The Wolfpack: DVD Review

The Wolfpack: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman Home Ent

Six figures, all with long hair, boyish grins and all movie fans.

All of them suited and booted, engaged in acting out scenes from Reservoir Dogs within the confines of their Manhattan apartment. All of them fully enthused about the projects and all of them clearly happy in their outlook on life.

Except that The Wolfpack is anything but.

Director Crystal Moselle's film takes a look into the lives of the Angulo brothers, and reveals they have never ventured outside of their apartment, at the command of their father. What follows in this doco mixes home footage of the boys throughout their years of tenure inside their Lower East Manhattan apartment and never quite fully answers why it's turned out like it has.

Thankfully, the subjects are engaging - both as they tentatively head out from under their oppressed lives within and with their interactions from home movie footage of the past. One even intones a thought many watching will share - "If I didn't have movies, life would be boring." But its double meaning won't be lost on those watching the story, as the growing concern manifests that the Angulo brothers have been imprisoned and unable to experience what many believe to be the formative years of their lives.

It takes Moselle a long while to get to the father, and to question some of his motivations for the home-schooling of the kids, his paranoid tyranny given a gentle prod, but it appears that Moselle shies away from asking some of the bigger questions of the father and his reasons. That she lets him cite the fear of the government, the fear of living in New York, and the fear of what may happen to his sons to be all the reasons she needs to understand. Sadly, the audience wants more, and it's only because the subjects shine, that The Wolfpack reaches the heights that it does, with so many mysteries left unanswered.

We're given an in-road into the world of The Wolfpack, and what transpires is ultimately troubling (one Angulo brother reveals that "we were frightened kids", something that's backed up by disturbing home footage from their youth) but yet is also optimistic in its resolution. Trips to Coney Island have a thrill to them as we experience the Angulo Brothers' joy at being out in the world, but their reactions and inevitable withdrawal reaction to the world around them is never quite fully probed; one suspects that Moselle's friendship with the group may have compromised some of her objectivity to her subjects.

Ultimately, The Wolfpack offers a tantalising view into a world of insular bonding, but never quite fulfils the promise of explaining how it could happen - it appears that the Angulo Senior's oppressive reach may also have affected Moselle's ability to tell the story she always suspected was lurking within.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III: Eclipse is coming

Call of Duty: Black Ops III: Eclipse is coming

CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS III ECLIPSE COMING FIRST TO

PLAYSTATION 4 ON APRIL 20

Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s Eclipse Features Four New Diverse Multiplayer Maps, Including the Re-imagining of the Call of Duty: World at War Classic, Banzai

All-New Terrifying Zombies Experience Sends Players to the Shores of the Pacific

In Next Chapter of Epic Zombies Saga

Auckland, New Zealand – April 1, 2016 – Call of Duty®: Black Ops III Eclipse, the second DLC pack for the No. 1 top-selling console video game of 2015, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, is set to release on April 20, first for the PlayStation 4 with other next-gen platforms to follow*.  In addition to a thrilling array of four new multiplayer maps, Eclipse features an all-new Zombies experience that immerses players in an undead World War II Pacific theatre.

“The incredible amount of engagement and response to Black Ops III from our fans continues to inspire all of us at the studio,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head, Treyarch.  “Eclipsecontinues to demonstrate our commitment to delivering the most exciting gameplay experiences possible with each DLC pack.  We are pushing ourselves at every turn to craft new and unique ways to play.”

Eclipse comes packed with four new multiplayer maps: Spire, Rift, Knockout; and Verge, a re-imagining of the Call of Duty®: World at War classic, Banzai.

·         Spire: Spire takes Multiplayer combat to a futuristic sub-orbital airport terminal set high in the clouds. Multiple levels and open areas promote intense, mid-range combat around a clean, high-tech civilian environment. Watch your step, because one wrong move could send you plummeting back through the stratosphere.  

·         Rift: Head to the core of a harsh futuristic military complex, set high above an active caldera. Rift funnels and forces tight, intense engagements, where the only way through is forward. Utilise the unique core movement opportunities to outsmart and outplay enemies as you traverse the suspended rail system.

·         Knockout: Housed in a traditional Shaolin Temple with a retro twist, Knockout sets the stage for a bloody Kung Fu tournament. This mid-sized map showcases a sharp contrast between the mid-range engagements of the traditional exterior architecture and the tight close-quarters of an eclectic 1970’s styled interior. 

·         Verge: In this re-imagination of the classic Call of Duty: World at War map, Banzai, Verge drops Multiplayer combat into the centre of a distant post-apocalyptic future, where two warring factions are entrenched in constant battle. Take control of the key bridge, fortresses, tunnel systems and waterfalls as you engage in high-speed action through this medium-sized map.

Eclipse also sets the stage for Zetsubou No Shima, the highly-anticipated, all-new entry in the Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies storyline that spans the four DLC Map Packs for Black Ops III this year.  The Origins characters continue on their mission to stop the zombie apocalypse not only in this universe but in all universes.  Our heroes find themselves stranded on a remote Pacific island which is home to the Division 9 facility: a secret biological research lab whose experiments with Element 115 and its effects on human, animal, and plant biology has created horrors beyond belief.  Zetsubou No Shima features a foliage rich island map including new terrifying zombie enemies, a variety of innovative transport mechanics, more devastating traps and classic Zombies side quests.  
Call of Duty: Black Ops III Eclipse is scheduled for release on PlayStation 4 games and entertainment system from Sony on April 20, 2016 with other next-gen platform availability to follow*. 

The Call of Duty: Black Ops III Eclipse DLC Map Pack is available at a discounted rate via the Call of Duty: Black Ops III DLC Season Pass**, which features four DLC Map Packs planned for the year, as part of the discounted bundle offered at a suggested retail price of $69.95 NZD. Individual purchase of DLC Map Packs is at a suggested retail price of $22.50.  Call of Duty: Black Ops III is rated R16 (Violence, language & horror).

*Eclipse DLC content not available on PS3 or Xbox 360.

FINAL FANTASY XV UNIVERSE unveiled

 FINAL FANTASY XV UNIVERSE unveiled

SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES FINAL FANTASY XV UNIVERSE:

A FULL-SCALE CG MOVIE, ORIGINAL ANIME SERIES AND

NEW MOBILE TITLE BASED ON FINAL FANTASY XV

FINAL FANTASY XV Confirmed for 30^th September Release;

PLATINUM DEMO - FINAL FANTASY XV Now Available

SYDNEY, 31^ST March 2016 - Today, at the “UNCOVERED: FINAL FANTASY XV” event in Los Angeles, SQUARE ENIX® revealed that FINAL FANTASY® XV, the latest entry in the iconic FINAL FANTASY series, will release worldwide on 30^th September 2016. Square Enix also announced a series of additional surprise, large-scale projects from the FINAL FANTASY XV Universe.

KINGSGLAIVE: FINAL FANTASY XV™ is a CG feature movie, presented by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Square Enix. The animated feature weaves together the complexities of kingdoms at war, royal relationships and epic battles in a tale that will set the stage for the main FINAL FANTASY XV narrative. The film features an all-star cast with Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones) voicing Regis, the King of Lucis who has sworn to protect his kingdom, Lena Headey (300, Game of Thrones), voicing Luna, the princess who has been entrusted to deliver the royal ring of Lucis to Prince Noctis, and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), voicing Nyx. The film will be released digitally worldwide before the game’s launch. The announcement trailer is available on YouTube.

  

BROTHERHOOD FINAL FANTASY XV is a new anime series that consists of five standalone episodes that delve into the extraordinary friendships between crown prince Noctis and his three comrades, setting the stage for the adventure players will set out upon in the action-packed RPG. The first episode is available now to stream on YouTube. Subsequent episodes will be released before the game’s launch.  All episodes will be free. The series announcement trailer is available on YouTube.

PLATINUM DEMO - FINAL FANTASY XV is a free download demo that whisks players away to the fragmented dreamscape of Noctis as a child. This storyline is unique to the demo and provides a standalone experience which will not be available in the main game.  Players can take control of young Noctis as he masters various weapons, magic skills and driving.  To overcome the many monsters within this fantastical dream world, young Noctis will have to build a bond with Carbuncle - his magical guide. Players who complete the demo will unlock the exclusive Carbuncle summon DLC for the full game at launch. The demo is available from today via the Xbox Marketplace for Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and through the PlayStation®Store for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system. A new trailer showcasing the demo is available onYouTube.

A new trailer for FINAL FANTASY XV narrated by King Regis, titled “Reclaim Your Throne,” was also revealed, showcasing never-before-seen gameplay accompanied by music from composer Yoko Shimomura. Florence Welch of Grammy-nominated Florence + the Machine has also created her own rendition of the Ben E. King classic “Stand by Me” with SQUARE ENIX to soundtrack this new trailer, which can be viewed via YouTube.

Finally, SQUARE ENIX also announced JUSTICE MONSTERS FIVE, a pinball game for mobile devices combining role-playing elements with some of the series’ most iconic monsters.JUSTICE MONSTERS FIVE will be available to play at petrol stations in-game in FINAL FANTASY XV when it launches in September. The mobile version of JUSTICE MONSTERS FIVE will be coming soon, and players can enjoy Noctis and company’s favourite pinball pastime in solo or co-op play by downloading for free from Google Play for Android devices, the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and on Windows Store for Windows 10 devices.  Pre-registration for this game is available at the following links:

·         Android: https://prelaunch.me/android/NDU4

·         iOS: https://prelaunch.me/ios/NDU5

As part of the global launch of the ultimate FINAL FANTASY experience, and for the first time in series history, the game will feature English, French, German and Japanese voice options in addition to Russian, Spanish, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles.

Related Links:

UNCOVERED: FINAL FANTASY XV Event page: www.finalfantasyxv.com/uncovered 

FINAL FANTASY XV Homepage: http://www.finalfantasyxv.com/

FINAL FANTASY XV YouTube: https://YouTube.com/FinalFantasyXV

FINAL FANTASY XV Twitter®: @FFXVEN

FINAL FANTASY XV Instagram: @FFXV        

Secret in Their Eyes: Blu Ray Review

Secret in Their Eyes: Blu Ray Review

Back in 2009, an Argentinian film surprised the world when it took home the Oscar beating out the favourites.

At the time, The Secret In Their Eyes was hardly well known, but it began to garner a reputation as a drama that was explosive and emotionally involving.

Sadly, the remake is unfortunately a reasonable, rather than gripping, drama.

Set against the backdrop of a post 9/11 world (making for an odd experience as prism viewing in the week of events of Paris), the narrative flips back and forth between 2002 and present day as a Eijofor's Ray investigates a murder.

13 years after the crime was never solved, Ray turns up with a new lead having devoted over a decade of his life post the case trying to get answers. Despite the protestations of DA Claire (Kidman) and because it's contra to the counter-terrorism team he worked on in 2002, Ray believes this is the lead they've been missing and could now solve the case in 2015....

To say more about Secret In Their Eyes is to dip your toes in spoiler territory and to those unfamiliar with the original Argentinian flick, the key part of the film is the unfurling like a narrative onion of the layers of the plot.

Slow, drawn-out and to a degree, dawdling, Secret In Their Eyes is never as engaging as perhaps it should be. Not exactly a crime thriller, this is a movie about regrets, politics, the passage of time and the horrific bonds between Ray, Claire and Juliet Roberts' detective Jess.

Against a continual backdrop of 9/11 imagery and potential overkill of the fact the terrorists are really bad people, the film's inability to escape from its inevitability hampers it. Flashbacks are fine, but the reveal early on of how that investigation plays out causes narrative impotence, garnering the film with a laissez-faire sheen that audiences won't fully invest in.

It's not helped by a lack of chemistry between Eijofor's Ray and Kidman's Claire. We're supposed to believe the duo shared a spark that was left unexplored and burned bright for 13 years but scenes with the duo don't garner the fizz or hints of a fizz that would have helped propel any potential powderkeg along.

It's a shame because Eijofor chiefly delivers some great dramatic moments; his reaction on the discovery of the body simmers with tragedy and horror; equally Roberts' grieving mum is as restrained a turn as she's ever given - but she's not on screen for as much as is required during the melancholy maudlin movie. Kidman and Molina stand out for the wrong reasons and whileBreaking Bad star Dean Norris adds a degree of humanity to the film, there's simply not enough to help you through the darkness.

Ray's direction is workmanlike with no real moments standing out - but this is a thriller that rarely thrills as it should and whose emotional candles burn on mute.

Ultimately, when the end comes, it feels more of a deflation than an elation of shock; whereSecret In Their Eyes should have raged, it merely blows pathetically in the wind when compared to the original's power and ability to shock.

Heavy Rain: PS4 Review

Heavy Rain: PS4 Review

Developed by Quantic Dreams
Platform: PS4

Enhanced for PS4 much like fellow stable mate Beyond Two Souls, Heavy Rain comes as part of a double pack that celebrates the interactive drama that's become such a common thing on the platform.

Mixing whodunnit with lots of shaking the dual shock controller, the game Heavy Rain is an interesting experience, one that would have been ahead of its time back in 2011 on the PS3, but one which feels a little slower to engage as a game on the current platform.

It's a dark game as well - one that features on a child serial killer called the Origami Killer and your chance to play as one of four characters within the game, giving you multiple perspectives on the story as it unfolds.

All four of the characters are intertwined and it's easy to see why Quantic Dreams received so many accolades for the game. It's certainly ground-breaking for the time and looks stunning back on the next gen console. While some of the game movements and controls feel a little archaic (using the R2 button to move), they're certainly cleverly executed, even if the environments control what you can interact with.

Characters feel a little robotic though and not quite as smooth as perhaps they should and the vocal capabilities of their execution don't quite gel as well.

Quick time events form the basis of large swathes of the game and they're executed reasonably successfully to the overall proceedings. It helps that they build the tension of the situation well and help to escalate the story into a level that's befitting of its B-movie intentions.

Graphically, the game looks impressive and really stands up on the PS4 front, much like Beyond Two Souls which still feels brutally expressive with the next gen grunt of the engine behind it.

If you're willing to stick with some of the plot's slightly rougher edges and the story's poorer execution of its female characters, it's easy to see why the cinematic Heavy Rain has had more than its fair share of accolades and praise. It's gritty, grimy and was trailblazing for its time - it rewards patience and sucks you into its story-telling web, despite some of its occasionally weaker elements.

Tangerine: DVD Review

Tangerine: DVD Review 

Released by Roadshow Home Ent

Sean Baker's Starlet was a sweet nugget of a film that played the NZIFF a couple of years back and had a friendship between a young girl and an elderly woman at its core. It was gentle, savvy and earnest.

His latest, shot on iPhone (everyone has to have a gimmick, right?) is a lurid blast of West Hollywood, a slice of in-your-face-life that plays up to its over-exposed sunshine beating down.

Set on Christmas Eve 2014, it's the story of two transgender BFFs, one of whom Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is fresh outta jail and looking to catch up with her beau Chester. But when pal Alexandra reveals that Sin-Dee's been cheated on, she sets out to find the "bitch what done her wrong" and deliver her justice.

A collision of Short Cuts mixed in with cinema verite, Tangerine is to be frank, shrill in places and an ear-drum piercingly startling film.

Baker's brilliantly caught the banter between the blaring sounds of the street and those who inhabit it, with this tale of essentially, revenge and friendship.

With everything bathed in the Hollywood glows of the sun and the way of life, it takes a little time to adjust to this flick that has a bombastic OST blaring at every available opportunity. Its rawness equally takes time to adjust given that the character of Sin-Dee appears to be naturally set to overdrive, slotting perfectly into the flick as the revenge tale plays out.

When the film slows down and breathes, it has much in common with Starlet. 

Once again, Baker's explored the bonds of friendship - despite everything that Sin-Dee goes through and is going through thanks to a philandering other half, she moves heaven and hell to get to Alexandra's spot to witness her singing because it's a pledge that's been made and an implicit and taciturn recognition that above all else on the strip, you only have your friends to rely on and a code of honor (Starlet explored similar themes)

With Baker's eye for verite, it's fair to say there will be moments of this film that will polarise some, but it doesn't shy away from a truth that's out there and rarely explored on film. It all collides at the end with perhaps some level of contrivance, but in among the sound, bluster and a ballistic lead, the ripples are potently powerful - particularly in the film's final scene, where the theme couldn't be more implicitly stated or more subtly.

Certainly Rodriguez's performance is blessed with as much vulnerability as there is bravado; and Mya Taylor's turn as Alexandra is perhaps more taciturn, but proves to be a perfect emotional foil to Rodriguez.

Above all, there's heart in Tangerine - look past the glare and blinding shrillness of the strip and those who inhabit it to get a feeling of grace, darkly comic humour as well as a simple tale of when it all comes down to it, life will let you down.

But if you're lucky, in your time of need, your friends never will.

Rating:

Being Evel: DVD Review

Being Evel: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman Home Ent

Evel Knievel was a presence in the 1970s, a star-spangled daredevil hero that America needed to boost its morale.

With his cane and fur-coat appearance on the Johnny Carson Show opening this doco from Johnny Knoxville, that has as much energy (and occasionally rhapsodising from uber-fan Knoxville) as you'd expect from the MTV generation, the stall is set out early on.

Knievel was a showman, a hustler in his stuntman heyday - wrapped in his white leather costume with the American flag emblazoned onto the outfit, he was the hero that America needed in the wake of Nixon and Vietnam.

But it wasn't always so - and that's where this doco gets the Knievel legend really right. By bringing us in on his past growing up in Butte Montana, (mainly via Knoxville's demonstrative and exhaustive knowledge about the man), we get an insight into the bluster that the showman concocted.

From selling the most insurance policies by working a mental hospital and constantly hustling, Rob Knievel was already on the way to creating a persona for himself and it was only his decision to jump over cougars and rattlesnakes (one of the doco's laugh-out-loud tall tales) that sent him careering off into the world of fame.

Exhaustive is perhaps the best way to describe this piece, as it concentrates on anyone who worked with or met the man and the myth of the red, white and blue suited legend. But Oscar-winning director Daniel Junge never loses sight of the man on the bike, thanks to plenty of photos, archive footage and of course scenes of Knievel performing his daredevil tasks.

Some of the footage is horrifying - in the pre-Jackass days, seeing a man hurt himself when a stunt went wrong was never as guilty a pleasure as it is now; unlike Knoxville et al, Knievel never carried out these stunts to fail or get a cheap laugh - he was embodying the real-life superhero aspirations to soar above the skies. But the shots (replayed a few times) of Knievel going head-over-the-handlebars at Caesar's Palace on December 31st 1967 are shocking as he looks like a rag doll thrown to the wind.

But it's when the braggadocio and bluster are dropped that Junge delves more into the man himself, giving us a fascinating glimpse at a man who occasionally let the show slip and let the nastier man out. Certainly the warts-and-all approach helps to demystify him without taking anything away from his achievements; these chink-in-the-armour looks are sickeningly thrilling.

While Junge propels things along as zippily as Knievel on his bike, some of Knoxville's enthusiastic fanboying and affection occasionally gets in the way as he discusses the impact on extreme sports that the legend created. But for the most part, the multitude of talking heads don't hinder this doco, thanks to Junge's steady hand, a never-ending source of material and a peek into the mind of a man who represented an ideal.

Granted, the final section is missing one key question and it's frustrating; when seeking atonement for his behaviour, it's not asked if he pleaded for forgiveness from Shelly Saltman, whom he went to prison for assaulting - it's a minor oversight that should be corrected.

All in all, Being Evel captures the thrill of this influential man, the idea and of the zeitgeist as America tried to get back on its feet - and Junge, along with Knoxville, make a great job of covering a lot of ground in this piece.

In fact, you could say that Being Evel is wheelie good.