The Sicilian
Greetings, the Sicilian is a novel by Mario Puzo which was published in 1984. It is considered a spinoff to Mario’s previous and most famous work, the Godfather, which was released in 1969. A few characters from the Godfather, most notably Michael Corleone, are present but otherwise it is a novel that focus on the exploits of real life bandit Salvatore Giuliano. For context, Giuliano was a Sicilian bandit who rose to power in Sicily during the Allied Invasion of Italy and the fall of Mussolini’s Fascist regime in the early 1940s. The novel was eventually adapted into a film a few years later in 1987 starring Christopher Lambert and Terrance Stamp. The movie omitted the Corleone family from the plot due to copyright issues and therefore it is not linked to the Godfather trilogy. The Sicilian film was not well received by critics and was panned by audiences for various faults.
The plot begins in 1950, during the final days of Michael Corleone’s self-imposed exile in Sicily after assassinating the gangster Virgil ‘The Turk’ Sollozzo and the corrupt cop McCluskey back in America. He is ordered by his father Don Vito Corleone to usher the infamous bandit Salvatore Guiliano out of Sicily and to provide safe passage for the outlaw to America. Salvatore, who had previously lived safely as a vagabond in the mountains with his private army of men, could no longer stay in Sicily after his crimes cause the authorities to bring down an overwhelming police presence on himself as well as having started a war with the existing criminal syndicates that now wished to kill him. Michael is also informed of the importance of Guiliano’s testament which is an insurance policy that the bandit will use in the worst case scenario. The testament is a collection of documents that reveal criminal activity and sinister ties that could bring about the downfall of many political elites in Italy if they came to light.
The storyline goes back further to the September of 1943 and focuses on Salvatore for the vast majority of its contents. The impoverished Guiliano as well as his cousin Gaspare “Aspanu” Pisciotta decided to steal food for his sister’s engagement party as it was scarce and was often sold on the black market rather than through legal channels. The two are caught by a police officer and this discovery leads to a gunfight in which the cop is killed. Salvatore was badly injured in the shootout and was brought by his cousin to a local monastery where he was healed by the monks that lived there. Aspanu was friendly with an abbot of the monastery and convinced the inhabitants to provide sanctuary for his cousin, allowing Guiliano to get back to his full strength. After Salvatore had recovered, he learned that the police were looking for him and Aspanu at their homes due to the murder. As such, the two tried to escape the authorities by living in the mountains and the complex caverns within. This is the first step in their path to criminality which will see the duo become legendary bandits akin to Robin Hood and heroes to the poor commoners of Sicily.
Overall, it was an interesting novel to read. It did seem to drag on at times but it definitely picked up towards the climactic end. It was also nice to read more of Michael Corleone’s exploits, filling in more of his past during his exile, even if he was more of a secondary character in the Sicilian. It should be noted Puzo altered the name of the fictionalized protagonist slightly from its real life inspiration by spelling it Guilianio instead of Giuliano. Mario Puzo had written several novels throughout his career, many of which are of the mobster genre. I intend to read the Last Don at some stage in the near future and as far as I am aware it is unrelated to either the Godfather or the Sicilian.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Wording=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!
George Taylor
Planet of the Apes
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Greetings, South Park: The Stick of Truth is a 2014 video game from the minds of the adult cartoon show’s creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It is a turn based role playing game in which fans of the show can explore the fictional town of South Park, accompanied by many of the main characters from the series as team mates, and interact with some secondary or tertiary characters during the campaign. Trey and Matt had a heavy hand in making the game by providing the voice talent for most of the characters and creating the unique, audacious humour that the series is well known and loved for. The player takes control of the New Kid as the protagonist, who also becomes known as Douchebag to his immature peers, and can select one of the archetypes to gain special abilities. Either the Fighter, the Thief, the Mage or the Jew can be chosen by the player as a type at the introduction. The player is also given the chance to customize the protagonists’ appearance. The OST was composed by Jamie Dunlap, who has been involved in many projects including films and television shows such as Lost and Friends.
The plot begins with the arrival of the New Kid into the small border town of South Park. The reason for the family’s relocation into their new home time is not explained initially but it is alluded to that a sinister motive caused their move. Urged by his parents to go outside and make new friends with the local residents the New Kid quickly runs into Butters. Butters, the well-mannered but frequently bullied kid, welcomes him to South Park and asks the protagonist to join the local children’s role playing fantasy game. The hero accepts and an elated Butters decides to bring him to the wizard and leader of Kupa Keep, Cartman. For those unaware of the series Cartman is an egotistical, anti-Semitic, obese child and one of the four leading characters of the show. Butters brings the New Kid to Kupa Keep which is in reality Cartman’s back garden. The keep acts as Cartman’s base in which he and other characters in his faction, including Kenny who decided to roleplay as a princess much to the bewilderment of the other boys, pretend to guard the Stick of Truth from their elven foes.
The stick which is imagined by the boys to grant the holder control over the universe, is fought over by the elvish led by Kyle and the wizard Cartman. Upon meeting Cartman, the wizard claims that an ancient prophesy foretold of the New Kid’s arrival and the great power he would yield. Once the New Kid was initiated into the Kupa faction he was given the name of Douchebag. It isn’t long before Kupa Keep is raided by the elves and the Stick is stolen by the elvish invaders. For failing to keep the Stick safe, the wizard singles out and banishes fellow Kuppa Keep member Clyde from their gang. Clyde becomes irritated at the ruling, mostly blaming the New Kid for ruining the fun, but decided to leave regardless. Cartman tasks Douchebag, with aid of the paladin Butters, to hunt down those who took the Stick of Truth and to return it to him.
I really enjoyed this game but I believe that potential players would enjoy the Stick of Truth more so if they were familiar with the material and setting of the show. This would ensure in-jokes or references would be better understood. For instance, the game uses songs that are contained in the 1999 musical film South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut or throws backs obscure references to older episodes. Many of the main characters such as Stan or Jimmy become sidekicks to the New Kid, aiding the player with their own special abilities or moves during combat. While I did think the game was too short and that some of the side missions handed out by residents of South Park were very easy to miss, I still enjoyed every minute I played of it. A sequel entitled the Fractured But Hole is to be released later this year. The fantasy element is not the theme for this instalment because the boys are donning their crime fighting costumes as they pretend to be superheroes.
Plot=8/10
Characters=9/10
Graphics=8/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States. Even before I first wandered into the cabstand for an after-school job, I knew I wanted to be a part of them. It was there that I knew that I belonged. To me, it meant being somebody in a neighbourhood that was full of nobodies. They weren't like anybody else. I mean, they did whatever they wanted. They double-parked in front of a hydrant and nobody ever gave them a ticket. In the summer when they played cards all night, nobody ever called the cops.
Henry Hill
Goodfellas
The Lost World
Greetings, The Lost World is a book by the late Michael Crichton which was originally published in 1995 and serves as a sequel to the Jurassic Park novel which was released in the year 1990. Due to the phenomenal success of the original Jurassic Park film in 1993, Crichton was inspired to write the Lost World. This is the only sequel he had ever written in his lifetime. The novel laid the foundations for the 1997 film of the same name although there are some clear differences between the two. For instance, two characters from the book by the name of Arby Benton and Kelly Curtis are seemingly combined into one individual for the film version. Some key characters are dropped altogether in the movie or are given drastically different relationships to others such as Kelly Curtis being Ian Malcolm’s daughter, which is not in the source material. Additionally, several scenes from the 1997 film such as the T-rex’s rampage in San Diego do not occur in the novel.
The plot begins six years after the events of the original with most of the surviving main cast absent from this storyline and are only mentioned in passing. The protagonist of Lost World, Ian Malcolm, is revived by Crichton without explanation after the character’s apparent death at the end of Jurassic Park. Malcolm is challenged by palaeontologist Richard Levine to help him in his search for the Lost World, a land where dinosaurs still roam the planet, after rumours arise that mysterious corpses have been found on the shores of Costa Rica. Malcolm is initially reluctant to go after his last encounter in Jurassic Park but is spurred into action when he learns that Levine, eager to see the corpses before they are destroyed by a secretive Costa Rican government, had left without him. It is soon revealed that Levine had disappeared and had dropped out of contact when investigating the corpses.
Malcolm decides to search for Richard by teaming up with others who had worked with Levine on a secretive task. These are engineer and retired university professor, Jack Thorne, and his assistant, Eddie Carr. They two had been working on a project for Levine, constructing two RVs as mobile laboratories for use on the ground. It is soon revealed that Richard had discovered an abandoned InGen complex on the Isla Sorna, where the dinosaur corpses had drifted onto the Costa Rican beaches. Ian had discovered the location with the aid of schoolkids and pupils of Levine’s, R.B “Arby” Benton and Kelly Curtis, after searching through Richard’s notes. Malcolm, Thorne and Carr head to the island in the RVs unaware that the two kids, wishing to go on what they believe to be a field trip, tucked themselves away on board. Dr Sarah Harding, an animal behaviourist and former lover of Ian’s, also decides to head from Africa to the island after receiving an invitation from Richard. Additionally, three individuals linked with Biosyn, the rival company of InGen, spied upon Levine and head to Isla Sorna as well with the hopes of trying to steal some dinosaur eggs.
While I enjoyed the novel, I found that it was difficult to get into at first and that I had to read half of the book before it became more interesting. I recall this being quite similar to my experiences when I read the first novel a few years ago and it may just have been Crichton’s writing style to have a slow build up. Crichton had written many novels before his death in 2008 and some were released posthumously which I will most likely read at some stage in the near future. Several of his novels were adapted into film, such as the Andromeda Strain or the First Great Train Robbery and of course the Jurassic Park films.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Wording=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
Has anybody seen my bat suit?
Mayor Adam West
Family Guy
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Greetings, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is the sequel to the 2014 film and serves as the 15th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which originally started in 2008 with Iron Man. Along with the established cast of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, there are some new additions including, Kurt Russel, Pom Klementeiff as well as a brief appearance by Sylvester Stallone. James Gunn and Tyler Bates return to the previous roles as director and composer respectively. Like the original, the soundtrack has many hits from previous decades including work from artists such as ELO, George Harrison and Silver. In my opinion the songs suit their respective scenes but are not as memorable as the soundtrack in the first one.
The story begins several months after the conclusion of the first film. The Guardians, including a now infantilized Groot, are employed by an alien race known as the Sovereigns to protect a very expensive energy source from a creature that seeks to devour the power. After completing their mission they are rewarded by the Sovereign leader, named Ayesha, with a gift. She presents the Guardians of the Galaxy with a captive Nebula, antagonist from the original, sister of Gamora and daughter of Thanos, bound in chains. As the Guardians attempt to leave the planet, with a reluctant Nebula in tow, it becomes apparent that Rocket had opportunistically stolen some of the batteries during the battle with the interdimensional creature. The slighted Sovereigns decided to take revenge by sending a fleet after the Guardians with lethal intent. Star Lord, initially unaware of Rocket’s pilfering, is chased across the galaxy by the Sovereigns and attempts evasive action to escape the numerous hostile force. They are eventually saved by a mysterious figure who destroys the enemy vessels but the Guardian’s ship has taken too much damage and hurtles towards a forested planet.
The ship crash lands but everyone on board escaped unharmed, including Nebula. The mysterious figure rom earlier had followed the Guardians and landed on the planet shortly after them. He, calling himself Ego, and his friend Mantis introduce themselves to the Guardians in which Ego informs Star Lord that he is his long absent father. Ego offers Peter Quill/Star Lord a chance to see the planet on which he lives to which Star Lord agrees, intrigued to understand his much missed father. Gamora and Drax are invited along too, leaving Rocket to fix the ship while accompanied by Groot and Nebula. The group were unware that the Sovereigns had employed the services of Yondu, a Ravager with a complicated relationship with Star Lord. As such, Rocket was left to defend the ship effectively by himself and results in his capture after a spirited effort to fight off Yondu’s men. Star Lord, Gamora and Drax explore the idyllic planet that Ego had made home but slowly realize that it is not as blissful as they had once thought.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film and consider it to be nearly the equal of its predecessor in terms of intriguing characters, well executed action and humorous elements. The infantilized Groot was a particular highlight of Vol 2 for me and was responsible for some of the films more comedic moments. The Guardians of the Galaxy is intended to progress into a trilogy and the characters will make appearances in other Marvel films. I am very interested in seeing what is planned for the next Guardians of the Galaxy adventure and particularly how the character of Mantis will fit into these new instalments.
Plot=8/10
Characters=9/10
Special Effects=9/10
Overall=9/10
Cheese Gromit!
Wallace
Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Time Gentlemen Please!
Time Gentlemen Please! is a point and click adventure game by Zombie Cow Studios, which was launched in 2009. It is a sequel to Ben there, Dan that! which was released a year earlier in 2008. Zombie Cow Studios, now Size Five Games as of 2011, has published few games since these two titles but it had released Gun Monkeys in 2013. Gun Monkeys, a one on one online platform shooter, features the voice talent of English comedian Kevin Eldon. Time Gentlemen Please!, like the previous instalment, is highly influenced by old point and click adventures such as Sam and Max, Tales of Monkey Island or Grim Fandango.
The plot picks up from the conclusion of Ben there, Dan that! in which the two protagonists have inherited leadership of an indoctrinated world population after defeating their future selves. Ben and Dan convince the world to watch Magnum P.I. which results in the human race going extinct as they were not instructed to eat, drink or sleep. Once the heroes realize their error they decide to travel back in time and prevent the coat hanger from ever being invented. Their rationale for doing so is due to their future selves using the coat hanger to abduct Ben and Dan into the world they had just destroyed. After using the time travelling device to transport themselves into the past and attempting to solve their problems, they realize they have made matters worse rather than fixing their mistake.
In this new timeline Hitler has won the war, taken over the world and commands an army of Nazi dinosaurs that do his every bidding. Ben and Dan, upon encountering Hitler, are thrown into Big Ben as prisoners of the Nazi regime. Time paradoxes begin to emerge and the time stream becomes increasingly unstable as the game progresses. Eventually Dan and Ben manage to flee their holding cell but their method of escaping by manipulating the time line causes more rips in the fabric of time and space. Once free from their imprisonment they aide the resistance in their attempts to overthrow Hitler. During their adventuring the duo also seek out PAL, a robot with some knowledge on time travel, in order to fix the mess they had made.
Overall, this was a fun and very bizarre game that was well received by critics. The humour and off the wall, complex puzzles were a highlight of the game for me but it wouldn’t appeal to every gamer. The puzzles could be quite infuriating at times but provided a sense of satisfaction once you had solved a difficult one that you had been stumped on for a while. While I doubt there are any more instalments planned for this series, I would be eager to see to see what Dan Marshall and Ben Ward could design now almost ten years later.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Graphics=6/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
Now put your clothes back on, and I'll buy you an ice cream.
James Bond
For Your Eyes Only
Red Dead Revolver
Greetings, Red Dead Revolver is a video game by Rockstar San Diego and was released over a decade ago, back in 2004. It was the first game in the Red Dead series, having been followed by the well-loved Red Dead Redemption in 2006 and Red Dead Redemption 2 which is scheduled to be released later this year. Despite being in the same series, Revolver appears to have limited links to Redemption but the next instalment could bridge the gap between Red and John Marston’s adventures. The game’s score uses various tracks from several composers after their deaths such as Mario Migliardi, Bruno Nicolai and Francesco De Masi. While there are several main characters, most of the actors and actresses voicing them are not well known. The main character, Red Harlow, is portrayed by Robert T. Bogue.
The story starts in 1880s America when Nate Harrow returns home after finding gold in Bear Mountain and making him an exceedingly wealthy man. His reunion with his Native American wife called Falling Star and his young son named Red is cut unexpectedly short. Raiders begin to attack the Harlow family in which both Nate and Falling Star are killed by the raider’s leader, Colonel Darren. Having watched his parent’s die and filled with a strong will to survive, Red pulls his father’s pistol from a fire it had landed in during the combat. Through the pain he fires it at Colonel Darren as the flames irreparably damage Red’s hand. The impact tears Darren’s arm clean off and provides Red with a chance to escape from his assailants.
Many years later an adult Red has become a bounty hunter and still seeks revenge for the deaths of his parents. His dangerous escapades bring him to the small town of Brimstone in which he works for the local sheriff hunting quarry and pursuing outlaws. During his travels, he comes into contact with other main characters such as British sharpshooter Jack Swift and Annie Stoakes, a successful cattle rancher. As Red progresses throughout the story, he starts to uncover the conspiracy behind the massacre of his mother and father as well as coming closer to identifying his parent’s murderers.
Overall, this was a very fun game to play despite some bugs and glitches that made it quite difficult to progress at times. Revolver is much more cartoonish than it’s more serious and realistic sequel. For instance, one of the primary antagonists has a canon in lieu of an arm and one minor villain, a carnival ringmaster, gains the ability to teleport by drinking a magical potion. While many characters, including main ones, don’t really get a fleshed out personality or unique backstory I found the game to be quite charming in its simplicity. My review of Redemption back in September 2016 was full of praise for the game and Red Dead Revolver has only further added to my positive experience with the series. I look forward to seeing what else Rockstar can do with this intellectual property, especially regarding their plans with Red Dead Redemption 2 and how that might link all the games together.
Plot=7/10
Characters=8/10
Graphics=6/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
I just know that there are two theories when arguing with women. And neither one works.
John Marston
Red Dead Redemption
