Hi! Years and years ago.....A guy called Sam Raimi made a couple of films called Evil Dead. Scary scary movies ahead of their time. But over time Sam moved away from the horror genre and directed films like Darkman and the Spider-Man trilogy. If he wasn't doing that he pasted his name on and produced really really bad horror movies like The Boogeyman. So imagine my surprise when i heard that he was actually directing a horror movie again! After seeing it last night here is my review. I do enjoy horror films......but i don't like them. That doesn't make sense but what i mean is i LOVE horror movies but all horror movies today are utter crap. The only scary movies made today are all Korean. Then America, with their complete lack of originality and money grabbing ways, make a remake with low standards. The last horror movie i went to see was The Unborn and that is THE WORST MOVIE i have seen in a long time and the worst horror movie as well. Drag Me To Hell is a breath of fresh air for the horror genre. In the films opening sequence the plot device is introduced in a chilling manner. It opens the film perfectly and the goosebumps go all the way through the opening credits. Christine has a fairly nice life until she denies an elderly woman an extension on her mortgage. Then the main part of the plot is opened in a sequence that is tongue in cheek funny and scary (classic raimi). From here on out it's scares piled upon scares. Sam Raimi doesn't follow the usual horror movie cliché of.........long......drawn-out......silences.....THEN LOUD NOISE TO MAKE YOU JUMP! He actually builds suspense with a neat little musical score. High pitched violins carry your nerves then throw them in the air! That's another thing. The film doesn't have a great focus on visual effects but the sound effects are fantastic. Tension building and atomospheric sounds and music are put to amazing use. The story is a good set up. It is an original film with an original story. It isn't plagerised or a cheap money making remake from Korea. Although the story is limited and the film run time is of average length. The film is classic Raimi and there are lots of references to other films by him. It's good to know that super massive Hollywood blockbusters haven't diluted his great direction and how he used to make films all those years ago. He keeps a good balance of humour and serious scenes by using humour when necessary and never ruining the atmosphere. Throw all this in with a disturbing shock ending you have the best horror film i've seen at the cinema in a long time! I'm sure you'll agree. Enjoy.
Reviews
85 Reviews
Watchmen
(2009)
Never compromise, Not even in the face of Armageddon!
13 April 2009
So last year in 2008 after seeing the spectacular super-hero movies Iron Man and The Dark Knight you could only worry that the next super-hero movie, Watchmen, could live up to the expectations that the fanboys like me craved. So yeah i'm a watchmen fanboy. And its finally here on time after all the court debates. So Watchmen the movie is essentially like Watchmen the graphic novel but played out in motion. It's like Sin City in that it is the perfect adaption, all dialouge and scenes are pretty much intact or unchanged which is good. Zack Snyders reach doesn't exceed his grasp he knows what hes doing it and does it for the fans. He knew whether or not to change certain things or expand on them. The cast was something of a mystery. When the first photos of the characters were released i looked rather bewildered. The only really recognisable name in the credits was Jeffery Dean Morgan. But the cast choices (like all comic book adaptions) were very spot on. Matthew Goode was okay as ozymandias and Nite Owl was okay too. Malin Akerman, aside from her obvious good looks, was pretty good and could handle her role well enough. But special acting merit really go to Jeffery Dean Morgan, Jackie Earl Haley and Billy Crudup. Rorscach is my favourite character from the book and you cant help but worry that an actor might screw up your favourite character (ryan reynolds if you screw up deadpool i will kill you) but Jackie Earl portrayed rorscach the way the fans know him. Jeffery Dean Morgan as the comedian was an excellent choice, he really captured the craziness and instability of the character.And Billy Crudup as Dr.Manhatten. Dr.Manhatten is an odd character, he is never actually with the humans he sees outside the human realm of existence in a sense. And Crudup managed to capture the characters sense of "out of the box". The book was never action packed. But the trailers kind of made the film out to be. How disappointed the lesser minds would have been. Zack Snyder, like i said before, knows what hes doing, he added in action scenes where necessary and didn't blow them completely out of proportion. And in watchmen the book the story and characters are just the bones of the greater fiction, the meat of the book is the themes and messages of humanity and vigilantism and how they affect us in modern society. These themes and messages remain unscathed. The one problem i had with the film was the changing of the ending. While the change wasn't amazingly drastic and kept in the same vein of the book it was still quite a departure. I don't see why they couldn't have kept the ending from the book anyway. At around 3 hours long it has good pacing and builds and creates its scenes well and doest waffle around with unimportant plot devices. So all in all this is a great movie for the fans but even my friend who hasn't read the book loved it so it may even appeal to some total wacthmen n00bs. Peace out
The Unborn
(2009)
Should have had an abortion.
28 February 2009
With 5 people at the cinema i was completely outnumbered on which film to see, i voted franklyn everyone else voted The Unborn. I really didn't want to see this movie. Michael Bay as producer it was a bad omen to me. We went anyway and here is what i think. Seriously, what is with David S. Goyer!? How can you write solid gold scripts for movies like The Dark Knight and Batman Begins and pen classic lines like "why so serious!?" and "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain" and stoop as low as the cursing riddled, plot hole ladden and predictable plot driven drivvle like this? The writing is the first problem i had with this film. about 15 minutes into the movie one of the characters says to another one "thats retarded" to which i said to the person sitting next to me "this script is retarded" The plot is predictable and everything is a blatant plagerism, i went through the whole film remarking every film it plagerised. A few examples are The Exorcist and The Shining. The acting was absolutely dreadful and i was shocked to find Gary Oldman was in it. Even the mighty Gary couldn't save this movie. And one of the characters is German and she thinks she can get away with a German accent by adding v's into every word she utters in the second dimension. And it's called horror for a reason. It's meant to be scary and The Unborn relies tou much on jump scares and bad atmosphere and the whole film looks disgusting shot through some blue filter and everything looks cold steel blue. When will Hollywood get over little children on horror movies. The whole scary children premise of every modern horror movie is overused and just plain boring and not scary at all. At the end you still have unanswered questions like the dog the bugs. All in all an awful movie, don't go see it. Go see benjamin button. peace out.
Alone in the Dark
(2008 Video Game)
It seems the Uwe Boll movie cursed the game
9 January 2009
A good few years before the release of the playstation 3 i remember seeing the trailer for the new alone in the dark game. I was excited it looked really good, simply because we haven't seen an alone in the dark game for a long time so it would be a welcome come back.
I got the game on offer for £25.
This game is so awful i didn't even bother to finish the damn thing. I'll tell you why this game is so bad. Firstly, the whole game is a gimmick. When we were shown tech demos the only thing they seemed to demonstrate was the games fire effects. Yes OK the fire effects are very nice and fire spreads realistically and fire weapons all work very well. But the fire is a gimmick because the only way you can kill enemies in the game is with fire. It's practically forcing you to always use fire and there is never much variety. The second gimmick is the DVD skip feature. This feature like the name suggests means you can skip difficult levels and play the next "episode" and then keeps you up to date with the story with a "Previously on Alone In The Dark" opening scene. The back of the box suggests you don't even need to play the game and you can see the ending, this is a lie because it doesn't even let you see the end because of lack of skill or power etc. Another thing wrong with it, well the most spoken of problems with Alone is the CONTROLS. I got this game for xbox and it may have a chunky controller but c'mon. You can switch between third and first person. First person is easier to work but you have to blink constantly ( yes i said blinking i thought it was stupid too) by pressing the thumb-stick down. In third person you can only control Carnabey with the one left stick which is sometimes difficult to manuvere considering you can't work with the right stick too. Clunky controls cause problems with combat, particularly because this joins in with the fire gimmick. attacking with a melee weapon is controlled by swinging the right stick but this is so tedious and the melee weapon must be on fire for the enemy to die. Then there's inventory and healing. The whole quick view change to the inside of Carnabeys jacket to see the inventory is all well and cool but its kept in real time and you can be injured while going through your inventory which take you right out of it. The inventory is all very messy and sometimes un-useful objects take up too much space. then there's healing. To heal yourself you go inside your jacket and pull out medical spray (resident evil 4 anyone?) or bandages then press down and use the analogue stick to select the part of the body you wish to heal. Why couldn't you just select the medical appliance and then just let that add on health rather than friterring away by doing a stupid medical mini-game. Writing and story. Oh dear the story. Well Edward Carnaby has amnesia and Satan is trying to take over earth.....something like that. The writing is the worst part because the story is so simple and clichéd that it just had to have bad writing to make it whole. Most of the dialogue is like a teen horror movie with just a horrendous amount of swearing. The other Alone In The Dark games were intelligent with good writing so why does this one resort to cheesy, corny vulgar dialogue? Then there's driving. Driving is just sooooooo tedious. Hit a pebble and your car will swerve off course and some times a tiny nudge on your movement stick and your pulling off drifts and the big pushes on the movement stick seem to cause you to turn corners slowly. I gave Alone In The Dark 2 stars and thats because of the driving mission near the start of the game. Although i hate the driving the whole scenario was very well presented, the graphics were very sleek and the musical score in the sequence was exceptional. If you've played it you'll know which scene i mean. Worst Game Of All Time Or Worst Game I've Ever Played
I got the game on offer for £25.
This game is so awful i didn't even bother to finish the damn thing. I'll tell you why this game is so bad. Firstly, the whole game is a gimmick. When we were shown tech demos the only thing they seemed to demonstrate was the games fire effects. Yes OK the fire effects are very nice and fire spreads realistically and fire weapons all work very well. But the fire is a gimmick because the only way you can kill enemies in the game is with fire. It's practically forcing you to always use fire and there is never much variety. The second gimmick is the DVD skip feature. This feature like the name suggests means you can skip difficult levels and play the next "episode" and then keeps you up to date with the story with a "Previously on Alone In The Dark" opening scene. The back of the box suggests you don't even need to play the game and you can see the ending, this is a lie because it doesn't even let you see the end because of lack of skill or power etc. Another thing wrong with it, well the most spoken of problems with Alone is the CONTROLS. I got this game for xbox and it may have a chunky controller but c'mon. You can switch between third and first person. First person is easier to work but you have to blink constantly ( yes i said blinking i thought it was stupid too) by pressing the thumb-stick down. In third person you can only control Carnabey with the one left stick which is sometimes difficult to manuvere considering you can't work with the right stick too. Clunky controls cause problems with combat, particularly because this joins in with the fire gimmick. attacking with a melee weapon is controlled by swinging the right stick but this is so tedious and the melee weapon must be on fire for the enemy to die. Then there's inventory and healing. The whole quick view change to the inside of Carnabeys jacket to see the inventory is all well and cool but its kept in real time and you can be injured while going through your inventory which take you right out of it. The inventory is all very messy and sometimes un-useful objects take up too much space. then there's healing. To heal yourself you go inside your jacket and pull out medical spray (resident evil 4 anyone?) or bandages then press down and use the analogue stick to select the part of the body you wish to heal. Why couldn't you just select the medical appliance and then just let that add on health rather than friterring away by doing a stupid medical mini-game. Writing and story. Oh dear the story. Well Edward Carnaby has amnesia and Satan is trying to take over earth.....something like that. The writing is the worst part because the story is so simple and clichéd that it just had to have bad writing to make it whole. Most of the dialogue is like a teen horror movie with just a horrendous amount of swearing. The other Alone In The Dark games were intelligent with good writing so why does this one resort to cheesy, corny vulgar dialogue? Then there's driving. Driving is just sooooooo tedious. Hit a pebble and your car will swerve off course and some times a tiny nudge on your movement stick and your pulling off drifts and the big pushes on the movement stick seem to cause you to turn corners slowly. I gave Alone In The Dark 2 stars and thats because of the driving mission near the start of the game. Although i hate the driving the whole scenario was very well presented, the graphics were very sleek and the musical score in the sequence was exceptional. If you've played it you'll know which scene i mean. Worst Game Of All Time Or Worst Game I've Ever Played
The Dark Knight
(2008)
Might Be Dark But The Star Got A Whole Lot Brighter.
21 December 2008
First of all i have to make a few points: My opinion of this film is not swayed by the sad passing of Heath Ledger, indeed a great actor has been lost but just because this was his last major movie i don't feel obliged to say it was his best performance. I was hyped up for this movie i am a massive fan of the comics and the batman is my overall favourite comic book franchise but living up to the hype also doesn't sway my opinion.
This review has come a bit late but lets just review it now shall we? Christopher Nolan jump started the batman franchise up again with the fantastic Batman Begins. Now 4 years later the sequel everyone was waiting for has arrived.
Dark Knight surpasses Begins on so many levels. Cast/Acting: New additions and some casting changes have been made but a stellar cast has been produced. Maggie Gylenhall was a good replacement for Katie Holmes who was rather wooden in begins. Christain Bale exceeds his last performance and maybe even his American psycho performance by delivering the more emotional bruce wayne in this movie, but the really awful voice for batman is still here unfortunately. Lucius Fox played by ol' Morgan returns delivering the usual laughs and humour you come to expect. So, down to Heath Ledger, yes, the performance is indeed a fantastic one. He captures the psycho persona of The Joker exceptionally well and has everything even down to the voice fantastic. But this raised most controversy around my friends, I preffered Arron Eckharts performance as the villain. He manages to transition well between hero to villain and has the personality of Harvery Dent Sussed out to deliver the screen incarnation of Harvery Dent people have been waiting for. Writing/Direction: Of course David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan return and it wouldn't be as good as it was without them. Goyer manages to write out a fantastic story and creates deep meaningful characters with complex psychologies. And Christoper Nolan can essentially take the already fantastic writing and translate it onto screen. He takes the script and develops the scenes into pieces of art. He has the skill to take such a complex story and develop it into a narrative that lets the view digest easily while this film may not be the best example his other movies like The Prestige and Momento. So essentially Nolan and Goyer are a match made in heaven.
But now here come the bad point(s). The main one was that it was over done in the sense that it was far too long, it could have easily been cut down. But besides that this film easily ranks at the top of my film of the year it is that good.
thanks for reading
This review has come a bit late but lets just review it now shall we? Christopher Nolan jump started the batman franchise up again with the fantastic Batman Begins. Now 4 years later the sequel everyone was waiting for has arrived.
Dark Knight surpasses Begins on so many levels. Cast/Acting: New additions and some casting changes have been made but a stellar cast has been produced. Maggie Gylenhall was a good replacement for Katie Holmes who was rather wooden in begins. Christain Bale exceeds his last performance and maybe even his American psycho performance by delivering the more emotional bruce wayne in this movie, but the really awful voice for batman is still here unfortunately. Lucius Fox played by ol' Morgan returns delivering the usual laughs and humour you come to expect. So, down to Heath Ledger, yes, the performance is indeed a fantastic one. He captures the psycho persona of The Joker exceptionally well and has everything even down to the voice fantastic. But this raised most controversy around my friends, I preffered Arron Eckharts performance as the villain. He manages to transition well between hero to villain and has the personality of Harvery Dent Sussed out to deliver the screen incarnation of Harvery Dent people have been waiting for. Writing/Direction: Of course David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan return and it wouldn't be as good as it was without them. Goyer manages to write out a fantastic story and creates deep meaningful characters with complex psychologies. And Christoper Nolan can essentially take the already fantastic writing and translate it onto screen. He takes the script and develops the scenes into pieces of art. He has the skill to take such a complex story and develop it into a narrative that lets the view digest easily while this film may not be the best example his other movies like The Prestige and Momento. So essentially Nolan and Goyer are a match made in heaven.
But now here come the bad point(s). The main one was that it was over done in the sense that it was far too long, it could have easily been cut down. But besides that this film easily ranks at the top of my film of the year it is that good.
thanks for reading
Fallout 3
(2008 Video Game)
Blew Me Away Like A Nuclear Bomb!
28 November 2008
i must admit, i have never played any previous fallout games before. But after reading a feature on fallout 3 a good while before its release i was interested. And Then when trailers started coming out i built up my excitement. And i have my copy. And have just finished playing through it.
Well. Basic story is you come out your mothers womb where your greeted into the world by Liam Neeson (Your Father) from the birth you choose your name and appearance. Then a couple of years later your a baby and choose your basic skills. Then your suddenly ten years old and you get a PIP-BOY 3000 a kind of real-time low tech PDA. Several years later Liam Neeson does the unspeakable and leaves the safety of the vault into the perils of the nuclear wasteland. And what kind of story would it be if you didn't go after him? Now, the introduction of the game in the vault is all very cool and introduces vault life well but the game really gets good once you leave and see the wasteland for the first time. Because you've been underground for so long your eyes take time to adjust and when they do you see the frighteningly real nucleur wasteland in all its glory, it really sends out some shivers. The environment is where the game really shines. They have the wasteland looking fantastic and there are just some beautiful levelled buildings or standing buildings and it looks fantastic. Down to combat. The game can be played in first or third person view. i found myself in first person mostly but sometimes i went into third person to see what my outfit was like. Shooting in first person takes a little getting used to and most people will very often use the games best gameplay mechanic the V.A.T. Basically it stops time so you can strategically pinpoint gunshots on the enemies......although for added fun you could aim for the head for a juicy headshot. The sound is really good also. Particularly in the music. After a while i found myself humming or whistling every upbeat 50's tune in the game. But alas its not perfect. Yes the wastland is very expansive and beautiful but if your trying to find a specific location then you could just randomly wander around and when you think your going the right way your blocked by RUBBLE. And sometimes these random areas you walk about in contain enemies that you may not be ready to fight yet. Also your character is like a virtual pet. He/She needs to be well kept which means if they're crippled or badly wounded they need healing to that specific area or if they have lack of sleep they may not perform well in combat. But these few problems don't take away from the full experience but you will have to put up with them so get used to it. Fallout3 has to to be one of my games of the year this year and definitely somewhere in my all time favourties
Well. Basic story is you come out your mothers womb where your greeted into the world by Liam Neeson (Your Father) from the birth you choose your name and appearance. Then a couple of years later your a baby and choose your basic skills. Then your suddenly ten years old and you get a PIP-BOY 3000 a kind of real-time low tech PDA. Several years later Liam Neeson does the unspeakable and leaves the safety of the vault into the perils of the nuclear wasteland. And what kind of story would it be if you didn't go after him? Now, the introduction of the game in the vault is all very cool and introduces vault life well but the game really gets good once you leave and see the wasteland for the first time. Because you've been underground for so long your eyes take time to adjust and when they do you see the frighteningly real nucleur wasteland in all its glory, it really sends out some shivers. The environment is where the game really shines. They have the wasteland looking fantastic and there are just some beautiful levelled buildings or standing buildings and it looks fantastic. Down to combat. The game can be played in first or third person view. i found myself in first person mostly but sometimes i went into third person to see what my outfit was like. Shooting in first person takes a little getting used to and most people will very often use the games best gameplay mechanic the V.A.T. Basically it stops time so you can strategically pinpoint gunshots on the enemies......although for added fun you could aim for the head for a juicy headshot. The sound is really good also. Particularly in the music. After a while i found myself humming or whistling every upbeat 50's tune in the game. But alas its not perfect. Yes the wastland is very expansive and beautiful but if your trying to find a specific location then you could just randomly wander around and when you think your going the right way your blocked by RUBBLE. And sometimes these random areas you walk about in contain enemies that you may not be ready to fight yet. Also your character is like a virtual pet. He/She needs to be well kept which means if they're crippled or badly wounded they need healing to that specific area or if they have lack of sleep they may not perform well in combat. But these few problems don't take away from the full experience but you will have to put up with them so get used to it. Fallout3 has to to be one of my games of the year this year and definitely somewhere in my all time favourties
Gears of War 2
(2008 Video Game)
like a chainsaw to a locust gears 2 shreds expectations to pieces
8 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
i'm a big fan of the first gears of war game and i was incredibly excited when the sequel was announced.
and finally here we are gears 2 is out and i finished playing it after having an all nighter bash at it with a few friends.
we powered through gears 2 in a 6 hour marathon
and we waited for gears 2 for a 2 year slog.
and all the hype, expectations, action, violence etc has been upped or exceeded or broken.
marcus and delta squad are back and looking better than ever with some fantastic looking graphics. but where would humans be without locust and they're also back with a bunch of nice looking new grubs for your trusty to kill. The story has greatly improved from the first game because it actually has a good solid script with some good dialogue but hasn't strayed totally away from some cheesy action hero phrase. The story mostly focuses on Dom looking for his wife maria which is good because if you were like me quite angry about the exclusions of doms personal story in gears 1 then you get to hear about it now. The cut scenes are well directed and there are two particular cut scenes in the game that are particularly moving and one of the very few gaming moments that really touches the player. Epic games finally lives up to its name and makes an epic game. i lost count of how many times i said aloud "wow" "oh my god" in absolute awe as to what i was seeing on screen. but unfortunately this ain't perfect. there are hardly any new weapons to enjoy and if you do get them then they run out quickly or slow you down. the new weapons are the scorcher flamethrower which is pretty cool, the mulcher gattling gun, the mortar gun and my favourite the gorgon burst pistol. the most talked about sequences before the games release was the level where you can ride a reaver and a brumak. these levels aren't fantastic and slightly anti-climatic.
all-in-all: for fans of the series they will enjoy this as much as i did it's longer than the first game and a nice new bunch of achievements and game modes to keep you going. the graphics are excellent story is fantastic and deep and new game play mechanics have improved are add extra depth to the game play.
enjoy
and finally here we are gears 2 is out and i finished playing it after having an all nighter bash at it with a few friends.
we powered through gears 2 in a 6 hour marathon
and we waited for gears 2 for a 2 year slog.
and all the hype, expectations, action, violence etc has been upped or exceeded or broken.
marcus and delta squad are back and looking better than ever with some fantastic looking graphics. but where would humans be without locust and they're also back with a bunch of nice looking new grubs for your trusty to kill. The story has greatly improved from the first game because it actually has a good solid script with some good dialogue but hasn't strayed totally away from some cheesy action hero phrase. The story mostly focuses on Dom looking for his wife maria which is good because if you were like me quite angry about the exclusions of doms personal story in gears 1 then you get to hear about it now. The cut scenes are well directed and there are two particular cut scenes in the game that are particularly moving and one of the very few gaming moments that really touches the player. Epic games finally lives up to its name and makes an epic game. i lost count of how many times i said aloud "wow" "oh my god" in absolute awe as to what i was seeing on screen. but unfortunately this ain't perfect. there are hardly any new weapons to enjoy and if you do get them then they run out quickly or slow you down. the new weapons are the scorcher flamethrower which is pretty cool, the mulcher gattling gun, the mortar gun and my favourite the gorgon burst pistol. the most talked about sequences before the games release was the level where you can ride a reaver and a brumak. these levels aren't fantastic and slightly anti-climatic.
all-in-all: for fans of the series they will enjoy this as much as i did it's longer than the first game and a nice new bunch of achievements and game modes to keep you going. the graphics are excellent story is fantastic and deep and new game play mechanics have improved are add extra depth to the game play.
enjoy
BioShock
(2007 Video Game)
Once You Enter Rapture.....You Never Leave
26 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
At the time i kept hearing about BioShock, a game i really wanted yet i didn't have an xbox. But i bought an xbox for several reasons: Halo, Gears of War and BioShock.
So, if i'm being perfectly honest, i really liked the look of the game and it's gameplay and stuff but i never truly understood its critical success, i didn't think it was going to be THAT good.
But.....would you kindly read on.
BioShock....is honestly one of my all time favourite games now. It's just fantastic. It has great atmosphere and interesting characters with a good story which unfolds as you pick up diaries and you slowly learn the disturbing truth the hell under the sea.
A place crash survivor ends up in the god forsaken under-water city of Rapture and it's inhabitants of drugged up psychos and drill and rivet gun wielding juggernauts.
pros first. The Level design is excellent obviously it was a difficult undertaking in an undersea city but water graphics are amazing and the whole setting is just incredibly immersive and feels real and eerie. They really have excelled themselves by making some truly twisted characters in Rapture. The two scariest ones were Dr. Steillman and Sander Cohen, these characters were well created and written to show just HOW INSANE they are, these guys are so insane it's scary. The scary characters adds to the atmosphere and its gorgeous graphics. BioShock broke a genre it made a first person shooter with RPG elements and while some developers under-develop and idea like this, 2K have perfected it and made it work well for the game. Big Daddies, while they may be easy to beat, they are an essential part of your BioShock experience.
Cons. They weapon selection system is a little off and you find yourself using the radial selection and sometimes all your plasmids and power ups can becoming slightly overwhelming.
thats it. Honestly thats the worst i can say about this game. WOULD YOU KINDLY BUY THIS GAME NOW it's one of my all time favourites and is one of they few games i consider art.
and like i said once you enter rapture....you never leave. Rapture will stay with you for the rest of your gaming life.
would you kindly ;D
So, if i'm being perfectly honest, i really liked the look of the game and it's gameplay and stuff but i never truly understood its critical success, i didn't think it was going to be THAT good.
But.....would you kindly read on.
BioShock....is honestly one of my all time favourite games now. It's just fantastic. It has great atmosphere and interesting characters with a good story which unfolds as you pick up diaries and you slowly learn the disturbing truth the hell under the sea.
A place crash survivor ends up in the god forsaken under-water city of Rapture and it's inhabitants of drugged up psychos and drill and rivet gun wielding juggernauts.
pros first. The Level design is excellent obviously it was a difficult undertaking in an undersea city but water graphics are amazing and the whole setting is just incredibly immersive and feels real and eerie. They really have excelled themselves by making some truly twisted characters in Rapture. The two scariest ones were Dr. Steillman and Sander Cohen, these characters were well created and written to show just HOW INSANE they are, these guys are so insane it's scary. The scary characters adds to the atmosphere and its gorgeous graphics. BioShock broke a genre it made a first person shooter with RPG elements and while some developers under-develop and idea like this, 2K have perfected it and made it work well for the game. Big Daddies, while they may be easy to beat, they are an essential part of your BioShock experience.
Cons. They weapon selection system is a little off and you find yourself using the radial selection and sometimes all your plasmids and power ups can becoming slightly overwhelming.
thats it. Honestly thats the worst i can say about this game. WOULD YOU KINDLY BUY THIS GAME NOW it's one of my all time favourites and is one of they few games i consider art.
and like i said once you enter rapture....you never leave. Rapture will stay with you for the rest of your gaming life.
would you kindly ;D
RocknRolla
(2008)
Guy Ritchie, Rock 'N' Roll King
6 September 2008
While seeing the dark knight a trailer for a new guy ritchie film came up.
I wasn't particularly swayed too much by this trailer but considering the summer period was almost over and we film lovers now have to survive the cheap horror winter season, Rocknrolla seemed like a nice surprise.
So i saw it last night.
And, to the tell the truth, i absolutely loved it! Obviously apart from guy ritchies excellent direction it had some absolutely fantastic dialouge with some pin sharp conversations and trademark British humour.
The story revolves around several characters, each do something that affects another character within the story. Characters are The Wild Bunch with Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton the accountant, Tom Wilkinson the gangster.
I could say more but there are a lot.
The film to start i found was rather complicated but as time went on i got used to all the characters and they're relationships etc etc.
It's filled with some great top notch sequences but my favourite and the crowds favourite was "The Invincible Russians" Overall this is a great film and breaks the dead lock of cheesy cheap films we get around this time of year.
go see it now!
I wasn't particularly swayed too much by this trailer but considering the summer period was almost over and we film lovers now have to survive the cheap horror winter season, Rocknrolla seemed like a nice surprise.
So i saw it last night.
And, to the tell the truth, i absolutely loved it! Obviously apart from guy ritchies excellent direction it had some absolutely fantastic dialouge with some pin sharp conversations and trademark British humour.
The story revolves around several characters, each do something that affects another character within the story. Characters are The Wild Bunch with Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton the accountant, Tom Wilkinson the gangster.
I could say more but there are a lot.
The film to start i found was rather complicated but as time went on i got used to all the characters and they're relationships etc etc.
It's filled with some great top notch sequences but my favourite and the crowds favourite was "The Invincible Russians" Overall this is a great film and breaks the dead lock of cheesy cheap films we get around this time of year.
go see it now!
Batman: Gotham Knight
(2008 Video)
Perfect Accompaniment To The Most Anticipated Movie Of 2008
29 June 2008
I've just finished watching Batman: Gotham Knight and have came straight to IMDb to write about it.
Well, the dark knight is almost here and to whet our appetites for the upcoming movie, some kind people have given us Batman: Gotham Knight.
BGK is essentially several short stories that bridge the gap between batman begins and dark knight all done in different styles of animation.
The animation from different artists are all very diverse and interesting and tell interesting stories with some great writing and direction.
If your like me; a huge batman fan, loved batman begins, too excited for the dark knight then this is for you, although it certainly isn't worthy buying on DVD.
Well, the dark knight is almost here and to whet our appetites for the upcoming movie, some kind people have given us Batman: Gotham Knight.
BGK is essentially several short stories that bridge the gap between batman begins and dark knight all done in different styles of animation.
The animation from different artists are all very diverse and interesting and tell interesting stories with some great writing and direction.
If your like me; a huge batman fan, loved batman begins, too excited for the dark knight then this is for you, although it certainly isn't worthy buying on DVD.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
(2008 Video Game)
Is the "can video games be considered art" debate coming to an end?
24 June 2008
Well it's here Solid Snake ha came back to us after a very lengthy break.
First of all, i have played some metal gear solid games, and vaugly know the story. But for the games release i re-played the previous games.
I'm still half way through playing metal gear but hope it wont end any time soon.
This game is almost beyond words.
When some games try to add a cinematic feel to it they normally fail or don't get the tone right etc. But this game is truly cinematic, the (very lengthy but beautifully done) cutscenes are very well done with some great dialouge and direction. Plus in the game the sound of bullets,bombs and buildings turning into debris truly capture the feel of the game.
The graphics are truly superb the best graphics i've seen in a game since uncharted.
Gameplay. Well the stealth action is still there. But the use of the otocamo is a great feature and works very well. Plus extra kudos go to the characters health. You have three meters in the game; the health meter, psyche meter and stress meter. This works amazingly, if snakes psyche is low then it will affect how quick he heals and if his stress is high it affects his psyche and his game performance. I remember at one point i'd let snakes stress reach quite high and suddenly he stopped moving and threw up. This amazaed me that they put so much thought into how realistic they were going to make this game.
Then there's enemy AI. the AI is unbelievably smart, the smartest enemies since rainbow six vegas. When your stealthing if you move loudly and make a sound then the enemy becomes aware of your presence or if they see the aiming laser from your gun. Also the dead enemies react well with the environment and so does snake. At one point an enemy threw a grenade at me and my body flew through the air and landed sitting up against a box, then my otocamo blended in with the object i was sitting against and the enemies were none the wiser.
Online play. Well once you get past the hassle of making two more accounts to play then the online play is very rewarding. You see the game everyone plays is call of duty 4 and thats it. Yes i loved call of duty for it's cinematic feel and great graphics and very good online play, but i'd become so tired of hearing about call of duty all the time and MGS4 has really stuck it to call of duty.
So. Can this game be considered art? In my opinion, yes, definitely. Not since shadow of the colossus have i loved a game so much and considered it as a piece of art but MGS4 peirces the border of video game and art.
overall:10/10 or if i could:20/10 Finally an exclusive the playstation can be proud of!
First of all, i have played some metal gear solid games, and vaugly know the story. But for the games release i re-played the previous games.
I'm still half way through playing metal gear but hope it wont end any time soon.
This game is almost beyond words.
When some games try to add a cinematic feel to it they normally fail or don't get the tone right etc. But this game is truly cinematic, the (very lengthy but beautifully done) cutscenes are very well done with some great dialouge and direction. Plus in the game the sound of bullets,bombs and buildings turning into debris truly capture the feel of the game.
The graphics are truly superb the best graphics i've seen in a game since uncharted.
Gameplay. Well the stealth action is still there. But the use of the otocamo is a great feature and works very well. Plus extra kudos go to the characters health. You have three meters in the game; the health meter, psyche meter and stress meter. This works amazingly, if snakes psyche is low then it will affect how quick he heals and if his stress is high it affects his psyche and his game performance. I remember at one point i'd let snakes stress reach quite high and suddenly he stopped moving and threw up. This amazaed me that they put so much thought into how realistic they were going to make this game.
Then there's enemy AI. the AI is unbelievably smart, the smartest enemies since rainbow six vegas. When your stealthing if you move loudly and make a sound then the enemy becomes aware of your presence or if they see the aiming laser from your gun. Also the dead enemies react well with the environment and so does snake. At one point an enemy threw a grenade at me and my body flew through the air and landed sitting up against a box, then my otocamo blended in with the object i was sitting against and the enemies were none the wiser.
Online play. Well once you get past the hassle of making two more accounts to play then the online play is very rewarding. You see the game everyone plays is call of duty 4 and thats it. Yes i loved call of duty for it's cinematic feel and great graphics and very good online play, but i'd become so tired of hearing about call of duty all the time and MGS4 has really stuck it to call of duty.
So. Can this game be considered art? In my opinion, yes, definitely. Not since shadow of the colossus have i loved a game so much and considered it as a piece of art but MGS4 peirces the border of video game and art.
overall:10/10 or if i could:20/10 Finally an exclusive the playstation can be proud of!
Haze
(2008 Video Game)
worth that incredibly long wait, all the design and story overhauls and the jumping release date.
19 May 2008
I remember way before the playstation 3 or the xbox 360 came out there was word of a new free radical game, who, at the time, were the best developers of FPS titles with the amazing time splitters series.
when the first teaser trailer came out i was excited. But years later when everyone thought possibly the best shooter on next gen went down the drain it popped back up again. But it had a complete design over haul. The armour looked different, different weapons, different feel.
Finally after all the jumping release dates i'm getting my copy this week but would like to write a review for the demo that came up on the playstation store.
excellent absolutely excellent
after what is imagine about a 4 year wait THEE PENULTIMATE shooter is here.
The gameplay is excellent the use of nectar and it's effects are put to excellent use and i know for a fact i'm going to miss nectar when i switch to the rebels. the AI is uber intelligent. probably smarter than the AI in Rainbow six vegas.
if you like free radical games or a newcomer this is an excellent way to start.
when the first teaser trailer came out i was excited. But years later when everyone thought possibly the best shooter on next gen went down the drain it popped back up again. But it had a complete design over haul. The armour looked different, different weapons, different feel.
Finally after all the jumping release dates i'm getting my copy this week but would like to write a review for the demo that came up on the playstation store.
excellent absolutely excellent
after what is imagine about a 4 year wait THEE PENULTIMATE shooter is here.
The gameplay is excellent the use of nectar and it's effects are put to excellent use and i know for a fact i'm going to miss nectar when i switch to the rebels. the AI is uber intelligent. probably smarter than the AI in Rainbow six vegas.
if you like free radical games or a newcomer this is an excellent way to start.
Speed Racer
(2008)
Cool beans!
11 May 2008
I've just come back from seeing Speed Racer and this is my review.
Back last year when i hear the bullet time bros. were doing a new movie based on the old TV cartoon Speed racer it didn't exactly capture me.
But when the trailer came out it got me.
So this is it.
Obviously the bros. have taken a lot from the source material and used it well considering their fans. I haven't watched the TV show but i can tell they poured their heart into this project.
When the film opens up it cuts between Speeds background and an exciting race. This is great because it shows the great background of the characters gradually and letting some action in as well.
Some great cinematography using some great green screen which adds to the anime style letting it stay true to the TV show. But at times i did find myself gawping at the screen like an idiot going "oooooh pretty colours!" but there are some great comedic moments.
the action sequences are intense and well done.
there are LOTS of strobe lights so be aware.
so all in all a good popcorn flick and definitely worth seeing.
Back last year when i hear the bullet time bros. were doing a new movie based on the old TV cartoon Speed racer it didn't exactly capture me.
But when the trailer came out it got me.
So this is it.
Obviously the bros. have taken a lot from the source material and used it well considering their fans. I haven't watched the TV show but i can tell they poured their heart into this project.
When the film opens up it cuts between Speeds background and an exciting race. This is great because it shows the great background of the characters gradually and letting some action in as well.
Some great cinematography using some great green screen which adds to the anime style letting it stay true to the TV show. But at times i did find myself gawping at the screen like an idiot going "oooooh pretty colours!" but there are some great comedic moments.
the action sequences are intense and well done.
there are LOTS of strobe lights so be aware.
so all in all a good popcorn flick and definitely worth seeing.
Iron Man
(2008)
The Iron Man Stands Tall
4 May 2008
Hi it's the 14 year old film fanatic and this is my review on Iron Man.
I love comic books first of all.
May is a good month, mainly because it's what i call the transition period into the summer blockbuster season, myfavourite time of the year.
But the transition this month had serveral bigger titles than ever before with the return of indy and so forth a newcomer and next big franchise starter comes along, Iron Man.
The story and narrative was well executed and it wasn't slow or difficult to get into. It opens up well then gradually leads us through with out rushing it.
Paticualr praise goes out to Jon Favreaus excellent drection. He's made a superhero film, which usually is aimed at younger child audiences, which is very serious and very adult. The first ever grown up superhero movie.
Comic book movies have the excellent luck of being perfectly cast ut if they ever slip up it's normally a big one (Yes i'm talking about you tommy lee jones as two face!) But this movie was excellently cast. Robert Downey Jnr. played the role of Tony Stark brilliantly and truly captured the character, wise cracks and all. But another thing that makes his performance excellent was his character development from charismatic smart arse to warrior of the righteous.
And a quick short mention to Jeff Bridges playing an excellent villain.
The effects were top notch and they did know where to draw the line between real time and CG.
So yes, all in all the best superhero movie ever made....so far (Jsut wait till chris nolan rocks the boat with my most anticipated film this year The Dark Knight). Just don't take your kids to see it. if i had more than 2 hands i could count how many kids and parents left the theatre half trough or how many kids moaned how bad it was while leaving. This film is NOT for kids it's very grown up and should be seriously so don't be expecting an exciting popcorn movie.
I love comic books first of all.
May is a good month, mainly because it's what i call the transition period into the summer blockbuster season, myfavourite time of the year.
But the transition this month had serveral bigger titles than ever before with the return of indy and so forth a newcomer and next big franchise starter comes along, Iron Man.
The story and narrative was well executed and it wasn't slow or difficult to get into. It opens up well then gradually leads us through with out rushing it.
Paticualr praise goes out to Jon Favreaus excellent drection. He's made a superhero film, which usually is aimed at younger child audiences, which is very serious and very adult. The first ever grown up superhero movie.
Comic book movies have the excellent luck of being perfectly cast ut if they ever slip up it's normally a big one (Yes i'm talking about you tommy lee jones as two face!) But this movie was excellently cast. Robert Downey Jnr. played the role of Tony Stark brilliantly and truly captured the character, wise cracks and all. But another thing that makes his performance excellent was his character development from charismatic smart arse to warrior of the righteous.
And a quick short mention to Jeff Bridges playing an excellent villain.
The effects were top notch and they did know where to draw the line between real time and CG.
So yes, all in all the best superhero movie ever made....so far (Jsut wait till chris nolan rocks the boat with my most anticipated film this year The Dark Knight). Just don't take your kids to see it. if i had more than 2 hands i could count how many kids and parents left the theatre half trough or how many kids moaned how bad it was while leaving. This film is NOT for kids it's very grown up and should be seriously so don't be expecting an exciting popcorn movie.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
(2008 Video Game)
The Penultimite Survival Horror Game
13 April 2008
When the x-box 360 first launched a couple of years ago one of the most promising looking launch titles was Condemned: Criminal Origins. All though Condemned didn't really get the hoo-haa i was expecting it spawned a sequel.
If there's one thing i don't understand it's why the first condemned never came out on ps3 but the sequel came out on PS3 too. But i'm very glad the game reached the sony console.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot follows on a couple of months after the first game. Ethan Thomas our favourite forensic investigator has resigned from SCU he's homeless and an alcoholic. The character has changed drastically since the last game as you can see. Ethan is called back with the loss of his friend Malcom Vanhorn and the return of the infamous SKX.
Basically, Condemned is a true to the genre Survival Horror. It actually lives to the name unlike other survival horror games. It greatly blends aspects of survival and horror.
The survival aspect is well done. The fact that you must think on your feet and make split second decisions and furious action going on around you. Anything and pretty much everything can be used as a weapon and this is a good point.
The horror part is quite obvious. You walk around grimy streets being attacked by figments of your imagination and insane killers. The levels are filled to the brim with atmosphere. It's very scary. Sometimes you will just randomly walk into a room and expect nothing to happen but suddenly your getting bricks thrown at you by a lunatic.
The game does use guns but doesn't emphasise on using them often. When you use guns your ammo runs down quickly and it's a while until you find ammo or another gun. Also as a great feature you can drink alcohol when your using a firearm to "calm" your nerves and make your aiming more responsive.
Overall a game that truly is scary, effective in gameplay and brims with good atmosphere.9/10 My tip: Turn off all your lights and turn the volume up real loud for maximum effect.
If there's one thing i don't understand it's why the first condemned never came out on ps3 but the sequel came out on PS3 too. But i'm very glad the game reached the sony console.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot follows on a couple of months after the first game. Ethan Thomas our favourite forensic investigator has resigned from SCU he's homeless and an alcoholic. The character has changed drastically since the last game as you can see. Ethan is called back with the loss of his friend Malcom Vanhorn and the return of the infamous SKX.
Basically, Condemned is a true to the genre Survival Horror. It actually lives to the name unlike other survival horror games. It greatly blends aspects of survival and horror.
The survival aspect is well done. The fact that you must think on your feet and make split second decisions and furious action going on around you. Anything and pretty much everything can be used as a weapon and this is a good point.
The horror part is quite obvious. You walk around grimy streets being attacked by figments of your imagination and insane killers. The levels are filled to the brim with atmosphere. It's very scary. Sometimes you will just randomly walk into a room and expect nothing to happen but suddenly your getting bricks thrown at you by a lunatic.
The game does use guns but doesn't emphasise on using them often. When you use guns your ammo runs down quickly and it's a while until you find ammo or another gun. Also as a great feature you can drink alcohol when your using a firearm to "calm" your nerves and make your aiming more responsive.
Overall a game that truly is scary, effective in gameplay and brims with good atmosphere.9/10 My tip: Turn off all your lights and turn the volume up real loud for maximum effect.
Ashes to Ashes
(2008–2010)
certainly not Ashes To Ashes with this series
30 March 2008
I was a bit of a newcomer to Life On Mars. I only joined in with the Life on Mars fad halfway through and by the time i finished catching up the spin-off series appeared. But lets face it, it was to be expected.
Ashes To Ashes picks up where Life On Mars left off but this time Sam Tyler is replaced with Alex Drake (Played by the stunning Keeley Hawes) who finds herself shot in the head and in 1981.
Que drumroll for the ALMIGHTY! DCI Gene Hunt. It's the only reason i kept tuning in for the first couple of episodes because of Phillip Glenisters awesome character and his trademark wit.
The show is great but it took me about 3 episodes in to get really into it while some people were hooked on the first episode i lingered in limbo. But have patience with it.
The fact that John Simms male character from Life on Mars has been replaced by an incredibly good looking female brings up plenty of new fresh ideas and story lines. This added a breath of fresh air because it mainly brought up new problems for Gene Hunt being a Mans Man.
The writing and character development was well executed and Gene Hunts comic wit was perfectly written. And Ashes to Ashes knew were to draw the line between comedy and drama. It kept it funny but also very serious.
all round this series is great and i look forward to the next series......even if i have to wait to next year for it.
Ashes To Ashes picks up where Life On Mars left off but this time Sam Tyler is replaced with Alex Drake (Played by the stunning Keeley Hawes) who finds herself shot in the head and in 1981.
Que drumroll for the ALMIGHTY! DCI Gene Hunt. It's the only reason i kept tuning in for the first couple of episodes because of Phillip Glenisters awesome character and his trademark wit.
The show is great but it took me about 3 episodes in to get really into it while some people were hooked on the first episode i lingered in limbo. But have patience with it.
The fact that John Simms male character from Life on Mars has been replaced by an incredibly good looking female brings up plenty of new fresh ideas and story lines. This added a breath of fresh air because it mainly brought up new problems for Gene Hunt being a Mans Man.
The writing and character development was well executed and Gene Hunts comic wit was perfectly written. And Ashes to Ashes knew were to draw the line between comedy and drama. It kept it funny but also very serious.
all round this series is great and i look forward to the next series......even if i have to wait to next year for it.
Horton Hears a Who!
(2008)
After watching this i said to myself "pixar have competition"
20 March 2008
hi it's the 14 year old film fanatic again and this is my review for Horton Hears A Who! Growing up i loved Dr. Seuss. Even at a young age i thought that cat in the hat and the grinch were massacaring his work. I knew that the work of seuss could only be done animated and finally my favourite dr. seuss story horton hears a who has made it's way into the animated world.
I might start comparing this film to Chuck Jonses' animation of horton so bear with me please.
Horton the elephant lives in the jungle of nool and one day he hears a noise on a speck. He befriends the small civilizations mayor and tries to take the "Whos world to safety" Horton is met with much anger and controversy from the rest of the jungle animals beleiving that there is no other civilization beyond their own.
Horton hears a who is a fantastic film and even very mature adults will love it.
The animation is well done and the effects on water and especially fur is the best since Monsters Inc.
Horton remains very true to seuss' story and even the little things like the famous "YOPP" are never left out.
Another thing i noticed is that most of the whos have very similar motions to chuck jonses' adaption which is great mainly because you have a combination of great rising star company blue sky with one of the worlds best animators.
After seeing this i thought that pixar would definitely have competition now. But i know that when the highly anticipated Wall.E comes out those thoughts will be crushed when it comes Oscar season again.
overall a great film for kids and adults and makes you think about life and the question of god etc etc
I might start comparing this film to Chuck Jonses' animation of horton so bear with me please.
Horton the elephant lives in the jungle of nool and one day he hears a noise on a speck. He befriends the small civilizations mayor and tries to take the "Whos world to safety" Horton is met with much anger and controversy from the rest of the jungle animals beleiving that there is no other civilization beyond their own.
Horton hears a who is a fantastic film and even very mature adults will love it.
The animation is well done and the effects on water and especially fur is the best since Monsters Inc.
Horton remains very true to seuss' story and even the little things like the famous "YOPP" are never left out.
Another thing i noticed is that most of the whos have very similar motions to chuck jonses' adaption which is great mainly because you have a combination of great rising star company blue sky with one of the worlds best animators.
After seeing this i thought that pixar would definitely have competition now. But i know that when the highly anticipated Wall.E comes out those thoughts will be crushed when it comes Oscar season again.
overall a great film for kids and adults and makes you think about life and the question of god etc etc
Cloverfield
(2008)
2008 of to GR8 start
9 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Hi it's the 14 year old film fanatic again and this is my review on cloverfield.
To review this film i'm going to have to go back to july 2007: Me and a friend went to t go see the first showing of transformers, and me being film fanatic i could name every film trailer that was showing. But. This random trailer came on. I knew nothing about it and i'm sure other people were wondering what this was as well. The trailer showed a party then rumbling then explosions and a familiar head rolling down the street. After that it said 1-18-08 from producer j.j. Abrams. And then from the short space of silence between that trailer all anyone could hear was whispers of confusion "Godzilla, Blair witch knock off, Lost spin off, Cthulu." I had made the assumption that it was Godzilla but much more deep. But i would love the idea of Cthulu as i love lovecraftian. After that it was an internet frenzy, viral website, tie-ins, fake sites and crazy rumours that the story was gods versus aliens.
But then the new trailer came out and finally after 6 months Cloverfield is here and i've just come back from seeing it.
In case you haven't already guessed the film is about a giant monster attacking the city of new york. It's shot in the same hand-held camera style as the Blair witch and it documents a small group of people trying to save a friend and escape Manhattan.
First of all there are loves and hates about the style of shooting. The loves is that the fact that it's shot through a hand-held digi-cam adds that sense of true depth rather than seeming really hollywoodised. Also there are no opening credits, just bunch of numbers and strange TV symbols explaining the film is a document in an event designated cloverfield. That one thing makes it seem like it's true and adds to it's expanded universe. But the one major problem is flashing strobe lights but mostly the shaky camera which at certain points makes you stop eating popcorn 'cause your feeling travel sick.
The effects. Well for a film made in entire secrecy it's a massive surprise. By looking at it you would think you would know someone was making a film on a massive scale. It was relatively low budget but it was made great. Great tense moments like the Brooklyn bridge snapping in half etc. almost seemed epic and mega expensive. The monster. I'm not going to go into details of what the monster looks like. But i thought it would follow the tradition of "Less is more" But it didn't and you got to see the monster up close and it looks amazing.
The acting truly is deep and you have a feeling for the characters. Even though you can understand their situation you understand they're misfortune.
Once the film came to it's rather dull ending. (True love conquers all) You can't help but stand up and clap, i applauded at this film it was amazingly made, deep, and it wasn't clichéd or exaggerated and was a new gust of fresh air.
The allegations of the 9/11 allusions are almost annoying. And i don't mean to offend anyone who is connected to 9/11 i sympathise but comparing mass murdering suicide bombers to a fictional CGI monster is ludicrous.
The ending of the film did eventually put me off that the two remaining characters, who are each others love interest die in each others arms screaming i love you. But if you have the patience to sit through the credits like i did then you will get an extra surprise.
Definitely worth your time and has been my favourite film of 2008 so far.
To review this film i'm going to have to go back to july 2007: Me and a friend went to t go see the first showing of transformers, and me being film fanatic i could name every film trailer that was showing. But. This random trailer came on. I knew nothing about it and i'm sure other people were wondering what this was as well. The trailer showed a party then rumbling then explosions and a familiar head rolling down the street. After that it said 1-18-08 from producer j.j. Abrams. And then from the short space of silence between that trailer all anyone could hear was whispers of confusion "Godzilla, Blair witch knock off, Lost spin off, Cthulu." I had made the assumption that it was Godzilla but much more deep. But i would love the idea of Cthulu as i love lovecraftian. After that it was an internet frenzy, viral website, tie-ins, fake sites and crazy rumours that the story was gods versus aliens.
But then the new trailer came out and finally after 6 months Cloverfield is here and i've just come back from seeing it.
In case you haven't already guessed the film is about a giant monster attacking the city of new york. It's shot in the same hand-held camera style as the Blair witch and it documents a small group of people trying to save a friend and escape Manhattan.
First of all there are loves and hates about the style of shooting. The loves is that the fact that it's shot through a hand-held digi-cam adds that sense of true depth rather than seeming really hollywoodised. Also there are no opening credits, just bunch of numbers and strange TV symbols explaining the film is a document in an event designated cloverfield. That one thing makes it seem like it's true and adds to it's expanded universe. But the one major problem is flashing strobe lights but mostly the shaky camera which at certain points makes you stop eating popcorn 'cause your feeling travel sick.
The effects. Well for a film made in entire secrecy it's a massive surprise. By looking at it you would think you would know someone was making a film on a massive scale. It was relatively low budget but it was made great. Great tense moments like the Brooklyn bridge snapping in half etc. almost seemed epic and mega expensive. The monster. I'm not going to go into details of what the monster looks like. But i thought it would follow the tradition of "Less is more" But it didn't and you got to see the monster up close and it looks amazing.
The acting truly is deep and you have a feeling for the characters. Even though you can understand their situation you understand they're misfortune.
Once the film came to it's rather dull ending. (True love conquers all) You can't help but stand up and clap, i applauded at this film it was amazingly made, deep, and it wasn't clichéd or exaggerated and was a new gust of fresh air.
The allegations of the 9/11 allusions are almost annoying. And i don't mean to offend anyone who is connected to 9/11 i sympathise but comparing mass murdering suicide bombers to a fictional CGI monster is ludicrous.
The ending of the film did eventually put me off that the two remaining characters, who are each others love interest die in each others arms screaming i love you. But if you have the patience to sit through the credits like i did then you will get an extra surprise.
Definitely worth your time and has been my favourite film of 2008 so far.
I Am Legend
(2007)
From someone who read the book's review
27 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I heard of I Am Legend the film a while back and i thought i should read the book before i see the film.
So i read the book several times and finally the film is here and i've just seen it.
The book focuses mostly on a humans fragile state of mind and how easily it can be shattered by events beyond their understanding or their control, this also rings true in the film.
The story goes that a doctor has taken the measels and has suppusodly found a cure for cancer but then people die from this new cure virus and some mutate into creature.
In the book the origin of the virus is never explained and the book refers to the infected humans as vampires yet the film just depicts infected people as anamalistic creatures.
The new "Krippen Virus" has killed most of the population and th rest are either immune or mutated.
Robert Neville who is the main character, everyday gathers new supplies, hunts deer, tries to develop a cure etc etc.
After a very important turning point in the film Nevilles already fragile state of mind collapses and struggles to continue in this world which he doesn't truly understand.
The film is depressing just like the book and the film follows relatively close to the book, but the film would have been better if it followed the ending in the book as that was more dramatic.
If your planning to see this film i would definitely recommend reading the book first.
7/10
So i read the book several times and finally the film is here and i've just seen it.
The book focuses mostly on a humans fragile state of mind and how easily it can be shattered by events beyond their understanding or their control, this also rings true in the film.
The story goes that a doctor has taken the measels and has suppusodly found a cure for cancer but then people die from this new cure virus and some mutate into creature.
In the book the origin of the virus is never explained and the book refers to the infected humans as vampires yet the film just depicts infected people as anamalistic creatures.
The new "Krippen Virus" has killed most of the population and th rest are either immune or mutated.
Robert Neville who is the main character, everyday gathers new supplies, hunts deer, tries to develop a cure etc etc.
After a very important turning point in the film Nevilles already fragile state of mind collapses and struggles to continue in this world which he doesn't truly understand.
The film is depressing just like the book and the film follows relatively close to the book, but the film would have been better if it followed the ending in the book as that was more dramatic.
If your planning to see this film i would definitely recommend reading the book first.
7/10
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
(2007 Video Game)
Close to gaming perfection
23 December 2007
Finally after much anticipation i finally got a copy of call of duty 4 and have now finished the game.
The main story is how a Russian ultranationalist party wants to bring Russia back to it's soviet days. The leader of the ultranationalists is Imran Zackaev and he uses a middle eastern terrorist, Kahled Al Asad to draw attention away from the russians.
Playable characters jump between several characters. You play S.A.S sergent Soap Mactavish, Sergent Paul Jackson of the U.S.M.C and also a very fun one off mission were you go flashback 15 years and play as captain price.
The graphics are incredibly detailed and every tiny detail is catered for.
The story was a fantastic idea considering how call of duty has jumped from world war 2 to the modern day.
Online is where the fun really lies. There are hundreds of different online games but my favourite is ground war which is basically your team deathmatch but with LOTS more players and it actually feels like a warzone with grenades,explosions and bullets happening all around you.
A very deep experience and certainly worth your money, definitely my game of the year.
The main story is how a Russian ultranationalist party wants to bring Russia back to it's soviet days. The leader of the ultranationalists is Imran Zackaev and he uses a middle eastern terrorist, Kahled Al Asad to draw attention away from the russians.
Playable characters jump between several characters. You play S.A.S sergent Soap Mactavish, Sergent Paul Jackson of the U.S.M.C and also a very fun one off mission were you go flashback 15 years and play as captain price.
The graphics are incredibly detailed and every tiny detail is catered for.
The story was a fantastic idea considering how call of duty has jumped from world war 2 to the modern day.
Online is where the fun really lies. There are hundreds of different online games but my favourite is ground war which is basically your team deathmatch but with LOTS more players and it actually feels like a warzone with grenades,explosions and bullets happening all around you.
A very deep experience and certainly worth your money, definitely my game of the year.
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
(2007 Video Game)
Certainly worth the bafta
22 December 2007
I was struggling to decide between 3 PS3 games, Timeshift, Uncharted or Kane And Lynch.
Eventually i randomly chose kane and lynch.
Now there's something i love about this game more than any other. Mainly because it has a genuine human drama, you mostly feel this is the character Kane because of the backstory of the death of his son.
A great feature of the game is when your dying the screen goes into negative and you can hear voices of past events which is a clever addition as it builds up the emotion.
The online is massive fun, it's not just your random kill anyone game. You can choose the bank map and go inside, steal money and escape.
Overall, this game is fantastic but is slightly below the mark of my game of the year, Call of Duty 4
Eventually i randomly chose kane and lynch.
Now there's something i love about this game more than any other. Mainly because it has a genuine human drama, you mostly feel this is the character Kane because of the backstory of the death of his son.
A great feature of the game is when your dying the screen goes into negative and you can hear voices of past events which is a clever addition as it builds up the emotion.
The online is massive fun, it's not just your random kill anyone game. You can choose the bank map and go inside, steal money and escape.
Overall, this game is fantastic but is slightly below the mark of my game of the year, Call of Duty 4
The Exorcist
(1973)
the 14 year old film fanatic movie review on the exorcist
3 December 2007
Hi i am the 14 year old film fanatic. And your maybe thinking that people my age only like incredibly bad, unfunny and un-entertaining films like white chicks, scary movie etc. But like most film fanatics i do have taste in films unlike other people my age.
The exorcist. Number one on every scaries movie ever poll.
But is it?
Of course at the time of it's release my mother went to see it. And like hell she warned me not to watch it. But i watched the directors cut.
First of all. The cast was all very well chosen right up to the priest who was played fantastically. The mood of the film starts off on an easy pace,but then everything begins to become unsettiling. After unsetteling everything builds up to a terrefying melanchony,dark and disturbing atmosphere.
The special effects were all well done considering that they weren't done in post production.
But what makes the exorcist so blood curtling? Is it the atmosphere,the effects,the make-up. Perhaps it's all the events. Like the 360 head spin or the spider walk.
You only know how scary it is until you see it.
But please don't watch it expecting a scary film keep in mind it is a drama too
overall. Why doesn't this bloody site let you put above 10 starts?!!!!?????
The exorcist. Number one on every scaries movie ever poll.
But is it?
Of course at the time of it's release my mother went to see it. And like hell she warned me not to watch it. But i watched the directors cut.
First of all. The cast was all very well chosen right up to the priest who was played fantastically. The mood of the film starts off on an easy pace,but then everything begins to become unsettiling. After unsetteling everything builds up to a terrefying melanchony,dark and disturbing atmosphere.
The special effects were all well done considering that they weren't done in post production.
But what makes the exorcist so blood curtling? Is it the atmosphere,the effects,the make-up. Perhaps it's all the events. Like the 360 head spin or the spider walk.
You only know how scary it is until you see it.
But please don't watch it expecting a scary film keep in mind it is a drama too
overall. Why doesn't this bloody site let you put above 10 starts?!!!!?????
Eraserhead
(1977)
It's like he took our nightmares and put it on film.
2 October 2007
Eraserhead.
After months of researching and searching i have finally obtained a copy of David Lynch's Eraserhead.
I knew what to expect from it but the final result was beyond my expectations.
The story is your average guy named Henry has been invited to his girlfriends house and informed that his girlfriend Mary x has had a baby. The baby is deformed. At that point things go from eerie, creepy to skin-crawling. The line of story and dream like scenes get blurred. Things start to build up until it's strange and frankly rather disturbing end.
David Lynch is possibly one of the best directors ever.
His sense of style is amazing and he captures the idea of nightmare/dream like weirdness perfectly.
And even though people wont like films with almost no dialogue you can almost ignore it in this film.
Overall you should see it, it's a little known classic.
After months of researching and searching i have finally obtained a copy of David Lynch's Eraserhead.
I knew what to expect from it but the final result was beyond my expectations.
The story is your average guy named Henry has been invited to his girlfriends house and informed that his girlfriend Mary x has had a baby. The baby is deformed. At that point things go from eerie, creepy to skin-crawling. The line of story and dream like scenes get blurred. Things start to build up until it's strange and frankly rather disturbing end.
David Lynch is possibly one of the best directors ever.
His sense of style is amazing and he captures the idea of nightmare/dream like weirdness perfectly.
And even though people wont like films with almost no dialogue you can almost ignore it in this film.
Overall you should see it, it's a little known classic.
Larva
(2005 TV Movie)
Attack of the killer drapes
29 September 2007
Ugggggghhhhhh.
Why did i watch this.
One night, very bored i decided to watch a thing on the sci-fi channel called; The Scariest Night On TV. First film showing was Larva.
What a waste.
The film starts off with a new vet arriving in a town called host. But a parasite is lurking in the towns meat and cows. People who have eaten infected meat soon start growing the parasite within them, when the parasite is fully grown they burst out the chest. (No i actually don't see any resemblance to alien what-so-ever.) First of all the CGI is crap. It's clunky,fuzzy and drab.
The creature design was a mess like c'mon, the parasites look like drapes or rugs.
The acting is hammy.
Ladden with plot holes.
Why did i watch this.
One night, very bored i decided to watch a thing on the sci-fi channel called; The Scariest Night On TV. First film showing was Larva.
What a waste.
The film starts off with a new vet arriving in a town called host. But a parasite is lurking in the towns meat and cows. People who have eaten infected meat soon start growing the parasite within them, when the parasite is fully grown they burst out the chest. (No i actually don't see any resemblance to alien what-so-ever.) First of all the CGI is crap. It's clunky,fuzzy and drab.
The creature design was a mess like c'mon, the parasites look like drapes or rugs.
The acting is hammy.
Ladden with plot holes.
Night Watch
(2004)
A fresh exciting foreign horror action film.
17 September 2007
I first heard of Night Watch when i went to go see Wes Cravens very rubbish Red Eye. The trailer for night watch gave off that it was the first of a epic horror trilogy.
Finally after missing it in the cinema and getting it on DVD years after initial release i have watched it.
The story: Centuries ago two warring sides fought on a bridge, the side of light and the side of dark. When the two leaders finally relised that either side was evenly matched then the two sides struck up a truce. The truce was that the side of light containing pyschics, shape shifters etc. would have a force known as night watch to make sure the dark side were keeping the truce. And the side of dark containing vampires, witches, sorcerers etc. would be keeping the truce under the name day watch.
The story then budges explaining that one day a great one would come and whatever side he chose would be the winning side.
Now there is a man named Anton who becomes aware of the nightwatch and becomes a light other. Now for 12 years he has been working for nightwatch, but something has came up from his past and it might bring deadly consequences.
Special effects: The special effects were very good. Especially great moments like seeing how the car engines work and how they sometimes switch from view to view.
Acting: Acting is great never over the top,never bland and never bad.
Should you see it? YES!!!
Finally after missing it in the cinema and getting it on DVD years after initial release i have watched it.
The story: Centuries ago two warring sides fought on a bridge, the side of light and the side of dark. When the two leaders finally relised that either side was evenly matched then the two sides struck up a truce. The truce was that the side of light containing pyschics, shape shifters etc. would have a force known as night watch to make sure the dark side were keeping the truce. And the side of dark containing vampires, witches, sorcerers etc. would be keeping the truce under the name day watch.
The story then budges explaining that one day a great one would come and whatever side he chose would be the winning side.
Now there is a man named Anton who becomes aware of the nightwatch and becomes a light other. Now for 12 years he has been working for nightwatch, but something has came up from his past and it might bring deadly consequences.
Special effects: The special effects were very good. Especially great moments like seeing how the car engines work and how they sometimes switch from view to view.
Acting: Acting is great never over the top,never bland and never bad.
Should you see it? YES!!!
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