NEWS: The Thing Trailer Released

Oh dear. The remake of The Thing is on it's way and it looks pretty awful. This is supposed to be a prequel, but it's clearly set now and my only hope is that it might end with two uninfected guys trying to shoot a dog from a helicopter (which is how the original Thing kind of opens).
People forget that we don't want an 'origins' - I loved the idea in Carpenter's original that something has already happened, that we've jumped in halfway through an event. Why do we need something to ruin all that? Anyway, I'll probably watch it and hate it. I hate it already from this trailer which changes nothing except clearly has a worse story and looks more 'jumpy' rather than a slow-burn.
What's with all these paranoia based films? It's like McCarthy 'reds in the beds' all over again.

Does anyone remember the game either?

NEWS: Soderbergh's Contagion Trailer

Matt Damon puts on his serious rubber face again as he stars in what looks like a remake of that Dustin Hoffman movie Outbreak based on that Michael Crichton book. It's only towards the end when we see it a bit post-apocalyptic that it starts looking good. This shows a lot of promise but I'm still to go through a whole Matt Damon film without looking at his wooden face and wishing he'd just go away. Yes that includes the Bourne films as well. What do you think?

NEWS: Pixar's 'John Carter' Trailer Released

Pixar have put down their toys and now want to be all grown up and make a sci-fi action blockbuster. So they've decided on a story about a civil war soldier getting sent to another planet to be some kind of hero against aliens or something. Apparently the trailer has caused quite a stir but I think it looks awful. It's like He-Man has walked into the Stargate and come out with a worse name. I'm not a big fan of this but I guess it might be ok....? It's a bit different from Wall-E though.

REVIEW: Assassin's Creed - Brotherhood

So I finally finish the sequel to ... the sequel in what is rather an addition to Assassin's Creed II rather than a completely new story all together.


The story carries on from pretty much where Assassin's Creed II left off, however Ezio has now basically had that apple thing stolen from him and plans to get it back - with some people to kill along the way. Desmond, his modern day counterpart, is still a bit confused by what's going on inside his head and with the irritating Danny Wallace by his side trying to be funny, you're luckily spending most of your time in Rome.

There are some notable differences though, not only Rome being the main city this time round but also it feels a lot smoother. The hustle and bustle of the city is still mesmorising and I can't help but get completely engrossed in the city, like it's a second home. Brotherhood has advanced some more while Ezio has been away. The idea of renovating different businesses to increase your income is quite an obsessive distraction, however having to kill a nearby head guard person to allow you to do it can be rather tiresome and systematic. The main idea of 'Brotherhood' though is the quite innovative notion of recruiting assassin's and sending them out around the world on missions. Not only do they get stronger and level up as you go along, but during gameplay you can call on them to take out enemies. However, once I'd realised this, completing certain missions became a piece of cake and sometimes made the game a whole lot easier. It's a blessing and a curse.

There's not much to criticise here as Assassin's Creed II was a great piece of gaming and this adds a whole new layer to it but lacks the character depth of it's predecessor. I enjoyed the narrative of the second one, but then this was never meant to be anything to drive the narrative forward apart from the shocker ending. If you haven't played any of these games before, this is a great one to delve into as it has all the glorious benefits from the other titular games but keeps things quite simple. I couldn't be bothered to try and do the game 100%, which I did for the last one as I really felt I'd had enough jumping around and assassinating to last a lifetime, but there's a whole lot here that can keep you occupied for a long time to come.

A lot of this time-consuming business is also a lot of jumping around dark caves, cellars and what-not as you try to negotiate yourself around places. I sometimes wish it didn't have these points, as it lacks the excitement that something like Uncharted would have, and it just turns into some weird platform-esque game, which I can really be doing without. After a while, you just want to stop climbing and jumping around and falling only to do it again and again.

The graphics look great, the city is beautiful, the gameplay exquisite and the story-line, though a little bit cobbled together to get another Ezio story out, still proves to be engaging and fun nonetheless. Had this been more of a turning point for the narrative, then I would give this a higher mark but as it stands, it really is just a bridge to what I would like to have been Assassin's Creed 3 but instead is another Ezio storyline in Assassin's Creed Revelations. It goes to show what great games truly can achieve when you try something different.

Rating: 9/10

NEWS: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

This has to be the strangest poster ever.


Imagine a world without Planet of the Apes, not just the Tim Burton monstrosity, but without the entire saga. Now imagine an industry executive sitting in his big leather chair, smoking a huge cigar and guffawing about how much money he's making. In comes a sprightly young lad
 "I have an idea"
 "Well go ahead kid, that's what I pay you for!"
 "A world where apes get super smart and take over the world."
"What will we call it son?"
"Rise of The Planet Of The Apes"
"I love it! What's the poster like?"
"It's a city burning in the background, but really it's just a big monkey with his fist in the air with loads of monkeys behind him"
"Sold."

Somehow I couldn't imagine anyone thinking that this poster is a good idea. It completely lacks integrity, imagination and just looks stupid. Are these attributes going to apply to the film? Probably.

The trailer looks interesting, but 'interesting' in that I don't know what it's supposed to be. The end sequences with apes wreaking havoc look like Jumanji and I can't imagine this film offering anything new. James Franco might be leading the way but Rupert Wyatt really only has The Escapist to his name, which didn't do amazingly well but was supposed to be good. What do you guys think? Excited at all? Do you like the poster?