The Stone Roses: Made Of Stone: Blu Ray Review

The Stone Roses: Made Of Stone: Blu Ray Review

Released by Madman Home Entertainment
Rating: M

So, Shane Meadows' fanboy treatment of the return of the Stone Roses comes to the small screen.

It follows the reforming of the iconic 90s band in 2012 after a 16 year split and watches them rehearse and get ready for a major live tour, culminating in a show at Heaton Park in Manchester, their spiritual home.

Meadows' film is very much from the eye of the fanboy, and occasionally it clouds some of the judgement of the piece; a break up later on in the film during the tour is rather quickly glossed over, despite being documented and it leads to a real confusion over what went down.

Using his trademark black and white footage, Meadows though, manages to capture the essence of why the Roses were so adored by pulling together a simple documentary which concentrates on the music. From the larking about of the group at rehearsals to capturing songs when they're played live, this is a fan's wet dream of a Stone Roses movie.

Using some archive footage and capturing the essence of their friendship as well as some interviews from the era, Meadows builds and reinvents the mystique of the band - and from the euphoric joy of the fans to their blistering live performance of Fool's Gold, he makes you understand exactly why the Roses were so iconic.

When the band is given the chance to showcase their sound is really when this documentary shines and it's what you'll take away from the final product.

Extras: A 2 disc release is packed with great content, from commentaries, to additional performances to behind the scenes.

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Disney Infinity Wave 2: PS3 Review

Disney Infinity Wave 2: PS3 Review

Released by Disney
Platform: PS3

The Disney Infinity set is really living up to both parts of its name.

Disney is of course, synonymous with family fun and fare - and the Infinity part of this title certainly shows there are no bounds when it comes to the figures and gamesets being released for it.

This latest batch of released figurines and power discs concentrate a little more on the more recent cinematic Disney fare, with Frozen (their latest movie) and Wreck It Ralph being part of the sets. Plus Toy Story gets an expansion set which is set in space - and sees Buzz and Jessie teamed up (and Woody in another release)

The Toy Story in space set is quite good fun for all ages, as you take on either Buzz or Jessie and storm around the alien's world doing odd jobs such as rescuing one of their own or turning on the tower. Help comes from Rex and Hamm and add a real vibe to this latest which is kiddy friendly and generally fun-loving as you bounce around the world, unlocking vaults (though you need Woody to complete that task, which means you're forced to fork out) and throwing the Pixar ball around. As the world grows, the challenges do too and the engagement within. Visually the level is high (though Woody looks a little off with his shorter face) and the fact you can keep on building within and have a plethora of missions to complete as you help the aliens inhabit the world is certainly something which will keep the youngsters happy.

The other characters certainly expand the world of Disney Infinity in ways that you'd never have expected. Wreck It Ralph and Vannelope von Schweetz are beautifully crafted toys and ones which to be honest, I'd be happy to have as figurines on my shelf. Ralph has a fun adventure to take part in and it's very retro in many ways, even down to the graphics. Likewise, Vannelope is the same - though there's a level of cuteness to her outing too - and the visual representation of the character is utterly flawless and charming. As she races about in her adventure, you can't help but recall the film and that's a great thing to have.

The princess side of the set includes Anna and Elsa from Frozen and while they're charming, it has to be said the pull of those two isn't quite as strong as the others so far. Elsa gets to fire a catapult in a quest to grab all the collectibles and Anna uses a grappling hook. They're both perfectly fine but not as outstanding as the others released in Wave 2.

All in all, Wave 2 is a good solid start for 2014 and kids everywhere will adore them thanks to the level of charm within. The craft and artistry on the figures themselves is as in depth as the warmth brought to the gaming. You can't afford not to really expand your Disney Infinity set and with these latest figures, you've got the perfect opportunity to grow the set further.

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Pain and Gain: Blu Ray Review

Pain and Gain: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

In among the body-conscious world of Miami, Mark Wahlberg plays bodybuilder Daniel Lugo, a believer in the American dream, but not in the reality of working towards it. After taking on a rich new client, Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub), Lugo concocts a scheme to kidnap him and get him to sign over all his wealth and wordly possessions, believing he's entitled to it.

Lugo co-opts fellow gym buddy, Adrian (Anthony Mackie) a steroid riddled impotent into helping - and the final link of Dwayne Johnson's Paul Doyle, a former convict who's discovered religion and is trying to go straight - but faces temptation left, right and centre.

But Lugo's plan doesn't quite go as expected...and Ed Harris' PI, Ed DuBois is called in to track the group down.

Pain and Gain is a rather odd beast. Stylish rather than something with substance, it's an odd mix of the garish world of Miami with the ineptitude of three wannabe criminals whose ideas are executed laughably. There's a kernel of a sermon here about the American dream and how to aspire for it rather than simply to take it, but it's lost midway through.

Worst of all, the story goes for black comedy, but the reality of what happened (the film opens with a disclaimer that "Unfortunately, this is a true story") is actually quite horrific and you're left feeling unsure whether it's the right choice of material for a film in the first place, mixing in queasy laughs with some horrific situations in the sun soaked world of Miami with its glistening and perfectly sculpted bodies.

Wahlberg commits fully to the role as does Johnson (who spectacularly goes off the rails) but none of them are empathetic or sympathetic characters; even the kidnapped Kershaw is a beast to his employees and never really fully deserving of our care or time. A real lack of compassion is fatal in a story like this. The end result is that Michael Bay's concocted something that feels an unusual film - potentially torn from the lurid pulpy crime novels world, it doesn't quite work on the screen and which descends into hysterically OTT violence as it reaches its climax. Feeling wildly uneven and tonally a bit up and down, the film hits some stylish highs and can't sustain the initial satirical tone it was aiming for. Gallows humour there may be, but some of it just doesn't sit right as it unspools.

Over-long and flawed, this piece ends up being a little more about the pain, rather than the gain.

Extras: Behind the scenes pieces, a look at the true story involved

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Behind The Candelabra: DVD Review

Behind The Candelabra: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

Everything's just a little bit fabulous and OTT in this biopic about Liberace.

Michael Douglas stars as Lee aka Liberace, and Matt Damon is Scott Thorson, whose memoir this is based on. In 1977, Thorson was working as an animal trainer when he met Liberace after an incredible performance on stage and ended up being inside his inner circle.

Gradually the two became lovers and Thorson, from a small American background, became wowed by the lifestyle. But along with the trappings of showbiz comes the excesses and soon Scott has a spiralling drug addiction which rages; but it's Liberace's promiscuity that ultimately causes friction within their relationship.

And things get even worse when Thorson's asked by Liberace to undergo plastic surgery to look more like him...

Behind The Candelabra is Steven Soderbergh's meisterwork, a biopic which is sensitive to the material around it and impressive in its execution. It's been nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes and it's easy to see why.

Both Douglas and Damon are mightily impressive as their respective characters, with Douglas in particular catching the showmanship and monstrousness of the man down to a tee. Even Rob Lowe's scarily horrific plastic surgeon is a great character - the personas created on screen are no doubt perfect representations of who these people were but it's the commitment of the actors to the roles that makes Behind The Candelabra such a great watch.

From impressive outfits to great choreographed scenes, there's plenty to dazzle the eyeballs in this biopic which occasionally borders on the shallow as it plays on. All in all, while there's a bit of a lull towards the end of this, the whole film is going to be one which will be adored by some.

Expect to see it potentially get some awards next year.

Extras: Behind the scenes of

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The Way Way Back: Blu Ray Review

The Way Way Back: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Entertainment

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 Rockwelland 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.

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The Croods: Blu Ray Review

The Croods: Blu Ray Review

Rating: G
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Emma Stone stars as Eep, the eldest girl of the Croods, a family of Neanderthals getting by thanks to the over-protective nature of her father in this animated outing, Grug (Nicolas Cage, in one of his best performances in a while) who simply wants to keep the family safe from harm and trapped within a cave. But Eep is growing up and wants to spend more time in the sun rather than the dark of the cave.

However, when nature intervenes, their cave's destroyed and the continents begin to separate, the Croods have no choice but to move on to find a new cave. And things are further complicated when Guy (Ryan Reynolds) shows up - a smart, thinking and inventive chap, with diametrically opposed ideologies to Grug. Eep falls for him but his attitude puts him on a collision path with Grug... Will the Croods survive the new world?

The Croods movie is, without a doubt, a blast of animated air for the holiday period.

With an opening that exudes CGI confidence as the Croods hurtle around the landscape trying to catch their food,The Croods movie hits the ground running as it crafts together a world of colourful critters and hilarious hijinks. Whereas Scrat had his acorn to chase, the Croods have an egg which provides them with sustenance - a parallel which can't be ignored in this latest prehistoric outing.

With her waving red hair, Eep is the latest redhead after Brave to grace the screen but it's the animation and the world around the Croods movie which scores highly. From its bright colours to its general lunacy of pace, there's plenty to keep the kids entertained in this - with its supporting character of Belt, a sort of pinkish/ purple long armed sloth providing some of the film's best laughs. Which is a good thing because there's scant story to see the film through to be honest. It's simply a tale of a family trying to find their way into a new life - and the usual father / daughter tensions shining through as the girl-meets-her-first-boy and father-struggles-to- reconcile-with-the-possibility-he-will lose-her-to-a-younger, smarter version of himself. The whole family as Neanderthals and new guy as an intelligent next stage works well as an allegory (who hasn't thought their family were primitive when it comes to being impressed by a new suitor?) but it's anything but subtle as the occasional ACME style zaniness plays itself out.

Still, in terms of the journey, it's one which is worth taking - even though it lacks a fully rounded and expanded story, it pushes family values right in the final stages and provides a gooey resolution to the Eep / Grug tensions, The Croods is still a film which will delight many - no matter how young or old they are and regardless of whether they're Neanderthals or otherwise.

Extras: Lost scenes, be an artist, HD picture...

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Now You See Me: Blu Ray Review

Now You See Me: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

In this new heist / caper / magic, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson and Isla Fisher star as a quartet of magicians aka The Four Horsemen - J Daniel Atlas (a cardsman), Jack, (a pick-pocket) Merritt (a mentalist) and Henley (another escapologist), who, having worked individually are brought together by a mysterious benefactor to pull off some of their biggest ever tricks after a year of planning.

But the group attracts the attention of the FBI's Dylan Rhodes (a wonderfully rugged Mark Ruffalo) after they apparently rob a bank in Paris and give the money to their audience during a show in Las Vegas.

Rhodes teams up with an interpol agent Alma Dray (Inglorious Basterds' Melanie Laurent) and a debunker of magic Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) to try and track the Horsemen down and stop them.

And so begins a taut game of cat and mouse....

Now You See Me is a slick, flashy, crowd-pleasing affair. With swirling cameras looping around all the actors and the action all the time, you may get a little dizzy and disorientated as the speedy plot plays out. There's hardly any time to catch your breath really as well as the chase begins and there's certainly no time to dwell on some of the plot holes, light characterisation and confusing moments as it speeds to its ever so slightly open ended conclusion. A lack of real explanation as to why the group's taken in by this scheme is missing until the end, giving you open-ended discussion over why they're involved and causing you to feel a little cheated.

Like any magic trick, Now You See Me is a heady mix of quick cuts, sleight of cinematic hand and misdirection. Nothing is of course as it seems and its ending is ludicrous, making a lot of what has already proceeded seem like something mysterious yet empty.

Eisenberg is smug and arrogant as Atlas; Harrelson's smirking and wise-cracking as the Mentalist - and unfortunately Fisher and Franco barely register as characters in this rather crowded cast. They're lost in the confines of the story and the initial brilliant opening scene, introducing us to all of the characters doesn't follow through on its promise. Freeman and Caine have a frisson of conflict as Tressler, the Horsemen's bank roller and Thaddeus the debunker. But it's Ruffalo who emerges as eminently watchable throughout this piece; his FBI agent seems to always be one step behind the action but his dogged determination is catchy and pretty soon, you're on his side, rooting for the capture of the quartet. That's the thing with Now You See Me - its mix of magic, heist caper and slick Hollywood swirling cameras is infectious - like any good trick, you're caught up in the moment as it plays out - but the minute you step out of the cinema, you find yourself questioning what you've seen - and while Now You See Me proffers up some entertaining moments throughout its 110 minute run, you're soon left with a hollow after glow and a feeling that you've been tricked. A real case of Now You See Me, Now You Don't on the plot front...
Extras: Extended version of film, history of magic, deleted scenes, audio commentary

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