(by Ray Nayler, published 2025)

Very much a political science-fiction novel. AIs become PMs and run countries; high-tech makes the totalitarian surveillance state near-inescapable; a new invention makes changing people’s very minds possible. It is, though, for me one of those novels that might have been better as a non-fiction polemic (and the acknowledgements helpfully point to the various non-fiction books that inspired it). ★★★☆☆

I suppose a real TV adaptation of The Last of Us would have the viewer experience, over and over, all the horrific ways Ellie can die in each encounter–with that grim musical cue each time. This game is a technical marvel, etc. etc., but also genuinely unpleasant to play. I soldier on because it’s supposed to be brilliant, but right now it’s three stars–just like Alan Wake 2 this is not as deep as it thinks it is (and doesn’t even have a rock musical hidden inside).

This article by Eric Kain does a very good job of exposing the fundamental problems of characterisation and motivation in the two lead characters. While he writes he “still had something resembling fun while playing” I am not sure I had any fun at all. I would have stopped if it hadn’t been for all the plaudits and 10/10 reviews.

★★★☆☆ (mainly for the technical artistry).

This first-person adventure game was developed by Swedish developers MachineGames, who were previously responsible for Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. It is, however, less a shooter and more a simple stealth and puzzle game that allows you to punch your way clumsily out of messing up.

Credit must be given for all the work that went towards making this seem like the Indiana Jones film we never had: Troy Baker’s impersonation of Harrison Ford and the quip-filled script strike exactly the right tone. The story also captures the B-movie blend of adventuring and mystery of the original trilogy, complete with a despicable Nazi villain and a final act veer towards the supernatural. Special praise also for composer Gordy Haab, whose original music is good it could almost be John Williams himself (read an interview with Mr Haab on his scoring here).

The actual gameplay is very straightforward–sneak up behind baddy, whack him on the head with whatever implement is at hand, and if you are noticed by other enemies then sprint off and hope they will lose track of you. Puzzles are heavily signposted. Fist fighting is fine but not particularly engaging. The game has a strange combination of elements that never fully cohered for me, but I did enjoy my time adventuring.

★★★☆☆ (But add an extra star if you are a big Indiana Jones fan.)

I played this on a friend’s Megadrive when it came out in the early 90s, but don’t think I had ever played it all the way through. I used save-states to get through what seem to me unfair and unfun sections of the game (or to make up for my lack of platforming skill), but generally enjoyed the challenge and the cheery music. I have some other games I want to get to next, but I think I’ll be trying Sonic 2 sometime in the not-to-distant future. ★★★☆☆

Your Life is Manufactured: How We Make Things, Why It Matters and How We Can Do It Better (by Tim Minshall, 2025)

Some of the examples here felt familiar to me, but others, like Strix in the Isle Man (maker of kettle “blades”) or the tree-harvesting machines (YouTube video here) were fascinating. ★★★☆☆

Cowboy Bebop’s idiosyncratic story-telling and cool style impressed me enough that I went looking for other well-regarded anime to watch. Neon Genesis Evangelion was widely praised, so I picked up the Blu-ray set.

I had thought Faye Valentine’s outfit in Cowboy Bebop was crass but it’s got nothing on the obsession with boobs and general sexism in Evangelion. Yes, the protagonist, Shinji, is a fourteen-year-old boy, but there is no reason the show itself needs to follow his pubescent gaze so slavishly. This mistake is part of the wider problem of the series: following his teenage desires and angst is just not that compelling after a while. By the latter half of the series I had had enough of Shinji and wanted him and the series to grow up; watching him to continue to yell and sob time after time became irritating rather than profound.

The original TV series ending (not the one in End of Evangelion) weren’t great episodes, feeling like heavy-handed psychoanalysis, but they made sense for a show that was ostensibly about giant mechs but really about the mental struggles of their teenage pilots. The film ending added bombs and bombast but doesn’t really change the fundamental direction of the story. It does have more of Shinji yelling and sobbing, if that is your thing.

On the more positive side, the visual designs of the Angels and the Evas are wonderfully weird, and the music is memorable (the “Decisive Battle” drum theme tribute to John Barry’s 007 scores being my favourite). ★★★☆☆

The rock musical level of Alan Wake 2 is one of the most enjoyable and creative sections of a game that I’ve played. It’s a shame, then, that I found much of the rest of the game uninspired. Combat feels clunky and does not evolve significantly in the course of the game. The “deduction” mechanics did not make me feel smart. The plot is neither particularly original nor surprising–and the cliffhanger ending filled me with no anticipatory excitement.

To be fair to Remedy, I should say that the audiovisual craftsmanship is highly impressive. The graphics, cut-scene shot composition, sound design, and musical choices make this the closest thing to prestige drama that there is in gaming. It’s stylish. It just wasn’t that much fun to play. ★★★☆☆

(directed by Yan Fei 闫非 and Peng Damo 彭大魔) This is another absurd comedy from the directing team who made Hello Mr Billionaire and Goodbye Mr Loser. Here the target is helicopter parenting, and the scenario (rich parents pretending to be poor to instill good values in their son) produces some very funny moments of Truman Show-esque manipulation. Silly but entertaining. ★★★☆☆

The original God of War was released in the ten-plus year period where I didn’t play any games. Playing it for the first time comes for me, then, without any nostalgia for the era or the series.

The major gameplay annoyance is the fixed camera angles–whether that is not being able to see behind yourself, or having to change your stick direction arbitrarily just because the camera decides to shift. I am very glad that gamers have now been entrusted with the right stick to control the camera; it seems strange that anyone thought using both thumbs would be too difficult.

Early 2000s gaming sexism is my other chief problem–the game’s display of female breasts at every opportunity and its ultra-violent, ultra-masculine hero seem to be trying very hard to be adult, but end up seeming juvenile. It didn’t need to be an 18.

The combat is, however, is still engaging and well-designed. Carelessness leads quickly to failure and most battles seem fair; you need to pay close attention to which kind of enemy you are fighting and their attack patterns.

Other games beckon, so I will put this on pause for now, eight hours in. ★★★☆☆

(Played on the PCSX2 emulator, which seemed flawless to me.)

(dir. Takashi Yamazaki) This is a reboot of the Godzilla story, and certainly succeeds in creating some impressive moments of monster destruction. The postwar Tokyo setting allows the writers to explore themes of trauma and sacrifice, but unfortunately I found the dialogue a bit heavy-handed and the resolution too neat to satisfy. That said, Godzilla looks great and if you are a fan of kaiju 怪獣 you will enjoy this. ★★★☆☆

(dir. Joseph Kosinski) This is better than I remembered–at least until the last act. The cinematography–even in the real world sections–is all cold shiny symmetries, and together with Daft Punk’s electronic score it works to create a unique style for the film. The main problems, though, are with the characters: Garrett Hedlund’s protagonist lacks charisma; Jeff Bridges is a hokey The-Dude-in-Cyberspace; and every female character is a robotic cipher. The dialogue in the final third is also atrocious (the “warm, radiant, beautiful” line about the sun must rank up there with Anakin Skywalker’s musings on sand).

I watched in 3D on a VR headset thanks a MakeMKV rip processed with BD3D2MK3D. The 3D looks good but is not transformative. ★★★☆☆

I played Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora when it came out, got about twenty hours in and then moved on to something else. I was wondering last week if I given it short shrift, so reinstalled and played five or so more hours.

It’s certainly beautiful. It’s fun to fly around Pandora. The story is fine. Shooting mech-suited bad humans with a bow is satisfying. When I looked at HowLongToBeat, however, and realised I had at least a dozen more hours to complete the game at my typical slow pace, I realised that I didn’t want to do it anymore. I didn’t want to search for the right ingredient in the forest to craft a better bow. I didn’t want to spend more time get better trousers, or a better harness for my flying buddy, or unlock another research station the same way I unlocked the last five.

It’s not a problem unique to Avatar, as I remember feeling that Horizon: Zero Dawn had outstayed its welcome by about 15-20 hours–although I found that game’s story considerably more interesting so I did push through to finish it. I will not finish Avatar, and so I happily assign it to the never-to-be-finished pile. ★★★☆☆

It has dark and hilarious moments, but never really coheres as a satisfying film. ★★★☆☆

It’s a good film with some unique action and moments of beautiful cinematography. Plot, script, and acting are more workmanlike. A solid B-movie. ★★★☆☆

A melodramatic zombie flick that is fine but fails to surprise. ★★★☆☆

Less of a horror and more of a comedy, but better for it. It reminds me of Gremlins in some ways, but never reaches the darkness or madness that made that film so entertaining. A fun watch nevertheless.★★★☆☆

Young drummer Andrew believes he can be a truly great jazz drummer; bandleader Fletcher believes that verbal and emotional abuse is necessary to elevate students beyond mediocrity. It is supposed to be about ‘art’ and the ‘artist’ but it is so po-faced about artistry that you can’t help but begin to doubt. Is all the effort worth it for a slightly different version of “Caravan”? Should I be impressed at the end or just sad that Andrew is so needy that he’ll perform for his abuser? Or am I just not sophisticated enough to understand the greatness of the solo?

I could read the film as an indictment of sad people trapped in jazz history’s shadow, but then in La La Land the director has another jazz obsessive stuck in a rut we are supposed to sympathize with. Does Chazelle really think these are underappreciated geniuses? Does he think he is an underappreciated genius? I should try Babylon to see for sure, I suppose. ★★★☆☆

Fury Road was amazing so I wanted to see where it all started. It’s clearly a proto-version of Miller’s vision for a road apocalypse movie, but thankfully there are enough weirdnesses and idiosyncrasies to carry us through the more amateur moments. Mel Gibson does the charismatic sensitive psycho so well already it is no surprise that it ended up his ticket to global stardom in Lethal Weapon a few years later. ★★★☆☆

(created by Hou Hongliang 侯鸿亮) This time-loop TV series was based on an online novel by Qidaojun 祈祷君. The gradual reveal of the mystery has some suprises, but the lead characters (played by Zhao Jinmai 赵今麦 and Bai Jingting 白敬亭) frustrate with many of their poor decisions. The resolution was also somewhat of a disappointment, with the lead police officer (an otherwise excellent Liu Yijun 刘奕君) failing to show any interest in the lead pairs’ complete knowledge of the bomb plot. ★★★☆☆

(dir. Wilson Yip 葉偉信) The final outing for Donnie Yen as Ip Man, this doesn’t reach the heights of its predecessors. Worth watching if you’re a fan of the series, but I found this an effort to finish. ★★★☆☆