Breaking Bad Season 5 'Blood Money' Review
If you were worried that the first of Breaking Bad's final episodes couldn't possibly live up to the hype created by fans across the globe: well, don't.
The Walking Dead: 400 Days Review
When it comes to The Walking Dead: 400 Days, following in the footsteps of greatness can be a tricky thing.
The Last Of Us Review
The post-apocalypse has been played out many times. A viral outbreak leading to the collapse of society has become a rather generic standard. Many have tried and some have prevailed; but none quite like The Last of Us.
The dystopian remnants and unforgiving journey show elements of inspiration from the likes of The Road and Children of Men. But most importantly, it shows a very different Naughty Dog to the typecasted creator of adventures like Uncharted or Crash Bandicoot.
The Hangover Part III Review
Remove all expectations. The Hangover Part III is not the movie you expect.
After an explosive first movie, and a disappointing retread of the same formula (that is unsurprisingly ignored throughout Part III), the Wolfpack returns for its grand finale. This bittersweet conclusion brings with it a mash-up of genres and tone, while avoiding the use of an actual Hangover to drive the plot. It brings a significant amount of change to the formula, which many critics have not been comfortable with.
If you are to view the general consensus, critics have not been the biggest supporters of this change to say the least (average Metacritic score of 38). But while I can understand their problems with this complete departure from their original formula, this is an issue of perception rather than with the film itself.
Star Trek: Into Darkness Review
Star Trek: Into Darkness is a well-executed and thoughtfully written follow up to the 2009 film, with excellent performances and incredible action scenes; sadly, it fizzles out somewhat in the last 20 minutes.
Iron Man 3 Review
Does Iron Man 3 make up for the disappointment of the second movie? We take a look at the latest exploits of the “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”
Bonobo - The North Borders Review
As per usual for UK electronic artist Bonobo, The North Borders starts off extremely well. 'First Fires' punctuates a beautifully understated vocal performance from Grey Reverend with submerged synth droplets and fleeting, glacial, ASMR inducing pads -- all enhanced by a confident and generous allowance for negative space that seems to only come with experience. In terms of perfect intros, it almost stacks up to the double barrelled future classic of Prelude/Kiara from 2010's Black Sands. Unfortunately, in this case there isn't a whole lot of interest that follows.
Dark Skies Review
My impression from the posters, trailer, and the producers (who also did Paranormal Activity and Insidious) was that this was probably a demon possession film. It's not; instead, aliens.
Bioshock Infinite Review
Bioshock Infinite has entered a world of extremely high expectations.
Over the course of six years the first person shooter has grown stale, and Irrational Games are being looked to as the saviors, with a hope of reinvigorating the entire genre just like they did with the original Bioshock in 2007.
Developer ambitions and public aspirations, much like the in-game city of Columbia, are sky high. This amount of hype would ultimately lead to disappointment, as expectations would transcend any ordinary game.
But this is no ordinary game.
Stoker Review
From Park Chan-wook, the director of Oldboy, comes a new and incredibly disturbing piece of film-making. Stoker follows a young woman's relationship with her uncle after the death of her father, but it's not as benign a plot as it sounds.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters Review
I don't read reviews of films that I'm going to write about, so I had little idea what to expect from Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. I saw that Jeremy Renner was in it, and given his acting calibre I was vaguely optimistic. I shouldn't have been.
Side Effects Review
Steven Soderbergh's latest and possibly last film is a fantastically written thriller, focusing on a woman with clinical depression and the consequences of the drugs that her psychiatrist recommends. Except it's not quite that simple.
StarCraft II: Heart Of The Swarm Review
If you’re a fan of RTS games, chances are you’ve played StarCraft, or at least heard of it. The 2010 sequel Wings of Liberty has finally received its first expansion pack, Heart of the Swarm, and only two years behind schedule! Was it worth the wait? You betcha.
Oz: The Great and Powerful Review
Over 70 years after The Wizard of Oz was first released, a prequel to that film has finally been made to show us of what Oz was like before Dorothy was ever born; to tell us how The Wizard first arrived and got into power, to inform us of what he was really like, and perhaps most importantly, to enlighten us to how the Wicked Witch became so wicked in the first place. And...it's okay.
Iceage - You're Nothing Review
Danish four-piece Iceage combine Wire-esque post-punk with the looseness of noise rock and the detached angst of hardcore, managing to avoid the banality of the latter genre with a kind of implied futility in their ferocity and a total lack of macho posturing.
Mama Review
With a track record including The Orphanage and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Guillermo del Toro's best medium is the horror film. Mama is the best one to date.
Flight Review
When I first sat down to watch Flight, I was anticipating a disaster movie. I got one, but not quite in the manner I expected.
I'm going to clarify straight away: this is a film about addiction. This is a film about alcoholism and drug abuse and the incredible damage it can do to a person and their relationships and their life in general. Denzel Washington, playing main character Captain "Whip" Whittaker, absolutely excels in this role, and I would recommend you see it just for his performance.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn PC Review
If you're anything like me, when Dragonborn hit Xbox 360 you avoided all mention of it to keep yourself pure, so for my fellow keyboard-jockeys, Dragonborn is available on Steam now. Bethesda has a long and illustrious history with downloadable content, producing some of the best in the business (horse armour notwithstanding), but is Dragonborn a worthy addition to their catalogue?
Yo La Tengo - Fade Review
Yo La Tengo's thirteenth LP is permeated with startling confidence and clarity, unpretentious in its accessibility and masterful in the art of understatement.
Opening track 'Ohm' is a bright, dreamlike anthem that gradually layers simple, subtly evolving elements which amount to a psychedelic crescendo in slow-motion. 'Cornelia and Jane', another standout, sees Georgia Hubley's gentle falsetto vocals drift over guitar melodies reminiscent of Death Cab For Cutie's Translantacism. It's all very soothing, like a day at Centre Parcs without the extortion.
Django Unchained Review
Tarantino's latest offering Django Unchained has met with vast praise so far, including being nominated for an Oscar. I'm not so sure I agree.