E3 2014: Tomb Raider 2 Announced

At the Microsoft press conference today, a cinematic teaser trailer was shown for a new entry in the Tomb Raider series titled Rise of the Tomb Raider. The game appears to be a direct sequel to the successful reboot of 2013, and may be an XBOX One exclusive although this has not be announced.

For more E3 news, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter using the buttons in the column to the right-hand side of this page.

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E3 2014: PlayDead's Inside Announced

Limbo developers PlayDead showed off their new game, Inside, which Phil Spencer announced would debut on XBOX One in 2015. The trailer shown was just as eerie and shadowy as its predecessor, looking quite stunning indeed.

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E3 2014: Halo The Master Chief Collection Announced

Microsoft announced at its E3 press conference today that Halo: The Master Chief Collection would be coming to XBOX One this fall. The game is a collection of the first four Halo games that will be put onto a single disc with a "seamless interface."

While showing it off at the conference, a spokesperson for 343 said that they have retouched Halo 2 to make it prettier, while also restoring Halo 2's multi-player modes to the exact state they were in when the game first launched.

The game will run at 1080p HD on dedicated servers, with 1000 Gamer-Score up for grabs for any achievement whores out there.

For more E3 news be sure to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter using the buttons in the column to the right-hand side of this page!

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TEN's Best Movies of 2013

Did you miss the inaugural TEN Movie Awards? Then why not catch up below? The TEN Movie Awards are a fun ceremony, that aims to represent the movies that the Oscars, Golden Globes and other award shows often miss. Be sure to check out the first ceremony below, and also see the list of winners and nominations:

Best Supporting Actor:

Winner: 
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

Nominees:
Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness)
Anthony Hopkins (Red 2)
Nick Frost (The World's End)
Jim Carrey (Kick-Ass 2)

Best Supporting Actress:

Winner:

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Nominees:

Emma Watson (This is the End)

Helen Mirren (Red 2)

Lin Shaye (Insidious: Chapter 2)

Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)

Best Lead Actor:

Winner:

Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man 3)

Nominees:

Christian Bale (American Hustle)

Tom Hiddleston (Thor: The Dark World)

Simon Pegg (The World's End)

Chris Pine (Star Trek Into Darkness)

Best Lead Actress:

Winner:

Amy Adams (American Hustle)

Nominees:

Jessica Chastain (Mama)

Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass 2)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring)

Best Visual Effects:

Winner:

Gravity

Nominees:

Iron Man 3

Man of Steel

Pacific Rim

Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Comic-Book Movie:

Winner:

Kick-Ass 2

Nominees:

Iron Man 3

Red 2

Man of Steel

Thor: The Dark World

Best Action Movie:

Winner:

Pacific Rim

Nominees:

Star Trek Into Darkness

The World's End

Kick-Ass 2

Man of Steel

Best Drama:

Winner:

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Nominees:

American Hustle

Gravity

Star Trek Into Darkness

The Conjuring

Disappointment of the Year:

Winner:

Movie 43

Nominees:

The Hangover Part 3

The Wolverine

Monsters University

This is the End

Best Film:

Winner:

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Nominees:

Iron Man 3

Kick-Ass 2

Gravity

American Hustle

Disagree with any of our winners? Be sure to let us know in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter!

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X-O Manowar #22 Review

X-O Manowar hit a slump during the Unity event, simply because it felt a little unnecessary. The main Unity title was telling most of the story, with X-O filling in blanks in between the next issue. Thankfully the crossover between the two titles is now over, and while this series is nowhere near as good as it once was, there has definitely been a boost in quality which gives me good feelings for what comes next.

X-O Manowar sees Aric reunited with his Manowar armour and freed from jail after the events of Unity. As an added bonus, the US Government has even secured a nice plot in Western Nebraska for Aric and his Visigoths to settle down in. But, as expected, the government isn't doing all of this for nothing. By settling in the USA and accepting Nebraska as his new home-place, Aric has unwittingly put himself in the pocket of the US government. While this new development doesn't do anything ground-breaking in this issue, it should prove interesting in issues to come with moral issues and real-world conflicts bound to play a part somewhere down the line.

Artist Cary Nord ends leaves the book with this arc, however the artwork he produced does not leave the same impact as his work on the opening issues of this series. Due to a different colourist, and what feels like a slight change in style from Nord himself, the art in this arc of the series is nowhere near as good as his previous work. The colouring isn't as defined. The faces aren't as realistic - it's disappointing work from a very capable artist.

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Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #2 Review

I don't need to tell you how much people love Firefly. The short-lived TV show has a huge following of 'browncoats' and I count myself in their numbers. I finished the TV show, and its film spin-off Serenity fairly recently and found myself completely obsessed with getting my next Firefly fix. Naturally, I was excited to see this six-part comic series continuing the story of the beloved crew of Serenity. However, after a promising first issue I have to say I'm disappointed with the second issue of this series. To my fellow Firefly fans I say this: Please don't hate me for this review.

The second issue of "Leaves on the Wind" continues the story of Captain Mal Reynolds and the crew of Serenity on the run from the alliance, and trying desperately to help Zoe who is still struggling after the difficult birth she went through last issue. This story is not the problem, it has potential to show everything that is great and strong about these characters. However, I feel like that potential is not being fulfilled due to some weak scripting from Zack Whedon.

While Whedon's script does capture the basic voices of each crew member, there's something lacking in their interactions. In the TV show, the interactions were witty at times and when jokes were not appropriate you could still feel how close-knit all the characters were. Here though, that sense of closeness has been lost somehow. It feels like the characters we know and love have had 80% of their personalities removed, leaving just their simplest traits to be seen here.
Additionally, the issue just doesn't flow well. Scenes change quite jarringly with no elegance whatsoever in the transitions to each one. It feels like I'm watching events unfold that have little to do with each other simply because everything happens so quickly. It leaves little room for any memorable moments, and makes me think that perhaps this story would have been better off in a different format, or at least a series larger than six issues.

Additionally, I had some real problems with the art in this issue from Georges Jeanty. While in the first issue I had some doubts, overall the art was passable. Here though it has really degraded. Many characters faces change throughout the issue on a scale from "quite a resemblance to the actor" to "who the hell is that even meant to be?" with the latter half of the scale the most frequently used. Even if Jeanty could get a better grasp on the cast's faces, the art is still coming across as relatively unremarkable and I feel a more capable artist could have really helped this series.

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The Wake #6 Review

It feels like it's been a long time since the last instalment of The Wake, but the Vertigo series from Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy finally returns this week with the first issue of "Part 2" of Snyder's epic story. I'm happy to say it is a resounding success. This issue has the daunting task of setting up not just a whole new cast of characters, but also a whole new time period and civilisation and yet somehow it pulls it off. The Wake continues to be some of Snyder's strongest work, and the beautiful art from Murphy doesn't hurt either.

As I said in the intro, The Wake #6 picks up 200 years after the events of the last issue. The savage water-dwelling creatures who terrified the crew of an underground oil rig in "Part One" of this story, have now taken the Earth for themselves with the remaining humans simply learning to live around them. Snyder introduces us to a future that it is immediately clear he has put thought into, establishing such aspects as territories made up of what land remains above sea-level and the people who rule them. As rulers so often are, these people don't seem to be particularly friendly and by the end of this issue we get a clear picture that they will cause a significant amount of bother for our main character Leeward.

Leeward was a character we saw glimpses of in previous issues, but get our first real introduction to the character here. She's your standard future bad-ass punk girl, but adapted to suit Snyder's dystopian future. This means that while she's not yet wildly different from character's we have seen before, she does have an element of uniqueness - and a super-cool dolphin who in his short panel-time has already made a lasting impression on me. Seriously, the dolphin is genuinely cool.

The artwork from Sean Murphy continues to shine in this series as well. His artwork is clear, and his character designs each very different eliminating the problem I get with some books where it is unclear who is talking or present in a scene. Additionally, the fight scenes really stand-out in this issue. It's easy for fight scenes to look disappointingly motionless and static in a comic-book, but here the scenes really flowed and I felt as if I could see the weight of Leeward's punches and kicks which made the fight scenes far more entertaining than if they were done under a less capable artist.

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The Lego Movie Review

The Lego Movie has already become a huge success worldwide, and you've likely already seen many rave reviews of the movie - but just in case you're not convinced just yet, let us add one more to the pile. The Lego Movie is a very fun time for all ages, filled to the brim with jokes, great voice acting, and a touching story. Overall, it is a must see.

I can't say huge amounts about the plot of the Lego Movie without spoiling it, so I'll keep these details brief and vague. The lead character, Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) is an extremely average Lego-man. He follows the instructions to life exactly, and it isn't until he stumbles upon the piece of resistance that he starts to explore his creative side. From here he is taken on a crazy journey with a group of "master builders" that range from original characters such as Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), and Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), to well-known faces like Batman (Will Arnett).
The story is full of laughs, surprises and emotional moments and is an absolute blast to behold. With that in mind, I'll say no more. The Lego movie is best watched knowing little about it beforehand.

What I will say however is that the voice cast in this movie is phenomenal. The aforementioned main cast made up of Pratt, Banks, Freeman and Arnett are the core protagonists and all of them do a great job. While some have more comedic experience than others, all of them are naturals in this genre and show some hilarious comic timing and tone. Other stand-outs in the star-studded cast include Liam Neeson as Bad Cop, a role that winks at his new action star status, while still being totally original in itself. Finally, Charlie Day was brilliant as 80s space-man Benny who, while not getting as much screen time as the other characters, is a very memorable and loveable character.

What is really great about this movie, and what separates it from many other animated films is its great messages. While on the surface the main message appears to be about being yourself, and being creative it actually goes a lot deeper than that. Through the use of a surprisingly sophisticated Lego dystopia, the film subtlety encourages the viewer to stand up to the suits and governments of this world, and take an active involvement in our own lives rather than letting the people higher up make our decisions for us. Not something you'd necessarily expect to see in a Lego Movie, but powerful and effective nonetheless.

I tried hard to think of something to fault this movie with, but I really can't do it. I have been criticised before in my review of The Avengers for singing its praises and not criticising it for anything. However, my view is a review is an opinion and when films like The Avengers and The Lego Movie come along - films that I love - that love will be shown in my review.

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US Box Office Top 10: 24th February 2014

In a relatively small week for movies, it is The Lego Movie that comes on top - for the third week running! Pulling in another $30 million this week, the movie has now made over $180 million in the US alone. This is great news for Chris Pratt who needs all the positive coverage possible to make Guardians of the Galaxy appeal to the mainstream. If you are yet to see The Lego Movie, be sure to rectify that! It's a great movie, and if you want to hear more be sure to check out our review that will be on the site soon.

Kevin Costner's 3 Days to Kill manages to enter the top ten at number two, albeit with a fairly lacklustre haul of $12 million. While on the surface this seems fairly unremarkable, the film did have a small budget of just $28 million and so should turn a profit by the end of its run. Although, poor word of mouth might hurt the film, as it is currently getting savaged by critics - a trait it shares with the other new entry of the week, Pompeii.

Pompeii is the latest offering from Resident Evil director Paul W. S. Anderson. The film steals a trick from Titanic, adding a love story to a tragedy, however by most accounts doesn't pull it off quite as well. Met with negative reviews and a debut of just $10 million, the film's $100 million budget looks a long way off.

Here's this week's top ten in full:

1. (1) The Lego Movie - $31.3 million
2. (-) 3 Days to Kill - $12.2 million
3. (-) Pompeii - $10.3 million
4. (3) Robocop - $9.81 million
5. (4) The Monuments Men - $7.91 million
6. (2) About Last Night - $7.53 million
7. (6) Ride Along - $4.62 million
8. (7) Frozen - $4.4 million
9. (5) Endless Love - $3.97 million
10. (8) A New York Winter's Tale - $2.17 million

Let us know what you've seen recently in the comments below, and be sure to come back next week for more box office analysis.

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The Bunker #1 Review

Joshua Hale Fialkov's The Bunker debuted on Comixology some time ago to much acclaim, and despite being a fan of the writer I simply couldn't pick it up as I have no way of buying digital comics. Enter ONI Press, who have very kindly presented a print version of the book for people in my situation. So now the real question is, was it worth the wait? Definitely. The Bunker #1 is the start of a very interesting, if slightly confusing, story and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how it develops.

The Bunker follows the story of a group of college students who, when attempting to bury a time capsule, come across an underground bunker filled with information that their future selves have left for them. You see, this isn't just any group of students - this group will go on to wipe out most of the people on the planet. This concept is a very clever indeed, and while it takes some time to wrap your head around, is explained well for the most part by writer Joshua Hale Fialkov, and captured expertly by artist Joe Infurnari. His art style adds a real sense of darkness to the story due mainly to the beautiful colouring which gives the book a shadowy, painted style that looks great.
Although at times I did have problems figuring out which characters were speaking and which were in the scene, these moments were few and far between, and the many breathtaking panels Infurnari brings to life more than make up for these panels.

Speaking of characters, Fialkov's character work shines in this issue. His group of five main characters each have a very different voice, and very different backgrounds. And it is these backgrounds that make it so interesting to see how each character reacts to their respective warning. The stand-out character for me was Billy whose story looks to be the most interesting, with hints being laid throughout the book that disaster is waiting for him in the next few issues.

The only real flaw, I can think of from this issue is that sometimes the story lost me. The book flashes forward, particularly near the end, and then flashes back and I had a hard time figuring out what some scenes meant, and what had happened. However, I'm sure these scenes will be elaborated on more in future issues, and may also benefit from a second read-through.

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