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.
FIRST 60 MINUTES OF GAMEPLAY RELEASED PLAYED BY AVALANCHE STUDIOS
Hi there,
Square Enix and Avalanche Studios are excited to broadcast the first hour of gameplay from JUST CAUSE 3. With a game world as vast, varied and as open as Medici - with its 400 square miles of beautiful beaches, towering mountain peaks and Mediterranean inspired towns - your first hour of play might be wildly different to ours. That said, we thought we’d focus on some of the early missions and content to whet your appetite ahead of next week’s launch.
Cast: Michael B Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Graham McTavish\
Director: Ryan Coogler
Legacy hangs heavy over Creed.
Not only is its titular protagonist (played by Fruitvale Station star Michael B Jordan who reteams with the same director) trying to escape the legacy of a father he never knew, but the film tries to simultaneously embrace the Rocky legacy and forge its own identity.
Thanks in large part to Jordan's straight down the line character and the film's largely realistic tone (even though it struggles with injecting some unnecessary melodrama in its back half) Creed emerges as a relative triumph, rather than ending in a major KO for anyone involved.
To all intents and purposes, Creed is the seventh Rocky film and follows the path you’ve come to expect these boxing films would do. Turning his back on a corporate job to pursue his dream of being a fighter, Adonis Johnson (Jordan) tracks down Rocky Balboa (an understated and suitably ageing Sylvester Stallone) to see if he will train him. But Balboa’s reticent, crippled by the beating that life’s given him (one of the best lines sees Stallone intoning that Time takes everyone out, it’s undefeated) and isn’t keen to get back into that world.
Creed works best as a film that revels in its realism.
While its second half piles on the melodrama a little too hard and the narrative conflicts border on contrivances rather than feeling organic, the film’s first half is nothing short of sensational, grounded as they are by the wearying realities of life and Coogler's virtuoso camera touches within the ring.
Stallone (in the first Rocky film he's not written) underplays his hand and goes for poignancy rather than over-blown emoting (but a later development for his character stretches belief too far); as a result, Stallone’s wearied Balboa is a real presence in the film from beginning to end - even if he is saddled with an unwelcome and unnecessary story that's poorly executed in the second half.
Equally, Michael B Jordan pulls together a great mix of bravado, gusto and pure terror as he edges into the reality of what he wants. All through out the film, it's clear that Creed's enemy isn't the one-note Liverpool boxing champion facing one last fight, but his own expectations, his own self-doubt and his inability to embrace his own legacy and all that it entails as he tries to make it on his own.
A couple of moments in Creed see Jordan really soar and a couple of moments don't fire as perhaps they should or could. (One sequence involving bikes, Creed, a street and Rocky is almost laughable)
Sadly, the underwriting and effective dumping of the burgeoning relationship with his neighbour Bianca (a singer losing her hearing played with empathy by Tessa Thompson) affects part of the film and feels rather unwelcomely like that side of the film was knocked out at the early script level. Also, a plot thread with Rocky's former gym manager dangles deliciously before losing the momentum it had early on.
But it's Cooglar's execution of an at times rough around the edges story which help Creed to soar.
One fight sequence is shot all in one take with the camera inveigling its way unobtrusively into the ring and works wonders at bringing the emotion and brutality of the fighters to life. Complete with shouts and noises from behind in the cinema, it's a bravura execution that exceeds the obligatory cornball and OTT final fight that's so cliched, overblown and yet incredibly redolent of this pugilistic genre.
Creed effectively shames Jake Gyllenhaal's leaden Southpaw from earlier this year by constantly underplaying its own hand and realistically playing out its drama against a muted and almost melancholy backdrop. There are swathes of nostalgia for the series and yet it's also smart enough to not wallow in these moments.
Crucially, it ends up seeing the Rocky franchise unexpectedly re-vitalised; it emerges from its own shadow and against all the odds, ends up being this year's could be critical - and hopefully - box office contender.
Peter Capaldi talks the return of an icon and meets NZ fans
Doctor Who actor Peter Capaldi was in New Zealand last night for the "In conversation with" event.
Fans were given the chance to hear of the current Doctor's experiences on the show and had teases of Heaven Sent exclusively screened to them. It's the first time a current Doctor has appeared in New Zealand and happened the day after the show's 52nd anniversary.
Wearing his landmark shades in the second half, Peter Capaldi revealed that fans disgruntled by the wearable tech wouldn't have to wait long for the return of the sonic screwdriver - teasing that it would be back sooner than you'd think.
Two scenes from Heaven Sent were also shown, one with Peter Capaldi's Doctor facing the Veil and hinting that he was actually scared. Heaven Sent airs in New Zealand on Prime on Sunday at 7.30pm.
After the show, Peter spent over an hour chatting with fans and signing - he took particular time out with the youngsters who'd attended the event and waited for him after. In every moment and despite the late hours, he was both generous with his time and sincere to each and every single fan.
Rating: M Released by Universal Home Ent Asif Kapadia's doco Senna, which played the New Zealand International Film Festival a couple of years back was an exemplary piece of film-making.
Packed with insight, stuffed with home movie material and offering an inside look into a world previously never glimpsed, Senna ended with a shocking kick to the guts.
Likewise, Amy, the brand new doco from the same director, packs a visceral punch and emotional heft that's hard to rebut or shake once the cinema lights go up.
There can't be many who weren't aware of the 2011 destruction of Amy Winehouse, a woman whose powerhouse talent and whose voice shaped a generation of lost souls - and who, sadly, was as lost among them as the worlds she sang about.
Once again, assembling early footage and home movie material with interviews spliced over, Kapadia's created a richly involving, deeply moving and ultimately, upsetting film that immortalises Winehouse's singular talent as well as her destructive demons.
Opening with early footage of Winehouse singing Happy Birthday and sucking a lollipop and ending with a heartbreaking phone call to friends, this doco takes in all the highs and lows of the fame train, complete with a very subtle yet obvious blame game at those who were responsible for her demise.
But it's to Kapadia's talent and skill that it's never presented as anything less than balanced or nuanced and never seeks to assign blame to those who shoulder it. It's at pains early on to paint a portrait of a fragile Jewish girl, whose world was shaped by demons within who professes that she won't ever be famous and chillingly, that if it were to happen, she couldn't handle it. ( A foreboding if ever there was one)
Using footage and audio interviews with the likes of Blake Fielder, her husband, her manager at the time and others who came into orbit of her star, Kapadia's created a biography of a star rather than relying on narrative techniques to simply present the facts.
That doesn't make it any the less troubling though - there are many questions about who played what role in Amy's downfall, from the fact her absentee father shows up later when she's hit the big time and denied she needed help to Blake Fielder who stoked the fire of her demons. Equally, the paparazzi can't feel happy with their portrayal with scenes of so many flashbulbs going off, it's likely to set off a strobe-induced fit.
But it's the moments that Kapadia assembles that pack the emotional wallop that he unleashed to such devastating effect in Senna. It's utterly heartbreaking that when she wins Grammy's biggest award her words are "This is so boring without drugs", as her gaunt and skeletal frame leans out of the screen. To be frank though, Kapadia and his editing team doesn't need to do much but assemble the material - from songs that spring to life on screen with text, but drip with tragic autobiographical detail to fleeting glances, this is a story that tells itself and one that's all too familiar, even though the lack of judgement from the director means you inevitably know who's to blame.
Amy is a truly stunning film, a tough and explicit record of a life gone too quickly and of a star's Icarus-style ascent, but thanks to its sensitive telling and its wealth of material, it's a fascinating yet tragic film guaranteed to haunt you long after you've seen it - whether you're a fan or not.
How do you make a story from a game that's all about building things and isn't really character led?
Well, the answer is you give it to Point and click decision maestros Telltale Games and let them build a world around a world that's about building a world.
Charming and packed with blocky heart, the first two episodes of Minecraft Story Mode have dropped and see Telltale Games injecting Mojang's world with a decision based narrative which can be played at all levels.
From choosing your lead (female or male) as Jesse (who in male form is wonderfully voiced by Patton Oswalt), you set out on a journey to Endercon with your two friends and trusty pig. It's a gathering of the world's inhabitants where a prize is given to the best builders, and Jesse's determined to win. However, those plans are thwarted when she/ he gets involved in the unleashing of a witherstorm which threatens the world they all live in - now it's up to Jesse and the gang to save the day.
Episode 1, The Order of The Stone, is a gentle introduction to the world of Minecraft, which is likely to resonate with fans of the game even more with its mentions of the Nether, the Wither, Creepers and Zombies. But it's a light start to the adventure, complete with a QTE training montage and building efforts that make you smile rather than panic over your decision making. Sure, there are moments that have consequences, but the overall feel of this piece is of set-up, and it works well.
Episode 2, Assembly Required, sees things take a darker turn and sees actual consequences have effect in a real way with the start of the episode being served up differently. More characters are added and the events start to build in a cataclysmic way that feels organic rather than forced.
Graphically, Minecraft Story Mode is joyous. It's still the blocks you love and know from the Mojang game, but they are colourful and beautifully executed, with blocky charm above all else. But it's the voice acting that makes this game; Patton Oswalt's delivery certainly has flair and charm, as the themes of bullying, competitiveness and coming of age are all dispatched in this Telltale's latest.
Ultimately, Minecraft Story Mode is building something charming. Whether it has the emotional resonance that other titles have hit remains yet to be seen, but based on the character and charisma, it seems likely that this blocky tale could see them reach the classic heights of their other episodic series.
For their fifth fully-animated feature-film collaboration, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures present The Secret Life of Pets, a comedy about the lives our pets lead after we leave for work or school each day.
Comedy superstars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet and Kevin Hart make their animated feature-film debuts in The Secret Life of Pets, which co-stars Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Jenny Slate, Bobby Moynihan, Hannibal Buress and Albert Brooks. Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and his longtime collaborator Janet Healy produce the film directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2), co-directed by Yarrow Cheney and written by Brian Lynch and Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio. The Secret Life of Pets hits NZ cinemas on 15th September, 2016.
Cast: Ben Foster, Chris O'Dowd, Lee Pace, Jesse Plemons
Director: Stephen Frears
Those looking to The Program for more of an insight into what drove Lance Armstrong to become the most reviled man in cycling and to get some idea of why won't find many answers.
Stephen Frears' film is more pulled from the court documents and investigation into the mass doping and also from Irish journalist David Walsh's book into how Armstrong duped so many.
Ben Foster is Armstrong, whose drive and ambition to be number one is the sole reason for his desire to be part of a doping programme run by Michele Ferrari (Canet). Having been dismissed by Walsh as a contender and the doctor as not having the physique, Armstrong simply refuses to listen to reason and gradually makes his way to the top.
But Walsh (O'Dowd in a genial turn) is convinced something is not right and starts to give a louder voice to his suspicions.
The Program is perhaps not the definitive film about Armstrong.
While Foster manages to convey Armstrong's apparent icy arrogance to a tee in this docu-drama, his portrayal like most of the movie is rather two dimensional. If Armstrong's not spouting and pouting about winning, he's threatening the pack of riders and his own team, spitting venom on those who threaten to fall out of line and who speak the truth. If anything, Foster's slightly cartoon-like turn threatens to veer onto the screen too often.
Thankfully, he is not alone in this almost OTT show; Canet as Ferrari is as close to an Italian stereotype as ever witnessed on the big screen and while that may be accurate in real life, it does little to ground the story in a reality which is compelling to view.
Depth is a problem which dogs The Program throughout as its narrative chops and changes and people who seem crucial to the story drop in and drop out when the moment demands and for no reason whatsoever. O'Dowd's Walsh appears to sound concerns before disappearing and then re-appearing to voice those same concerns; Jesse Plemons' Floyd Landis appears conflicted at his role within the team and shows up again later with a complete U-turn; every editing moment seems more about the flashy graphics and distractions rather than a character study of Armstrong and those around him.
There's no disputing Frears' intentions - Armstrong remains a strong and powerful subject, but The Program seems more intent in making him into a pantomime villain, a puppet-master provocateur who throws a tantrum when it doesn't go his way, dishing out threats before cycling off into the distance.
The whole result of The Program is that a fascinating subject is condensed into a no light and shade piece that simply throws it all at the wall, hoping some of it will stick. In the end, that's the real scandal of this version of the Lance Armstrong story.
