By Marty Mulrooney
I had somewhat high expectations of Michael Mann’s latest film, Public Enemies. Based on the true life story of John Dillinger and his gang, who during the Great Depression in 1933 robbed over two dozen banks, I really felt that the hard-hitting grit and powerful portrayal of obsessive men on both sides of the law that had been present in Mann’s classic Heat would transfer really well to this film, regardless of the year it was set. Sadly, I was wrong. Continue reading
Filed under Film
By Marty Mulrooney
Alex Garland’s The Beach was first printed in 1996. I have just finished reading it 10 minutes ago, during the first minutes of the 28th of July 2009, after 48 hours of not being able to put it down. I was prompted to read the book after re-watching the Danny Boyle film adaptation on Film4 several nights ago (in fact, it was a Friday night, as these viewings so often are.)
That film has always held a strange position in my mind, especially on a critical level. Some of it works fantastically. The soundtrack, the scenery, the momentarily perfect capturing of scenes of unbridled living and life itself. Sadly this is also punctuated with many scenes and instances that just don’t work at all. Still… this is a review of the book, not the film. I just felt some context was in order.
By Marty Mulrooney
A talented actress, Alexandra Boyd is both versatile and adventurous. Her career has spanned across many mediums, including television, film, theatre and of course, video games. Adventure gaming fans will know her best for her voicework as Elaine Marley in the classic Lucasarts game The Curse Of Monkey Island, and most recently reappearing in the role for Telltale’s Tales Of Monkey Island. Here, Alex takes some time out of her busy schedule to talk to Alternative Magazine Online about life across the pond, a blossoming film career, and much more… Continue reading
Filed under Alternative Musings, Film, Games, Television
By Marty Mulrooney
When Tales Of Monkey Island, and the forthcoming remake of The Secret Of Monkey Island, were announced at E3 this year, many adventure fans gasped in a mixture of shock and delight. Any adventure fan will surely tell you that adventure gaming, contrary to popular belief, never truly died. There have been some excellent adventures released in recent years, even if they have flown under the radar compared to the overwhelming explosion made by high-definition gaming and the PS3/XBOX360/Wii console dominance.
Yet the announcement that the adventure gaming series that every adventure gamer knows was being both remastered and expanded upon was a day many had thought would never come. The announcement that Telltale, consisting of many ex-Lucasarts employees who had already saved Sam and Max, would be helming the continuation of the story with downloadable episodes was also welcome news. The franchise was in safe, respectable hands. Even Lucasarts themselves were openly getting involved, whilst they also worked hard on their new Special Edition of The Secret Of Monkey Island (TM). Expectations were running high. Continue reading
Filed under Games
Martin Mulrooney
Guest/Previous
Alternative Magazine Online 