MOTOX GP2: PS4 Review

MOTOX GP2: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Milestone

Motorcross is not a sport that sings out for simulation on a console.

Essentially, the thrill of it lies within the thrust of the bikes, the adrenaline of the moment and the dirt under the wheels. And also the level of skill of the drivers.

Transposed onto the smaller screen and with an inept driver, the game becomes something of an endurance test to begin with. Initially you can expect to see your bike become easily separated from its rider, but with a degree of patience and tolerance for learning how to race properly, MXGP2 soon becomes something of a boon for fans of its ilk.

Customisation is the name of the game to start off with from names and flags to icons, but this is mere window dressing to get you into the game itself. But when it comes to the racing, there's a degree of skill needed which takes time to master. Use of different calibrations of the bike take some time to adjust to and hurling around corners is nothing short of pointless, sending you flying into the mud, rather than sending you flying into the rankings.

Graphically, the game looks fine - though there's little next gen sparkle so recently seen with the likes of Driveclub Bikes. This is not really a game for this current generation to be honest, with the machines' engines hardly getting much of a work-out.

In terms of career, there's plenty to do here and even a multiplayer to keep you amused.

Overall, MXGP2 is a fine title, but it rarely soars. It feels perfunctory instead of amazing and doesn't dazzle as much as it should. Granted, it's playable, but it is also forgettable once you've switched it off.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End: PS4 Review

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Developer: Naughty Dog
Released by Sony Computer Entertainment

There’s no denying there’s a massive weight of expectation on Uncharted 4.

The Naughty Dog Nathan Drake franchise has been a high performer throughout, and with the news this is the wrap up game, it’s fair to say that everyone is expecting very very high things.

And the good news is that as an experience, the story mode of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End delivers.

Taking a leaf out of the Rise of The Tomb Raider, Naughty Dog’s two year development’s paid off both in terms of gorgeous visuals and deep dive narrative.

It’s as cinematic as it is action packed, without ever losing sight of what makes the core dynamics of the game so enticing to so many.

Set several years after Drake’s Deception, Nate is retired, a wearied man who has given up on the thrilling Indiana Jones style life and forsaken it for a normal life with wife Elena.

However, his world’s turned upside down when his long-believed-dead brother Sam shows up and thrusts him into another adventure, with Henry Avery at its core…

To say more is to reveal spoilers in what is essentially a globe-trotting game that sees Naughty Dog being as audacious with their hero, as they are with their timelines.

It starts with the first of many rug-pulls as you find yourself on the high seas (initially believing it to be behind the wheel of a jeep) and from there, it’s a rollicking adventure that never loses sight of the personal for Drake and consequently, the player.

Dipping into his past, moving into his present and reuniting many of the franchise’s familiar faces, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is as much as about seeking treasure as it is about exploring the bond between Nate and his older brother Sam. Both Nolan North and Troy Baker (as Nate and Sam respectively) knock it out of the park, from banter to heartache, the voice work on this is top-notch. It imbues the whole thing with a heart that sees you through the occasionally repetitive(but none the less thrilling) gameplay that is prevalent early on.

A lot of the start of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is about parkour, hurtling through Nate’s memories and appreciating the wondrously gorgeous backgrounds that Naughty Dog’s visualised. From the grimy streets of an orphanage style break-out, to the high tops of a prison riot, this is a game that knows what its core audience wants and also how to dazzle the casual gamer who may navigate their way to this episode because of the hype. (It’s also a game that knows how to surprise as you go on the journey with Nate – something that the global delivery and release will do, and something which will forbid spoilers from being released within).

With elements of stealth, remnants of Tomb Raider’s grappling sides of tall precipices and jumping through clifftops and large lashings of both Indiana Jones and Nathan Drake, there’s certainly no need to accuse Uncharted 4 of not going all out in its final outing.

Combat is intuitive and also easy to initiate – and certainly the fact that if you’re stupid enough to fall off a cliff, the body can be seen plummeting to its death rather than stopping mid-fall. Coupled with Sam’s wails as you die, this is a game that has all the edges wrapped up.

Even the inclusion of the new rope and grappling mechanics is smooth - it's a natural extension of Indy's bull-whip and it gives the game a cleverly outdoorsy edge that's hard to shake. Used in conjunction with stealth, this is a device that definitely helps out of corners.

It’s the breadth and emotional focus of Uncharted: A Thief’s End that impresses though.

Within the first few hours, there’s plenty of globe-trotting before you even notice what you’ve been doing – and the game’s immersive touches and environments certainly keep you engaged.

The single player elements of the story are compelling, tautly executed and flow with ease (though no doubt there was plenty of hard work going on behind the scenes to ensure this was the case). It looks gorgeous and is seamless. (And with the relationship between the brothers, it further cements my belief that Nathan Fillion would make a perfect Nathan Drake - and perhaps either William Mapother or William Fichtner to play Sam).

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End will undoubtedly grow with the planned release of free DLC over the next year – and while I’m waiting to play test the multiplayer when the game universally releases and the servers are fully populated ( that’s not due to problems within, more with my interest being piqued by how it will all cope when the masses receive it), it’s a title that so far, I can’t help but recommend fully.

Thrilling, enthralling, engaging and exciting, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is one game to leave the PS4 third-person fan breathless and one to entice the casual gamer into its fold.

Naughty Dog has delivered and then some – if this is the end for Nate and the Uncharted franchise, in terms of its story mode and single player, it couldn’t have hoped for a better send off.

(Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End: Multiplayer will be reviewed after the release date of May 10th, when the servers are more fully populated)

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First Film Announcements for NZIFF

The New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) today reveals the first five films of the 2016 programme, which will screen in Auckland from 14 July.

“We’ve chosen to reveal these five films first because audiences have been requesting them ever since they appeared overseas, or in the case of High-Rise, ever since the first trailer launched. NZIFF July is still a while away, and programming is still underway, but we encourage you to start booking out your diary now for those winter weeks at the movies.” says NZIFF Director Bill Gosden.

Heart of a Dog

An enchanted cinematic essay by legendary performance artist Laurie Anderson. Centering on Anderson's beloved rat terrier Lolabelle, who died in 2011, Heart of a Dog is a self-narrated punk meditation on love and death; exquisitely crafted and effortlessly profound.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2016/auckland/heart-of-a-dog/

High-Rise

In Ben Wheatley's ambitious, wildly disorienting adaptation of the J.G. Ballard novel, tenants of a high-tech skyscraper slip into a literal class war. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, and Elisabeth Moss.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2016/auckland/high-rise/

NUTS!

Loaded with wry humour and surprising rug-pulls, Penny Lane’s supremely strange biography of 20s impotence-cure mogul J.R. Brinkley is the documentary oddity every festival watch-list needs at least one of. 

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2016/auckland/nuts/

Midnight Special

Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, Kirsten Dunst and newcomer Jaeden Lieberher star in this dazzling, genre-defying sci-fi/chase movie from the director of Mud and Take Shelter.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2016/auckland/midnight-special/

Tanna

Australian documentary filmmakers Bentley Dean and Martin Butler collaborated with villagers in the Vanuatu highlands who’d never seen a movie to create this ravishing cinematic expression of traditional culture and forbidden love.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2016/auckland/tanna/

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.

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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