The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Blu Ray Review

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Video

And so, part one of the trilogy (!) hits the small screen.

A perfectly cast Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit movie and Sir Ian McKellen is back reprising his role as Gandalf the Grey in this. Baggins, a Hobbit, lives in Bag-End, and enjoys the quiet life - so when Gandalf shows up on his doorstep, offering him a chance to be involved in an adventure, Bilbo politely, but firmly refuses. Later that evening, a company of 13 dwarves gradually show up at his homestead, ransacking his pantry and determined that Bilbo will join them on their quest - to reclaim treasure stolen by thedragon Smaug and to help Thorin Oakenshield (a broody Richard Armitage) take back his lost kingdom of Erebor.

Against his every fibre of being, Bilbo finds himself going on this adventure - a trip which will change them all forever...

While the stunning work of WETA shows off a lot, it's not all perfect on the FX front - while the Goblin Kingdom looks impressive, some of the shots when Gandalf and the gang ride a walkway down to try and escape don't quite fit together as well as they could, lacking the cohesive FX touches - and likewise, when the first reveal of Rivendell comes, it looks a little too much like a painting in the background, with action superimposed on the front. To be honest, though, these are minor niggles of the process rather than glaring FX distractions.

As for the human side of the film, Martin Freeman easily stands (a little) head and shoulders above the rest of the cast. His Bilbo is a perfect combination of deadpan well-timed comedy, Englishness and a hint of a Hobbit about to grow up. Plus, having seen Martin Freeman as Bilbo, it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. The sequence where he riddles with Gollum is just astounding as a two-hander and is a real stand out of the film; particularly for Andy Serkis' work as Gollum, as he runs the gamut from childish glee to murderous malice in his game.

Magical, majestic, mystical and utterly masterful, The Hobbit movie is an enthralling, engrossing and unmissable return to Middle-Earth (especially if you're a committed LOTR fan); it's a fantasy film which reinvents the genre and is in someways game-changing for all that will follow it.

But I have to say I'm disgusted with the DVD treatment - not a hint of an extra in sight with everything saved for the Blu Ray. It's a real kick in the teeth to fans to be frank - and I'm hoping it means an extended DVD with some stuff on will be here soon. Warners - you should be absolutely shamed at how you've treated the casual DVD viewer.

Extras: NONE - a disgrace on the DVD - on the Blu Ray, it's a fuller picture. If you're willing to upgrade to the Blu Ray though, you get around 10 mini features -and a 3D pack as well, so that adds for some quality.

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Blu Ray Review

The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

Based on Stephen Chbosky's novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is likely to strike a note with anyone who ever felt alienated at school. 15 year old Charlie (Logan Lerman) is an outsider, and an introvert. When he doesn't fit in at high school, he figures the time he spends there will be nothing short of horrific. But, when he's taken under the wings of two seniors Sam (Harry Potter's Emma Watson) and Patrick (a scene stealing Ezra Miller), he's introduced into the real world - and suddenly finds that by being an outsider, he actually fits in.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age film which fires on all cylinders.

From its strong trio of leads to a brilliant soundtrack of the times, it's likely to connect with anyone who's ever made a mix tape for a wannabe lover or felt a little on the edge of the popular world. Lerman particularly impresses in a performance which packs layers on underneath the awkwardness of being a teen at school; and Watson certainly does all she can to say "Expelliarmus" to her time as Hermione, encapsulating the insecurity of the teenage years. There's a tenderness to Lerman and Watson's relationship on screen and is immediately relatable. Miller is also incredibly good in the outgoing flamboyant role of Patrick, whose bravado masks a secret.

Throw in a hint of sadness, mix in some adolescent angst amongst an occasionally hit and miss script and you're pretty much likely to get one of the best teen coming of age films in a long time. Occasionally nostalgic and totally memorable, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a film which will speak to a generation and is one to be treasured and enjoyed with a cast who impress from the beginning.

Extras: Commentary, cast and director, deleted scenes and featurette

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ZB Movie Review - Live from Oamaru

ZB Movie Review - Live from Oamaru

This week, it was live from Oamaru for me when I checked in with Jack Tame on Saturday mornings on Newstalk ZB.

Reviews this week were - the new Fast and Furious 6 film, New Zealand film Shopping and on the small screen, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Check it out below:

Or you can click on the link here

http://newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/player/ondemand/1979017592-darren-bevan-at-the-movies--june-1

Captains of the Final Frontier: DVD Review

Captains of the Final Frontier: DVD Review

Rating: Exempt
Released by Magna Home Entertainment

A flashy all substance and no real style documentary, Captains of the Final Frontier is a fluffy piece looking back at all of the actors who played the various Captains of the Star Trek series.

Focussing more on the interviews than footage from the series, it takes a wry look at what made the captains unique - in the opinions of other actors from the show (which is a curious choice) It's an intriguing look at the longevity of the show, but to be honest, it suffers somewhat from having a lack of real star names of the major captains involved.

Kate Mulgrew fronts and while the piece is more homage than anything serious, for fans of the show, it's a good watch as it spools out over its 90 minutes.

Rating:

Grand Designs: S10: DVD Review

Grand Designs: S10: DVD Review

Rating: PG
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

Is there anyone who can't know the formula to this series now?

Kevin McCloud visits people on builds and sees how their dreams cope with the obstacles which are thrown in their way. It's now 100 episodes the series has hit and it's certainly popular with its fans.

The formula's well established now and to be frank, the series is interesting if you're interested in self-builds and a look at what drives people. Other than that, it's business as usual and with no real thrills or spills.

Well put together,interesting people and projects and an ever affable Kevin make it a watchable series for the winter months.

Rating:

Monster Fest 2013 preview

Monster Fest 2013 preview

Monster Fest 2013 is coming to Auckland's award-winning Academy Cinemas from June 6th.

There is a whole range of films along for the ride - and quite frankly, what an awesome ride it's looking to be. With a lot of the releases being titles which have mysteriously avoided a big screen release here in NZ, it's great to see them getting collected together and given a cinematic outing on the big screen.

The Academy's been generous enough to let me view some of the upcoming releases and I can say there's certainly a fair amount of choice for connoisseurs of the celluloid.

Thale, a Norwegian folklore horror film recalls a mix of early X Files spookiness and Norwegian bleakness as proffered up by Rare Exports. A duo, Leo and Elvis, who clean crime scenes end up at a seemingly deserted cabin in the woods (always with the cabins) cleaning up after an old man goes missing and half his body remains. When the duo discover a huldra, a sacred forest creature in the basement, it all goes a bit haywire. Mixing a few scares and some relative low budget horror, Thale is a short and relatively creepy sweet treat.
Equally impressive is James MacAvoy and a cast of unbelievably good Brit talent in Welcome To The Punch. Mark Strong, Andrea Riseborough, Daniel Mays and David Morrissey are stand out in this crime thriller about a former criminal forced to return to London when his son is injured. But MacAvoy's cop is waiting to grab him, three years after they first met. However, it's not as simple as it seems. Stylish, violent, and impressive Welcome To The Punch is a welcome shot in the arm of crime thrillers - and has a thrilling opening which grips.

Small Apartments sees Matt Lucas (of Little Britain fame) as the dweller in a dingy block of tenement flats. A Swiss horn blower, he spends most of his day walking around shirtless in a pair of white y fronts. One day he kills his landlord and doesn't hear from his brother (who always writes daily) and this sets off a chain of events. Eschewing real strong narrative in favour of kooky oddballs and great visuals, with a brilliant cast (Peter Stormare, Billy Crystal, Juno Temple, James Marsden, Johnny Knoxville, James Cann) this is a film aiming for cult curio and one which squarely and refreshingly hits the mark.



Manborg is a shlocky piece of Canadian action-sci-fi cross which sees Count Draculon and his Nazi forces trying to take over the Earth during the Hell Wars. (That description should be enough alone to tell you what's what in this) When a soldier's killed trying to take down Draculon, he's turned into a robot soldier, with one aim in mind - avenging his fallen buddies and saving the day. Mixing B movie action with some truly ropey FX, Manborg is a cheese-fest which looks like it's come from the bottom of the barrel. But it's got some fun moments and for low budget FX fest, you know what to expect.

Grabbers is an Irish / British monster movie, which has been building a strong cult following. When an Irish island is invaded by blood sucking sea creatures, it's up to Richard Coyle and Ruth Bradley's Garda officers to help save the island - and all from a local pub. With a dash of buddy cop movie, mixed in with a pinch of the likes of Tremors and some clever jolts, it's a surprisingly watchable piece which mixes monster scares with some nice character moments. 



Dark Skies (not the much missed TV series about alien invasion over four decades) stars The Americans' Keri Russell and goes for the old there's something haunting a suburban family story which has been so prevalent in recent films. Playing on some of those primal fears and pulling together a reasonable story, it's a spooky if unspectacular watch - but one that may find you checking whether you've locked the door before you head to bed.

That's not all that's on at Monster Fest - there's also the likes of Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Mama getting an airing here (with no sign of a release boding despite taking No1 in the US Box Office), horror flick The Collection, sequel to The Collector, Father's Day, the Death and Resurrection Show to name but a few more.

Monster Fest runs at Auckland's Academy Cinema from June 6th.

Seven Psychopaths: Blu Ray Review

Seven Psychopaths: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

From the writer/ director of In Bruges, comes Seven Psychopaths.

Colin Farrell is Marty, a struggling writer who is trying to put together a screenplay but getting nowhere with it. Part of that is due to his friend Billy (Sam Rockwell), who's running a sideline, dognapping. In part he's doing that scam with Christopher Walken's Hans - but they fall foul of the fact Billy's stolen a dog from gangster Charlie (Woody Harrelson).

When Charlie works out what's going on, the scene is set for a massive showdown. To say Seven Psychopaths is a darkly black comedy is a bit of an understatement.

It starts with two mafiosi types discussing whether Dilinger was shot in the eyeball and concludes in a manner which really does set the tone for what lies ahead. It's incredibly similar to In Bruges, but perhaps is lacking a bit of the maudlin tone which pervades that piece of celluloid.

Riffing on movie cliches, crime cliches and proffering up a whole heap of one-liners, this ludicrously overbaked story finds its feet and certainly runs with it, thanks in part to the performances of Farrell, Rockwell and Walken who make a farcical, if talking nonsense, trio.

It's an initially clever script too - and one which becomes self referencing towards the end (where it sadly starts to lose some of its initial gumph and gumption). And yet, Seven Psychopaths certainly manages to carry it off mashing up genres, pouring on the dark comedy as it freewheels on and piles in some surrealist sequences which are one shaggy dog story after another. For a while, at least. It's violent too and splattered with blood and gore in ways that the very darkest of crime genres should be too. However, I can't help but feel that aside from one well written female character, the other women in this are treated somewhat badly - and I can't quite work out if they are supposed to be caricatures of women within the crime genre. It's borderline misogyny in places and certainly a difficult laugh to garner from the audience. Despite throwing in dialogue from Hans which critiques the poorly written women characters and that psychos get a bit boring after a while, it's an odd mix and one which doesn't sit well with me personally.

Seven Psychopaths certainly brings the laughs and the blackness but whether you'll love it or not, depends on how much you adore the crime genre in general and if you're ready to see a derivative film which isn't quite as clever as it thinks it is.

Extras: Featurettes, interviews and deleted scenes

Rating: