Resident Evil 6: Game Review

Resident Evil 6: Game Review

Released by CAPCOM
Platform: PS3

I have to confess to never having fully been a paid up fan of the Resident Evil franchise.

There was just something about the third person shooter which really didn't sit well with me - and having now played Resident Evil 6, I know what exactly that was.

Fear.

A prolonged stench of it extends from the TV screen when playing this latest franchisee; from tension to suspense to outright blood and bone curding crunching, there's plenty to scare the beejesus out of you. But let's not get ahead of myself just yet.

With three different storylines playing side by side, there's certainly a whole wealth of content available for you to get engrossed in. With these threads playing out in a disparate way and seven lead characters taking part in the story, and all of them following on from the events in Raccoon City, it's certainly an ambitious game to say the least from CAPCOM.

Following Chris Redfield, Leon S Kennedy and newcomer Jake Muller, the stories are presented theatrically and with an eye to the story telling rather than simply moving the action on from one moment to the next. Be it the action film opening to the creeping around a campus trying to locate people and avoid the scares, there's certainly an overarching feeling that CAPCOM's really thrown everything into this release.

My last exposure was Raccoon City which wasn't an overly bad experience but one which didn't leave me chomping at the bit to play another Res Evil title. But what with Milla Jovovich reprising her role in Resident Evil Retribution it was inevitable another one would surface.

However, what the game makers have got right is the cinematic, almost horror movie feel to the game. Creatures lurk in and out of the frames with barely any warning and give you scares when least expected. And while they may take a while to knock down and explode in a splatter of gore, the AI which sees your partner team up with you is a welcome relief; this time, your other half actually takes out the creatures, rather than just standing back or half heartedly firing and not hitting anything. It sounds stupid, but it's a little touch like this which adds rather than detracts from the gameplay. Sadly though, moments like being unable to clear chairs from your path in corridors when you could moments ago, don't exactly scream consistently - no matter how minor the niggles are, they are still niggles. Also irritating is the way cut scenes simply lurch into the game, without any warning and stop you from carrying on when you're already immersed in what's happening.

Overall though, Resident Evil 6 offers up plenty of entertainment, shooting, scores and nods back to the previous games. I'm only starting to get into this - but thanks to atmospheric chills, good story and a truckload of zombies, this is still going to be one I'll be playing for a while to come. With all the frights though, I'm just grateful the nights are a bit lighter....

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Argo: Movie Review

Argo: Movie Review

Cast: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Kyle Chandler, Clea duVall, Victor Garber
Director: Ben Affleck

Returning to work behind the camera for a third time after Gone Baby Gone and The Town, Ben Affleck's latest turns his attention to the tensions between America and Iran in 1979 and into 1980.

Affleck stars as Tony Mendez, a CIA agent with a floppy 70s haircut and slightly dodgy beard, who finds himself in the middle of a stand off between the two nations. When Islamic extremists storm the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, 52 people are taken hostage.

But a group of six made their way out of the Embassy and end up holed up with the Canadian ambassador (Garber) at his home - as tensions increased in the stand off, the CIA (led by Bryan Cranston's Jack O'Donnell) try to do whatever they can to get them out.

That's when Mendez comes up with a plan - pretend to be out in Iran, scouting to make a scifi film and smuggle the six out from under their noses.

With no other realistic options in front of them (or as the CIA describe it "the best bad plan we have"), the wheels are put in motion....

Argo is a thrilling and nimbly dextrous piece of film making from Affleck, who, once again, demonstrates he has the directing chops to bring a drama vividly to life.

From the spot on period decoration of the 1970s and styles through to the sci fi nods, it's a spot on tense drama which unwinds in front of you. Granted, it's quite earnest but serious in tone, with only hints of half smiles coming from Mendez as he sets about his mission. And the house hostages are equally as serious throughout as this involving story unfolds.

Thankfully, the dour tone is lifted by the film-makers Lester Siegel and John Chambers (Arkin and Goodman  respectively) who bring some much needed humour to the proceedings and who lighten the tone immensely as they deadpan and joke their way through setting up the studio for the fake film. One of the best lines comes from Chambers who intones that the "target audience will hate it - that's anyone with eyes." Equally, Siegel proclaims that if he's "going to do a fake movie, it's going to be a fake hit!" with such aplomb, you can't help but laugh.

But that's what Affleck's got so right with this story - the mix of light and dark; he never appears to overplay the seriousness of the situation for anything other than the sake of the drama - and the end result is that you're captivated in your seat as the tension ratchets up towards the end and you wonder whether the operation will be successful or fail, resulting in everyone's death. It's a masterful piece of movie making which has got all of the small details right and a strong - if surprising - contender for one of the best films of the year.

I'd highly suspect that Argo is on the way to getting some recognition from the little gold man come 2013; it's a confident, respectful and utterly gripping piece of movie making from a director who's shaping up to be one of the generation's finest.
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The Angels' Share: Movie Review

The Angels' Share: Movie Review

Cast: Paul Brannigan, John Henshaw, Roger Allam
Director: Ken Loach

Ken Loach delivers an unabashed audience pleasing, absolute cracker of a film with The Angels' Share which is as charming and memorable as it is funny. 

From its opening montage of young offenders being sentenced to community work, you wonder if the trademark social realism is about to pierce the relatively light proceedings. 

But the master of miserabilism on the council estate delivers such a tonal shift early on that nearly gives you whiplash and unleashes corking tale from Scotland about an apparent no hoper called Robbie (Brannigan), who's running out of chances, that it'd be churlish to resist. 

Just when you think Robbie's story will see him beaten by family rivalries and forced to leave his new son and girlfriend Leonie, a second chance and a gaggle of misfit Scottish colleagues end up on a caper comedy rife with pathos, heart and humour as they work to steal a rare Scottish whisky and change all their lives. 

Loach works with leads who're unknowns and thus garners great performances from them as he draws this tale together. 

The Angels' Share is about second chances, friendships and whisky - you'd be foolish to miss this wee dram of a film; it's an absolute ripper.

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The Woman in Black: DVD Review

The Woman in Black: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe heads to spooky town for this adaptation of a 1980s book.

Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a lawyer who's on his last chance with his firm and haunted by the death of his wife, who died in child birth.

Kipps is sent to a house in Edwardian Britain to tie up the affairs of the owner of Eel Marsh House. However, on his arrival, he's shunned by the villagers and finds superstition rife within the small village. Settling in at the house to pull the paperwork together, Kipps soon finds all manner of things which go bump in the night, and a curse which could prove to be eternal.

The Woman in Black is a fairly well paced, spooky outing which builds and successfully maintains an atmosphere of general discomfort and ookiness. Radcliffe gives good haunted person as the lead even if he does spend a lot of the film simply looking like he's recoiling in horror and general uncertainty throughout.

The Woman in Black is an effective chiller, which is occasionally formulaic and a little too reliant on the obvious scares (ie heightened soundtrack, long drawn out camera movements) but shows that British horror can still be done well when it needs to.

Extras: No Fear: Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Kipps

Rating:

This Must Be The Place: DVD Review

This Must Be The Place: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Hopscotch Home Entertainment

Sean Penn stars as retired rock star Cheyenne (who's part Edward Scissorhands, part Ozzy, part Robert Smith from the Cure first thing in the morning) sets on a road trip to find the Nazi war criminal who persecuted his recently deceased father.Full of quirky offbeat visual moments and subtle touches of humour throughout, This Must Be The Place is a road trip film which is fuelled by heart as well as a stonkingly good OST from the Talking Heads song of the same name (and appearance from David Byrne). 

Penn's a touch above what you'd expect from him as the oddity unfurls bringing layers of subtlety to the performance - but with cameos from David Byrne and Harry Dean Stanton, the film's a classy if bizarre affair. 

However, in amongst all the occasional weirdness and whimsy, there's a strong beating centre which remains with you long after it's finished - and most of that is thanks to Penn's measured performance as the ex glam rocker looking for redemption and a sense of identity. 

Extras: Deleted scenes, interviews

Rating:

Brand new Gangster Squad trailer arrives

Brand new Gangster Squad trailer arrives

Hot off the press, it's the brand new Gangster Squad trailer....

Starring Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, Gangster Squad is already shaping up to be one of the must see films of 2013.

It's about the LAPD's fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s and also stars Giovanni Ribisi and Josh Brolin.

GANGSTER SQUAD releases in NZ cinemas on Jan 17th

The Intouchables: Movie Review

The Intouchables: Movie Review

Cast: Francois Cluzet, Omar Sy, Audrey Fleurot
Director: Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano

After smashing its way through the box office and hearts in France, The Intouchables finally lands on New Zealand cinema screens. Rumour has it as well, that it's on course for the Oscars next year - but time will tell.

It's the heartwarming and true, yet irreverent tale of quadriplegic millionaire, Philippe (Cluzet) whose life took a turn for the worst after a paragliding accident. Confined to a chair, Philippe lives day to day, appreciating the finer things in life like art and classical music and yet not quite living properly.

One day, while interviewing for a new carer, he comes across Omar Sy's street smart ex-con Driss. Driss is there simply to tick a box and to apply for a benefit - however, when he ends up at the interview, his lack of interest in the role and stolid adherence to being there only because he has to (although he ends up flirting with flame haired interviewer Magalie, played by Audrey Fleurot), fires up something long dormant in Philippe.

Driss ends up being hired by Philippe and, unsurprisingly, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship as the carer from the projects brings his unorthodox view on life to the starchly stiff world of Philippe.

The Intouchables is very much the antithesis to the Diving Bell and The Butterfly - and is so diametrically opposed in approach that it's easy to see why this broadly uplifting and at times, irreverent comedy has been so cherished by many.

With the words: "Based on a true story" ringing out at the start, it's clear that this piece will strike a chord in many - and to be frank, having sat through it, you'd be hard pressed to have it not elicit some form of reaction from you while viewing.

Uplifting, surprisingly never mawkish and always heartwarming, The Intouchables is a joy to behold. From the humour of the writing which punctuates any lingering sentimentality (which would normally threaten to derail a film such as this) to central performances which are never anything less than compelling despite being non-showy, it's a film which will linger on in you long after you've left.

With pathos and touching nuanced acting, the main duo paint a plausible picture of an unlikely and unconventional friendship and bond. Sy gives a dogged realism to his street character and Cluzet brings a restrained and underlying sadness to the man who believes his handicap "is not living in the chair - it's living without her (his wife)." Scenes have a tenderness when they need to and an irreverence which will cause laugh out loud moments when they come.

Some films are meant to be seen - and by seeking out The Intouchables, you will find yourself acknowledging some of the predictability of this story of a man from the wrong side of town meeting a man from the higher echelons of society, but yet revelling in the mismatched duo. Smart repartie and camaraderie punctuate the screen and with plenty of charm to it, The Intouchables is a near shoo in for Oscar nominations come 2013.

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