calum-14-790591 Reviews

American Dad! (2005– )

A LOT better than I initially thought it was

[7/10 · 1 September 2015]

Now, out of the two shows, I still find "Family Guy" to be the superior one. However, I find that after 9 or 10 seasons, it has become somewhat stale. There are still some funny moments, but there's a lot more crap to go through.

"American Dad!" at first I thought lacked that edge, that dark humour that "Family Guy" had. Now? It still lacks it... But at the time, I didn't realise that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I do now. "American Dad!" has a lot more creativity with their humour, though, I have found, in comparison with later seasons of "Family Guy", and in some cases, some episodes of the old "Family Guy." It still has the occasional shock humour, but not doesn't take it as far. It's humour could be compared to something like "Futurama", only not as funny, but a bit more out there... sometimes. But unlike the later "Family Guy" seasons it's not relying just on violence, gross-out humour and cutaway gags that barely go anywhere.

Because the main character is a secret agent, and in the attic they house an Alien, a lot of the plots are more ludicrous than "Family Guy." There's also a talking fish, too. And a talking koala.

The main characters themselves are generally quite funny. The three standouts are Stan Smith, Roger the alien and Klaus the fish. The other members in the family do have their funny moments, too. And the supporting cast, especially Patrick Stewart as CIA boss Avery Bullock, Jeff Fischer (Played by Jeff Fischer. No really!), and a talking Koala, have great moments. Even characters you'll only see for one episode have some very memorable gags, too. Sometimes they're funnier than the main characters themselves.

There are some emotional aspects, too, though I think "Family Guy" handles them better. Like for example, Brian and the elderly woman he looks after as part of community service, or, once again, when Brian is hit by a car and dies, and is written out of the show for three episodes or so. Even though he wasn't gone for good, that moment is heart-breaking. But when "American Dad!" does them, they are actually pretty good moments.

All in all, "American Dad!" isn't as ground-breaking as it's sister show, but the quality of it doesn't seem to have been getting worse. In fact, it seems to get better as it goes on.

Assassin's Creed III (2012 Video Game)

Not The best by any means, but there's still good in it.

[7/10 · 1 September 2015]

A lot of people defend this game. I defend... aspects of it... people are obviously entitled to their own opinion, and I still respect those who do enjoy this instalment in the franchise. I just felt a little underwhelmed by it.

I guess one good thing to come out of this game is the historic setting. It is a different, yet also surprisingly good choice for a game that bases a lot of its gameplay on parkour. Despite a lack of tall buildings, there's a frontier where you can swing from tree to tree as you hunt animals, or follow Redcoats that march into battle.

The other good thing is Haytham Kenway. You play as him for the first three sequences, and then you wish the game was about him, instead. He has the charm and charisma, also the bad-ass-ery that makes him the 18th century equivalent of James Bond. Also, the twist at the end of the third sequence... Totally saw that coming (!) Then you play as his son, Connor Kenway. That's when things start to collapse. Connor has little to no personality, and when he does, he's only shouting, or whining about being an assassin. Essentially, he's AC's Anakin Skywalker. Y'know, before he became Darth Vader. And while he admittedly does have a cool arsenal of weapon (Especially the bow and the tomahawk), that's not enough to make him interesting. With that said, I think the cultural background of the character is very interesting, and adds some diversity to the game, and we do learn bits of information about it through Connor. The rest comes in the data files of the Animus, though I wish they explored it more with the character.

The naval combat is pretty fun, too, though, by Black Flag, it gets a lot better. I'm skipping over this so I can address my biggest problem with the game. But before I do, as it says already, SPOILER! Okay... They kill off Desmond Miles.

That's my biggest problem with it. I know that the modern settings in AC weren't as interesting as the historic settings. That's obvious. But they are just as important to the game as anything else. A lot of the main story is there: They have to prevent the world's end. This is also set in 2012, three years ago, now... Now, I was expecting something grand. Some big finish to Desmond's story. He stops Abstergo and saves humanity from suffering the same fate as the first civilization.

Well, they save humanity, but one of the First Civilisation beings, Juno, as in the Roman Goddess, is released. But that's it. It doesn't seem to be looked over again after Black Flag. (I haven't finished Unity yet to completely know.) At the same time, Desmond dies. Now... the way they handled it wasn't... spectacular. He just puts his hand on something, and gets his brain fried. Something more extravagant would've sufficed.

In fact, no, they shouldn't have killed him off. He might've been given a more mixed reception, but the game was about him, and his ancestry. What happens, now, then? The player is now the hero. To be honest, that's a cop out. I definitely would've preferred a set protagonist, with a developed character arc, like Desmond, even if people found him grating.

I'm getting off topic a bit, I know.

All in all, I'd say the story is a bit disappointing, the main protagonist is boring, but the gameplay and the historic setting is worth it. I give it 7 out of 10, mostly for Haytham.

Life on Mars (2006–2007)

Trust the Gene Genie; this show is excellent.

[10/10 · 28 July 2015]

There are few perfect series out there. "Blackadder Goes Fourth" is one. "Broadchurch" is another. These are shows where nit-picking is at a minimal.

For me, "Life on Mars" is one of these bulletproof shows.

It's not your typical crime drama. While it does pay homage to the 70s detective shows, it also throws in a sci-fi element, too.

DCI Sam Tyler is involved in a car accident in 2006, and when he wakes up, it's now 1973. Is he dead? Is he going mad? Or has he somehow travelled back in time? Working now as a DI for the Manchester and Salford Police under the command of DCI Gene Hunt, he tries to figure out what has happened to him, in order to find a way back to the present.

It's a phenomenal series. I was never alive in the 1970s, but from what I see here, the depiction of it on screen is very accurate. The characters too are brilliantly performed, especially the breakout star himself, Gene Hunt, as played by Philip Glenister. Hunt is someone you'd hate: He's sexist, he's homophobic, and racist, too. (All being a reflection of the times, back then.) But he's written and performed so well that you end up liking him. And there's also more to him. Despite his hard shell, there is still a good side to him. He still has a sense of right and wrong.

The episodes are all well-written and well executed, too. The atmosphere, the set-up, the action... it's all just fantastic. You find yourself being gripped by the crimes, and the overall story, too. Once the episode finishes, you want to move on to the next one. Believe me about that being true, as I rediscovered it earlier today, and watched all 8 episodes of the first series in one day. Really did take a little over 8 hours.

This is one of these shows that is just compulsory to watch. But that's a good thing.

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

REPO! The visually impressive and abnormal opera

[6/10 · 3 May 2015]

Visually, I think this film is very stunning. The lighting, the costume design, the set, special effects... It gives off the impression that it has jumped right out of a graphic novel. (Which the film takes advantage of with comic panels used in helping to establish the origins of our characters, though I wish the film more like Ang Lee's Hulk movie, where the comic panels are used more so for scene transitions and just to look stylish.) There is some gore, though nothing completely over the top bloody. (Well, I didn't think so, anyway :P )

The music is constant throughout, as the title suggests. That is a bit of a nuisance to me, as I'm not the biggest fan of musicals. But then again, this is an opera. So I should've expected a lack of dialogue. The songs, though I cannot recall how they go without repeated listening, are quite good. There isn't one that stands out from the rest, but still are worth a listen outside of the film. The vocal performances I also found to be great.

Biggest problem with the film for me are the characters. Not that they were bad, but I didn't find that there was enough character development. When it seemed like they were about to, though, the film rushed straight into the next song. Then again, like I said, I don't watch many musicals, so I guess any character development was done through song. But not

I mostly enjoyed the visual aspect of this film, overall, as my review suggests. I doubt the rest of it has been helpful for anyone.