The Dictator: Movie Review

The Dictator: Movie Review

Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris,
Director: Larry Charles

So, after what seems like a lot of press recently, The Dictator finally arrives in New Zealand.

Sacha Baron Cohen's latest creation was always going to be divisive and when a film begins with a freeze frame of Kim Jong Il and the words "In loving memory", you're pretty much going to have a clue what's ahead.

In this latest, Cohen plays General Haffaz Aladeen, a dictator of Wadiya in North Africa. Summoned to the UN in America to face concerns over his nuclear programme, Aladeen finds his world turned upside down when he's abducted, shorn of his beard and cut adrift in America by his cousin Tamir (Kingsley) who's jealous of his power and installs a doppelganger as Aladeen.

When Tamir's plan to turn his beloved Wadiya into a democracy instead of a dictatorship, Aladeen schemes to get back power and ensure his way of life isn't changed.

Scabrous, satirical and scatalogical, The Dictator is a patchy but funny affair, helped by some truly hilarious one liners and some provocatively offensive gags.

That's the thing with Sacha Baron Cohen - he's never afraid to push the envelope and I'm grateful for that. Unfortunately this time, it feels like the joke's gone on a little too long and has ceased to be as hilarious as it used to be.

It starts off very well, mixing in verite news footage culled of figures of power warning the Dictator must step down - and even shows Aladeen's birth (complete with the mother being snuffed out by a pillow, as she "dies in childbirth") - it's almost as if Cohen and Charles decide early on to shock and make you question whether you should even be laughing in the first place.

But once it settles in there are some very funny moments, great visual gags and some amusing set pieces. A clever sequence inside a small American plane mocks stereotypes of beliefs and 9/11; news commentators are shown as idiots when they speculate on what Aladeen's saying and doing; and a final speech where Cohen mocks America is frankly intelligently funny fare which is sly and spot on. Granted, there's some satire over UN treatments of dictatorships when it suits at play here, but it's buried among the offensive.

However, let's be clear though - this isn't all sophisticated humour throughout the film; it's one of those no holds barred, everything's up for the offending - there are poo jokes, masturbation and male nudity as you'd come to expect from an offensive Baron Cohen film. And a sequence where a woman's giving birth in a shop is frankly as far as some people's tastes will go (though I'm willing to admit it's actually funny).

Don't get me wrong - I'm no prude and there are parts of this film where I did indeed LOL as when Cohen is on the money, nobody else does it better. Unfortunately, this feels a little predictable and tired in places and while the film benefits from a story line and a decent character, who's forced to grow up, as opposed to sequences where the likes of Borat and Bruno simply try to offend, it's not quite enough to push it over the mark. Plus the fact this is more straight laced and scripted really does make you feel like you're missing the anarchic improvisational touch of Cohen's humour which was prevalent in Bruno and Borat.

If you're after a no brainer bit of occasionally puerile fun, then The Dictator is for you. Otherwise, you can join the ranks of the apparent infidels who feel The Dictator isn't as good as it promised to be, and while it's content to offer some hearty belly laughs, there's just the feeling that this scripted piece could have been a little more.

Rating:

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: Movie Review

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: Movie Review

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas, Amr Waked
Director: Lasse Hallstrom

It's really all in the title to be honest.

Based on a book by Paul Torday, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen stars Ewan McGregor as Dr Fred Jones, a scientist who works for the British fisheries. With a crumbling marriage and a tedious job thanks to civil service bureaucracy, Dr Jones is a cynic who's seen it all and can't be convinced of anything new.

Enter into his life, Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt) a consultant who works for a corporation employed by a sheik named Muhammed (Waked). Chetwode-Talbot has just recently started seeing a soldier and has been tasked by the sheik to research the possibility of a project to bring salmon to the Yemen so that he can hold a fishing competition. (See, I told you it was all in the title).

Gradually, despite Dr Jones' reservations, the pair begin work on the project while fielding other crises in their lives - he a marriage about to fail and she the fact her soldier boy is missing in action...Factor in the UK's Prime minister's Press Secretary (a wickedly tart Scott Thomas) who's after a good news story...

Salmon Fishing in The Yemen is quite a sweet film which has a gentle disarming charm and some truly funny moments.

McGregor is brilliant as the cardiganed slightly Aspergers' doctor - given the lion's share of some funny lines and a dialled down performance gives the whole thing a very realistic feel. Likewise, Blunt is the perfect foil for this slightly uptight doctor - and gives her Harriet Chetwode-Talbot a likeability and humanity which stretches beyond the story. The two have a nice easy chemistry and work well together as their friendship and inevitable relationship/ courtship begins to grow.

Narratively, the story is predictably what you'd expect and I have to admit to feeling once the romance angle came into play, complete with some shoehorned scenes of marital discord and a returning soldier, I could feel the directorial and story cliches being rolled out and checked off a list. Throw in some shots of a salmon swimming against the rest of the run and you're really veering into formulaic territory.

Which is a real shame because all in all, thanks in part to Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt's performance, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a refreshingly breezy little charmer of a feel good film which is funny, realistic and human - and can bring joy to even the most cynical of hearts.

Rating:

New Prometheus images unveiled

New Prometheus images unveiled

There's even more stuff spilling out for Prometheus, ahead of its launch in New Zealand on June 7th.

A whole stack of images from the film have been unleashed - and they're non too spoilery; more intriguing than anything at all...

Meanwhile it comes on top of a whole heap of Prometheus content - we've already had the brand new trailer to Ridley Scott's much anticipated sci fi flick, Prometheus.

Warning - a few spoilers lie ahead.




Prometheus, which stars Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron, returns to the genre that Scott helped define with Blade Runner and Alien. A  team of explorers discovers a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the corners of the universe where they must fight a  battle to save the future of the human race.

The film hits New Zealand cinemas on June 7th and has already been preceded by a massive viral marketing campaign.....

There's also been a new Prometheus featurette released too...


And here's all the marketing so far...

There's also been some new imagery released from the film too.

Prometheus hits NZ cinemas on June 7th.

Starring the likes of Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, this is likely to be one of the biggest sci fi hits of the year - and we get it a few hours before America does too.

Here's the official trailer for Prometheus...

And if you want to see everything which has been released so far - here it is...
There's also been a heap of viral activity for Prometheus - here's them all rounded up into one easy to monitor place...Something called "Our Family is growing" from Weyland industries...



And of course, the Guy Pearce fronted, TED 2023 talk from the Weyland Industries leader...

New Arkham City DLC revealed

It's turning into one hell of a year to be a Dark Knight fan.

First off, of course, there's the new film coming later this year - The Dark Knight Rises.

And secondly, if you're a gamer, then today's seen some news for fans of Arkham City.

It's just been revealed there's to be a final further DLC for the truly stunning game - here's hoping it'll top the awesome Catwoman Arkham City DLC.



The release says:

"Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment bring to you today a new trailer from Harley Quinn's Revenge Pack, the final chapter of Batman: Arkham City saga that adds more than two hours of fresh single-player gameplay to the critically-acclaimed title from Rocksteady Studios. The Harley Quinn's Revenge mission sends players back into Arkham City to face their final challenge as they interchange between playing as both Batman and Robin.

Newcomers to last year’s Dark Knight adventure will be able to pick up Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition in September , which includes all previous downloadable content (Catwoman Pack, Nightwing Bundle Pack, Robin Bundle Pack, Challenge Map Pack and Arkham City Skins Pack) plus Harley Quinn’s Revenge Pack.  Fans who already own the original edition of Batman: Arkham City will be able to download Harley Quinn’s Revenge Pack beginning May 30 on PlayStation®Network and the Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360."

That's not long to go, folks...time to suit up perhaps!?

The Dictator is coming....and he has a message for us Kiwis

It's just days till Sacha Baron Cohen's latest film, The Dictator hits New Zealand cinemas.

And in true style, General Aladeen has a message for us all...

The Dictator hits NZ cinemas from Wednesday 16th May.

Mortal Kombat - PS Vita Game Review

Mortal Kombat - PS Vita Game Review

A look at the handheld version of the famous Mortal Kombat series

Platform: PS Vita
Released by Warner Bros Games

There's just something about a handheld fighting game where gore is the aim of the game and the gameplay is pretty simple.

So it is with Mortal Kombat, the latest one on one smack them in the face until they bleed/ are knocked out fighters series.

Making its way from the console version of the series to the handheld would always be a smart move for the series - and the developers have realised that before they began - and decided the best way to get the best experience would be to include all the DLC characters and have them unlocked from the get go. Characters include Kratos from God of War, Skarlet, Kenshi, Rain and Freddy Kruger as well as the usual MK bunch.

Bringing with it as well, the story mode and the Challenge Tower mode (wherein you have to fight your way through 10 rounds of bloody, gory beatdowns to face the final big bad) as well as tag team mode, there's certainly a lot of portable bite size playing to be had. Plus add in five levels of difficulty and this powerhouse punchup can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be.

In terms of graphics, this is simply luscious stuff - the VITA's OLED screen gives crystal clear imagery and while that may sound like a stupid thing to say given that's one of the basics of the VITA, it really does add to the sharpness of game play. Each crunch and crack of the character is beautifully portrayed onscreen and is never blurred; something which you'd hope for in a fast paced one on one game.

A smartly responsive D pad and buttons mean you're not frustrated in the fights and can engage with the characters right away, as well as expect that your attempts to beat down your opponent will not suffer from freezing or minor control issues. Granted, you can't pull together as many combos as other games, so some of the more devastating moves will take a while to master, but it's worth the time and effort. Throw in some touch screen technology as well for some other games and short of using the PS VITA camera for inserting your own face onto your fighter, this game utilises the best of what the tech has to offer.

With a wealth of challenges, a gallon of gore and blood and a beautifully visual feast, Mortal Kombat has set the bar for the fighting games on the VITA - it's shown you can have a glut of bitesize content as well as a whole cluster of fun.


Rating

Rhys Mathewson vs the World - Comedy Festival Review

Rhys Mathewson vs the World - Comedy Festival Review

Man, if I'd been this talented at 21 years old, the world would so have been my oyster.

Taking to a packed out Basement Studio in Auckland for his final night, it's clear Mathewson's already won the festival fight for crowds. And there's just something about his enthusiasm on stage which is totally infectious.

This year's show is about Rhys becoming a little less self centred and a bit more aware as he bids farewell to the teenage years and enters adulthood at 21. I don't think I know (or knew of) any 20 something who didn't suddenly realise there is a world around them when they're thrust into the wider universe.

But after an intro which sees Rhys flounce about the stage in a boxing outfit, it takes him a wee while to get to the show - mainly, because he's so damn interested in the audience and the front row.

This is perhaps my only criticism of Rhys' show (and it's such a minor niggle) - he gets easily distracted by what's around him and in the audience very occasionally rather than fully concentrating on his show in hand. But you can forgive someone who has such an appealing stage presence and who spends the majority of his (albeit brief) time on stage, having so much damn fun.

This year's show sees Rhys tackle the world around us - taking on the planet in seven rounds in rounds about relationships, the economy, religion and people is no mean feat but once again, despite his young age and showing off the comedy prowess of a pro who's been on the circuit for most of his life, he sucks you into a world of fun, frivolity and occasional filth.

Yet, it's due to self effacing charm, brilliant audience banter and boyish enthusiasm that this show is just so much damn fun; there's so many terrifying visuals in this as well - Rhys as Richard Gere in an Officer and A Gentleman, and a topless moment to name but two.

Sure, occasionally, Rhys distracts himself on his comedy journey, but I'm prepared to forgive him for it as it's only ever because of his comedy chops; there's always something hilarious and deftly smart waiting to pour forth from under the curls and cheeky grin.

Rhys Mathewson is already one of our comedy treasures; proof that young age is no barrier to being hilarious and that New Zealand breeds some of the best live stand up comedians - let's just pray he stays with us for as long as he can because he's already heading toward legendary status.