At Darren's World of Entertainment - a movie, DVD and game review blog.
The latest movie and DVD reviews - plus game reviews as well. And cool stuff thrown in when I see it.
NEW TRAILER FOR DISGAEA 1 COMPLETE AVAILABLE AND RELEASE CONFIRMED AS OCTOBER 19!
NEW TRAILER FOR DISGAEA 1 COMPLETE AVAILABLE AND RELEASE CONFIRMED AS OCTOBER 19!
NIS America is happy to announce that Disgaea 1 Complete will be coming to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on October 19 this year.
Celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Disgaea franchise, Disgaea 1 Complete brings the original saga, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, to modern consoles with upgraded graphics and the classic gameplay that fans know and love!
About the game:
The Overlord is dead. The Netherworld is in turmoil. Time to kick some ass! Netherworld Prince Laharl awakens to fight for his throne and it’s up to him and some unlikely allies to defend what is rightfully his. Together with his devious vassal Etna, the angel trainee Flonne, and a whole cavalcade of explosive characters, Laharl will slash, shoot, and punch his way to the top. Build your squad to level 9999 and unleash crazy special skills, team attacks, and spells to deal millions of points of damage in this zany high-definition remake of an RPG classic.
Key Features: Feel the Wrath of Laharl! - Take control of Prince Laharl as he conquers the Netherworld to become the Overlord in this zany story of assassins, Prinnies, and robots!
Hours of Darkness! – The original Disgaea is back and better than ever! Play through the main story, or try Etna Mode with extra characters not found in the original release! Get lost in the Item World for hundreds of hours of fast-paced strategy RPG action, now in HD for the first time!
LEVEL UP, DOOD! – Level up anything from characters to items to shops, all while wearing 100-ton boxers! Things not working out in your favor? Head to the Dark Assembly, and change the laws of the Netherworld!
Cast: Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Max Iron, Christian Slater
Director: Bjorn Runge
Slow-burning and blessed with two powerhouse leads, the adaptation of Meg Wolitzer's 2003 novel, The Wife is definitely a film for those older in years looking to reflect.
Close and Pryce are husband and wife Joan and Joe Castleman, whose lives are irrevocably changed when Joe gets a call offering him a Nobel peace prize, to be awarded in Stockholm for his writing.
As they head off to the ceremony for the literary award, Joe's agog at what's ahead and Joan is the supportive long-suffering wife who sits in the background, happy to keep him on schedule and out of the limelight.
But as the ceremony nears, tensions rear between the two as their history is thrown into the spotlight.
The Wife is a perfectly fine piece of drama, that bogs itself down with its flashbacks and exposition.
The desire to explore this blowhard husband and the stoic wife stutters as it jump between the past and now, with the best part of the work coming in the present as the powderkeg nears explosion.
It helps that Close and Pryce spar well, and equally gel; their portrayal of a long marriage and of decisions made in the past help anchor the piece as it chops and changes. If Close is strong in her delivery, stoic and still in her building rage and regret, Pryce is equally dismissive and oblivious to what's around him.
Close is very much the patient glue which holds the drama together, a nuanced turn that anchors proceedings as the reflections play out. The wry delivery of some of the lines also provide plenty of barbs as well, with the screenplay built very much on the three-act play approach.
Ultimately, The Wife soars when it deals its hand of the present day fallout of the past. And a clever examination of some of the final wording proves delicious in many ways as well.
But The Wife flounders in its execution of the past, and confuses the reasoning adopted by some of the lead characters; it remains enigmatic and like a stageplay in its execution - though overall, that's no bad thing.
The Wolfpack's director Crystal Moselle's latest is perhaps this year's Girlhood film.
A free-wheeling narrative, it's all about the youth. More specifically, though, the female youth.
A chance meeting between the director and the real-life skate kitchen crew led to this hybrid film, which in many ways feels like a reality show with more dramatic elements.
Centring on Camille (Rachel Vinberg), who's turning 18 and begins to rebel against her mother's desire to have her stop skating, Skate Kitchen finds its heroine discovering the crew online and joining their ranks.
But as she forms an attachment to both life downtown in New York City and a member of an opposing crew, Camille finds her newfound freedom is not what she'd expect.
What Skate Kitchen does, and does well, is capture the vibrancy, energy of both the skating scene, and of youth as well.
Whether it's free-wheeling dialogue about boys, periods or boarding or the clashes faced by the gang and Camille, these are not new stories in the coming-of-age genre. But what Moselle does is capture the urgency and the alomost-improvised feel of the group and their interactions, so much so that it feels almost documentary-like in its execution.
Everyone's playing an extension of themselves - from Camille's first crush and first brush with drugs to the rest of the crew's reactions to what hindsight will show are petty betrayals and squabbles, the film aches with the joys and hassles of being a teen, belonging and dealing with parental conflict.
Skate Kitchen is a reminder of youth, a snapshot of every story every felt by teens and everyone in their younger days.
Also, the scene with Skate Kitchen's girls skating and walking down the NYC streets to the laissez-faire sunny beats of Junior Senior's Don't Stop is this year's Girlhood Shine Bright Like a Diamond moment, a salutation to the carefree attitudes of being a teen and belonging.
But it seems primarily these ambitions are confined to presenting a story rather than digging a little deeper.
Entrenched in bucolic touches, She Shears takes a look at the sport of sheep shearing, an industry dominated by men back in the 80s and now seeing an increase in the number of women taking part.
In the 80s, it was 1 woman in 5000, now it's 1 in 40, so there's clearly been a sea change in righting the gender imbalance.
Following five shearers, two of whom are established names - Emily Welch, and Jills Angus Burney - She Shears is a pleasant doco that is graced by some stunning cinematography and slow mo shots of the work being done.
It takes a look at this quintet as they look to either enter the world of competitive sheep shearing (Hazel, Pagan and Catherine being the youngest and newest) and their drive and reasons to do so. It goes some way to give us their backstories on the Road To The Golden Shears competition held in Masterton with Pagan's history being the most intriguing thanks to the traditional sports underdog /hit by injury story.
However, it's potentially fair to say that perhaps She Shears should have narrowed its focus a little more on maybe three of these competitors as some have longer in the spotlight than others, and certainly, given the way the competition pans out, not everyone gets to where they want.
It's a frustration to be borne with She Shears - and certainly, the focus feels a little more like it could have done better to spotlight the problems of getting women into this industry.
All five talk of various levels of discrimination in among the support as well - and it's at this stage, the most intriguing and strongest element of the doco emerges that could have provided a sharp sting in a post MeToo world.
Certainly there's great disparity on display when the commentators of the Golden Shears markedly and pointedly refer to the male and female competitors in different terms. "Two little girls there" is the worst offender and points to some signs the entrenched sexism exists within - certainly, there's no diminutives levelled at the male competitors. It's a shame this narrative isn't expanded out, and Nicol's spotlight wasn't shined more at this, because it provides a stronger proposition to the film as it goes on. (And is mentioned by all five in their careers and how people view it).
That said, Nicol gives his doco a wondrously filmic approach in its shots of competition, with wool being flung in slow motion, shears guided around hindquarters and sweat dripping from competitors all looking glorious in slow mo and on the big screen. Nothing's been held back in ensuring the look of this generally pleasant piece is anything but top notch.
Ultimately, She Shears feels like a doco that slightly tracked down the wrong way for its focus. Granted, it gives the women competitors their time in the spotlight, and while narrowing that focus may have paid dividends, it does show that when it comes to showcasing and capturing the countryside, its animals and its people, Nicol has a sharp eye for what looks sensational on screen.
FOUR EPIC ADVENTURES, ONE LEGENDARY COLLECTION; DESTINY 2: FORSAKEN - LEGENDARY COLLECTION
Bungie, High Moon Studios, and Activision, revealed today that Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection will release in New Zealand on September 5 and is now available for pre-order.
Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection will feature an all-in-one experience, offering players access to all of Destiny 2’s premium content and updates to date in one place, available on PlayStation®4, the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X.
The Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection includes Destiny 2, Destiny 2: Expansion I: Curse of Osiris, Destiny 2: Expansion II: Warmind, and Destiny 2: Forsaken, the largest and most transformative expansion to the Destiny 2 experience yet.
Players who pre-order Destiny 2: Forsaken - LegendaryCollection today will receive a suite of special rewards to commemorate the last stand of one of the most memorable characters from the game, Cayde-6.
FOUR EPIC ADVENTURES, ONE LEGENDARY COLLECTION; DESTINY 2: FORSAKEN – LEGENDARY COLLECTION AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE ON SEPTEMBER 5;
PRE-ORDER NOW
Experience the Most Transformative Moment in Destiny 2 with Destiny 2: Forsaken
August 1, 2018 – Bungie, High Moon Studios, and Activision, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), revealed today that Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection will release in Australia and New Zealand on September 5 and is now available for pre-order. Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection will feature an all-in-one experience, offering players access to all of Destiny 2’s premium content and updates to date in one place, available on PlayStation®4, the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X, and PC. The PC version will be available exclusively on Battle.net®, Blizzard Entertainment's acclaimed online-gaming platform.
The Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection includes Destiny 2, Destiny 2: Expansion I: Curse of Osiris, Destiny 2: Expansion II: Warmind, and Destiny 2: Forsaken, the largest and most transformative expansion to the Destiny 2 experience yet. At launch, the Legendary Collection will also include a character boost that allows players the option to jump right to the latest adventure, Forsaken. For those wanting to experience Destiny 2 and its current expansions immediately, a pre-purchase of the digital Legendary Collection includes the ability to play the game right away.
In Forsaken, players take justice into their own hands as they pursue vengeance for fallen mentor, the Hunter Vanguard Cayde-6. Over the course of this adventure, players will have the opportunity to explore new regions, unlock new abilities, earn a wealth of powerful new weapons, and discover lost Awoken secrets. Players who pre-order Destiny 2: Forsaken - LegendaryCollection today will receive a suite of special rewards to commemorate the last stand of one of the most memorable characters from the game. Cayde’s Exotic Stash pre-order bonus includes a unique exotic weapon ornament for his iconic Ace of Spaces hand cannon, Cayde’s ship, an exotic gunslinger-themed emote, and shaders of Cayde to decorate any piece of armour with his colours.
"Perfect for players joining the Destiny 2 universe or one of the veterans seeking revenge for Cayde-6, the Legendary Collection gives players access to all the great Destiny 2content in one place.” said Byron Beede, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Destiny at Activision. He added, “With secrets to discover, and an epic hunt at the forefront, Destiny 2: Forsaken is a great chapter to jump into the Destiny story.”
Also available is the Destiny 2: Forsaken - Complete Collection, which offers the comprehensive Destiny 2: Forsaken experience for new, returning, and veteran players, and includes the Destiny 2: Forsaken Annual Pass*. Delivering to players more of what they want more frequently, the Annual Pass will include a regular stream of post launch content. Annual Pass holders will have access to three premium content drops, the Black Armory coming Summer 2018, Joker’s Wild in Autumn 2019, and Penumbra in Winter of 2019.
Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection and Destiny 2: Forsaken - Complete Collectionare currently rated M for Mature. At launch, PlayStation gamers will also get access to exclusive content for Forsaken, which includes an exclusive ship, an exotic weapon, armour sets, and a Strike, alltimed exclusive until at least Spring 2019. For more information on the Legendary Collection and Complete Collection, please visit: http://destinythegame.com/buy?section=collection.
WWE 2K19 Debuts New Towers Mode & Connection to Million Dollar Challenge
2K has announced the addition of a new mode debuting in WWE 2K19 called Towers, in which players choose WWE Superstars or their MyPLAYERs to compete against a string of WWE Superstar opponents. Each Tower will feature a unique theme focused on showcasing its included roster or paying homage to a specific match type.
In each Tower, players will also be challenged with difficult win conditions and fun stipulations, such as reaching a specific score, starting a match with a finisher or completing an event by starting with the player already at low health.
Once their skills are up to snuff, players in participating countries can take on the challenging AJ Styles Million Dollar Tower, the first step toward competing against “The Phenomenal One” himself in the WWE 2K19 Million Dollar Challenge!
For additional details, including Tower types, Daily, Weekly and PPV-based Towers, as well a first look at the AJ Styles Million Dollar Tower and detailed instructions on how to participate in the WWE 2K19 Million Dollar Challenge when the game releases this October, check out the blog post here:https://wwe.2k.com/news/wwe-2k19-towers/
Mixing elements of All Is Lost, The Revenant, 127 Hours and every other wilderness survival tale you've seen, director Joe Penna's Arctic benefits from a minimalist turn from Mads Mikkelsen and maximum use of the snowy world around him.
We join Mikkelsen's unnamed man Overgard atop a snowy peak, as he appears to be digging a trench.
But as Penna's camera pulls back, the reveal is that of an SOS carved into the ground.
With time spent on there unknown, but with Mikkelsen's Overgard clearly ensconced in the icy peaks for a while, Arctic wastes no time in showcasing the climate and the measured approach of the leading man.
With no soundtrack to note initially, and with the sound of the wind howling, Mikkelsen's lost-in-the-snow man spends his time handcranking a beacon, hoping for a hit. But it doesn't turn out as he'd expect.
To say little happens in the sparse Arctic is perhaps an understatement.
But with Mikkelsen throwing everything into the performance, and when it becomes clear that it's not just him to consider, Arctic ramps up into a what would you do approach that's as icy as the climate surrounding it.
As Mikkelsen rages against the elements, throwing frustration to the wind only in the worst incidents and leading you to empathise with him for it, it becomes a question of who's keeping who alive in this, as he wrestles with more than just the harshness of the land but the potential futility of what he's doing.
It's a classic case of self-survival and the fight against the odds - a "we'll be fine" versus "you've got to be kidding me" and Mikkelsen channels it well, using silence for maximum effect and frustration sparingly.
Arctic may be destined for a debate over its ending (a la All is Lost), but the tension throughout, while not exactly palpable, is present, leading you to be kept in its icy grip.
Details don't need to be added in, back story doesn't need to be fleshed out and everything is garnered only from what's on screen - it's a compelling way to burrow in to the survival story and while Arctic may not be for everyone, given its pace, as a piece of survivalist cinema, it more than earns its place in the genre.
