Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2010)

A fantastic reboot and a phenomenal start that the franchise desperately needed- Castlevania is BACK!

Being a huge Castlevania fan, i was hoping that the series was eventually given an A star treatment, especially after the series had become lacklustre with an endless amount of hand-held "Metroidvania" clones. The 3D ones of the past hadn't been amazing but a solid start, having enjoyed Castlevania 64 and Lament of Innocence, though Curse of Darkness was severely lacking. Still, it seemed that the Castlevania franchise would wallow in a sea of mediocrity unless someone took it seriously. And thankfully, Konami finally did- with a lot of help from a fresh new talent. Spanish studio Mercury Steam were brought on board with gaming mastermind Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear Solid fame to give Castlevania the boost it needed, and boy, it was worth the wait.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a bold new re-imaging of the classic franchise, and it is a phenomenal piece of work. The first thing you will notice is how beautiful the visuals are- simply jawdropping. This universe is not traditional Castlevania at all, but is still very much similar. This Castlevania's world now is more like Lord of the Rings' Middle-Earth, complete with wargs, goblins, steeds, knights and trolls. But the core elements remain true to the roots and are recognisable. Gabriel Belmont is the protagonist, on a mission to rescue a loved one- traditional Castlevania fare at first glance, but revamped into something fresh and new. The story is much more epic than this now, a deep and powerful, enthrallingly well developed plot providing twists and turns along the way- i was on the edge of my seat as I was playing, it is expertly written, told and executed. The world is truly epic in scope, and the game itself is very long indeed- there are at least 20 hours of gameplay here, so you get your money's worth. The graphics are truly stunning. The art and design is mesmerising, they did a brilliant job in visualising everything here- from the enemies to locations to even the menus- and because the game is so long, it has you traversing through many levels; lush magical woodland realms, crumbling temples, dark caverns, snowy villages to huge towering Gothic castles- yes, everything that makes a Castlevania game is here, and it looks simply amazing. Top marks for the visuals- it all looks spectacular. Whilst it retains the classic romantic-gothic theme of Castlevania, it's re-imagined into more brutal medieval fantasy world, reminiscent of classic NES/SNES games, but with an added Tolkien and even Guillermo Del Toro vibe (developers Mercury Steam, have clearly looked at the director's iconic visual and art style for inspiration, and it works a treat). The monsters are also very varied too, you get familiar Castlevania faces as well as new ones, and there are loads of them- from spiders to zombies, all with a new look and equally terrifying to encounter. The boss battles are fantastic as well- some of them huge giants that usually have you climbing their massive bodies to kill them; most huge, some small- all epic. The music is outstanding; fully orchestrated and beautiful to listen to, elegantly capturing the atmosphere like a true big-budget film. The voice acting and cast is magnificent, you get the likes of Robert Carlyle as the protagonist, to Patrick Stewart, Jason Isaacs and Natascha McElhone; top class British actors that bring A star quality. All the characters are fully fleshed out very well.

The gameplay is brilliant with a tight combat system, plenty of moves and combos and a wide variety of attacks- it is very comfortable to control. You get special dark and light magic as well which give you even more attacks to play around with, and this gives way to some very solid, tactical fighting; you'll have fun mixing the magic up and using them on different enemies with different combos, identifying strengths and weaknesses and what works best on particular enemies. And because the fighting system is so fluid, combat all flows extremely well. As you make your way deeper into the game, Gabriel will have the ability to ride on various different creatures as you traverse through the game. The game is split up into mainly 3 types of gameplay- combat, platforming and puzzles- all of this is done really well and split up nicely- lots of climbing inbetween fighting and puzzle-solving gives it a nice blend of styles. There's also a lot of exploration to do, too. Although the game's paths may seem linear, you will be traversing back to many areas you missed before for collectibles via alternative multiple paths, giving rise to more playthroughs, especially if you're an achievement/trophy enthusiast.

The main issue however is that the game does almost nothing new- everything is taken from previous games in the genre, it's just a mish-mash of God of War, Devil May Cry, Shadow of the Collousus (boss fights), Uncharted/Prince of Persia/Tomb Raider/Assassin's Creed (climbing and puzzles) Rygar, Onimusha 3, Ninja Gaiden and previous CV game Lament of Innocence. Still, it takes the best aspects of those, and makes a great blend of it, though it does seem like i've played this game before and there are many scenes of plain deja vu. But it's a minor gripe as it's what the basis of video games are; taking things that have been done before, and adding your own spin, as long as it's fun to play then it doesn't matter. And Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is an absoloute blast to play through- wholly engaging throughout.

Other, again minor, problems are the lack of manual camera control (though the camera positions the action well enough and is very cinematic, i would have at least liked to control it myself because i'm very fussy like that and need control), and the lack of actual traditional Castlevania music, which there is none of, sadly. The music, whilst fantastic, has a tendency to repeat itself over and over, and considering there's only a few tracks in the game, means you will hear these a lot. The game is also mostly on the quiet side, very sombre and moody (it's a depressing story so I guess this fits it), but when the drama kicks in there are suitably bombastic music cues to contemplate this.  Also, some inclusions of classic Castlevania themes would have been nice in some way or form, since the series' history has given away to some iconic music. But this is a reboot and re-imaging, so i can see how they want to carve it's own identity.

Other than that, it's a solid game and one of the best hack/slash adventures i've ever played. Being a long term Castlevania fan it didn't disappoint me at all, Mercury Steam, Hideo Kojima and new producer Dave Cox really nailed the concept very well and delivered what i've been wanting to have for a long time- a visually stunning adventure game with a deep soul that is truly epic in scope that harks back to the traditional action adventure days of Castlevania rather than the RPG-heavy "Metroidvania" ones which have become boring and oversaturated to me. At first glance, it may seem that it's not a Castlevania that younger fans will instantly recognise (having been fed a psuedo Japanese-heavy Anime style for the last decade or so), but the older fans of the series will see the roots well, as it has enough things in there to remind you that at it's heart, it very much still is classic Castlevania. This is fantastic start and a grand new reboot to what now seems a very promising future for Castlevania.

Graphics- 10/10 Art and Design- 10/10 Music- 8/10 Voice Acting- 9/10 Gameplay- 8/10 Control - 9/10 Story- 10/10 Replayability- 9/10

Overall- 9/10

Review: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Patrick Tatopoulos, 2009)

Stylishly entertaining medieval fantasy yarn, the best film of the trilogy by far

I wouldn't say i'm a big fan of Underworld but I admired the story more than the directing and generic execution. However, this 3rd movie surpasses both original ones in pretty much everything that now i'm a huge fan- from effects, to direction to even performances this film was brilliant and far superior to the previous films.

Set as a prequel before the previous two films, this tragic love story story tells the tale of how the feud between the Lycans and the Vampires first began, and introduces us to the principle characters and how their fates would to unfold in the future films (Underworld and Underworld Evolution).

Bill Nighy and Micheal Sheen are mesmerising as always, the visuals are outstanding for a small movie like this (really good CG, better than the first 2, made the movie really epic in scope could easily be mistaken for a Lord of the Rings film, especially TTT) with amazing art design (pseudo-medieval epic LOTR-style fantasy vibe and costumes was totally kick-ass, and the lycans look so much better here than before), gripping and captivating drama that really strengthens the past history and story as a prequel (finally we get to see a proper much-desired battle between Lucian and Viktor as well understand why they conflict), wicked music, superb, style and excellent choreography, badass action scenes and direction.

I believe director Patrick Tatopoulos pulled off a better movie than Len Wiseman did with his 2 attempts, easily. This is the best film out of the trilogy by far in my opinion. The only thing i was sad to see go was Kate Beckinsale, but Rhona Mitra did more than nicely.

It's so good to see a creature designer and artist whom i've admired for so long direct a film that is exactly what I want in a kick-ass creature feature/fantasy action adventure film. The best thing about him being an SFX guy is that he knows how to film effects properly, especially if the effects are bad, he knows how to mask them and utilise their strengths more, exactly like James Cameron, Stan Winston and Guillermo Del Toro. Wiseman didn't have a clue how to do this properly.

I feel the film achieves everything it sets out to do. Given the film's budget, resources, and the talent behind it i believe it hit the mark and ticked the boxes in the best way it could given what it is, and thus it gets full marks as a piece of work presented to us. They all tried their hardest and not only succeeded but surpasses expectations (look at other films in the same predicament, which sucked), ergo for me this film gets top marks.

Well done Patrick! I hope he directs the 4th one, as this movie was a total surprise and a fantastic prequel, just a great film overall. The ending actually gave me goosebumps, I love how the final scene links in to the rest of the films.

Review: My Name Is Khan (Karan Johar, 2010)

An enjoyable piece of inspiration, though quite cheesy and melodramatic

The film centres around the flashbacks of an autistic Muslim man from Mumbai called Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) who, having been bought up to know the truthfully simple difference between right and wrong by his mother, comes to San Francisco and unwillingly falls in love with Mandira, a Hindu girl who works at a local hair salon (played by Kajol). As their seemingly random but loving friendship develops, so does the world around them as the terrorist attack of 9/11 unfolds before them. Unable to understand the now forceful (and wrongful) anger and hatred that the western world has upon not only Muslims but Asians in general, and struck by a personal family tragedy, his relationship with Mandira is suddenly broken as the world begins to crumble in conflict as the racial separation hits his world and starts to tear it apart. Rizwan thus takes it upon himself to fulfil a vow and to show the world what his mother taught him: "that there are only two kinds of people in the world; good people who do good things and bad people who do bad things", and begins a journey that will take him all over the US as he tries to confront the President and tell him that "his name is Khan and he is not a terrorist". Unbeknownst to him however, he also unwittingly inspires a revolution and a unification between all people of all colours, religions and creeds.

Love it or hate it, I thought this film definitely had heart. It's more about the simple discrepancies of the human spirit and the fact that it takes someone who sees life through black and white who is actually the one speaking the most sense. As Khan is an autistic person he doesn't see the complications of such things, he just understands what is right and what's wrong in a world where people seem to have forgotten as they have put so much weight and details that everything has become unnecessarily complicated. It's about going back to basics and the roots of the soul to unify the human race together again in a time where we try so hard to join yet are still split up due to conformed rules and regulations, and though everything seems to work as one, there's still a lot of problems under the surface which can easily manifest and show it's true colours, and all it needs for chaos to resume is a singular event, in this case the tragedy of 9/11. It's about how one can overcome any difficulty if they just keep going and focus on their commitment. It's about conforming and eradicating hatred and prejudice. It's about dealing with loss and the anger, hatred and chaos that can come from it. And most importantly, as any Bollywood movie- it's about love.

The film is well directed and unlike most Bollywood films, there's no singing or dancing because it's more of a serious film that is catering for the western market as well. However, there's a juxtaposition of songs that are put as background music behind scenes instead, which makes for a nice change. The music is decent for what it is as well, both the songs and the orchestral score.

The central performances were very strong indeed, and the film had to nail this in order for us to connect- thankfully, it did so perfectly. Shah Rukh Khan is very convincing as someone who suffers from Asperger's syndrome and he didn't go over the top as some people might have- he was just on the right side of believable. Kajol was sweet in her role as well and when things got emotional she gave a terrific performance to convey it.

My problems with the film now is that it is, unfortunately, a tad too cheesy, and this is apparent especially in the latter half of the film. During the film's climax it reaches to super-cheese level, and though this is the standard tone for Bollywood films, most western audiences might be put off. There's also a lot of inconsistencies, such as the relationship between the two characters just comes from nowhere and takes random turns, as well as the other characters than Khan meets (some of the scenarios is just too unbelievable for my liking). There's also little details which I didn't understand at all and didn't work. Most of these are trivial however but the main problem is the over-dramatic factor which really does teeter over the edge at times, if not go completely over the top to the point of cringeworthy and very much unintentionally hilarious at times, too. I enjoyed the messages and themes, but saw through it at times as it seemed to try too hard- most of it seemed quite ridiculous and i know that it would never happen in real life, but as a fictional film, we must take it with a pinch of salt. This is a message and result that i hope one day happens in our world but sadly i don't think it ever will. I only wish this movie was based on a true story!

Overall, it's an entertaining, inspiring film which does raise a lot of good points, and although it's a film about 9/11 it doesn't focus on the ins and outs of this, more so the people themselves, though it's very careful not to paint stereotypes and point fingers at the good or bad people- everyone is represented and given equal blame. But most importantly it's about one man and how a disabled person is actually the one who speaks the most sense in a world where everyone else are supposed to be normal and sane; here we have someone who is looked upon as different (or weird/insane) yet the one we should all aspire to be like.

If you can deal with some melodramatic cheese in the typical Bollywood style, then it's well worth a watch.

Review: The Witches (Nicolas Roeg, 1990)

Wonderfully charming children's fantasy film, a true classic! 

I used to love this film as a child and even watching it as an adult it's even better. This is fine children's filmmaking at it's very best and I can easily say that it's one of the best live action adaptations of a classic story ever done.

Nicolas Roeg directs Roald Dahl's classic novel "The Witches" and brings it to life on the screen with a superb sense of magic, wit and wonder, something that is sadly missing from children's films these days. The film begins in Norway as Helga Eveshim (brilliantly played by Mai Zetterling) warns her young grandson Luke (newcomer Jasen Fisher) about the secret world of witches- who they are, what they do, how you can spot them and how you can avoid them. Cut to England where Helga and Luke are on a break in a seaside Cornwall hotel, where unfortunately a slew of England's witches decide to hold an annual meeting at the very same place, led by "The Grand High Witch"; leader of all the witches of all the world, played to supreme perfection by Angelica Huston. There Luke and Helga learn of their secret plans for world domination, and as Luke is forcibly turned into a mouse by the Grand High Witch herself, it's up to Luke and his grandma to stop them before they can do any more damage! I simply love this film. As a child it's fantastic because of the sheer amount of creativity put into it, from amazing special effects courtesy of Jim Henson and his Creature Workshop, to inspired performances (especially by Anjelica Huston who completely steals the show with her fantastic portrayal of the witch leader), to hilarious acts of sheer quirky and black comedy, as well as featuring a fine cast of well known British actors; if you're familiar with them then it's a joy to spot them all as they are all great in their roles (such top quality personas such as Rowan Atkinson, Jane Horrocks, Bill Paterson and even a small appearance by Roberta Taylor (later known by her inclusion in Eastenders and The Bill) are all a joy to watch. That's also another good thing about this film- it's a British production, so it very much has that quaint charm of being English (which can be seen in the Harry Potter films as well), and that again makes it stand out from the crowd.

The make-up effects are truly fantastic and very much one of the strongest aspects of the film, there's a whole host of SFX seen in this film and it all looks amazing. There's a particularly horrific transformation sequence where Anjelica Huston turns into what seems a monster, and the make-up is not only terrifyingly scary, but brilliant to see; especially since she's still acting underneath. As Luke turns into a mouse we are again treated to more amazing transformation effects, all practical and done in camera- no trickery and definitely no CGI or animation of any sort! And none of it has aged badly at all! And when Luke is a mouse we then get a cute mouse puppet that talks, and it just looks authentic and just works. All of these effects are shot in a great way so it all works and none looks fake or bad. This is the kind of example which just shows that practical old skool effects will always win me over CGI because everything here just looks real and is believable, and another reason why this film excels. Bravo to Jim Henson and the team once again. Outstanding technical achievements that look great and nothing like films these days, which is an awesome charm.

We also get a magical score by Stanley Myers that captures the essence of Roald Dahl's style and it's a joy to listen to.

My only gripes with the film are that some of the directing is very offputting and amateur- the camera-work leaves a lot to be desired at times, Roegg loves to zoom in and out all the time and even go hand-held and this greatly cheapens the aspect of the film as it then looks very amateurish. There's also a lack of proper lighting in the film, most of the look seems bland and grey and makes it look a tad dated (especially as it was filmed in England with it's bad weather, the colour tone is very bleak), and so some lighting or even colour grading would have greatly enhanced the film's visuals and give it an extra heightened mood (the unveiling of the Grand High Witch's true form could have been better with desired lighting). Still, a small price to pay for what it a great film, i wish the camera-work was better but it still captures the magic on offer.

Other than these small trivial issues, i had a blast with this film; both as a child and as an adult revisiting it many years later. This is a great children's film- funny, charming, brilliantly executed and even disturbingly scary at times- and you can't have a good family film without some scares and this does it all. Absolutely essential viewing for all the family and definitely one of the best of it's genre- a true classic that has become even better in time and a pinnacle in live action children's fantasy entertainment! 

9/10

Review: The Other End of the Line (James Dodson, 2008)

Sweet little film, if a tad predictable

 I really wasn't expecting much from the film (people who had already seen it said it wasn't that great) so I had low expectations, but as I got into it I thought it was better than average. It's a simple story- a telephone admin caller in India called Priya falls secretly in love with a client of hers, Granger Woodruff, who is based in the US, (both played wonderfully by Shriya Saran and a passionate and enthusiastic Jesse Metcalfe). The catch is that Priya is playing the part of an American girl called Jessica in San Francisco for the role of her telephone job, and Granger does not know she has fallen for him, that she is even Indian or is calling from Mumbai.

The fateful day occurs when Granger is scheduled to be in San Fransico as part of his job, and asks "Jessica" to meet him there to sort out his bank troubles. What then follows is a series of trials and tribulations- should Priya follow her heart and go and see him in the US, or forget about it, shrug it off as a teenage crush and stay at home and be the traditional Indian girl, ready to be engaged in an arrangement she has no feelings for just to please her family? Being her dreamer and inquisitive self, she decides to go, but under the disguise of her real self, "Priya"- whilst Granger is oblivious to the fact that the girl he has just met by accident is not just a random Indian girl on holiday, but the very girl he has been speaking to on the phone. As time goes on and Priya hides her secret identity as "Jessica", they fall for each other, but the secret has to come out one way or another, as does the reality of the situation; the fact that both are committed into an arrangement with their other half's, and Priya also has her family to deal with, who are busy trying to get to the US to find her. Priya must decide what she wants to do with her life, as does Granger, and decide fast before time runs out and Priya's bumbling parents get there and take her away back to India for her engagement.

It's an enjoyable and entertaining film that ticks all the right boxes for being a feel-good rom com, but I thought it was a lot better than most in the genre because it doesn't get too bogged down with typical clichés. It's about two cultures getting together, and whilst this has been done before plenty of times and usually it's always the same kind of thing in films like this, this film moves completely away from that and really focuses on the characters themselves, which is really where it is better than most; both Priya and Granger are very passionate about their jobs and love to make people happy and this is where they ultimately connect, it's not really about where they are both from, but who they are as individuals. When it does get down to cultural differences it only shows what counts- in that it talks about traditional Indian values of valuing your parents and your duties in obeying them rather than doing what you want to do, and as we see it's not always that simple when you want to follow your heart and want to do what makes you happy. I thought the film was good at showing this and I appreciate that when it could have easily gone off into a generic culture clash comedy. The film is not without it's flaws of course, there are some weak moments such as character inconsistencies but they are forgiven, the film is light hearted entertainment at heart which surprisingly has some depth in it, and I feel that you should leave all expectations out the window when you watch it and just enjoy it for what it is. It's wonderfully directed with some great scenery of San Francisco and Mumbai, some great performances from Jesse Metcalfe and Shriya Saran (and even Bollywood legends like Anupam Kher playing Shriya's father), some nice humour and overall it has a strong meaning underneath it's simple romantic exterior which deals with a simple but important question- what would you do for love, no matter how far away you are and where you are from?

I give it 7/10 for a simple little fun film. It is predictable in parts but what the hell, it's a rom-com, and that is what I enjoy in them. Except this one was much better than average. Give it a shot and you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Review: Conan the Barbarian (John Milius, 1982)

Simply put, one of the greatest fantasy epics ever put to screen

Classic fantasy at it's very best. Arnold Schwarzenegger owns the role that made him a superstar- Conan, warrior of Cimmeria and king of Aquilonia comes to life in the best adaptation of Robert E Howard's pulp fantasy hero ever done. This is brutal, epic fantasy how it should be and what I grew up with- old-skool good vs evil with muscle-bound warriors on the battle-field, sexy scantily clad women with long hair flowing and evil monsters and villains scrambling for domination in an orgy of violence and bloodshed.

The music is pulse-poundingly powerful and awe-inspiring by the late, great Basil Poledouris, with possibly his most memorable and best score to date- it literally drives the show and is the strongest aspect of the film. The visuals and imagery are dark and brooding and the atmosphere is terrific, the world of Hyboria is realistically grounded with meticulous detail making it all look believable, and although there is quite little action here (but what action there is is pure gutsy hardcore swordplay), it makes up for it with grand storytelling as it introduces us to a dark and savage world of swords and sorcery. Oliver Stone helps write a decent script with deep dialogue and interesting, lovable characters. James Earl Jones is the villain of the piece in what i believe his greatest role as a villain ever (yes, even better than Darth Vader), here he is captivatingly seductive yet frighteningly terrifying as he plays Thulsa Doom, the leader of a demonic snake cult that is taking over the land. And of course we have the legendary Arnie who is brilliant as the hero who we follow from childhood through to his rise from slave, to thief, to warrior and finally king. Never has a role been so better casted, his presence rules all and he truly shines.

Alongside Arnie we have brilliant co-stars such as Sandahl Bergman as Valeria, equally powerful and beautiful as a warrior thief and love interest; a true "Valkyrie" if cinema ever saw one, Max Von Sydow as a withered King who is in desperate need of help, Gerry Lopez as Conan's partner in adventure and Mako as Akiro, who acts as both the narrator to the piece and wizard in the story.

All in all this is epic fantasy filmmaking at it's best and amongst the very best you will find in the genre- one of the greatest sword/sandals and sorcery adventures you will ever see, if not ever made. A sheer classic that i really can't fault in any way whatsoever- this does everything you expect it and is surprisingly more well done that you expect it to- it's more than just dumb macho fun- it's also quite deep and philosophical where it counts. Stands proud alongside the other great masterpieces of the genre.

10/10