The Muppets

Greetings, the Muppets film is the latest movie that originated from a long history and colourful of the television series which has expanded into several types of entertainment such as videogames since its birth. I used to watch the Muppets during my childhood and this is probably why the film works so well, it is a brilliant piece of nostalgia in my opinion. I believe the Muppets needed it after the straight to DVD and TV movies released which I have avoided due to the fact they didn’t make it to the cinema. They would have been of questionable quality, however this film brings it back to its rightful place.

The plot is relatively simple, the Muppets have been off the air for years and have all drifted apart. A new Muppet by the name of Walter who grew up with the television series and become obsessed with it eventually gets to go to see the old theatre when his brother Gary plans to take a visit to Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Mary. When visiting the dilapidated site, Walter over hears a conversation in which oil Baron Tex Richman reveals his plans to demolish the buildings as there is oil underneath. Walter, Gary and Mary track down Kermit the Frog to tell him of the news, convincing him to round up the old cast. They are to put on one last show to raise enough money to repurchase the site and save it from destruction.

The film also has musical numbers which was written by Flight of the Concords star Bret McKenzie. This could possibly be the beginning of the return of the Muppets or if not at least they came back to create the best of their films in my belief. It is a whimsical comedy packed with celebrities and radiates a feeling of warmth that modern cinema often lacks. This is without doubt one of the greatest films I have seen and so it earns the  title of  Super Duper fantastic 100% the best award. The fifteenth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=10/10

Characters=10/10

Special effects=10/10

Overall=10/10

Cracking cheese, Gromit!

Wallace

Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers

Jurassic Park

Greetings, Jurassic Park is a well known novel that was written by Michael Crichton and a film trilogy that developed from it. The series has expanded into other media such as video games as well, but the book and the first movie differ a little in certain areas. An example is the cast of characters, in the movie a few individuals are left out of the plot or had their roles shortened, another noticeable factor is the fate of some of the people is different between the two. While the movie may not be completely true to the original storyline, it is still by far one of my favourite films of all time.

The plot is brilliantly thought out and explained which adds a vibe of realism to the experience, hence making it more enjoyable to read. In Costa Rica several reports of children’s injuries are recorded in local hospitals, the animal causing the new set of attacks has been unidentified.

Palaeontologists Dr Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler were invited to an island close to Costa Rica, in order to inspect the new park. Along with them is a mathematician named Malcolm, Nedry, the man responsible for setting up the software and a lawyer called Gennaro. Once on the island, it is revealed that it is a park created for genetically engineered dinosaurs. The game warden, Muldoon claims that the weapons he has been given are not effective enough to use in a real emergency if the security systems should ever fail.

The characters are nicely written and interact well with each other. Especially the relationship between Jurassic Park’s deluded creator John Hammond and Malcolm who attempted to prevent the park from being constructed. It is a good book that will take a while to get into but it is worth the slow build up and I would encourage you to read it. The fourteenth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=8/10

Characters=9/10

Wording=9/10

Overall=9/10

Quote of the day

E.T. phone home

E.T.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

Greetings, Star Wars the Force Unleashed 2 follows on from its predecessor and the individual believed to be a clone of the leading character in the original, Starkiller. The clone of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice begins to recall memories of his dark past and the betrayal of the Empire near the beginning of the game. Starkiller then escapes the facility known as Kamino which was responsible for developing him and creating other imperfect versions of him. He attempts to seek help from those that he had allied with in his previous adventure and escape the Sith Lord Vader.

This, like the original is a very short game, with little added in terms of expanding to the Star Wars lore. Also I would have liked to have seen the classic characters from the series such as Yoda and Boba Fett to have a larger role in it. Another feature which could be improved is the endings, the player can choose between the good and evil paths but this game seemed to have ignored the sith conclusion of the last one. This means that the story fails to have a smooth connection to between both of them.

There are some positives to it though, the enemy AI have become more diverse and the methods in which the player decides to kill them by ranges vastly. The game play has been developed as there are a few more force powers available, for instance mind control which was not in the Force Unleashed. The soundtrack gives it some of the atmosphere that was present in the film, sometimes even incorporating notes into it and is in synch with the levels or cut scenes. Overall it is a decent, enjoyable game that will keep the player entertained for its duration. The thirteenth chapter of  Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=8/10

Graphics=8/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

You hear that, Sev? Someone thinks I'm excellent.

Scorch

Star Wars: Republic Commando

War Horse

Greetings, War Horse is a 2011 film directed by Steven Speilberg and based on a novel of the same name. It is set before, during and slightly after the First World War from mainly a British perspective. The plot revolves around a horse called Joey, who was picked by the son of a poor farmer who goes by the name Albert Narracott to plough their fields. During Joey’s training they two become emotionally attached to each other, then war is declared between the British Empire, it’s allies and the German forces. As this happens Albert and Joey are separated as Narracott is too young but the horse is required for service in battle. The young has to wait a few years to join the war and hopes to be reunited with Joey.

As the story moves on, other characters encounter Joey and their background is told. While this helps set the view from a lot of factions in the war such as the British soldiers and both sides of the conflict, I felt that not enough time was focused on some of the latter individuals. Hence they were not properly developed in my opinion. A factor I believe that the film excelled in was the huge battle field scenes, especially the fight across no man’s land.

Overall, I quite liked this film and felt connected to most of the characters. I would encourage people to watch it if they wanted to see a movie with a simple plot, decent acting but enjoyable despite the lack of storyline. The twelfth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Special effects=8/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them.

Darth Vader

Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi

Mass Effect: Revelation

Greetings, Mass Effect: Revelation is a novel written by the lead writer Drew Karpyshyn of BioWare’s gaming series Mass Effect. It takes place before the first game focusing on several characters, some of whom were in the series such as Anderson or Saren and others who were introduced in this book, for example Kahlee Sanders. Even if the reader hasn’t played the game, the plot and lore surrounding it isn’t that difficult to understand, nor will it prevent them from enjoying the novel.

The plot begins with the destruction of a human military base by a group of mercenaries called the Blue suns. The facility was working on a secret project which was headed by a scientist by the name Dr Qian, who seemed to lose his sanity as the experiments went further along. All the employees of the facility were killed during the massacre or so it was believed. The Alliance, the human military, send in Lieutenant David Anderson to uncover who was behind the attack. It doesn’t take him long to discover that one of the personnel, Kahlee Sanders was absent without leave and he attempts to track her down.

The storyline is made more complex as the humans are new to the galactic government which is ruled by alien species, one of which, the turians wish to see the human race removed from the council. This is because of their first contact in which the turians and humans fought each other in a short war before other council races could intervene. It resulted in the deaths of many on both sides of the conflict, hence there are hostilities towards each species. A ruthless and efficient turian, with strong hatred towards the humans, called Saren becomes involved in the case and forms an alliance with Anderson for the sake of convenience.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, the words flow on from each other making it an entertaining novel. I believe that it is also interesting to get a deeper insight into the storyline and explore the backgrounds of characters from the videogames. The eleventh chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=8/10

Characters=9/10

Wording=9/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

Don't dance! You know what happens when you dance.

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Blacksite: Area 51

Greetings, Blacksite: Area 51 is the 2007 sequel to the 2005 video game Area 51. I really enjoyed the original, which I had played several years ago and picked up Blacksite in an effort to regain some of the old magic that the first one had. Unfortunately very little of it was recaptured and it was mainly towards the end that I felt the game was related to its successor. It is not however, a bad game at any measure, rather a solid attempt with a variety of environments to keep the player entertained.

The plot isn’t very complicated and revolves around five main characters. It begins in Iraq where the leading individual, a soldier known as Pierce as well as his two team mates, Logan Sommers and Grayson are searching a hidden bunker for Weapons of Mass Destruction. While on the mission they encounter two other members, Ambrose and Dr Noah who assist them in their search. Once inside they encounter what appear to be mutations of men, after killing them and believing that they are experiments, they move deeper into the facility.

At one point, Peirce, Summers and Noah find an extraterrestrial crystal. Logan touches the crystal that knocks his leader unconscious. Peirce is dragged out of the room by the doctor as Summers fights off several aliens, the door shuts leaving the soldier to his fate. Three years later, the team a reunited, with the exception of Logan, to fight of a militia calling themselves the Reborn. It becomes apparent that the two events where linked.

There are only six weapons in the game, two of which are based on alien technology. The team members when not really adding much to the plot are nice to have around, except when they get injured. This causes the morale monitor to goes down, which makes them less effective fighters. When the metre is higher due to good performance the squad will fight to a higher quality. So overall it is a decent game, don’t expect too much from it but it is a worth a go if you want a short first person shooter to pass the time. The tenth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=8/10

Graphics=7/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

Of course I have. Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring, no one listens to you.

Cargill

The Simpsons movie