Monthly Archives: July 2024

Chained Together – Video Game Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A game that is as frustrating as it is fun. Just be sure it doesn’t end a relationship in the process.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for this game.

Skull of hell and a bone bridge.

Chained Together Review –

Today, we are looking at a bit of an odd game in that it is very purposely designed to cause grief. It’s like an old arcade game trying to take all your quarters, but instead of money, it is streamers yelling on Twitch. It should not have worked, but I was captured for the entire time.

So, to set the scene, Chained Together is the next in a long line of rage games that stretch back to Only Up! and Getting Over It! These use finicky controls and an odd visual environment to cause grief when you miss a jump and lose all the progress you have made. One step forward, and then a crushing fall back to Earth. The main difference this time around is that you are not climbing alone because you are chained together [said the name of the game]. Which can be a bonus or a great burden. You need to climb up all the puzzles and traps and escape hell, lest you fall back to the suffering below.

Continue reading →

Twisters – Movie Review

Posted on by
3

TL;DR – It has a lot of charm and action as long as you don’t dwell on the science for a moment.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

A tornado bares down on a truck.

Twisters Review –

Well, today, we look at a bit of an odd duck in that this could almost be classed as a straight-up legacy sequel to the seminal 1996 film Twister. However, bar one significant reference right at the start, you would be remiss to see any connection between the two films beyond vibes, narrative structure, and a deep love for tornadoes. But that love is still there, as well as a metric spoonful of unreserved swagger.

So, to set the scene, Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is a whiz at tornadoes. She just has a feel for them and how they form. But growing up in Oklahoma, which is smack dab in the middle of tornado alley, Kate also knows the destruction that they can cause. To combat that, she and her team, including Javi (Anthony Ramos), Addy (Kiernan Shipka), Jeb (Daryl McCormack), and Praveen (Nik Dodani), have put together a plan to use reagents to suck the moisture out of a tornado. They planned to test it on a small EF1 tornado, but something went wrong, and the target intensified to EF5, and you can’t run from that. Five years later, Javi catches up with Kate, who works in New York. He needs her skill to help map a tornado using newly developed military technology. She is hesitant but agrees to come back for one week only. It is a week that just so happens to have some of the worst storms in living history, and where she comes face-to-face with the rascally Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), professional tornado chaser.      

Continue reading →

Kill – Movie Review

Posted on by
5

TL;DR – A bloody rampage of action that perfectly uses the medium of a train to tell its story of revenge.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Amrit, bloodied on the floor surrounded by bandits.

Kill Review –

There are times when you want to sit down and watch a bloody action romp on screen. Fists throwing, legs kicking, knives slashing, and all that jazz. But what if you could get that and get something a little new that you have never seen before? Well, that is what we are getting today with one of the bloodiest action romps I have seen in an age.

So, to set the scene, Amrit (Lakshya) and Viresh (Abhishek Chauhan) are captains and commandos in the Indian Army. When they return from the field, they find out that Amrit’s love Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) has been betrothed to another. Amrit and Viresh try to rescue her from the engagement party, but there are too many families with assorted weapons. However, the next day, Tulika, her sister Aahna (Adrija Sinha), her father Baldev Singh Thakur (Harsh Chhaya), and the rest of her family are taking an overnight train back to Delhi. So, Amrit and Viresh tag along, hoping for a better chance there. The only problem is that Fani (Raghav Juyal) and his extended family are also on the train, and they are about to rob it.    

Continue reading →

Arena Wars – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – This is an ambitious film, and while I don’t think it ever reached that ambition, it was fascinating to watch.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a scene throughout the credits.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

The Big F##king City

Arena Wars Review –

Today, we are looking at a difficult film to review because you get pulled in two different directions. On the one hand, as a critic, I need to review what is on the screen, but as a human being, you can also see the potential that could have been.

So, to set the film, it is 2045, and in The Big F##king City, there is only one way that convicted felons can get out: by appearing on Arena Wars, a TV show that everyone watches, well everyone used to watch. The convicts have to fight through seven different rooms with seven violent killers in them to be able to go free. The brand is on life support, and they need to win back the audience that is becoming bored of death. In the Rodimus Federal Prison in the Washington DC City State, Luke Bender (John Wells) is sitting with a 200-year sentence, covering for their superiors who stuffed up. But they need a hero for the arena, and Luke is in the wrong place at the wrong time.     

Continue reading →

Breakwater – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – There are a lot of elements here that work; the cast is fantastic, and the setting lands. It is just the narrative glue that is meant to hold all that together starts peeling off far too early in the film.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

A boat slinks through the sound.

Breakwater Review –

Today, we are looking at a film with two halves, a strong cast and setting, but then a narrative that misses the mark. Quite often, you will hear people say that a film really needs only one of the two. Well, today, we will see that feeling put to the test, and I am not sure it will hold up.  

So, to set the scene, it is Dovey’s (Darren Mann) last day at the St. Brides Correctional Facility and his mentor Ray Childress (Dermot Mulroney) gives him a mission. A storm washed an old ship mast up on the beach, and in the photo, Ray spotted his estranged daughter. As Dovey tries to reacclimatise to the world outside, he is haunted by what he had to do to survive. But Ray can’t wait for the year of parole to be up, so Dovey has to choose: not keep a promise or potentially go back to jail because he broke his parole conditions.

Continue reading →

Halo: Reach (2010) – Exploring the Past

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – It might be the first Halo game to connect with me on a narrative level, as well as the general gameplay.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Game Pass service that accessed this game.

The Destruction of New Alexandria.

Back late last year the Halo TV series hit its stride for a moment during the conflagration on the Planet Reach. Alas, the strength in the show was fleeting, but it had me wondering if that strength was based on anything. It was here that my friends introduced me to Halo: Reach, and ever since then, I have had a plan to check it out. Well, I was able to jump in with some friends, and it is time to see just how well a game from 14 years ago resonates with me today.  

So, to set the scene, there has been a long war brewing between the Human forces of the UNSC and the growing alien Covenant threat. There had been numerous skirmishes, and all of humanity was working on a way to combat the Covenant’s technological edge because, sooner or later, they were going to find something meaningful. Well, when the Visegrád Relay Communications Outpost loses transmission, Colonel Urban Holland (Pat Duke) sends in Noble Team led by Carter-A259 (Freddy Bosche) to investigate. Noble Six (Amanda Philipson/ Philip Anthony-Rodriguez) discovered that it is not just a communication fault; the Covenant discovered Reach, which means an invasion is imminent. If Reach is about to fall, then they need to get to Sword Base because there could be one thing that saves humanity.    

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Prodigy – Into the Breach, Part I & Part 2 – TV Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – This was a joyful jump back into this world that you can clearly see was made with love.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Prodigy Review –

Well, the first season of Star Trek: Prodigy was a bit of an odd duck. It was first meant to be on Nickelodeon, then Paramount+, then even then we couldn’t get it out here, then dropped weirdly, and then it was cancelled on Paramount+ and removed from the service, which was a stupid choice, only to CBS to shop it around and get it picked up by Netflix. While it has been a wild ride to get to that point, I am glad we had it because it means we can look at the first two episodes of the second season today.    

So, to set the scene, after the end of last season, Dal (Brett Gray), Jankom (Jason Mantzoukas), Zero (Angus Imrie), Rok-Tanh (Rylee Alazraqui), and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) have landed on Earth and have been taking classes to prepare them for the entrance exam to Starfleet Academy. They are not technically cadets yet, but they could be. But when Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) has a mission for them, they jump to join, especially when they see the new USS Voyager-A. Meanwhile, Gwyn (Ella Purnell) is taking the long trip back to her homeworld on a mission to stop the coming civil war from ever happening. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

Continue reading →

Shōgun: Season 1 – TV Review

Posted on by
7

TL;DR – This is a polarising show in that it will either suck you into its world or create barriers that make it hard to be connected. I was the first, but I could understand why you could be the latter.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Samurai salute.

Shōgun Review –

When you hear that an American studio is going to take on a Japanese story, that raises some alarm bells, but then it is a story about Japan written by an Australian in the 1970s. Well, you take a moment to have a grave concern. However, the more I heard about the series and the role of Japanese creatives like lead Hiroyuki Sanada, the more I had to check out, and I am glad that I did.  

So, to set the scene, it is the year 1600, and only Portugal has been able to make inroads into the closed society of Japan. But there is a change in the air, with the reigning Taikō dying and not clear succession. This is an opportunity for both those within and those without to change up the status quo. But in all times of change comes chances for great riches and terrible defeats. One such entrant into this Dutch merchant led by Englishman navigator John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), whose convoy was hit with storms, starvation, dehydration, and despair when it crashed into the Japanese coastline, with only one ship of five remaining. But Blackthorne arrived in the Japans at an exciting time. For there is a power vacuum, and many people are trying to fill it, one of which is Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), the local bushō and lord over Kantō. Blackthorne cannot speak a word of Japanese, but he is fluent in Portuguese. This is good because Lord Toranaga has a Portuguese speaker in his entourage, Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai). The bad news is that the Portuguese are Blackthorne’s enemies. In religion, in regional competition, and can control if Blackthorne lives or dies. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.        

Continue reading →

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F – Movie Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – This is a film that entirely knows what it wants to be and completely nails that delivery. How much you will like that will depend on how you gel with the premise.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Detroit Jacket.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Review –

Well, here is a blast of the past, and even in our reboot-obsessed culture, this feels like a deep cut. Well, that is, until you hear the music, and then you 100% understand why. However, it had been 30 years since the last entry, and that is a lot of ground to make up for. There is only so much that synth can do, but let us see if there is a story that can work, given the shifts in the police force since the last outing.

So, to set the scene, Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is still a cop who is completely fine with causing mass destruction to capture his crooks in Detroit. However, times have changed; a snowplough is indiscriminate in its chaos, and this is the last time Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser) can cover for him. But when an old friend (Judge Reinhold) lets him know that his estranged daughter Jane’s (Taylour Paige) life has been threatened in Beverly Hills. Axel takes the first flight back to his old stomping grounds, and they discover that they might be more alike than they want. They both know Detective Sam Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), but Billy is missing, and it might be time to cause some mayhem in Beverly Hills.      

Continue reading →

A Quiet Place: Day One – Movie Review

Posted on by
9

TL;DR – A gripping work that holds onto you from those first minutes and never lets up as the world collapses around it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this movie.

The Aliens arrive in the sky.

A Quiet Place: Day One Review –

It is time to step back into this universe that oscillates between complete quiet and a riot of explosions. I fundamentally enjoyed both A Quiet Place and its follow-up, A Quiet Place Part II. However, both of those films looked at how this apocalypse would affect a small town. It is now time to take this roadshow to a large city, which is, in fact, one of the largest cities in the world, and see just what would happen.

Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) lives in a hospice counting down her days on earth through the prism of forced poetry when one of the nurses, Reuben (Alex Wolff), convinces her and her support cat Frodo (Schnitzel & Nico) to come into New York City to see a play. While there, the puppet show had to be finished early because something was going down in New York, and the Hospice wanted them all home, which was when the first explosion hit.

Continue reading →