24.9.11

Washed up immortals and bizarre monsters.



Rebellion's first Aliens versus Predator game was too interesting an action horror experience to ever be repeated by risk-averse bean counters. With its hordes of respawning xenomorphs allowed to run loose through non-linear levels, it offered a level of fear and tension you just can't achieve with scripted jump scares, no matter how carefully crafted.

Interesting then, to see them collaborating on NeverDead with Konami, a game with some fantastic monster and character designs (well, I like them) and an Evil Dead-esque gameplay mechanic of comic dismemberment. I would describe my expectations as "cautiously optimistic".

19.9.11

Monday Movie: My Neighbour Totoro


Satsuki and Mei have just moved to the countryside and a decrepit new house beside a towering camphor tree. While their dad tries to cheer them in the absence of their hospitalised mother, they soon begin to realise that the forest is home to strange and magical creatures.

One of the most famous and beloved offerings from director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, My Neighbour Totoro mixes imaginative creatures, beautiful landscapes and everyday childhood to sublime effect.

9.9.11

New Cushion


Somehow he was able to tell that it is for him.

7.9.11

New computer!


With a mid-range graphics card that can play Deus Ex: Human Revolution at a fair clip with the whizz bang pretties turned on.

Above is a screenshot of the subtle and complex method I used to get past the bouncer at the Hive. Don't worry, it was his pride that I hurt most of all. (That and the arm I broke.)

6.9.11

Almost Monday Movie: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec


When the legendary journalist and travel writer Adèle Blanc-Sec returns from her adventure to secure the mummified physician of Ramesses II she finds Paris besieged by a pterodactyl. And if she wants to cure her seriously ill sister, it turns out she'll have to tame this prehistoric beast...

Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec is a film likely to please fans of director Luc Besson, carrying all his trademark touches. It's brash, colourful, imaginative, stylish, always perfectly framed and bears that strange mixture of soppy centre and callous edge that he does so well.

It has all Besson's flaws too, of course - the plot is woolly, the characters are barely developed and it lacks focus. But in addition to its Besson-ness, the film has one more saving grace: an engrossingly fun performance from Louise Bourgoin in the title role.