Creating a likeable protagonist is a complex undertaking. They’re front and centre, always present and if done poorly can ruin an entire experience. I think for that reason alone, ignoring the cost and time element, the “silent protagonist” trope in video games has become such a popular design choice, an easy method of safeguarding the […]
Blu-ray & DVD: The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) Based on the novel by Thomas Keneally, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a hard hitting story set at the end of the 19th century, about a young indigenous man pushed to his breaking point and beyond. Jimmie Blacksmith (Tommy Lewis) is an Aboriginal half-caste and […]
Blu-ray: The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967) Director Roger Corman is probably best known for producing (414 at the moment!) and directing low budget horror and sci-fi movies, and when his work is discussed it is usually about his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations with Vincent Price, or his ‘monster’ movies such as It Conquered the World […]
DVD: Singularity (2017) Elias van Dorne (John Cusack) is the CEO of the world’s biggest robotics company and the creator of ‘Kronos’; a super-computer designed to end all wars. Kronos however, decides that humans are the biggest threat to world peace and launches an attack to rid the planet of this warmongering ‘infestation’. Years later, […]
Blu-ray and DVD: Marty (1955) Hard working and good natured butcher Marty Piletti (the wonderful Ernest Borgnine) is 34 and unmarried. This seems to cause great concern to his family, and especially his quintessentially Italian immigrant mother (Esther Minciotti). Marty’s life trundles on; he meets his also single friends after work, and at weekends they […]
Blu-ray: Rawhead Rex (1986) Famously written by the great Clive Barker, Rawhead Rex is a humdinger of a marmite (love it or hate it) film. Set in 1980’s rural Ireland, it tells the tale of a monster (Rawhead Rex) who is unsuspectedly unleashed on the people and countryside. There’s no real explanation of what it is, […]
Blu-ray: Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988) What is it with clowns? Does anyone actually find them funny and not absolutely terrifying? The makers of Poltergeist and IT haven’t really helped to champion the cause for family friendly clowns and neither does Killer Klowns from Outer Space! Although these clowns are a darn sight more […]
Kung Fu Master Platform: Arcade Released: 1984 Developer: Irem Publisher: Data East Thomas and his girlfriend Sylvia are minding their own business when they are attacked by a gang of thugs. Before they can say, “chop suey” Sylvia is kidnapped by the evil Mr X, but what the gang don’t realise is that Thomas has […]
DVD: Society (1989) I first watched Society many years ago at ‘Black Sunday’; an all night horror movie festival that was held in Manchester. I still remember the audience reaction at the infamous ‘shunting’ scene…the place went wild! Indeed, all of the make-up effects by Screaming Mad George got a rousing reaction from a caffeine […]
Started in 2008 by Jaime Milner and Ash Blackwell, Wales Comic Con is a definite one off. Over the years I’ve been to a lot of Comic Cons in the UK and USA (yes even The San Diego CC at Golden Hall in 1990, and then in the San Diego convention centre in 1991), so […]