A film you should see

Title: Out of the Furnace (2013)
Director: Scott Cooper
Writers: Brad Ingelsby, Scott Cooper
Starring: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Willem Defoe, Woody Harrelson, Sam Shepard, Zoe Saldana, Forest Whitaker
Running Time: 116 min
 

Out of the Furnace may at first appear to be a crime drama set in the underbelly of a small American town, in the vein of classics such as No Country for Old Men, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead or Fargo. And it is that. And it's a very good film in this genre. But it's also a timely and poignant look at the state of America as it is today.

Christian Bale plays Russell Baze, a factory worker at the town mill, struggling to make ends meet but seemingly content with his lot in life, which includes his girlfriend, played by Zoe Saldana. His brother, Casey Affleck, is an army vet, returned from Iraq and gambling money he borrows from local crime shark John Petty, played by Willem Defoe. 

Russell's life quickly gets turned upside down. Fast forward a few years, and he is out of prison, his girlfriend has left him for the local sheriff, Forest Whitaker, and his brother is on the road to self destruction. Seemingly at the crossroads, his brother begins illegal streetfighting to make money, and engages Willem Defoe to organise a fight with a crime gang higher up the food chain, led by Woody Harrelson. When his brother goes missing, Russell Baze will stop at nothing to find him.

At face value this is a great noir crime-drama. The acting is superb, as you would expect from a stellar cast such as this. Woody Harrelson is particularly menacing as a psychotic crime/drug lord. But what gives this film that extra weight is the current climate that America finds itself in. This is a slice of life of millions of Americans today. Casey Affleck's portrayal of an Iraq War army vet is haunting. When Christian Bale mentions to him there is no shame in working for a living, he explodes. "I've given my life for this country. What has it done for me?" He has faced the horrors of war, sacrificed his all for his country, only to find nothing waiting for him when he returned. He is alone, broke, with no hope and no prospects.

Christian Bale's character seemingly accepts his lot in life. His father is dying, but he has a job and a girlfriend. However one mistake and the system strips everything from him. Now he has nothing. His dad dies while he is in prison. His girlfriend leaves him while he is in prison. He manages to get his old job back, but word is the factory will soon close, it's cheaper to import steel from China. As he drinks at the bar, the TV shows a politician shouting that it's time to elect Obama, for the country to change. The world on the screen is a million miles from the reality these people live in. 

Out of the Furnace is not a political film. The points are made subtly, and can be ignored as just scene setting, which is perfectly fine. It's a great crime/drama with a great story and wonderful acting. However, when taken as a whole it is a much richer experience. The constant feeling of foreboding in the atmosphere, the bleakness of the setting, the melancholy of the characters. This is a story of America. This is a quite brilliant movie.

Comic of the Week - Monster & Madman #1

Writer: Steve Niles

Artist: Damien Worm
Publisher: IDW
Release Date: March 13, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Steve Niles delivers another masterful tale of horror in his new 3 part series, Monster & Madman. An alternate take on two of two most famous horror characters from the past, Frankenstein's Monster and Jack the Ripper. 

The first issue tells the alternate version of events of Frankenstein's Monster. How he escapes the clutches of his master, and tries to escape his fate by starting his life anew. 

Rather than a standard story of horror or suspense, what we get here is a story of pain, suffering and misery, but ultimately hope for change. The Monster is torn with anguish, the pain of life, the pain of the past, and the pain of realising what he is, a monster. However, through the course of the journey which takes the Monster from the icy waters of Norway and onto the high seas, we come to find that monsters come in all forms, and looks can be deceiving.

The artwork by Damien Worm is absolutely masterful. Sketchy and bleak but beautiful and haunting, he sets the tone perfectly for a story told through the eyes of a monster. The ugliness of the world, of those that inhabit it, and of the monster himself is conveyed perfectly. 

The last page of this issue sets the story for the second character in the title, the Madman, Jack the Ripper. I'm curious to see how this will play out, but in a way I'm actually a bit sad we aren't getting an entire series dedicated to Frankenstein's Monster. I really like this take on the character and would definitely like to see more. Nevertheless, this is a great issue and very highly recommended.

Comic of the Week - Starlight #1

Writer: Mark Millar

Artist: Goran Parlov
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: March 6, 2014
Cover Price: $2.99

Mark Millar launches the all new Millarworld Universe with the debut of a new original series, Starlight. And just like that, he knocks it out of the park. This is an amazing first issue, and such a brilliant way to start off a new series.

Starlight introduces us to Captain Duke McQueen, All American square jawed fighter pilot, who made a little sojourn to another universe, saved the fate of an entire planet, and came home. Now those days are over, and with the passing of his wife, we see an empty man, struggling to lead a normal life while reflecting on the glory of the past, both from his intergalactic adventures, and of the memories of his wife.

The artwork from Goran Parlov is nothing short of breathtaking. Millar wasn't kidding when he said it almost hurt him to look at it. The panels are large, bright, and so simple yet so filled with emotion and gravitas. Much like Millar's writing. He doesn't fall into the trap of so many comic book writers, throwing in unnecessary plot lines, confusing dialogue, or a million ideas at once. He keeps it simple, but still manages to evoke such strength and weight in the storytelling. The constant juxtaposition between the space scenes that hark back to the Golden Age of comics, where chisel jawed men in bright spandex fought for the fate of the universe, the modern day scenes showing a shell of a man, going through life's motions, struggling to carry on, and the flashback's showing times spent with his wife really make this issue special.

This is such a great comic, I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's going to be interesting to see where things will go, and hopefully with this being a Millar title there will be a lot more interesting scenarios. Nevertheless, this issue is so good it can almost stand alone. Brilliant, brilliant stuff.

Comic of the week - The Remains #1

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: A.C. Zamudio
Publisher: Monkeybrain Comics
Release Date: February 26, 2014
Cover Price: $0.99

The Remains is a new 4 part series for fans of horror and the supernatural. This issue really surprised with some excellent writing and artwork, and an interesting set up for the rest of the series to work with.

The story is told to us from the eyes of a young girl named Birdie, who along with her younger, mischievous sister Abigail, live and work on a farm with their mum and dad. Birdie tells the story of a stranger arriving at the farm looking for work and seemingly causing a series of events which is destined to change the farm and the lives of those living on it forever.

The storytelling, art and characterisation here is outstanding. We get a taste of the harsh reality of life on the farm, for the kids, the dad, even the poor dog which spends it's day chained up until it's let loose for it's one job on the farm, a gruesome scene of him killing rats. The two girls are both well rounded characters, with the older and wiser Birdie understanding the difficulty her dad faces running the farm and with his ailing health, and also her strong distrust of the new stranger, contrasted with the younger and childish Abigail, who would rather be playing with the dog than doing chores or forcing him to kill rats. 

The stranger is obviously cast as mysterious and potentially malicious, but so far all we have to go on that is Birdie, so it remains to be seen what role he has to play in this story as it unfolds. I'm already cannot wait for the next issue. If you're at all a fan of the mysterious, supernatural or horror this is a must read.

Gears of War 3 - First Impressions

Finally a reason to dust of the old Xbox 360 with the only exclusive series worth a damn on the Microsoft system. Whereas the Halo series has struggled on the 360, Gears of War has been the epitome of next-gen gaming. Even though PS3 has some great exclusive titles in Resistance and Killzone, Gears of War is the original and best. I've been a fan since day one and I've been eagerly awaiting the third installment for a long time now.

Having tonight played through the entirety of Act 1 on Hardcore, all I can say is that GoW3 has not failed to deliver the goods. The graphics are stunning, the refinements to the gameplay are small but noticeable, the action is non-stop and the controls are still best in show. What's also noticeable now is there seems to be a lot more depth, to the story telling and the characters. There's still a whole bunch of cheesy one-liners and wisecracks, but the guys at Epic are at least trying to add something more to this story.

The game begins with a flashback gameplay sequence of Marcus Fenix attempting to rescue his father. After this, we see the crew now living on a ship, and the obligatory gathering of the crew for a new mission. After the nice cinematic intro it's straight into the action, and it's all so familiar yet still nearly perfect in every way. The shooting in this game just feels so satisfying. The controls are tight and it all comes naturally.

What's interesting about the first Act is that first you play the Marcus Fenix portion, then half way though you switch over to Cole Train and play out his story, the events of which eventually culminate in the same climax. This gives the game some really nice locations to explore from the get go and the action is full on. Gore, explosions and non stop action. Gotta love it. But it also gives the game some time to explore the Cole Train character, as well as showing some of the survivors still dealing with the enemy. Again, the depth to the story and characters is very noticeable here.

The graphics are great. and while there is the odd stutter here and there during cut scenes or transitions, the gameplay sections are always smooth. It's a testament to Epic at just how much pride they take in their product and just how much juice they're able to squeeze out of the now ageing 360.

I can't wait to get back into this game and finish the rest of the campaign. And then all of the other modes as well. This game is jam packed.

The New 52 Review: Detective Comics #1

It doesn't look like much of a reboot for Batman so far. I haven't been keeping up with the mythos for a long time now but this seems like a well written Batman story plain and simple. Is it good? Even very good? Yes, but with all the excitement regarding the reboot the lack of surprise in this title is somewhat disappointing.

So what we have here is a a strong Batman story. The fact that it's also the origin story for the Batman taking on the Joker helps to enhance what may have otherwise been far more pedestrian Batman fare. This title tries to hark back to classic Batman tales of yesteryear and it pulls it off well, but it's a little more nostalgic than original. The problem here is that it's not that hard to write Batman well. The cliffhanger ending promises intrigue and I'm hoping it delivers.

Yep...that's Batman alright.

The artwork here is a little up and down, some beautiful gory and grimy scenes are contrasted with iffy panels throughout. The Joker just doesn't look right on a few pages. I'm interested to see where this goes, and this is the saving grace for this relaunch, the fact that people will be giving the books a while to settle in before deciding whether to stick with it or not.

The New 52 Review: Action Comics #1

Now this is more like it. After the somewhat underwhelming first issue of Justice League, Grant Morrison delivers an excellent first issue in an all new start for Superman. This is a character that despite epitomising the very essence of superhero just never captured a great deal of comic book fan's attention. And I must admit I'm one of them. Superman always seemed so dull to me.

But Grant Morrison embraces the challenge of The New 52 and brings us the best version of Superman yet.
Finally Superman is interesting. Instead of focusing on humanizing superman, Morrison hones in on the alien aspect of the story, and in turn succeeds in making Superman unpredictable and fascinating. What we see here is an alien visitor trying to be heroic but at the same time showing more than a little anger, resilience and righteousness.

Oh No! Superman is a Commie robot from outerspace! 

As Superman goes about his vigilante business, his path crosses with that of a couple of other characters who will feature in this series; Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and of course Lex Luthor. It's hard to write Luthor badly, and Morrison gets him just right. Immediately Lex is on the case of Superman, determined that he is a dangerous alien who must be stopped and at any cost. Yep, it's on between Supes and Luthor.

The alter ego in this story is Clark Kent, seemingly bottling up the rage inside of Superman and going about his mild-mannered business in a mild-mannered way. I'm not sure how Morrison has in mind for the Superman/Clark Kent aspect but it will be interesting. Morrison is a master and this is a brilliant way to start things off.

Clark Kent or Harry Potter turned bum.

The artwork is brilliant. Morales is such a classic artist, his work is so crisp and gorgeous to look at, and his pacing and story-telling skills are second-to-none. It complements the story and even enhances it. Beautiful work.

This is such a great first issue, I can't wait for the next one.

DC Comics reboot - JLA 1 Review

The much anticipated DC Comics reboot is finally upon us, and it all starts with Justice League of America 1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. After all the hype and intrigue, I must say I'm more than a little underwhelmed. Here is the chance to start everything again, and what do we get? Standard superhero fare. Different, but really pretty much the same. As someone who hasn't read DC Comics for quite a while, and am completely out of the loop, I would guess I'm the exact type of reader DC Comics is targeting with this relaunch. And maybe I'm being a little harsh since this is the first issue out of 52 new first issues, and since we're starting 5 years in the past, there's a whole lot of story to unfold, but this is not the big bang I was expecting.

Things start of with Batman chasing down an unknown villain across rooftops in Gotham. The artwork is, as always by Jim Lee, simply brilliant. But the story telling is sub-par. The whole premise of everyone meets each other and they get off on the wrong foot but eventually they'll team up for the greater good just seems like the lazy way to kick off this whole universe.

What is it about the docks that continually attracts shady villain types? .

So Batman is chasing this villain, while himself being chased by the authorities, because we're in a world that fears and distrusts these new superheroes. How do we know? Because Batman tells us. Then Green Lantern shows up. Cue some witty banter and explosions galore and then it's off to meet Superman, who seems kind of pissed off, leading to the inevitable showdown between Bats and Supes in Issue 2. We're also slightly jarringly introduced to the would-be Cyborg and get some more lame exposition showing how the world is confused about these new emerging superheroes.

Green Lantern is such a douche...

It seems like DC have played it very safe here. I don't understand the point of rebooting an entire universe only to make it the same as before, but I'm willing to give this series the benefit of the doubt and see where it leads. If nothing else, Jim Lee's art is beautiful. Let's see what the rest of the titles have to offer.

Album Review: Nader Sadek - In the Flesh

There's been some great Death Metal released so far this year, the new Origin album being a particular highlight, but I have to say this has quickly become my new favourite. 

Egyptian born conceptual artist Nader Sadek has assembled a Death Metal supergroup to portray his vision of a world obsessed with consuming petroleum and in turn consuming itself. The roster consists of Flo Mounder (Cryptopsy), Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel) and Rune Ericksen (Mayhem) as well as other guest musicians and the influences and quality of musicianship is clear to see. 

After an eerie intro Petrophilia assaults with razor sharp cold black metal riffs and swamp laden vocals. In fact this album has really turned me onto Steve Tucker as a vocalist, his performance on this whole album is brilliant. Very Dave Vincent circa Domination era Morbid Angel but with more hate and venom. Much of the album actually channels the Domination album by Morbid Angel, with some nice sludgy riffs alternating with more bleak black metal styled ones. The drumming by Flo is brilliant and unrelenting throughout, and Rune Ericksen's influence can be felt with the cold, bleak, digital production as became popular in the early 2000's Black Metal scene, especially with bands on the Moonfog roster. 

Nader Sadek has entered the Death Metal fray swinging. This is such a brilliant album, with a unique vision and impeccable musicianship. It's going to be hard to top for the rest of the year.