At Darren's World of Entertainment

Thursday, 8 September 2016

PlayStation 4 Pro and slimmer and lighter PlayStation 4 unveiled

Following the PlayStation Meeting 2016 held today at the PlayStation Theatre in New York, Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the following:

PlayStation 4 Pro

· PlayStation 4 Pro delivers enhanced experiences through improved image processing capability and support for 4K quality

· Allows games to deliver graphics with far more detail and unprecedented visual precision

· 4K video playback support to deliver 4K streaming video services such as Netflix and YouTube

· Support of HDR imaging technology, enabling reproduction of brightness and darkness while realizing a much wider range of colours

· Available in New Zealand from November 10, 2016, NZD$639.95 RRP

Slimmer and lighter PlayStation 4

· New form factor reduces size by more than 30% and makes console 25% lighter in weight than previous models

· Increased energy efficiency, cutting power consumption by more than 34%

· All PS4 systems including the new slimmer model and PS4 Pro will support HDR imaging technology via an update

· 500GB PlayStation 4 available in New Zealand from September 16^th, 2016, NZD$489.95 RRP

· 1TB PlayStation 4 available in New Zealand from September 29^th, 2016, NZD$569.95 RRP

From New York, Michael Ephraim, Managing Director, Sony Interactive Entertainment New Zealand commented:

“As Andy House said, our vision is to present a clear choice to the gamer and we are steadfast in our commitment to being the best place to play. Today’s announcements are testament of this. With PlayStation 4 Pro, we look forward to introducing our players to our most powerful home console with the offering of the first class 4k and HDR technology. At 30% reduced size, the new model PS4 offers great value for the gamer and will also join the HDR revolution from next week. With the news we’ve unveiled today and PS VR launching on October 13, there’s never been a better time to join the PlayStation community.”

Here's an idea of how the new TOMB RAIDER will look in 4K

HITMAN™ - Episode 5: Colorado Coming September 27th

HITMAN™ - Episode 5: Colorado Coming September 27^th

SYDNEY - September 7, 2016 - Io-Interactive today confirms that Episode 5 of HITMAN will be set in Colorado and will be arriving on September 27^th.

For the penultimate episode in HITMAN Season One, the mission “Freedom Fighters” is not one to be taken lightly. Agent 47 must infiltrate a Colorado farm compound that has been converted into a private militia training camp. Players are presented with an intense infiltration mission to locate and take out four targets.

Sean Rose, Maya Parvati, Ezra Berg and Penelope Graves are four very different, very dangerous people, each with their own specialist skillset ranging from environmental terrorism to chemical interrogation. This will be the toughest assignment yet for Agent 47. Players must utilize all the skills learned so far.

“This is one of the toughest episodes yet. Not only do you have four targets, but from the moment you set foot in Colorado you’re on enemy ground,” said Hannes Seifert, Studio Head at Io-Interactive. "'Freedom Fighters' is a key episode, which will add serious momentum to the story and set up an intriguing season finale for players.”

With all-new opportunities and disguises, and with 70 different challenges unlocking brand new gear, weapons, and items, Episode 5: Colorado rewards players with huge story revelations as the season builds towards a thrilling climax.

HITMAN began with a Prologue and Paris location in March, continued with Episode 2: Sapienza in April, Episode 3: Marrakesh in May, the Summer Bonus Episode in July, Episode 4: Bangkok in August and Episode 5: Colorado in September. The season finale in Japan will arrive later in 2016.

Train To Busan: Film Review

Cast: Yoo Gong, Dong-seok Ma, Woo-sik Choi, Soo-an Kim
Director: Sang-ho Yeon

Despite starting off dangerously close to camp territory thanks to a resurrected road-kill, Train To Busan shakes off any silliness to provide one of the year's freshest and engaging takes on the zombie genre.

In South Korea, there's a crisis - amid concerns of foot and mouth inside a quarantine zone, trouble's brewing. Thanks to a "tiny leak at a biotech district", chaos soon reigns and the region is over-run by a zombie virus, turning the masses into rabid feral biters, determined to take down anyone and anything in their way.

Unaware of what's happening, Sok-Woo (Yoo Gong) is trying to get out of spending time with his estranged young daughter Soo-an (Soo-an Kim) because of work pressures. Separated from his wife in another district, Soo-an simply wants to board the train to Busan to go back to her mother, after her father failed to attend her recital.

Motivated by guilt, the pair board the KTX bullet train heading for Busan. Full of other passengers, the train suddenly becomes a killing field when one of the infected ends up on board at the last minute - and soon father and daughter, along with a clutch of other groups, are desperately struggling for survival as society breaks down around them.

It's rare to get a film that offers a fresh take on a tired genre.

But while Train To Busan, with its fast-knit horde of speeding infected may owe a debt to World War Z's scrabbling horde, it's thanks to Sang-ho Yeon's direction and some thrilling action sequences that this is a train well worth boarding.

As the eerie build up begins and glimpsed shots of varying elements of carnage play out just off screen, the sense of indiscriminate panic begins to pile on a level of suspense that's palpable.

Granted, some of the players in the train (a group of jocks, a pregnant woman and comedy partner, a villainous COO) are clearly a little blank canvas, but what the film manages to do is make you connect with them as the atmosphere builds up. Nowhere is this more obvious than the relationship between a selfish father and selfless daughter as they awkwardly reconnect, and the pair sell this worn out trope well. One of the more crucial scenes sees the dad telling his young daughter in such situations as this, to look out solely for herself. It's a shocking moment but one that speaks volumes to how frank and refreshing Train to Busan is.

With its contorting faceless infected, Train To Busan's action sequences are taut and exciting; from the confines of the train, a station stop to the final train yard showdown, the film's MO is one of edge of your seat emotional action. It's admittedly Snowpiercer crossed with 28 Days Later, but that's no bad thing as the film speeds as relentlessly as the train does to its destination.

Sure, there are some societal commentary moments thrown in (the father is a fund manager and his main nemesis is a slimy COO, a rich vs poor allegory hanging in the midst) but the simple MO of Train To Busan is to proffer frights, scares and emotional centres.

With a relatively unknown cast on these shores, it's an added frisson of thrills to wonder who will be picked off and thanks to the pace, tone and stakes for all, Train To Busan emerges as one of the best films of the year - and one well worth getting on board with.

Wednesday, 7 September 2016

Bridget Jones's Baby: Film Review

Cast: Renee Zellweger, Patrick Dempsey, Colin Firth
Director: Sharon Maguire

What to expect when Bridget is expecting is perhaps the greatest fear facing many fans of Helen Fielding's titular beloved singleton.

But based on Bridget Jones' Baby which comes some 12 years after The Edge of Reason, there's every need to keep calm and carry on.

In this broad but occasionally bloated crowd pleasing comedy, Renee Zellweger's Bridget Jones's back and negotiating life in her own inimitable fashion.

The world may have changed plenty since we've seen her last - Hugh Grant's caddish Daniel Cleaver is disappeared, Darcy and Bridget have split - but, on her 43rd birthday, Bridget's solo and celebrating all by herself. However, that changes when work colleague Miranda (a scene stealing Sarah Solemani) takes her to a music festival to get laid.

Stumbling drunkenly into the wrong tent and a sordid tryst, Bridge hooks up with dating guru and dishy Jack (played by ole McDreamy himself Patrick Dempsey). Running off after, she ends up having another unexpected dalliance with Colin Firth's starched Mr Darcy at a christening a few days later.

Things get further complicated when she finds out she's pregnant but with no clue who the father is...

Swathed in an affectionate nostalgic glow for the character and playing up the usual neuroses and tics that made Bridget so relatable to so many, Zellweger steps back into the role - and its clipped English tones - with ease.

(Let's not dwell on the slight cosmetic change as other media have been wont to do; this is still the same Bridget but slightly tweaked.) She's the perky comedy glue that holds this together and with some flippantly funny one liners, the film zings when she's around. (A line about glamping and Adolf Hitler garners unexpected laughs)

And even though it's not really much of a departure of a film from the usual choices of men that Bridget has to face as well as the predictable playing out of the klutzier edges and hitting a lull at about 80 mins in, the whole thing comes off as funny, warm and surprisingly familiar - and a potentially a saccharine riff on US and UK relations.

By making both males seem normal, the script wisely steers away from making Bridget's choice obvious or one of them kooky and nicely muddies the waters by playing with viewers' affections - even if the gloop and sentiment kicks in toward the end in this time honoured riff on the old trope two women/ one man.

Both Firth and Dempsey play their roles well, with Firth's humour coming off the more effective as he riffs on the social awkwardness that's always been at Darcy's core. Dempsey's a little blander, but still pleasant and helps sell the emotional quandary rather than over-egging it.

In a year that has already seen some middling 90s revivals (from Ab Fab to David Brent), it's refreshing to report that Bridget's latest (and hopefully last, even if a final scene pan teases something else) is both nostalgic and a little forward-looking.

With its moments of honesty and its continuing depiction of one woman's messy life, Bridget Jones' Baby is no pregnant pause for the franchise. It's better than it could have been and consequently infinitely more enjoyable than you would have remotely expected. If you'll forgive the pun, this baby truly delivers in unexpected ways.

Tuesday, 6 September 2016

Sausage Party: Film Review

Vocal cast: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek
Director: Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan

Possibly one of the most messed up adult animations of its generation, Sausage Party is a Seth Rogen idea 10 years in the making.

Mixing Pixar and Disney through the potty-mouthed prism of South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut, it's the at times anarchic story of sausage Frank (Rogen) and bun Brenda (Wiig) who live in a supermarket and who long to be selected by shoppers and taken to the nirvana of the Great Beyond (aka outside the store).

But when Frank and Brenda are separated from their bagged colleagues trying to save a suicidal mustard jar who says the Great Beyond is a lie, they have to get back to their shelves in time to be sold for July 4th celebrations....

Puns, profanity, philosophy and puerility collide in this animated flick which thanks to one scene towards the end gives new meanings to the phrases food porn and root vegetables.

And yet in among the clearly deranged lust for frat boy crudity and puns, there's also a story of religious tolerance, beliefs and commentary on the Israel / Palestine situation thanks to a squabbling friendship between a lavash and a bagel. It's a paradigm of Sausage Party that it covers such higher topics while pursuing such baser ideals and potty-mouthed leanings.

At its heart, it's a simple take on the Toy Story style get home adventure of the first film as Frank and Brenda muddle their way through the shopping aisles being chased by a bad guy, while one fellow sausage negotiates the horrors of reality of being cooked out in the real world.

But it's certainly plenty of food for thought during this culturally diverse and occasionally subversive piece that embraces all and points out the absurdity of conflicts and differences with the use of puns and a polemic pushing of the envelope. From God hates Figs to Exterminating Juice, there's plenty to keep you guffawing here as the inevitable lulls start to hit the scatological highs. An all-out orgy scene goes as far as it can and a clever use of Meatloaf helps the film to hit parodies of films like Terminator 2 and slasher films.

All in all the Adult Swim-like Sausage Party is perhaps not quite as clever as it aims to be in parts, but with Rogen adding an animated sausage to his pot-headed frat boy filmography, there are signs that he's doing what he does best and to great comic effect with this CGI outing.

Funny, riotous, ribald and a bit deeper than you'd expect despite its filthy sheen, Sausage Party sizzles more than you'd expect it to do so.

Sully: Film Review

Cast: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney
Director: Clint Eastwood

With its dedication to those who rushed to the aid of american airlines flight 1549 coming at the end, director Clint Eastwood's Sully wears its salute to heroism in New York on its sleeve.

On Thursday January 15th 2009, New York became alive with the chanting of a hero when Captain Chesley Sullenberger (a white haired and moustachioed Tom Hanks) force landed his plane onto the waters of the Hudson River with 155 people on board. But while the media heralded him, an investigation into his actions threatened to ruin him...

Sully is an odd film, one of quiet strengths and character weaknesses as it looks at the Miracle on The Hudson.

With little insight into the man other than brief flashbacks of his learning to fly and landing an air force jet in peril but with plenty of hints of troubled in his life, Eastwood plays the film remarkably straight, leaving the end result feeling a little muted.

Hanks gives his usual stoic and solid turn as Sullenberger, but a choice to play him as troubled or slightly sullen seems at odds with how little tension there actually appears to be in his background. Calls to his wife (Laura Linney) hint at problems that never seem to manifest, and to be frank, all that's really known about Sullenberger as a result, is what he did for some 208 seconds on the plane, and then consequently worried about thereafter.

With nightmarish flashes of jets powering through New York's skylines and crashing into buildings forming Sully's sleeping and waking life, and a passing comment that "New York's not had news this good, especially with an aeroplane involved" hinting at a post 9/11 city struggling still, it's clear Eastwood's Sully is a salutation to the resilience of those within.

But that's contrasted with the human factor that Hanks manifests here - it's another every man doing heroic every day things that he's made his career on. Yet even with that approach, Hanks' quiet resilience comes through and bleeds into Sullenberger where the script fails him. As the film leads to its inevitable trial by the National Transport Safety Board, there's a feeling that Sully really has relied on Hanks to carry the character through, even with brief interactions with Eckhart's co-pilot and his long distance wife.

Equally, Eastwood relies on the actual drama in the air to provide the emotional meat of the film, playing to generic fears many have on a plane that it all rests on the shoulders and actions of those in the cockpit.

With some of the passengers falling into the generic mawkish stereotypes (woman with a baby, trio of late-comers to the flight), there's a tendency toward indifference as the bird strike hits forcing the engines into shutdown.

But Eastwood gives it a calm muted sheen that gels with the feel of this languidly sedate film, which is the antithesis to Robert Zemeckis' Flight. As a result, the plane sequence is easily the stand-out of the film - though an over-reliance on re-showing it some three times from different perspectives becomes a narrative weakness and lends a strengthening feeling there is nothing else to the film other than what Sully did in the air.

The pitch for Sully is the incredible true story you didn't know, but based on a series of flashbacks, inter-cut narratives and an underwhelming fleshing out of the lead, there's little here that sings as sensational - other than the actions of one normal man "just doing his job".

Granted, Eastwood's workmanlike directorial touches during the flight sequences give Sully the frisson of excitement it needs, because in many other aspects, this film's circling in the air, waiting for clearance to land or even take-off.

Monday, 5 September 2016

Dirty Grandpa: DVD Review

Released by eOne

Have you ever wanted to see Academy Award winner and much revered actor Robert De Niro declare with deep gusto that he "just wants to f**k until my d**k falls off"?

Because if so, viagra comedy Dirty Grandpa will fulfill your dreams.

Ali G and Borat director Dan Mazer brings an energy and an eye for vulgarity to the fore in this raunchy Spring Break comedy starring Zac Efron as Jason, an uptight lawyer who's about to be married to his shrill fiancee, Meredith (Julianne Hough). But when Jason's grandma dies, he decides to try and reconnect with his estranged grandpa Dick (Robert De Niro) and the duo end up on a road trip in an attempt to recapture the bond they used to share.

However, Dick is after finding his second wind in life, claiming his former wife urged him to go live while on her death - bed and Jason is tricked into heading into Florida's Spring Break.

For all of its shortcomings and the feeling of repetition toward the end, coupled with a few saggy sentimental moments which really slow things down, there's something amusing about this energetic and at times, capable comedy that aims low, hits every target and then heads to pick even more low-hanging fruit.

Though that comes with the proviso that you must be into puerile material and of a disposition that finds copious swearing, genitals and prolonged jokes around sex and getting laid amusing.

Efron proves game and is interested in humiliating himself where necessary, (including showing off his physique once again) and De Niro goes for the shock factor by debasing his acting legacy as much as he can. Parks and Rec star Aubrey Plaza and Sleeping With Other People's Jason Mantzoukas are the real stars though, intially putting their trademark patter into full effect before starting to grate; Plaza's horny girl wanting to sleep with an old man gathers some laughs to start with and then starts to feel a little creepy.

Mistaken paedophilia, gay stereotyping, crude and crass all form parts of Dirty Grandpa, and while there's no denying there are moments which are laugh out loud funny, most of this film starts to grate and become repetitive very quickly.

Granted, it's the perfect antidote to the Oscar films which are out there now, but it's no long term comedy solution and while it will find its audience, the laughs aren't quite enough to see it push the envelope

Sunday, 4 September 2016

Phoenix: DVD Review

From the director of the critically acclaimed Barbara, Phoenix is a tale that aims for powerful and gets there - for the most part.

Hoss plays Nelly, a survivor of the concentration camps, who's badly disfigured and needs reconstruction surgery after the war to start to rebuild her life. Choosing to ignore surgeons' advice and seeking her own face be restored, Nelly's determined to find her husband Johnny, who was arrested the same time she was and the thought of whom kept her going in the camps. However, Johnny didn't sustain that hope and believed she was dead, killed at the hands of the Nazis.

But when Nelly discovers Johnny's working in a local cabaret club as a busboy, and despite the advice from long term friend Lene, she ingratiates her way back into his life as he concocts a scheme to get her inheritance, believing Nelly to be the spitting image of his wife...

With its weighty subject matter and universal concerns, Phoenix could so easily gone for overblown sentiment and mawkishness,

But what Petzold does is strive for subtlety and for a more intimate drama that really becomes more about Johnny and Nelly than it does its global implications, which is where the suspension and suspense start to diverge.

By scattering elements through the story of a post World War II life and of Jews trying to deal with their PTSD and of a nation trying to rebuild, but by concentrating on the struggle between the duo, Petzold creates a film that's as much Hitchcock as it is post-Holocaust tale.

Evocatively lit and carefully choreographed, this is a film that relies on its cinematography for its atmosphere and one which demonstrates a proliferation of victims by concentrating on a singular one. But it's also a story which requires a leap of faith that Johnny wouldn't become suspicious of Nelly and the incredible coincidence that the tale pivots on.

Granted, it's the stuff of film noir, but Phoenix doesn't quite convince on that front and the eventual denouement of the piece lacks the real shock factor that it should have. And nowhere is this more evident than in Lene's ultimate fate, coming as it does like a shot out of the blue and with no resonance.

If anything, Phoenix is more of a film of survivors, of trying to find one's way again and of a nation trying to find a new face, as well as an individual. It's here that the power of Phoenix lies and it's here that the story is perhaps more desperate to be told.

As it is, Phoenix is beautifully and masterfully executed, but one can't help but feel its vision should have been better placed.

Saturday, 3 September 2016

Newstalk ZB Review - Talking Chasing Great and David Brent

This week, I caught up with Jack Tame to discuss the Richie McCaw doco and the David Brent mockumentary.

Thankfully, I didn't get them mixed up.

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-chasing-great-david-brent/

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

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

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

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.

Friday, 2 September 2016

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.

Thursday, 1 September 2016

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.