Mega Man Legacy collection: PS4 Review

Mega Man Legacy collection: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Capcom

There's something utterly fiendish about the wave of nostalgia riding through the gaming industry at the moment.

What with Rare Replay proffering up 30 games to dive into, it's currently en vogue to be surfing the wave - and Mega Man Legacy Collection gives you yet another chance to do exactly that.

The Blue Bomber's become synonymous with 8-bit gaming and this collection pulls together the 6 original 8-bit games to pit you into the agony of side-scrolling action once again. Bringing back iconic villain Dr Willy and his minions make things worse as Mega Man powers from one side of the screen to the other to try and fight through to the end.

Mega Man's collection is fiendishly hard - at times, there were echoes of Ghosts'n'Goblins level of difficulty as you try to fend off creatures, jump and shoot at the same time. It's incredibly hard in places, and thanks to the ethos of the 1980s gaming, there's no chance to pick up where you left off and dust yourself down when you're killed.

Even the critters you've despatched on the previous screen will be back if you inadvertently land back on a level area you've already cleared. It's a nice touch, and perhaps we've all got softer these days with gaming, but it has to be said, after a while there's a fair degree of frustration if it happens to you.

Also included in the game are a series of mode - Museum mode gives you a chance to look at concept sketches; challenge mode gives you the chance to encounter the game if you're new or just looking for something different. And the music is so incredibly retro and vaguely annoying that you'll either be singing along or slinging the mute button into action.

The thing with the Mega Man collection is that the authenticity rings through the six games - graphically the 8 bit recreation works well on the next gen console, and there's hardly any lag or glitches throughout

Unforgiving and unrelenting, Mega Man is 8 bit gaming heaven - just be aware that it's so incredibly difficult in places and you may find your blood pressure rising the moment you fire it up.

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A Walk In The Woods: Film Review

A Walk In The Woods: Film Review

Cast: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson
Director: Ken Kwapis

As the saying goes, it's not the destination, but the journey you are on.

In this latest flick from renowned comedy director Ken Kwapis, Robert Redford plays celebrated travel writer Bill Bryson, who's back in America and struggling to decide what to do next in his career.

So, challenging himself, he decides to walk the 2000 mile Appalachian Trail which winds its way through America's wilderness, giving an unforgiving challenge to those who try it but soaring rewards to those who complete it. Under direction from his wife (Emma Thompson) to not walk the route alone, he tries to find a companion from his contact file, but all turn him down. On the eve of heading off, a blast from the past, Stephen Katz (played by an extremely grizzly Nick Nolte) calls and offers to be his companion.

Reluctantly, the two team up and head out on their adventure...

Extremely broad right from the start, and inexorably episodic, the adaptation of Bryson's memoir, A Walk In the Woods is a hybrid of The Odd Couple and Laurel and Hardy slapstick.

Heading for gently easy and predictable laughs, it's cleared skewed for an older generation, willing to forgive every contrivance possible as the film heads for its obvious destinations. No doubt the more astute will find themselves distracted at how clearly out of shape Katz is for the journey and how unprepared the duo are for the trek, but if you're willing to forego these fairly big shortcomings, you may find yourself lapsing into a blanket of feel-good buddy road trip movie fuzz rather than an incisive examination of what motivates us later in life.

It doesn't help that the route is littered with oddballs and quirky characters at every turn, though points have to be given to Flight of the Conchords star Kristen Schaal as an irritatingly "shoulda done this" hiker whom the pair try to lose.

While Redford and Nolte have a reasonable chemistry, they are somewhat stuck in a rut of Redford's Bryson being irritated by Katz' presence - it's likely to strike a chord with an older audience, looking to bask in the lighter tones of the film, rather than those seeking a harder watch. It lacks the resonance that Redford portrayed in All Is Lost, forsaking that for a more comic edge.

Entirely predictable and bordering on irritating in its final stretch as the pair's escalating screwball farce heads into slightly more reflective territory, how you feel about A Walk In The Woods may well depend on how you deal with its succession of bumbling and another fine mess you've got me in ethos. There's no denying its geniality, but you may find this is one hike you'd rather sit out.

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Straight Outta Compton: Film Review

Straight Outta Compton: Film Review

Cast: O'Shea Jackson Jr, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Paul Giamatti
Director: F Gary Gray

Like any good record, Straight Outta Compton boasts both an exciting A side and a bloated B side.

The biopic of the formation of seminal 1980s rap group NWA is all street and all bluster as it predominantly depicts the rise and fall of Dr Dre, Eazy E and Ice Cube. Starting in the ghettos of Compton, the film sees Eazy E (Jason Mitchell) teaming up with Dre (Hawkins) and Cube (Ice Cube's real life son O'Shea Jackson Jr) to try and break their version of rap through the clubs that were more concerned with R'n'B - or as one club promoter puts it early on, "pussy, not pistols".

Igniting a simmering rage that underlies the streets thanks to the continual harassment of the African American community by the mainly white LA police force and against a backdrop of their own personal experiences and the Rodney King beating, NWA rises to the top.

But, along the way, tensions simmer within the group when it's discovered that Eazy E and manager Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti, in his second record svengali role of the year after the brilliant Love and Mercy) appear to be making more money than the rest of the band members. Most put out about this is Ice Cube, whose lyrics arguably contributed to the band's rapid ascent....

There's no denying that Straight Outta Compton is a searing biopic and depiction of the social times and climes within an America that's continually ripped by race.

But there's also no denying there's a powerful film here that soars in its first half as it charts the rise and documents the energy and electricity of the performances of the band before it becomes bogged down. The second half of the film is mired by a myriad of plot strands and too many piecemeal threads being tied together, as well as drama that's not particularly dramatic as it negotiates contract disputes with Heller et al and the appearances of the likes of Snoop Dogg. It also suffers from a melodramatic soundtrack that crashes and underscores very heavily every dramatic beat in the back half.

Equally, there are tantalising hints of life outside the group for the main trio, specifically Dre, whose family tensions are hinted at with his wife but frustratingly thrown to one side, almost as if they had forgotten about Dre. And don't even get me started on the treatment of the mainly topless sexualised women within (yet another barb to be thrown at rap music in general)

Thankfully, some incredible performances from O'Jackson Jr, Hawkins and Mitchell give Straight Outta Compton its heart, humour and braggadacio. O'Jackson Jr in particular feels like you're watching a young Ice Cube, thanks largely to the son looking like the father - and he brings an energy to the early performances, which galvanise and unite the crowd, while ignoring some of the real controversy NWA's lyrics brought to the fore.

It's probably no surprise that with Dre and Cube being producers on the film that it's somewhat of a whitewash, glossing over the meatier parts of their career, the debate provoked by their rap and while the tensions with the police give an insight into the simmering feelings of the time, it's never anything more than black and white.

When Straight Outta Compton concentrates on the electric performances of NWA and their effect on a trodden on society, it's nothing short of searing and tremendously successful - it's just unfortunately that in the best part of 2 and a half hours, the energy lags and the second half of the film is like a B-side that you'd quite happily skip to go back to the A side again.

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Me and Earl and The Dying Girl: Film Review

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl: Film Review

Cast: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, Jon Bernthal
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

The sick lit genre got a boost in the arm with The Fault In Our Stars, a sweet romance that got you in the feels as well as working to the tropes and conventions.

So, it's inevitable that Me And Earl And The Dying Girl with its button-pushing title and poster of three friends will be held up in comparison.

But, that does this quirky Sundance audience award winner a disservice - to a degree.

It's the story of high schooler Greg (Mann), who bounces between the school sets without attaching to any of them. His sole friend is a kid who comes from a different neighbourhood Earl (Cyler), with whom he makes spoof movies a la Be Kind Rewind and who he hangs out with at lunch to avoid the cafeteria dilemma.

Greg's world changes when his mother forces him to spend time with Rachel (Olivia Cooke) who's diagnosed with leukaemia. Initially reticent, Greg finds an escape from his world in Rachel's but gradually begins to realise that he's more invested in Rachel's fight than his own crumbling life.

Me and Earl And The Dying Girl, in parts, feels like a slightly too smug and offbeat take on the genre, destined to be beloved by some and loathed by others.

Based on Jesse Andrews' book, occasionally it feels like it's trying too hard as it negotiates the tropes, mocks them with self-deprecating touches and cocks a snook at where it's come from. It's easy to see why it's been an audience hit at the Sundance festival and in other festivals - though I suspect it's only within certain parts of the audience.

Slathered in amusing movie in-jokes thanks to the affectionate films that Earl and Greg make (Sample title - Senior Citizen Kane), there's certainly just enough here to give it a broader brush to those who may be put off by the awkward moping of others within the genre.

But yet, while it's heart-warming, it's never emotionally devastating and never really developed a personal connection.

Greg is too self-centred, too aloof from all around him to feel too much or to gain an attachment too. Granted, it's possibly the embodiment of being a teenager, but it's a film which doesn't offer him a journey or redemptive arc.

Equally, there's too much of a sidelining of Rachel here - ironically though, in doing so, this helps the film avoid mawkish moments where you'd expect romance to blossom - a touch that the film's so self-aware to mock with Greg intoning that "This would be where we kiss." However, it's a shame as Olivia Cooke brings a stellar performance to the screen as the girl going through the various stages of the illness, without one moment feeling false at all.

If anything, Me and Earl And The Dying Girl is more about friendship and sadly, in its final stretches, falls headlong into some of the cliches it's been trying hard to avoid throughout. It's not without its charms, but I have to admit, the majority of them were lost on me.

There's no denying Me and Earl And The Dying Girl's freshness and potential appeal to its demo as it negotiates what it means to be a teenager, but there's equally no denying the occasional quirkiness becomes overbearing (such as its stop-motion animations that appear from time to time), tearing it away from its more genuine moments and depriving it of the wider status it deserves early on.

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We Are Your Friends: Film Review

We Are Your Friends: Film Review

Cast: Zac Efron, Wes Bentley, Emily Ratjakowski, Jon Bernthal
Director: Max Joseph

"Sounds have soul"

Sadly, despite being uttered in the film, the same cannot be said for We Are Your Friends, a  movie that looks at one DJ wanting to break into the world of EDM and appears to have been written by committee.

Pretty boy Zac Efron plays Cole Carter, a Valley boy who didn't go to college, who's stuck with dead-end prospects and who spends his nights playing a club as and when he can while his friends promote the place.

By a very Hollywood style coincidence, he ends up under the wing of superstar DJ James Reese (Wes Bentley who enjoys his turn as the about-to-be-washed-up svengali) who tries to help him discover his music style - but Cole's equally as interested in James' PA / girlfriend Sophie (model Emily Ratjakowski)....

For a film that's all about music that sets the heart racing, We Are Your Friends lacks the euphoria of the club scene - despite a pumping EDM soundtrack guaranteed to occasionally have your toes tapping in the aisle.

The problem is that the whole film is soulless, a rote kind of film that harnesses all the beats of a good dance film but has trouble assembling them into some kind of coherence. And while Efron makes good on the vacuous vessel that is Cole, the writers do little to serve his character with anything other than cliche. Plus, it's hard to emote when you're sat in front of a computer trying to put together a killer track (something the film tries to show that the best music comes from the feelings within)

Equally, Cole's mates who really should be the emotional centre of the film and have provided more conflict for the character when he falls in with the DJ set are so poorly served that when stuff goes down for them, it feels so piecemeal and formulaic that it has no punch whatsoever.

Granted, the easy on the eye Ratjakowksi and charming Efron make a pretty couple, but the shallow feel of the film, coupled with Cole's continually earnest voiceover that all it takes is one track to break through, cripples the flick and denies it any of the credibility this underdog story is so clearly striving for.

While the dance music is pretty pumping and there's a nice sequence with Cole on drugs (albeit bizarrely, PCP) that sees paintings bleeding into the floor and overtaking him,  the overly earnest We Are Your Friends feels so formulaic and lacking in heart that there's no cathartic moments to behold, and for a film that should be about living it up while you're young, that's nothing short of criminal.

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Hitman: Agent 47: Film Review

Hitman: Agent 47: Film Review

Cast: Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto
Director: Aleksander Bach

The pantheon of video games transplanted to the big screen is littered with varying degrees of success.

For every Resident Evil, there is a Super Mario Bros. But there's certainly enough of them- and even more coming with the likes of Assassin's Creed and Warcraft being the big hitters of the future.

In this latest update of the Hitman series (a first came out in 2007 starring Justified's Timothy Olyphant), Rupert Friend stars as the titular shaven headed assassin, identifiable only via a bar code on the back of his head.

Raised by a secret government group as part of a super soldier programme, 47 is an emotionless killer, a remnant of the past. But when someone seeks out the scientist who set up the programme via his daughter Katia (Hannah Ware), it all comes back to life - and it's a race against time as Katia finds herself involved and forced to choose a side - either the Agent or John Smith (Zachary Quinto)

For a film that's based on a video game, Hitman: Agent 47 acquits itself reasonably well.

Despite a ludicrous premise, and a paper thin plot (including a final section that hints frustratingly at a sequel that may never come), it's fair to say that Hitman: Agent 47 follows its video game origins to a tee.

From the nod to the iconic packshot art in the pre-credits sequence to the video-game episodic style trappings within, this is a film that bathes in its origins and apes the game-play from within. That doesn't necessarily make it a great film though - and while the kills fall into the stylish rather than substance led, there are some quieter character-driven moments that really fall with a thud. Equally, the introduction of a new menace half-way through the film that's not glimpsed again until the very last moment is a real damp squib - a thread that's supposed to provide menace but is about as threatening as a cute bunny rabbit.

Friend is ok as the cypher assassin, but he works better when he's a soulless Terminator style killing machine, rather than an emoting, cracks-in-the-armour style human he becomes later on. Ware acquits herself reasonably well as the kickass Katia and even Quinto does questionable well (even if his stunt double looks glaringly nothing like him in the action sequences).

Overall, Hitman: Agent 47 isn't going to win any awards or new followers; its insistence in following to the tee its computer game counterpart is more of a stylish hindrance than an expansion to the big screen and despite some rote action sequences that are designed to showcase the sponsors, there are some moments that offer some enticing hints of what could have been.

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I Survived A Zombie Holocaust: Film/ DVD Review

I Survived A Zombie Holocaust: Film/ DVD Review

Rating: R16
Released by Vendetta Film

Being one of New Zealand's first ever multi-platform releases,I Survived A Zombie Holocaust has a fair amount of expectation behind it.

And given the fact it's garnered good foreign reviews from specialist film festivals, means it has some prestige too.

It's the story of Wesley,  a runner new to the set of a B movie zombie film "Tonight They Come", a trashy exploitation pic that's as bad as you'd expect from the title. When people start getting sick on the film, and the actual zombie extras turn into real zombies, it's up to Wesley to save the day.

Bandying around comparisons to BrainDead, it's fair to say I Survived A Zombie Holocaust was expected to be of a certain calibre. And it's nowhere near that standard - in fact, in parts, it's worse than your worst 48 Hours Film entry; badly acted, poorly scripted, but with some good FX here and there, I Survived A Zombie Holocaust is actually quite painful to watch. From the lead playing Wesley who funnels every stereotyped nervous nerd and ends up being grossly irritating to the lazy scripting and long time set ups, the pay off of I Survived A Zombie Holocaust is simply not worth it.

While I can see what the film-makers were aiming for, I wish more effort had gone into the dialogue and the actual characters because the execution is weak and difficult to watch. Maybe a bit more self-awareness and some tongue in cheek would have helped, but I Survived A Zombie Holocaust is nothing short of a real shlocky shocker; a relic from the 80s that has all the gore but no savvy.

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