Silicon Valley: Season 2

When Mike Judge’s Silicon Valley started in 2014, I had no interest in it. I’ve never been much of a ‘techie’, and something about it just didn’t grab me – maybe it was the technology theme, maybe it was the cast, or maybe I was just too busy with other things at the time. In any case, it went right past me. But late last year, I decided to stop judging it by its cover and give it a go. A few days later, I had binged the entire first two seasons and was desperate for the sweet fix of more episodes – something that is finally with us on the 24th of April, in the form of the long-awaited season three. To usher that in, HBO has released Season Two on Blu-ray and DVD.

Picking up directly where the first season left off, Season Two opens with our Pied Piper heroes finally having some success in the Valley with their compression software. Richard (Thomas Middleditch), Bachman (T.J. Miller), Gilfoyle (Martin Starr), Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani) and ‘Jared’ (Zach Woods) find themselves being wined and dined by those desperate to get in on some of their action, now that their company has won the TechCrunch Disrupt. But due to the upsetting real-life death of actor Christopher Evan Welch (Season One’s Peter Gregory) which is written into the show, everything changes for our heroes. Add into that a lawsuit that threatens to destroy everything the guys have worked for, and Season Two has a pretty solid narrative – despite frequently treading familiar ground. There are moments of déjà vu when it looks like it’s all over for our heroes, but then they manage to win at the last second against all odds, before meeting another threat. Rinse, lather, repeat. But hey, if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it.

It’s hard to think how this season might have differed if it hadn’t been for Christopher Evan Welch’s untimely death during production of the first season, but from reading interviews online it’s clear he would have continued to have an integral part. His character is quite crudely replaced by Laurie Bream (Suzanne Cryer) who seems to be doing an impression of Welch in an attempt to fill the hole he left, but it just doesn’t seem right – or respectful, for that matter. This was a big issue with this season. Of course, Welch’s death was truly unfortunate but the show should’ve left the memory of Peter Gregory alone. Replacing him like this just seemed nasty. It wasn’t a subtle attempt to compensate for the loss of Welch, it was rammed in the viewer’s face. 

Thank goodness for the rest of the cast then, who continue to make the series hilariously entertaining. Sadly, Thomas Middleditch continues to be given the weakest jokes and story despite arguably being the protagonist, while the best material is again split between the characters Bachman, Gilfoyle and Dinesh. Matt Ross returns as the scheming founder of Pied Piper’s rival Hooli, playing the most unlikeable character in the show…that is until you meet Russ Hanneman (Chris Diamantopoulos), an obnoxious playboy millionaire looking to get in on Pied Piper. He’s tediously overused and another low point of this otherwise great second season.

On the whole, Silicon Valley: Season Two does suffer second-season-blues in its struggle to match the superb first, but it’s still gold. The main cast are all on fine form, the majority of the jokes land, and the closing cliff-hanger is enough to leave you desperate for another 10 episodes from the gang. But nothing will ever top the first season’s sequence of Bachman beating the shit out of a child while threatening his parents. Nothing.

Silicon Valley’s second season isn’t quite as good as its first, but there are still a lot of laughs here. Recommended. 4/5.

★★★★☆

Sam Love

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Lichdom: Battlemage

Lichdom: Battlemage is a mix-up of a few different aspects from a few genres coupled with beautiful visuals and effects to create a compelling experience. While things never change all that much, the core gameplay is so enjoyable that it pushes you through when things may get a little repetitive.

Out on May 6th for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and developed by Xaviant, Lichdom: Battlemage feels like something that came from a team of people who played and enjoyed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and thought that while the game was good, the combat sucked. They took the magical aspect of it and made it impactful and thoroughly enjoyable. The structure of Lichdom: Battlemage is rather straight forward.  You play as a spell caster and the beginning allows you to choose female or male. Whoever you choose, the other character will be abducted be Shax and you must fight to get him/her back. It's a standard story, nothing extraordinary and is just a foundation for the gameplay that the game focuses on.

It's a spell-casting game that brings the best elements from spell-casting games like The Elder Scrolls series. The catch here though is that there is no resource pool so you can throw fireballs to your heart's content. It all feels pretty cool and each landing attack feels impactful as particles fly around the screen in a symphony of elements.

The game focuses on making spells with the loot that you pick up along the way to tailor-make attacks and defences that will bring you the best results in battle. Throughout the game you move from area to area taking out waves of different types of enemies. Some enemies drop loot while other parts of the environment will give you rewards upon attacking them. The longer you survive the higher chance you will have of receiving better stats and passives for your spells.

The way in which you learn and create new spells is both deep and easy to understand. You can quite easily mix things up or even switch out entire sets to allow you to mix things up pretty quickly. Honestly it never felt cumbersome or complicated and I'm a person that has little patience for bad UI and user experience decisions. Visually. It is a rather nice game, using some incredible effects on CryEngine. Couple the colourful particle effects with great lighting, Lichdom: Battlemage can definitely be attention grabbing at times. It's a treat going to a new area, seeing the stunning visuals, and causing mayhem all over again.

I have to be honest here though. There is one elephant in the room that I haven't mentioned yet. I put this at the end simply because it might not be an issue by the time you get your hands on it but the frame rate as it currently stands is pretty horrendous in places. Like, it's around 15 fps bad. Patches are promised so that may finally reach to 30 by the time the game officially launches but it's definitely worth mentioning here. Lichdom: Battlemage is a fun action spell-casting game that has a cool customisation system in terms of creating spells. The one downside I must say the game has other than the frame rate is that it can become pretty repetitive. Still, despite all of this, it's a worthwhile romp so long as the technical problems are fixed.

A little bit of magic mixed with a slow spell. 3/5.

★★★☆☆

Jason Redmond

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Ratchet and Clank

Ratchet and Clank is the game based on the movie that’s based on the 2003 PlayStation 2 video game. While it may bring back nightmares of the Street Fighter The Movie game, Ratchet and Clank on PlayStation 4 is honestly one of the most pleasant and enjoyable games I’ve played in a long time. 

Out now for PlayStation 4, developer Insomniac Games have proven once again that they can create beautiful looking worlds. This comes at a cost of the frame rate being halved to 30 but honestly it doesn’t matter because Ratchet and Clank is visually mesmerising. If you played through the original on PlayStation 2 or even the HD remaster that followed later, there’s no need to worry if you’ll get any enjoyment out of this game – you definitely will. There are enough enhancements as well as inclusions from other games in the series and new content to make this game very much feel like something new. This isn’t a simple copy and paste of the original.

If this game proves anything it’s that there is plenty of life in the 3D platformer genre. I dabbled in Ratchet and Clank in the past so while I’m familiar with the structure and feel of the games, I’m not a diehard fan possibly wearing rose-tinted glasses. I state the previous sentence simply because of this: The new Ratchet and Clank is one of the most fun experiences I may have ever had with a video game in my 20+ years of playing.

There’s no melodrama or dull moments. From the second you start the game, it’s just a joy to play. The controls feel excellent, the visuals are memorable, but it’s how everything compliments each other that keeps it always fantastic. You spend a vast majority of the game moving from planet to planet taking out the bad guys and saving the inhabitants. Each new planet feels distinctive and is a genuine treat to explore. Some of the locations from the original game are laid out slightly different or will have a slightly different theme that makes it both stand out and feel new to returning players.

Some enhancements from later games in the series are present in this remake. First off, all the weapons you use can be levelled up as well as your characters itself. It creates a much deeper and replayable nature to just playing through the game. You can also find special items in the world that is used to level up those weapons using something similar to the Sphere Grid seen in older Final Fantasy titles. If you know the developer Insomniac Games then you’ll know just how good they are at creating fun and unique weapons. Ratchet and Clank is a high point for them as some of the funniest and most entertaining weapons are present. The weapons on show here are like a “greatest hits” collection and even include a new weapon or two. Each weapon feels different and is great to use in combat.

When I played the original Ratchet and Clank back in the day I thought it was fun. Jumping back into the series 14 years later prove that not only is the genre alive and well but developers Insomniac Games are still at their very best. I can only hope that this is the start of the revitalisation of the 3D Action Platformer.

Playing this game is the embodiment of fun. 5/5.

★★★★★

 Jason Redmond

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Time Out Of Mind

After reminding us all he exists last year with a rather confused performance in the underwhelming Marigold Hotel sequel, Richard Gere has had something of a comeback this year. And with this comeback, he brought us two of his finest performances yet. And boy, did we have to wait for them. We had the criminally underrated The Benefactor which began shooting at the end of 2013, and this – Time Out Of Mind – which shot through 2014. Both films only reached us in the UK this year. 

Out now on DVD, Time Out Of Mind is an interesting film right from the DVD case. ‘Supporting homelessness charities’; the cover states, followed by two charity logos. Unusual for a film with a big-name star, the UK DVD release of Time Out Of Mind is indeed a charity release. Why? Because this film is one of the most real and honest portrayals of homelessness in the history of cinema. There’s no Hollywood-ising here, this film certainly shows the harsh realities of big-city life. Richard Gere plays George, an ageing homeless man attempting to repair the relationship with his estranged daughter. I know what you’re thinking, it sounds like something you’ve seen a thousand times before. An old, broken man trying to right his wrongs with his family – hardly a unique or original premise. But Time Out Of Mind’s plot is fairly inconsequential. 

Writer-director Oren Moverman, one of indie cinema’s finest talents, brings us another expertly crafted piece of work here. His direction is distant, but in an intentional and highly effective way. The majority of shots feel like they’re captured with hidden cameras, with our subjects distant and obscured through windows, stairways, doorways and from across the street. And on top of that, the sound design is busy – the hustle and bustle of the city often overpowers the hushed dialogue from our hero. Clearly, this is an attempt to show the city’s disregard of homeless existence – making the film, quite rightly, difficult to watch. The homeless characters are shown as silent individuals, who we as a viewer sneak a look at through windows out of some morbid curiosity. In shooting this film on-location, many people mistook Gere for a homeless man - and Gere himself said he was hurt by how many people couldn’t look at him, or would instantly look away. But funnily enough, some kinder passers-by handed Gere scraps of food or loose change – blissfully unaware they’re giving bits of leftover pizza to a Hollywood star.

But this distant style has been very polarising with audiences and critics. When Time Out Of Mind screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, more than 20 attendees walked out. Just looking at the reviews further emphasises this point – while some say the film is ‘long-winded’, ‘dull’ and ‘without direction’, others say it is ‘a remarkable achievement in the history of cinema’. Maybe it’s the style and delivery, or maybe it is just the socially conscious premise that people can’t handle. After all, film is supposed to be escapism. But we must never ignore the social issues in front of us.

Time Out Of Mind is a very solid piece of work. Yes, it requires a lot of patience and yes, it is very slow. There’s no big moment, nor does it end with a bang. This is just a quiet, poignant character study and a reminder that homelessness is still a big issue in our streets. If nothing else, maybe it’ll make some of you look at the homeless a little different. Maybe now you’ll find a couple of quid to throw into their hat. Or maybe you’ll do more. We can only hope that it won’t be an issue for much longer but while it still is, at least Hollywood aren’t turning a blind eye to it. And maybe if we don’t turn a blind eye to it either, we can all fix it together.

Time Out Of Mind is a powerful and understated little film, and a remarkable study of homelessness. 4/5.

★★★★☆

Sam Love

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iPhone SE

Time to separate the Apples from the Oranges (Android, duh!). Apple is back with a new 4” phone after ages which Steve Jobs always wanted to stick to. Let’s see if this new little baby in the world of large screen phones survives the competition!

Design, Display & Hardware

Pull the phone out of the box and you won’t be able to identify it from the 2013 iPhone 5S, thanks to the missing antenna lines and similar design language to the 5S.On the left it has the iconic mute and volume buttons. The top edge has the lock/power button while the bottom edge has the 3.5mm jack and Lightning charging port surrounded by speaker grills. The SIM slot again like all iPhones is on the right edge. On the front you have the 1.2MP camera at the top and the fingerprint reader (touch ID)/home button at the bottom, which is one of the most efficient readers in the market right now. Unlocking is smooth and matches the Samsung Note 5 in terms of speed. Let me remind you how horrible it was on the Note 4 etc. When you hide to swipe your finger then on the scanner..aarrgh! At the back you have the 12MP camera with dual tone flash.

The 4 “ screen is the USP on this phone in a world dominated by 5” or more screens. It’s a lowly 326 ppi and not even full HD, but when you use the phone it looks pretty sharp. The phone weighs in at 113 gms & is 7.6 mm thick, all exactly similar to the iPhone 5S.The only difference is in the innards which match the iPhone 6S from last year. Apple’s A9 processor (dual core 1.8 ghz) paired with Power VR GT7600 GPU , 2GB RAM and 16/64 GB ROM.Obviously no memory card slot and supporting only a Nano SIM card slot. The SE has Apple Pay support but missing the  FM Radio and no infrared ports. Battery is slightly higher  @ 1624 mAh (14Hrs claimed talk time) from the 1560 mAh on the 5S. Color options available are Silver, Gold, Rose Gold and Space Gray.

Software

iOS 9.3 out of the box is the smoothest , least buggiest iOS till date. Sad , the iPhone SE doesn’t support 3D touch so no Peak and Pop for emails and no Quick actions . Live photo thankfully still exists which is a great trick up it’s sleeve. As mentioned earlier, Apple pay on this one is a good option to future proof your device once the service becomes even more popular. The software again takes up most of your storage and gives you only 10GB odd total which sucks. I don’t understand why there’s no 32GB version!  

Camera

The rear camera is a 12MP iSight camera with f/2.4 and dual tone flash that takes stunning pictures esp. in daylight. Perhaps the best mobile phone camera and only the Samsung S7 is a real competition. Low light pictures are still above average but could’ve been better. It supports 4k video recording and editing in the iMovie app & can capture Slow motion videos as well (240fps @720p and 120fps @1080p . 5S could only do 120fps @ 720p) . Normal videos can be recorded in 4K @30fps , 1080p@ 60fps, and 720p @120fps. Camera modes like burst, HDR , manual , macro etc. are available for those who like to experiment. The most disappointing thing in this phone is the 1.2MP f/2.4 front face time camera that supports Retina flash like the 6S but it was a 5MP camera. Understandably the SE doesn’t take good quality selfie.

Gaming & Multimedia

Asphalt 8 on this phone looked amazing , thanks to the small screen! There was no lag and switching between apps was crash free. It’s got a great video editor and Apple Music sounding great thanks to a good quality speaker and earphones. Apple devices are usually great for multimedia and gaming . The battery lasted almost 10hrs on heavy usage of wi-fi , face time, Youtube and gaming which is exceptional ; the 5S would’ve lasted only 8 and the 6S maybe 9 hrs max.

Conclusion

It isn’t a new generation device by any means but if you love the iOS and iPhone but never bought them since the onslaught of bigger screens , this is your go to phone if you ignore the lowly front camera ! If the price isn’t a concern this is one of the best small screen phones in the market. For the price conscious look at getting the iPhone 6S by paying a little extra and getting a better overall phone.  For Android lovers, keep loving your droids there are plethora of options at this flagship price point and almost double the specs!

I’d rate the iPhone SE 4/5.

★★★★☆

Pritesh Khilnani

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Brian Pern: The Complete Series 1-3

When you talk about rock music mockumentaries, one film in particular always comes to mind. That film, of course, is Rob Reiner’s This is Spinal Tap. Even if you haven’t seen it, you’ve quoted it – whether you know it or not. So influential was Spinal Tap that its hilarious dialogue has trickled into everyday vernacular, and the film itself is known as one of the finest comedies in the history or cinema. Many have tried to make a mockumentary like it, and many have failed. But Rhys Thomas is here, and he’s brought his friend Brian Pern with him. Watch out, Spinal Tap. Your days as the ‘funniest mockumentary of all time’ are numbered.

  

Out now on DVD & Blu-ray, Brian Pern: The Complete Series 1-3 follows the life of fictitious progressive rock-star Brian Pern - and from the opening seconds, it is clear this character isn’t completely fabricated. Brian Pern is in fact an affectionate parody of ‘prog’ icon Peter Gabriel, from his beginnings in a band (Thotch, a spoof of Genesis) through his solo career full of world music, charity and plasticine-filled videos. So much so, Peter even cameos in 3 episodes of the show and has publicly said “It made me laugh a lot, even though it was at my expense. I love to laugh”. It says a lot about a person’s character when they can laugh at themselves, and just when I thought I could never respect Peter Gabriel any more than I already do – boom, it looks like I can. What a legend.

Brian’s story is told over three 3-part programmes; The Life of Rock, A Life in Rock and 45 Years of Prog and Roll…And every single second of it is genius. As such, it’s hard to review Brian Pern. If I were to list everything that is good about it, this review would be the longest I’ve ever written. So let’s keep it brief and look at the best things about it, shall we? Firstly, the cast are phenomenal. Simon Day (known for The Fast Show and Grass) brings us easily his finest work to date as the often bewildered Brian Pern, with subtly brilliant Peter Gabriel mannerisms and speaking patterns throughout. But the show is an ensemble piece. Delivered as a serious fly-on-the-wall documentary, everybody delivers hilarious straight-faced performances from Paul Whitehouse and Nigel Havers as two of Brian’s ex-bandmates, to Michael Kitchen as Brian’s foul-mouthed no-nonsense manager. Look out for brilliant cameos throughout from Brian’s music contemporaries such as Roy Wood and Queen’s Roger Taylor – humorously confused in the show with Duran Duran’s drummer of the same name. From Reeves and Mortimer’s Mulligan & O’Hare to stars playing themselves and showing us their funny bones, the whole cast gives Brian Pern a surreal sort of realism that adds massively to the immense enjoyment of the series.

There’s something for everyone in Brian Pern and whoever you are, I can guarantee you’ll be on the floor laughing within the first episode alone. But with that said, there’s a lot more to like here for music-buffs. Brian Pern sharply satirises all elements of the music business across most genres, with shedloads of hilarious references to true music stories and albums. All periods of Brian’s career are clear spoofs of real music works, from his heavily Peter Gabriel-influenced ‘Spirit Level’ album to his Day of the Triffids concept rock opera which is a wonderfully bonkers War of the Worlds parody. Throw in some collaborations with a Happy Mondays-esque Manchester band produced by a hilarious Christopher Eccleston, a charity album to raise money for bi-polar polar bears, a jukebox musical on the West End starring Martin Freeman and a troubled break-up and reunion with Thotch – and that’s just a small taster of Brian Pern’s hilariously cliché-stuffed story. Nobody, and no music story, is safe from spoofing here.

Brian Pern is easily one of the most consistently hilarious television programmes in recent years. And at just 9 episodes (10 if you count the bonus ‘Brian Pern at the BBC’ episode), it leaves you wanting more – but thanks to not outstaying its welcome, it doesn’t begin to go sour either. Rhys Thomas has created a future cult-classic here, and has kicked Spinal Tap off the top spot in the genre. Absolutely pitch perfect comedy gold.

Brian Pern is a flawless piece of work that will be the ‘mockumentary’ to beat for many years to come. Long live mock. 5/5.

★★★★★

Sam Love

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Natural Born Pranksters

Sometimes I despair at what cinema is becoming. Strong, original material is a dying breed and usually reserved for Oscar season, and so for the majority of the year we have some pretty awful films knocking around. Remakes, reboots, unnecessary sequels, cheesy blockbusters…It’s a sad state of affairs, isn’t it? But in recent years, a new threat has come to Hollywood - giving YouTubers their own f*cking films. We’ve had a few now and they’ve all been shit. Natural Born Pranksters, which is out now on DVD, is no exception.

Natural Born Pranksters follows Roman Atwood, Vitaly Zdorovetskiy and Dennis Roady being arseholes for 90 minutes. Anyone who knows these guys’ videos know that they’ve made a living out of this, ‘pranking’ people and laughing hysterically at their antics. But for a film of this to work, it has to do something to separate itself from their YouTube videos. It doesn’t. It’s not shot on cinematic cameras, it’s not structured in any way like a ‘film’ - it is just a series of poor-quality pranks and footage of the guys obnoxiously laughing. And the worst part? In the past few years, a lot of these guys’ YouTube videos have been exposed as fake. This film continues that trend – anyone with half a brain will be able to realise that this is all staged. The victims are clearly actors, hamming it up with their over-the-top forced reactions to the ‘pranks’. So what is the point?

Watching staged pranks for 90 minutes? Well, at least it’s funny. Wait…NO! It isn’t. The pranks aren’t even remotely entertaining or amusing in the first place! Clearly aimed at 12-year old boys and twisted sociopaths, the pranks range from ridiculously juvenile to uncomfortably dark and bad taste. The film opens on a series of ‘pranks’ in which one of our three natural born twats is fitted with a fake erection under a towel, which springs to life when he’s serviced by ‘unsuspecting’ masseuses – one of whom is an ageing man who strips down to his underwear when he notices this…excitement. And we’re supposed to believe that’s legit. The film starts as it means to go on, with more of the same childish shit which is met with hysterical laughter from the 3 guys. One sequence involves them rubbing shit all over a blank canvas. Quite a good metaphor…if the canvas represents cinema.

This is just an awful ‘film’. It tries far too hard but fails every step of the way. Each poorly performed ‘prank’ is completely standalone with nothing linking any of them together, and there is no effective transitioning between them. If you’re the sort of person who likes this kind of shit, don’t bother with the film – just watch an unspecific handful of their YouTube videos. That is basically what this film is. At least films like Bad Grandpa have something that resemble a narrative structure over all of the nonsense. And poor editing throughout also allows for goofs – mistakes are visible, the sound cuts...it just feels amateur. You expect this from YouTube, not from a Hollywood film. Get it together, guys.

Natural Born Pranksters is a poorly-made bunch of chaotic, manufactured scenes that insult the viewer’s intelligence and, hell, they insult cinema itself. Roman Atwood, Vitaly Zdorovetskiy and Dennis Roady might be nice enough guys in real life but together, in this film, they’re obnoxious, childish tools that should never have been given a movie deal. And when you consider that a sequel is apparently in the works, this new YouTuber threat against cinema is clearly picking up steam. Orson Welles is turning in his grave.

Natural Born Pranksters is a despicable, bad-natured, unfunny and forced pile of shit. Avoid it like the plague. 0/5.

☆☆☆☆☆

Sam Love

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The Force Awakens- How I Became A Star Wars Fan

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, out now on Blu-Ray and DVD, directed by J. J. Abrams, is the seventh film in the Star Wars series, released a whole 10 years after the previous one (Episode III  Revenge of the Sith) Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, the First Order and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) pose a new threat. Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger on the planet -, meets Finn (John Boyega), a First Order rebel, and BB8 (aww), who holds part of the key to locating Luke Skywalker. They team up with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca, to try to locate Skywalker and put an end to the First Order.

Now, before I go on, I have a massive confession to make. I’ve never been a Star Wars fan. In fact, I have made a point of letting everyone know just how much hatred I’ve stored up over the years for this particular franchise. But before you grab your lightsabers and ready yourself for battle, just hear me out.

Back when I was considerably younger than I am now, I went to the cinema to watch an unknown Star Wars film. I was very young, and I didn’t really understand what I was watching. The story didn’t make sense, the graphics weren’t believable to me (I had very high graphical standards as a primary school kid), and I just felt bored. I’d always hated puppet-based characters anyway (sorry, E.T), and so Yoda and the others didn’t really do it for me. To make matters worse, all of my other classmates really enjoyed it, and so it was around this time I started to develop a particular stubbornness towards anything Star Wars-related.

Fast forward quite a few years, and I make the fatal mistake of actually asking my partner what he wants for his birthday (as opposed to buying just him a pair of socks and being done with it), and he says, with a gleam in his eye, that he wants me to take him to see the new Star Wars film. I try my best to get out of it but the damage is done, and so on the 18th December I accompany him to what I believe will be the most mundane 2 hours and 15 minutes of my life (not including ads, of course).

As you’ve probably guessed, I’d already decided it was going to be bad. I’d complained to hordes of people already about this torture that I was going to be subjected to. So imagine how stupid I felt when, just 20 minutes in, I realised I was going to have to completely change my tune. Where do I start? The film itself was brilliant. Shamefully, the best film I’d watched during 2015. I can’t pin it down to just one thing – it was like listening to an orchestra where each individual member plays their instrument perfectly. Rey was a fantastic lead (and a great example of the strong female), with a whole host of great characters behind her. Character development was done really well for all characters – in particular for Kylo Ren. We feel his struggles at each turn, and get a really in-depth insight into the person he actually is, as opposed to who he wants to be.

The story itself was quite easy to follow, and had so many engaging parts to it that it was hard not to be sucked in. With the search for Luke, the mysteries surrounding Rey’s origins, and the idea of a stormtrooper rebel, there was a lot going on to keep the audience satisfied. Not all questions that came up were answered, either, which definitely paves the way for an exciting sequel. This time round, I was also very happy with the graphics. Star Wars has always been known for low CGI effects – sadly they had to use more than usual this time round, but it really did work. Everything  was believable from start to finish, and some of the landscapes they’d featured were beautiful. I was particularly impressed with the sound effects – instead of the Force seeming cheesy, it  was now intense and dark.

I think what made The Force Awakens so good was that there was just so much passion involved. Every detail was meticulous; every character embedded within the story. You could tell that the whole cast and crew were real fans of the story, and so put in their all. Even the buzz around the film release was exciting – I swear I’d never seen that much build-up over any other film. I guess now I need to apologise to all you die-hard fan out there. I’m sorry for neglecting this film series for so long. And for preaching my hatred of it in the past. I’ll admit that it was a seriously good film, and that I was wrong.. And I’ll even admit that I went straight back to the cinema to watch it all again. In all honesty, I’m super excited for the next one!

The Force Awakens gets a 5/5 from me.

★★★★★

 Hannah Read

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Parasyte: Part 1

I’m a big manga and anime fan, whether it be a fighting genre like Attack on Titan, fantasy like Moyashimon, or just plain cute like PoyoPoyo. However, I’m not usually a fan of the live action versions, as they never live up to the original (*cough* Death Note *cough*). Because of this I felt almost nervous settling down to watch Parasyte: Part 1, but for once I wasn’t disappointed.

Based on the previous manga and anime, Parasyte: Part 1, out now on Blu-Ray and DVD, is the first of two parts following Shinichi Izumi, who is a regular teenager until one evening when his hand is taken over by an unknown alien parasite that was aiming for his brain. Had it reached his brain he would have been completely taken over by it, but instead he finds himself with a parasite-controlled hand that calls itself Migi (“right” in Japanese). Mysterious murders are happening all over the country in parallel to this, and once Shinichi puts two and two together he realises that only himself and Migi can put a stop to it. The film itself is described as a “science fiction action horror film” and I think that sums it up very well – from the start it’s filled with action and gore as we see a parasite-controlled human kill his once wife and mutilate her corpse. Of all the actions scenes that’s probably the tamest, and so I don’t recommend watching this if the sight of blood and sliced-up bodies makes you feel ill. However, the graphics were surprisingly good for this sort of content, as it’s usually the strange effects that let down live-action films so much. It’s hard to make a human with a flower of flesh for  head look realistic, but I must admit they did a pretty good job here.

Another thing that usually lets a live-action down is how far away it ends up from the original, but Parasyte: Part 1 sticks quite close. There’s a few differences, such as Shinichi’s father doesn’t feature in the film, and his relationship with Murano isn’t explored quite as much, but generally everything else is pretty similar. There’s a few parts which don’t quite make sense without previous knowledge of the manga  (a couple of times we seem to go straight from A to C without ever touching on B) but overall the story is well-explained with enough going on to keep you engaged.

Shôta Sometani, who plays Shinichi, gives a brilliant performance – he’s completely believable and brings so much emotion to the film. They’re realistic emotions, too, so which I find is sometimes rare to find. Migi is a big part of the film, and he’s portrayed really well too – only out for himself, but also strangely endearing. My favourite parts of the film weren’t the action films but actually the small conversations between Shinichi and Migi as Migi learns more about the world. It’s these scenes that really convey the overriding message of the film, and also add some humour to alleviate the brutality of the action scenes.

Overall, Parasyte: Part 1 is a really good adaptation of an already really good manga and anime series. It’s beautifully shot in parts, with a really nice visual tone throughout. Despite the graphic content it’s also really emotionally charged, and some very tense scenes that will keep you gripped with suspense. It also sets the stage nicely for the second part, which I’m really looking forward to.

Parasyte: Part 1 was much better than I expected, and so I’m giving it 4/5.

★★★★☆

Hannah Read

Parasyte: Part 1 at CeX

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CeX opens in Shellharbour!

G'day!

We here at CeX are happy to announce the opening of our latest store in Australia!

Located at Shop 1133, 211 Lake Entrance Road, Stockland, Shellharbour, NSW 2529, it's filled to the rafters with gaming goodies and tech treats for you to buy, sell and exchange.

Come and say "Hi!"

Find your nearest CeX at webuy.com/stores

 

DiRT Rally

I'll always remember the first rally game that truly captured my attention and affection. It was a beautiful summers day in June 2007. I had just bought my first HDTV and wanted to try a new game out on it. I ran down to the shops and picked up the first new release: Colin McRae DiRT. I was hesitant. Rally games always scared me but the visuals on the box convinced me that this is something worth experiencing. It was. Fast forward nine whole years and the DiRT franchise has returned to it's roots to create the greatest rally game ever in the form of DiRT Rally. 

Developed by Codemasters and out now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC DiRT Rally is all about the multi-staged, precision driving thrill that the sport is known for. Gone are the stadium events and spectacle of being fancy with a car. Here, you've got to make it from point A to point B without destroying your vehicle.  The career is broken down into championships of multiple events. Each event features a different track and requires you to pay very close attention to everything. It's not all about speed but precision. The rougher the ride, the more your vehicle gets banged up. Between each event you have 30 minutes to fix your vehicle which is shown as a percentage and everything takes time. You'll never have enough time to fully repair your car so you must manage by prioritising which parts were damaged more and which ones might hold out for the duration of the championship. 

DiRT Rally is a tough game. A person that wouldn't be able to describe the game very well may say it's the Dark Souls of rally games. Thankfully, I understand it's tough but fair nature. Listening to your co-driver is essential if you want to make it to the end of the event. He will call out the upcoming section and you must be able to make a decision then to prepare yourself. You're not only always watching the tight road in front but also listening to every word that's said to you. 

It's not about speed in DiRT Rally. Putting your pedal to the metal will probably always result in a busted car coupled with some spectacular flips along the way. It's all about managing your speed, taking turns carefully and reading the road ahead. It's that constant attention that keeps the tension and, ultimately should you do well, the satisfaction so high. You won't win every event but you'll feel like a champion should you actually win one. A simple misjudge can mean the end of your championship and even though that sounds like it isn't fun, winning means more in this game than most others.

Visually, the game is one of the better looking ones and runs at a smooth 60 frames a second. For a game that requires quick reactions and slight corrections, this makes the whole experience even more enjoyable. There is a great amount of detail on the cars and the surrounding environments are similarly eye-catching. There is a surprising amount of content here both from a single-player and a multiplayer standpoint. No matter what you're doing you can earn credits which are then used to buy new vehicles that can be then used both in your career and online which makes everything worth playing. If I were to use a sigh-inducing buzzword I would say its "synergy"

DiRT Rally gets over the crest and takes top spot. 5/5.

★★★★★

Jason Redmond

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Huawei P9 Unboxing and first impressions

Our Filipe gets his hands on the Huawei P9 - is it underrated or just another "budget" handset? Find out here.

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens

It’s only with forensic examination (or a memory of being subjected to The Phantom Menace) that you realise just how bad a new Star Wars movie could have been. As a sequel it not only has to deal with the challenge of introducing new characters and actors into one of the planet’s most beloved franchises, but it also has no choice but to acknowledge the existence of the previous films; yet, somehow, it all pulls together brilliantly. It’s reverential without being tedious, revolutionary without being obstinate, and damn those special effects are good.

Directed by J.J. Abrams and out now on DVD and Blu Ray, Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets off to a bit of a dodgy start. Sorry, but it does. Nothing wrong with the premise, though. Luke Skywalker has run away to sulk (for reasons that are largely explained during the course of the film), and a droid under the Resistance’s care is carrying an incomplete map to his location (for reasons which are not explained at all). The Empire may be gone, but a near-identical threat has rapidly emerged from its remnants in the form of The First Order. It’s a race between them and the Resistance to find Skywalker. One side wants him to save the universe, one side wants him to be dead. I’ll let you work out which is which. 

The aforementioned dodginess comes from superstar Resistance pilot Poe, who is played (by Oscar Isaac) with an earnest Eighties enthusiasm that quite frankly sits uncomfortably amongst the rest of the characters. His part in this film is thankfully very minor, and let’s hope that doesn’t change for the next movie.  It would be unfair to Isaac to say his performance is bad, but it certainly can’t compare to that of the two leads – Daisy Ridley as the scavenger Rey, and John Boyega as the Stormtrooper that has somehow denied his ‘programming’, Finn. Slap me with the controversy haddock if you feel the need, but I would argue that Rey is the best hero Star Wars has seen so far – thanks in no small part to Ridley’s performance. The part is written with a wonderful balance between reluctant hero and determined, independent warrior. Ridley communicates this in a perfectly understated way, putting enormous amounts of emotion and power into tiny expressions and inflections in a way that only the best actors can.

Boyega complements her extremely well as Finn, a warm and slightly naïve character that he plays with a justice-seeking desperation that only ever comes across as honest and admirable. It also must be said that it’s surely no coincidence that so many new characters, major and minor alike, are so visibly young. There’s a recurring theme of inheritance (which I can’t discuss without spoilers). No wonder Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) wears a helmet; without it, he looks less like an intimidating military commander with incredible powers, and more like a college student stressing out about his Business Studies exam. Conversely, the ages of the returning actors have been reinforced if anything, and the film (and the nostalgia) is all the better for it. There’s something ineffable that warms the soul while watching a creaky Han Solo wisecracking and kicking backsides as well as ever. Well, Peter Mayhew is hidden beneath Chewbacca’s impeccably thick and glossy coat, but you get the idea.

One thing I didn’t like about The Force Awakens was the visual design and direction for the uniformed First Order officers, which takes heavy-handed cues from the Nazis. Nowhere is this clearer than in a rally scene, which even has a Third-Reich-esque salute from the assembled Stormtroopers. Personally, I’m not comfortable with the engineers of the Holocaust being used as a template for comic-book villainy without direct reference, but hey – maybe I’m just weird.

The good far, far outweighs the bad in this film though, including a large dollop of humour (risky, in that it’s more prominent than in any previous film) that has been honed until you can’t imagine the movie without it. Despite an inconsistency in the cutting power of a lightsaber that irks the pedant in me, this is identifiably one of the best Star Wars movies ever.

J.J. Abrams finds your lack of faith disturbing. 5/5.

 ★★★★★

Luke Kemp

Star Wars: The Force Awakens at CeX

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Adam’s Venture Origins

When you see the likes of Lara Croft and Nathan Drake embarking on grand adventures, putting their life on the line and taking out hundreds of enemies along the way, you can’t help but feel inferior when playing as Adam Venture. In fact, you can’t help but hate Adam Venture with every word that comes out of his smug-ass face. You don’t kill anyone in Adam’s Venture Origins and although it has some fun puzzles, it ultimately doesn’t feel like a fun adventure.

Out now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, Adam’s Venture Origins is a remaster of an episodic adventure game that came out in 2009. This package brings the entire game together with better visuals and smoother experience. The result is a game that doesn’t feel quite up to snuff when you compare it against other adventure games out there in the market. 

In the game you play as Adam Venture, an adventurer trying to uncover the secrets of the Garden of Eden and stop the evil Clairvaux Company. While this makes him sound like the good guy, he’s just an unlikable jackass that seemingly doesn’t give a shit about anything. Not only that but he’s pretty damn sexist too, treating his father’s assistant like a weak frame that’s meant to look pretty. Sure the game is set in the 1920’s and this may have been the general thoughts on the situation but the writing isn’t particularly strong either making the shtick even worse.

The gameplay and puzzles themselves though are actually rather fun. Some of them become really intricate and interesting but always have logical conclusions. You’ll have enough at your disposal to figure it out and when things click, it really does feel good. Some puzzles are simple and require very little effort but the ones that cause the real challenge never felt that frustrating because it was relatively easy to understand what was asked of you.

The promise of “next-gen visuals” doesn’t quite fulfil that promise. While there are many areas you visit over the course of the game, some of them look completely bland and lifeless. Sure there has been some texture work but its overall presentation is still not up to snuff compared to what you would see on this generation of consoles. Some areas though feature some nice little touches that just bring so much more to the game but none of it will grab your attention for very long.  Animations also make the game look not of this generation. They’re janky and just don’t look very good. When characters are engaged in dialogue, it looks bad. The way the eyes moves as well as the mouth when they talk almost falls into nightmare fuel category.

Adam’s Venture Origins is such a hit and miss game but mostly falls on the miss side. The puzzles are genuinely really fun and are always a treat to discover a new one. The only problem though is that almost every other aspect of the game diminishes all the fun. The main character is an absolute jerk too meaning you might not want to care about the story after just a little while.

One venture not worth taking 2/5.

★★☆☆☆

Jason Redmond

Adam’s Venture Origins at CeX

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Alekhine's Gun

The setting for Alekhine's Gun is actually quite exciting when first hearing about it. Set during the Cold War you play as a KGB Operative turned CIA agent in a stealth action game. Sounds pretty awesome right?  Well mix that with an absolutely awful delivery that quickly sucks the fun out of everything and becomes an absolute slog.

Developed by Maximum Games and out now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC,  Alekhine's Gun is a bag of ass. It may sound harsh but everything they set out to here fails miserably. First off, the story in which the game is set in has so much potential but it becomes shite almost right away. The scenes are delivered in boring static images and the delivery is laughably bad. It kills every molecule of interest you may have in where it goes right away and only becomes a nuisance. Thankfully though consistency is carried out through the gameplay which is also terrible. It very much seems like it's trying to be a lower-budget Hitman and boy does it nail the inferior Hitman feeling. It very much wears its influences in its sleeve but it's a vomit-soaked sleeve that just get everything it attempts wrong.

The gameplay itself is insanely simplistic, especially when you consider it comes out around the same time as the new Hitman game (which is awesome by the way). Nothing feels deep or lived in and it all feels very generic. Visually, there's nothing impressive in its arsenal and what's most surprising is that game doesn't even run that smoothly on consoles.

The biggest offender of all of this though is probably the AI which is erratic and ridiculous. Guards patrol set paths and some of the fun of these games is figuring all of that out. The only problem though is after meticulously figuring it all out and somehow things still go wrong, you can very easily escape a hostile situation in stupid ways. How stupid? Well, should you screw up and have a bunch of guards on your tail, simply running into a different room and closing a door can almost immediately stop all pursuing foes. There is a lack of fear, or consequence to your actions meaning it doesn't respect itself as a challenge and you won't respect it either. Like you've always heard: For anyone to love you, you must first learn to love yourself.

Oh yeah, there's plenty of bugs too, and not the fun kind. You will glitch into objects as well as fall through the floor on multiple occasions leading to a hard reset and lost progress. It's a frustrating affair that is usually saved even for a few fleeting moments by funny bugs but the ones here just make everything even worse.

It's disappointing really. There is definitely a market for these style of stealth games and they've come few and far between in the last few years. You can see the potential in the title and where the developers wanted to go with it but ironically enough considering the kind of game it is, it fails miserably on its execution.

More like Alekhine's no fun. 1/5.

★☆☆☆☆

Jason Redmond

Alekhine's Gun at CeX

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Solace

I recently reviewed Alejandro Amenábar’s Regression, a frustratingly unoriginal and generic thriller about a detective trying to solve a potentially supernatural case. But in my review, I said that while there was nothing really going for it – there was nothing particularly bad either. It was just an empty and completely forgettable waste of time. That isn’t the case with Alfonso Poyart’s Solace, another supernatural thriller which is out now on DVD & Blu-ray. Oh, I’m not saying Solace is good. At all. I’m saying it’s so bad, it’s actually quite funny. 

Academy Award-winning legend of cinema Anthony Hopkins loses what is left of his self-respect to play John Clancy, an old psychic who is enlisted by the FBI for assistance in solving a series of unusual murders being committed by a man named Charles Ambrose (Colin Farrell). You might be thinking to yourself “wow, a thriller starring Hopkins and Farrell, where did this come from?!”. Well, it certainly had a very unusual release. Funnily enough, Solace was originally picked up by New Line Cinema who had the intention of sculpting it into a sequel to David Fincher’s iconic Se7en – and yes, they were going to title it Ei8ht. But David Fincher is a smart man with evidently more artistic integrity than anyone involved in Solace put together, because he turned it down. Shortly thereafter, it was produced as a stand-alone thriller before lying dormant in the Warner Bros. vault for almost two years. It seems like someone discovered it by accident in 2015, thought “shit, I forgot about this” and released it very quickly and quietly with little marketing. 

The main issue with Solace is how far up its own arse it is. Some films are pretentious but they’ve earned that right by being, you know, good. That’s a tall order these days. And Solace…it’s just bloody not. The narrative is bursting with completely two-dimensional characters – primarily our heroes in law enforcement, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Abbie Cornish – who we aren’t even remotely connected to, and so when anything bad happens to them and we’re made to endure a big dramatic sequence, we shrug and don’t care. The cinematography is quite dreadful and it seems like every scene has awkwardly jarring zooms or shaky cam moments that are nowhere near as edgy as I think cinematographer Brendan Galvin had in mind. All this would almost be acceptable if it weren’t for the ‘straight outta film school’ montages we have to watch whenever Hopkins’ psychic has a vision. They’re not artistic, they’re not good; they are pretentious to the point of being hilarious.

Hopkins and Farrell are the highlight here, despite only putting in mediocre autopilot performances. When we finally see them face-to-face, it feels like the epic De Niro/Pacino meet in Heat. And just for a minute, you think “…is this film about to get good?” but then it doesn’t. Damn, so close. Director Alfonso Poyart said “I do not think Solace is a serial killer movie, it is only its outer layer. In the background the film is much more than that, talking about life and death, and raises some interesting moral dilemmas”. Oh Alfonso, I admire your confidence in your work but…just no. Solace is Poyart’s first film in the English language, so we’ll let him off this time. We’re nice like that, aren’t we?

By now, I think you get the point. Solace is no good. It’s totally predictable, unoriginal and generic. It feels like director Poyart hired a bunch of film students, picked up a copy of “Thriller Movies for Dummies” and went for it. And so, to come full circle with my introduction, Solace is a good companion piece to Regression - if you want to have a ‘shit thriller’ night. But while I gave Regression 0 stars for having no redeeming qualities or any reason for existence, at least Solace scrambled together a decent cast. And it’s often pretty (completely unintentionally) funny. 

With that in mind, Alfonso Poyart’s Solace just about gets away with 1/5.

★☆☆☆☆

Sam Love

Solace at CeX

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Close Range

Aside from the obvious visuals and acting, there are two things that are really important to me when watching a film – storyline and character development. It’s almost impossible to create an incredible film without these two details, and this is sadly an issue I found with Close Range, directed by Isaac Florentine. After managing to save his niece from being kidnapped by a powerful and well-known Mexican drug cartel, ex-soldier Colton Macready (Scott Adkins) has only limited time to save his family from being taken out by them. Once his niece Hailey (Madison Lawlor) is safely back at home, Colton is pursued by the local corrupt Sheriff and his deputies for killing several men, whilst also trying to take down the Mexican cartel that are after him for the mysterious flash drive that he obtained getting Hailey to safety. 

Close Range, out now on DVD, is a film with quite a low budget, and so I wasn’t expecting too much to begin with. I was pleasantly surprised with lot of things – the music is really fitting, and there are some really good tracking shots throughout the film. It’s an exciting film to watch (the car chase scenes work particularly well), and Scott Adkins is cast well as Colton, and gives a very good lead performance.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough. We only ever see what is happening in the present – there’ no backstory, or perspective. We come across lots of different characters, from Macready’s sister and her no-good partner to the corrupt Sheriff and a whole host of angry Mexicans, but they never develop into anything more – they’re all exactly the same as when the film started. Even Hailey, who has just been kidnapped, watched her stepfather die, and then found herself in the middle of a shoot-out, seems to have regained perfect composure at the end of the film and suffered no lasting trauma whatsoever. Because there’s no development, it makes the characters unbelievable – Colton’s sister, Angela (Caitlin Keats) seems perfectly on board with what’s going on, yet we’re given no insight into why she’s so unfazed when her own daughter could potentially die. The sheriff makes little sense either – we know that he has a young son, but we also have no idea why he’s corrupt in the first place (or why he’s employed such useless colleagues).

I found myself asking a lot of questions – a good thing, as it shows that the film was engaging, but they sadly never got answered. What things had the step-father, Walt, done in the past to make him like he is now? How did being a soldier affect Colton, and where has he been all this time? Why is there  helicopter on the front cover when no helicopter appears in the movie?! (Okay, this one is less important. But still…)

It needed more development but, if anything, it also needed to be more simplistic. It’s easy to go wrong when you’re trying to make something complex on a low budget, so sometimes it is better off just stripping it back to basics. There was no need for so many different editing styles to be used,  and we didn’t need to see bullets lodged in people’s heads – the concept can be achieved far more effectively (and at a much reduced cost) if a subtler shot is used. There was too much telling, and not enough showing – sometimes the audience doesn’t need to be spoon-fed.

What it lacked in, it did make up with some great action scenes. Again, simpler would have been better (you can tell from some of the choreography that Florentine has directed episodes of Power Rangers in the past), but it was fast-paced, exciting, and allowed Adkins to showcase why he’s a good choice for action movies. There were guns, knives, cars, and some wonderfully disturbing injuries that all made for good viewing.

It was still enjoyable to watch, despite the lack of plot, so I’m going to give it 2/5.

★★☆☆☆

Hannah Read

Close Range at CeX

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