Lucy: Movie Review

Lucy: Movie Review

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-sik Choi
Director: Luc Besson

Part lecture on human evolution and part chase thriller, Luc Besson's Lucy is a curious hybrid, a mesh of didacticism and destruction.

Johansson plays the titular Lucy, an American who finds herself thrust into the criminal underworld of Taipei when her new beau insists she deliver a case stuffed with goodness knows what to Mr Jang (Choi). The contents of the case are a synthetic drug, CPH4 - and along with three others, Lucy is turned into an unwitting drug mule,with the contents sown into her stomach for delivery.

However, when the contents of the drug split in Lucy's stomach after a beating from Jang's goons (one of the logical missteps in the piece), she finds her brain opens up for use to more than the usual 10% - and her consciousness begins to expand, giving her powers she'd never had before.

So, using those powers, she decides to get revenge on those who wronged her before her brain reaches the previous uncharted domain of 100% capacity.

Eschewing philosophy into the narrative as well as defying an kind of logic, Besson's Lucy is determined to get to his audacious goal without stopping for breath to explain how or why. Intercutting with scenes of evolution, gazelles being stalked by hunters as Lucy heads into the gang-world, and using CGI molecules (some of ILM's finest work to show Lucy's cortexes opening up), Besson's created something trippy throughout.

Johansson's eminently watchable and her transcendence from American good time girl to badass to something else entirely at the end works because you're gunning for her the moment you see her, despite any form of character development being thrown out of the window (which to be frank, would have slowed the pace of this slick mash up of Transcendence / Limitless / The Matrix). Ironically, she appears to go the other way from what she's portrayed in Under The Skin; there, her alien started off aloof before gradually becoming more human. Here, Lucy takes the opposite journey, gradually becoming more machine-like the further her brain edges toward the 100%.

Morgan Freeman cements his status as the go-to actor for any kind of voice of reason / scientist trying to explain things (more or less exactly mirroring his recent outing in Transcendence) as the sci-fi action thriller heads towards its hyper-visual logic-confounding conclusion.

With its Euro-stylings, visual brilliance (even if it defies any kind of reasoning) constant cutting philosophical interludes (to Freeman's lecturing or evolution, apes and dinosaurs), Besson's given us something that's the complete opposite of what you'd expect; leaps of logic bound a little too far and at some point, you have to decide if you're on board with it all or out.

The central premise is an intriguing one and perhaps, in some perverse ways, benefits from not being explained and dulled down with long scenes of exposition, but nevertheless Lucy remains one of the most intriguing pieces committed to celluloid this year, destined to polarise but also destined to provoke debate.

Rating:

Need For Speed: DVD Review

Need For Speed: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent

Based on a long running computer game series, Need For Speed races upto the box office, hoping to claim pole position.

Starring Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul as Tobey Marshall, a grease monkey whose aptitude is modifying cars, getting them back on the road and a bit of street racing too. But things aren't looking good for Marshall, with his father's death precipitating the potential financial end of his garage. So when Dino Brewster (a permanently sulking and scowling Dominic Cooper) comes to him to offer him the chance to make some cash to modify a car, he takes it.

But the rivalry off the track comes to a head on the roads as Dino challenges Toby to a race, along with Toby's pal Pete. And when Pete's killed, Toby's framed for the murder and thrown in the slammer, only to emerge 2 years later with revenge on his mind.

That opportunity comes to him courtesy of a chance to race in the De Leon, an event thrown together secretly by Michael Keaton's Monarch. So, with just 48 hours to get to the race, Marshall, along with Imogen Poots' bankrolling Julia has to head across country, avoiding bounty hunters set on him by Brewster and win the race....

Need For Speed will appeal to the adrenalin junkie, but hardly anyone else.
Thanks to a premise stretched as tautly thin as it can be over 2 hours - it's essentially a revenge piece, with hardly anywhere to go. Fans of the game will appreciate some of the nods to the game-play (spike strips, roadblocks) but others will scratch their heads in dim amusement at how little actually happens during it.

Every cliche is thrown into the mix - from Paul's growling, increasingly wide-eyed reactions to everything that transpires to Cooper's one dimensional pouty dead-eyed baddie, this is not a film that fires on any kind of cylinders. The problem is one of tone - there are moments where Need For Speed appears to be self-aware, and then moments, in among the slow-mo, where it's all played for high tragedy. And it just doesn't work.

The racing sequences, such as they are, are fine - pared back action, shot either from the tyre line or with a close up of Aaron Paul's narrowing eyes, but they offer little new in terms of adrenaline-fuelled moments or hairs-stand-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck excitement. And there's too few of them, littered as they are throughout the 2 hour running time.

Plot-wise, the film opts for nothing more than ludicrous which is perhaps unsurprising, but other car racing films of a similar ilk have at least had a thread of something running through them (Fast and Furious anyone?) which has given the casual movie-goer something to cotton on to. But here, there is no plot money shot, no one moment that has you rooting for the in peril couple or the leads, simply a crushing inevitability over how it will all play out.

Ultimately a lack of last race is crippled by a lack of tension, as characters hitherto unseen vie for first place (with the names of English Paul and Texas Mike believe it or not) that no one cares about - all we're supposed to be invested in is the fight between Dino and Toby. Add in Michael Keaton's bizarrely OTT Monarch, who chews as much scenery as he can during the sequences he's on screen and you've got a rather odd experience.

While the stunt work is quite impressive, there's little else in Need For Speed which will really rev anyone up outside of petrol heads.

Sadly, Need for Speed is stalled from the very start.

Rating:

Vampire Academy: Blu Ray Review

Vampire Academy: Blu Ray Review

From the young adult novels, and with more of the undead in tow, here comes the latest in the vamp line of movie making.

Mixing Harry Potter's Hogwarts with vampirism and throwing in a brew of romance, it's the story of the Moroi, and the Strigoi, both lines of vampires and both (im)mortal enemies. The two will never see eye to eye and caught right in the middle of it is Dhampir (a half vampire and half human mix) Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch). Her job is to protect the Moroi princess Lissa Dragomir (Fry) whatever the cost.

To that end, the pair has been living in the human world for a couple of years; however, they're tracked down and dragged back to a fate worse than death - St Vladmir's Academy...

Thrown back into the horrors of classes, jealousy, and boys, the pair find their lives in danger when strange things happen on the campus and the Strigoi are suspected of being behind it all....

Vampire Academy is a strangely un-intoxicating hybrid mess of a film.

Part Harry Potter, part romance, part tongue in cheek silliness, part Buffy-style quipping (but without the smarts) and all insanity, it's one of the weirdest hot messes of a film that's appeared in a while, thanks to its wild mix of tone.

While a feisty Deutch does well with her wannabe Buffy / Faith style role, the writing doesn't quite help, with quip after quip flying and hardly many hitting their targets at all. There's an attempt to throw a Mean Girls / high school vibe into the mix, but there are so many elements within already that it just feels overcooked. The start is almost hamstrung by an overuse of exposition via voiceover and writing flying over the screen that it all seems a little too much, a supernatural pudding that's been over-egged with many elements of the genres that have already passed.

The more established names of the cast - Olga Kurylenko and Gabriel Byrne - simply chew the scenery and don't seem to want to know what to do with their underwritten parts. Along with cheesy action sequences and cornball dialogue, it's hard to see whether tweens will go for this given that it's neither fish nor fowl - choosing to shy away from too much self-knowing and parody while mixing in some of the seriousness, Vampire Academy doesn't raise any stakes in the vampire genre.

In fact, if anything, this coffin should be sealed shut for eternity before any more of the six books make it onto the big screen. Terrible CGI for some hellhounds simply show that the stretch of imagination didn't go far in this cinematic outing.

Quite simply, Vampire Academy bites.

Rating:

Dallas Buyers Club: Blu Ray Review

Dallas Buyers Club: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Vendetta Films

Based on a true story in 1985 Dallas, McConaughey stars as homophobic womaniser, a financial chancer, electrician and rodeo rider Ron Woodroof whose life is turned upside down when a random hospitalisation leads to the revelation that he has HIV and is given only 30 days left to live.

As he begins to sicken, Ron's ostracised from his friends and family who struggle with the stigma and ignorance of AIDS as the epidemic spreads across America. Initially he finds he's unable to obtain the new drug AZT, which is meant to help; but by bribing a hospital orderly he gets his hands on it - but, despite the promises from the doctors, it makes him sicker, putting him back in hospital.

Ron manages to get word of a clinic down in Mexico which could treat him and heading there, he discovers the damage that AZT is causing to his health and others. Consequently he begins an alternative treatment which he starts to smuggle into America - and a happenstance meeting with transgender Rayon (Leto in a wonderfully compassionate turn) convinces him there is a market for these drugs and the hope they bring....so, setting up a Buyers Club, Ron begins his fight for non-FDA approved drugs, those who need them and his own fight for life.

Dallas Buyers Club delivers a career best performance from McConaughey - while his physical form initially shocks, thanks to a wiry and almost skeletal physique, he also delivers something more than the transformation which has real bluster, lust for life and is a searing turn which stays with you long after the film has finished. There's just something award-worthy about McConaughey, who's electric from the moment he hits the screen and who commands your sympathy despite his initially abhorrent homophobic nature as he begins his quest toward redemption.

While Woodroof sees the Buyers Club as a chance to make some money off the sick while saving himself, it's the interaction with Rayon that leads to the epiphany that the hustler Ron can play a greater part in the AIDS epidemic. But it's McConaughey and Leto who totally convince us of this rather than relying on mawkish sentimentality and overacting to push the narrative along. It's their Odd Couple vibe which makes all the difference - and when that falls apart towards the end, the movie suffers a little of a lull as the dynamic falters.

Leto in particular brings a softness to Rayon, which is needed to smooth off the rougher edges of Woodroof's character, and he brings a heartbreaking performance to the screen which has been rightly applauded.

The film itself has a vein of humour running throughout and for the most part, it hits the right note between delivering slightly irreverent laughs and the obvious conflict of Jennifer Garner's Doctor Saks wanting the best for her patients. While that side of the film lets it down slightly, Marc-Vallee keeps the pace zipping along and avoids a maudlin tone creeping in. The only wrong note it really hits is in the final moments when a crucial player is lost - it's here that the sentimentality creeps in unnecessarily, miring the film in a mawkish slop.

Dallas Buyers Club delivers an experience that's unforgettable - once you get past the physicalities of what Leto and McConaughey did, you'll realise the film is about one man's redemption, a rejection of greed over altruism and a celebration of how in the darkest days, even some can shine a bright light of hope to many.

Extras: Interviews, deleted scenes, additional footage
Rating:

Gamescom 2014: PlayStation info released

Gamescom 2014: PlayStation info released

As part of PlayStation’s continued commitment to The Players, this year’s conference burst out of the blocks, before Jim Ryan took to the stage, with updates on big titles from SCE WWS all available over the next six months:

 _inFamous™: First Light – the upcoming standalone expansion to inFamous™: Second Son

 _Ready at Dawn’s cinematic masterpiece - The Order: 1886™

 _LittleBigPlanet™3 – which showed off the exciting Create potential for SackBoy™ and his new friends

 _And a dynamic first gameplay reveal for the highly anticipated new franchise from industry legend Hidetaka Miyazaki and his studio FROM Software, Bloodborne™.

PlayStation went on to showcase the innovation and imagination of developers across the globe, highlighting their willingness to leverage the potential of PS4 to push the envelope and provide truly breakthrough experiences. A range of unique, compelling and quirky experiences were on show to demonstrate the level of choice coming to the diverse PS4 community

 _Dylan Cuthbert of the acclaimed Q-Games took to the stage to kick off this deluge of exciting titles by offering a first glimpse at their fantastical new game The Tomorrow Children

o The game is a beautifully depicted reimagining of a future world created by the after-effects of a 1960’s Soviet experiment gone wrong

o Players must explore, mine, craft and battle in cooperation with each other in a bid to reinstate the human race and restore it to its former glory

 _It was announced that indie favourite The Vanishing of Ethan Carter was headed to PS4

o The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a story-driven mystery game that focuses entirely on exploration and discovery

o The game is played through first-person perspective to offer immersive storytelling – an escapist experience of discovering the secrets within another world

 _Mike Bithell, independent game developer and creator of the critically lauded Thomas Was Alone then introduced a new video for his latest work, Volume, coming to PS4 later this year

o Volume is a stealth game about being heard and is a near future retelling of the Robin Hood legend starring Danny Wallace and Charlie McDonnell

 _Two new titles were announced as coming first to PS4 from Paradox - Hollow Point and Rune Master

 _Dean Hall, from Bohemia Interactive announced that Zombie-survival sensation Day-Z was coming to PS4

 _Hell Blade, by Ninja Theory was announced to be coming first to PS4

 _A new trailer for Tequila Works’ RIME was also shown, once again enthralling audiences with its beautiful art style and mysterious setting

 _An additional eight indie titles were also announced to be coming first to PS4

SCEE showcased the diverse range of partnerships across the entire gaming spectrum as well as the plethora of awe-inspiring PS4 games being produced as a result

 _Eric Hirschberg, CEO of Activision Publishing and Jonty Barnes of legendary game creators Bungie showcased the latest trailer for Destiny, featuring multiplayer action on an epic scale

 _An exciting partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive will offer PS4 players exclusive content for the upcoming action adventure title Shadows of Mordor, launching later this year

 _Alex Hutchinson, creative director at Ubisoft, demonstrated the vast opportunities available to players using the Keys to Kyrat mechanic, making its debut in Far Cry 4

 _Hideo Kojima, Head of Kojima Productions, came on stage to unveil an unusual and light hearted view of his next blockbuster game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

 _A playable teaser for PT is also now available to download exclusively from the PS Store

Just as critical to the PlayStation experience is the technology that underpins it. With social connectivity at the heart of PS4, SCEE announced the evolution of its system software promising groundbreaking new ways to interact with this global gaming community

 _System Software Update 2.0 - launching in Spring - improves on the best-in-class innovation gamers have come to expect from PlayStation with many new features designed to take the central experience of sharing and interaction to a whole new level

 _Share Play was announced as a key feature in the update; a truly groundbreaking addition that allows gamers to invite their friends to join them in a shared gameplay experience even if they don’t own the game that’s currently being played

 _Whether it’s asking a friend to take over and help them overcome a particularly tricky section of gameplay or having them join in a game of intense multiplayer, Share Play is a completely new way of sharing these interactive experiences with friends

 _Other feature announcements include:

o The ability to upload game footage direct to YouTube and even view it through the bespoke PS4 YouTube Player App

o And more to come

SCEE unveiled plans to expand the PlayStation ecosystem in the European markets over the coming months

 _It was announced that a PlayStation Now beta would be coming to the UK in 2015 - opening the doors to a large library of PS3 games, ensuring the innovative service is the destination for all players

 _SCEE announced that it would be bringing PlayStation TV to European and PAL territories for the low price of just $159.95NZD from the 14th November

o PlayStation TV is an entertainment system that utilises Remote Play functionality allowing players the freedom to play their favourite PS4 games on a separate television

o PlayStation TV gives players access to a vast lineup of PS Vita, PSP, and PS One classic titles, complementing the outstanding PS4 remote play experience

 _Project Morpheus, made available to the public for the first time on the Gamescom showfloor, is part of PlayStation’s pursuit to reach the outer limits of immersive and breathtaking PS4 experiences that have never been seen before. It immerses players in other worlds with a full 360 degree perspective

Senior Vice President of SCE WWS, Michael Denny, unveiled even more 1st Party exclusive games for PS4

 _Built from the ground up to take full advantage of the PS4, Until Dawn is a truly next generation horror game that allows gamers to craft a bespoke interactive experience based on their actions

 _Paul Rustchynsky of Evolution Studios demonstrated the social heart of DRIVECLUB, a title that is redefining the racing genre

 _It was announced that the mesmerising platform adventure Tearaway will be making the

jump to PS4 in a reimagining of the PS Vita hit – Tearaway Unfolded. The game has been rebuilt from the ground up to take advantage of the enhanced power of the PS4 and the unique features of DUALSHOCK®4 Wireless Controller, with new fourth-wall-busting interactions and a bigger, more beautiful world to explore

Michael Denny closed the show by announcing two brand new IPs, developed in Europe, coming exclusively to PS4

 _Alienation, developed by the hugely talented Housemarque, creators of the hit PS4 shoot-em-up RESOGUN

 _WiLD, a survival adventure that offers players unlimited online interactions in a vast Celtic landscape set 10,000 years ago, was announced live at the conference

o This modern adventure tasks players with handling the primal beauty and harsh destructiveness of the natural world and everything in it, offering emergent gameplay in a living community where every other character or animal could be another player

o Developed by Wild Sheep, an all-new European studio, WiLD was built using the core philosophies of the PS4: power and sharing 

Gamescom 2014: Destiny debuts new multiplayer trailer

Gamescom 2014: Destiny debuts new multiplayer trailer

Take a look at the new Destiny multiplayer trailer here.

Gamescom 2014: Assassin's Creed Unity trailer

Gamescom 2014: Assassin's Creed Unity trailer

CLICK IMAGE TO WATCH TRAILER