The Dragon Age Series

For a long time, Bioware have been my go-to for games. While I could write quite a lot about the Mass Effect series, which will forever be the pinnacle for me in terms of my favourite game series ever, I’m going to be talking about Bioware’s other series: Dragon Age. Spoiler warning for the games (only marginally for the latest release of Dragon Age: Inquisition as I have not yet completed the game). So this is a brief rundown of the games and some thoughts I had about them. I'll probably write an additional commentary on Inquisition once I've completed the game.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel released its latest blockbuster last week as Guardians of the Galaxy hit the theatres in Australia. Follow me under the cut as I discuss the movie (hark! there are spoilers ahead).

Bene Watches: Historical Series

The wonderful thing about being on a university holiday break is that I can watch a bunch of tv series and then talk about them to you guys! The following is in no particular order and contains series which have been renewed, completed or cancelled, with varying degrees of success. I'm trying my best to be non-biased but that tends to be a bit hard sometimes. Please note that I often do not know where to live-stream these series but if I give it a good recommendation, buying the DVD is probably not going to be a waste of money. Light spoilers ahead.

Snow Gum River

Snow Gum River is a literary short fiction piece that unfolds around a bushranging gang in New South Wales, Australia during the late 1800s. I recently entered into the daunting world of publishing and this is my début short story which is available for free download through Smashwords here. After the break, I'll be discussing a little bit about how I came to write Snow Gum River and the process behind it. Spoilers below in case you haven't read it.

I Need A Hero(ine)

With the recent success of Marvel (and to some extent DC) Comic Films, superheroes have once again captured the attention of a wide audience outside the usual fanbase. I've read only a few comics because the graphic novel and comic format has been hard for me to get into (weird, huh?) and because I've never known where to start, there are so many layers and reboots that it’s a daunting project to try. The comic genre had also never felt accessible to me and even now I still feel deterred from entering it. It wasn’t until Iron Man (2008) that I began to feel like it was something I could begin to involve myself in, and from there, the other Phase 1 (Iron Man - Avengers) and Phase 2 (Iron Man 3 - Avengers 2) movies and my first tentative steps into the comics themselves.

So what about my superheroines? There are plenty of female superheroes in both the Marvel and DC comics and yet, even in 2014, there is a resistance to the idea of making a female superhero movie; either from the belief that the movie wouldn’t make enough money, that women don’t watch comic book movies or there wouldn’t be an audience for it. We’ve had female superhero movies before in Elektra (2005) and Catwoman (2004), both of which did rather badly. They weren’t that great in many aspects. It’s been nearly ten years; a lot has changed since they were released, and there are many other ladies to choose from. It’s time that women finally get to see female superheros on the big screen who are the lead, rather than sidekicks or love interests.

Review: Warm Bodies

To be honest, a movie was released that I never thought would actually happen. For a few people that know me well, I stated that zombie romances would never be a thing because they are nasty and gross. I also had faith in humanity that a line would be drawn somewhere. Apparently I was wrong.

Follow after the break for a spoilery review of a thing that actually happened:

Three Shows You Should Consider Watching

During my summer holidays from Uni, I managed to get a decent chunk of new tv watching in. While my taste in shows is generally towards the science-fiction/fantasy genre, there have been quite a few different shows that have piqued my interest. I also have a high tolerance for otherwise terrible shows, the good bad shows, if you will but I’ve put that aside to bring you the top three good shows. Ok, I partially lied, two good shows and one good bad. So, if you’re looking for some new shows to watch, then you’ve come to the right place. Potential (light) spoilers ahoy!

Joan of Arc and Queen Isabella of France: Impact on Women in Society

Joan of Arc and Queen Isabella had a significant impact on women in the Later Medieval English society. Whilst both Joan and Isabella came from French backgrounds and were indeed French, they both influenced and had a part in changing England. In this essay I will be looking at the events that they participated in and how it affected England and the later consequences for the women and any social changes that occurred for women of their period. The essay will also be looking at how they broke the gender stereotypes and limitations placed on them.