For our final RTR Recommends of 2024, regular contributor Amber shares some of her film, TV and book highlights including the magazine's first ever video game recommendation too!
FILM: Anyone who knows me knows that this year for me has been the year of the Apes. I have long been a motion capture fan, whether it be film or video games, but for reasons unbeknownst to me I had never really played any attention to the Planet of the Apes franchise. Yet the moment Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes started playing, I was stuck in my cinema seat and completely captured. I knew instantly that this was a franchise that I desperately had to catch up on.
The film is led by a cast of talent with Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Peter Macon and Kevin Durand alongside an also insanely talented supporting cast. Nearly all of the actors went to ape school (give it a look online, I swear it’s super interesting) to learn how to move, interact and be an ape. Their dedication definitely shows with the final performances we see on screen.
20th Century Studios
Set around 300 years after its predecessor War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), Kingdom follows the young chimp Noa ( Teague) as he embarks on a mission into the unknown to retrieve his clan and family from the brutal leader Proximus Caesar ( Durand) with the help of optimistic orangutang Raka (Macon) and the silent Mae, (Allan) who may have more to her than what meets the eye.
With its stunning visual effects done by Wētā FX studios and beautiful direction by Wes Ball, the film isn’t one to miss, especially if you have a love of intricate and eye-catching visual effects, an impressive soundtrack and powerful and engrossing acting from everyone on the screen.
TV: Fallout is a TV show that immediately joined my personal list of very good video game adaptations. Based on the long running video game franchise of the same name, this series aired in April and seemingly took the internet by storm -. like most people online, you too have probably seen an edit of The Ghoul. The show’s mix of excellent visual and practical effects, true commitment to its source material and its stellar directing and acting make it a worthwhile watch. Any video game fan should give it a try if they haven’t already.
I’m personally a fan of the franchise, having played the fourth game in the series when I was younger. And having watched countless Let’s Plays, summaries and videos on its never-ending lore and narrative, I was initially nervous for how it would be turned into a show. But as soon as I saw it, I was hooked. In this telling of the story, Ella Purnell plays Vault-Tec dweller Lucy MacLean, who leaves her vault in a future post-apocalyptic Los Angeles to venture into the wasteland in a bid to find her kidnapped father. But when she surfaces, she’s greeted by the very bloody and bleak reality of the world above. And as she works to accomplish her goal, we meet Maximus (Moten), a Brotherhood of steel squire with power armour that packs more than a punch, and The Ghoul (Goggins), a gunslinger with a taste for revenge and cannibalism mixed with a long and intense past. It sounds gloomy, but with three storylines merging into one to slowly untangle secrets kept over hundreds of years, it’ll definitely grab your attention. And with a cast like Fallout’s, you're in for an entertaining ride.
BOOKS: Unfortunately this year I didn’t get a chance to read many books, but I did study After Life by Jack Thorne, a play that tackles the question that everyone has:. What comes next?
The play, based on the film of the same name by Hirokazu Kore-eda, is one of my all time favourites,. It follows a group of case workers trying to help recently deceased people choose what memory they want to relive for the rest of time in the afterlife and they have to achieve this within a week. The play gives us a look into multiple people’s lives young and old as well as their cherished memories, their regrets and the things they’ve had to leave behind. Its take on that core question has stuck with me since the first time I watched it in early 2023, and it was so moving that I cried for a while when it was done. With the theme of death being present throughout every corner of this play it is both beautiful and emotional and is worthy of checking out whenever the chance arises.
VIDEO GAMES: This isn’t a new release, but this year I enjoyed Assassins Creed: Mirage (2023), a beautiful game with an immersive environment, a gorgeous soundtrack and a brilliant voice cast. I had such fun playing it that I finished it within a few days. Though I’m a newer fan to the franchise than many, I found that this game definitely made me want to have a look at all the past titles within the series.
It’s set in 9th century Baghdad and follows Basim Ibn Ishaq (voiced by Lee Majdoub) as he joins the Hidden Ones to take down the Order of Ancients. The game is an interesting mix of Basim’s work as a Hidden One and his past, which seems to be filled with secrets even he can’t understand. This gives the game a story element to it, and you work towards uncovering the mysteries that link to our protagonist.
Mirage was released after Assassins Creed: Valhalla (another game that I’ve enjoyed quite a lot), though story timeline wise it comes before it. Basim features in both games, so if you're interested in following his story so far I’d say it’s worth checking out both. Mirage is an action-adventure with lots of stealth elements, so if that’s up your alley I’d definitely recommend it!
LGBTQ+ MOMENT: The LGBTQ+ moment of the month for me so far came from the animated show Arcane, which just wrapped its final season.
Spoilers ahead for anyone who’s still waiting to watch! But we finally got a kiss between Caitlyn and Vi! It’s one of those things that you hope will happen but you always worried it wouldn’t. Having waited almost three years since the show's first season, the anticipation of how they’d go forward with these two characters and their relationship definitely had me on edge. Cait and Vi‘s relationship is messy, there’s no doubt about that. But the kiss at the start of the season felt deserved, like it was finally getting to where the dynamic had been so obviously building towards. I know I was excited to see it happen - to the point that I actually clapped my hands and yelled in joy!
A beautifully animated series with so much to visually take in, Arcane holds its own with storylines as well. It’s worth a shot if you haven’t seen it already. You’ll find a story or a character that relates to you.
Words: Amber Smith (she/her)
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