James Cameron talks Terminator: Genisys

James Cameron talks Terminator: Genisys

In anticipation of TERMINATOR: GENISYS’ release on the 1^st of July James Cameron discusses the new film

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: PS4 Review

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: PS4 Review

Developer: CD Projekt Red
Platform: PS4

Massively big is a massive understatement.

Amid a wave of hype and an even bigger one of expectation, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt wildly delivers on its premise of a fantasy open world adventure that mixes Game of Thrones style sensibility (sex, violence, fantasy) with questing to make the Lord of The Rings blush.

You play Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher and hunter of monsters in the world of the Northern Kingdoms, who's forced to try and save Ciri, Geralt's adopted charge and who could be the key to allowing seriously nasty creatures into the world within if she's not rediscovered.

To say that The Witcher is immersive is to do it a major injustice; the game's depth and ability to sink you into the world of fantasy is nothing short of immediate. From the moment the game begins to the second you step outside to behold the world beyond, you can't escape the world you're virtually inhabiting. Views of valleys, or mountains adorned with buildings feel like they have real depth and beauty, like some of Peter Jackson's finest brought to life.

And it's not just the atmospherics which work incredibly well in The Witcher - it's the people which inhabit it as well that add to the feel of it. Not everyone is always happy to see Geralt entering their world, and it's this level of murkiness of character which adds to the feel of a role-playing game that hits its highs. Fighting is sometimes necessary and may take a little time to master and level up (early tutorials bring newbies to the game with ease) but it's worth the investment in Geralt as he begins to climb the scales of destruction.

It's not just humans that will require fighting - this is, after all, a fantasy world and monsters inhabit it. You need more skills and prowess to take them on and sometimes, it can be a frustrating experience if you make one wrong move. Beasties though graphically impressive, are formidable forces and spending much time ogling them won't get you through.

Side-quests also take a lot of your time as well - it's upto you whether you dive fully into them and embrace them - but in part, they are necessary for the main story to ensure progression, but in a game where you're already spending excessive time for completion, there's potentially an argument that just maybe they could be a little more optional.

All in all, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a massive game, a game that commands your time and demands your investment (this review's written with completion nowhere near in sight) but as a role-playing experience, it's second to none. Granted, there are a few frame issues scattered here and there, but that's potentially due to the scale of what CD Projeckt Red was trying to achieve - animation and voice work is evocative and does much to immerse you in the Northern Kingdoms.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an experience, an impressive line in the sand for the genre and a game to spend your entire life in.

Rating:

Marshland: Film Review

Marshland: Film Review

Cast: Javier Gutierrez, Raul Arevalo
Director: Alberto Rodriguez

Mixing the same horrific themes and locations as True Detective but eschewing the philosophical debate, Spanish thriller Marshland arrives with accolades ringing in its ears.

Already the recipient of 10 GOYA Awards, it's the 1980s story of two detectives Juan and Pedro, unwillingly paired together and both serving a penance of sorts for past sins. Called to a small Spanish village to investigate the disappearance of two girls, it soon becomes clear that their going missing covers a wider net of conspiracy than was first believed.

Rodriguez has crafted something dour, grim and atmospheric which makes the best of its moody locations, characters and situation.

Revelling in the fact this pair are outsiders from the outset to both the community they're investigating and even their own attitudes, there's certainly overtones of True Detective's MO - even down to Arevalo's outward similarity to McConaughey's look in the series - which prove hard to shake from the DNA of the thriller.

There are also moments of lucidity and writing which is spot on with its veracity, wringing the drops of horror from the situation.

When the duo find the girls, the local cops implore them to be the ones to tell the parents what has happened, given that they see them every day. It's a peeling back of the veneer and a peeking below the surface that's queasy to watch.

Visually, the film is a claustrophobic treat with Rodriguez making great fist of the marshlands locations, the 80s drained look and some aerial shots as transitioning from the scenes which seem like Google Maps or the pull backs from Grand Theft Auto V as it switches between characters. Every sequence is meticulously crafted, tightly executed and tautly directed. There's a sense of grim realism that permeates so much of the movie and leads to moments that are truly gripping.

But it's not without its faults - the final reveal of who's behind it all is muddily executed in the middle of a rain storm swamping the screen and hiding the unveiling, leading to some feeling ripped off. Equally, a side thread about Franco's army, a wage dispute between workers are jumbled and disjointed, feeling like they've been woven in and left a little under-developed and extraneous to the narrative.

Overall, Marshland brings together a sticky fear of dread throughout, thanks to a dour, grim atmosphere, dripping with unease and queasy revelations bubbling under a surface. Its ending is downbeat and troubling, a sign that atonement comes at a price and leaves you feeling unsettled - something which is well worth celebrating.

Rating:

NZFF Local titles revealed

NZFF Local titles revealed

The latest set of New Zealand International Film Festival titles have been revealed this morning.

The New Zealand Feature-Length Titles Are:

Act of Kindness Directed by Costa Botes and Sven Pannell | 81 mins | World Premiere Charting the ripple effects of real compassion, this inspiring true story follows a spirited young New Zealander’s search for the Rwandan samaritan who assisted him through a dangerous predicament over ten years before. Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses Director/Screenplay: David Stubbs | 88 mins | World Premiere  This impressive doco disperses the fog of shame and sensationalism to shed light on the tragedy that made international headlines in 2007 when a young Wainuiomata woman died during a mākutu lifting. Crossing Rachmaninoff Directed by Rebecca Tansley | 79 mins | World Premiere A winning portrait of Italian-born Auckland concert pianist Flavio Villani as he returns like the prodigal son to Italy for his concert debut, scaling one of the summits of the Romantic repertoire. Deathgasm Director/Screenplay: Jason Lei Howden | 90 mins Two metalheads unleash a satanic riff that opens the gates of hell in this blood-splattered, heavy shredding comedy-horror. The winner of the Make My Horror Movie competition hits home shores after wowing audiences overseas. Ever the Land Director/Photography: Sarah Grohnert | 90 mins | World Premiere Observing the planning and construction of New Zealand’s first ‘living building’, Te Wharehou o Tūhoe, Sarah Grohnert draws on images of incredible beauty to portray the profound connection between Ngāi Tūhoe and the land. Out of the Mist: An Alternate History of New Zealand Cinema Director/Screenplay: Tim Wong | 80 mins | World Premiere Tim Wong’s elegantly assembled and illustrated film essay contemplates the prevailing image of our national cinema while privileging some of the images and image-makers displaced by the popular view of filmmaking in New Zealand. Philip Dadson: Sonics from Scratch Directors/Producers: Simon Ogston, Orlando Stewart | 80 mins | World Premiere As deeply fascinated by the conceptual as the biographical, this comprehensive portrait of one of our great experimental artists is essential viewing for anyone with even a passing interest in New Zealand art and music. Place Unmaking Curated by Janine Randerson and Mark Williams | 95 mins approx. New Zealand artists are often called upon to engage in ‘place-making’ projects. These 11 works find contemporary cracks and crevices in the heroic landscape tradition. The Price of Peace Directed by Kim Webby | 87 mins | World Premiere Kim Webby’s background in investigative journalism is put to riveting use in this documentary about Tame Iti and the Urewera Four, taking a criminal case of national interest to explore a greater social issue. Return of the Free China Junk Director/Producer: Robin Greenberg | 96 mins | World Premiere A historic wooden Chinese sailing junk that crossed the Pacific in 1955 makes an even more improbable return journey after the family of its original sailors campaign to save it from the scrapheap and bring it home. Tom Who? The Enigma of Tom Kreisler Directed by Shirley Horrocks | 73 min | World Premiere Shirley Horrocks’ doco sheds new light on the life and art of Tom Kreisler, a 20th-century New Zealand painter with scant interest in landscape but a strong affinity with Mexican traditions and the wit and verve of Pop Art.

Jurassic World: Film Review

Jurassic World: Film Review

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Irrfan Khan, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, Dinosaurs, BD Wong
Director: Colin Trevorrow

Welcome to Jurassic World.

A world 14 years in the making, a world where logic and cell-phone coverage are dramatically intermittent, a world steeped in a reverence and nostalgia of its past. And a world where once again reason fails to win over corporate greed and dinosaurs threaten our very existence.

In the latest, the fourth addition to the Jurassic Park series, we find ourselves on Isla Nublar, now a fully functioning dino theme park, living the legacy of Richard Hammond and yet still fighting the corporate greed of attracting a new range of visitors and sponsors to the site.

When the nephews of park manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard, initially heroic and always in high heels) head to visit, she finds herself having the worst day possible, thanks to the escape of a new genetically modified dino hybrid, the Indominus Rex. Setting out onto the island with the help of the Doctor Doolittle of the Dino world, Owen Grady (a slightly moodier and serious but still wise-cracking Chris Pratt), she tries to track down the kids.

For its first 30 minutes, Jurassic World is a blast.

It's bathed in a nostalgia of the kind of goosebumps you felt the first time you saw the dinosaurs on the big screen way back in the 1990s, when the T Rex roared through the speakers and the screen shook when that foot first slammed on the muddy ground.

It's a film which has a character admit early on, rather cannily, that "no-one's impressed by a dinosaur any more" before then showing off the very latest CGI Dino-tomfoolery while blasting that iconic and still effective John Williams riff through the screen. It also riffs on how corporate greed for the continual pursuit of the dollar is crippling their industry, messing with the very eco-sphere and apathy that haunts theme parks' owners everywhere. It even has a funny warm tech guy (New Girl star Jake Johnson) who has an original Jurassic Park T Shirt on as well as that CGI DNA Strand from Hammond's original presentation. It's horrendously self-aware and beautifully aware of what to stir within you to set you off reminiscing.

But then the cliched characters and everything-goes-to-hell-at-a-convenient-moment-plot really kicks in and you have this horrible feeling of deja vu. A B-plot about the army wanting to take on Grady's trained raptors presents itself and everything old which felt new again is suddenly old in terms of story and dialogue as the B-movie schlocky creature feature kicks into gear.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the writing of the women of Jurassic World, which feels like it's come from the Jurassic Era of Hollywood screenwriters. Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire goes from strong ball-buster to shrieking wreck who has to be rescued all the time; her one moment of self-empowerment is ripped away thanks to Grady's acknowledgement of her achievement and she's back to the sidelines; equally, the nephew's mum is simply more than a worrying sort who sends the kids away and then frets as the inevitable plays out. It looks very much as if Joss Whedon's Twitter criticism of the script is spot on  and certainly it's hard to step away from the overall nagging feeling that the women don't do well in this world that's clearly here just for the ride and thrills and nothing else.

Pratt brings his usual charisma to the role of Grady, though it's somewhat steeped in more dour seriousness than we're used to - but don't fret, there's still quippery to be had and there are still plenty of signs that this guy's groundedness and everyman charm show no signs of wearing off.

However, it can be argued, thanks in part to a Deus Rex Machina, that this cheesy lined, cornball flick is saved by the creatures themselves - even the Raptor Squad that Pratt's character has trained up. Most of the moments the dinos are on screen - from the Indominus Rex to the raptors racing through the forest to the Sea-World-esque creature soaking the viewers are incredible; a nod to previous creature features (via a Viewmaster early on) shows the series respects and adores its roots -even if it bastardises them somewhat with a dino that's had its DNA mangled by the mad scientists in the lab. A scene where Grady and Dearing are out in a clearing is a nice nod to a certain scene with a Triceratops from the first flick and gives the production a chance to use an actual creature rather than another CGI interloper.

Ultimately, Jurassic World brings exactly what you'd expect to the table in terms of story and spectacle - it's a world where dinosaurs both literal and metaphorical roam triumphantly, content to bathe in the glory that once was. It's a spectacle and a blockbuster alright, but it's a hollow one that feels like it's just managing to stay one step ahead of extinction.

Rating:

Taken 3: Blu Ray Review

Taken 3: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox Home Ent

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, who finds his life is once again thrown into disarray by violence and mobsters in this latest outing.

Mills is forced on the run and becomes the hunted (The Fugitive anyone?) after he finds his ex-wife murdered in his own house. The police, led by Forest Whitaker's Inspector Franck Dotzler, are closing in, but Mills is determined to clear his name and protect his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace).

The geriaction franchise promised this time around that nobody would be Taken again - and that it would be a different story.

But this time around with the hook of the series removed, Taken manages to feel flat, soulless and completely formulaic.

Neeson manages some warmth as the gruff but softly spoken and exhausted Mills; and in a nice touch, he appears to show his weary age during some of the fight scenes giving this latest slice of preposterousness a touch of much needed grounded reality. In fact, his is the sole reason to watch.

The problem with Taken 3 comes in those who orbit around Mills; every single cop - aside from Dotzler - is a complete dunce who lack the basic skills to even remotely do their job competently. Even Whitaker's Dotzler is majorly underwritten - a genius detective who spends his time looking left and right, while twirling either an elastic band or handling a white knight chess piece; he's less an enigma, more a barely fleshed-out cliche.

Equally director Megaton has hardly made things enticing to watch - choppy brisk editing during action sequences using a bevvy of cameras and an abundance of over-shaky cam means that you can't actually focus on what's happening without the director's ADD kicking in and showing you 17 different angles simultaneously rather than showing us something impressive.

Formulaic and lacking any real tension, the flat Taken 3 even finally resorts to having someone taken (again) - but in between you'll have to endure Neeson's talking to a stuffed panda (the SNL sketch Mark Wahlberg talks to animals springs to mind), Neeson's dispatching of relationship advice or talking puppies.

Believe it or not, the seeds for a fourth Taken (T4ken anyone?) are sown, with a potential new generation of Mills' family siblings possibly facing threat, but when all is said and done, the uninspired, unexciting and over-long Taken 3 is quite simply Taken The Mickey.
Rating:

New The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Official Teaser Trailer

New The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Official Teaser Trailer

There's a brand New The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Official Teaser Trailer just released.

It follows the first image from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 which was released last week.