A Monster in Paris: DVD Review

A Monster in Paris: DVD Review

Rating: G
Released by Madman Home Entertainment

A Monster in Paris feels like it could have come straight out of the multiplexes - a feeling not much helped by the fact all of the voice over work is done by Americanised actors, a decision which to be honest, had me scratching my head and wishing really that it had been left in its native language. 

Set in 1910 Paris, the film follows a projectionist's friendship with rogueish delivery man Raoul after the pair inadvertently create a giant flea monster when a delivery goes a bit awry. 

Throw in a friendship between that giant flea and a French Parisienne singer Lucille and a potential showdown with a police commissioner hell-bent on capturing the Monster of Paris and securing his mayoral campaign and it's all on. 

Gorgeous French computer animation with vivid purples, blues and green hues add beautifully to this tale which is anything but generic and packs more charm than certain other major studio releases this year. Musical numbers add to the flavour of the film and retro throwbacks to horror films, the Phantom of the Opera and the cinema of yesteryear certainly give this piece a much enjoyable and family feel.

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First The Raid 2 Berandal trailer is here

First The Raid 2 Berandal trailer is here

The first The Raid 2 Berandal trailer is here... and it looks awesome


The first teaser art for Gareth Huw Evans' upcoming The Raid 2: Berandal is now here. 

With the film now in post production with an eye on a 2014 release and a teaser due in coming weeks, Evans has offered up a look at the first Indonesian teaser art for the film.

Take a look at the first The Raid 2: Berandal images here.

One Chance: Movie Review

One Chance: Movie Review

Cast: James Corden, Mackenzie Crook, Julie Walters, Colm Meaney, Alexandra Roach, Jemima Rooper
Director: David Frankel

We've been here before, haven't we?

A boy from a UK mining town who has a talent that's disapproved of by one of his parents and mocked by most of those he knows; but inevitably he overcomes the many odds to triumph....? (Hint - Billy Elliot - and vaguely The Full Monty)

In this latest heart-warming, based on a true story, feel good audience film, tap shoes are swapped for choirboy singing and opera as the story of Paul Potts unfolds. Yep, you know Paul Potts, the winner of Britain's Got Talent who wowed the crowds with his Nessun Dorma. (Sorry, spoiler alert)

Set in Wales, in the UK, chubby comedian James Corden (of Gavin and Stacey) is the underdog Paul Potts, a likeable but bullied bloke with crooked teeth who lacks confidence. He's a mobile phone salesman whose bedroom is decorated with opera posters and who, by his own admission, "always wanted to sing". On his side is his boss (played with oddball charm by The Office's Mackenzie Crook), his met-her-on-an-internet-chatroom-potential-girlfriend Julie-Ann and his mum (Julie Walters). Opposed to his dream is the gruff been-down-the-coalface-in-the-steel-works-all-my-life dad (Colm Meaney) and most of the people he knows who believe opera is the green card to bully and abuse him.

The biopic follows the rags to riches story in true formulaic fashion as Potts faces (apparently) insurmountable odds to achieve his dream, get to an opera school in Venice and sing for Pavarotti. But Pavarotti crushes Potts' dream and a trip back to small town Wales and the depression of ordinary everyday life ends up being his destiny. However, in a move which will surprise no-one, Paul's passion for singing rises up from its apparent grave to face yet more setbacks....

It's very easy to dismiss the likes of One Chance; it's the kind of formulaic, cloying tosh that annoys the critics and proves to be a massive hit with audiences. Yet, thanks to Corden's warmth and empathy which radiates from the screen as much as the various arias he sings throughout, it's fairly innocuous if unsurprising and unoriginal stuff. (Even if some of the miming is a little overdone - Potts provided the actual vocals)

Every dramatic turn is signposted from a mile off - Will his father change his anti- stance? Will Paul's innumerable setbacks beat down the boy and destroy him? Will the bullies triumph after years of harassment? Will the shots of Venice, bathed in beauty and opera be a boon to the Venice Tourism Board?

And yet, thanks to a nicely rounded heart-warming romance between Corden and Roach and believe in yourself style journey, One Chance isn't as bad as you'd expect from the sentimental trailers around.

There's a naive charm to Corden's portrayal and a light comedic touch (as evidenced by his work on Gavin and Stacey) which helps you through the inevitable twists, plot contrivances, Pol Pot gags, fat jokes, (sample - "Couldn't you just eat him up?" opines his mother at one point; to which the father replies "You'd need a few sittings") and rags to riches cliches and tropes.

You've seen it all before in One Chance and The Devil Wears Prada director David Frankel brings no new touches to the style of syrupy biopic storytelling; it's crowd-pleasing in the extreme and box-ticking to the max, but mark my words, it'll be more popular than the last boy-faces-extreme-adversity-only-to-triumph-against-all-the-odds film and you'll find it pointless to resist such generic familiar fare.

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Worldwide Fan Event

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Worldwide Fan Event

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Worldwide Fan Event is here.

With just weeks to go until the launch of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Sir Peter Jackson's pulled together a massive fan global event.

Talent at today's event include  Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, Lee Pace, Luke Evans and Peter Jackson hosted by Anderson Cooper.  


  It comes after the reveal of a The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug poster.

Peter Jackson's unveiled a first look at The Desolation of Smaug - well, a first look at theposter for The Hobbit sequel anyway.

And it's been revealed The new teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be unveiled this Tuesday, June 11th, at 10am PT

Benedict Cumberbatch is the voice of Smaug and it hits cinemas in December 2013.

So, wanting to fuel that fire even further, here's your first look at Bilbo in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug...

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is due in cinemas in December 2013...

Here's a First look at the elf Tauriel.

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

Thanks for Sharing: Movie Review

Thanks for Sharing: Movie Review

Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Gad, Tim Robbins, Joely Richardson, Alecia Moore
Director: Stuart Blumberg

Sex addiction - it's not a real thing, is it?

Tiger Woods, Russell Brand, David Duchovny and Charlie Sheen - they all claim to suffer from this disease.

In this comedy drama, three friends negotiate their way through the realities and temptations of being a sex addict; there's Ruffalo's Adam, who's five years sober, Gad's ER doctor who's attending meetings due to a court order and there's aphorism spouting Mike (Tim Robbins) who's been in rehab for a while and is a sponsee to Adam.

When Mike urges Adam to get back out there and start meeting people, he comes across Gwyneth Paltrow's perky but damaged Phoebe, who's had breast cancer and been in a relationship with an addict. Cautiously, the pair grow closer, acting on their initial attraction. But for Adam, the reality of his condition starts to intrude on his relationship.

Likewise, the arrival of Mike's addicted son causes friction between himself and his wife (Joely Richardson); and when Gad loses his job for inappropriate behaviour, he soon finds himself facing a harsh truth and needing the help of Alecia Moore AKA Pink's Dede, a fellow member of the group...

Thanks For Sharing is a rich piece, riddled with humour (mainly at Jonah Hill-esque Josh Gad) and fuelled by a powerful performance of addiction, which is grounded in reality by Ruffalo.

When he confesses to Phoebe, his thoughts are that "Cancer gets you sympathy, this gets you judgement" and it's probably the harsh reality of an addiction that's been thought of as simply a cover up for men cheating on their wives. But it's Ruffalo's honesty and earnesty as an actor while he's on this journey and its lucid insights which just manage to keep this on the right side of drama; while the comedy's amusing in places, it comes dangerously close to trivialising the addictions they face. Ruffalo excellently conveys the sympathy needed to root for this central character and his relationship with Phoebe as he battles with the addictions he's had. In fact, one scene where Paltrow delivers him a strip-tease is more completely inappropriate than tantalising given how it comes shortly after he confesses his condition.

But that scene alone is symptomatic of a few of the problems of Thanks for Sharing - some of the narrative feels rushed and dare I say it, predictable; Paltrow's act would have had more resonance had it happened later on in the film. Likewise, Mike's journey from sanctimonious bon motif spouting holier than thou to inevitably wrong father is one that can be seen coming from a mile off. He's a guy who's wrecked his family and would rather be there for others than for those around him and his lesson learning is entirely unsurprising.

It's perhaps Josh Gad and Alecia Moore (in her first role) who really rise from this film; Moore's tearful confession in her first scene at the addiction class is wonderfully moving and heartfelt - it shows she is an actor on the rise; and Gad, while endowing his out of control ER doc with some humour, rises to the occasion as well.

But a terribly Hollywood, neat resolution ending almost leaves the audience feeling cheated as it powers towards a sunnier day where all our protagonists are in a good place. It's a crass ending to a film that's worked so hard to show that sometimes being out of control isn't very easy to control.

All in all, Thanks for Sharing has moments of inevitability but due to the character work done - especially by a wonderful Ruffalo - while exploring this maligned of addictions, it does just about what it sets out to do.

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Beyond Two Souls: PS3 Review

Beyond Two Souls: PS3 Review

Platform: PS3
Released by Sony

More of an experience than a straight forward game, Beyond Two Souls is something to be part of rather than played.

Developed by Quantic Dream (the publishers of Rain) and utilising the acting skills of Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page, it's a non-linear story of Jodie (Ellen Page), a young girl with a secret. As the game begins, we find Jodie in a police station, but before long all hell breaks loose.

It's here that the narrative starts jumping back and forth in her timeline, taking in moments and different story elements come in; suddenly you are young Jodie, tasked with tidying her room up and coming through for some tests. It's at this stage that the traditional elements of the gaming world kick in - use the controller to move Jodie, get her to move things about etc.

But it's also at this stage that you start to get your first look at Aiden, the mysterious entity, which appears tied to Jodie, meaning that the two can't be separated by huge distances. Floating above her, Aiden can go through walls (all done through first person POV shots) and influence the world around- either in the form of knocking stuff about or later on, possessing people to do your bidding.

A lot of the gaming is done via QuickTime methods - press X to do this, press O to do that - which initially gives you the feeling of being somewhat distanced from the actual game itself and merely directing the talent involved to do your bidding. As ever, there are multiple options which obviously provide a plethora of outcomes, meaning you could go again if you wanted to.

There's also action as well - as I revealed earlier on this year with my hands on with Beyond: Two Souls - and it keeps the narrative changing tones and leaves you less with the feeling that you're ever so slightly aloof from the unfolding screen work.

What's great about Beyond: Two Souls is the motion capture work - seriously, the efforts to bring Willem Dafoe (as Jodie's kind of mentor) and Ellen Page to the small screen are utterly captivating. The younger Jodie looks uncannily like Ellen and it's incredible to behold. That's the thing with this - the movie side of Beyond: Two Souls is an unbelievably impressive experience, but as a gaming and fully immersive experience, some may find it wanting. It's an interesting choice of themes and ideas and a totally different way to have them play out.

Perhaps on occasion more could have been given to the gameplay (parts feel confused and leave you uncertain over what to do), but Beyond: Two Souls, with its multiple endings, is a reminder that choices do have consequences; the developers Quantic Dream have created something which stands alone in the current environment and presented something which is utterly different - and that deserves to be applauded.

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Puppeteer: PS3 Review

Puppeteer: PS3 Review

Platform; PS3
Released by Sony Computer Entertainment

Side-scrolling platforms with relatively cute characters are always likely to get my attention.

I'm a huge fan of the Sackboy series, and while Puppeteer has elements of that which look the same, it certainly deserves to be viewed on its own merits.

In this latest, you play a boy called Kutaro, who's been turned into a puppet after the Moonbear King has smashed the moon stone and scattered throughout the kingdom ( I know, bear with me). But along with a kind of cat that dangles from a web like a spider called Ying Yang, and a pair of magical scissors, Kutaro can negotiate his way through the worlds and perils that face him.

But, when Kutaro finds extra heads around the world (as he's had his original head torn off when he became a puppet), he unlocks different kinds of abilities. Coupled with the ability to fly in the skies thanks to the snipping magical scissors, it's suddenly not as difficult as it seems.

Side scrolling through a theatrical set up, Puppeteer is a dark, macabre yet somehow family friendly title which is going to appeal to all. Scenes change back and forth in this dark castle world in the kind of way you'd expect to see in a pantomime. The scissors serve to help solve puzzles in one game and then must be used against cloth baddies in the next; it's a brilliant touch which is cartoonish yet deeply troubling in other moments.

The whole thing manages to work as it seems to be set inside a puppet theatre (like you'd get with the old style Romeo and Juliet boothes) complete with audience "oohs" and "aahs" throughout, meaning that the whole game has a lighter touch than some of its darker material may hint at (ripped off heads, cutting out baddies etc etc).

There's a creative uniqueness to Puppeteer, which won't take you very long to adapt to or to play, but it can be picked up with ease and settled into without any difficulty at all. Wonderful visuals and a deftness of touch give it a playable and easily addictive edge.

Imagination is the only limit on games these days on the PlayStation and it appears that Puppeteer has it in spades - and it doesn't disappoint at all.

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