Gurrumul: DVD Review

Gurrumul: DVD Review

Some may not be familiar with Australian musician Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, but this doco may look to change some of that.

Paul Damien Williams' piece follows the history of the Australian artist, whose use of soulful Aborigine tunes and definitive voice captivated a generation back in 2008.

Mixing Indigenous languages and simple music, Gurrumul's success was guaranteed, but what came with it was something more than perhaps blind musician Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu actually wanted.

Williams' piece is somewhat confined by the fact that the reclusive Gurrumul was no fan of talking to the media - not out of arrogance or indignance, as an early interview shows, but more out of discomfort.

Despite being gently persuaded to try and engage, Gurrumul stands his ground, preferring to let the music speak for itself, and partly staying true to his reclusive nature. It hampers what Williams may have set out to do, but what it does do, as it's forced in another direction is to promote the enigma and mystery of Gurrumul.

Fans include the likes of Sting, Elton John and Bjork - none of whom are included here, as Williams doesn't wish to pursue a hagiography of the man.

Equally, even though Gurrumul was photographed with the likes of Obama and was a star at the Australian music awards, Williams' piece reveals the pain he felt over being about to break the American market, and the disconnect the idea of fame offered compared to his Indigenous roots.

It's this touch which allows Williams to show more of Gurrumul's background, his life on Elcho Island and why his sense of community and connection to the land was more important than the possibility of fame.

The end result is humbling and while it may be frustrating to some given how the usual biographical documentaries handle their subjects, this spiritual piece talks of tolerance, tradition and offers treats.

Eye-opening in some ways, and a window into another cultural world, Gurrumul insight into cultures is its sole MO, with the music and life of the man very much being a much needed and intriguing extra insight. 

The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: DVD Review

The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: DVD Review

Released by Madman Home Ent

Over 22 madcap minutes, the sketch show silliness turns its attention to the AMC series The Walking Dead.

Using the real cast members and some licensed tomfoolery benefits the parade of sketches quite well. as it rolls along key moments from the first seven years and pushes them through the parody prism.

The good thing about The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special is that if you're not chuckling at one sketch, they end pretty quickly. Gathering the talent to voice the characters is also a great touch, be it Jeffrey Dean Morgan revealing how Negan got his red scarf, or Rick Grimes's Andrew Lincoln just sending up his seriousness, it works well.

To be fair, if you're not a fan of the show, it'll go over your heard, but frankly, if that's the case, you really shouldn't be watching this anyway.

Whilst it's only 22 minutes long, and makes you question if it's fully worth it, there are enough hearty laughs for fans of the Robert Kirkman Walking Dead comics to amuse.

It's better than a visit from Lucille, put it that way.

Diablo III Eternal Collection available now for Nintendo Switch

Diablo III Eternal Collection available now for Nintendo Switch

DIABLO^® III ETERNAL COLLECTION^™ AVAILABLE NOW FOR NINTENDO SWITCH^™

The definitive edition of Blizzard Entertainment’s acclaimed action RPG includes all the features and content from every expansion and update

Sanctuary’s newest heroes can join the fight in style with the Nintendo Switch Diablo III Eternal Collection Bundle, and amass vast riches with the help of the Treasure Goblin amiibo

SYDNEY, Australia—3 November, 2018—The minions of Hell have never been stronger, but reinforcements have arrived! Blizzard Entertainment announced today that Diablo III® Eternal Collection™ is available now for Nintendo Switch, enlisting a new legion of heroes into the eternal struggle against the Burning Hells.

The Eternal Collection includes every feature, refinement, and upgrade added to Diablo III to date, including the critically acclaimed Reaper of Souls® expansion, and last year’s Rise of the Necromancer™ pack, as well as platform-exclusive bonus items such as a cosmetic armour set inspired by Ganondorf, the iconic villain from The Legend of Zelda series. With a five-act story campaign that spans the deadly world of Sanctuary, an endlessly playable Adventure Mode, and seven powerful classes to master, Diablo III Eternal Collection is the perfect all-in-one package for novice demon-slayers, and veterans eager to cleanse Sanctuary on the go.

“The Eternal Collection delivers everything Diablo III has to offer to Nintendo Switch players, and the great conflict between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells is now in their hands,” said J. Allen Brack, President of Blizzard Entertainment. “We look forward to sharing all of the challenges, adventures, and sweet, sweet loot with our newest allies in Sanctuary.”

Players looking to commemorate the arrival of the Lord of Terror to Nintendo’s newest system also have the option of purchasing the Nintendo Switch Diablo III Eternal Collection Bundle—forged specifically for Sanctuary’s newest heroes and styled to evoke the dark visage of the Lord of Terror. Available starting today, the bundle includes a Diablo III-themed Nintendo Switch system and dock, a Diablo III-edition carrying case, and a download code for Diablo III Eternal Collection.

Heroes hoping for an edge in their crusades will want to take advantage of Diablo III Eternal Collection’s amiibo^™ support—and seize a Treasure Goblin amiibo, available in December. Scanning the Treasure Goblin amiibo opens a portal toGreed’s Domain, the mythical Treasure Realm replete with riches and guarded by the Baroness herself. In addition, players can scan any available amiibo figure once per day to spawn packs of powerful Champion monsters to battle for experience and loot.

Diablo III Eternal Collection has been honed for the Nintendo Switch system, affording players full access to its deep, rewarding gameplay whether they use a Joy-Con or a Pro Controller. The full suite of multiplayer options guarantees that friends can always play together anytime and anywhere. Up to four players can link their consoles wirelessly, connect through the Nintendo Switch Online service, or share a screen on a single Nintendo Switch system.

Diablo III Eternal Collection for Nintendo Switch is available at retail stores everywhere and digitally through the Nintendo eShop at RRP $89.95 AUD / $99.99 NZD. For more information, visit Nintendo’s Australian or New Zealand product pages.

The Girl In The Spider's Web: Film Review

The Girl In The Spider's Web: Film Review

Cast: Claire Foy, Sylvia Hoeks, Lakeith Stanfield, Stephen Merchant, Vicky Krieps, Sverrir Gudnason
Director: Fede Alvarez

The Millennium Trilogy was, to be frank, a sensation.

Dark, dingy, Scandi-noir that hooked audiences, the Noomi Rapace/ Michael Nyqvist combo sustained three films and millions of book sales. The subsequent reimagining with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara fell short, even if it embraced some of the darkness and intense nastiness which percolated through the first.

And now, from the director of Don't Breathe, the book not written by Stieg Larsson has made it to the big screen, with The Crown star Claire Foy taking the lead role of hacker Lisbeth Salander.

Yet, The Girl In The Spider's Web all feels so formulaic, and largely unexciting.

The story concerns Salander who's contacted by Stephen Merchant's Frans Balder to retrieve a defence programme he's written. Salander does, but then finds herself unexpectedly under attack from others who want it, and framed for crimes she didn't commit.

Racing against time to clear her name, and stop the end of the world, Salander discovers the conspiracy has a very familial feel to it...

The problems with The Girl In The Spider's Web are largely not those connected with the execution of the film, which deploys some clever twists and starkly nasty imagery with veritable aplomb.

And the problem doesn't lie on the shoulders of a relatively emotionless Foy, who largely turns Salander into a scowling, scornful, brooding superhero type, in a performance which dials down the restraint, ups the physicality from Foy and leaves an impressive feel.

The main issue with The Girl In The Spider's Web is the story itself - it seems so out of keeping with what the original trilogy aimed for.

When Salander first appears, it's like she's cosplaying Oliver McQueen from Arrow, and the script demands an avenging angel like performance as the righter of wrongs, catapulting Salander into the echelons of damaged superheroes. And while Alvarez does much with jerky camera movements and handheld rushes to complement a sense of suspense at the start, he soon abandons for formulaic thriller territory.

The Girl In The Spider's Web still has some nightmarish edges, and while the emotional touches at the end come down to a short scene involving two people on a snowy ledge, there's little to let the light in throughout.

Stanfield is terribly and woefully underused as an American agent chasing the missing program; and in much similar ways, journalist Mikael Blomkvist is sidelined as the story goes on, robbing the film of the central spiky partnership that was such a tenet of the original series.

If all of this feels like The Girl In The Spider's Web is being damned, it's pertinent to say it's still a competent thriller, even if it's one constrained in a narrative web of its own doing.

It's just compared to the original films, and source material, no matter what Alvarez and Foy do, it's not enough to lift it from the gloom that pervades throughout - both of atmosphere and of oh-so-familiar pulp plot which lacks the sophistication and lyrical poetry of the first three.

Exciting announcements unveiled for all Blizzard Entertainment franchises at BlizzCon!

Exciting announcements unveiled for all Blizzard Entertainment franchises at BlizzCon!

Exciting announcements unveiled for all Blizzard Entertainment franchises at BlizzCon!

Greetings, friends!

BlizzCon 2018 is now underway, and the Anaheim Convention Centre is buzzing with excitement! In case you missed the Opening Ceremony, here’s a roundup of all the exciting announcements we just made.

You can also find the latest assets, press releases, developer bios, and more at blizzard.gamespress.com.

Diablo

• Diablo Immortal – Blizzard introduces an authentic Diablo experience with Diablo Immortal, a mobile MMO Action RPG and the newest entry into the Diablo series! Learn more.
• Diablo III Eternal Collection now available – Nintendo Switch owners around the world can now get their gauntlets on the Diablo III Eternal Collection, retailing for RRP $89.95 AUD/$99.99 NZD. 
• Nintendo Switch Diablo III Eternal Collection Bundle – Players looking to commemorate the arrival of the Lord of Terror to Nintendo’s newest system can now purchase this fiery console bundle at select ANZ locations!

World of Warcraft

• Tides of Vengeance – The war between the Horde and the Alliance reaches a crucial turning point in Tides of Vengeance, the upcoming first major content update for Battle for Azeroth, featuring new content including the Battle of Dazar’alor raid, the Battle for Darkshore warfront, and more.
• Watch the “Lost Honour” cinematic here.
• WoW Classic – WoW Classic will launch Winter 2019 in ANZ, and will be included with a World of Warcraft subscription. BlizzCon attendees can demo an early build of WoW Classic on the show floor. Attendees and Virtual Ticket holders can access to the BlizzCon WoW Classic Demo from home from today until 5 a.m. AEDT/7 a.m. NZDT on 9 November. Learn more.
• Adopt Whomper and Support Code.org – A new in-game pet and plushie is now available for purchase, with proceeds going to benefit Code.org—a nonprofit dedicated to expanding computer science education in schools and increasing participation by women and minorities. Learn more about Whomper, the playful baby yeti.

Warcraft III: Reforged

• Warcraft III Reforged - Experience this beloved real-time strategy game like never before. All new art and animations, 62 single-player missions, a refreshed user interface, an overhauled World Editor, and full Battle.net integration await in this timeless classic. Learn more.

Overwatch

• Ashe – A new hero, the notorious gunslinging outlaw Ashe, will soon be joining the roster of Overwatch, Blizzard’s acclaimed team-based shooter.
• McCree Animated Short – A new Overwatch animated short was revealed during the ceremony—in “Reunion”, McCree runs into his old friend, Ashe.
• Lúcio-Oh’s is here!  – With the help of Kellogg’s, the popular Lúcio in-game spray has become a reality. The cereal will be available for purchase starting in late December at various retailers in the United States. Some lucky attendees at BlizzCon and those visiting Kellogg’s NYC café in Union Square this weekend will be some of the first to boost their breakfast with Lúcio-Oh’s Sonic Vanilla flavour.

Hearthstone

• Rastakhan’s Rumble™ – A new Hearthstone expansion, launching 5 December AEDT/NZDT, pits players against the finest troll gladiators Azeroth can muster. Step into Gurubashi Arena and fight for glory with 135 brutal new cards, including Wild Gods that have manifested in the form of nine new Legendary Loa minions!
• Rumble Run – In the single-player mode for Rastakhan’s Rumble, Rumble Run, compete for glory before cheering crowds in a no-holds-barred smackdown in the Gurubashi Arena! Players will choose a troll champion and climb the ranks in this gladiatorial contest to be crowned champion. Rumble Run is free for all players; no pre-built decks are required for entry.
• Eager combatants can pre-purchase Rastakhan’s Rumble card packs via two bundles: a 17-pack Challenger’s Bundle that includes the Ready to Rumble! card back, and the 50-pack Rumble Bundle that includes the King Rastakhan Shaman Hero and the Ready to Rumble! card back. These bundles are available on any platform from $26.95 AUD/$31.99 NZD and $66.95 AUD/$79.99 NZD respectively—one of each can be purchased per account.

For more info, visit RastakhansRumble.com

Heroes of the Storm

• New Hero: Orphea – The first ever Nexus-born Hero—Orphea, heir of Raven Court and daughter of the nefarious Raven Lord—is an approachable ranged Assassin with a high skill cap who rewards opportunistic plays. BlizzCon attendees and Virtual Ticket holders will get Orphea for free when she makes her way to the Nexus in Blizzard’s fast-paced MOBA later this month. Learn more.
• Match Quality Updates and Community Content – The 2019 Gameplay Update is coming to Heroes of the Storm with the goal of making games feel closer and more competitive, including exciting new changes to the experience system and matchmaking. The Heroes team is also paying homage to some of the community’s most hotly requested items by adding Skins like Janitor Leoric, the Kevin Johnson aka Cloaken announcer, and more! Learn more.

StarCraft II

• Zeratul – Prepare to strike from the shadows with the next Commander for StarCraft II’s popular Co-Op mode: Zeratul, the renowned psionic assassin. By collecting powerful artifacts, Zeratul unlocks powerful new capabilities and the ability to customise his global top bar abilities.
• Warchest/Twitch – For the first time ever, the War Chest will integrate directly with Twitch to reward players for watching StarCraft II. Players can unlock exciting in-game content like player portraits, sprays, emoticons, banners, and for the first time ever, building skins. Learn more.

Win a double pass to see The Girl In The Spider's Web

Win a double pass to see The Girl In The Spider's Web

Lisbeth Salander, the cult figure and title character of the acclaimed Millennium book series created by Stieg Larsson, will return to the screen in The Girl in the Spider’s Web, a first-time adaptation of the recent global bestseller. 

Golden Globe winner Claire Foy, the star of "The Crown," will play the outcast vigilante defender under the direction of Fede Alvarez, the director of 2016’s breakout thriller Don’t Breathe; the screenplay adaptation is by Steven Knight and Fede Alvarez & Jay Basu.

The Girl In The Spider's Web is in cinemas November 8th.

To win all you have to do is email your details and the word SPIDER WEB to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Competition closes November 8th

The Breaker Upperers: Blu Ray Review

The Breaker Upperers: Blu Ray Review

There's no disputing the necessity and timeliness of The Breaker Upperers, a female written, directed and led comedy, aimed squarely at getting groups of women together and out into the cinema.

Fresh from success on the international circuit and at SXSW, van Beek and Sami play Jen and Mel, a couple of long-term mates who have an agency that essentially breaks couples up, because those involved are too scared to do it themselves.

Business is good, and Jen's approach is to never let it get personal.

However, when Mel gets the guilts for claiming to Annie one of those dumped that her other half went AWOL, things start to rupture between the two of them. It's further exacerbated when Mel starts dating Rolleston's lacking-in-smarts Jordan - it looks very much like the next couple heading for splitsville is Mel and Jen...

The Breaker Upperer's short run time helps, because, in parts, areas of this film feel like an extended sketch show thrown together with the flimsiest of threads and the best of intentions.

It's not to belittle any of those involved nor their intentions, but the general malaise which settles in to The Breaker Upperers is more prevalent when scenes don't centre on Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek's characters.

In between the hitherto-rarely seen on the big screen take on female friendship delivered by The Breaker Upperers, there are some high points. Sami, in particular, delivers a gutsy performance that drops the laughs with ease; van Beek's more of a straight man act to this, but it's herein the problem with The Breaker Upperers lies.

The simple cold hard fact of the matter is that everyone within is a character to varying degrees.

It means that when the emotional pull is supposed to come, it doesn't resonate as strongly as it should, largely in part to the feeling that swathes of this feel underwritten and ever-so slightly undercooked.

It's not majorly disparaging, just disappointing that there's potential here that feels lost in translation - and cameos from the likes of te Wiata as Jen's sex-obsessed hoitytoity mother and a sequence involving a 90s Celine Dion karaoke ballad means there are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments to be had.

Rolleston tries to play fast and dumb with Jordan, and a comment midway through the film as he gets a lift back home with his mum and beau in tow is genuinely one of the most scabrous and hilarious sentences uttered in the history of New Zealand cinema.

But that's the issue here - the humour is too few and far in between.

At its heart, The Breaker Upperers simply wants to be loved.

It doesn't want to be rejected like its suitors and yet it never quite offers a compelling enough reason to try and make it through the rocky periods and past the initial honeymoon period.

Edie: DVD Review

Edie: DVD Review

Less Reese Witherspoon's Wild, more a tame film that pulls no surprises, Sheila Hancock's Edie is a woman with a mission late in life.

Freed from the shackles of an abusive marriage that imploded into a stroke for her husband that imprisoned them both for 30 years and with a care home beckoning for her future, Edie decides on a whim to tackle a Scottish mountain climb.

With the cry of "Never too late for you, Edie" ringing in her ears, and with memories of a mountain promise made to her by her late father, Edie goes AWOL (with scant follow through from her daughter) to the Highlands.

After bumping into Guthrie's Johnny, Edie's conned into getting training from his so-called camping ways to tackle the journey...

Edie is predictable fare, that treads a familiar path to redemption without any flashiness or surprises.
It's in its subtlety that it works best, and with a twinkling performance from Hancock, and a genuinely empathetic grounded turn from Guthrie, the film's Odd Couple vibe of lost souls tends to work best early on.

Edie's determined to cast the shackles of the shadow of her past life off and climb both the literal and metaphorical mountain dragging her down. Equally, Johnny's uncertainty over being stuck in a small town, shackled to a partner's business plan, threatens to overwhelm his future and hold him back in much the same way as Edie's abusive husband did.

It's here that Edie stumbles really - its desire to repeatedly and unsubtly beat home parts of its message mean that - coupled with endless use of slow mo towards the end - the film becomes mired in sentiment and treats its audience with less respect. Along with the fact that logic and some key plot threads are just left dangling, this is never anything but Edie and Johnny's friendship, set to the backdrop of what appears to be shameless tourism video promotion for the rolling vistas of bonnie Scotland.

But in among the battle of unnecessary wills and heads being butted testing boundaries, Hancock and Guthrie quietly impress, imbuing the film with a resonance of a less-is-more execution.

It's unlikely that Edie will trouble either box offices or end of year lists, but it does offer an older audience a viewpoint seldom seen - of life after marriage, and in the twilight years. It's here that Hunter's film packs a quiet power - but had those in charge pulled back and removed some of the padding, the inter-generational friendship story could have flourished more than it comes close to hinting at. 

Beirut: DVD Review

Beirut: DVD Review

A formulaic spy thriller about a flawed hero called in to resolve a kidnapping that has a personal connection, Beirut is a solid but unspectacular thriller that ticks all the boxes and hits all the beats.

Mad Men's Jon Hamm is Mason Skiles, a former diplomat, who despite all the schmoozing and boozing is unable to prevent an event at his pad in Beirut turning into a tragedy in 1972.

Wounded emotionally by what occurs and having left the region, Skiles is forced to return when a colleague is kidnapped - and he finds himself entangled in the clandestine goings on of the political uprisings and the American intentions for them.

Beirut is that typical story, one of you not knowing whose side is whose, and which person is to be trusted.

In many ways, it feels all too familiar, just set in a different world we're used to seeing.
But the war torn Beirut feels gritty and grimy, and when Skiles returns a decade after leaving to see the evidence of civil uprising and the destruction, Hamm plays it excellently as Skiles steps out of the airport. At once shocked and simultaneously trying to work out how best to negotiate survival, the nuances of Hamm's flawed hero are thrown sharply into focus.

In fact, Hamm largely is the presence which keeps Beirut going; the conflict's cost is etched deep within his drawn face, his eyes puffy from decades of alcoholism and regret.

Elsewhere, Beirut's hoary tropes feel like they exist simply to hit dramatic beats, and it's not helped in parts by a script that largely feels ripped from plenty of other sources. The drama's at its best when it's invested in the personal, and it's never better than when Hamm elevates it. 

Bohemian Rhapsody: Film Review

Bohemian Rhapsody: Film Review

Cast: Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, Tom Hollander, Ben Hardy, Mike Myers, Lucy Boynton
Director: Bryan Singer / Dexter Fletcher

To be honest, Bohemian Rhapsody does not, and will not, care for what critics think.

This broad, crowd-pleasing attempt to turn Queen's life story - and ultimately, that of Freddie Mercury - into a cinematic experience, is more akin to putting an inordinate amount of money into a jukebox and blasting out Queen's Greatest Hits on repeat, with Brian May's guitar riffs ultimately numbing you into submission..

That is to say, the Antony McCarten-penned biopic is electric and offers a kind of magic only when its lead Rami Malek prances around on stage, overbite and all, effecting the mannerisms of Mercury himself and the flamboyancy of performance. It's here that Malek just about manages to transcend his "Stars In Their Eyes" moment to remind you of why these songs endure.

Unfortunately, it's all the rest of what sits in between the culmination of the Live Aid performance and Queen experimenting with their sound that feels like a bum B-side, depressingly put out solely because the label demands it.

Racing formulaically between narrative beats, and hitting every familiar moment of a rags-to-riches story - including family tensions and subsequent resolutions, Bohemian Rhapsody suffers from plodding plotting, a defiant coyness over the star's bisexuality and rampant hedonistic lifestyle and also offers an insulting nod'n'wink at hidden gay sexuality throughout. (It's no wonder Frankie Howerd's Up Pompeii is playing on a TV early on).

In many ways, it feels like a three act West End musical in its execution (though some drone shots at the Live Aid performance at the end are thrilling, a sense of spectacle and scale evident in every swoop from the skies through the crowd and to Freddie himself on stage) and is pigheadedly determined to ensure that it provides more dancing to the crowd as it dances around its subject, and subsequently provides rarely any insight into Mercury other than what the downpat story beats demand of it.

While Malek is transcendant at times, and occasionally sells the internal conflict of Mercury well, he's let down massively by a script that's as formulaic as it is predictable.

Ultimately, Bohemian Rhapsody is more interested in serving a crowd a slice of rock'n'roll pie than providing a full meal - heaven alone knows what Freddie would have made of it.

Shadow Of The Tomb Raider: PS4 Review

Shadow Of The Tomb Raider: PS4 Review

Released by Square Enix
Platform: PS4

The Lara Croft reboot series has been a brilliant shot in the arm that the game needed.

The first re-energised Lara and gave her an origin story that was intriguing and engaging; the second built on the promise of the first and added puzzles and tomb raiding to the series to show the foundations were more than solid.

But with the third, the pressure's really on - because most of the new dynamics have been put into place prior and there's nowhere to hide.

In this latest, and set after events of Rise Of The Tomb Raider, Lara's quest against Trinity, the shadowy organisation that's been haunting her life, steps up. Set in south America in the legendary city of Paititi, Lara has to stop an apocalypse after things go slightly awry.

Camilla Luddington returns to the role of Lara, giving the latest a feeling of a trilogy of work (and certainly an ending hints at this being the conclusion of a cycle, rather than a direct continuation) and a sense of a character arc.

Much of the emphasis lies on tomb raiding this time around, and exploring caves, and the darker visuals sometimes make gameplay a little harder to stand out. There's a little less emphasis on combat this time around, and really the focus is about rounding Lara out to be more of a tomb raiding individual than just a cypher for actions and moments.

It does mean that parts of Shadow Of The Tomb Raider feel a lot like stuff you've seen before - but the character work that's put in doubles down on ensuring there's less sense of ennui than could become evident after a while.

While there may be edges of Indiana Jones about Lara's escapades, Luddington and the writing team go into overtime to ensure that she never loses her voice in the melee, and as a result, while the game may suffer from a feeling of over-familiarity, it's still a solidly executed, if slightly unspectacular, episode in the ongoing retooling of the Lara Croft series.

Suspiria: Film Review

Suspiria: Film Review

Cast: Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth, Chloe Grace Moretz
Director: Luca Guadagnino

Feeling a lot like a contemporary cinematic bedfellow / brother to Gaspar Noe's Climax, Guadagnino's Suspiria is an odd beast to say the very least.

50 Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson plays Susan Bannion, a dancer summoned to Berlin during post Cold war times to audition for a company run by Madame Blanc (Swinton, in icy enigmatic turn).

Initially holding back, Bannion rises to the star pupil role, as her roommate Sara (Goth) begins to grow suspicious of what's going on at the Tanz Academy.

While Suspiria offers one of the most uncomfortable scenes set to celluloid this year, Guadagnino's homage, less remake, has more of the feel of an art film, rather than a full on horror.

With contorting bodies, some truly impressive choreographed dance scenes and a general feeling of unease early on, Suspiria sets the scene well as it ramps up the feminist vibe.

But it begins to fudge the execution of the film, failing to deliver much suspense and horror in equal measures as it unspools. Leading to a finale that's more ludicrous than terrifying is the final blow for this, thanks to some truly weak prosthetics and laughable dialogue. (Which is baffling given that some of the earlier work on this front is more than laudable, and the hints of the madness of possession that swirl early on.)

Mixing in allegories for the East vs West confrontation in Germany, an ongoing series of radio reports about the Baader Meinhof hostage crisis and an old man's quest to find his wife, the film's tendency to hardly deliver on any of these dallies very close to feeling it's undercooked rather than fully formed. It doesn't help the characters field a once over lightly approach either.

That said, Swinton and Johnson impress mightily; from Johnson's naif lost in the pull of something she doesn't understand to Swinton's performance that is evocative and subtle (to say more is to spoil), there is something to admire about the female led Suspiria (and doubtless there will be treatises on the women-led power piece and how it handles men).

Ultimately though, the 2018 remake of Suspiria is as polarising as you'd expect; it fails as a horror film, succeeds as an art piece, and consequently, feels insubstantial and almost inconsequential. The 1977 film from Dario Argento would be slightly appalled.

Assassins' Creed: Odyssey: PS4 Review

Assassins' Creed: Odyssey: PS4 Review

Released by Ubisoft

Platform: PS4

The Assassins' series was growing stale in many ways.

Starting to be consumed only by its own sense of mythology, the run got a boost with a year off and the release of the Origins game set in Egypt last year.

Returning to the annual release window, Assassin's Creed Odyssey's open world scope and the diving further back into the past to embrace mythology sets the gaming bar purely on fun and fiction, rather than fact.

Set in 431BC Ancient Greece and with a variant of the Peloponnesian War unfolding in front of you, you get to play a female or male mercenary cycling between Athens and Sparta.  Not just that, various side missions pop up as well, giving you the chance to either grind away for XP or simply concentrate on the story quest. From tracking down thieves to escorting people, these quests are largely unimportant to the game, but do build a sense of story and world within.

It's fair to say that Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a game to dive into.

While the size of the open world does mean from time to time that horrific glitches occur - there's been occasions where riding horses through walls is entirely possible but defies every sense of logic going - the scope for losing yourself in the game is immense, and time consuming.

Progression is sometimes slow, and to be frank, the gaining of XP is necessary so that you can deal with bounty hunters who tirelessly stalk you (and all of whom have a higher level than you) but it's a bit of a chore to have the gameplay so strictly tied to this.

But some of the skills offered as rewards are worth it.

Chiefly, the chance to get a power up that gives you the propensity to kick like Gerard Butler in 300 called This Is Sparta elicited more than a snigger first up. Later, it became obvious this is quite the tool to have in a fight as well, giving more than a little credence to its use.

The cut scenes and stilted conversations still jar a little, and detract from the game in someways, even though they're a necessity, but again this is a minor niggle.

Ultimately, Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a game that targets epic, and largely achieves it for a playable and disposably enjoyable outcome.

Win a double pass to see Overlord

Win a double pass to see Overlord

To celebrate the release of OVERLORD in cinemas November 8th, you could win a double pass thanks to Paramount Pictures.

About OVERLORD

Starring Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Pilou Asbæk, Mathilde Ollivier, John Magaro, Iain de Caestecker

Produced by JJ Abrams

With only hours until D-Day, a team of American paratroopers drop into war occupied France to carry out a mission that’s crucial to the invasion's success.

Tasked with destroying a radio transmitter atop a fortified church, the desperate soldiers join forces with a young French villager to penetrate the walls and take down the tower. 

But, in a mysterious lab beneath the church, the outnumbered G.I.s come face-to-face with enemies unlike any the world has ever seen. 

From producer J.J. Abrams, Overlord is a thrilling, pulse-pounding action adventure with a twist.

Overlord is in cinemas November 8th, rated R16 – Graphic violence, horror, offensive language and content that may disturb

To win all you have to do is email your details and the word OVERLORD to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Competition closes November 8th

Brimstone and Glory: Film Review

Brimstone and Glory: Film Review

Director: Viktor Jakovleski

The immersive touches of this lean documentary lend themselves well to getting you into the heart of Mexico.

Jaklovleski takes viewers into the centre of the action for the annual festival San Juan de Dios in the Mexican town of Tultepec as it's taken over by firework fever. The celebrations honour the saint, who legend has it, rescued people from a burning building without getting burned himself.

Concentrating on two festivals - the Castles of Fire and the Burning of the Bulls - Jakloveski's camera takes a course deep into the events themselves, dispensing with talking heads and interviews, merely choosing to capture it as it happens.

Some shots are thrilling - granted, there are the obligatory moments of slow mo fireworks being waved, people smiling and running - but that's to be expected. But it also manages to get inside the events and the build up too - from the kid who's unsure he wants to follow his father into firework production because of the injuries he's seen to those clambering dangerously high to the top of the Castles of Fire (all captured via bodycam), the camera captures the danger of the industry as well as the thrill.

Casual moments deliver much - a deliberation that "since we're not chemists, our measurements are not perfect" speaks volumes about the state of the industry there, and the OSH issues that workers face.

The roving camera idea works well for Brimstone and Glory - the drama comes from the banal - a storm here, a problem with the building of a bull there; but it also captures the inherent beauty of the fireworks as well - final scenes showing the Burning of the Bulls in full flight are stunning as they negotiate the utter chaos of the streets.

Definitely much ooh and ahhh, this fireworks doco captures the euphoria and danger of our fascination with veritable aplomb.

The Seagull: Film Review

The Seagull: Film Review

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Annette Bening, Corey Stoll, Elisabeth Moss, Billy Howle, Brian Dennehy, Mare Winningham
Director: Michael Mayer

Based on the play by Anton Chekhov, director Michael Mayer's take on The Seagull is a light, breezy film that benefits greatly from its core cast.

Bening, Stoll and Ronan all breathe exceptional life into their respective roles.

Bening is Irina, an actress whose insecurities stretch to admonishing her son Constantin and mocking his attempts at play-writing. Called in to visit her ailing brother, a tale unfolds of how Constantin met Saoirse Ronan's Nina, an appalling wannabe actress who became his muse.

However, Irina has brought with her the famous writer Boris Trigoran (Stoll, a stoic presence) whose appearance at the family home causes rifts and consternation as all tremble in the shadow of his reputation.

As the rifts deepen, everyone's insecurities increase exponentially...

As mentioned, The Seagull benefits from a career best from Bening, whose scoffing and mocking of those around her surfaces amid her own insecurities. Bening more than delivers, adding touches of nuance when required and bringing the pain to the fore as it's needed.

Equally Stoll and Ronan add much to the ensemble as the combination of comedy and drama unfolds; additional support from a growingly unhinged Elisabeth Moss as an infatuated woman lends the necessary scorn to the piece.

However, some of the hints of destruction are not seen on the screen, and with the flashbacks played out only to a point, The Seagull doesn't quite deliver the emotional heft that's necessary in times. An attempted suicide falls flat, a discussion of one character left bereft feels stripped of the heft - granted, it's a different approach but given the denouement relies on the emotion of the past as the script comes full circle from the flashbacks, it feels a little like The Seagull cheats - even if it does follow Chekov's play.

Fortunately, biting dialogue and stellar performances detract from the downsides, and The Seagull takes flight when it needs to, but fails to soar into the skies when it should.

Hunter Killer: Film Review

Hunter Killer: Film Review

Cast: Gerard Butler, Michael Nyqvist, Gary Oldman, Common, Linda Cardinelli
Director: Donovan Marsh

It's hard not to view Hunter Killer as the kind of film that wouldn't be out of place in the 1980s.

A mix of submarine thriller, shoot-em-ups and improbable rescue, Hunter Killer's B-Movie vibe is one of solid, yet unspectacular fare that spools out almost like a game of submarine movie cliche bingo.

Butler is unconventional commander Glass, who's given the command of a ship after a US Sub goes AWOL tracking a Russian sub in foreign waters. Whilst initially, it's a rescue mission for the sub, thanks to a Russian coup, it soon filters out into a further rescue mission to save the Russian President (yes, echoes of the "Has Fallen" film series spring easily to mind).

But if this mission should fail, World War 3 could break out...

Hunter Killer pulls the usual punches for the genre, though it's given a contemporary frisson with the Russians being the bad guys and the US facing off against them. In parts, it's the kind of film that US President Donald Trump could embrace in some ways.

To be honest though, Hunter Killer meshes Call of Duty, Lone Survivor, Has Fallen series and Hunt for Red October, and blends it all through a prism of army recruitment video. It's stock-standard fare that takes itself seriously, and ticks all the boxes.

Butler delivers his usual half-smirking performance, but there's an earnestness to his underwritten commander that's vaguely endearing. Nyqvist, in his final role, is utterly wasted, a sad farewell to a nuanced great.

The tension is largely missing throughout Hunter Killer, until a final act sequence brings together the inevitable consequences of everyone's actions and Marsh concentrates on delivering something solid, via repeated use of swirling cameras, cliches and military might.

Sure, there's a case to say the Americans are painted in a positive light, and those damned Russians are tricky foreigners determined to powerplays over diplomacy, but Hunter Killer cares not for your sneering approach.

Instead it charts a course through familiar and formulaic waters, with only one course in mind - but it comes close to sinking in 2018, when it potentially would have risen to the surface in the 1980s.

Mandy: Film Review

Mandy: Film Review

Placing the psycho among the psychotropic, Panos Cosmatos' Mandy is a curious beast, likely to satiate an Incredibly Strange audience, but unlikely to burst out of its cult bubble.

Starting with Nic Cage in full lumberjack mode felling a tree (not a euphemism), Cosmatos's under siege piece takes its 80s vibe and fully runs with it.

Cage is Red, who lives with Mandy (Andrea Riseborough) in a remote cabin. Their dream existence is granted a rude awakening when the Children of the New Dawn pass Mandy on a path one day, determining that she should be with them.

Their leader (Linus Roach, in full messianic mode) orders his followers to steal her away - needless to say Red ain't having that.

It's a case of 80s style over substance with Mandy, which is no bad thing if that's what you're looking for. Drenched in a Johann Johannsson score, the film's atmospherics hit every level they're intending to, but it's a case of genre style ahead of anything else in effect here.

Cosmatos makes his piece a masterclass in lighting, soaking many scenes in red and backlighting the fight scenes with spotlights - it's a visual lunacy that's worth embracing.

Mandy may drag a little in parts, a fever dream that's extended beyond need, but Cage's fans will be happy to see their hero, in his tighty-whiteys, doing what he does best - chewing up the scenery (and doing a large amount of cocaine at the end of one scene).

Mandy fulfills its exploitation vibe well, but beyond the deaths and gore it proffers up, it offers little more.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again: DVD Review

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again: DVD Review

Sometimes, it's pointless to rail against the cheese.

So it is with Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, the sequel to the 2008 Abba smash hit film that was low rent in terms of story, but was embraced as only some musicals can be.

In this latest, reeling from the loss of her mother Donna (Streep), Sophie Sheridan (Seyfried, in earnest heartfelt mode) is making final preparations to reopen her mother's Greek hotel.

Reflecting on Donna's past and trying to juggle the commitments of her present life, Sophie finds hardships in her own relationships as the tumult reaches overwhelming levels.

There's little point resisting Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again.

Its overload of cheesiness and gusto is pretty much signalled early on with Seyfried's sitting in the Greek sun, looking at letters while softly muttering lyrics to Thank you for the music.

It's then kicked up a notch with Lily James' energetic and vibrant performance of When I Kissed The Teacher as a young Donna, its choreography and energy lighting up the screen, and no doubt leading to dancing in the aisles to ABBA's lesser known music. (It's to be said that James is the best thing in the sequel, an actress who throws herself headlong into the role with relish and a carefree attitude that's nothing short of contagious.)

While the structure of Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again is a bit of a mess (continual chopping into the past and present), those willing to go along with the ride, the corny one-liners and the all too familiar rom-com-drama storyline will be happy enough.

Kitsch mixed in with stars clearly more self-aware of what the first film's legacy was helps Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again a lot, but don't expect to be won over if you're of the cynical variety. This is pure and simple goofball film-making that's about licensing music and inserting it into the ongoing drama.

While that's no bad thing, there's no convincing any that this is high art - it's purely about trashy entertainment, about ensuring a good time is had by all, that ABBA's timeless disco hits live on and everyone else with the hint of a brain cell or good taste be damned.