Newstalk ZB Review - Shaun The Sheep, Get Hard and Cinderella

Newstalk ZB Review - Shaun The Sheep, Get Hard and Cinderella

This week with Jack Tame, it was all about Sheep, convicts and princesses.

For reviews of Shaun The Sheep, Get Hard and Cinderella and some awful puns, just click below.

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SPECTRE trailer is here

SPECTRE trailer is here

Bond is back.

The first new trailer for SPECTRE has just been unveiled, the 24th James Bond film.

SPECTRE hits New Zealand cinemas on November 12th.

Exists: Blu Ray Review

Exists: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Vendetta Films

It's back into the woods once more for the director of The Blair Witch Project who made such a killing with the movie back in 1999 and changed the found footage horror genre forever.

This time around, a group of friends head into a remote wood in Texas to party at an uncle's cabin, armed with a bazillion cameras, beers and hormones. On the way to the venue, the group hits something on the road - and dismissing it as a deer, they continue to head to the cabin.

But, later that night, a wailing starts in the woods - and soon they're being hunted by a Sasquatch...

Exists is exactly what you'd expect from the found footage genre.

There's an overload of shoe-horning in of cameras (everyone's always recording these days) and a series of horror tropes and conventions which are present from beginning to end. Sure, there's the obligatory shots of nondescript good-looking people getting passionate (thanks to one of their group perving on them and taping it all) and granted the group chooses to go further into the woods "for a short-cut" when they're being chased (cue eye-rolls of incredulity), but despite a bumpy 30 minutes that does little to endear you to the group, Exists soon proves to be remarkably solid.

With a fearsomely evocative sound-scape that manages to ramp up some of the tension in the cabin in the woods, Exists starts to come into its own as the Sasquatch begins to attack after its provocation.

Early onslaughts are confined to the blurred furry beast being glimpsed, running through the woods as one of the group tries to escape on a bike or from views of those hiding within the cabin, but Sanchez and the script don't shy away from revealing the beast in its glory and for subverting the genre by having the creature attack in the full light of day. There's a feral ferocity and animal logic to the Sasquatch which is commendable, even if its final interaction ends up being somewhat out of character.

Mind you, it's not to say that some of the more truly stupid moments don't detract from the film - a gung-ho firing of a gun with limited ammo by one character amed up on machismo being the true high of dumb behaviour - but the clever seeding of the cameras actually pays off with multiple angles in a climactic showdown revealing more than these usually would. Other scenes aren't as lucky though with darkness and muffled moments muddying the tension and proving frustrating rather than frightening as you struggle to work out exactly what - if anything - is going on.

All that said, if you go down to the woods today for Exists, you may actually get a bit of a cinematic surprise.

Rating:

Devil May Cry: Definitive Collection: PS4 Review

Devil May Cry: Definitive Collection: PS4 Review

Released by Capcom

I have to confess to have never heard of Dante and the Devil May Cry series prior to this outing - apart from the PS3 release last year.

This latest is a spit and polished PS4 reboot and has become the more stylised DMC, from Ninja Theory, collecting together the main game and the DLC. A hack and slash'em up, it's centred around Dante, who's under attack from a series of demons who are currently beseiging Limbo City.

It begins with Dante awaking from a heavy night out, only to discover a demon's hunting him. Warned by a mysterious hooded woman figure that he's in danger, he grabs his trusty sword, Rebellion and pistols (Ebony and Ivory) and sets off to find out exactly what's going on.

Set in this parallel universe, the action of Devil May Cry is certainly full on.

Mashing buttons together, you get to perform various different hacking and killing combos as you take on various demons plaguing the world. The more incisive and violent your take downs are, the more points you rack up through the levels, thanks to an onscreen grading system which helps guide you through the kills.

As you explore the world, you learn tips and tricks of vaulting through the air, flying, pulling out blocks et al to your advantage. But there are also little bits to do within each world - secret missions, missions to save various lost souls trapped around limbo (which need to be killed to be freed).

The gameplay in Devil May Cry is relatively simple to be honest - with a narrative scattered through looking at Dante's past and his timeline, there's enough to keep you invested. The emo punk Dante looks impressive and is perhaps a little too pretty boy for those who've experienced Dante before - but certainly, graphically, it handles all of the requirements of the screen time.

Devil May Cry is not without its faults though - occasionally, the camera refuses to centre where it's needed, rendering combat a little too tricky when it shouldn't be and exploring the worlds with a weird camera can sometimes be annoying as well.

The biggest mis-step of Devil May Cry though is the music. Whoever decided that heavy metal should play as you deal in combat has made a serious miscalculation. It's annoying, grating and distracting - thankfully the option is there to remove the soundtrack, for which I'm eternally grateful.

Chained combos, along with the ability to upgrade weapons and various abilities being unlocked along the way, plus three settings mean Devil May Cry has a degree of re-playability - and shows that the naysayers who dismissed the reboot may be eating their hats once they sit down and take it on.

Rating:

Zombie Army Trilogy: XBox One Review

Zombie Army Trilogy: XBox One Review

Platform: XBox One
Developed by Rebellion

Monotony is the keyword here in this release which collects together and remasters the Zombie Army games for a package that's a little tough to get fully immersed into, but is perfect to shoot away a few hours.

Set in the Sniper Elite universe, this third person shooter is all about getting the best kills from the marauding undead. Campaign mode in the game sees very little narrative thrown your way other than the fact that there are the undead heading your way in the middle of World War 2.

So armed with only the most basic of weaponry and a kicking foot to stomp those who get too close to you, it's off out into the various levels that make up three chapters of the game. It's simply a case of point, reload and shoot for the levels with the sniper mentality of the likes of Sniper Elite prepping you best for the stumbling masses as they shamble toward you intent on ripping you to shreds and simply killing you.

From a distance, headshots are the only way to kill off the hordes as they shuffle slowly but inevitably toward you. The greater the distance of the shot, the greater your points rewards and the higher your combo rises; but if there happens to be an occult pentagram around, a simple kill shot isn't enough and the creatures resurrect to annoy you even further; fortunately stomping on their heads stops this.

Levels follow a predictable pattern; shoot the creatures, find a safe house and rinse and repeat. Weapons from guns to grenades and mines can be found from searching the bodies so you're never short of something to kill with. In fact, it's much like any zombie game; don't get yourself cornered and you should be ok.

Horde mode is limited fun too; it's simply about surviving wave after wave of attacks from one vantage point before you are overwhelmed; it's here some of the game's frustrations kick in. A slow reloading of the weapon, shots that aren't perfect missing and making you question your own pinpoint accuracy.

Graphically, the game's no great shake; but one feature, the X Ray kill shot is a joy to behold. Like a Dalek exterminating and turning the image negative, the X Ray kill shot slows down into bullet time and gives you the thrill of it passing through the creature. It's gory and fun and a nice touch.

Co-op hasn't fully worked on the XBox for this title for me; hosting matches hasn't paid off with people joining and me being able to join, so perhaps that element is best left ignored.

All in all, Zombie Army Trilogy is no real great shakes of a game; it looks like it's come from a PC and while it's playable enough, its limited replay appeal does make me wonder whether it's simply good for a few gaming sessions here and there rather than nightly gaming.

Rating:

Infinitely Polar Bear: Film Review

Infinitely Polar Bear: Film Review

Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana
Director: Maya Forbes

Dysfunction is the cinematic norm for families and Infinitely Polar Bear makes no attempts to deviate from that.

An engaging and utterly charismatic Mark Ruffalo dials it up to 11 as Cam, a manic-depressive father whose breakdown precipitates the demise of his family. As his wife Maggie (an under-used Zoe Saldana) heads back to business school to secure a qualification to help them financially, Cam finds it's his turn to take the reins and look after their daughters - as well as try and get his own life and wife back on track.

Exec-produced by the Bad Robot team of JJ Abrams and Bryan Burk, Infinitely Polar Bear has crowd-pleasing written all over it.

Mark Ruffalo is positively oozing charm as Cam, who always seems to be manic and likable no matter what the situation with his daughters in this debut from writer / director Forbes. But that's also some of the problem of Infinitely Polar Bear; Cam's illness is often a caricature rather than a characteristic with his behaviour providing one too many punchlines during the movie.

It's a shame because Ruffalo is nothing short of endearing and an unconventional style and writing stops Infinitely Polar Bear from becoming the eccentric piece it so easily could have done if the manic behaviour had been more of a presence throughout.

That said, there are some lovely touches peppered into Forbes' debut; from a beautiful montage of Super 8 footage at the start detailing Cam and Maggie's courtship to a jauntily evocative and folksy OST, the movie has a feel-good glow around it. Off kilter lines catch you out and provoke spontaneous laughter as you fight them (and one Shining reference is brilliantly shoe-horned in to maximum effect).

A luminous Saldana is relatively sidelined due to dramatic necessity throughout and Infinitely Polar Bear remains Ruffalo's showcase from beginning to end.

From his Nacho Libre style get up at his breakdown to the final doffing of an inappropriate hat, Ruffalo imbues the screen with such good nature and charisma as Cam negotiates his unpredictable way through such raucous parenting that it's impossible to not watch.

Ultimately, Infinitely Polar Bear will charm you thanks to Ruffalo's performance, guiding you through the highs of the lows (there's hardly any exploration of the more devastating sides of the bipolar condition which is a crippling fault of the film) with a skill that's to be vaguely admired rather than totally applauded.

Rating:

Game of Thrones Episode 3 releases this week

Game of Thrones Episode 3 releases this week

Based on the award-winning HBO television drama series, Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series tells the story of House Forrester. Caught up in the events of The War of the Five Kings, they are placed in a precarious position where members of the household must do everything they can to prevent the house from meeting its doom.

"The Sword in the Darkness" will be available starting tomorrow March 24th on PC/Mac from the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services, as well as the PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 in North America (SCEA). The episode will be available on Wednesday, March 25th on the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One® and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, as well as the PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 in European territories (SCEE). The episode will also be coming to compatible iOS devices via the App Store and to Android-based devices on March 26th. 

The game series is based on the world, characters and events seen in HBO's TV show, which in turn is based on George R. R. Martin's books (A Song of Ice and Fire). The events in the game series begin towards the end of Season Three of the series, and end right before the beginning of Season Five. Players will visit familiar locations such as King's Landing and The Wall, as well as unfamiliar locations such as Ironrath, the home of House Forrester.

The game is played from five different points of view. Each is a member of House Forrester; either a direct family member, or a person in service to the House. Scattered across Westeros and Essos, each will play their part in seeking to save House Forrester from destruction.

Asher, the exile, heads to Mereen in search of an army to take on the Whitehills. Meanwhile, far across land and sea in Westeros, Mira must deal with the lethal politics of King's Landing. Her family's safety is paramount and she will do anything to protect them, but nothing is given freely, and her choice of allies may soon come to haunt her. To the north, in Ironrath, the Whitehill occupation continues. Gryff Whitehill, fourth-born son, is out to prove himself, and brutality and violence grows daily, pushing the Forresters to make far-reaching decisions. Finally, at the Wall, Gared learns that he must head north if he is to help his house survive. But fate is cruel, forcing choices that will change his path forever.

Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series - Episode 3: 'The Sword in the Darkness' is rated 'M' (Mature) for Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, and Strong Language by the ESRB. Future content in the series is yet to be rated by the ESRB. 

  

For more information on Telltale Games, visit the official website, Facebook forGame of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series, and follow Telltale Games on twitter @TelltaleGames.