Incredibles 2: DVD Review

Incredibles 2: DVD Review

What to say about Incredibles 2 that's not already been said from a multi-million dollar US Box office take and glowing reviews?

Starting the sequel just moments after the original ended nearly a decade and a half ago is a fairly bold move for an animated film that rarely rocks the boat in terms of storytelling but produces a terrific family flick that's well worth your time.

In the latest, when superheroes are outlawed for the mess they make, the Parrs face a life where the world doesn't want them.

But they're offered a lifeline when the wealthy Deavor siblings offer them the chance to make superheroes great again by using Elastigirl and some body cameras to show the world what they can do.

So, reluctantly, Mr Incredible steps back and into the role of domesticity while Elastigirl faces a new enemy - the Screenslaver.

Incredibles 2 ticks all the boxes for animation, blockbuster and family fare. (Even if parts feel distinctly more aimed at adults).

While its 2 hour running time and some obvious plot points stand out, Bird's commitment to ensuring a modern day pastiche of spy drama from the 60s is more than commendable. From a big band OST from Michael Giacchino that is all brass and bluster to spy shenanigans, Incredibles 2 certainly zings as it zags.

From its action opening to some terrifically executed set pieces (Elastigirl vs a train being a well conceived highlight), the film never loses the audience from deep within its thrall. It's also smart enough to give baby Jack-Jack a raccoon nemesis and sequence that feels like an ACME  cum Scrat short film within the film to amuse the younger ends of the audience.

It's fair to say that perhaps the Parr family kids are a little underused - Dash, certainly, and Violet's slumped with a boy problem - but the film's commitment to female forward thinking is obvious from the start.

Slyly commentating on how stay-at-home mums do it all (Mr Parr ends up looking even more weary as the film goes on and he tries to juggle three kids) while putting Hunter's Elastigirl front and centre of it all is the film's smart modus operandi. And it's not just men who save the day here, but a family who pull together to make the difference - again, another positive message for those of all ages and of parenting role models.

And there is commentary on how we're slaves to our screens too - it may have taken nigh on 15 years but Incredibles 2 hasn't held back from embracing the world as it is.

But make no mistake, while Incredibles 2 has sly intentions painted throughout its DNA, its veritable cinematic chutzpah is never in doubt either - it's a film committed to entertaining and does so terrifically throughout. 

The Meg: DVD Review

The Meg: DVD Review

The shark film is an easy hit genre.

In this latest, which is frankly more suited to a Syfy TV slot than a big screen release (and even that's being generous), Jason Statham is Jonas Taylor, a former diver whose life is haunted by a decision to leave some former crew members to die to save others. (Classic Kobayashi Maru type stuff.)

Retired from diving, Taylor's called back in when an exploration beneath the seabed goes awry and his ex-wife is trapped. Taking part in the rescue and still believing a massive creature lurked below despite everyone's contrary protestations, Taylor and his team inadvertently provides a chance for a megalodon shark to escape his surroundings.

Now with humanity on the lunch menu, it's a race against time to rid the seas of the shark.

The Meg is not smart enough to realise its trash concept and embrace it.

And while this shark tale hits every cliche with barely any relish, parts of its execution are brilliantly realised.

From the smart looking techno futuristic seabase to the submersibles, the design side of The Meg is wonderfully brought to life. And it's populated by some standout turns - primarily Cliff Curtis' de facto base leader Mac, whose grounded performance makes him the mate you'd want to call on in any given situation.

There are times when Statham plays it a little too close to zany, delivering his cornball dialogue with a little too much gusto. It would have been wiser to have played up the redemption angle of this character, mixing it in with kind of haunted turns those obsessed with either sharks or whales deliver (Jaws, Moby Dick et al), but Statham isn't too far taxed from his usual MO.

Disappointingly, Bingbing Li's scientist goes from strong model to weak-kneed at the sight of Statham's Taylor when he shows up, and it's poor scripting at best. Equally some of the final scenes where the shark menaces a bay full of foreigners, the racial stereotyping is dangerously close to offensive. It's very much like those are pandering to the Chinese box office, without writing for them.

The shark's execution is nicely done, and there are some reasonable action sequences early on (Taylor being hauled through the water with a rope and the creature snapping at its heels being one of the best), but Turteltaub doesn't really deliver anything other than rote shark action, a tacit admission and nod to what's expected, but nothing more.

Ultimately, The Meg, unfortunately, bites. Its cliched codswallop, along with an at times overly familiar and tedious story, doesn't do much to deliver any kind of originality to the genre - and the suspense and emotional pull when people are dispatched are solely missing.

This is one shark tale which sadly, is like a fish out of water, floundering for its life. 

Creed II: Film Review

Creed II: Film Review

Cast: Michael B Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Brigitte Neilsen, Florian Muntenau
Director: Steve Caple Jr

Essentially lacking the knockout blow that helped the first Creed achieve a technical win at the box office, Creed II does much you'd expect a film about pugilist pride to handle and still delivers a solid bout in the cinematic ring - even if you've seen a lot of it before in Rocky IV.

This time around, Michael B Jordan's Adonis Creed is on the top of the world - having won the Heavyweight champion title, and with his relationship with singer girlfriend Bianca (Thompson, making good of a role that barely calls on her for more than support and a few rote relationship scenes).

But when Ivan Drago, the song of the boxer who killed his father in the ring challenges him to a bout, Creed has no choice but to rise to the challenge, with or without the help of Rocky Balboa.

Creed II is as formulaic a sequel as you could expect for a boxing franchise that has spawned more than a few of them in its time. That's to say it very much wants to hit the beats of an expected sequel, and does so with veritable ease and aplomb.

However, without Coogler at the helm this time, and with a script that relies heavily on sports commentators providing the exposition via match commentary, it feels somewhat flat and lacking the killer punch, preferring instead to provide the requirements like a training montage and some inspiring speeches when necessary.

Jordan makes the best of his pride-before-a-fall arc, and there's a lot to be viewed in the hubris of the boxer and the subtext of American arrogance against Russian brute strength.

Equally Muntenau as Drago's son does much with what little he has as well, with hints of family tensions nicely put in place, and cinematography showing the icy conditions of Russia against the relationship opulence of Creed.

A reliance on the aforementioned commentary leads to a feeling the film's been heavily subsidised by pay-per-view channels, and robs Creed II of the kind of emotional depth and heft that was present the first time around. And what's outside the ring is more emotionally hefty than what's in - even if it does occasionally veer into heavy-handed territory.

All that said, while this doesn't quite go the full 12 rounds of cinematic excellence, it does provide a solid title card and spirited defence of the sports sequel, thanks in part to Jordan and also a taciturn Stallone as Balboa who's terrified of history repeating itself.

But with moments like an enforced family rift laid on heavier than repeated body blows raining down, Creed II emerges a victor only on a technicality, rather than delivering a knockout from beginning to end.

Beautiful Boy: Film Review

Beautiful Boy: Film Review

Cast: Steve Carell, Timothee Chalamet, MAy Ryan, Maura Tierney
Director: Felix Van Groeningen

Beautiful Boy's take on crystal meth addiction aims for powerful tale, but presents a somewhat sanitised take on the tale, albeit blessing it with two strong leads.

Based on the memoirs Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff, van Groeningen's drama is aimed more at the middle classes unaware of the problems of rehab and addiction.

Carell, in downbeat dramatic mode, plays Sheff, who discovers his son Nic (Call Me By My Name's Timothee Chalamet) is taking drugs and who tries everything to turn him around. But this once close relationship is frazzled and fraught on the journey, in turn causing Sheff's family to be put through the ringer.

Looping nicely between the past and the present, the then and the now of their central relationship, Carell and Chalamet conjure up something special in many ways. Their bond feels natural and real, even if at times, they feel more like brothers than father and son; scenes such as Nic rocking out to Nirvana while David watches on in the car do much to build the bond and closeness before the addiction ripples through their life and damages it irrevocably.

In truth, there's little here that people who've seen addiction stories before won't know about - and the film's desire to portray the events unfolding is done in such a beige way and an almost hesitant approach to condemn the drugs' use that it mutes the final emotional impacts beyond repair, and makes what should be harrowing lesser than it actually is.

At times, it's maddening because of it.

Van Groeningen litters the screen with some beautiful vistas, some touching scenes which display the erosion of trust between father and son, and the heartbreaking feeling of the family left behind; it's almost honest in its empathy, even if it does fail to stir something deeply within.

There's an intriguing use of white noise at key moments, a sound where it feels like the pumping of the veins are overwhelming what's being heard, and if there's an over-reliance on this at times, it's an effective signalling of intent, a sign of what truly drives an addict and what pushes them over the edge.

But as it trawls through the druggy cliches, and builds towards an obvious conclusion, the inexorable march through blander territory robs you of a feeling of impending tragedy, no matter how great the work done by Chalamet and Carell; these two deliver powerhouse performances which do much to overcome the lesser impact of what should have been a stronger film to behold, a journey to be horrified at and a true-life trauma to have endured.

Netflix has announced exclusive slate of original animated event series from the iconic Roald Dahl story universe

NETFLIX TO CREATE EXCLUSIVE SLATE OF ORIGINAL ANIMATED EVENT SERIES FROM THE ICONIC ROALD DAHL STORY UNIVERSE

Netflix Will Reimagine and Extend Some of the World’s Most Beloved Stories:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, The Twits, and More

Willy Wonka and the Oompa-Loompas are joining The BFG, Matilda, The Twits, and a host of other iconic characters who have all found a brand new home together on Netflix! Netflix and The Roald Dahl Story Company jointly announced today that Netflix is extending the Roald Dahl universe of stories for global family audiences with an exclusive new slate of original animated event series, based on the books from the acclaimed and award-winning author’s best-selling library, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, The Twits, and many other beloved titles.

Roald Dahl stories have long inspired award-winning feature films and stage productions. But now, for the first time, Netflix will bring together the highest quality creative, visual, and writing teams to extend the stories in this first-of-its-kind slate of premium animated event series and specials for audiences of all ages and for families to enjoy together. Netflix intends to remain faithful to the quintessential spirit and tone of Dahl while also building out an imaginative story universe that expands far beyond the pages of the books themselves.

“Our mission, which is purposefully lofty, is for as many children as possible around the world to experience the unique magic and positive message of Roald Dahl’s stories,” said Roald Dahl’s widow, Felicity Dahl, “This partnership with Netflix marks a significant move toward making that possible and is an incredibly exciting new chapter for the Roald Dahl Story Company. Roald would, I know, be thrilled.”

“Immersing ourselves in the extraordinary worlds of Roald Dahl stories has been an honor and a massive amount of fun, and we are grateful for the trust the Roald Dahl Story Company and

the Dahl family have placed in our team to deliver more moments of shared joy to families around the world,” commented Melissa Cobb, Vice President of Kids & Family Content at Netflix. “We have great creative ambition to reimagine the journeys of so many treasured Dahl characters in fresh, contemporary ways with the highest quality animation and production values.”

“Netflix is known for innovative and high-quality storytelling,” added Gideon Simeloff, Strategy Director for The Roald Dahl Story Company. “There is no other place in the world that can deliver animated entertainment for the whole family at such quality and scale.”

The list of titles in the agreement between Netflix and the Roald Dahl Story Company includes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, The Twits,Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Boy – Tales of Childhood, Going Solo, The Enormous Crocodile, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, Henry Sugar, Billy and the Minpins, The Magic Finger, Esio Trot, Dirty Beasts, and Rhyme Stew.

Production is set to commence on the first of the Netflix Dahl animated series in 2019.

Just Cause 4 Live-action Trailer

Just Cause 4 Live-action Trailer

SQUARE ENIX RELEASES JUST CAUSE 4 “ONE MAN DID ALL THIS?” TRAILER

The Black Hand Recounts Rico’s Latest Accolades of Destruction in New Video

SYDNEY, 28^th November 2018 – With just one week before the launch of JUST CAUSE® 4, Square Enix® is proud to present a new look at Rico Rodriguez through the eyes of the dominant rival faction known as The Black Hand.

Exclusive gameplay combined with live-action and set to an intense soundtrack from world renowned DJ/producer, Slushii, JUST CAUSE 4’s “One Man Did All This?” trailer delivers a humorous look at the destructive power rogue agent Rico Rodriguez can deliver this December 4. See Rico from the perspective of the enemy militia – The Black Hand – as faction leader Gabriela Morales listens to firsthand accounts of Rico in action from those who survived. From reigning down destruction onto an enemy base to tethering shipping containers with explosive barrels, see what makes the exciting JUST CAUSE series unlike any other.

Set in the fictional South American world of Solis, JUST CAUSE 4 takes the series' incredible destruction and unique physics to a whole new level with the introduction of tornadoes and other Extreme Weather events. JUST CAUSE 4 has four distinct biomes: Rainforest, Grasslands, Alpine & Desert. With each biome offering its own individual, fully simulated weather event, players will have a truly unique experience as they traverse this deep, diverse world.

JUST CAUSE 4 is a landmark entry in the series, and will release on December 4, 2018 on Xbox One, PC and the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system.

Red Dead Online Beta Launch

Red Dead Online Beta Launch

Red Dead Online Beta Launch 

Early Access Starts Today

The Red Dead Online Beta is launching this week with early access beginning today. We are easing our servers and systems into handling the increasingly larger player base by scaling up the online population throughout this week – until Saturday the 1st – at which point the Beta will be open to everyone with a copy of Red Dead Redemption 2. This will help ensure that our servers can handle a steadily growing volume of concurrent players in the early hours and first days of the Beta and hopefully reduce the likelihood of any server crashes during the launch week as we get things up and running.  Here are the rollout specifics:

·         Wednesday, November 28: All Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition owners. Please note, players who purchased the physical Ultimate Edition must redeem the Ultimate Edition code in the packaging to be eligible.

·         Thursday, November 29: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26th according to our data.

·         Friday, November 30: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 between October 26th to October 29th according to our data.

·         Saturday, December 1: All players who own Red Dead Redemption 2.

We are aiming to deliver a stable and fun experience while collecting as much crucial information and feedback as possible to help us continually improve Red Dead Online. As with any Beta period, we plan to take the time necessary throughout to make Red Dead Online a complete, fun and fully-functional experience, which may take several weeks or months as we continually work to fix bugs, improve systems and implement player feedback into current or future plans.

If you encounter technical issues of any sort, please visit our dedicated Rockstar Support site to find help or report these issues. And we strongly encourage everyone to send us feedback on your experience, from ways to improve gameplay to suggestions for future content – we want to know what you like, love or dislike and what you’d like to see added, changed or implemented into Red Dead Online. Please visit reddeadonline.com/feedback to share your experiences and input with us.

Make sure you’re staying tuned here at the Rockstar Newswire for regular updates about Red Dead Online, including new content additions, features, changes, and other news about the game.

The world of Red Dead Online will be a continually expanding experience. There will also be some additions and updates throughout the Beta period. Starting this week, you can ride with friends in a Posse, set up your Camp, embark on cooperative story-based missions or go head-to-head in competitive series, find strangers throughout the world to help (or hurt), tackle spontaneous Free Roam challenges, go hunting, fishing, bond with your horse, explore with friends or on your own (but look out for ambushes), and much more. 

All the while, you’ll accumulate XP through your explorations and encounters that counts towards your rank and provides added bonuses. Unlock items and improve your attributes while you progress. You can also take on Award challenges throughout your open-world experiences to earn Awards in 12 categories like combat, hunting, sharpshooter and survivalist. 

Red Dead Online begins with creating your character. Detail your appearance and attributes before you set out on your journey from Sisika Penitentiary where you’ll acquire a horse, set up a Camp, hunt down a treasure, equip your first Ability Card and meet some fateful characters with a larger story to tell; one that involves chasing truth, revenge, and honor.

In Red Dead Online, your honor will shift high and low based on your decisions and behavior. You’ll shape your honor through your choices: from life or death decisions to natural interactions such as caring for your horse.

In addition to the world responding to you in subtly different ways, you’ll also notice the nature of certain missions will reveal themselves to you based on your current honor state. 

Free Roam Missions
Head over to the Stranger icons throughout the map alone or with your Posse to embark on Free Roam Missions. You’ll see some familiar faces along the way, and these missions can vary based on how noble or nefarious you are – for example, an honorable gunslinger may be asked to help escort a convoy, defending it from attacking gangs or even other players’ Posses, whereas a dishonorable outlaw may be asked to help spring a felon from the law.

A Land of Opportunities
Honor also plays into this deeper cooperative strand for two to four players that we will continually build upon. In A Land of Opportunities, you’ll be faced with a multi-part series of missions, with some parts changing as your honor changes on a larger journey to seek truth and justice, or revenge.

Of course, Red Dead Online comes packed with all new competitive game play. The Beta includes 5 new modes at launch that are part of a larger series of Showdowns, and you can also enter your trusted steed into races including point-to-point, lap and open races strewn across the map.

Enter one of the Showdown Series Markers for fast matchmaking into a variety of modes:

Shootout & Team Shootout
Classic gunfight modes with unlimited lives. Compete to rack up the most kills before the timer runs out. Sudden death will trigger in the event of a tie: whoever gets the first kill wins.

Make it Count
A true test of resourcefulness in two game modes: use nothing but a bow and a handful of arrows or throwing knives to be the last one standing. With a gradually shrinking player area, there’s nowhere to run.

Most Wanted
A tactical race to the top. Every kill pushes you up the scoreboard, but watch out: the closer to the top you are, the more points everyone else gets for killing you.

Hostile Territory
Work in teams to control the land. Capture a territory to start racking up points: the team with most points wins - or you can win outright by capturing every territory.

Name your Weapon
Demonstrate your personal specialty in this free-for-all or team based match: the trickier the weapon you use to land the killing blow, the more points you get.

• Look out for more details and tips around all of the Red Dead Online Beta gameplay in the days ahead. And be sure to check the Companion App or log in to Social Club to see when you can jump into the Beta. As always, we want to hear from you and we ask for your help especially during the Beta process. In addition to reporting bugs, technical issues, glitches and exploits at https://support.rockstargames.com, please continue to send us your feedback and suggestions at reddeadonline.com/feedback.
• We also ask for your help in keeping Red Dead Online a fun and fair environment for everyone. Please use the in-game reporting tools to report any abusive behavior, cheating or exploits you see occurring during the Beta, or that you happen to see posted on external sites like YouTube. A friendly reminder that our longstanding copyright policy rules about posting material from Rockstar games applies now as ever – any videos encouraging cheating in any way are subject to takedown.
• You may notice some areas of the in-game menus are not yet accessible or available during this early period of the Beta, such as the Red Dead Online in-game Store which will eventually open up to provide the option of purchasing gold bars to directly acquire cosmetic items like Camp décor, or a special style for your weapons.
• We hope that all player progress during this early period of the Beta will be able to remain intact long term, however as with many betas for large scale online experiences such as this, there is always the chance that we may need to implement rank or other stat resets in case of issues.

Stay tuned for more updates to Red Dead Online over the coming weeks and months.