Moana: Blu Ray Review

Moana: Blu Ray Review

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 Founder: DVD Review

The Founder: DVD Review

A prime slice of business ethics and an attempt at a semi-biographical piece of McDonald's early life, The Founder is once again Michael Keaton's award nomination spotlight.

Keaton is Ray Kroc, a travelling salesman and a veritable magpie of a man when it comes to what he thinks are good ideas. But often, his gambles fail - as testified to by his terse wife played by Laura Dern who simply wants a normal life and to spend evenings at the club. When he gets an order for 6 multi-mix milkshake machines, he assumes it's an error and contacts the buyers.

But it turns out those buyers are Dick and Mac McDonald (Parks and Rec star Offerman and American Horror Story's Carroll-Lynch), a pair of good ole boys running a burger joint. Kroc heads to the joint to take in the operation - and sees a potential money-spinner in front of him.

However, the MacDonald brothers are principled and work under their own sets of rules and ethics; believing expansion could denigrate their brand, they resist Ray's attempts to jostle into the takeaway industry. But Kroc's dogged persistence pays off - and he begins to expand and build an empire...

But at what cost?

The Founder is in no way a love letter to McDonald's.

It's a serving of unscrupulous behaviour and questionable morality - and aside from one early sequence that dishes up nostalgia in the form of the McDonald brothers starting their empire does it leave you hankering for a fast food fix.

Much like the junk food itself, The Founder promises much but fails to deliver much nutrition.

Kroc's avarice is well documented by Keaton; and to be fair, there's never an attempt to portray him as anything more than a complete asshat, who appears to have run roughshod over any who oppose his desires. Simply put, in Keaton's hands (and to a lesser extent director John Lee Hancock), Kroc's story is solely about getting what he wants, consequences and people be damned.

The film's gentle and genial beginnings give way to a sense of flatlining as the tale goes on over two hours as narrative threads wither worse than a pickle left out in the sun for days.

Dern's wife is afforded scant characterisation and is wasted; and Wilson and Cardinelli float in as Rollie and Joan Smith (the latter of whom Kroc ended up marrying) but their burgeoning relationship is sketched over with little more than a few looks suggesting the big bad wolf in Kroc. Offerman and Carroll Lynch start off strongly as the McDonald brothers, whose fraternal bond is forged and deepened over fries. But they waft away in the film and even Offerman's nuanced and rarely seen dramatic turn can't save them from feeling like piecemeal offerings in the overall story.

It's moments like these which feel like The Founder's floundered its initial promise and premise.

Granted, there are times when Keaton's performances trumps all but the lack of emotional investment into proceedings and the under-playing of the ethical clashes mean this drama unfortunately has little to offer at the cinematic dinner table. 

STAR WARS™ BATTLEFRONT™ II Worldwide Reveal Trailer

 STAR WARS™ BATTLEFRONT™ II Worldwide Reveal Trailer

STAR WARS™ BATTLEFRONT™ II Worldwide Reveal Trailer Discover an all-new single player campaign featuring an original hero, plus an expanded multiplayer experience with massive space battles and iconic heroes from all eras. EA ANNOUNCES STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II WILL LAUNCH NOVEMBER 17, 2017 WORLDWIDE Pre-Order Now to Get Exclusive* Looks for Rey and Kylo Ren from Star Wars™: The Last Jedi™

First look - Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer and poster

First look - Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer and poster

Fresh out of the Star Wars celebration in Orlando the first look - Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer and poster have dropped.

Featuring Rey, Finn and Luke, the teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi is already a massive internet fave.

Take a look below at the Star Wars : The Last Jedi spoilers filled trailer

Their Finest: Film Review

Their Finest: Film Review

Cast: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Eddie Marsan, Rachael Stirling

Director: Lone Scherfig

Their Finest may purport to be a proto-feminist rant disguised in a down-pat traditionalist rom-com that nostalgically gazes back on the cinema, but it, unfortunately, can't help losing sight of the bar it sets out early on.

When Gemma Arterton's Welsh wife Catrin Cole comes to the ministry of war for a copy-writing job, she's put to work writing for the 'slops', the female element of informational films made to keep morale high in 1940s war-torn Britain.

Of course, she accepts this role, on a lower income than her male counterparts naturally, but finds herself involved in the making of a propaganda film about two girls who saved the day to rally the cinema-going Brits in the Blitzkreig.

(In an irony, her husband is an Italian painter, whose works are shunned because he captures the grim reality of daily bombings on the canvas and doesn't register that brow-beaten Brits don't want to revel in that and prefer the pomp and escapism of the movies' rosier view on life).

However, the Ministry of War's mantra is that the film, about a pair of women who rescued the lads from Dunkirk, should have "Authenticity and honesty" as its raison d'etre, so Catrin finds herself decamping to Devon (doubling as Dunkirk) and working with a none-too-impressed Buckly (Hunger Games star Claflin, complete with round glasses, stiffly Brylcreemed and viciously parted hair and spiffing moustache).

Initially reticent to a woman being involved in the proceedings, it doesn't take a genius (or budding screen-writer) to see how this will play out as the banter between the duo and animosity sets in.

While large portions of Their Finest have a degree of genial predictability to them, a great deal of An Education's director Lone Scherfig's period piece is wonderfully tolerable, deeply nostalgic to the old cinematic ways and equally largely amusing to any cinema-loving audience member, with a hint of reverence to the old Pathe news reels that unspooled before films of the era.

It's mainly due to the meta-touches about making cinema which are peppered liberally throughout and do a lot to genuinely carve an atmosphere of love for the cinema-making experience.

An early scene sees Cole and Buckly spit-balling story ideas around the planned journey of their protagonists in front of a blank board; and it's simply joyous to behold the quick-fire pitching in action. While cinema-lovers will get a lot from touches like this, Scherfig's adaptation of Lissa Evans' novel isn't a mutually exclusive club, with gentle broad comedy being lashed throughout.

And even though the wilting of Catrin continues through the back half of the film, and the movie follows its own sign-posted "Comic life, tragic death, tears all round" mantra and tonal jerking of the promised romance to teeth-grinding annoyance levels, some of the supporting players of Their Finest add a great deal to the unfolding screen broth.

Most of the kudos goes to Bill Nighy's ageing actor Ambrose Hilliard, a former screen star whose expressions and dismissive touches when he's offered the role of an older character, described as a ship-wreck of a man, are nothing short of sublime.

With his wry mocking of the time in the limelight and puffing of his own ego, a scene-stealing Nighy is Their Finest's MVP by far, and he relishes every single moment on screen with such joie-de-vivre and wearied delusion, that it's impossible to not love this man and revel in his on-screen time and general chutzpah.

By the same token, Rachael Stirling's lesbian "ministry spy" keeping in check the film-makers has a deliciously tart line in withering put-downs, as well as giving voice to the female movement so often confined to the sidelines on the screen adaptations of that time.

There are large portions of the character moments that hang together in a nostalgic glow, and make Their Finest feel like a film from yesteryear.

Ultimately, Their Finest works best when it doesn't concentrate on the romance elements of the film.

While these decidedly feel-good tear-jerker moments will resonate with the audience, the film's life and soul really do come from the way it celebrates cinema, and its part in the war effort and the collective morale. It’s for this that Their Finest deserves salutations, rather than the more mawkish moments that feel shoe-horned in toward the film’s muddled , and oddly messy,  denouement.

Play Prey for Free on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One | Fight the Invasion!

Play Prey for Free on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One | Fight the Invasion!

We’re pleased to announce that a free Prey demo will be available on Thursday, April 27th for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The demo will allow fans to board Talos I and play the opening hour before the worldwide launch of the game on May 5th.

  

The Prey Demo: Opening Hour puts you in the role of Morgan Yu, lead scientist aboard Talos I, working on a scientific breakthrough meant to alter humanity forever. What starts off as an exciting first day of work very quickly takes a dark turn. You find yourself alone on board Talos I, a lavish but abandoned interstellar research facility. Aliens have overrun the station and are hunting down any surviving crew members, including you. Should these creatures reach Earth, life as you know it will end. It’s up to you to uncover the mysteries of Talos I, fight the alien invasion and save humanity.

Plus, be sure to keep an eye out tomorrow for preview stories around the globe revealing additional game details and showcasing new content.

Set to launch worldwide on Friday, May 5, 2017 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, Prey is the highly anticipated first-person sci-fi action game from Arkane Studios - creators of the award-winning Dishonored series which includes the 2012 'Game of the Year' and the critically acclaimed follow-up, Dishonored 2.

Denial: Film Review

Denial: Film Review

Cast: Rachel Weisz, Andrew Scott, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall
Director: Mick Jackson

With made for TV aspirations and lacking a distinctly cathartic or powereful end, Denial's a courtroom film that really, sadly, falls a little flat when it ultimately enters the courtoom in its final stages.

Centring around Rachel Weisz's American scholar and Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt and the libel case brought against her by denier David Irving (played with snake-like obsequiousness by a slender Timothy Spall), Denial concentrates on presenting the facts and the nuts and bolts of the case with relative solidity.

Choosing to deal with the fact that Lipstadt and her legal team had to prove the Holocaust did actually happen due to the intricacies and idiosyncracies of English law, Denial presents the usual tropes for the genre (a headstrong American who wants to pursue her way of doing things, a couple of showdowns et al) but delivers them all with little bluster and scant regard for histrionics.

It helps that Weisz is surrounded by some good sturdy character acting from the likes of Sherlock star Andrew Scott as lawyer Anthony Julius, who delivers a nuanced and subtle turn at the start of the film, before fading into the background during the court proceedings. Equally blessed with similar amounts of both stern temperament and righteous indignation is Tom Wilkinson as Richard Rampton, a prosecuting barrister.

But director Jackson is smart enough to ensure that this docudrama (with its verbatim dialect and dialogue ripped from the court proceedings) works better by humanising the pathetic Irving and his appalling take on what Hitler did, and letting the moral outrage seethe from the screen rather than turn him into a spitting fury caricature that evokes anger and is played OTT. Thankfully, a sneering Spall delivers in large spades, making his monstrous man all about the small facial movements as he spouts his foul beliefs and profligates his lies about what the regime did. It's not an easy task to make the man come to life, but thanks to large amounts of restraint and subtlety, it works better than it should.

To describe Denial as workmanlike may sound like to damn it with feint praise, but in all honesty, this better-suited-for-the-small-screen has some sequences that truly work.

A visit to Auschwitz is narratively compulsory and puts barriers between Lipstadt and Rampton that need to be there for conflict of approaches, but by delivering the sequence with a degree of sensitivity, the gravity of what transpired there is hard to deny.

And yet, when the film enters the courtroom in the final furlong, the sense of depth of discussion and implications of what's playing out never quite feels as weighty as the subject matter would suggest. The courtroom scenes lack the OTT antics of barristers or the moments that droop into cliche, but it's hard to see what else could be done.

Smartly using the media throng and the news reporters to set the scene rather than exposition, the film manages to convey a sense of time with considerable aplomb, while simultaneously allowing Lipstadt to become more disgruntled that she's not able to take the stand and denounce Irving and his poisonous beliefs.

However, the more interesting kernel of the film lies in the contrast between the American and British judicial systems. From shots of a judge carefully taking and stirring his tea while eyeing a plate of biscuits, the sense of opposites is obvious in its studiousness and subtleties.

It's a shame that this isn't brought out more on the screen, but in fairness, the film couldn't risk trivialising its subject matter and the decision to simply present the case and the teams in a very matter of fact fashion means that the movie is never likely to soar when you'd expect it to.

Maybe that's no bad thing, and in all honesty, Denial is eminently watchable thanks to its ensemble cast, who all turn in well constructed performances, even if parts of them (particularly Weisz's out of her legal depth Lipstadt) veer dangerously close to feeling stereotyped.

Ultimately, Denial's attentiveness to its subject matter and its avoidance of preachy overtones mean the drama's solid but never spectacular. And while it follows the formula of a courtroom thriller, its inability (or perhaps, refusal) to give it a bit more theatrics mean the overall tone and resolution is more muted and respectful than powerful.