strahan
Mountain
Mountain finds itself between a few genres. Not quite a nature documentary. Not quite an extreme sports reel. Perhaps best described as a feature-length, lightly narrated, high-concept music video. This may not sound terribly inviting, but with music performed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and narrat...
Yakuza 6
They say first impressions last. And thank goodness this isn’t always true, because while Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is not immediately endearing, it’s worth letting it warm up. The game opens with around an hour of opening cinematics, broken up by one short combat tutorial. Now, I’m into cut scenes, I enjo...
The Fly: Ultimate Collection
If you’re reading this, if you’re interested at all, you’re probably already a fan of Cronenberg’s 1986 classic The Fly, starring Jeff Goldblum. Such a classic, that many are unaware that it’s actually a remake of a 1958 movie of the same name. Fewer still have been exposed to the sequels in the 50s and 60s...
Steep
Stunningly gorgeous, right out of the gate. Wind howls dramatically through crisp snowflakes which blows aways to reveal Ubisoft’s logo, “I remember these lads” I think, “they did Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, I must be in for a real treat.” The show’s not over: beautifully detailed powdery snow, radiating ...
Where to Invade Next
In a refreshing departure from Michael Moore’s usual complex political narrative, Where To Invade Next has a very simple premise, which is explained clearly from the outset: Moore is hopping around Europe to “invade” and claim an array of their political and economic policies and ideologies to bring back to...
Tokyo Ghoul Season 2
Comparing episode one of the new season to episode one of the first season pretty much sums up the overall change in tone and quality since the beginning of Tokyo Ghoul. Gone is the sinister whisper of imminent personal danger. Gone is the hanging sexual tension bleeding into horrific violence, which has se...
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie Review
Let me save you some Googling: This is Ghost in the Shell: The TV Show: The Movie. I’ve done a little searching around because despite being a big fan of the original Ghost in the Shell (or, “GITS” from here on in) movie, that’s basically where my knowledge of the franchise ended – and I wanted at lea...
3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets
Faced with the mug shot-like poster of 3 ½’s main subject Jordan Davis, I was both anticipating and dreading watching this film. I have a love/hate relationship with true crime – the stories are gripping and ignite a voyeuristic thrill, but also inevitably centre around real tragedy. It can be a bit m...
Powerpuff Girls The Complete Series DVD Box Set
It’s hard to tell who this was made for. As a fully adulted male, it would be easy for me to take a quick glance, decide that Powerpuff Girls isn’t for me and move on. This would be a mistake. Powerpuff Girls could be considered a peer of SpongeBob SquarePants or Adventure Time, that growing family of moder...
Who Ya Gonna Call?
Like any reboot of a popular franchise, Ghostbusters garnered a lot of attention even before its first trailer. In a similar vein to last year’s Mad Max reboot, most of the commentary detracted from what could be an interesting conversation in favour of taking a detour through the 1950s to collectively wond...
Death Stranding Trailer Reaction
After a few hints and a poster, Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima’s first new game since his departure from Konami has been announced proper at E3 2016 – trailer and all. As is common with a Kojima trailer, the first thing we see is a quote: “To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower...
A Shamelessly Subjective List of Essential Podcast Episodes
A Shamelessly Subjective List of Essential Podcast Episodes This isn’t a best of list. It’s somewhere between a personal favourites and an introduction to podcasts for the uninitiated. Despite podcasts having been a big business for a few years now, for every avid listener I meet, I seem to run into a dozen...