Doctor Who: The Star Beast: Preview

So here it is then - the Doctor and Donna reunited amid the show's 60th anniversary celebrations kicking off all folded in with one of the most iconic Doctor Who comic stories.

On top of that, as if it wasn't enough, the show's starting a new worldwide era with Disney being involved in the production. And add into that, the question of why Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor regenerated into a familiar face in the form of David Tennant's 14th Doctor. 

Swirl all of it together and it's a lot for The Star Beast to manage - but goodness, it doesn't half do it all incredibly and with a swagger that's hard to deny.

Landing on Earth, the Doctor (David Tennant) finds himself thrust back into the path of former companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) when a spaceship crashes down in London. 

While the show has changed through the years and there were fears the Disney involvement would mean it goes in a new direction thanks to funding, in a strange way, The Star Beast looks like Doctor Who of old, with just a little more thrown into the budget in the form of sets and explosions. 

That's not to disrespect it in the slightest - The Star Beast rumbles on with such gusto and pace, there's barely a second to catch breath as Tennant and Tate twirl a familiar dance and newcomer Yasmin Finney joins proceedings as Rose, her daughter.

While it may be adapted from a story by legendary comics stars Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons, there are Russell T Davies' fingerprints all over the DNA of this romp of an episode. From some subtle social commentary that will possibly enrage those looking for an unnecessary fight (especially after the Davros furore from the weekend) to the comedic moments delivered to perfection by Tate, there's a lot to love about this first of three Doctor Who specials.

While perhaps the mystery of why Ten returned is sidelined somewhat in this first episode (possibly to avoid alienating newcomers to the franchise given the slight reboot here), The Star Beast shows the best of Doctor Who in its anniversary year - some subtle nods to the past filtered in to a great story mean fans can appreciate it and casual viewers can find themselves enthralled. (Though whether some of the denser explanations on why Donna matters so much may be a little lost to first timers).

Equally, the Tennant and Tate double act is one of the main reasons to watch. From Tennant's occasionally maudlin moments among the manic recollections to Tate's simply owning the screen from the moment she returns, it's clear they're loving being back. But there's plenty of heart here as well - Donna Noble's altruism shines through and the Doctor's love of his former companion is evident, and heartbreaking.

Doctor Who - The Star Beast is a fast-paced romp of an episode that manages to bridge a gap between the old and new, and while some of the mythology in the back third of the episode may confuse those not fully au fait with the intricacies of Who-lore, and some of the resolutions are rushed and convenient, the 60th anniversary is off with a bang.

Doctor Who: The Star Beast airs globally on Disney+ from Sunday November 26.
It is the first of three special anniversary episodes - Wild Blue Yonder airs Sunday December 3, and The Giggle on Sunday December 10 - before Ncuti Gatwa's 15th Doctor takes over at Christmas with The Church on Ruby Road.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson

Five years have now passed since the animation world was torn asunder by the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a fantastic pop art film that sizzled with style and added substance to the story of Miles Morales on screen.

In that time, animated movies have undergone a sea change, with many releasing films that contain mixes of 2D and 3D art, to varying diminishing creative returns. So it's no surprise that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse continues the trend of shaking up animation, but at nearly 2hours and 20 minutes, it comes at the cost of a thin story and a frustrating cliffhanger.

In this latest Miles Morales finds his world opens up when Gwen Stacy (Steinfeld, easily the heart of the film) shows up offering him a peek at a multiverse and other opportunities. But despite Morales' desire to be part of another world as he tries to find his place in his own both as Spider-Man and as dutiful son, he soon discovers he can't outrun destiny.

It's fair to say Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a visual treat, albeit one that sometimes feels overstuffed and thwarted by its own intentions and executions. Most sequences look like they'd sit happily within a gallery and feel in parts like they're reinventing the genre once again.

But that sits with the cost of a paper-thin plot being covered by layers upon layers of sight gags, cameos, representation and bombast that threatens to become overwhelming and which causes the film to sag during its 140 minute run time.

When Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse works best, it's usually due to the scenes between Morales and his family, or between Stacy and her father, or between both Stacy and Morales. The quieter moments are where the Spider-Verse soars and where the emotional grip really bites. Equally these are the moments the art is vibrant too, rather than scenes bursting with moments that force your eyes to dart around looking for every available frame's details.

Ultimately, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a story that's been told a million times before within the genre, one that revels in its cliched tropes a little too heavily at times, and one which doesn't live up to the standards set by its predecessor.

That's not to say its hold isn't compelling throughout, merely to observe that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's web isn't quite as tangled as you'd hope - or as much fun trying to unpick the strands. Since it's the first part, it deserves to be judged as a whole, and perhaps the jury's out on that one - for now though, thanks to the more human moments, it soars - just maybe the creators need to draw a little deeper on that than throwing absolutely everything on the canvas.

Insidious: The Red Door: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Patrick Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Rose Byrne

Director: Patrick Wilson

Utterly forgettable and an exercise in murky filmmaking in extremis, Patrick Wilson's take on Insidious plays too drawn out and emotionally cold as it ventures deeper into The Further.

Wilson returns as Josh in a story that picks up nearly a decade after the end of Insidious 2 - having elected to have his and his son Dalton's memories wiped following a Shining-like attempted execution, Josh is struggling. 

Divorced from his wife (the sidelined Byrne) and estranged from his son ahead of his college enrolment, Josh is neglecting his trauma and is unable to clear the "fog" that's afflicted his mind and his life.

Meanwhile, Dalton is edging closer to independence as he heads off to college, but is unable to shake the events which left him in a coma for a year. However, when an art class sees his subconscious and repression bubbling through into his work, Dalton begins a dangerous journey which could kill him - and his father.

Insidious: The Red Door suffers the indignity of being a franchise concluder that somehow doesn't do enough to justify any kind of ending.

Darkly shot and murkily executed, it is a horror film that's bereft of anything other than the laziest of tropes and which rarely descends into the nightmare fuel that seems to generate any of the fear everyone has of The Further (which simply looks like someone's turned off the lights and left the smoke machine going).

There are some moments when it excels and taps into something both atmospheric and worthy.

An MRI sequence encapsulates the claustrophobia while generating the requisite creeping dread such a moment needs - and some of the astral projection moments add a little to proceedings as well.

But all too often, Insidious: The Red Door, while trying to play on themes of trauma and the sins of sons and fathers, forgets to build its emotional investment in its audience and makes the entire film a slog rather than a mesmerising conclusion.

Poor pacing and long stretches of nothing happening don't add up to psychological terror, but only serve to bore viewers - Insidious: The Red Door could have been bone-chilling; instead it's just tedious.

Doctor Who: David Tennant's Doctor meets Davros, the Daleks

Doctor Who: David Tennant's Doctor meets the Daleks

A brand new scene with David Tennant's 14th Doctor meeting Davros and the Daleks has been revealed.

Win a double pass to see Napoleon in cinemas

To celebrate the release of Napoleon in cinemas Thursday November 23, thanks to Sony Pictures New Zealand, you can win a double pass.

About Napoleon

Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar®-winner Joaquin Phoenix. 

Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte's relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.

Napoleon is in cinemas November 23

 

Thanksgiving: Movie Review

Cast: Nell Verlaque, Addison Rae, Rick Hoffman, Patrick Dempsey, Gina Gershon, Milo Manheim

Director: Eli Roth

Expanded out from a 2007 faux trailer within the Grindhouse movies, Eli Roth's Thanksgiving offers enough gore and genre thrills - if you're in on the joke.

Set in Plymouth, Massachussetts, Thanksgiving follows a group of teens caught up in the aftermath of a Walmart-style store riot on Thanksgiving. But when it appears a killer is targeting those who were in the store and wreaked havoc, a desperate race against time begins to unmask the killer before it's too late.

It's hard to recommend Thanksgiving without your tongue being firmly in your cheek.

With its mix of entrails, cheesy kills and awfully obvious dialogue, Thanksgiving zeroes in on the horror of the holidays, the greed of consumerism and the absolute cynicism that underpins the tradition full stop.

Yet while the Pilgrim-masked Carver feels like a boogeyman for the times with his blank unexpressive face, the same can't really be said for some of the script that drops characters without warning after building them up.

Sure, it's a case of misdirection and essentially most of the audience is only here for the kills, but long-term plotting of Roth's massacre feels like it's going more for the cheaper end of the spectrum rather than something for the ages.

It's not so much a turkey, but perhaps a lot of its target audience may not be as au fait with the original trailer as would be expected, something which could harm Thanksgiving's long term box office.

If you're already over the holiday season and are gorged enough on all the trimmings, it offers enough of a diversion to satiate - but don't expect it to offer long term thrills, unless you're aware of the genre and its limitations.