Review

Forty years after interviewing fresh-faced Vietnam vets for his 1970 documentary I Was A Soldier , British filmmaker Michael Grigsby returns to Texas to find his subjects pushing 70 and still living with PTSD. Pensioners Denis and David both acknowledge the power of “talking with your friends until the bad …

On the spot reportage is both a pro and con in Penny Woolcock’s documentary, which joins Dylan Duffus (the star of the director’s grime musical 1 Day ), as he tries to forge peace between warring Birmingham gangs. Driven by urgent rap beats and prickling with paranoia, this is immersive …

From Oscar-bothering Bollywood flicks to the Olympic Games, Britain’s most versatile filmmaker loves turning his hand to something new. Here it’s a trippy heist thriller – think Derren Brown meets David Dickinson – and Danny Boyle directs as if his life depended on it. Certainly the film does: one pause …

Gomorrah writer/director Matteo Garrone returns with this stylised, Fellini-esque fable, in which Neapolitan fish-seller and petty scam artist Luciano (Aniello Arena, who’s currently serving a life sentence for Mafia-related killings), is urged by his wife (Loredana Simioli) and three children to try out for telly series Grande Fratelli (ie Big …

SimCity, like an actual city, only succeeds when everyone and everything works together. And when that happens–when absolutely every system functions exactly as intended–it’s one of the most satisfying experiences that exists in gaming. Completing basic tasks like carving streets into the world is an incredible sight to see, and …

Primeval: New World 1.09 “Breakthrough” TV REVIEW (opens in new tab) Episode 1.09 Writers: Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens Director: Andy Mikita THE ONE WHERE Two skateboarders capture video of a Triceratops and it goes viral; Mac returns to help Toby to cover up the sighting; Dylan and Evan track the …

By its very nature, Etrian Odyssey has always been something of an acquired taste. Dungeon crawlers are a notoriously demanding strain of RPGs, and Atlus’ series has done its best to live up to that reputation with its crushing difficulty. With Etrian Odyssey IV, however, the developer has decided to …

Want to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz? You’re in for a wait. That’s because Sam Raimi has gone down the origin story path in this L. Frank Baum reboot, introducing the title character of MGM’s 1939 classic as a callow charlatan with an eye for the ladies …

Being Human 5.04 “The Greater Good” review . THE ONE WHERE Both Hal and Tom become mentors to other supernaturals. VERDICT Although “The Greater Good” doesn’t do a great deal to move on the series five arc plot, it has a lot going for it: it’s very funny, often touching, …

The Vampire Diaries 4.15 “Stand By Me” TV REVIEW (opens in new tab) Episode 4.15 Writer: Julie Plec Director: Lance Anderson THE ONE WHERE Elena finally accepts that Jeremy is dead but doesn’t react well, so Damon turns her humanity off and she burns the house down. Oh, and Bonnie …