Boot sector

Took a while to get going and, let's be honest, it was the "Leon" formula again. But I dug the initial island-lighthouse setting (had a great uncle who was a lighthouse keeper). And when the trouble began, things rapidly escalated to 11. Statham can do these revenge thrillers in his sleep, wee lassie a quality actress in the making, Bill Nighy a nice inclusion, everyone else fine. So...expertly cooked action in a mild conspiracy sauce. Dear old Dad woulda loved it.

Factoid means false

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

By Martin Morazzo. Poster-worthy.

SONGS OF THE WEEK

* "Voodoo Doll" by Wooah (South Korea)

* "Gold" by The Hardkiss (Ukraine)

* "Hortus Regis Alti" by Lindsey Stirling (US)

* Finally, a user named Parmigian uploaded a 1972 video of Daniel Kachamba (Malawi) demonstrating his "Putugizi" guitar-strumming technique. It's amazing.

RANDOM TRPG REMINISCENCE OF THE WEEK

Unless they're into "Dungeon Crawl Classics", with it's 0th-level "funnels", I suspect most modern RPG-ers will have never played more than a single character at a time. It was pretty common BITD, especially if the module stated that the inclusion of a certain class was essential for success - and said class didn't match those of our chosen heroes. Then the DM would would go, "Someone needs to run a [cleric/thief/druid/whatever] as well." Cue: collective groans. If none of us had a suitable adventurer in our binder, we'd grab a pregen from the list typically found in the module appendix or from a supplement like "The Shady Dragon Inn", or we'd generate a bare-bones character and add the details as the game went along. You'd favour your main, but occasionally come to like the secondary, especially if they turned out to be pivotal to the plot. They might even earn the right to be transferred to a proper character sheet :-)

Possibility space

This local actioner is a hidden gem. Well, semi-precious stone. While the villain is ridiculously OP and the team brought in to protect the leading lady and her kid are friggin' useless, the rural Aussie setting, relentless pace and odd backstory set it apart from many foreign sniper yarns. Radha Mitchell makes a believable badass and the actress who plays her rebellious teen daughter does a beaut job, too. Assuming the budget wasn't already stretched to the limit, I'd have upped the number of baddies to give the goodies more of a chance to shine. That's my main complaint. And maybe ditched the gross "bullet trajectory" scene.

False 9

A strong cast of Woodley, Crowe, Mortensen, etc. and an unusual approach - focusing on his formative college years - made for engaging viewing. Eons ago, I read a couple of cheap paperbacks and a few internet sites, then wrote a very straightforward true-crime article on the dude for a mag. This fillum contained details I didn't know or at least hadn't remembered. (Or which the makers invented!) It was a tad sympathetic for my liking. One aspect of the story as told had me flashing back to the Neil La Bute play "The Shape Of Things", although the situations are ultimately quite different. Anyway, see it for the atmos and the acting.