Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters: DVD Review

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton are Hansel and Gretel, who, traumatised by being abandoned in the woods and being suckered by a witch in the Gingerbread house, are now bounty hunters and crossbow wielding killers, determined to rid the world of witches one by one.

15 years later, with the Blood Moon approaching in the town of Augsburg, the town mayor hires the duo to find out why so many children are being kidnapped. Despite the protestations of the local sheriff (Stormare), they set about this mission - only to find a witch more powerful and more evil than they've ever faced before....

And one which could hold a secret to their past. 

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters 3D is more Grimm than you could realise (and not in a good way). This latest release is, sadly somewhat of a muddled mess, which sets out to be too many things to too many people and ends up being nothing distinguished.

Which is a shame, because in amongst all the constant in your face 3D (wood, explosions, arrows all come flying towards your face), there is some promise of a decent story. Its opening titles recall illustrations from the middle ages and set the tone of a little tongue in cheek and promising blood and gore aplenty in its killings. Certainly heads explode completely when crushed, smashed and stomped in an array of red blood. Gemma Arterton is all punkish bravado as Gretel, with Jeremy Renner more of a sullen and sulky type as the brother Hansel. One neat twist on the fairy tale sees Hansel having to inject himself every few hours because of the sugar intake from his youth but it's mentioned so often that you're aware very early on that it will become a stumbling block for him. Janssen sneers and gurgles her way through as the baddest witch in town, and there are some hints of menace which sizzle on the screen early on before being squandered in a CGI trickery.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters proffers up some moments of comedy, but then doesn't have enough one liners to carry it through; and has action and guns aplenty shoehorned in to make it feel a little jarring in places; tonally, while dark, it feels like too much of a mixed bag and I can't help but feel that if those in charge of it had decided what exactly they wanted out of the film, and zeroed in on it, it would have been more successful. Hints of what the film could have been come right at the end with a pre-credits sequence which expose more character, clever effects and sharp writing with great oneliners which lift the dour tone of all that's passed. Had the film incorporated those elements, it would have been a much better outcome.

Unfortunately, the final effect of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is like the comedown of a major sugar rush a few hours earlier - moments of joy, mixed with moments of discomfort in the pit of your stomach.

Extras: The Witching Hours

Rating:

West of Memphis: DVD Review

West of Memphis: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Entertainment

West of Memphis is the tale of 3 men, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse MisKelly Jnr who were convicted for the murder of 3 eight-year-old boys in Arkansas back in 1994. This piece then follows the fight to get their convictions overturned, them out of jail (and in Damien Echols' case off of death row) and the struggle to expose a system so corrupt and damaged.

When you explain it like that, it's easy to see how a film like this could pander to emotional manipulation, over-stating the facts and playing to people's worst fears as well as painting a whiter-than-white portrait of the victims.

But West of Memphis does nothing like that at all - it's a concise, compelling and horrifying tale of a miscarriage of justice which is so disgusting, you wonder how anyone could cope or live with its after effects. Full credit needs to go to director Amy Berg, who's clearly devoted years to investigating this case thoroughly and crafting together a piece which is rational, calm, measured and extremely powerful to behold. A murder such as this one had locals screaming Satanism and Berg doesn't shy away from showing the victims, the crime scene and emotionally draining scenes of one mother collapsing after she finds out her child is dead.

Yet none of this is ever exploitative or sensationalised- throwing together an extremely wide group of interview subjects from all sides of the debate is a smart move by the film-makers and swerves this doco away from ever being about championing one cause. Granted, Echols gets the lion's share of the story because this is the case Sir Peter and Fran Walsh became involved with to try and get him off of death row.

But, by pulling together the pieces of the puzzle and presenting a clear picture of who they believe committed the murders (and backing it up with no less than 7 experts!) and leaving the three convicted men to the relative background of the film rather than having copious shots of them protesting their innocence, what emerges is an emotional (and yet extremely rational) response which you couldn't have prepared yourself for.

Evidence is damning - and the finger of blame is pointed at a massively corrupt justice system and state of Arkansas while simultaneously exonerating the three men jailed for such a heinous crime.

They say a good documentary has you interested in the story as it plays out. But a great documentary sends you scurrying to find out more about the story, while leaving you with an overwhelming feeling and reaction.

West of Memphis is a great documentary - it left me shocked, appalled, humbled, extremely outraged and at the same time inspired. There's an overarching sense of injustice throughout its 145 minute running time (which incidentally flew by) and I have nothing short of utter admiration for Damien Echols, who at one points espouse the phrase: "This case is nothing out of the ordinary. Stuff like this happens all the time."

I defy you not to have some kind of response to this film (as you can tell from the above review, Berg manages to create a piece which affected me as I watched it unfurl)- West of Memphis is a powerfully masterful piece of filmmaking and story telling which pulls no punches and is in equal measures heartbreaking and humbling. It's also saddening to think that three lives have been lost with no-one caught and countless others overshadowed by the actions of someone who continues to live without any consequences (even though the film gives solid evidence as to who is to blame, the frustration they're not in jail is overwhelming.)

West of Memphis is simply unmissable

Extras: Deleted scenes, Past re-creations

Rating:

2K Games preview - The Bureau: Xcom Declassified and Borderlands 2 DLC

2K Games preview - The Bureau: Xcom Declassified and Borderlands 2 DLC

E3 may have been and gone but it doesn't mean that there's nothing left to look forward to.

2K Games gave me time to spend with three of their upcoming titles and a chance to see them in action.

First up was The Bureau: XCom Declassified, a shooter which sees you plonked into the same universe as XCom Enemy Unknown but dropped into a 1962 rural America which is currently under alien invasion from the "Outsiders". Your job is to try and save the day, repel the aliens and of course, use your team to shoot the alien blood out of the bad guys.

Think B movie 1950s style look and feel with a touch of The X Files meets the Invaders and you'd be along the right lines. Tapping into the whole Men In Black feel along with the whole idea of the Roswell incident, it's a game which will rely more on tactics than blasting the heck out of everything.

Equipping you with some bad ass tech and some quite neat guns, as well as a team of two other agents, you can take control of all the action - and it takes you a little bit of time to get used to the actual mechanics of deploying troops around the place, setting up an attack and kicking some little alien butt. You have a wheel which you call up on the screen to help you deploy your troops and plan your strategy. My concern was that this wheel would slow things down and interrupt the action, but it doesn't as it all carries on around you, ensuring you have a level of immediacy and a sense of urgency when deliberating your tactics.

There's a strong emphasis on planning and even if you do manage to let off a series of blind shots which find their mark, you'll be lucky to move forward given that there's a team slant to the game. You get to level up your co-fighters and it means that you invest in them. What makes things worse though is that if they die, you lose all of that time and effort you've put into them.

Adding in the fact that part of the demo was a rescue mission to trace an agent who's gone AWOL, there's a reason to play. But there's even more reason when that agent you're trying to rescue is an active part of the game play, giving you a chance to use him to take on the baddies by swapping around in the wheel. It's a nice way to flesh out the scenario and gameplay and a great incentive to think about what you're doing.
I quite liked the pulpy Mars Attacks feel of the game - it's more about the aesthetics than the game play on that front. Ultimately though, you can dive into this and simply have a blast - we'll have to wait until August this year for the full game.



There's also an iPad version of the XCom game, Enemy Unknown, which follows a similar path to the original and is responsive and easy to play. Like many games on this platform, it's a point and press and it plays out in front of you. I had little time on this to fully go into it, but I could potentially see myself losing a lot of time playing on it while on the bus commuting back and forth.

The other big game which I really enjoyed previewing was Borderlands 2 - Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep. This is the latest DLC for Borderlands 2 and is utterly lunatic in nature and execution. I've not played Borderlands 2 before so it was a whole new world to me, but to be frank, it's one I desperately want to experience. The gameplay revolves around Lilith, Mordecai, Brick, and Tiny Tina playing Bunkers and Badasses, a tabletop role-playing game similar to Dungeons and Dragons and you get dropped right into the middle of it. 

With Gorillaz style graphics and an unreliable narrative from the somewhat erratic Tina meaning that once in a while the landscape is prone to changing, it's got real potential for some really fun elements within.The game within a game motif worked brilliantly, coupled withe medieval music and brilliant visuals, it's impressive on many many levels. The graphics themselves are clear crisp cartoony and really stand out on the wonderful HD.  It's tongue in cheek and much fun - this one's due a little later this month which should mean you won;t have to wait too long to take it on. You can take on more than one mission at a time, and the guys at 2K say there's around 10 hours of gameplay to be had with it - which for a DLC is pretty damn enticing.

NZIFF Live events unveiled

NZIFF ANNOUNCES TWO LIVE CINEMA EVENTS FOR AUCKLAND

The New Zealand International Film Festival today announced two live cinema events to be held in Auckland.

The Cameraman is a 1928 silent film starring and co-directed by Buster Keaton. The film will be accompanied live by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra with music composed by Timothy Brock, leading interpreter and composer of orchestral music for silent cinema. Marc Taddei, Wellington Orchestra’s current Music Director and popular guest conductor throughout Australasia will conduct the performance. Keaton’s most famous short Cops will precede The Cameraman screening on Sunday 4 August at 6.15pm at the Civic.

“Made as the end of the silent era drew near and its artistry peaked, The Cameraman was the first film Keaton made after signing up with MGM Pictures. It was to be his last great achievement, and there are those who consider it his most perfect film. The clothes, the cars, and the camera our hero totes all spell out what it was to be up to date in 1928, but everything that was truly exciting about The Cameraman is ageless and remains fresh to this day,” says NZIFF Director Bill Gosden.

The Crowd, directed by King Vidor, is a silent film set in the machine-age metropolis of 1920’s New York City where an optimistic young man is confident he will succeed without really trying. A new score that pays tribute to the ragtime era has been composed by Johannes Contag (Cloudboy) for The Crowd. The live cinema event will be performed in Auckland on Sunday 28 July 2pm at SkyCity Theatre and in Wellington on Sunday 11 August 4pm at the Paramount.

“The score for this film marks a long-overdue return to Live Cinema for Johannes Contag, last encountered in this realm with his group Cloudboy. Contag has composed a bustling and energetic score for Wellington’s SMP Ensemble, a 12-piece with piano, strings, winds and percussion, conducted by prolific emerging composer Karlo Margetic.” says Gosden.

NZIFF has already announced Italian prog-rock legends Goblin who will play live with Dario Argento’s horror film Suspiria, in Auckland at The Civic on Friday 19 July for one screening only at 9.15pm. Tickets for this special event are $45 (adults) and $40 (concession) plus booking fee. Tickets for all other Festival screenings will go on sale from Friday 28 June.

Monsters University: Movie Review

Monsters University: Movie Review

Vocal cast: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Nathan Fillion, Helen Mirren
Director: Dan Scanlon

The Monsters are back in this prequel to the wonderful Monsters, Inc.

It's a tough call following one of the most beloved Pixar movies of all time and you'd almost be afraid to do it - but Pixar's decided to deliver another film with the leads that have become so iconic. This time around though, things are a little different for Sulley, Mike Wazowski and Randall.

The film takes you back to before the friendship and into the younger days - Mike (Billy Crystal, once again in fine form) is determined to do what it takes to get into Monsters University and become the best scarer ever after visiting Monsters Inc during a school trip.

So, when Mike manages to get a place at the prestigious university, he's keen to ensure he doesn't lose his spot and studies as much as he can. But things go a little haywire when jock-like Sulley (John Goodman, returning to the role he was suited for) shows up - a slacker who's getting by on the family name and refusing to study, he winds Mike up the wrong way.

And when the pair of them end up being kicked out of college, Mike thinks his dream is shattered....until he discovers the Scare Games and one final chance to get back in.

The problem is that he'll have to do it with his new arch-nemesis, Sulley and a team of misfits who couldn't say boo to a ghost...

Monsters University is the kind of US college film we've all seen a million times before - a group of outcasts, victimised by the cool kids and heading for a showdown with the dean of the college. So, on that front, it's perhaps a bit of a disappointment that Pixar's plumped for the old cliche rather than looking at something new.

That said, by using a few clever twists on your expectations (the Sulley vs Mike divide, a new roommate for Mike initially) they just about manage to get away with it. Starting with Mike as a kid and outcast at college, he becomes the deluded underdog and nerd; throw in Sulley's jock, who's in competition with Mike and you've got the classic paradigm right there. Taking in a buddy message and the obligatory "you can do this with team help" theme, and really Pixar's not exactly stretching the hearts and minds of those who so enjoyed Monsters Inc back when it first emerged. But that's not to say that the new generation won't be captivated by Mike and Sulley's antics this time around. Of the new additions, Nathan Fillion's frat leader Johnny, Helen Mirren's Dean Hardscrabble and Charlie Day's Art make the most of their screen time and add a welcome presence to the pantheon of Monsters.

While the Monsters University animation is top notch, the colourful creatures of Monsters University rich and varied within and Goodman and Crystal's vocal work is exceptional as ever, the whole thing just doesn't quite have the same rich emotional pay off, heartfelt resonance and pertinent humour in this prequel which made Monsters Inc so incredibly special.

(One thing which is worth the price of admission though is the truly beautiful short piece, The Blue Umbrella which screens before the main event. This is a real masterclass in short form animation, and is exceptional from beginning to end)

Rating:

This Is the End: Movie Review

This Is the End: Movie Review

Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Emma Watson, Danny McBride and Michael Cera
Director: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg

In this latest comedy to hit our screens, Hollywood has to deal with the end of the world.

Nope, we're not talking a bad review - but the actual apocalypse itself - and all that entails.

Seth Rogen plays Seth Rogen, and Jay Baruchel plays Jay Baruchel - the two have been buddies for a while and the movie begins with Jay coming to LA, a place that he despises to visit. After the pair have got caught up (translation: smoked a lot of weed and played computer games), Seth takes Jay, against his will, to James Franco's house-warming party. (All of the celebs involved are playing versions of themselves - or their perceived self in the media).

And that's when it starts to get gnarly as the end of the world comes a-knocking - and five of the remaining Hollywood acting elite (Franco, Rogen, Baruchel, Jonah Hill, and The Office's Craig Robinson) decide to rough it out in Franco's home...

But pretty soon, they realise they've got no choice but to leave the house - and face whatever is out there.

Building on short film, Jay and Seth vs The Apocalypse, This Is The End is a tasteless movie comedy of almost Biblical proportions.

Riffing on the ties that bind and divide the divas, it throws energy and more laughs your way than you would have expected from the premise of five Hollywood celebs being forced to deal with the apocalypse and some serious self examination.

The banter between the quintet ranges from the self-obsessed to the narcissistic, and then into meta territory as they start to question why it's all happening.

Rogen and Baruchel impress as the duo whose friendship has taken a battering because of Jay's refusal to spend time in LA amongst Seth's new crowd. Sure, the occasionally innuendo-laden dialogue takes a trip into the crass and depraved - especially once Danny McBride shows up but it doesn't stop the laughs from coming thick and fast. Watch out for cameos at the start because when the bad stuff happens, these celebs aren't afraid to bid farewell in unforgettable ways.

Some impressive FX work draws from Wrath of the Titans to flesh out the reality of the end of the world, but it adds an epic feel to this low-brow but incredibly funny night out at the movies - despite feeling a little overlong during the final third.

This Is The End finishes up on a musical note which is as random and throwaway as everything which has gone before on this journey of self-awareness, redemption with lashings of selfishness - but to be honest, you couldn't have it any other way in this piece which urges you to check your brain at the door. A riotous night out for an admittedly guilty pleasure - but it's the first comedy in a while to make the end of the world seem like a great place to be.

Rating: 

Anchorman 2 trailer is here - stay classy

Anchorman 2 trailer is here - stay classy

It's finally here - the first trailer for Anchorman 2, hitting cinemas in December this year.

It's here - the first teaser trailer for Anchorman 2!



For those who've been wanting to see how the legend of Ron Burgundy progresses, then Anchorman 2 will be the perfect opportunity.

In Anchorman 2, the sequel to the Anchorman movie, Will Ferrell returns as Ron Burgundy.

Anchorman 2's release date is in December.