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.

Wholesomely bewitching

Unlikeable, ineffectual main character stumbles through glorified ghost house, then layers of reality, until you're on the verge of nodding off when the end credits mercifully roll. Or was that just my experience? :-)

CURRENT PAPER READING

CURRENT AUDIOBOOK ON MY DAILY WALKS

Boss Nass drops bass, smokes grass

RS2 and I are persevering with "Earthborne Rangers" and its shoddy manual. We now look up any rules queries online.

Pod rec! A professor of history, a professor of religion and their learned guests. Unstuffy. Lightly teachy rather than preachy.

Atomic secrets

Rewatch. The visual effects that so wowed me in '85 - the stained-glass knight! - now look "stuck on" and samey. Regardless, the overall film is still superb.

Beautiful, innovative, mature, disjointed, largely boring. Big tick for the effective use of "Sweet Child O' Mine". Big cross for referring to Uluru as Ayers Rock.

Never reaches the heights of "Cosmos" or "Arrival". The philosophical parts work. The science-y parts let it down - breakthroughs happen too quickly/easily. Patchy cast (younger stars weak).

CURRENT PIXEL READING

Winning at losing

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

Conan's pirate pal Valeria by Nick Marinkovich. Intense gaze! You can imagine the rest of her outfit from just the headband and puffy sleeve. Clever. He *almost* overdid the hair with that signature, though.

SONGS OF THE WEEK

* "Fever Dream" by RinRin (Australia)

* "Vagabond" by Malte Ebert & Mumle (Denmark)

* "Pole Position" main theme remix by Reborn Synth (Germany) - this one's actually two months old. Earworm warning!!!

* "All Blue" by Hiss from Beatpella House (South Korea)

* "Stranger" by Uranus x Jossey (Mongolia)

* "Africa" cover by VoicePlay (US)

* "Amanat" by Ay Yola (Russia)

* "Give Me Something" by Vulfpeck (US)

* "The Moon" by Yagoda (Russia)

* "All That We Perceive" by Thievery Corporation (US) - new clip for a 2003 track, which is sufficient reason for me to include it.

RANDOM TRPG REMINISCENCE OF THE WEEK

I reckon it was Nucon 91 where I played in one of a fella named Greg Rickards' wonderful "Saga Of Raven's Nest" games (not to be confused with the RPGA Network's Ravens Bluff site). Picture a detailed diorama of a Medieval-fantasy town plus surrounding areas, populated with painted miniatures...one of which you are controlling, using a rules system of GR's devising. Meanwhile, a bunch of other peeps are doing likewise. While I can't recount the plot at this remove*, I recall the feeling that SO MUCH was happening, with various little groups pursuing their own agendas - and co-operating and coming into conflict - across the bespoke landscape. Minis were constantly in motion. I can't say if my team-mates and I were successful in our aims. I can say we had some unique fun.

*Was I a guard defending the settlement?

BEER OF THE WEEK

Splendidly average :-) 

SNACKS OF THE WEEK

Thanks to sister AK for these.

Where's theirs?

The latest "Doctor Who Magazine" has an amazing 27-page interview with actress Anneke Wills (Polly). It just keeps going - I felt like I was reading "The Comics Journal". Fortunately, her life has been full and her opinions are strong, so it's a fascinating journey.

RIP, Angry Anderson. Saw Rose Tattoo live more than once, but the time which sticks in my mind is when they supported Motorhead. Geez, he went hard. Also, no Aussie over a certain age could forget his role as Ironbar in "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome".

Talking old flicks, I rewatched "Gremlins 2: The New Batch". Such a cartoon. 0% believable, 100% nonstop chaos. I think I appreciate it more now than I did at the cinema - with JH and co.? - in 1990, mainly for the sheer amount of satire they crammed into the thing.

Backed this handcrafted fairytale setting for 5E (and the like) on Kickstarter. After I'd resisted the charms of "Land Of Eem" and "Dolmenwood", "The Hazelands" struck a kooky chord. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tinefieldling/the-hazelands-setting-guide