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Saturday 28 September 2019

Rambo: Last Blood – 5 Older Films That Need A Sequel

Originally published on Set The Tape

Rambo: Last Blood sees Sylvester Stallone reprising one of his most iconic roles: that of the Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. This isn’t the first time that he’s brought an older character back, however, having previously returned to the screen as Rocky Balboa in the Creed movies. With these returns proving popular with fans we’ve taken a look to see if there are any other older films that could get a sequel decades later.

Commando (1985)

Commando is easily one of Arnie’s best movies. It’s fun, full of action, and hugely re-watchable. Here Arnold plays a retired special forces soldier, John Matrix, who has to come out of retirement to rescue his kidnapped daughter from a former South American dictator. The action that follows is one of the best revenge stories around.

More than 30 years later, could this work again? Yes. It definitely could. Have Arnold play Matrix once again, this time having to come out of retirement to help his daughter rescue her own child. You could even have Alyssa Milano reprise her role as his daughter Jenny. There are a whole wealth of areas that this film could explore, you could have the bad guys be somehow connected to Matrix’s past, or just completely unconnected. Plus, if it goes well you could even go for a John Rambo vs John Matrix crossover too.

Waterworld (1995)

Okay, I know this is considered one of the biggest movie failures of all time, but I think that there’s a lot in this universe that can still be tapped. Add into that the fact that the film has taken on an almost cult status with people (largely in thanks to how it is that bad that it’s kind of fun) and there could be a decent sized audience.

With global warming being such a big issue now a film that focuses a little on the devastating affects of climate change might be a good thing. Instead of being as kooky and weird as the original, a sequel could take on a more serious tone, looking at how humanity has been struggling to survive. Thanks to how small a focus the original film had the narrative could easily shift to focus on completely new characters and places if they can’t get Kevin Costner to return.

Demolition Man (1993)

Another Stallone film that would be great to see come back. In the original Demolition Man Stallone played a cop out of time in a future that doesn’t need a grizzled action hero. Why not return to this peaceful and idyllic future to see how John Spartan got on once he’d beaten his arch foe. Does he get used to this new world, or is he still a fish out of water?

With the first film having already set up the idea that dangerous criminals have been cryogenically frozen, it would be easy to bring some new threats into this future. Stallone could be eager to come out of retirement in order to fight this threat. This threat could be similar to the first film, a criminal or group of criminals that come out of prison without having been subject to the subliminal rehab, or it could be past criminals whose rehab starts to degrade, bringing out their former criminal tendencies. It could also be fun to see the return of other actors in the franchise such as Sandra Bullock, and Billy Cobbs.

Flash Gordon (1980)

Everyone loves a bit of Flash Gordon, whether it’s the cheesy action, the brightly coloured sets, or the kick arse soundtrack, there’s something about Flash Gordon that’s a little bit special. The fact that the film has been celebrated on multiple different anniversaries and given special re-releases means that there’s a huge audience for it, even close to 40 years later.

There have been attempts to reboot Flash Gordon more than once, with none of them really gaining the recognition or love that the 1980 version did. So instead of trying to revamp the film, just make a sequel instead. Let’s have Flash, still played by Sam Jones, being called back to Mongo to help stop a returned Ming. With so many of the cast still around you could have Max von Sydow reprise the role, or have Ming return in a younger, newer body. Timothy Dalton and Brian Blessed could return too. Instead of trying to make a more ‘realistic’ updated Flash Gordon, return to the world of the old one, embrace the over the top 80’s aesthetic and be cheesy as hell.

Lethal Weapon (1987)

It’s been a long time since the last Lethal Weapon film came out – more than 20 years – so I’d be interested in seeing how Riggs, Murtaugh, and the rest of the gang, are doing. Did Murtaugh finally get to retire? Part of the fun of the Lethal Weapon films is the family bond that built between the two lead characters over the years. Having gone from unwilling partners to friends, and eventually like brothers, their relationship was one of the highlights. How would that friendship continue on? Would Riggs have retired too, or is he having to work with a new partner? Does Riggs have to deal with new issues now that his son is a young man? All of these things would be loads of fun to see regardless of whatever the big bad they’d have to go up against would be.

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Monday 23 September 2019

Thornhill by Pam Smy - Book Review

'As she unpacks in her new bedroom, Ella is irresistibly drawn to the big old house that she can see out of her window. Surrounded by overgrown gardens, barbed wire fences and 'keep out' signs, it looks derelict. But that night, a light goes on in one of the windows. And the next day she sees a girl in the grounds. Ella is hooked. The house has a story to tell. She is sure of it. Enter Thornhill, Institute for Children, and discover the dark secrets that lie within.But once inside, will you ever leave?'

Thornhill isn't a standard book. It doesn't just follow a single narrative, and it isn't limited to a singular medium either. The book tells two interconnected stories, one is about an orphan girl named Mary who is living in the Thornhill children's home in the 1980's, whose story is told in the form of diary entries; the other is about Ella, a girl who moves into a house behind the remains of Thornhill thirty years later, whose story is told entirely with artwork. Together, these stories make one interesting and haunting narrative tale.

Mary is a girl that's been at Thornhill for a number of years, and is struggling to make friends. She suffers from selective mutism, a complex anxiety disorder. As such, she finds it difficult to talk to any of the other girls in the home, and struggles to communicate well with the staff. Her only real escape from the difficulties she faces when around other people is shutting herself away in her attic room and crafting intricate puppet dolls. Unfortunately, Mary's life is thrown into further chaos when one of her tormentors returns to Thronhill after failing to fit in at her foster home. As Thornhill begins to shut down and the girls are found other places to move to Mary and her bully become more and more isolated with each other, which causes the situation to escalate to dangerous levels.

Ella is a teenage girl who has recently moved into one of the houses behind Thornhill, more than 30 years after Mary's story. As there is no dialogue during these sections the reader is left to piece together her story from the small pieces of information given, but it appears that Ella recently lost her mother, and moved with her father to the new home. Her father is having to work increasingly long hours, which results in Ella alone for long periods. When Ella sees a mysterious girl around the rundown Thornhill she tries to find out more about her, discovering more and more clues as to her identity, and her story.

It's pretty obvious from early on in the book that the mysterious girl that Ella is seeing is Mary, and that there must be something unusual going on here. Despite the obvious answer being that Ella is seeing Mary's ghost Pam Smy manages to create a few interesting curves throughout Mary's story that I began to doubt this conclusion. I started to think that perhaps the girl Ella was seeing wasn't actually Mary, but possibly Mary's bully. Thanks to Mary becoming more and more isolated in her narrative, and building towards a breaking point I began to think perhaps the story would have a twist, and that the bully would turn out to be called Mary too (her name is never given to us), and the reader was being intentionally mislead.

Alas, this is not the case, and it is indeed Mary who is some kind of spirit, but as this was one of the very first things that I thought when reading the book I'm not considering that to really be a spoiler. There are a few twists and turns in the narrative that I'm not going to talk about as then it would spoil the story, but the one thing I will say was that the last few pages actually gave me a little chill; thanks in large part to the artwork.

The art in Thornhill is perhaps one of it's most interesting features, and helps to really make the book stand out. Presented in black and white, these pages help to build upon the gloomy and depressing atmosphere that Mary's narrative creates. The artwork, whilst very beautiful, feels oppressive. It's also amazing just how much Pam Smy is able to convey in these wordless pages, just by the small details that she puts into the background and the way she chooses to depict events. It's not surprising to learn in the back of the book that she's a Senior Lecturer in Illustration, and has a number of qualifications in the subject. She doesn't use illustration to add to the written narrative, but to tell its own story. I've seen a few comics try the same trick, of presenting wordless narratives, and whilst some of these worked most of them didn't feel like anything that was particularly stand out or deserving of high praise. Thornhill, on the other-hand, shows how this technique can really be used to its full.

Thornhill is a hefty book, at more than 500 pages. The hardback copy I read also lent to the book feeling like a weighty, almost intimidating read, especially for the younger reader. However, Mary's diary entries aren't hugely long, and a good percentage of the book is given over to illustrations, meaning that it's not really a long book to read. I managed it in one sitting. But whilst I read it quickly I found myself thinking about it long afterwards. There's something about it that stuck with me way longer than it should have. It told an interesting story, with characters that felt a lot more real and grounded than most young fiction. The artwork elevated the book and made it stand out as something special. Whether you're the intended audience or not, the book is so well crafted that I'm sure that it will grip you and draw you in as well as it did me.

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Sunday 22 September 2019

Beloved Star Trek Actor Aron Eisenberg Passes Away

Aron Eisenberg, an actor best known for his role as Nog on Star Trek Deep Space Nine has passed away suddenly at age 50.

It was announced via the social media page for his podcast, 7th Rule, that he had been rushed into hospital. A few hours later his wife, Marissa Longo, announced that he had passed away on her Facebook page.

'It is with extreme regret and sadness to announce that my love and best friend, Aron Eisenberg, passed away earlier today. He was an intelligent, humble, funny, emphatic soul. He sought to live his life with integrity and truth. He was so driven to put the best he had into whatever work was put before him. He lived his life with such vigor and passion. He was like a breath of fresh air, because I knew I would always hear the truth from him. Even if I didn't want to hear it and even if the truth was inconvenient. He made me (and still makes me) want to be the best human I can possibly be, because he always strove to be the best human he could be. His resilience and willingness to learn was and is an inspiration. We didn't officially announce that we had eloped on December 28th, 2018. We were hoping to have a big shindig in celebration of our nuptials, but had to wait to save up the money.
While, our marriage, on paper, was a short one. Our hearts had been married for far longer. I will be forever thankful for the time we had to love each other. Five years felt like a lifetime, in the best possible ways. There will never be another light like Aron's. The beauty that he was and the legacy he leaves behind is beyond words. I love him dearly and will miss him eternally. At the moment I'm not sure how to do life without him... He is and always will be My California.'

Aron was rushed into hospital on September 21st in critical condition due to kidney failure, and passed away soon after. He had suffered with kidney difficulties throughout his life, and was only born with one. He received a kidney transplant at the age of 17, but these difficulties limited his growth to 5 feet. In August 2015 he was once again diagnosed with kidney failure. Thankfully, he was only on the waiting list for a transplant for just four months as a friend of his, Beth Bernstein, offered him one of her kidneys.

'She is just so incredibly selfless to give to me like this,' he told StarTrek.com following his recovery, 'that words cannot express my gratitude to her.'

Aron will be best remembered for his role as Nog, a young Ferengi that lived on Deep Space 9. Originally introduced as as the son of recurring character Rom, and nephew of regular character Quark, he was originally treated as a comic relief character; as many Ferengi were. Due to his chemistry with Cirroc Lofton, who played Jake Sisko, he was asked back multiple times.

Nog eventually went on to become a Starfleet officer, the first Ferengi to do so. During the course of the Dominion War story line he was shown battling on the front-lines, and lost a leg in combat. This led to a story line that dealt with him having to live with PTSD following his injury, one of the few Star Trek episodes that explored the emotional damage that combat can have upon veterans.

'It's Only A Paper Moon', the episode in which he had to deal with his loss is regularly featured in lists of the best ever Star Trek episodes, and Aron received praise from a number of real life veterans for his portrayal in the episode.

"Compared to you, I'm hollow as a snare drum." #StarTrek #AronEisenberg pic.twitter.com/Cuy2IR8JOP
— TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) September 22, 2019

Members of the Star Trek community, and Arons friends and colleagues have begun to express their sadness online at his passing.

I remember watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine when it first aired, and falling in love with the character of Nog even then. Nog went from a throwaway character to having one of the best story arcs of any Star Trek character. He was a thief and a liar, but ended up becoming a loyal, brave, and kind man. He took what the writers and fans thought a Ferengi was and threw it on its head, showing that it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, you can strive to become something greater than what you are. Aron brought so much strength and compassion to the role that no one else could have played it half as well.

I recently introduced my wife to the series, and she, like me, has gone on to fall in love with his character. We woke up to the news of Aron's passing this morning and the two of us cried at the news. Star Trek has lost one of its brightest stars, and the world has lost a kind and loving actor and human being.

My thoughts are with his family and friends, and all of his fans during this difficult time. Rest in peace Aron. You'll always be Captain Nog in our hearts.

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Friday 20 September 2019

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King - Book Review

'On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless - mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and tween Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the 'steam' that children with the 'shining' produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

'Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him and a job at a nursing home where his remnant 'shining' power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes 'Doctor Sleep.'

'Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival.'

The Shining was the first Stephen King book that I read, and probably one of the first film adaptation of his work that I saw (I'm not including the time I saw IT when I was way too young and ran out of the room the first time Pennywise killed a kid). I found the tale of the magic boy at the mercy of evil spirits to be both terrifying and gripping, and read through the book really fast. As such, I was hugely excited when it was announced that a sequel story was coming out. I began reading Doctor Sleep when it first came out, but never finished it thanks to life issues interrupting.

It wasn't until I went to see IT Chapter Two in the cinema last week that I even remembered the book existed, reminded thanks to an awesome trailer for the film adaptation. Having found the trailer to be really good, and knowing that I'd probably see it I thought that it was well past time that I gave the book another try. This time I found the book drew me in, and I read through it in a couple of days.

Doctor Sleep is something of a bold sequel, casting aside a lot of what made-up the original and doing its own thing. This isn't a story about ghosts, or of Danny Torrance being a victim. Instead, it focuses on the nature of the powers that Danny had in the first book, and showed readers that not only were there others that had these abilities, but they could do things that even Danny couldn't.

The book is spread out over a number of years, close to two decades, and shows the affect that the events of The Shining had on Danny. We discover that not only did the events leave him somewhat traumatised, understandably, but that the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel continued to haunt him even after the destruction of the hotel itself. Despite learning how to deal with these spirits Danny falls into a spiral of depression thanks to his abilities, and uses spirits of another kind to block out his visions.

Danny becoming an alcoholic was something of a shock to me, but it made some degree of sense. Not only did it help him to deal with his powers and to stop his nightmares, but it connected him more with his father Jack, who was an alcoholic too. Thankfully, over the course of the early stages of the book Danny hits his rock bottom and comes across people that are willing to help him, and we get to see him put his life back together, eventually becoming an upstanding member of the community and beloved citizen.

This alone would have made for an interesting narrative, as I enjoyed seeing how Danny dealt with the horrors of the Overlook and how he put his life back together, but King had other plans in mind, and introduces a whole new mythology. We learn that Danny is far from the only person with abilities, and learn that not only are there people all over the US with varying degrees of the shining, but a group that are preying upon them.

This group, the True Knot, are people that have the shining, but have transformed themselves into things that are no longer human. Using their abilities, they locate and kidnap children with the shine, before torturing and killing them in order to harvest their life essence. This essence, or steam as they call it, keeps them young and allows them to live for centuries. When Danny is contacted by a little girl with a powerful shine, Abra, he gets drawn into a fight to save her from the True Knot and defeat the killers.

The True Knot make for an interesting group of adversaries for the heroes of the book, and leads to a number of confrontations. The book is good at building them up, and by the time Danny and his friends come up against them you're aware of how formidable they are. Whilst some early wins show that they're not unbeatable, there's still a huge amount of tension for the final conflict on the site of the old Overlook Hotel.

The fact that the book doesn't just use The Shining to establish its universe, but revisits it really helps Doctor Sleep. The book easily stands on its own, but the inclusion of these elements helps it to feel like a bigger world. I know that it already is, as many Stephen King books exist in the same universe, and The Shining has already been established in the same universe as Misery and IT, but getting to go back to the Overlook, and seeing some of those same ghosts again adds a whole lot more.

Doctor Sleep left me pleasantly surprised, and I think it might be one of the Stephen King books that I enjoyed the most. Hopefully the new adaptation will be able to capture a lot of this magic and will also prove to be a good sequel.

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Thursday 19 September 2019

Alien Isolation by Keith R. A. Decandido - Book Review

'From birth, Amanda Ripley's life is riddled with hardship. Her parents live on the edge of poverty, so her mother - Ellen Ripley - seeks off-world contracts that lead to a position aboard the commercial hauler Nostromo. Then when the deep-space vessel disappears, Amanda passes into adulthood focused on discovering one thing. What happened to Ellen Ripley?

'Amanda's quest pulls her into the underbelly of society, where few can be trusted. On Luna she meets someone who seems the exception - Private Zula Hendricks of the Colonial Marines - but their relationship is short-lived. Just as Amanda appears to hit rock bottom… a lead appears.

'To follow it, she must travel to the remote Sevastopol Station. There she hopes to find the answers she seeks. But the station is in ruins, and death stalks the corridors in the form of a deadly alien the likes of which she never could have imagined.'

I have a little confession to make, I've never been able to finish playing Alien Isolation. I've had it since it was released in 2014, and have tried finishing it at least once a year since, but it's just way too scary for me. As such, when it was announced that Titan were releasing a novelisation I was over the moon, as I'd finally get to find out how the story of Amanda Ripley would end.

Whilst this is an adaptation of the game, Keith R.A. Decandido adds a lot more to the story, exploring Amanda's past and filling in a lot of the gaps to her story. Not only do we get to see her having to face off against the killer alien, but we see how the loss of her mother affected her life growing up.

Ripley having a daughter was a major character beat that was cut out of Aliens, and it was a shame as it gave a lot more context to her relationship with Newt. Since the release of the special edition fans have been wanting to know more about Ripley and her daughter, and this novelisation gives us the most insight to date.

We get to see Ripley and Amanda before the events of the original movie, where she's a mother trying her best to support her daughter despite her long distance job that takes her away from home for months at a time. We discover that despite the rocky relationship with Amanda's step-father, Ripley always tries to do the best she can by her daughter, and loves her deeply.

Once Ripley and the Nostromo disappear we learn the affect this had on Amanda. We discover that her whole adolescence was shaped by this disaster, and that the pain of her loss never left her. Whilst this is included to a small degree in the game here it becomes a focal point. It's not just the motivation for Amanda travelling to Sevastopol station, but something that shaped her entire life.

Amanda was left in a less than ideal home situation, living with an alcoholic step-father who can't get his shit together. This leads to her being unable to finish her education and becoming a full engineer, which limited her employment options and effectively left her poor her entire life. Ripley's disappearance began a cascade of events that led Amanda to coming face to face with the same creatures that took her mother away from her.

Decandido doesn't just build this new backstory, but has the difficult job of condensing down the whole game-play scenario into a story that wont leave readers bored. Whilst walking through countless corridors for hours on end worked for the game, thanks in large part to the massive levels of tension the game built, it wasn't going to make an entertaining read. Thankfully, the books narrative is able to capture a lot of this atmosphere, and hits all of the major beats of the game.

This doesn't just include the big story moments, which of course would be included, but little things like the scrawled graffiti players find on the walls, Amanda making smoke-bombs out of scrap materials, and having to collect tools to progress through the station. Sometimes game adaptations can feel like poor novels as the writers work hard to include as much of the game-play experience as they can. I found this to be true in the Resident Evil novel series, where the game adaptations were not quite as good as the stories that the writer was able to craft themselves. Thankfully, this kind of thing didn't happen here, largely thanks to the inclusion of all of the backstory segments.

Whether you're like me, and haven't been able to complete the game, or someone who has experienced the whole thing there's something for everyone in this adaptation. The book takes the source material and doesn't just adapt it, but expands upon it to give an even bigger experience. An ideal read for Alien fans and those that enjoy horror.

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Wednesday 18 September 2019

Trans Woman Attacked In Portland

Atlas Marshall, a trans woman from Portland, USA, has reported being attacked last week. Three people, including Atlas, were attacked by a group of people in what is being described as a 'bias crime'.

At around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday September 12th, Atlas and her friends were returning home following a meal when they were approached by a group. They described the group as singling them out and abusing them based on Atlas being transgender.

'He saw me, visibly could tell I was trans, I was queer, and he started throwing homophobic and transphobic slurs at me.' Atlas told NBC reporters.

'Very quickly you could tell that he had noticed that I am trans. He started calling me all kind of slurs and homophobic and transphobic things. He just got more and more escalated and continued to say more and more things that were very much like hate speech. Then he started to approach me. Then he and his friend attacked me.'

Atlas said that she tried to defend herself, but was held down by two of the attackers and beaten. One of her friends, Austin Schuchard, tried to stop them, but had his nose broken. Atlas suffered from wounds to her knees and the side of her head.

The attackers fled before police could arrive at the scene. However, as two of the victims are members of the LGBTQ+ community police identified the incident as a potential bias crime and are requesting any information that could help them to identify the culprits.

Both Atlas and Austin have reported that the police involved in the investigation have made the case their primary focus. Police are asking any witnesses or anyone with video evidence of the attack to come forward to help with the investigation.

This is the second time in just a month that members of the LGBTQ+ community have reported experiencing a hate crime.

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Marvel Action: Spider-Man #8 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Marvel Action: Spider-Man #8 continues the tale of the spider-heroes having to face off against the cat burglar Black Cat, as her luck-based powers begin to bring the heroes a whole host of bad luck in their private lives.

Still reeling from the disastrous fight in the last issue, Peter, Miles, and Gwen are struggling to figure out their places within the team. None of them feel like things are working well. Peter feels that he should be in a position of leadership and teaching, where he can use his experience as a hero to help the others. Gwen is struggling to work with the guys as she feels like they’re both holding her back and preventing her from achieving her best. And Miles feels like the odd one out: a second Spider-Man who isn’t sure how to handle things.

Whilst these feelings and issues are definitely real, they’ve been exacerbated thanks to Black Cat, and their bad luck is feeding into their feelings that they’re not working well as a team. Unfortunately, this bad luck is also preventing them from being a team in more ways than one. Miles accidentally breaks his best friend’s arm and spends the night taking him to hospital, whilst Gwen almost burns down her apartment and is grounded by her father, meaning that Peter has to go it alone when Black Cat releases a group of leopards in the zoo.

Watching Peter have to deal with these furry troublemakers is actually a lot of fun. At first he’s falling foul of the bad luck, but once he figures out that he can’t take on the animals physically because of this he just starts treating them like actual cats, which is actually really cute. The panels of the leopards playing with their tails, or chasing balls of webbing are really fun, and the panel where Spidey is trying to shove one back into its enclosure is instantly recognisable to any cat owner who has tried to get their cat into a pet carrier.

Fico Ossio’s artwork is brilliant in the scenes in the zoo, and they’re able to bring a lot of character and energy to the animals. Even though not much really happens in that scene it might be one of my favourites in the series so far, thanks to the energy and humour that’s brought to it.

By the end of the issue the team are able to figure out that they’re falling foul of bad luck and not just sucking as a team, and are able to track down Black Cat’s location thanks to some investigating. This sets the stage for what is sure to be an interesting conclusion as the three of them are going to have to take down the bad guy without everything going wrong around them. It’s a confrontation that I’m certainly looking forward to seeing.

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Tuesday 17 September 2019

The Silver Wind by Nina Allan – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The Silver Wind is a difficult book to begin to review. The narrative presented here by Nina Allan isn’t the usual kind of story. The book doesn’t have a beginning, middle, and end, one flowing narrative that reaches a conclusion in the final chapters. Instead, The Silver Wind presents readers with a number of stories, each of which stands on its own, yet come together to create a larger narrative.

The book is primarily concerned with time, as the cover makes clear with its various cogs and gears. Each of the stories features watches and clocks in some way, and often the characters will refer to the devices as being ‘time machines’. On first glance you can take this phrase simply as being that watches are machines designed to measure time, but it soon becomes clear that it means more than this. You see, The Silver Wind is about time travel, and alternate timelines.

There are characters, places, and ideas that appear in all of the stories, although changed in some ways to fit the different places and periods the stories are set in. The book seems to be telling stories that are from alternate worlds, where characters are changed in some ways by the differences of these timelines, yet still remain somewhat similar. There’s Owen, who in each timeline is connected to watch making; Martin and Dora, who are lovers in most timelines, even when they are brother and sister, yet broken apart by tragedy.

Some of the timelines presented in the book are very familiar, and it takes a while to begin to spot the ways in which they differ from our own. There’s one that’s set during the 1920s, and I was so engrossed in this setting that I actually had to go back and double check the date the book said when nuclear power was mentioned. The first hints that there is indeed the manipulation of time, of technology from the future making its way back to the past and altering things, happens so suddenly it took me by surprise.

There’s one story that shows that it’s possible to not only manipulate these individual timelines, but move from one to the other. There’s a world where fascism and hate have overrun the country, where England is a grim land filled with armed troops and concentration camps, yet the Martin of that timeline is transported to a very similar world, but one where the people in power that brought about that hate lost their elections. This version of Martin even goes on to meet people that he knew in his own timeline, yet have no memory of him.

Time is presented as somewhat malleable in The Silver Wind, yet so many of the timelines follow similar paths, the people true to their character despite huge differences. It’s almost like Nina Allan is trying to present the idea that the true essence of a person, their passions and hopes, will be the same no matter where or when they are. It’s almost like she’s saying that even in worlds where things are awful and dark you will still be you, that it’s not the world that shapes you into who you are, but your essence instead.

In a lot of ways The Silver Wind reminded me of Cloud Atlas, one of my favourite books, but sometimes the stories here felt too separate from each other, and there was no connected narrative that really bound them all together. You can read the book as one novel, but it does often feel more like separate short stories that happen to share similarities. However you choose to read the book, there is a lot here to enjoy. Some of the stories are more engaging than others, and there are a few that I wish were longer as they ended too soon for me. An interesting collection of narratives that pose questions about the nature of time, and the human soul.

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Monday 16 September 2019

Wonderland - Book Review

'From the greatest names in fantasy and horror comes an anthology of stories inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Join Alice as she is thrown into the whirlwind of Wonderland

'Within these pages you'll find myriad approaches to Alice, from horror to historical, taking us from the nightmarish reaches of the imagination to tales that will shock, surprise and tug on the heart-strings. So, it's time now to go down the rabbit hole, or through the looking-glass or… But no, wait. By picking up this book and starting to read it you're already there, can't you see?'

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There are books that have inspired generations. Whether through the original writing, film adaptations, video games, short stories, or parodies in other works, it's almost impossible to not have experienced some of that world that Lewis Carroll created. So many of his ideas have inspired other creators, and it's easy to understand why once you read the original books.

Wonderland from Titan Books collects together nineteen pieces of work that take inspiration from Carroll's work. Writers that include M.R. Carey, Jonathan Green, Angela Slatter, Rio Youers, and Genevieve Cogman, to name a few, use the original books to craft tales that span multiple genres, including horror, western, and sci-fi.

This is what makes Wonderland such a joy to read. The stories within span so many genre's and settings that it's almost impossible to find at least one that will leave you entertained.

There Were No Birds To Fly by M.R. Carey is an incredibly creepy horror tale, set in a world where nightmare creatures stalk the streets, searching for those that they are somehow connected to. Each creature takes on the form of their persons worst fear, and will keep following them until they can get close enough to kill them. The story follows a group of survivors, trying to make their way to a new hiding place, and sees them slowly picked off one by one by the awful entities. Just over twenty pages long, the story might be short, but Carey manages to craft a very realised apocalypse within these short pages, and you'll find yourself dragged deep into the horror.

The White Queen's Pawn by Genevieve Cogman also has a horror bent to it, but doesn't really throw the terror in your face the way Carey's story does. Instead she turns the story of Alice into that of an aged assassin, one who has some kind of mysterious connection to forces beyond our comprehension. The tale feels like an epilogue to her story, or a prologue to Lucy's story, and will definitely leave you wanting to read more.

Jonathan Green's story, The Hunting of the Jabberwock, has a historical, almost fantasy feel to it, and tells readers a story about the young adventurer Nobody, who travels to a small town to compete in the festival to hunt down and kill the vicious Jabberwock creature. Smoke 'em if You Got 'em by Angela Slatter changes Alice into a grizzled bounty hunter, working her way through the wild west looking for Mr Rabbit, who has been leaving a trail of bodies across the country.

Some of the stories feel much more like the original source material, and tell tales that have much more to do with mental health and raise questions about whether Wonderland actually exists, or if people are subject to madness.

It's hard to sum up a book that contains so many stories, with such different genres and feels such as Wonderland, it can be hard to go into detail without giving away too much of what happens in the tales, and you often feel like you can't possibly cover them all. What I can say, however, is that whether you've read the original books or not, or have any kind of familiarity with the stories, Wonderland offers such a range and wealth of talent that even if you don't enjoy every story offered here, you will find something to love within its pages.

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Friday 13 September 2019

IT Chapter 2 – 5 Scary Clowns To Watch Out For

Originally published on Set The Tape

IT Chapter 2 finally comes to big screens, bringing the epic tale of horror to a conclusion as the Losers Club come back together to fight Pennywise for a second time. Whilst Pennywise can make itself look like anything it often chooses a clown, in part because children like clowns, and in part because it knows clowns are scary as hell. Here are five clowns from film and television that give me the creeps.

Pennywise/IT – IT

Let’s get him out of the way straight away. Pennywise is one of the scariest clowns around. Unlike most of the other entries in this list Pennywise isn’t the natural form of IT. IT is actually an ancient entity from outside the known universe, a place referred to as the Macroverse. IT spends great deals of its life sleep, often for 27 to 30 year periods, before it awakens to feed on the fear of children. IT uses its shape-shifting ability to lure in and then terrify its victims.

Pennywise the clown is one of IT’s favourite forms, but it’s revealed that the creature is actually an otherworldly monstrosity. When the Losers Club actually see IT’s true form they see a giant spider-like creature, as that’s the closest the human mind can perceive it.

Twisty The Clown – American Horror Story

Twisty the Clown, portrayed by John Carroll Lynch, is one of the main antagonists of American Horror Story: Freak Show. A retired clown who is also a serial killer and kidnapper of children, Twisty is a terrifying sight in his dirty clown costume and prosthetic face piece. He wears a face mask to hide the horrific gunshot wound that blew away his bottom jaw.

Over the course of the season viewers learnt that Twisty was a mentally ill man who worked in a circus in the 1940s, and was very popular with kids. Driven by jealousy, the ‘freaks’ of the circus spread rumours that Twisty was molesting children. After he was driven out of the circus he tried to take his own life, resulting in the missing lower jaw. This series of trauma helped to push Twisty into becoming a killer.

What makes Twisty all the more scary is the fact that he is loosely based upon the real life serial killer and kidnapper John Wayne Gacy, who murdered more than 30 men and children.

The Rakshasa – Supernatural

The main antagonist in an early season two episode of Supernatural, the Rakshasa is a creature from Hindu mythology that eats the flesh of its victims, sleeps on a bed of insects, and can shapeshift to disguise itself as a human. In this case, disguising itself as a blind knife-thrower in a circus, where it selects its victims.

Whilst the Rakshasa doesn’t appear as a clown often, the opening scene of the episode, where it follows a family home is one of the creepiest in the show’s history. Convincing the family’s daughter to let him into the house he allows the little girl to lead him to her parents bedroom, where he then brutally murders the parents. It’s a hell of a creepy scene, and takes its time in building up the tension and fear as the clown lurks in the shadows, and the image of him looming over the sleeping father that’s shown in his POV is terrifying. Whilst scary clowns make more appearances in the series, this first time is easily the creepiest.

Clown Doll – Poltergeist

Not much of an entity or antagonist, the Clown Doll in the Poltergeist movie is an inanimate object that gets possessed by the evil forces at work in the Freeling house. Despite not being in much of the movie the Clown Doll is often cited as one of the most iconic entities.

The Clown Doll is set up early in the film, lurking in the background of the kids’ room. Robbie Freeling even gets creeped out by the doll and covers it with his jacket so that he can sleep. When the doll finally does come to life towards the end of the film it’s something of a relief as it feels like the threat of it doing something has been hanging there for ages. The scene where the clown is suddenly missing, and Robbie has to peek under his bed in order to find it is one of the tensest in the film, and helps to ramp up the horror of the final scenes.

If you’re not against the idea of clown dolls already, this one will certainly help to put you off them.

The Joker – Batman

One of the most iconic clowns in the world, The Joker was created in 1940 by Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, and Bob Kane, appearing in the debut issue of Batman. The character was originally planned to be killed off in his first issue, but thankfully was spared this fate and went on to become one of the most iconic comic book characters of all time.

Over the years The Joker has gone through many evolutions, ranging from a goofy prankster to a terrifying psychopath. One of my personal favourite versions of The Joker was in Batman RIP, where he was depicted as a cold blooded killer, dressed in a doctor’s gown, gunshot wound to the forehead, and his tongue slit to look like a snake as he stalks his way through the halls, killing everyone in his path. Whatever version of The Joker you prefer, he’s sure to send shivers down your spine.

One of the few non-powered super-villains in the DC Universe, he has managed to hurt a number of heroes in ways that others haven’t, having murdered Jason Todd when he was Robin, crippled Barbara Gordon, and even mentally broken Alfred, making him one of his lackeys. Other versions of the character have been just as destructive, driving Superman to commit murder, and brainwashing Tim Drake. The Joker is one of the most destructive forces in the DC Universe, and one that’s hard to predict. This, along with an unknown origin make his one of the scariest comic book villains of all time.

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Thursday 12 September 2019

Playmobil: The Movie – 5 Other Toys That Could Have A Movie

Originally published on Set The Tape

Playmobil: The Movie becomes the latest toy franchise to make it to the big screen, joining such hits as The Lego Movie, Transformers, and Battleship. It’s not clear yet if Playmobil: The Movie will be remembered as an all time cinematic great, but for fans of the toys it’s sure to please. With so many toy franchises in existence with fans waiting for their favourite childhood past-times to make the leap to the big screen, we wondered – what could be adapted next? Here are 5 suggestions.

Hot Wheels

Kids love cars. It’s one of the things that is always a certain. The bright paint jobs, the fast speeds, and the run of the races – cars appeal to kids and adults alike. Which makes it an ideal toy to make the switch to the big screen. There are a number of options open for a film based on Hot Wheels, any of which would work.

It could take inspiration from the Disney Cars movies, where the vehicles themselves are alive and have their own personalities. The film could be a story that focuses on the drivers, focusing on an up and coming young racer trying to break their way into the sport, or a rivalry between two racers as they compete for a championship. It could even make itself a kid orientated Fast and Furious film, with crazy stunts and big action sequences. As well as the previously released animated TV movie, there is, apparently, a Hot Wheels film in development with Warner Bros, but no details about what it’s going to be like have been released yet, other than that it is set to be live action.

Furby

One of the most iconic toys for the last twenty years, Furbies, if we’re being honest, are pretty weird: mechanical ‘pets’ that speak gibberish and sing to each other. A lot of people in their twenties and thirties probably had one growing up, and their kids might even have one too. Furbies have appeared in film before, in a television movie from 2005 called Furby Island. Being a TV movie it kind of slipped under the radar, and the cheap CGI actually makes the film scary more than anything else. The Furbies in that film are the stuff of nightmares, so they could really do with another crack at it.

Taking a leaf from popular animation such as My Little Pony, a Furby film could be quite a cute little adventure, featuring magic and mystical creatures that inhabit the world of the Furbies. You could even address the fact that there have been multiple versions of the toys, and feature the original Furbies, Furby Babies, and the Crystal Furbies, helping to ignite interest in the franchise as a whole and getting people wanting to collect as whole range of toys.

Teddy Ruxpin

Okay, Teddy Ruxpin is creepy as fuck. I think it’s important to get that out in the open straight away. My husband has one, and it has to be shut away in the attic because I’m convinced it’s haunted. And that’s totally my pitch for a Teddy Ruxpin movie.

Haunted and possessed dolls and toys have been a thing that’s been around for decades. Whether it’s Chucky from Child’s Play or Annabelle from the Conjuring universe, kids’ toys coming to life and trying to harm people has been a very popular niche. Let’s put Teddy Ruxpin into this category too. For a start, he already looks pretty creepy, and the fact that the toy speaks and has cassettes in its back could make for some great scary moments too. I’m 100% convinced that my husband’s one is haunted, and a film that highlights this possibility would do a lot for my argument that we should get rid of it. This film would have to be a separate entity from the upcoming Teddy Ruxpin television series in development from The Jim Henson Company, as I doubt that they’d want to scar their pre-school audience that much!

Monopoly

This one was actually a pitch my husband made, and I think if done right it would make a great film. Monopoly meets The Wolf of Wall Street. It could be about a young, up and coming businessman who has to navigate his way through the world of property management whilst competing against others who are trying to get rich and screw him over. I can see it as a film that tries to get the idea across to the audience that capitalism is a bad thing, something that exploits people, punishes those who get bad breaks, and ultimately corrupts. Then again, it could go full on The Wolf of Wall Street and be a bizarre comedy that highlights the ridiculous lives of the super rich. Plus, I’ve got the image of the Monopoly Man snorting cocaine off a hooker’s tits in my head now and kind of want to see it on the big screen. The fact that the film is already in development with Kevin Hart set to star means that there’s no telling what direction it’s set to go in, though it’s sure to contain some comedy.

Action Man

This one kind of has had a movie (aside from animated and direct-to-video), as Action Man was the UK reworking of the original G.I. Joe way back in the 1960s, but the two franchises have evolved over the years to become completely different entities, so I’m pretty confident in saying that the G.I. Joe films don’t count at all. To be fair, they struggle to count as good G.I. Joe films either, but that’s a different point.

Over the years Action Man evolved to become less of a soldier and more of a super spy, complete with an arch nemesis, Dr. X. A lot of the Action Man toys and characters became a little goofy and over the top, especially during the 90s and early 2000s, and I’d propose a movie that would lean into this.

Have Action Man be this super spy, part of Action Force fighting against Dr. X, a cybernetic mad scientist. Action Man travels the world, taking part in crazy missions to thwart the plans of Dr. X, but then discovers that it’s all fake. There is no such thing as Action Force, and Dr. X is made up. It’s all been done by Action Man’s parents to let him have his childhood dream of being a super spy. The outraged Action Man turns his back on this fake life and tries to become a real secret agent, but discovers that the weird gadgets aren’t real, the bad guys don’t have elaborate plans, and people will try to kill him.

Part Archer, part Mission Impossible, have the film be this silly, over-the-top super-spy thrown into a very real and grounded world where his crazy way of doing things just won’t work. James Bobin, a director on the cult hit comedy series Flight of the Conchords, was announced to direct an Action Man movie over a year ago, so my hopes of a film that would contain some comedy are high; but unfortunately there’s been no news on the film since it was announced over a year ago.

Honourable Mentions

Whilst I wanted to keep this list just at five, there are so many toys that would make for great films, especially from the 80s and 90s, where toys had such mad designs, and usually an awesome television series to accompany them. Give us films based on Mummies Alive, Visionaries, Sky Commanders, Micronauts, Brave Starr, Dino-Riders, Mighty Max, Street Sharks, and M.A.S.K. to name but a few of the amazing toys that made up our childhoods.

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Wednesday 11 September 2019

The Last Unicorn - Comic Review

'Whimsical. Lyrical. Poignant. Adapted for the first time from the acclaimed and beloved novel by Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn is a tale for any age about the wonders of magic, the power of love, and the tragedy of loss. The unicorn, alone in her enchanted wood, discovers that she may be the last of her kind. Reluctant at first, she sets out on a journey to find her fellow unicorns, even if it means facing the terrifying anger of the Red Bull and the malignant evil of the king who wields his power.'

The Last Unicorn was one of my favourite films growing up. One of the few films that I'd watch again and again that was actually designed for children, there was something about it that grabbed my imagination. Whilst today unicorns seem to have been relegated to being all about sparkles and seen as 'girly', back when the film came out they were still viewed as the awesome fantasy creatures that they are, and were often depicted as pretty cool. The recent IDW adaptation of the original book goes back to this kind of feel, presenting the unicorn as a creature that is graceful and beautiful yes, but also filled with wisdom and courage.

The Last Unicorn tells the story of a unicorn that has been living alone in a forest for hundreds of years, until one day she hears a pair of hunters talking who suggest that she may be the last unicorn in the world. Despite being solitary creatures the unicorn is disturbed by this notion, and sets out to try and discover what happened to the rest of her people. She soon hears of a story about The Red Bull, a vicious creature that drove all of the other unicorns out of the lands.

Along the way to find The Red Bull the unicorn is captured by an old witch, and put into a circus show. It's here that she befriends Schmendrick the wizard, who helps to set the unicorn free and joins her on her journey. Later the pair meet a woman named Molly Grue, and the three travel to the land of King Haggard, the place where legend says The Red Bull came from.

The trio are beset by the vicious bull, and Schmendrick transforms the unicorn into a woman in order to save her. The three of them must then work out a way to find the lair of The Red Bull so that they can find the unicorns, before the unicorn forgets who she really is in her new human body.

The Last Unicorn has a lot of fairy-tale like qualities to it. It features magical creatures such as the unicorn, and even a terrifying harpy. There's wizards and witches, talking skulls, and ancient curses. However, it doesn't present these ideas in a way that's been sanitised for children. The world of The Last Unicorn is dark. There's a grimness that fills the lands seen here that makes the story feel somewhat depressing a lot of the time.

This actually helps to improve the story, as many things that could at first feel too fantastical feel much more grounded, as it's not all sunshine and happiness, but a world where people can be victims of curses, where communities suffer, and magic and wonder are leaving the world.

The book has been adapted from Peter S. Beagle's original work, and contains a lot of elements that people who only saw the movie will find new and surprising. There's a subplot involving Hagsgate, a town nestled in the shadow of King Haggard's castle. The town and it's inhabitants suffer from the same curse that befell King Haggard, and there's even a subplot here to kill the King's son, Prince Lir. I was also surprised to learn in this version of the story that Schmendrick wasn't just a bumbling young wizard, but a man much older than he appears, having been cursed with immortality until he 'stopped being a fumbler'. These inclusions bring the comic adaptation closer to the original story, and provide a few surprises for readers that aren't familiar with the original.

The artwork in The Last Unicorn is beautiful, and some of the splash pages are presented in such a way that it feels closer to a work of art than a normal comic page. Here panels flow into each other, with beautiful borders and tiny details that make it something a little more special. Renae de Liz
really outdoes herself on this book, and brings a level of beauty in her artwork that doesn't just compliment the story, but elevates it. Whilst the book would have still been good under another artist, de Liz seems like the perfect choice for bringing this world to life.

Whether a long time fan of The Last Unicorn, or a newcomer, this book is sure to entertain and impress. It's a perfect gateway into a story that has been adapted into a number of mediums, and is sure to encourage people to check out the original novel and the film adaptation. A wonderful addition to the legacy of The Last Unicorn.

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