Brand new Godzilla trailer roars in

Brand new Godzilla trailer roars in

A brand new trailer for Godzilla has just dropped - featuring Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston.


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.

TxK: PS Vita Review

TxK: PS Vita Review

Released by Sony Computer Ent
Platform: PSVita

For a certain generation of gamers, the name Jeff Minter is iconic.

The long haired game developer was responsible for some of the best computer games titles of the formative days of gaming - predominantly Attack of the Mutant Camels, a side shoot'em up scroller which was part of many a gamer's youth.

In this update of Tempest from Llamasoft, the tube shooter gets a next gen port over which loses none of the fiendish simplicity of the best shoot'em ups of yesteryear.

Basically, in among glowing neons, a pumping dance soundtrack and a series of oncoming scrolling, you are the pilot of a fighter, defending the 2 bit world from the ongoing wave of attacks from aliens. But, unlike most shooters, you're in the position of moving around a fixed vector and shooting at them - which makes more sense if you see the graphics of the game.

Essentially, the game is simply about shooting and survival - anything else is just a bonus. (Though there is a tactical level of the game too) All you have to do is zip around the structure, enjoying the psychedelic visuals, and pressing the X button on the controller. Granted, sometimes the aliens can overwhelm you but by tapping the screen, you can unleash "electric death" upon them (aka a smart bomb)

Power ups include the chance to jump off the fixed wire frame structure and a robot who can fire in tandem with you - all of which are helpful as the onslaught continues. But to be honest, they're all supplementary to the cause, as all you really need to know is that you can pick up this game and just blast away in short bursts or for a longer time.

There's humour aplenty in this game as well - after a certain point, I was told I had won a Cup of Tea, which brought a smile to my face and bemused me intensely. There are apparently 100 levels to this game, but it's not really about clocking the game (even though you can start again from where you left off) - merely enjoying it as it spools out in front of you. It's perfect handheld VITA entertainment and with crisp visuals, the trippiness of it all becomes apparent the more you play.

TxK is proof that really a simple concept and playability in its most basic form is all you need for a shoot'em up - nothing needs to be overthought and the game can be played on its surface merits and nothing else.

Rating:

The Amazing Spider-Man: Rise of Electro sizzle reel

The Amazing Spider-Man: Rise of Electro sizzle reel

When Electro rises, Spider-Man's greatest enemies will unite. Will Peter Parker pay the ultimate price to be the hero he is destined to become?

Here's the latest The Amazing Spider-Man: Rise of Electro sizzle reel 

Starring Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man and Jamie Foxx as Electro

Lone Survivor: Movie Review

Lone Survivor: Movie Review

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Eric Bana
Director: Peter Berg

The pantheon of war movies is littered with many attempts to show the bravado and courage of those under fire - but who are usually triumphant.

Lone Survivor sets out to do some of that - partially.

It's the story of the ill-fated mission Operation Red Wings, in which a four man US Navy Seal team were dispatched to the Afghanistan hills to capture or kill notorious al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd in June 2005.

But things go wrong when the quartet encounter a group of goat herders who may or may not be affiliated to the al Qaeda presence in the village below....Soon, all four of them, including Marcus Luttrell (played by a beefed up Mark Wahlberg), are fighting for survival, with no idea if help will be coming from their colleagues back at the base.

Lone Survivor is a brutal and brutalising piece of cinema - it's an unflinching look at a side of war rarely glimpsed.

However, with the troops under fire, all chances of characterisation are out of the window as the banter between the four simply resorts to an f-bomb every few words. Director Peter Berg is hardly interested in that though, given that he starts the movie with snapshots of the training that the SEALS undergo, and the bond that forms as they are broken or complete the training.

An initial sequence on a base gives some moments of insight into the SEAL lifestyle - worries over weddings, colour schemes for rooms at home, and whether to buy a horse or not and allow a newbie to join their ranks, but they're swiftly dispatched for a more visual and bone-crunching experience as the fire fight begins. A major kernel of interest - the morality of troop behaviour in war and during contact - is also jettisoned at a time when characters could have risen to the fore; it's a shame as Berg drops the one narrative ball that could have been much more.

While Berg's crafted something that collects together the horror of being pinned under fire and a situation many of us will never experience as well as the courage of the men under attack, he would have benefited from a slightly more subtle approach in places. Lingering close ups are a little too heavy handed - one on the paint scheme floating away from one of the Navy Seals after he's shot could have done with more subtlety - granted, with the story being taken from Luttrell's book, there's little wriggle room for him to manoeuvre outside of the fight sequences, which are visceral, bone-crunching and claustrophobic.

Inevitably a massive fire fight erupts at the end (which is apparently at odds with the reality of what actually happened) - perhaps it's the jingoistic release which was needed after such a downbeat portrayal of combat.

However, an opening sequence which shows Luttrell being choppered off should have been jettisoned; most will be unaware of the circumstances of this mission and a little uncertainty would have made the ride even more edge of your seat kind of cinema. Instead, that spoiler robs the movie of the tension it could have benefited from.

Overall, Lone Survivor represents a truly grim war time experience, but a chance to see a side of combat rarely glimpsed on the big screen. A final montage of the actual troops who were involved in the mission is nothing more than an attempt to be mawkish manipulation and while it's powerful stuff, it's more likely to resonate with those still in the armed forces and those in awe of the courage of others.

Rating:

Newstalk ZB Movie Review - All is Lost, Dallas Buyers Club and Inside Llewyn Davis

Newstalk ZB Movie Review - All is Lost, Dallas Buyers Club and Inside Llewyn Davis

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/player/ondemand/637137429-darren-bevan--at-the-movies

Cuban Fury: Movie Review

Cuban Fury: Movie Review

Cast: Nick Frost, Chris O'Dowd, Olivia Colman, Rashida Jones, Ian McShane, Rory Kinnear, Kayvan Novak
Director: James Griffiths

Loveable doltish Nick Frost returns to the screen with this comedy set in the world of salsa dancing.

Frost plays Bruce Garrett, a former salsa dance prodigy, who, along with his sister, was about to take the world by storm, one dance stage at a time. But bullies put paid to his plans for salsa domination, ending this apparently "unstoppable salsa machine" before its time.

However, years later, and working as an engineer in a lathe company - prone to awful jokes like Better lathe than never - Bruce bumps into new American boss Julia (Rashida Jones). Literally. Dumbfounded by the first encounter, he believes she's out of his league but is determined to get close to her by re-discovering his dancing, a passion they both share.

But Bruce faces stiff competition from office colleague Drew (Bridesmaids star Chris O'Dowd), the crass boorish alpha male, who's determined to get to Julia first....

Cuban Fury is a film that could have done with a little more edge and originality.

Granted, Nick Frost lifts the whole thing with his usual display of funny facials and being thrown into situations that you'd never have imagined him in. He's also got some real talents on the dance floor as the everyman lovable schlub busts some moves. (and he does all his own dancing apart from one segment). He has a likeability that plays all through the film and to his strengths, but he's let down by a slightly generic script that hints at moments of more but never quite fully delivers.

Some of his fellow casr suffer a similar fate with Ian McShane being wasted as a former mentor and trainer - and even Rashida Jones never quite gets enough to work with. Though, Kayvan Novak gets some of the biggest laughs as a flamboyant dancer, whose line in innuendo and OTT flourishes work nicely when the predictable script dances along its merry way.

Chris O'Dowd plays nicely against type as the sleazy guy who makes the offensive and sexually suggestible comments throughout, a preening cock of a man whose one mission in life is to needle Bruce and prove to be a thorn in his side. Though the scenes were the two of them have a dance-off in a car park at lunchtime to settle their rivalry proves to be the highlight of the movie.

In fact, this sequence itself is symptomatic of the main issue that confines Cuban Fury's intentions to the sin bin - the predictability and oh-so-familiar nature of its underdog story provide little surprises outside of watching Frost twirl and pirhouette. While that's enough charisma to help the film get by, it relegates Cuban Fury's strength to more Cuban Bluster, making it a solidly average outing rather than an essential rom com.

Rating:

Her: Movie Review

Her: Movie Review

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Wilde
Director: Spike Jonze

Cinematic wunderkind Spike Jonze returns with a world that doesn't seem so far away.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore Twombly, a lonely writer who works in a letter writing company. His days are spent helping others connect with their partners, friends and relatives and helping them express emotions that they cannot. Ironically, he's a little repressed, with the final stages of his divorce coming through and he spends his time briefly with friends, at work or playing a virtual video game in his front room.

Melancholy and maudlin, Theodore decides to buy a new artificial operating system, the OS1 to help him get through life. However, once the machine's switched on, it starts to take on a life of its own as it grows and evolves with Theo's interactions. Known as Samantha (and voiced with dusky sultriness by Scarlett Johansson), Theo starts to fall in love...

Her is an incredibly timely piece of cinema, blessed with a great story and intriguing premise.

We already live in a world where technology is running rampant and taking over our lives, so why shouldn't the next step be to fall for a virtual other half? But where Jonze succeeds with this, is that he makes the idea of love and loss seem so plausible and viable - Theodore inhabits a world which embraces retro fashion (with trousers hoisted up around the chest) but can't connect with anyone.

Joaquin Phoenix delivers a multi-layered performance that's heartbreaking, recognisable to anyone who's suffered a romantic loss and which is incredibly joyous. It's a logical conclusion that Ted falls for Samantha and Phoenix really sells the relationship, making us believe totally that this is a man who can no longer connect with human beings for fear of rejection (a divorce from Rooney Mara's character, a failed date with a desperate woman played by Olivia Wilde); he seeks solace in the technology of the world around him as that won't damage him. He even intones at one point "Sometimes I feel I've felt everything I've already ever felt", implying that he's become so distanced from life that the existential is the only way forward.

Credit also has to go to Scarlett Johansson, whose disembodied voice supplies every emotion and nuance needed. She's rightly won awards for this performance and her narration and delivery of lines is pitch perfect. Equally, Jonze needs credit for the Oscar nominated screenplay - while it collects together a story of love and loss, it never loses sight of humour in the technology - from the abuse given to Theodore by the video game he plays to a sex line encounter, there's plenty of humour among the pathos and heart of the piece.

Compassionate, plausible and shrewd, Her is a marvellous piece of cinema - while there is a slight lag in proceedings at one point, it's the only low in a journey that's packed full of highs and which presents a not-too distant future that's both recognisable and emotionally frightening.

Rating: