Doctor Who - The Husbands of River Song: Blu Ray Review

Doctor Who - The Husbands of River Song: Blu Ray Review

Rating: PG
Released by BBC and Roadshow Home Ent

So, the annual Doctor Who Christmas special finally arrives.

This year, shorn of Clara Oswald, Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor is thrown into a romp that sees him reunited with Alex Kingston's River Song as she tries to extract a diamond from her husband's head.

The twist is though, that this husband is not the Doctor, but King Hydroflax (Inbetweeners star Greg Davies) ... and it puts the Doctor's nose out of joint when he realises she doesn't know who he is.

However, all that's put to one side when the duo is forced on the run.

Ostensibly a throwaway piece, the silliness that pervades the first half of The Husbands of River Song is perfectly suited to the post-Xmas day bloat when you're sick of the family, stuffed on good and just want a diverting spectacle.

But long term and out of context, this feels like a show of two halves.

One that provides the silliness and a second that feels like it wraps up River Song's arc.

There's a beauty and elegaic feel to Capaldi and Kingston's final scenes together and the two knock it out of the park as you realise the finality has come calling. But it's a mixed ride to get to that point and also perhaps one of the less successful Christmas day outings for the TARDIS.

Ant-Man: Blu Ray Review

Ant-Man: Blu Ray Review

Rating:  M
Released by Sony Home Ent

It's fair to say that as the Marvel Universe expanded its horizons, those running it really did start to lose track of what made the earlier movies so great - character and a degree of intimacy.

Particularly in the last Avengers movie, which concluded in a soulless retread formulaic finale that was redolent of many before, relied on a MacGuffin and that was so steeped in angst, all the joie de vivre threatened to be crushed forever.

So, it's a joy to report that, despite a lack of ant-icipation, Ant-man takes Marvel back to its origins, with a flick that feels like a set- up / origins piece that was so prevalent of Phase Oneand one that is an utter blast in the cinema due to its simple plot.

Those unfamiliar with the incredible shrinking man needn't feel left out. 

It's the story of down-on-his-luck Scott Lang (a brilliantly vulnerable yet timed to comic perfection Paul Rudd), an ex-con with a moral code who just wants to do right by his daughter Cassie after getting out of jail. 

But Lang is singled out by Doctor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas back on form and looking wearied enough to suggest an age and lifetime in the role prior to where we join the movie) to be the recipient of his shrinking super-suit and help Pym ensure that the current CEO of the Pym Industries Darren Cross (Corey Stoll in a relatively thankless role as the rather average and cartoon villain of the piece) doesn't use the tech for the wrong reasons and let it fall into the wrong hands.

Ant-Man is refreshingly small scale and, for the most part, all the better for it.

Sure, it's entrenched in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it never feels fully bound by its conventions, ongoing storylines or bogged down by the Infinity Gems saga. 

There are nods to the world around and an acknowledgement of the events in Age of Ultron(even Pym has a wariness about the Avengers getting their hands on their tech) but this is flick is more about the story of fathers and their legacies, rather than super-sized and angsty heroes coming together to save the day.

Ant-Man is at pains to put its redemption lessons and daddy issues front and centre of the film, with a mantra of the ordinary man being a hero squarely at the fore. Lang's told by his ex-wife at one point that his daughter thinks he's "her hero - so just be the person she already thinks you are"; Pym himself talks a lot about how he failed his daughter Hope (a worryingly sidelined Evangeline Lilly) and Cross is angry that his mentor Pym never fully trusted him or embraced him.

But it's the fact that Marvel's embraced these issues and looked more to address the intimacy of the films that's not proved an insignifc-ant contribution to the overall effect.

Granted, there are some pretty impressive visuals that revel in their Honey I Shrunk the Kidsand Planet of the Giants aesthetics, thanks to Pena's performance, there's a crackling line of comedy that buzzes all the way through (and clearly has Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish's DNA all over it) but there is never anything that wanders too far from the emotional edge that's clearly running through this ant's mandibles. And it's all wonderfully executed by Yes-Man director Peyton Reed.

It's not all perfect though - Stoll is never a full-on threat as the bad guy and the Marvel truck has gone back a few steps in its treatment and execution of women in this piece. Lilly deserved more of a presence in this first film (even if a mid-credits coda seems to promise more ahead) and is sidelined; it's once again a boy's world in this superior heist flick. And it has to be said the appearance of the wider world intrudes into this film - a mid-film sequence and even the post-credits moment feels like Marvel's going back to easy old habits, which is unwelcome after what's just transpired.

Ultimately, thanks to a massively charming Rudd and the lighter touch of the script, Ant-Man is entertaining fare, a welcome diversion from the darker edges and continual set-ups that have become the norm for these films and shorn of the ongoing mythology. 

Ant-Man is light, inventive, frothy and above all, fun - this caper has refreshed the Marvel cinematic offering and it's to be hoped that this formula won't be lost in future.

Rating:

Doctor Who Legacy - Talking its 2 year life and the future

Doctor Who Legacy - Talking its 2 year life and the future

With Doctor Who celebrating its 52 anniversary this November and Christmas on the way too, it’s never been a better time to pick up Doctor Who Legacy, the gem-matching game that also matches up a lot of the show’s history.

It’s the perfect gift for Xmas too for all ages to enjoy before the appearance of the Doctor on our festive tellies.
The game’s celebrating its second year anniversary as well this year and has launched some new premium content for fans of all ages to enjoy. There’s the Kids Content which aims at players of younger ages, and the Sonic Adventures which is a slightly trickier proposition for games with bombs and strategy needing to be deployed.

But Tiny Rebel Games has never lost sight of the community it serves – and while there were initial launch problems for some with the Premium content, both Lee and Susan from TRG tirelessly worked through the contacts and replied to everyone individually (something which is incredible for the amount of work they have on).

Equally, a server issue at their end recently saw them reward their community with a free character once it was fixed, continuing their patented approach of community and players first.

So with the 2nd year anniversary just gone past, and with there never being a better time to buy the Premium content as a Christmas present for the Whovian in your life, I reached out to TRG for a chat about the content, the future and what the plans are for Christmas this year.

Susan Cummings from Tiny Rebel Games got back in touch (for which I am grateful for her time)


The Kids content evolved from Anna’s Playground, but how did the gorgeously adorable artwork come about?
The BBC had shown us some of the early art in the new style they were developing a bit before we launched Anna’s Playground, and we were all in the process of trying to decide what, if anything, we would do with it in Legacy. Once it became obvious that there was a significant demand for more younger-Whovian oriented content in the game things just fell together neatly. We loved the art style from the moment we saw it =)

What was your general desire for achievement with the Kids Content? And how has the Kids stuff been received?
Anna’s playground started because we were sitting around on Boxing day going through support tickets, and someone had emailed us about their daughter, Anna. By lunch time we had a level mocked up, designed around the idea that we could tweak the core gameplay enough to truly let young kids have a compelling experience on their own, and had emailed Anna’s father back asking for a list of her favorite enemies so we could personalize the level for her. Our desire was to do something for the daughter of one of our fans, but once it became clear there was demand for more if it, our desire changed to doing that the best way we could. In the short term, that meant launching a second Anna’s playground and then that shifted to doing a full Kids area for the game. We’re very happy about the reception to the Kids area by our amazing community =)

You’ve dropped some new levels, proving once unlocked, the investment in the game’s paid off – will there be more kids content on the way and what’s the ultimate plan?
Internally we’re treating the Kids area like the Fan Area – once unlocked we’re going to keep updating it as much as we can. The first level pack for the Kids area has already been released, and I hope to get a second one out after Christmas. I can’t see us doing less than 4 expansions to the area, hopefully a lot more than that.

Turning to The Sonic Adventures, your own spin-off series in many ways, what was the plan with that one – it introduces Jo Grant to the game, the Eric Roberts Master ; was it always the idea to have older characters within the game to reflect the show’s legacy?
At launch we began with the most recent seasons, with a plan to continue backwards as far as we could (ideally to An Unearthly Child), but after launch as we started talking to the BBC about new characters for the game, and the community made it very clear that these should include many classic characters.  We therefore shifted the whole of the Legacy project over to a much more “classic inclusive” position, while also trying to keep right up to date with canon alongside each new season. When we found out from the BBC that we were going to be able to start putting Sonics into the game we were faced with a decision – we could do this slowly over time as with any other ally, or we could try and do it all at once and wrap it all together in our first “real” expansion. By doing that we were able to put together a self-contained adventure including a massive selection of sonic devices from throughout canon, as well as many hours of gameplay. When we got to that point we started talking about how this would tie into the canon of the game, and I decided that we would treat it as a side story to chapter 4. If you’re a user who stays with only free content then you shouldn’t be effected by the fact that this adventure is happening off to one side. You shouldn’t feel pressured to go take part in it. But for those who do decide to join the first Doctor you get some insight into the larger chapter 4 story as the TV Movie Master spearheads a counterattack against the Doctor.

The self-contained adventure of The Sonic Adventures is quite tricky, how much thought goes into strategies for the game and is there anything else like you’d like to do with this series? Could it be expanded?
We’re always looking at new ways to change the core gameplay in order to keep players on their toes =) You’ll see more of this next year.

Are there other plans for Premium content within the game? Or is there something else you’d love to do within the Game?
The next chapter of Bigger on the Inside will be premium content, and will be heavily story driven. We have years’ worth of plans for the game. We’ve only just started =)

There may be some who feel that outside of the Sonic Adventures and the Fan area Frenemies level,  there’s little chance to continue levelling up to 60 without access to the Strands of Time – it must be hard for you to balance the freemium mode you’ve done so successfully with the need for continual re-investment into the game – how do you counter comments like that from the community? (Even with continual weekly free drops, there must be some pressure / desire to keep it financially sustainable)
The plan was always to give Sonic Adventure players access first, then the Fan Area, and then to everyone else – sadly some players will have to wait but considering that to have that complaint they’re likely 50 – 60 hours into the game without spending a penny to speed that up in any way, I’m sure they don’t mind waiting a little longer.

The game’s been going for 2 years now and with weekly story levels dropping for the current Peter Capaldi TV show, what’s been your proudest achievement with it?
We’re very proud of the fact that we’re the first mobile game in history to shadow a running TV show in this way, the fact that we’ve done it for two years, and the fact that we can do it for free to our users.  But I would say our proudest achievement is undoubtedly the amazing community we have.

What are the plans for the future of Doctor Who Legacy ? Given Season 9 ends soon, what’s next for DWLegacy?
In order:
Special Fan Area level coming in the next few weeks
More Titan Comics costumes and characters
“The Event” starts in the next few weeks
Signature Series in Fan Area
Bigger On the Inside, Chapter 2
Chapter 4 continuing
We have plans past that with the BBC which run through to the end of next year, however these are the ones I’m comfortable mentioning right now.

Will there be an Advent Calendar this year in December? And will you all be taking some well-deserved down time after the efforts you’ve poured into the game and the community?
We released this info yesterday!

2015 Advent Calendar plans!!  – There have been a lot of questions regarding the advent calendar plans for 2015, so here is the official reply: because season 9 of the show is running into December this year, and then we have to prepare for the Christmas episode, we haven’t had the space between the end of the TV season and the start of advent to plan and execute an additional month of free content. However, as we continue to say – users who financially support the game through unlocking the fan area deserve special recognition for what they’ve done (it’s the 5% of players who have financially supported the game over the last 2 years who have kept it going, not the 95% who don’t), so we’re doing a very special “SIGNATURE SERIES” of characters exclusively for the fan area.

Over the last year the team at Tiny Rebel have gone from one Doctor Who convention to the next in order to tell Whovians about the game. During these travels we met members of the cast of the show, we would thank them for agreeing to be in the game, and we started asking them something very specific – would you mind signing your in-game art so we can do a special series of characters for fans of the game. Enough said yes that, for the week before Christmas, the Fan Area will receive a new set of characters, re-balanced, each displaying the actor’s signature on the profile page.

The fan area launched with 9 levels, and now has over 50. We hope the addition of the Signature Series helps reinforce the promise we made when we launched the game – if you unlock the fan area we’re going to keep giving you unique goodies as a thank you for as long as we’re making the game.

Lee. Creative Director.

To play Doctor Who Legacy for free and get into the game that's got Whovians buzzing, click on the various formats below:

Peter Capaldi talks the return of an icon and meets NZ fans

Peter Capaldi talks the return of an icon and meets NZ fans

Doctor Who actor Peter Capaldi was in New Zealand last night for the "In conversation with" event.

Fans were given the chance to hear of the current Doctor's experiences on the show and had teases of Heaven Sent exclusively screened to them. It's the first time a current Doctor has appeared in New Zealand and happened the day after the show's 52nd anniversary.

Wearing his landmark shades in the second half, Peter Capaldi revealed that fans disgruntled by the wearable tech wouldn't have to wait long for the return of the sonic screwdriver - teasing that it would be back sooner than you'd think.

Two scenes from Heaven Sent were also shown, one with Peter Capaldi's Doctor facing the Veil and hinting that he was actually scared. Heaven Sent airs in New Zealand on Prime on Sunday at 7.30pm.

After the show, Peter spent over an hour chatting with fans and signing - he took particular time out with the youngsters who'd attended the event and waited for him after. In every moment and despite the late hours, he was both generous with his time and sincere to each and every single fan.

Below are some photos from the after event.

Armageddon 2015: Talking manning a stand with Retrospace's Rochelle Scoones

Armageddon 2015: Talking manning a stand with Retrospace's Rochelle Scoones

Retrospace is a science fiction collectables store, both online (www.retrospace.co.nz) and a physical shop at 22 Hurstmere Road, Takapuna in Auckland. Retrospace has had a stand at many of the Armageddon shows, and will be at the Auckland event this weekend. Retrospace is owned and run by Rochelle Scoones.

What’s the best part of being at Armageddon?

The best part is being in amongst the larger sci-fi pop culture community and meeting fellow fans. I enjoy catching up with our customers and friends, especially those from outside of Auckland who I don’t get to see the rest of the year. It’s always nice to meet new customers as well. At each Armageddon there will always be some people who are attending for the first time and haven’t been to our shop in Takapuna, so it’s neat to see their delight when they discover us.

What’s the one item that you always sell really well – and why do you think that is?

Sonic Screwdrivers are strong sellers year after year. They’re great cosplay items. Pop one out of its packet, press the button to make the lights and sounds - and away you go. Everyone wants to be the Doctor, and cosplay’s such a huge part of Armageddon. I’m expecting Doctor Who fans to show up wearing ‘sonic sunglasses’ this year (but I should add that we don’t have these for sale… yet!)

What does Armageddon mean to you?

Armageddon, and especially the Auckland show, is the biggest event on Retrospace’s calendar. We’ve exhibited at all five Armageddon shows this year, but Auckland will be by far the largest, both in terms of the size of our stand and the number of people expected to attend. We’ll go all out to make this special, with a wide range of products on sale. Unlike the Armageddon shows we’ve exhibited at in other cities, Auckland is home ground for us, so we can bring in fresh stock each day from our shop if we sell out of items at the show. It also means a lot of work both before and during the trading days, and I’m hugely grateful to our awesome band of helpers. Come and see us at stand #94!

What’s been your favourite moment at all of the Armageddons you have attended?

Hard to narrow it down to one as there has been so many. One highlight was having guest Seth Green (Robot Chicken) playing with the loose Star Wars figures on our stand. I’m a big Doctor Who fan so it was awesome to have classic series actors John Levene (Sergeant Benton) and Terry Molloy (Davros) signing on our stand. At one show Terry Molloy sat in the bottom half of a Dalek and put on his Davros voice. My hair stood on end! Another special moment was getting Armageddon guest artist Dean Rankine to draw me a personal tattoo commission, which I’ve now had immortalised in ink!

What’s the one thing at Armageddon this year that you have that you think is the coolest item?

It’s hard to narrow it down to just one thing, but we’ve just got in the Star Wars - The Force Awakens Pop Vinyl Figures, which are much-anticipated items. I’m also arranging to have a display of the highly-detailed Hot Toys 12” figures including Iron Man, the Hulk, Batman, Terminator and others. Many of these are limited editions and sure to sell fast.

What’s been your favourite costume from the event?

Definitely the Catbus (from the Miyazaki film My Neighbor Totoro), a huge costume ‘worn’ by a few people. There was room for others to get ‘on’ or ‘off’ the bus as it wove through the crowd. So cool!

What do you want to see at this year’s 20th Anniversary Armageddon?

I like to see everybody having as much fun as possible. That’s what Armageddon’s all about. I’m hoping to get along to one or two of the guest talks if possible, particularly those with the Supernatural guests as I’m currently marathoning the series as time allows. I rarely manage to get away from our stand for long as we’re usually so busy, but I suppose that’s a good thing!

Jurassic World: Blu Ray Review

Jurassic World: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Ent

Welcome to Jurassic World.

A world 14 years in the making, a world where logic and cell-phone coverage are dramatically intermittent, a world steeped in a reverence and nostalgia of its past. And a world where once again reason fails to win over corporate greed and dinosaurs threaten our very existence.

In the latest, the fourth addition to the Jurassic Park series, we find ourselves on Isla Nublar, now a fully functioning dino theme park, living the legacy of Richard Hammond and yet still fighting the corporate greed of attracting a new range of visitors and sponsors to the site.

When the nephews of park manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard, initially heroic and always in high heels) head to visit, she finds herself having the worst day possible, thanks to the escape of a new genetically modified dino hybrid, the Indominus Rex. Setting out onto the island with the help of the Doctor Doolittle of the Dino world, Owen Grady (a slightly moodier and serious but still wise-cracking Chris Pratt), she tries to track down the kids.

For its first 30 minutes, Jurassic World is a blast.

It's bathed in a nostalgia of the kind of goosebumps you felt the first time you saw the dinosaurs on the big screen way back in the 1990s, when the T Rex roared through the speakers and the screen shook when that foot first slammed on the muddy ground.

It's a film which has a character admit early on, rather cannily, that "no-one's impressed by a dinosaur any more" before then showing off the very latest CGI Dino-tomfoolery while blasting that iconic and still effective John Williams riff through the screen. It also riffs on how corporate greed for the continual pursuit of the dollar is crippling their industry, messing with the very eco-sphere and apathy that haunts theme parks' owners everywhere. It even has a funny warm tech guy (New Girl star Jake Johnson) who has an original Jurassic Park T Shirt on as well as that CGI DNA Strand from Hammond's original presentation. It's horrendously self-aware and beautifully aware of what to stir within you to set you off reminiscing.

But then the cliched characters and everything-goes-to-hell-at-a-convenient-moment-plot really kicks in and you have this horrible feeling of deja vu. A B-plot about the army wanting to take on Grady's trained raptors presents itself and everything old which felt new again is suddenly old in terms of story and dialogue as the B-movie schlocky creature feature kicks into gear.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the writing of the women of Jurassic World, which feels like it's come from the Jurassic Era of Hollywood screenwriters. Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire goes from strong ball-buster to shrieking wreck who has to be rescued all the time; her one moment of self-empowerment is ripped away thanks to Grady's acknowledgement of her achievement and she's back to the sidelines; equally, the nephew's mum is simply more than a worrying sort who sends the kids away and then frets as the inevitable plays out. It looks very much as if Joss Whedon's Twitter criticism of the script is spot on  and certainly it's hard to step away from the overall nagging feeling that the women don't do well in this world that's clearly here just for the ride and thrills and nothing else.

Pratt brings his usual charisma to the role of Grady, though it's somewhat steeped in more dour seriousness than we're used to - but don't fret, there's still quippery to be had and there are still plenty of signs that this guy's groundedness and everyman charm show no signs of wearing off.

However, it can be argued, thanks in part to a Deus Rex Machina, that this cheesy lined, cornball flick is saved by the creatures themselves - even the Raptor Squad that Pratt's character has trained up. Most of the moments the dinos are on screen - from the Indominus Rex to the raptors racing through the forest to the Sea-World-esque creature soaking the viewers are incredible; a nod to previous creature features (via a Viewmaster early on) shows the series respects and adores its roots -even if it bastardises them somewhat with a dino that's had its DNA mangled by the mad scientists in the lab. A scene where Grady and Dearing are out in a clearing is a nice nod to a certain scene with a Triceratops from the first flick and gives the production a chance to use an actual creature rather than another CGI interloper.

Ultimately, Jurassic World brings exactly what you'd expect to the table in terms of story and spectacle - it's a world where dinosaurs both literal and metaphorical roam triumphantly, content to bathe in the glory that once was. It's a spectacle and a blockbuster alright, but it's a hollow one that feels like it's just managing to stay one step ahead of extinction.

Rating:

Ant-Man: Film Review

Ant-Man: Film Review

Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Evangeline Lilly
Director: Peyton Reed

It's fair to say that as the Marvel Universe expanded its horizons, those running it really did start to lose track of what made the earlier movies so great - character and a degree of intimacy.

Particularly in the last Avengers movie, which concluded in a soulless retread formulaic finale that was redolent of many before, relied on a MacGuffin and that was so steeped in angst, all the joie de vivre threatened to be crushed forever.

So, it's a joy to report that, despite a lack of ant-icipation, Ant-man takes Marvel back to its origins, with a flick that feels like a set- up / origins piece that was so prevalent of Phase One and one that is an utter blast in the cinema due to its simple plot.

Those unfamiliar with the incredible shrinking man needn't feel left out. 

It's the story of down-on-his-luck Scott Lang (a brilliantly vulnerable yet timed to comic perfection Paul Rudd), an ex-con with a moral code who just wants to do right by his daughter Cassie after getting out of jail. 

But Lang is singled out by Doctor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas back on form and looking wearied enough to suggest an age and lifetime in the role prior to where we join the movie) to be the recipient of his shrinking super-suit and help Pym ensure that the current CEO of the Pym Industries Darren Cross (Corey Stoll in a relatively thankless role as the rather average and cartoon villain of the piece) doesn't use the tech for the wrong reasons and let it fall into the wrong hands.

Ant-Man is refreshingly small scale and, for the most part, all the better for it.

Sure, it's entrenched in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it never feels fully bound by its conventions, ongoing storylines or bogged down by the Infinity Gems saga. 

There are nods to the world around and an acknowledgement of the events in Age of Ultron (even Pym has a wariness about the Avengers getting their hands on their tech) but this is flick is more about the story of fathers and their legacies, rather than super-sized and angsty heroes coming together to save the day.

Ant-Man is at pains to put its redemption lessons and daddy issues front and centre of the film, with a mantra of the ordinary man being a hero squarely at the fore. Lang's told by his ex-wife at one point that his daughter thinks he's "her hero - so just be the person she already thinks you are"; Pym himself talks a lot about how he failed his daughter Hope (a worryingly sidelined Evangeline Lilly) and Cross is angry that his mentor Pym never fully trusted him or embraced him.

But it's the fact that Marvel's embraced these issues and looked more to address the intimacy of the films that's not proved an insignifc-ant contribution to the overall effect.

Granted, there are some pretty impressive visuals that revel in their Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Planet of the Giants aesthetics, thanks to Pena's performance, there's a crackling line of comedy that buzzes all the way through (and clearly has Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish's DNA all over it) but there is never anything that wanders too far from the emotional edge that's clearly running through this ant's mandibles. And it's all wonderfully executed by Yes-Man director Peyton Reed.

It's not all perfect though - Stoll is never a full-on threat as the bad guy and the Marvel truck has gone back a few steps in its treatment and execution of women in this piece. Lilly deserved more of a presence in this first film (even if a mid-credits coda seems to promise more ahead) and is sidelined; it's once again a boy's world in this superior heist flick. And it has to be said the appearance of the wider world intrudes into this film - a mid-film sequence and even the post-credits moment feels like Marvel's going back to easy old habits, which is unwelcome after what's just transpired.

Ultimately, thanks to a massively charming Rudd and the lighter touch of the script, Ant-Man is entertaining fare, a welcome diversion from the darker edges and continual set-ups that have become the norm for these films and shorn of the ongoing mythology. 

Ant-Man is light, inventive, frothy and above all, fun - this caper has refreshed the Marvel cinematic offering and it's to be hoped that this formula won't be lost in future.

Rating:

Jurassic World: Film Review

Jurassic World: Film Review

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Irrfan Khan, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, Dinosaurs, BD Wong
Director: Colin Trevorrow

Welcome to Jurassic World.

A world 14 years in the making, a world where logic and cell-phone coverage are dramatically intermittent, a world steeped in a reverence and nostalgia of its past. And a world where once again reason fails to win over corporate greed and dinosaurs threaten our very existence.

In the latest, the fourth addition to the Jurassic Park series, we find ourselves on Isla Nublar, now a fully functioning dino theme park, living the legacy of Richard Hammond and yet still fighting the corporate greed of attracting a new range of visitors and sponsors to the site.

When the nephews of park manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard, initially heroic and always in high heels) head to visit, she finds herself having the worst day possible, thanks to the escape of a new genetically modified dino hybrid, the Indominus Rex. Setting out onto the island with the help of the Doctor Doolittle of the Dino world, Owen Grady (a slightly moodier and serious but still wise-cracking Chris Pratt), she tries to track down the kids.

For its first 30 minutes, Jurassic World is a blast.

It's bathed in a nostalgia of the kind of goosebumps you felt the first time you saw the dinosaurs on the big screen way back in the 1990s, when the T Rex roared through the speakers and the screen shook when that foot first slammed on the muddy ground.

It's a film which has a character admit early on, rather cannily, that "no-one's impressed by a dinosaur any more" before then showing off the very latest CGI Dino-tomfoolery while blasting that iconic and still effective John Williams riff through the screen. It also riffs on how corporate greed for the continual pursuit of the dollar is crippling their industry, messing with the very eco-sphere and apathy that haunts theme parks' owners everywhere. It even has a funny warm tech guy (New Girl star Jake Johnson) who has an original Jurassic Park T Shirt on as well as that CGI DNA Strand from Hammond's original presentation. It's horrendously self-aware and beautifully aware of what to stir within you to set you off reminiscing.

But then the cliched characters and everything-goes-to-hell-at-a-convenient-moment-plot really kicks in and you have this horrible feeling of deja vu. A B-plot about the army wanting to take on Grady's trained raptors presents itself and everything old which felt new again is suddenly old in terms of story and dialogue as the B-movie schlocky creature feature kicks into gear.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the writing of the women of Jurassic World, which feels like it's come from the Jurassic Era of Hollywood screenwriters. Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire goes from strong ball-buster to shrieking wreck who has to be rescued all the time; her one moment of self-empowerment is ripped away thanks to Grady's acknowledgement of her achievement and she's back to the sidelines; equally, the nephew's mum is simply more than a worrying sort who sends the kids away and then frets as the inevitable plays out. It looks very much as if Joss Whedon's Twitter criticism of the script is spot on  and certainly it's hard to step away from the overall nagging feeling that the women don't do well in this world that's clearly here just for the ride and thrills and nothing else.

Pratt brings his usual charisma to the role of Grady, though it's somewhat steeped in more dour seriousness than we're used to - but don't fret, there's still quippery to be had and there are still plenty of signs that this guy's groundedness and everyman charm show no signs of wearing off.

However, it can be argued, thanks in part to a Deus Rex Machina, that this cheesy lined, cornball flick is saved by the creatures themselves - even the Raptor Squad that Pratt's character has trained up. Most of the moments the dinos are on screen - from the Indominus Rex to the raptors racing through the forest to the Sea-World-esque creature soaking the viewers are incredible; a nod to previous creature features (via a Viewmaster early on) shows the series respects and adores its roots -even if it bastardises them somewhat with a dino that's had its DNA mangled by the mad scientists in the lab. A scene where Grady and Dearing are out in a clearing is a nice nod to a certain scene with a Triceratops from the first flick and gives the production a chance to use an actual creature rather than another CGI interloper.

Ultimately, Jurassic World brings exactly what you'd expect to the table in terms of story and spectacle - it's a world where dinosaurs both literal and metaphorical roam triumphantly, content to bathe in the glory that once was. It's a spectacle and a blockbuster alright, but it's a hollow one that feels like it's just managing to stay one step ahead of extinction.

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Doctor Who Legacy - interviewing Lee and Susan of Tiny Rebel Games

Doctor Who Legacy - interviewing Lee and Susan of Tiny Rebel Games

Doctor Who Legacy is a free gem-matching game that has a strong emphasis on the show's history, and uses RPG elements to take on teams of baddies while letting you play a team of your own making.

Fiendishly addictive and eminently playable, the game's been on my portable player for a while (to my wife's continued annoyance) and I was lucky enough to be granted a Q&A with the Tiny Rebel Games' team of Lee and Susan about their past, the game's past and future and the imminent launch of Bigger on the Inside (March 25th!).

First off, just a thanks for making a game that’s really taken off with the community . I’m keen to know how the idea of the game actually came to fruition?
We decided we wanted to design and produce our first mobile game, and to publish it at the same time. For two people this sounded like (and indeed was) a massive undertaking, so we decided that we wouldn’t make the whole project riskier by trying to create our own intellectual property at the same time. Instead we would find something we loved, something we would happily build a game around, even at the expense of having a chance of creating our own universe. We watch a lot of BBC shows, and at the time we had just finished watching the 2nd series of Sherlock (which we loved, huge fans of all of Moffatt’s work) so we approached BBC Worldwide about a Sherlock, which they said no to, but they wanted to work with us and were curious whether we wanted to make a Doctor Who game. We’ve watched so much Doctor Who in our lives that later that same day we pitched the Legacy project to them.

I know both of you had a background in gaming – can you tell us a little more about what you were doing?
Lee started in QA at Sony, before moving to Rockstar Games where he ended up producing on the Grand Theft Auto series, as well as working on many other projects there. At the same time, Susan was doing deals for Rockstar, then she co-founded 2K games, signing their launch slate of titles including gems like Bioshock and Borderlands. After they both left they founded several games companies together, launching projects such as the critically acclaimed Order Up Wii game, and War of the Worlds.

Was a Doctor Who game like this always on your mind to create?
This was the first idea we discussed after we found out that there was a chance we could work on a Doctor Who game, and we loved it so much that it’s changed very little from that first conversation. We love to play gem games in our spare time, and designed / produced a game together years ago, Puzzle Kingdoms, as a collaboration with Steve Fawkner, who created Puzzle Quest.

How much did your love of the show permeate the fact you were creating a game for it – did that make it harder?
It makes certain things harder. It would be better if we had a narrower knowledge of the show, since it becomes overwhelming trying to pick between so many amazing episodes, so many amazing characters. The game has heavily impacted our viewing of the show as well since we need to have a certain amount of spoiler filled information before an episode ends in order to create content which is launched alongside (such as the season 8 episodes, and the Christmas episode this year). As a couple who really love to watch new episodes together, having that impacted makes everything a bit harder.

I know the BBC has been supportive of what you’re doing with Legacy, that must make a real difference?
This game wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the amazing, unrelenting support from the brand team at the BBC and the Doctor Who team in Cardiff. We have over 100 allies and companions, the actors behind each need to give us approval to use their likeness, and every enemy we add has to be signed off by the person who created them. It’s a colossal amount of work behind the scenes, and work which is vital to the continuation of the game. We talk to our producer at the BBC almost daily (and he frequently joins in for our weekly Twitch chats) because, if we didn’t have that level of constant communication, we could never dream of launching the amount of content that we do.

The game’s over a year old now, with something like 1.5 million players and it’s ever evolving, does it surprise you how far you’ve come in a year?
It’s shocked us. Before launch, rumours of a gem based Doctor Who game leaked out and the first response was very negative. The game launched, and reviews were amazing, but we weren’t sure if our grand experiment, a continually updated, live mobile game, running alongside a TV show, would make it to the end of the first month. We’re amazed every day by what the community which has sprung up around the game has allowed us to do. We launched new content day and date alongside an episode of the show many times, which is unprecedented in the mobile space. We’ve updated the game almost weekly (on average, easily weekly) for the last 15 months, which is almost unprecedented. Last year a new mobile game was launched something like every 9 minutes, the chances of the project failing (especially given the long, uneven history of Doctor Who games) were high. We’re eternally grateful to the fans who support the game, who trust us to be the caretakers of this project.

Partnerships with Big Finish characters, Titan Comics, Pixel Who - what else do you want to explore in the Who-niverse? And how much deeper into the worlds I’ve just mentioned will you go?
We definitely want to explore all those worlds in much greater detail. This morning we’ve been working on new levels to go out alongside the new 9th Doctor comic book series coming soon, and we’re talking to Big Finish about how to continue our relationship. Pixel Who have been amazing, and we’re less than a week from the launch of the Bigger on the Inside prologue, which we’re incredibly excited about. Our work with BBC’s books group led to the inclusion of Cinder from Engines of War, the War Doctor’s only companion, which is great to see in the game – these allies from the extended universe who finally get to go on adventures with the whole cast.

It feels to me like the game and your approach to it is one of fluidity and community (with your constant email support and also Sharee’s work on the FaceBook page, Adi’s weekly Twitch stream) – you’re always adapting to your community, creating levels like Anna’s Playground for the younger end, being shaped by feedback as well, is that why you believe your free-to-play game has been so successful?
We believe that the industry’s first attempt at creating a free to play space missed the mark a bit and created a space where users were forced into paying through hard paywalls, horrible ideas like energy meters and utilized exploitative social networking. Sadly this worked, which left a space where players felt exploited, and businesses face a choice of doing what is proven to make money, or try to create something new which could fail. We believe that there is another way, something more fair. Legacy is our first attempt at making a free to play game, and the game has been praised as “the most moral free to play game”, but we still think there are other ways the industry should be heading. People seem to appreciate this, and it seems to have gone a long way to us maintaining high ratings on the app stores. When you combine this mentality with a fierce love of Doctor Who, it becomes pretty powerful stuff if you’re a gamer interested in that specific space. For new users, especially fans of Doctor Who, that’s a pretty happy and awesome community to be welcomed into if you do love what Legacy offers, which is the real success of the game.

You’ve got Bigger on the Inside coming out on 25th March to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the new series; the artwork looks fun and the game is again evolving (some may say regenerating perhaps) – what are you excited for people to see with this release?
This is our first story which starts with all 13 Doctors present, which is an amazing opportunity. The full Bigger on the Inside story is over 120 levels, which is almost as big as the game was when we launched. The story is epic – many of the Doctors get their own story arcs, and it’s all set inside the TARDIS, which allows us to dive into some of her rooms you haven’t seen for decades. We’ve been working on this for many months now, we’re just thrilled that everyone gets to see the first level =)

Also, you’re rolling out the next season of the game too (you must be exhausted with all of this work), but I’ve heard the release of this is going to be different – is it true it’ll be more episodic and weekly? If so, why?
Our goal from the very start of the project was to have an ongoing, live story. Up until now this has meant that big chunks of content come out every few months, however with our super efficient content pipeline, and our ability to push new levels out on demand, we’ve always wanted a story which fans can “tune in” to play every week. Just like the Saturday morning cartoons we grew up on – once a week 3 or 4 new levels will be released, all driven by story.

To play Doctor Who Legacy for free and get into the game that's got Whovians buzzing, click on the various formats below: