A Quiet Place: Superbowl spot

A Quiet Place: Superbowl spot

A Quiet Place, starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinski has offered up a new spot during the Super Bowl.



A Quiet Place hits cinemas April 5th.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Superbowl spot

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Superbowl spot

CAST & CREW

Director: J.A. Bayona (A Monster Calls)

Written By: Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World), Derek Connolly (Jurassic World, Kong: Skull Island)

Cast: Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, Guardians of the Galaxy), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park)

SYNOPSIS

It’s been four years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. 

Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles. 

When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.  

Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission.  

Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire planet to a perilous order not seen since prehistoric times.

Brigsby Bear: DVD Review

Brigsby Bear: DVD Review

Mixing BE KIND REWIND mentality with traces of UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT, BRIGSBY BEAR is a low key lo-fi tribute to 80s TV and fan culture.

But scratch below and underneath that, it's about something fundamentally deeper.

James Pope (Kyle Mooney) spends every day in his room, watching a show called Brigsby Bear, about a hero who saves the universe on a regular basis.

Under the watchful eye of his parents (Mark Hamill and Jane Adams) James obeys them and avoids leaving the house because of pollution in the air.

But one day, when he's taken from the only world he's known, he finds the only way to cope is to try and imbue others with the love of Brigsby Bear.

Essentially, Brigsby Bear will be seen by many as a quirky low beat comedy that sees a slight oddball having to reintegrate, and whose mouth lets loose some very odd things for laughable effect. (To say more is to spoil the journey, and while this hints there's a big reveal, it's perhaps pertinent to say there's not, merely to acknowledge much of what happens denies the film its MO).

But at its heart, this bittersweet film is about the ongoing effect of trauma, PTSD and ongoing coping with a momentous change in life that sees everything known uprooted.

In watching James try to fit back in, Kyle Mooney's underplaying of his re-assimilating and repeating phrases is entirely reminiscent of Agent Cooper's reincarnation in Dougie Jones in Twin Peaks' latest season.

Sure, there's a childlike naïveté at play here as the infectious enthusiasm for the show is spread around (in that way that the uncool becomes retro cool), but there are also signs that James is a deeply traumatised individual who despite the coaxing around him is unable to cope with his return.

Granted those involved don't ladle on the undertones here and the subtlety pays off in swathes, but at its core,there's an undeniable sadness and rebirth at play here and it's conflicting to see it play out.

At the end of the day, Brigsby Bear is blessed with an innocence of execution which is both charming and deeply upsetting. Its central message is powerful and it's to be hoped what it's saying isn't lost on audiences willing to look past its quirks and charms.  

GAME NIGHT - Official Trailer

GAME NIGHT - Official Trailer

About GAME NIGHT:
Bateman and McAdams star as Max and Annie, whose weekly couples game night gets kicked up a notch when Max’s charismatic brother, Brooks, arranges a murder mystery party, complete with fake thugs and faux federal agents. So, when Brooks gets kidnapped, it’s all part of the game…right? But as the six uber-competitive gamers set out to solve the case and win, they begin to discover that neither this “game”—nor Brooks—are what they seem to be. Over the course of one chaotic night, the friends find themselves increasingly in over their heads as each twist leads to another unexpected turn. With no rules, no points, and no idea who all the players are, this could turn out to be the most fun they’ve ever had…or, it’s game over.

GAME NIGHT is directed by John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein and stars Jason Bateman and Oscar nominee Rachel McAdams. Also starring are Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Jesse Plemons, Danny Huston, Chelsea Peretti, with Michael C. Hall and Kyle Chandler.

GAME NIGHT releases in New Zealand cinemas on February 22, 2018.

Waru: DVD Review

Waru: DVD Review

Eight independently told stories over one 10 minute period, linked by one single tragedy, but not so highly strung together it feels stretched.

That's the premise of the Maori female director-led Waru in an attempt to both stimulate discussion on child abuse and other Maori issues.

At the centre of it all is Waru, a boy killed in circumstances fully unknown, yet depressingly familiar, and whose opening words over a black screen "When I died, I saw the whole world" hint at the heartbreak of tragedy rippling through a community stricken by various forms of grief and guilt.

From there, the 8 female directors take on varying stories; from an aunty setting up the kitchen at the tangi, to a school teacher at a local kindy where Waru was and ending with 2 sisters on the road, the film's poignancy is evident in its subtlety and its execution.

Each vignette, grounded in a reality that's all too depressingly common, has a different director and story thread, but they're all intertwined with the common theme - and all bar one, they're more than successful at delivering what needs to be said having gone their own path and eschewed the usual trope of seeing the same story from different sides. Using singular shots and swirling around the locations, Waru's team of helmers make great fist of both time constraints and revealing a complete story.

While the great majority of the film works on its subtleties and imbues its subject with the gravitas that's needed and adds in some typically Maori humour, it's sad to note that the ever-so-slightly over-the-top section on the media handling of the case feels like the only section which is slightly fudged. It's the only story that slightly betrays the tone and feels like its extremist approach, while with valid points to raise, could have done it more with a shade less vitriol.

Elsewhere, the story involving two grandmothers, a marae and a challenge for Waru's body is utterly emotionally devastating, a powerful calling card over what a short story can deliver when helmed and written with utter precision. It's an electrifying commitment to culture, clashes of guilt and apportion of blame and self-examination in the light of tragedy, and in many ways, it feels uniquely New Zealand.

Having led us through the darker edges, the final short, with Miriama McDowell, proffers up a degree of frustrated hope and Waru concludes with much discussion to be had. Granted, there are a few moments when there's a bit of lecturing that's aimed at the characters (and by extension, us) throughout, but Waru's greatest strength lies in its subtlety of execution - its portmanteau approach makes this collection of thematically similar shorts both a damnation of societal ills and a template for discussion for change.  

Red Dead Redemption 2 is Coming October 26th 2018

Red Dead Redemption 2 is Coming October 26th 2018

Red Dead Redemption 2 is being delayed.

A statement from Rockstar Games this morning says:

Dear All,
 
We are excited to announce that Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released on October 26th 2018. We apologize to everyone disappointed by this delay. While we had hoped to have the game out sooner, we require a little extra time for polish.
 
We sincerely thank you for your patience and hope that when you get to play the game, you will agree the wait will have been worth it. In the meantime, please check out these screenshots from the game. We look forward to sharing a lot more information with you in the coming weeks.
 
With thanks,
Rockstar Games

Madame: DVD Review

Madame: DVD Review

Trying to blend Cinderella with an attempt at insight into a decaying marriage doesn't quite reap the rewards it should for Amanda Sthers writing and directorial attempt, Madame.

Holding a dinner party for the London Mayor in Paris, pressed Anne (Collette, tart and relatively convincing as haughtiness gets the better of her) forces her maid Maria (de Palma) to step in as one of the guests, fearing 13 at the table is an unlucky number.

But thrust into a world she can only comprehend through servitude, Maria catches the eye of the family art appraiser (Smiley, a welcome presence on screen and a sign that Europe has a differing eye on romantic leads).

As the two grow closer, the lies have to be maintained, but Anne finds her tolerance for the charade shrinking as Maria finds her heart opening to he possibilities of love and life beyond her downstairs role.

Sthers may scatter her film with contemporary references such as Brexit and Aung San Suu Kyi  but her attempts to make something timeless sees her hoist by her own petard.

Madame is not a film that feels for farce or grasps at depth; it feels in some ways incomplete and woefully undercooked in places. Certainly an ending frustrates, even if some may consider it inherently French. 

The trouble is that while Sthers peppers her film with the French approach to offering both unconventional romances their time in the sun and some kind of commentary on what makes France so appealing, its deployment fails to engage and indulge either the sense or the heart.

Ultimately, Madame is more a film that starts off familiar, offers fresh eyes on a tired story but then fails to utilise its differing USP for anything other than the fanciful.