Win a double pass to see Blood Father

Win a double pass to see Blood Father

Mel Gibson returns to the big screen with shades of Sicario and Payback in this edge-of-your-seat action thriller.

Scripted by Straight Outta Compton’s Andrea Berloff and The Town’s Peter Craig (based on his novel), BLOOD FATHER is brought to the screen by the team behind The Prophet and Rust & Bone and helmed by the César-winning French director behind the acclaimed Mesrine films.

Action and attitude meets humour and humility as Gibson stars as John Link - an ex-con trying - none too enthusiastically - to embrace life on the straight and narrow.

Eking out a meagre existence as a tattoo artist in his trailer park home, he battles with his past and his future.

When his estranged daughter, Lydia is caught up in a drug deal gone wrong, she finds herself reaching out to the last man she ever thought she’d need – her father. Only he can protect her from those who want her dead, and only he will - no matter what  it may cost him

To enter simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com  OR simply CLICK HERE darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com

In the subject line put BLOODY MEL

Competition closes Sept 8th
Please include your name and address and good luck!

Final Fantasy XV Live at Abbey Road Studios

Final Fantasy XV Live at Abbey Road Studios

FINAL FANTASY XV LIVE AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

Featuring Exclusive Live Performances from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and an appearance from FINAL FANTASY XV Composer, Yoko Shimomura

SYDNEY, 29^th August 2016 – Square Enix Ltd., today announced that the world famous Abbey Road Studios will play host to a special one-off concert featuring music from the forthcoming videogame FINAL FANTASY® XV on Thursday 8^th September.

The one-hour concert will be broadcast from Abbey Road’s iconic Studio One, and will feature live renditions of a selection of songs from the FINAL FANTASY XV soundtrack performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with a special appearance from world-renowned composer, Yoko Shimomura.

“With so many iconic recordings taking place here over the years, performing the music for FINAL FANTASY XV in the very same recording studio is a huge honour for me and for everyone involved,” said Composer, Yoko Shimomura speaking about the event.  “I am excited to be able to collaborate with Abbey Road Studios for this performance and to share the music of FINAL FANTASY XV with everyone. I hope that music and videogame fans around the world can tune-in and join me for this incredible experience”

The show will begin at 4am AEST / 6am NZST on Thursday 8^th September and will be live streamed. Full details on how to watch the broadcast will follow.

About FINAL FANTASY XV

The latest instalment in the classic series, FINAL FANTASY XV is set in an enthralling world where fantasy meets reality. Players will embark on an adventure like no other. Join Crown Prince Noctis and his comrades on an epic journey of brotherhood, love and despair as they unravel Noctis's destiny and take up arms against the warmongering empire, Niflheim. With a captivating cast of characters, breath-taking visuals, open world exploration and thrilling action-packed real time combat, FINAL FANTASY XV is the ultimate FINAL FANTASY experience for both newcomers to the series and series fans alike.

FINAL FANTASY XV will be available on the 29^th November for the Xbox One and PlayStation®4 system. For more information on FINAL FANTASY XV, visit: http://www.finalfantasyxv.com/

KONAMI Announces Argentinean Teams and Pre-Order Content Details for PES 2017

KONAMI Announces Argentinean Teams and Pre-Order Content Details for PES 2017

KONAMI Announces Argentinean Teams and Pre-Order Content Details for PES 2017

Sydney, 29 August 2016 - Konami Digital Entertainment, B.V. announced today it will be showcasing all 30 teams from the first division of the Argentinian national league in PES 2017. KONAMI will feature all current kits and players from each respective team in PES 2017, allowing fans to take to the pitch by representing their favorite Argentinian clubs. Additionally, PES 2017 will feature two notable Argentinian football stadiums - Estádio Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera) and El Monumental.

PES 2017 will feature the following 30 Argentinian teams: Aldosivi, Argentinos Juniors, Arsenal, Atlético de Rafaela, Atlético Tucumán, Banfield, Belgrano, Boca Juniors, Colón, Defensa y Justicia, Estudiantes, Gimnasia y Esgrima, Godoy Cruz, Huracán, Independiente, Lanús, Newell's Old Boys, Olimpo, Patronato, Quilmes, Racing Club, River Plate, Rosario Central, San Lorenzo, San Martín, Sarmiento, Temperley, Tigre, Unión Santa Fe and Vélez Sarsfield. Among the teams featured, KONAMI and Club Atlético Independiente have also signed a unique marketing license agreement. Weekly status and roster updates for all teams will also be available.

Additionally, users who pre-order PES 2017 will receive the following bonus content:

UEFA.com TOTY	1 random player among the 11 UEFA.com TEAM OF THE YEAR 2015 (Lv.30) *Players may change subject to events such as transfers.
Special Agent×1	Coming Soon
FC Barcelona Agents 80+	2 Player from FC Barcelona who has an overall rating of 80 or more (Lv. 30).
FC Barcelona Agent 75+	1 Player from FC Barcelona who has an overall rating of 75 or more (Lv. 30).
PES 2016-17 Special Agent	1 player (Lv.30) who has an overall rating of 80 or more can be obtained.
Start Up Agent×4 (GK, DF, MF, FW)	1 Lv. 30 player for each core position (GK, DF, MF, FW)
10,000 GP x 10 WEEKS	10,000 GP* will be presented for 10 weeks when you register and start myClub PES 2017. *GP are Game Points that are presented in-game and can be used to improve and enhance your team, such as signing players and managers.
Theme (Sony Exclusive)	PES2017 Theme

*For full details, visit www.konami.com/wepes/2017

PES 2017 is founded around the ‘Control Reality' ethos, elevating the series’ award-winning gameplay to a new level through incredible new control elements and a new standard of visual realism, without sacrificing what made PES successful in the first place: playing a match with your friends. The industry-leading Fox Engine is again central to elevating the series to new heights, with KONAMI focusing on first touch, the making and receiving of passes, and adaptive AI to elevate the game’s acclaimed realism.

PES 2017 will be available for PlayStation®4, PlayStation®3, XboxOne, Xbox 360 and PC September 15. View the latest trailer at www.konami.com/wepes/2017.

  

KONAMI Signs Partnership with Club Atlético River Plate for PES 2017

Sydney, 29 August 2016 - Konami Digital Entertainment, B.V. announced today that is has entered into an exclusive marketing license agreement with Argentina’s Club Atlético River Plate (River Plate) for PES 2017. The partnership will allow KONAMI to promote River Plate through its marketing and promotional activities for PES 2017, as well as feature River Plate’s current kits, players and iconography within its games, including the club’s official stadium, El Monumental.

Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club known for its professional football team, which has won the most domestic competitions in Argentina with 44 titles in Primera División and 2 second division championships. River Plate has also 15 official international titles, making it a total of 59 titles won in the top division and 2 Segunda División championships since its establishment in 1901.

PES 2017 is founded around the ‘Control Reality' ethos, elevating the series’ award-winning gameplay to a new level through incredible new control elements and a new standard of visual realism, without sacrificing what made PES successful in the first place: playing a match with your friends. The industry-leading Fox Engine is again central to elevating the series to new heights, with KONAMI focusing on first touch, the making and receiving of passes, and adaptive AI to elevate the game’s acclaimed realism.

Daddy's Home: DVD Review

Daddy's Home: DVD Review

Released by Universal Home Ent

Mining the Step dynamic has already proven fertile ground for Will Ferrell.

In the 2008 comedy Step Brothers, along with John C Reilly, Ferrell managed the fine line between sentimental and argumentative as the blending of two families took place.

But with Daddy's Home, Ferrell has managed to completely miss the comedic mark.

Ferrell plays Brad, a jazz radio station worker and step-dad to Linda Cardinelli's Sara's two young kids. Desperate to hear them utter the words Dad, Brad's world is turned upside down with the arrival of their leather-clad muscle bound biological father Dusty (Wahlberg, in reasonable comic form).

What starts off as genial jostling and an attempt to accommodate Dusty gradually sees Brad reach boiling point as Dusty starts to get his feet under the familial table...

Daddy's Home is excruciating, to say the least.

The best gags - all 3 of them - are to be found in the trailer of this weakly written and flat comedy that has neither the punch lines nor the sense of sparkle to carry it along.

Half the problem is at a script level where any such issues should have been ironed out; a lack of punchlines in relevant places doesn't help matters either as scenes limp to an end rather than a hilarious conclusion.

Ferrell plays mild-mannered fine and admittedly provides some laughs in some of the film as he tries to overcome his insecurities, bring his one-up-manship game and be the dad he's always wanted to be. There's some chemistry with former Other Guys co-star Wahlberg and Wahlberg at least appears to be having some fun flexing his comedy chops and flaunting his dance moves at the end. But there's little to no sparkle in the pacing of the story and its execution; it's almost as if someone's looked at the template of the Competitive Dad in The Fast Show and tried to bring it up to date.

Thomas Haden Church provides a few guffaws as Brad's blustering radio boss who's full of irrelevant stories - but his screen time is limited.

Ultimately though, Daddy's Home is a film which suffers because the funny just isn't there; it's too tame to be an R rated laugh-fest and too flat to be a family comedy. Plus, unbelievably at just over 95 mins long, it still feels too bloated.

There is a saying that sometimes you save the best till last, but with this Boxing Day release, it's clearly not the case. Daddy's Home is another embarrassment to Ferrell's CV and a comedy that forgets its simple MO - to provide laughs.

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13 Hours: The Soldiers of Benghazi: DVD Review

13 Hours: The Soldiers of Benghazi: DVD Review

With a more restrained touch and a degree of maturity, director Michael Bay's more excessive touches appear reined in in this film based on a true story.

When a US ambassador's compound is over-run in Benghazi after several waves of terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2012, it falls to six defence military contractors to try and save the day.

But, as this sat in direct opposition to orders from their CIA chief, the men felt doing the right thing was more important than bureaucracy, and put their lives on the line for 13 hours.

With the likes of American Sniper and Lone Survivor blazing the trail for homegrown hero stories, and coupled with the master of Bayhem at the helm, you'd expect that 13 Hours would be an all guts, all glory, guns blazing type of affair.

But what Michael Bay has done - despite characterisation of the men being more than a little lacking - is craft something tense which transcends its Call Of Duty: Benghazi potential and which delivers taut suspense that's as close to enthralling as any base under siege story can match.

Sure, it hits the tropes and cliches of the genre thanks to scenes of the guys bonding and reaching out to loved ones just prior to fateful events going down as well as its occasionally cliched dialogue, but as it ratchets up to its sickening end, it remains a compelling watch.  It's largely thanks to a controlled level of chaos and a major dose of mistrust that you're never quite sure who's on the right side as the team of six snake their way through the streets - the powderkeg does blow but Bay manages to prolong it to keep you guessing where and when it will go off.

As the leads, The Office star John Krasinki (all buff and beardsy) and James Badge Dale imbue their weary contractor characters with an appeal that will see you empathising with them and hoping they make it, despite their having cursory slight back-story.

But it's Michael Bay who delivers the biggest surprise here with his usual patriotic and jingoistic fare, all wrapped in a hyper-real colour palette and complete with compulsory final shot American flag motif in place - dialled down a bit more than usual. Granted, the men hardly stand apart from each other and when the emotional moments inevitably come, it makes it hard for them to be sympathised with as you're not sure who's been taken down.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi may be close to war porn at times, but it never falls short of delivering a tense experience that's heart in its mouth gripping from the moment the action begins.

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Newstalk ZB Review - Talking Bad Moms, Ben-Hur and Stranger Things

Newstalk ZB Review - Talking Bad Moms, Ben-Hur and Stranger Things

This week, talking Bad Moms, Ben-Hur and Netflix show Stranger Things with Jack Tame

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-bad-moms-ben-hur/

10 Cloverfield Lane: DVD Review

10 Cloverfield Lane: DVD Review

"People are strange creatures - you can't always convince them safety is in their best interests".

It's this line from John Goodman's character that really sets the tone for the mystery that is 10 Cloverfield Lane, a film described as a blood relative to 2008's Cloverfield by JJ Abrams, rather than a direct sequel to the handy shaky-cam, found footage monster flick.

If anything this subterranean set film is best described as a taut chamber piece that you're better off knowing little about before viewing.

Loosely, Winstead is Michelle, who at the start of the film, is desperately scrabbling around, packing a bag and leaving her other half, for reasons unknown. Fleeing in her car, Michelle's involved in a car accident and wakes to find herself in a dingy room, her leg shackled to the wall, and with no idea where she is or how she got there. So far, so Saw (or so Room).

Enter into proceedings, Goodman's twitchy doomsday prepper Howard whose reasons for dragging Michelle down to the bunker appear to her to be less than clear. Also in this bunker is John Gallager Jr's Emmet, who's injured and appears to be captive too....

10 Cloverfield Lane is a masterful execution in suspense and a masterclass of Hitchcockian nail-biting drama in a three-hander setting.

Taut and lean, its strengths really are in the way it plays out, as well as the performances of both Goodman and Winstead. As Michelle does, the audience is drip fed potential reasons for her predicament and as a result, the ensuing paranoia is built as we gain empathy for her plight and her mistrust. There's a duality of trust at play here and no one knows who is telling the truth, even though at various stages, we swing the pendulum of doubt either way.

But smartly, Goodman's Hector is not just a one dimensional nutbar whose underground plans and murky reasonings make a kind of unnerving sense to the audience. The way the needle keeps flipping back and forth between believing him and distrusting him is sparingly but effectively used and is redolent of the lean story-telling on hand.

Thanks to Goodman's relative underplaying of the role (essentially a psychological bully who may or may not be blessed with a dose of veracity) coupled with his implied menace and Winstead's rounded pluck as she goes through her arc of vulnerability to strength, 10 Cloverfield Laneemerges as a thriller filled with dread that rewards as the onion peels back its layers. Hell is very much other people as they say, and in this Fallout Shelter-esque claustrophobic flick, that's evident from the nail-biting beginning.

It helps that the Twilight Zone-esque post Cold War vibe is severely amped up by a mood-ratcheting score from The Walking Dead's Bear McCreary, leading to an atmosphere of unease, mistrust and even in its most domestic scenes, distinctly unsettling overtones.

If the final act hints at more and sees the expected route taken for a Cloverfield film, then the tense and nervy journey there is nothing short of compelling as the mystery box is opened wide.

Unsettling, unease and uncertainty are redolent throughout and Trachtenberg manipulates these well throughout the lean run time (even if there are some mysteries which are never fully resolved). It's dramatic and rare to see a film these days surprise, but thanks to grounding 10 Cloverfield Lane in a relatable humanity and spinning the dial of doubt while simultaneously dredging every last drop of tension, it's one of the best genre films of the year.

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