27
May
Warning: contains spoilers for Line of Duty series six. When I tell Jed Mercurio that I felt bereft after the end of Line of Duty, he thanks me and jokes “Well, we do aim to leave people disappointed.” I’m talking about missing the communal viewing experience and frenzy of fan theories between episodes; he’s talking about a well-publicised outcry from some viewers that the finale’s ‘H’ mystery reveal was a let-down. Speaking on Zoom three weeks after Line of Duty concluded – perhaps for good – Mercurio has answered the finale’s critics his way. On Twitter, he shared Audience Appreciation Index stats on the final series –…
23
Apr
This The Falcon and the Winter Soldier review contains spoilers. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 6 Last week’s episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier had a weird feel to it. It was almost like a season finale where there was still more story left, but that would be next year’s problem. It was relaxed, it took its time, and it felt incredibly coherent. Then they got to the cliffhanger, including the mid-credits scene, and it left everyone wanting an action-packed final episode. Well, we got it with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 6, “One…
15
Feb
This feature contains some spoilers for Netflix’s Kid Cosmic. After exploring the stretches of space, wonder, and imagination in shows like Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and Wander Over Yonder, Craig McCracken returns to the realm of superheroes with Kid Cosmic, a more direct, comic book-esque take on the genre than his first smash hit show, The Powerpuff Girls. The show stars Kid, a young boy who finds a set of superpowered stones, and from there, all heck breaks loose. In the midst of fighting waves upon waves of aliens and creatures from other worlds, however, is an earnest, realistic…
11
Feb
This week saw the release of Space Sweepers, Korea’s first big budget special effects space movie extravaganza. There are a lot of interesting things to say about this movie, but one of the things that makes it stand out is it’s an excellent portrayal of people in space who are skint. See, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably never going into space. Unless you’re a highly trained technical specialist (well done!) or a billionaire (pay your taxes!), your best shot at seeing Earth from space within your lifetime is the development of realistic-yet-cheap VR headsets. And…
29
Oct
This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers. Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 3 If you were expecting the Discovery’s return to Earth to become a major plot point in Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery, then keep guessing. The show makes a clever and unexpected narrative decision by, upon reuniting our wayward travelers with Michael, almost immediately bringing the crew of the Discovery to Starfleet’s (former) home planet, only for them to find very few answers or comforts there. It’s a bold move, one that tells the crew and the viewers that, while Earth may have been at the…
01
Oct
Black, the comic sensation that depicts a world where only Black people have superpowers, that started as a thoroughly supported Kickstarter and grew into a franchise, just took another step closer to jumping mediums. Studio 8, the entertainment company developing the film version of the comic, announced that Black has been picked up by Warner Bros. The critically acclaimed comic was created by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3, with interior art from Jamal Igle, and striking, iconic covers from Khary Randolph, and edited by Sarah Litt. And in a fun surprise, the movie script was written by Bryan Edward…
25
Sep
Final Fantasy fans may be getting the next installment in the beloved RPG series sooner than they think. At the very least, it sounds like fans won’t have to wait another decade to play the game like they did with Final Fantasy 15. Speaking on his Triple Click games podcast (via Games Radar), Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier revealed that Final Fantasy 16, which was only announced earlier this month, has been in development for quite some time. “I’ve heard from people who are familiar with the game’s development that it’s actually been in development for at least four years in…
15
Sep
In July of this year, which could have been a few months ago or ten years in the future because time has lost all meaning, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo launched his Mask Up America campaign – which included TV spots featuring the likes of Robert De Niro, Kaitlyn Dever, Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman, John Leguizamo, Marvel‘s Anthony Mackie, Rosie Perez, Ellen Pompeo and Jeffrey Wright – to increase awareness, encourage people to cover their faces, and to protect each other after New York was hit badly by the COVID-19 pandemic. “New Yorkers suffered gravely when this pandemic hit our…
11
Sep
The fascinations of Dennis Kelly are worth paying attention to. A decade ago, the playwright and screenwriter was kept up at night by the looming shadow of overpopulation and global resource scarcity. He channelled that concern into Channel 4’s Utopia, a global pandemic conspiracy thriller that in 2020, could hardly be more timely (serendipitously, Amazon releases the long-gestated US remake this month). Before that, Kelly’s plays were preoccupied with the suspicion of outsiders fostered by the so-called War on Terror, from which you might draw a straight line to Brexit and Trump. You could call his work a barometer for crisis,…
25
Aug
You have to admire the sheer tenacity of People Can Fly. After developing one of the most underrated first-person shooters ever in 2011’s Bulletstorm, the Polish studio was quickly snapped up by Epic Games to help ship a small indie title called Fortnite. You may have heard of it. However, Outriders is the developer’s opportunity to once again shine on its own. The team’s latest is a co-op shooter that takes heavy inspiration from The Division, Destiny, and Mass Effect while adding its own flourishes to the sci-fi shooter formula. During an online virtual demo earlier this month, I got…
02
May
This article contains spoilers for all seven episodes of Hollywood. “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” That line from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the last masterpiece from one of Golden Age Hollywood’s most revered directors, John Ford has become pretty legendary itself. Yet it seems Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan decided to do Ford one better in their version of Hollywood: write the fantasy. Running across seven episodes on Netflix, Hollywood is far more a golden hued fairy tale than even Quentin Tarantino’s vision of 1969 Tinseltown in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and yet…
27
Nov
In a digital universe where live streamers earn as much as $200K a month, can virtual relationships replace real-life human connection? People's Republic of Desire tells the stories of two such online stars who've risen from isolation to fame and fortune in China. The film takes us on a verite journey through their live streaming showrooms, which have become virtual gathering places for hundreds of millions - from the super rich who lavish performers with digital gifts, to poor migrant workers who worship them. The characters are brought together in a series of bizarre online idol competitions, where they discover…
09
Jul
Sixteen-year-old Nisha (Maria Mozhdah) lives a double life. When out with her friends, she?s a normal Norwegian teenager. At home with her family, she is the perfect Pakistani daughter. But when her father (Adil Hussain) catches her alone with her boyfriend in her room, Nisha?s two worlds brutally collide. To set an example and escape the judgment of their peers, her parents send Nisha against her will to a small town in Pakistan to live with extended family. There, in an unfamiliar country surrounded by people she barely knows, Nisha must adapt to a rigid culture that denies her the…
