Fury 2014 - REVIEW - SPOILERS

In December of last year when I worked on the list of stuff I shall be keeping an eye out for, I noticed an unnamed David Ayer project featuring Brad Pitt, Shia Labeouth, Jon Berthnal, Logan Lerman and Michael Peña as a five man tank team during world war 2 in Nazi German towards the tail end of the conflict. Seeing we haven't had a great war film in many years, the concept of approaching the conflict from the tank teams perspective was rather intriguing. As my love for Brad Pitt kept growing, my excitement for little titbits of news and information was building huge expectations in my mind. The trailer alone helped solidify what I was going to think of this film and to put it simply, the film was great.
During WW2, Nazi weaponry was typically far more advanced and their tanks were tearing into US units with ease. The tale doesn't have a narrative that drives the movie like an action movie. Documentation springs to mind with its portrayal of the lives of those who fought in these tanks and the hardships they went through. After loosing their machine gunner, the Fury team were given Norman (Logan Lerman), a young man with no combat experience, 8 weeks in boot camp, never been in a tank and never killed before. Quite common in the time but we follow him as he is forced into the deep end with a crew of hardened fighters who don't take kindly to having a weakness in the armour. The main character appears to be Norman. Over the 2 hours his character changes vastly and to see the conflict and infighting that gets him to where he needs to be is really engaging towards the audience. In this short period of time, we follow a boy become and man and what it makes of good men and the pain they went through to do their job. The final act is where the real action sets in with a convoy of tanks making their way too hold off a possible German advance but soon gets whittled down by a German tank. Upon defeating it, Fury stands on its own and carries its orders out until they hit a mine and lose one of the tracks. During repairs its found that Nazi forces are moving down the road and the final decision to fight or run is made. If I were to spoil it here, I don't feel that would be fair. It ends rather dramatically with a blaze of glory and a barrage of emotions which I can only describe as epic. With its character driven story, it can feel a little slow towards the beginning when Norman is reluctant to do much but it grows even bigger with each step he takes.

From what I'm aware, the tanks used for filming were genuine vehicles and a great addition when you consider the over saturation of CGI in modern media. Visually the movie was great. I didn't see any CGI that wasn't the obvious blood splatter and shots on the tanks. Everything was fantastic in the visual department. The only issues that I do have were a few of the goofs. More down to the cutting and editing but switching from day to night in one cut was rather jarring. With the ringing of bullets and the roars of engines, the sound was clear and crisp. Enough to excite but not to deafen. Although with excitement we normally have music to help ramp the scene up. I don't remember any of the songs and nothing really captured me enough to return home and search for whatever song was used (although I now probably will) like I enjoy and that's a real shame for a movie that has prided itself on great cinematography and prop work.

There really isn't much to talk about in the case of acting. We have a group of actors that have already proven themselves as adequate in many of their other appearances. Although Logan stands as the main, Brad Pitt steals it from him with a far superior performance and Shia was rather good. With his recent outbursts and nutty-ness, his career was in real turmoil but he has certainly managed to pick it up and be a part of something to really be proud of. The rest of the cast were brilliant too. There's really no fault on their part. So my overall conclusion is that the movie is brilliant. The goofs can be forgiven but they are rather drastic and shows sloppiness by the cutting crews and there were some rather lengthy chunks of space that felt rather empty that didn't achieve much for the flow. I seriously think the movie deserves all of the praise it is getting and I look forward to getting it on DVD with a few little extras and maybe a directors cut. My score for Fury is 8/10

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel - Quicky Review

 

I'm rather disappointed by this new Borderlands. I was hooked from the day they released info on the playable characters and that Claptrap was actually one of them. Being my favourite character and all, I was excited to get my hands on it at this years EGX, only to feel that the game wasn't as smooth as I hoped. "Perhaps that's because I'm playing on a PC that has a really low sensitivity setting" I thought to myself. Alas, I was wrong. The game has an awesome premise. Jump back to the beginning with the introduction of Jack before he became Handsome Jack - The Hyperion boss.
My problems stem more from that actual gameplay and its lack of change. If something works, don't fix it seems to be what was going through their minds on creating this. The game has had many issues with it through the years and nothing has been done to really address these issues. One of this issues are the image and texture rendering. I run the most recent Xbox 360 and hasn't incurred any damage to give it reason to run slowly or have any issues but it was having huge problems loading in textures and left some areas resembling smeared feces. It was always something that bugged me with the previous games. Although they are quite old now and software was different, I just let it slide but when you have the huge increase of technology in consoles in preparation for the next gen releases, things like this shouldn't be happening more often that you find a hooker in the red light district. The style of the game is great and with them working with Telltale games to create an episodical based game is something that could really flourish but the here and now is rather disparaging. Its not just wandering about the map and loading in areas poorly, its also mid combat where the game cannot cope and begins to grind and drop frames rapidly, albeit momentarily, it is another common occurrence that severely hampers the flow of the action.

Now combat also had its fair share of problems. The slowness of movement does little to help with my play style and comfort but my main angst is with the balancing. Playing as Claptrap, a robot, you would think rigid aim with weapons would be something rather standard but aiming down the sights of a rifle will only aid you if you wish to hit anything a mile away from your target in an attempt to scare them off. As a character, he has always been funny and I will always choose him over anyone else, yet he seems extremely underpowered. Combined with his Vault Hunter.EXE power and skill tree it can all do more to screw you over rather than the ones you should be killing. From Claptrap to general enemies, you won't find anyone actually level with you for a fair fight. If the enemy is equal to below your level, you waste them faster than Charlie Sheen with some 7gram rocks and if the enemy is higher than you, run. Run like the wind. If you can't get into cover quick enough, get riddled by every single round they fire. Their aim is impeccable and enough to kill in seconds. The balance for everything is grossly disproportionate. Some bosses where hard as nails while the very last boss only took a pistol and a repetitive action to kill.

So, terrible balance, the accuracy of a blind man firing a 50.Cal and a piss poor skill tree that hinders more than benefits. What do we really have left? squat. Sure the story was quite good and a nice insight into who Jack was prior to going crazier and the process that unfolds but it does become a real pain in the ass when you feel you've reached an end only to be slapped with another thing that requires you to run back and forth for another hour just so you are at a level equal to the quest. Its not something that has sat very well with me. I enjoyed the first 2 but I'm seeing nothing exciting, innovative or game changing in a series that was growing in popularity so well. I'm thoroughly disappointed. With huge potential, came great disappointment. At the price of £30, its not too bad but I suggest, no, I implore you to get it when it drops into the 15-20 range to tide you over between releases that are going to be far better. 6/10.

Shadow of Mordor - UK Quicky Review - Xbox One

With one of the most low-key advertising campaigns and some of the worst adverts I've seen for a game in quite a while, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor arrives to the masses. Prior to release day, I saw little to indicate anything about the game. Considering my only interaction other than pre-ordering it months ago was my recent trip to EGX London where I got to play Shadow of Mordor a whole week before its UK release. After getting a hands on, I left happy.

Set in between the events of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books & films, Shadow of Mordor follows the story of Talion. A ranger guardian of the Black Gate prior to its fall to Sauron and his forces. Its fall is where we meet Talion for the first time and watch him get sacrificed by a group of Sauron's cronies called "The Black Hand". Upon dying, the spirit of an elf lord whose identity is that of Celebrimbor. This may rings bells with many of those well versed in the lore of LOTR as Celebrimbor is the creator of the rings of power and the one ring. As for the rest of the lore, I know very little. When Talion was originally killed, he also lost his family. His role from this point is too find those who killed him and his family, cut their heads off and every other thing that spreads Sauron's will. As you progress, it becomes more than revenge. It becomes a duty. With great power comes huge responsibility and you do this through saving slaves of the Uruks and Orcs, fending off the hordes of evil and finding out who and why you were chosen. In theory, the story is actually fairly short. The only reason I logged a total of 32 hours until completion was because I found myself wandering off to kill the relentless hordes and do a multitude of side quests. As much as I enjoyed the story and relished returning to one of my favourite worlds, the actual bones of the story didn't engage me as well as they should have. Certain characters just appear and its only through collectible artefacts that you find more in-depth content as to who these characters are before they vanish, never to be seen again. The story does well to construct why you're still alive and the combat, collectibles and side missions give the game sufficient length.

Developed by Monolith and WB Games, you may recognize the combat and movement features as they originated from the Batman Arkham games. Was this good?, in a way. Having played all of the Batman games, it felt quite a common experience. Unfortunately the controls can be finicky. Rather than impaling a dude with your sword, you often end up diving around like a dog with a bag on its head and there's often feels like a few seconds delay that means counters don't take effect and ends your combo. Its parkour can be unbelievably infuriating due to item borders that are bigger than the visual object. As someone who enjoys a good bit of button mashing hack and slash games, its combat was really fun. Dramatic combat finishers with enough blood to satisfy Dracula's thirst and have me giggling with glee. Sure, its a little repetitive and the variation of combat finishers isn't particularly vast, especially considering that you can counter 2 people at once but for some reason no dual execution. Another disappointment is the boss fights. In all honesty, there should have been 4-5. It only felt like 2 because the rest were so short, it didn't require much combat and those that did became quite tedious after a while of dealing with the finicky controls. What pulls it back for me if the Sauron's Army section. Although erratic, it is great fun. These Captains and Warchiefs are the leaders of the Orc army plaguing Middle Earth and you need to wipe them out before they become too powerful. Leave them and they grow stronger and become a huge pain in the ass if you stumble upon them on a merry trot around. Its a relatively simple thing to learn and full of achievements that can be done through the story without trouble.

For many gamers, one name pops up fairly regularly and has voiced some of the best and most iconic characters in recent years. His name is Troy Baker. Troy voices Talion this time around and I have to be honest, I didn't realise it was him until I looked it up. His ability to shift into these different persona are phenomenal and to actually witness him do it, sits heavily on my bucket list (sad, right?). If there's any Dragon Age fans reading, you will also be happy to hear that Claudia Black is also lending her voice for another spooky witch. Futurama's Bender also voices, courtesy of John DiMaggio alongside quite a substantial cast of names. The voice acting was right on par. Troy Baker nails the voice creating yet another gritty voice for another badass. Variation between Orcs are obvious but continual conflict means that you get through them in a short period of time but otherwise, everyone did a fantastic job and killed it.

The game looks wonderful. Playing on an Xbox One, the resolution is lower than its PS4 counterpart but I've never been one to see such a huge difference between HD resolutions. The only issue I can honestly pick is that the rain looks a bit dated and occasionally characters look more like wax rather than flesh. I've also mentioned about item borders but in total, it doesn't really affect the most important factor which is the story.

So, we have a hack and slash Lord of the Rings game with characters voiced by Troy Baker, Morrigan and Bender with a story that is meaty and gameplay that hooks you for longer than 6 hours. What's not too love? Straight off the bat I can say this game stands as one of the best I've played in quite a while. Pure fun for everyone, even if you aren't a Lotr fan! Probably one of the best games this year, Shadow of Mordor stands upon the graves of lesser games. Although, we haven't had a great year in gaming in reality. Overall, I feel that the game is great and it deserves all the praise it has been getting. 8/10 for a wonderful cast and story but its controls really agitate me and the boss fights were a huge disappointment. Worth the trip too your local game store...or Amazon...

Dracula Untold - No sparkly shit for Luke Evans today! - Review - SPOILERS

Considering that pretty much every film that involves vampires recently has been dominated by the gay, teen angst, sparkly shit, it is a blessing that Dracula Untold got funding. Something that portrays the king of vampires as a real monster rather than a sex symbol is a good start in my book and hell, I'd hope it would be in everyone else's. Rather than drag on about how much I hate modern vampire culture in media of recent, I shall simply sum it up in a small little section. Twilight is the scourge of modern media and its butchering of vampires actions infuriates me. As for True Blood, I find it piss poor. With some rather shocking motion blur and the constant barrage of sex, it leaves me begging for the return of Buffy and Angel.

Now to the real question. Is Dracula Untold good? Yes, in fact it is brilliant. Origin stories can go drastically wrong, especially when the history behind it from decades of film and TV appearances have shaped generations of media. Dracula Untold is the origin story of the one and only Vlad The Impaler who was turned into Count Dracula by author Bram Stoker. In the movie, much like the described events of his life, Vlad was enslaved at a young age by the Ottoman empire who he later fought against when he regained his power. Although what happens in Dracula Untold is not exactly what happened according to the history records, the simplified "Ottomans stole him, used him for war and Vlad killing a load of them" was actually true. This time around, Vlad was given 2 options, give up 1000 children or face the wrath of the Ottoman empire. Vlad had no choice considering the fact that he had no army to fight alongside, he agrees but soon retaliates once they threaten to take his son along with the other 1000. This eventually leads to Vlad becoming the vampire we all know and love in his attempt to save his people and more importantly, his family. Many writers tend to simply ignore history when the create a story but this way its refreshing to see someone consider the history behind the man but also tweak it a little to bring in the element of fantasy.

So we have a good story. Do we have good acting? Meeeh. Its alright. As per usual we get a unrecognisable child with the likeability Kim Jong Un to his republic. Vlad's wife spends more time looking clueless and vacant with absolutely no stage presence among the rest of the cast. As for the rest of the cast, it felt like they just didn't exist. We didn't particularly meet any of these but towards the end we are meeting a lot of people who are so anonymous, not even the NSA know who they are. I guess in reality, the movie wasn't about these people. After all it is named after him. I've been waiting for a good Dracula since Blade 3 (Also the reason I like to go by the name Drake!). Luke Evans isn't a man of incredible talent. Its safe to say that he is good, just good. In this, I feel he has actually managed to fill the role of a character that has a lot of heritage and actually make a character I would like to follow further. Now once again we meet Dominic Cooper. An actor who has appeared in many movies as of recently and typically plays the bad guy. Funnily enough, he still is playing the bad guy but now as the Ottoman leader. There's not a lot to really say about Cooper. He just about suffices as an evil doer but I want someone I can really hate or someone who can scare the audience. The one that was actually able to do so was the one who gifts his power unto Dracula; Charles Dance.

Visually the movie had a lot of work to do to create good scenes look even better. Unfortunately a lo of the screen had very little depth and it was obvious that most of it, if not all of it was recorded on a green screen. Apart from that, the action was great fun. A lot of the time it didn't appear very clear but it was very well choreographed considering some of the movements that would take place when Dracula would morph into different states to travel the battlefield. If you're an action junkie, you will love it. The general action is an almost constant state of brutality which has me giggling with glee from the get-go.

Sure, we didn't know many characters, those we did weren't particularly well acted and the real villain wasn't scary by any means. A little of the story didn't mean anything and some things didn't exactly work out correctly. However, its ending was something enjoyed. It left on a note that meant that we could be seeing a return of Luke Evans' Dracula with the Master Vampire, Charles Dance. If real vampires are your thing, you will get jiggy with this. Many complain about Dracula not needing an origin, but in reality, what's the point in just refreshing him without exploring something about him with a bit of history. I guess that's what you get from the Daily Mail and its ilk. Its a movie of good fun, violence and real vampires. 7.5/10!

The Equalizer - When you look at me, what do you see? - Review - SPOILERS

Unfortunately I wasn't able to see this until Wednesday due to being at EGX London (Video coming soon). After months of waiting I can say that it met all of my expectations. For years I've been waiting for a Denzel movie as fun, exciting and aggressive as Man on Fire was.

In the Equalizer, Denzel Washington plays the role of Robert McCall. Portrayed as a man of compassion and kindness working in a Homebase/B&Q department store with a very simple life. His past is something that only a few know and its a while before his past really comes into its own. The majority of the first act is character development between his work colleagues and people he meets in his very coordinated life. Perhaps something along the line of OCD is the reasons he is a well scheduled man with a common pattern. Due to insomnia, Robert end up in a diner in the early hours of the morning drinking tea and reading books. Often he arrives at the same time Chloe Grace Mortez's character "Teri" is in the building. Upon meeting her, it is obvious that she is a prostitute. Evidently under the control of a pimp/group when she arrives the following night with a black eye. Unfortunately this isn't the end of Teri's problems. After spending time with Robert to avoid her job, she refuses to answer her phone and promptly ends up disappearing. Robert's life continues on the normal schedule but he soon finds out that she was admitted to hospital due to being severely beaten by said pimps. This is where Robert becomes his past. Upon tracking down the pimp that beat her near to death, he gives them an offer. Payment for her freedom. Its turns out they didn't like this offer and swiftly tell him to do one but as we all know, this is Denzel and he won't be having any of that. After dispatching the 5 or 6 stains on humanity, McCall gets on with his life. Although we have a problem. These pimps weren't just pimps. As a wing of the Russian Mob, many believe it to be a

gang war execution and causes huge problems between the factions. From this point on it becomes a bit of cat and mouse until the Russian Teddy (Marton Csokas) tracks down the real culprit of the killing. During this time, Robert has taken it upon himself to deal with any crimes against his friends and once he catches wind of the mob on his tail, the real action begins. Chaos ensues on an epic scale as we watch the good and the bad face off.

Sure, its generic. However, the writers have created something on a far grander scale. A real story with real connections and just enough mystery to keep Robert's character secret. His brand of retribution is comical and the people he interacts with actually have quite the impact on the story and make you appreciate Robert much more. Unlike Neeson in Taken or recently A Walk Among The Tombstones, Robert is a solid guy and his interactions only make him better. The outcome is very easy to predict but how it got to that point is the best part. Although action doesn't happen for a large chunk of the movie, once it appears it is worth the wait. The creative ways used to evade, fight and kill are brutal. Mixed with a blend of slow motion effects and high contrast lighting, the fight scenes are great fun and greatly reminiscent of Tony Scott's Man on Fire.

Visually the movie is great. As I previously mentioned, the slow motion is a fantastic addition to the combat. Perhaps its a little over used at points but it aids the capturing of the small pieces that you wouldn't otherwise notice at a regular pace. As always the aim of the cinematographer is to present the villain as a psychotic asshole. Fortunately enough, it has been done well. When he is in the process of killing someone, life around him carries on as normal as the shot expands a little and draws on for a long period of time showing how casually he walks off his actions. As for the rest, the shots were nice. Nothing grabbed my attention and held me, really the visual effects for the combat etc were rather good but the rest is fairly neutral.

Denzel is one of my favourite actors. I don't always watch his movies but I tend to hear good things about his acting and its been that way for years now. The Equalizer is no different. Its a well known fact that Denzel is also a rather nice man and in reality, he is down to earth. His characters are much the same and I feel that really propels him to the top of the bill. Chloe Grace Mortez is someone I'm not always drawn too. She was good in Kickass and is good in this, but casting her for a role that feels more of an extra role doesn't feel quite right for someone in her position.

Overall, the movie is quality. Great fun, exciting and very tense. If Man on Fire sits at the top of your favourites list, like myself, you will certainly enjoy this outing. With a good balanced cast, great action and a well constructed script/story, The Equalizer is a movie that will stand with the greats of this year. 8/10 - Totally worth the watch!

A Walk Amoung The Tombstones - QUICKY Review - SPOILERS

Let's be honest, what do we really expect from a Liam Neeson movie? The answer is - Not much, not much at all. We also know his acting range which is rather short. Movies like Luc Besson's 'Taken' demonstrate the exact character archetype and cast-typing that goes through every writers mind when they write a mid-level thriller on a budget. Although the Taken series is very beloved by myself. Mindless, simple and to the point action that is only a little exaggerated by the fact Neeson isn't getting any younger and no emotional ties needed to connect to a rather cool frontman.

Walk Among the Tombstones is something a little different. Evidently the writers have tried to create something very difficult and provoking but in reality have created something extremely basic. With an intention to create something convoluted, the aim is to make it difficult to understand and to leave you dazed as you try to figure the mystery yourself before the puzzle pieces are fitted finally by the story. Any aspect of thriller was drilled out by the fact that there was no mystery. Nothing solid enough to bite into as everything is already being shown. Even in the trailers we know the back story of Neeson's character 'Matt Scudder' before the movie even came out. Other than that, we hear about it towards the end rather than fairly early on if it mattered so little. The reality of Among the Tombstones is that we have a cop drama with very little drama and action. As an unlicensed PI, Scudder is called upon to investigate the rape, black mailing, murder and dismemberment of Kenny Kristo's (Dan Stevens) wife. It soon becomes clear that these guys work over women of particularly dangerous men who are traffickers of illicit drugs. Their connection to the drug industry means that police contact will only end with them in jail. Forced to pay the ransom, the women never return and the money disappears. This time, its caught the attention of Neeson who takes it upon himself to end it, once and for all. See, not very elaborate...

So we've spoken out Neeson's acting degree and its short tether. Now we must look at the rest of the gang. Eric Nelsen plays the character who originally introduces Scudder to Kristo. A troubled artist who left the army with a heroin addiction. With that sort of premise, his character could have been something intricately deep but he just sits in the background with a lit cigarette and little chance to flourish. As for Nelsen's acting, it was rather bland. Simple and easy. Certainly not worthy of an Oscar and not worth loosing any sleep over when you forget his name. Dan Stevens is a man who has only recently popped onto my radar with The Guest released in recent week. With experience in Downton Abbey I feel its safe to say that he is a fairly solid actor. Although his lines weren't great, he is convincing enough to make you feel sympathy for his character but once again he was let down by a rather disappointing script. As for our villains, don't expect anything good. For a pair who have some ghastly scenes that managed to make me recoil into my shell, they had the worst directing ever. There is a significant difference between acting dark and psychotic and just plain nothing. There was nothing remotely scary about this pair, one of which does very little talking and looks like he's continuously got a crowbar wedged up his arse. So bad that I won't even grace their IMDB's on this page. Or that I'm too lazy.

Is it worth a night out to see? Sure...A Wednesday with EE/Orange 2 for 1. A fairly dull movie with little to engage or excite. Action that is practically non-existent with a rather annoying child that appears throughout. 6/10.