Reviews

I think this might be a film I remember for a long time. The Father is a film that will slowly, emotionally collapse you from the beginning to end. It really makes you feel like you're inside the mind of someone with dementia, and it's truly heartbreaking. In many ways you could compare The Father to a psychological thriller.

First just want to comment that it's nice to watch a new film in black & white. It captures the time period correctly and makes it feel like an old movie. Citizen Kane had some of the best cinematography and Mank followed. There were some scenes where the visual effects were too obvious, but I think that has something to do with it being in black & white. I thought Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried played their roles really well.

The beginning of the film didn't do a good job to setup the film, I felt like I was in the middle and I had lost my attention. If you haven't watched Kane recently then you will probably get lost in some dialogue. However, once you start to understand who is who and what is going on it's where Mank starts to shine.

Link's Awakening could possibly be one of my favourite Zelda games. I haven't played the original, but I've seen it's very faithful to the original and DX versions. There are small changes to make it relevant with today's technology, for example removing the photography guy because the switch doesn't have a portable printer like the gameboy did.

I really like the direction they took with the art style, being able to recreate what made the original so special. All the characters and enemies looked really cool, it was really fun to meet all of them. The remixes of the original music was all really cool too, adding so much to areas in the game.

The dungeon builder isn't as in-depth as people wanted it to be, I see everyone seems to want a Zelda Maker. However, it was really fun to go through he challenges it gave between each of the dungeons. It added that something extra to the game that I really enjoyed.

If you're interested in playing another Zelda title on your Switch after playing BotW, then this is a must play.

Watched this for the first time during a watch together on Twitch, there was also a Q&A with the creator afterwards as well.

I've always seen the memes about the character but never understood it's meaning and it's history. This documentary was very informative and kept me interested throughout. The pacing was great and I didn't feel that anything was dragged out too long. One of my favourite parts was the great animations throughout the doc, especially that last one.

I highly recommend giving this a watch.

Neo Cab offers a social experience you won't find in many games. The game involves playing as a cab driver, meeting a variety of different people with very unique personalities. You'll form bonds with these people, or you may even try to avoid picking some people up. The art style is also as stunning and unique as the personalities that'll sit down in your cab. The game really looks great, everything is stunning to look at. Honestly my only gripe is that the ending seemed a little weak to what was being hyped up, I didn't realise it was the ending until the last five minutes.

I think I've got a love hate relationship with this game, and I'm not sure if me comparing it to Mario Kart is a good idea. As a remake it's incredible, when comparing between the original and the remake it's crazy to see how good it looks now. Minus the fact that it looks completely blurry on a Nintendo Switch but overall you can understand that it's a great remake.

I first decided to jump into adventure mode, this seemed like a great starting point where I could learn the ropes. There were three difficulties, easy, medium and hard. As I have played other kart racers in the past, I decided to jump into medium difficulty, this was a huge mistake. Beating adventure mode in medium was one of the most frustrating experiences, taking me hours to beat each race thanks to the steroid induced A.I. The A.I were also extremely predictable following the same paths each time, you could place traps in the same spot and they would just keep driving into them. The tracks were often really annoying and slow which would make the A.I even more painful to put up with. It's my fault really, I should have restarted on easy, but I was halfway through and couldn't be bothered to restart to change the difficulty. The boss fights were just cruel and annoying as well. Each boss was pretty much the same but they would all have a different trap shooting out their back. What made them insane was the fact that they were programmed to go insanely fast, faster than the player can actually go, if you overtook them they would instantly come flying past you. The puzzle levels I had no interest in playing due to them being extremely tedious and time consuming, I just couldn't be bothered to go back and get all the collectibles.

So would I recommend playing this? Kind of. If you want a more frustratingly hard kart racer, yes. Otherwise, just play more Mario Kart where the fun is at, at least there are people playing online there.

Honestly lost interest in the first 10 minutes, the whole film just feels really stretched out. The emotion and magic that we felt in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000) has been completely stripped to force trends. Why they decided to use rap music for the soundtrack I have no idea, it doesn't fit at all.

I loved this so much and it made me very emotional, I got tearful multiple times. Every pixel is a delight to look at, you don't want to look away. I didn't know much about the beliefs beforehand, but I've really learned something from watching Coco about how the afterlife is viewed. The music was beautiful and I've been listening to the soundtrack since watching, "Remember Me' is my favourite track.

The story was very predictable from the beginning, it was probably one of the most predictable storylines. However, a younger audience probably wouldn't be able to predict it anyway. I've watched enough Pixar films to predict how they end.

It's a surprisingly fun, beautiful and cheerful Christmas movie. It has a very unique take on Santa that increases the Christmas spirit. Santa and Ninja Elves was not something I was expecting, but it was actually really cool. I was also surprised at how well a lot of the shots are angled, it really adds to the character of the film, being its own unique aspect.

Arthur Christmas is a great animated film, definitely in my top 10 Christmas films.

SteamWorld Dig is a great game that everyone needs to play. The art style is definitely unique and is used in all of their other games set in the SteamWorld franchise. All the characters look really cool and make you feel at home when you return to the surface. After 4 hours of playing the gameplay can get a little repetitive but all the new additions to your arsenal attempt to keep it new. I really liked the mechanic of mining ore and then selling it for money to buy upgrades. This offered the player that sense of progression as you watch yourself become stronger and faster. There were some interesting puzzles added to the mix of gameplay, but none of them added any real challenge and were solved fairly quickly. The enemies did offer a challenge but they it was very limited. It only started to become a challenge on the last area of the game.

Charlie Brown is having problems enjoying Christmas, and so he must discover the true meaning of Christmas, pushing past all the problems he may face.

Was going down Apple TV+ as saw this pop up and decided to watch it. I really didn't expect to love this as much. Don't think I've ever seen Charlie Brown before, might have done when I was younger because I do recognise the characters. After watching it I realised how old this was, with it releasing it 1965, I was expecting within the last 20-30 years.

Unfortunately I stopped playing this at the point of chapter 3. I just became very uninterested.

The combat was probably my least favourite that probably put me off. The blood meter system is pretty cool, having to bite people to be able to use abilities which often led to some challenging battles when I ran out of blood. However, other than that it got very boring. Early in the game I had already picked out my weapon choice and the game doesn't really encourage you to try different weapons except from the tutorial. This leads to you using the same abilities and weapon choice through most of the game, making every enemy encounter the same fight. There are a variety of abilities to choose from but only a few of them seem to be useful in combat, there was no point using a shield ability when all I'm doing is dodging and hitting attack each battle.

The story and world was what had me interested. It's such an interesting story that gets set up pretty well at the beginning and you learn more and more as you play. This makes you want to play more so that you can find out more about the lore. However, because of the gameplay I just couldn't be bothered to keep going.

The levelling up system is very unique but was very frustrating slowing down the gameplay even more, You could only level up when you went to sleep, and if you decide not to suck blood from civilians the game is made even harder. If you decide to eat civilians you get a huge boost in XP, but it makes that area of the city worse in terms of health. I decided not to do this which meant I was 5-7 levels below the enemies which then makes the gameplay slower and more frustrating.

Overall, the game has an interesting story to follow and a detailed world to explore, but the gameplay was holding it all down resulting in a frustrating experience.

The Grinch is a wonderful film that pulls us into a magical world. This is achieved with the amazing set and costume design that made it all feel so real. The Grinch and the Whos, even with their pointy noses, add to the immersion of the film.

I lost a bit of interest around the middle (probably because I've seen this too many times) but the ending really pays off and is my favourite part of the film. I think it used to be one of my favourite endings to a Christmas film, it's very special.

"Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more". This is a very important message that is relevant today.

A great Christmas film that I think is an obvious must watch. It's definitely the film to get you in the Christmas spirit, even in 2020.

The film has a lot of hidden messages that some people will realise. One being about love and how its importance at this time of the year. Another is how you shouldn't put yourself down and how you should always put your foot forward instead of a foot backwards. These little messages are hidden with character personalities and relationships, all what make this film special.

You can't deny it's one of the top and most watched Christmas films of all time, and for that I respect it highly.

Love Actually is a collection of stories about how these people either fell in love or how sometimes love cannot always be. However, at the end of the day, love always wins and nothing can stop it, even if you speak different languages.

Love has no barrier and if you want it you need to go get it, and sometimes that might mean travelling across the world to meet the love of your life. Imagine a film which combines all of the best romance films into one and you have Love Actually. Almost every story in this could be made into its own film as each one is as unique as the other, having their own meaning and emotions. The viewer gets to see every angle, from love across the globe, love you can't get and love you need to go fight for.

One of my favourite aspects of the film is the use of music with the scenes. The music is made to be perfect for the emotion, giving me goosebumps. I also just loved every story that is told throughout and that's because of the meaning that each relationship holds, and what it means to the viewer.

Love Actually... is all around.

Beyond Two Souls is a masterpiece in storytelling and visuals, keeping me hooked throughout.

The story was gripping from the very start. I was interested to find that the original cut was a non-linear route, but as the story developed it made more sense. The player does have the option to play it linear but honestly I would recommend the original route. Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe are the star characters playing their roles amazingly. I'm going to put it out there and say this is Page's best role, she is honestly amazing in this. The non-linear route doesn't really have that standard story structure, however it's a great way for us to learn about the characters and build up emotional relationships with them. Story choices are a key feature in this and you decisions will impact different aspects of the story. At the end I realised that I had built up relationships with the characters wanting to spend more time with them.

Don't expect nothing revolutionary with the gameplay as it's your standard quick time event. However, this doesn't really remove anything from the experience as this was the type of gameplay I was expecting. However, sometimes it did get frustrating. The slow motion quick time events in combat got annoying. You have to move the analog stick in the direction of the motion to block or attack. However, it would be hard to pick the direction where there was more than one motion. This often resulted in me getting injured but had an interesting impact on the story. One aspect of the gameplay I really loved was the stealth, I didn't expect gameplay like this. The action sequences did give you that adrenaline rush though, even though it was just quick time events. You know in the back of your mind that one bad move could alter the story and characters.

The visuals looked great on the PS4, I'm unsure what they looked like on the 3 but obviously not as good. Each location you visit looks really good and highly detailed, adding to the immersion and realism. There were a few lighting glitches but you'd really need to have a sharp eye to catch them.

I believe Hans Zimmer did the soundtrack and it was as beautiful as the visuals. The music perfectly captured the emotion, even making me tear up at a point in the story. When there was action there is music to match the scene, heightening the immersion even more.

This is a must play game, and with it receiving a PC port you have no excuse not to. If you're looking for something fast-paced every second then this probably isn't for you. However if you're looking for a game with an amazing story, characters, visuals and music, this IS for you.

I really can't say a bad thing about this game, it's so good.

The gameplay is really fun to play, it felt so fluid and enjoyable. Ratchet doesn't just have is wrench but a whole arsenal of weaponry with each being different from the other. There is literally a grenade that makes every enemy dance, and it's hilarious throwing it at the bosses. There is even a trophy to make every enemy dance, maybe I should attempt it. Every weapon is so much fun that I end up using nearly all of them in every battle, and there are a lot of weapons to choose from. The guns can then be upgraded and it's a really cool system. Upgrade them enough and they will receive upgrades like being able to shoot more than one bullet type at once etc. Apart from weapons there are a lot of other gameplay mechanics that make it just fun to move around, You can jetpack around, use a hoverboard or even grind a rail. When shooting it's also important to make sure you're dodging every bullet you can, and Ratchet looks great while doing so. Double tap cross and Ratchet will be doing somersaults over the bullets while you keep your eye on the enemy. The enemies are all really cool and unique in their own way. Some guns are better for specific enemies so the game is always making you swap out your gun for another, which purposely makes it fluid and fun.

The story was very interesting with it tying in with the movie. To tie with the film the game feels like you're inside an animated film controlling the characters. Honestly, I didn't think I'd enjoy this but it's actually really interesting. The characters are really interesting and the great animation makes them feel so real. Ratchet and Clank are probably now my favourite duo, with me relating to Clank so much. They're both really enjoyable to be with and I can't wait to go on another adventure with them. The next game isn't going to have an animated film so I'm interested how they approach it, hopefully they keep the really good animated cutscenes.

The graphics were so beautiful and stunning, that everywhere you look it makes you take a breath. Every world you visit has something going on everywhere and makes it feel so lively. Even playing on a base PS4 everything looked really good, and I can't wait to see it all on PS5 with the next game including ray tracing. You wouldn't think a game like this could look so beautiful but it really is. Every world you visit is different to the other and all of them are so fun to explore because of the beauty.

To conclude, this is a must play game that you can't miss. Right now it's going really cheap so you have no excuse to not play it. I can't wait to play the new game, just need to get a PS5 from the depths of the universe.

Went into this thinking it was a horror film and I definitely had a shock. The film holds a very special meaning, which in 1975 wouldn't have been accepted, you could say it's revolution. It was something that people could watch and feel accepted and then express themselves. I've got to say though, the story was really crazy, like if I was to explain it you'd think I was joking.

You could tell it was very cheap, but I was surprised to see some really interesting shots that were very experimental, in fact there was a lot of technical aspects that were very experimental. I thought it was really cool how the narrator was telling the story directly to us, breaking the fourth wall. The music was really fun, and I'm glad I finally got to see the "Time Warp" song. I didn't even know it was in this film, so I had a lot of surprises in this viewing.

Definitely go into this knowing nothing like how I did thinking it was a horror.

"All he wants is your money, you're wrong he wants my body"

Out of all the romantic films I've seen, I've never seen something so weird, I was dead in the first ten minutes. I can't really explain it without spoiling so I guess you need to see this to understand why this might be my Halloween 2021 film.

Looking away from the story, I thought the acting carried the film. Robert Downey Jr played a good role, I think this may have been his first big film taking the lead.

Technically the film wasn't nothing special. A lot of the editing was very meh, it's like it was trying to break the laws of the cut (however I don't think this was the editors fault). Cinematography was interesting with some nice shots, but at the same time there were shots that were probably used in the edit because there was nothing better to use. With the few songs the film used, I'd say it was a suitable selection, but I think "Never Gonna Give You Up" should have been included.

I thought I would have loved this because it does seem like my type of game. On PS4 it is labelled the remastered version however nothing was really "remastered" except a resolution bump. With it being a great rhythm game, you'd think they they would remaster at least the audio, but no it still sounds the same as the PSP version. The cutscenes are in, what seems like, 240p and at 1080p on the base PS4 it doesn't look great.

The gameplay for the first quarter was really fun and I was addicted to play more. However, I think it got old pretty fast. For the rest of what I played I'm just hitting square, square, square, circle (makes the army move), and then circle, circle, square, circle (makes them attack). When you start to lose battles you need to go and grind hunting to get more money (which you spend on more troops). You then repeat this process and slowly push your way through each boss.

In a way I understand why people call this series their favourite, it's very unique and I bet is great to pull out on a PSP while on a lunch break. So maybe the game isn't the best for long sessions, but more aimed at short sessions. That way it still stays fresh.

Really the fans of the series deserved a much better remaster, I only hope Patapon 2 got better. treatment.

Wow this was amazing. I think this could easily be one of my favourite romantic comedies. The comedy was hilarious and the romance was beautiful.

Like with Pretty Woman, it had that class difference and it's such a strong element in these films. William is a bookseller, barely making any money to keep the store open. Anna is an actress and made $15 million in her last film. However, money doesn't stop them from falling in love. In fact, Anna makes all this money and couldn't find happiness, and William without her was stuck in an endless loop of living with no meaning. However, their paths cross and their lives are changed forever.

I need to mention how good these ending scenes are in these romantic comedies. They all have the same premise with the one chasing after the other, but every time it's very special and takes your heart away.

Normally this genre doesn't do anything special in cinematography but I think this film did a great job, having a lot of rememberable scenes. There were a few continuity errors, however the editor always prioritised emotion and there couldn't be nothing more important.

After watching this I've realised that romance/ romantic comedies are my favourite type of film. They're just too beautiful.

Pretty Woman is a great love film, one that could easily be one of my favourites. I'm ignoring all the controversy here, apparently people hate this film because it hasn't aged well?

Edward Lewis is a wealthy businessman and there is nothing more important to him than screwing over companies and making money in the process. Vivian Ward is a Hollywood prostitute making $100 an hour, trying to live off this for a living. They're two completely different people but they couldn't be more perfect for each other, they do the same job but in different contexts. This one similarity is enough to make both of them better people, no matter how much money is in-front of them.

Overall the technicalities of the film were good. The cinematography didn't do anything special to remember but wasn't bad. I wish music was used a bit more, for example the use of "It Must Have Been Love" was perfect and I think there were some missed opportunities earlier in the film. Editing was clean, scenes being held for a correct amount of time for emotion. I think emotion is the most important aspect in this genre.

Sponge on the Run is an extremely fun and meaningful adventure, one that'll be very impactful to the younger audience.

When I was younger SpongeBob was always on the TV, a show that won't be forgotten about. I think new younger generations need to experience SpongeBob, so that it impacts them too. I understand the controversy currently going on with this film and the new show, and I think I can leave my trust with the future. As much as I want younger audiences to watch the original show, SpongeBob needs to look fresh to attract a new younger audience (that's the sad part). With the teases of Kamp Koral in this film, I'm honestly excited for it and younger generations are going to fall in love with it too. The purpose of this film was to introduce them to the characters for the show.

I thought the new art style looked really fresh and somewhat unique, there was just so much detail that added so much to the world, even the small references were cool (the original show will always be referenced). The story did feel a bit bland at times, with some unneeded sections that were probably added for filler. I think the first and last quarter of the film were great though. Music choice was great as well. I found it quite hilarious as well, but I think that's because I can find anything funny.

Something I can confidently say is it's a lot better than Sponge out of Water, but of course it cannot beat the original.

Didn't know whether I'd like this at first but I've fell in love with it on the first date.

50 First Dates is a great mix of comedy and romance, which made me laugh and tear up every time. It has such a great story idea, one which is so interesting and unique and it was pulled off really well. There were a lot of hidden morals that the viewer thinks about. Every character was interesting to watch and learn about, I just wish Nick and Sue got more screen time. Even the animals were lovable. Sometimes Sandler was a bit awkward to watch, not sure if this was the intention with his character, if it was he did a good job.

The technicalities were pretty good as well. I thought this may have been one of the weaker areas at first glance. However with shooting most of the film in Hawaii you can't really go wrong. The music choice as well was excellent, it's great when the music matches the theme and location. There were some scenes that I wished were much longer though, they went by too fast to build up emotion sometimes. It just seemed to cut too soon in an emotional scene, and then before you know it we're somewhere else.

The Dark Decent is currently one of the best horror games I've ever played. Throughout the entire game I was terrified but I had this motivation to keep pushing on. That motivation was from how interesting and fun the game is.

The gameplay stands out a lot in the horror genre. You could say it's a simple walking simulator, but as it gets more in depth it really shows off how unique it is. One of the mechanics is sanity, if you don't keep your sanity high enough you may start experiencing problems with the mind, causing hallucinations and an inability to see. As you can tell, it can get really scary if your sanity isn't high enough. Light plays a major factor here as well. You need to make sure to manage light, if you don't your sanity will fall and dangerous consequences may stop your path. The enemies are also an interesting factor, sometimes you're just relying on sound, with the option of seeing them. Each type of enemy has its own sound, so you'll be able to tell if you can hide or outrun it. There was one sound that I never saw the enemy that matched it, it sound a lot heavier and I'm glad I never poked my head around the corner.

I didn't quite understand the full story after I finished it, but from what I played I could gather the basics. The story is presented through collectable notes and voices inside your head, so if you are not paying attention you'll miss the plot. It was interesting enough to keep me playing till the end. It's probably something I'm going to read and watch a lot about.

There were a few technical problems, like audio randomly being in my left ear only or me falling out the map. However, it doesn't really make the experience worse but kind of adds to it. When I feel out the map I thought it was a feature and crapped myself in the process.

To conclude, Amnesia: The Dark Decent is an amazing and unique horror game that has left an impact in the horror genre, possibly inspiring many more games I haven't played yet. It's a master of visual and audio immersion, which in combination creates one of the best horror games of all time.