Monthly Archives: December 2018

TV Review – Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale

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TL;DR – It emphasises the ‘things that go bump in the night’ theme of the show, but also some of its get out of jail free cards, for a mixed result.

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale. Image Credit: Netflix

A Christmas special is a time honoured tradition of many shows, indeed when I was growing up we would always get this great Christmas in July moment because TV took about 6 months to get down under back then. With that in mind, and with the more schlocky nature of the TV show so far, it felt like this would be the perfect fit for Sabrina. With a Christmas but not themed show. But while it hits all those notes, I was left feeling all a bit meh at the end of the day.

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TV Review – Tidelands: Home

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TL;DR – This opener immediately drags you into a world of multiple factions that are all untrustworthy and makes you wonder who will you back?

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Tidelands. Image Credit: Netflix

Netflix is this big global juggernaut, which is currently dominating the media landscape. Now while that’s fine because we are getting such amazing shoes like Stranger Things (see review) and Lost in Space (see review) however, they have not really engaged with local content as much as they should. Well, today we see the first steps in changing that with Tidelands,Netflix’s first show produced for them out of Australia. So without a doubt, there is a certain amount of novelty seeing my hometown up there on the big screen, and you can’t help but be sucked in. However, beyond the novelty is a story that had me immediately hooked and wanting to see more.

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Movie Review – Ralph Breaks the Internet (Wreck-It Ralph 2)

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TL;DR – A solid family film,with some great moments, but I am not sure it will have the same impact as the first film.     

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene

Ralph Breaks the Internet. Image Credit: Disney.

Review –

Creating films about the internet is something we are seeing more of as filmmakers try to incorporate this major part of our lives into the cinematic landscape. However, because the Internet is something that is both instantly familiar but also completely abstract, it actually is a difficult task to pull off as long as you don’t mind adding a crane shot into a cable. In the last year or so we have had the bad with The Emoji Film, and the amazing with Searching (see review), and today we have another entry into the genre with Ralph Breaks the Internet, which while not amazing, is still a fun ride.  

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Video Game Review – Ark: Survival Evolved

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TL;DR– Bringing the survival gameplay into a world of dinosaurs is a fantastic idea, but for me,the balance is not quite there.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Ark: Survival Evolved

Review –

If you have read my reviews in the past, you would know that one of the easiest sells for me is to add dinosaurs to something. Movies, TV, Books, you name it and if it has dino’s in it I am there for it. However, when it comes to video games with dinosaurs I am much more hesitant after getting burnt in the past with games like The Stomping Land,and more generally in this genre with Day-Z.So when Ark first came out I was not prepared to invest in another Early-Access survival game, but now it has been out in full release for a year I thought it would be a good time to take the dive into the world of Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, lots of Dodos,and oh the mechanic that lets you know when you pooped.

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Canada First Look and Analysis – Civilization VI: Gathering Storm

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Wilfrid Laurier leads Canada in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm
Wilfrid Laurier leads Canada in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. Image Credit: Firaxis

Canada Bonuses 

Civilization Leader: Wilfrid Laurier
Civilization Agenda: 
Civilization Capital: Ottawa
Civilization Bonus: Four Faces of Peace – Cannot declare Surprise Wars or be the Target of one, + extra Diplomatic Favour for completing Emergencies (bonus extra based on Tourism)   
Leader Bonus: The Last Best West – Can build Farms on Tundra, and then latter Tundra Hills, Cost of purchasing Tundra & Snow tiles is reduced, Double extraction of Strategic Resources on Snow & Tundra tiles
Unique Unit: Mountie – Light Calvary Unit , Can Create a National Park, Get Combat Bonus being near National Parks 
Unique Tile Improvement: Icy Hockey Ring – Only can be built on Tundra & Snow, Only one per City, + Appeal & Amenities, + Culture based on adjacent Snow & Tundra tiles (bonus if next to a Stadium), +Tourism, Production & Food from Tech Tree
Mountain Ranges:Mackenzie Mountains,

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Doctor Who: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

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TL;DR – While we get more of those character moments that have been the highlights of the season so far, it just does not quite come together in the end.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Doctor Who: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos. Image Credit: BBC

As we reach the end of the 11th season of the new Doctor Who we have had the highs of Rosa (see review) and Demons of the Punjab (see review) but also the feeling that at times the show just was not quite coming together. It is with this duality that we hit the end of the shorter season than normal and you have to wonder will they stick the landing, and I’m not sure that they did. 

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Movie Review – Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

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TL;DR – While at times this film has moments of technical brilliance, huge issues with tone, and a story we already know to death means that the film ends up being just dull.     

Score – 2 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. image Credit: Netflix

Review –

There are warning signs in the industry that happens sometimes that lets you know a studio is not really confident with what they are about to release. This could be not screening it for critiques,or putting an embargo on reviews before release, or in this day and age it is a film suddenly disappearing from the cinema schedule and being sold off to Netflix. Now, this is not always a case of it being a bad film, just a case of the distributors not knowing what they have, see this year’s Annihilation(see review). However,today we look at a film that probably falls squarely into this category.

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Movie Review – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

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TL;DR – A masterpiece in animation, in incorporating comics into film,and exploring all the emotions, a must watch.      

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene and the credits are a technicolour dream coat

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Image Credit: Sony/Marvel

Review –


When I first heard that they were going to do a new Spider-Man animated film outside of the MCU I honestly didn’t have a lot of hope. It felt like a plan of a company that is trying to scramble while not doing anything new with a property that had stagnated for years. Then they announced that the story was from Phil Lord, and that piqued my interest, and then that first trailer dropped and I knew instantly that I was going to have to eat my words. Now that I have seen the movie proper I can honestly say that this is not only one of the best films of the year, but it might be the best superhero film I have seen in a while. This has been a bumper year for Spider-Man with Infinity War, the Spider-Man video game from Insomniac Games, but Into the Spider-Verse is the crown achievement and I have never been so glad to be wrong.

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TV Review – The Good Place: Janet(s)

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TL;DR – The entire universe is against them, but it is here where the show finds its core drive and so many Janets

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Janet(s). Image Credit: NBC

Review –

So far this season, The Good Place has been a bit hit and miss, with a lot of episodes that make you wonder where are they going with this? Add to this, the show started splitting up the group which didn’t fit the tone of the show. The good thing is that even though some episodes were not working, because the show itself is so good it meant that even when an episode didn’t work, it was at least still compelling. Well this week, not only do we come back to form, we get one of the show’s most fascinating episodes to date.

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Movie Review – Mortal Engines

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TL;DR – This is a visually impressive film, full of moments that make you go wow, but you can see that they have been held back by fitting the whole first book into the one  film   

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Mortal Engines. Image Credit: Universal

Review –

The Mortal Engines series is one of those books that I have always been meaning to read but just have never gotten around to it. The idea where cities have become mobile and drive around hunting for prey is one of those conceptional ideas that is just genius, and I have a lot of friends that are super excited to see this world brought to life on the big screen. Add to this the fact that you have the minds behind The Lord of the Rings working to bring this to life and I have to say it definitely piqued my interest. Now that I have seen it, I can say I mostly enjoyed it, even if not everything worked.

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