Sonic Generations

Long have i been waiting for sonic to finally return to its roots and give us the game play we enjoyed on console like the mega drive and sega saturn and here it is sonic generations where we can play as 2 sonics from dfferent decades.

Battlefield 3

So its that time of the year when all the shooters grace our consoles and compete for that all important number 1 spot.First up we see battlefield 3 released upon the world to try and take some of the attention from call of duty but the big question is can it do it.

Languishing at the bottom of IMDb...My Forgotten Five

This one is a special request from Da Boss, The Dregg Man, who asked about those films you see on IMDb that have a rather poor rating for one reason or another but you really like, secretly or otherwise. So I present those films I feel have been given a raw deal, or ignored for whatever reason. I'll be the first to admit you're unlikely to find any masterpieces here, but some that I truly believe are worth a re-evaluation.

Hellraiser: Inferno (2000) - Coming along not so long after the well-intentioned but studio-butchered "Bloodline", a valiant attempt to come full circle, came this oddity which excels over parts 3 and 4 for by taking a step back from the mythology and doing a stand-alone story, fitting as the legend goes that many Lament Configuration boxes were made over the centuries. In this instalment we meet Detective Joseph Thorn, an exceptionally gifted but deeply flawed homicide cop with a knack for solving the most gruesome of crime but also a penchant for drugs, hookers and infidelity. After his discovery of the infamous box at a murder scene, he finds his life spiralling into dark visions and possibly teetering on insanity. The faithful need not worry, Doug Bradley does pop up as the ever reliable Pinhead, but what takes this a step above is his almost supporting role to the excellent Craig Scheffer as Thorn, in what unfolds as a genuinely unsettling and darkly humorous morality tale. Ignore the straight-to-video repuattion and seek this one out, you won't be disappointed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77yCHOd3c60

They (2002) - OK, so no-one is ever going to accuse Laura Regan of giving Meryl Streep sleepless nights, but her rather unsympathetic characterization aside, this little horror gem hits the spot for me every time. At a time when "Sam Raimi Presents" on a cover or poster had me cringing ("Boogeyman" or "30 Days Of Night" anyone?), seeing Wes Craven's name attached as producer here was actually a comfort, as here his influence is very apparent, as this is a pleasingly unironic things-that-go-bump-in-the-night story. Student Julia Lund (Regan) is traumatised after witnessing the suicide of estranged childhood friend Billy, with whom she shared a history of "night terrors" as a youngster. his obtuse warning's about "them" and "staying in the light" seem to her as the rambling of a disturbed mind, until she meets his two friends at the funeral and discover that, like her, that thing from their childhood nightmares seems to be coming back for an unwanted visit. As mentioned, Regan does not make the most likeable lead, but the monsters themselves are treated with respect, suitably shrouded in darkness and with some stunning sound design to them, and the end has a brilliantly sour touch to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy1x23yLuSg

Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) - Firstly, just let me state that Vincenzo Natali's stunning original "Cube" is actually one of my favourite films ever, and probably the best low budget sci-fi ever made.With that in mind, and his approval, the producers only really had one option here; bigger, better, faster, more. And so we open again with an unexplained disappearance and the waking of a group of seemingly random people in the cube, only this time, whoever is behind this ingenious deathtrap seems to have raised the stakes: time and space and almost reality itself seem to be conspiring to stop any kind of escape. We have a diverse but realistic and interesting bunch of characters:, the teacher, the PI, the shrink, the geek, the lawyer and, most interestingly, the blind student and bonkers OAP (senior citizen for our American readers, natch). And added to some great character acting considering the restraints of filming, the effects have truly been beefed up, all I will say here is watch out the diamond. And as with the original, the ending will leave you with a wonderful sense of unease, but do yourself a favour and ignore the missing-the-point-prequel Cube Zero. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4N86WL4TvM

Mimic (1997) - How has this film almost been written out of film history? To be fair Mira Sorvino has never really capitalised on her Oscar for "Mighty Aphrodite" and is a strange (but good) choice for a sci-fi heroine, but the rest of the cast, namely Josh Brolin, Charles S. Dutton and Jeremy Northam are much more dependable. But for many it should be heralded as the English language debut of none other than Guillermo Del Toro, so how it remains largely unnoticed is a mystery to me. The story is solid and sometimes ingenious stuff: entomologist Sorvino and her partner (Northam) save the city from a plague of cockroaches which is decimating the child population by genetically engineering a giant bug to attack the roaches, with the bug itself bred to have a limited natural life. Needless to say, all concerned underestimate their new creations ability for adaptation, and when people start to go missing underneath the city, the teams physical and mental prowess is tested to the limit. Stunning visuals, set design, an intriguing creature and, thankfully, a decent script, all add up to make this an unsung hero of the "creature-feature" genre. And for once, the two straight-to-video sequels are actually weel though out and worth your time too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL-GB11uyTI

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - And so to what many see as the biggest folly in both horror and sequel history, John Boorman's frankly insane metaphysical follow-up to my favourite film ever. On paper, most of it seems pretty straightforward: three years after the death of Fathers Karras and Merrin at the hands of the possessed Regan McNeil, Father Philip Lamont (Richard Burton) is sent to investigate the real events surrounding the exorcism and subsequent deaths, as Merrin's reputation is under threat from those on the inside trying to discredit the authenticity of the case rather than have the church admit the possibility of any supernatural occurence. To this end Lamont finds the now 16 year old Regan staying in New York with housekeeper/nanny Sharon and in the care of psychiatrist Dr Gene Tuskin (Loiuse Fletcher, the film's saving grace). This is where I will leave the plot details, as anything else could potentially spoil what must rank as one of the most genuine curios in film history. The film was panned for many reasons:, Burton and Fletcher seem to be in two completely different movies, her in the contemporary 70's and him from a Hammer style schlockfest; the bizarre borderline comical dialogue ("I am Pazzuzzu!") to the downright puzzling African-set scenes with James earl Jones in full tribal get-up. But what keeps it watchable is the flashes of genius that pop up; the aerial effects are wonderful, the story, at heart, is an interesting musing on the nature of good and evil and man's possible evolution to overcome this, and it also boasts one of the late Enio Moriconne's most out-there soundtracks. If you only see one, widely-panned movie, make it this one. Oh, and it has officially the most batshit crazy trailer EVER! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFspymGVZLY

So there you have it: I'm not claiming you will like all of (or indeed any) of these, but I do say make up your own mind before you listen to the doubters.

In Cinemas:- The Advenutres Of Tin Tin: The Secret of The Unicorn

Plot:-

After buying a model ship at a market place Tin Tin (voiced by Jamie Bell) gets kidnapped by Sakharine (Daniel Craig), then manages to escape and ends up on a fantastic adventure with drunken sailor Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis).

Review:-

As a child I loved the old Tin Tin cartoons. They were light, and they were fun. For the first time ever, Herge's wonderful creation has been brought to the big screen in a feature length adventure.

First and foremost Tin Tin looks incredible. Peter Jackson and Weta were the first to use Motion Capture succesfully, James Cameron and Avatar perfected it, and now Spielberg has dabbled his hand in this useful technology. The depth and colour are breathtaking, the characters incredibly detailed and after only a short period of time you forget that you're watching animation and not live action on screen.

Script and plot wise, The Secret Of The Unicorn isn't brilliant. It feels rushed, and at times the trail they follow can be slightly confusing. The main reason for this I think is to keep the run time down as this is aimed at at families and children. They could not afford to run beyond 105 minutes at the risk of losing the attention of the younger audience.

In saying that it is still an enjoyable watch. The voice performances are solid, with Daniel Craig oozing sinisterness and arrogance with every syllable. The main star of the show, unsurprisingly, is Andy Serkis. His portrayal of Haddock is funny, and extremely well done, with his Scottish accent near perfect. (I say near perfect, he mispronounces a few words and as a Scot I noticed them all).

There is plenty of humour abound as well, going from the slapstick which comes mostly from Thompson and Thomson (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), and a few great one liners from Captain Haddock. There is a particularly funny moment right at the start when Snowy wrecks Tin Tin's house chasing a cat.

The biggest success in 'Unicorn' is Snowy, Tin Tin's faithful Terrier. Snowy is a joy to behold and steals nearly every scene throughout the movie. Displaying intelligence and silliness that you'd expect to see from man's best friend!

Verdict:-

Over-all decent fare. It is worth watching for the visuals alone, however it could have been so much better if they had spent a bit more time on the plot and a bit less on everything else.

6/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW6TkX1YOK8

Lord Of The Rings:- 10 Years on

By Euan ' Trepo Brandybuck' Campbell

Over the past week or so, I've taken the time to watch the extended editions of Lord Of the Rings on Blu Ray, in celebration of the upcoming tenth anniversary of the release of 'The Fellowship of the ring'.

Its hard to believe that ten years have past. In movie terms we've seen some great moments and some truly terrible ones. We've seen a whole generation of movies pass with Harry Potter ( I'll be covering those in a few weeks time), and the star wars prequels have come and gone (ok so episode one was '99 but the others were in the noughties).

Reflecting back, it makes me appreciate once again how good LOTR actually is.

For the first time in history it was decided to film all three movies together, back to back. Some say this was crazy, I say this was inspired.

From the very first moment I was gripped. The back story of the ring of power gave Weta a chance to flaunt their magic early on, and from that moment they never looked back.

From here Peter Jackson took us on a mesmerising, sweeping adventure full of everything you could possibly hope for in movies.

Now the cynics would say that all they did was convert books to movies, but they did so much more.

As an avid fantasy fiction reader, I can admit that reading Lord Of the Rings is no pleasure cruise. Its long, and a lot of it is slow moving, and often the detail was overwhelming, so to convert this epic trilogy into a movie friendly story was a momentous challenge.

First and foremost, for me casting is everything. With the right cast you can accomplish anything, and Lord Of the rings combined a wealth of up and coming youngsters (Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom) with a few carefully selected veterans (Sir Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, John Rhys-Davies) in key places to hold it all together.

Ok some of the performances in patches were not what you could call quality , but over-all the standard was high. None so more than what Viggo Mortensen displayed as Aragorn.

Aragorn is the key to the whole thing in my opinion, if they got him wrong then the whole thing would have crumbled, but fortunately after a last minute decision by Jackson and Co, they got their man.

Viggo's performance was intense yet subtle, fierce yet Tender, and he displayed a leadership that carried the rest of the cast on this epic journey.

The trilogy is much too long to do a synapsis, so I won't bore you with one, but to be honest if you're reading this article now, then you'll have seen the the movies yourselves so doing one would be pointless.

LOTR brought epic battles and quiet emotion. It brought comedy and fear, Love and anger.

It took the time to develop the characters in a way that gave a connection to its audience, and it delivered stunning set pieces back to back.

I for one will admit to getting emotional at the Grey Havens, watching the movies make me feel like I have been on the journey myself, and that is a rare quality in modern day cinema.

LOTR also brought with it the first succesful use of motion capture technology, which has already benifitted some of the best film-makers of our generation.

The Creature Gollum is magnificent achievment, and displays a truly incredible performance from And Serkis, which I believe should have gotten recognition from the Academy (I'll touch on this more in a future article).

So here we are 10 years later. The Lord Of The Rings does not look dated in anyway. It is still as moving and breathtaking as it was the first time I saw it, and Iv no doubt I will feel this way every time I watch it in the years to come.

'I will not say do not weep, for not all tears are an evil'

Films To Make My Heart Skip A Beat

For those who know me, or maybe even just know my writing, you could be forgiven for thinking that I am a bit of a doom-merchant, but hopefully this will show a lighter side to me, hopefully! Just a quick piece about those films that leave me feeling optimistic, smiley, or just makes me laugh like a drain.

Bradley Cooper - The Man from U.N.C.L.E

Latest news is that George Clooney has dropped out of the running for the role of Napoleon Solo in the movie remake of 60's cult tv show The Man From U.N.C.L.E!

Cooper is now the hot favourite to be confirmed in the role which will no doubt further raise his profile! He is currently working on 4 new projects including Paradise Lost and is in demand after the huge success of The Hangover movies and Limitless!

He's came a looooong way since his regular spot on Alias!!

Phoenix Jones - Super Hero or Super Villain?

By Gary Kean

As children we read stories of crime fighters with super human abilities and unending courage protecting those in need and making the world a better place.  For many of us this will never be any more than a dream, considered a childish fantasy and outgrown as we venture into adulthood.  Little do people know that in many cities around the world we have real life super heroes patrolling the streets, helping society by doing what they can whether it be breaking up bar brawls, helping old ladies cross the street or just serving as a visual deterrent to those who would break the law.

The Wolverine - Coming to you in 2012! (ish)

By Gary Kean

Yup that's right folks you read right.  Hugh Jackman is set to take up the claws once more as everyones favorite mutant Wolverine.  The planned sequal to Wolverine: Origins will follow Jackman on his journey to Japan and battles with Silver Samurai!  Details are still sketchy but we do know James Mangold (Knight & Day, 3:10 to Yuma, Kate and Leopold) will be Director though no other cast members have been announced, there will be a great deal of anticipation from the Marvel Fanboys for this one!  Many of us who have read the comics for years are all aware of his background and ties to Japan but those who only know him as "that guy that Jackman plays" or "the dude from X-Men" will discover a whole new chapter about the loveable bad ass.  Fingers crossed they do it right!

The movie was originally scheduled for Autumn 2011 but the original Director (Darren Aronofsky) dropping out at the last minute and his replacement (Mangold) having issues with the script led to yet more delays.  The final delay came when they decided to free Jackman up for another movie he was due to film, a certain Les Miserables.

In the adaptation Jackman will take on the iconic role of Jean Valjean.  Due for release in 2012 it posseses a steller cast supporting him including Anne Hathaway (Fantine), Russell Crowe (Javert) and Helena Bonham-Carter (Madame Thenardier) with Geoffrey Rush rumored to be taking on the role of her husband!  Jackman has been busy on Twitter saying that all is going well wih the Les Mis project and the guys are "totally pumped" for it!

Busy few years ahead for Mr Jackman indeed!

2011 Scream Awards - The Results!

By Gary Kean

Forget The Oscars and all those other pointless awards, let's face it there's just too many categories missing!  When was the last time they gave an award for Most Memorable Mutilation or Holy Shit Moment of the Year? Well wonder no more!  Courtesy of Spike TV in America we now have such an award ceremony that took place this past Tuesday 18th October, The Annual Scream Awards, sort of like a Geek Oscars.  Big winners included Harry Potter, True Blood, Game of Thrones & Black Swan.

Below is a list of the awards and their respective winners:

Live Long And Prosper...Spock Comes Out

Having been following the "It Gets Better" campaign by The Trevor Project ( http://www.thetrevorproject.org/ ) for the last year or so, set up to combat the hostility and ignorance leading to gay teen suicide in the USA, I had been heartened to see so many famous faces posting YouTube videos in support. Some were the usual suspects,; Margaret Cho, Ellen DeGeneres, Darren Hayes, Max Adler and Portia DeRossi, but as welcome as these familiar voices were, I also found it very encouraging to hear from the sci-fi/fantasy community too, particularly Daniel Radcliffe, Aleksander Skarsgard and especially the wonderful Zachary Quinto, who this week chose to publicly come out as gay on his website.

Real Steel Review

By Euan Campbell

Plot:-

After a series of bad decisions and unfortunate luck, Charlie (Hugh Jackman- X-Men, Swordfish, The Prestige) a Robot Boxing trainer finds himself having to look after his son Max (Dakota Goya) whom he abandonded as a child. Together they stumble across an old Training Bot and go about trying to get back in the game in tough and brutal sporting arena.

Review:-

Run For The Hills: The Best Feel-bad Movies

Making a "feel-bad" movie is not always as easy as some people think; it's easy to ladle on the misery purely for it's own sake but this rarely works, eventually your audience will get bored, or worse, laugh. It's all about context, and with that in mind, let me introduce my picks of those films that it may hard to like, but you have to admire, even if you're in no hurry for a repeat viewing.

Gears of War 3 - Brothers To The End ?

Its that time again when the locust find a way to surface and once again cause chaos in the 3rd part of this epic trilogy.

Music Makes the Moment

By Euan Campbell



Mark Schwan (Creator-One Tree Hill) once said ' I can do more with right piece of music, than I can with 100 pages of dialogue.

This simple statement, i believe to be completely true.

For me, the movie going experience isnt just about story, or script. Its about the complete pacakge, the performances, the story, the effects and the music. Over the years hollywoods best have utilised music in both magnificent and terrible ways.

Today im going to look at the good. Instead of waxing lyrical for pages (which i could do) im going to select a few of my fav musical moments and share them with you. Feel free to add your own or dissect mine afterwards!

What's in a name? - Dr Who Finale!

By Graeme Rooney

To say this second year into Matt Smith's tenure as The Doctor has been unusual is an understatement; all manner of weird and wonderful supporting characters, from the sublime Chirsitine Chong as Lorna Bucket to the bonkers but brilliant Lilly Cole as The Siren, not to mention mind bending time-streams put into play by The Doctor, River, Amy and Madame Kavarian, so there was a lot riding on this finale and, in this humble reviewers opinion, Mr Moffatt delivered on the action and emotion while still leaving enough room for the characters to breath and grow in the future.

Review - Franklin & Bash - Season One

By Gary Kean

The first season of Franklin & Bash has recently finished being shown on E4 here in the UK.  I stumbled across it by complete fluke as E4 were showing a preview trailer when I came back into a room, I caught maybe the last 2 seconds.  In those 2 seconds I was immediately able to tell, I MUST watch this show!!

Blue-Ray Review - Thor

by Euan Campbell

PLOT

After defying his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins_ The Slience of the Lambs, Fracture) and in turn bringing the threat of war and death to Asgard, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is stripped of all his powers, and his sacred weapon Mjolnir, and is cast out of Asgard.

Meanwhile his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has some ideas of his own about how things in Asgard should be run……

My Favorite Movie Casting Oddities

By Graeme Rooney

For my first article I thought I'd begin with those moments when you're watching a movie and suddenly an actor or actress appears in a role and your mind just boggles, for better or worse. It would be very easy to take the piss here, but I'm going to try to be constructive. Here goes...

Fifa 12 Early Release Review

So its that time of year again when EA Sports release yet another Fifa game First thing we think of is what warrants the £40 price tag for just a few players who have been moved around and the teams wearing the latest kits.

F1 2011

Well 2010 was a monumental year when F1 2010 was released on various consoles never before had the genre been so realistic or looked so good how could they beat it well let me tell you they have F1 2011 is even better and has so much more to offer than just refreshed teams .

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine

What to say about this game well from all the hype and promotion this game has had it has set quite a high goal for its self the question is can this game do what the publisher have got us all excited about.

Burnout Crash - Xbox Live Arcade

Burnout Crash is the latest game in the Burnout Collection so what makes this game any better than the previous titles

Battlefield 3 multiplayer beta

WOW just wow the game we have all been waiting for is finally about to enter into open beta status on the 29th of September 2011 (available via Xbox live marketplace and PSN)

The Legend Of Zelda:- Ocarina Of Time - A Classic Quest for a New Generation

By Euan Campbell

December 3^rd 1998, 8.55am

A 15 Year old Kid stands outside Electronics Boutique awaiting the most anticipated title since video games began. That game was of course ‘Ocarina of time’

13 years pass, this 15 year old kid is 28, and has just had the opportunity to play Ocarina Of Time  a new platform. The Nintendo 3DS.

The Cape Season One: DVD Review

By Alan Campbell

It all began back about 3 weeks ago, you know when you're looking at buying DVDs and when you click on one to buy, the clever people at Play/Amazon/Zavvi (or whichever one you use) then have the "we think you'd also like to buy..." section? well usually i just ignore it, how dare they suggest what i'd like! they don't know me! but this time...boy they couldn't have been more right, from the moment i saw the picture i was intrigued...a Superhero programme i'd never even heard of, surely there must be some mistake, i checked it out and was more than pleasantly surprised.

Breaking News: Justice League Doom Cast Announced

By Simon Tse 

During Comic Con, DC announced that the very first DC animated movie for 2012 is Justice League Doom.   Justice League Doom is based on the comic book series called “JLA:Tower of Babel”.  The story is about Batman’s secret files, which contains the weaknesses of each members of the league, are stolen by one of Batman greatest enemy.   Dwayne Mcduffie, who passed away in February, wrote it.  Not much was known about the cast.   However, TV Guide has obtained the list of the cast for Justice League Doom. 

Law and Order: SVU: The Post-Christopher Meloni Era

By Simon Tse

Last week marked the beginning of a new era.   Law and Order: SVU premiered its 13^th season without Christopher Meloni.  Christopher Meloni portrayed the lead character Elliot Stabler for the first 12 years of the show.  Unfortunately, Meloni left the show at the end of the 12^th season. 

Two and a Half Men plus One?

A glance at Episode One of the new series

By Gary Kean

So I finally got around to watching the first episode of the new series of Two and a Half Men.  Incase you have been living under a rock for the last year it no longer includes Charlie Sheen who’s character has been killed off.  This was the debut episode for his replacement Ashton Kutcher.

The first 15 minutes or so is focused mainly on the rest of the cast wondering what will happen next and from a storyline point of view I was wondering the exact same thing.  I was a huge fan of Charlie in the show and his character was my main reason for watching, for a moment I actually thought, what the hell do I care what these guys do next??   It’s really only when you think about the other characters in the show you realise Charlie really was the centrepiece, his interactions with every cast member were the main focus point of nearly every episode of the show.  Sure there are some funny exchanges involving Alan (Jon Cryer) and other cast members but nowhere near the level of Sheen.