Alice In Wonderland: Blu Ray Review

Alice In Wonderland: Blu Ray Review

Alice In Wonderland

Rating: PG
Released by Disney DVD

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton reteam once again - this time it's for an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland.

Mia Wasikowska is 19 year old Alice, a girl who's facing the possibility of being married off to a man she doesn't love and on the verge of enduring a life she really doesn't want.

As she runs off to consider the proposal, she falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in Wonderland.

However, on her entrance to Wonderland, she finds she has a destiny to fulfill - she must free the land from the tyranny of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham-Carter) and restore happiness to the land she visited as a child in her dreams.

But with the Red Queen on the war path, and the evil Jabberwocky to be unleashed, Alice is facing a whole heap of trouble.
Burton's created a nightmarish version of Wonderland - full of odd colours and architecture which seems perfectly in tune with his vision; there's some great images - such as Alice negotiating a raft of heads the Red Queen's had cut off and cast in the moat around her castle. It seems as if technology's finally got to give Burton the chance to create the vision he's always hinted at in previous films - and he's relished the opportunity to create a memorable Wonderland.

Ultimately, this Alice In Wonderland is an insight into Burton's mind - it's zany and visually crazy in parts; however, due to a bit of a lack of an emotional connection, it's a little bit sprawling at times and doesn't quite live upto its initial promise.

Extras: The Mad Hatter, Finding Alice and Effecting Wonderland - all behind the scenes docos

Rating: 6/10

Daybreakers: Blu Ray Review

Daybreakers: Blu Ray Review

Daybreakers

Rating: R16
Released by Sony Home Pictures

This latest entry into the vampire genre is set in 2019 and sees the world swept with the vampire pandemic. With pretty much everyone overtaken by the desire and necessity to consume blood, real stocks of the red stuff are in short supply.

Enter Ethan Hawke's Edward Dalton, a haematologist working for Sam Neill's Charles Bromley. Bromley owns a human farm which is keeping the vamp population in blood - but it's running low and Dalton's desperately trying to find a substitute for human blood.

However, when Dalton literally runs into one of the last surviving groups of humans, he finds out from Willem Dafoe's Elvis that there is a cure for vampirism and one which could free them all from their misery.

Daybreakers is an intriguing entry into the vampire genre with a solid central premise - the idea of vampirism being a condition which is parasitic and debilitating was explored in the brilliant Let The Right One In. So in terms of bringing something new to the table, Daybreakers doesn't quite make it on that front - but what it does manage to do with its pale sharp colours is create a Blade Runneresque world with a tinge of Nightwatch about it.

A minor misfire, Daybreakers has missed opportunity written over it - and while the teen audience will love the gore element of it, some will feel with a little more love, this could have been the start of an intriguing new franchise.

Extras: Trailer, commentary, poster gallery - nothing earth shattering

Rating: 5/10

Crazy Heart: DVD Review

Crazy Heart: DVD Review

Crazy Heart

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

It was the film which saw Jeff Bridges finally take home a gold statuette - and man, what a performance he gives.

Bridges is Bad Blake, a 57 year old washed up, living the twilight of his life country singer playing bowling alleys and bars in deserted American villages. But Blake's loved - while his fans appear to be in the final years of their lives, wherever he goes he gets a rapturous reception - as well as some very pleased to see him groupies.

Blake is the archetypal bad boy of the country scene - battling alcoholism, refusing to write new material and a little envious of the success of his protégé Tommy Sweet (a pony tailed Farrell), he's clearly in need of redemption.

That salvation comes in the form of Jean (Gyllenhaal) who turns up one day asking for an interview - however, a burgeoning relationship blossoms - has Bad finally found what he needs to turn his life around?

It's not a new story in many ways - it's the same thing the screen's seen many times before. However, what elevates Crazy Heart is Jeff Bridges. His grizzled, weary rocker is so well played, you'll forgive the script for its at times unoriginal route.

Coupled with some great music, this toe tapping tale of redemption is perfect for the wintertime blues.

Extras: Disappointing - only deleted scenes. Would have been great to have had something a little more for a film which gave Bridges the recognition he's long been owed.

Rating: 8/10 

Dr Who: Myths and Legends: DVD Review

Dr Who: Myths and Legends: DVD Review

Dr Who - Myths and Legends

Rating: PG
Released by BBC and Roadshow Entertainment

Three classic 1970s Who tales from two different doctors find themselves bundled in one package with the slightest tie in.

The trio of releases this month deals with the Myths and Legends aspects of the show - for a sci fi show, Who was never ashamed to adapt some of the greatest legends to fit in with its central premise.

Starring Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor, The Time Monster ropes in Atlantis as the Doc deals with yet another threat from his nemesis The Master; with Tom Baker's fourth Doctor, we get a retelling of the Minotaur tale in the ham infested Horns of Nimon and a trip to the Underworld in erm, Underworld.

There's nothing inherently wrong with these stories - Baker's efforts are not the best acted and Horns of Nimon veers dangerously close to pantomime at times thanks to some of the OTT performances from all involved. But they don't represent the best of what the show had to offer - and with classic releases nearing the end of the range, it's inevitable there would be some which don't live upto the mark.

However - the same can't be said for the extras on the set which are once again excellent. The centre piece is a documentary about the close relationship between Dr Who and kids show Blue Peter in which the linking of the series is closely examined. It's a great device and a doco which has been a long time coming. Coupled with commentaries from some of the main actors in this triumvirate of stories and the ever informative Production information subtitles which light up the screen, these three extras (of a wealth of many) bring the release out of the mire.

Rating: 6/10 

Gentlemen Broncos: DVD Review

Gentlemen Broncos: DVD Review

Gentlemen Broncos

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

So the director of Napoleon Dynamite returns with this film.

Set in mid town America, Michael Angarano stars as aspiring sci fi teen author, Benjamin Purvis, home schooled and naïve in the ways of the world. Sent to a writers' camp, Purvis meets his hero, esteemed sci fi author Ronald Chevalier (FOTC's Jemaine Clement) and enters his manuscript (the terribly titled Yeast Lords) into a competition to win a deal.

However, Chevalier is struggling to find inspiration for his next book - and so, inspired by Purvis' Yeast Lords, he promptly plaigarises the whole thing.

But at the same time, Benjamin's sold the story to some local (terrible) film-makers and when their movie comes out, a creative showdown's on the way.
Gentlemen Broncos goes for quirky and ends up with severely irritating - it's only thanks to the performances of Jemaine Clement and Sam Rockwell that I carried on to the bitter end of this. I can see what the writer and director were trying for but the whole puerile tone stops it ever getting off the ground.

Extras: Deleted scenes, outtakes and doco behind the scenes

Rating: 3/10 

Gallants: Movie Review

Gallants: Movie Review

Gallants
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Teddy Robin Kwan, Wong You Nam
Director: Derek Kwok Chi-Kin, Clement Cheng Sze-Kit
Wong You Nam stars as loser Cheung in this chop socky old school kung fu martial arts film which is part of the Hong Kong Film Festival.
Cheung is a dweeby kind of guy - the kind who would practice kung fu when younger but would still get beaten up - and has been beaten up both physically and metaphorically in his life ever since.
Cheung's sent to the backwaters by his bosses to help with real estate deals and get the land ready for redevelopment - however, he ends up being bullied and befriends those who run the Master Law teahouse which is in the bad guys' sights.
So, it becomes about regaining honour and nobility as Cheung ends up taking part in a martial arts tournament&will he be able to save the day?

Gallants has an old school feel to it - which isn't a negative thing at all; it simply feels like a nod to the past and with the zero to hero angle, it's quite a welcome piece of comic fun.

There's some great fight scenes which feel like they're from a computer game but updated with freeze frames and slow mo - and there's a frenetic energy to the editing which seems the film jump from place to place in its plot with ease - and thanks to some of the comic acting, it feels nostalgic rather than mocking.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: Movie Review

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: Movie Review

Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Rating: 9/10
Cast: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick
Director: Edgar Wright
I've always believed (and secretly hoped) that the Geek would inherit the Earth.
And man, after this I'm not disappointed or giving up on that hope at all.
Based on the comic book series of the same name, Michael Cera stars as Scott Pilgrim, a slightly loserish 22-year-old who's directionless and a bit aimless and devastated after splitting from (read: dumped by) his girlfriend a year ago.
So when he meets Ramona Flowers, a hipster girl (Winstead), he's desperate to win her heart.
However, what Scott doesn't realise is that this girl comes with some serious baggage - seven exes who will kill Scott rather than let him steal her heart.
Throw into that mix the fact Scott's band Sex Bob-omb are competing for a contract and the boy's certainly got a lot to deal with.
The tone is set right at the beginning of this film with the Universal logo being given an 80s style gaming makeover, Scott Pilgrim wears its geek openly and proudly on its sleeve.
Cera is pitch perfect as the main character with his deadpanning delivery and timing, he's instantly engaging and incredibly amusing (although some may argue he's not stretching his career by playing a variant of every other role he's ever done) and will win you over, not just with the impressive fight scenes (you would really never peg him as an action hero).
All of the cast are great in this - Winstead brings warmth to her role as Flowers and Routh, Schwartzmann and Chris Evans really deliver as part of the evil ex brigade. But it's the initial Bollywood style fight of Satya Bhabha's Matthew Patel which is just genius. Credit also needs to go to Kieran Culkin as Pilgrim's wiseass room mate.
Eschewing pop culture references left right and centre, this comic book gaming crossover is a real treat from Edgar Wright (the genius who was part of the Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz UK comedies). It's hard to describe exactly how it takes the worlds of both the comics and 80s style fight games and brings them to life.
But with pop up style subtitles cropping up on screen, laugh out loud funny moments, Batman style fight scenes (Thwok and Kroww spring up during the scraps and you almost expect a Kazam and Adam West to show up) and frenetic cutting back and forth, it really is like a comic book has been brought vividly to life on the big screen.
Oh and the moment the Vegan police show up is just brilliant.
Once again, Edgar Wright's demonstrated why he's one of the coolest, most inventive and visionary directors in the business - the energy which is liberally sprinkled all over this film stops it ever hitting a lull.

Scott Pilgrim is effortlessly cool and endlessly entertaining - go, get your geek on.