Captain Phillips
Greetings, Captain Phillips is a 2013 film based on the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, an American cargo ship, by Somali pirates in 2009. It stars Tom Hanks in the lead role of Richard Phillips, captain of the unarmed cargo ship, and serves as the cinematic debut of Barkhad Abdi who plays the pirate leader known as Abduwali Muse. It was based on Phillip’s book ‘A captain’s Duty’ about his experience as hostage and has been criticised by some crew members of the Alabama for depicting Phillips as more of a hero than he actually was during the event. Some of the crew blame Richard for travelling in waters known to be infested by Somali pirates and therefore placing them in danger unjustifiably.
The plot is simplistic due to the film being grounded in reality. In 2009 Captain Phillips is given orders to sail the MV Maersk Alabama through the Gulf of Aden to his destination of Mombasa in Kenya. Meanwhile in Somali, Muse, leader of the pirates, knows about the arrival of Alabama. He wishes to take the crew hostage and use them as a bargaining chip in exchange for millions of dollars. The captain travels through the dangerous waters, disregarding the recent warnings about Somali pirate activities in the area. During a security exercise Richard discovers that two skiffs are sailing towards the cargo ship, using binoculars Phillips is able to see that the two vehicles are transporting armed and hostile pirates.
Richard attempts to escape the pirates by outrunning them. His plan works for a short while but despite his best efforts one pirate ship manages to board the cargo ship via the use of a ladder while the other ship backs off. The four young pirates make their way to the bridge with little difficulty or resistance. When they managed to take control of the ship, Phillips becomes their hostage while other members of the crew managed to hide themselves during the assault. Under Muse’s leadership the other pirates are ordered to find the other crew members and take them hostage. Conflict arises when staff of the Alabama manage to fight back against the Somalis with their knowledge of the ship’s layout, guerrilla tactics and makeshift weapons.
The plot and characters are not particularly original which is understandable once you consider that the event was based on the experiences of actual people. Screen time is mostly dedicated to a few of the major individuals involved, the most prominent being Richard Phillips and Muse. The actors and actresses gave a good performance with the experienced Hanks and the new comer Abdi having given the most noteworthy acting. In terms of duration, I felt that the film was a little too long and outstretched but still an enjoyable movie to watch. In my opinion, it is worth while experience but not a film that is essential viewing.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the day
I never asked for this
Adam Jensen
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
BioShock Infinite
Greetings, BioShock Infinite is the third game in the series and serves as a prequel to the original story as it is set in 1912. Unlike the other two games there are no Big Daddies or Little Sisters and ADAM is replaced by vigors which introduce new abilities such as controlling bloodthirsty crows. Despite the absence of the iconic Big Daddies there are equivalents including the introduction of Handymen or crank gun wielding machines in the form of Washington, Lincoln or Comstock, the founder of Columbia. Infinite still has a BioShock feel to it despite the change of scenery as it continues to tell its story and lore through the use audio logs known as Voxophones.
The plot begins with Booker DeWitt, a war veteran of Wounded Knee and a Pinkerton agent, who has piled up a lot of debt. He takes on a contract to go to the floating city of Columbia and bring back a woman called Elizabeth in order to wipe away his debt. The city was founded by the Prophet, also known as Comstock, who is believed to be able to see into the future and therefore builds a personality cult to ensure the consolidation of his reign over his citizens. Booker is brought to a lighthouse and reaches Columbia via a rocket that was hidden inside the structure. Once he arrives safely to the city it becomes clear to DeWitt that the ruling population is driven by ideas of religious fanaticism, unhealthy worship of the founding fathers, Columbian exceptionalism, white supremacy and xenophobia.
Before he can break Elizabeth out of her tower DeWitt is branded as the False Shepherd as he has the letters A and D written on his hand. The False Shepherd is a figure to be feared as it was prophesised he would lead the lamb, Elizabeth, astray from her purpose. Booker has to fight his way to the tower against Columbian authorities as well as being wary of Elizabeth’s protector and prison warden, a giant metallic bird known as Songbird. It isn’t long before the Vox Populi, a revolutionary group of monitories lead by Daisy Fiztroy, use DeWitt’s presence to benefit their armed struggle. Fitzroy was falsely accused of killing Lady Comstock and has since been in hiding from the Prophet’s men.
In terms of game play, Elizabeth’s powers are quite useful when in combat as she can provide the player with ammunition, salts and health as well as opening Tears to access useful items, cover or allies in the form of lethal machines. Another interesting feature was the addition of the sky line which allows the player to travel around as well as being a platform to kill enemies down below. I liked how well known songs from within the past few decades were transformed into an older style to fit into Columbia’s setting. Not all songs in the game are relatively modern as classical music is still used, especially during the graveyard or areas dedicated to the late Lady Comstock. Overall it is a very enjoyable game with a strong story with an unexpected ending, a visually impressive setting and colourful characters with the likes of Elizabeth, Comstock, the Lutece twins and Booker himself. I haven’t played the Burial at Sea DLC yet, which links Infinite to the original BioShock, but do intend to do so soon.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Graphics=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the day
This Fontaine fellow is somebody to watch. Once, he was just a menace, to be convicted and hung. But he always manages to be where the evidence isn't. He's the most dangerous type of hoodlum... the kind with vision.
Andrew Ryan
BioShock
Dragon Age: The Calling
Greetings, Dragon Age: The Calling is a book written by David Gaider and is a sequel to his other novel, The Stolen Throne, as well as being a prequel to Dragon Age: Origins. It expands on a few characters from the video game such as Duncan who was a character that was used to introduce the world of Thedas in Origins to the player. Another is a darkspawn emissary by the name of the Architect who came from the Dragon Age expansion pack. The book delves deeper into his plan for ensuring peace between the darkspawn and the other species on the planet through destructive mean as well as revealing a little about his past but mostly keeping it shrouded in mystery.
It is set several years after the events of the first book with King Maric having returned to his throne and ruling Ferelden after he had reclaimed it from the Orlesian Empire through military force. A group of Grey Wardens, which includes the newly recruited Duncan, is led by an experienced veteran known as Genevieve ask Maric for his help to lead them through the Deep Roads. They want the king to direct them towards an abandoned Dwarven city called Ortan Thaigh which Maric had travelled to several years previously when he attempted to oust the Orsleians during his adventures in the first novel. It had been revealed to Genevieve in a dream that her brother Bregan, an important figure in the Grey Wardens, had been kidnapped by the darkspawn and was being held underground in the Deep Roads.
It is an unusual action by the creatures as they normally kill rather than take prisoners and is made even more unnerving as Bregan was one of the few in order who knew of the location of the Old Gods. The Old Gods are what the darkspawn strive to find and awaken so they can rise to the surface in a bloody event known as a Blight and physically corrupt the world with their presence. As such it is important that the Grey Wardens find Bregan and rescue him before he reveals the coordinates under interrogation. Maric agrees to aid them in their quest. Meanwhile, in the Deep Roads Bregan meets the Architect while imprisoned and is slowly convinced to help him in a risky as well as lethal plan to achieve peace between the darkspawn and the other creatures in Thedas.
While I mostly enjoyed the book I felt it was a little lacking in story which Gaider tried to fill with a few unnecessary battle scenes in order to kill off a few main characters. An additional villain was also created and reviled shortly towards the end of the book and could have expanded upon during the plot but he received little attention until the novel was almost over. There is also a romantic subplot near the end of the book that is almost identical to one in the first novel that involved one of the same characters and as such felt a little too familiar. Another issue I had with it was that several characters from across the Dragon Age media have a very similar personality such as Maric, a young version of Duncan and Alistar who is a main character from the original videogame. Despite this I still enjoyed the experience and look forward to his next novel Dragon Age: Asunder.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Wording=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the day
I CAN'T GO BACK TO JAIL!
Art
Monsters University
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Greetings, the Desolation of Smaug is the sequel to 2012 film An Unexpected Journey and is the second instalment in the Hobbit trilogy. Unlike my experience with first movie my expectations weren’t high in the hope that the Hobbit would be as good as, if not better, than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. With this change in attitude I felt the film was better than the original but still contained some aspects that prevented it from becoming a great movie. For instance, the majority of the 13 dwarves still lack any sort of character development or interesting characteristics that make them distinguishable from each other.
The plot begins with the dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf fleeing from Azog. They are still on the same mission in which the Hobbit has to find and steal the Arkenstone from the dragon called Smaug. It becomes clear early on that they are also being chased by a black bear, which Gandalf is able to identify as Beorn , a skin-changer that takes on the forms of animals. They escape to the safety of Beorn’s house and spend the night there after nearly getting caught by the black bear during the chase to his home. In the morning Gandalf leaves Bilbo and the dwarves, in order to have a subplot of his own about the necromancer, making the team travel to the Lonely Mountain by themselves. As they continue their quest by travelling through a dark forest the company is ambushed by giant spiders and it is up to Bilbo to help them escape.
The running time was a little too long for my tastes, but it wasn’t as noticeable as the first, as there were some unnecessary scenes and added characters that didn’t add much to the plot. While I didn’t think they were necessary it will be interesting to see what Jackson has planned for a younger Legolas and his companion Tauriel, a character made especially for the sequel, in the third film.
I liked the way Jackson linked the Hobbit to the Lord of the Rings by using future references, such as the short conversation between Gloin and Legolas about his son, Gimli. Even though I preferred this film, I am still under the impression that making the Hobbit into a prequel trilogy is stretching the story too thin. With the introduction of Smaug as well as the Bard and his back story, the plot is set up for the final film which could still prove to be more entertaining than its prequels.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the day
I believe in Sherlock Holmes.
Anderson
Sherlock
Happy New Year, 2013 review
Greetings, with this last blog update of 2013 I want to wish you a happy Ney Year. I intend to quickly cover a few categories of entertainment with my favourite television shows, books, games and films that I have experienced over the year. Those on the list are merely ones that were reviewed on the blog this year rather than being any media that was produced in 2013.
Television show of the year-Breaking Bad
One of the best television shows I have seen in a while with well developed, interesting characters that often blur the lines of morality and it has an intriguing plot to keep the audience entertained. Walter’s fall from grace and the rise of his alter ego and meth cook, Heisenberg, proves to be an exciting experience that was responsible for a lot of the show’s attraction. It managed to maintain its high quality throughout the five seasons and I am eager to see what will happen with Saul’s own prequel and spinoff.
Game of the year-Portal 2
The sequel to Valve’s Portal is humorous, intelligent and filled with colourful characters. While there were only a few actors and actresses in the game they still managed to bring enjoyable characters to life with well delivered as well as comedic lines. I particularly liked the twist in the plot which I believe worked very well by placing Chell against a rather clumsy, incompetent and rambling villain.
Book of the year-Game of Thrones
The first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series which creates a vast world to explore that is filled with underhanded, unscrupulous and downright mischievous characters that are compelling. There are many interesting characters that are conspiring against each other but in my opinion the most intriguing is Tyrion Lannister. Much happened in the first novel and concluded with the reader wanting to know more about the world, its lore and supernatural creatures as well as how is going to win in the power struggle.
Film of the year-ParaNorman
I haven’t seen or reviewed many movies this year but I decided to claim that ParaNorman as film of the year despite being released in 2012. It is an entertaining film about a young boy, called Norman, who can interact with ghosts and as such is ostracised by society as the small community of Blithe Hollow don’t believe him. It has an enjoyable storyline built around the dead rising from their graves and the return of a witch. The plot twist is also unexpected and nicely carried out by challenging the audience’s perceptions via going against certain tropes.
I would also like to point out that this is the 200th entry on my blog. I have enjoyed my time here in this small community and liked interacting with it through projects such as Warehouse 17 as well my continuing contribution to Write Wise. It will be interesting to look back on the blog’s progress when I have reached 300 entries. I hope you have enjoyed 2013 and look forward to what 2014 will bring.
Quote of the day
This next test applies the principles of momentum to movement through portals. If the laws of physics no longer apply in the future … God help you.
Announcer
Portal 2
Merry Christmas 2013!
Greetings, this is a small blog update wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. In the past Christmas Eve would have been dedicated to a special Christmas episode of the Adventures of Roman and Fletch. This is no longer the case as it was concluded in November last year. In its place, I created a Christmas version of Frontier Planet, which was set shortly after the original, and I hope you enjoyed it. I intend to keep writing Christmas themed entries for Write Wise’s December Challenge in the future. The entries could be a special version of an established series or a one off like Cogworld. The next update will be on New Year’s Eve consisting of a quick summary of the year and will be the 200th entry on this blog!
Quote of the day
In a hole in a ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole full of worms and oozy smells. This was a hobbit-hole and that means good food, a warm hearth, and all the comforts of home.
Bilbo Baggins
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
