Tom Gilligan – Google

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Michale Bay does his best work when he is not making films about space robots or any other existing IP. He's doing what he's great at, popcorn entertainment action flick with just enough heart to keep you engaged. He is the master of this art form. You know you will be entertained when his name is attached as director, even if the film itself turns out forgettable. This film takes an interesting look at the lives of military contractors working for the CIA as security detail during the infamous Benghazi incident. You can feel the anticipation of Bay's big action set pieces throughout the entire film, and the camera work is 100% classic Bay. The best parts of the movie are found in this downtime as the team go about their day-to-day protecting the secret CIA safehouse in the world's most dangerous place. Pretty entertaining I'd say, some eye-rolling tropes aside (Like an overly disrespectful station chief who likes to belittle and talks down to the security detail...which rings false to me), and though not breaking any new ground it has an A+ cast and tells a very heroic story that was deserved to be told. It's going to hold your interest, classic popcorn action military flick, you can't really go wrong for a night of Netflix entertainment. I do recommend it but you're likely not going to remember it. (3/5 Stars)

This sequel lacks the soul and originality of the previous films. Verges on the line of mocking its own past story telling. As a huge mega fan of the original trillogy I am left fustrated, confused, and heartbroken over the direction this half sequel half reboot went. This movie is constantly remimding you of how great the first Martix movie was, and by doing so, so often, it makes me wonder why I would ever choose to watch this new one over that one again. Characters well established in the lore of the franchise are regurgetated to us in different actors bodies. Nothing feels creative here. Its the Force Awakens but worse. Honestly anybody who loves movies and can tell the good from the bad will know exactly which side this film belongs in. It will be forgotten. Its a real shame the directors didn't seem to have anyone around them who could speak the truth about the quality of this script. Any 13 year olds fan fiction sequel might have been more faithful and creative than this cynical nostalgia bait of a popcorn movie. Matrix fans, I am sorry. But you are not alone at least. Star Wars and Terminator fans share your pain. Non Matrix fans, avoid this movie, its honestly and simply not very good. Your truly not missing anything special. There are a mulitude of much better cinimatic experiences on offer elsewhere. This is one of the saddest reviews I've ever written. I wanted this movie to be great. It failed in almost every way possible. I am done with getting my hopes up for sequels like this. Would have much rathered seen something original from these directors instead.

Playstation has once again proved it has the best console of this generation. Brilliant, beautiful, vibrant, deep and fun. This game is a great adventure all the way through. Although the game doesn't break new ground in the open-world structure that great games before it used, (think Red Dead 2, Zelda BoTW, Assasins Creed) the systems are very well implemented and quality of life issues most open-world games struggle with Ghosts seems to of crafted their world with that in mind as everything is a breeze and the side quests are not as grindy as other games. A wonderful game to end the PS4 generation. It is a must play for Playstation owners. Seeing how beautiful this game is makes you wonder what the need even is for a new console, but I can't wait to see how they improve upon a game like this. Buy this, you won't regret it.

This movie will be somewhat divisive. You should know this going in. This movie does have "political" undertones cleverly disguised with over-the-top satire. It might be useful to think of the world this film takes place in as an over-exaggerated version of ours (or is it actually spot-on identical to ours? One of the questions this film will ultimately make you ponder) This movie attempts to say something. It reflects a real-world vibe back to us in a wonderfully fun way, but doesn't land as "funny" as it does haunting. Adam Mckay's directing style here might be a bit jarring at first, but his whimsical style of close-ups and quick cuts will become fitting for the story it's telling. I recommend this one especially if you are also frustrated with how today's age of over politicizing and twisting of basic facts and truth have become. The performances are all fantastic. But this film's reflection of our recent times might offend some of you into disliking the movie. As a political think piece, this is a 10 out of 10. As a fun popcorn film, sadly, it hardly gets on the scale. So I do understand some valid criticism is warranted. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Some of the attempted humor is very dry and even annoying. (Looking at you Jonah Hill...) But even that was all very likely intended, so it's hard to criticize for that reason. I have a lot to say about this movie. It took a little while into it before I started to get the joke so to speak. At first, it seems so over-the-top ridiculous, especially the first meeting with the President where the astronomers are telling her about the comet heading towards earth. It seems, at first glance, so far removed from what one might think would happen in real life. However, give the film time, and it might just dawn on you how basically this has already happened, altho with much "smaller" truth comets in comparison. It's a must-watch for any Adam Mckay fans. And certainly going to be worth the watch if you are a thinking film fan. 4/5. Not his best work, based on the pure entertainment factor, but this is his most cynical and thought-provoking for sure.

By the end, you won't have regretted watching this, but you will sit and ponder the experience for a moment or two unsure of the impact it has. You won't hate this movie, but I doubt you will truly love it either. It sits right there in the middle for me. Good solid performances all around, even if Leto feels a bit jarring at first he never goes too far over the top with this character which is very much appreciated. Denzel is still at his peak and carries this film as he always seems to do. Malik, is the weakest link but that is no means a slight on him, he just plays a very stiff character lacking personality. (He is far from say a Brad Pitt in Seven) The first half of this movie is very slow and quite honestly hard to invest in but once Leto arrives it finally takes some shape. The ending may not leave you satisfied in the traditional sense but at least it feels somewhat original, and that alone makes it worthy of your time. 3 out of 5. Good but not great.

One of the best games of the last decade. That may seem like over-exaggeration but I assure you it is not. Even if your not a big fan of rouge-lite games, (where you die over and over to get further), give this one a chance and see why it has topped so many GOTY lists. It hits every nail on the head that makes a game great. Even aesthetically, the music, voice acting, art direction is all incredible enough on their own. But what really takes the cake is the fluid and extremely well-balanced and addicting gameplay. Throughout my time I have never once been frustrated to have to go through the same dungeons over again, SuperGiant games seem to have solved the mystery of how to make a game feel truly infinitely replayable without getting boring or too repetitive. Each "run" through the game's dungeons can be entirely different based on your character's build, though different weapons, abilities, and skills called "boons" that you obtain from the different Greek gods. If your vaguely familiar with Greek mythology you'll thoroughly enjoy meeting and talking to all the characters, even romancing some! There is a lot of heart behind this game and it shows. Highly recommend giving this one a go. Hopefully, it will make it's way onto consoles sooner rather than later so more can enjoy what the underworld of Hades has to offer.