Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a game about choice and consequence. One of the decisions that has the most immediate impact happens at the beginning of the game’s final quest. The effect this decision has on the remainder of the game and, presumably, any future Dragon Age games, has devastated fans in the kind of “hurts…
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a game about choice and consequence. One of the decisions that has the most immediate impact happens at the beginning of the game’s final quest. The effect this decision has on the remainder of the game and, presumably, any future Dragon Age games, has devastated fans in the kind of “hurts…
Earlier this year, Xbox brought some of its games to PlayStation 5 and Switch. Apparently that worked pretty well, as Microsoft’s CEO of gaming Phil Spencer says more of its games are coming to other platforms, and that might even include the Xbox’s crown jewels, like the next Halo game.
Earlier this year, Xbox brought some of its games to PlayStation 5 and Switch. Apparently that worked pretty well, as Microsoft’s CEO of gaming Phil Spencer says more of its games are coming to other platforms, and that might even include the Xbox’s crown jewels, like the next Halo game.
Plot: A pulse-pounding crime thriller that follows the investigations of brilliant forensic psychologist and DC Metro Detective Alex Cross. Together with his best friend and partner Detective John Sampson, Cross delves into the psyches of insidious murderers while fighting to protect his family from the dangers of the criminal world.
Review: After thirty-two novels and three feature films, James Patterson’s beloved character, Alex Cross, is returning for a new adaptation. With Morgan Freeman leading two films, based on Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, and Tyler Perry portraying the detective in 2012’s Alex Cross, the character’s narrative exploits have been fairly well received on the big screen. For the new Prime Video series, Cross, the Patterson books serve as inspiration for the narrative rather than direct source material. Aldis Hodge leads the series as the brilliant detective who must hunt down a serial killer while maneuvering his own grief after the murder of his wife. A solid update of the character, Cross is an entertaining series featuring one of the best detective characters in modern publishing.
Rather than serve as an origin story or a retread of the adapted novels already turned into films, Cross opens with a scene depicting the death of Alex Cross’s (Aldis Hodge) wife before shifting forward one year later. Still overcome with grief and preparing to take a leave of absence from work, the renowned detective is pulled into a highly publicized murder involving a famous activist in the Washington, D.C. black community. Cross, who has a PhD in psychology, is reluctant to be used for publicity purposes, but when he begins looking into the suspicious death alongside his partner John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa), Cross theorizes there is more than an accident or suicide on their hands. Cross and Sampson dig into the death which may be the work of a serial killer. This puts the cops on the path of a dangerous foe who has a complex and disturbing motivation for his crimes. Like the Patterson novels, this part of the mystery feels like it comes right from the source material.
What distinguishes this series from the previous adaptations as well as the novels is the parallel mystery involving Cross’ family and his late wife. At home, Cross’ children Janelle (Melody Hurd) and Damon (Caleb Elijah) are cared for by their grandmother, Nana Mama (Juanita Jennings). There is love in the home, but the memory of their departed mother leaves them all missing something. Cross begins finding hints and clues as to why his wife was assassinated which connects back to older cases. The references to events from some of the Alex Cross novels add some dimension to the character as being an experienced investigator as the killer from Along Came a Spider is mentioned in the premiere episode. There are a few easter eggs for fans of the books, but most of this series is a new take on the mythology of the Alex Cross character. It is nice to see Sampson playing a significant role in the story after taking a backseat in the films. We also get time with tangential characters Kayla Craig (Alona Tal) with whom Cross has a past as well as his new romantic partner, Elle Monteiro (Samantha Walkes).
What helps Cross work better than the prior adaptations is Aldis Hodge’s pitch perfect casting as the title character. Hodge has already been exceptional in roles ranging from Hidden Figures and One Night in Miami… to superhero Hawkman in Black Adam. Hodge has a charisma that makes him both believable as the brilliant detective while having more of a ferocious energy than either Morgan Freeman or Tyler Perry were able to bring to the role. Hodge and Isaiah Mustafa have a solid chemistry that takes the onus off of Alex Cross needing to operate on his own and instead has a partner to work with and to call him out when his decisions to not align. Both actors carry the material and elevate it from feeling like another police procedural. The two main storylines in this season sometimes detract from one another, but the inclusion of solid supporting actors including Ryan Eggold, Eloise Mumford, and more give this ensemble a rounded cast of talent.
Creator and showrunner Ben Watkins (Burn Notice) shoulders a lot of the credit for being able to bring Alex Cross out of the 1990s when the novels were first published and present them in a modern context. A lot has changed in the last thirty years including the Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police movements, both of which play into element of the Cross plot. Because the main characters are educated and black and operate in a city with a very high crime rate and minority population, Cross never takes for granted the social commentary that typically gets overlooked in detective or crime stories over the last several years. Cross is never preachy but it does not avoid the elephant in the room and instead addresses it within the scope of the story. The eight episode series boasts a diverse batch of writers and directors including Nzingha Stewart, Craig Siebels, and Stacey Muhammad, all of whom give Cross a cinematic look and feel that reminded me of a similar level of quality seen in Prime Video’s hit series Reacher.
Cross has already been renewed for a second season which shows that Amazon has confidence in the series and for good reason. Aldis Hodge is the best actor to portray Alex Cross and elevates James Patterson’s creation from a literary icon to another level. I anticipate that the fan reaction to Cross will open up a whole new audience to Patterson’s books and could become another opportunity to expand from one series into multiple spin-offs including one for Isaiah Mustafa’s Sampson. Cross is a good mystery that has a fantastic cast and a solid original story that does not retread the source material or prior adaptations yet still enhances what makes the books so popular. I enjoyed the first season of Cross and cannot wait to see where they go in season two.
Cross premieres on November 14th on Prime Video.
The post Cross TV Review: Aldis Hodge leads a solid adaptation of James Patterson’s bestselling novels appeared first on JoBlo.
Halloween may be over, but scary movies never go away. The latest chiller coming to streaming service Shudder is the unique ghost story Black Cab. Starring Shaun of the Dead‘s Nick Frost and directed by Bruce Goodison, Black Cab is an unconventional horror movie that harkens back to the supernatural chills of classic frights while also forging a unique story about the unknown. Boasting an original premise and a rate dramatic turn from Nick Frost, Black Cab is worth checking out.
Black Cab follows Anne (Synnøve Karlsen) and Patrick (Luke Norris) as they depart a party with their friends. With a rift between them, they chat up the odd driver of their car (Nick Frost). As the tensions begin to mount in the vehicle, Anne realizes this may not be the ride she expected. Things take a turn involving murder, ghosts, and something far more sinister. You probably think you know where Black Cab is headed, but trust me, the final destination is a detour.
I chatted about Black Cab with director Bruce Goodison and star/writer Nick Frost. Frost compared the path of his career from Shaun of the Dead twenty years ago to now how he has tried to bring elements of humor to all of his roles, and how comedy prepared him for the very dark angle of this character. Bruce Goodison discussed his love of making scary movies and the claustrophobic challenges of filming in a vehicle. They both also talked about some creepy drivers they have encountered over the years as well as whether or not this driver was inspired by anyone they have encountered in real life. Check out the full interview in the embed above.
Black Cab is now playing on Shudder. Read our review HERE.
The post Interviews: Nick Frost and director Bruce Goodison discuss their cinematic ghost story Black Cab appeared first on JoBlo.
The last few months of PlayStation Plus’ subscription catalog have been a rollercoaster ride of great new additions and some big departures. November continues the whiplash with a bunch of big names joining the paid service including Grand Theft Auto V and Dying Light 2. If you’ve somehow managed to go 11 years…
The last few months of PlayStation Plus’ subscription catalog have been a rollercoaster ride of great new additions and some big departures. November continues the whiplash with a bunch of big names joining the paid service including Grand Theft Auto V and Dying Light 2. If you’ve somehow managed to go 11 years…
We’ve known for over a year that director David Fincher was working on a 4K (or 8K) restoration of his 1995 film Seven – or Se7en, if you prefer – and the 4K version of the movie was even screened at this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival. Now, we know when fans are going to have the chance to own the 4K restoration of Seven on disc, as Blu-ray.com has revealed that it’s set to be released on January 7th.
Scripted by Andrew Kevin Walker, Seven has the following synopsis: When retiring police Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) tackles a final case with the aid of newly transferred David Mills (Brad Pitt), they discover a number of elaborate and grizzly murders. They soon realize they are dealing with a serial killer (Kevin Spacey) who is targeting people he thinks represent one of the seven deadly sins. Somerset also befriends Mills’ wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), who is pregnant and afraid to raise her child in the crime-riddled city.
As reported by Blu-ray.com, “Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will celebrate the 30th anniversary of David Fincher’s Se7en (1995) with a new 4K Blu-ray edition, which is scheduled to arrive on the market on January 7th. In addition to the standard release, the studio will issue a Limited Edition SteelBook.”
Here are the special features and technical specs: NEW 4K RESTORATION SUPERVISED BY DAVID FINCHER – HDR10 PRESENTATION OF THE FILM – Four audio commentaries featuring David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and other collaborators on the film – Additional and extended scenes – Alternate endings – AND MORE… – Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature
Fincher previous said the 4K restoration of Seven, “is what it is, warts and all… And some of it is spectacular and some of it is stuff that I would change or fix today, but I didn’t want to mess with that. There’s a lot of imperfections, there’s a lot of things that you just don’t see on film. When people say they love the look of film, what they’re talking about is chaos, entropy, and softness. Now, of course, we live in an HDR world where you get those kinds of very deep, rich, velvety blacks for free. And we had to negotiate that fine between what to fix or not… So we attempted to go back in and fix to make it match. And kind of repaint stuff and just take out water spots and little edge flashes. And some of it is impossible to get it to match, certainly by today’s standards. So there was a lot of excavation.“
Will you be buying a 4K copy of Seven? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The post David Fincher’s Seven gets a 4K release in January appeared first on JoBlo.
Atlanta’s Dragon Con draws vast crowds to Georgia every year, for the big ol’ mix of all geek culture and celebrity spotting. It also draws in crowds of fantastic cosplayers, and with them, Kotaku’s favorite photographer, Mineralblu.