issue 07 / volume 41

‘Arrow’ spin-off shows potential

» ‘The Flash’ hits the small screen

Lauren Paulsen, Senior Columnist

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Ao familiar with the superhero show Arrow will know Barry Allen (played by Grant Gustin) from season two of the series. Now on

his own spin-off series, The Flash, the eager young crime scene investigator is obsessed with all things supernatural after his mother is killed by something not-quite-human and his father is blamed. Allen is hit by a lightning bolt made from a malfunctioning particle accelerator and doused in chemicals from his lab, which

: lands him ina coma for nine : months. When he wakes up, he : finds he has gained the ability

: to move really, really fast. The Flash is filmed in our : very own Vancouver. In fact,

: in the police scene after Allen

: chases down a metahuman, you : can see the SkyTrain rails in

: the background. I don’t know

: about you, but I like to pick out : the various landmarks in shows : filmed nearby and recognize places that I’ve been before.

Unfortunately, that’s

: probably the most excited I

: was throughout the show. It

: wasn'ta bad pilot, but it was

: predictable. Young outcast has ? some monumental moment

: that turns him into a superhero : and then, when superhuman

: bad guys start showing up,

: he takes it upon himself to

dole out justice. And let’s not

: forget the best friend he has

: acrush on who is dating her cop father’s partner—said cop

: father being the same person

: who raised Allen after he lost

: both his parents, one to jail and the other murdered.

However, Allen is likeable

: and Gustin does a good job of

: pulling off the somewhat goofy

: yet brilliant young idealist. The

: special effects that depict him

: going really fast are kind of neat : too, as he streaks like lightning

: through the streets.

This show has the potential

: to go either way, so I think it is : worth watching another episode : to find out where it goes.

Steven's Man-Cave: Their crimes, your punishments

» ‘Crimes and Punishments: Sherlock Holmes’ PS4 review

Steven Cayer Senior Columnist

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have enjoyed the company

of Sherlock Holmes for a few years now, from Robert Downey Jr. in the movies to Benedict Cumberbatch in the TV show. Now I have finally experienced him in a new light in Crimes and Punishments:

the name suggests, this game is about Sherlock Holmes solving crimes with his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson and his dog Toby. Playing as Holmes, you

: have two different techniques : that you can use to help solve : these mysteries.

The first is called “vision,”

where you suddenly see things

: that only Sherlock could see, such as an outline of dust on a shelf hinting that there was : something there. Whenever

you see a certain symbol in

: the corner of the screen, just

: hit that button and voila. The

: second technique is called

: “imagination,” where you can

: visualize a scene taking place in : the past. For example, a pillar Sherlock Holmes on the PS4. As pat you need to activate is

: broken in half, but you can

: visualize it whole and use it to : solve the puzzle.

If you enjoy solving difficult

: puzzles, this is the game for

: you. Even if you don't, you have : the choice to skip any and all

: puzzles, though I suggest you

: at least try. I enjoy the fact that : each case has more than one

: ending. You are actually able

: to get the wrong conclusions,

: which makes every decision

: that much harder to make.

: One of the hindrances is that

: you only have six cases to solve. : Yes, they are all different and

: definitely well-written, it’s

: just not enough gameplay to

: justify the cost. I also would’ve

: liked there to be an overall

: story, instead of six completely : Separate cases.

Even though this game is

a must-play, I suggest waiting : until the price goes down if you : have the patience.

So, then that happened

» ‘Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’ movie review

Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist

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n the bestselling book

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Alexander Cooper goes through a bad day and thinks that the rest of his family doesn’t have bad days. But in the film version, when he celebrates his 12th birthday by himself, he wishes that the rest

of his family would go through a :

: bad day like him.

Things go wrong right

: from the start of the day when

: Alexander’s parents sleep in. His father, Ben (Steve Carell), : goes toa job interview and

: has to take the baby with

: him, who isa distraction. His

: mother, Kelly Jennifer Garner), : publishes a children’s book that : includes a typo, which is read

out by Dick Van Dyke, who

: makes a brief appearance in the : film. Alexander’s older brother, : Anthony (Dylan Minnette),

: tries to get his driver’s license,

but fails the test when he

: answers a phone call from his : girlfriend while driving. His

: sister, Emily (Kerris Dorsey),

: also has a bad day and does a : school play.

“T think that you just gotta

: have the bad days, so you can

: love the good days even more,”

: Alexander tells his family in the : movie trailer.

The film is more exciting

: than the book because, instead : of only showing Alexander’s

: bad day, the movie shows all of : the obstacles that the Cooper

: family goes through on their

: bad day.

arts // 9

Comic¢ Corner: More bore than-boo

» ‘The Strain Vol. l’ review

Brittney MacDonald Staff Writer

Wwe it comes to the modern reader, we expect new and innovative concepts and narratives that both excite and sometimes terrify. Unfortunately The Strain by David Lapham doesn't deliver any of that. Featuring a narrative that has almost become a trope in the horror genre, and a bland artistic style that any comic enthusiast has seen a thousand times before, The Strain was just too boring to offer up any scares.

story,’ visible in movies like 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, and Contagion. Basically a virus or biological weapon

is let loose on a populated town or city where it spreads,

into monsters. In the case of The Strain, it turns them into vampires. I usually have no

: problem with origins like this. : What becomes unfortunate : is that instead of veering off

00000

: The Strain just continues on

: following a common narrative : without deviance. Right down to the common Joe

: protagonist and his female

: counterpart who could save

: everyone if they could just get : someone in the government

: to believe them. There is

: nothing particularly offensive about this, it’s just overdone.

and adding something to this common sub-genre of horror,

The most exciting thing

: about this novel is the cover : art done by E.M. Geist. The

: actual art within the novel is : done by Mike Huddleston.

: Huddleston’s art is clean

The plot follows what has with thick lines and devoid

become known as the “plague : of any real detail. This style

: was typical of generic comic

: books produced in the mid- to : late-‘gos. Again, not bad—just : overdone.

I suppose I could

> recommend this novel to

killing people or turning them someone really into the

“plague story” trope, but I

probably wont.