THE BLACK GLOVES

black gloves

THE BLACK GLOVES / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: LAWRIE BREWSTER / SCREENPLAY: SARAH DALY / STARRING: JAMIE SCOTT JORDAN, MACARENA GOMEZ, ALEXANDRA NICOLE HULME / RELEASE: TBC 

Originally released in black-and-white, but now getting a second chance in colour, the highly stylised mystery thriller The Black Gloves makes no apologies for its niche indie-art sensibilities. Whilst paying clear homage to the kind of psychologically disturbed cinema seen in The Innocents, Rebecca, and The Haunting, the film adopts the conventions of the popular cinema of the 1940s decade in which it is set. Added into the creative mix are some much more contemporary folk-horror motifs.

The central characters of the piece are drawn with the kind of broad brushstrokes which were entirely in-keeping with the expectations of that era’s British cinema. This means that the cast deliver their interpretations of the impassioned physician, the damaged dancer and the embittered housekeeper-come-choreographer with an intensity and directness that would, in other present-day filmic contexts, come across as simply over-the-top. Echoed in the way that The Black Gloves is framed and shot, this kind of overwrought evocation of the story is the clear intent of screenwriter Daly and director Brewster.

Psychiatrist Finn Galloway (Gordon) tricks his way into an isolated house in the Scottish Highlands. He hopes to be able to counsel talented ballerina Elisa Grey (Hulme) who has withdrawn from the world after a production of Swan Lake she was performing in was consumed by fire. Teacher Lorena Velsaco (Gomez) guards her patient closely, yet compels her to follow a gruelling training regime in the hope of recapturing her earlier form. Galloway learns of a mysterious and mythical spectre, known as The Owl Man, who may be implicated in the earlier death of a young girl at the house.

The Black Gloves looks great throughout. The cinematography of the barren coastline and the forbidding woodlands close to the house is striking, while the dark interiors of the house are beautifully lit to heighten the unsettling impact. It’s a sign of the meticulousness, and the sense of commitment to delivering on the film’s vision, that’s evident across the piece. Nothing about The Black Gloves looks thrown together. Everything on screen comes across as being exhaustively assessed and appraised.

Despite this, the challenge that the film faces is in trying to blend its disparate elements: the existential exploration of the former dancer’s traumatic life-history; and the lurking menace of the folklore monster that’s closing in on them. It only partially succeeds in doing so, through the tropes of film-noir paranoia.

The last half of the film is the strongest, as it tracks the unravelling of the relationship triangle and the pace picks up considerably. The tone turns darker, and for a time a sense of genuine malevolence displaces the film’s rarefied atmosphere. That’s before the film’s overlong coda delivers surprises that confuse rather than clarify the story’s internal logic. But this is filmmaking at its most considered and, as with everything else in the movie, nothing about those closing creative decisions appears throwaway.

FIRE FORCE

REVIEWED: SEASON 1 – PART 1 (EPISODE 1-12) / DIRECTOR: YUKI YASE / STARRING: GAKUTO KAJIWARA, M.A.O., AOI YUUKI, SAEKO KAMIJOU, YUUSUKE KOBAYASHI, KAZUYA NAKAI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (VOD, BLU-RAY – REVIEWED)

2019 was an incredibly strong year for anime with the likes of Demon Slayer and The Promised Neverland taking the world by storm – and they weren’t the only series to blow the minds of anime fans the world over, as arguably the hottest and most anticipated series to come out last year was Fire Force from the creator of Soul Eater.

In the Solar Year 198, the Earth is ravaged by a terrible curse – at any point, anyone can spontaneously combust and transform into fire monsters known as Infernals. A special fire force has been set up by three governing bodies to tackle this epidemic by putting the Infernals to rest by destroying their core. Our protagonist Shinra is about to join the 8th Company – however, Shinra has a troubled past and possesses a unique ability to produce flames from his feet and use them to fight and fly. His goal – become a hero and avenge the loss of his mother and brother who passed in a house fire twelve years prior.

This anime, based on the hugely popular and still continuing manga, has been sensationally brought to life by David Productions – the art style truly encapsulates the spirit of the source material and the anime faithfully brings these wonderful fleshed out characters and world to life. Within these first 12 episodes of a 25 episode season, audiences are introduced to some truly marvellous characters, including the happy go lucky Captain Obi, the cocky Knight King Arthur and the adorable yet fierce tempered Maki.

What sets Fire Force apart from its peers is its strong lead character Shinra. His story emotionally tethers the viewer to the show and brings you back week after week in order to follow him trying to discover the cause of combustion. Fire Force also has arguably the best anime opening theme since Attack on Titan first graced our screens. ‘Inferno’ by Mrs GREEN APPLE stunningly captures the high octane nature of the show and also has an incredibly catchy chorus.

At its core, Fire Force is easily one of the best anime series of 2019. The well-realised characters, great dialogue and emotional beats all mould together to form a compelling story that gets stronger with each episode. Topped off with gorgeous music and high-octane battles sequences, this is an anime you do not want to miss.

Special Features

Fire Force Season 1 Part 1 contains a selection of extras ranging from behind-the-scenes looks at a handful of episodes to episode commentary from the English voice cast. An interesting worthwhile addition for fans to watch.

  • Disc 1
    • Episode 1 Commentary – the English voice cast and crew talk through the series’ first episode.
  • Disc 2
    • Interview with Atsushi Ohkubo at Anime Expo 2019 [8:45] – the Writer and Author of the Fire Force manga is interviewed at Anime Expo 2019.
    • Atsushi Ohkubo Speed Drawing at Anime Expo 2019 [1:28] – the Writer and Author of the Fire Force manga completes a Fire Force themed Speed Drawing at Anime Expo 2019.
    • Inside the Episode – a behind the scenes look at three episodes with the English voice cast.
      • Episode 5 [10:21]
      • Episode 8 [9:53]
      • Episode 12 [9:03]
    • Episode 10 Commentary – the English voice cast and crew talk through the series’ tenth episode.
    • Textless Opening Song
    • Textless Closing Song

DEATHTRAP DUNGEON: THE INTERACTIVE VIDEO ADVENTURE

DEATHTRAP DUNGEON: THE INTERACTIVE VIDEO ADVENTURE / DEVELOPER & PUBLISHER: BRANCHING NARRATIVE / PLATFORM: ANDROID, iOS, PC (REVIEWED) / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Videogame adaptations of those 1980’s “choose your own adventure” books have rarely turned out well. Over the years, several developers have tried to recreate the thrill of these forgotten relics of a bygone age, but very few have succeeded in capturing the curious inquisitiveness and magical wonderment that actually reading a book, making decisions, turning the pages and allowing your imagination to run wild can provide. Games Workshop co-founder and prolific fantasy gamebook author Ian Livingstone is responsible for some of the finest role-playing titles of the 80s, with his Fighting Fantasy series sitting at the top of the list in terms of critical reception and longevity. Newcomers Branching Narrative recently released their debut game – an adpatation of 1984’s Deathtrap Dungeon, the most popular and well-known entry in the Fighting Fantasy series – but can it live up to expectations set by its source material?

Part story, part game, Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure stars British actor Eddie Marsan (V For Vendetta, The World’s End and Deadpool 2, among other genre favourites) who narrates the story and offers hints to the player. Marsan reads passages from the book with an understated but friendly tone from the safety of an old leather armchair. When the time comes for decisions to be made, it’s a simple case of clicking your preferred option on-screen. Combat outcomes are based around your character’s health, stamina and luck points, with success or failure determined by in-game dice rolls. Your stats are displayed around the screen so everything’s easy to keep track of, and rules of the more intricate battles are thoroughly explained so you never feel lost or overwhelmed.

Everything works well for the most part, and some nice artwork pops up here and there to illustrate your surroundings (usually matching exactly with what your imagination had already put together). We can’t help but wonder if adopting a slightly more over the top persona for Marsan’s narrator might have upped the ante in the entertainment stakes a little but, other than that, Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure is a fine update, and certainly a novel way to experience a true genre classic.

STREETS OF RAGE 4

STREETS OF RAGE 4 / DEVELOPER: DOTEMU, LIZARDCUBE, GUARD CRUSH GAMES / PUBLISHER: DOTEMU / PLATFORM: PC, PS4, SWITCH, XBOX ONE (REVIEWED) / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

If you were a gamer during the early 90s, chances are you came across the Streets of Rage franchise. Completely revitalising the beat ‘em up genre and further raising the profile of Sega’s 16-bit Megadrive / Genesis console, the SOR trilogy was a huge mainstream success and undoubtedly one of the most recognisable videogame series of the era. Now, after much fan demand and an almost 26-year wait, the franchise is finally getting a new iteration on modern consoles in the form of Streets of Rage 4!

Development was split between Lizardcube and Guard Crush Games (with Dotemu handling publishing duties) after Lizardcube had initially approached Sega with the idea. The combination of Lizardcube and Dotemu had proved to be a potent mix after their highly praised remake of Wonder Boy 3 (which we can’t recommend enough!), so Sega were keen to greenlight the project and, with the addition of a modified version of Guard Crush Games’ Streets Of Fury engine, SOR4 was born.

Gameplay doesn’t deviate too far from the original formula, but with a few welcome additions that help bring the game into the modern era. You’re still playing a traditional, belt scrolling, arcade button-masher, but there are far more combos, special moves, hidden areas, weapons and general tactics to deploy. For the first time in a SOR title, players can now enjoy simultaneous four-player multiplayer co-op action, both locally or online. This is where the lion’s share of your enjoyment is going to come from. Things get pretty frantic in multiplayer and stringing together chains of combos and joint attacks is extremely satisfying. Back is the health-depleting special move from almost all beat ‘em ups, but now you have the opportunity to regain the health lost from performing the move by executing a perfectly timed combo.

Presentation is top notch right across the board, from the menus, to the soundtrack, to the graphical style. The music in particular really captures the vibe of the original (which is none too surprising given that Yuzo Kushiro was one of the composers), but the whole package really is what SOR fans have been clamouring for. There’s also a huge amount of replayability with such a vast amount of things to unlock and so many things to customise. SOR4 is a beat ‘em up fan’s dream.

ALEX AUTOMATIC

With the latest instalments of cult comic-book Alex Automatic coming to Kickstarter, it’s probably about time that we review the series so far, including the forthcoming issues.

At first glance, Alex Automatic appears to be a spy-fi action thriller about a chap called Alex Anderson who has been ‘enhanced’ with all sorts of cybernetics by a shadowy secret organisation. The process that has turned him into a phenomenal killing machine has also shattered his mind.

This means that the storytelling is not in a simple straight line. We flashback and flash-forward throughout the narrative. The lines between Alex’s programmed reality and what’s actually going on are blurred. The story also descends into meta-narrative, becoming more a story about the nature of stories than its own thing.

What appears to be a tangled and incoherent mess is something much deeper and messier; a complex experiment in the nature of nostalgia, comic book heroes and the causally murderous nature of super spies. Writer Fraser Campbell is aiming to mess with your mind, and this does not make for easy reading. Though comics are the perfect medium for story-within-story style shenanigans, Campbell really pushes the edge here.

He’s readily assisted by artists James Corcoran and David B. Cooper. The style is early ‘80s, harking back to comics such as Battle and The Eagle. Because Fraser keeps shifting the scene, the art has to adapt whilst still keeping that simple action pulp feel. This becomes a lot smoother in the later books as the creators clearly get into the rhythm. Lettering and design is courtesy of king of the font-monkeys, Colin Bell, so of course, it’s very clear and adapts to the narrative very well.

The book is about as polished as indie comics are, and still has that edgy feel that we’ve come to expect from our indie books. We wouldn’t call the Alex Automatic series fun, but it is a very engaging (if difficult) read.

The Alex Automatic Kickstarter ends Sunday May 24. More information can be found on the Cabal Comics website.

THE MIDNIGHT GOSPEL

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

Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward has teamed up with comedian Duncan Trussell to deliver something truly unique, a show that sometimes feels like it could be unwatchable, but instead turns into something deeply moving and thoughtful. The Midnight Gospel follows Clancy (Trussell), a ‘spacecaster’ who travels to worlds about to experience an apocalypse so he can interview people for his show. He travels using a forbidden universe simulator, and is based in a dimension called ‘the Chromatic Ribbon’.

While he converses with his guests on everything from meditation to listening and deep existential philosophy, most of the time it looks like someone gave a toddler some acid and watched what they came up with. The visual style is utterly bewildering. It is a task to keep up with the depth of conversation Clancy has with his guests when there is so much vivid nonsense happening around them. Yet it doesn’t feel like a distraction. Rather, this demand for focus is central to the show’s purpose. Clancy’s journey over eight episodes takes him in a direction of, if not enlightenment, then deep spiritual learning. This is best seen in the final episode, which guest stars Trussell’s real-life mother and features the most powerful emotional crescendo.

It’s visual eccentricity, sci-fi expressionism, and characters all contribute moments of light relief and joy amidst some serious discussions. The philosophy doesn’t overpower the weirdness, but embraces it. Sometimes it is hard to see where the series is going, but it feels very suitable to have more of a focus on where things are, rather than where they are going. It means you can sit back and enjoy this crazy, crazy universe for what it is, from the last giant zombie to the spaceship cat crew.

The Midnight Gospel trips hard, and sometimes you will be wondering what the hell you are watching. But if you stick with it, you are rewarded with a resonating and fulfilling experience, as good as any you could hope to get from a TV show. It will not be for everyone’s tastes, but you can stand to gain a lot from Ward’s most recent stroke of genius.

THE MANDALORIAN

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

A long time in the making, the Star Wars galaxy’s first foray into live action TV is finally here. Created by Iron Man director Jon Favreau – obviously a fan of men in metal suits – The Mandalorian follows a member of the armour-clad warrior culture first introduced to us in the form of Boba Fett.

Set five years after Return of the Jedi, when the Empire has fallen but the New Republic has not yet established peace and order, on the frontier planets far-flung from the cities of Coruscant, this is Star Wars as we saw it in the first act of A New Hope – a Western-esque world of scum and villainy.

The influence of Western and samurai movies is embodied in the eponymous hero; seemingly nameless and faceless, this Mandalorian merc travels from planet to planet, working for hire and collecting bounties. As the season begins, he’s hired by an Imperial remnant faction to collect a mysterious asset – a child. You’ve seen the memes, you know who it is.

It’s also no big spoiler that our Mando builds up a bond with Baby Yoda – sorry, ‘The Child’ – and that the Imperials can’t entirely be trusted. Mando and Child end up travelling the galaxy together, him taking on jobs while trying to protect and learn more about his adorable companion, the Imperials never far from their trail. The structure works brilliantly; whereas many modern series drag one story out over a long run of episodes, this takes the more traditional approach of giving us a full Star Wars adventure every week – the Mandalorian will land on a planet, encounter a problem, shoot stuff, and leave.

While these adventures, understandably, don’t have the epic battles you’d expect from a big-screen Star Wars movie, each episode is a fast and action-packed slice of TV, with highlights including the Mando defending a fishing village from a gang of raiders and an encounter with a feisty band of Jawas. Various allies join along the way, including Nick Nolte’s Ugnaught Kuill and Gina Carano’s ex-rebel Cara Dune, all building up to a Seven Samurai-esque standoff between this ragtag group and the Imperial faction led by Werner Herzog (yes, really) and Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito.

With directors including Favreau, Taika Waititi, and Bryce Dallas Howard, the show looks gorgeous, quickly establishing its own style – Waititi even gets some of his trademark deadpan humour into his episode – while feeling a definite part of the Star Wars universe; there are stunning planetary landscapes, those iconic wipes, and, while not an overbearing amount of continuity, plenty of recognisable aliens and droids.

What ties the whole series together is the developing lone-wolf-and-cub relationship between Mando and Child; as well as the cute puppetry, the performance of Pedro Pascal really sells this – we may not see his face under the helmet, but his growing affection for the Child, and the inner conflict of a man from an honourable society being made to do dirty jobs, are visible in the way he carries himself and his heavy armour.

The Mandalorian is a classic Western series with modern production values, set in the galaxy far, far away. Every episode is a Star Wars movie in half an hour, and a delight. And Baby Yoda is really, really cute.

THE COURT OF MIRACLES

court miracles

THE COURT OF MIRACLES / AUTHOR: KESTER GRANT / PUBLISHER: HARPERVOYAGER / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 4TH

Kester Grant’s The Court of Miracles is both an alt-history story and a retelling of Les Miserables. Set in a version of 19th century France whose revolution was quashed, Paris is divided between the wealthy elite, the starving poor and the titular Court – a union of the city’s criminals, bound by strict codes of honour. But a cruel tyrant is corrupting the Court, and only a young thief can stop him.

Grant’s tale owes as much to the likes of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows as it does to Victor Hugo’s magnum opus (though it does take its title from another one of his novels, The Hunchback of Notre Dame), so whether you’re a fan of the tragedy of Jean Valjean or not, there’s much to enjoy from this dark, thrilling tale of what goes on in a fantastical Parisian underworld.

The world-building is a particular highlight, with the reader discovering the various guilds of the Court, its laws and its secret past as the novel progresses. The city itself could have had a stronger presence and felt like a character in itself, considering it’s all about the battle for the fate of Paris, but there’s always room for this to be improved in the follow-ups.

If you come for the world-building and Les Mis connections, stay for the heroine – the highly capable, cunning Nina. A very loose adaptation of Hugo’s Eponine Thenardier, this Nina is far from the lovelorn girl who sings about how Eddie Redmayne doesn’t fancy her. She’s fiery, determined and her motivation – to save her sister from the villain’s clutches – is clear from the off.

Though the references to Les Mis peppered throughout are fun to spot, The Court of Miracles is largely standalone. There are things to embellish and avoid in the sequels – Nina’s storyline could veer into “oh, which boy do I choose?” territory if handled poorly – but, overall, Grant delivers a promising first instalment of a planned trilogy.

DREAMLAND

dreamland

DREAMLAND / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: BRUCE MCDONALD / SCREENPLAY: TONY BURGESS, PATRICK WHISTLER / STARRING: STEPHEN MCHATTIE, HENRY ROLLINS, JULIETTE LEWIS, LISA HOULE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

As Canadian genre movies go, the Bruce McDonald-Stephen McHattie paring is akin to Scorsese and De Niro. Both reached career highs over a decade ago with Pontypool, a zombie film in which the perfunctory infection is carried by language. This surrealistic streak appears throughout most of McDonald’s career, for better or for worse. A competent storyteller, his movies are always watchable, but the filmmaker often fails to balance his freak flag with most conventional narrative elements. It’s the same story with Dreamland.

Much like Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks!, Stephen McHattie pulls double duty for no good reason. He is Johnny, a hired gun for a two-bit mobster named Hercules (Rollins), the manager of the filthiest club in all town, the Al Qaeda. Hercules’ decision to start catering to wealthy paedophiles doesn’t sit well with Johnny, who turns on his employer. McHattie also plays a trumpet player addicted to smack, hired to play at the wedding of a vampire and his child bride (hey, a gig is a gig). Inevitably, the stories intersect – the musician runs afoul of Hercules – leading to burst of violence, random philosophical arguments and very amusing comic banter between Hercules and the bloodsucker.

A noir film at heart (there’s no older tale than the criminal gunning for salvation), Dreamland packs enough weirdness to be different, but not enough to cross to David Lynch territory. The weathered, stupendous McHattie is excellent in both roles: The actor invests each character with a different kind of pathos and even delivers a touching version of Annie Lennox’s I Saved the World Today. Henry Rollins, who has been playing the heavy for a couple of decades now, gives his morally compromised character a vulnerability and sense of humour that prevents audiences from hating him.

The main problem with Dreamland is that all these elements ­- the quirky characters, the grade school goons, Juliette Lewis – add up to nothing. The story is not all that substantial, and the political commentary is too broad to take seriously. Luckily, at ninety minutes, the parade of oddities and weirdness is intriguing enough to carry the viewer to the end.

YONDU

WRITERS: LONNIE NADLER, ZAC THOMPSON | ARTIST: JOHN MCCREA | PUBLISHER: MARVEL | FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK | RELEASE DATE: MAY 19TH

Thanks to the MCU movies, the character of Yondu is now best known as a bitter and tough-as-nails space-pirate with a heart of gold. This was perhaps one of the most notable changes from the original comics – the Guardians of the Galaxy books from the ’70s featured Yondu as a super-advanced, spiritual and wise noble warrior type from the distant future.  

Marvel Comics’ new Yondu title attempts to address this inconsistency by positing that pirate-Yondu is a distant ancestor of the more iconic noble-Yondu. And of course, it brings the pair of them together for a rip-roaring adventure. You can’t have a story like this without some sort of galaxy-altering MacGuffin, and here we get The Herald’s Urn, a cool looking green glowing thing that can destroy worlds. 

This morbid piece of kit falls into the hands of pirate-Yondu who immediately intends to sell it to the highest bidder. This version of the character is instantly recognisable to moviegoers. He’s rough, he says rude-words, and he’s only really out for himself. If you liked Dan Abnett’s run on Guardians of Galaxy or enjoyed Lobo, you’ll be familiar with this sort of thing. Of course, noble-Yondu turns up to tell pirate-Yondu that perhaps selling a weapon of cosmic mass-destruction to strangers is a bad idea. Wackiness ensues.

McCrea’s art is consistently fun throughout. It’s full of high energy action and filled with the inherent grottiness that Marvel space travel seems to enjoy. McCrea does excellent sight gags and eye-popping violence, though it’s never too gross or visceral. Thompson and Nadler’s writing is strong, introducing cool new ideas, fixing a bit of continuity, and treating us to some exciting space battles. It’s a little short, but then so is Yondu.