Bad Moms 2 Christmas: Film Review

Bad Moms2 Christmas: Film Review

Cast: Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Director: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

A year ago, Bad Moms came hurtling out of the traps, to offer a female alternative to the male-led comedy domain.

A success, thanks to its foul-mouthed edges and relatable leads, it was inevitable a sequel would show up to build on the box office plaudits of the first.

This time around though, while the formula still offers some laughs, it feels like the subject doesn't feel as fresh - despite the attempts of all involved to try and keep it bubbling over.

Building on the pressures of conforming to societal norms expressed in the first, the latest is, as the title suggests, set at Christmas and sees Mila Kunis' Amy, Kristen Bell's Kiki and Kathryn Hahn's Carla determined to reclaim back the festive season when their mothers come to town.

But as the pressure to make everything perfect unfolds, the pot begins to boil over....

Once again, setting the film against a backdrop of relatability helps Bad Moms 2 achieve a degree of familiarity once again. However, while there are a few laughs throughout (potentially more if you're a group out on a night out or imbued with alcohol), there's not quite enough as the Hangover style opening of a trashed house (complete with camel walking into shot) would suggest.

It feels a little less fresh this time, and some may even say rushed in parts as the script shows cracks; most of the film feels like mini-episodes sewn together with such a laissez-faire attitude that it makes it hard to fully engage with what's going on.

And the trio of mothers who end up visiting their broods are so ghastly, not once do you ever feel anything but from the oppressed younger mums' point of view. Sure, it ends up in the usual gloop of sentimentality that tars all festive films - but there are a few raucous laughs to be had, mainly from Hahn's foul-mouthed member of the group.

Kunis and Bell are fine, but don't have nearly as much to work with this time around - and whilst it's good the male element are sidelined this time around (aside from one skin-crawlingly unamusing fat-shaming Santa sequence), there's little that feels as enticing this time around.

Baranski is the best of the bunch, even though Sarandon's rocker hits fast and loose to start off with. It's Baranski as Amy's mum who delivers some of the best deadpan sneering moments and manages to get the rankling sideswipes that family members dish out so well downpat.

Best viewed with a non-critical head and with a group of friends, it does feel like A Bad Moms Christmas is the contractually obliged sequel in a series that's already worryingly out of ideas. Inevitably perhaps the next one will be Bad Moms Summer Holiday, but unless there's a stronger script and more to go on than the recognition of universal truths faced by mums and their mothers, the Bad Moms franchise could undo all the good will its strong leads have already garnered.

Bad Genius: Film Review

Bad Genius: Film Review

Inspired by true events and a cheating scandal, Thailand's Bad Genius is perhaps the most accessible and popcorn friendly film of the festival.

But this is no bad thing by any stretch of the imagination.

Set in a school where money helps buy you in and keep you there, it's the extremely moral tale of Lynn, a straight A student, who's financially badly off. Approached by her best friend Grace to help her with her grades at her Thai school, Lynn's soon enticed by Grace's boyfriend into running classes to help less able students ace the tests - and with the promise of money, Lynn's soon in and enjoying it.

But when Grace and boyfriend Pat are told by their parents that they have to score highly enough to get into Boston University, Lynn and her warped sense of logic are soon caught in a global scandal...

If one were to say that what is essentially a heist movie but set against a backdrop of school exams is perhaps the most compelling and thrillingly tense movie of the year, then you'd be inclined to think this reviewer had lost it.

However, using smartly edited scenes, a sense of stylistic flashiness, an eye for character and a degree of cinematic aplomb, Bad Genius director Nattawut Poonpiriya manages to create a real sense of danger and tension as the film progresses.

It helps that setting it against a backdrop of a slightly scathing look at the moral arguments over the financial pressures of paying for tuition as well as ensuring there's a heart to the story with Lynn's relationship with struggling friend Bank, means that Bad Genius is a compelling film from beginning to end.

Lacing humour in helps a lot too, and goes some way to alleviating some of the rather appallingly acted non-Thai roles in the final section of the film.

Overall, Bad Genius is pretty much close to Bloody Genius and will most likely, if there's any justice, get a Hollywood remake.

By keeping the presentation simple, but stacking the odds high and personal, as well as delivering a polished and gripping pace, Bad Genius' pleasure comes from ensuring it's thrilling from beginning to end. 

Halloween in GTA Online: Double GTA$ Bonuses, New Western Seabreeze Plane and More

Halloween in GTA Online: Double GTA$ Bonuses, New Western Seabreeze Plane and More

GTA$ BONUSES, NEW WESTERN SEABREEZE PLANE AND MORE

It's Halloween in Los Santos, which means it's time to terrorize the neighborhood while reaping the benefits of a litany of bloodcurdling bonuses and deadly discounts.

In addition to Double GTA$ & RP on the new Adversary Mode Condemned and a special Halloween Playlist running through November 6th that features the new Inferno Transform Race, Lost Vs Damned and Slasher, become your competition's greatest nightmare with Double GTA$ & RP on any of the following modes today, 10/31 only:

·         Lost vs Damned

·         Slasher

·         Beast vs Slasher

·         Come Out to Play

·         Transform - Inferno Race

There's also 25% off all returning Halloween content - including the Fränken Stange, Lurcher and the demonic LCC Sanctus - as well as the Duke O'Death - now through November 6th.

OUT NOW: WESTERN SEABREEZE

Escape the ghouls and costumed crazies in style; whether you're landing on a desert runway or splashing down right next to your private yacht, the Western Seabreeze is a business class option for every occasion and locale. And if you’re the kind of high-earner who might have need of a machine gun and bomb bay, don’t worry, there’s plenty of room. The Western Seabreeze is now available for purchase at Elitás Travel.

THIS WEEK'S BONUSES

For those who are a bit squeamish, there are plenty of other GTA Online bonuses to take advantage of through November 6th. In addition to the continuation of Double GTA$ and RP on Smuggler's Sell Missions and Double GTA$ Salary for Bodyguards and Associates, join a different sort of mile high club and earn Double GTA$ and RP on the Stockpile Adversary Mode.

As a reminder, simply log in through the 6th to claim a GTA$400,000 award, which will slip into your Maze Bank account by November 13th.

Flush from selling product, flag capturing and other generally illicit activity, you can use some of that hard-earned scratch to take advantage of 25% off the following items:

·         Western Company Besra (Jet)

·         Nagasaki Blazer Aqua (Special Vehicle) - both Buy it Now and Trade Price

·         Hangar Custom Shop Add-On

·         Progen GP1 (Super)

·         Grotti Cheetah Classic (Sports Classic)

·         HVY Insurgent (Off-Road) - both Buy it Now and Trade Price

·         Lampadati Toro (Boat)

·         All Melee Weapons

PREMIUM RACE & TIME TRIAL SCHEDULE

Get lifted with this week's Premium Race & Time Trial events, now live through November 6th.

·         Premium Special Vehicle Race - "Drop Ship" (Locked to Ruiner 2000)

·         Time Trial - "Observatory"

Launch Premium Races through the Quick Job App on your in-game phone or via the yellow corona at Legion Square. The top three finishers will earn GTA$ and you'll get Triple RP regardless of where you place. To take a shot at the Time Trial, set a waypoint to the marker on your in-game map and enter via the purple corona. Beat par time and you'll be duly rewarded with GTA$ & RP payouts.

Middle Earth: Shadow of War: PS4 Review

Middle Earth: Shadow of War: PS4 Review

Released by Ubisoft
Platform: PS4

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor back in 2014 was a gaming revelation to those wanting to deep dive into a RPG.

With a combat system that built on memory and revenge, the game had a personal touch that was compelling as the campaign progressed.

So it is with Middle Earth: Shadow of War, a game that takes the best elements of the first one and continues them on a better path in the latest.

This time around, the Nemesis system helps create a more personal touch to the marauding Orcs you face - whether it's giving them personality or a connection to your path, it's fascinating and deepening as the game progresses.

Already Tolkein fans have taken exception to the storyline, but what emerges from Middle Earth: Shadow of War is a war campaign that's as good on the system as any others. In this latest, the undying human ranger Talion and his ghostly elf companion Celebrimbor have forged a “New Ring,” a powerful weapon to help them fight back against the dark lord Sauron and his endless army of orcs.

It's up to you to recruit commanders, tackle orcs and generally fight the good fight.

The sonic background created in Middle Earth: Shadow of War is a strong one, with the controller coming to life with ghostly voices as you either enter the Wraith world or probe the mind of an Orc for information you need. Also, it can provide immature giggles when you pop their head like a grape.

Gear helps you build up your army and inventory, and the dreaded Loot crates appear too which is a game choice shame that continues to blight most AAA releases these days.

Ultimately, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, complete with its Nemesis system, sense of scale and depth make for an engaging and enriching way to spend your gaming nights - it's not all perfect and while the cut scenes can prove to be a pain, there's nothing more exciting in a RPG like this than planning and executing the ideal campaign.

It's a stronger sequel to the Shadow of Mordor, and its open world ambitions make Shadow of War something worth playing for hours on end.

Geostorm: Film Review

Geostorm: Film Review

Cast: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Andy Garcia, Ed Harris
Director: Dean Devlin

It's not that you expect much from a film like Geostorm.

A film with definitive B-movie ambitions, born of the chaos and cash cow created by the likes of Sharknado, Geostorm has potential for CGI silliness with a modicum of emotional stakes - if done correctly.

And yet, it's so determined to squander that for something average that would barely get top billing on a very bad day on TV.

Loosely, the plot goes a little something like this - in 2019, against a backdrop of undeniable climate change, the world's united to build a series of space satellites called Dutch Boy to control the weather. But when a series of errors causes concern and threatens the world, the original creator Jake Lawson (Butler, all smirk and side-talking) is sent to the stars to sort it out. 

However, a conspiracy that threatens the globe is gradually being unveiled.

Geostorm blew most of its cinematic wad in its trailers, where it revealed most of the admittedly poor CGI and showcased some of the dull edges of the dialogue.

But this wannabe Armageddon rip-off and family squabble / rift healer piece fails to fully entertain or embrace any of its inherent silliness to great effect.

Sure, Harris and Garcia play it with earnestness and sincerity, but Butler's C-movie aspirations do little to help as Devlin moves the pieces around the board in a typically formulaic and unoriginal manner.

A massive conspiracy that seems made over-complicated to carry off scuppers any logic and soon the holes in the plot are as big as the holes in the sky as the clouds form.

With weather FX that look like they're left over from Into The Storm and a cast of people who espouse wooden dialogue and barely emote, Geostorm's hampered by even a basic failure to carry out its ambitions.

When the end comes, it's a relief because this cinematic Geostorm's done little but blow a lot of hot air, and delivered nothing more than an inane fizzer that not even your hardied storm chaser would bother getting out of bed for.

Spookers: DVD Review

Spookers: DVD Review

Released by Madman Home Entertainment

Kiwi director Florian Habicht is a habitual film fest offender.

His latest doco takes a look at the New Zealand institute of Spookers, a fright fest themed attraction based at the old Kingseat psychiatric hospital.

Andy and Beth Watson run the park and have set about making sure its cast of horrifying workers have a good solid workplace, as well as ensuring that visitors to the place get scared enough to deliver their own Code Browns.

It's into this world that Habicht and his non-intrusive camera and soft questioning approach head in - and what emerges from Spookers, in its first half, is a film that captures the quirk of Kiwis and the heart and soul of those who live there. Whether it's asking a zombie bride if they go to the supermarket wearing the outfit or revealing a depth to one woman who works in insurance and who channels her frustration into the scares, Habicht has an eye for ensuring there's as much heart as there is offbeat material in the film for us all to latch onto.

But it's in the back half of Spookers that it feels a little like Florian's lost his way.

Relying increasingly on more performance art pieces which feel fresh and enticing early on,  than any kind of ongoing narrative, it feels like Spookers becomes a touch repetitive and lacking in anything new to say, other than to compound its previous speakers who talk of their connection to one another.

That's not to deny the power of those stories - and while Beth and Andy seem grounded, the range of their workforce appear to have a whole heap of issues that they have to contend with. From mental health to actual health issues, the sense of community behind the make up is pervasive in Spookers and deserves to be applauded.

More interestingly the former patient and nurse of the hospital get to deliver their views on how the attraction is now, providing a contrast in perception and an ideological conflict with then and now. Habicht allows his speakers the time and space to breathe thought into these beliefs and is also smart enough to not belittle anyone in his film.

There's no denying that Spookers is an essential piece of Kiwiana and a quirky celebration of the power of family, both adopted and parental, but if the back half's structure were a little tighter and perhaps the journey a little more strongly plotted, Spookers could have risen a bit more strongly to the top

Watch the L.A. Noire 4K Trailer

Watch the L.A. Noire 4K Trailer

Watch the L.A. Noire 4K Trailer

Watch the new trailer for L.A. Noire, presented in 4K Ultra HD. For the optimal viewing experience, go full screen on a 4K enabled monitor. 

The story of detective Cole Phelps' rise through the LAPD ranks as he investigates a string of crimes in 1947 Los Angeles, L.A. Noire for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch will be available on November 14th, along with L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files for HTC Vive, which features seven select cases rebuilt for VR.

For more from L.A. Noire and to pre-order the game, visit www.rockstargames.com/lanoire.