ZB Review: Monuments Men, Gravity, Don Jon

ZB Review: Monuments Men, Gravity, Don Jon

This week on Newstalk ZB we take a look at new movie The Monuments Men starring George Clooney, Gravity, starring erm, George Clooney and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Don Jon

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/listen-on-demand/audio/1812612947-darren-bevan--the-monument-s-men

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2: Blu Ray Review

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2: Blu Ray Review

Rating: PG
Released by Sony Home Entertainment

Don't play with your food is a mantra dictated to children at meal times by parents, but based on the latest Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs outing, it's going to be awfully hard to enforce. This latest CGI outing sees Bill Hader return as inventor Flint Lockwood. Following the events of the last film where the gang managed to shut down his food producing machine, the FLDSMDFR, which was causing chaos in Swallow Falls. However, the machine's back alive and creating sentient food creatures which according to super inventor Chester V (Will Forte) threaten the whole world.

So, while working for Chester V's Live Corp (a company which thrives on inventions), Flint's given the job of going back to Swallow Falls to shut the machine down once and for all. Along with the gang from the first Cloudy, Flint sets out to save the day - but his ambitions to impress Chester could cause irreparable damage to his friends. 

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 is a case of good for the kids, less so for the adults.

With its bright vibrant colours,Jurassic Park world of food animals (Su-sheep, watermelophants, fla-mangoes, shrimpanzees et al) and occasional lunacy, there's enough to keep the young (and young at heart) amused throughout. The story's not exactly taxing and yep, as ever, there are lessons to be learned over choices you make as well as who you listen to in life when it comes to role models.

The animation is pleasantly done and a lot of work has gone into creating the world around it and the creatures within, with even the pre-credits claiming it's "another film by a lot of people", but there's a lack of real originality and smarts to keep the parents in the auditorium entertained throughout. There's a zaniness initially which is confined to the sidelines and to visual gags but is soon absent once the main story kicks in, preferring instead to revel in the well-realised creature world and predictable story, complete with cheesy puns which the youngsters will adore.

Energetic and colourful, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 does exactly what you'd expect it to - and don't be surprised if the kids love it for not playing with a winning but formulaic recipe.

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Pompeii: Movie Review

Pompeii: Movie Review

Cast: Kit Harrington, Emily Browning, Kiefer Sutherland, Carrie-Ann Moss, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jared Harris
Director: Paul W S Anderson

From the master of the CGI disaster Paul W S Anderson comes the latest epic - a historical tale of computer mayhem in the days running up to the eruption of Mt Vesuvius.

Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington (aka Jon Snow) stars as Milo, an enslaved gladiator, who has revenge on his mind after seeing his family slaughtered by the Romans.But his quest for justice is thwarted when he's placed in the arena to fight Atticus (Lost's Mr Eko, Akinnuoye-Agbaje) - to make matters worse, the woman he's fallen for, Cassia (Sucker Punch star Emily Browning) is out of his reach, being potentially palmed off to a villainous Senator Corvus (a British accented and lacking-a-moustache-to-twirl-while-doing-his-evil Kiefer Sutherland) as part of a deal to revamp the seaside town of Pompeii with Roman backers.

So, with swords drawn, enemies made and paths crossed, they're all set for a showdown.

Until Mt Vesuvius steps in with other plans...

What would you expect from Pompeii, a B-movie with aspirations higher than an erupting mountain?

With a story completely lacking in anything other than character brush strokes, drawn out thanks to plenty of slow-motion fighting and posturing, and some over-acting (Step forward Kiefer Sutherland, who's chewing as much of the scenery as it crumbles around in as fireballs from the volcano take it down) all helmed by the guy who's done most of the Resident Evil movies, Pompeii is a disaster movie in more ways than one.

You're not expecting much, and after many aerial shots of the Mount and a bit of rumbling, the thing <Spoiler alert> finally explodes in an apocalyptic blast that's actually quite visually impressive (though darkened a little by the 3D glasses) but utterly OTT.

The problem comes that the script takes itself too seriously as the stakes are raised perilously high for the leads with all the cliched dialogue - and not all of them rise to the challenge. Harrington spends the majority of the film looking pained and uncomfortable; Browning is more or less a wet blank canvas, who's drawn only to the slave with the six pack and because he can talk to the animals (seriously, he's a horse whisperer), and Sutherland is the only one appearing to have some fun, while bordering on the edge of parody. It's left to Jessica Lucas as Cassia's slave and Akinnuoye-Agbaje's gladiator Atticus to save the day, with their solidly impressive and relatively dignified turns being the stand-outs of the piece. And it's surprisingly bloodless for a film that takes in some of the most brutal Roman tactics of the time.

As the destruction starts, you'll find yourself glad that the end is in sight, though the cheese can't be held off by the molten lava and some truly laughable moments emerge - particularly at the very last shot which tries for emotional and dramatic but ends up being clunky and laughable. I know it's supposed to be nothing more than a disaster movie, but in among the falling ash, there's no emotion, no hint of a connection and ultimately no relief as history plays out.

The FX don't add anything to this hollow spectacle and any attempts at pathos or putting the pomp into Pompeii by using a portentous quote from Pliny to start with merely adds up the feeling the melodrama is simply not worth it - and the tide of lava needs to come quicker to end this tale of doomed love.

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Get On up trailer released

Get On up trailer released

The first trailer for the James Brown biopic has been released.

Based on the incredible life story of the Godfather of Soul, the film will give a fearless look inside the music, moves and moods of Brown, taking audiences on the journey from his impoverished childhood to his evolution into one of the most influential figures of the 20^th century.

Get On Up hits cinemas on September 4th.

Machete Kills: Blu Ray Review

Machete Kills: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R18
Released by Icon and Roadshow

After breathing life into a character which appeared as part of the Planet Terror / Death Proof  faux trailers, and scoring box office gold with a spin off, Machete (Danny Trejo) returns once again.

This time around, after the death of his partner (Jessica Alba) at the hands of a masked killer, Machete is recruited by the US Government (aka POTUS Charlie Sheen) to take on an arms dealer in Mexico.

The rub? This arms dealer wants to fire a rocket on Washington and wipe out the government for doing little to wipe the scourge of the Mexican drug cartels from the planet. So, it's up to Machete, a big knife and some cojones to save the day....

Where the first Machete  had a degree of panache and self-awareness in terms of its exploitation, this latest Grindhouse / cult effort from director Robert Rodriguez  brings little to the table.

Amid a slew of killings, beheadings and general limb dismemberment, Danny Trejo, complete with his ruggedly lined face stumbles about as a dull Machete, looking tired, dazed and confused as to what exactly is going on. In amid his monosyllabic gruntings and one liners ("Machete don't tweet", "Machete don't smoke" to name but two of them), he seems lost at sea and confused as to what exactly is expected of him this time around.

Only Modern Family's buxom Sofia Vergara  seems to have a ball with her part, playing a whorehouse mistress whose main thrust is to avenge her dead daughter, killed when under Machete's charge. She fires the role with such aplomb that she's sorely missed when her brief time is over. And she brings new meaning to showing off her guns as well.

But that's half the problem with this latest Machete film - it feels sorely unfinished and under-cooked.

The first was a complete story whereas this latest seems to find Rodriguez suffused with the desire to build everything up to a climax that doesn't deliver and only teases a future installment, which appears to be set in space and is likely to be a grindhouse take on Star Wars, judging by the faux trailers which preface and bookend the piece. And the hints of a third film are terrifying, given the whole thing could have been epically wrapped up in this one alone.

Carlos Estevez (aka The winning Charlie Sheen) is wooden as the US President and Mel Gibson is utterly banal and unconvincing as the bad guy (with Rodriguez slyly hinting at Scientology but not bothering to go the full hog); even Demian Bichir hams it up as the OTT baddie initially, before he falls prey to the gory slaughter rained down upon the cast. A couple of gory kills will satisfy the adolescents in the audience, but there's little else here given how tame it all feels and how self-indulgent it becomes.

In short, the creatively limp Machete Kills does nothing except fire blanks.

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Doctor Who: The Web of Fear: DVD Review

Doctor Who: The Web of Fear: DVD Review

Rating: PG
Released by BBC and Roadshow Home Ent

Feared missing for years and only recently re-discovered, The Web of Fear represents a minor miracle in the Doctor Who world.

It's an iconic story which sees Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor pitted against the Yeti in the London Underground. With the Great Intelligence determined to defeat the Earth and its combined forces, the Doctor soon finds he's confronted by seemingly insurmountable odds.

The Web of Fear is simply good solid Doctor Who fun, with a few scares here and there. Five parts of the six are now here, with one still missing, but with none of the atmosphere lost. Troughton really brings his A game to this - and you're transported along on the journey with him; the Yeti lumber about and the Underground's very well used.

If there's a nostalgic tint to this story, it's one of joy that it's been found. Though, that joy may quickly go when you realise no love has been given to this disc, with no special features of any sort whatsoever. It's a cynical cash in and a crushing blow after the recent sterling work on the range.

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Thor: The Dark World: Blu Ray Review

Thor: the Dark World: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent

It's pleasing to report that the shadow and after effects of The Avengers are still hanging over this, giving the feel that there's some kind of ongoing plan for the Marvel franchise. Whereas New York's mopping up after the antics of the Chitauri, Loki's behaviour's caused ructions in the nine realms and in Asgard, with Chris Hemsworth's Thor thrown into the mix to try and re-unite the warring factions at his father Odin's behest.

However, the mallet man's heart isn't fully in it, with thoughts turning to Natalie Portman's Jane Foster who's back on Earth and struggling with the same affliction. But when Jane accidentally finds herself infected with a mysterious substance known as the Aether, she inadvertently awakens a long-buried threat, believed vanquished from within Asgard itself - the Dark Elves, headed up by the revenge-seeking Malekith (Christopher Eccleston)..... is it time for Asgard to fall?

Thor: The Dark World is a darker, grittier film than the first, but it becomes a little weighed down by some of its own intentions and a myriad of ideas.

There's such a mix of themes and motifs here that the whole thing feels tonally choppy in places as it shifts from one to the next, juggling way too many narrative balls in the air, and trying desperately to drop none of them.

It starts with a grand almost Game of Thrones / Lord of the Rings-esque prologue that details the ancient war between the Dark Elves (with their impassive white mask faces) and the Gods before shifting focus onto Tom Hiddleston's reptilian Loki, then onto Thor's attempts to quell theNine Realms' discord before settling into some comedy scientist hijinks, led by Kat Dennings' Darcy, whose role is severely comically expanded this time around. Add into that mix, some gut-wrenchingly emotional moments in the second act of the film which are almost derailed by the sudden tonal shift,  a sub-plot hinting at romantic tensions between Thor, Jaimie Alexander's Sif and Jane Foster which is dropped mid-way through, a 9/11 style attack on Asgard, some sci-fi MacGuffins as well as a rather neatly and abrupt conclusion and the piece, while blockbuster in every sense of the word, feels a little like a mixed narrative journey. (Albeit, an enjoyable one if you're prepared to overlook all of these things.) For example - A great sequence involving a truly moving Viking burial barely has time to settle before director Taylor's back to the comedy elements - it may work for the end of a comic book and the start of a next chapter, but on screen, it jars.

In terms of character, Hemsworth's adopted the rather stilted and stuffy tone for Thor, playing his fish out of water ways for laughs (a great scene sees him hanging up Mjolnir at a house the same way one does a coat); but his interaction / love interest with Portman's Jane is a little lacking this time around, with their onscreen time cut dramatically and their relationship suffering because of it. Equally, Eccleston's Malekith suffers in the shadow of the snakelike Loki, brilliantly portrayed by Hiddleston once again. While Eccleston brings the grim determination and vengeful might, there's little dimension or depth to his baddie, with the final showdown lacking the weight you'd expect. Meanwhile, Hiddleston provides much more nuance and layers to Loki this time around, turning a villain of the piece into something more Machiavellian than you'd have expected as the brotherly bonds of love and grief are played out. That said, the epic feel and sense and scale of Thor 2: The Dark World,coupled with some measured and impressive action sequences and some top notch FX work, make it a film for the masses and a flick which ensures Marvel's still on the top of its genre game.

Ultimately though, if the Thor franchise wants to grow and continue, maybe some of the myriad of elements need to be taken out of the mix to help the story and characters breathe - before they risk becoming too one note and tired.

Extras: Marvel One-shot, peek at the Winter Soldier

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