In The Woods of the night

Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 10 Review: In the Forest of the Night

by with No Comment Reviews

In The Woods of the night

A great Doctor Who episode can always do with a good mystery, and this week’s is no exception. When you have a seasoned writer like Frank Cottrell Boyce take the reins of writing an episode of Doctor Who, you know you’re in for an interesting tale.

In the Forest of the Night is a rather interesting tale that’s spun this week, with a mystery in contemporary London that baffles The Doctor (Peter Capaldi), Clara (Jenna Coleman), and Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson), for the entire Earth has apparently overgrown with trees overnight.

A seeming impossibility of a concept, In the Forest of the Night does well to continue the curiosity, but still keep it relatively plausible in the universe of Doctor Who. There are no mind-twisty time travel discussions here, nor are there any real antagonists that threaten our heroes this time around, just a load of questions that are looking to be answered.

Director Sheree Folkson does a stellar job balancing the constant oddity of a concept with character-building and humorous asides. Much like London in the episode, In the Forest of the Night just looks a little bit different compared to other episodes, attributed in part to the cinematography used. A lot of the episode just looks wonderful in the fictional overgrown city, with imagery like Nelson’s Column in the overgrowth to the raging sun shining through the density of the forest, plus the TARDIS is given a nice visual spin with the angles used and the handheld videography – it’s very much taken with a childlike eye.

Which is on point, for In the Forest of the Night is very much a child-centric tale. It doesn’t hurt that this week’s events happen when Clara and Danny have taken a school trip to an overnight stay at a museum. Throughout the entire episode, as well as the main enigmatic focus, In the Forest of the Night deals with the children in the world of Doctor Who, which is always a nice angle to take in the show, and it shows them in full force here, interacting with the Doctor, Companions, and the very mysteries in the episode.

What doesn’t quite work, and what is the main criticism for this week, is the child acting. A lot of it is really bad, and only some bits shine through. A lot of the supporting cast is weak in that respect, but the overall episode is still very effective. It continues to hold the audience’s attention with the whole unknown situation and how everything continues to build to a eureka of a climax.

If anything, In the Forest of the Night is a very strong episode to go into the two-part series finale. It was a wise decision to pair a strong script by Frank Cottrell Boyce with the balanced and visual directorial style of director Sheree Folkson.

All eyes really now are on showrunner Steven Moffat and director Rachel Talalay, for they are bringing us a two-part finale that already has one hooked with the sneak peek trailer.

Here’s to a very rather strong series of Doctor Who so far, and for the streak to continue.

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WWE: The Best of Sting DVD and Blu Ray Review

by with No Comment Reviews

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Before the united era of WWE, there wasn’t just one major wrestling company in America. WWE’s biggest rival through the ages was a company that had its roots in the NWA, but soon became a company of its own; WCW. Like any wrestling company, WCW needed a top face for its company, and this DVD/Blu-ray looks at the wrestler many feel was the company man for WCW, a man that has still not wrestled under the Vince McMahon banner… The man they call Sting.

Starting from Sting’s debut in 1985 alongside his then tag team partner The Ultimate Warrior, the team of the Blade Runners is very noticeably green in the match shown on this DVD, but heck, they showed a lot of potential back then, and you can see from the first match to the last how much both men improved. We see a lot of future big names appear in the next match on the DVD, in Southern Pro Wrestling, as Sting tags with Rick Steiner against Mike Rotunda and Ron Simmons, one of whom went on to be a World Champion, and the other, IRS, the father of Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt.

After these first two matches, we jump forward a short while, into the NWA/WCW rise of Sting, which sets the tone for the rest of the 2 disc set, which is almost like a history of WCW as much as it is a history of Sting’s career. Important matches from the Icon’s career are dotted between short documentary-esque sections, including interviews with Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Ric Flair, Diamond Dallas Page and many more WCW legends to spice up the action. I personally felt there could have been more sections such as these, especially where Sting talked about the matches and storylines, but the matches speak for themselves to a degree anyway. Plus, with the consistent quality of Stinger’s matches, even from his early career, and the large assortment of promos included as Blu-ray exclusives, you can’t complain too much.

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The first disc shows the first era of the WCW star’s career, showing off important matches whilst under the squeaky clean babyface surfer gimmick. One of the most fun parts of watching this DVD is watching how quickly Sting progresses his in-ring work, but having wrestled alongside and with men such as the Flair, Anderson and Steamboat amongst many other WCW legends, you couldn’t help but pick up a thing or two.

The first match with Ric Flair on the first disc, in 1988, and the last match on the second disc, in 2001, on WCW’s final ever show, show a great deal of progression in style and substance, not only in Flair and Sting, but also in WCW and wrestling in general, with the stark change in pace, production value, and in-ring psychology. We get to see a lot of men throughout the matches on both discs who went on to be great stars, as well as Sting, as he faces The Great Muta, who went on to be a Japanese wrestling legend; Ron Simmons, who went on to be the first ever African-American World Heavyweight Champion; “Dirty” Dutch Mantell, who is known nowadays as Zeb Colter, and of course, in a dream match, Sting faces an up and coming WCW US Champion known as Steve Austin. Now, if you had said to people nowadays that Sting faced Stone Cold Steve Austin, they would have looked at you in shock and belief, and yet it happened!

Towards the end of the first disc we go into the Monday Nitro era of WCW, and with it, the debut of a faction that changed wrestling, the New World Order. Led by Hulk Hogan, the group originally consisting of Hulk, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, the ex-WWF stars ran rampant on WCW in a staged invasion, and who else would stand tall against the oncoming forces than the WCW franchise himself, Sting? We get to see Sting’s match the night after the infamous Bash at the Beach event where Hogan formed the nWo, and how the formation of the nWo went on to change the career of the Icon himself. Sting began to wear darker attire and sported new facepaint in response to the changing times brought about by the New World Order, and leading into the second disc, the evolution of Sting from his “Surfer” gimmick into the gimmick we know him best for today, his gimmick inspired by “The Crow”, with the black and white facepaint and attire. We even get to hear the story behind the gimmick and the facepaint.

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Disc two begins with Sting and Hogan’s match at Starrcade 1997 for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. If you didn’t know already, Starrcade was WCW’s equivalent of Wrestlemania, and in the build up to this main event, Sting hadn’t wrestled for over a year and this was his first match under his new persona. The finish of the world championship match between Hogan and Sting was the subject of much controversy, in and outside of kayfabe, and I’m very glad WWE presented the match as-is, as the encounter was one of the most important in not only WCW, but in all of wrestling. The rest of the DVD shows matches from Sting’s career and feud with the nWo, even showing when Sting briefly joined the Wolfpac, all concluding with his final match in WCW with Ric Flair. As said before, the last match on the DVD is a stark contrast to the first in many ways, and seeing the descent of WCW from its glory into the dark depths of disaster as it dwindled into being bought out by WWE is always entertaining. Despite WCW falling from its former glory and into a very hit and miss period, it was always enjoyable in one way or another, and when it was “Showtime”, you always knew you were in for a treat. Sting even made a program with the “KISS Demon” (yes, really, a licensed KISS wrestler), into an entertaining affair. You have to see it to believe it.

Some other must watch matches include Sting teaming with long time rival Muta against the Steiner Brothers in Japan’s Tokyo Dome. Although the finish is rather dusty, the match itself is stellar, and the Japanese crowd and difference in production value is always entertaining to watch. Hell, it’s a big testament to WWE that they managed to get what was technically a NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) match on their DVD. Speaking of Muta, the match included with him taking on Stinger 1v1 in this DVD is also fantastic, as well as, of course, the matches with the Icon VS the Nature Boy, Ric Flair. Also watch out for Sting’s match with Arn Anderson, the night after the nWo formation, which is not just enjoyable for that, but also as this event took place at Disney World! And finally, as far as cameos go, don’t look any further than a match consisting of Sting teaming up with Barry Windham, Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes (who went on to be…breathe in…Goldust!) to take on the “Dangerous Alliance”,  Rick Rude, Larry Zbyszko, Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton, managed by Paul E. Dangerously AKA Paul Heyman!

Towards the end of the second disc we get to see the full circle of Stinger’s career, where he teams with his former tag team partner, The Ultimate Warrior, against Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart. The WCW announcers even go as far as to note how Sting and Warrior broke into the business as tag team partners, which ties together the entire DVD nicely. It’s a shame that Warrior was noticeably at the end of his career here, showing more limited in-ring work than usual, but as always, it was his charisma that carried the late Jim Hellwig into an enjoyable role.

As said before, the only detriment to the DVD is the lack of insight from other stars, and even from the Stinger himself, which is a great shame, for those which are there are pretty damn fantastic and very entertaining.  It has to be mentioned though that the Blu-ray features some particularly interesting interviews, including Sting’s final promo in WCW, as well as, well, a cross-franchise cameo from a particular robotic policeman. The Blu-ray exclusives include an assortment of promos from throughout the Stinger’s career, as well as a few extra matches that are worth watching for hardcore fans.

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I’d definitely give this a watch if you’re already a fan of Sting, or want a sample of the man’s work, as this is a great collection of some fantastic matches from his career, as well as a great career retrospective, not only of the Stinger, but also of the company the man supported and partly carried on his back for many years, WCW. Maybe in the future we will see another release with a more lengthy documentary section akin to WWE’s other DVDs, with more interviews with the man himself, but for all we know, the Icon may not have finished his career at all yet. As the man himself said, “The only thing that’s for sure about Sting is that nothing’s for sure.”

All images (C) WWE

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Robotics;Notes part 2 review

by with No Comment Reviews

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It was already made pretty clear from my review of Robotics;Notes part 1 that I was less than impressed with how the series set itself up. Just as a miniature recap to provide some context, I found the story to be a spider web of many different storylines that were hard to keep track of and understand. There were already plenty of unanswered questions and I feared that the plot holes would grow larger and larger. Despite my many disappointments, I couldn’t deny the fluffy charm of the series, particularly when it came to the variety of characters. Although they were a little cliché in their very strict character ‘types’. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, the second half of Robotics;Notes did not make any mega improvements. It was a noticeable step up from the first half, but not enough to change my cynical but frank opinion.

robot1The main addition that got on my nerves was the typical introduction of a needless and downright annoying love triangle. Though many would disagree for the fact that they really can be quite fun, if done the right way. If the anime is your cheesy shoujo romance story then by all means, have a love hexagon for all I care, I’ll be cheering for it. However, there’s a time and a place and within this series, which was already a complicated mish-mash of storylines, a love triangle just was not needed… or wanted. As with most triangle scenarios, it was predictable, cringe worthy and poorly developed. In its defence, there were the odd few cute moments and I suppose it didn’t help that I’m not particularly fond of any of the characters in the first place, let alone the awkward forcing of them into a romantic situation, which I firmly believe went against all of the characteristics of each member involved.

The next main thing is more of a continuation from my previous review and comments I seem to have made again and again… but I’ll continue anyway. PLOT HOLES. This anime is absolutely full to the brim of plot holes, unanswered questions and things that just downright make zero sense. It tried to feed too many genres and failed miserably. I can assume that a lot of people would go into this anime expecting a sci-fi and mecha based masterpiece, following in the footsteps of its legendary predecessor; Steins;Gate. However all I can say by the end of it is that I was left with a sting of sore disappointment. I also heavily contemplated the amount of time I had wasted watching this series, despite each episode only being the standard 20 odd minutes. That being said, I believe that had the anime been condensed into a short 12/13 episodes with a much stronger focal point and better development, it really could have been something special. The timing was just completely off. The parts that I would consider interesting and important were almost skimmed over with no later explanation, and the parts which drove me insane with boredom seemed to be strung out forever. If you’re not the type to hold onto the little details or ‘that one thing that was mentioned that one time’ then the unanswered questions might not be that much of an issue, it’d probably be a much more fun and easygoing series to watch. But when it’s noticed once, it’ll be noticed a hundred times after… and it just ruined it for me.

In the end, Robotics;Notes did pick up its pace a bit and it did wrap up prettyrobot2 neatly despite the disaster that lead to that point. But it was just too little too late. To put it into a more specific frame, the last five or six episodes were the ones that actually had some kind of impact. Not too great when you consider the length as a whole. The visuals and animation carried this show. They were the only appealing aspects that made it bearable to get through in the end. I’m afraid my opinion could be quite biased due to the fact that I expected such high standards after Steins;Gate. I expected bigger and better because of the bar that was already set. Although it does leave me wanting to play/read the visual novel, just to see how the source material deals with all the plot holes and whatnot. Maybe it’ll fill them in! But in the end, when it comes to anime, if you’re looking for a mecha series with a bit of a twist and a different storyline then don’t waste your time with this, go watch Gargantia or something. Find an anime that does the genre justice.

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WWE Battleground 2014 DVD Review

by with No Comment Reviews

Official_WWE_Battleground_poster_featuring_Bray_Wyatt[1]2014 is the year of many rising stars in the WWE – Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Rusev and many more made their big splash this year, and for some, Battleground was the culmination of that. The World Heavyweight Championship was on the line in a fatal, four-way main event: Dean Ambrose finally got his hands on the scummy little Seth Rollins, and we crowned a new Intercontinental Champion, among other things. So, let’s have a look at the DVD!

As always, the menu is easy enough to navigate,  making it easy to select which match you want to watch out of any on the card, or to choose to see the entire PPV from start to finish.

The event starts with a recap video package, which is a fantastic watch as always from the WWE production team, putting great emphasis on the fact that John Cena doesn’t have to be pinned to lose his championship tonight, and that Rollins is Mr Money in the Bank and could seize the championship away from Cena at any time. But enough about the World Championship, let’s get going with the tag team titles in our first match on the main card –

 

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The Usos © VS The Wyatt Family in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

WWE opens the main show hot with a consistent fan favourite, the Usos. This is a match continuing the series between the two teams and their interesting and fantastic dynamic in matches together. The Wyatts have an air about them very different from any other team in the WWE right now. Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL are on commentary as usual. The 2 out of 3 falls stipulation is really underused in modern wrestling, and one only has to look at the Cesaro VS Zayn match in NXT to see how well it can be utilised: maybe this match being made was a result of the success of that one? In these 2 out of 3 falls matches, it’s more believable for there to be near falls off moves which wouldn’t normally end a match, as Harper proves by getting the first fall for the Wyatts with a big boot. These two teams really show ring psychology beyond their years at points. The Usos get the second fall with a rollup from the corner, which only increases the anger of the Wyatts. The Usos eventually win with a double body splash. Overall, then, this is a very tense, exciting, hard-hitting and well-paced match that probably ended up being the best match on the show. An excellent showing from both parties, elevating both teams as well as the tag team championships, and a fantastic match to start off the pay-per-view.

Following the celebration from the Usos, we see a vignette showing the storyline leading up to the Shield breakup and building hype for the Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose match later in the night. Again, WWE shows its fantastic video package production once more. It’s conceivable that WWE could produce a video package hyping up a match between Hornswoggle and a broom and make it seem compelling although, to be fair, the Ambrose/Rollins feud has been one of the most enjoyable feuds in recent years. Rollins cuts a promo on Ambrose, showing his true evolution in terms of charisma. Rollins has progressed a great deal from the days of his awkward, stuttering NXT promos. Ambrose jumps Rollins mid-promo and gets a few good hits in, but he eventually ends up getting thrown out by Triple H and his cronies, including Jamie Noble and… a bald Fit Finlay? The segment really shows how different Ambrose’s line of thinking is, a great show of character as Ambrose would rather fight Seth than have a match with his former buddy. It’s a somewhat flawed yet human line of thinking which is quite relatable.

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AJ Lee © VS Paige for the WWE Diva’s Championship

And now from one group of crazies to another! We get a brief recap of English girl Paige winning the championship from AJ Lee in her debut match, and then AJ winning it back from Paige in her return match. CM Punk chants start the match, as usual. AJ and Paige are two of the best female wrestlers in WWE in recent years, with AJ Lee obviously taking a lot of cues from her husband, the aforementioned Mr Best in the World, while Paige has been brilliant since her debut at the age of 13 on the independent scenes. A second generation wrestler, Paige is the daughter of British wrestling mainstays Sweet Saraya and Ricky Knight. Unfortunately, AJ and Paige didn’t show much chemistry up to this point, but perhaps this could be seen as a step forward in their series and feud. Paige still seemed to be finding herself on the main roster, deviating quite a bit from her tried and trusted anti-diva persona in NXT, but thankfully, there were elements of a throwback to that. The two women had previously swapped roles as face and heel, with Paige now being the heel and AJ the face, and Paige really shows how better she fits the heel role. The match is close to being great, but unfortunately, a few spots look a little sloppy and fall short. The two women show a ton of a potential, however, and in a few months, they could really produce some stellar matches capable of making women’s wrestling respectable again. AJ wins with the Shining Wizard following a nice back and forth flurry. This feels like an encounter that could have really been so much better. Maybe that was due to time limitations, but at least the match was successful in that it made you want more, and led nicely up towards WWE’s big summer PPV for their rematch.

A video package airs showing Randy Orton betraying Kane on RAW. We cut to Orton backstage, who is in the creepy Mankind boiler room area calling for Kane. Orton works so much better as a heel, although the same couldn’t always be said for Kane. The segment shows the animosity between the members of the Authority, a much needed gesture to help prevent the main event from being skewed towards the heels. We then go to the panel for a lowdown on the main event, followed by a recap of the Rusev and Jack Swagger feud.

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Rusev VS Jack Swagger

Rusev and Swagger have had a typical 80s wrestling feud – USA vs the “Dirty Commies”. WWE went back to classic heel heat techniques for this programme, utilising the instilled hate that America has for Russia as a hangover from the Cold War, yet Lana managed to keep it relevant to current events with her promo. Cue the Putin-tron! It has to be said, though, the Rusev gimmick is quite different to anything else WWE has done recently, probably since the days of Muhammad Hassan, showing shades of Rocky IV. Swagger makes a good all-American face, drawing more and more comparisons to his predecessor Kurt Angle, and as DDP says, that’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing! Unfortunately we get a Zeb Colter promo cut short, but the action starts hard and fast, with the crowd solidly behind Swagger, which is a surprise to no-one. “USA! USA! We the people!” The two men really make a great match for each other, with hard-hitting holds, throws and strikes from both. Swagger and Rusev really turn out to have a much better match than many anticipated, with Rusev previously having shown signs of being fresh to the squared circle. In this match, however, his performance is very much up to his usual high calibre. Lana and Zeb really add to the match at ringside, with great facial expressions and body motions from both. After a brutal head bump to the ringpost, Rusev wins via count-out, continuing his undefeated streak, and yet keeping Swagger’s character somewhat strong.

Suddenly, we go backstage to see another compelling character, Stardust, the man formerly known as Cody Rhodes. Goldust and his brother continue to be hilarious and creepy, as both heels and faces.

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Seth Rollins VS Dean Ambrose

The golden boy begins to make his way out to the ring. Mr Money the Bank, Seth Rollins, comes out for a match that we already know isn’t going to happen. A shame, but much like the AJ Lee and Paige match earlier on in the night, this has been as a build-up to a future encounter between the two. Seth garners some heel heat by accepting his victory via forfeit. Rollins shows a lot of the brilliance of 2009 Chris Jericho or CM Punk, both classic heels of their day, forcing the referee to raise his hand. With only one World Championship, WWE really has to work hard to make programmes seem important now, and this is a great way to do it – with pure, good old-fashioned hatred.

Ambrose manages to run back in and attacks Rollins, at least giving the fans a small taste of the violence between the two former Shield comrades before a couple of bald men in suits and referees pull away the “lunatic fringe”. It’s easy to compare Ambrose here to Steve Austin or Brian Pillman, but maybe in years to come we’ll be comparing new stars to Ambrose, who is quickly making a name for himself in segments such as these. One might feel cheated out of the match, but the ensuing brawl is pay-off enough for the time being. Months later, we still haven’t had the fair 1v1 Rollins VS Ambrose match as of yet. This is good booking from WWE, keeping everyone interested over quite a long period, which is something they have often failed to do in the past.

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Chris Jericho VS Bray Wyatt

The return of Chris Jericho is shown in a video package, and how the feud between him and Bray Wyatt led up to this point. Y2J’s return was one that started out seeming really promising, with stellar promos from both men. Wyatt’s entrance follows, and it is probably the greatest entrance in modern wrestling, rivalling even The Undertaker‘s. Jericho has a close shot at beating Wyatt’s entrance with his LED jacket, but with the lights of the crowd, it doesn’t stand out as much as it might. Wyatt is another man from a large family of wrestlers, and he goes in hard on the veteran Jericho straight away, showing how far he’s come since his Husky Harris days. Harper and Rowan make their second appearance of the night, showing up at ringside, which in a way is almost a shame, since Bray seems like he should be able to beat Jericho by his own merits. Thankfully, the family gets ejected from the arena from the referee, and we finally get the one-on-one encounter that everyone has been waiting for. Jericho has seemed as though he’s been going through the motions in his recent matches, but there are flashes of brilliance in this particular encounter. Nevertheless, yet again, this match seems like it just fell short of being a classic. The match leads on to their rematch at Summerslam with Rowan and Harper banned from ringside. Jericho won the match at Battleground, which was a surprise to many, but with the rematch just around the corner, one can only hope that the ultimate match between the two men will be their best.

Next, we go to the parking lot, where Seth Rollins ditches his bodyguards, only to be jumped by Metal Gear Dean Ambrose, this time jumping out of a car boot! Ambrose beats on Rollins once again, who drives away in his car.

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19-man battle royal for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship

Bad News Barrett had to vacate his Intercontinental Championship due to an arm injury, which gave us this match. A shame really, since Wade was such a fantastic champion and wrestler, but the storyline with The Miz and Dolph Ziggler that resulted from this match was well worth it. This also ended up being Alberto Del Rio’s last PPV match for WWE, with Del Rio only having one last match on TV before leaving the company. We got quite the A-List of competitors in this match, with a combination of former World Champions and… not so former World Champions. Either way, the competitors in this match only elevate the prestige of the somewhat fallen IC Title. After all the competitors enter the ring, former champ Barrett comes out, sling on one arm, mic in another. Barrett continues to be one of the most under-appreciated men on the mic, cutting a stellar promo, declaring that he will return to reclaim his gold.

A nice, very anime-esque spot opens the match, with The Great Khali jumping up like Goku, after everyone jumps the Punjabi Playboy. Battle royals are always a fun spectacle, and the competitors in this particular match make it especially so. Even Bo Dallas does a good job of following his brother’s loss, eliminating the powerhouse Titus O’Neil, with both men showing off their bold charisma. Cesaro and Kofi Kingston also make a good effort to steal the show with a great spot to the outside involving Big E and Kofi’s usual battle royal parkour escapism. Sheamus and Ziggler seem to be the only two men left out of this, with a sloppy powerbomb counter breaking up the otherwise great sequence between the two – a shame, since both men are usually gold in the ring. Ziggler eliminates Sheamus, but out of nowhere, the cowardly Hollywood heel Miz sneaks in and steals the Intercontinental Championship once again! The Hollywood gimmick is really what Miz needed, and this win elevated both him and the championship. The feud that resulted from this between Ziggler and Miz, as well as Damien Sandow’s new gimmick as Miz’s stunt double is quality, and this match was just the beginning of that. It’s good to have such an entertaining feud centred around a mid card championship again.

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John Cena © VS Kane, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns in a fatal four way match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

It’s hype time for the main event! Again, it’s been said, but WWE does a great job of keeping everyone up to date on storylines and hyping all the competitors equally in video packages. All four guys make their entrance, and we get the big in-ring introductions which never fail to get audiences excited. The match starts off with Reigns showing early dominance, as most people expected, with the Kane and Orton teaming up to gang up on Reigns, keeping Cena on the outside. The commentary does a great job of continuing to show how important it is that Cena doesn’t have to be pinned to lose the gold. We even get to see Orton and Cena go at it, which is always good, but the action focuses quickly enough on the two faces, and especially on rising star Roman Reigns as he looks to take the top spot from Cena. Kane turns on Orton, as was expected, and the four men even do a show-stopping tower of doom spot, with Kane taking a massive superplex from the other three men. Reigns finally goes ape, with the crowd strongly behind him as he takes out all three, ending with a huge spear that sends Orton through the crowd barricade. Reigns almost has the match won at several points, really putting over the former Hound of Justice, but ultimately, it’s still Cena who walks out as the Champ. As per usual, the crowd give the West Newbury-native a mixed reaction, but Cena walks out with the gold still around his shoulders… for now.

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Ultimately, Battleground 2014 was an enjoyable pay-per-view. Although certain parts were forgettable, the highs really, really, made up for the lows, making this well worth watching if only for a couple of matches. It also sets things up well for Summerslam and highlights the feuds that are still going on now. Also of note is the DVD extra of Miz reacting to his Intercontinental Championship win, a rather hilarious winning-an-Oscar-style speech. Battleground will be remembered as a PPV used to build up new stars, and that’s exactly what it did. A lot of emerging stars came out of this PPV looking a lot much brighter, but at the end of the day, this was just another paving stone on the road to the big PPV of the summer, albeit a fun, enjoyable one.

Special Features:

Battleground Kickoff Match

Adam Rose VS Fandango

Battleground Kickoff Match

Naomi VS Cameron

Battleground Fallout

The Usos are turnt up!

John Cena reacts to Battleground

Home Video Exclusive

The Miz reflects on the Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal

All images (C) WWE.

Mummy on the Orient Express

Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 8 Review: Mummy on the Orient Express

by with No Comment Reviews

Mummy on the Orient ExpressAgatha Christie is no stranger to the world of Doctor Who, so an episode called “Mummy of the Orient Express” isn’t an entirely new concept, but one that’s always welcome. Unlike the Agatha Christie-herself involved episode “The Unicorn and the Wasp”, it is mainly the title that’s inspired by the writer, alongside an air of mystery and a few tropes of Christie’s writing shining through.

It’s pretty effective for what it is trying to set out to do.

Mummy on the Orient Express starts out as the “one last trip” for the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Clara (Jenna Coleman). Coming straight off the previous week’s episode, this week shows the consequences of the choices made before, where now we are given the idea that after this adventure, The Doctor and Clara would part ways.

But, of course, like a cliffhanger where you think The Doctor’s life is actually in peril, Mummy on the Orient Express tiptoes around the notion of Clara departing, and instead puts that at the back of the story this time around, only to come back to meditate on some rather interesting ideas behind travelling with The Doctor.

The real hook of this week’s installment is, rather obviously, the titular antagonist. The mummy seen in this episode is one that only shows its face to the person it’s about to kill, and it’s always for the time period of 66 seconds, which does well for a concept, as a countdown timer appears on screen ticking down the tense final moments for each of the mummy’s victims, and one can’t wait to see what fate befalls them or if they find a way to survive.

There’s not that much surviving this episode, which builds up the unstoppable concept of the monster of the week, but never really pushes it to scary and dangerous Weeping Angel territory. While the mummy is characteristically designed to be sinister and scary, the episode really is more of a mystery than a kid-friendly slasher, though there’s quite a body count.

Some of the criticism can be attached to just how cold Capaldi’s Doctor can be, and while we’ve seen that a lot before, this episode is completely full of it. He lets a lot more people die in order to try and gauge the situation this time around, and while he pulls things more out of the bag later on, there’s no denying that he lets the bodies pile up until a solution is in sight.

It’s a tricky thing to get into the balance with this new Doctor, but this week is one of the more noticeable times of the colder, more ruthless Doctor. One’s mileage may vary, but everyone should hope for more lives saved and protected by The Doctor, rather than a quip on them already being dead.

Another negative point to raise is the pointlessness of the guest stars. Guest stars in Doctor Who aren’t always worth singing about, but Frank Skinner – while a nice face to see – as Perkins wasn’t that pivotal, and singer Foxes has probably the most pointless cameo in Doctor Who for a while: singing a cover of Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen in the background of the establishing of the Orient Express. In space.

That said, John Sessions is the perfect voice-only guest role as Gus, the voice of the Orient Express that brings some weight in the second half of the episode.

Jamie Mathieson as sole writer of this episode does a good job, having not written for Doctor Who until this episode, and next week’s episode shall be the next venture. While his treatment of The Doctor’s cold nature is a bit extreme this time around, he does well to lace in a few jokes and a few inside references to the history of Doctor Who, which is always nice to see. There’s a moment that evokes the Fourth Doctor that is executed oh so well in the context.

Direction from Paul Wilmshurst is also on point, mainly around the sequences with the titular mummy. They are wonderfully timed and executed and never fail to bring an eye to the clock and to the impending doom that could strike just about anyone on the Orient Express. While Clara’s presence is a bit shaky this episode, Wilmshurst at least does a good job resting on the smaller moments that tell us everything about Clara’s mind without anything really being said. By episode’s end, there’s a few disappointments, but there’s no fault on Wilmshurst getting some good effect from the cards he’s been given.

Mummy on the Orient Express is a solid installment to this series, but it is not mindblowing. It evokes the work of Christie in a passive way, rather than an active one. The Orient Express remains iconic, and the idea of a version of it in space is inspired and definitely Who, but there’s not much else in the way of hat tips. There’s mystery and fear, which are far from poor, but neither hit as well as other examples in the show.

Some weak usage of guest stars, but Doctor Who continues to give us a show that every actor in existence seems to turn up on, so it can’t be faulted too much.

If next week’s episode is the one I think it is, I’m hoping for some interesting execution of concept. And a lot less of a body count. The Doctor should only exhibit a certain amount of coldness, and this week was a little too much.

Saints and Soldiers The Void (Cover)

Review "Saints and Soldiers: The Void"

by with No Comment Reviews

Saints and Soldiers The Void (Cover)When you set about making a great World War II movie you’ve got some big military boots to fill. Depictions of the war can range anywhere from uplifting and action-packed to downright horrific. Saints and Soldiers: The Void seems to aim for the former but doesn’t quite hit the mark. When describing it, the word “almost” tends to come to mind. It’s almost inspiring, the actors are almost good and the story is almost interesting.

The Void starts with a montage of news footage that sets the scene, telling us the war is over and Hitler is dead. Which leads to the film’s biggest problem. If you’re making a WW2 movie and the war is over, then you take away a lot of the story’s tension. If there isn’t a war then why should we be interested?

In a setting like this a film needs to work hard to raise the stakes and increase the sense of jeopardy. What it needs is an antagonist but The Void seems to forget it should have one. There’s a Nazi tank commander (Christoph Malzl) who could fill that role nicely. Except he’s barely present. One flashback sets him up as a typical villain, the next time we see him it’s at a distance while he’s stood on a tank. The final confrontation against him sees him killed off. It should have a sense of victory but in reality it barely registers.

A film’s villain doesn’t always have to be a person however. The Void aims to make a point of the racism that affected African American soldiers during the war. Hatred, prejudice and even the hardships of war can work against the heroes. Except, like the Nazi commander, the subject of race doesn’t quite work against the hero enough for it to feel like a victory when it’s not there anymore. With the exception of Cpl Simms, most of the people Sgt Owens comes across are pretty friendly.

k DanorK. Danor Gerald plays the role of sympathetic Sgt Owens. He’s a real talent that stands out amongst what is a cast of mostly flat performers. He’s the only one who manages to pull off a scene with any sort of emotional weight and he has a charm that could carry him to bigger and better things.

The rest of the cast tend to sit in the middle ground where people can act but don’t quite offer much that’s unique or impactful. Which is a shame because the dialogue is there but no one seems to be able to pull it off. And at least one of the actors feels as if he got the job because he was ridiculously good looking. Trendy haircuts and pearly white teeth can be a bit distracting in a war setting.

The action scenes are pretty entertaining and the film does a great job with what is presumably a fairly small budget. The tank destroyer goes up against three German tanks in a tight spot. After the initial fight it turns into a slow game of wits as each tries to get in the best position to defend or shoot. The pacing is ideal, offering just enough breathing space for character development but not so slow that things get dull.

There are a couple of scenes that deserve honourable mentions. Such as the encounter with a German family and their broken down car. It doesn’t really lead anywhere but it’s an interesting exchange. The war is over and so there’s that much less to worry about and yet tensions would obviously remain high between Germans and Americans. The treatment of Sgt Owens starts out fairly cold but ends on a positive note.

The other is a flashback into Sgt Owens’ past, however to reveal too much would give away some major plot points. What can be said about it however is that it highlights racism in the military by revealing that neglect suffered by African Americans. The black soldiers request more basics like thick socks to deal with the cold, while the white men in charge continue to say “no” at any opportunity. It’s a simple exchange that the film really needed more of.

Saints and Soldiers: The Void is a film that almost succeeds. It’s got a good lead actor, some great dialogue and interesting flashbacks but bland performances and the lack of any sense of danger stops it from being anything more than just okay.

Kill The Moon

Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 7 Review: Kill The Moon

by with No Comment Reviews

Kill The Moon

Doctor Who takes a yet another turn at the terrifying this week with Kill The Moon, the seventh episode in this rather stellar Eighth Season for the most part. As Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor shines, this week’s episode feels a bit more like a Doctor-lite episode, which isn’t a bad thing in the slightest.

This is because it means we get more development of Jenna Coleman as companion Clara, who has definitely been in need of more weight and expansion up until this series actually did some interesting things with her. There are still the usual Clara flaws, but Kill The Moon actually gives her a little more urgency, and that’s brilliant in the context of the dilemma they are faced with.

To share the entire breadth of this dilemma would be tip-toeing into spoiler territory, so instead, let us consider the elements building up to the decision-making process. Kill The Moon begins with Year 10 student Courtney Woods (played by a decent child actor, Ellis George) who was apparently told by Capaldi’s Doctor that she isn’t special.

When one thinks back to a Doctor like David Tennant, this claim is quite against type, and of course, ripe for an episode to be plucked from the idea. To try and rectify the claim and mistake, The Doctor takes both Clara and Courtney to the moon…

…but at a time where astronauts from Earth have just arrived with 100 nuclear bombs.

Hello conflict.

Written by playwright Peter Harness, Kill The Moon is an episode with a relatively narrow, focused location, but thankfully, one with a budget (I’m looking at you, Time Heist) and one that well suits the playwright’s talents.

It also typifies the penchant for scariness Doctor Who has had in its DNA: to warn those likely to be affected off the bat, this episode has spiders. Lots and lots of spiders. If you’re arachnophobic, then, you might find the first half of this episode doubly scary. This fear factor is definitely a welcome result of the current later airtime for Doctor Who on BBC One.

Director Paul Wilmshurst does a stellar job of taking the script and translating it onto the screen. There’s a great bit of tension and terror as the giant, spider-like monsters make their appearance and take down the redshirts of the episode. At times when things aren’t so scary, he still does a great job getting wonderful performances out of the cast.

While some of the moral subtext of the episode gets a bit… interesting, Kill The Moon at least does a good job weighing up the good and the bad sides of the decisions the humans have to make. I say humans, because The Doctor decides that he can’t give judgement on the future of humankind, as he stands on the outside as a Time Lord. This choice is quite an interesting one for the character, and one you just know will have repercussions.

Kill The Moon becomes an uneasy ride in the best of ways from the tense and scary first half. There’s a bombshell of a piece of information that literally could turn the tide of the entire situation, and while the way things go down may be a bit questionable, it’s handled competently. It is both similar and contrary to choices made in episodes like Waters of Mars, where The Doctor takes a pro-active role in the future of humankind. Capaldi’s Doctor is certainly one that has learnt or at least diversified from the Tenth Doctor on the edge of his lifespan, and with that, we’re treated to a genuinely interesting curveball of a final act.

There are problems with this week’s episode. The moral implications apparent when reading into some of the details may seem a bit iffy to some viewers. Also, potential nods to the fanbase such as the namedrop of Tumblr felt a bit like pandering. Clara, of course, turns on the waterworks once again, but at least here it is justified, rather than, as usual, serving as a get-out clause in the writing.

Kill The Moon is one of the middle of the road episodes when compared to the rest of the series so far, but like last week’s episode, it still provides some pivotal details in the general arc of the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. Plus, the results of this week lead neatly into next week’s episode, which hopefully will be a doozy.

Because it’s on the Orient Express.

But in space.

With an unstoppable mummy, and what seems to be a slightly Bioshock-like setting.

No questions about what you should be excited about next Saturday!