Comic Con - Episode IV: A Fan's Hope - DVD Review

Comic Con - Episode IV: A Fan's Hope - DVD Review

Rating M
Released by Madman Home Entertainment

Morgan Spurlock returns in this new doco put together with Stan Lee and Joss Whedon, examining the phenomenon that is San Diego's annual Comic Con and the masses who descend upon it.

Spurlock stays behind the camera on this one, opting to use a whole heap of famous talking heads and the people who attend the nerd fest to explain its appeal. Interestingly though, he chooses to follow the Con through the eyes of some different attendees - two wannabe comic book artists, a fan wanting to propose to his girlfriend during a Kevin Smith panel, a comic seller who goes every year and is now facing the possibility of needing to sell a rare comic to stay afloat and a troop of costume designers looking for an award.

If you're a fan of the convention and know a little of it all from attending the NZ Armageddon event, you'll know what to expect in this - and to be frank, if you're au fait with it all, it offers nothing new - but to everyone else, it's a fascinating, well executed fun doco which is reverential and respectful rather than mocking and taking cheap shots at people dressed up in costumes.

From great talking heads - Joss Whedon, Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, Olivia Wilde, Robert Kirkman - there's plenty of insight and it's well paced and extremely watchable.

Spurlock's pulled together something which offers up a world some may never see and balanced it with giving fans of the genre more access to the event that they may not have had before.

Extras: Extended interviews and stuff from the cutting room floor - not much in the way of bonus content but a way of extending the experience more than anything.

Rating:

The Golden Globe nominations are out

The Golden Globe nominations are out

Yesterday we had the Screen Actors Guild nominations, today it's the turn of The Golden Globe 2013 nominations.

And it looks as if Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis is becoming a serious contender for award glory.

Here are the full list of nominations for the Golden Globes for TV and Film...

Best Motion Picture — Drama
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The ImpossibleRachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Best Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the YemenSilver Linings Playbook

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Alan Arkin, Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Director — Motion Picture
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
Argo, Chris Terrio
Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Lincoln, Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal

Best Original Score — Motion PictureAnna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
Cloud Atlas, Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimet & Reinhold Heil
Life of Pi, Michael Danna
Lincoln, John Williams

Best Original Song — Motion Picture
“For You ” (music and lyrics by Keith Urban), Act of Valor
“Not Running Anymore” (music and lyrics by Jon Bon Jovi), Stand Up Guys
“Safe & Sound” (music and lyrics by Taylor Swift, John Paul White, Joy Williams and T Bone Burnett), The Hunger Games
“Skyfall” (music and lyrics by Adel and Paul Epworth), Skyfall
“Suddenly” (music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and lyrics by Schonberg and Alain Boublil),Les Miserables

Best Animated Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour
The Intouchables
Kon-Tiki
A Royal Affair
Rust & Bone

Best Television Series — Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Homeland
The Newsroom

Best Television Series — Comedy Or MusicalThe Big Bang Theory
Episodes
Girls
Modern Family
Smash

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Connie Britton, Nashville
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionKevin Costner, Hatfields and McCoysBenedict Cumberbatch, SherlockWoody Harrelson, Game ChangeToby Jones, The GirlClive Owen, Hemingway and Gellhorn

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Sienna Miller, The Girl
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Ed Harris, Game Change
Danny Huston, Magic City
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionHayden Panettiere, Nashville
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Sarah Paulson, Game Change
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey 
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Lena Dunham, Girls
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks And Recreation

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louis
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionGame ChangeThe Girl
Hatfield & McCoys
The Hour
Political Animals

Cecil B. DeMille Award
Jodie Foster

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits box office gold

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits box office gold

In news which will be of little surprise to people living in New Zealand, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has hit box office gold.

(Just like Bilbo below in this still from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)

In its opening night alone, it's amassed a wealth of $$782,695, beating out the likes of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of The King.

Here's the full release:

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY TRAVELS WELL AT THE NEW ZEALAND BOX OFFICE

13 December 2012 – Auckland, New Zealand

The eagerly anticipated first film in The Hobbit Trilogy was released in cinemas yesterday and has already enamoured audiences all across the country.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), opened to a box office result yesterday of $782,695, making it the biggest non-holiday Wednesday opening of all time. 

The box office takings compare favourably against The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on the records charts, with Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring grossing $720,933 on its opening day and The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers grossing $757,887.

Many fans took the opportunity to be amongst the first in the world to experience the film on the big screen at Midnight on December 12^th, with several cinemas reporting unprecedented demand and sell-out midnight sessions up and down the country.

Joel Pearlman, Managing Director of Roadshow Film Distributors, stated, “We are thrilled that the film has already resonated so positively with so many New Zealanders.”

“It is a spectacular and immersive visual experience,” Pearlman says.  “The film is available to be enjoyed in a variety of formats depending on each audience member’s preference.”

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has released on 203 screens, in 98 different locations nationally from Kaitaia to Invercargill.  It makes this film the biggest release on-screen on record in New Zealand.  Included in the total are 39 locations showing the film in the new High Frame Rate 3D (HFR 3D) format. 

Pacific Rim trailer drops

Pacific Rim trailer drops

The brand new trailer for Pacific Rim has just landed...

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes -- a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) -- who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

This Is 40 and GI Joe Retaliation trailers

This Is 40 and GI Joe Retaliation trailers

New trailers have dropped today for GI Joe Retaliation....



And there's a new red band trailer for This Is 40 too...



Both films hits NZ next year.

Ratchet and Clank: Q Force PS3 Review

Ratchet and Clank: Q Force PS3 Review

Released by Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform: PS3

It's no secret I'm a big fan of the platforming experience that is Ratchet and Clank.

Every single one of their titles has had the trademark mix of good solid platforming, shooting things, collecting things and humorous story telling. So, I have to admit, I was a little wary when I saw this new title was just to include simply one of those things - just the shooting of things.

There's a brief story with this title - also known as Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault - and it goes a little something like this.

Qwark is now retired and looking around in space for some adventure with R&C - when a baddie mysteriously appears on the scene and plunges a whole heap of planets into chaos, it's upto Q Force (Qwark, Clank and Ratchet) to head down to each one and fend off the alien invasion and nasty hordes of creatures. You've got your own base on each planet - but here's the twist; you can't simply head off and attack the bad guys as you have to defend your patch too as they are prone to attacking your base at any given time. Thankfully you can pick up weapons around the worlds to fight your corner.

Ratchet and Clank: Q Force is actually more playable than I had expected, given some of the ingredients of the formula had been left off. Despite the real lack of the storyline running throughout, it means you can pick up and put down the levels without any real loss of continuation. After each one is completed, you can also replay again to beat various targets which have been laid down.

You'll need to be tactical so Ratchet and Clank: Q Force isn't just a game about shooting things and leaving your brains at the door. You have to be strategic and build up defences for your bases so that when you're trying to tackle something on the other side of the planet, you can be confident that it'll stand on its own two feet. Collecting bolts once again helps with that - and replenishing ammo and health is a lot simpler given that the boxes rejuvenate every few minutes.

What's problematic about that is also that when you've cleared one area of bad guys, if you head off to get some ammo and supplies, reinforcements are dropped in the area and you have to start all over again. It's a frustrating touch, particularly when some of your weapons don't hold as much ammo as you could need.

Graphically, when the bases become overwhelmed, there's plenty to watch on the screen and it all works well together without any real sign of any glitches or freezing.

Ratchet and Clank: Q Force is a good, strong fun title - a shooter which offers up online and multiplayer capabilities - you may actually find yourself enjoying it more than you'd thought.

Rating:

Sports Champions 2: PS3 Review

Sports Champions 2: PS3 Review

Platform: PS3 and Move
Released by Sony Computer Entertainment

Sporting simulations are two-a-penny on the gaming front.

They usually involve various permutations of button mashing, hands being thrown up in the air and generally waving controllers around trying to get your athlete to do what you want them to do.

The latest, Sports Champions 2, takes in the PlayStation MOVE technology and camera to ensure you get the best out of the events unfolding in front of you. The tech takes on an array of sporting accessories - bowling, skiing, tennis etc.

After a brief calibration exercise, you get into the action - and begin to work your way up through the ranks. For the likes of bowling, it means using the MOVE controller as an extended arm piece and learning how to twist and turn the ball to achieve maximum points. Gradually, you move up the ranks and end up facing off a big boss at the end for a medal championship.

I can't compare Sports Champions 2 to its predecessor, having never played it, although I can say this title offers a lot of fun to the armchair sports enthusiast and the team player as well. Multiplayer options mean this could be a fun event to have a few mates around for at Christmas. Graphically, the game handles well and the MOVE technology works well - it's good to see that MOVE is generally becoming more integrated into games and their accessibility for all.

All in all, Sports Champions 2 will be a fun title for the social crowd - and for serious sports gamers, the simulation is effective, smooth and extremely playable.

Rating: