Red Dog - Blu Ray Review

Rating: PG
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

Based on an Aussie true story of legend, Red Dog is a family treat as we head towards the Christmas hols.
But it's not your average "melt your heart, we've got a dog onscreen" kind of film.

Set in Dampier, in Western Aussie, it's the story of Red Dog, a Kelpie Cattle dog cross, who at the start of the film is about to be put down in a bar. In walks truck driver John (Luke Ford) who intervenes just before the pooch is laid to rest.

As the residents of Dampier retreat to the bar, John begins to hear from the publican Jack (Noah Taylor) how the dog's impacted on all of their lives - from miners to the publican himself; and he recounts how when Red Dog, as he affectionately became known after being covered in desert dust, came into their lives, they were all touched in different ways.
There's a warmth to Red Dog which may melt even the most cynical of hearts. If you just can get past the copious shots of a dog walking on the road, looking with its head on its side and running in slow mo in something akin to deleted scenes from TV series The Littlest Hobo.

There's also a fair amount of heart and gentle humour tucked away in this dog's tale too - Red Dog was a dog for everyone whether it's hitch-hiking on the local bus or listening to various miners unloading their hearts to him, it's clear there's affection for this canine wanderer.

But more than that, there's a very Australasian feel to this flick; one miner, Jocko (a big guy with a handlebar moustache and who'd rather have a stoush to sort something out than a chat) is a source of amusement and some of the best lines. Plus if you factor in Red Dog's nemesis, Red Cat, there's something for all animal lovers here.

There's also the inevitable heartbreak - both human and animal - and it's at this point, that I defy anyone who's shared a connection or devotion to a dog to not have a tear in their eye.

Ultimately, Red Dog has a low key charm which swerves it firmly into the sentimental territory rather than the mawkish mire which usually cloys these kinds of outings. Simply told and produced with a heartfelt earnestness, it may have you heading to the SPCA to see if you can adopt a pooch as soon as it's over.

Extras: Deleted scenes, commentary, Koko screen test, making of and trailer

Rating:

Project Nim: DVD Review

Project Nim: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Video

In 1970s Manhattan, a newborn chimp was taken from its mother and deposited in a family home as part of an experiment to see if said chimp can pick up sign language and construct sentences.

Nim was the chimp - and the effects of what happened forms the basis of this engrossing and horrifying documentary from the team who made Man On Wire.

Don't worry, it's not a precursor to Planet of the Apes, more a look at how far we can go sometimes as humans and it's terrifying in many ways.

The doco uses home movie footage and pictures and modern day interviews to construct a well told tale and a journey which will occasionally leave you agog as to what was achieved,what was abandoned and what the cost was to our humanity and those whose lives Nim was part of.

This doco is utterly mesmerizing, heartbreaking and also wondrous in its narrative style- disappointingly and perhaps inevitably though, some questions are left unanswered but what emerges is a tale of betrayal, mistrust, anger and a chimp who changed lives.

Remarkably good.

Rating:

Shark Night 3D: Blu Ray Review

Shark Night 3D: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Video

Stop me if you've heard this before...

A group of college teens, all good looking, and with a few secret crushes on each other, head out to the wilds for a weekend of fun.

Only when they're there, a killer's on the loose, meaning there's more blood spilled than shots of their nubile bodies, clad in swimwear.

Yep, it's all been done before hasn't it?

But Shark Night is determined to give the formula another shot - Sara Paxton stars as Sarah Palski, who's left her small town behind her to head to college. Gathering up a group of her mates, they all head back to the small town to enjoy a weekend by the lake.

Only when Sara gets there - along with her college pals - they're soon the target of sharks and shark lovers who are determined to kill them off and put their deaths on the internet.

Shark Night starts off predictably and does exactly what you'd expect of a good looking teen cast - there's plenty of shots underwater of the bikini babes to start off with - but a little further into the story, those in charge take it off in a direction that you wouldn't expect.

It's a nice twist - and for that, those in charge should be praised; but it can't really save the film from the mire of predictability; to be fair though, you know most of what you're letting yourself in for and the 3D push with sharks exploding and bits flying everywhere works reasonably well in the format.

Rating:

Christmas at Downton Abbey - DVD Review

Christmas at Downton Abbey - DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Ent

So, Downton Abbey does a feature length Christmas episode, thus cementing it as a staple in the UK psyche.

It's Christmas 1919, after the first Great War has taken place and Downton Abbey is hosting a big Xmas do to celebrate.

But it wouldn't be a Christmas gathering without tensions and problems and underneath the sheer veeer of high society and manners there's always that at Downton.

Casting a major shadow across the celebrations is Bates' arrest and subsequent trial - which most of this Christmas episode focuses on.

But there's also time for love too and the special manages to wrap up a long running story thread between Matthew and Mary in a scene which many fans will swoon over.

The Christmas episode manages to be a little more of what the entire second series was missing - while it's always a classy affair at the Abbey, the hysterically OTT story lines in season two left a sour taste for many - but praise needs to go to the creators for this special which sets the Downton ship back on course for a third series which will no doubt be as successful as the others later on this year.

Rating:

The Thing: Blu Ray Review

The Thing: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Universal Home Ent

So, the prequel to John Carpenter's masterpiece is now out on the small screen after barely making a dent in the box office.

It's 1982 and Dr Kate Lloyd (Mary Elisabeth Winstead) is hauled into the service of a US and Norwegian scientific team which is heading for Antarctica after a crash UFO is discovered in the ice.

But things take a turn for the nasty when the eager beavers in charge of the dig, decide to free the beast from within the ice - and soon a shapeshifter's on the loose with the ability to take on the appearance of anyone in the base....

It's upto the surviving members of the team to try and save the day before the creatures break their way into the wider world.

The Thing in its prequel form is a little bit of a disappointment to be frank.

While Winstead's relatively impressive and has the requisite pluck to take on the marauding creature, the effects and the push for more conventional horror ideas leave this a little floundering.

That said, there are a few good moments of mistrust and tension as the team tries to work out who's the good guys and who's not - but most of the scenes end with the creature splaying open and throwing tendrils everywhere, giving more of an impression of B Movie schlock than anything particularly sophisticated.

Marks go to the flick for the end tying into the original film, but the whole film falls into unoriginal territory and while you can get that they're trying to make a companion piece to the original, you can't help but feel that when compared to it, it falls short.

Extras: Deleted scenes, commentary and a couple of docos.

Rating:

Battleship haka

Ahead of the launch of the Battleship film on April 12th (ahead of America), we've got something a little bit Kiwi and cool to show you.

As you may already know, John Tui, our very own Kiwi, has a role in the new film - and to celebrate the All Blacks victory, he'd decided to show director Peter Berg one of our own traditions on the deck of the USS Missouri....



Battleship hits NZ cinemas on April 12th - check out a sequence from Battleship here...

American Reunion: Movie Review

American Reunion: Movie Review

Cast: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Seann William Scott, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy, Mena Suvari

Director: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg

Back to high school one more time with this (potentially) final slice of pie.

And the drawcard this time appears to be the reunion of all the main cast from the first film, all the way back in 1999.

But since their raucous days back in high school, the gang's all moved on - even if only in years. All in their early 30s now, they're all getting by with life.

For Jim and Michelle (Biggs and Hannigan) it's about trying to find time for any kind of a sex life now they've got a young kid - and as the pre-title credits reveal, that's a little difficult unless you're talking about internet porn or some time alone in the bath. Kevin's (Thomas) now married and works from home; Oz (Klein) is a sportscaster, who had a brief moment to shine during a TV dance show - and Stifler (William Scott) is, well, still Stifler - oversexed, immature and working as a temp.

Meanwhile, Jim's dad is living life after their mum died and Finch is a backpacking Jack Kerouac of a guy...

All of the gang's back in East Great Falls for their High School Reunion - and their return sees the group determined to have one last blast.

If you like the American Pie series and its original stars, you will quite simply adore American Reunion with its mix of smut, innuendo, gross out behaviour and sex talk. Stifler's mainly the drawcard in the silliness stakes - still pulling the immaturity card and a little bit of an embarassment to the guys who all believe they've grown up.

If you didn't care for any of those elements originally, then to be honest, there's little for you here.

But there is a real feeling in this film of a little something from the halcyon days of the franchise being recaptured - and I think if we're all a little honest, we've all had friendships where we're a little bit embarrassed about someone's behaviour after all these years (hint - if you think you don't know anyone like that, it's highly probable you're the embarrassment).

But if you put aside the smutty antics, there's actually some very real scenarios dropped into this film, making it feel in places like the most mature American Pie ever.

Scenes between Jim and his dad as they negotiate his father's loss and attempts to find someone to spend the rest of his life with have a real poignancy and heart which it's hard not to appreciate; likewise, the issues facing Jim and Michelle over being in a rut and finding life getting in the way are realistic and sensitively handled for a series like this. Well, as sensitive as any American Pie film could be.

All of the gang's back for this one and the writers manage to negotiate a full cast and don't appear to neglect any of them in terms of story - hence the rather long two hour film.

It's not without its lulls or lack of laughs here and there and there's occasionally the feeling of repetition in the humour and situations as well as a slight worry that men in thier 30s are continuing to act like horny teens, but there's closure to this latest life of the franchise and I'm betting many will enjoy this (hopefully) final slice of pie and file it under guilty pleasure.

It's not sensational and it won't change your world, but it will help you pass the night with a group of mates in the cinema.

Rating