Amazing Spider-Man 2 does whatever a Spider can. But not much else.

The more time there is between now and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, the more I find wrong with it. But nothing more so than Spider-Man 3. For all the minor things the two predecessors got wrong, the third film just went whole hog and fucked up everything, with the minor exception of Sandman. Venom was wasted, and Harry as Goblin was rubbish. Then Sony rebooted the series, and Amazing Spider-Man seemed to be on a much better track. Except we had to watch that bloody spider biting Peter again.

So it's quite shocking that the very next film, Amazing Spider-Man 2, makes a lot of the same mistakes as Spider-Man 3. Oh it doesn't do anything so bad as the dance number, and the one thing Mark Webb's second foray has going for it is that it absolutely nails Peter and Gwen, and is possibly the greatest live-action portrayal of Spider-Man in existence. This little Spider-Fan may have incredibly geeked out at just how Spidey moved during combat and quipped the whole time. But it does get the villains completely wrong again.

X-Men Days of Future Past is hopefully a shade of things to come

No proper X-Men Days of Future Past review from me. I watched it in an extremely tired frame of mind after my flatmate's rather drunken surprise birthday party. However, I'm going old school and just summing up my thoughts instead.

Mainly that Days of Future Past was rather brilliant. I was pretty worried about it because of the number of mutants that were said to be featuring, but Brian Singer does what he did so well back for X1 and 2, and that's keep the story focus very much on the core characters. In fact with only five characters sharing the limelight this feels like one of the tightest X-films ever.

McAvoy was amazing, his first scene was utterly tremendous. I'm glad Apocalypse will be based in the 80s and we get him back for more. So was Quicksilver, I expected him to be the worst, especially with that costume, but the opposite was true. For me, Joss Whedon and Avengers had the upper hand when it came to Pietro Maximoff, but now they have a lot to live up to.

There is one slight problem. The future timeline is made clear to be a result of all the movies we've seen to date, yet the film clearly states that Mystique is captured by the US Government in 1973 moments after killing Trask. So how was Mystique running around in X's 1-3? From the explanation we got of how the Sentinels operate they killed over two decades before? Big plot hole in a very minor line of dialogue. I can only assume that it was a quick change for ease of filming that no one caught the ramifications of.

Also Kitty's ability to project people into the past was never explained, but then that would mean introducing yet another telepath, and since it was Kitty sent backwards in the comics, I can forgive the mistake for homage.

Oh and if the Stryker at the end was Mystique, does that mean new timeline Wolverine is left with bone claws?

Days of Future Past is good. Almost First Class good, but not quite. It's up there, probably above both of Singer's previous two films. It does what Avengers did so well and no one else seems to have nailed, which is use everything before it to feel like a proper universe. Bring on Apocalypse.

Arrow Hits The Target With Its Second Season

Agents of SHIELD wasn't the only comics based TV series to finish its season last week, as Arrow pulled the curtain on its second, with a rather explosive ending. Also this season saw it take a much more obvious step towards it's superhero source material than the more crime drama filled debut. Mostly because of the villain Deathstroke.

As soon as Slade Wilson was introduced I was intrigued. We'd already met Deathstroke, yet here was the man behind the mask as a separate identity. It seemed like only a matter of time before he swapped sides. Yet he was originally presented as the man who made Oliver Queen into the man who donned the hood. And they eventually became brothers-in-arms. It got to a point where the two facing off against each other was unthinkable.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D? Season 1 comes to a close in an epic way

It has come to my attention that I haven't wrote a blog on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. since the upheaval post The Winter Soldier, which is shocking, because it finally turned the show into something amazing.

I'd stuck with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. simply because I'm a comic nerd and it had ties to the films Marvel are putting out. But one movie completely turned the show on its head. The big reveal that Hydra has long operated within the confines of S.H.I.E.L.D. changed the landscape of the entire Marvel cinematic universe, but it was really felt by the show that is actually all about that very organisation.

Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth

Being as the version I watched featured a 'Dalek Invasion of Earth' title card complete with appearing text and wobbly flying saucers that looked straight out of a b-movie I figured this might just be the hokey type of 60s sci-fi I promised myself I wouldn't let bother me. The Daleks flying saucers see their introduction here, and to say they're hokey is an understatement. Obviously I'm used to the design now, having seen numerous redesigns to make them look better. But here they are at their worst. The first shot of them is bobbing along on a string, and it brings to mind every joke about old science fiction ever made.

However, apart from the spaceships and a monster that appears for ten minutes in the closing parts, this isn't that hokey a story at all. In fact it's fairly horrific, with a pretty damn high body count and tension filled street chases. Not to mention the rather strong imagery of Daleks patrolling around London. I mean the opening shot of the entire serial is a man staggering alone, screaming, and then drowning himself in a river in front of a sign that says body dumping isn't allowed. Doctor Who isn't holding back on the darkness here.

Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse gets unbroken

Finally it feels like a Broken Sword game. This is very much a continuation of the first part of The Serpent's Curse, properly digging into the history of the Gnostics and the usual jet setting the series is known for. It's everything I hoped for. Yet at the same time everything I feared when Revolution cut it down the middle.

This second part seems short too, which is part of the problem Revolution have created by splitting it in half. I know they wanted to make their original release date, and Double Fine did it so it made it 'okay', and they probably needed the cash injection, but releasing in halves has severely reduced my enjoyment of The Serpent's Curse. The first half felt not Broken Sword enough staying too much with the modern crime, while the second doesn't feel long enough. Put them together and I can see the whole package being up there with The Smoking Mirror, but having played them as two games I've got too much of a disconnect.

From Dusk till Dawn: The 7 Hour shift

I love From Dusk Till Dawn. The original Tarantino/Rodriguez team-up movie. Tarantino wrote it. Rodriguez directed it. For me it's a classic. The shift that for half the film you think you're watching a typical Tarantino crime drama only for vampires to appear out of nowhere and it turn into a monster flick. Genius left turn.

But I was kinda surprised to see it had rebooted it as a TV series. Didn't it really work in that form? Did it even need it? What if it was some shoddy remake by people who got hold of the franchise? After all, the sequels weren't meant to be much cop. Turns out that wasn't that much of a worry, because it was Robert Rodriguez that was in charge here and he's made it much more of his thing that the original.

No proper post today

Morning. It's Friday, which I always promised myself would be the main update post, with the Monday one being the one to fall over if I needed to. And I've failed. I've got a few different blogs percolating right now, and none of them are ready, except for more Doctor Who, and I don't want to flood this place with that.

Obviously one of the percolating blogs is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. after the epic Turn, Turn, Turn episode. S.H.I.E.L.D. has seriously upped its game post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but I didn't find time to write about it until a few episodes had aired, and because we're only two episodes away from the end, I figured I'd do it as one big column. Otherwise Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will take this place over nearly as much as Doctor Who has.

The Aztecs: Doctor Who meets a lovely lady

After skipping over a number of missing episodes we reach The Aztecs, a serial I actually got recommended to me from a few sources. I can see why. It's pretty good.

After arriving in South America a hundred years before the Spanish turn up, Barbara is mistaken for a reincarnation of one of their Gods, and she sees this opportunity to switch them away sacrificing people since that's why the Spanish wiped them out. Obviously the Doctor's against this, but Barbara's determined, but no matter how much she tries things keep springing back to the way history is remembered. And the Doctor again points out that you can't change history. Not One Line!

FTL: The Next Generation

My thoughts on the FTL: Advanced Edition. Honestly, it's more FTL. If you enjoyed the game but had gotten tired of the same old encounters you're well served as there's plenty to spice things up. Though you're mental for thinking that in the first place.

Everything added is great. It feels like they've filled the game out a little more. Drones no longer feel quite so much like the short cousins to weapons with the massive array of extra stuff they add. The new beacon paths is damn handy, allowing you to plan a lot more. The extra systems that just offer so many more options. It's all little tweaks that improve the game even more. It feels like exactly the same game I dumped over forty hours into, but better. Since it's free, anyone who owns FTL needs little excuse to try it out, if you still haven't, then now you have even more reason, not that you should have needed it. If you still haven't bought FTL yet, this gives you even more reason.

Which pretty much sums it up unless I waste time going into detail at what those changes are. So instead I'm going to do another Captain's log, this time from the new Lanius ship.

Back to the Beginning: The very start of Doctor Who

After my dance around parts of Doctor Who, I decided to go back to the beginning, and have plotted a course through fifty years of TV. The list is an interesting mix of recommendations – either quality or lore based I don't know going in – plus the regenerations and the coming and going of companions. One of my Whovian experts said that last one wasn't needed except for those that fell into the examples of lore based, such as Earthshock, but I figured it'd make for easier viewing seeing how these people come and go from the Doctor's life.

And when I say I'm going back to the beginning, I mean the actual beginning. The very first Hartnell story, An Unearthly Child. And yes, I'm including the 10,000BC episodes as part of that.

Continuum continues

Continuum was one of those programmes I started watching on Sy-Fy because new sci-fi. Also it had a cool time travel concept, and Rachel Nichols. It helped that at the time I didn't have a whole lot to watch. Unfortunately, the first season quickly devolved into a police procedural with some cool future tech, and not much else. But because I tend to quite like police procedurals I stuck around.

Continuum tells the tale of Keira Cameron, a CPS protector – that's future corporate cop in normal language – who gets pulled from 2077 to modern day while trying to stop a bunch of anti-corporate Liber8 terrorists from escaping their execution via time travel. Once here she integrates herself with the Vancouver PD – yes, a show filmed in Vancouver that actually admits it – and does every thing she can to stop Liber8 from altering the future.

FTL: These are the Voyages

As FTL: Advanced Edition came out last week, I present FTL The Captain's Log. It started out as an idea for BeefJack, but we weren't entirely sure how sustainable it was. Plus I was pretty late to the FTL party so it was also no longer that relevant. Enter DLC, and I finally get to release it. This was actually my second playthrough of the original game. I might do another for the Advanced Edition, which I still haven't found time to play. At the very least I'll post up some thoughts in a few days.

Blackbox recording of NCC-7625, The Kestrel-A discovered in Rock controlled sector of space.
Captain's Log Stardate 9130113.15
I have been assigned the important task of carrying plans for the stolen plans for the Rebel's capital ship to what remains of Federation Command. My mission is clear, I have to get this information delivered as quickly as possible.

First jump and already my honour is already is putting me at odds with my duty, but civilians being attacked by an unmanned rebel scout ship wasn't exactly a problem for my crew.

Back to Who: A jaunt through Time and Space

It should come as a surprise to no one who followed this blog in late 2013 that I've dived back into Classic Doctor Who. Not just Enemy of the World I got for Christmas but a whole lot more.

Of course that's where I started. A little bit of time left in 2013 I watched Enemy of the World and got to see Doctor Who does James Bond from a caravan. And honestly, it was kind of brilliant.

The Future of Marvel Movies part 2

About ten minutes after posting my Captain America review and look at Marvel's Cinematic Universe I was struck by a thought as I saw the leaked image of Hawkeye's new coat (comic fans will really get excited about anything). That thought was, are Marvel going to start putting out more Avenger films post Age of Ultron?

Obviously there's going to be more. But I mean Disney cutting down the time between each instalment, and cash-in on the one of the biggest names in Box Office. Step away from the core team of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Widow, Hawkeye and Hulk. Not in a cranking them out just for the money way. But in a not using all the actors and raising the lesser members to more prominent roles.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - co-starring the Black Widow

This is going to end up part review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and part a look at the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe now that we're only one film away from Avengers: Age of Ultron, because to say that Winter Soldier upsets the cart a little is underselling just what the films does. As such I step away from my usual spoiler-free as possible stance, and here I'm incredibly spoiler heavy.

I make no bones about the fact that I loved Captain America: The First Avenger. I felt it pulled the period piece of brilliant. It was as exactly as pulpy as a Cap War film should be. And that's something Marvel have done really well. They don't just make superhero movies, but superheroes in other genres, which most of the best comics do as well. This time Cap was shifting away from pulp to my one of my most favourite genres. That of super spies. This film has a lot to live up to.

Shadowrun Returns Again: Dragonfall

Remember a few months ago, when I got all crazy about Shadowrun Returns being the first big Kickstarter to get a release, and how I thought it was amazing? That was more or less the general consensus, but there was a contingent within the RPG community that had a few problems with it. Those problems were mostly about its linearity, lack of side quests, no save system and non-existent companions. Basically, things that you expect from an RPG.

Now we're in a post Broken Age and Broken Sword Part 1s world, and both left me feeling a little underwhelmed. They're great, but they're part of a bigger game, and what we have just feels undernourished. That wasn't the case with Shadowrun Returns. Except that maybe it is. As Harebrained Studios have released the first DLC, Dragonfall, and it was funded by the Kickstarter money too. More importantly, Dragonfall feels like the game that Shadowrun Returns was always meant to be.

Agents of SHIELD - T.A.H.I.T.I. review

Spoilers for episodes T.R.A.C.K.S. And T.A.H.I.T.I.

After apparent reveals of how Coulson's resurrection took place, a revelation that barely answered anything, suddenly we get a proper answer. And it's a rather horrifying one. In an episode that seemed to be about something else much more pressing. It seems Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is finally getting itself sorted. But this all came about because after last month's (bloody hell, four weeks between episodes? Fox's schedulers just hate Whedon, don't they.) action packed revelation of Deathlok and Skye getting a couple of bullets in the stomach.

The Last Phantom: My First Phantom comic

I've been a fan of The Phantom for who knows how long. I'm not even sure why. He was pretty boring in Defenders of the Earth. The Billy Zane film was campy fun, but not amazing by any stretch. I think it might be solely down Phantom 2040, the 90s show in the animated style of Aeon Flux. It was pretty epic. For all the love I have for The Ghost Who Walks, that's pretty much my entire exposure to the character. I've not even touched a comic, which for me is practically a sin. So it's about time I fixed that with The Last Phantom.

For those that don't know, The Last Phantom was a reboot by Dynamite Entertainment in a more modern setting (worryingly we're getting kinda close to someone doing that and it actually being 2040, and no crazy near future tech). The story of the Phantom always revolves around the Kit Walker, the latest Phantom, who takes over the mantle after the death of his father. But in The Last Phantom, that isn't what happens at all.

Arrow: Sharp and on point

Apparently I've not written about Arrow on here yet. Which I find amazing because it's probably the best moving picture* content DC is putting out right now. Over the last two years Arrow has become one of the my favourite programmes currently running. So I'm gonna spew random thoughts on the series to date, so I can look more closely in the future.

Ever since Kevin Smith rebooted him, and more explicitly Brad Meltzer did a run straight after, Green Arrow has been a one of the DC heroes I really enjoy. I've always liked the characters that have no powers, but hang with the big names. Batman sort of exemplifies that, but he's The God Damn Batman. He almost doesn't count. But Oliver Queen most certainly does**. Partly because of his social politics, and that they moved him so far away from just a Batman clone who uses a bow and arrow. So it's a little odd then that I love a show that puts him right back under the shadow of the Bat.