REVIEWS & GAMES
ONCE UPON A TIME (SEASON ONE)
If your daughters are too old for Sabrina the Teenage Witch but too young for Sookie Stackhouse and her sexy antics in True Blood, then Once Upon a Time might be just right. The premise ruling the series is that Snow White’s evil stepmother Regina cursed fairytale land, banishing everyone to Storybrooke, Maine, where they are unaware of their previous enchanted incarnation.
Snow White’s daughter Emma (Jennifer Morrison) magically escapes, but returns 28 years later (don’t ask) to become sheriff. She immediately butts heads with Regina and forms a loose alliance with evil genius Rumpelstiltskin, aka Mr Gold (Robert Carlyle).
Characters keep appearing in various guises and it’s fun to guess which of the fairytales they represent: Ruby (Red Riding Hood) works at a diner called Granny’s and Ashley (Cinderella) is a single mother while Snow White herself is a teacher, Miss Blanchard, in this world. It’s an intriguing series, designed for the Disney generation. — Aubrey Paton
PEACE, LOVE & MISUNDERSTANDING
“I’m not about to debate foreign policy with a hippie,” is the best line in this so-so movie. A promising premise — uptight New York careerwoman and two teenagers visit hippie mom in rural Woodstock — has become rather predictable and filled with stereotypical characters.
OK so Granny (Jane Fonda) is a hippie — but does she have to wear tie-dye and headbands, grow marijuana, practise free love, stage peace protests AND dance around the fire at full moon? It’s as if director Bruce Beresford sat down and brainstormed all the clichés from the flower-power ’60s and put them in.
Catherine Keener does another put-upon role as the lawyer daughter and the minute she meets Jeffrey Dean Morgan we know they’ll get together because both are tall and dark. How all the characters find love
TOMB RAIDER Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
There’s only one way to fix a franchise that has been built incorrectly over the course of 15 years — tear it down and start again. That’s exactly what this reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise does, delivering a fresh take on the once-great action-adventure game series.
This version of Lara Croft is much more innocent — at least initially — than her smug, super-sexy predecessor, but she has no choice but to learn how to handle guns quickly. The archaeological expedition she’s on leaves her and her team stranded on an uncharted island ruled by a fanatical cult which worships a goddess from an ancient proto-Japanese culture, and they have one rule — join us or die.
Most of the game involves traversing hazards and intense gunfights as Lara attempts to survive long enough to rescue her friends.
The actual tomb-raiding element is relegated to a secondary, optional role. There are plenty of tombs filled with puzzles and deathtraps, and each is unique and memorable, but you can blow right past them. It’s an odd choice, but it doesn’t make the game any less gripping. — Matthew Vice