Chronicle

To be honest I was start to get sick of the recent found footage type films that have become popular again so as a result I had put off seeing Chronicle, I had friends that had told me they thought I'd really like it and as it turns out they were right.

The film starts out as these type of films seem to introducing it's main characters and it seemed like it was going to be a fairly low budget affair but the lead characters start developing special abilities and the film becomes more and more impressive, this isn't your typical Hollywood mega-budget blockbuster but I found I was ( mostly ) impressed by what they managed on a technical level and it's simple story was told in a fairly compelling way.

Definitely worth a look if you get the chance.

Superman: What Price Tomorrow

I recently picked up a hardcover collection of the first 6 issues of DC Comics relaunch of Superman, I'd seen some of the artwork online and I knew that I didn't like some of their design choices for the new Superman, what I didn't expect was that it would be one of the worst things I'd read in years, the artwork is for the most part bland and I generally enjoy Nicola Scott's art ( if memory serves me correctly she was finishing art by George Perez on at least some of the issues so that may have something to do with it ) but what I really didn't expect was how boring the story was, sadly it was one of the worst things I've read in years.

Superman is one of DC's flagship titles so I was expecting something special when it came to the Superman relaunch, perhaps my expectation were too high but I have no real interest in reading any more stories based on this incarnation of Superman.

I also recently picked up a couple of other New 52 trade paperbacks but based on how wrong they got the Superman relaunch I'm not sure I want to read them any time soon.

The Wicker Tree

I'm a big fan of the original version of The Wicker Man so I awaited the release of The Wicker Tree with a mixture of curiosity and dread, I didn't think for a moment it could equal the original film but I hoped for something decent and to be fair The Wicker Tree is a decent film, the main problem is that anyone who has seen The Wicker Man pretty much knows exactly what to expect.

Like the previous film I enjoyed some of the music in The Wicker Tree and it had some funny moments, what it didn't have was the sense of ever building dread and tension that was present in The Wicker Man, it became fairly obvious what was going on early in the film so it was a case of waiting for it to happen.

Sadly The Wicker Tree is somewhat of a missed opportunity but that being said it's still far better than the American remake of The Wicker Man.

Doctor Who: The Forgotten

One of the things I picked up while I was in Sydney for the Lords of Time convention was the hardcover trade paperback Doctor Who: The Forgotten.

Basically The Doctor loses his memory and with the help of Martha Jones explores what appears to be a museum dedicated to his past lives and using various items on exhibit within begins to remember who he is, meanwhile a mysterious observer hatches a his deadly plot for revenge.

The Forgotten was a fun read, it features the first 10 Doctors as well as several of the companions and is chock full of references to both the classic and new series that will no doubt amuse fans of the show.

I did find the basic concept behind this story reminded me a bit of Terrance Dick's novel The Eight Doctors but I still enjoyed the story despite this.

Resident Evil: Retribution

I enjoyed the first four live action Resident Evil movies, they weren't what you could call good movies as such but they were big dumb fun and because of that I was kind of looking forward to seeing the latest film in the series.

Honestly I thought Resident Evil: Retribution was a piece of crap, pretty to look at but story wise very disappointing.

The Force Within Us

The Force Within Us is the second film made by Star Wars fan Chris Macht and this film explores the positive effects the Star Wars movies have had on Macht's and others lives.

I was really looking forward to seeing this film after enjoying Macht's first Star Wars documentary The Force Among Us and while I did enjoy it I didn't feel it was quite as entertaining as his first film, I did enjoy The Force Within Us and I do believe it's worth seeing but for me at least it just wasn't quite as good as the original film.

The one thing that did amuse me was upon finishing the film seeing my name in it's credits, I had completely forgotten that I'd supported this film via Kickstarter and if Macht was to produce another Star Wars documentary I'd happily support that as well.

Jedi Junkies

I'm sucker for these fan produced documentaries, generally they follow a similar format and try to make the same points ( but often not very well ), Jedi Junkies is another in a series of documentaries about Star Wars fans and how they aren't as socially inept as they are often made out to be.

I enjoyed it.