October 28th 2023 marks the tenth anniversary of The Cainage Critique. I started writing this blog back in the first year of university; after seeing some flatmates uploading posts on their own individual hobbies, I dived in. Since then I’ve been posting constantly with this post being number 685. I migrated my work from Blogger to Wix.com, got into the YouTube scene and spread my work to many different sites including WhatCulture and Vocal Media.
As with previous anniversary posts, it’s time to look back on some of my favourite writings. This list is in no particular order, but I’ve aimed to pick a broad section of blog posts I’ve made through the years. From movie reviews all the way through to giant YouTube retrospectives, here are my personal picks...
Throughout my time at university, there were few films that I actively disliked; Batman V Superman was one of the last releases I saw before finishing bachelor’s and it was a rare release that actively angered me. Winning the Nerve Media award for best review at Bournemouth was the cherry on top of a thorough takedown.
By far the biggest surprise of 2021, Tick, Tick... Boom! was a delight from start to finish. It really pulled me back into the musical scene. This is one review where I was simply gushing with praise with not a single fault to be found across the runtime. The same uplifting feeling from the film carried through into my post.
Arriving two years after the game’s release, my review of Fallout 4 really emphasised how disappointed I was with the story and hollow RPG mechanics. I had a lot to say about how the title regressed from New Vegas and even Bethesda’s previous efforts. In many ways, the fourth Fallout represented the slow hollowing of the role-playing genre.
My first review of a new release in many years, Cyberpunk 2077 was a let-down and having poured in many hours from start to finish, I was better placed to examine the title and unpick all of its failings. Be that as it may, there were still moments of the game’s story I enjoyed which carried through to the final score.
One of the more underrated releases I’ve reviewed, Cathedral of the Sea told an intriguing story of a lowly son working his way out of poverty and earning the admiration of the community. This post led me to many foreign programmes over time. To this day, it also remains my most viewed post on Vocal Media with over 7000 in total.
Stranger Things made some huge improvements for its fourth season, succeeding at telling a more mature story despite the characters being split up into different groups. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the two volumes. Reviewing both in one go was far more satisfying and I’m really looking forward to the final chapter.
Taking steps into new territory with my first album review, Gabrielle Aplin delivered the first concert I went to and breaking a different kind of critiquing. Getting to learn about different writing styles when studying abroad in Toronto, Canada then applying them a new format was a big step for the blog, despite being less knowledgeable of the wider music industry.
Mumford and Sons really set themselves apart with many fast-paced folk tracks, but Delta was one set that I couldn’t get behind. It’s not very often that I give a bad review for a music album, but this one was a different outing. It stepped too far from their strengths and felt too slow and plodding, making for a more critical review that set itself apart from others.
This was the first thriller I had read in a while and it made a massive impression. Star Of The North is a solid standalone story that doesn’t hold back on the brutal side of North Korea. It felt modern and contemporary which made it all the more enjoyable to review. Of course I similar tales that commit to a single narrative.
I’ve always been a fan of non-fiction books and Empireland offered a very intriguing perspective on the British Empire from someone with a very different background. Sathnam Sanghera’s writing was brilliant, triggering many reflections and reconsiderations. As both a history lesson and alternative viewpoint, this review was very timely.
For some honourable mentions, here are a couple of entries from my YouTube channel:
Going back through the modern Bond films in the lead-up to No Time To Die was a great trip. I was very happy with how the edit turned out, introducing each film with their respective theme tracks and dissecting them one-by-one. Including every release in one video translated into future efforts for the Jurassic Park franchise.
Gaming retrospectives take many hours and a lot of editing to make, but the one franchise that maintained a great fun factor from start to finish was InFamous. Going back to the older PS3 titles and getting into Second Son for the first time was one of the most enjoyable videos to make.
A massive thanks to everyone who has read, commented, viewed and supported my writings over the last ten years and here’s to the next decade. You can also check out a montage of every post on my YouTube channel below.
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