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        <title><![CDATA[Reviews - Frogfear - reviews of movies, comics, television and books]]></title>
        <description><![CDATA[Frogfear - reviews of science fiction, fantasy and other movies, comics, television and books]]></description>
        <link>http://www.frogfear.com/</link>
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            <title><![CDATA[Reviews - Frogfear - reviews of movies, comics, television and books]]></title>      
            <url>http://www.frogfear.com/images/stories/frog.png</url>            
            <link>http://www.frogfear.com/</link>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">40-41</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[Long John Silver (Vol. 2) - Neptune: Sails up!]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/comics/40-long-john-silver-vol2-neptune</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                As in the original review of the first volume, the art and story continues to enchant, with some wonderful plot twists. If first volume was mostly on land this volume is concentrated on the sea, and what a marvellous and cruel beauty it is. If they ever make this into a movie, I do not know how they can capture the feeling in the same fashion without loosing something. The story continues to dig slightly deeper on the main characters, although some other minor characters could have perhaps used some more fleshing up. I was also left wanting perhaps more detail about the journey itself, but what was told left little to complain... I simply would like more of it.

Overall very enjoyable periodical story that feels right to the period. This is not one of those stories where setting is historical but characters add modern way. Everything feels right, even if tale itself is of course fiction.                ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Comics]]></category>
                <pubDate>Sun, 07 Aug 2011 21:37:54 +0100</pubDate>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">39-40</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[Long John Silver (Vol. 1) - Lady Vivian Hastings: Pirates life for me!]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/comics/39-long-john-silver</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                This is one of the graphic novels I bought purely based on the art when I saw it in a local store. I did not know anything about it besides that it probably had to do with pirates because of the title. 

Art did not disappoint. The line art and colours are very beautiful combination, and capture perfectly the spirit of the world gone by. The ships and backgrounds have a lot of detail but are done in lively manner rather than with a ruler. There is reference page attached to this article, and I am sure you can find more example for instance in Forbidden Planet's article about the subject.

Story did not fall short either, as to my delight it kept me interested to the end, telling how and why the certain people are selected to sail to the end of the world after a lost treasure (or husband). Many characters have their own angle and plot lines that are to be resolved in volumes to come. As often the case with French titles, this is not endless run. I do not know how many volumes it will have, but there are currently three in French.                 ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Comics]]></category>
                <pubDate>Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:36:28 +0100</pubDate>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">38-39</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[Eve Online review: A world made by thousands of players]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/games/38-eve-online-review</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                There are many MMOs out there, but most seem to be inspired by World of Warcraft, the market leader. Eve Online is an exception. As well as being set in space, rather than in a fantasy world of dragons and elves, it does away with the traditional formula of classes, levels and experience points.

In Eve Online, any character can learn any skill. You choose what you want to learn, and you also choose how to spend your time - whether taking part in massive space battles for the control of space, doing missions for agents, researching and building spaceships or transporting goods across space.

The level of freedom Eve gives to players can be daunting if you are more used to MMOs which tell you what to do and where to go. But it also makes for a far more compex and immersive game, for those who stick with it.

The result is a world which really is made by the players. It's players that control the economy and, across much of the map, it's players who decide who owns which bit of space. There's a heavy PvP element but if you prefer to play it safe you can stick to the relatively safe areas of the map where PvP combat is restricted.                ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Games]]></category>
                <pubDate>Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:06:00 +0100</pubDate>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">37-38</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1969: Paint It Black]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/comics/37-the-league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen-century-1969-review</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                The basic idea behind The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a brilliant one - well-known characters from vintage fantasy fiction, such as the Invisible Man, Captain Nemo and Dr Jekyll get together to fight nefarious enemies such as Fu Manchu and Professor Moriarty.

By this stage in the series, however, the only well-known name left is Mina Harker, Dracula's former love. She is accompanied by two less well-known characters, as they take on a demon in the swinging sixties, complete with drugs, a fair amount of nudity and a rock and roll band loosely based on the Rolling Stones.                ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Comics]]></category>
                <pubDate>Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:18:58 +0100</pubDate>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">36-37</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[Joss Whedon's Firefly Review: Cowboys in space from the creator of Buffy]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/television/36-joss-whedons-firefly-review</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                After producing Buffy and Angel, Joss Whedon turned his hand to science fiction. The result was Firefly, a science fiction show with a cowboy mentality.

After being on the wrong side of a stellar civil war, captain Malcolm Reynolds becomes a low-level outlaw, travelling the known worlds with a diverse crew and making money any way he can.

The story begins as he picks up passengers - straightlaced doctor Simon Tam and his sister, River. The problem is that Simon and River are fugitives, and picking them up means that Malcolm and his crew are now at the top of the authorities' wanted list.

It's an interesting premise, bought to life by a fine ensemble cast. And the world they live in is interesting too - the United States and China have joined forces to create the Alliance, a body which rules the inhabited planets featured in the show. The result is a mismatch of cultures and languages.

Only 14 episodes of Firefly were produced, and they're all here. The show was cancelled prematurely, but the fan outcry was such that a film, Serenity, was later produced to finish off the story.                ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Television]]></category>
                <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:38:05 +0100</pubDate>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">35-36</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[Black Swan Review: A tale of two ballerinas]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/movies/35-black-swan-review</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                Reality begins to crumble for Natalie Portman's Nina, as she struggles to cope with the pressure of landing the lead role in Swan Lake.

While she's at home playing the virginal white swan, the role also calls for her to portray the seductive black swan.

Under pressure from her manipulative company director, her clingy mother and her own fear of failing, Nina becomes increasingly desperate. Things aren't helped by the recent arrival of a new dancer in the company, the wild Lily, played by Mila Kunis, who seems to be all the things Nina's not.

The viewer experiences Nina's world collapsing along with her. It's expertly told by Darren Aronofsky, and set, of course, to Tchaikovsky's wonderful music.

Some reviews have hailed Black Swan for its originality and intensity. It perhaps won't seem so novel to fans of Asian horror, as it has a lot in common with films like Audition or A Tale of Two Sisters. But that's intended as a compliment.                ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>
                <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:49:56 +0100</pubDate>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">34-35</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[Alien Anthology Review: "They're coming outta the goddamn walls!"]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/movies/34-review-alien-anthology</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                Who would have thought the first Alien movie was released in 1979? It's still a fantastic movie by today's standards, and it's never looked better than here in the Alien Anthology boxed set, in high definition with full 5.1 surround sound. The set even includes a new(ish) director's cut from Ridley Scott, although it's debatable whether this is superior to the original version.

The high quality, and the massive wealth of extras, is replicated for each of the four movies in this boxed set. There's also a detailed documentary on the making of every film, and the disagreements that plagued some of the productions are discussed openly.

Alien and the sequel, Aliens, are the two classic movies in the series. Alien3 is deeply flawed, although this set includes a special edition showing how the film looked before the studio messed around with it, which is vastly superior to the version that appeared in cinemas.

Alien Resurrection, the fourth film in the series, is, unfortunately, a run-of-the-mill monster movie set in space, but it's certainly not a bad film.

Overall, this set contains at least two great movies and a wealth of extra features, and offers great value for money.
                ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>
                <pubDate>Mon, 30 May 2011 20:49:04 +0100</pubDate>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">32-34</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Seven Review: "What was the highlight of our relationship - when you broke up with me, or when I killed you?"]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/television/32-review-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-season-seven</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my favourite television show, and when it's at its best I would argue it can only be matched by The Sopranos or The Wire. It's one of the greatest shows ever made, in other words.

So this, the seventh and final season, comes as a huge disappointment. It's like watching an entirely different show which happens to have characters with the same name. The fun, the laughter, the life seems to have been sucked out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And that may seem kind of appropriate, but it's not.

In Buffy season seven the drama becomes melodrama, the characters lose their purpose and the jokes aren't funny.

The plot has Buffy facing "the First", the most powerful villain (traditionally known as the "big bad" by Buffy fans) she's yet encountered.

But the First can't actually do anything except appear as an incorporeal form and taunt people.

Meanwhile, Spike spends the entire season having a nervous breakdown and feeling sorry for himself. Willow spends the season recovering from the nervous breakdown she had last season, and feeling sorry for herself. Giles returns to treating Buffy like a child, for no apparent reason. And Xander has nothing to do at all.

If you're a fan of the show you probably want to see how it all ends, and in fairness the show does have a definitive ending in the final episode. There's no cop-out there.

But it's not enough to save a lousy season of bad television - made all the more disappointing because it follows so many moments of genius in previous seasons.                ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Television]]></category>
                <pubDate>Fri, 27 May 2011 20:14:12 +0100</pubDate>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">31-33</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Six Review: "I'm pretty spry for a corpse"]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/television/31-review-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-season-six</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                Season six sees Buffy the Vampire turn dark - perhaps too dark. Buffy's back from the dead, but it soon becomes clear that she hates her life so much she'd rather be in the grave. Meanwhile, Willow becomes "addicted" to black magic, in a clumsy drug abuse metaphor.

It could have worked - after all, Season Five sees Buffy dealing with the death of her mother, which is about as bleak as it goes - if the show still had that Joss Whedon humour and flair. But for whatever reason, Whedon's touch appears to be absent, perhaps because he was off doing other things and left season six in the hands of colleagues.

It's all rescued, to an extent, in the final four episodes, when the gang's problems come to a head in dramatic fashion.

But overall, season six doesn't live up to the high standards of what's come before.                ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Television]]></category>
                <pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2011 20:26:57 +0100</pubDate>
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                <guid isPermaLink="false">30-32</guid>
                <title><![CDATA[Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Five Review: "Darn your sinister attraction"]]></title>
                                <link>http://www.frogfear.com/television/30-review-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-season-five</link>
                <description><![CDATA[
                                Buffy's faced many challenges but now she faces her biggest test yet - caring for her younger sister Dawn, as her mother receives treatment for a serious illness.

Dawn is a new character in the Buffy universe, but Buffy and the gang act as if she's always been there. It soon becomes clear that Dawn's sudden arrival is part of the storyline - and Buffy comes to suspect that her own sister is not what she appears. But who's been messing with everyone's memory, and why?

This season includes some disturbing moments, as Buffy's mother Joyce suffers from a brain tumour which causes her to behave erratically. Meanwhile, the season's villain, Glory, is brilliantly portrayed as a supremely powerful version of the fashion-obsessed valley-girl Buffy might have become in an alternative life.                ]]></description>
                <category><![CDATA[Television]]></category>
                <pubDate>Sun, 22 May 2011 19:15:53 +0100</pubDate>
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