The TRUTH behind LOST!!! A Wyvern Exclusive.

I have found the answer to the question that is lost, and I'm afraid its sad tale of plagiarism, sort of.

It's been bothering me for a while, I was convinced that I could remember a previous series that involved a polar bear and a moving island. It wasn't until a most random conflagration of conversational points that I stumbled upon the answer at work.

Noah's Island.



Here's the plot courtesy of wikipedia:

"The series focused on the adventures of a polar bear named Noah (voiced by Ron Moody) and a bunch of other animals who had been captured and were en-route to a new life in London Zoo. However the ship they were on was wrecked in a storm and the animals escaped. They find themselves on a mysterious floating island, a piece of land which has broken away from the Canadian coastline. The island becomes a sanctuary for a number of homeless animals. They work out how to get the island to co-operate with them and set off on a quest to find an uncharted island called Diamentina, while picking up other animals in peril along the way. Once they arrive there, it turns out to be more sinister than they imagined."






Ok not exactly the same but lets just highlight some key points here:

  1. Storm leading to wreckage on an Island.
  2. Polar Bear.
  3. Moving/floating island.
  4. And this is the freaking doosey...they get the island to co-operate with them...that's freaking right co-operate with them (can't remember how maybe they go to a shack and talk to freaking ghosts!!!).
  5. It turns out to be more sinister than they imagined.
Come on now Mr Abrhams admit it, so maybe you caught and episode once and just didn't remember it.

Now that I think on it Lost could almost be a sequel. So the animals have been living the good life safe on their island, along comes Jack and the team BOOM bye bye mister polar bear saviour of the animals. Your a sick puppy Abrhams, a stone cold mother.

Also did I mention it was British, thinking outside of the box since the dark ages baby.

Sweet.

Blizzard are fans of Lost

Over the last 4 days, Blizzard (the guys that make World Of Warcraft) have created their very own little internet shit storm, or ARG as they are officially called.

Their company website has been covered by this rather mysterious splash screen.



And each day, for the last for days. They have updated the page with a new image.







However, some rather intrepid geeks have hacked the CSS of the page, and discovered a group of images that (apparently will be forth coming) have a rather familiar numbering system.

That's right

4, 8, 15, 23, 16, 42

They get everywhere don't they!

There are 2 days left until blizzard's big announcement, which will of course be completely unrelated to Lost. So don’t expect a World Of LostCraft.

For anyone that is bothered, the announcement is blatantly for a new Diablo game. Look at the eyes in the current splash screen if you need proof.

Wall-E is out of this world

Pixar really have made sure that the magic dust is totally uncut for Wall-E and, in doing so, have stepped into a different galaxy of storytelling. Consider this before we move on, this company have already delivered Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Wall-E is better than all of these films. It is quite simply Pixar's greatest achievement to date.

Wall-E is the last surviving robot of his kind, left behind on Earth to clean up after it became uninhabitable for mankind, because of the amount of rubbish we'd produced. After years of being alone, Wall-E has developed a personality. He collects interesting items from the trash he tidys up each day, is friends with a cockroach and watches old musicals. Unfortunately for Wall-E though, he also has the drawbacks that come with sentience and is incredibly lonely. However, all of this changes when a spaceship arrives carrying a robot probe called Eve to search for signs of life. Wall-E falls in love and embarks on a journey that will carry him very far away.

This is storytelling at its purest and bravest, with not a single line of dialogue spoken in the first 30 minutes of the movie. You don't notice for a moment though, because Pixar's visual language is so strong words aren't simply aren't required. Pixar might have invented a new form of movie experience, but their films are grounded in the art of story and feel as magical as the fairy tales Walt Disney told to you as a child.

Wall-E also delivers a tough message for your average mainstream audience to take. That our rabbid consumption with complete disregard for the planet will destroy us. I wondered to myself what people watching the film with their mega cokes and super size popcorn buckets would make of it all. Of course we also have robots falling in love and caring enough about their masters to try to save humanity in spite of ourselves.

But enough about the serious stuff, let's concentrate on the amount in this film that there is to enjoy. Wall-E himself is a wonderful creation, all determined innocence and inquisitiveness. The rest of the robots on show are an entertaining bunch too, including a fantastic gang of 'rogue robots' who subvert their mundane programming and rebel to help our hero. There's even a lovely nod to Apple computers in amongst it all, which you'll have to listen out for.

In conclusion, Wall-E is already the film of 2008. Personally, it has taken a place on the shelf reserved for my favourite movies ever. Pixar have proved themselves the master storytellers of their generation and should be celebrated by everyone who enjoys cinema.



Geeky Tom's Brief Wall-E Review


If I’m honest, I’m not a huge Pixar fan. I didn’t like Finding Nemo, much to the disgust of my friends. Up to this point, I would have classed Monsters Inc as their best work by quite a clear margin.

But we are at the point now and I have moved past it...smacked it over the head then thrown dirt in its eyes, as I lord past it, smirking my arse off.

Wall-E is a FANTASTIC film.

Its Pixar's BEST work, and I have no doubt that it will earn Pixar a lot of awards. It better, or I will get properly angry.

This is a brief review so I won’t go in to much plot details. But I WILL say the thing that makes this film stand out from the rest is that its practically a silent movie.

This of course isn't strictly true, but I reckon you could fit the script on the back of a McDonald's Napkin, with room to slag off how bad ‘the Happening’ is.

My friend Jon said 'that films should show, not tell' and Wall-E does just that. The Loneliness shown in the first 20 minutes doesn’t need any dialogue to explain. Wall-E’s glee when he first meets Eve is jumps off the screen, and thus needs no witty chat or ham fisted English bumbling buffoonery ( yes you Hugh Grant). Wall-E expresses more emotion with his two eye apparatus then Mark Wallberg can muster for the majority of the Happening; sorry, had to put that one in too.

So, I said it was brief because I sure Jon will put up a proper review.

Go watch it when it’s out next month.

I give it 5 Wyverns out of 5

So a whole flock or herd of Wyverns...just trust me when I say its good.

Metal Gear Solid 4:The Crabs Verdict


So the weekend of gaming is over, The Geek has left, and its time I said a few words on Metal Gear Solid 4:Guns of the Patriots.

I'm not going to go into too much detail, I know what I'm like and once I get going I'd be blabbing all the best bits with fevered excitement.

I recently bemoaned the current state of gaming, supposed Next Gen gaming and it was I have to be honest with trepidation that I began playing MGS 4. We all remember the feeling following the Phantom Menace, I didn't want a repeat.

Add the fact that MGS is always one the most hyped games around and you have a dangerous mix. But then you remember Hideo Kojima and his team are nothing short of genius.

Suppose I should just come out and tell you...this game is amazing/astounding/fantastic/monumental/incredible/epic. I could honestly go on but I don't know how.

Everything they have added, all Next Gen wizardry, it just works and not just that it adds to what is all ready a great game.

The graphics are some of the best I've seen, creating awesome fluidity from cut-scene to action, it just zooms in on Snake and away you go.

The gameplay is once more gripping but your options on how to play out each scenario are even more complex and exciting. Not only that but they have brought whole aspects to the game that just keep you working and give the game some fabulous pacing.

Finally the story, yes we all know the MGS plot is more twisted than the American government but the production values they have here far outstrip any blockbuster movie. Not only that put the many plot twists and layers are picked apart in such a perfect way that really closes this saga beautifully. I mean, just look-




Once it was over, the final cutscene playing; after what is the greatest end boss of all time; I turned to Tom and Rob and said "It's not that it's the greatest game I've ever played, but that it may just be the greatest game I ever get to play in my whole life."

Sure some people won't like it but fuck you what do you know, you're probably watching Big Brother or murdering children.


Epic Sweet.

A friendly note to Crabs

I know you and Rob got your copy of Metal Gear Solid 4 a day early.
If you even dare start playing it without me I will fucking kill you.
I'm not joking, I will actually kill you and Rob until you die.

So just to summarise my threat.

1) Don't play Metal Gear Solid 4 without me
2) If you do play Metal Gear Solid 4 go to point 5
3) ???
4) ???
5) I will kill you.

So I hope for your sakes that you make the right choice, you have until I arrive tomorrow to think about your course of action.

I will either be posting pictures of their dead corpses, or an account of us all playing Metal Gear Solid 4 in my next post.

The Incredible Hulk is nearly a smash

Waiting for The Incredible Hulk to begin last night I had really high hopes. Edward Norton, a promised appearance by Tony Stark and a comic book adaptation delivered by the newly formed Marvel Studios. Surely this was going to be awesome. The problem with every other superhero movie had been Hollywood. They just don't treat the material with enough respect. Don't understand. Don't care. Just see them as a giant cash machine. So with Marvel now at the helm Hulk couldn't fail to deliver, well nearly...

During the first hour of The Incredible Hulk, it threatens to be one of the great superhero movies. The film deals very effectively with Bruce Banner's backstory during the opening credits, plus teasing you with hints that Marvel are going to bring their comic book universe together on film in the way they have in print - look out for mention of Stark Industries and Nick Fury. We then see Edward Norton exiled in Brazil, hiding from the monster inside and desperately training himself to control his anger. There are references a plenty to The Incredible Hulk TV show here, with the old theme tune even turning up at one point. Banner has abandoned all of the stresses of modern living here, choosing to have no mobile phone, credit cards or ID and the film seems to be trying to make a interesting point about him having more freedom in exile living with his monster than we all do each day fighting to catch the tube.

Of course, the army then show up and ruin everything. Their early battles with the Hulk are fought out in brilliant horror movie fashion, with the audience only being given glimpses of the big green monster. Unfortunately, after this the movie takes a turn for the more traditional, with Banner being forced to return to America to find a cure and pointed in the direction of a showdown with Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky, who has decided he wants a bit of the gamma juice for himself. Thereafter, there are still fantastic battles between the Hulk and the US military and of course a giant wrestling match with the Abomination, but you can't help feeling that Marvel are playing it safe to ensure the future of the franchise when they should be Hulking out and really going for it.

Which brings me back to my disappointment with Marvel Studios. They've now got total control of the movie destiny of some of their most famous comic book characters, but rather than setting them free you can't help but feel that the scale of the task is weighing heavily on them. I've always felt that comics are about the outsider. The kid who doesn't fit in. The person whose powers mean they don't belong. Marvel used to be the outsider, but suddenly the success of their films has thrust them into the mainstream. Instead of using their new found powers for good, they seem to have decided that fitting in is better and they're making movies based on marketing decisions and focus groups. Unfortunately, the thing about The Incredible Hulk is he's aways going to stand out in a crowd.



The latest Resident Evil 5 trailer reveals no new surprises, brilliant!

The latest Resident Evil 5 trailer reveals several reasons to be super excited about the sequel to my favourite game of all time, but none of them new. The blood chilling cries of zombie townsfolk can clearly be heard. This was one of the coolest aspects of the last game and I'm glad they've kept it in. Back again are the infamous killer zombie dogs (well, it wouldn't be Res Evil without them). Thank God they've also kept those crazed zombie chainsaw baddies, as being cornered by them is one of the best things about Resident Evil 4. Even the one thing that's got the fans super excited, a female partner, isn't new. Haven't girls been a staple of Resident Evil since day one? I'm glad to see Capcom are applying the good old if it ain't broke, don't fix it reasoning to this. It's going to be amazing.

When watching the trailer, look out for zombies with a very similar bite to Luke Goss's character in Blade 2. Nasty...



JJ Abrams' Fringe - First look

Sorry this post has been a while coming - Geeky Tom has been on at me for ages (my excuse has been starting a new job, which has kept me butt-numbingly busy) but since I did finally get to see the pilot of FRINGE earlier this week, (along with a couple of other unremarkable shows) it's only fair that I share some thoughts with you and put all of us out of our misery.

You may recall that I was able to read the script a few months ago, and posted on it at the time - check this out if you want a plot summary, no spoilers of course.

I absolutely loved the script - it was exciting, intriguing and unpredictable. So while I was really looking forward to seeing it realised, I was also a little anxious about it potentially being not quite as magnificent as I'd imagined. In a nutshell, it was extremely good. I think. The opening tease on the plane, with people literally melting away, was a bit more B movie than I'd envisaged, but the effects were cool, especially later on when the main character's lover is infected with something that makes his skin go hard and translucent, so you can see all the internal organs and veins. Nice.





Joshua Jackson was fine - and went down well with a fair number of the female viewing audience - but for me, the real standouts were Anna Torv as Olivia Denham (the lead FBI agent) and John Noble as Walter Bishop, the eccentric and disturbed scientist whose research may hold the key to curing Olivia's lover. Noble (yes, you may recognise him as Denethor from Lord of the Rings - Return of the King) is sublimely good - funny and heartbreaking at the same time.

Torv is an Aussie actress who was in last year's BBC drama Mistresses (also being remade in the US fyi) as a hot lesbian mistress. She's beautiful, but in quite an understated way, and brings intelligence and guts to the part.

Although it was pretty long - clocking in around 80 minutes - my attention remained focused all the way through. Yes, there's loads of action, but there was also room to let the characters breathe and get a sense of who they are.

So overall, I think this has real potential. The only thing I would say - and this is probably more with my work hat on - is that it didn't quite give me the same rush I got when I first saw the pilot for Heroes, which was just so bold and different and immediately gripping that I was hooked from the get go. I really really like Fringe, but I don't quite feel it in my bones yet. Fingers crossed though...