At Darren's World of Entertainment

Thursday, 5 May 2016

Fallout 4: Far Harbour unveiled

The official trailer for Fallout 4’s third add-on, Far Harbor, which will be available worldwide on Thursday, 19 May across Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC for $29.95 AUD / $34.95 NZD is here!.

In Far Harbor, a new case from Valentine’s Detective Agency leads you on a search for a young woman and a secret colony of synths. Travel off the coast of Maine to the mysterious island of Far Harbor, where higher levels of radiation have created a more feral world. Navigate through the growing conflict between the synths, the Children of Atom, and the local townspeople. Will you work towards bringing peace to Far Harbor, and at what cost?

Far Harbor features the largest landmass for an add-on that Bethesda Game Studios has ever created, filled with new faction quests, settlements, lethal creatures and dungeons. Become more powerful with new, higher-level armor and weapons. The choices are all yours.

Stay tuned for more details on even more add-ons to be released in 2016, and on free updates like Mods which is now available on PC. Mods will be coming to Xbox One players later this month and to PlayStation 4 players in June.

NZ’s Best Shorts Guest Selector Announced

NZIFF continue to appoint prominent NZ filmmakers to select the latest and best in NZ short films with Lee Tamahori confirmed as Guest Selector for the 2016 New Zealand’s Best competition.

Five to six selected New Zealand shorts will premiere in Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch where audiences are encouraged to vote for their favourite short from Tamahori’s shortlist. Previous Guest Selectors have included Christine Jeffs (2015), Andrew Adamson (2014), Alison Maclean (2013), and Roger Donaldson (2012).

Lee Tamahori began his extensive career directing commercials, founding long-running commercial production company Flying Fish. His debut feature film Once Were Warriors is one of the highest-grossing NZ films of all time and led him to a Hollywood career which includes Mulholland Falls and Die Another Day. Tamahori’s latest feature film Mahana, based on the Witi Ihimaera novel Bulibasha and starring Temuera Morrison, was released in NZ cinemas in March.

“We are honoured to have Lee Tamahori as our Guest Selector of the 2016 New Zealand’s Best shorts competition. We see great value for the contenders in having a filmmaker of Lee’s experience and accomplishment respond to their work. We received 81 short film submissions which have been shortlisted to 12 for Lee to consider.” says NZIFF director Bill Gosden.

This year’s NZ’s Best finalists will be eligible for a total of three prizes. Madman Entertainment will again support the title award, the Madman Entertainment Best Short Film Award. The cash prize of $5000 is donated by the Australasian distribution company. The winner will be chosen by a three person jury appointed by NZIFF and Madman Entertainment.

The participation of Sir James Wallace together with the Wallace Foundation and Wallace Media Ltd will continue the Friends of the Civic Award. The Wallace Foundation stepped in last year to fund the award after the dissolution of the longstanding donors, the Friends of the Civic. The Wallace Friends of the Civic Award will be a cash prize of $3000 awarded to the film or contributor to a film deemed to merit special recognition. Sir James and Wallace Media Ltd Associate Producer Grae Burton will select this year’s winner.

The Audience Choice Award will be selected by audience members who attend the NZ's Best screenings in Auckland and Wellington. Audience members will be invited to rank the finalists and the film that receives the highest rating will win a 25% share of the box office takings from the New Zealand's Best screenings in the four main centres.

NZ films at NZIFF are proudly supported by Resene. NZIFF is run by a charitable trust and encourages lively interactions between films, filmmakers and New Zealand audiences in 13 towns and cities around the country. The full NZIFF programme will be available from Tuesday 21 June for Auckland, and Friday 24 June for Wellington. NZIFF starts in Auckland on 14 July and in Wellington from 22 July in 2016.

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Neerja: Film Review

Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Parth Akerkar, Shabana Azmi
Director: Ram Madhvani

The greatest crime of Neerja, the film that's already been a hit on the New Zealand Bollywood circuit, is that you choose not to see it because it's a Bollywood film.

In truth, while the DNA of this gripping portrayal of Pan Am purser Neerja Bhanot, who was the youngest person ever given India's highest order of bravery, shares some similarities with a Bollywood film (there's dancing at the start at a family celebration and a love story within), it's anything but a traditional perception of a Bollywood film, and puts itself in a similar category with Paul Greengrass' United 93.

It's the story of Neerja (Kapoor), whose Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the ground at Karachi Airport in September 1986 by terrorists who wanted their captive brothers freed. With over 370 passengers and crew on board, Neerja found herself in the eye of a storm and found strength when it was needed most.

Utterly gripping and compelling, the biographical drama Neerja is single-handedly one of the most sickening and inspiring films ever witnessed.

Shorn of the usual trappings of the genre (light colours, the film's palette is soaked in murky yellows and looks like it was shot as part of a 24 spin-off series that never happened), the film's simplicity and sickening suspense come from slick story-telling and an entirely open performance from its lead.

Inter-cut with flashbacks to Neerja's first failed marriage at the hands of a bully, this is essentially the ages old tale of an abused victim finding her inner strength when it matters most and exuding humanity when man does its worst.

The only minor mis-step is the portrayal of the passing of time during portions of the hijack, with no real idea how much time's gone at a crucial juncture. But this is the briefest of flaws in an otherwise incredible cinematic experience.

Granted, there is sentiment in the briefest of some of the early scenes (Neerja's mother fretting because the ring she gifted her daughter for safety in the air has gone missing, Neerja's burgeoning relationship with the love she should have had, Jaideep), but what transpires when the plane is over-run is nothing short of gut-wrenchingly sickening as well as incredibly taut and powerful.

While Madhvani masterfully ratchets up the tension to edge-of-your-seat levels, it's Kapoor who grounds the film and keeps you invested from beginning to end. Her performance is entirely plausible, entirely unshowy and ultimately inspiring, given how the real life Neerja rose up to the terror of the situation.

Shot simply and with a veneer that's better than some Hollywood blockbusters, Neerja is completely unmissable. A gripping drama that makes good on its central tenet (Neerja's constantly told to live a life that's big not long), it would be nothing short of a crime to dismiss Neerja.

Rating:

Dishonored 2 release date unveiled

DISHONORED® 2 AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE NOVEMBER 11, 2016

World Gameplay Premiere on June 12^th at Bethesda’s E3 Showcase

May 3, 2016 (London, UK) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today announced Dishonored 2 will release worldwide on Friday, November 11, 2016 for the Xbox One, PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system and PC. Dishonored 2 is the highly-anticipated first-person action game under development at Arkane Studios, and the follow-up to the 2012 ‘Game of the Year’, Dishonored.

The world premiere of Dishonored 2 gameplay will take place during Bethesda’s 2016 E3 Showcase being held in Los Angeles, California on June 12^th beginning at 7pm PST, and streamed live around the world via Twitch and YouTube.

Reprise your role as a supernatural assassin in Dishonored 2 – the next chapter in the award-winning Dishonored saga by Arkane Studios. Play your way in a world where mysticism and industry collide. Will you choose to play as Empress Emily Kaldwin or the royal protector, Corvo Attano? Will you make your way through the game unseen, make full use of its brutal combat system, or use a blend of both? How will you combine your character’s unique set of powers, weapons and gadgets to eliminate your enemies? The story responds to your choices, leading to intriguing outcomes, as you play through each of the game’s hand-crafted missions.

ONE PIECE BURNING BLOOD Developer Diary #1 Released

Watch our exclusive developer diary with the team behind the upcoming One Piece Burning Blood. Look forward to three more videos as we get closer to the launch on June 3rd 2016!

Blood Bowl 2: The Norse team charges from the far north onto the field!

Winter is coming to Blood Bowl 2 on PS4, Xbox One and PC

Blood Bowl 2, the sequel to the video game adaptation of Games Workshop's famous board game that combines American football with the fantasy world of Warhammer, welcomes a new race on its pitch: The Norse. The new screenshots show off the fearsome Norse players, their impressive Big Guy and their bestial Star Players - all included in the Norse DLC available today on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

To respect the PC players of the first Blood Bowl game, which accumulated 23 races through 3 paying editions - we have heard their frustration - we decided to create the FOUNDERS INCENTIVE for PC players of Blood Bowl 2: players will receive the Norse, the Undead, the Necromantic and the Nurgle teams for free, as long as they purchased the game before the races release.

The Norse Team

Hailing from a far north peninsula of the Old World, Norsca, the Norse are fearsome warriors who naturally benefit from the Block skill - making a Norse line one of the more resilient Blood Bowl defensive walls. Norse players also have low Armour value, meaning they're built for dishing out damage, not taking it. We're excited to see how new Norse Coaches plan around the team's weaknesses and exploit their strengths.

The Norse DLC pack includes new types of players, including the Ulfwerener. These werewolves encourage damage-dealing plays with their high Strength and their brutal Frenzy skill. The Norse Big Guy is the Yhetee, a vicious Snow Troll with Claws built for shredding high armoured players. Finally, two Star Players are joining the Norse: Icepelt Hammerblow, Yhetee, and Wilhelm Chaney, Ulfwerener.

VEEP: The Complete fourth season: DVD Review

Rating: R13

Released by Roadshow Home Ent and HBO

Seinfeld's Julia Louis Dreyfus continues her trajectory to America's comedic sweetheart with this latest seasons of the political comedy that's garnered her plenty of critical acclaim.

Starring as the president Selina Meyer, this latest season sees the likes of Hugh Laurie joining the comedy as Tom James alongside the likes of Anna Chlumsky and Tony Hale.

Razor sharp writing and an unique style help the season transition from contenders to White House dwellers, but as ever with VEEP, there are continuing situations to get under control from data breaches to freeing journalists.

As ever, VEEP manages the satirical incredibly well and thanks to the impressive work by the ensemble cast, the series is a must watch for any fans of comedy.

Tuesday, 3 May 2016

Captain America: Civil War: Film Review

Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner, Elisabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

That the latest Captain America is perhaps one of the better Marvel entrants should come as no surprise, given how strong the first two of this trilogy have been.

That it achieves this with a taut mix of action, thrills, a re-invented Spider-man and a film of some degree of consequence should be no surprise either.

But that it manages to blindside you in its final act is the real surprise of the piece, whipping the carpet with such aplomb from under your weary cynical expectations of where the story may go.

Taking a lead from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the 13th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about collateral damage, both of the physical and emotional variety.

When Captain America's team inadvertently cause a series of deaths and destruction while trying to save the world, pressure grows to build a system of accountability for the Avengers and their ilk. But the proposed status quo fractures the Avengers, with Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark in favour of it after his conscience is pricked by a mother whose son died in the events of Age of Ultron.

However, Chris Evans' plucky straight arrow Steve Rogers isn't as in favour, fearing the bureaucracy could limit their abilities to save the world... and so, a show down is set between long time friends and new potential enemies.

Distraction is the name of a lot of the game here (complete with plenty of globe-trotting and juggling many balls in the air): and while many will head to this slightly overlong flick with the delicious anticipation of an Avengers internal clash (which delivers in a set piece that does what you'd expect), the larger joy in among all the buzz of the clearly and concisely executed CGI clashing, is that Captain America Civil War has the smarts to realise the smaller emotional moments of devastation as sides are drawn and friendships tested are where the true strength of the red white and blue lie.

Captain America: Civil War is a film where the veracity of character moments shine and where the strength lies (something perhaps Guardians of the Galaxy realised earlier on and went to more comic extremes thereof) and not a routine rote CGI Smash-and-grab ending that has blighted the rest of these films.

It's in the heart of the film and the heart within the film that the success of this one lies - Cap's main raison d'etre is to do right by his old pal Bucky aka The Winter Soldier (Stan in an expanded role from previous outings) and his ethics come into direct contrast and clash with Stark's ideologies. The series has been building to this - and that it pays that set up off well is perhaps testament to not only the investment we've had in the characters but that also our patience to get to this point was tested too.

Both Evans and Downey Jr rise to the occasion, underplaying their hands respectively and helping ground the film in a more human edge that it needs.

It also helps that Captain America: Civil War proffers up some thrilling set pieces of action that dazzle with effortless ease, as well as some throwaway humour to enhance the engagement.

When the visceral action is shorn of the CGI trickery, there are chase scenes that elicit gasps and dazzle with their freshness of execution - both Joe and Anthony Russo have managed to up the game once again with a clear concise vision of what the audience wants and what will engage the non-fans. (Although there is perhaps one or two mano-a-mano sequences too many).

Juggling the introduction of new characters into the MCU with ease and lack of distraction is not easy, but there won't be many who will come away feeling that the new faces are under-served (and perhaps Tom Holland as Spider-Man is the real find of the piece; a Peter Parker who is a kid from the comic-books). And don't even get me started on the energy that Paul Rudd brings to the piece with his spiky electric Ant-Man.

Daniel Bruhl also deserves commendation for his mournful role - it's a smaller, more subtle touch that he brings and his involvement in the piece provides more than can be discussed in this spoiler-free review.

That said, Captain America: Civil War is not perfect.

For a film about consequence, there are still troublingly less than realistic physical ramifications for the central gang - while there are thrills to see Cap and Iron-Man go at it, there's never really a feeling that either will fall (and perhaps nor should there be) but there is a feeling of seeding of buds of emotional unrest that will continue to ripple out.

And some characters fall by the wayside as the third act plays out, simply fading away into the peripherary as their narrative use loses traction.

Equally, at 2 hours 27 minutes, it's overlong in the final stretch but it's hard to say where the trim could have come from. This is a film that feels full, but never bloated; an important distinction as the past transgressions storylines come to a head and the Captain America trilogy wraps up.

Ultimately, while there had been signs of apathy threatening to overtake the onslaught of Marvel Cinematic Universe films (stand by for Doctor Strange, coming soon), Captain America: Civil War emerges as a contender as one of the best of the run, thanks to character moments, limited chaos and a concisely executed and fresher vision of what a genuine action blockbuster can offer.

Rating:

New Call of Duty announced

CALL OF DUTY: INFINITE WARFARE REDEFINES THE FRANCHISE WITH CLASSIC WAR STORY IN A BOLD, NEW SETTING

All-New Call of Duty Arrives on Friday, November 4

Acclaimed Studio Team at Infinity Ward to Deliver Timeless Hero’s Journey, Immense Multiplayer Action and Original Zombies Experience

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Legacy and Digital Deluxe Editions Includes

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered for the Ultimate Fan Package

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND. – May 3, 2016 – Call of Duty® is returning to its roots for a classic, epic battle of two armies unlike anything seen before in the record-setting series. Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare will launch worldwide Friday, November 4, immersing players in a war story that, for the first time in franchise history, extends beyond the reaches of Earth into the vast expanse of our solar system. Published by Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), and led by Infinity Ward, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will also be available as the Infinite Warfare Legacy Edition, which includes the return of the full campaign and 10 multiplayer maps from the famed Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare®, released in high-definition brilliance as Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® Remastered*.

Infinite Warfare and the Infinite Warfare Legacy Edition, featuring Modern Warfare® Remastered, will be available for PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and PC.

“This year, we’re both honouring the heritage of Call of Duty while taking players to incredible new heights," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is a bold, new vision from the studio that created the original Call of Duty and Modern Warfare, and an adventure on an insanely epic scale that only Call of Duty could deliver. And Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is one of the most beloved games of all-time, reborn for a new generation. We have lovingly remastered it with a whole new level of graphical fidelity and realism that wasn’t possible when the original was released. It’s going to be a great year for Call of Duty players.”

“With Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, we are taking Call of Duty to places fans have never experienced in the series,” said Dave Stohl, Studio Head of Infinity Ward. “On one hand, this game is the kind of gritty, boots on the ground, visceral war story that Call of Duty is known for. On the other, its future setting takes players on a journey of epic scale and proportions, providing incredible gameplay innovations and new experiences for our fans. This is a grand scale, old-school, all-out war in an epic new-school setting. And it’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun.”

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare puts storytelling front and centre in a rich, immersive narrative. Infinity Ward breaks new ground by exploring the weight of leadership and its responsibilities. In a desperate time of overwhelming adversity, the player, as Captain of their own warship, must take command against a relentless enemy. Experienced soldiers are thrust into extraordinary circumstances that will test their training and reveal their true character as they learn to lead and to make the hard decisions necessary to achieve victory. The game also introduces stunning, never before seen environments, new weaponry, and inventive player abilities to Call of Duty. The entire campaign – from boots-on-ground combat to piloting high speed space-fighters – occurs as a near seamless experience with few visible loading times, and delivers the hallmark, blockbuster franchise moments that fans love.

For online action, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare promises to strike with maximum impact in a world where every second counts as it delivers the future of warfare. The game’s Multiplayer mode features an evolution of Call of Duty’s movement system with an emphasis on front-line engagement. Additionally, Infinite Warfare will introduce an original cooperative Zombies mode that takes players on a wild ride through a new storyline with unique gameplay features and mechanics. More details about multiplayer and the new zombies experience will be announced at a later date.

One of the most critically acclaimed titles in the series, inspired by overwhelming community interest, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is being remastered for current generation consoles. Executive produced by Infinity Ward and developed by Raven Software, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered* puts players into a modern-day action-thriller filled with the heart-stopping moments that made it one of the most critically-acclaimed games of all-time.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered boasts vibrant current generation visuals, with fully improved texture resolution and detail, high-dynamic range lighting, lit and shadowing VFX particles, revamped animation and audio, stunning sound, and much more. Fans will relive the full, iconic campaign as they’re transported around the globe with Capt. Price, Gaz and Soap across all the missions from the original game, including “All Ghillied Up,” “Charlie Don’t Surf,” and “Crew Expendable.” Players will also experience the online multiplayer mode that redefined Call of Duty by introducing killstreaks, XP, Prestige and more, and battle head-to-head in 10 fan-favourite maps from the original multiplayer mode, including classics such as “Crash,” “Backlot” and “Crossfire.”

“The original Modern Warfare raised the bar on video games and forever will be remembered as one of the best. It’s an honour to be developing the remaster and we are committed to faithfully remastering this classic for Call of Duty fans,” stated Brian Raffel, studio head of Raven Software.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered* is included with the following editions of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare:

· Legacy Edition and Digital Legacy Edition – Includes both Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.

· Digital Deluxe Edition – Includes Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered and Season Pass.

· Legacy Pro Edition – Includes Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, Season Pass, collectible Steelbook^TM, official game soundtrack and additional digital items.

*Check local retailers for availability of all Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Editions.

*Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered contains only 10 MP maps from the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game. Modern Warfare Remastered is a full game download. Internet connection required. For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com/MWR_FAQ.

For the latest intel, check out: www.callofduty.com, www.youtube.com/callofduty or follow @CallofDuty and @InfinityWard on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfareis scheduled for release on PlayStation® 4 system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PC. The title is not yet rated.

Silicon Valley Season 2: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R16
Released by Warner Home Video

In the second series of the brilliant Silicon Valley, it's back to our inept team of wannabes at Pied Piper as they continue their slow ascent to greatness.

This year, the gang are faced with the death of one of their potential buyers and threatened with lawsuits from Google rip-off Hooli, as well as forced to deal with the potential theft of their algorithm.

But it all builds up to a shock at the end of the season when the CEO of Pied Piper faces an insurmountable threat that could ruin their future as a company.

Treading the fine line between awkward and hilarious, Silicon Valley's second season remains as fresh as the first with the politics of corporations coming under scrutiny as much as the inept leadership of start ups.

Both Thomas Middleditch (as Hendricks) and TJ Miller (as Bachman) stand out in a cast that impresses all around. While they're given the majority of the dramatic weight, they're still prone to the more slapstick elements of the stories. However, there's equally enough from the rest of the ensemble who find themselves in situations beyond their control.

Funny, satirical and strongly written Silicon Valley Season 2 remains as fresh as the first season. With the third season on the way, there are no signs of this slowing down and no signs yet of any of the writing starting to flag.

The Dressmaker: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Ent

Set in an Aussie small town where everyone is an oddball, The Dressmaker's quirkiness begins to grate pretty quickly.

The deranged and nutty tone sets the scene for a story that's as steeped in tragedy as it is over-the-top garishness.

A perfectly cast Winslet plays Myrtle, a woman scorned from the small fictional Aussie backwater Dungatar with the belief she caused the death of a boy. Returning to her mother, Mad Molly (a wonderful Judy Davis who imbues her bitter mother with as much heart as she does black humour) after a spell working in high fashion, Tilly sets feathers flying with her seamstress skills and her vampish figure, reminiscent of a Hollywood siren.

But she also captures the heart of Liam Hemsworth’s rugger boy and neighbour Teddy (who gets shirtless on numerous occasions) and begins to melt back to the charms of Dungatar while trying to exact her revenge for years of ostracism.

The Dressmaker is a curio, which is verging on high campery too as Winslet's Myrtle arrives back in town with revenge on her mind and snarling out a "I'm back ,you bastards" from under an icy veneer as the film starts, channelling a wild western showdown soundtrack and signalling something is in the water.

But under the high 1950s fashion is a simple story of reputations unfairly gained and rumours viciously spread among the ghouls of a small town, a trope that many who have tried to flee their past only to run home will recognise. The film heads more for farce and a parody of grotesques in its execution, rather than giving the supporting players a touch more humanity.

For this is a small town where the police are more interested in high fashion than high crime, where one man drugs his wife to rape her in her sleep and where a secret truth has festered for years rotting the community from within – it’s not exactly the most pleasant place to dwell, and Moorhouse works reasonably well from the Aussie ocker source material the Gothic book written by Rosalie Ham.

Of the leads, Davis seriously impresses, giving Molly the emotional arc she needs as the prodigal daughter returns home; elsewhere Winslet’s thawing of the stark and severe Myrtle seems as inevitable as the wonderful dresses she wears but her turn gives the predictable story a kind of watchability that’s welcome among all the frocks and barbs. It’s the mother and daughter relationship that is the real thrust of this film and proves to be the reason to plough on through the nuttiness and extreme stereotypes.

Weaving’s cop also deserves mention; a policeman who is more interested in the fripperies that Myrtle brings from Paris and whose cross-dressing is indulged but never revelled in. Granted, it’s like watching another variation of Weaving’s turn from Priscilla, Queen of the desert but he’s a small oasis in a backwater of confused tone, overlong pacing and dusty yesteryear drama.

Ultimately, The Dressmaker is a celebration of the absurd, a gallery of grotesque and unfortunately, a grating film that will surprise many who are expecting something else than what the poster appears to promise.

Rating:

Monday, 2 May 2016

Game of Thrones: Season 5: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R18
Released by Warner Home Video

George R R Martin's fantasy shows no signs of slowing - but the television series does show signs of starting to strike out on its own in the latest season of Game Of Thrones.

With the novels' release pace slowing, this latest finds the Westeros tale taking original elements and weaving them into the narrative to make up for the lack of source material.

It also delivers an ending moment that's set pop culture alive in the break between the show and its latest sixth season.

With a power vacuum in place and various people trying to fill it, the fifth season of Game of Thrones is the usual mix of politics, sex, violence and shocks. From the likes of Lena Headey's Cersei, Emilia Clarke's Daenerys and Peter Dinklage's Tyrion, there's plenty afoot as the threads begin to wind closer together.

However, this season is not without controversy with its sexual assault of a main character being a litmus moment for many viewers. And it's easy to see why - sometimes, Game of Thrones prefers to present moments without judgement and that frankness causes discomfort in many.

While the journey doesn't feel as strong this year, there's no denying Game of Thrones' unending power. Though ironically, that may be the saga's problem - it potentially does need to explore an ending sooner rather than later, so that everyone feels satiated and so that the show doesn't hit a decline.

Republique: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4

With overtones of 1984, the dystopian story of Republique feels very much like it takes its time to get you into the story and the characters.

Set within the facility known as Metamorphosis, and concentrating on a character called Hope, you are tasked with the possibility of helping her, before she is "re-programmed" by the masses within. Full of cameras and options to view round, you're going to need all of your skills to help and ultimately try to free Hope before the state wins.

Based on an episodic iOs game and ported over to the PlayStation, Republique is a game that requires some patience to claim an ultimate reward. The stealth-adventure title needs you to be able to plan what you want to do and to execute it in a manner that's deft, clever and requires you to think ahead about what is needed.

Flicking around cameras proves to be a clever touch in this tale that lingers on its surveillance ways in a clever mantra that feeds into the dystopian feel of the game - heck, even titling the heroine Hope is a sledgehammer move that somehow manages to work.

Simple controls make moving Hope an easy task, and given this is one of the major advantages of the PlayStation version, it's no wonder the game's a bit more immersive than it ever was.

Simply executed and beautifully rendered in parts, Republique is a player experience that really somehow manages to defy expectation and description. It's a stealth game that requires thought and an immersive experience that somehow manages to transcend its origins and becomes its own beast.

Sunday, 1 May 2016

Experimenter: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Vendetta

Realising that exploring social experimenter Dr Stanley Milgram was likely to be a controversial choice, the writer, director, and producer of it all, Michael Almereyda could have been on a sticky wicket.

However, by choosing to break the fourth wall conventions in this biopic a la Bronson, he removes the controversy of the man himself and ends up providing a more rounded insight into Milgram.

The film begins with Milgram's most incendiary experiments into the human condition, wherein he managed to put two subjects - a teacher and a pupil - into a room and made them administer shocks to a stranger. Based on Milgram's childhood growing up as a Jew and being influenced by events in the Holocaust, Milgram's reasoning for his trial appears sound - what could provoke any right minded person into such horrific action?

The Milgram experiments clearly had ripples and ramifications and Almereyda's exploration and presentation of them is nothing short of a shock to the system.

By using the aforementioned fourth wall convention and using photos for backgrounds for some events and meetings, it's a bolt upright reaction to what transpires on the screen. (And even has a feel of TV series Masters of Sex about it in its recreation) - but in many ways, it's a film that defies convention for a man who ultimately defied his own conventions.

Sarsgaard is a cool crisp slice of clinical perfection as Milgram, each word carefully and theatrically delivered for maximum impact and each dryly wry witticism despatched with ease; there's plenty of humour in this film that's essentially a snapshot of a biopic.

By keeping it free of the minutiae of Milgram's life and investing us solely in pivotal moments at certain points in time, Almereyda's concocted something smart and involving.

Exposition serves for explanation and shifts of time periods within the film, and the discussions raised within will likely provoke some incisive and robust debate as the movie ends. However, rather than bogging down the film in stuffy discussion, thanks to some excellent casting (look for the cameos who make up the subjects of the initial Milgram experiment) and a great performance from Sarsgaard and a return to form for a long time absent Winona Ryder as his wife, Almereyda provides a film that hits squarely and confidently what it wants to do.

It may skirt around some issues and some of the ramifications of the experiments (there's an unexplored inference that Milgram was being tailed and one of his colleagues dies early in age, both of these are left to linger frustratingly rather than be delved deeper into), but Almereyda's never interested in anything more than using the style and the effortless ease of his leading man to deliver a fascinating take on a thrilling subject.

Newstalk ZB Review - Reviewing Eddie The Eagle, 25 April and Creed

This week it was the turn of Eddie The Eagle under the Newstalk ZB Review spotlight.

I also took a look at 25 April, the NZ Gallipoli animated film and on DVD Creed.

Take a listen below:

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-mornings-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-eddie-the-eagle-doesnt-quite-soar/

Saturday, 30 April 2016

The 5th Wave: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent

Another YA outing gets a big screen event movie with Rick Yancey's alien invasion story hitting the cinemas.

And once again, all the tropes of the genre are in place, but this time around, they feel more derivative and installed into the narrative via a checklist, rather than dramatic necessity.

Kickass's Chloe Grace Moretz stars as Cassie, a high schooler whose life changes when aliens invade via a succession of attacks. After surviving electrical attacks, natural disasters, fatal disease a la Avian Flu and then body snatcher style invasion a la The Invaders which wipe out her family bar her brother, she finds herself on the run. With a desperate race to save her young brother from the army's clutches and from their weaponising him, Grace Moretz gives everything to the film and sells every ludicrously predictable turn it takes.

It's just a shame that the film gives nothing back.

Despite a stunning first 30 minutes that see the alien menace cleverly and craftily energise the story, it stalls and hits a sickening thud when it realises it needs to weave in the tropes of the genre. (Young love, life after high school seeming like the end of the world, a mistrust of authority etc etc)

After the action slows, The 5th Wave becomes an unconvincing sludge of a film that's barely able to build on the mistrust and premise. The story fractures into Cassie's search and meeting of a charisma-free dishy designer stubble potential love interest and her brother's involvement in the weaponising-our-kids-storyline - and the result is one of tedium more than anything.

Ending on a whimper and the limp promise of yet more, The 5th Wave is a frustrating experience.

Despite a crowded genre with The Hunger Games, Divergent, et al, thanks to Grace Moretz's turn and a terrific start, it could have been so much more and never once delivers anything original or compelling past its invasion schtick. It sanitises its potential brutality and its de-humanising of its lead, and therefore ultimately sells everything short that it sets out to do.

Turns out The 5th Wave from the aliens, that threatens all our lives, is actually tedium.

Rating:

Friday, 29 April 2016

99 Homes: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman Home Ent

That 99 Homes leaves you seething is a testament to the power of this drama and the moral turpitude it throws you into as this take on the American dream and the obsessions with property play out.

In an entirely relevant parallel given how over-heated the world's property markets are, Garfield is Dennis Nash, a father whose Orlando family home is foreclosed by the bank in 2008. Believing he has 30 days to fight the repossession, Nash's shocked to find the police on his doorstep the next day, demanding he, his mum (a solid Laura Dern) and his son leave immediately.

Also on the scene of the repossession is the lizard-like Rick Carver (an excellent Michael Shannon), a former real estate agent who is now head of his own realty company and who specialises in taking homes and turning profits - whatever the cost and with no regard for the emotional fall-out.

Humiliated and homeless, Nash is forced to work for Carver in a (contrived) series of events, but soon finds his desire to ensure his family has somewhere to live is over-stepping his basic humanity as his Faustian deal with Carver descends to new depths.

99 Homes is a powerful searing drama; it gives a human and inhuman face to the property crisis that beset America and that teeters on the edge worldwide currently.

Shannon's nothing short of electric and horrifying as Carver, a man whom we first meet at the scene of a suicide of an owner whose home has been taken by Carver's realty business. But in typical anti-hero stance, Carver doesn't care about the human cost of his business and Bahrani isn't really interested in fleshing out his character other than a few piecemeal scenes that give chilling insight and horrifying human touches to this monster of a man.

Equally, Garfield's Nash is played well; the conflict he feels is clearly marked early on, but the gnawing sickness of reality and desperation provides plenty of dramatic fuel as well as plenty of debate over what you would do. The line between black and white blurs easily in this morality tale, given human form and faces which can't be blocked from memory.

As this suspenseful thriller plays out and Nash dances ever closer to the devil, the intensity of the film ramps up, even if the credibility of some of the situations edge dangerously close to convenience rather than natural drama. Certainly, the balance of rational from Nash compared to Carver's clinically cold and despicable attitude is nicely struck early on, and both Garfield and Shannon's performances remain the real reasons to stay so engaged with 99 Homes throughout.

If anything though, 99 Homes is Shannon's film - it's a blistering turn that sees him blow smoke on the fire of who's fuelled this situation and Bahrani fans it by insinuating everyone is to blame, given that the banks lend more money when the home hunters are eager to gobble it up.

Ultimately, 99 Homes is a recession drama and a searing, sickening commentary that will eat at your soul long after it's done - and thanks to its morally compromised leads, the desperation of Nash and the almost vulture like behaviour of Carver will pick at you long after the lights have gone up.

Rating:

Thursday, 28 April 2016

Dark Souls III: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Bandai Namco Games

You Died.

Two words you will see a lot in From Software's apparently final Dark Souls offering.

The action RPG is back and it's as challenging as ever in its latest iteration, one which may leave you with levels of frustration which border on seeing you hurl the console out of the window.

Famously hard in its earlier outings, the latest Dark Souls has lost none of the challenge that its predecessors had. Set in the kingdom of Lothric, you take on a soul trying to stop the rot of the kingdom and reverse the curse that is upon it.

If anything, Dark Souls III is as famously brooding as you'd expect, building dread into an atmosphere that's claustrophobic and as dark as the vistas around you. Combat is as epic as the previous games, relying on you to plan an attack and melee rather than just launch into it. Each attack drains you a little, so there needs to be a plan for taking on bosses or those two words will come back to haunt you with ease.

Skills and magic are there to be used too, but again, these have to be used sparingly and with a degree of smarts; replenishing these takes time and focus off you too, meaning you are left vulnerable to attacks if you're not careful.

It takes elements of From Software's Bloodborne, with its Gothic edges and its pacing as well - this is a game that feels like the series has evolved and one which still maintains the series' DNA all over it.

As the game progresses, it's clear that Miyazaki wanted this to be a more speedy affair than previous outings and there's a real sense of the pace of the game sometimes getting ahead of itself. Frustratingly even though the speed is ramped up, it doesn't stop you going back to quite a way in your quest if you die - so perhaps, the faster factor is there to prevent a degree of burn out that was experienced in prior games.

There's no denying Dark Souls III looks epic; there's equally no denying that it takes time to bed in too - you'll need perseverance to get on with this game and that doesn't come with ease. Finding a groove can be tricky as an experience, but when Dark Souls III gets it right with its atmosphere, its difficult gameplay and its claustrophobic aesthetics, it remains nothing short of a compelling game that you will sink plenty of time into.

DOOM Single player stream

Take an in-depth look at DOOM’s intense single-player campaign!

It kicks off at 4am AEST / 6am NZST at www.twitch.tv/bethesda and will be archived immediately afterwards so folks can watch it at their leisure. The stream, hosted by Executive Producer Marty Stratton and Creative Director Hugo Martin, will show never-before-seen levels and a variety of content.

Yesterday, Tom Mustaine and the SnapMap team took us through the wide range of co-op, single-player and multiplayer content available in DOOM’s powerful SnapMap tool. You can check that out HERE.

Watch live video from Bethesda on www.twitch.tv