). They made their own story and used the footage well

I also want to talk about the thing that makes Power Rangers iconic - the actual Ranger bit. I'm talking about the power source, the suits, the zords, and the Super mode.

I really liked the energems as a power source. The idea of ancient stones created at the dawn of the universe that bonded to dinosaurs, then people, is really cool. I have issues with the "energems give them immortality" bit (because I'm sad that they have to watch their friends and family die) but it really does make sense. They are bonded to something that is ancient and powerful, and there should be some side effects from that.

Now for the suits! (One could argue that the suits are more of the Sentai's influence but I'm treating them as solely Dino Charge right now). I really love the Dino Charge suits. They already get points in my book for not having fucking lips (which I hate with a burning passion), but they do look cool on their own. I love solidly coloured suits that don't have white or black pants. The helmets are also really cool, and I love the dinosaur heads incorporated in them. So the DIno Charge suits are great to me

The zords in Dino Charge are also awesome. They look really cool. I wish they could be small to hang out with their Rangers, but alas, we can't have everything 😔

The Super mode in Dino Charge was a pretty solid one. I liked that Rexy could be small to fight alongside Tyler. Don't love the white on the suit, but at least his normal suit is a nice, solid red.

So yeah! That's my Dino Charge review. Thanks for sticking around after that word vomit lol. I love this season so fucking much

[reading-on-an-adventure]

Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre(s): Fantasy

Dates Read: Nov. 9 - 14, 2024

Review below the cut.

I was able to get through a good portion of the book the day I started it.

Before I started this book, I remembered a vague plot point / part of the story that was sad, and when I got to that point in the book - I was correct.

This book really proved to Will and to Halt how ready Will was for his graduation. It shows that he was able to think and plan on his own and on his own two feet.

The humor as well as the more difficult parts of this book were great.

This book also shows how comfortable the characters are with each other, their own abilities, and their friends’ abilities.

[of-two-lands]

44°58'23.5"N 6°03'54.8"E

youtube/oftwolands

www.oftwolands.com

[augment-techs]

My less than stellar feelings about The Return #4. Oh, and SPOILERS.

-Is this...disgust...I'm feeling? I mean, I get wanting to keep the kid safe, but wow, Kim; tell us how you really feel.

-FLIRTING. Flirting in SUITS.

-But pray, dear child, HOW DID YOU GET THE DAMN MORPHER BACK??

-Oh, good, she got the impulse control--or lack thereof--from both of her parents.

-Okay, this is new. A member of the family that gets right to the point~

-Why...why does this make me so uncomfortable. I don't understaaaaaaand. Q_Q

-Nevermind, this answers that question. Tommy and Olivia BOTH look like Kim's kids. And I am suddenly having flashbacks to poor Clone Tom, what the fuuuuuuuuck.

-In what dimension does the COMMUNICATOR do the teleporting? Great execution for a heart to heart, but now the teleportation bullshit from the moon to Earth pisses me off more.

-I sincerely hope that Zack and Billy go home together after this and sleep for a year. Jason can take Tommy out for his first beer, and Kim and Olivia can have a conversation about the pressures of being the only girl on a team of men that all think they somehow outrank her. This is a soft snapshot, but only if you don't think at all about anything afterward.

-Nope, nope nope nope. No. No more mystery mongering bullshit. Fuck Off.

[izfaish]

[go go loser ranger manga spoilers - vol. 6 | ch. 43-42]

SSHSNDJDJDUKSJDHS

i don't even know if i can be coherent here odjdjfjf

what a way to start the volume. GOD i love the internal struggle. the imaginary dream sequence. the way it almost mirrors the meal scene with the dragon keepers, with peltrola coming in and killing that chef the way akabane killed his jfc. it's nit a 1-to-1 comparison but it just reminded me of that same old rottenness. and the fact that sakurama is d's conscience so to speak... oufjfjfjfj

it makes sense that d would resolve to get rid of both the dragons keepers AND the executives. to him, they're the same. it is heartwarming to see him regard his cadet buddies as special, so much so that d is unsettled by the idea that HE would hold such power over them. the same power and authority that he despises from the dragon keepers and executives.

HIS EYES. HE HAS THE UNSETTLING SPARKLES! NO D YOU'RE FALLING INTO THE TRAP!!

ok i just wanted to say that this made me laugh. like first nadeshiko's panacea thing was funny and then suzukiri pulls out a tv remote like HELLO????

i love d standing up for himself like this but i can also see the slippery slope of becoming like the executives... getting what you want and forcing that onto others... i wouldn't be surprised if d one day becomes an executive and has to grapple with that. hell, maybe in the later chapters he becomes a dragon keeper AND executive... damn.

i will say, peltrola is an interesting antagonist. someone so holier-than-thou who sees themselves as a god,,, an interesting match-up to the dragon keepers' divine sense of authority, what with their divine dragon tools.

okay i did not like blue keeper when he was introduced, but i think that's normal. i still don't like him but i do find him a lot more interesting and i appreciate his sense of self-awareness. living your life knowing you toe the line between good and evil, never committing fully to one, and feeling that your resolve wavers because of it... like damn. you did not deserve to die. you deserved to live and commit to doing better. death isn't redemption, it's just a tragedy. speaking of..

holy hell. the way d's murder of blue keeper was actually horrifying. just... the juxtaposition between d achieving his goal but feeling empty with loss anyway just hit so hard.

also (backtracking a bit) lil hibiki and tokita!!!!!! would not be surprised if tokita modeled his look after aogama. also aoyome and aogama's relationship is sweet. i like how she sees the best in him even if the worst of him shouldn't be ignored or excused.

OKAY i didn't realize there's an image limit so here's my other fav panels:

;u; xx,,,, they're both just trying to carve meaning out of their existence (that backstory into d was also just... ough. there's,,, probably parallels there with blue keeper. raised to be a shield, a scapegoat, a loser... god...

THE WAY I INTERNALLY SCREAMED. I'M SO HAPPY WAAAAAAAA

the fav is alive i am JUMPING FOR JOY

NO IDEA if koguma will be like,,, a friend or ally. or used as bait or get hurt again,,, leave him alone pls. also rip sojiro, you were a real one. really symbolic that the oldest veteran cadet of them there died, kinda symbolizes the passing of a baton... damn. rest in peace.

also - suzukiri! achieved her goal once more. she's so so interesting. i wonder what sakurama is up to...

okay look. i like sesera a lot but her thing with sakurama is NOT IT DNDMFNND. i know it's a trope but the fcking body pillow was so weird, like cmon. i still like her though, she's my fav of the dragon keepers. that,, might change going forward im not sure. i do like,,, sharks,, green keeper arc is next? shark teeth a+ design heeeee.

ONTO VOLUME 7 WAHOOOO

[tinyreviews]

Tiny Review: Smoke Signals. One of the best road movies. MUST WATCH.

It’s a relatively unknown but highly acclaimed movie. I went into this with high hopes and was not disappointed.  

Go into blind and enjoy the story. MUST WATCH!

Smoke Signals is a 1998 coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Chris Eyre from a screenplay by Sherman Alexie, based on Alexie's short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993). It stars Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer, and Tantoo Cardinal.

[reversemoon255]

BoonBoom Champion Trailer / BoonBoomRobo Champion

Honestly? Not as cool as 119. I mean, Leo has an alternate mode, a more interesting combination, can unlock attack modes. Champion Trailer just doesn't do as much, having two variations on the same vehicle mode, and shoving the cab inside Boomer isn't very satisfying. It's still a decent upgrade, but I feel like the two of them should have had their releases swapped.

The Good: The cab is its own transformation item, which you can mess with on its own, and is pretty cute. You can also still use it in robot mode and has unique sounds for it. It's simple, but it's fun to mess with for a few minutes.

Trailer is also very aesthetically pleasing, with the tires matching up with the face plates for the Rangers, and having them all lined up in the final robot mode is very cool.

Boomer also maintains the same number of ports for customization as in its default and 119 forms, so you can still very much mess with him.

The Bad: Unlike with 119, the arms actually lose outward posability here because of how the shoulders work. The face also misaligns itself if you move it around at all. Getting the cab inside of Boomer is not hard, but a little annoying since you have to pull Boomer apart, and his back tassels like to fall off when you do it.

Also, BoonBoom Water is pretty disappointing. It's just a translucent repaint of PatoCar 2, and it doesn't even do its intended gimmick well. It's supposed to plug into the shoulders and form cannons, but they're very loose and because the guns are slightly different they sit at noticeably different angles.

Overall, not bad, but the last super mode was better, which reflects poorly on this one. I would recommend it if you want to mess with the customization gimmick or if you like the team aesthetic, but it's not going to blow you out of the water. No pun intended.

[happyk44]

Jason as a stoic figurehead.

Jason as a feral wolf child.

Jason as cold and uncaring as the first snow.

Jason as warm and sweet as a summer's day.

Jason who would kill you without mercy for the smallest of slights.

Jason who always offers mercy before the final blow.

Jason who would kill his friends if they failed to meet his standards or provide use to the pack as a whole.

Jason who would protect his friends no matter what.

Jason who cannot see children, only potential soldiers.

Jason who sees children and does everything he can to prevent them from ending up like him.

Jason who thinks his past was normal.

Jason who thinks his past was cruel.

Jason who admires his father.

Jason who wishes his father was anyone else.

Jason who cuts his hair military short.

Jason who grows his hair long and ties it up with beautiful ribbons.

Jason who fights with a shield and sword, clean-cut and sleek, perfectly regal even in battle.

Jason who fights with his hands and teeth and lightning, covered in dirt and caked in blood, sparking like a storm.

[bowchickawowpodcast]

Dracula Sucks (1978)

Dir: Phillip Marshak

Starring: Jamie Gillis, Serena, John Holmes, Annette Haven.

[thecomicsnexus]

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS / TMNT II #1-5

December 2022 - May 2023

By Ryan Parrott , Dan Mora, Raúl Angulo, and Ed Dukeshire.

It's the sequel for the miniseries that was successful enough to have action figures!

The Turtles and the MMPR band together to stop Krang and Rita Repulsa, but a betrayal by their human ally leaves them without powers. And then things get creative...

SCORE: 8

I just want to put in writing that true leaders admit when they are wrong, so the dialogue above is not worthy of Leo.

Alright, let's move on to the actual story...

I was running against two challenges while reading this story.

I am pretty ignorant about Power Ranger lore. I have watched some episodes, a movie and the horrible reunion special, but other than that, I may miss some references.

It has been a long time since I read part one, so apart from certain elements of that story that I remembered, I was kind of constantly catching up.

And you really need to have part one fresh in your mind to read this one... they are basically the same story.

A thought occurred to me while reading this... what is going on with Casey Jones?

He used to be the not-very-bright American hero (think of Jack Burton from "Big Trouble in Little China." And that kind of adaptation used to be the case. But lately, Casey has been a little less temperamental, and sometimes smart enough to avoid getting into conflicts (think of the Rise movie, the IDW version and its spin-offs, like this one).

Classic Casey wouldn't have gotten himself in this situation. But given how much this universe borrows from the IDW continuity, I guess that Casey would behave like this.

Isn't it great when you find four morphin' devices that match the colors of the turtles?

The Turtles and the Power Rangers being able to morph all at the same time was already great, but the book manages to surprise with yet another creative twist... that I'll explore after the break...

Although, if you have already seen the covers, then you know what's coming...

I think the book really came together at this point. With (a very 2012 inspired) Splinter coming in to teach the new mutants how to fight with their new bodies.

And then this happened... man, those toys will sell themselves.

In general, the art in this book is stunning. It may not be high art, but it does what it needs to do, beyond expectations.

Shredder also gets a chance to morph again (it would be a crime if he didn't).

The zords in general look amazing. I guess if you are a MMPR artist, you really need to know how to draw robots... and humans.

So yeah, it seems like part 3 is to be expected... and I am okay with that.

The only thing that felt weird to me, is how the Turtles and the Power Rangers seemed to hang together all the time, despite this story taking place weeks after the first one. But given that this is a different universe, I guess anything is possible?

Reading this story made me think hard on why I decided not to buy the crossover figures... maybe if there is a wave for this sequel, I may consider getting some dimension X power rangers... we'll see...

[peithopathos]

Does anyone need a beta reader? I forgot how much I love peer-review/editing and I have 6+ hours to kill every goddamn day. PS: pour one out for my work performance, but RA is more important /s

PPS: My AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeithoPathos