THE CRUNCH - 5 Things We Want In Sherlock

A couple of weeks back, we wrote an article with a list of 7 things we wanted to see next year for Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary. You can view that article here. Since that article was so popular, I decided to write another one. Here are 5 things I'd want to see in the next series of Sherlock...

Oh, and a quick warning, if you plan on reading the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books (which I recommend), this article does contain spoilers.

Moran is arrested

1. The Gun
Mark Gatiss has confirmed that the first episode of the new series will be based on Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Empty House. In the short story, we learn that Moriarty's men had been building a very special weapon, a gun that can fire nearly silently. This seemed revolutionary for the time, although now seems a bit dull now that we have developed silencers. But the idea of a secret weapon is very exciting, especially if it's being developed outside of the authorities by Moriarty's league. So in a modern setting what could this weapon be? Nuclear missiles? Lazers? If you have any ideas, let us know in the comments.

Sherlock diguised as a security guard

2. Disguises
Throughout all the Sherlock Holmes books, the great detective uses various disguises to spy on criminals and blend in with eye-witnesses. This hasn't really been exploited in the TV series yet, except for a brief, almost unnecessary, moment in the series 1 finale The Great Game, in which Sherlock breaks into an art gallery disguised as a security guard. I think there is alot of fun to be had here, especially considering that even Watson didn't recognize Holmes in the books when he was in disguise.

Tom Hardy in Inception

3. Charles Milverton
In The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, Conan Doyle introduces us to a character that Holmes describes as "The worst man in London". Quite high praise, considering Moriarty. Milverton is a suave and sophistcated con-man and black mailer, and I think there's alot more potential for a recurring enemy than there is with Colonel Sebastian Moran, who in the books is Moriarty's right hand man. Moran on screen would be too similar to Andrew Scott's Moriarty, who we've only just lost. Milverton on the other hand, is very different in character. So who could play this slimey aristocrat? For me, two actors spring to mind. One is Inception's Tom Hardy. The other is Being Human's Damien Maloney. Hardy is unlikely to play the role after his current successes in big films such as Prometheus and the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, so Maloney seems a safer bet.

4. Stanley Hopkins

Marshall Lancaster in Life On Mars

In the books, Inspector Hopkins is a young and excitable Scotland Yard detective who sees Holmes as a mentor and tries to employ his methods in his own investigations. He never does succeed however, and calls in the consulting detective on a number of occasions. He's a very funny character, and would be great to see in the TV series. But where could Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, two writers very much grounded in Doctor Who, find a young and excitable actor? *Cough* Matt Smith *cough*. Understandably, they may want to avoid the crossover, so another possibility could be Life On Mars's Marshall Lancaster.

5. The Sign of Four
Finally, I've picked out my favourite Sherlock Holmes story. The Sign Of Four is the second Sherlock Holmes novel and is part murder mystery, part treasure hunt, part adventure epic. What could be more suited to the current TV show, where we have seen Sherlock and John track down Chinese smugglers? Best of all, the whole story culminates in a boat chase down the Thames. Imagine modernising that!

So there's my list. What would you like to see in the next series of Sherlock? Let us know in the comments.
That's also all for this week on Crash Hub. Hope to see you again on Monday.
Tom :)

FILM REVIEW - Danny Boyle's Frankenstein (Spoiler-Free)

Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Nick Dear (based on the novel by Mary Shelley)
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller
Release Year: 2011 (Encore Screening 2012)
Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror/Stage Play
Certificate: 15

In 2009, the National Theatre in London launched a project to broadcast their best plays live to screens across the world. It was called National Theatre Live, imaginatively. So this "film review" isn't really of a film, but of a stage play, which is unlikely to be released on DVD. But it might be, and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it returns to cinemas for a third time. If it does, SEE IT!

Frankenstein tells the story of the Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a gifted scientist who discovers how to create artificial life. But his first experiment goes wrong, bringing the deformed creature into existence. The creature develops human emotions such as hate and a thirst for vengeance, and decides to pursue his maker to demand him to build him a mate.

This is a completely new and original interpretation of Shelley's gothic classic. Instead of siding with Dr. Frankenstein and showing the creature as a full-blown monster, this version shows the story through the creature's eyes. We see it's vulnerability and it's sorrow, and experience it's longing and self-sympathy. This adds an entirely new twist to the story and gives it a much deeper meaning that Shelley intended, but has been lost in most film adaptations.

When the play was performed, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternated roles as Victor Frankenstein and the creature each night. On the showing I watched Cumberbatch played the creature and Lee Miller played Frankenstein.

At first, I wasn't too overwhelmed by the production. The play opens with 20 minutes of the virtually-naked creature learning to walk. While this is a clever way to show the creatures innocence and child-like nature, and is certainly a more down-to-earth opening than that of the book, the scene does drag horrendously. 10 minutes maximum would have been enough.

After this though, the play really picks up pace and becomes very enjoyable. It sways from moments of hilarity (the creature's first words are "P**s off! B****r off!"),  to moments of extreme tension or heart-wrenching sadness. Both Cumberbatch and Lee Miller were fantastic, and I would love to have the opportunity to see the play again with them in opposite roles.

Do not be put off seeing this because it is apparently a horror. While the play is very tense and provides a few little shocks, it never reaches the stage of terrifying. The 15 certificate has been earnt by a mixture of mild language and nudity.

In modern adaptations, we expect parts to be different from the book. In this version, just the right amount was changed to make the story new and interesting for people who have read the novel while also keeping very true and traditional. It was a perfect balance.

Overall, this is a superb production of Frankenstein which is only let down by it's lengthy opening scene. Please show it cinemas again!

9/10

Have you seen Frankenstein? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Tom :)

FILM NEWS - Loads of short stuff (I mean loads)

The Happytime Murders
A new R-Rated Muppet Movie. Directed by tod burger. He says: "I want to try to make the heat of puppet movies. I want to be the dark night or heat but in a world where puppets and humans coexist." and "It is full-on R. There is swearing, there's sex, violence, murder" He does say also how he is making all new characters. As we can't have the normal ones doing drugs and killing hookers ect. obviously! This could be really good or really bad.
Alex Cross
Based on a book by James Patterson. It is due in October, directed by Rob Cohen(The Fast And The Furious), Staring Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox. The First trailer was released. See it here.


Dredd
First Look at the new trailer. It will be in cinemas at Christmas.
View the trailer to the Right! >>>


Sesame Street Movie
Yerp that's happening written by Joey Mazzrino ( the writer of the TV show), that's about all the news there is on that!


Highlander reboot
Ryan Reynold has been cast as the lead.

Avatar 4?
James Cameron is making 3 Avatar sequels at the same time. As Avatar 2 is not due until 2015 then not finish the franchise until 2020. I know Tom doesn't like Avatar but I really like it, personally I hope they go to the planet that Pandora orbits, or visit one of the other moons!

Transformers 4
Michel bay will be doing a final 4th transformers movie, but it will be cheaper, well the mandate cut (whatever that is) is about $30m. He said “We’re taking the story you’re seen – the story we’ve told in three movies already – and we’re taking it in a new direction.”. 

Battel of the Kids Animated Horror Comedy Movie Things (or KAHCMT's, I know catchy right):

• Hotel Transylvania:
• An animated moive with a horror tinge. See the new trailer here. This has some really funny parts!

• Frankenweenie:
• Tim Burton's new movie has a new trailer. It is an updating of his 1980's short film. It has the director of Alice in Wonderland on board. See the trailer here.

• ParaNorman:
• These 2 go up against this. See the Trailer here.

Silver Samurai

Taken 2
First Look at the new movie staring Liam Neeson from Taken and Maggie Grace. It comes out in October. See the trailer here.

The Wolverine 
This film will start filming in a few weeks. All we know is it will follow the comics of 1982 by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. Part will be have the villain Silver Samurai, according to rumours.

Movie trailer round up thing from source fed! That I haven't covered.
(V/H/S, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Monsters University, The Dark Knight Rises)

Full The Dark Knight Rises trailer here!

What are you most exited about?
Kieron :O

GAME REVIEW - inFAMOUS 2 (Spoiler-free)

Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sucker Punch Entertainment
Platforms: PS3
Genre: Open world action-adventure
Age Rating: 16
Release Year: 2011


So inFAMOUS 2, a game where you play as a guy called Cole who absorbs electricity to heal himself and turn into cool superpowers. He is also an expert at climbing walls. The selling point of this game is that you choose whether to play the game as a hero or an evil villain. This makes your powers red or blue! Big woop, but that's not all. Playing to one side specifically you will unlock different powers and different missions and cut scenes. This does give the game replay ability.


This game has a big step up and is better then the original infamous. They have added collapsing balconies when you blow them up. A new pylon style melee weapon, which is really nice and finally you can upgrade all your attacks and there is loads of new ones. The good news is that they have made a slick and easy quick change menu for the powers. However at points near the end I did want a couple of powers equipped at the same time which should have been possible as one was L1 then R2 and the other was just R2. Yet it wasn't possible, slightly aggravating.


The engine for this game let it down a little as climbing was really fake. It would be better if they had made a super power that helps you climb. Another problem was the enemy AI of the guys with rocket launchers was just annoying as they would just point and shoot blowing their prisoners up or themselves. As soon as they saw you, killing you.


The story was aright although sometimes it was a bit to unbalanced of story to the whole good karma bad karma thing. I did prefer the adventures through the sewers to power up the generator in the original to the new shooting electric bolt shooty thing however it is still a really fun part of the game. A really nice idea in this game is the online level editing and creating which seems to be pretty robust and adds endless game play to the game.


I really recommend this game for the price it is now, not the full price when it came out!


5/10


What would your inFAMOUS powers be? Post answers in the comments
Kieron :O

GAME NEWS - 3DS XL and lots of short stuff!

Earlier in the week Nintendo had a direct broadcast and they announced some exiting stuff, the biggest news is here:
3DS XL:

This exists. It will have 90% bigger screens meaning the top screen is now 4.88 inches and the lower 4.18. A longer battery life of between 3.5 and 6.5 hours while playing 3DS games (compared to 3-5 hours for 3DS) and between 6 and 10 hours while playing DS games (compared to 5-8 hours for 3DS). Its battery will take 30 minuets to charge fully. And finally it will have a 4GB SD Card.  However it will have the same screen resolution as the original 3DS. Between £180 to £250, give or take a penny, but UK retailers can choose how much to sell it for!It will go on sale on July 28th (22 days earlier than in the US, woop). In red, blue and ( Europe only ) silver.

Next Smash Bros:
The best people from other game companies are colaborating to make this be epic be able to go up against playstation all stars. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top!

Other Nintendo stuff:
Fire Emblem Awakening is happening.
Professor Lavton and the Miracle Mask is coming with a free new puzzle available every day for a year.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 is getting payed DLC.
Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition will have new challenges based on his return to dream land and a historical gallery containg 20 years of concept art and episodes from the cartoon show!


Mass Effect 3 Extended DLC
Was made available yesterday. It wont change the ending but provides additional epilogue scenes and decisions. But it is 1.9 GB!


FarCry 3 has been Delayed
Ubisoft have said that they are delaying the release date of FarCry3 to November 29th ( 6 days before america) as they want to make it better.

COD: MW3 DLC
For anyone that is interested some DLC for MW3 happened. If your interested do your own research ...

The Walkinng Dead Episode 2 
come out today.

Tomb Raider Developers, Crystal Dynamics, are working on a new IP for next Gen Consoles Hopefully! 
Should be good! (new IP means its not part of an existing franchise)

TV REVIEW - Primeval Series 5 Episode 2 (Spoiler-free)

Previous Episode     Next Episode

Created by: Adrian Hodges and Tim Haines
Directed by: Robert Quinn
Written by: Steve Bailie
Starring: Ruth Kearney, Ciaran McMenamin, Hannah Spearritt, Andrew-Lee Potts, Ben Miller
Genre: Sci-Fi
Air Date: 31st May 2011 (Watch), 23rd June 2012 (ITV)


In this weeks episode of Primeval, the team went on board a nuclear submarine in order to close an anomaly submerged in the North Sea. While trying to complete their mission, the team pass through the anomaly and are faced with an attack from a swarm of Lipleurodon. On top of this, their is also a rogue Theropod on board that passed through the anomaly and was captured by the crew. Can the team cope with both these dangers and also return home?


This episode took on a real disaster movie look. Scenes showing the team running around the submarine with water squirting out of the walls was very reminiscent of films such as Titanic and Poseidon. Visually the episode was cleverly put together to look like one of these traditional styled films (thumbs up to Quinn).


Unfortunately, this is the only real thing that sets this episode apart from the rest of Primeval. And even the idea of recreating a disaster movie within a sci-fi seems to have been taken from Doctor Who's Voyage of the Damned. Primeval has recieved alot of criticism for ITV trying to recreate the success of Who and playing to the same audience, which it has achieved to an extent. But unlike Who, Primeval is grounded on Earth, and is almost entirely based on modern day, so isn't anywhere near as versatile. Having said this, next week's episode will include elements of Victorian England, which I'm looking forward to.


Overall, the episode maintains it's usual standard of tense moments and light humour, and the dinosaurs as always look great for a TV show, but the show is getting too samey now. Admittedly this episode was paced better than last weeks, but these changes are just mild fluctuations. Maybe we should just let a sleeping Lipleurodon lie?


5/10


You can watch this episode of Primeval on ITV Player here.


What did you make of this weeks episode of Primeval? Let us know in the comments.
Tom :)

TV REVIEW - Primeval Series 5 Episode 1 (Spoiler-free)

Previous Episode     Next Episode

If you don't know what Primeval is, here is trailer for this series. This trailer is from watch but we are watching it on ITV, but hey!

Ok, so Primeval is about a group of people who work for the government and their job is to find anomalies, which are basically time travel portals. Many creatures end up coming through these portals. The team's mission is to close the anomalies, and not die. Got it? Good!








Lets get started. Episode 1:
Created by: Adrian Hodges and Tim Haines
Director: Mark Everest
Writer: Chris Lang
Staring: Ben Masfield, Ruth Kearney, Ciaran McMenamin, Hannah Spearritt, Andrew-Lee Potts, Ben Miller
Genre: Sci-Fi
Air date: 24th May 2011 (Watch), 16th June 2012 (ITV)

In this episode the team must protect the public from some giant burrowing bugs that have somehow been around for ages and noone has noticed them, even though they make giant holes and eat people. Humm, someone hasn't thought this through.

Ignoring this, the episode is written alright. It has some nice plot lines and especially series plot lines. However at times the team seem to do pointless things like going down a hole just to get scared and run out of the hole. Also it was unlikely that a lawnmower would cause vibrations to summon the bug as there is bound to be bigger vibrations near by and really would a well evolved creature would go bad to where it just came from.

Suspense is built well in the episode and is effective in making it more engaging.

The CGI is really good. Sometimes the creatures in Primeval are unimaginative however these seem to be relatively unique.

Sometimes there was shakey camera work, which was horrible. With those silly, shoddy zooms and stuff.

Overall I think it is worth watching and a good series but they should get a better director and more imagination.

4/10

What creature would you like to see in Primeval? Post answers in the comments.
Kieron :O

TV NEWS - Doctor Who News...and Not Much Else

Doctor Who Returning Character and Episode Title
According to the Evening Standard, Madame Vastra (who first appeared  in the Who episode A Good Man Goes To War) will be returning for the latter half of the upcoming series. It is also reported that Vastra, who is Silurian and lesbian, will fall for the new companion. For more on this, click here.

Also in the Whoniverse, the first episode has finally got it's title. The episode, which will feature every type of Dalek ever (apparently) will be called Asylum of the Daleks. As much as this news does excite us, it still tells us absolutely nothing! For more on this story, click here. For our updated episode guide of the upcoming series, click here.



And One More Thing...
And since there's such a lack of news, I thought I'd share this picture I found on Facebook. Made me giggle.

There's this weeks TV news. Let us know your thoughts in the comments, especially on the return of Madame Vastra.

Tom :)

MUSIC OLYMPIC TRACK LIST

A Leaked tracklist of the opening ceremony has revealed the 86 tracks that will feature during the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The 50 minute pre-show ceremony will feature the doctor who theme along with other gubbins like the EastEnders theme, The Beatles, Rizzle Kicks and Coldplay. 


The Full track list is here:


Captain Algernon Drummond/William Johnson Cory - 'Eton Boating Song'
Elgar/AC Benson - 'Land of Hope and Glory'
The Jam - 'Going Underground'
Muse - 'Map of the Problematique'
Big Ben Chimes
Sex Pistols - 'God Save the Queen'
The Clash - 'London Calling'
Simon May - EastEnders Theme
The Shipping Forecast
Sir Hubert Parry/William Blake - 'Jerusalem'
Elgar - 'Nimrod'
Handel - 'Arrival of the Queen of Sheba'
Eric Coates - 'Dambusters March'
Handel - 'Music for the Royal Fireworks'
Monty Norman - James Bond Theme
Mike Oldfield - 'Tubular Bells'
Mike Oldfield - 'In Dulci Jubilo'
Vangelis - 'Chariots of Fire'
BBC News 1954
Arthur Wood - The Archers Theme
Winifred Atwell - 'Black and White Rag'
Sugababes - 'Push the Button'
OMD - 'Enola Gay'
David Rose - 'The Stripper'
Lionel Bart - 'Food Glorious Food'
Irwin Kostal, Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman - 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks'
Rizzle Kicks - 'When I Was a Youngster'
Eric Clapton - 'Wonderful Tonight'
Colin Tully - Gregory's Girl Theme
William Pitt - 'City Lights'
The Who - 'My Generation'
The Rolling Stones - 'Satisfaction'
Millie Small - 'My Boy Lollipop'
The Kinks - 'All Day and All of the Night'
The Beatles - 'She Loves You'
Mud - 'Tiger Feet'
Led Zeppelin - 'Trampled Under Foot'
The Specials - 'A Message to You Rudy'
David Bowie - 'Starman'
Queen - 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
Sex Pistols - 'Pretty Vacant'
Duran Duran - 'The Reflex'
New Order - 'Blue Monday'
Frankie Goes to Hollywood - 'Relax'
Soul II Soul - 'Back To Life'
Happy Mondays - 'Step On'
Eurythmics - 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
The Verve - 'Bittersweet Symphony'
Prodigy - 'Firestarter'
Underworld - 'Born Slippy'
Jaan Kenbrovin, John William Kellette - 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles'
Blur - 'Song 2'
Dizzee Rascal - 'Bonkers'
Tigerstyle - 'Nacnha Onda Nei'
Arctic Monkeys - 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor'
Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse - 'Valerie'
Radiohead - 'Creep'
Muse - 'Uprising'
Kano & Mikey J - 'Random Antics'
Tinie Tempah - 'Pass Out'
MIA - 'Paper Planes'
Coldplay - 'Viva La Vida'
The Chemical Brothers - 'Galvanize'
Franz Ferdinand - 'Take Me Out'
Kaiser Chiefs - 'I Predict a Riot'
Roll Deep - 'Shake a Leg'
Adele - 'Rolling in the Deep'
Oasis - 'The Hindu Times'
Oasis - 'Wonderwall'
Emeli Sande - 'Heaven'
William Monk/Henry Francis - 'Abide With Me'
Pink Floyd - 'Eclipse'
The Beatles - 'The End'
The Beatles - 'Hey Jude'
David Bowie - 'Heroes'
Eric Spear - Coronation Street Theme
Ron Grainer - Doctor Who Theme
John Philip Sousa - Monty Python Theme/'The Liberty Bell' 
David Bowie - 'Absolute Beginners


Now there is a reason I don't do music but I think this is looking to be a pretty good tracklist with lots of big names :D


Kieron :O

MUSIC REVIEW - Who You Are

Artist: Jessie J
Genre: R'n'B/Pop
Release Year: 2011
Label: Lava/Universal Records/Island

As a general rule, I don't like contempary music. I didn't really like Jessie J until very recently. But my opinion was changed by two performances, one on Radio 1's Live Lounge and one on Jools Holland's Hootenany. Live Lounge showed off her very impressive vocal range and skill, and Hootenany showed off her stage presence and her ability as a performer. Since then, I've been a huge fan.

So, in a huge leap out of my jazz-and-rock-obsessed character, I bought her album, and got a very funny look from the bloke at the cashier.

The album itself has been six years in the making. Like most albums of the genre, it includes a few very good songs, with alot of padding in between. It also varies loads in style. Songs like Abracadabra and Casualty of Love  have a definite 80s feel, while others like Do It Like A Dude and Rainbow feel very modern.

The album opens with the renowned number 1 single Price Tag. And it's not hard to see why it's been so successful. It's laid back with a very catchy chorus. I love the funky guitar in the background, and the overall simplicity of the track makes it very easy listening. However, I do think it's really let down by the pointless rap in the middle by B.o.B. It fits as well as a clown at a funeral.

Another highlight of the album is Big White Room. J said that she wrote the song when she was 10 years old after a little boy in the same hospital ward as her died in an operation. It is the only acoustic track on the album (with the only accompaniment being from an acoustic guitar), and because of this is the only track that allows J to really show off her full vocal potential.

The best track though for me is Mamma Knows Best. Imagine getting a bit Benny Goodman, a bit of Plan B, and then sticking it all in a blender with the zest of Duffy. I can't think of a better way of describing it. It's jazzy, enticing and, above all, very VERY fun. Even if you don't buy the album, make sure you download this track.

So those are three of the best tracks on the album, but what about the rest? There's a few other decent tracks, but songs such as Rainbow feel very unimaginative, as if they were written to fill the gaps. Unfortunately, this time-filler disease is all too common on modern albums.

One of the main things that stands out about this album is that here we have a mainstream musician who has written an album where not every track is a soppy love ballad. Yes some tracks are based around the theme, but these then stand out because, on this CD, they aren't the norm. And when J does write a song on the topic, she does so in a new and inventive way. For example, I haven't heard a song as brutally honest as L.O.V.E, and it works because of it.

Overall, this is a good debut from Jessie J. It's very interesting, and some of the songs are brilliantly crafted. However, there is a fair bit of padding and samey murk that we have heard before. Despite this though, J certainly shows alot of potential, and I would definately buy another album.

7/10


You can buy Jessie J's "Who You Are" from amazon.co.uk.

What do you think of the album? Let us know in the comments.
Tom :)

MUSIC NEWS - The Fratellis Reunite, Labrinth and Noel Gallagher New Singles, Green Day Album Trailer and Isle Of Wight Festival

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds New Single
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are set to release their new single Everybody's On The Run on August 6th. The song is the epic rock-orchestral opener from last year's album Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

Green Day ¡Dos! Album Trailer
On Friday, Green Day released the trailer and album art for the second album ¡Dos! from their upcoming trilogy. ¡Dos! will be released on the 13th November, following ¡Uno! which will be released on the 25th September.

For more information on the first album in the trilogy, ¡Uno!, click here.

Isle Of Wight Festival

With no Glastonbury to contend with, Isle Of Wight was big this year. My favourite acts were Elbow and Bruce Springsteen. For highlights of the weekend, click here.

Labrinth Announces New Single

Labrinth announced that Treatment from his debut album Electronic Earth would be his new single. The music video has been filmed and will be on the web very soon (so will probably feature in next weeks news).  Labrinth also appeared in BBC's Project Hackney documentary alongside Plan B and Leona Lewis.


The Fratellis Reunited
This story is actually a bit old now, but it's all news to me. The Fratellis were a cheeky rock band who were most famous for their album Costello Music which the famous track Chelsea Dagger came from. The band reformed for a charity gig earlier this month, and they will be doing more gigs, dates for which are gradually being released. Yesterday, the band announced a gig in Glasgow on the 26th September.
For more on this story, click here.


Happy Birthday!
Best wishes to guitarist Jeff Beck who turned 68 yesterday.


And that's all for this week. Let us know what you think, especially your favourite acts at IoW, in the comments.
Tom :)

THE CRUNCH - Windows Tablet and Phone

This week windows released there new tablets and phone:
Many people say this is the IPad Killer!
As standard they both have front and rear-facing cameras, an SD slot, along with some neat tricks: a magnesium casing protection, DisplayPort out, Gorilla Glass, a kickstand and a subtle groove around the entirety of the device. They will have a 16:9 "ClearType" 1920 x1080 display. ClearType is aiming for Retina connection. It is 208 pixels per inch which is slightly less then the Ipads 264. Microsoft also claims they will have the best Wi-Fi reception of any tablet, with 2x2 MIMO antennae (wireless antennae that are harder to block while you're holding it).

Surface RT: This focuses on low power and being thin and small and cheap...er. It has an ARM processor (this is like a phone chip) and will run windows RT not Windows 8. It is 9.3mm thick which is thinner then the Ipad and 1.5 pounds (680g). It will be available in 32 or 64 GB of storage.

Surface Pro: This will run a Ivy Bridge Core i5 x86 processor have a USB 3.0 port and other ultrabook-y specs. It'll be a little thicker (13.5mm), a little heavier and be available with either 64 or 128 GB of storage. But most importantly it runs Windows 8 all of it. It will support semantic zoom and it will provide a perfectly superflat frame for the perfectly superflat Metro UI. And it will run the desktop meaning that you can put all your normal applications on it ie. photoshop. It will also have apps that go on the startup menu if your not familiar see my post on windows 8 here. It will probobly cost about the same as an Ipad.


The final big selling point of these tablets is that they can be paired with a magnetic super thin cover. That has a keyboard and mulitouch trackpad that apparently...WORKS, WELL. 


And just the other day they announced the Windows phone:
This will be dual-core. It will support 3 resolutions: WVGA at 800x480px, True 720p at 1280x720px and WXGA at 1280x768px.

Kieron :O

FILM REVIEW - Avengers Assemble (Spoiler-free)

Directed by: Joss Whedon
Written by:  Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston
Release Year: 2012
Genre: Action
Certificate: 12A

What do you get when you give a 12 year old boy a litre of coke and 50 blue smarties, then tell him to write a list of everything he wants in a film? The answer is Avengers Assembled. There is more explosions then a popcorn machine on overdrive. And yes this is a good thing. And when there isn't any explosions there is sexy fighting from black widow or a massive green hulk smashing everything to pieces.


The film also has some memorable and funny quotes and scenes and it is hard to choose my favorite. It is well directed and written throughout and I never felt like there was a bad line or moment.


The story line is alright, but then with a film like this a lot of action sequences would suffer with an in depth story line so this was not needed. Some things that bothered me in the film was how powerful Iron man, The Hulk and especially Thor are compared to the rest of the gang. I mean, what can Captain America do, really? He is a slightly stronger then a strong human and his shield would be better off in say Thor's other hand. Obviously paint it so it looks less like a giant lolly pop then we can kill off Captain America. 


Another slight moan is that although Hulk did look really good in this movie there was still a couple of moments where he looked unnatural (well apart from being a giant green man, you get what I mean though right).


I would defiantly recommend this film and I might even be one of the people who goes back and watches the re-release with an extra 30 minutes (if it is released), because it is that good. 


9/10

Kieron :O

BOX OFFICE CHARTS - Week Ending 19 June

1. Prometheus
Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror adventure mash-up is still at number 1 in it's third week. Although, I doubt it will still be here when Spidey turns up next month and blows it out the water. For our review of Prometheus, click here.

2. Men In Black 3
The sci-fi comedy is still kicking, a non-mover from last week. For our review, click here.

3. Snow White and the Huntsman
Another non-mover from last week. NEWS: If you enjoyed the film, a sequel has been confirmed.

4. Rock of Ages
I really really really want to see this film. I know it's got pretty poor reviews, but I love the music, and it's got Russell Brand in it. New this week.

5. The Pact
Moved down one from last week.

6. Red Lights
I love  supernatural films, and I think Cillian Murphy is brilliant. I can't wait to see this film. New this week.

7. Avengers Assemble
Just uttering it's last dying words before Spidey and The Dark Knight Rises battle it out to be the next big superhero movie. My money's on TDKR. Down 2 from last week.

8. Fast Girls
This new olympic-themed chick flick starring Being Human's Lenora Crichlow is new this week.

9. What To Expect When You're Expecting
This is a non-mover.

10. Top Cat - The Movie
Everybody's favourite cat is just hanging off the bottom of the charts this week after moving down 4 places.

There's this week's chart. Any surprises? Let us know in the comments.
Tom :)

FILM NEWS - Snow Crash, Brave, Spidey, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Maleficent and The Watch

Hello again, it's Thursday, and we bring you movie news.

Joe Cornish For Snow Crash
For those of you who aren't familiar with the name Joe Cornish, he made his directing debut last year in Sci-Fi/Comedy hit Attack the Block. I'll admit, I am yet to see the film, but I have only heard good things and as soon as I have watched, a review will be heading your way.
Anyways, the news is that Cornish will be directing upcoming Paramount film Snow Crash. The film will be based on the Neal Stephenson book of the same title, which was released in 1992. Paramount attempted to make a film of the book when it was first released, but it never happened. For those who aren't familiar with the book (and that's me included), here's a synopsis from amazon:
From the opening line of his breakthrough cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson plunges the reader into a not-too-distant future. It is a world where the Mafia controls pizza delivery, the United States exists as a patchwork of corporate-franchise city states, and the Internet - incarnate as the Metaverse - looks something like last year's would lead you to believe it should. Enter Hiro Protagonist - hacker, samurai swordsman and pizza-delivery driver. When his best friend fried his brain on a new designer drug called Snow Crash and his beautiful, brainy ex-girlfriend asks for his help, what's a guy with a name like that to do? He rushes to the rescue. A breakneck-paced 21st-century novel, Snow Crash interweaves everything from Sumerian myth to visions of a postmodern civilisation on the brink of collapse. Faster than the speed of television and a whole lot more fun, Snow Crash is the portrayal of a future that is bizarre enough to be plausible.
I can't wait!
For more on this story, click here.

Exclusive Look At Pixar's Brave
This film looks alright, and hopefully it will be able to renew the magic that we know Pixar is capable of. A new preview clip was released on Thursday. To watch it, click here.


Preview Clip From The Amazing Spider-Man
You may have noticed, me and Kieron are getting a little bit excited about this film. Mainly because it looks awesome!!!
In the original comics, Spidey is renowned for his smooth, sarcastic wit. And it seems the guys behind the upcoming film have really grasped that in this new preview clip which was released on Sunday. Brilliantly written and very funny acting from Andrew Garfield. Check it out below:

Also, loving the music from James Horner.

Abraham Lincoln: Publicity Stunt
Cast and crew of the upcoming movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter flew out to USS Abraham Lincoln ship as it patrolled Middle Eastern waters for a special screening of the film for the sailors. Actor Benjamin Walker, who plays America's 16th President in the film, even showed up in full costume, including fake beard.
For more on this story, click here.

First Look At Disney's Maleficent
This week, filming officially started on Disney's upcoming live-action fantasy film Maleficent. The film is an origin story about the title character, who is the villain in the animated classic Sleeping Beauty. Angelina Jolie is in the lead role, and Disney released this photo of her to publicise the start of production.
The film is due for release in the US on the 14th March 2014.

The Watch New Trailer
This upcoming comedy shows a lot of promise to be the big comedy  of the summer. But can it take the top spot from Men In Black 3?

Lots of news this week, and that's your fill. Which of these upcoming films are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments...
Tom :)

GAME REVIEW - Portal 2 (Spoiler-free)

Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Director: Joshua Weier
Writers: Erik Wolpaw, Jay Pinkerton, Chet Falisek
Platforms: PC, Mac, PS3, Xbox 360
Genre: Puzzle-Platform
Age Rating: 12
Release Year: 2011

One of the most anticipated games of 2011! The best puzzle game I have ever played.

If I had a moan it would be: Why is this a 12, what?, how? if this were rated by movie ratings it would be below a U, it is that child friendly.

Now where to begin. The gameplay is: You are, in single player, a human who wakes up in aperture science, a testing place run by robots. Only you have over slept by a long time and the place is now falling apart. You and your robot sphere thing try to escape with the help of a portal gun. So the portals work so that when you shoot your portal on to a wall and the other on to another you then teleport between the portals when you go through it. This muddles with physics a little but you get used to it. In the game you get sent through many individual tests or puzzles which are sometimes difficult, I would say perfect. In each test there are many other obstacles and guff but I won't tell you what they are, that would spoil the surprise. They are very clever and well used. It is the simplicity and uniqueness of the gameplay the idea of the game that makes it such a hit.

Stephan Merchant

The game does have a story behind it. The writers have got the perfect balance of voice acting to gameplay and story adds lots of engagement to the game. Thumbs up, well done.
Now the voice acting. This game has won awards for its well scripted and incredible voice acting. All the characters are very funny. The three main characters for voice over are: Wheatly (your robot friend) voiced by Stephan Merchant, GLaDOS who is voiced by Ellen McLain and Cave Johnson voiced by J.K Simmons. Here is some voice acting from the start of the game when GLaDOS awakens. It has Wheatly and GLaDOS voice acting. It has no puzzle answers in it. Very funny watch it :D. J.K Simmons also has some top notch quotes, but I wont spoil them.

The game also has a Co-Op mode. This is very good and online is via steam and cross platform. Thumbs up valve. However you do have to connect with friends and using the network of that platform would mean we could play with anyone, which I would prefer. So in mode you play are robots, I love the characterising if them they are very likable and you can make them do cool stuff like high 5 or hug. This mode also has the added advantage of being able to be reassembled, so dying doesn't mean you have to start the level again, and I die allot. It has commentary from GLaDOS and is set after the single player ends. You work your way through levels in set chapters all cleverly reachable from the main hub in a fancy way and you can choose what level you want to repeat in each chapter. It is indeed double the portals double the fun.


This game has won many awards and it is defiantly the best puzzle game ever made, well maybe sudoku but shh that's not a computer game.


10/10


Now watch the credits and the amazing GLaDOS song, it is spoiler free (well ish):

Kieron :O

GAME NEWS - X-Box 720 Leak and More

Short Stories
Microsoft have announced they will not be attending Gamescon (the gaming convention in Europe) or TGS (the gaming convention in Japan).

Limbo Screenshot

A Screenshot of the Limbo follow up has been released

The Last of Us will not be released until 2013

Dead Space 3 has a co-op controversy with more of a focus on killing things all the time, this might be a bad thing for survival horror fans.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Declassified (the PS Vita COD) will be $50 in the USA and they have released a paragraph about the game. But I'm not going to waste my time looking for it because COD is terrible and the Vita is terrible.

The Amazing Spider-Man is coming out this week and it looks good.

Spec Ops: The Line is also coming out this week.

Rage DLC being made.

Ubisoft Movies
A movie is being made using the themes and possibly characters from Ubisoft's Splinter Cell and another possible movie could be on the themes from their new game Watch Dogs. Personally, I think these could work really well as films as long as they have good scripts.


X-Box 720
Over the weekend some documents were leaked from Microsoft about the next generation console. They call it the X-Box 720. I will be 6-8 times more powerful then the 360. It is likely to be an ATI card for graphics. It will be backwards compatible with 360 games. It has 4GB of memory. Full HD 1080p on most games at 60fps and in 3D. The Kenect 2 will be integrated into the X-Box. It is the same technology as the current kenect but all the cameras have been upgraded and it can now track 4 people. It will cost $299 in the US and probably a lot more here in the UK as stuff always costs more. It will release around the same time and the Playstation 4. In the article they talk about smart glass which wasn't announced until a couple of weeks ago and it was written in 2010 so this is probably legit.



Kieron :O