Win Starred Up!

Win Starred Up!

It's Friday and I'm feeling the love

Thanks to our good friends at Madman Home Entertainment, I'm giving you a chance to take home the brilliant movie STARRED UP, which played at the New Zealand International Film Festival this year.

You can win a copy of Starred Up on DVD to celebrate the release of the movie on Thursday November 27th.

Boasting a stellar cast at the peak of their dramatic powers and written by former prison therapist Jonathan Asser, STARRED UP is raw, visceral and violent: a brutally realistic and spellbinding addition to the prison movie genre. 

Eric (Jack O’Connell, star of the upcoming UNBROKEN) is a violent young offender prematurely thrown into the dark world of an adult prison. As he struggles to assert himself against the prison officers and the other inmates, he has to confront his own father, Nev (Ben Mendelsohn, ANIMAL KINGDOM); a man who has spent most of his life in jail. As Eric forges allegiances with other prisoners and with his prison councillor, Oliver (Rupert Friend, from TV's HOMELAND), he learns that his rage can be overcome and discovers the new rules of survival. But there are forces at work which threaten to destroy him.

We're giving you a chance to win STARRED UP - simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com  and in the subject line put STARRED UP and then make sure you include your name and address! Competition will close December 15th - and editor's decision is final! 

Good Luck!

Win Locke!

Win Locke!

It's Friday and I'm feeling generous.

Thanks to our good friends at Madman Home Entertainment, I'm giving you a chance to take Tom Hardy home.

Sort of.

You can win a copy of Locke on DVD to celebrate the release of the movie on Thursday November 27th.

Ivan Locke (Hardy) has worked diligently to craft the life he has envisioned, dedicating himself to the job that he loves and the family he adores. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul. 

All taking place over the course of one absolutely riveting car ride, LOCKE is an exploration of how one decision can lead to the complete collapse of a life. 


Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Steven Knight (EASTERN PROMISES, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS) and driven by an unforgettable performance by Tom Hardy, LOCKE is a thrillingly unique cinematic experience of a man fighting to salvage all that is important to him. 

We're giving you a chance to win LOCKE - simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com  and in the subject line put LOCKE and then make sure you include your name and address! Competition will close December 15th - and editor's decision is final! 

Good Locke! Erm, I mean, luck!

Pitch Perfect 2 trailer is here

Pitch Perfect 2 trailer is here

What up, pitches!

The new trailer for PITCH PERFECT 2 has just dropped ahead of its May 7th release.

Take a look below:

Calvary: DVD Review

Calvary: DVD Review

Rating: R13
Released by Transmission Films

The sins of the Catholic church hang heavy over this drama from the team that brought us the deliciously dark The Guard.

Re-teaming up are McDonagh and Gleeson - this time around, Brendan Gleeson is Father James Lavelle, a priest in a small Irish community near Sligo. As the film opens, he's taking confession - and the very first words he hears point to the horror that's been blighting the Catholic Church for years - abuse.

Listening in, Father James is told that he will have to pay for the sins of the Fathers before him with his life in seven days' time because killing a good man is more shocking. So, with no apparent idea of who is behind this threat, Father James is forced down a path he'd never expected as he tries to deal solace to his parishioners while wondering which of them is behind the threat.

Calvary is a devilishly dark piece with humour as black as they come.

Gleeson is absolutely astounding as the priest, mixing calmness with serenity and compassion as the deadline draws nearer; he's a man who puts his people first despite their problems. And in and around Sligo, there are a fair few of them - domestic abuse, drug abuse, a banker who's part of the economic rot, depression, suicide, loss of faith, a doctor who's haunted by one moment; the list goes on - and may be a little hard for some to believe such an underbelly exists.

For Father James, there's the omni-present battle with his own demons in the shape of the bottle and a daughter who's recovering from a suicide attempt (Kelly Reilly, who does little), all reminders of a life before he came to the church.

But it's Gleeson who gives this life of quiet questioning and frustration an empathetic edge from under a beard and world weary eyes that sparkle with tolerance. As the Sunday of his showdown nears, Gleeson brings a subtle shift in character to the fore as the villagers begin to turn on him, unaware of his plight. Moran and O'Dowd also deserve praise for turning in darker performances than perhaps you'd normally credit them for.

However, this is not a bleak film even if the central tenet may be one of the darkest. Gallows humour and deadpan humour litter the script in a most unexpected way, with odd lines proving to be the relief needed. For those of a Catholic bent, the name Calvary won't be a lost choice, being the place Jesus was crucified and the parallels are certainly here for all to see as Father James faces his long dark night of the soul.

Calvary is a haunting piece of cinema, a film that rises high on Gleeson's shoulders - it's certainly one of the finest character releases of the year and stays with you long after the silent credits have rolled.

While the issues explored are laced with a darker humour than perhaps you'd expect, this moving piece hits its highs in one solitary moment where Father James says there's been too much time spent on sin and not enough time on virtue.

It's a bold statement but one which gives this Calvary more than enough powerful reasons for you to see.

Extras: Behind the scenes

Rating:

Life Of Crime: Movie Review

Life Of Crime: Movie Review

Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Mos Def, Isla Fisher, Tim Robbins, Will Forte, John Hawkes
Director: Daniel Schechter

Elmore Leonard makes another outing onto the big screen with this adaptation of one of his novels.

It's your classic crim movie as well, with two down-on-their-luck guys (Def and Hawkes) deciding to kidnap Jennifer Aniston's wealthy woman, confident that her husband (Tim Robbins) will stump up the ransom. But the trouble is, he's on the edge of divorcing her so that he can make his mistress (Isla Fisher) happy...

Soon, the duo is struggling to work out how they can pull this back.

Life Of Crime is solid if unspectacular fare, that really sits within the genre but hardly challenges it.

Aniston's fine as the woman who realises her place in the world has changed; Robbins, though, verges on parody as the cheating hubbie. Def and Hawkes make a watchable enough pair and have enough charm to carry the movie through.

It's not one of the best Leonard adaptations, but it certainly isn't a bad film that's not worthy of your time. It's nice to see Aniston flexing her dramatic muscles, but it's not quite enough to raise Life Of Crime into the higher echelons of the genre because while it looks the part with its 70s recreations, it's lacking the sparkle and fizz that you'd remember from other Elmore Leonard adaptations like Justified and Get Shorty.

Rating:

The Babadook: Blu Ray Review

The Babadook: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Vendetta Films

Prepare to find yourself a little scared by this new psychological horror from Aussie filmmaker Jennifer Kent.

Essie Davies stars as Amelia, a single mother on the edge; working by day at an old people's home and by night dealing with son Samuel (Noah Wiseman, who may make you think of Danny from The Shining) who claims to be battling monsters and is in trouble at school.

One night, Samuel chooses a book from the shelf for mom to read - the story of the Babadook, a mysterious creature that commands to be let in to the house. Traumatised by the story, Samuel's behaviour becomes worse as he believes the creature to be already here and promises to protect his mother whatever the cost.

Dismissing the story as fiction, Amelia tries to get on with life - but a series of events leads her to suspect there's a sinister truth in the story of the Babadook.....

Clearly an allegory for grief, loss and depression, The Babadook is a great psychological film that has a way of getting under your skin (for the most part).

The titular beast is a curious mix of shadows, the Gentlemen from Buffy The Vampire Slayerand something from primordial nightmares. Rarely fully displayed throughout the film (a wise move), it benefits from bringing sheer terror each time it harasses the increasingly frayed Amelia.

In among the suspenseful atmospherics and tension of The Babadook, there's plenty going on below the surface.

On the one hand, this is a story about a creeping malignancy affecting Amelia; a cumulative sense of shock seeping in after years of repressed trauma; a husband who died on the way to hospital to birth Samuel has given way to years of Amelia's withdrawal from life and connection to those around her; further fuelled by sleep deprivation from the fear of the Babadook and various things which go bump in the night around the drab house, Essie Davies is nothing short of plausibly brilliant as the harangued Amelia. With Samuel acting up, who wouldn't consider acting on their deepest darkest thoughts as the nights draw on?It's this kind of nightmarish universal scenario that Kent has managed to bring so visually and viscerally to life as the trauma reaches fever pitch and the film delivers a crescendo of unspeakably uncomfortable moments. Aided by single fixed point shots of the house's darker spaces and a soundtrack which ratchets its way under your skin, The Babadook is set to be one of the greater modern horrors - and with its Baba-dook, dook, dook hook a great new entrant into the pantheon of urban horror legends. (And particularly the scene where the story book appears to come to life remains a visual flourish and a creative touch which impresses)

But it's sad to say that the final section brings out the usual horror tropes - from The Exorcist to every haunted house horror (via way curiously enough of Home Alone). And it's this part of the film which is the most disappointing because up until then, there's a subtlety that's as rewarding as it is uncomfortable. A little easing back on that side of things would have proved more effective than any kind of cliched moments can deliver.

It's the terror within that The Babadook so effectively mines, a reminder that the best horrors tap into fears we've long held since childhood and demons that lay dormant within. It's the power of suggestion boosted to the max which holds the key here - and with Kent tapping into most of that throughout, it's an unsettling horror that may ensure you want to sleep with the light on afterwards.

Extras: Interviews, behind the scenes, short film

Rating:

The Trip To Italy: The Series: DVD Review

The Trip was such a phenomenal success that it was inevitable there would be a second serving of Coogan and Brydon's improvisational schtick.

Whereas the first was set in the relatively glum surroundings of the North of England, this latest sees the pair transplanted to Italy after Rob is asked to do a series of reviews of restaurants - in comparison to Coogan being the the writer of the first outing.

So once again, the duo with all their foibles and insecurities are heading out, trying to one up each other amid whimsy and reflection.

The Trip was a great film, a culinary travelogue that got to the heart of what made Coogan and Brydon tick, in amongst improvisational segments that felt natural and part of the banter of this duo.

Unfortunately, while The Trip to Italy is still a good film, it loses some of that freshness this time around with the impersonations and general misbehaviour feeling forced and a little shoehorned in in places. When the duo start their Michael Caine impressions, there's a feeling of deja vu that can't be shaken this time around.

Alanis Morrisette is the background music to this outing, and forms the backbone of a series of running gags but there's no escaping the fact this feels like a recycling of what's gone before. Maybe this time around, with Coogan seeming more melancholy after the show he was on in America is placed on hiatus and with Brydon's star in the ascent, there's a manoeuvring of Rob losing his way while Steve finds his heart again.

The scenery stands out and the splendrous nature of their jaunts are lost upon them, giving you the feeling they're a pair of spoilt brats in many ways. But the whole feeling overall of The Trip To Italy is a trip too far; with the ending hinting that a third outing could be on the way as the duo appear to be at a crossroads, you'd have to hope all concerned stand back and re-evaluate what made the first time around such a clever touch; because this trip is in danger of losing its passage to its final destination.

Rating: