Games Review: Borderlands 2

Gearbox Software have a bit of an odd track record. Their most recent release was the widely derided Aliens Colonial Marines, they picked up, dusted off, and pushed out Duke Nuken Forever, and I can't say that any of the many, many, Brother in Arms titles ever piqued my interest. Mainly, I think I associated them with the fun Opposing Forces and Blue Shift expansions for Half-Life, and thats a long time ago now. And then there was Borderlands. Nothing in these other titles prepares you for Borderlands, a mix of loot-and-level grinding and first-person shooter, played with a high octane ultra-violent feel. It had a lot of problems; class balance was hairy, the difficulty curve was all over the place and its scattergun attitude towards design left it a loveable but patchy experience. But now we have Borderlands 2, which I've been playing on-and-off for the last few months.

Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Two movie trips in a month? Unheard of in recent times, but true. Saturday we got to to drop Robert (3) off with my parents and me, Z and Ewan (11) headed off to see the new Star Trek movie, Star Trek Into Darkness, which included some discussion of what bloody number it should be. We settled on "god knows", which is probably the sensible approach. Anyway, given the massive plot secrecy that surrounded this project, it makes it hard to discuss without actually alluding to those spoilers, so for once i'm going to give up and just write this up in a spoilery way. You Have Been Warned!

DVD(s) of the Week: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

What with actually getting out to the cinema last week, and wanting to write up some other stuff, I missed writing up last weeks DVD watching, and so I'm rolling it together with this weeks viewing excitement. Which is handy, as whilst very, very different in many ways, both films are solidly "B-list" in our expectations, films we rented to pass a happy couple of hours, but not ultimately be heavily anticipated when they dropped through the postbox. In their own ways, they're both more interesting than I expected, but not always in a good way.

Comics Roundup!

I've been caught saying that I don't really buy comics anymore, having sold or given away my old long-boxes a few years back, but all thats really meant is that I now have half a large bookcase full of graphic novels and collected editions. Currently I seem to be buying a two or three a month, so apart from being easier to store the only real difference is that I'm 6 months or so behind on any given storyline. On the plus side, I tend to be able to work on recommendations, so at least I'm buying less rubbish. 

Anyway, some thoughts on my recent reading....

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

So, how do you follow a film like (Marvels) Avengers (Assemble). Apart from giving geeks the world over quivering cinematic orgasms, it packed in audiences from the wider public, and made enough money to float a Helicarrier. As a film its own right, it was massively successful, and taken in the wider context of Marvel's ambitious "Phase 1" series its a triumph. Even if you hated it and all its works, it sets a bar for future superhero movies that is a pretty vertiginous leap. With that in mind, it was probably a smart move to start off "Phase 2" with another solo Iron Man outing - probably the break out star character of Phase 1, as well as the one with two films already under his belt.

DVD of the Week: Seven Psychopaths

Expectation is a funny thing. When I say Martin McDonagh's last film, In Bruges, I didn't really have high expectations for it other than I'd vaguely heard it was alright. Its picked up quite a following since, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise to reveal that I was pretty awestruck by it - a witty and dark character-piece masquerading as a crime thriller, anchored by top-notch performances from Colin Farrell, Brendon Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. Cracking stuff. So when McDonagh's new film came out, expectation was high, especially when it has the excellent title of Seven Psychopaths. And with crushing inevitably, it is slightly disappointing.

Games Review: Bioshock Infinite

I have come to believe that Gaming is in flux at the moment, unsure, as an industry and community, how it wants to be seen. In the last few years Video Games have become an important part of the entertainment business, economically powerful, big games with big marketting engines meaning that big releases can get coverage on the news in the same way a major book or movie might be. So it wants to play with the older kids, but at the same it's also self-concious about it's own immaturity. The Games-as-art debate swirls around it's feet, constantly. The desire for creator-led authorship fights with the desire for player agency. The up-front cost of development fights with the long-tail of DLC and Direct Download sales. Its a pretty exciting time, in many ways.