Moana: Film Review

Moana: Film Review

Cast: Auli'i Cravalho, Rachel House, Dwayne Johnson, Jemaine Clement, Temuera Morrison
Director: Ron Clements, Don Hall

There's something definitively empowering about Disney's latest, Moana.

Not only does its trip into Polynesian culture and beliefs navigate sensitively through potentially choppy waters, but it's head strong independent heroine is likely to appeal to many.

It's highly likely that Disney's found a new entrant into its pantheon of endless classics, with this tale of Moana, a princess whose heart belongs to the sea but whose father wants to keep her on shore.

With songs from Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show-stopping tunes are in full effect early on as the paean to the Polynesian traveller plays out.

When Moana's desire to take to the seas to save her land from being overtaken by an ecological disaster sees her ignore her father's bidding, she sets off an adventure that any young girl will be excited to see play out - and any audience seeking a feel-good family film will utterly adore.

When she learns that the demi-god Maui (played with warmth, laddishness and goofiness by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) stole the Heart of Te Fiti, she pledges to recruit him and restore the heart to its rightful owner.

But Maui's got other more selfish ideas - he wants simply to be reunited with his fish hook and wants nothing to do with Moana's quest...

There's an Odd Couple bickering vibe that is at the heart of Moana and Maui's relationship and despite its banter, there's nothing but good nature from start to finish with this. Negotiating the mysticism of the Polynesian ancestors with ease and relative sensitivity, the spiritual edges of Moana are largely confined to the sidelines as the slap-about storyline progresses.

From a Mad Max-esque attack by some coconut pirates to the Jiminy Cricket / Greek vase painting vibes of Maui's talking tattoos and conscience via the Abyss-like tendrils of the sea that guide Moana, there's a lot of cinematic history swathed in the proceedings.

By the time Maui appears in the story, some 35 minutes in, a new Disney heroine has already been entrenched in the narrative and thanks to a combination of Miranda's show tunes and the depth of character and animation displayed, Moana is clearly a timeless character, destined for the hearts and minds of young girls, so often deprived of a heroine to admire in Hollywood.

But here's the crux with Moana - not once is her ethnicity or her spirit defined by a male or by others' judgement. She stands alone, a virtue of pluck and heart from beginning to end - there's a distinctly female feel to the story from the start with Rachel House's grandmother leading Moana's voyage of self-discovery.

That's not to say the usual Disney trappings aren't present either.

From a clucking chicken side-kick stowaway on Moana's boat to Jemaine Clement's show-stopping turn as Tamatoa, a crustacean delivering an ode to shiny things (very reminiscent of a jazzed up version of Flight of The Conchords' Bowie's in Space) via some truly photo-realistic animation, this is a Disney film that hits on all cylinders and gets the little details right.

As we celebrate the summer months and family time, Moana's box office is guaranteed, largely due to wider themes about self-belief and the ever-important self-discovery.

Granted, these are not new themes in the animation world and while there has already been some criticisms levelled at Johnson's demi-god's portrayal as slightly buffonish, Moana's joie de vivre comes bursting from the screen in a mix of colourful animation, show-stopping tunes and a heroine to embrace.

In many ways, Moana feels like a progressive step into the future - its central heroine is diverse, has no need of male intervention or behest and isn't defined by a patriarchy or a male side-kick.
And as we head into 2017, that's something to shout about and hope it's the start of a new trend.

Ludicrously feel-good, with some belting toe-tapping musical numbers, this is one sea to surrender yourself to - Moana's enthusiasm is infectious, and it's pointless to resist.

The Last Guardian: PS4 Review

The Last Guardian: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4

It's the holy grail of console gaming, and after some 10 years in development, it's finally here.

Begun in 2007 and with a development time that's been littered with expectation, Ico and the Shadow of the Colossus' developer Fumito Ueda's latest can only be described as an experience, albeit a flawed one.

Told in flashback and with voiceover, it's the story of a kidnapped boy who was taken under mysterious circumstances and left inside a castle, with his body tattooed with strange markings.
Next to him and chained for no reason lies a feathery furry beast, known as Trico. With spears in its side and shoulders, this wounded creature lies sullen and muted.

And this is where the Last Guardian begins as you decide what to do next.

There's little about The Last Guardian that won't be familiar to anyone who's ever owned a pet.

From removing the spears in the wounded beast in a show of humanity to tossing barrels for Trico to chew upon, this is about bonding with the creature from the get-go. The first moves force you into interactions with Trico, and he responds in kind, be it in anger or interest as you show your love toward an injured animal.

But as the game deepens, the bond grows as well. After the boy discovers a magical shield and projects it on to the wall, Trico's tail explodes with electricity shooting forth. There's an uncertain and unpredictable feel to the beast, and it makes the game feel magical as the two of you set out to escape from the confines of within.

However, while the bond between the pair is brilliantly realised, the gameplay is occasionally slighty frustrating.

There's no escaping the fact this game at time feels like a last gen console outing, in terms of how it looks, plays and with unstable frame-rates. And don't even get me started on the camera, which obscures some of the action, removes some of the marvel and generally frustrates more than it even remotely should.
There are moments when this game feels like a lazy port over and where it feels like the developers forgot they were even looking at a next gen console. The camera issue as mentioned is one of the buggiest ever encountered and it really does remove some of the feel of the game.

And then there are moments, when The Last Guardian makes you forget its flaws and hits you in wonderment.

There are cutaways that are impressive, suggesting scale and size that make the experience magical. There is a soundtrack that soars quietly and majestically in the background, binding the elements together in a cohesive tie that hits you more than you realise.

There are sequences when you simply find yourself looking at Trico, marvelling as the wind blows through the feathers of this dog / eagle / cat hybrid. There are moments when Trico behaves like your beloved pet, tentatively entering a space for the first time, with one paw first; and others where it goes bounding in full of infectious energy. This is where the power of The Last Guardian lies - its sparse storytelling gives way to an experience that's less about puzzle solving and more about the journey itself.

Much like Journey, Fumito Ueda's The Last Guardian is about feeling something.

And while it's nowhere near perfect, and its flaws almost threaten to topple it from its height, there's no denying that The Last Guardian is something sensationally special and magical.

Hitman: The Complete Season 1: PS 4 Review

Hitman: The Complete Season 1: PS 4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Square Enix and developed by IO

Hitman's decision to go episodic initially divided fans, as they felt it would rob the game of suspense and craft.

But what's actually transpired over 6 episodes is just how much the Hitman franchise has benefited from a breather within each release.

With the globe-trotting Agent 47 back on course for murderously controlled mayhem, the game's moving around from Paris to Hokkaido has really tested your understanding of how to execute 47's missions.

Stealth is always the key, though occasionally rushing in ramshackle has benefited; but the game's mechanics are suited extremely to patience and stealth. Paris may have started the game off with the feeling that there was a large space to explore, but it soon transpired this was one of the smallest levels, with hundreds of larger propositions revealing themselves as the game went on.

Graphically, Sapienza was the stand out of the series, an Italian coastal town that really stood out and looked incredible, as well as made the best of its open spaces and environment.

From the wide open world, it moved to the hustle and bustle of Morocco; this is very much a series that didn't want to feel repetitive and that wanted each episode to have its own feel, as well as ensuring there was time to breathe in between each level. If all of this variety were to have been contained in one game, detractors would have slammed its insistence to continually change things up, whereas the release format followed by IO really helped the series to a successful relaunch.

Along with an ongoing thread involving Agent 47 himself, the relaunch of Hitman and IO's development plan meant this was a series that really did reach its potential.

From the NPCs that felt like they had a life rather than just being presented for window-dressing to the tricky assassination games, Hitman: The Complete First Season 1 is really an incredible restart to the series - here's hoping IO builds on these incredibly successful foundations for season 2.

Fast 8 - First trailer drops

Fast 8 - First trailer drops

It's here - your first look at Fast 8!

The brand new trailer featuring Vin Diesel as Dom Toretto and Dwayne Johnson has dropped.

Don't wait now - take the first look at The Fate of the Furious.

La La Land: Film Review

La La Land: Film Review

Cast: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling
Director: Damien Chazelle

The director of Whiplash delivers an homage to love and musicals that's all rush and very little drag, while reuniting stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling for the third time (after Crazy Stupid Love and Gangster Squad).

Stone is Mia, an aspiring actress stuck in the role of a barista on the WB lot and frustrated in auditions; Gosling is Seb, a jazz enthusiast and purist piano player who dreams of setting up a club in the crummy dive which threw him out, but whose ambition is thwarted by bosses who want him to play the set list and nothing more.

The pair meet by chance a couple of times in the kind of coincidence that some would garner as fate and over the period of a year, told via Chazelle's four-seasons-in-one-film on screen titles, begin a gentle romance that's threatened by ambitions, reality and life itself.

La La Land is a bright, breezy, colourful homage to musicals of the past and a Hollywood of yesteryear.

It sets its store out in its very first opening moments, where a crowded LA freeway is turned into a free-wheeling fully choreographed dance number where car residents frolick on bonnets, in the road and on rooves with such abandon that it's impossible not to be carried along with the Another Day of Sun song.

Bathed in retro primary colours and nods to the Hollywood of the past (Mia's apartment has an Ingrid Bergman mural and The Black Cat poster), Chazelle's attempted to recapture the joie de vivre of the great musicals and the spectacles that were once so common place, but are now sneered at. Even throwing in some meta lines about whether people will love it or not, to which one character retorts "F*** them", La La Land is a throw everything at it piece, where a great amount brilliantly sticks.

This is cinema to swoon at, cinema to fall in love to and a film where the leads have the chemistry that's needed to pull through some of the slightly dodgier singing numbers they're gifted. They don't make movies like this anymore, and it's good they don't - because when one like this comes along, it knocks your cinematic socks off.

But while La La Land is a film of dreamers, it's also bathed in a sad melancholy that ebbs and flows with the tide of life as the year of their romance plays out and reality comes heartbreakingly knocking.

Stone and Gosling make the perfect pair, even if the second half of the film grounds their romance in tensions and drama as the rows grow between following your heart and your dream and dealing with the harsh realities of life. They are the dreamers many of us wish to be, and their ease of chemistry and tonic of romance feels beautiful to behold.

Consequently, it's the nostalgic escapism of Broadway swathed in the visual opulence of the past - but more crucially, La La Land is the tonic to the festive season - a timeless romance, swept up in the romance of dreaming, and all wrapped in a bright colour palette and with such heart, that it's impossible not to fall in love with La La Land - and fall hard.

The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier' Epic Two-Episode Premiere Dec 20th - official trailer

The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier' Epic Two-Episode Premiere Dec 20th - official trailer

Full Trailer for 'The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier'  Epic Two-Episode Premiere Debuts December 20th with 'Ties That Bind' Part I & Part II

Fellow Survivors, Today we can share the full launch trailer for The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier, the all-new season in the critically-acclaimed series. The season debuts on December 20th taking form of a special two-part premiere with two episodes debuting on the same day: Episode One: 'Ties That Bind' Part I & Episode Two: 'Ties That Bind' Part II. In the full launch trailer for the two-part premiere, we further explore the dire situation that brings newcomer Javier and his family together with the young survivor Clementine. We also catch a glimpse of familiar faces from The Walking Dead universe such as Jesus, while also getting some clues on exactly what this 'New Frontier' represents... The first TWO of five episodes in The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier will premiere digitally worldwide starting Tuesday December 20th on PC from the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services, on the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One®, and on the PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4. The episode will be available the same day for compatible iOS devices via the App Store, and for compatible Android-based devices via Google Play. Release dates for additional platforms will be announced in the near future.  Beginning in February, the series will also be available for purchase on a special 'Season Pass Disc' for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, which will include the premiere episodes for the third season, as well as access to all subsequent episodes in the five episode season for download as they become available.  Users can pre-order the season for their favorite platform now by visiting https://telltale.com/series/the-walking-dead-a-new-frontier/#buy. As a special bonus, PlayStation 4 digital preorders also receive a complimentary copy of The Walking Dead: Season Two and The Walking Dead: Michonne; while Steam users receive a discount of 10% for preordering.   When family is all you have left... how far will you go to protect it? Years after society was ripped apart by undead hands, pockets of civilization emerge from the chaos. But at what cost? Can the living be trusted on this new frontier? As Javier, a young man determined to protect his family, you meet a young girl who has experienced her own unimaginable loss. Her name is Clementine, and your fates are bound together in a story where every choice you make could be your last. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier will act as both a new beginning for players fresh to the series and unfamiliar with Clementine, as well as a continuation for players who have experienced Seasons One and Two. Players new to the series will be able to start a story that is tailored to this new beginning. Players continuing onward from prior seasons will have multiple options for quickly configuring their tailored backstory, or importing past save files from various platforms. Additional information on this feature will be detailed in the coming week.

Cartoon Network Battle Crashers: PS4 Review

Cartoon Network Battle Crashers: PS4 Review

Cartoon Network Battle Crashers is definitely one for the fans.

Essentially a side-scrolling beat-em-up, the game's not really for those who can't get engrossed with repetition. Taking in characters from Adventure Time, Clarence and Regular Show, you have to traverse differing landscapes and simply beat down anything that shows up.

While collecting jewels and traversing three levels within six worlds.

Cartoon Network Battle Crashers very much feels like an arcade game exposed largely on a console as characters can be swapped in and out, and bring different propositions to the table, be it environmental saviours or pure powers of defeating waves of marauding baddies.

Switching characters mid-game is fluid and a clever touch to that side of things, but it does little to switch up the excitement of the game, which fails to fully utilise the colour and excitement of its characters, preferring instead to suck all the personality out of them in favour of nothing more than button mashing.

Ultimately, Cartoon Network Battle Crashers is a relative crushing bore that fails to garner any real excitement or much reason to continue playing level after level.