The Last Of Us: Left Behind

Summary

Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, now looking after a seemingly dying Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, remembers a time when she lost someone else who was close to her.

I think this was the best episode yet for letting us understand the character of Ellie. She goes through so much in this episode and Ramsey really takes us on a journey through the character, we see the highest highs and then the crushing lows and as we are so invested we feel these emotions along with the character.

I thought the central romance was quite good, not as good as Bill and Frank from a few episodes ago, however. I think Ramsey does a lot of the heavy lifting in this department, which I suppose is because until fairly near the end Riley, played by Storm Reid, isn’t aware of Ellie’s feelings but still. In my opinion, Ramsey’s performance across the whole episode is quite a bit stronger than Reid’s who really doesn’t do a good job of emoting.

Personally, I would have liked a bit more time with Ellie and Joel so that we can understand how long has passed and more about their situation but I guess that is being saved for next week’s episode with the cannibals.

Overall, another good episode but not one of the show’s best, mainly due to a weak performance from Reid and a lack of Joel and Ellie development. This weeks episode does very much feel like DLC.

4/5

Pros.

Ramsey really has a chance to show off here

The romance

The emotions

Really doing a lot with character growth

Cons.

Reid

Not enough Joel and Ellie time

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The Mummy Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor: In Need Of Rachel Weisz

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The O’Connells, played by Brendan Fraser and now for some reason Maria Bello, take on a new undead foe in the form of the Dragon Emperor, played by Jet Li.

A lot of people hate on this film and for the most part I can totally see why, replacing Weisz with Bello is noticeable mostly because Weisz was as big a part of the series as Fraser so her absence feels odd, not to mention the fact that Fraser and Bello have no chemistry at all. I also don’t like that they make Fraser’s Rick some what of a deadbeat dad and give him a backseat in what should be his own film.

However, that said I do think this film has some redeemable parts to it. For me this mainly comes in seeing new undead threats and moving away from Ancient Egypt, I think this is a great idea as it really helps the film feel different, fresh and expands the world of the film to a great effect. Moreover, both Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh are fantastic in their new roles and really do bring a lot to the film. I think Li in particularly easily fills the shoes of Vosloo from the previous two films and is a commanding presence on screen.

I also really, really like that this film features Yetis, but that is just because I find that cryptid creature fascinating.

Overall, certainly the weakest film in the trilogy but not without redeemable moments.

2.5/5

Pros.

Moving away from Egypt

It feels fresh

The Yetis

Cons.

Weisz not returning

Making Jack a bit player in his own film and pushing the son

The pacing issues are quite noticeable

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Record Of Ragnarok: Season One Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Gods face off against humanity in one last series of showdowns that will determine the fate of all life as we know it.

Netflix recommended this anime to me one evening and I thought why not, so I gave the first episode a try and honestly I have to say from there on I was hooked.

I think the thing that really intrigues me about this show is the relationship between the Gods and humanity. I think it is interestingly explored over a series of flashbacks across the season which are spliced into the fights, these can at times feel as though they are dragging on especially in some of the more tense fights but at the same time are crucial to establishing the wider world.

I also enjoy the fact that it is a good mix of Gods and different human figures from myths and legends and what not. It is not just the Greek Gods or the Norse but others as well. I thought the fight between Adam, from the Bible, and Zeus was probably the most fascinating of the whole series because of how they played with that relationship between God and man.

The fights themselves are often very entertaining and have a nice amount of gore, I found myself on the edge of my seat more than once as I cheered on the human fighter even though he seemed to face certain death.

Finally, I would say this would make a very good beginners anime for anyone looking to get into the genre, personally I already have quite a lot of experience with anime, with Black Lagoon being my favourite, but for others this is quite a good gateway in.

Overall, another strong original Netflix anime series. Not quite the levels of Way Of The Househusband but few things are.

4/5

Pros.

The fights

The relationship between the Gods and Humanity

The backstory and world

The mixture of tones

Cons.

Some of the flashback sequences can feel a little filler at times

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The Mummy Returns: Some How They Managed To Make The Effects Even Worse

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The O’Connells, played by Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, do battle with Imhotep, played by Arnold Vosloo, all over again this time bringing their kid, played by Freddie Boath, along as well.

I think in many ways this film really tries to recapture the magic of the first film and in some ways really succeeds in that quest whilst at the same time drastically failing in other areas. I think on the whole this is a diminished sequel that fails to live up to the first film.

My two main issues with this film are that the iffy CGI and VFX work of the first film is turned up to one hundred here and becomes laughably bad. This really hurts the film as it stops it being scary anymore. In addition the child actor playing the O’Connells kid is really quite terrible and his distractingly bad performance also drags you out of the film. Child actors are rarely good in any film but this one is particularly annoying throughout and this is only made worse by how much the film likes to focus on him.

The two things I will give this film credit for however are, one that they raise the stakes from the first film and really start to flesh out the world as a whole and two that they bring back Ardeth, played by Oded Fehr, from the first film and give him a lot more to do which is nice considering he is one of the most interesting characters in the entire series. I would argue quite passionately that it should have been Ardeth that got the spin-off film and not Dwayne Johnson’s Scorpion King but hey.

Overall, a lesser sequel but one that still gets some stuff right.

3/5

Pros.

The wider scope

Brining back Ardeth and giving the character more to do

Still some good moments and scares

Cons.

The CGI work is awful

The kid is incredibly annoying and the film focuses on him way too much

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The Last Of Us: Kin

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, and Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, finally reach Tommy, played by Gabriel Luna.

I enjoyed this episode in many ways because it focused on character relationships be that between Joel and his brother or between Ellie and Joel. I thought the conversation Ellie and Joel had about the other filling a role in their lives that is empty was quite powerful and needed, I think it adds a layer to their relationship now going forward.

Having played the game I knew where this episode was heading with regards to Joel’s brush with death. I thought the choreography of the action and the wider scene in which Joel was stabbed was well done, it felt frantic and rushed pacing wise, which although it doesn’t sound good in this case is as it lends it a certain visceral feel. It will be interesting to see how long the show will have Joel on ice, will it only be one episode or more?

My one complaint would be that if anything this episode feels as though it brushed past a lot of the background of what Tommy has been up to and his new community, yes we see some of a day in their lives, but that still leaves a lot of questions unanswered which really isn’t good if the story isn’t going to double back to them at some point. I suppose when they get around to the events of the second game we would get more Tommy and maybe some of the questions would be answered there but that seems a long way off at this point.

Overall, another good episode though one that leaves quite a few questions unanswered.

4/5

Pros.

Joel and Ellie’s relationship growth

Finally seeing Tommy again

The action scene that sees Joel injured

The emotions

Cons.

At times the pacing feels a little rushed

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A Comic Readers Guide To The MCU: Where Are The Inhumans?

Written by Luke Barnes

Hi folks, in this new series of articles I am trying to merge two of my main passions into one easy to read piece, a true labor of love. I am currently in my mid-twenties and have been reading Marvel comics since I was young, I have read others besides but I know Marvel well and so decided to make a series of posts wherein I talk about concepts, ideas, and possibly upcoming stuff from or to the MCU and try and give you a bit of a comics background and explain my own thoughts on where these things are going. I hope you enjoy.

Where are the Inhumans?

Within the pages of Marvel comics the Inhumans are second only to Mutants in terms of importance, remember that as it will come back around later. The Inhumans and the Royal Family in particular have featured in a number of different stories and runs over the years, some incredibly important to the comics that are inspiring where the MCU is heading, so the question I want to explore today is where are they in the MCU? Are they coming or have they been replaced?

As it stands a number of elements which would seemingly herald the arrival of the Inhumans are set up in the MCU, namely the Kree, and Black Bolt, played by Anson Mount, did appear in last year’s Doctor Strange film as a member of the Illuminati before getting offed. However, Kamala Khan, played by Iman Vellani, a key Inhuman figure in the comics was made a mutant for her show so this then begs the question are the Inhumans being replaced by mutants within the MCU? This wouldn’t be outside of the realms of possibilities as one of the main reasons the Inhumans have been pushed so much in the comics over the last decade was as a replacement to the X-Men due to Marvel not wanting to push properties they didn’t own, bar Spider-Man, too much in the comics department, allegedly. I also think the creatives at Marvel are still keenly aware of how much of a disaster the Inhumans show was for them and are wanting to distance themselves from it, but with the return of Mount’s Black Bolt this suggests that maybe the door is open to the Inhumans in the future. I think it would be very foolish to not have the Inhumans show up somewhere down the line, be that for the eventual main timeline Illuminati or for Secret Wars. If I am being real with you I think the Inhumans could be said to be existing in the world of the MCU currently but just that we don’t find out about them till later. So to sum up the question I think they will come eventually but that for now mutants are the MCU’s main focus.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this third edition of the Comic Readers Guide To The MCU if you have any suggestions for future topics then please get in touch.

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The Mummy: Peak Brendan Fraser

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A librarian, played by Rachel Weisz, and her brother, played by John Hannah, travel to Egypt to chase a legend and along the way they meet adventurer Rick O’Connell, played by Brendan Fraser.

I thought after all the recent buzz he has been getting from his performance in The Whale it would be interesting to go back to Brendan Fraser’s arguably biggest film and see if it still holds up. The result, for the most part I would say that yes this film does indeed hold up though in a few areas it wasn’t the classic I remembered it to be. I think this is mainly in the CGI, which is a mixed bag at best, but that is let down by some pretty bad early noughties effects work. This is why practical effects are just so much better because they last the test of time, whereas CGI quickly looks bad, rant over.

That said I still think that this is one of the best universal monster films, outside of the originals. I think what works so well about this film is just how escapist it is, the adventure this film presents is fun to go on be it just the once in the cinema or over and over again. Another feather in this film’s cap is that it works as both a family fantasy movie and a darker horror film for an older age group, both aspects feel represented without forcing the other out and into the cold, this is quite a feat in and off itself.

Finally, I really do think that the most powerful strength of this film is its cast, everyone is firing on all cylinders. Hannah, Weisz and Fraser make for a great trio of heroes, each bringing something different to the table and each giving you a reason to care about them, whilst also having a really strong villain in Arnold Vosloo’s Imhotep.

Overall, a classic in most regards even if the horribly dated effects do drag it down a little.

4/5

Pros.

Fraser, Weisz, Vosloo and Hannah

It is a fun adventure film

It also works as a horror film and has a number of good scares

It is paced well and feels engaging

Cons.

The effects don’t hold up.

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