No Love Deep Web (2012)

This review was also posted on ArtFist.org

I sometimes wonder whether the music I like can be affected by the knowledge that others won't like it. I don't think it's deliberate but I can sometimes listen to something and find myself thinking "Oh so-and-so would hate this" and get a rather juvenile sense of enjoyment out of that fact - without actually subjecting said person to the music. And I can probably think of a lot of people who wouldn't like Death Grips.

I started writing something about them a while ago but with the release of their newest album No Love Deep Web via Soundcloud I thought it was time to finish it. While strictly described as a hip-hop group their musical influences come from all over the place, mashed together with an almost Punk aesthetic that suggests a complete lack respect for the rules of music. Their first album/mixtape Exmilitary shows its punk influences quite clearly with samples from Bad Brains, Janes Addiction and the Beastie Boys but also includes more diverse choices like David Bowie and the Pet Shop Boys. Their official debut The Money Store is much more electronic, while still retaining their signature chaotic production.

Tying it all together is MC Ride, who is hard to describe in terms of other artists, perhaps on occasion sounding like Wu-Tang Clan's RZA at his most furious. To someone who dislikes hip-hop I could imagine him seeming like the summing up of everything they think they hate about rappers. I feel confident in saying that there are technically better MCs out there but the simplicity and bluntness of his approach is part of the appeal to me. It all adds up to create very visceral music, where I don't have a clue what most of it's about but I find it very compelling at the same time. It does however put him in the unenviable position of being disliked by hip-hop purists and critics alike.

I don’t often get to spend much time just listening to music these days, so my first few listens to this new album have been during work, where I didn't feel it made that much of an impression on me. This might seem obvious but their previous albums have made it quite hard to do anything else at the same time. After a few more focused listens I think there are a few tracks that are a little more forgettable, or at least they haven't fully convinced me of their importance yet. It also perhaps follows the template of the last album (if you can call it that) and doesn't have as much impact as the new sound of each of their other records.

There's still a lot of great stuff here though, including the opening track Come up and get me. This takes its time setting the tone before any vocals come in and I find it quite strange that it manages to create a different feel each time it comes back to the same repeated sections with lots of filtering. Lil Boy starts off feeling like the kind of simplistic electro that I don't really appreciate but it builds on this to keep it interesting. I particularly like the synth lines that sound like they have digital errors from a dirty CD surface, perhaps the modern equivalent of deliberately adding vinyl crackles to create that period feel? This is something I thought again later during Lock your doors, which seemingly uses digital clipping to suggest that the music can barely be contained in its chosen medium.

Forming half of the album title, No Love is one of my early favourites. It starts with deep synthetic bass drums, which you expect to set the tone before a whole new level of insanity is layered over the top of it. I found myself unable to stop nodding my head to this one, the whole song feels like a sustained breakdown from a metal song. It just keeps coming back again feeling tougher when you think you've heard everything from it, something really enhanced by the addition of live drums as it goes on. I'm not sure if they're supposed to be related in any way but Deep Web comes much later on the album, with relentless bassy synth lines dominating the whole thing, punctuated by Ride's furious yells.

Weirdly enough, I did actually find a couple of songs amongst all this chaos which felt a bit more chilled out than those surrounding them. Black Dice alternates between a relaxed dreamy intro and darker sections with short sharp synth stabs and harsh vocals. Later on, Pop starts with dizzying synths and retro drum machine cowbells and rimshots, switching to these blissfully chilled out sections that remind me of The Future Sound of London. As the track continues they start to morph into a slightly more intimidating feel and on the whole I would say that this is one of the songs with the most progression on the album.

I'm not going to go into detail about the rest but I will at least say that while there are tracks that have kind of passed me by there are still other great tracks to discover, like the madcap cut up drums of World of Dogs. It's final song Artificial death in the west is a welcome change of pace, with the much slower tempo allowing for a more gradual creation of atmosphere, with bass lines that seemed reminiscent of a John Carpenter soundtrack. It's also the only song that seems to come to a gradual end, allowing the album to wind down slightly after so many songs with rather abrupt endings.

Overall I think it's a solid album but it has perhaps had less of an impact on me than their others, not really having a stand out "what the hell am I listening to?" moment that seemed to define them for me. This was probably inevitable though as they start to get into a groove for the kind of sound they want for the group. In a way I feel like I could reach the end of my love affair with them here or start to get into them even more. To be fair I've barely even scratched the surface of their lyrical content (I've always been a 'music first' kind of person) but I've still found their other work pretty compelling while letting the vocals just become part of the music as a whole. So who knows where this album will end up in my estimation a little while down the road.

Dredd (2012)

This review was also posted on ArtFist.org

When I found this film a little disappointing, I felt very alone in my opinion - especially given how much I wanted to love it beforehand. All around me critics and fans were praising it almost universally, with only a few negative knee-jerk reaction reviews that didn't feel like they matched my opinion either. In writing a review of it, I felt like I owed it to the film to really think about why it didn't work for me and to be clear that I didn't think it was a bad film either.

My first thought was to look at the impact of its initial trailer, which created a fantastic atmosphere, perfectly mixing in Skream's remix of Bulletproof. It also encapsulated the whole plot pretty well and perhaps left you with the feeling that there would be few surprises. I'd also watched pretty much every preview clip available, including some of the gory slo-mo scenes, which may have ended up having less impact. One thing that actually seemed to be missing in the cinema was how the blood effects were so over the top that they managed to extend right out of the film frame (highlighted in this preview clip). The final film is also perhaps different in tone than the trailer suggests, with some of the rather clichéd exchanges highlighted in the trailer coming off much better in the final cut. There was also one reasonably big surprise remaining, which I was glad hadn't been spoiled by anything.

Another consideration is just how much I was anticipating the film. For a long time it held a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, only toppled from this position when the Daily Mail decided to wade into the argument. All this lead me to expect something truly spectacular, when its modest budget should perhaps have suggested that it would be more grounded. That's not to say that its low budget affects its execution much, more perhaps the scope of it seeming quite limited. It was also very slow and methodical in places, being less about non-stop action and imaginative set pieces and more showing the Judges taking the best tactical approach possible to deal with threats. I think that this was a totally valid choice and highlights how rigidly they would have been trained but I could certainly see a lot of people drawn in by its rave reviews being disappointed by this approach.

I have to mention the 3D as well and I wasn't impressed that I had no choice but to see it in this format. While some of the long shots gave a great sense of scale and the slow motion looked amazing, the rest seemed like a mess to me. I doubt it was the film at fault but there was lots of ghosting, parts that looked the wrong depth, reflections on my lenses and of course the discomfort of the cheap plastic glasses gradually pressing into my nose. For this film in particular I would have loved for it to have been able to use 3D only in those big scenes where it worked, with the more fast paced scenes being 2D. I've heard of a few people refusing to watch it in the cinema at all though, which seems a bit extreme and I'm glad I put up with the mild discomfort to show my support for it.

I'll be honest and say that my own experience of the comic book character is pretty limited, which is something that I'd like to rectify but is another possible reason why I felt underwhelmed by it. Other than reading the odd issue in the distant past and hours lost browsing wikipedia articles, the only book I own is a collection of stories leading up to Necropolis, which I mainly bought in the mistaken assumption that it would feature Judge Death. It's actually been interesting to go back and read it again, as I found some similarities between it and the film. A lot of it focuses on Dredd evaluating a different rookie Judge and even features a fight scene while the rookie is in handcuffs. It also mirrors the ending of the film, with Dredd failing his rookie in the book without any concrete reasoning, while Anderson gets a pass in this film despite actions that could have been an instant failure.

I think overall I was just expecting a little more from it on many levels. It's a rather shallow film in terms of any political subtext to it, when I was perhaps expecting something more satirical along the lines of Robocop or Starship Troopers. Its complete and utter committal to an unquestioning portrayal of the Judges is one of its strengths but it also feels like it has little to say on the issue and has become a sticking point for those writing negative reviews. The irony of a right wing paper complaining about 'a fascist dream of a policeman' was certainly not lost on me, seemingly showing a staggering lack of self-awareness. I definitely think that it could have stood to say a little more, though having Dredd be much more human at this early stage may have made the whole thing fall down. Giving only the merest crack in his armour to show he's still a human being is just enough to suggest it could be explored more in future movies.

It was also surprised by how deranged Lena Headey's gang leader Ma-Ma appeared on film, which was strange when there is a prequel comic that shows her in a... well not exactly a more positive light but you certainly get a better idea of how she reached this point. But the film is what matters and I think it missed an opportunity in portraying her as an insane sadist, which just made her seem unrealistic. I would have liked to have seen her as more of a desperate figure, going to any lengths to protect the empire she'd scraped together - at least giving some impression of why she'd become so extreme. It could have also focussed more on the cyclical nature of violence and how the Judges can never bring an end to it. The harshness of the Judge system should sometimes seem unfair and not just make the audience feel it was justified in removing a truly evil villain. I would say that on the whole the comics were aiming to expose just how flawed the kind of justice some people want is. The ending might have felt more meaningful when Anderson lets one of the gang go because she feels he is a victim, if we had also seen Ma-Ma as just another victim in a sense.

Despite all of this, I still think it's a great accomplishment and it feels like the best version of Dredd we are ever likely to see on screen. Details like the body armour feel totally right in the final product, despite plenty of people, myself included thinking that the proportions looked a little off to begin with. The distinctive design is very pragmatic and I feel like that's a good way of describing the film as a whole, which perhaps doesn't quite feel like it could encompass some of the weirdness found in the comics. Even though the writer of the film has talked about potential sequels eventually leading to aspects like the Dark Judges, I'm not sure I could see the two fitting together. It's this that makes it difficult to decide whether this is best served remaining as a standalone film or if it can still be a jumping off point for more films. There's certainly a lot more to draw from without bringing in more fantastical elements, which has me interested in reading some more early Judge Dredd stories to get a feel for what might inspire them. Hopefully I can watch it again at some point in the future, with less pressure or expectations on it and appreciate it for the bold, strong film it is.

Total Recall (2012)

This review was also posted on ArtFist.org

I'm not sure if it's significant that my wife and I didn't discuss this film at all when we walked out of the cinema. She was very tired and it was a reasonably late showing for us but we would normally have at least asked each other whether we liked it. That initial reaction you have walking out of a cinema is often the most honest, no matter how long you mull things over later but I think if I had been asked at the time I would have had difficulty responding.

I knew I was always going to have trouble with this film being a fan of the original, but I can't honestly say that it's turned out horribly. The design of this messed-up future earth was astonishing and managed to induce that slight shudder of vertigo on numerous occasions. As implausible as it may be to have a lift that can travel through the core of the Earth in around 17 minutes (requiring an average speed of around 28,000 miles per hour), it was executed very well. Weirdly it felt like Mass Effect was one of its biggest design influences, especially when it came to its armoured robots. I felt that it was pretty lazy having no British or Australian accents given they were supposed to be the main world powers but I can let that slide too. I was just left feeling that it was a bit of a waste to go to all of this effort and then tell the exact same story as the original, I would much rather have seen something else set in that same world.

I also can't deny that there were some good action sequences in this, which varied between the unbelievable and more grounded, well thought out sequences that took note of the surroundings and allowed the viewer to follow them through. For example I liked Kate Beckinsale's slide towards a descending lift in the hope of making it through the door, only to miss it but still land in the lift due to the top previously being ripped off. In a sense both the original and this are good examples of a typical action blockbuster of their day but no matter how well this version does in some areas, the original is just so much more interesting because of two areas in particular that this film just doesn't seem to get.

Firstly, it misses out on any kind of proof that Hauser/Quaid (Colin Farrell) was originally a bad guy. The video message left to himself by Arnie in the original made it very clear that his old self was very different. Without something like this I think it detracts from the idea of how we define our own identity and whether our past has any bearing on what we do in the future. Here Brian Cranston's Cohagen might just as well have been lying to Quaid to mess with him, there was no real confirmation that there was any point to it.

I felt that without this to focus on, you start to see more plotholes creep in - why did they go to this much trouble? Why didn't they just capture an actual resistance fighter and implant the fake kill switch information in his head? And just how did doing this help them track him down again once he went to the resistance? Why were they annoyed he'd gone to Rekall and started this whole process when that was what they wanted to happen anyway? All criticisms that could be levelled at the original film too but they don't seem to stand out as much and can also be explained if you take a particular view of the original...

That being the idea that it was actually all in his head and he never made it out of Rekall. Here I felt there was no real ambiguity over whether it was in his head or not, other than some lazy tacked on echoed phrases and a wistful look at a Rekall sign at the end. By opening with a very clear dream as a memory, it really feels like there is no doubt that these are real repressed memories in this version. There are also few cuts in the Rekall sequence that could make the audience believe they have missed something, it seemed very clear to me that the Rekall team had not yet done anything to affect his mind at all.

The genius of the original version is that every single action ties into the idea that it's all in his head. Arnies dreams for example are not of former events but a nightmare about dying from a lack of oxygen (in a very unrealistic manner). He has never actually experienced this and that dream goes on to form the climax of the film. Discovering this theory makes watching the original again a very rewarding experience but here there is not really anything clever that would be enhanced by a repeat viewing.

All of this added up to a film that I felt like I'd totally checked out from by the end. When Quaid escapes from the guards and manages to land on 'The Fall' unopposed I should have been ranting about its lack of logic but I just couldn't force myself to care. Having a final fist fight with Cohagen at the end also felt really out of place as he had done nothing to suggest he could even last 30 seconds against Quaid throughout the rest of the film. When this film was first announced sources suggested that it was going to be a re-interpretation of the original Philip K. Dick short story 'We can remember it for you wholesale'. As implausible as that sounds if you've read that very short, jokey story, it would still have been preferable to see something crazy and different than the bland retread we ended up with.

Ted (2012)

This review was also posted on ArtFist.org

I've struggled to finish reviews of any comedy films this year, so after seeing Ted I promised myself I would complete one for once. As a formerly huge fan of Family Guy this was a film I was both intrigued and apprehensive about - I wasn't totally sure what to expect from it but had a fair idea of what the humour would be like. I'd also not read a single review of it beforehand - not something I actively avoided so it seems a little weird that there has been relatively little coverage. I certainly enjoyed most of it at the time but some issues sprang to mind as I started to write about it.

Perhaps the best way to describe it as a whole is overindulgent. Despite a strong opening I really felt that it dragged for a while after that, spending too much time on the in depth situation of each character. Sadly I don't remember it being particularly funny either. It didn't really pick up for me until you see Ted in a suit, off to try and get his first job. There was also a section later on that seemed to exist purely to get a celebrity cameo in, which was neither funny to me or moving the plot forward in any meaningful way.

I find it funny that I can pick out large areas to cut when the film itself is just a shade longer than Brave, which felt like a very short, concise film to me. I personally wonder whether Seth MacFarlane had enough experience in telling a story of this length when most of his cartoons are self contained 30 minute episodes. While there have been a few Family Guy stories that span multiple episodes, Ted ends up feeling like everything and the kitchen sink was thrown at it to pad it out. But then that overindulgence has always been a hallmark of his cartoons too. I couldn't help but think back to Family Guy's ridiculously long chicken fight in one particular scene, which managed to go through the feeling that it was much longer than it probably should have been and still come out the other side being funny.

Like Family Guy I also felt that it had an over reliance on pop culture that was very specific to the US and didn't immediately amuse me if I didn't get the reference. Probably my main reason for moving away from watching Family Guy was the realisation that it was starting to rely too heavily on the 'random' cutaway gags and that these generally only made me laugh once out of surprise and didn't really work if you watched them again. You could say Ted took this even further with a random flashback among the character establishing sequences that I didn't find funny in the slightest.

And it makes me feel so old but I also feel like the overuse of the F-word in this was hardly ever funny. Restricted by what you could get away with on a TV network, Family Guy was always pushing against boundaries to see what they could get away with and even the occasional bleeped swear could seem shocking and humorous at the same time. Here it got old fast and I don't think it was just me, I can't recall hearing a single chuckle at an F-word just dropped into conversation but there was plenty of laughter in its more inventive parts. Perhaps I wasn't really there with the target audience since it had been out a while when I got to see it but to me the overuse definitely wore down the impact it could have had if it was used a little more sparingly.

I do feel like there's a good movie in there somewhere and I liked how it approached the idea that Ted could eventually become normal and forgotten about. But there were parts that seemed to hinder the story unfolding as if it was realistic by going so over the top and assuming that everyone is in on the joke. It all adds up to a mixed bag that leaves you feeling a bit unsatisfied. Perhaps I've often struggled to finish comedy reviews as I may have laughed along at the time but not really felt like the film went anywhere or had much to say. Here you question what had really changed about the characters situations by the end of the film but it's played as a happy ending, all problems solved, which just didn't convince me.

People will always say that humour is subjective but I think it can also seem temporary. Like Family Guys one off random gags with a short shelf life, you also had the problem here of seeing a lot of those in trailers. It can be difficult to remember specific funny parts later and even then if I was to try to list or explain jokes it would only lead to them not sounding funny at all. So while I can almost certainly recommend this to people who won't be offended by its humour, I would have just liked it to be a more focussed and consistent film on the whole.

Brave (2012)

This review was also posted on ArtFist.org

'Nice' can sometimes be a surprisingly divisive word. For some people it's the epitome of average, only a shade better than okay or 'meh'. For me I don't know if it's just my 'Englishness' but it can sometimes feel like relatively high praise. I think it's quite telling though that I keep wanting to use it to describe Brave.

Whatever I think of the finished product, it feels like the trailers for Brave had done their best to convince me that it would be terrible before I'd even seen it. They seemed to suggest something on the level of an average Dreamworks film, full of dumb jokes and body humour, not to mention the potential for terrible scottish stereotypes. It didn't seem at all like a typical Pixar film (maybe discounting the Cars films, as I haven't seen any of those). As it turns out though, these trailers at least kept most of the plot secret, with me only figuring out some of it beforehand due to seeing certain toy lines in the Disney store...

The overt 'Scottishness' from the trailers did look like it would be more along the lines of how Americans view Scotland but I didn't find it too bad in the end. While Scotland is never explicitly mentioned, it is clearly set there and not some mythical equivalent as a map in it names the Isle of Skye. Some of the phrases felt a little more English and there was a distinct lack of Scottish slang but for the most part it felt fairly natural. Even if it would probably be more Scottish to say "Wheesht!", it still felt quite rare to hear someone say "Shut your gob" for example, which gave it a nice homely sort of feeling.

There was one character with an exceptionally thick accent, which you aren't meant to understand but it amused me all the same. Especially when one line is finished with "ken?", which reminded me of my days as an Englishman in Scotland. It was always those with the hardest accents to follow who would finish their sentences with "ken?" ("do you know what I mean/understand?") and I'd just nod my head hopefully. I'm not sure if this accent can be placed to a specific location, I'd be interested to find out and to hear from any native Scotsmen what they thought of it as a whole.

While most of the story is not particularly surprising, I have to give it props for being a major film that focuses around a mother and daughters relationship. I was expecting it to be yet another 'tomboy wants to prove herself and goes off on adventures with the men' kind of thing so it was a pleasant surprise how it unfolds. Most of the other characters are fairly under-developed but making the mother/daughter relationship the focus meant that this didn't stand out. I would say overall it felt like quite a short film and I'm not sure if that is a negative issue or just means that it was to the point.

The ending did feel a little contrived to me though, like it was just playing for time to make it seem more emotional. I honestly thought there was going to be more to it but then it suddenly shifts to happy ending mode. It reminded me of a couple of other films with a sudden happy ending, Tangled and Wall-E, the latter being one I watched again recently. Tangled at least gave a plausible reason for how it turned things around but Wall-E feels like it switches from an impossible situation to make it momentarily seem more sad. It's perhaps a different topic to get into on whether Pixar/Disney films can have anything other than a happy ending though.

Overall I would say that it's worth watching and should keep you entertained, unless you have a very high brow sense of humour. I saw it in quite a mixed audience and apart from one or two jump scares that might set kids off, I think it will appeal to everyone. It's not one of Pixars best and I would also say that it isn't as good as Tangled or the best of Dreamworks in How to Train Your Dragon but still better than virtually anything else from that studio. I'm not sure how long it will stick with me or how well it would stand up to repeated viewings but I still think it's a nice film - just a shame that it's unlikely to reach the dizzying heights of appreciation I have for other Pixar films.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

This review was also posted on ArtFist.org

It's difficult to know where to start when talking about this film. Like a lot of people, I've been looking forward to it just a little bit. I'm a big fan of Batman in almost any form, but I grew up on the Tim Burton films and Bruce Timm's Animated Series especially, only searching out famous stories from the comics later on. I can remember seeing Batman Begins for the first time and thinking that it was enough that it's ending could tie into the Burton films, but still being pleasantly surprised when The Dark Knight was announced. TDK immediately became one of my favourite films for numerous reasons, the beautiful full frame IMAX photography, the tense bank robbery that reminded me of Heat and Heath Ledgers unique take on the Joker among many - I didn't even care that Batman wasn't really the focus any more.

So I obviously had huge expectations of this film but I think I didn't have specific expectations of it, if that makes sense. I hoped it would be a good film but at the same time I trusted Christopher Nolan to do what he wanted and not just expect famous comic storylines in movie form. But if I was ready to trust Nolan, in some ways this feels like a film more designed to please fans. I certainly enjoyed it at the time, but it seems less of a complete package the more I think about it. Whereas The Dark Knight always felt like the furthest you could take a comic book character into the real world, this felt like it was embracing its comic book roots a little more. Things like its expository dialogue and characters hopping around the world felt like things that happen in comics a lot. Even though critics have levelled the same complaints at some of Nolan's other films, this was the first time that these issues particularly stood out to me.

I thought that it got off to a shaky start too, I don't think I've seen many reviews that didn't have some issues with the first act. There are a lot of new characters and multiple plot lines running at once, with a few taking a while to really go anywhere. There were a lot of things to hold in your head and I found myself uncertain of which characters were important. On reflection there isn't much of importance here and I have seen debates on whether parts of it could have been cut, as well as entirely different takes on how it could have opened.

Selina Kyle (as played by Anne Hathaway) is almost certainly the highlight of these early sections. She is receiving almost universal praised for her role, one thing I liked in particular was that her interactions with Bruce Wayne also provide a bit of humour in a largely dark film. I loved how she revealed her true self when she first meets him and deftly disarms him before making her escape. A lot of people seem to think that Bruce Wayne was faking his injuries at the start of the film but I'd like to think that he was actually surprised by her, which then intrigues him enough to want to track her down. You generally get the impression that she is capable of continuing to frustrate him, with the lines "My Wife?" and "Huh, so that's what that feels like" making me chuckle especially.

I think it was important that the rest of the villains in this weren't particularly sympathetic though. Almost everyone rooted for the Joker to some extent but Bane doesn't really have the same attractive personality and seems more likely to kill innocent people in his path. Some of the violence meted out actually made me feel like the film deserved more than a 12A rating, despite the fact that it never shows anything graphic. Though there isn't exactly much competition, I feel this was the best representation of Bane there has ever been. On occasions he seems like a strange mix, especially how his voice doesn't really feel like part of the scene but the calm delivery gives the impression of intelligence that he really needs. In the original comics, despite his strength increasing venom serum, it was always suggested that he only managed to defeat Batman by engineering situations that would break his spirit as well as his body. I certainly found myself on the edge of my seat wondering if he was going to do what he is most famous for in the comics.

What's perhaps hardest to argue against is that the film as a whole doesn't really say anything. Bane's aims and actions seem to have some common ground with this year's 'Occupy' protests (although likely written before they started), which initially seems like a negative commentary on them. But these ideas aren't really followed through and leave it feeling very half hearted. There seem to be a lot of points like this, where there is a spark of something interesting but it doesn't receive much focus. Then there is also the question of what is said by the ending but I'm not sure I can discuss that much without heading into spoiler territory...

*Fairly major spoilers from this point on*

Not everyone liked the ending and to some extent I can see their point, with the powerful message of Batman making the ultimate sacrifice being undone by him surviving - not to mention how much pain and anguish it would cause his friends. But despite all that, to me it felt like what Batman would have done and it specifically reminded me of the end of The Dark Knight Returns. In that story he may have faked his death to continue to train others in secret but giving up the role of Batman felt right for this series and felt like a much better way of introducing a possible new Batman than any attempt that has been made in the comics. I really appreciated what the whole trilogy has done with Bruce Wayne - even if it moves away from the established view of him, he seems more human on the whole. In Begins he initially struggles with the desire for revenge against those who wronged him, rather than immediately trying to fix the system. He wants the world to change so that he doesn't have to be Batman anymore and then even gives up the role after the loss of a loved one, questioning what he has left to fight for. I think it's totally fair that this film then allows his journey to come to an end.

People have said that the revelation of John Blake's real name being Robin made them roll their eyes but I just saw it as a little joke for the fans, especially since Nolan has stated he would never add the Robin we all know. It seemed obvious to me that Blake would take on the role of Batman or at the very least would be jumping straight into a 'Nightwing' like role. What I felt was important was that Blake's character had taken a different route to this point than Bruce Wayne, which indicated that he could be a different sort of Batman. Someone who would focus on the downtrodden and fight against abuses of power by those in control, rather than focusing on criminals amongst the poorest in society. This left me with the feeling that the film wasn't trying to be 'anti-99%' and to paraphrase The Dark Knight's final line, perhaps this new Batman could be the hero that Gotham and the world actually needs right now. I also felt that even though the film brings this trilogy to a definite close in a nice circular fashion, I would still be interested to see someone take it onward from this point.

So my final thought on what I took the film to say is that we will always need Batman - but Batman doesn't always need to be Bruce Wayne.

Magic Mike (2012) - A straight husband's view

This review was also posted on ArtFist.org

Though my wife probably doesn't believe me, I did actually mean to tell her about this film before she randomly saw an advert for it. I'd heard about it a while ago with critics’ early opinions being pretty positive, and combined with the fact that it was directed by Steven Soderbergh, it sounded interesting to me. So when my wife demanded to be taken to see it, I didn't feel like it would be too much of a hardship for me to go along. I'd recently made her sit through Prometheus, so I owed her a movie choice anyway and I didn't think it could be much worse than that...

That said, it was quite a strange experience to see the theatre slowly fill up with women, I can't think of another film I've seen with a similar audience ratio. I wasn't the only guy in there, but there were only a couple more and they looked a lot more miserable about the prospect than me. However, being on the back row right under a spotlight I guess I stood out. "Oh my God there's a man in here! I feel so sorry for you mate!" came a cry from someone finding their seat in front of me. All I could do was chuckle to myself and give a wave of thanks for the sympathy. I did wonder whether the crowd would get a bit rowdy as there was a loud shout of "Oh Yeah!" down to my left the first time Channing Tatum's ass appeared on screen, but for the most part it settled down.

It struck me that one of the characters you meet early on worked quite well as a way for men to get into the film. Adam/'The Kid' (Alex Pettyfer) is thrown into the world of these strippers quite unexpectedly and his initial reactions are probably similar to any men in the audience. There is a lot of comedy in these early scenes, as long as the whole situation doesn't just make you feel awkward. What I found the funniest section in the entire film might make some people just want to curl up into a ball and cover their eyes (the same effect that The Office and Alan Partridge often have on me).

The movie as a whole is more focused on the title role of 'Magic' Mike (Tatum) than Adam's story. In fact, I was quite surprised that there was very little attention paid to Adam "learning the ropes", which was pretty much handled in one scene - very different from something like The Full Monty, where the preparation for their first performance is the entire film. Mike is a mentor to him in a more general sense and also just a friend, with their relationship becoming strained as Adam is drawn into more destructive aspects of the stripper's lifestyles. It's that question of where you draw the line when trying to look out for someone and at the same time let them make their own decisions.

Mike's own story is a familiar one, both in terms of having a dream that he would give up stripping for and also issues that you hear people struggle with in the real world right now. He works non-stop to save up money and runs into problems trying to get any kind of loan from a bank. It quickly becomes obvious that his life is not perfect and you question whether he really fits in to the world of stripping. Tatum's performance is great, which I probably wouldn't have expected before seeing 21 Jump Street earlier in the year. I particularly liked how he struggles and stumbles over what he's trying to say in one scene, which came across as completely natural and believable when it could well have turned out disastrous. In fact the response to this bit of dialogue feels much more scripted and kind of takes you out of the moment, reminding you that you're just watching a film.

As for the actual stripping routines, they are generally not too explicit and didn't make me feel uncomfortable. A lot of the dances are pretty cheesy and even my wife admitted that most of them didn't do much for her, it was more the confidence that all of the dancers have that makes them attractive. I would say there is one routine that almost anyone could appreciate though, especially if you are a fan of groups like Diversity, which is set to Calypso by Excision & Datsik.

If I had any complaints it would be that the ending doesn't feel all that satisfying, I'm not sure whether that is down to it aiming to be realistic or to leave things open for a sequel. But because 'The Kid' doesn't really learn anything from the whole experience, you are left with the impression that he could just continue on his downward spiral. Overall I would say that men shouldn't be scared to go and see this film though. It tells an interesting, believable story, with a good mixture of humour and drama. You just might want to avoid peak times...

The Walking Dead (2012) - Episode 2

This review was also posted on ArtFist.org

After a long wait for some, the second episode of The Walking Dead game is finally here, released with surprisingly little build-up or fanfare. Entitled 'Starved for help', it centres around the group's growing need to find food. When I wrote about the first episode, I didn't really mention the story much, but with the mechanics of the game set in place, now seems like a good point to focus on it more. What stood out to me about the first episode was that like Day Z, it seemed to capture the feeling of being in a zombie film very well. Whereas Day Z is more focused around your interactions with real people, and whether you can trust them, here it seemed to be about making the tough decisions that you might be yelling at the screen for people to make in a movie. Ironically, I found that the decisions became tougher and less black and white in episode 2, with my own character starting to become the unsure person who couldn't always make the tough decisions.

The episode opens with the knowledge that three months have passed, which made me chuckle a little as it means there has been roughly the right amount of time between episodes. It did make the whole situation a little confusing though, as it immediately introduces a new character and a new threat: the lack of food. I had been wondering how they were going to get into this situation given that the threat at the end of the first episode was a sudden loss of electricity, which I suppose was just a bit of dark humour really. I feel like this could have been handled better as it pretty much diffuses any tension that there was and leaves you confused as to what exactly is going on, where the new character has come from and whether you should care about them.

You don't have too long to wonder about this though as the game kicks into action with some more new characters and a grim decision to make. I messed up this sequence by taking too long to look for a perfect way to deal with it, which I don't think exists. This was a great way of getting you back into the feel of the game and remind you that bad things are going to happen regardless of the choices you make. It's also another example where you have to repeatedly perform actions to follow through your choice, which makes it all the more harrowing.

Tensions are running high among the rest of the group after this introduction and it seems that trying to remain a mediator and not take sides isn't going to cut it much longer. You are eventually tasked with dividing up the limited food supplies for the day - again no right or wrong decisions, just down to what you feel. Beyond making sure that the kids got something I thought it was quite difficult to choose who else to help and whether others would consider it favouritism.

Any bickering comes to a sudden end via an unexpected zombie attack, which eventually leads to the discovery that zombies are not only created through people being bitten. This is actually something I haven't seen for a while, with more modern zombie films usually explaining the situation through some kind of virus. Though there is still the possibility that a virus could be the cause, it seems less likely to be the case and leads to more of a focus on survival than the search for a cure. It also adds an additional element of danger to the death of any character, which is an important issue later on.

The majority of the episode is focussed on yet another new group of people, who offer to help out with the group's food situation. I thought that this offer was a little suspect early on and I was slightly disappointed that there didn't seem to be enough dialogue choices to fully express that. It's one of those situations where obviously something had to happen to push the story forward but forcing the player to make bad decisions is frustrating. The same kind of situation can obviously work in a non-interactive story but it's something that I think games should shy away from unless you're absolutely certain you can pull the wool over the player's eyes.

I won't say too much more about what happens but I can say that despite my suspicions it was still intriguing to find out what was going on. What follows is certainly gripping and the gradual revelation of what's been happening is pretty disturbing. I mentioned in my previous piece that I would be looking out for a way to get rid of one character but when the opportunity finally arose it didn't feel as cut and dried as that. In fact the only decision that felt quite easy to me was at the end of the episode, though the final report on other player's choices surprisingly showed that it was nearly a 50/50 split.

Putting aside the story, it seemed that puzzles were a little thin on the ground this episode, with most items having pretty simple uses. The first episode wasn't that different but even in a section that was mostly about combat, there was something cool about figuring out how to take down a group of zombies silently. This wasn't something that I specifically missed while playing, more something that came to mind afterwards but I would still like to see more complex problems in future episodes.

My only other technical complaint is that it seemed to suffer from a lot of stuttering that I don't remember happening in the previous episode. Some of the pauses I saw were so long that I thought the game had crashed and I was just about to reach for the power button before it kicked into life again. While a relatively minor issue, I hope this is something that can be resolved in the next episode. Here's hoping that it won't take as long to appear this time.

An evenings worth of gaming

This double review was also posted on ArtFist.org

An evening of gaming for me is usually just enough to complete a couple of missions in Mass Effect. However I recently managed to finish two gaming experiences in the same amount of time. I'd hesitate to call them games, simply because they were both downloadable parts of a larger story.

First up was Harley Quinn's Revenge, a DLC expansion for Batman: Arkham City. I have been a big fan of both Arkham City and Arkham Asylum, but I was a little dubious about whether this would be worth 800 Microsoft Points. However, I ended up winning some bonus points from Xbox Rewards recently so it made taking a chance on it a little less painful.

For those who didn't buy the challenge maps that featured Robin (myself included), playing as him to begin with was quite a nice opening. That said it wasn't long before muscle memory kicked in and I started playing him in the same manner as Batman. He may have different animations and gadgets, but they don't really feel like they create a different playing experience. Compare this to playing as Catwoman, where a lot of her moves were overly flashy and took more time to complete, so you had to be more aware of whether you would leave yourself vulnerable.

I was also a little put-off after the opening section, as it used my least favourite scenario in TV shows at the moment: "48 hours earlier", gnnnngggh. This used to be a concept that was used rarely and was intended to make you think one thing from the brief glimpse of future events, before cleverly twisting your expectations when you finally catch up to what you've seen. Recently, it just seems to have become a standard way to open an episode, akin to a "here's what's going to happen in this episode" montage. I guess you could possibly be left thinking "Is Batman dead?" but c'mon - it's Batman!

Another complaint was how some of the new stealth rooms in this seemed very awkwardly laid out. Often they would be missing good vantage points to scope out your enemies, while good hiding spots were also thin on the ground if you were spotted. Some sections even seemed to be trolling you with grates that lead to nowhere, dropping you directly down to the next level rather than into an air vent, for example. Perhaps you were supposed to use these to escape from people on the same level as you, but it was a complete change in style from the rest of the game and not particularly clear.

All I can be thankful of is that none of the enemies featured the alarm collars that alert their compatriots no matter how you take them out. I always preferred having the option to mix up your approach, taking out lots of guards silently before finally making the last few aware of your presence. I was slightly surprised by one section featuring infinitely re-spawning guards though (or at least enough reinforcements to make it seem that way). Since this area featured Harley Quinn herself, I felt that it was very anti-climactic being forced to periodically drop down and wear down her energy bar before fleeing from guards rather than have a one on one confrontation.

Overall, the experience felt very short and despite the expansion obviously requiring new environments and character models to be built/modified, it didn't really feel worth the 800 points. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, I suppose a new unique boss fight or something was probably always out of the question. It was nice to have a reason to go back to the game (other than to visit Calendar Man) and I'll always enjoy a few rounds with its combat system but the story was so slight it was hardly worth bothering. I suppose in a way it was a fitting episode for Harley Quinn, lacking the Joker's twisted creativity, she couldn't really plot revenge on Batman and ended up sabotaging herself as usual.

My second game of the night was The Walking Dead, an XBLA adventure from Telltale Games based on the comics and TV show of the same name. Like most of Telltale's recent output, it's episodic in nature and only the first of five is currently available. It plays somewhat like a traditional point and click game, mixing in conversation choices similar to Mass Effect and Alpha Protocol, with brief combat sections a little like quick time events.

The first thing that came to mind after its brief introduction is how well it handles a point and click system on a console. Control is split between your analogue sticks, with the left moving your character and the right moving a fairly subtle cursor that highlights areas of interest. I found myself wondering whether this system could have benefited the first 3D LucasArts adventure with direct character control: Grim Fandango. While there was little to criticise about that game, interpreting exactly what Manny's head was tilted towards could prove difficult on occasions. The cursor may mean a slightly less immersive experience than having no HUD elements, but to my mind the ease of use this system allows is of greater importance.

After a short intro, you will soon be faced with one of the combat sections that I described earlier. The good thing about these is that to me they didn't really feel like quick time events, more like solving a simple point and click puzzle very quickly. The first event is probably the one that feels the most like this but I found that having to line-up the cursor to perform actions made you feel much more in control. While traditional point and click games featuring player death were usually frowned on, I felt that it fits the scenario really well - you should never feel completely safe in a zombie game. I think the important distinction is that you are unlikely to die by experimenting with the wrong item; it is more down to not reacting quickly enough. It keeps you on your toes knowing that killing a zombie is something you should never approach lightly.

I also really liked the conversation system, which is very similar to Alpha Protocol where you only have a certain amount of time to answer important questions. There were some differences though, and I liked the fact that you could take your time picking what to say in general conversation. Having the option to not respond at all was a nice touch too: I don't think you can spend the entire game as a mute, but there was at least one point where I felt that a response wasn't necessary. The text you choose is also the text you speak, compared to Mass Effect where the text is usually just a hint of what will be said, which sometimes doesn't match up with your intentions. Some of your conversation choices may not turn out to be important (especially if the character you're speaking to ends up dying soon after), but I'll be intrigued to see which of them do have an impact in future episodes.

Stylistically, the game doesn't really fit in with the TV series, but I can only see that as a good thing at this point. The relentless negative tone of the show has meant that I can't bring myself to watch more than the first episode of the second season. The game isn't exactly light-hearted, but it has a few funny points along the way and a lot more likeable characters than the show. Some of them are still bastards though: I'll be keeping an eye out for a way to get rid of one in particular in future episodes. I was also impressed by the kids in this game, I would guess largely because they were actually voiced by adults. Despite this, they come across as more believable than the annoying child actors in the TV show - I actually felt kind of bad when one of my dialogue choices led to me being short with Clementine in one particular scene.

Again, the experience is pretty short, but it feels like there is a fair amount to do and a good variety of locations, with the story moving forward at a good pace. At half the price of the Batman expansion, I definitely felt that I got my money’s worth and would be happy to continue buying the episodes as they are released, even if there is eventually a cheaper collected edition. In fact, the only real downer to it is how long it is taking for the next episode to appear, originally expected to be in June, its exact release date is still unsure. I doubt we could ever see episodes released in less than a month, but that feels like a reasonable amount of time to keep people ready to play the next one. Even I'm starting to forget some of the decisions I've made, and waiting much longer to see their consequences could mean that they lose their impact.

While Batman was a little disappointing, The Walking Dead still managed to convince me that I like the idea of episodic gaming. Having a complete gaming experience somewhere between the length of a TV Show and a film is something that definitely appeals to me, and I would imagine to a lot of people with limited gaming time. Only being able to get half way through a mission before being forced to quit can be a frustrating experience, especially if it is difficult to pick up again next time. I'm becoming increasingly aware of this while replaying Mass Effect and really looking forward to moving on to its sequel. Many have commented on how well paced Mass Effect 2 is, with nearly every mission feeling like a self-contained story of sensible length. In contrast, Arkham City's rather open-ended approach is perhaps the opposite of an episodic game, which makes you wonder whether adding content in this manner could ever have been a success - no matter the quality of it: you are just expecting to play it for a much longer time.

Cancer For Cure (2012)

This review was also posted on ArtFist.org

El-P is someone that I've been aware of for a long time, but have never really got into. I've been a fan of his production on occasion: The Cold Vein by Cannibal Ox was a particular favourite, but I wasn't really enticed to seek out his solo efforts. I'd listened to bits and pieces, but they never really grabbed me, I couldn't really get into his voice and didn't feel like it was the best match for the beats he made. I also felt like the general perception of him was that he was the equivalent of indie rock in the rap world or the champion of 'backpacker hip-hop'. As I've made an effort to listen to his older work, I've realised that this opinion didn't really have much basis.

Cancer For Cure wasn't on my radar at all until I heard The Full Retard, which seemed like a total change in style from his previous work. No matter what my feelings were about him previously, it felt as though this time the music was compelling enough to get past the vocals. It's difficult to understand just how much hype the record got off the back of one track. By far my favourite quote describing it was on a forum I frequent: "It's like a nuclear bomb went off in 1988 and Rick Rubin has been left with a sampler in a post-apocalyptic wasteland." After that much build-up, it started to feel inevitable that there would be some disappointment in the album as a whole.

Those who heard it early on didn't seem blown away by it, and Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music was generally being talked about as the better album featuring El-P's production. I tried to keep my expectations unbiased, but it was definitely difficult to stay positive before I could get my hands on it. My first thought was that if you were expecting every song to be like The Full Retard, then you'd be disappointed. I can't say that there are any other tracks on the album with a similar bombastic old-school electronic feel. That's not to say that there aren't other powerful tracks though: if anything, it can be even more relentless than Killer Mike's album. It pulls in a lot of influences, and towards the end I'm not even sure it still sounds like hip-hop.

It took me a while to get into it though, and to begin with I was still ready to blame it on El-P's voice. It sometimes doesn't feel like he has enough range of tone to avoid becoming repetitive. On some songs, it fits perfectly and they might all work in isolation, but I just found myself getting overloaded with it after a while. When guest rappers show up on a few tracks, it feels like they add some much-needed variety and the chance to take a breath from El-P's relentless assault. I guess that others may have liked his vocal style from the start, but for me I think I just needed time to get used to it.

Other reviews of his work sometimes suggest that he's not the best rapper in the world, but I think that's not entirely true. Technically, some of what he does is very impressive and he's definitely extremely creative, but I feel that on first listen it can be difficult to engage with his lyrics. To me, it seems that they are almost never straightforward and that can make it hard to make that personal connection to them straight away. If I were to put my amateur rap psychologist hat on, it almost feels like a defence mechanism against exposing his personal issues directly.

That's not to say that this is an emotionless album, it can just take time to get to grips with it. After a week or so, more songs began to grow on me – The Jig is Up is becoming one of my favourites and that question of "just why is my partner with me?" is surely quite a universal one. Tougher Colder Killer is probably my favourite overall, not just because it features the talents of Killer Mike: the introduction to it, written from the viewpoint of a soldier who has just killed an enemy may be an imaginary scenario, but it is instantly understandable and relatable.

So while The Full Retard probably still stands out as the best track on the album, due to its brash, unconstrained insanity, there is clearly a lot to like here. It will doubtlessly always be compared to “R.A.P. Music” with the two albums being released so close together, but it is different enough to stand apart and on its own two feet. Just give it some time if it doesn't immediately click with you.