Jul 17

Geek Actually Ep139 – Tasty

Hosted by: David McVay & Josh Philpott with guest Richard Gray

This week on Geek Actually, David and Josh are again joined by Richard Gray from theReelBits.com for a look at the weird and wonderful world of the geek. This week topics include flying cars, billion mega-pixel cameras, PayPal’s NFC payment system, America’s new 6 strikes and your not quite out system, marriages by vending machine and cooking with cum (yes you read that right). If this wasn’t enough we also have call ins about anti-piracy laws and our picks of the week. This is one of the zaniest episodes yet, enjoy.

Geek Actually is the fusion of the old Tech Actually and Geek Actually After Show podcasts. All the tech and geek goodness that you have come to expect from the old shows wrapped up and made easier to swallow as one simple, little, tasty podcast. DeltaKnight (AKA DAvid Murray) continues to supply us with some of the geekiest stories on the web and Josh and David love to play with the tech news.

Geek Actually is recorded live on Saturdays around 12pm (AEST UTC+10). Go to geekactually.com/live to watch it live.

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Jul 14

Game Review: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (3DS)

These HD remakes lately have been kinda pissing me off. “Tomb Raider” copped one and they used the older looking PS2 builds rather than the superior next gen versions of Legend or 10th Anniversary and “Prince of Persia” just showed that it really was 8 years ago when they were good games. Some do make it through though. “Sly Raccoon Trilogy” was good in that it made the games available for a change. Same thing with the proposed remakes of “Ico” and “Shadow of the Colossus”. So when Nintendo said they were bringing out “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” in HD for 3DS, I did stop to ask “why?”.

Ok, I played the shit out of “Ocarina of Time” on N64. Much love and hatred was had indeed but it seemed strange to me that Nintendo were trying to push a brand new console with a 12 year old game. Sure, Ocarina is always in the top 5 for best video game ever lists everywhere, but you can buy it on the Wii shop for $18 if you don’t still have an N64 with the cartridge any more so it is still a current and available title. So why not just make a brand new Zelda game instead? …. but then I started playing it. Continue reading

Jul 14

Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Although I defended and enjoyed “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”, I also said that it was really impossible to review half a film. I needed to see the second half of this adventure before I could review the story as a whole. So I was approaching part 2 as a) the conclusion to the first film and b) a film in it’s own right.

So let’s address the first point, how does “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” rate as a complete film (part 1 and 2 combined)? The first half is a little bloated and could have been trimmed by half an hour, but as a whole film it is a pretty compelling story that brings the story arc of Harry Potter to a satisfying conclusion.

As for the second point, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” is an exciting thrill ride. Warner Bros and Heyday Films have definitely saved the best for last. Unfortunately if you just dip into this film alone, with no prior films under your belt, you will be completely lost. Director David Yates moves swiftly and expects you to know who’s who and what has happened in previous films. I don’t hold this against him however, considering that ten years have passed since the first film. If Yates had to recap the previous films he would have to add an hour to the running time at least, J. K. Rowling’s world is complex and textured and a lot has happened since Harry came to Hogwarts. The long and the short of it is, watch the previous films before watching “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”. You can short cut this a little by at least watching the David Yates films, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”. This will give you enough to understand what is going on in this film but it is an even richer experience if you watch it from the beginning. Continue reading

Jul 13

Trailer: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Here is the first trailer for “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”, the latest Sherlock Holmes adventure directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock and Jude Law as Dr. Watson. They are joined by Noomi Rapace, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Fry and Jared Harris.

I really enjoyed the first Guy Ritchie “Sherlock Holmes”. Downey Jr. and Law were just perfect as the bickering partners and Ritchie captured the period Beautifully, so hopes are high for this one.

I had one simple rule when I sat down to watch the first film, entertain me, and it did. So if the second film can offer me up the same entertainment value, it could be a big win. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” opens in December 2011.

You can also (and I do recommend it) see it in hi-def over at Apple.

What did you think? Love to hear your thoughts on a second Sherlock Holmes adventure. Comment below.

Jul 13

Game Review: Shadows of the Damned (PS3/Xbox360)

You know those awesome games that slip under the radar when they’re first released but become popular after they’ve been discontinued and get no credit for their creators because the title’s been out of print for so long? Games like “Beyond Good and Evil”, “Psychonauts” and “Castlevania Lords of Shadow” all seemed to miss making their deserved mark on the world of gaming while games like “Call of Duty”, “Brutal Legend” and “Halo” hog the lime-light with mediocrity. There’s another game to add to the list of ‘too beautiful for this world’ and it is “Shadows of the Damned”.

“Shadows of the Damned” is like one of those mash-ups where some kid in a playground comes up with the most awesome unbeatable combination of superhero powers for one guy. Three of the greatest minds in gaming have been thrown together to collaborate on something that really captures the essence from each of their best offerings and manages to not confuse itself into thinking it’s something it’s not. The three crazed minds behind this are Akira Yamaoka (sound director for the “Silent Hill” series), Shinji Mikami (gameplay director for “Resident Evil 4”) and Suda 51 (creative director for “No More Heroes” and “Killer7”) and you can almost see each of their signatures on the screen as you play. Continue reading

Jul 12

First Full Trailer: The Adventures of Tintin

We got the teaser a few weeks back and I loved it. Now a full length trailer for “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson.

As I said in a previous post, I am a huge Tintin fan and I am really looking forward to this film. Motion Capture films like “Beowulf” and “The Polar Express” have had problems in the past with lifeless eyes etc. I have high hopes that this film will be different. First there is the Spielberg/Jackson factor, these are two great filmmakers who know how to work with photorealistic CG. Then there is the Weta Digital factor, this effects house basically wrote the book on Motion Capture (or Mo-Cap) with films like “Avatar” and the character Golem from “The Lord of the Rings”. These two factors alone make me excited for this film. Watch the new trailer below then tell us what you thought in the comments.


The Adventures of TinTin-The Secret of the… by Paramount_Australia

*Updated 18/07/2011 with a new embed courtesy of Paramount Pictures Australia.*