Big Walk – Video Game Review

TL;DRBig Walk is a game that has somehow captured charm and inserted it into every single framework, from the game mechanics to the design, and most importantly, the interactions.   

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
The landscape looking up towards a red tower.

Big Walk Review Introduction

Today we are looking at the latest entry from Australian video game studio House House. They have a history of creating quirky and engaging games, so I was very interested to see how their next work would play out. That interest was only heightened when I discovered it was a cooperative adventure puzzle game, which felt like the perfect medium for shenanigans. Now, before jump into the review proper, I should be clear that at the time of writing I am about halfway through the game [The Blue Tower], but given what we will talk about below, I feel that I have seen enough of the game to cement my feeling on it.

So, to set the scene, you open in on a tutorial room where you can quickly run through all the controls under the leaves of a eucalyptus tree. Once your team is ready, you can dive out into a coastal valley below. Along the river valley leading out into the sea, you can spot different structures sticking out from the bush landscape. Each of these structures has a puzzle that you and your friends (also possibly family members, acquaintances, frenemies, co-workers, or heated rivals) have to work together to release a red item that my group ended up calling a gourd, which you insert into a machine to unlock a key that gives you access to the next location. While this starts quite small and manageable, it soon expands in scope.

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Sydney Trip Day 2 – Explore-It

TL;DR – IMAX, Boats, and The Rocks, Oh My

Disclosure – I paid for my entry and everything you see purchased in this article.

Sydney Opera House.

Exploring Sydney

Well, it has been a while since I jumped into the world of an Explore-It, and now is as good a time as any to explore a trip I took a bit ago to the most populous city in Australia [for the time being], Sydney. After Day 1, which was all about the zoos, today was a more muted time among the boats.

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Sydney Trip Day 1 – Explore-It

TL;DR – Arrival, Opera House, Taronga Zoo via ferry, Sealife Aquarium, and fried chicken to end a long first day in Sydney.

Disclosure – I paid for my entry and everything you see purchased in this article.

Exploring Sydney  –

Well, it has been a while since I jumped into the world of an Explore-It, and now is as good a time as any to explore a trip I took a bit ago to the most populous city in Australia [for the time being] Sydney

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Movie Review

TL;DR – It is a film that roars to life and explodes on to the screen, captivating you with every turn.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Furiosa stands alone in the desert.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Review

Well, this was always going to be an interesting film for me. The last entry in the Mad Max Saga, as we are now calling it, Fury Road, blasted onto the world and had a profound effect on me. It is one of those rare films that I have watched over and over again, and each time, I found a new detail I had missed before. It is in my Top 10 Films of All Time list for a reason. This means that there was some trepidation when I walked into the theatre wondering how a prequel to that film could stand up, but the second my seat reverberated with a motorcycle roar, I knew that I was in for something exciting.

So, to set the scene, a young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) is living in the green land of many mothers when she comes across three bikers who have discovered their hidden sanctuary. Being captured, her mother (Charlee Fraser) chases Furiosa across the desert till they make it to the roving camp of Praetorian Jack (Chris Hemsworth). He sees her value as the one person who knows where the place of abundance is and brings her into his collection, which is where she first meets the leader of the Citadel, Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme).

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Population 11: Outback UFO Tours – TV Review

TL;DR – This weird and wonderful first episode hooked me in to see what wild ride we are about to go on.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the STAN service that viewed this series

A tree in the outback at light.

Population 11 Review

If there is one thing that Australia does very well, it is the mystery set in the Outback. Indeed, some of my earliest TV memories are of the wild and wonderful Jeopardy, which, if you are Australian or British of my age, you will know well. But in the world of Scrublands and Deadloch, we get a new entry today with Population 11.

So to set the scene, on a quiet night in the Outback surrounded by stars and termite mounds, a man stands alone, looking at a giant tree. That is, until a light appears from the heavens shining down on him, and while he runs, he is not quick enough. Sometime later, a strange American man from Cincinnati, Ohio, arrives in the town of Bidgeegud, which is so tiny that the pub and the church are in the same building. The man Andy (Ben Feldman) is here for the UFO tour led by Hugo (Darren Gilshenan), but maybe that is not the only reason he is there. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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PAX Australia & Melbourne 2023 Day 5 – Explore-It

TL;DR – We dip our toes into what Melbourne has to offer a little more with round 2.

Disclosure – I paid for all products featured or mentioned here.

PAX 23 Logo. Image Credit: Brian MacNamara.

PAX Australia & Melbourne 2023 Day 5

It was the final day in Melbourne, but unlike last year, I had my flight positioned for the end of the day, so I had some time to explore the city more, which is when I found the most depressing garden in Melbourne.

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Anyone But You – Movie Review

TL;DR – This is a film that is based entirely on the chemistry of the two leading cast members. Thank goodness they have some.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Sydney.

Anyone But You Review

There is a considerable risk when you base the entire foundation of your film on the charisma of your two leads. There are multiple examples, like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, where that mistake has caused the film to fall flat on its face. It is a dangerous proposition … but what happens when you get it right?

So to set the scene, it is a typical day in a coffee shop when Bea (Sydney Sweeney) runs into Ben (Glen Powell) while trying to get the key to the bathroom. Some shenanigans occur but sparks fly, and soon they are spending the night together. But the following day contrives a situation where both parties think the other was in the wrong, and they part ways with an odd story of a creep to tell their respective friend groups. Until we discover that those respective friend groups are the same because Bea’s sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp) is the new finance of Halle (Hadley Robinson), whose brother Pete (GaTa) is best friends with Ben. That animosity gets heightened when both of them end up on a plane to Sydney, Australia, to attend the wedding, only to find both of their exes are there. So they fake being in a relationship. What is the worst that could happen?

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The Best Australian Cinema in 2021

It was a fantastic year for Australian Cinema, with each film I saw knocking it out of the park. There were intimate documentaries, films that held up a mirror to society, and those that brought the action to a new level.

This list will be looking more at the locally made Australian productions/co-productions and not just films filmed in Australia.

So without further ado, these are the best Australian Cinema in 2021. Be warned that there will be significant spoilers ahead for the films in question. Also, click on the banner/titles to go to the full reviews.  

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Chopsticks Or Fork?: Season One – TV Review

TL;DR – This is a delightful documentary exploring a world that hits a deep nostalgic note for me.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I watched this on ABC IView

Chopsticks Or Fork? Image Credit: ABC TV.

Chopsticks Or Fork? Review

Tonight I was looking for something to watch as I ate my dinner, and in a world of streaming where you have so much choice, it is almost paralysing at times just to pick one thing. But as I sat there with all those windows open, there was this moment when a documentary series about rural Chinese restaurants in Australia appeared, and it intrigued me. Now that I have watched every episode, I can tell you that this was the right choice.

So to set the scene, the premise of this show is that presenter Jennifer Wong and the crew, including director Lin Jie Kong, travel to rural towns in Australia to look at the Chinese Restaurants that take up a focal point in these communities. Here we get a show that is a part travel show, part food exploration, and part look at the intersections of culture these restaurants make. We get these stories and more as we meet six different families from restaurants across Australia from The New Bo Wa in Moree, Raymond’s at Malua Bay, Oriental Palace in Hervey Bay, Pagoda Chinese Restaurant in Atherton, Gawler Palace & Happy Garden in Darwin.  

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Pacific Rim: The Black – Season 1 – TV Review

TL;DR – This is a show with a lot of potential that would have worked a lot better had it not stumbled in critical places.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Pacific Rim: The Black. Image Credit: Netflix.

Pacific Rim: The Black Review

When you hear that there will be an American Animation TV Series, done in the style of a Japanese Anime, based in the Pacific Rim universe, and then set in Australia, well, that is an exciting combination if I have ever heard it. Good or bad, you want to see how it works. With that in mind, let’s dive into this fascinating if flawed world.

So to set the scene, we open in the days after chaos erupts across Australia as rifts open up the centre of the continent. After a valiant fight, it becomes clear that Australia is lost, and the call to evacuate is put out. Everyone had five days to reach Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, or Sydney. While trying to help with the evacuation, one Jager team stays back to stop the Kaijus because their children had yet to leave. They tried to get to the evac point, but they were too late. Instead, they took the group of civilians back to their home base Shadow Basin which was also destroyed. The parents left everyone behind in an oasis and leave to go to the coast to get help. Five years later, Hayley (Gideon Adlon) and Taylor (Calum Worthy) have a fractured relationship as their parents never returned. However, one day Hayley fell down a metal hole and discovers that not all of Shadow Basin was destroyed, with the Atlas Destroyer Jaeger and its AI Loa (Erica Lindbeck) still there. But that discovery becomes a beacon for all the danger in the world. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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