The boys from The Big Movie Mouth-Off (including our very own Jerk-Bot, Jeff Vice) have been busy reviewing movies all summer and giving all kinds of passes for advanced screenings.

We have a collection of their superhero movie reviews from the summer movie season.

Be sure to hit them up on Facebook. And you can listen to the podcast (featuring myself, Clang! Boom! Steam!, and Jeff and Jimmy) by subscribing to the Big Shiny Robot! podcast feed!

First up: The Avengers!

Then, The Amazing Spider-Man:

And finally: The Dark Knight Rises:

1×09 — Move Along Home — This is my least favorite episode of the series. Anytime I think of how bad DS9 was this is always the episode that comes to mind. First contact with the first race from the Gamma quadrant comes with a price when a race of Gamblers puts four members of the crew into a game of peril. But one of those perils is properly singing a nursery rhyme while they jump on a number of tiles. “Allamaraine, count to four…” Ugh. Then they must learn to drink a drink which is offered to them in order to not choke on gas and finally walk across a falling cave. The whole episode is just dreadful including Bashir screaming to try and “wake himself up.”

Trivia: Ronald D. Moore before joining the writing staff apparently saw this episode and “wondered if everyone had lost their minds.” The only person to state that actually like this episode is Armin Shimmerman. Which does sort of make sense since Quark is likely the only redeeming quality to this episode.

Rating: D-

1×10 — The Nagus — Going from one of the worst episodes into a really fantastic episode. For those that don’t know Armin Shimmerman wasn’t just Quark, he was also the first Ferengi ever in an episode of The Next Generation. During The Next Generation the Ferengi were much more savage and one sided. This episode really sets up the future of one of the most entertaining races in the show. This is the first episode of any Star Trek in which The Rules of Acquisition are brought up and the Nagus makes his first appearance. Wallace Shawn was a perfect person to choose to be Nagus Zek, unfortunately he only has seven appearances but each one is a golden one.

Since this is a Ferengi centric episode the B story is of Jake and Nog. Nog becomes one of my favorite characters in later seasons, but at the moment he’s just the son of Rom. Jake teaches Nog school assignments even though Nog is grounded from school. It has a humorous idea with a little bit of heart.

The episode is still a little rough but it’s like the first book of a great series.

Rating: B+

Darth Maul is back, and he wants an army. GONK reviews the first issue of Darth Maul: Death Sentence. (more…)

The finale in the saga of betrayal, revenge, and lots of destruction. GONK reviews the last issue of Boba Fett Is Dead by Tom Taylor and Chris Scalf. (more…)

So, I saw The Dark Knight Rises again. You can read my original review from last week here. I liked it much better this time, but I still have three major problems and one nitpick that threw me out of the movie.

First: The nitpick: The stock market heist. We’re given cues to believe that the trading floor has just opened, we’re given the opening bell and everything. It feels like morning. Even if it were at the closing bell, it’s still 5 at the latest. The cops arrive quickly and Bane is told they’re cutting the fiber and they need 8 more minutes. Outside, it’s overcast, but broad daylight. Inside of those 8 minutes, Bane hatches his scheme to get out of the stock exchange so they can complete their transaction in that 8 minute window. The second they hit the tunnel, it is pitch black and midnight outside. The chase ends moments after that 8 minutes was up.

It was unsettling in the wrong ways that the continuity was out of balance.

The first time I saw it I thought I was imagining it. Looking for it now, it absolutely drove me nuts almost as much as the dumbass kids sitting behind me talking through the film.

Now the major problems:

1) This film still takes itself too seriously. It could have used something to lighten it up slightly.

2) Joseph Gordon-Levitt doesn’t put on a costume during the No-Man’s-Land portion.

3) Bane and his conspirator have no reason to make their plan a suicide mission. Why would they be planning to just die in the bomb? There’s no mention of their plan to escape, there’s nothing. Ra’s al Ghul’s legacy wasn’t to die in a fire, it was to level Gotham and remain a judge for society. It was just a big hole in motivation for them.

Aside from that, the script feels much, much tighter the second time around. There’s even more foreshadowing that I didn’t notice and it builds to a hell of a finale. It’s growing on me. I still think I like Batman Begins better, but this was a helluva bang.

Inconsistencies I had with Bruce Wayne’s character (giving up the suit, his choice for the end) are easily chalked up to the fact that this is Christopher Nolan’s Bruce Wayne, not mine or anyone else’s.

And I was grateful that some of my favorite moments from comics were brought to life on screen.

1×07 — Dax — This is a good episode simply because up to this point there wasn’t a very good explanation of all the rights and legal implications of the Trill. The trill was originally conceived in a Next Generation episode called “The Host” and watching that episode you get the early ideas of what they were thinking with Dax. But in this episode they really flush out a lot of what is going on. Dax is a fantastic character and this episode sets up some wonderful things for the future.

This episode also features some great guest stars, Gregory Itzin plays Ilon Tandro the man who is accusing Curzon Dax of murder, Curzon being Dax’s host before Jadzia. You may remembers Gregory Itzin from season 5 of 24 where he plays President Logan, my favorite character in the 24 franchise. Fionnula Flanagan is also in this episode, you may know her from her time as Eloise Hawking on LOST.

This is one of the better episodes of this season mainly because in these first couple episodes almost everyone is insufferable. At this point O’Brien and Dax are the best characters and O’Brien isn’t in this episode or the next two.

Rating: C

1×08 — The Passenger — Siddig El Fadil plays Dr. Bashir, and just like his character in this first season his acting is very green. In this episode a dead man comes abroad and even though he’s dead the things he did while alive are still happening. The crew end up figuring out that he likely put some sort of bug into the system of someone and is controlling them without their knowledge. It becomes pretty apparent that this person is Dr. Bashir and then the rest of the episode Fadil plays a mad scientist. The only trouble is Fadil at this point is such a bad actor that his mad scientist comes off more as bad gas. I give him a lot of crap in this first season but he really does learn how to become a better actor and in the later seasons he’s really a fantastic character. Right now however, it’s just hard to watch him.

Some trivia: This is the first episode in which Odo gives his resignation but it won’t be the last.

The one good thing about this episode is they are still toying around with the relationship between Dax and Quark. Quark flirts with her a decent amount in this episode and she replies with smiles and giggles.

Rating: D+

For the last two days I’ve struggled to find the right words to describe my experience with the final film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. It was equal parts brilliant and exasperating. It was equally inspiring and equally dull. It found a bizarre middle ground to inhabit. Sure, it’s better than most movies coming out, but I expected a whole lot more from the people who gave us The Prestige and Inception. 

Where to start?

The Dark Knight Rises picks up eight years from where The Dark Knight leaves off. In all that time, Bruce hasn’t put on the mantle of the bat since then. You see, in his quest for justice that he was driven to by the death of his parents, the death of Rachel was simply too much for him to bear. This was the first thing that jumped out at me watching the movie. Despite the fact that it was so preposterously out of character for Bruce Wayne (“But not Nolan’s Wayne!” some could argue, but that argument lacks sense), I felt I had to simply swallow that bad characterization and move on to enjoy the movie. We’re given dialogue heavy exposition scenes of characters whispering about Bruce Wayne and introduced to minor characters that may or may not have needed to be in the film.

These bits of over-wrought exposition are intercut with Alfred playing Downton Abbey with the waitstaff manning the party and comes to Anne Hathaway, sending her on a dire mission to the East Wing of the house to deliver food to the reclusive Mr. Wayne.

We’re also treated to a very well-shot action sequence to introduce Bane and the opening threads of the convoluted plan to destroy Gotham once and for all.

If I’m overly harsh in the opening salvos of the film, it’s because the first hour of the film is the least good of any of the Batman movies. It’s all set up and it’s all so dour. You’re left chasing one thing after another and it’s all just so overwrought. After having watched the other two installments of the trilogy it’s easy to see that Nolan has no sense of humour whatsoever. The one liners in Batman Begins are stilted and barely work, if at all. The only thing that keeps The Dark Knight on its feet is the fact that Heath Ledger’s Joker was infusing it with a grim comedy and the character never took himself as seriously as Nolan did. The Dark Knight Rises is absent of any human warmth.

When making this movie, someone really needed to ask Nolan, “Why so serious?”

My other big problem with the film were the punches that it pulled. The big twists for Miranda Tate and John Blake were both things that should have happened about a third of the way through the movie and taken to much further conclusions than we saw. And Miranda’s twist was so ham-fisted and laughably predictable (even in just the casting choice) that I thought something more shocking would be done with it. Instead, it was simply predictable.

The standout performances in the film, however, belong to Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I wanted so much more with the both of them. Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman is a perfect blend of smarts, sexiness, power, and perfection. Anne Hathaway really knocked this out of the park and I wish there had been more for her.

As far as things to love in this movie, there are so many references to all the great stories in Batman comics that it’s hard to not like it. It cannibalizes pieces of Knightfall, Knightquest, No Man’s Land, A Lonely Place of Dying, Son of the Demon, Dark Victory, and on and on and on. But in mashing them all together, it doesn’t really give us what we need for a perfect Batman film. During the No Man’s Land section of the film, the comic offered the perfect blueprint to fit thematically with the teachings of Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins. Creating a symbol would last longer than Wayne himself. He inspired those around him to act. Why weren’t they using that symbol? Blake, Levitt’s character, uses the symbol in bits of chalk here and there during the movie, but never brings it full force, or in any way that anyone but the audience can really see.

Which brings me to my next point:

I’m going to talk about the biggest spoiler in the film, so, if you want, leave now. See the movie and come back. It’s a spoiler, in a sense, but if you have half a brain you figured it out from the trailer like I did.

Ok…

Seriously. Go away if you don’t want to know.

Everybody gone?

It’s just us?

John Blake, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is Robin. A new one. Though Blake does rhyme with Drake. And Tim Drake was the third Robin and the star of the Lonely Place of Dying story. Drake (and now Blake) was a brilliant detective who divined the identity of Bruce Wayne and came to him, appealing to his better judgement. In the comics, it was to bring back a Robin to balance the darkness, in the movie it was to put the suit on again because he’d abandoned it…for some reason…

The trailer telegraphed that Blake was Robin. The movie telegraphed it. I spent the whole movie waiting for him to get into a suit and spray paint on a blue bat symbol across and become a cross between Robin and Nightwing, Dick Grayson’s current alter-ego, bringing the city the symbol of the bat while Bruce was convalescing. But no. None of it happened. He’s a costumeless Robin, a sidekick in every sense of the word but that one. Batman even tells him to get in a god-damned mask and we still don’t get to see it on screen.

This is all simply a missed opportunity.

It was so incredibly frustrating.

When they said the word “Robin” I was as giddy as a school boy. I love the Robin character. He was always my favorite as a kid. But after they said it, and didn’t really pay it off, I just got sad and angry. I know I said that if he turned out to be Robin I’d declare this the best film of the year, but I was wrong. He did turn out to be Robin and this isn’t anywhere close to the best film of the year.

I wanted this film to start in the middle of where it did, and then carry on beyond the ending, giving me something more.

I know I’m focusing a lot on the negative, and there really is a lot to like about this movie. But after the last two, I was expecting the best of the three, not the worst.

Is it better than most movies coming out? Yes. Will it make more money than the Avengers? Not on your life.

Will I go see it again? Yes. But will I rewatch it as much as I rewatch Tim Burton’s Batman film? No. Never. You know why? That film has an incredibly smart sense of humour. I said it jokingly before on twitter, that Nolan’s universe needed Robert Wuhl’s Knox character to add a charm to the movie. He’s one of the best parts of Burton’s film. He added a sense of humour. And that’s really the missing ingredient in Nolan’s world.

But somehow, my guess is there’s a huge segment of fanboys that will eat this up. Why? Because I think if there’s any group that might take itself as seriously as this movie, it’s anonymous internet fanboys, the same mouth-breathing masses who forced Rotten Tomatoes to shut down their comments for an honest assessment of a movie that isn’t as good as it should have been.

But what do I know? I’m just a guy with an opinion.

This was an ambitious film that fell short of its goal. There was a lot to love (more than anything, Zimmer’s score, which finally made me feel that Batman had a theme as iconic as Superman’s) and a lot to be disappointed by. For that, I’m giving it a 7.5 of 10.

Not able to trust Imperial resources, Darth Vader looks to the Ghost Prison for sanctuary in this week’s Star Wars comic: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison #3. GONK is back for the prison break! (more…)

Back in February it was announced that along with the new cartoon hitting Nickelodeon this Fall, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be getting a new wave of figures from Playmates. Well, last week I received a text message from Kill-tacular-tron saying “OMG! NEW TMNT FIGS OUT! GOT 2 GET THEM LOL!” In all fairness, Kill-tacular-tron doesn’t text like a dumbass, but you get the idea. I was at work at the time, but it just so happened that my lunch hour had just started and I work near a Toys ‘R’ Us, so away I went.

It’s been a while since I’ve gone “hunting” for figures, but much like Doom Bot, the thrill of the hunt is half the fun to me. Sure, I could have checked online if this particular location had any of the TMNT figures in stock, but the thrill of just going, walking up and down the aisles trying to find something specific is something I find to be a lot of fun, especially when you find exactly what you are looking for as I was lucky enough to.

This first wave of new TMNT figures consists of the four turtles, Splinter, April O’Neil, Shredder, Kraang and a Foot Soldier. I opted to pass on the others for now and just purchase the four turtles, and that is what we will be taking a look at here. Be sure to check out the gallery at the bottom of this post for pictures of everything highlighted about these figures!

Starting off with the positive (and there is a lot of positive). First off, the molds for each turtle is different – no same bodies with different heads here. Each turtle has their own mold that varies in height, color and detail. Donatello is the tallest of the bunch, sporting a stern look on his face. Leonardo is the next tallest figure, followed by Raphael both with some pretty aggressive-looking expressions. Standing the shortest is Michelangelo with a sort of “aggressive smirk”. Figure height is not achieved just by leg or torso length, but the differences even appear in forearm length.

These turtles are sporting a new look, while still maintaining classic elements. All four turtles have essentially their classic belts, minus the letters that appeared on the classic figures, and Leonardo’s sheaths on his shell are parallel as opposed to crossed. There is also some decorative “metal” on Leo and Don’s belts that go across their chests. Knee and elbow pads are well-sculpted, showing some wear and tear. These new figures feature some support taping around the ankles and hands. Personally, I really like this touch and the color of the tape varies slightly on each figure ranging from a pure white to a kind of cream color. The turtles’ masks vary, with the knots on the back each differing, for instance Don’s appears to be hanging while Raph’s appears to be blowing in the wind. Speaking of Raphael, a really nice touch is a crack on the front of his shell. Any fan knows Raph has a tendency for being aggressive, and this chunk missing from his chest is a very nice touch to illustrate this.

These figures have a nice amount of articulation, making them easy to pose, but it can be a little clunky at times. Some nice poses can be achieved for posing on a shelf, but don’t expect to get too dynamic with them. Of course, the turtles each come with their classic weapons; Raph has his sharp sais, Don has his bo staff, Mike has his nun-chucks and Leo has his katanas, one of which is interestingly a bit shorter than they other and this is reflected in the sheaths on his back. The weapons are well molded, but the paint leaves something to be desired, more on that later. One of my favorite kind of nod to the classic figures is the inclusion of a “ninja arsenal” with each figure; remember the weapons that came with the classic figures that you had to pop out of the plastic molding? Yeah, this is included on top of the turtles’ standard weapons. The ninja arsenals vary for each turtle, but each includes a variation of throwing stars, a different version of their classic weapons, and various other knives etc. It’s a great touch and adds some nice variety.

While I am very pleased with these figures, I do have a few complaints. Many of the prototype shots released showed corresponding colored tape on each of the turtles’ weapons, but this is missing from the actual production figures. This is by no means a deal-breaker, but would have been a really nice touch. Also, Michelangelo’s nun-chucks once again have plastic chains, but were shown to have small metal links in the prototype shots. Even as a kid, the plastic “chains” bugged me, and now as an adult it’s still a bit irritating. I would even prefer a small line of string linking them, but I’m sure production costs play a big part in this so I understand. Other than these minor gripes about the weapons, I really can’t find anything else wrong with these figures worth putting into words.

I have been looking forward to these figures for several months now, and now that I have them I am very pleased – and at $8.99 they are a great value. Very nice molds and paint, the plastic is durable but gives the appearance of a softer material, articulation is very good, and the fact that there are distinct differences between each turtle to set them apart is just fantastic.

If you are a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, then I would highly recommend picking these figures up. I found mine at Toys ‘R’ Us, or if you aren’t a fan of hunting figures down like I am, you can order them online from the Big Bad Toy Store!

Be sure to check out the gallery below!

1×05 — I am Tosk. O’Brien befriends a new alien, the first from the Gamma Quadrant, but it turns out this guy is an alien bred to be hunted and the crew’s interference causes some hijinks to ensue. This is a purely O’Brien episode and the only side story is a very short couple of minutes featuring Quark.

The episode is nothing special and it stays closer to the fun edge. It has the lighthearted tone some of the episodes should have including the Captain giving into his officers hijinks, but only from afar.

Rating: C

1×06 — Q-Less. In what is sure to be a great many upcoming episodes of random tie ins from TNG we get the first episode featuring Q and his companion Vash who you may remember from the Sherwood Forest episode of TNG, the love interest of Picard that decided to go with Q on an adventure. O’Brien recognizes Q and they have what may be one of the funniest moments of the series thus far, a moment pictured above of Q and Captain Sisko in a small tussle with Q wearing a mustache.

The episode is fun and maybe one of the best of the first half of the first season. Q does a great job, and I didn’t realize this until recently but for a man so pivotal to the series of TNG he pretty much just one appearance per season. Bashir has a great small storyline where he basically sleeps through the whole episode. Pretty good episode.

Rating: B