Non-Stop: Movie Review

Non-Stop: Movie Review

Cast: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery, Scoot McNairy, Linus Roache
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

It's to the skies that Liam Neeson takes in this thriller, which promises twists and turns and suspense aplenty amid the Seatbelts sign being switched on.

A grizzly and wearied looking Neeson plays Bill Marks, a burned out veteran of the Air Marshals service, who's assigned to a flight but would rather be in his car, drinking. Troubled and definitely not a people person, Marks views his time in the air as a necessity and a distraction rather than a chance to save the passengers within from any incoming threats.

Though, his day takes a turn away from the routine when he receives a page on his secured network pager, telling him that unless he pays $150 million, someone on the plane will die. And he has just minutes to sort this - now, the clock is ticking and everyone on a crowded transatlantic flight is a suspect....

Non-Stop is a thrill ride that gets some parts right, and other aspects wildly wrong.

With shades of Passenger 57 in terms of idea, there's plenty of meat on this premise to be explored - and Neeson does a great job of selling it, committing wholeheartedly to the at times, creaking story. Along with Downton Abbey's Lady Mary (aka Michelle Dockery) as an airline stewardess and Julianne Moore as a mysterious woman sat next to Marks on the flight, the cast is incredibly solid and convincing as the story takes a turn for the absurd when the motivation for the hijacking is revealed.

Occasionally the sense of paranoia is ramped up with shades of Flight 93's passenger heroics thrown in for good measure as those seated in economy rise up and revolt against Marks' apparent paranoid delusions; and Neeson plays those scenes well. The tension's quite well held together initially as you try and work out who is responsible for what's going on - and to be frank, every possible twist is exploited and turned about as far as it can go for the benefit of the film. There also moments when Neeson exploits those particular action acting skills that he so honed on the Taken films to ensure there's an ass-kicking ahead when it's needed in among the ludicrous dialogue and growing absurdity of the situation.

Eventually though, there's an unbeatable element of silliness which creeps in - Marks makes a ludicrous offer of international travel for all for a year and a couple of other things happen which will make you guffaw, but all in all, the high flying Non-Stop just about holds it together with its 80s action thriller vibe, complete with stereotyped characters. (Just you wait until the scene where American news media gets hold of the story that an Irishman has apparently hijacked a flight...)

It just about - but barely - works due to Neeson's committed performance and playing it diabolically straight, leaving you questioning whether he's telling the truth as the layers of the puzzle are revealed; he makes the irrational seem totally irrational as the exposition comes flying thick and fast. Granted, the final reveal is a bit of a contrived out of left-field let down.

Non-Stop is very much like a plane journey - it's a claustrophobic thrill ride if you're prepared to check your brain at the departure gate; strap yourself in for the long haul and expect a lot of turbulence on the way. It's highly implausible and utterly ludicrous in parts - and the ending makes you feel a little like you were put in economy after being treated like business class for parts of the ride.

Rating:

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.

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