Dope: DVD Review

Dope: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent


Mixing Boyz'n'The Hood, Run Lola Run and Malcolm in the Middle, Dope's sensibilities tend more towards the goofy rather than the fully dramatic.

It's the story of three 90s hi-hop obsessed geeks, stuck in high school and who find themselves stuck in a drug deal gone wrong by circumstance. Their misadventures mean their leader Malcolm (Shameik Moore) finds himself on a coming of age journey that's both dangerous and hilarious.

Dope is entertainingly breezy and circumnavigates the trio of meanings given to the word by a dictionary definition on screen as the film begins.

By turns, its screwball comedy, violence and depiction of street culture is perhaps something we've seen time and time again, but thanks to an update of the Risky Business ethos within, it manages to be something that feels as fresh as Will Smith was way back when he hit Philly.

It's largely in part to Moore that the film works as his wide-eyed innocence goes from zero to full blown hero during the flick's hijinks. But despite the occasional escalating farce, the blast of reality is never far away from Rick Famuyiwa's movie - gun culture features as prevalently as the comic tones do in this portrait of life in Inglewood.

At times though, there are moments when the freshness of the film starts to wear off and a more uneven edge starts to creep in - and it slips into Boyz'n'The Hood sensibilities and stereotypes with ease - there's certainly objectification of women throughout and the film could have perhaps have done with less of that perpetuating of stereotypes as it successfully blazes a trail through race.

As mentioned, it's Moore who excels though - a moment that needs to have his character step up in the worst possible way proves devastating by Moore's acting, his aching vulnerability and blazing new found bravado conflicting in his eyes conveying more than any dialogue ever could.

The film's ultimate message though seems somewhat lost - a final coda on screen sees Malcolm embracing his goofy dancing and taking on the mantle of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air's Carlton with gusto; it's an uneven touch that decries the Boyz to men story that's just transpired and reduces some of the power of what we've witnessed. 

Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki: Review

Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki: Review

Rating: PG
Released by Madman Home Ent

There's no disputing the fact that Hayao Miyazaki was some kind of genius.

His recent retirement, signalled by The Wind Rises, meant that some kind of retrospective was probably in the pipeline and Madman has stepped up to ensure that the memories of some of the best animation around was captured on its highest definition possible.

So, this limited edition set brings together 11 of Miyazaki's animations (but no sign of The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness the doco that goes inside the studio and features Miyazaki in his final days) and proffers up a glimpse as to why he's so beloved.

But for newcomers to some of Miyazaki's works, it's an essential dive in. And for fans, it's nothing short of compulsory, thanks to a gorgeously collected booklet, which details the films, looks at characters, adds footnotes and so on. The creme is perhaps the fact these notes detail Miyazaki's directions for the film at the early stages and give an insight into what kind of film he was wanting to make and why.

Re-released in time for Christmas 2015, if you're serious about animation, you need to own this set.

Titles included are:

• Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
• Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
• My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
• Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
• Porco Rosso (1992)
• Princess Mononoke (1997)
• Spirited Away (2001)
• Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
• Ponyo (2008)
• The Wind Rises (2013)

Beyond Two Souls: PS4 Review

Beyond Two Souls: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Quantic Dreams

As we head toward the end of the year, there's yet another remaster from the Sony stable hitting the next gen consoles.

It's understandable given that PS3 is no longer being manufactured and that there were some great titles on the platform that deserve another life.

The latest is Quantic Dream's experience of a game that now feels more like a pre-cursor to what Until Dawn achieved.

Utilising the acting skills of Willem Dafoe and  Ellen Page, it's a non-linear story of Jodie (Ellen Page), a young girl with a secret. As the game begins, we find Jodie in a police station, but before long all hell breaks loose.

It's here that in the original the narrative starts jumping back and forth in her timeline, taking in moments and different story elements come in; suddenly you are young Jodie, tasked with tidying her room up and coming through for some tests. It's at this stage that the traditional elements of the gaming world kick in - use the controller to move Jodie, get her to move things about etc.

But it's also at this stage that you start to get your first look at Aiden, the mysterious entity, which appears tied to Jodie, meaning that the two can't be separated by huge distances. Floating above her, Aiden can go through walls (all done through first person POV shots) and influence the world around- either in the form of knocking stuff about or later on, possessing people to do your bidding.

However, in the remaster you can play the game in chronological order, which will please purists who felt the game jumped around unnecessarily and who like to do things the way they believe they should be.

A lot of the gaming is done via QuickTime methods - press X to do this, press O to do that - which initially gives you the feeling of being somewhat distanced from the actual game itself and merely directing the talent involved to do your bidding. As ever, there are multiple options which obviously provide a plethora of outcomes, meaning you could go again if you wanted to.

In terms of the PS4 version, some of the difficulty's been ramped up in some of the fights and there's been the addition of statistics from your choices at the end of scenes too. But the big push from Beyond Two Souls this time around comes from the graphics which look nigh on polished as the 1080 kicks in. While it's a necessary evil to feel cynical towards the continuing slew of remasters on both the XBox and PlayStation platforms, when they're presented this well, it's a degree of comfort for all involved.

The faults of the Beyond Two Souls remaster come from the source with the elements of the story not quite hanging together and with the occasional lack of gameplay as you simply watch elements play out - but if you're willing to forego those, this is a remaster that definitely adds the polish to the final product.

Rating:

New Star Trek Beyond Trailer drops

New Star Trek Beyond Trailer drops

There's a New Star Trek Beyond Trailer out this morning after it leaked in Germany.

From director Justin Lin and starring once again Chris Pine, Simon Pegg and Zachary Quinto, Star Trek Beyond opens on July 22nd

Just Cause 3: PS4 Review

Just Cause 3: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Square Enix

If ever there were a game that had its MO in its title, Just Cause would be it.

The open-world gamer's title could be an ode to righteous reasons or a dismissive response to the question "Why did it do that?".

Set several years after the end of Just Cause 2, our hero Rico Rodriguez is back and returning to his homeland of Medici. But not everything is as it seems on Medici as dictator General Di Ravello is installed and cruising for more than power. But one man standing in his way is Rico....a showdown is set.

There's nothing more in Just Cause's arsenal than the desire to simply wreak havoc in the most spectacularly OTT way possible.

If it were a film, it'd be of the Expendables homestead, complete with potentially a Jean Claude Van Damme as the lead (even if Rico does bear a terrifying resemblance to Gerard Butler). And the film version of the game would be punctuated with a series of explosions as full stops to each sequence.

And that's pretty much how the game goes.

Running around the Medici islands, liberating points and taking out revolutionaries, it has more than an echo of Far Cry coursing through its veins. As you head from one job to the next, there's always plenty of carnage to unleash and bad guys (as well as good guy civilian collateral) to get rid of.

Using your grappling hook to hurtle through lands and parachutes, and even a wingsuit, there's more than enough in terms of options for getting around - but each of these are fraught with odd issues. The grappling hook occasionally latches on to places but fails to take you there (an odd bug that hits from time to time with random spawning) and it's tricky to use the hook to scale up mountains.

Equally the parachute and wingsuit has seen Rico been smashed into the ground with wildly inconsistent results. A flailing parachute means Rico will go off course but a speedy wingsuit sees him killed when he plummets with speed into the concrete.

Combat is frenetic fun and occasionally tricky. A lack of an ability to lock into a target can result in ammo being over-used and from time to time, even if you shoot the baddies in the chest from point blank range repeatedly, they bizarrely get up and carry on attacking. And yet, it's in keeping with the almost perversely ACME grounded physics and reality the game seems to hold dear. With a wide range of highly destructive weapons in the game too, there's plenty of havoc to be wreaked.

You can blow up masses of fuel tanks in front of Rico and he will be flung through the air, and not killed but if a vehicle explodes with him in, he's literally toast. There's no consistency in what kills and what doesn't - but if you're willing to embrace the wild logic on show, Just Cause 3 is actually a cartoony game that amuses and entertains.

Graphically, the game hits some stumbles and some long loading times mean it's not exactly a smooth transition through Medici. Explosions look hellishly impressive and the game's clearly thrown most of its engine into achieving those, at the expense of ensuring there's not too much of a delay from the console gamer patiently waiting either for a reload or a next chapter to begin.

There's no denying that the occasionally self-aware Just Cause 3 is fun - its perverse adherence to its own rules which the gamer's not always party to means it's an uneven experience from time to time, but it's a joyous one too.

Rating:

Knock Knock: DVD Review

Knock Knock: DVD Review

Rating: R16
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

Mixing lust, paranoia and a healthy dose of what would you do, Eli Roth's Knock Knock follows Keanu Reeves' Evan and his night from hell.

Essentially a lucky man - husband, beautiful wife, good kids, Evan has it all. Staying home for a long weekend to work while his family goes away, his life is changed by a knock a the door in the middle of a storm.

Standing on his doorstep is two young women, drenched to the bone and doing the decent thing, Evan invites the lost duo in to get warmed up and phone a cab. But the pair seduce Evan despite his initial protestations - and soon one night could cost Evan everything.

Knock Knock is lurid and trashy and ultimately not particularly good.

The chamber piece is so OTT that it lacks any credibility of situation or drama; a fact not helped by Reeves' less than capable acting and a script that lacks any real bite preferring to pile on the hysterics rather than the psychological edge.

Sure, you could argue Eli Roth's gone for shocking and aimed for an ethical dilemma but the two girls are simply not up to scratch in anything other than looks and their subsequent cat and mouse games leave you feeling much less sympathy for anyone in their plight than you should. Perhaps if Roth had swathed the thing in a bit more subtlety, Knock Knock would have been more effective.

As it is, its torture horror ethos and OTT vibe badly cripples its intentions.

It's one Knock Knock joke that really does lack a decent punchline.

Rating:

Daddy's Home: Film Review

Daddy's Home: Film Review

Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardinelli, Thomas Haden Church
Director: Sean Anders

Mining the Step dynamic has already proven fertile ground for Will Ferrell.

In the 2008 comedy Step Brothers, along with John C Reilly, Ferrell managed the fine line between sentimental and argumentative as the blending of two families took place.

But with Daddy's Home, Ferrell has managed to completely miss the comedic mark.

Ferrell plays Brad, a jazz radio station worker and step-dad to Linda Cardinelli's Sara's two young kids. Desperate to hear them utter the words Dad, Brad's world is turned upside down with the arrival of their leather-clad muscle bound biological father Dusty (Wahlberg, in reasonable comic form).

What starts off as genial jostling and an attempt to accommodate Dusty gradually sees Brad reach boiling point as Dusty starts to get his feet under the familial table...

Daddy's Home is excruciating, to say the least.

The best gags - all 3 of them - are to be found in the trailer of this weakly written and flat comedy that has neither the punch lines nor the sense of sparkle to carry it along.

Half the problem is at a script level where any such issues should have been ironed out; a lack of punchlines in relevant places doesn't help matters either as scenes limp to an end rather than a hilarious conclusion.

Ferrell plays mild-mannered fine and admittedly provides some laughs in some of the film as he tries to overcome his insecurities, bring his one-up-manship game and be the dad he's always wanted to be. There's some chemistry with former Other Guys co-star Wahlberg and Wahlberg at least appears to be having some fun flexing his comedy chops and flaunting his dance moves at the end. But there's little to no sparkle in the pacing of the story and its execution; it's almost as if someone's looked at the template of the Competitive Dad in The Fast Show and tried to bring it up to date.

Thomas Haden Church provides a few guffaws as Brad's blustering radio boss who's full of irrelevant stories - but his screen time is limited.

Ultimately though, Daddy's Home is a film which suffers because the funny just isn't there; it's too tame to be an R rated laugh-fest and too flat to be a family comedy. Plus, unbelievably at just over 95 mins long, it still feels too bloated.

There is a saying that sometimes you save the best till last, but with this Boxing Day release, it's clearly not the case. Daddy's Home is another embarrassment to Ferrell's CV and a comedy that forgets its simple MO - to provide laughs.

Rating: