Jurassic Park Chaos Effect: Raptor Alpha

Year of release: 1998

Accessories:

-Three pieces of capture gear

Description: being labelled a night hunter, this particular Raptor figure sports a dark but surprisingly colourful paint job. Its underside (belly, parts of the lower tail, arms and most of the legs) are coloured bright blue. Its back, front part and very end of the tail, and most of the head and neck is painted black for the most part, while black stripes run over the middle part of the tail as well as on the upper legs and even on the flanks. The claws on both its arms and legs are also black. Between the black on the upper part of the creature and the blue on the lower part, there’s purple in between, featured on the flanks and tail. A set of four yellow stripes is located on the neck and back, with the middle part of each stripe being light green. Above the legs there’s an additional green spot, while a set of stripes, part blue and part purple, is seen on the animal’s head. The Raptor has bright orange eyes, white teeth and a pink tongue. A beige JP Chaos Effect logo, featuring a simple stylised version of a DNA string on the bottom, is located on the creature’s right upper leg, along with the number .01.

Raptor Alpha stands in an almost totally neutral pose, except for the tail which is bent downwards so the creature actually fits on its card. The figure is equipped with a biting action, which is activated by pressing the legs together, causing the head to move forward and the jaws to open, as if it’s snapping at prey.

Three pieces of capture gear come with this Raptor, all of them coloured very light brown in a shiny metallic fashion. There’s a muzzle which goes over the Raptor’s face, a limb restraint piece, securing both the arms and legs of this critter, and a small cuff. No creature-breaks-free-of-restraints action feature is present here.

Analysis: some figures always work well, no matter how often they get repainted. Once again this proves to be true with this second regular Velociraptor repaint (which is actually the fourth time this sculpt is released, having been a part of the JPS1, JPS2 and TLWS1 toy line before CE hit stores). Though some of the Chaos Effect repaints aren’t very good, or even downright ugly, this cannot be said for the Raptor Alpha figure which sports a very neat paint job, darker and more eerie than its predecessors, as well as fresh and vivid. I doubt many people will play with this creature only during the night time, but it’s certainly a worthy figure in broad daylight as well.

Granted, it’s not the most original figure to be repainted, but fortunately its funky biting action works as well as it ever did before. Pressing the legs makes the Raptor’s jaws snap and causes it to give a violent head butt at anything in front of it. Always a blast, always efficient.

The capture gear is repainted as well, but hasn’t been seen for a while. The TLWS1 version of this figure sported a new set of capture gear, which fortunately doesn’t come with this Raptor since it was excessively large and ineffective. So it’s back to the old JPS2 restraints, which by comparison with the TLWS1 Raptor’s capture gear actually do restraint the animal: it can’t snap its jaws, it can’t move or slash its claws and is thus rendered more or less defenceless.

Playability: Raptor Alpha, being a repaint of the old Raptor sculpts, comes with both poseable arms and legs, as well as a head and upper jaw which can be moved to a small extent. The figure also features the classic biting action, which still works fine. The three pieces of capture gear are always a welcome addition, though in this case a dinosaur-breaks-free-of-restraints option is absent. Overall, this is a very playable Raptor sculpt successfully making its way into yet another toy line.

Realism: the Chaos Effect toy line is of course entirely fictional and was never a part of the movies, let alone real life. Assessing the realism of this toy therefore seems somewhat redundant. However, judging by the rules of the Chaos Effect universe (though there aren’t any rules really, since it’s pure chaos all of it), this is one of the more plausible figures. It’s not crossed with different dinosaur species, it’s just a purebred Raptor. It is also immediately recognizable as a Raptor or at least a close relative, being a small bipedal carnivore with sickle shaped claws on its feet. Its dark colour pattern reflects its status as a nocturnal predator, though the yellow stripes on its back seem somewhat out of place, possibly giving it away at night when stalking wary prey.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the original JPS1/S2 Velociraptor, which was first repainted for TLWS1. It comes with repainted capture gear which originally came with the JPS2 Velociraptor, but not with the TLWS1 Velociraptor which featured different restraints.

Overall rating: 8/10. Though not much points for originality are scored here, this is one of the better repainting jobs of this toy line (as well as in general), since it's actually quite cool for a change. Besides that, it’s the good old regular Raptor sculpt, which everyone undoubtedly has fond memories of since it was first released in the JPS1 toy line. It’s also one of the more common Chaos Effect figures and shouldn’t prove that difficult to find, nor overly expensive.

Today's Double News: can't hate this behind the scenes video

Two more bits of news I posted on MS yesterday:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153580/tarantino_maakt_mogelijk_alsnog_hateful_eight

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153579/nieuwe_blik_achter_de_schermen_game_of_thrones

So Game of Thrones has a new production designer. Considering the stunning design of the sets of the first three seasons, that's a tough act to follow. From the looks of it, Debbie Riley seems up to the task, as the new sets (as well as new versions of several locations used prior, including the Eyrie) look equally grand as those that came before. At least, so it appears from this short puff piece video. Of course, the grandeur and beauty of the sets not withstanding, it's the actors which make them come alive, and what we want to see most is which of our beloved characters - the ones that yet live, that is - will return next season. Apart from that, first glimpses of new characters are also most welcome. The preview this little behind-the-scenes clip offers introduces another new character, namely Tycho Nestoris of the Iron Bank of Braavos, played by Mark Gatiss. That's one more down. No other new faces here, but fan favourites including Daenerys, Brienne, the Hound, Arya and Cersei Lannister still appear very much alive. For a moment longer at least, you know how this show works... characters come and go, but at least we'll always have fabulous production design.

And surprise, surprise: Tarantino may be reconsidering dropping The Hateful Eight. I was sorta expecting him to. You don't shelve a project that fast just because someone leaked a script. Scripts get leaked all the time. You do some damage control, but you don't throw out the project completely. How many members in the audience actually bother to read scripts? Even if some people know the story and post it online, the vast majority will still be surprised by the finished movie. Better yet, you can slip in some sneaky rewrites to catch those who spoiled themselves off-guard. Folks in the industry will know better than to leak Tarantino again now, since even though The Hateful Eight might still end up on the big screen despite what we first heard, I bet the lawsuits (all-American style sueing!) this hateful Tarantino is preparing will not be abandoned so easily. Let that be a lesson for those who spoil things for others!

Today's Column: why I like the Razzies better than the Oscars

Here's another column I wrote for MovieScene this weekend:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153493/column_de_rustgevende_razzies

I must admit inspiration came to me rather late in the game for this one. As a result it's certainly not my best piece, though when I did find a subject it was penned a lot faster than most other columns so far. I firmly believe in the Razzies as a rather stable, quiet ritual that is a welcome diversion from all the other Award fests plaguing the early months of each new year. Because it is solely about bad movies - the definition of which admittedly leaves a little to be desired occasionally, as in the case of The Lone Ranger this year - nobody cares so vigorously as when good movies are concerned. Amidst all the politics, anger and frustration surrounding the Academy Awards and the general discord which ensues when their winners are revealed, there's no such conflict over the Razzies. There's no need to account for bad taste after all: truly bad movies (though often still enjoyable on purpose) are generally considered just that, while defending or debunking the good qualities of a film, especially compared to other good films, causes much more consternation and lack of consensus. Few people will claim they thought Gravity was a bad film, but the level of its 'goodness' is open to questioning when comparing it with other movies that are considered good. Is Her a better movie than 12 Years a Slave? Who's to tell? Is Grown Ups 2 a horrendous picture? Yes, definitely! You have none of the tiresome hype you witness for two months around the Oscars at the Razzies. Plus, the Razzies don't take themselves seriously, while the Oscars do too strongly and not always deservedly so. The Razzies simply are a much more honest ritual, without agressively demanding as much attention from a movie lover as the Oscars sometimes so irritatingly do. So I'm all for Adam Sandler making more movies, just to keep the Razzies going. As long as I don't have to watch them.

Today's News: I'm being capped by the star spangled Avenger

Added another trailer to the MS archives:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153522/tweede_trailer_captain_america_the_winter_soldier

Another bitchin' trailer for this movie that keeps me excited despite its overly patriottic protagonist. I gotta admit, I'm posting a suspicious amount of Cap 2 stuff recently. I don't mean to give this movie preference over others just because I look forward to it (as I happen to look forward to said other movies too), it just depends on the availability of scoops and the eagerness of my colleagues to post the other news before I beat them to it. Also, with Cap 2's release date approaching fast, advertisement output for its rival superhero movies X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, due out soon after, seems to have diminished a little. Maybe it's Marvel Studios' way of telling its competitors 'there's only one true Marvel so back off', maybe it's just convenience, or maybe there's some secret deal to keep out of each other's way a little bit (wouldn't be surprised, as these three movies will be guaranteed hit films at the box office anyway so why deny each other success when we can all get happily loaded together?). That said, with America's top sports event the Super Bowl up this weekend (I really don't get what they like about that sport), be sure to see a lot of promotional campaigns for summer blockbusters suddenly picking up speed, as this is the perfect time to get the word out on such fare for audiences as yet unaware of these big budget Hollywood projects. First spots for various epic summer movies are already up a few days in advance accordingly, with the best stuff yet to come. I doubt this will be the last trailer I'll be posting this week...

Today's Mini-Review: Defiance

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell

Directed by Edward Zwick

USA: Paramount Vantage, 2008

As far as WW II/Holocaust movies go, Edward Zwick's Defiance is basically the Spartacus version of the bunch, as opposed to the likes of Schindler's List (which, if you want to further draw comparisons with Roman epics of old, has more overtones of Quo Vadis or The Robe, in which a man “in league with the enemy” opens his eyes to the shameful horrors inflicted on the minority and turns to their aid). The specific act of defiance this movie revolves around is mere survival in a world where the Jewish minority has been sentenced to death under the ruthless rule of the German Third Reich during the occupation of Poland. As their parents are murdered by the Nazis and their Polish lapdogs, the Bielski brothers retreat into the primordial woods hellbent on revenge. As they are confronted with growing numbers of Jewish refugees also seeking shelter in the forest, the brothers find themselves divided on which course of action to take as those in need of help name them their leaders in the struggle for basic survival. What will it be: vengeance at all costs, or the needs of the many over a personal vendetta?

At the heart of the movie is the ideological conflict between the three brothers. The oldest, Tuvia (Daniel '007' Craig), unwittingly finds himself given command over this group, which soon numbers in the hundreds, and first and foremost aims to keep them safe as he feels it is his moral responsibility, like it or not, to do so. His younger brother, the hotheaded Zus (Liev Schreiber) instead feels attacking their persecutors and killing as many Germans as possible takes precedence, and as their rivalry deepens he leaves the camp to join local Soviet resistance cells to do just that. Their younger brothers, including Asael (Jamie Bell) opt to stick with Tuvia. As the forest community grows, so does the risk of being discovered, which soon leads to an all-out assault by the German forces which the refugees have to fight off with little means at their disposal, nor the help of Zus' band of partisans, who will not risk their lives to save Jews. Can Tuvia save “his” people from annihilation, or will the Bielski Jews be massacred despite all their efforts? Only a reconciliation of the brothers seems like it might stay their doom.

Defiance proves a chilling war epic (albeit on a smaller budget that most, since this is a more confined movie in terms of characters and locations) making ample use of the assembled talent in front and behind of the camera. Not to mention appropriating the beautiful forest environment to such great effect that it's not hard to conceive of it as a character in itself: lush and warm in summer, but unforgiving and uncompromising in the cold Polish winter, which is as lethal as the human enemy. Against all odds, the community flourishes, but the fear of being rooted out and brutally killed persists. And Zwick doesn't flinch at showing that this new formed society is far from idyllic, as hunger, disease and most of all, basic human behavior, continue to threaten their survival.

A story that focuses on the ordeals of man living with man through a period of intense crisis is incomplete if it wouldn't address the issue of man's darker side getting the better of him. Defiance too tells of the strong in the group exploiting the weak, taking their food, sexual integrity and if they resist, their lives. Tuvia soon rises to the occasion of exorcising such immoral behavior from his people by exacting 'zero tolerance' type punishment upon the perpetrators. The Bielksi Jews are not living in a democracy and freedom is still a rather abstract concept, but fortunately Tuvia accepts a role of the benevolent leader who generally has his people's best interest at heart, despite his continuing desire for vengeance. Meanwhile, even among his new brothers in arms, Zus is still an outsider because of his status as a Jew, despite being a formidable fighter. Defiance isn't afraid to admit that antisemitism wasn't limited to the Germans, as the Jews are shown to also suffer under the hands of their Polish neighbours, offering a less black and white view than simply stating 'Germans are bad and all others are good'. As the Germans exploit the Polish population, Poles exploit Jews and even among the refugees Jews are found exploiting other Jews. Tuvia's main act of defiance is rising above such base humanity for the greater good. It does at times make him feel overly saint like, but when he unhesitatingly shoots troublemakers amongst his own people, you know he's still as human as the rest of them.

With Defiance, Zwick once again proves himself a certified craftsman of effective historical drama, the kind that encompasses a fine mix of solid acting throughout (though not avoiding the use of the occasional off-putting foreign accent), dynamic action and thematic value, but for some reason just doesn't stick with you as much as similar movies from better known directors tend to do. Defiance is unmistakably an excellent film, but not in the same league as similar entries in the Holocaust subgenre like Schindler's List or The Pianist, movies with which it cannot avoid comparison because of the subject matter. On the page it all should work, and when watching the movie it does, but afterwards Zwick's movies for some inexplicable reason just seem to slip from mind somehow. Likewise, even though his films have been awarded their fair share of Academy Award nominations, actual wins are few and far between. Nevertheless, upon viewing Defiance defies all sense of whatever shortcomings might plague Zwick's body of work to stand out despite their undeniable quality.

Today's News: Hannibal sinks its teeth in a new future victim (500th post!)

Posted another scoop on MS late last night. Posting it here as my 500th post:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153489/michael_pitt_voegt_zich_bij_cast_hannibal_seizoen_2

Now that's he's sleeping with the fishes on Boardwalk Empire, Pitt has joined the cast of another show where you know for sure things are gonna end up badly for him. We've already seen the gruesome results of the meetings between Lecter and Verger on Ridley Scott's baroque Hannibal movie from 2001, and the TV show will now demystify how the appalling facial mutilations came to be for our enjoyment. Do we even want to know? It's not knowledge we particularly need, but any excuse to see Mads Mikkelsen psychologically toy with other people before proceeding to ruthlessly dispatch them, be it to their own private version of a mental hell or to the afterlife, makes for intriguing and intelligent television. If you can stomach such gruelling subject matter of course. Hannibal is certainly not for everybody. Even though the actual kills are most often not wholly explicitly shown, the amply present visual imagery of horribly disfigured bodily remains, intercut with lavish feasts of usually unidentified dinner ingredients (we're to decide whether Hannibal is engaging in his trademark cannibalism for ourselves, but it was stated early on in the show that he never eats a vegetarian meal), effectively cause a continuous feeling of queeziness and emotional unease. In short: this is a most disturbing show, successfully balancing attraction and abjection. You don't really want to watch it, but you can't turn it off either. Pitt's performance on Boardwalk was no different, as he portrayed a formerly good soul corrupted by war and coaxed into crime by his screwed-up family relations (his mother was only a kid when she had him for crying out loud!), ultimately bringing him to an untimely but foreseeable end. His personal demons were the main cause of his downfall, as is the case with Mason Verger who wouldn't have ended up the way he did if he hadn't condemned himself to his eventual deranged emotional state, something Hannibal feeded for his own nefarious purposes. The results, as illustrated before by Gary Oldman in heavy facial prosthetics, were pretty bad. It'll be interesting to see just how it came about, even if we already know what's gonna happen later down the road. Predictability so far hasn't been a detrimental issue on Hannibal, as we already know what's gonna happen to most of these characters (and the ones whose fate remains unknown are not particularly the people we're watching this show for). The talented cast and generally sickly but savoury atmosphere have made for a compelling first season, and Pitt's addition to the series is only an indication season 2 wont be any different. Plenty of interesting but abhorrent courses to follow, it seems. Don't watch this show while you're eating.

That's right: eeww! Just the sort of stuff you want your readers to see when reaching 500 posts.

Jurassic Park Chaos Effect: Roland Tembo

Year of release: 1998

Accessories:

-Gatling launcher

-Four projectiles

-Ultimasaurus hatchling

Description: this figure looks quite odd, especially compared to other human figures Kenner produced. As such it’s not easy to describe, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Roland sports golden body armour over his chest and back, adorned with technical detailing. It has purple shoulder patches and wears large silvery grey gloves with purple dots on them. His upper arms also sport additional grey pieces of metal right next to the shoulder patches. Roland wears dark green trousers with asymmetrical leg armour over them at the front side. On his upper left leg he sports what might be a knife holster or some large pocket. He wears big black boots. On his rather grim looking bald head he has a black microphone headset (mostly around his right cheek), and he also has black sunglasses of sorts. On his back right behind his head, some sort of grey grid or other protrusion sticks out for some unclear purpose. Maybe it’s just additional detailing. Roland stands in a very butch and imposing posture. His arms are bent towards his body, as if he’s flexing his muscles. His left hand makes a fist. His legs are bent down somewhat, as if bracing himself. The look on his face makes things seem very grim.

His large gatling gun, which is coloured entirely black (unlike the gun seen on the card, which features grey loading tubes) looks quite detailed and elaborate with little feet and a handle to hold it sticking out on the bottom, as well as binoculars on top, but its basic design is simple. It sports four small loading tubes on the front, so all four of the small orange projectiles fit in simultaneously. On the back of the gun there’s a round knob, which can be turned to the right, firing the projectiles in rapid succession.

The Ultimasaurus hatchling stands in an attack posture, its left foot posed forwards and the right backwards, and its long slender arms outstretched. Its head is turned to the left and looks up slightly, as if the little creature is making a menacing move to an aggressor. Most of the beastie is coloured grey, while its belly (from the base of the neck to the base of the tail) is bright beige. Its feet (sporting sickle shaped claws) and his Ceratopsid like head (with horns and frill) are scarlet red: the latter includes small green eyes and little white teeth. On its back, from the back of the head to the very end of the tail, it carries segmented black armour, similar to that of an Ankylosaurus. Also, the tail ends in a small club, also black. On its left upper leg, a red JP Site B logo is found: this is strange, since this hatchling is not a TLW dinosaur, but Chaos Effect instead so it would have made sense to mark it with a Chaos Effect logo. Maybe it’s just a production mistake.

Analysis: this figure is without a doubt one of the most unusual and “un-Jurassic Park” figures ever produced. Of course, this can be said for most of the Chaos Effect line, but Roland here drives it to its most extreme limits. He looks more of something out of a cheap sci-fi action movie but no, the card clearly says he’s a Jurassic Park figure.

Of course, heavy armour would be useful when battling ferocious hybrid dinosaur monsters. Roland Tembo, being a ‘dino hunt master’ according to the card, probably wants to be prepared for anything. Judging from the gritty look on his face, he’s taking things very seriously. Mess with his weird armour, and he’ll be forced to use his gun on you (also because he has no action features of his own).

This gatling launcher itself looks a whole lot less silly due to its size and all black colouring. It’s an interesting new variation on the standard rocket/missile launcher idea; it’s also clearly based on real gatling guns, though its effects are less devastating (it’s a toy after all). It works quite well and hasn’t much trouble firing the projectiles over a respectable range in rapid succession, but because these are small and lightly built they don’t do a lot of damage. They’re okay for knocking over hatchlings but not much else sadly.

The hatchling is quite interesting, since it’s the only released Ultimasaurus sculpt. It sports almost the exact same paint job as the adult sculpt would have featured, though obviously less detailed due to its size. While still a baby, it looks quite nasty and it isn’t something you would want to meet in a dark alley. In a Chaos Effect way it’s also cute. Though the JP community is still mourning the loss of the large Ultimasaurus sculpt, this juvenile at least gives us a glimpse of what could have been.

Playability: about average by the standards for human JP figures. Roland has moveable arms, legs and head, like most human figures. However, due to the way in which his arms are posed playability is hampered somewhat. Also, his left hand forms a fist and as a result he can only hold things with one hand. The Ultimasaurus hatchling isn’t poseable in any way, which is of course normal for hatchling figures. Its attack posture doesn’t help either. Qua playability, the most important thing of this set is the gatling launcher, which works decent enough.

Realism: as is the case with almost all of the Chaos Effect line, realism isn’t much of an issue with this figure. Roland looks in no way like the Roland Tembo seen in the TLW movie as portrayed by Pete Postlethwaite. The only similarity to that actor is the bald head. This figure looks more like a cyborg than a human being, considering the abundance of armour and metal. So by normal Jurassic Park standards (if there is such a thing) this Roland Tembo is plain ridiculous, but it fits in well enough with the rest of the Chaos Effect toys. The same goes for his weapon, which actually is less farfetched and resembles real gatling guns; so it’s basically a good toy version of such a weapon. The baby Ultimasaurus, another hybrid creature this line is so fond of, is a nice little addition to the toy line. Never mind the weirdness of genetically mutated dinosaur hybrids gone bad, this cross between a Triceratops, Ankylosaurus and Velociraptor (or any closely related cousins of these animals) looks pretty menacing, making the fact the adult version of this monster didn’t get released even harder to bear.

Repaint: no. This figure was most definitely designed for this toy line (which is pretty obvious when you look at it) and wasn’t repainted for later toy lines either. However, this entire set (Roland, Ultimasaurus and gatling launcher) was originally planned to be repainted for the Chaos Effect Night Hunter Series, in a set with a repaint of the unreleased large Ultimasaurus even, but that whole line was scrapped and so was the second Chaos Effect Roland.

Overall rating: 6/10. Though the figure looks utterly ridiculous, it’s fun enough. But the Ultimasaurus and gatling launcher are definitely the best things in this set, which still isn’t overly appealing though. This figure is somewhat harder to find than most other carded Chaos Effect sculpts (especially in territories where the Chaos Effect line wasn’t released), but not impossible to get your hands on: costs may vary though.