The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest: DVD Review

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest: DVD Review

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest

Rating: R16
Released by Vendetta Films

In the third film based on Stieg Larsson's books, the action takes up just moments after the close of the second film. Lisbeth Salander is being choppered to hospital, shot repeatedly and on the brink of death after tracking down her father Alexander Zalachenko and exacting her revenge.

Facing charges of attempted murder, Salander is trapped - with the police wanting to hurry her trial along and with the shadowy cabal The Section determined to get rid of her before their existence becomes known, her prospects don't look good.

But as ever, her faithful friend and journalist of the Millennium magazine Mikael Blomkvist (the ever stoic faced Nyqvist) is determined to clear her name.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest is a triumphant end to the trilogy - and while some will be put off by the lack of action, the tension in this one is nail biting.
Sure, with most of it taking place in drab corridors, inside a hospital or a courtroom, there's a lot more expected of the actors - and the main duo Rapace and Nyqvist deliver in spades.

It's the story which is more of the star this time (one character even remarks "It's like a classic Greek tragedy") as the various threads are drawn together in the web of decades old conspiracy, the drama is tautly pulled together; so much so that at the devastating end in the courtroom, the restrained directing and story telling works so much better because of it.

The best moment of this film though is the final scene - but talk of that is spoilery, so discover it yourself.

Extras: Interviews with the main actors and a trailer - not bad but a little disappointing given how the series has ended and a retrospective piece may have been in order.

Rating: 8/10

The Insatiable Moon: DVD Review

The Insatiable Moon: DVD Review

The Insatiable Moon

Rating:M
Released by Vendetta

Shot on a shoestring budget when the Film Commission passed, The Insatiable is the story of Arthur (a tremendous powerhouse performance from Rawiri Paratene) who believes he's the second son of God and who frequents a halfway house run by Greg Johnson's Bob in Auckland's suburb of Ponsonby.

However, Arthur's life becomes permanently intertwined with Sara Wiseman's social worker at a time when the boarding house is threatened with closure.
With residents galvanized into trying to save their home from those who've got closed minds, the clock begins to tick - and Arthur starts to unravel.

The Insatiable Moon is a story of heart and compassion, populated with some truly brilliant and crowd pleasing performances from the central cast.

It's got audience pleasing moments throughout as well as some laughs but it's Paratene's impishness and charm which sees this film from beginning to end; with big eyes and a disarming grin, he's the heart and soul of the Insatiable Moon - and manages to bind the whole thing together.

Extras: Trailer, Interviews, outtakes and deleted scenes

Rating: 7/10

TRONLegacy: Blu Ray Review

TRONLegacy: Blu Ray Review

Tron Legacy

Rating: PG
Released by Disney

Nearly 30 years in the making comes the film Disney had high hopes for.

In TRON Legacy, Garrett Hedlund stars as Sam Flynn, the son of former inventor and computer genius, Kevin (Jeff Bridges). Kevin disappeared nearly 30 years ago, leaving behind Sam, a major company Encom and a lot of questions.

Since that disappearance, Sam's now grown up and is somewhat restless, flitting between being the CEO of Encom and running into trouble with the law.
But when he receives word from family friend Alan (Bruce Boxleitner) that a page was sent from Flynn's arcade (run by Kevin in the 80s), he heads to see how that's possible and if his father is truly still alive.

And then, he's sucked into the world of the computer run Grid and into a fight for his life.

Visually and aesthetically, I was gobsmacked by the digital world they've created for this - it looks stunning and is spectacular with its vibrant neon blues and oranges standing out in the Blade Runneresque computer world. Scenes of combat, reminiscent of the gladiator's arena from Roman times, are also sensationally shot.Coupled with an incredible electronic soundtrack of dizzyingly good synth from Daft Punk, the cyber-look of this film is, hands down, easily one of the best of the year.

But the problem comes with the overall plot. Or rather, a real lack of it.

With clunking dialogue, this lumbers from one scene to the next - and it's a real shame.

Not a major disaster by any stretch of the imagination - but if the story had measured upto the effects, it could have been unmissable.

Extras: Doco and cast info

Rating: 6/10

Source Code: Movie Review

Source Code: Movie Review

Source Code
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Director: Duncan Jones
From the director of last year's brilliant Moon, comes a new sci fi thriller which has heart and soul as well as intelligence and action.
Gyllenhaal stars as Captain Colter Stevens, who finds himself on a train and facing a woman Christina (Monaghan) he's convinced he's never met before.
To make matters worse, he looks in a mirror and sees the face looking back at him is not his own.
Before he's got time to make head or tail of what's going on, a bomb destroys the Chicago bound train - taking him, and all the passengers with it.
When he wakes up though, he finds himself being questioned by the military (led by Vera Farmiga) and trapped in a capsule.
They explain he's got just eight minutes on the train to find out who is responsible for bombing it and send him back in - and will keep doing so until he's successful.....
Source Code is perhaps one of the best scifi thrillers ever made - but more than that, it's a compelling film which is grounded in humanity rather than just scifi.
Duncan Jones seriously impressed with Moon and he builds even more here with this thrilling and exciting ride. It's a fiendishly intriguing premise which throws you right in at the beginning by giving you few clues and so immediately you empathise with Stevens as he tries to find out what's going on.
Gyllenhaal is mightily watchable as Stevens; as the truth unravels, you understand and really feel his puzzled viewpoint; the thing is, it's all due to Gyllenhaal and his steely determination mixed with vulnerability.
But credit must also go to Monaghan; her Christine becomes the emotional touchstone on the train and the reason Stevens keep coming back - she helps give the story the humanity it needs to keep it from simply being a thriller with a large dollop of sci fi.
The other star is the script - initially complex and layered, it rewards an intelligent audience who are willing to take the ride and embrace the mystery of what's going on on the train as well as what's going on with Stevens. It also helps the director's really invested a degree of real time into this - each section on the train lasts only 8 minutes so you begin to feel the desperation as the clock ticks toward the inevitable explosion. It's a sort of scifi Groundhog Day in many ways.

Source Code is one of the best films of 2011 - it's intelligent, ferociously good film making, and a brilliant experience which rewards with multiple viewings.

Your Highness: Movie Review

Your Highness: Movie Review

Your Highness
Rating: 3/10
Cast: Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, Damian Lewis, Charles Dance
Director: David Gordon Green
From the team behind stoner comedy Pineapple Express comes medieval romp Your Highness.
McBride plays Thadeous, a slacker prince who lives in the shadow of his more talented brother Fabious, played by James Franco.
When Fabious returns from a quest with his new bride to be Belladonna (Deschanel) whom he rescued from a tower, it seems happily ever after is on the cards.
But when Belladonna's snatched by evil wizard Lazar, the duo have to team up on an epic quest to save the bride-to-be and rid their kingdom of the evil which blights it....
Forget any level of sophistication here, Your Highness is not about the smarts.
With puerile humour throughout (albeit some amusing one liners) it's not aiming very high.
Both Franco and Portman (rocking a terribly dodgy English accent) go for high and mighty; Deschanel simply opts for sulky.

A little more effort into the script and maybe some mockery of the fantasy genre and this could have been better all round.
Instead it opts for crass, vulgar and a waste of those involved. The only saving grace is McBride who, with some deadpan delivery and some very dry moments just makes this (barely) tolerable.

Your Highness is more a case of swords and saucy language than anything else - a teen audience will be amused. Others will just roll their eyes.

Thor: Movie Review

Thor: Movie Review

Thor
Rating: 8/10
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard
Director: Kenneth Branagh
So the Marvel universe continues its cinematic attempts to take over - this time with some help from a buffed up dude from Home and Away and a guy more likely to be known for Shakespeare.
Hemsworth plays Thor, a Norse god, who on the eve of his coronation as king is banished to Earth from Asgard by his father Odin (Hopkins) after he instigates an attack on the Frost Giants, a race with whom the Asgardians have been living in peace for years.
Dumped in New Mexico, Thor's found by Natalie Portman's scientist Jane Foster.
Convinced he needs to return to Asgard, Thor attempts to regain his mythic hammer (the source of his power) from a SHIELD facility.
But when he finds his powers have deserted him, Thor resigns himself to a life on earth.
However, back in Asgard, political machinations are afoot and Thor's brother Loki (a brilliantly reptilian Hiddleston) moves on the throne, prompting Thor's friends to try and bring him back....
Spectacularly epic, utterly engrossing and surprisingly funny, Thor is perhaps one of the best blockbusters in a while. Mixing Shakespearean motifs such as family betrayal, mistrust and revenge, it's clear to see why Branagh was attracted to this.
Hemsworth impresses as the petulantly arrogant god and Hopkins is suitably majestic as the regal Odin; each injecting their characters with the humanity and hubris needed of gods. Equally impressive is Hiddleston who brings the requisite element of mistrust to Loki that you're never quite sure whose side he's actually on - or what his motives truly are.
If there's to be a small quibble, it's that Portman and her team of scientists are a little underdeveloped - and the wonderful Kat Dennings is sidelined as simply comic relief.
The 3D serves really only to enrich the backdrops and isn't integral to the overall feel of Thor.
Yet, it's the Marvel universe which grows in depth with this latest adaptation - with crossover film The Avengers on the way, there's plenty to be done to lay the groundwork here. Mentions of Tony Stark, crossover characters from prior films and the obligatory Stan Lee cameo, this world is becoming more cinematically fleshed out than ever before - but not at the extent of alienating those who're not familiar with it all.

The winter blockbuster season is off to a simply Thorsome start.

Fast 5: Movie Review

Fast 5: Movie Review

Fast Five
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson
Director: Justin Lin
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Fast and The Furious franchise returns with Paul Walker's ex cop Brian O'Connor freeing Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto from a bus taking him to jail.
This puts Dom, Brian and Jordana Brewster's Mia top of the wanted list so they head to Rio to lay low for a while.
However, one last job pulls them back in - and when the trio's set up and betrayed by corrupt businessman Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), the hunt's on to clear their names.
But Reyes isn't the only one hunting the trio - fresh on their trail is federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) who's determined to bring them in for their part in the death of three agents.
So, the game is set.
Fast Five is like a greatest hits of the franchise; a bevy of familiar faces return with characters from all the films making an appearance in some form or other - along with new ones like Hobbs and a new love interest for Diesel's Toretto.
But as ever, the star of this show are the cars and the stunts. A particularly audacious final set piece is destruction to the maximum - and one scene sees a car go off a cliff with amazing effect.
The plot's as lacking as ever to be honest - and when characters utter lines like "It's easy money", you know exactly what's coming. Coupled with plenty of shots of Diesel and Johnson leering at each other, this predictably over long piece isn't exactly breaking the mould.
And yet, despite all that, it remains watchable fare (thanks to a superbly original take on using subtitles).
With the promise of a final film to wrap everything up and with the fact old characters have been brought back, it's clear those involved in this series actually care about the creations they've given life to.

In a world where movies often trot out tired sequels and phone it in, Fast Five shows there's still some heart and soul in the car racing franchise - and that's a rare thing.