The Joker Arkham Origins by Play Arts Kai

The Joker Arkham Origins Play Arts Kai Figure was released this month. Square Enix made this figure that takes inspiration from the Arkham Origins game of 2013.

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This Joker figure stands at 11 inches tall and is really well proportioned. If you have prior experience with Play Arts Kai figures, you know how well they are made. The Joker figure looks incredible in the packaging and it only gets better once removed from the package, assuming, of course, that you intend to open the figure and display it. By "display," I really mean occasionally taking humorous pictures of them like I do with my figures. If you prefer to leave the figure in the box, it comes with a flap that opens up so you are still able to display the figure.

All Play Arts figures come with a stand, though in the case of the Joker figure it is unnecessary. However, the stand does come in handy when leaving the figure out for display if you are worried about it falling over when left on it's own. I honestly didn't have any issues at all displaying the figure without the stand, and even though I didn't use it, it's a quality stand made of a clear plastic that holds the figure perfectly.  

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The figure comes with two additional hands, a head, a gun and a knife. On the Joker figure is the standard smiling Joker face and included in the package is a more stern, sinister looking face. Both look great when added to the figure. The paint job and sculpt is impeccably done on this figure, though I do have a complaint and it's incredibly minor: the smiling Joker face ha a little red paint on the jaw. Honestly, this could just be my specific figure or it could be done by design. To me, it looks a bit off, but it doesn't take anything away from the figure. The head has excellent movement as well and you can swivel from side to side and look down without any issues.

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The hands come with a set of closed fists and two different sets one which is used for carrying weapons. The weapons are easy to place in the hands and don't fall off easily, which is one of the main things that I lover about this figure. When I slide the knife into The Joker's hand, I know it is going to stay (which helps when taking hilarious pictures). With other figures, it can be a challenge to keep weapons or other additions in a figure's hands, but this is absolutely not the case with this one. The knife and the gun look great and are incredibly well made. The gun looks little large compared to the rest of the figure, though this is The Joker and he's known for being over the top.

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The hands and the head are easy to swap out. It can be kind of intimidating to remove the additional pieces for fear of breaking something, but I find that the figure is built so sturdily that it withstands swapping out of the parts easily. There are joints on the back of the coat that can be arrangeed so that the coat appears to be flapping in the wind, which I really think improves the displaying (and photo taking) possibilities.

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Overall, I think this figure is great. Especially for the price. It'll run you around $100 which is steep, but if you ccompare it to the Hot Toys line which run well over $200, it's a good buy. For fans of The Joker and Batman this figure will make an exccellent addition to your collection.

 

Posted by: Jeff @jeff201

Netflix: 90's Batman Takeover

 

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I've been a Netflix subscriber for a few years now. I didn't initially jump on the digital streaming movie/tv show bandwagon but I finally decided to join. This was back when you were still able to get both dvd rentals and streaming combined for one price. Also, at that time the service had categories to where if you paid more you could get more dvd rentals at one time. I chose the basic package which got me one dvd at a time and unlimited streaming. This was the very first monthly subscription I had ever signed up for and glad I did. The current movies listed for streaming is leaps and bounds better than they used to be. 

Speaking of better movies I've noticed the emergence of Batman movies popping up on Netflix. Not only Batman movies but the movies I grew up with. 90's Batman dominated my search with Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997) then two animated movies with Batman Beyond (1999) and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008). 

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I had also noticed at the time of this post my favorite Batman movie had been removed. Batman with Michael Keaton released in 1989. This brings me to one of Netflix' downfalls, the movies never last at least not all the good ones. I've heard Netflix is where movies go to die which isn't a bad thing. I've made sure to add Netflix to every portable device we have in our home and regularly flip on the AppleTV to tune in to a movie or show I have already added to my list.

If you're looking for a streaming service I would highly suggest checking out Netflix. For only $7.99 a month it's a cheap way to either eleviate your cable bill, catch up on recently released and older movies or just have the conveinence of VOD (video on demand).

Posted by: Joe @thee.social.nerd