New Transformers film will be called.....

New Transformers film will be called.....

 

X-Men Apocalypse: Film Review

X-Men Apocalypse: Film Review

Cast: James MacAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Evan Peters, Olivia Munn
Director: Bryan Singer

It's back into X-territory for the latest outing in the mutant franchise.

This time around, ten years after the events of Days of Future Past the mutants of Charles Xavier (MacAvoy) are forced into action when the First Mutant Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) is re-awakened. Intent on destroying the world and unleashing chaos, Xavier's problems are further compounded when Magneto (Fassbender) joins Apocalypse's team...

That the latest X Men film feels a misfire is more a script issue rather than any kind of fault in its execution.

Granted, there's plenty of at times impressive CGI destruction to behold as Apocalypse and Magneto join forces to raze civilisation, but the script's lack of singular focus or clear vision means parts feel muddled and overly saggy without any real reason.

It may be that part of the story's rehash of how a mutant comes to be (in this case, Scott Summers, played by Mud's Tye Sheridan) feels so familiar having been explored before. Other characters in the film such as Angel, Storm and Psylocke have good opening sequences and introductions before falling away into narrative obscurity.

It's symptomatic of so much being juggled but yet nothing being fully fleshed out in X Men Apocalypse, that it leaves the whole thing feeling relatively soulless and without any real sense of jeopardy.

It's a shame because the opening in Egypt feels like a mutant version of the start of The Mummy but gives the film a sense of scale and threat that's lacking elsewhere. 

The problem comes that Apocalypse is a bit of a weaker villain for the piece, preferring to be an enabler of those recruited to his Four Horsemen gang, rather than an actual menace worthy of the series and of the tease that was proffered up at the end of Days of Future Past. Isaac does as much as he can under the blue prosthetics but he's saddled with scenes that simply find him in the action scowling and grumbling, rather than bringing a level of fear that the so-called First Mutant should evoke.

For the sixth film in this revamped series, the latest X-Men curiously defers all the personal interplay that helped lift the previous films in favour of over-egging the pudding. 

Curiously, the best moments of Apocalypse involve Fassbender's sense of tragedy as Erik is forced to abandon his living under cover and working in a steel-works - but even this emotional resonance is ultimately undercut by the ongoing tedium of the ideological battle between Xavier and Erik over their philosophical outlook on life. It's a thread that's repeatedly been explored before and one which finds nothing new added this time around.

Of the younger generation, Evan Peters once again excels as Quicksilver, with his central action piece of rescuing everyone from an exploding building being a visual highlight (even if it is a riff on his previous cinematic appearance) and Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner presents an intriguingly subdued take on Jean Grey, with more pent-up yet somehow repressed psychological damage being the order of the day.

Unfortunately though, with the over-stuffing of the cast, the film's younger generation don't exactly excel - despite all their efforts (Kodi Smit-McPhee's Nightcrawler is a nice take on the Alan Cummings'  much loved mutant) the script confines them to the sidelines or to a pointless excursion to Stryker's hideout and Weapon X, purely for fan service.

Equally, the Apocalypse group (who look like a bad 80s rock band) fall away in the wash. The Newsroom's Olivia Munn makes an initial impression as Psylocke before narratively she is eclipsed. 

It's symptomatic of the wider issues of X-Men Apocalypse, a film which is more concerned with rote CGI destruction (which is visually impressive to start off with, before repeatedly used) than character. If this series needs anything urgently with a 90s set outing planned, it's an injection of heart, soul and humanity, rather than a reliance on FX. 

If it doesn't go back to basics, concentrates on the core elements of the series and delivers a genuinely threatening villain or situation that doesn't feel contrived very soon, the X-Men franchise runs a risk of becoming cinematically and thematically alienated.

Sisters: DVD Review

Sisters: DVD Review

Released by Universal Home Ent

Trading on the Amy Poehler / Tina Fey chemistry that's been such comedy gold at awards shows and seen them collaborate together before on film (Baby Mama), Sisters is at times a free-wheeling blast of frat and humour.

Parks and Rec star Poehler and 30 Rock's Fey play sisters Maura and Kate Ellis, who are summoned back home when their parents (Brolin and Wiest) reveal the familial homestead is being sold and they need to clear out their old rooms.

Poehler's Maura is the more sensible of the pair, a nurse prone to helping all and even imposing when her perkiness is not welcomed; Fey's Kate meanwhile is the party queen, a free-wheeler who's there for a good time and pays no heed to what lies ahead, despite having a daughter.

Returning to their home and overwhelmed by memories of their  Deciding to throw one last legendary Ellis party and revel in their reputation, the party is set in motion.

But with Kate and Maura swapping roles, things soon go awry as the chaos eventually escalates.

Sisters is never funnier than when it lets the central pair freewheel from the script. 

While it sags in parts and could have comfortably trimmed 20 mins off its run time, Sisters trades well on Poehler's perkily optimistic comic outlook and Fey's natural smarts give it a brittleness and freshness which allow for plenty of unexpected laughs and moments that will catch you unawares.

Gently mocking the move from your perception of how life was when you were 21 to now you're suddenly 42, Sisters manages to tap into both a sly mocking of the idea of growing up and the horrifying reality of how we choose to be civilised at these kinds of dos, rather than completely cutting loose.

Cleverly managing to avoid the plot's flimsiness by using the main stars' innate likeability, Sisters also uses the mix of Saturday Night Live cast and friends (Maya Rudolph's Brinda as the bitch determined to crash the party) to good solid effect. Even John Cena plays up the comedy chops he's already demonstrated this year with his appearance in Trainwreck.

Sisters may feel like it lacks an overall coherency throughout (attempts to inject some sentiment and emotion towards the end with Kate and her daughter border on pointless), but its cross-sex appeal make it worth a view - but don't expect to leave with any other impressions than those Poehler and Fey give you. They're clearly having a blast making it and their infectious chemistry and comic friendship will help you paper over the cracks that pepper it throughout.

Rating:

Newstalk ZB Review - Bad Neighbours 2, Angry Birds and Bastille Day

Newstalk ZB Review - Bad Neighbours 2, Angry Birds and Bastille Day

This week, it was talking Bad Neighbours 2, Angry Birds and Bastille Day

Take a listen below!

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-mornings-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-bad-neighbours-2-the-angry-birds-and-bastille-day/

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-mornings-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-bad-neighbours-2-the-angry-birds-and-bastille-day/

Alienation: PS4 Review

Alienation: PS4 Review

Released by Housemarque
Platform: PS4

To say Alienation feels familiar is a massive understatement.

Developers Housemarque are responsible for one of the all time best games on the PS4, Resogun. That Defender style shooter has occupied my consciousness since playing it at a launch event for the PlayStation 4 way back when and its weekly challenges and expansions prove to provide fertile territory for anyone invested in shooters.

Which is why Alienation perhaps, feels like such a massive disappointment in some ways.

Essentially, a home guard attack on an alien invasion, this title wants to help kick ass as the hordes attack, but the fact it's just a rehash of Dead Nation (by the same studio) makes it feel massively underwhelming and unoriginal.

Coupled with the fact that tooling up and upgrading is so difficult to understand, this shooter's sole saving grace lies only in its online presence, which breathes a life into the twin stick shooter sensibilities within.

A solo game offers little thrills as you wander through levels, taking on baddies and leaving you facing hordes that are difficult to off on your own, even with your capabilities and using exploding cars and vehicles' radius to pick them off with some carefully timed bombs.

But it's when friends join you and it becomes a co-operative onslaught against the masses that the game begins to thrive and builds itself up into something that's a little more fun.

From dashing to melee, to aiming and shooting, this really is nothing more than a rehash of the mechanics of Dead Nation, a title that echoed out on the PS3 and embraced its zombie cornball 80s action vibe to full glee.

Unfortunately, this time around, with a muddled upgrade system that's confusing as hell and difficult to instigate, it has nothing new to offer the gaming world - and we've already had something similar with Helldivers, a game that works as both co-op and solo play.

Perhaps this is Housemarque's first mis-step in the gaming world, perhaps Resogun set the stakes so high that nothing could match up, but Alienation manages to pass the time while being both playable and perfunctory is to damn it with faint praise.

Doc Edge Festival winners unveiled

Doc Edge Festival winners unveiled

 DOC EDGE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES THE WINNERS

It’s been a momentous year for the 11th Documentary Edge International Film Festival (Doc Edge) with a smorgasbord of film screenings, the introduction of Docs 4 Schools, and a bevy of international guests coming to NZ for the Festival and Screen Edge Forum.
Ahead of Wellington’s final weekend and before the Festival opens in Auckland on the 18^th May, the Festival Judges are proud to announce the 2016 award winners from last night, 12th May.

Miners Shot Down was declared overall winner of Best International Feature Documentary, jurors calling it “an extraordinarily nuanced microcosm of post-Apartheid South Africa.” Filmed over seven days in August 2012, Miners Shot Down focuses on workers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines as they strike for better wages. The International documentaries this year packed a powerful punch with incredible footage illuminating our world, and the real-life struggles and successes people are facing. This made it an incredibly tough choice for the judges to pick a winner. A special mention was given to Among The Believers with jurors noting that the “access and balancing of the tensions between two such extreme worlds is a remarkable achievement”, and Sonita, a “striking” film with a “phenomenal teenager” as the main subject.

The Best New Zealand Feature Documentary was taken out by Loving in Limbo, with director Susan Parker winning Best New Zealand Director as well. The global love story follows Kiwi Hap Cameron and his American love, Mandy Tod, over seven years and several continents as they battle to stay together whilst facing long distance separation, immigration bans and family issues. Awards were also handed out across the NZ feature films for excellent editing, cinematography and to highlight emerging filmmaker, Lisa Burd for her film Monterey.

Mohammed Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi, co-directors of Among The Believers, won the award for Best International Director. Jurors were impressed by the filmmakers’ ability to give the audience a deeper and more insightful look into radical Islam, commenting that “[Among The Believers] takes us way beyond the news bites and daily news stories that populate our main stream media and provides an intimate view of this volatile world providing rare and surprisingly sympathetic insight into both the radical and the moderates.”

The short films ranging from 6 minutes to 40 minutes impressed the judges too. The 2016 Academy Award® Documentary (Short Subject) winner A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, won Best International Short Documentary at the Doc Edge Awards, judges hailing it as “an example of activist filmmaking at its best.” From NZ On the Backs of Women won Best New Zealand Short Documentary, with humorous short film An Animated Guy receiving a special mention.

Marti Friedlander is one of New Zealand's most acclaimed photographers, with a career spanning over 50 years. This year Friedlander was awarded the Doc Edge Superhero Award for her dedication and skill in documenting Aotearoa through still images. A set of black and white images, taken by Friedlander in the 70s, were chosen to grace the covers of the programme and website. Forty years on and Friedlander is keen to find the grinning kids from the images, which were taken in Grey Lynn, Auckland.

Full list of Winners Doc Edge Awards 2016:
Best International Feature - Miners Shot Down

                         -  Special Mention – Sonita

                         -  Special Mention – Among the Believers
Best New Zealand Feature – Loving in Limbo
Best International Short – A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Best New Zealand Short – On the Backs of Women
                          - Special Mention – An Animated Guy
Best International Feature Director - Mohammed Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi, Among The Believers
Best New Zealand Director – Susan Parker, Loving in Limbo
Best New Zealand Editing – The Sound of Her Guitar
Best New Zealand Cinematography - A Kick to Heaven
Best New Zealand Emerging Filmmaker - Lisa Burd, Monterey
Doc Edge Superhero Award - Marti Friedlander

NEW ZEALAND ON AIR AWARDS:
Best TV Documentary or Series  - Target Zero,  Producer/Director: Kathleen Mantel
Best NZ Online Documentary or Web Series  - Loading Docs - Notable Pictures - Julia Parnell
 

Images for winning films available in this dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jjprbf16n0esy3e/AACD__SB-ylNshAryCpr2Zo3a?dl=0

 

For the full programme and the latest news regarding the 2016 season visit
www.docedge.nz

KEY DATES:
4-15 May 2016 - Doc Edge Festival: Wellington – The Roxy, Miramar
18-29 May 2016 - Doc Edge Festival: Auckland – Q Theatre, Auckland CBD
13 May 2016 Screen Edge Forum: Wellington – Park Road Post, Miramar
18 May 2016 Screen Edge Forum: Auckland – AUT, Auckland CBD

Win a double pass to see Money Monster

Win a double pass to see Money Monster

To celebrate the release of Money Monster, in cinemas 2nd June, I've got double passes to see the movie to giveaway!

About Money Monster

In the real-time, high stakes thriller Money Monster, George Clooney and Julia Roberts star as financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty, who are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor who has lost everything (Jack O’Connell) forcefully takes over their studio. 

During a tense stand-off broadcast to millions on live TV, Lee and Patty must work furiously against the clock to unravel the mystery behind a conspiracy at the heart of today's fast-paced, high-tech global markets.

Money Monster is Directed by:Jodie Foster, with a Screenplay by: Jamie Linden and Alan DiFiore & Jim Kouf

Story by:Alan DiFiore & Jim Kouf, Produced by:Daniel Dubiecki, Lara Alameddine, George Clooney, Grant Heslov. Executive Producers: Kerry Orent, Tim Crane, Regina Sculley, Ben Waisbren

Money Monster stars:

George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, Giancarlo Esposito

Money Monster ©2016 CTMG. All rights Reserved. In Cinemas 2nd June.

To enter simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com and in the subject line put MONEY MONSTER. 

Please include your name and address and good luck! NB Competition closes 2 June - editor's decision final!