The King in Yellow - Book Review

The King in Yellow is the 1895 weird tales book by Robert Chambers that has been hugely influential across media including TV (True Detective), books (inspiring the weird horror, cosmology and Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft and the like, as well as videogames (Deadly Premonition, Signalis, Dark Souls and many more).

The book is comprised of 10 short tales and poems, some of which feature The King in Yellow that mysterious book within a book. This collection about a malevolent entity of otherworldly origins and the alien world of Corcosa has captivated readers for over a century however in this collection are tales are more romantic in nature which do not feature this cosmological entity that brings madness and chaos wherever it goes.

The stories are:
The Repairer of Reputations
The Mask
In the Court of the Dragon
The Yellow Sign
The Demoiselle d'Ys
The Prophets' Paradise
The Street of the Four Winds
The Street of the First Shell
The Street of Our Lady of the Fields
Rue Barrée

The Repairer of Reputations
This story involves a man of some means who has delusions of grandeur as he has read The King in Yellow. He dreams of being anointed as The Last King of The Imperial Dynasty of America. However, his cousin, who is a military man, stands in his way.
This is a good opening story as we are introduced to the dreaded tome and the warped effects it has on the human mind. It builds towards a dramatic denouement and is suitably sinister in its descriptions of the unsavoury parts of early 20th century Paris.

The Mask
A sculptor uncovers a scientific means of turning matter into stone, a useful tool for his trade to be sure. However, when a love triangle with his partner and his best friend threatens the tightly connected group, revenge seems on the cards.
This is a romantic story about unrequited love and the curse of the creator when the muse no longer inspires. It builds to a tragic climax but ends quite hopefully.

In the Court of the Dragon
A man reflects upon his life in a church but the organist plays some terrifying music. On his way home the man feels a presence and, through a time loop, ends up back at the church and then at Corcosa where he meets the King in Yellow.
This is a terrifying tale of the eerieness of liminal spaces; a usually knowable space that becomes malevolent within a different context. It features the iconic line, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!”

The Yellow Sign
When an artist and his model muse keep seeing a strange man, who they had dreamt about beforehand,  they wonder who he is. When they find The King in Yellow book in the library they know that their fate is sealed.
The story is wonderful as the love that grows between the artist and his model is slowly revealed and quite sweetly done. When they are consumed by the book their downfall is assured.

The Demoiselle D'ys
When an American tourist on a hunting tour gets lost in the moors of Britanny, France, he hunkers down for the night. However, before night falls he meets a beautiful and skilled huntress, a young woman who invited him to join her for the night at her castle. The castle seems to be a place out of time and the oddities continue.
This is an intriguing timeslip/ isekai story and, as the American hunter becomes aware of the unusual dialect, lifestyle and conversation, the differences between the time periods becomes more scarily stark.

The Prophets' Paradise
This is a collection of 8 poems based on various themes with different titles: The Studio, The Phantom, The Sacrifice, Destiny, The Throng, The Jester, The Green Room, and The Love Test.

The next three stories, which are not about the King in Yellow mythos, I call the Street Trilogy and I found to be less interesting overall. The Street of the Four Winds is about an artist in Paris who welcomes a stray cat into his home. While philosophising with his new found furry friend, he sees the name tag of the owner and decides to return it. He enters the ornate house and enters the bedroom. This is a strange story and is a bit of a weird tale in the style of Haruki Murakami or Katsuhito Otomo's Memories.

The Street of the First Shell
This concerns the citizens of a besieged city in the Franco-Prussian war. It's a tale of survival and community but also suspicion. It's slow paced and a pretty tough read as there are a lot of characters and political intrigue that I just couldn't get into.

The Street of Our Lady of the Field concerns the travails of love amongst the student art community. It's all quite gentle, playful and freewheeling like the work of Fellini- all vibes and rizz.

Rue Barre
This is quite a sweet love story as boy sees girl, falls in love with girl, buys tonnes of flowers for the girl without her knowing and sends them to her place. So far so stalker but rather than staying in the shadows he goes to speak to her face to face but is politely rejected. The story ends with the pair being awkward and unable to express themselves when the protagonist gets drunk one night and climbs up to her window on the second floor.

Overall, The King in Yellow is a captivating read and it’s a testament to Chambers' skill that his work continues to resonate with readers over a century later. The way he weaves together themes of cosmic horror, madness, and the uncanny is truly masterful. The mysterious play within the book serves as a powerful symbol of the unknown and the terrifying and -with the world in the situation it currently is- completely relatable.

Gyo by Jinji Ito- Graphic Novel Review

Junji Ito is known for creating a  sense of unease and creeping dread that is often mixed with body horror. He often bases this in everyday life and the malignant force happens to people, rarely is there a hero who escapes... It's a bit of a downer really but that's what people like about his work. There's often no deus ex machina or hard reset; the world is messed up and that's it -fade to black.

In Gyo, a manga from the early 2000s, we are introduced to Tadashi and Kaori, a young couple who go to the coast of Okinawa. Whilst there they discover a new breed of animal: a walking fish. However, when these creatures and other sea beasts that have evolved start to take over the land the novel's premise, while initially seemingly absurd, quickly spirals into a terrifying exploration of humanity's impact on the natural world.

Sure, the characters are archetypes but Ito uses them effectively to highlight the chaos and desperation of the situation. Kaori's demands and Tadashi's reluctant heroism add a layer of dark comedy to the horror. Kaori is the stereotypical shrill demanding girlfriend who is pretty unreasonable to her boyfriend, at one point asking him to get rid of a walking Great White Shark! Meanwhile, Tadashi is the put upon boyfriend who tries to be the hero but is just an everyman who is overwhelmed by what is happening. Tadashi's uncle is an eccentric scientist who wants to investigate these strange creatures as, after years of early promise with his inventions, he has not been able to fulfill his potential.

What follows is a tale involving World War II, biological weapons and a force that is hard to control. Ito's signature grotesque style is on full display here, with the walking fish and other monstrous creatures becoming nightmarish symbols of ecological disaster. The way he blends elements of horror, science fiction, and historical fiction creates a truly unsettling atmosphere.

The inclusion of the Enigma of Amigara Fault is a nice touch, providing a stark contrast to the sprawling narrative of Gyo. It's a testament to Ito's versatility as a storyteller. Overall, Gyo is a must-read for fans of horror and fans of Ito's work. It's a disturbing, thought-provoking, and visually stunning masterpiece.

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK: Blood, Sweat and Pixels- Book Review

LINK: The Offworld Collection- Book Review

LINK: Shadow of the Colossus- Book Review

LINK: Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK: The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

LINK: The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

LINK: My One True Gaming Constant in Life- Nintendo

Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment- Book Review (and Some Thoughts)

As a gamer I know of Blizzard. I know of their huge games like World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Overwatch but, to be honest, the only game I've played of theirs is The Lost Vikings on the Megadrive. However, I knew of Rock and Roll Racing on the SNES from friends who had it at the time back in the day. Our paths have never really crossed but I was interested in the story as their rise, fall and whatever happens next has been interesting to follow on social media and on the gaming pages.

Play Nice: The Rise, Fall and Future of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier does the deep dive into the company that is so sorely needed. It starts at the 2023 Blizzcon but goes through its origins in 1991 when it was called Silicon and Synapse. We then get a potted history of its founders, Allan Adham, Michael Morhaime, and Frank Pearce, and their evolution from a studio for hire - making conversions for other platforms - to Blizzard where it made Warcraft in 1994.  We then go through the various acquisitions, such as the purchase of Condor who were making Diablo, to the wild success of StarCraft. More interestingly though, we gain an understanding of the financial mismanagement and self-enrichment that led to tensions within the studio and the frat boy bro culture that persisted. This created a toxic environment that grew over time to be off-kilter with the changing accepted norms of society.

There are nuggets of facts that make this an interesting read including:

- Andy Weir, the author of The Martian (which was famously turned into a Matt Damon led film and was bizarrely put into the Comedy nominations for the 2016 Golden Globes) worked at Blizzard for about a year as a programmer but left after some staff bullied him as the code he did was not absolutely spot on.

- Battlenet was proposed by some at the company as a potential digital storefront that could house other company's products but this was shot down by the higher ups. This could have been Steam wayyy before Steam became a thing.

- World of Warcraft was the biggest games release at the time, selling over 1.5 million copies within a few months and peaking at 12.5 millions users just a few years later.

- Bobby Kotick bought Mediagenic and then reverted to its original name: Activision.

- Kotick turned the company's fortune around by repackaging and selling its old games and then merged with Blizzard.

- In the early 2000s, World of Warcraft was making over half a billion dollars a year.

- As World of Warcraft became a cash cow a hierarchy emerged with the developers of that game being top of the pile. This led to resentment across the company as their contributions felt ignored or overshadowed.

- When Kotick took over the majority shares of Blizzard from Vivendi, he pushed for annualisation in a line goes up mentality. This let to an annual glut of games that lacked innovation and lightly iterated on previous releases. Inevitably, these games were reviewed lower with each successive game and exhausted many gamers. Game series that burned bright for this short time included Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk.

- Overwatch was a much needed boost in finances and was a hugely successful release. Unfortunately, new corporate overlords just looked at finances rather than brand recognition. This led to a huge rise in micro transactions and loot boxes.

- When Morhaime left Blizzard in 2018, after sensing the direction of travel from Kotick, J. Allen Brack took over but Activision had already started to mooch in. They put a trailer for Call of Duty in Blizzcon which was out of step with much of the core audience.

- Diablo Immortal, the micro-transaction filled mobile game, was poorly received by fans. It allowed the more toxic elements of the 'gamers' (tm) to target and abuse many Blizzard staff, many who had no control over what decisions were being made above their pay grade.

- In 2019, Kotick announced record earnings in 2018 but not quite where he had projected so there would be changes. This is when 800 staff members were let go... this carried on the trend that the video game industry is still dealing with: release a product and get rid of lots of staff afterwards as a cost cutting measure to show inflated profits.

- Blitzchung spoke against China's influence over Hong Kong but Blizzard banned him. Brack did a mealy-mouthed apology without mentioning China, Hong Kong or Blitzchug

- When Warcraft 3 Reforged was given a release date before even being started on, the game became a crunched release and was Blizzard's lowest rating game at 51% on Metacritic. The company offered quibble free refunds and was humiliated.

- Covid happened and the stacked ranking system, where staff were ranked in accordance to a managers opinions on those individuals, was introduced. It did not go well as there is no fair system to rate individuals.

- During Covid, videogame companies made record profits as people were stuck at home with lots of time, but the people within the industry struggled with going online, childcare and all the other stresses that Covid exacerbated.

- There was a Blizzard Tax: you worked for a respected company but we're paid less than your industry peers. Many left for other studios and then were wooed back with higher pay, this was the ‘Blizzard Boomerang’.

- In 2021, a Sexual Misconduct and Descrimination lawsuit was filed and was settled for $51 million dollars outside of court.

- Rumours of swinger parties reached mainstream media and the disparity in power between the people involved raised many questions.

- The infamous Cosby Suite was less to do with the comedians rape allegation charges and more to do with the colour of his jumpers matching the carpet in the hotel room, apparently. However, in light of the sexual misconduct allegations that had surfaced, the optics did not look good.

- The ABK board were mostly friends and close associates of Kotick and did not remove him, even when allegations that he knew about the various sexual misconduct charges but did nothing came to light.

- Microsoft bought the studio for $69 billion dollars (nice) and the future of the company is uncertain as there have been mass layoffs within the industry and Blizzard is no exception.

The book covers a lot of the same issues that have led to many problems across the video games industry; crunch, lack of financial compensation for those who make the games, unreasonable deadlines, staff burnout, a toxic workspace environment and an executive class whose push for a consistent revenue stream through games as a service a model, even when it does not suite the game or genre, against infrequent but polished hits has played havok with the industry. The Sword of Damocles hangs over the industry as a whole and Jason Schreier has been instrumental in bringing to light the issues that have plagued what was one of the most revered and respected studios. 

Having read the book, I've been thinking of the Moloch Trap: the race to the bottom where there is no eventual winner but, because everyone else is doing it, you feel that you must too to keep up and have parity with your peers. The videogame industry has this idea that constant growth is possible but it isn't, so to look like there is there has been a push to get rid of staff before yearly earnings announcements. 

Also, this got me thinking about the Rot Economy-this is the idea that when a business has reached its top most threshold it purposely makes what it has on offer worse for the captive audience it has so it can squeeze the last bit of money from them, either by asking them to upgrade to a higher tier out of the basic version or making the basic version worse via ads etc. This is similar in principle to adversarial design or futilitarianism where you see your audience as marks and charge them for the convenience you purposely removed from your product - solution selling for a problem you intentionally created. You see it a lot in free online games with cool downs which can be made quicker with 'in game currency' which is actually real world money or the Online Gaming Subscription Services where your selection of games gets worse unless you pay up. This does not fly when people have paid upwards of £70 for a product! 

Hmmm, I'm not some right-on loony lefty who hates business and money but this late state capitalism which worship goods, products and money more than people and devalue humans is not on. The whole meaning of god punishing people for the idolatry of worshipping a statue is not just a silly story: it's about something deeply human and important -  in the end, the only thing we have is each other. There is very little happiness that can be had without other people involved (I mean, some fun for sure but maybe not a lot of happiness). Sure, hell is other people but hell is also no people at all and a world without videogames to unite and bond people is a sad world indeed. 

So, overall, my opinion is read the book as it will provide insight into the industry and the tech philistines who lose sight of the fact that this electronic product of binary code is a means for connection not just cold, hard utilitarianism. 

LINK: Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK: The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

LINK: The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

LINK: The Offworld Collection- Book Review

LINK: Uncharted 4- Video Games As Art

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

Oats Studios - Cult Series Review

I do love a good anthology series. The idea of many little stories, based on an overarching theme, always appealed to me as if you didn't really like a story another one would soon be up and it might be more your cup of tea. I've watched many series including much of The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark? as well as the BBC series such as Ghost Stories for Christmas amongst many other 70s horror anthologies and I can never get enough.

When I first heard of Oats Studios I was excited as it was be started by Neill Blomkamp, writer and director of District 9 as well as a few other cult films. The aim of the studio was to distribute short experimental films with the aim of seeing which would be viable for fuller projects. It's a great conceit and I like the idea of an amuse bouche with the possibility of more if there was interest.

So, over the course of a couple of days, I watched the entire run of 10 episodes. Here's my synopsis of each episode and my opinions.

Rakka
When an alien invasion by telepathic anthropomorphic reptiles destroys most the Earth and it's population, a small rag tag team fights back. They find Amir, a human who has been experimented on by the aliens. He gets a chance to help the resistance and does so in the inevitable showdown with his new abilities. Will it be enough though?
This is a down and dirty resistance sci-fi film with a lived in world presented. The story is engaging and the potential for lore and backstory is huge - a lot is achieved in just 22 minutes. Sigourney Weaver is riveting in this and adds some gravitas and pathos to proceedings. The setting is well realised and the potential to see where the story would go is intriguing.

Firebase
Set during the Vietnam war, a lone American soldier lost from his party, heads into the jungle where, rather than fighting the Vietcong, he battles against an alien that take the form of humans. When he is found by a military superior he is airlifted into an area of interest where he is told he must battles the River God, a Viet farmer who the CIA consider the embodiment of the Devil.
The short film starts off like a found footage film from the time, all shaky cameras and overaaturated colour from film negatives yellowing with age and popping and fizzing with time. It then turns into a more modern slick production but set in the 70s. The story reaches a crescendo as the unit gears up to do battle. The story is very videogamey and intriguing.

Cooking With Bill: Damasu/ Prestoveg/ Smoothie/ Sushi
Looking like a late 80s/ early 90s shopping channel bit, Bill and Karen try out new gadgets but it all seems to go terribly wrong.
This is darkly humourous as they catch the time period just right and the jargon used to shill the products like 'thermo capacitor' is spot on. The gadgets are crap and Bill comes a cropper each time. The cartoon interstitial between each product is unnecessarily bright and cheerful on purpose to contrast with the darkness of the consumerism theme.

God: Serengeti/ Chicago
This shows a cruel God who watches us from above. He has a butler and is bored so he creates issues like starting fires to see what the people on Earth will do.
This is a good episode as it shows humans are just the playthings of a cruel and unknowable god. The butler Geoffrey listens to his master but he doesn't always want to carry out the psychotic orders he is given.

Zygote
A couple of survivors at an Arctic base try to make it to Alpha base but are stalked by a mysterious creature. One of the survivors, a female synthetic, leads her blind human superior but struggles as her programming dictates her protocols.
This starts off quickly and sets the mood straightaway. The premise of getting from A to B is film 101 but the moody setting and atmosphere is very The Thing or Alien. The premise of a mining company cracking open a rock and unleashing a dangerous force is very Dead Space and very effective. The creature reveal of a hulking mass that amalgamates various bodies into one whole is impressive. It's all very effective as the claustrophic atmosphere of the place, with its red lights flashing and the shadows, is well realised.

Bad President: Oil Spill/ All My Sh*t
These two shorts show an incompetent American President as he tries to reassure the people of his country about some sad news but really he can't be arsed and wants to just party.
This is definitely a political episode as it shows a terribly incompetent man being in charge of the country and using it for his own gain.

Adam: Episode 2
A prophet of sorts leads a robot exodus out from The Consortium's hands as he reveals that their brains have been taken as their bodies are all that is needed to serve in the subservient role.
Starting at episode 2 makes this intriguing as you have to piece together what you think might have  happened. When the history of one of the robots is revealed, it sets up the rest of the story. The CGI animation is very good and you can see Blomkamp's skills as a director.

Adam: Episode 3
A fake-prophet figure asks a woman to destroy a robot, her once human brother, whose soul has been taken. In return, she is blessed and able to remove her mask and breathe the usually toxic air without any repercussions.
The reveal of the machine inside the prophet is surpsiring and well animated. I love the dramatic music as it swells in its denouement.

Gdansk
A group of mech knights in white attacks villages, killing men, women and children. We see the leader and the existential crisis he seems to be suffering.
This episode has a gorgeous design and the attention to detail on the landscape is stunning. As it is very brief, this was the story I couldn't get a handle of properly but it feels a bit Star Wars-y.

Kapture Locust
This starts off like a handy cam proof of military concept design video and shows the dystopian future that can happen when scientists are given unchecked resources and power.
I like the style of the film as it plays like a cutscene in a game just before something goes wrong, very Half Life. They seen amiable enough but they commit horrible violence upon their test subjects - prisoners who want their sentences commuted.

I loved this series as there were a veritable smorgasbord of ideas. Not every episode connected with me but I'm sure every viewer will have their own opinion on what is the best and isn't that the best thing about anthologies?

Paper House- Cult Film Review

I had heard of Paper House through the recommendations on my Amazon but also through several articles on old British TV serials that petrified kids in the 70s and 80. I had never seen the film but had seen the older 70s show Escape into Night several years ago when I went down a ‘Creepy British TV Shows’ YouTube rabbit hole a few years ago. The show was inspired by the same source material as the later film, Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr, and tells the tale of a young girl whose drawings come to life in her dreams. So far so Penny Crayon, but when she draws a creepy house with a creepy kid inside, things take a slightly more sinister turn.

The Paper House film adapts Storr's novel further by adding a further layer that is similar to The Company of Wolves in that a young girl, on the onset of tweendom and puberty, is going through an emotional time and, whilst going through a lot of emotional turmoil, enters a dreamlike world which may or may not be real.

The film is more cinematic than the series, obviously, and the economy of design of the house, as well as the rugged landscape, made it more surreal and strange. Faure's Requeim is used effectively to bring this fantasy thriller film alive. The lead actress, Charlotte Burke, plays the role of the confused Anna very well. She starts the film a bit of a naughty pickle but shows growth and depth so that the audience is fully behind her as she tries to get to the bottom of what is going on and support the boy in the house.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film as it was a throwback in terms of fashion and sensibilities, but also because it is a good character study on what an adult’s alcohol abuse does to the child. If you’ve got a spare hour and a half you could do worse than watch this movie.

Young Sherlock Holmes- Cult Film Review

The 1980s was a golden age for cinema, offering something for everyone. From the high-octane action of Schwarzenegger and Stallone to the heartwarming coming-of-age stories of John Hughes, the decade was filled with iconic films that continue to resonate today.

When Young Sherlock Holmes was released in 1985 it looked like it would appeal to the youth demographic as it had some pedigree behind it; it was written by Chris Columbus, produced by Steven Spielberg and had involvement from Kathleen Kennedy. It all looked promising with this dream team of creatives but the film struggled to make back its £15 million budget. I didn't catch the film when it was first released, as I would have been 4 years old at the time, but caught it in my early teens. I liked the film immensely but thought I'd revisit the film and see if it had stood the test of time or whether my nostalgia had filtered an okay film with the golden glow of greatness.

The film has stood the test of time pretty well.

The film uses the characters developed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but reimagines them as pupils at secondary school. Narrated from Watson's view, we get a mystery as a successful businessman, a reverend and an ex-professor/ inventor are killed. Nothing seems to connect them except the fact that they all graduated from the same university in the same year. A cloaked figure uses a blowdart to infect the victims with a hallucinatory drug that leads to death but why are these people being killed? Using his powers of deduction, Holmes goes in pursuit of the truth and what follows is a tale of human sacrifice, a secret temple and a cult.

Watching this about 30 years after the first time, I do have to say that I think the film deserves to be remembered and appreciated as it is a bit of a forgotten gem. However, I also think I can see why the film did not find the audience it deserved; it's often the case that films aimed at a specific demographic can struggle to find their audience if they don't quite fit the mould. The scary hallucinations, which are integral to the plot of the film, set it apart from other movies aimed at the youth market but proved too shocking for many. It's a testament to Columbus who created a more complex and thought-provoking story that looked at the ill effects of colonialism and misadventure but when the opening scene, which sees a man hallucinating that his sentient chicken dinner is attacking him, his furniture is alive and that his house is on fire so he jumps from a window to save himself and dies upon impact, it is a pretty darned scary opening.

Later, the Pixar created CGI stained-glass knight and cemetery corpse puppets are very effective and would be too much for many a younger sensitive little soul. This is a shame as the rest of the film is an exciting adventurous tale full of intrigue and tension worthy of Indiana Jones (especially the Kali Ma sacrifice which here is the mummifying of the body of a teen girl, who is still alive, in wax) with the scary puppetry of Gremlins.

The production values are great in this film as the Edwardian Britain setting is well realised and brought to life with excellent sets and costume. The lighting adds a lot to the mysterious atmosphere and the music, created by Bruce Broughton, does much to crank up the tension when required but add levity and a sense of fun.

The actors are excellent all round but particular mention must go to the young actors Nicholas Rowe as Holmes, Alex Cox as Watson and Sophie Ward as Elizabeth, who excel with their roles, even if the script isn't as meaty or as quotable as many other classic films from the time.

Overall, the film was well produced, looked great and was acted and I enjoyed it immensely but won't be showing it to my kids for a few years yet.

The Piper- Audio Book Review

For anyone who likes creeping dread audio dramas, I’d recommend The Piper, which came out on BBC Sounds a while back. I discovered it by accident as I heard from somewhere that Natasha Khan aka Bat for Lashes - whose work I love and have seen perform in concert twice - had produced the music for it. I jumped in without reading anything at all about it and that’s the best way as the surprises keep on coming. It is a modern retelling of the Pied Piper myth with a creepy, contemporary twist which is right up my alley. Khan’s music is instrumental to the story as the discordant piano riff that plays is central to the plot of the 9 episode series.

The story is of a modern-day Pied Piper figure who preys on vulnerable children. He signals his intent by playing a discordant riff. When a local girl goes missing, it is up to Tamzin Outhwaite’s Detective Ali to try and get to the bottom of the matter. However, her niece and friends are on the case and may be closer to solving it. Will they be able to identify the Piper before any more children go missing?

The actors are all solid in this production and the younger cast really do play their roles well. Writers Natalie Mitchell and Vickie Donaghue keep the story going at a cracking pace and the added lore about the Piper being a character that persists over time is a great concept. Sure, it has the typical genre tropes of ‘don’t go into them thar woods’ or the like but that’s part of the charm in this effective radio drama.

The audio book is well worth a listen and, whilst not ground-breaking, is pretty effective for scares.

Beasts- Cult TV Series Review

Nigel Kneale is one of the great British writers, gaining prominence with his Quatermass trilogy and other sci-fi/ supernatural works in television dramas and films. Over his 50 year career in writing, Kneale wrote many pieces that are high televisual watermarks including Quatermass and The Stone Tapes. One of his most regarded works is Beasts, a 6 part anthology series from 1976 which takes kitchen sink drama scenarios but with that added Kneale twist. This was a well regarded series when it was released but I had never seen it. So, as the dark nights set in I set about watching it but does it stand the test of time?

Special Offer - A young woman named Maureen becomes a cashier at a minimart. She struggles with the work as she isn't as superficially beautiful as the other cashier and items seem to fall to the floor of their volition when she is at the checkout. The manager is scathing in his rebuke of her but as the incidences escalate is there more to Maureen than meets the eye? As Billy, the mysterious invisible creature wreaks havok we are left wondering is Maureen causing it or has she got the Sight?
This was a great episode as a young Pauline Quirk (later of Birds of a Feather fame) plays the role of poor harangued Maureen the cashier well. Her simple understated performance, especially the bit where she dolls herself up and pre-empts Heath Ledgers joker look by about 3 decades, underpins the eerieness contained within these aisles. The store manager Mr. Grimley is played with glee by Geoffrey Bateman who plays the career-minded mysogynistic alpha-male well. When he calls Maureen, "A stupendous, unrepeatable, giant-sized drag" it is a peach of an insult and indicative of his feelings.
The whole episode is great as it leaves you guessing right to the final third as to what will happen.

During Barty's Party - This is a two-hander as an older couple are in their isolated country home and keep hearing a rustling and gnawing noise. The wife thinks it's a rat but the relentlessness of sound starts to affect their mental health as these seem to be intelligent rats that seem to be stalking them.
This is a solidly acted episode as the two leads, Elizabeth Sellars and Anthony Bates, play their roles to perfection. As the wife starts to get more anxious her husband becomes more irritable and tetchy with her.
This episode is creepy as it examines the effect of isolation on the human psyche. Sellars is especially good at conveying the swivel-eyed nervous wife who is slowly going out of her mind.
This episode reminds me of another cult TV series episode I saw a few years ago, the BBC Dead of Night episode 'The Exorcism'.
I must also give a shout out to the soundtrack, which is phenomenal, as it features great music including 'Shout' by Lulu and 'Hippy Hippy Shake' by The Swinging Blue Jeans.

Buddyboy - When a hard-up derelict dolphinarium owner tries to get rid of the property to a couple of adult theatre owners, they are suspicious as to his desperation. Whilst giving the building the once over, they meet an ex-worker and a weird tale of a ghostly dolphin seeking vengeance unfolds.
What can I say, this is a weird episode about a ghost dolphin who was abused by his owner due to his intelligence. It's pretty strange and builds to a dramatic climax- is the abuser being haunted or does he just feel guilt over his actions to the poor animal. Martin Shaw plays the role of the theatre owner well and as she takes the dolphinarium owner to task as he negotiates, he plays the cocky chancer role well.

Baby - A young couple move to a small cottage in the country. As they are renovating their house, knocking down a wall, they come across a large jar which was walled up. Inside is a dried husk of a strange monkey-like creature but what was it and why was it hidden away? The pregnant wife, Jo, worries about it and wants shot of it whilst the vet husband wants to investigate the creature further.
I have heard that this episode is the most well regarded of the series and I can see why. The story is a simple folk horror tale but the acting by Jane Wymark is excellent. She knows something isn't right but her overbearing husband is not listening and just thinks she's anxious about another miscarriage.
The episode slowly builds in its dread, especially when she goes to look for the cat in the nearby woods. She senses something is wrong but everyone just thinks it's just her pregnancy playing havok with her emotions. The finale is suitably dramatic and I'm guessing haunts plenty of the people who saw it all those years ago to this day, even though now the creature looks like a pile of old binbags stacked on top of each other. The ending leaves you thinking about if Jo suffers a miscarriage or if she is worried about it happening again.

What Big Eyes - When a RSPCA inspector investigates the sale of exotic animals to a pet shop, he meets a controversial mad scientist-type researching lycanthropy. The scientist has been experimenting on himself and seems to be suffering from the after-effects but what effect will it have on his body?
Mr. Curry is the RSPCA jobsworth, and is earnestly played by Michael Kitchen, but he crosses swords with the scientific genius/ controversial idiot Mr. Raymount, who is played with a self-satisfied arrogant cadence of Patrick Magee. The interplay between these two is fun and verbose and underpins what is an interesting episode. The acting as Mr. Raymount slowly dies is cringy though and, even though he is supposed to be dead, you can still see Magee's chest moving very clearly... it's embarrassingly obvious. What we have is an interesting premise that is unevenly executed and quite broadly acted in places.

The Dummy - A washed-up actor plays a rubber monster in a trashy film series but goes a bit too method and has a nervous breakdown. He goes rogue and starts trashing the set and attacking the staff.
It's an intriguing tale about mental health and how a breakdown of a marriage can affect an individual. It's all very silly as the monster looks crap but the story is interesting enough.

Kneale has a knack for turning what was then modern mundanity into something creepy and mysterious, often with a soupsons of malice and the supernatural. There are some excellent ideas here but the limited sets and budget mean it does show its age. The economy of design does make it feel like an authentic period piece though and, for those so inclined, a nostalgic look back at a bygone era and the fashion, mentalities and norms from the time.

The series is a great time capsule but more than that, it is just a good anthology series with well told stories acted by a solid British cast.

Hello Darkness- Comic Series Review

I love anthology series myself, having reviewed Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Love, Death and Robots, Hammer House of Horrors, Junji Ito's Maniac and many more besides on this very website. However, anthology comic books have had a trickier path to follow as the received wisdom has been that there isn’t a market for it anymore… or is there?

I heard of Hello Darkness, published by those fine fiends at Boom! who seem to specialise in the horror, sci-fi and mystery genres, from writer and artist Becky Cloonan on her Insta. I have followed her work since her Demo days, through By Chance or Providence to Gotham Academy and, more recently, the multi-Eisner award winning Somna. Generally, when she speaks I listen and she has yet to steer me wrong in comics. I met her about a decade ago in Orbital Comics in London and she signed my hardback of By Chance or Providence. I also have a moody limited number signed print too which I bought from Gosh! about 10 years ago. So when she mentioned that there was going to be a monthly horror anthology series with a rotating carousel of creatives my interest was piqued. With anthologies, variety is a key strength that keeps you interested as you get a diversity of voices, genre-bending and find hidden gems of stories and artists.

At the time of writing, just two comics have been released but I do have to say that they are just as wonderful as I imagined the to be.

#1 had a smorgasbord of talent including James Tynion IV, Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan herself. We have 7 stories, 5 of which are short and complete and two that seem to be ongoing concerns. Contagious is the story of kids turning against adults in a horrific way whilst Stay in Your Lane is about a one-time pro bowler who goes full Falling Down crazy when he is passed over by professional bowling scouts. The two continuing stories are The War Part One about the current geo-political issues going on in the world and the fear that nuclear annihilation is close whilst Something is Killing the Children: A Monster Hunter Walks into a Bar Part One has a mysterious woman walk into a bar after a bus fails to show up. She hears about the strange case of children killing their parents and hunkers down at the bar for the night.

#2 has a few creatives I do not know but their works are still impressive. The Clown by Azam Raharjo is a Junji Ito like tale of a malevolent party clown who entrances children Pied Piper style. We also have Stargazers by Frederik Hornung, a tale of two adults meeting up through an online dating app only to reveal their true monstrous selves. Apocalypse in Slow Motion by Wes Craig is a biting satire of late state capitalism and the blood price that will have to be paid by the elites once things start to go wrong. Finally, The War Part Two continues the story of a geouo of friends deciding what to do after the Russia-Britain nuclear war.

Overall, I really enjoyed the comic as it was like a selection box of goodies. There was a little bit of everything but the highlights for me were the stories I have highlighted but Im sure another reviewer would have a different opinion. I cannot wait to see what else in store as the series continues and the talent pool gets ever wider.

Govan Ghost Story- Cult TV Review

Plays on One was a drama anthology series which ran on the BBC from 1988 to 1991. I never knowingly saw any of it (I might have watched some accidentally when I was ill at home from school but can’t say for sure) but had recently heard that Govan Ghost Story was a particular highlight. I found the whole one hour film on YouTube and gave it a watch.

Govan Ghost Story tells the story of Jock, a former shipwright who used to work in the shipyards before the strikes and recession brought the industry down. This is a bleak visions of Thatcher's Britain where proud people who used to work and want to work cannot find employment. Jock has been out of work for nearly six years; “five years, four months and twenty-three days” and this puts him in conflict with his daughter, who is a part of the new yuppie culture. Whilst she is thriving within this new economic model, Jock struggles and lives in the dilapidated high rise council tower blocks of Iona Court, an area that would soon be demolished within a few years. In the empty flat next door, Jock keeps hearing eerie noises and sees a little girl playing in the hallway. At night, he hears the terrible sounds of the girl being beaten by her violent abusive father. Why is Jock hearing these sounds and what can he do to help the girl move on?

It's interesting to see how the film uses the supernatural element as a backdrop to explore these very real social issues. Jock's character, ably played by Tom Watson, is complex and relatable as his disillusionment with society and his personal struggles are mirrored in the crumbling concrete and steel of his surroundings. Also, the contrast between Jock's working-class background with the affluent lifestyle of his daughter's friends is a poignant commentary on the growing social divide that arose in the 80s.

The film is informative for someone like me who didn’t grow up in this period of time and was not able to see the effects that the recession had on traditional industries. The decaying physical environment of Iona Court reflects the psychological decay of the main character and is incredibly potent. This film is well worth an hour of your time as it is a time capsule of a difficult time in British society.

Summer, Fireworks and the Corpse- Book Review

I have gone down a Japanese narrative rabbit hole on my Kindle app, picking up a few novels on the cheap. I prefer the feel and biblichor of actual books but many of these are highly prized and expensive as it is a niche market in the West and the print runs were often small. So digital it is for Summer, Fireworks and the Corpse which features the title story as well as Yuko, a gothic short story. Both are the works of renown author Otsuichi.

The first story Summer, Fireworks and the Corpse concerns the untimely death of Satsuki, a 9 year old girl who dies after being pushed from a tree by her friend Yayoi. Alongside her brother Ken, Yayoi conceals the body and they become adept at lying to conceal the facts of this tragedy.

The story is intriguingly set up as we get a ghost narrator in Satsuki who tells the story from beyond the veil as she oversees what is happening. Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones borrowed this style 5 years later but I can see why- it's an effective tool to tell a narrative in an unusual and interesting way. Not only do we get the narrative told in an engaging way we get the emotions of the victim at the centre of the tragic tale.

As the two children hide the body and try to avoid being caught, it turns into a game of cat and mouse- much like one of my favourite shows Colombo. You can't help but root for the kids as they are clever and inventive in covering their trail. Ken particularly is very astute but can come across as a bit sociopathic as he seems to enjoy the 'game' whilst younger sister Yayoi is all weepy eyed and ready to fall apart at any moment.

There are also moments of real pathos though as Satsuki says upon seeing her friends set off for their first day of school, ''Upon everything but me, morning came, and everyone but me was alive''. It is really understated yet incredibly powerful as it brings home that fact that Satsuki was incredibly young upon her death and will never experience all that life has to offer.
Also, the character of Midori, who interacts with the children a lot, is an intriguing one as there are hidden depths that reveal themselves.
Overall, Otsuichi's story is short but leaves a mark as it is filled with observations on life, death and everything between which are lyrical and moving.

The second and shorter story, Yuko, is set after World War II and concerns Kiyone, a young lady who works as a servant for a reclusive writer and his never seen, bedridden wife. Over time, Kiyone slowly starts to go crazy with curiosity and seeks to look at the mysterious wife... but will it end well?

Yuko is a intriguing short story with a Japanese twist on the gothic tale; an isolated location, an unusual house owner, a mysterious hidden figure, unknown deaths and wary local towns people. The put-upon housekeeper tries to get to the truth and in the end we have diverging viewpoints on what has happened. It's a solid premise but I think there is a simple flaw in knowing what happened, look at the physical evidence in the aftermath of the finale.

I really enjoyed my time with these stories as they were short and breezy, only taking a couple of hours in total to read. From reading a few biographies online, I know that Otsuichi wrote the book when he was just 17 years old so I look forward to reading some of his later works to see how he developed his craft over time.

The Haunting- Cult Film Review

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is probably the most famous haunted house story ever written. I had heard great things about the classic 1963 film adaptation directed by Robert Wise, who is also known for his impressive work on beloved films such as West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965). I found myself wondering, it couldn't really be that scary, could it? As the dark autumn nights began to draw in, I thought it would be the perfect time to finally give it a watch and see for myself what all the excitement was about.

At the very beginning, we learn about the sinister and unsettling history of the building through a dramatic and captivating narration, “An evil old house, the kind that some people ominously refer to as haunted, is like an undiscovered country waiting to be explored by brave souls. Hill House has stood for an impressive 90 years and might very well endure for 90 more. Silence lay steadily and ominously against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there…walked alone, isolated in its own chilling presence.”

Wow, what a way to get you into the fright night zone!

We are introduced to supernaturalist Dr. Markway who wants to investigate the paranormal activities within Hill House. He has a list of 6 volunteers drawn up who each have their own backstory as they investigate the haunted house, however only 3 turn up though as the others were scared off by the reputation of the place.

The characters are the usual ragtag crew:
- Eleanor Lane, the anxious and highly strung spinster sister, who feels like she is a burden upon her married and settled sister. She is an empath and feels presences. She is called to the house as she had an experience with a poltergeist when she was 10 years old.
- Theodora, a sassy and confident young woman who doesn't put much stock in the spooky, has ESP powers but is a mean card shark as well as a bit mean.
- Luke Sannerson, a confident and cocky bachelor, who will inherit the house from his aunt when she passes and is just in this game for a lark. He is an unbeliever.

The film continues to be remarkably impressive and captivating even 60 years after its initial release.

This is the first time I have ever seen the film, and as is usual with cinema of a certain vintage, it is a deliberately slow-paced affair that gradually cranks up the tension in a most effective manner. The black-and-white cinematography is truly superb, making the most of the shadows and employing interesting and creative use of camera angles that collectively contribute to making the entire viewing experience unsettling and unnerving. Hill House itself is beautifully gothic on the outside, but the set designers have really outdone themselves with the exquisite detail they have placed in the set dressing, reflecting a high level of craftsmanship. The intricately carved wooden details found on the furniture, beams, and staircase add to the rich baroque gothic vibe, while the thoughtfully chosen creepy statuary, haunting paintings, and chintzy decor evoke a Mrs. Havisham feeling of faded past glory that has begun to fall into disrepair over time.

The sound design is suitably eerie and the effective foley work adds door slams, thuds and creaks that will add that extra chill to proceedings. The actors give it their all and I especially enjoyed seeing Russ Tamblyn who I only knew and loved as Dr. Jacoby from Twin Peaks. He plays the arrogant and self-assured nephew well but this isn't to detract from the other actors, Julie Harris, Claire Bloom and Richard Johnson all do a great job in what is essentially a story told with a tiny cast of just 4 main people.

Sure, it doesn't have the special effects or jump scares that many horror films use now but it does have an excellent central conceit and a suite of actors and actresses who give it their all. The final 15 minutes, when the shizz hits the fan and the door starts to pulse to the rhythm of the houses heartbeat is extremely well done and, like The Woman in Black, the less is more economy of design works in its favour.

Even after approximately 60 or so years since its initial release, the film remains well worth a watch and continues to deserve its esteemed status as a gothic horror classic.

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig - Book Review

I have read a couple of Matt Haig's books and find myself looking forward to his every new release. I find that they are like the warm, cozy hug and an uplifting pep talk that you didn't know you needed as life has been getting a little too much. The Midnight Library was a wonderfully life-affirming piece of work and I was very much looking forward to his latest.

I loved the Midnight Library as within the magic realism tale were many truths about the human condition. This carries on that heady mix of aphorisms and truths that hit hard but with a more sci-fi and improbable premise.

A retired and lonely maths teacher, Grace, is emailed by an old student who is struggling with life. Seeing his plight, she responds with a life affirming tale aimed at giving him hope.

The tale she recounts is about the time she inherited a house in the Mediterranean, on the island of Ibiza to be precise, from an old and now deceased colleague. This unexpected act of kindness sees Grace say goodbye to rainy old England and hello Balearic sunshine but there is a deeper mystery as to what happened to her benefactor....

Over 300 or so pages Haig explores themes of life, death, destiny and the choices we have made along the way. Now, that's all noble and everything but that's a bloody long email, Grace! I kid as I enjoyed the concept of a benevolent alien life force and wormhole to a new planet-it's a soupçon of sci-fi in comfy chunky soup form. The whole story reads like a tale about empathy fatigue and the idea that ignorance or misanthropy is not an option.

Reading through this there were elements that reminded me of a myriad of media; The Abyss, Cocoon, The Matrix, Shirley Valentine, What Women Want, Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, The OA, Mr. Nobody and Contact. It's an amalgamation of heady ideas but presented in a summer Richard and Judy Book Club kind of way.

Overall, I enjoyed Haig's incredibly humanist work which aims to show that people are inherently unique and special and that the most obscene thing that a person can do is to worship things that devalues human life. Irrespective of your religious beliefs, I like to think that the whole thing about god punishing people for idolatry is not just a silly story: it's about something deeply human and important that points at a fundamental truth- late state capitalism is bad and also hell is other people but hell is also no people at all.

With age I am getting more and more wary of misanthropy and isolationism because, in the end, the only thing we have is us. There's very little happiness that can be had without other people involved (I mean, some fun for sure but maybe not a lot of true happiness).

LINK- The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

LINK- Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- The Future Starts Here: An Optimistic Guide to What Comes Next- Book Review

LINK- On And On And Colston ( Or, How We Kinda Sort of Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism and the British Empire)

LINK- Nintendo: My One True Gaming Constant

LINK- Let’s All Create a ‘New Normal’.

LINK- An English Geek in Saudi

The Comic Speculation Trend (and What Videogames Could Learn From It)

I fell in love with comics during the late 80s. My best friend at the time showed me his small comic collection and I remember listening to Jean Michel Jarre and reading them. The art, stories and dynamism shown on the page blew me away ; it's interesting how such seemingly different art forms can intertwine and create such a powerful impact. For me, the sound of Oxygene combined with late 80s/ early 90s Iron Man, creating a truly immersive experience my head.

I remember vividly going to bed excited to visit our local comic book store, Rodney's Books and Games. The makeup of the shop was strange but cool, at the top was Rodney who sold second hand books and in the basement was Ian, the mid-30 pony tailed guy who sold the comics and manga. I'd been visiting this place to get the books as I was really into the Fighting Fantasy series of books by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson. I'd never really ventured downstairs as that was where the men and older teenagers hung out.

There was a connecting space as at the top were rows of comic book boxes with grab bags, £1 a piece, which contained about 4 to 5 comics. The corners were snipped off but it was a cheap way to read loads of comics really easily. Sure, you'd never get a story arc but back then it was a great way to be introduced to a wealth of comics.

I loved visiting every Saturday morning with my best mate and spending our pocket money. However, the early 90’s were when I stopped collecting comics, this was when the comics boom started. I had only a little amount of pocket money and the possibility of getting a girlfriend, socialising with friends by going to the cinema or Pizza Hut buffet whilst collecting all the variants and crossovers made it all too hard for me to keep up with everything. Also, factor in the price rise in comics (from about 80p to about £1.50 to some being over £2) and I was out of the game. Speculators made it hard to collect the comics I wanted and when I could get it, the comic seller had usually jacked up the price. The biggest example I have of this is I was a huge Iron Man fan, who I'd followed since reading a mate’s issue of #250, which I bought and still have. I'd buy monthly issues but the Death of Tony Stark was the next issue (#284 for those who are interested) and I couldn't find it for love nor reasonable money.

I moved onto Flair Cards and loved them for their stunning artwork, interesting facts and good quality card and foil effects but then they became a speculative bubble. I knew this was happening when my group of equally geeky friends suddenly saw many more of our student peers collecting the cards in the playground, it became a phenomenon. Then, after my young cool uncle lent me VHS copies of Akira and Devilman, I got into manga and that was my thing for the next couple of decades.

I know I sound like a hipster but I'm not- I like the stuff I like because I genuinely like it. When things get speculative I get priced out and that's annoying. I loved comics and felt sad that I had to step away however, when I got my first proper paid weekend job in Peacocks, as well as saving some, I'd buy CDs, DVDs but also graphic novels. I found that with graphic novels you'd usually get a whole story arc and the prices wouldn't be speculated on. I've amassed a sizable collection of over 700 and have continued collecting, getting only the stuff I want to read. I don't follow trends or hype cycles but follow the creatives or characters I want. I dropped out of comic collecting because it became prohibitively expensive. I only get a few issues a year and usually they are for the big events like the death of Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) or the first appearance of Spider Boy, and even then I don't stress about variants, foils etc... life's too short! I find that the indie scene is exciting and I enjoy supporting new creatives as there are genuine innovations and a refreshing ideas. I buy several graphic novels each year as the price is quite expensive buy I do get a few single issues too.

As a lifelong videogamer, I’ve been surprised and thankful at how game prices had remained relatively low. It's incredible how much the market has changed over the years. The early 2000s were definitely a golden age for bargain hunters, especially those with a penchant for older systems like the NES, Gameboy, Master System, Megadrive and SNES. However, the internet and nostalgia (as well interest heightened during Covid) have driven up prices for retro games.

When you want to buy a game you don’t expect to look at a table to consider your purchase.

The comic book industry has shown that offering too many different versions of a product can confuse consumers and lead to decreased sales overall. Thus the videogame industry should heed the lessons learnt from that industry and not over-saturate the market with different editions of games or Day One DLC, microtransactions or season passes that are not considered worthwhile for the customer. It’s been a real bloodbath over the past couple of years and I hope the industry recalibrates itself.

LINK- Blood, Sweat and Pixels- Book Review

LINK- Streets of Rage 2 OST on Vinyl Review

LINK- The Offworld Collection- Book Review

LINK- Uncharted 4- Video Games As Art

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- On And On And Colston ( Or, How We Kinda Sort of Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism and the British Empire)

LINK- Children of the Stones: Cult TV Series Review

LINK- Tom’s Midnight Garden: Cult TV Review

LINK- Carmen Sandiego- Complete Series 1 Review

Haibane Renmei- Cult Manga Series Review (As Well As Some Reflections and Thoughts)

I recently wrote a retrospective about how manga and anime had been an integral and formative part of my youth and teenage years. It wasn't just the zeitgiesty and cult appeal of the shows, although there was plenty of that for hipster-like credibility, but it was more the way the medium made me appreciate the wider world and the innumerable questions I had about my place in it.

Sure, there were certainly existential shows like Evangelion, which deeply made me think about various aspects of faith and philosophy, but my absolute favorite anime of all time is a bit of a forgotten hidden gem—it's Haibane Renmei. This unique series offered a beautifully woven narrative that resonated with themes of redemption and self-discovery.

This particular series holds a deeply special place in my heart and always will. Discovering it, as I did in the early 2000s, felt like a true revelation during a time when I was grappling with an existential crisis—an experience common amongst many young adults suddenly thrust into the uncaring and cold job market after years of comfort and routine provided by the education system. The story and art by Yoshitoshi ABe was unlike anything else out there and the muted colour palette really stood out to me.

Rakka, a young Haibane, emerges from a cocoon in the mysterious ‘Old Home’ in the village of Glie . She has a delicate halo and, after a Cronenbergian body horror scene, sprouts small gray wings, but has no memories of her past. Named after her cocoon dream of falling, Rakka learns to navigate the strange town while following the strict rules that keep the Haibane from leaving their walled town. As time goes on, Rakka and the other Haibane worry about the mysterious disappearances of their kind on the ‘Day of Flight,’ as they know little about their fate or future. What follows over 13 episodes is a character study on community, grief and, ultimately, salvation.

The series is a complex combination of slice of life anime, mixed with some body horror and then a large sprinkling of existential questions that have always plagued us all our lives. On one hand I hate that it doesn’t get talked about as much as other series. On the other I’m glad it doesn’t because it feels like this special little piece that you have to actively seek out or just stumble upon. It’s definitely an experience and every time I revisit it I am moved by it even if I can't eloquently articulate why.

For anyone who is a Fumito Ueda fan of games like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian, I feel like they would appreciate this series because the stories are told in a similar manner in the way that they don’t tell you all the answers, you feel like you are given a tiny glimpse into a wider world with lots of lore you aren't party to. Also the music is down by the same composer, Kow Otani, and it is just phenomenal. The series also introduced me to the works of Haruki Murakami, whose Hard Boiled Wonderland apparently inspired some of its story.

The hopeful rather than nihilistic nature of the show really appeals to me - the early 00s anime ennui has not aged too well with many other series but with Haibane it is hope that has kept the show alive in my, and many others', heart. The idea to do better and be better is something that people can get behind; it makes you contemplate life and the human condition itself and that is something very special indeed in this late state capitalist hell scape we find ourselves in. 

Finally, I have some thoughts about the series and wanted to share them. I have done it in a stream of consciousness way as I can’t articulate it all in a cohesive way with a though-line just yet. I am processing it and, as each year I read more and learn more, the meaning and symbolism are fluid for me:

  • The journey of Reka over the course of the series is touching as her self-loathing leads to her looking for redemption.

  • Asking for help, and recognizing that it's okay to ask for help in the first place, is something we can all struggle with. Reka embodied that struggle beautifully in the latter half of the series.

  • The haibane are all named after their dreams and whilst we do not know what their dreams mean I know some interpretations online see it as the method of their death or suicide; Kuu from floating in the air (jumping off a building) , Nemu from a deep sleeping (sleeping pills), Kana from floating in a river (drowning), Hikari from dazzling lights (electrocution) and Reki from small pebbles on a moonlit path (hit by a train).

  • The Day of Flight is when Haibane ascend or pass over. It should be a celebration but can be tragic for those left behind as they are left mourning the loss of a friend.

  • The crows are like psychopomps or harbingers for Rakka as they foreshadowing, signal and signal key events that occur. Whilst Rakka is depressed after Kuu's flight she is guided by a crow to the Western Wood and undergoes a transformation whilst stuck in a well. It reminds me of the story of Toru in Haruki Murakami's Wind Up Bird Chronicle, where the well acts as a physical manifestation the subconscious mind.

  • The Sin-bound are the Haibane who have black or dark spotted wings or who do not remember their cocoon dreams. But one who recognises their sin has no sin - this is the circle of sin as explained by the Communicator.

  • Rakka goes through talk therapy with the Communicator who helps her when she gets out of the well but is lost in the Western Woods.

  • The Bell Nut Festival is a way to commemorate the end of the year by giving thanks to those who have helped you over the year. Reki reconciles with her frenemies at the Old Warehouse but still feels alone and abandoned. She succumb to her loneliness and her quest for self-annihilation manifests in dramatic fashion but only by trusting  in the power of her relationship with Rakka does she realise that she has changed the world for the better by existing within it- she is and never was alone. All she needed was to ask got help.

  • The fact that this anime was talking about the powers of talk therapy and Salvation years before it became mainstream blows my mind and makes me incredibly happy. It is a wise anime that only gets better with age in my humble opinion.

Bonding With My Girls Through Our Interests

My girls are growing up and time seems to be moving quickly. In the words of the great Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” My wife is working full time in her job and so, for the first time ever, I'm the main caregiver: this means having A LOT of time with my kids. Now, don't get me wrong... I'm loving it but it also means I'm seeing them grow and develop their own interested and personalities in intense detail. We’ve had lots of bonding moments over gaming including during our playthroughs of Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Yoshi's Wooly World, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Alba and Switch Sports.

They grow up so fast and I want this quality time with them, it's not the game per se as much as it's a chance for us to have fun, communicate and, on occasion, trash talk each other.

Recently, my eldest has made it a bit of a habit to watch me play games whilst the youngest is asleep and my wife is out. She says it's relaxing and helps her feel calm. During these sessions I've played Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Dordogne, quite relaxed games with a lot of reading. I'll read the text in funny accents so she doesn't miss out and usually she falls asleep whilst I'm gaming; these have been lovely bonding moments.

My girls are also into graphic novels with Jasmine (the elder) having read all of the Lumberjanes series (that's 23 graphic novels), Hilda (6 graphic novels) and all of Raina Telgemier's books and some other young kids appropriate books. They've also watched the whole Hilda series, Carmen Sandiego and are getting into the new She-Ra series, all shows I've watched and loved but they've discovered it in their own time.

We've also had some quite existential questions coming up as my girls are starting to realise their role in the wider world. This has led to some discussions about faith and their own path. As I'm a cis male my life experiences, life choices and chances are different so even though I can empathise and sympathise I haven't walked in those shoes so I've been listening to lots of audiobook and podcasts to get a deeper understanding. Over the past year, I’ve listened to a lot of autobiographies and podcasts and learnt about the following:

Tegan and Sara- peer pressure, standards of beauty, drugs and alcohol.

Mel C- life goals, resilience, sexuality, the male gaze and social and mainstream media.

Cassandra Peterson (Elvira)- abuse and toxic masculinity

Mel B- dyslexia, toxic masculinity and abuse.

Abbi Jacobson- glass ceilings, toxic concepts of beauty and work pressure

Dear Koko- how to help your daughters grow and develop

Femina- Powerful women in Medieval history who have been erased from the public consciousness.

Michelle Zauner- the lives of POC in a country is conditional and not guaranteed.

Jenette McCurdy- peer pressure, standards of beauty, parental neglect and abuse.

Britney Spears- life goals, parental abuse and neglect, mental health, resilience, sexuality, the male gaze, social and mainstream media.

I have been playing lots of Jarre in the car with my daughters as my wife is working now, so I have to do a lot more school pickups, club drop offs and park and library runs. My youngest turned to me and said, "Dad, Jean Michel Jarre sounds a lot like Mysterious Cities of Gold" and I have to say, I've rarely been prouder. She is her dad's daughter.

Additionally, we all enjoy going to the arcades. Previously, the girls had only had a slight taste of the arcade experience at the piers with their limited range of games or at the Comic-con, where there were a few emulator systems and mini consoles. However, this changed when we went to a proper arcade called Boneyard in Exeter. We went for my birthday and we played for a couple of hours, enjoying Puzzle Bobble, Tempest 2000, Sega Rally, Asteroids, DDR, Art of Fighting, Galaga (Jasmine’s favourite) and many, many more!

To balance it out, I do want to state that I'm pushing my limits too, I've got an appreciation of Jojo Siwa's music, Kids Art Hub and random shells, sticks and stones. We often use Jojo's music as our 'tidying up before mum gets home' music and I have to say, the lyrics are proper girl power ish. The girls have also introduced me to Teen Titans Go, I knew of the series and had seen a few episodes here and there but for my girls it's a very formative cartoon that feeds into their personality and quirky sense of humour, especially Leela's which is more exuberant and wacky. Jasmine has a love for swingball and is actually really good at it, as is her trash talking. It's all very PG rated sick burns but gosh can the girl chat sass!

I hope my girls realise that they are interconnected, global citizens who are truly people of the world, with all the life choices and chances that provides. I hope they grow into informed and educated young people who are emotionally intelligent with a respect for all people. My wish is that they don’t realise that their life may be conditional due to their heritage; some people will bring this fact about when there are geopolitical, social and economic changes happening somewhere in the world over which they have no control. They may have a chance of ‘passing’ (to be mistaken to be ‘white’) but I hope they are proud of who and what they are and remain true to themselves.

LINK: Lost Manga and Anime

LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK: Battle Angel Alita: And So It Ends

LINK: Fire Tripper: Cult Manga Review

LINK: Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK: The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

LINK: My One True Gaming Constant in Life- Nintendo

Moominvalley- Season 3 Review

I have a deep love for the Moomins which only came around in the mid 2000s with the release of the comics. Tove Jansson's comics were published in the 1950s in the Evening Standard and it was here that the characters became popular, however the collected volumes weren't released until 2006. As a comic collector I noticed the first 4 volumes on sale and decided to buy the set and it was here that the whimsical stories with heart and street philosophy entered my life. I have previously watched the creepy stop motion animation in my youth and it haunted my dreams with its jerky style and strange music (which I purchased and have a new-found appreciation for), but I did watch the 90s animated show occasionally and liked that just fine.

Sky and Finish Channel YLE released two series of Moominvalley in 2019 and 2020 and I enjoyed the shows with my family- my two young daughters and my wife. They knew the characters from the various items strewn around the house, the children's books and our visit to Moomin World in Finland several years ago. They loved it but I thought the show was attractive enough but not remarkable. I felt at the time that whilst the lush vistas of Moominvalley and the crystal clear rivers and lakes were wonderfully realised in computer animation, there was something lost in translation as the texture and expressive lines that bring comic characters and the world were missing. However, over the past few years as my family and I have had many multiple viewings of the show, my appreciation and affection for the show has grown and I have grown to love it and judge it less harshly.

So, it was with bated breath that we waited for the drop of season 3. Covid delayed the release, for obvious reasons, but the show finally came out in 2022. The first thing to note is that the voice of Moomintroll has changed from Taron Egerton to Jack Rowan but it’s not that noticeable as they both sound similar enough.

Another big change is the flow of the stories; this season unexpectedly shifts from late summer to Autumn, with Winter episodes in between, and now concludes with the start of summer. I could be reading too much into this but I think this change shows how the characters have grown. Initially, they followed predictable paths, but now they're stepping out of their comfort zones. No-one illustrates this growth as much as Snufkin who usually appears in Spring and leaves in Winter, sticking to this routine in the first two seasons. This season however he remained part of the story throughout, even during Winter. In fact, by the end, he chooses to stay with the group, showing personal growth despite his past social anxieties. It’s unclear if this growth means he has overcome his anxiety or simply feels more comfortable in Moominvalley with the community he has become a part of.

The Moomins themselves have also changed; they don’t hibernate this time and are active throughout Winter, adding to their character development. So what we have is a Moominvalley that has truly undergone some change and matured.

There is real growth in character this season, especially for Snufkin.

Here are my synopses of the episodes and my reflections:

Homecoming- When the Moomins return back to the Valley they see their home in a state of decay. They realise that a false prophet is selling easy solutions to problems and it is causing conflict. Moominmamma comes up with a very simple solution, after all "Talking is all we have... We all have more in common than naught. We shouldn't allow petty differences to divide us... We wouldn't have to create sides if we didn't create borders."

This is a deep and pertinent episode after the stratified discourse we have had across the world with Covid, Brexit, Climate change and the various conflicts playing out.

Moomintroll's Grand Adventure- When Moomintroll falls overboard he lands on an island. He meets Snork, the inventor, and proceeds to play out a great adventure in the style of Robinson Crusoe. Unfortunately, Snork is practical and reveals that the island is not what Moomintroll was expecting. So, Moomin makes up tall tales to impress the creatures in the valley but this has repercussions on his relationships.

This is a super sweet episode as when Moomintroll reunites with Snufkin we get a huge hug. This shows the personal growth that the man in green has undergone and the payoff is huge. Also, we learn lots about being honest and being true to yourself.

Brisk and Breezy- We are reintroduced to the chauvinistic Mr. Brisk as he is a camp leader leading our menagerie of characters. Through a plot device, Little My finds out that Brisk may, in fact, be her dad. She puts him through trials and challenges to gather if he has the mettle. When a storm puts the life of the group in danger they work together to stay safe.

I liked this episode a lot as we get to see the more emotional side to Little My. Usually, she's a sneaky agent of chaos but here she needs validation and seeks approval. It's a sweet episode with heartfelt moments with Little My and Moominpappa.

Inventing Snork- We meet Snork and realise that he is quite a eccentric character, probably on the autistic spectrum. Moomintroll endeavours to befriend him and introduce him to the characters of Moominvalley, unfortunately his directness rubs people up the wrong way. Snork leaves the valley and the crew try to get him back.

This is a really sweet episode as Snork stays true to himself. He makes friends by being his authentic self. As a teachable moment it is lovely.

The Stinky Caper- When the scoundrel Stinky comes to Moominvalley and steals a painting from Mrs. Fillyjonk, the Moomin's try to get him to see the error of his ways. The newly formed crew create a plan to unheist the painting.

I loved this episode as it played with the genre stereotypes. It's cute and places Moominmamma as the arch matriarch

Toffle's Tall Tales- With Winter approaching, the Moomins are getting ready for hibernation but they need to make sure Toffle is sorted. However, they live far away so Moomintroll and Sniff decide to take them there. However, Toffle is reluctant to be alone and delays them on their journey.

This is a cute story about the worry of being alone. Toffle doesn't like being alone and, as they open up, they show their more vulnerable side. I like how the series has made the character non-binary, they/ them, and how it doesn't change the story in any way but it is representative. Representation matters.

Winter Secrets- Stinky breaks out of jail (as the jail door wasn't even closed) and the fuzz are after him. Moominpappa gets a posse to round up the criminal whilst Moominmamma harbours the criminal. It is a tough balancing act as she tries to keep the guests that keep visiting her house happy alongside Stinky.

The episode looks at the justice system and if it rehabilitates or punishes. Moominmamma sees the good in people but people take advantage of her good nature. She and Stinky team up to gather belongings of her visitors to make their stay more acceptable. It's a fun vibe and very cute.

Lonely Mountain- Moomintroll goes on an adventure in the wintertime, during the period he should be hibernating, to climb the Lonely Mountain to join Snufkin on his annual migration. Snufkin and Moomintroll are great friends but the latter is a bit much and disturbs the peace, much to Snufkin's annoyance. In the b-story, Little My connects with a squirrel and learns that friendship is important and that magic is real.

This episode is very sweet as it's all about connecting but also reflecting. It's a chance for Snufkin and Moomintroll to start being honest about their feelings and for Little My to see that friendship and opening up is not a weakness.

Miss Fillijonk's Last Hurrah- After nearly choking to death, Mrs. Fillijonk is confronted with her own mortality and decides to do away with her worldly possessions. She creates a bucket list and experiences many of life's adventures, with hilarious consequences.

This is a hilarious episode about living life to the full and not regretting anything. What makes it more special is that the b-story, about carefree but selfish Sniff finding a new toy he truly loves, is a good juxtaposition to uptight Mrs. Fillijonk finally living life to the full. I like the musical number-a first for this show that is full of whimsy!

Snufkin and the Fairground- When a storm endangers life at a fairground, Snufkin and the Hemulen save the lives of the people there. However, after seeking a new path and quitting the carnival life, the Hemulen passes on responsibility to Snufkin- which he struggles with.

This episode shows Snufkin undergoing real growth, having to accept the responsibility he initially tried to delegate out to Moomintroll. Also, we see another side to the Hemulen, a kinder, more sweeter side.

Call of the Hattifatteners- When a hattifattener is found without his spark, the Moomin crew look to reunite the creature with his family and reignite his electricity. They go to sea and undertake an epic adventure. Meanwhile, at home the ancestor wreaks havok and draws all over the house.

This is a sweet adventure where Moominpappa, Little My and the Fisherman look to save the hattifattener. The fisherman and the hattifattener develop a close bond and Stinky pays a visit.

Moominmamma's Flying Dream- When Moominmamma develops a cold, Mymble takes over the house. This leads to chaos in the house as Moominmamma recovers and remenesces about her hot air ballooning past.

This episode is about the dreams of our youth, how life happens and how we should never give up on them. The sight of Moominmamma when she sees the hit air balloon is delightful and filled me with joy, kinda making me teary-eyed.

Midsummer Magic- When there is a solar eclipse, the residents of Moominvalley don't understand what is going on. They fear it has been stolen so Moomintroll, Snufkin and Sniff go on a journey to find it. They encounter the Hobgoblin who has stolen it for his enchanted garden and uses his wiles to get the group to stay with him forever.

The b-story is the main draw here for me as the group left behind deal with the fear of not having the festival occur or the adventuring party not coming back. The main story is of being true to yourself and not being tempted by false dreams and idols.

I very much enjoyed my time with the third series of Moominvalley as I felt that it offered even more dynamic animation and intricately woven complex stories, showcased prominent b-stories and showed notable character growth throughout the episodes. Fan-favourites such as Stinky and Snork finally made their much-anticipated debut, with Stinky bringing an exciting edge to the narrative and Snork providing warmth and empathy, particularly for those on the autistic spectrum.

Overall, it was an excellent series with a real humanist touch. I highly recommend this series to both fans of the original work and newcomers alike.

LINK- Moominvalley Season 1 Review

LINK- Moominvalley Season 2 Review

LINK- Moominvalley Soundtrack

LINK- Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- On And On And Colston ( Or, How We Kinda Sort of Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism and the British Empire)

LINK- Nintendo: My One True Gaming Constant

LINK- Ulysses 31 Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

The Streaming Revolution is Failing

Over the last decade, we have seen a huge rise in digital media. There are many pros and cons to this and I wrote an article several years ago, sharing my thoughts on the matter. In light of recent developments, I felt it pertinent to revisit the matter and discuss it again as the landscape has altered somewhat.

There were many positives to a digital only future, primarily the fact that it saves space and resources. For many, housing space is a premium so having a library of digital media means nothing physical is taken up. Also a lot of the time digital media is accessible from different location via online services like Netflix or the cloud, this makes it really convenient to access resources from many different locations and there is no risk that the digital media can be damaged, lost or stolen. Digital media can be cheaper to acquire the physical copies, especially when it comes rare or retro games. For example Mother on the SNES used to trade on eBay for over £100 but now is available from the Nintendo Online store for only £6.49.

Through digital, I’ve been able to buy rare or out of print copies of books (Ico, Parasite Eve), albums (Best of Popol Vuh Werner Herzog soundtrack and films (Ringing Bell and a lot of old Toho animation stuff).

As we can see, there are many pros for buying digital but I do have my concerns. Physical media has a resale value. With some games costing £70 on release now I like the fact that if I like it I can keep it in my collection but if don't or I don't think it is worth having permanently I can sell it on. I can afford now to keep all my physical games but as a child I depended on trading games in order to purchase the next game, otherwise there was no way I could have afforded it on my £2 a week pocket money.

However my concern with digital media is mostly to do with the legacy. PT, the now legendary free Silent Hills demo from Sony, is no longer downloadable on the PS Store. PS3s with the game installed are now much sought after collectors items which is nuts! Many games have been taken down from the iOS store, only downloadable to those who bought them initially and can download again but not for any new customers. Many modern games use online servers to play multiplayer, but after some time the servers are turned off meaning the multiplayer is no longer accessible.

With the removal of films and shows on streaming platforms, it is more likely than ever that content will be lost forever to the ether. With the gutting of TCM and the removal of shows and films from streaming services in a process of consolidation and profit maximisation I get why people are more interested in getting a hard copy of something they love; they don't want their favoured content to be lost forever to the ether. The fact that television shows are also being pulled from streaming services, movies are not even being distributed even when they are complete (Batgirl) or even being removed (HBO Max removing Westworld) is a worrying trend. How else are we going to be able to make documentaries and behind the scenes films years later if everything is digitally erased with no physical backup?

I bought the Switch release of Scott Pilgrim as a physical copy as licenced games are notorious for getting pulled from digital storefronts. Even worse, with Games As A Service games that don't keep raking in the moolah have their servers shut down. Now, I don't think anyone will pour one out for Babylon's Fall, but that's not the point. Yes, there are our friends on video sharing, torrenting and the bay of privateers, but we lose the surety that all is saved. Sure, not everything needs to be saved or can be saved but surely we can't just lose whole swathes of entertainment. Even stuff we have bought digitally can be removed from our libraries, just take the case of Discovery films and shows removed from PlayStation without much notice. It’s not theft apparently, as we are renting these products under the terms and conditions we sign up to, but we are digital serfs under the yoke of our digital landlords under this technofeudalism. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating but the technocreep that is eroding our rights leads us down a Blade Runner and dystopian future. But its not all doom and gloom.

The internet creates tribes and ardent fans, there will always be someone or a small group who preserve something of interest and disseminate its. As a Mysterious Cities of Gold fan it was thanks to joining the Goldlist mailing list that I was kept up to date on developments on the new series. YouTube uploaders also preserve classics like Quatermass and emulators upload roms of classic and obscure games onto websites.

So the whole issue is pretty complex but for me physical media is the way for most ways to consume most media but there are occasions for digital media. I’ve been finding my collection of things I've accumulated over the years becoming unintentionally more valuable over time. I mean, it's nice to have stuff that's worth a fair bit but it means other stuff I would like is now probably going to remain unbought or collected. This is a first world problems for sure but one that has implications for the preservation of the arts.

LINK- Ico and SOTC: Reflections of a Gaming Life

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- The Future Starts Here: An Optimistic Guide to What Comes Next- Book Review

LINK- On And On And Colston ( Or, How We Kinda Sort of Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism and the British Empire)

LINK- Nintendo: My One True Gaming Constant

LINK: Let’s All Create a ‘New Normal’.

LINK- Battle Angel Alita: And So It Ends

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

Chungking Express- Cult Film Review

I have been a film aficionado for a long time. My father brought me up on classics like David Lean's adaptations of Oliver Twist and Great Expectations as well as the various black and white classic comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. However, I became interested in cult TV series and films whilst attending university. Our campus was media-centered and as a result it had a huge catalogue of videos to rent, free of charge. I ploughed through many often taking the maximum 8 out at a time and consumed them voraciously. As a result I believe that I am quite literate in films and TV. It was also around this time that I really got into foreign language films, devouring the works of Akira Kurosawa, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Shunji Iwai and Wong Kar-Wai.

In the case of Kar-Wai, the first film I remember seeing of his was Chunking Express. I have the film on DVD in its Artificial Eye version and remember liking it. However, it has been 30 years since its release and about 27 or so years since I last saw it so I thought I'd revisit it.

Since watching the film, I have had the fortune and misfortune of staying at the Chungking Mansions twice. The first time, I had intended to stay there for just a couple of days whilst travelling through Hong Kong in 2011 on my 6 months sabbatical from teaching. Unfortunately, the Japanese earthquake put paid to my plans so I remained stuck in Hong Kong for an extra week whilst altering my travel plans to include Shanghai. Now, accommodation is incredibly pricey in Hong Kong and the Mansions were the only really affordable place so I stayed there, biding my time before I could travel on to Sydney, Australia.

The buildings have a bad reputation as a den of inequality and crime and, whilst they are indeed incredibly cramped and a huge fire risk (there was only a couple of lifts for the whole building from my recollections) I found the people there to be friendly, welcoming and reasonable with their prices for tourists like me. In fact, I had some of the most authentic Indian and Asian food from there and all at under £5 (in 2010 prices mind you).

The second time, my wife and I stayed there for a couple of days whilst on holiday for a week in Hong Kong from Cambodia. Indeed, my wife appreciated the food and great location but less so the cramped but clean room and the interminable waiting in the queue for the lift.

Anyways- away from my own personal reverie- watching the film now fills me with nostalgia as I can spot some places that seem familiar to me and feel the vibe that Director Kar-Wai and Cinematographer Christopher Doyle have captured so vividly in this work.

There have been several film movements which revolutionise the language and aesthetics of the medium including Soviet Formalism, German Expressionism, the French New Wave, Italian Neo-realism and Dogme 95. Film movements are the result of a shared common philosophy on the film-making process or a political agenda. The first Hong Kong New Wave included the works of Tsui Hark and John Woo, who were outward looking as Hong Kong and it's financial clout rose in influence in the late 70s and 80s.

The second Hong Kong New Wave, of which Chungking Express is a part of, took the references of Western globalisation but filtered it through a local cultural lens. There were anxieties about Americanisation, growing Western influence, mental health, isolation and, more worryingly, the handover of the territories back to China in 1997. These uncertainties bled into the post-modern films that looked at these concerns in an artistically creative way. The second Hong Kong New Wave style in Chungking Mansions reminds of the French Nouvelle Vague as both movements sought to break free from traditional conventions and experiment with new forms of storytelling- the two stories wend and wind into each other in playful ways.

The first story- such as it is- involves a policeman names Wu, played by Takeshi Kaneshiro, who operates in and around the Mansions. He is broken-hearted after being dumped by his girlfriend of five years, so he tucks into cans of nearly expired pineapples and calls up old girlfriends and acquaintances. It's very sad really. Meanwhile, a mysterious blonde-wigged woman operates a drug running business but when her mules run away she is on borrowed time to get them back. The pair meet by chance late night in a bar and connect after a tetchy initial exchange- both seem like lost souls and connect on this night in a platonic way, revealing a bit of their true self only to part and never see each other again.

In the second story, we meet Faye who works at a takeaway in the mansions. She likes her music loud and plays California Dreaming a lot. She meets a cop (played by a dashing Tony Leung) who is heart-broken after his air stewardess girlfriend leaves him. Faye falls for the cop but he is surrounded by things that remind him of his ex at home so he can't move on. She decides drastic action is needed and manages to obtain his house keys and slowly start to replace the items that illicit hurtful relationship memories as well as watering his plants, buying him new goldfish, getting him new bedsheets and cleaning his house.

Writing that I can see how problematic this sounds now but back in the mid-90s this was considered cute and not stalker-like behaviour. Different times man. Obviously, this is a romantic part of the film so flights of fancy are allowed but in real life this is most definitely a red flag and a long costodial sentence!
However, under Doyle's cinematography and Kar-Wai's direction, this is a whimsical tale of love in the most unconventional sense. The themes of love, loss and remembrance are central to the story but so is the idea that life is an adventure and we must be open to it.

The soundtrack for this film is amazing, taking in the South and East Asian melting pot cultures that exist in the Mansions and adding a dash of Western pop music from The Cranberries and The Mamas and Papas. The latter especially features heavily in this film.

I really love this film as the characters are not stereotypes but seem genuine and bizarre- y'know, real with agency, idiosyncracies and nuance. The storytelling seems freewheeling but is actually poetic, showing the real human interactions that can happen in oppressive big cities where it can be easy to be seen as another faceless person in a sea of people. The film is all about connection and this truth; people are more complex, less shallow and self-absorbed than they may appear at first glance. We are all idiosyncratic and individual in our own ways.

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK: Battle Angel Alita: And So It Ends

LINK: Fire Tripper: Cult Manga Review

LINK: Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK: The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

LINK: The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

LINK: Hammer Glamour- Book Review

500 Days (Okay, more like 41 days) of Summer 

I love the summer holidays. Many of my most abiding memories from my youth are of sunny days spent in Greatfields Park in Barking, playing football or cricket with my older brother and other locals from the area. It will be the rose-tinted nostalgia speaking but the summers seemed to go on forever and were full of marathon sessions of cartoon watching and video gaming.

As I got older and became a primary school teacher, the summer holidays remained special as it meant time to catch up with friends, unwind, travel to London for visits to museums, galleries and shows and giving some time to my hobbies, namely reading comics, gaming and going to gigs.

Having kids changed all that: the summer holidays meant having quality family time together and ensuring that they are kept busy and entertained but balancing that with relaxation. Also, it's good for kids to be bored on occasion, right? As my wife and I were both teachers it meant we had a great time as a family but as my wife moved away from education into a full time role on the council without the holiday perks we teachers enjoy I'm now Daddy Daycare. Now this analogy doesn't really hold as I am their parent and it is not a job in the regular sense but a part of parenthood, but you get the idea.

This has meant a squeeze in hobbies or downtime - except it hasn't really. Sure, I can't sit down for a 3 to 4 hour gaming session but I've been able to find piecemeal chunks of time to finish the following over the six weeks summer holidays:

Films
King Richard
Robocop (the OG)
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Conquest for the Planet of the Apes
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Annie (remake)
My Spy: The Eternal City
Blade Runner: Final Cut
Dangerous Days: The Making of Blade Runner
Touching the Void
Dark City
Chungking Express
To the Devil a Daughter
Young Sherlock Holmes
Coraline
Legend

Series
Diagnosis Murder (Season 1- don't judge me, my wife loves it)
Master of the Universe: Revelations (6 episodes)
The IT Crowd (Season 1- I know the creator is problematic but it is one of my favourite shows)

Manga Series and Films
Shadow Star Narutaru (13 part series)
Kotaro Lives Here (10 part series)
Haibane Renmei (13 part series)
Dragon's Heaven (OAV)
Gundam I
Gundam II: Soldier of Sorrow

Books
The History of Japanese Video Games Vol. 3 by John Szczepaniak
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
The Imagination Chamber: Cosmic Rays from Lyra's Universe by Philip Pullman
Constellations: RoboCop by Omar Ahmed
The Skeleton's Holiday by Leonara Carrington
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
Parasite Eve by Hideaki Sena
The Movie Doctors by Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode
Studying Chungking Express by Sean Redmond
Summer, Fireworks and My Body by Otsuichi
Ico: Castle in the Mist by Miyuki Miyabe

Magazines
Infinity (x2 editions)
Edge (x3 editions)
The Darkside (x1 edition)
Retro Gamer (x3 editions)

Audiobooks
Locke and Key- Joe Hill
A Movie-Making Nerd- James Rolfe
The Disney Revolt- Jake Freedman

Podcasts
Retronauts (2 episodes)
The Back Page (6 episodes)
VGApocalypse (8 episodes)
Miss Me? (8 episodes)
Desert Island Discs (5 episodes)
Good Bad Billionaire (3 episodes)
High Score (2 episodes)

I've put away the gaming for the entirety of the summer (except a couple of hours of Illusion Island and Mario Kart 8 with the girls) to plough through some of my massive 'pile of shame' using a combination of physical and digital media. My Kindle app has allowed me to read whilst waiting on the kids and shopping line queues and my Audible app has allowed me to listen to books whilst moving and organising the house, travelling along in my car or when walking the dog.

Sure, the gaming backlog remains but I've moved house, had quality time with the kids, socialised and eased some of my cognitive load I've had for articles and ideas for this very website. I haven't published anything since the beginning of the holidays but will now resume the work as the new academic year is upon us and routine is back.

I still have a huge media backlog left but I've made a heck of a dent in it and it is a relief as the guilt of accruing more books and films was getting to me (and to my wife in all fairness). I feel artistically, intellectually and creatively nourished now. Nom, nom, nom! On with the new academic year of teaching.