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On the cover this month is rising aussie actor Wassim Hawat. Jay Cook sits down and discusses his big break and how he turned a career in acting from fantasy to reality
Hailing from Sydney Wassim Hawat started his acting career later in life and uses it to his advantage. While it’s a name you might not yet know, you might recognise Hawat’s face having been on a number of Australian TV shows like Channel Nine’s hit show Here Come The Habibs. Hawat is forging himself a career in an industry that can be cut throat both in Australia and overseas. Doing his best to be an all rounder in the demanding entertainment industry, Hawat has a great confidence and some huge dreams he hopes will get him playing a villain on the big screen. You can hear Hawat is a dreamer full of big ideas and even bigger ambition as he excitingly tells his story. But he doesn’t take himself too seriously as he’s realised how challenging the industry is. “It’s a funny industry because sometimes you’re waiting for the phone call for a month, two months, three months and there’s nothing. And sometimes when it rains it rains and when its dry its dry,” Hawat laughs.
“I got to pay the bills. I’m less involved now; I’m kind of a consultant. I’m focusing all my time on acting, on what ever work my agent throws to me and my own stuff, which is my god so much fun,” Hawat excitingly explains.
Hawat isn’t a trained actor in the traditional sense. Though he does wish he had started with the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) when he was six. Starting an acting career later in life has been a challenge for Hawat but he doesn’t let that throw him off. The confidence has scored him some screen time on the likes of Home and Away, Here come the Habibs and even working as an Extra on Wonderland. Hawat has done his fare share playing the smaller roles.
Hawat’s passion for the cinema and theatre came at a young age. Watching movies sat in front of the screen repeating the lines as the actors delivered them.
“I won’t take anything less than a supporting role, because that’s the only way to take your career to the next level. I’ve auditioned for a lot of great stuff even overseas and in Australia. Stuff I’m waiting for, stuff I didn’t get. That’s the nature of life,” Hawat explains. But the nature of life to this point of Hawt’s career didn’t come without some hard work. His parents encouraged him to take a different path in life, than a life on the stage. “As a little kid my parents wanted me to be a doctor or a pharmacist or what ever. So I got into construction because I was interested in the industry for like 12 years. That faded after a couple of years,” he said. Hawat studied engineering for four years, “four draining, torturing years”. But despite building a career in the entertainment industry Hawat still runs his own construction company.
“I was really good at remembering lines. If it was an action, I’d get a gun and start shooting and my Mum would just see me like hiding behind a desk,” Hawat reminisces. But once Hawat made the big decision to move from the desk to the screen he had some convincing to do. His family and friends still give him a hard time as he slowly builds his career. “I started doing minor roles, my mum would always make fun of me. Well are you going to be the tree in this movie or shrubs. I said, if Ridley Scott or Stephen Spielberg puts me as a dog in his movie, I’d be happy,” he laughs. “Even my friends make fun of me because recently I was in the movie Gods of Egypt. I played a small role and the funniest part is when we went to the cinema to watch it my friends were with me, about 20 of them. They were so excited and I was like oh god they’re going to be so disappointed. They’re like where are you? I’m that guy wearing the red uniform. He’s goes, but there’s about 10 of them. I go well I am in a couple of scenes and I do actually do stuff, but you just don’t see my face. They were like man you wasted our time,” Hawat said.
and this is what’s funny. I wanted to look authentic as I can. I Googled this character, he’s actually out there somewhere. But he’s very low profile so I couldn’t find much videos about him, just texts. I had to create it for the audition. I grew the beard and watched video’s how “Nothing is impossible. I never like to say impossible they are and how they talk with a broken accent,” he because you’re setting yourself up for failure. It is a explains. difficult industry, but at the end of the day if you’re focused and you’re determined and you believe in “And then when I saw my parents my Mum was like yourself and just believe in it and just thrive it’ll ah Jesus what’s happened to you? I’m like what? She’s like what’s with the beard, you look like an Isis Leader. happen,” he said. I’m like thank you, I’m actually auditioning for an Isis “I’d been complaining to my agent that I hadn’t got Leader,” Hawat laughs. any auditions. In Jan and Feb I’m not lying I had three auditions in a week. In Australia that’s almost But changing his appearance is just the tip of what Hawat thinks will make him a desirable candidate impossible. I had 3 auditions every week. I was so exhausted at the end of two months. I called my agent for films. Hawat is trained in martial arts and can and was like you know what I wave the white flag. I give choreograph fight scenes. up. I’m happy with one audition a week,” Hawat said. “So in acting you got to be resourceful to the Hawat explains that he puts a lot of work into his production. So when a producer goes wow this guy auditions and that can be draining on him both is tall and intimidating he can play a villain. Oh wow physically and mentally. In one example Hawat said he can do martial arts. Ah no, not only that I can do in a recent audition, which he wouldn’t say who it was my own stunts, i.e. I can save you a lot of money. Also with, he changed his appearance to give the character I can work with your fight choreographer because some authenticity. I can choreograph my own fights, or I can assist in “I auditioned for an Isis leader. I actually grew a beard productions,” Hawat said. While Hawat knows his friends and family support him, despite giving him a hard time. Hawat knows it’s going to be a challenge, but he’s determined to make it work.
Hawat has a bit of a break at the moment before he starts jetting off around the country and overseas for different projects. At the moment he is investing him spare time into a private project in the form of a short film. Trying his hand at producing, Hawat has been working with a local Sydney Director to extend his skills in the industry. “It’s a very short film, but it’s important to me. I don’t want to be just one aspect, just be an actor. It would be great to tell a story from my eyes and have a character that resonates with me. There’s a lot of characters I dream to play and the only way I can play them is through my own eyes and my own stories,” Hawat explains. “I want to use this short to pitch to producers I know. And I know some of these producers, if they like the story they’ll say wow we wanna make this into a feature together. It’s perfect for me because 1, my role gets bigger and 2, it will be on a big screen, which is what I really really want. Have a larger audience and hopefully get distributors internationally and that’s the ultimate fantasy at the end of day,” he said. Fantasy or not Hawat’s determined to build this career to avoid what he describes as 10 to 12 hour days dealing with labourers, builders and screaming with architects. Hawat’s working on an Australian production called “The Unhallowed” which is in pre-production and to be filmed in Perth, Western Australia. “I play the character Cain, you probably know Cain from the bible. They want to start the film with Cain and his brother and how Cain kills his brother with a rock. He’s the first human to kill another human and he sees blood and thinks what’s going on. There’s a bit of truth from the bible, but at the same he transforms into a vampire,” Hawat shares. But internationally Hawat is spreading his wings and getting his name out there as he delves into the life of a double agent in “Out for Vengeance”. Which will be filmed around Europe in Amsterdam, Holland, Belgium and even Morocco. “It’s an action film and there are a lot of names behind that film. Michel Qissi, he plays the villain [Tong Po] in Kickboxer with Van Damn. I play an undercover FBI agent, but he’s a double agent working with the Russians on the side. So a good guy bad guy. I really like this character because there’s a mystery,” Hawat said. Hawat explains that 2017 will be the year everything comes out. So making the most of the time he has now to work on his own projects is very important to him. But he has no intention of slowing down.
“Everything before was small roles now it’s more serious roles. That’s what I want. I want a character I can show his own journey to the audience rather than playing a tree or a sofa,”
The Queensland Gallery of Modern Art tugged on our heartstrings with the largest Marvel Studios exhibition ever. Mark Halyday reports. It must be hard to be a museum or an art gallery curator these days. Between the things we cover on the site – movies, streaming, normal TV, gaming and all these fantastical pop culture events – the interest in finer culture has waned. The high-brow nuances of classical work go over most people’s head, including my own. It’s easier and more interesting to watch The Avengers. To counter this the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) has put together something genuinely exciting. It’s a collection of costumes, props, production stills, set pieces and more from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It tickled my interest but I didn’t make the dive until a friend asked me along. It was wrong to hesitate. It’s not a collection of junk just thrown into a room. Every room feels like a new experience. It begins with a mass collection of
first appearances of the biggest names in the Marvel world, which would easily be worth thousands of dollars each. Then it spotlights a new film in each room – The Avengers first, then the Captain America series, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Thor, Hulk and finally Iron Man.
car from Iron Man 2 and a tribute to Ben Kingley’s Mandarin – it all felt like it was time to wind up. Interactive computing and colouring in were on offer for the kids and a mildly interesting doco on VFX ran nearby for the parents. Screenings of old Marvel flicks played across the hall. And a green screen was erected to superimpose families onto It’s completely immersive. For instance, for the their favourite poster for free, which was a really cute Captain America room, there were the five various addition, leading to many recreations of the whacky suits throughout the movies, a few shields, his and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 poster. Agent Carter‘s SSR uniforms, newspaper props, both the motorbike from the First Avenger and the Then we turned the corner and were greeted with motorbike HYDRA agents were pursuing him on, something new. Something I’d never seen before. As the original trash can lid shield Steve Rogers used we went through I told my friend where each piece to defend himself pre-transformation, prosthetic for fit into the universe. But here I was stumped, so I the Red Skull, uniforms of Red Skull and the Winter read the title card: Model of Sakaar. It certainly rang Soldier (while Black Widow and Nick Fury were a bell. I examined the odd miniature and thought it may have been the base Yondu, Rocket and Groot highlighted with The Avengers), the full Howling blow up in the second Guardians of the Galaxy, only Commandos exhibit showcased in the Winter it looked nothing like it. Then it clicked – Sakaar is Soldier, hundreds of pieces of concept art, countless where Thor ends up in Thor: Ragnarok. weapons and more. The scenes that accompanied each items played proudly behind each set piece to In this exhibit fans are treated to a few precious remind visitors where each piece came from. glimpses of the future Marvel flick, which was filmed mostly down on the Gold Coast. The giant helmet These massive collections mean it’s impossible to and hammer the Hulk sports in the final moments skim through each room. It takes time to see it all. of the trailer are in pride of place alongside the axe rumoured to replace Mjolnir. It was the thing that The exhibitor is also clearly a fan, adding little details tipped it over the edge and made Marvel at GOMA that made the whole experience better. What’s trippier something worth remembering. But there was than Doctor Strange? Doctor Strange, projected onto still one trick left up their sleeve. Alongside all the a series of slanted mirrors. The whacky film became other Thor: Ragnarok items was a dinosaur head as whackier and it was very cool. Ant-Man‘s suit was big as my lounge room that had been repurposed behind a giant keyhole, because he’s tiny – get it? into a bed. It’s probably the Hulk’s bed on Sakaar. But it’s something never seen in the trailers and The Thor exhibit was also a highlight. The not mentioned online til this point, so that is very entire throne room of Asgard was transplanted exciting. into Brisbane, populated by a dozen costumed mannequins. Mjolnir was close enough to touch (but And a shoutout to the fans – ages as young as six sadly, though understandably, we were not allowed). months and as old as sixty – that flocked to GOMA A tiny recreation of Heimdell’s post greeted the exit. on opening weekend. The ones in costume deserve special props. It is the largest pre-sale event GOMA After the Iron Man exhibit – which contained the has ever had. Stats aren’t out for the opening weekend Hulkbuster, a suit from each movie, the Formula 1 yet but the curators are deservedly optimistic.
DC FILMS MAKES MOVIES TOO BIG TO FAIL. ASIDE FROM THAT, IS WONDER WOMAN THE MOVIE EVERYONE HOPED IT WOULD BE? WORDS BY JAY COOK.
What you have is a film that is going to make money even if it’s bad. It’s part of a franchise where they all slot in together along the line. Wonder Woman is part of that cash cow stream that studios are flooding the market with. It’s an action film with romance and comedy, throw in some magic and mythology and that’s about it. Sure there are some messages to take home about strong independent women, man destroying man and man destroying the earth. But the movie is tiring, some plot lines just don’t make sense and unless you’ve kept tabs on the whole Justice League build up or a Wonder Woman fan, it is a bit confusing in some points. Wonder Woman starts by Diana Price an Antiques Dealer working for the Louvre receiving a briefcase from Bruce Wayne. Inside is the original picture of her standing with her band of misfits when she first went into battle. With the picture is a little note from Bruce Wayne wanting to know her story. So she sends an email as the audience goes on a journey through her memories of how she came to be living outside the hidden island, Themyscira aka Paradise Island. How she became banished from her home, stopped a war with the Germans, found love, lost love and came to be an arts dealer. This is Wonder Woman’s first major movie since her creation. Debuting in DC comics back in the early 1940s the main live version of Wonder Woman was a television series in the mid 1970s. From here the fierce independent woman has had a string of animated movies and television series. But until Batman vs. Superman in 2016, Wonder Woman hadn’t made it to the big screen in a live action film. A long time coming, but the
entertainment industry is greatly dominated by high paid men, until now. The industry is clearly evolving with a great deal more releases with leading ladies, all female cast and strong independent woman leading the way. That’s not to say Wonder Woman is a movie just for women, it has plenty for the other half to enjoy. At points, it felt more like a fashion shoot of women in lingerie with some action on the side. Gal Gadot (Fast and Furious, Date Night, Keeping up with the Joneses) takes on the role of Wonder Woman and absolutely nails the strong independent woman character. But rather than beef up the strength and attitude, she holds herself to be beautiful and feminine and at points motherly. This adds to the contrast between her god like super powers and acting as a human. Gadot manages to navigate some comedy along side Chris Pine but seems to struggle letting it come naturally. The chemistry between Gadot and Pine wasn’t entirely believable. Gadot managed to show the emotions but failed to connect with them which begs the question if Pine was their best option as her love interest. Chris Pine (Star Trek, Jack Ryan – Shadow recruit, Blind Dating) plays Steve Trevor. Pine gives his usual performance of smart witted line delivery you’ve come to know him for and it absolutely works for this role. This role for Pine isn’t anything new as he plays a tough on the outside but soft on the inside man of war. Not a breakout performance but this works so that Gadot can stand out and not fly under the radar of her leading man. Though his character does come with a great deal of questions as to why an American is a Spy for the British Intelligence and how he came to know his band of misfits.
While the story line of the film is a great set up to anyone who didn’t already know the background of Wonder Woman. It was greatly stretched out and took its time to get to the point, a whole two hours and 20 minutes to be exact. There were also holes that seemed like they were once filled, but at some point they were emptied again. For example, why is Wonder Woman an Art Dealer at the Louvre. Where did the band of misfits come from and how, aside from helping fight the war, do they fit in. There was a lot of attention on Charlie played by Ewan Bremner (Train Spotting), the story touched on his background but never explained why. The decision by Director Patty Jenkins, to open and close the film by way of telling a story from memories only worked with Titanic. This felt like an easy excuse to jump into the story without having to put a great deal of thought into how to start it off. Jenkins has mostly worked directing television with the likes of Entourage and Arrested Development. Her only other major big screen effort was with Monster back in 2003 starring Charlize Theron, another film about a strong independent woman. Though in that case she was far from a super hero. It was a perfect match with Jenkins and Wonder Woman, however it felt like should she give it another go some of the gaps and space fillers as mentioned before, might have been better played out. Visually the film is pleasing to the eye full of colour and vibrancy. In contrast to the dark Batman films it’s a refreshing change. The CGI was rather impressive except for one particular rope wielding scene where once again a film makes you think you are part of a computer game rather than a live action film. On the other end you have the score which at some points was a little overpowering. A real pushing for the heartstrings style from of which you would come to find in more of an adventure self discovery film than a super hero one. There were points where Wonder Woman was taking in her surroundings after a devastating battle and the score stood out more than the performance. Overall this film is fun, it’s got adventure and action, fit women in little clothing and some good fun super powers. It’s a movie you can go watch without having to put too much effort into. If you’re a fan of Wonder Woman, DC or the Justice League this film will be right up your ally. However if you are looking for something with substance, a great story line or some powerful onscreen performances, maybe wait for another DC release.
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Dumped by her boyfriend on the eve of their vacation, impetuous dreamer Emily Middleton persuades her cautious mother, Linda, to accompany her on an exotic getaway to South America. Polar opposites, Emily and Linda must soon work through their differences to escape from a wildly outrageous and dangerous jungle adventure. Amy Schumer is a comedic genius, from her say it like it is attitude, to her writing credits to showcase comedy and dramatic depth in her first feature film Trainwreck, to her weekly show Inside Amy Schumer, there is not denying her talent in both writing and acting ability. Combine this with one of Hollywood’s funniest woman Goldie Hawn and you have a sure fire comedy hit right? You would think so… Emily (Schumer) is a self-involved thirty year old who was recently fired from her retail job for her Instagram obsession and also dumped by her musician boyfriend all on the same day. As a result of this she has a non-refundable ticket to Ecuador. Cue her mum Linda (Goldie Hawn) an overprotective safety conscious polar opposite of Emily who agrees to go with her to spend some mother/daughter time together. Along the way Emily hooks up with a hot guy at a bar who offers to show her and her mother some local culture, doing this they are kidnapped by a local crime lord who intends to extort their family for ransom. Emily and Linda’s only family is their brother Jeffrey (Ike Barinholtz). For the remainder of the film it plays out pretty much as you would think. The mother/daughter duo attempts to escape while getting into increasingly outlandish scenarios that border on ridiculous. The film does have some good points, the chemistry between Hawn and Schumer is undeniable. They had a few antics and online YouTube videos leading up the films release that really showcased just how much fun they were having and enjoying each other’s company. This really came across in this film and it is just a shame that the story and dialogue didn’t match. Comedy wise there are a couple of laugh out loud moments, and these are also helped by Ike Barinholtz and Wanda Sykes. Unfortunately it isn’t enough to save the incoherent and often jarring plot. It serves as more of an extended episode of Inside Amy Schumer than a movie, this is something that she was able to achieve in Trainwreck, but due to nto being on the writing team in this movie has proved to go against her. Overall Snatched will be a good Sunday afternoon hungover movie when you have nothing else to do. If you are fans of Schumer and Hawn you may find some joy here, but apart from that this is unfortunately a forgettable flick that both actresses should have intervened before it was released to the public.
Words by Alaisdair Leith
The Rock. Zefron. Alexandra Daddario. Quantico’s Priyanka Chopra as the villian. Cameos from the Hoff and Pamela Anderson. The same director as Horrible Bosses.
What went wrong?
Words by Thanura Ravindra
“Baywatch” directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) is a 2017 comedic reimagining of the long running 1990’s TV series of the same name. As with the TV series, the film revolves around a team of lifeguards that protect the beach from a wide variety of threats and solve problems to save the day. The film follows Matt Brody (Zac Efron), a troubled former Olympic Swimmer as he arrives onto the scene and reluctantly joins the team already headed up by Mitch Buchanon (Dwayne Johnson), with Stephanie Holden (Ilfenesh Hadera), CJ Parker (Kelly Rohrbach), Ronnie (Jon Bass), and Summer Quinn (Alexandra Daddario) on the team as well as Garner Ellerbee(Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), the local Police Officer. Trouble soon arises in the form of Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra) a wealthy owner of the Huntley, a local beach club who is suspected of drug smuggling. Together, our team of lifeguards feel that it is their duty to take down the bad girl and save the day. Before learning of the actual reviews from all around the world to this movie, I instantly had to give props to the casting directors who have chosen a big attractive and diverse cast of some of the most good looking people around the world and naturally this is what someone would want to see in a Baywatch movie. Both Efron and Johnson have been making decent strides in comedy and with their looks to match, it makes them good leads in this sort of movie and they do work some what well as a duo akin to Channing Tatum and The Rock. I only wished that the female leads in the movie namely Alexandra Daddario and Kelly Rohrbach had more to do. While the comedy between CJ and Ronnie was somewhat funny, the one between Daddario and Efron wasn’t as great. And Priyanka Chopra as a villain was a missed opportunity to really exercise exotic sexual charm. As others more wellversed in comedy have pointed out, too many straight-men were in the movie.
made Baywatch a hit nearly 30 years ago. We see plenty of callbacks to the TV show and aspects that fits into what a cheesy 90’s show like Baywatch would entail. Efron’s character and Abdul-Mateen’s character do attempt inject a sense of self-awareness into the movie, often explicitly making fun of the situations Mitch Buchanon always tries to insert him and the team put him into. As with many reboots, the movie does insert cameos for iconic Baywatch actors David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson. The former’s was better used compared to the latter’s. Now for the stuff that pretty much killed the movie for me. The half-assed action sequences and the need to feel like 21 Jump Street overpowered themovie. It did not even land that level of slickness that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were able to achieve in both of their movies thus making Baywatch an effective dud. During the boat rescue, the CG and Green-Screen was so painfully obvious, it would take anyone out of the movie. On top of that, I could not stand a good amount of the “humour” the movie drowned itself in aside from the somewhat fun dynamic The Rock and Efron had. This especially rang true during the hospital sequence. I gagged at the “necrotic fat” line during the red-band trailer and I still gagged at that and then some during the viewing of this movie. The entire third act of the movie plays out how you think it would in a movie that rips off 21 Jump Street. Both of the third acts feel more or less the same but this new movie has none of the camaraderie both Jump Street movies had in 2012 and 2014.
Overall, Baywatch with the good-looking diverse cast it had, feels like a big missed opportunity despite some things it did right. They should have opted for a plot and direction that would not riff off of previous successful hits that took a subverted comedic approach to an old intellectual property like 21 Jump Street. It should have embraced the Another aspect I did somewhat like is that lifeguard aspect more and dare I say, more the movie does somewhat haphazardly of the sex appeal the parent television show tries to capture that 90’s cheese which had.
Alien: Covenant faces one big question: IS IT BETTER THAN PROMETHEUS? Words by Mark Halyday
A James Franco cameo sucks all the believability out of the film right from the onset but it does course-correct afterward. Franco is better off doing this kind of work for Fox’s Apes series.
After the first (and most violent) deaths Prometheus character David appears and It was never going to better than the original the film really gains momentum. Michael Alien or its beloved sequel Aliens, but would Fassbender plays two androids with different it produce more thrills than the sluggish and experiences to maximum effect. The best convoluted 2012 prequel? The short answer is subplot is their conflicting relationship and yes. the best scene in the film is a Fassbender V Fassbender hand-to-hand fight. Prometheus was too high-brow. The fans of Alien never wanted that. It got into weighty Fassbender predictably steals the show but a science fiction ideas like freedom and ethics lot of the ensemble are engaging, especially the of robots without really cluing the audience in short-lived Amy Seimetz. Comedy guy Danny and it left a lot of people confused. The film’s big McBride acts against type with above average draw card – the beginnings of the xenomorphs results and never pulls the audience out like – ended up being underwhelming, not entirely bigger name Franco did. answered and only an entry point into a discussion on humanity’s creationism and/or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’s evolution. Katherine Waterson is the last woman standing against evil Fassbender and his beloved It all got way too much. A lot of this was down xenomorphs, and that’s about the most to the vague ‘Engineers’ and Alien: Covenant interesting thing about her character. She’s got does its best to apologise by only featuring short-hair like Ripley and she battles the baddies them once. In that scene their species is wiped like everyone else, but it’s the marketing that out and none of the new cast know enough to tells me that she is the main character rather ask the intense questions the last film posited. the movie. There’s a big full stop mark on this plot point – thankfully – but it does come off a little Ridley Scott has said he will never again rest contrived and convenient. the Alien series, which doesn’t bode well for the shelved Neil Blomkamp Alien 5. He insists It also stings of studio meddling. It’s a he will produce at least two more prequels but compliment rather than a complaint, because that the series will never die while he is alive. however inelegantly it ended the relief is that Despite the trilogy rule going out the window the Engineer plot has ended. (Hopefully). ten years ago the law of diminishing returns is still relevant and this is worrying. This film has a few things going for it, including a fresh cast comprised completely of couples. The Alien: Covenant is not something to rush small quirk gives the redshirts an immediate toward, but if you have a spare Sunday afternoon depth and does a decent job of fastforwarding it’s a solid watch. Skip Prometheus – Alien: the getting-to-know-you portion despite a Convenant is tied to it and in its shadow but is yawnish opening ten minutes. better without it.
& GAMING
& GAMING
Almost one hundred days after it’s US release ‘Get Out’ still holds 99% review score on Rotten Tomatoes. Alaisdair Leith investigates whether this score holds up. This film had so much pressure and expectation on it, and I partly blame the date delay from the USA to Australia in setting expectations ridiculously high and then bringing us all back down with what I considered to be an underwhelming film with so-so performances and an over-hyped marketing campaign that failed to deliver the frights that a typical horror movie should. The film follows boyfriend Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) who are preparing to meet Rose’s parents for the first time as a couple. They seem like your typical couple, they cook dinner together, they laugh as they discuss any concerns that Rose’s parents may have as she is dating a black man, with the response “They would have voted for Obama for a third term if they could”
shame that the second half of the movie didn’t work too well. The usual level of scares and horror from a film like this didn’t follow and this is why in my opinion it was a let down. The filmmakers do a great job of explaining the narrative of being black is a nightmare, and this is something that for white Australian audiences is an eye-opener. It is also a great allegory of our own native aboriginals and what they must experience every day and for this the film is a masterpiece.
Performance wise the cast are perfect. Kaluuya is perfect as the lead and really engages with the content. Williams plays the girlfriend part beautifully. Her love of her new relationship balanced with her dedication to her family plays out well and she delivers it flawlessly. Her families performances, particularly Missy Armitage (Catherine Keener) as a The couple arrive and the narrative shifts trained hypnotist and mastermind murderer to show the film through Chris’s eyes as are beautiful. She never flinches and there is the perceptions change and after a huge so much more behind her eyes that adds to family party the film reaches its peak as her mystery and motive as the plot unfolds. familiar comments and tropes play out. The Rose’s brother Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones) conversations that happen between Chris is the most transparent of his distaste of black and the other party guests are ones you have men and the boyfriends that Rose likes to all heard before. They are uncomfortable to bring home. watch and were among my favourite in the movie. They are well told and coming from Get Out is a great attempt at a racially a different perspective deliver the best scenes powered horror movie, although more that the film had to offer. racial than horror, the film does send an overwhelmingly strong message with What follows from here are jump scares and outstanding performances from all on screen. a Stepford Wives-esque plot that needed a lot Horror wise the film offers a little more than a more work to be coherent. The first hour of few jump scares that didn’t really do enough the film is so strong and in your face, it was a to be effective.
Alaisdair Leith is dramatically underwhelmed. This looks like the end of a franchise.
Pirates Of The Caribbean is back for a fifth installment in the adventure franchise. The movie has a special attachment for me as it was filmed in my current place of residence (Gold Coast, Australia) and after seeing the actors come in and out, talking to friends who worked on the set and production, it brought so much joy and happiness that a film of this scale was being made here and started the rejuvenation of Village Roadshow Studios having more big films follow (Thor Ragnarok, Aquaman) It was hard not to be excited for this movie, yet halfway through I found myself yawning and wondering was I just a bit hyped or is this movie actually bad? The answer is in the latter, this story in this movie is completely rubbish. Johnny Depp has completely turned Jack Sparrow from an amusing protagonist into a bumbling buffoon and because of this the movie is barely watchable. We are introduced to two new leads (Kaya Scodelario and Brenton Thwaites) who are on separate quests to find the Trident of Poseidon. All of a sudden Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is involved in the quest along with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and being pursued by a army of ghosts led by Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem). Oh and just because they had to there is a completely unnecessary 10 second “bit” with Paul McCartney that is the worst excise for a cash in I have ever seen in a movie. Also for some strange reason Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are in the film for a whole 20 seconds just because they were in the original film. There isn’t really much to say about this movie apart from the fact that if you are a fan of the original trilogy and the 4th one, you may find some solace here. Apart from that viewers will cringe at Johnny Depp’s Deppness and the sexist and racist quips that are thrown out every chance they can that are shrugged off as funny jokes in this genre of film. The only redeeming thing is the production quality of the film, the locations are beautiful and the town that was re-built looks amazing. Most of the night water scenes are dark and murky and actually a struggle to see (no I do not wear glasses!) the post-production feels rushed and murky. There are some beautiful near redeeming scenes at the end of the movie, but not enough to save this horrible mess. Pirates Of The Carribean : Dead Men Tell No Tales is a complete disappointment, only die-hard fans may enjoy, the rest will see this as the disposable mess that it is. We recommend seeing in Gold Class or VMAX where alcohol is provided for maximum enjoyment.
“POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales is a complete disappointment” - Alaisdair Leith
& GAMING
The first box office flop of the season has some redeeming qualities, somewhere. Words by Jay Cook
First up, it’s only fair to say that this movie isn’t as bad Leading the way is Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, as they are making it out to be. Sure it’s no masterpiece, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak) playing Arthur himself. For but it’s a bit of switch off fun. Here are the worst parts: a great deal of people, just Hunnam alone is enough to see the film. Hunnam went to some great efforts to get ~ Charlie Hunnam struggles to act any real emotions. into shape for this role, and it’s worked out well for him. ~ The story is kind of dragged out. As for his acting ability, he brings that fresh Londoner ~ When Arthur wealds Excalibur it looks like they use approach they were clearly looking for to give this the CGI if from an early 2000s computer game. version of King Arthur a different twist. He can wield ~ Everyone laughed when David Beckham’s scene came a sword, and walk around with his top off and for the ~ And finally, if you don’t like Director Guy Ritchie and most part deliver his lines with some believability. But his style you wont like this. there’s one point where he fails to bring his character to life and that is when he is avenging his father in the King Arthur Legend of the Sword is a tale that most final battle scene. There is such a lack of emotion it children around the world will have grown up with. completely takes from the scene because you stop and Books, cartoons, movie and not to mention the spin think, oh this guy is doing acting. offs about Merlyn himself are just some of the stories that have come out of Arthur and his sword, Excalibur. Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes, Alfie, The Holiday) And this is the latest revamp, reboot, adaptation what managed to play a super creepy King, Vortigern rather ever you want to call it, because let’s be honest there are well. The one great thing about Law is he manages to almost no original ideas left. express a great deal not only perfectly through his lines but also with his expressions in his face and body. It says When Uther, Arthurs father (Eric Bana – Chopper, Troy, something about an actor that can not only deliver lines Hulk), is murdered by his brother Vortigern, (Jude Law with perfection but also use those words and show the – Sherlock Holmes, Alfie, The Holiday), Arthur floats emotions of a character through non-verbal ways. Law away in a boat downstream to Londinium. Here, some has had a great deal of experience playing characters ladies doing their washing by the river find him. Turns of a stature such as a King and his past experience has out they are ladies of the night, but they take him in clearly helping him use that for his version of Vortigern. and care for him. As Arthur grows he starts to take care of the girls, in a very pimp way. Meanwhile Vortigern Then there was a cameo which had the audience needs the Sword Uther was using to be able to get to his laughing. Not because something funny was mentioned full evil power so he starts the hunt for Arthur. All too or anything like that, but because it was non other than easily Arthur ends up in Vortigern’s arms and he tries David Beckham himself. And he actually did a really to kill him. But not before Arthur and his team with good job as an actor with his three lines. But this was the help of a little magic take the kingdom back and another casting decision from Ritchie where he’s just the people celebrate. It’s the same story you’ve heard a having fun with him mates. It had no substance to the thousand times growing up of King Arthur and his rise film nor did it make any sense to cast him either. But to power and that special sword, but with a Guy Ritchie at the same time this is the feeling you get from King modern adaptation and twist. Arthur, is it’s just a whole lot of fun for them to make. One of the first things you will notice is how very Guy Ritchie it is. If you don’t know what that means, think back to Guy Ritchie films. Loch Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Rock and Rolla all have that gangster London story line that you see flow on to King Arthur and Londinium. Then you also have that back and forward dialogue when the characters tell a story. It’s quick and sarcastic fitted with images jumping as they story flips back and forward. And lastly it’s got a very similar style score to his other London based film, Sherlock Holmes. Sometimes the style of a director can suit films they do. Most good directors are able to give everything they do a fresh and different feel, seems Ritchie is falling into his own trap of his style. Mind you for the Lock Stock and Snatch style films his style works perfectly.
Visually there was a great deal of effort put into this film and its image. From the streets of Londimium to the castle of Camelot, visually King Arthur delivered in its set design. But where the film failed was in the use of CGI, in particular when Arthur let Excalibur take over and kill all the soldiers in sight. It was so bad it looked like it was the technology used for an early 2000s computer game. So bad you realise you are watching a film and remove yourself from being immersed in the action. And it’s these scenes where Arthur is killing hundreds of soldiers with his sword there’s no blood. It’s like they’ve taken all the violence out of the film and just hinted that it’s there. A children’s film with adult themes and you just want to see someone bleed to know it’s real. Then you realise it’s not real and you’re at the movies.
Words by Mark Halyday
I don’t do reviews by a star system - because what each film’s intentions are determine how good it does that, so it’s unfair to rate Kingsman against Boyhood or either against the Simpsons. If I did subscribe to that kind of thinking though, Master of None gets two extra points straight out of the gate for being more daring that it has any need to be.
instead zagged to split Dev and his girlfriend Rachel. In this finale a similar though more morally murky proposition presents itself and the show doesn’t challenge itself. It zigs along as if this was any other network show. Added this season is Bobby Canavale, which is the best thing the series did. At the risk of pigeonholing a hard working man, he has a type of character he plays and the character is usually unlikable. This persistance has seen my irritation with Canavale grow, though Masters of None does a very good job of humanising him as Dev’s superior.
Out-of-the-box is an overused (and so often misused) term used to get audiences to sample new shows. And some creators now aim for out-of-thebox, so that aim has become it’s own thing separate to truly out-of-the-box shows. Because Master of None lacks the throughline that are essentially to television shows it feels like a new show every Then the show uses his character in a social issue, episode, which is compounded by vastly different which ultimately shows all the entertaining bits themes, directing styles, casting choices and more. involving Dev’s hosting a cupcake show (brilliant writer’s idea) were prologue to the final episode. No other show comes to mind that does this, especially not to this extreme or this authenticity. Isn’t every episode the prologue to the final episode? Shouldn’t the show be telegraphing their intentions The opening episode is a black and white foreign to avoid whiplash? Perhaps, but Master of None was language film. The fourth is a tale of Tinder dates better than that before. told simaltaneously. The sixth barely features any of the main cast in a love letter to New York’s many It really undercut all the time we spent with faces (unsubtly titled New York, I Love You) while Cannavale’s character by writing him out of Dev’s the eigth is a coming out journey told over twenty life in such a predictable way. Earlier in the season years. we side-stepped into a story of Dev’s friend’s dad’s dual-dating. This show is weird. This show doesn’t It’s bulky stuff but the show is endlessly charming. care. It’s not supposed to be so... predictable. Aziz Ansari isn’t the best part of it. It’s the structure and the breathing room and the twenty or so The longer the show stays on air the more of a recurring guest stars and their personal stories that problem this will become. It is great. But it’s getting makes it shine. Dev is just a lightning rod and a comfortable and not pushing the same boundaries, humble, likable lens to see it through. or at least with half as much force as before. Ansari is reluctant to return for another go - he thinks he’s It has flaws. A lot of the conflict is contrived to the mined all he can about this chapter of his life - and point of Seinfeild-ness, but the characters are so meta he’s right. and so sympathetic to others they get away with it. It is starting to develop a rhythym - damaging its praise However a 22-episode broadcast show about - whereby Dev doesn’t understand a big societal Ansari and his ragtag gang in New York remains issue, learns about it quickly and eagerly, apologises an entertaining idea. If half the spirit came across it for misunderstanding and moves on. That’s a very would be beautiful. That’s daydreaming though - as specific rut the show has trotted out maybe four all the marketing indicates Netflix and Ansari love their well-earned Emmy very very much. times in twenty episode. Be careful there. Also, only twenty episodes? C’mon man. Though Master of None is great, though the law of in the same breath its clear that the more the show diminishing returns is starting to sink it. Ansari is gives the easier it will be to anticipate. right to take a break to not dilute his golden run. It was braver before, but it is still brave today. It is The show deserves mad props for its first season worth the episode duration to enrich your life with closer, where the show should have zigged but Aziz-isms, but it’s time to rest the idea after that.
Words by Alaisdair Leith
Unnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnbreakable! They alive dammit! It’s a miracle! We finally have season 3 of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s hit Netflix comedy and after an extended break and not many trailers or teasers, the full season is here to binge and it does not disappoint. After the slew of new characters and branching out stories in season 2, season 3 immediately draws all the main characters back together and shifts the focus back on them. Bringing the spotlight back on Kimmy (Ellie Kemper), Titus (Tituss Burgerss), Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) and Lillian (Carol Kane) and while they don’t necessarily mingle as much as season one, they still are propelled forward in a nonsitcom style fashion that breaks the mould that these shows usually take. The season opens with Titus washing up on a beach in a shimmering blue tuxedo. As he struggles to make it back to the apartment after only being away for a week, he returns with an odd yet interesting story about what happened and how he can get Mikey (Mike Carlsen) to rekindle the flame. Meanwhile Kimmy is getting ready to apply for college after graduating high school while battling off calls from Reverend Wayne Gary Wayne (John Hamm) her kidnapper from the bunker. Jacqueline is trying to keep her new in-laws from finding out her heritage and Lillian is hard trying to be elected to local council to keep the rich business men out. These story-lines play out through the season and after Mikey is pushed to the sidelines, the focus on the four leads is a welcome return after the sidelines of season 2. After things delved deep into Kimmy’s psyche in season 2, it is good to see the series return to a lighter and more sillier tone in this season. Titus goes “lemonading” after finding Mikey playing Call Of Duty with another guy. It is a homage that may seem a bit out of date, however the authenticity of the
parody and the attention to detail is so brilliantly executed, the time lapse doesn’t matter. Jacqueline’s quest to have her in-law’s accept her Native Indian heritage see’s her re-enact the pottery scene from Ghost with her husband’s grandma’s ghost. Lillian attempts to get elected for local council and stop rich yuppies from coming into their neighbourhood and increasing rent prices. It seems a little tedious until about halfway through the season when a relationship forms. Acting wise all of the top billed cast deliver a solid performance as expected. Some guest stars like Laura Dern as Revered Wayne Gary Wayne’s new fiancee is a welcome addition, as well as the return of Mimi played by the hilarious Amy Sedaris steals the show everytime she enters. Newcomers like Ray Liota as a disgruntled gas station attendant, Andrea Martin as Linda.P from HR has only one scene in the series but it is a memorable one. There is even a crossover with another Netflix show (no spoilers I promise!) that delivers a few moments of joy and context for a particular character’s arc. Everything about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt season 3 is full of the positive and light tone that was delivered in the original. The focus back on the main four stars delivering as many one liners as possible with some zany and out there story-lines pays off for the writers as this is now a season to re-visit. While the underlying and darker messages are hinted at, they are not fully explored like they were in season 2 and this brings a breath of fresh air to the series as Kimmy attempts to move to the next stage of her life. My only complaint is that there was not enough episodes for me. I feel like this show could get away with having 5 or more episodes to flesh out some of the more interesting storylines like Kimmy at college and Mikey and Titus possibly attempting to get back together. There was a time when this show would deliver a perfect season and season 3 is it.
Alaisdair Leith on the sequel to the beloved DC brawler Injustice Back in 2013 NetherReal studios produced Injustice: Gods Among Us, completely redefining the brawling genre and bringing a large range of DC comics character’s together for a brilliant and cohesive story mode while still being able to please fans of their past Mortal Kombat series. Injustice 2 builds on that solid base by adding a ton more characters to the roster and expanding the story to deliver what I consider the best comics adaption to screen ever seen.
Set in a world where Superman is a rogue ruler dividing the Justice League into following Batman or Superman, some well known and some not well known DC Comics characters must reunite when Supergirl is brought into the world and Brainiac invades Earth threatening to destroy everything if the two Kryptonians Superman and Supergirl are not surrendered to his ship. If that wasn’t enough, the world’s biggest supervillains are forming a team led by Gorilla Grodd called The Society.
well as know for individual characters. This also introduces the gear system, for every challenge you complete in the Multiverse you accumulate Motherboxes, the object that powers Cyborg and will be a main part of the Justice League movie coming in November this year.
Each Motherbox contains gear for every different character with different strengths and weaknesses that you can equip in the character upgrade menu. The good news is that you don’t have to keep updating your Story mode will see you play through character every 5 minutes, you can have up with heroes and villains from Superman to 5 different loadouts for each character with and Batman’s side attempting to reunite different pieces of gear equipped. When you everyone back together through the art of are playing the Multiverse you also have the a duel. NetherReal have delved deep into ability to apply the gear you accumulate via DC Comics history to deliver an impressive the menu and compare it to your current gear roster of crowd and fan favourites that shine piece. It may sound like a little thing, but it is a spotlight on some of DC’s lesser known such a great feature for a game of this calibre. characters that we are sure to see in the DC Extended Movie Universe in years to come. The fighting style of this game is a straight up replica of the last game which is not a The quick time events from the first game bad thing. Each character is equipped with have been ditched and replaced with chapters attacks, moves, super moves and those all that involve two characters, giving players entertaining and cinematic power moves that the ability to choose which character to fight will give your trigger fingers a few moments before beach individual fight. At first I was a rest while your character pummels your little annoyed at this as I didn’t want to share opponent in a cinematic move. These are still character time with lesser known characters, gloriously detailed and the studio definitely instead I found the choice was a great way to upped the ante in this sequel. get to know each character on the roster and how each’s different abilities can help win (or Injustice 2 is a magnificent improvement on in a lot of cases) lose the fight and having to the last instalment and by adding a larger switch things up to get past the level. amount of DC characters to its roster as well as an endearing gear system. The addition of Story mode took me about 7 hours to get the Multiverse will keep players coming back through and while I was impressed at the again and again giving the game new life extra length added on from the previous and a reason to keep coming back after you instalment, there is also now the Multiverse have finished the main story. The Injustice which houses different earths and each day 2 servers seem a step up from the previous new universes pop up with new challenges game with a small wait time in the lobby to that will keep single players coming back to connect with other players and the ability to the game everyday for new things to do. It is play with your online friends list a great step something that this game definitely needed up from the last one. to ensure that those of us who do not have NBN internet yet playing everyday. It is rare that a fighting game can achieve such a high calibre of story, characters, graphics I have only been able to play a couple of and online play, but NetherRealm deliver this rounds of multiplayer due to my hopeless flawlessly. This game gets a full score from us internet connection and what I did play I here at Novastream and if you want to join enjoyed. Rewards from winning matches still our Guild just search for Novastream and uses the level up system for your profile, as come and play with us.
Alaisdair Leith on the speedy plumber’s upgrade Mario Kart 8 on the WiiU was an outstanding power ups, it brings a whole new experience game, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo to the racing genre. Your kart may be fast Switch is a perfect game. and you may be skilled at sliding around corners to get the boost to be first, but if Normally I would re-publish my old review someone gets the horrid blue shell they and add some extra notes about the can knock you out of first place. refurbed edition, however the new Mario Kart 8 for Nintendo Switch is something The unique controls of the Nintendo Switch different entirely. The Wii U was the little system make this the easiest version of console that couldn’t, plagued my whining Mario Kart to play. Wether you use the gamers who didn’t like the touch and feel joycons and tilt controls, the handles of the gamepad, the console struggled attached to the tablet or the pro controller, to make its mark. It did however produce the steering and reaction time to buttons if quality games with critical successes like smooth and consistent regardless. As with Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong Tropical most racing games, timing is everything Freeze, Splatoon, Captain Toad Treasure and the unique controllers on the Switch Tracker, Bayonetta 2 and Mario Kart 8. system make it fun to play. Fortunately we are seeing some games get a remastered version for their brand new console the Nintendo Switch, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe represents the first Wii U port to come to the new portable console. The Nintendo Switch has become Nintendo’s fastest selling console ever coming in at around 2.5 million in just under a month. A whole new generation is coming to Nintendo and enjoying the best racing game ever made.
Using the Joy-Con controls as multiplayer makes this such a great game to play in remote locations. Taking my Switch to work on Saturday’s, break times became a joy involving the rest of the office in lunch time Tournaments. Online multiplayer is just as easy and straightforward as it was on the Wii U, although the lack and ease of being able to play easily with your online friends made it a little harder to play.
With gorgeous graphics, Amiibo support Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the latest instalment and utilising the unique controls of the in a long line of kart racing games from Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a Nintendo. Players can choose from a wide solid entry in the launch library for the new range of first party Nintendo characters console. Nintendo Australia are holding and race them through some colourful Tournaments every Friday, Saturday and Nintendo themed tracks. Apart from racing Sunday nights. Make sure you jump on to and placing first, there are also objects to their Facebook page here to get the code to collect and shoot at other racers along with join and see me on most nights.
eviews r p h it e L ir Alaisda a-event g e m g in m the ga some idea s u s e iv g and except of what to
Can you smell it? June is upon us and that means another E3 is around the corner! Gamers everywhere are ramping up for what is known as the “Superbowl of gaming” in which we get to hear about all the great games coming and any new console announcements. Last year Sony set the internet ablaze announcing new Uncharted and The Last Of Us 2, while Microsoft announced a brand new console Xbox Scorpio. Who can forget Electronic Art’s vague display of Star Wars games for the future. Bethesda showcase new games Prey and a new Quake game.
It was a whirlwind of a conference and while Nintendo now are shying away from traditional press conferences and doing their own Treehouse event, we are extremely excited for what they are going to reveal this year with a brand new console Nintendo Switch needing some new games and remasters. Hopefully we can also see more of the soon to be released Nintendo 2DS XL and some new games for this system as well (we can dream can’t we!)
So what are we hoping for this year? See our predictions below and tune in from June 14 for all the action!
~ Microsoft
will reveal full specs, pricing and
Project Scorpio ~ Sony will announce new PS4 console ~ Bethesda will confirm Skyrim for the Nintendo ~ Switch release date ~ More first part Nintendo games (come on Donkey Kong and Metroid!) ~ Ubisoft will no doubt have a new Just Dance release date for
game and an equally amazing and mesmerizing presentation on it
~ New Naughty Dog IP ~ Dreams for Media Molecule release date and support for Playstation VR ~ More Playstation VR games (hopefully? please? PLEASE!) ~ Xbox Exclusive titles that will support Scorpio Marvel comics titles across all platforms
THE VOICE BEHIND
With Sydney and Peth’s Supanovas quickly approaching, I got to speak with one of their guest stars: Anjali Bhimani. She has performed in a wide variety of television shows and has recently voiced the character Symmetra from Overwatch. So, without further ado, here is my interview with Anjali Bhimani. … Hello Anjali, how are you? I am fantastic! I’m so sorry, I’m just getting out of a parking lot. In Les Angeles, all we seem to do is drive. So, you see, you’ve caught me doing a very Les Angeles thing. No worries! How are you? I’m well, thank you. I’m so excited about coming out to you guys. I can’t even take it! I know! It’s amazing! We have a lot of Overwatch fans here. Alrighty, Now lets get into some questions. Sure! Bring it. You’ve been in a great variety of shows like SVU, Pretty Little Liars, and Modern Family. And you jump between American and an Indian accent so amazingly. Aw, thank you! But, seeing as you’re coming to Australia, can you do an Australian accent? Oh my god, it’s so- I’m so bad at it. I wouldn’t even want to try because: A; I would be an embarrassment to myself. And B; I would never want to offend anyone with how bad it is. I’m hoping spending some time there will help me be better at it, but right now I wouldn’t even pretend. I’m just so bad at it. It’s one of the few accents I really can’t do! Well, if you can nail the greeting I think you’ll be fine. So, we tend to say: “G’day mate, howz-it-goin’?” G’day mate, hows it goin’. Aw, see, terrible! Yeah! That’s actually pretty good! Look at that, you’ve got your greeting down pat! See, smooth sailings. Hahaha! You’re sweet! And you coming over for the Australian Supanovas, but are you ready for what we think is cold weather? Are you ready for that?
warth Brittany Ho talks to ani, Anjali Bhim voice of ! Symmetra
Yeah, no, I’m totally ready for that. I spent a good portion of my life living in New York and then living in Chicago. Chicago first, then New York. So your cold to me is like just fine. I’m totally comfortable with that. And it gives us all a good reason to be indoors at Supanova during the day, right? Very good point! So, it’s perfect. We’ll stay warm inside and we’ll drink coco and we’ll all get to know each other better. You know, when it’s sunny outside it’s hard to justify being inside. So, now we have a good excuse. Yes, definitely. Now, jumping onto you character Symmetra from
Overwatch, it’s not the first voice over you’ve done for a game, is it? You’ve also done Fallout 4. Well, no, it was the first. It was the first of those two games I did. But Fallout 4 came after that. I recorded that after Symmetra, actually. But, yeah, they’re two very different characters. So, it was very fun to do the two. My character in Fallout 4 is just a straight up psychopathic person. She’s crazy! And my character, obviously Symmetra, has a much better sense of good and evil, and is trying to do good in the world. So, it was a big difference between the two characters. And Symmetra has so many cool abilities. Like, the photon barrier, teleportation, and all that. But I just love that she’s an architect and she can make cities from light constructs. It’s beautiful! It’s amazing. She can make anything from light constructs. Yeah, that’s what’s so great about it, is that she is a creative force which I find really appealing. I love the fact that she is a creative force. Because, you know, in games we have healers and, you know, the folks on attack, but I love the fact that as a support hero she’s also a creator of things. That she creates something out of nothing and I find that very appealing. But if you had this ability, what would be the first thing you’d make? Well, first of all I would be using that teleporter 24/7. That’s the super power that I have wanted since I can remember. That has been the one, even when I was younger, if someone would ask me “What would you want to do? Would you want super strength?” Nope! I want a teleporter, that’s what I want. Get rid of LA driving? Yeah! Exactly! I wouldn’t have to worry about traffic. I’d be able to visit people all over the world. It would be amazing! I could do two shows in one night in two different cities. I would love to do that. But what would I create? My goodness. I mean, we have a new home so I think I would create some really cool furniture. Because it’s all hard-light technology I can imagine our house glowing! So, that would be a fun thing to do. And then, you know, not to sound too cheesy, but I really love the fact that in the game, similarly that she can create buildings and worlds, I would love to be more creative for people in need. Create some homes for people who need them. That would probably be my personal favourite use of the power, which they came up with first. That’s pretty much the best thing I could imagine, creating a city for people who need it. And we see that in the motion comic A Better World in how she really is passionate for the poor people in Rio De Janeiro. And she has a wonderful balance of compassion, but also this loyalty for Vishka. It’s just such an in depth character! I love, you know, (how they’ve) done such a good job at making her an ambiguous character in that she obviously wants to do good and has tremendously good intentions. But she happens to have aligned herself with a corporation that doesn’t necessarily go about those intentions in the way that she would want to. And they drop little things in the comics that show you, like when she refuses to kill the two guards but then they blow up the building. And she’s upset about that, because she didn’t want them dead. And the fact that she really has a good heart and is just unfortunately aligned with this corporation that might be using her powers for various schemes and we don’t know. I’m hoping that as we learn more about her we’ll get to see a little more of that internal battle within her and which side of her wins. Cause it’s amazing, her struggle for perfection and her strong imagination is really unique in a character. You don’t see that very often. It’s usually one or the other. I feel like the best way that I can think of is, when you think of – you remember the movie A Beautiful Mind? When we’re dealing with someone who is so creative that their mathematics is way off the charts. Yes!
And I think incredibly high mathematics and scientists at a certain level and what not, it ceases to become black and white, and it absolutely requires creativity. There are so many things in the world that we don’t think of as art or artistic, but they are. Surgery is definitely an art. A doctor has to practice their art, their medical art. And so I love the fact that again this character that may seem very precise and very methodical and very mathematical, is actually someone who also needs to use all of those tools in a very creative way. And the fact that she’s incorporated Indian dancing into it just makes me even happier.
ask for anything better.
It’s beautiful.
Oh, look at that! Yeah! And Symmetra has such unique abilities in the game. She’s a support character who doesn’t heal, but who definitely supports the team. And so, once you learn to strategize correctly with her, she’s pretty unstoppable.
Yeah, and it’s an unusual use. It’s beautiful to watch and it’s such an unusual pairing to think of. But we see mathematics in art every day, with the golden ratio and all sorts of things. So it makes sense that those two would go hand in hand. Yeah, definitely. And one thing that is also incredible about Overwatch is its incredible diversity. There’s so many different characters. But one thing that has been circulating the web is the idea that Symmetra is autistic. Is this true? Yeah. Yes ma’am. Jeff Kaplan confirmed it just a little while ago. Although it was already alluded to in the comic books. There’s a cell where she talks about how people used to ask her where she was on the spectrum. And it used to bother her but now it doesn’t, and she say “Because I can do things they can’t”. Which is mysterious and awesome, right? And for Jeff to confirm it, I think, has only done even more of what this game has done the whole way through. Which is, help everyone find a hero that they can identify with. The thing is so inclusive. And there are so many different heroes of so many different backgrounds, orientations, emotional connections, every single person who plays this game can find someone to identify with. And as more characters come out I hope more and more people with see things that are more specific to their own experience. Now, with Symmetra confirmed to be on the spectrum, I think there are a lot of people who are on the spectrum who are finally seeing a representation of some with their own condition that is really positive in the world. And hopefully it will help them see the superhero in themselves, rather than seeing it necessarily as something that is detrimental to their lives. It provides them with an example of someone with autism who is capable of so much more then I think a lot of people realise autistic people are. It is a spectrum for a reason, it’s not all on one end or all on the other. I was already thrilled with the diversity that was within this game, it was already something I was proud to be a part of. But then as this came out and I started getting messages from fans that are on the spectrum, (saying) “This means so much to me!” “My brother’s on the spectrum. Now we get to play together, and we have something we can share together that he feels proud of.” Those kinds of things. You can’t
I love how superheroes and games are going in this direction. Cause we saw with Power Rangers and the Blue Ranger was also on the spectrum as well. One thing I thought was amazing after all this, and how diverse her character is, how wonderful and in depth it is, I was watching a game review video and they were saying “A team with Symmetra has a higher chance of winning than a team without”. So she is such a wonderful character to have.
And do you have any future plans for the gaming world? Do you have any other characters you’re looking at doing? Oh! I would love to do more and more characters! I don’t really get to pick my jobs these days. I’m not quite that lucky. But I would love to play more. When I was much younger, I used to play Dungeons and Dragons and do campaigns. And then I started playing role playing games a little bit more when I was older on the computer. And then when console games came out, I kind of got caught up with work and other things. So coming back to the gaming world for me has really been a lovely homecoming, and it means so much to me because I think it’s a great – I think it’s sort of the next step artistically because it’s interactive movie making, essentially. People get to be inside the movie. People get to be the characters. And as an artist that’s something that’s truly exciting to be a part of. So, yeah, I would love to work on any number of games. Sign me up! And we’re excited to see you on other games, because we can see how wonderfully you’ve brought Symmetra to life. And I look forward to seeing what you bring to the gaming world. Thank you so much! I’m looking forward to seeing Sydney and Perth! That’s what I’m looking forward to seeing. I’m really excited to be coming out there. In fact on of my first pieces of fan mail came from a young guy named Riley in Australia and I’m finally going to get to meet him in Sydney. So, I’m so excited! We’ve been talking since the beginning of the game. Fantastic! Shout out to Riley! Yeah, big shout out to Riley! He knows I’m coming. We’re going to hang out, he knows! That’s amazing. Thanks again, thank you so much for chatting with me today about the wonderful game Overwatch and we cannot wait to see you in Australia for the Supanovas! I can’t wait to see you guys! I’ll be there soon.
You can catch Anjali Bhimani at the Perth and Sydney Supanovas this July. Get your tickets now and don’t miss out!
Alaisdair Leith does
the 8-bit Time Warp ___________________________________________________________________________________
Any gamer around my age (30 something…) will no doubt remember the classic 8 bit games from the Nintendo system based on some of our favourite TV shows in the early 90’s. Capcom have delivered The Disney Afternoon Collection bringing in the best of those games including Duck Tales 1 and 2, Darkwing Duck, Tale Spin and Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers 1 and 2. The simple and straightforward ports of the original games released on the Nintendo system back in 1991, the purpose of this game is pure nostalgia and it makes no apologies for this.
Graphics wise this game is exactly how it was when it was released. This has not been updated with the pixelated graphics still in play here. Initially I was a little disappointed with this, but it could be a stepping stone to see if fans were keen for a full HD graphical upgrade like the stand alone Duck Tales game received two years ago. You can turn the filtering on and off to stretch the graphics out to fit your screen or use the border around it to keep the original ratio (honestly this is the best looking way to play).
The gameplay has not been altered and it just as challenging as you remember it. The levels are infuriating at times and Capcom have added in a handy Rewind feature that lets you turn back a few seconds to have another go which is extremely useful, particularly in games like Tale Spin that were deliberately made to infuriate and anger gamers everywhere.
Apart from the games themselves, they have also added in some interesting extras including some advertising from the original era, both the English and Japanese cardboard game covers from the original Nintendo entertainment system. There is also the soundtrack to each game track by track and some concept art. It is a great addition to this collection and helped capture this particular moment in gaming history. For me the Disney Afternoon collection was one of my early memories gaming as a child and this nostalgic trip down memory lane delivered everything that I wanted it to. The games were left in tact as they were and were able to invoke those beautiful and frustrating memories I had as a child loving these franchises and enjoying their games. Capcom have delivered another successful nostalgic experience. Each game has two new modes added including Boss Rush and Time Attack. Boss Run pits you against all of the games difficult bosses and is not one that I particularly enjoyed. Time Attack moves the game into a social experience which lets you do a run through the levels and this can then by compared to the online leaderboards. You can if you want to compete for the fastest times but I didn’t have a desire to do this. Overall The Disney Afternoon Collection is a great trip down memory lane. These iconic games have been beautifully restored to current gen consoles without compromising on the classics. Millenial gamers may find frustration with the difficulty of these games, and while the gameplay style may seem simple compared to today’s open world standards, the difficulty is beyond words and an experience that every gamer should to see just how far we have come.