The Night Before: Blu Ray Review

The Night Before: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Sony Home Ent

Putting the crass into the Christmas holidays, Seth Rogen returns for an annual assault on the season after last year's near apocalyptic The Interview.

This time ploughing rather more frat frantics than low brow political satire, Rogen is Jewish Isaac, who along with Anthony Mackie's Chris, has every year for the past 13 years spent Christmas with their mutual friend Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) after he was orphaned at this time of the year.

However, this Christmas is going to be different as Isaac's on the cusp of fatherhood and Chris is a growing athlete juggling success and sponsorship. In search of the Holy Grail of Christmas parties, the trio decides this year will be their last of bad behaviour and ho-ho-hos under the tree.

The Night Before is a patchy film that goes for low-hanging fruit and picks every one of them off the tree without fail but without any kind of flair.

These three less-than-wise men booze, sniff and inhale their way through New York as each of them takes on their own personal quest and demons. Mixing in this with the obligatory holiday spirit and eventual mush of the season with a large portion of other white stuff, this film's about as irreverent as it can get - as you'd no doubt expect from a Rogen / Goldberg screenplay.

There's a degree of heart from Gordon-Levitt's character as he battles a bit of holiday blues and post-break up depression from Lizzy Caplan's Diana, but to be frank, this film aims for hedonism mixed in withIt's a Wonderful Life / Christmas Carol and barely strays too far from where it's aiming.

Despite Michael Shannon's brilliantly comic turn as a high school teacher turned drug dealer / pothead, and the obligatory showbiz cameos - and a great return from Tracy Morgan, The Night Before runs out of gags and steam by barely half-way through. Rogen's increasingly deranged Isaac's on the run from himself, fuelled by drugs given him by his wife - moments of humour are wrung from this set up but they all ultimately feel aimless and scabrously scatter-shot (even if one pay-off involving the crucifixion shows some residual smarts) when placed in the overall context of a 1hr 40 min movie.

As the film descends into an inevitable cornucopia of cameos and the inevitable happy ending mush is piled on, this Christmas Carol riff on friendship through the years lays out its message to the kids - it's hard to stay in touch as time goes on, but make the effort one character intones. Something that no doubt its mainly frat boy puerile audience will nod vehemently at before life takes hold.

It may sound like a Christmas Grinch to dismiss The Night Before and there's no denying there are some laughs to be had, but the stop-start ramshackle nature of this drug-fuelled nightmare before Christmas is more no-no-no than ho-ho-ho; it's nothing short of seasonal excess with a terrible cinematic hangover once the lights go up.

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Grimsby: Film Review

Grimsby: Film Review

Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong, Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson, Penelope Cruz
Director: Louis Letterier

2012 marked the last time we saw provocateur Sacha Baron Cohen attempting to push the envelope with The Dictator.

So he's back with another character and more of a spy action comedy film than a mockumentary in the style of Borat or Bruno.

This time, Baron Cohen is taking on the North of England but also hinting at a softer more sentimental style with his story of Nobby (Baron Cohen) and Sebastian (Mark Strong, surprisingly game and willing to debase himself), who've been separated for 28 years.

But when Sebastian, who's now working for MI6, finds his cover blown by his England tattoo-sporting football shirt-wearing brother as he tries to foil an assassination, he's forced on the run and to co-opt his brother Nobby into helping stop the murder of WorldCure (played by Penelope Cruz).

If Bruno and Borat had the ability to shock and provoke, Grimsby is a tamer affair, a sort of spy caper that is more obsessed with the puerile and promotes gay panic with wild abandon.

And yet by entrusting the proceedings to Now You Can See director Louis Leterrier, what emerges is a slick, pacy piece that doesn't stay still long enough for you to pick fault with its sub par-Kingsman leanings.

Emerging as a kind of knob and AIDS-obsessed spiritual successor to Melissa McCarthy and Paul Feig's Spy, Grimsby is doused with Baron Cohen's DNA and a Viz style anal fixation that's cyclical with the beginning leading you by the hand to its closing crowd capper.

However, despite appearing to be mocking the Northern scum of the hive of council flat dwelling working classes, Grimsby is doused in a blanket of sentiment that's as gooey as Baron Cohen has ever got.

Fear not though, there are the usual scatological minings of proceedings that you would expect and Baron Cohen unwelcomely revives HIV and AIDS jokes with nothing more than a reason to offend. This is not smart satire by any stretch of the imagination and there's a guarantee you won't feel good for for laughing at what transpires.

There's an obvious topical reference or two that pokes fun at the US elections, and one sequenceset in South Africa will see you either on its side or wondering how much lower the bar can go.

Character is lacking; no one emerges as fully rounded and is there simply to debase themselves in one way or another.

Strong deserves some accolade for playing it straight before giving into the lunacy of proceedings and even strengthens the case for an older spy franchise with him as the lead.

And Leterrier deserves some kudos for the initial POV action pieces which echo Hardcore Henry and many FPS video games. His zip and fast pace propels everything along nicely too, though it's fair to admit the 84 mins starts to feel stretched thin as time wears on.

Ultimately, in among the Liam Gallagher mocking swagger and the butthole obsession that tends to low hanging fruit, Grimsby is a puerile film that occasionally produces some unexpected laughs. It's not art, but to be frank, it never professes to be and gleefully and perversely soldiers on its mission to attempt to offend as well as riff on the spy/ mismatched buddy genre that's proven so fruitful in the past. Though admittedly, it's more Bourne Stupid, than Bourne Supremacy.

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A Bigger Splash: Film Review

A Bigger Splash: Film Review

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts
Director: Luca Guadagnino

There's nothing worse than a gatecrasher.

And in I Am Love director Luca Guadagnino's latest, a remake of the French 1969 thriller La Piscine, even though the gate-crasher is a tremendous Ralph Fiennes, the after effects of this arrival fail to really lift the so-called sexual thriller.

Swinton is Marianne Lane, a Bowie-esque rock singer, who's recuperating from throat surgery that's rendered her all but mute. While she's factored in some serious R&R with her current beau, Paul (a wearied and disconnected Schoenaerts), the peace is rudely shattered by the arrival of Lane's former manager and one time lover Harry (Fiennes), who shows with his newly-discovered daughter Penny (50 Shades of Grey's Dakota Johnson) in tow.

And it's not just the fragile peace that's ripped asunder with this visit, as old feelings between Lane and Harry simmer away; coupled with the Lolita-esque trappings of Penny as she eyes up Paul, nothing will ever be the same again.

It may be beautifully shot and evocatively dressed in the Italian countryside but Gaudagnino's latest is nothing more than an arthouse snooze-fest that does little to indulge the brain as much as it does to indulge the senses.

It's fair to say that were it not for Fiennes' overly boisterous and frequently hilarious (not to mention constantly naked) performance, A Bigger Splash would fall considerably flatter than it does.

Fiennes breathes life into the relative caricature of the man whose dancing to the Rolling Stones' Emotional Rescue proves that he does indeed have the moves like Jagger - albeit on the dad front. But Fiennes brings a positively lustrous and infectious energy to the screen that's missing when he's not there.

Swinton's a degree of class, giving her relatively mute songstress a sophistication that's needed and she manages to do so much with so little; equally, Johnson proves to have some cinematic balls giving her Penny the dangerous edge of flirtation that comes so often on holiday.

Unfortunately, Schoenaerts has neither the lustre or life to bring anything to the table as the damaged Paul - even in flashbacks, where Swinton's character comes alive, he brings hardly anything to the table, which ensures the denouement of this so called Dangerous Liaisons piece is lacking the emotional intensity which is required to ignite the powderkeg that's supposed to have been smouldering.

Instead, it's a damp fizzer of a film, that wallows wilfully and indulgently in its arthouse trappings and rarely rises above its jealousy soaked aspirations.

Win a double pass to see A BIGGER SPLASH

Win a double pass to see A BIGGER SPLASH

From the director of the Academy Award® nominated I AM LOVE comes a psychological suspense drama that will invite audiences into the fragile and dangerous world of relationships.

When a glamorous couple decide to vacation on a remote Italian island, their rest is disrupted by the sudden visit of an old friend and his luscious daughter. Suddenly, what was supposed to be a perfect romantic getaway turns into a whirlwind of jealousy, passion and danger, sparking some flames that should not necessarily be ignited.

Starring Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts.

A Bigger Splash is in cinemas from March 10th

To enter simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com  and in the subject line put A BIGGER SPLASH

Please include your name and address! 

Quantum Break - Interview with Thomas Puha of Remedy Entertainment

Quantum Break - Interview with Thomas Puha of Remedy Entertainment

I was lucky enough to get some time with Thomas Puha of Remedy Entertainment, when he visited New Zealand today to discuss the imminent release of Quantum Break, an XBox One exclusive set to drop on April 5th.

In the interview, Thomas discusses the game, the way it's changing the genre a little and the occasional fanboy moment the Remedy Entertainment gang had when working with the likes of X-Men Shawn Ashmore, The Wire and Fringe star Lance Reddick and Game of Thrones star Aiden Gillen.

Crimson Peak: DVD Review

Crimson Peak: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Ent

Gothic and ghastly in equal measure, Guillermo del Toro's Victorian-soaked Crimson Peakaims for scary chamber piece but ends up more as atmospheric attempt and in its final scenes, derivative and slasher silly.

Period piece go to actress du jour Wasikowksa stars as wannabe novelist Edith Cushing (reference number 1) who ends up falling for society man Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston), much to the consternation of long time friend and potential love interest, Doctor Alan McMichael (Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam). 
When her father dies brutally, Edith marries Sharpe, and moves to his somewhat spooky mansion in a remote part of England, where Thomas lives with his sister. But upon arrival, Edith's plagued by visions and begins to realise something's not quite right...

While The Frighteners-esque visuals and general atmosphere deserve to be richly commended as nothing short of a pre-Hallowe'en feast for audiences seeking their spooks, the high society melodrama elements of the story are lost in the mix as the maestro tries to weave a seductive tapestry but ultimately, ends up muddying some of the threads.

The haunted house vibe works superbly with del Toro's detailed eye, delivering the perfect mix of creepy corridors and moody mansion as well as throwing in some blink and miss it gruesome shocks from yesteryear. But, as the cameras pan down the long nightmarish corridors destined to haunt your darker nights by way of suggestion, it appears the cinematic cupboard is bare of real scares, preferring to let the chamber piece melodrama of icy and aloof Chastain, swarthy and sinister Hiddleston and stuck-between-worlds Wasikowska take centre stage. (Something which may surprise those looking for a things-that-go-bump-in-the-night thrill ride).

As the inherent mystery of the house, its inhabitants and its past all threaten to collide with hints of delicious promise, the coming together never delivers the coup de grace you are expecting. It's mainly due to the emphasis on the love triangle and the time taken to craft that section of the story, which doesn't quite hit the mark. There's no disputing del Toro's delivery of a magnificently moody atmosphere, but the prosecution weighs heavily against his would be "love makes monsters of us all" raison d'être. 

And quite simply, the mystery of the siblings' bond is anything but original to anyone who's seen a horror film in the last 10 years.

Nods to Cushing and Mary Shelley as well as other inspirations are dispatched with ease early on and seem destined to play Del Toro's influence hand, but the script lacks a depth and retains an aloofness which will prove fatal to some audiences as it plays long and languorously out over its extended two hour run time. 

Special mention must go to the lavish costuming and the beautifully bedecked mansion. Equally, the eerie score by The Orphanage's Fernando Velazquez is incredible (seriously, stay for the start of the end credits to see del Toro's vision perfectly embodied), drenching this cinematic Victoriana in a richness which is hard to shake.

The build-up and the extended tease is perfectly executed, but the ultimate reveal and overplaying of the Gothic elements of the story leave more questions than answers and frustrate, rather than thrill and electrify. 

Ultimately, Crimson Peak is a masterclass in atmospheric execution and in influence, a sign that Del Toro's lost no sight of what makes a great film visually soar (some of the background detail over butterflies and insects really stand out); but a little more crafting of the love story and other elements could have made this haunted house drama a more enticing check-in prospect.

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Zootopia: Film Review

Zootopia: Film Review

Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, JK Simmons, Nate Torrence
Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore

Mixing anti-racism, anti-segregation, self-worth and belief, and horror into a family friendly mismatched buddy / cop film while keeping it entertaining may sound like a tall order, but Zootopia manages it with ease.

It's the story of Judy Hopps (a likeable Goodwin), a plucky and tenacious bunny who never stops believing in her dream of becoming a cop, despite coming from the hick town of BunnyBurrow.  Even with her father urging her to give up on her dreams and never try anything so you don't fail, Hopps makes it through police academy and is dispatched to Zootopia, a city where predators like tigers, lions live alongside their prey in peace.

But Hopps faces discrimination in the Hill Street Blues style precinct and is given parking permit duty, rather than the chance to help the investigation into 14 missing predators. However, when she discovers a lead that's connected a to street-smart sly fox Nick (brilliantly realised by Jason Bateman), she's like a rabbit with a carrot and won't let go - no matter how wide ranging the conspiracy appears to be.

The key to a great animation is a cross-generational appeal.

On the one hand, it should keep the kids engaged with bright animation, the simple relay of various messages and keep it short to ensure their attention spans don't wander. Equally, the adults in the audience have to be satiated too.

Zootopia over-delivers on both fronts, weaving a story that's as smart and earnest as it is brilliantly executed.

With knowing pop culture nods (Breaking Bad, The Godfather) and a superbly realised world that feels alive, natural and over-flowing with life, Zootopia is an intelligent joy from beginning to end.

From a savvy script that plays on words to a sequence in a sloth-manned DMV, the whole thing is anchored in animated love and slathered with an under-the-surface political message that rings true with its You can do it ethos to galvanise the kiddies.

There's an idea of the shattering of innocence too, with Hopps discovering the world isn't quite as chipper as she thought it would be and how small town mentality can be ground down by big city cynicism. Not to mention brief didactic moments surrounding inclusiveness as well as segregation (one sequence in a cafe reeks of the societal perceptions that swept the No Coloureds ethos of America), and of stereotyping and dismissing others.

These are weighty political mentions and ideas in this utopian paradise, but all of which sit alongside a film that's as colourfully and breathlessly executed as Zootopia is. Never once does it lose sight of the fact that it's there to entertain.

Goodwin and Bateman are the perfect foils, with Goodwin's eternally optimistic Hopps sitting in clever juxtaposition to Nick's dismissively cynical, yet relatably human fox. Their anthropomorphic mismatched buddy schtick is cleverly realised and add to the three dimensional feel of the Zootopia universe (one which practically demands further examination).

Smart enough to not talk down to the kids, and wise enough to appeal to the adults, Zootopia is nothing short of an animated delight, a cracker of a Disney family film that's as smart about tackling prejudice and ignorance as it is determined to mete out its moral message without ever distancing itself from delivering entertainment of the highest quality.

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