King Arthur Legend of the Sword: Blu Ray Review

King Arthur Legend of the Sword: Blu Ray Review

Playing like some bastard version of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Towers, and already a massive flop at the US Box Office, Guy Ritchie's take on King Arthur isn't quite as bad as you've been led to believe.

It's not perfect, either, but the visceral energy and sheer chutzpah that Ritchie imbues part of this fantastical tale with a visual thrill that's hard to shake.

It doesn't start off well, with a CGI heavy Return of the King /Two Towers / Warcraft style battle atop the ramparts that sees possessed pachyderms throwing rocks and taking on hordes of bad guys at the behest of a Mage blighting the land.

But the story concentrates on Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam aka Arthur, who witnesses his father's death before being cast off in a boat for his own safety.

Growing up on the back-alleys and streets of Londinium and denying his royal heritage, Arthur's forced to face his destiny when he manages to pull the sword Excalibur from the stone.
It's this that puts him on a collision course with his uncle, the ruthless leader King Vortigen (Jude Law), who's determined to deny Arthur his birth-right.

There's a kernel of a good gritty take on the Arthurian legend here, but it's buried deeply under the relatively rote and muddied CGI that blights large parts of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

In particular, Ritchie's geezer take on proceedings and quick cut montage adds a level of irreverence that is welcome in among the familiar trappings of conventional story-telling.
Ritchie used similar devices in his take on Sherlock Holmes and here, the speed and energy pays off with an unconventional way of doing a conventional story.

However, it's these stylish touches which add greatly to King Arthur and almost manage to distract from the occasionally flat delivery of some clunking dialogue (chiefly and unfortunately from former model Berges-Frisbey) and some rather exposition-heavy scenes.
The film's over-reliance on slow-mo also hurts proceedings as well, with it becoming a stylistic bridge too far and a visual trick that needs dialling down to achieve greater effect.

There's also a distinct feeling that the duality of destiny for the protagonists and their journeys on them would have made for a better film, with Arthur doing all he can to deny it, and Vortigen falling further into darkness as he desperately scrabbles to embrace it.

Ultimately, though it's the jumbling of all the ingredients that make King Arthur a disappointment of a film, with supernatural elements becoming the norm over the characters. When the film moves away from those (aside from the brilliant creation of a slithering octopus-like creature that lurks in Vortigen's catacombs), the human elements aren't strong enough to spring to life from the page.
It's a shame as Maskell's innate likeability and Hunnam's oafish-ruffian-geezer energy that make parts of King Arthur bearable.

It's just unfortunate that the weak script and a tighter edit weren't deployed to help save this from feeling like a derivative and sub-par fantasy epic that could ambles on its way and could have been so much more.

Pecking Order: DVD Review

Pecking Order: DVD Review

A new documentary slice of kiwiana, cluttered with chicken puns, Pecking Order decides to take a look at the world of competitive chicken fancying.

(Well, if Mr Farrier and Mr Reeve can do it with tickling, why shouldn't a film-maker follow more poultry ideas?)

Going behind the scenes of the Christchurch Poultry, Bantam and Pigeon club as it faces its greatest crisis in 148 years, director Slavko Martinov (Propaganda) manages to unearth more than just foxes in the hen house.

Part of the main drive of this, is the film's portrayal of parochial pettiness as it deals with the politics of running the club, which will no doubt be familiar to anyone involved in either A&P shows or any level of community clubs and societies.

With its mother hen who's been in charge forever, the documentary finds its "villain" of the piece, in the gentlest definition of the word, in president Doug Bain, who's been in charge of the show for a very long time.

A self-professed life-member of the Club, Bain's grip on the reins is the source of provocation as others preen their feathers and, in his eyes, puff themselves up to offer a challenge to his throne. As he deals with threats, Martinov's camera captures a fascinating explosion at a meeting where Bain's weariness at what he terms the "want to bes" bubbles over. It's a telling look at the generational differences that are prevalent and is perhaps the more interesting thread of the more slight entanglements which constitute Pecking Order's DNA.

There's a degree of paranoia festering in this coup / coop in more ways than one, but Martinov's keener to ensure that the doco stays out of provocative territory, preferring instead to sit back contentedly and watch others ruffle the feathers of the patriarch, rather than set the cat among these pigeons.

It's a revealing, but unsurprising, look at those who put themselves into committees and others' politics, and does much to celebrate the mythos that youngsters won't want to be involved in the stuffier older entrenched ways of the powers that be.

Wisely, Martinov peppers the documentary with some younger faces who are entering the sport for the fun of it. From kid Rhys, complete with his rat tail, dad looking on proudly and nervously, and his ethos of "I love the spotlight of winning, it's awesome", to fellow fancier Sarah who professes a love for chickens and no more, the stark contrast of ages and attitude comes to the fore with relative ease.

Martinov's HD approach with the cameras though, bizarrely and brilliantly manages to capture the beauty of the birds, with the reds and hues of their plumage shimmering starkly in close ups on the screen.

Every single chicken pun's been pulled from the lexicon for use on the titles, but the thread in the film is a lot thinner than perhaps you'd have expected. And whilst there are some droll dry moments, this is a gentle doco, content to let the ebb and flow of the narrative dictate the mood and the quirks of some trickle through the execution, rather than one which sees the pot stirred with overly dramatic gusto.

The final result is that it becomes a documentary that's more about documenting, and providing a portrait of life within the Christchurch Poultry, Bantam and Pigeon club, rather than giving you something incisive and thought-provoking.

There are notable people within Pecking Order, and a few truisms spouted throughout that reek of the Kiwi attitude and the laconic humours that lace the land, but there are only a handful (if that) of characters that stand out, meaning the whole documentary feels ever-so slightly undernourished and too slight to be fully memorable.

It's a gentle amble down the roads of poultry politics and petty perambulations of those involved in small town club politics, and while Martinov's careful enough to throw it all through a balanced prism and not overly mock his subjects, one can't help but shake the feeling a little more bite to this beautifully shot and pleasantly constructed doco may have put a bit more meat on the bones.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D Film ReviewTerminator 2: Judgment Day 3D Film Review

Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D Film Review

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Furlong, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick
Director: James Cameron

26 years ago, one blockbuster film set the pace for sci-fi action.

With packed out midnight screenings, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was one of the earlier highly anticipated event films of its time.

So James Cameron's dusted it down, given it a polish and added in some 3D to ensure it's fit for the 2017 market place.

There can't be many who don't know the film's gritty details, so there's no time to be wasted here with those.

Instead, suffice it to say while the film looks dated by today's standards in its ILM FX, there's no disputing the fact the Cameron helmed movie is still one hell of a juggernaut of action and humour.
Schwarzenegger hits all the right notes, and while Furlong's debut still seems as wonky as it was at the time, the overall pace and the story-telling is still top notch.

In terms of the 3D it's not done for gimmicky effect, preferring instead to be used to add depth to some of the chase sequences but not to the detriment of the original's pace and narrative.
An early sequence with the truck chase with Patrick's T-1000 chasing down Furlong's John Connor on a bike is exceptional, both in action and execution - and the 3D adds the necessary depth to the frenetic freeway action behind them.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D is no quick cash in on the FX front, it's an enhancement to one fo the greatest sci-fi action films of all time. And given it's here for a good time, not a long time, you definitely need to be back for it.

American Made: Film Review

American Made: Film Review

Cast: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Caleb Landry Jones, Jesse Plemons
Director: Doug Liman

Tom Cruise packs on the charm in this hybrid of the recent War Dogs and Narcos which is based on a true story.

American Made: Film Review

Cruise stars as Barry Seal, a TWA pilot in the late 70s who's so bored with work, he deliberately causes turbulence to amuse and irritate in equal measure. Spotted running contraband by CIA spook Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson), he's offered to come work for the good guys.

Recruited as a reconnaisance pilot snapping pictures of Central America, Seal is soon inducted into both sides of the conflict after being spotted by Pablo Escobar's rising cartel. Shot down and offered the chance to run drugs from Colombia into the US, Seal soon finds himself entangled and playing both sides for plentiful fiscal reward.

But Seal's life is further complicated when he's forced to run guns into Nicaragua at Schafer's behest after being busted with the drugs...

Dialling down the mega-watt grin and over-enthusiasm plays greatly to American Made's charm and ensures that the unfolding story of a man trapped in his own bastardisation of the American dream.

Sure, Seal knows what he's doing and there's no Sopranos-esque anti-hero at play here - and Cruise and his returning Edge of Tomorrow director Liman are smart enough to know that holding back and concentrating on the apparently true story is the way to go with this piece.

Packing in adegree of incredulity and playing matters straight as well as threading in news reports from the time give the film a shaggy dog edge that's ripped straight from the pages of the "It's so crazy it couldn't be true."

However, it also helps that Cruise never once feels like he's acting, imbuing Seal with a degree of humanity and vulnerability as he finds himself ingratiated in the world within.

While it's fair to say some of the surrounding edges never quite rise as perhaps they are hinted at earlier on (the local sheriff, the hillbilly wastrel brother-in-law) when the action of American Made concentrates on cruise's Seal and the tightening vice of his amoral attitude the film's more than a pleasant surprise.

It's very much a romp, brought to life with the breath of its lead actor and the seamless energy of its direction - and it may actually surprise you as it weaves its tale of criminally-led derring do.

Above all, it will remind you of the sheer charisma and power of Tom Cruise when he's not over-performing.

If anything, dialling it down and playing the role to hand instead of anything more packs American Made with a tremendous coke-fuelled joie de vivre and reason to view it.

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power: Film Review

An Incovenient Sequel: Truth To Power: Film Review

Cast: Al Gore, the world, Icebergs, Paris Climate Change Agreement
Director: Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk

It's perhaps no surprise to see the climate change issue rear its head again with this sequel to the Oscar nominated An Inconvenient Truth for nearly a decade ago.

But in truth, unlike the previous film which packed a kind of urgency and a power, the latest from Al Gore's omnipresent crusade to quell climate change is, and it's no joy to report this, a self-aggrandising bore of a documentary.

Following Gore around as he jets about, takes cars and only once uses public transport (due to clogged roads), the documentary pursues Gore as he pushes once again to get those who disbelieve to believe.

In some kind of version of a Billy Graham puritannical push, the anti-climate change zealot tries desperately to convert India away from its desire to produce more coal-burning plants ahead of the Paris climate change meeting.

There can be no denial of the weather conditions and an increase in extreme weather events over the past few years, and while the science of these is glossed over in favour of footage speaking for itself (the flooding of the World Trade Centre memorial being Gore's crowning glory to naysayers who denied him in the first film)

An Inconvenient Sequel feels more like a bizarre extended 60 Minutes with Al Gore special, with Donald Trump lurking menacingly in the background.

With Gore given time to intone his desire to change the world and space to vocalise his "I feel I have failed" mentality throughout, the emphasis is on anything but the apparent urgent matter on hand - the climate itself.

It's more squarely focussed on scenes of Gore becoming emotionally and earnestly enraged at the futility of denials of others.

In one scene, where he's being prepped for an interview for MSNBC, the anchor promises they will cover climate after Gore's repeated reminders. It's the cinematic equivalent of the old man shouting futilely in a corner to himself.

It's not that Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk could have done much more with An Incovenient Sequel: Truth To Power.

The nadir comes when Gore's proposed 24 hour live broadcast from the Paris Agreement is interrupted by the Bataclan terror attacks, promping Gore to offer a heartfelt speech on the perils of terror.

There's a little too much of the spotlight being on Gore, and while occasionally the powerpoint presentations shock with their facts, there's little to justify a sequel.

Gore (while verging on being Al Bore at times) spends much time talking of how the first film created an uprising, and we get to see early footage of him taking some bootcamps to inspire others from his altruism.

It would have been far better for An Incovenient Sequel: Truth To Power to focus on one of these; a groundswell common approach to the problem and the crisis; it would have granted the film a more personal touch, rather than being an almost out-of-touch film that serves only really to promote Gore himself, overplay his hand in the Paris Climate Change agreements and to push one of the wettest ever recruitment videos over the closing credits.

Sadly, despite there being elements of the climate change argument that are compelling in this film, it is predominantly just a lot of hot air that fails to inspire as it should.

Fist Fight: DVD Review

Fist Fight: DVD Review

Cast: Charlie Day, Ice Cube, Jillian Bell, Tracy Morgan, Christina Hendricks, Dean Norris, Kumail Nanjiani
Director: Richie Keen

That it takes 75 minutes of the 90 minute comedy Fist Fight to elicit a belly laugh is a sad state of affairs.

And that its laugh comes courtesy of a rehash of Little Miss Sunshine's inappropriate talent show is to further damn this knuckle-head comedy that purports bare knuckle fighting is any way to solve conflict.

Dubious central message aside and ignoring the feeling that this is about serving Charlie Day's nice guy English teacher a lesson on standing up for yo'self to the bullies / empowerment, Fist Fight is also noteable for its return to the screen of 30 Rock alum Tracy Morgan after his 2014 accident.But even the return of this once comedy giant can't quell the depressing state of affairs that transpires when Day's down-trodden Andy Campbell gets Ice Cube's growling strict Strickland fired on the last day before schools out.

How does the intimidating Strickland respond? By challenging Campbell to a fight in the yard after school.

And we thought they were supposed to be teachers.

So far, so puerile for these bad teachers.

But as R rated comedies like The Hangover et al have demonstrated, big laughs can be garnered from smart deployment of crude gags, recognisable, and somehow,relatable characters and some semblance of plot - even the central idea is not a cerebral one.

Fist Fight cares not one bit for these rules and sticks doggedly to its MO of Day squawking and running from his plight.

The first rule of any comedy - be it derivative or otherwise - is to ensure there are laughs. Yet while there are three scriptwriters putting their names to this, the laughs are few and far between. 

Jillian Bell channels inappropriateness as a teacher hitting on students, Cube riffs on his street image and even gets to utter his infamous and inflammatory NWA line once again, and a returning Morgan gets to go off script occasionally (with an over-riding feel that improvisation was high on the list for this loosely written piece). And Mad Men's Christina Hendricks' French teacher is psychotic for no reason - a real waste of her talents. Though on reflection, most of the players in this are doing thankless work as this patchy mess of missed moments and occasional one-liners plays out.

However, even with Day's desperately wound, utterly neurotic and screeching Campbell rushing around, there's simply not enough humour to fill 30 minutes, let alone 90 minutes. 

Fist Fight with Ice Cube and Charlie Day

Apparently despite paying homage to Three O'Clock High, the film's writers still don't feel the need to flesh it out more, or make any of the rest of the teachers sane enough to care about or connect with.

While the promised titular bout finally arrives, it delivers only muted moments of cinematic stupidity to counter the utter screeching that's already passed. 

And it's by this stage, that, quite frankly, either copious amounts of alcohol or a punch to the side of the head and KO would be preferable to any more of this "comedy" transpiring. 

Blade Runner 2049 - New footage of Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford in the first TV spot

Blade Runner 2049 - New footage of Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford in the first TV spot

Check out new footage of Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford in the first international TV spot for #BladeRunner2049.

The first look for BladeRunner 2049 made for TV has dropped.

BladeRunner2049 is due out October 5th