Armageddon 2013 - Day One - The celebrities.

Armageddon 2013 - Day One - The celebs

A media call was held this morning for the various celebrities attending the Auckland Leg of the Armageddon expo this weekend.

Take a look at pictures of Dwight Schultz from the A Team, Norman Lovett from Red Dwarf, Barry Bostwick from Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dean Stockwell from Quantum Leap, Dan Starkey from Doctor Who and Ben Browder from Farscape.

The Hunt: DVD Review

The Hunt: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman Home Entertainment

The Hunt has been a long time coming to the small screen, but my goodness, it's worth the wait.

It's the story of Lucas (Mads Mikklesen in another award winning turn), a teacher, who leads a solitary life and is wrestling with the fall-out from a break up as he tries to get time with his son. Living in a small knit Danish community, Lucas ends up working at a kindergarten to make ends meet - but that's where the trouble starts as he is accused by Klara (Wedderkopp) of exposing himself to her. With investigations into his conduct and alleged behaviour, the small community begins to slowly turn on him, with devastating emotional effects.

I'd heard dark things about The Hunt - about how it got unrelentingly bleak and so to be honest, I had been expecting the worst from this tale of kindergarten teacher Lucas whose life is irrevocably changed after one of the children in his charge lies and falsely tells his boss he's been sexually abusing them.

What I couldn't have been expecting is just how utterly compelling and totally claustrophobic, this latest film from the director of Festen, Thomas Vinterberg was going to be. It's no wonder Mikkelsen won the Best actor at Cannes for his portrayal of Lucas, the innocent man who's damned before his peers without any shred of evidence.

But what's winning about this film is how utterly plausible it is in places as it taps into the small minded community mentality and how non-hysterically it plays out. Mikkelsen and youngster Annika Wedderkopp (who plays Klara who makes the claim) are completely the stars of the piece thanks to underplayed, subtly sly and riveting performances. Sure, it's an old story and one which we've all seen shades of before, but it's these two actors who imbue their time on screen with such utter devotion that you can't help but be swept up by it - despite accusations of how it really could happen in this day and age.

Vinterberg also needs commendation for his directing and crafting of the tale - Lucas goes from being part of a gang of friends whose bond stretches years back to a haunted and vilified ghost of a man, whose (admittedly frustrating) refusal to totally refute the claims seems like madness. No doubt his self belief is what carries him through but as they say, it's darkest before the dawn, and Mikkelsen's subtle performance is a cinematic tour de force.

Similarly, Wedderkopp, a cute blond moppet (a direct contrast to Mikkelsen's frog like facials) plays a girl who doesn't understand the truth of her lie and who's caught up in a world she can't possibly understand. The scenes where she tells her mother that it didn't happen and her mother comes back telling her it did are gobsmackingly heart breaking and cut an emotional quick as well as hint at a reality of what could play out. Vinterberg's hit a fine form here and a few nerves as well (judging by the horrified yelp of one woman at the screening's ending during the Film Festival) and makes The Hunt as dark as anything you're likely to experience.

The Hunt is horrifyingly good, heart in the mouth drama that challenges but showcases acting genius and really does need to be seen, regardless of a few plotholes.
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First official Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer is here

First official Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer is here

Good news as we await the Thor:Dark World review, a new Captain America trailer has dropped.


Captain America returns! The official first trailer for Captain America The Winter Soldier -- in UK cinemas March 26 2014. The sequel to Marvel's Captain America The First Avenger. Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell with Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

For the latest on Captain America The Winter Soldier, 'Like' us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MarvelUK

After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1941, Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is produced by Kevin Feige, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, from a screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp and Hayley Atwell, with Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is presented by Marvel Studios. The executive producers are Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo, Alan Fine and Stan Lee. The film releases March 26 2014, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Beyond The Edge 3D: Movie Review

Beyond The Edge 3D: Movie Review

Director: Leanne Pooley

Docu-drama is quite de rigeur at the moment for New Zealand. Following the International Emmy nomination for The Golden Hour, it's fast garnering attention as the way to illustrate a window into our past that's more accessible to all.

This latest, from Topp Twins Untouchable Girls director Leanne Pooley, sets out to document the epic true journey of the heroic ascent to the top of Mt Everest by national treasure Edmund Hillary, along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

It begins with the ominous sound of the wind whistling around shots of the peaks of the mountain, along with voice over telling us how difficult it is to conquer such a thing. From Hillary's bee-keeping roots to his quest to be part of the team to be given the chance to ascend Everest, it's clear that the drive was there in 1953.

Director Leanne Pooley has pulled together a film which makes good use of the archive footage to hand and expertly captures the period detail; weaving in that footage with silent recreations of Hillary and the gang on the expedition, either negotiating crevasses and the white peaks or silently discussing the outcome of the vote to send them up the peak.

Equally the use of the 3D is cleverly deployed and immersive as well - with beautifully inspiring cinematography focussing on shots of the mountain, it breathes life into the ice and gives each part of it a new terrifying depth. Pooley's also used the 3D for some of the archive footage as well, giving that tired footage we've all seen before a new lease of life. Seamlessly blending in the recreations, the narrative certainly showcases the drive and determination of all involved - a more restrained kind of a clash between Brits vs the New Zealanders.

But here's the rub with Beyond The Edge 3D - it's terribly, terribly dry. It ends up depriving what should be an inspirational story of one of our finest moments of much needed oxygen and the piece feels stuffy and dare I say it, slightly dull. Adding in actors, who look uncannily like their historical counterparts, is a nice touch; but the recreations are silent and that lack of sound stops you fully investing in the story. Pooley also uses so many voice-overs that in places you're lost as to who's talking and trying to give you insight into the psyche and mental stamina needed to take on the elements.

I dare say that Pooley was a little constrained by the source material - you can't invent drama where there was none (though, a scene where Hillary was nearly lost in a crevasse through carelessness is thrown in for relative dramatic effect as he dangles precariously on a ledge) giving her little wriggle room to work. The one creative touch where the film comes to life sees Pooley animating the lunatic ideas which were proffered up to help conquer the mountain - a helium filled balloon, a heating system within a coat. It's a touch with some flair which strays from the conventional plodding narrative.

More TV doco than big screen must-see (aside from the 3D mountain shots which are breathtaking and clearly where the money has been spent), Beyond The Edge 3D proffers up no new insights and even though it comes months after the 60th anniversary of the ascent, there seems to be little reason for it to exist. It climaxes with overblown chest-swelling music as text details Hillary's success but the whole thing feels like a curious creative misfire and a relatively dramatically bland insight into one of the greatest adventures and achievements we've ever seen.

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New Anchorman 2 trailers arrive

New Anchorman 2 trailers arrive

Two new Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues trailers have dropped today.

Will Ferrell returns as Ron Burgundy in this latest, which is due to drop on December the 19th.

Watch the brand new Anchorman 2 trailers below

Byzantium: Blu Ray Review

Byzantium: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Vendetta Films

This latest, from Interview with the Vampire director Neil Jordan, relocates to Britain's coastal towns and follows a mother / daughter duo of Clara (a rather buxom Gemma Arterton) and Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) as they negotiate life. The nomadic duo is constantly on the run or never close to settling down thanks to something jeopardising their new lives; and when the pair end up being forced to leave another town and on the run, they fall into a disused hotel, Byzantium, run by grieving son Noel (Daniel Mays).

Before too long, Clara's turned the hotel into a brothel (a mother's got to provide, right?) and Eleanor's fallen for ailing teenager Frank (Caleb Landry-Jones) and has revealed a little more of their past to him than perhaps Clara would have liked.
However, with forces catching up with them, the duo face the possibility of facing fate once and for all - or moving on once again and facing damnation throughout their eternal life.

Byzantium is a different vampire film than what we've come to expect on a diet of True Blood and Twilight.  Jordan's crafted a piece which is sombre, moody and atmospheric as it weaves back and forth into Clara's past. Arterton and Ronan are great as their characters and present a real contrast to each other; Arterton delights in company as opposed to Ronan's ethereal loner. (She seems to be delighting in these character roles). It's their relationship which is central to the story and which proves to be affecting and engaging as this tale of the damnation of an eternal existence plays out.

Visually, there are some arresting images as well - such as waterfalls turning red with blood after a vampire is created and Jordan gives these killers an extended fingernail to kill rather than the traditional fangs but these moments are somewhat lost in the second half of the film. All in all though, Byzantium is a commendable and occasionally fresh take on a genre which has been drained of originality over the years.

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Fast and Furious 6: Blu Ray Review

Fast and Furious 6: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

Last time, if you remember in Fast Five, the gang had carried off one last heist and were taking it easy, despite being scattered around the world and living on the run. But, despite the so-called quiet life, Vin Diesel's Toretto is visited by Agent Hobbs (walking musclemanDwayne Johnson) who enlists his help to bring down a criminal mastermind, Shaw (played with relative lack of screen presence by Luke Evans).

The hook this time, though, is that Dom Toretto (gravelly-voiced muscle-head Vin Diesel) finds out that his one time girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still alive - despite being killed off earlier on in the series.....

Furious 6 (to give it its onscreen title name) is exactly what you'd expect from the car-racing series - pumping OST, fast cars and lots of racing scenes. This time though, it's less car-mageddon than you may be expecting. And unfortunately, despite the quality increase of Fast Five, which had some cool stunts and a not too insufferable storyline, this one's hardly off the starting blocks. Posturing machismo, po-faced and for the most part straight-laced, Furious 6 is a bit of a formulaic racing romp with a story that's predictable and almost laughable in places. Granted, you're not expecting Shakespearean tragedy and quality acting from this series, you're after breakneck speed racing and stunts that make you gasp and gravitate to the edge of your seat. The actors give their all despite never really facing any definite peril and the series is to be praised for continually using strong action women (aside from Jordana Brewster, who's literally left holding the baby)

This time round, despite setting the predominance of the film in London (which begs the question how can these cars speed around the capital's central roads? Every time I've ever been there's a degree of congestion) and utilising the environment to the best of its ability, the whole thing's a bit of a damp squib. One final twist in the tale delivers the ultimate punch and sets up yet more of these films - but unless the producers of this series come up with something exciting next time rather than running on half-empty plot ideas, it's to be hoped thatFast and the Furious franchise is going to be taken to the junkyard and scrapped.

Extras: 50 minutes of behind the scenes footage

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