Menno_Houtman Reviews

Flee (2021)

On the Run

[8/10 · 21 March 2022]

The story here is about Amin, a man from Afghanistan who needs to outrun his country because of the war.

The story presented here is really impactful and it is a very relevant one. What I really liked here is the documentary style of storytelling mixed with the animated and cartoon like visuals. At certain points this also gets interrupted by real life footage which makes these scenes even more impactful since the cartoon like visuals may suggest that this is a made-up story but by presenting it with real-life footage at certain points you see that these types of situations are real.

And as Amin is on the run he is also struggling with how to express his sexuality. This gives the story some more depth since it is not only about war and being on the run but also how a child growing up in this kind of situation is forced to deal with other aspects of life.

Overall, I found this film to be quite impactful and told in a very intriguing and fresh way. It definitely makes you think about war and the world and what type of impact it has on people and especially children.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

Leatherface is back!

[4/10 · 15 March 2022]

There is not much to say about this one. It is another reboot of a popular horror franchise and as usual the tropes are therefore here.

The setup of the story is just unrealistic, the choices made by the characters are somewhat questionable and of course Leatherface after being away for 50 years can still survive everything and kill everyone he sees with his trustworthy companion, the chainsaw.

Overall, there is not much here in depth or story but it makes it up for in the gore department. So if you like horror this can be a somewhat fun watch and its runtime is fortunately not that long.

Battlefield V (2018 Video Game)

Another Battlefield

[6/10 · 8 February 2022]

Battlefield is a series that I got into when playing the 4th installment and I have always liked the gameplay presented. However, here, Battlefield remains kind of the same in comparison to Battlefield 1 with not many innovations. This is not necessarily a bad thing because the multiplayer remains easy to hop in and to have fun for some matches. Where I found Battlefield V to be lacking is in the campaign. The stories told are pretty interesting because they tell stories of the Second World War that are not often highlighted in media and I was genuinely interested in them. Where it falls flat here is the gameplay design (and especially on higher difficulties). The levels first start out with some stealth which does not work well on higher difficulties since you basically cannot sneak past them without them noticing you even if you just try to look around a corner to see if there are enemies at all. And at the end you get this big map where you basically do the same but now you need to travel between long distances. The last two war stories did try to mix it up a bit but this was still lackluster since it then became your standard first person shooter affaire. Overall, I think that Battlefield V is not a bad game, but that it definitely needs some changes in its campaign (especially the design) to convey these stories better. I hope that the next Battlefield I play is going to innovate more and that it does not solely rely on its multiplayer because in my opinion this only stays fun for some casual games.