ZB Movie review - Great Gatsby, Perks of being a Wallflower and Les Miserables

ZB Movie review - Great Gatsby, Perks of being a Wallflower and Les Miserables

http://newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/player/ondemand/122375836-darren-bevan-at-the-movies--june-8

Giselle to hit New Zealand International Film Festival

Giselle to hit New Zealand International Film Festival

FEATURE FILM VERSION OF GISELLE TO HAVE ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT THE NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Acclaimed New Zealand playwright and film director Toa Fraser’s feature film interpretation of the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s performance of Giselle, will have its world premiere in the opening weekend of the New Zealand International Film Festival at the Civic Theatre, Auckland.

The filming of Giselle commenced in October/November 2012 in the lead up to the ballet's seven-centre New Zealand tour and three-week tour of China.

Ethan Stiefel, RNZB Artistic Director and Johan Kobborg, internationally acclaimed Principal Dancer of London’s Royal Ballet co-choreographed the ballet. Prima Ballerina, Gillian Murphy, RNZB Principal Guest Artist and star of the American Ballet Theatre, dances the role of Giselle with acclaimed Chinese/New Zealand dancer Qi Huan playing Albrecht, giving a performance which has been gathering him critical acclaim around the world.

“The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s superb, universally acclaimed production of Giselle has now been made into a superb film. Director Toa Fraser and cinematographer Leon Narbey have worked intensively with the company to ensure that this screen version works wonders in its own right.” says Bill Gosden, NZIFF Director.

“The RNZB is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary, has just toured three weeks in China and now has the immense privilege of premiering a feature film inspired by our recent Giselle production. Through the making of this film, all involved have been presented with an amazing opportunity to share a wide variety of the good things that are happening in New Zealand arts and culture. The RNZB is appreciative and proud to have been asked to be a part of such a beautiful project” says Ethan Stiefel, Artistic Director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

New Zealand Film Commission CEO Graeme Mason added "The NZFC is delighted this collaboration with the RNZB has resulted in this beautiful and entrancing film with a unique view of a much loved and romantic ballet.  The festival cinema audience are in for a very special treat."
Giselle is a collaboration between the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) and the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) with additional investment from Auckland’s Digi Film, and was produced by Matthew Metcalfe (Dean Spanley, Love Birds, Beyond the Edge 3D). The film is being released in New Zealand and Australia by Rialto Distribution.

Massive Amazing Spider-Man 2 spoiler revealed?

Massive Amazing Spider-Man 2 spoiler revealed?

Has there been a reveal of a massive Amazing Spider-Man 2 spoiler?

Entertainment Weekly seems to think so.

In their latest piece from the Amazing Spider-Man 2 there are some spooky parallels between a key plot point with Emma Stone's Gwen Stacey and Spidey.

The picture's revealed below - but for the full details you'll have to check out the Entertainment Weekly story

Brand new Man of Steel trailer

Brand new Man of Steel trailer

There's a brand new Man of Steel trailer here with Henry Cavill.



From Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures comes "Man of Steel", starring Henry Cavill, directed by Zach Snyder. The film also stars Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Henry Lennix, Christopher Meloni and Laurence Fishburne.

Here's the latest Man of Steel trailer....a Viral video from Zod...

 
There are also some brand new Man of Steel images out there too, courtesy of the preview on Entertainment Weekly. Including a first proper look at Michael Shannon as Zod. 

There's a brand New Man of Steel image from Zack Snyder due later this year.

It shows Henry Cavill as Superman...

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger: PS3 Review

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger: PS3 Review

Platform: PS3 - via PSN
Released by UBISOFT

Time to saddle up, gunslinger, with this new PSN title from the Call of Juarez series, the fourth such title.

In it you take on the role of Silas Greaves, a rooting, tooting bounty hunter who moseys into town one day with a series of stories and a thirst for beer in the local saloon. As Silas recounts his story to his spellbound audience, you play through the series of chapters in his life.

Most of those involve shoot-outs in the classic Western settings - and with some familiar faces from infamy.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is actually a fun little title to play and an unexpected treat on the gaming front.

Mixing duelling pistols and first person shooter is a great combination - and as you make your way through the game, you get the chance to upgrade your skills and with those, your shooting ability. It's fairly repetitive in terms of game play, and it can be frustrating that sometimes it takes more than a few shots to fell some of the bad guys. But it actually trains you to improve your shooting and aim to not only garner skill points but also quick kills. Add in the chance to avoid being shot by a quick time event and there's a lot to keep your fingers nimble on the draw.

There are also "nuggets of truth" collectibles scattered around the game for collection which each reveal a little something about the people involved. And there's a cartoony, almost pulpy feel to the gameplay and how it's presented, with it feeling a little akin to Robert Rodriguez's new trailer for Machete Kills in many ways.

Once story mode is done, there's an arcade shooter and a duels section to keep you playing on - and in particular the arcade section is very playable and addictive as you blast your way through levels of baddies and take on the other gunslingers.

In all honesty, I'd not been expecting much from Call of Juarez: Gunslinger but it delivers on so many fronts. It makes a downloadable title fun, extremely playable and enjoyable title which has put a bit of life into the overall seriousness of a lot of the first person shooters.

Rating:

The Way Way Back: Movie Review

The Way Way Back: Movie Review

Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Sam Rockwell, Alison Janney, Liam James, AnnaSophia Robb, Amanda Peet
Directors: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash

In this latest from the studio who brought you Little Miss Sunshine and Juno, it's back to the old cliche of teenager coming of age.

Liam James stars as 14 year old Duncan, an awkward and inept kid who, as the film begins, is on his way to a summer beach home with his mum (Toni Collette), her new bully-boy boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) and his daughter. It's a vacation he doesn't want and a family he's got no desire to be part of.

And when he meets neighbour garish drunkard Betty (a wonderful Alison Janney) it seals the deal for him - he's going to hate the summer no matter what happens.

But against the odds, Duncan strikes up a friendship with Sam Rockwell's wise-cracking water park owner Owen and begins to blossom under his tutelage and Duncan begins to find his voice in the world.

Coming of age movies are traditionally cliched and unoriginal - not The Way, Way Back. Despite handling material that's as old as the hills, The Way, Way Back is fresh, funny, dramatic when it needs to be and utterly charming.

It succeeds largely in part due to the smart, sassy script which is on offer - and the performances of the likes of Sam Rockwell and Alison Janney as well as Liam James as the awkward teen.

It's Rockwell's piece really though as he rocks out some comic monologues as he lounges around the idea of management of the washed out water park. He has charm and charisma aplenty in this character piece - and he's got some of the most unpredictably funny moments in the movie as he espouses dry and deadpan moments of wisdom to Duncan. The growing relationship between the pair as Duncan finds the father figure he craves instead of the hectoring and badgering of bully boy Trent shines throughout and feels natural and realistic.

But other performers in the piece also shine - Carell delivers a distinctly unlikeable turn as the newcomer to the family, whose borderline menace is always simmering in the background; Janney blazes an early trail in the movie before giving way to Rockwell and James deserves some credit as the teen blundering his way through growing up, discovering himself as well as the neighbouring girl (played by AnnaSophia Robb).

There's an undeniable charm to The Way, Way Back - it has an ease of originality and offers a new sideways take on the old "coming of age during one summer away from my normal life" movie that we've seen a million times before. Faxon and Rash have a way of wrong-footing you throughout and taking the path less travelled to deliver the moments that shine on the screen.

The Way Way Back is an unmissable film with comedic poignancy - it sings of fresh originality and proffers up a brilliant turn from Rockwell. I can't urge you enough to see this movie - it's already got a place on the best films of 2013 as far as I'm concerned and you should succumb to its immense charms immediately.

Rating:

First look at Tauriel

First look at Tauriel

Entertainment Weekly's scored a major scoop - a First look at the elf Tauriel.

The elf Tauriel played by Evangeline Lilly will appear in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Lilly's told Entertainment Weekly:

 “Tauriel is the head of the Elven Guard,” Lilly explains. “She’s a Sylvan Elf, which means she’s of a much lower order than the elves we all became acquainted with in The Lord of the Rings. She doesn’t hold the same kind of status that Arwen or Galadriel or Elrond or Legolas do — she’s much more lowly. She sort of goes against the social order of the elves a little bit.”

Tauriel isn’t only a fierce warrior; she has a softer side, too. “She will definitely have a love story,” Lilly says. “I can’t give away too much about it. It’s not a huge focus but it is there and it is important and it does drive Tauriel and her story and her actions.” Will that romance involve Orlando Bloom’s Legolas, by any chance? Lilly won’t say definitively one way or the other, but she does offer this much: “Tauriel’s relationship with Legolas is significant. They’ve known each other since they were children, and Legolas’ dad, [Elven king] Thranduil, has a soft spot for Tauriel and sees something very special in her. So if you grow up side by side, and your dad has a very special spot in his heart for this young woman who’s a fantastic warrior, I think it’s hard not to notice her.” She laughs. “That’s probably as much as I can say.”