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Showing posts from January, 2014

12 Years a Slave - Review

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There’s no doubt that director Steve McQueen makes confronting and thought-provoking cinema - his first two films tackled some pretty intense subject matter: the IRA hunger strikes (Hunger) and the perils of sex addiction (Shame). For his third film, 12 Years a Slave, McQueen adapts Solomon Northup’s 1853 account of his abduction and sale into slavery. This film not only lays bare the machinery of slavery, it examines the people who engaged with it. Only a few films each year leave a lasting impression on me and this film is certainly one of them. 12 Years a Slave could very well become one of the definitive films addressing slavery.  Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free black man. He’s married with two children and is an accomplished violinist. After accepting an offer to play violin with a group of travelling performers, he is abducted, imprisoned and shipped away in the dead of night. Solomon is plunged into a life that he couldn’t possibly have fathomed; one of cru

*CLOSED* Win Doctor Who: The Moonbase on DVD

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Thanks to our pals at Roadshow we've got 3 copies of Doctor Who: The Moonbase on DVD to give away.  In 2070 Earth's weather is controlled with ease from the Moon. When the TARDIS arrives at the Moonbase, the Doctor, along with his friends Polly, Ben and Jamie, is accused of starting a plague that is killing off the base's crew. It's not long, however, before the time travellers discover the true cause of the deaths - a powerful, unstoppable race that the Doctor has never met before: the Cybermen. All you have to do is fill out the form below and you're in the running to win one of these awesome prize packs. Don't forget, you can get yourself a bonus entry just by  following us on Twitter  or  liking us on Facebook! THIS COMPETITION HAS CLOSED E ntries close 11:59p m on Sunday 9th February 2014. Your details will not be used in any way other than for the delivery of your prize. Geek of Oz and Roadshow do not take any responsibility for the loss, damag

*CLOSED* Win Doctor Who: The Best of the Doctor 2005-2011

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Thanks to our wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey friends at Roadshow, we've got 3 copies of Doctor Who: The Best of the Doctor 2005-2011 on DVD to give away. Covering the Best of the Doctor Series 1 and 2 and the Best of the Christmas Specials, this collection is 6 hours and 40 minutes of Whovian awesomeness! Keep tuned for even MORE Doctor Who giveaways in coming days! All you have to do is fill out the form below and you're in the running to win one of these awesome prize packs. Don't forget, you can get yourself a bonus entry just by  following us on Twitter  or  liking us on Facebook!

La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia (Blu Ray) Review

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Based on the PSP game of the same name, La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia is exactly what the title suggests, a story about an arcane family. What ensues is a series which delivers on so many levels except the one that really matters most - story. It’s an all out battle for her hand in marriage! Felicita has had her hand in marriage unwillingly brought to the table to determine the future heir of the family. Not only does she have no choice in husband, it seems her suitors must come from the family itself! But Felicita is not going down without a fight. As the head of the Swords Division, Felicita has decided that she will win herself back and claim the title that is rightfully hers. Although it might be easier said than done when your family is Italian mafia, and working with guns and knives is just a simple way of life. It’s now a race against family to determine who wins, and Felicita is placing all bets on herself. Let the battle begin! - Hanabee The har

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones - Review

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Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones , is the fifth film in the super-low-budget found-footage horror franchise. This instalment moves away from the CCTV style footage of its predecessors, with the action being captured by way of a hand held camera which is sloppily written into the film. I will openly admit that I am not a fan of this horror sub genre, it’s a style which takes me completely out of the experience and diminishes the effect of the jump scares usually because they are from a fixed view point. This film left me fairly underwhelmed, its unoriginality doesn’t bode well for future films in the series. This could affectionately be considered the ‘Latino’ spin off, as the film departs from the established characters to focus on a Hispanic family in California. After graduating high school Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) for reasons unknown grabs his father’s new camera and starts filming every waking moment of his life, with best mate Hector (Jorge Diaz) along for the ride. The t

X-men Battle of the Atom HC Review

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I'm not usually a big fan of events. It doesn't matter who's writing it or what characters are starring in it, I always walk away at very least a little disappointed. So naturally I came into 'Battle of the Atom' with skepticism. Even with Brain Micheal Bendis' current flawless runs on 'All New X-men' and 'Uncanny X-men' I've been hurt too many times before to dive into a new event without any reservations. And I was right to be a bit nervous, as 'Battle of the Atom' is a highly entertaining albeit confusing affair. Marvel's 'Battle of the Atom' hardcover collects the entire 'Battle of the Atom' event (All New X-men #16-17, Uncanny X-men #12-13, Wolverine and the X-men #36-37, X-men: Battle of the Atom #1-2 and X-men #5-6). Although Brian Wood and Jason Aaron script their usual X-men series for the event (X-men as well as Wolverine and the X-men respectively), it's obvious that this is very much Bend

Eve Beauregard Interviews the Amazing Ardella

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Click to enlarge Eve: I’m  here with the amazing  Ardella !  A highly experienced and talented costumer,   Ardella  has been a  cosplay  inspiration for me since I went to my first ever con in costume and saw her as Poison Ivy. You might know her as Power Girl, Jessica Rabbit or Black Canary! Today we’re going to be having a chat about being a  cosplay  role model and the  ins and outs of the  cosplay  community both online and in person. So first of all, hello and thank you for sitting down with me for Geek of Oz! Ardella :   Hello! You've been  cosplaying  for a long time now and you’re quite establ ished  with in the Australian  cosplay   scene. What is it about  cosplaying  at events and conventions that keeps you coming back? It doesn’t seem like that long to me! I’m still shocked when I realise it’ s been seven years since I attended my first convention.  What drew me to my first convention was the fact that my favourite voice actor at the time was goi

*CLOSED* Win an AWESOME RoboCop Prize Pack

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Thanks to the fine folks at Sony Pictures we've got 5x AWESOME prize packs to give away to celebrate the release of RoboCop in cinemas from February 6th. Each lucky winner will receive the following: 1x double in-season pass to see the film 1x ROBOCOP bottle opener in the shape of RoboCop's helmet 1x RoboCop magnet In RoboCop , the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years, but have been forbidden for law enforcement in America. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured, OmniCorp sees their chance to build a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions

Guilty Crown (Blu Ray) Review

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It's always refreshing when an anime series comes along that transcends fanboy hype, grabs you by the face and demands your attention. That series is Guilty Crown. Like a Eden of the East/Code Geass hybrid, Guilty Crown builds a world which is both instantly identifiable and futuristically foreign. "Shu's entire world was shattered after a meteorite crashed into Japan, unleashing the lethal Apocalypse Virus. The chaos and anarchy born of the outbreak cost Shu his family and reduced him to a timid, fearful shell of the boy he'd once been. His life took another unexpected turn after a chance encounter with the stunning pop star, Inori. This mysterious beauty introduced Shu to the King's Right Hand: a genetic mutation that allows him to reach into hearts of mortals and turn them into weapons." - Madman Firstly, I can't believe that "From the Director of Shingeki no Kyojin" isn't plastered all over every piece of marketing for this ser

The Wolf of Wall Street Review

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For his latest film, The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese adheres to the old adage: ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. The diminutive maestro has been cranking out epic crime films for the past forty years. The Wolf of Wall Street is draped in debauchery and proudly indulges in oodles of sex, drugs and naughtiness whilst still acting as a searing indictment of what damage Wall Street traders were able to do throughout the late 80s and into the 90s. This is the kind of film which will either make you hate corporate corruption or go out and buy some shares. Based upon Jordan Belfort’s autobiography of the same name, the film tracks his rise to prominence off the back of some ingenious yet shady loopholes within the stock market. On the way up the corporate food chain, Belfort brings along his closest friends Donnie (Jonah Hill), Brad (Jon Bernthal), Chester (Kenneth Choi) and Nicky (P. J Byrne), all good New Jersey boys who blindly follow the charismatic Belfort through thick

*CLOSED* Win RIDDICK on DVD

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Thanks to the good folks at Roadshow, we've got 4 copies of the action packed RIDDICK to give away on DVD. Richard B Riddick, the baddest metallic eyed mofo this side of Gliese 581 is back and he's madder than ever. Comparable to the original sleeper hit, Pitch Black, Riddick sees the Furian outlaw alone and fighting for survival on a distant planet which is nearly as dangerous as he is. All you have to do is fill out the form below and you're in the running to win a copy. Don't forget, you can get yourself a bonus entry just by  following us on Twitter  or  liking us on Facebook!

The Witcher 3 Gets Aussie Release by Bandai Namco Games

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Those of us who have already made the jump onto next gen consoles can start to cheer because 2014 is looking to be an insane year for games. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt doesn't even have a release date yet but it's still earned 88 gaming awards! It's east to see why it's so highly regarded. The previous games were fantastically rich, brutal and polished so this pending incarnation should be incredible. Luckily for Aussie gamers,  The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been confirmed for a local release by the good folks at Namco Bandai Games.

47 Ronin Audio Review

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After the screening of 47 Ronin tonight Christof, Stu and Ryan sat at Geek HQ (Ryan's car) and recorded their thoughts for an audio review. Then, not content with their rambling, they recorded a super spoiler rant about certain elements of the film. Be warned, don't listen to the second audio file unless you're fine with spoilers because it's riddled with them! Click the play button below to stream it from your desktop or right click HERE to download our review. Click the play button below to stream our rant filled dissection of certain scenes in the film or click HERE to download it. Be forewarned, it is FILLED with spoilers. We also filmed some of the recording process for your viewing pleasure...

Kokoro Connect (TV) Blu Ray Review

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Somewhat of a cross between Freaky Friday and K-On!, Kokoro Connect is a fun, sometimes cringeworthy series about a bunch of friends who try to maintain their secrets and composure after body-swapping with friends. "There’s a student exchange problem in the Cultural Study group. You’ve heard of foreign exchange in high school, but body exchange?  Having seemingly been caught up in the whims of a supernatural character called Heartseed; Taichi, Iori, Himeko, Yoshifumi and Yui are about to learn more about each other than most. Not only are they switching bodies, they’re switching genders! Now they’re truly discovering things about each other, including stuff that go beyond basic anatomy. Every member of the Cultural Study group is hiding something, but how long can it stay a secret when their body is no longer their own, and they can't keep watch 24/7? It just might be time for them to face their demons" - Hanabee The cringeworthy moments in this s

*CLOSED* Massive Madman Giveaway

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Thanks to our pals at Madman we've got some of newest and coolest anime to give away. All you have to do is fill out the form below and you could win one of the following: -  Sword Art Online Volume 1 & 2 (Blu Ray or DVD) -  Guilty Crown Collection 1 & 2 (Blu Ray or DVD) -  Michiko and Hatchin Collection 1 & 2 (Blu Ray or DVD) That's right! You'll get volume 1 & 2 of one of the cool series listed above. All you have to do is fill out the form below and you're in the running. Don't forget, you can get yourself a bonus entry just by  following us on Twitter  or  liking us on Facebook!