SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN

FORMAT: PAPERBACK (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

This is the latest release in DC Comics’ line of graphic novels aimed at the Young Adult market. As strong as this line-up has been, Superman Smashes the Klan is by far the outstanding title in the series to date. As can safely be assumed from the title, this is DC’s take on the ugly spectres of racism, bigotry and hatred, and stars the ultimate immigrant / refugee, the Last Son of Krypton, in a tale that makes for some uncomfortable reading at times – and rightly so. It hits a disturbing real-world problem head on.

Author Gene Luen Yang takes his inspiration from a storyline that was featured in The Adventures of Superman radio show in June 1946. The Lee family move to suburban Metropolis from the Chinatown area and are met with casual verbal racism thinly disguised as banter from their neighbours. This quickly escalates to having the white-robed Knights of the Fiery Kross (who bear an uncanny resemblance to a real-world hate group we won’t mention here) plant a burning cross on their lawn and throw a petrol bomb through their window. As in the radio show, the story is set in post-war America, during the Golden Age era of superheroes – a time when Superman didn’t fly, he leaped and ran on telephone cables to get where he was needed. In a satisfying element of the story, it’s the family’s young daughter who reasons that he could fly if he wanted to – he’s subconsciously pulling himself back to fit in better with the public. Essentially, Superman’s not achieving his full potential to downplay his powers. Of course, when he does embrace his full range of powers, the Klan waste no time in denouncing him as an alien (foreign) threat. And people begin to listen as hate and fear spread faster than any virus.

This is a skilfully-told story, illustrated by Manga artist Gurihiru, that blends the all too real cancer of intolerance with a fictional comic book superhero. It offers no quick solutions, but offers some wisdom and philosophy that will hopefully take root among the readership. Forget the Young Adult blurb on the cover, this story is for everybody.

WRESTLEMASSACRE

WRESTLEMASSACRE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: BRAD TWIGG / STARRING: RICHIE ACEVEDO, JULIO BANA FERNANDEZ, ROSANNA NELSON, RENE DUPREE / RELEASE DATE: 16TH JUNE

There’s a thriving market for low-budget horror movies, ensuring that if you have the wherewithal to follow your dream and make that gory story that’s been sitting at the back of your brain for years, there’ll be an audience eagerly lapping up the gallons of fake blood used in the making of your film.

WrestleMassacre, completed in 2018 but now given a VOD release, is from director Brad Twigg, responsible for the low- to no-budget MILFS vs Zombies and Killer Campout, and eager contributor to the Grindsploitation series. Working with regular partner Matthew Furman, Twigg has crafted the story of a lonely groundskeeper keen to follow in his father’s footsteps as a professional wrestler, only to be thwarted at the first hurdle, sending him into a murderous rage.

Richie Acevedo, who wrestled in the 1990s and 2000s as the Cuban Assassin (but not the famous one), stars as groundskeeper Randy and, while he brings some sympathy to the role, you can see why his resumé mostly consists of uncredited background parts. He has all the skills needed, however, for the latter part of the film – and the reason most people will tune in to this kind of movie – when he embarks on a homicidal rampage, using wrestling moves and whatever weapons are to hand to render his victims into gory puddles.

Twigg and Furman try to build the story of a young couple – who, despite some attempt to have us feel for the wife, are a pair of massive assholes – in over their heads with colourful local loan sharks, led by the diminutive Mr Valentine, backed up by a wonderfully over-the-top Jimmy Flame, and including former grapplers Tony Atlas and Jim “Sandman” Fullington among their heavies. Bolted on is a former soldier, apparently supposed to be suffering from PTSD, played by former WWE star René Duprée, the brother of the asshole wife and set up to be the movie’s heroic ace.

Once it gets going, WrestleMassacre is a terribly bloodthirsty movie, with some stomach-turning ways of doing the death to people, both innocent and guilty, and really that’s what sells it. Just as blue movies felt compelled to tack on a storyline to earn a late-night showing on Channel 5, the poorly-acted first half of this film, full of unlikeable characters and gratuitous nudity, may seem like nothing more than an unwelcome prelude to what most people have come for.

The fight scenes are well done, choreographed by Acevedo, and some of the lo-fi special effects are impressive, but narratively the film is a mess, with a pre-titles scene that makes no sense once you’ve reached the end of the movie, and an inexplicable switch from day to night during the film’s final scene. And that’s without even mentioning the tacked-on demonic angle that comes out of nowhere.

Low-budget horror movies have their fans, and WrestleMassacre will find an audience with devotees of chop, slice and smash rampage flicks. It may even attract some curious old-time wrestling fans, with appearances from Jimmy Valiant, Nikolai Volkoff and Manny Fernandez added to those already mentioned. For anyone else, this is something that needn’t trouble you, and there’s nothing wrong with that; in a world full of video distractions, there’s enough to go round for everyone.

SPACE FORCE

REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (ALL EPISODES) | WHERE TO WATCH: NETFLIX

When General Mark R. Naird (Steve Carell) is thrown into running the new Space Force sector for the US government, he instantly puts his whole heart into it, ready to show that there’s a very positive reason to running a unit that might seem pointless to others. Being called a ‘Spaceman’ is a joke to some, but to him, that’s a very serious title to have. 

With The Office writer Greg Daniels and Steve Carell listed as the creators, you might be fooled into expecting a similar style of humour. However, the jokes are refreshingly far from being in the same format, but are just as well thought out. For example, if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to run a space mission with a space chimpanzee, then you’re in for some hilarious viewing. There’s a well-balanced writing instruction here, and alongside emotional segments, they’ve pushed humour into even the most minute moments to give a consistently impressive watch. Space Force holds an incredible cast, with the likes of Ben Schwartz (now of Sonic the Hedgehog fame) and Lisa Kudrow, and even the late Fred Willard contributing to its star-studded comedic roster. All of this is supported with an orchestra heavy, movie-worthy soundtrack. 

One of the highlights has to be the constant back and forth between Naird and his team of know-it-all scientists. Most notably, the tired & frustrated Dr. Adrian Mallory (John Malkovich). Mallory assumes that Naird has no idea what he is doing, and although at times Naird really doesn’t, he is still giving it his all, and it secretly seems that he wants to prove he is worthy to Mallory. As the series flies on, and as the Chinese Space Force cause havoc for Naird in mischievous ways, we see this spotlighted work duo progress into a friendship. The chemistry captured is excellent, and it’s a vital ingredient. 

Behind the running of Space Force lies the family thread, which is wonderfully held up by Maggie (Kudrow) and Erin Naird (Diana Silvers). There’s a lot of tension here, and the classic question of “What’s more important, family or work?” is asked. As this builds up, we see Space Force skyrocket towards a gripping, “Boots on the Moon!” ending.

THE WONDERFUL 101 REMASTERED

THE WONDERFUL 101 / DEVELOPER & PUBLISHER: PLATINUMGAMES / PLATFORM: PC, PS4, SWITCH (REVIEWED) / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

 

Originally released back in 2013, The Wonderful 101 was greeted with critical acclaim but its sales didn’t quite live up to expectations, most likely due to the game only being available on the much-maligned Wii U. Held in high regard by those who played it, this underappreciated action-packed oddity has now been granted a second chance at success with this Switch remaster by original developers, PlatinumGames (Bayonetta, Astral Chain).

You are the “one” mentioned in Wonderful 101‘s title, a not so ordinary high school teacher who finds himself thrust into the spotlight during an alien invasion. As a member of the Wonderful Ones – a band of superheroes put together by the United Nations – your job is to command the other 100 heroes in the fight against the intergalactic forces of evil. Through a combination of button controls and thumbstick gestures (which can also be replicated by drawing shapes on the Switch’s touchscreen), you’ll transform your party into gigantic alien-crushing weapons, wipe out hordes of invaders, rescue civilians and ultimately save the world!

Drawn and animated in a colourful Saturday morning cartoon style, The Wonderful 101‘s visuals are immediately eye-catching. The gameplay itself is less forthcoming, though, and it can take a while to get the hang of what’s going on. There are plenty of chaotic moments where you’ll lose sight of your character, and it’s easy to forget everything the game has taught you. The Switch remaster does include tutorials (something that was sorely lacking in the original) and those who take the time to learn the intricacies of the game’s combat will find a rewarding system with much more depth than one might expect, but it’s often easier to mash away at the buttons and hope for the best…

Brought back to life by a massively successful Kickstarter campaign, The Wonderful 101 largely remains the same as it was back in 2013, despite being released as a “remaster” – not much has changed apart from a few minor visual tweaks that only the most hardcore graphics nerds are likely to notice. It might not be as essential as many of PlatinumGames’ other titles, but if you missed it at the time and feel like you’re in the mood for a wacky over the top brawler, it might just hit the spot.

MANEATER

MANEATER / DEVELOPER: TRIPWIRE / PUBLISHER: DEEP SILVER / PLATFORM: PC, PS4, XBOX ONE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Reality TV show “Maneater” is following the adventures of renowned hunter Scaly Pete, cruising the waters in search of a notoriously vicious shark. Marking a baby shark with his knife so that he can identify it in later years, the calf retaliates by chomping down on Pete’s arm. Flung into the sea during the melee, it’s now your job as the shark to grow, evolve and survive alone in the ocean. But wherever you go, Scaly Pete is always out there somewhere, looking for revenge…

Maneater‘s semi-open world features a ton of variation in its environments, from shallow murky bayous and flooded factories to the crystal clear waters of the open ocean. Teeming with wildlife and forgotten relics of life above the surface, you’re never short of something to do. Aside from following the main story, there are side missions, hunters to antagonise as you increase your own infamy, super-strong apex predators to take down and landmarks to find, usually featuring a knowing visual reference and a wry quip from narrator, Chris Parnell (Rick and Morty‘s Jerry). Equally amusing are the almost slapstick physics of the game’s combat, which can often be a sight to behold!

The game’s levelling system is based around nutrients earned by eating things and completing objectives. The first couple of hours can be a bit rough, as you’ll often feel underpowered until the shark reaches the adult stage of its life, but it’s well worth persevering – abilities can be added to your internal organs and then enhanced by spending your nutrients, strengthening your shark to the point where you’ll eventually be launching yourself out of the water, snatching humans from bridges with your bio-electrified jaws and dragging them down to the depths just for the fun of it!

Maneater is completely daft and absolutely a novelty, and it does kind of feel a bit low-budget, but if you’re looking for something a bit different and / or a mid-priced game that provides 10 or so hours of ridiculous entertainment, you won’t go far wrong.

WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!

CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: KIRILL SOKOLOV / STARRING: ALEXANDER KUZNETSOV, EVGENIYA KREGZHDE, VITALI KHAYEV, MICHAEL GOR, ELENA SHEVCHENKO / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

What do you get when you mix Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie with a creative dose of Edgar Wright? You get Kirill Sokolov’s Why Don’t You Just Die! of course!

The film follows the chaotic events surrounding Matvei, who is asked by his girlfriend to kill her father, Andrei, who committed heinous acts upon her. When Matvei arrives at the apartment of his lover’s parents, shit truly hits the fan as an all-out blood-soaked battle ensues between them. However, as Matvei continues to defy human nature and consistently get up after the beating he takes, secrets and true colours are revealed as not everyone is who they seem. Throughout the runtime, we get interspliced section of narrative revealing new character traits for those who get caught up in this web of deceit, corruption and gore.

Independent cinema is always restricted by a lot of factors, primarily location and budget, so when a filmmaker uses the limitations to their advantage to create an incredible blend of action, comedy and dark twisted humour that rivals that of any big studio production, you have one hell of a film on your hands.

Director Kirill Sokolov, who even said in our interview with him that Tarantino is an icon in Russian cinema, takes all the best of the legendary filmmaker and puts his own spin on it, with inventive camera work, powerful action set-pieces and a compelling story that keeps you invested from the first frame. Every single punch and weapon strike hits you, the audience, with the force of a massive truck as much as it does the characters on screen.

Why Don’t You Just Die! is a masterclass of filmmaking that should be used in film school when teaching on how to make the most with very little. We fully expect to see Sokolov continue to excel in this field (considering that he wrote, directed and edited the film) and we for one can’t wait to see what he does next.

Special Features

The Arrow Video Blu-ray release of Why Don’t You Just Die! is a must-own for gore fans and for fans of foreign cinema. It contains a wonderful array of extras from Behind the Scenes to the director’s catalogue of short films to see where this talented filmmaker began.

  • Why Can’t We Just Leave? [25:32] – a brand new interview with Author and Critic Kim Newman, exploring Why Don’t You Just Die! within the context of the long-standing tradition of single location cinema.
  • Behind the Scenes [27:18] – various Behind-the-Scenes featurettes.
  • Short Films [1:23:34] – a selection of Director Kirill Sokolov’s short films.
    • Could Be Worse [13:38]
    • The Outcome [10:20]
    • The Flame [29:54]
    • Sisyphus is Happy [25:42]
  • Theatrical Trailer [1:24]

SAINTS ROW THE THIRD REMASTERED

SAINTS ROW THE THIRD REMASTERED / DEVELOPER: VOLITION, SPERASOFT / PUBLISHER: DEEP SILVER / PLATFORM: PC, PS4, XBOX ONE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Originally released in 2011, Saints Row The Third takes place a few years after the events of Saints Row 2. The 3rd Street Saints have claimed victory over all the other gangs in Stilwater, and their criminal organisation has become something of an all-conquering media empire. But their accomplishments in Stilwater were just the beginning – now based in the city of Steelport, run by the violent and unwelcoming Syndicate, the Saints are back to square one and it’s your job to take over the city once again…

Saints Row could never be accused of taking itself too seriously, but SR3 takes things to a whole other level. It wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that SR3‘s over the top insanity was a stiff middle finger to Grand Theft Auto IV, which had been released in 2008 when development on SR3 was just starting. GTA4‘s gritty realism was a source of disappointment for many long-term fans of the series, and SR3 went to great lengths to bring the fun back to the open world genre. Lewd but light-hearted, think of SR3 like GTA4‘s bawdy little brother, or maybe a super-violent X-rated Carry On film. You know what you’re in for within the opening couple of missions when you’re asked to get your car fixed at a shop called Rim Jobs, and then, not too long after that, there’s a particularly unconventional pony and trap race following a visit to a BDSM club, which results in a pimped-up gimp who talks through an auto-tuned voice box joining your party…

The new remaster is very much based on cosmetics. There are new lighting effects, remodelled characters, cars and weapons, increased population density and all sorts of fancy re-texturing and things of that nature. The gameplay itself still plays exactly the same as it did back in 2011, which is no bad thing – everything that made it so much fun back then is still very much present and correct – although it’s fair to say that it does feel slightly dated when compared to the crazy amount of features and gameplay mechanics found in modern games. But SR3 isn’t a modern game and, as such, shouldn’t really be treated as one. The main thing is that it’s still tremendously enjoyable to play, and it’s more than capable of providing dozens of hours’ worth of entertainment.

Steelport was a great place to visit in 2011, and this remains true in 2020. The fresh coat of paint has really brought out the best in the environments, to the point where you’re likely to find yourself ignoring the main storyline and just cruising around aimlessly for a while. There are plenty of fully-licensed radio stations and tons of scenery to check out, and you’re more than likely to experience plenty of those moments where the right song comes on at the right time and everything just feels… perfect.

This is certainly an excellent option for anyone looking to return to the Saints Row series, as well as for those who might not have experienced this particular brand of craziness before.

WISE MAN’S GRANDCHILD

REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (ALL 12 EPISODES) / DIRECTOR: MASAFUMI TAMURA / STARRING: YUSUKE KOBAYASHI, SHOHEI KOMATSU, YUKI WAKAI, RINA HONNIZUMI, MIYU KUBOTA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (VOD, BLU-RAY – REVIEWED)

When a new season of Anime rolls around, you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a host of new Isekai anime. Low and behold, in Spring 2019, Wise Man’s Grandchild made its anime debut.

The story follows Shin Wolford, the grandson of the Wise Man Merlin who, when he was younger, become a hero after saving the kingdom from a Demonoid king. However, in a previous life, Shin was actually a salaryman who died in an accident and woke up as a baby in a world filled with magic and demons. As he grows, Shin discovers he has incredible magic powers inherited from Merlin and, at age 15, must attend a magic academy to hone his skills and learn common sense.

From that explanation alone, for those who have seen plenty of Isekai, it sounds incredibly basic – and it is. The first two episodes race you through Shin’s younger years at breakneck speed meaning you, as the audience, gets barely any time to emotionally connect to him or his backstory and also suffer drastically from tonal issues with the switch between comedy and serious happening at the snap of your fingers.

The only real aspect that makes Shin’s story stand out is the pleasurable score and smooth animation. The battle scenes do pop off the screen in a satisfying manner but that, unfortunately, isn’t enough to make up for the weak narrative, the predictable path and lacklustre relationships between several of the characters including Shin’s love interest Sicily.

Whereas titles such as My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom present viewers with a unique and cleverly written take on this bloated and stale genre giving it a much-needed refresh, Wise Man’s Grandchild adopts the tried and tested formula meaning it disappears into the void with all of the other ultimately forgettable Isekai titles.

Special Features

This two-disc collection of Wise Man’s Grandchild comes with very limited special features, therefore meaning that if one is to watch the series, it would be worthwhile watching on VOD over Blu-Ray.

  • Disc 1
    • Episode 8 Commentary – the English voice cast and crew talk through the series’ eighth episode.
  • Disc 2
    • Promo Videos
    • Textless Opening Song
    • Textless Closing Song

WARHAMMER QUEST BLACKSTONE FORTRESS – NO RESPITE

no respite

PUBLISHER: GAMES WORKSHOP / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Blackstone Fortress is a Warhammer 40,000-themed dungeon crawler game that has been given a lot of love by Games Workshop. There are many expansions of the game, most of which are quite different to each other. The latest box is called No Respite and it introduces a new story and fresh threat to the game. This comes in the form of disease and dismay, all caused by followers of the chaos god, Nurgle.

As you might be able to guess, this is more of a ‘horror’ themed box than previous additions to the game. Our principle antagonists are Plague Marines and their zombie-like minions. The plot is that a series of horrific plagues have hit Fortress, causing the explorers in the ancient alien structure to get sick. The explorers must find a way to stop the sickness from spreading, which mostly means murdering any Nurgle cultist they can find.

This is a very particular mission with a strong story behind it. Unlike some of the other Blackstone Fortress adventures, you’re not wandering around looking for clues. Instead, this is all about the big missions, going into areas and dealing with a serious threat. Nurgle has infected parts of the station with supernatural diseases, ones that will kill the explorers over time if they’re not careful. The result is a more strategic game; you can’t just blast your way through most encounters because your party will get sick and die.

Of all of the expansions, this is the one that causes the most communication and planning. The plagues are interesting and appropriately gross and the tone is more grim and horror inclined, which you should total expect.  We also get Sawbones Station, a new space ship card to add to the growing pile of ships that make up Precipice, the ‘home town’ that the heroes go to between adventures. This feature is a firm favourite in the 40K canon, the orang-utan-like alien geniuses the Jokaero. They’re a cool addition to the story, though you do find yourself wishing there was more to them.

No Respite requires both the core set and the Escalation expansion to play, partially because the maps use some of the Escalation tiles and mostly because you’ll need those extra explorers; this game has a strong mortality rate.

The biggest criticism of this set is, unusually, the miniatures. We get Pox Walkers and Death Guard, which are easy to assemble models that you may have seen in other Games Workshop products. There’s nothing actually wrong with the models; they’re supernaturally rotting horrors and look pretty cool in a horror movie sort of way. Alas we’ve come to expect more from Blackstone Fortress models, it would have been nice to have seen zombified versions of another Xenos type for example, or a kit for the Jokaero. On the other hand, if you’ve already got Poxwalker and Death Guard models (and it’s likely you do), then you can now add them to your games of Blackstone Fortress as this set gives you the rules and cards to do so. Overall, a fun expansion with some neat ideas.

MONSTER TRAIN

MONSTER TRAIN / DEVELOPER: SHINY SHOE / PULISHER: GOOD SHEPHERD ENTERTAINMENT / PLATFORM: PC / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Similar to last year’s sleeper hit, Slay the Spire, Monster Train is a roguelike deck-building game. Where the two games differ, however, is that here you’re the bad guys on the defence.

The story goes that hell has frozen over and you must protect the last burning pyre from heaven’s forces and restore the inferno. Your train, consisting of four floors, moves through different areas, being bombarded by enemy visitors. Enemies usually come in on the ground floor and then attack and defend; if they survive, they move up to the next floor. Your cards consist of defenders and spells, with each defender having a capacity value, only allowing you to put a couple of defenders on each floor. At the fourth floor, they’ll battle your powerful pyre and, when that dies, it’s game over. As you progress, you’ll gain new cards, upgrade existing ones and gain artefacts that add special abilities. Like with all roguelikes, once you lose, all your deck is gone and you start from the beginning.

The game takes a while to get going, and having to repeat early levels can be a bit of a grind due to how long levels take and how straightforward it starts out. Once you get a few new cards and upgrades though, things slowly become a bit more interesting and tactical. There are over 200 different cards altogether and, although the artwork on the cards isn’t anything special, the characters themselves look decent, and they utilise a wide range of different mechanics that anyone who’s played collectible card games will be familiar with.

Other than the standard single player mode, there’s also an online multiplayer mode where you battle other players, a daily challenge with online leaderboard, and a mode that allows you to create your own challenge for others. It’s hard not to compare Monster Train with Slay the Spire, as they’re very similar set ups, but this too is a fun game that’s worth checking out.