Young Offenders

Inspired by the events of 2007 where a rather large stash of cocaine ended up washed up along the shores of Cork, ‘The Young Offenders’ (directed by Peter Foott) follows two best friends from inside the city as they try and salvage said cocaine to earn a load of money and move onto a better path in life. Conor (Alex Murphy), not known in the area for his intelligence, is initially reluctant to go for it as his Mum (Hilary Rose) has a dentist appointment on that day so he needs to cover for her at the fish market, but best friend and proficient bike thief Jock (Chris Walley) manages to rope him in. The two set off in the early hours of the morning on two stolen bikes to make their dreams come true, not realising that they’re being closely followed by obsessive cop Sergeant Healy (Dominic Hale).

We know from the very start that it’s not going to work out for the two, so instead the story offers a unique array of experiences where the pair learn a fair bit about themselves. ‘The Young Offenders’ is primarily a comedy, with a brilliant mixture of slapstick, crudeness, and hilarious writing, yet it also looks at more serious issues – both boys have grown up in poverty and haven’t exactly had the best start in life. Jock lives with just his Dad, an alcoholic who hits him and steals his money, and this is dealt with in perfect balance with the comedic aspects of the film.

This balance is what makes it so good – despite the frequent slapstick (which I guarantee will have you in fits of laughter) it’s got a real sense of realism without being overly gritty, meaning that it’s still funny and has a certain innocence about it. Jock and Conor are both idiots, which we work out pretty quickly, yet you can’t help but warm to them. The characters are all well-developed and each have their own strong identity. Yes, there are some clichés there, but the story uses these to its advantages.

‘The Young Offenders’ is also a surprisingly shiny and well-filmed watch despite being a low-budget project, with some very well done slow-motion shots that add to the humour of everything. The style of filmmaking is very modern – snappy and a bit surreal at points – and it gives us quite a light watch with a short running time (which I felt worked really well). There’s not a drawn-out or pointless scene in the movie, and the pacing means it’s hard not to get completely taken in by it all.

Now, I’m not usually one for crudeness or focus on slapstick, but I’ll admit that this is one of the best low-budget films I’ve seen so far this year. It’s fantastically Irish and full of energy, yet it also makes a few important points that will last long after you’ve watched it.

★★★★☆

Hannah Read

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We Buy and Sell Game & Watch

Have you heard?

We now buy and sell a vast collection of Nintendo Game & Watch across our stores and on our website!

In the early 1980s, Nintendo came up with the Game & Watch handhelds - small pocket-sized LCD games. As the name suggests, the Game Watch also features a clock (which also includes an alarm). These consoles saw a massive rise of popularity over the decades and were responsible for the introduction of the directional pad, which every modern controller uses.

Approximately 59 Game & Watch handhelds were released between 1980 and 1991, many of which folded in half to protect the LCD screen. Some of these (such as Zelda) also featured double LCD screens. Many popular titles made their way to the Game & Watch series including Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Zelda and Mickey Mouse.

Are you sitting on a gaming treasure trove? See how much your Game & Watch goodies are worth with CeX!

So whether you are looking to complete that special collection or buy a special edition console, you can find them HERE:

Game & Watch

                                          

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Arrival

There’s been some absolutely brilliant sci-fi movies out of late. From ‘The Martian’ (Ridley Scott) to ‘Interstellar’ (Chris Nolan), they’ve all started to move away from the classic invasion-style plots, and are instead going a lot deeper both narratively and philosophically. ‘Arrival’, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is another one just like that – a clever mix of science, philosophy, and wonderful visuals that combine together to create something magnificent.

Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), linguistics expert, is about to start a lecture when she’s urged to turn on the news. No one really knows what’s going on, but it seems that alien life has finally infiltrated the Earth in the form of 12 giant floating vessels (somewhat reminiscent of the monoliths in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’). Dr. Banks is approached later on by the US Military to help translate the communications from the aliens, and so ends up travelling to the off-limits location of the nearest vessel in Montana, where she works alongside theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to find out why the aliens are really there, and learns more than she bargained for along the way.

‘Arrival’ isn’t just part of a wave of original sci-fi films, but so much more than that. The key part of the plot this time round is language – something that usually isn’t focused on too much. It’s a fascinating concept that hasn’t been explored enough in filmmaking but certainly makes you think… If we were to meet an alien race, then how on earth would we communicate with them?

It doesn’t just focus on talking either, but communication through words. The heptapods, as they’re named, have their own form of written language that is wildly different from our own, which makes the whole communication thing challenging, to say the least. These scenes where human and heptapod communicate through writing are the ones that really stand out in the film, as they hold an immense gravity that is captivating to watch. Adams and Renner are fascinating in their roles as Banks and Donnelly, commanding the screen in a calm and inspired manner that leaves you holding your breath in anticipation. There’s a constant sense of foreboding as tension grows between certain human races which, when combined with the suspense of the scenes with the aliens, renders it near impossible for you to switch off from the story. 

It's not just the storyline that explores the theme of interpretation either, as the mid-film reveal leaves us questioning how we interpret things in a visual sense as well. Both the plot and the imagery intertwine beautifully, resulting in a profound look at language and science and the links between the two, and how it’s so easy to get something wrong by only looking at it from one perspective. It has an underlying message as well: don’t jump to conclusions, and never assume. It also highlights just how important communication is whether it be between species or just humans, and portrays how easy it is for us to switch off from that. Topical really, despite the fact this was filmed just under two years ago.

The other thing I have to mention is the beautifully sublime soundtrack that we’re treated to by Jóhann Jóhannson, who is fast becoming one of my favourite composers. He also composed the soundtrack for ‘Sicario’ (also directed by Villeneuve) which was released last year, and yet again shows just how much impact a strong soundtrack can have on a film.

‘Arrival’ one of those films where you won’t see much action, but it’ll leave your head full of questions. Less for those that ask “What?” and more for the thinkers who ask “Why?” and “How?”, it’s hard not to appreciate such a sophisticated depiction of alien contact.

★★★★★

Hannah Read

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Bangalore We Now Buy at Your Doorstep

Want cash for your old phones, games and gadgets? Live in Bangalore? We now buy on your Doorstep! Simply call us at +919632755809 and we’ll come to you.

Our dedicated staff member will drive to your location at a time that suits you, test your item at your door and pay you by direct bank transfer or CeX voucher!

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One Under The Sun

A shuttle burns up on re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere following the beginning of the colonisation of Mars. After being found alive in the wreckage, astronaut Kathryn Voss is being kept in ‘quarantine’ by a top-secret government agency. I use that word loosely because in One Under the Sun a government quarantine facility consists of a stone-brick room, one school chair, and an agent wearing a boiler suit, trainers, and a mask that hangs open in front of his chin.

When first confronted with this image my face began to contort into an expression that I could never rightly explain, nor replicate, as the word ‘airtight’ drifted through my mind.

The following scene opens with a shot of someone typing on a keyboard with all the precision and deliberation of an anhydrous octopus. Apparently this mashing of keys is to determine whether Voss is faking her amnesia. Her results, as explained with the film’s cohesive and tightly focus dialogue, are as follows: “Woah. Huh. This is off the charts weird.”

One Under the Sun is incredibly bizarre. It’s a clear example of ambitions outweighing the budget. I struggle to believe that the scope the film aims for could have been achieved on its budget, even with skilful craftsmanship. Which, incidentally, is something that One Under the Sun severely lacks. 
Rules are made to be broken, and if films were to rigidly stick to structural and compositional frameworks we would never have anything original. With that said, there is a reason that in a close-up the actor’s eyes should be a third of the way down from the top of the frame. One Under the Sun has these uncomfortable moments where characters are dwarfed in the frame by nothing but empty space. Never used for effect, to convey isolation, for example. The camera is simply position too high.

In fact, One Under the Sun feels like a student film; a desperate attempt to make something profound, something that makes an emotional statement, so focused on that intent that the technical requirements fall by the wayside. In this instance, it’s difficult to distinguish whether something is earnest or pretentious. Out of curiosity I looked through the YouTube comments for the trailer to find comments from several of the cast members expressing their delight to have been a part of such an amazing and profound film.

 Maybe ‘pretentious’ is too kind.

★☆☆☆☆

Lewis Hill

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The Lady Vanishes

‘The Lady Vanishes’, directed by Diarmuid Lawrence for the BBC, is the third adaptation of Ethel Lina White’s 1936 novel ‘The Wheel Spins’. You may already be familiar with Hitchcock’s classic film adaptation, but this newer version is based much more on the original novel than Hitchcock’s mystery rom-com.

Iris Carr, played by Tuppence Middleton, is a deeply unlikeable and somewhat naïve socialite who has little grasp of the real world (during the film she states that she believes herself to be “always safe” due to a square-shaped mark on her hand). After staying overnight at a hotel with friends in the Balkans, where the group is largely looked down on by other guests for their drunken and disorderly antics, Iris decides to stay on herself for an extra night. When she decides to leave she gets to the train station only to realise that the hotel never booked her a seat. She manages to get a seat using a monetary bribe, and after suffering from suspected heat stroke at the station ends up sitting next to Miss Froy (Selina Cadell), a likeable but talkative older woman who Iris does not have the patience to endure. She falls asleep, but when she wakes up Miss Froy is gone and no one else on the train seems to acknowledge her existence. Iris knows that something is up, and so sets off to find out exactly what is being hidden from her. 

There’s some very good acting in this film and some faces that may seem familiar, such as Tom Hughes as the charming Max Hare, and Gemma Jones as the gossip-prone Rose Floodporter. Although Iris is difficult to relate to in the beginning I had grown to like her by the end of the film - her inherently selfish traits don’t exactly disappear, but she’s easier to warm to and has a lot more substance than previously thought. It’s a shame that the other characters aren’t developed so well, really. Max is one exception, but I’d liked to have found out a bit more about the other passengers, as it would have helped the plot to not feel quite so linear.

I also felt that the music wasn’t done as well as it could have done and actually detracted from the story in parts – there seems to be a lot of focus on building the suspense, yet it comes across as mildly comical as it’s just so overdone. The film would have worked better had the suspense been delivered through the visuals and the plot, and not just an excessive amount of overbearing crescendos.

These weren’t the biggest issues though – the real problem that stopped it from being on a par with Hitchcock’s adaptation was that, despite it being a mystery, there was no mystery about it. We’d already seen Iris drink tea with Miss Froy previously, and so as an audience knew that she was real. Yes, it could have been a trick, but it didn’t feel like the story was going to lean that way. The plot still remained engaging as we learnt the reasons behind each character’s cover-up of the truth, and it was hard not to feel Iris’s frustration as each response made her look even more incompetent. There just wasn’t enough to detract from the fact that we already knew what was going to happen.

This most recent adaptation of ‘The Wheel Spins’ gives it a good shot, but just doesn’t live up to Hitchcock’s far more memorable version from 1938.

★★★☆☆

Hannah Read

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Moorside

The two-part ITV drama “Moorside” follows the notorious kidnapping of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews, who disappeared from her home estate in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire in 2008. The facts of the case are familiar to many. After three weeks, the case (originally reported by Karen Matthews) escalated to a murder investigation. But Shannon is then discovered under a bed, in a nearby house owned by Karen’s friend, Michael Donovan. The masterminds allegedly conspired to stage an abduction, and to later share £50,000 reward for her safe return home.

This story does not focus on the abduction, or Shannon, or the eventual arrests, but the crusade of neighbour, Julie Bushby (Sheridan Smith.) The new angle on the controversial tale was a genius decision by writer, Neil McKay, and producer, Jeff Pope. It avoids clichés, and the risk of milking a well-known plot. Instead, it begins with a phone call that sets everything into motion. 

Julie desperately attempts to show the unity of the residents. She organises a community search, rallies, involves the media, and becomes a common face on British news channels, giving multiple inspiring speeches during their hunt for Shannon.

Knowing the truth while Julie and her neighbours defend and help Karen makes it difficult viewing. But throughout the frustration, Julie’s loyalty to her friend, even after the truth unfolds, is inspiring.  The obvious concern is that the entire programme depicts a scenario of group delusion, just a year after the notorious abduction of Madeline McCann. 

The cast is marvellous. Sheridan Smith (“Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps”) inhabits her character, giving one of her finest performances. Sian Brooke puts the skills she learned from her brother in “Sherlock” to good use as Natalie Brown, a friend who suspects Karen’s involvement in the case. And Gemma Whelan from “Game of Thrones” shows her versatility as an actress. Gemma portrays Karen as naive and immature, the complete opposite of what we imagine at the sound of her name. The childish representation purposely leaves a lot of room to question Karen’s mental stability, presenting her as ignorant rather than evil, but be assured, her actions are not even once excused. 

Although director Paul Whittington brings to life a very bleak tale, the contrasting comedy is what makes you keep watching. The new style is becoming very popular in recent entertainment, playing on the viewer’s fear and amusement. The benefit street “Moorside” explores the cramped, overcrowded semis in which the best, and the worst of human person dwell. Karen is desperate to fool the world. The community are desperate to show their worth. And Julie is desperate for a few moments of fame. But the show is still non-judgemental, allowing each viewer to make up their own mind.

To any parent, the disappearance of a child is inconceivable. For the unfortunate few, the guilt of a missing loved one is purgatory. The production is real from beginning and to end, but still remains sensitive to the victim in all of this, an eighteen year old Shannon, who is hopefully living a happy life.

★★★★☆

Cayleigh Chan

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Doctor Strange

“The Avengers,” “Captain America,” “The Hulk,” “Iron Man,” “Thor.” Try to name a superhero movie that doesn’t follow the same basic three-act structure—setup, confrontation and resolution. The first third shares the background on the main protagonist, establishes relationships and contains an inciting incident to push their lives off path. The middle section is full of action as the protagonist desperately attempts to fix the problem raised in the previous act, but fails due to lack of skills. The final third of the film contains the climax (long awaited battle) leaving the protagonist feeling accomplished, with a better sense of self-worth.

The same structure is implemented in “Doctor Strange,” Marvel’s latest instalment. However, it still manages to be one of the best superhero movies in years. The tale of hubris, pathetic pride, and unavoidable downfall relates back to the original tales of man. And a sparkling cast, experimental director (Scott Derrickson) and visually stunning CGI has created a film much more original than anything Marvel has released in the last decade. 

The always delightful Benedict Cumberbatch is Doctor Strange, a gifted neurosurgeon in New York whose career is ruined in a car accident.  Strange is as blunt as his steel-pins and as cruel as the diseases he cuts from patients. His ego rivals Tony Stark’s, but as operation after operation fails, he slowly loses faith in his beloved world of science and medicine. In a desperate attempt to regain his motor functions, Strange travels to Nepal. There he discovers a secret enclave who practise the art of magic under the instruction of the Ancient One, a mystic played by Tilda Swinton (“Michael Clayton”.)

The cast hold their own as reality continually shifts. Rachel Mc Adams (“Meangirls”) accompanies Cumberbatch as his theatre nurse and love interest. Benedict Wong (“Marco Polo”) adds brilliant wry humour to the cast as a librarian to the ancient spells books. And finally, the most important character of all, Doctor Strange’s feisty trademark cloak takes on its own agendas. Together, they keep the narcissistic high-achiever in his place, and help to lighten his generic beats of arrogance. 

The solid performances anchor the plot during the trippy visual layers. The space-and-time distorted mirror-realities are phenomenal, similar to the bending dream city in “Inception,” but much more enchanting. But the triumph of this movie is not the dizzying effects or kaleidoscope action sequences. The triumph is how the creative premise and appealing plot hides the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Benedict Wong reveals that their craft is but a cosmic component at work with the Avengers to protect the earth against malevolent visitors. This is the only occasion where the team are mentioned, giving “Doctor Strange” some much deserved independence, and expanding on Marvel’s narrative web.

The parallel dimensions, spells and time loops may sound complicated, but Derrickson chooses action over exposition. The best of “Harry Potter” and “Inception” are merged together to create an impressive script, and visually captivating film. Marvel have pushed the franchise into a bold new direction with “Doctor Strange,” entering an exciting world of magic, villains, time, and space. So whatever the future of Marvel looks like, it’s going to be strange.

★★★★☆

Cayleigh Chan

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Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro

Samsung is churning out devices like burgers in their factories and people wait in queues to gobble them up. They are not famous for making budget flagships, so with the C9 Pro they try to teach the startup brands like Xiaomi, Huawei and Oppo a thing or two about making high spec devices at low prices. I’m of the believe that Samsung makes the world’s best flagship devices including the Note series, anything else is just not worth the time and money. You can hate me now :)

The Galaxy C9 Pro has a massive 6” screen with a FHD display (not QHD, considering the price) and a matte metal finish back with antenna lines being visible for the first time on a Galaxy device. Thankfully they are not grooves but blend in with the metal looking like a fancy Samsung device in Stealth mode! It’s pretty heavy at 190 gms and you feel that when it’s in your pocket, and single hand usage will be a challenge. Available only in Gold and Black colors it supports Dual Sim 4G, dual band WiFi and VoLTE. Surprisingly, it’s not water or dust proof! 

On the front you also have the 16MP camera at the top and a fingerprint scanner/home button at the bottom flanked by capacitive buttons. The 3.5mm jack and speaker are at the bottom edge with the fast charging Type C port between them. In usual Samsung design language, volume buttons on the left and Power button on the right. Also on the right are the Dual SIM slots and the Micro SD card slot. In terms of ergonomics, it’s a compact phablet and won’t make you look awkward while being on a phone call when the phone’s slapped on your face! 

Samsung has powered the C9 Pro with the Octa-core Snapdragon 653 paired with Adreno 401 and the USP of the device being the 6GB RAM with 64GB memory. It supports Micro SD cards upto 256GB. To run all this set up, a 4000 mAh battery would be a minimum and Samsung provides that with quick charging support and a fast charger.

Both front and rear cameras have the 16MP setup with f/1.9 , not something you see in most phones. Your selfies will just be as good as your rear camera pics and that’s a bonus! There’s very less noise in low light photos thanks to the dual flash and improved camera software. You have the usual shooting modes and effects with more available to purchase via the Galaxy store. It’s great at focussing and details come out well, Bokeh effect photos will blow your mind! Disappointingly there’s no 4K video recording and 1080p videos are at 60fps.

Getting Android 7.0 out of the box is what you’d expect but C9 Pro disappoints with 6.1, though the Touchwiz UI on top is now smoother and with less bloatware. You have the Always-On display mode like in S7 to see notifications, time etc. without turning the screen on. Other add ons include Blue light mode, game mode, easy UI mode, Secure folder to protect your data, Samsung Notes, S Health and a few other from the S7/Note basket of apps.

For Multimedia the earpiece doubles up as a speaker though it’s not as powerful as the speaker at the bottom. Gaming and multitasking is something you don’t have to worry about thanks to the 6GB of RAM. All of this squeezes the battery out but you still get over a day’s usage easily.

It’s competing with the One Plus 3T, Moto Z and Huawei P9 but they are still better devices overall. No 4K recording, Nougat yet to be delivered and a price which is marginally lower than the S7 it doesn’t cut it. S8 in a month will see price drops so hold on till then! 

★★★☆☆

Pritesh Khilnani

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Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey

If you’ve been longing for an alchemist simulator, then Atelier Firis has your back. Well, sort of. It’s less about turning base metals into gold, and more about making your own RPG bits and bobs (healing items, weapons, quest items, etc...) rather than finding or buying them. If you’ve been longing for an epic RPG with rich and memorable characters, and a fascinating story where the script drips quality from every syllable... well, keep moving. Nothing to see here.

The Atelier games have been going for quite a while now, and this latest entry (theoretically) introduces an open world. Apart from that, though, it’s not an awful lot different to all the others in terms of mechanics and gameplay experience. Your character here is Firis, an overly naive young lady who says “tee hee hee” far too bloody much. After a painfully long setup which involves her starting to learn alchemy, which she then uses to complete bland mini quests set by bland NPCs, she leaves her secluded community for the very first time with her more experienced sister.

Let’s talk about the alchemy, because that (as the title suggests) is really what this game is all about. In your pop-up atelier (a sort of portable workshop, a tent with tardis-like properties), there is a cauldron. Interacting with it lets you crack on with your alchemy thang. As the story progresses, and as Firis explores the world more and continues to create more objects, she’ll slowly accumulate a huge list of recipes. These recipes are laid out nice and simply; you can see exactly which ingredients you need, and you can see what you’ll get at the end. You’ll also see what alchemy level you need in order to be able to create it – and you raise this level only by making things in the atelier.  

Once you have the right ingredients in your virtual hands, the series’ well-established magical cookery system comes into play. You choose your ingredients from the right categories and, very early on, you gain the ability to create using catalysts too. How effective the finished product is – how much health a healing item restores for example, or how much damage a weapon deals – is dictated by a few things. Your alchemy level, your experience creating that specific item... and how you complete the basic puzzle that forms the final part of the process.

Each ingredient is represented by a coloured shape, and each catalyst offers a similarly coloured shape template on top of a grid. The basic idea is to match colours and complete lines on the grid best you can for maximum benefit to the finished product. You don’t have to pay attention to this aspect – you can ignore it completely or chuck things down randomly, you’ll never fail a creation attempt – but it’s a simple and important part of the alchemy process that you’d be wise to embrace.

The thing is though that, while alchemy has been thoughtfully implemented, the rest of the game is a bit of a mess. It’s full of forgettable characters, dull locales, and Fisher Price My First RPG quests. The turn-based combat system is actually very good, in that it’s clear and user-friendly in a way that the vast majority of JRPGs never achieve. It never really gets interesting though, and enemy design is just as pedestrian as NPC design.

Between fights, alchemy and dull quests, you’ll be obsessively picking random crap off the ground like a three year old. This, along with occasionally breaking apart a rock or hitting a tree, is how you get your hands on 99% of your alchemy ingredients. You end up acting (and feeling) less like a heroine and more like a hoover.

It doesn’t help that the game can’t decide if it wants to hold your hand, or force you to stumble along the way to progress by accident; mostly sticking to the former while occasionally switching to the latter with absolutely no warning. This is more of a problem than it otherwise might have been because the game’s already boring, and the last thing it needed was a few sprinkles of frustration. 

What an alchemist opportunity.

★★☆☆☆

Luke Kemp

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Fantastic Beasts

‘Harry Potter’ is just one of those franchises that will never leave us, and for that I am eternally glad. I grew up with the books, and going to see the films with my grandparents at the cinema was my highlight each year. Since then I’ve read the series all over again, and watched all of the films at least three times. They don’t really get old, yet the more recent additions to the franchise are still very much welcome.

‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’ is a film based on a textbook featured in the original novels – it’s not actually mentioned all that much, but us diehard fans have been waiting for this moment for a long time. The film focuses on Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), the author of the textbook, who visits New York in 1926, during a time of unacceptance and distrust. Wizard terrorist Grindlewald (Johnny Depp) is on the loose in Europe, creating destruction in the hope that it will force witches and wizards against muggles (or No-Majs, as they are known in America). 

That’s not why Scamander is visiting though – he, along with his suitcase of magical creatures (including an invisible creature similar to a sloth, and a Niffler that enjoys sparkly things a little too much) is on a quest, yet before he’s even properly arrived he’s taken in by ex-Macusa employee Porpentina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) after failing to obliterate Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), a muggle who’s seen way too much magic than is necessary. The group, along with Tina’s mind-reading sister Queenie (Alison Sudol) end up having to scour New York for Scamander’s beloved creatures, while something all the more sinister begins to reveal itself.

I’ve been super excited about this film for a long time but also rather worried – sometimes a franchise can produce too much, thus becoming a bit of a joke. I was also nervous about what a ‘Harry Potter’ film minus Harry Potter himself would be like. It turns out I didn’t need to worry at all, as ‘Fantastic Beasts’ worked really well. It made sure to reference Hogwarts and Dumbledore and other connections to the original series which helped to keep the fans entertained, yet its distance from the originals meant that newcomers could also enjoy the film without having to worry about the previous eight films they hadn’t got round to watching. This was a good move, and one that I hope opens up the ‘Harry Potter’ series to even more readers and watchers.

One thing I did notice was that ‘Fantastic Beasts’ felt a lot darker than previous ‘Harry Potter’ films – the plot was more about discrimination within society than the usual growing up themes we’re so used to, which is a bit more complex for children to take in. However, this was balanced well with the magic and wonder of the curious creatures that Newt tries desperately to reunite with, and the frequent doses of humour that keep the plot from turning too morose.

Talking of humour, Dan Fogler was excellent as Kowalski, and if he hadn’t been acting alongside Redmayne he would have completely stolen the show. His expressive face adds to the charm of the movie, and it was hard not to identify with him instantly. Redmayne was excellent as Scamander, perfectly getting across the awkward yet endearing personality of Scamander, whose only goal in life is to stand up for the beautiful creatures that he sees vilified by humans on a day-to-day basis. Even Colin Farrell wasn’t that bad as Graves (another one of my main worries before watching), and Ezra Miller gives yet another strong performance as a dark and disturbed character.

Watching ‘Fantastic Beasts’ has only made me more excited for the rest of the series, which means it has certainly done a good job. Perhaps it could have been shorter (full running time is 132 minutes), but with truly excellent CGI and a welcomed vintage feel, it’s another wonderful insight into the ever-expanding world of Harry Potter.

★★★★☆

Hannah Read

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Danganronpa 1.2 Reload

If you think that your school life is/was bad, spare a thought for the students of Hope’s Peak Academy. Each student is hand-picked for being the “ultimate” something; ultimate baseball star, ultimate writing prodigy, ultimate musician, and so on. Rather than receiving an incredible education in the world’s most elite educational facility, however, these teens find themselves trapped with absolutely no visibility of, or contact with, the outside world. They are then told in no uncertain terms that their only hope of escape is to murder one of their classmates without getting caught. That’s got to be worse than double maths twice in one week, hasn’t it? Okay, so your school life is/was harder by default because you exist and they don’t, but still.

So, yes, that’s the basic setup. The antagonist, and self-declared headmaster, is Monokuma. Despite the fact that him being a remote controlled teddy bear sounds rather ridiculous, Monokuma quickly establishes himself (herself? Itself?) as one of the most entrancing and memorable villains that you’ll come across. Ruthless, flippant, menacing, unpredictable, constantly wallowing in jet-black humour; this is a surreal and fascinating bad guy for a surreal and fascinating game.

Well, surreal and fascinating games plural, actually. Apparently taking its cue from the Square Enix school of silly names (I’m looking at you, Kingdom Hearts series), Danganronpa 1.2 Reload is quite literally two games in one. This is actually the third outing for each game. Originally Japan-only PSP titles, they were later given a good ol’ polish for Vita versions, which managed to make their way to English-speaking territories. They were only very recently released on Steam and, now, as a 2-in-1 package for PS4. Don’t let the repeated re-releases put you off – this is top quality stuff.

It doesn’t matter too much which game you play first, or even if you finish one before playing the other. To get the most out of the experience however, I definitely recommend finishing the first game before starting the second. This will allow the sequel to suckerpunch you even harder – but in a good way. 

The characters are literal cardboard cutouts. They’re not animated during the visual-novel-style storytelling, nor during the sequences when you’re free to wander around areas (and at these times, you can even see their 2D nature from the right angle). Impressively, the writing is more than strong enough to make them come alive and feel like real individuals, albeit caricatures rather than actual human beings. Be prepared to feel shocked or saddened by the revelation that one of your favourite characters turns out to be the next murderer – or the next victim.

Once a murder has taken place, identifying the culprit might be very easy (most of the first game) or incredibly difficult (pretty much the whole of the second game). Regardless, the real fun and head-scratching comes from speaking to the survivors and gathering evidence afterwards, then pulling together everything you’ve found and learned to reconstruct the events of the crime and prove the guilt of the killer. Each murder signals the approach of a ‘class trial’ you see, a mixture of sleuthing and minigames. Yes, I know ‘minigames’ is something of a dirty word, but these are thankfully of the non-annoying variety. They – and their associated time limits – add pressure to you and your mental athletics, and make a successful class trial sequence that much more satisfying.

The game mechanics are sound, but it really is the writing and the atmosphere that will grip you until the end of both titles. The bright, bold, stylised graphics work perfectly in conjunction with the fuzzy synth soundtrack to ensure that Danganronpa’s bizarre world holds firm. The writing meanwhile is across both titles by turns intelligent, hilarious, shocking, thoughtful, and playful. Even if you wouldn’t ordinarily consider a “very Japanese” game, Danganronpa 1.2 Reload offers value for money of the highest order. This game displays a Danganronparticular set of skills. 

★★★★★

Luke Kemp

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RIGS: Mechanized Combat League

RIGS Mechanized Combat League is PlayStation VR’s first real attempt to make a highly-competitive multiplayer game. Mixing aspects of the best First Person Shooters and the structure of sports, RIGS definitely gives a good first impression. Couple that with depth of the RIGS you control with multiple competitive modes, you’d think this could be something that catches on. The only problem though is that if you want a really competitive game to play online against others, there is a ton of other games out that that aren’t constrained by VR and while RIGS offers enough for you to enjoy, it’s staying power is definitely questioned.

Developed by Guerrilla Cambridge and out now on PlayStation VR, RIGS Mechanized Combat League turns the mech-battling game and turns it into a spectator sport. When you begin the game, the presentation is definitely exciting. The colours, commentary, and structure of the game turns a simplistic enough shooter into a massive sport and it definitely gets you excited about playing. 

The only problem though is that when you actually get into the play, there is always something to bring down the game’s biggest selling point: The sense of speed. Matches are incredibly quick and short which is great for those that just want to jump in and play for a few minutes. This is good because despite being in a cockpit, the sense of speed and movement can be kinda jarring at times and I’ve had to walk away a match or two early just because I don’t know if my head could have taken more.

 You can equip different RIGS that bring with it its own benefits and weaknesses. This adds a great dynamic to switch things up to keep things fresh both for you and how you approach the few different modes on offer. You have your standard Team Deathmatch which just doesn’t feel as fun as it is in other games. RIGS has a mode though that truly shines. As the game mentions it is more of a sport than a shooter, the Power Slam Mode was the only real mode worth playing and investing in. In Power Slam mode you can either kill the opposing team or collect orbs that can be found all over the map. This will eventually put you into Overdrive. You must then jump through a massive ring to score. The team with the most scores at the end of the match wins. It’s simple but it’s incredibly fun, fast, and enjoyable. It brings the best elements of the game together into the purest form. Everything else feels like it detracts from the brilliance of playing Power Slam. 

You can earn upgrades for your RIG which are called sponsorships because of course it is - it’s the future of sport so it takes all the ridiculousness of it into this game. The way you earn sponsorships is by completing challenges which is honestly pretty frustrating as it forces you to play certain ways or obtain goals that are annoying to try complete. 

RIGS Mechanized Combat League aims to be a proper multiplayer game that’s exclusively played in VR. It's fun for quick-play, offers a decent amount of progression, and looks pretty decent. It has all the hallmarks of the first game of its type from a team of developers as there are enough shortcomings to keep it from being essential. For example: Even though everything is incredibly fast, the intro and ending of every match forces you to watch sequences that keep the flow going and just gets tiresome quite quickly.

Comfort Level

Bit of a mixed bag here. It’s surprisingly fine giving how fast movement is but it does get to you over time. I couldn’t play this game for more than 30 minutes to an hour at a timer before it started to affect me. It's  a multiplayer game that you can’t play for hours like other shooters which keeps it from being in your rotation of a few greats. This game is a great start to the future of competitive VR sports titles.

★★★★☆

Jason Redmond

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Hustle Kings VR

There’s something about virtual pool that I can help but play. No matter how many games come out based on the sport, I want to try them all. None of them stayed in my rotation like Hustle Kings. When it released on PlayStation 4 last year I was hooked immediately. The game has made the jump over to PlayStation VR with all the expected upgrades, good and bad.

Developed by VooFoo Studios and out now for PlayStation VR, Hustle Kings VR is pretty much the exact same game that released on PlayStation 4. What’s new here is the fact that you can look around the table with your head as if you are standing right there at the table and a new control scheme.

The control scheme allows you to use the two PlayStation Move controllers. This offers both the most authentic control scheme for pool and the most inaccurate and frustrating. Hustle King’s controls are quite intuitive, much more than the Move controllers can calculate. This will mean that you will miss more shots than with other control schemes. Using the move controllers this way will be fun for a short while on a novelty basis but when it comes to trying to win, you will move away from them pretty quickly. 

This may be the title you pull out and play with others that don’t normally play games. It’s more than an experience offered by the device and there’s nothing you really have to explain: its pool! It’s one of the only titles that can really be played in conversation with someone. However, there’s still no easy way to pass the VR headset to one another for taking turns. Doing this can cause some calibration problems as it was never really intended to be passed around like a controller. 

Comfort Level

This is possibly the most passive game to release on VR which means you or only ever really the camera, moving closer and around the table. It’s relaxing with the headset on and thus I encountered literally no VR sickness whatsoever. I did want to walk over to the bar and order a drink. The game did not allow this unfortunately.

Unlike every other game that previously existed on PlayStation 4 and has made the jump to PlayStation VR, Hustle Kings includes no new content whatsoever. While this is disappointing, there’s not much that could be done without feeling tacked on or a novelty that will be quickly forgotten. The core game itself is good enough and just being there in those locations was enough for me to enjoy the game. In terms of exclusive content though, it’s just the fun of getting different angles when lining up shots which, surprisingly, was enough for me to enjoy it.

★★★☆☆

Jason Redmond

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Army of One

The true story of Gary Faulkner is bizarre beyond words. Equipped with little more than a samurai sword, Faulkner embarked on a “mission from God” to capture Osama bin Laden – a quest which required several trips to the most volatile regions of Pakistan. Of course, he failed. But he became something of a legend and it was only a matter of time until this wonderfully ridiculous tale made it to the big screen. Who better to portray this quirky patriot than Nicolas Cage – the sort of man you could imagine embarking on vengeful quests with a samurai sword in his spare time anyway...

Nicolas Cage is an enormously talented actor. No, this is not a joke. It may very well be one of the most controversial statements in Hollywood, but I wholeheartedly believe it. Yes, his career has been a little inconsistent since his 1995 Oscar win (Cage is an Oscar winner, accept it) and it’s true he has shown up in a great quantity of shit films with absolutely zero effort. But sometimes, he likes to put in a bit of work and remind us that he does have some talent tucked away…

This film absolutely belongs to Cage, giving us his most unhinged and off-the-wall performance in years as the arguably deranged Gary Faulkner. He’s almost unrecognisable in the film, with a very unique (and not exactly accurate) vocal delivery, while sporting long white locks and a “great big bushy beard”! He’s clearly enjoying himself in this larger than life role and it certainly makes a change from all of those preposterously one-dimensional thriller roles he’s given us over the last several years. If we’re going by Kermode’s 6-laugh-test here, Cage makes sure that milestone is passed within the first 20 minutes. Outside of Cage, there isn’t much to report in the cast. The Goldbergs’ Wendi McLendon-Covey plays it completely straight as Faulkner’s love interest, while Russell Brand tries to make it all about him – understandable really, as he’s playing God. His humour didn’t work in the film, and his presence was jarring.

But the humour of the film comes so thick and fast that even these uncomfortably unfunny Russell Brand appearances are quickly recovered by some unhinged Cage shenanigans. A lot of the film’s humour doesn’t come from traditional jokes or punchlines, but rather the premise itself. Cage does portray Faulkner as something of an eccentric madman and brings a lot of laughs just from his performance alone, but it’s the circumstance that creates the most humour – the mere idea of this nutter going to Pakistan with a samurai sword in an attempt to capture Osama. You simply could not make it up.

Larry Charles, comedy genius behind some of Seinfeld’s finest (and darkest) moments, is behind the camera here and gives the film a somewhat professional feel. The film doesn’t seem like your typical straight-to-DVD Cage shit, and Rajiv Joseph & Scott Rothman’s screenplay keeps the pace moving along quickly with a lot of laughs and, surprisingly, some heart. Gary Faulkner is portrayed as something of an unpredictable nutjob, but he’s given some depth and not always made the butt of the joke. And funnily enough, he’s still out there today. The film ends by saying that his cut of the film’s profits was going to be used to fund his future adventures – he doesn’t believe Osama bin Laden was ever killed, and he’s adamant he will find him. Bless…

Army of One was an unexpected delight. It was a perfect role for Cage to go full crazy, while also reveal his acting chops to us once again. I don’t care what anyone says, I’ll stand by this as a solid Nicolas Cage performance. The film is funny and utterly entertaining, and with this current obsession of being inspired by the ‘hidden figures’ of history, Gary Faulkner is a crazy and relatable hero we can all get behind.

Army of One is Nicolas Cage’s finest film in years. I know that’s not saying much, but trust me – this one is a lot of fun.

★★★★☆

Sam Love

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Trolls

If I were to ask everyone I knew to raise their hand if they’d ever owned a Troll, then I imagine that I’d be seeing a hell of a lot of hands. I had mine passed down to me from my Mum, and wherever I went there always seemed to be at least one lurking around. It seems they’re still popular after all these years, as ‘Trolls’ is the newest kids film to grace our screens.

The trolls are a happy, sparkly bunch of, well… trolls, who lived in a happy, sparkly tree until the evil Bergens (evil monsters that weirdly look very similar to actual trolls) start to eat them every year for Trollstice, under the belief that they only way to achieve brief happiness is by shoving trolls down your throat. Thankfully the trolls manage to escape before they are eaten by King Gristle, who is yet to experience such troll-y goodness, and find a new home hidden well away from any potential threats.

Twenty years later and the trolls are all happy again – they’re safe from the Bergens and can now dance and sing and hug all day long. Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) is insistent on throwing the party to shadow all parties ever, but Branch (Justin Timberlake), a slightly different troll who doesn’t enjoy parties or singing, warns against it in case the Bergens notice. Of course Poppy doesn’t listen so Branch just retires back to his super-prepared Bergen-repelling underground bunker. As I’m sure you can all guess Branch is right, and so ends up going on a quest with Poppy to rescue her friends after they are captured by the Bergens for the re-initiation of the Trollstice ceremony.

I’ll start with the good bits – the textures in this animation are some of the best I’ve seen, with some seriously realistic fluffiness and felt going on. It’s an incredibly colourful and energetic film, feeling a bit like a sugar rush, but it’s just what makes a film appealing to a lot of kids. The monsters were my favourite part of the film, who utilise their multi-coloured environment to hide away and surprise their prey.

I also thought the musical element was great (which is a surprise, since musicals are usually something I despise passionately). The soundtrack is particularly eclectic, ranging from Justice to Adele and even Simon and Garfunkel at one point. The singing isn’t overdone, either – Timberlake and Kendrick sing well together but it’s not the main focus, which can only be a good thing.

The problem, sadly, boiled down to the plot. Mainly because it wasn’t an original plot at all – it’s as if they grabbed every kids’ film they could think of, smashed them together, and then just added a load of glitter. There’s so many clichés and tropes that it all becomes a bit dull – good for if your child hasn’t had much exposure to films, but if they watch quite a lot then they are unlikely to find it engaging. 

The other problem was the whole moral of the story – I think what they were trying to get across was that anyone can be happy, and that’s all well and good. The way they put it across made it look like we have to be like that all the time – all of the characters are highly sociable, live for the moment extroverts apart from Branch and, coincidentally, he’s the one that gets shunned. Thankfully the whole “you’re a loser if you don’t do all this colourful and lively stuff” concept dissipates halfway as the trolls become more accepting of him, but it doesn’t disappear entirely. The end results in Branch suddenly enjoying singing and dancing (his pet hate from the very start) and becoming a bright blue, rather than his original grey, and I couldn’t help but feel betrayed that the only character I identified with had to completely change himself in order to be liked.

‘Trolls’ is a film that has a lot of enjoyment in it for kids, but more for the sensory impact than an entertaining story. It’s fun and well-animated if your kids like songs and bright colours, but if you’re looking for something with actual substance then I’d check out ‘Storks’ and ‘Moana’ instead.

★★☆☆☆

Hannah Read

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