The Lost World Series 1: Sarah Harding

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Net Launcher (with net)

-Camera

-Stegosaurus hatchling

Description: Sarah sports short green pants, along with a beige vest over a red shirt. She has dark brown boots, a black watch on her right wrist, a black belt and a JP Site B patch on her right shoulder. She has a total of six pockets on her outfit. Sarah is red haired and has a pony tail, as well as a loose strain of hair running round her left cheek. She also has red eye brows, as well as very blue eyes. It has been said there is also a variant of this figure sporting red lipstick. Sarah stands in a rather neutral pose, except she has her arms raised upwards somewhat, especially her right arm.

This figure comes with a net launching device, which isn’t mobile, i.e. it can only stand on the ground and is to be used separately from the figure. It looks very mechanic and has more detailing than appears necessary, for it only requires pressing a lever on the back end to launch the net. The launcher sports a metallic shiny grey paint job. The net itself isn’t very big and thus only handy to catch smaller dinosaurs with, like hatchlings. The net is made up of two long red sticks with a black cloth like net in between. Sarah also carries a small camera, which can be hung around her neck. It too sports a silvery grey paint job, though in a lighter shade than the net launcher.

The Stegosaurus hatchling stands in a walking posture, with its head turned to its left, and the tail turned to the right. Its right front leg and left hind leg are attached to each other. The animal has tiny plates on its back and no spikes at the end of its tail, making it obvious this is a juvenile. The underside of the animal (most of the head and flanks, the belly, legs, lower tail and throat) are all pink, with the upper body (its back, plates, neck and upper tail) coloured in a darker tone, sort of brownish purple. In between the two colours there’s a dark red stripe, running from the back of the head to the end of the tail. The little Stego has black eyes and a black JP Site B logo on its left hind leg.

Analysis: being one of the very few female figures of the JP toy lines (not counting the dinosaurs), Sarah is probably the best of them. She looks very feminine and has a cool (and relatively tight) outfit, sporting a fine paint job. The designers probably had fun creating this sculpt, since they put some neat details on her: for one thing she has a unique hair style, with a pony tail and even a loose string of hair. She also has nails on her fingers. She stands in a good pose, though her arms could have been positioned more downward.

Her net launcher is less impressive. It looks rather bulky and heavy, and doesn’t work all too well. The net easily falls off the device and gets in the way of the lever, so that activating it isn’t all that easy to do. Also, the device is very lightly build and needs to be supported by hand in order for it not to flip backwards when attempting to launch the net. Even if launched, the net doesn’t go far: it’s range is about 30 centimetres at best and it usually doesn’t land on the spot you want it to, not counting a possible lucky shot. This net launcher just isn’t very well designed. The camera Sarah carries is a fine little addition, though it could have used more detail qua paint job. It can be hung around Sarah’s neck like a real camera, so that one can pretend she’s taking pictures of dinosaurs.

In that regard having this set feature a young Stegosaurus is a good choice, because this way the set is very much like Sarah’s first scene from the TLW film in which she tries to take a picture of a little Stegosaurus and all hell breaks lose with its parents. This baby Stegosaurus doesn’t look exactly like the one seen in the movie, but it’s an adequate replacement. Though it’s paint job isn’t very good, it does look really cute. 

 

Playability: well enough. Sarah has the usual moveable body parts, though her arms might have been posed in a more convenient manner. The net launcher isn’t really good and doesn’t work properly most of the times, but fortunately Sarah can hold the net herself and thus use it without the launcher. The camera gives her some extra options. The Stegosaurus stands in a fairly neutral position, but like all hatchlings has no poseable parts.

Realism: like stated above, this set is like a copy from a scene in the movie; it has Sarah, a camera and a Stegosaurus hatchling. Still, there are some differences between these figures and their movie counterparts. Sarah herself sports a different set of clothes in the movie, but this figure’s face looks very much like Julianne Moore as seen in TLW. I’m not sure whether the camera is the same type or brand shown in the film, but it’s close enough anyway. The Stegosaurus is also different, mostly in colour and size, since the baby seen in the movie was about as big as a human and mostly green. Still, because of the tiny plates and lack of spikes on its tail it’s clear we’re dealing with a hatchling here. And of course it looks cute, just as in the movie.

Repaint: no. None of the things this set consists of would be repainted for later series either.

Overall rating: 8/10. This is probably the best human figure in the TLWS1 toy line. Sarah looks very cool and her face resembles Julianne Moore’s a lot. The net launcher isn’t too good, but the net itself still comes in handy. The little Stegosaurus is just plain cute. Unfortunately this figure is definitely harder to find than the other TLWS1 figures, but not yet impossibly so. It usually fetches much higher prices though, so take that into account when looking for this one.

The Lost World Series 1: Peter Ludlow

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

- Three different weapons (shotgun, machete and stun prod)

-Velociraptor hatchling

Description: Ludlow is a broad shouldered, butch looking figure of a man, sporting a beige field suit with numerous pockets, and wearing a white shirt underneath the suit, brown arm patches, green utility belts, a black ammo belt, dark green boots and a pair of black sunglasses. He has black hair and a Elvis like hairdo. He stands with his legs wide apart in a walking pose with his left leg stretched forwards and his right leg backwards. He has a black InGen logo on his right sleeve. His head is somewhat too small compared to his body. Pressing his legs together makes his left arm move to the left, so it looks like he’s making slashing moves when holding one of his weapons.

He has three different weapons, none of which are capable of action features. Like with the weapons of the Dieter Stark figure, these weapons are mere props but they’re much more realistic than most of the weapons that come with human figures. Ludlow carries a stun prod with a cross shaped end, as well as a shot gun and a machete. All weapons are coloured dull grey.

The Velociraptor hatchling adds some colour to the set, sporting a bright pink/purple upper body (back of the head, back, upper tail and parts of the limbs). Other than that it’s just coloured beige. It has black irises and also a black JP Site B logo on its right upper leg. It stands in an intimidating posture, like it’s ready to jump on its prey: its body faces downward somewhat and his arms are stretched forward.

Analysis: this is quite a neat figure. Though it does not resemble the Peter Ludlow from the TLW movie in any way, it has a wonderful outfit, a decent paint job and a fun action feature. His arm slashing action works well and is easy to activate. The only downside is that the figure tends to fall down easily, because it doesn’t stand to well on its feet and is a bit out of balance. Also, the Raptor hatchling isn’t the best figure to use for this action, since it too falls down easily: it usually doesn’t need to be tackled by Ludlow’s action because it knocks over on its own accord.

Ludlow’s weapons are quite realistic (as far as JP weapons go), and add a bit of diversity to the line. They don’t feature any action options themselves, but Ludlow can use any of them for his arm slashing movement. It’s a shame they’re all sporting such a dull paint job: would it have been too much to ask to have painted them in different colours? Still, their identical colouring makes it easy for people to see they belong to the same figure.

The Raptor hatchling isn’t very good. It too has a very bland and undetailed paint job. The upper part of its body is all pink or purple (you decide for yourself what colour you want to call it), and the underside is all beige. It could have used some more detail. It’s limbs and head look pretty ugly. It’s definitely one of the lamest Raptor sculpts.

Playability: Ludlow himself, along with his array of weaponry, provides for some good action. He’s fully poseable and his arm movement adds more possibilities. The diverse range of his weapons is also a plus: it’s not just guns like Dieter Stark had. The Raptor however is of a lesser quality: like any hatchling it doesn’t have poseable parts, and it also stands in a very active and thus not neutral pose, limiting options somewhat.

Realism: as stated above, this figure reminds us in almost nothing of Peter Ludlow as performed by Arliss Howard in the TLW movie. Instead of a small bureaucrat looking out of place in the jungle, this guy is a tall tough outdoor man. His clothing is also completely different. There’s a tiny bit in the facial structure of this figure that resembles the movie’s Ludlow a bit, but that’s as far as it goes. The weapons this figure carries look like equipment seen in TLW, or at least like something that could very well have been used in that movie. Though I don’t specifically remember any shotguns or machetes, the stun prod is certainly not all too different from the prod Dieter Stark (Peter Stormare) used in the film. There are some minor differences: that prod did not have a cross shaped end, and was a bit smaller. But this device will certainly look familiar to people who’ve seen the movie.

Though no baby Raptor was featured in TLW, we did see one in the first JP movie, and this hatchling Raptor looks nothing like it. For one thing it has a different colour and looks a lot less cute. It’s recognizable as a Raptor (small bipedal carnivore with sickle shaped claws) but that’s as far as it goes.

Repaint: no. However, this figure along with its weapons would be repainted for JP Dinosaurs 1 (for the Baryonyx and Dino Tracker set). The Raptor would not be repainted.

Overall rating: 7/10. It’s a good figure with a cool action feature and a nice set of weapons, but the poor Raptor hatchling and some boring paint schemes bring it down somewhat. Still, it’s worth getting, though quite a bit harder to find than most other TLW human figures. It will also cost more when you find it.

The Lost World Series 1: Dieter Stark

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Two different guns

-Compsognathus 

 

Description: Dieter stands in a sort of walking position, with one leg in a forward move and the other in the opposite direction. His eyes stare mindlessly in the distance. He has brown short hair and is quite muscular, but his head is somewhat disproportionate (i.e. too small) compared to his body. Dieter sports a bit of a military look, with camouflage pants (green with beige spots) and a shirt that has an orange and red spotted paint job. His sleeves are greenish brown and his shoes are black. He’s got black utility belts with pockets around his chest. Other details include pockets on his sleeves, a black machete on his left leg and a large green pocket on his right leg, as well as a black InGen logo “tattooed” on his left arm. His torso can move around to a small extent, in order to accommodate the figure’s dino action.

Dieter comes with two different black guns: these guns do not have any action options like most of the weapons that come with human figures do, but are mere extra gadgets, since in this figure’s case the figure itself provides the action. Since I’m not an expert on weaponry I can’t determine what type of guns we’re dealing with here, but they look much more realistic than the regular weapons the human figures carry. Dieter can wrap the biggest of the two guns around his shoulder, while the other one fits in his hands only.

Another way in which this figure differs from other human figures is that it doesn’t come with a dinosaur hatchling, but an adult. It’s a Compsognathus, one of the smallest species of dinosaurs, so it’s still the size of a hatchling. This Compy sports a mostly yellow paint job, except for the upper part of its body (back, neck, snout, upper tail) which is coloured green. Over the rest of its body there are some vague tones of green as well. A black JP Site B logo can be found on its right upper leg. Its eyes are black with large yellow pupils. The Compy stands in a crouching position with its tail raised upwards and its snout touching the ground, as if eating something. It looks a bit odd in this way, but there is an explanation for this pose: there’s a small magnet in its mouth, and another one in Dieter’s chest. This way, the Compy can be attached to Dieter’s chest and clings to it, as if the Compy has jumped on Dieter and is taking a bite out of him.

Analysis: this figure looks pretty cool, but does not resemble Dieter Stark at all. It’s better to consider it another dino tracker or equipment specialist, since it seems well outfitted for that job with those camouflage trousers, numerous pockets and realistic weaponry. These weapons are also a welcome change from the usual weird weapons the toy designers come up with. They don’t feature any action or anything, but add some realism and diversity to the toy line.

The Compsognathus sports a nice paint job, though a little less yellow would be nice. It would also have been better had the claws and teeth be painted in a different colour, but this will do. It’s a shame the Compy stands in such a weird pose though: it would have been much preferable for this sculpt to feature poseable body parts, especially since it’s the only Compy figure in the line. Better yet would have been to make a play set featuring a pack of Compies, as shown in the movie, but it seems we have to settle for this one Compy.

Together with the Compy Dieter provides for an interesting dino attack action: the Compy can be attached to Dieter making it appear he’s being attacked. By pulling the arms back and letting them go, Dieter can swing his torso around somewhat and push the little predator off of him. It’s a fun idea, but it doesn’t always work properly. The Compy slips off Dieter’s chest easily, so it often falls off before you have the chance of pulling Dieter’s arm. A stronger magnet might have been advisable. Still, it’s a nice and original action feature.

Playability: Dieter and the Compy together provide a neat little action feature. Apart from that Dieter is fully poseable and as an extra addition has a moveable torso. The Compy however does less well on its own, since it stands in a very active and thus un-neutral pose and has no poseable body parts. The weapons don’t add much playability options either since they don’t feature action options.

Realism: as stated earlier, this figure does in no way resemble the Dieter Stark seen in TLW. For one thing his clothes are totally different. More importantly, he is in no way reminiscent of Peter Stormare. He might as well be a random InGen mercenary. The weapons are more realistic and don’t look much unlike guns that could have been used in the JP movies.

The Compy is pretty similar to its movie counterparts, both in shape, size and paint job. He lacks in detail somewhat – for one thing his teeth aren’t supposed to be yellow – but the overall strong green tone and body structure (small, bipedal carnivore) make him identifiable as a Compsognathus.

Repaint: no. The Compy wouldn’t be repainted either, though the Dieter figure and the weapons would be repainted for JP Dinosaurs 1 (Young T-Rex & Dinosaur Adventurer). However, his head was replaced by a different figure’s head for that line.

Overall rating: 7/10. This is a cool figure with an interesting new dinosaur action. It has some downsides, most importantly the disappointing Compy figure, but it’s well worth your attention. It’s not hard to come by and certainly not very expensive either.

Today's Mini-Review: Behind the Candelabra

Behind the Candelabra: ***/*****, or 7/10

After having immersed himself in one world of extreme showmanship and male relations in Magic Mike, Steven Soderbergh tells another, not quite so dissimilar version of the same topic when he tackles the love life of Liberace in Behind the Candelabra. Based on the autobiographical novel by Scott Thorson (played in this movie by Matt Damon), Soderbergh explores the stormy six year relationship, starting in 1977, between the famed pianist – already an older man at that time – and the much younger man who he sweeps into his world of excess. A naive boy uncomfortable with a life of glamour and glitter, you'd think Thorson knows better than to simply accept Liberace's invitation into his effusive lifestyle, but the call of adventure and glory is too much for any young adult to ignore. What starts as a seemingly genuine love affair between the flamboyant musician and his younger bisexual paramour generally devolves into an untenable situation as Thorson, victim to various cosmetic whims of what is basically his benefactor, fears himself just a fling, easily replaced if Liberace so desires. Eventually their relationship unravels and tragedy ensues. Even more so in later years, long after the legal dust has settled between them, as Liberace suffers from AIDS and once again calls on his former romantic partner for reaching an understanding. It may be Thorson's story, but thanks to a fabulous performance by Michael Douglas (which has unmistakably written 'Academy Award' all over it), no quarter is given to the fact that this is Liberace's movie. The historical character drives every scene from the get-go, even when not physically present, while Douglas dominates every sequence with his superb acting which all too carefully balances character and caricaturism. Despite being an insufferable, arrogant and commandeering presence, often driving Thorson to extremes for his own pleasure, there's also a definite poignancy and heart to Liberace as he searches for someone to hold on to during all the madness of his life as a totally over-the-top artist. Douglas successfully makes you love and hate Liberace. Damon, though certainly not lacking the necessary chemistry duelling this opponent and holding his own when it matters, is unsurprisingly outstaged at all times, but this is naturally unavoidable as you can't outshine the likes of Liberace and Soderbergh knows better than to have his supporting cast try to do just that. Nevertheless, Damon proves as brave as Douglas when it comes to making the expression in the flesh of the love between Liberace and Thorson feel convincing. Though dealing with heavy themes of lust, betrayal and passion gone awry, Soderbergh isn't afraid to employ a lighter tone for much of the film, making us enjoy Liberace's various campy acts as much as his contemporary audience did, while also relaying the sheer absurdity of a man who was so clearly gay, but who vividly denied his nature at every turn to the point of suing people who openly commented on his homosexuality: if you watch Douglas' playing the part it seems incredulous people ever actually believed such continuous denials. The greatest fun the movie provides comes with courtesy from Rob Lowe playing Liberace's plastic surgeon, who is commisioned to turn Thorson into a young duplicate of the celeb. Here the joy gradually turns to disgust (and not just because of several explicit surgery shots!) as Thorson all too easily drops his resistance to please his lover who's asking things of him no sane human being would allow, with detrimental results to his face and in the longer run, his mental health. However, it was perfectly clear from the start the relationship between the two was doomed to failure and would only cause harm. In principle, Behind the Candelabra is no different in any way from hundreds of other films dealing with an inexperienced younger person who is drawn into a world of fame and passion which turns out a web of lies in which he is devoured unless he breaks free and returns to his roots: in fact, Magic Mike's plot line was similar in all too many ways. However, neither Mike nor all those other films in the same veign had the benefit from Michael Douglas' delightful but ultimately heartbreaking performance, which makes up for any of such narrative predictabilities. Douglas delivers, as Liberace lives again.

Today's Mini-Review: Riddick

Riddick: ***/*****, or 6/10

Belated third installment of the so-called 'Riddick trilogy', which started with the moderate hit Pitch Black (2000) and continued with the overly grandiose The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), like this film (which in some territories carries the ominous subtitle Dead Man Stalking) written and directed by David Twohy. Vin Diesel returns as the muscular Richard B. Riddick, a member of the enigmatic, near extinct humanoid race called Furyans that can see in the dark, is adept at survival against all odds and generally proves hard to kill. Nevertheless, Riddick's new army of followers he conquered at the end of the previous film tries to do just that, leaving him for dead on a barren world populated by all manner of vicious beasts, where he himself still reigns supreme as the most dangerous predator of all (as usual). Nevertheless, driven by his primal instinct to return to his homeworld, Riddick decides to let his continued existence be known via an emergency beacon on a vacant outpost, after which two different teams of bounty hunters arrive to hunt him down. One of these is out solely for money, with the clear intent of 'ghosting' their prey as he's worth twice as much dead as he is alive, while the other is on a mission of a more personal nature, led by a father who believes he once lost his son at Riddick's cold hands. The latter team also comes with Katee Sackhoff, almost reprising her seminal role as Battlestar Galactica's Starbuck playing a tough woman who takes crap from no man and is fully able to defend herself from everybody who dares to try. Gratifying as it is to see Sackhoff can still balance smart, strong and sexy, her character proves fairly redundant as she has no singular action scenes of her own, save for a brief suspenseful shower sequence, while she's plagued by being the butt of sexually intimidating jokes for most of the film. After Riddick has outwitted and caused the deaths of half of the men out for his head, as well as having made off with vital starship components which prevent the teams from leaving, he successfully convinces them to seize hostilities for a while as a huge storm front is sweeping over their heads and brings forth great scores of hungry carnivores that want a piece of all of them. Soon, it seems as though even Riddick will not make it out alive this time, but we as an audience know better of course.

For those who watched the trailer and wondered how the heck Riddick went from being a virtual emperor of the galaxy at the end of Chronicles of to a lone survivor on a desolate world at the start of Riddick, a narrative connection between the events of this film and its predecessor is all too briefly incorporated, as we are treated to seeing Karl Urban's Lord Vaako again for less than 60 seconds of screen time (a waste of a terrific actor!), despite the suggestion that the information he relays is crucial in some way: it would appear Twohy still has some sort of big pay-off in mind to close off what he started in the second film, but appearently he either didn't have the inspiration or the budget to treat that specific subject in this film, necessitating him to return to the tone and substance of the original. It all proves overly familiar territory, and often feels very much like an uninspired retread of Pitch Black, which also witnessed Riddick making an unlikely alliance with his enemies in order to escape the jaws and clutches of hordes of creepy creatures out for human blood on an inhospitable planet. Problem is, though Riddick ends up a fairly entertaining popcorn flick (especially for those who are new to the franchise), Pitch Black did it all better. It had more original visual design, less obvious digital monsters and made the character of Riddick feel more menacing and alien, while at this point we know exactly what to expect from his persona: a limited vocabulary, general growling and the usual bloodshed of (mostly unlikeable) characters standing in his way. Riddick sadly remains a one-note character played by an equally one-note actor. Now that Twohy has displayed there's just little more he can do with the Riddick character and the latter's coolness factor has decidedly worn off, this may be a good time to put an end to this franchise that so clearly was never meant to be a franchise, Twohy's hints at a fourth film not withstanding.

Today's News: exit Potter, enter Scamander

Breaking News from MovieScene (unfortunately posted a day too late since I was gone yesterday):

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/150016/harry_potter_spin-off_aangekondigd

You know it had to happen sooner or later. Potter was much too profitable and is still hugely popular, so they couldn't just let it rest. More money is to be made here most definitely, therefore ignoring the franchise was never an option, leaving only two routes to take: rebooting Potter for the movies, which would have been too controversial since the last movie is less than two years old, or exploring the Potterverse in more detail via some other way. I'm glad Warner Bros. went for the most sensible option, since we'll be getting something new now, which is simultaneously the stuff of fantasy audiences are already comfortable and familiar with. I'm also glad to see Rowling is connected more closely than she ever has been before, doing her first bit of genuine screenwriting. Say what you will about being overprotective of her brainchild, a bit of creative and quality control on her part certainly can't hurt this upcoming second franchise.

But will this work on screen? I haven't read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (yet), so I can't truly speak from experience, but what I know about the book is that it's basically meant as a fun tie-in to Potter proper, an encyclopedic textbook about various fictional creatures devoid of a specific narrative (though with hand written notes of Harry and his friends), never meant to be adapted into a movie or any similar audiovisual formats. That means there still is a lot of writing to be done here before the project's plot is in decent shape to start filming. In fact, at this point nearly everything in terms of story has yet to be conceived other than the protagonist, Newt Scamander, and the assorted magical creatures he deals with. Therefore, I think it's highly unwise Warner immediately decided to make an ungoing series of films based solely on this single book. It would have been more tactically sound to start with one movie and see the results first. After all, more than one recent franchise has had the misfortune of being the victim of overly enthusiastic corporate planning in advance and just ending up being dropped after disappointing box office results, thus losing a lot of money as pre-production on the sequel had already begun. Nevertheless, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them seems a fascinating project containing those elements we've come to love most about Potter: magic, unusual locations and vistas and odd creatures of all shapes and sizes. This time, it takes place seven decades before the events of Potter, so as a bonus we'll get an undoubtedly lavish period look to the piece, which is always most welcome. Though it's too early to get overexcited just yet, it's guaranteed Rowling's next baby is one to keep track of as it grows and grows. I'll be sure to do just that!

Today's News: from Park to World, but still Jurassic

Exciting news from MovieScene that I posted there meself:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/149979/jurassic_park_4_heet_jurassic_world

A new name implies a different direction for the franchise. Might be for the best, since there's only so many times you can convince your audience the characters they're seeing are visiting an island where they're likely to get killed within hours out of their own free will. However, a fresh franchise must be based on fresh ideas, and to my mind a functional park filled with dinosaurs that break loose and eat folks doesn't wholly fit that description. Of course, we'll have to wait and see whether these supposed plot rumours are true. Maybe it'll be about something else entirely. With a title like Jurassic World, which has clear connotations with the likes of SeaWorld and Disney World, that doesn't appear to be the case though. Unless this film will be about dinosaurs that have taken over the world and pushed humanity to the brink, kinda like The Walking Dead but with dinosaurs (The Walking Dinosaurs? Also sounds eeriely familiar). They will take us over anyway (again!), as we slowly but surely seem to be moving towards another time of intense dinosaur hype. Apart from this film, we also have Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, the Dinobots in Transformers: Age of Extinction and Pixar's The Good Dinosaur to look forward to. It seems dinosaurs once again are proving death isn't so definitive, as parents will soon find out when they're having to buy loads of expensive merchandise for their dino hungry offspring. At least I don't need that excuse, I'll just buy it for myself.

No park this time then. Will JPtoys soon be dubbed JWtoys? Could I ever get used to that...?