Wednesday, 3 June 2015

The Good Dinosaur trailer roars in

The Good Dinosaur trailer roars in

"The Good Dinosaur" asks the question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct?  Pixar Animation Studios takes you on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of.
In cinemas January 2016

Ted 2 trailer thunders in

Ted 2 trailer thunders in


Today we’ve got the brand new restricted trailer for TED 2, ahead of the film’s release on July 2nd.

Entourage: Film Review

Entourage: Film Review


Cast: Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly, Jerry Ferrara, Kevin Dillon, Rex Lee
Director: Doug Ellin

Entourage's big screen debut may be about star cameos (Kelsey Grammar mocking therapy, George Takei officiating a wedding, Jean Reno simply standing there) and breasts to butts ratio but it feels like nothing more than an extended episode of the HBO TV series which ended back in 2011.

In the film, everything that wrapped up the TV series is undone as Vince's marriage has unravelled, Ari's coming out of retirement and E and Sloan are having a baby together, while not being together. Ari's first job as studio head is to give Vince a directorial role on their first picture - but the ensuing budget issues and problems with the film's Texan financiers threatens to send both Ari and Vince to the dumpster.

There's an incredible feeling of deja vu in Entourage aka the male Sex and The City as it feels like the film has recycled several plots from the series' run. Remember when Vincent Chase faced ruin for his involvement in a movie that could destroy him and his crew (Medellin, anyone?). Meanwhile Drama finds himself in trouble (again), Turtle chases down a crush (Ronda Rousey) and E suffers more will he / won't he with Sloane that bogged down large chunks of the TV show way back when. (Newcomers to the series need not worry - a smart use of Piers Morgan to recap the group as part of a TV profile proves a successful diving in point)

But while the bromance is still as fluid as it always was between the quartet thanks to Doug Ellin's writing and instinct for the guys, it all feels a little passe. Jeremy Piven's highly strung, expletive spouting studio exec remains the high point of the flick, giving his venomously homophobic, sexist and racist agent the spiteful edge he always teetered around as he spouts F bombs and verges on an on-screen stroke. (To be fair, it's the same as Ari has ever been, but Piven gives so much energy to the part, it's contagious)

Callbacks to the show's history and characters ensure there's a faith to the narrative and a reward to the fans but I'm sorry to say (and speaking as a fan of the show), this overlong and empty piece does feel like a greatest hits (and tits) package that's been reconstituted for 2015, which in parts feels empty and lacking. Some of the problem is the same as the series with the stakes never really being high enough for the guys - and it's curious to note that the newer elements to the movie such as Haley Joel Osment's hillbilly snot financier is one of the more fleshed out characters. 


But if you're a fan of the show, you won't have a problem being invited back to the party, spotting the celebs and hanging with the bros as they ogle bikini-clad (or occasionally not) babes, wallow in their self-centred lives and watch them generally coast along with continuing degrees of success. The satire of Hollywood's excesses that presented so much promise in the early part of the series is completely thrown out of the window here as the recycled story trots out over 100 minutes.

It's sad to say that Entourage feels like it's had its time and as the film progresses, you begin to care less and less about the group - it feels like a TV movie that made its way to the big screen by mistake and squandered its moment in the spotlight. 

Entourage is not entirely unwatchable if you're a fan of the show, but if it was ever to be more successful, its attempts to widen the net and attract newcomers to the party feel like a wasted opportunity, thanks to this entirely safe visualisation of the male wish fulfillment fantasy on the big screen.

Rating:



Tuesday, 2 June 2015

GTA Online - Ill Gotten Gains are on the way

Grand Theft Auto Online: Ill-Gotten Gains Part 1 Coming Next Week

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Due to a surge in high-end crime across southern San Andreas, demand for luxury goods and services is at an all-time high. Upscale merchants of all kinds are scrambling to fill their inventories to serve the newly wealthy. The first of two major deliveries this winter will be hitting the showrooms of luxury car dealerships, the shelves of top arms suppliers and other prestigious retailers in June. Here are a few new screenshots featuring some of the new rides and accessories coming to GTA Online next week – and be on the lookout for another big shipment coming this winter.

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Dress the new Enus Windsor with eight vehicle wraps inspired by the high-end designers of Rockford Hills.

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For a subtle way to travel, contact your Elitas agent about the solid gold Buckingham Swift Deluxe.

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The Combat PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) coming soon to Ammu-Nation.

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The classic lines of the new Albany Virgo add style to any garage.

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Just like the Benefactor Stirling GT, the Pegassi Osiris features gull-wing doors.

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The solid gold Buckingham Luxor Deluxe shines in the Los Santos skies.

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Hundreds of new clothing items and accessories are arriving to exclusive clothiers.


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Coming soon to Legendary Motorsport, the Pegassi Osiris.

Rise of the Tomb Raider - new trailer

Rise of the Tomb Raider - new trailer


Some great news for Lara Croft fans - a brand new trailer has dropped for Rise of the Tomb Raider - as well as the box art.

Offering a glimpse of Lara Croft’s drive and motivation as she embarks on a new adventure throughout the most treacherous and remote regions of the world and embraces her destiny as the Tomb Raider. Featuring legendary explorers who dared to push past their boundaries and achieve what others have not, the trailer showcases the spirit of adventure and discovery that drives Lara in this next chapter of her journey, launching exclusively on Xbox in 2015.

In addition to the debut of the trailer, Xbox and Crystal Dynamics revealed the box art for “Rise of the Tomb Raider.” Featuring Lara Croft holding a flare at the edge of an ancient secret tomb, the artwork draws on the sense of adventure, exploration and discovery that fans have come to expect from the legendary franchise.


Monday, 1 June 2015

The Water Diviner: Blu Ray Review

The Water Diviner: Blu Ray Review


Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Ent

Set four years after the devastation of Gallipoli in Turkey in World War I, Aussie farmer Connor (a bearded, understated and relatively muted Russell Crowe) is struggling to cope with the loss of his three MIA sons. When his wife succumbs to her grief, Connor decides enough is enough and packs up to head to Turkey to try and find out once and for all what happened to them and to fulfill her dying wish they all be buried together.

Initially rejected by the army (including Dan Wyllie's stereotyped straight down the middle-chocks-away general), but with a cause taken on by Jai Courtney's moustachioed and stoic Lt-Colonel, Connor ignores the rebuttal and heads to Istanbul regardless - forging a relationship with Ayshe, a Turkish woman whose husband is also missing post- Gallipoli.

The Water Diviner is a heady mix of the creative and the occasionally cheesy.


Crowe's peppered his pictorial premiere behind the lens with a preponderance of war flashbacks and slow mo shots that somewhat pile on the emotion and manipulation as this bond of brothers story and overwrought melodrama plays out.

Olga Kurylenko feels a little wooden initially as Ayshe, taking time to settle in and awkwardly feeling like a potential romance / friendship was shoe-horned into proceedings that are based on true events, and their interactions slow down the piece. Equally, a scene where Connor uses that most Aussie of icons (currently), the cricket bat to take out a squadron of Greeks about to execute some Turkish soldiers rankles rather than triumphs. And Connor's ability to divine where his children have fallen (interlaced as it is with flashbacks to the sons at war) causes more head-scratching than actual emotional heft.

And yet, there are some flourishes in among the crowd-pleasing which really do mark The Water Diviner out as something a little different.

Crowe starts the film from behind the Turkish lines, wrong-footing you into believing we're watching Aussies; sequences in the actual trenches are visceral and like repeated blows to the stomach as they show the true horror of hand-to-hand combat; and throwaway shots like a mountain of bones clutch at more disgust than any lingering shot could ever achieve.

It's the understated moments which are the more moving and powerful within The Water Diviner.

Aided by a strong performance from Crowe as the father-on-a-mission and interactions with Turkish actor Yilmaz Erdogen have a resonance that's lacking in scenes with Kurylenko and the bureaucratic Wyllie, The Water Diviner proves to be a solid directorial debut from the usually brash Crowe.

However, a dialling down of the more manipulative elements, a pulling back of the over-egging of the emotional pudding and an avoidance of the cheesier could have seen this Water Diviner strike cinematic gold - instead, we're left with a film that's occasionally evocative and moving but fails to fully soar as it quests to be a fitting and different piece for the 100th commemorations of the ANZAC involvement in Gallipoli.

Rating:

Race The Sun: PS4 Review

Race The Sun: PS4 Review


Platform: PS4

It's the simplest games which hook you in.

And indie title Race The Sun falls squarely into that camp, mixing simple graphics with great gameplay for a perfectly compelling experience.

Simply put, you control a craft that flies through landscapes, rushing to get to the end of each region before you run out of power. The reason you can lose power is simple - your craft is powered by the sun, and you need the rays to stay in the race.

But, it's not quite that easy - with various buildings around casting shadows and other structures that you can smash into, there are plenty of obstacles to negotiate to slow your progress. Collecting light orbs known as Tris (not the character from Insurgent) and completing various challenges within the levels give you access to various power ups which you need to further your progress.

From jumps to speed ups, to magnets to battery to install on your craft, there's plenty to aim for - and the fact the worlds change every 24 hours means, there's plenty of variety to get you well and truly hooked in; there's no way you can learn the short cuts because 24 hours later, that entire landscape is gone. 25 challenges litter the game with you aiming to achieve all of those for completion - which take maybe a day to do, depending on your play. It's now a game which is ripe for further DLC and more content, and given the game was a Kickstarter, we can but hope that is the case

Graphically, the game goes for minimal with greys washing the screen in a monochrome colour, but giving life to the coloured elements of power ups and the sun in the background.

Simple and eminently playable, Race The Sun is a great title that deserves to be in your account to wile away a fiendish amount of pleasurable fun.

Rating:


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