Ender's Game: First trailer arrives

Ender's Game: First trailer arrives

It's here - the very first trailer for Ender's Game.

Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. 

Set in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind who has barely survived two conflicts with the "Buggers", an insectoid alien species. In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, an international fleet maintains a school to find and train future fleet commanders.

Ender's Game hits in October and stars Harrison Ford, Abigail Breslin and Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin.

Gambit: Movie Review

Gambit: Movie Review

Cast: Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Cameron Diaz, Tom Courtenay
Director: Michael Hoffman

Remade from the 1966 film of the same name which starred Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, Gambit's been languishing in development hell for a while.

With various names attached to its screenplay - including Aaron Sorkin - it fell to the Coen Brothers to adapt the story and contemporize it.

Firth stars as Harry Deane, a British art curator, who plots to seek revenge on his media mogul boss, Lord Shabandar (Rickman) by conning him into believing a painting is a Monet and paying millions for it.

However, to do this, Deane needs to enlist the help of a flaky Texan Rodeo queen, PJ Puznowski (Diaz)....

Gambit is a curiously flat affair, which fails to bring any laughs as it winds out its story.

Despite some Pink Panther-esque opening titles which promise a screwball affair, what transpires is long-winded and weak, with only caricatures to latch onto.

Diaz is all rhinestone, cowboy hat and hillbilly drawl as the Texan cowgirl set as the honey trap in the sting; Rickman is his usual sneering condescending character as he plays the horrible boss to Colin Firth's underling, Harry Deane. And Firth himself gives a very muted turn as the browbeaten employee determined to have the last laugh on his boss, and somehow manages to bring to mind a young Michael Caine (possibly in part due to the horn rimmed glasses he wears throughout). Creditable support comes from Courtenay, whose tweed clad Major is a venerable and respectable turn.

The only sequence where the farce really comes to life is a wonderfully sublime and underplayed piece where Dean finds himself needing to escape from a hotel suite and out on the ledge. But even that kind of old school gag is punctuated with a low brow fart gag, leaving all that transpired in its wake.

All in all, Gambit lacks any real punch, any smartness of writing and any chance to actually care about the self-obsessed leads of Firth and Rickman. There's no punch the air moment of joy in this one upmanship battle and there are no moments other than the dumb ones which pervade a perfunctory and unexceptional script. Moribund and plodding, and lacking any contemporary resonance (it feels like a film from a bygone era), this "caper" is a real disappointment given the talent attached to it and the fact the Coen Brothers were involved.


Rating:

Thomas Was Alone: PS3 Review

Thomas Was Alone: PS3 Review

Sometimes, there are titles which just sing from the moment you start them.

I'd first heard of Thomas Was Alone when its narrator, the wonderful Danny Wallace, picked up a gaming BAFTA for his vocal contribution. It's a simple title, but one which would be well worth investing your time in.

And investing your time in something is certainly easier to do when you have a PlayStation Plus account. I'd first been a little reticent to dabble with this given that you don't permanently own the gaming content once the subscription lapses (and I've been known to go back and play titles again that I completed a few years ago) but given that the non stop rain on the weekend precluded me from my outside chores, faffing around in the PlayStation store was the next best thing that I could do (in my opinion).

Along with online storage and a fair few doozies of game titles which are added to monthly, the benefits of having the PS Plus account are that you're tempted to dabble and gamble on a title more than you would if it costed.

One of this month's titles is the brilliant Thomas Was Alone - and I'd encourage all PS Plus owners to download it and play, because its simplicity is deceptive, but its gameplay is fiendishly addictive.

You are a rectangle (bear with me on this one) trapped in a series of mazes, and you have to jump your way through obstacles as the platformer progresses. Also, as it progresses, you get other shapes entering into the equation, all of which need to be moved through the levels and out of the portals to complete each one.

As the lo-fi game progresses (trust me, it takes minimalism to a whole new level) you find you have to team up with other shapes within the level to ensure your completion. And co-op playing (with yourself and the other shapes within each game) becomes a necessity to beat the puzzling on offer.

Combined with the wonderful narration from the aforementioned Danny Wallace, Thomas Was Alone is a real doozy of a head scratcher at times, but its graphic simplicity belies how impressive and encompassing it is once you crack into it.  But it's the mix of all the elements which add together to make this a superb freebie title from the PS Plus range....the music, the art, the concept all combine to make this game an absolute must own if you're a puzzler or platformer.

Along with Sound Shapes from earlier last year, it shows that the best games don't have to be all bangs, whistles, and stunning FX and cut scenes as they go about their business.

Thomas Was Alone is an unmissable experience, proof that smart and creative gaming isn't dwindling and that an intelligent and compassionately executed idea is all you need. Who knew that I'd lose so much time worrying about how to get rectangles and shapes to happiness??

Rating:


Find out more about Thomas Was Alone and PlayStation Plus here...

New World's End Poster unleashed

New World's End Poster unleashed

There's no denying the end of the Cornetto trilogy is the one film I'm hanging out for at the moment.

Starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, The World's End looks great already.

And now director Edgar Wright's tweeted a teaser poster for the World's End.

Take a look below:

Comedy Fest Q and A - Rob Lloyd of Doctor Who show, Who.Me?

Comedy Fest Q&A - Rob Lloyd of Doctor Who show, Who.Me?

I can't tell you how excited I am by this show this year at the NZ Comedy Festival. A couple of years back I got similarly excited by Toby Hadoke's Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf. 

This time around, at Auckland's Basement Theatre from Tuesday 7th May to Saturday 11th May, Aussie comic Rob Lloyd's bringing his show, Who, Me to town.

Rob's fortunate enough they cast a lookalike as the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) because the two share an uncanny similarity....The show starts at 8.30pm, which should be no major if you have a time machine....


So, tell us what your show is called this year? 

WHO, ME.

Why? 
Well the show isn’t just about the Doctor Who, it’s also about me!

Can you give us a few hints as to what broadly your festival show is about? 
I basically put Doctor Who, the TV show, on trial and see whether he has enhanced or ruined my life.

How much time have you spent crafting the show over the past 12 months since the end of the last festival? 
This is my first New Zealand Comedy Festival and I am so excited to be here. I’ve presented WHO, ME. at festivals right across Australia but this is the show’s first overseas trip! My co-devisor and director Scott Gooding and I worked solidly on the show for around 7 months before we premiered it at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2011 - since then the show is constantly evolving and changing, depending on the audience I’m in front of.

The comedy festival is turning 21 this year – what were you doing 21 years ago? 
Wow - 21 years ago I was 14. I was in Year 9 at High School in country NSW. I remember I went and saw Tim Burton’s Batman Returns at the cinemas. I loved that film!

The Comedy festival is all about the camaraderie too - is there anyone you’re looking forward to seeing over here either socially or on stage? 
I’m looking forward to catching up with Dave Bloustien -his show ‘The Social Contract’ is hilarious. Also, I can’t wait to catch some of the really fantastic impro comedy groups here. Improv is my main love and New Zealand improvisation always has a great reputation in the impro world.

What’s the comedy scene like at the moment who do you rate and why? 
It’s a really exciting time! There are so many interesting acts really pushing the boundaries to find new ways to make people laugh or re-examining the old ways and breathing new life into them. It’s a brave new world.

We think comedy, we think Heckling so, best tip for dealing with the hecklers? And has a heckler ever bested you? 
It’s your stage, you’re in charge, and you have the power. But just like what Spiderman was taught by Uncle Ben: ‘With great power, comes great responsibility’. You need to show who’s boss but you still need to keep the audience on side, put the heckler in their place but don’t go too far because you’ll lose the audience respect. Oh, I’ve been ‘bested many times’. I used to mostly perform impro comedy in pubs and clubs across Austraila. With impro, you kind of encourage audience members to call out stuff -sometimes it just releases the floodgates and it’s hard to ‘reel them back in’. It’s always challenging and fun though.

When we say New Zealand International Comedy Festival to you, what’s the first thing you think of? 
One of the most respected Comedy Festivals in the world! I am honoured to have been invited to perform here!

How would you persuade people to come and see your show? 
If you have ever been obsessed with anything in your life…you should see WHO, ME!

Find out more about Who Me on Facebook here...

Wreck it Ralph: Blu Ray Review

Wreck it Ralph: Blu Ray Review

Rating: PG
Released by Disney Home Ent

Ever wondered what happens to the arcade games you play at night?

Well, in a well timed piece of nostalgia, computer animated film Wreck It Ralph provides an answer to a question nobody's ever really asked before. Wreck It Ralph (Reilly) is the bad guy in an arcade game called Fix It Felix (30 Rock's McBrayer) - it's been 30 years since he first terrorised Felix in the tower block which he inhabits and smashes on a regular basis. But Ralph's had enough of being the bad guy in the game; tired of the lack of recognition for his service to the cause and generally neglected as well as a little jealous of Felix.

So,one day, determined to win himself a medal and redeem himself in the eyes of his colleagues within the games, Ralph decides to follow his dream to be a hero, and promptly absconds into a first person shooter called Heroes' Duty. It's here he meets up with tough as nails CGI sergeant Calhoun (Glee's Jane Lynch) and manages to get the medal he craves. But, even though he does, he accidentally sets in motion a chain of events which could wreck everything when he inadvertently brings a virus from the Heroes Duty game into another....

Wreck It Ralph is a colourful blast of video game nostalgia, which is smart, funny and bright and breezy.

Reilly is great as Ralph, the big outsider doofus who simply wants to no longer be the bad guy. And Sarah Silverman isn't annoyingly perky and endearingly cute as Vanellope, the rogue star of karting racing game, Sugar Rush. The two pair up as outsiders in a world which has rejected them because of their differences and inevitably form a loveable bond. Likewise, McBrayer and Lynch make a good mismatched duo as Fix it Felix and the Marine sergeant.

The idea (and major pull) is that it Wreck It Ralph looks at the psychological impact of being a baddie and explores the world of computer gaming which has never been done before. Wreck It Ralph never loses sight of its emotional core even as the gorgeously spot on animation swirls around the screen. Thanks to great vocal talent, a smart and respectful script which acknowledges the debt of the 80s video gaming world (and its myriad of characters), it's a virtual joy to behold.

Also, worth you heading to this on time is the gorgeous black and white animation, Papermanabout a pair of office workers who meet one day on a train station. Magical and memorable, this is animation at its absolute best and a salute to simpler times.

Extras: Sort, making of, deleted scenes, commercials

Rating:

Best of the Billys: Comedy Festival Review

Best of the Billys: Comedy Festival Review

New Zealand’s comedy scene is thriving and the fact the Billy T Award is handed out annually shows there’s the recognition around to provide a boost to NZ comics.

It began back in 1997 and is still in rude health – this year’s latest crop of nominees are now taking their shows to the streets to try and secure this year’s elusive towel and cash combo.

Also an annual thing is the celebration of the comics who’ve won the award – and this latest crop at SkyCity showed there’s still plenty of life left in them after they win.

Amiably hosted by Paul Ego, whose MCing tended to wander into riffing as he tackled the issues of kids as well as trying to drag some life out of the lacklustre crowd (Seriously – why would you answer the MC’s initial question and not their follow up?)

As Ego said, the best of is a “smorgasbord of acts, with no deadwood” – so it’s curious to note that not everyone was firing 100% with the crowd last night at SkyCity – even with potty mouths and toilet obsessed humour prevalent.

Last year’s winner Guy Williams’ usual dry, low energy laconic style got some unexpected laughs from his attempts at audience interaction and put downs. His usual deadpan one liners and way of looking at life garnered a fair few giggles but not perhaps the broader acclaim he should have received.

Equally Mike Loder’s continuing comedy mission to offend and divide the audience proffered up some of the more edgy moments of the show.  It really demonstrated that despite winning back in 2000, he’s lost none of the acerbic edge which marks him out as dangerous as each sucker punch landed on their unexpected target.

Steve Wrigley’s opening about, erm, his opening at a mate’s house in the loo, proved to be nothing short of puerile and potty obsessed – but to be fair the audience lapped up every second of it so I’m not sure who’s to be blame there. He described his performance as “fun but with a touch of soul destroying” and with a shaky start before finding some comedy nuggets, I’d suggest, politely that he wasn’t far off the mark.

The second half saw the incredibly self-assured and cleverly intelligent Nick Gibb put the audience back on track with some smart and amusing one liners and observations on those shopping at Pak’n’Save and Oscar Pistorius (kudos for the Blade Runner gag too)

Cori Gonzalez Macuer also landed a few unexpected zingers in his downbeat style of delivery too. Despite saying he’d been lying low from comedy, he proved on the mark and divisive with some smart observations about New Plymouth strip clubs and New Zealand’s walk of fame in Wellington. I kind of wanted more from him, which is always a good sign.

But the star of the night was undoubtedly the closing act, Ewen Gilmour who won the award back in 1997. To rapturous applause he hit his comedy straps right away and never, ever let up. With a Billy T-esque laugh here and there, Gilmour certainly proved there’s plenty of life in the Westie yet. Which makes his show Mid Life Circus more of a must see.

In all honesty, the Best of was not quite the full on laugh fest it usually is; it was a little more muted – but it showed NZ comedy is in rude health. But unfortunately with more of the emphasis on the rude side of things than the normal sophistication….