Great Expectations: Movie Review

Great Expectations: Movie Review

Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Robbie Coltrane, Jeremy Irvine, Holliday Grainger, Jason Flemyng, David Walliams
Director: Mike Newell

An adaptation of Charles Dickens' 13th novel, and the umpteenth film version of it, Great Expectations is, of course, the story of Pip and Estella.

War Horse's Irvine plays Pip, the apprentice of a blacksmith (played with considerable charm by Jason Flemyng) whose life is changed by his introduction to Miss Havisham (Bonham Carter) and her daughter Estella (a porcelain doll like Grainger).

Pip comes from a more humble background and after falling for the distant and aloof Estella, decides he wants to be a gentleman to woo her. Fortunately for him, without warning, he's told by Jaggers (Coltrane) that he's come into a considerable fortune and will be trained as a gentleman.

But Pip's journey to thaw the cold heart of Estella is a long and arduous one, fraught with troubles and conflict.

Great Expectations is a solid, if unspectacular telling of the Dickens' story. It's perfectly serviceable, relatively watchable and yet utterly unoriginal as it spools out over 2 hours.

The leads are okay; perfunctory in many cases and Estella's coldness and brutal approach seems at odds to someone who's supposed to be a romantic lead. Irvine is equally fine as Pip, but there's never a real sense of engagement or connection with them or their respective plights.

The supporting cast are solid and committed to their roles, from the formulaic film from within the BBC films mould - and out of all of them , it's perhaps Flemyng who impresses the most as Joe, Pip's friend and adopter. He brings a warmth and heart to the role that borders on heartbreaking when Pip turns his back on him. Likewise Bonham Carter is good as the initially eccentric and ultimately sad Miss Havisham and Fiennes adds an edgy energy to his Abel Magwitch.

Despite being sumptuously costumed, and making the most of the English countryside for sweeping establishing shots, I'm afraid to say Newell adds little to this film, rendering more a kind of film likely to be loved by fans of the book but feeling to others like yet another adaptation to sit through as part of an English class.

Great Expectations promises high expectations given the talent involved - and while it's relatively straight forward as a period drama and adaptation, it's unfortunately nothing new and original. Though, I suspect those longing for a good solid period drama will be enthralled by it.

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The Last of Us: Demo preview

The Last of Us: Demo preview

Naughty Dog has been behind some of my favourite games on the PlayStation.

From Crash Bandicoot's swirling (I so hope he'll be back on PS3 or PS4 someday), Jak and Daxter to Nathan Drake's Uncharted, they've constantly proven that they can bring something new and inventive to the gaming world - so I've got high hopes for The Last Of Us, their take on a post apocalyptic world.

I was fortunate enough to be given some time with a pre-alpha look at what The Last of Us is likely to be offering - and to say it's intriguing is a minor understatement.

You're taken to an Earth which has been decimated by the sweeping of a fungal disease - not only are people dead, but there are several stages to the infection and as the lead character, you're about to encounter them.

In this third person game demo, you play Joel who along with two young charges is making his way through a rain-swept destroyed part of town. It looks suitably grim with buildings bashed around and an easy walk through the city not being an option. As the demo starts, Joel makes his way through a partially wrecked building with Ellie, a young girl he's pledged to get out of danger. The trouble is that danger is around every corner thanks to the terrain, a lack of supplies, and the infected.

It's here the game gets interesting as the Clickers (stage 3 of the infected) are a pretty serious enemy. With their heads turned into a cross between a piece of popcorn, a mushroom and a horror mask, they're a formidable foe (and you'd be stupid to write them off based on that description). They've got a heightened sense of sound, which means you really have to be crafty to try and escape their vicious clutches. They can only be killed by a stealth attack or by shooting them several times in the head. The problem with that is you've got limited bullets, and a relative lack of weapons. The best option is to throw a brick or bottle (handily lying around) to distract them and make off in the other direction. Several attempts that I made to kill them failed miserably and resulted in my neck being ripped out and the game reloading at the last checkpoint. Clickers are not pleasant either - with their guttural clicking noise likely to come at you when you least expect it, providing a few scares along the way. Using R2 to listen and plan a strategy is usually a smarter move than an outright blundering into the situation and hoping mashing buttons will save you.

Early stages of the Infected are a little easier to kill (there was no sign of what a Stage 2 attacker looks like) as they're simply zombies which run toward you to hack you up. Simple shivving or neck breaking will do for taking them down - but if they're in a group with some Clickers, you face a real strategic dilemma as to how to get past them and carry on your quest.

The post apocalyptic world is well presented too - I wasn't distracted by the surroundings (always a surefire sign that the designers have got it right) but I did feel I was immersed in the environment right from the very beginning.

As you trawl around this urban wasteland, you get to pick up weapons, ammo, bits and bobs which could help you survive. Shivs can be crafted from getting scissors and tape; batteries can be collected for a flashlight - but they only have a limited life span....

The early signs are that The Last Of Us relies heavily on the strategy rather than the simply gunning and running of unlimited ammo. And that's something that in all honesty, I'll relish. The feeling that not everything is the right answer suggests a kind of pick-a-path mentality to the gameplay and one which is likely to show that early decisions have ramifications for further down the line.

All in all, Naughty Dog's The Last of Us looks to have immense promise and is likely to provoke a lot of debate over what the best way to survive is - and with those kind of different options available, it could well give the game play a long shelf life as you try multiple strategies to survive and win the day.

The Last Of Us hits PlayStation3 on June 14th

The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey Details revealed

The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey Details revealed

Details and cover shots have been released for The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey's small screen release.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Home entertainment release announced for May 1st

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), will get its home entertainment release in Australia and New Zealand , on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD May 1^st from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

The first of a trilogy of films adapted from the enduringly popular J.R.R. Tolkien masterpiece, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which is nominated for three Academy Awards, is an epic adventure that immerses audiences once again in the fantastical world of Middle-earth.

Set 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, the adventure follows our hero Bilbo Baggins, the eponymous Hobbit, who is reluctantly swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf, Bilbo finds himself press ganged into the company of thirteen Dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield and on a journey into the wild.

Together they must traverse troll infested forests and goblin lairs, hunted by a merciless white Orc and haunted by a mysterious and sinister figure known only as The Necromancer.

New Iron Man poster revealed

New Iron Man poster revealed

Is there such a thing as too much Iron Man?

I think not - and Marvel seems to agree.

Following the launch of the brand new Iron Man 3 trailer, there's now been a brand new Iron Man 3 poster featuring Tony Stark and Pepper Potts.

Iron Man 3 hits New Zealand cinemas on April 24th.

Robert Downey Jr returns as Tony Stark in the latest Iron Man trailer, and alongside him are the likes of Ben Kingsley as Mandarin and Don Cheadle as Iron Patriot.




Plus there are also some new Iron Man 3 images out too:

Argo: Blu Ray Review

Argo: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Entertainment

Fresh from sweeping every ceremony, Argo finally arrives on the small screen with the mantle of Best Picture from the 2013 Oscars in tow.

Ben 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 (Victor 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. It'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 and an essential small screen purchase.

Extras: A 9 minute extended cut, commentary, docos and more make this a great set of extras

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Brand new Iron Man 3 trailer is here

Brand new Iron Man 3 trailer is here

The brand new Iron Man 3 trailer is here.

Robert Downey Jr returns as Tony Stark in the latest Iron Man trailer, and alongside him are the likes of Ben Kingsley as Mandarin and Don Cheadle as Iron Patriot.

Iron Man 3 hits cinemas in April.



Plus there are also some new Iron Man 3 images out too:

Aliens Colonial Marines: PS3 Review

Aliens Colonial Marines: PS3 Review

Platform: PS3
Released by SEGA

There's just something inherently creepy about the whole being stuck on a spaceship and having something attack you from the shadows.

And when those things are xenomorphs, then you know you're likely to be seriously freaked out.

So, this latest first person shooter is set in between Aliens and Alien3 and gives you the chance to take control of US Colonial Marine Corporal Christopher Winter.  He's part of a search and rescue team sent to investigate the USS Sulaco in search of Ripley, Hicks and the other missing marines.

However, when he boards the ship, he finds there's no sign of those guys, but something somewhat hideous, scaly and spitting acid has been left behind....the Xenomorphs. Facing off against these guys, there's no choice but to shoot your way through the ship and survive.

There are some touches within Aliens: Colonial Marines which are nice - and those include the vocal work of Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen. Having their dulcit tones added into the mix gives the game a sense of canon and a feel of authenticity. And the spaceship setting is also a good one, with the creepy vibe ramped up somewhat as you walk around corridors and rooms, trying to avoid being set upon.

But herein lies some of the problem of the game - there's little else to do except stalk around dimly lit rooms and corridors and take out the Xenomorphs which come your way. While some critics have laid into the crude animations of the Aliens, I have to say they're not too bad - granted they lack some of the visceral thrill of the original Giger design but they do lumber around and come at you in a way which is terribly reminiscent of Doom and other such shooters which have been around for a long time.

A multiplayer facility is there but doesn't really add much to the dynamics of the campaign and while the single player campaign is fun for a while, the novelty of searching and shooting wears off quite quickly after a few hours gaming. You get the chance to carry flamethrowers, stacks of weapons and welding gear as the levels progress.

I think the thing with Aliens: Colonial Marines is more of it being a missed opportunity more than anything. Here was a game, with the backing of those from the film series, which could have done something new and exciting for the genre, but which appears to have chosen a route previously trodden by many a FPS. Don't get me wrong, it's playable enough but it doesn't really offer much new to the genre and could have been a more polished experience than it's ended up.

In space, no-one can hear you scream - but with Aliens: Colonial Marines, along with a few yelps of surprise here and there, it may be a scream of frustration rather than a full blown Marine style Hoo-ha.

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