Tag: Neil Druckmann

REVIEW: The Last of Us – “Look for the Light”

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie in HBO’s THE LAST OF US — PHOTO: HBO / Liane Hentscher.

The following is a recap and review of the ninth episode and season finale of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect story spoilers.

In the ninth and final episode of the first season of the HBO adaptation of the critically acclaimed video game franchise known as The Last of Us — titled Look for the Light — Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) finally reach the hospital that they’ve been moving towards. But how will the Fireflies greet them? Look for the Light was directed by Ali Abbasi (Holy Spider and The Last of Us: When We Are In Need) and written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann.

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REVIEW: The Last of Us – “Left Behind”

Bella Ramsey as ‘Ellie’ and Storm Reid as ‘Riley’ in HBO’s THE LAST OF US — PHOTO: HBO / Liane Hentscher.

The following is a recap and review of the seventh episode of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect story spoilers.

In the seventh episode of the first season of the HBO adaptation of the masterful video game franchise known as The Last of Us — titled Left Behind — we flash back to Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) in FEDRA school. She gets into fights in school and may be headed down the wrong path in life, but then an old friend, Riley (played by Storm Reid), stops by and gives her an adventure in a nearby mall. Left Behind was directed by Liza Johnson and written by Neil Druckmann (co-creator of The Last of Us video game franchise).

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REVIEW: The Last of Us – “Kin”

Gabriel Luna as ‘Tommy’ and Pedro Pascal as ‘Joel’ in HBO’s THE LAST OF US — PHOTO: HBO / Liane Hentscher.

The following is a recap and review of the sixth episode of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect story spoilers.

In the sixth episode of the first season of the HBO adaptation of the masterful video game franchise known as The Last of Us — titled Kin — Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) reach Wyoming and search for Joel’s brother, Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna), and Joel starts having panic attacks. Kin was directed by Jasmila Žbanić (Quo Vadis, Aida?) and written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl).

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REVIEW: The Last of Us – “Endure and Survive”

Keivonn Woodard as ‘Sam’ and Bella Ramsey as ‘Ellie’ in HBO’s THE LAST OF US — PHOTO: HBO / Liane Hentscher.

The following is a recap and review of the fifth episode of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect story spoilers.

In the fifth episode of the first season of the HBO adaptation of the masterful video game franchise known as The Last of Us — titled Endure and Survive — Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) team up with two brothers, Henry (played by Lamar Johnson) and Sam (played by Keivonn Woodard), in an attempt to get out of Kansas City safely. Endure and Survive was directed by Jeremy Webb (The Last of Us: Please Hold to My Hand) and written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl).

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REVIEW: The Last of Us – “Please Hold to My Hand”

Bella Ramsey as ‘Ellie’ and Pedro Pascal as ‘Joel’ in HBO’s THE LAST OF US — PHOTO: HBO / Liane Hentscher.

The following is a recap and review of the fourth episode of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect story spoilers.

In the fourth episode of the first season of the HBO adaptation of the masterful video game franchise known as The Last of Us — titled Please Hold to My Hand — Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) are on their way to Wyoming to find Joel’s brother. But when they have to take a detour, they are ambushed in Kansas City. Please Hold to My Hand was directed by Jeremy Webb (Downton Abbey; The Umbrella Academy) and written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl).

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REVIEW: The Last of Us – “Long Long Time”

Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank in HBO’s THE LAST OF US — PHOTO: HBO / Liane Hentscher.

The following is a recap and review of the third episode of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect story spoilers.

In the third episode of the first season of the HBO adaptation of the masterful video game franchise known as The Last of Us — titled Long Long Time — Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) make their way toward the home of two of Joel and Tess’ allies. As they make their way and Joel tells Ellie about the pre-and post-outbreak world, we get to know Bill (played by Nick Offerman) and Frank (played by Murray Bartlett) in an expanded flashback that takes us all the way to ‘the present day.’ Long Long Time was directed by Peter Hoar (Daredevil; It’s A Sin) and written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl).

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REVIEW: The Last of Us – “Infected”

Bella Ramsey as ‘Ellie’ and Anna Torv as ‘Tess’ in HBO’s THE LAST OF US — PHOTO. HBO / Liane Hentscher.

The following is a recap and review of the second episode of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect story spoilers.

In the second episode of the first season of the HBO adaptation of the masterful video game franchise known as The Last of Us — titled Infected — Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) begrudgingly agrees to escort Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey), alongside his longtime smuggling partner, Tess (played by Anna Torv), to the Old State House in Boston. On their way there, Ellie sees what longtime infection can turn someone into. Infected was directed by Neil Druckmann (television directorial debut) and written by Craig Mazin.

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REVIEW: The Last of Us – “When You’re Lost In The Darkness”

Nico Parker’s Sarah and Pedro Pascal’s Joel on outbreak day in THE LAST OF US — PHOTO: HBO / Shane Harvey.

The following is a recap and review of the first episode of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect story spoilers.

The Last of Us is my favorite video game ever made. I hold it in the highest regard as one of my favorite stories. The game, and its sequel too, is a heart-wrenching, fully absorbing masterpiece that does a lot with the zombie genre. Now HBO has decided to have it adapted into a television series. The show is created by one of the game’s creative directors, Neil Druckmann, as well as the creator of HBO’s incredible Chernobyl series, Craig Mazin, and it features a stellar cast from top to bottom with actors such as Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Anna Torv (Fringe), Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones), and others. 

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Look for the Light: The Last of Us: Part II is a Truly Special Game

The Last of Us: Part II – Naughty Dog – Sony – PS4 Screenshot

The following article features story spoilers for the entirety of both The Last of Us and The Last of Us: Part II. Do not read the article before you finish both games.

In 2013, Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us — my favorite video game ever made —  was released exclusively on PlayStation 3 (it was later remastered on PlayStation 4) to near-universal praise and numerous accolades. On the surface-level, this was a survival horror game in the zombie sub-genre. But it was also so much more than that. It was a story about love and rediscovering something to fight for. Gamers primarily played as Joel Miller (Troy Baker), a smuggler without scruples, who was tasked with transporting a young girl, Ellie (Ashley Johnson), across the United States for the purpose of crafting a vaccine to the fungal virus that had turned infected humans into ruthless barely-human creatures without rational thought. Continue reading “Look for the Light: The Last of Us: Part II is a Truly Special Game” →

Casting the HBO adaptation of THE LAST OF US – Special Features #65

HBO and PlayStation recently announced that Chernobyl-creator Craig Mazin will develop a series adaptation of the hit PlayStation game THE LAST OF US with Neil Druckmann, who was the writer and co-creative director on the original game. Druckmann is also one of the chief creatives working on the game’s highly anticipated sequel, THE LAST OF US: PART II. As I’ve definitely written before, THE LAST OF US is my favorite game ever made. It is a masterpiece. So, today, I want to give my updated opinions about who should play the game’s main characters in the upcoming HBO adaptation. Continue reading “Casting the HBO adaptation of THE LAST OF US – Special Features #65” →