X-Men: Days of Future Past - A Rant

I'm not quite why sure there's been such a huge reaction to the film version of X-Men: Days of Future Past (DoFP). As of this writing, the movie has a 91% aggregate score from critics on rottentomatoes.com and an absurdly high 95% from audiences. That's better than Captain America: Winter Soldier (89% and 94% respectively)!

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed DoFP and thought it was entertaining enough. However, it is nowhere near as good as Winter Soldier. That movie had everything going for it. A great tone, script, pace, acting, direction, humor, choreography, effects, continuity, fan service, respect for the source material, respect for the audience, respect for the filmmaking art... hell, it even had Robert Redford!

While DoFP does have some good things going for it, it's not the complete package that Winter Soldier was and while I realize it's a subjective thing, I don't feel it deserves to be called the "best" X-Men movie.

Here are some of the reasons why.

SPOILER WARNING.

Transformers: Age of Extinction Toys at SM Fairview!

Hey, did you guys miss the Transformers: Age of Extinction (AoE) toy launch at SM Megamall a few weeks back? Sad that you didn't get a chance to pick up Leader Class Optimus Prime or Grimlock? Still trying to get your hands on a Deluxe Class Slug?

Worry not, Autobots (or at least those near SM Fairview), you get another chance at the new AoE toys at the Transformers event at SM Fairview, Annex Atrium today!

There will be a distribution table today (Saturday, May 31, 2014) where you can get in on some "choice" releases like the new Voyager Hound and Voyager Galvatron from wave 2:

I'm not really into the Bayverse (they keep getting worse!), but if they float your boat, get on down to Fairview and get in line! They probably still have some of those Blitzwing clones and the LC toys, too. Not to mention some nice markdowns (I got a few of the Beast Hunter Voyagers at Megamall). Not sure about that Prime/Grimmy two-pack, but don't lose hope, toy collector!

Don't stop believing!

Thanks to Hasbro and Playkit Philippines, Toy Kingdom, and Cybertron Philippines for hooking us all up!

Godzilla

Short version, no spoilers? The slow burn of the new Godzilla movie would have been totally effective for me IF the payoff at the end was more amazing.

Basically, you're given an hour and a half of exposition from a couple of characters you care next to nothing for and then given a few shots of giant monsters pushing each other. And I don't mean awesome, low angle shots of monsters being thrown through buildings. I mean eye level wide shots of two monsters literally pushing each other like third graders.

That was pretty much the movie for me. Spoiler time.

Penny Dreadful

I don't spend as much time on the Web as I used to, so I was totally blindsided by Penny Dreadful, the new TV series from Showtime. Someone had just told me that it was good and that I should watch it. I didn't even bother reading up on it before hand. I figured that it’d be something like Grimm, or Sleepy Hollow; light, pseudo-horror, action-adventure-ish.

Penny Dreadful is NONE of those things.