Certain Women: NZIFF Review

Certain Women: NZIFF Review

Slow film is in many ways Kelly Reichardt's MO.

After Wendy and Lucy and Meek's Cutoff, her latest, despite the wondrous Montana Mountains backdrop, may leave many pondering the point of the film in the first place.

Pulling together a triptych of stories involving women, Certain Women feels slight in its narrative weights, a loosely connected tapestry that struggles to engage.

From Laura Dern's lawyer called on to help a wronged client to Michelle Williams' wanting of sand stone from a nearby house, there is only the thinnest of pretexts to connect the two. (It's more than the mountains that join the two, but only just).

Fortunately the last section with Laura Gladstone, a ranch hand who latches onto Kristen Stewart's night school teacher has a relatively understated punch that lands as it should. Using looped and repeated rhythms of her daily routine, Reichardt brings a palpable sense of joy to their interaction and an understanding of why Gladstone's character has fallen so headstrong and utterly for her. It's quiet to say the least, but the mosey nearly was worthy of a jump out of the seat fist pump kind of moment.

Which is why the rest of this adaptation of a trio of short stories from Montana writer Maile Meloy feels potentially like it falls short.

The evocative landscape is wonderfully woven into the fabric, but the rest of the tapestry feels less focused and more blurred to the naked eye as this study of flaws plays out.

Not a mess by any stretch of the imagination, Certain Women will work best if its lyrical quixotic edges wash over you - but be paying attention for the final story, as among the terrifically shot and evocative Montana mountain background, that's worth the price of admission alone.

Beware The Slenderman: NZIFF Review

Beware The Slenderman: NZIFF Review

If Beware the Slenderman does anything, it's to show once again that real life is as spooky as and stranger than fiction.

In a doco that feels unfinished, due to the ongoing court case of two girls in mid-America accused of attempting to murder their friend, Beware the Slenderman seems more concerned with the realities behind the perpetrators, rather than sensationalism.

Starting with found footage that wouldn't be out of place in either The Blair Witch Project or the inevitable Slenderman film, Irene Taylor Brodsky's doco seems to choose the more sensationalist approach as a starting point. Exploring the back story of the urban legend, the film's predilection with the titular character is almost as obsessive as the shaky cam videos that scatter the Internet and purport to show the be-suited pale faced creation.

It's definitely about context, but once this side is laid to rest, what emerges, thanks to a combination of both police interviews and talking heads, is a more tragic tale that's not as easy to lay blame at.

The parents of both Morgan and Anissa are interviewed; and in a move that will stun the ready-to-damn world, they prove to be rational sensible folk, caught aghast in the fallout from their offspring's behaviour. If anything, that's where the more troubling parts of this doco lie- despite interludes from digi folklorists and psychologists, there's nothing to detract from the basic human  liability behind these crimes.

Unfortunately as the film heads toward its end, it's clear the struggle over how to try these kids is nowhere near finished and so Brodsky's doco (and consequently the audience) is robbed of resolution. Equally the ongoing case means no interviews with either Morgan, Anissa or their victim which feels difficult to reconcile.

Ultimately, Beware The Slenderman is more about tragedy than urban legend. And thanks to a non judgemental construction, Brodsky's doco is a smart, chilling insight into the digital age that continues, god forbid, to gather pace at an extremely alarming rate.

No Man's Sky Trailers

No Man's Sky Trailers

With the release of No Man's Sky just over the horizon, a new series of videos have been unveiled.

The new No Man's Sky Fight Gameplay Trailer is here! It’s the second in a series of four trailers that continues to answer the question: What do you do in No Man’s Sky?

Fight shows the power hungry trade fleets, killer robots, crab-faced-spider-aliens and more that players will have to fight to survive in No Man’s Sky.

You can check out the Fight trailer here.

Each trailer will explore the four key pillars to the game: explore, trade, fight and survive, so stay tuned for more!

Your Universe Awaits – 10^th August on PS4.

"Walking Dead" third season screens unveiled

"Walking Dead" third season screens unveiled

More of 'The Walking Dead' Third Season from Telltale  Revealed During San Diego Comic Con New Season in Critically-Acclaimed Series Premieres This Fall

Fellow Survivors, In celebration of SDCC this week, Telltale joined our friends at Skybound Entertainment live on stage to discuss a few more details on our upcoming season of The Walking Dead. Eagle-eyed fans will recognize that the poster revealed today is an homage to the original poster for The Walking Dead when the concept was first shown at SDCC in 2011. In contrast to the original, Clem is no longer being protected, and stands shoulder to shoulder with mysterious newcomer Javier. We'll be sharing some details later this summer on how you may be able to get your hands on a special limited-edition run of this poster. The Walking Dead's Creative Director Dennis Lenart from Telltale was joined by Melissa Hutchison (voice of Clementine) to share a few more details about the upcoming season, and tried their best not to spoil the story that's yet to come. What they could share was your first new look at the season since it was revealed at E3 last month. In this first shot, you'll see Javier and Clementine making their way through a walker-infested slaughterhouse. Remember, you'll be playing as both characters, although you may not be playing each character within the same frame of time... Another unique aspect of this third season is that while it absolutely continues the story of the previous two seasons, it also serves as a new entry point for fans who've yet to be caught up to speed. Players starting with this third season will be introduced to young survivor AJ, who fans will recognize as the son of Rebecca from Season Two - and we can confirm that he will be making an appearance in this season as well. So players who are new to the series will have a chance to learn more about Clementine's backstory, while at the same time, those who haveplayed previous seasons will have a story that's uniquely tailored to the diverging paths they've taken in the past. Lenart also discussed the importance of playing as Javier, and how the team was able to create a character without any prior relationship with Clementine. This will provide an interesting opportunity for players to meet a character they may have helped shape. They'll also have a chance to play as a survivor fresh to the series, who is currently struggling to keep his family together in the face of the undead apocalypse. Stay tuned for more news as it happens on this upcoming third season, as we gear up towards the premiere coming later this fall!

Destiny: Rise of Iron announces Gjallarwing Sparrow

Destiny: Rise of Iron announces Gjallarwing Sparrow

Hi All,

Today we’re pleased to announce an exclusive new bonus for those who pre-order Destiny: Rise of Iron.

Revealed during our Destiny: Rise of Iron livestream, those who have pre-ordered the game will be receiving the Gjallarwing Sparrow alongside the Iron Gjallarhorn.

An iron steed for all your adventures, the Gjallarwing is uniquely themed in black and silver.

Keith Bachman, Art Lead on the Live Team at Bungie shared that it has been a real team effort stating, “We were working on the Iron Gjally, and rediscovering the detail and elegance was pretty moving. As we started to build our sparrow list, well, I think it was something like, ‘Oh, hell yeah!’”

See the coveted Gjallarwing Sparrow in action in the official trailer as well as a link to download assets here.

Destiny: Rise of Iron launches on September 20, 2016 and will be available for the PlayStation®4 system and Xbox One. Pre-orders are available now.

Demolition: Film Review

Demolition: Film Review

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper, Judah Lewis, Heather Lind
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee

Visual subtlety is in short supply in Jean Marc Vallee's Demolition, wherein Jake Gyllenhaal's grieving investment broker literally has to tear his life apart to put it back together again.

Mercifully though, there is a Jake Gyllenhaal performance that enlivens proceedings without resorting to tics and tricks to keep the audience engaged. Charisma here is as obvious as the guy who intones early on that "Everything is a metaphor".

Gyllenhaal plays Davis, whose wife is killed in a smash; he escapes with not a scratch, but starts to wake up from his previous life and behave unusually. Whereas Davis was previously detached from engaging with others, he fixates and forms a friendship with Karen (Naomi Watts) a customer service rep for a vending machine company that Davis has a beef with.

As his resentful father in law Phil (the ever stoic Chris Cooper) tries to get Davis to help create something for his daughter's death, the grief treats him differently and Davis' world changes.

Dallas Buyers' Club director Jean-Marc Vallee relies on his patented looped reflections, backward cuts and dreamlike shots to build this slightly over egged concoction that has as left-field an ending as anything witnessed in 2016's cinematic pantheon.

Mind you, it's to be expected in its treatment of two side characters whose usefulness simply narratively grinds to a halt inside a cliched cul de sac (a son struggling with who he is, played by Lewish and Watts' mother whose connection with all is lost in case you're counting.) It's a shame because the third act's intentions thoroughly derail the narrative train that's been running through - a man in crisis trying to deal with what's around and inside him.

The letters Davis sends to Karen and the vending machine company do an astute job of servicing both exposition and back-story, and add a quirkier edge to proceedings as we watch one man succumb to a degree of sociopathic behaviour, mental illness and incapacity. 

There's little predictability in the earlier moments of the film, but these fall by the wayside as the film tries to wrap up what were hitherto nicely disparate threads that bordered on a poignancy into a schmaltzy gooey end. 

Certainly, the aforementioned ending does little to complement what has already transpired and feels like a betrayal in many ways, offering a redemption that doesn't feel earned or sought after. 

But it's a sensational turn from Gyllenhaal that really anchors Demolition, an eclectic observation of grief and a drama that stands out despite some flaws. 

Star Trek Beyond: Film Review

Star Trek Beyond: Film Review

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella
Director: Justin Lin

So it appears the answer to the question how do you keep the Star Trek franchise fresh and exciting as it enters its 50th year is to throw in a motorbike sequence that has shades of Evel Knievel within.

Perhaps that's no surprise given the helmer of this piece is Fast and Furious' Justin Lin and at times, the action is very much a case of spectacle over sense in Star Trek: Beyond.

In this latest, Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the Enterprise are three years into their five year mission to explore new worlds (the first of Simon Pegg's script references to the original). But Kirk's nagged by a sense of tedium and monotony.

However, just as his apathy is about to see him accept a vice-admiralty, the crew of the Enterprise are lured into a trap by an evil villain named Krall (Idris Elba)....

Star Trek: Beyond certainly has the reverence for the franchise, and the script by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung is clearly steeped in affection, as well as an execution that's energetic.

Some of the greater moments of the series are embraced for this outing too; from the pairing and squabblingly affectionate duo of Karl Urban's Bones with Zachary Quinto's Spock to a lovely visual at the end, this is a film that knows what made the series so beloved by fans. But it also knows that character is what made the Trek universe so vital and why it stands a testament of time. The Enterprise ensemble is a little crowded by Pegg and Jung's script smartly splits them all up when the ship goes down (one of the film's best sequences, both taut, tight and thrilling); and it's here that the character driven moments tend to take over and remind you why it works.

But then it's also a film that bows to fun too, with the aforementioned motorbike sequence likely to polarise and the use of a Beastie Boys track simply confounding any kind of seriousness, opting for silly instead. Perhaps, that's bravura - time will tell, but certainly with some of the FX ships in Krall's swarm flying around looking like iron filings trapped in a blender that's on double time, that debate could be a heated one. Certainly the fun and pace of Justin Lin's Star Trek film allows the spectacle to head over any kind of common sense.

And then there's the bad guy - Idris Elba as Krall, who seems to suffer from Villain Writing 101, where the baddie comes skulking out of the shadows, delivers his disgruntled reason for taking down everyone and retreats off again ready to beaten. Krall is not a memorable villain at all, and it's a shame given the stature of the actor within that he's reduced to a prosthetics once over.

Above it all though, and as Trek so often has, it all comes back to Captain Kirk.

Chris Pine's wearied initial and melancholic approach is a nice touch, and the script's chutzpah to drop them 3 years into the 5 year mission gives the whole thing both a nostalgic gloss and a nod that even the future is space is as dull as the monotony of a 9 to 5 on Earth. But it's never anything less than Pine's film and he delivers it with grace, action hero swagger and a vocal nod to where it all started.

Star Trek Beyond may not be perfect, but it's fun blockbuster fodder that offers up action over smarts. While its franchise's future is never anything less than assured, it's great to see the reverence it treats its own past with - without alienating those who simply want a rip-roaring night out (as long as you beam your brain up).