At Darren's World of Entertainment

Tuesday, 9 August 2016

HITMAN Episode 4 Bangkok Release Date

HITMAN: Episode 4 Bangkok Coming August 16^th

SYDNEY, 8^TH August 2016 - Io-Interactive today confirms that episode 4 of HITMAN will be set in Bangkok and will be arriving on August 16^th.

The "Club 27" mission transports players to the opulence and splendour of the Himmapan luxury hotel and resort, situated on the Chao Phraya River outside Bangkok. Your targets are rising rock star Jordan Cross, front man of trending indie band The Class, and Cross’ family lawyer, Ken Morgan. Both are currently residing at the luxury hotel as the band finishes its highly-anticipated sophomore album.

Explore the grand hotel's exquisite interiors and bask in the natural beauty of the exotic gardens adorning the hotel's exterior pavilions. Or just enjoy the vista of the Chao Phraya River as you plan how best to carry out your mission.

“Bangkok is the exotic setting for the next episode in our HITMAN season,” said Hannes Seifert, Studio Head at Io-Interactive. “We’ve gone a bit rock and roll with this one as your targets are the lead singer of the band The Class and his family lawyer – so expect musical instruments to be used for some unusual activity.”

With all-new opportunities and disguises, plus over 65 different challenges unlocking new gear, weapons, and items, Episode 4: Bangkok is not to be missed.

An early sneak peek of the new episode is available via the latest music video ‘Are We Stars’ from Jordon Cross and his band The Class, filmed on location at the Himmapan hotel in Bangkok: https://youtu.be/iy7p9IkAmj0

HITMAN began with a Prologue and Paris location in March, continued with Episode 2: Sapienza in April, Episode 3: Marrakesh in May, the Bonus Episode in July and Episode 4: Bangkok in August. Next will be the United States before the season finale in Japan later in 2016.

HITMAN is available on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent

Zack Snyder is not the kind of director who is going to deliver subtly.

And given that, the revelation that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is an exercise in wilfull bombast turned up to 11, will come as no surprise to anyone.

In this iconic showdown, served up with hints of foreshadowing and set up, Snyder has served up a film that's indifferent to the cries that haunted Man Of Steel and carried on the idea of spectacle over story, of destruction triumphing once again over coherency.

And yet, as the film begins, delivering, once again, a re-view of how the Bat came to be, the indifference is tempered by the 9/11 allegories, contemporary bombings and allusions that span off from the massive fight with General Zod at the end of Man Of Steel. The ground level view of the fracas is impressive and sets out the film's stall and MO with ease -it is a film of consequence as it starts both Batman and Superman on a collision course with each other.

But this is also a story of guilt, of seething indignation and of cunning, all lassoed together with an all too brief appearance from Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, all lithe kicks and guitar licks when she finally shows.

Affleck surprises as Bruce Wayne, a greyed, chiseled and buffed up Bats, who's wearied by the continuing injustice around him and whose bubbling anger is borne of a desire to protect. Equally, Cavill conveys the gravitas needed as the bell tolls for him in light of his previous actions and the raging public suspicion and debate that this Messiah may just be a naughty boy whose intentions are less than good.

Snyder makes an excellent fist of setting up these character conflicts and uses a nervy wiry Jesse Eisenberg as the puppet master / Joker-esque Lex Luthor to tug at the strings for his own nefarious means. (Even if Eisenberg's twitchy Zuckerberg-lite character is polarising, switching between manic and overly chatty bordering on the intellectual camp of a 60s Bat-villain a la Riddler).

But despite these, Snyder then manages to throw away some of the good intentions by delivering a third act that is just wall to wall OTT extremely loud action sequences that continue to hurtle your way with little coherence, some questionable Uruk Hai CGI and some rote formulaic destruction all thrown in for good measure. Equally, most of the pieces of the film don't fully hang together for non-comic book lovers; sequences that hint at other future events will be lost on those who don't know their comic book lore or casual viewers here for the eye-bruising and unrelentingspectacle.

The film can't also escape some of the weaker trappings of its writing too - conflicts are set up and resolved in the most emotionally unsatisfying of manners (the enmity between Batman and Superman being a major casualty of this) as the wider confines of the DC Universe converge on the bigger screen. The set up is well done and the hints of a greater foundation for the film are laid earlier on but the build up to the main event does well to paper over the disappointment of the ultimate showdown.

All of that taken into consideration, in among all the posturing and the incessant gloom of Metropolis and Gotham, some light emerges.

Jeremy Irons' sardonic Alfred is a highlight - a dismissive and wry sarcasm drips from his every delivery. Laurence Fishburne's Daily Planet editor Perry is a delight, delivering humour where necessary and gravitas when needed - and Amy Adams' Lois Lane is ballsy for the most part, even if she teeters dangerously into damsel-in-distress toward the end. The human elements work well and simply stand to point out the absurdity of the gods-among-us storylines and behaviours.

While there's no doubting that Snyder delivers on spectacle (and certainly with some specially shot IMAX pieces effectively utilising all of the screen) and on bombast (a great soundtrack is blasted into overdrive), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice simply becomes another one of those dour superhero films that relies on a formulaic end to service all but its fans. And it's a crippling shame there's no more of Diana Price - her appearance both in and out of costume gives the film a sparkle it needs to take it away from the pomposity it borders on.

It's a sprawling story that somehow manages to feel both over-stuffed and under-explored, and a film which has great ambitions but ends up feeling too long and with sections that struggle with incoherence to the casual viewer.

There's no doubting fans will enjoy the spectacle and there are plenty of moments if you're a comic book fan, but all in all, while Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is perfectly serviceable, it probably will stand better on re-appraisal after the other films in the imminent franchise have launched.

Monday, 8 August 2016

Newstalk ZB Review - Talking POI E The Story of Our Song and Suicide Squad

This week with Jack Tame, it was time to take a look at the story of our song, Poi E with the new documentary from Tearepa Kahi and also the much awaited supervillain team up - Suicide Squad.

Take a listen below

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-poi-e-suicide-squad/

Sunday, 7 August 2016

Batman: A Telltale Games Series - Episode 1: PS4 Review

Developed by Telltale Games
Platform: PS4

Batman: A Telltale Games Series - Episode 1: Realm of Shadows has arrived on the scene with quite a lot of expectation behind it.

Given how successful Batman's iterations have recently been thanks to Rocksteady and the Arkham series, the idea of a storytelling click and point with the traditional Bat-background was an intriguing one.

And fortunately, for a set-up chapter, the Telltale Games iteration of Batman delivers to a tee, mixing up both character and action with equal aplomb.

Feeling more like Gotham in terms of a rise of villains, this sees Bruce Wayne negotiating the world of politics and mobsters, while his alter-ego spends the night trying to crack the mob's influence in the form of Falcone, a big league gangster who's blighting Gotham. Throw into that mix, a Harvey Dent led campaign to clean up the city, the arrival of one Selina Kyle on the scene and the release of a certain Oswald Cobblepot and it's pretty clear that Bruce Wayne's got a lot on his plate.

As for the plot itself, the way Telltale Games teases out the first part of the franchise is commendable. While trying to work out loyalties and crack cases, the majority of this first chapter is focussed more on Bruce Wayne - even if it begins with a Batman led interlude that sees the Bat kicking some ass in a more traditional way.

But that's the disarming thing about Batman: A Telltale Games Series - it plays with your expectations of what a Batman game could do. By focussing more on Bruce and having you spend time as the detective rather than chaining together a combo list of smackdowns, it becomes more engrossing and feels more layered.

The detective mode of the Batman crime solving is also clever too. Using Batman's senses at the scene of a crime, he can link together pieces of evidence to help tell the story of what happened; it's a clever touch that uses shades and shadows to recreate a scene and gives some edge to the more pensive side of the crime solving that's been missing from other Batman games.

Ultimately, Batman: A Telltale Games Series - Episode 1: Realm of Shadow is about set up. It offers enough tantalising looks into the seedier side of the Batworld to help tell a story's foundations. And while the end suggests a lot of what may have been presented in Episode 1 is not what it first seems, the intrigue and mystery is something akin to some of Batman's most famous stories.

Here's hoping the following chapters build on the promise.

Saturday, 6 August 2016

Lights Out: Film Review

Cast: Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello, Gabriel Bateman, Billy Burke
Director: David Sandberg

Creating an atmospheric horror that's more a parable about the creeping darkness of depression is the MO of David Sandberg's expansion of his Lights Out short film.

In the James Wan produced flick, the monster haunting a family is Diana, a creature who disappears when the lights go on, but when the lights go out, it's full tilt terror. But at its heart, it's an effectively taut parable about depression that keeps an eye on jump scares as well.

Essentially, Teresa Palmer's Rebecca, a rocker who left home after her father walked out becomes concerned when her younger brother Martin (Bateman) starts displaying symptoms of sleeplessness and claiming that an entity is haunting his mother Sophie (Maria Bello). The reason she's so worried? Because these were exactly the fears she faced when younger....

So, taking Martin under her wing, Rebecca starts to face up to old fears once again....

Relatively taut (though occasionally bogged down with parts of backstory) first time director Sandberg's Lights Out is quite effective at dealing out chills and the obligatory jump scares. The strength in Lights Out comes from the casually dropping in elements of back story to illuminate the characters and expand on the familial straining of the ties and relationships.

But the whole piece works more effectively as a film about depression, as well as an occasionally dig your nails into the cinema chair fright fest. (That said, its ending and ultimate denouement is perhaps controversial in some aspects).

Palmer turns in a performance that's eminently watchable as the rocker daughter who thought life had moved on, but whose return home sees her having to face her fears, both literally and figuratively. As the kid in terror, Bateman fares well in parts, while in others, he succumbs to the trappings of the genre and becomes a screaming sibling; admittedly though, his selling of the creeping fear and dread early on is more than impressive as the house comes under greater siege from the unseen horror. (Equally stirring and note worthy is the soundscape of the film which works effectively to build an atmosphere of eerie unease.)

However, it's Bello's turn as Sophie, the mother under pressure from demons both within and without that really stands out as this allegory for the creeping black dog is brought to life. Tapping into her own real life fight against bipolar disorder clearly helps her, and the subtleties brought to the fore by Bello's simple facials and odd looks of terror work wonders to underscore the inherent fear within.

Ultimately, Lights Out is an effective and short chiller that does occasionally lapse into dumb horror movie territory, but seen as a wider cautionary tale about depression, it presents a more thoughtful allegorical piece to keep the horror genre fresh.

Friday, 5 August 2016

No Man's Sky Pillar Roundup Trailer

With less than one week until No Man’s Sky is here, the 'Explore, Fight, Trade & Survive' Pillar Roundup Trailer has been released.

The Roundup Trailer brings all four key pillars of No Man’s Sky together.

Journey from the farthest depths of space to answer the call of an irresistible mystery at the centre of the galaxy.

Explore, fight, trade and survive.

Your Universe Awaits in No Man’s Sky - 10th August on PS4.

Prey – Official Gameplay Trailer

Prey is a first-person sci-fi action game from Arkane Studios, the award-winning creators of the 2012 ‘Game of the Year’, Dishonored. Known for their creative gameplay, distinctive worlds and immersive stories, Arkane reimagines this franchise from the ground up, with an added psychological twist.

In Prey, you are the first human enhanced with alien powers aboard a desolate space station under assault. Improvise and innovate in order to survive as you search for answers. Prey is a bold new story set in a dangerous universe.

Prey will release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2017.

Quake Champions – Debut Gameplay Trailer

A new trailer's just dropped for Quake Champions out of Quake Con 2016

Wrapping up the NZIFF with director Bill Gosden

Wrapping up the NZIFF with director Bill Gosden

With the Akl leg of the NZIFF's extra shows wrapping up this weekend and Wellington heading into extra time, it was a good chance to catch up with festival director Bill Gosden to get his thoughts on the 2016 New Zealand International Film Festival.

How have the Auckland and Wellington legs of NZIFF been?
Exhausting for us, but mostly gratifying. The last day of packed houses at the Civic and SKYCITY may have been our biggest ever. In Wellington we have just hit our budgeted attendance with five days still to go.

Poi E certainly set the bar high for feel good openings – Auckland, Wellington and now Christchurch – have you enjoyed the audience buzz for that film?
If that was a buzz, how does unadulterated joy feel?

The guests this year have been of a particularly high standard – what’s been your favourite Q&A?
Hard to choose, but delighted by the work Script to Screen did for us with the Auckland Q+As for Terence Davies and the creative team on The Rehearsal.

The news of the Aussie certification issue for Embrace must have caused a bit of gnashing of teeth- but you must be glad we put one over the Aussies?
It is good to know that our own Classification Office has the leeway to make a sane call on a film like this, but I am not certain that the imaging generated by the Australian restriction was helpful in setting up this film for the mother/daughter audience we hoped would find it. That said, the Q+As with Taryn Brumfitt were packed and extraordinarily emotional.

How’s the expansion into the outer regions of Auckland gone and will you repeat it?
Westgate was an instant success. Manukau may take a little longer.

Which films have been successful in the early stages of NZIFF – and did these choices surprise you?
The three that we’d underestimated – as the number of added screenings can testify – were Under the Sun, The Salesman and Swiss Army Man. It was especially pleasing to see the big numbers for Toni Erdmann.

Conversely, which do you wish more people had been at?
Most conspicuously: Paris 5:59, Sieranevada and Aquarius.

Which films have you headed in to that you didn’t catch before and what did you make of them?
Paterson, so placid on the surface, but so rich in feeling and observation. I;m banking on catching a great many more this weekend in Wellington.

Which films do you think will travel well outside of the main centres?
It’s already clear: Le Ride, I, Daniel Blake

Are there any differences in audiences around the country that you can tell – or are there trends which follow us around?
We expect Sharon Jones to find more fans in Gore than Hannah Arendt.

Just finally, what’s next for you – a bit of downtime before heading straight off to Toronto perhaps?
This year I’m making a break for Venice instead of Toronto, so there won’t be any downtime until after that.

Thursday, 4 August 2016

Rams: Film Review

Cast: Sigurour Sigurjonsson, Theodo Juliusson, Charlotte Boving
Director: Grimur Hakonarson

Bucolic and fraternal, Scandi-drama Rams is a look at the devastation a blight can cause both in a relationship and also in a farming community.

Brothers Kiddi and Gummi (bearded grizzled types Sigurjonsson and Juliusson) live side by side and have done for years. But they don't talk, victims of a fall-out never explored but oft mentioned. Tensions are further exacerbated when Kiddi's rams beat Gummi's in a competition, sealing the deal and the drift between the pair.

However, when Gummi finds signs of fatal degenerative disease scrapie in Kiddi's flock, things boil over as the flocks in the valley have to be slaughtered to protect the spread. But Kiddi believes it's Gummi's jealousy that has hit the limit over their flock's lineage, even though vets back Gummi up.

So, with the valley's livelihood and the community ripped asunder by the cull, the battle lines are drawn.

Quietly unassuming and sensibly executed, Rams' power lies in the ramifications of actions, as well as the exploration of the bleakly wry humour of two scrapping for generations. Hakonarson uses the landscapes and bleak conditions to maximum effect - soon after the cull, winter arrives, a literal freezing of relationships between the brothers extrapolated on a larger canvas.

Where it's perhaps less successful is in the wider community. The consequences of a disease like scrapie (much like its UK equivalent BSE or Foot and Mouth disease) are that people buckle under the pressure and bow to darker moments, but Hakonarson is not interested in anyone outside of the central duo, whom he focusses on yet never fully explores their reasons for the rift. It's a frustration among the sedentary pace, and while it's understandable that there's no place for plot-convenient exposition, it's a factor that proves you to feel emotionally aloof and ultimately irritated by the conclusion, the emotional weight of which is somewhat lost.

There is a mournful sadness in Rams that could be mistaken by some for darker comedy, but it's the isolation within that proves to be Rams' strength and the ambiguity of other parts of it that proves to be its weakness.

Wednesday, 3 August 2016

Suicide Squad: Film Review

Cast: Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Ben Affleck, Cara Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman
Director: David Ayer

Bad guys have all the fun, right?

Well, for at least the first third of Suicide Squad, the DC's anti-heroes Dirty Dozen-esque smackdown based on the 1959 comics series, that's probably true.

The opening of this teaming up of the bad guys after they're enlisted by a government agency to take down a baddie who's terrorising the world (in usual portal opening fashion downtown in some New York style place) is a blast. With its pop art aesthetics and its (over-use) of big music hits all over the place, it's a real attempt at a thumbing of the nose at those who say DC can't match Marvel for cinematic chutzpah as it trots out a montage of tranced up fever dream proportions. (Though Guardians of the Galaxy has no need to worry).

But, then the creative wheels dramatically fall off as it hurtles into rote formulaic shooter CGI destruction comic book territory with nary enough character to propel it through or a villain that's more super-sized than this clutch of imprisoned bad guys.

And on top of that, logic and character fall right through the floor as the film fails to follow any of its own rules.

Don't even let's get started on either the Joker's extended cameo and the way the camera fetishizes and leers over Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. (That Quinn thing may be in keeping with the comic books, but it just feels creepy as it transpires on screen).

To be fair though, what Suicide Squad gets right, it gets completely right.

The twisted abusive relationship love story between Robbie's Harley and Leto's deliciously deranged Joker is reverent to a tee from the source material, even if a few too many flashbacks hit the pace of that portion.

Overt problematic leering sexism from the camera aside, Robbie absolutely owns the part of a manic Harley Quinn, and nails the nuttiness of the coquettish doctor who suffered from Stockholm Syndrome to a tee; hers is one of the few on screen who get the characteristics right on and gets enough from the script to breathe life into the film.

And Will Smith's on target as the sharpshooter Deadshot, with a combination of dialled down quips and seriousness, which, to be honest, Ayer's film would have been better following. Hints of a love triangle with Quinn flounder however, and could have been an intriguing development.

However, it's the way Suicide Squad squanders its promise and becomes a formulaic exposition heavy CGI blockbuster that's the biggest disappointment - and a lack of characterisation doesn't help matters too.

When it comes to the rest of the squad, they barely figure in the character stakes; a jumbled muddled mess of a supporting troupe that get nary a moment to shine through or time to shine. From Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's underused Killer Croc to Karen Fukuhara's Katana who's simply there to pose post Samurai sword slice, the squad's sidelined or disposable. Even Leto's psychotic take on Joker is reduced to a mere extended cameo.

It means the stakes are less than high at all as this mash up of The Raid and any of the Avengers films plays out, with the Squad taking on CGI rejects from The Mummy films in a disappointingly familiar conclusion.

The supernatural Enchantress aka Cara Delevingne doesn't hold enough threat to give the film the edge it needs or the emotional investment it's crying out for - and certainly her reasons for doing what she's doing are unnecessarily muddied and a bit average beyond belief.

Overblown, overwrought and overwhelmed by such a formulaic path after such an electric start, Suicide Squad is a muddle of a film - if they'd simply put more effort into the Squad or trimmed down parts of it to nail a tighter focus, this Suicide Squad could have soared.

Instead, this mess flounders, begging you to put it out of its misery in an audience assisted suicide.

Win a double pass to see THE SHALLOWS

In the taut thriller The Shallows, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra when Nancy (Blake Lively) is surfing on a secluded beach, she finds herself on the feeding ground of a great white shark.

Though she is stranded only 200 yards from shore, survival proves to be the ultimate test of wills

It will require all of Nancy's ingenuity, resourcefulness, and fortitude.

The Shallows hits cinemas August 18th

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Blake Lively

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

Please include your name and address and good luck!

Competition closes August 18th and is exclusive to New Zealand only!

THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK trailer

THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK, a film with an unprecedented insight into the touring years of the world’s biggest band, will be screening in cinemas across New Zealand from September 16, 2016.

Xbox One S launches in NZ

The new slimline XBox One S has hit stores around the country.

Key features include:

Slimmer and sleeker. With a fresh new design built from the ground up and “robot white” color, the Xbox One S is 40 percent smaller than the original Xbox One, creating the most compact Xbox yet. It also includes a built-in power supply and, in response to fan requests worldwide, can be placed horizontally or vertically with an optional stand. With fans at the core of what we do, Xbox One S offers exceptional games and entertainment value.

4K Ultra HD media. With Xbox One S, you will be able to watch Blu-ray movies and stream video in stunning 4K Ultra HD.

4K content from Netflix is available starting 7/29 with the Xbox Update and content from partners like Amazon Video will be available shortly after launch.

To review the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray experience, please download the Ultra HD Blu-ray Player app from the Store.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) support for video and gaming. With a higher contrast ratio between lights and darks, HDR brings out the true visual depth of your games and media so you can experience richer, more luminous colors as you play your favorite games like Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3 and Scalebound. Xbox One S supports HDR10 standards.

Increased accessibility. We shifted one of the three USB ports and the pairing button to the front of the Xbox One S alongside the newly added IR blaster, allowing for better accessibility.

New Xbox Wireless Controller. Every Xbox One S comes with a newly designed Xbox Wireless Controller featuring a sleek, streamlined design in white, textured grip for enhanced comfort and an updated thumbstick design that significantly reduces wear. An added Bluetooth radio gives you easy wireless connection to your Windows 10 PCs and tablets. The new controller features our most reliable wireless signal ever, with up to two times the wireless range compared to previous controllers when used with Xbox One S. You can also purchase as a standalone product for $99.95 NZD.

Various hard drive options to fit your needs. With Xbox One S, you can choose the hard drive that’s right for you, with 500GB and 1TB consoles as well as the special launch edition of Xbox One S that lets you store more games with a 2TB hard drive.

Xbox Summer Update. Starting July 30, Xbox One and the Xbox app will receive the first of two updates this year that will help you stay connected with friends on Xbox Live and enjoy even more games across your favorite devices. Cortana comes to Xbox One, as your digital gaming assistant, use Cortana to help you complete tasks while staying focused in the game; we’re updating the Game Collection interface to make it faster and easier to find and launch the games you’re looking for; Facebook Friend Finder is expanding from the Xbox app to Xbox One and is a great way to find and add your Facebook friends on Xbox; the Xbox and Windows Stores will start to become unified; in addition, the top PC games on Windows now show up in Xbox Live, complete with Game Hubs; and more.

Xbox One S will also be available soon with 1TB and 500GB hard drives.

500GB Console bundles – RRP $499 launches August 23rd
1TB Console bundles – RRP $599 launches August 23rd

Tuesday, 2 August 2016

Newstalk ZB Review - Jason Bourne, Under The Shadow and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

This week on the Newstalk ZB Review with Jack Tame, I take a look at Jason Bourne, Under The Shadow and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Take a listen below :

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-jason-bourne-under-the-shadow/

Monday, 1 August 2016

Elle: NZIFF Review

Like some kind of balancing act between bleak darkness and dark humour, Paul Verhoeven’s ELLE walks a singular tightrope through the audience, caring not for the view below as it drops its extraordinary bombs.

A simply stellar Isabelle Huppert stars as Michele the head of a video game company whose life is targeted when she’s viciously sexually assaulted in her home. (A fact that Verhoeven doesn’t shy away from as he instigates the film by unleashing it right at the very beginning.)

But rather than head to the police to report the rape, Michele shockingly shuns the legal avenue (for reasons that become clearer as the film unfurls, just one of Verhoeven's strength as he concocts the cinematic web) for a bath and to simply get on with life. Verhoeven’s use of blood in bubble bath before it’s casually swept to one side by Michele is one of the film’s over-riding stark and shocking images.

With a cold laissez faire approach, Michele casually announces over dinner with some friends that she’s been assaulted; the response from one friend is to ask the waiter to hold the champagne being opened – yep, it’s Verhoeven through and through using the pristine veneer of the French language and attitude to prod and provoke his audience from the get go.

As the story progresses in Elle, you’re better off not knowing what’s due to happen, as part of the devilish delight in the film comes from the gradual teasing of details in this psychological thriller that picks at you like a cinematic scab, daring you to pull it off and delighting in the equal waves of pleasure and pain as you do so.

In this adaptation of Philippe Djian’s 2012 novel “Oh…”, 78 year old provocateur Paul Verhoeven certainly knows how to press the buttons of those watching, and how to give the whole thing a kind of amoral sheen that’s steeped in both complexity and a twisted veneer.

Huppert helps in large parts too, making Michele a character which it’s hard to get a grip on.

On the one hand, her ordeal implies elicit sympathy for her plight, but on the other, her immediate behaviour post-event sees you unsure of where your allegiances and sympathies should lie. It helps that she’s incredibly commanding from go to woah as this disturbed journey plays out. One character tells her, “You never give anything truly of yourself” and perhaps this is the best summation of the character, thanks to a subtly nuanced turn from Huppert as the shocks and the twisted, yet empowering, scenario plays out.

Ultimately, Elle is one hell of a firecracker of a film - a cinematic amoral powderkeg that's due to explode under the weight of such provocation but whose explosion ends up in the safe hands of Paul Verhoeven. There'll be debate aplenty about what you've seen on the screen, but there'll be no debate about the performance of Isabelle Huppert and the bravura of Verhoeven.

Paterson: NZIFF Review

Jim Jarmusch's reflective and languid approach suits Adam Driver's rhythms in Paterson, a thematic companion piece to Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake in its salutations of the common man.

Driver is Paterson, a routine bus driver in the burb of Paterson, who has a daily routine. His watch wakes him around 610am daily, he eats the same breakfast, heads to work at the bus depot and finds time to write poetry before his shift and during. Heading home every day at 6, he corrects a leaning post-box that moves daily, has dinner, walks his shared bulldog Marvin and goes to the local watering hole.

So far, so familiar as Jarmusch's patented loops play out over an 8 day period. But as the days progress, small variations crop up towards the end of the week in Paterson's life - from a girlfriend whose borderline OCD and creative obsession with black and white mean each return home is random to a cataclysmic moment involving his bus.

These are the beats of Paterson, where the ordinary is celebrated and the pace is languid to prosaic. As this ode to the mundane progresses, there are visual tics and tricks that Jarmusch throws into the mix to almost test as if you are paying attention to what's transpiring as the story's more lyrical edges wax and wane with time progressing.

Throwing in a cute scene stealing dog also helps proceedings (when the deliberate pace slows a little too much) as well with Marvin the bulldog (sadly RIP now) proving to be the juxtaposition to Paterson's life in a small way to many, but devastating to the celebration of the mundane. Driver's a relatively blank canvas throughout, with his small intrusions into life being catalogued more by the outre behaviour of others - from the bus depot boss whose life is full of dramas to the dreams of his cup-cake empire dreaming partner, his calmness gives the yin to everyone's extraordinary yang.

Blessed with dry humour and quiet reflections on life, Paterson's simplicity and gorgeousness is in its execution. Its rhythms and wry humour may not be for everyone, but for those who fall for the loops of life and the idiosyncracies within, this slow celebration of the mundanities of it all works wonders.

The Red Turtle: NZIFF Review

Studio Ghibli's latest sees Dutch British director Michael Dudok de Witt taking on the story of a castaway on an island.

As the film begins, in greying waters and stormy seas, the man is tossed asunder, his boat ripped from him. Clutching onto it, he makes it to shore - albeit on a completely deserted island. Woken the next day by a crab running up his leg, the man plots to escape, using bamboo canes to make a raft.

But his attempts are thwarted by something smashing the raft.... with desperation setting in, the castaway tries again; this time, his nemesis is revealed - a red turtle...

Mixing existentialism, some sumptuous hand drawn and painted animation, facials that look similar to Herge's Tintin executions and all scored to a lushly mournful and occasionally soaring soundtrack, the animation The Red Turtle is wordless and will leave you breathless.

While comedy of the occasion is provided by a clutch of crabs scuttling back and forth in the castaway's world, the soar-away visuals of the castaway's plight, his midnight delusions and what happens may have a propensity to hit where it counts - in the heartstrings.

As the survival tale plays out over its 80 minute duration, there's Laurent Perez del Mar's soundtrack to send you into orchestrated orbit as the simple story unfurls.

It's a meditation of existence and of soul-searching as the castaway adapts to the rhythms of the island and the machinations of survival - but some of this may go over younger minds heads even if they are willing to go with the animated flow.

Ultimately though, The Red Turtle is a film that has deeper meaning, and will be a personal tale to each member of the audience.

It's a rumination on our place in the world, and acceptance thereof; all beautifully encapsulated in a Studio Ghibli hand-drawn co-production that once again hits the heart strings and engages the brain so much - even when it offers so little by way of execution.

Sunday, 31 July 2016

Cameraperson: NZIFF Review

Kirsten Johnson has spent her life working on films.

From working with Michael Moore on Fahrenheit 9/11 to CitizenFour, she's been a documentarian capturing moments of life within and committing them to screen.

In Cameraperson, she's collected and strung together some of the scenes which she claims have most marked her and created a tapestry of lives, with loose threads that appear random but are cleverly interconnected.

From the scenes of getting a newborn baby to breathe in Nigeria to getting a big baby boxer to breathe before exploding after losing a fight in New York, some of the threads are more obvious than others. From scenes of children playing in Bosnia with an axe after they return from ethnic cleansing fears to her own twins playing with the camera, these recoursive snapshots of life offer tempting insights into her world from the past 20 years.

There's no timeline - and nor should there be; but what emerges is a deeply personal timeline of a life lived in the world, and of moments captured for posterity (or perhaps B-roll) that ultimately stand out. Themes of life, death and justice recur, a tacit admission that these themes are universal, but in the end, Cameraperson becomes a study of how to make documentaries and of the form itself.

And yet at times, it feels like the scenes are tantalising glimpses into stories we want to know more of -specifically, the horror of the death of James Byrd Jr in Jasper New York, whose story is told briefly by scenes of attorneys being interviewed. Admittedly these films already exist, and it's perhaps more a testament to the powerful snippets of choice and admission that these have haunted her that they still feel so raw and numbing.

As the strands pull together and more personal moments are revealed, Cameraperson becomes a real salute to those who work in documentaries, whose cameras are an extension of their body, an extra limb to help them in the world.

Cameraperson itself may be a humble title, and the images within may be humbling, but this prosaic documentary about the documentary form is nothing short of impressive.

Aquarius: NZIFF Review

Sometimes, the words tour de force are bandied around performances with gay abandon.

But in the case of Aquarius, Kleber Mendonça Filho's film, Sonia Braga deserves the accolade.

Braga stars as Dona Clara, a music critic in her 60s, who stands resolute in her apartment building when all else have moved out and the developers come to tear it down. Refusing to move on after a full life in the same building, Dona Clara digs in, but not by drawing battle lines - but by simply living her life.

Reflecting on her past and living in her present, Braga's extraordinary class in the role lends the whole piece a sort of innate charm. Broken up into 3 chapters, the story follows its own lyrical beats and pace as it demonstrates a life well loved and friendships well nourished. The enigmatic Sonia Braga is a commanding presence throughout, imbuing the ageing Dona Clara with a sheen of genuine feeling that this is a life well-lived as society has changed around her.

And Filho's film also impresses too.

From the stunning seaside vistas from the Aquarius apartment in Brazil to the casual reveals about health issues or deaths, this is a film that's masterful and takes its time while spinning its observations out. Building on the life of her aunt early on and how she set the trend, it's easy to see Dona Clara's blossoming into a similar role as she fends off demands from her children to sell up and the developers, insisting that she's better leaving.

If there's to be a flaw it's the tail end of the film where the fight with the developers comes to a head with an abruptness that seems crowbarred in. Certainly, the final scene leaves you feeling the story's incomplete and unfinished, which given what you've invested in over the past 2 hours 20 mins is frustrating to say the least.

Aquarius is a lesson in class from Braga - she's the reason to see this film, a reminder that great performances are central to film. It's a pinnacle performance.