'The Dyatlov Pass Incident' Review

‘The Dyatlov Pass Incident’ follows a group of student documentary makers and mountain climbers on a trek into the Russian Ural mountains to investigate the true life mystery of nine Russian skiers that died under mysterious circumstances in 1959.

The actual Dyatlov Pass Incident that the film takes inspiration from concerns a group of nine experienced skiers and hikers that went hiking through the Ural mountains but never reached their intended destination.  After two months the hikers were eventually found.

Their camp was abandoned, the tent half destroyed and cut open from the inside, filled with all of their equipment and shoes.  The hikers were found in the surrounding area in pairs or on their own, apparently dead from hypothermia.  A number of the hikers were, however, found with a number of injuries including skull fractures, destroyed rib cages and in the case of one woman a missing tongue.

The abandoned campsite from the real life Dyatlov Pass Incident.

Upon further investigation it was concluded that massive force was required to inflict the bodily damage that the hikers had sustained, yet there was no visible evidence of any external trauma.  In the end the authorities concluded that the hikers were killed by a ‘compelling natural force.’  To this day there has been no further explanation give for the bizarre events that happened at the Dyatlov Pass.

The film takes this event as their inspiration and is set around a group of five students that travel to Russia to attempt to investigate the incident and discover what actually led to the deaths of the hikers.  Although based upon a real world incident the film makers make some very brave and possibly bizarre choices in the direction they take the story.

The student film makers investigating the Incident.

Beginning as a simple investigation into the deaths it leads the way to a government plot to hide the truth of what actually lies at the heart of Dyatlov and their willingness to kill anyone that came close to discovering the truth.  Finding an abandoned underground facility the group discover strange phenomena, monstrous creatures and experiments leading back to the Philadelphia Experiment and the USS Eldridge.

A well made film shot on beautiful locations the writers and director create a tale that requires you to think outside of the box and make your own deductions based upon clues carefully laid out earlier on in the film.  The film suffers mainly from the sudden turn of events towards the end of the film that changes the tone fairly dramatically and some effects shots that aren’t quite up to par with the natural beauty of the filming locations.

Probably not to everyone’s tastes, but based upon extremely fascinating real world events the film is well worth a viewing for both horror fans and people interested in the actual Dyatlov Pass Incident.

Amy.
xx

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The Sarah Jane Adventures 'Invasion of the Bane' Review

‘Invasion of the Bane’ is the first episode of the Doctor Who spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.  Though not a pilot in the traditional sense but a special, it still serves as the first episode of what would become a five series show, and an introduction to a number of the main characters.

The episode focuses on thirteen year old Maria Jackson who has just moved into Bannerman Road, opposite Sarah Jane Smith.  The night after moving in to her new home Maria is awakened by a strange light coming from Sarah Jane’s garden and goes to investigate.  She discovers Sarah Jane and an alien known as a Star Poet conversing, before the alien leaves, returning to the stars above.

The following day one of Marias neighbours invites Maria to join her on a free trip to the Bubble Shock factory to see how the new drink craze is being produced.  Overhearing the two girls talking Sarah Jane decides to investigate Bubble Shock to discover just how it’s becoming so popular so fast.

Mrs Wormwood leads the Bane.

 Sarah Jane interviews the boss of Bubble Shock, Mrs Wormwood, and tries to find out why the drink has been approved so fast, especially as their secret ingredient ‘Bane’ resists any kind of analysis.  As she is leaving the facility Sarah Jane is attacked and almost killed by Wormwood’s assistant. 

In the panic that ensues Sarah Jane and Maria discover that the people behind Bubble Shock are in fact aliens that are planning to use the Bubble Shock for some unknown reason.  They also discover ‘the archetype’, a composite human created by the Bane that the two of them help to liberate. 

Knowing that the Bane are planning to use both the Bubble Shock and ‘the archetype’ Sarah Jane and Maria must find a way to stop them.

The squid like Bane hunt Sarah Jane and her companions.

‘The Invasion of the Bane’ serves as a great introduction for the series, showing Sarah Jane continuing on her fight against alien threats and the affect that it has had on her life.  At the start she is much colder and closed off then we have seen her in the past, initially reluctant to have Maria involved in what is happening trying to encourage her to forget what she has seen and return to a normal life.

By the end of the episode Sarah Jane has warmed considerably, accepting that both Maria and Luke, formerly the ‘archetype’ and now her adopted son, are now a part of something bigger and important to her.

The Bane themselves are a great creation, with top notch effects.  Despite being the first episode of a spin-off the aliens are just as amazing and beautiful as they would be in their parent show.  They are also something very un-human, with an almost squid like appearance, which gives us something new and interesting to look at.

Though the show was initially created for the child audience of Doctor Who, and at times it can be very childish, it also has a lot of heart, and Elizabeth Sladen brings such heart and wisdom to the series that it’s impossible not to fall in love with it.  A good introduction to what is a great series to come.  7/10

Amy.
xx

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Transphobia or a Joke Taken Too Far?

A few months ago a friend of mine that is also a passionate gamer introduced me to the online game reviewer ‘Zero Punctuation’.  Staring Ben ‘Yahtzee’ Crowshaw Zero Punctuation offers a comical video review of a video game every week, complete with animation and fun facts.

The reviews are almost always humorous, and often can be very scathing towards the games faults or certain companies.  Crowshaw will even at times turn his jokes around upon himself and make himself the butt of the jokes.

However, one of his latest videos, in which he reviews two downloadable games seems to take a particular joke aimed at trans people and uses it repeatedly to the point where I have to question if it is even a joke anymore or just straight up Transphobia.

I’ve watched loads of these videos, so I know how his sense of humour works and that he can sometimes pick on people but it just seems like this time he’s crossed the line from cheap joke to something a little nastier.  I particularly object to the work ‘Trannies’ being used onscreen repeatedly during the video.

It’s all down to personal interpretation though, an I urge you all to watch it yourselves and give your comments on the video bellow, I for one though feel that perhaps this was one joke too far and is just another in a long line of examples of how trans people are used as a source of humour and a target of thinly veiled insults.

Amy.
xx


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Stephen Fry and the Winter Olympics

Stephen Frys recent letter to the government and Olympic Committee advocating the removal of the 2014 Winter Olympics from Russia due to its extreme anti gay laws was a brilliantly written, well thought out and emotional piece. 

Unfortunately not everyone agrees with him, and low and behold the Daily Mail in on the front lines of those attacking Stephen Fry for not just standing up for his personal beliefs but also for sanity and the goodness of human spirit.

The Daily Mail launches a vicious article that attacks Fry personally, and calls for people to do the exact opposite of what he advocates. Instead of boycotting the Olympic games in what is fast becoming one of the most extreme anti LGBT countries in the world their reporter, Andrew Pierce is urging people to not only attend the games but to openly protest them once there.

How is it that someone in the media could be so blinded to the previous violence against LGBT people and threats made by the Russian government should people attempt to do the same that they would encourage their readers put themselves in danger? If anything it appears to me that the Daily Mail, and Pierce in particular, are simply trying to place LGBT people in harms way.

Some might find this a somewhat ludicrous thought, but simply look at their past record of anti LGBT sentiment and the vicious hounding of school teacher Lucy Meadows, a campaign of hatred and harassment that led to Miss Meadows taking her own life.

I for one share Stephen Fry's views that attending the winter Olympics in such an anti LGBT country goes against everything that the Olympics stands for and common human decency.

Amy.
xx

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An Open Letter on Transphobia

Today I was made aware of an amazing video.  It is a response to the Julie Burchil article from several months ago that descended into pure hate speech towards transgender women.  The young woman in this video is not transgender, her views do not come from a place of hurt or anger from Burchil's comments, but rather from a detached and level headed point of view.

I hope that this video is interesting and thought provoking to people, and that you reallise just how much the trans community comes under attack in the modern media, and just how 'accepted' it is by people over other forms of desrimination.  Only with everyone working together can we stop this kind of thing happening again in the future.

Amy.
xx

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Bullying in the Trans Community

About a week ago someone posted a very rude and sexual comment on the  Face Book page for Trans Girl Writer.  This was not the first such message that I’ve received, but it was the first openly public one.  I was quite understandably upset and angry with this comment and went on something of a rant on Face Book about receiving these kinds of messages and being the focus of some peoples fetishes.

I posted this rant on a couple of Face Book pages that are designed for transgender people, for them to share their thoughts and feelings and talk to other people in the same situation as them.  For the most part people were of the same opinion as me and I received a lot of positive feedback about what I had written.

However, on one particular group, which I will not name, I began to receive negative comments.  Rather than these comments being targeted at what I had written though, they were targeted towards me.  The comments became directed towards how it was my fault for attracting these kinds of comments and messages towards myself.

After a while these comments began to change towards people turning around and accusing me of making the whole thing up, and even lying about being transgender in the first place.  Their basis for such conclusions are based in the fact that I don’t have any pictures of myself on my Face Book page.

I’m early on in my transition, I’ve never lied about what stage I’m in, so I don’t like the way I look.  I don’t like to look in the mirror and see a man looking back at me, so there is no way on earth that I’d post pictures of a body that I would hate on my Face Book for the whole world to see.  I’ve read countless accounts of transgender people that don’t like pictures of themselves pre or early transition and have even gone so far as to destroy these pictures of themselves.

For another transgender person to turn around to me and say that unless I post a picture of myself then they’re going to assume that I’m a guy just pretending to be a girl is horrible.  Even when trying to put my point across to them that I am being truthful and indeed transgender they just continued to bombard me with insulting and hurtful comments, even going so far as to advising me to ‘seek professional help’.

It’s bad enough that we become the target of bullying from the rest of the world, simply for being born different from everyone else, but to have people within the community turn on you because you don’t fit into their opinion of what a trans person is or should be doing is terrible.  We should be helping each other and giving our support to fellow transgender people, not attacking them.

The comments made have since disappeared from he conversation thread, either by an admin removing them or the original commenter taking back what they have said, but the damage from these comments has already been made.  It’s ruined my day.  I feel like complete shit and just want to break down into tears.

It wasn’t a trans hater or a bigot who made me feel like that, it was another transgender person.  This elitism of ‘I’m more of a trans person than you’ or ‘if you don’t do it a certain way you’re not really trans’ is disgusting and destructive to the community.  We need to work together here people.  If we can’t even accept and support each other how can we expect the rest of the world to do so?

Amy.
xx

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Peter Capaldi - Doctor 12

Sunday the 4th of August saw the worldwide reveal of the actor that will play the twelfth incarnation of the television legend, the Doctor.  After weeks of speculation on who would take over the ionic role from current Doctor Matt Smith it was announced that Scottish born actor, film director and screen writer Peter Capaldi will step into part.

Possibly best known for his role in ‘The Thick of It’ as foul mouthed Director of Communications for the British government, he has also appeared in a number of other well known television shows, including two separate roles in both Doctor Who and it’s spin-off show Torchwood.

When the announcement was made I was very happy with the choice and found myself looking forward to him taking over the role more than I am the upcoming 50th anniversary special.  Capaldi has always been an actor that I have liked whenever I’ve seen him in anything and I think that he will be able to bring a level of age and authority to the role that has been missing since the 70’s.

I know that a number of people on the internet have been complaining that he’s too old to play the part, but being the same age as William Hartnell when the role was first created for me means that he is in no way too old.  I can’t help but to feel that the people that are first in line to complain that he is too old to play the Doctor are people that are only familiar with the new series of the show, and haven’t had the pleasure of watching Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee, three of the oldest Doctors, play the part so absolutely brilliantly.

When the series was first announced back in 2005 I was excited by the return of the show, but had no real opinion on Eccleston in the role.  When it was announced that Tennant was taking over the role my heart sank and I found myself thinking ‘oh god not that twat from that awful Casanova show!’  With Matt Smith being an unknown I had no real opinion on him in the role when it was first announced.  Capaldi is the first Doctor since the show returned to television where I am really excited to see him in the role.

I know that many people are going to be polarised by this announcement, as they are every time a new Doctor is announced, but people need to calm down a little and wait to see him in the role before they make any snap decisions.  The people who are making harsh comments on the internet, saying that he’s too old and that they will never watch him as the Doctor are just being plain stupid.

I personally think that Capaldi could be the best Doctor we’ve had since the show returned and that the fans just need to relax and give him a chance to win them over.

Amy.
xx

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Arrow Season 1 Review

I never watched Smallville.  Despite being a big comic book fan I never went out of my way to watch what some call ‘the best superhero show on TV’.  I saw a handful of episodes and hated them and many of my friends continually told me of how the show just continued to loose quality.  As such when Arrow was announced I was extremely sceptical about what to expect.  I went into the first episode with no expectations and thinking I was going to hate it.  I’m pleased to say that I was proved completely wrong.

There are a lot of television shows that takes time to  find its feet and perfect their tone and storytelling during their first episodes, and to be fair Arrow did have that problem, with the show initially feeling like a mixture of Nolan’s Batman films, Lost and a handful of other television shows.  However, despite taking a few episode to figure out exactly the type of show that they wanted to make these first episodes were still exciting and competently made.

The island story could easily be its own amazing show.

The shows writers took some artistic licence during these early stages of the show that could have very easily driven viewers away, especially those with an attachment to the character from the comics.  Traditionally a character that works on his own and doesn’t have a large cast around him here Oliver Queen was given not just a family unit but also a group of allies to aid him in his crime fighting.  Both of these new elements not only made sense to the character but also went a long way to creating interesting character development and story beats.

Without doubt two of the best character arcs in the first series were Oliver’s bodyguard turned crime fighting partner John Diggle, watching the two of them go from cold and hostile to brothers in arms was hugely rewarding.  Oliver’s mother, Moira Queen was another amazing addition to the show, set up as a potential villain in the early episodes it was amazing to watch as the characters true motivations and involvement in the villains ‘Undertaking’ come to light and her shot at redemption in the final episode.

The Dark Archer proves to be an amazing villain for Oliver.

Another way in which the show stumbled at first was finding the right quality of acting.  Despite having a great cast it definitely seemed to take the cast a while to find their characters voices and motivations.  He may have physically looked the part but Stephen Amell certainly took a while to find the right presence in his action role, though his struggle to find the right tone as an actor does kind of mirror Oliver finding his footing as a vigilante in Starling City.  Despite these clunky starts the quality of acting come the end of the season was on top form, especially switching between the present and Olivers time on the island where you could see that he was quite clearly playing two very different versions of the same character.

Just like the ever expanding story of Oliver taking down The Undertaking in Starling City his time on the island also continued to evolve and expand, taking us in interesting new directions and very quickly became one of the most interesting aspects of the show, especially when Oliver was teamed up with Slade Wilson.  A surprise relationship that worked extremely well and built what could have been a boring island story into something so exciting and complex that it could easily stand on its own two feet.  It also went a long way in showing how that shows writers aren’t afraid to change things up and challenge fans expectations by having Olive become friends with one of DC’s biggest villains.

Arrow isn't afraid to challenge fans expectations of characters.

As the season progresses it starts to leave the ‘villain of the week’ formula behind and build towards the climax of the underlying story in two epic episodes filled to the brim with amazing action pieces, shocking story turns and some of the best character moments in the whole show, ensuring that when the final credits roll you’ll be eagerly awaiting the second season.

A show that started off as a very entertaining and competent superhero drama that over the course of the season built up into something more engaging and intricate filled with great character moments and action sequences that aren’t watered down for television.  A great start to what will hopefully be an amazing show that could far surpass Smallville as one of the best superhero shows.

Amy.
xx

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Doctor Who 'Prisoners of Time' Issue 3 Review

Issue 3 of ‘Prisoners of Time’ begins with the third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith being summoned by his former companion and UNIT member Liz Shaw to assist with an extremely unusual situation.  The planet is being wracked with rain storms and the Brigadier is acting irrationally and is ordering troop movements that make no sense what so ever.  When confronted by the Doctor it is revealed that the Brigadier is being controlled by the Remoraxians, a race that has come to earth to ‘aquaform’ the planet.

The Doctor, Liz, Sarah Jane and the Brigadier must travel below the ocean surface to a UNIT Nautical Facility where the alien invasion has established their foothold and find a way of stopping their plans before the rest of the world ends the attack the only way they know how, by launching a nuclear strike on Great Britain.

The artwork captures the style and action of Pertwee's Doctor.

The third issue of ‘Prisoners of Time’ perfectly captures the feel of the Pertwee era of the show, it sets its action on earth and delivers characterisation that is very true to the original versions seen on television.

The characters are all portrayed very well, with the Doctor displaying his usual disdain for authority, having plenty of tricks up his sleeves and not being afraid to get down and dirty with the alien invaders and start throwing a punch or two.  His relationship with the Brigadier is also great to see and the two of them work brilliantly with each other, just going to re-enforce one again that the Brigadier was truly the Doctors greatest friend.

The choice in assistants is also great, with not only the most famous assistant of all time in the form of Sarah Jane Smith, but the return of one of my personal  favourites Liz Shaw.  Pertwees first assistant, Liz Shaw was something of a mould breaker, less the damsel in distress and more an intellectual equal to the Doctor her brief time in the show had some of the best episodes in the shows history and it is wonderful to see her make an appearance in the 50th anniversary comic.

The Doctor and the Brigadier still work brilliantly together.

The books artwork is done very competently, with the characters instantly recognisable and each of the locations looking different and interesting.  The colours can skip from dark and moody to bright and flashy in an instant when the Doctor bursts into action and complements the story telling perfectly, helping you to feel the excitement as the action kicks into gear.

Another great issue of what is shaping up to be a very interesting series, though not quite 100% perfect.  It is a shame that a story that’s celebrating the Pertwee era does not also include UNIT personnel Benton and Yates, or his arch enemy the Master.  Aside from these small quibbles, however, a great read.

8/10

Amy.
xx

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Delve into the Metro

Unfortunately not many people that I know have played the Metro games, or even heard of them which is a huge shame as Metro 2033 and its recent sequel Metro: Last Light are two of the better games available on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.  Based o the novels written by Dimitry Glukhovsky Metro offers a great mixture of first person shooting, stealth, story and supernatural intrigue.

Metro 2033

 

Metro 2033 follows the story of the young Metro dweller Artyom as he is drawn into a battle to protect his home station, and by further extent the whole of the Metro, from the sinister forces of the Dark Ones.  Forced to travel through the Metro on a mission to save the last of humanity we see Artyom grow from an inexperienced young man into a hardened warrior.

The game is going to have a number of people complaining about it, and to be fair straight from the start the shooting element in the game isn’t really that great.  The weapons can sometimes feel underpowered and enemies can soak up round after round without reacting, but the game isn’t designed to be a hardcore shooter.

Metro isn’t supposed to be played as a running and gunning type of game.  You need to take your time and being stealthy, watching your enemies movements and planning your assault appropriately.  When played this way Metro changes from a mediocre shooter into a well crafted adventure.

Fight for survival against hideous mutants and monsters.

Add to this great stealth and action element monsters and the supernatural the game really stands out from the rest of the crowd.  With sections of the game dedicated to traversing the wasteland on the surface, avoiding traps and mutated nasties and Metro tunnels filled with the tormented spirits of those that have died there. 

In addition to the unique type of game play and story are some really very beautiful visuals and excellent level designs that create a truly unique atmosphere and location.  There are a lot of other games set in a post nuclear apocalypse or in abandoned locations, such as Bioshock and Fallout, but Metro stands above these as a truly believable location.  A lot of this comes from the Metro inhabitants, who go about their day and have their own conversations that you can listen in on that goes a long way to going towards making a believable world.

The Metro becomes a very real place.

Metro 2033 crafts its story amazingly well, letting the events unfold slowly over the course of the game, leading you in a certain direction but all the while giving you just enough intrigue to question the actions of Artyom and his companions.  Following these clues and performing certain specific actions can reveal a hidden second ending referred to as the ‘good ending’.  It takes a lot of time and effort to uncover this ending but is worth the effort as it reveals some unique plot points that gives hints to the direction that the sequel, Metro Last Light, will explore. 

A great game that plays wonderfully well despite its faults and dares to try and give us something other than a generic first person shooter.  8/10

 

Metro Last Light

Set almost a year after the events of 2033, Last Light sees the return of series hero Artyom who is now a Ranger of the Metro.  The game follows Artyom as he attempts to find the last surviving Dark One and repair the damage that he wrought at the end of 2033, whilst also exploring the results of the discovery of the military outpost D6, found in the latter parts of 2033.

A fully self contained military bunker filled with supplies and weapons D6 has become the home of the Metro Rangers, it's become the Metro system's most coveted station city.  This forces Artyom into direct conflict with several human factions within the Metro as each tries to find and conquer the fabled D6.

This allows Last Light to build upon the world established in 2033 and explore how the humans that have survived the nuclear apocalypse govern themselves and interact with each other.  It sheds light on some of the worst parts of human nature and our love of warfare and self destruction, yet doesn’t get preachy or overly melancholy when doing so.

The Metro is home to many monsters, some human.

Last Light manages to continue on the story of 2033 and improve upon the previous game in every way.  We are treated to completely new environments, with the only repeat visit to a past location being the D6 station, and each new place both above and bellow ground is given a unique look and feel.  For a game set within an underground rail system the game designers are able to offer us a vast wealth of spectacle and wonder to explore.

New and interesting enemies prowl these strange new surroundings, as well as classic monsters making a return, and with the savage winter above ground making way to spring the surface world has been transformed from rocks and ice to watery marshlands.

The game also introduces lots of little game play changes that go a long way to making for a much more enjoyable and immersive experience, from customisable weaponry to having to clean your gas mask visor when dirty.  Last Light feels like a completely fresh experience rather than a quick and easy sequel where the developers really have put in a lot of work and effort to make the best experience they could.

The surface takes on a strange beauty as winter passes.

One of the biggest improvements made over the original is the gunplay element.  In the first game entering into a gunfight could very quickly lead to Artyom becoming overwhelmed by the enemy followed by a nasty death. 

This time round the combat is one of the more enjoyable elements of the game, making stealthing an optional way of playing the game rather than a necessity.  The stealth element has also improved greatly, with neat little additions such as being able to unscrew light bulbs and cut power in areas to assist you move unnoticed. 

Explore a unique and engaging story.

Last Light has improved upon everything 2033 did wrong and everything it did right to create one of the best action adventure games around.  Though it could be played on its own and still enjoyed for the great game it is it’s definitely worth playing together with 2033 to give the gamer a fantastic experience.  9/10

Amy.
xx

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