The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier' Premiere revealed

The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier' Premiere revealed

The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier' Premieres This November   Third Full Season in Critically-Acclaimed Series Premieres This November

Fellow Survivors, During our panel at PAX West today, Telltale took the stage to deliver some additional details surrounding the highly-anticipated third season of The Walking Dead. Since its unveiling at E3 in June, the title and release window for the next season of the series have been tightly under wraps. Today, we can announce that 'The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier' will be premiering this November on consoles, PC/Mac, and mobile platforms. The series will also be available for purchase on a special 'Season Pass Disc' for consoles, which will include the premiere episode for the third season, as well as access to all subsequent episodes in the five episode season for download as they become available. "This third new season will serve as both a continuation of what's come before in our story, as well as an all-new beginning set nearly four years after the outbreak events of Season One," said Kevin Bruner, Co-Founder and CEO of Telltale Games. "As a harrowing and horrific drama, 'A New Frontier' will explore beyond what it means to survive in a world ravaged by the undead, and will see our characters confronting the new rules of order and justice in a land being brutally reclaimed and rediscovered by what's left of humanity itself." Players will take control of series newcomer Javier, a man struggling to keep his family together in the new world, while also playing as Clementine, now a teenage survivor holding secrets of her past while fighting to protect family of her own. "When we began this series, we explored what it meant to protect a character like Clementine at all costs," said Kevin Boyle, Executive Producer on the series. "Years later, meeting her for the first time, Javier will begin to unravel the mystery of who Clementine has become, as her story intersects with his - both of them still driven by the things they value most long after society's collapse." 'The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier' will be premiering this November. For more news and information on the third season, stay tuned totelltale.com, follow @telltalegames on twitter, and on follow our page on Facebook.com/TheWalkingDeadGame.

Pete's Dragon: Film Review

Pete's Dragon: Film Review

Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Karl Urban, Oakes Fegley, Oona Lawrence, Wes Bentley
Director: David Lowery

Disney continues its predilection for bringing live action versions of its cartoon back catalogue with this New Zealand shot version of 1977 cute fable, Pete's Dragon.

This time around, Oakes Fegley stars as Pete, the little kid who's orphaned this time around when a car crash in the woods kills his parents. As he's about to be set on by wolves, a kindly dragon scares them off...

Moving forward six years, and the town of Millhaven's grown up with tales of a dragon in the woods. Chief among the tall-tale-teller is Robert Redford's Meacham who claims to have seen the beast, but his daughter Grace (a pleasant Bryce Dallas Howard) who works as a park ranger. refutes his claims.

But one day, when she finds the feral Pete, a chain of events is set in motion that will change all their lives forever.

Perfectly pleasant but ultimately pedestrian, Pete's Dragon is a curious update.

With its furry dragon now resembling more a hybrid between snaggle-toothed dog, Scooby Doo and dragon, it's clear the CGI is the star of the film with plenty of earlier proceedings devoted to showcasing the beast soaring through the skies and in one bravura CGI piece that reeks of simplicity of complex execution, splashing through water.

Refreshingly old school in its execution and teetering closely on potentially being a little bland for current cinema tastes, Pete's Dragon takes about 70 minutes of its 100 minutes for anything seriously substantial to happen, relying on magic, darker moments and old school feels to get it through.

It's genial to be sure, but its veiled story about a damaged child and subsequent reintegration into society is the only thread that keeps things on the straight and narrow - even though a sideline about deforestation bubbles away in the background, never to be preached or discussed as the film progresses.

3D for the film proves pointless with the only moments that it works best being when the dragon disappears from sight on screen as its cloaking device kicks in - but otherwise, the 3D muddies and darkens proceedings more than it needs, denying the movie the lighter edges it so clearly embraces.

As the scrambling feral Pete, there's a distinctly Mowgli vibe about Oakes Fegley's scraggy kid and the sweetness of those around him makes proceedings saccharine enough but never boiling over into grating territory.

And while Redford and Dallas Howard are perfectly affable, Karl Urban's turn as a troublemaker feels a little stunted and comes up wanting in the final wash. It's an unfortunate touch given the whole family friendly proceedings need a degree of villainy to give it an edge.

Ultimately, Pete's Dragon is winningly old school with its simplicity of execution, but it takes a little too long for anything significant to happen - and whether impatient audiences will embrace that lax pace remains to be seen.

Where to Invade Next: DVD Review

Where to Invade Next: DVD Review

Once polemic director Michael Moore returns with a documentary that sees him mellowing with age and ultimately presenting a film that ends up lauding an America that's currently smarting, even though he has their ideology square in his sights.

Presented as a travelogue and beginning with Moore addressing a line up of the American establishment after being imagined being summoned to Pentagon, Where to Invade Next posits the theory that America's in trouble and there are no solutions.

So, draped in an American flag and setting out across Europe, Moore visits countries like Italy, Germany, Finland, Portugal, Slovenia to see how their progressive politics are helping their natives.

On this mission to see what the USA can learn from the rest of the world, Moore's one man invasion is nothing short of a genial feel-good film that feels slighter when compared and contrasted to his earlier works.

There's no doubting this is the man who seethed with indignation in Bowling for Columbine andFahrenheit 9/11 but there's equally no doubting this is a film-maker who has mellowed with age. If anything this film feels slight and a little saggy in its 2 hour run time, but it's no less diminished thanks to Moore's quick wit and amusing quips.

There's something ribald about seeing Moore genially head into situations and examine the problems his country's facing and the apparently sensible approach European neighbours have taken. There's no doubting Moore's liberalism is on show here and there's no doubting he's ever anywhere but in Europe's favour (even though the end coda demonstrates he still has an extremely soft spot for his home land, despite all their ills - I'll leave aside the argument that his conclusion negates the need for the film and shows off a typically American approach to the world).

Half of the joy of Where To Invade Next comes from people's reactions to Moore - mostly, the majority of them are non-plussed with some of his revelations and his cheeky approach to problem-solving. But it's never anything less than serious with Where To Invade Next; there's never any real discussion over how the proposed solutions could work in the USA or why they would fail; this is a doco and global jaunt that's purely and squarely aimed at feel-good.

Occasionally, there are some disguised criticisms of European policy, wrapped up in sentimental music and an even more pronounced and soft spoken Moore voiceover.

It's hard not to feel like Moore is criticising Norway for their treatment of Anders Brevik and his incarceration post-shooting. Lingering on a victim's father and repeatedly asking if he wanted to kill Brevik seems a little insensitive by most measures and the argument gains no traction by the continual prodding.

Ultimately, Where To Invade Next is clearly a softer Moore piece, that's aimed more at crowd-pleasing than thought provoking. It's possible Moore's MO was solely to instill European attitudes in people and enlighten audiences to the fact there are better ways to do things. While he stops short of actual education and showing how that could be implemented, there's no denying he does entertain during his two-hour OE, which is aimed solely at boosting flagging American morale. 

BATMAN - The Telltale Series' Continues September 20th in Episode 2: Children of Arkham

BATMAN - The Telltale Series'  Continues September 20th in Episode 2: Children of Arkham

'BATMAN - The Telltale Series'  Continues September 20th in Episode 2: Children of Arkham     Pre-Release Crowd Play at PAX West on Saturday September 3rd

Today we can unveil the release date for BATMAN - The Telltale Series Episode 2: 'Children of Arkham'.   The second of five episodes in the season, Episode 2: 'Children of Arkham' will be available digitally worldwide starting Tuesday September 20th on PC from the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services, on the PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4, and on the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One®. Release dates for additional platforms will be announced later in September.  The series will also be available to purchase at retailers starting September 13th in North America as a special Season Pass Disc, which will include the first of five episodes in the season, and will grant access to the subsequent four episodes as they become available for download via online updates. The series will then be available to purchase at retailers across Europe on September 16th.  Episode 2: Children of Arkham will debut ahead of public launch at a special Crowd Play event at PAX West, Saturday September 3rd at 8:30 PM in the Wyvern Theatre at the Westin. This will be the very first event using the NEW in-game Crowd Play feature, where the audience will help direct the happenings on-screen using their own mobile devices. There will be giveaways for everyone in the audience, and the event will be hosted by BATMAN expert Dan Casey from Nerdist.com. Rendered to look like a living, breathing comic book, Telltale's vision of Batman features an award-winning cast of talent, including Troy Baker in the role of Bruce Wayne, Travis Willingham as Harvey Dent, Erin Yvette as Vicki Vale, Enn Reitel as Alfred Pennyworth, Murphy Guyer as Lieutenant James Gordon,Richard McGonagle as Carmine Falcone, Jason Spisak as Oswald Cobblepot,and Laura Bailey as Selina Kyle. Additional cast and characters will be revealed as the season progresses. BATMAN - The Telltale Series Episode 2: Children of Arkham is rated M (Mature) for Violence, Blood, and Drug References by the ESRB. Future content in the season is yet to be rated by the ESRB. The series is published by Telltale Games in partnership with Warner Bros.  For more information on Telltale Games, and more news surrounding the series, visit the official website, Facebook, and follow Telltale Games on Twitter@TelltaleGames.

The Jungle Book: DVD Review

The Jungle Book: DVD Review

1967's Jungle Book set the standards for family films.

The Disney film is so beloved by many that a live-action remake by Iron Man director Jon Favreau seems to be almost redundant.

It's the same story from Rudyard Kipling's books and sees newcomer Neel Sethi taking on the role of Mowgli. For years, Mowgli's lived under the tutelage of the wolves, raised as a man-cub by Akela and Raksha (Esposito and Nyong'o respectively) but the tiger Shere Khan (Elba) has been unhappy about it.

During a time of drought, there's a truce, but once the rains come, Khan decides it's time for Mowgli to die. Fearing for his life, Bagheera (Kingsley) sets out to escort the young man-cub to the village and to safety.

But the journey is a difficult one...

There's no denying the visual achievements that The Jungle Book has achieved.

Despite being shot downtown in LA, there's nary a street corner in sight and the whole thing actually manages to look like it was done on location in the African wilds. There's no disputing the immersive landscapes are redolent and reminiscent of the kind of design unleashed by James Cameron's Avatar all those years ago. The grounds are cluttered with all types of animals - from cute cub wolves to a porcupine (voiced by the late great Garry Shandling), this is a world that's perhaps over-stuffed with demonstrations of what the CGI can do.

Sethi has his moments as Mowgli, but the first time actor doesn't quite always hit the mark as the man-cub - though admittedly, it must have been tough acting a one kid show against CG creations. He's hampered by some dialogue issues and some scenes that don't quite pull together as well as perhaps Favreau had envisioned.

That said, there are moments when the CGI creatures and their relatively realistic talking (think Babe but a bit straighter) gels in a way that brings the charm of a family film to life. There are also plenty of darker moments too - from Scarlett Johansson's silky and sonorous snake Kaa's voice echoing around the cinema to Christopher Walken's King Louie (complete with Shatner-esque Dixie jazz version of I Wanna Be Like You), this is a film which will likely give the younger end of the Disney audience some discomfort in their seats, thanks to its nightmarish visuals.

And there's no disputing Murray's Baloo is a case of perfect casting and a sign that this anthropomorphic animal has been exquisitely rendered with its source material in mind.

Equally, Favreau's evocation of the "red flower" that blights the forest and Shere Khan's past are quite cleverly manifested too; visually, this film soars - even if the 3D seems to damage the effect by dimming it all.

But it's also a film that feels emotionally redundant and that lacks any real threat.

Elba has the menace of Shere Khan, but he lacks the script to back it up; certainly the sequence where Akela is casually despatched feels like it has no emotional ring to it and no oomph to satiate his cruelty.

Ultimately, The Jungle Book is a film that has plenty of charm but little edge.

Whether that is enough to satiate family audiences these days remains to be seen; there can be no denying the plaudits for the impressive digital work and the slavish devotion to the source material, but as an experience, The Jungle Book just manages to do the Bare Necessities to keep you entertained while the lights are down. 

David Brent: Life On The Road: Film Review

David Brent: Life On The Road: Film Review

Cast: Ricky Gervais, Doc Brown, Tom Bennett
Director: Ricky Gervais

Over a decade after the conclusion of the UK version of The Office, David Brent remains a comic icon.

Mining both tragedy and pathos in equal measure, as well as rolling in the awkwardness plied on with a trowel at times, Ricky Gervais' hapless and hopeless office manager returns in another road movie mockumentary outing.

Now, Brent's still a rep, selling cleaning wares as well as tampons, and still harbouring a dream of making it in the rock'n'roll world. So, cashing in both his holiday and a selection of pensions, Brent pours his heart, soul and money into a tour with his band Foregone Conclusion, taking along with him some session musicians and a rapper Dom Johnson, his token black friend.

Following a patented formula of sideways awkward glances at the camera and walking the line between non-PC and a few moments too late self-censoring, Gervais' Brent has not changed much. And as such the film feels like another extended episode of the sitcom that goes on a little too long and has some of the cringe factor stretched a little too thin throughout, despite the obvious pathos lurking in the wings.

But mining deeper into Gervais' aspirations with Life On The Road (banal song lyrics aside, the toe tapping MOR tunes blasted out by Foregone Conclusion are annoyingly ear-worm worthy), it appears to be a portrait of mental illness and delusion writ large, with a few scenes painting a painful honesty and portrait of a sad and lonely man who just wants to be loved above all. With therapy and admissions of Profzac use, there are elements of the second series of Steve Coogan's I Am Alan Partridge here again to add the required level of tragedy to the character.

It has to be said though that Gervais proves winningly adept at slipping back into the role as the very English version of This Is Spinal Tap rolls out. By turning the spotlight solely on himself and eschewing the rest of the Office cronies, how you feel about David Brent will largely rest on whether you can take the cringe and awkwardness of the character and humiliations visited upon him. Gervais knows what he's doing and while another director may have reined in some of the indulgences and tightened things up, fans of The Office won't be disappointed.

Of the supporting characters, only Doc Brown's deadpan and would-rather-be-somewhere-else Dom Johnson is given any more depth to combat the incessant squirming but the rest get short shrift - without doubt this is Gervais' show and he's determined, like Brent, to get the most out of the spotlight.

In the final act, the sentiment's piled on as the veneer cracks and David Brent: Life On The Road ramshackles disappointingly into bittersweet sentiment, a frank admission and tacit nod to the British sitcoms that at the end of the day, we all just love the losers, that we don't want to see them unhappy and that if there's hope for them, then there's sure as hell hope for us.

Perhaps this at times scrappy affair is Gervais' final swansong as Brent, and while the meanness of a society that welcomes and then scorns its reality stars is occasionally touched upon, David Brent: Life On The Road is not perhaps the incisive laugh riot you'd want from such a beloved comedy character.

Less one louder and more muted comic fanfare of the commonly annoying man, this attempt at Brentertainment meanders where it could have been tighter and frustrates where it could have been sharper.

The Angry Birds Movie: DVD Review

The Angry Birds Movie: DVD Review

So, who remembers Angry Birds?

That game we were all so addicted to way back when and then it suddenly died a death overtaken by consoles, Candy Crush and other such time-sucks.

Well, the film version of Angry Birds doesn't care that you've abandoned it, nor does it care that it's essentially got the feel of a one-shot and gone animation, aimed squarely at throwing all its eggs in giving you a cinematic take on the game's simple MO - destroy the towers.

Long story short, Jason Sudeikis is Red, the original Angry bird, who's ostracised cos of his grumpy ways (even though he's lonely from having been bullied in his younger years). Sentenced to Anger Management by a judge after erupting during a hatchday party, he meets Josh Gad's hyper-active Chuck, McBride's explosive Bomb and Sean Penn's non-verbal Terrence.

But his world - and along with all those other flightless ones on his homeland of Bird Island -  is further threatened when a ship of Pigs turn up on their shores, headed by Bill Hader's Leonard. Everyone welcomes the Pigs except Red, who discovers a sinister plot by the porcine expedition....

The Angry Birds Movie is a hyper-kinetic, colourful mix of cartoonish one-shot sight gags that almost threatens to fall apart due to the lack of anything more than a thin or coherent thread running through.

The whole thing's essentially structured to lead to a cinematic version of a game as the residents of Bird Island take on the Pigs by hurling themselves through the air and assaulting the towers within.

It's a shame that the first half of the film is little more than a few strong gags threaded through with the thinnest story that those older members watching almost threaten to disengage.

Youngsters will adore the bright coloured animation and the vivid colours (and fans of the animated genre will appreciate the depth and detail that's gone into the creation of the critters, from feathers bristling to a furriness that's adorably executed), even if they never stop to question why these critters can't fly.
At times, during the Pig invasion, the whole thing seems to hint at an allegory for refugees, tolerance, child kidnapping and xenophobia - it never digs any deeper into this darkness, preferring to leave the allusions there for anyone who wants to draw on them.

Sudeikis is affable as Red, and much of the younger end of the audience will be drawn to the hyperactive looney tunes nature of Chuck, but simply The Angry Birds Movie's MO is to be nothing more than to shoe-horn in the game and its mechanics into the narrative.

It just about succeeds with a wilful stubbornness as it slingshots birds across the screen and shoe horns in the game mechanics - but even thanks to some truly impressive animation, it's just a little above a fleeting distraction at the movies.