I'm back, baby!

Nine days and nearly 25 hours of train riding in total, I have finally returned home from my vacation. Lots of fun was had as and I wrecked shit. The entire trip composed of flea markets, vast cultural differences between our two homes, at least ten kinds of ethnic food my gullet gleefully downed, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (of which I was surprised I kept up fairly well with Pit despite not having played the game for years), a walk into a zoo where I caught two turtles fucking (yes, I was enough of an immature prat to take a picture; no, I am not going to post it up here), and an assload of movies.

Okay, first, let's get a pimping out of the way. My Toonzone recap for Legend of Korra, "The Earth Queen" is up for you to read. Tell me what you guys think.

I also did watch both Rescue Bots episodes that aired the past two weeks and will get around to reviewing them as soon as I can.

Next: mini-reviews on the following films we saw (in alphabetic order):

Big Trouble in Little China: Tav wanted me to see this movie just because the film came out during the eighties and thus sports a comical handling of Chinese culture and fantasy. And yeah, it is pretty damn stereotyped and one step below full racism, but it was the eighties; that was the last decade where you could get away with this shit. If anything, despite the film’s leading straight white man, he’s not any better or worse than the near prominent Asian cast. It’s actually a bit well-rounded than that, so props to that. In spite of it, the movie was surreal and entertaining if you shut off your brain. Watching this movie made me realize I kind of miss the sets older films used before CGI overtook everything, they have a certain charm to it.

The Boondock Saints: I think it was a Tumblr post of Willem Defoe dramatically doing…something that curiously made me want to check this movie out. The film wasn’t quite as nuts as the gif made it look, but it is insane. Defoe’s character is arrogant, but instantly likable, and the idea of leaving the film without a definite conclusion leaves the audience to decide whether Connor and Murphy’s brand of justice is something we need in this world or not.Oh, and Defoe rocks that dress.

Equestra Girls: This movie had been in my Netflix watch list for nearly a year, knowing Tav and I would be watching it at some point as the possible wretched film we thought it'd be. It’s actually not as bad as I assumed, but coming from its source, it’s amazing how uninspiring and trite the whole thing is. There’s a making of something greater with Sunset Shimmer’s plan and she does pull off an epic “Take over the world” plot at the end, but it feels detached from the rest of the film since the rest of the movie centers so intently on Twilight winning the school election for princess of a seasonal ball. I’m definitely showing my age, but an ultra dramatic high school plot of this caliber is pretty lame.

The Host: I went into this film expecting entertainment out of whatever nonsense Stephanie Meyer’s book produced, but it was surprisingly dull and boring instead. The concept had potential, but all I got out of it was unfortunate implication among the love…quadruple (or whatever), a mind-numbingly boring protagonist and her equally boring alien buddy, and a stupid resolution to the finale.

In and Out: It’s the story of an English teacher named Howard who is happily engaged to a beautiful woman, Emily, only to be outed as gay. The movie came out in 1997. The film is outdated in a lot of regards concerning its subject material and by the second half, the film focuses more on Emily’s dilemmas than main character's Howard, probably  because the film could only get away with one kiss between the two male leads (sadly, Tom Selleck is nowhere near as hot without his mustache.) But it’s incredibly progressive for its time frame and takes extra measures to ensure the shocked townsfolk aren’t treated like venomous, intolerant assholes while they deal with this stunning revelation.

But mostly, watching In and Out shows how far we have come in the last seventeen years since the movie came out. There are still intolerance, but the near two decades has significantly changed the general public’s attitude on the LGBT community. I’m not sure how In and Out did in theaters, but it’s nice to know films like this was a small stepping stone to progression.

Pain and Gain: Now this movie pleasantly surprised the hell out of me. Presumably Michael Bay’s magmum opus or at least his baby, I was all set to denounce this film within the first five minutes. But something happened the more we suffered through this two hour middle-finger marathon; the movie somehow became…entertaining. Oh, it is a wretched piece of cinema and has all the usual Bay flair (arrogant, unlikeable asshole characters; sexualized women; generally dumbassery), but it’s played so over the top that a part of me wonders if this is honestly a satire or a parody. Either way, Pain and Gain enters that sweet So Bad, it’s Good territory and I came out of the film with a genuinely amused smile. I don’t know what that says about me.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: I finally saw the movie and I can definitely see why it’s remained a cult classic in near 40 years. The concept is weird as hell, the music is catchy, and the entire premise is different and almost repulsively enticing. I never got why Frank n’ Furter was a sex icon based on the pictures I’ve seen, but seeing him in motion, watching Tim Curry ham up the scene quickly changed my mind. I finally get it.

Sailor Moon Crystal: Okay, not a movie, but I caught the series premiere during and I liked it. There isn’t much of an opinion to give at the moment. I expected them to do the first chapter of the manga like the first anime did and Episode 1 delivered. The coloring is a bit pastel, but overall, the animation is stunningly gorgeous, though I am not a fan of the CGI transformation (though at least they went the cel-shaded route.) I do agree with some of the fans that the characters lack the expressive and lively gestures and facial expressions of the first anime, but I’m not counting my eggs before they hatch. I am still legit excited for the next episode.

We also watched The Iron Giant (a movie Tav hadn't seen, so I made sure she did), Madoka Magica: The Rebellion Story (which I have a better appreciation for now that I got over my initial reluctance, The Princess and The Frog and The Incredibles (two very excellent Disney films.)

Transformers: Age of Extinction will likely get its own review since it’s Transformers. For now, let it be known we took Nostalgic Chick's idea and did her Michael Bay bingo card. We largely used the suggestion on her list, but added a few squares of our own.

And with vacation over, the victor goes the spoils and since Victor ain’t here… The things I got during the trip were a bunch of discounted books, specifically Flowers for Algernon and Great Expectations (both of which I've read before and wanted to own), the first trade paperback of Spider-Girl because I've heard good things about it, and Interview With A Vampire because apparently Tav tells me it's actually good.

I also got myself a hardcore used copy of Matt Groening's Life in Hell series. I first encountered a Life in Hell book when I was seven, but instantly recognized it as being under the same hands as The Simpsons' creator, so in spite of my age, I read the copy regardless. Of course the jokes flew over my head (then again, so did The Simpsons at that age.) I have not read them since I was 10, so it'll be nice to look back knowing I'll actually get the adult content now.

One of the comic shops we went to had a massive collection of toys. I managed to pick out two. The first is an apparently tenth anniversary Beast Wars Megatron toy. The one I have is mostly green and researching it revealed he's a redeco of the original release. At least that's the assumption I am making because no matter how hard I google for info, they don't really give much information on this specifically colored Megatron. As far as I am concerned, he's the real deal, but if anyone has a better information on this guy, let me know. Still, BW Megatron, man!

The other is Deckard's J-Decker mode. I don't really care for Gundam-ish looks and Brave Police is a guilty pleasure kind of show (I guess, I'm not particularly shameful for having watched it), but god, the robot design for J-Decker is so cool. This little guy is about six inches and it totally whets my appetite of owning a J-Decker that I am content never getting the recently released J-Decker toy that came out a year ago.

I also snagged a small Vivi figurine for five bucks. I collect anything to do with this character if I can, so I'm happy to have another Vivi to my collection. And lastly, I nabbed myself a Mario wallet because I needed a new one.

My friends also got me a purple alligator doll! Unlike the others, this one is sentimental because it pertains to the original webcomic I am working on (a purple alligator is the main character's pet.) So yay, thanks guys!

If you guys are curious to see the pictures of the things I got, check out my Tumblr edition here: neoyi.tumblr.com/post/91701104…

I also tried my hands on Assassin Creed and found the game's control schemes to be cumbersome, but the concept fun enough that I might get a copy later. They also showed me Mirror's Edge and Trine, two games I am definitely going to play soon. They let me borrow a copy of The Longest Journey to test out as well, so I got my hands full!

That's it, I think. It was a good nine days and I'm sad to see it end. Here's to another great trip in the future.