Robot Claw – Page 228 – “Life In The So-Called Space Age”

Bond Film Review (part 2)

June 30, 2020

Fewer blog posts this month due to my summer course, but here’s the second half of the long-awaited twenty-word reviews of the first twenty (plus one!) Bond films. Enjoy…

Moonraker (1979)
With amazing set pieces but ropey effects, this is better than you remember. But the pigeon reaction shot is unforgivable…
Rating: 007 out of 10

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
The Bond girl is spicy, the car chase great and it has cool gadgets but it’s a little boring overall.
Rating: 006 out of 10

Octopussy (1983)
Bond oozes cool and the locations are pretty but the villains are weak and the story loses punch too early.
Rating: 006 out of 10

Never Say Never Again (1983)
The video game is insane and the villainess memorable but this is just an inferior remake saved by Connerys charm.
Rating: 007 out of 10

A View To A Kill (1985)
Bond is (too?) old but the action is solid and the villain amongst the best. The title song is incredible!
Rating: 008 out of 10

The Living Daylights (1987)
The villains are weak but Dalton is fascinating and the trip with the girl is scenic and romantic. Very watchable.
Rating: 009 out of 10

Licence To Kill (1989)
Personal revenge evolves into mad action as once again Dalton shows how he commanded the role. A great Bond film!
Rating: 009 out of 10

Goldeneye (1995)
The Brosnan era introduced truly insane action sequences and here they mostly work. Brosnan is charm and Xenia wickedly memorable.
Rating: 008 out of 10

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Ludicrous action can’t defeat a boring villain, terrible plot and ho-hum Bond girl. Brosnan’s charm almost saves it from forgettability.
Rating: 005 out of 10

The World Is Not Enough (1999)
There’s a lot to dislike here, but a generous viewer may find enjoyment in the visuals and – as always – Brosnan.
Rating: 006 out of 10

Die Another Day (2002)
Everything about this – including Madonna – is insane and I almost feel sorry for Brosnan. The worst ever Bond film.
Rating: 004 out of 10

Of course the Bond films don’t end here, with four Daniel Craig films already out and a fifth on the way. But are they really Bond films? Check back in a decade or so when I review the next set of ten!

Troll Pop

June 16, 2020

This is a troll:

They’re toys that have been around for decades and are beloved by almost everyone especially my brother. While he’s never actually said anything about them, I know he adores troll toys.

Something else he loves is the K-Pop band Red Velvet, shown here:

You can imagine how excited he must have been when he heard that these two things he loved had combined into one! Yes my friends, Red Velvet were ‘in’ the recent Trolls film:

I don’t doubt Bernard threw caution to the wind and ran to the cinema to see this film but since I loathe trolls and am ambivalent toward Red Velvet I barely gave the movie a thought. However a particular piece of licensing did catch my eye, and that was these Oreos:

Green-cream Oreos with glitter and popping candy?!? This is what it means to live in the 21st century!

So many cookies with delicious sugary cream. Don’t you just want to try one? You can even enjoy them in four different designs:

What are they like? In a word: heavenly. The slightly chemical taste of the cream is completely overridden by the astonishing experience of the poprocks and the thought that even though it’s not visible you’re eating glitter as well:

During lockdown I religiously bought a pack of these every two weeks and we wolfed them down like starving beasts. Alas they are now gone from our stores, another victim of corona. They’ll never be forgotten.

If you happen to find a pack on shelves in your area don’t hesitate to buy them. These are by a very wide margin the best Oreos ever, and highly recommended 🙂

Cannon Bull

June 13, 2020

I bought the above in Japan in January. I vacillated on the purchase since luggage space was tight but I decided in the end to make it fit.

It’s a ZOID! But not a plastic model version; this is a toy version. You still assemble it, but it’s much easier and the pieces aren’t on runners. I’ve done one like this before, but they still make and sell new ones and this one seemed to be a new release.

Assembly was trivial, but I was surprised to see (since I apparently didn’t bother looking closely at the packaging) that it has a battery powered motor in it! I selected this kit for its appearance though, and think it looks quite nifty.

That’s the finished product. According to the ZOIDs wiki this is a medium sized ‘buffalo type’ weapons platform that has a mass of 50.4 tonnes and carries a 9-barreled missile pod for long range attacks!

And there he is attacking! He moves at a good clip and the barrels of his missile launchers click as they ‘fire’.

A fun little toy. Next time I’m in Japan I’ll be picking myself up another one of these I reckon…