Author: Jessica Thompson

In much the same way as Queer As Folk pushes the barrow for the gay and lesbian crowd, Secretary takes leaps and bounds towards bringing legitimacy and empathy to another lifestyle choice. For aficionados of bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism (BDSM to those in the know), Steven Shainberg’s quirky film will no doubt become a visual anthem. As well as telling a love story of a very different kind, Secretary sends the flare up for the uninitiated and illuminates the secret world of those that enjoy a lot of slap with their tickle. Introverted Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) pursues the…

Plot: K-19: The Widowmaker proves that even the trusty submarine movie can’t prevail against a weak script, poor acting, and loose film-making. Despite its slight insight into an actual Cold War submarine disaster, K-19 is $100m worth of embarrassment for A-list star Harrison Ford and the moguls at Paramount. It’s 1961 and both sides of the Iron Curtain are busy building new and exciting ways to incinerate the planet. For the Soviets, the latest war machine off the production line is a shiny new sub called the K-19. Entrusted with taking this piece of communist whizbangery out and shaking it…

Plot: At face value, Alan Parker’s The Life of David Gale possesses all of the ingredients required for a successful thriller. With talented Hollywood darlings Kate Winslet and Kevin Spacey leading the cast and more twists than Chubby Checker, the film could be expected to succeed. Unfortunately, thanks to questionable plot developments, stereotypical characters, and the director’s yearning for a political soapbox, The Life of David Gale is a disappointment. David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is a successful college professor who’s leading the charge to abolish the death penalty in the US, when he’s not touching student’s lives with his ‘cool’…

History of Gaming PC’s The history of the gaming PC goes back to 1981 actually. This is when IBM gave users a chance to connect to a television and enhance their experience using a Color Graphics Adapter or CGA for short. In 1987 Video Graphics adapter or VGA was first introduced. Atari as well as Cooadore 64 and Ameiga all did their part to help and introduce gaming consoles in a way to the world. These were the first real glimpses into the world of gaming computers and would go on to become the stanbdard upon wich all others would…

When a game as long awaited as The Getaway finally makes it out of development hell, it’s often impossible to believe. There it is on the shelf. You can buy it. So that’s what the box art looks like. Finally, The Getaway was released on the 11th of December 2002. It was meant for the PS1, then it was meant as a PS2 launch title, and now, two ice ages later, we have it. Close to five MILLION pounds was thrown at Team Soho and The Getaway, with the intention of turning it into a proper killer revolutionary title, the last…

The Nintendo 64 was an absolute amazing console launched back in 1996. It helped to introduce 3D gaming at its best of the time period, whilst also delivering some of the finest exclusive games. Whilst there were some rare N64 games released, that you should also check out, this article takes a look at the most popular best-selling titles to appear on the Nintendo 64. Let’s get started. Star Fox 64 Selling approximately 3.3 million copies worldwide, Star Fox 64 is number 10 on our list. Being a fighter pilot was cool and so was playing Star Fox 64. In…

There’s no denying that Grand Theft Auto V was an astounding success. With over $1 billion in sales, it stands not just as the most grandiose video game franchise around, but also as one of the most popular pieces of media ever produced. Now, with the exciting announcement that GTA 6 is returning to the beloved Vice City, it’s fascinating to look back at the other cities that were rumored to be featured in this much-anticipated game. Vice City – The Confirmed Location The announcement that “Grand Theft Auto 6” (GTA 6) will return to Vice City has sparked excitement…

You may have read my article about what it’s like to be a female gamer. Well, some guys still want to know how they are expected to approach a girl for optimum results. So, here’s a little bit of advice for those of you who want some tips on how to treat, approach, and win-over girls in-game. Treat Others Well Too She notices how you treat other players. I say this because when you treat other players, newbies, and friends poorly while you are nice to her, chances are she will not want to talk to you. Sure, a little…

I was looking forward to the third of season of ITV’s Mr. Selfridge since the ending of the second series. While the third season did not exactly disappoint me, I do think that there was a bit of room for improvement. When the season begins, World War I has ended. Harry Selfridge’s daughter, Rosalie, is getting married, and a spectacular wedding and reception are being prepared. While Harry is still mourning the loss of his beloved wife, who died recently, his store and financial circumstances are in a very good state, and things are going well. However, Harry’s grief is…

This 2013 film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic 20th-century novel, The Great Gatsby, was directed by Baz Luhrmann.  It stars Toby Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Joel Edgerton. As in the novel, in the film Nick Carraway (played by Toby Maguire) is the narrator of the story, which is told from his perspective.  Nick Carraway is telling the story at the distance of several years after the end of the events he describes, and is putting it all in writing.  In the story he tells, Nick is a young and rather naïve man from the Midwest, who has…

This movie was a disappointment.  With all the publicity this movie received when released, I was very curious about it.  Unfortunately, however, I found that this film has a lot of faults that far outweigh its few (very few) positive points. The movie’s unnecessarily crude opening scene made my hope for the film’s quality quickly sink, and foreshadowed the many poor quality components to come.  After the opening scene, we are introduced to a ridiculous, fictional celebrity news show called “Skylark Tonight”.  The show and its production constitutes an admittedly rather amusing (and frighteningly accurate) parody of Western celebrity culture. …

This 2011 docudrama is both fascinating and illuminating.  It is about Alan Turing, a man who has not received anywhere near the amount of praise, acknowledgement, and fame that he deserves.  As a result, you might not know who he was.  In fact, you probably don’t.  Born in 1912, he was the man who, in 1936, came up with the fundamentals of the computer.  In other words, without his work, we would not have computers, or for that matter any other of our well-used and popular digital devices.  He also was the person who introduced the whole idea of artificial…

The One I Love, directed by Charlie McDowell, is about a married couple, Ethan and Sophie, who are trying to rekindle their relationship. Their marriage counselor suggests to them a weekend away together at a house that many of his clients have been to. What is great about this movie is that if you think you know where it’s going already by those first two sentences, you’re probably wrong. The place that Sophie and Ethan stay immediately seems whimsical; an adorable house with a beautiful and spacious garden. Greenery, flowers, a pool, the works. Making it seem more like a…

As I saw each successive episode of Wolf Hall, I was increasingly mesmerised by the realism and beauty of the production. Wolf Hall is based on the award-winning novels Bring Up the Bodies and Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, and is directed by Peter Kosminsky. It stars Mark Rylance, Damien Lewis, and Claire Foy. Wolf Hall depicts the events surrounding Thomas Cromwell’s connections with Cardinal Wolsey and with King Henry VIII of England. Thomas Cromwell’s perspective is the main one from which the story is told. The production begins in the period of Thomas Cromwell’s service to Cardinal Wolsey, who…

The Pyramid was released in December 2014, and ‘stars’ Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O’Hare, James Buckley and Christa Nicola; it was directed by Gregory Levasseur. The movie was Levasseur’s first venture into directing, having previously been better known for writing the screenplays for movies such as The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors and Maniac.   It was written by Daniel Meersand and Nick Simon, a writing duo who had previously collaborated on Removal (2010) and The 7th Claus. In a found footage format, The Pyramid follows father and daughter archaeologists, Miles and Nora Holden, in their quest to discover a pyramid (ah, now…

It seems fair to say that exciting times are just around the corner for Nintendo fans, this is because the Switch will be arriving early next year. This could only mean one thing for the Wii U, and Nintendo recently confirmed that the console would be discontinued as the focus has now moved towards their new endeavour. Unlike the Nintendo Wii and Wii U, maybe the Switch will have a built-in Lan adapter. Let’s continue. Wii and Wii U: No LAN Port It is a surprising fact, but one missing element from the Wii U is the LAN and Ethernet port, just…

Have you ever dreamt of working in a sushi restaurant? Neither have I. Yet still, I’m downright addicted to playing Papa’s Sushiria. It’s the latest release from Flipline Studios, and it includes their previous games’ best features and much, much more. The Setup In Papa’s Sushiria, you can play on Poki as Matt, Clover, or a completely custom character. After breaking Papa Louie’s favorite cat statue, you’re forced to work at his newest restaurant. There, you will take orders, cook rice, and build Cordon Bleu-worthy sushi rolls. Satisfied customers will pay extra cash, and you can spend that money on…

If you are a fan of the Batman franchise like I am, then last year when Batman: Arkham Knight came out, you were excited to see what it was all about. There have been those that have been burned in the past. They have been afraid to venture out and try playing this game on their own. The good news is that unlike other games that have come out this outing is actually pretty good. Yes there are some areas where the game does seem to be a little disjointed especially when we are looking at the long history that is…

Now that you have bought WWE 2K17 and are looking to begin your career, you may be wondering how you can have a career that will allow you to main event Wrestlemania. There are some things that you will need to make sure that you know in order to work your way up the ranks and position yourself to take on the Undertaker and see if you can defeat the DeadMan. In this simple guide, we will look at what you need to know in order to have a career that is along the same lines as that of John…

Gaming, as a medium, has a tendency to look exclusively forward. Now this is, undoubtedly, a good thing. It means that the industry is always striving for something new both graphically and artistically. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have it’s downsides too. We all know the old saying “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Well, by constantly looking forward, gaming is running the risk of forgetting its own history. After all, it’s not like books and films, where old ones are constantly being re-released. If you don’t have the consoles to play them,…