The Last Jedi had a lot to prove. It followed the successful mission statement that was The Force Awakens – which skillfully reworked most of the ingredients from the first (1977) film but stuck so close to the original recipe that it seemed derivative.… Read the rest
Storytelling and games have a troubled relationship with each other. Telling a lovingly crafted, intricate story requires that control is firmly in the hands of the teller, while games require a certain amount of control to go to the player. Or at least the illusion of control.… Read the rest
T
he witch is back, baby! Which witch? Well, the one from Blair. You may remember her from the low-budget horror hit The Blair Witch Project from 1999, although you never actually saw her on-screen. Her name is also tied to an unremarkable sequel that appeared a year later (Book of Shadows).… Read the rest
Gone Girl director David Fincher is no stranger to twisty tales that are heavy on the moral ambiguity. (Also see: Se7en, The Game and Fight Club.) His latest movie is two-thirds of a thriller that is successfully tense, though you are likely to figure out where the story is headed before it arrives there.… Read the rest
Back when I played Borderlands 2, I noted that I loved the humour and the writing but couldn’t be bothered with all the comparing of loot, the respawning enemies and the other ways in which the Borderlands franchise conspired to be a massive time-sink.… Read the rest
Joss Whedon’s career is one most nerds would envy. But it’s hard to envy him for having to make the logistical nightmare that is Avengers – Age of Ultron. The movie is part of an intricate web of Marvel movies and had to tie into previous flicks, while setting up future flicks and it could not ignore any of a multitude of characters.… Read the rest
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes continues the reboot of the franchise started in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Thankfully, the sequel ditches the never-not-smug James Franco – barring a quick ‘cameo’ – and makes the slightly bland but likeable Jason Clarke (as Malcolm) its main human instead.… Read the rest
