Halo: Campaign Evolved: PS5 Review

Developed by Halo Studios
Published by Xbox Game Studios
Platform: PS5

MasterChief is back. 

But this time, he's come to a new console, bringing the iconic combat and fighting style he's renowned for on the XBox and upgrading it with this from-the-ground-up remake of the 2001 Halo: Combat Evolved game.

It's interesting that as a linear story, Halo: Campaign Evolved is singularly about shooting one thing, shooting the next and moving onto your next objective. Deep it isn't, but fun it certainly is thanks to a fluid combat style, no real jarring on the graphics front and an idea that really, these games are just about corralling chaos and unleashing it on screen.

Perhaps that won't be for some - during the 10 hours of campaign, there's little else to do but shoot as enemies drop, your weapons run out and you steal from others before unleashing hell. It's not like it's filled with side quests and in some ways, that 2001 simplicity is both the game's winning strategy and its Achilles Heel.

After a while, combat can simply start to feel quite repetitive, no matter how well thought out the corridors and maps are - it's just the reality of a game that's not there to do anything other than release bullet sponges and enable you to go mad with them.

From plasma rifles to Needlers, the weapon list is relentless, and delivers plenty of options to fire up your arsenal. Battling through spaceships, fighting the Covenant and its masses, the game's pretty full on and while the haptics are not well deployed on the PS5 version, the game's fluidity and speed makes up for the fact some of the simpler basics are missing.

With zoom in handling, better capabilities for driving vehicles and the chance to keep on playing without noticing any breaks in the Unreal Engine upgrade, Halo: Campaign Evolved will appeal to those who've always loved the MasterChief franchise.

But it's perhaps a harder sell for newer fans who've never really been exposed to the gung-ho world of the Halo franchise, given it's a remake of a 2001 game with a simpler ethos. The game's playable enough, yet crucially, it occasionally feels like it's too disposable to simply put down and leave for another time.

With bonus missions though and a commitment to space-age carnage, Halo: Campaign Evolved is a solid enough game to blast away the time.

Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant: Q&A with star Hannah Lynch

Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant follows Mary, a layabout slacker living at home (played by Hannah Lynch).
Wasting her days, she stumbles into an odd sexual encounter with her neighbour's son, Boo, played by Arlo Green.
And from there, things get more than a little crazy...

Hannah took some time to chat before the film's NZ premiere at the Auckland leg of the New Zealand International Film Festival on August 7. For more details on the film, head to nziff.co.nz

How on earth did you get approached for this film? 

I got the audition for the short film Help, I’m Alien Pregnant through my agency and looked at the logline with some intrigue and confusion I’ll admit. When I saw it was THUNDERLIPS I was immediately down, I’d previously watched their music video for Sheep, Dog and Wolf - Glare which I loved. I watched that music video so many times when it came out in 2014. Then I was like, these guys have a vision I’m sure of it. 

What was your initial reaction to the plot and the pitch? 

My initial reaction was to the short film. I thought the concept was pretty insane, really funny and I liked that THUNDERLIPS were taking a big swing with their filmmaking. After talking a lot to the producer Alix Whittaker about how the project came to be, being that it is based on the pregnancy she experienced, I felt confident to do this project with them all about a female body in the medical system as well as all of the insanity. 

At its heart, aliens aside, the key to this film is the relationship between Mary and her mum, played by Yvette Parsons. Can you talk a little about how you found the right groove for this soon-to-be-iconic relationship? 

Yvette and I had worked previously on James Ashcroft’s film The rule of Jenny Penn and we just got on like a house on fire. We realised both our mothers are Fijian and also, she remembered my mother from their meeting in childhood! 

From there we spent heaps of time together, which was easy because Yvette is the funniest person I’ve ever met. We would improvise all the time as mother and daughter because we thought we were funny. 

What was it like being on set for this one? Were there ever any outrageous moments that made you wonder what was next? 

It was a fun set! I love being on them when it feels like hanging out with your mates. There were many, many outrageous moments. The most insane was shooting in the set at the film's conclusion. The slime was freezing but the nest would get super-hot and sitting in the goo for days on end became its own kind of psychedelic experience. 

What do you make of the final film with all the trippy FX, both visual and practical? 

I love the practical FX. I think it's so cool to put the effort and energy into practicality, especially at a time when everything is becoming so digitally precarious. Make live stuff. 

What was it like the first time you saw Arlo Green's character's intimate bits? 

They tried to hide the prosthetics from me until we were shooting the reveal but then it was so chaotic in the moment; there were lots of people puppeting the prosthetic and setting off sparks that I was too overwhelmed to take it in. 

I got a look later, it's fierce!

Why do you think New Zealand filmmakers are so good at the comedy horror genre? 

Maybe because New Zealanders are typically pretty nonchalant in the face of danger which often makes it funnier. Fear and humour - it just works. 

What do you want audiences to get from this film? 

I hope people have a laugh, give their mum a call and remember that you have autonomy over your life. Follow your own hunch! 

What's the one film you'll be going to at the Film festival and why? 

I’m really, really excited to see the shorts programmes this year! So many amazing up and coming filmmakers in this country. Also excited to see Rose, Sandra Huller is my obsession. 

What's next for you? 

I’m playing lots of music at the moment! Just released an album and am playing a release show on the 29th of August at Kahui St David’s, come through if you like to have fun!

Whispers in the Woods: Movie Review

Director: Vincent Munier 

Famed French wildlife photographer Vincent Munier takes viewers on an utterly incredible visual journey in Whispers in the Woods, a movie about the connection between man and nature, as well as the bond between stories and generations.

In Le chant des Forets (its French title), the Velvet Queen director delivers some stunning visuals as he negotiates the forests of Vosges in Eastern France, the home of bears, deer, owls, lynxes and others, with his grandson.

To say that Whispers in the Woods is part of slow cinema is both an understatement and a disservice. 

Whilst it's true the pace is almost glacial at times, the film's commitment is to both its soundtrack, which charts the aural world around us, and its visuals which prove life in all its forms is a wondrous thing.

Whether it's mist burning off from the forests to reveal the trees ("A sense of resurrection," Munier intones magnificently as the camera hangs on the spectacle) or shots of animals sticking their heads out of dead trees unexpectedly, Whispers in the Woods returns the kind of awe to the landscape which has been largely missing from the big screen for years and shoves nature to the forefront.

Whilst there's also a message about climate change destroying life in the forest, Munier's also keen to take the earpods out of our ears and listen to the shrill noise of the birds, the stirring sounds of the wildlife and to appreciate what we have on our doorstep.

As well as the message of not hurrying deforestation, there's a subtle second thread at play here - one of generational connection and passing on information to kin. Munier spends the time in the woods with his grandson, educating him on where to look, when to listen and as a result, the bond between them grows.

A stunning bigscreen outing, Whispers in the Woods offers a kind of solace rarely witnessed in the cinema these days - it's an incredible tribute to the simplicity of life in all of its various forms.

Whispers in the Woods is playing at the New Zealand International Film Festival - for screening times, visit nziff.co.nz

Rose of Nevada: Movie Review

Cast: George Mackay, Callum Turner, Francis Magee, Edward Rowe, Rosalind Eleazar 
Director: Mark Jenkin

British director Mark Jenkin returns to the world of Cornwall in the third of his Cornish trilogy films, a low-key scifi horror that mixes elements of Triangle with a level of existential dread that seizes on the nature and eco-system of living in a fishing town.

It starts with the creaking sounds of a boat, before segueing into shots of rope, moorings and birds - and before long, the sounds that offer comfort within a seaside community become something a little more disconcerting, thanks to Jenkin's use of still shots and an atmosphere of unease.

It's the tale of Nick (1917's George MacKay) and Liam (Callum Turner) a pair of desperate men trying to find work to cover various problems in their lives - be it leaking rooves or a need to pay for drinks down the local pub.

When the boat the Rose of Nevada reappears in the waters on a Cornish dock having been last seen in 1993, its owner Michael (Rowe) gives the two the chance to make some cash and go out on a trawling mission for a few days. But when they return to shore, both Nick and Liam find different lives awaiting them.

There's a touch of an elemental Cornish folktale here as Jenkin stacks the story with mystery, preferring to trade on the atmosphere rather than any form of direct explanation. For some, that may prove frustrating as answers are not forthcoming and the reason for the timeslipping nature of what's going on remains directly opaque.

But what emerges from Rose of Nevada is a sense of style amid the foreboding. Like a kind of Wicker Man vibe that taps into the unending implied menace of winding Cornish backroads, Jenkin turns the sea into something mystical and menacing. But he also builds a sense of community too, something that's key only to fishing towns where everything hangs on the quality and quantity of the catch.

The film's key inspiration is delusion and madness, as opposed to outright fear, and while Turner's Liam leans into the life that he's found, Nick is horrified - leading to an emotional ending that most won't expect.

Rose of Nevada is an oblique tale that once again showcases Jenkin as an esoteric unique British film voice. It's a voyage worth taking, if only for an unknown destination that will spark plenty of discussion.

Rose of Nevada is playing at the New Zealand International Film Festival - for times, see nziff.co.nz

Dead Man's Wire: Movie Review

Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Al Pacino, Colman Domingo, Myha'la
Director: Gus Van Sant

Aiming squarely at crowd-pleasing and the little guy taking on the big guy, Dead Man's Wire's tale of one man fighting back against the big banks is a simple heist story that's well told and excellently executed.

Skarsgård is Indianapolis man Tony Kiritsis, who after defaulting on his mortgage, heads to the downtown offices of the company with the sole intention of taking the owner (Al Pacino) hostage. However, when he discovers that the boss is away on an impromptu trip, he seizes the son Richard (Montgomery) and wires him up to a noose with a shotgun on the other side of it.

But after his demands for an apology, immunity and money break down, he ropes in the local voice of Indianapolis, DJ Fred Temple (an ever-magnetic Domingo) to help him achieve his goal.

Tapping into both the 1977 vibe and the heist ethos proves to be highly effective fare for Van Sant here, marking one of his most accessible films for years. It's bolstered by the fact Skarsgård disappears so completely into the role of Kiritsis, keeping him both nervy but also recognisable enough as the everyman driven to the edge by corporate greed.

As Van Sant walks the line between a retelling of these true-life events and creating a fictional and gripping story, he manages to ensure that loyalty lies largely with Kiritsis, whose nervy charisma and outright paranoia prove to be fertile ground for some playful moments.

Whether it's the grotesquerie of the spectacle appearing on live TV (footage of which is referenced at the end) or the moments where Richard's father cruelly dismisses the plight of his son as he mulls over the fact admitting guilt would be career suicide, there's a kind of timeliness that swathes much of Dead Man's Wire in a contemporary feel even though it's 50 years ago the events took place.

Coupled with the fact Skarsgård perfectly delivers a protagonist who even has the nerve to catch up with old colleagues while holding a shotgun to someone's head on live TV, Dead Man's Wire has the kind of incredulous flair you can't help falling for.

Dead Man's Wire is playing at the New Zealand International Film Festival - for screening times, visit nziff.co.nz

Whistle: Movie Review

Director: Christopher Nelius

As light as a song on the breeze, director Christopher Nelius' Whistle (not to be confused with the recent horror movie of the same name) is as genial and pleasant as they come - and content to let its subjects do the talking.

Or in this case, the competitive whistling.

Assembling a mix of global competitors who all just put their lips together and blow may seem like the kind of assignment that quirky investigative journalist David Farrier would have done years ago, but this has all the elements of a best in show style doco you'd expect.

There's the ever-so slightly out of control self-appointed director of the event (Carol Anne Kaufman), the competitor (Yuki) from Japan who always places second or third at the Masters of Musical Whistling competition, a Spanish genius who's doing it for the first time (Ayna) - the list goes on.

But as the camera follows the build-up to the 3-day event, what emerges instead of a gently mocking tone is something that salutes the camaraderie and support of each other - and when one competitor simply loses the art of how to whistle on stage for his first-ever appearance, it's somehow amusing and utterly devastating.

It's in the smaller moments that Nelius fashions something heartwarming and universal. Whether it's catching Carol Anne in micromanaging mode, berating a store seller who she feels is underselling the chocolate prices despite the standee's protestations nobody is buying anyway, or catching the moments some of the competitors live their lives outside of the event, Nelius builds something that's both warm and engaging, even if it is a little corny.

Unashamedly feel-good and with plenty of heart, Whistle's grounded commitment to a colourful cross-section of humanity makes this perhaps one of the most crowd-pleasing films of the year - even if it's not the most technically original.

Whistle is playing at the New Zealand International Film Festival - for screening times, visit nziff.co.nz