Loot Crate's Heroes Part Deux

This month Loot Crate revisited its Heroes theme, which has probably been my favorite crate thus far. Heroes 2 was DC comics heavy with a Batman figure and a Wonderwoman poster. It also featured a great exclusive hardcover edition of Regrettable Superheroes. To me, this box was a mixed bag. I loved some of the pieces and was totally ambivalent toward others. The big item this month was an adorable classic Batman statue from Quantum Mechanix. 

The speech bubble on the base has a tiny dry-erase board so you can write your own sound effects. The book Regrettable Superheroes is a compendium of the worst heroes ever to make it to print. A lot of them are ridiculous, some are gross, or stupid, and most of them are just super lame. I had a lot of fun with it and I definitely lol'd over a few of the particularly bad ones.

One of my favorite pieces though was the awesome Wonder Woman pin-up poster. I'm not a big fan of DC heroes in general but I've got a soft spot for Wonder Women and the vintage, Rosie the Riveter feel makes it that much better. This poster will definitely end up on my wall. Two symbols of female empowerment? Yes please.

On the fail side, there was a Batarang multi-tool (read bottle opener), Legend of Zelda sweatband and Spock hand car air freshener. After over a year of crates I have three air fresheners and three sweatbands. I'm kind of an indoor kid, I really don't have call for sweatbands, and Guy Fieri is not one of my style icons. Know what I'm saying?

Overall, I'm going to say a solid B on this crate. The small things felt a bit like filler, but the big things were a big hit. Another note, Loot Crate has now started to offer the "Level Up" service. There are different ways in which you can level up your basic crate be adding a premium item like an accessory (scarf, bracelet, etc), pairs of socks or a wearable (shirt).
For more information visit Loot Crate here

Avengers: Age of Ultron or How AI is a Really Bad Idea and Will Probably Kill Us All *Spoilers*

So I finally got a chance to see Avengers: Age of Ultron today and I really enjoyed it. This is the second marvel film I've seen where I didn't have a concrete set of expectations as to what I was going to see. The first being Guardians of the Galaxy, where I had never read any of the comics, wasn't familiar with the characters and was really just expecting to have a good time. Age of Ultron is similar in that I hadn't had a chance to catch up on the Ultron arc so I just had the basis of the rest of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This film is darker than the other MCU films but still retains the Joss Whedon trademark one-liners that had the audience laughing out loud. There's a lot going on with film. It does a lot of heavy lifting tying the previous installments to the upcoming films and the Infinity Gauntlet and Civil War storylines, introducing new characters Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Vision, and  still managing to be entertaining. The fight scenes are meticulously crafted and had the audience in my showing gasping aloud. Overall fan service abounds. Heavy spoilers from here on, so be warned.

Okay, now the elephant in the room. I don't really have a problem with the representation of Natasha in this film. I will give you that the romance sub-plot between her and Bruce was unnecessary. We already know that she has above-average skills of persuasion, and if there was an Avenger who could calm the Hulk it would probably be Nat anyway. That said, I don't think it detracted from her character in any way. I feel like her conversation with Bruce about her forced sterilization is more a moment in which they both mourn the loss of the ability to choose the path of their own lives than it is her admission of feeling like less of a woman because she is unable to have children. The whole section of the film at the farm is about each team member dealing with the nightmares the Scarlet Witch gave them and the full weight of what it means to be an Avenger. Each of them mourns the loss of normalcy and a sense of control, and I think Natasha's struggle isn't so different.

This movie also cements the wedge between Tony and Cap that preps for the Civil War arc. Steve is out of his element throughout the movie continuing where we left him after Winter Soldier. He continually struggles to adapt who is he as a hero and as a man to the realities of today's world and the enemies it faces. Steve is the past and Tony is the future, but Steve is learning quickly while Tony becomes increasingly paranoid. Tony Stark seems to long have been the fan favorite in these movies but his creation of Ultron makes him more a villain than he's been since the beginning of Iron Man. Ultron is a great villain and a great foil for both Tony and Vision. Spader was brilliantly cast in the part and is as menacing as he is snarky. He embodies a lot of modern fears about technology and anxieties about artificial intelligence. I love that he takes one brief look at the internet and decides that mankind has to go. Ultron's mining of Vibranium to make the giant floating island seems a little silly but I'm assuming that the Vibranium and the weird weapons dealer guy (played by a non-CG'd Andy Serkis) will feature more heavily in the upcoming Black Panther film. Like I said, there's a lot going on.

I liked the new additions to the MCU cast. In early stills Quicksilver came off super cheesy, but in the finished product he is likable and remarkably powerful. I feel like he was gone too soon. I can't wait to see where Scarlet Witch goes from here. She comes into her own late in the movie and as a new team comes together, she looks to be the most powerful apart from Vision. Oh man, Vision. So cool. Paul Bettany looks amazing as the synthetic human AI and has some of the best lines in the movie. I'm so excited to see what happens to him in upcoming installments although I can't help but wonder how the Infinity Stone makes its way out of his forehead into the Infinity Gauntlet. Overall, the new Avengers team assembling at the end of the movie looks promising as hell. The Iron Patriot, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Captain America and Black Widow. It's a big step forward in terms of representation both of women and people of color in the MCU.

Overall, Avengers: Age of Ultron is a great movie. It's entertaining, well-written and well paced. Is it perfect? No. But it lives up to the first film and creates a valuable bridge between the last phase of films and the next.

LootCrate takes a look back

This month's LootCrate theme was rewind. It was jam packed with all the nostalgic things nerds of a certain age loved back in the day in all their pixelated, low-res glory. I am a sucker for all things retro myself and this month didn't disappoint. I really like that the crate themes have broadened a little bit and gotten away from being quite so gaming heavy. I also appreciated that more of the items in this month's crate were really usable. 

This month included an exclusive tee featuring Voltron. The blue-on-black is subtle and has kind of a Tron-esque vibe that I love. I'm definitely going to be getting some serious mileage out of this one.

I really like that there are more usable items in this month's box. The 8-bit sunglasses probably won't replace my daily wearers, but they'll be fun for specific outfits and they're UVA rated so they're not just for costume. Probably my favorite item this month though is the Space Invaders tie from Black Tie Geek. I'm already working to put together a work outfit to feature it but it would also make a great headband for those who are not so necktie-inclined. The comic notebook is a small blank book pre-divided into panels for at-home comic artists. It even includes a small stencil for all the thought bubbles and sound effects.

Next up is this little guy, a 10-doh! figure by Squid Kids Ink. Its a little anthropomorphized NES cartridge. He's even got his own little zapper. Each one of these little guys features a parody of a classic Nintendo title. 

Last, but certainly not least this month's comic was Marvel Star Wars #1. This is Marvel's first Star Wars comic since 1987 and it was a great opening effort. The story takes place after the events of Episode IV and features Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker sabotaging an imperial weapons depot. The art is outstanding and the storyline seems promising. I will definitely be picking up the other books in this arc.

All in all, this month was probably my favorite crate so far. If you're interested in a subscription or more information on LootCrate visit them here.