BURTON REVIEWS (and news)

The summer holidays are over and it’s back to the humdrum routine of work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep, and so on. Thankfully though there is always something out there to help ease the pain and lighten up your week. And in this case I received a real shot in the arm of up lifting and generally happy thoughts from the laughter filled night I had watching the legendary Lee Evans live at Capital FM Arena. I have always been a big fan of this comedic genius that in the past has left me curled up in a ball in agony from laughter at the side shattering stand up routines of his I have seen on TV. So I was more than excited to see this performer of pure hilarity live on a stage before me and he definitely did not disappoint. Every single section of the comedians set was almost surgically on point with a precise rhythm of comedy where every joke received at minimum an arena shaking laugh from the entire audience and at maximum tears of joy from the hysterically laughing and clappi

Christopher Nolan is here once again with one of the most anticipated movies of the year that promises to both amaze and test your mind’s capabilities to follow this highly scientific and intriguing plot. But with the heavy weight of audiences expectation and the ambitious story based on real scientific theory on Nolan, Mcconaughey and co’s shoulders coupled with an extravagant 2 hour and 49 minute runtime sadly there was a lot of room for the movie to falter and stumble instead of ascend and create a mind blowing, grandiose after-effect the movie was for hoping for. The story of Interstellar showcases a very bleak and hopeless near future scenario, made even scarier by the too real possibility of this version of earth becoming a reality in the not so far off future, where the Earth’s resources are running out and it is becoming harder and harder to maintain a reliable source of food for the population of Earth, forcing the majority of humans to become farmers to help keep mankind

When watching a spy movie we’ve all wanted to be the main character, running through obstacles, narrowly dodging detection, and just being an all around cool action hero. Well with a new Si5 Spy Missions facility opened in Nottingham you and your friends or family now can be. The mission, if you choose to accept it, deploys you to a state of the art battle cruiser, the UNS Steadfast. You and your team must complete a set of challenges to get through the cruiser and prevent the launch of a nuke on board. The overall concept and individual objectives you must complete have a surprising amount of background to them, which is delivered through the opening brief or throughout the mission by your teams helpful guide, making the whole experience feel even more involved and authentic. Within the mission there are a great variety of objectives to do from solving puzzles either hacking based or connecting/retrieving physical objects in the appropriately dimmed rooms with only a pulsatin

Arguably the most anticipated game of 2014 is finally here; but with 2 years of rampant hype behind it and people’s expectations skyrocketing into the furthest reaches of space did Destiny, or even can Destiny, live up to what people are wanting from this almost un-definable genre mixing game. Well personally it has hit every single note for me, on an almost addicted level, with many, many, many hours logged into the game I am still having a blast in this unique and fun science fiction world which while does have some issues the overall experience is personally a “Booyah” screaming success. The mysterious story of Destiny centres around you, as a guardian, trying to stop the darkness and its armies from destroying the universe and turning it into a dark pit of despair. Armed with the powers of light given to you by the traveller, an even more mysterious orb trying to protect and enhance the universe, and the choice between three awesome classes you are set off to clear out these arm

The newest dynamic duo to come out of Hollywood , Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, are back to attack your funny bones in a very familiar fashion. But surprisingly and impressively the team succeed where so many other comedy franchises have failed; with a bag of 2 nd hand tricks, that seem to work even better this time around. Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are back on our silver screens to once again take down the trade of a new dangerous drug that has already claimed its first victim. But this time instead of infiltrating a high school with their narrowly convincing latter teenage looks they are now trying to find their footing in a college from which point hilarity and relationship defining moments ensue. If this sounds very similar to the plot of the first movie it’s because it is, in-fact it’s almost exactly the same. And while this is usually a huge con for a movie, such as 2011’s un-inventive The Hangover Part 2, how this movie embraces its own flaws of

I think an introduction to a review should be an ominous opener leaving the reader still guessing whether the object in question was enjoyed or loathed. But for this movie there should be no question, it is a master piece. Personally this is probably the first film I can confidently call a piece of art that should be experienced by all. In fact drop what you’re doing right now and go see this movie because you seriously will not be disappointed but feel better off for seeing it. If that hasn’t quite convinced you and you still need more I have a wealth of evidence that I hope will satisfyingly prove this first bold statement. The story of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes picks up many years after where the predecessor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, let off. Caesar and his colony of apes have set up a settlement and home in the forest while on the outside human kind has all but become extinct from the virus first contracted by a scientist in Rise. After almost a decade of no inter

In movies there are classic colossal action heroes such as Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis. In video games we also have our fair share of testosterone built men of action including Duke Nukem, Doom Guy and Bj Blazkowicz. Just like the revival of the original action heroes seen in the Expendables it seems Bj Blazkowicz is back to show the video game industry how to really clear a room out of enemies; only leaving stains of blood where soldiers of hatred once stood.   The story is surprisingly deep, taking place in a very interesting alternative time line where the Nazis won the war and are now ruling the earth with an iron fist. After awaking up from a 14 year coma this definitely doesn’t sit well with Blazkowicz and with the resistance you strive to take down the Nazis, obliterating any enemy forces that have the unfortunate luck of being in your sight.   And when I say obliterate, I mean obliterate. This game definitely earns its 18 rating with gallons of blood protrudin

Another Spider-Man movie in theatres another movie tie-in game. But while most movie tie-in games are shallow cash grabbing bad experiences there are some titles that do the movie tie-in genre proud such as 2011’s Captain America: Super Soldier and in fact the whole line of Spider-Man movie games. Especially 2012’s Amazing Spider-Man game which presented a clever, interesting and well realised story that followed on from the movie of the same name. So with a good history and the fact that Spider-Man is my favourite superhero I went into this game with excitement but sadly left less than impressed. The story takes place before and within the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie’s plot. The game starts with Spider-Man still trying to hunt down his Uncle Ben’s killer and from here events escalate to the backdrop of a gang war which brings in many iconic villains for young Spidey to go up against and protect his beloved city from. While in the first few missions of the game the story is w

Metal Gear Solid has always seemed like an impenetrable fortress of convoluted plot points and over complicated gameplay that seemed like too much work and effort to even try to get into with un-knowable amounts of success and enjoyment. But now with the start of a new generation I decided to give the famed series a go and wow have I ignorantly missed an amazing experience for the past gaming years of my life. This game takes place after the events of MGS Peace Walker and stars Big Boss/Snake as he infiltrates a very harsh military camp to rescues two agents that have been captured. That is the bare bones of the main story and for the veteran MGS player there is a lot more story depth and lore connections to be found but for a new comer, such as myself, the story is a good and simple first step into the elaborate world of MGS. Putting you into the shoes of a badass legend with little explanation needed but what is there is enough to intrigue and really pull me into the events

This is one of Aaron Paul’s first ventures out of the meth lab and into the real world, thankfully instead of a depressing work filled world he has found one inhabited by fast cars and amazing races; and we’re along for the ride. The story for Need for Speed is a very basic one: Drive across the country to take part in a race to settle a heated rivalry. In normal circumstances this would be a boring worn out concept but Need for Speed executes this idea with so much fun, charm, and sometimes a bit of cheese, it is hard not to give into the world, sit back and just enjoy the spectacle of expensive cars before you. And these cars are beautiful, every one of them is a representation of loud, exotic, and very expensive fun; throughout mocking you to wish and dream to one day sit in that uncomfortable looking seat and masterfully drift around a race track, ingraining rubber to road and dreams to reality. The stand out car though was definitely (Aaron Paul’s) Toby’s Ford Mustang that

The master thief Garrett has returned to put Ezio and his brotherhood to shame, showing them how to really pickpocket an un-expecting guard and swiftly get away with it in complete stealth fashion, no hidden blades required. After the events of an accident Garrett is left unconscious for a year and returns to a city that is infested by a plague, the Gloom, and run by a baron that does even give a second thought to the poor which is starting to incite a revolution. Somehow all these factors relate to the accident that occurred 1 year ago and throughout your many thieving jobs you unravel the conspiracy and uncover the truth. While this tale sounds like an interesting through line for the story to take place on it is executed poorly at every turn. The cut scenes that valuable story details are given in are terrible; with bad lip syncing, boring dialogue accompanied by just as dull characters, and flat movement within the cut scenes. They really seem like early pre-beta, sloppy versio