Further New Zealand Films Confirmed to Screen at NZIFF 2018

Further New Zealand Films Confirmed to Screen at NZIFF 2018

Three New Zealand documentaries have been added to the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) line-up for 2018.

Celia, a documentary tribute to Celia Lashlie by former current affairs journalist Amanda Millar, and She Shears, the debut documentary by Jack Nicol about women competing for world titles in the male-dominated industry of sheep shearing, are confirmed to have their world premieres at NZIFF. The New Zealand premiere of Dog’s Best Friend by director Eryn Wilson will screen in Auckland and Wellington.

“The staunchest, inspirational and most vocal of prison reform advocates Celia Lashlie left us far too soon in 2015. Thankfully her friend Amanda was there to capture her final interview which forms the heart of the documentary about Lashlie and her legacy. Further inspirational women can be found in She Shears, Jack Nicol’s observational look at the world of competitive sheep shearing, where women compete alongside men to be the best in their profession. Eryn Wilson’s documentary, set at an Australian animal rehabilitation centre, proves you can actually watch a bad dog turn good,” says NZIFF Director Bill Gosden.

About these New Zealand films:

Celia

Director/Producer: Amanda Millar

Amanda Millar’s moving documentary celebrates the enduring legacy of Celia Lashlie, a passionate advocate for social interventions that equipped those long deprived of choice with the tools for responsible decision making.

“Every child is born pure and filled with their own pure brand of magic.” — Celia Lashlie

https://www.nziff.co.nz/2018/film/celia/

Dog’s Best Friend

Director: Eryn Wilson

Producers: Gareth Wallis, Eryn Wilson

A surefire fix for animal lovers and a valuable sketch for skeptics, this warm doco from Kiwi director Eryn Wilson offers us intimate access to an Aussie rehab centre for troubled dogs.

“The only reason I’m on this earth is to be with dogs. This is all I know. This is all I’ve ever known. This is all I want to know.” — Jacob Blake Leezak, Canine Behaviour Expert Dog Psychology Centre founder

https://www.nziff.co.nz/2018/film/dogs-best-friend/

She Shears

Director: Jack Nicol

Producers: Georgina Allison Conder, Ainsley Gardiner

Presented by Miss Conception films, who focus on female-led stories, this fresh dispatch from the heartland introduces two legendary shearers – and three in the making – as they head for black-shirt glory at the Golden Shears.

“I always try to make it not guys vs. gals, just competitors vs. competitors.” — Emily Welch

https://www.nziff.co.nz/2018/film/she-shears/

NZ films at NZIFF are proudly supported by Resene. NZIFF is run by a charitable trust and encourages lively interactions between films, filmmakers and New Zealand audiences in 13 towns and cities around the country. The full NZIFF programme will be available from Tuesday 26 June for Auckland, Friday 29 June for Wellington, Monday 9 July for Christchurch and Monday 19 July for Dunedin. NZIFF starts in Auckland on 19 July, in Wellington from 27 July, in Christchurch from 2 August, and in Dunedin from 9 August in 2018.

Red Sparrow: Blu Ray Review

Red Sparrow: Blu Ray Review

Based on the first of Jason Matthews' trilogy of books, Red Sparrow unfortunately struggles to make a real case for further escapades to be filmed.

Lawrence stars as ballet star Dominika Egrova, whose career is cut short by a tragic accident - though it seems suspicious, the first of Red Sparrow's weaker attempts to set up ongoing mystery and subterfuge.

When her shady uncle (Schoenaerts, surely no coincidence that he looks like Putin with his pushed down hair and pallid complex) approaches her offering a chance of money, she's thrust into the world of espionage, via way of training in Sparrow school.

Headed by Rampling's icy matron, Sparrow school dehumanises its subjects and teaches them to use themselves as weapons in the fight for the motherland and against the invaders.

Soon, Dominika is assigned her first task - to infiltrate Joel Edgerton's CIA Agent Nate Nash's world as part of an international sting.

Extraordinarily stretched out into an over-long 135 minutes, Red Sparrow struggles to engage from the get go.

When viewed through the current prism of social concerns, it's a queasy watch with Lawrence's character feeling manipulated throughout, even though there's talk of her having free will to decide what to do.

It's never the case though, and with men who are varying degrees of creeps pulling the strings and sexually manipulating her, it's an odd feeling to sit through. It helps little that Lawrence delivers a cool, fierce and detached turn, with her aloofness proving as hard to thaw as the Russian snow which peppers some of the shots.

There's a steely feel to Lawrence's performance throughout, and in some ways, it's about a woman learning about control and growing, but it doesn't stop it feel less uncomfortable as time goes on. And while the end twists hint at more, the barbed treatment throughout makes it a difficult watch.

Edgerton has a grounded humanity to his role, but he and Lawrence fail to fire up the screen and consequently, parts of Red Sparrow feel robbed of the push and pull and tension that a good, gritty complex spy thriller should impart.

There are moments of good characters which shine through - Rampling's stoic turn in particular stands out, and there's a feeling of nuance and backstory which could easily lead to more.

Ultimately, the anti-climactic end of the Red Sparrow throws a shed-load of plot at frustrated and numbed viewers. While it doesn't pander to basil exposition to engage its audience, and tries for complex, what evolves is more muddled and muddied than anything. 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: Film Review

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: Film Review

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas-Howard, Rafe Spall, Jeff Goldblum, BD Wong
Director: JA Bayona

"Save the dinosaurs on an island that's about to explode - what could possibly go wrong?"

This line uttered by Chris Pratt's returning dino handler Owen speaks volumes to the simplicity of what the latest Jurassic Park movie should be doing, but which somehow manages to fail due to a script that feels rote and a sense of wonder that's missing in a series of action sequences that don't quite light up the screen.

Four years after Isla Nublar's Jurassic World was shut down, there's a debate going on whether to save the dinos from extinction after the once dormant volcano explodes into life. (One of the greater threads of the film is animal activism, and it's jettisoned early on).

Pulled into the debate by a philanthropist is Dallas Howard's Claire (returning this time less in high heels, more in combat boots). Offered the chance to save the animals as part of a military expedition, she heads to recruit ex Owen (Pratt, in a curiously muted and downbeat turn) to try and ensure that beloved raptor Blue makes it back out alive.

However, it turns out all those involved higher up aren't exactly on the level....

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a curious beast, and even in the hands of The Orphanage and The Impossible director Bayona, it never quite manages to bridge the gap between sequel to become its own thing and its need to set-up for the threequel.

Clearly, Bayona can handle the CGI action early on on the island, with flying debris and creatures cluttering the screen with relative ease- complete with obligatory T-Rex roaring as something chaotic happens in the background.

But it's the human element that suffers, and with the creatures not feeling as fresh as before, there's a terrible sense of deja vu that hits Fallen Kingdom, crippling what becomes of its second half.

The series has always delighted in the humans, the folly of science gone mad, and the small intimate touches that bonded us to their plight and stopped accusations of their insanity. Think back to the first film and how the kids forced Sam Neill and Laura Dern together into becoming a nuclear family, with the long-suppressed survival instinct thrust to the fore.

This is not what Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom wants to achieve.

Its flaws in logic, its desire to set the back half into a horror movie and its nostalgic touches (that wing mirror moment, a few echoed sequences from the first film) mean the Fallen Kingdom lacks the tension it needs.

That's not to say there aren't effective scenes, familiar to Bayona's wheelhouse.

A sequence involving a child in a bed, stalked by a creature and its talons is nightmarish, riffing on many a childish fear that monsters are coming for you at night, is tremendously effective. And Bayona makes fantastic fist of shadows and flashes of light, giving what is a rote cliche of the horror genre a fresher and compelling touch.

But it's not enough in a script which sees characters acting deliberately stupidly as the slasher / stalker movie goes on. And it's certainly not enough in a film series whose prime MO is evoke wonder. Dallas Howard's Claire even evokes that by intoning of the wonder and marvel felt the first time you see a dinosaur in the flesh - that was always the Jurassic Park's raison d'etre - a sense of wonder and marvel made real, dazzling and terrifying back in 1993.

That's sorely missing this time around.

Most of that has been jettisoned in this latest, unfortunately, and Fallen Kingdom emerges feeling like a blockbuster that's the sum of its parts and little more. Bayona was on a tricky wicket with this one, unable to repeat the formula and yet weighed with a necessity to bridge, and as a result, clearly the majority of the film feels like set-up in extremis.

However, the desire to jettison the core reason in favour of gene-splicing shenanigans and mad villains backfires on Fallen Kingdom. A third film is underway, and those involved would be wise to either look seriously how to evolve the series.

As Jeff Goldblum's Dr Grant once said: "Life finds a way" - and the writers will need to for the 2021 Jurassic World film, rather than force the franchise into early and welcome cinematic extinction.

SOULCALIBUR VI, the premier 3D weapons-based fighting game will be launching on October 19, 2018

SOULCALIBUR VI, the premier 3D weapons-based fighting game will be launching on October 19, 2018

READY YOUR WEAPONS, STRETCH OUT YOUR MUSCLES, AND PREPARE FOR BATTLE IN SOULCALIBUR VI LAUNCHING ON OCTOBER 19, 2018

SOULCALIBUR VI, the premier 3D weapons-based fighting game will be launching on October 19, 2018 for the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and PC via STEAM®. Along with the announcement of SOULCALIBUR VI’s launch date, we are also debuting details pertaining to the game’s Story Mode at E3 2018.

Taking place in the 16th century, SOULCALIBUR VI sets players on a voyage of discovery as they uncover events from the original SOULCALIBUR to learn hidden truths. The game will also feature a diverse line-up of new and returning characters with their unique fighting styles and weapons including series mainstays; Mitsurugi and Sophitia and newcomers such as special guest-character, Geralt of Rivia, from CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher® series and GrØh who was recently announced.
Lastly, a special edition of SOULCALIBUR VI will be offered… the SOULCALIBUR VI Collector’s Edition will feature a 35cm Sophitia Figure, SOULCALIBUR VI Season Pass, Digital Soundtrack, Collector’s Edition Box, and the full SOULCALIBUR VI game.

Quake Champions | June Update Brings Bots, Gore, and New Features Galore to the Arenas

Quake Champions | June Update Brings Bots, Gore, and New Features Galore to the Arenas

Quake Champions continues to evolve and grow in Early Access thanks to the feedback from the community, and this month’s update is no exception. Live today, the game’s June update introduces innovative features that will make it faster and easier for friends to jump in and get good together, including the launch of one of the community’s most requested features – Bots. Read on for all the gory details!

UPDATES

• BOTS GALORE – Want to hone your skill? Did some quitter bail from a game mid-match, leaving your TDM crew a bit short? Well, now Bots are here to save you. That’s right, the same kind of AI that will soon reach singularity and grow into our apocalyptic overlords now powers (optional) enemies in-game! Featuring a scalable skill level to help players practice and improve in training mode, Bots will also automagically fill slots in live games where needed. This small, first phase of the impending robo-pocalypse – in Quake form – supports Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Instagib modes. More exciting updates on our road to Matrix-style Armageddon are scheduled to come soon!

• GLORIFIED GORE – Gibbing enemies into a misty flower of blood and guts has been a key part of all id games, and Quake Champions already has some juicy, entrails-blasting death scenes. But, what if we told you that the ferocious combat and visceral injury of the Arena could be made even more brutal with the new Gore System added today? Yes, now, in this first stage of Gore, each Champion has received a unique gib-makeover, with attention paid to the individual pieces of armor they wear, as well as their proper organs, cybernetics, and appendages, to create precious works of Pollockian art.  The new Gore System even adjusts the gooey airborne chunks based on the special skins or shaders a Champion is wearing. It’s splatterific!

• AN UPDATED STORE – With the Gore System shredding friends and foes into a super-detailed mess, it’s more important than ever to play dress up and make your Champion unique. To that end, the in-game store has been updated with tons of new cosmetics, allowing players to dress up before they are dressed down.

• AND LOTS MORE – Community feedback is more important than ever, and because of one of the most vibrant and fun communities in gaming, the team has also added the following changes to the game:
  • Multi-Mode Play Lists: Been playing all day and need to mix it up? Now you can change modes between matches while remaining in the Match Lobby. Players can vote on what they want to play next, choosing between two selected combinations of mode and map, and one random option. Stay in the Arenas FOREVER! You know… like Ranger!
  • Killer Cam and Stacks: Quake Champions is fast. So fast that sometimes you can’t even tell how someone survived fragging you. Now, during unranked matches, the new Killer Cam will show freshly fagged players their opponent’s remaining Health and Armor on the death screen. They made the kill with 1HP? Good for them - now get back in there and get revenge with a single machine gun shot!
  • Team Health and Armor Stacks: In team-based modes, the Health and Armor stacks of allies will show onscreen so players can decide whether to suck up that Mega-Health for themselves or leave it for their barely surviving friend.
  • New Progression and Loot Systems: Earning XP has been adjusted to help people climb levels faster. In addition, players who choose to play in parties will receive bonus XP and Favor. Backpacks, Chests and Reliquaries also now have a lower number of duplicates and Shards can be used to purchase Chests. The entire system is faster, easier, and more rewarding than ever.
  • New Way to Try – and Buy - Champs: The roster of Champions has grown since Early Access launched and our free players want to keep trying the new additions. To help make this easier, Champion rental has been removed and replaced with a rotation of free Champions. In addition, Champions can now be permanently unlocked with in-game Favor as well as premium Platinum – in short, you can now try Champions easier and acquire new Champions just by playing.
  • Balance Changes: In addition to the more on-the-surface improvements, Quake Champions is receiving some under-the-hood tweaks to improve the overall balance of the game. These changes include alterations to movement speed, health and armor stacks for Light, Medium and Heavy Champions as well as changes to certain weapon statistics and specific Champions abilities.

Quake Champions is available now in Early Access via Bethesda.net and on Steam. For more information, please visit www.Quake.com.

“WONDER WOMAN 1984” is underway

 “WONDER WOMAN 1984” is underway

CAMERAS ROLL ON WARNER BROS. PICTURES’ “WONDER WOMAN 1984”

Director Patty Jenkins Reteams with Star Gal Gadot for the DC Super Hero’s Return to the Big Screen

BURBANK, CA, June 13, 2018 – Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big screen adventure finds her facing an all-new foe: The Cheetah. Principal photography is underway on Warner Bros. Pictures’ follow up to the Super Hero’s first outing, last summer’s record-breaking “Wonder Woman,” which took in $822 million at the worldwide box office. “Wonder Woman 1984” will also be helmed by acclaimed director Patty Jenkins, and star Gal Gadot in the title role.

As previously announced, the film also stars Kristen Wiig in the role of the Super-Villain The Cheetah, as well as Pedro Pascal. And Chris Pine returns as Steve Trevor.

Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Patty Jenkins, Stephen Jones and Gal Gadot are producing the film. Rebecca Roven Oakley, Richard Suckle, Wesley Coller, Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada are the executive producers.

Joining her behind the scenes are several members of Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” team, including director of photography Matthew Jensen, Oscar-nominated production designer Aline Bonetto (“Amélie”), and Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“Topsy-Turvy”). Oscar-nominated editor Richard Pearson (“United 93”) will cut the film.

Production will take place in Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Virginia, and in the UK, Spain and the Canary Islands.

Set to open in theaters October 31, 2019 in New Zealand, “Wonder Woman 1984” is based on the character created by William Moulton Marston, appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Tag: Film Review

Tag: Film Review

Cast: Ed Helms, Jeremy Renner, Jake Johsnon, Hannibal Buress, Annabelle Wallis, Rashida Jones, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm, Leslie Bibb

Director: Jeff Tomsic

Every year, during May, a US-based group of friends come together to play a game of Tag.

It's a tradition that's been running since they were kids - and it's based on a true story.

It sounds like a bizarre proposition, but that's the basis for Tomsic's frat-pack movie. After some 30 years of playing, one of the gang's number Jerry (Jeremy Renner, playing up his action man pretensions) has never been caught.

So Hogan, Bob, Chilli and Sable (Helms, Hamm, Johnson and Buress respectively) gather together with the sole intent of making it this time, given that Jerry is getting married...

There's little plot to Tag, a film that has some briskness of pace, lunacy of execution and is based in some premise of heart, toying as it does with male friendship through the years. (As is especially demonstrated in the real-life credits sequence, and repeated footage of them playing as kids).

However, there are some moments that stand out in this cinematic version of The Washington Post story - albeit for the wrong reason.

An entire sequence based on miscarriage is anything but funny, leaving the film with a sour taste that its initial geniality fails to shake off. It's a woefully misjudged set of moments and deserves to have been struck from the script, leading more to a shocked intake of breath, rather than a shocked laugh.

Equally, the film's final desire to wrap everything up in a mawkish hug is just sickly rather than sentimental - and while the film's final shots really do return to the premise, the journey to get there feels cheapened by some of these moments. Contrasted with the final shots of the original gang playing the game via home movie footage, there's a meanness that pervades some parts of the film which feels definitely unwarranted.

However, Tomsic's slow-mo variations on the action sequences of people getting tagged is quite well executed, a visual bravura touch that may be overplayed, but digs deep into the silly premise of people just playing a kids' game.

The ensemble gel well, and while Fisher's hysterical wife to Hogan may make you question her sanity, the group makes a good fist of pulling off some bromance chemistry, amid the early Bro-vengers assemble montage shots.

Ultimately, Tag brings the prats to the pratfalls, and thanks to a brisk pace, surprisingly it never outstays its welcome, delivering some unexpected LOL moments and some subtle adlibbed one-liners (mainly from Buress) that will cause more mirth than expected.