Avengers: Infinity War ★★★★★

After a spate of successful superhero movies, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ became probably the most highly anticipated film of the year, both for long-term Marvel fans and those just joining the crowd. Now we’ve finally got the backstories for each character out of the way, it’s time to see how the team fair against Thanos (Josh Brolin), the Eternal-Deviant hybrid from the planet Titan who you may remember from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’. Thanos is still on the search for the six infinity stones, powerful stones that, when utilised together, bring absolute power to the user, and it’s now up to - not just the Avengers, but many other superheroes as well to put a stop to his goal of ruling the universe.

So far I’ve found that the films Marvel have been releasing have just got better and better, with ‘Thor: Ragnorak’ being my personal favourite so far for its excellent pacing, humour, and storyline. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ manages to take whatever was going well in ‘Thor: Ragnorak’ and make it even better, but with something about it that still makes it so original-feeling. Unlike other superhero movies you may have watched, whether they be from Marvel or DC, the film has a unique filming style to it – less polished, and more realistic and intimate. Rather than watching from a distance a load of shiny people in shiny situations, it feels more like the viewer is actually there, in between the action.

The structure and the plotline are also quite original compared to other superhero movies, which is refreshing. Despite being 2 hours 40 minutes, it doesn’t feel like a long film, as so much goes on and it’s paced perfectly. CGI is particularly well done – there’s a hell of a lot of it so it needed to be, but it felt super realistic and perhaps even better than the CGI we got to witness in ‘Black Panther’. There’s a good balance of comedy and emotion, with characters having to make some really tough choices at times (and, as we expected, it certainly doesn’t disappoint with the number of deaths).

One worry I think a lot of us had was that, with so many heroes on screen, it would be impossible to focus on them all. Thankfully this didn’t play out – all characters have an important role to play, and none of them get left behind. The chemistry between characters is very convincing, with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Starlord (Chris Pratt) being particularly hilarious together. The character I was impressed with the most though was Thanos, as he makes such a great villain. Despite being a seeker of absolute power and with some seriously crazy thoughts running through his head, he’s complex and emotional and at points, it’s hard not to sympathise with him. DC could certainly take note here, especially after the disappointingly flat Steppenwolf featuring in ‘Justice League’.

By far the best superhero showdown movie to grace our screens, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is everything you want and need from a Marvel movie and more. It will definitely challenge your perceptions of the genre and I can guarantee after watching, you’ll be counting down the days until the sequel finally comes out next summer. 

★★★★★

Hannah Read

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Deadpool 2 ★★★★☆

Out of all the superheroes, both Marvel and DC, Deadpool is my favourite. The reason why? Compared to the others, which tend to follow quite specific structures, he’s just so different and off the wall. Watching the first ‘Deadpool’ in 2016 was refreshing, and added an edge to Marvel films that we hadn’t seen before.

Now comes ‘Deadpool 2’, where you can expect an even greater level of both bizarre and crude antics. Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is still fighting crime full-time but, after the death of long-term girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), his life starts to fall apart once again. With some persuasion from the remaining X Men members, Deadpool agrees to join as a trainee, and on their first mission together he encounters Russell aka Firefist (Julian Dennison), a 14 year old fellow mutant with the great combination of flaming fists and anger issues. Things go wrong very quickly for both of them, and the two find themselves without their powers and trying to escape from Cable (Josh Brolin), a time-bending mutant from the future with a goal of destroying Firefist for reasons unbeknown to everyone else. 

It’s hard to review ‘Deadpool 2’ without comparing it to the first one, as it’s borrowed a very similar structure and layout and so feels formulaic at points. It’s still pretty hilarious though – although a couple of jokes fall flat they’re mostly really funny, and are typically executed by building on jokes from the previous film in new ways. Remember the regrowing hand? That’s now been taken to a whole new level. There are some real standout scenes when it comes to humour, and a bunch of side-splitting quips aimed mostly at DC and various other Marvel superheroes (my favourite being a reference to the “Martha” scene in “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”). Sometimes the humour felt overshadowed by the emotion in the film which, although played an important part, seemed slightly too sombre at certain points. Thankfully the humour was effective enough that this wasn’t too much of an issue.

As always, the chemistry between the characters is excellently done, and the general acting can’t be faulted, with Reynolds and Brolin particularly standing out for their performances. Domino (Zazie Beetz), a character who appears later on in the film, was also brilliant, and someone I’d definitely like to see more of both as actress and superhero. There’s another antagonist besides Cable who appears during the second half of the film, but I felt didn’t live up to his potential – unlike other characters there was no backstory and little motive surrounding him, and I felt that the writers put a little too much expectation on the viewer to know this about him already from the comics. As someone who hasn’t read those particular comics, I found it hard to relate him and wasn’t overly impressed by the scenes that featured him.

There were several aspects that really made the film a great sequel; one being the CGI, which was utterly grotesque at points but really well choreographed, particularly within the fight scenes. The other was the little details that were included – from pop culture references to breaking the fourth wall, every line felt crafted and didn’t let the film take itself too seriously. 

The ending definitely hinted at a sequel, but Marvel needs to try something new now to ensure its success – I’m hoping for a multi-superhero movie as opposed to ‘Deadpool 3’ as brilliant chemistry is something that the franchise could really capitalise on further, considering how well it’s been delivered in both 1 and 2. Whether or not this happens you can’t deny that ‘Deadpool 2’ is another great superhero film – although not quite as good as ‘Deadpool’, you’ll certainly be missing out if you don’t watch it. 

★★★★☆

Hannah Read

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Beast ★★★★☆

Early 2016, the world was introduced to an actor who, up until that point, was vastly underestimated and criminally underused. Folk-musician Johnny Flynn was performing in Hangmen at the National Theatre, which was broadcast live to cinemas across the UK during March. As the charmingly terrifying Mooney, Flynn showed us that he could bring an irresistible likeability to even the darkest and most frightening characters. It seems like writer/director Michael Pearce must’ve experienced Flynn’s performance because his new film Beast seems to be custom-made for Flynn.

The fantastic Jessie Buckley plays Moll, a lonely young woman living a tortured and isolated existence under the control of her cold-hearted mother. One night, she decides to escape – albeit temporarily – and go out on the lash in a local nightclub, where she meets a young man. This man promptly attempts to sexually assault her, at which point a rifle-toting rogue swoops in to save the day. This man, Pascal (Johnny Flynn), seems to have some secrets. As Moll’s hometown is currently living in fear of a loose serial killer/rapist, is Moll getting closer than she thinks to the perpetrator? And are Moll’s own secrets enough to suggest she could live up to the film’s title herself…

Beast may seem like a pretty bog-standard mystery from the above synopsis, but there is a haunting beauty to the film that makes it far much more than it appears on the surface. Visually, this is a stunning film that pulls you right into Moll and Pascal’s world and sweeps you up in their romance and shared darkness. While not being a ‘romance’, Beast is certainly one of the most accurately portrayed stories of love I’ve seen in cinema for a long time – especially evident when Moll begins to be presented with the possibility that her partner is a sadistic ‘beast’ and she continues to be blind to it. There’s certainly a romance to the film’s setting, too. Shot on location in Jersey, the seaside aesthetic of the film certainly brings an old-school feel to proceedings, while also projecting a powerful juxtaposition of the calm, inviting warmth of a seaside town against the wake of a serial killer.

But all that aside, the film’s highlight – and the key that elevates the film to a considerably higher-scoring area – is the two lead performances. Jessie Buckley is phenomenal as the quiet yet strong-willed Moll, but the film absolutely belongs to Johnny Flynn. Flynn’s presence is felt throughout every minute of the film, even when he isn’t on screen – and his incredible performance truly keeps us on the edge of our seat, guessing until the very end whether or not he is the titular beast behind the ghastly murders shaking the town. 

2018 brought us two chillers months apart, both British and both unforgettable. Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s Ghost Stories is certainly the better of the pair – and certainly one of the best films of 2018 generally – but Beast is almost-equally remarkable and definitely one that will haunt you for days after watching. Beast is a strong reminder that there are still some fresh, passionate creatives out there who want to give us more than the usual blockbuster fare – and it’s reassuring that indie cinema still has power.

★★★★☆

Sam Love

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Dark Crimes ★★☆☆☆

Jim Carrey is a phenomenal actor. I know, it’s a bold claim. This is the guy that plays Ace Ventura and The Mask, for goodness sake. But given the right role, he’s truly up there with the greats. In The Truman Show, he showed us this hidden talent and in the years since, he has still remained in his safe-zone of comedy but occasionally delivered something more. While his finest performance is, and always will be, as Andy Kaufman in the late Milos Forman’s Man on the Moon, when he puts his mind to it, he can still reach that quality of performance – even if the film around it is pretty pants.

Dark Crimes, from director Alexandros Avranas, is a tepid pile of cliché-stuffed shit with very little to recommend – except for Carrey. Tadek is a tortured detective who takes on a case involving the murder of a businessman. To his and everyone's surprise the case is identical to a character's murder in a recently published novel by a man named Kozlov (Marton Csokas). While the crime appears to be an open and shut case, Tadek discovers a darker secret and uncovers a conspiracy that will shake his world. Fascinatingly, the film is based on a true story – adapted from an article in The New Yorker entitled True Crime: A Postmodern Murder Mystery by journalist David Grann, based upon the story of convicted murderer Krystian Bala. 

This is a truly shocking story that deserves a documentary mini-series on Netflix – to rush through it in an amateurish 92 minutes is a criminal waste of some of the most hauntingly interesting subject matter a filmmaker could ever ask for. 

Looking at the very brief positive, Jim Carrey delivers a committed performance as the dark minded ‘hero’ of the story, reminding us that there is some power left in the guy after a very quiet and tragic period in the actor’s life. While it’s never going to stand among his finest work – unfortunately, the character is nothing we haven’t seen before and Carrey isn’t given anything particularly interesting in the role to sink his teeth into – it’s certainly better than a lot of his output. If nothing more, hopefully it will serve as the beginning of a comeback. Carrey’s upcoming comedy-drama television series ‘Kidding’ from Michael Gondry looks to be a true return to form for Carrey as he reunites with the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – but until then, Dark Crimes certainly reintroduces us to the talented actor and reminds us what he is capable of.

But beyond Carrey’s performance, there is nothing here to recommend. Not one thing. Even with such a fascinating true story to adapt, writer Jeremy Brock (co-writer of The Last King of Scotland) struggles to make the characters remotely interesting, or make the case as engrossing as it should be. What we’re left with is a cookie-cutter thriller that wants to be David Fincher but can barely even hit the quality of an ITV drama. 

So, should you watch it? If you have the time and think Jim Carrey is just a comedy actor, give it a look – you’ll be amazed just how good he can be in a dark role. But if you’re interested in true crime, there are so many alternatives out there that are astronomically better than this disappointingly underwhelming piece of work.

★★☆☆☆

Sam Love

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August Movie Video Round UP

Have you watched our August Movie review yet?

Check out the latest and greatest movies for the month of August

brought to you by Sam!

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August Tech Video Round UP

Have you watched our August Tech review yet?

Check out the latest and greatest tech for the month of August

brought to you by Lewis!

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Another fantastic year @ MCM Scotland Comic Con

And as the doors close, we say farewell to another fantastic year at MCM Comic Con Scotland!
A massive high-five to all that attended and got involved in our photo competitions.
Remember the voting starts tomorrow (24th sept) and the winners are announced on the 8th Oct!

Got your photo taken at the show?
Watch our cosplay compilation video to see if you have been featured!

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Add CeX on Snapchat!

Add CeX on Snapchat! It could mean the difference between getting our snaps or not getting our snaps. We're at Comic-Con this weekend so who knows what you might miss? 

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August PlayStation Video Round UP

Have you watched our August PlayStation review yet?

Check out the latest and greatest for the month of August

brought to you by Jake!

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August Nintendo Switch Video Round UP

Have you watched our August Switch review yet?

Titan Quest makes its way to the Switch! This and a whole lot more in our August Nintendo Switch roundup hosted by our plucky pacifist, Sir Thomas Baker.
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August Xbox Video Round UP

Have you watched our August Xbox review yet?

Check out the latest and greatest for the month of August

brought to you by Lewis!

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Apple Watch 4 + iPhone XS, XS Max & XR

So, what’s next for Apple? It’s quite clear where the money’s to be made, with no announcement of a new iPad, iMac or MacBook (Pro/Air).

Apple Watch

The Series 4 of the Apple watch was already leaked, earlier this week, but now we get a good look and a technical rundown of all that it offers. A new 30% larger screen, with curved corners and edges. All new customisable user interface. Bigger screen also means it’s a bigger device, than previous iterations, but don’t worry too much as all your old wristbands will fit the 4th gen model just fine. The new Crown Dial now has haptic feedback, so you can feel all those clicks as you scroll through your content. The mic and the speaker, which has been made 50% louder, have been moved to the opposite sides, “to reduce echo”.

A “next gen” accelerometer and gyroscope have been added to the series 4, so it can now recognise when you slip or fall and will automatically call the emergency services, if you stay motionless for more than a minute. Apple quite heavily emphasize the fitness aspects of the watches upgrades with it’s new heart rate monitor that knows when you're dying before you do.

It can warn you if your heart slows or is irregular. A new Electrocardiogram (ecg) feature measures for heart conditions and keeps a record of these, for comparison. All of this is FDA approved and is praised by a leading heart specialist. The Apple Watch now runs on a Dual Core 64bit Processor, making it more efficient, whilst using about the same amount of strain on the battery, which reportedly lasts 18 hrs, or 6 hrs active… So now you only need to charge your watch up to four times a day... How convenient.

iPhone XS and XS Max

According to Apple, what we require are bigger phones made of surgical steel. Which is “the most beautiful iPhone ever created” (so says an obviously unbiased opinion). The iPhone XS (pronounced iPhone-ten-S) has a 5.8-inch super retina OLED whilst the, even more awkwardly named, iPhone XS Max has a whopping 0.7-inches of extra screen space, over it’s £100 less counterpart, at 6.5-inches. Both of these displays offer HDR10 and Dolby Vision and a 60% greater image depth than the current iPhone X. An all new updated Stereo sound has been added and Apple make claims that these offer good speakers for listening to music straight off the phone, which I highly doubt but I guess I’ll find out next time I’m on a bus.

Video is also now recorded in stereo, using the two integrated mics, which is surprising that it wasn’t already. Both phones have updated camera’s using “Smart HDR”. “Bokeh” and “secondary interframes” are thrown around as Apple’s buzzwords for blur and explaining on a basic level how depth of field is created and synthetically fixed on a camera’s processor. Basically, taking a few photos of varying exposures and depth of field, in ridiculously inhuman quick succession, to make one photo with nice shadows and highlights. Using an editor it’s also possible to adjust both the level of blur and depth, to your own preference, at a later date. Video has also been slightly updated with some new HDR features. It would have been nice if these were shown off a little more. Dual Sim functionality has been implemented, in both the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, so you can have two numbers on a single phone, for travelling or business. Which reading up on is supplied by eSIMS, who aren’t a very well covered carrier and are not allowed within China. The iPhone XS has a 30 min longer battery life, than the standard iPhone X, and the iPhone S Max boasts an hour and a half over it’s now, judging by the way Apple keep using it as a comparison point, obsolete older brother. Both Phones are available in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB from September 21st.

iPhone XR

A third announced, aluminium iPhone, presumably aimed at more of a teen audience because it’s shown in most of the colours of the rainbow. Features a 6.1-inch - 1792 x828 resolution with 326ppi, no HDR or wide colour gamut - Liquid retina (LCD) display, which is larger than the iPhone 8 Plus but has a smaller body/frame. It also only has one lens. The battery life lasts around an hour and a half longer than the (again compared to) 8 plus. So lots of cutbacks to cheapen production for all those profit gains. It comes in the same sized 64GB, 256GB and 512GB models.

Everyone’s favourite Bethesda employee, Todd Howard, graced the stage - Skyrim on iPhone confirmed... almost. Just Elder Scrolls Blades, which was shown off at E3. An Elder Scrolls light, if you will. A much-simplified version of a full game but still looks very impressive. Available in Fall/Autumn (so soon). I wonder how long the battery last while running Blades?

The Homecourt App has some interesting tech, a basketball App for tracking your shots, accuracy, speed, position and how many you miss. I’m not sure I’d be trusting enough to leave my £1000+ phone just laying at the side of a basketball court, though. Some apps can take as little as 1/10th the energy, to run on the new phones, which is good for things like AR or processor heavy games.

So we got to see a new Apple Watch and three new models of iPhone... X. Because why make something new when people are happy to buy the same thing.

Bry Wyatt

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Shining Resonance Refrain ★★★★☆

As a young gamer, I would spend a lot of time playing video games made by Great British Games Developers such as Psygnosis, Team 17 and Codemasters. Particularly the latter as nothing made my head spin with excitement more than a new Dizzy game, of which there seemed to be a thousand.  That little egg's adventures seemed to be endless and I even remember my father discovering how to wake a sleeping egg by electrocuting him with a lightning rod.  In this respect, my Dad was undeniably better than your Dad.

Eventually, however, through reading magazines such as Amiga Format and ultimately The Official UK PlayStation Magazine, I discovered there was another country that was even more prolific in the video games department. Australia. No, wait. Japan. I was constantly taunted by games that appealed to my most important thirteen year old organ. The Brain. I discovered an unending list of 'Japan-Only' games featuring concepts, art and "mental shit" that my young teenage organ could barely comprehend. One of these games a full two decades later was called Shining Resonance on PS3 and has just been released on PS4 and in the west for the first time ever with loads of extra DLC built in and with a shiny new name. ShininResonance: : Refrain.

As you may be able to tell already this game is a JRPG, full of musical puns and more anime tropes than you could cliché a stereotype at. Set in the city of Marga, you play as Yuma, one of those anime boys that is wildly effeminate (not that there's anything wrong with that), wildly powerful, and absolutely terrified of girls.  He is then inevitably placed in the company of incredibly attractive women who seem to be obsessed with him due to an impending cataclysm. The Empire is out to destroy the world through the use of dragons, and Yuma is secretly host to the soul of the most powerful dragon in the world.  The Shining Dragon. 

So far so Japan. Everything about this game is just on the right side of generic, there is alchemy, a levelling system very similar to Materia in FFVII, a world ending event that can only be stopped by a reluctant hero and an evil empire of sexy men and women.  The control system is very similar to the Tales of Xillia games, in that you have a very reduced amount of choices that change depending on which character you decide is the leader, that feel streamlined as opposed to empty. There are so many moving parts, with the alchemy, dating sim, visual novel elements, side quests, Focus (akin to magic), etc. etc. There is almost too much but there isn't quite. It's hefty, but there is a healthy amount of heft. 

Then there are the DLC costumes that come packaged as standard, where you can allow Yuma to dress up as an Idol (a military version of One Direction in this case), or as himself. Then, of course, there are the women, that have five different kinds of bikini, a French maid or a school girl outfit to choose from. When I typed that previous sentence I subconsciously wrote 'out tit' which you can imagine how subtle these costumes aren't.  It's a different culture in 2014 Japan. 

The story is generic and the cutscenes are definitely inspired by visual novel elements as I spent more time than I would like between battles watching nearly fifteen minutes of exposition from gruff men, ditzy girls, overly intelligent kids, and all the usual anime characters.  However, there is just enough character development to keep me interested though, and of course, there is Refrain mode. Refrain is a 'What if?' timeline where you play as the characters from the Empire instead, but Sega suggest that you don't touch this until after you've plunged fifty hours into the normal story, as the Refrain story will make almost no sense at all, and anything that does Resonate will be a spoiler for the main campaign.

Ultimately, this game is worth playing if you are into JRPGs, or cartoon lady-parts and I would like to see more of the Shining series worm their way over to the west. I don't think anyone will remember playing this game and you wouldn't be missing out on anything groundbreaking if you don't play it. But if you are nostalgic for PS3 era Japan-as-fuck games this is a great place to do it. If you want to electrocute an egg though, try out Magicland Dizzy on the Amiga 500+.

★★★★☆

David Roberts

Shining Resonance Refrain at CeX

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Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy ★★★★★

When I was about 10 years old my brother and I argued for days over who was going to get Crash Bandicoot Warped for Christmas, it was so important to me that I was the one who got it and equally as important to him that I didn't. Now we only had one Playstation so from where I'm sitting now I don't really get the problem, but it was huge at the time. Now, however, there is an ocean between us and thanks to the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, we both have it which is great, except that I just found his copy under my bed. So in many ways, I win, as I am currently playing the newly released Nintendo Switch version in a cafe, and absolutely everyone here thinks I am the coolest dude, while he is simply rolling around in money as a genius with a career befitting his brand of genius.

Crash Bandicoot for those under thirty years old is nothing to do with the games you may have played on the Xbox or PS2 back in the day. The reason you don't understand what all us old people are losing our minds about in relation to this remake is because the original trilogy (and it's Kart equivalent) were the only Crash games made by Naughty Dog. The same Naughty Dog that went on to blow your minds with Jak and Daxter, Uncharted and the Last of Us. Starting with a very small amount of game developers and a bum load of genius they invented what was then to be known as the Playstation's answer to Sonic and Mario.  Considering they are called Naughty Dog they have never done the game development equivalent of destroying a jumper or shitting in your slipper. 

All three of the Crash games in the collection play very smoothly and are a joy to behold. I have, after many hours of playing, faced absolutely no problems with glitches or any of the usual complaints. The only thing I would say about the Switch version, and maybe this is me making excuses for being terrible at video games, but I find that the right button is a little sensitive and has often been clicked accidentally while mid-leap so that I seemingly voluntarily splat myself at force down a bottomless pit. While Crash's soul angelically flies through the air looking serene and daft, and not even slightly annoyed at my incompetence, I can't help but feel like a colossal bandicoot murdering twat.

Visually its vibrant and beautiful and I kind've wanted to rub my hands through Crash's fur more than I can describe. I just want to bury my hands in there and ruffle some fur. I feel he would love that. His sister I feel would be less comfortable with that. As would I. Which brings me to, the ability to alternate between Crash or his Sister Coco to play the levels. This is a new welcome addition to the remake. Unnecessary as a game mechanic, but a welcome one aesthetically. Like when you get shower gel in silver. Have you seen that? Looks like mercury, but you get a shiny bum cheek instead of mercury poisoning. 

The audio and the music is as atmospheric as ever and is very crisp, the benefit of playing the Switch on the go with a pair of decent headphones is being able to appreciate the jungle noises which, knowing the future of Naughty Dog, you can see Uncharted rooted in this as much as Jak and Daxter.  Levels in China, The Arctic, South American jungles, these show a love of world travel that became much more defined by the time they got to the Uncharted series. 

Crash is much harder than I remember, which has convinced me to buy the Dark Souls remaster on the PS4 and not the Switch, as I have very nearly smashed it off the table in Caffe Nero countless times. Everything about the game is exactly what you would want from a remaster, it is exactly the same but not, the new Switch version even has the DLC, a bunch of previously scrapped levels, as standard and is a joy to play and scream at.  It seems the absolute best technique for remakes is a mysterious one, wherein the game is made to feel and play exactly how you remembered it feeling and playing, and almost nothing like it actually was. Think back to that relationship you had, it was great, wasn't it? Every day was blissful, you dreamed of the same things together, you had plans, a shared love for cinema and video games and other naughtier things.  It didn't work out though. Weird? No. Not weird, it's because it made you miserable and you used to sit awake at night smoking to stop yourself from killing yourself and her. In that order. Your memory is stupid. This game is better than the original in my opinion.

When Crash Bandicoot 2 came out I was so excited that I rushed to Electronics boutique and ran off home as fast as I could, without taking the game with me, only getting back in time to retrieve it before they closed the shop.  I have always loved these games, so I definitely deserved to be the one to get it for Christmas and I am super glad to be sitting here today playing it instead of having an actual job. 

★★★★★

David Roberts

Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy at CeX

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Atomic Blonde ★★★★☆

This is the coolest film I’ve seen in a long time. It’s like John Wick but with Charlize Theron and an 80s Europop soundtrack. What’s not to love? 

Here’s the premise. Charlize Theron portrays Lorraine Broughton, one of MI6’s best agents, in Berlin during 1989 - days before the collapse of the Berlin wall. Broughton is set loose to recover ‘the list’, a document containing the names of every single double agent in Berlin. In the wrong hands, this would not just threaten the lives of the agents, but inflate the rising political tensions in the city. Everyone from the police to the KGB is after it, putting them right in the firing line of Broughton’s insane skills.

In the words of the Independent, ‘It’s Charlize Theron’s world. We’re just living in it.’ By far the most enjoyable part of this film is Charlize Theron’s performance, which she absolutely knocks out of the park. It’s no mystery that she’s an incredibly talented actress, she’s got a Best Actress Oscar under her belt and enough accolades to warrant their own Wikipedia article separate from her own. Don’t get me wrong, her performance in Atomic Blonde isn’t going to bag her another Oscar. It’s not that kind of film, and that’s part of why I love it. Her performance is effortlessly cool, stylish, and holds the film together amidst a plot that can get pretty muddy. 

The story isn’t an easy watch. Everyone has their own motivations, some overlap, some don’t. Some agents are double agents, some aren’t, everyone is betraying each other and there’s a seemingly endless source of goons for Broughton to kick to death. But the film more than makes up for this with the fight scenes, visual style, soundtrack and performance. This film is just so fun to watch, that I don’t care if I can’t remember whose side I’m on. At times you forget all about the ‘list’ and buy in to just watching a two hour fight scene. 

A pet hate of mine is fight scenes that are over-edited because it makes the action hard to follow. This film is a mixed bag, falling prey to shaky camerawork and editing, but it makes sure you have a clear view of the very best stunts. The extended fight scene at the climax of the film is something I’ve since watched over and over, and I’ve never been a huge action movie guy. Despite being what is essentially an eponymous action movie, Atomic Blonde oozes so much style and classy cinematography that you find yourself putting it in a much more prestigious band of cinema than it probably belongs. 

Most of this movie is based around huge brawls, and so it’s great that they’ve done them so well. It’s far from the highly choreographed and precise ‘The Matrix’-style of hand-to-hand fighting that might remind one of anime. It’s hard to explain, but the fighting has a sense of desperation to it. While you never worry that she’s in any danger, Broughton has a look in her eye that makes you believe she’s always a second away from death - and succeeding regardless. She might never miss a hit, but Broughton is no Neo and Atomic Blonde is all the more entertaining for it.

I could go on and on about all the little things I loved about Atomic Blonde, but you really have to experience it for yourself. It’s worth saying that cinema snobs might not take the same enjoyment from it that others will, as the twists and turns of the film’s plotline leave a lot of holes in the narrative and there are a few ‘that’s not as cool as you think it sounds’ writing moments in the dialogue. Supporting actors are hit and miss. But the truth is, you’ll have a blast watching this film. 

★★★★☆

Jake Turnbull

Atomic Blonde at CeX

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Sonic Mania ★★★★★

Imagine you felt for some reason that you were so great that you could do better than a professional. Imagine you are listening to Sega talk about their emulation port of Sonic CD onto iPhones and you think to yourself. Pfft. I could do that better than they could. Then imagine that Sega agreed with you, then paid you to make the best sonic game since Sonic 2. Well, this is the life of Christian Whitehead and the newly released Sonic Mania: Plus, available for the first time in physical format, is his spiky blue baby.

If you haven't played Sonic Mania, as you have been hurt too many times by the Sonic Team, you absolutely should. Unless you thought Sonic 2 was shit and have spent the rest of your life also being wrong, you will love this. Ever since Sonic Adventure was released there hasn't been anything that is absolutely, unapologetically outstanding.  Sure Sonic Adventure was pretty good and Sonic Generations was fun fifty percent of the time, and there were those GBA games, but when was the last time a game came out that made you want to spike your hair up and dye it blue?  I can't do that cos my hair is too curly but since Sonic Mania, I feel the familiar itch. Though that might just be dandruff. 

Christian Whitehead built his own Sonic Engine and just for fun used to hack Sonic roms for as long as they have existed. That's what Sonic Mania is, a really intense, high budget rom hack made with love and knowledge of the Sonic franchise the like of which the world has never seen. Tearing through the Emerald Hill Zone as Sonic, Tails and Knuckles is a nostalgic, beautiful experience. It feels and plays exactly how you want it to, and the upgrades you unlock, allow you to use all kinds of nerdy hacks, like the Sonic CD move list or a level select.  A huge version of the levels from the earlier games that seem familiar and fresh every second of the way is at your disposal and I can't tell you how great the music is for The Flying Battery Zone. The level is mental difficult and fiddly, but that music kept me going for hours. The bosses are creatively remixed bosses from the original Sonic Trilogy as well as Dr. Robotnik's mean bean machine and other things you might not expect.

The PLUS element of the title is a new encore mode, Sega have now added in Ray and Mighty, two obscure Sonic Characters along with remixed levels and a new pinball themed special stage. If you already had the original this will cost you about four quid to upgrade, if you haven't however, then you are about to wander into a CEX and get yourself a copy of a gigantic addictive (and hard as balls) Sonic game.  It goes without saying, though I'll have said it twice, that if you hated the early Sonic games, you'll hate this, but otherwise it is a must have.

★★★★★

David Roberts

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Game Night ★★★★☆

‘Game Night’ is the newest film directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (both writers for ‘Spiderman: Homecoming’). Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams), probably the most competitive couple in the whole of the US, host weekly game nights with their friends Michelle (Kylie Bunbury) and Kevin (Lamorne Morris), a married couple who have been together since high school, and Ryan (Billy Magnussen), who brings along a different Instagram-obsessed date each week. They’re usually really fun but, much to Max’s disappointment, their friends always seem to get more hyped with his charming and cash-flaunting brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) is in town. After a particularly tension-filled Friday night Brooks invites them all over to his place for the following Friday, where he claims he’s going to host the game night to beat them all.

Max and Annie begrudgingly decide to go, all the while trying to avoid their creepy neighbour Gary (Jesse Plemons), ex-husband of one of their friends who they now don’t invite to their weekly game nights. When they get to Brooks’ house they realise that they’re going to be participating in a murder mystery-style night, where the goal is to find out who has kidnapped Brooks and where he has been taken to, the winner receiving his prized Cortina. Something goes horribly wrong though and the group find themselves in a real-life kidnapping scenario, not knowing what is fact, and what is fiction.

Sometimes I find that comedies have a really great premise, but they don’t live up to what could have been due to poor direction or stale and unoriginal humour. I had this issue with ‘The House’, a film with similar content that I reviewed earlier this year. Thankfully this was not the case with ‘Game Night’, which was witty and hilarious all the way through. The comedy is an interesting mixture of dark, slapstick, and downright bizarre, but with a ‘Comedy of Errors’ feel to it, it works. Occasionally some jokes were a little try-hard, but on the whole, they were really funny and there were definitely side-splitting moments that will stay memorable for a long time. 

I really enjoyed the balance between comedy and thriller, and the storyline really worked well. Although it was set over just one night, there was a clear structure to the story, and each act had its own pull, with lots of twists and a nice way of tying together at the end. The film is directed excellently, and the cinematography is wonderful in itself, combining tilt-shift landscapes to replicate the feel of a board game to first person action shots that make you feel like you’re the one playing the game.

What really makes the film is the chemistry between the characters - each character is original and brings something to the table, with excellent character development and interplay throughout. They aren’t just seven friends but a group of real personalities with layers of history and conflict, from Michelle and Kevin arguing as the night, progresses about a situation in their relationship that happened ten years ago to Ryan and Sarah (Sharon Horgan) fighting over whether or not they’re actually on a date. There isn’t a single actor or actress who gave a less than great performance, but I felt that Rachel McAdams really made the role of Annie her own, and Jesse Plemons was wickedly creepy as Gary. He’s an actor that I want to see in more as he never fails to disappoint whatever the character he’s cast as. His role isn’t actually that important until later on in the film, but from the very beginning, he really makes it. 

‘Game Night’ is a witty and entertaining dark comedy, with a far-fetched yet playful script and complex and layered plot that makes it more than just a bit of Friday night fun. 

★★★★☆

Hannah Read

Game Night at CeX

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Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S ★★★☆☆

Xiaomi’s gotten a $70 Billion valuation recently which just proves how mighty they are since they don’t officially sell in USA & most of Europe yet. One of the reasons for that is their flagship Mix series of phones which paved the way for bezel-less, no notch nonsense design before anyone else even thought about it. Let's find out if the 3rd model in the Mix series, the 2S is a hit.

The upgrades in the 'S' model over the previous Mi Mix 2 include a faster Snapdragon 845 processor, a dual-camera with AI and Qi wireless charging. It still has the almost bezel-less and also notch-less 18:9 large-screen, and a shiny ceramic design that, on the black model (it's also available in white), features an 18K gold ring on the rear. Importantly, the touch on the ceramic is smooth but as slippery as an eel.

All models are available in black (with 18K gold trim) or white (with chrome trim), with the same 5.99in display and 3400mAh battery. 

There are no buttons on the front and the fingerprint sensor is at the back comfortable to access.

The only complaint though is the chin that holds the front camera is at the bottom which means often you might need to turn the phone upside down for a selfie. It's still not waterproof, and that’s disappointing.

It supports wireless charging which is slower than the Quick charge 3.0 bundled power adaptor in the box that can go from 0-55% in 30 mins. Being a Dual sim device, Xiaomi hasn’t made the 2nd slot a hybrid one, so there’s no SD card support. The Mix 2S also moves away from 3.5mm jack in favour of Type C audio/charging port but does provide a connector in the box for your old 3.5mm earphones.

During daily use the Xiaomi Mix 2S is a fast and responsive device no matter what you task it with or how many things you task it with at once. Asphalt 8 & 17 other apps run without a glitch and thanks to the RAM you can resume where you stopped without reloading. The phone runs on Android Oreo with MIUI 9 on top & is in line for Android P beta. Software features include the regular MIUI options like Second Space for select apps to be available for other users of your phone, like kids can have only games on that screen or you can have a work apps space only. Dual Apps option lets you run 2 instances of same apps if you use dual SIMs for apps like Whatsapp etc. A new addition, Guide on the leftmost screen lets you access notes, frequent apps,calendar events etc.

Finally, the Dual camera set up at the back is a combo of 12MP Sony & a 12MP Samsung (telephoto and portrait shots thanks to this one!).The camera rating on this phone was higher than Pixel XL which some might not agree to but no doubt is right up there. It can shoot 4k video & has multiple AI modes it applies automatically to make your pictures look better based on the scene conditions.

The 5MP selfie camera is average but thanks to the bezel-less design, sits at the bottom right below the display & makes it awkward when Snapchatting or using other apps that need selfies unless you are ok with double chin shots in every image! 

Overall it’s a great phone considering the price point of being well below releases from Samsung, Apple, LG etc. Look at other options if you’re an audiophile, into selfies or need a waterproof phone since the speakers aren’t something to write home about, the front camera is weirdly positioned, and the IP67 rating is missing.

★★★☆☆

Pritesh Khilnani

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S at CeX

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