Category Archives: News

Dec 26 2011

2011 a look back – part two

Continuing my look back over my viewing habits on this blog in 2011, we have now reached the second quarter that brought some definite highlights and some very welcome old favourites.  Hope you enjoy reading…

April – June

April continued my rediscovery of all things Kung-fu, with Korean actioner Chocolate, that although low-budget and rough around the edges, did deliver some remarkable fights and a great physical performance from Jeeja Yanin.  Nicholas Cage made a sort-of return to form with the semi-remake of Bad Lieutenant, and delivered the kind of zany, method-actor intensity Cage has been lacking for some time now.   Yet it was Mickey Rourke in his Oscar winning role of The Wrestler which really turned my head, and proved that director Darren Aronofsky hadn’t just fluked it with Black Swan.  I also finally got to see the final part of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy with The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest, but with a sidelined Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) and a court-room heavy plot, this was a disappointing conclusion.  Thankfully the teen comedy fun of Easy A washed over such feelings making for a smart and  enjoyable movie, with a star-making turn from the brilliant Emma Stone.

May kicked off with scary-as-hell supernatural horror Insidious, which although proceedings got a little silly towards the end, had some of the freakiest and scariest moments of 2011.   Thor launched the block buster season in grand fashion with a comically likable Chris Hemsworth and some great action, effects and a decent villain … whilst Disney’s 50th movie Tangled made for a classically gorgeous fairy tale adventure with a great comedy horse, plenty of personality and enjoyable songs – what more could one wish for?

June saw the summer really get into its stride for me, with sci-fi sequel Tron Legacy impressing on a visual and aural basis, even if the movie itself lacked that special ‘something’.  Thankfully comic-book actioner X-Men: First Class stepped up to show how effects-laiden event pictures should be done, and personally, I found it the best X-Men yet.   Then the fun and frolicks came crashing down to earth with a bump with the stunning I Saw The Devil, possibly Korean’s boldest take on the serial-killer movie genre yet … blood soaked, brilliantly acted and with exhilarating direction from Jee-Woon Kim.  Then an old favourite paid a visit in the form of the blu-ray extended cuts of The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, and rediscovering these modern  classics was a sheer joy.

…Stay tuned for the next part in my 2011 reminiscing, coming imminently.

Dec 25 2011

Merry Christmas

Well Christmas day is here again.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my visitors / subscribers / followers for their continued interest and your comments / feedback make everything so worth while.

This year I got a very interesting range of prezzies, starting with the Season 1-3 Box Set of acclaimed TV drama MAD MEN.  Secondly I got the Lee Evans autobiography which I hope to read at some stage.  Then there’s the official Ola Jordan calendar, signed by the famed Strictly Come Dancing star.   Also we have Peter Kay‘s Tour That Doesn’t Tour stand-up DVD, and  also got a very nice statue of a woman with not a great deal of clothing on – but very classy.  Lady Ga Ga‘s Latest CD Born This Way, and also  a small companion book exploring the Swedish horror Let The Right One In.  Oh and who can forget Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes on Blu-ray?  I also got several surprises, smellies and other bits and bobs.

Thankyou to everyone who got me prezzies and I really hope you all like what I got you.

Merry Christmas.  Ho Ho Ho.

I’ll give the final word to the character’s from comedy TV show Bo-Selecta …. propper crimbo!!!

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Dec 19 2011

End Of Year musings…

Well, 2011 is almost over and with Christmas on the horizon, it seems unlikely (but not impossible) that I will get to see many more movies before the year is out.  With that in mind I am currently compiling an end of year Top Ten taken from the reviews on this blog in the last twelve months.  Now as an amateur critic / blogger I haven’t been able to see all the best movies that have hit cinemas in 2011, so some choices will inevitably be from movies released last year that I only recently managed to check out on DVD or Blu-ray.  It definitely shouldn’t be taken as a definitive 2011 Top Ten, but more a list of my favourite movies as viewed in 2011.  I’ll try to not make any entry older than 2010 if possible.

I won’t give anything away though and I’m sure regular readers will have their own ideas what might appear in the list.  Until then (end of the month), watch this space!

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Dec 8 2011

L.A. Noir – impressions

This was one of my big hopes for 2011.  Rockstar Games’ much anticipated cop adventure game, borrowing from the likes of Grand Theft Auto as well as movies like L.A. Confidential.  The hype surrounding it made a big noise about the revolutionary facial technology that can put real actors into a game world, and the prospect of playing a game that is less about running around with a gun, and more about investigating crime scenes and interrogating witnesses, certainly made me sit up and take notice.  So what is the game actually like to play?

You are ex-war veteran Cole Phelps, starting out as a beat Cop who quickly rises through the ranks, going from Homicide to Vice to Arson.  At first it feels ver much like GTA in the large open world (you get a fully re-created Los Angeles to explore) and being a good guy instead of a criminal is refreshing.  Once you get into the meat of the game, searching crime scenes etc, it’s very unique and interesting, and looking for clues is quite unlike anything out there, that I have played at least.  Also sitting down and quizzing witnesses or suspects is done well, with a system where you must ask questions, which are based on the evidence and clues you have found, and going by what answers the witness / suspect returns, you can choose between believing them, doubting their honesty or calling them a liar.  At first this is tricky to get to grips with, but once you understand what the game is asking of you, getting the job done and putting criminals behind bars can be very satisfying.

Graphically this is impressive, especially as far as the characters and various people you meet are concerned.  The technology is very good, even if the odd recognisable face (did I just spot Matt out of Heroes?) can look a little weird.  The city although very detailed pales in comparison to GTAIV for things going on and stuff to do, and can’t hold a candle technically to Mafia II either.  Also the game suffers quite badly from frame-rate slow down, and it’s obvious that the game world isn’t fully realised with many repeated lines of dialogue from pedestrians and a fair few bugs.  But it creates a great atmosphere of 1940s America though, and for that at least, it does what it came to do.

My main gripe with the game is the repetitiveness of the cases.  I am about half way in, and so far nearly every murder has been a woman and the investigations have constantly resulted in the same on-foot or by car chase, which is nothing we haven’t seen done many times.  Ok, the on-foot stuff is fairly slick, but when you’ve done it five or more times in a row, it gets boring very quickly.  I feel overall that this is a game with a great technology behind it and some good ideas, but for my money at least, it just doesn’t feel very well realised and lacks the variety and compelling story to make it much more than bargain bin fodder.  The kinda game you won’t regret buying cheap or trading-in for, but it’s not one I’d recommend at full price.

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Nov 17 2011

RAGE – impressions

This was one of my big hopes for 2011.  From the creator’s of not only classics like Doom and Quake, but the First Person Shooter genre entirely, ID Software, headed by uber-geek-genius John Carmack promised to really bring out the big guns with their long-awaited next game.  Showcasing ID-Tech 5, their latest graphics engine, the pioneering studio with the help of several gameplay previews, got me chomping at the bit with anticipation.  So what’s the final product like?

This game borrows heavily from Post-Apocalytic movies like Mad Max and Doomsday, with you as a no-name grizzled hero fresh in town and ready to earn cash doing missions for the local populace.  Along the way you will infiltrate bandit hideouts, armed with a meaty shot-gun and a variety of gadgets and gizmos, and also you get to explore the wasteland in a souped up buggy, which you can upgrade and add firepower to as you complete missions or win races.  Playing the game the immediate wow-factor is the utterly lush visuals, pin-sharp and full of colour and detail.  The game is over-flowing with personality, especially in the huge variety of folk you encounter and the wealth of mini-games you can enjoy to earn and gamble your cash.    It’s clear that this has been a labour of love for ID, all at a silky smooth 60 frames per second, making the game feel very immersive.

The game doesn’t exactly do anything new, and at times it bares an uncanny resemblance to Red Dead Redemption with its urban setting and quirky characters.  The game is mostly go here, do that and get a reward style, which I suppose could get boring, but ID has filled the game with gorgeous graphics and meaty combat and well-executed driving mechanics.  It’s all very polished.  The only real gripe I can find is one that has already been levelled at the game – the save system.  This plays a touch old-fashioned, checkpoints at the beginning and end of missions, and if you don’t remember to save frequently yourself you will be re-playing parts of the game over and over.

There is an online component which I have yet to explore, involving co-op play and buggy racing.  I will take a look at this and report my impressions separately.  For now though this is easily one of the shining lights of the current new releases - and an easy recommendation.