Horrible Bosses 2: Film Review

Horrible Bosses 2: Film Review

Cast: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz, Kevin Spacey
Director: Sean Anders

Horrible Bosses 2 posits the theory that in order to not deal with Horrible Bosses, it's better if you have to branch out on your own.

In theory, self-starters are a great economic boon; but in cinematic practice, this second outing for the inept (and borderline annoying) gang is nothing short of once over lightly again, with the jokes stretched as repetitiously thin as the first time around.

Nick, Kurt and Dale (Bateman, Sudeikis and Day respectively) are sick of working for the man, so decide to become the man by starting up their own ShowerBuddy company. However, when they get ripped off by Christoph Waltz's CEO Bert Hanson and his son Rex (a brilliantly cast Chris Pine who steals scenes left, right and centre), they're suddenly facing a massive crisis.

So, brainstorming they decide the only way out of the predicament is to kidnap Hanson's son...

As with Horrible Bosses, Horrible Bosses 2 sets the bar low early on with a series of visual gross out gags that involve showers, shadows, Day and Sudeikis and doesn't really aim much higher throughout.

While the bond between the trio is still evident and the comic charisma is there among these starting -to-grate Three Stooges, the material simply isn't enough to propel this flick through. And things get worse when the characters from the previous film are rolled out to up the ante on what they did before; so Jennifer Aniston's sex-addicted dentist gets to be filthier, Kevin Spacey's jailed boss gets to rant and seethe through the other side of the prison glass and Jamie Foxx's criminal gets extended screen time, but none of them really add to the mix.

Waltz is wasted and Pine is the only one who actually helps propel the all-too familiar daddy- doesn't-love-me-how-can-I-get-his-attention storyline along with a unchained performance that actually brings some fire to the screen.

To be fair, a couple of moments hit their target including an amusing car chase that plays with the perceptions of what it should be and takes things to their logically absurd conclusion. End-credits come with the usual yuks and fluffs, but given the material wasn't that strong in the first place, even they feel tired.

Mediocre and just not funny enough, Horrible Bosses 2 is a massive disappointment to end 2014 on.

Rating:

What We Do In The Shadows: DVD Review

What We Do In The Shadows: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

There's a lot at stake for this vampire mockumentary movie set in Wellington, following Taika Waititi's success with Boy.

Boy director Taika Waititi directs and acts alongside Flight Of The Conchords star and co-director Jemaine Clement in this piece that's been put together by the duo and breathes some life into the undead who have traditionally been a little staid and stuffy in recent cinematic outings.

It follows the exploits of three vampire flatmates Viago (Waititi), Deacon (Brugh) and Vladislav (Clement) who are trying to do all they can to get by in modern day New Zealand. From paying the rent to sticking to the house work roster, the trio's got an uneasy alliance with the petty squabbles of flatmates coming to the fore.

But when a newcomer Nick (a deadpan dry Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) comes into their lives and is turned into a vampire, everything within the dynamic changes as the group gears up for the annual Masquerade Ball that's the pinnacle of their society as well as trying to maintain their level of secrecy within the Lower Hutt area.

What We Do In The Shadows(funded as it is by the New Zealand Documentary Board in one of the earliest laugh out loud moments) is packed full of smart, sly gags.

From visual gags to outright slapstick, this played-not-for-laughs piece is  more or less a riotous gem from beginning to end, slyly mocking the conventions of the vampire world but also showing a deft understanding of what makes the genre so appealing.

There's a devilishly delicious playful tone running throughout - but one which is underpinned by a level of sadness that adds a welcome level of melancholia to some of the proceedings. Viago's tormented by the fact his one true love grew old without him, Deacon's rattled by the newcomer Nick into the house gang, feeling his position as the cool dude is under threat and underneath all the depraved behaviour, Vladislav is threatened by his nemesis, The Beast.

While the spoof hits a little bit of a lull around two thirds mark (but manages to shake that off in the final home strait), it's the gags which keep providing some smart laughs as well as the laconic leads' turns.

Waititi anchors the start of the film, but then wisely positions Viago more in the background as this series of some interviews with some vampires begins to bear some of its teeth. Brugh takes on more of the centre stage as his cocky young vampire feels threatened by Gonzalez-Macuer's Nick - the scenes where they try to one up each other work very well, and channel eternal rivalries which persist between flatmates and acquaintances. Equally, Clement shows his usual comic mettle with Vladislav and throws some pathos into the relationship with the Beast

There's an underplayed quirkiness to the film which benefits from a subtlety that beats through its veins. Viago prefers to lay newspaper and towels down before draining his victims; a quick sight gag involves the vampires drawing each other to demonstrate what they look like before hitting the streets of Wellington, one vampire says he'll stay in to do his bidding before a quick cutaway to hisbeing on TradeMe - all of these quality gags come thick and fast and point to the horror comedy genre being given a shot of Kiwi blood in the arm.

It's fangs to Taika and Jemaine thatWhat We Do In The Shadows hits so many of the marks they're aspiring to; for a subject that's been around for centuries, it's certainly been given a fresh once over in one of the smartest Kiwi comedies to hit our cinemas. It's a vampire movie that doesn't sparkle - or suck.

Quite simply, What We Do In The Shadows has an undead beating fun heart that's hard to deny - it's a fresh and hilariously smart take on the mockumentary that rewards as much in laughs as it does in intelligent film-making.
Rating:

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies: Movie Review

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies: Movie Review

Cast: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Evangeline Lily, Christopher Lee
Director: Peter Jackson

And so the unexpected journey comes to a much expected end.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies feels like the most workman-like of the franchise though, with it having to resolve a myriad of plot-threads, tie the film to the Lord of the Rings and also end it on a high.

Opening with Smaug's desolation of Laketown and then seeing him off in relatively quick time thanks to Bard the Bowman's shenanigans, Jackson seems keen to give the film a roaring blast of action before it kicks into a web of plotting, politicking and planning ahead of a major fight at the end.

With Smaug dispatched and several of the main characters of Laketown crushed asunder, the focus shifts onto Thorin (Richard Armitage) and his succumbing to "dragon sickness" and the corruption within the gold as he essentially initiates a stand-off by threatening to go back on his word as the forces amass around the King under the mountain in his stronghold.

But as Gandalf soon realises, Thorin's insane gambit is threatening to destroy all of the unity between elves, humans and dwarves; and that could prove detrimental as the Orc forces amass...

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is considerably lighter on plot than the previous outings, with all roads essentially leading to a mammoth confrontation toward the end that recalls Jackson's prior Rings outings in terms of action, spectacle and relative excitement (even though placing Legolas occasionally in peril is dramatically pointless given how he figures in the LOTR trilogy).

There are character moments within, though, noticeably fewer than what's gone before and with some of the residents of Laketown (including the Master's squire who appears to have wandered in from a pantomime rather than channeling more of the weasel) throwing in some relatively ropey acting / dialogue, some of these flaws unfortunately stand out a little more than in prior outings.


Conflicts between Orlando Bloom's Legolas and an icy Lee Pace's Thranduil, the resolution of the love triangle between Evangeline Lilly's Tauriel, Legolas and Being Human Aidan Turner's Kili, and Thorin's face-off with just about everyone who comes near him as well as the orc Azog are all thrown into the mix and vehemently stirred asunder before boiling over.

Freeman's Bilbo appears less on the screen this time - likewise the majority of the dwarves - but he once again shows why he's the perfect actor for the Hobbit. A simple look, twitch of his face can tell more than a thousand words and is used to maximum effect throughout. Equally, it's Armitage who steps up to the plate this time with the dragon sickness malignancy adding a much needed dimension and giving him the dramatic weight that's needed as we head to the end sprint.

Newcomer Billy Connolly makes an impression as the Glasgow kiss-touting cousin Dain of Thorin and proves to be the perfect tonic to lots of portentous talk and foreboding; Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, and Ian Holm all appear, giving the movie the chance it needs to lead into the Lord of The Rings series and imbuing it all with an continuity that's needed for its conclusion.

The inventive action sequences as Jackson's camera sweeps across giant plains do much to impress and showcase the technical prowess of all involved, providing a scope that's befitting of the scale of what's occurring and Jackson's not lost his eye for spectacle with Legolas's escape from a falling bridge showing there's visual creativity still left to be had in the series as he moves the figures around like a war master toying with a giant open-world set of goodies and baddies.

In among the bluster of the blockbuster trappings and once the dust has settled on the incredible action sequences, the overall feeling is that The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies thrills and frustrates in equal measures.

Tauriel's sidelined as the love interest in this, which is a frustration given how much she stood out as a point of difference during The Desolation of Smaug; Bard the Bowman simply disappears from proceedings once his usefulness is dramatically spent and the majority of the Company of Dwarves (with the exception of Ken Stott's Balin and Richard Armitage's Thorin) is simply set-dressing, lacking the emotional edge that was so evident in the last film as it built to its crescendo. This time around, it lacks the cohesion needed to push the series into air-punching rousing territory as it ends.

Spectacular it may be, and an achievement from Sir Peter Jackson and his team it undoubtedly is, but The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies brings the series to an end in a relatively uneven fashion. As a standalone film, it just misses the mark due to some dramatic constraints, but as part of a series, it proves a fitting send-off to Middle Earth.

Rating:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Blu Ray Review

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox


The latest Planet of the Apes outing sees the film continuing from the end of the 2011 Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which concluded with a viral plague starting to sweep the planet.

Picking up ten years on with most of the earth's population wiped out by this plague of virulence, the Apes are now the dominant species, thanks to their genetic development in the first film. But when Caesar (an utterly incredible Andy Serkis) and his tribe inadvertently meet a band of human survivors, the fragile agreement they reach is shattered by a lack of trust.

With factions of the Apes not trusting the humans, and with Caesar urging them to give the humans a chance, division is imminent - and could threaten all species...

Dawn Of The Planet of The Apes had such ape expectations piled upon it after the intelligent and digitally impressive first film - and boy, does it deliver in spades.
Starting a close up of Caesar's eyes (an image which book-ends both the beginning and end of the movie), the film is gripping and tense from start to finish. The opening sequence sets everything up - but subverts expectations as the apes hunt for food; relationships between father and son are defined as are tensions between Caesar and Koba (Kemmell) - both of which threaten to boil over when the humans arrive.

It's a testament done to Joe Letteri and his digital team at WETA, that when in fact they do show up, the live action creatures are the lesser on screen species in more ways than one. While the underwritten Clarke and Russell relatively impress in this Last of Us style world that's evolved from the plague and Oldman hams it up beyond belief, they can't hold a candle to the digital apes who, not only visually impress and feel natural, but deliver emotion in great heaps and more expression than some actors ever muster. In fact, it's even more intelligent this time around, as we dizzy from leader to leader's viewpoint in a film about prejudices, the choices faced by those in power and a timeless story of power struggles and betrayal. It's a universal tale which has been told many times before - and even echoes some of what happened to the real Caesar from within.

There's plenty of action on hand as well - from all out war (with gun-toting apes on horseback turning on the humans) through to birth of new ape life, every gamut is explored and every emotion exploited to maximum effect.

Quietly and patiently, Reeves weaves a tale of such power and impressiveness that you can't help but be swept along with it all.

Once again though, it's the digital team at WETA and Andy Serkis who are the stars, giving us creatures that we care for and characters that we side with as the tensions rise and the factions split with horrific consequence; subtle differences in faces and eyes give us more than we need to hang onto and the creation of the world within (from Ape Commandments no less) a place we can identify with. It all feels natural and not one digital moment has been thrown in to simply show off. Serkis, if anything, deserves to get some kind of award for his ongoing impressiveness in expression and emotion for the work done on Caesar.

Dawn Of The Planet of the Apes is a sequel which surpasses the intelligence and action stakes of the first; it's an excellent and masterful movie that deserves to be seen.

All hail Caesar and his Apes of Wrath - long may they reign.

Rating:

Snowpiercer: Blu Ray Review

Snowpiercer: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

From director Joon-ho Bong, Snowpiercer's set in a future where the human population has pretty much wiped themselves out with global warming.

After finding the Earth was heating up too quickly, scientists discovered a way to cool it all down and ironically, froze the planet and killed everyone off apart from a rag tag band of survivors who inhabit a train that travels around the world.

Divvied up into classes within the train, tempers are fraying - and revolution is in the air.

Lead by Chris Evans' Curtis, the time has come for change - and when the powers that be head to the lower ends of the train inhabited by the lower classes to snatch some children, everything boils over. With a full blown assault underway and those at the front of the train desperate to quell this uprising, it's a fight for survival as the group tries to push their way through to the front carriage and change their lives for the better...

But the closer they get to their goal, the higher the personal cost....

Snowpiercer is a curious film (it's based on a series of French graphic novels) which blends action with some truly stunning production values, brilliantly realised.

Joon-ho's created a visual dystopian world within that impresses; from the grimy gritty nature of the tail end of the train where Curtis' people live in an oppressed huddle to the more luxurious front sections where the select few live it up, each door that Curtis unlocks releases a visual feast more splendid and excessive than the last.

Snowpiercer doesn't skimp on action either - with the director creating some visual smackdowns that impress and thrill in equal measure. A showdown on the train as it heads into a long tunnel is a terrifying proposition brilliantly executed and sickening in equal measures. A clash in a primary school section as well is shocking in many ways, incorporating indoctrination and lots of bullets in a way you'd never expect.

Likewise, Tilda Swinton is fantastic as the leader of the opposition, a pastiche of Thatcher with Deidre Barlow; her presence helps keep the film out of the stuffy po-faced territory and her Northern English accent is a sight to behold.

Visually, the glimpses of the frozen vistas are excellently executed, as life outside the train is showcased. The effects work is impressive and sparingly used.

But it's not perfect.

Parts of Snowpiercer feel too episodic by their very nature and don't quite hang together as the group unlocks a door, goes through that section of the train and onto the next part. Narratively, the thread dangles a little weak and a little too loosely as it plays out.

And there's one portion towards the end of the film where Evans just doesn't deliver the powerful punch it needs. A speech about the hardships they've faced feels overcooked and over-explained, lacking emotion at a crucial stage and over using exposition that's unnecessary. (There are flashes of this throughout, leaving you to feel that the whole thing's been overtly hammered home when it didn't need to have been and when the subtlety would have aided the power of the message.)

All in all, Snowpiercer tries to deliver a commentary on the classes' system - and for the most part it does so successfully, but the overall feeling is one that it could have delivered a lot more as you board this blockbuster on its 2 hour journey. 

Rating:

ZB movie reviews - NightCrawler, The Drop and The Babadook

ZB movie reviews - NightCrawler, The Drop and The Babadook

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-mornings-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-the-drop-the-babadook-and-night-crawler/

The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra: Be Mine Tonight Tour Review

The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra: Be Mine Tonight Tour Review

It was Auckland's turn to host New Zealand's premiere touring troubadors of the ukulele variety.

In the relatively intimate surroundings of the Winter Garden at Auckland's Civic Theatre, bathed in a stage of red light to match the red carpet, there was an inter-generational buzz awaiting their arrival.

From the young to the very old, everyone was here to have a good time as the band continued its Be Mine Tonight tour in support of their first ever full album release.

READ THE WIUO'S TRACK BY TRACK ANALYSIS OF BE MINE TONIGHT

With expectancy at a poised fever pitch, the band doled out 7 rules over the speakers before filing out in front of everyone and launching into their cover of Brooke Fraser's Something in the Water. You know what to expect most of the time with the WIUO (no bad thing) - lush harmonies, beefed up choruses and a damn good time. The child in the front row whose feet couldn't touch the ground was having a damn good time - because I saw her little spindly legs rocking back and forth the moment the band struck up.

But as the group took in a smattering of some of their old faves and select tracks from the new LP with their usual charisma-filled performance, there seemed to be something slightly different about them this time.

Sure, there was electricity in the air - but it was also there on stage with some howling feedback affecting the end of a couple of their songs (Team by Lorde and Jezebel were slightly hit by it) - and more surprisingly, there were a few electrical instruments - an electric uke here, a guitar there. For the couple of purists next to me in the audience who'd come to lap up the stripped back harmonies and rousing simplicity of the singalongs, it was a bit of a shock.

However, it represents the growth of the band and to be honest, howls aside, it didn't dampen any of their enthusiasm for their onstage antics, their boundless energy and their ability to awaken the joy in your belly and send it on its way to your face.

After Raylene, Jezebel, some Afternoon Delight, Wake Up, an almost gospel like Happy by Pharrell, a tour to Tahiti and Hawai'i, the first half concluded with their frankly anthemic version of David Kilgour's Today's Gonna Be Mine ( a song which gives me goosebumps every single time I hear it) that left the crowd reeling and hoping the interval was nothing more than a brief interlude.

A second half saw a couple of surprises and ensured the Civic's builders were going to be needed to deployed after the roof was raised.

Shorty Street star Amanda Billings and long time secret band member is touring with the WIUO this time and stepped up to the plate for E Ipo; as did Th'Dudes' star Peter Urlich to shake his money maker on their cover of Be Mine Tonight, which concluded with a stunning solo from band member Steven to rapturous applause.

It was here really that the band completely found their groove, won over the crowd and ensured the second half would send us all into the stratosphere. Following up with heart-felt and singalong fave Heartache, the always theatrical and expressive Andy led the audience to a fervour before Gemma and Age gave us a Second Chance to remember.

Clothed in cricket whites, Age's lead on Howzat (whose chorus always reminds me of the UK Pearl and Dean cinema intro) had an energy and vitality which was contagious; a kid invasion accompanied Megan's next turn on stage and showed why the band has such a universal appeal before Sam, replete in self-made onesie, gave us a 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover that led to cheers from within the growing rabble on the floor.

Choosing to end with Counting The Beat (and getting Peter Urlich back on stage was a master-stroke for the second half (like David Kilgour was in the first) because it summed up the essence of what the WIUO does when it's on fire. They get you up on your feet, singing along, and dancing like crazy thanks to their contagious and infectious energy, sending you out into the world with a joy in your heart.

The WIUO are a clever bunch; they always leave you wanting more and this time was no exception (even if the second half felt a little stronger than the first); as a group of friends and musicians, they've got the mix completely right and the new album shows they're heading on a slightly different path without forgetting their roots.

When it comes to their live shows, you'd have to be a real grouch to leave with a frown on your face - and I don't believe there's such a thing as a bad WIUO show (certainly from what I've experienced before); the band's growing in musical depth and performance as tonight's show demonstrated.

That's no bad thing at all - jump on the WIUO bus; their destination is Good Times, via stop-offs for Singalong, Grin Central and Charisma city. It's a musical journey you won't forget.