The Passage of Time

Doesn't time fly?

I started this blog page 9 years ago and last posted here 7 years ago. In the time since, I've composed scores for a number of short and feature length films, been a guest writer on a gaming review site, moved house numerous times, become a parent, taken on some life changing past-times and most recently... started up a podcast.

I occasionally get a notification from this mostly forgotten Blogger page (the notifications started coming in thick and fast for a while after I ceased updating it, so poor timing on my part really). By that reckoning, there must be the odd internet traveller drifting through here from time to time. If that's you, thank you for stopping by.

So I leave this one final post here as a trail of breadcrumbs of sorts to lead you to my current content platform. If you feel so inclined, please visit my podcast site:
www.whatsthatfilm.net

Or social media to kick off some discussion:

https://www.facebook.com/wtfukpod/

First episode launch estimated April-May 2020.

It would be a pleasure to have you join me on the next step of my creative online journey.

Kind Regards,
Dan

Aliens: Colonial Marines - Review

Reviewed: PC Version

Aliens Colonial Marines is a first person shooter set in the Aliens universe. A direct sequel to the 1986 James Cameron action/horror film, the game has been pending production since 2001, and in development at Gearbox since 2008. Expectations for this title are earth shatteringly huge, and this is the typical setup for disappointment.

Max Payne 3 - Review

Due to the success of games such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and LA Noire, many have come to expect the Rockstar Games label to exclusively deliver free-roaming, immersive world experiences. It was for this reason that I was hesitant to pick up Max Payne 3 - a sequel to the groundbreaking Remedy games series that plainly announced its intentions to deliver nothing more than a linear, cinematic campaign.
In this modern video gaming era, players are given so much freedom of choice. They can roam a vast world hunting dragons and pursuing numerous optional quests in Skyrim. They can choose any item from a vast arsenal to engage their enemy in Battlefield 3 and leave a crumbling, battle scarred terrain in their wake. They can ride around, blasting away fellow players and gangs of NPC bandits in Rockstar's own Red Dead Redemption multiplayer and explore a vast story terrain in the single player. With games like these occupying our attention, is there really still room for the linear storyline?

Prometheus - Review

It's been nearly a week since I saw Ridley Scott's Prometheus at the cinema, and since then the film has occupied that vague part of my mind, somewhere between 'enjoyment' and 'disappointment.' It's taken me a while to find myself in a position to write a fair review, and that's primarily because the film did not meet my expectations, for positive and negative reasons. Infact, I imagine many viewers will find themselves surprised by the product of Scott's much publicised return to science-fiction, and without a doubt, the film will divide audiences quite decisively. It's the type of movie that ignites interesting debates across the board, but sadly for Prometheus, I can't imagine all of those debates will positively reflect the film.

Greatest Movie Weapons

Many weapons have been used by our favourite characters throughout the history of cinema, but only rarely do those weapons become so ingrained in the mythology of the film that they become extensions of the characters, and even become symbolic of a franchise. In the following list, I've selected (in no particular order) what I think to be the most interesting, inventive and iconic weaponry to grace the screen over the past few decades.

M41-A Pulse Rifle (Aliens)
The primary firearm of the Colonial Marines from James Cameron's Aliens, the M41-A is an assault rifle capable of firing 10mm caseless armour piercing rounds, and is also fitted with a pump-action underslung grenade launcher and a digital ammunition counter for monitoring the capacity of its 95 round magazines. The prop itself was constructed from a live firing WW2 era Thompson sub-machine gun, the action of a Remington 870 shotgun and the casing from a SPAS-12 assault shotgun all fused together under a manufactured carry shroud. The principal weapon design was sketched out by Cameron himself, and its distinctive firing sound is instantly recognisable.