ENTERTAINMENT
Reviews by www.fortressofsolitude.co.za
MOVIE TITLE
2 GUNS
HIGHLIGHTS
Director: Baltasar Kormákur Starring: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg,
Recommended for
Chemistry and charm between the two leads
Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, and James Marsden
Action comedy fans
VERDICT Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg team up to bring us an action comedy that’s reminiscent of the classic '90s buddy cop films that we have come to love. It’s old school in its approach, with much of 2 Guns resting on the chemistry and charm between the two leads. The story revolves around DEA agent Bobby Trench (Denzel Washington) and U.S. Navy intelligence officer Marcus Stigman (Mark Wahlberg), who have been working undercover as members of a narcotics syndicate for the past year. The twist, neither man knows that the other is an undercover agent. When their attempt to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel and recover millions goes haywire, their superiors disavow the men. Trench and Stigman must go on the run lest they wind up in jail or in a grave. Overall, the film is a fun comedic action romp with the two stars proving to be worth the price of the admission ticket. 2 Guns proves to be a fun-filled action film regardless of the fact that the plot and some characters needed a lot more work.
www.doitnow.co.za • 1
MOVIE TITLE
Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters
Director: Thor Freudenthal Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Logan Lerman, Nathan Fillion, and Stanley Tucci
HIGHLIGHTS
Fun and entertaining
Recommended for Fantasy, adventure fans
VERDICT
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is the sequel to Percy Jackson: The Lightening Thief, a film that wasn’t exactly magnificent, but it was fun, enjoyable, and entertaining. In other words, original didn’t set the bar too high for the sequel. Despite this, The Sea of Monsters still only managed to be average. The story centres on Percy (Logan Lerman), the son of Poseidon, who continues his epic journey to fulfill his destiny. Along the way he teams up with his demigod friends to retrieve the Golden Fleece, which has the power to save their home and training ground, Camp Half-Blood. The sequel didn’t try to strengthen the first film’s weaknesses. It didn’t even try to build on the first film’s strengths. Instead, its derivative of itself. The film could and should have been better than what it was. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is a film that is shrouded in a veil of mediocrity that perfectly balances the good and bad of story telling and sequels to an unexceptional perfection.
2 • DO IT NOW Magazine | #30
GAME TITLE
Saints Row IV Developer: Inc. Publisher: Deep Silver Genre: Action, Adventure
HIGHLIGHTS Great open world
Recommended for Action, adventure fans
VERDICT
If you were to try and think of a more radical change from sequel to sequel it would be very hard to compete with the Saints Row franchise. However, the core reason this still works is that the progression, however insane it might feel at the time, is simply leaving no holds barred with the universe they have made, and taking each sequel up to 11 each time. From small time street hustler, to ruler of Stillwater’s crime families, and from mega media mogul as you take down the bosses of Steelport, to this latest installment, where the ever unnamed and variably appearing Boss is now the president of the United States of America, and has to fight off an alien invasion. And it's just as amazing as that sounds. Oh, and you also get superpowers. The finest point of Saints Row IV is that you’re never sure what you’re going to get or do next. The best part about this franchise is that we are left with four distinct titles that can each be replayed for different reasons, depending on what form of Saints Row we want today.
www.doitnow.co.za • 3
GAME TITLE
Fez
HIGHLIGHTS
Director: Phil Fish Publisher: Polytron Corporation Developer: Polytron Corporation Genre: Platform, Puzzle
Recommended for
Excellent gameplay Platform & puzzle-solving fans
VERDICT
Having watched the documentary, Indie Game: The Movie, seen the reviews and watched enough trailers, I knew quite a bit about Fez. It wasn’t until a few days ago, however, that I made the decision to purchase the game on Steam; being on sale made it quite a lot easier. The PC port was initially released on 1 May 2013, after
having been officially released on Xbox 360 on 13 April 2012. While there has been great praise for the lovable indie game, there has also been quite a large amount of criticism. What’s all the fuss about?
You won’t find yourself pulling out any of the hairs on your head in an attempt to find every detail and hidden treasure within the game, as simply playing through the levels is more than sufficient to get by. That being said, delving deeper (behind things at face value) brings about its own rewards, and will keep you captivated for quite some time. Eighteen months after its launch, this lovable game is still worth every second you spend playing it.
4 • DO IT NOW Magazine | #30
Movies to look out for
R.I.P.D
Genre: Action, Comedy Director: Robert Schwentke Starring: Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Bacon Date: 4 October
Rush
Genre: Action, Adventure Director: Ron Howard Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, and Olivia Wilde Date: 4 October
This Is the End
Genre: Action, Comedy Director: Seth Rogen Starring: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, and Jay Baruchel Date: 11 October
games to look out for
Beyond Two Souls Genre: Action, Shooter Developer: Quantic Dream Date: October
Killzone Shadow Fall Genre: First-person Shooter Developer: Guerrilla Games Date: November
Watch Dogs
Genre: Action Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Date: November
www.doitnow.co.za • 5