NZIFF Preview - Hotel Coolgardie, A War, Le Ride

NZIFF Preview - Hotel Coolgardie, A War, Le Ride

With the launch of the Auckland leg of the New Zealand International Film Festival not far away, it's all hands to the programme as cinephiles scour the world's selection of filmic treats.

Likely to do for Aussie outback pubs what Wolf Creek did for Australian outback tourism, doco Hotel Coolgardie follows two Finnish backpackers who wind up working at the titular pub after losing all their cash in Bali.

But much like Wolf Creek, it's no less hellish for the duo in Pete Gleeson's fly-on-the-wall piece that shows tolerance is always on the slide as these so called "fresh meat" take to life behind the bar in a baptism of fire that would see many an HR rep running for the hills, unable to sway those perpetuating the sexism and abuse within.

Hotel Coolgardie

And yet, despite the crassness of the Aussie locals, there's something eminently watchable about the proceedings as it reveals the reality of small towns, where everyone knows your business, where drunk patrons do their best to sleep over with the staff and where there's apparently no such thing as a free ride.

Horrifying on many fronts, Hotel Coolgardie's strengths are its honesty; none of what transpires feels less heart-in-mouth than a horror in many ways, but what Gleeson's managed to do is show the reality of a small town and the sociological traits that lie within; many of which will feel familiar to many in New Zealand no matter how much they may feel shame or deny it. No male in this piece comes off well at all - and the girls' saintliness is only further excelled by the way they deal with what goes on.

Though one suspects tourism to the Coolgardie area won't exactly be on the rise after this hits the circuit.

Equally calm and measured, though no less devastating is Krigen (A War).

Tobias Lindholm's drama takes a look at life in Afghanistan for the boys serving there and also back home where the families have to negotiate life.

While the men tackle the constant threats of IEDs and uncertainty in an Afghan province, the women are dealing with no less volatile situations back on the domestic front that include kids accidentally swallowing pills.

A War

While Lindholm carefully orchestrates events by gradually building up back story, the flesh on the bones of this tale is one of the moral ambiguity of conflict when Game Of Thrones star Pilou Asbaek is forced to make a heat-of-the-moment decision that lands him back in court. Switching from war zone to war court may have crippled any other drama, but due to the gradual drawing out of suspense and the grounding of actual reality, what transpires is no less gripping than previous film fest fave A Hijacking and The Hunt (to which Lindholm contributed a screenplay).

Le Ride sees Phil Keoghan take on his own Amazing Race.

Shorn of the majority of the glamorous trappings of the TV show, Keoghan's desire to demonstrate a little known Kiwi's achievements of the world stage is admirable in its intent.

For many, the name Harry Watson means nothing; but after Le Ride, Keoghan's hope of restoring his name to the annals of history may have taken a large leap. Mixing the Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman ethos of the Long Way Round with a road trip in France, Keoghan and his mate Ben Cornell are determind to follow Watson's path from the 1928 Tour De France.

Le Ride

With a bike that was from the 1928 ride (ie no real gears).

While some of those roads are long gone, this doesn't stop the duo from instigating "the story that has to be told" and setting out on the trail. Mixing archive footage, present day suffering (Keoghan even insisted on keeping to the 1928 diet of bread, cheese and wine) and plenty of lashings of camaraderie and good nature, Le Ride is a journey well worth taking.

With the typical Keoghan charm in the face of growing adversity (from cracks on the bikes to being outbiked by someone in their 60s who took part in the original race), this is never less than genial - and while less is known about Kiwi Harry Watson than any other of any of our more prolific sports exports on the world stage, Keoghan and Cornell ensure that his profile is raised considerably in this piece that quietly salutes his achievements.

Le Ride's greatest achievement will come from being on the NZIFF circuit - granted, Keoghan's high profile should see many more through the doors than simply those within the biking community, but a wider audience will leave feeling they've had access to a story they would normally have never glimpsed into.

Telltale Publishing brings the hit survival game '7 Days to Die' to PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One®

Telltale Publishing brings the hit survival game '7 Days to Die' to PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One®

'7 Days to Die' Crafts Its Undead Survival Phenomenon on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One   Telltale Publishing and The Fun Pimps Release the Hit Survival Horde Crafting Game on Consoles in North America and Europe for the First Time

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., and Dallas, TX, June 28th, 2016 -- Telltale Publishing today announced the release of hit survival horde crafting game 7 Days to Die on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for the first time, as a digital, and a retail product in collaboration with the Dallas-based independent developer, The Fun Pimps.    7 Days to Die is now available in stores at retail and digitally in North America on the PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4, the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One®. The game will also be available starting July 1st both digitally and at retail for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Europe.   Set in a brutally unforgiving post-apocalyptic world overrun by the undead, 7 Days to Die is an open-world survival game that is a unique combination of first person shooter, survival horror, tower defense, and role-playing games. It presents combat, crafting, looting, mining, exploration, and character growth, in a way that has seen a rapturous response from fans worldwide, generating hundreds of thousands of hours of community content on YouTube and other streaming video platforms.   "7 Days to Die has already proven to be wildly popular with over 1.5 million PC users worldwide, and we're thrilled to be expanding this unique take on the survival genre to console players everywhere," said Steve Allison, SVP Publishing at Telltale, Inc. "The Fun Pimps have created something special with this title. The way the game seamlessly combines elements from disparate yet complementary genres, it all comes together in a challenging, terrifying, and above all, enormously fun experience - one that we're incredibly excited to bring to a whole new audience on consoles."   "We're still astounded and humbled by the amazingly positive reaction 7 Days to Die has received from Steam Early Access users on PC," said Rick Huenink, Co-Founder of The Fun Pimps. "Working with Telltale Publishing to bring the game to even more players on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 has been fantastic. We've added some special features just for this console release, and beyond launch, we have some exciting DLC already in the works that we hope console players are going to love."   The console version of 7 Days to Die adds a new multiplayer mode supporting local split-screen for couch play. The game will also be supported by exciting DLC content, beginning with a Walking Dead skin pack featuring characters from the Telltale series, set to release in the coming weeks.   7 Days to Die is rated is rated 'M' (Mature) for Blood and Gore, Strong Language, and Violence by the ESRB. The game is published by Telltale Publishing in partnership with The Fun Pimps.   7 Days to Die is also currently available for Windows, Mac OS X, and SteamOS and Linux in Early Access on the Steam platform. For more information on The Fun Pimps, visit  the official website, follow @7DaystoDie on Twitter, and like 7 Days to Die on Facebook .   For more information on Telltale Publishing, visit the official website, Facebook, and follow  @TelltalePublish on Twitter.

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine DLC: PS4 Review

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine DLC: PS4 Review

Released by CD Projekt Red
Platform: PS4

The Witcher 3 bids farewell in its final expansion DLC after what's been a tremendous release for the series, with critical acclaim ringing in its ears.

It's a fairly familiar premise for those who are already au fait with Geralt of Rivia - there's a beast terrorising the kingdom of Toussaint and it's up to Geralt to slay the beast, save the day and restore the world to safety.

It's Geralt's Witcher powers which make him able to track the Beast of Beauclair - and also which will help with some pretty tough boss fights. However, it's about an investigation, so it takes time naturally to come to a conclusion and that's no bad thing, given the way Toussaint's made up. From splits between worlds and those within, the society is excellently laid real and Geralt's place within is nicely explored as well.

Visually the game's mightily impressive once again, with Toussaint looking incredible in its execution as you explore the deaths of several knights within. Side quests are prevalent once again, but it's the in-depth nature of this DLC that makes it so worth diving into.

The Witcher series has always been about engagement and engrossing yourself in the kingdom and the world within and with some 30 hours of extra work to be done here, there's never any chance of feeling the expansion is a once over lightly style cash in; it's a living breathing final chapter of a series that's as satisfying as it is exciting.

Central Intelligence: Film Review

Central Intelligence: Film Review 

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Amy Ryan
Director: Rawson Marhsall Thurber

Mixing Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion with a spy caper sounds like a recipe for relative success, but Central Intelligence lacks the relative finesse to pull it all off.

That’s despite great chemistry between the two leads, Dwayne The Rock Johnson and everybody’s favourite screeching screen star Kevin Hart.

Johnson plays Bob Stone, who was in an obese high school student humiliated some 20 years ago. Hart is Calvin Joyner, a jock and high school popular guy (known as The Golden Jet) who helped Stone on his lowest day. But voted most likely to succeed, Joyner’s now hit middle age and works as an accountant.

On the eve of their high school reunion, Joyner’s contacted out of the blue by Stone, who’s now a fanny pack, unicorn T-shirt wearing beefcake. Intrigued Joyner goes along to meet him and finds himself thrust into a twisting cul-de-sac of espionage and potential lies.

There may be intelligence in the title, but there’s little intelligence on display throughout this broad buddy comedy.

Granted, the chemistry between the duo propels a lot of the nonsense of Central Intelligence along (before it simply lapses into guns being shot off and traditional action film fare). 

Dwayne Johnson has a blast playing goofy and a bit dorky as the muscle-head and clearly relishes the chance to be a bit broader than his usual action meat and potatoes action hero stance. Playing up the physicality and yet still professing mad love for Sixteen Candles works well for the slightly doofus approach that's taken. And Hart starts off well, winding down the usual squawking he's familiar for - but ultimately, falls back on this schtick of shrill screeching and flapping around.

Ultimately, Central Intelligence will rise and fall on how much you like these two because the plot itself is fairly non-existent and surplus to requirements.

It may sound disingenuous to dismiss Central Intelligence for its intentions, but there aren't enough laughs or more of a hook than the comedian being the straight guy and the action hero being the kook to carry it all the way through.

Fairly generic and formulaic in anything other than the leading duo's chemistry, Central Intelligence is nothing short of slightly punishingly predictable - with neither enough laughs nor enough flair to leave you feeling you've seen something special.

NZIFF Preview - Weiner, Wide Open Sky, Lo and Behold, Swiss Army Man

NZIFF Preview - Weiner, Wide Open Sky, Lo and Behold, Swiss Army Man

The annual cinematic smorgasbord that is the New Zealand International Film Festival has signalled its intentions with the release of the Auckland programme.

With a new Animation mini-season thrown in as well as a healthy selection from Cannes, there’s no sign the festival is in anything other than rude health.

From the Palme D’or winner I, Daniel Blake to the joyous looking Red Turtle (you should always make a beeline to the Civic for any animation), there’s more than enough to satiate the cinematic appetite.

Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World

Much anticipated is Werner Herzog’s Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, in which the German director takes a look at the internet and all that it entails. With his usual breezy voiceover and slightly unusual line of questioning, Herzog’s view of what electronically lies ahead is fascinating and engaging viewing. And his debate over whether the internet can dream of itself is both terrifying and curiously enticing – it’s much Herzog’s MO that makes this doco such an intriguing watch.

Equally enticing and with a title that both simultaneously describes your perception of its subject and names him, Weiner is perhaps one of the stand out docos of the festival.

Weiner

A fascinating look at New York mayoral hopeful and Democratic congressman who torpedoed his own chances by tweeting some less than helpful pictures, Weiner manages fly on the wall mixed with schadenfreude and hubris with equal aplomb. While the director never really gets to ask the central question of why Weiner did such a thing, the fact the cameras continue to roll both demonstrate director Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg’s raison d’etre. Much like the fascination of a burning fire, this threatens to explode everywhere and presents more questions than answers, but it’s a documentary that demands to be seen.

Aussie doco Wide Open Sky arrives at the festival with an audience award from Sydney in tow, and in this crowd-pleasing piece that mixes both Young@Heart with a School of Rock sensibility, the story of teacher Michelle Leonard’s desire to get youngsters in the poorer parts of NSW onto the stage and finding their voices is as uplifting as anything witnessed thus far at this year’s festival. Simply shot and doing exactly what you’d expect given its subject matter, Wide Open Sky is nothing short of joyous; a testament to those who do the right thing, and a platform for the under-appreciated, if it doesn’t leave you feeling like there’s dust in the cinema that’s attacking your eyes, there’s something clearly wrong with you.

Wide Open Sky

Talking of things wrong with you, Swiss Army Man should, in theory, be about as wrong as it can get.

Paul Dano’s Hank is washed up, all at sea, literally and figuratively. Abandoned on a desert island, and with no hope, he’s about to hang himself when Harry Potter’s corpse washes up on the beach. (There’s a delicious irony that the film festival is bringing us a dead Harry Potter when so many of their previous years have seen their runs plagued by the latest outing from the Boy Wizard hitting the box office).

Swiss Army Man

Believing this to be a sign, Hank’s despair rises when Daniel Radcliffe’s Manny offers only flatulence which Hank utilises to jetski off from the island.  Mixing what seems like a puerile idea with some wonderfully crafted moments of profundity, Swiss Army Man is tremendously affecting. There’s no denying it’ll be a polarising experience in many ways, but with some truly wonderful leaps of imagination from Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, it’s actually one of the most original films on the programme, both a simultaneous celebration of life itself and an examination of one man on the brink of life, Dano and Radcliffe make a truly wonderful odd couple on a wonderfully odd journey that’s one of a kind.

London Has Fallen: DVD Review

London Has Fallen: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent


Olympus Has Fallen was stodgy action at best.

The 2013 action flick was, in fairness, a film about a one man secret service against the masses on a quest to ensure his homo-erotic bromance with the Prez was safe from terrorist threats.

So it is with London Has Fallen, an action film brushed with such mind-numbing formulaic touches and flat action sequences that it somehow manages to make its 95 minute run time feel like something of an endurance.

This time around, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler in straight up form) is contemplating quitting POTUS' detail because of impending fatherhood. However, just before he hits send on the email, he's called in to mind Aaron Eckhart's President Benjamin Asher, who's about to be called away to London to attend the state funeral of the UK Prime Minister, who's died without warning.

In among the gathering of all the western heads of the state, Banning isn't happy; with just days to prep a full security detail, it's clear there's danger on every corner.

And it turns out, Banning is right as a major terrorist strike takes out several of the western leaders, leaving Banning and the President on the run....

The thing is with London Has Fallen, there's a kernel of some good ideas trying to raise their head to the cinematic light and trying to poke their way through.

Social commentary on drone strikes and those who perpetrate them from their high and mighty pedestals, terrorist executions on the internet and how budget cuts are forcing security services to compromise ultimately endangering us all are just two of them jostling for creative air to breathe.

Unfortunately, they're lambasted into obscurity and battered into submission by seriously sub-par FX (which would easily be bettered on any of the next gen consoles) and by a script that pushes racism and below par comments from Banning as he dispatches the bad guys amid a hail of bullets and never once copping any single flak a la The A Team.

The worst of these offending dispatches comes with Banning telling one that he needs to "go back to F**kheadistan" without any sense of irony and with every sense of lunk-headed racism. It's essentially, Team America: World Police but without any of the subtlety. (An oxymoron I am very aware of).

Half the problem is London Has Fallen takes itself so seriously that it has to be measured by the same standards, and finds itself wanting on so many levels.

Lacking any sense of fun or even any feel of urgency, London Has Fallen may pile in the rote action sequences but not one of them stands out from the crowd, feeling like it's been designed by committee and executed by no-one with any particular flair. Explosions taking out London landmarks have no emotional weight and don't carry any of the vicarious thrill or weight that seeing the likes of the White House vaporised by an alien spacecraft can muster.

By utilising a sprawling city, London has effectively traded some of the claustrophobia from the White House that was so well used and exploited in Olympus Has Fallen.

Equally, the final sections suddenly remember there are a few extraneous plot threads which need erroneously tying up with sudden urgency. (Don't even get me started on how this world is not one for women, the majority of whom are confined to either death, being sidelined with pregnancy and looking worried or forgotten about despite initially being part of the script).\

Depressingly, it'll no doubt do gang-busters as the box office, precipitating yet another sequel, with no doubt Butler reprising his woeful John McClane impression.

While it does require some commendation for mocking worldwide perceptions and stereotypes of the western leaders (the French premier decides to be 10 minutes late to the funeral, the Italian prime minister is lustily showing a 30 year around on a private tour), there's nothing clever about the rest of the execution of London Has Fallen, an un-PC, tedious and desperately below-par action film.

Rating:

Galaga / PacMan: PS4 Review

Galaga / PacMan: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Bandai Namco

Galaga was a childhood obsession of mine.

The arcade game dropped in 1981 and was a simple concept; a top down static shooter that saw waves of bees and wasp like creatures bearing down on you.

Along with Pac-Man, a lot of my time was eaten up – along with my money – in arcades endlessly replaying these classic and simply executed games.

The Bandai Namco re-release along with Pac-Man and Dig Dug has formed a PSN pack to be downloaded onto the PS4 – and to ensure all that pain of the childhood is unleashed once again.

The ports are incredibly faithful and well executed; not one of them feels like the originals have been tinkered with and as a result, these games feel like a step back in time in terms of gameplay.

Within 2 minutes of Galaga being fired up, I was being killed in exactly the same way I was when I was 14.

And that was both a source of glee and frustration.

The PS4 controller works well for Galaga but doesn’t fare as well with the directional controls of both Pac-Man and Dig Dug, with deaths easily avoidable had the game simply been an old fashioned joystick.

But that’s a minor niggle for a pretty damn sweet set of reminiscences that look and play like the originals – in this day of tinkering and reversioning the classics that all of these games are exactly how you remember them is a welcome diversion.

Ultimately, you’ll lose the same amount of time you always did when you were younger and you’ll love every damn addictive last second of it.