Californication – Boys & Girls Review

Hank hands a completed draft of “Santa Monica Cop” over to Samurai Apocalypse, but he still finds himself stuck in L.A. when he’s asked to take Kali, his “acquaintance” from the flight to Los Angles, out for a night on the town.

Californication

The fifth season of Californication seems to be having a bit of trouble finding its feet. After an interesting premiere, the second episode did nothing to really advance the story in any way. Boys & Girls is certainly better than The Way of the Fist, but like the premiere it fails to really stand out in any way.

What keeps the show from being completely Continue reading

Californication – The Way of the Fist Review

Hank turns down the job to write Samurai Apocalypse’s new movie, but Sam refuses to take no for an answer and takes Hank to a meet with director Peter Berg, where they discover that Hank and Peter have shared more than just a love of writing.

Californication

After a season premiere that left me with an equal mix of hope and concern for the upcoming season, The Way of the Fist plays it safe and tells a fairly low-key (for Californication anyway) story while setting up several plot lines to spice things up over the next few episodes.

There isn’t really all that much to complain about Continue reading

Sherlock – The Reichenbach Fall Review

Moriarty embarks upon what may be the crime of the century, but breaking into H.M.P. Pentonville, the Tower of London, and the Bank of England is only the start. Sherlock must discover what his greatest foe is up to and stop him, but his reputation, and even his life, come under threat.

Sherlock

The creators of Sherlock proved themselves to be masters of the art of the cliffhanger with Season 1’s The Great Game and they have reinforced that impression with this week’s The Reichenbach Fall. Based on Doyle’s story The Final Problem; famous for the first appearance of Holmes’ nemesis Moriarty and the apparent death of the great detective – The Reichenbach Fall is a tense battle of wits between two masterminds that felt very satisfying in its conclusion, despite the fact that we all knew where it was headed from the start.

One of the most interesting aspects of this episode was Continue reading

The Adventures of Tintin Review

Intrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock’s ancestor.

Tintin

The story of The Adventures of Tintin‘s development is long and convoluted, but we finally have a big screen adaptation of the comic that has been a favourite around the world for over 80 years (although I was always more of an Asterix and Obelix fan myself). Tintin has always been a fun character, working his way through adventures that Indiana Jones would be proud of with his trusty sidekick Snowy and it is only fitting that Steven Spielberg be the one to adapt it.

Spielberg first found out about Tintin when Continue reading

Sherlock – The Hounds of Baskerville Review

Henry Knight claims that his father was killed by a monstrous creature at large in Dartmoor, and asks Sherlock for help. When he and John Watson arrive on the moors to investigate, they discover a top-secret army base.

Sherlock

Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss once again show everyone how an adaptation should be done with an update on one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous stories – The Hound of the Baskervilles. While the narrative strays from the original very quickly, the spirit of the story is kept intact and there are plenty of references for die-hard Holmes fans.

The Hounds of Baskerville takes on much more Continue reading

Californication – JFK to LAX Review

Californication returns and picks up two and a half years after Hank departed Los Angeles with Karen leaving him for another guy and moving on.

Californication

People could be forgiven for thinking that the Season 4 finale of CalifornicationAnd Justice For All was meant to end the series. The major story arcs had been wrapped up and it looked like Hank Moody might finally be ready to get on with his life, driving into the sunset with his typewriter in the backseat. But no series as popular as Californication is allowed to rest on its laurels, every last penny has to be squeezed out and so we have JFK to LAX, the premiere for a fifth season of a show that seemed to have said all it needed to.

Season 5 picks a few years down the road Continue reading

Top 10 Movie/TV Tie-in Games

Top 10Movie Tie-In games have developed a terrible reputation over the years for a variety of reasons. Firstly, while a movie’s storyline is meant to keep the audience interested for only a couple of hours, an 8 hour game is considered to be very short. This means that a whole slew of unrelated storylines and time-wasting exercises are shoehorned into the final product, leaving it feeling disjointed and unrelated to the source material.

One of the other big reasons behind Tie-In Games’ bad reputation is the time constraints put on developers. The amount of time to make a movie is nowhere near comparable to the time needed to build a game from the ground up, but the developers of these games often have even less time than the filmmakers to develop their product. This is the primary reason for the many buggy unimaginative games that litter store shelves the world over. Thankfully, a number of publishers are slowly waking up to these facts and realising that making a sloppy game and slapping a movie title on it is no longer a surefire recipe for success.

Every rule has its exceptions though, and there have been a number of Tie-In games over the years that have broken the mould to give audiences a fun and engaging experience. Here is a list of my Top 10 favourite Movie Tie-In Games. This list is entirely subjective, so feel free to put forward your own favourites in the comments section. Continue reading

Sherlock – A Scandal in Belgravia Review

The monarchy is threatened by some the emergence of some compromising photographs. Sherlock is soon on the case, and uncovers links with international terrorism and corruption in the British government. But to avert a royal scandal he must best Irene Adler, a woman every bit as brilliant as he is.

Sherlock

Fans the world over have been waiting anxiously for Season 2 of Sherlock so they can finally get a conclusion to The Great Game‘s nail-biting cliffhanger. While there is certain to be a lot of disappointment at how things end up playing out, the rest of the episode more than makes up for it.

A Scandal in Belgravia moves away from the standard pattern Continue reading

Jurassic Park – The Game Review

Security systems have failed and the creatures of the park roam free. Now, a rogue corporation will stop at nothing to acquire the dinosaur embryos stolen and lost by Dennis Nedry. Experience a brand new adventure set during the events of the first Jurassic Park movie and see new areas and dinosaurs in this landmark adventure 65 million years in the making!

Jurassic Park: The Game

The Jurassic Park movies are a mixed bag. The original movie captured the imagination of an entire generation (and still holds up today), but the sequels were an excellent demonstration of diminishing returns. They were still fun, but some of the magic had gone. When I heard that Telltale Games (of Sam and Max fame) were taking a shot at making a game set around the original film, I was cautiously optimistic. Movie tie-in games have a pretty poor track record, but Telltale weren’t setting out to make your typical action game, it could go either way.

Thankfully, Jurassic Park: The Game is Continue reading

Uncharted 3 Review

Fortune hunter Nathan Drake is catapulted headlong into an adventure that takes him on a daring trek into the heart of the Arabian Desert in a search for the fabled “Atlantis of the Sands.” This journey pits him and his mentor Victor Sullivan against the occult treachery of a shadowy clandestine organization and its ruthless leader. When the terrible secrets of this lost city are unearthed, Drake’s quest descends into a desperate bid for survival that strains the limits of his endurance and forces him to confront his deepest fears.

Uncharted 3

Nathan Drake has become one of the unofficial mascots for the Playstation 3, with good reason. The Uncharted games have been some of the best examples of how great cinematic games can be with the right team behind them. While the first Uncharted game was well received, it was Uncharted 2: Among Thieves that catapulted the franchise into the spotlight, quickly becoming a favourite among critics and players alike. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception certainly had a lot to live up to, but surely the developers at Naughty Dog were up to it?

Well, yes and no. Uncharted 3 is Continue reading