A Dog's Purpose: Blu Ray Review

A Dog's Purpose: Blu Ray Review


Mixing sappy family film and a fluffy dog tail should be movie kryptonite, but A Dog's Purpose feels like it slightly misses the mark.

Adapted from the 2010 W. Bruce Cameron novel of the same name, the Amblin Entertainment flick follows the story of a dog that's reincarnated several times, before discovering what his reason for life is.

Starting in the 1950s, Josh Gad is the voice of the dog in this live-action fare that feels like a Saturday morning TV-movie writ large.

After a very brief and shockingly terminated life, Gad's dog is reborn as a golden retriever named Bailey who's saved from a hot car in 1961 by Ethan. As the pair bond, Bailey discovers Ethan is his soul-mate and the pair get into the sort of scrapes you'd expect from a fluffy story of its ilk.

From romancing a girl (played by Britt Robertson) to dealing with an abusive father, the 1960s set story is perhaps the more successful of the film, but also the one which showcases the most of what to expect of this film.

Tugging on heart-strings, touching on well-worn tropes of animal films and the familiar scrapes the plucky pair find themselves in, the Nicholas Sparks for animal lovers flick, A Dog's Purpose is likely to find favour with audiences looking to get their quota of sappiness filled.

And while Lasse Halstrom's film may have been dogged with some negative pre-publicity over the apparent treatment of its animal leads in one sequence that's since been debunked, it's more than likely to curry a great deal of favour with anyone who's ever owned a pet or shared a bond with said animal.

This is not a film that skirts over the heartache and heartbreak of losing a pet, and it's here the film takes great strides to really avoid milking the sentiment and hitting some of the emotional moments more successfully than many would want to admit to.

The reincarnation angle of the film is handled without fuss, and while its edges could have made for Nicholas Sparks' style tear-jerker territory, it simply gets on with it happening and lets the poignancy of the moment drown the work. But the rest of the film is predominantly every other film you've ever seen of its kind - coming of age mixed with family tension, all nicely brought to life in the world that's been created.

At least one of the dog's lives, the one with a police partner, is over so briefly, its inclusion seems relatively pointless, other than to showcase another relationship with a dog. But such is the film's MO; it simply passes over the middle part of the film to skip back to Ethan and Bailey's bond.

It's here that the heart of this film lies deep within the connection that's shared with a canine; and while Gad's occasionally childish narration distracts, the sentiment is clearly there from the beginning.

A Dog's Purpose is not a movie for critics, nor a movie that goes deeper or tries to do anything other than push a fuzzy, feel-good agenda.

It'll give comfort to many a pet owner who's believed their current furry charge has similarities to their previous ones, but the human elements of the film will remain infinitely more forgettable than the doggy goings on long after the lights of the front room have gone up.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2: Blu Ray Review

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2: Blu Ray Review

It's a tough ask to discern how exactly you follow up one of the freshest films in an ever-expanding Mavel Cinematic Universe catalogue of superheroes, fantastical figures and weighty mythology.

The 2014 worldwide $773 million smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy's riposte by way of its first outing was to largely confine a lot of what had become Marvel's stuffy staple to the sidelines and present a bright blast of technicolour goofiness, set it all in space and against a backdrop of 70s music tunes.

Loud, brash and above all fun, Guardians Volume 1 was the perfect tonic to the growing tedium of the MCU, injecting humour into a ragtag bunch of reprobates who quickly became family.

So, how do you follow that up?

Like that tricky second album syndrome that blights so many artists, James Gunn and Marvel's answer is - let's do it all again and throw more music and more humour at it.

But, disappointingly in parts, that sadly doesn't quite make this sequel quite as spectacular.

With the central themes of family and familial conflicts thrust largely to the fore, the sequel concentrates on two simple storylines. When Rocket rips off the group's latest employers, they're forced to go on the run.

Stranded on the planet Berhart after their betrayal's discovered and the Milano, their ship, crippled, the issue of Chris Pratt's Starlord's parentage comes to the fore when his father (played with 80s style gusto by Kurt Russell) mysteriously shows up....

It's not that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is a bad film, it's simply that it feels like it's squandered some of the promise and good will of the first.

Visually, Gunn and his team have assembled a truly vibrant universe. From its opening moments where a squid-like creature takes on the gang spewing out all the colours of the rainbow from its mouth, to the gold-covered race The Sovereign, via planet vistas adorned with hues of reds, blues and greens, there's plenty visually to admire and wallow in. And once again, music is the sixth Guardians character, with sounds from the 70s and 80s providing a proliferation of grooves and moves among the CGI.

But the film too often falls back on its humour as a constant crutch to punctuate scenes, and it becomes repetitive and irritating. 

Whether it's the constant bickering between the Guardians, or Bautista's literal Drax saying inappropriate and initially amusing things or members of the Ravagers making comments, there's way too much of this throughout to do anything other than a) feel lazy and b) set your teeth-grinding. And whilst it was part of the fun of the first, the sequel adds much more than is necessary.

Equally, if it's not the humour, it's the reliance on the Baby Groot ex Machina to help with the story. Though, admittedly, Groot's cuteness and abject tendency towards adorable are initially very appealing and amusing. (The aforementioned fight is brilliant in its execution thanks to a combination of ELO's Mr Blue Sky, an out-of-focus battle in the background and a shimmying couple of inches tall tree character).

As the film goes on, the over-use of the humour tends to scupper the more obvious emotional edges of what transpires. If everything's a joke to everyone all the time, it really does make it hard to care about what happens to these self-professed a*holes and the various predicaments they face.

More successful are the quieter moments of the film.

There's a distinct profoundness to some of the more humane scenes involving the ongoing conflict between Saldana's Gamorra and Gillan's Nebula, as well as Pratt's portrayal of a man who just desperately wants to know who his father is. Add in a nuanced turn from Rooker's Yondu, seeking redemption, and there's more than enough meat to keep the narrative running and just enough to provide distraction from the incessant hilarity that's injected at every turn.

It's here that Gunn excels and imbues some love for the wise-cracking characters we came to care about in the first film. He achieves the required poignancy with ease, and masterfully delivers it. 

But in among the day-glo colours, superb visuals from the WETA Digital team and 80s references (The Blob, Journey To The Centre of the Earth, arcade games and other Easter Eggs too fun to spoil et al), it's these kernels of emotional truths which resonate in Guardians Vol 2 and which give it the heart it so desperately needs and so perfectly achieved in its first outing, setting them above the usual smash and grab CGI world destructions that have become the Marvel denouement norm.

But they're nearly overwhelmed by everything else that transpires on screen; and while it felt fresh the first time around, the over-insistence on a "More, more, more" ethos means it comes dangerously close to destroying the good-will it had previously generated.

With a third outing for the Guardians of the Galaxy already signed up, it's no stretch to say that this latest, with its flaws and occasional bloat, is a good time at the movies, and a cut above the usual blockbuster fare.

However, all of that candy-blast and sugar-coated reliance on humour prove sufficiently corrosive to Gunn's stated intentions of going deeper with the characters; and, worryingly, if they don't ease up on those elements in the third outing, it could end up inducing a diabetic cinematic coma to audiences. 

Get Out: Blu Ray Review

Get Out: Blu Ray Review

White liberal guilt plays a big part in the smart satirical take on social mores from debut director Jordan Peele's box-office bashing, genre-mashing thriller.

Essentially riffing on the Meet The Parents story and the Stepford Wives, Brit actor Kaluulya plays Chris, a young African-American, whose girlfriend Rose (Girls star Alison Williams) takes him to the family estate for a weekend.

Already nervous about what may lie ahead, Chris' unease is further heightened when he arrives on the estate and finds an African-American groundskeeper and an African-American housekeeper. Despite his prospective father-in-law's reassurances that he's aware how it looks, but it's not what it seems, it sets the tone for Chris' weekend.

However, things get more mysterious when an annual event on the estate sees out-of-towners arrive....

To say more about the dread-laced atmospherics of Get Out is to rob the film of the freshness that unfolds along with the unease of atmosphere accompanying it.

There's a reason Peele's subversive and sinister Blumhouse-produced debut has received such acclaim - and it's largely due to the satirical elements within, as well as the clear commentary on the times we live in and how African-Americans are treated both within society and perhaps to a lesser extent, within the Hollywood system.

Tapping into the unease that's currently in America, where movements like Black Lives Matter continue and where tensions continue to grow, despite calls of progression, proves to be fertile ground for Peele, and gives the film a feeling of something more below the surface.

Cultural appropriation is wrapped up within as well - and much like Scream 2's meta take on how African-American actors are treated within Hollywood's horror factory (hint - easily and quickly dispatched by the killer within the opening act), Get Out plays with perceptions with as much ease as it plays with the tropes of the thriller / horror genre.

Unlike most horrors, Get Out deftly manages to spin both a web of unease and atmospherics simultaneously without ever losing sight of what it sets out to do. Along with a modicum of jump scares, as well as some sly humour, Get Out never threatens to topple the house of cards once the reveal comes in - many horrors tease and tantalise, but when the ultimate reveal comes of either who the killer is or what's afoot, the web collapses into a dirth of plot-holes; Get Out never once falls into that trap (even though there are a few narrative conveniences in the final moments).

With an appropriation of one of the mystical elements of Stranger Things to his own twisting, Peele, who wrote and directed Get Out, has created a film that feels both contemporary, satirically smart and timeless. Whether that's more a sad indictment and damnation of what the film has to say about the treatment of African-Americans is certainly up for debate.

But what's not really up for debate is how inherently smart and devilishly taut, the clever Get Out is.

From its whip-smart writing (Bradley Whitford's patriarch more than adds creepiness into the idea that he would have voted for Obama for a third time if he could and adds unease into revealing his feelings that owning African-American house workers "is such a cliche"), to its incredible sound-scape, Peele's debut captures and subverts the conventions terrifically as the story plays out.

It's best to know little about this film going on, as the less you know, the more it grabs you in its vice-like grip - and its take on 21st century liberalism may leave you a little rocked and disturbed when the lights ultimately go up. Awkwardness and avant-garde approaches to the genre and the general terror of the story's unspooling make Get Out an at times, queasily paranoid watch.

However, you'd do wisely to believe the hype, as this is one of 2017's best and smartest films - and as such, it's more than worth at least one visit to the cinema - if not more. 

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy: PS4 Review

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy: PS4 Review

Developed by Naughty Dog
Platform: PS4

Much more than a female spin-off of Uncharted, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy stands alone as a great title, even if it does pilfer some of the dynamics from the previous games.

You get to take on the role of Chloe Frazer in her latest escapade, and are dropped into the middle of India and an escalating situation. Teaming up with Nadine Ross as the civil war starts to unfold, it's upto you two to try and retrieve the the tusk of Ganesh as a baddie Asav tries to beat you to it.

Relatively short in run-time and perhaps relinquishing its chance to do something innovative with its core gameplay mechanics, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is nonetheless a good solid title that adds a bit of depth to the Uncharted universe.

It's great to have two solid female leads in this world of traditionally male driven heroes and the relationship between the pair grows as well as it should. There's a scale to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy that's obvious from the start when Chloe witnesses the bombing of an Indian city from the rooftops, and the arena glows orange.

Equally with the scrambling and scurrying over rooftops and buildings a very familiar move for the Uncharted games, there's still a sense of a real world being fleshed out here rather than a simple spin-off being done for financial gain.

Whilst the latest Uncharted isn't as long as Nathan Drake's prior outings and feels like The Last Of Us' spinoff in terms of story and execution (ie female leads, same mechanics), it does still prove that Naughty Dog's on top of its game - and if they were willing to maybe try something a little different for future titles,  there's clearly plenty of life left in the series to explore and enjoy.

Agents of Mayhem: PS4 Review

Agents of Mayhem: PS4 Review

Developed by
Platform: PS4

Meshing cartoon graphics and cut scenes with the Saints Row style of gameplay, Agents of Mayhem is a frivolous game that doesn't take itself too seriously at all.

Blending the team up mentality of superheroes and mixing it with a post global hostile takeover by the forces of LEGION, you are one of the Agents of Mayhem who are based in Seoul and are leading the fight back.

Story is very much by the wayside in this, and the simplistic shoot stuff and destroy hordes of creatures heading your way is the MO of the game. Split across episodes, the game goes for a kind of amusing self-knowing approach which pays off in terms of your engagement.

It's fairly disposable stuff and fairly simple to play each level too.

Tasked with various things to complete and do, the map world stretches out ahead of you as you negotiate as one of the Agents (who seem ripped from the cliches of comic books and action films). Swapping between agents is easy, and really, if you just want to put your brain in neutral and deal with the waves of bd guys, there's not really anything better.

It helps that Agents of Mayhem is quite playable, but there's no real urgency to get everything done and move on to the next problem which presents itself.

Each agent has their own special power - from teleporting enemies to in front of your agent to shoot them dead to unleashing mines, there's enough to keep the cartoon silliness on the go. Coupled with special episodes which concentrate on the singular agents, Agents of Mayhem's commitment to the genre it's come from is commendable.

Its silliness is reminiscent of Saint's Row but without the profanity, and its playable episodic nature means it's good for a blat about and a few hours of fun. There's a degree of repetition as the game goes on, but all in all Agents of Mayhem gives good homage to its ilk.

Matterfall: PS4 Review

Matterfall: PS4 Review

Developed by Housemarque
Platform: PS4

Side-scrolling has always been Housemarque's raison d'etre.

After the weekly thrills of Resogun and its continually addictive ways, the studio's been constantly pursuing another such vicarious and entertaining game to help cement its name.

Matterfall is not that game.

Not that there's really anything wrong with this rushing about and shooting things game in any way, shape or form, more that repeat value is a little lacking.

Essentially in Matterfall, you get to take on hordes of robots and things shooting at you in various buildings under the guise of being a freelancer who simply goes in to tidy things up, free a few people and fire off a few rounds.

It's as slick as you'd expect from the studio but it is missing the edge that promotes replayability.

It does also rely on your using multi buttons at several different times to ensure that you're taking advantage of all the skills you have at your disposal. From a dash move that can wipe out bullets and stop you from being attacked, to using a matter gun to fill in platforms or power lifts, the key to Matterfall is a degree of ambi-dexterity.

It's very much a game that throws a lot in your path and expects you to cope, so sometimes, the deaths seem unnecessary and particularly vindictive. But each level (of the 12 around) is achievable with a modicum of smarts and timing.

Ultimately, Matterfall is a slice of arcade shoot'em'up that really does work for its basics and its slick looking gameplay - but under the hood, it's lacking the hyper-kinetic addictiveness that other titles have offered up. If there were to be some newer elements dripped out, it could prove to be a title that's essential.

As it is, it's currently visually impressive and enjoyable but nothing more, nothing less.

Wind River: Film Review

Wind River: Film Review

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Elisabeth Olsen
Director: Taylor Sheridan

After astounding with scripts for Sicario and the much appreciated Hell or High Water, Taylor Sheridan slips into the directing chair for the helming of his own script for Wind River.

Centring on an Indian Reservation where the bloodied body of a raped woman is found 6 miles from anywhere and in the middle of the frozen wastes of Wyoming, Wind River follows the investigation into the crime.

With a rookie FBI agent Jane Banner (Elisabeth Olsen) called in from Vegas, and a US fish and wildlife marksman Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) deputised into help, the case finds the intricacies of Native American problems and guilt from the past all intertwined...

Inspired by actual events, Wind River has some truly astonishing visuals in among the white-outs of the snow.
From Lambert's snowmobile making its way through the wastelands like an insignificant speck to blood on the ice, Sheridan's eye for scale and shocking is clearly evident.

It's essentially a tale of the evil men do and at times, Olsen's vulnerable agent is clearly out of her depth. Thrown into a case in an area she's ill-equipped for (from experience and even down to clothes), she barely gathers speed as the agent in charge, deferring to Lambert's prior skills. It's perhaps here that Sheridan's script revels more in the intricacies of the gender politics and the gender divide that's clearly at play elsewhere in the film, but it does occasionally make Olsen's character seem woefully clueless and ultimately, a bit wasted.

A little richer perhaps is Renner's Lambert, a mournful man whose mopiness masks a past tragedy. Renner makes great fist of the melancholia and feels restrained in parts as Lambert tries to fit into a community that is occasionally willing to accept him and is other times willing to cast him out. It's no surprise that he's camouflaged in the wilderness; Sheridan wastes no allusions in his script.

Underpinning all of this is a thinly veiled diatribe against treatment of Native Americans (one line asks "Why is it when you people try to help, it starts with insults") and a searing but not excoriating commentary on the social ills of such a reservation. And it's perhaps here why Sheridan's script feels lacking in power compared to the likes of Hell Or High Water that felt more precise in their barbs and more subtle in their treatment.

Wind River is unfortunately a minor disappointment from Sheridan.

Stretched out over 2 hours, the film's final reveal and treatment of its perpetrator is nothing more than the unveiling of a raving lunatic steeped in ugliness, and given the steps and themes taken through the snow-laden film to set out an icy veneer and a sliver of gender issues and native concerns, its desire to plump for the shocking yet stereotype feels like a cheap squandering of promise.

More a lilting ode than the searing story Sheridan's set out before, this icy Western does hit the spot, but Wind River never quite reaches the highs you'd expect, and despite solid work from its leads and Longmire's Graham Greene as the tribal sheriff, it's not as spectacular as you'd hope.