Homeland Series One: DVD Review

Homeland Series One: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

It swept the Emmys this year and quite rightly so.

The drama starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis is one of the most taut thrillers I've seen for a while - and despite only being 12 episodes long, it's highly compelling and addictive.

Still, what would you expect from the makers of 24?

Lewis stars as Brody, a US Marine held captive by al-Qaeda - and Danes plays the CIA Agent Carrie Mathison, who believes Brody was turned by the terrorists and now he was rescued, poses a clear and present danger to the USA.

Warned in Iraq that Brody was a traitor,Mathison launches a quest to bring him down - but here's the kicker - she's potentially on shaky mental ground, causing you to question whether she's right at all....

Homeland is a thrilling ride, a taut piece of psychological drama which plays out well thanks to excellent performances from Danes and Lewis. It's an engrossing piece with some impressive supporting turns from the likes of Morena Baccarin, David Harewood and Mandy Patinkin.

Season 2 is currently playing - and the show's swept a slew of awards, so it really is a great time to jump on in and see what the fuss is about - you won't regret it.

Extras: Docos, behind the scenes, a solid bunch

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What to Expect When You're Expecting: DVD Review

What to Expect When You're Expecting: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

It's the story of five Atlanta couples who're in various stages of life but with babies on the mind - either accidentally or deliberately.

There's Cameron Diaz's fitness expert Jules, who's secretly sleeping with Matthew Morrison's Evan as they dance their way around a celebrity dance show; there's J-Lo's Holly, a photographer who's about to adopt an African baby with scared silly father to be Alex (Santoro); there's Elizabeth Banks' Wendy, an expert on babies and motherhood who's been unable to conceive despite trying with her hubbie Gary (Ben Falcone) and there's his competitive father Ramsey, who's about to give birth with his young trophy wife (and Wendy's nemesis) Skyler (Decker). Throw into that mix, youngster Rosie (Kendrick) who finds herself pregnant after a one night stand with Chace Crawford's Marco and the baby mix is complete.

But, as ever in life there are trials and tribulations ahead - some of them good, some of them bad.

You should know what to expect with What To Expect When You're Expecting; essentially, it's another one of those relatively asinine, bland Hollywood ensembles which pitches at all demographics and pulls in all kinds of big names.

While it's exactly what you'd think they'd conceive for this kind of film and may have you wishing it'd gestated for another 9 months or so, there are some parts which will appeal to those wanting a film which is cheesy as and predictable.

Firstly, the Dudes Group, which proffers up a male point of view courtesy of Chris Rock and a trio of other dads, is actually funny and amusing. Along with a kid from the group which is accident prone, there's some laughs to be had. There'll probably be some men in the audience who'll be nodding their heads in agreement with their situations - if they're unfortunate enough to be dragged along to this.

Secondly, the cast is all relatively talented and brings a reasonable performance to the table; but especially watchable is Elizabeth Banks' character who, while going through an entirely predictable character arc as she becomes a mess of pregnancy hormones, manages to light up the screen with her turn.

The problem with What To Expect When You're Expecting is, I suspect,  more one of managing your own expectations.

If you want to see a film where life's problems are brought up and then summarily dismissed in a montage of moments or a quick trite solution then this is the film for you; it espouses such life lessons as "Pregnancy's not as dreamy as you've always imagined it to be" and "Becoming a parent can be quite scary, but is ultimately worth it" as it saunters on its way through a formula to its inevitably sentimental end.

Extras: What to expect and the pregnancy bible

Rating:

Prometheus: Blu Ray Review

Prometheus: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

One of the most anticipated films of the year, Prometheus was weighed down by expectation before it released - mainly thanks to a marketing campaign which was so successful.

Prometheus stars Noomi Rapace as Dr Elizabeth Shaw, one of the 17 strong crew of the ship Prometheus, which is on the way to the outer reaches of the stars to discover the potential interstellar origins of life on earth.

When the planet believed to be the start of life on earth is reached, the crew is awoken by synthetic human David (played with aloof brilliance by Michael Fassbender) and set out to explore the world of LV-223.However, what they discover is devastating in more ways than one - and soon, the crew of the Prometheus is in a fight to the death....

Prometheus the film still remains a frustrating watch - from its brilliant opening scenes which promise such mystery and scope to the disappointing final shot, it's a film which both thrills and enthralls as well as frustrates and avoids hitting the mark.

It's perhaps, just not as frightening or terrifying as it should have been as it leaps around from sequence to sequence. Sure, it's occasionally nervy watching as it descends into B movie body horror and frights (one scene where Shaw's forced to undergo an emergency piece of surgery is as tense, scary and horrific as anything in the original run of films) but there's less tension in the second half of the film which can't match the heightened anticipation of the opening with the Engineers.

But the big reason to buy this current set (aside from the HD conversion) is the wealth of Prometheus Blu Ray extras.

With over 7 hours of content, there's plenty of reasons to watch on and explore the universe of Prometheus. From a commentary with Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof, a lot of answers are offered up and with the doco entitled "Questions Will Be Answered", there will be plenty of fans who will want to know more - and these will satiate many. 

Other extras include The Peter Weyland files, deleted and alternate scenes, including an opening and ending which are different, there's more than enough here to justify expanding the release. 

Ultimately, Prometheus looks stunning in HD and with the bulked up extras (a great reason to buy), it's certainly an impressive release for a film which has divided so many this year.

Rating:

Hobbit run time revealed - and new images

Hobbit run time revealed - and new images

Not long to go now, until the world premiere of The Hobbit in Wellington.

Plus more, news is leaking out about the film.

Empire Magazine's just unleashed five new Hobbit images with a series of collector's covers as well as revealing some juicy information about the film.

Including the running time of The Hobbit.

The Hobbit is expected to run for 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Here's what Sir Peter Jackson has to say about it:

“It’s looking like it’s going to be about ten minutes shorter than Fellowship was," explains Jackson. "So it’s going to be officially our shortest Middle-earth yet. I mean, Fellowship was just under three hours and this is about 2 hours 40 minutes at the moment.”

Here are the five new Hobbit images:

Evil Dead trailer arrives

Evil Dead trailer arrives

If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a real treat.

Here's the first look at Evil Dead remake (they've even dropped the The).

Produced by Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi, the remake of iconic horror The Evil Dead is due to launch next year.

Evil Dead is directed by Fede Alvarez and stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandeez and Jessica Lucas

New Assassins Creed III content

New Assassins Creed III content

It's not long now till the release of Assassin's Creed III - and we've got some new trailers to show you.

First up, the story trailer for Assassin's Creed III Liberation hitting PS Vita at the end of October:




Next up, the Assassin's Creed III launch trailer.

That hits PS3 and Xbox from October 31st.

Mental: Movie Review

Mental: Movie Review

Cast: Toni Collette, Rebecca Gibney, Anthony LaPaglia, Liev Schreiber, Kerry Fox, Deborah Mailman
Director: PJ Hogan

The latest Aussie outing sees Packed to the Rafters star Rebecca Gibney looking almost unrecognisable as a matriarch of a family falling apart.

Gibney plays Shirley Moochmore, who dreams of a life as the head of the Von Trapp family and who we first see singing the Sound of Music much to the horror of her five daughters. Shirley's hubbie Barry, the wannabe re-elected mayor, is a bit of a rascal, cheating on her, never home for family meals and forgetting all of the kids' names.

So it's no wonder that our Shirl has a breakdown and is carted off to the local looney bin - or "on holiday in Woollongong" to avoid embarrassment.

However, Barry's forced home when he realises how troubled his daughters are; one's already tried to commit suicide, the others are unpopular and one's borderline schizophrenic...things don't look good for the Moochmores. In fact, Coral, who tried to kill herself, is the main reason Barry stays away, unable to face what they call "The Disgrace."

That's when a hard smoking, straight talking Shaz (Toni Collette) shows up in their lives (well, after Barry picks her up from the side of the road) - and turns them all upside down, making them believe in themselves and that being different is nothing to be frightened or ashamed of.

But Shaz isn't exactly being completely honest with the Moochmores - in fact, she's got as much baggage as the rest of them....

Mental is an intriguing film - and certainly one which is aiming to upend the usual attitudes to mental health.

Crazy opening scenes set the tone - the mum's in the yard, singing that The Hills are Alive with the Sound of music, while the daughters are inside, cringing at her embarrassing behaviour. However, when Shirley's carted off to a mental institution for a breakdown, it's down to a bit more of a drama as drifter Shaz shows up.

Which is a real shame - because while it cocks a snook at suburban uptight attitudes and opinions, it's that spark of total bizarreness which is much needed throughout. After all, any film which ends with someone lighting a fart and setting fire to a room full of dolls is clearly hoping to achieve some kind of randomness.

Throw in a good cast of calibre - LaPaglia as a cheating husband, Schreiber as a croc hunter with a grizzly edge, and the Sapphires Deborah Mailman as a lusty lesbian and you've got quite the ensemble.

In amongst all that, while Collette is all energy and kook with heart as the nanny who shows up, the story is determined to give her a tragic past, which torpedoes any of the levity that Hogan's brought to the screen.

Mental isn't a bad film - it's just one that's a mismatch of various tones and ideas and consequently doesn't really achieve any overall final feeling. If you're after another Muriel's Wedding, you'll be highly disappointed.

Rating: