50 top short films announced in 2018 Show Me Shorts Film Festival

50 top short films announced in 2018 Show Me Shorts Film Festival

50 TOP FILMS ANNOUNCED FOR SHOW ME SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL 2018

Opening at cinemas across Aotearoa from 6 October

The fifty top short films selected to be in the 2018 Show Me Shorts Film Festival, New Zealand’s premier international short film festival, have been unveiled today.

The 13th annual Show Me Shorts brings together the very best short films from across the globe, made by some of the world’s most talented filmmakers. The countries represented in this year’s programme includes Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA.

Four Kiwi films will make their world premiere during the festival: One Day by Nicky Cameron, Twenty One Points by Pete Circuitt, Toilet by Simeon Duncombe and Delivery by Stephen Kang. Chinese film 牛奶 (Milk) and South Korean film 단팥죽 (The Red Bean Soup) will also make their world premieres during the festival. More than 30 international films in the programme will have their New Zealand debut.

South Korean filmmakers are in the spotlight this year, with a special Korean Focus section in the programme. Two guest filmmakers will attend the festival from South Korea, Jinju Oh and Sung Yoon Kim, thanks to a collaboration with the Korean Embassy of New Zealand. The Korean Focus programme includes seven South Korean films, including a comedy about a family having dinner on the eve of Korean reunification and a delightful coming-of-age story about a teenage boy who finds himself in danger of demotion from the choir due to his breaking voice.

   

               

Festival Director Gina Dellabarca says, “The 2018 programme is a mix of edgy, entertaining, impressive and charming. We hope this year’s line-up will take audiences on a ride through a range of emotions as they empathise with characters both similar to and different from themselves. That’s the beauty of short films – viewers so often learn something new, feel something deeply or are genuinely inspired.”

Show Me Shorts is an Oscar-accredited film festival, meaning the winners of the top two awards, Department of Post Best New Zealand Film andSAE Best International Film, will become qualified to enter the Academy Awards. Ten prizes will be given out at the launch of the festival onSaturday 6 October at Auckland’s The Civic. Wellington Opening Night will follow on Friday 12 October at The Roxy.

With more than 25 cinema locations across the country, from Kaitaia to Stewart Island, there are ample opportunities to get friends and family together and enjoy the range of films and events on offer. Full dates, locations and booking information is available here. 

Walking Out: DVD Review

Walking Out: DVD Review

Walking Out may be a survival tale, but its sparse presentation may also leave some feeling frustration.

Josh Wiggins is David, a teen obsessed with games on his phone rather than the desire to spend time in the snowy Montana mountains with his estranged father, Cal (Bomer).

Things don't get off to a great start when Cal is late collecting his son and the bond is further strained when it becomes clear David's annual outing is more a tradition for his father than the father and son.

But Cal is determined to pass down the family gun heirloom and knowledge from his own father (Bill Pullman, barely on screen and in flashbacks only) and help his son nab his first moose.

So far, so cliched for hunting films.

But when a young bear cub attacks David and an accident befalls Cal, Walking Out becomes more a survival tale of the low-key nature.

That's the thing with this film- its commitment to low key and character mark it out from the usual fare, but also highlights some of its flaws.

Bomer and Wiggins portray the strain with ease and underlying heart of the family well, but the film's run time stretches the goodwill as far as it can go.

Beautiful mountains and backdrops add much, particularly a shot of a river bubbling through the snow-capped ice, and contribute to some wondrous visuals to cut between scenes.

Ultimately, Walking Out's commitment to a father-son bond is both its strength and its weakness. Much of the early talk signposts what lies ahead and points at the foibles of each, leaving the story feeling deflated despite the insights.

Small character pieces can be great, but Walking Out just falls short, making this trip to the chilly wilderness a bit frosty as a cinema going experience - and despite the character interplay and insights into relationships, it freezes viewers out more than it ought to.

New “How to Hitman” Video Shows Players How to Think Like an Assassin in HITMAN 2

New “How to Hitman” Video Shows Players How to Think Like an Assassin in HITMAN 2

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and IO Interactive released the second installment in the HITMAN 2 – How to Hitman video series, Assassin’s Mindset. This latest video shows players how to think like an assassin by mastering the art of stealth and avoiding detection in HITMAN 2. By utilizing the mini-map and the new Picture-in-Picture feature, gamers can track victims in real-time, keep a close eye on potential threats when being hunted by security forces and gain crucial information to help plan the next important move.

HITMAN 2 is the follow-up to the internationally acclaimed video game, HITMAN. Featuring entirely new hyper-detailed sandbox locations full of living, breathing environments to explore, HITMAN 2 offers players the freedom to plan the ultimate assassination utilizing an assortment of tools, weapons, disguises and a variety of stealth techniques to creatively trigger their own unique chain of events.

HITMAN 2 also introduces new ways to play with the Sniper Assassin mode, a standalone feature that brings a co-op experience to the Hitman series for the first time, allowing two players to work together online to take down their targets. Sniper Assassin is available to play now as an early access bonus for consumers who pre-order the HITMAN 2. Players can also enter the HITMAN: Sniper Assassin Competition and put their marksman skills to the ultimate test for a chance to win the grand prize of getting their name and likeness included in future HITMAN 2 content. For more information, visit: https://hitman.com/competition.

HITMAN 2 will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, the Xbox One family of devices including the Xbox One X and PC beginning November 13, 2018.

To learn more about the HITMAN 2, please visit www.hitman.com or join the HITMAN conversation on Twitter (@Hitman), Facebook (@Hitman.US), Instagram (@Hitman_Official), YouTube (Hitman) and Twitch (Hitman)

This Is Battlefield V

This Is Battlefield V

Here’s the all-new, six and a half minute Battlefield V video titled “This is Battlefield V” from DICE, providing fans an in-depth look at Single Player War Stories, Multiplayer maps and modes and the free post-launch journey, Tides of War. This is World War 2 like you’ve never seen or played before!

Today’s video also details the highly-anticipated Battle Royale mode coming to Battlefield V, Firestorm. In Firestorm, 16 teams of four will fight it out to become the last squad standing on the largest Battlefield map ever. DICE has reimagined Battle Royale and is doing it the Battlefield way.

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX® SIEGE Operation Grim Sky Is Now Available

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX® SIEGE Operation Grim Sky Is Now Available

TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX^® SIEGE OPERATION GRIM SKY IS NOW AVAILABLE

Discover two new Operators and the reworked Hereford Base today

SYDNEY, Australia – September 5^th, 2018 – Ubisoft® has announced that Operation Grim Sky, the third Season and major update for Year 3 of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, including 2 new Operators and a rework of the Hereford Base map, is now available for PC, PlayStation^®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One. Year 3 Pass owners can now play Operation Grim Sky’s two new Operators. All other players will be able to unlock these Operators starting September 12^th using Renown or R6 Credits. The Hereford Base map rework and new content improvements are now available for free to all players.

New content of Year 3 Season 3 available today

In Operation Grim Sky, players will meet two new operators:

·       Maverick, an American attacker from the Unit who is a Hard Breacher. Thanks to his Suri Torch gadget, he is capable of breaching silently any surface including reinforced walls.

·       Clash is a new British Defender with an expertise on mob behavior and snatch-squad tactics. She is a tough veteran, and a leading expert in riot control. Clash is notable for her Crowd Control Electro (CCE) Shield, which can slow down and damage nearby enemies thanks to its Taser, discouraging pushes and encouraging retreats.

In addition, players will rediscover the iconic Hereford Base training camp which has received a complete map rework including adjustments to the map’s flow, balancing, and visuals, to make it viable for competitive play.

Year 3 Season 3 major Update implementation

In addition to this new content, Operation Grim Sky will include a major update on the following features:

·       Correction of the weapon sights misalignment that caused automatic weapon to diverge from where the reticle was positioned.

·       From now on if players are not able to select an Operator before the end of the selection    phase, they will no longer be assigned Recruit, but will be assigned a random Operator from the list they have already unlocked.

·       Ability to mute the text or voice chat of each player individually.

·       Hatch Reinforcements will now allow for partial destruction.

·       Finally, in addition to gameplay and technical fixes, players can expect some map balancing adjustments on Consulate.

For more information on the Grim Sky season updates, please visit: https://rainbow6.ubisoft.com/siege/en-au/game-info/seasons/grimsky/index.aspx

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is working with Twitch Prime to bring exclusive content

Starting September 6th, Twitch Prime members can get up to 16 Twitch Prime Packs containing exclusive sets for Bandit, Finka, Hibana and Ela and a Legendary Marble & Gold Chibi Weapon Charm.

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, please visit rainbow6.com

Click the image to watch the Grim Sky reveal video

McKellen: Playing The Part: Film Review

McKellen: Playing The Part: Film Review

Cast: Ian McKellen
Director: Joe Stevenson

The doco about Sir Ian McKellen reflecting on his life for the large part feels like a biography masquerading in parts as an autobiography.

Amiably put together by Stevenson and culled from some 14 hours of interviews, it's anchored by an early line from McKellen himself talking about his public appearance - "what side of Ian McKellen am I going to present?"

That's not to say that Stevenson's mix of archive footage of some superlative McKellen performances and the mellifluous tones of McKellen himself telling his story along with his ruminations don't combine to make a watchable piece.

In fact, in parts, it's the very opposite as McKellen lets you in on his life, his career trajectory and his activism - it's very much an intimate audience with McKellen that feels like an audiobook getting a select reading to a select few.

McKellen says he's best at playing show off parts by his own admission midway through the film, and it feels like a lot of his life has been a struggle, mixing career desires with who he was / is - but it's rare for McKellen: Playing the Part to really give you a major insight into the man himself, other than the barebones of his life story.

However, the break through comes maybe 7 minutes before the end of the film, where McKellen's asked what he thinks about.

It's here visibly that the mask drops, and we get an idea of what the man actually is - "Death..every day - I think about it; how it may come about," is a rare moment of candid unguarded pretension that speaks to the universal human condition.

And it's in this one singular moment that much of McKellen: Playing the Part is shown for what it could have been. Maudlin and melancholy in its final moments, with audio footage of McKellen weeping behind closed doors after the end of Waiting for Godot, the true person arises phoenix-life from the public persona. Coupled with comments about lack of family, lack of children and spending a "most enjoyable evening" planning his own funeral, McKellen's charm and charisma is laid bare in the most mortal of ways.

Ultimately, McKellen: Playing the Part is a perfectly passable documentary, a nice armchair telling of one ultimate thespian's rise to prominence, and whose humbling in the face of the universe makes him even more relatable.

Xbox creates a limited-edition greaseproof Xbox wireless controller to celebrate the full product release of PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS on Xbox One

 Xbox creates a limited-edition greaseproof Xbox wireless controller to celebrate the full product release of PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS on Xbox One

Xbox creates a limited-edition greaseproof Xbox wireless controller to celebrate the full product release of PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS on Xbox One

Out of the frying pan and into your hands, control the battleground and get a grip on your chicken dinners

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Thursday 6^th September 2018 – To celebrate PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS graduation from Xbox Game Preview to Full Product Release (1.0) and mark the iconic “WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!” phrase, Xbox has created a limited-edition greaseproof Xbox wireless controller to assist players in their fight for elusive, yet tasty, chicken dinner victories. With over eight-million players on Xbox One globally, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS is the definitive battle royale shooter, pitting 100 players against each other in a struggle for survival.

Carrying the PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS signature colour scheme and designed with winning in mind, the award-winning Xbox wireless controllers that fans know and love has been applied with a patented special coating resistant to grease and oil. The hand sprayed urethane coating is impervious to minor scratches, water, and of course – roast chicken grease. To finish, each unit is stamped with the PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS logo and its unique number, with only 200 produced worldwide.

To mark the launch of 1.0 a few of New Zealand’s luckiest Xbox fans will have the opportunity to win a specially-made greaseproof Xbox wireless controller all of their own – Keep an eye on the Xbox ANZ Facebook page to find out how soon! Those who are lucky enough to receive a limited-edition Xbox wireless controller can say goodbye to the greasy fingers of yesterday and hello to the sweet victory of tomorrow: no longer will chicken dinners slip through a player’s fingers!

“With such a massive player base, from the veterans of Erangel, to the Miramar rookies, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS is a game where truly anything can happen,” says Tania Chee, Xbox Lead for ANZ. “The launch of 1.0 brings the much-anticipated Sanhok Map and much more to Xbox One, enhancing the experience of the fantastically popular game, and we’re excited to have created such special gear for the occasion.”

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS 1.0 is available now from the Microsoft Store and all good retailers for NZ$39.95.  

Join the #PUBGGreaseproof conversation with Kiwi fans on Facebook, or with our global community via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram