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  • Spider-Man: Brand New Day Thoughts

    A ‘Soft’ Reset for our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man

    It has been five years since we have since Spider-Man as a solo film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lot has happened since then and with Marvel trying to figure out its current phase post Endgame. Spider-Man: Brand New Day offers a brief reprieve from high stakes world ending scenarios to something more grounded and thoughtful. I enjoyed my time with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and it seems I am not the only one with the film hitting $1B worldwide in the box office.

    Although, I may have had some issues, the latest outing of our favourite web crawler is both intimate and endearing. Spider-Man has not lost its worldwide appeal and I would consider it to be Marvel’s crown jewel in delivering a relatable character trying to do good in the world.

    What I enjoyed from the film is that it focuses on Peter Parker who has isolated himself from the world fully investing himself into being Spider-Man and how that has taken a toll on him being rather sad and mopey. Director Destin Daniel Cretton made a film that stands out visually, not looking flat but that there’s clear intention when it comes to making the film colourful with actual lighting involved.

    It seems like a breath of fresh air, not simply tied down solely to green screen and CGI with Tom Holland having an actual suit with clear practical effects displayed. It all adds up to a solid film that tries to strip away all the fanciness of being a superhero and I appreciate the moments of dialogue that help deliver much more strong characterisation. For example, Jon Bernthal as The Punisher (Frank Castle) contrasts so well to Tom Holland whom they bounce off each other. You see what things could be like if Peter decided to become as extreme as The Punisher who suffers in silence.

    There are some really good character moments but as an overall package I just did not completely feel moved. The film has moments that come and go, and you just wish there was more to the film in terms of character exploration that culminate towards more of an epic climax. However, that does not detract the slickness and inventiveness of the fight scenes, although I wish we had some more.

    To conclude, Spider-Man: Brand New Day offers a solid fun and enjoyable movie with some real heart, which is what you want from one of the most beloved characters in all of fiction.

  • A Tribute to ‘Geeks Vs Loneliness’

    Thanks for helping me in more ways than many…

    Now if you don’t know Den Of Geek is an online news media platform that covers entertainment and pop-culture. The writers from Den of Geek had a long running series called ‘Geeks Vs Loneliness’ where they talk about issues and topics that links to mental health and well-being, where the writers offer up some personal stories and anecdotes. The articles were trying to offer some sort of help and it certainly helped me.

    Now to start things off, I am not in any way affiliated or sponsored by Den of Geek. This piece was made to show appreciation to the good people of Den of Geek as these articles were a great sort of help for my anxiety ridden teenage self.

    These articles felt genuine and came from a good place. The tears and at points relief that some random stranger could articulate into words was very powerful. I felt seen and heard and it just felt like I could sit down and just take a long breath and wind down.

    The articles had levity and heart, not being entirely dismissive on what we feel. But instead I learnt to process all the sorts of emotions we feel. It became a cathartic place where I could take a brief stop and then carry on the day with some renewed sense of hope.

    It taught me the important lesson in talking. As in just talk to people part of your life and that you are not alone.

    For how turbulent the world can feel. These articles provided that glimmer of hope and I would always be thankful for that.

    So to end this piece, I would say that whatever struggles or battles you are dealing with.

    You will be okay.

    Take care of yourselves and be excellent to each other.

  • The Odyssey Review

    Nolan’s take on an Epic Greek Fantasy, but is it a worthwhile journey?

    Christopher Nolan is back again and this time taking on the very challenging material of adapting Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Now I am not too familiar with the source material and knowing only bits and pieces of Greek Mythology and some plot points in regards to the original story of The Odyssey from YouTube videos, I had watched a couple of months back before the release of this film.

    It just became a really interesting question to me: how shall Nolan tackle this Epic Greek Fantasy? And to answer that question, I would have to give a long answer. But the short answer is that The Odyssey for me is a technical marvel showcasing why Nolan is such a staunch advocator of filming on IMAX. He is really pushing for a cinematic experience worthy of not only seeing the film in 70MM IMAX (which I was fortunate to do), but really making a film worthy of watching within theatres.

    The Odyssey is filled with a strong cast being very impressed by the lead in Matt Damon playing Odysseus, you see the pain and anguish of his character and Damon delivers a powerful performance of what the cost of war entails (the battle of Troy) and dealing with the consequences of his own actions. Another notable member of the cast was Samantha Morton, playing the powerful witch goddess Circe that is both haunting and tragic.

    There is a lot to really like about this film in terms of its beautiful cinematography, visual effects and score. A big mention to how Nolan depicted Cyclops, where there was this level of scale and terror to witnessing such a creature on the big screen, where you can both empathise and be terrified of such a fictional being. However, my gripes with the film comes with a lack of personal attachment to these characters in that to some degree I wish the character development was more meaningful and to deliver that gut-wrenching emotional punch that you would desire from watching an Epic.

    To me, I just felt like I barely knew the characters well enough even though the film is close to three hours long. The use of fast edits can sometimes not allow the scene to really breathe and coupled with my lack of intimate knowledge regarding Homer’s masterpiece, it just left me more puzzled. As an audience member, I was somewhat lost and the dialogue being very exposition heavy did not help in this instance. The audio mixing from my own personal experience was not too bad even if some dialogue I may not have properly heard. On top of that, the use of colour can somewhat be disappointing as you would perhaps hope, that the film incorporates more vibrant colours than be rather stark and muted in expression. The costume design also felt a bit tacky, where you would imagine the armour and helmets to have an unrefined look of being rough and bruised. The overly clean and polished Hollywood aesthetic in some way held back the film for me as it just felt like the magic and adventure was being sucked out.

    I understand that the film tries to showcase its ideas through moral dilemmas in attempting to make the audience reflect on how The Trojan War was in fact the beginning of the end of the Bronze Age and that Odysseus was not noble in how he and his soldiers pillaged people of their resources exercising potential rape and violence to meet their goals.

    All that being said, the emotional crux just did not land for me and the characters just felt too one note in execution with the big emotional catharsis that you would come to expect in the third act not really hitting the mark for me. The fight choreography was a bit choppy and with all the fast cuts not allowing you to fully digest what is going on.

    To conclude, Christopher Nolan has made a film worthy of watching in the theatre. The Odyssey has this overarching ambition even though sometimes I get the feeling Nolan gets too lost in the sauce of technical wizardry, where the heart of the film can be rather cold than endearing.

  • The Bear Season 5 Review

    The Last Course is a mixed bag

    Christopher Storer creator of The Bear, made some compelling TV when the series released back in 2022. The show gained popularity demonstrating the chaotic and relentless life of working inside a kitchen from the main lens of Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) delving deeper into personal trauma and what it really means to work inside the hospitality/culinary industry. And now we reach the final season and it very much tries to harken back to the earlier 2 seasons and falls short. Admittedly, the show has been on a decline in terms of quality and what the final season delivers is a bit of a meandering mess.

    The jokes don’t land. The episodes can feel dragged out and yet despite this final season clearly lacking any meaningful character/plot development. There is enjoyment to be found with some episodes towards the end feeling very wholesome.

    But when assessing how this final season wraps up. I just sort of wish there was less filler and it kind of unintentionally became funny seeing how characters like Syd (Ayo Edebiri) would put on a scowl expression whenever she has unease or displeasure. You just get the idea that there was not much more to say in terms of actual story. Though everything in terms of cinematography and its tension filled soundtrack gives that dose of adrenaline.


    What made me enjoy the season despite its glaring flaws is how it tries to find some sort of semblance of normalcy against all the heartache and anxiety of keeping a restaurant open. You root for these working class characters and how they try and lift each other up, even though I wish the final dish had more components and more of a final punch.

  • Finally Played The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

    Sailing the blue seas…

    This has been the first Zelda game I have played from start to finish and was left thoroughly impressed. It took a long time for me to understand the game mechanics in that there is not a traditional jump button.

    Admittedly, some of the puzzles went over my head but I very much got a better understanding on what people associate with Zelda games being puzzles and how you interact with said puzzles within each dungeon you enter. Even if the controls took some time getting used, I was left enthralled by the care and attention to how each dungeon was developed. Although the dungeons can feel linear and not as breakable compared to the solutions people find with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

    What you have is a game that is a sprawling adventure as you sail the seas in trying to save your sister and unearth the story of Hyrule. The gameplay is what kept me coming back alongside the beautiful art direction and soothing soundtrack. I appreciate how each dungeon has some shortcuts you can naturally find, which saves time when it comes to any sort of runbacks or finding any lost treasure.

    At times it did get a bit tedious having to unlock the entire map through giving fish bait to the nearby fish NPC for the selected area. That alongside having to manually adjust the sail of your ship towards the wind direction to sail faster. Now I understood you can get an item from a certain auction house that helps you speed up this whole process, but I wish this was simply added from the very beginning to make the whole experience of sailing on the sea smoother.

    All that being said, each dungeon has its own personality and unique puzzles of which you steadily gain certain items to combat certain dungeons. This really gives a sense of pacing and strong progression as Link is becoming more of a fine tuned warrior with his assortment of different weapons/items.

    Once this game clicks, it really becomes a game where it is both fun and engaging not being overwhelming in difficulty. This game has a lot of charm and even though it can be rather slow paced from the beginning, as you begin to grasp the early sections, the game does offer unique surprises.

    The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is an adventure worth savouring and definitely a game I would look back on fondly sailing the seas ahead.

  • Daredevil: Born Again Season 2- Much Improved, But Still Lots To Gain

    When it swings, it swings hard. (Potential Spoilers)

    Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, is what I would call as a fun, entertaining and overall good improvement contrasted with the scattered mess of season 1’s approach to pacing and narrative structure.

    All that being said, this new season still has some issues with its overall pacing and I have yet to be fully won over by the new supporting cast of characters. The first sort of two episodes felt kind of subdued and was rather bored to an extent of the whole boat being capsized in New York and Matt and Karen having to find new ways to stop Wilson Fisk’s reign as New York Mayor, enforcing Martial Law with the Safer Street Initiative that is designed to keep ‘vigilantes’ specifically in check with special police operatives that can use violence and intimidation, without legal pushback. Must remind you of something akin to real life…

    What really eased me into this new season was more Bullseye screentime, played by the excellent Wilson Bethel. He stole the spotlight and I very much like the approach of his twisted sense of morality and how he leaned more into being insane and unpredictable being both slapstick and unnerving with brutal efficiency. The action scenes are incredibly stylistic, although at some points the fight scenes can be a bit too kinetic at times with a lot of cuts. At times the camerawork felt a little overdone, but what you get is highly engaging action and set-pieces.

    Which leaves my gripes, in that the overall season felt a bit disjointed in terms of how each storyline lacked a smooth transition and through line to the next lacking a real personal investment with the new supporting cast kind of falling flat to me. There is less narrative whiplash compared to the first outing, but towards the end of the season it does begin to really unravel the dynamics between Fisk and Murdock and how these two will evidently be always at odds with each other. So then comes to the question: how do you solve this deadlock?

    I will not go much into spoilers, but I did find it rather amusing at how everything boils down in seeing how Fisk and Murdock engage with their opposing ideals with the final resolution between these two, making me rather intrigued on what happens next.

    To conclude, Daredevil: Born Again Season Two strikes hard leaving many holes you can pick apart, but leaves much on the table of what you come to enjoy and expect, from your blind crime fighting lawyer of Hell’s Kitchen.

  • Industry Season 4- When a series knows itself and knows itself well…

    The fourth season instalment of HBO’s Industry is proof that allowing a show to breathe pays dividends.

    Industry season four is quite an achievement. It never pulls its punches and really makes you seep inside all the messy emotions that can plague the human psyche of its ensemble cast.

    What series creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay have made with the fourth season of Industry is quite remarkable.

    I say this, as I am glad HBO stuck with this series and did not cancel the show when it first started off back in 2020, how time has flown. I would have never guessed the evolution and trajectory of this series and left both starstruck and reeling with having to contend with the fact that the end is near, with a fifth and final season that is on its eventual way.

    Indulge me for a moment when you look at the first season of Industry, for what I see as a solid but not exemplary start. It can almost feel like a whiplash seeing how much the show has changed from its initial premise of working inside the corporate world to a full blown soap opera that continues to leave me utterly dumbfounded by how Down and Kay not only grew with the show, but definitely left an indelible mark in my personal life in that they created such a raw, intimate and visceral world with characters that are moulded and shaped by both their actions and personal struggles. This is truly great television, but would say one of the greatest accomplishments of Industry, is the way it does not flinch in making a character drama, who take the time to soak inside the puddle of their emotions and left bares the scars you do not wish the world to see.

    Industry season four to put it lightly is incredibly unnerving and goes to more darker and unhinged places, whilst offering the doses of euphoria and adrenaline of seeing the mechanical wheels turn around the mind of its characters. You see Harper Stern played by the wonderful Myha’la, try and both figuratively and metaphorically re-imagine herself and cement herself as the relentless and ruthless entrepreneur she is, or what she likes you to believe.

    It has to be said, Industry has some well written characters and I would say some of the best written fictional characters I’ve come across. The two that really stuck in my mind, is both Harper Stern (Myha’la) and Yasmin Kara-Hanani or now formally addressed as Lady Muck, played by the great Marisa Abela.

    These two characters act like a foil between each other and represent each other’s deepest insecurities and social imbalances. Without giving too much away, I was blown away by the performances of these two leading actresses, with how both characters on-screen give life to each other and when both share the scene, there is boundless soul-searching to be involved.

    Amidst all the chaos and inner turmoil that unfolds this season, there has been that semblance of ‘calm before the storm’, that things are reaching a new boiling point and we have yet to see how everything fully erupts and shatters what you have come to expect.

    Having a fifth and final season to wrap up this banking drama turn slowly into a tightly woven melodrama, is a task I have full trust in its creators. It seems to me, the right time for the series to cap things off and I am glad Mickey Down and Konrad Kay get to end the story on their own terms.

    Industry is one of those shows I do not know, if I can recommend to people, for how it really pokes inside the deepest and darkest parts of the human condition being very freaky and downright disturbing at times. Probably best to describe it as the demented version of Succession, where the characters are more in your face demanding your attention, where apparent subtlety is replaced with abrasiveness and uncompromising cruelty.

    It is a series like no other and I would not have it any other way. It is a show that found its voice and its footing through stumbling at first, but relenting on just like its characters full of anguish and delight for the potential of what could possibly come next.

  • My thoughts on the recent Xbox Developer Direct…

    Microsoft trying to shore up some goodwill.

    I know it has been a couple of weeks since the last Xbox Developer Direct and I was trying to think about how best to approach all of this.

    On one hand, I am very much interested on the next slate of what Xbox has in store for 2026, if not only for the GAMES but all the developers involved. In a market of economic anxiety and people getting laid off in the video games industry as a whole. I could not help but feel worried that if these upcoming video games do not perform, then there will be further cuts to studios and creative talent.

    It is a brutal business and despite how often these shows lean heavily on PR and being very corporate feeling and sanitised.

    I do believe that Xbox and Microsoft as a whole need those ‘small wins’. I do like seeing the passion and enthusiasm of developers talking about their games, despite the whole veil of Microsoft looming in the distance.

    I am very much interested in Beast of Reincarnation made by Pokémon Developers Game Freak. I am very intrigued by the whole concept and the contrast being nature and technology in this new action RPG. It remains to be seen how all the gameplay elements work together, but I am happy to see Game Freak work on other projects besides Pokémon. It is definitely on my Wishlist and I suspect Game Freak really wanted to do something else besides Pokémon and I wish them all the best.

    Now arguably the big game everyone had their eyes on, was the rebooted Fable series developed by Playground Games most commonly known as the developers behind the Forza Horizon series. Now I do not know much about Fable, but I am just glad to see how the developers are trying to expand the series and add their own flavour. Not to say, there are aspects you may see from previous Fable games such as witty British humour and being able to romance the NPCs and start businesses.

    Now the early gameplay of Fable looked rather choppy and not the smoothest frame rate, but you hope with enough time all those things are ironed out.

    There’s many other things I could touch upon regarding this Developer Direct, but I decided to talk about things that mainly caught my eye.

    If 2025 was a rocky road for Microsoft and Xbox.

    2026 will be more of a challenging period, but there are some glimmers of hope, despite all the doom and gloom as of late.

  • I’ve Finally Completed Red Dead Redemption 2

    I do not know where to begin, when it comes to talking about such a grand, epic and devastating game. For those that played the game and for those that had to endure the excessive ‘crunch’ that led to the completion of this cowboy-western.

    Red Dead Redemption 2 is perhaps the best game Rockstar Games has ever made.

    But as I grow older. I think a lot about the human cost. The human touch that made such a beloved game, despite all the chaos within Rockstar’s development cycle and endemic of the video games industry as a whole, the end result was nothing short of being a technical and narrative accomplishment that pushes the medium of what video games can be.

    That does not mean that the ends justify the means. And Rockstar Games is not immune from criticism regardless of making what I view as a once-in-a-lifetime video game.

    Rockstar Games gets a lot of praise and understandably so for being the developers that try and reach new levels of ‘perfection’ in each new game they make.

    However, I am not a particular fan of the actual gameplay of a Rockstar Game and Red Dead Redemption 2 really brings the best and worst of Rockstar’s design decisions. I find that the gameplay can get rather tedious and clunky at times. In truth, I fell out of this game and was convinced by a good friend to ’embrace the imperfections’ and give this game a second shot.

    I am glad I did.

    The Missions get rather repetitive as time goes on and what I find grating is having to do ‘X and Y’ to progress the mission in a specified order, and having very little personal agency, in how I approach a mission being very constrained. I understand that Rockstar want a narrative-focused experience, but at times I find that I unintentionally break the game by doing things faster than the instructions on screen, which then just creates jarring end results as you are having to sort of repeat the previous actions to progress the mission.

    And then this is where it really hit me. People who like films will more often than not gravitate towards a Rockstar game. The gameplay itself for Read Dead Redemption 2 is what I call serviceable and what you are really playing for is to see the story unfold.

    You are a bunch of outlaws on the run at the end of the Wild West era, with you playing as the flawed and charismatic Arthur Morgan who is the reliable anchor to this group of mercenaries with the gang being spearheaded by Dutch Van Der Linde- the leader who has a cult like personality and silver tongue.

    This is where Rockstar shines in crafting a compelling story and the attention to detail in having characters with their own special dialogue and learning about each member of the gang in the camp makes for an immersive and engaging world. There are aspects of my the narrative that get a little worn out and exhausting in terms of focus and pacing, but after rolling the credits, I can get behind most of the narrative decisions even if the road itself got a little bumpy.

    And this is another amazing quality. The actual world you inhibit is bustling with different inhabitants and wildlife. Every location has its own distinct feeling and lasting impression as the game contrasts the beauty of nature against the violence of mankind alongside the rise of industrialisation. Each NPC has its own dialogue which gives this game that extra level of personality. This is a beautiful game that has aged remarkably.

    I did get somewhat ‘fatigued’ by how long the story was. Yet, by pushing through I am happy that I persevered with this game, as the characters made the whole journey worthwhile and unforgettable.

    Red Dead Redemption 2 is the game that makes me re-evaluate how I see video games and is also the game that made me really take notice of the ‘human cost’ of such an ambitious, arduous game to have been made in the first place.

    This an aside, but it is a shame hearing new stories about some Rockstar employees losing their jobs in what seems like union-busting efforts from Rockstar Games. I hope things change within Rockstar Games for the better and that we should all remind ourselves that it is the people putting their heart and soul into making games, that made a studio like Rockstar Games successful in the first place.

  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – A GENERATION Defining RPG

    When all the pieces fell into piece…

    The first ever game from Developer Sandfall Interactive Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 turned out to be a massive hit garnering both critical and commercial acclaim, whilst being a strong front-runner for the category of ‘Game of the Year’ at The Game Awards hosted by Geoff Keighley.

    Who would’ve thought a relatively small team from France would captivate the world and deliver such an incredibly moving and dynamic video game.

    This is my ‘Game of the Year’ and I shall try and give some brief points as to why this game impacted me the way that it did.

    ========================================================================

    1. SINCERITY:

      The premise of this game is that a group of Expeditioners are trying to eliminate ‘The Paintress’ who writes a number, with all the people below the given number vanishing. The Number starts from 100, and so Expedition 33 are the next group of people to battle against this brutal existence and coming to terms with their mortality, as they venture beyond their home to defeat ‘The Paintress’ once and for all.

      What really grabbed me from the beginning, was how the game took a sincere approach in showcasing flawed and complicated characters, whilst portraying a great sense of humanity juxtaposed with the deep sense of melancholy and sadness. The world is grim but also beautiful, and it is the case where the characters are written in such a careful manner to be both grounded and believable not being a parody of itself.

      The story delivers because of how you as the player are slowly unravelling all its secrets through active participation, coupled with great character building moments with your party members. The game has a message and set vision and does not waver in really tackling the themes it explores such as grief, love, light and dark. All the elements of the story work in tandem because the game knew where it wanted to begin and where it wanted to end, not being bloated and tiresome as RPGs can end up becoming.

      ========================================================================

      2. RHYTHM:

      What I mean by ‘rhythm’ is that the game reminds me of a full blown ‘Rhythm Heaven’ RPG game where you are actively rewarded for being able to correctly ‘dodge’ or ‘parry’ (dealing a counter attack if timed properly). The dynamic gameplay is enchanting with excellent character animations and that despite it being a ‘turn based game’, there is that level of active participation and awareness that is the opposite of static gameplay. Being able to time your inputs correctly to deliver sustained pressure and damage to your enemies, is both exhilarating and highly addictive. You are actively incentivised by a gameplay system that rewards calculated risk and aggression, whilst also accommodating different playstyles.

      What does slightly bother me is how the user interface can be a bit too overwhelming at times and cluttered. This is apparent when looking at Pictos, which are multiplier buffs you can equip to your party members.

      ========================================================================

      3. ART DIRECTION and SCORE

      Expedition 33 excels in how it can transport you to various different biomes and locations with its own distinct feeling. The game is beautiful with stunning art direction, which allows for greater immersion. The art direction makes the game really stand out and be in line with how the Developers wanted to create a mature story with fantastical elements.

      Yes I cannot forget about the newly discovered video game composer who was found in a random forum: Composer Lorien Testard. He allowed Expedition 33 to have a soul with such groovy, upbeat and downright brutal scores that elevate the atmosphere and really set the stage in whatever gameplay section you are in. All these ingredients fuse together to elevate an otherwise great RPG into something that is timeless.

      ========================================================================

      There are so many other things I could possibly mention.

      But I urge you to check out this game because it is in my opinion, a generation defining RPG that is greater than all the sum of its parts to deliver such a raw and engaging story that never outlasts its welcome.

      This game is in the pantheon of RPGs that are best in class, to provide such a memorable and unforgettable experience.