Song for Marion: Movie Review

Song for Marion: Movie Review

Cast: Terence Stamp, Vanessa Redgrave, Gemma Arterton, Christopher Eccleston
Director: Paul Andrew Williams

Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave star in this film, primarily aimed at the older generation.

Redgrave is Marion, a terminally ill woman whose one joy in life is to attend the local acappella choir, headed by the perkily upbeat teacher (Gemma Arterton). That's despite her grumpy, gruff husband Arthur's indignation. The group's called the OAPz and when they get the chance to sing in a competition, Terence Stamp's Arthur's concerned it's a bridge too far for his sick wife. Throw in an estranged son (played by Christopher Eccleston) and cute granddaughter into the mix and you can see it's heading for trouble.

Song For Marion is a bit of mawkish and manipulative piece, aimed at leaving you blubbering despite its predictable route.

Redgrave and Stamp are the stand outs here as the leads; and one scene where Marion gets a solo really does hit you where it hurts. But once she's out of the picture, the predictability and dreariness of the piece kicks in. The OAPz have their quirky, pensioners-doing-silly-things moments as they sing Salt'n'Pepa's Let's Talk About Sex (I blame Young@Heart for this) and the whole film becomes a gloopy sentimental mess as Arthur decides to become involved.

Curiously, despite the emotional manipulation of the story (Will he reunite with his son? Will he follow Marion's lead into the world of the community hall choir?) the finale is a lacklustre affair with scant hint of any rousing feeling as it plays out. While Stamp's gruff demeanour and general grumpiness is understandable in the face of such overwhelming positivity (and vague annoyingness) he manages to craft a character whom you can relate to and whose presence commands your attention.

All in all, Song For Marion will potentially play well to matinee crowds who don't really want a challenge at all - it's a disappointing misuse of the talents involved.

Rating:

Who Me: Comedy Festival Review

Who Me: Comedy Festival Review

Obsessions.

We all have them - no matter how you bundle them up - that rugby game you attend every week, that team you follow devotedly, that band you covet; it comes in many forms.

But what if your obsession were a TV show, a show which for the majority of its 50 years was not cool and never received the widespread iconic love it did in the last seven years? What if that show were Doctor Who and you were an Aussie fan who got into it back in the 90s? And what if that obsession was threatening to derail your life to the extent of all other matters?

That in a nutshell is the comedy festival Who Me, starring Aussie stand up and performance artist Rob Lloyd. And Rob is on trial for his life in this show, which takes a slightly self-deprecating, self-acknowledging look at what an obsession does for a life.

With boundless energy, and copious amounts of sweat under the theatre lights at Auckland's Basement, there's never anything less than 100% given by Rob on stage.

Taking on the role of the performer, the defendant and the prosecution in this examination of whether his addiction has consumed him and turned him into a lesser person, Rob actually pulls apart the world of fandom in general. (Though I will grant you, if you're a Whovian and know your Yeti from your Judoon, you may get just a little bit more from this show than anyone else).

Theatrical flourishes and clever word play breathe life into this autobiographical tale of growing up a nerd in a small Aussie town where nobody shared your interests. It's almost unremarkable to think that there was ever a time when being a fan of anything - let alone sci-fi - was not cool. These days, it's hip to be square (thanks Huey Lewis) and so the idea of being cast asunder and negotiating the lonely plane of loving something more than others is an alien one to many. But Rob takes something that many of us will recognise in ourselves (if we're honest) and turns it into a  universal story of truth and self-examination. Sure, he's preaching to the converted with a lot of the audience, but his journey is one we'll all see our own traits in.

Passion and addiction are fine bedfellows and they're ones which have clearly plagued Rob throughout his life; with the help of slideshows and references to Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, Babylon 5, Joss Whedon (before the Avengers), Rob fires moment after nostalgic moment of fan love onto the crowd with nothing short of empathy. High energy helps his boundless enthusiasm seep among the crowd; and there is one moment which sees the pre-conceptions of Rob and his cosplay turned on their very head - and masterfully done it is. It's clear his background as a drama teacher helps, but I never felt anything but warmth radiating from the stage into the audience.

There's a confessional feel to Who, Me? I grant you we're never but on Rob's side of the argument throughout - but what comes out are a few universal truths which examine and then celebrate what it is to be passionate about something. Sure, it's a look at one man's obsession, but it's also an utterly revered and totally recognisable warm and comedic take on what it means to be a nerd, to be all consumed by something and to shout out that from the rooftops.

The World's End Trailer is here

The World's End Trailer is here

The Cornetto trilogy is coming to an end.

And here's the first trailer for The World's End, starring the brilliant comic duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

The World’s End is the third installment of Edgar Wright’s trilogy of comedies, following the successes Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007). Mr. Wright co-wrote the script with Simon Pegg, who will once again star alongside Nick Frost. Joining the team are actors Martin Freeman (Shaun of the Dead, The Hobbit), Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum), Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes), and Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher).

20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hellbent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King (Simon Pegg), a 40-year-old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their hometown and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub – The World’s End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind’s. 

Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.

The World's End hits NZ cinemas on October 3rd.

And in summary, cannot wait.

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: