The Final Cainage Critique Post on Blogger (And the start of something bigger)

To all readers and visitors of The Cainage Critique on Blogger

We've been building to this point for a while now, but I'm leaving this side of the blog behind for pastures new. This site has clocked almost 40,000 from around the world since I launched it exactly five years ago on the 28th of October 2013. 

At that time I was a fairly timid first year student just getting to grips with university work at Bournemouth and all the socializing that came with it. Special mention should go to my fellow flatmates in first year who got me into blogging after I had a read of their publications. The 300th Post a little while ago detailed my future plans for this blog, which begins with today's launch of the new website.

As such, this will be the final post you'll see on this particular site. From now on, all future reviews, opinions and editorials will be posted on the new website. Made thanks to the strong support and intuitiveness of Wix.com, I've given this blog a full makeover, sprucing it up and making it more fit for purpose. This includes linking it in with sites like GoodReads which you can also follow me on.

Currently the only post up on the new site is "Remembering the brutal brilliance of Red Dead Redemption, but more and more posts will be added over time and I'm hoping it will attract a larger fanbase in the future. Of course this old blog will still be up in the internet archives and I've added a link to this page on the new website.

All I have to say is a massive thank you to everyone who has stuck by the blog over the years and here's to the new site. (Which you can find by clicking here. Shameful self-promotion I know...)

Rob Cain (Creator of The Cainage Critique)

First Man Movie Review

Released: October 12th 2018 (UK and US)

Length: 141 Minutes

Certificate: 12A

Director: Damien Chazelle

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Corey Stoll, Pablo Schreiber, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Christopher Abbot and Ciaran Hinds, 

July 20^th, 1969; the day Apollo 11 successfully placed a man on the moon. Nearly fifty years on from that historical moment, the journey taken by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins remains a watershed moment in human history. The first major film adaptation, First Man, is a capable retelling of Armstrong’s life with only a single misstep.

Based on the official biography by James R. Hansen, First Man charts Neil Armstrong’s (Ryan Gosling) career in the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and the impact it had on his wife Janet Shearon (Claire Foy) and family. The film opens with the passing of their daughter Karen, a moment of grief that hangs over the rest of the film. We follow Neil through the NASA program, a gradual progression in which the film alternates back and forth between these two anchor points, building towards the ultimate Apollo 11 mission. There are a few hints of political and historical context delivered by NASA employees but for the most part it’s a faithful adaptation, mostly placing these external events in the background. The pacing moves organically between the two sides and the authenticity is high; there’s a clear sense of progression as Armstrong and his colleagues work towards landing on the moon. The final act feels appropriately weighty as the titular mission comes to fruition, both the story and the technical effects reach their celestial climax. While this build-up does work brilliantly, the film does run into trouble linking the loss of Neil’s daughter to his pursuit of the moon mission; while First Man does give time to character development, the Armstrong family doesn’t feel as close as you’d like them to be. With further depth to the family scenes, there would have been a higher emotional payoff.

A large cast lines the scenes of First Man and while things become a bit unbalanced, everyone performs their roles brilliantly. Armstrong is portrayed by Gosling as mostly understated and nuanced; while grief does weigh him down, it’s the commitment to his role in the space program that spurs him on. Simultaneously Claire Foy is highly emotive as Janet Shearon; throughout the film she mostly suppresses her sadness for her other children but occasionally, she comes into her own when confronting the notion that Neil may not be coming home from his next mission. If anything, Foy should have had more to do when it came to both engaging with the other characters and working to run the family. On the opposite side, we have the various members of NASA whose parts are relatively simple; Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin, Ciaran Hinds as director Robert R. Gilruth, Kyle Chandler as Deke Slayton, chief of the astronaut office; they all fit the parts well, delivering the more detailed scientific aspects of the production with an enthused determination. They’re certainly on point in the tenser scenarios as well, showing the often-grave concern that went alongside the space missions of the time. There really isn’t a single weak cast member to be found here, even if the side characters rarely hold the spotlight.

For its lower budget of 59 to 70 million dollars, First Man delivers a stirring presentation of outer space and works to combine it with the human drama. The camerawork is extremely intimate on both sides of the narrative; on one hand it conveys the emotions of the characters effortlessly and on the other it draws you into Armstrong’s ventures as a pilot and astronaut. The latter is particularly effective as it places the audience inside the cramped quarters of the rocket; in some of the more desperate moments faced by the astronauts, the violent shaking combined with the rattling tools in the cockpit creates a very harrowing mood. Yet the beauty of the cosmos always rings true in these sequences, with ambient music pieces that highlight the vast emptiness of space. Then you have the contrasting tones back on Earth, marked by a liberal use of blue light from the moon and slower harp music. It’s a slower burn here, designed to draw the viewer into Armstrong’s family life and the ambience created by the omnipresent lighting makes for a great complement to the scenes set in space. Overall, First Man’s superb visuals and sound design create an exquisitely detailed view of outer space while also leveraging its cinematic techniques for effective tone-building.

As a recount of the first moon landing, First Man is impeccably authentic and masterfully produced. As a chronicling of Neil Armstrong’s personal life, it does leave a bit to be desired. With a higher amount of personal drama and additional scenes involving the family, the film could have stood alongside the best in the genre but as it stands, you’ll still get plenty of enjoyment out of this latest biopic.

Rating: 4/5 Stars (Great)

Bad Times at the El Royale Movie Review

Released: 12th October 2018 (Wide Release)

Length: 141 Minutes

Certificate: 15

Director: Drew Goddard

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Lewis Pullman, Cailee Spaeny and Chris Hemsworth

Isolation and withheld information; these are the key components of a murder mystery, creating heaps of potential for deep characters and clever plotlines. The latest entry into this sub-genre, Bad Times at the El Royale, has plenty to offer for anyone looking for a slow-burning thriller.

Very much along the lines of The Hateful Eight and Murder on the Orient Express, Bad Times takes place at a drive-in motel, occupied by four principal characters; Priest Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges), singer Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo), hoover salesman Dwight Broadbeck (Jon Hamm) and the antsy Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson). Each one has their own reason for checking in and more importantly, something to hide. They’re checked in by the young Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman) who appears to be the only staff member on site. What follows is an enticing mystery which reveals information piece-by-piece and transfers between the different characters staying at the hotel. With a non-linear narrative in place, many of these transitions are marked by classical title cards which replay sequences from different angles. It’s a brilliant way to build dramatic tension and for the most part, Bad Times is a tightly focused narrative. Characters form uneasy alliances, double cross one-another and struggle to escape as the situation deteriorates. However, there are some details left out that keep it from being completely cohesive, most notably the opening sequence, which while very well shot, doesn’t receive any kind of connection or payoff by the film’s final act which serves a convergence point for all the characters and their secret identities in a very intense manner. Had it worked to fill in these gaps, it would have been an airtight screenplay from top to bottom.

The performances in Bad Times at the El Royale are all excellent, though in terms of relevance to the plot, things get a little inconsistent; Jon Hamm’s character is the first to reveal his true motives but his role in the plot is very brief. Thankfully though, the other characters are more than enough to make up for this. Each one has a highly detailed backstory and specific characteristics that set them apart from one another; Flynn’s age is slowly creeping up on him, Emily doesn’t take kindly to other people creeping on her business and Darlene is being pressed down by both her struggling career in soul music and the casual ignorance of others. As we learn more about these characters their identities, both real and secret come into play throughout the plot and this where the major highlights of the performances show; when things grow more desperate and the more devious twists come into play every member of the cast does a terrific job of selling the characters. They’re also helped by a deft script that succinctly delivers the characterisation and allowing the El Royale residents to play off each other effortlessly. The final piece of the puzzle, Chris Hemsworth, won’t be spoiled in this review but unlike the film’s contemporaries he has a reasonable amount of build-up to make him a worthwhile member of the narrative. Ultimately it’s a superb writing effort from director Drew Goddard.

The El Royale is incredibly stylised, wearing the swinging, classy tone of the sixties on its sleeve. Yet it is also used to hide the darker secrets held by both the location and the characters presiding over it. The camerawork is extremely precise; at one moment it’s slowly panning around the environments to clearly set the scene and at another it’s precisely placed to put you in the perspectives of different characters; this organic method of presentation means you’ll always have an accurate image of the scene while still being kept in the dark as to which twist the story will throw at you next. Often, it’s the little details that make all the difference, the sense of duality marked by the line dividing California from Nevada, the sublime period-piece soundtrack complemented by an outstanding vocal performance by Cynthia Erivo. This is matched by the pitch-perfect set and costume design that seamlessly captures the nature of the time while also creating an authentic, gloomy atmosphere, something only applied by the raging storm that hangs over the setting.

It isn’t quite a complete story and not every character fits in nicely, but Bad Times at the El Royale is another strong murder mystery that easily stands alongside previous efforts, delivering solid performances and a great amount of intrigue to keep you guessing. You’ll certainly enjoy your visit to this deadly drive-in.

Rating: 4/5 Stars (Great)

Remembering the brutal brilliance of Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption remains one of best open-world titles ever made and it’s also one of my favourite video games. With the long-awaited sequel just ten days away, I thought I’d look at it in detail. Recently I went back and played all the way through, reaching 100% completion and seeing everything the game had to offer. It has never lost an inch of its impact on me as a player. It should go without saying, but there are MASSIVE SPOILERS ahead; if you're never played Red Dead Redemption before, go back and experience it for yourself before reading on...

Developed over the course of five years, as is typical of any Rockstar title, Red Dead Redemption had a humble origin, setting itself out as a successor to the somewhat underrated Red Dead Revolver. With Rockstar North hard at work on Grand Theft Auto 4 and its expansions, the task fell to Rockstar San Diego, who had mostly been settled in the AA range with titles like Midnight Club, but they are also notable for producing Revolver back in 2005. Knowing Rockstar’s pedigree for open-world titles, excitement built up very quickly, though some naysayers wondered whether this new Red Dead would simply be Grand Theft Auto 4 with horses. Following its release on May 21^st 2010 (In the UK), Redemption went on to win countless accolades and game of the year awards, selling 13 million copies by 2013. For this retrospective, I won’t be covering the multiplayer mode or the Undead Nightmare expansion; while both are fun, it’s the single-player and its narrative that form the meat of the package.

And what a story it is… to this day Red Dead Redemption remains my favourite narrative in any Rockstar title. The Grand Theft Auto series is mostly satirical, often playing aspects of American culture for laughs but Redemption is much different. Following on from the similarly serious Grand Theft Auto IV, writers Dan Houser, Michael Unsworth and Christian Cantamessa put together an immensely detailed tale packed with memorable characters and standout moments. At several points it tributes classic spaghetti westerns like The Wild Bunch and Shane but for the most part, Red Dead Redemption’s story has a definitive thematic hook, that of old being replaced by the new and technology and order intruding on a life of freedom that is now coming to an end.

From the moment the game begins, a tragic undertone is instilled with “Exodus in America”, a slow and deliberate piano piece that instantly pulls the player into the setting; it’s 1911 and the American West that once offered an open freedom to those willing to settle it is coming to an end. We meet see the protagonist, John Marston; flanked by two forceful looking government agents in fancy suits; without a single line of dialogue, we know that John is an unwilling participant. He hops on a train and begins his mission; hunting down the former members of his outlaw gang. The ride is bookended by several passengers commenting on the current state of the world and the onset of modern civilization, most notably the invention of the plane and the ability to make men fly. The game doesn’t wait long to sell you on John Marston’s character, superbly portrayed by actor Rob Weithoff; for me the line: “People don’t forget, nothing is forgiven” instantly got me invested; there is a history to John, his time in the Van Der Linde gang weighing heavy on him and this fuels his character, a man who wants to put his past behind him and settle down with his family. The first order of the day in the New Austin frontier is to track down Bill Williamson, a former violent gang member who has set up shop in Fort Mercer; Marston won’t stand a chance alone (as the game already reminded you in its opening mission) so you’ll have to put together a motley crew.

This is where RDR’s story opens organically alongside the incredibly detailed open world in which every activity you do has a purpose; this is something that many open-world titles fall short of today, often sending the player on busy work and other meaningless tasks. But in Red Dead, animal hunting, herb-picking, gang hideouts, treasure hunting, stranger tasks, period piece minigames and challenges are all interwoven into the proceedings as you explore. The only real exception to this is crime, which does have suitable refinements when compared to Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series. Whenever I play through Red Dead Redemption, I very rarely commit any crimes as John because I’d have a hard time connecting with a protagonist who is portrayed as honourable and good-natured in cutscenes. It’s the only real blemish I can think of when talking about RDR’s gameplay and its connection to story; other games, like the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot (In which Lara Croft, who has never killed before,suddenly starts racking up headshots like nobody’s business), suffer more from this narrative dissonance problem. It also helps that the gameplay itself is engaging from top to bottom; Red Dead Redemption sets itself apart from its contemporaries in the open world genre with two main facets; dead eye mode and the lasso. The gunplay is typical cover-based shooting from a third person perspective, but Rockstar San Diego tweaked the systems from Grand Theft Auto 4 to allow for more flexibility; Marston can disarm or disable enemies rather than killing them, which is especially useful in capturing wanted outlaws alive with the lasso and reaping the higher cash reward. Then there’s dead-eye, an immensely gratifying mechanic in which Marston can perform huge feats of marksmanship by marking multiple targets and placing them all in the ground with a series of deadly shots. Horses are the best mode of travel throughout the game world, operating on a stamina system while also reacting dynamically to wild predators and other occurrences as you power through the desert. Nothing feels rushed or under baked throughout the adventure.

Suffice it to say that the characters themselves are richly varied, developed and interesting; it’s great to see Marston play off all the different personalities, a mixture of good-natured peacekeepers, swindling cowards and sly hypocrites all looking to make their way in the Frontier. My personal favourites are Marshall Leigh Johnson, a lawman who does his best to keep things in order and the retired gunslinger Landon Ricketts, an old-time gunslinger with just as much experience as John when it comes to surviving the harsh landscape. Just like Marston himself, they are all brilliantly performed by their individual voice actors, adding even more depth and believability to an already absorbing world. Act 1 sees John interacting regularly with this gallery of characters, with each one having a role to play in the eventual assault on Fort Mercer and while it can’t really be altered by the player, it’s a still a rousing conclusion to the first part of the game. Conman Nigel West Dickens convinces the gang to let him and his wagon into the fort and charms them with stories of his special elixir while the others get into position, then John pops off the wagon’s roof with a Gatling gun, ready to mow down the opposition. It’s incredibly cathartic to take down the foes that put a bullet in Marston at the game’s opening and the fort is quickly taken. But with Bill Williamson having fled the scene to the south, it’s only a half-won victory for Marston’s crew and the next part of his mission begins…

Act 2 sees John journey to Mexico and his ventures south of the river are marked by a key transition point. Upon arrival and mounting on horseback, the song “Far Away” by Jose Gonzales eases the player in to this new country. Riding out into the desert, the new horizon stretching out before you as this track plays was one of the most atmospheric and stunning moments in any game I’ve experienced; the perfect synergy of gameplay and story as you enter the second act, which dynamically shifts from a simple fort assault to a more widespread civil war with John being caught up between both government and rebel forces. Neither side is all that trustworthy or reliable and this complicates matters as Marston searches not just for the fleeing Bill Williamson, but Javier Escuella as well. 

The scale is also opened considerably in act 2, with more large-scale invasions involving other soldiers and combatants aiding. It’s also clear that this territory south of the river is more unhinged, with the government forces led by Colonel Allende and Captain De Santa betraying Marston around halfway through. Some of the more extravagant moments of the second act involve the defence of a train carrying vital supplies and the storming of two major forts; Torquemada and El Presidio (The Prison). While Marston is still free to roam either side of Nuevo Paradiso (the game’s fictional stand-in for Mexico), there’s a definitive series of battle lines drawn; the government to the west and the rebels to the right, with the latter ultimately tipping the balance. Act 2 ends with two main missions; one is the capture or killing of Javier Escuella followed up by the storming of Escalara. Both Colonel Allende and Bill Williamson attempt to flee but are eventually caught and executed at the hands of John Marston and rebel leader Abraham Reyes. The protagonist believes this is the end of his troubles, but Edgar Ross and the United States government have other plans.

Act 3 moves John back to the United States and here, things come full circle. The bulk of the action takes place in the town of Blackwater, which is by far the most developed and closely colonised settlement of the game. It’s clear that this is the intended future for the American Frontier, for more defined towns and settlements to tame these wild lands. Here John is at the full behest of Edgar Ross and his associate Archer Fordham as he faces his final test; hunting down Dutch Van Der Linde, the leader of John’s former gang and the most wanted outlaw in the final years of the Wild West. On the other end of the spectrum, the Native American Nastas, an understated assistant to Ross’s plans, holds the third act’s other thematic hook. Against the ignorance of other supporting characters, Red Dead Redemption makes some reference to the brutal displacement and shocking treatment of the native tribes that lived in the frontier, with Nastas commenting on how nature was once pure and balanced before the onset of modern civilization. His sudden death at the hands of his own countrymen who have joined Dutch’s gang for revenge speaks volumes of how Native Americans at the time suffered and died for nothing.

 

The final set of missions in act 3 are interwoven, with the first being another use of the Gatling gun, this time mounted on a recently invented automobile; as the pinnacle of armoured technology at the time, it gives the player a hint as to where the world is heading. Marston, backed by Ross and a contingent of US soldiers chases Dutch all the way to his mountain hideout. Cornered on the top of the cliffs, Dutch relays some revealing final words before choosing his own fate: “Our time is passed John”; truly he was an outlaw to the end. At long last Marston can go home to his family, a moment poignantly marked by “The Outlaw’s Return” which plays as he rides back through the tall trees. This isn’t quite the end of the storyline however…

The end of Marston’s journey is one of the most emotionally powerful moments in any game and it accomplishes this in several ways. First,the collection of quieter family moments at Beecher’s Hope builds a false sense of security in the player’s mind, that John will finally be able to settle and find some peace, fully reconciling with his family. Yet Dutch’s final words remain; “When I'm gone they'll have to find another monster, they have to, because they have to justify their wages”. Despite all the running he did, Dutch knew better than most how the world worked and what it would do him and their kind of renegade outlaws. This line rings true in Red Dead Redemption’s closing moments and this exceptional writing is what makes me even more excited to play Red Dead Redemption 2 and understand how close the gang really was.

“The Last Enemy that shall be destroyed” is an assault on the Marston family ranch by the American army; the player kills many soldiers, who are ironically only following orders after following Marston in previous missions and you feel incredibly outnumbered throughout. The moment that always sticks out to me though is when John peeks out of the barn at the very end and takes a deep breath, his head bowed; he knows his time is up and that this is the only way to save his wife and son. So, he steps out and dead eye mode is engaged; the player can mark as many targets as they can, but it won’t change his fate. Marston is riddled with bullets by the US army, dropping his weapon to the ground as his final act before dying; meanwhile the slimy Edgar Ross, agent of the US government, lights a cigar, content that he has finally stamped out the last semblance of outlawed crime in the western frontier. The heartbreak reaches its climax as the player switches control to John’s son Jack as him and his mother bury the hero you’ve spent so much time playing as on a hill, the very same one pointed out by the stranger in “I know you”. The solemn “Bury me not in the lone prairie” raises the emotion to breaking point as the game transitions to the adult Jack Marston, a means to carry on John’s legacy.

Red Dead Redemption’s ending is an immense tragedy but when you look back at the game’s first act, the overarching narrative has also reached its full climax. John Marston did so much to bury his past throughout the game, but in the end, nothing is forgiven, and the crimes he committed years before had consequences. In the end though, he achieved redemption for these deeds, sacrificing himself to save his family. Just like every other aspect of the game’s storytelling, switching to Jack is a seamless means to let the player continue their escapades in the open world. This final send-off; Jack’s eventual revenge on Edgar Ross is the cap to one of best stories ever told in gaming history. Everything about it was designed to immerse the player, from the excellent facial animations and voice acting that still hold up eight years after the game’s original release, to the practically non-existent load times that only pop-up during fast travel, ensuring you’re never taken out of the experience. Red Dead Redemption went down as one of the most unanimously beloved games of the seventh generation, while also setting the highest standard for the western genre. Hopefully I’ve adequately explained in this editorial why I wholeheartedly agree. I look forward to seeing what Red Dead Redemption 2 brings when it releases on October 26th, 2018.

(Images used for the purposes of review and criticism under fair use)

Venom Movie Review

Released: 5th October 2018 (UK and US)

Length: 112 Minutes

Certificate: 15

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Jenny Slate and Reid Scott

In a film landscape brimming with superheroes, looking at the other side of the conflict can create some unique diversions. After Sony’s plans for the future of Spider-Man fell through in 2014, they’re having another shot at the series with Venom; it’s looking to join the likes of Logan and Deadpool in the more adult-oriented superhero sub-genre. But this alternative entry trudges along, offering thrills too sparse to make an impression.

Taking place in San Francisco to distance itself from previous flicks, Venom follows Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), a down-on-his-luck journalist who uncovers a corporate conspiracy. Behind the scenes, wealthy businessman Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) has discovered a collection of alien symbiotes that must bond with a human host to survive. Upon slipping into the company to dig up the dirt, Brock is exposed by accident and soon finds himself with a violent, very hungry monster living inside him. Right from the get-go, Venom is in a rush; through the course of twenty minutes, Eddie loses his job and his fiancé Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) before the film hurls us into the main thread with the alien creature. It’s a violent first-act swerve that throws much of the plot and character development out the window. Tonally, Venom is incredibly inconsistent, playing some moments for laughs and attempting to bring some more serious aspects; the two are often being placed back-to-back to very jarring results. Even more damning than the film’s inconsistent tone is its wasted potential; with such a half-baked, rushed effort to get the audience invested in Eddie Brock as a character, there’s no time for any psychological deep dives. The film could have taken the time to show the gradual breakdown of Brock’s character, the transformation into something less than human; here, the protagonist is just going through the motions, rarely questioning what is happening to him. The film barrels along without any real thought or substance, with the final act again resorting to the same final battle scene we’ve seen many times before.

The cast of Venom may be small, but the film isn’t exactly banking on quality over quantity. Tom Hardy gives his best charisma to the character but that’s all there is to it. We really don’t learn anything about Eddie Brock apart from the fact he’s a journalist and likes to challenge authority and this same lazy characterisation permeates the entire film. It’s his interactions with the creature itself (also voiced by Hardy with heavy edits) that are arguably the best aspect of the film; while there isn’t any real conflict between the two personas, we do get a couple of good laughs here and there to spice things up. The other characters surrounding Venom are incredibly thin and underused Michelle Williams is just there with little to say or do and hardly does much throughout the proceedings, while her new partner Dr Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) is equally Riz Ahmed’s villain has no motivation or backstory behind him whatsoever. Most disappointing of all though is Jenny Slate’s Dr Dora Skirth, a scientist under Carlton Drake with a sense of ethics; she’s gets Brock where he needs to be then is written out of the plot straight afterwards. Having her play a bigger role to deepen the corporate narrative would have worked wonders for the weak plot.

Venom is a case of technical details doing the bare minimum without going the extra mile. The visual effects are quite good for the most part and they represent the biological symbiote well, particularly the transformation sequences; yet despite these admirable efforts, the effects on Venom in the action scenes beg for more creativity; very rarely are there any inventive uses of Venom’s slimy, shapeshifting frame outside of a few quick flourishes in the action scenes. For all the promises pledged by the its 15 rating, Venom really doesn’t have a lot to show; in the United States it was bumped down to a PG-13 rating and across the pond the only reason it was bumped up above 12A was because of the swearing and nothing more. Yet again, the film can’t fulfil the potential of the Venom character, this time for body horror. The fight scenes are well shot, that much is true, but there’s little to no bloody carnage (pardon the pun) to be found here. Venom mostly just hurls his human adversaries around the periphery and much of the moments that would be gory are cut off or edited out. It’s a prime example of a film unwilling to let its main character deliver the merciless rampages you won’t see in typical superhero films. With a tagline like: “The world has enough superheroes”, this is a huge let-down. The music is loud and pumping, tailoring itself to the more unhinged nature of the character; a decent fit, even if the soundtrack doesn’t have any memorable notes.

When compared to other more uninhibited films it aspires to be, Venom falls well short in both potential and overall quality. Sony may be banking on making another franchise here, but it’s clear once again that they just don’t know what they’re doing with Marvel’s franchise, be it the friendly neighbourhood webslinger at its centre or his most well-known antagonists. Take my advice and stick to Spider-Man Homecoming or the recently released Spider-Man game for PlayStation 4.

Rating: 2/5 Stars (Disappointing)

The Closure of Telltale Games: My Thoughts

Telltale Games; to many gamers, that name signifies the best storytelling in the business; to others it represents a tired studio repackaging the same title repeatedly for popular franchises. Regretfully, the latter has now outweighed the former and the studio is set to be put to rest. How did it happen? I’ll try to figure out why…

The company started off, innocently enough in 2005, making small-scale poker titles before taking on licensed material, the first of which being CSI and the classic Sam and Max titles. But in 2012, the company outdid itself with The Walking Dead Season 1; while Telltale had engaged fans of the point-and-click adventure game, they had never broken into the AAA scene before. TWD changed this, solidifying the developer as one of the best storytellers in the entire industry. As of 2014, a gargantuan 28 million copies were sold and based on my own playthrough that same year, it’s very much deserving of that success. It’s an incredibly powerful and emotional journey from beginning to end, capped off by one of the most heart-breaking conclusions gaming has ever seen, all those reaction videos on the internet didn’t lie at the time. But such a huge success proved to be a double-edged sword; on the one hand, Telltale’s writers were given a respect like nothing they’d seen before, but on the other it bred repetition, and this would grind on for the next five years.

When a successful formula is established, any entertainment sector is set to repeat it and as a developer, Telltale believed that the stories they wrote would be able to carry an entire game; so long as the narratives were deep, and the characters varied, players would keep coming back for more. So, the releases kept on coming, utilising the same game engine and common formula every time; combined with the wide use of digital distribution, development costs could be consistently kept down. At some point between 2012 and 2018, priorities shifted; with this samey design established, Telltale would bid for ever-more popular franchises, often looking to cash in on surges in popularity. For example, Guardians of the Galaxy was released in 2017 to coincide with the second film from Marvel while two seasons of Minecraft were put out to capitalise on the game’s wild popularity. This went on for quite some time; the developer would often put out three separate titles a year, rather than the usual two. As the cycle continued, more and more players were turned off by Telltale’s approach; some grew tired of seeing the same “Character will remember that” line without any payoff while other expressed great disappointment that the studio was prioritising some franchises over others, most notably how The Wolf Among Us Season 2 got pushed back in favour of Minecraft. The turning point for me was Game of Thrones Season 1 which did keep in line with the show but fell short of being memorable.

When you combine this half-baked business strategy with growing apathy from fans, Telltale should have known it couldn’t last. For the past year or so, employee burnout and management problems plagued the studio; just as gamers were getting tired of the same gameplay formula without any kind of progression, so too were employees becoming tired of making the same game over and over just for a different license. It’s clear to me that there came a point where Telltale stopped moving forwards; simultaneously the storytelling that worked so well before started to get weaker. Being bound to the same formula time and again without finding ways to expand and adjust the ways players can influence the narrative made each new release less and less impactful. The video: “The Problem with Telltale Games” by Haedox is a great breakdown of the issues the studio went through.

On September 21^st 2018 it was announced that Telltale Games would be issuing mass lay-offs and slowly shutting down with only 25 employees remaining to form a skeleton crew. The Wolf Among Us Season 2, Game of Thrones Season 2 and Stranger Things have all been cancelled and the final season of The Walking Dead remains tentative for the rest of the year. It’s ironic that the game that shot the developer to super-stardom will now be their swansong. Currently I can’t find the first episode on Steam, which leads me to believe the final season may also be put on the chopping block. Ultimately, Telltale’s library of episodic adventures drastically varies in quality but if you asked me to put the major releases in order from best to worst, here’s how I’d rank them…

Best

1. The Walking Dead Season 1

2. Tales from the Borderlands Season 1

3. The Wolf Among Us Season 1

4. The Walking Dead Season 2

5. Batman: The Enemy Within

6. The Walking Dead: Michonne

7. Guardians of the Galaxy

8. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier

9. Minecraft Story Mode: Season 1

10. Minecraft Story Mode: Season 2

11. Game of Thrones: Season 1

12. Jurassic Park: The Game

Worst

For its employees, the closure of Telltale Games is a nightmare and I wish them all the best in finding new jobs and positions to rescue their livelihoods. But for the company, it seems their flawed ways of doing business and endlessly repetitive releases finally did them in. They crash out of the industry leaving a considerable void in the point-and-click adventure genre. New developers such as Big Bad Wolf may pick up the torch but Telltale’s end teaches a valuable lesson; static development cycles will always grow stale after some time and that moving forward should be held in equally high regard.

(Images used for the purposes of review and criticism under fair use)

The Predator Movie Review

Released: 12th September 2018 (UK)

Length: 107 Minutes

Certificate: 15

Director: Shane Black

Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Sterling K. Brown, Keegan Michael-Key, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen and Brian A. Prince

For all its iconic trappings, the Predator series has made steady runs at the box office in its thirty-year history but has never been given a truly worthy follow-up. Eight years on from the last Predator film and what do we have? Easily the weakest entry in the entire mainline franchise.

Following on from Predator and Predator 2, The Predator follows special forces sniper Quin McKenna (Boyd Holbrook). After escaping an attack by the Predator in Mexico, Mckenna hurriedly sends the valuables from the crash site to his home in Maryland. When his autistic son Rory (Jacob Tremblay) activates Predator technology, a new hunt between Predators and humans begins with multiple players seeking to take control of the situation; this includes a shadowy sect of government researchers led by Will Traeger (Sterling K. Brown), dedicated alien researcher Dr. Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn) and of course the Predator himself, this time played by Brian A. Prince. The plot is all over the place which may be down to reshoots, offering competent action scenes in amongst a whole pile of unnecessary plot threads and filler dialogue. The film is fast-moving and yet it still feels like too much was put into its runtime. There’s a subplot involving Rory being bullied at school, but this is immediately thrown out the window about a quarter of the way through. Rather than working to flesh out the characters, Quinn’s team mostly just sit around and throw crappy quips which rarely get a laugh when they’re not fighting the monster. By contrast, the mystery of the Predators is absent for this outing, as the film sees fit to reveal them in the most basic, straightforward way. The worst offence committed by The Predator though is that there’s no suspense whatsoever; the series has prided itself on using creeping tension as to when the creature will strike next which has been executed to varying degrees of quality through the years. Here, the film is pure action which really ruins any kind of scares it could have had. When it comes down to it, The Predator is sloppy and muddled, an amalgamation of tropes from Black’s previous films that should have been consolidated and streamlined into a more coherent vision.

The characters in The Predator are a real let-down, ranging from average to highly underdeveloped. Boyd Holbrook is merely ok as lead Quinn Mckenna; there’s a light connection to family conveyed but he still pales in comparison to his predecessors. Olivia Munn is serviceable despite her character being given no backstory Young Rory isn’t badly acted by any means; what baffled me was why he needed to be in a Predator film. The other characters, except for Trevante Rhodes’ Nebraska are drab and uninteresting; each one is a cheap gimmick and little more. The audience learns little to nothing about them and so they sit below every other team in the series. The same holds true for other side characters who are either drafted in to fill a place or barely have anything to do; the most notable instances of this are Sean Keyes (Jake Busey) who brings a flimsy link to Predator 2 and Quinn’s wife Emily (Yvonne Strahovski) who essentially disappears from the narrative after twenty minutes of screen time. The dialogue attempts to capture the macho heaviness of the first film but often comes off as cringe-worthy and while not quite veering into insufferable territory, there still isn’t much to like.

At the very least, the film’s effects and action sequences do hold up. The Predator is well shot and well helmed in terms of special effects. There’s a solid amount of detail in the Predator technology, with some subtle hints as to how the aliens have evolved and progressed their hunting techniques. The action is always clear and easy to follow with plenty of wide shots framing the narrative succinctly. There’s a higher use of CGI this time around and it mostly holds up well though I was underwhelmed by the design of the Predator dogs which when compared with those seen in 2010’s Predators, felt lazily put together. It’s a suitably bloody film with Predator tools inflicting plenty of nasty fatalities throughout. Other areas of the presentation feel half-baked however; the music by Henry Jackman mostly makes use of remixes of Alan Silvestri’s original score with not much in the way of new notes; at points the tracks are also awkwardly placed, often marking the entrance of the human antagonists rather than accompanying the action. The Predator is well-produced, but you’ll find that some aspects do stick out in the presentation.

The Predator should have been a match made in heaven; Shane Black knows the 1987 classic better than most and it’s a huge shame that he failed to create a worthy sequel. This fourth Predator film is the worst of the franchise and a very disappointing production all around. Someday they’ll find someone to rejuvenate and breath new life into the alien monster but for now, fans will have to keep on waiting.

Rating: 2/5 Stars (Disappointing)