Hacked Off

I have to start this review by saying I'm not all that far through Watch Dogs. What I've heard of the storyline (and it's very little) is promising, but for my part I haven't really done much of it. I've had it for a few days now, and every time I play I get stuck on it, sucked in, unable to quit or leave. Many a night has been spent staying up 'til three in the morning trying to finish another side mission or just muck about and hack as many random NPC's as possible. Because here's the thing about Watch Dogs: there's so much of it, and it's all so much fun.

A Bundle of Reviews

So I've had an Xbox One for about a week now, and most of my time on it has been spent either grinding through ridiculously difficult side-scrolling platformers or expressing my disbelief that they actually bothered with a campaign mode in Titanfall. Anyway, I think I week is long enough to have bought all the good games (short of Watch Dogs with its extravagant £60 price tag or anything which involves a sport and is not affiliated with the Kinect) and to have time to review the console itself. So here are my thoughts on the Xbox One.

One Big Colossal-Monster Punch-Up

When Godzilla came out in 1998 I was amazed. I'm ashamed to say it was one of my favourite films (probably - I was six when I first saw it and it stuck in my mind, they obviously did something right) but I have never watched it since I was old enough to go and see 12-rated movies in the cinema. Now, with the rise of a new Western take on Japan's biggest export (from head to feet) it's time to see how Gareth Edwards' more traditional interpretation of a classic kaiju holds up.

Bigger, Better, Bloodier!

If Gareth Evans is a name with which you are unfamiliar, why do you read this blog? It's about movies. And Gareth Evans is a name which, in the movie, world, is quickly becoming huge. When The Raid hit screens three years ago, it was a low-budget, gritty martial arts action film and its visceral action sequences and close camera work made it a cult hit and raked in fifteen times its one million-dollar budget.

Now, The Raid 2: Berandal is out in cinemas and it's bigger, badder and bloodier than ever before. Featuring a more expansive world, more involving story and an impressive array of detailed characters, it's still the bone-crunching, face-breaking fist-thrower the prequel was; only this time, Evans has the budget to spread it about a bit.

The Winter Soldier: The SPOILERIFFIC Review

WARNING: SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER AND DO NOT WISH TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN IT, DO NOT READ THIS POST.

A Night-time Screening of a Slick Superhero Spy Thriller

There's something interesting about a midnight screening. Perhaps it's the exclusivity - being the first one to see a movie, being able to call it before anyone else, and when they ask the next day you, bleary-eyed and proud, can stand up and say "Yes! I have seen that movie!". Perhaps it's the silence as you step out of the cinema and realise it's nearly three in the morning - the one time of day you can see a movie and the sky looks pretty much the same when you leave as when you went in. Perhaps it's just the fact that it's midnight - it's always been a pretty special time.

Whatever the reason, I expected something special out of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And I can't say I was disappointed.

Pastel-Coloured Poetry in Motion: Zipping through Wes Anderson's Latest Flick

Wes Anderson was not, until recently, a name which appeared on my radar. Which is a shame, because it's going to take me so long to get this finished because I'm watching The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as I write this. Anderson's films have a way of drawing you in, and the same can be said of his latest offering.