Ashgrove – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Creating stories about pandemics feels like its a risky thing at the moment. We’re two years into the Covid-19 pandemic with no end in sight and thousands of people still dying, and it’s not exactly the kind of time where you’d want to sit down and relax with a film about a deadly virus. As such, the new movie Ashgrove seems to face a hard time in winning audiences over. But rather than focus on the grand scale of a global pandemic, it’s relying on personal drama and mystery to suck the audience in.

Ashgrove begins in some undefined near future, where humanity is facing a crisis. A virus has ripped through the population, already killing more than sixty percent of humanity. The virus bonds with water molecules, which leads to an awful predicament: drink too much water and the virus builds up in your system and kills you; drink too little and you die of dehydration. And even rationing water, drinking the absolute minimum won’t cut it, as the virus will still slowly build up inside you. Humanity is facing extinction in just a few short years unless something can be done.

Amanda Brugel (The Handmaid’s Tale, Kim’s Convenience) plays Jennifer, one of the best scientist in the world, and the woman who’s been labelled as humanity’s last hope for survival. When the film opens we see her crying in her bathroom, when sudden inspiration strikes and she rushes out of the house. In her car she phones her work colleagues, telling them to gather the team as she’s ‘figured it out’. Then the screen cuts to black and Jennifer wakes up a few days later in bed with no memory of the events. She’s suffered from a stress-induced blackout and amnesia. Her doctor has advised her that she has to take a few days off to recover, so she and her husband, Jason (Jonas Chernick – James Vs His Future Self) head off to their countryside farm for the weekend. However, Jennifer begins to feel like something is off when Jason starts acting strangely, and sneaking off for odd phone calls.

Ashgrove feels like an odd film at times. Despite being set during a deadly pandemic it never feels like there’s one going on. We get the lowdown on what’s happening at the start of the film thanks to a radio interview, but never see mass graves, overrun hospitals, or social upheaval as you’d normally get in a story like this; especially if sixty percent of the population were dead. Instead, the film feels more like a drama piece, where the characters and their personal relationships are the focus.

Whilst this isn’t a bad approach in itself, is it enough to keep the film interesting? Not entirely, no. There were times where I found events to be a little slow for my liking, and the conversations and arguments between Jennifer and Jason felt a little contrived in order to manufacture drama just for something to be happening. For example, Jason complains about feeling like he’s on his own a lot, because his wife is off trying to stop the extinction of humanity. Okay, sure, you’re lonely Jason, but do you want to keep living? These kind of arguments probably do happen to folks who work on cures for deadly diseases in the real world, but it just felt a bit forced here. Luckily, there is something else to keep you interested if this kind of drama doesn’t do it for you.

Shortly after arriving at their countryside retreat we see Jason consulting a list on his phone. At first it looks like it’s just a list of chores for getting the house up and running for their stay, such as which of them will sweep the decking. But the un-ticked parts of the list includes ‘ukulele fight’, and sure enough, soon after the two of them argue over Jason’s new musical instrument. From here you start to notice him watching her from windows, forcing certain choices, and making strange phone calls. This odd element definitely injects a little something special into the movie, and whether or not you end up satisfied when you get all the answers, I think you’ll definitely find the journey to getting them, and the theories you’ll make along the way, engaging.

Ashgrove isn’t the perfect film by a long stretch. The script falls a bit flat in places, as several scenes allowed the actors to improvise lines; the lack of real focus on the pandemic and the upcoming extinction of humanity made it feel like the entire point of the plot was a background element; and the film does rely on a side character having to literally sit folks down and explain everything in one big scene in order for stuff to start making sense come the conclusion.

Despite these issues I still had a good time with Ashgrove. The performances were decent, the locations were nice, and the story was interesting enough to keep my attention for an hour and a half. If you’re looking for something a little different from other pandemic style movies, this is one that is worth considering.

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Blade II – Throwback 20

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Comic book movies are big business. Four of the highest grossing movies of all time (at the time of writing) are comic book films, and the trend of the superhero genre being on top shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Whilst a lot of folks would say that this began with the release of Iron Man in 2008, and the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these films were doing well for a long while before that, and really began to take life on screen in 1998 when Blade hit cinemas. A movie based on a comic, but clearly for adults, Blade not only showed studios that comic book films can be taken seriously, but that they could earn a lot of money too. As such, it was a foregone conclusion that it would get a sequel.

Released in 2002, Blade II saw the titular half-vampire vampire hunter go in a slightly different direction from the original, abandoning some of the more grounded elements and embracing the fantastical for what might be the best of the Blade trilogy. The film picks up two years after the events of the first, and begins with Blade (Wesley Snipes) searching for his mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson). Despite having seen to be killed in the first film its revealed that Whistler was actually turned into a vampire, and kidnapped. However, Blade is able to rescue his mentor and cure him of his vampirism, bringing him back onto his team, which now includes a new tech specialist, Scud (Norman Reedus).

Not long after being reunited, Blade and his team are approached by the leaders of the vampire nation, who need his help. It seems like there’s a new type of monster stalking the streets, creatures that feed on vampires and turn them into vicious animals that need to constantly feed to survive. Knowing that once the vampires are gone, it means these ‘reapers’ will turn on the humans, Blade and his team agree to work with the vampires and their crack team of assassins to stop this new threat.

Written by David S. Goyer, the script for Blade II took a number of years to actually get finalised, with some original plans for the sequel, including the addition of characters like Morbius and Hannibal King, as well as time travel, getting scrapped. Eventually, the concept of the reaper virus was decided upon, and the search for a director began. Thanks to his work on the horror film Mimic, the studio sought out director Guillermo del Toro, believing that he would be able to bring a unique look and feel to the movie.

After coming on board, del Toro changed little of the script, liking the direction that the film was taking, though he did play a part in pushing the design of the reapers in a certain direction, and playing up their animal, monstrous qualities. The eventual end design for the reapers would bear a striking resemblance to the vampires that del Toro would use in his novel series, and TV adaptation, The Strain. The villains for the movie were not played as tragic, romantic figures, these were instead vampiric monsters that were little more than animals; and this made for a big change at the time as this was the first depiction of vampires this way for years, and it certainly helped the film to stand out.

The movie also took the action of the first film and tried to push it. Blade II had more action scenes, and included more dynamic set pieces, including one scene where Blade and Nomak (Luke Goss), the patient zero for the reapers, fight on a scaffolding in the middle of a ruined church. Unfortunately, there were times where the drive to be bigger and better backfired, especially in terms of the CGI, which let the film down at times when fully CG character models were used for things that could have been done with wire-work instead. Luckily, the practical effects for the film were superb, and del Toro’s passion for practical effects where possible, and some great prosthetic work and creature design, leave the film being the best of the trilogy from a visual and design standpoint.

Blade II took what the first film did, creating a grounded, believable comic book inspired world, and injected more of the fantastical into it. It moved away from depicting real world settings and took bolder design choices in the sets, costumes, and weaponry. In a lot of ways you can look at it as the first real example of how to blend the realistic and the spectacular in a comic book film, and it to be well received. The Batman movies tried to do the same, starting with the gritty and grounded films of Tim Burton, but failed to be as well received when they started to add the fantastical elements with Joel Schumacher’s contributions. Blade II managed to walk that line well, however, and whilst people will point to the Spider-Man and X-Men movies as the start of the modern comic book success, I believe that Blade II is by far a bigger contributor.

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – 4K UHD Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Frankenstein is a name that everyone will know. Whether you’ve watched a film with the character in it or not, whether you’ve ever read the original book, you’ll know the character. And you’ll likely have an instant image of what the creation looks like too. Thanks to some great design choices and brilliant marketing, that image would probably be the version that was made popular by Universal Pictures and Boris Karloff. But this image of the creature, this huge, green-skinned man with a flat head and bolts in his neck, who’s little more than a grunting behemoth, is pretty far from what Mary Shelley originally crafted.

One of the closest ever adaptations of the source material, which is arguably the first ever science fiction story put to print, is 1994’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Released hot on the heels of 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the film aimed to be another big budget adaptation of the source material that would try to earn the studio millions. And whilst it definitely was those things, it failed to capture the public the same way, and became the least popular of these two films. But now the film has been given a stunning new 4K restoration from the original camera negatives, giving audiences a new chance to experience one of the best versions of Frankenstein put to film, in high quality.

The film begins following a polar exploration vessel in the late 1700s, as an obsessed captain tries to find fame and fortune. When the ship becomes trapped in the ice the crew are stunned when a figure comes out of the snowy fog surrounding them: the scientist Victor Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh), who warns the crew of the danger lurking close by. When questioned as to what’s out there, he begins his tale. From here we experience the story of Frankenstein’s life, watching his childhood in Geneva, and him growing up to be a young man interested in following in the footsteps of his father, played by Ian Holm, to become a doctor. However, when his mother dies giving birth to his younger brother, Victor’s course is forever changed, as he becomes obsessed with finding a way to bring people back from the dead using medical science.

Travelling to medical school in Ingolstadt, Victor continues his research into bringing the dead back to life; something that leads him to Professor Waldman (an unrecognisable John Cleese), who performed similar experiments in the past. However, whilst Victor only sees the good in such ideas, Waldman warns him of the ‘abominations’ it could create, and refuses to share his research. When Waldman is stabbed and killed by an anti-vaxxer during the cholera outbreak, Victor is determined to bring him back, and steals the research. Using pieces of corpses, and his own cutting edge equipment, Victor assembles a new body for Waldman’s brain and brings him back to life. However, the resulting creature (Robert De Niro) is not what he was expecting.

The Branagh film is one that I’d watched as a kid when it first came out but hadn’t seen since, although I had some vivid memories of a couple of shocking scenes. As such, I was excited to watch it again knowing more of the source material, and was pleasantly surprised by how close it is to the book in all the right ways. There is a lot different here, for sure, but the spirit of the book, the main themes and ideas, are translated incredibly well by Branagh. For example, this is the only Frankenstein film that uses the framing device of the polar expedition, and was one of the first adaptations that actually had the creature be more than a mindless monster.

Speaking of the creature, Robert De Niro‘s performance in this film needs to be talked about. Robert De Niro is probably not the first actor you’d think of to play Frankenstein’s monster, especially in a film where they’re trying to show the creature as a tragic figure. I think that’s understandable given a lot of the roles De Niro has played over the years, but watching him in this film shows how wrong my preconceptions were. De Niro is absolutely fantastic. He’s able to bring huge amounts of pathos and suffering to the role; he makes you feel hugely sorry for this man, yet he’s also incredibly believable as a monstrous figure able to perform evil deeds. It’s strange, but thanks to how wonderfully he plays this character I still felt sorry for him come the end, even after he’d killed people, including an innocent child,  and all of that was down to his performance. I honestly struggle to think of a better version of the creature that I’ve seen.

In addition to this newly restored version of the film, the new Blu-ray comes with a brand new audio commentary from film historians Michael Brooke and Johnny Mains, who not only talk about the film itself and its making, but the history of Frankenstein, and how the film differs from the book. They even give small readings from the original novel where appropriate. There’s also a trio of new interviews with the films composer, costume designer, and make-up designer that give insight into the creation of the movie. There’s a pair of documentaries that are very interesting too, one that looks at the creation and evolution of Frankenstein over the years, and another that discusses the difference and changes between the original text and the film. Perhaps most interesting, however, is that the film also comes with the first ever version of the story that was ever put to film, 1910’s Frankenstein: A Liberal Adaptation from Mrs. Shelley’s Famous Story for Edison Production, a black and white silent movie by Thomas Edison that is definitely of historic interest.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a film that does away with a lot of the changes and tropes that have become part of the popular perception of the story over the years, and instead gives us the closest, most faithful adaptation of the original book we’ve ever had. Because of that, and because of the amazing performances and lavish production values throughout, this is still one of the best Frankenstein movies almost 30 years after it was released, and this new set might be the best presentation of it ever. Well worth taking notice of for any fans.

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Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Firewall by James Swallow - Blog Tour

 

'Legendary agent Sam Fischer teams up with a new NSA recruit – his own daughter – to save the world in this gripping new thriller from the renowned Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® videogame universe.

'Veteran Fourth Echelon agent Sam Fisher has a new mission recruiting and training the next generation of Splinter Cell operatives for the NSA’s covert action division, including his own daughter Sarah. But when a lethal assassin from Fisher’s past returns from the dead on a mission of murder, father and daughter are thrust into a race against time as a sinister threat to global security is revealed. 

'A dangerous cyberwarfare technology known as Gordian Sword – capable of crashing airliners, destroying computer networks and plunging entire cities into darkness – is being auctioned off to whichever rogue state makes the highest bid. Sam and Sarah must call on their very singular set of skills to neutralise Gordian Sword and stop the weapon falling into the wrong hands – at any cost...'

Splinter Cell has been a franchise for as long back as I can remember, a staple of stealth action gaming that has become an iconic part of gaming. I remember the first time I played the original game, stepping into the shoes of Sam Fisher and his glowing green goggles to sneak my way through enemy strongholds. Taking a more realistic approach than other big name stealth espionage games (no giant robots here), Splinter Cell would force players to take their time, peek into rooms with cameras, disable alarm systems, and avoid combat at all costs. With that in mind, I was left wondering if this kind of experience could translate into a novel.

Splinter Cell: Firewall is my first time reading a Splinter Cell book, and as such I wasn't sure what to expect. Spending hours sneaking through enemy filled complexes can be fun from a game-play point of view, but would it be enjoyable to read? Well, it became pretty clear fairly quickly for me when I started reading the book that this is less of the steal sneaking experience I'd come to expect from the game, and more of an action espionage story that you'd find on the big screen. In short, it was a pretty damn exciting ride.

The story begins with three trainees being tasked wit finding and neutralising a target in an abandoned building in Germany. Drawn from different backgrounds, their identities hidden behind code-names, the three are being tested by a shadowy government organisation to see if they have what it takes to join them. Whilst two of the candidates are taken down by their target, their field evaluator Sam Fisher, the third manages to impress him enough to get a passing grade. This is where Sam gets his first big shock of the book, when he finds out he's just given a passing grade to his daughter, Sarah.

Whilst Sam is still dealing with the fact that he's given the green light for his own daughter to become a field agent (one of the last things he wanted), he and the rest of his team get sent on an important mission as a new threat has emerged on the global stage. A tech giant has been secretly developing a digital super weapon decades beyond anything else in existence; one that could change the face of the world. Not only that, but a deadly Russian assassin from Sam's past has returned. Now Sam has to face a ghost from his past, a deadly new threat to global security, and his own feelings around Sarah being out in the field.

Splinter Cell: Firewall was not the book that I was expecting. Instead of playing out like the slow, methodical games it read more like a big screen adventure, more in line with movies like the Mission Impossible series. Sam isn't alone in this adventure, he has a team with him, they get to travel the world, infiltrate multiple locations, get into shootout and chases, and there's a big global threat to deal with. It doesn't feel like James Swallow is trying to translate the games into a book, but to just tell a decent story within this universe; which is absolutely the best approach.

The book never once feels like it needs you to have played any of the games that have come before, even when dealing with returning characters or referencing things from the game. Swallow manages to make it all feel incredibly accessible, giving you the right amount of background when needed so that you understand character motivations and their pasts but not overwhelming you with stuff. Whilst I have played a few of the games I'm by no means an expert in the lore of this universe, but I never felt like I was missing out on anything, and there was never a moment where I felt the need to go and look anything up online to find out what I was missing.

Not only does Swallow do a great job at making the book accessible for new readers, but he manages to introduce some great new lore throughout the book too; and it was only after finishing and looking into it was I able to discover what was new to this book and what was from the games as he does that good a job. One of the best new additions to the Splinter Cell mythos is Aslanov, the Russian killer from Sam's past who has returned from the dead. Aslanov is an almost perfect villain for someone like Sam Fisher. Their pasts are tied together, they come from opposite sides, have similar skill sets, yet are so morally opposed. Sam fights to preserve life, and will kill is he really has to but doesn't take any pleasure in it, whilst Aslanov likes to get up close and personal, to kill people in the worst ways possible. He's one of those characters who you can actually call evil and it to apply to; and it makes his scenes in this book delightful to read.

It's not just the action and world travel that gets a focus in Splinter Cell: Firewall, however, as Sam and Sarah also get a decent amount of focus, especially in regards to their relationship and Sarah's decision to become a field agent. Sam is, as one would expect, a protective father, and he absolutely hates the idea of Sarah being put into dangerous situations. Of course, he's being a bit of a hypocrite as these are the exact kind of things he does on a regular basis. This brings the two of them into some conflict, and it makes for some of the more interesting moments in the book. These moments even made me kind of hate Sam at times too, especially when he'd go behind Sarah's back to try and get her off the team, treating her like a child instead of the competent adult she is. Its a side to the character I'd not seen before, and something that I'd love to see more of in the future.

This being my first forray into the Splinter Cell books, it was a really enjoyable read, one that brought back some fond memories of the game and made me want to go back and play some of them again. But even if you've not got any experience in this franchise, or even gaming in general, there's a lot to like here. 

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Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast – Throwback 20

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

There have been a lot of Star Wars video games over the years. Whether taking on a side-scrolling reproduction of the movies, flying around in X-Wings taking down Imperial ships, or playing as prequel era Jedi in a beat ’em up game, there’s something for everyone in the Star Wars catalogue. One series of games that has always been held in high regards by fans has been the Jedi Knight series, and now that we’ve reached its 20th anniversary it felt like a good time to look back at Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast.

Despite the name, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast isn’t actually the second game in this series, but the third. Following on from Star Wars: Dark Forces and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, the game once again puts players in control of Kyle Katarn (Jeff Bennett), former Jedi Knight and mercenary who works for the New Republic after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Having almost fallen to the dark side in the previous game, Kyle has broken his connection to the Force, and given up on being a Jedi.

Whilst investigating a supposedly abandoned Imperial mine, Kyle and his partner Jan (Vanessa Marshall) discover that the Imperial Remnant are mining kyber crystals. Travelling to a second planet, where the Imperials have established a stronghold, Kyle comes face to face with Desann (Mark Klastorin), a dark Jedi who seems to be leading the Imperial forces. When Desann captures and apparently kills Jan, Kyle swears to get revenge, reconnecting with the Force in order to do so. From here Kyle will travel the galaxy, visiting some iconic locations from the films, meeting well known characters, and uncovering a vast and dangerous plot during his quest to avenge Jan and stop Desann.

Much like with previous games in the series, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast has a focus on combat, and the first few levels of the game have the player fighting their way through Imperial facilities in first-person gun combat. Over the course of the game the player gets access to a variety of weapons from the movies, such as E-12 blaster rifle and the Wookiee bowcaster, as well as some new weapons. However, after losing Jan and reconnecting with the Force, Kyle retrieves his lightsaber, and this is where the fun really begins. The player can now switch over to their Jedi weapon, engaging in lightsaber combat with any foe, as well as wielding powerful Force abilities.

Over the course of the game the player will need to use their Force powers to help solve puzzles, and to traverse some of the more difficult parts of levels, such as using Force jumps to navigate raised walkways and moving platforms. The player also gets the chance to learn new abilities, and to power-up the ones that they already have, opening up more avenues for them. Whilst the first-person shooting is top-notch, and well put together, it’s the parts of the game where you can run around as a powerful Jedi that are the most fun, especially if you put in the cheat code that actually lets you sever enemy limbs, rather than just leaving them with burn marks on their bodies.

Upon its release Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast was met with positive reviews, with many publications giving it high marks. The game was praised not only for its engaging story and connections to the expanded Star Wars universe (the game even got Billy Dee Williams back to play Lando), but for the large levels, great sound design, and fun combat. The game managed to give players something new and exciting, yet absolutely felt like it belonged in the Star Wars universe; that it was expanding upon the canon and giving players one of the best experiences.

Over the years Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast would sell 900,000 copies, earning the studio $17 million within the first five years, becoming the best selling game in the series. Thanks to the popularity, the game, which was originally released on PC, would get both an Xbox and GameCube version in the following years. Along with its sequel, it has now also been released on the Nintendo Switch, offering modern players a chance to replay, or discover, this classic piece of PC gaming.

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Sword of the White Horse: An Assassin's Creed Valhalla Novel by Elsa Sjunneson - Book Review

 

'A Celtic warrior defending her people from Viking raiders infiltrates an ancient sect to save her homeland, in this gripping original saga set in the world of Assassin's Creed Valhalla

'Mercia, 878. Witch-warrior Niamh discovers a new order called the Hidden Ones is seeking to establish a foothold in Lunden. Her land is already scarred by Viking raiders, bloody wars, and clashing cultures. Determined to protect what remains of her homeland, she infiltrates this new group to discover whether they stand with her… or against her. Yet when Niamh learns the Hidden Ones have stolen an artifact sacred to her people, her own loyalties are challenged. Casting aside newfound alliances and friendships, Niamh soon discovers that betrayal comes with a heavy price and it will take everything in her power – her gods willing – to survive.'

I've yet to play Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but as someone who's enjoyed many of the games in the series and has always liked Viking history and Norse mythology it's a game that I'm looking forward to sitting down to play at some point in the future. As such, when it was announced that a tie-in novel was being released I was eager to read it, hoping that it would encourage me to finally play the game.

Set some time after the events of the game, Sword of the White Horse follows Niamh, a warrior witch of the Women of the Mist, a secret order that operates out of the hidden isle of Avalon. Following the events of the game, one of their sacred artefacts, the sword Excalibur, was taken from beneath Stonehenge by the Viking shield-maiden Eivor. When a secret group called the Hidden Ones sends out word that they're looking for a skilled warrior to join their cause the Lady of Avalon sends Niamh to pretend to be this warrior and infiltrate their organisation.

Upon arriving in Lunden, Niamh is met by two members of the order, the mistrustful Marcella, and the kind Hytham. Working together with Hytham, Niamh is deemed to be worthy of becoming a temporary member of the group, and begins to perform missions with them. Through working with them Niamh learns more than she ever thought she would, discovering that there's a secret war going on in Mercia, one that sees rival factions fighting to gain power, and that Excalibur is an item that all sides seek to possess. However, when Niamh finally discovers who has the sword, she must decide if she can really turn on her new allies, even if she is sworn to return the artefact to her people.

As someone who hasn't yet played the game I was a little worried that there would be times reading this book that I'd get a little lost, or that my lack of knowledge would leave me having to google for background information. Other than one scene in which I felt there was a lack of information (Niamh got filled in on the rival faction but the reader didn't get this info) I never felt too lost. It quickly became apparent who each group was in the grand scheme of things. I even discovered after finishing the book when doing a little background reading that several characters other than Eivor appeared in the game too. For someone like myself, coming in with no information, this all read fine and didn't change my enjoyment; but I can imagine that for those who have played the game this would have been a great surprise.

Despite the inclusion of several characters from the game, the book focuses on a brand new character, Niamh. Elsa Sjunneson does a great job at putting the reader into Niamh's head throughout the book, and she quickly becomes a very complex and conflicted character. Her people mean everything to her, her position as a warrior witch is one she holds with pride. She takes care in her duties, and is willing to put her life on the line. However, as the book progresses she begins to gain a different outlook on things, thanks in part to the relationships she begins to form with those she'd have once considered her enemies. She starts to wonder if there could be more peaceful solutions, if she and her people could change their relationships with the outside world going forward. These thoughts put her in opposition to what she's been ordered to do, and over the course of the book we see how this all weighs on her as she tries to find the perfect solution.

Niamh was enjoyable to spend time with, and I found her to be a character that had a lot more to her than first appeared. Initially set up as a hardened warrior, we see that she has a deep caring to her. She will go out of her way to help oppressed people, especially women. She tried to use her skills to help and heal where she can. And despite her occupation, there are several times where she avoids killing, even though that'd be her best solution. I'd have liked to have spent more time with the character, to really get to see more of her in more complex situations, as I felt she was a character that could go on to be a very interesting figure; especially with how the book ends.

The novel also manages to fit a lot of interesting locations in too, and sees Niamh travelling all over Great Britain. From London, to Hadrians Wall, to Ravensthorpe, and even White Horse Hill, our hero spends a great deal of her time going from place to place in order to complete her mission. This does in some way make me think of the Assassin's Creed games, and how you have to travel all over the map, going from your home base to mission locations and back again over and over; and it was kind of neat that the author managed to get this gaming feel into the novel.

Whether you're a fan of the game looking to experience more of the ever expanding Assassin's Creed universe, or a complete newcomer who was attracted by how the story sounded, this is a book that anyone can pick up and enjoy. It's got some great characters, some wonderful world building, and some tense action sequences that are sure to keep folks entertained. Here's hoping we get more from Niamh and her story in the future.

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The Hunger Games – Throwback 10

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The early 2010s was a big time for young adult and teen fiction, especially in film. The wizard school films had just come to an end, the Twilight saga was closing up, and studios were looking for the next big series to adapt. There were a number of popular titles that they could pick from, and a lot of these would make their way to screens over the next few years. But the one that would move things away from magic and supernatural creatures to post-apocalypses and teen rebels was The Hunger Games.

Written by Suzanne Collins in 2008, The Hunger Games tells the story of Panem, a nation that has formed in the remains of a war that destroyed North America. Here the surviving population is split into twelve districts, with each district producing something that is needed to keep Panem running, such as coal mining, fishing, or lumber. Unfortunately, many of the districts live in poverty, whilst the Capital lives a life of luxury and extravagance. In order to keep control, the Capital holds the Hunger Games once a year, where two children from each district are randomly selected and forced to fight for the death on live television. When her younger sister is drawn for the games, a teenage rebel named Katniss volunteers in her place. Now Katniss finds herself travelling to the Capital, where she will have to kill in order to survive.

Upon the release of the book in 2008, The Hunger Games quickly found itself on the bestseller list, selling hundreds of thousands of copies globally. The book found an audience with teen readers, especially teen girls who connected to the central lead female character of Katniss. The book soon spawned a number of imitators, some of which would also go on to get movies over the next decade, and teen dystopia became the new big thing, with supernatural romance titles making way for stories of plucky teenage rebels overthrowing corrupt governments.

Thanks to the popularity of the book it was no surprise that the film rights were soon picked up, and in 2009 Lionsgate became attached to the project, alongside the independent film production company Color Force, who acquired the rights to the film just weeks before. Over the next year the script was adapted by Collins, who wrote the screenplay shortly after completing the third book in the series. Due to the book being written from the point of view of Katniss, several new scenes were added to the film in order to expand the story and provide extra context for the audience. Other changes included the removal of a subplot about enslaved people in the capital, details about how Katniss received her iconic mocking-jay pin, and a few side characters that were removed.

Once the film entered production the casting was announced to huge fanfare, with fans following rumours closely to try and find out who would be playing their favourite characters. After several rounds of casting it was announced that Jennifer Lawrence, best known for her role in X-Men: First Class would be playing Katniss, with her two love interests being played by Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. Other cast members would include Elizabeth Banks as the over-the-top Effie, the escort for Katniss from the Captial, Woody Harrelson as former Hunger Games survivor and trainer Haymitch, and Donald Sutherland as President Snow, the head of the Capital.

Upon release the film quickly became a commercial success, earning a worldwide total of $694.4 million against its budget of $78 million. The film was a smash hit, and the rest of the series adaptations were quickly announced, with it being revealed that the final entry in the trilogy would be getting split into two films. The film received positive reviews from critics, though some criticism was levelled at the over abundance of shaky-cam, something that would be dropped entirely from the subsequent films.

Thanks to the huge commercial success of The Hunger Games, Lionsgate knew that they had a big thing on their hands, more than tripling the budget on the second film in the series; something that definitely showed on screen, as the production value of the other movies in the series took a big jump going forwards. Despite being a huge success, and kick-starting the next big teen franchise, The Hunger Games kind of became a victim of its own success. With more money being poured into the other entries, with more and more lavish production values and special effects, and stories that become grander in scope, the first entry in the series has ended up feeling the most dull in comparison. It feels smaller, cheaper, and less visually entertaining than the others.

Despite this, The Hunger Games began something big, a trend that would see other, similar books making their way to the cinema screens, such as Divergent, The Maze Runner, and The 5th Wave. Despite there having been big teen book adaptations before this, this became the point where other studios began to want to capture some of this magic, and was the start of a lot of these projects. Perhaps because it was the instigator, or maybe just because it was better, The Hunger Games ended up being one of the most successful and popular YA movies around.

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Escape From Mogadishu – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Films based on real-life events tend to be stories worth paying attention to. If events end up being so dramatic, so amazing, or so frightening that they outshine some of the best fiction that writers can come up with, they’re events that belong on the big screen. They often end up being the place for stories about some of the bravest and most daring people to be told, and Escape From Mogadishu is no exception to this, as I was left increasingly amazed as its story unfolded.

Escape From Mogadishu begins just before the fall of the Barre regime in Somalia in 1991. Here we spend some time getting to know two of the embassies situated in the capital Mogadishu. There’s the South Korean embassy, a relatively new, small team headed up by ambassador Han Shin-sung (Kim Yoon-seok) with the help of his tough intelligence officer, Kang Dae-Jin (Ing-Sung Jo). And there’s the North Korean embassy, run by the much more experienced ambassador Rim Yong-su (Joon-ho Huh). As the South Korean embassy tries to get meetings with President Barre, bringing him gifts, trying to get him to back their petition to be admitted to the UN, the two embassies clash.

However, their own personal vendettas have to go on the back-burner when rebel forces reach Mogadishu, bringing war to the city. As both groups sit inside their embassies the fighting gets worse, and they each realise that their only hope for survival in ever increasing violence is to get out of the country. Unfortunately, neither has a way of contacting their governments, and there seems to be no way out. When rebels attack the North Korean embassy, killing some of the staff in the process, Rim leads the survivors, including several children, to look for a safe haven. When all they can find is the South Korean embassy, both groups realise that only by working together and putting their differences aside will they be able to survive; but can so much animosity and mistrust be easily forgotten?

Escape From Mogadishu paints a very stark picture. Mogadishu is shown as a hot, depressing, and dangerous place even before the fighting starts, with none of the people from the Korean embassies really wanting to be there. Each side is desperate to get backing from President Barre to get admittance to the UN, and if it wasn’t for children being kept as hostages in North Korea, and intense governmental pressure from both sides, neither ambassador would choose to be there. Even before the violence begins you get a sense that these are people close to the end of their ropes, who want nothing more than to go home.

Once the fighting begins it doesn’t take long for things to go from bad to downright horrifying. Director Seung-wan Ryu doesn’t shy away from showing the brutal, harsh realities of this conflict. Police chase down and beat suspected rebels to death in the street, people end up rioting over food and supplies, and rebel forces strip and publicly execute those working for Barre. The film doesn’t hide these horrors from the audience, and there are several times I found myself watching on in horror as I wanted to turn away because of how unflinching things are.

It’s hard to imagine what it would have been like to live through these events, especially as people with no real stake in the conflict, potentially being seen as enemies or conspirators by either side at any moment. The cast of Escape From Mogadishu seem to play this very well though, and as the movie progresses you see calm and confident men reduced to fearful wrecks, people unsure of themselves stepping up and taking on a leadership role, and decades long cultural tensions boiling up to breaking point. Every single actor does an amazing job, but especially the two principal leads, Kim Yoon-seok and Joon-ho Huh.

The thing that makes this story even more amazing is that it’s not just watching people try to survive this awful, brutal situation, but seeing the two groups come together. Even if you know very little about the history between North Korea and South Korea you really feel it here, and as such you quickly understand just how momentous it is when both sides come together. Both groups know that if their governments find out it would mean facing military tribunals, it could mean never seeing their families again. Both sides have been taught to think of the other as alien, dangerous, and strange, and we see moments where they talk about the other side like they’re completely different. This pays off wonderfully when both sides sit down to eat together for the first time and you see each discovering how similar they are to the other, without a single piece of dialogue being said. It’s an amazing moment, one that really gets you invested in these two groups, and one that’s a stand-out for the film.

It’s not just these small character focused moments that stand out either, as there are several scenes where violence and tension runs high. The scenes where the North Korean group makes their way through the city at night, searching for a safe haven, are nerve wracking, and the final run to freedom at the end is an incredible sequence that will have you on the edge of your seat. Other than a few CGI dogs that look less than perfect making a couple of appearances, the film looks and feels incredible, and you end up feeling like you’re in the middle of this nightmare.

I didn’t know about the events this film depicted before coming to it, but by the end I found myself wanting to learn more about this event, and these amazing people. This is a film that not only brought this moment in history to life in amazing, captivating detail, but made it something that I’m going to be thinking about for a long while too.

I don’t often like war films based on real events, I don’t like to relish in entertainment derived from the deaths and horror that humanity has caused each other, but this film isn’t just about that. Escape From Mogadishu showcases how our shared humanity is much more powerful, and how you can put aside lifetimes of hate and mistrust, see the connections you share with others, and do amazing things. This is without a doubt the best film that I’ve seen yet this year, and it’s a travesty it didn’t end up nominated for this year’s Oscars.

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Godzilla vs Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

As someone who has loved tokusatsu ever since I first saw Godzilla as a child, marvelling at this huge lizard monster, and being a fan of the Power Rangers franchise since it burst onto screens back in 1993, it’s astonishing that the two franchises have taken this long to meet. The Power Rangers routinely fight giant monsters to the point where it becomes noteworthy when an episode doesn’t include it, and when you consider that the original Dragon Zord was essentially a Mecha Godzilla style robot, it feels like the two were made to come together. Well, after close to three decades the two finally do meet in the new IDW comic series Godzilla vs Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Taking place somewhere during the first season of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series (context clues make that pretty apparent), the story begins with Tommy, the Green Ranger, having been sent on a recon mission to a remote tomb. The place seems to be some kind of ancient temple, guarded by monks, who’ve been dispatched by Rita Repulsa and her team of Goldar, Scorpina, and Finster. When Rita retrieves the item the monks were guarding, the Multiversal Focus, she works her magic and transports herself, her minions, and Tommy into a parallel world where the Power Rangers don’t exist.

Whilst Rita celebrates the idea of being in a world without Rangers to stop her conquest, the celebrations are interrupted by two giant monster fighting in the ruins of Angel Grove: Godzilla and Megalon. Seeing that this world has no heroes, yet has such wonderful monsters, the ancient witch begins to make plans to use the kaiju to her own advantage; but little does she know that Tommy followed her to this world, and that the other Rangers are on their way to help.

Godzilla vs Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a book that is absolutely packed to the gills. The breakdown I gave above for the premise of the story sounds like I’ve given step-by-step of the entire first issue, but is only the first half a dozen pages. A lot happens in this first issue. The benefit of this is that there’s not a moment of this book where it’s not being used well. The plot is always moving forward, the characters are always doing something, and there’s not long to wait for the next action scene.

Whilst this is great, those who’ve been reading the Power Rangers comics from Boom! Studios, and have been enjoying the quieter scenes where we get a chance to delve into the Rangers’ minds and see how this kind of life affects them as human beings, might find this issue to be a bit lacking. The heroes don’t get a moment to breathe here, we don’t get to see what they think about going to another world, about the existence of kaiju, or even how seeing innocent monks murdered by monsters affects Tommy. I don’t know if this is something that is going to continue for the rest of the series, and if we do get moments where we can slow down and spend time with the Rangers as characters that’d be great; but even if that doesn’t happen it still feels entertaining enough to be good. After all, we never got characterisation in the original show.

Outside of the Rangers, the comic is full of awesome stuff for fans of Godzilla. As mentioned, the titular King of the Monsters makes his appearance fairly early on, along with another classic creature for him to fight. But he gets more to do other than just bash on another giant monster. I won’t say what that is, but let’s just say you don’t have to wait until the finale to get some amazing stuff. There are also some other characters and ideas from the existing Godzilla canon that make their way into this story, and the fact that we get some silly 1960’s style designs alongside the Power Rangers and their villains is wonderful. Cullen Bunn clearly knows a lot about both franchises, and doesn’t just want to rely on the titular monster as the only thing for Godzilla fans to find in the book.

The art on the book is provided by Freddie Williams II and Andrew Dalhouse, who provide the drawing and colours respectively. The art is very nice, and feels very different to other Power Rangers comics on the market right now. The Rangers and their villains are all clearly recognisable, but they seem to have a stylised twist to them that makes them really pop; such as Goldar, who feels so much bigger and more hulking than normal. The art team also do the giant monsters justice, and the creatures look just goofy enough to not be totally frightening, yet feel wonderfully realistic too.

A far as first issues go, this is a fast paced one, packed full of story and action that don’t give you a chance to slow down too much. With how much gets packed into this first issue it does leave me wondering just what else might be coming, and what other surprises Cullen Bunn has in store for readers. As a fan of both franchises I had a blast with this one, and can’t wait to see what happens next.

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Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors – Graphic Novel Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Godzilla is a franchise that has had many different identities over the years, and whilst it might have began as a horror film abut the awful reality of the nuclear attacks made against Japan, it’s become something that has appealed to audiences of all ages over the decades since its creation. Whether it’s the inclusion and focus on children in the films, animated series for kids, or Godzilla himself advertising things like the Game Boy, he’s become something that kids love. As such, it’s lovely to see some of the comics being produced by IDW Publishing focusing on younger readers.

Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors tells the story of Cedric Nishimura, a tween geek who hosts his own MeToob channel where he wants to tell the tale of how he helped to save the world from Godzilla. These internet video segments act as bookends to each of the issues collected in the book, provide us with extra context, and allow the reader to get to know Cedric in more detail. Between these segments, however, we get the real meat of the story.

It all begins when the Linival corporation tries to make history. Out in the middle of the ocean, on their floating island, the company switches on a new kind of reactor, one that they promise will provide the world with limitless clean energy. Whilst the reactor works fine, and the launch goes well, there is one unknown side effect. The energy hurts krill. Now, this might not seem like much, but this upsets the important ecological balance, threatening thousands of species, and the planet itself. And this is something that pisses Godzilla off. And so the giant lizard begins a campaign of destruction to stop Linival. However, when it looks like he may carry on his destruction, fed up with humanity as a whole, Cedric finds himself being drawn into a plan to prevent total destruction, thanks to two tiny fairies from Infant island.

I first started reading this series when it was released monthly, and stopped after the first issue. The first issue of the story isn’t hugely exciting, and is just Godzilla stomping around on this floating island, wrecking stuff. However, collected together into one volume, where I didn’t have to wait for the next issue and could read the story in one sitting, made this a much more enjoyable story. The first issue is very much stage setting, and once the second begins the story really fills out and expands into some interesting directions.

Fans of the Godzilla franchise will find a lot of stuff to enjoy here, not just down to the titular creature. There are other places, characters, and creatures taken from around the Godzilla franchise, mixed in and reworked into this story. For the most part there’s not much that happens here that feels out of place or contradictory, although there is a monster that appears later on in the book who has their origins slightly tweaked in order to provide something of a surprise inclusion, but it still feels true to the creature, and made for a delightful appearance.

As said earlier, this book is designed for younger readers, and is definitely in the middle grade category. The main characters are young, barely into their teens, and other than one or two adults, they’re the only people in the story. Whilst this works well and I had no problem with kids getting to save the day and be the focus, there were a few things that felt slightly weird or silly. There are times where the writer, Eric Burnham, seemingly wanted to include certain things but had to change the name. That’s why we get MeToob instead of YouTube, Nottendo instead of Nintendo, and Super Smash Sisters in place of Super Smash Brothers. I don’t know how this kind of thing would read for kids, whether it’d be funny or entertaining for them, but these references always felt weird and jarring as an adult reader.

The art on the book, by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado, is really nice. The drawings are bold and simple, and filled with bright colours. Being designed for a younger audience the book has a somewhat stylised look to it, with characters feeling less focused on being realistic or anatomically correct, and more geared towards being bold and easily identifiable. It looks really nice throughout, and works well for the human characters. The monsters look really good too, and have a more Saturday morning cartoon vibe to them over a more frightening, realistic approach. The whole thing just pops..

Whilst I’m sure that there could be some readers who find the book too simple, and the story too child-friendly to be entertaining, I really enjoyed Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors. It showcased how this is a broad franchise, one that can appeal to a wide range of audiences, and can be approached in a number of different ways. Yes, it was simple, easy to read, and had lower stakes than some Godzilla stories, but sometimes that’s just the kind of thing you want to read.

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