NerdyRaptor

Fantasy Flight Games announces rotation policy for LCG’s

Fantasy Flight Games has announced a rotation policy for all of their current competitive Living Card Games. (more…)

Travel the world! Solve mysteries! Fight monsters! Suffer a leg wound! Go insane! Read the Eldritch Horror review! (more…)

Reel Raptors 10: FURY, ’71 and the Maze Runner

It’s Reel Ratpors time again!

Stephen is joined by special guest Emma Bryning (Adam Page is away on ‘assignment’) to give you reviews of:

FURY

’71

The Rewrite

The Maze Runner

As always, you can listen right here, check us out on podbean or subscribe on itunes! http://reelraptors.podbean.com/mf/web/fw4bkc/RR10.mp3

  Disclaimer: Unfortunately, there was a slight issue with the audio this time.…

5 Ways to Spend your Halloween

When you’re too old for trick or treating and too lazy to dress up, a fine way to celebrate a pointless occasion is to enjoy a fine horror movie. Everybody has their preferences, and different people want different kinds of horror at Halloween, but here are five films to get you started (and coincidentally, our five strongest recommendations for Halloween horror).

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Knowing my tastes in film, it’s not surprising that I love the Double. This quirky comedic drama is the second feature from director Richard Ayoade and it is clearly influenced by Terry Gilliam and David Lynch (whilst still being brilliantly original in its own right). I’m a fan of Ayoade in general, I thought his first film (Submarine) was excellent and I really like his TV work (especially…

Build your deck! Roll dice! Fight monsters! Gain skills! Die permanently! Read the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game review! (more…)

’71 Review

It never rains but it pours. That’s the experience you’re in for when you sit down to watch ’71: a tightly paced thrill ride where protagonist Private Hook (excellently portrayed by Jack O’Connell) has one hell of a night. The film is set in Northern Ireland during ‘the troubles’, a terrifying time where the nation’s streets resembled a warzone. In fact, the look of ’71 often verges into…

The Maze Runner Review

After waking up in a mysterious elevator, protagonist Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) soon finds himself in a world of overt exposition. The lift takes him to a grassy clearing, one that is complete with a makeshift wooden settlement and is surrounded by giant walls on each side. After being introduced to a group of people who like to spend all of their time explaining things (the Maze Runner is a tell-…

You’ve seen it before; a man is driven by deaths in his family to seek revenge on those responsible. It’s a common trope, but that doesn’t make it worn out. Blue Ruin is a great example of a fresh take on familiar ground, as it takes the revenge movie formula and puts a unique spin on it. The difference here is vulnerability; this isn’t a cathartic display of vengeance, this is the tale of a…

As far as movie titles go, Untold may be going a bit far. Sure, this is the first time this specific story has been told (in that it is the first time this specific film has been released), but following that logic leads to a slippery slope where only by the numbers remakes and adaptations avoid being titled  ‘[insert name here] Untold’. In actuality, the word ‘untold’ has connotations of…

What We Did on Our Holiday Review

In the words of Woody Allen, ‘insufficient laughter is grounds for divorce’ (Play it Again Sam, 1972). This is a statement which holds true in regard to What We Did on Our Holiday, a new comedy from the creators of the BBC television series Outnumbered. Put simply, it’s just not funny enough, which – as we know – is a serious crime. There’s also also a plot line about divorce in it, so I feel the…

It sounds overly reductive, but the Giver really is just Brave New World for kids: it takes a similar idea, waters it down, removes a lot of its edge and social import, simplifies things, and basically just makes it ‘family friendly’. This sounds like damming criticism, but it all kind of works, because it is for kids. It enables the film to be interesting, preach a nice message and provoke a…

Reel Raptors 09: Gone Girl, Dracula, Holiday

It’s Reel Raptors time! Adam and Stephen are back (with special Dracula correspondent Ran Harpaz (of Critical Path Podcast fame), this time with reviews of:

Gone Girl

Dracula Untold

What we did on our Holiday

Listen to it here:

http://reelraptors.podbean.com/mf/web/zif6xk/RR09.mp3

Or subscribe on itunes… Or listen to it on podbean.

The Riot Club Review

Based on the stage play ‘Posh’, the Riot Club is a thinly veiled, fictionalised look into Oxford University’s famous Bullingdon Club: a breeding ground for the upper echelons of the Conservative Party, famous for destroying restaurants just because they could afford to pay for the damage. It’s a club built up of ten posh students, all from the ‘top schools’ in England and each from established…

Magic in the Moonlight Review

Much like the four seasons, a new release from Woody Allen is just something that happens every year; this event varies in quality, but it’s always worth checking out. Sadly, Magic in the Moonlight isn’t on par with recent highlights like Blue Jasmine or Midnight in Paris (and it certainly doesn’t match up to past classics like Annie Hall or Manhattan), but it is enjoyable. Allen’s latest is…

A Most Wanted Man Review

This latest le Carré adaptation is a low key spy thriller, in the vein of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, that deals in ambiguity. The film enjoys making it unclear whose side you should be on and if there is even a correct side to begin with. It has layered takes on who is good and who is bad, favouring an understanding and realistic approach, it also has a solid performance from the late, great…

I am willing to admit that Pride is a movie I’m somewhat pre-disposed to like, at least in concept. It fits with my personal politics; it’s set in a time period that I think is fascinating and it deals with themes that I find very resonant. If the same isn’t true for you, you may have a very different experience with the film. However, what is so impressive about Pride is not its premise but its…