May 22
A little video expressing our feelings on last night’s reveal of the Xbox One…
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Rob Gisbey is a content provider for Analog Addiction from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. To listen to his acoustic demo check out his BandPage. To read his other articles and listen to the VxM Videogames Podcast head to MyIGN.
May 20
Eva enjoys ultra-violence (kinda) – who knew?
I remember as, six years ago, presenting a radio-show on ICR with my bro’, I chose to broadcast some songs of one of my favourite bands: INDOCHINE. Last February, short before I left Ipswich, I entered H&M in town-centre. A big surprise awaited me: playing at the radio, “Memoria”, a single from French band Indochine’s last album Black City Parade. Since the 1980’s and after several changes in the band’s constitution, Indochine remains one of the most popular French pop-rock or rock bands, providing both “music and lyrics” as these last years French musical scene remains quite monotonous between rap, mainstream and impersonal pop as it exists everywhere on Earth and “text-songs” – I mean boring lyrics meant to be poetic with very simple music. (I am deeply sorry about what I am writing about French music, but I am “sound-sensitive”, and sound is not, in my opinion, the strong point of French music!)
Recently, Indochine released the video of its last single, “College Boy” from Black City Parade. This ultra-violence feature, meant to denounce violence at school aroused a polemic… We can ask the question: real issue or commercial purpose? Denunciation or manipulation into gaining some “rock credibility”? Did they go too far in showing violence?
Let’s begin with a little presentation.
Indochine was founded in 1981 as a New Wave band, around the lead singer – nowadays the only member of the origins – Nicola and his twin brother Stéphane Sirkis deceased in 1999. They gained notoriety through cult titles like “L’Aventurier” (“The adventurer”, 1982), “Kao Bang” (1984), inspired by exotic – especially Asiatic – universe and comics, or gay-friendly “3ème Sexe” (“3rd Gender”) or “Trois nuits par semaine” (“Three Nights a Week”) both released in 1985 and exploring themes like sexuality. The band evolved through years, in the 1980’s and in the 1990’s, releasing darker and more rock’n’roll stuff. But the 1990’s have been dark times for Indochine, as grunge, techno and rap attracted more audience in France and caught the attention of the media… Anyway, the band released some beautiful albums, especially one of my favourite ones, Dancetaria with its magnificent opening song. It is marked by tragedy, because Stéphane Sirkis died at the beginning of recording.
Nicola continued and renewed the staff. With this team of good musicians, the band knew success anew with the release, in 2002, of the rock’n’roll, loud sounded and energetic Paradize. What I found quite amusing at this time was that some of my schoolmates who told me I liked shitty music as I mentioned Indochine came to me, almost screaming: “OH MY GOD! DO YOU KNOW INDOCHINE! THEY’RE HUGE!” Since then, successes follow each other and Indochine remains at the top of the sales. In 2005-2006, they had the huge success with their album Alice & June – in this album, Nicola Sirkis sung “Pink Water”, a beautiful duet with Brian Molko, Placebo’s lead-singer. Most of the songs were devoted to teenage love. Indochine even released a live at the Opera in Hanoi (Vietnam) with the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006, and performed with the Orchestra in Paris in 2007: I was at this concert and it sounded gorgeous, especially as it gave a new dimension to their old songs inspired by Asia. In terms of music and lyrics, I was quite disappointed by La Républik des Météors (Meteoras’ Republik) in 2008, except by wonderful “Le Dernier Jour” (“The Last Day”). A new album has been released this year, Black City Parade. I have to say I felt quite apprehensive about it and feared a loss in inspiration. Actually it positively surprised me with songs like “Memoria”, “Wupperthal”, “Le Messie” (“Messiah”) or “College Boy”…
Xavier Dolan, a very young Canadian filmmaker, has directed “College Boy” video. He is considered to be extremely good and audacious, but honestly, before I saw Indochine’s last video, I had never heard of Xavier Dolan, whose realisations, focused on young people love interests and questioning sexual identity, are quite far away from geeky stuff I usually like…
So, what is the specificity of “College Boy” video?… Released in black and white, the video takes place in an Anglo-Saxon looking posh private 
school, where beautiful – at least according to Parisian criteria, angel-looking boys wearing uniforms. It tells the story of one of them, bullied and finally assassinated by his schoolmates. It begins with paper-balls the boys throw to their bullied mate. Following scenes are more and more violent and gory: the boy is beaten, blood squirts. He’s finally crucified as his angel-looking torturers film the scene, and shooting him with guns. I read some reviews and analysis of the video – some see in it a biblical metaphor, depicting the boy as a martyr just like Jesus Christ on the Cross, showing sacrified innocence… The least I can say, if I dare to express my opinion about it, is that the comparison is not very subtle. But the video really works, and it’s even more efficient if your experienced violence at school yourself, as I did: you cannot do anything else but feeling empathy for this poor boy tortured and killed by other teens, proud of themselves, because they dare to film it. In addition, adults present in the video and other pupils seeing violence wear an eye-band, to show they want to stay blind to what’s going on. Message is clear: ignorance and indifference of people meant to help him killed the boy.
I think it would be dishonest if I say that there is nothing commercial in this video – I think there is. I cannot help it, because since a few years, I got the impression, even if I am a fan, that lead-singer Nicola Sirkis, 53 years and charismatic figure of French rock, shows off and likes to believe that Indochine is more demonic as it actually is: maybe the songs explore themes like sexuality, teenage-love and –sex, violence, anorexia, etc. … but Indochine’s audience is a lot younger since Paradize in 2002, as band members are getting old. So in my opinion they sometimes lack credibility and give the impression that young people only think with their pants and heart, only in terms of annoying big bad adults that don’t understand them and absolutely want to teach them everything… If there were only adults! Teenagers or kids sometimes are crueller to their counterparts! It is my point of view. As you see, I am a fan, but I remain quite critical and sometimes sceptic toward the purpose of one of my favourite bands.
Anyway I cannot deny artistic and visual qualities of the video, and the “rock credibility” of this feature… French High Council for Audio-visual, organization in charge of monitoring and controlling stuff broadcasted on French TV, was shocked. Short after the release of “College Boy” video, it mentioned the possibility of forbidding the video to young people under 16 or 18 years old. You can be sure most French young people have seen it on YouTube. I did it too, but with some difficulty: as a former victim of school violence, I cannot take much distance with this issue and it drives me totally mad each time I hear from a story like this in the news.
Group members, especially lead-singer Nicola Sirkis, and video director Xavier Dolan defended themselves during this – in my opinion ridiculous – polemic. The singer told he and the director had an educative purpose, and wanted to raise awareness concerning violence at school. For once, I agreed with him – although it seems very ironical from someone singing that young people have to forget what adult tell them, into making their own experiences. If I had been asked if the video went too far, I would have given a supportive answer.
Just to talk a little about my own experience. The fact is school violence exists in high school, even in primary school as it was my case from 4 to almost 9 years old, and children can reveal particularly cruel to each other. As Xavier Dolan said: you’re part of the group, or you are not. I remember, as I was a little girl, I was quite different, even physically. During several years, a long time before happy-slapping and other disgusting new forms of violence, I have been beaten, thrown to the ground as my mates joyfully walked on my back, called names, strangled, maintained underwater at the swimming pool. So, don’t tell me it’s not violent. Even some of my schoolteachers seemed to take pleasure in humiliating me – no wonder that, with such an example, kids felt allowed to brutalize me. The most frightening is I was so used to it, that I didn’t talk to my parents, because adults at school didn’t seem really interested in my problems. As my parents found out, they couldn’t do anything to help me: indeed my schoolteacher in that time was a close friend of someone working for education authorities. I didn’t finish my school year and had to go to another school. So I agree with the message of Indochine’s video about ignorance. I lost my trust in adults, as I was 8, because my teachers, meant to recognize and to help a vulnerable child, didn’t do anything.
I totally understand that some people are particularly sensitive and cannot watch “College Boy” video entirely. I had some difficulty myself, and I found a little bit demagogic that everything takes place in a posh school – maybe an aesthetic choice, with schoolboy uniforms – because it happens not only in difficult schools of French poor suburbs, but in mainstream middle-class schools too. Recently, in French news, we have often heard from harassment in primary school, bullying, pupils committing suicide in school loo or throwing themselves through the window of the classroom. On a certain way, their torturers, kids or teenagers, and school staff have their blood on their hands. So Indochine’s video tells an artistically interpreted truth.
Ultra-violence exists at school; kids are able to inflict it. But I still have the uncomfortable impression that each time, people say that something has to be done into avoiding these kids and teenagers to live hell on Earth at school, but that all interest vanishes as the action of school staff is at stake. I don’t know how it is in Great Britain, but in France, it is very delicate to question the action of public education staff on these issues. As soon as it is concerned, people wear eye-band, like in “College Boy” video. It is terrible for young people dying by torture of suicide, and even for young people who have to live with terrible school memories, and who later experience the lack of self-esteem and defiance towards adults, have difficulties to manage their relations to others and fear rejection whatever they do, and have, after this experience an ambiguous relation to violence. I am not sure that teachers and pupils realise the consequences on personal life.
So if people prefer closing their eyes instead of facing the facts and doing something to protect youth, why couldn’t a rock band use its popularity into placing as many people as possible at the front of those terrible ultra-violent fact? Censoring this video is non-sense. More than non-sense, I see it as hypocrisy, if we consider that High Council for Audio-visual allows rap videos with guys using guns and sometimes killing (I think of “Du ferme” by La Fouine), or R’n’B features showing half-naked women suggestively dancing, or very gory clips educating citizen to road safety and showing bloody corpses. News is not censored, although it shows death, war and violence everywhere!
A few days ago, a rapper from Nantes called Spyk-hz accused Indochine and Xavier Dolan of plagiarizing his own music video released in December 2012 for his song “Les Filles du Collège” (“Schoolgirls”). Indeed video covered the same theme of bullying, with a similar black and white aesthetic, telling the story of a pupil bullied and murdered by schoolmates. What surprises me a lot, is that it never aroused a polemic, although it seems violent the same way. If it is the case, I have never heard of it – maybe because I usually don’t listen to rap (no judgement, it’s a matter of sound). So, why didn’t this shock French High Council for Audio-visual? Is a rapper more legitimate for showing violence than a popular rock band?
As I already wrote, it would be great if something could be done to avoid murder or suicide of youth. Especially as new forms of violence appear like happy-slapping, and as some facts take place at school and in private through the Internet – I think of these girls in North America, who committed suicide after being harassed at school and on their Facebook wall, or after pictures of them subjected to sexual violence by their schoolmates have been posted. So, school staff may be blind, but it cannot control what’s going on outside the school. If you ask me if Indochine and Xavier Dolan went too far, I would answer: NO. ON NO ACCOUNT. Most people could think I say that because of my so-called “goth’ and bloodthirsty” side, of because I have no distance enough this issue. It’s totally false for the first point, and maybe because there is a part of truth in the second point, that I have an ambiguous relation to violence. I just say that sometimes people need a big shock and to face facts – even aestheticized, as the news regularly – too often in my tastes – cover cases of bullying and school violence, and as new forms of violence put more and more pressure on bullied kids and teens. Does it need another dead before we do something against violence at school?
Suggested links:
Eva is a lover of literature and politics and writes for VxM as well as Easy Word Portfolio and R-Bl.-Mt.Cl. I.
May 16
Becca takes a look back at a much-loved family-favourite…
Shrek
There are countless books, films and TV shows based around traditional fairy tales these days, all trying to have a go at reinventing the stories into something unique and different. Sometimes they work (Once Upon A Time), and sometimes they really don’t (Red Riding Hood), nevertheless, at the time of its release, Shrek was a fairy-tale-film unlike any other; it took the generics of these well-known stories and successfully turned them into something rather extraordinary.
Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) is a grumpy ogre, living happily alone in his swamp, taking mud-baths, scaring villagers and generally being as disgusting as possible. That is, until evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow, Footloose) forces banished fairy tale creatures to move to his swamp. Outraged, Shrek goes to find this Prince with the help of an annoying donkey (voiced fantastically by Eddie Murphy), but Farquaad is a conniving sort, who just wants to become King, so when Shrek rather dramatically makes himself known, swatting his knights like flies (because, ahh! He’s a terrifying ogre!), Farquaad bestows him with the ‘noble’ quest of rescuing his Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her tower, in exchange for getting his swamp back. Except Fiona is no ordinary princess. She burps, knows karate, and can make birds explode with her voice…and that’s just a few of the things different about her.
Questionable sequels aside, I honestly do not know anyone who doesn’t thoroughly enjoy Shrek, be they a child or adult. It has everything to entertain: burp and fart jokes (very important for a child audience!), a cool soundtrack – including songs from Joan Jett (!) and The Proclaimers – and there are enough in-jokes to have even the older audiences roaring with laughter. A particular favourite moment is when Lord Farquaad is torturing the Gingerbread Man, and a well-known nursery rhyme sneaks into their conversation. It is one of the many examples of it poking fun at so many well-known stories with a knowing wink.
Cameron Diaz is perfect for the role as Fiona, the very unconventional princess, who’s life gets turned upside down when her valiant knight (and his noble steed) comes crashing through her tower roof. She is a damsel…but she knows how to take care of herself, and that is incredibly empowering, when compared to your usual princesses like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty (as seen in Shrek the Third).
There was doubt when it was announced Mike Myers (famous for his roles in Wayne’s World and most notably Austin Powers at the time) was going to be playing the role of someone with a Scottish accent, let alone an ogre, but he does it in a way that makes him near unrecognisable…in a good way. Eddie Murphy is at his very best here, playing an obnoxiously endearing donkey that probably wouldn’t work if it was played by anyone else. It’s just a shame he hasn’t had much success since this role!
Rating 4/5
Young people testing out the software and recording a track during the Music Production workshop…
May 14
“A minimalist game about jumping and friendship” that is well worth your time…
Never underestimate the power of storytelling. It can take us on extraordinary journeys, cause us to experience a huge range of powerful emotions — and in this case inexplicably invest us in characters that are essentially no more than differently shaped coloured blocks. While Thomas Was Alone is an intelligent, competent puzzle-platformer in its own right; it’s really the combination of its uplifting narrative, endearing personalities, ethereal score and unique gameplay that allow it to transcend its own limitations and become something more… something wonderful.
Created and written by game designer Mike Bithell and narrated by humourist Danny Wallace, the game tells the fictional tale of the first self-aware artificial intelligence and its path to self-discovery and enlightenment. Most of this high-concept story is delivered on a more personal level through the amusing inner monologues of its loveable cast of quadrilateral characters. (Although at the outset of each of its ten chapters we’re presented with a fictitious quote, detailing the event from an external scientific perspective). While the enchanting narrative is often delightfully whimsical and endlessly charming, the overall experience is actually quite profound, unfailingly positive and curiously thought provoking. You might well find yourself unwittingly pondering some of its more poignant themes in your quieter moments for some time to come.
The fundamental gameplay premise of Thomas Was Alone could not be simpler. Starting as the eponymous Thomas, an inquisitive red rectangle, you are tasked with guiding him through minimilist, geometric environments into portals that allow him to teleport to the next area. Apart from sliding left and right, jumping (otherwise known as inverted falling) is the only ability your plucky parallelogram possesses. However as you progress through the game you are introduced to new, differently coloured shapes, each with their own skills and personalities.
Claire, a large blue square, possesses the ability to float on water, whereas everyone else simply disintegrates in it. This allows her to act as a makeshift raft for others, although on land she does move rather ponderously. Sarah, on the other hand, is a small purple rectangle who is rather adept at the unique art of double jumping. While this does provide her special access to hard to reach areas, it also gives her quite the superiority complex. As you might have guessed, characters’ abilities often directly affect their personalities, spinning game mechanics into shrewd metaphors. For example, Laura is a downtrodden pink rectangle that other shapes can bounce on, acting as a trampoline of sorts. She worries that her companions are walking all over her, simply using her to get ahead, but eventually learns to find joy in helping them reach new heights.
As more characters become playable you are required to alternate between them, moving each in turn to solve increasingly complex conundrums. This provides a strange co-operative feel to the single-player experience, instilling a sense of synergy, that in turn generates genuine empathy. David Housden‘s ambient soundtrack also plays a huge part in cementing the game’s inspirational tone, adding a sense of gravity to the narration and further accentuating the game’s introspective heart.
The game’s abstract art style, while exceptionally simple is actually quite beautiful. Your chromatic characters stand out boldly within the shadowy landscapes, which are usually slightly off their axis, giving them an interestingly skewed, other worldly feel. Instructions and subtitled narration artfully scroll across the screen and cleverly adapt to the terrain as you move, (although this does make the latter almost impossible to read). Each chapter has an individually coloured twinkling backdrop, which combined with the intuitive in-game lighting system makes for a surprisingly rich and textured aesthetic. Subtle water, steam and pixel effects also go a long way to upping the production value of what is essentially a one man project, bringing it closer to the standard we expect from modern XBLA/PSN releases.
Thomas Was Alone’s learning curve is rather gradual and laid back and even at its most demanding it will rarely tax your cognitive abilities too hard. Indeed most of its challenge comes in the form of its trickier platforming sections, which can be rather fiddly and frustrating at times; although due to each of its one hundred levels being nicely bite-sized, these irritations are usually short-lived and infrequent. Later on the game does introduce some more unusual, mind-bending mechanics involving anti-gravity and ability swapping paint that manage to keep the gameplay fresh throughout the four to six hour story.
The important thing to keep in mind though is that the game’s low difficultly level isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Not only does it allow you to focus on the amiable narration and overall conceit, but due to your consistent driving progression a hypnotic kind of completion cycle is generated, that quickly becomes addictive and tremendously satisfying. In the last couple of chapters the pacing quickens and anticipation builds along with the intensified score. Unfortunately this exciting crescendo ends in a conclusion that does fall somewhat flat; but while this is a bit of a shame it certainly isn’t enough to put a dampener on an otherwise magical experience.
Just as the characters in Thomas Was Alone unite and combine their individual strengths to overcome challenges, the game’s separate elements coalesce to form something powerful and affecting. If all you’re interested in is gameplay then perhaps this title won’t necessarily hold your attention. But if you’re seeking something more – something with an engaging story, intriguing characterisation and some genuine heart, then don’t delay. Head straight to the PlayStation Store and for only £5.99, you can make sure that Thomas isn’t alone for too much longer.
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Rob Gisbey is a content provider for Analog Addiction from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. To listen to his acoustic demo check out his BandPage. To read his other articles and listen to the VxM Videogames Podcast head to MyIGN.
May 11
DRAAAAAAGOOOOON!!! Where are you, Dragon?!
Please allow me to introduce you to the podcast crew members:
The lads chit chat about the newest Xbox 720 rumours, EA acquiring the Star Wars games license and the prospect of a Nintendo-free E3.
Tom, Rob & Ant – The VxM Videogames Podcast Crew
Contact Us:
If you’ve got a question, comment or suggestion please email us at videogamespodcast@vxm.me
Check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/vxmvideogamespodcast
Add us on Twitter and we might actually start Tweeting: @RobGisbey, @TKewellDesign & @AntPolaroids
Visit YouTube to listen to more of our podcasts and subscribe to us on iTunes!
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Rob Gisbey is a content provider for Analog Addiction from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. To listen to his acoustic demo check out his BandPage. To read his other articles and listen to the VxM Videogames Podcast head to MyIGN.
May 09
Robert Downey Jr reprises his role as Iron Man (hopefully not for the last time!); Becca investiagtes…
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes) is a broken man. The battle for New York may be long over (and the Avengers may have disbanded for now), but the memories are still very fresh. He is no longer quite the cock-sure playboy philanthropist; he’s having trouble sleeping and the mere mention of ‘New York’ results in severe panic attacks. So, to occupy that time, Stark has been developing more suits, as well as the technology to summon his suit without all the whirring screws and stuff we’re so familiar with.
While this is going on, an old ‘acquaintance’, Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce, Prometheus, The King’s Speech) is making goo-goo-eyes at Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow, Contagion) and has apparently found the answer to self-healing. Then there’s an eccentric terrorist named the Mandarin (Ben Kingsely, looking like a weird cross between Osama Bin Laden and Kill Bill’s Pai Mei), is making quite the name for himself hijacking America’s television networks, armed with messages that are surprisingly grandiose for a bad guy with that much tacky bling on his fingers. That’s a lot for one man to deal with, but is Iron Man still up for the challenge, or has (deep breath) New York left him too damaged to save the day? Answer: Just watch him.
There was never any doubt it was going to be a rough task for anyone to best the sheer awesome power of Avengers Assemble, and I think – I think – Shane Black has pulled it off. It has (surprisingly intense) heart; the emotional side of the film is captured in a way that often makes it raw and painful to watch, thanks to Robert Downey Jr.’s incredible performance. We’re so used to seeing him as (puts on dramatic voice) Tony Stark, this brilliant, supercilious guy who takes whatever comes at him with a cheeky, acidic comment and a twinkle in his eye, so it’s a real shock to see him this vulnerable, relying on his suits more and more to cope with all that has happened to him. This is demonstrated in a startlingly poignant moment when he’s having lunch with Rhodes in a crowded restaurant. A young boy and his sister approach them to have him sign a picture the boy has drawn of Iron Man being the hero of New York. This, of course, starts Stark off, causing a bit of a scene and eventually flying off in his suit which is stood (parked?) outside, waiting for him. It is here you realise how much his suits are a way of escape; they are safe…almost like a comfort blanket when Pepper isn’t around to comfort him, and even then, being with him is not always exactly a walk in the park for her either.
In contrast to this, Iron Man 3 is all about action and explosions, which doesn’t always juggle well alongside Stark and his demons. Sure, the finale is exciting (leaving many a fan squealing in delight), but everything is happening so fast, you’re left feeling a little bewildered when it’s all over, and the final scenes seem rushed, when they could be considered the most important part of the film (!).
Then there are the villains, and that is where the real holes start to appear. In hindsight, I think I came into the cinema expecting too much, hoping we would have someone complicated to hate/secretly love, perhaps like along the lines of Loki or Bane – but so much worse – for Iron Man to go all righteous hero on. But no. Not even close. Even now, a week after watching it, I still have no idea what Killian was trying to achieve, being the other bad guy. Revenge on Tony for ignoring his scientific ideas all those years ago? It seems such a petty reason for coming up with such a hazardous thing as being able to regenerate limbs out of what can only be described as fire. Was that in the comics? Because if it was, I’d probably let the script-writers off, but there is no explanation in to how that could possibly work at all. Also, though Kingsely is absolutely hypnotic as the Mandarin (apparently the crew all gave him a round of applause at the end of one particular scene), he cannot seem to decide which accent to speak in, which begs the question “who is he, really?” Prepare to be amazed…and confused, that’s all I’m saying.
All in all, Iron Man 3 is playful in some aspects, dead-serious in others, and that doesn’t always mix happily together. As great as it should be, you may leave the cinema at a loss for words over how this will eventually lead up to the sequel to Avengers Assemble (fingers crossed Robert Downey Jr will still be up reprising his role), and all the questions it leaves frustratingly unanswered. However, for a nice surprise, I suggest you stay until the credits are over. Shane Black takes Iron Man in a new direction that may or may not appease everyone (and makes the other films look way too intense). At least it’s more engaging than Iron Man 2.
Rating: 3/5
May 02
Becca indulges in a guilty pleasure of a vampire flick…
Underworld
Remember a time when vampires that sparkled in sunlight existed only in a Mormon mother’s dream. Those were the days.
The year was 2003; back then, vampires were still quite scary (but it in a cool way), werewolves were far from pubescent, and the Change still hurt like hell. Back then, they were really considered awesome. You want an example? Check this film out.
It’s about a secret, century-old war between vampires and werewolves. Kate Beckinsale is Selene; a sexy warrior vampire who wears a leather-tight, black cat-suit (to keep the boys happy, if anything) with a personal vendetta against Lycans (that’s werewolves, to all you Underworld virgins – hm, I doubt I’ll be using that phrase again), who murdered her family centuries ago. For the girls, there is Lucian (hello, Michael Sheen), an Alpha-Lycan who is supposed to be dead, but seems to be more preoccupied with trying to find the right human to conduct his mysterious, scientific experiments on. Tthe human in question is called Michael, and he is head-over-heels with Selene – but what’s so special about him, and why are the Lycans after him?
I’ve always been intrigued by the DC-comic-book feel to this film, despite it being an original plot written by Len Wiseman (the director), and the producers. The scenes are dark and unsettlingly Gothic, and weapons have a fantastic, science-fictional spark to them (ultra-violet/oozing, silver-nitrate bullets, anyone?). Lycans are also no longer held down by the moon’s power: they Change at will, and the transformations are something to see, no mistake; shame about the effects that follow. It’s all a bit too Playstation 2, but then again, this film is now ten years old, so they’re bound to look a little dated.
Beckinsale can only be described as stoic, but also a complete badass, flinging silver ninja stars at Lycans without batting an eyelid, but she is very hard to warm to because of that. Bill Nighy is an interesting choice to play Viktor, a vampire Elder who took Selene in when her family was massacred. Sure, his ever-present, idiosyncratic verbal ticks are odd, but somehow they work, making him perhaps more inhuman than any of the vampires, if that’s possible. Meanwhile, Michael Sheen, being such an esteemed actor, proving once again how versatile he is. Here he is as a man with a plan to turn the war on its head, who despite his desperate need of a shower, (and then there’s the fact he can change into a four-legged fur-ball at the drop of a hat), he still seems to be in touch with his human side. Sadly, he does not get enough screen-time…but maybe that’s just my inner fan-girl, having a sulk.
In conclusion, Underworld is a fast-paced, Gothic action with an all-star cast, but the plot is rather bland, and the CGI is average for its age.
Rating: 3/5
Apr 26
Hole in one! It’s the VxM Videogames Podcast…
Please allow me to introduce you to the podcast crew members:
The boys discuss Shinji Mikami’s The Evil Within and the latest Nintendo Direct, as well as Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox event.
Tom, Rob & Ant – The VxM Videogames Podcast Crew
Contact Us:
If you’ve got a question, comment or suggestion please email us at videogamespodcast@vxm.me
Check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/vxmvideogamespodcast
Add us on Twitter and we might actually start Tweeting: @RobGisbey, @TKewellDesign & @AntPolaroids
Visit our Podcast Page to listen to more of our podcasts and subscribe to us on iTunes!
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Rob Gisbey is a content provider for Analog Addiction from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. To listen to his acoustic demo check out his BandPage. To read his other articles and listen to the VxM Videogames Podcast head to MyIGN.
