Monthly Archives: November 2024

DEATH NOTE Killer Within Review: A Unique Social Deduction Game

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TL;DR – A solid social deduction game with a clear visual style that plays very well when you are with a group of friends.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I purchased this game

Kira figure from the trailer.

DEATH NOTE Killer Within Review –

When some friends suggested having a look at DEATH NOTE Killer Within, I did approach with a bit of caution. While I know of the anime series Death Note (デスノート), I am not someone who has taken a deep dive into its lore. Also, since the rise of Among Us, several other games have tried and failed at bringing that Mafia/Werewolf/Resistance social gameplay into the video game world. But a rough start aside, I think it nailed the brief.

So, to set the scene, there is a battle of wits going on between L (Kappei Yamaguchi) and Light Yagami (Mamoru Miyano), each creating a scenario where Kira survives and wreaks havoc, or who is arrested by the Investigators before they can kill everyone with their Death Note. For you see, Kira can only kill people who they know the name of, so the investigators must find the culprit whilst also making sure no one else gets their ID because if they do, it might be a chandelier to the noggin for you.        

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Rumours Review: A Surreal but Flawed Experience

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TL;DR – A film that had a premise for half an hour that is stretched out to a feature and even a cast list like this can’t fix that central issue. Surrealism for just the sake of being surreal.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The G7 leaders standing for a photo op.

Rumours Review –

Before we start, a little history about me. My professional qualifications are in International Relations and the exploration of politics on a global level. So, when I got invited to a horror/mystery/comedy/weird film set during a meeting of the G7. You can imagine I was excited because this was right up my alley. Well, that was until I actually got to watch the film.

So, to set the scene, several calamities are happening in the world, so the G7 leaders Hilda Ortmann (Cate Blanchett), the Chancellor of Germany; Edison Wolcott (Charles Dance), the President of the United States; Maxime Laplace (Roy Dupuis), the Prime Minister of Canada; Sylvain Broulez (Denis Ménochet), the President of France; Cardosa Dewindt (Nikki Amuka-Bird), the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Antonio Lamorte (Rolando Ravello), the Prime Minister of Italy & Tatsuro Iwasaki (Takehiro Hira), the Prime Minister of Japan. As the leaders walk to a private dinner to discuss the proposal from the meeting, they discover a bog body has been found on the property. But as they sit for dinner, suddenly, they can’t contact any of their staff and soon realise that they are all alone.  

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Lucky Baskha Review: Dulquer Salmaan Shines

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TL;DR – While the film could have been tightened up in the edit, some strong character development and charisma from Dulquer Salmaan helps pull you through.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

Baskhar walks out of a jewellers in triumph.

Lucky Baskha₹ Review –

Today, we are looking at a film set in Mumbai that was produced entirely in Telugu. This is a combination that I have not explored before, so it immediately piqued my interest. I have been wanting to explore more of what Indian Cinema has to offer, so studying how the different language-based productions explore other parts of the country is fascinating to me, as was the film itself. Well it was once I realised that Netflix had defaulted to the Hindi dub, and a quick fix putting back to the original Telugu.

So, to set the scene, it is the 29th of March 1992, and an alarm wakes the house. As he does most days, Baskhar Kumar (Dulquer Salmaan) starts his day off with a run along Mumbai’s coastline. There are many ways to make money in the city because Bombay is the money capital of India. He lives a mostly quiet life until one day, when he is picked up by government officers and taken to the Magadha Bank. He is alleged to have committed bank fraud, a serious offence that could bring his whole family down. But then it is time to jump back to the 11th of August 1989 to find out a humble bank clerk who is in debt to just about everyone got into this position.

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Moana 2 Review: A Visual Spectacle with Emotional Depth

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TL;DR – While the plot might be a bit convoluted in places, and the music does not hit quite as hard. When the story, emotion, and characters collide, you can’t help but feel that joy wash over you.

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.

Moana blows a shell horn.

Moana 2 Review –

This is a good day for me because I honestly believe that Moana is the best-animated film that Disney has made in their current era. I loved the world that they built, the narrative they created, and the music they crafted. Coming back into this world was always going to be a joy for me, but given how much I liked the first film, can it ever live up to what has come before?

So, to set the scene, it has been a number of years since the events of Moana, and Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) has spent that time exploring out from Motunui to find new foods, new resources, but also to reconnect with the people that Te Fiti had cut off. However, no matter how many islands she discovers, she can’t find any people. But when Heihei (Alan Tudyk) stumbles across some pottery that shows that there are people out there, Moana puts together a team of Loto (Rose Matafeo), Kele (David Fane), and Moni (Hualālai Chung) to explore. However, there may be a god out there who does not want them to succeed, hoping she will end up like her ancestor Tautai Vasa (Gerald Ramsey), the last Wayfinder who failed to find the fabled island.

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Dune Prophecy: Two Wolves – TV Review

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TL;DR – Games with games, betrayals with betrayals, prophecies with prophecies.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Spacing Guild Liner.

Dune Prophecy Review –

Now that I have watched the first two episodes of Dune Prophecy, I can see what sort of vibe they are going for. It is safe to say that this series is not going to be for everyone. Indeed, it is tonally quite different from the two Dune Films, but probably not so different from the next Dune Film, whenever it happens. However, I will say that the one person this series is for is me, and I am pleased about that fact.  

So, to set the scene, in The Hidden Hand, we see that many different factions are moving in secret to find power in this new empire. The sisters of the Bene Gesserit are at a crossroads, wondering where their future will lead. Spice mining is becoming more difficult, but that might be one of the Great Houses moving for power rather than rebellion from the local population. Also, political marriages are becoming tense when child husbands end up dead. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Citadel Honey Bunny – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the first Citadel show that I think captured what set out to do with this series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Doing a motorbike stunt.

Citadel: Honey Bunny Review –

We are now three seasons deep into this grand Citadel experiment from Amazon Prime. The first season was a complete mess, but that might have been more about behind-the-scenes issues than anything else. On the second outing, Diana jumped over to Italy and was an improvement on the formula. But today, it is India’s turn to show what they can do, and spoiler for the review: what they can do is quite a bit.   

So, to set the scene, we are in Nainital in the year 2000, and Hanimandakini “Honey” Raj (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) is dropping her daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar) off at school and building up a café. However, things take a turn when Honey notices that she is being followed in the market. She dodges her pursuer, sends a coded message of alarm to her daughter Nadia (Kashvi Majmundar), and almost gets a surprise attack, but she misses the second tail. For you see, back in 1992 in Bombay, while Bunny was trying to make it in the acting world, she met Raahi “Bunny” Gambhir (Varun Dhawan), who was on the stunt team. But when Honey struggles to get work and is in desperate need of a job, she discovers that stunts are not all that Bunny does for money. On the side, he and his group Chacko (Shivankit Parihar) and Ludo (Soham Majumdar) also engage in a little corporate espionage. We will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Silo: Order – TV Review

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TL;DR – We get to see a society on the brink of collapse, where years of lies have come home to roost

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Juliette Lives Graffiti.

Silo Review –

While the opening episode, The Engineer, was all about what happened to Juliette, I wondered if we were just going to keep following their story. However, the casting list showed me that we were still going to stay linked to the Silo from the first season in some capacity. Well, today, we see just what those links will be.

So, to set the scene, after being set up by Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins) and Robert Sims (Common), Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) was forced to go outside and ‘clean’ in the season finale. However, she does not clean and just walks away, breaking centuries of tradition. Also, Nichols was well-liked in many sectors of Silo, and people were upset and asking questions. The whole Silo is on the cusp of rebellion. Everyone just saw Juliette walk over that hill, and everyone, especially those down below, wanted to know what that meant. Is it safe? Can they all leave? What else is management lying about? Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Penguin: A Great Or Little Thing & Full Season – TV Review

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TL;DR – A phenomenal ending to one of the great surprises of 2024

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Penguin wakes to see Sofia looking down on him.

The Penguin Review –

To say that the DCU has had a bit of a bad run up until now might be putting it mildly. Indeed, even this year, they had the absolute disaster of Joker: Folie à Deux. So, I am not sure that I had much hope in a television spinoff of The Batman, which was not even in the DCU as it was made during the bifurcation period. However, I have never been gladder to be wrong. In today’s review, we will first look at the season finale and then the season as a whole.

So, to set the scene, things are coming to a head in Gotham as the war between Oswald “Oz” Cobb (Colin Farrell) and Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti) comes to an explosive climax. Now Oz has been captured by Sofia and has been brought to a final confrontation with Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell). Because a profound revelation is about to drop after some prompting from Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi). Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Of Gods and Angles – TV Review

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TL;DR – It is a solid, fun episode that makes the most of its silly premise.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

The USS Cerritos in the Veraflex Nebula.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

There are many ways in which Star Trek Lower Decks can shine, and one of the best of them is when they decide to go on a deep dive into the lore to find something to explore. Sometimes, that can be expanding on Orion culture for the first time since Enterprise, and other times, it can be a love letter to Star Trek’s fondness for caves. Today, we dive all the way back to the era of Those Old Scientists, with some demigods and a fight over angles.

So, to set the scene, the USS Cerritos has been positioned next to the Veraflex Nebula for weeks as it hosts peace talks between the Orbs and the Cubes, the photonic species that live there. It is hard to get people to talk when they complain that the ship has too many edges or that article ten is wrong because ten has an o in it. But as this goes on, Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is put in charge of an ensign, Olly (Saba Homayoon), on their last chance and gets some home truths when one of the diplomats turns up dead. They have to investigate because they are not high enough status to arouse suspicion, which, of course, went down as well as you would expect it to. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Nugget is Dead: A Christmas Story – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A wild story of a family that will probably be recognisable to you even in this crazy situation.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

Chaos in the Stools family.

Nugget is Dead Review –

Many things foreshadow that the end of the year is near, the temperatures rise, the rains come in, people care about turkey for some reason, there is tinsel everywhere, and Stan will release their Christmas film. Back in 2023, we got the fascinating Jones Family Christmas. In 2022, we got a Christmas Ransom. And all the way back in the past of 2021, we got the film that started it all: A Sunburnt Christmas. They have all been fun, charming events, and the question is: can that follow that trend in 2024?

So, to set the scene, back in Christmas 2010, the Stools family introduced a new member of the family, the puppy Nugget. Many years later, as the family has grown up and moved out of home, it is once again three days before Christmas. However, as their eldest, Steph (Vic Zerbst), has made the decision not to come home for Christmas, one problem is that she didn’t tell her family. They don’t seem like the listening type anyway, and also Nugget (Reuben) is sick. So, now Steph is going down to visit her family, who does not know she is not staying, and they are A LOT. She just needs to deal with them for 24 hours and escape … if everything goes to plan.

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