April 2019

JORDN PEELE IS BACK TO The worst and possibly the best thing about Jordan Peele’s latest film Us, is in the fact that it doesn’t make any sense. The messages are confusing and worst of all, it’s a tad silly. But with every one of those decisions that make your brain hurt trying to figure it out, there’s a whole lot of messages just waiting for you to unravel.

Us is the follow up film to Jordan Peel’s Directorial debut Get Out. While there are some similarities in the way he tells his story the two are a great deal different of

each other.

Adelaide is at the fair ground with her mother and father. While her mother clearly doesn’t want to be there and her father has had a little too much to drink, Adelaide finds herself drawn down to the beach front. While her parents are still unaware Adelaide has even left their side, she enters a maze of mirrors only to find what is herself standing in front of her.

Cut to Adelaide married and with children

PROVE HE’S A HORROR MASTER! on a family holiday to the beach. The relaxing family vacation quickly turns bad when versions of themselves, “shadows” come to claim their place on land. The first half an hour to 45 minutes of Us pulls you right in. It manages to bring you close to this fun young family going on holiday and attempts to make you part of the family. And while you’re at ease there’s a slow tightening of your senses as you feel something is coming. But then there’s part of you that forgets as you laugh off some tension, because Us provides some quality comedy

– as is Peel’s background.

After that 45-minute mark where things start to settle down and the background gets explained, Us tends to get a little bit lost in itself. All the momentum is gone, it starts to make no sense and it verges on being a little bit silly. And while the background is explained to how the current situation came to be, you’re left with a great number of questions. Trying to understand why everything is the way it is and why it seems no one is able to stop the craziness.

It’s the messages in between the lines you need to pick up on. Social class, political statements and psychological state just to name a few. But you’d be excused if you weren’t picking up on that as you watched random bunny rabbits run around the hallway.

Leading the cast is as Adelaide and Red is Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, 12 Years a Slave, Star Wars: Episode VIII). Nyong’o gives one of the most amazing performances not only in the film but quite possibly a big contender for the awards season to come. Her ability to have this haunting background whilst also having a motherly nature and then flip it and become a killer is more complex than anyone would care to imagine. Yet, Nyong’o manages to combine them all and portray this twisted confused caring character with ease.

It isn’t until you see Nyong’o as Red that you realise how talented she is. The complete opposite of her Adelaide character, yet it holds these resemblances giving it a weird blend of comforting and frightening. Her control over her body and voice is amazing giving Red an even more twisted sense of being.

Overall, Us has an amazing and strong first half to the film. Where it ends up disappointing is in the fact it stops being funny, scary or making any sense. It tries really hard to send a message but in the end there’s so many messages that it’s too confusing to really understand what the message is. And because you’re already so confused from thinking too hard the ending throws you right into the deep end and you’ve no idea how to swim. Review by Jay Cook

ARE YOU READY FOR AVENGERS : ENDGAME?

HEADING

IN CINEMAS APRIL 24

STEPHEN KING’S NEXT REBOOT Sometimes dead is better – but this Stephen King novel got buried and came back to the big screen with a f*cking attitude!

while.

The Creed family just moved to quiet little Ludlow, Maine as an escape from hectic Director-duo Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Boston. Louis (Jason Clarke), Rachel (Amy Widmyer made a darker than the night Pet Seimetz), daughter Ellie (Jeté Laurence) Sematary adaptation, writer King can be and son Gage (Hugo/Lucas Lavoie) are proud of. The first half of the movie relies slowly adapting to their quiet country life, heavy on exploitation and cheap jump but find out their property comes with an scares that more or less fail, but after that eerie landmark – a “Pet Sematary”. Neighshocking incident halfway through the bour Jud Crandall (John Lithgow) warns movie, you better buckle up and enjoy this that some places shouldn’t be discovered, ride into the depths of hell. After successful but when Church the cat dies, and worse Stephen King adaptations It and Gerald’s soon after – Louis dives into the power of Game, it seems we have another winner on his new inherited local urban myth to make our hands. Some hardcore fans of the nov- things right… but nothing is what meets el might get upset with the switched narthe eye. Kölsch and Widmyer use Native rative, but as one of those fans I thought American mysticism and menacing bogs there was more to it that made it worth my to set the mood. While cinematographer

RE-INVENTS THE HORROR GENRE Laurie Rose foreshadows “the incident” under dark tones contrasting the picket white fence happiness. The rest is up to the Creed clan having paranormal hallucinations and digging into muddy graves, to creep us out even more.

The directors aren’t afraid of using savage gory details, and this becomes clear very early into the movie when we see Victor (Obssa Ahmed) getting wheeled into Louis’ operating room. Flesh peeled back and brain pulsating as if they dragged him out of The Mangler (another Stephen King story). Blood spurts from open wounds and if that wasn’t enough, the climax will have many viewers flinching. The horror creeps through the cracks of the walls, slowly but surely it’ll get to you in some more emotional scenes and hit you without a warn-

ing.

Jeté Laurence gives a killer performance, whether she’s sitting in a bathtub or twirling around while the Nutcracker score plays, she’ll crawl under your skin nonetheless. Church the cat does some serious animal acting, better than the ginger cat we recently saw in a huge blockbuster – eat your heart out Goose.

Pet Sematary is a scary adaptation that turns family tragedies into a sinister campfire horror tale. After directing somewhat smaller horror films, duo Kölsch and Widmyer prove they’re made for cinematic scare fests. Great acting, hauntingly soothing score and moody cinematography is what makes Pet Sematary worth checking out. Nightmares included.

FEATURE : SPOILER CULTURE & ENDGAME’S MARKETING

It’s less than a month til Avengers: Endgame hits theatres and the group chat is in disarray. Six guys are trying to work out a time and place to see what will more than likely be the biggest movie of the year. One of the guys can’t make it to the midnight screening and the rest don’t want to leave their pal behind. The next time everyone could be in the same room together would be the following day at 7pm, nineteen hours after release.

Would it possible to swerve the inevitable spoilers on social media? Could coworkers and customers hold in the details of the blockbuster for less than a day before my

friends and I see the film?

It points to how the internet interacts with films. Any fan in their lounge room can follow a film from the moment it is greenlight and pull apart every tiny detail. It can enhance a project – next year’s still unconfirmed Black Widow solo is getting great buzz – or it can damage it almost irrevocably, as in the case of Ezra Miller’s solo movie losing four directors and possibly its lead. Rocky production doesn’t always make a bad film (2017’s It went through three directors and recast their Pennywise at the eleventh hour) and smooth sailing doesn’t always guarantee a winner.

After that there’s the on-set leaks from fans The moment when Batman brutally battles and paparazzi. Not only can they give away twenty plus of Luthor’s goons to save Marsecret casting details (Tom Holland was in tha Kent comes well over two thirds into the Atlanta for Avengers: Endgame, but how?) movie. Did it sell more tickets? Maybe. Did it but also major plot moments (Why is the damage the moviegoing experience? Yes. Battle of New York features in Avengers: Endgame?). Toys and merch manufacturers That brings us to trailers. BvS is a big culprit are also major offenders as they are privy here too by showing everything from the to this information months in advance. The Battle of Metropolis from Batman’s perspecuse of the planet Titan in Avengers: Infinity tive, the introduction of Wonder Woman, War was spoiled on a Lego box.

Clark Kent meeting Bruce Wayne, the titular battle, the iconic trio uniting and even the And all of this was shoved upon me against surprise villain of Doomsday. The only thing my will. After watching every trailer in the left for cinemagoers was Superman’s shockworld for Avengers: Age of Ultron there were ing death, but any diehard fan could add up no new surprises. HYDRA fight > Hulkbust- that the villain of comic Death of Superman er fight > Seoul fight > Sokovia fight. The and all the profoundly religious imagery marketing already signalled Scarlet Witch surrounding Snyder’s Superman meant time and Quicksilver’s journey from villain to hero.was ticking.

The only shocks were Hawkeye’s farm and the reappearance of the SHIELD helicarrier. Captain America: Civil War was partially at fault Not enough to follow up one of the highest here too. The introduction of Black Panther and grossing movies of all time. Similiarly, the Spiderman were outwardly celebrated and the best scene in Batman V Superman: Dawn famed airport scene was the centrepiece of of Justice was released online in its entire- their marketing. What stepped over the line was showing its biggest casualty Rhodey post-injury ty before the film was released in theatres. and the final fight between Captain America and Iron Man.

While it didn’t rob the film of the narrative moments that would get the audience there it did spoil some iconic images that should have been left to the IMAX. Which is why the marketing for Avengers: Endgame has been fantastic. There is a theory that there is no footage from beyond the thirty minute point of the movie (save Cap, Nebula and Ant-Man in fiery battle). Marvel is resting on its legacy even more so than Avengers: Infinity War by using flashbacks of the heroes’ other films. The acknowledgement of the fallen heroes through the use of black and white in the Superbowl trailer is a beautiful touch.

The set leaks tell us that the Avengers are going back in time through the Quantum Realm, as established in Ant-Man and the Wasp. But the trailers just say that the Avengers have a plan to undo the snap and it involves Captain Marvel, Hawkeye and the tiniest Avenger. The trailer encourages the audience to wonder how possibly this movie could go because it doesn’t need to convince you it will be quality. It just needs to nudge you towards the theatre.

The responsibility is on studios to not release half the movie ahead of time, but it’s also on the fans to not tear apart every frame prior to watching the film. In the end the film should only be judged on the two hours presented on the big screen, but there is so much more that goes into a modern day movie experience.

That’s why the marketing for Avengers: Endgame, a movie too big to fail, is a refreshing step back in time that other studios should take a gamble on.

Article by Mark Halyday

STEPHEN KING’S NEXT REBOOT The live action Dumbo is an ambitious attempt to recreate a classic beloved film. But did the movie succeed in bringing one of Walt Disney’s first animated feature films into the 21st century?

The story begins around the same era that its animated predecessor was released. Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) has returned from war to find his home and circus on the brink of bankruptcy, his act disbanded, and his children having lost a mother. In an attempt to save the circus, the ring master Max Medici (Danny Devito) purchases a pregnant elephant but is disappointed with the birth of the wing-eared Jumbo Jr. After a deathly performance under the big top, Medici brashly gets rid of the mother elephant and puts Jumbo Jr., now dubbed Dumbo by locals, into the care of Farrier and his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins). But through the care from the Farrier children and with the promise of finding his mother, Dumbo becomes a star attraction beyond his humble circus.

Due to the financial loses from Disney’s Fantasia, the original animated film was deliberately designed to be simple and became one of the shortest animated features from the studio. But

now with Tim Burton in the director’s chair, the studio certainly did not have the same restrictions.

The visuals were extravagant and designed with the usual Burton flare. This aesthetic becomes more powerful as the story moves beyond the circus tent to a city theme park I would liken to Tomorrowland. In fact, a lot of the theme park reflects Disneyland and Disney World to the point where the movie actually looks to make fun of its real-life counterpart. It’s a strange juxtaposition as the theme park is home to the story’s true big bad, the malicious and greedy V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton). As the story moves to the park, there’s a sense of unease and the audience immediately knows something foul is afoot. But it also holds the scene I most enjoy. The original circus crew joins together for what seems to be one last time in order to do a ‘jail-break’ of sorts.

They venture to the park’s scariest corner which is filled with terrifying creatures in enclosures and, to confuse the park guards, they turn off the lights and let smoke machines run. The guards almost run in fear from the crawling creature shadows and howling monstrous growls. But it’s all revealed to be the crew in costumes casting the shadows and one fella with a megaphone! It’s

entertaining, childlike , and reminiscent of Disneyland rides. But for the park to be so like Disneyland yet tarred with the brush of greed and consumerism makes the similarities very uncomfortable.

Although, after Burton’s history of animating for the studio, it can also be seen as comical.

Unfortunately, this feeling of uncertainly traipses throughout the film. No actor makes an outstanding performance, with lines mostly falling flat or being overly dramatic. The story was either rushed, as it was in the introduction and finale, or dragging with little to no spark to keep the audience drawn in to its elongated story. And a lot of this can be forgiven when a movie has a clear audience. Although the 1941 Dumbo is not an animated feature I could claim as a childhood classic for myself, there was a certain element of childhood wonder that this remake failed to carry across. And with the missing or changed tunes, I can’t see this movie being made for the nostalgic generation.

As for younger audiences, Burton’s Dumbo relies too heavily on the scarier visuals. In one said scary moment, a child in front of me stated he didn’t like the film and that he wanted to leave.

Another child, frightened by some element later in

the film, screamed and took some time to calm.

So, I can’t claim that this movie is for children either. There’s a certain heart that classic Disney films have. It draws on the significance of family, self-value, and genuine kindness. Those stories, aesthetics, soundtracks, and voice acting always pulled together a professional and seemingly effortless orchestra that could wow audiences from dummies to dentures. Although Dumbo shows the significance of family, self-value, and kindness, there’s a genuine heart missing from its medley.

Tim Burton’s Dumbo ambitiously strived to take on one of Disney’s shortest animated feature films and turn it into a larger than life story that stretched beyond the original material. It’s not a story that will satisfy the long-time fans, nor is it a movie that is wholly appropriate for younger viewers. There are moments reminiscent of the original animation and Disney theme parks, but not enough to make it a film worth the cinema admission. So, it’s with a heavy heart that Dumbo gets 2 Novastars out of 5 .

Review by Brittany Howarth

SHAZAM! DELIVERS ANOTHER BIG HIT FOR DC It’s here! The final film in phase 1 of the DCEU.

After what can only be described as a roller coaster ride for the connected universe so far, Shazam is the most fun and joyous ride that DC have offered up so far. With a plethora of great action scenes, great humour and a little drop of horror courtesy of Annabelle’s director David F. Sandberg, Shazam! is the superhero movie that has it all.

The film follows the story of Billy Batson (Asher Angel) a foster kid who is in search of his birth mother who were separated at a carnival when he was a child. Billy has travelled through different foster homes in different counties trying

to find her. When he lands in a group home he meets Freddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) and his “younger sister” Darla (Faithe Herman) who try to convince Billy to stick around. One day Billy is travelling home on the train when he is magically teleported by the wizard Shazam to his lair.

They forge powers and Billy becomes the hero Shazam! (Zachary Levi) a late 20’s, maybe even 30 adult man (don’t worry you will understand when you see it!) When they are faced with Dr Thadius Sivana (Mark Strong) and the Seven Deadly Sins who want Shazam’s power to take on the world.

What really worked for this film is the contained story for a superhero film. By focusing on a family and exploring themes of what family is, allows this superhero flick to feel a lot more down to earth than other out of this world offerings of late. The film also deserves accolades for its positive portrayal of foster families and parents who actually care about those in their care, considerably compared to the often evil house parents who are only in it for the cash trope.

The cast are incredibly diverse with white,

black, asian, mexican, male and female all represented equally. Recently I watched the live action version of Dumbo with horrendous performances from child actors and I thought “where are all the good child actors?� well the good news is they are all in Shazam! Angel and Grazer lead the pack with scene stealing performances which are also outdone whenever Herman appears. Not to be outdone by Levi who is the only person who could deliver this performance. His chemistry with the rest of the cast and his childlike wonder provide a hero that everyone can relate to.

Visually this film is rich and colourful while also balancing some very dark scenes that only a director like Sandberg could pull off in a family film.

Particularly with the climactic battle being set in a carnival, in this way it reflects both tone and visuals with a blend of bright colour of the ferris wheel with the shadows of the seven deadly sins.

The cgi transitions from Billy to Shazam are just as good as they look in the trailers and provide some great moments during the film.

tween the two, it is completely warranted. Strong gives a Doc Oc from Spiderman like vibe and it totally works for this character. That being said it is not memorable enough to want to see more of this villain. His arc is complete by the end of the film and it would be justified to leave this character here.

Shazam was the film I was concerned for when I first heard that New Line were taking it on.

Through the marketing and promotion I tried to The score composed by Benjamin Wallfisch is stay positive but wasn’t sure if they could pull off sweeping and blends well with the upbeat and the mix of humour and heart required for somecatchy soundtrack with tracks from Queen and thing different in the newly crowned ‘Worlds of Eminem. Wallfisch has collaborated with SandDC’. Fortunately the film exceeded my expectaberg previously in Lights Out and Annabelle : tions quickly shooting up my favourite films of Creation and it is great to see their collaboration the franchise so far. With many jokes and pokes continuing into the superhero genre. at other DC heroes and franchises, the film is allowed to be playful and fun which we haven’t Having the first villain not be Black Adam may be seen in a previous film so far (Teen Titans Go To questionable for the first Shazam! film but it real- The Movies doesn’t count!) Outstanding perforly does allow for Strong to flex his bad guy musmances from the entire cast and a less is more cles. The similarities between Sivana and Batson, approach to the CGI prove that Shazam has a particularly their upbringing gives a different side solid future in film. to the usual villain that we see in these kinds of films. In particular his saddistic and tyrannical Shazam is released in Australian theatres on the brand of justice doled out to his family is disturb- 4th of April through Roadshow Entertainment ing, by the time we get to final showdown beAustralia.

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REBOOTED AND RECAST Back in 2004, acclaimed directer Guillermero Del Toro delivered the first Hellboy film.

It was a blend of horror, action and comedy that garnered enough critical praise and box office to earn a sequel in 2008 called The Golden Army. Del Toro and the cast returned and broke sequelitis to deliver one of the best sequels of all time. Then news of a third movie was floating around and due to Del Toro’s rising popularity and the amount of time passed, he had moved onto other projects. Hellboy star Ron Perlman was asked to return to the titular role

in the reboot but turned it down as Del Toro wasn’t involved in any way. So now after a long wait, we finally have Hellboy. The “not a sequel, not a reboot but yet it kind of is” film. I am relatively new to the comic lore of Hellboy and am still diving deep into Dark Horse’s library exploring the character. So enough about me, Hellboy is not what I expected, it feels like a big budget indie movie with a shoddy script, a myriad of pacing issues, beautiful creatures and special effects (both practical and CGI) and some truly woeful performances. Sorry

HELLBOY FAILS SPECTACULARLY folks, not even the unnecessary R rating can save this stinker.

The film follows Hellboy (David Harbour) who is working alongside his father Bruttenholm (Ian McShane) for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence. When Hellboy is called to England by a reclusive mens only club to help deal with some giants, he encounters the Blood Queen (Mila Jovovich) who was murdered by King Arthur (yep that one sigh!) And his sword Excalibur. The Blood Queen’s body

has been separated into parts and spread across England to make it impossible to put her back together again. Meanwhile a gargantuan boar creature Gruagach (Douglas Tait) a foul mouthed foe is trying to put the Queen back together to get revenge on Hellboy for making fun of him when he was younger (no, I’m not kidding and I really wish I was) Along the way Hellboy teams up with psychic extraordinaire Alice (Sasha Lane) and special agent turned Cheetah wannabe Ben Daimo.

I really wanted to like this movie, the lack of footage we had seen, combined with the embargo of morning of release didn’t fare well, I still went in open minded and was ready to fall in love with the man in red all over again. To some degree I did, Harbour has the character of Hellboy down to a tee.

He has the swagger, the comedic timing and the acting chops to fully embody the character. Regrettably the rest of the cast are truly woeful. Lane and Daimo are often spouting exposition, while looking and dazed and confused, just waiting for their meatier parts later in the story. The backstory for Agent Ben is weird and feels only there to please the comic book fans who will riot if they don’t stay faithful. To be honest this whole film felt like that, like there was secret wink to the comic book lovers who know these characters and this lore while leaving the rest of us scratching our heads wondering what the hell is actually going on with this movie.

The story was not great, I am told it is based on three different story runs in the comic books and while this may work on the page, it hasn’t translated well to screen. It’s choppy and this is also reflected in the way the camera moves and location changes go zipping past the screen, there is one shot where the camera is hovering above the city and pans to the right and lingers for a few seconds for no reason, legit, I wish I was joking. This feels like they hired the same team who edited Suicide Squad but instead of pop music they swapped it for heavy metal. Hellboy is the first major disappointment for 2019, it had so much potential with a great cast, a studio that seemingly wanted the reboot and a hefty budget for great looking effects. Regrettably the only people who will probably enjoy this are fans of the comic books themselves as they will be in on the lore and the endless winks and nods it gives.

Review by Alaisdair Leith

Animation juggernauts like Pixar and Dreamworks duke it out for the best CGI animation, hell even Sony and Warner Bros are trying to get a piece of the pie, Laika studios are delivering some incredible stop motion features with previous work including Coraline, Paranorman Kubo And The Two Strings and The Box Trolls.

This time around they are embarking on a worldwide adventure with different locations and an all star voice cast with beautiful eye popping animation to deliver a solid film that is arriving at the perfect time for school holidays.

The story revolves around Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) an adventurer in Victorian London who is trying to earn his way into an exclusive mens hunters club headed by Lord Piggott-Duncby (Stephen Fry). When Frost receives a letter advising that the Sasquatch creature has been spotted in Washington, he sets off to finally prove that it exists and earn his way into the club. Upon arriving he meets the sasquatch Link (Zach Galifiankis) who just wants to head to the himalayas to reunite with his Yeti cousins and find his family.

The voice talent in this film matches the great detail put into the animation. With Jackman and Galifaikas providing solid lead performances. This is only enhanced with Saldana joins the crew and the trio provide some of the best voice work in an animated film to date. Emma Thompson has a great role as the leader of the Yeti tribe and is allowed to flex some of her comedic muscles. Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry and Timothy Olyphant allow the film to truly be hilarious with their wacky characters. There is so much to love and adore about this movie and the proven track record of solid films that Laika are producing. This is director’s Chris Butler’s second time directing (after Paranorman) and has truly raised the bar is both visuals and storytelling. This may be the film you haven’t heard of, but it is definitely the film to take the whole family to these holidays.

It becomes clear very early on in the story, that Wonder Park was gonna tackle some complex emotions. The trailer made me believe that this was your generic kids flick with talking animals and sweeter than cotton candy visuals. The latter wasn’t untrue, but there’s more than meets the eye. It mostly reminded me of my teenage years, building my own theme park in PC-game Rollercoaster Tycoon and trying not to kill the visitors by putting them in an unfinished ride.

Both storylines the film is trying to blend aren’t connecting with each other. It tries to go very

deep in its more darker backstory, but the visuals that you experience on screen aren’t letting that darkness come forward and that’s where this movie misses the mark.

This was supposed to be animator Dylan Brown’s directorial debut, until he was fired by Paramount for inappropriate conduct during production. André Nemec, Robert Gordon and Josh Appelbaum collaborated on the screenplay that on the surface looks like a movie about a magical theme park operated by talking animals, but it finds its roots in a more serious family issue.

Wonderland was made up by June (Brianna Denski) and her mother (Jennifer Garner), who whisper their designs for the amusement park into the ear of stuffed chimpansee, Peanut. In Brianna’s imagination Peanut (Norbert Leo Butz) uses his magical marker to craft the unconventional attractions. But all the magic goes out of Wonderland when June’s mother has to leave home for a while to be treated for a serious illness. June doesn’t feel like playing with her friends anymore and also doesn’t find the energy or imagination to come up with new ideas for her Wonderland. Instead she develops some sort of OCD to make sure her father eats healthy and everything she does is “safe”.

After June leaves to go on math camp, she comes up with a plan to escape from the bus, after which she wanders into the woods and enters a magical portal into the theme park of her dreams. All of this is sort of a metaphor. June has to save Wonderland from complete darkness – which actually means she’s here to save

herself.

In Wonderland she teams up with a group of animals that run the park: a bossy swine (Mila Kunis), clumsy porcupine (John Oliver) and a pair of beavers (Fitzy & Wippa) to save the park from “the darkness” (that comes in the form of a horde of cute but evil little stuffed zombie-monkeys) that has captured the creative genius that is Peanut. June quickly has to start believing in herself to be creative again, if she wants to beat this dark cloud surrounding Wonderland before it devours everything she once used to love.

Wonder Park is a very colourfully imaginative sugar rush of a film that sparkles all over the place. John Oliver, Jennifer Garner and Brianna Denski are the strongest of its voice cast, but the tone of the story is all over the place. A story with elements this heavy is more something you’d see from powerhouse animation studio Pixar, but I like that other animation studios are trying to spice things up. Just make sure the message comes across to your audience and don’t lose yourself in the “splendiferous” magic that’s surrounding all of it.

Review by Seth Eelen

This modern dag version of Big – but in reverse, shows all the good bits in the trailer.

So if you’ve seen the trailer, you know what you’re in for. That doesn’t mean I didn’t laugh throughout the film, because it is funny. It’s predictable and had a cute message in the end, that wants you to stay true to yourself.

Little isn’t anything new, we’ve seen this story multiple times before, in the way of a bodyswap like Freaky Friday or in the ’80s comedy “Big” with Tom Hanks. But it’s harmless fun, mostly thanks to the cast, which seems to try harder than what’s given to them.

Screenwriters Tracy Oliver and Tina Gordon‘s (who also directed this film) underdeveloped script is contrived, full of plotholes and unnecessary scenes that don’t help the story progress. Little is enjoyable when you just focus on what’s in front of you and don’t think too much about all of it.

Regina Hall plays a tough, rude tech mogul who, because of some weird magic trick, wakes up one morning in the body of her Marsai Martin is a pleasure to behold.

13-year-old self. She then spends the rest of the movie figuring out how to reverse Speaking of Marsai Martin, she is the star of the curse, learning a few useful life lessons this movie. As the 13-year old version of Hall’s along the way. As usual, Hall embraces the character, she owns every scene she is in and role and dives full in. But sometimes, you dominates with a screen presence I haven’t should say ‘no’ to delivering jokes that seem seen from a child actor in a very long time. very outdated and entirely inappropriate.

Martin is a revelation, who might look cute, Especially in 2019, transphobic jokes are but turns out to be a performer with first-class just not done. Lucky this happens in the comic timing and true acting chops. She might beginning of the film, trying to show us just seem Little, but she is enormously talented. how mean she actually is, but I think this could’ve been shown to the audience in a Interesting note is that Martin has become the different way. Hall has worked with produc- youngest person ever to earn an executive-proer Will Packer before on hit-comedy Girls ducing credit on a major Hollywood production, Trip, which is one of the better comedies I’vewith this movie. Little isn’t going to make anyseen in the last decade. one forget about “Big”, Hanks made too much of an impact on that film to erase it from anyIssa Rae plays Hall’s long suffering personal one’s mind. But Little just gave us a new star. assistant and is as charming as she is in And I’m happy to have witnessed that on the her Emmy– and Golden Globe-nominated silver screen.

HBO-series Insecure. Although I thought the more the story progressed, the less screen time she got and kind of turned into a supporting character. As if the writers decided to wrap up her part in the whole story. Very unfortunate, because her chemistry with

Netflix’s first serialised show Love, Death & Robots is an artistically well written anthology series. Its 18 episodes are all influenced by animation and is probably the most exciting series released on Netflix in a very long time. The series is very NSFW with the amount of nudity and cursing in almost every episode. But the animation in every single one of these stories is unique in its own way. The short stories are easy to get through as they fly by and you’ll wish it was a feature film.

18 episodes, 18 short films, all under 20

minutes runtime. They’re all science fiction based, and David Fincher (Gone Girl) is the executive producer of this series. The idea came from none other than creator Tim Miller (Deadpool). Some of the shorts are based on literature, some are completely original stories being told in their own extraordinary way. They all have a different theme, a certain twist to them that leaves you begging for more and their own style of writing that makes every episode unpredictable. Most of these “mini-movies”

combines anime and animation. will make you think about things in a different way and truly blow you away. And yes, not every story will be your taste, but in my case, there were only two of them that didn’t compel me in any way. Some of the more endearing, longer episodes could easily be turned into blockbusters – the quality is just spectacular.

Whichever one will be your favourite, truly depends on your own personal taste.

There’s some very realistic animation in

a few of them that makes you question if these are real actors on screen (there’s only one episode that actually uses real life actors without any mocap) or computer-generated images. Some other styles reminded me more of a European animated style and even manga passes by.

Like I said before, there’s a lot of nudity and swearing, and in some of the episodes it feels a little bit out of place. Mostly because of the animation style that feels more “kid-friendly” – don’t get me wrong, this show is strictly for adults only! But other than that, in some episodes it really adds to the whole of the story.

A reoccurring theme is obviously the titular three – Love, Death and Robots. These three themes will either go hand in hand with each other and other times you’ll only see one of these incorporated into the story.

It all depends on the subject. Ideas around humanity’s future, our own demise and the relationship we have with space and other species is explored over and over again. It never feels preachy throughout the series and makes you laugh, feel sad or truly terrify you.

Each and every animator that has worked on this is talented and has their own vision on how to tell a story with their certain technique of animation. The beautify of this anthology series is that there’s going to be something for everyone.

Top 3 episodes:

Episode 1 – Sonnie’s Edge: In the underground world of “beastie” fights, Sonnie is unbeatable – as long as she keeps her edge.

Episode 14 – Zima Blue: The renowned artist Zima recounts his mysterious past and rise to fame before unveiling his final work.

Episode 2 – Three Robots: Long after the fall of humanity, three robots embark on a sightseeing tour of a post-apocalyptic city.

Article by Seth Eelen

Narrated by its band members and manager, the story showcases how Mötley Crüe came to be one of the most notorious rock ‘n’ roll bands in history. Packed with an electrifying selection of their best songs, The Dirt has enough story to make for an enjoyable film.

After a somewhat graphic opening scene that surely puts good use of the phrase “sex, drugs & rock’n’roll“, the film jumps back in time to show Nikki Six’s (Douglas Booth – Mary Shelley) troubled childhood and love for rock music. Then we get to see how the band is formed and make it into the big leagues.

When you’re at the top, the only way is back down. So down they fall – hard. Going to hell seems to be rock bottom for these guys and for some of them, this really is their last resort. But this was for them the only way to get back on their feet and realise they’re legends, more than ever before. The film likes to break the fourth wall, with front-facing narration showcasing just how crazy these bandmembers actually are. Speeding up and slowing down frames is one of the other tricks director Jeff Tremaine (Bad Grandpa) likes to use.

Music-biopics seem to be the trend lately in Hollywood, only this one isn’t exactly shy of showing all the sex and drugs, so expect plenty of that throughout the film. The Dirt wants to go for shock value in its first half of the film, to then go full drama in the second half. Still, The Dirt isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It might be very much by the book, but the chemistry between the cast and it rocking soundtrack make this an enjoyable watch. It’s one of those films that critics will love to pick apart and most Netflix subscribers will mostly enjoy.

Review by Seth Eelen

Cosplay QANDA Cos Toro

First of all congrats on your Aquaman cosplay! It is incredible! The pics turned out beautifully. What made you choose this character?

persona of my character. I have lived in Melbourne all my life, and I must say it is a beautiful part of the world to live! I study Visual Communication and Design (Viscom) at school and have always wanted to be part of the industrial design Thank you so much I am glad you like it! It industry! I am torn between going down that path has had an amazing response so far! I have or going for an architecture type career! I have alalways loved Aquaman as a character, and ways been interested in making things and drawhe has always been my favourite member ing and I think my career will definitely involve of the Justice League! Seeing his amazing both of those skills. design in the new Injustice 2 game made me want to cosplay him more than ever, and A lot of your Instagram (and now Vero) is focusI thought it would be a great opportunity to ing on creation for cosplay, is this something step out of my comfort zone and teach my- that you would like to do professionally moving self to sew! I have been swimming for most forward? of my life, which helped me walk around a convention shirtless, and my love for the It would be amazing to run a professional cosplay ocean and swimming may be why I love the page and do cosplay for a living, but from what I Aquaman so much too! hear it is extremely difficult to be able to support Tell us about you, who is Danny under the yourself financially on its own. I would definitely mask? What are you like? Shy? Outgoing? consider it as a side job, just as an outlet from Whereabouts in Australia are you? What do everyday life. One thing is for sure, I will be cosyou want to do with your life? playing for many many years to come! The move to Vero has been incredible so far, and I think Growing up as a wog, I have always been moving forward it may be the new juggernaut of very loud and outgoing. It just depends on social media platforms! my mood though. Sometimes I am really confident and other times I can be super How do you like to be approached by fans wantshy! However being in costume at a conven- ing a pic? Do you have preferred etiquette? tion does help me become more confident and I enjoy taking on a completely different So far I haven’t been approached by rude people at all, so I guess just be polite! I have seen on social media how rude and disrespectful people can be towards cosplayers, and I ssay overall everyone would have a much better time if we are all polite to each other and respect each other’s work and achievement. Hundreds and hundreds of hours can go into some cosplays, and it is a shame to see it be disrespected. Cosplay is for everyone! As I said, Melbourne has very kind people for the most part, and for the 2 conventions I have been to so far I have had no trouble with photos! So if you see me make sure to say hi photo! I love it! It just shows me how much people like my work!

Looks like you have received a 3D printer recently!

How is that working out?

It has been a very expensive and meticulous journey so far, but I think I’m getting the hang of it! I have printed some props and helmets already, and it is an amazing investment. The quality the CR-10 produces is extraordinary, and it is able to give me detail I could never reach by hand! However I still want to have most of my cosplay and props done by hand, as it is much more fun in the build process. The 3D printer is just there for extremely accurate looking props and parts that would be too hard to create on my own. It will also be able to help me with molding and casting, which I want to teach myself in the near future!

I would love to print a helmet or prop and be able to reproduce it in a mold!

Are you looking at making custom designs and cosplay for other people and selling them in the future? (just saying Cos Toro Designs would be an awesome name!)

In the future maybe, but life just gets very busy whilst doing VCE and hopefully university! At the moment I spend way too much time on props and they are very valuable to me, so I wouldn’t consider selling them.

Maybe I could start a studio when i’m older….wow that would be the dream!

You have made the move to Vero, how is that working out for cosplayers in comparison to Instagram?

Instagram’s new algorithm has made it harder to grow in followers and likes, and that isn’t exactly good for a fairly new cosplayer like me! I don’t really mind how many followers I have or will receive, I am lucky enough and appreciate every follower I get, it makes me feel like I am doing something worthwhile! I have faith that Vero will become a very big platform in the future. That said it has been unusual to start from scratch.

If you could Cosplay anyone with no budget or time restrictions who would you choose and why?

Probably a real working transformer! And out of the transformers i’d make Bumblebee! To have a chevy has always been a dream ever since I saw the cartoon back when I was a kid! It would take me a long time, and cost a lot of money, but I feel like being able

to make Bumblebee and have it transform into a car and drive would be a great deal of fun! Of course the cosplay would have to be as tall as the autobots in the movie!

If you could create a Cosplay league and have 4 other cosplayers with you who would you choose and what would you like them to cosplay as?

I would choose Infamousdollface, Aussiewebslinger_cosplays, Officialgothbarbie and Cosplay Chris!

They are all great friends of mine and they are the most talented people I know. Infamousdollface (also known as Tilly) would cosplay Harley Quinn of course, the work she does is incredible! Jarryd as Aussiewebslinger_cosplays would cosplay who he does best, the amazing Spiderman! He has nailed the behaviour, poses, and in my opinion has the best spider cosplay out there! Bridget, also known as Officialgothbarbie would cosplay Poison Ivy! Bridget nails her cosplays and for her first time working with foam, she absolutely killed it at PAX when she brought out Ivy for the first time! And of course I had to choose Chris, who I would love for him to cosplay Pirate Batman, his own design. Chris’ work is unbelievably good, and his work is what inspired me to start cosplaying! Aside from being amazing cosplayers these are all extraordinary people who I am blessed to have in my life. They have all helped me through so much and are extremely supportive of what I do! Also, the DC/Marvel contrast would be awesome….. With me cosplaying as Iron Man! If this all went ahead what would the name of your league be?

That’s a tough question…. Uhhh the Dry Brushing Dudes? The Hot Glue gurus? The Contact cement crusaders? I am horrible with naming things but I think I have embarrassed myself enough already!

What are some of your favourite superhero films?

I would have to say The Avengers, and probably the Raimi Spiderman trilogy. Aside from all the hate and memes, I love Tobey Maguire and his work in those three movies introduced me to superheroes as a toddler and I will always enjoy watching them! The Avengers was just a huge step forward, and I loved the way the characters bounced off each other.

How do you feel about the Marvel/DC movie rivalry?

It is a popular opinion that the MCU is a much better and more developed franchise than the DC movies. I agree with this statement. There has been some major flaws in both franchises, but I do enjoy watching Marvel movies more. They have had much more experience and their movies are much more polished than DC. That said, both franchises have great characters and storylines, and I enjoy watching all superhero movies! I am very excited for Infinity war!

Thoughts on the Snyder cut?

I would love to rewatch Justice League without the reshoots, just like many people. I did enjoy watching the final movie despite all the hate, but seeing either an extended cut or Snyder cut would be awesome. I appreciate how both directors have different views on how the movie should have been executed, but I think they managed to make both cuts work well together, despite the average looking CGI. I do know that the people working on the final CGI had a very limited amount of time to work, and what they produced was great regardless.

Score: 7/10

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TOWN SIMULATOR STRATEGY

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TURN BASED

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“As someone who isn’t the biggest fan of city simulators, I had to learn to power on through the stress of balancing my towns needs so I could find out the mystery of this legendary tree” Take a town building simulator, include the stresses of multitasking & add in a storyline with an ensemble of cute, bubbly characters and you get Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists: Atelier’s of the New World. The latest title in the niche Atelier’s series by Koei Tecmo came with quite the learning curve for me.

As someone who isn’t the biggest fan of city simulators, I had to learn to power on through the stress of balancing my towns needs so I could find out the mystery of this legendary tree my character was on a quest for. Meet Nelke, an aristocrat who has a keen interest in

legendary ancient Sage Relics. However, Nelke learned early on that the power of alchemy that comes with said Sages wasn’t her strong suit.

Growing up to be a government official, she still yearns to search for them, in particular The Granzweit Tree. Rumoured to be on her fathers land, he allows her to search for it only if she governs the town of Westwald and helps make it blossom.

Although I was expecting to go on a JRPGlike adventure at the same time, I was disappointed to find that town building was essentially 80% of Nelke’s gameplay. But that disappointment soon fell away as I slowly started to, dare I say, kind of enjoy helping this small town thrive. The story progresses as you complete certain tasks in each chapter. Instead of “go talk to this person” or “clear this dungeon” as I was sort of expecting, it was more so reaching sales targets or building certain structures.

As the town of Westwald grows, it starts to attract the attention of alchemists from other worlds who want to move into town.

They may also familiar if you’re a fan of the other Atelier titles. The addition of these alchemists helped since I needed to make money to help make Westwald grow and they knew how to synthesize items for me to sell. Alchemists aren’t only useful for crafting though as I was able to hire them to work in my stores as well as gather crafting materials. This isn’t the only interaction you get with them, they can accompany you on Investigations and develop a level of friendship with you which unlock certain events within the game.

Developing the town was all easy at first, however as it grows, more and more alchemists arrive and the expectations as town leader starts to increase. For me this is where the games difficulty truely kicks in. Along with tasks set out in each chapter, town residents have requests as well.

It took a while for me to learn to only focus on the more important jobs. Juggling items that I needed synthesizing also required me to make sure I had gathered the items for each recipe, which was a whole other task at hand. And sometimes, that didn’t always happen. Usually because I was too busy focusing on another request or a research task. Figuring out what I needed to synthesize one item while having to make sure I had enough of the the same crafting material for another required a lot of brain power.

Multitasking is absolutely vital the further you get in the game, which was no easy feat for myself.

Trying to juggle all the things later on was almost headache inducing. It required multiple breaks from the game, coming back each time with a calmer mindset which also helped me devise a new plan of action.

There’s going to be minor and major bumps in the road ahead as Westwald becomes larger. A well thought out strategy is an absolute must. Multiple save files also became handy too if I wanted a do over.

Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists: Atelier’s of the New World is a very niche title so it won’t be for everyone’s tastes. But if you’re a fan of strategic town Sims and cute Japanese aesthetics, I’d recommend this game for you. The turn-based battles truely helped me enjoy this game more than I had expected early on. Mixed with the addition of it’s storyline, it gave me a good reason to want to progress and be the best town leader I could.

Review by Nicco

Nintendo have been quiet lately with first party titles. While we await for the new Pokemon and Animal Crossing games, we will play through endless ports and HD remakes and then some second rate titles and characters and here we are with Yoshi’s Crafted World.

Now that’s not to say that the game is trash, it’s perfectly fine and this is probably the best way to describe this game, it is perfectly fine.

The graphics are cute, the gameplay is great but hugely repetitive as the game drags on and while the levels are inventive and varied, it doesn’t do enough to stand out amongst the usual high standard of first party Nintendo titles.

The game centers around the dino Yoshi’s who after their sun stone full of gems is stolen, scattering the gems across different

lands, must hourney through the crafted worlds to retrieve them and stop a mini Bowser from taking over dino island. It is a pretty simple story that when combined with the gorgeous visuals delivers a satisfying experience on the Switch in both handheld and docked mode.

Each level has a different theme with under the sea, trains, pirates etc with a similar layout to a Mario map with 2 or 3 levels in each themed zone. There is a unique blend of woolly craft styled animation and paper cut outs that scatter each world with its own unique design based around the theme it is set in. The levels are packed with colletibles with coins, flower faces and hearts to 100% each level and purchase some sweet costumes that you can dress your Yoshi up in as you travel.

HEAD-

Initially I hated this idea, exiting out of a level to put coins into an old school gumball machine and see what comes out, is the equievlant of loot boxes in my opinion.

Fortunately it turned out to be incredibly addictive and fun as dessing up your Yoshi became one of the best parts of the game.

When the game’s intro video starts and you get to choose the colour of the Yoshi you play as the main character, it was a great indication of the customisation that this game offers.

If you are looking for a run and gun platformer, this is probably not the best game for you. Each level opens up after you have completed it and is available to play backwards. This reveals more coins, more collectables and more secrets as everything turns around and you can access areas that were previously unaccessible. As Yoshi moves around the level, you use your tongue to destroy the slow moving Shy Guy’s that turn into eggs and follow you around. These eggs can be used to destroy hard to kill enemies or to push down cut outs to access other areas or collect some sweet loot.

You can play in two player co-op, regretta-

bly there isn’t enough room on the allowed screen to allow for this to be comfortable or fun. Many times we accidentally swallowed each other or tried to go further into the level and tear on the screen. I can only imagine what trying to play with a child would be like.

I definitely had the most fun when I was playing this one alone. The game does have a slower shift to allow for a slower experience.

The shift of moving this down a few levels is incredibly satisfying. Allowing for creativity and exploration with no time limits like its Mario counterparts, truly offered a unique gaming experience and fit in completely with the world it is trying to convey. This also goes hand in hand with the characters themselves who are not only adorable and fun to watch and interact with, but also evoke that child like wonder that Nintendo is so perfect at.

Yoshi’s Crafted World may not be the best Nintendo original title on the Switch, but it does offer something different. A slower, most relaxed pace with a focus on collectibles and exploration rather than the typical run and gun platformer. Gorgeous graphics and different costumes do give the game replayability value, however a lack of creativity in the levels and repetitive gameplay can discourage playing this game in long sessions. Nintendo have once again delivered a solid first party title, however it fails to reach the hights of Super Mario Odyssey and Breath Of The Wild.

Yoshi’s Crafted World is available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.

Score: 7/10 | PLATFORMER | REPETITIVE | GORGEOUS GRAPHICS

GAME ON AUS

Chris explores the final Telltale game EVER! The first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season was released on August 15, 2018 on PC, Xbox, Playstation and for the first time on Nintendo Switch. The second episode was released in September, however we were then hit with the tragic news at the end of that month that Telltale Games was closing. Thankfully the legends at Skybound Games took on the reigns and promised fans to complete the series, and they have excelled at giving us an emotional episode three and an amazing finale. If you want a recap of the previous seasons,

head to my B4UPlay article.

I was apprehensive about jumping into this last episode. It means that this epic journey across four major seasons of this Walking Dead episode game would be ending for good. Having played every entry in the series dating all the way back to April 2012 and playing the first episode in the series in August of last year, I dearly wanted to see how Clementine’s story would conclude. Finally, that moment was upon us. I’m going to keep this as spoiler free as I possibly can

MOVIES / TV / GAMES / COMICS

GAME ON AUS so it may seem vague if you haven’t played choices and actions that reflected on decisions the series before. Do yourself a favour – go I had made across the other three episodes. buy it! I was a little fuzzy on how the third episode concluded, but it all came flooding back Throughout this season, we question our dewith the prologue sequence and the events cisions around how Clementine has raised AJ of episode three flashed through my mind. I over the years through such hard times survivwas reminded of how shocking some events ing day to day on their own, trying to find a place were and the consequences of some of my to call home. They’ve seen and done things that actions. I snapped out of this quickly given a lot no one their age should have had to do, but they of quick-time key presses were required to get acted the only way they knew how – to survive Clem and AJ out of a sticky situation. My wife above all else. Certainly, the choices I had made kept asking me what was going on as I was across this season were reflective of how I think gasping or crying out “OMG!” as I died a couple I would have handled those situations, and its of times and reacted to what happened. After heart wrenching to have watched AJ change that first sequence, I was reminded how much over the course of this season as he realises I absolutely love the music in the intro with the what his actions mean. You’re wrestling with artistic colours and the scenes they chose have the need to survive but also to teach AJ right extra meaning now that I’m at the end of the from wrong. series. For those like me interested in the actual song, it’s Waiting Around to Die by The be I’m not going to say how the episode concludes Good Tanyas – brilliant! There are quiet moother than to say it hit me right in the feels, ments in the game that throw back to the first as has happened in most seasons, but more season, and it was fitting to reminisce about because this is the end of the road. It’s definitely those times when we first met Clementine and one you need to play through and experience the road she has travelled since. In these quest yourself without spoilers. It was sad but beauscenes, there’s always the thought in the back tiful and I’m so glad to have been able to play of my mind that some bad sh*t is about to go through it. I will miss playing Clementine in the down. Sometimes it doesn’t, but I have been Walking Dead universe, but all good things must shocked in past seasons so I’m always a little come to an end. There is a great sequence at on edge. This helped me react to the next few the end of the game that walks through a corriscenes and I had to make quick conversation dor listing the #StillNotBitten developers of the game. A nice touch to honour those amazing men and women that put their hearts into this series for more than 6 years.

Overall, I gave this final season a 10/10. Skybound Games has done a tremendous job at completing The Walking Dead: The Final Season so perfectly for fans that have been playing since the beginning. A very fitting way to round out a perfect series finale. #gameonaus

MOVIES / TV / GAMES / COMICS

STIX SLASHES THROUGH FROM Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the latest offering from the team at FromSoftware, the creators of titles such as Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne and the legendary Dark Souls franchise, a series that has single-handedly been responsible for its own genre of game, referred to as “Souls-like”.

FromSoftware games have always been critically acclaimed and are definitely known for one common factor. Their unforgiving and often punishing difficulty. Don’t expect to be able to select the difficulty you

want to play at the start when beginning the game for the first time, there’s one difficulty only and that is learn quick or expect to die often.

Sekiro, much like the other previous mentioned games is played in the third person where you take control of the aforementioned title character who is also known as “The Wolf”, a Shinobi that serves a young lord in fantasy feudal Japan. It’s the classic story of trying to protect the young lord, only to fail, and watch him get kidnapped

SOFTWARES LATEST HIT GAME which sets you off on the story of finding your master and saving him by any means necessary. But the fact that it is played in the third person is about where the similarities end. Unlike the Dark Souls franchise there is no character creation, nor is it a simply block and roll then counter attack.

Sekiro’s combat mechanics rely on multiple options such as sneak attacks from stealth, which can lead to some incredibly violent yet somehow beautiful assassinations or head on combat but a hack and slash, this is not. Sekiro’s combat system

gives you the ability to lock on to your enemy so that they are in front of you at all time during the battle, and provides you with two main bars not only for your enemies but also yourself. While one is the classic red health bar, nothing needed to explain there, no red means you’re dead type of thing, the other is an orange bar that represents posture. The posture bar is essentially a stamina bar that will cause you or your enemy to fall over and be more susceptible to attack once it is full. The ability to understand the timing of your

so that you can parry and then counter attack is essential for depleting your posture bar, but it can often be an extremely steep learning curve.

Every enemy type that you encounter will have a different attack pattern and don’t be surprised at all if you get killed directly off an enemy counter attack pattern and I often found myself encountering a new enemy and dying to them because I hadn’t fully comprehended the new attack patterns. The game rewards patience and timing and whilst the difficulty will seem incredibly difficult as you start, you will slowly start to build that muscle memory to advance further but just as you start to feel complacent and begin to think you’ve mastered the combat system Sekiro will slap you back to reality with yet another

death. The levelling system removes much of the RPG elements found in the previous FromSoftware titles, rather offering an unlockable skill tree that will reward you with new “arts”. These arts focus on different areas of the game such as stealth, combat and sword play, martial arts techniques and the use of your prosthetic arm.

Each art has their own tree progression and its highly recommended to evenly spread out your skill point as you go to balance out as much of the gameplay as possible.

The prosthetic arm brings a brand new aspect to the “Soul’s-like” style of gameplay, giving the player a greater feeling of freedom in the world. The ability to traverse the world with the grappling hook is not only incredibly smooth from getting from point A to point B, but is a great tool in combat as well, but you won’t be able to grapple to every point that you wish to get to as they are strategically placed throughout the world.

Graphically, Sekiro is a beautiful game. Base level consoles are capped at 30fps, while the enhanced consoles run between the mid 30’s to upper 40’s and you can expect a crisp all be it locked 60fps on PC. As the game takes place in feudal Japan you can imagine the type of scenery that has been created. The architecture of the ancient Japan towers is spot on and the surrounds grounds look amazing combining the destruction from the battles leading up to the start of the story with the stereotypical spiritual garden feels that the Japanese culture is so well known for. The usage of stealth while not always necessary is aided but the abundant plant and tree coverage in the open world areas between the linear story areas.

The usage of depth to really portray the size of some of the bosses and giant sized enemies is just brilliant, trust me the moment you first come across the Great Serpent it’s a holy shit moment that will leave your jaw on the floor.

Sekiro’s usage of sound can not be faulted.

I found it incredibly refreshing that the default language was Japanese which could be changed to match the English subtitles but it just gave it that more authentic feel that engaged and immersed me into the game like nothing has in a long time. I did try the English language for an hour or so and while the voice acting was great it just didn’t grab me like the default setting did and I found myself changing it back sooner rather then later. FromSoftware nails the sound of metal on metal when two katana’s come together but its also noticeable different note when the larger enemies with larger weapons hit your blade. Fatal blows are so satisfying not only because of the animation but also because of the attached sound. For example you can clearly hear the panic in the voice of your enemy when you grab them to begin the animation, the sound of the blade penetrating its prey only to be violently ripped out followed but the sound of intense blood spray which leads to the inevitable death rattle of your enemy.

Woah, got a bit caught up there, but as you can imagine sound plays a massive role in Sekiro and it has a feel of a character in the game.

Overall Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice takes the bar that the previous FromSoftware titles has set, and takes it to a whole new level.

It stays true to the DNA of it’s spiritual predecessors and remains unapologetic in the challenge that is its difficulty level but in my opinion is a must play for every gamer out there.

10/10