The Bling Ring: Blu Ray Review

The Bling Ring: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

The latest movie from Sofia Coppola takes a look at the vapid way our lives have become so obsessed and warped with celebrity and all within it.

And it's a shocking look at how far some will go to be a part of that lifestyle. When Marc (Israel Broussard) moves to a new school, he falls in with Katie Chang's Rebecca on the first day. Rebecca seduces him with her lifestyle - of breaking into homes, taking what she wants and helping herself due to a self imposed sense of self-entitlement.

Soon, Marc's aiding and abetting in these crimes, fuelling Rebecca's need to be part of the celeb lifestyle. He finds her the homes of the rich and famous that she wants to be part of, and they simply head there, break in and wallow in the opulence and take mementoes home of their crimes. It's the ultimate in the Steal Their Style mentality - and it's utterly addictive for this duo.

They're joined in their escapades by Emma Watson's Nicky, her friend Sam (Taissa Farmiga) and Chloe (Claire Julian) who all become addicted to this way of life after Marc and Rebecca take them to Paris Hilton's home repeatedly.

But eventually, the greed of the young and the seduction of the crime become too much for the group and their spree starts to become noticed by the Hollywooderati and the Bling Ring is feeling the pressure.

The Bling Ring movie is apparently based on real events and on a Vanity Fair article - and is in some ways, a shocking expose of how obsessed we've become with the celebrity lifestyle, fuelled by weekly magazines of what they're wearing, daily news items on who's dating who and who's wearing what and an indictment of the want it now attitude of some who'd rather take it than earn it. It's a hollow, shallow and superficial piece which is stylishly put together - from shots of the group taking endless selfies in the clubs, surrounded by bling, booze and money and transposed to Facebook,The Bling Ring is a horrifying look at how some have no identity except through the lives of others.

When Rebecca's finally caught and she's told that some of their victims have been spoken to by the police, her one overburning desire is to know what Lindsay said because her obsession is so deep. The attitude of these youngsters is appalling and Coppola does little to validate them or make them empathetic as the film plays out and their coked up sprees continue a plenty. So it's hard to care for them as the police close in and their lifestyles are brought to an end.

Watson and Leslie Mann are perhaps the stand outs of the film; Mann, whose mother and home schooling is based on the concept of The Secret is a blast - a blank canvas of motherhood whose daily prayer and mantra is as superficial as her smile - and whose teachings make her charges wonder what characteristics Angelina Jolie embodies; Watson is an empty and vapid teen whose statements as bland as anything and yet they show a canny sense of using buzzwords and phrases without actually saying anything profound - for example - "I'm a firm believer in karma; I wanna lead a country one day. For all I know." There's no conviction in these teens except to live vicariously through the theft of their victims. From yellow lurid neon opening titles to a blasting punk soundtrack, Coppola's put together something which is as impressive as it is empty; an indictment of the Facebook generation who revel in empty lives to fulfill their own and who have everything going for them but don't recognise it.

The Bling Ring is visually impressive, shatteringly hollow and of the now. It's worrying that it's based on real events and it's to be hoped that Coppola's indifference to her subjects and occasional glorification of their opulence desiring lifestyle will be taken lightly - because based on the audience I was with, the majority of them were on their smartphones the moment the film was ending, perhaps perpetuating a cycle of celebrity cult worship that it's really time to break. 

Extra: Making of

Rating:

First Godzilla trailer is here...

First Godzilla trailer is here...

Here it is - your first look at the Godzilla film from Gareth Edwards.

Godzilla stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche and Ken Watanabe.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Radio Review

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Radio Review

The day after the Wellington charity gala of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, I spoke to Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking on Breakfast about the film.

Click on the pic below to get my thoughts and Hobbit review

http://newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/player/ondemand/1718425112-mhb-darren-bevan--the-hobbit-2

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Movie Review

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Movie Review

Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom
Director: Peter Jackson

So, the adventure continues.


It's the second part of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, and all eyes are on the film to ramp up the action and introduce some new characters (one a woman in the form of the elf Tauriel, played by Lost star Evangeline Lilly) as well as move the story on.

At the end of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Bilbo and the company of Dwarves had survived being attacked by Azog and the Wargs and were heading East to the kingdom of Erebor.

But trouble was awaiting them in the form of the sleeping dragon, Smaug, voiced by Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, who was awakening from his slumber in the Lonely Mountain to take on any who would enter...

In The Desolation of Smaug, Bilbo and the Dwarves face yet more peril, as they continue their journey to the Misty Mountain. From a dangerous skin-changer, swarms of giant spiders in Mirkwood and being captured, the Company face threats they could never have imagined. However, it's when they find themselves at the Lonely Mountain that danger lurks - the dragon Smaug....


The second part of the trilogy brings the action - and then some.

It's a great pay-off when compared to the slightly more sedate pace of the first Hobbit movie, which saw some criticise Jackson for stretching the story as far as it could go, without actually doing anything.

But what you come to realise is just how much Jackson invested - and forced you to invest - in the journey of the Company of Dwarves as the Desolation of Smaug plays out. It begins with a prequel in Bree, on the edge of the shire (complete with a cameo from a certain director) and then doesn't let up until its final scenes leave the audience screaming for an immediate conclusion, as the threads dangle precariously in the wind.

As the film zips along, overcoming its narrative constraints (two sequences see the Dwarves captured by different factions, leading to fears of repetition), the world Peter Jackson, J RR Tolkein and Fran Walsh have created is expanded with a rich resonance that's hard to deny. New characters thrive in this second film, which brings tragedy and ominous consequences to the fore - despite occasionally stuffy dialogue being uttered by some (chiefly, Lee Pace's Elven King Thranduil).

See the pictures from the New Zealand premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Newcomers to the world include Evangeline Lilly's kickass feisty female elf Tauriel, who saves the day more than once, manages to give Orlando Bloom's Legolas a run for his money in the swashbuckling, arrow-firing stakes. There's a hint of something between her and Aiden Turner's Kili, which softens some of the harder edges of the years old conflict between the Elven race and the Dwarves, but Lilly manages to make every moment on screen count - even though she's essentially one third of a love triangle with Legolas and Kili. By the end, you'll wonder exactly how she was never part of the original book. But there's also tragedy in this film, with many characters suffering and lamenting a harsh fate in life; from Luke Evans' excellent Bard the Bowman to Richard Armitage's Thorin Oakenshield, even Martin Freeman's Bilbo Baggins are hardened and changed by their journey - and subtle performances all round do much to add to this fantastical tapestry.

Once again, Freeman is mightily impressive as Bilbo; this time around, the Baggins has got some baggage of his own as the weight of carrying the One Ring starts to change him, at once giving him courage and elsewhere leading to uncertainty; and Freeman doesn't shy away from letting the moods change on his face as well as indulging in some quite brilliant physical comedy. Unfortunately though, some of the company of dwarves are this time around sidelined from the film, with there barely being a moment to dwell on their interactions or characters; equally, the main characters merely propel the action rather than be fully affected by it; similarly, a side story thread with Gandalf is more about setting up a pay off in the third film, rather than providing a resolution during the film. It's a shame for a movie on its own, but if you start to think of these films as a series rather than individual stand-alone movies (which they really should be as number two in a trilogy), then you won't feel as short-changed.

The set pieces in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug are thrilling once again thanks to the stunning technology showcased by the 48 frames per second way of film-making; spiders will never seem the same again after a horrifying attack early on causes many a jolt from the seat - and Jackson's eye for intricate action sequences are highlighted in the giddy exciting escape sequence which sees the Dwarves flee the Elves in barrels; from quivering arrows to eye-popping moments, that one chase offers more thrills and danger than anything seen for a while. These sequences are technical marvels, effortlessly weaving the action without overloading the senses. Talking of overloading the senses though, praise must be heaped on the film's score, which is by turns, majestic when it needs to be and graceful in the quieter moments.

However, the finest part of the film comes nearly two hours in - and when it does, you realise just how much you've been waiting to see it - the dragon Smaug. Previously glimpsed in trailers and hinted at, this creature is a marvel of technology, a computer generated serpentine lizard that's as much a symbol of greed as it is a creature of cunning and deviousness. With Benedict Cumberbatch's rich tones adding a sinister and slimy texture to the character, the scenes with Bilbo trying to charm the dragon while finding his booty are rich with menace and ooze impressiveness.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ends on a cliffhanger with the stakes raised incredibly high and Martin Freeman's Bilbo asking "What have we done?" and with you knowing there's at least another 12 month wait to find out. The simple answer though, Bilbo, is that you've created a fantasy film that once again soars above expectations, delivers a magical journey in spades and effortlessly commands and rewards your attention through its 161 minutes run time.

Rating:

Pictures from the charity gala premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Pictures from the charity gala premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Wellington's Embassy Theatre gave The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug a thrilling gala premiere tonight in the capital.

Six of the company of dwarves were also in attendance for the charity event - take a look at the pictures below:

Wellington gets ready for Hobbit gala

Wellington gets ready for Hobbit gala

The capital's getting ready for An Unexpected Journey back to Middle Earth tonight.

The charity gala premiere at the Embassy Theatre comes just one year after the first part of the Hobbit trilogy had its world premiere in the capital.

Tonight's event comes just a few days after the Los Angeles premiere of the Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which saw the stars of the second part of the trilogy coming out to play. There's no word yet on whether any of the international cast will be heading back to New Zealand for the event tonight, which aims to raise money for the Island Bay Marine Education Centre.

The main attraction on the red carpet tonight (which could be black a la Los Angeles) will be the contingent of dwarves. Among their number, Jed Brophy (Nori), John Callen (Oin), Mark Hadlow (Dori), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), Stephen Hunter (Bombur) and William Kircher (Bifur) will be on hand to greet fans and sign autographs.

The second film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, has already received positive reviews from early premieres and is due to open in New Zealand on December 12th.

The film follows Martin Freeman's Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the Lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

Pacific Rim: Blu Ray Review

Pacific Rim: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Ent

In this latest from the visionary Guillermo del Toro, an alien force known as the Kaiju have invaded from under the sea via a portal. In order to try and survive the onslaught, humans have created giant robots (aka Jaeger) to take the fight to the Kaiju. But seven years into this war, millions have been killed, cities destroyed and defeat stared right in the face. All that stands in their way is Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam's Raleigh Becket, who's already lost his brother to the fight to the Kaiju when their robot got smashed to pieces. Leading the charge is Marshall Stacker Pentecost (!) aka Luther's Idris Elba - when the government decides to close down the Jaeger programme, he alone decides to fight on rather than to decommission the robots....

The movie Pacific Rim is simply giant robots vs giant sea monsters - a kind of Godzilla vs Transformers(and woe-betied any piece of masonry which gets in the way).

It's clearly a passion project of del Toro's and a lot of suitably impressive work's been put into the creature features and the battle sequences. So much so, that the semblance of any kind of in depth story or human character / development has gone by the wayside - although, cheesy dialogue a-plenty is there in spades.

And the characters are pretty predictable too - the wounded soldier on a path to redemption, the rookie scientist whose desire to satiate vengeance is her driving goal, the scientists who are a bit kooky and a comedy double act (with Charlie Day channeling Rick Moranis and Torchwood's Burn Gorman going all limpy as the theoretical yin to Day's practical yang) and a commander-in-chief who has the ability to deliver a killer speech when it matters most.

With throwbacks of B-movies and plenty of theGodzilla vs series, del Toro's crafted something which is immeasurably dumb but incredibly action-packed, which will satiate the appetite of those simply searching for a big serving of spectacle. Sure, Pacific Rim is big but not clever, but as blockbuster spectacle goes and for its genre as an FX fest, it's certainly nothing more than it says on the tin.

Extras: 14 featurettes, commentary - a good solid bunch

Rating: