Peanuts: The Charlie Brown Movie: DVD Review

Peanuts: The Charlie Brown Movie: DVD Review

Released by 20th Century Fox Home Ent

There's an old school nostalgia that swathes the heart-warming Peanuts Movie like a cozy blanket.

And while the cynical, brought up on a diet of post-modern ironic CGI animated fare that clocks a wink at its audience, may scoff at its endearing cuteness, the effect of seeing Charles M Schulz's characters writ large and with due reverence on the big screen is nothing short of a nostalgic treat to start the new year off.

It's a simple story - Charlie Brown finds his life upended when the little red-haired girl from the cartoons moves over the road from him; determined to make her acquaintance, Charlie sets out on a life-changing journey. Meanwhile, Snoopy's engaged in yet another fight with the Red Baron....

At its most basic level, The Peanuts Movie is a melange of episodic moments stitched together with the flimsiest of threads, but the messages within are honest and earnest. Charlie Brown remains the blockhead he has always been, but his loveable loser schtick will strike a chord with many youngsters who see elements of themselves within.

Sure the message to be true to thine self and to act with integrity is nothing original, but the lack of preachiness goes a long way to making this spoonful of sugar easily slip down.

Mentions of The Great Pumpkin, the kite-eating tree, that mound where so many humiliations have occurred are lashed together in a web that sees Snoopy taking on the Red Baron once again and Charlie Brown trying to get a win in life.

Flights of fancy come quick and fast in this flick that revels in its old school charm and yesteryear elements. 


There's nothing wrong with the family values it espouses and the animation certainly holds true to the Charlie Brown we've seen on TV - even if this Charlie Brown is likely to resonate more with those who've grown up with the TV specials and the strips. In many ways, this Peanuts Movie is not what you'd expect from films these days - there's no smart nods to the audience, no clever meta-plot and no push for the origin of Charlie and Snoopy's friendship. It's good, old-fashioned Peanuts that works as a shapeless narrative and crucially, feels like a series of episodic panels and sketches thrown together in a 90 minute meshed film.

There's a nice parallel between Snoopy and his endless Red Baron adventures trying to save Fifi, his imaginary love and Charlie Brown's pursuit of the little red-headed girl. While the Snoopy sections may drag on a little, the Charlie Brown quests for recognition and over-coming his own awkwardness to speak to her have volumes of charm and sweet innocence that a younger audience will latch onto.

The 3D works nicely and is more about presenting rounder characters (though ironically, a lot of Charlie Brown's chums are sidelined with little on screen interaction) rather than a bells and whistles showiness. The film-makers are wise to Brown's continual string of losses, a running gag of the panels and a truism of his life, but are smart enough to also realise that he needs a minor win for audiences to follow on the journey with him.

But it's the moments of the past that stand out - when Brown daydreams he does so with black and white panels that Charles M Schulz so lovingly crafted. It's a beautiful touch, an innocent moment which legions of his fans will sigh a relief at rather than let out an exasperated "Good Grief".


As a trip down memory lane and with Schulz's good intentions, this family film may provoke a few moments of apathy for the older members of the audience and perhaps a younger end brought up on savvier fare, but its faithful nostalgia and simpler yet reverent greatest hits story-telling is a welcome breath of fresh cinematic air. 

Rating:

Newstalk ZB Review - The Conjuring 2, Now You See Me 2 and Room

Newstalk ZB Review - The Conjuring 2, Now You See Me 2 and Room

Today on Jack Tame, it was scares and magicians as well as a Josef Fritzl-esque story.

Click the link below to listen to The Conjuring 2 review, Now You See Me 2 Review and Room on DVD.

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-the-conjuring-2-now-you-see-me-2/

How To Be Single: Blu Ray Review

How To Be Single

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

Here we go, another NYC set rom com where a group of single ladies navigate the scene with mixed and apparently hilarious results.

Based on Liz Tuccillo's novel of the same name, How To Be Single follows 50 Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson's Alice who dumps her college boyfriend of four years so she can see what life as a singleton is like.

Working as a paralegal in a firm, she makes friends with Rebel Wilson's Robin, who parties most of the night and encourages her to play the field. But as she does so, she finds herself falling into more relationships than she desires and dealing with the fallout from them.

How To Be Single is frankly a mess.

Despite its intentions to be different and its desire to present women as needing no men in their lives to get by, the film hits every rom-com cliche and feels so generic that it fails to stand out from the crowd as it plays out.

While Johnson does the best she can with her relatively two dimensional character, she's the only one to fare reasonably by the script, which seems determined to put the women back in relationships, rather than explore their single-ladies-ness.

Rebel Wilson exists only to be the party-hard blow hard (in fact, her introduction in the piece feels like the writers took the club sequence of her sitcom Super Fun Night and re-purposed it) and despite attempts to beef her up at the end with some back-story, she's nothing more than a cypher. Equally Mann's workaholic OB-GYN nurse who decides she wants a baby ends up as nothing more than a kooky crazy unable to express her feelings. Worst of all is Alison Brie, who ends up shoe-horned into proceedings, never appears to gel with the rest of the group and whose OCD to use computers to find the perfect match and explodes when things don't go well would normally see her prescribed some kind of medication, but is here exploited for laughs (cause we all have a crazed friend, right, ladies?).

Occasionally the script makes nods to pop culture (both Sex and the City and Ross' desire to take a break are the best throwaway lines) but How To Be Single aspires to be nothing more than chick kryptonite as it exploits its NYC tourism spots and its protagonists' propensity for kookiness.

While ladies on a night out may get something out of this film, How To Be Single serves only low hanging fruit and offers the pantheon of rom-coms nothing new, preferring to proffer up cliches and patchily painful moments.

Rating:

Sing Street: Film Review

Sing Street: Film Review

Cast: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Jack Reynor, Aiden Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy
Director: John Carney

There’s plenty to love in John Carney’s cloyingly generic yet somehow winning uplifting coming of age tale, Sing Street, even if it does skirt with a story you’ve heard many times before and tackles any kind of cynicism head on.

Carney’s musical trilogy and the meaning of music began with the romance of the duo of Once, before taking a circuitous route with Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in Begin Again.

It’s come full circle with 80s Dublin set tale Dublin about Conor (newcomer Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, channeling elements of Moone Boy Padraig’s charming simplicity) and his uprooting to a state school, because of financial family issues.

Initially bullied at the new school (so far, so stereotypical) Conor decides on a whim to impress Lucy Boynton’s Raphina whom he sees hanging about the school. Believing her claim she's a model and needing to be cool, he tells her he’s in a band and they need for a shoot.

The only problem – the band’s non-existent and the clock is ticking for Conor to pull together a ragtag crew of musical misfits to win over the day - and potentially, the girl.

As previously alluded to, the musical comedy Sing Street isn’t exactly original, but by goodness, it’s certainly heart-warming fare that proves hard to resist, thanks to a heady mix of pop nostalgia and some solid performances from a largely unknown cast as well as a comic script that is laugh out loud funny in places and bitterly recognisable in others.

But it also helps that Carney once again demonstrates his immense directorial nous for bringing music to life.

As with Once’s 2007 pairing of Glen and Marketa’s live performance inside a studio and 2013’s Begin Again bringing dormant musical instruments together to show how a song is constructed by those who understand music, Carney’s exuberance is evident in his musical execution.

From the faux New Romantic Be Kind Rewind style video of Conor’s first song (the annoyingly catchy earworm The Riddle of The Model) to a tautly executed shot from within a solo rehearsal in a front room that swirls and turns into a full on front room band performance, Carney’s aptitude for breathing life into music and demonstrating why so many are so passionate about it is immensely and satisfyingly contagious.

There’s an earnestness to Sing Street that is undeniable too, even if it does wear its heart on its sleeve and bellows its occasionally bittersweet, happy/ sad narrative universality to many.

The whole story actually pivots on the fraternal relationship between Conor and the terrific Jack Reynor’s Brendon, a college drop-out and stoner whose guidance of Conor’s musical education becomes more formative than he could have realised.

While the other fripperies of the coming-of-age genre are skirted with (hints of abusive priests at school, the bully at school, the potentially unattainable girl) and the characters of the band fall away in the wash, underdeveloped despite initial flirtations and amusements, this one relationship between brothers is central to proceedings and is as crucial to the proceedings as Conor’s musical journey.

There’s no denying that the rite-of-passage Sing Street is wish-fulfilment film-making in extremis and feel-good fare that could clog the arteries , but it’s difficult not to fall hard for this toe-tapping flick given the immense charm and spirited optimistic energy that springs from the screen.

New HITMAN Elusive Target Live Now

New HITMAN Elusive Target Live Now  

New HITMAN Elusive Target Live Now

SYDNEY, 9^TH June 2016 - The third Elusive Target, The Prince is now live in Sapienza across all platforms. A briefing video is available online and in-game to help players determine the approximate location of the target.

Players will need to own HITMAN Episode 2: Sapienza in order to access this content.

*This Elusive Target is available for 72 hours

Elusive Targets are part of the live content being published for HITMAN in-between episodes and represent a new game mode debuting for players. They are not going to be easy but if you can prove yourself, you’ll earn in-game rewards for completing multiple Elusive Target contracts, such as signature suits from previous Hitman games. You will receive the first reward for successfully completing 5 Elusive Target contracts.

The Elusive Targets are specially crafted, unique targets, which come with particular rules:

• An Elusive Target is a once in a lifetime experience
• They are available for a limited time only in game
• Intel on the target will be limited
• They will not appear in instinct mode, or the mini map and their locations will not be revealed to you – you’ll have to go and find them
• Plan accordingly before you engage your target
• Your target can only die once
• If you die during the mission, that’s it
• When the time runs out, they are gone for good
• If you fail, there are no second chances

Don’t miss.

Start time: Live Now

End time:  Saturday June 11 

Call of Duty XP event unveiled

Call of Duty XP event unveiled

CALL OF DUTY XP, THE BIGGEST CALL OF DUTY FAN EVENT IN HISTORY, TAKING PLACE IN LOS ANGELES SEPTEMBER 2-4

Call of Duty World League Culminates as Best Esports Players in the World Compete for More Than $2 Million in Prizing at the Call of Duty World League Championship, Presented by PlayStation®4

Epic Fan Celebration Also Includes the World Premiere and First Hands-On of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered Multiplayer, and New Downloadable Content for Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Multi-Day Experience to Feature Interactive Call of Duty-Themed Activations, Including the First Call of Duty VR Experience, Exhibits, Developer Panels, Surprise Musical Guest and More

Tickets On-Sale June 12

Auckland, New Zealand – June 9, 2016 – Call of Duty fans, prepare for the biggest gathering of the global Call of Duty® community, as Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), presents Call of Duty XP, the ultimate interactive experience and fan celebration, taking place at the Forum in Inglewood, California, September 2 - 4.  Call of Duty XP 2016 will bring the thrilling finals to the Call of Duty World League Championship, Presented by PlayStation®4 and played on Call of Duty: Black Ops III, as well as the reveal and first hands-on for Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare multiplayer, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered multiplayer and new Call of Duty: Black Ops III Downloadable Content. Fans will also get to play the firstCall of Duty VR experience on site, and will have other ‘you-had-to-be-there’ live action experiences inspired by Call of Duty, including Nuketown paintball, Zombies laser tag and other fun. 

The epic Call of Duty XP festivities centre around the eagerly-awaited Call of Duty World League Championship, Presented by PlayStation®4, the culmination of the inaugural season of the Call of Duty® World League (CWL), Presented by PlayStation®4. After nearly a year of tough competition from across the globe, 32 of the top teams worldwide will compete for more than $2 million in prizing, as part of the CWL’s 2016 prize pool which tops $3.5 million.  Both prizes are the largest in Call of Duty history. After setting viewership records for Call of Duty competitive events during the Stage 1 Finals, the CWL is moving toward the highly-anticipated Stage 2 Finals, where the first Call of Duty World League Championship qualifiers will be determined. Major League Gaming is the official tournament operator of the Call of Duty World League Championship, Presented by PlayStation®4. Fans can watch the excitement unfold live in game (Black Ops III PS4) via the Live Event Viewer, MLG.tv on the web and mobile devices, and at www.callofduty.com.

Additionally, live at Call of Duty XP, thousands of eager fans will witness the world-premiere of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare multiplayer, and be the first in the world to go hands-on with multiplayer as well as Infinity Ward’s all-new cooperative zombies mode.  Attendees will also be the first to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered multiplayer. Fans have the rare opportunity to play the latest Call of Duty games before their highly-anticipated November 4^th release. Additionally, further reflecting the full breadth of the Call of Duty franchise, attendees will be among the first to play new downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops III. All Call of Duty XP attendees will have the chance to compete for prizes by showcasing their skills in 6 vs. 6 competitive matches, as more than 500 gameplay stations will be set up on site for fans to enjoy.

"Call of Duty XP is going to be the biggest Call of Duty fan celebration in history,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “The best Call of Duty players in the world will be front and centre trying to win the first Call of Duty World League Championship at what is sure to be our biggest Esports event ever. Plus, fans will be able to see and play more hands-on content and reveals in one place than we’ve ever had, from Infinite Warfare, to Modern Warfare Remastered to Black Ops III DLC. Plus, there will be an off-the-charts list of Call of Duty inspired activities that you can't experience anywhere else.”

Built specifically for the community, Call of Duty XP immerses fans in all of the action and excitement that embody Call of Duty. Players will be able to challenge each other in a frenetic paintball battle on a life-sized Call of Duty: Black Ops Nuketown multiplayer map, or team up with other fans in an intense laser tag experience inspired by Infinite Warfare’s new zombies game mode.

“As a presenting partner of the Call of Duty World League, it’s been exciting to watch these talented teams compete and we’re looking forward to the culmination of the tournament during the Call of Duty Championship. We’re also thrilled to be bringing PlayStation VR to the amazing line-up of event activities, where fans will experience the thrill of piloting their own Jackal fighter jet,” said Adam Boyes, VP of Publisher Relations, Sony Interactive Entertainment America. “We’re proud to partner with Activision and Call of Duty on the return of this historic fan celebration and this can’t miss Call of Duty community gathering.”

Other Call of Duty XP activities include:

·         Immersive PlayStation® VR Experience, where fans can feel what it’s like to pilot a Jackal, the personal fighter jet in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

·         Dedicated Call of Duty developer panels and Q&As from Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games

·         Onsite Call of Duty armoury and franchise museum

·         Call of Duty photo booths and experiential activities

·         Surprise musical guest

·         More attractions to be announced at a later date

Tickets for Call of Duty XP are available at three price levels and will go on sale at 6:00am NZ Time on June 12:

·         Enlisted Ticket: $US49* – General Admission seating for three days of the Call of Duty World League Championship, Presented by PlayStation®4 and access to Call of Duty XP gameplay and activities

·         Veteran Ticket: $US129* – General Admission seating for three days of the Call of Duty World League Championship, Presented by PlayStation®4, access to Call of Duty XP gameplay and activities, the $US80 digital Legacy edition of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and a Care Package with exclusive Call of Duty XP swag

·         Prestige Ticket: $US199* – Scheduled activities and gameplay, VIP line for activities and gameplay, Player Meet and Greets, access to the VIP lounge, parking pass, premium seating for theCall of Duty: Infinite Warfare multiplayer reveal and Call of Duty World League Championship, Presented by PlayStation®4, a $US100 Digital Deluxe version of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and a Care Package with exclusive Call of Duty XP swag

*Ticket prices will include additional service fees.

Additionally, all ticket levels will include bonus digital content for both Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which include a calling card and weapon camo for each game.

For fans who can’t attend Call of Duty XP in person, select events from the celebration, as well as the Call of Duty World League Championship, Presented by PlayStation®4, will be livestreamed in HD on Twitch at www.twitch.tv/callofduty and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/callofduty.

Call of Duty XP precedes the year’s most anticipated entertainment launch on November 4^th when Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare launches worldwide, along with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered*, both of which to release on PlayStation® 4, Xbox One and PC.  The titles are not yet rated.

Deus Ex Universe Announcements

Deus Ex Universe Announcements

THE DEUS EX UNIVERSE EXPANDS WITH

DEUS EX: MANKIND DIVIDED - BREACH and DEUS EX GO

- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s experience reinforced with the “Breach” mode -

- Deus Ex joins the GO line up-

SYDNEY, 9^TH June 2016 – Award-winning Canadian studios Eidos®-Montréal and Square-Enix® Montréal today announced two new additions to the Deus Ex Universe®: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided® – Breach and Deus Ex GO™, both bringing new elements to the rich transmedia universe.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Breach is an innovative game mode included in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. This new take on the game offers, for the very first time, an arcade approach on the gameplay of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, providing players with a connected puzzle shooter experience. As a Ripper, your objective is to obtain and sell highly classified corporate data by infiltrating some of the world’s most secure servers, using the funds you acquire to upgrade both your skills and arsenal. As you play, the rewards you earn, including XP, credits, and booster packs, will allow you to face the increasing difficulty of the game. Challenge yourself, your friends, and people from around the world in the ultimate Deus Ex® arcade twist. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Breach is a live game mode, introducing new challenges and features by rolling out updates on a regular basis.

Watch Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Breach 101 trailer

“We are introducing a brand new game mode to Deus Ex. In addition to being a new visual approach for the players, the Breach mode broadens the lore of the Deus Ex universe” said David Anfossi, Head of Studio at Eidos-Montréal. “Breach also reinforces Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s gameplay experience with a totally different setting”

Deus Ex GO is a turn-based infiltration puzzle game set in a stylized interpretation of the Deus Ex Universe. As double agent Adam Jensen, you’ll use hacking, combat, and augmentations to solve the most challenging puzzles of the entire GO series. Work alongside your allies in TF29 and the Juggernaut Collective as you infiltrate locations to unravel the conspiracy behind a terrorist plot.”

Watch the Deus Ex GO Reveal Teaser

“With Deus Ex, we are taking the GO franchise to another level. We are building on the learnings of Hitman™ and Lara Croft® to go a step further with Deus Ex in terms of visual, game design and social features” said Patrick Naud, Head of Studio at Square Enix Montreal.

The Deus Ex Universe is also expanding outside of the video game world: Eidos-Montréal has partnered with Open Bionics, the award-winning robotics start-up and Razer, the world leader in creating connected devices and software for gamers to bring Deus Ex inspired augmentations to life. The three companies will partner up to help bridge the gap between fiction and reality, working together to design, 3D print, scan, power, and create affordable bionic hands. This initiative will combine the expertise of each company, with the ultimate goal being to make fashionable robotic prosthesis accessible to a larger audience. More information can be found here.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will launch on August 23^rd for PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and Windows PC.

Deus Ex GO will be arriving this winter on phones and tablets.