Super Stardust Ultra: PS VR Review

Super Stardust Ultra: PS VR Review

Developer: Housemarque
Platform: PS VR

Super Stardust Ultra was already a fun title to play.

A combination of blasting asteroids, collecting weaponry and points, all on a rotating world, the game had a lot of arcade sensibility going for it and made it definitely worthwhile.

The PS VR version of it strives for greater things, but doesn't fully achieve it.

While the core gameplay remains in tact and the idea of blasting around the screen close up and having a few things flying towards your face is a bit of a novelty at first, the core game soon becomes slightly redundant and unnecessary (even though scanning round sees you in the stars of the universe). It's still eminently playable though and is enjoyable enough (much as it is with normal screens).

Its Invasion VR mode is where the VR's been developed for the title and it's whether you feel like this is an extension of Battle Zone's tanks with Super Stardust Ultra's waves of critters to shoot. There are EMPs to help you gain some space, but the whole thing seems a little off and ever so slightly dull (not to mention prone to motion sickness).

Ultimately, Super Stardust Ultra on PS VR isn't a necessity. Sure, its core game is still worth throwing time into, but otherwise, there's little to warrant this other than the consideration of it as a lazy port to a new platform.

Jim: the James Foley Story: DVD Review

Jim: the James Foley Story: DVD Review

Most people know the name James Foley.

And that's largely due to the way he was taken from this world; beheaded, in an orange jump suit by a masked captor in 2014.

But director Brian Oakes' documentary about the titular field correspondent aims to flesh out more of the man whose life will be unknown to many. However, this is a doco of two halves; the first concentrates on giving us the back-story of a brother who caused concern to many with his life choices and exacerbated fears when he was captured in Libya.

The second half becomes a piece about being a hostage, by using those who were with James when he was taken in Syria by IS to share their story and recollections of the man.

And to be frank, while parts of Oakes' doco run the serious risk of deifying Foley thanks to his damned good decency, there's no denying the ultimate resolution of the piece which uses some of the most intimate of moments ever committed to film will undoubtedly leave you emotionally wrecked.

That's due in large parts to Oakes' creation of a film that takes its time to paint a portrait of a man whose sole MO was nothing but the greater good. Be it in his desire to help document a hospital's attempts to save children being shelled by their own government forces or by putting other captors first when in the direst of situations, it's clear that Foley was a good man, whose selflessness was didn't go unnoticed by others.

Using archive footage, interviews with the Foley family, access to emails sent by hostage negotiators and in the latter parts reconstructions, Oakes' desire is clearly to provide a legacy for his friend. Which is in itself no mean feat - and understandable given a) that the brutality of the man's death was the reason he achieved global notoriety and b) that in the face of such tragedy, some kind of good has to emerge.

In fact, one colleague, talking of Foley's selflessness, decries the fact his death gave him a face on the stage and he'd likely be horrified that it were not those of the innocent civilians caught up in the conflicts in Syria and Libya being discussed.

But what emerges is the collective guilt of the family (natural perhaps) over the wait to get any information and Oakes takes a swing at the US Government for not doing more at a brisker pace, given the others in Foley's captivity are freed. Yet, it's a weak shot that has no repercussions and even a cursory glance over Wikipedia shows Oakes leaves out the information over a botched rescue attempt as if to further fuel the fire and hint at a simmering sore that lies exposed.

While it's clear that Jim: The James Foley Story wants to leave a picture of a man who made a difference, its moving testament is not in the construction of the film, or the casual way interviewees address their director (leading to questions of whether professional distance has been maintained) but purely in the demonstration of what Foley was and what a difference he made to those around him.

In the wake of the tragedy and horrific end that befell him, Oakes' sole desire is to have friends and family attest to his virtues, and one assumes this emotional outtake is what Oakes wants us to take away from the film - a sense that while men can do horrific evil still in this world, there is still an overbearing good that cannot be snuffed out. 

First look - The Mummy Trailer

First look - The Mummy Trailer 

It's here - your first look at Tom Cruise in The Mummy!

Check out the FIRST trailer for the Reboot of The Mummy franchise starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella and Russell Crowe!

Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy.  

Thought safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.  

From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters. 

Cruise is joined by a cast including Annabelle Wallis (upcoming King Arthur, television’s Peaky Blinders), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), Courtney B. Vance (TV’s American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson) and Oscar® winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator).

The Beatles: The Touring Years: DVD Review

The Beatles: The Touring Years: DVD Review

Beatlemania lives on some 50 years after the Fab Four hung up their touring boots with the one week only release of this documentary from former Happy Days actor Ron Howard.

Covering the period between 1963 and 1966, Howard's affectionate documentary about the life on the road may not prove much of a surprise to those who already know their Beatles lore, but he gets great cinematic truck out of displaying the lads' Liverpudlian cheeky charm to full comic effect as well as concert footage and screaming masses to relive the Beatlemania and its resultant euphoria.

With the ethos that they embodied the idea of how it would be to hang out with your mates, The Beatles' rise to fame is fairly reasonably charted with commentary from the boys themselves, as well as a few choice people from their inner circle - though tales of life on the road from those who accompanied them are limited only to journalist Larry Kane who offers a peek at life in the inner sanctum.

The thing is the documentary itself doesn't really provide any new ground and some of its choices of talking heads are perhaps bizarre and tenuous at best.

While Sigourney Weaver's attendance at the Beatles' Hollywood Bowl and companion footage give her credence, and Whooopi Goldberg's love for the mop-tops and attendance of their Shea Stadium show how inter-racial their appeal was, Eddie Izzard and Red Dwarf composer Howard Goodall are included for scant reason.

Using archival interviews for Harrison and Lennon are inevitable, but even interviews with McCartney and Starr add little to proceedings to be honest, given there's already so much out there about the group. It's all here again though - the screaming kids, the Bigger than Jesus controversy; almost as if another rote greatest hits package has been rolled out for a newer generation.

However, where Howard's more successful in breaking out of the workmanlike trappings of the genre is in the subtler touches. Whether it's painting a racial and more global picture of life when the Beatles hit America to demonstrate why their fame was so surprising abroad to animating cigarette smoke on stills, there are moments that impress greatly, even if the racial edges slow the verve of the film considerably down.

But there's no denying the blistering joy of some of their songs - it's hard to defy tapping along to the likes of I Saw Her Standing There and Help!as the live footage kicks in. With a fully restored 4K version of their Shea Stadium concert being presented after the film as a companion piece, there's no question that the Beatles phenomenon continues to live on in great style - and the film ends on an artistic high with some glimpses into the making of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Ultimately, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years is a greatest hits of the band and a compilation of their finest moments. It may not speak more to fans who are already immersed in their world and is as such a fanboy piece rather than a probing documentary.- it's more a brief Hello, Goodbye rather than an in depth Day in the Life Of

Crash Bandicoot: N'Sane Trilogy - First look

Crash Bandicoot: N'Sane Trilogy - First look

Words can't begin to describe how exciting the return of Crash Bandicoot is to the PS4.

After that cheeky little appearance in Uncharted 4, Naughty Dog's now given us a full length trailer for the return of Crash Bandicoot, coming in 2017.

New Guardians of the Galaxy 2 trailer is here

New Guardians of the Galaxy 2 trailer is here

They're back - a brand new trailer for  Guardians of the Galaxy 2  is here

Louis Theroux: My Scientology Movie: DVD Review

Louis Theroux: My Scientology Movie: DVD Review

It's easy to see why Louis Theroux was pulled into the world of Scientology.

His career's been built on the quirky, with the MO of giving those enough rope with which to hang themselves. Theroux's entire back catalogue of interviews show him as non-confrontational, naive to the point of annoying and simply content to let the subjects do the talking with the occasional prodding.

His technique belies his intelligence, but often demonstrates his adroitness at shedding more light on things than a traditional interview would do.

But in the case of Scientology (a cult so marvellously indicted by Alex Gibney's wonderful Going Clear doco), Theroux finds himself thwarted from the start and given no access to anyone within the church, leading him to the quandary of how you build a doco with no subject matter?Despite throwing a genuine request online to see if any Scientologists would get in touch, Theroux is told to prepare for the loonies and to batten down the hatches. His goal is altruistic - to see the Church in a more positive light as opposed to the increasing lunatic fringe front that's portrayed in general media.

Recruiting former Scientologist Marty Rathbun to the cause, Theroux decides the way to illustrate the Church's edges is to get actors to play the roles of Tom Cruise and church leader David Miscavige and sets about auditioning them. It's a clever touch rather than simply relying on archive footage, and when it appears one of the actors must be in league with the church, Theroux begins to feel the tendrils of the Church tracking him (equally, with a humorous visit from actress Paz De La Huerta, whom Theroux labels a "honey trap").

It's in these moments that Louis Theroux: My Scientology Movie starts to come to life; with a defter lighter touch to proceedings and the trademark Theroux wit adding a great deal. Because at the end of the day, Louis Theroux: My Scientology Movie is a very unfulfilling piece, due simply to the fact he has no real access to those in the upper echelons of the Church - and the film very much suffers because of a lack of them.

More interesting though is the relationship that Theroux and Rathbun cultivate; it's one of unease and in this way, Theroux has gained his greatest insight into the church's machinations and workings.

But there's never a real sense of a killer blow against the Church or its methodology.

This is a doco that feels like it wants to poke and provoke the fires of outrage and runs away when anything greater than a spark grows. It's a frivolous frippery of a film that wants to rattle the Church's leader but ends up feeling more like a Miscavage of Justice rather than a damnation of what goes on behind the walls. 
10th Nov