Brooklyn: DVD Review

Brooklyn: DVD Review

Saoirse Ronan's star is most definitely in the ascent with Boy A director's John Crowley's Brooklyn.

It's not an original story by any stretch of the imagination as Ronan's young Irish immigrant Eilis heads to Brooklyn for a new life at the behest of her sister who believes she has more going for her life than she has in Ireland.

Inevitably Eilis suffers from crippling home-sickness as she adjusts to a new country, filled with her own ex-pats but still feeling alienated by those around her. Stuck in a boarding house ran by Julie Walters' Mammy, Eilis worries she has made the right decision, but finds her life is turned around when she meets Italian nice guy Tony (Cohen) who woos her, and ultimately wins her heart.

But when tragedy hits at home, Eilis feels the familial bond stretched as far as it will go...

That Brooklyn follows a predictable route is no surprise, (the film cruises along with a genial vibe before a bad thing happens) but what emerges is that Saoirse Ronan makes the journey of Eilis' coming of age so damn approachable.

From the subtle clothing choices - Eilis wears dowdy dull colours in Ireland before donning more luminous and bright garb as she begins to blossom in Brooklyn - to the social history made real, this old fashioned feel good film is likely to hit as many in its audience as it intends to.

Ronan lifts the film from its mediocre roots with a rounded performance that feels like a credible arc; from naive homesick Irish girl to woman of the world, she sells the journey with an earnestness that is deeply watchable and transcends the material as well as getting you to believe the immigrant experience and the blossoming of a young woman. Eilis may appear to dither at times, and certainly in the second half of the film when she heads back to Ireland, the reasons for her actions are more obtuse than you'd expect due to a passive turn that's perfectly crafted and wonderfully understated.

However, sensitively executed with a troupe of solid performers (Jim Broadbent's turn as the benevolent and benefactor priest is a highlight) Brooklyn's timeless and universal story of coming of age and starting anew seems destined for awards - and marks a real turning point in Ronan's career.

Sometimes labelling a film as lovely and pleasant seems like a back-handed compliment, but Brooklyn manages the fine line between both as it juggles the emotive with the dramatic; richly resonant and likely to hit the majority of the audience - even if cynics will dismiss its naivete and intentions - it deserves to be a talking point during awards season.

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Fallout 4: Far Harbour unveiled

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

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.

Neerja: Film Review

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.

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Dishonored 2 release date unveiled

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

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!

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.