The Whisperers go out with a whimper in The Walking Dead Issue 173: Final Fight

You know, I was really looking forward to Issue 173 of The Walking Dead.
After the brilliant cliffhanger in the previous issue, which saw Beta about to ambush Jesus and Aaron, I could not wait to see what would happened.
I was really afraid Jesus or Aaron might die and that Beta’s return would have a massive impact on the story going forward.
However, what I did not want to happen was for Beta to appear only so Kirkman could kill him off, thus tying off the loose end of the Whisperers.
Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.
Instead of Beta’s return presenting a turning point in the story and making the Whisperers a legitimate threat again, he is just killed off when Aaron shoots him.
It makes you wonder why Kirkman even bothered keeping Beta alive.
Why didn’t he just kill Beta in The Whisperer War, there was no reason to keep him alive since he dies pretty much immediately when he shows up again.

Although I did like the reveal of Beta actually being a famous basketball player before the apocalypse, his death here is incredibly disappointing.
Kirkman should have just revealed who he was and then killed him in The Whisperer War.
I can see why Kirkman wanted to kill Beta off though, considering he is bringing in a new group of survivors into the story and wants to focus on them.
But ending the Whisperer story like this is really disappointing and left a bitter taste in my mouth.
The Whisperers should have gone out with a bang, not a whimper.
The rest of the issue is alright and filled with your regular The Walking Dead character development.
It looks like Maggie is going after Negan next issue and I really hope she does not kill him.
We already had one interesting character die in a disappointing way, we do not need a great character to die that way as well.
There is also a scene where Carl helps out Sophia only for Lydia to glare at them jealously.
This could prove to be interesting, considering Lydia’s upbringing with the Whisperers.
Maybe she will threaten Sophia to stay away from Carl.
By far my favourite scene in the entire issue though was when Laura berates Dwight for his treatment of Rick.
Dwight is a really good character but recently he has been going downhill with his antagonism towards Rick so it is good to see someone put him in his place.
Hopefully Dwight will realise how he is acting and get on the right track again.

The issue ends with Eugene’s group arriving at the place where they will meet the Ohio group only to be ambushed by a new group with guns that has bayonets attached.
The Ohio group is very cautious it would seem, or maybe they are just evil, we’ll have to wait and see.
Overall this issue was pretty disappointing due to Beta and essentially the Whisperers themselves’ demise.
The rest of the issue was alright but this one thing just dragged it down for me.
The Whisperers used to be this great threat but the way Kirkman ended their storyline just made them seem kind of pathetic to me.
They deserved better.
Still, I am interested to see what the future holds for The Walking Dead, with the new Ohio group being introduced.
I will be sure to review the next issue when it comes out next month.

The Last of Us Part 2: Ellie’s Mum, past timeline and a cult?

Since the Last of US Part 2 was announced there has been rabid speculation by fans as to what the story will be about.
This has caused theories about the next installment to run rampant, both plausible and ridiculous.
I, for one, think the theory of Joel being dead and Ellie hallucinating him to be one of the worst theories.
Now that a new trailer has been released theories are, once again, running rampant, although these theories seem much more plausible than previous ones and I actually believe some of them are true.
The newest trailer is especially brutal as we see an unknown woman about to be gutted and hanged by a group of people who are apparently from some kind of cult, due to the fact that they use biblical words like sin and apostate.
However, before the woman can be killed, two guards bring a woman named Yara before the leader of the group who orders her arm bashed in with a hammer saying, “clip her wings.”
This torture is especially brutal and nothing like what we saw in the previous games.
However, before the group can break Yara’s other arm they are set upon by arrows and, with help from the unknown woman, Yara is able to kill the leader.
The archer, named Lev, emerges from the woods and tends to Yara who tells him to cut the woman down from the noose.
Disturbingly, Lev does not want to do so saying, “she’s one of them,” showing how little death matters in this world as he has almost no reaction to a woman hanging feet away from him.
Yara insists and Lev relents, cutting her down, only for the trio to be attacked by a group of Clickers.
The title appears and the trailer ends.

This trailer naturally generated much confusion due to the absence of Joel and Ellie and was a bold move on Naughty Dog’s part.
To show a trailer that does not focus on the main characters at all but instead a group of new characters was a risky move but it definitely paid off because of the level of speculation it has generated.
Already theories are running rampant, the biggest one being that the unknown woman in the trailer is actually Anna, Ellie’s mother.
Now I actually believe this theory.
For months there have been rumors that The Last of US Part 2 will take place in two different timelines, one in the future, with Joel and Ellie, and one in the past.
If this is true, then this trailer most likely takes place in the past.
As to the theory of this woman being Anna, there are three things that support this.
First of all, the woman does bare a slight resemblance to Ellie, although this may be stretching it.
The second thing that supports this theory is not from the trailer at all but an Easter egg from Uncharted 4.
In the game you can find a poster called The Last of Us: American Daughters, which has a pregnant woman wearing a gas mask that strongly resembles Ellie.

Given that I do not believe in the Ellie being pregnant theory either, I think this person is most likely Anna and this is hinting at her appearance in The Last of Us Part 2.
The final piece of evidence to support this theory is Naughty Dog released the names of all the characters in the trailer but blanked out the woman’s name.
However, we can tell from the blanks that the woman’s name is four letters long, just like Anna.
Therefore I think this is most likely Anna and she will appear in a past storyline in The Last of Us Part 2, which will detail the events of Ellie’s birth.
If this is true then the past story line will probably take place six years after the outbreak began, since Ellie is 14 in The Last of Us and the outbreak started 20 years ago.
The idea of The Last of US Part 2 going back and forth from past to present is certainly an interesting one.
If this is Anna, then I wonder how it could tie into Ellie’s story, considering Anna died shortly after giving birth to Ellie.
Maybe Anna’s story could give an explanation to Ellie’s immunity?
Maybe something happened while Ellie was in the womb that made her immune?
Of course this is just speculation so it is possible all of this will not happen.
Still though, I really like the idea of it constantly cutting back and forth between timelines because it could offer the opportunity for us to see the same characters in both timelines.
For example, if these new characters Yara and Lev live through the past storyline then we could see them interact with Joel and Ellie in the future years later, which would be really interesting.
Another thing we can guess from the trailer is who these new enemies are.
It appears that these enemies are from some kind of cult, due to the leader saying the woman is nested with sin and asking Yara where the other apostate is.
A cult being the main enemies of the game would certainly be unexpected because most people thought the Fireflies would be the main ones.
However, just because the Fireflies may not be the main threat does not mean they will not be in the game.
If this woman is Anna, then we will most likely see Marlene as well in the past storyline because the two were close.
There is also the fact that the leader of the cultists says, “clip her wings,” when telling her men to break Yara’s arm, leading some people to believe that Yara is a firefly, which could certainly be possible.
However, there is also the possibility that Yara and Lev were actually a part of the cult because they refer to the Clickers as demons.

But, although the cult does take up a big part of this trailer, there is a possibility that they could just be a side enemy like the hunters were in The Last of Us and they might only take up a small part of the game.
Speculations aside, I feel that I have to talk about the graphics of this game in the trailer, which are nothing short of stunning.
Naughty Dog have really outdone themselves this time.
If this is in-game footage, then The Last of Us Part 2 is going to be an incredibly beautiful game.
So, those are my thoughts on the second The Last of Us Part 2 trailer.
I cannot wait for this game to come out, although unfortunately that probably will not be until late 2018 or early 2019.
However long we have to wait, I will be sure to buy it when the game comes out.

A surprise return makes an intriguing twist for the Walking Dead.

All out war continued in last night’s episode of The Walking Dead, The Damned, which saw Rick’s group attack two separate Savior outposts.
The Damned was a definite improvement on last week’s episode, as an almost solely action driven episode that left you on the edge of your seat.
The Walking Dead is definitely learning from its mistakes in season seven by focusing on multiple characters, instead of a small group of them one episode and another small group in the next.
All the main characters featured in this episode are given their moments to shine.
I especially liked the dynamic between Tara and Jesus and their debate over whether they should just kill all of the Saviors.
Morgan was also a standout in this episode as we saw him go full clear mode and take out a bunch of armed men with no hesitation or remorse.
He even went as far to flashback about Rick’s speech in season six about killing all of the Saviors, which almost made him killed Jared, the Savior who killed Benjamin.

I imagine that Morgan will come to regret not killing Jared, that guy is bad news.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the prisoners they captured this episode.
There was a lot of them so I wonder what they will do with them.
Will they escape or will someone like Morgan or Tara just start executing them?
We will have to wait and see.
The second of the three story lines this episode saw Carol and Ezekiel tracking a Savoir to stop him alerting his friends at the outpost of the coming attack.
This was a very minor plot point that is building to the big attack next episode, which will have dire consequences for Ezekiel, if they go the route of the comics.
However, although it was interesting to see Carol and Ezekiel interact, along with Ezekiel casually dropping his king persona, it did feel a bit weird, considering how it is urgent that they track this person and yet they are constantly stopping to talk.

It was great to see Shiva in action again this episode, eventually taking down the man they were tracking and I look forward to see how she is utilized next episode.
Now for the third story line, which saw Rick, Daryl, Aaron and Eric and their forces attacking a second Savior outpost.
This story line by far had the best parts of the episode.
From Rick’s intense fight with the Savior, to learning he had orphaned a child, to Eric getting shot, this story line was filled with intense moments.
Not to mention the surprise return of Morales, which was unfortunately spoiled for me before I watched the episode (thanks a lot internet!).

Morales has been the face of fan speculation and memes for years now, concerning his disappearance in season one and what happened to him.
The level of interest that has circled Morales over the years is kind of odd, when you think about it because he was only in four episodes and was more of a side character than anything else.
Still is is good to see him back and on the side of the Saviors.
Clearly a lot has happened since we last saw him, back in season one.
It will be interesting to see what they do with his character… if they do anything with him at all.
I hope he is not just a one episode bad guy that dies in the next episode because, if he is, what was the point of bringing him back?
I hope they actually do something with Morales and he has a point being here.
Overall, this was a great episode, with only a few minor faults in Ezekiel and Carol’s story line.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next episode and what Morales’ return holds for the future.

Back to the 80’s for Stranger Things season two

stranger things season 2

Stranger Things is back and kicking in season two of the hit Netflix series.
I was pretty late getting on the Stranger Things band wagon as I only watched the first season six months ago but when I did I was instantly hooked.
So, naturally, I was excited to see what season two would have to offer and, I have got to say, I was impressed. (WARNING!!! Minor spoilers ahead.)
Season two not only continues the story from Season one but expands on it, introducing new characters and interesting plot points that keeps the story fresh and thrilling.
The story telling here is just excellent, with so many twists and turns that I could not stop watching.
I binged watched the entirety of season two in just two days and I am so thankful this is a Netflix series because, if it aired weekly, then I would not be able to handle it.
Season two starts a year after Will was rescued from the Upside Down and a lot has changed since then.
Mike is still mourning Eleven’s disappearance, There is a new girl in town named Max, Joyce now has a boyfriend Bob and Will is experiencing PTSD from his time in the Upside Down… well, as we all know, it is not PTSD but it suits the story for everyone to think it is.
The season starts off great, introducing us to a bunch of new characters like Bob, Max and her step-brother Billy.
These characters are all very interesting and I cannot wait to see what they do with them in the future, Max especially because she is a very likable character and a welcome addition to the show.
max
Speaking of characters, I liked how a lot of the old characters from the first season were expanded upon like Dustin, Lucas and Steve.
Steve was especially good this season.
In the previous season I thought he would turn out to be a stereotypical, one dimensional bully but he actually surprised me by growing as a character and redeemeing himself.
The surprises with Steve continue this season, as he continues to grow into a likable, yet flawed character.
One thing this season definitely did better than its predecessor was present a feeling of danger throughout.
Although I loved the first season of Stranger Things, it was pretty obvious which characters would live and which ones would die (with a few exceptions, like Steve for example).
Not this season however.
Every time a character is in danger you feel like this might be the last time you see them and it has you on the edge of your seat with panic every time, unlike the previous season.
shadow monste
But just like last season, 80’s throwbacks abound!
There are so many callbacks to the 80’s and movies of the time.
I saw references to Alien, E.T and even one incredibly hilarious Indiana Jones homage.
This season is filled with twist after twist, all of which are thrilling.
The opening sequence of the first episode had my jaw on the floor.
Most of the episodes end on a cliffhanger, which has you begging for more and makes this almost the perfect show to binge watch.
I say almost because I do have some issues with it.
My biggest one being Max.
Now, as I said, I really liked her character but my problem lies with how the other characters react to her, more specifically Mike.
Mike does not like Max and it is for the stupidest reason.
He is a complete jerk to her, which makes him really unlikable.
Since Mike is supposed to be one of the main characters of the show, the fact that I did not like him this season is a really bad thing.
It does not help that this minor plot point is never resolved.
We never get a scene of Mike apologizing to Max about how he treated her, it is acted like it never happened.
This season also displays, once again, how incompetent the government forces are.
In season one, I found it highly unrealistic how Hopper was able to break into a top secret laboratory, guarded by trained soldiers, with relative ease and this season once again portrays how incompetent these people are.
While interrogating Nancy about keeping quiet about Barb’s death the scientists are stupid enough not to check for a recording device.
As a result, I found these government forces to be unrealistically incompetent but this is only a minor problem.
The final problem I had with this season was episode seven.
This episode felt very different in tone and just felt out of place in comparison to the rest of the season.
What is worse is the episode prior to this ended on a massive cliffhanger and this episode does not address the it, that is saved for the next episode.
Thank god this is a Netflix series because if the episodes had been released weekly I would not have been able to wait to see how the cliffhanger played out.
eleven
Other than those three problems however, I loved this season and I cannot wait for season three.
The story telling was brilliant, the characters were lovable and fun to watch, (both the old and the new) and the various twists and turns kept you engaged.
If you have not watched Stranger Things season 2 or any episodes of Stranger Things I would highly suggest you you go and watch it,
You will love it just like I did.

Logan claws its way to the top as one of my favourite movies

I know, I know, I’m about 8 months late for this review but I have been wanting to talk about Logan for a while now.
What motivated me to talk about it was the film’s director James Mangold announcing they are currently planning a spin off movie starring X-23, Laura, played by Dafne Keen.
I am very excited about this since I am not only a fan of X-23 and her story but love Logan, with one of my favourite things about it being Dafne Keen’s performance.
So, based on this recent announcement, I have decided to finally review what is, not only one of my favourite films of the year so far, but one of my favourite films ever.
I know this is big talk considering that the film only came out about 8 months ago but I honestly do not feel like I am exaggerating.
I loved Logan from start to finish and it was the perfect way to say goodbye to Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart after all the years they have played Logan and Charles Xavier.

Where do I begin with this movie?
It is odd that the best super hero movies are not actually super hero movies?
The Dark Knight was not a super hero movie, it was a crime thriller.
Similarly Logan is not a super hero movie but a western.
Whenever a super hero is adapted to a different genre outside the norm it usually results in an instant classic, which The Dark Knight and Logan both have in common.
However, (and I know this is a controversial statement) I love Logan more than I loved The Dark Knight.
I can understand why people think The Dark Knight is the better movie but I just disagree with this because I connected with Logan far more than I ever did The Dark Knight.
Let’s start with the main characters.
Each and every one of them are incredible with Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Dafne Keen all giving Oscar worthy performances.
And yes, I said Dafne Keen deserves an Oscar based on her performance.
She may only be 12 years old but that does not change the fact that her performance is on par with Jackman and Stewart’s.
If they had not got the right actor to play Laura then the entire film would have fallen apart so the fact that they not only found the right actor but someone who gave one of the best performances in the film, is nothing shot of extraordinary.
This is why I’m so excited about the recent announcement of an X-23 spin off film being in the works.

Lets go back to Jackman and Stewart now.
As I said, these two both give Oscar worthy performances, bringing a much darker tone to their characters.
These are not the Logan and Xavier that we know from previous films, these are much darker portrayals.
When we first see them it is very clear so much has happened since we last saw them.
Both are broken down, mirror images of who they used to be and it is so tragic to see them this way.
However, it’s not just them that give noteworthy performances.
Boyd Holbrook’s Donald Pierce and Stephen Merchant’s Caliban are both greatly performed by both actors, with Holbrook’s Pierce coming across as a very charismatic villain and Merchant’s Caliban bringing not only a few rounds of much needed comedy to the film but sympathy as well.
The only character who was not done right was Richard E. Grant’s Zander Rice, who was very uninteresting.
I have heard people complain that not only Rice but Pierce and the film’s other villain (who I won’t spoil) were not developed enough.
However, I feel like these people are missing the point.
Logan is not The Dark Knight.
This is an intimate story about family, change and death.
It is not a film about the duality between the hero and the villain.
To have the villains be like the Joker and steal the show would have overshadowed the storytelling and the message would have been lost so it is good that these villains are underdeveloped.
And just because they are underdeveloped does not mean they are bad.
Donald Pierce is an incredibly charismatic villain and is entertaining whenever he is on screen.

Also the surprise villain is the perfect foil for Logan and fits in with his story.
The one exception to this, as I said earlier, is Zander Rice but he is one flaw in an otherwise exceptional film.
As I mentioned the themes of the film are family, change and death and these themes are fantastically portrayed.
A common complaint I hear is that the story is too simple but in a lot of instances simple is more.
Look at Mad Max: Fury Road for example.
This movie has the simplest of premises and yet it is one of the greatest action movies ever made.
The same can be said for Logan.
The story may be simple but it needed to be in order to portray the themes I mentioned earlier correctly.
You do not even need to have seen an X-Men film to love Logan.
It not only works as a continuation of the X-Men universe but as its own standalone film.
The film’s R16 rating also works great with the type of story they were trying to tell.
Making Logan a PG film would not have worked well with the film’s darker themes.
What is great about the violence though is that it never feels gratuitous.
Every severed head and cut throat feels earned…. with one exception.

There is a scene of partial nudity in this film that feels thrown in just because the film had an R16 rating.
It felt like the film’s director was saying “well this movie is R16, we might as well throw some boobies in there!”
However, other than this one short scene, every curse word and use of violence felt earned and not thrown in because of the film’s rating.
As I mentioned earlier, Logan is more of a western than a super hero movie so it only makes sense that Logan’s music is that of a western.
The score is very effective at drawing out emotion as well, whether that emotion being excitement, horror or sadness.
Speaking of sadness, if you do not tear up at least once during this movie then you have no soul.
This movie is incredibly heart breaking and I still tear up watching it, even after multiple viewings.
And that is the main reason I love this movie so much because it made me feel something.
There are a lot of movies that draw emotion out of me but there are so few that make me feel like Logan did.
I felt excitement, fear, horror and, of course, sadness all in one viewing experience that leaves me feeling emotionally drained every time and yet I can’t stop watching it.
Logan is a masterpiece of a movie.
It is an excellent film with thought provoking themes about family, change and death that is filled to the brim with emotion.
The only flaws the movie has is the Rice character and one individual scene where it felt like they were exploiting the film’s R16 rating.
Other than that, Logan is a masterpiece.
And on a side note I also believe it has the best movie trailer of all time as well.
If you have not scene Logan yet, where have you been?
Stop reading this review and go watch it.
You may feel emotionally drained afterwards but you won’t regret it.

Blade Runner 2049: An instant classic

With all the superhero movies and remakes, it is very rare that we get a stylish film that becomes a classic but Blade Runner 2049 is that movie.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049 is the sequel to the classic sci-fi noir thriller Blade Runner and stars Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford and Ana de Armas.
It really did surprise me how much I loved this movie, considering I first watched Blade Runner a week ago and did not think it was as good as everyone says it is.
It is a good film and I can see the impact it has left on cinema, but at the same time I don’t think it is the flawless classic everyone makes it out to be.
In fact I think the sequel is better than the original.
For one thing, I connected far more with Ryan Gosling’s K in this movie than I ever did with Deckard in the original Blade Runner.

I did not only connect with K but the other characters in this movie as well.
Ana de Armas was great as Joi, K’s love interest, and I found their romance sadly tragic given what we learn by the end of the film.
Even Deckard was done better here because I sympathized with him more than I did in Blade Runner.
The story is also a lot better as much more is at stake than there was in Blade Runner and the mystery is far more interesting.
There are so many twists and turns in the story that I couldn’t wait to see where it would go.
There is one twist about half an hour before the movie ends that I initially was not too sure if I liked but after thinking about it more I think it worked better than the alternative.
It is also kind of funny how they reveal something which could have been a big twist for the movie at the beginning of the film, and in a very offhand way.
It worked brilliantly for the story.
This film is also visually stunning.
Blade Runner 2049 is, without a doubt, the most beautiful film of 2017.
Every shot is full of life and colour.
The cinematographer definitely deserves an award for his work here.

Along with the cinematography, the music and visuals are also spectacular.
The music is epic and a real improvement on the already great music from Blade Runner.
Then there are the visuals, which are about as incredible as everything else.
They do something using CGI like they did in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, however, unlike then, the CGI is uncanny and looks incredibly realistic.
If you are going into this movie expecting to see Harrison Ford in a main role, do not expect much.
Despite what the trailers show you, Ford is not in the movie all that much and does not get much screen time.
However, his presence is still definitely required for the story to work and Ford gives a great performance as Deckard, as expected.

Although I loved Blade Runner 2049, I must admit this movie will not be for everyone.
This movie is two hours and forty three minutes long and it has a very slow pace.
That slow pace is definitely earned and the movie is better with it but I can see how some people might find this movie to be a boring slog.
I, on the other hand, loved this movie.
It has great characters, fantastic visuals, music and cinematography and, to top it all off, the story is engrossing.
I have no doubt that, despite it falling below expectations at the box office, it will be viewed as a classic by many, just as the original is.
I urge you to go and check it out.

The Walking Dead crawls out of its grave for an exciting season premiere

And here I was thinking The Walking Dead was un-dead and buried.
After one of the worst cliffhangers in television history, followed by the worst season of The Walking Dead, it seemed like the show was following the example of Heroes, starting out as a fantastic show before eventually fading into downright stupidity and ridiculousness and then finally ending to the relief of everyone.
Which is why I am overjoyed to say The Walking Dead has crawled out its grave prematurely to deliver an exciting season premiere and 100th episode with Mercy.
The show runners seem to have taken the complaints about season seven into account because when viewing this episode it no longer feels slow and struggling for ideas.
This is all out war and it certainly shows.
Mercy is kind of like the season six premiere as the story is told in different timelines, although this time there are more timelines and it is not very clear which is happening when, with a few exceptions.
In this episode we see Rick leading Alexandria, the Hilltop and The Kingdom’s forces to attack The Sanctuary and bring an end to Negan’s reign once and for all… but since this is only the beginning of the season we all knew it was not going to go down like that.
The opening moments of the episode are certainly thrilling, as we see Rick and the group take out Savior lookouts on the way to the Sanctuary.
This has probably my favorite moment of the episode, when a Savior that Rick takes down taunts him, telling him how he saw Rick cry and beg during the season seven premiere and saying Negan will kill Carl.
It is then that Rick, rightfully so, allows the man to be eaten by a Walker.
It is brutal and shows that, although Rick believes only Negan has to die at this stage, he is not above killing anyone else to achieve that goal.

This episode has plenty of callbacks, it being the 100th episode and all, including a shot for shot recreation of the first episode’s opening scene, only it is Carl instead of Rick.
It is in this scene where Carl comes across a mysterious man who most people seem to theorize is Siddiq but since this person looks nothing like the Siddiq from the comics I think he is someone else.
We’ll have to see what part he has to play in the coming story.
The confrontation with Negan at his factory brought a smile to my face as Negan and Rick’s roles seemed to have reversed, with Rick having the upper hand and reminding Negan of how weak he made the group feel and now how strong they are compared to him.
“Are you going to make me count?” Rick asks, repeating a line Negan spoke to him in the season seven premiere.
The shootout that follows is intense and shows Rick’s dedication to killing Negan, completing ignoring an advancing Walker herd.
It is Gabriel who snaps Rick out of it and urges him to leave with the others.
God bless Gabriel, the TV version of him is so much better than the comic book version.
A rare occurrence when a TV character is better than their comic book counterpart, in terms of The Walking Dead.
However not all is good for Gabriel because he risks his life to safe the cowardly Gregory, despite his betrayal, only for Gregory to steal his car and leave him to die.
While it is great to see how much Gabriel has changed during his time on the show, (at the beginning he wouldn’t risk his life to save people he knew and now he is risking his life for someone he barely knows and betrayed them) this can only lead to bad things for him.
Sure enough it does, with Gabriel being trapped in a trailer with Negan.
“I hope you got your s$*!ing pants on,” he says.
We do Negan, we certainly do.

However, although this episode is a great step in the right direction for The Walking Dead, not everything is perfect.
The uncanny valley, in terms of special effects, in this episode is very apparent like in the previous seasons.
For example, Shiva the tiger looks very realistic with its CGI however a shot of a car exploding looks unbelievably fake and made me wonder why they couldn’t just blow it up practically, they did it later in the episode.
Also, while the multiple timeline idea is a very intriguing way to style the episode, I do have a problem with the Old Man Rick timeline.
Fans who have not read the comics will not know what this means but as someone who has read the comics I think this spoils the events of all out war and removes all tension surrounding who will live and die.
Because of this Old Man Rick timeline fans will now have no reason to think Rick, Michonne, Carl or Judith will die during all out war because we see them in this future timeline.
Instead of actually showing this timeline they should have just hinted at it with maybe a few shots of Rick’s cane, the flowers and Old Man Rick himself.

However, other than these problems this was a great way to start season eight and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season will go.
Hopefully The Walking Dead will go all out for all out war.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. A glorified DLC or a new experience?

uncharted the lost legacy
In the months leading up to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy I learnt, much to my surprise, the game was not a DLC to Uncharted 4 but a standalone game.
This made me wonder though, was The Lost Legacy going to be a new and unique game in the Uncharted series or just a glorified DLC?
My concern about the game kept me from buying it during the first two weeks of its release, but when I finally bought it were my fears abated?
Well not for the first two hours of the game.
The Lost Legacy opens with Chloe Frazer, a character from Uncharted 2 and 3, searching for clues to the tusk of Ganesh, an ancient Indian artifact.
With her is Nadine Ross, one of the villains from Uncharted 4, and instantly I’m concerned.
Did the game just cop-out of showing us how they came to work together?

Uncharted photo
After a round of slightly entertaining gameplay through a war torn city, we are thrust into an open world segment where we can take part in pointless treasure hunts, finding artifacts that have nothing to do with the main story.
For the first hour of this open world segment, I mistook finding these artifacts as something you had to find to move the story forward and I quickly became very bored of it.
The gameplay in this segment is nothing new either, with it being almost exactly the same as Uncharted 4’s gameplay, with slight differences.
For example, you can now pick locks to open doors and get weapons, and take photos of the landscape (that last one is pretty pointless though).
The Lost Legacy simply did not need this open world segment.
A more linear approach would have worked better and spared me the time of mistaking all those pointless treasure hunts as something I had to do to complete the game.
However, although I did find the open world segment unnecessary, I cannot deny its beauty.
In fact the whole game is beautiful, showing the best graphics 2017 has to offer.
I lost count how many times I found myself staring in wonder at the screen at the amazing graphics, which highlighted the beautiful Indian landscape

uncharted visuals
after this, the game changes completely and almost all my fears were put to rest.
The gameplay quickly gets better, introducing fun action set pieces and even some of the funnest puzzle pieces in the Uncharted series.
My personal favourite puzzle piece being the one with the statues that try to stab you and you have to jump to the safe spaces, where you won’t get hit.
The story also gets better, introducing an interesting twist halfway through.
However, the story does result to some cliches, which do get very annoying.
I rolled my eyes when the villain of the game Asav leaves you to die by a death trap rather than kill you himself, something which would obviously lead to my inevitable escape.
The connection between Chloe and Nadine also makes the game better as they have great chemistry, which is just as good as Nathan and Sam’s in Uncharted 4.
It was also great to see their interactions change over the course of the game from working together only for personal benefit to a mutual partnership.

Uncharted partnership
This game is also the funniest in the series.
The ending had me burst out laughing, the first time I have ever done this while playing an Uncharted game.
This all culminates in a giant action set piece of an ending, which (although seeming to be ripped right from Uncharted 2) left me speechless.
Overall the game’s story and gameplay does start off a bit rocky, offering nothing exactly new but the story takes a detour after the first two hours and the gameplay becomes more exciting, making it worth it.
It doesn’t quite fit the definition of a glorified DLC or a new and unique experience, it falls somewhere in between.
Nothing special but worth playing.

The Gone Series Review

gone all books

In less than a month, Michael Grant’s follow up to the epic Gone series, Monster will hit the shelves.
The six part Gone series is my favourite book series of all time and consists of the books Gone, Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear and Light.
I fondly remember coming across the first book at my school library and reading it.
One months later I had read the entire series.
I have never been more excited for a book release than I am now for Monster so, in anticipation for its release, I will be reviewing the entirety of the Gone series from Gone all the way to Light.

GONE:

The first book in the series, Gone is definitely the weakest of the books.
Not to say it is bad or anything, but the other books just had better story telling.
Still, Gone is a must read that introduces us to the world of the Fallout Alley Youth Zone (FAYZ).
The basic plot line is in the town of Perdidio Beach, California, every person 15 years and over disappears without a trace and a massive dome surrounds the area, trapping the remaining children.
Nicknamed the FAYZ by resident jerk Howard, the children try to figure out how to escape.
However, things get worse and certainly weirder when many of them begin to develop strange powers.
Our main character is Sam Temple, a boy who does not want to be the leader but steps up anyway for the good of everyone… yeah, this type of protagonist has been done before but Sam is likeable enough.
On the opposing side is Caine Soren, an ambitious boy who wants to rule the FAYZ by any means necessary.
Gone is certainly a unique book due to the strange things that happen, along with a large group of strong, likeable characters, from the heroic Sam, to the smart Astrid, to the loyal Edilio, to the one step away from being a serial killer Drake.
OK, maybe Drake isn’t likeable but he is still interesting.
The book has many twists and turns ranging from the fantastic to the just plain weird.
However, this also works against the book as well as for it because sometimes the story feels like it is getting pretty ridiculous.
When I got to the part about the coyotes (which I won’t spoil) I almost stopped reading all together because it just seemed too ridiculous to me.
There are also story elements introduced in this book that are never brought up again and various contradictions.
The character of Astrid is revealed to have a power, which is never mentioned again in subsequent books and Edilio says his brother is fighting in Afghanistan, even though in later books it is established he and his family are illegal immigrants hiding from the police out of fear of deportation.
This book raises many questions but satisfyingly answers a few of them and doesn’t leave you completely clueless.
It is a great start for the series and, given this is the weakest of the books, it only gets better from here.

HUNGER:

Hunger, the second book in the series, is much better than its predecessor Gone.
This book is the third best in the series, with an even more gripping story than last time.
It’s been three months since the showdown in Gone and starvation is starting to set in as the children run low on food.
Worse still, a group of kids known as the Human Crew form and discriminate against those with powers and, to top it all off, Caine has returned from his visit to the Gaiaphage and now has a plan to defeat Sam and his friends.
Hunger is just one bad scenario happening on top of another, even worse, scenario that Sam must deal with.
Because of this Hunger has a feeling of dread throughout, which comes with a much darker tone than the first book as it deals with complex social issues such as racism.
Hunger not only delivers in terms of a gripping story but in terms of its characters as well, giving each of them an interesting arc.
It even fully introduces us to some of the characters who didn’t stand out in Gone like Dekka, who would later go on to become my favourite character.
This book also has even weirder stuff than the previous one but it’s OK this time since we have had time to get used to the weirdness after the first book so it doesn’t seem quite so ridiculous this time.
A great read throughout and making you really care about the characters, Hunger is a definite step up from its predecessor.

LIES:

Most people consider Lies to be the worst book in the series and it is easy to see why, as it mostly consists of people standing around and talking.
However, I disagree with this because Lies still manages to deliver with its storytelling, world building and characters, both introducing new ones and expanding on old ones.
Sam has never looked weaker in the entire series as he suffers mentally from the horrific torture he suffered in Hunger and the possible return of an old foe.
Although this book does contain a lot of discussion among the characters it still delivers on exciting moments around the middle and end of the book, with both the Human Crew and the Gaiaphage causing trouble.
In the meantime, Caine and his crew are dealing with the devastating effects of starvation, leading to one of the darkest moments in the entire series and a pivotal moment for the character of Diana.
We are also introduced to the very entertaining Sanjit, one of the only people smart enough (or dumb enough, depending on how you look at it) to make fun of Caine.
This book also throws an interesting twist into the mix, although it would have been better if the twist wasn’t so obvious.
The only major problem I have with Lies is that it makes the character of Astrid very annoying in comparison to previous books, where she was likeable.
She came across as more arrogant here rather than smart and her failure to understand how a situation should be handled was very problematic.
Overall Lies may be the second weakest book in the series but it still introduces interesting story elements and characters that make it a great read.

PLAGUE:

The greatest book in the entire series, Plague is gripping from start to finish, delivering both the most intense entry in the entire series and the darkest.
The deaths in Plague are the very definition of horrifying and one character meets a fate worse than death at the end of the book.
However, this book works not just because of the horror but because of how the other characters react to it.
Never before or since in the series have I felt such camaraderie between the characters.
This was the book that propelled Dekka to my favourite character as her story arc in this book is nothing short of exceptional, essentially making her the hero of this book, not Sam.
Even the comedy is done well, introducing one of the funniest characters in the series Toto.
This book also highlights what is so great about the Gone series, diversity.
The Gone series has the most diverse set of characters in any book series and this book shows that best, with some of its most important characters being that of a different race and/or sexuality.
The diversity also comes across as very natural and does not feel like the writer is just inserting it to make himself look good.
As well as this, Plague is the first book in the series that really plants the seeds for the endgame of the explosive final battle, with two key events that will lead to that moment happening in this book.
Plague is a perfect book.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Delivering laughs, moments of extreme horror and heartbreak, and setting the stage for the final confrontation two books from now, Plague is a truly great read and one of my favourite books of all time.

FEAR:

The second to last book in the series Fear is basically set up for the final book but, even so, it still delivers an intense experience as the Gaiaphage makes its move to take over the FAYZ, through horrifying means.
Fear is better than Lies but not as good as Hunger as we see the characters realise the end is coming and they must unite to stop the Gaiaphage from achieving its goal or they will all die.
This is easily the most depressing of the books as the characters hardly ever get a win and realise that doom is slowly approaching.
Once again, the character development is excellently handled.
Props go to the standout character Penny, who easily beats Drake in the psycho department.
Michael Grant sure does know how to write violent psychopaths.
However, it is not all good because in this book Grant finally decides to explain what happens when people turn 15 and decide to leave the FAYZ… or at least he tries to explain it.
I was left very confused by the explanation and wondering if maybe there was a point in being afraid of what happened when people left at all.
From start to finish Fear has you constantly wondering what will happen next, until its incredible cliff hanger ending leaves us feeling both uncertain and with an impending sense of doom for what is to come in the final book.

LIGHT:

The final book in the series and the second best overall, Light is a fitting conclusion to the epic series that began with Gone.
With the Gaiaphage now loose in human form, the endgame for the series finally happens and it is bloody.
If you cried at any point when reading the other books I would suggest you bring a tissue box when reading this one because Michael Grant goes all George R. R. Martin on us and kills off almost half the characters.
The characters are tested in ways they have never been tested before, faced with an impossible foe to beat.
The character arcs in this book are the best the series has given, especially Caine’s who had the perfect conclusion to his story.
Each character has a fitting end, whether they live or die and almost no one is over looked.
Light is gripping from start to finish and was well on its way to being the best in the series… but then the ending happened.
It is a good ending, don’t get me wrong but it is very rushed.
The entirety of this book (you could even argue the entirety of the series) has been building up to a final battle between two characters and when this climactic battle finally happens it’s over in a couple of paragraphs.
It should have been two pages, at least.
Even the epilogue is rushed as some important characters get very short paragraphs explaining what happened to them, some important characters don’t get an epilogue at all and, worst of all, we don’t know if some characters survived the final battle.
So, while Light is an amazing conclusion to the series, the ending is very rushed and prevents it from being a truly excellent novel like Plague was.
Still it was a great way to end the series.

Conclusion:

The Gone series is without a doubt my favorite book series.
It is a truly excellent series, which only stumbles occasionally.
I only have one question.
Why hasn’t there been a TV adaptation already?
This series is practically begging to be adapted to television, with its wide range of characters, gripping storytelling and overall fantastical weirdness.
I had heard things about a TV adaptation for a while but recently no new information has surfaced.
I can only hope that, with the release of Monster on October 17, interest will sour again and it can finally be adapted.
(Fans of the Gone series will get that pun)

Float down to the theatres to check out IT

In 1990 Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise The Dancing Clown made a generation of people afraid of clowns.
Now 27 years later a new cycle has begun with Andy Muschietti’s latest adaptation of Stephen King’s terrifying novel IT.
But does this movie live up to the hype it presented, with the most viewed movie trailer on YouTube in the first 24 hours, and even King himself praising it?
Yes, yes it does.
For you see, IT is not only one of the greatest horror movies of the year but the greatest coming of age story since Stand By Me. (Ironically another one of King’s works)
The film revolves around a group of kids known as the Losers Club, who realize children are being taken and killed by a demonic entity that takes the form of whatever you fear the most, Its favorite form being that of the sadistic Pennywise played terrifyingly by Bill Skarsgard.

smiling pennywise

Skarsgard’s performance as Pennywise is both unnerving and frightening, easily exceeding Curry’s previous performance.
But the real star of IT is not the crazed, killer clown but the children of The Losers Club as you will have become attached to each and every one of them by the end of the film.
We spend the entirety of IT watching these kids grow and gradually lose their innocence due to the horrors they experience.
The standout actors are without a doubt Sophia Lillis as Beverly and Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie.
These two really knock it out of the park with their performances, especially Lillis who had a much darker storyline than I expected.

the losers club

Speaking of dark, if you are a person easily offended by violence against children then this film is definitely not for you.
This film is constantly filled with dark and disturbing imagery, made even more disturbing by the fact that these things are happening to children.
However, while this film is very scary it relies a bit on CGI, which is very noticeable and really takes you out of the moment.
The infamous storm drain scene where Georgie meets Pennywise was almost ruined for me when a noticeable case of CGI took me out of the moment.
But other than that there really isn’t anything else wrong with the movie.
The only other problems I had with the film was from the perspective of a fan of King’s original novel as some storylines were switched around or abandoned, which I didn’t like.
However, if I look at this solely from a filmmaking perspective then this is an almost perfect movie that will make this generation terrified of clowns.
Go float to the theatres and check it out.
four_half-stars_0