Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer is here

Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer is here

It's finally here - the one thing that fans have been waiting for.

It's the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

Far Cry 4: PS4 Review

Far Cry 4: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Ubisoft

Far Cry 3 was epic.

It was a mix of a good solid story set in an open world environment that challenged you every step of the way, thanks to a despot determined to take you down.

So Far Cry 4 had a battle on its hands to try and up the ante on the next gen console.

Thankfully, while Far Cry 4 doesn't truly deviate from the last outing, it does make a compelling argument for the next gen release.

While there are similarities in plot ideals to Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4 is set in Kyrat, a fictional area of the Himalayas (which look truly outstanding on the console front). You play Ajay, a Kyrati who's heading back to the region to dispose of the ashes of your mother. But on arrival at a border and about to head into the region, the bus Ajay's on is ambushed by local tyrant Pagan Min (a sort of Patrick Stewart-esque looking character with a sweep of blonde hair) who has a connection to Ajay.

Within moments, you're flung into the depths of a civil war, where you discover you have the capability to tip the balance of power....or die trying.

Far Cry 4 is exceptional open world gaming.

From firing it up initially after the story had kicked in, I found myself engrossed and immersed in the world within; so much so, that I actually spent a day deviating from the main story to explore the island, get involved in side quests and unlocking parts of the maps by taking out radio towers spouting Min propaganda. Which should give you an indication of how much can actually be done in the game - and how far the scope is.

If you want to spend time checking out the animals or hunting them for their skins, you can. (Though watch out for the vicious little tykes the honey badgers which aren't exactly welcoming) Danger lurks at every angle - from the mercenaries waiting to take you out at outposts to the hidden creatures within the waters, there's something gunning for you whenever and wherever.

It's fair to say that for the most part, Far Cry 4 expands on its predecessor without significantly deviating far from the path of what was laid out before. Sure, the menus have been given a spit and polish, the crafting screens and loot bags all look a lot swankier than before, but the nuts and bolts of the game haven't changed too much. Thrown into the mix are Karma missions (such as freeing the hostages) which help you level up and give you a chance to work on your stealth. The PS4 version's got the chance to invite players who don't own the game along to the co-op mode, a nice touch which shows Ubisoft's not content to simply rest on their laurels and leave you to it.

The story's relatively predictable and there are rumours that there are multiple endings and alternate endings to Far Cry 4 which change everything before, but to say more is to spoil them - Pagan Min makes a psychotic adversary and is a welcome addition to the lunatics running these asylums.

Beautiful vistas, a sense of scope, a smattering of intelligence and endless amounts of time to be spent playing mean Far Cry 4 is well worth owning. While in parts it feels like a Far Cry 3 retread, the revisions and spit and polish for the PS4's grunt make it a vital addition to your collection - and a chance to escape the summer rays inside over the coming months.

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Locke: Blu Ray Review

Locke: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R13
Released by Madman Home Ent

One man, a car, (relatively) endless road, a bluetooth and a pile full of problems.

That's what's facing Tom Hardy in this one man movie now on home viewing after the success of the NZIFF earlier this year.

Tom Hardy plays Ivan Locke, a foreman for a construction company, whose life is carefully built on very solid and precisely maintained foundations. Which are about to crumble around him in emotionally catastrophic terms.

As the movie starts, Locke is leaving the site at the end of the day ahead of a major piece of work for the company he's with. Waiting at a traffic light at the start, he literally faces a fork in the road with either turning left or right determining his path through the oncoming storm.

And to say any more than that would be to betray some of the emotional beats and bombs which go off during the piece, which reeks of claustrophobia and a degree of unexpectedly mundane tension.
A soft spoken Welsh accented Hardy is eminently watchable in this piece and commands the screen for the 100 minutes of its run time - writer Steven Knight's crafted together something which may polarise some in terms of reaction and expectation over tension, but he's brought together a series of events that have long reaching consequences for all involved as Locke deals with many on the phone as the real time "thriller" plays out. Kudos also have to go to the voice acting talent - from the likes of Broadchurch star Olivia Colman, Luther star Ruth Wilson and Sherlock's Moriarty Andrew Scott, but it's Hardy who's the star of this piece. Occasionally the veneer and carefully constructed exterior starts to slip - notably with conversations to a passenger that only Locke sees in the back of his car but Hardy manages to sell all of these moments with an undying commitment to the one man show.

Like any piece of theatre that's confined to just one person, Locke rises or falls on the central performance and it's one which Hardy delivers with an unswerving devotion to the character; the only threats faced on this journey are occasional traffic and rain, but the personally devastating roadblocks which Locke faces are eminently relatable, occasionally amusing and utterly watchable.

This is one journey that you need to be a passenger on.

Extras: Audio commentary, behind the scenes

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Singstar: Ultimate Party: PS4 Review

Singstar: Ultimate Party: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Sony Computer Ent

Christmas is coming - and as well as not being able to escape that behemoth of end of year parties, there is also the threat of drunken singing in the background.

Thankfully, Sony's decided to try and help you hide that shame with the release of the latest iteration of Singstar aimed at keeping the party at home - and the neighbours in ear plugs.

Except this time around, they've not really messed with the formula - it's exactly what you'd expect when it comes to a Singstar game. There's scoring, singing and of course, a range of the current musical tracks. (Well, 30 of them anyway)

The one big push that's been moved into this latest version of Singstar is to take the microphone away from the console by bringing in a downloadable app to help you get the party started whereever you want.

Except it's not quite as perfect as the old microphones were. While the app's easily downloadable, it's not quite as responsive as having a microphone in your hand. You have to hold it in the right place and ensure your vocals (or screeches) are going in the right direction. Fine in practice but when you're singing your heart out, the last thing you want to bother with is ensuring the mic is right. It's best to use the old microphones from the previous releases to get to what you need.

Visually, it's sleek and as potent as ever and no doubt a lot of New Zealand will be happy that Lorde's included in among the likes of Pharrell and Coldplay. In fact, whoever curated the soundtrack's done a great job, ensuring there's variety and depth; a little something for everyone. Plus with DLC, there's going to be endless debate over which tracks to go with.

I suppose in summary, really, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But for the PS4 next gen version of Singstar, I'd have potentially expected something a little more enticing. An update's been released to deal with buggy playing, voice playback and wired microphones with another update planned in December to quell the unhappiness at launch.

All in all, Singstar: Ultimate Party may get the party started, but a lack of real freshness in its execution and a few issues may cause it to teeter off rather than kick off all night long.

Elsa and Fred: Movie Review

Elsa and Fred: Movie Review

Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Noth, Scott Bakula, George Segal
Director: Michael Radford

Relying heavily on imagery from La Dolce Vita, Elsa and Fred's a remake of an Argentinian film of the same name.

An irascible and easily irritated Plummer plays Fred, a recent widower who's been moved into an apartment block in New Orleans amid concerns from his daughter (Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden). Unhappy at this turn of events and wanting to keep himself to himself with daily vigils with depression in his bed, Fred's life is interrupted by widower-from-across-the-hall Elsa (MacLaine in twinkly eyed OAP mode).

Insisting he try gently heading back on the steps to some kind of life, Fred's gradually coaxed out of his early grave and finds himself dipping his toes back into love as well...

Elsa and Fred negotiates the mediocrity of its genre and the predictability of its late-in-life-love plot thanks to the chemistry between Plummer and MacLaine; theirs is a relationship which glows with the familiarity of time and proves pleasantly sweet as the broader comedy elements blossom around them.

With Elsa's mantra that she will "show Fred the path to life", Plummer's forced to dial down some of his earlier cantankerousness and barbed comments to his daughter and her (one-dimensional) husband who are pillorying him for his cash for an investment. Which is a welcome respite because Radford's film offers little in the way of originality and fails to veer away from cliche as the frailties of old age bubble away in the background.

Tonally, there are a few shifts which come out of nowhere (including a brutally abrupt ending that jars while avoiding the inevitability of what's coming) as the film relocates to Rome in its final sprint to pay full homage to the promise it's made to Anita Ekberg's waterside seduction.

It's not that Elsa and Fred is a terrible movie - it gets by on the charm of the leads on the slightest of scripts as time goes by and it will fly with certain older sectors of the audience who are perhaps somewhat sidelined by the lack of films such as this. But some terrible acting (step forward the over-mugging Chris Noth as the son-in-law desperate to secure the investment) and some verging on racial stereotyping of ethnic home helps, and parts of this pleasant souffle leave a sour taste in your mouth.

Elsa and Fred may be romantic fantasy for the silver-haired generation, and while the Hollywood machine's to be commended for bringing an OAP love story to life, it ends up being forgettable and flouncy the moment the lights have gone back up.

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Jurassic World trailer is here

Jurassic World trailer is here

The first full length look at Jurassic World starring Chris Pratt has just dropped.

Watch the first trailer for Jurassic World here

Starred Up: Blu Ray Review

Starred Up: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R18
Released by Madman Home Ent

Prison dramas don't come searing than this.

Set in the UK, Jack O'Connell is Eric, a young offender who's transferred to a maximum security jail because of the danger he poses to others.

Within hours of being moved, he accidentally beats up a fellow inmate and puts himself on the radar as a troublemaker (even though his actions are instinctive rather than deliberate). Finding himself moved into a self-help group run by the apparently easy touch Oliver, he reluctantly begins to open up (to a degree) but it's his relationship with a fellow prisoner (played excellently by Ben Mendelsohn) causes more problems than he could ever imagine.

Starred Up is a brilliantly adrenaline filled drama that has you on the edge of your seat from the beginning sequence.

It's not your traditional arc for Eric - ie was a tough guy, but softens along the way - but is realistically handled in that he gradually lets down his guard only to come back out seething like a caged animal. O'Connell delivers a performance of searing ferocity that is both by turns terrifying and also occasionally vulnerable. It's the rare glimpses into the chinks underneath this armour that makes Starred Up so watchable and so unpredictable.

Likewise, Mendelsohn as one of the prison's top dogs is pretty damn good too; wanting the best for his kid but not wanting to see that harder edge softened at all. Gritty and exactly what you'd expect set in a male prison, this mix of volatile atmospherics and character insights makes for an undeniably edgy film that throws up many questions - can a man like Eric be rehabilitated, how soon will that powderkeg be lit and how does he survive day to day as well as outside?

But for all its dramatics and simply shot cinematics, Starred Up shows what an incredibly nuanced talent O'Connell is - it's his film and his alone in this father and son struggle that's undeniably powerful and utterly electrifying.

Extras: Interviews with cast and crew

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