At Darren's World of Entertainment - a movie, DVD and game review blog.
The latest movie and DVD reviews - plus game reviews as well. And cool stuff thrown in when I see it.
F1TM 2015: WATCH SERGIO PEREZ HOTLAP AHEAD OF THE FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2015
SYDNEY, 28th October 2015 - Codemasters® and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment today released a new Behind the Scenes video for F1 2015, the official videogame of the 2015 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™.
Absent from the FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP since 1992, the GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO makes its grand return this weekend. Take an exclusive insider look withSergio Perez (Sahara Force India F1 Team) on-track ahead of the upcoming race held at the famous AUTÓDROMO HERMANOS RODRÍGUEZ!
Prepare to be transported to a galaxy far, far away and fight in epic multiplayer or single player battles on Hoth, Endor, Tatooine and the previously unexplored planet, Sullust.
22 New PlayStation games and VR experiences unveiled
ONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE UNVEILS THE FUTURE OF PLAY WITH 22 SOFTWARE EXCLUSIVES AND A VARIETY OF NEW PLAYSTATION®VR EXPERIENCES
Paris, 27th October 2015 - Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd. (SCEE) today announced the future of PlayStation®4 (PS4™), with a huge range of exclusive software announcements from both first and third party studios, as well as brand new content announced for PlayStation®VR.
On stage at the PlayStation® Media Preview in Paris, France, SCEE unveiled new details and PlayStation – exclusive features for over 20 games, with 9 of these newly announced, demonstrating why PS4 is the best place to play this holiday season and beyond.
In addition to this, Jim Ryan, President and CEO of SCEE celebrated twenty years of play and the success of PS4, the fastest selling system in PlayStation history with a global sell-in set at 25.3 million as previously revealed*(Number as at June 2015). In addition, he commented on the impressive range of network services offered across the region.
A number of exciting new exclusive games for PS4 were revealed for the very first time, including the latest title from critically acclaimed studio Quantic Dream,Detroit™, as well as a brand new racing simulator from Polyphony Digital, GT SPORT™. A beta test for GT SPORT™ was also announced for early 2016.
New footage from other exclusive titles was also shown during the conference, including the multiplayer premiere of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End™ (SCE Worldwide Studios),as well as a look at the gameplay vision for Michel Ancel’sWiLD™ (WiLD Sheep Studios). In addition, exclusive content was revealed for the latest installment in one of PlayStation’s most revered franchises,Tekken 7™ (Bandai Namco Entertainment), with a launch date provided forStreet Fighter V™ (Capcom). Finally SCEE debuted exciting new downloadable content for PS4 exclusive, Bloodborne™ (SCE WWS) and, DRIVECLUB™BIKES (SCE WWS), which will be available either as a standalone or as an expansion pack.
PlayStation’s enthusiasm for the best games is also shared by the publishers of this holiday’s biggest blockbusters, with downloadable content for Call of Duty®: Black Ops 3 (Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc.) available exclusively for 30 days only on PS4, as well as a partnership withElectronic Arts to release a limited edition Star Wars™ Battlefront PS4 bundle this November.
Away from PS4 software, SCEE also offered the latest glimpse of PlayStation®VR, a breakthrough innovation that will take the PS4 experience to a new level of immersion. New software for the system was shown, including a global announcement of Until Dawn™: Rush of Blood from Supermassive Games as well as never before seen footage of Guerrilla Cambridge’s VR shooter, RIGS™ and a brand new title fromCrytek, ROBINSON™: THE JOURNEYpartnering the famous CRYENGINE and thePlayStation VR system’s ground breaking technology. SCEE demonstrated that VR offers a wide variety of completely new experiences above and beyond gaming, by blowing away viewers with a special trailer for the film that’s getting cinema-goers talking: The Walk (Sony Pictures Entertainment).
Demonstrating a clear vision for the future of PlayStation with blockbuster franchises and all new IPs, as well as revolutionary ways to play, the conference demonstrates why PS4 is the best place to play for next year and beyond. Jim Ryan, President and CEO of SCEE, closed the presentation by saying: “PlayStation remains devoted to the Players. We thrive on our ability to delight you with extraordinary games, franchises, and experiences, and we remain focused on providing you the most sought-after exclusive content and breakthrough innovations.”
PLAYSTATION MEDIA PREVIEW 2015 – IN SUMMARY With a focus on games, SCEE’s PlayStation Media Preview showcased 22 games which are all either exclusive to PlayStation or feature exclusive content. Some highlights include:
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End™ (Naughty Dog) – Exclusive to PS4
GT SPORT™ (Polyphony) – Exclusive to PS4
Horizon: Zero Dawn™ (Guerrilla Games) – Exclusive to PS4
Dreams™ (Media Molecule) – Exclusive to PS4
Jim Ryan, President and CEO of SCEE, used the opening of the show to showcase the blockbuster third party titles launching on PS4 this holiday, making the platform the best place to play this Christmas.
Jim Ryan reaffirmed the partnership between SCE and third parties includingElectronic Arts and Activision Publishing, Inc, bringing exclusive content to PS4 Players for the holiday’s biggest titles:
A new video for Call of Duty®: Black Ops 3 was shown to highlight the agreement between Activision Publishing, Inc and PlayStation to bring new DLC to Players 30 days before it’s availability anywhere else
The limited edition Star Wars™ Battlefront PS4 bundle was shown alongside a new video for the game.
Looking beyond this year Jim Ryan then introduced a range of software titles that will arrive on PS4 with content exclusive to PlayStation, unavailable anywhere else:
Katshuhiro Harada took to the stage to announce the latest installment in one of PlayStation’s most famous franchises, Tekken™(Bandai Namco Entertainment):
To celebrate 20 years of Tekken™on PlayStation, Tekken 7™ will launch on PS4 with exclusive content.
Yoshinori Ono, producer at Capcom, appeared on stage to announce the worldwide launch of PS4 exclusive, Street Fighter V™, available on Tuesday 16th of February 2016.
Included in the announcement was the reveal of Dhalsim as a character within the new game and six new characters arriving at regular intervals throughout 2016 – all unlockable and free using in-game currency “Fight Money”.
Boundless™ from Turbulance
Battleborn™ from Gearbox
Avicii™Vector announcement by Hello There
No Man’s Sky™ from Hello Games
PlayStation followed this by bringing on-stage Senior Vice-President of Worldwide Studios, Michael Denny, to debut a range of first party titles that will be available “only on PlayStation” within 2016 and beyond.
Finnish studio Housemarque debuted a completely new and exclusive title forPS4, Matterfall™
A new trailer for Insomniac Games’ Ratchet and Clank™ was shown to viewers ahead of its release in spring 2016
Hermen Hulst, managing director of Guerrilla Games,took to the stage to show a live gameplay of Horizon Zero Dawn™, offering players a glimpse of how the game will play when it launches exclusively on PS4 next year, including its deep questing, crafting and combat systems
A video for the upcoming Bloodborne™ The Old Hunters expansion pack was shown on screen, available 24th November 2015 exclusively on PS4
DRIVECLUB™BIKES, available either as a standalone or as an expansion pack for hit PS4 exclusive, DRIVECLUB™, was shown, including a new campaign tour, multiplayer events, challenges and the unique thrill of bikes for the very first time, the latter also available as part of a standalone update, offering the insane speed of two wheels to all DRIVECLUB™BIKES Players
Keiichiro Toyama, Creative Director from SCE JAPAN Studio, took to the stage to introduce a gameplay video of the newly announced Gravity Rush 2™, coming exclusively to PS4
Continuing a barrage of exclusive titles only available on PlayStation,Christophe Balestra, co-president at Naughty Dog, gave fans and media the first ever look at the multiplayer for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End™, showing what Players can look forward to when the beta will be available onPlayStation™Network from 4th December to 13th December this year.Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End™ will hit PS4 on 18th March 2016.
To round out the section, Alex Evans, director of Media Molecule brought other members of his team onto the stage to show the first gameplay reveal and design vision for the studio’s new IP, Dreams™, offering a weird and wonderful twist on their trademark blend of play, create and share
PlayStation is always innovating and developing new ways to play, with PlayStation VR representing a giant leap forward in how Players immerse themselves in the games they play. Playable on the Paris Games Week show floor, Shuhei Yoshida, President of SCE Worldwide Studios, gave viewers a new glimpse of PlayStation VR during the conference, highlighting the many studios developing for the system as well as how well received it is from both consumers and developers, ensuring it’s a revolutionary step forward for a range of different experiences.
Guerrilla Games Cambridge debuted a new video for much anticipated multiplayer shooter, RIGS™
Shuhei Yoshida followed this up with the announcement that popular first party title would be coming to PlayStation VR in the form of Until Dawn™: Rush of Blood
Founder of Crytek,Cevat Yerli, arrived on-stage to announce multiple new experiences built from the ground up for PlayStation VR, in ROBINSON™: THE JOURNEY
Demonstrating the potential for VR experiences outside of gaming, Shuhei Yoshida, introduced a video for The Walk (SPE), the latest film to raise the bar for visual spectacle within the world of cinema
Closing the conference, Jim Ryan returned to showcase three final titles that represent a bright future for exclusive software on PlayStation, each of which demonstrate the creativity and innovation shown by all of PlayStation’s partners.
Professional racing driver and President of Polyphony Digital, Kazunori Yamauchi, took to the stage to debut the latest title in the critically acclaimedGran Turismo™ franchise, GT SPORT™ the most authentic and visually stunning racing simulator ever made. A beta test for the title was also announced for early 2016.
Following this industry veteran, Michel Ancel, studio head at Wild Sheep Studios, presented the gameplay vision for open-world exploration gameWiLD™, including an all new gameplay sequence that shows off the title’s groundbreaking emergent gameplay
Concluding the conference, David Cage, studio head at Quantic Dreams,surprised audiences by announcing the studio’s next title, Detroit™, built featuring the android Kara, shown first in a technological demonstration produced by Quantic Dreams back in 2012, asking powerful questions about what it means to be alive and what it means to be human
Cast: Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Michael Caine, Elijah Wood
Director: Breck Eisner
Mixing up a bit of Harry Potter, some of Men In Black co-existence and Vin Diesel's trademark gruffness, The Last Witch Hunter is a CGI genre fest that could have set up an interesting universe.
Diesel is Kaulder, who managed to slay an all-powerful Queen Witch back in the Dark Ages and staved off the unleashing of the Black Death. But in doing so, the Witch cursed him to be immortal, preventing him from joining his slaughtered family.
Now in the present day, an uneasy truce exists between witches and Kaulder, the Last (and only) Witch Hunter. However, when Kaulder's long time friend and watcher Dolan the 36th (played as the sole exposition deliverer by Michael Caine) is mysteriously offed, Kaulder uncovers a conspiracy to resurrect the Witch and her plans for world destruction.
With the usual Diesel acting flair, The Last Witch Hunter remains a film that could have been so much more, and one which proffers so much potential for a wider universe and tapestry.
Steeped in a mythology that has a depth but little breadth thanks to endless exposition, and touches of Supernatural the TV series, Eisner's managed to pull together a film that's not quite sure what it wants to be. Channeling a mismatched buddy cop vibe when Diesel's Kaulder teams up first with a new Dolan (Elijah Wood), who's clearly out of his depth when it comes to tackling matters and then a mortal enemy of a witch (played by Game of Thrones' Rose Leslie, who brings some light and spunkiness to the proceedings), the film struggles to balance its seriousness with its attempts to throw in some truly laughable dialogue and one-liners.
Shrouded in darkness, the action sequences never really deliver any real punch as this sub-par Buffy The Vampire Slayer rip-off continues - and not one set piece stands out. Although he struggles with the more emotive parts of the film, Diesel's watchable enough (and even the makers of the film are smart / silly enough to give him a fast car to prowl around in as a nod to his famed character) but wandering around like Blade and dipping into his own memories, complete with boggly eyes doesn't really further the plot at all.
While the CGI is clearly where the money has been spent on this B-movie and the evocation of the witch's world is a relatively intriguing one that could have done with some more depth to flesh it out. Our very own Rena Owen makes a strong lead as the head of the Witch's council but has little to do except deflect Misfits and This Is England star Joseph Gilgun's barb that they look like "a horrible band from the 80s". It's this kind of under-writing that plagues the film that aims for low-hanging fruit and succeeds; supporting characters are barely sketched so that when the emotional moments come, they fail to land properly.
All in all, The Last Witch Hunter is not campy enough to be a classic and not strong enough to resonate. It ends with the promise of more films to come, but one hopes that the only prophetic part of the title of The Last Witch Hunter proves to be the word "last".
In fact, as I write this, I'm in an old T Shirt with holes in it and a pair of short longs. So that should give you some insight into my view of fashion - but Dior and I gives a tantalising look at the making of Raf Simons' first collection for Dior back in 2012.
As ever with fashion pieces, time is of the essence and there are levels of pressure which wax and wane - but the doco never loses an eye for the fashion itself and the tensions between Simons and Dior.
It won't appeal to everyone but fashionistas will lap up this sumptuously shot and carefully executed doco, which revels in the fashion, gives you an insight into a world you've never seen and will no doubt having you heading to the shops for a spree.
