VR Games
Discuss all VR Games here. For discussions regarding the VR hardware please use Computers and Technology forum.
27 topics in this forum
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Red Matter 2 - PSVR2
by LimeGreenLegend- 2 followers
- 3 replies
- 2.1k views
I've been looking forward to this game for a while because I loved the original (I know you played this too @Con), and so far this is just as good, if not better. Red Matter 2 is a puzzle game where you have to solve the mystery of what happened to the crew of an abandoned space station, which is linked to the strange red matter of the title. This game has amazing atmosphere which is really creepy and oppressive, and the brutal Soviet style architecture adds to that feeling. The graphics are great, the music is amazing and if you pick up a headset you should definitely get this game. You don't need to have played the first one to get what's going on here, if anything …
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Walkabout Mini Golf - PSVR2
by LimeGreenLegend- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 449 views
Walkabout Mini Golf is a VR golf game and is one of my favourites so far. It has a bunch of imaginative courses from the pirate themed one in the videos below to a course based on the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea set on Captain Nemo's submarine The Nautilus while it's under attack from a Kraken. There are also some fun side activities like a hidden ball to collect on every hole, and the hard version of every course has a treasure hunt which rewards you with a new putter for each one you complete. This is a blast to play alone but is so much more fun with friends, I spent a few hours playing with a couple of people the other night and it's one of the best VR experi…
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Before Your Eyes on PSVR2 made me cry like a baby
by LimeGreenLegend- 2 followers
- 2 replies
- 1.1k views
Before Your Eyes is an interactive story which you control using only your eyes. The premise is that you are dead at the beginning of the game, and a ferryman is taking you to the afterlife, but to gain access he needs to tell your story, and so your life begins to flash before your eyes. The unique thing is that at certain points, if you blink you skip forward in time, maybe missing key things or the ends of conversations you wanted to hear. I won't write anything more about the story because I thought it was amazing, and if you get a PSVR2 you need to get this as it's the most emotional gaming experience I think I've ever had. If you don't care about spo…
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Synth Riders - PSVR2
by LimeGreenLegend- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 444 views
Another PSVR2 rhythm game, this has you waving your hands about in order to hit colour coordinated orbs - blue for left hand, red for right hand etc. Like Pistol Whip it is a simple idea executed perfectly. Here's a video of me dancing along to Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz and trying to sing along even though I had been playing for about an hour at this point and was very out of breath.
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The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - PSVR2
by LimeGreenLegend- 2 followers
- 4 replies
- 534 views
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a survival horror game from the makers of the brilliant Walking Dead story games. In it you have to survive a zombie ridden New Orleans, scavenging for supplies and helping out other survivors. This was originally released for PSVR1 and was one of he best games released for it, and now it has been upgraded for the new hardware. I've never played this before but I'm already loving it. It has great atmosphere and I love how all the menus and inventories are so tactile and in-world, something that I always enjoy in VR games.
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Drums Rock - PSVR2
by LimeGreenLegend- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 552 views
Drums Rock is a music rhythm game in much the same style as Guitar Hero. Demons of different colours advance towards you and you have to hit the corresponding drum. Simple, but very addictive. There are only a few recognisable songs, with the rest of the soundtrack made up of original songs meant to sound like specific bands, but most of them are pretty good, with a couple of straight out bangers amongst them. On harder difficulties it gets pretty intense, but it's very well designed and you're always able to see what you're supposed to be doing, even if you're not quick enough to do it. There's also a bunch of unlockables in the form of different hands, drums …
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Pistol Whip - PSVR2
by LimeGreenLegend- 2 followers
- 2 replies
- 599 views
Pistol Whip is a rhythm shooter game and it might now be my new favourite game on PSVR2. It's a simple premise executed perfectly as you move through various neon virtual levels shooting people to the beat of the awesome soundtrack. Here's a video of a level so you can get the idea, but you don't get the feeling of being a total badass.
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Demeo - PSVR2
by LimeGreenLegend- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 461 views
Demeo is an old school tabletop style RPG for up to four players where you have to take a party of adventurers - chosen from eight classes - through dungeons of increasing difficulty. Each of the five dungeons is made up of three floors which each take about an hour or so to complete. The combat is turn based and as well as regular attacks you have a hand of cards that you can use for more powerful attacks or support abilities. I was surprised at how much I loved this. While you're playing you can move around and zoom in and out, so you can look down at the board like in real life or get right in there so that the pieces are all life sized. I also love how tact…
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Horizon: Call of the Mountain - PSVR2
by LimeGreenLegend- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 507 views
This is Sony's flagship game for the release of PSVR2 and I think it's pretty damn awesome. I've not played the other games in the series so I have no idea who anyone is except Aloy - who you don't play as - but that hasn't stopped me from being in absolute awe of this incredible world. The gameplay is mostly made up of exploration and traversal, mostly climbing, with some combat sections where you fight different types of robot dinosaurs. The combat is a lot of fun, using the bow feels so natural, and the climbing really nails the sense of danger and the feeling that you're clambering about hundreds of feet up. Here's a short video of me climbing about on a…
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PSVR - All games.
by Squirrel- 11 replies
- 1.9k views
Think a dedicated PSVR thread will be useful for those of us who use it. I might be the only one using it right now on here but I’ll be doing my very best to convince you all to join in. The main game I’m playing at the moment is Beat Saber. It’s the most physical gaming experience I’ve ever had. No other game has made me sweat the way this game has done. Other essential games to play are Skyrim and RE7. If you can handle those then you’ll experience gaming in a whole new way.
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- 5 replies
- 1.6k views
I cannot wait for this to come to PS4!! Should be releasing in the coming weeks to console. I loved playing Arizona Sunshine and only wished it was graphically polished and glad this is how VR graphics and mechanics are evolving. Cannot wait to challenge my nerve against the walkers! Game site: https://vrwalkingdead.com/
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Is VR the future of gaming?
by JoyFreak- 18 replies
- 3k views
I personally think we've tried it and it seems to have failed. I hate the idea of having a headpiece on. Who knows what may happen in a few years with technology ever evolving. Do you think VR is the future of gaming or will it get retired?
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Con's VR Vid Picks
by Con- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 1.1k views
Welcome to Con's fascinating VR picks! Here you will find a collection of my favorite 360 viddis. From sitting at the stadium for the Champions League or just watching a leopard take a shit in the jungle or walking through the Colosseum in Rome...you will find my favorite VR experiences here. So open a You Tube channel account so you can save a playlist of these VR videos and then follow the steps below and enjoy the VR show!! Wooooo! Watching 360-degree content on PlayStation VR Launch YouTube on your PS4. Select View on PlayStation VR. Select 360-videos in the menu bar. Select a video. …
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Beat Saber - Guitar Hero With Lightsabers
by LimeGreenLegend- 6 replies
- 1.2k views
This has been out on PCVR for a while and I have been counting down the days to it's release for PSVR. It's a rhythm game played with the move controllers and all you have to do is slice through boxes in the right direction. Expert difficulty will make you sweat. I can't recommend this game highly enough. I honestly want to play this more than Red Dead Online. 11/10
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Blood and Truth - Action Movie Simulator
by LimeGreenLegend- 0 replies
- 828 views
Blood and Truth is a spiritual successor to The London Heist, from the VR Worlds game, and is the most fun I've had in a vr game for ages. You play as an ex-special forces soldier who is back in London for the funeral of his father, but then gets dragged into a violent underworld battle against a proper cockney cunt of a villain. If you have PSVR, you have to get this game.
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Firewall: Zero Hour - A Must Have!
by LimeGreenLegend- 5 replies
- 1.1k views
Picked this up today in a bundle with the Aim controller, and it is frigging fantastic! It's basically Rainbow 6 Siege in vr. Two squads of four go against each other to either defend or attack an objective. You only get one life and a short time limit to do it so every round is tense with short, violent bursts of action. Using the Aim controller feels great and adds to the immersion of the whole experience. It looks great too, especially playing on the pro, and even though I only played a few rounds so far all the levels were varied and had their own character. There's also a deep customisable system, which I know nothing about yet Even though it's been out for tw…
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The Exorcist: Legion - Perfect for Halloween!
by LimeGreenLegend- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 827 views
If you're looking for a spooky PSVR game for halloween then you can't go much wrong with The Exorcist: Legion. It's a five chapter game, each being about half an hour long, where you play a detective investigating spooky goings on involving priests and demons. There are a couple of jump scares, but it mostly relies on tension, building up the atmosphere perfectly before coming to a terrifying conclusion. Here's me shitting myself through the first chapter.
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Helping Each Other Through Resident Evil 7 1 2 3
by LimeGreenLegend- 2 followers
- 53 replies
- 5.2k views
I am very scared of Resident Evil 7. I've got through the first 45 minutes or so (basically the tutorial) and can't bring myself to play any more. @Con is also apprehensive of playing it. Here, we will help each other through the game, posting videos of our playthroughs to laugh at how scared the other person gets. I will scream, and plead for mercy, a hell of a lot. @Squirrel wanna join the fun?
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PSVR Games: Reviews and Recommendations
by LimeGreenLegend- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 1.8k views
PSVR has been out for over a year now and has accrued a quite wide and varied selection of games. Since the holidays are coming up and some of you may be thinking about getting one I thought I'd make a post giving some quick thoughts on all of the games I own, whether they're worth it, and how they work (control method etc). I've played some of these games more than others, so I will have more to say about some games, and maybe only a line or two about others. If anyone has any questions I'll do my best to answer them. Batman: Arkham VR My first VR experience, and it made a hell of an impression. This is a two hour game that focuses on the "detective" p…
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KONA - A Detective Game
by LimeGreenLegend- 3 replies
- 928 views
This has a discount right now and looked interesting so I picked it up. It's a first-person detective game set in Canada in 1970. I've only played the first half an hour but am really digging it so far. The graphics aren't the best, but the setting is cool, as is the music, and I really like the Raymond Chandler-like narration that goes on throughout.
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Werewolves Within
by LimeGreenLegend- 1 follower
- 3 replies
- 909 views
You've probably heard me mention this before, and how much fun it is, and it is. I've just spent the last three hours playing this and it felt like half an hour. It's a multiplayer only game where you all sit around a campfire and try to figure out who the secret werewolf is. It takes a while to figure out all the different roles and what they can do so I won't bother here, but once you know the basics you can play. All you need to know for this video is that I was a werewolf, along with another guy, and we had to convince everyone else to vote for someone who wasn't us.
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Star Trek Bridge Crew
by JustHatched- 2 followers
- 8 replies
- 1.4k views
Thus is on sale till the 15th. Normally 50 in the ps store it 20 right now. I got it, it's really good game. @ssracingn2 is getting it and maybe @Dodge. How bout you @Con?
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The Inpatient
by Con- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 979 views
[Discover who you are before it’s too late in The Inpatient; a PS VR Exclusive set in the Blackwood Sanatorium, over 60 years prior to the 2016 BAFTA award-winning Until Dawn. With deep immersion that places YOU in the game, you take on the role of an amnesiac inpatient who must find out who you are and why you are in the Sanatorium. With a branching narrative, and different endings; every choice you make can drastically affect the way the game plays out.] Getting ready to start my journey into The Blackwood Pines Sanatorium very soon. All I know going in is that the setting takes place 60 years before Until Dawn (never played it). I've watched some game play of…
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Arizona Sunshine
by Con- 5 replies
- 1.2k views
What is it: A zombie survival first-person shooter that takes place in a fictional Arizona desert. First Impressions: Graphics look cartoony yet realistic which surprisingly makes it feel real. Tough time grabbing things from ground and blue grid appears but i think that is because of my setup during the first few videos.
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Drunken Bar Fight
by Con- 0 replies
- 1.8k views
@LimeGreenLegend hahahaha you didn't tell me about this game. The shit looks hilarious. Drunkn Bar Fight is coming to PlayStation VR. The rather wacky bar fight simulator previously released on Steam in 2016, and now a trophy listing has gone live for the game. In it, players will get to use their full surroundings to engage in some virtual fisticuffs. There’s also a trophy for hitting your opponents in the nuts, which I’m always a fan of. Here’s more on the game from developer The Munky: Drunkn Bar Fight is a simple, immersive, silly, rowdy party game. Take turns throwing bottles, darts, chairs, tip jars or anything else you can…
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249Rate the Last Film you Watched 2: Electric Boogaloo
Operation Mincemeat (2021) dir John Madden A WWII film focussing the efforts of British intelligence to trick Germany into thinking an upcoming major operation was going to happen somewhere else, so that they diverted defending forces away from the actual location. The basics are a true story. The characters are mainly the real people who were involved. It has a great ensemble cast. The main characters are two officers working for MI5, one from the navy and one from the air force, played by Colin Firth and Matthew McFadden, with Kelly MacDonald and Penelope Wilton playing their civilian assistants. It also features Johnny Flynn as the young Lt. Ian Fleming who narrates some scenes in a style that could well have been passages from his James Bond novels. You could, at a big stretch, almost class this as Bond film since it features characters referred to as M (head of MI5, Jason Issacs) and Q-branch (the gadget inventor, James Fleet). Simon Russel Beale also puts in a great performance as Winston Churchill. I have heard of Operation Mincemeat, knew the basics of it, that Ian Fleming was involved and what the outcome was. I don't think it's a spoiler to say the plan worked, as various characters in the film say that if it doesn't the allies won't win the war. The plan was to take the body of recently deceased man, a Welshman living rough in London called Glyndwr Michael, dress him in an officer's uniform, attach a brief case containing fake, but apparently top-secret documents, and then release it from a submarine such that it would wash up on a Spanish beach. Spain was neutral in WWII but under the regime of the Fascist, pro-n*zi, General Franco. So British intelligence knew that the contents of the brief case should find their way into the hands of German agents, before being returned to Britain, and thus the fake information would find it's way to Berlin. The operation they were planning for was the allied invasion of Italy, then Germany's ally. The fake information was one part of bigger plan to convince the Germans it was occupied Greece that was going to be invaded. The subsequent invasion of Italy is one of the lesser known parts of the war. Much is made, quite rightly, of the D-day landings, but that was not the first invasion of German controlled Europe, it was this invasion of Italy, nearly a year earlier. So it's nice to see a film about this aspect of the war, because there aren't very many of them. The film shows the meticulous level of detail the agents went to, creating a whole fake identity, Major William Martin, along with personal letters, a photo of a fiancé, etc. The plot does come across somewhat unbelievable at times and includes a completely unnecessary romantic sub-plot. Even if some of that is what actually happened, the way the films portrays this comes across as if the producers wanted to “s*x it up” and add these elements in because they thought the story of the planning and execution of the operation was not interesting enough. I was all set to give this a lower score than I did, but the last 30 mins or so redeemed it a little. What I found really interesting was, after the the plan had been put into action, the role British diplomats in Spain then had to play to make sure that the brief case of fake documents did indeed end up in German hands. Because after all the detailed and careful planning, it could have easily been undone by a Spanish official simply handing the brief case straight back to Britain, as was technically the correct thing for a neutral country to do, but not what they were supposed to do according to the pro-German Fascist regime in charge. There's almost none of the action you usually get in war films, until right at the end when we see an American infantry sergeant, a minor character introduced earlier, on board a landing craft, storming a Sicilian beach which was taken and held with relatively light causalities. All due to the success of Operation Mincemeat diverting German forces hundreds of miles away. 6 / 10- 1
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249Rate the Last Film you Watched 2: Electric Boogaloo
What I Watched This Week #179 (June 2-8) Escape from Alcatraz dir. Don Siegel/1979/1h53m Clint Eastwood stars in this prison break drama based on the true story of the only man to escape from the famous prison island off the San Francisco coast, Frank Morris. This film takes its time, much like Eastwood's performance style it's understated, deliberate and measured, with none of the melodrama of something like The Shawshank Redemption. The plot is simple, Eastwood arrives at the prison, spends some time scoping it out, then enacts his plan. It's the little things that give weight to this film, particularly the character of Doc (Roberts Blossom), who quietly represents the unshakeable human yearning for freedom with his portraits and the symbolic use of chrysanthemums. At times the pace of the film does undercut some of the urgency of the escape attempt, but I did like the ambiguous ending that doesn't tell you what happened to Frank after he got past the prison walls. 7.5/10 Rhinestone dir. Bob Clark/1984/1h51m I was scrolling through Sylvester Stallone's filmography and came across this, and knew that I had to watch it just to make sure that it's real. Rhinestone stars Dolly Parton as aspiring singer Jake who needs to get out of her crummy contract at the titular New York country music club. To do this she makes a bet with the manager, Freddie (Ron Leibman), that she can turn anyone into a country singer. The person chosen is tone deaf cab driver Nick, played by Stallone. To do this she takes him back home to Tennessee for some real country experience. Stallone also co-wrote this based on the song Rhinestone Cowboy. Really, it even says so in the opening credits. This whole thing is like a fever dream, especially the scenes where Stallone sings by howling like a demented gibbon. He plays his role like an overactive child with attention issues. Parton is just as sweet and charming as she always is, and the moments when she gets to sing are obviously excellent. I also liked Richard Farnsworth as Parton's father. This is not a good film, but it is a bizarre film, and it has its charms. 6/10 The Hustler dir. Robert Rossen/1961/2h14m Paul Newman stars in his iconic role of pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson who is on the fast track to self destruction as he becomes obsessed with beating the best pool player in the world, Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). This is a film in three distinct acts. The first and third are Felson's showdowns with Fats which bookend a tragic romance between Felson and Sarah (Piper Laurie), a depressed alcoholic. This is a bleak film about addicts and losers, yet there is beauty in the direction that makes this world of smoky pool halls cool and alluring. It also helps that Newman is incredibly handsome. The two pool games between Eddie and Fats are the showpieces here and are given the attention they deserve, with Eddie losing even when he wins, that's just the kind of man he is. Gleason is great as Eddie's opposite, someone totally calm and in control of their emotions. Laurie is heart breaking as Sarah, with only one inevitable outcome for her. Rounding out the main cast is George C. Scott as Bert, the sleazy and manipulative pool hall owner. As a standalone film this is excellent, but wouldn't it be good if we caught up with Eddie let's say twenty five years later? 9/10 Lime's Co-Film of the Week! The Color of Money dir. Martin Scorsese/1986/1h59m Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money catches up with Fast Eddie Felson (a returning Paul Newman) twenty five years after the events of The Hustler. He's now making a decent living off of whiskey, but when a hotshot young pool player, Vince (Tom Cruise), catches his eye he wants back in the hustling game. Without the context of The Hustler this is still a fantastic film full of Scorsese's trademark moves, but with the added history of the character a whole new tragic dimension is added. Eddie is a man full of regrets, so when he sees a chance to recapture his glory days he'll do anything he can to grab it, his old instincts kicking in almost instantly. He's there to use Vince, and he's open about it. But Vince is no d*mmy, even though he may act like it, and with his more emotionally mature girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) he may end up teaching Eddie a thing or two. This has a much different vibe to the previous film, very fitting for the time it was made, and the pool scenes are edited violently by Scorsese's long time editor Thelma Schoonmaker, almost like they're fight scenes. This is a Scorsese film I've not seen before, and didn't really have any interest in before watching The Hustler, but I think this is one of his best works of the decade, only The King of Comedy is better in my opinion. Combined with The Hustler this is an epic, four hour rise and fall and rise and fall and maybe rise again story that spans decades. And it all ends on a high note with a brilliant one liner and a classic Scorsese freeze frame. 9/10 Lime's Co-Film of the Week! Bottom: Exposed dir. Adrian Edmondson/2024/1h30m This made for TV documentary covers the creation, production, reception and legacy of one of my all time favourite shows, Bottom. Written and performed by the late, great (he said so himself) Rik Mayall (seriously, his autobiography is called Bigger Than Hitler, Better Than Christ) and Adrian Edmondson (director of this documentary), Bottom was a BBC comedy that ran for three series in the 90's and was violently crude, obscene, anarchic, absurd and offensive, and one of the funniest things I've ever seen, with slapstick fight scenes that would make Chaplin blush and a sound effects guy straight out of the Looney Tunes. The documentary itself is fine if very standard, featuring interviews with cast, crew and fans, but the real gold is when Edmondson is talking about Mayall, the two being lifelong friends since university. It gets quite emotional at points, which Mayall would have f*cking hated. One of my favourite memories is going to see the Bottom live show with my dad in 2003, their last of five live tours, and even though it's the worst of the five (my favourite is split between 2 and 3), it was amazing being so close to such raw, unfiltered energy. If you've never seen Bottom before, watch it, because the main thing I took from this documentary and seeing all the clips from the show, is that it's been too long since I've seen it. 7/10 La Cage aux Folles dir. Edouard Molinaro/1978/1h32m This French comedy stars Ugo Tognazzi as Renato Baldi, owner of drag club La Cage aux Folles, with Michel Serrault playing Albin, aka Zaza, his partner and star performer. When Renato's son Laurent (Remi Laurent), who the couple have raised since he was a baby, comes home he has some big news. He's getting married. But unfortunately the parents of his girlfriend are in politics, on the conservative side. The very conservative side. So he asks his father and Albin to tone things down a bit while they are visiting. I think this film has aged pretty well considering it was made in the 70's, and while it does rely heavily on stereotypes it never comes across as mean spirited. Tognazzi is good in the lead role, being pulled between his partner, his son and his own identity, with Serrault stealing every scene he's in as a flighty drag queen. The highlight of the film is the climactic dinner party between the two sets of parents with Albin showing some real depth and character here. A little dated but still with a pure heart, I can't wait to compare it with the American remake (see next review). 8/10 The Birdcage dir. Mike Nichols/1996/1h59m Robin Williams and Nathan Lane star as drag club owner Armand Goldman and his partner and star performer Albert in this American remake of La Cage aux Folles. The plot remains basically unchanged from the French original, just with some extra time to let Williams and Lane shine. Considering he's playing a gay drag club owner Williams gives a fairly understated performance, with really only one instance of that classic over the top exuberance. All of that is left to Lane, who is hilarious here. My only real problem with this film, same as the original though I didn't mention it in my review, is that their son, Val (Dan Futterman), is an unappreciative *sshole. Thankfully that doesn't take too much away from this, and the presence of Gene Hackman as republican senator Kevin Keeley, his future father in law, really alleviates this, with him getting to exercise his comedy muscles (and he looks great in drag). This is a slice of fabulous fun and, thanks to the lead duo of Williams and Lane, is better than the original. 9/10- 2
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249
Rate the Last Film you Watched 2: Electric Boogaloo
What I Watched This Week #178 (May 26-June 1) Welcome to the Dollhouse dir. Todd Solondz/1995/1h28m This darkly comic coming of age story stars Heather Matarazzo as Dawn Wiener, a bullied twelve year old whose parents don't seem to care. One day, the school's meanest bully, Brandon (Brendan Sexton III), threatens to r*pe her when classes are out. Dawn actually turns up voluntarily to this meeting, just glad that someone is paying attention to her, and so starts a weirdly sweet relationship between two outcasts (he doesn't by the way, you know, just if you were worried). This all sounds incredibly bleak, but this is a very funny film in the same awkwardly stilted way as something like Napoleon Dynamite, big Midwest Indie vibes. This also feels very authentic, and that is largely due to Matarazzo's performance which always comes across as natural and real. Sexton also does well with a character that could be totally unlikeable, but he brings some real sympathy and nuance to him. This film does excellently to be edgy without it being there just for shock value. And I love that we end on what seems to be a small note of hope for Dawn, because she deserves it. I hope she had a wonderful life. 9/10 Lime's Film of the Week! Sinners dir. Ryan Coogler/2025/2h18m The latest film from the team of director Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan sees him playing twins Smoke and Stack, returning to their hometown in the deep south during prohibition in order to open up a juke joint, somewhere for their incredibly talented blues musician cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) to play. But trouble comes not from the Klan, but from a group of vampires led by the enigmatic Irishman Remmick (Jack O'Connell). This is a film of two halves. The first is pretty much devoid of any horror elements save for a short prologue. Instead it really focuses in on the characters of Smoke and Stack, and everyone they round up to help them run their club. Among them old bluesman Delta Slim (one of my perennial favourites Delroy Lindo), Smoke's estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) and bouncer Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller). But what really gets the film's attention is the music. This is a real celebration of the blues and Black music and culture, with Caton, a musician in his first film role, giving the best performance out of a cast of seasoned professionals. The whole film seems to pivot on a crucial scene halfway through where Sammie is giving a performance in the club and he is joined by spectres of Black music both past and present. Native Africans from thousands of years ago performing alongside DJ's and rappers from the future. It's really beautiful and marks the high point of the film for me. After that is when the horror kicks in, which works less well for me. The interactions between the characters is still really well written and performed, but it's the actual action that is lacking, which is a shame because the fight scenes in Creed, again directed by Coogler and starring Jordan, were near perfect. If that side of the film matched the dramatic side then this would be an instant classic for me, but as it is I still highly recommend this. 8.5/10 Finding Dory dir. Andrew Stanton/2016/1h37m In what feels like a totally unnecessary sequel we return to the world of Pixar's near perfect Finding Nemo, but this time my least favourite part of that film, annoying sidekick Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), takes centre stage. Here the forgetful fish has a sudden moment of clarity and remembers her parents (Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy), and sets out on an epic quest to find them. I'm still not a huge fan of the character, but thankfully she's been toned done slightly from the original, a huge relief given the increase in screen time she has. It also helps that this is a well written film, not one of Pixar's best, but it still had me invested. And the flashbacks to a baby Dory and her parents and just so incredibly sweet that I couldn't help but root for her. I also really liked the new character of Hank (Ed O'Neill), a surly octopus who just wants to be left alone. It's a testament to Pixar that they can make a whole film about one of my least favourite characters of theirs and still have me enjoy and be moved by it, and I don't need to say it but I will, the animation is absolutely stunning. 7/10 The Morricone Duel: The Most Dangerous Concert Ever dir. Karsten Andersen/2018/1h11m (no trailer for this, so here's a performance of The Ecstasy of Gold from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) This concert film captures a tribute to legendary composer Ennio Morricone by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sarah Hicks. Most famous for defining the sound of the western thanks to his scores for Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly), which is all represented here, this also features pieces from other films he scored such as The Untouchables, Once Upon a Time in America, and his two Tarantino scores for Inglourious Basterds and The Hateful Eight. There are some works not composed by Morricone here, like the Orchestral Suite from The Godfather by Nino Rota and Sonny Bono's My Baby Shot Me Down (presumably for the Tarantino connection as this was used in Kill Bill), but I would've preferred them to stick with Morricone as he has such a huge and varied body of work, the scope of which I don't think is fully represented here. The musicianship, being a national symphony, is world class, so if you have a half decent sound system crank it up and enjoy. The presentation is simple, but there are a couple of nice touches like some hanging corpses around the venue, and simple graphics projected on to screens symbolising the films being played. 7.5/10 Baldwin's Ni- dir. Horace Ove/1968/46m (no trailer again, so here's a clip) This provocatively titled documentary (the title is explained by the subject himself in the above clip) is the first work from acclaimed director Horace Ove, who would make the first feature length film by a Black British filmmaker with Pressure in 1975. Here he documents a short lecture and Q and A session in London given by American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, with some short comments at the end by comedian and fellow activist d*ck Gregory. Speaking with a quiet, polite intensity he expounds on the differences in race relations between the UK and the US, his own personal history, what steps need to be taken next, and what role, if any, white liberals have in the civil rights movement. Baldwin is a thoughtful, intelligent, engaging, witty speaker and the forty five minutes spent with him here just flies by, leaving you wanting more. It's so refreshing to see a civilised, mature, grown up discussion about such subjects considering the state of political discourse these days, which just seems to all devolve into shouting matches on social media. A simple and bare bones film, but when you have a subject like Baldwin you don't need anything else. 9/10 Lost in Starlight dir. Han Ji-won/2025/1h36m This Korean animation is set in the near future and tells the story of literally star-crossed lovers, astronaut Nan-young (Kim Tae-ri) and downbeat musician Je-i (Hong Kyung). Their brief romance is tested when she gets a place on a mission to Mars, following in the footsteps of her late mother. This is rather melodramatic at points, but it's also very sweet and tender and genuine, which helps ground it even in the futuristic setting. The world is well designed with it feeling not too far fetched, like it's attainable for 2050, and the animation is crisp and gorgeous, the use of space imagery being particularly pretty. The cross cutting between Nan-young on her mission and Je-i trying to get his music career back on track on Earth is well done, with the distance between them bringing them closer together, but it is all quite predictable. 7/10 A Single Life dir. Joris Oprins, Job Roggeveen, Marieke Blaauw/2014/2m This Dutch animated short has a simple yet fairly well executed premise. A woman has a mysterious vinyl record that, when skipped back and forth, can transport her to different points in her life. This leads up to a dark punchline that's perhaps the best thing about this. I like the style of the set here but I find the character design quite ugly and off-putting, and feel like this could have been expanded to something more emotionally hefty rather than as a setup for a gag. This feels like a practice run for something substantial with more to say, but as it is it's still an entertaining couple of minutes. 6.5/10- 2
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