Star Trek Adventures: Captain's Log

 

    Hello all, welcome back to BlazinBlue's Review. It's been a while since I've posted last. There's been a lot that has been going on. We've been working on finding and preparing time to move. That's something that has taken quite a bit of time. But once we get everything squared away, it'll all be worth it. 

I've also been working on finding something for my son and I to do. He loves getting to play tabletop rpgs. We've spent time working on finding a Star Wars RPG cause he loves Star Wars. It's been a bit of a miss trying to find something to work for that Galaxy Far, Far, Away. We've also played some Dungeons & Dragons. But it's been the two of us. So it's a bit difficult to find a system that works for the two of us. 

Lately, I've been on a bit of a Star Trek kick. When I first was introduced to Star Trek, it was thanks to my Dad. We spent weekend afternoons watching reruns of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was just one of those things that clicked for me. So, I decided to check out Star Trek: Picard. It's been a pretty awesome show so far. I know that there are those that may disagree on that and that's okay. Seeing where the returning characters are at in their lives has been pretty cool, and the new characters were pretty solid. It just managed to work in such an interesting way. 

Well, I had the pleasure of keeping that tradition going. My son sat down and watched an episode or two of Star Trek: Picard and then wanted to see more. At that point, I introduced him to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Strange New Worlds is just pure Trek. It's everything that love bout the franchise. It manages to hit all the right notes. While Picard felt a bit Firefly-ish in its approach, Strange New Worlds was 100% that vibe of The Original Series. And so, I took the time to start looking into Star Trek Adventures. 

Star Trek Adventures was really everything that could hope for in an RPG. It lets you play in the sandbox that Roddenberry created. I can definitely say that this places the franchise where it has never gone before. The flood gates were absolutely open because there was at least 5 years worth of awesomeness to look through. It felt a bit daunting. Overwhelming. But the thing was that it still required a group to play. And with us, it's just the two of us currently. 

So, I decided to look into if there was a solo option. By using the solo option, it'd allow us to create our own characters and be able to have our own sandbox that we could play in without a GM. There was Starlogs and Beyond the Stars. These seemed to be able to emulate slightly that feeling of going GM-less. But it just wasn't right for us necessarily. 

Then last week on the 11th, imagine my surprise when I discovered a YouTube interview that was discussing the breaking news for Star Trek Adventures - Star Trek Adventures: Captain's Log.  Immediately my son noticed that I was grinning from ear to ear and asked what was it. 

The very next day, I put in my pre-order to Modiphius. 

For those that are wondering, Star Trek Adventures: Captain's Log is everything that I was looking for. 

Captain's Log is an absolutely amazing tool. It's an all in one standalone book from the rest of the Star Trek Adventures line. It can be used in conjunction with the other books. It can also be used just for the information within it. 

Are you new to Trek? This book is for you. Are you new to RPGs? This book is for you. Are you looking for something that will help you craft stories? Again, this book is for you. 

At first, I was a bit hesitant to what I could do with the Captain's Log. I hadn't really dived into solo rpgs before. This was all new territory for me. I had played a session or two of Dungeons and Dragons and GMed a session or two. But I wasn't sure if I could do it. 

After the time I've had with it, I can definitely say that anyone can play Captain's Log. Really sky is the limit. Do you have to know your Trek? Absolutely not. The first two chapters of this book alone sets the groundwork for anyone coming into Trek for the first time. And it does it all magnificently. 

The roll tables in this book are called Probability Matrixes. There is a table for absolutely everything. Locations, build NPCs, Encounters are just a small tip of the iceberg. It helps with just about any aspect one could ask for. 

Now you may find yourself wondering 'What era can you play in?'. Absolutely any, all, or none of them. Literally I say that the sky is the limit. If you want to play an Enterprise campaign of the Rise of the Federation, it's in here. The Original Series or Discovery, it's in here. Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, or anything else you can imagine is in here. This is a completely Era-agnostic book and that's just so amazing to see. It provides you plenty of information for those Eras though. 

Could I have wished for just a little more information of the different eras? Possibly. But everything that is covered is absolutely awesome. 

Heck, I always wondered if could run a campaign involving the '09 Trek. With this tool, I probably could with a few adjustments here and there. There isn't specifically any information of the Kelvin Timeline, but that's probably down to licensing. And yes, I will say 100% that I enjoyed the hell out of those films. They reignited my love for Trek after I had stepped away from the franchise for a time. 

There are so many stories that can be told with everything contained within. It honestly is going to allow for years and years of content. I mean I'm never going to find myself bored of playing in the Trek sandbox. And with this, it helps one scratch that creative itch of creating something whether you spend 15 minutes or a few hours in a session. It really can be that easy. 

I'd absolutely highly recommend getting this book. I recommended it to my friend, who isn't a Trekkie. He literally told me that he hadn't really watched anything Trek. And then the other day, he told me that he had stumbled across a Star Trek audio drama. That's pretty cool. And he might even be up for playing in our campaign. 

Rating: I'd give this an absolute 5 out of 5. Such a well put together tool that just has so much limitless potential. And that's amazing. 

*Stay Tuned as I'll be sharing stories of the U.S.S. Horizon*

You can find the Captain's Log at Modiphius for Purchase. There are four different covers to it (The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Discovery). They are featured at the top of the article. I ended up with The Next Generation cover. 

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Review: SCREAM VI (2023)

 

    Hello everyone, BlazinBlue's Review has returned once again with a new review. This is one that I know some have been waiting for. It's time to talk about Scream VI (or Scream 6). 

    When Scream '22 (Scream 5 or 5cream as the internet had decided to call it) released, it was very nostalgic. It was like coming home to a warm blanket that had just been taken out of the dryer. Cozy. It was an interesting re-quel. It was familiar. The first part was very much in the vein of the original film. But then when Dewey's Last Stand happens, the film hit differently. It showed and expressed that it wasn't afraid to not pull some punches. I know for me, I kept hoping that Dewey was going to come out the film on his feet. But then that scene, it knocked the wind out of me. And I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. I didn't know if any of the legacy characters were exactly safe. And that third act is still pretty great. 

    With Scream VI, I went to see it for my birthday. It's one of those times where the movie gods seemed to shine down as everything had lined up. I went into the theater with a large Root Beer and a medium popcorn. It's honestly something that I don't do very often anymore. Ever since the pandemic, theaters have kind of changed. But there was still that small little spark of being able to escape from the worlds problems and get lost in the story. 

    After that initial watch, I left the theater floored. I didn't know what I had just watched. Well at the very least, I knew it was a Scream film. But it wasn't what I had expected. I guess I was expecting something more in the vein of Scream '22. But Scream VI is far from in the vein of Scream '22. I knew it was going to be very difficult to try to express my thoughts. And it was going to take time and a few times of rewatching it to fully get it. It honestly put my brain on the back burner with movie reviews for a little bit. First time I had found myself a bit flabbergasted like this. 

    When first had heard that Scream VI was moving to New York, I was really intrigued. It's always interesting to see the filmmakers take Ghostface and move the story out of Woodsboro. As much as I love Woodsboro, there's only so many times we can have these things happen there. So seeing our survivors of Scream '22 in New York was pretty welcoming. Then there was mention of them being in college. Cool. It firmly established that Radio Silence was gunning for a Scream 2 to their Scream '22. 

    Then, something interesting happened. They completely subverted expectations. That's honestly one of the best things that Scream VI does, to an extent. It subverted expectations. The kids are going to be in college? Nah, it'll be there for a moment. But just don't let yourself get attached to the idea of seeing them in college. It's going to be set around Halloween? Sweet, nice throwback to Halloween '78 in a way. But don't expect anything too far out of a sequence here and there. Though, if one keeps a keen eye out, there are some small little glimpses that it's Halloween time. Do wish that there would have been more with it though. 

    The opening was something that definitely caught me off guard. It firmly establishes that this won't be the same type of film that Scream '22 was. Yes, we get Samara Weaving in a fun little homage to Drew Barrymore. She's a fish out of water in the big city trying to meet people. It's our first little play of the idea with the college trope as she's a professor. But then that final slash happens leaving us with Ghostface standing there and staring at what they'd done. At that point, we usually would have had our title credit. But it keeps lingering and then unmasking, were we going to get our first audience known Ghostface? I was very intrigued by this concept. Then the rest of the opening played out. 

    On a recent rewatch, the opening hit very different this go around. It felt a bit Hitchcockian. Think about it, the first part of Psycho establishes that we were going to be following Marion Crane then twists it with that shower scene. This opening played very similar to me. 

    The rest of that first act then is fast and loose with re-establishing characters and establishing the newer ones. One of the new characters that I found myself really liking is Danny Brackett, Sam's new love interest. He just felt like a really solid good guy. He understands where Sam's at with everything and wants to be there to help. He never felt like a red herring to me. Then there's "I had econ!" Ethan, Chad's quiet roommate. Ethan never left much of an impression unfortunately. I'm guessing that he may had left that in Econ as well. Quinn, Sam and Tara's roommate, was interesting as she was the embracing her wild side in a sense trope. Then there's Annika, Mindy's love interest. She sadly didn't leave much of an impression either, on me or the ladder scene. Oh, is it too soon? And then we have Detective Bailey. During that initial watch, I felt it too easy for him to be involved. In a sense, it still is but now knowing how the story plays out, it feels a little more natural now. Especially as he quickly lays out the cards in one scene, "You mess with my family. You pay.". 

    I know that there have been quite a lot of people talking about the story. There are some gaps in logic and may be one or two small spots that feel misplaced. But for the most part, it plays things fast and loose. It hits the ground running and just doesn't look back. It's meant to be a fun thrill ride. It also hit me that the previous Scream films are firmly love letters to the Slasher genre. This film is a love letter to Giallo. It's very much evident with how the film plays against the audience's expectations. Radio Silence had a lot of fun with subverting expectations. This is also the first Scream film to have a lot of set pieces: (the Bodega, the Ladder, the Train, and the Shrine). Each one of these sequences are pretty damn memorable. I know, I'm leaving out Gale's sequence and the opening. While Gale's sequence is pretty great, to me it never felt like they could pull the trigger on killing her off. They were pulling their punch after killing off Dewey in the previous film. It'll be interesting to see if they bring her back and how this experience had effected her. 

    In this recent rewatch, the film didn't feel scary during that first act. It felt fun and lacking suspense. But then that apartment and ladder scene arrives, and the film switches gears amazingly. The tension and terror arrives in full force. There are two shots in that sequence where Ghostface felt so different to how he'd been shown in the film so far. The stabbing of the knife into the window sill before grabbing the ladder and the last look before walking away. Both of them are pretty incredible. With that first trailer, I honestly was shocked that they had decided to show part of the train sequence. I mean it makes sense as it firmly established we would see Ghostface in New York. But when the scene arrived, I was shocked cause for the most part it didn't play out like it had been shown. There was a lot more tension to it as we find our group separated. It may be one of my favorite, if not my favorite sequence, in the film. 

    The idea of the Shrine was one that I was all geared up for. It felt different than anything before. In one way, it's very operatic in its approach. It's bold and grandiose. It showcases so many easter eggs so naturally. It's very much a visual representation of the Scream franchise. I originally didn't know how it was going to be used. I just knew it was cool cause it gave us a lair in a sense. Upon rewatches, it's pretty cool discovering more of the easter eggs that originally missed. But by the end of the sequence, it kinda tears down what came before to establish something new. Something fresh. And shows that wherever the story takes us next, it'll be different. 

    When they revealed who was behind everything, I wasn't as surprised about at least one of the killers. But with the rewatch, it's very clear that wasn't the point. This sequence was more about the motive than anything else. I'd say that it's a great sister counterpart to Scream 2's reveal. It also further builds on Richie's backstory. Though one thing that's pretty interesting is how Bailey and Ethan's performances are. They both had some Stu-isms with how gleeful they were. It immediately reminded me of Matthew Lillard's performane at the end of the original, "I always had a thing for ya Sid!". 

    Scream VI definitely got better for me with some rewatches and time to think on it. It continued to be entertaining each time. Yeah, there may be a moment here and there that wish we'd get more time. More time with Gale. More time with some of these newer characters. But it plays lean and mean with the time it has. It further establishes the Core Four as well. And I anticipate that Scream 7 will further build on the character of Danny Brackett. This is a film that definitely felt like a reinvention of the films that makes it new and fresh. And I honestly look forward to seeing where they go next.

Rating: 4 out of 5. 

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Review: EVIL DEAD RISE (2023)

 

Welcome back to BlazinBlue's Review with a new review. Today, I have the pleasure of getting to talk about Evil Dead Rise. Now as you may know if you've been following around here long, Evil Dead is one of my all time favorite franchises. Yes, I grew up watching the Elm Streets among other horror franchises. But it was the Evil Dead series that really landed for me alongside the Scream series. 

I mean what is there not to like about this series? The first three films and TV show had a kickass hero with Ash Williams. He is a Michigan made hero. When you look at the horror genre, it's cool seeing all of the variety in terms of our heroes. But when it's someone from your home state, it's just even cooler. 

At this point, this franchise has had five films now, a successful TV series, and multiple video games. That's pretty dang good track record. What's even better is that if you look at the films, there isn't one that's not enjoyable. There is always something that helps make the film solid. And honestly a lot of that is down to the characters. 

After the success of 2013's EVIL DEAD from Sony, I was ready for more. Ash Vs. Evil Dead was a nice, don't get me wrong. I really appreciate it for what it did. But I wanted to see more Evil Dead films. Sadly, we weren't able to get more of a straight forth sequel to that 2013 film. But honestly, that's okay. 

Evil Dead Rise was written and directed by Lee Cronin. The absolute nice thing is that with this installment, it brings the franchise back home to New Line Cinema. Originally, this film was to be directly sent to HBO Max. But after some very successful screenings, Warner Discovery realized that they had something on their hands. I won't lie I do have some various issues with HBO Max, but at least with this installment it alleviated my doubts that they'd screw things up. 

With this go around, we have a twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable. 

Just reading that synopsis alone with no spoilers, it honestly brings Resident Evil 7 vibes to my mind. With that game, there was an absolutely large part of it that just oozed Evil Dead vibes. It's probably why it was the first entry that I played all the way through. 

This is a film that definitely does not need spoilers. It makes one go into the film and judge it on its own merits. It's also one of the reasons that I decided to forgo the theater experience. When I went and seen the 2013 film, it was in a packed theater. It was a great experience. But it did pull some weight on my thoughts for that film. With sitting down and watching Rise on a 70 inch screen, it still was able to give me a bit more of a theatrical experience than I've had before. 

First off, I will say that I really dug Evil Dead Rise. I had no idea what to expect. I had managed to stay away from anything on social media regarding it. I even went as far as staying away from trailers for the film. I knew that I was going to give the film a watch no matter what. I wanted to be surprised. Would it have Campbell return in some fashion as Ash? I know that Campbell, himself, has said that he was ready to move on from the character. But he's still heavily involved behind the scenes. And honestly that's something that helps the film. 

Lee Cronin has delivered an extremely solid film. I applaud the approach that was taken. It caught me off guard quite a bit. One of the big swings that was taken was the focus on a family. Yeah, we get a small little taste of what we usually have for an Evil Dead experience. Cabin in the Woods, Check. Evil creepy clock from Evil Dead II, check. But then, things shift to the more urban setting of the apartment building. This is the Die Hard of the Evil Dead films in a sense. 

The characters that we are introduced to in this film are all pretty solid. The largest focus is on the family - Beth (Lily Sullivan), Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), Kase (Nell Fisher), and Danny (Morgan Davies). It's incredibly ballsy to have a horror film with children in it. Now, I definitely think the film hit a lot different for me than the 2013 film. As a parent, I definitely found myself wanting to protect everyone. If I had to make one nitpick with the film, it's that we are not given enough time with the characters. But that may also be a strength because with what time we are given, I was able to still care about what happened to them. 

The setting of the apartment building is something incredibly interesting. It's a bit of a breath of fresh air. I do wish that we could have seen more with it. How many other tenants are there? I know they establish that the building is going to be closed down in a month. But it just feels like that may be there to keep the character count down. However, the use of the peephole throughout the film is incredibly cool. There's one sequence that will literally go down in this franchise as one of my all time favorites. It's just so damn cool seeing events unfold in the hallway. 

Oh yes, there is blood. Buckets and buckets of blood. This is a film that is not for the squeamish. I tend to not be squirm while watching a film. But there were some sequences that I couldn't help but do so. The transformations that happen in

 the film are definitely different. There's one that I found myself repeating "No, No, No.".  It worked so well. 

The best thing that happens is that Lee Cronin plays up on the fact that there are three Book of the Dead's. This was something that originally set up in Army of Darkness. It felt like a complete throw away then. But now, it firmly establishes that EVERYTHING IS CANON. Every single installment. Hell, I'll even throw Ash Vs. Evil Dead in for good measure. So, we have Ash's Book of the Dead, the 2013's Book of the Dead, and this film's Book of the Dead. Each one adding more of a different flavor to everything. It's honestly making me want to have a replica of each book for my collection. The Deadites in this film do feel a little similar to the 2013 ones. However, Cronin delivers a delightful curveball in the final act. 

EVIL DEAD RISE is a film that delivered in spades. It surprised and made me squirm. Would I be interested in seeing another installment? Yes, I absolutely would. This firmly establishes that the Evil is Everywhere now. So the possibilities on where things could go next is pretty endless. It kind of blows the doors wide open for the franchise. And that's delightful to see as a fan. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Chainsaws. 

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Saber Reviews No. 2: Damiensaber NEW Released XRGB 3.0 Bluetooth Lightsaber

    Welcome Back to BlazinBlue's Review! I hope everyone's been doing well. Last time, I started testing the waters with expanding the content that is covered. And it was pretty successful. It also helped me realize that there was a small part of the lightsaber community that wasn't necessarily being covered to its greatest extent - written reviews. If you look on Youtube and enter Lightsabers, you'll find a huge amount of video reviews. Those are nice and all but I know that there are some people that would rather read than just check out a video. 

    This brings me to today's review. First off, this review wouldn't be possible without Damiensaber. I reached out to a few different companies to see if they'd like to work together. After seeing a couple 'no' or not hearing anything back, I was a bit defeated. I thought that maybe this wasn't something that just wasn't going to work. But then, there was hope. Damiensaber reached back out to me and was interested in collaborating together. 

    When that happened, I will admit that I was so dang excited. This was one of those cool moments that just feel like they don't happen often. Whenever I have the awesome chance of catching a screening for a new movie or manage to score an interview, I get that same feeling. It's pretty dang cool and makes me realize how lucky I am to get to do this. 

    So, they gave me the option between two different sabers. There was no. 112 and no. 115. Now, that might not mean much. But when I looked between the two options, I went with the one that called out to me. 

    Look at how cool that saber looks! Every time that I've had the pleasure of receiving one in the mail, it's been awesome. However, this time felt absolutely different. This was like Christmas Morning all over again. Let's get into it, shall we?

For those that are already interested, you can find the link here:

https://www.damiensaber.com/lightsabers/fx-dueling-12-sound-fonts-custom-saber-no115.html

(Preface: I would like to take the time to say that I was sent this saber from Damiensaber. So, thank you for this opportunity. This will be a complete unbiased review about the saber - no. 115. )

With this being my second official saber review, it's just mind blowing as to how many different options that people have available to them. When I first started looking into lightsabers for my son and I, I was overwhelmed. There are just so many out there. 

In my initial research into things, Damiensaber is a company that is at the forefront. It's one of those names that when someone asks for a good place to buy a saber from, you'll probably hear someone say Damiensaber. 

After receiving this saber - the no. 115, I can honestly say that their products are pretty solid. Above, we have the image from the product page over on Damiensaber's website. But sometimes when we receive something in the mail, it may differ. Did that happen here? Check out this picture following the unboxing of it. 

This is such a beautiful saber. Lately, I've been starting to dive into the High Republic era of Star Wars. From what I've seen in the comics, this honestly feels like it's pulled out of that era. It has the two teeth in the emitter that give it a snake like appearance. It's an extremely distinct design. For those wondering about how many retention screws it uses to keep the blade in place, there are three points. After putting the screws in, it holds the blade in pretty well and very snug. 

The grip is extremely smooth. Some may think it's a bit basic. But it's the beauty in its simplicity. It allows there to be a lot of room for hand placement. This is something that is extremely effective when dueling or spinning your lightsaber. When compared to other sabers, this was very refreshing. For those that wish, one could add a leather wrap to it. 

One small nitpick that I've had with the grip is during dueling. With it being so smooth and bare, it can slide through the hand a little too easy sometimes. 

That brings us down to the pommel. When I first started looking at it, something felt very familiar about it. I just couldn't quite place my finger on why that was. Now growing up, I had seen the Original Trilogy quite a bit - SciFi channel marathons being a big highlight. I also had the pleasure of getting to go see Return of the Jedi Special Edition in 1997 - big shoutout and happy 40th Anniversary to Return of the Jedi. So when it was announced that we were receiving the prequel trilogy, I was stoked. It was beginning of my Star Wars trilogy essentially. My favorite character in the film was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Once I thought back on Phantom Menace, it hit me. The reason that this pommel felt so familiar is because this is essentially a slimdown version of Kenobi's Episode 1 lightsaber pommel. And that's just fantastic. 

Hilt Score: 5 out of 5

As for the electronics that are featured in this Damiensaber, I didn't look at it closely on initial look. I haven't been collecting sabers for very long. So, I haven't had a lot of experience with the variety that's available. My personal experience has been with baselit sabers. So, I haven't seen many of the fancy features that a pixel one would support. So, I was a little bit underwhelmed at first. 

But then, I started realizing what was powering this saber. It's a xenopixel 3.0 board, or it helps to refer to it as the XRGB 3.0. I did a bit of a double take with it. This was something new. 

What does this mean? Well, it means that this helps bring you one step closer to what you can imagine a lightsaber would be. This is a board that blows everything that I've previously dealt with out of the water. Honestly, it was a few months ago that I found myself wondering why can't baselit sabers get a board that would support SD cards. Why couldn't us that love to duel have something that we could customize to our hearts content? Make it more seem like our saber. 

I can absolutely say that with this board - those thoughts have been answered. This features 16 sound fonts with the ability to add more through an SD card.  It supports smooth swing with some beautiful accent swings. Each font can have its own color and blade effect. 

In the past, you would have a one button system that would handle all the heavywork of cycling through the various features. With this incarnation, it can be handled through a bluetooth app (Xeno Configurator on iOS and Android). Immediately, I was flabbergasted. 

(Above are some images from the Xeno Configurator app. This should help illustrate what to expect from the app. Right now, it's an app that's continuing to evolve. But so far, it's pretty intuitive. There are some features that will be added at some point.)

After spending time with the app, all I can find myself saying is "This is the way.". It's so intuitive and so easy to change features on the fly. If you want to change your sensitivity for your gesture controls, you can do that. If you want to change the timing of your powering up and powering down of your saber, you can do that. If you have a certain color that you had your heart set on (to the point of knowing the color code), well you can do that. You wish to change the sound to a softer volume, you can. 

Literally this just kicks down the doors as to what you can do now. Literally you can make it your own. 

Electronics Score: 5 out of 5.

    Having a variety of sabers now, it's interesting seeing the saber fonts that are available. With this saber, I noticed a good variety in the selection. One of the coolest thing was seeing the variety of Fallen Order fonts, especially a Vader. I've seen Vader fonts before. This one is definitely different and really cool. All of these are incredibly beautiful.

There are probably a few different fonts that feel missing. But with that SD card, it won't be too difficult to add it to the library. 

The Saber Fonts are as follows: 

The Dark Sword (Darksaber), The Chosen (Anakin Skywalker), Double Agent (Revan), The Princess (Leia), The Son (Luke Ep. VI Return of the Jedi), The Protector (Obi-Wan), The Knight (Kylo Ren), The Fallen Apprentice Magenta (Cal Kestis)

The Master (Qui-Gon Jinn), Truly Lost (Dark Cal Kestis), The Dark Lord Order (Darth Vader - Fallen Order), The Third Hunter (Revan from Obi-Wan), Dark Empress (Dark Rey), The Wanderer (Malicos from Fallen Order), The Assassin (Asajj Ventress). 

Sound Score: 4.5 out of 5

    With the hilt and sound out of the way, that brings us to the light show portion. That's honestly the best way to phrase it for covering the colors. From what I've seen of other sabers, it hasn't disappointed thus far. Each one delivers a solid job. With each new saber, I've begun to notice a trend. Each one is a step up from the last. I'd say that would showcase a solid job of the way that products are evolving. 

With the No. 115, the light does continue to impress. One of the biggest evolution I've seen is that each of the different saber fonts can have its own color. That's pretty frigging cool. I didn't even know that was going to happen till I powered it on and started cycling through. 

At first, I was like well it sucks to see that the colors aren't remembered. But with the time I've spent with the saber now, it does remember the color that you set for each font. With each font, it'll also remember what blade effect you apply to it (Unstable, Stable, and Pulse). There may be some features that are not immediately available. But with some tinkering, it may be easy to find them waiting to be unlocked. 

Originally, I had a few different pictures showcasing the different colors. But I thought I'd try something different and include a small video that showcases the infinite color changing. 

Color Score: 5 out of 5      

Now as those who may be wondering what else I could possibly cover in my review? Well, in my opinion, there's the most important feature that a lightsaber has to have. The ability to duel. I mean come on, who doesn't want to recreate a good lightsaber battle that you've seen in the Star Wars films or The Clone Wars and Rebels tv shows? 

The blade that comes with this Damiensaber is the standard 36". It's highly durable like the one that came with my Dark Wolf saber. My son and I took the saber out yesterday and had a few rounds with it. It held up to some severely strong beatings that it took. So, his training will begin as the duels have only just begun.

Duel Score: 5 out of 5. 

---------------------------------------------

Hilt: 5 out of 5

Electronics: 5 out of 5

Sound: 4.5 out of 5

Color: 5 out of 5

Duel: 5 out of 5

Overall: 4.9 out of 5 (Highly Recommend)

-----------------------------------------------

Overall, this would be a fine addition to anyone's ever growing lightsaber collection. It is pretty outstanding seeing some of the newer features. The ability to have a color/blade effect for each color is pretty outstanding. For those that are just starting out on their lightsaber journey, well I'd highly recommend this one. It is sleek and elegant, while also being solid for dueling. It's large enough to be able to use two handed comfortably. 

For those that are already interested, you can find the link here:

https://www.damiensaber.com/lightsabers/fx-dueling-12-sound-fonts-custom-saber-no115.html

If you are interested in other lightsabers, you can always check out https://www.damiensaber.com/. 

You can find BlazinBlue's Review on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Update - 4/10/2023

     Hello everyone, Matthew still here or as some may know me as BlazinBlue. When I first started this blog, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I really had a few different ideas in mind. But I knew one of the things I wanted to do was cover horror movies. It's a genre that is just so near and dear to my heart. My family got me started on horror movies when I was a bit young. By today's standards, it was a lot younger than most parents would probably do today. But you know what, it's okay and I turned out okay. 

    The thing that kept me from turning this into something real was myself. I kept doubting myself. I kept saying that I wasn't good enough. I kept asking myself 'Why do you want to do this? You didn't go to school for journalism.'. And it took someone very special to me to help show me that if I put those ideas to rest, I could do this. This was something that was possible. 

    And then I just jumped in one day with a review for a small indie horror film, Weird Fiction. It then began to become something more. Was it going to pay the bills? Sadly, no. But it allowed me to finally be able to express myself and talk about things. Could this turn into something more? Honestly, I have no idea. However with everything that's happened so far, the sky's the limit. And I've had a few awesome things that I never thought I'd get to do. 

    What are some of those things that I've gotten to do? Well, I have had the pleasure of being able to cover some pretty awesome films. One of the biggest ones being Slumber Party Massacre '21. That was just absolutely bananas. Sadly at the time of the actual press junket, I couldn't participate in the audio interviews. Primarily the only thing that kept me from that was I was recovering from dental surgery. Another awesome thing that I've had the pleasure of was getting to attend a small theater screening of Addison Bink's Psycho Ape. Sadly, I couldn't stay for the showings but I was able to get hold of a dvd copy. So please stay tuned for that review that's in the pipeline. Another thing that I have gotten to do was actually interact with some amazing people in the industry, Adam Marcus and Vincente DiSanti. I honestly could never thank anyone enough for being able to have these experiences. If this is all that I've gotten to do, that's entirely okay. 

    As you may have noticed, there's been some gaps in content. I apologize for that. But we all know that life happens. Thankfully, things are a little less chaotic now. Things are still underway for our home renovations and having a small farm (3 goats and 50 chickens) can be a bit much. But it's allowed me to take some time and regroup while I did that stuff. And I am happy to say that I'm not going anywhere. I am going to keep doing this because it's something that I love. 

    With last week's Lightsaber Review, you may have noticed that things are changing a little bit around here. While I love horror films and we are in a bit of a horror boom, there's more to this than just the horror genre. I have decided to take a step forth into a much larger world. Oh wait, that sounds like Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man doesn't it? With this, I've expanded what I can talk about around here. If we would like to talk about horror movies, we can. If we would like to talk about props, toys, and collectables, well we're going to. 

    As you can imagine, I will also be diving further into the Galaxy Far, Far, Away with more Star Wars stuff. I can happily announce that there will be another lightsaber review, courtesy of Damiensaber. So, stay tuned for that one. I will also say that we will get to check out a LeMarchand Box. That's pretty friggin great. And then, I have something hidden by a big metal door of a certain Mezco variety.

    To kick things off, I am happy to say that we have finally evolved - New Name and New Header to be more fitting with the way I'd like to take things. 

Thank you everyone that's been part of this. Thank you everyone that's checked out things. Thank you everyone that's been so damn supportive of this crazy idea I had. 

Review: TXQSaber Simplified Anakin Skywalker Saber

Alright , a few months ago, my son broke his elbow. It took some time for him to recover from that. I talked to my partner about maybe surprising him with some lightsabers. They agreed. 

After dealing with an experience, we found our way over to Dark Wolf Sabers. Had no idea what to expect as we opted for the mystery sabers. 

When they arrived, my son had finally gotten his cast off. His Physical Therapy had said that they were thinking of getting him into sword fighting. By that point, we had already been dueling. Turns out it helped him bounce back super quickly to full recovery.

My birthday came, Happy 35. I saved some birthday money up and found a Simplified Anakin TXQSaber over from 1977SaberFeast on Aliexpress. 

I was so stoked. This was a saber that I had hoped one day that I could get. When Master Replicas were available at Best Buy in 2005, I had tried to talk my Dad into getting one. But he pointed out that it was just the hilt and couldn't actually use it. That was a pretty valid point. So all these years later, it was nice to finally get it. I opted for the RGB cause I'm terrified I'll break a neopixel so easily. 

The day came for its delivery, I was like a kid on Christmas Day. I was super pumped for it. That day, it took its time arriving. But it was incredibly worth the wait. 

This saber is different than my Dark Wolf board. It features 16 fonts, 12 colors, smooth swing. The one I had ordered had originally the two button set up. The shop I had purchased from (1977SaberFeast) quickly let me know that version wasn't available anymore. To make up for it, they sent a saber plug. It is one of those little things that makes the experience even cooler. 

For those interested, here is a list of the Saber Fonts in no particular order:

- Cal Kestis

- Dark Saber

- Darth Vader

- Anakin

- Obi-Wan

- Yoda

- Leia

- Palpatine

- Dooku

- Kylo Ren

- Luke

- Ahsoka

- Ben Solo

- Starkiller

And 2 fonts that can't recall at the moment. 

For comparison, my Dark Wolf saber has only 12 fonts. There was a bit of overlap, but that was not a hindrance at all. The thing that I was super surprised by was the fact that it also features 3 music tracks that can be played. It was really cool to hear Duel of the Fates, the Star Wars theme, and the Imperial March playing in the background during some duels. The speaker on the saber is also incredibly well designed. One small drawback is that the charging port is in the bottom of soundboard - so it requires you to unscrew the bottom half to access it. Small little nitpick. 

Now to talk about the colors that can be used. While the Dark Wolf has the infinite changing feature, the 12 colors used for this saber are solid. The way that the light from the hilt emits into the blade is nice. It is pretty vivid. If I had to compare it to the Dark Wolf, I'd give the TXQSaber the point. It just seems like its brighter and more vibrant.

Here are some examples of the various colors available:

Now for those of you wondering about how the blade, I can say that this is very well made. It's the standard polycarbonate blade. The length of it is about 36 inches. It's held up so far to a lot of heavy dueling between my son and I. The more that we use them, the more I grow to love this hobby in general. But after about 8-10 duels so far, it's faired extremely well. For some of the blades, there's like a filament inside of it to help the light illuminate it. But these ones I've noticed have a plastic tube inside it that helps distribute the light throughout the blade. 

As I mentioned before, I can't say how the Neopixel blades fair. All of the blades that I've gotten so far have been for RGB sabers. The reason being that they are extremely durable for dueling. I have heard some say that neopixel blades are cooler for displays and medium dueling. Maybe some day but the way that my son and I have been dueling, it's far from the medium dueling. It's kinda the go big or go home attitude about it. But the best thing of these duels is that they are definitely moments that my son will always remember. 

If you have a chance of being able to pick up a lightsaber, I would absolutely highly recommend it. There is no cooler feeling than holding the saber in your hand with it ignited. It just brings back that feeling you had when you first experienced Star Wars. Now some may say that this hilt isn't exactly Anakin's and that is true. This was what they called the Simplified Anakin saber. For the most part, it is a solid take on it. It isn't a straight up replica. And that is perfectly fine because it feels like a mashup of the Skywalker saber overall. It contains elements from Anakin's and Luke's. 

This was a saber that I will never regret buying. It's from a different brand than what I had previously been used to. But that's the beauty of this hobby, it allows you to branch out and try different ones. I should also say that this isn't like a standard LGT/VHC saber where the parts can be swapped out. If you wish, you could add maybe a piece of leather around part of it if you wish for a Reforged Skywalker saber feel to it. It's a beautiful product that is well made. It blew away every expectation that I had. And it has held up extremely well to all of the tests that it's been put through. And yes that includes spinning it like Anakin did in Revenge of the Sith. That is one of the coolest things that I have been able to pull off during a duel. 

If you are looking for a solid entry into Lightsabers and want something replica inspired, this is without a doubt a good choice. If you want a proper replica, well this may not be your cup of tea. And if you are looking for a lot of customization, well this isn't it either unfortunately. 

HILT Score: 4.5 out of 5

SOUND Score: 4.5 out of 5

COLOR Score: 5 out of 5 (It's not Infinite Changing, but it doesn't need to be.)

DUELING Score: 5 out of 5

Overall Score: 4.75 out of 5. (Highly Recommend.)

If you wish to find it, check it out here on 1977SaberFeast's Aliexpress.

You can find BlazinBlue's Review on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

You're A Mean One: The Mean One (2022)

    

    Hello everyone, I hope everyone has been having a wonderful holiday season so far. It always manages to boggle my brain that it's this part of the year that seems to go so quick. I guess it's cause everyone's in a super go-go state of mind cause of the holidays. It just seems like yesterday that it was the beginning of 2022. But here we are in the throes of Christmas. Usually, I'm in the festive mood. But it seems like as each year goes by, Christmas always manages to get jump started earlier and earlier. I mean this year, we literally had Halloween, Thanskgiving, and Christmas decorations out at the same time. Absolutely boggling. 

    Don't get me wrong that may seem like I'm a bit of a Gri...Scrooge. I'm not. I enjoy the holidays and the time get to spend with family. One of the things that always never fails is that it gives us reason to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and The Grinch for the umpteenth time. For the horror side of things, you could probably count Christmas Vacation in the category alongside Krampus. It seems like there's always a new Christmas movie to watch. 

    The Grinch is one that I enjoy watching it. I always remembered watching the cartoon classic for so many years before that came out. So when my Grandma was like 'It's time for us to go as a family to the movies.'. I was a bit hesitant. I couldn't for the life of me imagine how they'd adapt things to live action. But they managed to do a decent job. Jim Carrey stole the show, of course. But over the years, it started to lose its shine to me a little bit. 

    Earlier this year, we had begun hearing word of films being made that take a different spin to our childhood IPs. One of the most well known ones was Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey being announced. Immediately, I was very intrigued. I was ready to see the approach they were going to take to the material. These adaptations are a bit small scale, but that's okay. As we've seen so far in this genre, it's not the size of the budget that counts. It all comes down to execution. Terrifier 2 is a superb example of this. 

    Another horror spin on a childhood story was a different look at the Gri....well, let's call him The Mean One. It was announced back in October of this year with some helping release it. At the time when that happened, I imagined it was going to be a small scale release and it'd be dropped onto YouTube. I mean this is an unofficial take on a Dr. Seuss classic after all. 

    But no, it was decided to go big or go home. It was released into theaters this past Friday. Some may have had the chance to see it and some may hold off to see reviews. I had the pleasure of checking it out and have been holding off on things. I wanted to give people the chance that were interested to give it a check before we could sit down and talk about it. 

    If you haven't seen it yet and are interested, I'd definitely say go check it out if you can. It's an interesting experiment. That's honestly one of the biggest things about these horror adaptations I can applaud. Take a story and spin it. 

    For those that don't know, here's the lowdown of The Mean One: 

In the sleepy mountain town of Newville, Cindy witnesses the murder of her parents by a blood-thirsty green figure in a red Santa suit. Twenty years later, the Christmas-hating monster begins to terrorize the town once more. Cindy finds new purpose in stopping the creature and saving the holiday.    

    I have seen others in our community talk about this film. I haven't checked out those reviews as I didn't want it to influence my outlook on things. This past week, it was a bit of a rough one. My partner came down with the Flu. So, we took the time to sit down and throw this on. They love the Jim Carrey Grinch. After they saw the trailer, they were incredibly interested in checking this out. 

    The Mean One is definitely something that I'll be returning to for the Christmas season. The approach to the film is a bit small. I honestly didn't mind that. It honestly felt like those old Sci-Fi original films back when they were good. Once Sci-Fi became SYFY, they started to lose themselves a little. We have seen some that have been a bit of a return to form, Slumber Party Massacre '21 and Banana Splits looking at you. So to find that unique sense return, it made me smile. 

    The Mean One isn't going to be a film for everybody. That is incredibly clear. If you are someone going in and have high expectations, you'll be disappointed. If you go in with an open mind, you have a chance you'll like it. If you enjoyed the old Sci-FI channel movies, you may like it. That's the thing about films these days is that each person can have a different experience than another. 

    Okay with that now out of the way, I really dug The Mean One. All of the little easter eggs in the film were fun. I mean there were a few different ones that alluded to a Seuss-verse going on. That was really cool. There's a character that is called Doctor Zeus. Really on the nose, but the character is super cool. The narration is something that I wasn't sure I was going to dig at first. But over the course of the film with its small uses, the performance is fantastic. It is a wonderful Anthony Hopkins-like. It definitely establishes that there is a love for the source material as well as for The Grinch. 

    David Howard Thornton is in this movie. That was something that I knew going in. I was really interested to see what could be done with him. I wasn't sure exactly how they were going to approach The Grinch. But the way that the film handles it, I definitely dug it. He's a bit more quiet than many would like. I'm sure that there will be some that won't like it for that. But this is a bit more of a naturalistic approach to The Grinch. So, he's not talk talk talking his way through things. He's quieter. And honestly, that's a bit more unnerving for me. But one of the coolest thing is seeing how the film incorporates the Carrey-isms into things. 

    The rest of the cast delivers some good performances. Are these award winning performances? No. Do I feel like we've been spoiled in Horror this year with amazing performances? Yes. Again, these felt home in a SCI-FI Channel Original approach. But again, everyone gives it their all. 

    Going by the trailer, it felt like this was a more slasher take on the material. That is true. One of the highlights for me was a bar scene. If you've seen the film, you know what I'm talking about. As that sequence was going on, my brain couldn't help but insert Jim Carrey singing Mr. Grinch. It just put such a smile on my face. For the most part, I'd say that this could be a bit of a thriller than flat out horror slasher. The one thing with this that took me out of it was the gore. Would I have loved lots of blood flying? With this material, I don't know if we needed all out gore. But what we get in the film is a bit of CG-blood. Lots and lots of CG-blood. It hit a point where it felt extremely over the top. 

    My partner really liked the humor throughout. The changes that were made to adapt the story also made them laugh. And the lighting changes that occurred from the dark blues to more warm colors were well done. However, they thought that there was more that could have been done. And I'd definitely agree as there were a plot hole here and there. 

    Overall, I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to. It had some aspects where there is a love for the material. It's extremely clear. Would it be interesting to see more of this world that's set up in the film? Yeah. Will that happen? Honestly, I don't think so. The Mean One is a bit fun. It does have some pacing issues. There were some moments that felt like things could have been tightened up a little more. But overall, I'd be more than happy to return to this for another visit. 

Rating: 3 out of 5. 

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