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Wednesday 30 October 2013

Lincoln review: Daniel Day-Lewis can't save Spielberg's failed epic

It was with some trepidation that I finally brought myself to watch Lincoln. The legendary tale of 16th American president Abraham Lincoln and his battle to outlaw slavery in America has been told countless times on screen, stage and page, and I'd wondered if even the talents of Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg could bring anything new to this crowded scene. Even when the film received its first glowing reviews and won its Oscars, my doubt continued, and while watching the film I soon realised that my original fears were completely correct.

Lincoln's biography has become so rooted in popular culture that attempting to avoid spoiling the plot of the film seems pointless; his Gettysburg Address is the most quoted speech in American history and his eventual assassination is one of the most famous killings of all time. However, Spielberg's film opts to almost totally ignore these iconic elements, and instead focuses entirely on Lincoln's quest to instate the thirteenth amendment to the American Constitution, thereby banning the ownership of slaves. While it's reasonable to assume that everyone knows most of Lincoln's story anyway and doesn't need it spoon fed to them, devoting an entire two hour movie to this single event creates the first of the film's problems: it's incredibly dull. Far from the sprawling epic of battles and bravery that the trailers would have you believe, the film largely resides in underlit rooms and long, unmoving camera shots while various political figures furiously argue their cases. While I have great respect to this total refusal to dumb down the plot, there's no denying that Lincoln is not an entertaining film. In fact, I almost found myself nodding off at several points, particularly a seeming endless sequence where the votes of the House of Representatives on the matter of amending the Constitution are read out.

The plot is also extremely slow, unsurprising considering the length of the movie and the lack of actual events, but this only adds to the general boredom. Despite the script being crisp and intelligent, most of the characters are simply two dimensional cut-outs, with Sally Field's Mary Lincoln proving especially predictable. Of course, Lincoln does get one thing very, very right: the casting of Daniel Day-Lewis as the president himself. Always an actor known for his utter commitment to his roles, Day-Lewis gives possibly the best performance of any Lincoln biopic, deservedly winning an Oscar for a showing that is both brilliantly witty and deadly serious, an utterly believable character. Tommy Lee-Jones also shines as radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens.

Phenomenal as these performances are, they can't rescue Lincoln. Day-Lewis' talents are wasted as Spielberg fails to recapture the excitement and tension that filled his earlier films, and Lincoln becomes dull, overlong and pointless. If it was not for Day Lewis himself, Lincoln would be lost among a sea of similar, all American pictures. As it is, Lincoln is saved from being an embarrassment, but that's simply not good enough considering how great it could have been.

5/10

Thursday 17 October 2013

The top 10 Grand Theft Auto radio stations

Any half-fan of Rockstar Games’ most popular franchise will tell you that radio stations are an integral part of the Grand Theft Auto experience. Since the original GTA was released in 1997, Rockstar has recorded dozens of stations crammed with superb licensed music, which don’t so much enhance gameplay as bring it to life. They’ve been in foreign languages, been hosted by world famous musicians and even catapulted real life DJ Lazlow to stardom through appearances on every GTA game since GTA III.  As an avid GTA fan myself, in this post I list my ten favourite GTA radio stations of all time.
10. Double Clef FM (GTA III)
I sometimes wonder why Rockstar never added an operatic radio station to a game after GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories, especially when Double Clef FM works so well. Hosted by Liberty Tree columnist Morgan Merryweather, Double Clef pokes fun at the pretentions of classical opera in its short 20 minutes of music and commercials. They may have never made another, but in Double Clef FM Rockstar created an absolute gem.
9. Channel X (GTA V)
It’s remarkable that Rockstar never made a station devoted completely to punk before the recent GTA V, the genre’s violent and rebellious nature fits right into the games the company builds. Hosted by legendary singer Keith Morris, who worked with many of the bands featured on the track list, Channel X includes classics by Black Flag and Circle Jerks, making for a superb playlist for the (albeit virtual) long and winding road.
8.  Chatterbox FM (GTA III)
Chatterbox was the first GTA radio station to be hosted by DJ Lazlow, who became an iconic figure in the GTA universe and appeared in every game in the series since.  Lazlow, who co-wrote the station’s script, presents a witty and sarcastic hour of talk as he interviews pacifist martial artist Reed Tucker and “cheap pimp” Fernando Martinez (a character who has also made an appearance in every game since GTA III).
7. West Coast Classics (GTA V)
Taking its cues from San Andreas’s brilliant Radio Lost Santos, West Coast Classics features an excellent, expletive-ridden set of 80s and 90s hip hop tracks. Hosted by the bizarrely named DH Pooh, the station makes a great backdrop for GTA V’s scenes of gang violence (also inspired by San Andreas) with songs from such legendary artists as 2Pac, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube.
6.  Flashback FM (GTA III)
Gosh, there’s a bit of a pattern developing here! Even so, Flashback FM is well worthy of its position here, being possibly the best 80’s pop station in the game’s history. Hosted by the brilliant Toni, the station’s use of songs from the Scarface soundtrack really shows the developer’s influences. Uses of She’s On Fire and I’m Hot Tonight are particularly effective.
5.  Radio X (GTA San Andreas)
Simply as a set of songs, Radio X presents possibly my favourite radio station in GTA history. As an alternative rock and heavy metal station, Radio X features superb tracks from world-famous bands including Depeche Mode, Guns N’ Roses and Rage Against the Machine (the use of Killing in the Name being surely one of the best musical decisions in gaming history). There’s excellent talk to be heard here too, with the station being hosted by escaped mental patient Sage. For me, only Nirvana is missing from this musical classic.
4. Radio Los Santos (GTA San Andreas)
Often cited as San Andreas’s best radio station, the gangsta rap and hip hop provided by Radio Lost Santos was the main inspiration for West Coast Classics and the modern incarnation of the station heard in GTA V. As the favourite station of the iconic Grove Street gang, Radio Los Santos provided much of the soundtrack for the Balla Vs Grove Street violence seen in the game. Packed with brilliant songs from rappers including 2Pac and Dr Dre, it remains a firm fan favourite.
3. VCPR (GTA Vice City)
I’m surprised that I’ve managed to go this long without listing a station from GTA Vice City, which surely has the best soundtrack of any GTA game. VCPR is, without a doubt, the best talk station ever recorded for a GTA game; it’s brilliantly entertaining, utterly hilarious and regularly bizarre. Hosted by the wonderful Maurice Chavez (who made it onto my list of favourite GTA characters), VCPR satirises everything from religious fundamentalism to protective parenting to public radio in its Pressing Issues program. Maurice meets some great characters along the way too, including the quite insane Pastor Richards.
2. K-Rose (GTA San Andreas)
The surprise favourite of GTA San Andreas, this country station hosted by the murderous Mary-Beth Maybell was a hit with players worldwide. Mary, who is believed to have killed all of her six previous husbands, intersperses a brilliant playlist including The Desert Rose Band and Mickey Gilley with frequently hilarious dialogue. But K-Rose (and San Andreas itself) is best remembered for George Strait’s All My Ex’s Live in Texas, a song that became synonymous with Rockstar’s games achieved iconic status among GTA players.
1.   V-Rock (GTA Vice City)
The second station to be hosted by DJ Lazlow, V-Rock provides one of the best GTA playlists featuring heavy; thrash and glam metal, and is also hilarious in its dialogue. Made all the more amusing by the fact that Lazlow knows essentially nothing about metal music, V-Rock became an iconic station and soundtracked much of my GTA Vice City playthrough.  Packed with metal classics from Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Slayer, Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet  Riot and even GTA’s fiction rockers Love Fist, the station was an instant hit with gamers. Rockstar clearly loved it too, creating the V-Rock Hotel in San Andreas and referencing the station regularly after Vice City.
As ever, be sure to comment if you agree with (or despise) my choices! 

Sunday 13 October 2013

Carrie book review: Stephen King's terrifying first masterpiece


It's rare for the first novel of a writer who’s been in the business as long as Stephen King to top the majority of the author’s future work, but Carrie is one of those rare debut novels that retains the incredible power it possessed on the day it was published almost 40 years ago. In a way, Carrie encompasses much of King’s early work; it’s dark; disturbing and massively influential. And with a new film just around the corner, what better time to revisit one of the most important works of horror fiction ever written?

Written over a period of just two weeks, the book tells the story of Carrie White, a teenage girl who develops telekinetic powers. But this is no Matilda; Carrie is violently bullied by her classmates and is physically abused by her fundamentalist mother. When Carrie harnesses her power to hurt others, dramatic events are set in motion culminating at her high school prom.


 King himself described Carrie as “raw”, and reading it today it’s obvious why. Compared to the sophistication of much of his later work, the book is often downright unpleasant to read, with grotesque scenes of pain and violence making for excruciating reading. Its clear why Carrie is one of the most commonly banned books in American schools, but if you persevere with the book it’s equally clear that it shouldn’t be.  Like Ian Banks’ The Wasp Factory, for all the novel’s sickening nature it’s truly a gripping read, and for a debut novel King’s writing style is remarkably accomplished, his technique of interspersing storytelling with extracts from books and interviews with the characters being especially effective.

Perhaps more than any of his other books, Carrie's characters generate emotions of the strongest kind. You don't just feel sorry for Carrie, you pity her from the bottom of your heart. You don't just hate her fanatical mother or bullying ringleader Chris, you HATE them. King achieves this not with stereotypes (although he does come dangerously close), but by creating characters that we can all associate with because they exist all around us. In fact, the level of torment taken by Carrie herself is such that by the conclusion we view her prom night actions as being almost justified. Almost.

 At just over 200 pages long, Carrie’s pacing is nauseatingly fast, but rather than making the story feel rushed this actually works wonderfully with King’s brutal, unharnessed writing style. The crescendo leading to the book's shocking climax is superbly orchestrated, with the ending still coming as a surprise despite being heavily hinted at throughout the book.  Because of King’s masterful use of tension, the book is almost impossible to put down and reading Carrie is the work of a few hours, but it leaves behind a disturbing lasting impression. On one level, Carrie is a critique of scapegoating and religious fundamentalism, on another it’s the idea of the huge consequences of a small change. But more than these things, Carrie is a simple yet expertly crafted novel that hooks you in and never let’s go. It’s terrifying, violent and sometimes horrific. And it’s fantastic.
 
10/10
 
 

 

Wednesday 9 October 2013

ILL Manors Review: Dark politics from Britain's best rapper


Protest music is dying. Despite the myriad of political conflicts and issues occurring all around the world, musicians are becoming increasing reliant of anecdotal lyrics, refusing to take an interest of the world revolving around them. It’s particularly uncommon that rap, forever the genre of dull artists moaning about their daily lives, comes up with an outspokenly political album. And you’d expect it even less of Ben Drew, whose first record Who Needs Action When You Got Words was an expletive-ridden, bratty affair and whose second, The Defamation of Strickland Banks, was essentially a soul album. But remarkably, Drew (commonalty known as Plan B), has actually recorded a third record full of dark political undertones. And, even more remarkably, it’s superb.

Inspired by Drew’s own experiences of growing up on a violent London council estate Ill Manors weaves a number of musically tabooed themes into its eleven tracks. Ranging from drug culture and poverty to prostitution and gang warfare, you’re unlikely to find many uplifting moments on Ill Manors. Like Radiohead’s OK Computer, the ostentatious darkness of songs like Drug Dealer and Pity the Plight make Ill Manors a decidedly uncomfortable album to listen to on first hearing. Listening to the record for the first time, lyrics including and if we see any rich kids on the way/we’ll make them wish they stayed inside on title track Ill Manors present the image of simple thugishness, but examine lines in the same song like keep on believing what you read in the papers/council estate kids, scum of the earth and you’ll notice Drew already challenging modern perceptions of youth culture.

Drew’s lyrics have improved immeasurably since his humble beginnings on his 2006 debut, and writing about topics he clearly feels strongly about bring out the best in his words. As he’d likely struggle to hold an album as ambitious as Ill Manors together on his own, he’s aided by an impressive cast of featured artists including Labrinth and legendary punk poet John Cooper Clarke. While this does add a range to the tracks, the album still feels oppressively dark; it’s certainly not easy listening. Interspersing the music with dialogue from the Drew directed film of the same name helps the album to tell a story in its songs, but it also makes the tracks still darker, with the song Pity the Plight being particularly shocking in this respect.

Even so, Drew is musically on top of his game throughout the record, but the overarching dark atmosphere of the album make it difficult to listen too without having to take a break in favour of hearing something more jolly. It’s still probably Plan B’s best record yet, and his stance against society’s treatment of the disadvantage youth is commendable, but Ill Manors is a case of a little too much.

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Dishonoured Review: Steampunk, stealth and swordplay

There aren't many games like Dishonoured. With the endless rise of first person shooters into mainstream gaming, stealth titles have been shoved aside and forgotten, but Dishonoured attempts to challenge and change this ruination of a superb genre. It's a tale with big ideas and big plans, but is it a truly great game?

Dishonoured makes it's home in the city of Dunwall, a one proud Victorian metropolis tearing itself apart with crime and corruption in the wake of a disastrous plague. You play as the unspeaking Corvo Attano, proud warrior and bodyguard to the Empress, whose world collapses when she is murdered and you are framed for her killing. Inevitably, you are released from prison by unseen benefactors and begin a quest to rescue the Empress's young daughter Emily and to take revenge on those who betrayed you.

It's a superb setup, but what really makes the game is the developers' phenomenal style and attention to detail in creating an amazing game world full of unpleasant characters. Dishonoured features a stunning voice cast including Susan Sarandon, Carrie Fisher and the brilliant Chloë Grace Moretz, who add a wonderful depth and development to a great set of characters. Not only are the characters exquisitely written and acted, the city of Dunwall itself is one of the best game worlds of recent years. Despite relatively small levels, developers Arkane Studios have created an incredibly stylised and believable city in Dunwall, which flits between locations as varied as royal places, shady back streets and colossal military fortresses. This variety is made believable by the almost unbelievable detail poured into everything from buildings to books and costumes to weapons. Dunwall merges Victorian London with a steampunk-esque look, creating an amazing fantasy city that is both gorgeous and disgusting at once, with little separating the deserted, rat infested streets from the glorious mansions of the most wealthy.

Of course, a dark, stylish world and wonderful characters would be little without strong gameplay, but fortunately there's a remarkable balance between presentation and gameplay at work in Dishonoured. As a general rule, each level sets you in a different environment with a task to assassinate a corrupt politician or some such unsavoury character, often with a bonus objective to consider too. How you go about taking out your target is where the game really gets interesting. Dishonoured gives you the usual tools of knife and pistol, with some additional weapons available including a crossbow with various attachments and bolt types. In addition to this, a number of supernatural powers become available as you collect runes throughout each level, and it's these powers that are your most useful tools in the game. Ranging through bending time to conjuring ravenous rats, each ability can be invaluable at many stages of the game. Blink, a short range teleport, is particularly useful for reaching high vantage points and evading the eyes of increasing murderous guards.

The great thing about Dishonoured's gameplay is the staggering level of choice available to the player, including dozens of routes location and scores of methods of taking out your target. Want to possess a rat and enter a building through a gutter, or clamber onto the roof, break a window and drop silently in? You can. In fact, it's actually possible to complete the whole game without a single kill, as non-lethal methods of removing your enemies always present themselves. The game actually contains a level of morality; violently wiping out everyone in your path in the early levels will lead to enemies being more alert in later stages, the Empress's impressionable young daughter Emily growing to despise you and you receiving the darker of the game's two endings. It's a superb system, and it's effects are noticeable even in the tiniest details, such as conversations between guards and Emily's facial expressions. It really adds a layer of depth to the story, and makes Corvo feel more like a real person than a mindless killer.

It's not quite a perfect game; a new game plus mode would be a supreme addition, the inevitable plot twist is somewhat predictable and the whole tale feels a little too short, but this doesn't matter. With Dishonoured, Arkane Studios have built a stylish, dark and brilliantly enjoyable game, which may just reignite the production of stealth games and give the genre back its deserved name.

9/10

Wednesday 2 October 2013

August montly question results

So as Autumn draws in it's time for a new monthly question, lets have a look at the results for last month's "who is the best Kick Ass character"

4th is Red Mist, a with shocking 0% of the results (I always found him quite amusing).

3rd is Big Daddy with a decent 18% of votes (my second favourite).

2nd is Kick Ass with a solid 27% of all votes (he's not as cool as the others).

1st is, of course, the wonderful Hit Girl with 54% of all votes (a well deserved win, she's so lovely).

Thanks for voting, I believe in the spirit of the new one this month's question will be "which is the best Grand Theft Auto."
















Who else?