Legend of Korra Book 2 Episode 4 Review

I thought I would try something a little different this time. Here is an audio review of Legend of Korra Book 2 Episode 4.

8.5/10

Grey's Anatomy Season 10 - Premier Review

I’m going to be blunt. I did not enjoy the season 10 premier of Grey’s Anatomy. I feel like there was a lot of overacting and dangerously high levels of cheese. Everything felt a little forced and very predictable. As much as I love this show, I’m not confident that the series is progressing in the way that it should. I won’t say that I hated the episode, but there were so many things that could have been done better. I sincerely hope that the rest of the series gets better because I really don’t want to see one of my favourite series feel like it has been on too long.

If nothing else, this is one of the most drama filled season premiers in the show’s history. It deals with the aftermath of the storm and we get to see how the Doctors of Grey Sloan recover from it. However, they still have to deal with further problems that the storm has caused, the most pressing of which being the electrocution of both Dr. Webber and Dr. Brooks. This leads me to my first problem: The overacting.

One particular scene sticks out in my mind, it’s a scene where Bailey is asked to reassure Christina while she is treating Webber, and both Chandra Wilson (Miranda Bailey) and Sandra Oh (Christina Yang) were being way too over dramatic for me to take them seriously.

This wasn’t my biggest issue with the episode though. One of my favourite things about the last nine seasons of Grey’s was the soundtrack. It was understated and the music always fit the mood. Unfortunately, it would seem that they have changed the music, and not for the better. Instead of the classic MerDer theme we’re all used to hearing during a tense moment, we get more upbeat music that really breaks the mood.

I really enjoyed some elements of the episode though. The first being the way they dealt with the Calzona break up. I love the way that Sara Ramirez and Jessica Capshaw act together, even when they are at odds with each other. Some of my favourite Calzona scenes are when they are fighting, and last season was a gold mine of that. Season 10 seams to promise more heart wrenching fight scenes between the two.

I also loved the way they dealt with Heather’s death and how that brought the interns together. Despite my initial opinion of the new interns, I really think they fit in well with the rest of the cast and I think the show would be a lot less interesting without them. Especially Camilla Luddington (Jo Wilson) as I think that her character is just what was needed in order to fully develop Alex’s character. I have very high hopes for those two characters this season and I hope that Shonda explores their relationship thoroughly in season 10.

The premier for season 10 of Grey’s Anatomy wasn’t brilliant. But, Shonda and the rest of the Grey’s team always pull it together in the end and I expect it will be no different this time around.

6.5/10

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D - Pilot Review

COULSON LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I heard that ABC was creating a television show about S.H.I.E.L.D, I was excited. When I found out that it would star Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson and would be produced by Joss Whedon, I was ecstatic. And to top it all off, the series would be taking place after the events of The Avengers meaning that Coulson survived! This combination of announcements led me to believe that this new series would be the best comic based television show of all time.

I was not disappointed... too much.

I loved the pilot episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (which I shall now be referring to as AoS so that I don’t have to type out all of those full stops). The episode had just the right balance of action, suspense and humour to keep me invested in the characters and both curious and excited about what would happen next.

One of the things that I was most worried about going in was whether or not the production levels would be high enough to make a series set in the Marvel Universe work. Thankfully, everything was sleek and high-tech enough to make everything seem as realistic as possible without forgetting that this is series is being incorporated into the Marvel cinematic universe and needs to still feel like a superhero film to some extent.

There were a couple of disappointments though. Firstly, Coulson was about the only character that I cared about during the episode. He is the same guy we remember from The Avengers and that is why we like him. The other characters were pretty forgettable, and the likelihood is, that I won’t remember their names or faces from one week to the next. The other thing that bugged me was that the villain of the episode was so boring. His story was unoriginal and predictable to the point of disbelief.

The action sequences however, were well thought out and very entertaining, yet they weren’t thrown in your face to fill up screen time (I’m looking at you Man of Steel). The script was great - par the conversations including the two scientists on the team – and the parts that were meant to be funny, were in most cases. I particularly enjoyed as certain ‘poop joke’ made by Clark Gregg early on in the episode.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is an interesting spinoff from the cinematic universe and certainly shows potential in becoming a great series. All it needs to do is throw in some character development.

7/10

Why Treasure Planet is an Underappreciated Masterpiece

Treasure Planet is my favourite film of all time. However, my extraordinarily high opinion of it is not shared by many others. Described by A. O. Scott of The New York Times as "not much of a movie at all" and a "brainless, mechanical picture", many have asked me why I love this film so much. I am here today to offer an answer to that question. Here are the top five reasons why I think that Treasure Planet is an underappreciated masterpiece:

1.      The Story – Treasure Planet is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's brilliant pirate novel Treasure Island, so the story is pretty self explanatory. Jim Hawkins is the troublesome only child of single mother and land lady Sarah Hawkins who sets out on a ship full of pirates (unknown to him) to find the fabled Treasure Planet. Treasure Island is one of my favourite stories, and you can’t go wrong with one of the best loved novels of all time. What is so refreshing about this film is that it is a Disney movie in which the most important relationship is not a romantic one, but one between a fatherless boy and a stranger who becomes a father figure, and this relationship is absolutely delightful to watch unfold. What gives this version of the story an edge is its style. The two things I love most in a story are pirates and space. This film combines the two seamlessly, without tarnishing the work of Robert Louis Stevenson.

2.      The Visuals – If one thing can be said for Disney, is that they know how to do animation. The art style in Treasure Planet combines old and new in two very important ways. The first of which being that the artists operated on what Disney call the “70/30 Law”. What this means is that 70 percent of the art is traditional (e.g. Pirate galleons and rickety wooden inns) and 30 percent Sci-Fi. This is balanced exceptionally well and it gives the world a very endearing look that keeps bringing me back to watch it over and over and over…

The second way is that they used a similar principal to balance traditional hand drawn art with CGI, creating astoundingly beautiful scenery with intricate detailing abound.

3.      The Voice Acting – What truly amazes me about the standard of voice acting in this film is how it can be so fantastic despite the fact that only one of the main characters is voiced by an experienced voice actor. Yes Emma Thompson (Captain Amelia) and Joseph Gordon-Levit (Jim Hawkins) are great actors, but neither of them had any voice acting experience prior to recording this film. It’s astonishing how they can convey so many things without the audience ever seeing their faces. By far my favourite performance in this film is that of Brian Murray (John Silver). His exchanges with Jim are some of the most beautiful scenes in the film.

4.      The Soundtrack – Once again Disney employs the “70/30 Law” with Treasure Planet’s soundtrack. 70 percent of the film is accompanied by the beautiful bluegrass style score by James Newton Howard (whose work you may have heard in Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Disney’s Dinosaur). The score is complemented by two more modern songs by John Rzeznik, one of which (I’m Still Here) is the back drop for one of the most meaningful scenes in the entire film.

5.   Morph -

                     

      Need I say more?

Avatar: The Legend of Korra Book Two - Episode 3 Review

Last week’s episode of Legend of Korra was a little disappointing for me, but it left me hopeful that the rest of the season would be better. This week’s episode entitled “Civil Wars Part I” showed me that I was right to be hopeful.

I thoroughly enjoyed episode three. Many of the problems that I had with the first two episodes were not present this time around. For example, there were no spirit battles this week. All the action was focused around the Northern Water Tribe’s conflict with the South. This resulted in a lack of action all together, allowing the episode to focus on some of the series’ stronger points.

The focal point of episode three was the Southern Water Tribe reacting to the Northern invasion, and Korra’s attempts to stay neutral and prevent the outbreak of civil war. Despite the fact that Korra is now able to bend all four elements, this is the first time she has ever felt like the avatar. In the past Korra has usually been the source of conflict, but on this occasion she is the one trying to resolve the conflict before it worsens. It seems that the show’s creators were saving the moment when Korra’s character development would kick in until this episode.

Another great thing about this episode was that we got to see more of Tenzin’s relationship with his family and we learned of what Aang was like as a father. This was perhaps my favourite part of the episode, because the writers were doing what they do best: creating and expanding an extraordinary universe. I’d like to point out at this point that I love Lisa Edelstein’s voice acting as Tenzin’s sister Kya. She seems very sincere and her character was one of my favourites this episode. Unfortunately, all of the great character revelation here was put in the back seat to a less intriguing story element, meaning that we didn’t get all that much of it.

There only a few complaints this time. Firstly, Unalaq is still a terrible character and hasn’t become any more convincing despite the fact that he is so obviously the villain of the story. Secondly, there were two things missing from this episode that left some holes in the plot. The main one was Jinora’s storyline that was so interesting from last episode. Towards the end of the season premier, Jinora was seen exploring the hall of statues in the air temple. She found a strange looking statue of whom we can only assume is the first avatar. But at the beginning of episode three, we see Jinora after this event with no explanation as to what the statue was. The other thing missing was Asami. We know from the last episode that she is still in the Southern Water Tribe, yet we don’t see her at all in this episode.

Overall, I loved “Civil Wars Part I”. It really feels as if the series is getting back on track. And with eleven episodes left, I have a feeling that it will be a really great one.

8.5/10  

Avatar: The Legend of Korra Book 2 - Episodes 1 and 2 Review

Last year’s Avatar: The Legend of Korra is one of my favourite animated T.V. shows, and I was incredibly excited for the release of book two. The first two episodes of this series had their ups and downs, but overall, left me hopeful for the rest of this season to be great.

As usual, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have done an excellent job introducing their audience to the beautiful world they have created. Book two takes place six months after the events of book one the scene is set pretty well. Bolin has put the Fire Ferrets back together (minus Mako and Korra), Mako has joined the police and is working towards becoming a detective, Asami is running Future Industries and Korra is still practicing her air bending with Tenzin who is planning a trip to the four air temples to help Korra with her spiritual training.

Unfortunately, despite everything she went through in book one, Korra has had next to no character development, meaning that she is still a hot-headed, impatient and selfish character who has no time for anyone else. This is particularly frustrating considering as it seems that the lack of character development is to server the purpose of moving the main plot in the direction that the writers want it to go. What this means is that the start of book two is way too similar to that of book one which makes the story telling feel very lazy.

This laziness is further shown in the presentation of Korra’s uncle Unalaq. Unalaq is the chief of the Nothern Water Tribe who is visiting the Southern Water Tribe for the spirit festival. Korra and friends are also visiting the Southern Water Tribe at this time. Almost immediately, Unalaq seems very similar to one of last season’s villains: Tarrlok, not least because they look very similar. But the strained relationship he has with his brother, his cold demeanour and mysterious form of water bending he uses later in the episode shows just how lazy the story telling really is.

Despite the lack of original ideas, the hour long season premier is still very enjoyable. For a start, the animation as perhaps even better, than that of book one. The dark spirits are beautifully drawn and the fight scenes that include them are very pretty despite the fact that action scenes in the Avatar universe are much more entertaining when humans are fighting each other. I feel that the fighting scenes have much more depth when two benders are locked in combat.

Also enjoyable, was the high calibre of voice acting. Pretty much the entire cast of season one, (barring characters like Amon, Tarrlok and Mr Sato) reprise their roles for book two. The only let down in this aspect, is that Lin Beifong is not featured at all in the season premier. Lin was one of my favourite characters from book one and it seems pretty unlikely that she will appear much this season.

Despite all the letdowns, there are a couple of things that leave me hopeful that the rest of this season will be good. Firstly, Jinora’s story is very intriguing and I am excited to see where they are going with it. It seems pretty likely that Jinora and Korra’s stories will come together at some point and this is exciting.

The other thing that peaks my interest, is the parallels between the Northern Water Tribe invasion at the end of episode two and the 100 year war with the fire nation. This seems to be a good way of giving Korra some character development this series and sewing the seeds for a wider story that may extend into next season.

Overall, I really enjoyed the start of book two and I’m excited to see where the series will go. There were a few weak points, but not enough to ruin the experience.

8/10

Gone Home Review

Gone Home is an adventure game developed by The Fullbright Company that is entirely focused around story. All the game play elements in this game are centred on piecing together the next part of the story. The way in which this is presented is so interesting and different from anything I’ve ever played. To say that this game is good is a disservice to the developers. Gone Home is an example of what the gaming industry needs and why indie gaming has come so far in recent years.

Gone Home’s story starts with Kaitlin Greenbriar who returns from a trip around Europe to her family’s new home to find the house empty and a note on the door from her younger sister, Sam, telling her not to look for answers as to her location. Obviously, the next logical step for Kaitlin is to search the empty house for clues to find out what happened. Sam’s story is one of the most beautiful, heart-warming and endearingly human tales in gaming. It is so unique in the fact that the game play is only there to compliment the telling of this tale, and strangely, it doesn’t at all bother me. In fact, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As Kaitlin, you spend your time in the game exploring the house and finding little pieces of Sam’s life scattered around through which her story is told. When you find a key item, you hear an extract from Sam’s journal explaining the next chapter in her life. The voice actor who plays Sam does an outstanding job of conveying her emotions and the things that she is going through. But, the story isn’t just about Sam. While exploring, you find out about Sam’s parents and friends whose stories are also intricate and dramatic but in a beautifully subtle way that allows you to be interested without detracting from the main story.

The house itself is designed so well and the flickering lights and dark shadowy areas of the family home create an eerie yet warm atmosphere that sets the mood of the game perfectly. One of the great things about this game is that

It doesn’t treat you like an idiot or hold your hand. If you don’t spend enough time exploring, you’re not going to experience the whole story. You can’t finish the game without finding out most of Sam’s story, but there are many elements to it that are easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention. What this means is that you have to truly invest to get the most meaningful experience out of the game, and in no way is this a bad thing.

Gone Home is one of the most meaningful and fulfilling games I have ever played. It is a must play for anyone looking for a great story in a video game, or, just a great story in general.

10/10