jogobom

'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' - Game review

2009-07-05T17:32:00.002+01:00

8 out of 10

I haven't seen the film that this tied in with but if every film licence resulted in a game as good as this one we should all be very happy. I assume it follows the film fairly closely, since everything ties in with the little I know from trailers and previews.

It's not that important though because the main thing is that this is an extremely good game about being Wolverine. It feels like Wolverine, staying very true to the character and really conveying the raw power and speed of the savage beast within.

It's a bit too graphically violent, which I don't think is strictly necessary, but it certainly makes you feel cool when you slice an enemy into three and it shows it lovingly in slow motion. The game will probably feel repetitive to some people, being the same basic combat over and over and over again. But it's executed so well, and liberally sprinkled with show-stopping one-off set pieces, that I was never bored.

Great fun if you like the film, the character, or just scrolling beat-em-ups in general. The best movie-licensed game for some time.

'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan' - Film review

2009-06-24T17:03:00.003+01:00

8 out of 10

An inspirational story of finding love in unlikely places. A TV reporter from Kazakhstan dreams of the world beyond and resolves to go to America to help find a better life for himself and his village. Along the way he encounters intolerance and various other hardships but his faith and love of a special woman keep him going.

I found this to be very moving, deconstructing the American dream while also giving deep insight into a little known culture. I understand that many viewers find Borat to be a figure of ridicule and end up laughing at him. I found him to be sincere, honest and inspirational. His open-mindedness should be an example to us all.

'Transporter 3' - Film review

2009-06-23T19:25:00.002+01:00

7 out of 10

Look, I know this film is rubbish. I know some of the sequences are physically impossible. I know there's limited requirement for acting or dialogue. But who cares?! Jason Statham fights 10 people at once, drives a big Audi with a lovely engine, rides a bike through a factory, jumps around a lot, fights some more people, uses his clothes as weapons, all without descending to the puerile level of Crank... Awesome.

There aren't any stand-out moments to match the fight on the oil-slick floor from the original Transporter movie but I was still applauding by the end. If you care about things like plot and whatever then don't bother. I you just want a laugh with some kick-ass stupidity, reminiscent of Jackie Chan movies at their best, I can heartily recommend this whole series.

'The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor' - Film review

2009-06-23T17:48:00.002+01:00

3 out of 10

Despite starting strongly with Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Rob Cohen's Hollywood career is littered with fairly inept dross. The Mummy series is not exactly complex entertainment but it has always at least been entertaining. However, even this simple formula is not impervious to Cohen's ham-fisted handling. Most the ingredients are there (no Rachel Weisz and technically not actually a mummy...) but almost every aspect is executed with no more thought than "Hey, a vomiting Yak would be funny!" Nobody really looks like they want to be there or know what they're meant to be doing, with even Jet Li and John Hannah just going through the motions for their pay cheques. I've nothing against brain-off entertainment (as you'll see in my next review) but not when it seems like the people who made it had their brains switched off as well.

'Hancock' - Film review

2009-06-08T07:56:00.002+01:00

7 out of 10

A very unusual super hero story. A flawed, human character who is also anything but human. The whole film hangs on Will Smith and Charlize Theron, but that's fine because they're both great in most things they do. Unfortunately the same can't be said of the bad guys, who are pretty rubbish playing against such big stars.

The film tries to be an interesting story of loss and redemption and almost manages it, but just in case it's not working it makes sure to spend enough time with Will Smith being funny and Charlize Theron as eye candy to keep all sections of the audience happy. Worked for me.

'Letters from Iwo Jima' - Film review

2009-06-03T22:07:00.002+01:00

7 out of 10

I could pretty much have folded this review into that of Flags of our Fathers, its companion film. I had the same overall feelings.

However, there are some things of special note here. It's rare that anybody outside Japan tries to show the Japanese view of WWII events. For Hollywood to take up the baton and do a very good job of it is really very unexpected. This is an extremely good, well researched, sympathetic film. It does a great job of showing that people are just people, the world over. There are good and bad in all walks of life.

I did find it a little odd though that the sympathetically portrayed characters are also the least Japanese in their thinking. It's the radical free thinkers that we are made to care most about and the old traditionalists are shown as being the least human and least humane. In particular, the Imperial Headquarters are made to look like idiots.

It seems clear that the message of the film is that thinking of "honour" before people is wrong. I guess I can't disagree with that. The fact that the film made me wonder about this, and consider where the truth may lie, is an undoubted strength. The film makers should be congratulated for taking this on and taking it so seriously. But I came away thinking that maybe Hollywood still isn't really ready to get underneath the skin of the old enemy and try to understand in any great depth.

'Flags of our Fathers' - Film review

2009-06-03T21:56:00.003+01:00

7 out of 10

A technical marvel, with some stunning scenes (I particularly liked the brief shots from inside attack planes). We've come to expect this from Spielberg and a lot of the film seems to speak of him as producer rather than Eastwood as director. However, there's no denying that Clint Eastwood is a great director and ably handles both the bombast and the smaller, personal scenes extremely well.

Maybe it was because I watched it in a couple of sittings but I found that large parts of this film didn't grip me. The progression of events was pretty obvious (even without knowing the real history very well) and the middle of the film really labours a few simple points.

The beginning and the end are great though. Very affecting and absorbing. However, I would still recommend that if you want to see brilliant portrayals of the horrors of World War II, watch Schindler's List and Band of Brothers.

'The Mercy Seat' - Book review

2009-05-31T14:35:00.002+01:00

A fairly standard thriller but set in Newcastle and written rather better than something like a Harlan Coben. It's also rather more violent than I'd expect from what is essentially airport bookshop fare. If you can stomach it then it is really rather enjoyable and I'm sure I'll read more books from this series in future.

The Mercy Seat on Amazon

'Prince Caspian' - Film review

2009-05-31T12:17:00.002+01:00

7 out of 10

I'm a Chronicles of Narnia fan and this is rather different from the book, but not in any way I objected to. It cares more for battle and spectacle than personalities but that's okay, it's a Hollywood blockbuster so it's understandable. It's the same reason they're missing out the less box office friendly books from the series.

It tries a little bit to be Lord of the Rings and fails, but succeeds with less ambitious targets - i.e. simply providing 140 minutes of fun. Most of the characters are well portrayed, though Reepicheep is my favourite character in the book and has the least justice done here.

Ignoring any literary considerations, this is a fun family blockbuster and kept me entertained throughout. Roll on Dawn Treader, I say.

'The Blair Witch Project' - Film review

2009-05-26T22:34:00.002+01:00

6 out of 10

Well, I've finally seen it, only 10 years late. A lot of thought and no small amount of skill has gone into making something that seems so natural and undirected. Unfortunately the end result, while interesting, is not actually very scary or satisfying. A bit of a damn squib.

'Banjo-Tooie' - Game review

2009-05-26T21:39:00.002+01:00

8 out of 10

A great sequel to Banjo-Kazooie, now available on Xbox Live Arcade. If you like 3D platform games you simply have to play this. It's a bigger, less linear game than the original. That's mostly a good thing but it does sometimes feel like a lot of backtracking.

I played for over 20 hours and still didn't do everything there is to do. Most of that time was great fun. There are some levels I didn't like much (e.g. Jolly Roger's Lagoon) but others were great (e.g. Grunty Industries - though it seems I may be alone in liking that one).

Just like the port of BK, this hasn't been mucked about with, except that the fabled stop-n-swop now works and even has a potential sequel plumbed in. Frame rate is miles better than it ever was on N64.

If you have an Xbox 360 and like old-school goodness, buy it.

'National Treasure' - Film review

2009-05-25T22:37:00.002+01:00

5 out of 10

More mediocrity. Perfect Bank Holiday fare for the Beeb - totally unchallenging and easy to watch. If, like me, you're knackered and just want to forget about going back to work tomorrow, this is a reasonable distraction. If you want to actually watch something good then avoid this slower-paced, more sentimental Indiana Jones-lite.

Still a lot better than Indy 4 though, which I can't even bear to name, never mind write about.

'The Golden Compass' - Film review

2009-05-25T17:54:00.002+01:00

5 out of 10

As a fantasy adventure film this is mediocre. Just about everything is okay but not great. It's hard for me to judge how somebody who hasn't read the book would view this film but I suspect that it would seem rushed and confusing, with a rather abrupt and unexpected ending. This despite a slapped-on voice-over intro that explains loads of stuff the book kept mysterious...

As a fan of the book, I was surprised how such a complex novel had been edited and simplified. I know some of this is necessary for the screen, the book being so complex and detailed, but to end up with a film that's only 100 minutes shows that the studio were only thinking of bums on seats, not of making a film that the fans would appreciate. Even the Narnia films are over 2 hours, despite being based on much simpler, shorter sources.

I like Philip Pullman's work but I find it hard to believe that he sanctioned some of these changes. Removing the subtlety and mystery and even removing the ending (apparently they felt it would be better as an opening to movie 2) seem like the actions of people who don't understand or care about the book, rather than the author himself.

I think this film needed a stronger director, with a track record the studio could have faith in. Somebody with vision on a grand scale like Pullman's, not somebody who'd barely even used effects before. It's clear in the drab staging of the battles, the ham-fisted handling of big name actors, the mediocre performance of the lead, the barely-explained presence of the witches, that Chris Weitz simply can't handle it all. I don't think it was unfilmable, just unfilmable by this person.

As I said, if you don't care about this stuff then there's some fun to be had here. But I really think you should watch the Narnia films instead.

'Ratatouille' - Game review

2009-05-23T18:09:00.002+01:00

2 out of 10

I bought this to play with Emily but it's one of the most frustrating games I've ever played. To think it is supposedly designed for children is quite shocking. There are so many problems with this it's hard to remember them all. Some of them include:

Stupid boss levels where you're running towards the screen, so you can't see what's coming and survival is random and/or trial-and-error.
Lack of instructions. The game rarely tells you much useful but there are also instances of the following problems that make it even worse.
Sounds playing over the top of each other so you can't hear important messages.
A fudged open world where some missions still assume you'll do them in a certain order, so you can encounter a mission that includes activities whose instructions are in another mission somewhere else. And occasional areas that only unlock during specific missions, so if you miss a collectible you can't go back later to get it but you had no way of knowing.
Ridiculously inconsistent difficulty level, varying randomly between trivial and controller-throwingly hard.
Interminable loading, even running from hard drive.
About a thousand confirmation screens when all I want to do is resume my last f***ing game!!!!!!

There's some nice animation though, so some slightly brownie points for that. And they've captured the world of the film quite nicely.

But playing this and the demo of the Wall-E game make me think you should avoid anything by Heavy Iron Studios. Sorry lads, I'm sure you work hard and all that. But these games are appalling disgraces.

'Stardust' - Film review

2009-05-23T17:49:00.002+01:00

7 out of 10

A very modern take on a classic sort of fairy tale, this really has its tongue in its cheek. It's rather in the same spirit as The Princess Bride and I enjoyed it almost as much as that classic. It gets better as it goes on, so stick with it if you're not sure at first. Thoroughly enjoyable family-ish entertainment.

'American Gangster' - Film review

2009-04-07T17:28:00.003+01:00

8 out of 10

Very good. A bit too monotone to be one of Ridley Scott's best - it's nearly all one pace and one mood - but it's definitely very good. I recommend the extended version. It is very long but doesn't really feel it, with little filler and a much better ending than the theatrical version.

From what I can gather, this is the Frank Lucas version of the Frank Lucas story, the producers preferring his more flamboyant account for the film, even if it may not actually be entirely true, while adding their own creative licence on top. It's fair enough, it does make a more interesting story. If you're going to make a film about the "epic struggle" between a notorious Harlem drug lord and the cop-turned-lawyer who famously pursued him, it's nice to make it a bit more Hollywood.

Anyway, it all works. For once, Denzel Washington meets his match, with Russell Crowe's incredible chameleon abilities completing transforming him once again. It's all very impressive.

I actually preferred this to Goodfellas because I found the ending (of the extended version at least) was more satisfying. But then I'm strange, and don't really like Goodfellas.

Games currently on my iPhone

2009-04-02T17:34:00.002+01:00

A quick roundup of the iPhone games I have, done as much as possible in the style of Michael Bay (where it's warranted):

Fieldrunners - Awesome tower defence.

Midnight Pool - Mediocre pool sim.

Real Football 2009 - Mediocre footy sim.

Rolando - Derivative, over-hyped frustrate-a-thon.

Tap Tap Revenge - Nearly awesome rhythm action.

Dropship - Awesome Thrust update.

Cooking Mama - Awesome kitchen-based chill-out tool.

Zen Bound - Awesome string-round-boxes with awesome music.

Metal Gear Solid Touch - Awesome MGS4-based light-gun-style shooter, without the snooze-inducing MGS4 cut-scenes.

Flight Control - Awesome air traffic control toy.

Radio Flare - Does nothing but crash on my phone. Aaaargh!

Edge - Nearly awesome block rolling collect-em-up.

'Drive' - Book review

2009-04-02T15:57:00.003+01:00

I've never read anything by James Sallis so didn't know what to expect. I only read this because it is called Drive and has a main character called Driver. And they're making a film of it with Hugh Jackman.

For once, this is exactly what the quotes on the cover say:

Susannah Yager, The Telegraph, June 18th 2006
[Sallis’s] taut, pared down prose is distinctive and powerful. The result is a small masterpiece.

Maxim Jakubowski, The Guardian, June 17th 2006
Sallis's treatment is minimalist, stylish, and all the more evocative for it. Essential noir existentialism.

I think they're spot on. It's very good. It's basically about a bloke who drives. That's all he does. He drives in movies and he drives for bank robbers. He doesn't do much else. Except things happen that aren't as he planned and we see the classic exisentialist thing of a man taking control of his own destiny.

Quite short, with very tight, almost condensed writing. As you'd expect from noir, the hero is taciturn at best and the narration follows that style.

If you like noir, you like tough guys or you like existentialism, there's something here for you.

Drive on Amazon

A rant about education

2009-03-31T07:47:00.003+01:00

Even though Joanne is no longer working as a teacher, I still find many things about the current British education system that raise my hackles. Last week we had Ed Balls saying teachers would be 'irresponsible' if they boycott Sats this year. All teachers want is to use their professional judgement to measure kids' performance, without the need for stressful, divisive exams. Should small children really be put through that pressure when teachers are trained to judge these things? Oh, wait, I forgot, we're shortening teacher training, aren't we?

Higher education is of bigger concern. As somebody said to me yesterday, students these days choose a course the same way they might shop for a car - what's the coolest thing I can buy for my several-thousand-pounds? There was also a story yesterday about students opting for the cheapest course rather than the best.

It's also roughly true that there are as many games programming degree courses as there are graduate vacancies in the industry this year. This is partly a symptom of the 'bums on seats' mentality of higher education. Make a cool-sounding course, get the kids in, get your money. But what job can they go into at the end?

Good students are good students, regardless of their course, and they'll always do okay. But what about the 90%? I wouldn't want to be either entering or leaving University at the moment.

'Hurricane Gold' - Book review

2009-03-21T17:31:00.002Z

Classic boys adventure nonsense. If you haven't read any of the Young Bond series I can certainly recommend them. They manage to stay fairly true to Bond while spinning crazy yarns that are far-fetched even by Bond standards. Aimed squarely at a young teen audience, I also think they're perfect for older boys who want to switch their brains off for a while.

This is the fourth book in the series. I think Bond is (somehow) still in his first year at Eton, despite having already taken down 3 despots and nearly the school with it. Frankly, I don't care what the timeline is. If you think about that sort of thing you won't enjoy it.

This time he's in Mexico and there's an island peopled entirely by criminals who pay to be there, run by a typical Bond know-everything, infinite resources villain. The first chapter is completely nuts and rather unpleasant and things just continue like that. It's a real page turner and despite being rather long, it never drags.

These books are one of the places I go to get away from everything and if you are a boy of any age, with any interest in spies and villains and convoluted deaths, I think you'll agree it's a good place to go.

My wife hates these books, so how's that for a recommendation?

Hurricane Gold on Amazon

'Mirror's Edge' - Game review

2009-03-18T21:46:00.002Z

7 out of 10

A wonderful, brave experiment that doesn't quite follow through in terms of the whole package. This is very much an old-fashioned, skill-based, pixel-perfect platforming game right out of the old school. But trying to do it in first person.

For the most part the core gameplay (try something, die, try again) works really well. It's reminiscent of a previous Reflections game, Stuntman, in its requirement for you to learn what comes next. It allows quicker retries than Stuntman did but it's very similar in the way it makes you work to learn what's expected at each stage.

The environments are beautifully designed to give you hints about what to do so even the first-person view isn't too limiting or irritating.

The problems really come from the attempts to wrap a story mode around this gameplay. The missions are very good at hussling you through the levels and making you feel cool when you win. But the story aspects are poorly executed and just not very interesting. Mid-level story telling is done in the game engine, which is not optimised for it (quite rightly) and drops frame rate constantly during these sequences. Between levels there's a pretty rubbish cartoon style used that doesn't fit at all with the game's aesthetic and is not very well done. If you bother to pay attention to the story, it's banal and forgettable.

This is not a story game. It's an arcade time trial game. It is an extremely good arcade time trial game. The need to add a traditional story mode really comes across as a sign of weakness - a marketing request rather than something the creative people really believed in.

My understanding is that the downloadable content for this game is pure time trial levels and that they are more confidently executed because they are free of the shackles of reality or story. I can well believe it.

If you love building up hardcore skills through practice, practice, practice (and the downloadable ghosts are very helpful for this), you'll probably love this game. I don't really have the patience for it, and the story didn't grip me, but I have to admit there's a beautiful game in there somewhere. Maybe next time...

'WALL·E' - Film review

2009-03-13T20:40:00.002Z

9 out of 10

Andrew Stanton does it again. After the wonderful Finding Nemo comes this brilliant story of a little robot. One of the things I was most pleased about was that I had no idea what was going to happen before I watched - the marketing has been completely spoiler-free. I'm not going to change that. Trust me and trust the general consensus - this is brilliant.

'Devil May Care' - Book review

2009-03-04T21:16:00.003Z

I've often thought of doing book reviews and what better place to start than something that barely counts as literature?

This new James Bond book has been heavily pitched by the publisher as the first true sequel to Ian Fleming's original novels. It's all marketing guff because it doesn't really do anything that various authors of Bond novels haven't tried to do, except for one thing - author Sebastian Faulks has actually tried to write as Fleming.

He doesn't succeed. It doesn't feel at all like Fleming to my mind. Fleming's Bond is most like the early Connery or new Daniel Craig Bond. This story is very much like the film 'Diamonds Are Forever' - a sense of humour and almost parody is evident that isn't really in keeping with Fleming.

These things entered the films after Fleming's death and now it feels like the same is happening with this book. It really does run the risk of becoming parody at times. Caricatured, over-the-top villains who insist on taking several pages to explain all their plans for the 'camera'. Overt sexual content. Stupid, transparent character names that go beyond Fleming's 'Tiffany Case' almost into the 'Plenty O'Toole' style. It manages to remain 'Diamonds Are Forever' but it's in serious danger of entering Roger Moore territory.

It also has a very long-winded dénouement that runs long after you've worked some key points out for yourself.

So, as a novel in a general sense and as a Fleming novel specifically, it's a failure. Charlie Higson's Young Bond series is more in keeping with the Fleming spirit.

However, as a piece of fun in the general James Bond style it is quite successful. Turn your brain off, try not to think about Roger Moore playing the part of Bond, and you'll probably have a good time. It just doesn't really do a service to Fleming's name.

Devil May Care on Amazon

'No Country For Old Men' - Film review

2009-03-01T20:48:00.002Z

8 out of 10

Not quite as great as its numerous awards might have you believe but still one of the Coen Brothers' best. It ends abruptly, leaving a slightly unsatisfying sour taste in your mouth but I think that's exactly the point. The film's central theme is that the world is getting nastier and life doesn't work out neatly any more, if it ever did. Wonderfully well written, as you'd expect, and well played by the whole cast.

Certainly a very "worthy" film, in a purely cinematic sense and there are moments of fun amongst all the negativity. Just don't imagine for one second that it's a good date movie. Personally, I prefer to see messages of hope than despair.

The end

2009-01-26T13:26:00.002Z

While writing those reviews this morning I realised how long it took me and how I don't have time for it any more. Given how simple Twitter is and how it encourages brevity, I'm going to stop posting on here and just Twitter for a while. I'll see how it goes but I may not be back here...

http://twitter.com/chrispreston