Creative TV Shows

Shows about creating stuff that is!

Lego Masters Australia (Season 5): Grandmasters

I've posted about Lego Masters Australia before, and for season 5 they've invited teams of past winners and finalists which makes for some even more fantastic displays and even more difficult challenges. It is just that good that it earned another blog post from me, and if you are only planning on watching one season of this show - this is it. You can start out this season here. Note: I know there are other Lego Master shows out there but I've only watched the Australian version so I can't compare them.

Making It

Creators of all types are invited to a large barn where they compete in challenges in making stuff, from tiny toys to big sheds. It helps that the hosts Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman are very charismatic and funny to watch too, and again its has a feel good thing going where the contestants are more excited to see what they and their peers make, often even helping each other, rather than actually aiming to win. The US version has three seasons and there's an Australian version with one season and more contestants - the trade off being the skill ranges are way more varied. Both fun things to watch. You can start watching these here.

The Joy of Painting

I can't believe I'm only getting into this old 31 season show now, where painter Bob Ross teaches how to create amazing landscape paintings in thirty minutes using a wet-on-wet style. It is enthralling to watch, and is actually inspiring me to look into buying art supplies to try it out myself! If that's not a good sign, I don't know what is. You too can enjoy every single episode for free on youtube.

Steam Discovery Queue - Crusade of the Free IX

Continuing freebies from last time... the one in bold is the best of this set.

Distancing: Silly little game that teaches social distancing due to a virus, while having a main character who doesn't wear a mask and decides to attend a party. The true win condition (which doesn't exist in game) should be to stay home like a champion.

Ghost College: Chinese side scroller with decent art and terrible English translation. That would be ok if the game didn't simply involve running around in the dark looking for key items while avoiding a giant slime baby.

Just a game to test your IQ: A horror twist for an IQ test. Silly, but well rendered.

Larry the Unlucky Part 1 and Part 2: Hand drawn "stuck in a room" puzzles that have very obscure solutions. Thank goodness there's a handy "Hints" button because there's no way I can guess scissors will come out of someone's head or throwing dice at a painting will change it.

Sillyfun Valley: Point and click adventure in a cartoony world with an obvious slant towards humor. Terrible animation though.

Soul Dossier: Requires additional login but I can't tell what. Not in English.

Space Survival: Space sim with bad graphics and even worse controls. Garbage.

S.U.M. Slay Uncool Monsters: A pixel adventurer math game where you must find the two digits to correctly get the total each monster is looking for. A good math challenge as even the easy ones like x + y = 12 might have you seeking two 6s's or a 2 and a 10, but those aren't always available.

I wonder if he's related to that vampire on Sesame Street...

Treasure of Barracuda: A lego based puzzle game which I didn't get into at all. Lack of instruction only makes for frustration if you want to progress. Garbage.

Zombie Hunter: Pretty fun sniping game where you must protect civilians from zombies. Very cash shop heavy though, not just in terms of boosts and new maps either - you run out of "power" by playing and either need to rest or pay up. Bleh.

Lego Masters Australia

AKA What happens when people don't outgrow Lego...

In teams of two, contestants are tasked with meeting the challenges set before them by judge Jim Brickman and hilarious host Hamish Blake who is keenly aware that the show borrows a lot from Masterchef Australia type ideas.

They make some awesome stuff!

The best thing they copied is the mood. There's no backstabbing and very little bitching leaving the show ample time to focus on the main thing about it: the Lego!

It's amazing what these creative folk can come up with - be it works of art or almost functional scaled down structures like bridges. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm certainly hoping for a season three! :)

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Somehow, less Batman is more awesome? What!?

A major improvement from the last game, this one sees you control the entire Justice League as they do their hero thing. It also fixes the problems of having the Batman theme on loop (he's not around as much) and being able to carry only one suit at a time. In this game, if you have a suit unlocked it and its abilities are always available to you.

This does make the game slightly harder as you have more options for puzzle solving which don't always make sense: such as Batman's ice gun being able to put out fires EXCEPT these fires which look exactly the same which can only be crossed by someone holding a shield. Uh, sure.

Suicide Squad go!

The game also comes with nice extra levels (the Arrow one is great, thanks Stephen Amell!) and the side missions are more enticing to participate in. Definitely a step up from the last outing, I give it 3 shrunken cities out of 5.

Insight: Not sure where to go? Follow the trail of ghost lego!

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

Batman is more violent and destructive than ever!

Unlike the first game which just kept crashing for me, this one has the fantastic improvement of being playable, and more than that - is quite enjoyable given the low difficulty and decent story. In it you play (mostly) as the dynamic duo, puzzle solving their way through levels.

Yes, Superman is in it too...

Make no mistake, this is a puzzle solving game more than anything. Obviously this is tuned for kids though, and possibly selling many lego toys and mini figures. It's quite interesting that Batman and Robin get a number of different suits with various puzzle solving abilities, but you can only carry one at a time (which is irritating).

Also as cool as the cartoon Batman theme is, you might get sick of it as it plays almost non-stop throughout the levels. Lastly the story only gets you 20% completion of the game, with the remainder being the exploration of Lego Gotham if you so choose, but there's no real motivation to do so.

This results in an OK game, but not one I would actively recommend. I give it 2 bat suits out of 5.

Insight: When in doubt, hold the button down.

LEGO Lord of the Rings

Where one CAN simply walk into Mordor.

Following the events of the movie trilogy, this LEGO retelling is much more humorous despite using the same voiced lines. How much more humorous? Well, Strider managing to lock the Nazgul in the toilet in the Bree Tavern is a good example.

Who do you get to play during this? Well, everyone. In story mode you can switch between active party members at will, and will need to as different people have different skills. Sam can make plants grow, Gimli can smash rocks, Legolas can jump higher etc. It's also not too challenging, though some bugs towards the end might require a few mission restarts.

Had to replay the Black Gate battle a few times...

Speaking of bugs, I also needed to reduce the resolution to get it to run smoothly, but YMMV. This is definitely designed for collectors though, because after finishing all the story content I only had 33% completion. The rest is found in the open world "free play" which is both massive and for me, empty. Still, this was a fun and mostly relaxed way to relive the movies so I give it 3 rings out of 5.

Today I Smiled: Historical Lego

Been awhile since I did one of these, and since this clever use of lego did leave me smiling I thought I'd share it with you all:  WWI In LEGO - The Capture of the Amiens Gun - By Brickmania :)

Not lego but equally entertaining is this commercial I stumbled on for Trulicity. I'm guessing the format is normal for US citizens but it is so hilarious for me given that the disclaimers take up more time than the rest of the ad.

Tech wise did you know about this thing called Gate Box which gives you a holographic companion at home? The invention is cool, but the users border on creepy. Anyway, I'm going to finish off with a music link as per usual - this time the legendary Sir Tom Jones being coaxed by fellow Voice judges and the audience to give an impromptu performance. Despite his age, his voice is still fantastic!

Hope you enjoyed at least some of those! ^_^

The LEGO Batman Movie

You mean nothing to him. No one does.

Batman as an action comedy in the LEGO universe sounds like a bit of a stretch so I was pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out to be, especially as this movie has a bunch of other pop culture references yet acknowledges all the other Batman films. The first 15 minutes are especially enthralling and the CGI is amazing all throughout.

He's happiest when he is fighting.

The plot deals with Batman's fears, his attitude to everyone around him, and that no one - not even the Batman - can be alone on an island (despite his best efforts to do so). The play on the love hate story with the Joker is particularly funny and well done. Of course, being a LEGO movie there are a few bits where "Master building" comes into play which was slightly out of whack for me since most of the movie I forgot that they are actually in the LEGO universe.

I really liked this and it is one I'd want to see again! It is definitely better than some of the other Batman films out there. I give this four 110% expendable sidekicks out of five.

The Lego Movie

If you are a lego fan, then everything is awesome! :D

This movie follows how one ordinary lego man becomes "the chosen one", finds love, friends, and learns more about himself and his universe. It's actually almost the same plot as any "chosen one" story but told a hyperactive, non-sensical and funny environment that is Lego, and there are some really impressive CG scenes in there. Especially animated lego water. Awesome.

The film serves as an amazing ad for Lego products too, as it showcases a lot of their range which has grown exponentially since I last played with it, that's for sure. I also quite like that they put the part numbers up on screen as well and the Act III reveal was one I really liked too.

Lego Batman is also awesome!

The problem with the movie is in it's very nature and it crosses into the too nonsensical for a non-lego person. Two of the six audience members when we watched this fell asleep. One claimed it was perhaps the worst movie she has ever seen.

To be fair she hasn't seen Halle Berry's Catwoman, Pineapple Express, or Steven Seagal's Attack Force, but still, that's a pretty strong statement to put out there and one I do take into consideration when scoring it two and a half building blocks out of five.

Personally I thought it was pretty cool, but if a movie puts audience members to sleep so early in the piece then there's definitely something wrong with it. Would I want to watch it again? Oddly - no.