NEWS: Girl With Dragon Tattoo Premiere

Have a look below at the Premiere report from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, this is something new that we might be introducing, so would be good to hear your thoughts.

NEWS: The Last Guardian Postponed AGAIN

As people who had pre-orders for the game find out that it's being postponed, we suddenly see that The Last Guardian might be in more trouble than we think. Customers have been offered money back or another pre-order, but the great worry is that the game might not be made at all.

Creator, and the most important figure behind Team Ico Fumito Ueda has 'vacated his position' leading speculators to believe it is either going to be cancelled or postponed indefinitely. Seeing as this game was announced in 2008 I believe, it's been a long time coming and no-one knows what's going to happen by the looks of it.

TRAILER: Catherine

What has caused a bit of a storm worldwide for reasons I'm not really sure about, Catherine is about to hit Europe on Feb 10th and I'm looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about! Anyone played this yet?

REVIEW: Boardwalk Empire Season 2

Or what should be called 'Jimmy Vs Nucky' ...


To follow on from an incredible first season of Boardwalk was always going to be difficult, but thankfully the second series lived up to expectations and with a bit of a slow start, it is certainly a season that gains pace only to smack you around the head by the end.

Things pick up pretty much where they left off, but this season focuses pretty much on Jimmy and his rise through the ranks. His character is definitely one of the most interesting, and it's actually Nucky who slows everything down with his somewhat boring political affairs as he tries to keep himself on top of the game and yet out of prison. Richard is given a bit more screen time and allowed to show some deeper disturbing character traits that are the personification of what Jimmy brought back from the war, Richard is a part of Jimmy that he holds sacred.

There are obviously lots of storylines going on, Michael Shannon has some domestic and financial issues to sort out, racism and sexism is everywhere and even the fight in Ireland makes it's mark. The only thing is that what made the first season interesting is somewhat lacking this season. The violence which is the real bang, is too few and far between, also we get caught up in a lot of talk and meetings that slow everything down. Also Mrs. Schroeder (however you spell it) makes me want to kill myself every time she comes on screen, which is unfortunately quite a lot.

Overall, this is still one of the highest quality TV shows out there, but this season felt a little bit too self-important and lacked the punch that the first season had with every episode. Jimmy, however, is incredible and his arc throughout the season is what knits the entire thing together. Even as jaded as I am with twists and turns, I really was surprised quite frequently.

An absolute gem, but hoping third season gets better.

Rating: 8/10

TRAILER: The Devil Inside

The Devil Inside carries on from classic Exorcism films, but with a lot of 'docu' style horrors being all the rage, can this one set itself apart? What do you guys think? I like the twisted up-ness at least!

REVIEW: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Fincher puts his own spin on the popular novel not that long after the Swedish film was released. Was it worth doing? How much different is it?


I have to confess I haven't read the books. Instead, I watched all the Swedish films back to back and have to say I enjoyed the first one, but was disappointed with the latter two. The main reason I liked Dragon Tattoo was because of the story, something lacking in Fire and Hornet. Fincher has made a good choice in wishing to direct this first one, but being wary to sign on to direct the next two, for good reason.

In case you don't know, the film is about a journalist asked to solve a case of a girl that has been missing for decades, meanwhile a young researcher is having her own troubles until she is brought in to help the journalist. There's a lot more to it, but that's it in a nutshell.

People have said they can't see anyone playing Lisbeth since Noomi Rapace played her (who is now in Sherlock Holmes 2 and the much anticipated Prometheus), but I have to say I enjoyed Rooney Mara's performance a whole lot more. Rapace was cold, isolated, with only mere moments of any kind of humanity. Though this makes her seem multidimensional as a character on paper, as a performance it lacks a certain quality which Mara has been able to invoke. She is strong, yet innocent, and where people could believe Rapace was a strong yet vulnerable woman, Mara takes it to another level where you don't even need to believe it, she just is.


She also looks a lot better, it's not strange to think that Rooney is attractive and yet slightly boyish and Fincher has brought out something that is memorable, to the point where an Academy Award nomination wouldn't be out of the question. That's not to take anything away from Craig, who is a damn sight better than his Swedish equivalent and makes the role his own. The other periphery actors also do an amazing job, Stellan Skarsgard (one of my favourite actors) making a noteworthy performance. But it is Rooney who steals the show.

No-one could also fault Trent Reznor's score which adds a subtle yet sinister depth to each scene and for what has to be arguably Fincher's most commercial piece of work, he still manages to toe the line of popular acceptability and integrity that comes with experience. He hasn't done anything crazy, in fact it feels sometimes the story is strong enough for him to step back and let it unfold, yet it is his subtle signatures with lighting, framing, colour and his incredible storytelling ability that makes sure this is one for everyone. Even the amazing title sequence which made my jaw drop was a bit strange, almost like a Bond opening, but still showed that Fincher isn't afraid to do things a little different.

The only problems were that sometimes it felt a little drawn out and there's still points, much like the Swedish one, where I'm left scratching my head but too engrossed in what's happening to care. Also, same with Swedish one, I also felt that Lisbeth's story that continues over the top of the main narrative seems at times surreal in that it might be establishing her character, but deviates from the main plot, no matter how relevant it might be in the future plotlines.

It's one of the few times that a Hollywood remake of a foreign film pays off and it's done with great style. It's a good story that will keep you hooked and Mara is just mesmerising in what I think is the ultimate take on Lisbeth Salander, by far the most interesting character of the lot. Definitely worth a look-see.

Rating: 8/10

REVIEW: Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol

Tom Cruise is back in the latest explosive blockbuster, but is he getting on a bit? 


To any naysayers, I must say I really enjoyed Mission Impossible 3 and thought it was a real step forward for the franchise. This is a worthy sequel and with Abrams still on board as a producer, it is a gun-ho action packed piece of pure cinema to really get the blood pumping.

The story, much like many of this ilk, is inconsequential. Sawyer from Lost has been killed getting some nuclear codes from A to B or something. America and Russia are in another cold war and it's up to Tom Cruise to save the day. There are some great set pieces from around the world with all the whistles and stops that come from such a multimillion blockbuster and there's no doubt you get a lot of bang for your buck. Whether it's jumping out from a skyscraper, a chase scene in a sand storm, a prison escape or just the edge-of-your-seat tension of trying not to blow your cover (that's what she said), Mission Impossible 4 ticks all the right boxes. It must be said Cruise still gives it 110% effort and the results are really up there on the screen, his other cast members also make quite a good team all complimenting one another. Jeremy Renner impresses and shows that he can easily be the next Bourne, even Pegg didn't annoy me which is a first. The villains also might not be of Seymour-Hoffman calibre but still do some scene chewing.

Director Brad Bird has also done extremely well for someone who hasn't done a live action film before, his previous credits being in animation such as The Incredibles and working on The Simpsons for quite a while, and you can't fault his skill. However, the film did have a few issues. Namely, the pace isn't as high-paced as the last one, which might be ok but sometimes we don't need to see every tiny detail that happens with each mission. An example of how this worked before when in MI3 when they are in China, Cruise just suddenly jumps out of a skyscraper from above without the audience seeing anything at all of what happened before. It was a bold move and paid off, however MI4 just carries on the whole 'here's the mission, here's what we have to do, here is us doing it, here's where it's gone wrong, here's how we fixed it' and then kept to that formula about five times during the film. There were a few surprises but there was nothing that made me think it was taking chances, it was just pure spectacle. Which isn't a bad thing.

The added benefit was also that I watched it in IMAX which is always that bit better than seeing it on a normal cinema. There's nothing here that will change the world, but the action is top notch and it's definitely going to make the Bond franchise sit up and take notice again because on all accounts, Mission Impossible is in the lead. Overall, I'd give it an extra mark for IMAX mind-blowing visual candy, but as a film it is good but not great and you can't go wrong with hopping to the cinema to see it, you'll be thoroughly entertained.

Rating: 7/10