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.
Thanks to the good people at Madman, I've got a chance for you to win Spooks: The Greater Good on DVD, starring Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington!
To enter simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com and in the subject line put SPOOKS. Please include your name and address and good luck!
About Spooks: The Greater Good
When charismatic terrorist Adem Qasim (Elyes Gabel) escapes from MI5 custody during a high profile handover, legendary operative Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), Head of Counter-terrorism, is blamed. Disgraced and forced to resign, Harry disappears without a trace.
With MI5 on its knees in the wake of the Qasim debacle and facing controversial reform, former agent Will Holloway (Kit Harington) is brought back from Moscow to discover the truth about Harry's disappearance and, in doing so, uncovers a shocking revelation: Harry is still alive, has gone rogue and desperately needs Will's help.
Will must decide whether to turn Harry in, or risk everything by trusting the damaged, dangerous master spy who betrayed him once before...
Rating:M Released by Roadshow Home Ent Based on the stage play, Last Cab To Darwin, which is inspired by a true life story of an Aussie cabbie, is the story of Broken Hill cab driver Rex (The Castle and Packed to the Rafters star Michael Caton).
Wearied with stomach cancer and told he has only three months to live, Rex decides to head 3000kms to Darwin to meet a Northern Territories doctor, Dr Farmer, who's slap bang in the euthanasia debate thanks to her new machine, to help him to die.
Packing up his scant belongings and leaving behind Dog, his dog (so-called because Rex was already taken), Rex sets out across the red roads to his fate. But along the way, he meets an aimless Aborigine called Tilly (Beneath Hill 60 actor Mark Coles Smith) as the pair head to Darwin.
Mixing up racism, indigineous issues, cancer, and holding mawkish tendencies at arm's length is not an easy job, but this Aussie film manages it with a degree of aplomb but hobbles itself in the final strait by choosing to avoid the meatier issues raised within.
The euthanasia issue is more a side-serving story line than a full on catalyst for discussion, this is a gentle film that skews older and that's squarely about Rex and the two people he meets as the journey goes on.
Which is probably a good thing, given that Caton is nothing short of eminently watchable and continually dignified as the battler who's your everyday Aussie bloke - the opening sequence shows Rex hobbling home half cut from the pub, making a spam sandwich and falling asleep in his chair, a taciturn nod to most of the hell-raisers in the audience and the ravages of old age. But in among the mournfully reflective start, the craggy yet relatable Caton sets the tone early on and emerges with granddad-like gravitas at the end.
For the most part, subtlety is the poignant film's raison d'etre - and that's also perhaps its weakness.
Rex's relationship with an indigenous neighbour is deftly hinted at early on, with scenes that reek of nuance and ripple with society still struggling to reconcile races.
But it's Coles Smith as the drifter Tilly who adds the fire to Rex's road trip, throwing in a volatile mix that is as thrilling as it is predictable - his live wire performance coupled with Caton's more restrained touch make this partnership ascend from the levels of cliche you'd expect. Coupled with some truly gorgeous scenery (the reds of the dust roads and the blue of the skies leap off the screen), this is a road trip to wallow in in parts.
However, the emotional ride goes on a little too long in places, runs out of steam in the final stretches and Weaver's Doctor seems ill-adjusted to the film, with her behaviour seeming out of sorts for someone in her position.
You could easily argue that the real crux of the debate of euthanasia is sidelined in favour of cliched story contrivances and beats in Last Cab To Darwin, but this tale of waifs and strays in the Aussie heartland is likely to easily resonate with the older crowd as one man's twilight is elegantly explored.
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley
Director: JJ Abrams
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a trilogy of films ignited a generation with their timeless story of good vs evil, of heroes and villains and of rogues among the stars.
Then 16 years after their original conclusion, a new trilogy arrived and shattered all of those hopes of the first films but galvanised a new generation to fall in love with Star Wars all over again. They didn't care about the bloated script or the reliance of CGI, they fell for the space saga again.
Now, the two generations have spent a decade awaiting the next installment of the 9 film series - and with possibly the most crippling weight of expectation ever heaped on a film, the new Star Wars movie has arrived.
In The Force Awakens, director JJ Abrams has faced the unenviable task of both updating the saga while remaining faithful to the tenets set down by Star Wars A New Hope way back in the 1970s.
Set 30 years after the end of Return of the Jedi when the Empire was vanquished, the story of The Force Awakens is a very simple one. From the ashes of the Empire has come a new threat in the form of the First Order led by Kylo Ren - and they are determined to wipe out the Jedi. And simply., that is all that can be said without drifting too far into spoiler territory.
The Force Awakens is very much the sum of its parts.
The slight problem with that statement is that the majority of those parts are taken from the original trilogy of Star Wars films, with fan service and momentary nods (right down to the odd iconic line of dialogue lifted from the original films) given pride of place.
Consequently, as a result, the film at times struggles to find its own voice, as it tries to walk the line between engaging the original fans and the newer generations of fans as well as bathing in the reverence of what made you fall in love with Star Wars back in the 1970s.
That's not to detract from what JJ Abrams and his team have executed even if it is swathed in a large blanket of nostalgia. You want a space cantina / Mos Eisley like you saw in A New Hope? Yup, we've got it. You want a space battle that threatens a world and requires X Wings to spring into action? Yep, we've got that too straight from Return of The Jedi. You want a healthy dose of issues the likes of which we saw in The Empire Strikes Back? Roll up because they're all here as well - and that doesn't even give time to point out a deus (robot) ex machina plot we saw in the opening moments of Star Wars.
But The Force Awakens is still a film that gives more room to its original stars. It's very much Han Solo's piece, with Harrison Ford showing no sign of losing the caddish rogueishness that made him such a star back then; equally his banter with Carrie Fisher's General Leia Organa represents the softer side of the film which allows it to pause when the action stops, and gives it the emotional edge that's needed.
Visually, the film is dazzling. Backdrops are sparingly littered with star cruisers and an immersive universe once again. But this isn't the overkill of the special editions, or the overkill of CGI, this is enough to create a world, inhabit it and make it feel like the universe is expanding out again.
Of the newer characters, the traumatised, guilt-ridden and conscience-struck StormTrooper Finn (John Boyega) treads on very thin ice occasionally as he borders on Anakin Skywalker style outbursts. Abrams is at pains to point him out early on, marking his trooper helmet with the blood of a fallen colleague. Equally, Daisy Ridley's scavenger / Tomb Raider Rey is a little too quick and exposition-laden as the feisty female lead, doused in pluck but only in a once over broad-stroke fashion and given tantalising hints of a back-story that's not quite strong enough to compel you on. Portions of their dialogue feel forced and border on the cheesy rather than letting you feel you're watching something natural ignite and spark.
And unfortunately, Adam Driver's Kylo Ren is no substitute for an iconic villain. He's prone to tantrums where he uses his medieval lightsabre to smash things like a petulant child denied that final cookie. Even if he exudes a degree of menace, some of it is lost in the unmasking; whether that subtlety pays off in later films and investment remains to be seen. Domnhall Gleeson brings a darker edge to a very Nazi-esque updating of Grand Moff Tarkin. Thankfully, Oscar Isaac's timeless and tireless ace pilot Poe Dameron is a solid role and one character you'd want to see again, thanks to his dialogue, energy and gusto.
That's perhaps where The Force Awakens falls down a little - it fails to bring a new edge to the film series, even if JJ hasn't messed it up and re-awoken the ghost of the films past (Phantom Menace, I'm looking at you).
There's no denying the crest of nostalgia being surfed when the iconic John Williams theme kicks in at the start and the words "A long time ago" show at the beginning. But those serve as both strengths and weakness of the film; it feels like old trilogy is being re-created and passions reignited with characters you already know; the newer crop don't quite fare as well and certainly the emotional connection isn't quite there to propel you through to the next film or invest fully in their ultimate fate, something which was never the case in Star Wars.
All of this said, there is much to admire in The Force Awakens from the quips and humour to the perfectly rendered and impressively punchy space battles; there will be no denying this space behemoth as it hurtles toward the box office.
It may be the Star Wars for our generation in many ways, but it does lack the chutzpah to be as brave and as daring as perhaps it should be; its one moment that will define it is so telegraphed that it lacks the power it needs - whether this Star Wars becomes the film that you watch time and time again is yet to be fully determined; one thing's for certain, though, the cultural icon that is Star Wars has been restored and definitively re-awakened - fear not, it's still a Force to be reckoned with.
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.
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:
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:
