Jurassic Park Chaos Effect: Omega T-Rex

Year of release: 1998

Accessories:

-Survival Pod

Description: this dinosaur is a repaint of the largest of all JP dinosaur toys ever produced, namely the TLWS1 Bull T-Rex. The sculpt has not been changed in any way. It still measures a good 70 centimetres in length and stands about 20 centimetres tall. This Rex stands in an active pose, with its left leg moved forward and its right leg backward, as if walking. Its head is quite large, almost as big as its belly, to accommodate its action feature, which is to swallow figures. About every human figure and most smaller dinosaurs can fit in its mouth and through the throat, like it appears the monster is eating them. Afterwards such figures can be retrieved via a slit in its belly. Most of this Rex sculpt is composed of a thick flexible material, to give it a hint of realistic dinosaur skin. Omega Rex also features the same three electronic sounds as its TLWS1 predecessor: a roar, a snarl and chomping sounds. There’s a button, located under the skin on its back just at the base of the legs: pressing it produces either one of these sounds, always in the same order, though when the button is pressed only briefly just the roar is heard.

The Omega T-Rex sports an unmistakably Chaos Effect paint job, making it easy to distinguish from the Bull Rex. Its predominant and most notable colour is bright orange: most of the creature’s body and tail is painted in this colour, as well as all of the legs and on two places on its back. The huge claws on the legs are also orange. Most of the head and neck/throat is black with large black spots, including triangular stripes running out of these, on the back and tail. The last seven centimetres of the tail is entirely black. The neck is adorned with additional blue colouring which continues on lines starting above the arms (also blue, including claws) and running along the edges of the black spots on its back and tail in a largely symmetrical pattern. The upper jaw features pink spots and stripes, especially around the eyes. Also, on its back a pink spot is found, with the button hidden underneath the skin right under it, so you know where to push to make the figure roar. Omega has huge white teeth and the same eyes as the Bull Rex, not painted like other figures, but small transparent spheres, green on the inside with black pupils. A blue JP Chaos Effect logo is located on the upper right leg, along with the number .28 (the same number as the Bull T-Rex interestingly enough).

This Tyrannosaurus comes with a survival pod, a repaint of the same accessory the Bull Rex came with. It’s basically a sort of cage, though not to lock vicious creatures up, but to provide shelter for a single person. Inside, there’s a human figure (not removable), with a look of horror on his face. He wears a purple shirt, along with short black pants, purple socks and black boots. He also has blond hair. The pod itself sports a silvery metallic paint job. On the back there’s a pair of purple “wings”, which can fold out, to prevent the Bull Rex from swallowing it. As with the Omega Rex itself, no changes have been made to the survival pod.

Analysis: this stupendously huge Rex sculpt is still very impressive. It towers over human figures, and dwarfs most other dinosaurs of this toy line (except for its mate, the Thrasher T-Rex). Its ability to “eat” figures makes it the undisputed Chaos King of Dinosaurs. The standard Rex act of eating stuff is carried on in this repaint with its gulp-down-prey feature. Almost all human figures of the various Kenner toy lines fit through its mouth. The same goes for a lot of the smaller dinosaur figures, though not the new Chaos Effect sculpts with their abundance of protrusions. The figures can be retrieved through the slit in its belly. It’s a bit of a shame this slit can’t be closed, since now this Rex basically walks around with a huge hole in its belly. However, it’s designed pretty tightly, so it’s not noticeable in an overly annoying way. It might as well be a black stripe running across its stomach.

The Rex has three different electronic sounds at its disposal. The button is hidden under the skin on its back, but is easy to press. This Rex roars, growls and makes chomping noises (like it’s chewing on metal, which in the case of the survival pod is true). The roar and growl are somewhat similar, adding consistency. One thing that is a bit of a nuisance: the battery holder of this animal is located right under the back, and is only accessible through the slit in its belly. However, it’s not easy to reach, making it real difficult to replace the batteries. It may be the quality of my Bull T-Rex, but the sounds on my Omega are very loud and imposing, as if their quality has been enhanced somehow.

The paint job this T-Rex features is very odd, and on first sight, quite ugly (though one gets used to it over time). Black and blue don’t really mix with bright orange (and I do mean bright, as in colour blindness causing bright). It’s a real shame the claws on the arms and especially the legs aren’t painted in different colours. The paint job of the head is quite good though, the pink mixes well with the black. The pink spot on the back indicating where the button can be pushed may serve a useful function, but it does look very out of place. The paint job may not be very appealing, but that’s largely the Chaos Effect way. Another thing which makes this otherwise great sculpt look a bit funny is the disproportionably big head. Granted, this was done to accommodate the swallowing, but it would have been preferable to make the Rex’s body even bigger by comparison. Though it’s quite large already, so it would probably get too big to play with then.

The survival pod looks a bit like a coffin, which isn’t far off, since it fits perfectly through the Rex’s mouth, most likely killing the poor soul trapped inside. However, the “wings” on the back create a method of rescue, since the Rex can’t swallow the pod when these are folded out. The pod can be opened, but sadly the figure inside can’t be removed, so you can’t put other figures in. 

 

Playability: disappointing, unfortunately. The only poseable parts of this Rex are its arms. It also doesn’t stand in a neutral pose, which combined with its size makes it hard to handle, especially for kids. Though the eating option is a great and imaginative action feature, it’s probably the only additional playability option. It’s a good thing this Rex comes with no less than three different sounds and a survival pod as extra accessory, stimulating overall possibilities. However, it would have been cooler if the figure in the survival pod could be taken out, so that other figures could take its place. Another negative point: once taken out of its box, the legs of this figure have a habit of slowly shifting inwards, making it hard for this figure to stand up straight (though its enormous feet are helpful in that matter). Since this Rex is electronic, you can’t go around playing too rough with it if you want to keep it in working order. Basically, it comes down to this: for playability, get the Thrasher T-Rex; for sheer impressiveness, sounds and eating figures, get this Omega T-Rex.

Realism: this figure is recognizable as a Tyrannosaurus, mostly because of the two fingered claws and the fact it’s a huge bipedal predator. However, the disproportionate head and feet make it a bit unrealistic. Of course, for a Chaos Effect creature realism isn’t a priority, which also explains the… unusual colour scheme. Still, this creature can eat figures, just like the Rexes in the JP movies did on a regular basis. Additionally, the sounds (particularly the roar), are more or less movie accurate.

Repaint: yes. This Rex is a repaint of the TLWS1 Bull T-Rex (including the survival pod), which in itself was a repaint of the unreleased JPS2 Gulper T-Rex. It has not been repainted again.

Overall rating: 7/10. Okay, so it’s not really original, lacks playability and has a very dubious paint job to say the least. It’s still a great and awe inspiring sculpt, with good sounds and a fun action feature, making it a must have for any serious JP collector and a good alternative for people lacking a Bull Rex. It’s one of the rarest Chaos Effect figures though and not very easy to find. Ebay is usually your best bet, though not at low cost. Also, because of the size of this monster, shipping costs tend to be high.

Today's News: it's Marvel versus DC on the small screen too

Here's some fairly new news from MovieScene I wrote in recent times:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/155681/logo_marvelserie_agent_carter_uitgebracht

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/155696/eerste_trailer_en_clip_nbcs_constantine

It seems DC is not letting Marvel outdo its rival on television as easily as it does on the big screen. Marvel is still a relative newcomer to the scene, currently hosting only a single show, though with great plans for the future of the medium both on telly and online. DC accordingly was all too eager to grab a corner of that reinvigorated market too (remember, DC has a much more encompassing history with television than Marvel: consider shows like Smallville and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, but those are arguably past successes), and has been attempting to do likewise ever since Arrow debuted last year. Its slate of comic book adaptations for television isn't as ambitious and lacks the Marvel touch of coherency (shared universe and all, y'know), but it does reveal more diversity. Arrow is basically superhero light. The upcoming Gotham is more film noir/cop drama than anything else, despite its eventual penchant for masked villains and vigilantes. And as this trailer for Constantine shows, it's more of a fantasy/horror show. The original Hellblazer comics, published under DC's Vertigo imprint, never shared much ties with the regular DC-verse anyway and as all of these shows will debut on different networks, don't expect to see any Marvel type crossovers.

At the same time, 'crossover' remains the key word for Marvel. Agent Carter fits right in that strategy, building on events and characters from both Captain America movies and the running series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., yet offering a different kind of adventure. Similar to that first Marvel TV series, the main component is spy stories, but set in a period setting, allowing for historical events and characters to be intertwined. Also, the emphasis is on a single (female) character instead of a team of personalities, so the make-up of the show is different from the get-go. It's gonna be a Cold War show, not a series where superhuman characters loom around every corner. But as the logo and the released plot synopsis indicate, connection to what regular audiences know and love about the Marvel Universe will be commonplace. The eagle logo clearly establishes the link between Carter and S.H.I.E.L.D., and it's likely we'll see the foundation of that organization sometime or other in the show: the term 'origin story' will likely be appropriate somewhere down the line. The character of Howard Stark (Iron Man's dad) will also play an important part, thus directly re-establising the connection with the superhuman element and the technological wonders that form another hallmark of the Marvel brand. Nevertheless, I have a tough time picturing this as an ungoing show, it feels more like miniseries material. Blame it on the period setting, blame it on the single protagonist, but the premise feels limited. It sounds like there's only so much you can do with it before it starts getting repetitive. There's a reason the supporting character of Agent Carter never got her own continuing line of comics. I hate to be the Negative Nancy here, but even though it does sound intriguing, I doubt this show will make it for more than two seasons.

As for Constantine, the trailer doesn't make me revel in jubilation either. Even though there's good names attached to the project, judging from the trailer the result has a definite B-movie vibe to it. Of course a trailer is not an accurate reflection of the final product, but it does cause people to get either enthusiastic or pessimistic about the show-to-be. I don't think many people will be convinced of the show's qualities - and with Neil 'Blackwater' Marshall directing the pilot, there just have to be some - after this trailer, or the accompanying clip. Maybe it's the cheap looking effects, maybe it's the choppy editing meant to evoke a sense of dread, but so far the pilot doesn't appear nearly as attractive as the movie, which also wasn't a brilliant piece of gothic audiovisual entertainment. I'm willing to reserve judgment until I see the finished thing (as people should anyway), but so far I'm more stoked for Gotham. That's probably the DC comfort zone speaking, sticking to what we like most about DC, which is undeniably Batman. And Hellblazer is a far cry from the tales of the Caped Crusader. At least Constantine has something to show for it by now. But for the present, Marvel's shows take my preference.

As for Neil Marshall, we still have an 'Episode 9' by his hand in store for us on Game of Thrones. His involvement worked out quite well the last time. Hopefully it will make a difference for Constantine after all.

Today's Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2: ***/*****, or 6/10

Now that Marvel Studios' long term strategy has shown to pay off in the most lucrative manner imaginable, it's no surprise to see rival studios owning their own pieces of the Marvel pie try their luck with a similar concept. As such, Sony faces the most challenging job at universe building, as they own the rights to a franchise based around a single character: Spider-Man. Fortunately for the studio, Spidey has a wide array of friends and foes, allies and adversaries, to choose from in order to construct a larger shared realm which may at some point include movies that do not need the wallcrawler's presence to stand on their own feet. However, such characters, good guys and bad, will need to be introduced first to familiarize the audience with their personalities and groom them for their own solo debuts in later years. And so the crafting of a larger Spiderverse begins with The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which hosts a plethora of new characters and a threesome of rogues to enrich Peter Parker's life. Problem is, for a freshly rebooted franchise which, after a single movie that can be described as 'adequate' at best, still needs to prove to the audience the validity of the rebooting process, the time to start such universe building simply isn't ripe just yet. As a result, the second Amazing Spidermovie feels like a convoluted, incoherently structured piece that aims to be more than 'amazing', while the audience still waits for that moniker to make good on its promise.

In the sequel, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) has come to terms with his powers and responsibilities acting as New York's superhuman guardian, haunted by the vision of Captain Stacy, as he struggles to uphold his promise to the deceased father of the love of his life, Gwen (Emma Stone), to stay out of her existence in order to keep her safe from the harm that comes with being Spider-Man. A strong-spirited and intelligent young woman, Gwen is determined to embrace the dangers involved with dating Peter, or otherwise to move one with her career and leave him in the cold. This results in many a scene of fairly engaging and recognizable lovers' quarrels that reveal director Marc Webb's strengths in directing the identifiable romantic affairs of the younger generation. The chemistry between Garfield and Stone is still solid, though the same cannot be said for the writing of the former, as Peter has moved on from being a socially awkward nerd to a rather self-absorbed punk. Though his red-and-blue clad alter ego is modelled after his comic book counterpart more closely and convincingly than ever – webslinging moves, wisecracking puns and all – Peter feels like he has changed in character a little too much too fast, his occasional dickish behavior courtesy of a new team of writers. While Stone's performance remains a joy to behold, Garfield's oftentimes evokes more irritation than affection.

Spidey's knack for getting those he cares about in trouble is quickly proven as he's confronted by no less than three new villains in this movie, each with his own personal baggage and history that needs some exploration (especially if they are to be found worthy of reprising their roles for later projects). The main antagonist, the volatile and hotheaded Electro (Jamie Foxx), is given the most balanced bit of background, in which he is revealed kind of as Peter Parker-gone-bad. A lonely and socially isolated geek, his involuntary plunge in a vat of genetically engineered electric eels (if you feel this sounds silly, ask yourself whether it would if it involved spiders instead) grants him powers beyond his wildest dreams, but as he hopes to finally stand out from the crowd, those masses that worship his idol Spider-Man reject him, forcing him to go on a electrostatic rampage aimed at New York's favorite webspinner to get back at the world. Though Foxx's performance, some times over-the-top while at others more contained, leaves something to be desired, as does his rather two-dimensional anger directed at Spider-man, Electro's colourful but lethal sparkle shows make for a fancy visual style not seen in a Spider-Man movie before.

What has been seen before however is Harry Osborn, Peter's long time friend and occasionally Spidey's nemesis. In Raimi's trilogy of movies, Harry was given an arc all his own over the course of three movies, building up to the conflict to be and Spider-Man's emotional disarray that came with it. Not so in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, where the same story is roughly being told in a single film, in a much abbreviated form that does not do justice to the many decades of comic book lore in which this close friendship annex hateful rivalry slowly but surely evolved. When his father Norman (Chris Cooper), the head of OsCorp Industries, dies as a result of a degenerative illness that runs in the family, Harry (Dane DeHaan) gets reacquainted with his childhood friend Peter as he offers his condolences. A more elaborate backstory is inferred, but as it is only the subject of the briefest conversation it is hard to truly care about the relationship between Peter and Harry. The latter swiftly becomes CEO of OsCorp where he finds himself thrown in an arena of board intrigue and backstabbing conspiracies to remove him from office, as he tries to find a cure for what killed his dad and all too soon will end his life prematurely too. The only thing standing between him and an untimely demise appears to be the blood of genetically engineered spiders, company property that was deemed lost, so Spider-Man's blood appears to be the only cure still available. As the disease starts to corrupt both his body and mind, Harry's friendship with Peter turns sour when his buddy will not help him get in touch with the wallcrawler to acquire that pivotal transfusion. Eventually more drastic measures must be taken for survival and Harry transforms into the maniacal Green Goblin, hellbent on wrecking Peter's life, especially when he discovers his secret identity. DeHaan proves quite up to the task of portraying the sympathetic Harry, who grows ever more frustrated as his quest to save his own life is thwarted by both those on his payroll and his oldest friend. He also visibly shows to have had a blast playing the crazed Goblin, making DeHaan's contributions to the acting front more sizable than Garfield's haphazard performances, though both characters are admittedly driven by less than stellar writing.

Last and least of the trio of baddies is Rhino, a Russian criminal played by Paul Giamatti (who also makes it abundantly clear he's enjoying himself tremendously), whose presence feels more of an afterthought added by the studio to get that universe building going, as he adds little of relevance to the plot otherwise. Appearing only in the beginning of the film as a violent smuggler who's ridiculed by Spidey, and at the end donning stupendously large battle armour, the character proves the finest example of how not to introduce characters meant to form part of a larger whole later on, if you want the audience to invest in them. It is made clear in the climax of the film Rhino is the first member of Harry's team of villains meant to destroy Spider-Man, a plot line which is already stated to carry over in the next entry into the series, as well as in the announced Sinister Six spin-off. However, this attempt to foreshadow such future fare backfires on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as a film on its own. 

 

If you compare the first few trailers with the final product, you'll notice the film feels to be lacking not only many scenes but also entire story threads that would have driven the plot into a very different direction. Scenes between Harry, his father and Peter promised much more intricate relations between the characters than what was ultimately seen on screen. Likewise, characters' scenes were filmed but dropped, including the introduction of Mary Jane, while others were shortened dramatically, like Harry's secretary Felicia Hardy (who fans will know as Spidey's love affair/part time enemy Black Cat) suffered. The undeniable fact is, with multiple foes, a tumultuous love life and relationship with assorted family, plus a continuing search for his roots and the fate of his parents carried over from the predecessor, there was more than enough going on in the plot of the film already without the studio's obvious insistence of setting up future films as well. As a result, few of the many plot lines get their chance to stand out amidst the convoluted whole that now is The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Of course, there's some fine action scenes and shows of superhero spectacle, while the webslinging never looked better. But in most other respects, the film too often feels like coming up short considerably. Arguably, Sony will make more time to craft the upcoming films into a more coherent and consistent whole, as the element of universe building was rushed into this movie's plot while production was already underway. For now however, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has ended up a Spider-Man film that quickly branches off into an advertisement for upcoming Spider-Man films, hurting its own ending, despite the otherwise tragic climax, which under less padded conditions might have made this the emotionally most powerful Spiderfilm as yet. Robbed of its right to exist as a separate entity, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 failed in that regard, nor does it bode well for Spidey's future.

And to make matters worse, some viewers will be treated to a version of the film with end credits containing a scene for the next X-Men film, which causes this movie to feel even more like a commercial for future superhero flicks, even wholly unrelated ones...

Today's Trailer: a million dirty words in the West

Here's a little trailer I posted on MS this here yesterday:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/155673/nieuwe_redband_trailer_voor_a_million_ways_to_die_in_the_west

This trailer is fifty-fifty in regards to showcasing novel material. A lot of it has been covered in previous trailers, while the opening and most of the second half consists of never-before-seen footage. In totally the same, raunchy, puerile way of course. Penis and pussy jokes are as commonplace here as bullets and bandits. This is Seth MacFarlane territory after all, so what else did you expect? I don't mind a potty mouthed neo-western for a change though, it's something else for a change, considering the overly serious tones that characterizes the genre. My fear for this movie is not the debasement of the iconic western genre so much as it is a situation of the trailer containing all the good jokes and the rest ending up to be shitty leftovers only. Especially since it's a red band trailer (again, as the previous previews for this film were), so we already know what kind of filthy language and absurdly steamy situations to expect, nor did they have to save the worst for the actual movie (they still might have, naturally). I don't think it's too smart a move for the promotional campaign to lay out all the cards on the table just yet in this regard, I would have gone with the usual green band trailers and only one red band trailer to spice things up a little. Not that it matters much, as fans of MacFarlane will know this movie just had to be Rated-R, as is his wont. PG-13 is not his style, as is common knowledge. And if it wasn't, it is now, thanks to this trailer and several just like it.

Today's News, and plenty of it

Time restraints prohibited me to repost some of my news items for MS on this blog, so today there's more than usual:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/155538/mole_man_gecast_voor_fantastic_four_reboot

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/155565/eerste_trailer_star_wars_rebels

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/155587/frank_lammers_speelt_michiel_de_ruyter

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/155616/spring_breakers_2_aangekondigd

Let's just start with the oldest bit of novelty and work our way to the latest, shall we?

Hopefully Nelson will fare better in this Marvel movie than he did in the last, where we only witnessed the beginning of his rise to supervillainy, but were withheld the result. Apparently Fox has bigger events in store for the seasoned character actor this time, already outing him as the Mole Man-to-be, though underscoring he won't be used as such in the first upcoming installment in the FF's reboot franchise. After all, Dr. Doom is slated to take centre stage as the primary antagonist for that film, as it ought to be, as he's the Fantastic Four's most appreciated and recognizable foe. The Mole Man is indeed a decent baddie for a later film, and since a second movie has already been announced, it's likely that's where we will first see Nelson assuming the mantle of the dimunitive underground monarch. Nelson is a bit taller than we're used to seeing the Mole Man, so either the studio fits the character to the actor - which may not be such a bad idea as an evil midget is the stuff of both political incorrectness and silliness - or Nelson will undergo a bit of a CG transformation to make his appearance adhere more to what the comic book fans will most likely expect.

As for computer generated imagery, Star Wars has had lots of it over the last fifteen years, but nowhere near as much as on the small screen in various animated shows. This fall, a new one will be added to the Disney XD channel, called Star Wars Rebels (no colon). This first brief trailer adequately shows it's from the same creators as The Clone Wars series, and as such the franchise stays consistent in terms of animation style on telly. However, this is the first Disney produced Star Wars show, and a dreaded feeling of childishness cannot be denied upon viewing the promo above. Bumbling droids and cheesy oneliners have been a staple of the franchise since its inception, though more frequent in use since the prequel trilogy. It seems Disney has no trouble continuing this trend to appeal to kids, though older audiences may not find it as agreeable. Of course, most adults were largely done with any new Star Wars material after Episode III, and those that remain hopeful of improvement will no doubt focus all of their attention on the next true event, the release of Star Wars Episode VII. Until such time, Rebels is as good a way as any to ensure Disney keeps its publicity running and guarantee the current generation gets indoctrinated into Star Wars, so they can be influenced to run to toy stores and buy every conceivable tie-in merchandise items Disney has licensed. And if Episode VII proves any good, the older generation will no doubt do likewise.

I wasn't aware a movie about the life and times of Michiel de Ruyter was in production, but as he's one of the most iconic Dutch historical heroes around, it had to happen sooner or later. Historical epics that tell of other chapters of Dutch history than the events in WW II have been kind of a trend since the successful Nova Zembla, though for every hit there is a painful flop to remind us of the challenge. Remember Kenau? Most likely you don't. Considering the abundance of naval battles De Ruyter fought, the producers have their job cut out for them keeping the budget in line. Which is no doubt why they had to let Yorick van Wageningen go. He was the perfect choice in my mind, but even the finest piece of casting is only a small piece of the whole the budget allows for. Frank Lammers is a fine second choice: he's fairly well known to Dutch audiences but hasn't had a breakthrough internationally, making him more affordable than Van Wageningen who has co-starred in various big Hollywood productions. Plus, Lammers has proven himself to be a capable, reliable actor, and not just for his role on Nachtrit for which he won a Gouden Kalf. If he can fight his way through taxi wars, naval battles should be an easy labor for him.

A sequel to Spring Breakers? That's the attraction of the less artsy elements of that particular movie, tits and ass and young Hollywood starlets, speaking. Those are no doubt the ingredients that drew in the majority of the audience for the first film. Nevermind the director's weird and hallucinatory montage and lighting, the dreamy visual quality and the simple plot of sex and violence, crime and drugs relaying the greatest imaginable culmination and therein the demise of the American Dream. Mr. Korine told his tale and presented his warning of lust and doom, and that suffices for him (apparently, as he's not inclined to participate in this sequel). Not so for the studio, who is now pressing for a second movie containing more of the same. Which is not to say there's not more to state on the subjects Korine discussed. Religion is certainly a subject that would fit in easily in a tale of Sodom and Gomorrah like this one. In fact, it was already lightly touched upon in the predecessor via one of the female protagonists who disappeared early on in the film (and for the better no doubt). There's more controversy to tackle in that department, plus a potential to bring back that character. Whether or not the studio cares about these possible ideological overtones or not, a Spring Breakers 2 could work. But considering most audiences thought of the first film as a disappointment (most of them probably just didn't get its intentions, even though this sounds horribly elitist of me to say), is there any public interest in a second coming? Then again, sex always sells. Isn't there another batch of former Disney starlets ready to exploit?

Jurassic Park Chaos Effect: Thrasher T-Rex

Year of release: 1998

Description: being one of the largest dinosaur figures of all toy lines (though not as stupendously huge as the other big Rex of this line, the Omega T-Rex) this toy measures a good 50 centimetres in length. It stands in a totally neutral pose, though its tail may be bent somewhat due to the way this figure is packaged in its box. Like the good old large JPS1/2 dinosaur figures, this animal has soft skin, giving it a more realistic feel (at least, insofar as there is realism to the Chaos Effect line). This dinosaur has two different attack options. First, a thrashing action: moving the tail left and right makes the head move in the same directions. Second, a biting action: when the mouth is opened wide, pressing the tongue makes the jaws close in a snapping way, as if biting down on an unfortunate victim.

The Chaos Effect Thrasher T-Rex has a very intricate and colourful paint job, even more so that some of the outrageous schemes seen on other dinosaur figures of this toy line. “Chaos” not withstanding, this paint job is actually largely symmetrical. The underside of this monster (lower jaw, throat, belly, lower part of the tail, inner part of both upper legs), as well as the very upper part of the legs, is bright green, which gradually shifts into bright yellow, which is found on the rest of the legs, the arms, the middle part of the tail, the flanks and the sides of the neck, and also on its head near the eyes. The upper parts of this animal (most of the upper jaw, the neck, back, and upper part of the tail) is black, while various black stripes run out of it, mostly in edgy triangular patterns, most notably on the neck and tail. Additionally, a large black stripe runs from the lower jaw via the throat and flanks all the way to the end of the tail, on both sides of the creature. A trio of black stripes is found on both upper legs. As if the combination of black, yellow and green wasn't striking enough, the dinosaur was adorned with a row of blue spots running from the back of the head (and including the eye sockets) over the neck and back to the end of the tail. Like the black stripes, these spots too are much too neatly and edgily shaped, giving them an unnatural design. Furthermore, the head sports a big red stripe running from the snout to half way across the neck, while various spots, most of them small and triangularly shaped, are found on the sides of the upper jaw. The insides of the mouth and coloured pink, with white teeth, and most notably a big purple tongue. The creature’s eyes are yellow with cat like black pupils, while the beast has black claws on both hands and feet (including the small claws at the back of the feet, which are usually not painted). On its right upper leg, a big blue JP Chaos Effect logo is found (the regular JP logo with a stylized DNA string symbol under it), with the number .29 next to it.

Analysis: 'you can't keep a good Rex down', is undoubtedly the thought that went through the minds of the designers of the Chaos Effect line. Therefore, both of the big and awesome TLWS1 T-Rexes got a makeover for this new toy line, though it mostly consisted of a new paint job to match the style of the new sculpts made for this line. In the case of the Bull T-Rex, the new paint job wasn't very appealing, not to mention hideous because of the outrageous colour scheme, which consisted mostly of bright orange causing instantaneous colour-blindness. The Thrasher T-Rex also got a very colourful new paint job, which is elaborate and daring to say the least, but not actually all that bad. The combination of black and yellow clearly signals the danger behind this brute carnivore with its genetically enhanced predatory senses, like an overly large wasp. The green on the underside is of lesser quality, but hidden well enough under the black and yellow to not be a hugely disturbing factor. The red ornamentation on the head works well, giving this creature a sort of 'blood-lust' feel, though the blue spots are a bit overkill, but not really annoying. Fortunately the claws of this Rex are painted, unlike those of the Omega Rex: it's good to see they didn't forget the small claws on the back of the feet this time. The only thing about this figure's paint job which is really too bizarre is its purple tongue, which looks just goofy.

Aside from the paint job, nothing has changed about this T-Rex sculpt. It still comes with two sweet action features, the first being the thrashing action, which of course gave this figure it’s nickname ‘Thrasher’. Gripping the tail and moving it back and right makes the upper body, particularly the head, move as well, as if the animal is violently shaking its ferocious body about.

The second action feature concerns the head. Opening the mouth while pressing the back of the head causes a spring to be set and the tongue to raise itself somewhat. The mouth is now opened wider, making the monster look pretty butch (mostly because of the great design of the head and even the inner part of the mouth). Pressing the tongue makes the jaws close with a snap. The general idea is the Rex can clamp figures between its jaws and bite them. Even though there’s not that much room between the jaws, it fits most human figures, as well as parts of smaller dinosaur figures (like tails or limbs).

Apart from these two fun action options, this Rex also has other positive aspects which remain intact on this repaint. Most of its skin, except for the arms and legs, is composed of a soft and flexible material, giving the creature a more realistic feeling skin. This is the only dinosaur sculpt in the Chaos Effect line that can boast this particular feature, bringing up fond memories of the large dinosaurs in the original JP lines which also featured skin like this. Another positive attribute is the poseability of the legs, which is something Kenner usually ignored on big sculpts like this, but gives this creature extra playability.

Despite this being a brilliant sculpt, it too has some minor problems. First of all, due to the material of which the skin is made, this figure is more susceptible to paint wear (even more so that the TLWS1 Thrasher T-Rex), which is a real shame because damage to the paint job is all too easily noticed on a colourful figure like this. So even though it’s supposed to be a more playable Rex, you better keep this in mind if you want to go tough on it. Second, the Rex is often out of balance: the front part of the creature is just too heavy and the tail isn’t enough to keep it standing up straight. It usually falls over, unless supported by something or standing up with its head high in the air. These downsides are a shame, but not enough to spoil the great fun this fantastic dinosaur delivers.

Playability: quite high, especially for a large Rex. This big sculpt doesn’t have poseable arms only, but legs as well, despite the softer material used for the skin of the creature (the legs are made out of hard plastic instead). Additionally, the neutral position, the biting feature and the thrashing action provide for more options, making this Rex undoubtedly the most playable large figure around. However, it's quite sensitive to paint wear. Also, both the thrashing and biting action get damaged quite easily sometimes (this tends to vary), so even though this toy is designed for rougher play, it still has its limits in this regard.

Realism: it's a Chaos Effect figure, so it surely isn't the most realistic figure around. Though the overall shape and size of this Rex are quite close to the real deal, as well as the look of the Rexes seen in the movies, the paint job is totally absurd. A paint scheme like this would surely make it stand out in a natural environment, making it easy to spot for its prey, and thus harder for the Rex itself to catch its prey, even with genetically enhanced senses. However, this colour scheme fits right into the rest of the Chaos Effect line, where realism is replaced by... well, chaos.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the TLWS1 Thrasher T-Rex figure. It does not come with the capture gear that came with that particular figure though (since it doesn't come with any capture gear at all). This sculpt would not be repainted again.

Overall rating: 8/10. Still one of the best Tyrannosaurus sculpts ever made, this Chaos Effect Rex doesn't suffer much from its colourful new paint job. It's nothing like the original paint job, nor is it realistic, but it's nowhere near bad, it's just different. This Rex is well worth getting, but it's quite rare and usually fetches high prices, both loose and MIB. If you can find it for a decent price (or if you can afford spending a lot of cash on it) be sure to get it for yourself, but otherwise you might want to stick to the TLWS1 Thrasher T-Rex (which also isn't that easy to get, not because it's rare, but because it's popular).

Today's review: Divergent

Divergent: **/*****, or 5/10

There is nothing 'divergent' about Divergent. It's a formulaic piece catering to the prime Hollywood target audience of young adults in every conceivable way (save for the absence of the near obligatory love triangle perhaps). Accusations that it was only produced to cash in on the success of the superior The Hunger Games franchise among that most lucrative demographic cannot be denied a certain degree of validity. Divergent is a predictable teen flick with overt aspirations to grow into a full fledged franchise too, and it continuously feels as such upon viewing.

The greatest pleasure to be had from the film is the set-up of its admittedly ludicrous dystopian society, a singular form of repressive civilization that feels completely untenable from the get-go and unsurprisingly proves just that over the course of the plot. Sometime in the future the world order has collapsed. The city of Chicago – or what's left of it, as it still appears rather disheveled – has cut itself off from the rest of the world by an enormous fence, protecting the supposedly harmonious society within from the ruined world outside. Life is determined by belonging to one of five factions: Abnegation (selfdenial and government), Dauntless (police/army), Erudite (science), Candor (law/order) and Amity (farming/food production). Children grow up with their parents in one of these groups, but get to pick their own faction at the age of sixteen after a harrowing personality test, potential family pressure to stay in their current niche notwithstanding. There is also a number of factionless people, those that failed to cut it in the factions they chose, who are tolerated despite seemingly not contributing anything to society. Of course, rivalry and shady alliances have formed between the various factions, and nobody appears to like Abnegation as they seem a redundant part of the whole. There's your overall plot right there.

Enter Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley, aged 23), a 16-year old girl who never felt truly at home growing up as a child of Abnegation parents but kept her personal convictions all bottled up. When the test reveals her personality not to fit in into any one specific group but rather to carry qualities of all, her sympathetic test agent labels her a 'Divergent' and swiftly falsifies her results, as these rare outcasts are considered a danger to society because of their mental versatility and are eliminated accordingly. You'd think the people who came up with this social pattern would have opted for the city to be run by Divergents to coordinate the other factions and guide them to get along better for the good of the whole, but that would put an abrupt ending to the following two hours of Beatrice's self-exploration. When the choice is put before her, she goes with Dauntless, because that's where all the cool kids are. This future dystopia is actually little more than a caste system reflecting an ordinary contemporary schoolyard, where the usual stereotypical classifications of punks, nerds and the like are strictly adhered to by people of all ages. Really scary, not to be able to break away from the high school pecking order for the rest of your life.

After abandoning her parents and changing her name to the much slicker 'Tris', our protagonist is confronted by a rigorous mental and physical training, to get rid of her former abnegating life and determine whether she's tough enough to join the warrior caste. Fortunately for her, her enigmatic tutor Four (Theo James) proves a likeable guy with a killer body and charms to match. You know where this is going the moment they first meet. If you're hoping to see more of the logistics of this particularly unlikely dystopia, you're out of luck, as most of what follows revolves around Tris and Four (too) slowly but (too) surely getting romantically entangled and making that most shocking of discoveries imaginable; they're both Divergents. As much as Woodley is no Jennifer Lawrence, the chemistry between her and James is passable at best, but never thoroughly engaging. The same is true for the interaction between both characters and their peers, while the more experienced actors among the cast hardly get a good chance to shine. Even Kate Winslet, an otherwise impeccable actress who has ever proven a joy to behold, delivers a less than stellar performance in her role as the movie's baddie, an Erudite official out to wipe out the Abnegation caste, including Tris' parents, so her scientist order can take control of the system. It's a diabolical ploy nobody is surprised to encounter after the first five minutes of exposition of Divergent, which already convinced the spectator this form of government was doomed from its infancy. Our heroic duo of Divergents swiftly prove their worth as they figure out a way to halt Winslet's evil plot of assuming mind control of Dauntless to annihilate Abnegation. However, since there's two more books and three more films to follow, don't expect them to get thanked for their decisive actions just yet.

Ideologically speaking, Divergent's plea against mindless conformation and its case for individual freedom is handled just a little too obviously. The movie proves a teenage angstfest, laced with the pubescent search for personal identity and the development of the sense of true belonging to such an excessive degree that the plot's metaphorical value is utterly wasted. Tris gets to question her role in society through all the tests and challenges to such a lengthy extent her process of selfdiscovery simply starts to bore us. Whereas the fear of growing up to the status of adulthood and the anxiety regarding the need to fit into society's often repressive standards were addressed to much better results in the Hunger Games franchise, such thoughts prove all too overt and in-your-face in Divergent. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement as much for this film as there was for the first installment of that rival series. Now that the set-up is over and done with, the viewer does wonder where the plot (not the romance that is) goes from here. The brief glimpses – limited both in terms of scope and frequency, mostly due to budget restrictions no doubt – we witnessed of this odd dystopian future do leave room for curiosity as to how exactly this world functions, as it has done for an alleged century. Considering the target audience has flocked en masse to theaters to get lost from their own woes and indentify with these relatable issues (for them at least), those sequels have been guaranteed. Hopefully a final similarity to The Hunger Games can be made in the future, as Divergent's sequel proved to be much more intricately crafted than its otherwise bland and forgetful predecessor.