After Life - Season 2 Trailer and key art debut

After Life - Season 2 Trailer and key art debut

AFTER LIFE SEASON 2

Created by and starring Ricky Gervais

AFTER LIFE returns to Netflix on 24^th April 2020 with 6 brand new episodes

Quote from Ricky Gervais:

"I was blown away by the reaction to season one. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it! It’s been truly heart-warming to see how the show has resonated with so many viewers on an emotional level. I can’t wait for everyone to see season 2 where hope is everything”

 About After Life S2:

Set in the small fictitious town of Tambury, the comedy-drama series follows Tony (Ricky Gervais), a writer for the local newspaper whose life is upended after his wife dies from cancer.

In series 2, whilst still struggling with immense grief for his wife, we see Tony try to become a better friend to those around him. Each grappling with their own problems and only to be intensified by the looming threat of the local newspaper being shut down.

Will the town’s local Am-Dram show lift everyone’s spirits?

AFTER LIFE is a Netflix original series from Derek Productions. The six-part series is created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais. Charlie Hanson is producer and Ricky Gervais and Duncan Hayes are executive producers.

Alongside Ricky Gervais, returning cast includes: Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey, Doctor Who), David Bradley (The Harry Potter series, Game of Thrones),  Ashley Jensen (Extras), Tom Basden (Plebs, David Brent: Life On The Road), Tony Way (Edge of Tomorrow), David Earl (Cemetery Junction, Derek), Joe Wilkinson (Him and Her), Kerry Godliman (Derek), Mandeep Dhillon, Jo Hartley, Roisin Conaty and Diane Morgan (David Brent: Life On The Road), Tracy-Ann Oberman (Eastenders). Also joined by: Peter Egan (Downton Abbey), Ethan Lawrence (Bad Education) and Bill Ward (Coronation Street, Emmerdale).

Playing With Fire: DVD Review

Playing With Fire: DVD Review

It's not just that Playing With Fire is bad, it's also that it's so excruciatingly bad that it extinguishes your will to get through its 95 minute run time.

From Nickleodeon, you'd expect this tale of a group of smoke jumpers, headed up by straight-laced Cena's Jake Carson, to be broad family fare. However, as this mix of Kindergarten Cop and unfunny flat oneliners proves, not everything Cena touches turns to comedy gold.

When Carson and his team rescue a group of three kids, headed up by Deadpool's Brianna Hildebrand, from a fire, they're forced to give them shelter in the firehouse for the weekend.

But the chaos of the kids in the big house causes untold issues for the uptight, emotionally stunted Carson and his compatriots. And it's further compounded when Carson finds his chance for promotion dangling in the balance.

Playing With Fire is a mix of sentimental with the silly, but unfortunately, none of it really gels together.

Slow mo shots of the firefighters early on give way to corny gags and a plot that's threadbare at best, non-existent at worst.

Sure there's the old trope of the emotionally stunted men getting in touch with their feelings, but none of it's presented well enough to be engaging.

From Keegan-Michael Key's over-emphatic No2 to Leguizamo's misquoting and My Little Pony watching firehouse chef, the film's desire to play silly and broad doesn't work, because the gags aren't amusing enough to anyone over the age of 5.

A lack of writing can't be substituted for what's needed within the film, and while Cena et al prove they don't care enough to debase themselves with what the script dictates, Playing With Fire is more an exercise in patience and tedium.

The problem is that the rewards for doing so just aren't nearly enough.

Jumanji: The Next Level: DVD Review

Jumanji: The Next Level: DVD Review

Jumanji: The Next Level is like any video game sequel.

It retains the core elements of what made the original popular, but tries to add in new elements to continue the franchise. In the second sequel to hit the Jumanji franchise, the gang returns to the game to rescue Spencer (Alex Wolff) who's been drifting and feeling lost since the first game concluded.

But this time around, Jumanji faces a new threat in the form of Rory McCann's warlord Jurgen the brutal - and it's up to Dr Bravestone and the group to save the day.

Essentially redoing the first film in many ways (even overtly in the movie's final third), Jumanji: The Next Level takes what works the first time around and retools it (only slightly though) for the sequel. Yet at times, the film feels like it's coasting by and repeating itself, only really allowing The Rock and Kevin Hart the chance to switch it up a little.

In fairness, the relationship between the two of them and the bickering banter works well as they put Danny Glover and Danny DeVito's warring oldies into the game, and giving Karen Gillan the chance to take the lead.

A couple of set-pieces impress with ostriches and mandrills, but in truth, the second is a repeat of the first, no matter how well Kasdan orchestrates them. The game may dwell on its body swap mentality, but the film this time around mixes up the avatars and brings in Glover, DeVito and Awkwafina's characters to relative comic aplomb.

However, the film's disjointed game level style plot tries awkwardly to inject a need for Hart and Johnson's characters to bicker and then try and make up, as the surprise of how and why the avatars work is out of the bag.

Ultimately, Jumanji: The Next Level is fun enough family fare, it offers enough reason to exist for the broad market it's trying to hit - it may not level up enough and will need to shake things up for the teased sequel. 

Sony unveils first look at DualSense controller

Sony unveils first look at DualSense controller

Sony has unveiled its first look at the PlayStation 5's controller.

The Dualsense aims to get more gamers physically feeling things as they use the DualSense, which Sony says will greatly heighten the sense of immersion, along with the console's audio innovations.

"We had a great opportunity with PS5 to innovate by offering game creators the ability to explore how they can heighten that feeling of immersion through our new controller," says PlayStation's Hideaki Nishino.

"This is why we adopted haptic feedback, which adds a variety of powerful sensations you'll feel when you play, such as the slow grittiness of driving a car through mud.

"We also incorporated adaptive triggers into the L2 and R2 buttons of DualSense so you can truly feel the tension of your actions, like when drawing a bow to shoot an arrow."

The DualSense has the following features -

Adaptive triggers on L2, R2 buttons
Haptic feedback
Share button is now a Create button
Built-in microphone
The touchpad has a new light bar
Rechargeable battery

“DualSense marks a radical departure from our previous controller offerings and captures just how strongly we feel about making a generational leap with PS5. The new controller, along with the many innovative features in PS5, will be transformative for games” - Sony CEO Jim Ryan

“To the PlayStation community, I truly want to thank you for sharing this exciting journey with us as we head toward PS5’s launch in Holiday 2020. We look forward to sharing more information about PS5, including the console design, in the coming months.” - Sony CEO Jim Ryan

There's no date yet for the launch of the PlayStation 5, though there is now speculation the console will be two-tone with the white and grey perhaps meshing the original PlayStation 1's colour scheme and giving it a white finish.

The console's expected to launch by Christmas 2020.

New cinema streaming platform Academy Ondemand launches

New cinema streaming platform Academy Ondemand launches

Academy Cinemas have announced the launch of a new streaming service, Academy OnDemand to continue bringing the best independent, foreign and classic titles to Kiwi audiences in a time Kiwis need it the most. 

Planning for Academy OnDemand has been underway for a number of months, but with Level 4 lockdown in effect, the streaming service’s launch has been pulled forward to ensure audiences appetite for high quality, independent film is being met. 

Academy Cinemas, the two time winner of Best Independent Cinema in New Zealand, have teamed up with a number of local film distributor partners to curate an online platform hosting a range of quality new release and classic titles for New Zealanders to rent. 

Key launch titles will include critically acclaimed local films Pecking Order, Waru and Vai. Best of Indie films will range from You Were Never Really Here, Under the Silver Lake and Support the Girls, and foreign titles will include La Dolce Vita, About Elly and The Tribe.   

Callum Freeman, Venue Manager at Academy Cinemas commented: “Even though our cinema venue is closed for now due to COVID-19 prevention, we’re so pleased to reassure our loyal customers that Academy is going nowhere. With the lockdown currently in effect, we’re thrilled to provide a quality selection of cinema for New Zealanders who want to see independent films and cinemas thrive, even from their own living room.”

Gorjan Markovski, Programming Manager at Academy Cinemas added: “We noticed there is a lack of independent and foreign films available to view on our local on-demand services, and it’s our hope that Academy OnDemand will help fill that gap. We’re really proud of the quality cinematic offering available for launch and hope indie-movie lovers around the country enjoy the new service.”

Academy OnDemand will be curated by the passionate team of cinephiles at Academy Cinemas, and will include a continuation of the cinemas popular ‘$5 Wednesdays’, giving customers the opportunity to rent recent titles at a discounted price. Pricing on the platform will vary from $4.99 to $7.99 to rent classic and recent release films for seven days. The Academy is also working to host premium films that are brand new to market and those will be priced according.

Local distributor partners include Vendetta, Umbrella, Rialto, Madman and Hi Gloss. The Academy team are working hard to add more distributors and additional films to the selection over the coming weeks.

Launch titles to include:

Critically-acclaimed NZ titles

Pecking Order

Waru

Vai

Next of Kin (classic)

Come to Daddy

Best of Indie Cinema

You Were Never Really Here

Under the Silver Lake

Support the Girls
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Melancholia

Acclaimed Foreign Language Titles

La Dolce Vita (classic)

Parasite

The Tribe
Wild Goose Lake
Girl

Website 

https://ondemand.academycinemas.co.nz/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/academycinemas/

Neon Film of the Week - Booksmart

Neon Film of the Week - Booksmart

Neon NZ has a great new arrival in the form of Olivia Wilde's Booksmart.
Here's a review why it's well worth you taking the time to view.

A Neon promotional code was provided to allow the reviewer access to content on the NZ service.

Proving the girls can do it just as well as the boys (and even better), and staying remarkably fresh and vibrant from beginning to end pays great dividends for Olivia Wilde's Booksmart.

It's the story of Beanie Fedelstein's Molly and Kaitlyn Denver's Amy, two high school pals, who've nerded it up their entire time through high school to get to the colleges they wanted.

But upon discovering the lower achievers have also got into impressive colleges, Molly has a meltdown, fearing they've wasted their lives. So determined to cut loose at the end of year party, the duo decide tonight's the night.

However, the one big problem is they don't know where the party is....

It's tempting to categorise Booksmart as the female Superbad, but in truth, it's a lazy comparison.

Whereas McLovin et al set the tone for the genre, the one-last-blast-before-we-quit-high-school genre has been done to death.

Yet Booksmart, thanks to some impressive comedic performances, a zing of direction and a pumping soundtrack that boosts the energy levels throughout, barely falters at all.

Fresh without ever pandering, inventive without ever being cheap and just damn funny, the coming-of-age comedy gets the female touch - and even outdoes most of its competitors. (A drug trip is so excellently inventive, it genuinely surprises.)

Women leads that are relatable, people of colour and backgrounds all over the place and nary a male in sight makes Booksmart one of the genuine glass ceiling smashing comedies out there - without ever deliberately setting out to be "woke" or conform to a feminist agenda. It's in its own league, and as genuine to its protagonists and supporting characters as it should be.

Sure, there's the usual high school message about being true to yourself and suffering self-sabotaging, but thanks to its great leads' chemistry and comic timing, Booksmart is a whipsmart high school comedy that raises the bar substantially.

A Neon promotional code was provided to allow the reviewer access to content on the NZ service.