atchycat Reviews

The Boxtrolls (2014)

Laika, excellent as always.

[7/10 · 22 September 2014]

The Boxtrolls is the third outing for stop motion studio Laika, and it retains the amazing craftsmanship seen in their previous films.

The animation used in the Boxtrolls technically exceeds any other stop motion film I have seen before, with some extremely captivating shots throughout. The world they have created is extremely grimy and intricate, and like every other aspect of the film, is full of little details that keep your eyes locked to the screen. All of the characters that inhabit this world are equally interesting, each individually quirky and charismatic. The story itself, while fairly simple, is effective, often aided by snappy, humorous dialogue. To top the movie off is clever message strung throughout the film.

The Boxtrolls is a must see for its visual excellence, great dialogue and touching message; what other kids movies have lines like "rivers of blood" and "piles of baby bones".

4/5

The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019)

Enjoyable... for the first couple of seasons.

[1/10 · 8 February 2014]

When I first saw The Big Band Theory I liked it a lot. The characters were interesting (Parsons as Sheldon Cooper making the show what it is), the episodes had funny scenarios with overall decent writing. However, by around season four, the jokes were starting the drag and the characters seemed to act more like television actors than real people. I don't mind references to previous gags (e.g. Arrested Development does it amazingly) but there are only so many times I can be reminded that Leonard has lactose intolerance and Raj needs alcohol to talk to women.

Recently, all of the humour comes off as obnoxious rather than humorous. The jokes aren't reworked over the course of the show; they are just copied and pasted to lesser effect. I have noticed that this repetition only highlights the shows weaknesses, even in the stronger episodes

The Big Bang Theory is defiantly not bad, but its more recent seasons feel like inferior re-runs. I'd happily give the first two or three seasons an 8/10, but the four (and more to come no doubt) that come after bring it down to a 6/10.

Sherlock (2010–2017)

The Best Show on TV

[9/10 · 23 May 2012]

I cannot express how much I love this series, it has it all. Ingenious plots, smart humor top notch acting. I should also mention the editing as its obvious a lot of work has been put into it. Each series (of the two released at the moment) has three episodes that run for one and a half hours each. I watched the whole first series in one weekend (yes its that good) and was eager to watch the second as soon as I could. I thought that they couldn't top the first series, but they did. The final episode in the second series had me breathless and its climax was exhilarating. I have to admit, it was the best TV episode I had ever seen. However, what makes this series so good is the way it creates so much emotion and excitement without the need to use drawn out action scenes like in the Sherlock Holmes movies. When I hear people talking about the movies I always ask if the have seen the TV series, I always get a "no". So rent out the first couple of series', stock up on food, clear your weekend and prepare to be amazed.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2007 Video Game)

A Challenging Yet Wonderful Experience

[8/10 · 28 April 2012]

Professor Layton and the Curios Village is the first in a range of challenging puzzle games for the Nintendo DS. It follows the adventures of the puzzle master/archaeologist Professor Layton and his young assistant Luke. The duo are invited the mysterious village of St. Mystere where they have been asked to solve the riddle of the Golden Apple and to possibly uncover a rumored treasure. The game play itself is quite simple. You guide the Professor and Luke around the village with the touchscreen through beautiful hand drawn backgrounds, all the while trying to solve the mystery. While you do this countless puzzles are offered to you to solve which start out as simple brain teasers and gradually get very challenging. The exploring of the village is broken up by anime cut scenes which are defiantly a highlight for me. The plot twists and turns throughout the game keeping me tapping on that touch screen to find out what happens next. The music is another great feature of this game; it made the many hours spent in this game greatly enjoyable. Some may be put off by length (it took me 20+ hours to finish) and difficulty but if you push through those harder puzzles I guarantee you will love this game in the end. Try not to use a walk through because it's one of the most rewarding games ever if you don't. I loved it 8/10