Pick Of the Litter: Film Review

Pick Of the Litter: Film Review

So, here it is - this year's Kedi.

Whereas the tale of Turkish kitties was a story of animals, their surroundings and the people that adopt them, Pick Of the Litter is an unashamed piece of furry kryptonite, determined to deliver some close ups of adorable puppies.

Choosing to follow five Labrador puppies as they undergo training for guide dogs for the blind in the USA is not the most taxing of intentions.

However, Dana Nachman and Don Hardy's documentary is unashamed in its desires and is oblivious to the notion of going deeper in this once-over-lightly piece that just about entertains for its 80 minute run time.

Primrose, Poppet, Phil, Potomac and Patriot are all born within the walls of a Guide Dogs building in California and all have the potential to change future owners lives. But not if they fail basic training and their puppy raisers don't meet the mark.

With a couple of the pups passed around different trainers, the interesting parts of the film and the dilemmas which reside within are largely ignored in a brisk and brutally cute piece that's aiming for Hallmark thrills rather than in-depth investigations.

Perhaps the more interesting and knottier elements of the film are dropped in amid the cutesier touches as the dogs are "career changed" (lingo for being moved out of the programme) and disappear from our immediate view.

Questions over the ethics of in-house breeding, what kind of a life that must be, the cost of doing it, both financially and emotionally for the organisation and more specifically the trainers are vaulted over at such speed that it's dizzying.

It's a shame as there are hints of some darkness here that are genuinely worth exploring, and which linger rather than being dug into. Some trainers have the dogs taken from them with a disconnect between the administration and the owners unable to be reconciled; issues over whether there are problems with expectations are hinted at - there's a lot more meat to be explored here, but doesn't get done so.

It's not to say that Pick Of The Litter isn't engaging - certainly, if you're an animal lover, you'll adore it, and you'll end up invested in which of the five pups - if any, given the high rate of failure - make it to the end of the training.

And there's certainly no denying the power of the simplicity of seeing the joy on new owners' faces and prospective lives being changed just by having a dog get through this.

But Pick Of The Litter is very much a once-over-lightly kind of pleasantly presented doco, that lacks deep insight but gives cutesy cuddles - not a bad thing for the winter months, but certainly there's a nagging feeling that a stronger documentary definitely lies within, waiting to be coaxed to the surface. 

Tetris Effect: PS4 Review

Tetris Effect: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4/ PSVR

The return of Tetris in Tetris: Effect feels like a loving tribute to the game which sucked so many of our lives over three decades ago.

It's essentially Tetris, without the annoying soundtrack of the past, and feels very much like a recognition of the simplicity of the first original game.

But in many ways, this is a Tetris that's bathed in an Ibiza Chill-out album, set to a pulsing strand of imagery, and then locked into a floatation tank with you via the route of Sound Shapes gameplay which incorporated music and rhythm.

Pulling in some of the vibe of Pac-Man Championship Arcade and Pac-Man 256 in terms of look, the game's built on clearing lines of the classic drop-a-block gameplay, before allowing you to move onto the next level.

Set over a cosmos of worlds, each level sees you graded for your efforts.

But each level is also blessed with a whole series of moving effects around the central game too which sits in the middle of your screen. It's a more engaging effect in the VR environment, but doesn't lose any of the benefit when it's on a normal screen. In truth, as the relaxed soundtrack plays out, the images are absorbing, reflecting the nature of what you're doing.

Some levels see horses move quicker the faster you drop the blocks; others see birds flying, dolphins jumping out of waters, and worshippers getting more and more frenzied the quicker you clear. Very occasionally, it's distracting, and paying not enough attention to the actual Tetriminos could cost; but when the windmills turn as you rotate blocks or blobs pulse with each line, it's beautiful to behold.

It's a sensory onslaught in many ways - albeit a welcome one as the swirling patterns, growing creatures form around the sides of the game, pulsing, whirling and living breathing digital dots which grow as the levels go on, and as your gameplay improves.

It's never a sensory overload - and Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's made sure the game appears to embrace the past as well as the future, with its focus on the simple gameplay and fiendish ease of the original. It's sucked more of my life again, and I wouldn't change a thing.

New touches include a series of random levels where various effects strike your chance of clearing, and an inclusion of something called The Zone, which effectively stops the clock, giving you a chance to score points and clear lines in a limited time. This is triggered by the more chains of cleared levels you get and it's a canny way to clear the building blocks to help when the clock restarts.

Online levels, classic levels, the chance to play random parts again - there's much replay in this, and there's also much that will give itself joyously to disposable pleasures.

All in all, Tetris Effect is a trippy update of the past, a clever nod to the future, and a game that never loses sight of what made the original Tetris such a fiendish knotty game to put down.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: Film Review

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: Film Review

Directors: The Coen Brothers
Cast: Tim Blake Nelson, Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan, Tom Waits, James Franco, Bill Heck, Tyne Daly

Boasting an all-star cast, and an ensemble to impress, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs takes on the wild west in an anthology from the Coen Brothers.

Comprising six stories, of varying quality in truth, the Coens' take on the Wild West is one that plays to the violence of the times, while also offering a wide scope of stories.

The end result is somewhat of a mixed bag, with some hitting the mark, and others misfiring. And given each short's differing time duration, when it misfires, it can feel longer than it should.

Successful outings include Blake Nelson's singing cowboy Buster Scruggs who is as deadly as the notes which come flying from his mouth and also a prospecting tale with Tom Waits, panning for gold on a lonely quest for riches.

Less successful are Liam Neeson's vaudeville tale of a showman exploiting a quadriplegic raconteur and a meditative piece on Stagecoach that ends proceedings, but manages to feel like the whole thing's not quite wrapped up.

If the shorts are of differing quality throughout, the production values of this multi-faceted take on the wild west are not.

Linked by a book flipping pages between stories, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs embraces its old time roots with veritable gusto.

Looking stunning throughout, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs feels authentic to the time, without ever playing up the edges of the genre; and once again, the Coen Brothers' eye for brutality in all its forms, and human tragedy, as well as black humour are all present.

Much like panning for gold, there will be some nuggets, and some almost nuggets - the anthology nature of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs makes for an intriguing companion on the road to original movies, even if it's not quite as settled a tone throughout as you'd hope for.

Dogs: Netflix Review

Dogs: Review

If a show is called Dogs you can pretty much guarantee what it will be about.

But Netflix's Dogs, while packed to the gills with good boys, is about more than the bond with human and pooch.

This six part series, from Deliver Us From Evil's Amy Berg and Glen Zipper, is also about society and the subtleties that live within.

While it starts with the cute, the opening episode treads much of the same lines as recent cinema release Pick of the Litter, in that it tackles service dogs. But whereas the film keeps things fluffy, the doco chooses to go deeper into what the dogs mean to their various charges, in this case young Corinne whose epilepsy means her mum continually sleeps in the same room, but what also their presence does to the rest of the family - hint, it's no family pet (much to the consternation of one sibling whose constant queries over the dog show how she's bonded beforehand).

More powerful I'd wager is the second episode which tells the tale of a Syrian refugee desperate to get his dog Zeus out of there and into Berlin where he now lives. There's much more going on with Dogs than pure cuteness at a surface level. 

This tale is pertinent, globally acute and is as much about the refugee cost as a case of reuniting owner with dog.

It's some smart doco making that finds all the deeper facets and avoids the obvious easy routes - and Dogs does it well, with panache and pooches in equal measure.

For animal lovers in the know it's not exactly eye-opening stuff in some ways, but given people will be piqued by the cute pitch (Dogs!), the scope for education on more global issues is an opportunity well worth bingeing on.

You Were Never Really Here: Film Review

You Were Never Really Here: Film Review

Director Lynne Ramsay's thriller is bathed in brutality, but also beaten down in humanity.

A hooded, hulking and haunted Joaquin Phoenix is Joe, a hitman former veteran, whose specialty is saving children from sex rings.

Aside from the repugnance of his day job, Joe spends the time outside of the job looking after his mother, who's ailing and in need of care.

But when Joe's called in to a kidnapping of a US senator, what he believes is a cut-and-dry job turns into something a lot more personal - and potentially fatal.

Based on the 2013 Jonathan Ames' novel, Ramsay's sparsity with the camera work and the hallucinatory material within works masterfully for You Were Never Really Here.

It's aided by a sterling turn by Phoenix, whose intensity is suited to the anger contained within Joe as he dispatches his law-breakers with a hammer. But Phoenix also makes a case for real tenderness in terms of his interaction with his mother and also the victims of the child sex rings.

It's these touches which lift You Were Never Really Here out of the darkness that it inhabits.

Ramsay (who did We Need To Talk About Kevin) keeps things taut and interesting throughout - rather than fixating on the violent means of despatching, she angles the camera away from proceedings.

When Joe breaks into a hotel to free his victims, CCTV footage shows the scene but cuts just before the method of murder is revealed; equally a desperate fight on the floor is depicted through a ceiling mirror - it's impressive stuff that's not too showy, but very effective.

It helps with the disorientation too, as You Were Never Really Here has an overall feeling of thrilling wooziness as it plays out.

Greatly enhanced by a turn from Phoenix that keeps you riveted as the conspiracy plays out, You Were Never Really Here is as much of a trip for the audience as it is on screen.

It may be a trip to a seedy underbelly, but thanks to Ramsay and Phoenix, it's a trip that's well worth taking. 

Red Dead Redemption 2: PS4 Review

Red Dead Redemption 2: PS4 Review

Released by Rockstar Games
Platform: PS4

The third Red Dead game is already massive.

Massive in sales, massive in actual gameplay, and thanks to Dan Houser, massive in controversy, after he revealed "crunch" teams were working upto 100 hours a week to get it all done, prompting discussions about gaming industry working conditions.

When all is said and done, and regardless of right or wrong, it cannot be denied that what Rockstar has committed to the small screen in this game is truly incredible, game-changing, bar-raising kind of stuff.

You are Arthur Morgan, outlaw and member of the Van der Linde gang, who finds himself in 1899 after a botched heist. Hiding out and then trying to escape, it's up to you to negotiate the treacherous world within, and potential allies as you take part in heists, hunting and hollering utter chaos as the story unfolds.

To say Red Dead Redemption 2 is a cinematic game is an understatement.

It's clear every detail has been pored over repeatedly in setting this game on the right path, and whether that's right or wrong, given what was reported, it's hard to deny that this game has strived for perfection throughout.

Early visuals like a snowstorm, and the interaction of people within are just mind-blowingly impressive. There's no chance to run in this, and the system doesn't let you cheat as you try to make your way through; snowy crevices and peaks are stunning as well. Just don't try walking your horse over one, because the creatures won't let you do it.

There are plenty of controls in place for Arthur as well - he'll need to be fed, kept stamina up and also kept healthy. It's this kind of nannying, which while realistic to the game, reminds you that it's also a bit of a chore (much like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas made you keep your protagonist alive) and does detract from simply getting on with the game.

There's an argument realism can be taken too far, but in making this as real as possible, this is what Rockstar have compelled you to do. And there are way too many controls to remember when necessary, so there's an argument it's all been over-complicated in some ways - which sounds like lunacy when you look at the scale of what's been achieved.

Visually, the game impresses on every level, from cinematics that feel authentic to switching cameras on scenes that makes you feel like you're in a Sergio Leone film, there's a lot to marvel in here.

The story's enjoyable too, and while the constant maintenance of your character may occasionally take you out of the action, it's fair to say that Red Dead Redemption 2 is a pinnacle of what gaming can do.

Rockstar Games have built on the success of previous titles like Grand Theft Auto and created an almost video game cinema experience that will continue to impress for years to come, and be emulated by others desperate to repeat their success.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: Film Review

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: Film Review

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoe Kravitz
Director: David Yates

In truth, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald struggles to justify carrying on the franchise into five-films beast.

From the pen of JK Rowling and expanding on what was a flimsy compendium of creatures, the latest picks up the end thread of the appearance of nasty wizard Grindelwald (Depp, bleached white, and downplaying the menace for once) and ups the ante with talk of shattering the fragile peace between the wizarding world and the Muggles.

Finding himself in the centre of all this is Eddie Redmayne's awkward, but openly honest and pure-of-heart Newt Scamander, still being punished for his altruistic actions in Fantastic Beasts.

To say more, is to break the marketing omerta imposed on all reviewers, but suffice to say the problem with Fantastic Beasts 2 is that it gets tied up in its own world, starts talking only to its own and not the average Muggle who's not that keen on every throwback.

Character arcs feel unformed with one twist feeling unearned and emotionally underwhelming, demanding you appreciate them because you met them in the last film, rather than for their own journey.

And for a film whose subtitle is The Crimes of Grindelwald, Grindelwald himself carries out scant any crimes - although given the uproar of Johnny Depp's casting as the veiled Trumpian baddie, some may strongly disagree.

The major problem is a lot of what's delivered here is swathed in large amounts of world-building, of set-up and of promises further down the line; sub-plots swirl and float, leaving undernourished edges to waft among the murkily executed CGI.

Of the principal cast, Depp is serviceable and serves really to bookend the film; Redmayne and Waterston conjure up the same kind of tension that was last seen executed by Edward and Bella in The Twilight Saga; and Law brings a heart and earnestness to a young Dumbledore which is sorely needed to anchor the film's lack of anything else.

Ultimately, the Fantastic Beasts film series needs to deliver more of a case for being fantastic and bring the magic back to the world - and feel like less of an ill-conceived thinly-veiled cash grab to extend a dying franchise.